Monday Morning...

I know some of you don't read my husband's blog. Which means you'd miss out on this delightful gem: The Best Way to Start Your Week: I Promise. I don't know how he finds stuff like this - but, it's thoroughly entertaining.

For Your Enjoyment: Hannah's Fave Vid's

5. Chad Vader singing Chocolate Rain

4. Wedding Dance

3. Back to the Beach - Jamaica Ska

2. Weird Al - Fat

1. Weezer - Pork and Beans

Halloween 2009

We had a full weekend. On Saturday, we drove down to Payson to be with Abby on her Baptism Day. She was so beautiful. The girls were all brave and got in front of quite a large crowd to sing "I Like to Look for Rainbows." Heidi had a magic prop box for her Holy Ghost talk.

After the post-baptismal party, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Maloys. Hannah joined the other girl cousins and ran to fill up her bag with candy (Patty jogged along). Heidi and I sauntered along with the boys. The big boys (TJ, Chris, and Sonny) stayed at Maloy Manor to distribute candy, fresh hot chocolate, and spicy apple cider. The kids were pleased with their loot. They got scared by a couple of enthusiastic grandpa-men. They all looked awesome in their costumes.

Following an impromtu invitation - we Shelby's stayed for a slumber party. Yep - a good time was had by all.

For Gr'Ama Connie...

Recently, I posted a couple of movies of Adam. My mom was excited to see Caleb walking around in the background - she hadn't seen him in all his walking glory. Realizing this couldn't be enough for a loving grandma. I took a new movie - this time, the focus was on rapidly-growing-way-too-big-Caleb. Here you go Mom - Sunday morning at Maloy Manor. Caleb Derek in all his mobility. We love you! See you soon!

Hallo-Parade...

The boys and I went to Hannah's school last Friday morning to watch the grand parade of costumes. Adam wanted every costume in sight (Sully, Buzz, and Boba Fett). Caleb didn't know what was going on and why I wouldn't let him run around. I saw uncounted witches, jedi, spidermen, vampires, fairies, and brides. My fave (aside from the one awesome Wonder Girl): a little Slash with full hat, wig, guitar, and leather pants. Hannah thoroughly enjoyed the post-parade-party (the boys and I missed it, we were unaware).

This was quite different that Elementary School in California. Two years ago, we didn't even think that dressing up might not be appropriate. Hannah felt quite out of place in her Spidergirl outfit in class. And a parade complete with teacher participation? Yeah right! Last year we knew better. We kept the partying for our family and friends in the evening. Here in Utah? Every teacher was in costume, almost every child too. They paraded with pride. Hannah was disappointed we missed her class party - but, the idea of a class party didn't even cross my mind! Quite a significant contrast. Hannah loved that she was the only Wonder Girl there. Also, that most people didn't know who Wonder Girl was - so, she was able to teach them a little comic book background.

november...

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

Happy All Hallow's Eve Eve

"The first time you hear the concept of Halloween when you're a kid, your brain cannot even process the idea. You're like, "What is this? What did you say? Someone's giving out candy? Who's giving out candy? EVERYONE WE KNOW is just giving out candy? I gotta be a part of this!" ~ Jerry Seinfeld, from his book "Halloween"

"There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." ~ Linus van Pelt in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

"'Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world." ~ William Shakespeare

"Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, "Never take candy from strangers." And then they dressed me up and said, "Go beg for it." I didn't know what to do! I'd knock on people's doors and go, "Trick or treat." "No thank you." ~ Rita Rudner

"From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!" ~ Scottish saying

"Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, make me a child again just for to-night!" ~ Elizabeth Akers Allen

"A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently; there is a whispering in distant chambers, an unearthly hand presses the snib of he window, the latch rises. Ghosts were created when the first man awoke in the night." ~ J.M. Barrie

"Hold on, man! We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title." ~ Shaggy in "Scooby Doo"

"It's Halloween! It's Halloween!

The moon is full and bright

And we shall see what can't be seen

On any other night.

Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,

Grinning goblins fighting duels

Werewolves rising from their tombs,

Witches on their magic brooms

In masks and gown we haunt the street

And knock on doors for trick or treat

Tonight we are the king and queen,

For oh tonight, it's Halloween!"

