and now for my final TRICK

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Mmmmmm

Everett discovered pudding.....

And Chili Mac

Enough said.

Quote of the Day

"The belly rules the mind"
Spanish Proverb

Well, she did it! Holden finished filling up her first "Good Girl" chart. It is going so well. She loves being rewarded and putting the stickers up there. It has been a nice motivation for her and she is so proud when she does helpful and responsible things. Last weekend Daddy took her to climb a mountain per her reward request.

Ian guesses she hiked for 5 out of the 45 minutes and he carried her for the rest. But it was worth it. They had fun, she got her big prize, and now we are on to our second sticker chart. This time I talked her into the prize of going to the mall with mommy to try on fun play jewelry and eat ice cream.

Quote of the Day

"Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle."
-Wilma Rudolph

DIY

So, now that school is OVER, (YAY, Well, I am finishing up my portfolio, but that should be wrapped up any day now) I am tackling a few projects I have been dying to try.

Sewing class is coming up next month and I am also signing up for a knitting class. Always wanted to try that too. But right now, I am having a jewelry situation. I don't like the typical jewelry boxes and I found a cool idea in Real Simple magazine for a picture frame jewelry organizer and after searching the internet for more ideas I tackled my own! My inspiration....

I am totally on the lookout for this type of frame at a thrift store

Love the drawer pulls
(but I couldn't get mine to actually stick to my frame)

I would also like to try these types of hooks

Using just what I had at home already I made my own. I used an old frame, cardboard for the backing, hot glue gun, drapery hooks, fabric hooks, artificial flowers, fabric I bought last year and couldn't decide how to use, and eye hooks from a hardware kit. Here are my creations....

I love the color it adds to our bedroom, that my necklaces aren't a tangled mess, and that the kids haven't yet figured out how to reach it! Ian thinks they are too "busy." HMM maybe different fabric?

Quote of the Day

"Creativity id inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun"
- Mary Lou Cook

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Paparazzi

My friend Nichole from Colorado Springs is an AMAZING photographer. She was up with her kids a few weeks ago and took these beautiful pictures at the park. She just started her own business and I am so happy that we get to be her guinea pigs!

We love you Nichole and best of luck with your new venture!

Quote of the Day

Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today.
- Edward Abbey

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

It's About Time!

Everett is 18 months old and until about a week ago his language repertoire consisted of:

1. mama
2. dada
3. NO

But finally, finally, finally, he is showing some promise! While the words do not sound perfect they are definitely words!

4. elmo (melmo)
5. baby
6. big bird (bi-bo)
7. peek-a-boo (pee-boo)
8. ball
9. nemo (memo)

He is also getting good with his animal sounds: meow, woof, baa baa

It is the most amazing thing to hear these first words, hear his voice, and imagine actually having conversations with him. It's like I have a whole new kid with this unbelievable dimension of language and communication. His voice is beautiful and truly the sweetest sound in the world.

Here are some recent pictures too....

Who LOVES their dog?

Swimming with friends.

Everett and Troy

So grown up

This is how a butterfly flaps it's wings.

"I love my Ev-E"

Quote of the Day

Mischief all comes from much opening of the mouth.
-Chinese Proverb

Sunday, June 13, 2010

911 Update

Things are going well! Holden loves her "good girl" reward chart, the screaming has been mostly gone, no junkie sweet stuff, barely any TV, and they are alive and happy! Go figure?!?!

However, this whole clothing issue with Holden may drive me to insanity. I am ok with giving her the reins and letting her pick out the craziest outfits to wear... in public... where people see us...ugh. I just hope people see me and Everett looking normal and assume she is alright and Child Services does not need to be called in. Here is the issue, 45 minutes trying to decide on the outfit. Put it on, take it off, put it on, take it off. She is the most indecisive person in the universe. And many of the ballerina leotards and tight leggings she needs help getting off and on , which has added a new dilemma.... Do I help her? Maybe for one outfit but no more? Maybe for five minutes and that's it? Maybe not at all which would please me, but still a bit unrealistic for a three year old.

To some people (without opinionated little girls anyway) this may seem like such a litle thing. How can this one issue be such an issue in our house? Well, it IS an issue and a big one. Ian this morning spent 20 minutes back and forth to get her dressed to leave the house, then a clothing change when we got home, another change for nap, then a new after nap outfit, and last but not least a bedtime outfit. Not pajamas because they are not "beautiful" enough. Everything she wears needs to be "beautiful." "That's not a beautiful shirt, mommy." "Those sneakers are not beautiful, mommy." You get the picture.

So here we are. Only easy beautiful clothing with elastic waists allowed.

Quote of the Day

Know first who you are, then adorn yourself accordingly.
-Epictetus

****Well I guess she learned who she was a few weeks ago and is ready to adorn accordingly!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

To Sew?

While I am not a super traditional person, there are some things that are important to me. Like, my mom only ever cooked homemade food. No Spaghettios, jarred pasta sauce, cake from a box, etc. Looking back, I appreciate her effort and cannot imagine how she did it working two jobs as a single parent. In turn, I now usually cook homemade food. However, there are a few boxes of Annie's Mac-n-Chz in my pantry and my freezer has seen a Stouffer's lasagna box once or twice.

Essentially, in my book anyway, there are just some things a mom is supposed to know how to do. I am not saying we should all be June Cleaver, but we should have one or two classic mommy skills. For example, a couple of years back I went on a quest... an arduous journey if you will, to create the perfect cut out sugar cookie. I felt like I needed one cookie specialty I could bring to parties and school functions in the future. Well, it took forever, but I did it.

Now that school is almost over (yay, 2 weeks till my masters degree!!) I will be needing something to occupy my time. There are millions of things I would love to be able to do, knit or crochet, take beautiful photographs, go to cooking school. But I finally narrowed it down to sewing. I want to learn to sew. Last year I got an itch, went out and bought a sewing machine, thread, needles, patterns, and went to town trying to teach myself. Needless to say, everything from seventh grade Home-Ec DID NOT come back to me. I have mended a few diapers but that is about as far as I ever got.

Basic Sewing 101 here I come. With Courtney and my pal Amy. We will be taking a class together and I have been assured I will learn how to complete basic sewing tasks and learn how to sew a ruffle (hee hee).

Here is what I am dreaming of creating......

Ruffle Lamp Shade

Tank Top

Bike Bucket

Coffee Cup Holder

Flower Corsage

Reusable Snack and Lunch Bags

Tee Shirt Aprons

Flower Pillow

Ruffle Tee Shirt Scarf

Ruffle Butt Baby Capri Pants

Fruit Salad Hats

Fuzzy Caterpillars

I have found a couple of fabulous creative blogs with sewing tutorials and lots of other do it yourself crafty projects I will be sure to try out over the coming months. I will be sure to share my creations, the directions, and the cool blogs where I found them. For now, I will dream of that ruffle lamp shade on my bedside lamp one day.

Quote of the Day

Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction
-Pablo Picaso

Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.