Last night I went to bed at 6pm and woke up briefly at 7:30 and went right back down at 8:30 and slept until 4am when David came into my room to blow his nose (it was dark and I didn’t realize until the morning that his nose was actually bleeding when I woke up to find a bunch of blood on my sheets.
Then Nathaniel woke up briefly after, and thus began our day. I hugged my kid for a while and then did my page for today. Nathaniel went down for his nap and took a long one, look at him when he wakes up. He’s all pink and I love it.
And then he decided to turn the TV on and off for fun. He’s really good at that.
We spent the rest of the day watching movies. We’re both exhausted so it was really the very best way day to spend our day and add to that some delicious goat cheese sandwiches and I was in heaven. And now we’re watching more TV and I can’t wait for Lost finale tonight and I am off work for the next two days so it’s more of this. Yes! I need the relaxing time, I need the rest.
oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Aksel and Jeff, I love you both so much!!!
Note to Self:
I’m listening to Rework and one of the things they talk about is the need for focused attention. I was thinking I need to do this more. One thing at a time. Set the kitchen timer and just focus on one thing fully. Hard with the kids but when Nathaniel is napping and David is at school and when they are both sleeping. There are chunks in the day where I could do this. And I need to do it more often. Regain some focus. It’s worth trying isn’t it?
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I finally got some rest and I need more.
2. I am grateful that my husband sat with me all day and we watched movies and laughed with the kids and I am so peaceful now.
3. I am grateful for Layout of the day. I’ve learned so much in the last 24 days.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Legos. He’s still playing with the legos like crazy.
2. Daddy.
I am exhausted. I can barely hold my head up. I have so much to say but no energy. None.
So I’ll just say. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU. Here we are videoconferencing and singing her happy birthday.
And David playing the wii.
And Nathaniel playing too.
I have much to say. More coming tomorrow, I promise.
Note to Self:
Today’s note is simple: I need to get more rest. A lot more.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for today’s retreat. More soon.
2. I am grateful to be home and about to go to bed.
3. I am grateful for my life. For every bit of it.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. wii day!!
2. getting to go to my friend’s birthday
When David’s gone, Nathaniel loves playing with anything he might have left at his table. Today it was the crayons.
Here’s me telling him not to touch.
And here they are later in the day. I love these boys. I am grateful for them through and through.
This promises to be a long (and hopefully wonderful) weekend. Both Jake and I took Monday and Tuesday off as Tuesday is our anniversary and we hope to have some family fun in the next four days.
Well, not tomorrow really since I am gone pretty much all day tomorrow to the Mother’s Retreat, about which, of course, I have mixed emotions. And since I have to leave quite early and am not sure how the rest of the day will do, I did my layout for tomorrow already. It’s for the AMM blog and I can only show a sneak anyway. But that’s 22 layouts so far. Quite amazing if you ask me. I am also hoping to sit and journal a bunch this weekend for next week’s layouts. Let’s see if it happens.
Note to Self:
Today I just wanted to leave a note to myself that sometimes it takes 100 trips to 100 situations where I don’t know anyone to meet the one person who might end up being a great friend. So I need to go out more often. Take chances. Be willing to get out of my cocoon. It’s ok. It will be worth it. And if it’s not, it’s a growing experience and that’s worth it. Right? Right.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for the long weekend.
2. Grateful (albeit scared) for my retreat tomorrow.
3. Grateful for Advil today as my aches and aches.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I’m grateful for daddy.
2. grateful for watching lego movies with daddy!
I can’t believe it’s May 20 already. This month has flown by, maybe cause I’m doing LOTD or maybe it’s cause time just passes too fast now. Either way this month is over and next thing you know we’re halfway through this year. My boy is going to finish preschool soon and it’s all too amazingly fast.
I am not one of those parents who runs from activity to activity with her kids. My kids spend most of their days at home playing. So many parents ask me what they do all they long and this is it.
