family

What is your “awesome”?

Posted by Nat on Aug 18, 2011 | 2 comments

(Note:  I’ve come to realize that I really like to write, I have a lot in my noggin, and this is a great place to let it all out.  Those of you who have been around a while may have noticed that I changed my tag from “I fully admit I have no idea what I’m doing” to “Life is crazy. Craft it well.”  I’m shifting the focus of my blog to include many things, not just crafting in a literal sense.  I’m trying to craft a wonderful life for myself and my family.  I hope you’ll enjoy reading in weeks and months to come about how we do just that.  Thanks!)

 “I’m not a teacher anymore.” 

This phrase has gone through my head numerous times since May 13th, when I walked out of my classroom and headed to a farewell happy hour.  I was pregnant with Emily and done.  D-O-N-E done.  My doctor wrote the note, and it was as easy as pie to head out the door.  But I wasn’t just leaving for maternity leave.  Weeks prior I turned in a letter of resignation to my administrative office.  I will not be returning next week the way so many colleagues-who-are-now-just-friends will be.  I am now, “Just a mom.”  And that, my friends, is awesome.  For me.  Would it be awesome for you?

My husband and I worked hard to get to the point where we were ready to jump off of the two-income cliff, down to the one-income plateau.   It’s a huge leap for us.  We tried during the 2008-2009 school year to make a go of living on one income.  I took a leave of absence and got to be at home with the kids, but financially we weren’t quite there.  My heart has been at home since the birth of my daughter, Anna, in 2007, so returning to work after a year of doing what fills my heart was hard.  Two years later and we are making the change we’ve both wanted for our family.

It was interesting, though, once we were sure we could and would make the commitment, to hear people’s reactions to the fact that I was leaving my profession behind.

They ranged from disbelief….

“No!  You’re quitting?!”

“Shut up!  For reals?”

“Can you afford it in this economy?”

…to dismay…

“But you’re such a good teacher…”

“When will you come back?”

…to happiness…

“I’m so happy for you!”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Finally!”

There were many more that tore at my heart strings in both good and bad ways- many I’ve since forgotten, but in the moment were at times hard to hear.  Having so many different reactions to my choice to leave was so interesting.  No one’s reaction truly bothered me, they just made me think.  A lot.

It seems like there is a continual debate about what the “right” choice is for women.  One trend is to have a full-fledged career, work long hours, and show our kids that women can have careers just as big and bold as men.  Another seems to be a “back to basics” trend of having the mom give up that second income and stay home- essentially, what I am doing.   Whether they realized it or not, many people displayed their opinions of what the “right” choice is through their reaction to my departure from my teaching career.  It was fascinating.

What is the right choice?   I think the reason that everyone argues about it so much is that there is no one “right answer” and the only thing that’s tried and true about this issue, regardless of you choice, is this:  parenting is hard work.  If you’re doing it right, then you are exhausted at the end of the day, whether you are a “FTWM,” “SAHM” or “WAHM” (or any other acronym that applies to you).  I admire women who are passionate about their careers, love going to work, and manage to still be there for their children.  I equally admire women who give up their careers to be there for every minute of their kids’ lives, whether they are infants, toddlers, or school-aged kids.  We all make the choices that work for us and our families, and some of us don’t even have a choice in the matter.  I hope that we can eventually reach a place where we aren’t judged by whether we stay home, work, or a combination of the two.  I’d rather be judged by the kind of children I’m raising, working a paid job or not.

What do you think?  Is this debate ever going to go away?  Are we ever going to just appreciate our different life choices or will there always be comparison and judgement?  I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts.

Well hello there…

Posted by Nat on Jul 27, 2011 | Comments Off on Well hello there…

I can’t believe it’s been three weeks.  I’m having to reassess my ability to jump back into things in the blogging world.  In the meantime, please meet our newest addition, Emily Lou.  If you’d like to read more about her, click here.

I have lots of things in the works… in my head.  Some are already finished and I just need to write them up.  Others are projects that I’m longing to do, but just haven’t found the time yet.  I am also attending BlogHer next week, and that is going to take some prep work.  So, please pardon the sporadic posting, and hopefully BlogHer will give me the jumpstart I need to… do whatever it is I’m going to do with myself. 🙂

More to come!

