Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Taking a much needed break!

It's just the ebb and flow of life. What am I referring to? I've been dancing around this feeling for the last year. Have felt that constant battle of time for work and time for family. Well, I've officially entered the season of life where I just need to take a break....actually I've been taking one for the entire Summer. Since the kids are home it seemed a perfect time!

Our days for the early part of Summer were filled with Swim Team. Hours on end at the pool every day for each kids different practice, long meets on the weekends and hours spent I'd never ever trade!

Gotta love a powerful camera that can capture a still image like this and actually make the water look like it's thick clear sludge.
A great dive by my 6 year old is always sure to make Mama smile!
Yes, I'm also glued to the Olympics watching swimming and all the other amazing athletes! Team Lochte or Team Phelps? Hmmm, we are a house divided on who our fave is.

Long story short. The past 6 years have been just amazing as I've marveled and feel so incredibly blessed at how my business has grown out of my love for children's design. When anybody asks me how this all started, I smile and respond, "by accident" I went to college and got a business degree and sold computers for 10 years, I didn't attend design school! Kids started to come along and my husband bought me my first machine and naptime became my creative time to play around.

My first 2 children were girls and I naturally had an appetite for fun and expensive clothing for them. My closet wants for them outweighed what I should spend (surely this feels familiar to others) so I started creating. As I clothed them 1 design at a time, I had 2 little advertisers walking around. People would stop me and ask me about their clothes. Did I mention when I started to sew, I was in cold Chicago? This was a perfect hobby to take up for the long Winter months. I would create way more than any child could possibly wear and before I knew it La*tee*da*kids was born. What has happened over the years is the shift in balance. Work started sneaking into parts of the day and night that I really need to give back to my family or just taking time for myself. Truthfully the hardest part of this job is recognizing where to say no and consciously choosing your family and what's best for them over the ego of wanting to create and sell more. I won't get these years back with my kids so things just need to slow. All designers hit those creative plateaus and I'm there by all accounts. A brain rest is 100% in order! Just need to hit that refresh button!

Am I hanging up my hat? Nope, it's in my blood. I am going to slow things down, take more time for my family, for the curtains that I've still not done for my own bedroom 5 years after moving into our home! I have countless projects piling up that I'd love to complete and plenty of new things to try....thank you Pinterest

I plan to keep up with the blog and sharing the things we are doing around the house and new DIY projects and crafts that we have our hands in. We recently made THESE, OMG, so much fun! My kids were so thrilled with their knockoff "Ugly Dolls" Sure hope that readers and facebook fans stick around! New designs will probably hit for the Holiday season. I always feel inspired as we inch towards Holiday releases and by then I hope to feel that creative burst once again!

Hope everyone has had a fun filled summer with family and friends! Enjoy these last few weeks!

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