Excited over a newborn & the migraine

I have a funny way of working... I always start with the head and unless it was a custom order, it is usually because I saw a picture of a baby I couldn't resist (remember I always sculpt from photos & so must you ;)).
So a few weeks ago, quite lazily actually, I started on a newborn as a stress reliever for no one in particular and "stole" an hour here and an hour there to work on him/her. I was thinking *if* the baby turned out to be any good, I could maybe do my next resin... and the weeks dragged on and I would carry the head to therapy (remember both my boys do therapy as John has suffered brain damage in utero and Cody has been diagnosed with ADHD and something with communication that will turn into dyslexia once in school but I don't know the English term for it) while I wait for them to finish etc.

There are some babies that come along so easy, I am done within days... and there are babies that take me half a century to "get right". For instance Little Wonder came easy... Small Miracle... the awake head I re-did 3 times and I discarded 4 sleeping heads before deciding on the one I finally did...
I am not sure if this happens because I am somehow "losing my touch" or because as time goes by I am becoming more and more strict with myself. I see more flaws lately and suddenly various things are no longer acceptable ... everything *has* to be just right, just so... and on one hand this really annoys me... on the other it ensures good sculpting.. remember nothing leaves this house until *I* am happy with it :)

So anyway, my little baby was missing something... so for weeks, on and off I would pick it up from the stand, unwrap the cling film and some days I would just look at it and some days I would fix something, add or subtract...
Unfortunately the therapy lounge is probably not as clean and dust free as my apartment because after several trips there, my baby has become very dirty despite my best efforts to keep her clean which automatically excludes her from ever being sold as an OOAK.
Of course this puts MORE pressure on me now, because now, she must be a repro baby... probably in resin... and when it comes to repro babies, I am VERY strict and difficult to please and an artist has to be... it's one thing to "love" and think you have a good sculpt and quite another when you must put your money where your heart is and have it reproduced!!! (and let me tell you, it is NOT cheap)

However! Yesterday I got this migraine the size of Texas.. no seriously, I have a hormonal imbalance and I was prescribed new pills a few weeks ago... and even though they fixed some ehm, things, they ruined some others... yesterday I must have taken more than 2000 mg of paracetamol (not all at once of course) and it didn't even do anything... so admist this horrific migraine from outer space (I think I am coming down with something as my throat also feels "funky") I send the boys to therapy with their dad and I sit down to "rest"... but instead I end up picking up the head and work on it... and she is now a sweet, full lipped, full size sweetheart... and can't wait to finish her.

Of course the killer migraine continued all day and all night. The boys got me up a few times (toilet, a drink, a nightmare - the usual) during the night and of course I could feel the migraine banging away each time...so at around 6am I took two codeine pills and stayed in bed for a bit and right now I feel a bit better... I HATE migraines, they totally de-rail me. I can stand other things like a fever, bad back, I've even worked with carpal tunnel syndrome... but not a migraine! I can't even think with a migraine...

On another note, John gained a pound!!!! We have been struggling with failure to thrive for a while now but managed to avoid a g-tube so far. John was not a micro-preemie but he did have IUGR (was born at the 3rd percentile) however people who see him (and are a little knowledgeable) know he was a preemie, as he's got the look... his therapist says if she didn't know his history she would bet money that he is a former 26 weeker. But through a very careful diet and me running after him with a spoon 12 hrs a day and getting up at 4am daily to give him an extra bottle of a special caloric/carb/fat formula, John has gained a pound... we still need him to put on at least 10 more but one is a start right??
Unfortunately the supplement (which also increases his appetite for solids overall!) is not covered by our insurance so it's like John is eating out at a 4 star restaurant daily...which reminds me I need to go finish some dolls so I can afford said "4 star meals" for my little one lol :)

Pictures in my next post, I promise :)

When I grow up...

Never in a million years did I ever imagine I would be making dolls for a living when I grew up... I come from a strange mixture of a family: I had my mother and grandmother who were artists of great acclaim in their fields and I had my grandfather and dad who were a scientist and an mechanic. With the exception of my mom, everyone else in the family and extended family, held a degree.
As I was growing up I was allowed to express myself through art BUT it was also drilled into me that I had to study.
When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say "doctor" or "teacher" or "a mommy".
I did grow up to get my degree in pre-school education with an extra in special needs and English speaking teaching (for Greece obviously!) but in 2004 I found myself injured, unable to walk and I missed the school year... in early 2005 I was pregnant and it went from there and suddenly I wasn't teaching any more, I was making money off the dolls and supported the entire family.

If you would now ask me "what do you want to be" I would say I want to be like Martha Armstrong Hand. I want to be a technically correct artist but I don't want to keep making newborns and preemies for the rest of my life.
I am so much more into children right now and you might have noticed how rare my OOAKs have become in the last couple of years. I made very few this year compared to other years.
On the contrary I made great strides with my ball jointed dolls and learned how to use some new tools lol :)

I am bright eyed and eager to take the next step. I want to do so much more with my clay and not only with clay. I want to explore... there is so much more to this art than sculpting newborns on a cloth body, which I love, don't get me wrong, but I get a THRILL from other sculptures now. It has been rare that a newborn or preemie would thrill me nowadays. I am so much more thrilled when I do a toddler or a BJD. It might be a phase but I intend to go with it...
Martha Armstrong Hand has been my idol for a while now. I wish I could be just like her. I want to be 80 and still making dolls, God willing. I want to create everything in my sketch pad someday. I want 19th Century little girls in sailor suits and black Mary Janes, I want to make teddy bears!! And more cloth dolls... I just want to create...which is why this year there will be no pre-orders, no waiting lists, no custom orders...

This year has taught me a LOT, not all of it the easy way and I had to make some difficult desicions but I want to go forth, turn a new page and explore. Wherever my creativity takes me, I will follow, bright eyed, grateful and curious but determined... I am a little bit scared of disappointment. I am not even 1/8th near Martha... compared to her I am a little piece of nothingness ... and I am a perfectionist. I am so scared I will start something and it won't be like I've imagined it... but I've got to try. A journey of a thousand miles...starts with a single step!
Wish me luck!

Merry belated Christmas...

Merry Christmas Everyone!!
Hope you had a wonderful day filled with love and friends and lovely surprises!!

We had a hectic but otherwise quiet day that started in the same way it did for most of you; very early with very exciting little kids jumping up and down and tearing paper ;)

Cody got an electric train and John a Hot Wheels race track and the Navy got each of the boys a "domino train" (don't ask but it's a pain in the butt and too noisy!)
I've seen loads of presents under trees in pictures but a) we have banished cheap toys that break easily and b) between the school needing to be paid, the end of the year car tax and Christmas day food shopping, these were all I could afford for the boys.

