greenbeanbaby art

diego's surgery...

 

thank you all for the kind words and thoughts... diego's surgery was yesterday and went as well as could be expected...  we were scheduled to be at the hospital  at 6:15am so we were wide awake around 4:30am.... we headed off, with diego understanding the situation [as much as he could] but quite active and friendly... he was his normal talkative self who was enjoying the brand new season 2 dvd set of spongebob in his hosptial room... 

 

around 7am, they gave him this sort of medicine that makes a kid less anxious and sort of care-free.... he seemed quite loopy after it and it was a fun moment... an african american lady [with glasses] wheeled diego off to the surgery waiting area... and the doctor doing the surgery was also african american [withOUT glasses].... when he saw his doc, he goes "ohhh, where's your glasses?" and then right when he asked that, the other lady came in [with glasses] and he goes "ohhh whoa!!" it was as if he was trippin' out.... he had all of us laughing including the nurses with his various comments and observations... he was all good to go for the surgery at 7:30am...

 

so we had to wait in the waiting area for about an hour with isabella falling asleep on and off... the surgery itself was only 15 minutes but they wanted the anesthesia to wear off before we saw him... finally, they called me in to console him as he woke up... that was hard for me... i come into the room and he is sprawled out on a nurse's lap crying... i got choked up really fast but didn't want my reaction to scare him so i held back.... we sat in the chair, him on my lap, and i rocked him and consoled him as best as i could.... he fell asleep on and off.... 

 

on the other side of us, there was a little girl screaming and crying... that didn't make me feel any more better even though i knew diego was fine... it was just a rough atmosphere- a room full of kids coming out of surgery, crying for their moms... i was incredibly glad that it lasted only 15 minutes and we got to go back to his hospital room... ramel and isabella met up with us in the hall but were going to head home for a few hours

in his room, he received his brand new iron man toy and he got to sleep to the sounds of spongebob and patrick.... i tried to fall asleep but i was quite conscious of him waking up and crying... he did really good overall and we tried making sure he kept drinking fluids... by 12:45pm, they told us we could go home as long as he kept drinking... ramel and isabella came back and both were incredibly happy to see diego... isabella even enjoyed his batman toy and his bed

we wheeled him to the car and made it home by 2pm.... he was  happy to make it home... he received another iron man toy [a gray one with green accents] for being brave.... since then, he hasn't eaten much [not even ice cream] but he is drinking his fluids and sleeping alot... he isn't whining much even though you can  tell he is in pain... the medicine helps and he is extra cuddly, wanting me to be around him all the time.... he wants to play with isabella but cannot handle it so much... isabella knows something is up but we are making sure she is getting plenty of attention too... and she likes the ice cream :)

so as i type, he is relaxing and isabella is keeping him company... she keeps going near diego and giving him a kiss... he doesn't want to wear anything but his batman pajamas and so i let him... normally, i don't like my kids in pj's all day [much less, the same ones as the night before] but he IS sick so i'm relaxing the rules.. it's going to take 2wks for him to completely heal but i'm sure he will be his normal talkative self in no  time... in the meantime, my sweet diego boy needs rest and lots of care... and the whole hill family [cats included] are more than happy to give him that...

family fun at the zoo

 

it's been some years since i've gone to the zoo... last summer we didn't get a chance to and was pretty bummed that this year was looking like a no go... however, this past saturday, we trekked it to the zoo and had a blast...

diego loves monkeys and now, his newfound favorite, penguins... he thought it was "sooooo cool!!!" he kept asking why he couldn't get any closer to the bears... he goes "they'd hurt me? and i'd cry?" and all i could say was "yeah, baby! they'd hurt you and i doubt you'd even be ABLE to cry by the time they were done".... ok, so maybe i need to work on my explanations with the kid...

now, while i enjoy chatting and like having friends, i am not much of a crowd person... i used to be until i had kids... in crowded areas, my focus is on both children remaining close and away from creepy strangers or from trying to dive into the street or play with things they shouldn't.... as it was a wonderful saturday, the zoo was packed and let's say, i was feeling a tad tense in certain parts... the mammals building and the sea creatures building was nearly claustrophobic and hot... add the smell of good ol' animals, kids pushing you, and the lack of bright lights, you get one tense mama who cannot get good shots of her family...

