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DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 31 2009    Happy Birthday!  DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 30 2009   Here's a cute photo of David trying to entertain Nathaniel.  And a funny face by the little one.  Can't believe this week's over! This one went too too fast! 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 30  This one was obvious to me. I need to thank my parents. They have been incredibly generous and it allowed me to have a huge dream come true recently. Thank you mom and dad, I love you! I used sticky back canvas with acrylic paint (used like water color) and some pretty hero arts stamps. I played around with stamping on ribbon. And I added some dimensional pearls. That's it.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 29 2009  I've been meaning to write more but honestly it's 8:30pm and I'm ready for bed. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 28 2009  DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 27 2009  I did some good work today. I set a schedule for us (it was my summer plan, now that summer is almost over, I finally did it.) I made a list of posts for a side blog I've got going. I set up our new Wii Fit. I did two layouts for the August kit for A Million Memories And finished one of the books I was reading (The War of Art). I got a lot more items on my list but I am making progress. Hope you had a good Monday! DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 26 2009   I love these kids so much! CATALYST 72 - IT IS YOU  My words are: Maybe it’s odd that my best friend is also my husband. Maybe it sounds like one of those cheesy Hollywood movies. However it might sound to you, all I can say is that it’s the truth. No I don’t have the best marriage in the world. Yes, we have ups and downs. Many of them. Some days, I’m not even sure it won’t all fall apart. But even on those days, I am sure of one thing. He is my best friend. He is the person who knows me best. He is the person whom I want to call when I have something big to celebrate. He’s the one I call when I am so deep in sorrow that I want to curl up and disappear. He’s the person I want to experience new things with and celebrate old memories with. He is the person who knows me best. He is the person with whom I don’t have to fake anything. Ever. I don’t know how it happened that I found him. SAnd there are times when it’s rough that my husband is also my best friend. There are times I wish I had a different best friend. Someone with whom I could talk about my husband and my worries. But the rest of the time, most of the time, I am so glad that I found him. That he’s my husband. My love. And my very best friend in the whole wold. I love you, my love. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 25 2009   DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 24 2009  He's been conquering those milestones one by one though. Here he is, sucking his fingers.  Tummy time with good push ups.  A huge smile to his older brother.  And grabbing toys.  Hopefully the crankiness will go away and I can get a little more peace around here. Until then, such is life. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 23 2009  DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 22 2009  In the name of taking it slow and experimenting, I decided we'd have one night a week where I cook and we all eat together and everyone has to try everything. You don't have to finish but you have to try each thing. So tonight was our first night. I cooked dover sole with lemon, roasted green beans with parmesan, and sauteed potatoes. Add to that cucumber, tomato, and corn salad and we had a meal. It may not look so appetizing but I swear it tasted great. Even David (who is the pickiest eater) tried each thing (after much cajoling). So far, so good. Aren't you proud Mom and Yona?  Here's Nathaniel from last night as Jake's watching the Tour de France and holding the little boy.  And here's a crappy iPhone shot of David in gymnastics class. He's really doing great.  Finally, here's Nathaniel looking up at me, all sleepy. He's been struggling with his naps lately which makes him one cranky boy. I don't know what to do so I am trying to take it easy and know that, this too, shall pass. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 29  Since Nathaniel's still not really sleeping much at night, I don't dream much so I decided to make this about how I stay up at night and love him. I put a love tree, lights for staying up, a clock that shows how I'm awake at 4 in the morning and how he's my #1 and this beautiful quote which I love. I used stickles, distress stickles, liquid pearls, distress inks, embossing, and a lot of stamps.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 21 2009  Since I wrote about Nathaniel yesterday, here's some information about David:
  DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 20 2009  At almost three months, here's what you do Nathaniel:
I can't wait to get to know more of you Nathaniel and we all love you so so much. CATALYST 71 - A DAY TO REPEAT  Here are my words: On this day that I’d like to live again and again, I wake up before everyone and enjoy a warm drink and some solitude. Then, slowly, my household wakes up and we have a delicious breakfast as a family. Then, we take a car trip to the beach or forest. We take photos, we have a picnic, and we play together and laugh. We drive back home and we take quiet time as we read and relax. For dinner, we cook together and eat something delicious and healthy. Then we snuggle up and read or watch TV together. After some kisses and bedtime words, the kids go to bed and we have some us time just my husband and I. That’s about it. Maybe it’s ordinary to you, but I can live this simple day over and over again and always be so so happy. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 19 2009  Here are a few more of Nathaniel with the toy:   And here he is grabbing things finally.  Mostly uneventful day today. I spent most of the day reading "I thought it was just me." and relaxing and feeling inspired and peaceful. Haven't had that in a while. I think I need to be productive too often. I need to take more of these quiet days. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 18 2009   And here's a funny face from Nathaniel. Uneventful day today. Mostly rested. I am feeling really tired lately. I think almost three months of bad sleep is finally catching up with me. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 17 2009        I love them both so much. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 28  My days lately have been filled with dreaming about the life I want for myself and for my family. About making my dreams come true. So I decided to dedicate this card to that. I painted the card green because I decided I didn't have enough green cards so far. I then used clear embossing powder to stamp dream over and over again. I highlighted one and embellished around it and ta-da!  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 16 2009   I can't seem to get the feet photo right but I am going to keep trying. and I can never get enough sleeping photos. He looks so peaceful and I love how he hugs himself. His hands are still in fists most of the time.  I hope for this to be an uneventful day. I am tired and it's already almost noon. Nothing done yet. Maybe the second half of the day will be better. I have my friend Sandra coming tonight and I am looking forward to seeing her. Here's to a productive day. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 15 2009   And here's David, eating, watching a movie, and playing all at the same time. At his little table.  His eyes are still sort of blue. This week has been relatively unproductive, but I am hoping next week will be better. Nathaniel isn't sleeping well at night. I can't tell if it's something I am doing wrong or just cause he's still so little. We had the pleasure of our friends Manu and Hana's visit today, it was great. Especially since they had such wonderful news. I am glad that we're starting to see friends again. I miss seeing people. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 14 2009   And here's David helping me prepare them:  I used to do that with my Mom. Today we went to gymnastics and then picked up our CSA and I did an upcoming catalyst. That's about it sadly. Tomorrow is a biggish day for me so I am a bit nervous. I will leave you with several wonderful Nathaniel shots. Well, wonderful to me.      It's almost midweek! DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 13 2009   And here's David:  An uneventful day here, feeling tired and unmotivated. Trying to cut myself some slack and let myself rest. Hope your Monday is well. And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUKI! 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 27  This one took a long time. In the end I decided to make it about freedom. I feel freer and happier than I have in a long long time. So here's to my newfound freedom. I cut a transparency in a tag shape and used a collection of alcohol inks on it and some copper mixative. I then stamped it with a music stamp and put some butterflies and a few letter stickers. I don't really like how it turned out but honestly I can't ever get the alcohol inks right no matter how much I try. These tags are for experimenting after all so I am letting this one stay.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 26  I can never remind myself this enough. Before David was born, I literally put this on my wall "Give up that there's something wrong." I need to live life happier and less worried. Fabric, some leaves, a frame, buttons and a little baker's twine with some pretty trim and some small letters.