They have a MILLION toys, enough for 10 children so don't feel bad. We gathered up our old toys and gave them to charity. I so want to teach them that Christmas is about GIVING not taking but they did get rewarded for their kindness :)

I got George a Blu Ray disk player but kind of regretted it afterwards (don't ask) and I got each grandparent a photobook and a wall calendar with the boys... and they gave me... nothing.
Yup folks... I didn't get ONE single thing for Christmas :( except from my DAD! Did I mention my dad is the greatest person on the planet?

I spent the entire Christmas morning in the kitchen where I made an apple pie, a muddy road caramel/chocolate cake, fresh garlic bread (yes I actually made bread from scratch) and stuffing. We also bought all the cold cuts for the table, and we headed to my Mother in law's for lunch.
I am not one to whine and I wasn't really expecting anything, really, but it kind of stung when everyone accepted their presents and ate the food and the next day my MIL still complained to my husband about me :(

Sigh... hey, season of giving remember? Letting it go...

The day before I had taken the boys to get the car washed and got some cool shoots of them with their faces glued to the glass looking as the car went through the machine (it has a transparent wall and you can sit there and watch!) and it was a nice day so I took them to the playground next and I got some MORE cool shots of them.
For MONTHS I had saved up for a new camera and I finally managed to get it on layaway and I am so happy with it. I consider it my Christmas/Birthday present (since my birthday is so close to Christmas anyway) to myself especially since I know I am not getting any presents from anyone :) Again, don't feel sad for me... I'm a big girl and take care of myself well :) It doesn't even bother me anymore like it used to... as long as my little guys have fun that's the best present for me :)

If you head over to my Facebook page you can see new photos of the boys :)
Hugs to everyone!
Tina

Breathless Monday!

Ok so I dare ya, ask me what I did today, go on ask me!!

When my horoscope read "expect the unexpected" I didn't really believe it... My day started off as usual. Dragged myself out of bed after only 6 1/2 hrs of sleep, during which my son Cody had woken me up 3 times like usual, made the kids' lunches, got them up, dressed and straightened out, then drove 40 minutes in traffic, dropped them off at school, I ensured they got IN the classroom AND I informed the teacher that they were carrying this year's Christmas cards for the class and to make sure each classmate got one..
Then drove back another 40 minutes in traffic to get home...

In the early morning I have this ritual: I made me a coffee, start the washing machine and dishwasher and sit down to read my e-mail. This is usually around 10am ...
Then I know what I need to do and I usually sit down to work on my dolls until around 12pm when I need to start cooking lunch.
So this day I did just that and then sat down to work. I photographed and sold a baby and sat down to pack it, thinking I would be SO cool to ship her off the same day (I was going to the post office for another doll anyway).
Then my brother calls.
In the calmest of voices he asks "Are the kids home?" No, they are in school.
"Oh good! Can you please drive me to the hospital because my cat just pawed my eye out?" I was like WHAT?

Pause here. My brother and my dad live in the same building in the next block to the right, while my MIL lives in the next block to the left.
I am the only one who a) drives and b) does not "work" in the mornings. I mean, I do work, but from home.
Also I should mention that my brother has a psychotic cat.. and I do mean P S Y C H O T I C!!! He picked her up off the streets when she was a baby and in the one year he's had her, she has wrecked the house AND him. Today she attacked him in his sleep and yes, she did paw his eye out!!!

So my brother arrives and I grab my keys and his eye looks like Rocky's after 10 ten rounds with that Soviet guy and I grab one of John's eye patches (because you know, I think on my feet and all lol) and patch him up... and off we go.

Now, Andrew is my baby brother so naturally I started off towards the Children's Hospital downtown... for two reasons: a) when we need a hospital 99.9% of the time it is either for a child or the pet and both are in that direction and b) he is my BABY brother... then of course I did a steep U turn when I realized that my *baby* brother, is TWENTY NINE!!

Then I drove another hour in traffic but this time, this hospital had a parking lot so that was good.

We got a good sermon from the Opthalmologist about how animals are diseased and how my brother would lose his eye to infection, got it cleaned, refused to bandage it and sent us home with a $100 bill for his services (!!!) and a prescription for a $5 antibiotic ointment!

By now it was almost time to pick up the boys from school... so naturally I GOT LOST and drove 1 1/2 hrs passing the same street 5 times at least until I got my bearings and got to the boys' school.
Then my mom wanted to see them. She only called 12 times yesterday to remind me of the fact so I took them in to see her. She has a shop but the area is really busy and you can't park so we left the car at the Mall and took the train (which actually stops RIGHT at the Mall) .. it was only one stop :)
But the Mall is decorated and there were hordes of stalls of free products and a Carousel and a Train so by the time we got to my mom, we could only stay for 15 minutes as we had an appointment with the Child Psychiatrist at 5.30.

Cody cried for 15 minutes while going TO the appointment and then another 10 minutes because he didn't want to LEAVE ...
This is Cody's "gear shifting" problem. He has horrible meltdowns when he needs to change activities...
I arrived at the appointment, dragging the kids, 10 minutes late, dodging the doctor in order to change John who, of course, had once again lost control of his bladder and needed new clothes.

So I walk in to find this CLASSIC 50 something, psychiatrist, not a hair awry from her perfect bob, dressed in smart pants and a blouse, while I, overweight, hair a mess, dressed in job pants and a sweatshirt and not an ounce of make-up of course.

She did tell me I am a fantastic mom though and I am handling the boys well but other than that, she just asked some background questions and watched the boys play.

By the time the appointment ended around 6.30-ish, there was no way in Hell I was cooking dinner. So I treated the boys to steak down stairs (John is in a meat phase and it's all he will eat!) and drove home, where I washed them real quick but still made the mistake of leaving them, their can of "fake" shaving foam and fake razor, alone in the bathroom while I mixed up John's caloric supplement.
I walked in to find just how much surface half a can of fake shaving foam can cover.

Fortunately they really just CRASHED when I put them in bed and I had the chance to take a shower myself... and this is where the fun begins.
Remember last August I dropped the iron on my big toe and smashed it?
I eventually lost the entire nail and right now, 4 months later, it only needs 1 cm to be completely "normal" again.
Well I remove my WIDE, COMFY WALKING SHOES, and my toe really REALLY hurts and is swollen.
It seems like the edge of the nail, was digging in the flesh all day and OMGosh the PAIN... funny thing is I barely noticed it all day... you know, driving my brother to the hospital and then dragging the kids halfway through town.