Health Record (Freebie!)

Posted by Nat on Jun 15, 2011 | 1 comment

This project is not rocket science.  Nor is it the coolest invention ever- but I haven’t seen anything like it, so hopefully it’s helpful.  It’s been bouncing around in my head for quite a while now.  It came about when my son, Jack, started having chronic ear infections.  At one point I took him to a Minute Clinic and the nurse asked me, “How many ear infections has he had in the last six months?” I had no idea.  I sheepishly said, “Well, it just seems like he’s been sick all the time since… since….”  but I couldn’t tell her when.  It wasn’t until I got home and started talking through the timeline with my husband that we could put a finger on when it started.

This was when I realized:  I need a health record for the kids.  I’ve seen them in old-fashioned baby books, but I’m not the kind of person that can remember once I get home to log everything into the baby book.  I also know there are some phone apps out there that will keep track of your health, your family’s health, etc…  But in this case I want something I can write on, something I can show someone else.

After not finding anything online that fit the bill, I decided to give it a try on my own.  I knew I wanted it to be small, and decided that something the same size as the kids’ immunization records would be nice.  I keep those in my purse at all times so that I don’t forget them when we go to the doctor.  I knew I wanted to keep track of when they were sick, what they had, and what, if anything, the doctor prescribed.  This is my final product:

I got the little nurse and doctor graphics online from the Mircosoft Word website.  This is not the craftiest thing, but I’m just as practical as I am crafty.   Here’s the inside:

And here you can see that they are just slightly larger than the immunization records we have.

And here’s my favorite part:  you can download pdfs of the cover and the inside and print them yourself!  All you need is some cardstock, a paper cutter, a small hole punch, and something to hold it all together- I used plain brads, but may replace them with something cuter if I find it.  Here’s my only request: please leave a comment if you download, and if you are a blogger, show me some linky-love, too. 🙂

You should be able to click on each of these links (two total) and download the pdfs.  You will end up with four covers- if you have extras give them to a mommy friend or as a baby shower gift- I wish I had thought of this when Anna was a baby….

Health record cover

health record inside

Once you print, just slice and dice your pages in half twice, punch a hole in the corner and secure with something- voila!

Update:  I’m linking up to “Serenity Now’s” Weekend Bloggy Reading.  If I don’t go into labor in the next 24 hours, I will be reading up on all of her links, too.  Thanks, Amanda!

Picture Frame Gallery

Posted by Nat on Jun 3, 2011 | 2 comments

We have a ranch-style house (I think).  It’s all one level, which I love, and it has a loooooong hallway down the bedroom side.  We’re talking 30+ feet.  Really long.

When we moved into this house, which my husband grew up in, we had tons of projects, so for quite a while this one sat by the wayside, waiting to be done.  I had lots of thoughts about how to hang pictures, but it wasn’t until I saw this idea on Martha’s website that I got my rear in gear and starting putting this together.

Here’s the before, with just our small photo gallery that my mom gave me from Red Envelope.  (I actually need to email them because some of the frames aren’t holding up…)  Many apologies for the lighting- there is very little natural light in this hallway.  We hope to put in skylights someday, but until then…

And here’s the after:  voila!

I really love the end result.  Here’s a little bit about my process.

This was a very overwhelming task now that I look back and think about it.  Because of the layout I decided to do things in a way that felt a little bit backwards- I didn’t even think about what pictures to use- I just collected frames.  I wanted the frames to be uniform in color, and most of them were black.  But we were definitely on a budget and I didn’t want to buy frames unless I needed to, so I went through our huge collection of unused frames and pulled any that were black, or useable, but not black.  Then I spray-painted the ones that were not black.

I did have to make a trip to get a few more- I chose to hit up Wal-Mart.  My theory on frames is that once they are on the wall, it doesn’t matter if it was $3.00 or $30.00- it’s a frame.  This was a good thing, because Wal-Mart has some cheap frames!

I followed the directions on Martha’s website pretty much verbatim.  The one thing that I was very glad to have was the laser level with 3M Command Strips- that way I could easily make sure the dividing line was/is level.  Lots of painter’s tape was involved as well.  Lots.