They eat toys, they play with toys, they walk around, they watch movies, they play in the yard, and then they play more with legos. Sometimes we do workbooks. Sometimes we laugh and listen to music. But most of the time I’m quietly working away and so are they.
Sometimes this makes me feel like I must be a bad parent that I am not taking my kids to the park enough or giving them more opportunities to explore activities, socialize, etc.
But then I decide I don’t care. This is me. This is us. I have to work, I get to be home and more involved than some and less than others. This is the best I am able to be right now. (Here’s Nathaniel at today’s playgroup.)
We spent most of today working/playing. Then we briefly went to playgroup here and then at night we had dinner guests. Our neighbor with two kids same age as ours. Nathaniel was sleeping but David played with their girl and their little boy was a gem while we ate delicious food and chatted. It was quite nice company. And I am glad we did it. I am always too lazy, busy, tired to have friends over or make new friends. It’s good to do it occasionally.
Note to Self:
Last night I went to a book club meeting with a mom’s group. I didn’t know a soul there and even though I read all of the book, I really didn’t like it. So I was worried about showing up to a room full of strangers and talking about it. But of course I ended up talking and talking and talking. Cause that’s what I do. I am very talkative. Too talkative. I get excited, I talk more. Nervous. Talk more. Worried, talk even more. It won’t stop. And then on the way home, I worried the whole time about how I must have made such a bad impression since I talked and interrupted and was so emphatic. But then I chastised myself for belittling myself. Yes, I can and should do better but also this is me. I talk a lot. I get excited. I am not rude (at least I don’t think so) and I have a lot of good qualities so I need to cut myself slack. More specifically, this is something I do have control over. So I should either shut up or be ok with the fact that I talk so much. It’s stupid to do it and then get all sad about something I can’t change anymore. I need to let the past go, even when it’s immediate past. Ok to learn from it but not ok to harp on it.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for some nice company and good friends for my boys.
2. Grateful for Nathaniel’s playtime. He’s such a good kid and had so much fun.
3. Grateful for a full but not overwhelming day.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Grateful for getting to play with the neighbor’s little girl.
2. Grateful for coloring.
Roses are….not always red.
Doing the diary early today as I am going out tonight as soon as the kids are in bed. Great day today so far. I did my layout, played with the kids, we even sat outside for a while, I did a whole bunch of work, and now I am doing bits and pieces of stuff before I go tackle my inbox again.
As we sat outside, I snapped photos of both of the boys. See all the food on his shirt? Everything always ends up on his shirt.
And the big boy with his funny smiles.
This photo is terrible but I promised I would take more “doing things” photos so here is one. I’ll do better next time.
I am feeling happy today. For no reason. Well I guess cause I feel like I accomplished stuff and that always makes me feel good.
I’m listening to Paperclipping Roundtable right now. I like listening to it when I am doing things. If you haven’t ever heard it and are into scrapbooking, I recommend it.
Note to Self:
I haven’t had to drive David to school this morning cause he’s on vacation for two days and it’s amazing the difference this makes in my life. The 45 minutes it takes to drive him and come back and then the other 45 mins to go pick him up and back (only 2 hours later) really breaks up my morning. It makes me feel like the time goes from 8:30 to 12:30 in a matter of minutes and then the day is over. I’m sure it’s half psychological but it still makes a difference. Soon, school will be over and he’s going to be home all day in the summer. It also means I’ll have to think of some alternatives because I am guessing he will get bored out of his mind. The schedule change will be a blessing though as Nathaniel is going through nap confusions between two and one a day. It’s funny the impact these things have in my life. But they do. And I am working on reducing things that add craziness to my life. I think that’s an area I need to work on. Finding things that throw me off so I can try to alter them. (sorry for the rambling today!)
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I got a whole bunch of punches in the mail today. I am addicted to them lately and they make me so happy.
2. Grateful to have gotten some work done today. Some stuff I’d been putting off.
3. Grateful to be going out tonight. I hope it goes well!
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Batman movies.
2. Daddy!
3. Legos.
Yum. Don’t you love these?