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 25  I am lucky that I get and give hugs all day long. My husband and kids are very generous with that. I stamped with the clock and used clear embossing powder. I then inked over it and added two clock faces and spinners.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 24  I thought of math and science. I am good at math but I wish I were excellent. I put chipboard numbers and painted over the whole thing.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 12 2009  I hope this week is just as productive. NATHANIEL'S BABY BOOK Now that I've begun Nathaniel's book, I wanted to share a little about my process. Months ago, I bought the baby kit from Lisa Bearnson's KOTM, designed by Becky Higgins, thinking I would use it for Nathaniel. I loved parts of the kit and wasn't crazy about other parts so I made my own amalgamation of her ideas and mine.  I started with some of Becky's cards and holders where I wrote his birth story, our tags from the hospital, the paper my sister-in-law Leila gave with the candles at my baby shower, etc. This is all the stories up to and day of Nathaniel's birth. Then comes one of the pregnancy tests I had taken. The only one that still shows the "pregnant" line. (Maybe it's gross but I save these things.) and on the back is the paper where I kept track of Nathaniel's pees and poops for the first few days.  Then comes the first piece of clothing they ever put him in. I also have his first hat and will put it in the back. And then one of Becky's monthly cards to indicate the beginning of the first month. And then the first layout welcoming Nathaniel to the world and finally a layout with one of the photos taken in his first week.  Next to the layouts is a page that has 4x6 photos from the other days on the first week. So I take photos of Nathaniel every day which means I have 7 photos a week. I scrap one and put the other six on a page that holds six 4x6's. This way the spread shows the entire week.  So these are the first four weeks of his life. All the photos and all four (plus the one welcoming him) layouts. I do this for each month.  And finally, each month ends with this long journaling paper that came with the kit where I write about that month. Oh, and, each time we go to the doctor and he's weighed, I use one of the stamps the kit came with and note his height/weight on the photo of the day when we went to the doctor. that's it! MY SAVIOR  CATALYST 70 - YES I CAN  my words: It may sound counter-intuitive but I have found that the best advice I ever got was someone telling me that I couldn’t do something. When I was in high school, I visited Israel and this gentleman told me that if I wanted to study computers (which I did since I was seven) I should attend Carnegie Mellon University. I had never heard of the school so I ran back to my room and wrote it down in my diary. When I went back home (to Turkey), I told my teacher that I wanted to go to Carnegie Mellon. She told me that there was no way I could get in. I didn’t have what it takes, she said. I was so mad that I made it my mission to get in to the school. Not only did I get in but I graduated with both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in four years and I graduated with honors. I have since then learned that nothing motivates me as much as someone telling me I can’t do something. SWEET LITTLE BIRD  YOUR LOVING BROTHER  DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 11 2009  Here's the sweet boy.  And Nathaniel's still chewing on his fist.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching Tour de France. I did two more Nathaniel layouts. I have only one left to do to catch up. I leave you with more photos of him.  and here's a finny face.  FOREVER  SO SO SAD  SSH  SO TINY  DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 10 2009  Then we came home, ate, watched some movies and took some photos of Nathaniel.  And then both the boys fell asleep while I worked on Nathaniel's baby-book layouts.  Oh, and I came home to a surprise from Linda at Sakura of America. They are wonderful sponsors for creative therapy and I told her how much I loved this week's prize and here's what I got in the mail:  Isn't she awesome? This is a fantastic company and I LOVE these pens. Here's to a good weekend! DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 9 2009  Well, we have to take the car in on Saturday but that's not for the house. Still being relatively unproductive cause I am so tired. But I did two layouts for Nathaniel's book. So that was progress. Here's to a better tomorrow. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 8 2009   All in all, an unproductive day today. Not feeling up to doing anything. I decided to allow myself a day of rest so that I can give myself permission not to be productive today. Oh well. At this moment, David's playing with some of my stickers while the little one sleeps.  And I am working on catching up here while the SSH is still down. ugh. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 7 2009  I was expecting today to be rough. We started our day with a dentist's appointment for David. His teeth are shiny clean now, look:  Nathaniel napped right on my shoulder the whole time. And then we came back home and did our morning routine and then left the house again at 2:30 for David's first gymnastics class:  He hadn't taken his nap so he was really tired and I think the class tired him out even more. Though he appeared to be enjoying it, he said he didn't like it. We agreed to try it for one more week and then see. After the class, we went to pickup our CSA food and came home, all tired. And then Jake came home and we all watched the Team Time Trial on Stage 4 of Tour de France.  And to end our evening, my friends Holly, Peisun, and Nadia from Google came over with pizza, diapers, brownies and gift certificates to Godiva. All in all, the day was long but fantastic. HOME PROJECT FOUR - COLORFUL BOOKS This is inspired by this post by Andrea Scher who reminded me about the amazing book art. Somewhere she said she wished she had books she could arrange this way. This made me realize that I probably had enough books to try this out.. Here's how it turned out:  To be fair, I didn't take the time to do all th shade-sorting he did but I think it still looks quite awesome. I did a few adjustments. All the extra-large and extra-small books went on the bottom two shelves. Each shelf is double-stacked. I got to have 3 whites, 1 yellow, 1 orange, 2 pink/reds, 2 greens, 2 blues, 1 brown, 1 purple and grey, and 3 blacks. I must admit, I love looking at it. See, Cole, it worked! HOME PROJECT THREE - SHELVES I wanted to put shelves in both kids' rooms so I could put fun things on them. I have yet to buy more but I already like the way they turned out.  Nathaniel's shelves have a print by Kal Barteski, a drawing by gingerwinks, a few stuffed animals, David's first pair of shoes, and a lot of books.  David's shelves have two photos of him that I love, the letter D, a favorite book, some more stuffed animals, and a small pring by Kal. There's more coming here, but I already love it.  and here's a sneak into Nathaniel's closet. His clothes are color-coded where orange and pink are 0-3 months and green and blue are 3-6 months. I know it's a bit obsessive but it makes it easier for me to find stuff. Also the boxes on top are sorted by year for one, two, three and newborn (stuff he's already grown out of). HOME PROJECT TWO - BUTTERFLY MOBILE This is inspired by a wonderful etsy shop item. Ever since I saw this, I wanted to make one for Nathaniel's room. Mine is far inferior to hers but it's handmade by me. And I love going in Nathaniel's room and seeing it every day.   Doesn't it look sweet? HOME PROJECT ONE - SCRAPPING SPACE As we move into our new home, I had some projects I wanted to try out. This is me documenting some of them. The first one is creating a new scrap space. When I unpacked all my scrapbooking stuff, here's how the living room looked:  And then little by little, I put stuff away, so my table ended up like this:  isn't that much nicer? and here's everything else:  All those black buckets store a LOT of stuff. And here's a peek inside the drawers:  Tim Holtz stuff.  More Tim Holtz stuff.  Paint. All of the drawers are organized by categories that make sense to me. I've been using them for ten days now and so far the system is working great.  And here is the wall I look at when I work. A wreath from Pottery Barn, a sign I bought from a yard sale, and a beautiful painting by Kelly Rae Roberts. The other wall has a beautiful bird drawing from this etsy shop (which you can see in the "after" photo.) So far, I'm loving this space to bits. Very functional and very tidy. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 6 2009  
We started today on a really bad note since nathaniel really struggled last night and neither of us slept much. David was kind enough to play in his room as I took a nap while Nathaniel slept this morning. But somehow I threw out my back in the process and it's hurting like crazy. Tomorrow is a really long day for me so I am hoping that it will be better by then (even though it's likely that it won't be.)  I also started Nathaniel's book today finally and I think I really like the system I came up with. Let's see how it looks when it comes together.  THANK YOU CARD  
BLUE OR BROWN  It's for Nathaniel's baby book. Week 9. Journaling talks about how I am wondering if his eyes will turn brown or stay blue.  SO MUCH LIKE ME  It's for Nathaniel's baby book. Week 8. It talks about how I couldn't believe how much Nathaniel looks like me until I saw this photo. FAMILY OF FOUR  It's for Nathaniel's baby book. Week 4. It says: And finally here we are, a family of four. Thank you for completing us. We love you. Palo Alto, CA. May 25, 2009. FAMILY MOVIES Two movies from the last weeks of our life. First, David jumping in the pool in swim class. And then Nathaniel and his new-found fist. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 5 2009  
