Until I had Kids...

I never had to say "Please don't pick your sister's nose" or any other wild phrase.

I never had to walk into the bathroom to an empty bottle of toothpaste, laugh, and then horrified, look around to see where it went.

I never had to scold, yell, want to scream or pull my hair out because of how many times a 3 year old can go to the bathroom in the 45 minutes after bedtime.

I never had to wade through a room of toys, trash, books, and God knows what else just to find a pair of socks.

BUT I also never knew....

How much a mother's love meant. Or how it was even possible to love one little tiny person so incredibly much.

I never understood why my mom plastered a ton of makeup on my face for prom. I thought I looked like a cheap hooker. Now looking at pictures I realize I look normal. There is also a difference from the "fine, do what ever" to the next years, "No, leave me alone" pictures. The second year I looked like a large blob of white pasty skin with no eyelashes or lips.

I never would have traded my life for anything. I would in an instant for those babies.

I never knew the depth of the mother-daughter bond until I had a little girl of my own. Now, whenever she brings me toenail polish or sits on my lap to let me brush her hair it feels as though my heart will explode from all of the love I have for her.

And most of all, I wish that adults were more like children. Because no matter what happens during the day, no matter how many times I get frustrated and wish they would go to bed, or just be nice for 5 minutes. No matter how much I scold or punish, it as though their minds reset and forget about all of that the next morning. Because every morning they wake up and give me a hugs, kisses and say, "I love you mama." I think it would be nice if a lot of grown-ups were that way, maybe the world would be a better place.

So.....

So I really don't have much to say other than woo hoo I'm out of school for the summer. I need some serious help and ideas though.

This summer, I want to open an etsy shop. How can I accomplish this? I know what I want to make, the problem I am having is time. I usually end up crafting into the wee hours of dawn, then I'm cranky and irritable when the kids wake up four hours later. I don't want to do anything else for the rest of the day. I need a schedule! I need to wake up at a decent hour, have a chore time and a crafting time that leaves room for family time and going to bed at a decent hour.

What works for you? Ideas, suggestions?