yes, i had a good time even though i just described a wee bleak aspect of it... it was wonderful to see diego and isabella so excited... we were all incredibly tired near the end and only two of us enjoyed the BEST part of the zoo- the GOAT FARM... me and diego got to go inside while ramel and isabella stayed outside handing us the food... we tried to feed a couple li'l goats but this one big one kept pushing his way to us... and while he seemed like a bully, i am sure he gets tired of having to fight for his food... after all, the baby ones are cuter and get more attention... so we fed this big bad boy and was close to calling it a day...

but a zoo trip isn't complete without a train ride... and we all enjoyed sitting down and hearing the whirr of a mini engine train trek us around the zoo... diego was so tired by the end of it all, that he was near in tears... as stated before, it takes alot for this kid to cry over literally NOTHING... and so the four of us headed home tired and tuckered out....

yup, we had a good day!

life as we know it

there isn't much going on in the hill household.... diego is getting ready to turn four in two weeks... and his surgery is next week tuesday.... with all the earnings from the etsy shop, i managed to pay a couple bills plus buy all of diego's "sorry you are having surgery but get well fast and enjoy oodles of ice cream and have a happy birthday even though you have to get your 4yr immunization shots" gifts.... i bought him new batman pj's for his hospital stay...

 

and although the kid has oodles of toys, we found more for him.... transformers, batmans, hulk, iron man, and.... he knows he has one iron man coming to him for his b-day.... i told him that he'd have to wait until his birthday to get it... so he told me that he doesn't want his birthday anymore, just his iron man....hehe... but the cuteness is short lived when he asks about it every day... i've been giving him that "don't you dare bring it up again" look... he will quickly say "ohhh sorr-wee mom"... my sweet diego boy!!!!

isabella seems to be hitting the two year old stage a few months earlier.... i don't like calling it the terrible two's so we'll just say the "trying two's"... she is only 15 months but her independence and defiance are like a tornado in city [or more like the x-file's fight club episode]... she wants to do everything herself and while some things are awesome [like cleaning up her high chair, putting toys away, throwing dirty clothes in the hamper], the other stuff is challenging... she wants EVERY toy diego plays with... and HE will give it to her just so she won't cry or hit.... the kid is compassionate but i think he prefers not hearing her shrieking from anger... she demands things and i'm not fond of having someone who can't even talk tell me what to do.... so you have a mom who won't give in and a girl who wont give up...

 

on top of that, i think her teeth are finally all coming in-  ALL AT ONCE... her 5th and 6th tooth broke through and relieved me of the thoughts that she was going to have only 4 teeth forever...  this being said, her appetite and her night time sleeping patterns have been affected... i feel for her.... she's a sweetheart going through some rough times in addition to character development :)

ramel has been working on art alot more... and blogging... in order for him to get his time, we switched up our hours a wee bit.... when he gets home from work, he grabs the kids and gives them food and attention... around 8pm, he enjoys a peaceful time in his studio where he ends up working til well past 3am... ramel has been on a nearly 4 year hiatus and came back with full force, new ideas, new themes, and new medium techniques... you can read up on his latest, over at his blog...

so while ramel is working on art, i have been packaging up etsy goods and getting some relaxation by playing halo.... yeah, i think it's addicting... still, there ARE new art projects on the table including one to be blogged over the weekend [hopefully]... there are several illustrations, several more magnets, and some sketches for future projects... in the meantime, a few new crafty flower paper punches have been purchased... can you tell i have a thing for making paper flowers?! diego was trying to model the "whale of a punch" retro flower but his nose kept bugging him so this was the best shot we got :)

 

the kids keep us busy... they keep each other busy... it's life as we know it...

winners all around....

