Spring Break

Our little man accidentally dropped our computer this weekend so it's in the shop for repairs. We've been borrowing one temporarily from a friend but don't know how long it will be available. I've been feeling out of commission lately and am a little behind on work so I'll be taking advantage of Brett being home on Spring break this week to help with Sebastian and getting the house in order before my parents come to visit.

Is anyone else on Spring break this week? Any fun plans? It looks like we'll have perfectly warm weather for a few days so we're keeping the windows open and letting the breeze bring in some fresh air.

See you next week!

RVA Craft Weekend Sign Ups!!!

Sign ups are now available for the first ever Red Velvet Art Craft Weekend!

I'm teaching three classes and co-hosting a workshop on the weekend of April 30th - May 2nd. I'll be showing students how to make your own leather journals, embellish a scree-printed tote, and how to use paint, found papers, and wooden blocks to create your own dimensional journaling art piece. I'm sure to have more energy and a baby belly by then and can't wait to meet some of you in person!

You can purchase your spot for the weekend as well as add-on classes on the Weekend Blog. Be sure to grab the html for your RVA Craft Weekend Widget while you're there. Back to regularly scheduled blogging later this week. I promise.

p.s. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Red Velvet Art Craft Weekend Unveiling!

After weeks of planning and dreaming, the RVA Craft weekend is finally ready to share! Three glorious days full of workshops, classes, music, cupcakes, crafting, and getting to know those imaginary online friends you always talk about.

Elsie Flannigan is hosting the weekend at the Historic Firehouse across the street from the new Red Velvet Art store on Commercial Street in Springfield, MO and has gathered some local and international talent to offer a variety of crafting classes. Classes start Thursday, April 30th and run through Saturday evening, May 2nd. It coincides with Springfield's Art Walk and Jeremy Larson will be playing a special show for the occasion! Below are a few images of finished class projects that we're offering.





Check out the official Weekend blog for a full schedule, pricing, and class descriptions! Sign ups start Wednesday, March 18th at 6 pm CST on the Weekend blog so be sure to get your spot as spaces are limited. It's going to be memorable and we hope to see you there!

P.S. Thanks to Victoria of sfgirlbybay for featuring the RVA shop today! And thanks to Modish for featuring my studio in the handmade spaces section of their blog! What a fabulous Monday it was.

An Inappropriate Amount of Work To Tackle by a Nauseous Pregnant Woman Who Didn't Get Her Floors Swept This Weekend

* Sweep Floors.
* Rearrange Sebastian's room and put air mattress away before he decides it's his new bed.
* Draft plans for new storage units in studio.
* Design new chalkboard thought bubbles for RVA.
* Fold and put away fabric on studio floor.
* Finish sewing aprons for RVA.
* Eat something every two hours.
* Pee every twenty minutes.
* Blog about RVA Crafty Weekend.
* Research Montessori Method.
* Regret that I didn't call my brother tonight and won't be able to talk to him for three weeks.
* Call Brett's grandma about quilt.
* Prepare for doily tank top tutorial on Pretty.
* Cash checks.
* Avoid laundry pile.
* Send Mom her birthday present.
* Do sit ups.
* Think about going to the gym.
* Clean out fridge of RIPE produce.
* Call Meemaw.
* Help SIL find furniture on Craigslist.
* Avoid purchasing anything at a flea market.
* Donate items to Goodwill.
* Change water in flower vases.
* Keep an eye on the ants.
* Stand outside in the sun for as long as it's warm and things aren't spinning.
* Make Play-Doh with Sebastian.
* Sweep floors again.

Let's be honest. I'll accomplish about six of these things before Friday. Maybe seven.

What's on your list?

Fresh or Frozen?

I've got four vases of daffodils in my house as reminders of the 70 degree weather we had last weekend. It got below freezing two nights ago so I bundled Sebastian and together we trekked through our frozen backyard and cut the daffodils that had drooped or were just about to bloom. Two vases are meant for our neighbors and the other two are for us to enjoy. The crocus and magnolia blooms are going to have to fend for themselves.

I've been enjoying my daily doses of first trimester nausea this last week and a half. I didn't have this kind with Sebastian that I can remember so there are a number of things I'm learning about my body and the best way to make it through the day.

