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 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.

Because You're Worth It . . .

There's a new book on my bedside table, an early Mother's Day gift from that Hubby of mine.  Do you see it?  It's the one on the bottom of the stack.  A book by a little known author:  me.

After Christmas I wrote about a similar gift.  Now I've got two entire volumns full of my crazy ramblings on this little blog-about-nothing.

Look, here's one of my favorite posts from 2009.  In ink, on paper, recorded for generations to come. 

 

If you have a blog, I highly encourage you to check out Blog2Print. The book printing can be a bit pricey, but consider having your blog downloaded into a PDF file which you can print yourself and put into a binder.

It's a great gift hint to give your hubby. Because hubbies can always use hints. And because you're worth it!

Mother's Day is just around the corner.  What are you doing for your mom?

Sparkle and Shine . . .

A year or so after we moved into the house, the Hubby and I ordered these snap on window pane grids for our sliding glass door since it was the only gridless window in the house and had an inferiority complex. This solution has done the job for six years, that is until this week, when little Owlie discovered that it wasn't a permanent fixture and began pulling the grid off to play with it.

I asked the Hubby to remove the grid for a time until Ollie is ready to leave it alone.  With the grid removed, it was time for a serious cleaning of the glass.  So yesterday, while the kids were at school, I washed both inside and out with soapy water and a squeegee.  Then I shined it up with some glass cleaner and admired how lovely the sunlight looked streaming through a plate glass window minus grids and fingerprints.

Fast foward to 4:00 yesterday afternoon.  The chaos is at a feverpitch.  We have three baseball commitments at three different places.  Kids are running around in uniforms with only one cleat on, shoving food into their faces while I bark commands and try to soothe a crying baby.  Hannie B. cannot, for the life of her, find her glove.  I forcefully encourage her to remember when she last had it.  A light bulb goes on in her mind and she recalls having it out in the yard the night before.

Do you already see where this is going?

She turns from the kitchen to go get her glove.  And as I watch in disbelief/horror/slight glee she runs smack into the glass door which she thought was standing wide open due to lack of grime and grid.

It was AWESOME.  Like from a movie awesome.  I know we shouldn't laugh when things like this happen to our kids.  But I laughed.  I might have even guffawed.  Then she started laughing and suddenly I had to run to the restroom or wet myself!  It was just what we needed to take the tension out of an otherwise stressful time.

And I'm not warning anyone else about the door, because if I get to see that again, it will be worth it! :)

Upping the Coolness Factor . . .

Big C modeling a cravat at the Newell K. Whitney Store in Kirtland, Ohio.

It has happened.  My tweenager has crossed that threshold from being totally fine with his mom picking out and buying all of his clothes to having a say in what he's wearing. 

It all started a few weeks ago when the weather got warmer and Big C started wearing some of his clothes from the early fall of last year.  Everything was too short or too tight or just small in weird ways.  Shirts, pants, shorts - all of it ill-fitting and wrong.  I suggested that maybe I should buy him some new clothes, to which he said, "No, mom, that's okay."

I was confused.  Did he want to wear highwaters and tight t-shirts?  Did he not care that his shorts were a bit snug on the bum side? I had to investigate further.

It turns out that "No, mom" really means please don't buy me any more button down polos from The Gap or sports t-shirts from Target or Old Navy. 

What "No, mom" means is I want to fit in and wear what everyone else is wearing, but I'm embarassed that I'll hurt your feelings by telling you that you've been dressing me like an elementary schooler for the past six months. 

What "No, mom" means is that Big C is wanting to up his coolness factor by caring about fashion just enough to nonchalantly give a few pointers to his mom on name brands (gasp!) and styles that are currently acceptable with the middle school crowd: namely, that boys wear a lot of Under Armor brand shirts and basketball shorts or that anything from Aeropostale would be "cool".

Wow. I am really out of it.

