Buh Bye . . .

Shovels . . . at the ready.

Sugary cereal . . . bought.

Competitive spirit . . . always.

Swimsuits . . . on.

Castle architectural plans . . . mentally rendered.

Home . . . locked up.

Mail . . . stopped.

Fish . . . fed.

Car . . . fueled.

Nutter Butters . . . duh.

Life . . . on hold.

Beach . . . here we come.

 

 

ps.  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.  I’ll be thinking of you while I enjoy the sun and surf in Bethany.

Frustration . . .

 

A few nights ago I came upon RedDog making his lunch for school the following day.  He was at the end of his preparations, carefully spreading peanut butter and honey on wheat bread.  I had the camera in my hand to download some pictures on the computer and shot this series of photos while hidden from his view by the staircase.

The sheer determination my boy had when it came to getting the sandwich in the bag was inspiring.  When the first try didn’t work, he used a different tactic.  And then another and even one more before he got his sandwich {albeit a bit smooshed} into the bag.

I came around the corner, complimented his great efforts, kissed his wet head and sent him off to brush his teeth. The night went on, but his experience stayed with me.

Why didn’t he get frustrated?  Why didn’t he call for help or even just mutter under his breath? Why didn’t he give up?  These would be my normal reactions in a situation where I couldn’t seem to find a solution no matter how many different ways I tried.  He, on the other hand, was calm, persistent and focused on accomplishing the one goal. 

I have so much to learn from my little ones. Almost daily I am faced with at least one situation that ends in frustration and disappointment.  But I have new resolve to calm myself, try another tactic to help me accomplish what I’ve set out to do, remain persistent and stay focused on the goal at hand.  My results may not be perfect.  They may end up a little smooshed from time to time. But if the smile on my RedDog’s face is any indication, I’m pretty sure I will feel proud of what I’ve done.

Ten Months . . .

And ten things you can do:

10. Pick up Cheerios {or any food} with your thumb and index finger followed by a full fist shove into the mouth.

9. Say mama and dada and actually mean me or dad.

8. Stand up in your crib to greet me with a huge grin after your morning nap.

7. Roll a ball back and forth with me.

6. Climb up stairs {which needs to stop immediately}.

5. Twist and turn like a contortionist while having your diaper changed.

4.  Lift the flaps in your little books to see what’s hiding underneath.

3. Drink from a sippy cup.

2. Hear an airplane, look up into the sky to find it and point at it with your chubby index finger.

1.  Charm the pants off of nearly everyone you meet.

Thanks little fellow, for being my buddy.  You make my days full – and my nights sleepless.  Just sayin’.

Ps.  Happy Birthday Melissa and Audrey.  A girl could not have two better sisters.  Wishing you a day of joy, good news and CAKE!

Thoughts On Getting Lost . . .

I know.  I know.  You either watched it or you didn't.  I for one, have not missed ONE SINGLE EPISODE in six years.  And the series finale of Lost last night was a perfect ending to what I believe is the best TV show ever.  Period.  {Sorry Alias, your last season stunk big time}.

After it was all over last night and I had recovered from bawling like a baby, I lay in bed trying to pinpoint what it was exactly that rocked my world in the finale.  And I can narrow it down to this:  I believe that after this life I will be with those I love in a place I choose to call heaven. I believe my loved ones will cry tears of joy when we are reunited.  I believe some who have already gone before me are actively cheering me on in this life so that I can be with them again some day.  I believe that in subtle ways they are helping me to get there. And I believe that through the trials, hardships and ever present difficulties of this life, we are never, ever left alone because no one can do it alone. My belief in a Savior and a loving Father in Heaven are the very core of who I am.

All these feelings and beliefs that I have were so beautifully captured in the last episode of Lost - from the concept of a savior (Jack - who sacrifices his own life to save the light for all of humanity) to the concept of a loving father (Christian Shepard - who is there to comfort his son and help him understand greater truth) to loved ones helping, cheering on and then waiting for us on the other side . . . it just simply blew me away.

As a person of faith, I give major props to Damon Lindleof and Carlton Cuse for not shying away from religion as the underlying principle of this show.  Major gutsy move that totally paid off.

I totally got lost in Lost.  It is over now, and with it, the end {for me} of truly great television. 
How about you?  Did you watch?  What did you think?  Can you recommend a replacement show, one that doesn't have "The Real Housewives of . . ." in the title?

Excuse Me For Not Blogging . . .