#1 - Don't let the tank reach empty. I've started keeping saltines and water by my bed like all the books say, only I have to make sure I've got plenty for Sebastian. I woke up the other day to the sound of crunching at my night stand and there he was, enjoying his morning snack.

#2 - Do what you can when you can. Since my cold is gone, I've got about an hours worth of energy back in my afternoons. Instead of spending it online while Sebastian slept today, I tackled the laundry, dirty bathroom, and kitchen counter. And then I had to sit down for an hour.

#3 - Pay attention to the cravings. They say you crave things because your body needs something and I've found this especially to be true during pregnancy. I couldn't get enough citrus or avacados during my last few months with Sebastian and I can't get enough chicken or swiss cheese now. My doula in Seattle made sure I was getting more protein than I was used to with Sebastian and had me keeping all kinds of charts. So now when I want a high protein snack, I make sure it's a healthy one.

#4 - They say walking helps nausea. Who does that work for!

#5 - Get plenty of sleep. Yes, I do need to be told. I've started caving in around 11:00 p.m. instead of the usual 12:00 a.m. and can tell it's helped me feel better in the mornings. I fell asleep on the couch yesterday without meaning to. I'm sure it's the first of many times.

#6 - Avoid the 'eating for two' mentality. I subscribed to this method with Sebastian just because I didn't have any fear of the consequences. Having to deal with those last ten lbs. for the last two and a half years has been a great motivator this time around. I've been quite successful with this thanks to the constant nausea. It makes it hard for much to sound good.
So far this has included apples, pears, bananas, whole grain cereal, cheese, natural yogurt, peanuts, chicken, rice, ginger tea, sliced bell peppers, salads, and the daily slice of sourdough bread for good measure. I'm sure I'll have to work harder on this as the months go by and I'm really thankful that Taco Bell no longer carries those Chili Cheese burritos that got me through my first trimester last time.

I've been taking the Mama's Bliss nausea tablets and drinking ginger tea to see if that helps but so far I haven't noticed much improvement. If anyone has any magic tricks that worked for them, please pass them on. One can only plant herself on the couch for so many hours a day.

I hope your Spring weather has arrived or at least showing signs that it's near. I'll be back later this week with some non-pregnancy related hapennings.

Oh Boy.

Brett: "Can the baby sleep in your room?"

Sebastian: "Nope!"

Brett: " Where is the baby going to sleep then?"

Sebastian: "In the car."

A List Of Things

* Yesterday, I saw the first garden snake basking in the sun along the side of our house. And I didn't scream.

* Our new spring backyard is speckled with daffodil and crocus buds.

* A tornado in Lebanon, MO blew our tent across the yard and ripped such a big hole in the cover that we've got no choice but to throw it away.

* I put my hair up in a braid. It's probably been ten years since my last single braid.

* I've been daydreaming about summer dresses with leggings and sandals.

* I finished my class samples for the May Red Velvet Art weekend. I'm most excited about the dimensional journaling class!

* I've spent the majority of my weekend on the couch or in bed trying to recover from the yucky that Sebastian had last weekend. I managed to enjoy the Audrey Hepburn movie 'Love in the Afternoon'.

* I've got a YMCA membership that hasn't been used in a week.

* My son is the most beautiful boy I've ever known.

* I've got a meeting with Elsie to organize and streamline our next few months.

* My studio has been an ignored disaster this week. New projects + urgent deadlines + sick = just make another pile on the floor where you can find space.

* Two sunny days in a row have spoiled us into thinking it's okay to put the space heater away and take the plastic off the south windows.

* Those nausea pills I ordered can't get here soon enough.

* I am fighting the urge to rearrange every room in my house.

* We've been listening to the new U2, Neko Case, and Loney Dear albums all weekend.

Pretty, Pretty

Thank you for the well wishes, prayers, and congratulations over our happy news. It's been a teeter totter of excitement and anxiety as we still have the loss of our last pregnancy fresh in our hearts and are quite aware how delicate and miraculous these first few months are. I decided to go ahead and share our news early on again as an exercise of hope and wanting to continue to document my life in all it's joys and pains through this blog. The support we received after our miscarriage through comments, e-mails and phone calls was so important to our healing and made us feel quite loved in such a hard, strange time. If we had not shared our joy, you wouldn't have known our pain and our special appreciation for these new days of nauseau, exhaustion, and changing hormones. I'm thankful for every strong reminder that something special is happening.

