On Rejection (Or Why my Toddler is like a Tiny Drunk Person)

I have a toddler.  Most of the time he's pretty good, amazing even.  But for the past four months he's been subject to sudden, violent mood swings.  The kind where his little body trembles with anger, he balls his tiny hands into fists, and strikes out at me with surprisingly little accuracy, but occasionally will land a left hook into my cheekbone and leave a sad little bruise.  He screams and rants and raves, his little face all screwed up in complete frustration.  If you set him on the floor he thrashes about, seemingly in agony.  Occasionally he throws up and then passes out from exhaustion.  Either he's a really tiny, very angry drunk person, or he's a nearly three year-old, frustrated little boy.

Do you know why he's upset?  Because I am not his father.  And this is the end of the world.

Sigh.

(Just so we're all clear, I live in a little house with my two boys and amazing husband.  My child has never been abandoned by or far away from--except for the occasional work trip--his father.)

This is upsetting to me.  I am a stay at home mama.  My husband works from home, but aside from eating our meals together, during the day Daddy Goes to Work.  We don't bother Daddy; he is off-limits.  It is my job to keep my house clean, feed my children, and attend to their general happiness.  I base my day's activities on the state of my children, and the cleanliness of my house (with the occasional all-afternoon sewing bender.)  My son's long-term obsession with his daddy is really tough on me; it leaves me feeling like I am somehow less of a mother.  Like I am incapable of keeping even my own offspring happy and content.

I've tried everything.  I cuddle and kiss him as much as he'll let me.  I sometimes try to buy his affection with treats and toys.  He's consistently not impressed by my unabashed attempts to buy his love, at least not with lasting affects.  I tell him I love him as much as I can.  I shower that boy with affection, and in return I am told "me don't love you; me love Daddy!"

In a snotty toddler (tiny drunk) voice.

I've told myself it's just a phase.  My husband has told me it's just a phase.  But seriously, I am at my wit's end.  I'm done.  I've had it up to here.  Kapoot.

So, how would you handle this?  Four months in toddler time is a very long time.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose my mind.  Or send him to the Betty Ford Center.

The Long Slow Road to Getting Healthy

Nearly one year ago (July 2nd, to be exact) I joined a Body Camp Challenge at Sumner Crossfit.  I never guessed that it would lead me to making lasting, long-term, life-changing changes.  But here I am, nearly one year later, 40 pounds slimmer, and two sizes smaller.  And I'm still going.

I'm running--currently I can do a 12 minute mile.  Yes, it's slow.  But I'm out there doing it.  I'm trying.

I'm biking--currently my record is 16 miles in one sitting (ouch!)  No, it's not a lot.  But I'm still trying.  In fact, we've planned a camping trip around a 20-ish mile ride to Dash Point, a local campground.  That's happening in August, and I will be ready.

I'm watching what I eat.  This is the Single. Biggest. Change. that I've made.  I've gone from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to low carb/high protein to Paleo to Whole30 to my current Just Eat Real Food diet.  (Really, it's just that.  I don't follow a typical "diet" I just try really hard to eat organic, non-GMO produce, and free-range, grass fed meats.  Easy peasy--ha!  (Currently I'm in the midst of an elimination diet at the request of the naturopath and due to several food allergies.  I'll elaborate more below.)

Over the course of the year, I've learned several things about my body:

1.  I have pretty typical hormonal issues stemming from having children and eating the SAD for the past 7-10 years.  Also, Type 2 Diabetes runs rampant in both sides of my families.  It doesn't have to be inevitable for me, and I can change my body to be at less of a risk.  I need to break the cycle so my kids and their kids and their kids' kids don't need to worry about it so much.