~ Jack Prelutsky

"Where there is no imagination there is no horror." ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite,

All are on their rounds tonight;

In the wan moon's silver ray,

Thrives their helter-skelter play." ~ Joel Benton

"She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you?" ~ Norman Bates in "Psycho"

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"Hobgoblins know the proper way to dance:

Arms akimbo, loopy legs askew,

Leaping into darkness with delight,

Lusting for the ectasy of fright,

Open to the charm of horrors new." ~ Nicholas Gordon

"Of calling shapes, and beck'ning shadows dire, And airy tongues that syllable men's names." ~ John Milton

"Nothing on Earth is so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night." ~ Steve Almond

The Lost Detail...

For years, I've thought this little snippet of a story belonged in one of Dumas' tales. I could never find it again, but, that didn't dissuade me of its supposed placement.

Until today. I love S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure: "The Princess Bride." And clearly, it's been quite awhile since I've reread it. This morning, I cracked the cover to begin again. There it was.

"The year that Buttercup was born, the most beautiful woman in the world was a French scullery maid named Annete. Annette worked in Paris for the Duke and Duchess de Guiche, and it did not escape the Duke's notice that someone extraordinary was polishing the pewter. The Duke's notice did not escape the notice of the Duchess either, who was not very beautiful and not very rich, but plenty smart. The Duchess set about studying Annette and shortly found her adversary's tragic flaw.

Chocolate.

Armed now, the Duchess set to work. The Palace de Guiche turned into a candy castle. Everywhere you looked, bonbons. There were piles of chocolate-covered mints in the drawing rooms, baskets of chocolate-covered nougats in the parlors.

Annette never had a chance. Inside a season, she went from delicate to whopping, and he Duke never glanced in her direction without sad bewilderment clouding his eyes. Annette, it might be noted, seemed only cheerier throughout her enlargement. She eventually married the pastry chef and they both ate a lot until old age claimed them. Things, it might also be noted, did not fare so cheerily for the Duchess..."

Excellent. I love that little, completely unnecessary, detail.

Books I Want...

The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections, by Amanda Soule

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose old Materials into New Family Treasures, by Amanda Soule

The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events), by Lemony Snicket

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, by Amy Krause Rosenthal

Peter Pan, by JM Barrie + illustrated by Scott Gustafson

The Life of Our Lord, by Charles Dickens

Stories for Christmas, by Charles Dickens

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by JRR Tolkien

Letters from Father Christmas, by JRR Tolkien

The Hobbit

Last night I decided to start reading JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit" to the hobbits living in my home. They might still be too young, however, this is one of my favorites. As much as i love The Berenstain Bears, I couldn't bear the thought of reading even just one more last night.

We explored the book first. Hannah and Adam got a kick out of the maps (and the glimpse they gave into the stories' adventures). Caleb ignored reading time entire, and amused himself climbing into and ou of my lap. We're only a few pages in, Hannah seemed to get a kick out of it (and loved that she figured out that Gandalf was a wizard, before Tolkien definitively declared it). Oppositely, when Adam realized this novel had minimal illustrations, he boycotted reading time and ostriched himself under his comforter.

I thought about drawing my own illustrations for them (and we still might keep that as an art activity later) - then realized my doodling might be disappointing. This led to the extensive google-image search of last night. I came to the same conclusion as Peter Jackson: John Howe and Alan Lee are the best.

I haven't decided if we'll just read in the basement, and look at the computer. Or, if I should print them out. Most images are copyrighted, however, I'm just using them for my children's personal imaginative and literary expansion. It should be okay. Hmmm...this should appease my Adam's entertainment preferences (since he was adamant that mind-pictures just isn't the same).

Alan Lee.

John Howe.

Life...

more often than not.

Is it just me, or is life just like cleaning. We wage battle on some aspect, overcome...just to wage the same battle again. I'm impatient and short with me children. I apologize, work hard to be more understanding and quiet. Then, all over again. I scrub down the kitchen, vow to never allow it to get so filthy again. Then, the sink fills up again and the stove screams for some attention (all right, a lot of attention). I exercise and watch what I eat, and feel great about my physical effort for change. Then, I get a hankering for cinnamon rolls.

The link between cleaning and my emotional state is ridiculously transparent. The more cluttered my home gets, the more exasperated I get. The more chores that demand actions, the less patience is filtered into my speech. The more I have to watch where I am stepping through the kids' rooms, the more I snap and scold. The more the floor needs mopping, the less I desire to make a delicious meal, and instead settle for whatever is easiest and fastest. The larger the pile of laundry grows, the less I want to just relax with my husband.

