Long Time...

Well, I have to apologize for going off the grid as of late.  I haven't posted in quite a long time, for that I am sincerely sorry.

I have some wonderfully fun anecdotes and product reviews for you all to enjoy.  I have been actively learning new crafting techniques!  YEAH!!!! Super excited that I have taught myself how to sew and crochet. Well, re-taught myself how to sew.

On the topic of re-learning and newly learning, I must say that I am incredibly grateful for the advent of Pinterest.  My life as I know it is predominantly dictated by Pinterest, I feel as though my before it is similar to the Dark Ages and I have thus only now entered the Age of Enlightenment.  As a matter of fact, I was just joining the wonder of Pinterest this time last year.  So to my glorious new "friend" I say, Happy 1st Anniversary.  I am so lucky to have found you.  <3 SWOON <3

End gratuitous love letter.

I will say though, I am eternally grateful to have been introduce to such an amazing site.  I just wish I would have had it when I was getting married 2 years ago, I instead had 186 bridal magazines all with the pages marked and dog-eared.  Oh well, like I said, Dark Ages!

I spent my time in labor last September (tear, my babies are almost 1) exploring Pinterest and discovering Christmas gift ideas.  I was so excited by it that I was inviting the L&D nurses to join.  I wasn't in labor very long, but not once did that dreaded TV get turned on, I was perfectly content with my iPad (husband's iPad...details) and pinning away.

I had just stopped working 5 weeks prior, and I didn't know what to do with myself, so I started to make my own bows for Thing 1 and Thing 2.  I went to a boutique in town and bought 2 hats and 4 flower clips and spent a SMALL FORTUNE!  I couldn't believe it, so it was then and there I decided I could make my own.  Hence, the dawning of BeanSprout Collection.  I have been slooooowly getting product accumulated for an Etsy shop (which I hope to launch at the end of the year) but I have been making on demand orders thus far and I LOVE every minute of it.  Nothing is greater than having something you made grace the sweet head of a child, a child not being my own and forced to wear! lol.

Here are a few of my ribbon sculptures (they were a baby shower gift for my due any day niece)

I am constantly trying to learn new techniques, so I can offer a variety of bow styles.  Even that boutique in town wants to order some of my cupcake ribbon sculptures!! Talk about full circle.

I am excited to be able to feed my creative soul while still being able to be at home with my brood.  Does it pay the bills? No.  But I am open to every opportunity and maybe, just maybe, I have found my new calling. I am eternally grateful for my life.  It isn't perfect and most of the time my shelves are dusty and there are dishes in the sink, but I wouldn't change a minute of it.  I am perfectly happy right here.

Time Crunch

I used to know exactly who I am and what I wanted out of life; I used to know what I was going to do with my life.  I may have wavered between "Actress Extraordinaire" and personal trainer, but at least I knew what I was good at.

Flash forward 5 years, most definitely NOT doing either.  Instead, I am righting this blog as a means of trying to cater to my creative side.  If no one reads this, so be it, but I like to write it in order to get all the thoughts that clog my brain OUT! 

Have you ever heard of the phrase, Jack of All Trades: Master of None? That in a nutshell is me.  I am constantly on the search for things that inspire me.  I love to scrapbook, but just don't have the time.  My in-laws got me a Cricut for Christmas, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it; however, I have yet to really see what that baby can do because of time, or lack there of.  My mother was reacquainting me with sewing so I could whip of cute goodies for the girls and my etsy boutique.  I have managed to thread the machine...that's it.  I taught myself how to crochet so I could make adorable flowers and hats for Thing 1 and Thing 2...I have made 1/2 a hat.  I start out with the greatest of intentions and then, BAM! life gets in the way.  I am hoping to finish all these projects with links to the tutorials as blog posts/incentive to finish. We shall see.

In my mind, when I found out I would be a stay at home mama to twins and a 5 year old, I figured I would wake up at 5-6 am every day, feed the babies...get Mister Mister breakfast...clean up...put the girls down for a nap...do worksheets with Dude...make lunch...feed all chickadees...clean up...nap time...cleaning/crafting/email...you get the drift.

Feel free to snicker, or if you prefer, just straight up laugh at me.  I would.  I don't think I need to tell you that it most definitely does not work that way here, EVER.  I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, being a stay-at-home mother is the most trying/difficult/taxing job I have ever had.  And I worked at a day care for 4 years!

