Isn’t it? You just have to learn to look.
Today, a friend of Jake’s from work came to visit us with his wife and son. It was such a treat to have someone for the kids to play with. I have so many photos of Nathaniel’s face but not so many of the life we live. Just random shots with a lot in them so I decided I wanted more of those. However imperfect.
And the closeup of course. He just learned how to drink from this cup and enjoys doing it several times a day.
Great day. I finished my book last night. Magnificent one. I read 6 pages of another one before I went to bed. I woke up this morning, finished my kit layouts (more tomorrow) while Nathaniel and David ate breakfast and sat to read my book while Nathaniel napped. He decided to take a super-long nap which meant I could peacefully fall into my book (it was David’s wii day so he was playing.). I read nonstop for 3 hours. (bliss!) and then Jake’s friends came and we played and talked and had a lovely time. After they left, kids ate, showered and then went to bed. I made some coffee and dug back into my book. Finished it in one swoop. Karen Maezen Miller‘s new book Hand Wash Cold is absolutely and truly magnificent. Orders of magnitude better than the previous one which was truly amazing in its own right. More on this in a few weeks. I need to digest. Sit and write. But what an incredible way to spend my day. I was so moved by the end that I had to send her an email to thank her. Go find it and read it. I promise you will be grateful.
And now I am doing some photo processing, cleaning up, etc. Getting ready to start another book in bed. Feeling content in every single sense of the word. (That word seems to imply “blah” in our everyday use. Gives a feeling of settling. Nothing extraordinary. But if you look it up, it means: in a state of peaceful happiness. What more can one ask for?)
Note to Self:
One of the things I’ve been doing during this year of mindfulness and contemplation is working hard to separate my feelings/thoughts from the society’s. So I often ask myself “Does this really bother me or do I think it should?” This is my way of checking in with my own feelings. We are told so many things implicitly and explicitly by the people around us. By the media. By the movies. Books. Whatever. Everything and anything we consume has opinions. They often tell me how I should feel. While sometimes I really agree with them, other times I don’t. But it takes a lot of mindfulness for me to step back and separate my feelings from that of what’s around me.
For example, if I think about it deep down, it doesn’t really bother me that I don’t cook. Sure I want my kids to eat well and healthy. But they are both in excellent health. They are slim and active. They eat tons of fruits and as many vegetables as I can convince them to. They don’t eat any junk food or drink juice. So are they losing out because I don’t make intricate meals? Maybe but if I dig down deep, this is not something that really bothers me as much as I think it should. It only bothers me because I feel an invisible pressure to be a better mom which it (amongst other things) defined by cooking for my kids. And sometimes I do cook. And maybe I will do so more. But because I like to not because I feel pressure to.
I also often chat with my husband over IM. Sometimes we spend the whole night apart. He sits in his office in the garage and I sit in the living room working, doing art, reading. We might send some messages over Instant Messenger. We sometimes even use this medium to talk about concerns we have. We’ve found over the years that it adds a boundary that allows us to better manage our emotions and talk things out more clearly and listen to each other better. Some people might find these things crazy. People laugh at me a lot. But in the end, when I think deeply about it, it doesn’t bother me. These are the ways in which we’ve found to live our lives happily. It works for us. We’ve had a long and lasting relationshop for sixteen years. We love each other deeply and truly enjoy each other’s company. I know how much he loves me. He’s there for me every single time I need him and every single time I want him. So does it really bother me that we don’t always sit next to each other? No. It only does when someone tells me how they always sit with their husband every night, in a way that implies that this is a must-have for a sound marriage.
I have come to believe that there is no such thing a fast-and-hard rule about things like marriage, motherhood, or even life. There are families where the kids and parents eat dinner at a table every single night and yet the conversation is fake, the connection is nonexistent and there are families who eat in front of the TV but yet they are truly immersed in each other’s lives and are there for each other. Life, connections, and people are not simple enough to be reduced into one-liners. There are no rules that work across the board. It’s important to note what works for you and then do it without shame or worry. I feel like I am blessed to have found a way to make things work and make our life joyful for all of us. I will not let my worry of what others think ruin that for me. So, each time I find myself annoyed about something, I will work on remembering to ask: “Does this really bother me?”
