In Memory of
My Black, Brown + Animal Print Phase I
Fall 2008-Spring 2011
It's been fun, but it's time for a change.
Christmas in Williamsburg
3 hours ago
27 February 2011
Time for a Change
Yesterday I felt sort of blah. I've been feeling that way every morning when I go through my closet and it's all brown and black. I realized something: I'm ready for some color in my wardrobe. And you know what else I realized sitting in Sports Clips today, as much as I think it should pain me to say this? I'm totally and completely zebra-ed out. Like, gonna Higgins Branch my zebra bag this week if Kayci doesn't grab it first.
Strawberry Milk? Or, Why I Look So Old
Yesterday, I made the mistake of NOT showering before Daddy & Kayci left. I had an hour to get Noble and myself ready before we had to pick Kayci up from gymnastics. No problem, I thought.
As I headed for the shower, I gave Noble the "just eat your snack...don't touch anything" speech.
Shortly after I got into the shower, he came into the bathroom. "I need a nakkin.". Thinking his nose was running again, I told him to get a Kleenex. "No Kleenex--need NAKKIN.". What for, Bubby? "Strawberry milk." So I caution him again not to touch anything, do anything, or make anything...I'll be RIGHT there. And don't touch anything!
CRASH. It was a big one, but I didn't hear glass break (amazing the things you think, parenting THAT kid, no?) so I called his name...no answer. Oh, no, I think--he's trapped under whatever it is he's knocked over! Luckily the curtains were closed, because I know I looked crazy as I grabbed my towel and ran, dripping water and conditioner everywhere.
He wasn't hurt, just stunned.
He knocked over the little orange chair,
which he was trying to take the sink
to dump out the strawberry milk he'd made
because It was nasty.
Y'think? If you look at the cup, you'll see it's 3/4 strawberry syrup--gives me the shivers just thinking about it again.
Needless to say, we were 4 minutes late picking Kayci up. He still needs a bath. I'm at least 10 years older. Annnnnd I'm pretty sure neighbor Dave heard me yelling. Not about the milk, of course, because he was being resourceful. But that was the straw that broke this camel's back, and after that I was all out of grace. Which sucks, when you think about it--what if God ran out of grace for ME? Definitely a growth area for me...
As I headed for the shower, I gave Noble the "just eat your snack...don't touch anything" speech.
Shortly after I got into the shower, he came into the bathroom. "I need a nakkin.". Thinking his nose was running again, I told him to get a Kleenex. "No Kleenex--need NAKKIN.". What for, Bubby? "Strawberry milk." So I caution him again not to touch anything, do anything, or make anything...I'll be RIGHT there. And don't touch anything!
CRASH. It was a big one, but I didn't hear glass break (amazing the things you think, parenting THAT kid, no?) so I called his name...no answer. Oh, no, I think--he's trapped under whatever it is he's knocked over! Luckily the curtains were closed, because I know I looked crazy as I grabbed my towel and ran, dripping water and conditioner everywhere.
He wasn't hurt, just stunned.
He knocked over the little orange chair,
which he was trying to take the sink
to dump out the strawberry milk he'd made
because It was nasty.
Y'think? If you look at the cup, you'll see it's 3/4 strawberry syrup--gives me the shivers just thinking about it again.
Needless to say, we were 4 minutes late picking Kayci up. He still needs a bath. I'm at least 10 years older. Annnnnd I'm pretty sure neighbor Dave heard me yelling. Not about the milk, of course, because he was being resourceful. But that was the straw that broke this camel's back, and after that I was all out of grace. Which sucks, when you think about it--what if God ran out of grace for ME? Definitely a growth area for me...
26 February 2011
The Rest of the Story...
Yesterday was a big day for Kayci. James posted all about it here on our family blog. Of course, there's more to the story. We got there more than a half hour early to get great spots for videoing and viewing. Right when we all get settled after much seat swapping and moving around, Noble started fussing. He went through the candy Grandma brought to keep him quiet, and then he wanted to "see Kayci!!" So he's fussing and wiggling and fussing and wiggling...and jussssssssssssssst when it's time for Kayci to go on stage, he just loses it. Screaming loses it. So I have to take him out of the cafeteria...and miss her whole speech. He got it together right as she finished up, but I didn't get to see her up there. :( I'm not sure if I was more sad or mad. But then, after we sat back down, I got over it--he looked up at me and said, "when we see Kayci? Somebody was scweamin!" Um, yeah...YOU.
Not a minute later, he's fast asleep standing up. Poor kid. (And the good news is, Kayci either didn't realize I wasn't there or didn't care, because she hasn't mentioned it.) I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the program, even with two 2 year olds in our row snoring. That was kind of funny, actually.
So I'm proud of my girl, and once again, shaking my head in disbelief over THAT KID.
Not a minute later, he's fast asleep standing up. Poor kid. (And the good news is, Kayci either didn't realize I wasn't there or didn't care, because she hasn't mentioned it.) I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the program, even with two 2 year olds in our row snoring. That was kind of funny, actually.
So I'm proud of my girl, and once again, shaking my head in disbelief over THAT KID.
24 February 2011
Standing Strong
When I was younger, I was such a foul weather friend for my best friend. She had some really rough times as we wrapped up college and started our grown up lives, and that totally fed my need to be needed and to "fix" things. (Ha! Like I really could, but I sure thought I could.) I had to grow up a LOT and break that cycle, which sucked at the time and hurt worse than any boyfriend break-up. There's more to the story, of course. Even though at the time I prided myself on marrying my best friend, I never quit sharing things with my girlfriend before I shared them with my Boy, just like when we were in college. If I was upset, I'd talk to her. If I was upset with my young husband, I'd talk to her. If I was excited about something, I'd talk to her. You probably spotted the pattern there pretty quick, right? Sadly for all of us, I didn't see it until my marriage almost ended. As we worked to reprioritize (why we got to that point is another post), it became clear to me that I talked about being married to my best friend, and I needed to walk my talk. As simple as it sounds, just talking to James more is part of what saved our marriage. Putting him above my friendship (talking to him FIRST...about good stuff and bad stuff, even the silly daily stuff) brought us so much closer and, as simple as it sounds, it still works for us more than a decade later.
My point--it's gotten away from me again. As I was driving on Tuesday, I had lots of time to think about Heather and her family and what they're going through right now. And I had a lot of time to think about me--how I want so badly to DO something for them, to HELP. And how it's not about ME at all. And the picture of trees came to me, and it became very clear...
In my young friendship, I worked so hard to block the wind and the rain and the elements so my friend would suffer less...but I blocked her sun, too, and ultimately she couldn't grow the way she needed to grow. Once I got out of the way, it took a while for her to find herself, but she did--and her life today is wonderful. After a time apart, we became friends again and it's so much better this time around because it's a healthy friendship. I don't try to "fix" her, and she doesn't try to "fix" me...we just stand beside each other through all the seasons of life.