SO I sit down with this big mean tube of Betadine and antibiotic cream and a ton of green puss comes out of the nail... and now I have a Batman Bandaid around my toe because I am never out of KIDS' Bandaids but apparently I am out of adult ones!!
And the darn thing STILL hurts... but I hope I caught it early!

And you guessed it... I did not get that doll shipped :(
(and this is the second time I am writing this post because the Blog Monster ate it the first time around)

And now ladies, I am off with my coffee to watch a little TV because honestly? I AM EXHAUSTED...and tomorrow I have to do MOST of it all over again...hopefully not the hospital thing but I did promise a trip to the Mall so they can ride the Carousel...and my kids? NEVER FORGET!!!

101 with Tina

I thought I would do a post with some common questions I get, just so you get to know me a little better :)

Q. When did you first start sculpting?
A. I started sculpting when I was 7 years old. My mother, who is an artist of a different kind herself, gave me some Cernit to occupy me and I sculpted a little cat. I was thrilled I could bake it and keep it forever.

Q. Did you always sculpt babies?
A. No. Actually babies is a "new" thing for me. Originally I sculpted little animals, caricature people, fairies, string puppets and hand puppets. I made my first money from selling string and hand puppets to local schools. Unfortunately this was before digital cameras and I have no pictures of them :( I do have a couple of puppets though somewhere. If I find them I will post pictures.

Q. So why did you start sculpting babies?
A. Up until I was about 12 I was a total tomboy with no interest in dolls. I did love real babies though and I've always wanted one of my own. I started collecting realistic baby dolls when I was 12 or so..
When I was 19, one day I found a website with realistic OOAKs. It was either Linda Webb's or Lorna Miller, I can't remember but anyway I read they were made out of polymer clay and the light bulb went on in my head and I thought, I can do that!!
And I did... and the rest is history.

Q. What did your first baby look like?
A. Ugh, it was hideous!! You have to remember 12 years ago, things weren't today. There was no free flowing information available, Google wasn't like it is today and NOBODY shared anything. You couldn't write to an artist and get help.. there were very few artists and they weren't talking, NOT that I blame them, don't me wrong lol :)
There were a few books but mostly a display of dolls rather than the real juicy details of how to make them. So if you take this into consideration, I went in BLIND.
My tools were the back of a paintbrush, a toothpick and wooden skewers. I made my first baby out of Cernit which was a bad choice. The hands were from air drying clay!
The body was a stuffed babygro.. and she had real women lashes lol. She looked human and everything, no problem, but she was more like a cheap Chinese play doll than an OOAK!

Q. When did you get markedly better do you think?
A. Definitely after the births of my sons in 2005. It was one thing to see babies in photos and another to see, touch and breathe in a real baby. My first dolls after the boys were born sold for $2900 and $3500 on eBay which is more than I charge for them now, 4 years later!! :) I took my artistic "turn" after they were born.

Q. Is there something that really frustrates you?
A. Loads of things. First of all, a doll never leaves this house until I am happy with it and I am a perfectionist. That does not mean the doll is perfect, I am not God lol, but each and every one has a piece of my heart in it and has to be up to my standards otherwise I take it apart and doing it again.

Another thing I get frustrated with it, when I am trying for a look and can't get it. I struggle especially with open eyed babies. I just can't get the look I want and for year I avoided them but then realized I really wanted to do older babies and children as well, so unless I wanted to be known as the sleeping artist, I needed to dive in... and I did. I started small but I now feel more comfortable doing big BIG dolls that are awake. Scale has never been a problem for me, I sculpt anything from 1/12th to 40" !! It's the older look/anatomy of an older baby that throws me off. I have spent countless hours studying preemie and newborn anatomy, I mean REALLY study it... now I am investing the same amount of time for older babies and children and I am sure at some point this will pay off and I will be happy with my awake babies as well :)

Q. Where do you make the dolls?
A. Ah! The million dollar question. I don't have a studio.. Well I have a room my mother in law allows me to use in another building but since the apartment is occupied by her elderly parents, I have some stuff there but don't go much.
I have a desk at home (we live in a very small apartment in the heart of Athens! and I do mean SMALL) and a breakfast table... yes ladies, your babies are made on a breakfast table... :)
But it's like they say in photography; it's not the camera that matters, it's the photographer. I've sculpted EVERYWHERE from kitchen tables to hotel beds... I'm easy ;) A Fancy dedicated organized studio would make my life easier, yes, but it's not a prerequisite.. although when the boys are 18 and go off to College, I am totally turning their room into a studio ;) TOTALLY lol.

Please Pray!

As some of you know, my little guy, John, was born with a few issues. He suffered oxygen deprivation and IUGR in utero and he has some special needs.
Today we spent the entire day at the Naval Hospital... our appointment was actually for the 12th January but we got a call that someone had canceled and could we make it in that morning? John has been unchanged despite several months of therapy.. in fact in some areas he got worse (like his speech is slurred, he is not eating, he trips and falls constantly, has no stamina, black circles are under his eyes and he has become aggressive) so just to be on the safe side, I scheduled an appointment... I called early December and the first available one was for the 12th January 2010.
The lady on the phone said "don't come early, don't come late, be here at 10.30"...

I had (have) a full day... it's the last few days before Christmas, dolls need to go out, I need to wrap up a few things but thankfully not too many but I still ended up saying yes... I dropped Cody off to my MIL as there was no time to drive him to school which is in another district in the OPPOSITE direction to the hospital and John and I headed out. I had a doll in the trunk to be mailed and at that time I figured, ok, the appointment is early, I will make it to the post office no problems...
This is when you insert the "eeeeeee, wrong" buzzer sound.

First of all, John's neurologist used to be in the regular Naval hospital, smack dab in the middle of town... in a location where you could go by taking the metro... Then he accepted the position of Hospital Administrator.. in another area, in the other Naval hospital. The building, was built in the '50's used to be administrative services. There is no ambulance entrance, no handicap entrance and NO parking lot!!
In fact it is by the sea in an area very thickly populated...
While getting there, I realized they had changed the streets (it has been years since I needed to go to that building)...so I got lost.
I called to say I would be slightly late when I was nearing the hospital.. and I was only 5 minutes late when I saw the hospital... and then it took me another FORTY-BLOODY-MINUTES of going up and down EVERY alley in the area to find a place to park the car. The idea of just letting it be in the middle of the road did occur to me but I kinda like it so...
I was 45 minutes to get there and it involved a 15 minute hike from we parked to the hospital... with a child that generally does NOT walk more than a few feet without giving up and wanting to be carried (it's a little of a behavioral thing and a little of a physical, Cerebral Palsy thing)...

Do you know when we finally got to see the doctor? At 12.30... that was our punishment for being late... they put us at the end of the queue :(
John had a two hour therapy session at 1... we missed that of course.

