My mothering day.

This month is so sentimental to me: It's a month full of birthdays. The birthday of my two Irish twins (Yep...12 months apart, baby!) and my Mothering Birthday. I had never really ever thought of it this way: my eldest daughter's birthday is really my day too: the day I became a Mom. And this month it'll be 5 years of mothering. Wow. FIVE. Sometimes it seems like a lot, and other days....I it is just the beginning.

5 years ago:

I was in the middle of my first birth.

I held my first baby.

I felt her soft scalp and understood why they call newborn's hair "velvet"

I found my true calling.

I cried my first tears of joy after a long wait of trying to conceive.

I became amazed at how natural it felt to care for and be responsible for this fresh new soul straight from Heaven.

I felt more heroic then ever before: I gave birth!! My body is incredible and made to do that!

I learned what all parents say they are amazed with: the instant love you have for your child

I gained a love for my husband I'd never known.

I learned a new meaning of 'tired'

It was the beginning of life as I know it. And I love it.

(And I have to comment on this photo walking towards the door: How did I open my own door in those days? Mother's of twins and Irish twins can appreciate those kinds of minor details!)

For more baby love, check out this new favorite movie trailer of mine. Completely awesome.

Making do.

{claire owen illustration}

Have you seen this flittering around internet land? I have, and it's my motto as of late. Even with the holidays.

I have been off the internet little bit folks, like maybe you have with all that's going on with the holidays!  I have to apologize for the lack of posts here, but we've been in a bit of a transition. All in a week, we sold our car, bought a mini-van, had our 9th anniversary (same day as Nie) and made an offer on a house. Oh, and not to mention Christmas and traveling and and the seasonal cold going around our house. Oh boy....that's enough to want to end the year and start and new one! We are broke and exhausted...but very happy to be moving again and making new changes. We are grateful!

We are still in the last stages of finding out about getting into a house, but I can't tell you how good it feels to be looking forward to that.  I don't mention lots of personal things here on the blog, but we've been waiting to move into a permanent location for over a year now, and I'm really looking forward to settling in to a place we know we'll be in for a while! Not to mention the chance to decorate and really make a house a home. The itch to nest has been getting me for so long now...and I am ready! But it also means that this may be the second christmas in a row where we are moving just around the holidays. Yuck. I will vow right now to never do that again! What was I thinking?

So, this all brings be back here, to say sorry for the lack of interesting things going on. Things will get interesting....and soon:)

Have fun making merry. We are very much in the christmas spirit. Listening to this and enjoying smells from this.

Enjoy these next few days! I am loving the moments of explaining to my kids how Santa gets down a chimney. It's magic:)

Gerber Baby.

Ella started eating rice cereal (which is comedy at it's best) and on the box, I saw her twin. Little Baby Gerber. If I were a die-hard, I would have tried a bit harder to get Ella's mouth to open a bit more. But this is basically why I can't get enough of her cuteness. It's too much sometimes...we all go a little nuts over her. This morning it was her coos, yesterday it was her cheeks, and the day before, it was her awesome thighs. The loving never ends. And truthfully, I am just glad we already have a portrait of Ella...completely free of artist fees:) Ya, Ya. It's on a cardboard box, but we're on a budget these days.

This morning's top 5 reasons why I love being a mom:

1. Waking up this morning to bed full of children who love snuggling me and the baby....and manage to make it a pleasure to get up for the day.

2. Listening to my 4 yr old sing "One short day in the Emerald City" from Wicked last night over and over again until she finally fell asleep.

3. Having the excuse to not do laundry yesterday because I visited a friend with just as much newborn sleep deprivation as I have.

4.  Watching my kids make what toys they don't have out of paper and scotch tape.

5. Eating Ella's cheeks all day yesterday, and waking up to see that she still has just as much cheekage today. Yummy.

I love my job. I love my kids. The little moments of beauty far out weigh the chaos, and I just love observing these little people learn about their world. And I love their world. I love to be in their world.

