Sunday, May 30, 2010

I think I created a monster... in a good way!


Max loves sewing! Here's the "mom" pillow he made all by himself yesterday. Today, while I took a short nap, he made a huge mess and a red pillow. He did clean up after himself though. This is what my room looked like when I walked out from a nap!
Check out the concentration goin' on here! And boy, does this child need a bath. His hair is gross from running around at church getting all sweaty! Bleh!
And, finally, his red pillow:
Now to teach him how to turn seams. Yesterday, we worked on felt so no need. While I was napping, he discovered this red flannel and did his thing... knowing nothing about turning seams. So it's pretty ravely but he thinks it's the greatest!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

I painted today!


I actually did! A friend sent me a really cool journal she made and a few weeks ago, I did a sketch in it. Today I painted it in between teaching my son how to use a sewing machine! He made two projects. Need to photograph the "mom" pillow he made me as a belated Mother's day gift. I also worked on another project that I hope to have as a class at The Creative Quest. Need to finish it up though, before showing it.

Just finished watching a movie with Max called "The Last Legion". We both liked it. We saw "Prince of Persia" yesterday and I enjoyed that one too.

Well, two posts in one day... wouldn't want ya'll to think I'm sick or somethin'! Gonna' run....

P.S. Painting with Golden's fluid acrylics when it's hot is very difficult. They dry so stinkin' fast! I really tried to do this painting without obsessing about blending. It wasn't easy.

Pathetic

The negligence of my blog is pathetic. Pretty sad when a faithful reader tracks me down on Facebook because I haven't posted in so long! Sad, sad. Truthfully, my life is crazy busy. Taking care of my two boys and working 3 part time jobs along with teaching art classes when I can keep me running. But, last month, my youngest son was violated by two boys here in the neighborhood, one of whom was in his class at school. Then, add in dealing with a detective and the school as well as home schooling Max to get him through the rest of the year. Because of "Policy" and the fact that the incident happened off of school grounds, I have been sadly disappointed in any action to better protect my son and his exposure to these two boys at school. It grieves my heart that I will most likely be changing schools for my boys next year. And I HATE that I'm having to make that decision. We have loved this school so much. Both boys have been assigned to the cream of the crop teachers for next year at this school. Sam, my oldest, is highly functioning autistic. He does not adjust well to change AT ALL. This is going to traumatize him. It has taken YEARS for him to form the close friendships he has at school right now and he's going into 5th grade! The thought of uprooting him makes me feel sick to my stomach. I thought of just pulling Max out of the school but then he would not understand why Sam gets to stay at the school he loves and he can't go there. Max is angered that it appears there have been no consequences for these boys yet Max, the victim, is the one dealing with all the consequences. Not just Max but our whole family. I'm trying to find a safer place for us to live as well. It's been evident that these boys really have no clue of the reality of what they have done since one asked me if my boys could come to his birthday party and another still has come asking if Max can come out and play after I've told him numerous times that he can never come to my apartment again. I will call the police if he shows up again, even if he is only 9. It's very scary what this kid will be doing by the time he's 12. Very scary. This whole situation makes me so sad. I've been stunned with the reality of how the sin of two children can so drastically affect lives.

Anyway, I need a house with a drive way where Max can skateboard. We don't want to move terribly far from where we are because of our friendships in this neighborhood as well as church. Anyone local know of anything let me know!

I am enjoying working at The Creative Quest and really love teaching there too! I need to get some more samples done for more classes to be put on the book.

My teaching job is over for the summer so I have to start planning my curriculum for next year's art classes! I've also been asked to teach a few individual classes this summer, two in July and one in August. Have to plan those out too. I'll be teaching a 3 day private class for two young girls in a couple of weeks... we'll be doing paintings on canvas. I have to prep for my class that I'll be teaching at Art Unraveled in August as well. PLUS, submissions for AU 2011 are due Sept. 15 so I better get cranking. The hard thing is that with so much stuff going on in my life and now kids out for the summer along with some other personal things going on in my life, I've had little time or motivation to do art. It's so depressing. I think about it all the time but can't seem to move forward. Seems like I'm always focusing on some kind of crisis. It's truly exhausting.

I finally went to the Doctor about my headaches. Several people have been concerned about them for a while, knowing how often I was getting them, and urged me to find out what was up. I didn't even realize how often I was actually getting them until I started putting dates on a calendar. I have been officially diagnosed with migraines. I now have some medication for them and just started maintenance medication to help keep them from coming on at all. So far, my main side affect is this maintenance medication makes me really tired. I'm hoping my body will adjust to it after a couple of weeks. If not, I'll have to stop taking it. My life is too busy to walk around thinking constantly of how badly I want to go to sleep. I've also been paying close attention to what triggers the migraines but it's harder to figure out how to eliminate the triggers! Arghhhh!

These past weeks having Max home 24/7 have really put a damper on my exercise routine. BIG time. I still go hike but I can only go about once a week. Now it's getting so hot that soon, it won't be an option for me even early in the morning. The boys spend one night a week at their dad's and that's when I usually get to go hike. Yoga went out the door because there is no childcare for kids Max's age. I've tried walking when I can, etc... but I tell you, it's been incredibly discouraging. This morning, I tried an online yoga class at a website called Yoga today. They have a free class to try out each week. Since it's been almost 2 months since I did yoga, this morning's class whooped my butt! I'll be lucky to be able to walk or raise my arms tomorrow! Heck, maybe even by tonight! LOL! Truthfully, I hate exercising at home. There are too many distractions. But it's looking to be my only option for now. At least I know that if I make an effort to just keep doing something, anything... then some day, maybe another year or so, I can leave my boys home alone for a half hour to at least walk every morning. I just wish my kids were into hiking too! I miss the mountain. Max likes to go occasionally but Sam detests it.
Oh well, what do ya' do?

Well, that's pretty much the update on me. Gonna' go see what I can get done today. Max is here alone and Sam spent the night with Granny last night so he'll be home later. I sure would love a day alone!