Happy Release Day!

I was a little tired this morning from the baby keeping me up last night but the one positive thing to her 4am wakeup was the chance to be one of the first to view the new Spring Collection "Good Hart" from Matilda Jane!  Today is release #1 for spring and with all the sneak peaks floating around it was almost like Christmas morning!  I didn't know when they were going to upload all the "pretties" onto their website but was hoping it would be sometime in the middle of the night.  I checked at 12:30am when the baby woke me up for the 2nd time :( and there was still no Good Hart to be found.  Then at 4:30am I was in luck... well not lucky that the baby woke me up but lucky to see the collection in all of it's pastel purple, pink with a hint of navy glory!  LOVE!

It's too bad that I LOVE it all as my bank account can only handle so much.  For each release I give myself a budget and for this release... I went a little over :) Shh, don't tell.

For those of you not familiar with Matilda Jane I can't even begin to explain the entire culture behind this unique clothing company.  This blog post helps a little Whimsy & Style Photography. Matilda Jane Addicts have a whole language all their own.  I was first introduced into this world by a friend who hosted a trunk show.  It was Spring of 2011 and Max was almost 1. My friend invited me knowing I had a boy and that it's mostly girl clothes but when she mentioned that their are also adult women pieces I thought it would be fun to check it out.  I ended up buying a pair of black skinny pants and an amazing tank dress.  The dress is one of my favorites and I've been told many times that it's one of the cutest things I own.

Flash forward a year or so and I was pregnant for the second time.  My other friend invited me again to a Matilda Jane Trunk show the day after I was going in to have my ultrasound done for baby #2.  I told her if it was a girl, I would come.  Lucky me, it was!  I remember browsing through all the beautiful and unique clothes on the rack excited to be able to buy some but also overwhelmed with where to start so I asked the trunk keeper (the person who does the shows).  "What size do you think I should get in this?" I said as I held up the most adorable red peasant top.  She replied "what size is your daughter?" I pointed to my stomach and said "she's in here!" We both got a good laugh out of that but I left that trunk show hooked and never looked back.  Here is the silly thing... the smallest size they had available was a 12 month! so yes, Maci has yet to wear ANY of her Matilda Jane and it's piling up in my closet. (don't judge me) :)

I like to consider myself a collector.  Some people collect dolls, nutcrackers, plates...etc.  I collect beautiful unique girl clothes.  See when you think of it that way it's not as bad... right? :)

So now that Maci is ALMOST old enough to actually WEAR some of my "collection" I'm hosting my own trunk show in March! Yippie!  For those of you that have little girls you MUST come and at least see these beautiful pieces in person.  They are completely different IRL (In Real Life- Matilda Jane speak).  For real, they are so adorbs!!!  For those of you that can't make it but want to check out what they have visit matildajaneclothing.com and view the Good Hart collection.  Please keep in mind you can only order through a trunk keeper and sometimes items sell-out immediately.  Finally, for those of you that don't live nearby or can't make it but would like to place an order for my show I'm collecting phone/email orders up until the start of my show so feel free to email me with your "wish list" and call with your credit card info and I will ship it to you!

My show is Saturday, March 2nd at 10am. Additional information to follow. The day before that (March 1st) is release #2 so there will be BRAND NEW items being added to the collection!!  Whoo hoo! Another Christmas morning for me :)

Here are SOME of the items I have been "hoarding"... I won't show them all as it's a little embarrassing. (Yes those are 12m Royals which I hear are becoming unicorns! more MJ talk)

Thank you Matilda Jane for fueling my fun and love for clothing!  Also, shout out to MJC Lookbooks, thank you Bridgette for all that you do.  If it wasn't for you I would still be trying to figure this whole crazy world out on my own.  I check your "MJ Bible" multiple times a day and was so excited when I finally got accepted as a friend!  Thank you to my Trunk Keeper, Jessica, you totally rock and I appreciate the hard work you put into getting us our pretties... especially the holiday items! Finally, thank you to my friend Jen for all that you do as well and for getting me hooked on this adorable company!

Don't even get me started on Platinum...that's a whole different post. ;)

I'm giving away this Platinum Joey Bag at my show.  Details to come!

Dear future Margaret,

I cannot believe how long it's been since I last blogged... oh wait, yes I can! The last 6 months of being a mom to 2 kids has been just what everyone told me it would be... challenging. Day by day I do believe I'm getting better at this though and in another 2-3 years maybe I'll be crazy enough to have another one.  That brings me to the blog post that was never completed (probably due to someone crying) but was partially written a few months back when I was about 2 months into this ordeal.  I feel that the future Margaret needs to see it so here it is...

