Flower Obsession

Posted by Nat on Sep 1, 2011 | 1 comment

I’m trying to find the balance.  I’m making tons of stuff but finding the time to get it on this blog- crazy hard!  In the meantime…

Flowers make me happy.  Every once in a while I will take pictures of them.  I’m sure they are not award-winning, and I’m dreaming of a new camera, but I love remembering something that was only around for a week or so.

I buy my flowers at Trader Joe’s.  I love TJs.  You can get a little bouquet of daisies for about $5 and it lasts nearly a whole week.

You can also see that I use them in posts sometimes- they help add color to pictures.

This bunch of sunflowers was only $2.99!!!  Happiness for $3.  Who can beat that?

Someday we’ll have a garden window over our sink and I can have lots of little bouquets and mini plants growing in the sunshine.  Until then, these will definitely fit the bill.

And lastly, while I’m trying to find balance, manage my Pinterest addiction, blog, sleep, and mother 3 beautiful children, I’m also so happy.   School has started, and I’m not any part of it.  I’m with my kids, playing, running errands, and worrying about what matters most- my family.  Life is crazy, but it couldn’t be better.

My Friends, Meet Bear

Posted by Nat on Aug 24, 2011 | 1 comment

This is Anna’s bear.  He’s very pleased to meet you.

Every child has some sort of lovey or thing they are attached to, right?  Actually, I don’t remember having one as a child…. oh wait, I did.  It was my thumb.  If I could go back and change things up, I’d pick a bear.

There’s a special project in the works for this bear, though, so I thought I’d introduce you ahead of time.  And this is a special bear for our family.  Special as in, “Oh my LORD we can never, EVER lose this bear because there is no replacement” kind of special.

When I was in 7th grade I had a cyst in my left hand.  It was no big deal in the grand scheme of life, but to a 7th grade girl who is falling in love with the piano it was a rather big deal (and I was pretty dramatic in general- I’m sure my mom and sisters would back that up).  I needed surgery to have it removed, and to our surprise, they put me out for it.  When I woke up in recovery, my hand bandaged up and head throbbing, this bear was the first thing I saw through the hazy effects of the drugs wearing off.   It was the holiday season, so he was actually holding a candy cane and wearing a little knit hat.  He was wonderful- and actually a very well-made bear.

Fast forward to Anna’s arrival.  I’m not sure when Bear came back to me.  Maybe I grabbed him during a home visit, or my mom sent him out with some of my other belongings.  Somehow Bear made it into Anna’s room with her stuffed animals, and somehow she zeroed in on him as “the one” she needed for comfort. Needless to say, I was elated.  I’ve also been heartbroken in the last few months as 4-year-old Anna selects other friends as her #1 choice for playing, comfort and general preschool fun.  But I’ve come to notice that when in a pickle, Bear is the only one who will do.  He goes to school, and just this past week he accompanied us to the dentist and even had his teeth cleaned.

Over the last 4 years he’s gotten a little tired in a few areas…

…but overall he is sturdy.  I haven’t had to sew any holes shut, and when we wash him, he holds together just fine.

Anna also waxes and wanes about Bear’s gender.  Sometimes Bear is a boy, and his name is Bear.   Other times she will proclaim that Bear is a girl.  I’ll ask her, “Well, what’s her name going to be then?  If Bear is a girl we need to be able to tell.”  “Just Bear, Mommy,” she’ll say.  Hm.

However, our upcoming project will perhaps define that scenario a bit more.  Here’s a little hint:

I can’t wait!  More to come!

Jack’s Wagons

Posted by Nat on Aug 22, 2011 | 1 comment

Jack’s room is coming along at a very slow pace.  Perhaps it’s because he’s a boy and I know he doesn’t really care or notice that his curtains need to be hemmed, or that his closet has no doors of any kind.

I did, however, want something on the walls because the paint color is not very exciting.  I like it because he won’t “outgrow” the color, but it’s nothing that makes you say, “Wow!” when you walk in the room.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again- if you haven’t discovered Cathe Holden and her blog, Just Something I Made, please get yourself over there and start reading and downloading awesome freebies.  Eons ago Cathe posted some wagons.  As I read the post and saw the wagon graphics I thought, “Finally!  Something for Jack’s room!”  This is what I came up with:

I tried to match the colors to his bedding, but it was super tricky and again, I knew Jack wouldn’t look at me at the age of 5 and say, “Mommy, these blues don’t match exactly.”  He’s a sensitive boy and I think he’ll be able to see that would crush me entirely.

