David made this ornament at school today. Isn’t it lovely? It was his last day of school until the new year. Since Jake was home today he took David to the bus, and then Nathaniel to his flu shot, and then went to David’s school party. It was nice for me to get to sit and do some of my todos and then read a little and just rest.
As soon as Nathaniel woke up from his nap, he noticed the new addition to the tree.
We then had to move it higher in the tree cause he wouldn’t stop reaching for it. He wouldn’t even let me take a photo until it was too high for him to reach.
And when I finally did put it out of his reach, this is the look I got.
And a similar look when David and Daddy wouldn’t let him touch the computer.
But then, later, when they were waiting for Jake, the touched each other’s feet on the couch.
and laughed.
and laughed.
and then they cuddled up with daddy.
my angel.
then David and Jake made some legos together while Nathaniel ate and I worked on a craft.
and they finished it. It was a motorcycle with a sidecar.
We had planned on going to Fairyland today but it’s been pouring buckets so, once again, we didn’t get to go. Let’s see if the rest of the weekend has some dry moments so we can go. Also, at least eight boxes of Christmas presents showed up today so tomorrow is going to be all about wrapping, it seems.
But not tonight. Tonight I plan to finish off some bits and pieces and read more and cuddle up with my hubby. I’ve been really really exhausted so rest will do me good. I hope you’re resting, cuddling, and safe and sound wherever you are.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we had such a perfectly ordinary day today. A lot of rest, all of us together, hugging, laughing, and just being present.
2. I am grateful that David doesn’t have school for two weeks. No more having to set the alarm.
3. I am grateful that I am still exercising. It’s been hard and tiring and painful but I’m at it. Day after day. Let’s just hope this works.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. grateful that daddy came to the school party today {* his pick for the journal}
2. sitting with mommy and playing on the computer
3. making legos with daddy
I went to bed last night promising myself that I would be calm, quiet and patient today. And I am happy to say that I think I was. I’ve had my moments and work was very stressful but I kept my cool. I talked to David a lot to explain the situation so all I had to do was remind and I didn’t yell one single time. Nathaniel had me stressed a bit because just when I was having manual production problems and had to do a lot of typing, he’d come over to the computer and type and I had to move his hand and he’d melt down. But he did eventually calm down and play.
I worked all through until the moment I had to leave to get David. Then I worked a bunch more while David did his gratitude journal, etc. And then I asked if could snap a photo and I got this gem.
Then since he was so great when I worked, we played some cards together. He won.
And then it was bed time. There was a little bit of a meltdown but it all happened with relatively low fanfare and I just kept reminding myself that I needed to breathe and relax. Then I got a bunch of crafty stuff done and now I have more todo list items to get through. But I feel good about the work, the exercise, the fun time, the craft time, and even a long wonderful conversation with my mother in law.
Having said that I am so so so tired. Please hope that my little one sleeps past 5am ok? Pretty please?
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I finished some of the loose ends on projects I wanted to completely finish.
2. I am grateful that I have tomorrow off. 3-day weekend, here I come.
3. I am grateful that I got a wonderfully kind recognition at work today. It was completely unexpected and I felt so surprised and grateful.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. making snowflakes in art class {* his pick for the journal}
2. playing cards with mommy
3. playing with my math toy
Today we went to David’s school for the Winter Sing. The photos are not good but I still love them. Here he’s dancing with his teacher’s son. They are good friends.
Nathaniel loves watching them.
And David was so happy.
i must be honest, I’ve been so grouchy that I dreaded going there and I am really glad I did. It was wonderful to be there with David and see all of K-2 sing. Tonight I get to go to book club and then I have a list of things I want to do when I come home but the chances are I will be way too tired. I spose that’s what tomorrow is for, right? Thank you for all your kind comments from yesterday. I feel so much better knowing I am not alone. Thank you, thank you.
Also thank you for signing up for my newsletter. I appreciate that, too! I promise you will be glad you did!
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I went to David’s school and watched him sing.
2. I am grateful that I have book club tonight. Even though I feel tired and worn out, I know I will enjoy it.
3. I am grateful that I get to have most of the next two days off. I need downtime. Mentally more than anything else but still, I need it.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. singing at school today {* his pick for the journal}
2. having mommy and nathaniel come to school
3. cleaning up for mommy
As you can glean from the previous post I’m still cranky today. And yet I’ve had wonderful moments today, too. I love Nathaniel.
Especially his sense of humor. (the cut on his eyelid is from the computer he dropped yesterday.)
