Photos of What I've Been Doing

So now that I'm not pregnant anymore (thank goodness!!), I've got so much more energy! There are so many projects that I want to get done, most namely getting the house finally decorated. We've been here in Florida for almost three months now, and our entire front room (dining/living) is still filled with boxes of all my knick-knacks and decorations. So I'm just itching to get it done. Unfortunately, taking care of a 16-month-old and and newborn leaves me little time to actually do anything. I'm pretty much limited to about 2 hours a day, when Riley is napping, and hopefully Noah cooperates and is doing the same.

Anyway, I've got numerous projects that I'm trying to complete all at the same time. First is the family room. Here are some photos of what I've accomplished in there. I'm lucky to have some built-in shelves to accessorize- much easier and more "baby-proofed" than furniture. The whole bottom section is devoted to baskets for toys- I'm still getting used to having to work those into my decorating- primary colored plastic just doesn't necessarily fit my style!

Next are the two kid's rooms. I'm sort of working on both of them simultaneously. Riley is technically still sleeping in the nursery, so some of his stuff is still in there and some of it is now in his "big-boy" room. My first step for the rooms was to make curtains, then I'll decorate the rooms to match. I bought these two adorable fabrics online. The first are Riley's curtains, and have vintage nursery rhyme images on them. His walls are minty green on two walls and yellow on the other two. The second are Noah's curtains, and have vintage alphabet illustrations on them. His walls will be (haven't been painted yet) a light salmon-y orange and a country blue. I still plan to make a bedspread for Riley's toddler bed and to make a slipcover for Noah's crib bumper to match the curtains.

Then, I'm also trying to get back into doing some artwork. I need to get a book started for Noah, and also do some catching up in Riley's book. And Pam, I've still got your book to work in- I promise I'll get to it soon!! On a side note, I know that I haven't posted artwork here for so long. The reason is that most of the artwork I've done for the past six months or so is going to be in my book, so the publishers don't want me to show it. But now that I'm finished with the book, I'll be able to start showing it again- yay! I hate not showing my art, because it sort of messes with the continuity of my website, etc., since most of the art I do flows in a timeline. But, I digress... Anyway, yesterday I was able to begin Noah's book. I plan to do a two-page spread about his birth, and I got one of the two pages done (again, during Riley's two hour nap!). Here's a snippet of that page. Once I finish both, I'll show the whole spread.

And finally, of course the biggest project I've been working on is raising my two kids! That is going great so far. Riley's adjusted really well, and Noah is still proving to be a pretty good baby. We've been doing lots of things with my sister and her two kids, which is really nice because it gives Riley some other interaction during a time when he otherwise may be feeling a little neglected. So here are some photos of the two of them. It's amazing how few photos I've got of Noah compared to what I had of Riley at this age, but I guess that's the curse of being a second child. At least the one's I've got of him are cute!

Before signing off, I'd like to thank all of you for the support and wonderful comments and emails you leave for me. I'm sorry that I'm not the greatest at responding to them all, but please do know that they are very appreciated. I have a hard enough time responding to emails from my mother at this point, so I hope you can understand....!

Introducing Noah Benjamin Moortgat...

Noah Benjamin Moortgat
February 6th, 2007
5:06 AM
9 lbs. 8.5 oz.
20" long

He's here! And a day early to boot! I was scheduled to be induced Wednesday the 7th, but on Monday night I went into labor, and he arrived Tuesday. It was a quick labor, only about 7-8 hours from the very first contractions. I wasn't even sure it was the real thing until about 2:00 AM, and when I got to the hospital, I was already 6 cms. dilated. Unfortunately for me, everything progressed so quickly from that point that there was no time for me to get an epidural. Boy, I thought I knew what pain was until I had to deliver a 9 1/2 pounder naturally! I'm fortunate it all happened so quickly because I seriously couldn't have taken more than a couple hours of that! But he is here, safe and sound, and I am recovering extremely well, much faster than I did with Riley. And in the end, it's sort of a nice thing to know about myself- that I could handle it.

So, I may be biased, but I think he is an extremely handsome boy! He definitely takes more after Daddy than me-he has got jet-black hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. I guess we'll see how much of that changes over time, but it's interesting to have two kids so different-looking, since Riley is much fairer like I am. He has a very sweet disposition so far, much like his big brother did when he was born.

And speaking of big brother, Riley definitely seems curious about this new family member, but doesn't seem to be upset about the change yet. It helps that he is getting lots of attention from Grandma and his aunts right now, too.