And that's what I'm called to do, no matter how hard my loved one has it. I just have to stand strong beside them, and be here when/if they need a hand. I have to go through the storms with them, not for them.
Walking my talk this morning, as my heart breaks for my sweet friend and her family.
My point--it's gotten away from me again. As I was driving on Tuesday, I had lots of time to think about Heather and her family and what they're going through right now. And I had a lot of time to think about me--how I want so badly to DO something for them, to HELP. And how it's not about ME at all. And the picture of trees came to me, and it became very clear...
In my young friendship, I worked so hard to block the wind and the rain and the elements so my friend would suffer less...but I blocked her sun, too, and ultimately she couldn't grow the way she needed to grow. Once I got out of the way, it took a while for her to find herself, but she did--and her life today is wonderful. After a time apart, we became friends again and it's so much better this time around because it's a healthy friendship. I don't try to "fix" her, and she doesn't try to "fix" me...we just stand beside each other through all the seasons of life.
And that's what I'm called to do, no matter how hard my loved one has it. I just have to stand strong beside them, and be here when/if they need a hand. I have to go through the storms with them, not for them.
Walking my talk this morning, as my heart breaks for my sweet friend and her family.
22 February 2011
Pedi-cure
For an hour today, Kayci and I were thoroughly spoiled at our favorite nail place. Ahhhh....now that'll cure what ails ya!
Perspective
Yesterday was a looong day--I didn't sleep much Sunday night because of a fussy Bubby, and I think I just woke up kind of grumpy. Things didn't go as planned, some major work issues came up...it was a day-long stress test. I failed. Then I talked to a friend who is facing losing her father. And you know what? Instant perspective.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, sweet friend.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you, sweet friend.
21 February 2011
Coffee, Coffee, Everywhere...
There are coffee spots all over my kitchen, my hands look like I used self-tanner and didn't wash 'em, and I smelled instant coffee all night long in my sleep. Crap, I just looked down and I even have coffee on my favorite Luckenbach shirt!
Why, you ask? Because we're doing this...
Thanks to a great idea I got from this blog (thanks, me vs. the house!)...
...all for a this...
...and I'll show you more later. Remember 2 weeks ago at Addie's party when I remembered that Noble's party was, you know, 4 weeks from that day? Well...here we are less than 2 weeks out from his party and his invitations are just going out tomorrow. Sigh. I don't know how we manage to do this every stinkin' time. I've had the kitchen reserved since early fall...the theme in my head since the summer...and party prep has been in progress for the last two weeks. His favors are sitting in a big ol' box on my floor right now, just waiting for some gold paint (niiiiice, yes?). And yet, at this point, 0 people are coming to the party. We've told people about it, but it's just not the same as having an invitation stuck to your refrigerator reminding you.
Okay, enough whining. I'm home today with a sick Bubby, but so far this morning he's fever-free. It was just 24-hours, which is odd...no telling what's coming next. Or maybe that's it, and it's just a little cold. We'll see!
Crossing my fingers that Noble's well as of now...this week will be a little different and I don't have a lot of wiggle room, which is usually when someone gets sick or something happens, right? This is my wrap-up Region 4 week, which means I'll have a full week off before the next cycle begins--hooray! Noble and I are going in tomorrow since we have a Region 4 visit to our classrooms, which means that I'll be here on Wednesday while he's at school. I'm sooooooo looking forward to having several hours to WORK and wrap up some Motor Lab loose ends while he's at school, and some of my co-workers are stopping in Brenham to have lunch on their way to a conference. After school, Kayci and I are going to have a rare Mommy & Kayci date (Noble's always with me, not a bad thing, but a hard thing for a practically-only child to adjust to). That will be fun!
The silver lining? We had a full day planned yesterday, between church and a trip to Houston, but since Noble was sick, he had to stay home and rest. Which meant that I was homebound, as well, which meant that while he took a marathon nap I had time to finish up some PTO work for today and get into my work closet. I bought several sets of Sterilite drawers last week when we went to Target, and I have been dying to have time to get into my closet...but you know, when you start organizing, you make a ginormous mess. So I wasn't planning to have time to really work on it for a while, but I couldn't pass up the deal on the drawers. But...yesterday's unexpected day at home turned out to be a bonus day, and I got a LOT cleaned out of my closet and came up with a plan as far as what I need next. I still have a few seasonal tubs that need to go into drawers, and I need another set of scrapbook drawers to live under the desk in my room. (I'm so excited about scrapbooking with Kayci this summer--when I got the stuff off my closet shelf and started organizing it, it was like seeing old friends...we've got lots to work with!) But, of course, we have wayyyyyy more than I remembered, so I need some more space to get it down and get it organized so it's ready to go when we have some time.
Speaking of scrapbooking, friends, if any of you are like me and got sucked into it but have never followed through and you have stuff you want to get rid of, let's make a deal! I'd like circle cutters and corner cutters for sure, and I use tons of scrapbook paper for work stuff so I'm always looking for fun paper. E-mail or call me if you have stuff to unload and clean out YOUR closet!
I hope this is going to be a great week for all of us--happy Monday!
Why, you ask? Because we're doing this...
Thanks to a great idea I got from this blog (thanks, me vs. the house!)...
...all for a this...
...and I'll show you more later. Remember 2 weeks ago at Addie's party when I remembered that Noble's party was, you know, 4 weeks from that day? Well...here we are less than 2 weeks out from his party and his invitations are just going out tomorrow. Sigh. I don't know how we manage to do this every stinkin' time. I've had the kitchen reserved since early fall...the theme in my head since the summer...and party prep has been in progress for the last two weeks. His favors are sitting in a big ol' box on my floor right now, just waiting for some gold paint (niiiiice, yes?). And yet, at this point, 0 people are coming to the party. We've told people about it, but it's just not the same as having an invitation stuck to your refrigerator reminding you.
Okay, enough whining. I'm home today with a sick Bubby, but so far this morning he's fever-free. It was just 24-hours, which is odd...no telling what's coming next. Or maybe that's it, and it's just a little cold. We'll see!
Crossing my fingers that Noble's well as of now...this week will be a little different and I don't have a lot of wiggle room, which is usually when someone gets sick or something happens, right? This is my wrap-up Region 4 week, which means I'll have a full week off before the next cycle begins--hooray! Noble and I are going in tomorrow since we have a Region 4 visit to our classrooms, which means that I'll be here on Wednesday while he's at school. I'm sooooooo looking forward to having several hours to WORK and wrap up some Motor Lab loose ends while he's at school, and some of my co-workers are stopping in Brenham to have lunch on their way to a conference. After school, Kayci and I are going to have a rare Mommy & Kayci date (Noble's always with me, not a bad thing, but a hard thing for a practically-only child to adjust to). That will be fun!
