more peeks and changing clothes

{more random peeks into The Things We Do}

Hi and THANK YOU everyone for the wonderful feedback on my little indie parenting book! My kids keep feeding volumes of new material my way that I'll have to hand write in my own copy. Six year old asked yesterday in all seriousness if she could have a vending machine in her bedroom ;)

Be not alarmed if you see a flurry of activity going on with my header and sidebar --  my blog hadn't changed clothes for almost two years and it was starting to stink, digitally speaking. I'll be updating my favorite art/craft blog links over the next few weeks, so if you'd like me to include yours, just let me know!

The Things We Do

{random page peeks from The Things We Do}

The Things We Do is done! Starting from a bunch of disorganized lists last summer, it is now 34 doodled pages from beginning to end. I am hunched over, weary, hurting, bleary eyed, happy to be done, and very happy with how it turned out. I'm also satisfied that I'll be able to look back at this book once my kids have grown, and know that what I did was important and that it mattered. Yes, this was a selfish endeavor.

There were times that I thought I'd never finish because every time I went to the grocery store, or spent a typical few hours with my own kids, I'd have at least three new pages of material. Putting it all through the analysis machine, it absolutely boggled my mind how much parents take on, and how quickly a day can pass doing these things we do. Shuttling them back and forth! Meals! Tantrums! Wheedling! Teachable moments! Doing things we just did! Coaxing! Sock crises! Nightly rituals! Redirecting! Lunch box dilemmas! Refilling bottles and sippy cups and washing and disinfecting and bribing and cherishing! Well...I tried to fit as much in here as possible. Each task was a potential rabbit hole from which I might have never emerged. So I included what I could, and issued a blanket apology for everything that I missed.

For those who are interested, I've just refreshed the copies in the shop (I put a small batch in early this morning and they sold out; thank you!) in red, blue and green. I made every bit of every copy with my own hands, from writing to binding. It is a humble production, but one made with heart. Above are a few peeps of the final pages -- I'll share more over time. If I posted them all now, my blog might blow up ;)

Thank you to everyone who gave me the encouragement to make it to the finish line -- and thank you to parents everywhere for doing the toughest job on earth!

almost

Almost is a great feeling. Almost better than getting to the blessed milestone! The anticipation, the quickening of the heart, the giddiness that comes with being the next in line -- I'm just about there with The Things We Do. I finally nailed down the intro, that elusive yet essential piece that I kept trashing and starting over, and I'm trucking to the finish line. Just a bit of grunt work left and I'll be ready to fire up The Artsyville Press.

Also, my little FB page is almost at 1000 likes, so I'm having an "almost" sale in the shop. Use the code ALMOST1000 for 20% off your doodle order all weekend long!

Happy almost weekend to you all!