We sat down at the Aeropostale website and found some t-shirts at decent sale prices.  He is also now the proud owner multiple pairs of basketball shorts, which when paired with a t-shirt make him look like - well - like he's going to play basketball.   He is well on his way to looking cooler.

In my mind, however, he's been cool all along.  It doesn't take clothes.  It just takes being a great kid.  And Big C has got that down!

Oh, The Guilt . . .

In our house there is a universal truth, which stated is:  Ollie loves Hannie B. best of all. 

 It's a fact and no one tries to dispute it.  He lights up when she enters a room.  He giggles when she sings silly songs and makes goofy faces at him.  He turns at the sound of her voice. He loves her like no other.

  As I listened to General Conference this weekend, and specificially a talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard, Hannie B. was on my mind. He talked about the ability and desire to nuture that is inherent in woman and young women.  I see it in Hannie B.  She is a natural and gifted nurturer.

  Last week a mock newspaper came home from school filled out by HB.  All of the boxes were cleverly done and filled with skilled little drawings. Favorite foods were noted.  Memorable stories were retold.  But my favorite box was the one titled "What I Want To Be When I Grow Up".  There were two simple words written there:  A Mom.  I love this girl so much!

Here's where the guilt part comes in.  Yesterday Hannie picked up Ollie off the floor to bring him to me.  He was fussy and needed a late afternoon siesta.  As she made her way over to the kitchen, she tripped.  I watched in horror as the slow motion played out.  She didn't know what to do because she was clearly going down and she still had Ollie in her hands.  So she let go of him and he went tumbling, face first onto the hardwood floor. 

There was immediate crying - no - HOWLING on the part of both parties.  Hannie was devastated.  Ollie was scared and hysterical.  I was frantic trying to assess the baby.  I rushed up to Hannah to see if she was okay, and in the true test of a mother-soul, the first words out of her mouth were, "Is he okay? Is he okay?".  Nevermind her own injuries, she just wanted Ollie to be okay.

He carried on for another forty-five minutes.  All the while, Hannie paced back and forth guiltily wringing her hands while saying things like, "I am a horrible sister" and "Why won't  he look at me?".  After he had calmed down, I sat with my sweet daughter and explained to her in no uncertain terms that this was an accident.  And it could have happened to me, or dad or anyone.  And Ollie will wake up tomorrow and not remember that this happened, so she should do the same.

All seems to be well.  But we are headed to the doctor just to make sure. From this experience it is clear to me that also inherent in the mother/nuturer is the ability to feel guilt when not necessary.  I've lived it.  Have you?

Getting To Know You . . .

When you find out at age 36 that you have a sister you never knew about, there's a bit of a learning curve that has to be dealt with. There's learning how to have a sister. And learning how to be a sister. Also, learning what it means to not be an only daughter. And learning how to share your parents {in a daughterly way - sorry brothers}.

Those types of learning don't even take into account the fact that a brand new person is suddenly thrust to the forefront of your mind and you crave any tiny nugget of learning about that person that comes your way. In the beginning, to quote my parents, "it's like trying to drink from a firehose".  But Oh! The water from that firehose is so very delicous and so unbelieveably thirst quenching!

Then, as time passes and the new person becomes a regular and necessary part of your life through phone calls, emails, gift giving and not-frequent-enough visits, you begin to settle into a sense of normalcy and peace with how everything has turned out. Unfortunately, the passage of time tends to fade those frenzied beginnings that set the head aspin and the heart all aflutter as you settle into a comfortable relationship more fit for life-long siblings than newly discovered ones.

Luckily, there are moments of brilliance - moments where you once again capture that feeling of complete giddiness and adoration for this person and it causes you to wonder, once again, how you got so lucky. 

Spending a few days in Ohio with my sister was just such a time.  While there, I was reminded of a few things - things I already knew, but took for granted. Dear Edward was with me and captured some examples:

She's a devoted mom to three darling children who adore her wholeheartedly.  She's patient and kind with them - something I could be better at.
 

She is a great listener, offering sound advice and wisdom.  It's no wonder her niece loves her so much! 

