What? A Secret Sale?...

That's right, folks...Madeline Bea Soap Co. will re-open tomorrow: Wednesday April 1st...no joke! And yes, we here at said MBSC love to celebrate so we're having a secret "No Foolin' Around" sale. Why is it a secret if I'm announcing it to the world, you ask? Well, you have to be a mailing list subscriber to get the details. So hurry on over here and sign up to get the low-down. The sale is for ONE DAY ONLY {April 1st}!

Little Feet...

There's just something magical about those tiny toes!

Have a great weekend!

Finding Our Groove...

Slowly {very} but surely, we are starting to find our little groove around here. As much as I was loving the hazy newborn days, I was starting to get a little anxious to settle a bit. Also, I wanted some {just a little} predictability in my day so that I would know when I might be getting a shower, sleeping, or eating my meals. {Is that too much for a busy mama to ask for?} But, low and behold, things are getting a bit more normal around here...granted a new normal, but one we are getting to know.

With Maya wraped up in her Moby Wrap, I've been able to sneak up to my craft room for little snippets of time. These bookmarks {in pic.} have been just the right size project to tackle during said snippets. I think they would make great little gifts to throw into birthday cards or thank you notes. Great to have on hand for when I remember an occasion totally last minute.

Oh, and of extremely monumental importance...I JUST MADE SOAP!!! I have an order for a May baby shower and I needed to get back to the task of soapmaking but I honestly had no idea how I was going to finagle such a thing. But, with an exuberant amount of planning I was able to push out a batch this morning. This takes such a weight off my shoulders just knowing that every once in a while I will get time to work...especially with my shop re-opening NEXT WEEK!!!It feels very soon but I'm excited to get back into the swing of things and the best part is that I don't have to leave my Maya for a moment. Oh, how I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE owning my own business and working from home. This {sometimes very challenging} situation truly allows me the best of both worlds and not a day goes by that I don't thank God for the blessings!

By the way, if you have some pent up creative energy, head over to Lollychops' blog. This amazing girl {who just oozes creativity} has devoted this whole week to an assortment of bunny crafts. She offers tutorials and downloadable files for all your bunny crafting needs. She made some adorable bunny onesies that I'm so hoping to tackle sometime before Easter.

Have a great Thursday!

Baby Maya {2 weeks}...

Dear Sweet Maya,

Happy little tiny 2 week birthday. {I love that that the smallest fraction of time is so monumental in these very early days of life!} We have all fallen totally in love with you...even your crazy sisters who were a bit skeptical at first seeing as how you don't yet run about and want to play with Polly Pockets. But alas, you have won them over with your cute little ways.

I love how you love to cuddle and nuzzle. I even love that only want to be held {never mind that your 2 week birthday was on Friday and I haven't had a two-hands-free moment until now, Sunday evening}. Because that's what these new baby days are all about...just sitting and holding and loving. They will be gone all too quickly and I will be talking about how much I miss just sitting and holding and loving you.

I love how your face and fingers are getting just the slightest bit chubby. Your Daddy and I can't wait for your "chubber legs" to sprout! I'm sorry you don't like getting your diaper changed or getting a bath, but hopefully you'll learn to just accept these things as part of life. Maybe you'll even start to enjoy your bath because I just love the way you smell right after and it makes me give you an exhuberant amount of snuggles and nuzzles and kisses.

I love the silly little faces you make when you're just waking up. Especially when your tiny mouth make a tiny 'o' and your eyes get all wide. I cannot wait for your first smile and when it happens I will be right there to kiss those little smiling lips.

So keep on growing and being the sweet little you that you are. And we will all keep loving and snuggling and loving the sweet little you that you are.

Love,

Mama

Rainy Day Art...

My little creative soul has been yearning for some play with paint & stickers time. While my hands are a little tied up with baby Maya, I thought I'd indulge the other little creative souls in the house. I cannot think of a better way to spend a rainy day then by dressing up super fancy and making beautiful sparkly art!

Spring Fever...

Aaaahhh, signs of Spring's impending arrival have been in the air all weekend long. We spent as much time as we possibly could out of doors, breathing the fresh air, feeling the warm sun kiss our cheeks, and stretching our legs. It felt so good for all of us to renew a bit.

Today was my first day getting back into some semblance of a schedule. We all had to trek out to take Rayne to pre-school bright and early this morning. Although I think we are all ready to return to some sense of normalcy around here, I can't help but feel a little sad to leave my totally Maya centered, evaporation of time and reality. It was a beautiful place and, even though I knew it couldn't last forever, I will forever think of it as a vacation I never wanted to return home from. I'm glad that I was able to enjoy that time of crazy, haphazard uncertainty that comes with those first days with a new baby. My previous experiences with this time have encouraged me to savor those moments instead of fighting them. I love this unique place in my life that Maya has come into: a place where my life and experiences have delivered me where I feel comfortable enough in my own skin to let life happen as if may rather than trying to control it's flow. Amazingly, without my intervention, poking or proding, Maya has fallen into a totally livable 'schedule' of sorts all on her own. And she is so happy and content because her needs are being met on her time, not mine.

Happy Monday, everyone! Here's to letting go!

*bliss*

True, utter, un-ending, nothing in the world like it bliss!

I am totally loving the crazy, hazy newborn fog that I've been living in. Spending my days (and some nights) just gazing at Maya's beautiful little face. This is not to say that the rest of the household is living in this same state of bliss...and though I'm trying very hard to be sensitive to the great changes that are taking place for the other members of the family, I cannot be pulled from the dream-like state of euphoria that my love for Maya has brought on.

There's so much I'd like to share with you about my natural (drug-free) childbirth experience, the darkness before the light of breastfeeding, and the fact that I'm amazed at how easily everything seems to be going with this third little wonder...and I will soon...but for now I'm just enjoying my *bliss*.

We're In Love...

Maya Lou Beishline

Born 3.6.09

1:38 am

8 lbs. 13 oz., 21.5 in.

Absolutely Perfect!

Maintaining Grace...

I'm working very hard to practice grace and patience as I sit here on baby Maya's official due date with no baby Maya in my arms. This is not a new place for me...my girls were both 'late'. However that makes this place of limbo and uncertainty no less uncomfortable. I'm mustering the most positive attitude that I am able...using my last {cherished} bits of free time to read, rest, paint, & snuggle with the girls.

Although there are pockets of time that I want to give in to feelings of complete, un-nerving impatience, this particular situation is providing me with plenty of opportunities to be completely present in each moment...savoring all the little things going on around me. Every morning that I still wake in my own bed to the sound of their little pitter-pattering feet running in to cuddle with me in my bed, I thank God that I was there for that moment. When I run into a friend that I haven't seen in months, or spend a quiet afternoon painting in my new craft room, or get to spend my evenings on the couch cuddling with my husband...I think of all my blessings. And even though I do still fall sometimes, I think I'm doing a pretty good job of maintaining grace!

Hello March...

We welcome you with big open arms! May you bring all kinds of goodness into our homes: new babies, positive vibes, hearty laughter, warm breezes, ...would it be too much to ask to see the bud of a flower or perhaps some new growth on our bare trees? If not, no problem. We are so happy to see you, none-the-less!