I printed the wagons out after editing them in Photoshop.  Then I spray painted them with clear acrylic and cut them out.  I chose the background papers.  Then it was just paint the 12×12 canvas with acrylic paint, and Mod Podge those suckers up (is Mod Podge a verb yet?  I think it should be.)

Here’s a close up of one:

 Here are a few shots of his room:

I’ll admit that this project was a bit rushed- I think I was trying to finish in time for a gathering at our house, but not quite sure- it’s all a blur.  I’ve gotten so many compliments, though- people really like them.

Thank you, Cathe, for your wonderful downloads- I love them!

Also, a side note is that I added Jack’s name to the wall above his bed with cardboard letters.  I’m actually not too pleased with them, but am showing anyway.   I think I may get some wooden ones and see if that turns out better.  Jack loves them, and knows that they spell his name.  I’m waiting for the day that he yanks one off the wall.  They are painted with acrylic paint and Mod Podged- nothing fancy:

I am linking up to Craft-0-maniac’s Monday Link Party,

The DIY Showoff,

Skip To My Lou.

Someday Crafts,

Crystal & Co.

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.

BlogHer ’11 Highlights: Who I Met and What I learned

Posted by Nat on Aug 11, 2011 | 1 comment

As I was working on this post I came across a few blogs poking fun at all of us bloggers who attended “the conference” and are posting poetically about “our experiences.”  I had to sort of chuckle at myself, and it made me realize that all of my internal shuffling may not be that big a deal to the world.  However, I’m going to post some big things, if anything so I can remember them when I’m 80 and still blogging with a voice-activated iPad.  I’m sure by that point I’ll be lucky to even be able to read my past posts!

I learned a lot about myself at BlogHer (which is always a good thing).  Two big ones:

• I am scared of anything dressed up in a costume.  Weird.  I posed with the Jimmy Dean Sun (he is SO FLIPPIN’ NICE!- for reals) and that was okay because I could see his face, but I couldn’t do the Smurfs, the Pringles guy, or the California Raisin.  Too weird.  This makes no sense because when we go to Sea World or Lego Land I’m totally fine when I’m in “mommy mode.”  So strange.  My friend Dana waltzed right up and took pictures, but I either took them for her and then begged off or walked the other way.

• I really, really want to do something with blogging and writing (and maybe some crafting).  I have no idea what, but BlogHer ’11 has lit a fire under me to figure out what that is, and figure it out sooner rather than later.  I like technology (thank goodness I have Michael in my corner in that area), I like the Internet, I like reading and writing- it seems like a natural fit.  I still have scads of materials to go through that I was handed by different people from different companies- who knows.  I love and hate the open-ended-ness of it.

I also met some amazing people.  The biggest one for me, as in, “Holy cow theresheistheresheis…there…she…is….” was meeting Stephanie Nielson of the NieNie Dialogues.  She was amazing.  I was so nervous- I didn’t want to waste her time or make her feel like she had to talk to one more person.  But I also knew that I’d regret it later if I didn’t go say “hi.”

When the session was over my friend, Dana, saved the day again, ushering me up the stairs to meet her and take my picture with her.  Stephanie couldn’t have been nicer.  It helped that I had Em with me- I know she loves babies. 🙂  But seriously- I couldn’t admire anyone more than I do this woman.  Her strength, courage, perseverance… Not to mention her amazing sense of style and her beautiful family.  I feel like her story is one that constantly reminds me that there is a higher power.  Thanks to Dana for pushing me along and taking these pictures (she deleted some just so she could take these!):

Although I didn’t get to formally introduce myself because I had no idea who she was, the very first person I spoke to on Friday morning was Lisa Stone, CEO of BlogHer.  Yowzas.  It was awesome.  I was making my way into the Newbie Breakfast and she was walking out.  She stopped to peek at Emily, tilted her head, and asked,

“How old?”

“5 weeks.”

“*sigh* You’re making my uterus hurt.  You look fabulous.”

“I’m wearing Spanx.”

“Honey, everyone here is wearing Spanx.”

Hilarious.  She gave me the most genuine smile and told me to have a fabulous time.  Such a nice way to start the conference.

And then there’s this sweetheart I met in the Lactation Lounge, Ky of Two Pretzels.  Ky has a wonderful blog and an even more wonderful personality in person.  That’s really something I liked the most about BlogHer- it sort of humanized the whole blog experience.  Ky and I somehow ended up in the LL 3 or 4 times over the course of the weekend.  She was amazing and instead of dumping her pumped milk, she donated it to a local mom- how rad is that?  Currently Ky lives in Cabo.  Yes, as in Mexico.  So exotic!

