Crafty Tuesday

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Em and I were crafty this past weekend. She wanted to do Valentine’s for her classmates, and I wanted to do a few for the cousins and some of our friends…so our house is currently covered in glitter, but they turned out pretty cute. Addie made a huge mess helped with the glittering, of course.

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I got these little “kits” for Em’s Valentine cards in the $1 bin at Target. God love Target!

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What craftiness do you have going on this week. I’m anxious to get back to scrapbooking – hopefully when things calm down at the end of the month.

Also, I really need some takers for the Craft It Forward. Anyone?

The Worrisome Park? ~ Best Shot Monday

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We are at a beautiful, sunny park running all of our “ya-yas” out. So what could this girl possibly be so worried about?

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She is going to get worry lines on her forehead at the ripe old age of 2 if this furrowing of the eyebrows continues…

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This one is my favorite and my Best Shot for this fine Monday.

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It is fine, of course, because J. comes home today – Hallelujah!

And what could make this week even better? We are headed to Hawaii for the ProBowl and a little R&R on Wednesday. It’s a rough life, I know. I haven’t said anything about our impending vacation because I have been, ah…burned, a few times on some of the other scheduled trips. But we are going. For sure. We leave this Wednesday and we’ll return the day after Valentine’s Day. And my laptop is taking a trip to the genius bar for a little TLC, so it will not be accompanying me. I will maybe hop on J.’s laptop for a quick post here and there…but I may not. We’ll just have to see how all of those the mai tais affect me.

Make sure to stop in for other BSMs over at Tracey’s though! Next week, too…even if I can’t tear myself away from the beach to post one, there will be some great ones, I’m sure!


This One’s For The Boys…

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…mostly Daddy because he misses his girls so much. But also for Papa because he is apparently unhappy that I have not posted anything in the past two days.

So here you go guys, photos of the girlies from our park expedition yesterday –

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I have been tirelessly trying to keep our days filled while J. has been gone this week, so that (1) the days go by a little more quickly and (2) it keeps the girls busy – both of which will inevitably keep all of us happy.

Ah, who am I kidding? I’m just trying to wear them out as much as possible so I can put them to bed by 7:30pm and they’ll be so exhausted they won’t think of getting up before 8am.

Which I must say has been the case this week, so my evil plan is working. Mwa ha ha ha ha!

We have had a pretty uneventful week, pretty routine stuff. The girls have been a good mix of “pulling-my-hair-out” frustrating and “cavity-inducing” sweet. Which means they give me plenty to be thankful for and remind me that J. and I are very blessed, while at the same time not allowing me to get too complacent and lulled into thinking I have perfect children.

They have been C-H-A-T-T-E-R-B-O-X-E-S lately, though.

Em keeps asking random questions. Persistent questions. And I guarantee that we are not done discussing this topic. It will come up again, probably tomorrow.

E: Mama, what would you say to an alien if you met one in outer space?
M: Well, I don’t think there really are “aliens” like you think of aliens, honey. They are kind of just make-believe, like on cartoons and such. (Sorry to offend any of you E.T. believers out there…but I was trying to figure out the easiest way out of this without inciting any sort of nightmares of possible extra-terrestial life!)
E: Oh, I know. But if you could go up in a rocket ship to outer space and you did find an alien? What would you say to him?
M: Hmm…well, I think that if I did find one, he would be so scared because he had never seen a human before, he would run away before I could even ask him anything.
E: Oh. Yeah, he probably wouldn’t want to talk to you anyway.

And Addie…the girl just doesn’t quit with the funny stuff that comes out of her mouth. Yesterday they both came up to me and wanted me to open something –

Em: Mama, can you open this for us?
M: Just a sec, babe. I’m cleaning the cat poop box out.
Ad: Ewwww! UCK! Let’s get outta here, Emma!

And this morning as she was trying to sneak out of eating her bagel, she leaned over and whispers…“Emma, let’s get out of here!”

