Buried....

...under....wood.

more later....

:)

Baby Couture Magazine Hearts Bertie

Picture this. My daughter out tonight with a head that looks like she's just woken up, stains on her shirt, mismatched pants, a face-paint apple (smudged) on the side of her cheek and boots that need a good washing. While standing there at Ross buying discounted towels for our new/old home watching Little G rummage through the discount bin, Scott said, "Kiers, she looks homeless AND parentless." I couldn't have agreed more. Which is all very ironic since her mother's furniture was recently featured in Baby Couture Magazine. Nothing about either of my kids screams couture. More like Target and "wow those are some seriously too-short pants." But not couture.

If you'd like to see some cool kid couture stuff that doesn't scream dirty, filthy kid, check out this link: http://issuu.com/bcmag/docs/bc_holiday2008-2009_sweetin-1?mode=a_p

If you go to page 33 you'll see the Bertie Box!

P.S. I did make both kids shower/bathe tonight. Ok, well, Scott did. I was in the garage cutting out a Bertie Box. :)

Save Handmade!

(image courtesy of Cool Mom Picks)

You might have heard something about a new ruling coming in February that mandates that anything made for kids up to age 12 (clothing, toys, furniture, etc) MUST be tested...at a rate of $500-$5000 per test per product. This comes in response to the recall of all those lead-paint toys from China. While I completely agree we have to protect our children from harmful chemicals, a blanket mandate across the board will likely shut down almost all of the small businesses specializing in handmade goods who have, from the start, been using the best, eco-friendly, non-toxic materials available.

As you may have guessed, this will affect my business but more importantly, it will affect every business out there making handmade goods for kids. It will likely put most of them out of business. Businesses, like mine, that were started from home in order to make up for lost income and/or to be able to stay home with their kids and work at the same time.

Please help make it known that small businesses making goods for kids should not be lumped into the same category as the large US-based and foreign kids product companies.

To find out how you can help, go to COOL MOM PICKS SAVE HANDMADE webpage by clicking on the link. And thanks to Liz and Kristen for all their support!!

Thanks so much for helping to SAVE HANDMADE!!!

Same Mod Mom, New Garage

Whose bright idea was it to combine moving with Christmas? Oh yeah...ours. I've been long absent from writing because frankly we've been so busy we can't see straight. We're moving to a new (when I say "new" I mean old and smaller but completely renovated) home in an effort to reduce our monthly expenses. We're so excited about our new house...and the new garage! Get this...the garage is actually attached to the house. I can walk right from our laundry room into the garage WITHOUT GOING OUTSIDE! I know to most people this is standard, but in LA, it's not standard at all. We've had this set up in other cities we've lived but it never meant as much as it does to me now. It's the little things, isn't it?!?!

On other notes, I'm still working on the prototype for Land of Nod. It's fun and exciting and sometimes damn frustrating but totally worth it. I'm also plugging away on orders as usual. Still covered in paint and stain.

Christmas has been so fun! We had both sets of parents in town at one point or another. Scott's parents got to experience Christmas in only two rooms of our current house. We decorated the family room and the dining room and every room in between looks like we're moving tomorrow. We sold a lot of our furniture to scale down so Chrstimas was spent with four people and dogs on the couch playing Wii games. Hope your holidays have been equally fun and crowded!!!

We're moving on January 2nd so I'll try and write some new posts either before or after. Here's wishing all of you a very Happy New Year! And thanks so much for all of your support and love in 2008!

Atomic Ranch Rules!

If you haven't checked out the fabulous quarterly magazine Atomic Ranch, you need to! And if you pick up the winter issue (at Barnes and Nobles and large book/magazine dealers) you'll see some furniture you recognize. The title of the section is called Mommy Dearest -- how can you not love that?

Happy Birthday, Mom of Mod Mom!

Happy (BELATED) Birthday, Mom! And look Mom -- only a few days late!!! Sure, I could've been one of those REALLY good daughters and posted birthday wishes on your birthday but what fun would that have been? Don't answer that.

Mom, you're truly one of a kind and I'm so thankful everyday for your love, guidance and fantastic listening ear for when I drone on about how tired and covered in sawdust I am. I love you very much! We're so excited about your visit - can't wait to see both of you on Saturday!

P.S. I promise to shower and even put on a new pair of fake toenails before your visit. I'll be a new me! Just for you. Think of it as another birthday gift.

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

(The Gottcock Clan)

I just received a very kind message from David asking where I've been and hoping everything was ok with me. (Thank you again, David.) It was just the kick in the butt I needed!!

