How I do it ALL

Summary of what may (or may not) be a lengthy post...that may or may not be read by many people...who may or may not find it interesting...

I DON'T do it all...OR NOT "ALL OF IT" is getting done.
I can't tell you how many times I have heard recently, "How do you have time to do everything?"  
There is no quick answer to that question, so here is the not so quick version.  I am certainly not doing it all.  Here is a picture of my life right now.
Yesterday- 

• I woke up and took a shower while my amazing rockstar of a husband (insert this superlative anytime I refer to Brian) woke up Shea (my two-year-old son), took him potty, got him in his high chair, started Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to keep him company while he ate his pop tarts, fed our two dogs, woke up Patten (our six-month-old) and changed his diaper, laid him in his swing, and made him a bottle for me to feed him while Brian took a shower.  Summary: Brian got most of it done.
• After getting himself ready, as I finished feeding Patten his bottle, Brian gathered up all of the stuff we needed to take with us for the day.  This included: all of Patten's bottles he needed for the day, both of the boys' winter jackets, Shea's backpack, and everyone's lunches (that he had packed for us the night before).  Patten finished his bottle. Then I helped Shea put both of the dogs in their crates, give them their treats, and turn on the radio to ESPN for some sports-centered background noise.
• Side note: on more than one occasion, I have forgotten to secure the doors to their crates on the times that Shea shuts them before I get there.  Because of course, everyone knows a two-year-old knows how to latch a dog's crate without assistance. NOT!  The most recent time we came home to both dogs in our bed with no damage, but other times we were not so lucky.  One of the other times, our dogs decided to snack on our comforter. Not everything got done.
  
• My suitcase still lies open on my floor halfway unpacked from our Christmas vacation we got back from right after Christmas...something that didn't get done.
• First day back with my students since Winter Break-surprisingly no catastrophes.  I realized I actually missed those little stinkers of mine so it was nice to see them again.  I am getting to co-teach, or whatever the new term for what I am doing is, with a teacher I love who I haven't gotten to teach with yet, and I am pretty excited about it.  I had to confess to the students that I will be learning along with them.  I had to beg two different professors for Cs in both of my history classes in college because it is my weakest subject.  I almost got a D in 2 classes, and I am an A student!!! Bring on the high school history!  I think I will be learning along with them.  I had to share with my students that I am not perfect.
•  We got home and Brian and I split the "when we get home" chores pretty evenly I think.  Brian got the laundry started. I unloaded the dishwasher and re-loaded the dirty bottles and sippy cups.  Shea went back to his high chair for his afternoon snack and Mickey, which Patten has already developed a liking for.
• I got started on some of my sewing projects while Brian played with the boys.  I had to clear off enough of the table to make room for my project.  The organizing of the table and cleaning of the kitchen will have to wait.
• Brian made a yummy chicken and rice dinner for us.  I don't do it all. 
• I did an online video chat session with some other folks from the National Seizure Disorder Foundation.  It lasted a little over an hour.  During this time, Brian tucked Shea into bed. Sidenote: Shea is finally going to sleep in his own bed and sleeping there all night long until we wake him up in the morning!  What a long way we have come from the sleepless nights not too long ago.  By the time I was done it was time for Patten to have his pre-bedtime bottle.  Have I said how amazing he was, yet?
• Brian and I watched a Netflix documentary and went to bed to get ready for another day of the craziness.

Today-

• Morning looked much the same as yesterday and many days before.  :)
• School 
• Met Brian at Outback for dinner because we had gift cards.  Our boys were little angels, which they often are when we go out.  Patten stayed in his car seat in the sling and quietly looked around the restaurant.  Shea had fairly sophisticated conversations with us about how he pooped in the potty two times at daycare today.  I hope the older people behind us were not mid-bite when he decided to exclaim it proudly.  Then he shared with us his desires to be an umpire like his daddy.  Now he is at home practicing just that.
• As soon as I walked in the door and got settled I changed into my penguin PJs and Frozen sweatshirt.
  
• Remember how I told you he pooped in the potty twice while he was at school?  Well he did not gift us the same opportunity at home.  He decided the living room was the perfect place this time.  

Here is the moral of the story.  I have done some thinking.  I think judging from my posts about teaching, one might imagine I am one of those teachers that starts every day smiling and welcoming her students in with hugs, the one that stands at the front of the class and without a word draws all focused eyes and quiet mouths, the one who has her lessons neatly written in a lesson plan book, the one that has everything in organized little folders, the one that loves every minute of her job.  Sometimes I am some of those things...scratch that, I am only occasionally some of those things.  But I love my students, so there's that.

I think  judging from my posts about parenting, you may think I am mother of the year, that I read books to my boys all day long, that my house is clean and Shea's knows where each of his toys are to go at the end of the day, that they are both in bed by 8:30 and sleep through the night.  None of those things are true.  But I love those boys like crazy.

I think judging by my posts about sewing and crocheting, you may think,  "how does she have time for that?"  You may think I don't sleep, that I have a cozy little craft room with cute little cabinets to show off all of my quilts and fabric and yarn.  The truth is I don't have a craft room so all of my half-finished or only-dreamed-up-but-not-started projects are kind of taking over the house.  I have only made 2 blankets for our family.  I am too busy making fun things for other people.  I have the kitchen table half covered with my quilt-in-progress.  But I feel that what my yarn and fabric turn into are kind of worth the clutter.  They make me happy and make other people happy, too.

So here is the real truth.  Yes, recently I have been very busy.  I have made quite a few mermaid tails.  I have crocheted some hats and blankets.  My sewing machine has been busy making quilts.  And I have blogged on a semi-regular basis (but it doesn't take long because I don't take time to edit it, what you see is what you get).

I have done a lot.  But I have certainly not done it all.

PS-This post was inspired by a post I read by Olivia Muenter called What I Instagramed Vs. What Was Really Happening, or my Entire Life Is a Lie...worth reading for sure.

DONEday Sunday

Sometimes I have to take a break from big projects to work on some smaller ones. That is what I did this weekend. Ask if you are interested in making any orders.

Work in progress Wednesday

Mermaid tails galore! Here is my progress over the past few nights.

From this....

...to this...

In my school club...now officially called Fiberworks Studio...we will be continuing our work on our rag rug. Unfortunately, we only get to meet once a month so it is slow going. But we are getting there slowly but surely.  During our quest, I realized the most time-consuming part of it is cutting the strips from the t-shirts. 

That being said I have an idea to shorten the process. If you are interested in making a rag rug, talk to me first. I have a top secret proposal for you.
Here is what we have so far.

I would love to hear about and see YOUR WIPS. :)

To-do List Tuesday

I am becoming a crocheting machine.  I love it!  Those mermaid tails are a big hit.  I have 5 adult mermaid tails to complete, all with their own unique look, color combination, and vibe.  The more tails I crochet, the more I enjoy putting a new spin on each one.  No two tails alike!

I also have a memory quilt in the works, like these I have made before.

I sponsor a club at my school that, until recently, has been called the "craft club."  But I teach high school and craft club sounds a bit elementary to me.  This is my first year doing this club but I am loving coming up with new projects to add to the list.  Our current project is a "rag rug."  It is much more time-consuming than I had anticipated.  Following the rag-rug project, I plan on moving into either sewing, crocheting, or cross-stitching depending on the interest level of the students.  I have been brainstorming new names for the club. Craft Club is now officially Fiberworks Studio! Sounds much more sophisticated if I do say so myself.

Our finished rag rug will be sold to help pay for a field trip next semester as well as materials for our next project. 

Unfortunately, I do not have a picture to post, but I will take one ASAP.

WIP (Work in Progress) Wednesday

I have just completed and sent out one adult mermaid tail, two t-shirt quilts, and one crocheted Cabbage Patch Kid hat.

The mermaid tail was ordered by a You-tube sensation, Ginger Wesson.  She has a You-tube channel called "As Told by Ginger."  Check it out and subscribe.  She has 33,368 subscribers.  How about you make that 33,369?  Some of her videos have been viewed up to 25,000 times!  Her videos include makeup tutorials, vlogs about her life, question and answer sessions, silly stories, and my favorite-Harry Potter and Disney fan videos.  She also does product reviews.  She said if she likes my mermaid tail, she will do a video review for it.  How exciting!  Fingers crossed that she loves it!  Her mermaid tail is two strands of yarn woven together in alternating colors.  I made it by doing my own modifications to the pattern found at this link on Mad Hooker Crochet's blog.  Thanks Shelly Bunyard!

Message me on Facebook or email me at scrapstashstudio@gmail.com if you are interested in ordering one for yourself.  Prices for a baby tails start at $50, child start at $80, and adult start at $100.

The t-shirt quilt was made in the "rag quilt style."  It was made as a surprise for a woman's husband.  He is a car and motorcycle enthusiast.  His wife also threw his sheets from when he was a little boy into the mix...so we have Snoopy...

motorsports...

auto racing...

and cars, all thrown into the mix to create this...

The second t-shirt quilt was for my uncle.  His parents both passed away earlier this year, and both battled cancer.  This was an "in-memory" quilt.  It included numerous American Cancer Society shirts.

 

The back of the quilt even had shirts with pockets.  I love how it turned out.  He loved it, too.  He said it brought back lots of memories.

T-shirt (onsie, sheets, blankets, etc.) quilts start at $80 for a baby blanket and $100 for an adult blanket.  Prices are based on the number of shirts, style of quilt, and amount of additional material needed.  Message me for price inquiry.

And last, but not least, I have the Cabbage Patch crochet hat.  It was made using a free hat pattern found at Repeat Crafter Me.  Thanks, Sarah.  I can't wait to see it on the little one in her Halloween pictures.

Now on to my current projects.  I am in the middle of making a blue, gray, and white full-size zig-zag crochet blanket for a friend.  It is sitting in the passenger seat of my car and I work on it in the car on the way to school.  My husband and I carpool.  Don't worry.  I don't crochet while driving.

Last night I got started on my next t-shirt quilt.  It will be a graduation gift from a mother to her son.  It is all of his old wrestling shirts.  It is an extra special project for me because it reminds me of the quilt my mom had made for me as my high school graduation gift.  It included shirts from my high school running days, back when I was winning races.  The fun part of this project for me is embroidering on his "tournament champion" labels.  His quilt will be quite a display of talent, hard work, and success.  The finished product will be like a trophy he can cuddle up in.

The first step of the process included cutting all of the shirts in half and cutting off the sleeves.  I did this for about 40 shirts, many of them having images or words on both the front and the back.  From these 40 or so shirts, I cut 60 squares to use in the quilt.  Between the tshirt squares on the front and the ones on the back, I will sandwich a square of flannel.  So I also cut 30 squares of flannel.  That's a total of 90 squares for the quilt.  Step one of the quilt...done.

Next I will sew the "sandwiches" together...the front quilt square, the flannel square, and the back quilt square...
Then sew the "sandwiches into rows then columns...
Then snip the raw edges of each square every quarter inch or so to create the rag effect...

Then throw it in the wash on a gentle cycle...

Then toss it in the dryer on tumble, making sure to empty the lint from the machine every few minutes.  There will be lots of it. 
Then I will fold it up all pretty and present it to this wrestler mom to give to her son for Christmas.
It will continue to produce lint with every wash for the next few washings, making the edges fray more and more.  That's just what rag quilts do.  When the edges are all puffy, it will no longer fray each time it is washed.

Off to work on the crochet blanket tonight on the couch while watching some playoff baseball with the hubby.

Finished Product Friday

I have a lot to say lately so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. The first two pictures are of a tshirt quilt I made for my brother as his high school graduation gift. He is now playing football at The University of the South. I am super proud of him and can't wait to watch him throw the pigskin around this season.

And I crocheted 2 more mermaid quilts.

And crocheted 10 flower coasters.

And sewed a superhero quilt.

If you are interested in ordering a quilt or crocheted items, leave a comment below or message me on Facebook. Wait times are about 4 weeks so plan ahead for Christmas. Prices vary.

Happy weekend, my friends.

Finished Product Friday

Life has been crazy lately.  Being a stay-at-home mom is hard work. This 2-year-old is wearing this 34-week-pregnant-mom out.

He is nonstop energy, sweetness, entertainment development, and discovery. This makes me feel blessed to have this extra time one-on-one with my sweet little man to be a part of all of it. It amazes me how quickly he learns about the world that is so new to him. It is crazy to watch him go from the kid saying a word or two and us racking our brains to figure out what he is trying to tell us, to a kid communicating in sentences..."I watch Mickey TV please, Mommy?" "Mommy pitch gloves?" "I have more pop tarts, please?" "I sorry for hit, Mommy." "I love you SOOO MUCH!" 

But he is also a little frustration, confusion, crabbiness, whiny, noisy, aggressive, and rebellious. The whole terrible twos is not a myth. I wouldn't call him terrible by any means but his newfound independence has made him a little sassy. He thinks rules don't apply. He thinks anything and everything is his for the taking and messing and throwing. He thinks he can always have what he wants when he wants it. And when he doesn't get it, he thinks it is perfectly acceptable to hit or bite or cry to tell you just how much he wants it. And that makes me so tired, and frustrated and impatient at times. Sometimes I lose my temper. Sometimes I don't use MY inside voice. Sometimes I temporarily forget that he is still a new human just learning how to be a person, just as much as I am a newish mother learning how to be a parent. But I have also seen God building up in me more patience and calm than I had before. I am learning that I can't do it alone. I am seeing more of God's grace in the moments where I mess up and Shea turns out okay anyways. The times when I have to tell my little boy sorry for how I reacted and he hugs me and says he loves me remind me of my Father's love and forgiveness.

 There is no still or chill in this little one. But because he is more or less an energy drink in a 27-pound package, he is FINALLY taking decent naps. 

And what a blessing that 1-2 hours a day has been. Not only do I get to fight him for 15 minutes to stay in bed, but I get to spend the next 10 minutes or so singing and cuddling my little person and holding his hand until he finally gives up fighting. Then I get to do the other things I love, like crocheting and sewing. And thanks to that quiet time, here is what I have finished this week. Before this week I have been busy making memory blankets like these twin onesie quilts.

But this week I have been doing IN-MEMORY projects. A dear friend from high school sent me this message a little while back.

"Hey Meredith,

Hope you are doing well, I see you're expecting your second little boy is well. 😊 I have a couple of sort of special baby quilts I would like to have made I was wondering if you were possibly interested in doing them for me...I am expecting another boy in July, and my brother Alex is expecting his first at the end of August. We were both very close to my grandmother who passed away in 2008, and for as long as anyone can remember she was always wearing the silk pajamas. Not real silk of course just some kind of fake polyester. I have a pair of those and I would like to have a baby quilt made for both of our children that incorporated those pajamas into patches. nothing large just small baby quilts." 

So here is what she got. This is quilt #1.

Working on number 2 during today's nap if all goes as planned...which it often doesn't.

This is the second In-Memory project I finished this week...another mermaid wrap blanket.

This one was extra special, and here is why. This is the text I received with her custom order.

"Oh my gosh I have been looking for someone to make these for me for a year now! My best friend and I both shared a love for mermaids and she passed away last summer, our favorite colors were pink and purple and she loved lime green, could I possibly get one with those colors?"

I love how it turned out and so did she. 

I hope it brings her comfort. 

I would love to do more projects like these (or any projects for that matter), so message me here or on Facebook if you are interested.