And I love David and how much he loves to read.
And how interested Nathaniel is in his brother. How much they love each other. Nathaniel gives him like a million hugs a day.
I love that despite my inexplicable grouchiness they are perfect, wonderful, kind, generous and loving. To me and each other. I love that my husband is so kind with me. HE helped me accomplish two huge tasks today. I am so thankful for the kindness of friends. I am just feeling full of bliss and joy amidst the grouchiness. And I am holding on to that feeling as hard as I can.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I got tickets for CHA! I am going alone this time. Thank you Yona for showing me it’s ok to travel without my family. That I can survive it and so can they. Let’s hope it’s true in January too. So grateful for the kindness of Caroline. And that everything came together so smoothly. Knock on wood.
2. I am grateful that Christmas presents are done! Ok I still have Jake but the rest are done done done.
3. I learned something new at work today. I love learning new things. I love doing them however small. I am grateful for the help of coworkers so I could learn and grow.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. getting a piece of chocolate at school (Hannukah geld) {* his pick for the journal}
2. playing a game in PE class
3. reading my library book
One of the many advantages of doing the daily diaries is that I get to see some of the patterns in my life. One thing I realized is that I definitely go through phases where I am unproductive, negative, and uninspired each month. Sometimes they last a few days, sometimes longer. But it happens each time. More significantly, it passes each time. It comes and it goes. Knowing that it will go again really helps me tackle each new one a bit more calmly. I don’t feel as desperate because I know it’s ephemeral.
I’ve been in one of these slumps lately. I feel tired and negative and sad and worn out. Even though I tell myself to rest, I scold myself for resting. For not getting things done. But alas….this too shall pass.
I must say, even in my most uninspired days, I am still exercising every day. I am still taking photos and writing my gratitude down. These things are now ingrained in me. They are not negotiable. And that makes me happy.
It also makes me happy that Nathaniel’s learned to smile at the camera. He’s going through the terrible twos lately so these photos are that much more precious to me.
I spent my day working and trying to let myself mope. Jake was home so he went to get David and it was library day so they read his book on minerals together.
Then we did some paper snowflakes. I’d been meaning to do them with him for ten days and we finally managed to do it. I followed the five point instructions here.
While mine turned out to be nothing like these amazing ones, they were cute.
Especially after I cut them down.
While I did the others, David wrote in his gratitude journal and then ate his veggies.
I did four of them and they all turned out differently as is the case with these projects.
Nathaniel was jealous so I gave him some paper and crayon and he went to town.
David then started his project of coloring/decorating them any way he wanted.
Tomorrow we hang them. I must admit doing this put me in a better mood and I feel less like the grinch. But still whiny. I am going to go work on my December Daily now and then I have more writing to do. I hope you’re less whiny than I am and having a more inspiring day.
oh and I keep forgetting to mention!! I now have a newsletter. The first one will go out on January 31. (I might do a short one for December 31, not decided yet. But definitely one for January.) My plan is that it will only be once a month. It will give you a list/summary of what’s been posted here and elsewhere. It will have som more content special to newsletter subscribers and it will have a free digital download link. That’s what I have planned so far. I might do some photography downloads, too. Like a wallpaper. Not sure yet. If you’re interested in receiving them, you can sign up on my blog, at the top of the right column. If you cannot find it, just email me (karen AT karenika DOT com) and I will sign you up. If you have ideas of things you’d like to see in the newsletter, feel free to let me know!
Also, I added an about page to the left column and I plan to add some FAQ pages, too. On my list. Oh the things on my list.
Happy night to you!
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that Jake was home and helped me. He helped me so much both in errands and emotionally today. I love him so much, he’s my rock and my heart.
2. I am grateful that Nathaniel is ok. For one second today we were in the garage and he pulled on Jake’s laptop’s cord and the whole thing came crashing down on him. He has a small gash on his eyelid but he’s ok (thankfully!) and even though this broke Jake’s adaptor he was so kind about it and I felt so very grateful.
3. I am so grateful for kindness. For each of you leaving kind words here and emailing me and saying nice things. I feel so undeserving and yet I work hard to squash that feeling and replace it with gratitude. I am so so thankful. Thank you Marnie for doing all that reading for me and your kind kind words. And Monika for all your generosity. I am a lucky lucky girl.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. getting a book from the library {* his pick for the journal}
2. watching TV
3. doing snowflakes with mommy
We had some chores lined up for today that we’d been putting off for a while. So as soon as I woke up and got over the super-tired feeling I have each morning, I drove to my local Weight Watchers and bought the new points calculator. Then we took both the kids for their haircuts. David was way overdue with sideburns that we too long. Last time, he was really upset but this time he seems to have taken it all well.