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am yet again grateful for my kids, but especially David today. Jake’s friends’ little boy Nico was 20 months old and David was so incredibly gentle with him. There were times he boy tested his patience. Once he almost bit David. He yelled at him several times but David was regularly kind even though you could tell he was close to losing it a little. They ran around the house giggling, shrieking, and had a great time. I am so thankful for his patience, gentleness, and generosity of spirit.
2. Grateful for another incredible book. One that moved me deeply. One that I will definitely read all over again. And for writers like Karen.
3. Grateful for my kit today. I love scrapbooking. I love getting to tell my stories. I love looking over them. Feeling grateful for years of storytelling. And for Nathaniel’s baby book which is so close to being done. Can’t believe he’s almost one.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. The Wii of course.
2. Playing with Nico
Nature is magnificent. Fierce and calming and colorful and astounding. Isn’t it?
This morning, Jake had put a box of cereal on his bag to remember to take it to work. The little squirrel found it, shook it and then was thrilled to discover food coming out of it, which he proceeded to eat. And then his water was nearby, too so he basically spent the next ten minutes, shaking, eating, and drinking. He was mighty happy. Until I took the box away which he protested loudly.
We had our playgroup today after a few week absence. It was fun to be with other mommies and it was great to get a bit of sunshine.
I love these shots of the eyelashes. I loved them on David, too.
I’ve taken a small break from the journal to work on my A Million Memories layouts. April kit is absolutely beautiful and already sold out. I am working feverishly to finish Nathaniel’s baby book. I am trying to keep in mind a few good lessons I’ve learned this week (more below). I am enjoying the process but also focusing on progress. I am also hand-journaling on most of these, to make the process faster and more authentic.
And here’s the wonderfully welcome weekend. I just finished my book which was great but it always leaves me with a sad moment since starting a book is much harder for me than going through one. But I do have one this week that I am excitedly waiting to dig into. And not an electronic one even. So I am not as sad as usual.
Note to Self:
I was listening to Paperclipping Roundtable podcast yesterday and I heard a few pithy comments that I was still thinking of today, especially as I scrapbooked. The two guests were a listener, Heather Lord and Stephanie Howell, and they both said something that stuck with me. Stephanie said how years from now when her girls look at her layouts, they will not complain about how it doesn’t have the visual triangle and while I laughed, it’s so true. When I was looking through the layouts with David yesterday, he couldn’t care whether the photos were perfect or laid on the paper perfectly. He just loved that they were there. He wanted to hear the stories. The rest didn’t matter. He won’t care that the paper I used was six months old. He won’t even care if the greens or blues match honestly. He will only focus on the photos and the stories, I am sure of it. This is important to remember for me as I struggle to put my layouts together, especially when I focus so hard on the embellishments and where each should go.
Heather also said something pithy. She said her phrase of the year is “It’s better finished than perfect.” (I apologize, I am paraphrasing, since I am writing from memory.) But it’s so true! Years from now, the only layouts I will have are the ones I finished. The stories I did tell. Even without photos. Even with crappy photos. Or even with just photos. (As much as I like telling the story I think it’s still better to have a layout with photos that tell a story than no layout at all.) Maybe it was at some point, but scrapbooking is not art for me anymore. For art, I do the art journaling, the tags, etc. Scrapbooking is for telling my stories. It’s for keeping our memories. So a layout done, however imperfect, is MUCH better than a layout that is never done. So this is a good mantra for me. Something I need to remember as I get frustrated with how far from perfect my page looks. Better done than perfect!
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for another weekend. This weekend is a bit packed and I feel a bit stressed but I love the weekend. Being with my family and not having to stress about tending to both the kids and work is wonderful.
2. Grateful for magnificent books. Books that touch you deeply. There’s nothing like it.
3. Grateful to be scrapping this weekend. Any chance to tell our stories, to play with our photos. I am blessed.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Getting to go to the park with Mommy and Nathaniel’s baby group
2. Watching Hannah Montana before bed
I went shooting today. I am not sure why but I’ve been into playing with layers and altering images lately. Just having fun with photoshop.
Here’s Nathaniel giving me a face when I tell him to not touch David’s stuff. This one’s going to be a handful I can tell.
And here’s me attempting to take a shot of the kids as we go on our walk.
Days are passing a little too fast for my taste. I am finding myself disorganized. Not getting enough done but not sitting down to organize myself so I can see what I want to get done. It’s a bit of a cycle I’m afraid. Maybe this weekend I can snap out of it a bit.
