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Aug 30

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Miranda & Brittany: offline and offroad

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Brittany Vandeputte in person. As one of the original members of the Studio Mothers community (evidenced here) I’ve come to think of Brittany as a friend — but sometimes I wonder if it’s an odd thing to think of your “virtual” relationships as friendships. Now that we’ve met in person, I can attest to the fact that it doesn’t matter whether connections are made on cyberspace or face to face. A friend is a friend.

Brittany generously allowed me to stop in on my drive home from Ithaca, New York. I was in the last leg of a 12-hour round-trip drive to return my oldest son to college, and I was grateful to have a short break with Brittany, her husband Tom, and those two little guys you’ve all read about — Sam and John — in their charming new home.  I should add that I had invited myself over, and the visit occurred smack in the middle of what would have been the bedtime routine — so that just goes to show you the strength of Brittany’s Southern hospitality.

Thanks again, Brittany — see you in October!

Aug 26

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Cathy: Back to writing

Yesterday, I met with my writing group. I had not opened my manuscript since the session I went to about month ago. I kind of feared where I was in it and was pleasantly surprised that I was at page 93 in my purple line edits. I won’t use a red pen — looks too much like violent spilt blood.

The significance of being at page 93 is that I was much farther along than I thought I was, and being a middle reader novel, I was darn close to the end. So guess what?

Yesterday, I finished my purple line edits.

Now to go into the document to make the changes official from the purple scribbles. Toward the end, my purple pen ran out of ink, so the end edits are in black, which is what I had in my purse.

Anyway, I feel good about the book, still. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read it since I started it back at the dawn of time. At this point, the changes I was having trouble believing in, make better sense to me. The bottom line is I still cried while reading the end. My main character’s growth is evident.

And I love him. He has been growing up alongside my boys, as if he is one of them himself. Mr. Cynic was a year or so younger than him when I started, and is now in entering the halfway point of high school. Captain Comic was in preschool when I first wrote the 12-year-old into existence, and now he turns the age of my character in a bit over a week from now.

So, from here on out, I want to try to see if I can pick my way through the manuscript document, inserting the scribbles by day, instead of waiting for my writing group to meet in silence and commitment to writing. I am hoping that transferring the changes won’t take as much concentration as the purple lining did. I hope I can do it while my menagerie runs around the house.

Draft 2 (er 5,010) complete. Phew — kind of.

[crossposted from musings in mayhem]

Aug 25

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Robin: The Writing Is THE Thing

While watching the premiere of Handmade Nation By Faythe Levine a few years ago, I latched onto the phrase “gateway drug” referring to the means by which an artist meanders into the art/craft genre. I have been thinking about what that “drug” would be for me and I know for sure writing is THE thing. It is the one thing I gravitate to when I feel at my wits’ end. Writing brings this gift to my life which allows me to renew the hope that life is ALL about the process and that going through the process is worth it. Equally fulfilling these last several months is recognizing that others experience this same satisfaction when they are drawing or crocheting or crafting mosaics or jewelry making. A mentor of mine sent me an e-mail around this same time. He posed the question: “how are you doing with the ‘what next” now that your seminary degree is completed?” I almost deleted the e-mail; the words were too hot to even live in my inbox. The following week I got an invitation for the commencement ceremony for my alma mater. Again, a knock at my door which I was not ready to answer. I answered the e-mail later in the week this way: “I would have never expected it to look like this — my life, I mean. I do not know what to do but I do know what I am not doing: writing.” He responded quickly, “What is it you think you should be writing?” Since then, I have found many ways to exercise that writing muscle: through blogging, whether it be on my blog or as a guest blogger. And I strings words and thoughts together for cards and mixed media. I am amazed at how a series of events coming together at the right time can challenge you in such a life changing way. How about you? What is YOUR THING that fuels all things creative? [photo credit]

Aug 19

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Kelly: What Does Authenticity Mean?