I have recently felt the guilt of purposefully letting my world come to a halt, leaving chaos and unfinished projects in my wake.  And now, in an act of compassion towards my Hubby, I have the energy of “get ‘er done” in my veins and am wholly committed to moving forward so we can get on with our life!

So, dear readers {if, in fact any of you are still reading}, I have spent the past few days starting – and completing – projects!  Want to know what’s keeping me busy these days?  Here are a few photos:

Upcoming birthdays deserve brown paper packages tied up with strings, no?  Can I just tell you how much I am loving my Divine Twine and dragonfly stamp in coordinating colors!

Hello Caterpillar!  Are you ready to become a butterfly?  I’m here to help you with your transformation . . .

Silver Streak, you are all I could ever ask for in a paint – calm, serene, low VOC and great with coverage.  Ask me if I feel the same way about you once the other six walls are painted.

Hello Handsome!  You are going to be a great bed for a teenaged boy.  You are black, manly and so very vintage thrift store wonderful. Thanks for helping us with upcycling.  Can’t wait to see you in your new digs.

Little fellow, how am I ever going to get any of these projects done when you would be content to sit and swing at the park for hours, watching the other kids play and the doggies walk by.  You and your striped bucket hat are hands down the best project I’ve got going!

Letter To Ollie . . .

Hi bright boy! 

Do you know how much I love you?

I love it when you use your little index finger and thumb to point at the things you want. 

I love that you played with the Swiffer for almost an hour yesterday.  You were happy and {Bonus!} I got clean floors.

I love how you flirt with ladies in the check-out stand at Target.  They just can’t resist your sweet little smile and ice blue eyes.  Frankly, neither can I.

I love that you are eating big boy food which you pick up and put in your mouth with your own chubby little fingers, while saying “Mmmmm” as a confirmation of its deliciousness.

I love that you brush your five teeth with your daddy every morning.  Good dental habits & daddy bonding time are a mighty duo.

I love that you still love to nurse.  Because everything else in your baby world is suddenly becoming big and nursing makes me feel like you might stay small for just a little longer.

I love the way your baby bum sways from side to side as you crawl across the floor to pull to standing at the back door observing the squirrels on the deck and the wind in the trees.

I love that your face lights up when your brothers and sisters come home from school to see you.

Little Owl, it is hard to believe you have been a part of my life for ten whole months.  If it isn’t obvious to you by now, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret:

I’m a sucker for you.

Love,

Mommy

PS.  It would be entirely appropriate for you to start sleeping through the night now.  Thanks.

Paper or Plastic?

I have to admit, that when Mother’s Day rolled around this year, I was so caught up in party preparations, I had pretty much neglected my usual duty of doing something for my mom and the Hubby’s mom. Yes, I am normally the one who does both moms. Don’t ask.

Luckily, the Hubby decided that after 15 years of me remembering to buy his mom a card or gift, this was the year he was going to do it all on his own.  He took the time to send her some beautiful flowers with a heartfelt note. They were adored and appreciated.

That took care of one mom – but what about my Queen of a momma? Thursday morning before Mother’s Day an idea popped into my head and I quickly got to work.

I emailed my siblings an asked each of them to send me a profile photo A.S.A.P.  My younger brother was vain enough to wait until he got a hair cut the next day.  I had the Hubby take a profile shot of me.  Once I had all four photos, I spent a little time editing the photos to a similar size and changing the  contrast to lighten the background and darken the subjects.

Next I used a small, sharp pair of scissors perfect for cutting out every detail of each face and head. I then used a large Sharpie to blacken out the silhouettes, coloring over the already dark photograph on both sides. I did this until I was pretty much high on marker fumes and couldn’t take it anymore. Then I mounted each silhouette onto some pretty white on cream scrapbook paper.

This gift was down to the wire.  I was at Michael’s craft late on Saturday afternoon crossing my fingers that I would find the perfect frame . . . and I did. 

I know it is more typical to have a silhouette of your children when they are young, but since our sister wasn’t with us then, I thought my mom deserved to have our silhouettes as adults.

And since I’ve always {and I mean always} pretty much hated my nose, I decided to shave a teeny bit off my bumpy profile.  Don’t judge me . . . I’d never get plastic surgery, but a little paper nose job is right up my alley!