2.  I have several food allergies/sensitivities that I wasn't even aware of.  After completing my first Whole30 I followed their recommendations for adding back foods to see if you are sensitive.  Our first item was dairy, and OH BOY did that wreck my system!  I was sick for about two weeks with awful flu-like symptoms.  Not fun.  That prompted a trip to the naturopath to find out what exactly I was allergic to.  (Cocoa Beans, Sugar Cane, Oats, Pecans, Cranberries, Corn, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Onions, Bakers and Brewers Yeast, Clams (I have an actual allergy to shellfish, like the difficult to breathe swelling mouth kind, but a sensitivity to clams in particular) and Dairy (every part of it, including yogurt.)  Since cutting out my sensitive foods, I'm feeling great!  I'm on track to start re-introducing them on a rotation diet (officially--there have been some, ahem, slip-ups.)

3.  I am an emotional eater.  I get stressed, I eat.  I celebrate, I eat.  I'm hormonal, I eat.  I'm tired, I eat.  Yadda yadda yadda.  I'm slowly working my way through this.  I am conscious of what I put in my body.  If I need a treat, then I try to make it the highest quality treat I can.  I have managed to break a lot of habits.  And I've noticed that the longer I stay away from my triggers, the less I feel that I need them. I don't really want Coca-Cola anymore.  I don't crave chocolate cake.  I can do with one chocolate chip cookie instead of three.  But if I slip up (sh*t happens people, just keepin' it real here) I just acknowledge that it happened, work my way through that emotion, and MOVE ON.  It's not worth beating myself up.  

4.  If I don't track calories, I don't lose weight.  I read about people who lose all their extra weight after a few months or years of switching to a Paleo or just plain clean diet.  Doesn't happen for me.  I can exercise and eat clean, but if I have more than 1200-1400 calories a day I will not lose weight.  Doesn't happen.  (I don't gain weight, which I suppose will be helpful when I do eventually reach my goal weight.)  I use myfitnesspal.  My user name is elmo9697 if you want to join in.

5.  I have to move my body.  I have a goal to get moving for at least an hour a day.  That can be a walk, a bike ride, a trip to the gym, gardening (the heavy lifting lots of raking or digging or lots of squats to pull weeds kind of gardening,) or running around the backyard with the kids.  (Hula hooping, jump roping, and hopscotch are all fun things that the kids and I can do together.)  I've done crossfit, TRX, cross training, high intensity interval training, 30 Day Shred with Jilian Michaels, yoga, zumba, killing myself in the weight room (not really--I've actually had lots of instruction from my instructors) and aerobics.  My favorites are bicycling with my family, and going on solo runs.  The simplest things always win for me.

6.  I'm trying OH SO HARD to love my body so the boys have a positive roll-model.  I want them to remember their mama as a beautiful, confident person.  I want them to love their own bodies.  I want them to love their future partners' bodies.  And I want them to have a healthy relationship with food.  With Eamon's Sensory Processing Disorder and his subsequent feeding therapies, we have a lot of issues with food in this family.  

7.  My friends and my family keep me going.  I post on facebook all my little victories and set backs, and my supporters are right there to offer advice, support, or cheers.  

In the beginning, I set a one year time limit to reach my goal weight.  That's just not gonna happen.  I have 100 pounds total (60 left!) to reach my goal weight (a healthy target set for me by multiple doctors.)  It's probably not going to happen this year.  But that's ok.  I'll get there.  In my own time, and in my own way.  I'll continue to learn new things about my body, and about how the food I choose to fuel myself with, and the exercise I choose to challenge my body with, and all the mental and emotional heart-ache that comes with completely overhauling your diet and giving up your emotional crutches.

All this to say that I'm proud of myself.  I'm not perfect.  I love chocolate cake.  And ice cream.  And chocolate.  But I'm trying.  And while it's slow, I'm getting there.  

I Went to Prom (Again)

The Seattle Mom Prom was this past weekend, the night after the Dirty Girl Mud Run. Jessica and I made a weekend of it and opted to get a hotel for the day/night.  So after getting disgusting at the run, we showered and changed into our fancy dresses for a night in Seattle.

The Seattle Mom Prom, despite it's totally dorky moniker, was an outrageously good time!  It benefitted  Postpartum Support International of Washington so it was for a really good cause too.