She has impeccable timing, too. The minute I am about ready to lose it, she will get this goofy grin, look at me out of the corner of my eye and say something that has me cracking up. The other day she was being…well, a two-year old, again, and Em said to me, “Mama? Is Addie pushing your buttons right now?” And before I could even respond, mostly because I was laughing at Em and her assessment of the situation, Addie looked up at me with her big, puppy dog eyes and said in her little sing-songy voice, “But I love you, too, Mama!”

Who can argue with that?!

And then?

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I am sitting in my “office away from home” waiting for my project to upload. My big project that I have been stressing over for weeks now. It is finished. Well, for the time being, until the client sends back a list of demanding changes, but finished for this week, at least.

And then?

I’ve got a few hours to treat myself.  Well, I am running all of those errands that are easier to do sans girlies. Like recycling, dropping off the Goodwill boxes, getting a car wash. Definitely in that order, too. The cardboard is making my car stink so it needs to go first, and whatever toy it is that “talks” when I go over any bump is driving me a bit crazy, so it needs to be donated, pronto. And, wow! Is my car is in dire need of a good vacuum.  So every surface needs to be clear for the ultimate in vacuuming efficiency.

And then?

I get to do some real fun things. Like get a haircut! By the way, when did this start rating as a relaxing way to spend an hour or two? I guess right about the time I no longer had even ten minutes to brush out my hair, much less style it in any way. But they do this amazing massage during the shampoo…it is worth the haircut just for that – not to mention the shagginess that has taken over my head.

I know I am very lucky to have a job that I can do from home after the girls are in bed. And I’m so very lucky to have Denise two afternoons a week so that I can work. And I’m lucky to have two girls that, for the most part, are pretty amazing and I love spending time with them.

But why do a few truly “free” hours make me feel so incredibly giddy? I am almost heady with the prospect of not having any responsibilities for the afternoon. Free to do whatever Mommy needs or wants.

And then?

This incredibly sweet little girl just came in with her mom and my heart feels like it is going to just pound out of my chest. Just watching her makes me miss E. and A.

I just spent the morning with them, and left them not even more than an hour and a half ago. Yet, I’m already counting down the hours til I go home to bathe them, snuggle with them and put them to bed.

How can that happen just like that – really in an instant?

Focus ~ Theme Thursday

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Focus is today’s Theme Thursday.

“Please, focus here, Emma Grace! Concentrate. Listen up.”

I can’t tell you how many times a day/week/month I say this to Em. She has definitely fine-tuned her ability to block the sound of mom’s voice out. And I’m certain that I sound like the teacher from Charlie Brown to her.

“Wah wah wah waaah, wah wah, wah.”

Yesterday the focus was all on Em because we had her first parent-teacher conference.

I know she is a good girl, and she just pushes me because she can. But it was still good to hear that she is a great student. Her teacher said she is a joy to have in the class, very polite, attentive and always focused. And she never has to tell her anything twice.

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She also appears to be in with the “in crowd” of girls at school. She is coming out of her “shell” and confident in both leading and following. I think she will be demanding the center of focus for a long time to come.

Focus up on some other great shots at Stacy’s new home for Theme Thursday.

Happy Birthday To Daddy! ~ Wordless Wednesday

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Okay, I can’t really make this Wordless because it is a word-worthy event.

So, although the photo says it all, I would also just like to add that we really think J. is spectacular. He is a fantastic husband and best friend, but most of all, he really is the greatest daddy in the world. We thank God for him each and every day, and I am certain that the world is a much better place because he is in it.

(Yeah, and Uncle Jeff isn’t too bad, either!)

Happy Birthday Daddy & Unca Hef! We love you both!

Crafty Tuesday ~ Craft It Forward

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So this is what it is going to take to get me back in my craft mode…

I saw this idea of a Craft Pay It Forward first on Stacy’s site. I loved the idea, but then figured, really, what would I, or could I, craft for the little experiment.

Then I saw it again on HipMomma, and decided that I might be able to come up with something, and it may force me inspire me to do some fun crafts again.

