I have this love affair with Hello Kitty and Chococat ... as a matter of fact I make my husband toast his bread with a Hello Kitty toaster that actually burns a kitten face into the bread. (Poor guy)

Well tonight I was looking on e-bay and decided to look up Hello Kitty things and actually won an auction for a watch for ONE PENNY!! I am super excited to see my purchase in about 3 weeks as it will be shipped from China.

Then I continued and found Diaper pins ... now if we were using the traditional style cloth diapers and not the Bummis I would have bought them, only because they're so darn cute!

Yes this is what I do with my 55 minutes of spare time before I head to bed.

I have so much to do, and so much I want to do, and so little time to do it ... I am going to Blog my to-do list ... gently wounding two mosquitoes with one swat (wanted to give the birds a break today)

TO DO:

Organize Linen Closet - done - looks fabulous .. now to keep it that way!!

Put away Mia's clothing from Shower - done .. the child has more clothing than her Dad and I put together ... yet nothing fits!

Finish Portfolio - done (THIS WAS A BIG ONE!)

Clean bedroom - done, needs to be done yet again ... sigh

Wash bedroom linens - done - see above

Do dishes - done and done every day

Make Luca's lunch - done - see above

Clean kitty litter - done - see above above

Possibly rearrange bedroom - no ... it works best the way it is

Paint LARGE painting for dinning room ... thinking cute ants possibly

Paint chest of drawers - done .. FINALLY!!

Breathe - huh? what's this breathe thing people speak of?

Things I will need:

Fresh towels for Luca (boys and white towels are not a good mix) - done ... bought orange

A large piece of canvas

... To be continued

Continued - print new photos for collage frames

Reorganize hall closet

Organize Art baskets in living room

So being a Stay-At-Home-Mommy is very fulfilling, but I still want to work from home on my art and illustrations. Today was a rougher day as Mia wouldn't sleep a wink ... fact it is 10pm and she's barely asleep now. At least she's quiet now (after a bath, story endless feedings, lullabies, tummy time and lots of cuddles.) It got me thinking though, as I stare at my unfinished project(s) ... most importantly my portfolio I wanted to send away last Friday, how will I work from home when she's home all the time too? I sincerely hope that in time, when she has a much more steady schedule I will have the time set aside to all my work. For now though, it's do it when I can, and work around her lack of schedule. It tough ... but I love her and she's worth all my time ... I just don't want to lose out on an opportunity like this one.

If we continue to wait until the exact right moment we may miss the opportunity all together. I guess I just have to leap in, jump head first into this life without the fear of losing and failing.

Then I have this list ... this list ... unachievable ... hopeful ... this list

I want to be perfect ... this is very frustrating to me ... I long to be:

• The mom Grindle saw in the lobby ...
where she wiped the wheels of the stroller before entering
the hospital
• Slim like I was before
• Longer hair ... natural and beautiful
• A loving and supportive wife that keeps the home tidy
and cooks great meals, and bakes yummy things for her family
• An artist that actually makes money
• A woman with perfect clothing ... loose, natural, neutral, soft, clean
• Simple make up everyday ... just to look pretty
• A mommy to envy
• I want time to do everything perfectly ...
• I want to be patient all the time ... calm and collected
• Organized and orderly
• A little spontaneous
• Organic
• Yoga practicing
• Playful
• Easy-going

Can I achieve all of this?

The funny thing is ... I am close to achieving some of these things ... but yet so so so far away it makes me want to crawl into a hole and hide away forever in its soft darkness. This way I can keep up the illusions.

I am a Childrens' Artist!! All these long years wandering ... doodling ... dreaming ... and being told I wasn't good enough ... well I am! I was just not providing art to right people!

I hope this won't be last post though. I have had a few blogs, mostly written from the perspective of my pets. This is first time I have decided to write one from my point of view. So here's to making time to make my dreams come true. So far things in life are fabulous. I have a great husband, two funny furry friends, and of course this beautiful baby girl who has blessed my life in just 3 and a half short weeks.

I have also started looking back through my SARK book Make Your Creative Dreams Real

Now I have already read this book once ... stopped ... and now am doing it again.

So where did Cat & Mouse Creations start? I have a few things I love to make. I am quite crafty, but need a way to turn this hobby into a career. Here are the things I am hoping Cat & Mouse Creations creates:

Alphabet Animals
Wall Murals
Illustration Work
Knobs
... and lots of other interesting things too ...

Maybe I can find a way to incorporate some of my photography in here too ... who knows where this will take me!