Kelly Rae Roberts's Blog, page 93

how it sets you free

some quick observations about this crazy week:

-you weren't kidding when you said we'd spend hours upon hours staring at our baby.
-we think he looks just like the two of us.
-we are a serious team. and we are so much stronger together than we've ever known.
-a wise friend told me i need to tell baby True's birth story over and over again until i have processed and healed, processed and healed. i think this will take awhile. i'm just now realizing its impact.
-we are asking for help and it feels really good to take it
-we couldn't have asked for better providers (midwives, nurses, and on and on) during our four days at the hospital. especially our lactation consultant, wendy, who came every single day and showed us how it all works. or rosie, our l+d nurse, who would say in the most calm voice "that's the way" when i was just about to give up. or lea, one of nurses who heard an inconsolable baby True in the middle of the nite and came to our rescue with a few tricks up her sleeves.
-the moby wrap is our best friend
-i never thought we could operate on this little sleep and this many tears.
-that extreme frustration and extreme joy co-exist just perfect side by side
-you are seriously cute. and you looovvveeee breastfeeding.
-i do not like anything about the word "engorge"
-i never knew that breastfeeding made you so acutely tired. crazy. tired on top of tired.
-singing random christmas songs at all hours of the nite is hilarious even when it's a last ditch effort to stop the crying (which didn't work)
-we've unearthed new parts of ourselves this week. strong, tender, joyous, parts
-we are celebrating every single tiny bit of progress like the time we figured how to get a good burp out of you. who knew burping was so tricky, true?


and most importantly:
-surrendering is surrendering, even if if you are surrendering to love. it's powerful, hard, life changing, vulnerable, yet it feels like it sets you free. like truth. like how truth sets you free. but in this case, it's a baby boy named True.

introducing baby True

True Elio Orlando
Born Sunday, Oct 3rd
7lbs, 7oz, 7:30pm
18.5 inches long

True as in true love, truth, always staying true (our internal true compass), and all things true.
Elio (elle-e-o) because we love it.
Orlando because Orlando Roberts was a very special patriarch of a very special family.

We arrived home today from the hospital and we are totally and insanely blissed out with our son. Thank you so much for all the blessings. We are so grateful and full of love in ways we've never felt before.....thank you to our families, our friends, and to those of you who have been holding us close in your thoughts. We are so, so grateful.

We'll be back soon with more photos and one birth story that started and ended almost exactly 24 hours later with the wondrous birth of baby True. It's quite a tale but we're all happy and healthy and I can't think of any better outcome. Life is beautiful.

XO,
Kelly Rae + John + True

Weekly Sponsor Spotlights: Charlene Proctor, Material Good, Lebenskuenstler, Amy Komar, 23 Postcards, Val's Art Studio, Sandi Volpe Designs

I'd like to offer a warm welcome to my newest sponsors. I'm really enjoying these weekly sponsor spotlights where their creative talents and businesses are featured. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email for further information! Now accepting new sponsorship reservations for the holiday season (Oct/Nov/Dec).
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Want to experience more freedom and joy in your life? Rev. Dr. Charlene Proctor helps you rediscover your connection to Divine Spirit. Making positive change at the level of consciousness begins with a re-imagination of your own divinity and feeling one with humanity. A deeksha and oneness blessing giver, she authors books on oneness, spiritual awakenings, empowerment, and positive thinking and helps people learn to embrace life in the present moment. Blog with her on a variety of spiritual topics! And read about her newest title called The Oneness Gospel coming in 2011!

From January 9-15th, 2011, travel to the Mayan Riviera for a week of blessings, meditation, mala-making, sacred sites, yoga, and oneness teachings. She shares your interest in freebies and encourages you to join her online community to receive all kinds of lovely goodies which will always be in your inbox at the perfect time!

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A Little Shirley is a small vase, weighing no more than a pound, that fits comfortably in the palm of a hand. Each is a hand-made piece of art, making no two alike. They are simple, timeless, and carry with them a mission to improve local communities and the lives of the people within them. Little Shirleys are produced out of a ceramics studio located on Queen Anne Hill, in Seattle, Washington.

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Inspired by the colours of outback Australia, Lebenskuenstler ('the art of life') is a blog and shop created by Nicole Lawrence.
Wool and silk garments and artworks in warm natural hues and vibrant colours. Beautiful wrap-around felted silk scarves and Waldorf inspired toys including nativity scenes made from plant-dyed wool: you're sure to find something special!