I am feeling a strong sense of calm and happiness though. Not really worrying about anything too much and that’s rare for me so for now I’m going to indulge myself and let myself get lost in it.
Note to Self:
I was thinking, again, today about how when you like someone the actions they take, the words they say are so colored by your feelings toward them. So if I like this person I am always willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I read their words and assume they mean well, they are humble, they are kind. I juxtapose my feelings on top of their actions and words all the time. When I like someone they look prettier to me. So does their art. Their words. Their intentions. And, of course, the opposite holds true, too. When I dislike someone, I assume the worst. I listen for the meanness. It just shows that we’re always listening with our own agenda. Even when we think we’re not. And I think this is a good thing to keep in mind. To check when someone is talking/writing and make sure that I am not imbuing the words with meaning that’s not really there. Or at least to make sure I give everyone equal benefit of the doubt. Isn’t that the least they deserve? I truly believe that all humans have a deep need to connect. Need to be accepted and to belong. We all express this need in different ways but in the end, we’re all just striving for the same goal. We all have our scars and our ways of dealing with them. I think everything works better when we treat each other with the best intentions. I want to be more aware of situations where I read into words that aren’t spoken. Words that aren’t there.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. It’s been such great weather here and taking a short little walk with both my kids was definitely the highlight of my day today.
2. I am grateful for sunshine. Living in California is something I take for granted a lot. But now that it’s sunny again, I park as far away as possible when I drop David off at school so we can take our time in the sun.
3. I made a layout about Nathaniel’s first Christmas today. David liked it so much that he got upset when he found out it was going in Nathaniel’s album. (which I am working feverishly to complete). I explained to him that this was Nathaniel’s first. He said he didn’t have a page for his first Christmas (of course he does; he’s the whole reason I started this madness.) so out came his baby album where we looked at his first Christmas which then led into looking at four years of layouts. David’s whole childhood right there in front of our eyes. He begged to stay up extra minutes just to look at the pages. (He had asked to stay up late and play legos but he said he much preferred looking at the layouts.) I am so grateful that I have this hobby. I didn’t care one bit about which page wasn’t perfect, I drank in all of our memories. He asked me to read all of the journaling and I enjoyed our hour together so much. I am so so grateful for these moments with my son. Maybe one day he will grow up and not care about these pages but for now he loves them and I love them deeply and I am so grateful for them. Each time I am caught up in the craziness of it all, I just have to remember tonight and remember that, for me, it’s not the product, it’s not the team I am on or the comments I got. It’s that these are my stories. Our stories. And we will get to live them again and again. Forever.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Putting together the rest of the lego set with mommy
2. Playing with legos
Our CSA started up again this week and I was so happy to see the box. I was just thinking this week that I need to stop the cycle of eating graham crackers, coffee and chocolate for all my meals. And now I have fresh veggies and I ate a salad with carrots, tangerines, pears, and some of yesterday’s Batman pasta. Some vinegar and oil and I was set. Delicious even. I was thinking they should make a website where you put in ingredients you have and it spits out recipes. There must already be a site that does that, no?
I wanted to post some photos of what’s typically happens around here. Just to make sure I have a memory of it. Here’s David watching Pink Panther as he eats his green beans. Usually I am not fond of him watching anything while he eats but I’ve found this makes him finish the veggies faster and with less whining so I left him do it during the veggies.
Nathaniel had some mangoes today and I tried to have another go at the fork, but not much success.
Here he is crawling around with the phone and the Tivo remote. Something he likes to do quite often. He’s figured out that the Tivo turns on the TV so he can do that several times a day, too.
And he absolutely loves taking off the power cable of my computer.
And while he stares at it, and as he brings it into his mouth, I go for an emphatic “No!”
Which is then met with this face.
And this face.
And then this face.
And finally this one.
We do this several times a day. It doesn’t seem to get old for him, ever.
Another semi-productive day. I haven’t managed to do any art, yet but I am about to, I hope. I made progress at work and David’s first day back wasn’t so hard on our schedule though Nathaniel did not take his afternoon nap at all. I can’t believe we’re mid-week already. This year seems to be flying by too fast.
