Unusual Girl Studios

Do you remember the story of Emmaline? She's a great, great, grand daughter of Thumbelina. Thumbelina was made from magic and all of her female decendants have some magic within them. When Emmaline is tall she's a very sweet girl. But when she is small she so much more. She loves the outdoors and quickly makes friends of all kinds. Her very best friend is Pernella who is magical and clever and utterly wise. Oh the fun adventures these two have. Wherever they go they are sure to leave goodness behind. Sometimes they leave behind a little magic as well. Have a fabulous day.

Wow. That was hard, folks. A lot harder than I ever imagined. I was just a few minutes early for the meeting and as the principal ushered me through a hallway to his office my stomach leapt into my throat and I think its still there. It took a few minutes to gather everyone together. Our DARE officer tried to make a run for it but we called his dispatch and they made him come back to the school. Kayla's teacher had to get someone settled in her classroom while she participated in the court marshal and Kayla had to be called in off the playground. She was hard to find at first- she was obscured by the crowd of onlookers as she operated a shell game with a few pebbles and used yogurt cups back in a dark corner behind the monkey bars. When she was ushered in to the office she looked every inch of the young, skinny nine year old third grader that she was. She was pale and hesitant and when she saw me there she knew it wasn't good. My heart died just a little around the edges- she d...

Well, tomorrow is the big day. My friend at work would call this "a come to Jesus meeting." I meet with Kayla's principal, her teacher and the school's D.A.R.E. officer and Kayla. At 11:55. (BTW- DARE. in this region, is a program for 5th graders and up wherein they pledge to and learn how to stay away from drugs and illegal substances.) I called this wonderful man who runs my children's school on a program he calls "capturing their hearts". Hugs are allowed at this school, dis-respect is not. I explained the situation and asked for the meeting and the presence of the a police officer and without hesitation he agreed. Its been a tiring week, I've run from the minute I am forced from my bed to the minute I give up trying to relax and I've made myself sick- well, ok, maybe it was my sniffly students that made me sick but it always happens in the busy weeks- right? Tomorrow I meet with my Navigator Artisans group for a girls night where-in I will de...

Does she strike you as an Edith? Or an Estelle? Perhaps Iris or Fern? If her passenger were named "Emmaline".... What would be a good name for this creature? hmmmm......

Art Doll Quarterly is having a miniature doll challenge. Fascinated by the tiny dolls I have been seeing as accessories to the larger art dolls I decided to challenge myself. This creature and her Friend have a name of Thumbelina's legacy. You know she was a tiny creature who loved the outdoors and after many adventures married a prince? It only makes sense that her children and children's children would have some small magic. Like her great grandmother, this little lady loves nature and counts all creatures amongst her friends. The bug will have wings, glittery, silverish wings. Little miss will be wrapped in a leaf, I think, I've tried everything only to find her cute little belly and bumm way too hidden- do I dare send her in naked as she is so cute just as she is? Hmm, I think not- wouldn't want some weirdo pinning the porn label on her! And hair? Just a wisp of yarn or wool? I'm leaning that way. Oh well, you'll see for yourself as she comes along! Have a g...

Just wanted to say thank you to those folks that replied to my last post and e-mailed me. It is re-assuring to hear that I'm not going insane and that its human to react and sometimes over react. I considered taking that post down because I feel a little 'exposed' and don't really like putting myself out there for possible judgement or mis interpertation. In the end I will just have to pull myself up by my bootstraps and give it another go. When I ask myself the guestion- when do I call it quits the answer still comes back 'You don't. You don't quit on a kid.' So until that answer comes back differently I'm still in. As far as Brooke- well, if she didn't have Kayla around she'd be an only child. Coping skills, right? She'll eventually learn how to assert herself, maintain her own identity and deal with annoying personality types, err, I mean find the best in people even if she has to dig for it. So... hang in there with me, I...

So I have this problem. I wouldn't typically share this type of information. But here I am with no easy solution. Perhaps its time to throw it out to the universe and see what the universe serves back. I am beyond disappointment and feeling pretty hopeless. We are raising my niece. My sister was ill prepared to care for herself when she found out she was pregnant- let alone raise a child. There were plans in place for us to adopt her but a well meaning (but criminally stupid) friend of hers told her she'd be able to get assistance from the state and that she would just love the baby so much that she'd (turn into someone else, I suppose) be able to mother this child. So when the child was three my sister asked that we take her. Of course we knew this would happen eventually and this was when we came to have Kayla as ours, that very day. We didn't know what we were in for. Kayla is super smart. She threw screaming fits for months but at three you can deal with that. She h...