39 Weeks, 1 Day, & Some Perspective...

I absolutely adore the irony in this photo of Rayne:

1. Rayne is reading Newsweek!,
2. the combination of Rayne and the thought of stress don't ordinarily go together,
3. Rayne (and her sister) are often the source of some minor stress in my life...but out of a really great place of love.

This, coupled with her goofy smile...the whole package is just really humorous! A great kind-of illustration of the perspective that we all need to keep about the things that stress us out in life. Most of these things are never really as big or all-encompassing as we can make them during certain moments.

So, obviously, no baby yet. And truthfully, yes I am a bit anxious, but I'm feeling really good and still finding plenty to keep me busy. I finally got to hemming those curtains for Rayne & Layla's room {now that I have that new arts& crafts room we worked on this weekend}, the laundry is under a considerable amount of control {not a usual occurrence in this house}, the vacuum has come out of its closet more than once this week, books are being read, soap is being wrapped, etc. I pray for this type of ambition during every other moment in my life so I guess that I will harness it for now to help me keep my patience. We are literally down to mere days and I guess that's not too long to wait for a human life!

Yesterday, I came across this quote that totally reminded me of a newsletter I wrote sometime last year {which I would totally post had I not lost a considerable amounts of files in all my computer troubles...bygones}. Anyway, it really encompasses my true outlook on life:

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. ~Sousa

I think that the quote speaks to me so much right now, reminding me that my life cannot wait for me while I wait for baby Maya. But it also speaks to so many other situations in life where we think that if we could just get through _______, then we could have/do/be ________. {you could fill in a number of things, I'm sure} You could live an entire lifetime with those thoughts and then, in the end, never have lived the life you wanted. It's all about perspective!

On a bit of a different note {but highly related if your true ambitions are to live a more creative, artistic lifestyle}, I came across this video that you should totally take a moment to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpunQZ4cUyI

Have a great Wednesday!

My Muses...

In an effort to indulge my creative side more fully and explore what directions to take, I've been thinking abundantly about the creative habit. Lately, I've been giving a lot of thought to what inspires me {which, in and of itself, may or may not manifest into a project of it's own}. Just in being more aware of my surroundings and noticing which stimuli are spurring creative thoughts and ambitions, I've been learning so much about my personal creative process. I have found, undeniably, that my most inspiring muses are my beautiful girls. I am totally moved by the reckless abandon with which they approach art projects...not giving much mind to whether or not they are doing something properly, not worrying about mess or technique...just doing, creating, expressing. And doing it so well. They are, in turn, creating pieces that are uniquely them; expressions of their souls inspired by their own portfolio of experiences. Art at it's finest!

*In recent months, Layla has taken to drawing all sorts of people with varying expressions. Note the two purple figures on the right...upset with tears pouring from their little eyes.

*Rayne constantly surprises me with her artistic abilities and her attention to detail combined with her truly unique view of the world around her.

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope that you are surrounded by things that inspire you!

Baby Dwellings...

As I wait patiently (cough, cough), um, okay so not very patiently, for baby Maya's arrival, I thought I'd share some peeks of the room that's also waiting for her.

*The room was already this beautiful warm shade of yellow from when we were preparing for Rayne's arrival. We did, however, tear up the powder blue carpet and lay down this very pretty light cherry laminate flooring.

*The crib is the same one we've used for both girls but we did splurge for some new bedding that was pretty girly versus the more gender neutral one we had invested in originally for Rayne. (we just had no idea that we'd have all girls!) I love the way that this particular set captured the same warm yellow of our walls and incorporated pink and sage as well in a very feminine way.


*Family Love print by Creative Thursday

*Some handmade paper arts made just for Maya by her mama

*Some fresh bumGenius cloth diapers waiting to be used heartily


This weekend, I'm hoping to begin turning our last available upstairs bedroom into an art room. I mentioned it to my very understanding husband who, without even a weird look or roll of the eyes, said "okay, sounds good." Maybe he's looking for a distraction from the obvious huge event looming over us. Plus, we both agree that if we're knee deep in a project, we up the chances of going into labor!

Have a great weekend!

Pages To Be Filled...

Here are some pages from the handmade baby book that I showed a peek of last week. Some are filled with tid-bits about the pregnancy, current events, and Maya's family. But most of them are wide open just waiting to be filled with all of Maya's goodness.

Today we are breaking out of the house a little bit to celebrate Brent's 30th birthday! {which was on Monday...but like most people, he had to work} It'll be nice to get out a bit, do something fun together with the family, and stop thinking so much about when this baby might be coming!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

38 Weeks: The Waiting Game...

Well, we have officially begun the totally agonizing, completely frustrating waiting period. I'm speaking personally of waiting to finally get to meet baby Maya, but I also feel that (for much of the northern hemisphere) that this part of February has us all waiting. I know that the girls are very much longing for Spring, warmer weather, more chances to get out and stretch their legs, opportunities to perfect their bike riding skills, more excuses to eat ice cream, etc. And, honestly, aren't we all feeling a little cooped up. Even you winter/snow/bundling lovers out there have to admit that a little warm sunshine and fresh luke-warm air would be really great about now.