Note to Self:
I’ve been thinking for some time now that I need some local friends. People around here that I can hang out with regularly. Even if once a month. I would love a local reading group. Or an art group. Something that I can count on recurringly where I am connecting with others with some kind of similar interest. The thing is, I am not sure how to go about making this happen. How do people meet people? I am not entirely sure where to start which is how I’ve been stuck for months, now.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. We went to the accountant to sign all the paperwork and checks for the taxes today. It’s all done. It’s our first time using an accountant and while I didn’t like to have to pay for it, I am so grateful it’s done.
2. I am grateful for the quietness of the last few days. I feel like I am getting things done but slowly. I am not adding to my todo list and I am crossing things off. I am not stressing myself out. I am feeling happy and calm for the most part.
3. I am grateful for nice comments and kind emails. I write this blog mostly for myself. for keeping a record of my life. But i do love the comments, the emails, the connection with others. so, thank you, i am grateful to you.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Playing the Indiana Jones game in his Didj
2. Getting to make the lego cars with Mommy
3. Nathaniel (he had 3 today. he was grateful for Nathaniel)
Last of my nature photos; I’m going to have to go take some photos tomorrow.
I thought today would be a good day to get Nathaniel to try pasta for the first time. David still doesn’t eat any pasta or rice and I wanted to make sure Nathaniel has a chance to try it all before he’s too old to be open-minded. I had some Spiderman pasta I’d bought for David so I cooked it for him. I tried giving it to him one at a time but he wouldn’t take it so I just plopped the whole bowl on his tray.
He stared for a while and then reached for one.
Stuck it in his mouth.
Chewed for a while.
And then wasn’t so happy.
But thankfully he continued. And I kept watching him and letting him try things. Until he picked up the bowl.
Which meant bowl-time was over and I tried a fork. But that wasn’t so successful either. He ate a few more and then we decided it was time to put it away and try more again tomorrow.
And here’s a cutie shot just for me.
He’s still dripping. After all I wrote yesterday, I sat and did an art journal page last night and it was so much fun. I loved it. It made me happy. I even played around with one today and started journaling, too. Still feeling a bit iffy but I am happy to be dipping my toes in.
A completely uneventful day here. Tomorrow David’s school starts back up and with Nathaniel’s new nap schedule it promises to be a bit disaster-ish. But I will keep an open mind and see how it goes.
Note to Self:
I noticed today that my desire to belong extends to my hobbies as well. I had been struggling so hard with scrapbooking and my place in it for the longest time. Which is a bit ridiculous since it’s a hobby. But when I get really involved in the community surrounding my hobby, I suddenly feel the need to fit in. To become a bigger part of the community. When I joined AMM, I quickly needed to be on the Design Team which would make me feel a greater sense of belonging. Years ago, when I wrote novels, I used to be a part of this community called Writers’ Village University (I am still a part of it now. Lifetime member.) and even there, I quickly needed to belong. I wasn’t just a member. I worked on their magazine. I wrote and taught classes. I did the same at AMM and then BPS and I even taught elsewhere. I applied for Manufacturer Design Teams. I wanted to write books. I wanted to belong. The need to belong is so acute in me. The need to be accepted, chosen, picked. And it’s pretty insatiable. I wanted to teach at BPS so badly. It was a dream come true for me. Still is. And yet I still get sad that I don’t get published in magazines or get picked for design teams. (To be fully honest, I haven’t applied in a year but back when I was, I didn’t get picked at all.) And yet, I know that most people I know who are on teams are overworked and frustrated and do not really really enjoy it. And I know that it would stress me out. It might even make me feel inauthentic. I don’t want to scrap for the product, I want to scrap for my stories. My life. My kids. And yet, the need to belong is overwhelming. Insatiable. It spreads all over my life.
Today, I thought about all this again. About my motivations behind things. About whether I can ever scrap just for myself again. Can I stop needing to belong? I belong with such good friends already. An incredible husband. Amazing kids. Loving and generous parents and sister. A fantastic job. Do I really need to create all this drama around my hobbies? Things I’m supposed to be doing for fun. I don’t know how to do this. But I know that I need to. This is about being mindful after all. I am open to suggestions.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am thankful for the small piece of art I did last night. Seeing it made me smile this morning.
2. I am thankful for getting to read to David tonight. I tend to want to rush bedtime routine and don’t always enjoy my time but tonight we snuggled into bed and I read the Polar Express to him. I know it doesn’t seem that way but I also know that my days of getting to read stories to him, snuggled up in bed are numbered and I am deeply thankful for them.
