So I set off to conquer what  was to be a breeze of a day. Just had a 1:00 meeting, grab a dress for tomorrow fundraiser, and the last details for Gabe’s Birthday. I was good to go.  As soon as David takes the kids to school, I sit down and work on emails. And as soon as David got home from dropping the kids off and walked into the office I looked up and said “I feel like I am drowning.” I don’t even know what it was but wow,  did it set the pace of my day. I hate that. I hate feeling like I’m bringing bad energy into a room.  I jumped into the shower only to have the hot water run out. YIKES and of course I blame David that our hot water sucks! Poor guy. Needless to say the remainder of the day pretty much continued on the same pace!

I hate these days and I just don’t know how to get rid of that feeling. The feeling of drowning in your work, in your life and just wondering what the heck am I doing?

But then I get a text from Sam, “What can I do to help?” and a text from Lynette “What can I take off your plate?” They know. They can tell when I start falling.  And then it hits me, it is okay to feel like you are drowning sometimes because I know I have great girls who will save me every time. Man, I am so lucky. I love these girls.  They have saved me more times than I can count.

A huge thank to Sam for letting me vent to her, to Matt for playing a song that totally made me crack up,  and Lynette for letting me vent again and then talking me through it all and coming up with a grand plan. Thanks to David for taking Joe to the movies so Gabe and I would have 20 minutes to run into Target to get his Birthday goods and just for being the sweetest husband in the planet. You have no idea! And once again to Lynette for going to lunch with me to help me re-focus and to Sam for inviting me to a great dinner that I had to nix on, but that’s ok, her dinner texts are always amusing from a far! Couldn’t ask for a better texting pal!

And now I end my day with a huge smile.  So many great things on the horizon; A Birthday party for Gabe tomorrow, a big fundraiser tomorrow night and a 6am drive to Detroit Sunday AM to see my favorite girls ever!

Friday night is our Matilda Jane Christmas party and  I can hardly wait. I love these girls.  They work so hard.  I mean my girls don’t only answer the phone and pack orders….. they SCHLEP with the best of them. They work hard. They pour their heart and soul into work everyday.  We are a pretty tight group and we pull for each other. It’s one of those job where you can’t t call in sick cuz you know the other girls will have to pull your weight. You know everyone matters everyday.  It’s a beautiful thing.  I know I am very fortunate to have found so many great girls. So fortunate. So I love this time of year, when I can really spoil them!

I’ve been wrapping all day and I started wrapping a few things for the neighbors too. Seriously, Judy knocked it WAY out of the ballpark with these little clothes for Elizabeth’s new American Girl doll. You have to check her out. They are gorgeous beyond words. I was so excited when I opened a box from a long ago art fair pal, Julie.  We had traded clothes for a painting back in the day.  So when I saw the coolest We Wish You a Merry Christmas show up I freaked. I love art. I love art even more when I know the artist. Check her out, you may recognize a few things from around my house.

And the top of my list of great gifts, especially for the hard to buy boy who only wants legos is SPEED.  Joe and David play this way too much. Gabe even tries to join in the fun. It is all about multiplication the fun way. Cool factor here is the family who created the game.  Remember me talking about going to Germany and going to visit David’s childhood friend Jeff?  It was so funny all the way there David warned Sam, Lynette and I how short Jeff was and not to stare. HE had us so thinking Jeff was 4 feet tall. Welp, umm Jeff may be be taller than David. Oh, the things you THINK you remember. Watching David and Jeff talk was the best part of the trip. Hands down. You know when you have known someone your entire life and you have that secret look, that secret language, just the way you “know” each other? Oh, that was so great to see.

I am getting way off track. Jeff and wife Julie home school their 3 children. And Julie, being the genius she is, came up with this game called SPEED to help teach multiplication to Jayla. You know when you believe in something so much cuz you know it works first hand? Well, you gotta share it. And so Julie is. I had David get a copy of it so I could really see if it was all it was cracked up to be. Yes, I gotta see it to believe it. Ha, I believe it. Joe loved it. David loved it. Gabe?  He tried to love it the best he could. Check it out here.