The silver lining? We had a full day planned yesterday, between church and a trip to Houston, but since Noble was sick, he had to stay home and rest. Which meant that I was homebound, as well, which meant that while he took a marathon nap I had time to finish up some PTO work for today and get into my work closet. I bought several sets of Sterilite drawers last week when we went to Target, and I have been dying to have time to get into my closet...but you know, when you start organizing, you make a ginormous mess. So I wasn't planning to have time to really work on it for a while, but I couldn't pass up the deal on the drawers. But...yesterday's unexpected day at home turned out to be a bonus day, and I got a LOT cleaned out of my closet and came up with a plan as far as what I need next. I still have a few seasonal tubs that need to go into drawers, and I need another set of scrapbook drawers to live under the desk in my room. (I'm so excited about scrapbooking with Kayci this summer--when I got the stuff off my closet shelf and started organizing it, it was like seeing old friends...we've got lots to work with!) But, of course, we have wayyyyyy more than I remembered, so I need some more space to get it down and get it organized so it's ready to go when we have some time.
Speaking of scrapbooking, friends, if any of you are like me and got sucked into it but have never followed through and you have stuff you want to get rid of, let's make a deal! I'd like circle cutters and corner cutters for sure, and I use tons of scrapbook paper for work stuff so I'm always looking for fun paper. E-mail or call me if you have stuff to unload and clean out YOUR closet!
I hope this is going to be a great week for all of us--happy Monday!
16 February 2011
HoMe
I am so weary of driving to Houston, but I will never tire of turning the corner and seeing hOmE!
Melissa ROCKS!!!
First, the coffee. YUM!!! (I haven't mailed a thank you, yet--I suck!)
Then, this...
And these...
See that tube-y thing on the right? I frosted these cupcakes in less than a minute...seriously...with my Pampered Chef decorator. Which I only own because I admired Melissa's.
So, there they are: reasons 19,432 and 19,433 why Mel rocks!
Oh, and 19,434: she's started volunteering, doing cool stuff just to teach get kids the art of giving back. How awesome is she??
Then, this...
And these...
See that tube-y thing on the right? I frosted these cupcakes in less than a minute...seriously...with my Pampered Chef decorator. Which I only own because I admired Melissa's.
So, there they are: reasons 19,432 and 19,433 why Mel rocks!
Oh, and 19,434: she's started volunteering, doing cool stuff just to teach get kids the art of giving back. How awesome is she??
15 February 2011
That Girl!
Kayci had to do a project on a famous African-American, and she chose Thurgood Marshall (hooray!). This is her "doll" and report...which she typed on her typewriter because that's what Justice Marshall would do. Oh, that girl--I just love her!
On Friday, February 25th at 1:30, Kayci will recite the opening for Krause's Black History program. You're invited!
On Friday, February 25th at 1:30, Kayci will recite the opening for Krause's Black History program. You're invited!
Happy Valentine's Day!
I've been giggling like a little girl over this idea for the past month...let me start by saying I am 99% sure this is an idea I have seen somewhere in the past and filed away in my brain...I highly, highly doubt this is original in any way.
With that said, we have tons of faraway family. In the past few years I've been so bad about sending Valentines and Grandparents' Day Cards...you get the idea. One of my/our resolutions for 2011 is to be better about staying in touch, so I wanted to do something sweet from the kids for Valentine's Day.
We started with a trip to the dollar store for candy boxes. (FYI: each box came with 3 chocolates. We ate the caramels and...well, threw away the others.) I modpodged scrap paper to both sides of the box.
And printed fun address labels and modpodged them to the box...
I used my Silhouette to cut out tons of hearts from fun scrapbook paper, and my talented Boy to shoot some pics of the kids and create valentines with them. We always print our stuff at HEB--they do a great job and the price is right! For each valentine, I strung several hearts on sparkly yarn in the hopes of creating a banner that would string across a doorway or mirror...you get the idea.
So when they open the box and pull the loop, they'd pull out a string of hearts.
I haven't heard from anyone how they came through the mail--I hope the scotch tape on the sides held together well. :)
Just in case, a couple of hints on how to open the box. You never know...
And happy Valentine's day!
If you want to see the pictures we used, they're on our family blog today:
Sweet Day
aDisclaimer: this post is incomplete...these are just the pictures on my phone. I'll post the "real" pictures from James' camera later. He's in line at St. Paul's for Noble's registration and he gave me instructions but part of the instructions was something specifically about NOT doing something...um, I'm not up to all that pressure first thing. So here's a partial view of our day. It was a good one--but we literally ran from morning til bedtime. We were ALL ready for bed by the end of the day!
Kayci was so cute with her valentines (imagine picture here). Of course, since KAYCI had valentines...Noble had to have some, too. He grabbed the box of extras, and it's me so I couldn't see him carrying a box around, so I grabbed this bowl and threw them in there. Little did I know how many miles that bowl would travel yesterday!
After we took Kayci to school and did some stuff for PTO, Noble and I went to Starbucks and got Daddy a happy. I saw these awesome downloadable coffee sleeve valentines on How About Orange last week, and I couldn't wait to use one. Of course, we're not French-cool, so I colored over j'etaime and wrote "we love you big" on the heart and I couldn't resist an "I love you a latte" on there, too! What was funny was that I had planned on Noble taking valentines to the ladies at the Germania front desk and our friends in the credit union. But he insisted on taking the bowl in. Then Daddy was like, let's give one to Matt, let's give one to Jolie, let's go upstairs...and Noble gave Valentines out everywhere. As he was getting down to the last few, he kept looking at me, and I knew exactly what he was thinking--he didn't want to give them to grownups because he wanted to take them to Emma and Beckett. So I assured him we had more (we didn't, but we went and bought some and cut out some more lips & mustaches) and he happily gave the last ones away. It was fun, and I will never tire of hearing that kid say, "happy vawentimes day!" We need to record that, Boy!