It was Nathaniel’s first time and he started by sitting on dad’s lap and did not handle it well at all. He wept and wept so I told Jake I’d have him sit on me. Which calmed him down a bit so the guy could cut.
I distracted him by spraying the water bottle so he would watch and then even laugh a tiny bit.
Thankfully, it was all pretty quick and within minutes we were back home and he was playing with David’s toys. (While Daddy did another long overdue chore of changing the carseat belt location.)
When David realized what he was playing with and took it away, we had another meltdown.
But then TV came to the rescue, of course. Nathaniel’s become quite adept with the tivo remote.
After we put Nathaniel down, David worked on his gingerbreadman chart and I did a layout for the final creative therapy of 2010.
Now I am going to work on my december daily for today and then do some preparation for 2011. I have some blog posts I need to get ready and I’ve been putting that off for a while, too. Some more snuggly time tonight with Jake and our weekend will come to an end. All in all, a magical one.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for this weekend full of creativity and family time. My two favorite things in the world. I also exercised and finished a book.
2. I am grateful that Jake will be home tomorrow which means he will help me with the kids and so I can focus better on my work.
3. I am grateful that we got so many of our long-put-off todo list items done. It feels great to have them checked off.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. coloring my gingerbread man chart {* his pick for the journal}
2. playing wii
3. getting my hair cut
A LOT of photos today. A Lot! It appears these things go in waves. I just wanted them all so I couldn’t decide which ones to get rid of. In the morning, there was a lot of hugging. I love that even though he’s engrossed in his Wii, David still hugs him back and doesn’t ignore him or yell at him.
After the hug was done, Nathaniel signed “finished.” He loves signing that.
He also loves yelling and making loud noises and does them both often much to my dismay.
He’s just figured out how to sit up on the chair and loves to do it. Then yells “mama!” so I can see him up on the chair.
At 3pm, we all got in the car and drove down to Gilroy Gardens so we could see the magical lights. If you’re an old reader you might remember last year’s adventure at the park where I almost broke my nose and we had to go to the emergency room. This year, I was very careful but most importantly, it wasn’t raining. In fact it was the first time we were there ever with clear skies. And we arrived well before sunset which was wonderful cause it meant I could get some photos.
Like these of my wonderful kids.
This was the shot I wanted to take last year before I kissed the floor.
And this. See how I am in the photos more? I told you I was going to do it!
Since we’d never been there during daylight before, I wanted to take photos of the trees that make Gilroy Gardens famous. Like this one.
And this one. Isn’t it amazing that they are grown this way and not carved?
David then got to go on his first ride. Which he loved, of course.
While Nathaniel watched.
Then we stopped to eat some quick dinner. After that, we took the train and got to see the whole park. As we passed through dark and lit up tunnels, David kept shouting “awesome! awesome! awesome!” with so much jubilation that I got choked up. Those two minutes or so were worth everything to me. After the train, we went on the carousel. I love the carousel. And so does David.
I took a mirror shot. More photos with me in them!
Jake and Nathaniel sat in a couch/seat thing in front of us.
Jake and David went on race cars after that and David did a few more rides. As the final event of the night, David wanted to this water-gun-racing thing. Jake helped him.
And of course they won.
On the way out, David walked into this “little elf” hut. I know this is a imperfect photo but I love the way he looks sitting at the table so small like that. He’s so cute.
As the final act of the night, I followed through on my promise to get him a light saber. It was the first thing he asked for when we walked in and I told him we’d get one on the way out so we didn’t have to carry it the whole night. He picked a green one, of course.
Jake then drove us home safely and the kids went to bed (Nathaniel actually fell asleep in the car and didn’t even wake up when Jake carried him up to his room.) Jake and I snuggled up together and watched the first half of Eclipse. And now I am off to bed. Another magical, wonderful day when all I can think of is how grateful I am. How very blessed. I love this season so much.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we went to Gilroy Gardens. Before we left, I was grouchy, I hadn’t accomplished anything, my exercise went poorly and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go, but Jake encouraged me and we went. I am so so so glad we did. It was by far our best time in Gilroy Gardens ever.
2. I am grateful that I have another weekend day. I feel so relaxed and happy and I love to extend this feeling. I have a bunch more days off next week but not Monday. I have work and possibly a stressful day on Monday so I am grateful for tomorrow.
