life effervescent

Weekend -- August 6 & 7

2011-08-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

It was a busy weekend. But definitely a fun one.

One of my favorite memories as a child was in first or second grade when my parents surprised us one day at school. They just showed up in the middle of the day and took us out of class. My grandparents had come to visit, so we spent the afternoon going to garage sales (one of Grandpa's favorite activities). With this in mind, during my lunch hour on Friday, after I nursed Ellie, I took Ava out of class and we went to the Children's Fair for 20 minutes. It was just enough time for her first pony ride (on the smallest pony I've ever seen, Tinkerbell), a slide down a giant inflatable slide, and a cherry sno cone.

Saturday was my friend Julie's wedding. It's the first one we've been to in years and it was so much fun. It was so nice of her to invite Ava and Ellie and they both had so much fun. Ava immediately acquainted herself with the photographer (I can't wait to see if any of her make the final wedding album), asking to have her picture taken. She was also the queen of the dance floor and would have gladly danced the night away if her mean parents hadn't taken her home to bed.

Sunday, we went to the mall to find some shoes for kindergarten gym class (and left with lots of things, but no gym shoes). On the way home, we decided to get some use out of our zoo membership and spent an hour strolling through the zoo until it got too hot. Ava rode a camel for the first time (something I've never even done). This was big stuff because she's not a fan of heights. But she climbed right now, a little nervous at first, then deciding she could handle it. Afterward, I asked her if she preferred riding ponies or camels. Her reply? The carousel.

Weekend -- July 30 & 31

2011-08-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ellie got her very first baby doll of her very own. She named her A-ha and slathered her with kisses immediately. She's not even six months old yet, but this is a girl who knows what she wants.

We finally made it to the farmer's market for the first time this summer. Ava used her money to get her face painted (it was actually a fundraiser for the Kids Food Basket) and to buy a bouquet of really beautiful summer flowers. Good choices, I think.

Ava's Favorite Soup

2011-08-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is Ava's very favorite soup. It's the one meal (besides macaroni and cheese) that she requests by name. And it really couldn't be more simple.

2 cans Rotel

1 can corn, drained

1 can refried beans

1 can black beans, drained and rinses

1 can chicken or vegetable stock

2-3 Tbs. fresh cilantro

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (optional)

Dump it all in a big soup pot and heat it up. Serve with sour cream and green onions on top. And to truly be Ava's favorite, you must serve it with blue corn tortilla chips.

One of the things on our summer list was to make ice cream from scratch. We can check that one off! We followed this recipe (which doesn't use an ice cream maker) and it was really yummy.

Ellie: 5 months

2011-08-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Height:
Weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz.

About You: You are a drooler. Sometimes we have to change your outfit several times a day because you soak through. Everyone asks if you're teething, but no signs of teeth yet. You've started saying Da-Da (we think you learned if from one of the other babies at school). Right now you seem to just look that sound, but Daddy swears you know what it means. You stuck your thumb in a hole in a toy at daycare and cut it (twice). Your daycare teacher felt really awful about it, but you forgave her pretty much immediately. You seem to have a special talent for finding things to stick your thumbs and fingers into. Once you start moving around more, we're really going to have to make sure all the outlets are babyproofed. You've also started sitting up. At first you looked a bit like a surfer, constantly adjusting your balance to stay up. But you've gotten pretty good at it. You even sat in a high chair at a restaurant today.

Ellie: 4 months

2011-08-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

Height: 24 in.
Weight: 14 lbs., 15 oz.

About You: You have won over all the hearts of the teachers at daycare. They love your easy smiles and your easygoing nature. I miss you the hours we're apart, but I love seeing you at lunch everyday. We thought you were ready to start solids. You would watch us whenever we ate and you'd open your mouth like a little bird every time food came anywhere near your mouth. But when we gave you your first spoonful of rice cereal you cried. We're going to wait a bit and see if you do better next month. Your favorite thing is peek-a-boo. You pull whatever is around (blankets, towels, your dress) over your head, then pull it down and look around to make sure everyone knows how funny you are.

Food, flowers, and fabulous nails

2011-07-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Ava's favorite thing about going to the bookstore with me is the pizza pretzels in the cafe. She now associates pizza pretzels so much with books that when I tell her we're going to the library, she asks if she can get a pretzel. We tried our hand at making our own this week. We started with pizza dough, rolled it out, cut it into four pieces, and added sauce and cheese (Ava's going through a no-toppings phase).

Then we tried our hand at rainbow nails. I think the hardest part was probably getting Ava to stay still enough to paint each stripe. She was so exicted about them. The next day at school her teachers said she had to show them off to everyone. Next we're going to try to paint butterflies.

David bought me these at the grocery store. I love glads. I think they might be my favorite flower. They make me think of summer at my grandma's. She's always grown them on the bank near her house. Behind the flowers you can see my new (to me) curtains. They are the one purchase for the house that David and I both like equally (Thanks, Joslyn!).

