Reality Check.

I sat down to write this post, and my mind went completely blank.
So blank in fact that this was all I could think of to write.

Wanna see a glimpse in to my life today?

Though I have to warn you, if chaos and clutter stress you out, you might want to stop reading.

the cans of paint and primer waiting

On Saturday, we had a wall closed in and a door redone in order to give Steiger and Scarlet each a bedroom (behind that new drywall is what used to be my sewing area, the sewing area has now moved in to what used to house a dining room table).

The hutch that holds the fabric that used to be in that hallway had to be emptied and moved, but Jay has said he's only moving that fabric once (he acts like there's a lot of it or something???), and so it is still sitting on the coffee table (see top photo).

The living room furniture has all been scrunched together, my various projects in different stages have been piled together behind the couch, and the officey type stuff has been added to the pile.  Steiger's dresser is right here, and there are Easter buckets and a chair near where I'm standing with the camera.

This is the quilt destined for our bed, sitting on the couch, that has the binding one quarter of the way stitched down.  King-size quilt + hand-sewn binding + carpal tunnel fingers do not a quick stitching job make.

This is the pile of what-nots that are sitting in the area of the kitchen that used to have our dining room table, that came from Steiger's room, or being stored under his loft bed.  (I'm hoping I can find a small drop-leaf table for this spot).

All this with the official kick off of Spring work (read: hubby working 12+ hour days every day in order to get the field work done in order to get the rice planted).

But at least the kids had a Happy Easter.  ♥ ♥

________________________________

Erika, a fellow mommy/quilty blogger, tagged me a while back for a little questionnaire. 

I've decided that I'm going to take the time to fill it out this morning.

How big is your fabric stash? (i.e., how many boxes, bins or pounds?  You determine the measurement)  

Does "too big" count as an answer?  It's one hutch, four totes, and random assorted shoe-box sized project boxes big.  You can see most of it in the top picture, strewn out of its normal hutchy home.

Are you an early bird or night owl?
Night owl for sure.  And I like to sleep in late too... and I totally consider 8 am late these days.



Do you speak any other languages?  If not what other language do you wish you knew?
I can read Spanish and understand it if people are speaking slowly, and I can get around in basic Mandarin thanks to the 2001-2002 school year I spent teaching abroad at a small international school in Taipei, Taiwan.  I actually "picked up" Chinese, and it was easier for me to learn that crazy tonal language than to figure out directions... if that tells you anything about how my brain works and how daft I am when it comes to directions.



What store do you have a hard time leaving empty-handed (online or bricks and sticks)?
Costco.  Though thanks to my rebate checks, I actually left the store WITH money the other day (and then took it to another store to buy Steiger's birthday present).  But still, it was a happy occasion. Other than that, fabric.com, burgundybuttons.com, SewLoveFabrics on etsy, and fatquartershop.com (if they have a coupon) fill my mailbox with happiness.


What are your favorite blogs to read?
See my list!  Look over on the right!



What is your favorite book or movie?
Harry Potter.  One through Seven plus Seven part 2.  J.K. Rowling is a genius in my opinion.  I like lots of other books, but these are my favorites.

Where do you sew?
In what used to be my dining room.  We have an open floor plan house, so I can see the kiddos and my sewing machine at the same time (though I can't yet sew when Scarlet is awake).  Jay is right next to me on the computer, playing his MMORPG's (aren't we romantic?  and when I say right next to me, I mean "right" next to me -- I have to tap his chair in order for him to swing it to the left so I can get by).

When did you make your first quilt?
I started my first quilt when I was pregnant with Steiger, then got too big to sit at the sewing machine, and then made Jay a quilt a few months after Steiger was born.  You can see it here. Hideous quilt (in my opinion), but the hubs loves it.


How many hours per week (per day?) do you spend on Pinterest?  What, if anything have you made/acquired/acted on that you pinned?
Not that many, though I am currently trying to gather ideas for redoing my kiddo's rooms.  I find it funny though that my raspberry cream cheese coffee cake is one of my most pinned items, even though I'm a quilty blog. :)  Though we did make it yesterday morning, and it IS quite good.


What’s your favorite quilting tip? 

Make what you love.

Learn and try new things.

Do good work, but don't get bogged down in perfectionism.

Oh, and nest your seams.

Did you make a New Years resolution? Have you kept it? 

Did I?  I can't remember honestly.  But I probably was smart enough not to make one this year, beings that I don't sleep through the night yet.

(Tagging Kelly - because she just answered these, Kaelin @ the plaidscottie, and Heidi @ Buttons and Butterflies!)

I've had a few people ask me "How do you do it?" ("It" referring to quilting with a baby and a toddler)...

1) Make it a priority -- this means that the house sometimes looks like the pictures you see featured on my blog today

2) Add 1 day to 1 month to 1 year (or more) to whatever time you expect it to be done by.

3) Have a sewing area always set up, even if that means you don't have a dining room table.

And that my friends, is my reality check for the day.

If you're thinking there's anything glamorous about quilting with two small children, well, I suppose you've been enlightened.  

(And if there's someone out there who does do it well, I don't want to know). ;)

Now back to blowing some bubbles with Steiger (who turns three tomorrow!!!).

Because mental health matters too!