Unfortunately, my kids tend to end up in the line of fire. Then, I get conflicted. Guilt about my irritation. Anger that (for the most part) I work alone in a home of 5. Sadness that I get angry. Justified in my anger.

I'd take a nice hot bath to relax and come at my house from a fresh + clean perspective, however, I'd have to clean it first - it's surrounded with dinosaurs and fish.

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing."
— Phyllis Diller

"Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day."
— Simone de Beauvoir

"This mess is too big and too deep and to tall. We can't clean it up! We can't clean it up at all!"
— Dr. Seuss (The Cat in the Hat)

"Who are you to judge the life I live?
I know I'm not perfect
-and I don't live to be-
but before you start pointing fingers...
make sure you hands are clean!"
— Bob Marley

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning do to do afterward."
— Kurt Vonnegut

"I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean."
— G.K. Chesterton

"They did a lot of cleaning in their house, which I considered to be a sign of immoral parenting. The job of parents, as I saw it, was to watch television and step into a child's life only when absolutely necessary, like in the event of a tornado or a potential kidnapping."
— Haven Kimmel

"Life gives to all the choice. You can satisfy yourself with mediocrity if you wish. You can be common, ordinary, dull, colorless, or yyou can channel your life so that it will be clean, vibrant, useful, progressive, colorful, and rich."
— Spencer W. Kimball

"There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a meeting point. What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough."
— Mother Teresa

“Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future…If you are still in the process of raising children be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon, and that you will, to your surprise, miss them, profoundly.”
— Thomas S. Monson

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift."
— Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)

"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule. (Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings)"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

We Do Everything Together...

An original song written and performed by Adam Noah. (I wish Norah wasn't singing so loud in the back - but, that's how spontaneous creativity occurs).

This One's For the Grandma's...

Here is Adam. He wanted to make a movie. Recently, he's been into singing and busting his "cool moves". So, without further ado, I give you Adam's expanded version of "Do As I'm Doing"...

Recent Halloweenie Craftiness

I went to a recent Relief Society Super Saturday. These are the crafts that I made. I'm mostly pleased. The kids (especially Hannah, of course) really like them. TJ is ambivalent. It was pretty relaxing to be able to get my craft on with adults instead of children. Plus, someone else did all the prep work, and most of the clean up. Nice. Waiting for things to dry? Frustrating. Realizing once you get home that the decoupage medium wasn't completely dry? Discombobulating. Reassembling your "boo" sign and realizing you glittered the wrong side of the O? Verklempt. Noticing that nobody in the family even noticed your errors and just like playing with, and redecorating the kitchen? Awesome.
I wanted to get home. So, I didn't finish my fabric scrap hair clips. I brought home all of the elements and made them with Hannah and her friend Bella. They seemed to have a good time digging through the fabric scrap stash, and designing their own. The RS ladies had flower templates...in the interest of keeping my charges interest, we raided the kitchen cupboards for different sized circles. Here's the one I made for Hannah for Halloween.

What are you making these days?

Do You Know What This Means?

We received this flyer in our mail today. Do you know what this means? In-N-Out is hiring! That means opening day, with all of its attendant scrumptious culinary delights, is approaching steadily and surely.

All I can say now: BURGER ME!

500+

That's the number of calories that I kicked to the curb this morning.

Learned today: On average, most people burn about 1 calorie per minute - that's at rest, doing no work. So, I'd say 500+ calories in 90 minutes is a good step up from the resting rate. And, I didn't faint. And, I didn't go home and ingest any chocolate. Feeling pretty good.

Still, I must say, there is a gigantic cosmic unfairness in all this. For as hard as I work, and as many changes are demanded - the physical change should be much quicker. My body evolution should not be so difficult and slow. Those stinky laws of physics.

I must also confess: if I talk to one more person who says they do nothing at all to maintain their slim physique, and in fact frequently gorge on ice cream, I might just freak out.

All in all, though it's painfully slow, I'm feeling good. Getting stronger. More flexible. Kicking higher. Keeping up better. Sweating copiously. And enjoying myself.

20 Questions

Saw this question-series on evie-s - and dug it. It's a little more interesting than most questionnaires. In case I haven't shared enough about me (what? I have? too late!).

