Tuesday talk: Catching up edition

I never got around to sharing Mariam's 5th birthday pictures, Serena's 15th birthday pictures or Thanksgiving pictures--which thankfully too much time hasn't passed since then. There just isn't enough hours in the day! I'm going to need longer days around here. Instead of writing individual posts at this point, I'm just going to combine everything and catch ya'll up on the latest.

Mariam turned 5!

Our 3rd baby turned 5 on November 5th! Originally I was going to throw her a big party, but with big sister's birthday just one week later--who also wanted a party, it was just going to be too difficult for me to pull off. I can throw parties together successfully at the last minute, but I've been so exhausted lately and there was just too much going on in life. Serena convinced Mariam we should just do something low-key, just the family, and she was happy with the idea. For her pictures, I bought one single lilac balloon and cut some flowers from my lawn and attached them with tape. For the number 5, I first made a 5 out of floral wire and twisted the same type of flowers around the wire. I cut out small pieces of wire to serve as clips on some pieces of the flowers. Floral wire is a great thing to keep in your craft box year round. There are a lot of things you can make with it.

Serena turned 15!

I can't believe she's 15! Our girl is so big. We have been blessed with an amazing teenager and I'm just so thankful for her! We didn't really do a theme--since she's a big girl, but we did have a color scheme. She wanted white, caribbean blue and silver. The decorative highlight were the big 36 inch white balloons. Those were the first items purchased and I worked around that. I'll link the sources below. I originally had planned on having 8 balloons floating above the pool, but Party City forgot to blow one up and one popped on the way home. It was quite an adventure getting them home along with several small ones I purchased. I had to make 2 trips since I didn't want to crowd them in my SUV. 

Right before I was ready to get them in the pool, I attached silver foil tassels to them. I purchased the tassels on Etsy, but next time I'll just get them from Target. They had similar ones but more full and already assembled. Plus they were cheaper! You must be wondering what is holding them in the pool. Originally I had planned on buying balloon weights but I would have needed two each. Instead I cut 6 fabric squares out, made 4 holes and placed rocks inside. I had also cut 4 holes by each corner to tie the balloon string through. It worked like a charm! I had several other decor I had purchased but didn't get any good individual pictures of them. Serena had a great time at her pool party with her friends and I'm so glad she enjoyed herself. 

36 inch party balloons: Wrapping me up

Silver foil tissue tassel kit: Paper supply station

Silver foil "party" sign: Shop Celebration Lane

FHJ Baby turns 5!

Time sure does fly. Thankful for another year in business and getting to do what I love. It's not easy trying to juggle a family of 6 and run a business, but I've hung in there. The past two years have definitely been challenging with Ava still not sleeping through the night, but hopefully she will one day. I'm also so proud to announce that one of my products was featured in another magazine! Pregnancy & Newborn magazine featured one of the bibs in their November issue.

FHJ Baby bib: Charlotte white lace

Thanksgiving 2017!

Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving on our own again with no family. No relatives were in town and we thought we wouldn't put any pressure on ourselves by inviting any friends. With our family size, we really are our own party sometimes ha-ha! We did a traditional turkey with all the fixings and I'm happy to say we just threw out the last of our turkey last night. One can only eat turkey for so may days amiright?!

I made an apple pie as I always make every Thanksgiving, but this time I made a decorative lattice top. It was soooo much easier than I thought it was going to be and it turned out great!

H cooked 90% of Thanksgiving dinner including some delicious sourdough bread from scratch. Like the yeast starter and everything. He's gotten really good at breads now. 

I think I've covered the highlights in the past few months. We just wrapped up our first trip to Disney World this past weekend so I'll be writing about our trip this week.

Have a great Tuesday!

My maternity accessory line has launched!

I'm so excited to announce that my brand is growing and the maternity accessory line is now launched. It's something I wanted to do since I was pregnant with Mariam a few years ago, but due to family demands, and general intimidation, I just didn't know where to start! Earlier last year I found a US manufacturer and the first products were put in production. There will be more products coming soon. 

Also if you shop today through Friday 1/22/16, you can take advantage of the special promotional pricing.

Shop the bands here

Have a great Tuesday!

