Like Etsy...in a building

Hey Guys! 

I'm so excited to be a part of this years Queen Bee Market! 

It's basically like Etsy 

but in real life.

And you don't even have to pay for shipping.

We will be there selling our towels so if you stop by (which you should) be sure to come say hi!!

*Queen Bee Market is THIS weekend! How is it almost November already?!

Harvest Festival 2013

Every year our church has a Harvest Festival with bounce houses, rides, and of course lots of candy. 

Last night was this years festival. 

 The night started off a little shaky. 

One kid had just woke up from a nap...and one kid needed a nap. 

You can't tell but two out of 4 are crying in this pic. 

Super baby is super cute. 

And 7 months already...how did that happen?

Last year I snuck out of the house (from being on bed rest with Hudson) to go to the Festival.

I spent the night in the wheelchair but I remember it was so wonderful being out in fresh air. 

So this year was extra fun and special being able to enjoy it with our whole family.

And no wheel chair.

Do you guys have any fun fall traditions?

Sewing, christmas music and a boutique THIS Thursday

Lately this has been my view most nights...

me, some music (I may or may not have already been listening to Christmas music...don't judge) and the roar of my sewing machine.

I've got a few more weeks of hard work as I get ready for my last 3 boutiques. 

 I counted this morning and I have already made almost 200 towels. 

Crazy! 

The guitars and pirates are two of my newest prints. 

It's so much harder to find cute boys stuff but I think I have finally found some that I love. 

If you are local come by and visit me at Coast Hills Community Church's annual MOPS boutique THIS Thursday (info above). 

I'm not at all of my boutiques (the Sugar Plum ones in particular because they have a centralized check out) but I will be at this one selling my stuff the whole time. So if you come make sure to stop by and say hi. I'd love to meet you! 

There should be lots of cute things to shop from. 

Getting out

This weekend we hitched up the trailer and set off to 

Caspers Wildness Park. 

It was perfect.

Well there were definitely times that weren't perfect

like when the kids were driving each other crazy in the car 

or when the baby did.not.sleep. all night long

but it was perfect because we were doing what we love and most important we were doing it together. 

I'm always amazed at how much fun the kids have doing nothing.

Well not nothing but you know...not being entertained by anything but their imaginations. 

They spent the day exploring, counting and sorting rocks, climbing trees, jumping in piles of leaves and pretending. 

It was such a beautiful day! 

Sunny but not too hot with a slight breeze.

The park is surrounded by a ton of giant oak trees. 

They looked so beautiful with the light peeking through the branches. 

And the limbs were just perfect for tree climbing. 

One of my favorite parts of camping is the evening fire. 

With lots of roasted marshmallows of course. 

And after the kids were asleep the Mr. and I enjoyed a quiet game of cribbage next to the fire. 

There was also an awesome play ground for the kids. 

But to be honest they preferred hanging out in the trees instead. 

What did you guys do over the weekend?

Oh and in case you were wondering the tent trailer was awesome! We love tent camping but the convenience of the trailer just can't be beat. It takes so much less time to set up and tear down camp and you can keep the tent trailer loaded with all your camping gear/necessities so you have less packing to do before a trip. I basically just packed our clothes and some food and we set off.  So easy.

A little homestead

Aaron and I have dreams of some day owning a homestead.
Somewhere our kids can roam freely and explore. 

A place they can climb trees, build forts, pick berries and make friends with squirrels. 

We want to have a big garden, a place for our chickens to free range and maybe even a cow or two.

Oh and lots and lots of fruit trees. 

There's such something about being in nature that is good for the soul.

All that clean, fresh air and constant reminders about what a good, big, majestic God we serve. 

It's so refreshing.

So until we get our homestead we want to get out of our little city as much as possible and get into nature. 

A few weeks ago we even bought a tent trailer to prove how serious we are about it :)

and so that it will be easier to go on weekend trips. 

Because as much as we love tent camping it's so much work to set up camp and then tear it down after only a day or two. 

Have you guys heard of Joy Prouty or Wildflower Photography?

Her family sold everything they had, bought a big trailer and hit the road for a year of adventuring. 

How cool is that? 

Aaron and I tried to figure out a way to do that but the whole job thing kind of got in the way. 

Darn. 

If you are looking for an inspiring instagram feed to follow be sure to check her out {joyprouty}. 

Her pictures always make me smile. 

And wish I was on my homestead.  

What are some dreams your family has?

A peek at our week

Unfortunately this is a common occurrence. 

#oneshoewonder

We had a short stint of fall weather and we enjoyed every second of it. 

Of course we had to make this. 

Our attempt to de-spider our backyard. 

