Taking Stock

Drinking: Lovely big hot cups of tea. I am quite sure tea tastes even better in Winter.

Waiting: With anticipation for the 'Intro to Modern Calligraphy'workshop I shall be doing

Looking: Still baby gazing as a certain 6 week old grows before our eyes

Missing: My twin sister dearly - there is a Fiona shaped hole in our weeks

Grateful: That it's not as cold in Brisbane as it has been in Canberra

Working: On custom orders next week, after a week off the bench following Brisbane Finders Keepers

Dreaming: About hand making spoons and having an exhibition

Wanting: To take a ceramics course once the baby is a little older 

Wondering: About going back to Uni to do my Masters in Jewellery and Small Objects

Enjoying: Sitting on my front deck in the sun

Making: Marks every day (well, nearly everyday)

Liking: My new book, '20 Ways to Draw a Tulip' by Lisa Congdon 

Giggling: Because I am drawing in my sketchbook and not IN the book, like you are supposed to

Excited: About the second book I ordered, '20 ways to draw a tree' by Eloise Renouf

Loving: My new Freida print by Studio Cockatoo

Rearranging: All my collections dotted around the house

Knowing: Sometimes a change is as good as a holiday

Pondering: What to make with all the homegrown oranges and lemons I was lovingly gifted

Reading: The Psychology of Extraordinainess on Dumbo Feather

Pondering: The amount of laundry produced by five people and whether we need a dryer

Marveling: At the amusing things that come out of my five year old's mouth

Wearing: Oscar in a sling - his favourite place to be

Awaiting: The GOMA Winter Design Market next weekend (19th July)

And: The Harvest exhibition at GOMA 

And: Ipswich Gem Show 2nd August 

Admiring: All the Brisbane creatives who are heading to Melbourne for Finders Keepers

Sorting: And culling the toys - my how they accumulate

Buying: A weaving loom to play with

Bookmarking: This weaving tutorial on 'A Beautiful Mess'

Feeling: Mixed emotions about the end of school holidays

The Rhythm of our Days

We have been finding new rhythms and routines these past week, and as a result my dear blog has been a little neglected. After eight school days - eight days of being a Prep Mother - I feel as if I we have found our rhythm. Oh, the joyous juggle of stay at home motherhood, home life, school, work and life in general. I am often asked how I do what I do. For those who are interested, and for my future self, our new routines these days go a little like this -

5.15: Emerson wakes up and comes in to bed for cuddles. 

5.30: Dave gets ready for work and leaves.

6.00 - 6.30: Cohen comes in for cuddles and then we three get up and have breakfast.

7.00 - 8.00: After half an hour of nagging Cohen has dressed himself, I have made the beds, emptied the dishwasher, done the hand washing, put a load of clothes in the wash, tidied up, vacuumed, emptied the bins and had a shower with Emerson and dressed us, done homework with Cohen and am herding my two little ones out the door.

8.10: Emerson jumps in the stroller and we walk Cohen the 500 meters to school, wait with the other kids, walk him in to class and see his art and craft, say our goodbyes and head home again.

8.45 - 11.00: Hang clothes out on line, put laundry away, fold cloth nappies, answer emails etc. play with Emerson, run errands, go to library or post office, go to Playgroup once a week, do the groceries once a week.

11.00 - 1.00: Put Emerson down for a nap and head in to my studio, or sit down at the computer (edit photos, upload new pieces, write blurbs, blog)/ or give in to pregnancy weariness and have a nap myself!

1.00: Make lunch, tidy up again. 

2.05: Emerson is back in the pram and we are walking back up to the school to pick up Cohen.

2.30 - 4.30: Home again, encouraging Cohen to get changed, doing homework with him, supervising 'Reading Eggs', playing in the back yard, taking clothes off the line.

4.30 - 5.30: Dave home, catch up, sit down for five minutes, start organising dinner.

5.30 - 6.00: Dave baths the little ones while I make dinner.

6.00 - 6.15: Encourage Cohen to eat his dinner - and encourage and encourage and encourage...

