Whew! What a weekend. We've been picking up the pieces after having a booth at the Bijou Market, and now getting ready for our booth at Quilt Market in 4 weeks. And then there have been a few hiccups like having our mini-van in the shop for 2 weeks after a terrible car crash (did you see that one on my twitter?) and oh....did I mention that my brother is getting married this week? Mix in a few colds and normal life with kids and a house and yard, and this is what the house has been looking like:
The one thing that goes first when things get crazy are the normal: dishes and laundry...and floors, and well....it all just seems a blur sometimes. So, lest you think that life behind the screen is as pretty as my blog facade, please take notice: running a full-time shop & business with freelancing books and designs while mothering 3 kids who are home most of the day isn't always roses.
Like these clothes at the bottom of the stairs? I think they've been there for at least 3 days now.
And I'm not even showing you my car or laundry room!
Sometimes, I think we're so used to seeing things with such a pretty spin on blogs these days (and for good reason--it's important for me to focus on the positive when I blog...it keeps me motivated to see the beautiful during every day life...which is oh so needed when life is less than pretty)....it's important for you to know that as glamourous as it sounds to be a book illustrator, blogger, fabric designer, home owner....things aren't necessarily pretty around here! It takes a lot of focus to keep it all in check.
I still don't have it figured out! But since I am the housekeeper AND everything else....the role of housekeeper does take a back seat when things get overly busy. I don't like it at all. I hate a messy house! But....it's the sacrifice you make for running an at home business and being an artist. It just is.
And it goes along perfectly with my all time favorite motto (poem):
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
-by Ruth Hamilton, 1958
And so there you have it. Real life today. I just went around my house clicking the camera today...no edits here.
But with that, I will say that the combination of your AMAZING responses on the survey (which ends today, FYI), and the need to make some changes around here to let this growing business suit our family a bit better, you will be seeing some changes around the shop. And soon. So stay tuned! It's always hard to make changes, but since I've been in this for my family from the very beginning, changes are inevitable. I'll talk more about that later...
Happy Monday!