We have black and brown widows like c.r.a.z.y.

crazy.crazy.

We got to hang out with Jana on Friday.

She did a little concert at Wesley's preschool.

This little guy has been a stinker lately. 

He gets kicked out of the nursery every week at our Bible Study. 

I think he just likes me all to himself. 

I let the kids each pick out their own bedding for their new beds. 

In their own colors of course (I don't think I ever told you that I color coded the kids...I'm so behind on blogging!) 

Wesley wanted to help me sew so we made him a new boo boo bag. 

Actually he has been helping me sew a lot (it's his fav).

He's going to be the most domesticated husband.

His wife will thank me one day.

"She looks like a bear. A wreeeelly cooot bear."- Wesley

I tried to embrace the camera along with Amy this week. 

It was harder than I thought.  

Wes was the Super Star student at preschool this week.

I'm so proud of him! 

I love pizza. 

We eat it at least once a week. 

 These two kill me. 

 Hudson also started crawling! 

I know! I'm in big trouble now. 

Park day with friends. 

4 kids...one room

We did it. 

We put all 4 kids in the same room. 

I wrote this on Instagram (kristinsellars if you want to follow) their first night together...

"We are either absolutely genius or totally crazy". 

The room switch was prompted by some recent break ins in our neighborhood (we live in one of the safest cities in America...go figure!). 

The girls had been sharing a room downstairs and after everything happened it made me super nervous having them down there alone so we decided to move them all into the upstairs bedroom.

We sold both sets of our old bunk beds and got a new triple bunk (bunk beds with a trundle under). 

The kids were/are sooooooo excited to all be together. 

They pretty much think it is the greatest thing ever. 

And surprisingly it has been going great!

Actually it has been way easier then I could have imagined (thank you Jesus).

My kids have pretty much always shared rooms so they are used to being together.

I think when you have 2 kids sharing a room it's not much different having 3 or 4 or in there. 

So many of you were curious about our bedtime rules so I thought I'd share them with you...

-no one is allowed out of their bed (this is the biggest one!)

-when you get up in the morning you are not allowed to wake anyone else up! You need to walk as quietly out of your room as possible and go downstairs or come find Mommy and Daddy. 

-sometimes if they are having a hard time falling asleep or we can hear them being rowdy we don't let them talk either but lately this hasn't been a problem. 

-Also if anyone wakes up before 6:00 a.m. I always put them back in their bed and tell them it's still night time :) That's not a rule...just a Mommy secret. It totally works around here.  

Some other helpful sleeping tips...

-get a sound machine...this has been a life saver for our family! 

-blackout curtains are a must! Trust me.

-We put our kids to bed at 7:00 on school nights and by 8:00 on weekends. I think it's so important for Mommy and Daddy's to have some kid free time. Well at least it is for this Mommy and Daddy. 

 The plus side to having all the kids in the same room is that we get to turn the downstairs bedroom into a playroom/sewing room. 

I already scored this desk off Craigslist for $20. 

Thank you very much. 

My sewing machine is so happy to have a permanent home again. 

And we are all so excited to have a playroom. 

Our project this weekend is to get everything set up and organized.
Wish us luck!

Boutique #1 down

 Hey guys!

Sorry I have been M.I.A. lately.

I had my first boutique was last weekend and it was

c.r.a.z.y.

So much fun and so so crazy! 

Aaron built me a new display this year. 

Isn't it amazing?! 

It turned out exactly how I hoped it would. 

And now my husband can no longer claim he isn't crafty.

Now that I know what he's capable of my honey-do list keeps growing :)

I love this shot of all my towels. 

They look like a pretty rainbow hanging up next to one another.

And that cute little "Lu Bird" sign was made by my friend Courtney.
She has an Etsy shop called Joyful Joyful where she sells adorable banners and signs.

Be sure to check it out!

The first day of the 3 day boutique I sold more than half the towels I had made! I was so excited but that meant I had to scramble to make some more which meant sewing while the kids were awake (something I never do). Wesley was my sewing helper and Mackenzie took out all of my pins for me. 

 I also got to bring the 3 littles with me to help restock and do a little shopping of myself. 

If you get a chance to stop by the next Sugar Plum Festival on November 14-16 at the OC Fairgrounds you must! 

It is their biggest one of the year and there are so many cool vendors. 

These were some of my favorite finds. 

A new key chain and this vintage Little People barn. 

And just for fun I had to show you this picture. 

Aaron and I lifted the 3 (giant, HEAVY) pieces of my display on top of our van and then drove them to the boutique and then had to take them off to set up. I think I about had a panic attack the entire time we were driving. And I realized I need to start working out for next boutique season. Those things are crazy heavy!