News

Hello, friends! A few new things...

1. Some of you have asked if you can subscribe to the blog via email. I've added that feature (see right column below). Let me know if you have any questions.
   
   Please note that this applies only to YMIS, not my YMIS Dream Diary, but I've also added the same feature to that blog. So, mosey on over there, and submit your email address if you want to know when a new vision overwhelms me! Ha!
   
   I'm considering separating these two blogs more to keep my personal life stories at YMIS a little more private. There will probably always be a link from YMIS to the YMIS Dream Diary  but maybe not from the dream diary back to here. Capisce?
2. Oh, and I've actually blogged tonight... always a good thing! [new posts below and in the dream diary]
3. I'm still trying to find a creative focus for my blog/entire life. Last weekend, I met this super sweet woman from California who designs jewelry for Tendai Designs, and she made me feel like I could do more with... everything -- blog, design, art. It was really inspiring! I've decided that the best way to get to that point is to get creative with multiple media just for the fun/heck of it, to rediscover myself a bit as a mom and as an (almost) 30-year-old. It's kind of like the scene in Runaway Bride when Julia Roberts has to decide how she likes her eggs... minus the running away and minus the... eggs. More to come on that...!
4. E is amazing (nothing new)... just an FYI I'm throwing out there... I love her. :-)

All Better

I just want to remember this week. We're all sick, fighting some little cold. E has been suffering the worst with congestion and a dry cough. We're all pretty miserable, but she still has more energy than Mark and I combined, and she manages to bring this light into the house that's so precious -- even though she's sicker than the rest of us.

Today, I came home and plopped down in the recliner to rest. I rarely do that when I first get in, as she's desperate for her bottle and some rest time. I hustle around getting a fresh diaper for her, washing bottles, and collecting all of her pre-nap items.

Today, I just sat. I could tell my eyes looked tired, and I must have seemed not quite myself. She got out of my arms and crawled across the living room, through the door into her bedroom. She sat down just inside the door, so I could see only her legs and feet sticking out. I get nervous any time she's not completely in my line of sight, so I decided I better go after her. Just as I was about to get up, her little head poked around the corner. She had a huge, playful grin on her face. This is the hide-and-seek/peek-a-boo game.

She does this a lot in the afternoon but rarely right after we get home. I almost felt like she knew I wasn't feeling well and was trying to cheer me up. At the very least, she was trying to get a reaction out of me even if only for a very selfish reason -- so that I would play with her. It worked. I started laughing, and before I could get up to chase after her, she came crawling back to the recliner as fast as she could.

She stood up holding onto my leg for support. Then she started scratching my knee. I didn't know what she was doing until she looked up at me with a mischievous grin on her face and said, "Ticka, ticka, ticka!"

Any time that she's sad, I sing, dance, or tickle her. To see her try to do the same to make me smile melted my heart. I like to think that this means, even at 11-months-old, she understands the concept of taking care of someone. And I felt incredibly loved and blessed to be that someone today.

I Hate Popcorn Farts

I only get out to the movies about once a month now (instead of 1-2 times a week before E was born). I really cherish that time to myself, in a quiet theater, with no interruptions. I can enjoy a movie, beginning to end, in peace. So, I'm generally pretty happy and not too quick to complain if the movie wasn't great, if there were kids chatting during a key plot point, if the guy sitting directly in front of me was sporting a mohawk. The one and only thing I can't stand are popcorn farts... I'm certain they're from the balding guy behind me, with the faint smirk on his face. His nasty gas quickly melds with the smell of freshly popped popcorn to form a gagging blend of corny rancidness.

I think it's a valid reason to ask for a ticket refund, and I would not hesitate to explain to the cashier my reason for leaving mid-movie.

I don't know why I'm writing about this... but to justify it: The name of the blog isn't "Your Mom is Amazing."

Little Human

For months now, E's main goal has been destruction. No folded t-shirt is safe, no tidy bin of toys, no upright box of Minute Rice.

The lazy susan is always spinning, socks being taken off. Every time I show her how to put together a puzzle, after I look at her with pride and satisfaction with my accomplishment, she claps then quickly pulls it apart.

Three stories into a block tower, and our baby Godzilla saves us the trouble of finishing it by kicking it over.

Though I'm a firm believer in the creativity of destruction, I have to admit I've been expectantly waiting for a sign of creation, a glimpse of her inner architect, graphic designer, or sculptor.

Then, yesterday, it happened! She took a break from opening our mail to play with her blocks. What caught my attention was how quiet she was...

I turned around in time to see her very carefully (with both hands) set a bouncy ball on top of a cylindrical, hollow block to make a little tower.

My heart stopped. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. It was vertically symmetrical yet the height of the cylinder elongated the design, a lovely gift of horizontal asymmetry. And the color choice! A glowing ball of vintage yellow atop a dark purple cylinder. It was modern yet traditional... A perfect balance of old and new -- a tiny tower of order in a chaotic wasteland.

"Ellie!!!" I gasped. "Look what you made!!" I rushed to her side and praised her stacking skills with an almost violent level of enthusiasm.

She smiled proudly then crawled into the dining room to eat a pea off of the floor.

My little starving artist! My little human.

80s Digital Scrapbooking Cards

Hi, all! I've finally gotten my Etsy shop up and running to sell some of my digital scrapbooking card sets! This is my first and only download for now. More to come!

Here is a sample of what you can do with these cards. To download them, visit my shop!