Tiny notebook in lap, giant blanket on dog

We have had some really lovely weather around here in the last couple of weeks and I snapped this picture while Norman and I were soaking up some of it while Sonny napped.

Thank goodness that kid still naps!  I would never get anything done!

Norman IS in that blanket.  You can just see his nose peeking out right above the seat of my chair.

A glimpse into my (work) brain

The other night I pulled all of my bits and pieces together to start drawing up the poster for Ursa.
This is not a styled photo.  I literally just pulled everything out of my purse, where it usually lives, and laid it out to start sketching.

I did however take a moment to enjoy how tidy it was before I pulled everything out of the folder on the right and spread out across the WHOLE table for a couple of hours after Sonny went to sleep.

And my bench does look pretty tidy in this photo too, but in real life, it's usually WAY messier.
There is a method to the madness, I usually know where every tool is and don't even really have to look for it when I'm in the swing of things.  But I know that to the outsider it probably looks like a terrifying fire hazard.  In my bedroom.

The computer table is technically Geoff's work space, so I try to keep my stuff over there as organized and as small as possible.  Right now it's my yellow Ursa Folder, my Molskine dayplanner and my phone.

Although I can probably retire my molskine as I have been really trying to keep everything in my iphone since I got it.  So far it's working!  I really like that it beeps at me to remind me.
(it always makes me think of the Dis-Organizer, which makes me very happy)

That molskine doesn't say a thing.

On parenting and working from home

I am sitting here listening to Sonny call for us from his bedroom.  He's been at it on and off for AN HOUR.  He used to be so good at bedtime, just nursing to sleep and then staying asleep all night.

I will admit, it kind of fluffed our feathers.  Yes!  He IS sleeping through the night already.
We did a little bit of mild sleep training when he was 7 months old.  Up until that, he slept on me.
On Me.
For 7 straight months I was restrained by a very sweet, wiggly shift manager who demanded that I HOLD THE F STILL for 8 hours.
Which honestly wasn't so bad, we slept pretty well.  Until we didn't.

And then we moved him to his own bed in his own room and it only took him a couple of weeks to figure it out and he was at it again, sleeping though the night.

A dream really.

And then I started working at home again, at night after he went to sleep and it was pretty good at first.  But lately, the last month or so, he's not going to bed easily any more.
He's chatting to us, to his sleepy buddies, his blanket, whoever will listen.  And then he is yelling at us to come and get him.  And what was once a solid 7:30 bedtime has now evolved into an 8:30 bedtime with an hour, AN HOUR of heart wrenching crying and hair pulling...on both sides of the door.

And I try SO HARD to not resent this hour.  This frustrating, hateful hour that we are now anticipating every night, this STUPID hour that holds me out of the studio because I can't start working until he's asleep, which means that instead of working until 11 I am now working until Midnight and then I am waking up a groggy, grumpy zombie person who shuffles around glaring at the world in general and resents having a studio in her BEDROOM FOR PETE'S SAKE, and I wonder if I should just pack it all in and get a regular job (which I really don't want to do, but maybe then I could leave work at work and have my evenings free for my family and my sanity.)

But the idea of packing up my gear makes me CRINGE.  I feel like I am finally on to something here and making it happen, little by little.  And if I pack it all in I will ALWAYS wonder.  And regret.  And resent.

So.  Now that I have written this while listening to Him fall asleep, FINALLY, I am going to shut down the computer, head into the bedroom and work, really hard for at least three hours (1 am tonight folks) so that I will have some really beautiful bangles and earrings to sell at the Fox, and fill a couple of orders (THANK YOU!) and put together packages for accounts that have been waiting patiently for me to spend this time.

That I kind of really love.

Making beautiful things that I hope women will wear and love and share with their little ones, when those little one's aren't so little anymore.

So good night computer, good night blog.

Good night grumpy baby.  I love you so.

Working and Motherhood

This is not going to be a long post.
I went back to work a couple of weeks ago and it's become apparent to me that I have a lot to learn about balancing things out around here.

I am thinking of reading this book for some tips!

I'll let you know what I learn when I do.

Home workspace

Since Sonny has my old studio for a bedroom, figuring out a way to work at the house has been a challenge.
It hasn't been too bad, especially since it took me a really long time to get back into things and adjust to his Incredible Ever Changing Schedule! (I think that I may have been enabling a lot of it now that I look back on things - but when he was so tiny it was hard to let him cry so we spent A LOT of time together. We watched three seasons of Angel in a little over 2 weeks. No joke)

But in the last few weeks particularly things are turning a corner for us. He's happily playing on his own in the Shack (playpen) for a good 20 minutes to a half hour at a time and it allows me to get my day organized or eat breakfast or draw even (this is a big one for me!) and it's SO WONDERFUL.

So. Wonderful.

And I've got this sweet little set up in the bedroom for myself now

It's my little market table that was living behind our bedroom door between shows! It's much happier now that we are hanging out more.

I have to only work on one project at a time - it's not very big - but it allows me to have a space to be creative and work from home while The Boss is napping. HUGE!

This new arrangement might evolve again over the summer or next fall, now that Sonny is so much more involved around the house it's harder for Geoff to study and get work done in the dining room, it might work better for him to be in a space where he is able to close the door!

But for now, this is great!

Some wonderful advice (from a pretty awesome blogger)

I struggle with this CONSTANTLY and I am really trying to wrap my head around how to better organize my studio/brain to be better at working from home and being a better entrepreneur. (because frankly I feel like I suck at it sometimes!)

Over at Paper N Stitch, Brittni has put together a list of great ideas to implement into any at home business routine (mine especially) and I don't know about you, but it's really helpful to me to see things written down in a list!

Please take a look!

(I am going to so some planning for my own space this evening when I get home from work, I think a white board on the door asking me if I finished what I needed to that day -with a list of what I wanted to accomplish- is a good starting point for my brain!)

Here is a shot of her beautiful desk set up, and a link to the post as well!

I love how tidy and bright it is!

Thank you Brittni!