This last week's events can be summed up by Bobby's comment tonight, as we were rushing out the door for a date:

"Are you a news anchor on GNN, the Grouch News Network?" No harm done. He was absolutely right.

We're doing the house searching thing again and it has been brutal. Thus, the live-in grouch. Yes, that's me. And it doesn't help that I'm without my camera, our fifth child, which is being repaired miles and miles away. (No, it wasn't me this time.)

But next week brings promises of New York style cheesecake (for Bobby's birthday), sun-filled mornings (starting tomorrow), and more hopes for the perfect house to suddenly appear.

I guess I'd better get to bed to savor that extra hour of sleep...

A little something different in the day for the girls. Something new, something they try to reach on the top shelf in my bathroom, something they've watched carefully applied, something they were finally allowed to try out any way they desired....

what they don't know is my good stuff is still intact and shelved. I don't think they really care.

Two anticipated occasions: 1) chubby babies who are officially half a year old and 2) their Daddy landing on east coast soil tonight after a long week in Vegas.

Goodbye exhaustion, insanity, and billowing piles of laundry; hello rest, showers, and... well, piles of laundry.

Many of you have mentioned that you don't know how I make time to create with lots of munchkins at my beckon call all day. Some weeks leave me no creative time (which means I am dying to create when Saturday comes!) while other weeks lend me bits and pieces of time around taking care of home and kids.

Either way, here is my secret weapon: a space that is just waiting for me to sit and create. That is all you need. A tangible, set up, space.

Before we moved here, if I wanted to sew something, mend something, glue something, I'd spend 20 minutes to dig through the closet, pull out my sewing machine, search for thread, etc.

With the twins arrival, I knew with lots of needy little people I would need a more inventive, efficient approach.

The biggest difference from the past: a table specific to sewing/creating.

The most exciting thing is that a small table or corner with shelves can really fit into any size house. Use an existing card table or shelves on a bookshelf that could be rearranged to store your tools for your hobby.

Use a closet, if necessary, to keep supplies organized and even set up a small table to facilitate your work in the closet. There is always a way to incorporate this "creative space" into any size home if you're creative to make it work.

If space permits, keep an inspirational board above your space to tack ideas, future projects, or clippings of things that are beautiful to you.

If you have small children, dedicate one shelf or a section of the wall for them and their creating. They can learn to keep their supplies there and will be able to create along side of you. Ikea has children's table and chairs that are small, simple, are made of real wood- ours was $20.

If you are feeling like you never get a minute to do what fulfills you, the solution is to make a space for it. You will never need to waste time setting up and pulling out supplies to finally sit down and have to be called away.

Be creative: look for an undiscovered nook in your home. Set up and get movin'!

This art kit was simple to make. So for you beginner sewers, try this! It is versatile in that you can make it to fit any notebook or sketch pad and a variety of art supplies. Try crayons, colored pencils, or for older children charcoal pencils, oil pastels, paint brushes, etc.

Start with your wool felt. I think you'll like the quality and durability of wool felt over crafter's felt which is synthetic and flimsy. I get my wool felt at JoAnns or a fabric outlet: any fabric store will stock it.
For the outside fabric, oilcloth or a more durable fabric are best, like a home decor fabric or such.

Cut out a large enough size rectangle of felt and fabric, it should be at least 1.5 inches taller than your sketch pad and wide enough to cover your sketch pad over with a slight lip when closed. This sizing part is really up to you of how big you want the art kit.

As seen above, also cut out a square or rectangle slightly wider than the cardboard backing of your sketch pad but a couple inches shorter: this will be where the notepad backing is slid into. Pin this piece on the left side of the large felt rectangle (mentioned above) with the notebook in place, to insure the notebook will be able to slide in and out snugly.

Sew the two sides and bottom into place to create a pocket.

Now, with the other side of the large rectangle of felt, sew in the art supply slots. Take another felt rectangle, roughly the length of the other rectangle you just sewed, and any height (I like this rectangle to also be like the other one because I'd rather see more wool then more brushes or pencils sticking out-- your preference, though.)

Sew the farthest right end of this rectangle onto the large rectangle felt (the base). Take your first art supply, in my case, a colored pencil, push it into the felt snugly against the seam you just made, and while holding it tightly in place, sew a seam right next to it all the way down. Repeat with all of your supplies. They will fit snugly which is important so as not to fall out of your art kit.

With your sketch pad and supplies each having their own pockets, now you can sew the fabric (the cover) to the wool.

For this particular art kit I simply but the wrong side of the felt on the wrong side of the fabric together, pinned, sewed a seam to close the two fabrics with a zig zag stitch as close as possible to the edge, all around the four corners. Then, sewed a dividing seam down the middle of the art kit. If you're using a ravely-type of fabric for the outside of the art kit, I would initially use a slightly larger piece of fabric so you could fold in the edges, pin them down to the felt and then sew the finishing seam.

