I decided to take it easy today. Give myself permission to relax and not accomplish much. And I certainly did not accomplish much. I’d say barely the bare minimum. But that’s ok.
There’s still so much love in our household.
It makes me so happy and fills my heart with joy.
In the afternoon we took a short walk so I could take some photos and we could all get some sunshine.
And then we came home and the kids played. Nathaniel is getting better and better at playing by himself.
Especially with the blocks. He loves them and spends hours figuring them out.
And I don’t know if you can see it here but he makes noises and funny faces while he plays. That’s my favorite part.
I worked, rested, read, walked, took photos and now I am heading to the garage to clean up a bit and then back here to work on some catalysts and then it’s bed time for me with my book. Some days are like this.
Note to Self:
I made an entire entry on my note to self today so that’s what I’m going to leave it at.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Our little walk around. Always good to get some sunshine.
2. I spent a long time talking to a parent about private schools today. Something I’m struggling with and I am so thankful she took the time to really explain a lot to me. I wish I had this guidance last year.
3. I am thankful for a quiet-ish day that meant I didn’t go deep into a funk and was able to make some plans to help me more regularly. I also cleaned up my mail which makes me happy. Didn’t respond yet but did clean up a lot.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. daddy.
2. i’m grateful for finding some of my legos (he means in other bins for different toys, he discovered he still had some legos hiding in the boxes.)
I tried something with layers and blending and stuff and I’m not sure I like it but here we are.
This morning Jake and David did some scooter-time. I’m not sure we’re making a lot of progress with it and I am really worried about that for reasons I can’t really explain.
And then they threw a football around for a while and Nathaniel watched them from inside the house.
Then Daddy went to work and Mommy got to work and Nathaniel decided it was time to show David some love.
Here he is in process.
And landed.
We went out to lunch cause I was going stir-crazy and then when we came back I had a meeting so the kids played quietly.
and then gave each other more hugs.
After my meeting, I worked some more, David and I picked some legos, and then it was dinner time. I have to rush this tonight cause I still have to put them down, get ready, do art, and go to my book club.
Note to Self:
I’m in a really bad mood again. I need to keep track of this to see if I can find a pattern. Maybe I’ll just go read through my entries cause I do think it happens quite regularly. And it sucks.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for book club tonight. Looking forward to going out.
2. Grateful that I took the time to go out instead of sitting at home and sulking. It helped a lot just to get out.
3. Grateful that I have great kids who are so great at playing by themselves.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. playing football with daddy.
2. i’m grateful for looking at legos.
Nathaniel seems to be sleeping in late on the weekends and waking up early on weekdays. Not sure how he does that since he goes to bed at the same time each night. But I am still grateful for the extra sleep. So he woke up early today and I was too tired to do anything. I watched a bit of TV while I nursed and we relaxed until David woke up. After breakfast, I let them watch Toy Story 2 which I had just recorded for David on the TiVo. I tried to get a good photo of them watching but I couldn’t and of course it lasted a mere second.
Then Nathaniel napped and I worked and David played. And then it was craft time and Nathaniel watched us while we worked.
As we waited for the glue to dry, the kids ran around and played and laughed.
And I caught this shot of David.
And then he hid while the little one played some more.
And then it was dinner and now we’re going up for our bath. Days pass quickly when you’re having fun.
Note to Self:
I’ve noticed that it’s actually better to do no more than 1-2 crafts/art a day. When I do more, I like it but then I feel burned out. If it’s more like a long-term project where I get a lot done and do a little each day, it doesn’t ever get me to the burned-out place. So, as with most things, small bites and patience almost always pays off.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for Jake coming home early. It helps me so much when he’s around more to help.
2. I am grateful that despite feeling a bit bummed, I still feel a deep sense of peace.
3. I am grateful for some more craft time tonight. I am really enjoying making all this art and scrapping and sewing. What a luxury.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. watching toy story 2
2. crafting with mommy
2. i’m grateful for daddy.
