lilly has been added to etsy

lilly, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

I put the finsihing touches on lilly's face, and have just posted her on my shop.

the trip to starbucks

DSCN6897, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

It was a cold kind of rainy Sunday morning, so we decided to pack a bag of paints and crayons and head over to starbucks. In the midst of crayons dropping and paint splattering, Lucious and I were at least able to drink our coffees in a somewhat normal pace. After a day of no naps from either guy, they went down quickly by 6pm and now the focus is on drinking wine and relaxing.

some morning fun

DSCN6810, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

It was so lovely in the morning, and thus we decided it would be fun to head outside early and get our hands dirty. We spent a good hour creating colored sand drawings before the boys saw "something shiny" and wanted to do something else. I would like to say this was a complete spur of the moment brilliant idea I had on my own..................oh well.........I have just been trying lately to come up with some fun projects that both boys would enjoy doing. These last few weeks have suddenly been full of a lot of tears and meltdowns. The five o'clock glass of wine has been getting pushed back to 4, then 3, then............you see where it's going.

finished sand drawing

DSCN6816, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

My Etsy shop is up and running!!!

Yes, I have finally set up the shop at etsy. My current shop is under the title mummysam, and you can find me at Etsy.com under the Toy category (sub-category plush) I am hoping to post a new one daily, so check back to Etsy.com regularly (no hint there)

let's get back to the sewing....

DSCN6803, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

I have now finally posted some images of new stuffed toys recently made. I would love to hear your thoughts, and I am hoping to finish setting up my Etsy shop this evening while the kids are sound asleep :)

my dream townhouse

DSCN6801, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

the pastry shop

DSCN6795, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

another bread truck

DSCN6791, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

bread truck

DSCN6788, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

poppy cottage

DSCN6786, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

Sunday morning

DSCN6784, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

A rare moment of peace in the household this morning. Lucious and I were able to enjoy a rare ten minutes with coffee before the day went underway. It's nice to have him home today, and hopefully we can finish the patio in back. I am planning on having my Etsy shop set up and running by Tuesday morning, so keep checking back for updates!

it's finally warm

DSCN6774, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

The sandbox is now officially open, and the boys just love sinking their toes into the cold sand. After so long of being cooped up inside, it just feels so refreshing to spend time in the backyard, The boys love being outside, and with a little help from a running hose nearby the sandbox quickly becomes a very messy hit. My ADD kicked into high gear this past week as I suddenly decided to make a patio out back (well, you need a good place to enjoy a glass of wine while the kids play happily in the sandbox!....that plan includes you Becky.....), so here we are a week later with a sore back and 5 cubic yards of pea gravel on the driveway waiting to get taken to the back. Hopefully Lucious and I can make good progress on it today. As for the dolls, I have one more to finish before I post on my new Etsy shop.

"I want blue one!"

DSCN6765, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

lovely day today....friend and I took the boys to Saratoga for a nice walk around and of course some good old ice cream to keep the monkeys happy.

on my desk.......

DSCN6756, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

A new doll in the works. I am finding that as I do each doll, they are looking more and more like the oil paintings and sculptures I used to do. (hmmmm....it may have something do with my friend Becky trying to put my doll making insecurities at bay by pointing out all the oil painted dolls I had done years back sitting throughout my house. For some reason it didn't even click that I have been doing dolls for a few years now, just not in such a child friendly, safe to chew on kind of way. (unless you consider oil paint and rust child friendly, then hey! I'm set.....)

finally!!!!!!

DSCN6758, originally uploaded by samcotterill.

I can't tell you how great it feels to have my camera back in my life. I am just thrilled that I can finally continue documenting my life with the boys. There are the "how cute" moments, although those have not so surprisingly taken a back seat to the "oh, my goodness! can mummy just please have a couple of seconds without someone whining or complaining that the other one's toy is cooler?" moments. (of course, those get the best shots) I am looking forward to posting some of my new sewing projects soon. stay tuned....

still waiting.......

I am going crazy waiting for my battery to arrive. Apparently paying for two-day air wasn't the best choice, as they have lost my package and an investigation is now beginning. I didn't realize how much of an appendage the camera had become with me, and I just feel so naked without it. I am hoping today is the day as I have missed many "Kodak" moments this past week. Take for instance the other day......I came to the decision that I shouldn't have to always wait for nap or bedtime to do some of my own work. Many a morning I wake up and just so desperately want to make a cup of coffee and sit down for a bit of sewing. I decided that it would be good for the kids to see mum doing something she likes, and that they can just play on their own for a bit while I do so. After playing hard with them for an hour, I calmly told them that mummy was going to sew for a bit while they played. For a second (note the word second) I thought I had struck gold. Why hadn't I done this before? I started sewing, and everything was so peaceful......ummm, too peaceful. I could hear sweet laughter and giggles, and before long I was presented in the office with two half naked boys who had decided to paint each other's arms up to their shoulders in bright red paint. They had found some mummy paint and used whatever tools they could find to empty the entire contents of the paint container onto the dining room rug. It looked like a massive crime scene, yet to this moment I am still amazed that they managed to walk all the way across the house without touching anything (thank god)
Let's just say mummy was very "upset" with the situation, and I immediately admitted defeat. There are definitely those days where you just want some time to do what you want to do.......
maybe in a couple more years :)

a light at the end of the tunnel

I am hopeful that I will have the camera situation resolved in a couple of days. As one would expect, these last several days have presented a million moments of "oooohhh.....I need to take a picture of that" and I am left empty handed. A and I went on a really nice nature walk and the objects he collected looked so beautiful the way he had arranged them on the driveway with a cute chalk circle he had drawn to protect them from his brother. It ached me not being able to take a picture of it....a nice little doodle drawing of the scene became a nice alternative!
Well, the strep has hit mum again, and this time I successfully infected A and M as well. We are stuck in the house for the day until the contagious zone is over, and being that it will be a day of constant rain and cold air the day is going to be a long one :)

no camera.......

My apologies for no recent updates. My camera has gone kaput, and I am scrambling to come up with a quick solution. I feel so lost without the ability to take pictures, and it came at just the right time..... I was hoping to get my etsy.com site up and running this week. Hopefully I can get back on track soon and resume posting in the next few days