Vacation....

Our belated Honeymoon vacation was amazing and we enjoyed every single second while the older four kids had a great time with my inlaws....

Flying with Cassian for the first time was easier than expected and we had luck and got a brand new rental car.

Our Finca was so much more beautiful than expected and the weather in Spain was great as well.... warm but not too hot and a nice breeze during the days....

In other words – the ultimate perfect babywearing weather....

Day 1:

After the flight and some time in the finca we decided to spend the afternoon at the marina, watching some nice boats and enjoying a delicious ice.... 

Wrap of the day was my beloved size 2 Hemp Indio that I dyed in deep berry colours before Cassian was born. It was actually a splitted size 7 so it runs a bit short.

I did a simple ruck with a knot under Cassian's bum and it was pretty comfortable as usual. Not a wrap length that I would choose for a day trip or a long hike but great for quick up and downs and a wearing time up to two or three hours....

.... and some random pics I made in the backyard of the finca.... 

 .... more pics to come....

Easter 2011

And since I need to catch up with my pics and posts....

Easter Sunday 2011.... we had a lovely day with my inlaws before Jesabel managed to break her clavicula in the evening....

A few Birthday pics....

Here are finally the pics of Cassian’s Birthday party almost three weeks ago.... time really flies these days and I don’t know how I can manage to catch up with all the things....

So without further comment.... the pics....

A Happy Birthday and a Goodbye....

This was supposed to be a happy day.

We came back from our wonderful vacation yesterday afternoon and our suitcases were filled with so much sweet memories and happiness. Our long awaited and so needed time for Sascha, Cassian and me while the older kids had a great time with my inlaws.... It was such an amazing trip and I made many pics and wanted to post them here as soon as we came back home....

But when we arrived it took us five seconds to realize that we had to call our vet to make a final decision. Our beloved sixteen year old cat was already in a very bad condition when we left. We had figured out that her kidneys were almost not working anymore and tried everything that made any sense. During our vacation our vet did an intravenous drip therapy but while it helped it was simply not enough. I have studied veterinary medicine as well so when we saw our cat there was simply no doubt what we had to do. We probably could have waited one or maybe a few more days but when you have a pet you have to do what is best for it – and waiting longer just because we were not ready was no solution for us. And yes – it is harder when it comes to your own pets.... definitely....

I’m still grateful that our own vet was so kind to wait for us last evening. So we didn't have to hurry when we took Samtpfote in and there was no fear or stress for her at all. Later we took our cat back home and Sascha found a nice place for her in our large backyard before he picked up the older kids from my inlaws....

For many people it may sound silly because it was "just a cat". But our cat was so much for us. We found her and her siblings when they were between one and two weeks old and bottle fed them all. When they got older we kept her and her brother and found a nice place for her sister. One year later we got another little kitten that we bottle fed as well. Our male cat died a few years ago when he was around twelve years old, our other cat when she was around 14.... Both times it was hard but this time it was so much worse. She was like our first child and the kids knew her from their first days in live. For 16 wonderful years she was part of our family and we already miss her so much....

Being a professional doesn’t help at all in this case and while my head knows that we did the right decision for her my heart breaks....

Today is Cassian’s second Birthday and we had so many plans for this special day.... Plans that included so much fun and of course a big cake that we usually bake....

We skipped the baking part and just bought a chocolate cake. Cassian has a lot of fun so far and the rest of the family struggles between laughing and crying....

Having our big family helps a lot and it is interesting to see how every kid handles this situation differently. But everybody knows that we are here for each other and so we spend this day with many hugs, kisses, snuggles, some tears and a few smiles....

We are incredibly grateful to have each other.... but one part that brought so much fun in our lives is missing and that hurts....

I will try to upload the vacation and wrapping pics and reviews in the next few days.... today I just can’t do it....

Lent....

Focusing on our family....

After a long winter full of snow, rain and running noses I decided to take a break from my regular daily routine and focus even more on the wonderful family I have. Stepping back for some time from things we are used to like Internet, Smartphones and Television....   