6.15 - 6.30: Story time! Both kids climb on to Cohen's bed while I read them a story or three. Meanwhile Dave clears the kitchen and loads the dishwasher. Tuck Cohen in.

6.30 - 6.45: Sit with Emerson while she falls asleep.

6.45 - 7.30: Pack lunchboxes, make overnight oats for breakfast, hang out with my husband awhile.

7.30 - 9.30: Leave Dave to watch a tv show or movie and head down to the workshop - to pack orders for posting, work at the bench on custom orders, repairs and new stock. Then head to bed, exhausted and happy.

5.15 am: Repeat above.

Somewhere in there I am trying to make room for blogging, writing in my diary, drawing new designs, keeping up to date with Project Life, digging in the garden, talking on the phone, handwriting letters to my sister in Canberra, playing with the cats, picking flowers, listening to pod casts, reading books, a spot of knitting, Sunday baking for school, ordering supplies (packaging, consumables, pearls etc.) for the shop and getting organised to apply for Brisbane Finders Keepers in July (despite the fact that I will have a five week old baby at the time. If I do get in you, will find me behind my new table with a baby in a sling.)

Now more than ever it feels so important to me to find time to slow down, appreciate the little things, stay in our pajamas all day, take photographs and document the moments that are passing by so quickly - and not neglect my blog.

How do you juggle it all and maintain balance?

Taking Stock

Making : A 9ct Yellow Gold Opal Ring
Cooking : Simple meals at the end of long hot days.
Drinking : Tall glasses of water filled with ice cubes.
Reading: 'The Essence of the Thing' by Madeline St John
Wanting: A self weeding veggie patch.
Looking: At big grey clouds, threatening rain. (Hooray!)
Playing: With my project life album each week. Pics to come soon.
Deciding: What kind of blanket I want to make for this babe.
Wishing: Our friends and neighbours all the very best of their six month trip around Australia.
Enjoying: Homemade ice blocks of blended mango and coconut cream. Yum!
Waiting: To see my dear sister again. I miss her already.
Liking: Overnight oats with frozen berries for breakfast.
Wondering: How Emerson is going to react to her brother going to school each day.
Loving: The feeling of writing in a brand new notebook with a brand new pen.
Pondering: How many lifetimes I would need to be all the things I want to be - interior designer, painter, sculptor, book shop owner, novelist, travel writer...
Considering: All that I want to achieve at home and in my business before the baby arrives.
Watching: Cohen build a cubby from sheets and pillows.
Marvelling: At the hiccups I can feel emanating from the little one in my tummy.
Needing: A little more peace and quiet than I am currently being afforded.
Smelling: Everything! The gift of pregnancy.
Wearing: Fewer and fewer clothes from my wardrobe as my bump gets bigger.
Following: Claire Atkin's 'Make Marks Daily' Project on Instagram @pinkyandmaurice
Noticing: That the best time to hang out laundry in Summer is at night.
Knowing: That my floor needs mopping, but the rest of my house is clean.
Thinking: About applying for Brisbane Finders Keepers market again for November.
Admiring: My new logo design in progress. Can't wait to share it with you.
Sorting: Through the last little pile from a stack of 800 photos, spanning the last two years. My photo albums will soon be full and up to date! (Phew!)
Buying: New notebooks and goldfish
Getting: More chilli shaped capsicums from the garden than we can eat.
Bookmarking: Klimt02 Internation Art Jewellery Online, Thank You Shanna, The Weekend Edition Brisbane, Karina Sharpe, Artisan
Disliking: Bananas in Pajamas (two dense bananas and a rude rat), Blinky Bill (questionable role models indeed), Small Potatoes (enough said)  and Fireman Sam (most annoying voice artists ever)
Opening: Exciting packages.
Giggling: At five year old questions like, "Does the baby have a pillow? Is it wearing a shirt?"
Feeling: Excited and nervous about my first born starting Prep.

Joining in with Pip.