The Big Event . . .

was a surprise 40th Birthday Party for a great gal named Kate and 100 of her closest friends.  I was asked to head up the decor by taking an already fabulous wrap around porch in a gorgeous natural setting, and turning up the wow factor to make the fantastic forty year old feel really special – all while maintaining the surprise factor by doing the install in a 5 hour time period on the day of the party.  YOWZA!!
Here’s how I {and by I, I totally mean WE because I had lots of help from some really dedicated family and friends} accomplished the goal {warning, long post}:
First, to give the beautiful tongue and groove plank ceilings some adornment, we made 150 of these tissue paper pom poms following the tutorial found here. 
This was the single biggest project for the party and included a bunch of crazy ladies staying up very late at night making inappropriate jokes and one devoted Hubby on a ladder for four hours hanging “fluff” from fishing wire.  I’m pretty sure everyone thought I was crazy to implement this particular idea.  I know I thought I was crazy! But the effect it had was breathtaking!  A slight breeze the night of the party made the ceiling come alive with texture and movement and the pom poms looked as if they were floating because you couldn’t see the fishing wire. It was really lovely!

Here’s another gratuitous pom pom shot.  I spy a Queen! Thanks for helping out momma.  You are the source of my skills.  Love ya!Next, I worked on some center pieces for the eight round tables where guests would be sitting.  Brian {Kate’s husband} had mentioned that her favorite flowers are roses.  I priced out fresh flowers and just could not bring myself to spend that much of my budget on something that would eventually die and get tossed in the trash.  Brian and Kate are in the process of putting in an amazing pool behind their house so  I suggested we use some ground cover rose bushes as centerpieces that he could plant by the pool for Kate afterwards, giving her a reminder of her surprise party for years to come.  I wrapped each plant in tulle and brown burlap, tied it off with some coordinating ribbon in the party’s colors and gave each centerpiece a metal butterfly and a skewered cardstock circle with a fun fact about Kate.   
Now that the table tops were covered {centerpiece, lime green cloths and votive candles} I wanted something to fill the space between the vaulted ceiling with all it’s pom poms and the table surface.  Enter the thousands of cardstock circles I’ve been cutting for weeks:

Each table had a  circle garland ‘chandelier’ hanging above it. I tied the garland to a wire wreath frame and the hubby used more clear fishing wire to hang these.  Some of the circles were embossed with a gold 40 for some added shimmer and shine, cuz that’s how I roll {read: crazy and more crazy}.
When I do a party, I am all about some personal touches.  For Kate’s party, the personal came in the form of two specific ideas:

A custom made memo board where guests could leave birthday wishes for Kate and a little take-away box for each guest filled with several varieties of Kate’s favorite candies.

The memo board was made from the fabric that was my inspiration for the party’s color palette.  The Queen helped me gussy up this area with candles, rocks from the yard, fresh flower arrangements {by me} and a large letter K that I found at JoAnn’s and improved with some paint and paper flowers. I hand stamped the cards for guests to leave messages on and placed them in a $1.00 tin from my beloved Target.
For the take-away boxes, I designed a fun label and my crazy family helped me stuff and tied each box with the coolest lime green/white twine from Divine Twine.  Wondering what was inside?  An assortment of White chocolate Reese’s cups, Twix bars, chocolate truffles and vanilla Tootsie Rolls. Uh, can you say YUM?
When guests first came up the stairs onto the porch, they were greeted by two buffet tables laden with food from three of Kate’s favorite restaurants.  And in the center of the tables sat a large urn with the tree branch I lovingly glued hundreds of silk flowers to in an effort to give it that just-bloomed spring look.  On the branches hung various pictures from Kate’s life.

The figurative {and literal} icing on the cake of this party was a custom made birthday cake.  While I can take absolutely zero credit for the making of the cake, I did consult with its creator on colors, textures and overall design.  And man, did Nancy ever rock my world with her finished product, which was topped by one last tissue flower of my making:
 
Nancy copied pieces of the cardstock I used for the garland onto edible paper which she used to wrap the cake.  And I should probably mention that the cake tasted even better than it looked.  If that’s even possible.
I had a really great time putting this party together for Kate and watching the ideas in my head come together in reality.  I learned a lot, and specifically that I am nowhere near ready to do this on a regular basis, despite receiving several requests for future work while at the party. It took a lot of time away from my family. I had a lot of help from friends and family to pull it off. Without them I would have sunk faster than a rock in water. You know who you are – thank you a million times over. I just know I couldn’t exist on this kind of stress constantly. So I am semi-retired for now.

