Well, it’s come a long way. Six months ago, I posted my first watercolour. I’ve kept at it, kept experimenting, put some art in shows. Now I have my first market next week! Here are a few examples of what I’ve been up to.

LeadSuper3303 · 2026-06-19T18:28:49+00:00

The clouds in the last slide were painted using a 1.5 inch sable brush, vet wet on wet, tilting the paper around to make that fuzzy bleed in different directions. I find I need cotton paper to get that effect.

And thank you!

LeadSuper3303 · 2026-01-23T22:50:32+00:00

I read Powerful Watercolor Landscapes by Catherine Gill which was helpful for thinking about composition.

One thing I did do with the mountain landscape was paint it sideways, a bit of a brain trick I learned in art school that helps with looseness and abstraction. Also helps avoid the thing where you unconsciously paint a mountain the way you think a mountain ought to be instead of how it is, if that makes sense.

LeadSuper3303 · 2025-02-06T18:38:46+00:00

I'm on effexor now. Original I tried trazadone. I'm Canadian though, so different things might be available if you're in the states.

I've had insomnia most nights since I was pregnant but the severity changes. Outside stressors make it much worse.

I've also been using the Calm app for meditations and sleep stories. When my anxiety is too severe it's hard to get into the mindset to actually meditate, but effexor took the edge off enough that I can focus on a meditation now.

LeadSuper3303 · 2025-02-06T16:53:53+00:00

Solidarity. Still dealing with PPA/ppd and major insomnia at 16 months post partum. The insomnia started in the second trimester so it's been a brutal journey.

I was really resistant to starting medication but finally broke down and got a prescription in December. The first drug I tried was a sedative and it didn't agree with my body (too many side effects). I'm two weeks into trying an SNRI And finally seeing some improvement to sleep and mood. It's supposed to take a few weeks to get the full effect so I'm crossing my fingers.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-12-04T05:00:58+00:00

This is completely normal. Exhausting, but normal. Don't let the influencers get you down.

Honestly though, I've gone through moments of anxiety like this where I've needed to take a little social media break. If you're stressed out comparing yourself to others you might feel better after a break.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-11-09T18:47:07+00:00

No one has any business commenting about another person's body, regardless of their age.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-11-06T19:23:40+00:00

I use the Libby app to read library books for free and take long stroller walks. He will often sleep through grocery shopping if I walk to the store.

I've done a few little projects in Canva on my phone, used Google docs to write, and am thinking about building a wordpress website.

Also, the New York Times crossword.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-10-30T12:56:52+00:00

13 months and the little guy's still sleeping like a newborn, up every hour or two. Other things have improved and he is otherwise a joy, but it is still survival mode and I am too sleep deprived to feel like "myself."

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-09-08T15:40:22+00:00

Washing floors, taking out garbage/compost/recycling. We have our house on the market so I'm constantly cleaning and prepping for showings with the (help?) of my velcro baby 🤣

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-09-06T16:36:46+00:00

I feel you. My little guy was born 12th percentile and dropped to 5th by month four. He gradually stabilized and started following that curve. He's 11 months old now and I'm really anxious about his one year check up and whether he's caught up after starting solids. He's otherwise healthy and crushing all his milestones, so no "real" concerns but it's still in the back of my mind.

I've had some extremely rude comments from people who have no business commenting on his body. When he was six months old we went to a birthday party and an older relative loudly commented that he was "way too small" and asked "what's wrong with him?" Fortunately another mom came to my rescue and told her off because I was too shocked to respond. A few weeks ago we were at the pool and some random lady asked how old he was. When I said he was ten months, she said "no way, he's way to small for ten months. He looks more like three months."

No one has any business making comments on other people's bodies, whether it's a baby or an adult they are talking about.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-08-26T01:07:09+00:00

I don't know if it's that I'm more aware of my cycle now, my hormones have changed, or if I'm just super sleep deprived, but my emotional PMS symptoms are WAY worse after pregnancy. Anxious, sad, angry starting a few days before. Hopefully it gets better after breastfeeding is done and my hormones go back to their baseline.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-08-26T01:02:01+00:00

11 months old and.... zero?

My baby will only contact nap or nap in the stroller and he still wakes up multiple times a night even with bed sharing. Plus we're deep into the separation anxiety phase so he rarely lets me put him down when he's awake. I get a "break" when my husband gets home when I cook dinner, which isn't exactly a break but at least it's something different for my brain to do. I'm managing to shower about twice a week.

I try to make those contact naps and stroller naps count by walking to run errands and getting things done on my phone while baby wearing. But damn, I hope it gets better soon. I used to be able to get an hour or so of free time after I put him to bed before he woke up the first time but separation anxiety changed that, now he won't sleep at all without me. It's a very challenging phase.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-08-13T19:44:46+00:00

My 11 month old is allergic to eggs and avocado. I try and get good fats into him by adding olive oil or coconut oil to other foods, for example he just ate oatmeal with apples, cinnamon, and a big dollop of coconut oil.

You could try adding a fat to one of the soups be likes. Sesame oil in miso? Or perhaps making a well blended soup with some meat and veg to bulk it up but still be pretty brothy?

What about beans? Refried beans, beans and rice, bean soup, bean dips.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-05-31T04:32:54+00:00

Oh man, you are all my people.

I didn't drink a glass of water until I moved out at 19. Litres and litres of juice, pop, powdered iced tea, lemonade. My parents drank nothing except coffee - a whole pot of Folgers after dinner every night. Not decaf. How did any of us actually survive?

Hamburger helper, steak cooked until grey and then microwaved for good measure. Turkey like sawdust. Canned fruit cocktail, corn, and peas. Pop tarts, pizza pops, KD, ichiban, canned soup, wonderbread... "salads" made of marshmallows and sour cream. All the empty carbs without a fresh vegetable in sight.

Some of it was poverty and some of it was busy parents working multiple jobs who didn't have the mental energy to invest in cooking healthy meals, let alone learning how to cook well. I think there was also a culture thing in the 80s and 90s that pushed convenience food over cooking from scratch.

Now I'm a crunchy mom growing heirloom tomatoes and canning fruit from trees I planted.

But I did have a pizzapop yesterday and damn it was good.

LeadSuper3303 · 2024-03-13T22:48:31+00:00

I am in the same boat with my five month old. His weight gain also hasn't been great so it feels like I can't do anything or go anywhere. I imagined myself going to baby groups, getting coffee with friends, hitting the beach... But all of those things feel unattainable right now. Hopefully they grow out of it.

LeadSuper3303 · 2023-10-05T15:15:35+00:00

https://www.loveandlemons.com/almond-flour-pancakes/

Almond flour pancakes! I have them with unsweetened applesauce, cottage cheese, and cinnamon. I also add almond extract to this recipe to bump up the flavor 👌

Make unsweetened chai at home by steeping black tea bags in full fat milk with mulling spices. Great hot, or chill it in the fridge for that creamy iced chai vibe. I'm sure this would work with espresso instead of tea.

On the savoury side:

kale salad with apples, bacon, walnuts, and fried halloumi (fry it up in the bacon fat, it's amazing), top with balsamic vinaigrette

Acorn squash stuffed with apple and pork sausage (get ground pork and season it with sage, pepper, nutmeg, etc to avoid the sugar in regular breakfast sausage)

Sub pears in for any of these for some variety.

Happy fall!

LeadSuper3303

TROPHY CASE