Dear Margaret,
DO NOT HAVE ANYMORE KIDS! This is hard.  You are exhausted!  The baby cries... a lot.  Here is your typical night... You come home from work at 5:45pm after picking up the kids from daycare only to pray that the baby will go to sleep so you can make dinner.  That prayer is seldom answered so you end up sticking her in her bouncer in the kitchen so she can scream bloody murder while you attempt to throw something together to eat.  Wait where is Max in all this?  Oh right, he's with the babysitter, a.k.a the television.  All at the same time the baby needs to eat, Max needs a new TV show and dinner is ready so you feed the baby while changing the channel and run over to take the whatever out of the oven/off the stove.

Luke comes home from work/hockey practice and grabs dinner while you carry the baby around and put together Max's plate (which typically consists of almost nothing you made for you and Luke so you are making another dinner while juggling the baby).  You try to put the baby to sleep in your room so you can sit down to eat.  She seems content so you walk out to the dinning room as quiet as possible.  You grab a plate and sit down to eat.  Luke shouts across the table "MAX! HOW WAS YOUR DAY!" Baby's now crying and your still hungry.  Sh*#t!  You shush everyone (as usual) and roll your eyes as you go back into the bedroom to quiet the baby.  She seems content so you sneak back out to the dinning room to try and eat again.  You take a few quick bites only to be interrupted again by a crying baby.  You again roll your eyes get up and go into the room to try and quiet her.  She finally seems to be content again so you sneak out into the dinning room and find Max has thrown all of his food on the floor/rubbed it through his hair.  He's mid toss when you run over and intercept the food while whispering NO!.  You softly scold him for throwing his food and ask if he's done.  He is so you clean him up and set him free from the table.  Wait, where is Luke in all this?  Oh right, he's with the babysitter, the television.  Luke is done eating so he's laying on the couch watching TV and you attempt to sit down and finally finish your dinner.

Sharing the TV for once :)

Max tells Luke he wants to watch his show and Luke says no he's watching a show so they begin arguing and... the baby starts crying!  You roll your eyes, get up from the table SHUSH EVERYONE AGAIN and sneak into the bedroom to quiet the baby.  By the time you get back out into the living room, it's trashed, Luke is still laying on the couch and your dinner is cold.  You decide to not finish your food but instead get a head start on dishes, making your lunch and packing the diaper bag for the next day.  You would think that after not being able to eat your food you would have lost the baby weight like last time but this time it's fighting to stick with you.  You still can't fit into any normal clothes and are starting to wonder if you will need to buy a whole new wardrobe.

After the dishes are done you get Max into the tub for a bath and while you are attempting to relax for a few minutes with a magazine you hear the baby begin crying in the bedroom.  This time you let her scream like crazy because you can't leave Max in the tub.  You look back to your magazine but are brought back to reality again by an entire large cup of water being pored over the side of the tub and onto the bathroom floor, soaking your feet, pants and bath rug in the process.  The mix of screaming baby, wet feet and husband laying on the couch sends you over the edge... you take a deep breath.  Take away the cup, causing your 2 year old to begin a screaming contest with the baby.  You want to join in but you are the adult here... right?!

Max and Luke both finally go to bed but you and the baby are up feeding, changing, burping... 1-2 hours later you finally get her back to sleep and you are out cold.  1 hour later, Max is up crying.  Luke doesn't hear a thing so you climb out of bed (very quietly so you don't wake the baby) go check on Max come back to bed and you are off to sleep again.  1-2 hours later you are up again with the baby feeding, changing burping... 1 hour later she's back asleep and so are you.  1-2 hours later Max is up again... do you see a pattern here?  You alarm goes off at 6am and you are so delirious you aren't sure where the noise is coming from.  You snooze it without realizing... but the noise woke up the baby so you are up.

Thank God for Coffee.
_________________________
To follow-up 4 months later.  This has gotten better.  Now Luke gives Max his bath while you do the dishes.  They still argue over the TV.  The baby doesn't cry as much thanks to Dr. Ben at Blue River Chiropractic.  You are beginning to fit into your clothes again.  Some nights the kids sleep better than others.  You still thank God for Coffee every morning :)

Sincerely,
Margaret January 2013

All mommy wants is a Silent Night :)