We danced for hours, had wine, and had professional photos taken of us being absolutely goofy!  So. Much. Fun!

March

March was a really short month for me--Jes was out of town for two weeks, which left me with the kiddos and not a whole lot of time for much of anything else.  Here's hoping April is a bit kinder!

Blarney O'Callaghan visited, but alas, we didn't catch him!

Birthy Stuff

Haircut

Date Night

The Great Wheel, Seattle

Best Pod Skeleton, Ever

Spring Flowers from the Garden

Finished Handwarmers for a Friend

Renal Sleeve for my Dad

I've been losing weight!

Knitting

Sick--yep, that happened right as Jes left to go out of town.

Riding Bikes

I received an AWESOME purse from Chris!

I finally finished sewing my infinity scarf!

December.

Might as well admit that I'm not able to keep up ye olde blog for the moment...my blogging/crafting/sewing/me time has severely been compromised with the addition of Baby #2. So, for now I'm signing off. I hope to be back soon after the new year!

Happy holidays, whichever you celebrate!

Beauty in Simplicity

Sometimes it's nice to just slow down. (All images taken at a recent outing to Owen Beach.)

The Simple Woman's Daybook

(If you want to read more.)

Outside my window...somewhat cloudy skies, with the promise of a warm day for the spray park. And a little bit of a breeze.

I am thinking...that I need to try harder to be a better mommy while in the last stages of this pregnancy.

I am thankful for...a son who loves me even when I'm not the best mommy.

From the learning rooms...learning to cope with all the aches and pains the late stages of pregnancy are throwing at me.

From the kitchen...awesome food that my best friends have brought over for us as I am increasingly less able to cook for my family.

I am wearing...an orange tanktop and black pants. Soon to be changed into something more suitable for public viewing. :O)

I am creating...many knitted items. An organized studio space. And seriously missing my sewing machine.

I am going...to work on my house today. Getting rid of the crap that is bothering me so much.

I am reading...not a lot right now. Not able to concentrate on anything but short blog posts and magazine articles.

I am hoping...to get through this birth naturally. I've been so tired lately with all the work that my body is doing that I am beginning to doubt my ability to power through childbirth with no medication.

I am hearing...Super Why, cars, birds, the window fan.

Around the house...organizing, purging, cleaning.

One of my favorite things...freshly washed baby clothes, folded neatly in anticipation of Baby Boy's arrival.

A few plans for the rest of the week: (Get a baby out?) go on walks, work on organizing the house, and try to rest as much as possible.

On Bedrest, Yet Again

I love how my midwife told my husband and me that my bedrest this time was partial. And then the nurse told me that means I can get up to shower, eat, and use the potty. I asked how that was partial, and she said I can sit up in bed, rather than lie on my left side the whole time. *Sigh* Only a few more weeks, and I know Baby Boy appreciates it.

But I'm still bored!

I have a basket of knitting, a pile of laundry to fold, a (very overdue) book, my iPod, and my computer. Going to head downstairs to get some hexie fabric (at the suggestion of Heather) in a few minutes, just to shake things up a bit. Oh, and probably my camera card to download a couple hundred photos...

Not an ordinary post...

I run into people who are anti-war all the time, living in a military town.  Most of the time I turn and walk away.

Before my sister married a military man and he was deployed, before they had a baby, and before I watched her worry daily for his safety, I really didn't have an opinion on whether or not we should be at war.  I had no personal reason to have an opinion.  I still don't.  However, now that I am experiencing her living this life, I definitely am aware that people are dying, and not in vain.

The other day I ran into an anti-war booth at a street fair.  I looked at my sister looking at the booth, and watched her quietly cross the street away from it, pushing her stroller.  And it made me mad! I marched over to that booth, asked the man why he felt the way he did, and when he gave me some pithy answer about God and the inhumanity of war and killing, and how there was no *reason* for people to be dying, I pointed to my sister and her baby stroller, and asked him if he'd ever thought about how people like my sister and her husband feel.  "The war is wrong, there's no reason for us to be over there," was his response.  