Well, the fog I described last week is lifting, but I continue to be a scattered-brained mess! 🙂 My house looks like a tornado hit, and as I sit here in my little office, I’m surrounded by fake dollar bills (the play kind, just so you Feds know, I’m not creating dollar bills here), an atlas, Ebay and Etsy receipts, three cameras, my new deposit slips, stamp and fancy checkbook for my business checking account, scribbled notes written while trying to find a hotel for our trip up to North Georgia later this week (thus the atlas mentioned earlier…who knew we’d be visiting Aunt Livy the same four days as a huge gospel fest AND softball tournament in the same area?), a few shells, baby lotion, kids shampoo, a large comb, innumerable blankets, quilts and scarves the girls have pulled out of their room to play with, and um, a reindeer that poops jelly beans. And that’s all just in my little 5’ x 5’ office nook! And that doesn’t include the “normal” office stuff that’s supposed to be here! The rest of my house is currently in a similar state. Oh well.

I made this necklace a couple weeks ago while my friend Dana was over for a play date. It’s now in my Etsy store here. That big piece of jade up front used to be in a different piece that I’ve had laying around for a while, so I reworked it for summer. Dana just finished Florence, and we were celebrating. Who is Florence, you ask? Florence is a mannequin Dana collaged from head to toe with all sorts of fabulous stuff. Took her two years! Serious dedication there! My only suggestion was that she change out Florence’s boring brown wig for a hot pink one. That was my contribution, and we both feel it was the finishing touch. Sorry, no pictures of Florence to share with you because Dana is thinking about starting a blog, and when I suggested that maybe it could be Florence’s blog, Dana’s face lit up. So I’m hoping she’ll follow through with that, and THEN Dana will share pictures of Florence with you.

When talking about Florence and her potential blog, Dana and I got on the subject of authenticity, which seems to be the biggest buzz word in blogging. We talked about what we think that means. What the heck does that mean anyway? Dana is a psychology instructor, and though we are very dear friends, we have very different approaches on life. Dana, God bless her, is a mega-analyzer. And I’m really, um, not. I’ll analyze temporarily, but then I’m over it; the old “it is what it is” motto I live by. Experience it, learn from it, move on. And while I certainly touch on my personal life here, I try my darndest not to dwell on issues I may be struggling with. Hashing out my problems, insecurities, fears, what have you, in a public forum is just not how I process things. Other people do, and if that works for them, I think that’s great! But just because someone chooses not to hash out those things on a blog, does that mean she is not being authentic? I certainly do not think so, and it’s that line of thinking that really bugs me about authenticity talk.

Lori mentioned something similar on her blog a while back, and she has the exact same outlook on life that I do (one of the many reasons I love you Lori!). No one’s life is perfect. Bad things happen to everyone, regardless of whether you are a stay at home mom or working mom, regardless of your income or lack thereof, regardless of your marital status, regardless of where you live and whether you have a river in your backyard or not, regardless of what you choose to share and choose not to share. Bad stuff just happens. That’s just life. The one thing that we all have in common is that we all have the choice regarding how we react to that bad stuff. We all have the choice of whether or not to choose happiness or dwell on the negative. 99 times out of 100, I choose to be happy. Am I Pollyanna-ish enough to think that I’m, therefore, going to be happy every single second of every single day? Heck no! I have my moments. But when I’m not in a happy place, I typically choose not to share that with the world. That’s what works for me. That is the “authentic” me, take ‘er or leave ‘er. And I eat lots of chocolate and lick batter directly out of the brownie batter bowl.

[cross-posted from Artful Happiness]

Aug 17

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Brittany: How to Get a Grip

“Let this become your key — next time when anger comes, just watch it. Don’t say, ‘I am angry.’ Say, ‘Anger is there and I am watching it.’ And see the difference! The difference is vast. Suddenly you are out of the grip of anger. If you can say, ‘I am just a watcher, I am not anger,’ you are out of the grip.”  ~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

When we initially moved to New York, my three-year-old son, Sam, was all smiles and excitement. It was all a great adventure to him, driving cross country, living in temporary housing, and spending a week without us at the grandparents’ that ultimately culminated in the wonderous, never-to-be-repeated excitement of finally, finally, after months and months of talking about it, coming to live in The New House.