We started the morning quietly. Nathaniel played on his chair.  And David finished the Star Wars movie he'd started yesterday.  And then both boys took naps while I did some art.  Look at that finger...  When he woke up and nursed, he was all smiley and happy.  All in all, a great Sunday here. 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 23  I need to love myelf more. Be kinder to myself and allow myself to make mistakes without judging myself so much. I covered the background in red ink, stamped the little hearts with embossing stamp, embossed with clear powder, stamped the tree, cut it out, tied a small baker's twine, and a little bling (of course), a few letters and I was done. It's hard to see the little hearts but in person it looks neat.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. CATALYST 69 - OUR HOME  My text: We just bought our very first home ever. I have wanted a home of my own for as long as I can remember and I love every corner of this little house. It's my favorite place because it's where all the people I love live. It's ours. It's going to be filled with our wonderful memories. I can't ask for anything more. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 4 2009  
This is David's "I'm not friends with you anymore" face. Which he makes whenever he doesn't get his way. So, quite often.  When Jake and David discovered that Return of the Jedi was on TV, everything else stopped. All three boys were watching TV and hanging out. Nathaniel spent some quality time with his Daddy today. Sitting by his side.  and walking around.  Nathaniel has recently discovered his fist and he's been sucking on it feverishly. The slurpy noises are hilarious.  And here's a big smile to end a wonderful day.  I hope your July Fourth was as great as ours. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 3 2009  
I know the photo isn't so great but it tasted delicious, I swear. I have Kelli Crowe to thank cause she linked to the Barefoot Contessa book that I ended up buying and it's where these recipes come from. Yum! There shall be more cooking next week.  And here's the little boy. He had an ok day. A little rough on the naps but nothing else terrible. He's a superstar. Oh, and when I came home from the store, I saw the A Millon Memories box on my doorstep and it was all I needed to get my jump on Nathaniel's baby book. I sat and did three layouts. I am doing something different (than David's) with Nathaniel's book and as soon as my photos are here from Shuttefly and I put some of it together, I will share. Happy long weekend! BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND Last time I taught Telling Stories Deeply, many of the students wanted me to teach it again. I was 9-months pregnant with Nathaniel. I had no idea if BPS would allow me to teach it again and when I would be able to. I am delighted to tell you that they have offered to rerun it and you can register here. The number one feedback was that we make the class longer so I asked them to insert two break weeks in between so you'd have more time to digest the information, ask questions, etc. Fair warning, the material is exactly the same, including the audio, journaling spots, etc. So please don't get mad if you register again and realize that it's the same class. It's the SAME CLASS. I am hoping to put together a long list of resources and some more inspirational stuff this time around, depending on how much free time Nathaniel gives me. If you have any questions about the class, feel free to ask away. I hope to see you there! 52 QUESTIONS AND TECHNIQUES - TAG 22  I am choosing to go in the direction of joy. I want to be happy and I am working on feeling more peaceful and helping myself bloom and be more joyful. I think happiness is intentional and can be self-taught. I used dabbers paint and masking to do the butterfly and then just another simple stamp and Thickers and I am done.  I am combining Emily Falconbridge's art journal questions with trying a new technique each week. You can see the full list: here. DAILY PHOTOS - JULY 2 2009  
And here's David in his full Buzz Lightyear costume.  And it's been a while since I had a tulip. :) 
I also ordered our first CSA basket today. We're scheduled to receive Broccoli, zucchini, squash medley, green beans, Valencia oranges, pluots, strawberries, and nectarines. Let's see how yummy they are. CATALYST 68 - SO MUCH BETTER  my words: Even in my wildest dreams and biggest hopes, I could never have predicted such an amazing life. Such incredible children. Such a loving husband. So much success. So much luck. I am so so so thankful and so blessed. This week we also have the honor of being featured by scrapstreet.com magazine. Make sure to check it out and big thanks to Stacey. A MILLION MEMORIES - JULY KIT  Here's the beautiful July kit designed by the wonderful Mia! Don't you love it? Daily Photos - July 1 2009  |
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