"You honestly think these men and women are giving up their lives for nothing?" I asked him.

"Yes I do," he said.

I asked him if he'd like to tell my sister, to her face, that the fact that her husband is daily in danger of losing his life is worth nothing.  That there's no reason for him to be in danger of dying.  "Well, no."

I asked him if he'd like to look at my two-week old nephew, and imagine that he might never know his father because he is fighting a war and could die.  Would that make him change his mind?  Or would he still tell him that his daddy being in danger of dying is all in vain?  "Well..."

After awhile, as my voice became louder and louder and more and more people started listening in, I realized that nothing I could say was going to make this man change his mind.  But that wasn't my intention, as I am fully aware that he is entitled to his own opinions.  Instead, I wanted him to be aware that by belittling the deaths and injuries of our country's service people he is hurting people like my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, not to mention countless friends and even more family.

In his reaction, in his faltering voice as he kept reciting how un-Christian and useless the war was, I could see and hear that I had at least made him think.  (And I hope, maybe as uncomfortable as my sister feels when she sees and hears people who are against the war, ahem.)  I lowered my voice and said, "I hope you realize that that young woman's husband, and that infant's father, are fighting for your country too.  You may not agree with the reasoning behind it, but there is a reason, so maybe you should come up with a different answer when someone asks you why you are against the war.  I hope you think about your audience before telling people how useless the war is." And I turned my back on him and walked away.

I know I didn't change his mind, but I felt a little better after telling him my opinion.  I'm sure I'll see him again, or someone else who is adamantly against the war, but I hope that at least now maybe this man will think twice about his answer. 

(Please note, I try to keep things light around here, but this is something that's weighing heavily on my mind.)

The Simple Woman's Daybook

I'm feeling the need to simplify, to pare down things in my life to only the bare necessities. This was brought to my attention today, so today I'm joining in: The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Outside my window... grey skies, which should burn off to a 71 degree day. Perfect Pacific Northwest summer weather.

I am thinking... that I am running out of time before this baby is born. And that I need to clean (NEST!)

I am thankful for... the support of my friends and family. And a little boy who is playing nicely while Mommy "works" in bed (while nursing the coffee that my husband brought to me!)

From the kitchen... uh, someone needs to send over their personal chef until this baby comes. We have been eating out way too much lately.

I am wearing... pajamas, but I need to get dressed "for reals" so I can take Sarah and Levi back to the Army/Air Force bases to get him signed up for insurance.

I am creating... lots of knits. I have been obsessed with knitting this pregnancy--about to finish another sweater for the baby, and have been asked oh so sweetly by Eamon for a sweater for *him.* Specifically green and blue.

I am going... (crazy?) to run a lot of errands today. No place particularly fun, but maybe can convince the husband I *need* to stop at the fabric store?

I am reading... lots of blogs and magazines. Throughout this pregnancy and last I haven't been able to concentrate on long stories or novels. That will change soon and I can go back to reading entire books.

I am hoping... to keep this baby inside a little longer. 35 weeks is not long enough. (Though my body would like to be done. Bad uterus!)

I am hearing... my nasty cough, cars driving by, my neurotic cat, various playing noises from downstairs.

Around the house... oh, you poor, neglected house. Someday you will be clean again.

One of my favorite things... that my son wants to be just like his daddy.

A few plans for the rest of the week... midwife, chiropractor appointments, visits from family, organizing the baby's things.

Spider

I was trying to take E to therapy this morning, when I noticed a HUGE (no kidding, it's about 2.5 inches long,) dark brown, hairy Spider with long stalk-y eyes staring at me from the passenger seat. I turned the corner, slammed the brakes, pulled the kid out of the car, and proceeded to tear apart the car looking for him. Can't find Spider.

I called Jes to tell him what I was doing. No help. A Nice Man from the church came by and helped me. Can't find Spider.