The neurologist commented on how sweet and clever John was but now wants a repeat brain MRI under general done. He insists on John getting speech therapy (no Sh$t Sherlock! - excuse my French) and we got referred "upstairs". To make a long story short, by the time we had our upstairs appointment, all papers for the MRI signed and notarized and approved (hey the Navy doesn't spend money like that, you need a trillion signatures on the papers!) it was 2pm... it was 2.30pm by the time we made it to the car (John wanted to stare at the waves breaking on the sea front) and it was 5pm by the time we drove through the traffic to our home.

It's now 6pm and I got NOTHING done today :( well I got my son in to the hospital, I got the appointment for the MRI and the evaluation but the doll is still in my trunk :( and my heart is racing because I really wanted to send it today... TODAY!! :(

So please pray for the MRI on Friday, please please... and I hope my customer understands... :(
Sigh...
Here's to hoping tomorrow is a new, brighter day!

Stomp, whine, cry...

I'm really sad right now... I need to part with a baby I was intending as my 2010 resin (when I had the time/funds but some time in 2010 nevetheless).

I want to stomp my foot, I want to find another funding source... I don't want to give her up... but the boys' tuition must be paid urgently and the funds from another baby I was expecting will not be coming through, the lady needs more time and though I am generally easy with payments (they owe me a LOT of money I can tell you this much), this really throws a monkey wrench in my plans :(

Sadly I need to part with C.
I don't bond with each and every doll but I did with this one... Well, I can always sculpt another one right?
I didn't really have the funds to make her into a resin right now anyway... maybe by the time I've sculpted something else, I will have saved up for the resin as I really don't want to take pre-orders again. I prefer not to have people waiting anymore...

But today I am sad... but on the other hand, I would do anything for my boys and right now the best thing for my boys is to be in this private school... and I shouldn't really complain as because my dad works there I get 45% off... otherwise I wouldn't be able to walk past their front door, much less afford it for two kids..
Sorry C... Sorry I can't keep you but I will make sure you go to a great new mom!! :( waaaaaaaaah!

A teaser!

A teaser is all you get when you are working with a turtle's pace... ;)
Coming in 2010... just not sure in what form yet... lol



Hope you are all doing well!!

Help me help a child in need...

As Christmas approaches, we all think about those in need... Every year my boys and me, sort out their toys and give a good portion of (unbroken!!) toys to the church or leave them outside doors we know poor kids in our neighborhood live in.

Every other year I donate an OOAK to be raffled off at my dad's school and the money goes to the Make a Wish Foundation or The Child's Smile, here in Greece.

This year I really want to help ONE child in particular... ok, well, TWO ..
I want to sponsor a child in an underdeveloped country and I want to help a little boy in Taiwan to be united with his forever family in the USA.
It doesn't matter I am in Greece and they are not. Good deeds know no boundaries, color, race or religion (although both of these children are being raised Christians but that's a coincidence, I would still do it for a Muslim or a Jew or an atheist, it doesn't matter!)

I know money is tight for everyone right now so I will be auctioning off one mini baby every one or two weeks so I can raise the money so I can sponsor one child for a whole year... Then I would like to donate to Jeremiah's Promise to help this Christian American family bring their little boy home from Taiwan.
You can read about Jeremiah and this incredible family here.

If you want and can donate to Jeremiah, every penny helps... or you can bid in one of my auctions and get an adorable Kewy baby and know your money is going towards a good cause.
As soon as I have the money and have chosen my sponsored child, I will of course post pictures and updates as I get them.

On all other fronts, we are all on the road to healing except George who got really sick the moment he got home from Berlin!
The rest of us are doing well. I am quite drained, so much so, that this morning I didn't even hear TWO alarm clocks go off and thus missed getting the boys to school! I guess I needed the extra sleep... a week of sleeplessness will do that to you I suppose :)

I am off to run errands, ship dolls, clean house and cook, while dragging the boys along for the ride. Oh joy!

Hugs
Tina

Rough Night

We've had a rough night... John had a fever all night and Cody kinda felt warm but when I put the thermometer in, he didn't have a fever.
Thankfully we had NO MORE vomiting... good thing because I run out of blankets and pillows!! Which reminds me, I will go do my laundry now.

They are very bummed about their birthday parties :( such a shame I agree ... But maybe we can still do the Saturday one but without extra guests, just family and we can do the school one next week.
I will give them their presents and we will still make a came and decorate :) Then when they are better, I will invite their friends over again at a later date :)

This morning John does not have a fever or cough, he feels better and he drank some Pediasure. Cody has a nasty diarrhea! Yup, we caught something good alright! :(

Please keep us in yours prayers!!!

I spoke too soon...

John just spiked a fever out of the blue of 104!!!
He has already thrown up several times. He was FINE all day. I put them to bed normally and within 2 hrs he was shaking like a leaf. He threw up the Tylenol and everything else :(
I called the ped and apparently the on-call Children's hospital is FLOODED at the moment, the line of cars is a mile long.It's on the news and they are telling people to keep their kids HOME and try to bring the fevers down with drugs...

If he is not better in the morning I will take him in since he's been exposed to swine flu (mine for starters!!). Although he did become sick about 10 days ago, it was super mild and since I was confirmed I thought he had it and just breezed through it... now I am wondering if he DIDN'T get it at the time and THIS is actually swine flu... YIKES.
John is immuno-compromised!!

PLEASE say a prayer: That John flies through this thing and that CODY DOES NOT GET IT!!!!!
It's a difficult time because my husband is in Berlin and my mother in law is in the hospital with her father (G's 100 year old grandfather) who is struggling to stay alive so I have absolutely NO support system, not one person, if this turns ugly...
So please PRAY, please!!! My poor baby, I have NEVER seen him so bad, never :(

Back with guns ablazing!!

