Hello hello Beautiful Friends,
'Life is simply too Short'
Things have been a little quiet around here haven't they. Well i've been feeling just sadly numb of late, as my brother passed away in Feburary. I have lost loved ones along the way ... this is by far completely different. My brother Benj was born with a serve heart condition + his beat up 41 yr old body had so many operations n' pacemakers that he was left with a bizillion scars both mentally + physically. All these attempts to maintain his life however let the ugly mental illness called PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) sneak into his life, which unfortunately left us .. his family + bestie friends, estranged for way too many years. Not through our choice, but his ... because he had changed from being such a gentle caring soul, into the most angry volatile stranger. We do have to feel thankful that he left us naturally + peacefully, as his heart had just been through way too much to keep beating, but to lose someone that shares your being + blood, without one last chance to see them or to tell them no matter what, you will always love them. It changes you in ways that you would never imagine.
My Days have been filled with a combination of numbness + a gratefulness of all the tiny amazeball things this fragile life has to offer. Somedays I feel in awe of my little people, but other days i can hardly parent. Everytime I see one of my babe's ultrasound snapshots, I cry for for parents especially my mum + I wonder if they (+ myself) will ever be able to truly feel happiness again. Which makes our lives feel so. incredibly. slow. but for some crazy reason, all around us seems to be bustling along with no thought or care to what we have just lost, but thats they way life goes doesn't it, it just ... continues.
Needless to say, i haven't been able to sew! Sewing + creating has always been my therapy, especially in times of stress, but i can't seem to manage even walking into my studio. So I figure, I probably just need some quality ME time, so for the next month ... i'm taking a break from it all. I want to try + enjoy this beautiful spring weather, my family and friends + just putz away on all things that will hopefully #sparkyjoy in my life again. But as you guys know, i kinda like taking pretty pictures, so i'm sure i'll be posting a bit here + there on the ol' insti @sparkyjoneshats + my personal baby spam account @theselittlepeople.
All I can stress, is mental health is huge people + just like breastfeeding, equality + gay marriage, it needs to be normalized, so its not actually a 'topic', its just part of everyday life + conversations. It needs to be okay to say ..'I'm not Coping'. So i guess thats me right now ... standing on top of the biggest mountain + shouting it out proudly + loudly!
Okay take care of your lovely minds, families, hearts + health as you only have one shot at this wondrous life ... enjoy what you have, cherish what you hold ...+ make it an unbelievably good one!!!
Au Revoir for now my friends
Jemima
Breastfeeding Twins - the kinda funny side!
So its been a bit of a 10 month whirlwind with the little fella's Finn + Otis. If you asked, i'd probably say 'oh they're 3 months' - yes time + energy can escape one with a babe, and definitely more so with twins. So i'm finally getting around to posting that 6 month blogpost, that I edited at 8 months ... and well here we are at 10 + a bit month mark!
But maybe it was a good thing i haven’t written anything too much about my 'twin' experience until now, as some moments seemed, well a bit like my pregnant twin tummy … overwhelmingly huge. Only now can i see the funny side of happenings... and thats why i kinda wanted to write about it, because not everybody has the loved up, fluffy story that we see in these little squares of perfection (aka social media). Some ... or i'm sure most have the messy, crazy 'did that really just happen' story which is a bit more real life + if you ask me, a way better read!
Anyways ... breastfeeding .... I was totally unsure how it would go with 2, as i had trouble in the beginning with supply/demand with our daughter Bea. However ... the one HUGE thing i learned from that whole experience was, as soon as any health practitioner say the words 'i don't think you are producing enough milk', you instantly produce ... LESS MILK ( i can only imagine what could happen if they said you were producing too much, yikes!). So naturally, i put my ear plugs in when that speech came around this time, and that me + my A cups were going to give it our best shot ... after all its free *see side note! I had decided if it didn't work, well i certainly wouldn't beat myself up over it, as the ol' body had been through enough already. The good news was tho, even after not seeing them for while (due to caesarean birth) ... both babes latched on first go and that was it, the breastfeeding twins adventure began. Did i mention that there seemed to be a party of many people in our hospital room for that part (which i didn't mind) + then all of a sudden everybody disappeared leaving me with 2 humans attached to my boobs unable to move (due to being numb from spinal block) + also not being able to reach the buzzer for a nurse ... yeah that was awkward me + let me tell you, it seemed to take forever for anybody to come back in the room!