I also met Jes Ferris of Chirky.  She oversaw a Birds of a Feather session I went to and I seemed to pass her everywhere I went- she ALWAYS smiled at me.  It was a nice reminder to smile at people.

I wish I could have seen my friend Tonya in action more.  She was in charge of a huge party that I did not attend in order to save my sanity and energy.  Tonya, who has nearly-5-year-old twins, completely understood, too- she’s cool like that.  Tonya is not someone I just met- come to think of it, she’s probably one of the first bloggers I ever met, but I just had to give her a shout out.

So there you go- my big BlogHer ’11 moments.  In a few weeks I will have fresh memories to take the place of these- so much coming up and so ready for it all (not.).  My “to do” list is growing and growing, but for now I’m perfectly content to let it grow right alongside my kids.  They don’t really care what I have to do, so I’m going to adopt that attitude for a while and just do what I can, the rest can wait.

The Breastfeeding Mother’s Guide to BlogHer

Posted by Nat on Aug 8, 2011 | 3 comments

Well then.  Dang.  I am ti-RED!

BlogHer ’11 was amazing.  Really.  I’ve attended a lot of conferences in my life, and this one was by far the most well-organized, friendly and easy to access conference I’ve ever been to.  Little confusion, lots of friendly faces.  Well done, blogging women, well done.

I have so much to process, as I’m sure many people who attended do.  I need to revamp more and more of this little plot on the internet, and I’m sure that’s going to happen….eventually.  The biggest take away for me:  my blog is what I make it.  And I want to make it about more than crafting, yet stay away from family stuff since I already have my family blog.  The only thing holding me back from making it just that is… me.  Changes are a-comin’.  There’s just one thing holding me back, and it’s this:

photo by my amazing friend Amber of LifeArt Photography– isn’t she outstanding?!

In the meantime, while I get this whole “mommy-of-3-and-trying-to-start-anew” thing down, I thought I’d share the part of the conference that surprised me the most:  boob stuff.  That’s right, I said boobs.  That’s funny for a few reasons, one being that before I had children, I hated the word boob/s, but now… I’m okay with it (ah, the hands of time, how they help us change…).

Before I bit the bullet and bought my ticket to BlogHer, I emailed my friend Tonya and asked her, “Can I bring a baby?  She’ll be really little.  Am I insane to do that?”  Tonya assured me that there would be kids everywhere.  BlogHer also provided child care for bigger kids, and I ran into many people who took advantage of it- hooray for that.  But I couldn’t leave my  nearly-5-week-old Em with anyone- she needed me and my boobs.  So, in case anyone in the future wants to attend BlogHer with a new baby and isn’t sure, check this stuff out and you’ll find that it’s not too bad.  You’ll be hell-a-tired afterwards, but it is possible.

Awesomeness #1:  The Lactation Lounge!

When I received my email with my pdf document containing all things BlogHer I scanned the map of the convention center.  My eyes lit up when I saw the words “Lactation Lounge sponsored by Lansinoh.”  Holy crap.  A place to feed my baby?  Where other moms can pump?  In privacy?  Rock ON!  That’s what I’m talkin’ about!  I didn’t nurse every single time in there, but it was so nice to escape the craziness for a bit and just sit back, relax, hold my babe, and let her do her thing without a bazillion people in the midst.  Every conference with even 50% women should have this available.  Just sayin’.  I actually met some of the nicest women ever while nursing Em.  I even picked up a few nursing tips.  I did have visions of rocking chairs, pillows, nursing swag, soft music, dim lighting, etc.  That is not what it was- it was basically an empty room with a bunch of sectional chairs and some Lansinoh freebies, but it was so much better than a whole bunch of nothing.

Awesomeness #2:  Undercover Mamas

My friend Jane turned me onto these.  Well, actually, she gave them to me to wear.  How cool is that?  If you have not discovered these yet, get some.  They are tank tops that have no straps; instead they hook into your nursing bra and you can layer them with anything from your wardrobe.  Anything.  No nursing top required, no tummy showing.  Awesome, right?

And a side note:  best nursing bra ever:  find it here.  I love it! It’s cute (I need to feel cute right now), comfy and it works so well!  I just noticed it’s a sleep bra.  Whatever- it’s comfy.  Wear it.