Odd kind of day today. I think I felt good most of the day but now it’s 8:25 or so and I still have a long list of things I would like to do before bedtime comes and feel a bit depressed that the likelihood of that is low. Even though most of the day was decent, the ending is coloring my perspective and making me remember this as a not-so-great day.
I started the morning by finishing my book, which I loved. I’ve already begun another. I then did some sewing, some knitting, some playing. And Nathaniel gave his brother some more hugs.
Then David and I used the bean bag numbers to create some large numbers and read them out loud. We practiced for a while.
While Nathaniel was napping (and I was reading) David and Jake watched some World Cup.
When Nathaniel woke up, they chatted with Jake’s parents on Skype and then he watched David play. He loves watching David play.
But he hates it when David puts the toys out of reach.
David wanted to return some of the love and hugged him a bunch, too.
After his second nap, Nathaniel woke up groggy and unhappy. He cried for some time and then seemed ok. He played for a while and then fell on his face while walking and busted his lip a bit. He was really sad but I am quite proud that I didn’t freak out. He’s totally ok now but it was swollen a bit (not sure you can see it so well but this was the best shot I got.)
And now the kids are sleeping and I am trying to make good use of the last few hours of the day while I watch the Tony awards. Another weekend zoomed by. Another month halfway here. It’s stunning how fast time passes.
Note to Self:
i was thinking that I enjoy doing a week-in-the-life project and I do take a lot of photos but there are certain things that can only really be captured by video. And I rarely ever take video. So this week I decided to do A week in the life, the video version. I took a bunch of video already and I hope to continue. All are short little snippets to give a flavor of our life now. It might not work out or it might be a nightmare to edit but for now, it’s something I plan to keep working on. Let’s see….
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I spent a lot of time creating things this weekend. I like making things and I especially like making things for my family or things that I use regularly.
2. I am grateful for the internet. I did a project today that I would otherwise have spent days trying to figure out but thanks to the net and thanks to YouTube, it was all possible. I am so thankful to live in these times.
3. I am grateful for our quiet, little life. It’s hectic sometimes but, for the most part, it’s simple and full of love. We’re all so very lucky and I am thankful so very much for that.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. watching a lego movie with daddy.
2. mommy.
Not a good photo day. Happens sometimes. I spent the morning playing with some fabric and while I was doing that, Nathaniel made a mess with my yarn and crochet thread. He made quite a sizable mess.
I then went to the hairdresser which was long overdue. Then I came back and finished my project while Nathaniel was still napping. When he woke up, we went to lunch cause it’s been absolutely beautiful outside. We did a bit of fruit shopping and then came back home. I rested and cleaned up while David played the Wii and Nathaniel tried to balance one of my bean bags on his head.
And then he walked around more, creating a trail of mess right behind him.
By then it was dinner time so we ate and now we’re getting ready for bed, winding down. After then are comfortably in bed, we get to go on our date night. Short but great day!
Note to Self:
It’s amazing to me how quickly one can go from feeling good about oneself to feeling bad. I’ve been feeling happy, secure and generally good about myself lately. Nothing too amazing but slightly better than usual. Then today something happened (or actually something i wanted to happen didn’t happen) and here I am all doubting myself and feeling small already. It amazes me that I allow others to have this much power over me. I need to learn to have faith in myself.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Date night! Always look forward to date night.
2. I am so glad to finally have my hair cut and dyed. Yey.
3. I am so thankful for a quiet, wonderful, family-filled Saturday. Simple is exactly how I love it.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Daddy
2. wii!
A quiet, wonderful day here. Some sewing, some playing together, a bunch of work, some more playing, some reading and of course some photo taking.
The little one is still snot-nosed.
But there’s still a lot of love and impromptu hugging here. It’s so lovely.
And David is so good at playing with his little brother.
Who is also so good at playing by himself. Not whining or needing me even when he’s all snot-nosed. They are such good players. Extra thankful for that since it means I can do work.
And they laugh together a lot.
David was so excited to receive the legos his grandparents bought him. He immediately went to work putting them together and hasn’t stopped playing since.
