House Sandwiches...unfortunately don't solve everything...Sigh...

I used to think that house sandwiches solved all my lunch-time woes.  In fact, I was all set to write my blog post today about the "Miracle of House Sandwiches." But that would have been a candy coated lie.  The truth is, that only sometimes do house sandwiches create miracles. I'm starting to learn that kids are fickle--okay...maybe not starting to learn, it just gets reinforced on a daily basis. Some things just can't be solved by changing the shape of your bread. Kids are smart! They know that just because a bagel has a hole in it, doesn't make it a super frosted doughnut.

Here's how my lunchtime went yesterday...

"Sydney, you want grilled cheese today?"

"Sure, Mom!" enthusiastically.

"What about you, Colin?"

Grumble grumble.

"Colin?"

In a totally sour tone, "No, Mama."

"What's up, Colin?"

Then, for no apparent reason, Colin decides now would be a great time to throw a torrential fit on the grandest of scales.

So I thought, "Self, let's make these grilled cheese special...let's make house sandwiches." Surely that would make everything all better...it's worked in the past!  I smiled and mentally patted myself on the back with pride, and thought, "I'm such a good mom, everything will be better in an instant."

And in the beginning, things were off to a great start! Sydney totally got into it, she was thrilled!  "We haven't had those in sooooo long, Mom! Can I help you cut the bread?"

Together we split one sandwich in rectangles and one in triangles and swapped shapes. I set the plates on the table with perfectly toasted, nearly symmetrical house sandwiches equipped with a chimney and a door, bonus! They were cute if I do say so myself, and reminded me of splitting house sandwiches with my sister when we were younger, and having to agree on the same kind of sandwich.  We usually chose chopped olive sandwiches or PB&J--but never mixed together of course.

Did I mention that Colin was still on the floor screaming and crying the whole time? Ever since I started giving him treats for potty training, he thinks he can just have sweets all the time--it's so frustrating! So if food isn't sweet or candy, he thows a fit. Of course I explain the importance of eating food that's good for him.  He often replies, "it's not good for me, Mama."

He used to eat everything.  But then one night someone flipped a switch, and now he doesn't like it if it's slippery, if it's too hot (even when it's already cooled off,) he won't touch any food that is black (except Oreos.)  Truthfully, he doesn't like a lot of anything right now.

The standard response at dinner time has become, "I don't wike it, Mama."
"But You haven't even tried it, Colin."

Oh, and you better not make his toast too brown because that will set him off too. If I serve him French cut green beans he freaks, but yet he gobbles up the "normal" ones..

In fact, the word "normal" is one of his favorites right now.
"I just want "normal" water, Mama."   (meaning no ice.)
"I just want "normal" cereal." (meaning no milk.)
"I just want "normal"shoes." (meaning sneakers not sandals.)
and so on and so forth.

So his fit continues...kicking the floor, dramatic screams, pounding fists...a total classic.  While Sydney sits at the table in 7th heaven with her grilled cheese house.  She even made some adjustments and added a big "picture window" to her sandwich.  She was being so sweet!

Colin would perk up his head every now and then as I snapped a few pictures, and chatted with Sydney.  Slowly he started to come to the table.  

But Sydney said, "Look, Mom, he's coming."

Unfortunately, she spoke too loud and too soon.  He didn't want us to know he was coming. Do your kids do this? So the next time he started to get up and approach the table, I made sign language signs at Sydney instructing her not to notice or say anything. Eventually, Colin made it to the table as if nothing was wrong. He started eating his sandwich...while Sydney and I only dared to watch out of the corner of our eyes.

Once I could see that he was really into his sandwich, I asked him if he wanted me to take some pictures.  "Yes, Mama." he said with a great big smile. I guess, that is the reason why he came to the table, he saw all the extra attention I was giving Sydney with the camera, and he wanted in on the action. After a few snapshots, he was totally cured of his random fit.

Isn't that a sweet picture...almost erases the memories of the fit he was throwing in the living room...

Sigh of relief swept over me.  But it didn't last long...my kids flip flopped on me as I glanced at the clock...

Oh shoot, it's time to get Sydney out the door to preschool!

"Sydney, go get your shoes, sweetie."

"No, you get them, Mom."

"No, Sydney, you are old enough to do this yourself, they are up in your closet."

This went back and forth with the same responses between the two of us four or ten times....then....

"Fine, I'm not going to preschool!"

This was a totally absurd comment coming from her because she LOOOOOOVES preschool. She only said it because she wanted an upper hand in the power struggle about the shoes.  And boy howdy, she stuck to her guns! I tell you what, she is one smart cookie, because her refusal to go, really got to me.

After much reasoning, then frustration, then bribes, then retracted bribes, then saying that I would send Colin in her stead, then starting up the car without her, then faking that I forgot something and running back into the house right in front of her to get it...she still would not get into the van.  So I carried her out to the car kicking and screaming (without her shoes on of course.)