So here is how it all goes.

The first three (3) people to comment here on my site and commit to Crafting It Forward will get a free craft from me.

By committing you must post a similar challenge on your blog – and create something to pass along to your three takers. It can be anything, just needs to be handmade.

Interested? Hurry. Comment. Post. Play along!

Oh, as for what I am going to craft…I think I will give you a choice. I will either create for you:

1. A scrapbook page (you send me any photos and journaling you want incorporated)
2. A little stack of handmade greeting cards (maybe 5 or so – different occasions)
or
3. A little batch of notecards designed for you (with your name or a little design)

Sound good?

All About Addie

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The kid is killing me. She has the “I’m twwwoooooo” attitude down cold, yet she still cracks me up almost on an hourly basis.

So it is no new “news” that I was sick last week. Poor, little Addie mostly wandered around and played by herself, or watched her beloved Ariel, while Em got a little reprieve and headed out for school.

But, what did sweet little Addie do to make Mommy feel better? She brought Bear to me and laid him under the blanket with me and laid her head on my arm, sighed and said, “I love you, too, Mama!” (She never says just “I love you” it is always, “I love you, too!” I guess she already knows how much we all love her. It is now just understood.)

Then she would wander off and tend to something, and every two minutes or so she would come up and put her face inches from mine and ask so hopefully, “Your tummy feel all better now, Mama?”

That angelic little face framed in curls and her big expressive eyes looking so concerned, it almost did make me feel better.

Today J. left for the SuperBowl. He is gone until next Monday – although he is flying in for a few hours on Wednesday…Nice! A little break in the week. While just the thought that he was gone could have made for a very long day, that and the fact that I have the entire week, including weekend, ahead of me, Addie and I actually had a pretty delightful day.

Daddy left to go work, the girls went shopping! (Ok, some of it was actually birthday shopping for Daddy, but still…)

While we were on our way to pick up Em from school, I peeked into the rearview mirror, Addie saw me and she exaggerated a big yawn, broke into a huge grin while she put her hands behind her head, and then she said to me, “It was a lo-o-ong day, huh, Mama?”

And then…(one more!) at dinner, Emma was antagonizing her and I came in and said “what is going on here?” Emma just sat there with a sheepish look on her face and Addie blurted out, “Tell the twooth, (truth!) Emma Gwacie!”

Seriously. Where does the kid get this stuff from?

She is obsessed with wanting to wear her (and Emma’s) Ariel pjs. Unfortunately they are all little nightgowns, way too light to wear in the chilly 40-degree night air that we have going on right now. So I’ve been compromising and letting her wear the nightgowns over warmer jammies.

Which means this is what she looks like at bedtime around here…

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When I finish getting everything on her, she turns to me and says –

“Now, I’m all nice and cozy, Mama!”

She is definitely the “ying” to Emma’s “yang.”

Blech.

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I’ve been down, down, down and out all day with the stomach flu. So there has been no blog posting, no work getting done, and very little parenting on my part.

We were out with Jeff and Wendy last night at part of the Town Hall series (Carol Burnett was interviewing Steve Martin) when my stomach started to hurt. I figured it was probably because I had had a few cups of coffee while I was working, didn’t have time for dinner and snacked on peanut M&Ms during the show.

But alas, after a very long night and day of getting sick, fever, chills, etc…I think it was the flu.

Thankfully my friend Michelle brought me 7-up and other goodies for my tummy and shuttled Em to and from school. (Thank you so much, Michelle!) But poor Addie was just pretty friendly with the television all afternoon. I did/do feel guilty about that, but it was all I could do to make it to the kitchen and throw cheese and crackers and grapes at the girls for lunch. Who knew grapes could be so repulsive looking when you are ill?

And then my knight-in-shining-armor came home early and did dinner, bath and bed with the girls, cleaned up the disaster zone, and went out and got me a milkshake.

God love him. Now, I’m going to go crawl back into bed.