Take 2) 10 inches of ribbons and, one at a time, fold the raw edge, pin into place, and about half way up the side of the art kit on the felt, sew down the ribbon with a square pattern. Do this on both sides of the book so that when it is closed you can tie the ribbons closed. (An alternative: sew the ribbon into the seam when you did the initial zig zag stitch to bind the book together.)

Your art kit is essentially complete. I free handed the word "art", using embroidery floss, a large needle, and coming up the back of where the sketch pad would be on the inside--so no one sees the stitching. You could also embroider the person's name, or "nature", "create", or simply a person's initial.

The art kit is a great gift idea for Christmas which is around the corner. Sons, daughters, teens, and adults would appreciate having an art kit to inspire creativity anywhere. More ideas for the art kit:

• Keep one in the car per child for those long trips "over the river and through the woods", for drawing scenery, playing games together like tic tac toe, or drawing a collection land marks as they pass by them.
  

• Keep one per child in a tote my the door for when you head out to the outdoors with your children and blanket in hand to draw animals, nature and changing seasons.

• Make a kit for everyone in your family with different art supplies in each kit plan times to trade and try out someone else's art medium.
  

• Make an art kit for a niece or nephew for Christmas and give them something that is homemade and will grow with them, unlike lots of bright flashing toys that lose batteries and excitement with maturing and age.
  

Try a variety of different colored fabrics and felt, too. I can't wait to try a more feminine art kit for my little ones. Happy creating!

The studio is quiet and dark, the girls' cut-out paper remnants are scattered over the floor from the previous day, untouched today,

it rains cold outside which means the days of permanent sock wearing are here,

and Debussy's melodies have filled the room since 6:30 this morning. Some days you just need some uplifting, like a constant soundtrack to your life as you sweep, fold clothes, rock babies, and finally sit back for the first time to take in what life really feels like.


For a treat on this (what appears to be) rainy weekend approaching, I'll be posting the first of a line of tutorials tomorrow for you antsy-pantsy creators. See you tomorrow!

My life is perfect again. Back to business, constant motion, cries, songs, and naps. Emphasis on the naps. Yes, my non-sleepers have decided life is better with a bit of shut-eye. And so, Mommy is in seventh heaven to have some consistency back.

(Which means Caroline and I can sneak downstairs during others' naps to create again!)

This weekend we enjoyed a friend's birthday party hosted by the talented Elizabeth, gorgeous cake, picturesque games, and all...

which meant making a gift I've had on my mind for a while...

A carry-all art kit. Something you could slide a standard sketch pad in along with your favorite tools: colored pencils, paint brushes, and so forth. There's that rugged wool felt again with a little boyish flair of camouflage.

Like other things I've mentioned, this "how-to" is coming soon, with the new version of this blog. The new website is coming as soon as I can convince Bobby (my web designer) that it is more important to finish the new site over his getting sleep. Wish me luck.

Today was our first annual Mommy & Child Bake Off. After a long week, it was a welcomed event to be with good friends and their children.

Children eagerly explained what they baked, telling what they liked best about the experience.

Samplings took place while children and mommies discussed their favorites.

Votes were cast....

And a winner announced (the Hansens) for presentation and taste: the ghost cookies in a chocolate cake graveyard! (I love seeing the unique faces her kids put on the ghosts.)

And my dear mother came to rock babies for me, on her birthday. It seems significant she'd be here for me on this "Mommy & Child" day. Thanks, Mom.

(The details for the Bake Off will be available in PDF form soon on my blog for you to host your own. Children of all ages contributed in the decision making, baking, presenting, tasting, and voting. They ran the bake off--and it showed when they eagerly awaited the results of the vote.)

Recently, my life has felt anything but easy.


As my recent struggles have mounted, I've begun considering how absolutely easy it would be for me to take a job. You know, leave my mothering responsibilities, sit at a desk, answer calls, scribble down notes, take a lunch break, deal with annoying co-workers, and then return home just in time for dinner.

How easy it would be to turn over the responsibilities of my life: feeding two babies at a time, this one nursing, that one with a bottle perfectly perched to her mouth that keeps slipping and I keep adjusting while feeding another baby, the carefully planned attempt to get two babies to sleep at once while the older girls play loudly, sometimes successful, sometimes not, but always worthlessly short naps.

And what about when it is nearly dinner time and you realize that not once have you had time to play and really interact with your oldest and second child, and you have no real naps to show for it from your babies you've coaxed all day . And what if this goes on like this for days and days and you forget what it's like to even have a moment to think of laundry and solitude, and staying up late just because you're alone.

How easy it would be to run far away from this situation. How easy it would be to give it away to someone else to deal with from 9-5 and keep my cool, keep my grace, my rested body, my witty mind.


Driving home this evening, we sang together. The soft, tired voices of Johanna and Caroline sang words they knew and some made up, babies' cries had finally hushed for the first time in a while.

Sane or otherwise, I realize this whole "easy" thing must be overrated. Since when did women take the easy road? Since when did women turn their back on hard labor, being beaten down again and again and not stand again and again?


Here's to the legacy.