 

first of all, thank you all for your kindness and support with the etsy restocking!!! many goodies have been shipped off to a swell home today... i tried my hardest to price fairly including shipping as i buy all my envelopes, tissue papers, and ribbons to make each item pretty... for those who bought something, or checked out the prices, i would appreciate any feedback concering new products, prices, and overall greenbeanbaby-ness...

as promised, everyone who purchased goodies from the 18th to the 20th, were entered into a raffle to receive a free handmade cut paper illustration by yours truly... diego picked out the winner...

and after several attempts to get him to hold the paper up so we can see the winner, we were able to get a semi-decent shot of the name [and a cool shot of diego and his new haircut].... THE WINNER OF THE RAFFLE IS MISS POPPY LAUREL!!!! a BIG congrats to you!!!!!!!!!

on another topic... this is my lil kratos in the game informer magazine!!!! i've sent a couple submissions to them in hopes to make it in there... and i did!!! it's the reader art submissions and i am unsure if i won or not but either way, it's pretty awesome!! if you live near an eb games or a gamestop store, you can pick up this issue.... :)

lastly, i want to thank miss judy for awarding me the arte y pico award as well as the brillante weblog award.... she is just too sweet and i will work on givng these awards away when i get a chance.... it's going to be quite hard to narrow it down but i'll do my best :)....  it's been a wonderful week all around [with a few bumps in between]....

biggest hugs to you all!!!

see you in a few hours...

it's 5:55pm here... in little over 6 hours, all items will be stocked into my etsy shop...

see you then  and happy shopping/browsing :)

interested in a prize?!

yes indeed!!!!! with the july 18th etsy restocking, i have some extra goodness! any customer who purchases an item [in my shop] between july 18th and the 20th will be entered into a raffle to win a FREE ORIGINAL GREENBEANBABY ILLUSTRATION...

winner will be announced by july 22nd and contacted via email!

i have been up EVERY NIGHT until the wee hours of the morning and i'm feeling the effects... ysesterday i picked up my prints and purchased the necessary items to ship these babies out perfectly... then i spent EIGHT episodes of x-files signing and numbering and titling each print, and putting them in the clear sleeves... ramel and i took a half hour to figure out prices and fees [profits vs losses, etc etc]... after that, i began uploading items to my etsy hop and listing them [then making them inactive]

i had over 125 listings to do on etsy [90 were prints] and managed to complete 75%... it was 3am by the time i went to bed and my feet were swollen from all that sitting.... i was so tired i couldn't remember people's names to name items after [remember, i am naming each item in etsy after flickr and blogging buddies]....

this morning i was too tired to wake up so ramel went to work later and fed the kids breakfast and got them situated... by the time i showered,dressed the kids, fed them snacks, cleaned the house, and chugged a pot of coffee, we went for a walk... it was 12:15 when we began... it was 4pm when we came back from our walk.... we managed to go swimming, go to the park, go to some stores, and head home a few shades darker than before... needless to say, it's only 11pm right now, and i am plum tuckered out.... so excuse me if this blog post is a bit ditsy...

i will blog once more on the 17th... there may be new items to show:) after the etsy day, i will have OODLES of pics of the kids uploaded on the blog and flickr... don't ya miss them?! hehe....

and now, for some good night rest- unless i end up working on  some sketches ;)

NOTE: you can check out the notes on this photo, and this photo, and this photo to see the some of the friends' names of each item :)

overload cute

july 18th is the big day for the greenbeanbaby etsy restocking!!!!! right around midnight, all the items will be uploaded to the shop... it takes a good 15 minutes to do it so don't freak out if it's 12:04am and you can't find what you are looking for...

the above magnets are called nina's friends.... there will be one BIG set and one SMALL set available...

within the past few days, i made over 110 pieces of magnets to sell... yes, that is right!!! 110 pieces of lil wood with magnet strips glued on the back... a bazillion pieces of paper cut out to make the people... and plenty of hours [with a few burns, a couple cuts, and one knuckle missing a bit of skin] gluing and assembling these pretty mamas.... it's left little time to do much else...

these friendly gals are called li li's friends... each set will have 4pcs... and there will be 3 sets available

however, tomorrow i will be working on the printing process for the illustrations that will be available in the shop... somehow i had thought this etsy restocking would be focusing primarily on illustrated prints... i don't even remember how this magnet mania began!!!! still, hopefully, the prints are a good seller :)

these lil gals are called meghan's friends.... there will be one or two sets of these... there are only 6 lil gals so they may be all sold together or in two sets of 3pcs

i want to make more magnets too... and illustrations... but time won't allow... today i will be making all the descriptions for my items... this is a time consuming process as there has be added tags, uploaded pics, figuring out of prices, then making the listings inactive until july 18th... there are alot of items!!!!

these lil ladies are called madeline's fairies... every mama needs a set of these... there will be one BIG set and one SMALLER set available...