So I woke up this morning at 4:45 with Nathaniel screaming and I must have been so tired that my eyes were still closed and I banged right into the wall. So hard that I gave myself a nosebleed. My face is still hurting and it wasn’t the best way in which to start the day. But oh well…
The rest of the day went well. I did my layout, I did work, I spent time with the kids, David and I did a tiny crafty project and we even went to the doctor to get his kindergarten paperwork done. Wohoo.
I wasn’t so good about photos, though. I got one of Nathaniel playing.
One of the big boy.
One of the little boy.
And a funny face for good measure.
That’s it from here. It’s 8pm already and I am excited to watch Glee in one hour and then I am guessing I will snore quite well tonight with the aches and all. I can’t believe I have done 18 layouts in the last 18 days. I really didn’t think I’d last this long. Go me.
The rest of this week is a bit more stressful as I have plans for both tomorrow and Thursday night. This would ordinarily make me happy and I am excited about the plans but I also feel like I will get less sleep and less quiet time than usual. Then again, I do have meditation on Saturday so that will make up for it.
Note to Self:
I’ve been thinking lately about how good things are. Especially between Jake and me. We’ve had our ups and downs for sure. We’ve been together 16 years and next week is our 8th wedding anniversary. And right now, things are so good. We’re happy. We love each other. We really like each other and we’re both enjoying life a lot. And I want to remember this. Cause tough times will come and that’s just life but this way I’ll remember that good times will come back as they always do. Life is cyclical and it’s easy to lost perspective when things are rough. So it’s best to record both the good and the bad times. To remind myself that everything passes.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful for Glee of course. That show makes me happy.
2. Grateful for a really special Creative Therapy catalyst tomorrow.
3. Grateful for not having done more damage this morning. Thank God!
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I’m grateful for my Daddy.
2. Grateful for the lego batman movies with my daddy!
I like the subtle linen texture on this.
Nathaniel’s been practicing putting the headphones on. He doesn’t really have it down yet but he’s working on it.
He’s figuring out more of his toys, discovering new parts.
He also smiles around 400 times a day.
And so does his brother. (albeit his looks a bit more fake.)
And they both like to play. And they’re both really into the legos lately. I love legos!
I woke up feeling down today. Then I made my layout which I hated which got me in an even worse mood and I was grouchy and frustrated and that’s how most of the day went. I gave myself a pep talk sometime in the middle of the day so it was better than it could have gone but not really the best day. Oh well, it happens.
Thank you for your kind words on my layouts, I really really appreciate them and I do get up and make them each morning. I don’t ever do a bunch in a row either. Just one every day. I wanted to know if I could so I am trying. Let’s see how it goes. So far, so good.
Note to Self:
David and I started a new thing where we made a schedule and each day of the week we practice one thing. Mondays is math, Tuesdays is craft time, Wednesdays is Writing, Thursdays is Workbooks and Fridays is Reading. We do it right at 4pm which is the beginning of my stressful time. This forces me to take a little bit of time out and spend it with David. I generally give Nathaniel a snack if he’s not playing or otherwise busy. It’s David and Mommy time for a little bit. We’ve only been doing it for a week but so far so good. I am hoping it keeps working. I love being able to spend some time with just me. I think it’s important to spend 1-1 time with each member of my family and hope to do more of it. This is a mental note to make time for it.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for my confort food: coffee and graham crackers (and some chocolate.)
2. Grateful for my little tulip plant that’s blooming like crazy (thank you Ty for watering it!)
3. Grateful for good friends and long phone conversations.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. I’m grateful for my whole family.
2. and the toys they bought me!
And the weekend is almost over. Just a few more hours. Today was an uneventful day. I did my layout. I watched a few movies. I took a nap. I tried to relax and that was pretty much it.
The kids were in a funny mood. Tired and cranky and not in the mood to have photos taken.
Nathaniel did a lot of this.
And a bunch of this.
I am always sad when a weekend is over. Even when I work from home. Even though I love my job. It’s just stressful trying to balance it all.