1. Show us the inside of something cute:
2. What's the last home cooking you had? Steamed rosemary rice, garlic chicken w/ romaine salad dressed up with sundried tomato feta, almonds, tomatoes, basil + olive oil.

3. What do you miss? Volleyball legs + Viola fingers.


4. What makes you laugh often? Observing the interactions between my children, and watching comedy with my husband (it's always funnier with him).




5. What's your favorite word? Simple.

6. What are you trying to quit? Self-deprecating mental conversations. Eating to assuage emotional distress. Interrupting my husband. Impatience with my kids.

7. What's your favorite commercial right now? Any Jamaican Red Stripe Beer Commercial - not to be seen on regular tv. You've got to explore you-tube.

8. Whose style do you dig? The "angela" character on the tv-show "bones". Also, Anthropologie.
9. Link to a blog you've discovered lately: Molly Irwin.
10. What's the last craft you made? A black hooded cloak for my Halloween costume.

11. A photo of the last happy mail you got.
12. Something you've gotten lately? American Eagle jeans from DI. (My favorite jeans, that I've loved for years, recently ripped in an unfixable way...I didn't cry, but it was close).
13. What are you looking forward to? The Maloy's infamous Halloween party. We've been hearing about them for years - this year we've made the exclusive invite list.
14. Share a recent snapshot of yourself:
15. Recent favorite movie? "The Brothers Bloom". TJ and I watched it during our Anniversary Getaway. The more I think about it, the more I liked it. I highly recommend it. A movie that's also been stuck in my head (though for other reasons) "Sicko" - the Michael Moore documentary. I think we need to move to Canada, or France.
16. Something you're working on right now? The aforementioned Halloween costume (apparently, it's mandatory to embrace the entire experience when participating in Maloy holiday celebrations). Also, the Elephantine Project List. Working on the maximum possible homemade gifts for birthdays and Christmas this year. It's overwhelming and exhilarating.
17. If a movie were made about you, who would play you? Kate Beckinsale. Not that I think I look like her, or she like me. But, if I was a guy, she'd be on my "list".
18.What gives you goosebumps? I love beautiful music. Truly awe-some music speaks to the emotional response center in my soul. Whenever I hear Andrea Bocelli sing. Or a Mozart symphony. Or a Beethoven concerto. Or the scores from John Williams or Howard Shore. Or or or...


19. Share a new obsession: Exercising. I am loving the exhaustion, and feeling of strength and progress. Michelle (my instructor) does her best to kill me - and I love it.
20. What's the meaning of your life?
My family. The fundamental beauty and value of life. The moments big and small that remind me that life involves more than just my own wants, my own focus. The individuality and worth of each. The patterns and connections that emerge. The unfathomable mystery. Knowledge. Truth. Wisdom to discern the difference. Humor. Growth and change. Striving to become better. And and and...

Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy my sharing. Share you own - include a link here so we can all find one another easier.

Peace.

Halloween Decorations

What do you do when your husband is out of town? And you have kids who need to be entertained? And all of your previous Halloween decorations were ruined? Bust out the paper, crayons, glue, and pipe-cleaners.

Here is Adam's dragon picture (a collaborative effort).
Hannah's rendition of trick-or-treating.
Hannah's paper-strip pumpkin.
We made a bunch of these googly-eyed spiders.
A few weekends ago, we went to a pumpkin patch with the Maloy's. Since we don't want our pumpkins to get all nasty, the kids spruced them up with hats. Here are some of their pipecleaner ghosts and monsters.

Here's my paper-strip pumpkin. Adam helped with all the cutting and hole-punching.
And here's my collage made of left-over pieces from my scrap-box. I think it turned out pretty well. Happy Halloween!

Potato Cheese Soup

This is why we have children. Aren't they excellent workers? And the soup was delicious. Heidi's recipe...pimped out with broccolli.

october...

Awesom-est Alphabet Book ever...Part Two

Risa expressed interest in the inner pages. Adam was more than willing to show off his book. I asked him to pick some of his favorite pages to share. Here they are: enjoy!