Other tips:

Take a stroller

Even if you are a baby wearer, take a stroller.  It’s not for the baby.  It’s for the crazy amount of swag you’re going to get.  Be sure to add a few stroller hooks (I’m cheap, so I use these) so you can just hang those swag bags and move on to the next booth.  Awesomeness.  Aside from the swag it’s nice to have a place to put your baby.  I wore Emily and had her in the stroller 50/50.  In the Expo hall I had her in the stroller, usually covered with a blanket, mainly to keep people at a distance to avoid germs and such.  But it was also nice to just have options.

Take a nursing cover if you need one

I need a nursing cover when I nurse around strangers.  It just makes me feel better.  Not everyone needs one, so if you don’t, feel free to do it your own way- I really was very surprised at how nice everyone was about having a baby at the conference in a general sense, and also how little people cared that I was nursing Em at all- maybe they just didn’t notice.  One of my favorite moments was when Annie of  PhD in Parenting spoke as a BlogHer Voice of the Year.  She shared with us a video she made about breastfeeding in public and telling women what to wear.  It’s an awesome video- you can view it here.  I love it. I was also nursing Emily as it was playing, which was just hilarious to me. I was touched by how much applause it received- it made me feel better about bringing Emily at all, let alone nursing her during sessions, etc.

Manage your expectations

Both of yourself and of the conference.  If you have a relatively young baby like I did, you can’t do it all.  You can’t do it all even if you DON’T have a very young baby.   I didn’t attend a single party, and I don’t feel like I missed out on too much other than seeing some transvestites and petting some cute puppies.  In order to have enough energy for day 2, I had to go home and rest.  I am lucky that I live in the outskirts of San Diego, but even if I was traveling, I would have gone back to my hotel room and passed the heck out.  I’m sure I would have enjoyed the parties, but that will have to wait until next year- in NYC!!!  Boy, I hope I can go (hint-hint, honey… please oh please?).

I hope these were helpful things.  If you went as a nursing mom and have more to add, please do! And if you met me and I didn’t get your card for whatever reason, please leave a comment so I can go see your blog- it was hard to remember to give out cards between feedings, diaper changes and poop explosions.  🙂

BlogHer ’11: Get your blog on!

Posted by Nat on Aug 4, 2011 | 2 comments

Hello everyone,

If you’re reading this because you’re at BlogHer ’11 in San Diego, welcome!  If you’re reading this because you subscribe to my blog:  you are rad!

I wanted to put up a fresh post and make it easily accessible to learn a bit about me, because if you’re at BlogHer, then you’re probably clicking around during a session learning about all the amazing women in one place, under one roof.  So here are some tidbits about me, Crafting Crazy, and what I’m all about:

–  Crafting Crazy started as an outlet for me to get my craft on and not have it mingle with my family blog posts.  With a house to redecorate, three kids, and a serious urge to make stuff, I claimed my territory in cyberspace about a year ago and started documenting away.

–  In May of this year I resigned from my teaching career.  I was an elementary music teacher and while I loved the kids and my colleagues, it was not the life I wanted.  Perhaps it’s because I recently gave birth to baby #3, Miss Em, or perhaps her arrival was the final kick in the pants I needed to move on to something new.  Either way, I’m on a new course, and I have no idea where it leads.  No clue.  At all.  Whatsoever.

–  The one thing I do know is that I want Crafting Crazy, and blogging in general, to be an outlet for me, and perhaps part of a new career.  I have no idea WHAT career.  This is unlike me.  I’m a planner.  But I’m letting go and seeing what happens.  I did recently change my tag line from “I fully admit I have no idea what I’m doing” (still true), to “Life is crazy.  Craft it well.”  I want to find out what it takes to craft a life that is beautiful, full of the right balance of busy-ness and relax-ed-ness (I make up words sometimes), and fun.  I want to take advantage of this time with my kids and my husband to really feel like I’m in charge of my destiny and that I’m in the right place at the right time.

–  I have a long list of “to do’s” for my blog.  I need to re-do my blog roll.  I need to rethink my theme.  I need to make a signature.  I need to find out how to place ads without making my blog look horrible.  I need to convince my husband that I need a new camera so I can take prettier pictures.   I need to write a boat-load/butt-load/crap-load of posts, but hey- I just had a baby– cut me some slack.  Right now I’m at BlogHer to take in information.  The rest will come, I’m sure.

If you introduced yourself to me, thank you!  I hope I was equally friendly because I am super nervous and excited about this 2-day adventure.  I can’t wait to post about what I learned, and see what happens after this milestone for me.  I’ve been looking forward to it for months, and here it is!  If you’re visiting via BlogHer, please leave me a comment so I can go visit your blog, too!