Design on the Mind

I've always loved design but lately I've been really obsessing about it. I've been reading lots of blogs and getting super inspired! So I've made a few resolutions for 2009...


1. Learn how to sew. I'm yearning to make drapes, duvet covers, and throw pillows from vintage fabrics. I want to sew Ireland little dresses and make monster dolls for Aiden. So step one, learn how to sew. (image via www.prettylittlethings.typepad.com)



2. Start shopping thrift stores and flea markets for furniture and decor. Our house has such charm and whimsy - I don't want to fill it up with Ikea! I'm craving mid-century modern mixed with vintage. Classic pieces with a modern twist. Pops of color in funky accessories. Time to get shopping! (image via www.mycakies.blogspot.com)



3. Create a space just for me. I need an office in our house, somewhere I can go to feel creative. I'm thinking something like this. (image via www.droozstudio.blogspot.com)



4. Learn photography! I probably should have listed this as number one since this is my number one resolution for 2009. I'm hoping 2009 will bring a camera and some photography classes. (image via www.shannonsewell.com - one of my favorite photographers and such an inspiration!)


5. Bake. Okay, so this doesn't have a whole lot to do with design, but I'm considering it part of my 2009 creative makeover. I'm not much of a cook, and probably never will be. But I do enjoy baking and who couldn't use a few more cupcakes in their life, right? (image via www.bakerella.com)

6. Share. I'm hoping to share my design journey here on The Novice Mom through my words and lots and lots of photos! I'm so excited, aren't you?!

Dedicated to the Cause

Yikes, guess I'm not as great at blogging as one would think! Jason gets on me all the time that I don't update our family blog, and I feel bad about that. I need to update more often, take more pictures, and be better about documenting this very special time in my life. But here's the honest truth. In the last couple of weeks I have finally come to terms with the fact that I'm a stay-at-home mom. I'm a SAHM...who would have guessed?! I've been fighting that title for so long, that it feels strange to finally embrace it.

But I am embracing it. Because the truth is, as much as I want to be a WAHM (work-at-home mom) I've got to get this mom thing down first. So here's the deal. I've been shutting down the computer more, doing the dishes everyday, and keeping my house somewhat (gasp) clean and orderly. I make Aiden breakfast. We've been practicing his numbers more and watching television less. I'm thinking about cooking and contemplating a weekly meal plan. Heck, I'm even going to my first Carnation Mom's Night Out this week...I must be a SAHM!

And you know what, it feels good. I actually really enjoy being a mother. Not that I haven't always enjoyed being a mother, but I'm almost to the point where it's enough...almost.

Really, I've just enjoyed being in the moment more with my family. And I am SO SO SO excited for the things we have coming up in the near future.

I've been able to take a step back from everything...all of my lofty ideas...and have realized that I just want to be the best mother and wife that I can be. And as for my career aspirations? Well, that's a whole other blog post altogether.

So good things are happening with the Thomas fam. Most importantly, love is overflowing in our little house...

but no more babies...

for now. :)

Where are you going with this?

My mind is a constant mosh pit of ideas. Running an online magazine and being so wrapped up in the whole mom entrepreneur world, I'm constantly thinking up business ideas, marketing concepts, and plans to take over the world. Okay, maybe not the world. But seriously, despite having the occasional mommy brain, it seems my mind is generally set to overdrive. I truly wish I could just be content with where I'm at now and focus on the task at hand. And in someways, I've come to that conclusion. I've decided that instead of investing my time in thinking up all these new ideas, I just need to focus on what I've started. To improve upon and take advantage of the amazing opportunities my life has afforded me so far.

So here's where I'm going with all of this. I've scrapped other goals to focus on my online magazine and attempt to make it profitable. The point now is to establish myself in the "mom" industry and then, when my kids have grown a bit, perhaps once they're both in school, I will actually have the time and resources to pursue some of these other goals.

For now, my number one priority is raising my two beautiful children. I love being able to stay home with my kids, even if it means giving up other luxuries. As everyone knows, being a mom is a full time job. And though pursuing my career goals excites me, I'm not sure I'm ready to take on the overtime.

Delusions of Grandeur

If you were a fly on my wall, watching me change diaper after diaper in yesterday's sweats, you would hardly believe this novice mom suffers from delusions of grandeur. As you buzz around my house, you're amazed at the amount of dirty laundry littered from one room to another and you can't quite get over the distinctive smell of poop. You notice the stack of bills on the dining room table, catching a glimpse of a red overdue stamp. "How," you wonder, "could this scattered mom think she's anything more than a harried housewife?"

I may have delusions but I'm certainly not delusional. I know my life is messy right now, wrapped up in the well being of my two babies. I know the reality of this post baby belly, pit stained, under showered mama being anything beyond a stay at home mom in Small Town, America might seem far fetched. So I suppose this is where the delusion comes in. Because even though it might not seem too fabulous from the point of view of a fly, I'm convinced my life is meant to be, and will be, hailed as fabulous from moms across the globe.

If we believe in ourselves enough, can our dreams become our reality? Does vocalizing our dreams bring them any closer to becoming true? I'd like to think so.

My dream is to achieve success and recognition for my work. To pave a new path for mothers who desperately desire to stay home with their children, while earning money and a sense of career accomplishment at the same time. My dream is to be the spokesperson for this new approach to motherhood, after all, I will have written the book - The Novice Mom.

I envision myself venturing out on an extensive press circuit, my entire family in tow. My publisher signing me to a four book deal. Months of every year spent in Maui, working from my laptop, with clients none the wiser that I'm sipping on a Mai Tai, poolside.

But mostly, I envision my life a lot like how it is now. At home, with my children, and yes, even some days in my sweats (though hopefully sans the post baby bod). I might be delusional, thinking this way of life could be passed off as fabulous. But if that's the case, I'd rather be labeled naive then believe my life is anything less.

Lost

I once had a blog. It was only a few years ago, though sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago. I was single, living in Hollywood, lonely, reckless, and lost. I wrote candidly about my dating (or lack thereof) mishaps, my long to meet Mr. Right, and how despite living the fabulous life of a single gal, inside I was miserable and wondered, "there's got to be more than this!"

And then, in what seems like a blink of an eye, I met Mr. Right. Three months later I was pregnant. A month after that, Mr. Right and I retreated to the beach, trying to escape Hollywood while at the same time keeping it at arm's reach. We fell even more in love and when our son was born, my world forever changed. There was more to life than late night parties and a closet full of shoes, and I was holding him in my arms.

Fast forward two years and I'm now a mother of two beautiful children, living back in my hometown(worlds away from Hollywood), with my husband (Mr. Right) and undeniably happier than I've ever been in my entire life. Somewhere along the road, from Hollywood to homemaker, the confessional style blogging stopped (admittedly, my life was dramatically less scandalous) and in it's place came blogs about first steps, nursery bedding, and breastfeeding. Ironically, I was no longer lost in my life, and yet, in my writing, I was nowhere to be found.

It seems, when one is content with their life, there's really not much to talk about, now is there. Yet despite being challenged with the relentless writer's block known as happiness, I am attempting once again to start a blog. This blog will be my attempt to find myself again, through my words, through hopefully one day discussion, and through the cathartic experience that is blogging.

Welcome to The Novice Mom.