[i] LoveLife

Oh, wow.

Something old is new again. And AWESOME.

And details are coming.

SO glad today is a NEW day and a chance to be BETTER because yesterday was not on the awesome list.

Yesterday was just one of those days when being a working-mama and a tired-mama collided in a big way and not only was I not present - but I was not happy. I can't blame it on the girls. I can't blame it on the dogs.

So I will blame it on the rain. Yah-ay.
See ya later March.

GO!

Yawn.

Long night here in paradise. I was reminded why in am a stickler for schedules + routine

Night times turn into mayhem if I am not.
Times three.

Coffee. Now. Please.

For the misters.

It was kindly brought to my attention that boys want to be loved, too. Details to come.

Do-over.

Yesterday had all the makings to be uber-productive, but I blew it. I pooped the bed on getting things done. My head was somewhere else. Poet wasn't onboard with my ideas. The coffee was gross. The big canvas was fighting me. The vibe in my office was just a bit down-and-out. I expect those day sometimes, but they still aren't cool. I spent most of the day obsessively writing YOUNG LOVE in gouache script. Hundreds of times in an effort to get it just right because it's for an album cover for a very cool singer/songwriter out of Nashville. And EVEN THOUGH I KNOW that trying to force it to be 'just right' totally kills it - I tried and tried and tried until the words looked like they were spelled in Chinese to me. Oh, well. I ended up with a few other ditties because of it.

TOP PRINT. I'm hashing out some final colours + sizes. Look for these to show themselves in a couple o days. SO LONG AS THE unproductive vibe turns itself around. Do you have a colour preference? Suggestion?

Today: back to the drawing board with new tea from Davids. I need to knock this one out of the park.

GO!

Oh...

It occurred to me - that this statement holds more weight than I might like to admit. I put it up on my studio wall to remind me - BEFORE I start fights or fret over wrinkles or get down on myself over those last five pounds...

Paintings + projects.

This is what's on deck for me today. It's a close up up of the big moose painting and I am just about finished. He's 60 x 30 inches and I painted the living room last weekend so that he would have the perfect hues to live in. He's been very popular. I have received emails and even a few phone calls wondering if he is for sale. No. He is not for sale at this time (much to Dan's chagrin). I hope to get the last bit of 'irk' out today so that I can officially hang him and introduce my newest painting love.

This canvas is next on the list. I don't know where it's headed - but, I'll find out. I am really hoping to have a productive week in my studio. SPRING is in the air. The snow is melting, the puddles are perfect and around these cold, wintery parts - there is a spring in our steps. Oh, it's mucky alright. There's still ice + snow all over the place... but there's a degree to the sunshine that has been missing for months. Hello spring!

Lots of newness around here this week.

Today: I am going to work like a beaver because I feel a pretty healthy sense of renewal. Cleaing, catching up, looking ahead. The year is a quarter done and there are things to do! All I can say is MORE COFFEE.

GO!

Their mama...

She loves them deeply, differently, and devotedly.
She slips into their rooms to watch them sleep.
She writes letters to their grown up selves.
She cannot believe the stars aligned for this lucky shot. 

[Penn, Poet, Pilot. Photo by me. The MOTHER bus roll by me as well.]

MOTHER'S DAY is coming. The busrolls are PERFECT gifts (all sizes). So are the HELLO BABY books. And so is the new print I'm almost ready to release. I should know - I'm a mama to the three goonballs in the photo at the top of this post - and it's exactly what I wanted for myself. SO I MADE IT.

[I seriously cannot believe I caught photograph above. I'm so happy about it. ALMOST as happy as I was when the girls finally went to bed last. I love you, peace-and-quiet. ]

Today: Poet + I are off to the pediatrician for needles, the optometrist to check my peepers, and then back to the studio to finish the two paintings that are awaiting signatures, photographs and introductions to the world. This has been a great week for me. That fact does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Happy weekending...

GO!

Ola Boots!

 
BOOT UP. Wednesdays are my days to spend alone with the girls and lap up their awesomeness. Sometimes that just means MAKE IT THROUGH. But, yesterday we crushed it. A one-day-at-a-time victory. We went grocery shopping at three places and to the salon for radical haircuts and walking through the park puddles and having glorious naps and crafting and getting along like story books creatures. We did happy dinner and baths and bedtimes as a true girl tribe should. Excellently (minus the little episode where Penn got poop all over the bathroom rug). I would call it a HARDCORE day. Hauling three small people around like that would have made me shudder + cry back in the day when Pilot and I were new at this... but I closed my eyes on yesterday feeling like I have come a long way further than I expected. Nobody got injured. Nobody melted down. It was one of those moments when I couldn't help but smile. (AND HOW CUTE ARE THEIR LITTLE BOOTS?)

The top Ani Defranco quote is a little absurd... but once upon a time I used to listen to her until the cassettes WORE OUT. ;)

The littlest P. Poet is officially 8 weeks old and that has me feeling a little shocked and a little sad and a little excited... Time goes too fast and the girls are pretty neat to be around. I am settling into the feeling that sweet Poet is my last small person. I really don't have words for that feeling yet. I'm sad - and excited to get on with things. And really sad. Such a bittersweet tug-o-war because I have enjoyed the baby stages much more than I ever expected. Oh, life. Poet is 8 weeks and has discovered her new BFF. The owls on her Skip Hop play mat. She spends a good half hour a day happily chatting them up. It's adorable.

Today: I am off on a random day of adventure. I'm speaking to a group of ladies this morning about whatever-pops-into-my-head. I'm finishing a second SUPER BIG fun painting. Working out a technological glitch on the blog. Speaking as a design guru at on online forum. Figuring out my appliance conundrum. Inventing something great for supper and I just might throw in a quick game of bowling to keep it real. I'm kidding... but it's not a bad idea to keep things light and interesting. Sweet deal.

I have 10 MAKEyourLIFEworthLIVING prints left before they are gone.

GO!

House90 update.

 
  Here are some peeks at house90 as it stands right now. Things are missing. I haven't been good at posting the 'in-progress' shots because 'in-progress' is not as great as it is in my mind. But, life is a progression. So glimpse away. My party last night was great. Awesome. I was so busy painting yesterday that I didn't even start getting ready until it was too late... but that's the beauty of women - they just showed up and rolled with me. Washed their own wine glasses and made do. Because they know what you need when you need it. My only complaint about the party was that it was too short. I didn't get a chance to kick back and connect with every single person... but I was a pretty pleased 'mother hen' watching the other connections take place. Our old nanny Teri-Lynn was introducing us to Stella & Dot and it great. Teri-Lynn is awesome. (Thank you to everyone who made it out and NO THANK YOU to you all for leaving me with so much delicious baked brie BECAUSE I ATE IT ALL. Brandy - it was delicious!)My moose made it to the party, too. I'm not sure he's completely done - but I'm happy. There's so much you can't see in this photo... I will introduce you soon.

Today: We are off to the salon. My girl tribe is getting haircuts from awesome Aunty Tamara. And we are going to chill and play and that kind of thing so that I can pick up where I left on painting on Thursday. Sweet.

GO!