It's been a hectic last few days but let me catch you up:
I am feeling better except this morning some of my symptoms returned (a new virus maybe?!) but I am doing ok, holding my own, nothing serious :)

The boys are doing good, except John had a mysterious cough this morning. We were told to start patching his eye for 4 months, 6 hrs a day on Monday. I feel defeated tired. I know, I know, things could have been SO much more worse.. he could have DIED or be a vegetable and a million other things. Please don't shake your head thinking I am ungrateful. Believe me, I am not stupid, I KNOW what a good thing I have and EVERYDAY I thank God for my sons, special needs included!!:)
It's just that for ONCE I would like to go to a doctor and find my son NORMAL... DEVELOPING.. not need EXTRA intervention. I've been on this for FOUR years. More than four if you count the pregnancy and the bad turn it took...
Four years of worrying, four years of running around, waiting in doctor's waiting rooms, explaining to your child why he is different, holding him down for tests, doing special therapy, hospital stays, more tests, discouraging news, staying up at nights wondering, feeling sick to your stomach, trying to balance your checkbook because all of the above cost money, trying to save your marriage which took a heavy hit, trying to balance your other little boy so he won't feel left out, dealing with the comments from the people and family, not receiving ANY support... I've been locked inside these four walls for more than 4 years, day in day out... I've got ONE friend locally. O N E... all my other friends are online...
I haven't slept a full night in four years if you exclude the time I spent doing shows. Sigh.. you see, I am TIRED... that's all. I don't know why Monday's doctor's visit hit me so hard but it did... I want to throw in the towel and quit... but then I look at his face and I can't..
"If you want the Rainbow you must put up with the rain"... in our case the Rainbow would be John graduating, falling in love, marrying, having kids, leading a normal life, a regular Joe if you'd like... but this... this right now, is my rain... and I am drenched and I feel like there is no raincoat big enough for all my sorrow... except John himself. He is so much stronger than I am and I thank God daily for the priviledge of making me their mother...

Ahem... sob story over... doll time :)
So I've been working again for the last two days and I am hopeful people will start receiving photos tonight...
So stay tuned...

Fevers, chills and coughs...

I thought if you are an adult you are supposed to have a strong immune system... before having kids, I was never sick... except that first year I went into teaching. I was sick all year long that year... but after that, I wasn't and I stayed that way until I had the boys... and ever since then, I've been getting everything they have been getting, every single time and because they are usually sick all through the winter, *I* am sick through 90% of the winter.

See, the problem is, that us mommies don't get a break when we are sick. My husband's words are infamous; when I told him "Honey, I am so sick, I can't stand up" he replied "Well, take something then and make us something to eat, we are hungry!" (by "take something" he means some pill).
Buuuut, when HE is sick, he is like "Ow ow ow I am DYING I tell ya, my nose is stuffy, my throat hurts and I will surely DIE I tell ya!" lol :)

So for the past 10 days I've been "hanging on" except yesterday and the day before that, I've taken a turn for the worse...today wasn't so bad and I actually got some work done too...then when the sun went down, OMGosh, I feel so bad it's not even funny. I can feel the fever rising and I took a 45 minute long SHOWER just because I couldn't bear the thought of getting out of the tub and leaving that glorious, steaming, hot water behind... you know... in the tub... where it can't come over me in luxurious hot waves to take away my fever... and the best part?
G is on duty tonight...and he took the last four pills of Comtrex!!! (note: cold and flu symptom relieving medicine)
I felt better this morning so I let him have it with him...and now I don't feel so good at all and I have no medication to get me back on my feet... and I have promised pictures to someone and it's 11pm and I can't drag myself out of bed (Yes I am writing this from my netbook in bed!) to do that and I feel SOOOO bad...
Will you send some healing vibes my way? This stupid cold is kicking my butt for 10 days now... enough already!
And if this turns out to be swine flu, they'd better get me some Relenza or something otherwise I might kill someone!! ;)

If you feel yucky and you know it...

... stay at home!!

Yuck! I've been feeling a little sick for a few days now but since it's been a "few days" I figured I wouldn't actually get *very* sick and I would escape with only the runny nose and the sore throat.
BIG mistake!! Ha! Since yesterday I've had the full blown symptoms!! My eyes won't actually open all the way up, I am dizzy which combined with my usual clumsiness is NOT a good combination, my head weighs a ton, my bones hurt and I have green and brown goo coming out of my nose.. Y U C K!!!!

So if you have e-mailed me and haven't heard from me, sorry girls, I will get back to you. Today is a national holiday (our equivalent of the 4th July) so I am taking this day off, since G is home to look after the boys and I will just burry myself under the duvet and stay there!
Well it's 3pm here, so I mean, starting now, since this morning I was dragged to a photoshoot and I am sure all the pictures are blurry because I was so dizzy, I am not even sure what I was taking pictures of... ha!

I have so many new things to show you too and I have one of the resins for sale too but all this has to wait until I can get back on my feet... give me a couple of days and massive doses of Vit C and I should be back to normal... sort of.

Blaaaah

I started sneezing yesterday and this morning I woke up with a sore throat and feeling blah... It didn't help that the school sent us a letter yesterday saying they had their first confirmed H1N1 case (not in the boys' class) but the authorities instructed them not to close down the school and that the child did not exhibit any symptoms while in school yadda yadda yadda.
And it doesn't help my boys both have runny noses... but then again who doesn't? The weather is so wacked up, everyone is sick with a cold.
I just feel blah... and I hate it!

BTW, that toddler I was mentioning in my earlier post, is a mini, just in case you were wondering ;)

The world's cutest toddler...

I dug her/him up yesterday and have decided on her/his fate. S/he must be a two year old sculpt by now but OMGosh s/he is gorgeous...
And just because I am mean, I won't show you any pictures or tell you when I will do with her/him until it is done... I CAN however guarantee one thing: you will be able to afford to adopt this toddler AND s/he will become one of your favorites :)

(Almost) 4 years ago...

In 3 weeks my little boys will turn FOUR years old... FOUR!! Where did the time go??
Last night, I was dressing my little John and I could feel every bone in his body!!
He is on the losing slope again and I am getting desperate for him to eat...anything!! Just as long as he eats and the dark circles are gone from his eyes and he has his energy back...

I realized that I have been asking God for help in every turn since the boys were born, or even before.
I prayed for years month in month out, that THIS time, THIS therapy/pill/surgery will work and I will get pregnant... When I got pregnant with them and lost their triplet, I remember thinking "I am still pregnant though". I guess in the back of my mind, I was worried something might go wrong.
I waited at the edge of my seat for magic week 24, the cusp of viability and was amazed to make it to week 36.
But since hindsight is 20/20, I now realize that that drawn faces, the long and very frequent ultrasounds and the collective sigh of relief that filled the operating room when John came out of me, screaming, were all signs that there was in fact something very wrong my with my baby, even before he was born...

I really thought that since he was born only 4 weeks premature (and was a further 4 weeks behind in development at birth so the size and developmental age of a 32 weeker), he would be OK. I mean, 36 weeks, pretty good huh? Other babies never see the door to the NICU at this age (like his twin who was a whooping 6lbs 3oz 19" at birth).
Then why is my son struggling so at almost 4 years of age?
Aren't preemies supposedly caught up by age 2?