But like most things on the roller-coaster of life, once you’ve reached the highest of highs, there’s nowhere to go but down…

We moved into our house on July 1st and Sam hit Toddler Rock Bottom about two weeks later. (And I hit Parenting Rock Bottom right along with him.) It started with a tantrum or two, over nothing, and then insidiously, over the next few weeks, the tantrums escalated into mega-tantrums, where Sam bit John, and then began biting his new friends, to which I escalated my parental crackdown. My punishments were met with outrage so severe that Sam started having “accidents” — in public and at home. And by the beginning of August, our house was like a police state — justice was intense and swift — and Sam’s behavior was so unpredictable that Tom and I wondered where we could find him a good therapist.

Even when I was pregnant with Sam, I knew that he was going to test my emotional and physical endurance. In utero, he was active, demanding, and always a loud presence. Before he was ever born, I knew him and his moods as well as I knew my own because he projected them to me so intensely.

But things had been fine in South Carolina. After he turned three, the tantrums from his Terrible Twos leveled off, and his intense reactions to everything seemed to have been a passing phase. When they manifested again here it took me completely by surprise, and it took me several weeks to remember that an intense reaction to change has always been a facet of his personality. If I looked at things from his perspective, he’d just experienced a huge emotional upheaval leaving the only home, only friends, only neighbors, only life he’d ever known. He had nothing in his life to compare it to, no sense that everything would be okay after a while, no ability to understand the fear and homesickness gnawing at him. I incorrectly assumed he was too young to care much where he lived, as long as he was with me and Tom and John. By the time I stepped away from my own rage at this wild, unpredictable, irrational child that I was being forced to deal with, and think about the reasons behind it, the damage was done. My child was an emotional wreck. I knew I had to try a new tack, and soon, or things were going to get untenable.

I dug through still-packed boxes of books until I found my copy of the Raising Your Spirited Child Workbook by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka and re-read it from cover-to-cover twice.

One of Kurcinka’s suggestions in dealing with intense children is to give them a visual demonstration of their anger in the form of vinegar and baking soda “volcanos.” She suggests doing this with the child so he/she can see the volcano bubbling over and make the connection between it and the way they feel when they’re under stress.

I like to put my own spin on things, and since I knew the source of Sam’s anger, I tried doing things a little differently.

I gathered up the vinegar, the baking soda, a glass, and a quarter measuring cup. Then I told Sam that we needed to fill the glass up with “yuckies” — that for each thing that made him sad or mad, we were going to put a “yucky” in the glass. It took him a while to understand what a “yucky” was, but in no time he was on a roll. He missed his teachers, his school, his friends, our old house, our neighbors, our family members, punishments made him mad, our new house made him sad, and he was mad that this house didn’t have a swing set in the backyard like our old house had. Once the glass was full, I added the baking soda, and narrated a pretend (and ridiculous) tantrum — even by Sam’s standards.

“…What! No waffles for breakfast? Sam wanted waffles! Oh no! Sam’s yelling! He’s screaming! He’s thrown himself on the floor and he’s kicking kicking kicking! Oh no! He’s kicking Mommy! He’s kicking John! Now he’s even kicked the dog! Oh no! He’s kicked a hole in the floor. Now he’s kicked the house down! And he’s stomping stomping stomping on the house! And he’s throwing pieces of the house! Now the garage is flying through the air! And Sam’s still mad!”

Sam thought this was hilarious and so we spent the morning making more volcanoes and having more pretend tantrums. Every time we did it, I noticed that his ability to verbalize how he was feeling became more fluent. I knew he had completely caught on when he was playing with some friends, one of whom was getting very frustrated about something, and Sam called to me, “Mommy, Tyler’s glass is getting full of yuckies! Come help him!” Since then, yuckies, full glasses, and volcanoes have become part of our dialogue with each other. Now I can say to him, “Sam, your glass is looking pretty full. I can see you’re starting to get bubbly like a volcano. Do you need a break?”