After we went to the store to grab some more suckers, we came home to find a big red box on our doorstep (a happy care package from Melissa...or, as Noble said, Mowwy and Cowe!) and a mailbox full of love. Melissa sent some handmedowns to Noble, but also included a happy for each of us. Kayci got these cool colored pencils and a couple of lip glosses (they smelled good, Mel--she went to bed last night smelling like a party!), Noble got an awesome Julius hat and gloves, and Daddyboy and I got...drumroll...the best coffee in Texas, Guenther House. Aw, Melissa, you know us all so well! Thank you so much...and Noble TOTALLY slept in size 4t Cars pjs last night after much screaming. :)
And in the mailbox, I found this gorgeous red velvet cupcake from my friend Mitzie, who's just awesome. Sadly, though, the cupcake was immediately consumed by a certain 2 year old who shall remain nameless. I was happily going through the box from Melissa when I looked down and saw just a ginormous pile of cupcake crumbs and one little boy covered in frosting. RED frosting. I told him to stand still so I could go get something to clean up. (This picture is actually after I swept up the crumbs, right before I started wiping...) When I started cleaning up the crumbs, Noble thought he would help by cleaning himself off.
With one of my white Valentine's Day dishtowels. :)
He had fun opening his vawentime from Grandma, but promptly hid the card (and ran off with the money). We totally felt the love yesterday, from phone calls (Aunt Peggy called early on Sunday, Jhido called during breakfast, Great Grandma called while we were at dinner, and Aunt Susan texted and sent a photo of her little valentine, Avery) and a mailbox full of cards from Grandma. :) Thanks, everyone!
After opening the fun mail and whipping up a few more mustaches and lips, we headed over to the Parkers for a Valentines playdate. It was a gorgeous morning, and we played and ate outside...lots of fun with new and old friends. Thanks, Lauren, for a lovely morning! The Daddys caught the tail end of it, too, and it was fun to see them during the day. A funny thing happened--the Parkers' home is like, Architectural Digest/Martha Stewart gorgeous (the opposite of our house!). I had the bright idea to make heart crayons with the kids...and all went well, until we went to cool the silicone mold--and my Wilton mold bit the dust, pouring blue wax across their slate floor, oven and stove. Cringeworthy. We got a lot of it up, but seriously? Horrible!
By the time we finished with our playdate, it was time to head to Krause for Kayci's party. Once Noble woke up (he took a short nap), he was so happy to see Mason!
Really happy--this is so much more him than the fake smile in the first picture. By this time, his mohawk was long gone. Don't tell him!
While we were at Kayci's school, we saw something so touching: a mother seeing her son for the first time since he was deployed overseas. One of the teacher's sons came home yesterday, and I don't think there was a dry eye in the office when he stepped in (with flowers, he's a good boy!). It just reminded me again that this war may be far away, but it's real and people we know are out there risking their lives for us everyday.
Heather's dad is very, very sick so she's been back and forth from the hospital and it's been a crazy few weeks for them. Someone gave her a bottle of ChocoVine (chocolate red wine?) for Valentine's Day, so we felt obligated to try some. Despite what the picture looks like, we didn't go on a rampage through the kids' candy and get liquored up. :) We each had a sip...and thank goodness, because that stuff was more like chocolate rubbing alcohol. We agreed to try it again another time with ice...I mean, we owe it to the person who gave it to Heather, right?
Then it was home for a quick change to take Kayci to gymnastics. We decided to go to Family Storytime at the library while we were waiting...here are my boys singing "Skidamarink."
And then it was dinner at Big Daddy's (yum--thanks, Grandma!) and home to bed. All in all, great day start to finish. I don't know why I detailed it all here...I think because I'm gearing up to get started on scrapbooking, and I am feeling the need to document better. We'll see how that goes.
Hope YOU had a great Valentine's Day!
Kayci was so cute with her valentines (imagine picture here). Of course, since KAYCI had valentines...Noble had to have some, too. He grabbed the box of extras, and it's me so I couldn't see him carrying a box around, so I grabbed this bowl and threw them in there. Little did I know how many miles that bowl would travel yesterday!
After we took Kayci to school and did some stuff for PTO, Noble and I went to Starbucks and got Daddy a happy. I saw these awesome downloadable coffee sleeve valentines on How About Orange last week, and I couldn't wait to use one. Of course, we're not French-cool, so I colored over j'etaime and wrote "we love you big" on the heart and I couldn't resist an "I love you a latte" on there, too! What was funny was that I had planned on Noble taking valentines to the ladies at the Germania front desk and our friends in the credit union. But he insisted on taking the bowl in. Then Daddy was like, let's give one to Matt, let's give one to Jolie, let's go upstairs...and Noble gave Valentines out everywhere. As he was getting down to the last few, he kept looking at me, and I knew exactly what he was thinking--he didn't want to give them to grownups because he wanted to take them to Emma and Beckett. So I assured him we had more (we didn't, but we went and bought some and cut out some more lips & mustaches) and he happily gave the last ones away. It was fun, and I will never tire of hearing that kid say, "happy vawentimes day!" We need to record that, Boy!
After we went to the store to grab some more suckers, we came home to find a big red box on our doorstep (a happy care package from Melissa...or, as Noble said, Mowwy and Cowe!) and a mailbox full of love. Melissa sent some handmedowns to Noble, but also included a happy for each of us. Kayci got these cool colored pencils and a couple of lip glosses (they smelled good, Mel--she went to bed last night smelling like a party!), Noble got an awesome Julius hat and gloves, and Daddyboy and I got...drumroll...the best coffee in Texas, Guenther House. Aw, Melissa, you know us all so well! Thank you so much...and Noble TOTALLY slept in size 4t Cars pjs last night after much screaming. :)
And in the mailbox, I found this gorgeous red velvet cupcake from my friend Mitzie, who's just awesome. Sadly, though, the cupcake was immediately consumed by a certain 2 year old who shall remain nameless. I was happily going through the box from Melissa when I looked down and saw just a ginormous pile of cupcake crumbs and one little boy covered in frosting. RED frosting. I told him to stand still so I could go get something to clean up. (This picture is actually after I swept up the crumbs, right before I started wiping...) When I started cleaning up the crumbs, Noble thought he would help by cleaning himself off.
With one of my white Valentine's Day dishtowels. :)
He had fun opening his vawentime from Grandma, but promptly hid the card (and ran off with the money). We totally felt the love yesterday, from phone calls (Aunt Peggy called early on Sunday, Jhido called during breakfast, Great Grandma called while we were at dinner, and Aunt Susan texted and sent a photo of her little valentine, Avery) and a mailbox full of cards from Grandma. :) Thanks, everyone!
After opening the fun mail and whipping up a few more mustaches and lips, we headed over to the Parkers for a Valentines playdate. It was a gorgeous morning, and we played and ate outside...lots of fun with new and old friends. Thanks, Lauren, for a lovely morning! The Daddys caught the tail end of it, too, and it was fun to see them during the day. A funny thing happened--the Parkers' home is like, Architectural Digest/Martha Stewart gorgeous (the opposite of our house!). I had the bright idea to make heart crayons with the kids...and all went well, until we went to cool the silicone mold--and my Wilton mold bit the dust, pouring blue wax across their slate floor, oven and stove. Cringeworthy. We got a lot of it up, but seriously? Horrible!