I think that the one really nice, abnormally warm day we had here in northeast PA last week spurred a little pre-mature Spring fever in this house. Once we saw what we all had been missing, we really started missing it!

Well, I guess that we here in this house will just take this time to practice some patience, appreciate what we have when we have it, and use this bit of extra time to cuddle, nap, read, and be cozy.

P.S. Layla is doing fine. We stopped by the dentist yesterday just so he could take a look-see and all looks relatively well. The pre-mature tooth loss may cause some frustrations later, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

My Funny Valentine...

Well, funny now, a little. But really not funny then...and still a little not funny now...

The night started out so grand. The girls and I prepared a lovely Valentine's evening filled with foofie decorations and brownies with pink icing and sprinkles.

We were happily opening Valentines and enjoying our nice family time.

Then, as my little Layla was coming to dinner, she somehow lost her footing on the bottom two steps, hit her mouth on the bottom of our banister, and ...

Yes, that's right, my not quite 3-year-old lost her first tooth. A left front top one to be specific. After some tears (a bit from Layla but a ton from her way prego mama) and some calls to the doctor, we realized that the tooth fairy would need to make an earlier than anticipated stop at our house!

So...my little toothless (yet still adorable) Layla is doing fine and, other than being a little sore and needing to eat softer foods for a bit, she doesn't seem to be missing her tooth at all. And Rayne, although a bit traumatized by the whole ordeal, is eagerly planning what she and Layla can do with her quarter from the tooth fairy.

Sharing the Love...

Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of the day of big fat love, I wanted to share with you a little album I made for the girls.
I wanted to make a very special something for the girls to tell them how much I love them. Here are a few of my favorite pages from the book. If you'd like to see all the pages, you can check them out on my Flickr site.
I hope that you take the day to cherish the ones you love!

37 Weeks...

It's official, baby Maya can come anytime she'd like! I've been working on a handmade baby book of sorts to record these precious days before and after her birth. Needless to say, it's been a nice distraction from all the computer troubles, taxes, laundry, cleaning, etc. that I've been trying to tackle before the birth. Anyway, I think it will be such a nice keepsake for her which will really capture the essence of the moments, who I was when she was born, and the love that she had from her siblings even before she was born. I only wish that I would have thought to do one for Rayne and Layla instead of using those traditional baby books. Oh well, the third time is the charm!

Two New Soaps...

Yesterday, I added two new soaps to the shop that you can stock up on before I close up for the baby:

{Left} Acai & Mangostein Soap

Designed after the tropical acai berries and the tropical wonder-fruit mangostein, this refreshingly fruity soap will awaken your senses and tickle your skin. Made with natural olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil to nourish your skin and a sprinkling of poppy seeds for a light exfoliation.

{Right} Vanilla Pear Soap

Mmmmmm...smooth yet fruity and comforting. This soap will help you make the perfect transition from winter to spring. Made gently with natural olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil, this soap is as nourishing to your skin as it is to your soul.

Enjoy!

A Little Update...

If any of you had stopped by this past week to check out our promised New Item Features and Daily Give-Aways, you noticed that due to a massive computer malfunction I was pretty much out of commission this week. As one computer was in for the repair of some minor glitches, my backup computer crashed. Long story short…I’ve suffered a major setback as most all of my info, files, photos, etc. have been lost.

My initial plan was to get back on my feet as soon as possible so that I could finish out the month as planned. However, I’m quickly realizing that trying to build back up all that I’ve lost is going to be a very frustrating and time consuming process. Being that my baby is due in about three weeks, this just isn’t something that I can put my heart into at this time. God/the universe/whatever supreme power rules timely coincidences has sent me some very clear messages:
1) Back up your files!
2) Don’t put faith in anyTHING.
and, most importantly…
3) It’s time for me to start wrapping things up in preparation for the baby.

Therefore, I will be closing the shop for a short time starting Sunday, Feb.15th. I plan to re-open in early April. I will still be checking email regularly so feel free to get in touch at any time. I’ll also continue posting to my blog as I’ve grown to love having a place to share my life with you all. I will not be doing the New Product Features and Daily Giveaways at this time. I promise to do a very special round of blog give-aways once I re-open in the Spring to jump start my return to the business world.

Thank you all for your support and patience throughout my pregnancy.

My Apologies...

I sincerely apologize but our week of New Product Features and Daily Give-Aways will need to be postponed until next week. Both of my computers have now crashed!!! {yes, i'm going through complete panic attacks and severe withdrawl}

Thanks for understanding!

Tomorrow...

Just wanted to stop in to remind you that tomorrow will begin our week of New Product Features & Daily Giveaways!!! bea here!