Monday, August 27, 2012

Painting with Ellie!

I put some paint in a Ziploc bag today with a piece of paper and let Ellie finger-paint through the plastic. This was the result of our collaborated effort: Sea Monster.

It's fun to imagine the creatures in Ellie's abstracts!

On second thought, maybe I shouldn't be drawing on her masterpieces. I got a little carried away imagining the Nessie-like beast, and a human hand reaching out to discover him, a chance meeting after decades lurking in his watery hideout -- two worlds colliding.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Friday, August 24, 2012

Project Life - Weeks 26 & 27

Less writing, more scrapping!! I can't stop! I'm so close to being caught up, it's exciting!


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Super Powers!

Me: Woah!! Where did you come from?! Mark: The kitchen. Me: But how did you get through the door? It was closed when I first looked up, then it was closed when I looked up again, and you were in here!! Mark: What are you talking about? Me: Did you time warp?? Do you have secret powers you're hiding from me, because I don't deserve to experience them? Mark: Clearly, you would misuse them.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Project Life - Week 24!

And I got one more done!! Woohoo! It's not my favorite or most detailed layout, but it gets the job done!


Project Life - Week 23!

I almost forgot to document our vacation! I didn't take tons of pics -- too busy having fun! But I got a few of E enjoying some down time! And I feel good about catching up! I'm proud of myself for making it through half a year of Project Life too!




Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Bumbo Seat Recall (Also, don't be an idiot.)

From the Salt Lake Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/
money/54703711-79/bumbo-seats-floor-babies.html.csp
In the News - Bumbo Seat Recall

I will be the first person to admit that I've made mistakes as a mom. No one is perfect. For example, I once put Ellie in her car seat and forgot to buckle her in.

I noticed when I looked in the rear view mirror before driving off and almost passed out. She's only 7 months old now, and I'm sure there are many more mistakes to come.

I also know my limitations and ditsy, frazzled mind. Now every time I get in the car, I run through a quick mental checklist. Keys. Purse. Phone. Baby. Buckled.

I do not take any unnecessary risks. I know I'm distracted by shiny things, so I make sure my baby is secure in any situation where I might be distracted.

In other words, I'm kind of stupid, but I'm not an idiot. I think it's common sense that you should never trust your child to not fly out of any device. Don't underestimate them, and don't put them up on any raised surface without holding onto them.

The fact that Bumbo had to put a restraint on a device that's simpler than a toilet seat is absurd. Just like you wouldn't take a crap in a toilet on a second-story ledge, don't put your child in this on a table top.

Capisce?

Share your thoughts?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Real Love

Have you ever fallen in love all over again... sometime between dinner and dishes, while chasing a baby across the floor before bath time and thinking, "How will I survive this?" Our eyes met, and I knew that everything would be okay. Better than okay.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Project Life - The Real Week 22

Well, somehow I managed to skip over all of June... which was actually a pretty eventful month! Our vacation was in June! More to come, but here's a start!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

And Stretch!

I've been so achy lately carrying around my 20-lb, 30" 7-month old. I use the term "baby beast" with love. She is an unstoppable force in our household -- screeching, kicking, grabbing, pulling, playing, and scooting her way into mischief. She is stronger than most 1-year-olds, and I'm struggling to keep up.

My body hurts. So, today I looked for some "new mom" stretches that would help my body adjust to her ever-growing list of baby demands. For example, this week she only seems happy if I'm dancing and dipping her like a princess in the grand ballroom of some imaginary palace. My heart is in it, but my back is protesting.

Parents.com had a few visuals for stretching that looked helpful. After flipping through them, I realized these are moves I know quite well... I had a sudden surge of motivation. "I can do this!!"











Saturday, August 11, 2012

Free Digital Scrapbooking "It's Only Love" Cards!

Free for personal use: digital scrapbooking cards, compatible with Project Life or other digital scrapbooking templates.

To download: Click to enlarge the image. Right Click to Save!


Sample Layout - Twine added from
ShabbyPrincess.com "Plentiful" Design Pack














Project Life - Catching Up!


Monday, August 6, 2012

Hahaha! *sob*

I finally think I understand how Ellie feels when she doesn't know whether to laugh or cry and ends up doing both simultaneously. Today I saw a dead raccoon on the side of the highway. His body was frozen in an "OH NO!!" pose, both arms in the air, knees bent, and a look on his face that said, "Why does that large boulder have headlights?"

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Tape That Sh*t Down

Some days I feel like I'm fighting for my life in a world full of people who are nothing like me.

I can empathize with others. Sometimes I can so clearly imagine myself in a different life. I drive down the street, and I see a jogger, a dog-walker, a mailman. If my life had taken certain turns, I could be each of these people. My life may even be one heartbreak away from becoming the town bag lady or one free pet adoption away from becoming a cat lady.

But for now, I keep striving for more, to improve the person I already am. All I know is that I want to be a good worker, a good wife, and most importantly, a good mother who creates a clean, safe environment to raise my daughter.

Every day I plan how I will improve some part of my life. It's simple things like, "I think I'll move our bedroom tv into the kitchen so I can clean with a movie on." This task becomes my reason for being, the obstacle that stands between me and clean -- between me and self-improvement.

This is what I wake up Mark for at 8am on a Saturday, a task more important than saving the environment or launching a satellite into orbit. He must move the bedroom TV and hook up the Wii, so that I can watch "my stories."

And, God love him, he does it! Maybe it's out of love, fear, or both, but he does it. And in that moment all is right with the world. He is my Ed from Twin Peaks... (Side Thought: ...which makes me the crazy curtain-runner lady? Yikes.)

So, here I am. I have my TV set up, and all I have to do is balance the Wii remote receiver on top of the TV to complete the picture, literally. It's a thin, light piece of plastic that falls off easily if the TV gets bumped (or jostled from opening the refrigerator door). But, as luck would have it, the makers of Nintendo have provided sticker reinforcement on the bottom of the receiver for just this purpose.

As I proceed to remove the sticker paper, Mark says, "What are you doing??"
"Um, removing the sticker paper so that I can stick the receiver to the top of the TV," I reply. (Duh.)
Mark shudders, "I don't want to use those." (He has an irrational fear about using stickers for their intended purpose.)
"Right, ok," I said.

I respect his weirdness and his need to keep things pristine. After all, he just helped me on my journey to home organization and cleanliness by installing a full-blown entertainment center in my kitchen. You can now play Mario Kart while looking through the fridge... if you want to.

While he goes off to tend to more important things (um, the baby), I roll a small piece of scotch tape and tuck it under the receiver, securing it in place on top of the TV.

Mark returns, and (instead of announcing my handy work and ingenious compromise) I stand back and watch in glee as he very gently opens the refrigerator a few times, then reaches up to try to better-balance the receiver on the TV, not knowing I had taped that sh*t down so well, a crowbar couldn't move it.

He finally realizes it is super secure and looks at me in horror. "You used my stickers!!"

I smile at him, throw my arms around his neck, wipe his tears away, and say, "Nope, I used some scotch tape." He smiles gratefully at me, looks deep into my eyes, and kisses me.

Then he leans back and says, "Why didn't you tell me that while I was trying to reposition and balance it for the last 10 minutes!?"

Uhhh... Well, the short answer is, "...for entertainment purposes."

The long answer is, "...so I could laugh for a moment at your crazy, to not feel so crazy myself, so I wouldn't smack you and then have you divorce me which would lead to Ellie and me moving back into my parents' house where I would start collecting bottles to save for Ellie's college education and taking in stray cats to compensate for my lack of human interaction and empty-nest syndrome."

It now seems that my life is being held together by one piece of scotch tape.

That is all.