Here’s a parting shot of the party as I was pulling away in my car to go home to my Hubby:
If you’re curious to see what happened at my house while I was at the party, head on over to my photo blog by clicking on that Dragonfly in the right hand sidebar - believe me, it's worth a click! 

Random Musings: Big Event Edition . . .

This is me and my wrinkly forehead feeling nervous because today is the big day!  There are some hints in this picture.  One involves thousands of little circles.  The other does not involve the big event, but doesn invlove some bare walls and the removal of furniture.

Hello pièce de résistance!  You can't see it now, but this branch, my hot glue gun and hundreds of tiny silk flowers are going to be a show stopper tonight.  And thank you mother nature for lending me a limb. {no trees were harmed for this photo.  The limb was already broken off a tree.}

All I can say is ROSES, baby!  And tangerine, hot pink and green are happy together.  You should try it sometime.  I recommend starting with a scoop of rainbow sherbet {or sherbert if you're like the Hubby}.

When you know you've arrived as a party planner:  you're pulling a Hanz and Franz, trying to make rose bushes bloom with artificial heat. This toilet is now suffering from delusions of grandeur. Heaven help me!

The full wrap up with big event details on Monday!  Until then, do me a little favor and pray for lots of happy guests, no rain and specifically NO WIND!  Thanks!

The Fear . . .

About a month ago RedDog brought home an index cards with two lines of type on it.  He handed it to me and told me he had to learn it for school.  He did not get more specific than that.  I looked it over once and put the card on the counter where it promptly got lost in a pile of paperwork, not to be found again until last week.

When I uncovered it, I ask RedDog what it was for.  He shrugged his shoulders and claimed he didn't know.  I asked him to read over it a few times and find out from his teacher the next day when he needed to know it by and what it was for.  He told me he would.

The  next day a note came home in the backpack explaining that the First Grade was having a singing concert in one week.  I read the note aloud.  "The children were sent home with their singing parts over a month ago and should know them by now and feel comfortable singing the lines in front of the entire school."  Uhh . . .

At this point, RedDog is on the couch, quietly sobbing into a pillow.  I asked him what was up.  His little body just shook while tears slipped out of his closed eyes one at a time.  "Do you know your lines?" I asked?  He shook his head no.  "Do you want me to help you learn them?" I asked.  He shook his head no. "Can you tell me why you're so upset?" I asked.  He shook his head no.

"I can't help you if you won't talk to me RedDog," I said as I started to walk away.  Then he blurted out, "I'M TOO SCARED TO SING IN FRONT OF EVERYONE!  I DON'T WANT TO DO IT MOM!"

And I totally understand my boy, because I've suffered from the same problem ever since an unfortunate event in Sixth Grade.  That's a story for another day.  I'd love to say that I encouraged him to face his fears and sing in the show.  But I did not.  Instead, I let his teacher know that he had a bad case of the nerves and might do better singing in one of the ensemble pieces. It was clearly too much pressure for my sweet son.  She graciously gave RedDog's part to a little boy named Jeffrey who was so thrilled he learned the lines on the spot and has been belting them out ever since.

We're not all solo performers.  Hannie B.? Yes, any given day and twice on Sundays she would get up, sing the lines and shine like a star.  Big C - I even think he would do it, although sheepishly.  Me?  Never.  The Hubby?  Yes, he would sing if driven by a sense of duty.  But the little Dogger, well, it looks like he's got some of his momma in him.

Still Learning . . .

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may remember this incident which prompted me to take a stand against a decision made by a teacher which affected my child {and an entire classroom of children}.

When the incident occurred, I remember being a little hesitant about saying anything to the teacher.  I don't love confrontation.  I don't love chastisement.  And I don't love it when people have ill feelings toward me.  I am the classic 'Pleaser', if you will, combined with a little bit of chicken.

When it was all said and done, I knew I had made the right choice, both for my child and myself.  The teacher was apologetic and truly didn't realize the consequences or effects his decision would have on others.

So, it's happened again.  This time, with a coach who decided to berate two players who were required to make a choice between playing on the travel team or in the house league.  Instead of respecting their decision, which did not favor his team, the coach told the other players on several occasions "we'll show them they made the wrong choice".

My child was confused and wondering if we were supposed to be mad at the two players, who were both nice, good people and talented athletes.  I had to explain that we were not mad at them, but maybe the coach was a little upset by their choice.  Still, it was their choice to make and we need to respect it. 