I strip the kid down to his undies looking for Spider. I dumped out my purse. I pulled up all the carpets. Can't find Spider.

Nice Man calls the fire department. "Uh, yeah, I have a very pregnant lady with her small child here, trying to find a Giant Spider. Can you help us?"

Five minutes later the fire truck pulls up, and three giant firemen climbed out. Gloves on, ready to help me find Giant Spider.

They proceed to tear apart the entire car, carseat, glovebox, and all the little cubbies a Honda Pilot has. Can't find Spider.

They suggest I drive to the hardware store and buy a bug bomb. I'm all for it, but there's no way I'm driving that car anywhere. One of them offers to drive the car home, and E and I climb into the fire truck for a quick ride home. I tell him he'd better remember this ride, because unless he's a firefighter when he's a "very big boy" he's not going to see the inside of one.

By the way, I still can't find Spider. We're taking the other car to the hardware store and buying the biggest, nastiest bug bomb we can find. And I will get rid of him.

(No Spiders were harmed in this story. (That will be later tonight.))

(No, I'm not usually so scared of spiders. But we just got back from Eastern Washington, and I really hope nothing poisonous hitched a ride back with us. And it was all of a foot away from my son.)

(Sorry for the giant lag in posts. I'm pregnant.)

Funny Story

OK, so it's not hugely funny, but it is amusing, for sure. :O)

Yesterday began at 5:45 when I heard the water running for my sister's shower. I got up, had my (weak) cup of coffee, and patiently waited for her to get out so I could get in. I managed to get a 5 minute shower before I had to be ready to leave to drive her to her OB appointment. Long story short, we were on time, and her visit went great. Though we both started receiving calls--during her appointment--from our parents. Thinking someone had died from the frequency of the calls, we called them back as soon as we were free.

Turns out, Mom's emergency was to tell us she needed to pick up a dog from an old friend of hers, all the way in Vancouver. Her plan was to finish her work day (until 6PM) then drive to Vancouver (it's normally a 6 hour drive, though with her lead foot she can make it in 4.5 hours) then drive home, stopping to sleep in her car if she was too tired, to be back at work at 9AM the next morning. Of course my sister and I didn't want her to have a fiery car crash, so we offered to drive down there for her, pick up the dog, and keep it until she had a day off.

Off we went home to cancel our (many) appointments for the day, to clear up our schedules for our new day trip.

In the car we go, three year-old and two very pregnant women. Of course within a few minutes the kid is sleeping and we're having deep conversations all the way there (what? Your deepest conversations don't happen in the car? You should try it!)

So, we get to Vancouver after several potty and snack breaks, stop at the nursing home, and find Gertie--mom's 92 year-old friend--practically in hysterics because she didn't want to give up her dog, but since she couldn't really take care of him she felt she had to. Feeling bad, I made sure there was a nurse there with her when we left, since her (selfish, rude, uncaring) daughters couldn't seem to be there when their mother gave up her dog of the past 11 years. By the way, Regie is a hairless Chinese Crested. Cuteness!

As luck would have it, we ended up crossing into Oregon to Portland so I could quickly stop by Bolt Fabric Boutique, which I've wanted to see but can't seem to justify making the three hour drive for just fabric (my husband soooooo doesn't get it!) Of course they're closed on Mondays.

BUT, I noticed someone inside, so my BRILLIANT sister knocks on the door, and after explaining our situation the LOVELY lady inside let us come inside, stating that while she couldn't actually sell us any fabric since she didn't have the authority, she'd let us look around. It was HEAVEN! So many Japanese and unique fabrics, as well as JALIE patterns and just LOADS of pretties to look at. Sarah even wanted to get into sewing after that (I'm not kidding--she wants to make things for her baby--yey!!!) After I tore myself from the fabric (it was hard, I really, really wanted to buy lots of things) we decided we were hungry (surprise!) so we started to drive back, looking for a coffee shop along the way.

