Remember Today 8.4.09

{remember} enjoying these from the *garden* (someday we'll plant a real garden)

Just fooling around

OK, I'm feeling a twinge of guilt for what I am about to post. You would think that if I had a few spare moments to do anything it would be catching up on my Remember Todays. But no, I'm catching up on some blog reading and stumbled upon this little site. I have no idea what MadMen is (are), but took a few mindless minutes to create my likeness:

Isn't that fun? I'm holding a martini, which I don't even drink, unless they are of the chocolate variety, and even then I prefer my own because I water them down with half & half. I also don't even own a strand of pearls, but thought they made me look very June Cleaver. So if you have a few minutes of mindless time on your hands, head over and make your own.

Oh, how I miss you!

I am still here. I guess you could say I'm on *holiday* (can you tell I was speaking with someone who just moved here from the UK?). Our days have been filled with friends, swimming, outings, appointments, playdates, etc. And let's just say, all this Mommy-time doesn't leave much room for blogging-time. So, just a quick note to say we are here and well, and having a super fun-filled summer. Have to get back to the kiddos who are tranforming their Matchbox cars with Sharpies and paint pens in a process they call "fusion at the paint shop". So much to blog about--I've been keeping a list. Can't wait to get back here, and more importantly back in the stUdio that has seen many lonely nights for too long.

Remember Today 7.7.09

{remember} taking a ride to eat lunch at the Rainforest Cafe: the sounds of the jungle, complete with trumpeting elephants, chattering chimps, and whistling toucans; water fountains, huge tropical fish tanks, and an occassional thunderstorm. Maddox wasn't quite sure what to make of this dark, noisy place. Logan and Camden loved it, especially the gorilla shaking the tree. And I have to say the eats were surprisingly good, and the drinks tropically yummy!

Maddox didn't take his eye off this guy.

Oh and then there were the intermitent shouts of "VOL-CA-NOOOOO!!" when these were delivered to tables: Holy Brownie Sundae, Batman!
No trip to the mall would be complete without a stop at the Lego store.

Remember Today 7.5.09

{remember} the way in which this little guy gives himself completely to the water--no worries, no fear, and . . . NO BUBBLE! He is so proud of himself and his swimming. And I am so proud at how far he has come from the clinging, shaking toddler who climbed up my body like a spider monkey to escape the water in swim class last fall.

Remember Today 7.4.09

{remember} celebrating the independence of our country with a cookout at my sister's home: some swimming, some ball-play, lots of great food, fun with cousins, a bit of music for L's new toy, a missing tooth (and it wasn't one of the kids'!) and finishing the night up with some ice cream and fireworks--perfect (oh, except for the missing tooth part, but that was pretty hysterical, too--sorry, Mike!)

note: Those festive treats are super easy to make: Melt white chocolate (I just used the Nestle white chips); dip pretzel rod; sprinkle with festive sprinkles; and place on wax paper in freezer until hardened--yumMEy!

Happy Independence Day!

Take {imperfect} Action!

Ali Edwards had some great links on her blog today that forced me to *investigate*. Here's another one:
Taking imperfect action is the perfect action to take (Christine Kane)
This is so perfect to me. I love the whole idea of embracing imperfection, and I've been working on this concept for a while now.
It's not easy.

I see it most when I am creating. Phrases like, "I can't use that fantastic {insert new supply or special material here} until I have just the perfect picture to put with it." Or, "I need to find just the right supplies to create a page with these perfect photos."

But I also see it in other areas of my life. I used to buy journal after journal to write in daily. Needless to say, I have journal after journal that has writing on the first five or so pages and then nothing. Why? Because once I missed a day, or God-forbid a week, the journal was no longer perfect, and no longer worthy of using. I am happy to now say that while I still have several journals strewn throughout the house, many are filled (some to the very end) with all kinds of thoughts, doodles, drawings, sketches, quotes, lists, ideas, phone numbers, websites, a little bit of everything imperfect.

Years ago, my grandmother taught me to knit. As soon as I made a mistake, I would unravel the whole thing. I would knit and unravel, knit and unravel. Last year I started a knitting project. I did unravel it once; I had to--a friend pointed out I had knit the whole thing backwards. But I finished it the other day into a small purse, complete with all its imperfect imperfections. My very first finished knitting project.