Things have been nuts around here lately. I'm crazy busy with orders, Land of Nod stuff, and to top it off, we're trying to move into a different home down the street. Good timing with the holidays, don't ya think? The kids have either fundraisers, drs appts, events, turkey dinners, etc. at school almost daily right now so I'm trying to keep up with all of that and sadly, that meant the blog fell off the radar. Please know I'm still sufficiently covered in paint, stain, and my Lee Press On toenails are falling off one by one. Scott's so proud!!

I'll have some new photos of some custom jobs in the coming week. And I'll try to post some Turkey Day photos too. We'll be spending it at the beach with our dear friends, the Gottliebs. So it will officially be a Gottcock Thanksgiving. Only one of our kids really gets that.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Guest Blogger: My Husband, Scott Hathcock

This is a first for me, but I thought I would give “Mod Mom” a small break from blogging this week and offer my perspective as to what it’s like to live with a woman who “lives in her garage.”

1. I live with a different kind of “Painted Lady.” She actually comes in assorted shades of stains and colors. Some of these colors are even accompanied by fragrances, like my favorite “Dark Walnut.”

2. I never look at her feet, particularly the bottom of them. Her best friend would tell you that she doesn’t spend enough time on keeping her feet looking “kept.” This is because she spends most of her days in flip flops, standing in a quarter inch of old wood shavings, and running back and forth across our blacktop driveway. Recently, there has been marked improvement through her discovery of “Lee Press On” manicured toe nails. As long as she doesn’t show the bottom of her feet, this recent discovery has been a game changer in the eyes of her friends. I am certainly not surprised at her taking to “Lee Press Ons” because they speak to the very heart of who she is-- a gluer and a sander.

3. It’s no longer “my garage.” In fact, I don’t think I even own any tools anymore. She didn’t want to be greedy though so she relegated the area of the garage containing the washer and dryer. I even have a nameplate attached to the washer.

4. I listen to most of our favorite TV shows over the sound of her sanding in front of the television . I’ve even contemplated initiating the “closed caption” feature to our evenings.

5. She’s intimidating to work for. I do try to occasionally pitch in with sanding, painting and polyurethane-ing, but when the pressure of not screwing up is so great I feel inadequate. She will also tell you that I become very territorial about any contribution. After I help to finish a toy box, no matter how insignificant my contribution I start calling it “my box.” “How did they like my box?” “Did my box get there unharmed?” and so forth.

6. The most frequently asked question is, “Is it a role reversal thing that we have going on?” To which I respond, we are truly a team and we make each other better for our partnership…I just happen to shower more.

7. Finally, I am blessed that so many of you out there have helped support her over the years with your posted comments, blogs, articles and finally your business. It really means the world to her that you are present and supportive. Not only do you continue to inspire her on a daily basis with your kind words and reviews but you fill in a void of support when I get too busy to the notice and appreciate the daily gift that she is to me. Just the other day I sent her this email based on your past observations:



“Just spent the morning reading all your various “Mod Mom” mentions online. I'm sure they weren't all the latest postings; regardless, I couldn't help to think how proud I am of you. I know I don't tell you that enough. It’s a amazing how other people who don't really know you at all do find the time to tell you that you are truly an amazing woman and mother. You've obviously made a host of fans across the world but I'm still your biggest. Now get back in that garage and make more people happy!”

For which she replied…


“Thanks, babe. We just got back from Woodcraft West and McDonald's’s drive through. Now I'm off to build that table and chair set. Is your day going well?

Love you, K”


Ah, love.

Walnut Version of the Chase Toy Box

(walnut stain with oak veneer leaf branch)

I recently delivered this to a lovely family in West Hollywood. Whatcha think?

Happy Election Day!

It's finally here! And this wood workin', country music listenin', power tool totin', Ohio-born girl with Southern roots is voting for Obama! At first glance, I'm sure it doesn't make sense to put all that together in one sentence but that's me! I'm proud to love Lee Greenwood and Hank Williams Jr songs AND be a card carrying Obama supporter.

Tonight, my kids and I are making election cookies and celebrating with that fizzy grape juice that looks like champagne (you caught me....THEY are drinking that, I'll have a gin and tonic.) Anyhow, we're decided that no matter what happens, we must make cookies. Partly because I'll need some comforting if Obama doesn't get in and I'll need a massive sugar party if he does where we all jump around like maniacs!

Happy Election Day to all of you!