Starbucks found, crisis averted. Though about halfway through our snack, we get another urgent phone call from Mom, telling us to take the dog back, Gertie is hysterical and wants the dog back. Were we in Tacoma yet? No, thankfully we had gone to Portland and taken our sweet time, otherwise I would have had to drive all the way back from home. OK, so we leave the Starbucks, Eamon telling me he DID NOT have to use the potty, Mommy. OK, whatever kid.

Of course, as I'm driving down the freeway, about to take the exit for the nursing home, I hear "I HAVE TO GO POTTY!" from the backseat. Oh God, I can't pull over here, there are cars everywhere, it's rush hour, and OH MY GOD! HOLD IT EAMON, MOMMY'S ALMOST THERE! Sarah's hysterical by now, this is so funny to her. I whip the car around to a parking lot, quickly waddle over to his door, pull him out saying HOLD IT FOR JUST ANOTHER MINUTE HONEY MOMMY'S HURRYING! OK, I get him out, yank down his pants and instruct him to pee on my tire, in the middle of the crowded parking lot. People in cars were looking at us funny so I tried to shield his naked little butt from their view. "But Mommy, I need a big boy potty!" "Too bad kid, just pee." OK, so now he thinks it's hysterical good fun to pee on Mommy's car. But the pants were still dry, so good for us.

On we go to the nursing home. We get there, unload everyone again, let the dog pee, and trek inside. It's dinner time. All the residents are in the dining room, including Gertie. So we walk through the tables, to get her dog to her, and she says, "You can't bring him in here." (Really???) Anyway, she's beyond happy to have her dog back, so we send her off and off we go, to fight rush hour traffic.

By this time we're hungry. The car is out of gas. We're tired. Cranky. We drive all the way to Chehalis, where I remember there's a fabric store I really want to check out. OK, I'm starting to look forward to this, maybe there's a silver lining to this trip after all.

And it was closed.

So on we go looking for a sit-down restaurant so I could let my beast out of the car for a bit, since he's starting to get a bit stir-crazy. Country Cousins it is. We're starving, so we order large meals. And pick at them because neither of us are feeling well at that point. The kid ate part of a roll and some milk. Really?

We finally made it home about 8:30 (after a phone call to my husband, stating that if he didn't take his monster child so I could go to bed I was going to pop out a baby TONIGHT.) Of course he agrees, and even installs a window fan in my sister's room so she can have cool air at night. I'm lying in bed, thankful to be home, when I start hearing shouts and loud banging sounds from downstairs. What the hell?

Not able to move well because of the nonstop contractions, I'm sitting up in bed, yelling "What's going on?" More loud banging noises from downstairs. "I'm starting to get worried, trying to haul my large belly out of bed, when my husband comes up and says, "I think you need to take me to the ER, I think I broke my finger." Oh God, really??? I look at the finger, asking him if he can move it. He moves it, big sigh of relief. OK, it's bleeding, but no stitches needed. "OK honey, it's not that I don't empathize with you, but I AM NOT taking you to the ER for that." Take some Tylenol, keep it on the ice, and we'll reevaluate in the morning.

And that was the end of my day. Finally.

Spring!

It's been very spring-y lately. I'm loving the warmer weather, being outside, doing a bit of yardwork, and having lots of "pimiks" in the backyard. E loves the nice weather as well! Here's hoping it comes back soon to replace the yucky, cold, rainy weather of this week!

Craft Show Recap

I've had a couple really great shows lately, but I'm so happy to be on a break for awhile. With Christmas just around the corner and family visiting, I feel like I'm running out of time. Eamon has been such a good boy lately, I'm sure Santa will be good to him!

E went with me to his first craft show a few weeks ago, the Indie Banditas Bazaar. He did so well, and I was so proud of him! He spent a lot of time in his "fort."



On another note, I am really digging my latest display for fairs, which is much more simple--less boxes and baskets, and more "just product." I still need to work on it, but I don't have any fairs scheduled for now, so that will wait.





