Ramblings and a New Monster!

I hope you'll forgive me if I ramble for a few minutes...I'll reward you with photos of the latest monster in the art room, I promise!

So I have a confession to make...I've been holding myself back.
Actually, I've been doing that for years now.
It seems that I've kept the "high school mentality." I'm already a terribly shy person, and I'm discovering I just care way too much about what others think of me...to the point that I let it control who I am.
Isn't that awful? It's felt awful.

As you know, I have a new baby girl. After she was born, I was able to finally start the beginnings of my dream. I quit my job and started staying home with my kids.
I have been enjoying every single one of these precious moments...

Lately, people have been telling me I look better than I ever have.
I was pleased with this statement, but couldn't quite figure out why.
I think I finally know what it is...Confidence.

I'm finding now that I have my own little family, I'm constantly surrounded by people (well, little people and an awesome hubby) that accept me for the way I am. I don't have to hide anything from these three.
And you know what?
I'm discovering that I actually like myself. I'm even learning to forgive myself when I make mistakes.

I know this might all sound a bit silly to you, but for me, it's HUGE.
As funny as it sounds, I'm actually becoming inspired by my dolls and their little blog that allows them to live.
I think I'm finally ready to really start living. And what better place to start than here?

It's really going to be a bit of a plunge for me, so I hope you'll stick with me as I work on coming out of my shell a bit. :)

And since I promised, here's the latest monster in the house!
(Forgive me for the photo quality...still trying to get used to this new cheapy camera.)

His bright colors make me smile.

He says he loves to party!
Anytime, any place...he's there!

He's 6.5" tall and hand sewn.

He still hasn't told me his name though.
Any suggestions?

Work, work, work

Things have been a whirlwind since I wrote last.
I love being a mother to two, but it sure does keep me busy!

Look how big my babies are getting!

I had to spend one week sitting at our house while repairs were being done (so we can put it up for sale!) and then I had to spend the following week at my mom's house while she had repairs done. Those handymen were nice guys, but I was so sick of them after two weeks!

We took a nice mini vacation to St. Louis.
It was lots of fun!
It was the first vacation we've had since we became a family of four...and I'm discovering that it doesn't quite feel like a "vacation" when you're a mom!
I was relieved to get back home to normal days again.
I hated to see my husband go back to work, but it was nice to have quiet days at home with baby Summer again.

In all this, my camera gave up on me.
I took it to the repair shop only to learn that it wasn't worth putting the money into it to fix.
Sure, it was just a point and shoot, but it was one of the nicer models and it certainly wasn't cheap. I'm very disappointed it only lasted a year and a half.
I've picked out a camera to replace it with, but it looks like it'll be my birthday (in September) before I have any hope of buying it.
Luckily, my husband took pity on me and bought me a cheap little camera to get me by.
I simply can not survive without a camera at my side!
For the low price, it's really not a bad little camera. I think I can manage until September.

I have a few little monsters to photograph for you guys...hopefully I can make time for it tomorrow!

Until then, you get a couple of work in progress pictures (a.k.a. "look at Mandy's messy desk!")

This ugly pile are the glove monsters patiently waiting to come to life.

It amuses me to have body parts laying all over my desk!
This is a new doll I've been working on for awhile.
I'm pretty excited to see how she turns out.

What is everyone else up to?
Having a nice summer? Working on anything exciting?
I'd love to hear from you. :)

A Birthday for a Little Monster!

I can't believe last friday my little boy turned three!

Like last year, I made his invitation myself.

I was pretty excited about this year's theme...monsters!

Sorry, blacked out the address and phone numbers...don't really want any unexpected company. ;)

His party went great and he doesn't understand why every day can't be a birthday!

(Isn't his cake cute? I didn't make it...I'm not that awesome.

I did find the picture of it on pinterest though to give to the lady that made the cake!)

In other news, I have 11 (yes, 11!) little glove monsters sitting on my desk,

waiting to be stuffed and have their faces added.

Hopefully I'll be able to start showing them to you soon!

Painting

It's been a long time since I really painted.

In our last home, there simply was no room.

Last week, I reorganized my art room (boy, was that a much needed project!)

and realized I should be able to start painting again!

I pulled out a little 8x10 canvas and just enjoyed myself.

I can't even begin to describe how much I enjoy painting.

It's one of the few things I can do that makes me feel truely relaxed.

I'm not sure how I've managed to survive so long without doing it!

I'm sure I'll be sharing many more in the future. :)

In other news, the dolls have decided they don't like sharing a blog with me so they got their own! :)

You can visit them here!

A Palette Pixie

A little pixie came out of my paint palette the other day.

I must say, I was quite surprised!

(And considering all the monsters that roam around here,

it was a pleasant change to see a pixie make her way into my home!)

She's just a tiny little thing...only 2.5" tall!

She hasn't told me her name yet...any suggestions?

There's actually another little one flitting about here too,

but I've yet to convince her to put on clothes.

 Hopefully I can get some pictures of her soon. :)

Heart Attack!

I wanted to give my dear husband a gift, but unfortunately money is short at the moment.

Lucky for me, I discovered the perfect little monster curled up under my art desk!

This little guy is quite the love bug

and was the perfect gift to show my hubby how much I love him. :)

My husband decided to name him Heart Attack,

although I'm pretty sure this little guy would never attack anyone!

Proto, the First of the Glove Monsters!

As I'm sure you all have figured out by now,

my house has been invaded by cute little monsters.

I caught this little guy sneaking around in the kitchen the other day.

He's actually quite friendly as long as you keep him away from candy.

I'm calling him Proto because he's the very first of the Glove Monsters.

I love these little guys...

they're the perfect pocket size monster at 6" tall.

I have a feeling that quite a few more are going to be discovered roaming around here...