3. I am thankful for spending the whole day in my pajamas. I had absolutely no errands or chores today and I sat and worked and played with my kids.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Getting to level 3 in his Batman Didj game.
2. He couldn’t think of a number two as we didn’t do a whole lot today but then I told him he can pick general things too so he said he’s thankful for his Daddy. (not for you, Mommy, he added, oh so nicely.)
David’s been helping Nathaniel practice how to walk. Nathaniel likes to stand up but he’s not taking any steps alone just yet. David loves practicing with him. And so does Nathaniel. Let’s see when he’ll actually walk.
And then they both stop and start playing. And laughing.
He’s still sick and has a fully congested nose. It’s painful to watch. But he’s been in good humors because he’s the best baby on earth.
Since he woke up with a fever yesterday, I took Nathaniel to the doctor tonight and thankfully he has no ear infection or any other kind. He’s just sick the poor little boy.
I was quite productive today. I have a lot more work but it’s actually getting done. It helps to have two separate computer as it turns out because when I am on the work machine, I have nothing personal there and no way to waste time. It’s pretty amazing. I am still feeling a bit unmotivated and I am still making plans in my head but no actual art just yet. I am hoping the drive will come soon.
I haven’t yet done any of my silliness assignments either. I think it’s important to start a class when it actually starts or it throws me off. So I need to sit and catch up on this one.
Note to Self:
As I’ve noticed lately, it takes a while to get back into routine. The routine of life. The routine of art. Until about ten days ago, I was making some form of art daily and I was really enjoying it. I’ve made plans to continue that but I have yet to sit down and actually do it. Same goes for reading. When I read regularly, I seem to crave it more. I want to do it. I look forward to it. Yet when I don’t, I can go for days and never even think of it. I guess this is how people who exercise must feel. The more you do it, the more you crave it. So I need to find a way to get back on the treadmill of art. (Ugh that actually sounds boring but you know what I mean.) Getting up at 5am doesn’t help much but still it’s no excuse. I am confident that once I start again, I won’t want to stop.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am so thankful that Nathaniel doesn’t have another ear infection. So thankful.
2. I am thankful for the simple things today. For routine. For coffee. For time with my kids laughing. For sunshine.
3. I am thankful that my family is having a good time in Disney World. I am sad I am not there with them but so thankful that they are enjoying each other’s company.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Getting to build a big fort with the building blocks he got as a baby
2. Getting to play on Mommy’s phone at the doctor’s
Wanted to play around a bit today.
Despite the fact that I’m Jewish, we celebrate Easter in this house. For years it’s been a lot of fun for David and we wanted Nathaniel to have a ton of fun, too. They woke up early in the morning so we decided to save the egg hunting until after Nathaniel’s nap. As it turned out, he took a 3-hour nap and then woke up with a 102 fever. (Which likely means he has another ear infection I’m guessing….) I picked him up, nursed him, gave him some medicine and brought him downstairs for some hunting.
I’d setup the plastic eggs so the yellow and orange ones are for Nathaniel and the rest are for David. After we put him down, Nathaniel was so tired that he just sat there. Not sure what was going on.
Not David, of course. He knew exactly what this was about.
He was so excited and took less than 8 minutes to find all 15 eggs.
Jake tried to encourage Nathaniel by showing him what was inside his eggs.
He ate them just fine.
But he still wouldn’t crawl and get them. So David, once he’d picked up all of his eggs, picked all of Nathaniel’s too and opened them up for him.
Nathaniel really just sat there, looking tired and a bit out of it. But still incredibly cute.
The two boys surrounded him and made sure he was well taken care of. And so ended his first Easter.
A little while later, he felt much better and by bedtime he was giggling up a storm. David and I would “boo” and he’d giggle and giggle; it’s incredibly joyful to hear a little baby giggle.
As promised, I didn’t do a thing all weekend. I finished my book, started another, made some plans for the week, played with my kids, and today we watched a movie, did some crafts and that was about it. Just a fantastically relaxing weekend. I am looking forward to doing some art and catching up on my todo lists this week. Let’s hope it’s a productive one.
Oh, and, have to go to the doctor again tomorrow for the little boy 🙁 I don’t know what’s going on with him, I hope he’s ok.