My goal for today: to crouch down a little lower, and view the universe with a bigger heart and bigger eyes. And maybe, if I'm lucky, trick all the kids into taking a nap!

Happy December everyone!

Thank you.

I am still digesting my Thanksgiving dinner, as I suppose you are too. But while these lazy days last a bit longer, I wanted to pop in and say Thank You for all the blogging friendship and support! I love reading all your lovely comments, and wish I could respond to each and every one. I try to...and I am just thankful this weekend  for all your kindness! I am thankful this season for really the good, wonderful people in my life.

Progressive Pioneer posted an interview with me on her blog. She asks some really great questions, and it was actually quite a good experience to answer back. It gave me some time to reflect on motherhood and my business, and everything in between. It's a journey which still keeps me on my toes!

Wishing everyone (American and not) a wonderful weekend.

xo

sarah jane

7 a.m. snippets.

7 am

Ian: Good morning mom. I'm a cat.

Me:OK. Good morning my cat.

I roll out of bed with the baby.

Addie + Ian: Meow Meow-mow meeeee-ow. (Translation: Can we listen to Mr. Mistoffelees? {from CATS})

We are listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber and dancing like 8o's rock star cats all before breakfast. I love my life.

Breakfast.

Me: Ian what do you want for breakfast? Toast or fruitshake?

Ian: Cheese and spicy stuff. And beans.

Me: We don't eat salsa for breakfast.

Ian: I want salsa for breakfast.

Me: (remembering that Ian usualy eats nothing for breakfast) OK. I'll make you salsa for breakfast. (Hey...at least it's fresh from the garden salsa, OK?)

Ian: (after getting his plate of food) I want a popsical.

Me: No popsicals for breakfast. Eat your salsa. (Did I really just say that?)

Play time.

Me: Ian, come here. I just finished cutting out your paper doll.

Ian: No mom. I'm fishing. (His fishing pole made out of a fabric tape measure clamped to a small pencil sharpener for the hook).

Me: Where are you fishing?

Ian: The Nordic Sea.

Me: What are you fishing for?

Ian: Alaskan bears.

Me: Did you catch one?

Addie interupts: No mom. Our family is allergic to bears.

Well, then. That's that.

What did you do this morning?

Sew, Mama!

The other week I received a request to design some September appropriate embroidery designs for the blog Sew, Mama, Sew. I couldn't have been more excited! I have wanted to offer some free embroidery designs here on the blog, and I never really got around to it. Hand sewing is so therapeutic, and I rarely do it for the amount of "other things" there is to do around the house.

But I decided this week to try out one of my patterns, and even get the kids involved. Oh, it was so wonderful! My hyper-active-super-hero-or-bust 3 year old even spent a good half hour going in and out with his very own blunt darning needle! I think it was the most focused he's been in days:)

Remember this post? Thankfully my kids have always loved to sew, and I loved every second of it, too. I am determined to hand sew more often. It's good for the soul.

These two embroidery patterns are available at Sew, Mama Sew! blog in two different sizes. I intend to sew some on my kid's new school bags (which have still yet to be made, if they ever do get made!). So enjoy! My blog is in the process of getting a facelift, and I'll soon have more free downloads here to choose from. But for now, enjoy Sew, Mama, Sew!

Oh and I must take this chance to shout out to the vast, infinite cyber space why I am in the best mood this morning: my 2 month old, colicky, allergy-ridden, fussy baby slept through the night last night. For 10 hours. These are the choice events that make a Mama very very happy! Ella, mind trying that again?

Quiet Time.

{via www.allicoate.com}

I had forgotten how a newborn gives me such an added awareness of life all around me. Breastfeeding is God's gift to mothers as it forces us to sit down a while, making life slow into it's proper pace. And good thing too. As life gets more full, quiet reflection is the prescribed remedy. Ahhhhhhh.....I'll take some more of that please!