Once I had the frames ready, I taped off the dividing center line.  Then I grouped the frames into four groups so that I wouldn’t have two identical frames right next to each other.  This made hanging go a bit faster because I didn’t have to stop and think-  just measured, taped, nailed and hung.  It took several hours to do.

(horrible lighting- sorry!)

Once the frames were up it was time to think about pictures.  I didn’t want them to be haphazard- I wanted each row to have it’s own theme.  I came up with this formula (pardon the elementary-ish Photoshop skills):

Then I started a folder on my laptop and dumped photos into it whenever I had a chance.  I used Photoshop Elements to print a contact sheet with little thumbnails of the possible pictures, and I taped them onto the frames so I could go over them with Michael and we could decide.

(our whole hallway looked like this for quite a while)

I had most of my family history pictures, but I had to coordinate with Michael’s mother and father to get his side.  Once the last few pictures went in it was like our house was complete (in a few ways, at least).

Did I leave anything out?  Let me know if you have questions- this was so great for this super long hallway.  How do you like to hang your picture frames?

31DBB Day 25: Ask a Question

Posted by Nat on Aug 16, 2010 | 6 comments

Some of my friends who read this blog regularly (I love them for that) may be wondering how this little huge blog challenge I’m doing is going.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click that little button on the right (under the subscribe button) and you’ll find out what I’m talking about.

Well…technically today is day 29 and I’m working on Day 25.  I’m behind.  But I’m not quitting- just catching up.  Whew!  It’s been a challenge in many ways, but mostly just keeping tabs on everything in addition to daily life has been the biggest one.  I did decide to switch my domain over, revamp the theme a bit, and do some other background stuff that no one will ever see that took a ton of time.  But I’m proud of doing this challenge- it pushed me just like my trainer pushed me in my pre-marriage & mommy days.

Day 25 Day’s task is to ask a question, and my question is a simple one:  how do you stay true to yourself and who you are? I’ve seen lots of blog moms post about this lately.  Blogging can give readers a sense that people are more than they are.  Take Design Mom, an extremely successful woman with 6, count ’em, 6 kids (who are gorgeous).  I was reading her blog, clicking page after page, oohing and aaahhhing, and thinking, “Oh my LORD this woman is Super Woman!”  Then I started getting down on my own situation- my house isn’t perfect enough, my wardrobe isn’t cool enough, I’m not wearing enough makeup and I certainly haven’t gotten far enough with my crafting yet.  Then I clicked Design Mom’s FAQ page and found this little tidbit, which really resonated with me:

“…And the answer is: I don’t. Not even close. In fact, on some level, I believe the whole idea is a myth. If my blog is really good on a given week, then you can bet my house is a wreck. If my blog seems a little bleh, then it’s guaranteed we’ve got a lot going on at home. If you know me in real life, then you know I work in my pjs as often as possible and that I’m a very typical mom. As each new child joins our family, I have to learn to be a more flexible and lower my expectations another notch.

…One more thing. Please keep in mind that on this blog I attempt to keep things very positive and showcase the best and prettiest things happening in my life. That doesn’t mean there aren’t bad days and failed projects and lost tempers. At the end of the day, blogs are a show. I suppose that’s why we like them so much.”

It made me feel so much better.  And it got me to thinking that blogging, while amazing, is misleading.  We see all of these wonderful things, but as Gabrielle points out, people rarely blog about the real stuff.  Blogging is, for me, one way to see the good things in my life, and to make good things in my life.  It would be easy, though, to get lost in comparison and start feeling like you don’t measure up.

So, how do you stay true to yourself? Do you limit your blog-self to a certain amount of blogging per day?  Do you ride the different waves of life and take it as it comes or plan it out to keep it sane?

For me, I try to remember that while I truly love this new blog (and have completely neglected my family blog and family photos this summer), I have to take a breather or it gets the best of me.  I’ve asked my husband to keep me in check.  School is starting soon, and then my time to craft/sew/create will be even more limited by the fact that I have to bring home a paycheck for another 9 months.  I do worry about balancing all of this, but it will all work out in the end- it always does.  I have to focus on life day-by-day, and not get wrapped up in the politics of teaching or who I need to please.  Other than planning doctor appointments and social dates, I have no long term goals mapped out on a calendar.  Maybe that needs to change, but right now I’m doing good just keeping up.  I need to please myself, my kids and my husband, and everything else is small potatoes.