Putting the focus on the family and spending quality time together. Playing games, cooking with the kids, finishing craft projects, playing with my camera, making more steps on our way to live simple....

....and going on with our house renovations.... a never ending story....

After so many weeks of winter we can slowly feel that spring is coming and I can’t wait to explore this season with the kids.

Before we start here are a few pics I made of the new rosé Silk Indio in the past few weeks. I promised some amazing friends to post them but never found the time to upload....

See you soon,

Love, Steph

Easter Eggs in Winter? Spring is in the Air....

Ellipsen Printemps arrived today and to open the box was like catching the first warm ray of sunlight after a long, cold winter....

Well winter is still here and I don’t think that the cold, rainy weather will change in the next couple of days. Don’t get me wrong – I have no problems with wonderful winters full of sun and snow, the kids playing outside the house, laughing and having fun, sledding by night, cold red noses, eyes sparkling with joy, winter boots, hot chocolate, walks in the snow..... I love this time of the year.... but in the past couple of weeks we had nothing but rain, rain, rain.... and rain.... the kids and I were sick, some of us still are and right now I just want a break from all this nasty weather.... not more and not less....

When the Ellipsen Printemps arrived my first thought was.... “oh Creamsicle Ellipsen”.... and that’s it. The overall impression is almost identical with the old Creamsicle Ninos that were released years ago. I still have two of them here and simply love them. Not one of the most supportive wraps but oh so soft and great for squishy newborn wrapping. Can I say that I love my Creamsicle Ninos?.... lol

Love, love them so much.... and the sweet memories....

When you take a closer look you will see that the Creamsicle Ninos are in fact more orange than the Ellipsen Printemps.

But now back to the new Ellipsen....

They are seriously not on the thick side when it comes to wraps. I would describe them as thin to medium and very soft right out of the box. The white side has the characteristic natural grown cotton specks and the other side is in a wonderful fresh and sunny yellow orange.....

For those who have them – the coloured thread is the same as the one that was used in the Kürbis / Pumpkin with wool from this winter.... orangey yellow or yellowish orange.... I don’t care – I just like them....

The width is the same as in the regular Ellipsen. A size 6 weights 690 gramm.

Soft and smooth right out of the box, in the front loader right now and can’t wait to see how it wraps....

Strawberries in the snow....

An update on the new red linen fishies....

When I got the red linen fishies last week I was pretty sure that they would leave within a few days. They were heavy and nice but the colour was so not “me”....

I decided to wash them and give them a try but already knew that I would either let them go or put them into a dye bath....

Fast forward to this week.

It was raining for days, some of the kids were sick and I got not enough sleep...

So I needed three things to brighten these days.... chocolate, cake and a wrap that cheers me up....

Fitting into a smaller jeans size would have been great as well, but chocolate and cake were on top of my list so the new jeans will have to wait one more week I guess....

Chocolate.... check.... delicious handmade hot chocolate with a tiny little bit cinnamon.... I love this! Can’t get enough.... seriously....

Next step – the cake.... not a real cake this time but incredible yummy cinnamon rolls – and two little helper to make them....

And the delicious result....

Step three – the bright and cheery wrap....

Ummmm.... I always have wonderful bright coloured wraps in my stash but nothing was really new to me so I gave the linen fishies a final try and I’m absolutely impressed by the wrapping qualities.

The wrap was still not what I would describe as super soft so I gave it some kind of special treatment. I washed it first then steam ironed the heck out of it while it was still wet to get it softer and avoid any creases. Finally I put it into the delicate dryer cycle to fluff it up.... and this did the trick!

It is still very heavy and dense and nothing what I would call an absolute beginner wrap but feels much softer now and it is simply fun to wrap with it. And surprise, surprise.... even the colour starts growing on me.... sometimes it needs some rainy days to try something different....

I made some comparison pics with Indio Rosenholz with 50% linen, Cashmere Siena fishies, the new burgundy Pfau, red cotton Birds and our beloved and super soft Earthy Rainbow Girasol,,,,