After I say this, the expression on his face changes.You can watch him thinking about his emotions instead of feeling them, and then he’ll say, “I’m okay Mom. The yuckies are gone now.”

Yesterday, John was being a royal two-year-old pain in the grocery store, and we had to go past the candy aisle at check out. Both boys began begging for candy and I was feeling harassed. So I said to Sam, “Sam, please stop asking about candy. John is not being a nice boy right now (he was trying to leap out of his seat into the basket of the shopping cart) and Mommy’s glass is really REALLY full.” And Sam, to my everlasting surprise said, “Oh. Let me help you unload the cart then.” And he immediately got to work putting our groceries on the conveyor belt.

Please envision how I must’ve looked — absolutely flummoxed — mouth agape — eyes wide in surprise — as my toddler attempted to diffuse MY tantrum. It was quite the role reversal. Sam was able to give back to me what I had apparently been giving him — the incredible relief that comes from knowing that your feelings of stress are understood, that the burden of keeping it together has been lifted, and you’ve been excused for a moment to sort yourself out. All it took was a little understanding, and the weight of the day lifted from my shoulders. I was renewed and back to myself in seconds.

It was a good week for us. We seem to have gotten a grip.

Aug 16

2 Comments

And the winner is….

The winner of the first-ever Studio Mothers giveaway is Robin Norgren! Our highly unscientific drawing went like this: I walked into the family room and told my husband to pick a number from 1 to 14. He thought for a moment, stated a number, then stopped and revised his choice to number 8. (I was kind of surprised that he went along with my command without first asking me WHY I wanted him to select a number, but anyway.) Congratulations, Robin! I’ll pass along the relevant info for your free registration. Class begins in two weeks!

Thanks to everyone who entered. If anyone (aside from myself) is going to register the old-fashioned way, please post a comment here to let us know 🙂

Aug 10

15 Comments

The First-Ever Studio Mothers Giveaway!

And now for something completely different. The very first Studio Mothers giveaway!

Studio Mothers is — and will remain — an ad-free blog. But when Mindy at WishStudio (a beautiful resource mentioned at Studio Mothers in these posts) sent me an e-mail about a new online course she was offering, I started doing cartwheels. I signed up for the class immediately, and am thrilled to offer a free giveaway slot to the Studio Mothers community.

As creative mothers, we benefit from blending the lines between creativity and motherhood. Especially when our children are young and finding time for solo creativity is a scientifically proven impossibility often a challenge, keeping the creative flames alive by being creative with our children is often a surprisingly satisfying interim strategy. Even for me — a writer — I find that making something artful with my children keeps me from feeling like I’ve abandoned my creative self, even if I haven’t actually written anything for weeks or months.

Enter Wish Play Create, a 5-week online art playgroup with fabulous guest teachers: Tracey Clark, Stephanie Lee, Pixie Campbell, Mindy Tsonas, and Shona Cole (who’s book The Artistic Mother will be quite familiar to regular visitors of the Studio Mothers Facebook page). The course begins on August 30, and I’ll be blogging about the process at Studio Mothers. It would be great fun to have friends from the Studio Mothers community join me! The course description:

online – 5 weeks {$48}

this fall, carve out some juicy creative time for you and your little ones…join our mom and child online art playgroup! every monday, a new 1 hour project will be presented by a fabulous guest teacher encouraging you to play and create in a variety of different mediums throughout the weeks. our virtual open studio allows you to work from home, at your own pace, and when it’s most convenient for you. along with all the artsy fun you’ll enjoy connecting with other moms and sharing your work and creative time in our private playgroup flickr pool. all projects are designed to be inspiring and engaging for both mom and child – this is not simply just for kids! supply lists will be provided in advance for you to gather everything you’ll need for each project. once you register, your email confirmation will be sent to you within the following day.

Click here for the schedule of workshops and registration.

