My Week Thus Far

What a week. We got hit with an ice/sleet/freezing rain/small-sprinkling-of-snow storm Monday. We have not left the house since Sunday. As a girl who likes to be on the go, I am climbing the walls with cabin fever. Brandon has taken it all in stride. He likes to stay at the bat cave. He is also recovering from strep, so the downtime has been a welcome gift. Emma is sick. We are taking her to the pediatrician in the morning. I am sure it is something viral, but I want to make sure she has not developed an ear infection. Thankfully this just came on and we did not have to drive her to the doctor in the ice. Aidan, who is much more of a home-body than I am, is just as ready to get out of here as I am!

I thought I would get so much done this week. After all, I could not escape the mounds of laundry with easily justifiable errands. I did make a dent in some of the household chores, but I did not accomplish half of what I wanted to get done. I did finish Aidan's birthday party invitations. They are pictured here:

I think they turned out pretty cute, and most importantly Aidan LOVES them! They are all addressed and ready to mail as soon as I leave the house tomorrow and buy stamps.

We started construction on our new sunroom two weeks ago. It is coming along at record speed. A guy was here to tape and mud the sheet rock today and he is coming back tomorrow to texture the walls. The tile guy is coming tomorrow as well. After that we just have the cabinet installation, heat & air installation, paint and wood staining, and light fixture installation. I can't believe it has come together so quickly! The kids are excited to have a new playroom. I am excited to have a place to organize the kid clutter. I'll post a couple of pictures tomorrow.

One last thing: you may have read today's earlier post. I have since written my congressperson and senators, urging immediate reform of the CPSIA. If you are interested in reading about this further, I recommend checking out www.handmadetoyalliance.org, Sarah Jane's blog, this etsy blog, or Design Mom's blog. The topic has also made it onto Change.org's website. I just can't imagine not being able to make, sell and buy handmade things anymore. It is just too sad. Thanks for your help in saving handmade!

Save Small Businesses! Save Handmade!

OK, so I plan on blogging about other things later in the day (after the little ones are tucked away for the evening) but I feel an overwhelming need to mention this immediately.

This is the link to Sarah Jane's blog. She has written an eloquent and informative blog about the ridiculous new CPSIA legislation. I won't regurgitate everything she has written, but I will urge you all to take action, whether you are a small business owner or not.

Thanks!

Birthday Girl

New Year's Eve. I don't believe it. Where did the year go?

In our house New Year's Eve is a huge deal because it also my Emma's birthday. She turns FIVE today, which just seems so impossible. I can still so easily picture they way we had her nursery arranged. I can still remember her smell as I nursed her and rocked her for hours on end in the comfy yellow chair, see the shadows cast across her peaceful face by the soothing glow of her low light lamp. I can feel her soft curls and sweet breath on my neck as I hold her and tell her stories and sing along to Coldplay.

And now my baby girl thinks she is all grown up. She can't wait to go to Kindergarten. She loves to sing and dance to Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. She has a very keen sense of fashion and loves to shop, though this is not something new for her. She watches Cyberchase instead of Sesame Street. She wanted, and received, an iPod for Christmas instead of toys. But she still loves to snuggle with me, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Not Very Creative

So I just realized I have not really posted anything creative lately. It is not like I have not been working, I think I am just drowning in projects right now and don't have time to write about them! I have, however, made time to goof off and read.

I may have mentioned in a previous blog that we read Twilight for our book club. Well, I actually read all four books in a week. I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed them! Eve and I saw the movie and LOVED it. I really think the casting is impeccable and Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson have great chemistry. He is so dreamy! ;) Yes, we have all reverted to 15 year old girls!

Eve and I decided to drag the husbands to see it too, so we all went to the Warren theatre, which was really fun. They have a balcony section where you can order dinner or drinks, the seats (which have seat warmers!) are super cozy. Good times.

So, having seen it twice, the book club/craft night girls and I saw it together tonight. (The boys saw The Punisher.) Eve said that even though she has seen it before it is like watching it for the first time each time she sees it. I think that she is on to something there. I NEVER go see a movie more than once in the theatre, so this is absurd and fun. My husband just rolls his eyes. I am pretty sure he thinks we need a Twilight 12 step program!

Anyway, if you are in the mood for a very romantic and sweet movie, I recommend Twilight. Go with the girls, or take your Edward with you. Either way I think you will enjoy it. And I think you will be surprised at how many people are smitten by this beautiful love story. And check out the soundtrack, too. It's awesome!

My Thanksgiving Dinner Contribution

It is Wednesday morning, and it has just occurred to me that I have no Thanksgiving plan. Actually, I don't host, so I have it easy. I am responsible for making my Nana's dressing, though. No pressure there, right?? At least I don't have to make the pies. My mom makes them. One day I will have to master pie crust -- it just won't be this year!

I have not even done my shopping yet. I cannot believe I am this ill prepared! I am usually a little more on top of it, but not this year. I think I am in denial because everything is coming up so quickly. I host Christmas every year, and a week after that is Emma's birthday. And I haven't even planned her perfect 5th birthday party yet. UGH. OK, back to the task at hand...