So, anyway, here are some preliminary photos- he's just starting to open his eyes today, so hopefully I'll get some nicer ones in the next few days. Thanks for all the well wishes that I've received in the past couple weeks, and I'll keep you all updated!

Six Things...

Well, I was tagged a couple weeks ago by Kathy, and am finally getting around to listing six strange things about myself! Perfect thing to get my mind off my huge tummy and aching back! (More about that after my list.)

1. I have a very unnatural aversion to tags, especially clothing tags, but really just about any tags. Almost everything I own has had the tag taken off. There's just something about them that literally grosses me out! And when I take them off, I can't just throw them on the top of the trash, they have to be covered up so that I can't see them next time I throw something away! Who knows where this wierdo trait came from- maybe just because I'm a perfectionist and seeing a tag on something disrupts the perfection to some extent- who knows?

2. When I was in high school, my absolute favorite actress, to the point of obsession, was Katharine Hepburn, and in college, Barbra Streisand. Needless to say, I was considered a bit of an oddball by my friends.

3. My favorite kind of music is Broadway and soundtracks from movie musicals, as cheesy as it all is. I just love to sing along! Again, see above item for what my friends think of me...

4. I dip my pizza into Ranch dressing and put ice in my milk.

5. Being an artist and a former custom framer (both which should qualify me as somewhat of a color expert), I cannot for the life of me pick out proper paint colors for my walls, much to my chagrin. I'm never satisfied with what I've chosen, and quite often end up repainting because it drives me so crazy.

6. If something falls on the floor while I'm driving (like my purse spilling over, etc.), I have to pick everything up immediately and not wait until I've stopped. As unsafe as it is to try to lean over and grab the things while driving, I cannot stand to let the mess sit until I'm stopped.

I'm sure I've forgotten some weirdo traits that are much more exciting than these, but these are what came to mind when I sat down to write... And anyone I can think to "tag" to make their own list has already done it on their blog, so I guess the chain will stop here....

So the next post from me will be my "new baby" post! I am not due until Feb. 14th, but we are going to induce this Wednesday, on Feb. 7th, and not a moment too soon in my opinion! I am pretty much incapacitated these days- can't handle doing anything other than just sitting. My back aches like crazy, all of my muscles are sore, and my stomach is stretched to the limit. And lucky me, in the last couple weeks I've developed a condition called PUPPP, which is characterized by an insanely itchy rash/hives all over my stomach and also a little on my arms and legs. Aargh!! I swear, the first thing I'm going to say when little Baby comes out is, "Thank God I'm not pregnant anymore!" But luckily, I've only got a few more days of this, and then I can start appreciating the little bundle who put me through it!

And in other news, I am officially done with the writing of my book- hooray!! What a relief! At this point, I just have to do some author edits, which should be pretty easy. I absolutely can't wait to see what it's going to look like. I haven't seen any design on it at all (other than the cover, which I designed), so that will be a lot of fun to see. And since I've finished it, I've actually had the time to do a few pieces of art, which is so nice after having abandoned it for so long. Sometime soon, I'll take photos to post here- I'm sorry there's been such a lack of artsy entries here.

Okay, well, that's it for me. Please keep me in your thoughts on Wednesday, and I'll update as soon as I can to show off the newest member of our little family!

Greetings from Florida!

Well, I figured it was about time to update here. I hear from you guys every so often checking in on me, and I feel bad about how infrequently I've been able to post. If you read my last post though, you of course know how crazy my life is right now and hopefully have some mercy on me!

So, we are now in Florida. We got here about a month ago, after much stress and anxiety and bumps in the road. I know that moving is one of those life events that is rated as one of the most stressful, along with getting married, having a baby, etc. But for me, moving is the most stressful by far. I cannot tell you how much I hate it! I am such a perfectionist, all the planning and preparation and organization stresses me out beyond belief. And trying to do it while greatly pregnant and taking care of a fourteen month old just adds to the stress.

But we at least are now here and somewhat settled, so the worst of it is over. Until I can get the house a little decorated and unpack the dozens of boxes still sitting around though, I will still feel unsettled. However, I'm enjoying being in Florida near my two sisters. It's so nice to be able to stop by and see them at the drop of a hat. It will be such an improvement in my social life! Will I ever get used to actually sweating in January though? That's one I haven't decided on yet!