Click here for this month's give-away.
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Hi I'm AmyYou know the pressure. You've created a deadline in your life where the task at hand is to write just a few sentences about the wonderful lovely that is your work. You sike yourself out. You productively procrastinate around the sentences. Do a load of laundry. Scrub a dish. Stare through a second latte at a blinking cursor. The silence is deafening. Oh yeah. You know it? Writing this sponsor spotlight took me to that very spot - productive procrastination and all (see image above).
In the end, I pushed past it and decided to simply begin:
I was the kid that wanted to touch each and every painting. No museum was too wide, no gallery too small. Once alone you bet my fingers were skimming across centuries of textured, colorful surface. It's this very "rule breaking, direct connect to details, love of touch" that pulsed my Painted Stones Collection into the heart of my etsy store. So come on over, pull up a chair, touch a rock, stay for a photograph, listen to a story, take a look around my paintings, become a friend…
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My name is Catherine Wooten, and I'm the artist behind 23Postcards' original art and travel photography.

I have been creating as long as I can remember, but it wasn't until an eight-month trek around Europe after college that I knew I had to make art a much bigger part of my life. While traveling, I sent 23 postcards home to Tennessee. Those 23 are the inspiration for this company, and the things I saw and experienced while sending them affect each piece I make. Please check out my blog to learn more!

I LOVE everything vintage, especially photographs. I really enjoy incorporating them into my pieces, and I would love to create a piece for you with your own! I hope you find something in the 23Postcards shop that you love.
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Hi! I'm the Val behind Val's Art Studio. My passion is Needle Felting, my "canvas" is felted recycled wool, and my main inspiration are the birds outside my window. I needle felt Everything, but not only with birds! Pirates, Monsters, Kitties and Pups, Lovables, and more have all found their way into my creations; women's and children's clothing, hand dyed silk scarves, glorious pillows for your home, custom portraits of your favorite pet, even the paintings I paint, and the occasional jeweled finery. In my world, nothing is safe from felting, needle felting and embroidery! (Ok, well, except for my husband, 2 sons and Lola, the Portuguese Water Dog. Though supportive, they really just don't get it...) I live in sunny Southern California, but I'm right by the beach, so I wear and work wool and cashmere all year round. You can find out more about what I do, and see some of my latest creations by visiting my blog, my website, or my etsy shop.

I'm offering all Kelly Rae Readers a special 10% discount from anything in my shop! Simply message me with "Kelly Rae" in the notes to seller at check out, and I will refund the discount.

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Sandi Volpe is the mother of 3 energetic boys and a jewelry artist. Sandi has always enjoyed creating things with her hands. Growing up she would re-string her mother's pieces and make matching earrings using her father's tools. Today many of the tools she works with forming metal are from her Dad's workshop.

Sandi's work is influenced by her childhood spent learning many crafts from grandparents and aunts as well as growing up at "the shore" on New Jersey's Atlantic coast. Her unique line of jewelry comes from her desire to create beautiful and often multi-functional pieces. Learn more about Sandi and her jewelry by visiting her blog and etsy shop.

due date

taken moments ago.
i didn't want this day to pass without recognition. i know that official "due dates" don't really mean anything, but truely and in every way, we are ready. let's get this party started, ok? because i don't think my belly and belly button could possibly pop any further.

happy anniversary, taking flight!

dear Taking Flight ,it was two years ago this month that you were released out into the world. can you believe it? sometimes it feels like forever ago and yet sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday when we were staying up until the wee hours getting ready to ship you off to homes all over the world.
i hope you know you have been a big bright spot in my life. you showed me what i was capable of, that i had something worth saying, that i was passionate about writing, about dreaming big, about possibility, about the creative life, about sharing creative projects and techniques.
i love that i still get letters from good hearted people who have bumped into you at the bookstore. they write to say how surprised they were by you - how you not only showed them true blue mixed media techniques, but how you opened up their hearts, how you reawakened their creative selves. i always agree with these kind souls and tell them how you did the same thing for me. you really are special.
thank you for helping me and countless others discover inspiration. it's been a wild and grand adventure, having you in my life. you were a lot of hard work to birth, but you've been worth every single moment. we'll always be connected, you and me. and that makes me so very happy.
i'm so very very grateful,xxokelly rae

ps: just in case you've forgotten, here's how you were birthed:
1. we worked hard on your proposal (my heart was wide open)
2. and then our proposal was accepted (very very exciting day)
3. and then i went into a cocoon and made a lot of art for your pages
4. and then i traveled to the publisher's headquarters to work on your how-to pages (scary but really good)
5. and then i wrote all of your content on a red couch, next to my dog, in a small apt in oakland california in a matter of weeks.
6. writing you sometimes felt light and sometimes it felt intense
7. and let's not forget that day when i lost an entire chapter (chapter 2) due to a technology glitch. oh that was super super painful.
8. but through it all, i learned so much about life
9. and then, before we knew it, we were launching pre-orders for you!
10. and then you finally released out into the real world and you were even ranked #1 on amazon in creative reference and spirituality for a day or two (even now, two whole years later, you're still top 10 in both categories - you go!)
11. and then i realized how vulnerable it can be to have your heart out in the world - but it was that vulnerability that taught me so much about how important it is to share our stories. thank you for giving me that gift of sharing my story. i won't ever forget it.

