Thanks to muppetloon for featuring my print in her cool Etsy treasury of New York area artists. I am on borrowed time, as Penny is due to wake from her nap at any moment! But I wanted to quickly share with you a special sale I'm running in the shop...Bunny tees for half price!! The deal is good till they're gone, so go get your mom one for Mother's Day!
It's been a peaceful Sunday morning, and though I slept maybe 5 non-consecutive hours last night, I had the energy to do some spring cleaning this morning. I unearthed a ton of fancy shopping bags I had deemed too nice to throw away. Well, after living in this apartment for 3 years I wasn't using them, so I decided to throw them out after all. But before I did, I used my tag cutter to make little gift tags for my orders. Cute, right?
It's the weekend, and I'm happy about a few things.
-Today is my 6-week postpartum checkup, which means the doc will (hopefully) give me the ok to exercise, which I've missed so much (I can't believe I'm saying that).
-My mom is coming to babysit today, which means date night sans baby for Chris and me.
-Penny slept for 8 hours last night. In a row.
-My Woodland Tea print is featured in Etsy's Storque Blog right now. I'm not sure what a bunny and a raccoon have to do with site maintenance, but I'm grateful for the exposure nonetheless.
-It's going up to 85 degrees this weekend. Is my post-pregnancy body ready for summer clothes? Eesh. See the first item on this list! But then again...
-I'm wearing non-maternity pants today. I can't button them and have to wear a Bella Band to hold them up, but still.
-We're going to try to rent the recently vacated 2 bedroom next door. How convenient would that be?!
I hope all of your weekends are full of happy tidbits as well! And I hope you all fit into your summer shorts.
The photo above was taken by the talented Misha Cohen. Maybe this weekend I'll pick up my poor neglected accordion.
Things are finally calm around here. Well, as calm as they can be with a new baby around! We had a fair amount of drama regarding our living situation. But suffice it to say, we are staying put here on our pretty little island. We thought moving to a new place might be a good idea, but the reality of it proved to be fraught with too many difficulties. Anyway, now we get to stick around for all of this: 
Yeah, I'm glad we're staying.
OK, so it's still a little big on her, but I couldn't resist dressing Penny up in her very first MamaRobot onesie. And she looked so cute in it, she's now modeling for the shop. It's never to early for her to help out the family business!
I've just begun my first freelance job since becoming a mom. It feels so good to be working again. Makes me feel connected to the outside world! Over the weekend, while Chris watched Penny, I sat down at my desk with a cup of no-longer-forbidden coffee, turned on the This American Life podcast, and started my work. It *almost* felt like my old pre-baby life. Except I didn't procrastinate the way I used to, since I only have a 2-3 hour window between feedings. Above, a few of the drawings from the weekend. Once the project is done, I'll let you know where you can find it in its finished form!
It has not been the best of days. This is where having a baby unexpectedly helps you. I say unexpectedly because you'd think a wailing newborn would only add to the stress of a stressful situation. That's what I would think. But I took a look at my girl and realized she really has shifted my perspective, and as long as she and Chris are healthy and happy, I can be happy, too. (See my two sweet lazybones cuties?) Shortly after I came to this realization, Chris walked in with a package from Hobocamp Crafts. If there ever was a day I needed a package of goodies in the mail, today was that day. Inside was something for each of us: for me, the coolest nursing pads I've ever seen. Check out the pink ones with horses. They're incredibly soft and beat the lame disposable ones hands down. Chris got the Brother tee he had been eyeing, and Penny got an adorable bib that I hope she won't spit up on! I already feel the energy shifting, and I know tomorrow will be a better day. In the meantime, a delivery of pizza is in order.
Penny is nearly a month old, and I'm slowly learning to create a balance between motherhood and my old self. I nurse, soothe, change, and bathe Penny around the clock, and fit in sleep, laundry, and a little artwork in between. The amount of drawing I've been able to squeeze in has been miniscule (as you can imagine!) but it's less about productivity than to serve as a reminder that I'm still an artist, and there is still a tiny bit of room for that part of me. One day there will be more room. Above, my sunny funny girl, and the start of a new Gocco project.
