Spring & Summer have Sprung on me!

Gosh, the spring and summer just seem to fly by!  It has been three months since I blogged!  So much has been happening, I really don’t know where to start so I’ll try to summarize in this blog today and maybe expand on some particular events later.  

First and foremost, I’ve been babysitting my granddaughter during the work week.  When I first agreed to do this my thoughts were I’ve raised two children, have a teenager stepson, this six-month old adorable creature is going to be a piece of cake!  Why, she and her grandmommie Lala are going to just have a fine old time!  I’ll just introduce her into the world of art, writing, and gardening at a very young age.  NOT!  

She hates sitting in the stroller or the jumpy seat for very long.  The floor is tolerated better but not more than half an hour at a time.  My work time is now limited to nap times which mean that I’m only getting in about 4 hours of work every day and that includes housework.  My house, studio, and aviary are in shambles!  Maddie, on the other hand, is thriving!  She is the cutest thing in the world and she loves Lala.  I’m hoping that eventually, she will also love my work and gardening.

Three weeks ago, I went to Raleigh, NC, for my first bird show and competition.  It was so exciting!  I even won a pair of the cutest spectacle parrotlets you have ever seen!  I need to get them setup with a nestbox but they are so cute in my breakfast room that I haven’t wanted to move them out to the aviary just yet.  

Peach season is in full swing now too!  This means I’m baking and canning for the next 3 months!  I sell my jellies, pickles, and peach bread at the peach stand, so daily cooking and baking have to now be worked into the schedule on top of designing, writing, and just trying to have creative time.  Remember, all this is now being done during nap time.  

I really haven’t figured out how I did it when my children were small.  There were two of them!  I look at my daughter with Connor, age 2, in amazement!  She is a wonder!  Her house sparkles, Connor is happy and well adjusted, and she has makeup on!  How does she do that?  I think I’ve gotten too old to handle it all, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything…. The dust bunnies will just have to keep residing under the sofa and chairs.  I’ll get the mopping done as soon as I shovel the dust off the TV.  But when Maddie is sitting and playing in the middle of the floor with her toys and smiles up at me, I know that everything else will wait until naptime.