By the time we finished with our playdate, it was time to head to Krause for Kayci's party. Once Noble woke up (he took a short nap), he was so happy to see Mason!
Really happy--this is so much more him than the fake smile in the first picture. By this time, his mohawk was long gone. Don't tell him!
While we were at Kayci's school, we saw something so touching: a mother seeing her son for the first time since he was deployed overseas. One of the teacher's sons came home yesterday, and I don't think there was a dry eye in the office when he stepped in (with flowers, he's a good boy!). It just reminded me again that this war may be far away, but it's real and people we know are out there risking their lives for us everyday.
Heather's dad is very, very sick so she's been back and forth from the hospital and it's been a crazy few weeks for them. Someone gave her a bottle of ChocoVine (chocolate red wine?) for Valentine's Day, so we felt obligated to try some. Despite what the picture looks like, we didn't go on a rampage through the kids' candy and get liquored up. :) We each had a sip...and thank goodness, because that stuff was more like chocolate rubbing alcohol. We agreed to try it again another time with ice...I mean, we owe it to the person who gave it to Heather, right?
Then it was home for a quick change to take Kayci to gymnastics. We decided to go to Family Storytime at the library while we were waiting...here are my boys singing "Skidamarink."
And then it was dinner at Big Daddy's (yum--thanks, Grandma!) and home to bed. All in all, great day start to finish. I don't know why I detailed it all here...I think because I'm gearing up to get started on scrapbooking, and I am feeling the need to document better. We'll see how that goes.
Hope YOU had a great Valentine's Day!
12 February 2011
Handy List
This morning I woke up with a plan to wrap up my report. Then I saw my to-do list from yesterday, and you know how that ended up. (We've met, right?) And then a few minutes ago I washed my hands and wondered if anyone else does...this:
During the PTO meeting yesterday, I was charged with e-mailing a couple of people, so I wrote it on my hand so I'd see it and DO it. I couldn't reach my list/notebook in my purse due to a sleeping Bubby in my lap, and I knew if I wrote it on my PTO stuff chances were good I wouldn't look at it again until the next meeting. It's wrong, I know...but seriously, does anyone else do this? I love, love lists and paper and anything stationery-related, but this is one habit I find I just can't quit. I can't quit ya, hand.
So I'll wash it off in the shower this morning and start fresh today. I don't plan to write on my hand today, but who knows--something important might come up. :)
During the PTO meeting yesterday, I was charged with e-mailing a couple of people, so I wrote it on my hand so I'd see it and DO it. I couldn't reach my list/notebook in my purse due to a sleeping Bubby in my lap, and I knew if I wrote it on my PTO stuff chances were good I wouldn't look at it again until the next meeting. It's wrong, I know...but seriously, does anyone else do this? I love, love lists and paper and anything stationery-related, but this is one habit I find I just can't quit. I can't quit ya, hand.
So I'll wash it off in the shower this morning and start fresh today. I don't plan to write on my hand today, but who knows--something important might come up. :)
11 February 2011
Phone Find
I was just scrolling through my phone looking for something, and I came across this. I'm wondering, why is it dark? And where was he, in the dark, with my phone? If I wasn't supposed to be writing a report right now, I'd totally make up a whole story to go with this photo.
Oh, who am I kidding?
When we last saw our hero, NobleyObley was trapped in the laundry hamper of doom. Dirty clothes were pressing in from all sides, and strangely, the trash compactor music from Star Wars was playing in the background. (How do they always DO that?, our hero thinks to himself.) Our hero was tired and stinky and just about to give up...when suddenly, the hamper door opened. And whoever opened the door heard, "get out my cwubhouse!" The door closed, and then the stinky laundry started pressing in again from all sides, and our hero managed to find the phone and snap this picture. Will he get out of the hamper in one not-squished piece? Join our hero for the next installment of...Adventures of NobleyObley!
(Cue hero music.)
Oh, who am I kidding?
When we last saw our hero, NobleyObley was trapped in the laundry hamper of doom. Dirty clothes were pressing in from all sides, and strangely, the trash compactor music from Star Wars was playing in the background. (How do they always DO that?, our hero thinks to himself.) Our hero was tired and stinky and just about to give up...when suddenly, the hamper door opened. And whoever opened the door heard, "get out my cwubhouse!" The door closed, and then the stinky laundry started pressing in again from all sides, and our hero managed to find the phone and snap this picture. Will he get out of the hamper in one not-squished piece? Join our hero for the next installment of...Adventures of NobleyObley!
(Cue hero music.)
10 February 2011
Bonus Family Time!
Yesterday was kind of a weird day...I was supposed to go to work, then found out the day before that I'd spaced and forgotten about a Region 4 workshop. We had a PPCD meeting/baby shower planned after school, so it was supposed to be a late night for me. So, then the weather reports started talking about ice on Wednesday, and after getting burned on the whole snowpocalypse (thanks for the term, Ronny), I was like, forget it--I'm going in! So I did. And the workshop was aMaZiNg--like, I built a blueprint for next year in my head amazing, girls. And I got to spend some time with Tammy and Cyndi (my supervisors) and talk a little about what's been on my mind: spending more time in Brenham and less on the road. I feel like a weight has been lifted, just getting it out there. So we'll see what happens next, but so far, it looks good!
Right when we were dismissed for lunch, I got a text and a phone call--there was ice in Brenham, and both kids' schools were shutting down. James had the kids handled, so I made some calls to assess the road situation and headed for home. It wasn't a bad drive at all, luckily, and kind of like Thursday and Friday--pretty underwhelming. Thank God, because I was really dreading driving on ice (which I only SAW once). What's funny is right when I was like, this isn't bad at all!, I realized that my car was iced over. Like, couldn't use the windshield wipers. Then when I got home, all of the doors were frozen shut! You Yankees can laugh, but that just doesn't happen here but once a year or less. :)
When I got home, it was such a relief to see James' truck in the driveway (it was a big, black ice cube!). He made yummy potato soup for lunch, and then we all took a nap. A looooooooong nap, apparently, because we woke up at 5:00 (yikes!). Noble actually slept a little longer, which meant that he woke up g-r-u-m-p-y. By that time we were getting hungry, so James and I went over our options and decided we'd save time on making dinner (he'd run across to Subway) and then use that 20 minutes to tackle the linen closet. You heard me...
For months (truth be told, probably about a year...tell you why I said that in a minute), we've been fighting a ginormous PILE in the linen closet. Our very small linen closet. Every time we had company or it got really cold and we needed an extra blanket, whoever opened the linen closet door would fight the pile and try to keep it all from tumbling out into the hall, then fight to get the door closed. It was a battle every time, let me tell ya.