Thoughts like these flood my mind and even though I am immensely grateful for my little boys, the havoc that John's diagnosis and Special Needs have caused, is immense.
I am so changed since I've had them, but the big shocker, the core shaker, was that visit to the neurologist 2 years ago today... when my fears were confirmed. I came out the other side, stronger, better and more in love with them than ever... but the aftermath is still felt.
My husband and I, the love of my life, grew apart. Him, not able to control his anxiety, became abusive to me :(
My work suffered, and even though I feel I am turning around (my waiting times and quality of work have been improved in the last 6 months), it is still difficult some days to find the will, the desire and even the time to work.

In only 3 weeks, I will make two cakes (John wants Power Rangers and Cody, Transformers!), decorate the apartment and have our families and a couple of friends over ... the day before I will decorate their classroom and bake cupcakes (PR and Transformers of course) for their classmates.

Did I find raising twins difficult? In all honesty, no. Seriously, I didn't find it hard at all... I stuck to my schedule and my routines and things went very smooth.
What I do find hard is therapy, the worrying and seeing your child standing apart from all the others because his brain and body are not "normal" whatever this means...
And it drains me more and more each day that I can't make it right... I can't make him whole... there is a portion of his brain that is dead and will never function again.
And yet, this amazing little guy is all mine... and he is who he is because of his brain being like that and I love him exactly because his brain is like that... I just worry about him, that's all and I hate I have to put him through all this just for a chance in "normal".
Both boys are taking their therapies like troopers though. I think it is harder on me than it is on them.

Cody has progressed SO much with his Speech Therapy and Occupational therapy. On most days, you can't even tell he has ADHD and he has an amazing imagination!! He is still a momma's boy but he is a very stubborn little one as well.
He is still on the 99% for height and weight and everybody always thinks he is 6 years old! He can chat for hours this child!! He LOVES stories, absolutely LOVES stories and he makes up his own. I feed his imagination every chance I get :)
I don't mention Cody much, not because I love him any less but his "special needs" aren't really all that special. Yes he needs work in some areas but he is more or less "neurotypical" and some times people misunderstand and think I don't love Cody as much... this is so absurd, it's like telling me I can stop my heart from beating or me chosing a "favorite" finger above all others.
I love my boys equally but I also do take the opportunity to talk about John more, his daily life, his accomplishments and his difficulties in hopes of helping others in whose shoes I once was; new mom, scared, overwhelmed and with little support...

Thanks for reading my little "vent"... now back to your regular schedule all about dolls ;)

New baby on eBay for One Day Only

For one day only, this rare hospital grade mannequin on eBay. Reserve is $700 but Free Shipping with BIN.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300354013722&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT
Have a look :)

Every.Single.Time!!

You can be absolutely certain of a few things in life and one of them is, you are going to die! Apparently there is one more: when Tina has a show coming up, things will go haywire... because things going as planned and letting Tina work in peace for that show, would be too easy...

When we employed a nanny, an expensive necessity since the boys couldn't go to daycare and I had no other help, I could be sure for one thing: my shows coincided with the time our nanny wanted to visit her native country and invariably, just weeks before a show, I was left alone with the boys, able to work only a few hours each night after they were in bed. Every.Single.Time in the 3 1/2 years we've had her, this happened.

Then, when I couldn't afford the nanny any longer, I had a summer of craziness in which I flopped around like a fish out of water and while I *tried* very hard to be consistent with my work, the boys decided to go through that crazy phase of wanting mommy every.2.minutes...especially if she was doing anything other than sit with them. Again I found myself working at night and I dragged a tired me out of bed every morning knowing there would be no nap, no time off and no five minutes of peace while they were awake. And I won't even go into how hectic their schedule is, because lets not forget my John has special needs and Cody, who is not considered special needs, has therapy also for his ADHD and Speech.
So ok, we got through the summer... and September, glorious September came, and the boys started SCHOOL!!!

My life changed: I would get up at 6.30am every morning, while everyone else enjoyed a few more minutes of sleep and I would start breakfast, pack carefully prepared healthy lunches in tiny red Transformers lunch boxes, put out clothes that I spent long minutes in carefully matching and then at 7am I would go into their room, singing the "Good morning" song and get two little sleepy heads up for the day.
I would then rush around getting them dressed, getting hubby his breakfast and of course being cross with him, because he could see we were running late and he wouldn't help dress a noodle legged boy and off we would go ...
I would drive 30 minutes through heavy, heavy traffic and then try to find somewhere to park the car so I could get the boys out of their carseats and into school before the bell, which would have been fine, except about 100 other parents were trying to do the exact same thing at the exact same time as me... and then.... then... I would get into an empty car and let out a sigh...

I could work at home until it was time to go pick them up again. And for 3 weeks I worked fine... I got loads of things done, I shipped dolls, finished orders and my to-do list has gone way down in things to-do!
Then this past week came... and on Friday and Monday (tomorrow) the schools are closed because we have elections today (Sunday).
And on Thursday the boys started coughing up a lung... and then yesterday *I* caught it... and I wasn't able to work much on Friday... and I won't work tomorrow, Monday. And my dad got diagnosed with cancer and had his surgery on Thursday and I got a parking ticket of $120!!! when I went to be with him at the hospital.
And today, I hardly had any sleep between John being very sick and throwing up from all the coughing, me feeling very sick my throat swollen to three times its size and of course, OF COURSE, they (the Navy) chose George to be on duty today!!

So let me re-cap. I have two very sick little boys, I am sick myself to the point I see double, my dad had surgery and he has no-one else for help except me and he is home since yesterday because the crappy hospital needed the bed, I need to go VOTE (it's mandatory in Greece) and my husband won't be home for another 36hrs.
I can't go to my dad because if I give him the virus, bye bye with his cancer and surgery and all and of course I need to prepare for the show for which I am leaving for in 5 days!

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME I have a show, the Universe shows just how much it hates me... I can count on it, if I have a show, the world will come tumbling down on me... With odds like these, I should have been able to win the Lottery right?
Sigh... Will you please, say a prayer for us? I am losing it!
Please pray the the boys will be better tomorrow so that I can send them to school Tuesday! Please!! I need the hours to work!!! And gather my brain... btw have you seen my brain?
The whole thing makes me feel good about not attending the June show...
Universe, why do you hate me? :(

Update on my dad!

I just wanted to update everyone real quick that today it was confirmed beyond any doubt that my dad does in fact have cancer :(
If in the following months this proves to be a slow moving cancer, we can breathe a little easier so this is what we are praying for now.

I hate cancer :( It has claimed the lives of some many of my friends and little children... and from my 5 Aunts and Uncles (my dad's siblings), 3 have already died from cancer in the last 3 years. My dad is the 4th of the 6 children to be diagnosed.