Note to Self:
There was a moment today when all four of us were sitting on the couch, watching a movie on Jake’s computer. It wasn’t an amazing movie or anything but just sitting there, being together, doing something perfectly ordinary was the best moment of my weekend. I love my family so much and I am so grateful for ordinary moments. The magic of everyone being nearby, quietly enjoying each other’s company. It’s rare and I am so thankful for it.
I also meant to mention that yesterday, when we were in San Francisco, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch with our friends and this other couple approached us as they left and said “You have the most amazing kids.” They said they were so jealous of how well behaved our kids were and that their kids would be running around. Our kids really are well-behaved and sweet and mostly quiet. Not that I don’t know it, but it was a good reminder of another thing I should be more grateful about.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Watching a movie with my whole family. All of us on the couch.
2. Watching David hunt for eggs and watching him watch out for his little brother. He’s such a kind soul.
3. Craft time with David. I love doing anything with him. I love that we get to sit and paint.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Easter egg-hunt of course!
2. Watching a movie with Mommy and Daddy (and Nathaniel).
More stunning nature. It’s truly breathtaking, isn’t it?
This is Nathaniel right before bedtime. The little boy’s schedule has been all over the place and he’s been a total trooper. Though I could totally do without the 5am wakeup time. But oh well….
I spent the whole day doing nothing at all. I am exhausted. Really really tired. I read my book, lay around and watched TV until it was time to go to San Fran to see a friend of ours. And now we’re back home and the kids are down and all I can think of is bed. I think I am just going to spend the night reading and then go to bed.
I did make a long catch-up todo list but it’s going to have to wait for during the week.
Note to Self:
I find that there are key words or actions that can totally set me off. I can go from feeling happy and blissful to seeing black and raging anger in a split second when the right button is pressed. This is something that I need to pay more attention. If it’s that hot a button, it must mean something, right? It needs attention. It shouldn’t be that easy to get me so upset. Especially when I’ve been paying such close attention and working so hard to be mindful. So when this happens next, I need to take the time to write it down so I can figure out the patterns and work on the issues that set me off so easily.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Jake’s best friend and roommate from college happened to be in town today for a 24-hour layover with his new wife and I hadn’t met her yet so it was a huge treat to get to spend a few hours in the city with them. Nothing like good, solid friends.
2. While we were at the restaurant in San Fran, my manager’s manager from work saw me and came in to say hi and I hadn’t seen him in months so it was a real treat to get to see him even for a few minutes. So grateful he took the time to actually come in and say hi.
3. I am grateful that my book is an easy, fun but also engrossing read. It’s really long and taking me forever to finish but I am actually enjoying it.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Chocolate cupcake
2. Getting to play wii and on mommy’s iphone
Nathaniel has been hungrier than usual lately. Maybe he’s bored. Maybe it’s that his schedule has been so off. Maybe he’s having a growth spurt. Not sure. Either way, I try to make sure to give him food whenever he wants. I give him the nurition-filled food first and then give him the puffs he loves so much.
He will stuff his mouth with several of them simultaneously.
And then much away.
My parents have left this morning. Most of today was catching up on work, email, setting up my computer, etc. Nothing all too exciting. I know I said I wouldn’t but I think I will make a todo list tonight just to get myself back on schedule and see all the places where I dropped the ball in the last ten days. My parents and sister and her kids are off to Disney World right now. I am so sad that I cannot be there and be with them. I was supposed to go but traveling with both kids across the country alone was supremely daunting no matter how I thought of it. So I decided we’ll have to go next time. I am sure they will have the time of their life, though and I will be thinking of them. (And talking to them I’m sure.)
Note to Self:
I’ve always been one of those people who got her homework done as soon as I got home. I can’t stand the idea of having things dangling over my head. Knowing I have stuff due and it’s not done yet. This is something that makes my life hard at times but it also make me good at my job, good at school, etc. The thing is I can’t stand it when others aren’t like that. It drives me insane to leave work unfinished or to not do it until the last minute. It leaves me anxious and stressed out even when it’s not my task. I think this must be annoying for people who aren’t like me. And I think it’s something I need to pay attention to more. Respecting that not everyone does things the same way.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I love love love my laptop. It’s blazing fast. It’s so beautiful. Thank you soooooooo much, Mom!!
2. I am grateful that it’s the weekend and I will have some time to relax and to catch up on my life.
3. I am grateful that my time with my parents went so well and I got so much of what I wanted done and we chatted, and we spent so much quality time together. It hasn’t always been this way but this time it was almost perfect.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Playing on the computer. Jake spent the time today to fix David’s computer so he got to play Mr. PotatoHead on it.
