Finished . . . finally!!

I had sooo much fun getting ready for this boutique! I mean, buying all of the fabric that I love, creating projects and ideas that I have been gathering, just plain creating!! I loved it! But, right now, my house is a disaster area, my husband is patiently waiting for my full attention, my baby doesn't remember me . . . LOL! Well, that is not really true but, you get the idea.

The boutique was by all means successful, although there were not quite as many customers as we had hoped for. I have several products left over so - I am actually thinking of opening an Etsy store. I am not sure what I am going to do right now. If not, well, I have plenty of Christmas presents!

I almost forgot to take some pictures so I was happy that there was still a bunch of stuff still there when I went back the second day. One of my favorites was the red, blue, and grey tote bag shown in the picture below . . . it was also one of my best sellers. I think that I am going to have to buy more of this fabric to make one for myself. :)


I also made some cute baby bibs, some lunch totes, and of course you can see the bunting I mentioned in my last post.

Also making an appearance were my sock monkey wallets. These were one of my favorite creations from the mini swap. My friend's little boy spent his allowance money to buy himself one of these. It was so flattering to me that he would want it so badly. Of course, I cut him a good deal!! LOL!

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I thought that this might satisfy my need to create but I find that I only have more and more ideas. All the more reasons to maybe do the Etsy thing. I don't know if my husband is going to cut me off though!! LOL! I know, "moderation" is a word that I really need to learn!

For now, the preschool year is coming to an end and so this means crunch time with the yearbooks. I am gearing up for 4 days of wall to wall graduations and late nights on the computer. (Which reminds me, I am now coming to you from my NEW laptop!! :):) I LOVEEEEEE it sooo much! I love it! Thank you Sterling!!) This pretty much did me in last year. I do love designing the pages though and I feel such love for this little kids as I have followed them throughout the school year. Next fall, Myles will be going to the preschool so I will get to make an extra special book for him. :)

Hopefully I will make it through the next few weeks without losing my sanity and gaining 10 lbs!! (Which is also another topic that I need to address - I have been doing sooo bad with Weight Watchers these days. I finally quit last week but, after a week of no guidance, I have decided to go back to the fold! LOL! I just need to dig down and find the motivation and commitment that I need to lose this weight!! Why does it have to be so hard for some people . . . oh, another post . . . )

Anywho - here's looking forward to summer break!! :)

Sewing, sewing, sewing!

If you were to come to my house right now you might notice that everyone who lives here has some sort of thread or fabric scrap stuck to their clothing! This is mainly because I don't have a craft room to call my own - thus, my house turns into project central and everyone has to be a part of it . . . even Owen who has taken to eating the fabric scraps that fall on the floor!

It has almost been like Christmas time around here with all of the packages of fabric arriving in the mail!! I don't think that there is anything better then getting fabric in the mail. Well, maybe getting fabric at the store!! LOL!

I have been sewing like a mad woman trying to get ready for the little boutique that I mentioned earlier. I have about 2 weeks more to get ready. Enough time? I don't think so but, I am going to do my best to get all of my items ready.

One thing that I am doing is bunting. I must admit that this adorable idea came to me from various blogs and websites such as Kirsten's,Posy's and Shannon's. I don't think that many people in my neck of the woods have seen this cute decorating idea so I thought that it might be a hit. If it isn't, I will have a lot of bunting hanging around my house . . . or maybe the outside of the house . . . or maybe on my car! Yeah, I like that!! LOL! :)



As you can see, I do not have much to show for my efforts but, creating is a process that will blossom when you least expect it! (Yes, I did think of that on my own!! He he!)

Anywho, I will have to post more pictures when I actually have something to show you! :)

Woman to Woman

Parenting Children with Difficult Personalities

You know, it is interesting because people ask me all of the time if having an autistic child is difficult. I wouldn't say that it is difficult, I would just say that it is different. Asher is such a wonderful, bright, intelligent little boy. I love to see the light in his eyes and the excitement that he gets over new discoveries or projects. I feel sad and frustrated for him at times when he has a melt down or throws a tantrum because I know that he is experiencing a flurry of emotions that are hard for him to express. Knowing this does not make it any easier for me but, it does give me perspective and reinforces my knowledge of the importance of my role in his life. I realize that he needs me (as much as I need him!! :) to help him through these conflicts.

Another interesting thing about having had Asher as my first child is the therapy and counseling that we have gone through to help us understand the best ways to "parent" him and to help him in his growing up process. Before I had Myles (or I should say, before Myles turned 2!) I really thought that I had, for the most part, a handle of the "raising a little boy" thing! Well, I was totally wrong!!

Myles has completely given us a run for our money. He is a whirlwind of curiosity, mischievousness, and destruction! Asher was such a mild and "focused" infant. Asher rarely destroyed things or even made messes. Myles seems to thrive on destruction. The irony is that, as I am writing this, I am smiling and full of love for Myles as I realize how strongly his little personality is showing through. He wants to attack the world and find out what will happen if he "pushes" it! This gives Mom lots of headaches and extra work but, I am so grateful that Myles is comfortable enough to be himself. He is completely unaware of the concept of boundaries or limitations. I have included a couple of pictures to emphasize this point! :)

A look at Myles' bedroom after what was supposed to be "naptime"!

This picture might be hard to figure out. Let me help you!! That white powder would be Owen's special (expensive!) formula that Myles decided to decorate all of our basement with. Sadly, you would think that Sterling and I learned from the first time but no, he has done this 2 more times since then!! LOL!

With my little baby Owen, I can already see the mischievousness in his eyes. He and Myles are going to be the perfect pair for each other. Owen already stands up in his crib and shakes it back and forth with excitement as he watched Myles use the changing pad as a ramp for the hotwheels cars. A couple of days ago, a woman who has three older boys told me, in response to my comment that Owen seems to be so much more active then Asher and Myles were at this age, that by the time you get to the third one, it is pretty much all over!! She said that her third boy wanted to catch up with his brothers as fast as he could. Great.

So, difficult, yes. Worth it, extremely. I honestly feel that my biggest difficulty is learning to let their little spirits thrive so that they can grow up to be the men that they are supposed to be. I want to nurture them and teach them without stifling their personalities. Sometimes, as a mother, I have expectations (for a clean house, a shower without an audience, a visit to the toilet without Myles' commentary) but, I am learning to set these aside. These little boys are the most precious thing in the world to me (next to my husband) and I feel honored to be their mother!

Little Birdies

With spring blooming up all around, I feel the overwhelming urge to create. I mean, really overwhelming. My mind has been so full of ideas that I finally decided that I was going to participate in a local boutique. Usually, my design work keeps me busy (and creatively satisfied!) but, my computer has been crapping out on me. Sterling bought me a new laptop that is due to arrive in a couple of weeks so . . . I guess that I have nothing else to do but craft!! (Well, craft and raise my own little birdies!) LOL!

I finished these 2 paintings first. I have been inspired by some of the stylized birdies that I am seeing all over the place. They are even on Noggin! So, I decided to make some of my own. I am going to do a boyish series as well. I don't know, I am just going to purge all of my crafting desires and see how much I can get done in time for the boutique! I hope that I am not the only woman who gets these overwhelming urges sometimes. Looking around at some of my favorite blogs, I don't think that I am! :) :)