Just popping in to share some of the decorations I have going on around here. I got smart this week and decided to bribe the goobers. For every 5 “chores” they did (Put this away, put that in the trash…) they got to put up one decoration. Now, my house is clean and decorated to boot! (Score one point for mom!)
How’s your Halloween decorating coming?
PS You can print your own bunting just like mine here.
Printable poster from Sarah Jane
It was a long night. With two little sickies and a thunderstorm, I think they were up at least every hour. You all know that kind of night, for whatever reason: kids, insomnia, stress, weather, illness. You also know I bet, what the morning feels like after one of those nights.
Scratchy eyes, oversensitive ears, a temperament that’s less than pleasant, everything is overwhelming. Kind of Exactly like you’re walking around trying to be conscious while your body is still asleep. It takes a while to wake up on these mornings.
I’ve been thinking about this concept though, in the creative arena. How it takes a while to “wake up,” so to speak.
As a business owner, I’m fairly new to the scene. My first patterns were just released last fall. I’ve been to market once. I’m still in that “just waking up” phase in regards to meeting people, blogging, and marketing. Taxes make my eyes hurt, and my temperament less-than-pleasant. My ears can get oversensitive to other people’s opinions, and yes, things can get overwhelming sometimes.
In other arenas, though, I feel like I’m fully awake (finally!). I’ve been designing things for others for years, but am finally hitting my stride and solidifying my own style. I’m in a place where I like what I design, and know what I don’t like, even if it’s popular. My ears aren’t as worried about criticism these days, and my eyes can pick out what’s not working pretty quickly. Designing makes me happy, especially when I can really take the time to do it just right. I do still get overwhelmed on occasion, but it’s not a constant state anymore, and it’s not a despairing overwhelmed, it’s a life-is-so-full overwhelmed. (My darling friend Sarah just talked about this, here). When I feel like that, my sweetheart Jacob will always remind me to just do one thing at a time, intentionally, and with focus. Whatever the most important thing is.
Turns out, that’s usually playing Candyland with the sweeties, eating something healthy, pulling out my pencils once they’re in bed, then hitting the stacks of fabric.
Oh, and assigning all the Quickbooks work to Jacob.
Maybe that’s the solution in both the “I haven’t had enough sleep” mornings, and the early mornings of a new endeavor. Take it one thing at a time, on purpose. Step-by-step, waking up a little more with each action.
You know what I mean?
Some people ask me what it’s like to have twins.
Instead of telling you, let me show you.
I love them so, so much…but man oh man. They sure know how to keep a Mama busy. While this is (I’m sure) true of kids in general, I think there is a special kind of craziness reserved for moms of multiples.
But then, there are moments like this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And this.
And I’d say a little glitter on the carpet is worth it.
What’s it like having twins, you ask? Incredible.
(And really, really messy.)
P.S. I do clean my house. Really.
I love the snow, I really do.
That is to say, I love fresh, falling, white snow.
By February, there is nothing fresh or white about the snow around here.
I’ll spare you pictures, you’ll just have to believe me.
That old groundhog, though, seems to think we’re moving on to warmer things.
I tend to agree.
And it may or may not have to do with the three bouquets of fresh flowers that are currently gracing my home.
Here’s to you, Puxatawney Phil.
There’s something about bottling your own food that is just so incredible to me.
I mean, I understand why it works, and the science behind it all, but it still continues to amaze me that I can put in a day’s work in the early fall, and have home grown peaches in the middle of January. Or fresh salsa in February. Applesauce in March.
You get the idea.
So, each year about this time, I start collecting my gear from the downstairs storage room, and begin planning what I will “can.” 
This year? Peaches, applesauce, salsa, pears, and spaghetti sauce. Not pickles. Probably never pickles ever again.
I tried doing pickles once. It was epic. I had boxes and boxes of cucumbers from our co-op garden, and I was SO ambitious. I was determined to make the best pickles any of us had ever tasted. They turned out so badly that I don’t even want to attempt smelling pickling spice for fear of severe nausea. Some spoiled entirely. Others, smelled delicious but were so mushy it was horrible. Every one of our 20+ quarts had something tragically wrong. Sweet Jacob tried to work his way through them, only throwing away the very worst, but even he was relieved when I’d had enough and dumped every single bottle down the garbage disposal.
Like I said. I will probably never do pickles again.
Probably.
It still bothers me that I failed so badly at them when all my other canning exploits have gone rather well.
Maybe I’ll try them another time.
Probably not.
Anyway, back to what I WILL be doing this year. I started peaches today. Just sliced, nothing fancy. Salsa and spaghetti sauce next week. Pears after that. Applesauce last, of course. That’s when I can get several boxes of the best apples.
It feels so good to know that my kids are eating apples from farms right here in our little city. Tomatoes from our own backyard.
I just love canning. Incredible, I tell you.
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Hello!
My name is April. I'm a quilt pattern designer, twin-mama, and color lover. Welcome to my little space, where I blog about all the things going on in my studio and creative life. Relax, and stay a while!My Cute Quilting Bee
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