She's a doting Aunt to my children.  They were each the beneficiary of some sort of special attention from her during our stay and Mr. Ollie even got his first dip in a pool with her.

And she is a caring and delightful sister and friend.  See the smile on my face?  It is genuine happiness. I am remarkably impressed with how she has taken me in and given me unconditional love and acceptance.

Thanks sis for a truly relaxing and delightful visit. It was so fun to spend more time getting to know you and it was hard to come back to real life!

I Do Have Three Other Children . . .

Reminder: Don't forget to comment on the March giveaway {click HERE} by 5pm EST today for a chance to win the Spring banner or a set of custom mommy calling cards!

I recognize that my infant son is getting prime billing here on the blog.  He and I are together a lot.  And he's changing so fast that I don't want to miss it. And then there's the fact that he's darn cute and pretty much irresistable.

But I do have three other children who are rockstars in my eyes.  Here's what's going on in their lives:

Big C

Life is good for the preteen.  He just finished up a great basketball season.  He's mastering geometry and keyboarding.  He's hanging out with friends. And baseball has begun, so he's in his element.

 

  

Hannie B
My girl has so much spunk I often end up spunked out at the end of the day!  She's knee deep in the Little House on the Prarie books and TV series.  She's loving her new pink basketball.  She's the master of Just Dance. She's out in the backyard with RedDog making little fairy houses with leaves and pinecones. And softball starts in two weeks.

 

RedDog

My boy is growing up, but still has a soft spot for his momma.  I can always count on a spontaneous hug and smooch from him.  He's losing teeth faster than we can keep track.  The last two have fallen out at school which makes him feel really cool.  He's a reading and spelling machine.  And he cut his own hair last week.  It looks like this:

 

Just in time for school pictures this Friday.  Awesome.

And then there's this guy.  Sorry, I had to include it.

What's Not To Love?

Valentine's Day on a Sunday isn't my favorite. And let's face it, with the kids home from school ALL last week due to snow, I was already behind on life in general, not to mention any sort of plans for V-Day. But due to cancellations aplenty on Saturday, I was able to sneak away with the Hubby for some delicious Thai food and last minute shopping which resulted in a lovely Valentine's Day for everyone.

We usually have a big breakfast on Valentine's day, including heart shaped biscuits and sausage. Not possible this year with early church. I thought the Hubby's solution was perfect. And the kids didn't complain one bit!

On Saturday night I was able to combine Olympic watching {did you see that Apolo take silver?} and heart garland sewing, using these hearts here. All the cutting out was worth the look on little faces Sunday morning as doors were opened. And it's reusable, so I'll be tucking this garlandy cuteness away until next year.

Ollie has a wicked cough right now, so he and I stayed home from church, which gave me time to finish up one last little project. I got three small $1 boxes of Russel Stover chocolates from the grocery store and embelleshed them with paper and scrapbooking do-dads for each of the kids. After removing the chocolates and disposing of them in an appropriate manner {chomp, chomp, swallow} I filled the boxes with conversation hearts and special coupons custom made to fit the loves of each child. Here's Big C's box:

The boxes {Hannie B's pictured} were front and center on the pink plates adorning our table. These pink dishes were a thrift store find and only come out twice a year - on Valentine's Day and Easter. Pretty cute!

 

My energy level kicked in at the last minute and I ran down to the basement to get all the heart shaped dishes right before it was time to eat.  This one was perfect for chips and salsa!

The dinner menu this year included Red Chicken Enchiladas, Heart Shaped Quesadillas, Salad, Strawberries, Cherry Jell-O {crowd fave}, Chips and Salsa and Strawberry Ice Cream. What's do be done with poor evening lighting?  {Suggestions Sue?}

The coupons were a big hit with the kiddoes.  I even made some for the Hubby {not pictured}...

We ended our day with a family dance off to the Wii game "Just Dance".  If you have not played this game, you must.  It is hilarious and had us all laughing our heads off. I may or may not have actually wet my pants whilst dancing and laughing so hard.  Love was everywhere yesterday!