In the meantime, Sebastian is feeling much better and has taken to jumping off the side of the couch again. We are finally getting some warm weather today that might stick around through the weekend. There is lots of catching up to do in the studio as we're on the verge of another shop update!

One of the items I've been working on for Red Velvet Art is this sweet half apron. The vintage trim and colors remind me of summer time. Image from Elsie.

Also coming soon are these sweet green bows to wear with your sundresses this spring. I'll be wearing mine on St. Patrick's Day to ward off those pinches! Image from Elsie.

The new RVA website will be back up and running later this week and full of new product for March. Elsie's also throwing a bubble tea and cupcake themed party in the shop this Friday for Art Walk and unveiling a new series of paintings she's done for the occasion! I'll be keeping an eye on the cupcakes to make sure Sebastian saves some for the rest of the crowd this time.


I finished my own painting last weekend and will have it for sale in the Springfield shop this Friday. It had been staring at me for a few weeks in it's primed state, taunting me with it's hugeness, but I showed it. I was nervous about sharing it on Flickr, as all are when posting something new and strange in a public space, but the responses I got quickly put that out of my mind. Thank you for your sweet comments and excitement. You know how to make a girl feel pretty fantastic.

The Young and the Restless

What started on Friday night as a hoarse cough and watery eyes slowly elevated to a runny nose, refusal to eat much of anything, and a warm bath after losing the small contents of his stomach all over mama during a terrible coughing fit. I'm not one to rush to the Dr. but by Sunday night, I was counting the hours. Sebastian and I got up extra early this morning to take Brett to work so we could then scoot on over to pediatric urgent care after a fitful night of sleeping on the big couch with my little one tucked into my side. We gathered our diaper bag gear, made sure we had the insurance card, cell phone, wallet, and directions and took off.

We made it to our googled destination only to realize they didn't open until noon. Noon! The nice lady at the hospital information desk next to Urgent Care told me to try the place down the street. Get in, drive down the street, get out. Not open for 30 more minutes. Sebastian is crying and coughing like a 70 year old smoker. Sit in car and watch the tractors. Get out, ask at front desk if we're in the right place. No. Try the other Urgent Care place down the road. We were just there. Oh. Well, there's another place down this other road.

We finally made it to the correct Urgent Care waiting room and got checked in. We're expecting a short wait as we're #3 in line and it's only 8:40 a.m. at this point. Thankfully, Diego was on and then Wonder Pets and then 20 more people in line behind us and finally it was our turn. Go in, check temp, ask questions, go back out and wait some more. No problem. Sebastian thought we were going home. No, more waiting. More Wonder Pets. Are you still with me?

The nurse called us back and we waited for the nicest doctor in the world to examine S and tell us he had the start of an ear infection (his first) but that his lungs were clear and that we'd have to ride it out with a prescription available just in case it got worse. Great, thank you. Wait for the nurse. Billing lady comes in, does her job, leaves. Wait for the nurse some more.

I'm not sure if it was my bedhead that put the billing agent in a sour mood or the terrible task of hauling around a computer/credit card machine on wheels but the most she could muster as I yelled out the door that I was about to faint was, "Well, you should probably sit down then, shouldn't you."

Super doctor rushed in an told me our paper work was almost ready and then realized I was as white as a ghost and went and got me some water and crackers remembering that important part in our conversation earlier. I started crying. The kind of crying that just happens to you and you're not sure how to explain yourself. No, I'm not in pain, no, I'm not sad. Exhausted, hormonal and experiencing low blood sugar? Yes.

Needless to say, we made it home in one piece.

I suggest eating breakfast before any sort of adventure that includes medical attention, urgent or not. I appreciate all hospital staff, minus the billing lady, and wonder at the magic they've been given that allows them to deal with snotty-nosed, virus-infected, hurting, moaning people all day.

And yes, I'm pregnant. :)