Note to Self:
It’s amazing how much a thirty minute nap in the afternoon affects my day. I need to do this more often. I need to do it regularly. I took this course last year that talked so much about the importance of naps and rest, etc. And even though I know it mentally, I still don’t really follow it. I’ve been taking naps for the last few days and it makes my 4-6pm time so much more peaceful. It’s still not peaceful but considerably better and I feel less crazy and exhausted. I think if I napped more regularly and took a walk outside each day, I’d be a lot more productive and a lot less tired. (Probably eating more protein wouldn’t hurt either.)
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I love watching movies so today I am grateful for some movie time.
2. I always want to keep my heels softer but I hate wearing socks, especially to bed so I have a problem putting vaseline on and putting socks on. Yesterday I had the brilliant idea of cutting the toes off my socks. So I cut them so that what’s left is a tiny bit of the sole and heel and ankle. Now it doesn’t feel like I am wearing socks so I can keep them on but they do cover my heels and keep them moist. win win! grateful for solutions that work.
3. Grateful that my sweet, wonderful hubby will be here in a few hours.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. legos legos legos.
2. watching a new movie on his iPod.
Happy Saturday.
Things were really quiet and uneventful today. After I did my layout, I needed to read this book and I spent the better part of today on that. I didn’t even like the book so it was a shame but oh well. It’s finished now.
Today was David’s Wii day so when I told him to give me a smile, this is what I got.
And then Nathaniel tried to distract him and give him some love.
But he wasn’t having any of it.
So Nathaniel went to find some other toys in his favorite place which is under the dining room table.
And he was definitely in good spirits for most of today. Yey for my boys.
I think I am going to head to bed before it gets any later. I hope you’re having a fabulous weekend!
Note to Self:
Today I am mostly thinking about kindness and being nice. I don’t think you can have too much of either. The genuine kind of course. My first question is always if someone is nice. Not intelligent or rich or famous or whatever. Just nice. If they are nice, I know I will like them. What do you think is the most important trait in a person?
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful that my book is finished (is that cheating?)
2. Grateful that my wonderful hubby comes back tomorrow. We love you babes.
3. Grateful that we all spent the day in our pajamas. Yey!
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. thankful for Nathaniel, he said.
2. Thankful for my daddy, i miss him. i’m happy he’s coming back tomorrow. he said his dad is the best dad ever and should be everyone’s dad.
(can you believe he didn’t even mention the Wii?)
Happy Friday! I hope your day was good. Quiet day here mostly. Jake left town to go to his brother’s birthday. Happy Birthday Danny!! We love you.
This photo is low quality but it shows exactly what Nathaniel likes to do which is to dig through a box of toys and just fling stuff he doesn’t like. I love that I got to capture it even if blurry.
And another one of my boy. I love him.
I love both of them so much. We went out to dinner tonight. Walked over to the restaurant, had a yummy meal and came back home. It was nice to get out and spend some time with my boys. I snapped this right before we went out.
And it’s already almost 9. I did take a short nap this afternoon so I am feeling a bit better but still too exhausted. And I have a 600-page book to finish this weekend. And my layouts etc etc. Oh well, whatever gets done, gets done.
happy weekend!!
Note to Self:
I did make a list last night. But I am still really taking it easy. Some things get done and others don’t. I am one of those people who really commits and does not like to give up on commitments (or people.) But the funny thing is, I have a lot of respect for people who know when it’s time to walk away from something. When to go in a different direction or when something is doing more damage than good or when something really is unsalvageable. People who understand the concept of sunk cost. Many years ago, I took this course where we talked about “strong suits” which are things that sort of make you who you are. Things you’re good at. And one of my strong suits is the “stick-with-it”ness I have with people and commitments and things. Often times I think a lot before I commit and then I religiously follow through. But sometimes circumstances change, people change, expectations change. Life changes. And sometimes it’s better and more mature to call it quits. (I am not talking about people who haphazardly commit and then walk away like it was nothing.) So I have a lot of respect for people who can assess a situation and know when to walk away. I need to get better at that.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Dinner with my boys. So nice to walk to dinner, sit outside, and enjoy my family.