The final straw came when the coach sent a letter home with the players.  The first half of the letter was a complimentary and motivating message to the players about how they've kept their chins up during a tough transition.  But then the coach once again criticized the two players by name and asked the team to decide if they wanted to show the two players what a bad choice they made by scrimmaging the travel team.

The Hubby and I could not sit and watch a grown adult attack two children and foster a toxic environment for our own child.  We wrote a letter to the coach expressing our concern and displeasure for the way things had been handled, explaining to him the confused feelings our child had shared with us.  Then we {read: me} paced and wrung our hands, hoping we hadn't offended him or that he wouldn't take this out on our child.

Last night the coach responded.  And we were impressed.  The coach not only apologized to us but also wrote a message to our child.  He admitted that he had let his resentment about the situation come to the forefront and had forgotten  the example he needed to set for the players on his team.  He did not realize the way he was coming across.  He has also written an email to all the parents of the team, apologizing for his behavior.

I have learned from this experience.  I have learned that whether adult or child, it is important to stand up for what we believe is right and defend those who cannot defend themselves.  And whether adult or child, admitting one's mistakes and offering a heartfelt apology, though never easy to do, can do wonders to right a situation.

Looking Ahead . . .

It's going to be a very busy week all leading up to the big event on Friday.  And so my baby has decided to have explosive diapers that ruin carpets.  Awesome.

My dining room is floor to ceiling with this:

And to get myself through the insanity, I am subsisting on these bad boys:

I have a personal goal to eat one row every three hours.  Shhhh . . . don't tell my friends over on my sis-in-law's healthy living blog that I've completely fallen off the wagon.  I can't help it.  Stress, a dead line and baby poop have driven me to it.

The end.

Ps.  Mother's Day rocks.  How was yours?

Flowers and Chocolate . . .

Everyone knows that flowers and chocolate are a way to a woman's heart.  Okay, they're the way to this woman's heart.

Since we missed Tuesday's teacher appreciation, I figured we could throw a flower in with Friday's theme which was to take a treat to the teacher.  I had some leftover fabric and wondered if I could make a fabric flower pin the teachers could wear, something longer lasting than a fresh flower.  I found a great tutorial here, and using what I had on hand {read:  FREE!} I crafted this:

It was even easier than I expected. The tutorial was excellent.  Here's the back, with some hand stitching detail:

Aside from sewing the six layers of fabric together, the back is the ONLY sewing involved.  This would be a great project for little girls or even Young Women.  Imagine how cute it would look on a headband or hair clip!  Possibilities galore.

If life weren't so crazy right now, I'd have stayed up and baked some homemade cookies or granola as a treat to accompany the flowers.  Instead I shopped the clearance aisle of Target and found some gourmet candy.  Decadent storebought chocolate is always an acceptable replacement for homemade goodies in my book.

All four teachers gifts were wrapped up in a box with a bow, tag and Dragonfly {of course}. 

And now that Teacher Appreciation Week is over, I am off to lunch with my mom, my sister and my sis-in-law.  Fun for me!

Some Teacher Love . . .

It's Teacher Appreciation Week!  Unfortunately, we were a little late to the party this week.  I didn't remember until Wednesday.  And my kids were disappointed with me, which really stems from seeing other kids bring gifts to the teacher while remaining empty handed themselves.  So I'm trying to make up for it.

A few years ago the PTA at our school changed the format for Teacher Appreciation.  I have been very grateful that they shifted the focus from gifts that can get expensive to gifts that are homemade, thoughtful and can fit every style of budget.

Last year we had fun making all sorts of gifts at little to no cost.

This year we're back at it.  Wednesday's theme was to write a thoughtful note to your teacher.  Last year we did miniature notes that had to be read with a magnifying glass.  This year the kids did backwards notes that had to be read in the mirror.

We typed the message up in a desktop publishing program and then used the "horizontal flip" feature to make the writing backwards. Cost: FREE - all supplies on hand.

Today the kids were supposed to bring the teachers a piece of fresh fruit.  I figured there would be lots of apples, bananas, pears, etc.  So we bought some fresh strawberries and made a little label to attach to a cello bag. Cost: the price of four strawberries {50 cents?}.  All other supplies on hand.

Tomorrow is treat day.  I plan to incorperate the flowers and classroom supplies I missed on Monday &Tuesday into tomorrow's gift and I'm going to do it on the cheap! {you knew that, though, didn't you?}

Stay tuned for the wrap up tomorrow!

ps.  I finally updated the photoblog last night.  If you want to see my favorite picture EVER, click here.