Except to be kind to his brother.
I am off to feed the boys and bathe them an on and on. Then I get to have some quiet time to do today’s catalyst. Then I get to read some and maybe start a project. Or maybe just rest. This weekend will be relaxing, or so I hope. And I am feeling peaceful today.
Happy Weekend.
Note to Self:
I’ve been slacking a little on getting on top of and staying on top of the blog. I usually schedule posts in advance for some of the recurring things to ensure that the posts do go up daily. But lately I’ve been a bit more “in the moment” which means I’ve been behind. And this does stress me more than I hoped it would so I’m going to have to pay some attention to it. Is there a specific day you look forward to? Or something you don’t care for? Just curious…
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that my kids like playing so much. That they can play by themselves and together. I know this is a luxury and I am thankful for it.
2. I am grateful that my plans for June are going well and I am getting stuff done without feeling stressful or overwhelmed.
3. I am grateful to finally be going to the hairdresser tomorrow. I badly need a cut and a dye job.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Amore and Opapa
2. My new legos
Today was David’s last day at pre-school. He’s now officially on summer break. And then in September, he starts kindergarten. How quickly time passess…
I grabbed a bunch of photos with his teacher (one of them, his favorite) but I didn’t want to show a face-shot in case he doesn’t want his photo all over the net.
And here’s a shot with several of his closest friends. I blurred all the faces but, honestly, i think the photo still shows how funny and sweet they were all being.
Then I snapped one more of David on his way out. We’ve been going to this preschool since he was 2.5, we’ve got quite a few memories here.
Nathaniel’s still sick and he’s very very cranky. He didn’t take a morning nap and spent 35 minute crying after he woke up from his afternoon nap. Just lay on the floor here and cried. Neither of us could stop him. But earlier in the day, when we came back from school, he walked around for a while and just randomly gave David a hug. I couldn’t believe my eyes and grabbed the camera. David was totally shocked too..
He kept walking around and then coming back to give him a hug.
Again and again.
It made me cry to see how much he loves his brother and that he learned to hug!
And of course David hugged him back, too.
I know they are bad shots but it was hard to catch it especially since I was busy being so emotional.
It was a good day in that I decided to take the day off and I finished my work for BPS and AMM and now it’s just doing catalysts and sewing and painting etc for the rest of the month. It was relaxing not to have to juggle work and the kids. But it was a rough day cause nathaniel was so sad and so frustrated that it broke my heart.
Note to Self:
I realized today that I’ve done 41 layouts since the beginning of May. And 84 layouts since the beginning of this year, plus the week in the life mini and the week in the life digital project. Plus my project for the upcoming BPS class. That’s a lot of scrapping in half a year. I still don’t really feel burned out. But I do want to do some of the other projects I’ve been wanting to do. So besides working on the catalysts, I’m hoping to take a little break. Do some sewing, knitting, crocheting, drawing, and painting. I am so thankful that I have so many creative outlets I’m interested in so that when I take a break from something, I can still be doing something else creative. Yey.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a day off work. It’s nice to be able to focus on just personal projects and my boys.
2. I am grateful for David’s preschool. It was a great place for David to go for three years. He made good friends and had great teachers. He loves school and they are to thank for that.
3. I am grateful to have done some sewing today for a fun little project for David. I suck at sewing but it makes me happy.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. mommy and daddy.
2. playing with moon sand.
Another lots-of-photos post. Nathaniel woke up with a runny nose today and he was miserable all day cause you could tell he couldn’t breathe through it. Oh, and, he woke up at 4:50am. Oh yes. God help me.
Here he is with the little word-book we made for David. We’re not using it as much as we should. We’re about halfway through.
And then David decided to entertain him.
We won this hat at the Sunset party.
And Nathaniel laughed and laughed.
And laughed.
His cheeks were extra-pink from being sick but I love this photo of him.
And I took one of the boy with blue eyes, too.
Another favorite from today. They look like they’re whispering secrets to each other and smiling. I love them so.
