Hi!
How are you?
I feel like this space has been so chalk full of giveaways, specials, new fabric....I haven't even really had a chance to pipe in and share what's going on around here. I know this isn't like my personal family blog or anything, but it just feels off to me to just be posting information all the time. Ya know?
Truth is, that things been a bit slow around here. Eventful, but so many things that I typically do in a day have been put on hold. Book projects, design projects, portrait projects....it's been really hard to press pause. Maybe I didn't mention that this year so far, Kenneth has been pulling 80 hour weeks at work, and so I've kinda been playing single mom. Which, when you are on pelvic rest and pregnant and working with 3 kids isn't exactly something I'd wish on anyone. It just basically means it's taken most of my energy on just getting dinner on the table and clean socks for the kids (although, that didn't really even happen consistently!) Thankfully, his crazy work schedule is over, and we're slowly getting back to the tag-team lifestyle that makes our family tick. So many people ask me how I do what I do, and the real answer is I have a best friend who is flexible and is awesome with the domestic stuff around the house when I'm under deadlines. Without that these past 5 months, my hands have been tied. Sometimes you don't realize it until it's gone. Kenneth and I really are a duo deal. And I'm totally ready to get him back.
So, first off....here's my 26 week bump! Last time I checked in, I was 15, and I felt big then. This is baby #4 and I still am surprised when I feel those kicks and butterflies. It's starting to hit me that we'll have 4 buckled in the car now, 4 beds and all the seats at our table will be used up. It's a miracle. The adjustment will be an adventure for sure, and I am definitely not ready for sleepless nights (I don't do those very well!) But I'm determined to rise up. I love the baby stage. Love it. I love all stages really, but newborns turn our house into a bit of heaven. But last night I was up with a sick child for the better part of the night, and didn't wake up in time to get my kids out the door and they were late to school. Oh dear. Gonna have to work on that one:)
In other news, Ella (our climber and balancing act girl) fell off the couch last week and broke both the bones in her forearm. My first trip to the ER with a child, and one I'll never forget! It's a good thing it's summer in that she can really only squeeze into tank tops, but when the morning after she woke up from the drugs she asked to go play on the monkey bars at the park, I melted. It will be a long 8 weeks. Any suggestions for toddlers with broken arms in the summer time?
She's still not in a full cast yet because it was such a complete break, and her bones are so little. So until then, I'm coming up with really creative indoor activities which is hard when it's warm for the first time in 9 months!
She broke her dominant arm, so while she's getting used to doing things with the other hand, it's quite darling to watch her try and use her broken one. That's her trying to itch an itch.
And I'm thinking of everyone at Quilt Market right now! Any of you going to be there? I'm not able to travel till the baby comes, so it's odd to have a fabric line out with no booth. If you are going, say HI to the Michael Miller team! It's always SUCH a party there...I just love presenting with them. I will have a few samples that will be there that you can ask to see. Here's a pillow that I think turned out so cute. Super simple to make, and that panel print makes for really fun projects.
So, as I come out of my cave of single-mommy-bed-rest mode, I hope to be more purposeful in so much of what makes me thrive. I'm actually feeling so much better physically and am able to do more (for the time being) and being creative again really makes me feel like a real person again. It's such a part of who I am. But it's amazing how it can shut off when you get in survival mode.
But looking back, it's the ebb and flow of life that keeps me on my toes and feeling alive. And alive is good.