3. I am grateful that I get to play with more scrapbooking stuff tomorrow and maybe even get to work on some of my 2011 projects. And I get to do crafts with David. Yey!
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. getting a light saber {* his pick for the journal}
2. going to Gilroy Gardens
3. playing wii
Considerably fewer photos today. I had the day off today so I spent most of my day relaxing and getting small todos done and just enjoying not having to stress about anything. Which apparently meant not taking a lot of photos either. Nathaniel took the opportunity to make a huge mess in the living room.
And then more messes while he ate a ton of crumbs he created.
And I didn’t want to miss David so I asked for a photo and this is what I got.
When Jake got home, we all went to Vasona Park to look at the lights which is where the top image is from. More on Vasona Park in the december daily post tomorrow. We have no plans for the weekend which is wonderful. I love the idea of making some snowflakes together. Snuggling up to watch movies. And resting. Perfect for me.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I made a layout. With december daily, I haven’t made a layout in days and it felt fun to make one today. I also covered my three notebooks for 2011 and they make me happy too.
2. I am grateful that I have had so many amazing opportunities in my life. I do not take it for granted one bit. My family, friends, career, artistic life. I’ve been so blessed.
3. I am grateful that this weekend is wide open for some quality family time with a tiny todo list. Wee!
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. playing with play-doh at school {* his pick for the journal}
2. going to Vasona park
3. getting to wear the 3-d glasses at the part (they make everything look like a prism)
Fair warning: this post has a LOT of photos. Feel free to skip 🙂
On October 1, I had bought tickets for the four of us to go on the Polar Express train ride in Sacramento. We’ve never done this before and I’ve wanted to for a few years so this year, I put a reminder on my calendar months before and got tickets as soon as they went up for sale. Even then, there were no weekend spots left so David had to cut school and we both had to take days off work to be able to go.
Sacramento is about a 2-hour drive from our house. So after Nathaniel woke up from his nap, both the kids got into their Christmas PJs we’d bought just for this occasion and we all got in the car. Thanks to Jake’s awesome driving, the trip was much faster and painless. As soon as we got there, the first thing I did was to ask Jake to take a photo. The kids, however, didn’t care to play along. This was the best shot we got.
David was so excited and happy to be there.
We had an hour extra before Will Call opened up so we took the time to eat some lunch. David was feeling very emotional and kept hugging his dad again and again. Telling him how much he loved him.
Nathaniel was just being cute. Sooooo cute.
After lunch, I went to pick up the tickets while Jake parked. We tried to get a photo of the kids together, but as always, Nathaniel wasn’t having any of it.
We then had to wait in line for them to open up the train. David was being quiet and watching everyone.
Nathaniel, on the other hand, was playing with the line separators and being all excited and squirmy. But sweet, of course.
As soon as we got on the train, we asked one of the volunteers to take a photo. It’s not all that great but we’re all in it and that’s all I care about.
The kids were very excited and looked out the window as the train moved to the North Pole. They gave us hot chocolate and cookies and they read the Polar express book out loud and the conductor even signed our book. They also played Christmas songs and songs from the movie.
We finally arrived at the North Pole and elves and Santa were there to wave to us. (Just in case you notice Nathaniel’s clothing change in the next photo, we took his fleece pajamas off cause he was really sweaty. We just happened to have a cotton Christmas pajama set, too, so we put that on. Thank you mom and dad for getting these great PJs for the kids!)
The kids were overjoyed and kept looking out the window to watch him.
After a few moments he disappeared. Just as we all wondered where he went, he showed up on the train. Nathaniel couldn’t take his eyes off of him.
And Santa gave all of us the first present of Christmas. The jingle bell. Just like in the book. Jake and I were both quite choked up by now. Seeing our kids so happy and excited was so wonderful for both of us.
Nathaniel watched the elves waving as the train rolled back out of North Pole.
I tried to capture the joy of the boys but there was too little light and too much movement. Sometimes those are the best photos.
When we pulled back into the station, everyone clapped with gratitude and Nathaniel joined in with vigor.
We then got back in the car and the amazing Jake drove us back home. Nathaniel fell asleep in the car but the rest of us listened to music and just felt grateful for such a full and amazing day.
Now I am really tired and will crawl into my bed with my book. A lot more to come tomorrow. I hope your day was full of bliss and family, as well.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for so much today. For this magical day. For wonderful family time. For seeing my kids so happy. My husband so emotional. I am such a lucky person.