I don't even know what this means for my generation or for my kids with a such a heavy history of this horrid disease so PLEASE keep us all and those who are fighting cancer all over this world, in your prayers. I have donated to cancer funds for the last 4 years... we have got to find a cure... Expect this year's donation to be a big one... :(

Addie on eBay

Yeah, took me a few months but I finished Addie... she is on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300351082000&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

3 days only :) I will do a layaway and offer free shipping if you use BIN and pay right away (i.e. you don't need a layaway).
I will be listing another baby later today so keep an eye out :)

Update on the Discover Dolls Show!!

Hi everybody!
I thought I would give you an update on the upcoming Discover Dolls Show in October in Peterborough, UK.

It is looking like I will be offering plenty of dolls. I am not doing any pre-sales this time so there will be plenty for you to chose from.
The way it's looking I will be offering 5 full size resins and the last of the Baby Mines (a girl with light brown hair!).
I will also be offering quite a few mini babies as well, some full sculpt, some with a cloth body.
I will also be offering two full size newborn OOAKs.

Lastly, I will not be attending the next show in June 2010 as it falls too close (or ON) my sons' pre-school graduation festivities which are typically held around mid-June. The sculpting class will not be held of course if I am not there :)
There is a *slight* chance I will make it *IF* the festivities are held on the 9th June but since even the school does not know that yet, I can't tell you until much later in the year and there is a chance by the time the school knows, I won't find a flight or a room in the hotel... hmmmm.

So... I still have 3 places for my October sculpting class ... and it might be your last chance for a whole year to buy a baby on the spot with a good discount. I am taking PayPal on the spot now, so you can pay with your credit cards too on the day of the show.
Also, after this show, pre-orders and custom orders will be suspended for a while as I am burned out and exhausted and I will take some time off sculpting on demand, to find my "mojo" again lol :)
So last chance people, there might not be a baby available for a while lol :)
(of course any pre-orders I have taken to date will be filled out promptly, I am just not taking any new ones!)

I am sure you will love the babies at the show and what a wonderful (early) Christmas present they will make :) They are all anxious to spend their first Halloween with their forever mommy so please stop by for a cuddle. You never know... your dream baby might await you! So come on! Treat yourself this Halloween...with a Kewy baby ;)

Babies, babies, babies!!!

Thanks everyone for your kind words and your prayers! I am happy to report, my dad got a 2nd opinion and new tests and the doctors are optimistic that is in fact a SLOW moving cancer that probably won't kill him... meaning my dad is 59 this year, this is a slow moving cancer, old age will probably get him first they said... they need a couple of more tests on his other organs to make sure everything is unaffected and if in fact they remain unaffected, his chances go up significantly!

The boys are adjusting and the teacher is not as freaked out as she was :) They return home happy and I am a happy mom who drives her boys to and from school in her MVP (multi-purpose vehicle and yes this is what our car is called; it's between an SUV and a town car).

And because I have "talked" your ear off in the last few weeks, here is some eye candy for you! New babies!!
These are available through "About Face" so please contact Joyce if you wish to adopt any of them. They are Small Miracles in resin. I am still amazed how the same sculpt can look so different with all the different paint and hair/eyes!
The first three are the same sculpt, amazing huh? I love sculpting in such a way that *painting* is what determines the final look of a baby. You can do so many changes with just paint, I love it...

Kind of messed up...

Sorry guys if you haven't heard from me in a couple of days but I am getting hit REALLY hard right now :(

First my dad who may have as little as 5 years left (or as long as 25!!0, they are talking about Monoclonic Lemphocytoma Lekaemia or something like that. I can say it in Greek but this is the closest translation I can get.

Then my boys aren't adjusting to pre-school, and I know, I know, it's only their 5th day but Cody had a *MAJOR* meltdown yesterday (wanting mommy) and John bit a classmate AND his teacher and peed on himself twice... and today I confronted a VERY freaked out teacher who called the principal as well... Things like "they are not ready for school" were being said... When I told George we had a *major* fight... apparently my "coddling" of the boys is to blame for all this :( (don't get me started, I know it already :()

Then I went for a hair cut and basically she chopped ALL my hair off. I look like a recruit... I look TERRIBLE and not even remotely cute. I look like a MAN.
I know it's only hair and it's silly compared to everything else but it has really brought me down.

Then the show is coming up and apparently another class has been booked and I didn't know about it and now I must find a way to leave the boys for 10 days and there is nobody to take care of them for that long. There is just no way... 7 days was a stretch as it was :(

And this week, with only 3 actual weeks to go before I leave, I worked zero hours! I spent those days between taking the boys to school, running a few errands, then getting calls to go get them because they want to go home :( and of course, therapy, let's not forget that... so basically, I only get maybe 2 hrs per day free in which I need to cook, clean and presumably, sculpt.

I am THIS close to calling it a day... is it even worth it? Seriously? I decided I am not doing the June show in 2010. There is a very high chance it falls on the weekend of the boys' graduation/end of year ceremony (yes here in Greece, we get diplomas for every school year we complete and there is a big ceremony and the kids dance in costumes and put up a small play etc etc).

Oh! And did I mention I AM SICK!? Of course it had to happen now.. because, seriously, any other time it would be too bloody easy... ha! So I feel physically shattered and emotionally I am a mess. I can't stop crying... it's been a bad week...

So if you haven't heard from me, I am sorry. I will get back to you.. I am having a very rough time right now and it doesn't happen to me often, but this time I can't see the light :( there is no light!

Please pray that the boys' teacher will calm down and won't give up on my kids... and that my dad will be alright... and that this virus goes away... and that I will be able to sculpt so fast, your head will spin...
I'm sorry this is not a cheery post but I am really struggling right now...
Thanks for listening people...

What does your dad mean to you?

My dad is the most awesome person in the world!!
If you met him, you would think so too...How close are you and your dad?
Because let me tell you, I am VERY close to mine!! He lives next door, I see him everyday, he is an active part of our lives...
He ADORES kids... when I had the boys, you would really think the guy had just been made President of the Universe and was given the Keys to Heaven. THAT's how happy he was and he has been a part of their lives every single day.

My dad really is the guy that fell down 7 times and got up 8... Orphaned at the age of 3, he lived a poor life, then my mother happened to him (please don't me started on my mother!), and she kicked him out *for no reason at all* with nothing but a case of clothes.
My dad got up yet again... and today he has his little apartment, his car, his job in an elementary school which he loves...

My dad was scheduled to have abdominal surgery today... Instead they came and told him they are sending him for more tests as leukemia is suspected.
My dad lost 3 of his 5 siblings from cancer in the last 3 years so there is a heavy history there.