We had to get a little creative to fill all the letters, and get the maximum favorite things included. Here's the rundown: Adam, Berenstein Bears, Caleb, Dinosaurs, Elephant, Finding nemo, mouse Guard, Hannah, Incredibles, Justice league, hulK, Lilo + stitch, Monsters Inc, Nintendo ds, One-hundred-and-One-dalmatians, Parents, lightning mcQueen, Robin + teen titans, Spiderman, Teenage mutant ninja Turtles, Universe (he-man + the masters of...), darth Vader, Wallace + gromit, Xmen, scoobY-doo, buZZ lightyear. Some of them are kind of a stretch - but it's still awesome.  

Real Snow...

The weather forecast was accurate. Rainstorms in the valley - snow for us. The kids were disappointed that, for the most part, it melted as soon as it touched ground. We did have to dig into our closets and pull out our warm coats, though! And, thankfully, I figured out how to turn on the heater!

Awesom-est Alphabet Book ever...Part One

My children are very intelligent. One problem, however, is that they don't like to learn anything from me. School-type stuff. Letters, numbers, and variations of what you can do with them. Hannah would have learned to read much sooner if she'd just let me help her. As soon as she went to preschool + kindergarten - bam!. Done. Now she's absolutely amazing. 

Adam's going down the same route. It's not TJ - just me. So, I decided it's time to get tricky. I thought of this idea, and Adam and I have been working on it together. I was thinking that if I could get him involved in something that he was excited about - then, he'd be more prone to be excited about learning his alphabet. And, if we did it together, then the mom-learning-embargo would be lifted. 

I decided to make an alphabet book with him. But, no A doesn't mean Apple, and X doesn't indicate a Xylophone, and U is definitely not an Umbrella. We had to get a little creative, but I think it all worked out. Adam and I brainstormed all sorts of things that he was "into". Then, we trolled google images together, and he picked his favorites. Stole them to my iMac, uploaded them to Snapfish...and the project was ready for us to start cutting and gluing. 

I knew he'd like it and want to pack it around in his backpack (which he loads up just to travel from his room to the basement) - so, it had to be tough. Buying blank board books for customizing can get pretty pricey. So, we got clever.

We dug through the used books, at DI, until we found one that was a good size and in good shape and had the right number of pages. We only had to do a little bit of photo cropping, and it had perfect amount of space to add in words. Adam helped with the cutting (with supervision) and gluing - and he liked the squishing part I think the best. He'd probably have like the cutting more if I'd let him use scissors in a more freeform manner. 
I didn't let him use the exacto. It had quite a learning curve. I ended up just trimming more off each paper piece, and inking out the middle. I think that worked much better. Plus, it lays flatter, and turns more smoothly. 
Look at the book before I fixed it. Blech. It reminded me of something Dolores Umbridge would strongly encourage everyone to keep with them at all times. Totally funky! It's much better now!

We're not in California anymore...

Weather today: 

High: 81'F; Low: 43'F

Partly cloudy

Weather forecast for tomorrow?

High: 45'F; Low: 29'F

Snow Showers; 100% chance of precipitation

WHAT THE WHAT? Yes, your surprise is my own. A 40 degree drop with a very high chance of snow. In October. I was just noticing the color changing leaves this morning - the arrival of fall. I am definitely not ready for several days of snow. Especially not with TJ gone on a business trip to St. George!

The visual is a real photograph of a snowflake. Taken by Wilson Bentley at the turn of the 20th century. Snowflake photography was this farmer's hobby.

Favorite Snack around here...

TJ brings home interesting things from his sales' travels. This past week, He brought home 3 different cheese varieties from Red Rock. So delicious. The kids inhaled Curd "Squeaky" Cheese - similar to string cheese, but with a little softer, and a bit more flavor. TJ and I have been enjoying Tomato Feta, and white Goat cheese Cheddar. And did you know that Cheddar describes a process not a flavor? If you manage to get your hands on some of this - eat it!

10th Anniversary Getaway Book...

Here it is. The great reveal. I didn't bring home any trinkets. For my souvenir, I made this. It's pretty huge - I only shared a random sampling here with you. I am very absent-minded, forgetful, mad, oblivious - whatever you want to call me. This trip was such a wonderful adventure with TJ. It is so important that I don't want to forget anything - from how I felt, the difficulties, the reconnection with TJ, the fish named Lenny... I want to bore my friends and family with our wonderful celebration of our 10th Anniversary forever. Enjoy...and feel free to share any comments on my art, or jealousy of our adventure, or condemnation of my self-indulgence.

This book is displayed on top of my piano in the family room. Enjoy! 