Tomorrow:  The awesome outtakes from my impromptu Valentine's photo shoot with the little Owl.  And one Valentine's note that stole the show.  Happy Monday!

Time To Man Up!

I had a lovely, low key birthday yesterday.  I spent it with my best friend and the four little people we've created together.  I got to see my parents, my big bro, a favorite sis-in-law, a great movie.  I got to talk to my other two siblings - one was the first of the day, the other the last.  I got to eat yummy food that I did not cook.  I got to catch up on some favorite TV shows.  I received well wishes and little gifts from friends.  All in all, turning younger than 40, but older than 35 turned out to be pretty great.

Today I am home with the same four little people.  We will be together every day this week as the school district has closed down to prepare for the additional ten to twenty inches of snow we are expecting today and tomorrow. Just in case you aren't keeping track {and why would you be?} we will have gotten upwards of 50 inches of snow in one week.  That is a heckofalot of snow.  And my back is feeling it.  I am currently trying to man up and get out on to our back deck to shovel the snow there so the deck doesn't collapse with additional snow today and tomorrow. 

Speaking of manning up, it was brought to my attention yesterday that my blog is erring on the side of too 'girly'.  Here's a conversation I had with my talented but snarky older brother {pictured by me above}:

Me:  I'm thrilled that your photoblog is doing so well and people are showering you with praise!  You deserve it.  And I want you to know I check it every day.
Him:  Thanks. Kinda crazy, right?
Me:  So, do you ever read my blog?
Him:  I read it every time you put up a new post.
Me:  Oh, I guess I just figured you didn't read it because you never comment unless you're feeling really sarcastic and want to tease me.
Him:  That's because your blog is too girly.
Me:  Wha?
Him:  How am I supposed to comment when you always write about girly stuff?
Me:  You mean like families and emotions?
Him: Yeah, pretty much.

So, ladies . . . AND more importantly gentlemen, if there are any reading, I'd love for you to offer up a manly topic or two that I might expound upon to help my brother out a little.  Let's see what we can come up with. 

For now, I'm off to shovel.  Grunt, grunt.

Wow.

What an amazing weekend we've had! This is my house after meeting up with 30 inches of snow.  Our storm {now dubbed "Snowmageddon"} broke all sorts of records and kept us busy. I have loved spending three full days with my people doing snow storm related stuff, including the following:

too much shoveling

a lot of Tylenol taking

sore back rubbing

weather channel gazing

snow fort building

good neighborly bonding

homemade granola making

chocolate chip cookie baking

late night movie watching

comfort food noshing

winter picture taking

constant dryer running

hot chocolate drinking

little Ollie giggling

luge track riding

cold snowball throwing

class Valentine crafting

home church holding

Super Bowl commercial watching

family walk taking

Hubby home helping

drippy nose wiping

freckled faces smiling

Today is my birthday.  I had planned to spend it with my Hubby.  Now I get to spend it with my Hubby and four kiddoes, because school is cancelled for the next two days while Virginia digs out.  Then on Tuesday we're supposed to get another five to twelve inches, which means there will be no school on Wednesday either.

It is not a bad thing to be surrounded by family on one's birthday.  I am happy.  More pictures to come.

Blog & Giveaway Love . . .

Mid to late day posting is becoming all too regular around here.  I'm off kilter due to lack of sleep.  And this morning I decided it mattered more to fill my family's fridge with food than blog, so Ollie and I made the trek to the grocery store in the 15 degree weather.  I'm now set for a weekend of babyfood making and high chair refinishing.  Sounds fun, no?

Here's a fun idea for your weekend.  Go check out this new blog called Little Camera. It's a photoblog completely composed of photos taken with an iPhone.  I think you'll be surprised at the quality and creativity the photographer is showcasing.  He's exploring different 'apps' that give effects to his images,  which are primarily taken in the architecturally inspiring city of Washington DC. 