2. It’s the weekend!!
3. Grateful for having no plans/obligations this weekend so we can spend it in our pajamas, playing and cuddling.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. having mommy read a story
2. telling mommy a story
Long and tiring day. The day of the release is always too stressful for me. But so far so good. I just need to get some more sleep. I noticed that I am so tired, I can barely drive. I am grouchy. I am whiny. I have no motivation. All cause I am sleepy. Need more sleep. That’s #1 goal for this weekend. Sleep. Kids. Play. Scrap. Read.
Nathaniel and David played so much today and I tried to snap away. Mosto of these aren’t perfect but then again neither is our lives. Here he is about to poke David’s eye out and actually does a few seconds later and David is so patient, so loving, so happy.
He lies on the floor waiting for Nathaniel.
Who smiles at him and walks.
And walks.
And then sits to ponder for a bit.
And then comes over for a hug. Each time I look at this photo, my heart swells. I love them so.
And here’s one of the little boy. See all those teeth?
Lovely day of playing. Jake came home early so I could go to work and pickup my stuff that’s been sitting there since Feb 09 when I left for maternity. One task done. I am very close to going to sleep. Still gotta post the book post, coming in a few minutes.
Note to Self:
Not only have I been really behind and unmotivated lately but I’ve been really disorganized. I normally make long and involved todo lists to keep track of my life. I notice that I haven’t made one in a long long time. The act of making one seems to fill me with dread lately. And I am so tired, I can’t muster the energy to make it even. And yet there are periods in the day where I really really want to get organized. So I think I should do that. Make the list even if I check nothing off. I think having it all on paper will get it off my mind and I really need that. Lists are my lifeline so I feel like I haven’t had a lifeline for the last few weeks.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. So so so thankful that my kids play together and love each other.
2. Thankful that I finally got my stuff from work, it was one of those put-off-forever tasks.
3. Thankful that most of the release is out and that it’s almost weekend.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. playing with Nathaniel and giggling and laughing
2. Watching lego movies with daddy
Something slightly different. Not sure how I feel about this photo but here we are.
Quiet day today. I am learning to be more and more peaceful every day. Working really hard on not freaking out. With work and with home-related things. Trusting that things work out somehow or another. Here are a bunch of photos from our day.
Nathaniel loves playing with David’s toys.
And the remotes.
And he loves looking at the TV when he turns it on. And I love looking at his lips and fingers and face.
He was being whiny this afternoon as David and I did some workbooks, so I put him on the couch next to David.
He immediately reached for the workbook (and pencil).
David, nicely, locked arms with him to block him lovingly. Isn’t he awesome?
And he also loves this toy I got for David years ago where it has different switches you twist and press and lift etc which opens these doors and animals pop out. He can’t open them but loves closing them. So he closes them and then shrieks until I open them back up again. And again and again.
Lovely day. I am trying to do my updates earlier so I can have time in the evenings to read and work and relax. Also gives me something happy to do during the 4-6 timeslot that I am not a fan of so win-win.
Note to Self:
I am working hard to learn to let go of things. To learn to realize that most things don’t matter. It’s not worth arguing. It’s not a big deal if a friend isn’t reading my blog. If my son spilled some crumbs. If Nathaniel skips a nap. If my hubby leaves something around instead of cleaning it up. These are small things and while they might be slightly frustrating, they don’t mean anything. They are not secret signs of bigger things. I am working hard not to make stories around them or get carried away. I think it’s better and easier to live this way. I want to work on this more and more. Sometimes I catch myself too late but still better to be mindful too late than not at all, right?
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am trying to enjoy this calmer, more relaxed attitude. Hopefully it won’t bite me.
2. I am grateful for my upcoming book club meeting.
3. I am grateful for David who helps me so much with Nathaniel and with the house.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Daddy and Nathaniel and Mommy, my whole family.
2. Playing with and getting presents from my family.
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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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