We pulled everything out, and it felt like a magicians hat...the stuff just kept coming and coming and coming...and then we sorted it all out to take some stuff that we don't use to storage (we only have 2 beds, and 2 extra mattresses...and we had, seriously, 15 sets of sheets. I don't KNOW why...) and two black bags that can go away to storage. There's some really good stuff in there that won't do us much good in this house, so we sent that to storage to. (By "sent to storage," I mean, "stacked in the dining room" until I can get to it tomorrow. You know.)
I suck at before pictures, because I'm always ready to plow right in. So here's the after, which really, isn't as impressive since you didn't see before. This closet is nice because it has shelves all the way to the ceiling--even James has to get a chair to reach them!
Oh! And look what we found waiting at the bottom--this gorgeous valentine is a gift from my Mom. (The lighting is off because it's early and dark in here, but you get the idea.) Wish I'd found it a few weeks ago...there's incentive to keep organized...
Looks a little familiar, right? That's because it has a little sister who lives on our table this time of year (pardon our mess):
On Tuesday I tackled the pantry--the down below part where I store all of the extra paper goods and party stuff and extra ziplocs and stuff--and that feels GREAT...I hate to admit, there was still a mess in one of the containers down there from when Noble was a bAbY! Talk about procrastinating! Next up, and James is tickled about this (not!)...the pots & pans cabinet. He doesn't know it, but we're totally doing that tomorrow night. Or Sunday...but definitely before Monday. :)
This weekend the kids and I are going to IKEA (James is judging VASE on Saturday) to get more storage drawers to go beside my desk. I've got stuff kind of floating around everywhere and it's getting to me...not to mention that my side of the closet is overflowing with scrapbooks, supplies, and things that need to be scrapbooked. I've decided that scrapbooking is going to be my summer project with Kayci (if Noble can go to school one day a week, that is), so I want to get organized. That's one thing about a small home...we don't have a place where works in progress can live, so we have to be organized to pull stuff out and put it back when we're done. :)
Alrighty...off to the shower! The kids and I are having an adventure today, thanks to Amy & Kristin--can't wait!
Right when we were dismissed for lunch, I got a text and a phone call--there was ice in Brenham, and both kids' schools were shutting down. James had the kids handled, so I made some calls to assess the road situation and headed for home. It wasn't a bad drive at all, luckily, and kind of like Thursday and Friday--pretty underwhelming. Thank God, because I was really dreading driving on ice (which I only SAW once). What's funny is right when I was like, this isn't bad at all!, I realized that my car was iced over. Like, couldn't use the windshield wipers. Then when I got home, all of the doors were frozen shut! You Yankees can laugh, but that just doesn't happen here but once a year or less. :)
When I got home, it was such a relief to see James' truck in the driveway (it was a big, black ice cube!). He made yummy potato soup for lunch, and then we all took a nap. A looooooooong nap, apparently, because we woke up at 5:00 (yikes!). Noble actually slept a little longer, which meant that he woke up g-r-u-m-p-y. By that time we were getting hungry, so James and I went over our options and decided we'd save time on making dinner (he'd run across to Subway) and then use that 20 minutes to tackle the linen closet. You heard me...
For months (truth be told, probably about a year...tell you why I said that in a minute), we've been fighting a ginormous PILE in the linen closet. Our very small linen closet. Every time we had company or it got really cold and we needed an extra blanket, whoever opened the linen closet door would fight the pile and try to keep it all from tumbling out into the hall, then fight to get the door closed. It was a battle every time, let me tell ya.
We pulled everything out, and it felt like a magicians hat...the stuff just kept coming and coming and coming...and then we sorted it all out to take some stuff that we don't use to storage (we only have 2 beds, and 2 extra mattresses...and we had, seriously, 15 sets of sheets. I don't KNOW why...) and two black bags that can go away to storage. There's some really good stuff in there that won't do us much good in this house, so we sent that to storage to. (By "sent to storage," I mean, "stacked in the dining room" until I can get to it tomorrow. You know.)
I suck at before pictures, because I'm always ready to plow right in. So here's the after, which really, isn't as impressive since you didn't see before. This closet is nice because it has shelves all the way to the ceiling--even James has to get a chair to reach them!
Oh! And look what we found waiting at the bottom--this gorgeous valentine is a gift from my Mom. (The lighting is off because it's early and dark in here, but you get the idea.) Wish I'd found it a few weeks ago...there's incentive to keep organized...
Looks a little familiar, right? That's because it has a little sister who lives on our table this time of year (pardon our mess):
On Tuesday I tackled the pantry--the down below part where I store all of the extra paper goods and party stuff and extra ziplocs and stuff--and that feels GREAT...I hate to admit, there was still a mess in one of the containers down there from when Noble was a bAbY! Talk about procrastinating! Next up, and James is tickled about this (not!)...the pots & pans cabinet. He doesn't know it, but we're totally doing that tomorrow night. Or Sunday...but definitely before Monday. :)
This weekend the kids and I are going to IKEA (James is judging VASE on Saturday) to get more storage drawers to go beside my desk. I've got stuff kind of floating around everywhere and it's getting to me...not to mention that my side of the closet is overflowing with scrapbooks, supplies, and things that need to be scrapbooked. I've decided that scrapbooking is going to be my summer project with Kayci (if Noble can go to school one day a week, that is), so I want to get organized. That's one thing about a small home...we don't have a place where works in progress can live, so we have to be organized to pull stuff out and put it back when we're done. :)
Alrighty...off to the shower! The kids and I are having an adventure today, thanks to Amy & Kristin--can't wait!
08 February 2011
It's official: I'm out of heat transfer. For now :).
It's been a whirlwind few days around here, but in a good way. I've got several things going for Valentines, and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get everything wrapped up and sent off today. BUT...I just have to remember that it's all about baby steps. Or, as Dr. Bohan used to say, "one step at a time, boys, one step at a time..." I'm getting my work done, have had some great time with the kids, the house is company-ready...but I've also been running the heck out of my Silhouette to take care of several gifts. Wanna see? You know you do...
Today was Kayci's teacher's baby's first birthday (not to be confused with her sister's cousin's girlfriend's). Kayci loooooooves Mrs. Koehler, and so do we--she has totally lived up to what we expect from the awesome teachers of KES, and I love that she'll text me and keep me updated if Kayci needs something or is just having a particularly awesome day. How wonderful is she?? And this is her first kiddo...remember how fun it is? Heck, I'm on my second kiddo and I still get excited over every little thing! Geez, can you tell I really need to be working right now? I'm babbly.