2. I am grateful that my parents arrived home safe and sound. It was a harrowing trip with a 10-hour layover in Germany due to a storm. But they did make it home and I am deeply grateful.
3. I am grateful that we’re safe. We saw four traffic accidents today. Pretty bad ones and while I was sitting in traffic, I reminded myself that it’s much better to be in traffic than to be the cause of the traffic. I was just glad to be safe and with my family. Sometimes we lose perspective and I am trying to work on that.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. going on the polar express train {* his pick for the journal}
2. getting a present from santa
3. getting to have chocolate milk, hot chocolate and a cookie!!
Nathaniel’s really into these big legos lately. Plays with them for a long time. He’s also into zippers and opening them on his pajamas.
After dropping off David, we went to my parents’ hotel this morning to sit with them before they left. Nathaniel found the TV remote and demanded that we turn it on immediately. I tried to take the opportunity to snap a photo of him with my mom. But I wasn’t so successful.
I did a little better with my dad.
Lest you think I forgot about David. Here’s one while he’s eating. It’s been hard taking photos of him because he comes from school when it’s almost dark. He’s going on vacation in one week so things will get much easier then.
My parents left this morning. I came back home put Nathaniel down, exercised and worked. I’m sad to see them go. It’s been really wonderful having them around and the kids were so happy too. We will all miss them dearly.
We attempted to go to Vasona Park tonight but it’s been pouring and traffic is horrible so we turned around and decided to do it another night. Tomorrow we plan to go to the Polar Express train. It means 4+ hours of driving but I am hoping the kids will like it. I am also working hard to go through my todo list so I can relax and enjoy my daytime with the kids and Jake. I love the holiday season so much and even the rain can’t put a damper on my mood.
Here’s to hoping you’re doing great too!! 🙂
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I took two days off work so I have a 4-day weekend.
2. I am grateful that we got to spend so many wonderful moments with my parents. I hope we see them soon again.
3. I am grateful that I get to spend the whole day with my family on a wonderful adventure tomorrow. I hope I can document it and be in the moment as well.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. (almost) going out tonight {* his pick for the journal}
2. getting a new sticker book
3. singing in music class
Even though I had a very productive day (or maybe because of that) I didn’t do a very good job of taking photos today. I got this one of Nathaniel eating his toys.
Since we had shots of David with his grandparents, I wanted some of Nathaniel, too but he would not cooperate. This was the very best I could do.
He would not stop playing with my dad’s phone. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. And David was playing with the ipad so they were both happy.
My parents are leaving tomorrow. I am really sad. I know that I will now get more stuff done but I’ve really enjoyed having them here and will be sorry to see them go, especially since I don’t know when I will be seeing them again.
I am a little behind on the December Daily. More coming tomorrow.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that we all went out to dinner tonight and both the kids were very well behaved and it was really lovely.
2. I am grateful that I finished a surprise present I have scheduled for a friend, I’m about to order it in a few moments.
3. I am grateful that we’re done with Christmas shopping. Except for the kids, who are easy, we are done done done.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. playing with amore’s ipad {* his pick for the journal}
2. learning math at school today
3. going out to dinner
Another week. Another Monday. Even though some days are harder than others I really really wish December crawled. I don’t want it to pass quickly as I cherish the season so much and I have so many more things to do before I am ready for 2011. So let’s all slow down this month. I wish that could be so!
Nathaniel and I went to David’s class today to help with Monday journaling. It was so much fun to be there and to see all other kids. David was so nice and when he was done with his journaling, he sat with Nathaniel and read him stories and hugged him and kissed him. It was wonderful.
He is still writing his book daily so today’s entry was about how we went to his class.
My angel.
Then he got to play with my mom’s ipad. He was in heaven.
The little one ran around and laughed and laughed.
I snapped another photo but the color was really off since we had no light and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t correct it so I converted to black and white.
And that’s it from here. Tonight is our last date night before my parents leave. I will miss them but I am also tired and have a really long todo list so it will be nice to stay home and get some of those done the rest of the week. I hope your monday was great!
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I signed up for Misty’s class. I really want to learn to draw/paint in 2011 so I am looking forward to kicking it off with this class.
2. I am grateful that I took care of something annoying but important at the bank today.
3. I am grateful that I get to have a little more together time with my hubby. I cherish this time so much.
Three Things David’s Grateful For:
1. playing with opapa {* his pick for the journal}
2. watching amore play cards on her ipad
3. watching a movie with ece
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projects for twenty twenty-five
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
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