I have a friend who is a huge perfectionist. She would like to start scrapbooking, but insists she's too analytical to be creative. She once spent an entire evening choosing the perfect color scheme for her Christmas cards. She never did make those cards. She wants to make her mother a special book as a gift, but has spent hours pouring over the internet in search of ideas and products. She is paralyzed by her need for perfection. I adore and love this friend of mine. I see pieces of myself in her. I know how paralyzing that perfectionism can be.
Reading about Christine Kane's blog post tonight reiterated and succinctly verbalized what I already know: doing something imperfectly allows for lots of room for improvement; if you do something "perfectly" and fail, there's no need to try again; taking imperfect action allows you to conquer your fears.

Imperfect action is better than no action at all!

And now, I'm off to email my friend with Christine's blog in hopes that it will spur her into action.

Pondering

Came across Paolo Coelho in my blog reading tonight, and was deeply moved by his writing excerpted here:

Every day – together with the sun – God gives us a moment in which it is possible to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day we try to pretend that we don’t realize that moment, that it doesn’t exist, that today is just the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if you pay attention, you can discover the magic instant. It may be hiding at the moment when we put the key in the door in the morning, in the silence right after dinner, in the thousand and one things that all seem the same to us. This moment exists – a moment when all the strength of the stars passes through us and lets us work miracles.

And then:
Poor are those who are afraid of running risks. Because maybe they are never disappointed, never disillusioned, never suffer like those who have a dream to pursue. But when they look back – for we always look back – they will hear their heart saying: “What did you do with the miracles that God sowed for your days? What did you do with the talent that your Master entrusted to you? You buried it deep in a grave because you were afraid to lose it. So this is your inheritance: the certainty that you have wasted your life.”

Just something to ponder.

A recap

Wow! Where has the month of June gone? Here's a bit of what I've been working on this month (and it certainly hasn't been my blogs!):

• cleaning up my stUdio to get ready for some serious creating this summer and definitely this fall when all three kiddos will be in school for the first time,
• easing through the transition from school year to summer vacation,
• taking a trip to Storyland and Santa's Village (our favorite family place as of yet),
• focusing on spending quality time with the boys, living in the moment, cherishing these carefree summer days,
• finishing (truly) a wedding project that began over a year ago,
• making lists: what we want to do this summer, to-do's, projects for the fall, pages to scrapbook, blog entries to write, crafts to do with the kids, stuff I want to look for when I go antiquing,
• getting the boys bedrooms in order,
• affirming for the third year that our blow-up pool in the backyard was the best $23 we ever spent,
• reading.

Warning: Hormone-Induced Post Ahead

I've been feeling down lately.
Not at all myself.
Overwhelmed, frustrated, impatient, sad, angry, disconnected, and stretched really thin.

But tonight I had dinner at my mom & dad's, shared in my dad's excitement at the boat he's building, ate a delicious meal made by Mom with love (and I didn't even clean up after. I always clean up after.), saw my little nephew who is just too cute for words.
I sat and did nothing.
It felt good.
Really good.

Then I came home, got the boys showered and tucked into bed and sat in front of my computer for a little me time before tackling this clutterd house. I read someone's scrapbook journaling about surviving terminal cancer and "saying yes to life." I read this blog entry from a mom who was having a bad day and "prayed for kindness today. For the words that come out of my mouth to be soft spoken. For the motive behind my actions to be love. Clearly love."
And I can't help but think that these are all signs.
Little signals from some greater source that come at just the moment you need them.
Like a hand reaching down to pull you back up again.
The whisper in your ear that everything will be ok.

We all have bad days. Nobody's life is creamsicles and cookie dough all the time. And these sprinklings of rough times remind me of the good in my life. Lets me see the positive with more appreciative eyes. And allows me to be more compassionate and gentler with others (and myself).

Here's to the creamsicle-filled days ahead!