full, full, full and oh so close.

life has been so full lately. in between spending many hours each day training dani, my new studio assistant (who is AWESOME in every way - seriously counting my lucky stars for her), i've been doing all of those misc details that you do just before you are due to have a baby: tying up lots and lots of loose ends, washing all the laundry, answering the backlog of emails, writing thank you notes (which i love to do), sending out gifts that i've been meaning to send for months (also love to do), tidying up the house, and so much more.
in between all of that, i've been having fun in the sun here in portland where we are being blessed with some pretty awesome weather. we've been getting out and about, eating at our fave spots, taking walks, and visiting with friends. here i am a couple of days ago with our friends, mary grace + malina, who were here over the weekend visiting from hawaii! they're big fans of stumptown coffee and so we took them to the stumptown cafe where it all happens (portlanders LOVE their stumptown coffee) which is where this photo was taken. these ladies are two of the most lovable girls around.
i am getting more huge by the second as you can see from the photos. my midwife is predicting an 8+ pound baby. she's also commented on how his booty cheeks seem to be "above average in size" which totally cracks me up. my sister and i were both 8lb babies so perhaps it runs in the family, though i'm not sure where the big booty cheeks come in - that's all john, i'm sure of it! sleep has become an enemy. i'm waking up each morning a little tearful at how uncomfortable the sleeping hours were. i suppose it's good preparation. other than that, i'm still truckin along, staying busy and pretty active, but every once in awhile i crash and burn. the other day i went to bed at 5pm and didn't wake again until 7:30am the following day.
john is taking such great care of me and has been so insanely loving when it comes to my morning tears, and my moments of anxiety where i want to do silly things like weather strip the basement windows NOW. in between momentary freak outs, we've been celebrating some pretty awesome biz news, having great conversations, and just trying to be very aware of these days together.
we are waiting waiting waiting...will keep you posted as i do plan to keep blogging after baby arrives, though i might disappear from this space for a week or so! due date is officially friday.

ps: online shop will stay open (thank you dani!) throughout the holidays and my maternity leave. don't forget to get your pre-orders in for 2011 datebooks (click the image on this datebook page to see more photos of what the inside looks like) and calendars. we are shipping out what we have in stock now and the rest will ship no later than Nov 1st!

entryway dresser before + after

still no baby arrival! but i wanted to share a home project with you guys...a before and after (love those!)
one of the first projects i tackled after moving in was transforming this dresser. i knew it would be in our entryway - a place to hold scarves and hats and all those misc items we walk in the door with. because it's the first thing you see when you walk into the house, i wanted it to pop.
here's the after:
pretty fun, no? we totally love it. before i share the process of how i did it...

Weekly Sponsor Spotlights: Heartwork (Kate Johnson), True Essence Coaching, + Yes and Amen

Big thanks to my sponsors...I'm really enjoying these weekly sponsor spotlights where their creative talents and businesses are featured. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor (includes your ad on the sidebar + ongoing spotlights), please send me an email for further information! Now taking sign-ups for the holiday season (Oct/Nov/Dec).

*******************************************************************************************My name is Kate Johnson. Heartwork is a site about joy and...

on ruffle dresses, end of pregnancy, gratitude, and kindness

i bought this ruffle dress earlier this summer from target in a large enough size so that i could use it as a maternity tunic (over jeans). besides my jersey boden dresses (which i'm still wearing, all the way to the end), it's the only cutified outfit i've got left with this size of a belly. i love it! if i'm not wearing this or a jersey dress, i'm in my yoga cotton target maternity pants + maternity cotton shirt. ugh. i'm so bored with the limitations of my wardrobe, i can hardly wait to...

list o' blessings

taken moments ago. it's huge, i tell you.
my mom was here the last few days to help us finish the last of the unpacking and house projects. i'm running out of steam over here and the nurturing and comfort of having her here for the homestretch (baby room is done!) was invaluable. the day before she arrived, john and i thought for sure we were having a baby. contractions, a trip to the hospital, the whole deal. but then things calmed down and we're still about 10 days out from our official...