So...didn't get in to Houston last Thursday/Friday as planned due to the weather (or, you know, what the weather was supposed to be), so I wasn't able to get the t-shirt I wanted for Kannon. I was able to find some tees at WalMart (which is actually usually the first place I look, but I didn't want a pocket tee and I thought that's all they had). Here's the thing: these are 2T/3Ts, but Kannon wears an 18 months-24 months. But, I was that guy and totally busted open the t-shirt package to compare sizing. Sure enough, these tees are shorter than the 24 month tee I had in my hand...so I went with these because of the no pocket. (Skipping ahead, I was making this shirt all night in my head last night, and come to think of it, a pocket would have been cute...I'll have to make what I'm thinking about NEXT time!) Geez again...let's get to it already, right?
I'd had this design in mind for a few days, and this was the first try. But--right as I got to the end, I peeled the vinyl too quickly and messed it up a bit. I went ahead and finished setting it and thought, well, surely Bubby can wear it ONCE even though it's a little small, don't want to waste a great shirt. And he could have worn it...
...but I had this aWeSoMe idea that I'd wash and dry the shirt to see if it beefed up a bit. Sure did! And it also shrank. But seriously, it was totally worth it to get this shot:
Priceless! He was so happy, and so TICKED when I took it off of him. Remember Chris Farley's fat guy in a little coat? Hearing it right now? I'm sending it on to another friend who's a little smaller, but too cute--can't wait to see him in it! :) Since I had a 2nd chance on Kannon's shirt, I made the tie a little bigger and personalized his tie with a little "k"--see it down there in the corner? I like quirky little things like that. :)
Tomorrow I'm hosting a smallish baby shower/sprinkle for one of the teachers at work. It's a diapers & wipes kinda deal, but you know I can't resist baby clothes...so I made up a couple of onesies for baby Avery. (I know her Mommy doesn't read my blog. But if you do, surprise!)
Remember this from Kayci & Addie? I like it alone for a little one, too.
I think either onesie would have been a cute gift, but put it all together...I'm so happy to give this to Avery's Mommy tomorrow. Cute and practical--fun!
And what shower would be complete without favors? I went with a Valentine-y theme because that's the stuff that's accessible and affordable right now (read: $1 everywhere!)...thought that it would be fun to do something with conversation hearts candy. You know, Sweethearts? So, first I wrapped the boxes in scrap paper and added a band to make them a little more interesting...
...then added some tulle and fun tags (on a background of conversation hearts, the date, "welcoming Suzanne's little sweetheart, Avery.") Simple, affordable, and cute enough for me!
Some of our good friends have a new baby, and I've been holding off on a baby gift because I wanted to make something. So, surprise, if you're reading this, which I don't think you do--this little lady has a fun package coming in the mail! I love, love these $2 onesies from WalMart--they are soft and cute. I've actually gifted them before with $8 monograms on them--this is way better, I think. Here's a pink one:
And a lavender one:
And here's the best part: they sell matching clippy bows. Who doesn't love bows??
There's more, but it'll have to wait until after the Valentine's Day surprises are no longer surprises. :D
I hope you're having a great week. Mine has been great so far, but it's gone too fast...time for 2 days of work in Houston now. The good news is, Noble gets to go with me on Thursday to spend the day with two of my favorite teachers and friends, so I'm totally looking forward to that. And I've got something pretty big on my to-do list this week, so please keep that in your prayers. I know God's gone ahead of me here, as Paula says...now all I have to do is go where He's told me to go. Wish me luck! And peace...and strength...
Today was Kayci's teacher's baby's first birthday (not to be confused with her sister's cousin's girlfriend's). Kayci loooooooves Mrs. Koehler, and so do we--she has totally lived up to what we expect from the awesome teachers of KES, and I love that she'll text me and keep me updated if Kayci needs something or is just having a particularly awesome day. How wonderful is she?? And this is her first kiddo...remember how fun it is? Heck, I'm on my second kiddo and I still get excited over every little thing! Geez, can you tell I really need to be working right now? I'm babbly.
So...didn't get in to Houston last Thursday/Friday as planned due to the weather (or, you know, what the weather was supposed to be), so I wasn't able to get the t-shirt I wanted for Kannon. I was able to find some tees at WalMart (which is actually usually the first place I look, but I didn't want a pocket tee and I thought that's all they had). Here's the thing: these are 2T/3Ts, but Kannon wears an 18 months-24 months. But, I was that guy and totally busted open the t-shirt package to compare sizing. Sure enough, these tees are shorter than the 24 month tee I had in my hand...so I went with these because of the no pocket. (Skipping ahead, I was making this shirt all night in my head last night, and come to think of it, a pocket would have been cute...I'll have to make what I'm thinking about NEXT time!) Geez again...let's get to it already, right?
I'd had this design in mind for a few days, and this was the first try. But--right as I got to the end, I peeled the vinyl too quickly and messed it up a bit. I went ahead and finished setting it and thought, well, surely Bubby can wear it ONCE even though it's a little small, don't want to waste a great shirt. And he could have worn it...
...but I had this aWeSoMe idea that I'd wash and dry the shirt to see if it beefed up a bit. Sure did! And it also shrank. But seriously, it was totally worth it to get this shot:
Priceless! He was so happy, and so TICKED when I took it off of him. Remember Chris Farley's fat guy in a little coat? Hearing it right now? I'm sending it on to another friend who's a little smaller, but too cute--can't wait to see him in it! :) Since I had a 2nd chance on Kannon's shirt, I made the tie a little bigger and personalized his tie with a little "k"--see it down there in the corner? I like quirky little things like that. :)
Tomorrow I'm hosting a smallish baby shower/sprinkle for one of the teachers at work. It's a diapers & wipes kinda deal, but you know I can't resist baby clothes...so I made up a couple of onesies for baby Avery. (I know her Mommy doesn't read my blog. But if you do, surprise!)
Remember this from Kayci & Addie? I like it alone for a little one, too.
I think either onesie would have been a cute gift, but put it all together...I'm so happy to give this to Avery's Mommy tomorrow. Cute and practical--fun!
And what shower would be complete without favors? I went with a Valentine-y theme because that's the stuff that's accessible and affordable right now (read: $1 everywhere!)...thought that it would be fun to do something with conversation hearts candy. You know, Sweethearts? So, first I wrapped the boxes in scrap paper and added a band to make them a little more interesting...
...then added some tulle and fun tags (on a background of conversation hearts, the date, "welcoming Suzanne's little sweetheart, Avery.") Simple, affordable, and cute enough for me!
Some of our good friends have a new baby, and I've been holding off on a baby gift because I wanted to make something. So, surprise, if you're reading this, which I don't think you do--this little lady has a fun package coming in the mail! I love, love these $2 onesies from WalMart--they are soft and cute. I've actually gifted them before with $8 monograms on them--this is way better, I think. Here's a pink one:
And a lavender one:
And here's the best part: they sell matching clippy bows. Who doesn't love bows??