Maternity Design update

Often with a new year comes new changes and one of the first things I wanted to change was the website for my shop. While I loved my first website and had it for 3 years it was time to move on to something more crisp, clean and user friendly! I'm excited about all the new features I'll have to my advantage now. Some more change is the start of my maternity accessory line that is launching soon. Finally! I've mentioned it here and there on the blog over the past year and it's finally done. The idea has been in the making for years and I finally took the plunge and got the first product into manufacturing earlier this year when I was pregnant with my 4th. Stay tuned as pre-orders for the first items open up soon. If you're expecting or know someone that's expecting let em know. ;) There are currently no ruffled maternity bands like mine on the market so I'm hoping they'll do well.

Surprise holiday sale!

Hi friends! Just want to let you all know that my shop is having a holiday sale. 40% off everything and the sale ends today at midnight so head on over. Everything from bibs, to burpcloths, washcloths, onesies and headbands are on sale. You don't want to miss it!

Shop here: FHJ Baby

Use code: FHJ40 at checkout.

Have a great weekend!

Ava is a month and life lately.

What in the world?! A month? How did that happen? It feels like we just brought Ava home from the hospital. I think it's gone by even faster because we have enjoyed every minute with her. She is amazing and though she has her fussy hours, she's still by far easier than the others were. This morning was a bit of an epic disaster. She refused to be put down today without crying all morning. i barely had any breakfast this morning and when it hit 10:30 am and I was getting ready to get everyone ready to pick up Layla from school, I realized that we had washed Ava's carseat cover last night and didn't put it back. I just could not figure it out and the time was creeping closer and closer to have to leave to pick up Layla. Ava was screaming her head off becuase I had put her down and I just didn't know what to do at that point. I called my husband at work crying. Thankfully it was no big deal for him to leave to pick up Layla from school. He brought her home, had lunch with us, put the carseat cover on and then left. Right now the girls are finally napping (though I fully expect Ava to wake up any second) and things are quiet. I can normally keep things together, but that's if I'm running a tight ship and have everything planned out. It has to be this way or everything goes to hell in a hand basket. Not being prepared in having the carseat all ready to go threw everything off as you can see.

Anyways, every day brings something new and even on days like this, I'm so thankful for another baby girl that was put into our lives. There's never a dull moment, though I could do without the many temper tantrums that Mariam has. Phew! This girl tries my patience for sure! She's very unreasonable and when she wants something she will pester you until she gets it, or at least gets sent to her room because she won't stop. 

With this new addition, it has given me less time to work on things but business is still trucking along as usual and going fine. I'm excited about some new products in the shop and a few different flash sale sites I'm scheduled with this year. Currently we are on Brickyardbuffalo.com and the deal runs for 3 days. You can check out what we have on sale here.

FHJ Baby

FHJ Baby

Exciting news!

A busy month indeed! Thrilled to announce that FHJ Baby is featured on Zulily.com! We are listed under the "toddler meal time must-haves" and half of the newest collection is on there. The remaining bibs will be listed under the upcoming "dining with baby" Zulily event on the 28th. 

Here is the link: http://www.zulily.com/e/toddler-mealtime-must-haves-134342.html

I've been working with them for months and so happy the day has finally come. Also Bluum the largest baby, kids, pregnancy subscription box reached out to me a few weeks ago and they are interested in my business. I haven't decided if it's the right move for my company at this time, but it's being considered. 

Have a great Thursday!

Shop talk

Besides baby girls, most of you all know I also design baby accessories here and ever so often I like to update on the latest happenings. Earlier in the year I thought about taking a short maternity break when the baby came but as the months went by and new opportunities came along, that ship has now sailed away. September is going to be a big month for my business and I'm really excited about it!

I was thrilled to see that one of my products was featured in Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine again (2015 Fall Buyer's Guide this time)

I've also been a part of more fabulous blog reviews and have gotten the attention of some really big companies. I wish I could name drop, and while I can't just yet, I'll be sure to talk about it when the time is right. Perhaps some of the most exciting news for me is that the first maternity accessory design is finally finished! It was a long process and a lot of going back and forth with the manufacturer but I think we finally got it just right. I'm currently looking for a first or second trimester pregnant blogger to model them. Hopefully I find someone quick so we can get the ball rolling. Here are a few pictures of some new and upcoming releases.

Have a great Wednesday!

Life Lately..