2. Getting to have a lollipop. To be honest, he ate maybe 10% of it but it was enough to make him happy.
Well this time it was my mom’s turn. Here she is with the little one.
And a few with both kids.
David kept making funny faces.
I cannot believe it but my mom and I went through my entire list of possibly 47 items while she was here. We have touched every single room in my house. Added little accents to every little corner. Redid my wardrobe. Went shopping. Spent a lot of time bonding and being together. They spent a lot of time with the kids, too and both the kids adore both of them. Much to my dismay, they leave tomorrow. We will miss them both so terribly much. I am the luckiest person to have them in my life.
Note to Self:
This weekend is going to be all about relaxing. Reading. Art. TV. Nothing else. I plan to relax and then relax some more. I need it. I am writing this down so that if I find myself tempted to do lists, I can come here and remember that I told myself I would relax. I have a book to read. Some silliness drawings for my class. A new computer to set up and lots of sleep to catch up on. Rest. rest. rest.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I got a new Macbook Pro today. My first mac since college. (I have had several corporate ones but this one is all mine. I am thrilled to bits and can’t wait to play with it.)
2. I am grateful for my mom’s patience with me this whole week. We ran so many errands, did so many small and big things and she did not complain one single time.
3. I am grateful that David’s home from school for another few days. I love having him around all the time. He’s so awesome.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Playing with opapa. (My dad’s been telling David stories, playing with him all the time and it’s been the highlight of David’s days.)
2. Getting to eat pancakes and apple juice for lunch.
Some more shots of my dad and the kids.
Nathaniel was trying to be cooperative.
He did have fun for a few minutes, though.
We got even more stuff done today if you can believe it. Tomorrow is when the final stuff comes in and then the house will be all set and beautiful. Not that it wasn’t before but these are the extra little bits that just make it magnificent (in my opinion of course.)
I apologize for mentioning Carla’s class but not linking to it earlier. Here’s the link to: The Art of Silliness. I certainly can use some silliness in my life and I thought it might be fun stuff for David and me to do together, too. Starts tomorrow!
Note to Self:
I haven’t done art journal or scrapbooking stuff since my family arrived. While I love them so much and cherish every moment we’ve had together, I do miss doing some art. Especially since my mom brought me some divine fabric, too. This weekend, I am looking forward to sitting down and playing for a while. It’s amazing the role art plays in my life. Reading and art have become two things I cherish, crave, and need. They heal my soul and calm my spirit.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that my kids are wonderful and kind spirits. Nathaniel is standing up all the time now and today he was patting his belly; he looked just like a prairie dog. David’s so kind and wonderful with him and they both make my heart swell.
2. I am grateful for good heating. It’s cold outside again today and I love that I am in my warm home. I am grateful to have one.
3. I am grateful for my parents. They are so kind, so generous, such good good people. I am so very lucky.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Going to the movies with my Dad (they saw “How to Train a Dragon”)
2. Getting a new Didj game from my parents (Indiana Jones)
Nathaniel has way more fun playing with David’s toys than his. Advantages of having an older brother.
So we took a few photos with my dad today. Nathaniel wasn’t all that cooperative.
I tried to get all three of them.
And then it was just David and Dad.
And then we started the tickling session. My favorite.
We went to the movies again last night. The Ghost Writer. A political thriller. I hadn’t seen a thriller in a long long time. It was quite fun. I crashed as soon as I got home.
Note to Self:
My parents are only here for one more day after today. They leave Friday. It all went by like a blur and who knows when we’ll see each other again. I miss them so much. Thankfully we speak on Skype almost daily. My mom has helped me so much with the house in the last week. It looks thousands of times better. I will take photos and show it all as soon as I have a moment to breathe. We have 2-3 small tasks left and we are magically done with everything I hoped to do while she was here. It’s amazing how natural she is at these. Just another example of how when you know what you’re doing, it feels so easy and yet feels so monumental to those who don’t know it.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful to get to see yet another movie! To get to dress up and go out.
2. I am grateful for the beauty my mom added to my house. Grateful that she’s been so kind with her time and talent.
3. I am grateful that work is a bit less busy this week allowing me to have extra moments with my family.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Strawberry desert my mom brought
2. Playing with Opapa (my dad)
|
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
|