On other fronts, I am almost finished writing my book. My manuscript is due the end of the month, so it's crunch-time for me. I haven't seen what the design will look like, but I'm happy with what I've written, and I hope you will all be very pleased with the results. It's due out about October, and the title will be "The Art of Personal Imagery". Wish me luck finishing it up. The new baby is due in one month, so I'm really cutting things close with this deadline!

And of course there's the pregnancy. This has been a hard one for me, compared to Riley's. I'm sure a lot of that has to do with making a cross-country move in the middle of it, but regardless, I'm struggling. At my last ultrasound, the doctor said that this baby is measuring about 25% larger than average- yikes! Riley was 9 lbs. 13.5 oz., so I guess I'm in for another big one. At least I'm in the home stretch and don't have to deal with sleepless nights, back pain, and muscle aches too much longer. Last weekend, my sister took some photos of me out on the beach, which I'll upload here. They came out so nicely. It's still hard for me to believe I was out on the beach in January though!

And, last but not least, there's Riley. He's doing great-doesn't seem to have been affected much at all by this move, thank goodness. He loves being able to play with his two cousins, and they seem to like having a new friend as well. He started walking about two months ago, and of course is now more into everything than ever before. But he's still a sweetie, and I hope he'll adjust to having a new little brother soon...

Okay, that's about it. Thanks for sticking with me, and continuing to check my blog. And thanks to all of you who wrote to me about my articles in Somerset and Legacy. Once the book's done and the baby's born, I hope to be able to start blogging a bit more frequently again. And doing some art, which is a completely different story- I haven't done a piece in over two months! Poor Riley's book has been completely neglected, as has the new baby's pregnancy journal.... Oh well, I can only do what I can do!

Yes, I'm Still Alive!

Hello to all of you out there who are still sticking with me and checking in from time to time. I’m way overdue for an update, as I've got a ton of things going on right now that I’m sure you’re interested to hear about.

First and foremost, the biggest piece of news I have is that we are moving from Seattle to Florida in about a month! This is a great move for us (although a little on the rushed side), and we are very excited. We’ve been trying to get down to Florida for a couple of years because my two sisters live there, and finally, a job opportunity arose for Jason. It's going to be so nice living near family! However, as you can imagine, this has added a whole new level of stress to my life!

So here’s what’s on my plate right now- packing to move, trying to sell a house, trying to buy a house in a state completely across the country, taking care of a one-year-old, being six months pregnant, and if you’ll remember, writing a book which is due at the end of the year!! Am I crazy?? Well, at least it will all be finished within a couple of months, just in time for the new baby to be born, which will be a completely different story!

Well, anyway, beyond all the craziness of the move, I’ll give you an update on some other things. I completed the photoshoot for my upcoming book a couple weeks ago in Cincinnati. Basically, they shot photos of all my artwork and the step-by-step projects which will appear in the book. It went very well, although it was mentally exhausting! It’s very difficult to recreate a collage project so that photos can be taken for the process. I use so many layers in my work, it’s sometimes impossible to look at a finished piece and remember how I created it! But I managed, and it makes me even more excited about how the book’s going to look. I think it’s going to be great! I also created a piece of artwork to serve as the cover of the book, which was exciting as well, because it’s all beginning to take shape. However, I still have a lot of writing to do, which makes me nervous! But I’m confident that it will all come together.

In other news, I’ve also posted several new photoframes for sale on my website. If you’ve seen the latest Somerset Studio, there’s an article by me about the frames, and I thought it would be smart to actually have some on my website ready to sell! There will also be a similar article in the next issue of Legacy with my frames as well if you missed the Somerset one.

Okay, I think that’s all for now. That’s enough for sure! Obviously, I’m going to be quite busy for a while, so not sure when I’ll have time to post again… And sorry for no photos in this post, but I just don’t have time to try and upload them onto Blogger today!!!

Art on Ebay

Just a quick note to say that I've listed this piece on Ebay.

It is a collaborative piece between me, Lynn Whipple, Janet Cooper, Phoenix Forrester, and Angel Walby. The piece originated with me, then was passed to the other four artists to add their touches. It is large- 29 1/2" x 16 1/2", and includes many different media- buttons, vintage photos, milagros, fabric, paint, to name a few. It could be used as wall art, or possibly sewn to a backing to form soft sculpture. I hate selling it, but I honestly have just never found the perfect way to display it in my house, and it's been sitting in a closet. I figure that another art lover may be able to do the piece justice, and actually display it and enjoy it!

