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in which i compare my daughter to a sheep on crack

11
Aug
2010

I know I should write about our eventful week’s vacation, but it can be summed up in one sentence: see toddler run, chase toddler, catch toddler, repeat.

Oh, there were many good times. It was great listening to music around the campfire in New Brunswick and drinking Mike’s at the annual summer party. I was so happy to see my friends Sarah, Amanda and Rachel in Boston (everyone I love moves to Boston eventually. It’s like I’m cursed.) And I spent far too much money at Lush.

But it’s hard to relax and enjoy the moment for long when you have an active kid who is too young to understand that playing in traffic is a bad thing. I spent a lot of time feeling like a shepherd with a flock of one–one crazy sheep with unending energy and a death wish.

Not to mention, there’s nothing like a 1-year-old to remind you that a vacation, while fun, is a vast difference from the normal routine. Naps are fleeting, and saved solely for long car trips. Meals are grabbed on the go, and often rejected entirely in favor of graham crackers and milk. Lots of playtime. Lots of vehement “no’s,” the kind that can only be uttered by a small, overtired child who is utterly confused as to why we’re sleeping outdoors, in a tent.

A tent, mother? Are you serious? This can’t be legal. I’m calling DHS.

Someone does NOT care for camping (I can’t say I blame her.) She did, however, seem to enjoy our three-day trip to Boston, so maybe she has a future in the city (see? Cursed!)

As much fun as it was to see my family, to hang out with old friends who I’ve missed dearly, and to watch my daughter discover a larger world, I am more than happy to get back to a predictable schedule.

Routines–they aren’t just for babies anymore!

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adventures in weekending

14
Jun
2010

lootIt was a busy weekend! We spent a good part of Sunday in Ellsworth, eating lunch at Jordan’s and stopping to browse at the Big Chicken Barn. The Barn is my absolute favorite place to look for photo props and supplies… it’s full of old stuff, odd and ends, rusted tools, gadgets, gizmos, cameras, and vintage Pyrex–oh, how I love thee, vintage Pyrex. As if that wasn’t good enough, the entire upstairs is filled with used books, so I never have a problem getting Tim to come with me.

I always leave the place feeling inspired, and I rarely go away empty handed. This time I picked up a drawer full of old glass bottles… I’m obsessed with them lately. There are so many different shapes and sizes and colors.  I have a few ideas for a photo shoot involving these things. I have a lot of ideas for photo shoots, just not many people to model for me. I really need to start a search again, but I’m feeling shy. I need to get over it so I can get to work!

snoozingOverall, we had an excellent weekend with Miss Ellie, too. I know every parent says this, but I have it on good authority that my kid is the best kid ever. She was dragging me around the store at top speed (is there any other speed for a toddler?) and cackling like a mad scientist the entire time. It’s amazing how much energy she has! It’s draining sometimes, but also incredibly fun. I honestly didn’t think having a kid would be this cool. Rewarding, yes. Fulfilling, sure. But I didn’t expect to have this much fun chasing around an 18-month-old.

It helps that I’m starting to feel more like my old self–comfortable as a mom, but also as an individual with creative goals. For a while the two seemed mutually exclusive; there was just no time in the day to do everything, and obviously Ellie takes priority, so a lot of my projects were done in short spurts or put on the back-burner. Over the last six months it’s gotten easier to juggle work, Ellie, Tim, and creative projects. Ellie still needs lots of love and attention, but she’ll also play alone for longer stretches now. Tim and I are pretty good about judging when the other needs a break; he’s especially great about taking Ellie on “daddy/daughter” grocery shopping trips so I can have an hour to myself here or there. And we’ve made a point of scheduling more date nights, to remind ourselves that we’re not just parents–we’re still a couple, too. It’s a balancing act and I won’t go so far as to say I have it down, but I’ve definitely noticed an improvement!

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the bathroom, part deux

30
May
2010

I just realized I said I’d post pictures of the new bathroom two weeks ago and then I never did. Well, here you go:

99% done

It’s so nice to have our less-often-used stuff out of the way but easily accessible should we need it. We have plenty of room to add a third shelf and maybe some smaller shelves alongside the sink. It’s a glorified closet, but it’s DONE! Now I can focus all my worry on the other 599 projects we should be working on but aren’t.