David entertaining him more. He’s just the most amazing brother.
Nathaniel was hungry all day, too cause he didn’t want to eat what I gave him. He went into the panty, found these puffs, brought them to me to open and then walked around munching on them. (until he dropped a whole bunch on the floor which is when we took the bottle away.)
And then there was a lot of lying on the floor resting. (Needed I’m sure when there’s no napping happening.)
And now they are both upstairs, one sleeping, the other playing. I am overwhelmingly tired. I apologize for no blog posts today. I am feeling really really tired and could not muster up the motivation.
Note to Self:
I decided today that I need to take a retrospective moment tomorrow. A little time to myself to get my bearings a bit and restructure. I am way too exhausted and need to find a way to get some energy back. I also want to plan for David’s summer a bit now that it’s about to start and sort of make a schedule for us so I can make sure to reserve special time for each kid, each day. more coming on this…
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for David. Despite the fact that he can be too loud and overzealous at times, he puts up with a lot of my yelling and lack of patience and he forgives me each time and he’s so good to Nathaniel. I am so thankful for the little boy.
2. I am grateful for my super-hero husband who saves me each time i need saving. And more.
3. I am grateful to have finished my long long book. It was great but oh so long.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. watching lego movies with daddy.
2. i’m grateful for playing.
Last night was rough on all of our family. David woke up with nightmares at 11pm. And then I woke up around 2am with a startle and freezing. And then Jake rolled over to me soon after with his own nightmare. And finally at 3am, Nathaniel cried out and had peed all over himself and the bed.
That made for a great start to today.
But I had begun my layout last night so I got up and completed a layout I made for Ali’s Summer-themed call. I turned out sort of the way I imagined it so I was happy but also drained. But then I sat and started planning my project for the BPS August promotion and that took a whole bunch of time, too. Between the two layouts, I used 47 photos. Amazing eh?
In the meantime, Nathaniel decided he wasn’t going to nap today. So he didn’t sleep despite my patience. When we finally picked him up, I got a lot of this:
and this:
here he is staring at me while I am at the stair landing between the two floors, taking photos of my layouts.
And here he is after some food that he chose to wear instead of eat.
Then David came back home and he was in a fun mood, too. So gave me one of his special faces.
While Nathaniel tangled himself up in the headphones and got exponentially more frustrated. Cause he also skipped his afternoon nap. (Oh, yes he did.)
So by the time I put him down, he was in full melt down mode. It was pure joy. I finally got him bathed, dressed, nursed and in bed and he just about collapsed into sleep. Here’s to hoping it’s a better night.
I have a feeling tonight’s tasks aren’t going to get done. I have to write up my project and that will take precedence and then I will be too tired to function. So that’s that.
Note to Self:
One of the things that’s been falling through the cracks lately because of all my designated projects is email. I have not been so good at responding to email. I always mean to but then forget or tell myself I have to finish my task first. And then more of it comes and the one I wanted to respond to gets buried down. It’s a bad cycle for me cause it still nags at the back of my mind so I need to find a better system for email. And as I say this, I think I found something that might work. Creating some sort of “Respond” folder or something that I can regularly clean. Not sure if that’s just creating more process. Well I will give that a try for a few days and see if it works. In the meantime, if you haven’t heard back from me, I am so sorry, I swear I am not ignoring you. I don’t think I am too important to reply. I am just completely disorganized. I apologize.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful to have completed my project. I wanted it to be interesting and i think (hope) I accomplished it.
2. I am grateful that my hair dresser had to cancel so I can stay home tonight instead of drive while I am so exhausted.
3. I am grateful that Jake was home today and took David to school and picked him up. Lucky me.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. daddy.
2. my friends joseph and jace.
A lot of photos today. It’s funny how each day I worry I don’t have enough photos only to find I took so many. Love my boys.
Nathaniel is still playing peek-a-boo with anything he can find.
And cracking himself up, too.
And then there’s the joy of seeing Daddy come home. Here’s David showing him his book.