I bought a ring recently- I can’t wait to get it in the mail.  It says, “Be true to your dreams.”  That is going to be my mantra this year as I set out to start a creative life and finish my teaching life, if only for a while.

I’d love to hear how you stay true to who you are in your day-to-day life.  Any tricks?  Words of wisdom?  Little vignettes to share?  Post ’em here- I’d love to do a recap!

p.s.  Did you enter for my first giveaway?  No?  Click here– you have until Friday the 20th!  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday!

Our Family Rules!

Posted by Nat on Jul 28, 2010 | 2 comments

You could read that two ways:

A)  Our family RULES!  (As in, our family is totally rad- and it is)

or

B)  Our family rules (As in, here are our Family Rules).

You pick.

Up there in my header there’s a list of Things I’d Like to Make.  I need to add to it because I’ve seen some pretty awesome stuff in the last few days.  One thing this 31DBB Challenge is doing is getting me to click around incessantly on the internet.  Ridiculous.  Often it’s worth my while, and occasionally I have to smack myself upside the head and get crackin’ on something of my own.  In this case, it was the Family Rules.

I first saw this idea on one of my fa-fa-favorite blogs, The Pleated Poppy.  You can see Lindsey’s fabric version here, and her friend Nicole’s version here.  If you look at the comments on their blogs you will see that many others have made these and I am way late on this bandwagon.  But better late than never, I say.

What I like about these, other than the crafty part, is that it’s a great reason to sit and think about what you want for you family.  What are your core values?  Get ’em up on the wall where you can see them daily.  I collected ones I saw on the web and then altered and added to suit our tastes, and then showed them to Michael.  He added some more and off I went.  Actually, I didn’t have to get much- just the canvas and the orange paint.

Here is my finished Family Rules:

One thing I did differently is I totally copped out on the whole font thing.  Many of the other blogs I read did their fonts by hand.  For reals.  I’m toooo lazy, and I’m also lucky enough to own a Canon i9900, which will print on a 12×12 piece of paper.  Hindsight 20/20, I wouldn’t have done it quite the same if I were to do it again, but I am still pleased with the turnout.  (And I’d still be totally lazy and print those puppies rather than do them by hand.)

I learned, however, that white ink is not Mod Podge friendly, or at least the white ink I used is not.  See the one that says “Celebrate together”?  I wanted it to *pop* on the paper which, though it’s hard to tell in the photo, is a shimmery paper.  So I spent a ridiculous amount of time covering the blank ink from my printer with white ink, only to have it wipe off when I Mod Podged it.  (Can you use Mod Podge as a verb?  Not sure…)  For some reason the other one I did, “Say grace and clean up after yourself” did not have the same problem, so it must have something to do with the paper.  Oh well- it’s all shellacked now anyway.

Here are some close ups of the smaller ones- I had to get creative because I ran out of room, so this was my solution:

Here are all of our rules (they are not in this order on the finished product):

1. Have fun, be silly
2. dance, hug and snuggle often
3. Celebrate together
4. Say, “I love you” (lots and lots)
5. Have an open mind
6. Be kind and respectful
7. Obey your parents
8. tell the truth even if you might get in trouble
9. share    listen    (these ended up as small ones so I separated them)
10. Give your guest your best
11. Mom & Dad:  remember your wedding day
12. hands are for hugging not hitting
13. encourage your siblings… share in their joy
14. there’s no such thing as too much reading
15. never give up
16. act responsibly, choose wisely
17. keep your promises
18. Use your manners- say please and thank you
19. Say grace and clean up after yourself
20. Ask lots of questions
21. Use your creativity
22. Try another point of view
23. Remember that God is Father of us all

If I get some requests I will be happy to post the names of the fonts I used- I am a total font junkie which is part of the reason I loved this project.  Such a nerd, I am.  I would do it now but I have consumed far too much BV Cab, and fear I would list them inaccurately.  🙂

I love this- it adds so much color to our kitchen, and is one of a bunch of things I’ve been doing this week to get organized and get homey before the school year starts.  I love coming home to a house with love and life, and I feel like I’m getting there.  Just wait until you see my other project from this week…. coming soon!