Thankfuls

Tucking the kids in tonight, both in the bottom bunk together, I sat in the rocking chair with Baby Sister in my lap.

"OK, close your eyes and go to sleep."

"We have to do our Fankfuls", piped up Super Hero.

Yes, we should do our Thankfuls each night.

Thankful for a fun sleepover; for tractor rides; for uncles and homemade Slip 'N Slides.

And me? What are my thankfuls tonight?

Amazing grace; healthy children; a Hubby who works overtime, while I try to make a go of my shop; a new huge bed that I can't even reach across; time alone to make a Tooth Fairy pillow for Princess' first loose tooth; in-laws who watch the kids while I craft; some sun so I could take photos of new listings; a baby rag dragon to sell...

Yes, Thankfuls are a good reminder of the many and varied blessings of an average day.

Trading Spaces

Having received a "new" king size bed from Grampie, Hubby and I then had the challenge of finding the time to install it in our ver overcrowded and overused bedroom. It was the project of an entire day, once we took the very small standard bed apart, cleaned, weeded out old clothes from our dressers, and swapped their locations, vacuumed, set up the new bed, and reaaranged my work corner.

The kids were suprisingly helpful and patient with the whole endeavor which took alot longer than they had anticipated.

By moving my dresser to the window side of the bed, and then placing it parallel to the bed and perpendicular to the wall and my sewing desk on the other side, it created a tiny little niche for me to call my own creative space. Princess calls it Mommy's Workshop. That title seems a bit exaggerated for the space! Now if only I could get my ancient Singer up and running yet again...

In other good news, I finished sweet baby Hazelnut, a tiny brown mouse in a pink bath towel. She's adorable! I hope she sells quickly- I need a boost in confidence. She's baby safe- and so small, perfect for tiny hands. Baby Sister loves to hold her.

Cat and Mouse Game

Today a new BabyLicious Mousling is coming into being. She is called Hazel Nut and ironically she started out as a cat called Ginger. Before that she was a lovely brown sweater from Eddie Bauer belonging to my sister.
Luckily for Hazel Nut, my sister's sweater shrunk somewhere along the way.
As I see it right now, Hazel Nut will be baby safe, with stitched on arms and legs, as opposed to posable ones, and with no buttons. She will stay nakey, with only a baby hoodie towel - fresh from the bath.
I had hoped to finish her body at least this afternoon while all 3 children slept (simultaneously, a small miracle!), but Baby Sister woke up fussing, and before long Princess and Super Hero emerged from their room as well. Now I am holding them off with Play-Doh, although the reports I am receiving from the kitchen say Baby Sister is standing up in her chair.
Thus ends my creating for today.
My moment as creator and artisan is over. My role as Mommy is more important right now.

The Little Things

There are little things in every day that worry or annoy me, frazzle and vex me, and yet, life is made up of all the little things.

A little girl who cries whenever you put her down, making household chores and creating impossible, but who loves her mama so much, and gives the sweetest hugs and kisses.

An apartment that is getting too small, a family that needs its own yard, and rooms to shape and mold as they desire. A husband who longs for his own property, own space. And yet, we have made so many memories here: babies conceived and brought home new and wrinkly to this place. First Christmases and Birthdays.

A bedroom that is a far cry from a peaceful haven: a bedroom, an office, a workshop all rolled into one. But what a blessing that it is so large, and has windows looking into the most gorgeous maple. I am thankful, today, for the new, larger bed that we were given, a bed that will hold us and all our kids when they come screaming through the darkness with bad dreams and a need for closeness to mommy and daddy.

The lack of time to devote fully to my shop, my worries about how to get my name out, my desire to sell every thing I create, for others to love them as much as I do. Thankful for this opportunity, and for a sweet man who is willing to let me try.

So many little things to worry and fret over.

So many things to rejoice and be thankful over.

Embarking

I have dabbled at the edge of the sea for many years, playing mostly.

I have swung my arms from the edge of the raft, to enjoy the feel of the water flowing past, to move in lazy circles.

I have rowed slowly in and out of the bay, sometimes in service to my own whims, sometimes for hire.

But it is only now, as I embark on the journey of my own small business, that the waves seem suddenly larger than they did from shore, and my craft feels suddenly small and weak. It's not too late to turn back to shore, where the warm sand calls out even now.

But in spite of the very real and imminent dangers, the lure of the open sea is stronger.

I am embarking.