I have to hit the grocery store. I have to wash, chop and saute. Then we are off to lunch with my mom and Aunt Kelley. Then we are back home for a little down time, I will make the kids dinner, the sitter will arrive and Brandon and I will leave for a movie with friends this evening. I am not entirely sure how all this will play out, but I think I can get it all done. I can always finish up in the morning.

Hopefully you are all more prepared than I, and you will be able to enjoy your Wednesday. Maybe next year I will look back on this post and it will remind me to be more prepared. But probably I will have forgotten all about it and still be in the same rush I am this year. Oh well, at least I work well under pressure. Have a stress-free Wednesday and a very Happy Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Because really, that is what it is all about. Love to all!

My Very Unconventional Thankful List

I was not going to do a blog about all the things I am thankful for. For one, it would be long. And maybe a bit boring, because I am sure it would echo every "what I am thankful for" post out there. So I am mixing it up a bit. These are all things that I am thankful for, but they are not the typical things you would expect. So, without further ado, here is a short list of a few of the weirder things I am thankful for. They are listed in no particular order of importance.

• That Pottery Barn Kids does NOT sell the Star Wars sheet sets in King Size. If they did, I am fairly certain that it would be only a matter of time before my husband dragged them home.
• My husband's total acceptance and understanding of my crazy irrational fear of clowns. In a very understanding manner he eloquently and effectively explained to Emma why we cannot bring home the child-sized Gymbo clown doll from Gymboree. Thirteen times.
• Paper and fabric and all of the great designers out there that make them.
• Book, books, books.
• Appointment calendars, without which I would be a complete mess. Oh, OK, an even bigger mess than I am now.
• My gorgeous Kitchen Aid Mixer (in Claret). My kids love to make cookies, and nothing whips them up faster. I can't tell you how many hand held mixers I have blown up trying to mix cookie dough. It just doesn't work.
• Music - a special shout out to Coldplay for being Emma's bedtime music since day one and Jack Johnson for being Aidan's bedtime music from day one as well.
• Emma and Aidan's sleep-overs at CiCi's house. This occasional treat is the only only good night's sleep I get. Thank you, thank you, thank you CiCi!! My mom rocks!
• The color pink because it is Emma's favorite and she is so passionate about it.
• Toy Story and Toy Story 2 because of how much Aidan loves them.

OK, so there it is. A very small sampling of things that I really appreciate. Of course these things can't compare to my family, God's grace, my friends, good health, etc. You know, all those usual things I wasn't going to mention!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Catch Up

I cannot believe it has been a month since I last blogged. Where did October go? Where did the majority of November go, for that matter?! Only 10 days (well, 9 really) until December. How is this possible. Maybe I would be more productive if I did not waste so much time pondering where all of my time has gone! Here are a few of the things I have been up to this last month:

My darling girl finished her first season of soccer. I may have mentioned in a previous post that she scored THREE goals at her last game. I am so proud of her! This was her first team sport and she worked really hard. Here is a picture of her after she received her medal at the post season soccer party.

This is the beautiful pink soccer ball cake that my ridiculously talented mom made for the team's party. Of course it is pink, and of course it is complete with little pink ladybugs she made with icing. Seriously, is there nothing my mom can't do?? And did I mention it tasted great, too?

Aidan wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. We found this extremely cool costume at The Disney Store. It even lights up! He loves the costume now, but he almost didn't wear it. It came with the purple hood thing that Buzz wears and Aidan did not care for that part of the costume. For some reason he thought he had to wear the entire thing. Once he found out he could go sans purple hood thing he was elated! I love my boy to infinity and beyond!

Emma made her mind up about her costume a year ago. She LOVES Wonder Woman because she is a Princess and a Super Hero. I don't think I need to point out that my mom made the entire costume, including the cool tiara and bracelets. Not shown are her super cool red boots and her golden lasso. We could not find blue fabric with white stars so she just appliqued them on. Emma is my favorite Princess Super Hero. I am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, my girl can save the world.

I have managed to do a couple of small shows recently, but I decided to limit myself in this area as of late. I love doing shows, but there is always so much work involved to get ready. And with holiday orders, it just has not been feasible to do as many as I would have liked to have done.

The girls and I got together last weekend for craft night. It was so much fun. Eve worked on a few scrapbook pages and Lucy and I made frames. Jen couldn't make it, but she will be here for the next one on the 29th. Lucy will likely still be out of town for that one, but we are getting together again in early December. We are thinking about making these darling little cupcake bath bombs that Little Birdie Secrets was kind enough to share with the world. I think they will make fun little stocking stuffers and I know my kiddos will love them. They beg for bath ice cream every time we go to The Makeup Bar. If they are pretty easy to make I will let them whip up a batch themselves. They love to cook and they love to craft, so this will be right up their alley. I will make sure to post our results, no matter how they turn out!