Archive for the ‘PERSONAL & FAMILY’ Category
Drawing Drawing Drawing
Hello! I hope you had a lovely, lovely weekend. 3 Day weekends are bliss. This weekend, my husband took the kids out of the house on a fun Daddy trip so that I could play major catch up on work & art. Like I mentioned before, we’ve always played tag team at home, and since this year so far has been a bit different than most, I have weeks and weeks of art making to catch up on (books, fabric, portraits….and much more!) So this weekend was a welcomed guest. But the kids are coming home in 10 minutes and I’ve better go put the icecream away. Hee Hee.
So, at the beginning of the year, I made the goal to draw every day. Or at least as often as I could. It’s so theraputic for me. It’s what I love. It’s how I think. But like anything, it takes setting aside time. I try to have a sketchbook out when I’m with the kids, but it usually gets overthrown by their drawings. Which, of course, I love seeing monsters and dinosaurs in my sketchbook. But I need time to refine my skills daily. It’s how I come up with ideas. Ideas don’t just HAPPEN. They come when I’m putting pencil to paper. I have to be actively getting things out of my head for anything good to ever come.
How about you? How do you make time to do those things that truly make you feel like YOU? It’s seriously something that takes conscious working out. But so worth it.
We have 2 days left until school is OVER! I can’t wait. I really love summer time with the kids home. Summer period.
PS: I will be posting daily sketches to INSTAGRAM, but I’ll be sure to upload batches of them at a time here on the blog from time to time. Instagram is a mother’s helper! So easy to keep up with you all. Are you doing #365drawings? There are a lot of you on instagram now. Hope to see more of you! xoxo
I’m here, I’m here.
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.
Looking ahead…
I’m so ready for a weekend. You? I’ve been spinning up lots of little things I’m super excited to show you (new fabric anyone?) and I’m kinda pooped out. I get tired SO much faster. This is my 4th pregnancy, and you kinda forget (or at least I kinda forget) that I’m not invincible. I never was Wonder Woman, but if I ever WASN’T her, it’s now. Ya know? Things take 10 times longer it seems with having to be down and resting more. But on the positive side, taking breaks and resting is sooooooo important, and something that I am really blessed to make the excuse to have more. Did I mention I have pre-term labor tendencies? It’s a blessing that my work mostly takes sitting. Dishes and laundry…that’s another issue! (But it never was my fav to begin with so, who am I kidding).
So. Next week. I thought we could all use some pick-me-ups. Spring excitement, ya?
I’m going to be hosting a whole bunch of giveaways next week (from my lovely Fabric Store sponsors, some favorite new boutiques of mine, and some from me too!) and I’m thinking you’ll all want to be invited. The first giveaway will be posted Monday, and we’ll just keep adding more all week! Sound fun? We are going to shake things up here, and add some excitement. I could for sure use it. Can’t wait!!
And lastly, I’ve got to share with you this photo. It’s our FIRST lemon we grew. I live in Utah, and it’s very dry here. But we bought a Meyer Lemon tree in California over a year ago, strapped it in a seatbelt, and drove it to our lovely little desert climate. It took a year, but this little baby tree produced it’s FIRST lemon this month, and it was such a family affair. In fact, we all picked it off at the same time. And now, there are about a dozen more lemons starting, and it’s quite exciting. Meyer lemons don’t ship well, so being able to grow one in a pot that fills our living room with lovely smelling blossoms, is such a treasure.
Anyways…had to share.
So see you Monday bright and early!
Have a lovely weekend!
xo
Sarah
setting up
We painted the kids rooms 4 months ago. We ripped out their floors 4 months ago. We put in one room of floors 3 months ago…but we never had time to paint and reassemble the bunk beds, or floor the second bedroom. This year, like most, has been really full. But I’m realizing (because I’m pregnant and actually on “pelvic rest”) how much Kenneth and I are a total team. We get so much done when we are working on projects together! But this year, he’s been pulling 80 hour weeks, and I’m unable to move around very well. Hmmmm. Tricky.
See, I think and feel SO much more clearly when my spaces aren’t cluttered, and the house is in order. Not perfect order. I’m NOT a neat freak by any means. But the truth is, we’ve been under a lot of clutter because I’ve had to been on “pelvic rest” and I’ve not been able to do things like assemble and paint bunk beds. And it’s something that’s obviously second to making a baby, but not having beds for your 3 children gets to you after a while! It’s something really only a woman can understand. When you have all three kids camping out in a small room with no floor space because the mattresses are sprawled out in a room the size of 3 mattresses, it’s cute for the first couple weeks. But 4 months, and pretty soon you have a bunch of kids and a mommy that just need a bit more space.
And we are starting to get there. I’m excited to show you the progress in the next few weeks. It’s been quite the transformation. And the kids are really involved with which art piece of mine they want where…and are even giving me ideas for what they want me to make next. I love hearing their ideas. So clever.
And with this new space, I’ve been inspired and will be showing you some new art prints this week as well! I can’t wait! They coordinate with my up and coming fabric line that I’ll be sharing with you at the end of this month, and I’m tickled.