Long Overdue Post

I know, what's happened to me, right? Where have I been and what have I been doing for a month??? Sorry I haven't posted for so long, but things have been extremely busy. So here's a run-down of what's going on in my life, for those of you who have actually stuck with me through my absence...

The Book: This is primarily the reason for no posts. I've immersed myself in working on my book. I have my photo shoot in about a month, so I need to have everything which needs photos prepared by then. So most of the art I've been working on lately has been in preparation for that, and thus, can't be shown here because it will be a project in the book. However, everything seems to be coming along nicely, and I hope it will make for a really informative and beautiful book! Here are some small snippets of pieces I've made, just to give you a sneak peek.

Other Art: I've done a couple pieces which won't be in the book, so I can show you those. First, I finished Riley's second book, and here is the cover.

Next, this is a piece for the Motherhood/Bird Collaborative for Amy's project.
And finally, this is what happens when you think you don't need to actually purchase a pattern to make a doll for Riley. I fell in love with Hillary's little Archie doll (check it out- so much cuter than mine!) and wanted to make one myself, but thought I could figure it out without buying the pattern. Well, as you can see, the proportions are all wrong, and he has a slight resemblance to E.T.! Oh well, I guess he's cute in his own right, and we've named him Sam. Hopefully, Riley won't mind his wonkiness. And, for the next Archie doll (I know I'll want to make another one!), I'm buying the pattern!

The Pregnancy: Things are going well on this front. I'm feeling pretty good, with the exception of my carpal tunnel and other arm issues (another reason for no posts). I'm 19 weeks, although I think I look at least 25 weeks. All of the sudden, my stomach has really popped! And the biggest news is that we found out the sex- another boy! I'm not quite sure why, but it just looks like it is not in the cards for me to have a girl for some reason. In all my dreams, I honestly never could have pictured my life without a daughter, but I guess I just have to trust that things happen for a reason. Oh well, maybe we'll try again in a few years... But, I just can't wait to see Riley interact with a little brother, and if he turns out anything like his big brother, I cannot complain a bit!

Riley: Riley's doing great. There are few pictures I took of him at the beach last month on my picturetrail site. He's crawling around like crazy, and walking around every piece of furniture he can find. He babbles away constantly, but still no actual intentional words. He turns one in a month (I can't believe it!), and the following week is when I leave for my photo shoot. It will be my first time away from him, and for a whole week, so I'm preparing myself for that...!

So, there you have it. That's what's been going on with me. I'll try (but I can't promise!) to update more frequently, but this book is only going to take even more time after the photo shoot, then comes the holidays, and then soon after, the baby is due! I hope you are all doing well, and thanks so much for sticking with me and checking in on me!

Sneak Peek

I've been working one of the "projects" for my book. It's going to be one that is shown "step-by-step", and can I tell you how difficult that is to plan for?? I have the option of creating these projects from scratch while I'm at the photo-shoot in a couple months, but I've decided that I just don't want to deal with the extra pressure of trying to create on demand. So I'm going to do them ahead of time and bring materials in order to recreate them while I'm there. That's where the difficult part comes in though. As you all well know, having duplicates of most of the items that we use in collage/assemblage is really not the norm. So while creating, every step of the way, I need to think to myself, "How am I going to recreate this? Do I have the right materials to do it again?" Needless to say, I ended up making a trip to Staples to make some color copies of certain unique items so that I'd have duplicates. So here's a very small sneak peek of the project- I can't show any more since it's going to be in the book.

And here's also a photo of a frame I just made for Lorraine. She requested the word "Pink", and wanted a pink theme. Hope you like it, Lorraine- it's on its way!

Tomorrow I'm heading to Florida with Riley for a week to visit my two sisters. It should be a fun trip. Riley will get to see his two cousins (one who is 10 days older than him), and we'll get to see the new coffeeshop my youngest sister is opening. I can't wait!

Things are going well on the pregnancy front. We had another ultrasound and saw little baby's two hands clasped together- so cute! I'm feeling close to "back to normal" with the exception of mild nauseau every so often. In 5 weeks, we get to find out the sex! I'm crossing my fingers for a girl!

See you all when I get back!

Robot Book!