in the process of making one set of magnets, i had two hot glue guns plugged in... a big one for the magnet part... a small glue gun for the bigger paper pieces that need more than regular glue... well, right as my sister called me, i heard a loud POP!!!!! the lights flickered, the smell of something burning filled my studio... smoke was seeping out of the mini glue gun and all i could think of, this would be the worst spot for a fire to start... i guess that mini glue gun was used one too many times!!!!!

these are called linda's kitchen angels.... there will be one BIG set and one SMALLER set available...

i tried  to make two sets of each magnet set.... there will only be 4 notebooks, one scrapbook, and 4 lil mini books... there will be a limited set of prints as well... SO MANY IDEAS of what could be made for the shop!!!!! there might be another etsy restocking date sooner than usual.... [depending how well this goes, and how much sleep i can get]... there are so vintage notecards that i'd like to illustrate in cut paper for  a special series in the shop too...

on top of all this, ramel and i celebrate our 5th anniversary on saturday.... mr. potato head is coming to the betty brinn's children's museum.... and my kids love them some potato heads... [i've had to holler at them for sticking the ear pieces in their ears....] so our anniversary may be spent with mr. potato head and the kids we love :)

the last set of magnets shown are called debra's girls... there are a couple more sets not shown on the blog but you can see them on my flickr page....

happy monday!!!

magnets galore

this post is going to be fairly short but with plenty of pictures... i am still behind on emailing people so all of you who have commented, i will respond soon.... i've been making some magnets lately in my oh-so-hot studio.... it's like a mini sweatshop only consisting of one person, a few bugs, x-files, and one little fan blowing hot air... at least my mood is better, artistically despite the 90º attic situation...

anyhow, meet simone's fairies... these are paper illustrated magnets that are about two inches tall...

yes, with this new etsy re-stocking, i will be naming every item after my fellow blog and flickr friends... these are meadow's cherries which are really teeny tiny... they are about the size of a nickell....

and these are aletha's fairy mamas.... also magnets...

these are teeny flower magnets from julie's garden [these are also the size of a nickel]... actually, two are from this julie's garden... and two are from this julie's garden :)

these are janae's angels... i don't have a link for janae but she is a one year old sweet pie who's mom is a beautiful lady... we have a son the same age, a daughter the same age, and we are both from the same city...

these are erica's cupckaes... these are also teeny tiny and were a doozy to glue the lil leaves on it...

lastly, these are gracie's roses.... these are 3d paper roses that i made and mounted onto an old key plate... these are magnets as well...

enjoy all!! these goodies will be available in my shop on july 18th midnight, sharp!

etsy restocking date moved...

with the date approaching rapidly, i had thought my paypal issues would have been resolved by now... as i've  stated in a previous post, my paypal was hacked into and tampered with... items were purchased from this thief, causing several tiresome issues to deal with... i've been on the phone with my bank and paypal in hopes that all this would be resolved on time... and it hasn't so i've had to push the date back a week... instead of having the etsy date for the 11th, it is now moved  to july 18th
and while i regret to do this, it's not to say the week won't be a waste... it will leave me more time to make extra goodies for the shop that all of you can enjoy... between prints, notebooks and a few new items, i hope to have something worthwhile for all who are interested... i'm even working on TRYING to get some framed original illustrations in the shop, that will resemble retro greeting cards...

on the topic concerning the previous post, thank you all again for the encouragement... i am sure some of you are tired of reading about my emotions in this same area... like a yo-yo, i have my days only lately, they seem to be recurring more frequently... i think there is just so much on my plate... and so much of it is the sort of thing where you don't see instant results... my patience wears thin but perhaps it is patience that i am to learn....

i have a ton of ideas and a ton of dreams [but not a ton of time]... concerning my art, i have two ways to take it and both require a 100%... i can work on sending my portfolio out and find work in the publishing area... or i can continue making artwork for the etsy shop and work on getting more prints available... both are good choices and i REALLY wanna do both but i can't... some days, i can't even handle being a mom AND an artist... [and of course, motherhood takes precedence....] either way, this topic requires a whole new post so i better just end it off with saying, right now, the etsy shop is going to be nice and full for the 18th... i hope you all will enjoy it :)

in the meantime, check this link out for more peaks of what will be in the shop