Weekend -- July 16 & 17

2011-07-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

I've decided to starting taking at least five photos every weekend. I feel like I'm always negligent on taking photos of all the fun things we do, and so they're forgotten. Now at least I'll have a bit of a record.

We drove across the state for a family reunion. I love long drives along back country roads. They're always so much more interesting than taking the highway. Mid-Michigan is home to lots of Amish families and we saw a few carts along our route selling homemade yummies. We stopped at one and Ava picked out a some molasses cream cookies and monster cookies. We thought it was so interesting that even though they had grown up in Michigan as we had their accents were so uniquely Amish. David and I always have the best conversations when we're in the car. It's my favorite part of long drives. No distractions means we can really talk. Love that!

Each year at the reunion they have an auction to raise funds for the next year. David's dad was always the auctioneer. This year they asked David to do it. It was so important to him to do a good job. His dad always made it fun and funny and David wanted to do the same in tribute to him. He did a great job, but it was a bittersweet reunion because we felt so strongly the absence of Lee.

We also got to celebrate the 30th birthday of one of my best friends in the whole world, Amy. She's expecting her second little boy on 11.11.11. Ellie snacked on toes while the rest of us had yummy burgers.

Weekend

2011-06-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

So many things going on right now, I don't know where to start. This week has been a weird one, I keep getting confused about what day it is to the point that Ava missed her last dance class today because I thought it was Wednesday...Yikes. I felt terrible, but she wasn't too upset about it.

On Saturday, Ava had her dance recital. Last year I was one of the chaperones for her class, but with the baby I couldn't do it this year. I didn't think much about it until Ava got sick while she was waiting for her class to perform. I thought she might be coming down with the flu, but she was fine once I was backstage with her. Stage fright. Another sign that she's getting older; she's starting to worry about what other people think. It makes me a little sad. She's always been so fearless and outgoing; I feel like she's learned this self-consciousness from me.

After her recital, we grabbed lunch at our favorite restaurant. Ava gave an encore performance for the other diners, so maybe she's not becoming too shy.

That night we went to the Summer Celebration for the fireworks. As we were walking down the midway with the bright lights and the smells and sounds, I realized that these simple but exciting family activities are the things that my girls will remember. These are the things that make a childhood.

We each picked out one terrible for us food (which isn't helping me lose the baby weight, btw). Ava chose a corn dog, which totally surprised me but she seemed to like it. (This photo cracks me up. I just brought our little point-and-shoot camera instead of the Nikon and I could not for the life of me get a good photo).

There was a guy juggling fire and bowling bowls. Ava loved this. I told her these are not things we try at home.

Ellie was pretty mellow about her first fireworks, the were loud but it didn't seem to bother her at all.

Home Depot Installation Nightmare

2011-06-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

So, we've been planning to get new carpet in our house for a while. It was behind time. We had builder basic beige carpet left over from the previous owners that had seen better days. In fact the last time I had it cleaned, they told us it was really time for new carpet.

Fast forward to months later when after much (much, much) deliberation and comparison. I found a carpet I really loved at Home Depot for a reasonable price. I pulled the trigger and we made our most costly (in more ways than one) home purchase to date. I thought the hard part was over.

Nope. This was only the beginning of what our we and our friends are (not so) fondly referring to as the Great Carpet Saga.

Because we were having all the carpet in our entire house replaced, we had David's brothers come over and help us move ALL of our belongings out into the garage and pull up the old carpet and pad. The new carpet was to go in on Monday, so I thought we could handle one night living like this with a 4 year old and a newborn. But even one night was hard. We discussed maybe just going to a hotel, but with spending so much on carpet, I really didn't want to plunk down more cash.

On Monday (our scheduled installation day) I was on my way home from dropping the girls off at daycare when my husband called: "They can't install the carpet."

What?! Apparently because we had tile in our kitchen and dining room, we needed to have special shims where the carpet met the tile. No one had told us this when we ordered the carpet or when someone had come out to measure. They also told us they couldn't install the downstairs carpet because the tack strips on the cement needed to be glued down. I started to hyperventilate. There is no telling when they'd be able to come back out and we definitely couldn't live like this indefinitely.

I called Home Depot and spoke to Michelle, who was very helpful and worked with installation company to have the installers go and pick-up the needed shims, install them and glue down the strips downstairs, then they would come back a few days later (after the glue had dried) to lay the downstairs carpet.

At this point, I was relieved, I thought we'd had a bit of a hiccup but now everything was under control. Nope. Silly me.

On the day the installers were supposed to come and do the downstairs, I was supposed to get a call in the morning to tell me what time they would be there. By 10am I hadn't heard anything, so I called Home Depot again. About 30 minutes later, the installation company calls and says, "Oops sorry, we forgot to put you on the schedule." They said they could squeeze us in the next day. Fine.

