Today.

I'd like to forget it.

Still no Bobby. Growing stomach pains with ultrasounds not soon enough.
And finally, I really lost it with my girls--more than once.

Upon going to bed, I discovered an email from my sister:


"And how would you blog today? For these are the days that challenge what we are and what we are fighting for. No one understands these days unless they are lived through and no appreciation or praise are given for the war of the day.

But we quietly continue our work, fighting for the next night and coming day, knowing that we will never give in and walk away.

love you,

Amylynne"


How will I blog about today?

My girls forgave me and gave me big wet kisses. I told them I'd be happier tomorrow. So I will.

Some differences have risen over the interior design of the library.

Comments like, "It's a little abstract for me" and,

"I don't know how I feel having my face on the furniture" kind of comments.

I've been loving the challenge. Bobby and I have similar taste, but as he recently stated, "Our tastes are starting to veer (turn sharply; change direction abruptly) apart."

Yes, my taste is constantly changing, which is exactly why I want to live up every stage of my transformation.

The down low of the "extreme"room:

Couch: recovered with my Granny's fabric with staple gun.

Pillows: Appliqued our silhouettes from the etchings I did for our wedding invitations. (A bit of a challenge staring at a 1.5 inch head of my and Bobby.

Lamps: Colonial brass hand-me-downs I sprayed with pewter-looking metal spray.

Wall Hanging: repurposed canvas draped in fabric.

I prepared Bobby I would be taking a poll: so what do you think?

Traces of love scattered everywhere...

and piles everywhere to be cleaned, ink and all. Mondays are a bit overwhelming here. Especially when business trips are in their prime.

Let the motivation begin...

There's a reason barrettes were chosen as the Valentine's Day memento this year:

shaggy heads are a constant here at the Shiffler home.

Happy Valentine's Day!

This scene is a familiar one: Caroline and Johanna silently cutting, pasting, drawing, and too eager in their creating to even sit down.

I love this scene. I've missed this scene. Now with a designated space, it's back.

The Art Room is conveniently down the hall from the playroom and my sewing counter. So technically, the girls and I could go for days without coming upstairs, except for food and seeing Bobby, that is.

The last two snowed-in days they've made styrofoam men with popsicle legs, love letters, fringed paper, alligators, and colored grids.

I try to mix the wall hangings with mostly their works and some of mine--the ones that are bright and hopefully inspiring. And of course, hung at their level.

One of the best parts of this room is that I only spent $68 on shelves (bought a piece of plywood that Lowes cut down for me) plus .44 cents on new bulletin board tacks total. No other cost. I've been saving peach jars for storing materials, asked for and received a children's easel for Christmas (thanks, Mom Shiff) and other than that, repurposed bins and such for the room.

Now, what you are not seeing in this post is the back side of the room: my art space. Piles of randomness all over the place.

I guess it's like the thrill that comes from cleaning someone else's house: it dies once you return to your own house to clean.

I've had my mind on making something to hang every Valentine's Day-week. I put this together last night once the kids were down--so it doesn't require too much time.

I picked a hand full of fabrics and began cutting hearts (double up your fabric to get a front and back) and varying sizes.

Once you have a pile cut out,

experiment with different decorative stitches. Above is the stitch setting for the following stitch.

Stitch the front and back of each heart together. Trim.

Beginning at one end of narrow bias tape, sew a seam down the middle, about a foot worth. Now add a heart: sew 1/2 an inch of a corner of the heart and backstitch. Trim. Now move the heart and bais tape along and sew the other corner about a 1/2 inch to secure. Backstitch.

Continue until all of the hearts are sewn onto the bias tape, making sure to stitch the bias tape in between each heart and finishing with about a foot of just stitched bias tape, in order to hand the garland.

It is nice to have it hanging in the kitchen because it's keeping me on my toes to remember Valentine's Day is Sunday!

Today I did something I've wanted to do for a long time. Reintroduce these strong, healthy girls to the many NICU nurses from 9 months ago. Ainsleigh and Annabelle did their part well: smiled, cooed, and kept the attention of about 7 nurses that came from their stations to see the "grown" Shiffler twins.

I couldn't believe it. There I stood in the exact place that used to represent everything new, scary, intimidating, and unknown, with my cheery, chubby, and aware almost 12 month old girls.

We've experienced the most hardship and exhaustion in our family this year. And today, standing there while nurses smiled down on my babies, it hit me: We've arrived. We're in the exact spot that I've told myself over and over again we would arrive at, all along desperately hoping I was right.

Today I looked down at Ainsleigh sucking on her new toy, and the sentiment returned when I realized that in assembling it last evening, many of the ribbons I chose were the exact ribbons I saved from their shower gifts.

That little taggie blankie now means something more. It connects their beginnings with the closure of the difficult early months. Active, predictable, playful girls are here to stay.

We've arrived. We've definitely arrived.