Gosh the last few weeks have been busy, mainly in regards to the business. So much going on and so much work that had to be done. back to back boutique orders, getting a new collection ready, etc. There have been days where I've had to start my work as soon as H gets home and keep at it stopping to make dinner or throw a load of laundry in the washer. Then I put the kids to bed and continue working till about midnight. H has been so supportive and tending to the kids when he gets home and giving me more time to focus on my work. I even had my mom fly in for a few days because my seamstress was on vacation. It's a lot and there are some days where I miss the slower days in the beginning but I'm so grateful for my growing business. I know a big part of my problem is letting go of some of the control, but it's just so hard to find good help. I've gone through plenty of seamstresses  and my current help is good, but there are still some quality control issues I'm having with her, that takes time away from my day having to fix. There is some other help I get and services I've utilized online so I'm grateful for that. In maternity accessory news, I cannot wait for them to be ready. It's taking awhile but it's a process. 

As far as family life, Serena is on summer break so I've had all three girls home and it's been fun when they aren't fighting and getting under my skin. Some days they screech and bicker in the morning before it's even 8:30 am! Ugh. It's also been so hot and taking them places while it's hot and I've got this big belly to lug around--well it makes it hard. We still get out a few times a week though for sweet treats, library days and shopping. Today we left the house early for Dunkin donuts and then went to the mall. I actually got lucky this time and found some things I love. I'm extremely picky so usually I find something for the girls and nothing for me. Our first stop was A Pea in the pod maternity and I found a white scoop neck maternity tank, then Nordstroms where I finally found a going home outfit for the baby. Yay! I've been on the hunt. I also bought a cute crochet hem swing top from the juniors section that is perfect for a growing bump. Bath & Body works is having another one of their huge clearance sales so we stocked up on some lotions and hand soaps.

{A Pea In the Pod Maternity}

{Nordstrom}

In growing baby news, It's hard to believe I'll be entering the third trimester soon. I'm 27 weeks and 4 days today and things really feel like they go fast between the last half of the second trimester and part of the third and then they slow down around weeks 36 till you deliver. I told H awhile back that I wouldn't mind if we gestated like elephants and were pregnant for 22 months. Haha! I love being pregnant--for the most part. I have been a lot more uncomfortable and she loves pushing in my ribs but it's an amazing feeling to grow a child and feel her kicks and pokes.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday!

What a week! The girls were much better than they were last week, but most of this week's stress was due to the business. On Tuesday a certain well known flash sale site reached out to me on Tuesday. I was so excited to open that email and I was beaming from ear to ear that afternoon. It was definitely a goal I could cross of my list. The only problem is it's taken several emails and a lot of thinking to make sure the numbers are going to be right for my bottom line. As much as I want to work with them, I still have a business to run. I can't give any details out yet as I haven't said yes yet, but when I do, I'll post about it. I am however working with a flash sale site currently and the deal ends Sunday so check it out and snag a gorgeous spring time bib. (Sorry shameless promotion)

{Eleventhavenue.com}

In other news, we found out what baby #4 is! You'll have to check back Tuesday for the big announcement. I'm so excited that I know what I'm having. What do you think it is? Here are a few facts that may sway your decision. My other children are all girls and this baby has had a high heart rate of 160 and up. However, my symptoms are different with this baby, as in new ones and a lot more intense.

Have a great weekend!

Mommy & Me

I swear I must be certifiable to speed up instead of slow down during pregnancy. I always do this to myself but I guess I thrive on chaos. It's been a busy few days thus far and I'm happy to announce that the first few items of my upcoming maternity accessory line are in pre-production! I'm so excited about it and a little scared. Manufacturing a product is not cheap and there will be some financial hurdles I'll be coming across in the next 2 months, but if there's a will there is a way. 

I also want to announce that a limited amount of mommy and me tulle skirts will be hitting the shop next week! I first made myself one back in December and a friend suggested I make more but then so much happened. We moved, found out I was pregnant and then had horrible nausea for 2 and a half months...all while juggling my family and the business. So much going on, but very excited about growing the FHJ brand.

Here are a few sneak peaks. Layla is modeling the toddler version of the tulle skirt.

Have a great Wednesday and be sure to follow my shop on Facebook or Instagram to keep up with the latest!