There's more, but it'll have to wait until after the Valentine's Day surprises are no longer surprises. :D
I hope you're having a great week. Mine has been great so far, but it's gone too fast...time for 2 days of work in Houston now. The good news is, Noble gets to go with me on Thursday to spend the day with two of my favorite teachers and friends, so I'm totally looking forward to that. And I've got something pretty big on my to-do list this week, so please keep that in your prayers. I know God's gone ahead of me here, as Paula says...now all I have to do is go where He's told me to go. Wish me luck! And peace...and strength...
05 February 2011
Sooooooo Worth the Wait!!
I was finally able to order heat transfer for my Silhouette...translation: the stuff that makes t-shirts! I wasn't expecting it until next week, which made it that much more awesome when Fed-Ex knocked on the door Thursday morning. (If you're keeping up, Thursday was fairly stressful between work and a sick Bitty, so this truly was a happy!)
Anyway...I started playing. And made some mistakes, and kept playing and learning...and all in all, I'm happy with what we've done so far. We, I say, because James and Kayci have helped. :)
All along I'd planned to make shirts for a few special birthdays this month. I'd had a design in mind for Addie, then I liked it so much I made one for Kayci, too. I forgot to snap a picture of Addie's before her party today, but here's Kayci's (shirt #2 off the line):
A note...at this point, I was still popping out each letter and lining them up manually. I had an a-ha moment when I started on Kynli's onesie...what if I left my design intact, and peeled away the extra surrounding it? Oh, yeah--much better! But another note: I won't use Curlz again unless it's much, much bigger--it was hard to weed!
Here's #3, for Kristin's Kissyface. So not waiting for her birthday--this one's going in the mail Monday! Enjoy, Kynli--Ms. Kristi loves you big!
And by this time, we were having fun. Noble realllllly wiked Kayci's heart tee, but I hadn't planned on putting a heart in his design. Oh, well...we couldn't resist him! This one was fun because we brainstormed fun things that fit Noble, then James did the design and I recreated it for the shirt. I'm sorry, girls, but this one is my absolute favorite so far!!
(This morning when I showed it to him, I said, "this says, looking for love." Sure enough, Noble said, "oh, wookin' for wuv! I wike it...and there's my heart!" Ah, a happy customer!)
While we were at Addie's party today, it hit home that Noble's party is ONE MONTH FROM TODAY...so after nap we finalized the guest list, finished picking his party favors and ordered them, and I used the design we created a few weeks ago for his party logo to make this:
I love it!!!! It looks even cooler than our paper mock-ups. :D
And finally, to surprise my Boy with another "thank you" for my Silhouette, time to play, and my life in general, I made this one for myself:
Because it was for me and on an older t-shirt, I felt comfortable experimenting with layering the colors. It was easy and looks great--I'll definitely expand on that type of design later!
My heart is happy, and the Silhouette is all I'd hoped it would be! The paper stuff I've created since my birthday has been fun, but there's just nothing like vinyl. And speaking of, I also have a couple rolls of adhesive vinyl calling my name right now...but they're going to have to wait until I start rolling on birthday pennants for Bubby.
I'll leave you with a peek at the projects the kids and I are working on for Valentine happys:
Happy weekend, friends! Hope you're spending time with people you love, doing things that make your heart happy. <3
Anyway...I started playing. And made some mistakes, and kept playing and learning...and all in all, I'm happy with what we've done so far. We, I say, because James and Kayci have helped. :)
All along I'd planned to make shirts for a few special birthdays this month. I'd had a design in mind for Addie, then I liked it so much I made one for Kayci, too. I forgot to snap a picture of Addie's before her party today, but here's Kayci's (shirt #2 off the line):
A note...at this point, I was still popping out each letter and lining them up manually. I had an a-ha moment when I started on Kynli's onesie...what if I left my design intact, and peeled away the extra surrounding it? Oh, yeah--much better! But another note: I won't use Curlz again unless it's much, much bigger--it was hard to weed!
Here's #3, for Kristin's Kissyface. So not waiting for her birthday--this one's going in the mail Monday! Enjoy, Kynli--Ms. Kristi loves you big!
And by this time, we were having fun. Noble realllllly wiked Kayci's heart tee, but I hadn't planned on putting a heart in his design. Oh, well...we couldn't resist him! This one was fun because we brainstormed fun things that fit Noble, then James did the design and I recreated it for the shirt. I'm sorry, girls, but this one is my absolute favorite so far!!
(This morning when I showed it to him, I said, "this says, looking for love." Sure enough, Noble said, "oh, wookin' for wuv! I wike it...and there's my heart!" Ah, a happy customer!)
While we were at Addie's party today, it hit home that Noble's party is ONE MONTH FROM TODAY...so after nap we finalized the guest list, finished picking his party favors and ordered them, and I used the design we created a few weeks ago for his party logo to make this:
I love it!!!! It looks even cooler than our paper mock-ups. :D
And finally, to surprise my Boy with another "thank you" for my Silhouette, time to play, and my life in general, I made this one for myself:
Because it was for me and on an older t-shirt, I felt comfortable experimenting with layering the colors. It was easy and looks great--I'll definitely expand on that type of design later!
My heart is happy, and the Silhouette is all I'd hoped it would be! The paper stuff I've created since my birthday has been fun, but there's just nothing like vinyl. And speaking of, I also have a couple rolls of adhesive vinyl calling my name right now...but they're going to have to wait until I start rolling on birthday pennants for Bubby.
I'll leave you with a peek at the projects the kids and I are working on for Valentine happys:
Happy weekend, friends! Hope you're spending time with people you love, doing things that make your heart happy. <3
03 February 2011
This is a Test
(image: foxnews.com)
I love cold weather, and I think snow is lots of fun (unless I'm in a vehicle driving in it...in which case, ulcer alert!). I try to live in the moment and not stress too much about what's next, and I try to realize that when my plans aren't God's plans, I need to reevaluate.
But seriously? I had big work plans this week. Plans that meant that what we've been working on night and day all flipping year was finally coming to fruition, with a grand opening this Friday. Tomorrow. Plans that included a drive to Houston today and tomorrow. Plans that involved being able to access a server yesterday that kept shutting down because of the rolling power outages.
There...it's out of my system for now.
I can be patient. I can go with the flow. And once I know if tomorrow is cancelled, I can let go of this stress and enjoy this time with my children. One of whom may be sick...sigh. Again, I can be patient. I can go with the flow.
Or, in the words of Joe Scruggs, "I am a willow. I can bend."
Bending...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