We pulled up to the school and she refused to get out.  I tried coaxing her out, then being firm with her, encouraging her to stop crying because her friends would see, pleading, and begging to no avail. So I finally resorted to carrying her up to the school and handing her off to one of the preschool teachers. Sure, it looked mean doing this, but both the teacher and I agreed that if we let her stay home for throwing a fit, that it might create a pattern. Preschool is expensive and I want to make sure that I get my money's worth...I think I got it yesterday.

So back into the minivan I went wiping the sweat from my brow wondering what I was going to fix myself for lunch...because I'm sick of grilled cheese.  The house sandwiches didn't work on me...now I sound as picky as my kids.

So here's the reality of house sandwiches...
they may make your kids smile and be cute and cooperative, or may make things worse because today they wanted their sandwich cut into rectangles. You will never know unless you try it...go on...see what happens! You might find that everything is just "normal" after their first bite.  And "normal" is good most of the time.

PS... 
I totally love my kids...despite fits and power struggles...and it's a darn good thing that we have good moments in between the tough ones.  So I'm posting my happiest memory from this week, Colin's birthday party...I think I actually captured all my kids smiling! That's because I chose not to show the picture of them scrambling for pinata candy.

New logo...New Outlook

This past year has been a year of "awakening" and growth for me in my designs. I've had my share of "growing pains" in the past with my art where things didn't always work out how I hoped--I was busy juggling other good things, and my art was constantly taking a back seat. Which is not bad, as I was busy with my two beautiful babies which I had practically back to back in 2006 and 2007. Between 2003 and 2006, I went through a period of infertility and miscarriage between my oldest son and my middle daughter, which made me think that I wouldn't be so lucky to get pregnant right away if I tried for a third. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out I was pregnant with my little boy, Colin, just one month after we started trying. Go figure! You can imagine the excitement I had, and the nervous feelings of inadequacy in reaction to my fast growing family.

Besides my focus changing dramatically, there really are numerous reasons why I felt stuck in such a rut with my art. Number one, not knowing the computer well enough as a design tool (I was known in college for my thick impasto oil paint style, the computer was truly my nemesis. However, oil painting is not exactly kid-friendly, so learning the computer seemed necessary.) Number two, not getting out enough to explore for inspiration. I think I missed what was going on beyond the walls of my own home and neighborhood for a good 2 years. Number three, being diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder) and battling whether or not to try medication as a means of help. Number 4, not practicing drawing on a regular basis--you ever hear of the concept: you don't use it, you loose it? Well, rusty was what I was becomming for sure! Numbers 5-100... just so many things going on in my life during that time, that my art was starting to lack a certain freshness.

But this year, I have come to know that there truly is a time and season for all things, and perhaps now, I am starting to come into a season of art discovery. That is one of the beauties of art and design...it is flexible, it will be there for you when you are ready for it, it will evolve, grow and change over time, and is naturally an expression of the many things that influence you in your life. My little ones are now a little older (2 and 4), and are better at self entertaining...allowing me a little more Mommy time. I have also forced myself to learn the computer and discover what it has to offer as a design tool--I'm actually liking it a lot, and do I dare say that my nemesis is now my best design friend? I have been able to get out a whole heck of a lot more with my little ones being older...I'm able to see what's going on in the outside world...and when I'm not able to get out as much as I would like in a week, I treat myself to an "internet exploration trip," and see what hot trends are creeping up into popular culture--this can be dangerous though, as this practice has fed my shoe addiction all too well. As for my ADD, after a long inward battle, I decided to try ADD meds, and have been pleasantly surprised at how well they allow me to focus and organize my life, while I still attain my creativity and imagination. Heck, I don't know why I was so apprehensive about going that route, as it really has been such a Godsend to me (and my family.) I have also been practicing my drawing skills on a daily basis with all of the digital dies I do for the Silhoutte Store each week. This single activity has probably contributed to the largest amount of growth I've seen in my art in the last year. It's fun to create little images, without having to commit to the whole concept of a product line...and ironically, by making little drawings and images every day, I am OVERFLOWING with ideas and concepts for my other larger projects. Making little pictures has literally taken out the intimidation of getting started on a paper or fabric line, so much so, that my little notebook is full of little notes, more than an year's worth of ideas planned out...just waiting to escape and leap onto my Adobe Illustrator art board. Yippee!

I am so grateful for all the experiences that I have had over the past few years which have brought me through this growth in design. With the literal evolution in my creative processes, I thought that it was high time to celebrate it with a brand new look in my logo. I am changing my plain black and white signature logo to a colorful logo that symbolizes creative freedom (through the bird and olive branch), and the belief that art exploration should be continuous and is good (this is symbolized through the curling swirls extending beyond the frame which hint at this out-of-the-box continuous creative exploration) also the idea that I should "keep it fun, but real" which is symbolized in the playful color scheme grounded with brown. I am excited to unveil my new logo which epitomizes my new outlook on design and art.

Old logo...