Creating
My belly cast that my sweet doulas & best friend did when I was 38 weeks with BabyLoves. I LOVE it and am so glad they did it. The kids helped me paint it, finally, many months post partum. But I have something heavier I want to share about today. I came across an online forum that had some negative comments about my blog, and people who I’m friends with that also blog. I will spare you the details, but some of what I read really hurt my feelings. But more importantly, made me think that maybe the people who have followed my journey of familyhood no longer think I’m writing anything of real value because I’m doing giveaways and working with brands. Gosh. I don’t know what to say. I really love that I can approach a company and ask for free quality products for my friends. I know that’s not every reader’s cup of tea. Totally get it. And my etsy shop and my sister’s organic skincare products? I do talk about them a lot. They’re both a big part of my life. And some of the comments talked about my Catholicism and how it’s masked or veiled, or I’m not trying to be up front about my beliefs because I’ll then get more sponsors. Confused about this. My ad bars on the side? They’re friends of mine. People who are mostly in the natural parenting world, helping families and moms. I charge a very small fee (compared…
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A fellow crafter asked: where do you get your great yarns and threads?? I thought, is she talking about my clothing because these are all maternity hand-me-downs from Molly. Then I realized oh, no, she means my fabric & yarn. Like she said. When it takes you that long to process this much in a live conversation . . . problems. Right here in River City. Ginny from Small Things does a read & yarn post on Wednesdays if you’re looking for inspiration. Lydia from Small Town Simplicity is an AMAZING yarn craftswoman. I mean, I swoon over her stuff for her kids. But back to me and my sourcing: Threads! Fabric! Oh, my flaming passionate love affair with fabric. I am making a concerted effort not to buy new until I’ve used my copious stash up. I *may* have picked up two little fabrics when I was in my favorite local shoppe the other day getting fabric for an actual order. I sewed as a little girl. Atrocious things by hand. But then never did again until my mom bought me a sewing machine as an engagement present. To say I was dubious is an understatement. Somehow we shuffled through the lessons that accompanied the purchase and although she dropped by the wayside (who was going to watch the children so I could sew??), we did learn the basics of the machine. The rest, as they say, is history. But really, I wanted to make beautiful things for me…
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A follow up letter after my open letter to my electronic friends who gathered in Texas: My dear readers, BabyLoves and I went to Texas for the Edel Gathering. We made it there and back. Together. Attached by the sling, as it were. The weekend was lovely, truly lovely, for so many reasons. It was, in many parts, whatever the attendee made of it. If you wanted private time to ponder, think, and just breathe, there was that available without the rigors of a jam-packed schedule. If you wanted to chat it up with new friends, hit Austin together, hang by the pool, there was that. If you were me and rooming with a very old friend whom you hadn’t seen in six years, and had your two month old in tow, you would probably do what I did: rest and hang by the hotel. In between sessions I had to head back to the room to rest. Given that it took me almost 7 weeks to recover from bebe’s epic birth, I should have known I’d be beat up by travel. Good thing there was lots of chocolate around. I didn’t see any of Austin, except the Cathedral for confession and mass. And we’re okay with that, me & the bebe. I didn’t get to the pool. I didn’t get to the outside restaurants. I didn’t get to the late night fun talks with ladies. I didn’t even get to see the amazing karaoke past 10pm. A little person…
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Dear electronic friends I haven’t met in person, A la Bonnie, I too am going to post a little open letter to the universe toward you. I have my baby with me. Yes, he is big. No, he will not take a bottle. Yes, he will spit up on me and I will wipe it off my arm with my dress, possibly flashing you. Yes, I will be wearing a dress mostly because I cannot bear the squeeze of clothing postpartum. No, he does not sleep in a pack n play. Yes, he nurses all the time. I might flash you with the upper body parts doing so. I’m sorry if he screams on the airplane, in the hotel room, in the bathroom, in the conference, or any other time. I can’t help it. I love to meet new people. I promise not to glom onto you, though, so don’t worry if I chat happily for a few minutes with you. I may knit at the same time we’re talking. I’m making blankets for my etsy shop to pay backwards for these trips. You may not like to gab with a knitting, baby wearing mom. If so, sorry again. I cannot successfully put my hair in a knot top bun without having the front look flat and greasy. If that’s all I could muster in the hotel bathroom while bouncing my baby before coming down to the conference events, I’m sorry. For you, that is. I’ll just be glad it’s…
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Music used to play a much larger role in my life. I sang in several choirs, one touring, and had private voice lessons in high school. As a child I even had my own rap group called “Nell, Inc.” Our signature (and only) song went something like this . . . break it down now, puttta, puttta, oh. And all my new acquaintances in high school, college, and law school would share music love with me–introducing me to new tunes, rocking out to well loved tunes together, making music, you name it. Now that I’m a mommy. And a mommy blogger at that. I have little access to the music scene. I’m too busy listening to Scythian’s Cake for Dinner or Burl Ives. Or classical music on Minnesota Public Radio. But when I made a playlist to stream from my iPhone during our third’s birth, I re-countered all these artists and songs I had forgotten about! Listen your heart out. And thanks to sweet people like my BFF (hi, Sarah!!) for continuing to introduce this old lady set of ears to new tunes. Don’t be shocked at the variety. It’s the spice of errr. . . birthing? When you say nothing at all . . . Alison Krauss It was my love song for my horses–because I don’t speak horse, of course. Wild world . . . Cat Stevens My sister Molly loved him as a young teen. Me too, duh. Donna nobis . . . choral arrangement directed by a dear deceased…
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When you meet wonderfully awesome ladies on the internet, and no, not in the mail-order-bride sort of way, and you discover you have tons in common, including etsy’ing in up, and they also love to eat copious amounts of olive oil on their baguettes, you know it’s time to feature their sweet etsy shop! Jenna of Call Her Happy {wonderful blogging} is also an artisan. You’ve simply got to check out her beautiful necklaces. They’re truly lovely. To get to know her & her shoppe better, I whipped out a few questions from my I-guess-I’m-a-wanna-be-journalist-not-lawyer back pocket. Check it, and order yours with the code CALLHERMAMA for 20% for Mother’s Day! Don’t think I haven’t already used my coupon! SHOP HERE! Jenna, you have a talent with a needle few can boast. Your beautiful needlepoint also brings needlepoint into the 21st century from the 19th!! No longer associated with our grandmothers, you’re bringing it back. Tell us a little about your craft, how you got started on creating, and why you love it. I think you underestimate just how granny I can be! But, I am going to take all of your kind words and run with them. Anyway, I started with embroidery after Sam was born (so a little less than a year ago). I have always loved creating, but once I had two kids, time for that was less than minimal. I discovered that embroidery was easy enough to pick up and put down when someone fell off…
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