Ambrosia Couture - All Grown Up

So I've grown up...my kids have grown up...and this type of situation isn't happening in our family anymore:

Instead, I just sent my oldest off to 6th grade, and my youngest off to kindergarten - which looked like this (the cutie in polka dots from above is now a keen soccer playing 6th grader):

 In an effort to nurture what's left of my creative spirit, I've resurrected my Etsy shop with some reusable fabric grocery bags, and I'm mulling over fashion plans for Christmas that I can get my youngest to model.  You can see my etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AmbrosiaCouture

Great big giant blankets

Looking for some Ambrosia Couture for a newborn? I am excited to be sharing a little sewing endeavour I undertook this weekend when I saw some funky fabrics. They were calling to me, and so I brought them home to make a few limited edition Ambrosia Couture blankies. Extra super big, they are about 40" by 42" and are great for swaddling, playtime, and light covering.

I cannot promise that I will ever be making one again, it got pretty tedious in my sewing room, fold, iron, fold, sew, repeat - but I am pretty sure that these unique blankets were worth it!

Click here to check them out in my etsy shop.

Late night musings...

Today was a H-E-L-L of a day with the girls. Actually, that's not true, the morning was so great! We played UNO, did some art, had a "Love Party" and I actually got two shelves of the fridge spic and span :) I even had a cup of tea. It was in my pyjamas, at 11:30, but who cares.

It was the afternoon that made me understand why people beat their children.

We drove home from school, and the baby - high off of only napping only 45 minutes ALL DAY LONG, was still not napping, but dancing to the music instead. We had to get a few groceries and I thought a quick drive would do the trick. When we got to the market, Lilah was asleep (VICTORY!) but then the two older monsters children flat out REFUSED to get out of the car.

What followed was much coaxing, threatening, and finally, a phone call to daddy. Which of course woke up the baby. Of course. So the three of us headed into the store, to my shame, baby chewing on an ages 3+ McDonald's toy. For about 4 minutes, it was bliss. The older girls even picked out some peppers for me. By the time we were kicked out left, they had cleared out the mandarin orange samples, and high on a fructose binge were both spewing pith left and right. The baby never did get back to sleep.

Dinner was a gong show, even thought it was delish - only Matt and I really partook. French onion pork chops, french fried potatoes and yams, salad and Scotch Baps. I guess the silver lining of today is that all three munchkins have been in bed since 7:10, and Matt had the foresight to buy me not only a bottle of red wine (to share of course) but a tiny bottle of my favorite cider. Thanks honey. Love you.

By the way, I did sew up a BEAUTIFUL reversible skirt on Saturday night. My sewing began with making a few large swaddling blankets for gifts, but once I got started I couldn't stop. Even though I went to bed at 1:00 AM, my mind was BUZZING until 3:00!! Hope to get it listed soon!

Let's see if I can't find a few pictures here to prove my kids are all still healthy and relatively happy, actually mostly alive after the post above.

Sending a blog post out...anyone around?

Yes. I have been uber absent. Sorry! Life with my (not so) little family has been ticking right along. These three girls keep me very busy! It seems so sudden that Lilah's first birthday is looming, followed by Fiona's 4th birthday.

Part of me feels like after so long I should have more to report; like a fabric line to debut, patterns to unveil, a photography venture to undertake, or at the very least a sewing project to share. The truth is that I have litle to talk about other than that I am blissfully raising my family. See the pictures strewn all over this post to prove it.

On the sewing front, the babysitter thing that I tried earlier this year never really worked out. I guess I underestimated the challenge that my the three girls would present for a 15 year old. Looking back, I should have known better!! I am purging my sewing room and I'm hoping to get a few holiday skirts up in my Etsy shop soon. I know better than to promise that one, though.

Sigh. Life calls, I'm off to rescue the baby from her sisters. From what I hear on the monitor, she's up from her nap and all three have piled into the crib.