I've made a new soft book for Riley. This one has a robot theme, from some fabric I got a few months ago. I decided to try and make it more interactive than the previous books I've made, so I made it sort of a "matching" book. Each page has velcro on it, and there are matching robots hanging from ribbons that attach into the book. Then on the cover is a pocket to hold them when they're not attached. It was a fun book to make, although required quite a few problem-solving sessions where I tried to figure out the best way to make it work. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Although I'm physically feeling fairly good lately, I'm suffering from a lack of motivation to work on artwork. But I suppose that might be just as well, as I need to start focusing on writing my book anyway. I'll keep you all updated on my progress!

Tall & Skinny

Here is the piece I said I was working on. Style-wise, it's similar to the way I usually work, but it's much larger (probably about 3 1/2 feet tall) and more involved than my usual stuff. I'm into this sort of shape lately, so I thought I'd try a piece that really plays with it. I like the way it turned out, although I'm not sure if I like the fact that it doesn't have a definite focal point. But maybe that's what makes it interesting-it's just a collection of things... Maybe if I do another one, I'll do some journaling on it to break things up a bit.

Sorry, for the life of me, I couldn't seem to take a great photo of it, and Blogger doesn't seem to be able to show a larger full photo, but you get the idea.

Good News!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that your good thoughts and good vibes worked- my book idea was approved!! Hooray! Even though in the back of my mind I'm saying, "what have I gotten myself into?"- trying to write a book while taking care of a newly crawling baby while pregnant! But I'm excited. It will be nice to have something to focus on and keep busy with, when I'm not busy with Riley that is. So thank you all for your suggestions and ideas when I was still mulling over the possibility, and thank you for your well wishes while I've been waiting for it to go through!

I'm in the middle of working on a "different" piece of art right now. By different, I just mean that it's not exactly like the art I usually do. I'll post when it's finished...

Piece of Art

Yesterday I did a piece in my new pregnancy journal (click on this link to see better detail). Don't know if you can read the writing, but it talks about feeling trapped in my own body. I'm feeling so much better now, but during the worst of my nausea and fatigue and dizziness, I wanted nothing more than to just step away from my own body for a while and have a break. But as we all know, that's not possible... And although I feel better, I thought it was important to document that part of this pregnancy, since it really affected me mentally.

I really like the "unfinished" look of the piece. I rarely leave any of the paper substrate showing through when I work, but on this piece, it just felt right. I find it interesting that the page I worked on is page #41, since Riley was born at 41 weeks (much to my chagrin!), so I hope this baby doesn't follow suit!

Please send me your good vibes on Friday morning, as that is when my book idea is being proposed to the publisher. Wish me luck!

Coffee Anyone?

My younger sister is opening a coffee shop in FL within the next couple weeks (I'm so proud of her!), and she asked me to do a few paintings for decoration. So that's what I did today. It was a challenge, as this isn't my usual subject, nor my usual style, but I'm very pleased with the way they turned out!

I'm feeling so much better the past couple days- I think the morning sickness may be on its way out! The heat has been almost unbearable though, but luckily, that is also on its way out! As I was reminded when I read my dear friend Tonia's post today, even though things may seem miserable, I really am blessed... I cannot let myself forget that!

We bought a little pool to keep cool, so I'll leave you with a photo of Riley enjoying himself!

Slowly But Surely...I Hope!

Well, I'm slowly beginning to feel better. I battled a cold for about a week, on top of the morning sickness, but that is now better, which is already a vast improvement. And, although I've had some off days, I'm generally beginning to feel less exhausted and dizzy. I'll tell you though, if it had been this bad with Riley, I would have thought twice before getting pregnant again! And what's sick about that is that I know my "morning sickness" is nothing compared to what some women go through- I just have such a low tolerance for discomfort, I guess. I know- I'm weak!!

So anyway, I worked on a piece in Riley's book yesterday-that's how "up" I was feeling. And although it's not my favorite, I don't think it's going to be one that makes me nauseous every time I look at it- hooray! It took a while to get to this point though. I spent the majority of the time I worked on it absolutely HATING it. There must be 8 layers of paint on the thing, because I kept covering things up that I didn't like. But eventually I got to the place where what I did worked, and I now like it.

On a side note, I usually don't mind hating a piece at some point while I work on it. That's usually when I have a major breakthrough- I become much less inhibited about making changes, and I take risks that usually result in a much better piece. With this piece though, that went a little too far! But, as I said, I ended up "making it work" (as Tim Gunn would say) and I now like it. In case you can't read the words, it's about different milestones that Riley has hit during this last month- crawling, standing, growing 5 new teeth, and being INTO EVERYTHING!!!