So you know those beautiful breastfeeding snapshots you see plastered all over the internet, well... this has certainly not been my life. Think more ... World Cup Soccer!!! For the first 8 months I fed them together, right through the summer months of 38’c with yep, no airconditioning. It was hot + sweaty, there were body parts everywhere, banter, pushing + bodily fluids escaping readily - yeah it was messy alright! At times, as soon as they were finished I would, put them down + have to jump into an icy cold shower before I hit combustion zone!!! It sort of came down to, less scream time (the other twin always knows) + time efficiency – washing, cooking + 3 year olds unfortunately don’t have much patience for a mum who sits on the couch for an hour cuddling n’ feeding her new babes. Alas the days of togetherness have now gone, they got a bit too heavy + my back was killing me, fortunately they’re at the speed feed stage as they want to get busy doing all things naughty!
But back to the World Cup Soccer! I always tell my Mr (or any boy that cares) that breastfeeding is much like playing a game of soccer. Your first game of the day... you are a rockstar + everything is awesome. By the 2nd or 3rd game, yeah you are starting to feel it, getting a bit tired + the ol body is weakening ... but you gotta keep it up right. One afternoon, the Mr called + asked if i needed anything from the shops on his way home - 'gatorade STAT' i yelled (which is probably the worst thing ever for a breastfeeding mama + babe), but I was just so parched + hells, I had a few games of soccer to go ... i was seriously not going to make it! He walked in, threw the bottle to me, i slammed it down fast + wiped my mouth with my forearm (yeah just like in the commercials) I was back on track - good to go! Ususally by the end of the day/night/whatever, I'm exhausted X2. Not to be dramatic, but I feel like i can hardly walk + my eyes are shut before i hit the bed (note I don’t say pillow). But things are starting to ease now – they each breastfeed twice in one session, and we are now down to 3 sessions as we’ve managed to cut out the 10 o’clock dreamfeed due to the crazy amount of solids they seem to be able to consume! Have I mentioned before they eat more than my daughter? Yeah very happy + little scared on that one.
On an end note, some days have been mentally + physically tough, I’ve wanted to give up, I bought the trusty tin of formula … but for some reason I just couldn’t use it. My Mr has held me on many occasions as a sobbed, reminding me that it’s not the path I wanted to take + in the scheme of things – it’s such a short period of time. Deep down, I know I would have regrets, as much as I would love just to go out for a whole day sans babes and blitz out on 4 shots of guilt free espresso, in later years I know I would wish to have those unique bonding moments back in a second. So i'm happy + exhausted that it worked out AOK for moi + my babes and hey ... I’ve never owned cleavage, but the small can be as mighty!
Au Revoir my friends
*side note - ummmmm nothing in this world is free, but that topic is for another day :)
Be More Organic
Be More Organic :: not only in fabrics but in life! Is one of our goals for Sparky Jones in 2016.
2015 was pretty huge for moi, I got struck by a crazy random virus that has left me with facial paralysis, we moved, our twins were born + all of a sudden I was solo parenting again, but this time with 3 little people under 3 equaling a bit fat chaotic mess. Yet on the other side was Sparky Jones – my passion + little business that finally started heading in directions that I’d been dreaming of :: wholesaling, constant sales + amazing opportunities that fell outta the sky… and yep that’s about when December happened. Dare I say … I hit the wall hard, crying + with a bonus of a coldy flu. Oh my, thanks goodness for my family being here to pick up the pieces, help me breathe again + start enjoying all the silly moments this crazy life of mine has to offer.
Its hard not to feel like you have to keep up with everybody else, ‘they say’ you should post 3 times daily on social media to keep on top, then you have to actually make your product + run a business yada yada… well forget all that keeping up with the Jones’s … I am the JONES!!! So let this be the year of slowing it down, letting things flow a little more organically + enjoying more of well … everything
Anyways, I have a few little New Years secrets to tell you about okay!
Starting with – many thoughts rocketing around in my noggin from all your responses in our survey I did a while back, but I really wanted to make sure they were solid ideas before letting them out of the bag. And the first one I wanted to tell you about, was … I’ve been sourcing beautiful organic denim/canvas fabrics to make some of our characters with. I know what you are thinking …oh yeah here we go, there’s going to be a price hike. Well no actually, being sustainable doesn’t + shouldn’t actually cost you more! I’ve figured out some ways to keep my business ideals and standards in place, yet still be able to offer gorgeous unique characters.
Now one of the biggest tidbits that surprised me most from our survey, was the wanting ‘colourful options’ - your responses… went off the survey charts!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you I love that we all love bold exciting colours schemes!!
So without further ado, I wanted to introduce you to our new scrumptious Organic indigo denim. What makes it doubly delicious is that it was sourced from a Canadian supplier – happy whistle!! There will be custom order springtime Nogginware being added to the shop in the next couple o weeks with a couple o surprises!
Au Revoir my Friends
Jemima