So, how to win a free spot for yourself and your kid(s)? Simply post a comment below. On Monday, August 16, Studio Mothers will randomly select one respondent for the free spot. Good luck!

Aug 10

4 Comments

Jenny: How To Enjoy A Day Off

The other morning I had the great fortune to stumble across an entire, glorious two hours between tours for kids to squander away at will.

And so, I ventured forth on my own little date with myself. This is one of my FAVOURITE things to do in the world, namely because:

a) I am free to do whatever the heck I like without considering anybody; and

b) I am fabulous company.

It’s funny, because while I am technically an extrovert, I’m absolutely not one of those people who finds being alone uncomfortable, threatening or in any way negative. (Note to self: this is quite possibly a side-effect of having children. Was I like this pre-kids? Hmmm. Must investigate).

No, no! Being alone these days is such a complete luxury and just so damn hard to come by, that when it does I savour every last drop.

Is that a magazine? Oh my heavens, I might actually READ THAT. Give me four!

Coffee? Don’t mind if I do! Make mine a super-size double decaf with a shot of tranquiliser. No, no, nothing fancy, just whatever you’ve got on stand-by.

A new movie out? Hells to the yes! Don’t tell me what it is, for I don’t really care, so long as it involves frozen Coke and Maltesers.

So, there I was on my little self-indulgent conquest, when what should I stumble on but this complete and utter delight of a West End store: Nook.

Nook, 19 Browning Street, West End

Isn’t it just….cute? I ventured on it, proceeded to slobber all over the lovely polished floors and then asked whether I could take some photos for me ole blog! And so I set forth, feeling like quite the mother who’s finally been let out of the house artist extraordinaire…

Mmmm…

Heck yeah.

Ah, I am so in love with sewing machines. In the same way that I’m in love with Edward Scissorhands. I think they’re so beautiful, yet have no idea what to do with them.

It even had its own resident cat. And while I’m not generally a fan (of cats that is, not residents), even I could acknowledge that this dude just added to the whole charm quotient.

In other words, my perfect date!

How ’bout you? Any other solo date lovers out there? Any fave/dream/ideas for outings?

x

[Cross-posted from Comic Mummy]

Aug 6

5 Comments

Miranda: The measure of a summer

Time for a little accountability check. In mid-June, I blogged about my vision for the summer. My vision encompassed 18 areas where I wanted to focus my attention — and intention — in order to mindfully make the most of our fleeting summer weeks. Since the summer is just past the halfway mark, in the interest of accountability I thought I should review my list and see where things stand. Warning: this is a long post, so skimming is recommended 🙂