And just so you have something (kind of) funny to think about: today I was running errands with my sister, and forgot to hide a Christmas present for E. Of course when I picked him up from school, he saw it and freaked out. So I told him that Santa asked Mommy to do him a favor and pick up a gift for someone, and that I still needed to wrap it, since because of the recession all the elves have been laid off. (Side note--my sister thinks I'm a total dork.)

Quick and Healthy Breakfast

I'm trying to eat a bit healthier, but with E in school (or just with E in general!) I need foods that are quick and healthy. Here's what I had for breakfast (no picture, because I was hungry and couldn't make myself go upstairs to get my camera.)

Cheesy Spinach and Eggs

2 eggs
2 C. raw spinach
Sprinkle of sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Pan spray

Heat frying pan over medium heat, and spray generously with pan spray (like Pam.) Meanwhile, lightly beat eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper, set aside. Add spinach to pan and cook until ALMOST all wilted--it goes fast, and you'll be surprised at how much it wilts down--to about 1/2 cup.) Pour eggs over spinach, and stir together until eggs are cooked. Place on plate, sprinkle with cheddar cheese (I like sharp cheddar, but anything goes!) Serve with a piece of toast, or in my case, a mini croissant because that's what I had in my kitchen.

*****

I promise this isn't turning into a cooking blog! I think it's the weather--it's cold and dreary and forcing me to focus on comfort, which to me is food. I AM working on a quilt for E's Christmas present, which is nearly pieced--hopefully it will be sandwiched and pinned for quilting tonight! Pictures soon!

Studio Tour

So, we're in our new house, and after Thanksgiving, my priority has been my studio. I got to buy a couple of cabinets and some organizational-thingies from Ikea, but most of what you see I already had. Enjoy!

This corner is where I keep all of my threads, stamps, paints, and general art supplies. Also E's art supplies, which he can access as he wants (with supervision, of course!)

My table under the window is intended for both drawing/painting, as well as my doula studying.



Eventually E's train table (best Christmas present ever!!!) will go in this corner, but for now it holds both of our rocking chairs, which have seen lots of use in the past few days, for lots of cuddles and quiet time.



E's art corner, complete with cork boards so he can change out his artwork as he wants.



Mmmm...fabric!



The cabinet underneath the ribbon and zippers is full of inventory (shop update soon!) The black cabinet on the wall is easily removable so I can use it for displays at shows. (Clever, I know.)



My sewing table (excuse the mess, I've been busy!) The rail on the wall is from Ikea, and I luuurrvvvve it!!!



Ok, that's it for now!

Babies!

I need to see this movie

What a sweet idea!

Slowly Coming Together

Our house is slowly coming together. Room by room, box by box, piece by piece.

Does anyone else feel like they can't do anything if their kitchen is a mess? For me, it's the center--the heart--of our home, and if it's cluttered I can't function. It's a bit like myself--if my heart is cluttered, I start to get depressed. Only a thorough cleansing will make me happy. So, with a bit of sweeping, scrubbing, and general putting away of things, I will slowly begin to be able to function.

* - * - *

Last night was the first night of our Advent calendar (we're a bit slow, what can I say? E doesn't care!) It's definitely more of a "countdown to Christmas" for us, without any religious meaning, but we do add in some conversation about the spirit of the season, etc. Hopefully E will remember the holidays as a time for giving--both things and acts of kindness. For now, it works for us.

We've Moved!

Just a quick note to say we're all moved into our new house. Well, our stuff is here, in boxes at least! I'll post pictures soon. And if you haven't heard, check out the giveaway over at Flea Market Fancy Freaks!!!

Nearly Moving Day!

Whew, it's been nonstop crazy here! We've been packing, moving, painting, buying, and building for the new house. I haven't sewn in a few weeks (I'm starting to get the shakes, I swear.) We're doing our big move this Saturday, so after that hopefully I'll be able to stop and breathe. For right now, I'll leave you with a few pictures I took at the Puyallup Fair this past September: