In case you were wondering, you can't have it all.

The longer I live the more I realize this statement is TRUTH:

"You can do anything, but not everything."
- david allen

I've been thinking about this idea for a long time, especially as of late... and then when I saw this pin on my dear friend's pinterest page last night, I was like, "AMEN! TRUTH!"
Why does the media tell us over and over and over that we CAN have it all?

Not to get all philosophical on you, but I recall a favorite scripture in Ecclesiastes (3:1) that says "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." 

The reason this topic is especially relevant because I recently had a mid-life crisis (of sorts).  With the coming and passing of this spring's quilt market and the announcement of a most generous gift bestowed by my sister, Becca, of a brand-spanking-new website (she said we can get started now so it can be ready by my birthday in August), and the upcoming arrival of a new baby----well, I had a legitimate melt down, to be frank.

(a little drawing of Cal I made a few months ago)

In regards to the website, I kept trying to figure out what I'd actually want to put ON the site---mostly cards? random doodles? mostly patterns? (which I have a billion of at this point that have never seen the light of day) prints? etc.?  make it an e-commerce site (one where people can purchase directly from me, rather than thru ETSY)? ---all these ideas were swimming in my brain.  Several times Becca and Aaron kept asking me, "What is the goal of this website? What do you want it to do for you?"

(one of the billion patterns I've made)

That was a good question.  I had no idea.  And, I'm still not completely sure how it will all turn out... but it brought me to another question, "What do I want to do with my creative life right NOW?"

I do have time before this baby comes to use my creative brain (believe it or not, this isn't my first rodeo. In fact, it's my third.  I'm quick to remember that life (as I know it) stops completely for the first 5-6 months of their tiny life, then we slowly return to a NEW normal).

(from my sketch book back when I went on tropical trip with Em to St. John)

Do I want to get crackin' on new listings for my shop?  Finally post all the prints I've been creating?  Create more announcements/invites for people? etc.  Spend more time developing ideas for new patterns?  Work on more fabric lines?  Try to get a booth ready for Surtex (a surface design trade show where big companies see your booth/designs and enlist your skills to design paper/fabric/wrapping paper/bedding/mugs/plates/etc. for them).

(sketch book balloons to computer)

See? lots of questions.

Anyway, I remember Aaron asking me one night, "Melissa, what if you were 'just' a mom? (I want to emphasize in no way was he belittling the concept of motherhood by saying 'just' a mom)  You always talk about wanting to make dolls for Tillie, or do new paintings for the kids' room... why don't you take the time to do all those things?"

Ahh-ha!
What a concept!!

Honestly, I've been completely satisfied doing projects/side jobs for people who email me to design things for them.  And, if I've been busy or travelling, I have been able to easily say, "Sorry, it won't work for me right now."  And, it's been fulfilling and wonderful and great.  Why step it up and go into high gear right now?  What is my rush?

(another bridal party job I did a few months ago)

So, alas... I'm going to do what I've been doing... with the exception of making MORE time for doing fun projects I've had on my mental "to-do list" for the past few years.

Things like:
Finishing that quilt I started (ahem... over four years ago).
Making that maxi skirt I bought fabric for (over a year ago)---p.s. I just made two this past weekend.   Bam!
Finishing huge mantel painting I started for fall/winter season.
Finally start making some home-made dolls with Tillie.
Start making lots of place-mats (I've really been into this idea lately).
Drawing in my sketch book more.

Another resolution?  Sure.  (Let's pretend it's January.)
In light of the concept "I can do anything, but not everything." I've decided that if my house is really clean by the end of the day, that dinner takes the back seat.  And, vice versa.  If we have a really good meal planned/created, the house is going to be a disaster.  It's how we roll.  I'm learning BOTH can't happen these days (well, maybe they could with a live-in Nanny, but that's not happening in this lifetime).

Here's to mid-life crises. Here's to starting and finishing projects. Here's to putting energy into people/things that matter most.  Here's to realizing that we CAN do ANYthing, but not EVERYthing.

new house & new baby progress

Lots of changes are occurring over here in our neck of the woods.  After what seems like a small eternity, they are finally moving and shaking on the house!  Just a few weeks ago, our lot was completely untouched.  Then they graded it, laid forms out for the cement, poured a huge slab, and now they are half way done framing it!  Caahrraaaazzy.  It's so exciting to see it all take shape and to see "Oh, here's the pantry!" and "Tillie, this is yours and Cal's room!"---it's pretty amazing that people can equate technical blueprints into a legitimate house, and at such fast speeds.  They had the first floor almost completely framed in one day!  Here are some progress shots:

I love the outfits Aaron comes up with after he's come home from work and wants to take off his scrubs.  The long black socks with shorts is so... classy!

I love that we are going to have this street light in front of our house.  There's something so comforting about having a light visible in front of our house at all times---intruders, stay away!  

Side note: when I asked our builder if it was okay for me to do a big mailbox, instead of the tiny ones that come standard, he said it would be fine, as long as it would fit in the brick column/things they build.  I don't think he anticipated that I would purchase a JUMBO mailbox on amazon.  In our current mailbox, I can't fit a flat 8.5"x11" package in it.  This beaut below can fit a small child... AND a package that is 14"x18".  Amazing.  Don't believe me?  Scroll down.

Bam!  The proof is in the pudding.
Thanks for modeling, Til-face.  (fyi: no children were harmed in this photo shoot.  In fact, I quickly put the mailbox up high on a shelf afterward so they wouldn't get any ideas later!)  Let's all cross our fingers that the builder will let us use it!!

Another side note, these few images of homes are not the floor-plan/house we are building. I'm merely showing them, b/c this is the brick we chose.  I'm crossing my fingers it turns out!  The last house of the three is a little more white-speckledy than I want... and looks like the light mortar was brushed on top of several of the bricks.  So, let's all cross our fingers it will read more "red" than anything!  (p.s. we wanted to do the same brownish/gray brick we did before in San Antonio, but that brick wasn't available to use.  :(  So, we went a different route.  Oh, and we're doing a bright white trim/garage (in case you were curious).

Last few pictures of the house being framed!  Boo yah!

Cal and I wanted to do a "sports" theme for the evening.  Jk.  It just happened like that.  These days I wear anything that stretches wide enough over my belly.

happy are we!  happy are we!

 This is the view from the family room and kitchen out to our backyard.  Get a load of all those glorious trees!!

Yes, I'm raising the roof... literally!

::: In other news, the baby is growing at a fast rate too.  Here I am posin' it up in my exercise gear, in all my pregnant glory.  hA!  Those blasted iphones make it so darn easy to snap a photo here and there. This is me at 24 weeks, if my memory serves me right. 

We went in for an ultrasound around 22 weeks (I was in Utah in the 17-21 week timeline) and the tech asked us if our other children were big when they were born.  Uhh, that's an understatement.  Tillie was a big 8 pounder and Cal was 9lb 9oz.  She said that this baby is measuring in the 96th percentile already... whoa, mama.  I like 'em big, what can I say?  

The lady was confident (as she was at 13 weeks) that this baby is definitely a boy.

It was really fun to have Becca come up for the ultrasound.  She's never been around during these events before, so it was really fun to hear her reactions when we were shown the four chambers of the heart, the spinal column, little fingers and toes... it was so exciting to see.  We even had Tillie and Cal come along for the fun.  They had snacks and treated it like we were going to see a movie on the big screen at the theater.

It was awesome and magical.

Amazingly enough, he checked out pretty darn "normal"---which is fascinating, compared to Tillie and Cal's ultrasounds where several measurements weren't quite "normal" and there were big indicators that both of them might have Downs Syndrome... Calvin, especially.  So, I was really preparing myself for some news... 

So, I'd like to officially introduce you to baby Tyrone.

:)  That is Tillie's first choice.  Pablo is her second choice.  (Backyardigans much?)  Then, Cucka-bunga is her third choice.  All three are viable options at this point.  Great boy names stump me!

Calvin, on the other hand, thinks we should name the baby "Calvin".  Good one, Cal. 

Here he is.  I love seeing his little fingers and leg propped up.

And, this is a shot of him sneezing.  Notice the little bubbles coming from his mouth?

Darling.

*WARNING. The words "placenta" and "uterus" are going to be thrown around in this next paragraph.  Feel free to skip if you don't want to know! 
Another little tidbit about Tyrone (gotta love his faux name) is that currently I have an anterior placenta... meaning the placenta is in front of the uterus.  Which, is the reason why I don't feel this baby kicking and moving around as much as I did with the other two. He's got major cushioning around him everywhere. I guess this is an issue if you are delivering "normally" but b/c this baby will  HAVE to be a c-section (due to the fact that both of our other pregnancies were c-sections), the doctor wasn't worried.  She said we don't have to fit this baby through any passage way---we just cut a window big enough to get him out.
GAG! That's my sensitive tummy she was referring to!  Thinking of it all is pretty crazy!

Anyway, there's more than you EVER wanted to know about our new home and our new baby.
Good times all around!