On my mind

Here's a whole bunch of randomness popping into my head as I work on baseball banners for the upcoming parade:

• having sick kids for nearly a solid month is very draining: physically, emotionally, intellectually
• creating is my therapy; some people need exercise, some use alcohol, some seek counseling. crafting is my drug of choice, and like an addict when I don't get my fix, I can get pretty nasty (or "mean" as I heard more than once today from one little boy)
• 24 hours is just not enough time: to read all the books I want to, look at all the blogs I want to, make all the projects I want to, learn all the new things I want to, play with all the mediums I want to
• right now I am on info overload--so loaded up with inspiration and want-to-do's that I can't begin. when I get this way I know it's time to take a step back and create something or play.
• tomorrow will be another sick day, but hopefully not a lay-on-the-couch-all-day-and-watch-tv kind of day. I'm hoping for an I'm-recovered-but can't-go-to-school-just-yet kind of day. If it is, let's play and make stuff ALL DAY. No computer, no phone, just play and create.
• i feel so much better now

Now Showing

In these four days of trapped-in-the-house-sickness our two tvs have played:

• Curious George
• Cars: The Movie (about three times)
• Kungfu Panda
• The Wiggles (Maddox's pick)
• Zeus and Roxanne
• Matilda
• Home Alone 3
• Wall E
• endless episodes of Drake & Josh and iCarly

When there are sick kiddos, all screen limiting rules go right down the toilet (pun completely intended!).

Chop Suey

We tend to eat a lot of pasta with ground chicken or turkey. Here's a good one that I made last night. My oldest had seconds and asked to take leftovers for lunch today.

1. In large pot brown 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey with diced onion and garlic (however much you like--I used one clove of elephant garlic).
2. Meanwhile, cook 12-16 oz of pasta (we like elbows), and I add some chicken broth to the water to give the pasta a little extra flavor.
3. To the cooked meat mixture, add 2 cans of condensed tomato soup, and one can of petite cut diced tomatoes. I rinsed each can with just a small amount of water and added that in, too.
4. Add some black pepper, a dash of crushed red pepper, and some Italian seasoning (which we were out of so I used pizza seasoning). I don't really measure my spices unless I'm following a recipe, so maybe about a teaspoon or so of the seasoning.
5. Stir well. Then add about 1 cup of shredded mozarella (or a cheese of your liking).

I am a big fan of these kind of meals: one pot (ok, in this case a pot to boil pasta), kid-friendly, ingredients on-hand, and make in the afternoon and eat it whenever you're ready for dinner.

Enjoy!

One Pretty Thing!!

Rachel from One Pretty Thing featured my ribbon bookmark tutorial in today's Daily DIY. This is such a thrill for me; and a very much needed boost on my happiness meter!!

Remember Today 6.9.09

{remember} how the sickness continues. Just when you think it's safe to send the kids back to school. . .the stomach bug strikes again. This time it's Camden.

Here's a re-cap of the past month or so:

• 5/19, 20, 21, 22: Logan home sick with stomach bug;
• 5/29: Camden falls and goes to his first ER visit for his first stitches on the night we are away from them for the very first time;
• 5/30, 31, 6/1, 2: Maddox sick with stomach bug;
• 6/1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Logan home sick with strep throat;
• 6/8, 9, 10 (and hopefully no longer): Camden home sick with stomach bug.

I think I have earned an honorary degree in pediatric nursing!

Makes me want to learn piano

This arrangement is amazing. Pause the player on the right first.

Remember Today 6.5.09

{remember} sitting at the kitchen counter, munching fruit snacks (I needed a sugar fix) with the boys sound asleep upstairs, and being so grateful that this week is finally over: a stomach bug for the youngest, stitches for the middle, and strep throat for the oldest. There's a reason I didn't take the nursing career path.

Remember Today 6.4.09

{remember} how good it feels to have time to keep a to-do list, and time to actually check things off it.

Maddox's writing

My littlest had his first school experience this year. We made a little gift for each of his teachers and he dictated to me what he wanted to write (in hand over hand style):
His favorite thing at school were the "projects" as he called them. He's such my crafty guy.

Writing his name was all him with just a little verbal direction from me: M (he's got that letter down), circle and a little line, circle and a big line, another circle with a big line, circle, and X. He just learned X and is so proud to be able to do it all by himself that he has taken to writing xtra X's. I asked him to add some O's because then at least we could pass them off for kisses and hugs!