We have arrived in Shanghai and it is so warm here!! But the hotel room is freezing!

Gabe always gets so sad when I leave, like really sad. Man, he is the sweetest babe! He told me he was really sad we couldn’t cuddle up and get McDonald’s McFlurries after school. He is certainly quite the cuteness. I told David we should Skype cuz then we can at least see and talk to each other. We wouldn’t seem so far away.  It was awesome. Skype is so cool. Gabe and Joe were ultra goofy.  It was hilarious and totally got Gabe side tracked.

Well, at least I thought. David just told me Gabe sobbed for an hour afterwards. Like the kind of sobbing that you can’t catch your breath. Oh, that sweet little boy of mine. Gosh,  I love him! The countdown is on, 4 more days!

And Miss Lisa Beard……I pick you as my Happiness is Best Kept When Given Away winner. You can email Kiaraa@matildajaneclothing.com for your dresses!! I am so happy for you!!

Truth is I have been trying to blog for days.  A good thought rushes in…..and then Gabe rushes in too.  Thoughts are wiped clean. He’s a handful.  A handful of cuteness, gooey-ness and laughs, oh and the cuddliest thing ever. He’s so excited to bring his class to Matilda Jane for a field trip. His biggest concern is that they all get to use the pop and candy machine. According to him, this is what is going to be the show stopper. He doesn’t understand that the field trip is still7 months away!   Oh, love my Gabe.

I just took Franklin for a walk. It is so windy and perfect. I love Fall. I love being able to wear (and Gabe enters…) sweaters!! But I love how cozy Fall is. And I love that things are a bit slower and I can have some time to hang out with my friends. I have so any great friends. Problem is, they are great friends to me.  Me? Not so much. I am constantly saying, sorry I have to work or I’m exhausted! But this month…nope. I am gonna commit to hanging out at least 2x a week. Yup.

Geesh, I totally forgot what I was actually gonna blog about! (Here comes Gabe again)

So we just sent Spring 2012 to be photographed. I am almost speechless on this one. It is truly breathe taking. Ya, and I am bragging here.  I love it. I am so proud of it! Lynette, Kayla, Cindy and Carla will be heading to China in the next few weeks to check it before it ships. Sam is heading out to LA to help a bit with the shoot. Carla, Chris and I are are going to China in December to check the rest of production. So excited. I have not traveled with Chris since I don’t know when.  She has met Iris, Pan and Candy once in the states but I cannot wait for her to get to see them again. They are so……perfect.

Okay this is also on my mind, now that I am rambling (here comes Joe, he now wants to be Jerry McGuire for Halloween instead of Justin Beiber)…okay so…wow, that’s funny Joe walked in right as I was gonna talk about him.  I was going to ask if any of you knew anyone who lives in Bayview, Michigan! Ha, I know….akward. But anyways, might as well ask. We want to buy a cottage up there but need 2 references from members. Tough. I have one, but need one more. I am totally willing to call, meet in person or whatever I can do to get a reference.  David’s grandparents used to have a cottage in Bayview…who then passed it on to David’s parents.  David spent many summers up there when he was young, but when he and his brother got older, their parents sold it.  Anyway, we took Joe to speech last year in Petoskey. The therapist is amazing and got him saying his “J’s” in  a week. So I’m committing next summer to a summer full of speech. I thought about it and Dr. Laura asked us to stay longer last year. I said no I had too much work to do and couldn’t leave that long. But you know what, that was so the wrong answer.  I shocked myself. I was actually putting work before Joe. Oh…so on May 21 I am committed to as much speech as we can get all summer. (Side note, yes Joe does get speech 3x a week here, so I am not neglecting him!!)

Alright then, I just babbled all over the moon and Gabe is still yelling my name.

Yup, with that thought, I am going to go wake them both up and see what they think.  Ha..never..they can sleep and tomorrow we will discuss this.  And I know exactly what Joe will say, “Pokemon.”  Gabe? He’ll say, ….hmm I am not sure..something smart and to do with zombies.