Products: brown 8x8 American Crafts album + sheet protectors, alphabet stamps (unknown manufacture) mounted by my mom, papers - Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye, torn out from brochures and maps, chocolate brown ink from Anna Griffin, swirl stamp fro Inkadinkadoo.

I am just loving this picture right now.

Love it. Love him. This boy makes me happy. 

Kid's Entertainment...

I love the Imagination Movers - and so do the boys. Too many of the kids' shows are inane and frustrating and brain-cell-melting. Thank goodness there are still some goodness for kids who really enjoy watching a little TV.

And for Hannah - Wizards of Waverly Place is pretty good: focus on family relationships!

Right now...

1. Caleb has moved beyond taking just a couple of steps, and can now traverse a room without crashing. He's pretty proud of himself, demands accolades and applause - and we're happy to give it. 

2. I am moving my Elephantine Project list right along. Some things are disappointing, but, for the most part they are turning out very well.

3. Re-realizing that housework is neverending and repetitive and minimally rewarding. However, it also necessary and valuable.

3. Adam loves one-on-one time - perhaps just because of the novelty of it. He and I enjoyed our little date on Friday afternoon. Also, he loves going to DI and finding treasures.

4. Wishing TJ and I actually got more time together. Seems like the days are fleet, and we spend most of our time running to catch up.

5. Actually paid attention, and wished I hadn't. In one day: swept 3 times, mopped once. Caleb filled 6 poopy diapers, and 3 clothing changes.  Did 4 loads of laundry, and still had piles. It's not so bad when you don't figure the actual stats.

6. Hannah's favorite thing to do at recess is play chase with boys. She said it was so fun. I couldn't persuade her that it might not be best. But, I laid down the law as the proposed impending tackling addition.

7. On Saturday, Hannah went to have a playdate with her friend Bela C. This was huge (for me). Actually bringing Hannah to a friend's home and leaving her there - and it not being family? Whew. She had a great time though, and is already planning reciprocity.

8. I Love Netflix.

9. I am frustrated with Snapfish.com - which is my usual photo processing company. Trying Winkflash - they offered 4cent print special. I'll let you know how it goes. 

10. My body is frequently sore from working out - but I like it. Life is mostly sweet. And busy. And happy. 

Art Creation Nook...

Because I love my space and because I love to see other's spaces: I thought I would share mine. I was going to pretty and neaten it up. But, this is how it is. Even though I just got it set-up, I always have some project of other spread over the desk. So, here it is, my very own scrapbooking/art/sewing/etc nook. 

We moved quite a few times. This is the first time I've set up my own space. Usually, I just cram in my supplies into storage boxes, or stack in a closet somewhere, and then dig through it to bring what I want to the kitchen table. Now? I've taken over the upstairs landing.

TJ: thanks for being understanding with my chaos. Kids: thanks for joining in pretty frequently.

That's my Bernina sewing machine (yes, if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm very very spoiled). Those white shelves hold all my in-progress-projects.

This bookshelf contains all of my paper (organized by color), several albums, boxes of photos, project supplies files, inspiration books, journals, notepads, magazines, and my Calvin + Hobbes' collections, etc. 
Here's my working area. The desk, the filing cabinet, and bulletin board were all from that recent DI trip. Still a mess, but at least it's much neater than my previous piles of boxes and stuff that I was using before.
Under the desk: my large Fiskars trimmer (thanks T!), the box has my current-working-on files. Layout set-ups, minibooks, etc. Underneath a large box to hold all my scraps, and 2 tackle boxes (sorted by color) for ribbons + buttons. 
I love having this chalkboard. I don't even color on it. I just like that it's magnetic and I can stick up cool things. As always: tons of stamps around.
That tool-bag thing was from Heidi. While hot-pink may not be "me", it certainly says "pay-attention-and-make-something". Black box is my current-working-photo-file (i know, i need better names for everything). The scallop punch is Heidi's. All the rest are evolving miniBooks.
What I'm working on right now.
Last time my parents were up visiting. One night, Papa + Chris + Heidi + I stayed up late playing with paint and crayons. Papa had a couple art classes with the grandkids, we realized us big kids liked to play too. 
There are as many different ways to set-up and organize as there are people.

