Here’s what I said when I started this blog in 2012:
OK. So I don’t actually have four babies… I have three toddlers and a preschooler. Yes, three toddlers. Triplets to be exact! And all of them are girls! And my preschooler is a girl, too. My poor husband!
The mid-2013 update:
My household now has FIVE messy babies! Yep, you heard me right. F.I.V.E. And just as you probably already guessed, our newest addition is another girl! We are now five messy girls (plus mommy, so it’s actually six messy girls). The triplets are now into the terrible terrible twos! My oldest is now in kindergarten, and our precious littlest girl was born in January.
And the latest update as of April, 2015:
We’re now SIX messy babies!!! Our newest addition is………yep, you guessed it. A GIRL OF COURSE! Violet was born in February, Lydia is newly 2, the triplets (Annabelle, Madelynn, and Chloe) are 4 and in preschool now, and Emily just turned 7 and is in first grade.
Are we crazy???!!! Absolutely! But in the best possible way, I like to think! In this post, I explain a little bit about how we got all these babies.
As you can imagine, life gets pretty messy around here! I’m one busy mama chasing, cleaning, feeding, cleaning, changing diapers, cleaning, playing, cleaning, chasing, cleaning… You get the picture, right?!
I first started this blog simply because I wanted to communicate easily with other soap makers, but it’s turned into more than that. I love to talk about our family, all of our messes, and my adventures with crafting, cooking, and soaping, of course!
I decided to start making soap for many reasons:
1. I am constantly cleaning hands, faces, baby bottoms, etc. So why not use a safer, all-natural product that I made?
2. We use cloth diapers, and “cloth-safe” detergent is expensive! Why not find a way to make my own that’s inexpensive and just as good or better? But my girls reacted to the other bar soaps out there commonly used in homemade laundry detergents. So I needed to find a way to make my own better soap!
3. My girls have rather sensitive skin (as evidenced by the detergent reaction mentioned above), and three of them have a bit of eczema. Isn’t there a gentler soap that could help? Yes!
4. I need a creative outlet! All I do is chase after kids (and clean), so when I came across this whole new world of soaping, I was thrilled! Total creativity in every batch AND no kids allowed!
My husband’s response upon seeing my first batch of soap: “Congratulations! You’ve just stepped back in time 200 years!” He has a point. But this endeavor is so much more than just making soap for soap’s sake. It’s about creating beautiful, delectable, artistic masterpieces that help me to have a little escape when I’m showering or doing laundry or wiping baby tushies. And it’s about using my own two hands to create something utterly useful.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 tells us “to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
Here’s hoping that I can do just that and make my world a little cleaner in the process!
Now that I’m into the soap-making world, I’ve been getting even more creative. I’ve expanded into making other bath products like lotion bars and bath fizzies, and I’ve crocheted, knitted, and created hoards of scarves, tutus, hats, flowers and hair bows. Gotta keep those girlies running around here looking cute, you know?!
People often ask me when I have time to do these things. The answer is simple: I make time (during naps or after the kids go to bed) because I need to keep my sanity! It’s fun to create, and it helps me to “get away” for a little while.
Check out this post on how our babies have changed absolutely everything about our lives!
I love to interact with moms, crafters, and fellow soapers and soap-users alike! Have a question or want to chat with me? Feel free to leave a comment here, or you can contact me privately at kathryn.frankie@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!
Five Messy Babies 
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You are starting out for many of the same reasons that the rest of us started. I have three young children and I was washing my hands so much and they were drying out terribly. I got some Zum Bar soap and found that it was more moisturizing with the goat milk, etc.. So then I discovered I could make my own! I’ve been making soap for four years now. I look forward to seeing all of your creations!
Thanks for visiting, Holly! 🙂 I love seeing your creations, too!
I read your husband’s comment about stepping back in time 200 years by making soap to MY husband and he’s still laughing! I’ve done paper crafts and I’ve painted – he understood those, but wasn’t sure what I’d get from making soap. If I’m happy, he’s happy, so he doesn’t comment on the gallons of olive oil, palm and coconut sitting in what used to be his office and is now my craft room. In all fairness, he didn’t use the room much and would rather work on the island in the kitchen, so out went the big desk and hutch and in went soap pots and molds and oils and fragrances. He’s a good man. You write well, Katy. I’m really enjoying your blog posts!
You’re so sweet, Suzy! Thanks for the encouragement! I really appreciate it! Though I haven’t been blogging for long, I do keep a journal, trying to record some of these funny things that happen and those big milestones of course. I have a few friends that swear I should write a book about having a toddler and triplets! Life is thoroughly interesting and entertaining around here every single day!
And your hubby, what an awesome guy for giving up his space for your soaping endeavors!!! All of my soaping supplies are taking up space on some storage shelves in the garage and spilling into our utility/laundry room. My hubs keep standing in front of the shelves just staring… Maybe I need to organize a bit more? Take up less space? It’s like most other things in my life: organized chaos!
OMG! Five! I have one of almost three and I’m so overwhelmed with my duties and her needs. I can’t even imagine what your life looks like!? However, I really feel recpect for your ability and nerves to pull out everything.
I just discover your blog and I’m sure it will be fun to follow it. I already saw some soaps if yours and they are gorgeous!
My best regards to your sweet family!
Maja
🙂 Thanks, Maja! It is a difficult task for sure, raising 5 little ones, caring for my family and house, and making soap and other crafts. I don’t make soap every day, and it is certainly mostly a hobby for now! I’m so glad you found me! Thanks for following along with out little adventures around here!