But we gotta figure it out before this summer cuz I surely want to have your entire family at 435!  Oh, it would be so fun to decorate the boys tent. My mind is going crazy now. Pinterest here I come!

What can I say?  I am smitten. Yup, it’s me and Sam (the cat) up against the 4 boys of the house. Sam? Well, she hasn’t quite fallen in love yet, but I’m holding out for some hope. I am wondering if the idea of me taking Franklin to work has any effect on her jealousy?  Hmm..quite possibly. Though she had no problem curling up to Gabe last night and he spent a good 2 hours at 433 helping me pick out Joe’s Turn  bags.

It’s about time we start getting a good inventory of Joe’s Turn bags. Do you remember he raised just over 10k, with YOUR help for Turnstone.  I have shared the story of Joe many times over, but I gotta link it again for all you who have not read it. It really hold strong to the core of what we are trying to do at Matilda Jane Clothing.  Wow, going off on a tangent here…sorry. But I do have to say Joe has opened my eyes too so many things I was never exposed to. Without the help of Turnstone chances are there’d be no “us”.  Heck, I’d be crying in the corner of how the heck would I be able to afford therapy, pay all my bills and give Joe everything he needed.  What they did for us and so many others is one of the reasons it is so important for us to give back.  So hold on tight, we are in full  throttle making bags.

Alrighty back on track….

You got it!! I placed 2 pics of Franklin into the Matilda Jane collage.

and cuz I can’t get a girls name I went to high school with out of my mind, Tammy Taylor’s,  you are Lucky #7. Just email Kiara.

And this is for Sam.

I have told her one too many times she must visit Northern Michigan so she can understand the beauty of it, how laid back the folks are, but mostly I want her to see how clear the water is!! Once you have been in Lake Michigan or Lake Huron our Indiana lakes just seem a little less clear!

I have been so MIA this past month, and probably will be throughout this month. I’m one of those who know how to work hard yet have no problem disappearing for weeks. I think I have always been like that. I use up all my energy on a project and then have to get it all back! So I guess that does not make me a hermit, but a energy builder? Maybe? Possibly?

Don’t laugh but it took me about 20, okay 30 minutes to get that pic uploaded. Ha. I could not, for the life of me, find the tool bar in Photoshop.  I am half embaressed to admit I had to get out my manual to figure out how to make it appear again.  But hey, it is all settled and I am good to go.

Only problem now is I have lost my train of thought and I am half certain I had a good story to share. So I guess if you have read this far you will have to settle for a little rambling.

I have been introduced to audiobooks and my phone now has The Help, and The Kitchen.  I have completed them both and am in search of a new great read, well, listen… It really is a great thing, it has totally motivated me to get up every morning and walk the park just so I can cover a few chapters. It is fabulous. The only problem is I swear, I am hearing voices. Ya, the lady at Joann’s today was listening to Sam and I chat. I told Sam, I think I am hearing voices and she gave me the funniest look. But I was really serious, It is like  those narrators voices are ringing in my ears. It is bizarre. Please say some of you know that feeling?

Shoot, I totally forgot I need to run and pick up Gabe. I’ll be back in a bit. Wow.

We are day 4 into our “vacation” and I am still wondering when vacation will start. It is so hard to turn my brain off sometimes. Our days have been filled with a short trek to Petoskey 2x a day to take Joe to speech, then we do homework, grab lunch somewhere, and come back home for a little more homework and grab a few moments to read on the porch. David and the boys have made it their search nearly everyday for Petoskey stones as I work on trying to use up remaining fabrics Carla has in her workshop.

I really need to take some more photos. If you have never been to northern Michigan, you must. It is breath taking. The air is filled with freshness and a sense of peace. I truly love it up here. Though, last night David and I had had a discussion on whether we liked Seaside better than up North, and I must say Seaside won. I think the tipping point was the energy Seaside seems to have. Who knows…I think I have been thinking too much.

So I am off to try to convince Gabe to take a walk to the doughnut shop before David and Joe get home from speech. You’d think it’d be easy but man, Gabe is a tough one to convince of anything….maybe I will just tell him it is a candy shop. I know, close to the same thing but if you know Gabe they are complete opposites.