Lookie, lookie, a new auction

I have a fancy pants new summer skirt set up on ebay. The euro-ish fabric is from my friend Emily, thanks Em!!

Click here to see the auction - and mention you found it on my blog to get free shipping!!

SOOO FREAKING PROUD!

Sydney had her first recital this weekend, and it was so super great!! She was so proud of herself, and so are we!! You may not love it as much as I do, but humor a ridiculously proud momma!

So many fabrics!

Now that I'm back to sewing with some sense of regularity, I am allowing myself to do a little fabric shopping. It has been about 6 months since I bought any fabric, and there are too many choices!! I did order some great Euro prints from my blissful friend Jen, but that's all the fabric jonesing I've done.

I have my eye on the new line by Amy Butler, Midwest Modern, the ones plastered all over this post. The prints are pretty yummy - but I am having a hard time visualizing them together. You'd think I start with a design in my mind, but more often than not, I start with the fabric (a la Sandi Henderson - you haven't copyrighted that have you Sandi?). Kristen, the amazing designer behind Gock's Frocks did some beautiful skirts up, so I have those for inspiration!

Aaaaah, so many faabrics....so little time :)

My heart belongs to these three

Yes, they keep me busy, and drive me crazy sometimes - but more often than not, these three fill my heart with pure love.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!! LIKE, HUGE!!!!!

Click here to see all the twirly listings!!

A Swingy Sundress

I have a new design!! Woot, woot!!

Sewing is such therapy for me, I need to make time for it. To that cause, I have a girl coming after school a few times a week to watch the kids around the house and in the yard while I sew. It feels soooo decadent, but AWESOME at the same time! And I've already used the time to make something! Click here to check out the Etsy listing for the happy little sundress I made! I am literally grinning just thinking about it!

On another front...the protest against the library lockout was so much...fun is not the right word. How about torture? After the well-attended protest, I went with a few (read 3) other moms to a storytime sit-in at the Labour Relations office, where despite being asked to leave (repeatedly) we sat on the floor of the lobby and read stories. I almost peed my pants, I was so scared!! The good news is that the union and bosses have resumed talks and are hopeful for a resolution! Dear god, I hope so, because I don't know if I can do that again!!

Click here to watch the news coverage of the rally and sit-in. You can catch a glimpse of the side of my head about halfway through, and some shots of the kids, too.

Social Activism for the very young

Greater Victoria library workers have been locked out by the GVLRA since February 17. The lockout has affected not only the library workers, but in this house, we have been personally devastated by the closure of the libraries! We miss storytimes, new books, movies, computer games...everything! I have been reading about others affected, like shut-ins, the elderly, the homeless, and researchers, and am really upset the this resource has been taken away. We support the library workers!

I'm taking the girls to a rally this morning organized by a fellow blogger. I helped them make signs with their personal sentiments about the library closure, and am feeling an anticipation of the pride I will feel when I see them stomping around in protest!

I'm thinking of pinning a sign on Lilah's wrap, is she too young to protest?

Stumbled over these - you like?

I came across these videos on YouTube while I was up rocking Lilah. Seems like the only computer time I get is while I'm nursing or rocking her. Somehow we're on our third kid and the only chair that rocks in this house is right in front of the computer.

The first is the video for a killer song by Gnarls Barkley, you know, he of "Crazy" fame? And the second is a happy/sad statement about the state of society - the Free Hug campaign.

They both tickled me, and I hope you like them!

Oh happy day

Winter is NOT my season. I am a warm weather gal, and the cold frostiness of late makes me GRUMPIFIED!! Thank god for the recent appearance of snowdrops around here. I'd guesstimate we have about 5000 on our property - love them :) Love them even more since I saw Stardust. Think I'd get funny looks if I walked around with a snowdrop on my coat?

Life with the girls is copacetic right now, too. The three of them still love each other, and today Lilah started smiling!! Not that I caught one on camera yet, but we did have a mini photo shoot :)

In pictures

A run down of my last 4 months in pictures:

Fall came, and brought leaf piles...