It is also rewarding/exciting/fun, don't get me wrong, I love being able to be at home with my kiddos.  However, I don't think a single day goes by where I don't get everything done, sorry the word I was looking for is anything.  I don't get anything done.  It is organized chaos over here, that is all I can say.

I never, in a million years, for a million dollars would have bet that my life was going to end up here.  I would have laughed in your face and rolled on the floor in fits of hysteria.  Flash forward: never say never.  {Side note: I just want to tell you that as I typed that, Justin Beiber flashed in my brain...yikes!}

I guess what I am trying to say is those with the "PLAN" for themselves are the most likely to end up straying the farthest.  I can say that I think roughly 95% of the people I knew in college are NOT doing what they went to school for.  That's OK, it doesn't make us less of a person or quitters.  It simply means that the most important lesson in life, adaptability, was instilled in us during our time there.  I don't regret the choices I've made, as a matter of fact, I embrace every single one of them; they have helped shape me into the person/mother/wife I am today.  Without the people I have met or the experiences I have had (good and bad) I would not be able to do the things I do.  I would not be able to have the best and most important job there is, Mommy.  Life is a giant curveball, you just have to decide if you are going to swing or not.

Catch you on the flip side.

Sneek peek at the next post:

YUMMY!!!!

Are Exploding Eggs Edible?

There are few holidays as important in my husband's life as Easter.  It is one of the VIP holidays because it means Borscht, specifically his Grandmother's White Borscht.

Now, when we first started dating, I was about as familiar with White Borscht as I was with life forms on Mars.  I thought Borscht was a deep reddy plum color and made from beets.  I was wrong.  While that is a form of said soup, this is completely different.

While the finer points of making the most prized delicacy in my hubtastic's palate elude me, I can say it is an acquired taste. <3

My contributions to my grandmother-in-law's Easter festivities are sporadic at best, I wanted to really participate this year. Now, make no mistake, I had no intention of trying to mess with perfection and left the heavy lifting to my GIL. I did however want to stretch my comfort zone in the kitchen and try something completely new.

That's when I discovered French Macarons. I have since become OBSESSED with the tasty morsels and have even made a picture of them my screensaver. I'm that crazy!

As for the macarons, that wasn't going to happen.  Even with the best of intentions, I simply cannot create more hours in the day.  That being said, I decided to try making Italian Easter Bread, my hubtastic is Italian and it is a self proclaimed Easter treat.  How hard could it be?

I can honestly say, I have never made bread from scratch before, I have been frightened by the concept of letting yeast rise and whatnot.  Gotta say, it isn't that hard per se, it is just INCREDIBLY time consuming.  Also, when you have a house filled with 6 month old twins and a 5 year old rambunctious boy...time consuming might not be the best idea when it comes to baking.  Just saying.

Remember when I said I have visions of myself being a perfect vision of motherhood? Picture a hybrid of Donna Reed/June Cleaver/Martha Stewart, yep, that's most definitely NOT me.  I got distracted during the last step of the bread.  THE LAST STEP!!!! I kneaded the dough, I let it rise, I punched it down, lil dude punched it down :), I rolled it into 1 inch tubes and "braided" it, I boiled eggs and even dyed them to put in the middle, I let it rise again. Then came the baking, it was supposed to be 20 minutes...that's it.  20 minutes.  Well, I decided to start folding one of the endless piles of laundry while I waited and 20 minutes became 40.  I ran frantically into the kitchen and opened the oven door and there was my fail moment.  One of said eggs had exploded in my oven and the rest of the loves, while pretty, were dried out messes to say the least.

This is the story of my life...and also what makes it so great.  Maybe next time.  Until then, I will keep trying new things in the kitchen and not succeeding roughly 50% of the time (conservatively).  That's where you come in, I shall share my fail moments with you for your entertainment and my own catharsis.  I like to think of our dynamic as a give and take.

Catch you on the flip side,

J

Welcome

Welcome to my adventures in blogging.  My name is Jorie and I am the proud mother of 3 wild and crazy mini people.  I have a 5 year old son and TWIN 6 month old chickadees.  Yep, that's right...I said twins! Needless to say life around here is very interesting/complicated/rewarding/exciting, in my head I am that mom everyone knows that always has everything together and MacGyvers masterpieces from craft sticks and bubble gum wrappers.  That is definitely NOT the case!!! I am a normal, struggling SAHM...with normal trial and tribulations from teething to Kindergarten physicals.  But I wouldn't trade the chaos for anything.  Hope you enjoy reading about my crazy life.