Something that’s really hard to articulate, is the dilemma of the mother-artist that lives in a constant ebb and flow of creativity and order. For me, when life is out of order, I’m not very creative. But on the flip side, when I’m crazy creative, things get out of order. You’d think I’d have this all figured out by now. But something about not having order in my home these past couple months with rooms under construction, being on partial bed rest, and managing on my own most of the week, I’ve found that I’ve been less creative than I normally am. Any of you fall into this boat? And maybe it’s the nesting, or maybe it’s just me….but something about starting a room from scratch and reorganizing my home makes all the juicy creativity flow again. I could be odd, but I bet I’ll find a soul mate reading this and saying…..”Um…Yes. That’sexactly the way it is.”
But on a good note, I actually got cooperative, happy children for Easter pictures right before church. Like 3 minutes before church. Score! I haven’t always been so lucky:) Actually, I’ve never been that lucky. Happy kids. That’s what I live for. And 3 faces in focus:) Eek! Soon to be 4! I can’t wait.
But really….I’ll be posting lot of new things this week. New art, originals, sewn items, and a sale! So stay tuned:)
Weekending
I love weekends. My husband’s work hours have been crazy the past few months, so weekends come with so much anticipation. Soon, his hours will go back to normal, and he’ll be home during daylight hours again. Ooooh, I can’t wait. We try and do mostly fun things to make up for lost time, but lately, my pregnancy has been getting harder, and this weekend was spend mostly catching up on house and yard work. It’s going to be a rough road ahead, I think. I’ve got a few things going on in my body, that when combined, make standing up for more than and hour really difficult. I’m only half way, but since none of my babies have made it past 37 weeks, I’m making sure to be extra cautious.
I’ll keep you posted on how things go! But I’m trying to keep extra realistic expectations. It’s amazing how much you can do while sitting though. I’m determined to get really creative:)
Here are some Instagram pics from this weekend and last. Are you on Instagram? Facebook and Instagram happen almost daily, so if we aren’t seeing each other there yet, come on over!
And speaking of Instagram….it makes me think of food…..and all the cooking that Kenneth still manages to do on the weekends. He used to cook all the time, but with his schedule, it’s mostly just the weekend now. I think I’ve convinced him to share recipes here on this space, so stay tuned for what I think will be an awesome addition to the blog. He’s really so dang talented, and I think he’s finally convinced that other people need in on his secrets:)
Stay tuned!
And the baby is a…
BOY!!!!!!
I found out in the morning, and needing to hurry and run my kids’ lunches to school (daylight savings kills me every year….We’ve been so sleepy in the mornings!), I decided to tell Addie and Ian the gender as a surprise when they opened their lunch. It was a hit!
All the kids were actually planning on a boy (it would make sense….girl, boy, girl…boy) but I think I was the most surprised.
So, baby boy coming in August. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be adding another little boy to the family. It’s all getting so real now!
I’m whistling a happy tune. It feels just right.
PS: Are you reading this in Google Reader? I’m assuming you’ve heard the news. It is to be no more. (insert pouty face). Make sure to resubscribe in a different feed! Don’t want to lose ya!
15 week baby bump
Thanks everyone for the well wishes the other week when I posted about our big news! And thanks also for the sweet comments and encouragement about my rough start to it all! I’m feeling SO much better. But I tend to have other complications with pregnancy, that I can only assume will be coming around the corner soon. All my babies wanted to come early. Too early. And while all three have been early (35-37 weeks) they all stayed that long because of either hospital stays or just good old fashioned bed rest. Here’s to hoping this one isn’t as intense!
In the mean time, I’m really loving this time right now with nothing too urgent going on. It’s marvelous!
And I’ve decided. Pregnancy clothes are just so much cuter, aren’t they?
Prescription: Sunshine. Saltwater. Playtime.
We’ve never done this before. Taken a family vacation in the middle of February. But there was no other way. After a miserable (I’m being modest here) first trimester, a cold winter that has set records as the coldest since 1949, non-stop viruses visiting our family since October, and a baby coming in the summer that will prevent us from traveling, we just picked up and left. I’d had enough. It was time to just get out. So we planned a 3 day vacation in sunny Seal Beach, CA …..and we only planned it just 10 days prior. I’ve not been that spontaneous since B.C. (Before Children:) ooooh. It felt really good.
So we hopped in the car and drove for a day…and got just what the doctore ordered. Salt water, sea air, sun and family time. I’ve got crazy work deadlines that I put aside, Kenneth is swamped at work too. But we just picked up and grabbed some sunshine, knowing that we needed a recharge. Badly.
And that’s just what we got!
We also gave the kids a trip to Disneyland…which is always so precious and awesome to witness as a parent. Pure bliss.
It was the greatest little getaway. Since December, I’ve been too sick to even play with my kids. It’s been so depressing for me! But I think we’re all on good terms now that I’m feeling so much better.
Now it’s back to real life (which is always so hard!) but at least I’ve got some sun on my skin and some play time under me.
Cause I just love this bunch. And so excited to add one more monkey this summer. I think I can take it:) I can’t wait actually!