...and a monkey and a pumpkin to trick or treat!

My family of 4 waited patiently to become a family of 5. This picture was taken on my induction date, on which no actual induction happened.

Lilah was eventually born....

...on the same day I was born 29 years before.

December came, and we celebrated Fiona's 3rd birthday.

We rang in the new year by building an igloo!

That brings us to January. and up to date. Life is back to chaos around here!!

So much to update

Holy carp - my last blog post was September 27? That is terrible!! I am so sorry!!

I have had several people emailing asking how I am, and how baby is - I have to apologize for my blog-absence! Check out the picture at right, where I am measuring 45 weeks (at 37 weeks), needless to say, my pregnancy got kinda miserable at the end there, and I cocooned myself in our house. Before I blather on too much, let me do the important stuff:

Lilah Kate was born November 27th (also my birthday), 2007. She is now 6 weeks old, and doing so great!! She looks quite different than her sisters, and her personality is just starting to emerge. She is quite mellow, and growing so well!! She is a joy, and I couldn't feel happier to have her around! (Gosh my boobs just filled up with milk with that emotional gushiness!!)

Her sisters are proud to be the big girls and have fallen into that role so well! I am so thankful they have each other, they have a very special, loving relationship, those two. Barring the occasional fight over Polly Pockets, they are best buds and it warms my heart whenever they hug each other.

Far down on the list of priorities...I have been on design hiatus for a few months now, but am starting to get the design itchies. I have to majorly clean out my sewing area and then I will start up soon, I think!!

I'll try to post more! Honest! And I'll do my best to make the posts about more than diapers, feeding, and the like - I promise - even if that's what my days are nowadays.

Yodelay-hee-hoo

Anyone out there?

Sorry I've been a very bad, absent blogger of late! Life gets busy, and somehow my blogging, as much as I enjoy is not something that I am good at keeping up with! I wasn't very good at keeping a journal either - I have all these old journals from when I was was a kid, with only 3 or 4 pages of writing in them.


This baby has been cooking for 28 weeks now, and I've been growing at a crazy rate! I have been feeling big, and having people ask me daily "Are you due yet?" has added to the feeling. Finally, I was measured, and I am in fact, REALLY BIG. I am measuring 36 weeks!! No wonder I am waddling, growing out of clothes, and having people look at me funny! I have to have an ultrasound to see what's going on in there, because for my uterus to grow 11 cm in 4 weeks...not so normal.

On the design front, I have a new Christmas set up on eBay for the launch celebrating my friend Jen's fabric website, FabricBliss. The fabrics are all available on her site, and I have another set I am trying to get done for the launch - but truthfully I can barely reach the sewing machine past this monstrous tummy!

Click here to see the set.

Click here to see the whole launch.

Cotton Candy + Popcorn + Fake udders = SO MUCH FUN!

This weekend we were BLEEDING money - ever have one of those? Even though we went to a Greek Festival last night, and we celebrated our 6th Anniversary on Sunday, in style with dinner and a movie, our Saturday at the Saanich Fall Fair would have to be the highlight! Here are some pictures, enjoy!

The kids and I on our first ride of the day, the Merry-go-round of course! What you call it a carousel?

Think they had fun on the roller coaster?

She usually goes for a butterfly, so this was a new one!

My butterfly and I.

F learned how to milk a cow. I did my best not to think of how many grubby hands had been on those fake teats. *shudder*

My favorite picture from the day. And about the most fun ride I could go on in my baby-carrying state!

I couldn't believe S was tall enough to go on this VERY big kid ride all by herself!! She has assured me she wasn't scared AT ALL. Uh-huh.

Near the end of our day, F couldn't walk anymore!

The view of the fair from the parking lot, er, farmer's field.

Thanks so much for sharing! Happy first day of school!!