Just the 3 of us

The other day Jer had an interview over in Coeur d'Alene, so we decided to make the most of it and spend a little time together as a family at the lake. It was a beautiful day and a nice break from all the stress we have been under lately. Check out the fun we had!
Funny how the mama never ends up in the picture! Maybe one of these days someone else will be behind the camera!

It's been too long...

Oh I have been out of the loop this last week! Drat! I wish I would have stayed more on top of my game! We went out of town for Labor Day Weekend- up to the in-law's cabin. It was quite and peaceful but I didn't get half as much reading or knitting done as I would have liked! I did start Roman's newest pair of longies (which he desperatley needs- his other are sooo short!) but i still have a ways to go! One thing i did do over the weekend is give myself a bunch of pregnancy symptoms and totally convince myself that I had a little one on the way. Well, it turned out to just be bad PMS (and probably some of it was just in my head) and AF made a showing yesterday. I am still just spotting but I don't think there is any hope of it being implantation. Bummer. We'll give it a go again this month. I think I just need to be more relaxed about it and not get all regemmented and worked up about getting the deed done right! I am sure Jer would appreciate it! Oh well. The lord has some plan- does it matter if I like it or not?

On another front, as if I don't have enough on my plate right now, I am considering becoming a doula. I would like to get the training for both birth and post partum, but would probably just practice as an ante and postpartum doula until my kid(s) are older. I have consultations as a part of my business already and I would like to focus on promoting them more, but I feel like I need some credentials behind my advice to mamas and becoming a doula just seems like the right way to go. Plus, it would be nice to bring in the extra money. I am still think and praying about it, but I am seriously looking into it. It is hard to decide which doula organization to go with and there is a lot to figure out, but I really think I would enjoy it and it would be rewarding work. Hmmm... lots to think about!

"Please," the lake, and good nurishment!

Okay- happy mama gush! Roman started signing "please" on Tuesday! We hardly ever give him sugar, but I was going to give him a small bite of a cookie and I told him to say "more please." He started signing more a while back but hasn't been using it lately. Well, to my surprise, instead of "more" he started signing "please!" Now he is the "please" king! He points to things he wants and signs "please!" I tell him, "No, don't climb on the chair," and he signs "please!" It is so cute! It makes saying no to the things he is doing wrong very difficult! It is just so fun to see his communication expanding! He now tries to copy the words we say and he really watches our mouths! I love it! It is like having a little friend with me all day! Umm... the joys of motherhood!

On that motherly note, I just got the most wonderful book (and a new Bible since Roman had done quite the number on my other one!). The book is by Lisa Whelchel (ya know, Blair, from The Facts of Life?) and is called "The Busy Mom's Guide to Bible Study". It teaches moms how to really get a lot out of the abbreviated times we find to spend in the Word. She has such loving and practical advice for mothers and is a beautiful writer. I have read a few of her other books also, "Taking Care of the Me in Mommy" and her book on homeschooling- both were wonderfully helpful and I highly recommend them! In fact, I plan on reading them both again because they were just so packed with awesome information and insight!

My goal is to start waking up earlier in the morning so that I can really have a chunk of time that I can just focus on getting myself prepared for the day. To just be able to sit in my rocking chair, drink a cup of tea, read my Bible and truly spend time with the Lord, without the distraction of a zillion other things, would make such a difference to my day! To also be able to maybe do some yoga and take care of a few little things before Roman emerges from his slumber would just be so nice! If I only didn't feel so tired every morning! Oh Lord, give me the grace to get my butt out of bed!

And now, onto an entirely different subject- the lake!! Yesterday I headed up to Coeur d'Alene with a few of my friends and their kiddos who are all around Roman's age and we had so much fun! It started off kind of rocky when I was supposed to go meet the mama I was car pooling with and discovered I had a very flat tire (which Jer went and got fixed this morning, bless his heart!). But the other mama graciously drove all the way across town (about a half an hour out of her way) to come pick us up! After that things got much better! The kids chatted hysterical baby jabber to each other the whole way there, while my girl friend and I compared our possible pregnancy symptoms (we will be testing within two days of each other!) and just got a chance to chit chat rather undistractedly!

Once we got there the kids had so much fun playing in the sand and water! Roman was the craziest of the bunch of course! That boy always keeps me on my toes! While the other mamas were even able to sneak a few minutes here and there to lay on their towels and read magazines I was constantly chasing a (hmmm, shall we call him adventurous?) toddler! But when it comes right down to it, would I have him any other way? He may be more work then some, but I love his personality and know that he is destined to be a leader! Plus- he makes sure I get my exercise, right?!

Sweet, Sweet Summer & need for a reprieve...

Is there anything really like it? Kids playing in the sprinklers while you relax in the shade and watch their joy as you sip a cool glass of water? Today Roman and I went to a friends' house where four of us mamas (all having kids relatively close together) regularly gather and let the kiddos play while we chit chat and get a little "girlfriend time." The house has a lovely backyard with lots of room to run and things to explore. They recently finished a beautiful patio area with a pergola and have had a nice little swimming pool up all summer that is the perfect height for the munchkins but deep enough for us mamas to cool off in too! And of course there is always the spinkler to play in as well!

When I really think about it though, I guess I really didn't get much relaxing, more chasing my crazy 15 month old! What a little instigator! The other kids can be completely well behaved and then along comes Roman! What a handful!Now don't get me wrong- I love him to death! He is my son! God gave him to me and I wouldn't want him any other way! But lets face it, there are those days when you feel like you are at your breaking point, and this week has had a few of them! I think we have some serious teething going on and on top of it I have had some shipping mishaps with a few recent orders I have sent out. Sometimes when he is clingy and the only way to keep him calm is to hold him (with his left hand inevitably down my shirt "twiddling" and his right thumb in his mouth!) while I am trying to juggle everything else at the same time- you just want to call for a time out! Any mama of a young child can sympathize I am sure! Where is my reprieve? Where is that place that I can escape to and just be by myself for a few moments, with no one touching me, and not have one bazzilion things running through my head?

Hence the name of my blog! Someday, I will have a studio all to myself! I will make that one room as girlly as I want, have all my projects, supplies and books just where I want them, have a big window with a wonderful view and lots of natural light, and best of all- a lock on the door!

For now, this is that place. This blog is my studio- the place I escape to late at night, when everyone is asleep, to recapture a little bit of me. In this place I collect my projects and thoughts to share them with whoever might listen and look...

...and then I find a project, a collaboration if you may, of some of the most beautiful art I have ever seen- Roman's first chalk art (I made the "R" or course- that is where the collaborating came in!). And when I look at simple little things like this, and can find such joy and beauty, I know this whole mothering thing is more than worth it. These are the things that I live for and they make those frustrating moments feel small. Well, smaller anyway...

To every mama out there... find your studio... your place to be you... take those moments and breathe...