spring: an update in pictures

Well, spring snuck up on me and attacked with a vengence. It was unBElievABLE how many things were going on in such a short period of time... It's now the end of the first week of summer, and I've finally managed to catch my breath - just as school starts for mommy, and my new waitressing gig is in full swing. I also moved all my crafty stuff into my very own STUDIO! at the begining of may, which means more fun stuff on my etsy. Hopefully.

I feel like everyone has missed out on heaps of things. So instead of telling you all the details, I figured pictures would do a much better job of passing on the little highlights of our lives this past month or two. The kids' first recital, boo boos, Daniel first big project (you did me proud son. you did mommy proud), Karyna's pony part to celebrate her seventh year on the planet, end of school, end of mommy's last shred of sanity, and lots of laughter and tears.

I love my family.
I am thankful for my girlfriends, my freedom to create, and hope. I have lots of hope.
I swear I'm gonna update more!
Love,
Kate

Why not just live in your own filth?

*Sigh* Yes, I own that little slice of heaven above. People never fail to amaze me... this little "incident" happened on Sunday night, and I - the owner - would have been none the wise if it weren't for the nosey neighbor with a little too much time on her hands. I mean, that woman went all the way down to the courthouse, located land records, found out I owned the house, and called me on Tuesday. I was blissfully unaware of the HOUSE FIRE till almost 48 hours later. The tenants are still living in it, and apparently had no intention of (a) cleaning this shit up, or (b) letting me know that it had even occurred. Seriously? It was a fire. Ah, the joys of self employment...

In other news, it has been a very hard week for me on a personal level - not the sort of stuff for blogs, but I take a deep pride in my ability to pick myself up, put on a cute pair of heels, and keep movin' on. I'm not much of one to wallow, which I think is a direct result of being raised by a woman who has zero tolerance for self-pity. On top of it, I have been insanely busy - and then the kids brought home a note letting me know they were to dress as cowboys (and girls) the very next day, so they could learn to milk a cow. Odd. And very short notice... but I'm proud of the results. They looked DAMN cute, and I found another little thing to take pride in - my ability to come thru, no matter how high the plate is already piled. Go, cowgirl.

hard days, good friends.

I have hard days. Days that I spend resisting the urge to pinch people and use the f-word as a staple in general conversation. In fact, today was one of those days. Morning came too quick, and making pb&j for school lunches suddenly became the most annoying task on the face of the planet... Lucky for me, I have Ang and Nichole. I can call them and tell them how I hate everyone and everything, and I'm usually met with, "I know, everything sucks." Which, while usually untrue, is exactly what a girl needs to hear sometimes. Not, "Oh, you're just pms-ing" or "Actually, it's really nice out today." Good friends tell you everything sucks sometimes.

But what if you're not old enough to call a friend? Allie is our drama queeen. She has tears that she can turn on for just about every situation, and the only four year old I know that will go to her room for "quiet time" when the other four really start to get on her last delicate nerve. When everyone is on the trampoline, she's digging a hole by herself. When everyone else wants to watch Kung Fu Panda, she's content coloring in the kitchen. Good for her - I can understand that urge to be a loner. But what's a girl to do when you've had a REALLY crappy day, and mom and dad just don't get it? More and more we've noticed her turning to "Baby Sutt Sutt", our schnauzer who happens to be the same age as her. He's an excellent listener, and Allie is the only one he'll sit next to for hours... just being available. What a good friend :)

he just SLAYS me...

He has stopped using the high chair, insisting on sitting with the four big kids at the kitchen table. He has gone "pee pee in da poddie" successfully now three times. I have to face it - it's time to stop buying his clothes in the infant section. This will not keep him from growing, it will only frustrate me when I try to snap the snaps on the onsie that is stretched beyond capacity. I'm just having a hard time giving him up into toddler-hood. I feel kinda insane when he sings his ABC's with absoulte clarity and it makes me get all weepy... I just can't HELP myself, though. He is just so totally precious right now... He totally slays me with that baby smile and those little hands. *sigh* I'll just take heaps of photos these next few months, I guess...

that girl's addicted to pretty

Ahhhh, spring. There's something that I just can't resist about this time of year. Like, literally - everything feels irresistable. Why not have that new pair of vintage heels? Why not spend 4 hours laying in the sunshine on the trampoline reading mindless gossip magazines? Why wouldn't I create heaps of new flowers to wear around?

I've started adding important little details, like tulle and clear crystals. And I know I should be trying to see them, but this one in particular I just can't help but make two of a keep one for myself. I have a JLT meeting tonight, and I think a little glam is in order. Plus, it offsets nicely the cactus printed cowgirl boots I'm totally rockin' today.

The kids went back to school today... I actually enjoyed them being home for spring break, and was a little bummed to herd them out the door this morning. This is a good sign for summer, I think. Heaps of time with little hands a toes. Speaking of, we're on the cover of this coming month's Gusher magazine! I'll scan it when I get a copy and make sure to post...

Like the flower? www.abirdcalledkate.etsy.com

xoxo

scraps and stones and happy bones!

Well, Steve's out of town this week... and I have to admit, the idea of five kid duty all alone can seem a bit daunting. Lucky me, however! Today was a beeeautiful day by any standard, and a delicious rarity in Tulsa. So I shipped the kids out to the back yard and settled myself in the craftroom (window open, of course!) and tackled my next project... rings! I ordered some blank ring backs from artchixstudio.com, and wanted to have something to put on them when they arrive. And what might that be? Well, I've been dollar store digging, and thought I might put these things to a new use: glass stones that you usually use to "dress up" a flower vase full of glamorous dollar store silk flowers *yack*:


And I'm alllll about using what you have on hand! So I dug thu my box full of scraps and pulled out some pretty paper... who doesn't love getting every penny's worth out of their scrapping supplies? Steve thinks my little habbit of avoiding tossing scrap supplies is unhealthy, but I disagree - look what I made!

Once I cut the scraps to size, I stamped on 'em, adhered punched out birds to 'em, wrote on 'em, and just plain made 'em fancy...

And I'm SUPER pleased with the results. My favorite is the little owl who is asking "hoo me?"... what a FUN ring that will be! Just a week or so to go, and these little gems should be up on my etsy! (http://www.abirdcalledkate.esty.com/)...

In other news, I have a serious case of the spring fever. I've been cleaning *GASP* and leaving windows open and thinking about our upcoming summer beach trip... making lemon squares, jumping on the trampoline with the kiddos, wearing flips flops and open toed heels. I LOVE this time of year...

Having five kids means you have a lot of great excuses - why you're always late, why the house looks like you deserve disaster relief assistance, why you're wearing two different shoes, and why you simply cannot be bothered to take the time to sell your art. But this week I had had enough of my own lame excuses, and decided it was time to buckle down... take a few pictures, spend some serious time in the craft room, and make the effort to set up my etsy account.

I spent HOURS taking pictures of my cute little frame quotes, and HOURS cursing at the computer (and praying it was only the dog behind me, and that those words wouldn't somehow result in a note home from the preschool) till I got things juuuuuust right.

I mean, how am I NOT selling my crafty cards at the very least? And I adore creating them... Who knew that my first sale would actually be the glam hair accessories that I decided to make one afternoon. I'm pretty sure I thought I was the only person who would wear them, no matter how cute I had convinced myself they were. Not true!

Turns out they're gonna be my biggest sellers... So! After years of harassment, I finally gave in and because a serious business woman. I'll kept this blog updated with my outpouring of creativity, but for the real deals you should check this out:

www.abirdcalledkate.etsy.com

Go see how I'm now making my mother proud...