My Dad is an amazing artist. I remember when he was amidst a project, he'd just spread out over the kitchen table. No easel. He'd just masking tape his paper down on a large piece of wood. I always thought he should've had his own area. The small back room we'd call the studio. But, he never used it as such - really just for food-storage and laundry. However, he preferred the informal kitchen table.

How do you create?

Scrap-Material Color Book

Hemi: this is for Finley, so, don't look unless you want to ruin the surprise.

A few months ago, I was hanging with Heidi at Maloy Manor. She is an amazing and meticulous quilter (which leads to a quick sidenote: heidi's a quilter, and hemi's a fashion designer - the fact that i SEW'd presents for their kid's christmas, well, that's just incredibly brave on my part!). As a quilter she has boxes of fabric in all colors of the rainbow. Also, because she's quite prolific, also she has bags of leftover scrap material.

All though colors and textures just sent my creative brain a-whirling. She generously shared a lot of it with me - with the stipulation that I actually make something, and not just let it sit in my garage. And, I'm fulfilling my promise.

For Zach, Finley + Caleb this Christmas, I'm making Color Books. I sewed pages composed of varied shades of all core colors. I bound them all together. For fun, I added a velcro closure and handles. This was the closest I've gotten to quilting in a long time. Any self-respecting quilter should not look to closely at this project. however, since my intended recipient is only one, i think she'll look at/feel her present, and not examine my craftsmanship.

I've got to confess: this turned out more difficult and time-consuming than i planned. Also, it turned out even better than my vision. One check for my Elephantine Project List! 

For Today...

Outside my window...a few more tomatoes are ripening, clouds in the blue sky over the mountains

I am thinking...about sore muscles from my workout, completing some projects from my elephantine project list, the waiting dishes.

I am thankful for...impending weekend with no scheduled plans, T home, kids home, all together.

From the kitchen...finally finished off T's shrimp-burgers, peaches and strawberries waiting to be blended.

I am wearing...no shoes, braided hair, brown t-shirt + jeans.

I am creating...fabric scraps' color book for Zach, fabric memory game for Aidan, +++

I am going...for a walk, later, to pick up Hannah from the bus stop.

I am reading...Avengers Assemble Vol. 1, Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

I am hoping...that Caleb will take a good long nap so I can check some things off my to-do list.

I am hearing...Adam watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (for the umpteenth time).

Around the house...pile of clean laundry on my bed waiting to be folded + put away, Adam's action figures lined up on the ottoman, Caleb snuggled asleep under his new quilt from Gr'Ama, Hannah's pillows piled on several books, almost every surface in the basement piled with books (mostly comic), my art-desk covered with material scraps +++

Some of my favorite things...a cool shower after getting all sweaty at my exercise class, stacks of books waiting to be read, a project completed, Caleb on the verge of walking (and so proud of himself), Hannah's diligence in completing her homework, Adam running and playing with the other kids during my workout, watching a movie at the end of a long day with TJ +++

A few plans for the weekend...thinking about taking the kid's to visit the firehouse, high hopes for a nap, few more checkmarks on my to-do list, alone time with TJ +++

A picture to share...caleb doing his best impression of a zombie. I don't know why, but this pic amuses me.

Still a Baby...

My Boy - not so little anymore...

Hannah's grown up a bit...

Halloween's Coming...

Anybody need another project? Here is one you definitely should make. It's one of my favorites around here. Plus, the kids get a big kick out of seeing and remembering their pasts. Not only are the costumes and memories fun. But, this style of book is good because you can see the kids from the same time period year to year.

Several years ago I read Cathy Zielske's book, Clean + Simple Scrapbooking. The first and the second are awesome - they've changed my scrapbooking life. Seriously. 

Anyway, she featured a beautiful halloween album. It just so cool. I'd been debating what to do with my halloween photos. I didn't really want to create new layouts for our family books every year. Then, I saw her project. And I had to make my own version. It's a favorite around here.  I kept the format very simple. I set it all up ahead of time. One patterned paper per year, combined with black and vellum papers. One stamp embellishment. One year title (done all at the same time). And one journaling page - all formatted and ready. Now, the only problem? Just getting my photos printed and glued in. Awaiting last years Halloween pics in the mail.

The reason all of this was spurred on today? Cathy Zielske posted about it! Read hers. Not only does she share her original pics (from her book) that inspired mine. But, more and more pages from her "Boo!" album. Plus - since she's a graphic-design-creative-genius, she's shared 2 psd templates for free use! Jump on it!