Oh yeah, I should probably mention that the photographer/blogger is my brother - the one who used to have a blog but quit due to the pressures of coming up with witty dialogue week after week.  This new blog is right up his alley.  He gets to share his photographic talent with us all while using as few words as possible.  And his iPhone pictures will ALL put my actual camera photos to shame Go check it out and leave a comment telling him that his beautiful, witty blogging sister sent you his way!

I hope you'll come back here on Monday to see what I've got in store for the February giveaway.  It's going to be a quick time frame since I want to send it in the mail by Wednesday of next week to reach the winner well before Valentine's Day.  It's pretty special.  In fact, I love it so much I may have a hard time parting with it.

Have a great weekend!

{Image via Little Camera}

Big Deal . . .

Here's my firstborn yesterday trying hard to keep his breakfast down before heading off to church. He had a big case of the nerves due to the fact that he was about to speak in front of our entire congregation (about 350-400) for the first time in Sacrament Meeting. It was a pretty big deal. His dad bought him a new tie for the occasion.  He did a remarkable job and we're really proud of him.

Big C had another big deal this weekend as he and his dad backpacked up in the mountains to a cabin for a Boy Scout campout.  This picture actually makes me get a little choked up.  I look at how big that backpack looks on my small boy and realize that in no time flat, it's going to fit him more like the one his dad is carrying.  I really need time to think about stopping now.  Or else I'm gonna be a wreck {or more of a wreck}.

Meaningful, Funny & Disappointing . . .

It might be a bit obnoxious that I'm choosing to mention a few Christmas presents this far into in the New Year, but you can deal with it, right?  I'd regret it if I didn't mention just three gifts. We had a great Christmas morning with happy faces as wishes were fulfilled and dreams came true.

I was totally surprised by a very meaningful gesture on the part of the Hubby who had the first two years of my blog published into a book.  It is a treasure to me!  The kids and I have sat around reading posts and looking at pictures together.  My goal to have a record for my family of our life together by blogging is coming true.  Thanks Hubby. I sure do love you!

Probably the funniest gift came in RedDog's stocking this year.  Santa- that ever observant  and jolly fellow - noticed that RedDog had taken mightlily to a spork he got with a sample at Costco back in November.  The spork and RedDog were forced to part one day after a fragile plastic tine broke and the meanest mom on the planet tossed it in the trash.  Santa to the rescue!  A new, red, much sturdier spork is now the envy of older brother and sister.   And with its knife edge, we're thinking we might call it a sporkife.

Unfortunately, not all Christmas presents hit the mark this year.  At the top of Hannie  B's list {I am completely serious here} was the dreaded Snuggie. Yes, as in the 'As Seen On TV' Snuggie.  My girl is weird sometimes.  As soon as she saw the Snuggie for Dogs, owning a Snuggie became her greatest desire. 

Being the type of mom that likes to engineer a Christmas morning miracle, I spent the month of December telling Hannie that there was no way she was ever getting a Snuggie.  Then at the last minute I went out and bought her one so her joy would be full on Christmas day.

And boy was she was excited . . . until she opened the box.  The Snuggie, my friends, is a complete sham.  The fabric is thin and almost see through.  And the kid sized Snuggie absolutely swallowed Hannie.  She couldn't find her hands if she'd tried.  The Snuggie was the first gift we returned.  Goodbye and good riddance!

How about you?  I'd love to know what was the best gift under the tree this year?

Postscript:  The Hubby had my blog published at Blogtoprint.com

The Fam : A Year In Pictures . . .

The idea was this: take a picture of the family every Sunday in the year 2009. The actuality was this: 36 pictures in 52 weeks. Where are the other 16 weeks? Ask this guilty looking little guy:

Torture . . .

What kind of mom would do this to her kid? Yeah, that'd be me!

{aka: My deer little one on Christmas Eve. Get it? Deer? Like dear?}

{aka: The best present on Christmas morning wasn't wrapped, but did have a bow.}