  1. Having picnics. Eating outside is just plain fun. I want to enjoy al fresco dining as much as we can during the warm months, whether that means packing up dinner and eating on a big blanket on the grass at our local park, or just eating out in our own backyard. Halfway mark: Aside from serving the little kids a lunch or two on the Little Tikes picnic table, we haven’t yet had an outdoor family meal.
  2. Doing art projects with the kids. With more time at our disposal, I hope to get through some of the craft projects I’ve been thinking about. Of course, doing something creative with the little guys is a great way to satisfy my own creative itch without needing solitude. Halfway mark: We haven’t had a full-on craft extravaganza, but we’ve done a few smaller projects. Several mosaic collages with the 1-inch-square hole puncher. (The result of yesterday’s multimedia project appears at right.)
  3. Meditating. I’m trying to meditate every morning. It doesn’t always happen, but my plan is to still get up before the little guys do, and start my day with mediation and coffee before “momming” begins. Halfway mark: The boys started getting up earlier and I started getting up later, which meant that my intended window disappeared. I’m having difficulty nailing down a regular meditation time. I think I have an opportunity if I go back upstairs at 7:00 every morning, after my husband has already done his sitting and can take over with the little guys.
  4. Eating mindfully. I’ve been reading a lot about mindful eating, from Geneen Roth to Jan Chozen Bays to Thich Nhat Hanh. The Buddhist perspective on compulsive eating has opened new doors for me, and I need to stay in touch with this learning on a daily basis. (Guess what? I put my scale away about six weeks ago — something I never, ever thought I’d be able to do.) Halfway mark: Yes, yes, yes. I just got on the scale after about three months and discovered I’m exactly where I thought I was — a couple of pounds lighter, even, than the last time I weighed myself. I did not, in fact, gain 20 pounds without the scale to wag its finger at me every morning. Who knew? I’m also having a much easier time with food cravings and compulsive eating now that I’ve completely given up wheat. It’s been about a month and I’m never going back.
  5. Running. I’m running 4-5 miles three or four times a week, and liking it, a lot. I’m getting faster, too, which — after nearly 15 years of running at about the same pace — is quite satisfying. Halfway mark: Yes. Been running regularly, getting faster and feeling stronger. This week I attended a small-group track workout with the pro trainer Kristina Pinto, aka the Marathon Mama. The day after….well, let’s just say I was crying into a fistful of ibuprofen slightly uncomfortable.
  6. Doing art projects for myself. I have a few painting and collage ideas percolating that I’d like to explore. I have such a steep learning curve in this department that it’s hard for me to tune out the inner critic. “What? What are you doing? This is the most hideous thing anyone has ever created!” <sigh> Halfway mark: Yes, although the only thing I created was a strange little shadow box, put together when the kids were done with their own art project and I was cleaning up the bits and pieces. But sometimes making something from leftovers is the most fun of all.
  7. Writing. It’s been a few months since I’ve worked on my novel, and even longer since I worked on my nonfiction project. I’m getting itchy to return to both. This probably won’t happen unless I schedule the writing time. Halfway mark: Yes. I’ve been working on a personal essay and it’s going well. Also trying to compose bits of poetry in my head when I can’t get to the page.
  8. Going to the beach. It’s time at the beach that makes summer so memorable, isn’t it? I plan to take full advantage, from our local watering hole to our beautiful New England coastline. Halfway mark: Haven’t hit the beach yet, but next week we’ll be visiting Cape Cod. Beach in my near future.
  9. Baking with the kids. We already bake on a fairly regular basis, but I want to keep at it this summer — especially with my oldest son at home from college to help eat the end results before *I* do (see item #4 above, lol). Halfway mark: Yes, but not a ton. Something about the 90/95-degree heat has made me less interested in firing up the oven.
  10. Gardening. I love working in the garden, and this year I’m able to do so while the little boys play outside. I still have to keep an eye on them, of course, but I don’t have to worry quite so much about the youngest one eating ants or crawling into the rose bushes. Halfway mark: Yes. The flower beds aren’t what they might be, and this year I decided I didn’t have the bandwidth to plant my two raised veggie beds, but I’ve spent quite a bit of time weeding, mulching, edging, and creating new flower beds. The little boys love to “help” by messing up my freshly smoothed mulch layers and throwing rocks at each other.
  11. Going out with my husband. We miss having a regular date night, and this summer I’m going to rope the teenagers into helping out each Thursday night. They only have to take care of the little guys for an hour before bedtime, so it’s not a hardship — oh, and I pay them, anyway. My husband and I really need this regular connection time and I’m looking forward to a “regular” date night. Halfway mark: Yes! We’ve had quite a few dates while the teenagers were babysitting and even had *two* days and nights at home with the older kids while the two little boys packed off to Grandma’s. My husband and I slept late on both mornings (7:30 a.m.! imagine!), went kayaking, watched movies, ate out, and found ourselves beautifully reconnected.
  12. Reading. Been reading a lot lately, both fiction and nonfiction, and I want to keep it up. Halfway mark: Yes. Not at a voracious pace, but I think I’ve finished three books in these summer months. I try to spend some amount of time every morning and every evening reading my current book.
  13. Doing yoga. I haven’t done yoga in years — aside from the occasional DVD session at home — but with my meditation practice and Buddhist study, I feel like yoga practice is a natural addition. I have yet to find the right class at a convenient time and place (ha ha) but I’m optimistic. Halfway mark: No. Haven’t even figured out where to go yet.
  14. Connecting with teens. I haven’t been spending enough one-on-one time with my three older children (ages 19, 16, and 14). Tuesday evenings this summer are now reserved for time with my teens in rotation — whether that means going out for a decaf cappucino at Starbucks with the oldest, a music-blasting joy ride with my 16-year-old, or staying in for pedicures and a movie with my daughter. Halfway mark: This is the best success of the list. I’ve had time with the older kids and am savoring every minute. Well, not every minute. Sometimes they are grumpy and rude and thoughtless and often ignore the few chores they have until I breathe down their necks. But it’s all good.
  15. Taking pictures. I love photography, but I don’t know enough about the finer points and I feel like my lack of technical knowledge is holding me back. I’d like to make some time to begin reading through an excellent guidebook that my husband bought for me a couple of years ago. Halfway mark: Taking lots of pictures, but still haven’t done the homework that I want to do.
  16. Keeping house. Don’t laugh. I actually like a lot of things related to domestic chores. In addition to mindfully enjoying the regular, daily tasks, I’d like to get to a few of the things on my household project list. Halfway mark: Yes. Staying on top of the domestic scene. Managing not to feel overwhelmed by the house, although a well-balanced veggie-based dinner is not a nightly accomplishment. Frozen organic pizza, anyone?
  17. Studying Buddhism. I find that I need to take notes from the books I’m reading, which usually means reading the book once through while making a few notes in the margins and then going back through the whole book again, page by page, to put all the pieces together. I also find that writing out notes longhand helps me “learn” and remember more effectively. Halfway mark: Not really. I haven’t picked up my notebook in a while, and it’s overdue. That said, I just started a new blog about my Buddhist practice, which I’d love to share with anyone who’s interested 🙂
  18. Blogging. I hope to get back to writing at least one personal blog post a week, in addition to posting the usual items from our wonderful community of creative mothers and sharing at our Facebook page. Halfway mark: The Studio Mothers Facebook page is thriving — we’re up to about 250 fans. Blog posts here at Studio Mothers have been sporadic this summer, but I’ve been going with the flow rather than worrying about a rigid post schedule. It is what it is. It will be easier for me to manage when the fall schedule resumes.