Recognising happiness

L - R: firsts from the garden - beans, chilli and purple carrots; recycling an old watering can; 

a new discovery; windows stacked like so many books on a book shelf;

those few moments when the whole house is clean; thrifted treasure

Life is good. So very good. I feel that I have left illness and struggles behind me, and my gratitude list gets longer and longer. It's a wonderful place to be. Of course I am mindful that 'this too shall pass.' But it is lovely to stop in the moment and feel that all is right with our little world. Perfectly imperfect, but perfectly lovely. (Complete with teething one year old and runny nosed four year old.)

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read and comment on this blog of mine. I'm so pleased to share this journey with you. I seem to have an idea of what this blog is, then it pleasantly surprises me again and I find that it is something else - as inconstant and evolving as I am. Mama blogger? Craft blogger? Business blog? All and more. Whether parenting, crafting, creating jewellery, knitting, gardening - I bring my creative self to all these tasks. I guess Creative Blog sums it up best then? 

Creativity is something that we recognise and connect with in each other. This community has, and continues to, encourage and inspire me. I'm looking forward to meeting members of the blogging community at Thea & Sami's Morning Tea next week in Brisbane. (I believe there are still places available.) I'm also looking forward to my first guest post being published on one of my favourite blogs soon, accompanied by a giveaway.

An update on my eyes for those who have followed along as I went from surprise diagnosis of two severe retinal detachments, to surgeries and on to recovery. I drove today for the first time in three months! (With my optometrists approval.) With glasses the vision in my right eye is very, very good. Unfortunately the damage done to my left eye was not completely repairable and my right eye is going to have to do most of the work, while my left eye offers a little peripheral assistance. It's been a little difficult to mentally adjust to this change, though my right eye does a fantastic job of compensating for my left. I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to have the treatment I received and save the vision in my right eye. Modern medicine is a marvel.

Thank you again for your support of my little shop and my Mother's Day shop update. There was a time when I couldn't picture myself ever returning to the jewellery bench to work. Now I love the creative freedom of working from home and being a stay at home Mother. My blog provided me with a place to share my work and receive feed back, which lead to the opening of my shop. In a couple of months my shop will be turning three! I'm pleased to say that half of the pieces in the Mother's Day update have sold and I am currently in the process of designing and working on a collection of brooches for my next update.

All these things I could not accomplish on my own. So thank you.

Life is good. 

Yarn Along

Some days are easy. Some days both children sleep at the same time and even Mama gets a nap. Some days we are all dressed, the house is clean, there's bread in the oven and I've made a blog post all before 10am. Some days are harder. Some days your toddler wets himself in front of two door knocking Mormons. Some days he brings out breast pads while friends are visiting the new baby and offers you "clean milk nappies." Some days he plays 'hide and seek' under the blankets while the baby is laying on them and knocks her off the bed. Some days you pick up your crying baby and have a fit of the hysterics. Yes indeed.

Some days Many days, knitting and reading offer a little bit of sanity.

New books from the library - Knitting Rules, The Divided Heart - Art and Motherhood (recommended by Jodi) and The Gentle Art of Domesticity.

On the needles - Emerson's garter stitch blanket 

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Joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Today

New Mama tiredness. Cluster feeds. Tummy tenderness. Toddler crankiness/argumentativeness/over-tiredness. Housebound.
Dusty floors, dirty towels, mounting dishes.
Day two solo parenting, since Dave has returned to work.

Thank goodness for those little moments that make it all worthwhile.

Toddlers kissing babies. Long baby naps. Toddler naps.
A sink full of clean dishes. A basket full of clean clothes. Another bean harvest.
A book and some knitting.
And photos of my children.

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On one of those overwhelming parenting days, where running off to join the circus really does sound like a good idea, what wouldn't be a good idea would be to sort out your closet. When you are already feeling like the world is caving in, removing more than half your wardrobes contents because they are no longer fit will only make you think of more drastic measures than joining said circus. Now five lonely items sway in the gulf that was once my wardrobe, a hundred empty coat hangers eying them off.

Sometimes there is just nothing for it but to stay up past your bed time, with a glass of wine and read a book that will make you laugh, nod and commiserate. Thank goodness the cross stitched title caught my eye at the library.