I am so drained today... I spent the day with him today. I feel like I was hit with a ton of bricks but my dad keeps smiling.
"God will provide" he says often and blimey me, He has!
Please prayer warriors... this is a person that has so much to give... Please say a prayer that he does not have cancer...
My dad's name is Constantine (Cody or Gus as they call him).
Here he is with his elementary volley ball team. They have won many trophies and he also coaches the chess club.. He is such a talented guy!!

Waaaaah, vacation is over!!

So that's that then... summer is over but we had a great time when we went away!!
Even with the rocky start lol... John's eye is great, the trauma was minor, only required 3 days of patching, and everyone had a good time, nobody was hurt but... Cody stopped eating on our last day. His teeth hurt... turns out he need 3 teeth de-nerved and sealed... and John needs some dental work too (sigh, those preemie weak teeth!!) so we are looking at $1000 ... obviously we've already started with Cody since it got to the point he couldn't chew, almost done with one tooth, two more to go...

Here are a couple of pictures from our vacations... As we say in Greece, happy winter everyone...

Away for a week

Hi everybody,
We are going away for a week tomorrow so please do not worry if you do not hear from me.
I am staying up late tonight tying up lose ends, I have shipped my paid dolls now but didn't manage to finish my resins due to John's eye accident...

Note to self: I HATE the children's ER btw but more on that when I get back.
So please bare with me for a few more days, most of the dolls only need a couple things done so as soon as I get back (Thursday) I will finish and ship them, so please, your indulgence for only a few more days if you will, I REALLY need those few days off, I haven't taken a single day off all year ;)

Hugs to all and I will be sure to take loads of photos!

Because that's JUST what I needed..

They say God laughs when you make plans... I will amend that and say KIDS laugh when you make plans!!
I had a VERY heavy schedule set for today. I needed to ship dolls, take photos, pay bills (by going to the bank), go to the supermarket, make an appointment to get the boys haircuts etc.
So last night I went to bed early (midnight!) hoping I would get a solid 8 hrs this time.
Well, the boys got me up 20 (!!) times between them!! At around 5am, I got out of bed to get some milk for Cody and realized I had a killer migraine... two codeine pills later, it's now 12 hrs later and I STILL have a killer migraine.
Then George started screaming in the middle of the night and for 20 minutes I was applying counter pressure to his foot because he got a killer cramp (2nd time in a week - he is going to see specialist, something is off because his lower leg is extra swollen).

The boys (who had a miserable night) got up extra early today too, so any chance of me catching an hour of sleep vanished.
They were extra feisty today too... I managed to get them dressed and in the car by 12.30pm and to the supermarket we went. On our way downstairs to the building's garage, Cody accidentally poked John's eye out...
Two hours later and John was still crying and screaming so off to the ER we went...
Apparently John (now known as Captain John) has a scratched retina!
We have to go back tomorrow to undo the bandages and have another look... and we are supposed to go on a vacation on Thursday!!
Right now the chances look slim for that and other reasons (family related) :(
Of course we will lose all monies paid etc etc.

Sigh... and I STILL have the killer migraine!!
I will share a picture of Captain John (the pirate, didn't you get it?!) later.
I am off to stop him from taking the bandages off!! And convince him to open his OTHER eye so he stops bumping into the walls!!
Your well wishes are appreciated at this point!

Very short vacation

On the 15th August, the Greek Orthodox Church (and 98% of the Greek population!) celebrate one of the biggest religious happenings ... typically, August is a slow month for Greece as most are on vacation. But just before and just after the 15th, Greece is paralyzed since nothing works, the courts are closed, you struggle to find an open pharmacy etc etc.

Right now I can't even buy shipping boxes!! Everyone is on vacation!
After the 15th, typically, Athens starts to return to normal as people return from their holidays...

I haven't taken a day off in a year, between mothering, taking care of a special needs child, sculpting/working and house keeping, I am breathless and frayed at the edges.
So I am taking the boys up to the mountains to the "village" for 4-5 days tomorrow... I hope I make it for so long. My kids are city kids and the village is waaaaaaay up on the mountains with very few modern delights.. I will be lucky if I have cell reception.
I have shipped most of my orders, I do have a couple I haven't so please forgive me and bear with me, I will ship next Wednesday when I will be back.
I won't have internet access so please do not fret if you can't reach me :)
I DO need these few days to clear my head, I promise you I will be back better than ever!
And I am taking my sculpting with me of course... are you excited to see what baby will be born in the country???

Hugs
Tina

New Baby Available

This little guy wants to leave my nest... No reserve!!!
Click here to see little Thomas!

New on eBay

I haven't listed anything in forever on eBay so I figured it was time... this little one has been part of my private collection for a few months but it's time she finds a new loving home...
This is the link to her auction!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300337665438

Wish her luck!!!

My best OOAK EVER....

... well one of the TWO anyway... Without a doubt my most inspired work...
(half) the love of my life... my son...



JohnJohn was sleeping so he missed the photoshoot ;) but he will make up for it another day!

If you haven't seen me sculpting much...

...it's because I've lost two of my key tools :(
Yesterday I could go on no more without my trusty favorites, I ordered them again through eBay... and I will make sure I keep tabs on my tools more closely in the future.

I have a few babies in the works at the moment but I have been too tired (the absence of the nanny is FELT... darn the crisis!!) and too scattered to finish anything. I feel terrible, guilty and down and can't enjoy anything because my mind is constantly on my work.
So I've decided to sit down, just finish everything and then take a couple weeks off... I think a short vacation (somewhere I don't have to pay like G's grandparents house in the mountain) will do me and the boys wonders...
For now I leave you with a baby I started sculpting back in May and had been a head for.ever!!! Talk about a slowpoke!
This is Ethan (mini baby, not available).

I'm very sick!

Just want everyone to know real quick that since sometime this am, I've been running a 101 Fever and have a tingly throat, muscle pain and headache and I feel like a truck hit me.
They might want to test me for swine flu (!!!).
I called my MIL to come help out because there is no way I will survive a day with the boys in my condition.
Please forgive me if you don't hear from me today, the computer monitor is killing me...

Thank you in advance for your kind thoughts and prayers of a speedy recovery.

Small Miracle Asleep

It's been busy around here... it's hard to keep the boys entertained in the summer when most indoor playgrounds are closed and the ones outside are drenched in the hot Greek summer sun... it's been hard to find time and energy to work but as the Chinese said "as long as you keep moving, you will get there".

Here is a Small Miracle in resin, done as a newborn. This is how I had envisioned her anyway but of course I will go with each mommy's wishes on what they want.
She ended up being bigger than Little Wonder. She wears 3 month outfits fine!!
I can't wait to finish everyone's babies so I can make one for me lol :)

Enjoy her pics!! (yes this is a RESIN baby)