The sum total is that I could be doing better, but I could be doing worse. The summer has been overfull, and will continue to be so. In all areas, I’m trying to navigate a blend of surrender and mindful intention.

How is your summer shaping up? Is it what you’d envisioned, or are the usual array of surprises giving you a run for your money?

[Please see original post for mosaic photo credits.]

Aug 4

7 Comments

Miranda: Life, art, and friendship–the sequel

In August 2009, I had the pleasure of hosting two of this blog’s writers, Cathy Coley and Mary Duquette, at my home in Massachusetts. We posted photos and a re-cap of 2009 here. Last week, Cathy made her annual trek north again, and we had another reunion, which hopefully will become an annual event. We were joined by Jenn Rivers, who has also posted a dozen times at Studio Mothers.

Left to right: Mary, Cathy with Baby C (aka Toots), Miranda, and Jenn

For some reason I thought that this time around, with all of our children being a year older, we’d have *more* time to sit and chat and relax. What was I thinking?? This year was even more manic than last, and I can’t remember getting more than two sentences out of my mouth in any coherent order. What I most remember is Cathy and Mary discovering that some kind of animal had decided to use our sandbox as a litter box, and quite thoughtfully taking the littlest kids into the house to wash hands. Yes, I’m afraid that feral cat poop and our usual discussion of allergies sort of dominated the afternoon. Not exactly the inspiring conversation about creativity and life design that I’d had in mind, but it was wonderful to see the faces of my dear friends and hear the excited voices of the children as they ran around like true hooligans and enjoyed themselves fully.

Until next year, friends. And with any luck, maybe we can lure Brittany over to visit with us too. I’m already planning for a more satisfying conversation — and less cat poop. Everyone in?