And here’s Nathaniel wanting in on the action.
full-on Daddy love.
Some smiles for Mommy.
And trying to get Daddy’s attention.
And David being all silly just to make them laugh. (and succeeding)
And finally reaching for mommy. love my boys. all 3 of them.
I am a bit less organized than usual tonight. Not sure what to do for tonight’s art since I have two things I would really like to get done and I’ve been up since 4am and feeling a little too tired right now. Oh well. I trust I will sort it out.
Note to Self:
Due to my crazy busy schedule i’ve been doing things a bit more last minute lately. It does stress me out a bit but it also means I am more in the moment and I think that’s a good thing for me. I guess the trick, like most things, is to find the balance…
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for a quieter than expected work day.
2. Grateful that Jake will be home tomorrow and will drive David to school and back. yey!
3. Grateful for how good Nathaniel is when he’s not sleeping and how he walks around and plays and lets me do work. Cross fingers that this stays the case next year when David has a longer school day and I can be more productive.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. daddy
2. mommy
3. the craft project
4. all my family
5. nathaniel
6. the whole world (lol!)
Today started with me tired as always. I went to bed too late last night trying to finish off my BPS work. So I lazied around more than usual this morning after I did my layout. I read a whole bunch of East of Eden which I am halfway through. We then went to the neighbor’s for lunch and the kids played a lot and then when we came back home, I was so tired and drained that I lay on the couch and Nathaniel played peek-a-boo while David played legos.
He’s really good at entertaining himself.
Those are my pajamas, by the way.
And here’s David entertaining him. Look at the way he looks at his brother.
I’m about to put them down and then have some more BPS work and have to get working on that catalyst. Hope your weekend was great!
Note to Self:
I meant to mention that we went to see The Secret in their Eyes the other night for date night. Great movie. Made me realize it’s worth taking the time to see good movies just like it’s worth reading good books. They take more mental energy but they are worth it.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am really enjoying my book now, love being at that part where you’ve really gotten into the story and feel like you know the characters in real life.
2. I am thankful for a great weekend with lots of quiet time and lots of family time.
3. Thankful for finally feeling like my BPS class came together well. I hope others will like it too. Always worry about that.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Mommy and Daddy
2. Playing with Ece’s legos
Some of the last of my photos from the academy of sciences.
Today we had free tickets to the Sunset celebration weekend so we decided to check it out.
David really liked the Tillamook cheese minivan so I took a photo of him in front of it. (He woke up with pinkeye today!)
Then he and I made a lay and I put it on. Nothing like wearing fresh orchids. (and wonderfully fuzzy hair. it was really humid.)
then we came back home, ate lunch and I put Nathaniel down and David played Wii while I played with my crochet hook and some yarn. Then Nathaniel woke up and walked around chewing stuff.
I love watching him walk.
And I love it when he comes to visit me.
And how he offers to share his toys. Love this boy so much.
We then went back to the Sunset celebration, ate some free food and walked around. Came home to have dinner and bedtime. I have to put all the finishing touches to my BPS class tonight and I am really excited. Though I have quite a bit of work to finish it all off and I am tired and in pain so I am going to try to do it fast and productively. Wish me luck.
Note to Self:
I’m quite amazed how much I’ve been enjoying my projects and making layouts lately. I really did think I would be burned out after May but I really am not. Amazing how sometimes a lot of work just makes you want to do more work. I have around 20 more layouts or so to do this month (4 for AMM + 13 creative therapy + 3 for a BPS project) and I am not dreading any of them. And I am so thankful for that. I am sure the dread or lack of mojo will come at some point but I am just thankful for the joy and pleasure for now.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Spending some time walking around as a family. I love being with my family so much.
2. A great audio version of East of Eden that I can listen to while I do some crocheting
3. I’ve almost maxed out my vacation allowance at work so I am going to have to take some time off and I am grateful for this rule cause it forces me to step back and relax.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. daddy and mommy.
2. sunset celebration weekend and getting to eat cheese and ice cream and going in the silver trailer
3. And wii!!
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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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