Last week was rough, which is why I’ve been so quiet… Ellie had a cold that turned her from a sweet, darling little girl into Fussy McFusserton, Queen of Whinyland, so we spent a lot of time trying to keep her from imploding in frustration. She’s pretty much over it, but now I have a pesky sore throat and the sniffles. It just goes to show that sharing is caring. Hello, Caro, and welcome to Whinyland!

I’m itching to pick up my camera and play with some new photo props I bought at the Big Chicken Barn several weeks ago, but between bathroom renovations and sickness and custom work, I haven’t been in the right frame of mind. I’m taking a few days off this week, though, so hopefully I can shake this cold quickly and get some work done.

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oh painting, how i loathe thee

15
May
2010

We’ve been in the midst of home renovations this week, and it’s finally (mostly) over. After three days, and with only a couple minor roadblocks, our contractor put in new floors, patched the walls, and installed a laundry sink.

This probably sounds like a weekend DIY project to some people… but we are not those people. Don’t get me wrong–Tim’s handy in the sense that he can probably rig some kind of quick fix in a pinch if something breaks, but we’re not “Hey, let’s totally remodel this room because we haven’t done that in at least six months and we have three hours to spare” kinda people.

Just to give you a sense of where we fall on the Homeowner’s Laziness Spectrum. *ahem*

Given our position on said spectrum, I surprised myself a little when, the day after the contractor finished, I suggested to Tim that we head to Home Depot to look at paint chips and shelving for the new room. You may or may not remember, but it took six people and several months just to finish Ellie’s room. The bathroom project is much smaller and less complicated, but still, I figured we’d get around to painting it sometime in the next, oh, six years.

But then I saw the paint chips and thought, “To hell with it–I’m going to get it done this weekend.” And by “I” I mean “we” and by “we” I mean “Tim, I’m going to make you do all the trim because I hate the detail work.”

Several hours, one temper tantrum and a gigantic mess later, we have a pretty blue bathroom instead of lime green.

We also have a pretty blue kitchen sink and some pretty blue clothes, a pretty blue cat and hey look! My hair, it’s pretty! And blue! And despite getting paint over every square inch of ourselves and our kitchen, I think we have enough left over to do the upstairs bathroom tomorrow–because obviously I’m high on the fumes to want to do this again.

Here’s a quick before-and-after look:

bathroom sans fixtures new floors and sink new colors!

(The idea is to turn this into an over-sized closet/pantry area that also happens to have a toilet. Once the paint dries we’ll put shelves above the toilet and next to the laundry sink, enabling us to free up some much-needed cabinet space in our pretty blue kitchen. I’ll post more pics when it’s complete.)

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my ego vs. mushy fruit

11
Apr
2010

Etsy Front Page, 4/11/2010

It’s been a good week for business. This morning my shops were on the front page of Etsy, thanks to an excellent Maine treasury curated by atelierfrost. Prior to that, my “rescue” doodle was the Pick of the Week at Illustration Friday, one of my Firefox Personas is currently featured on the front page of the official Personas Web site, and to top it all off, I have a photo in the brand new Regretsy book.

Obviously I’m excited about the excellent press, but there’s nothing like a one-year-old to keep you grounded and living in the moment. Ellie doesn’t care about my self-perceived success, as long as I can still read “Hop on Pop” and sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” (both of which I’ve done, endlessly, this weekend). It’s hard to tend to an inflated ego when you’re scraping two-day-old banana off the floor, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve also been exhausted all week. Sometimes it seems like I can’t catch my breath with everything that needs to be done, and there’s always something new to add to the list. Thankfully, Tim and I managed to carve out a couple hours for a night out on Saturday. We decided to see Date Night with the idea we could use a few good laughs, and the movie totally delivered on that promise.  Steve Carrel and Tiny Fey have excellent on-screen chemistry.

We also hung out with Danielle, who got me off my ass when all I wanted to do was sit and stare at my computer until my brain melted and leaked out my ears.  Thanks to her, I had the excellent good fortune to try beer-battered asparagus (OMG so yummy) and lemon cake with pudding and berries. I am absolutely stuffed.

Tonight, I’m going to turn in early and try to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow starts another busy week!

Posted in etsy, illustration, photography, self | 1 Comment »

 
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