Friday morning the installers actually show up. Yippee! By the end of the day the carpet is down and I feel like finally the ordeal is over...And then we notice some problems. David comes home and says, "Look at this, there is a gap between the carpet and the wall on the stairs." Upon closer inspection, we also find a "bubble" under the carpet downstairs and a piece of carpet hanging off where the carpet meets the concrete floor of the laundry room. I feel like I've been had. That the installers slacked off because I was a woman and the only one home when the did the second installation. Or, at the very best the rushed the job because they were trying to squeeze us in that day.

I called Home Depot again to schedule a repair. At this point Michelle and I are on a first name basis. The manager on duty offers us a $100 refund. We are grateful, but honestly would rather just have had our carpet installed without all the hassle (plus, $100 is about 3% of what we paid).

Three weeks later (our garage still filled with most of our belongings), the carpet repair guy is scheduled to come out and fix the issues. This time David stays home. They call at 9am to say the guy will be there between 2 and 5. He arrives at 5:40. He can fix the bubble, but will have to order new carpet for the stairs and the carpet is hanging off in the laundry room because the first set of guys installed it on a broken tack strip (seemingly confirming my suspicions).

That's where we are now. We've had to miss five days of work. The process has dragged on for a month. While Home Depot had been sympathetic (or at least pretended to be, which is fine. Sometimes you just want somebody to listen), the installation company has been a nightmare to work with. They've given us the impression that they have a contract with Home Depot (the goose that lays the golden egg) and they don't care about individual customers. I'm intentionally not using the name of the installation company. From what I've learned, the installers Home Depot uses are different in different regions, so yours may be great. For our part, we've learned that while Home Depot is great for buying supplies, don't get sucked in by the seemingly too good to be true installation prices. From now on, we'll pay the extra to have someone we've researched and trust to do the actual installation.

Phew! If you'd made it this far, bless you. I just really needed to vent.

Betwixt Look-a-like?

2011-05-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered (or, rather, discovered the name of) beautiful Betwixt fabric. Such a great name and a great fabric, unfortunately it's only sold "to the trade" a good sign that I can't afford it.

(can't remember where this photo came from, but it sparked my love of this pattern)

Imagine my surprise when I was browsing around The Company Store and spotted these ottomans.

$179 each

Ellie: 3 Months

2011-05-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

Length:
Weight:

About You: During your second month you discovered your hands! We were having dinner at our favorite pizza place and you kept lifting them up and staring at them. You met my grandma (Grandma Ann) for the first time. You defintely recognize your mama; every time you see me you get all smily and kick your legs. You rolled over! The week before Mommy had to go back to work.You started going to daycare with Ava and mama went back to work. We're still trying to adjust to this. You love to reach up and touch your hair (and you have quite a bit) and you like to suck on your thumb or bottom lip.

About the World: Prince William married Kate Middleton. You decided we should get up at 4 am and watch the royal wedding (this may have been a coincidence, we're not sure). Terrible storms and tornados have swept through the country. Osama bin Laden was killed.

Dresser Redo

2011-05-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

For the girls' room, I had my old childhood dresser refinished.

Before:

After:

My Ava Graduates

2011-05-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Last night my little Ava walked across the stage and accepted her diploma. From preschool, but still. This was a momentous occassion. Her class sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow and I cried. I could picture so clearly what she'll look like wearing her cap and gown up on stage again in 13 more years.

They asked each kid what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of the other girls said "princess" or "fairy," Ava said cowgirl, but my favorite was the little boy who said he wanted to be a trick-or-treater. Wouldn't that be the best job?

I love the way four year old minds work. Ava loves trying out new words; when she picks one up she wants to use it all the time. For a while it was "niece," then "accessories," right now it's "compliment." She doesn't quite know what it means. Yesterday in the store she told me she could see my wrinkles (I'm 27!). To which I think I replied, "Ava!" She said: "It's just a compliment." Mmm-hmmm.

She also gets unfamliar words a little confused like in these recent occurences:

To the waitress at the pizza place after ordering bread sticks.
A: "But I don't want any irving."
Me: "You mean herbs?"

In the car on the way home from preschool:
A: "I know what unicorns are."
Me: "You do? What are they?"
A: "Clothes that match.:
Me: ?
A: "Red ones and blue ones and green ones and black ones. Like on the field."
Me: Oh, uniforms!
A: "Yeah, uniforms. That's what I'm talkin' bout."

There's a little boy at school named Landon who's parents I wanted to meet at graduation, but they left before I had a chance. Last week Ava's class had a field trip to see a performance of the play Click Clack Moo. They match up each of the kids with a buddy when the go on field trips, and on this day Ava's buddy was Landon. Unfortunately the play was at a time when the kids are normally taking their nap and my girl needs her sleep. So, on the bus ride home her buddy Landon sat really still so she could sleep on his shoulder. Is that not the sweetest thing? She was really shy about it when she told me (I had asked if she was tired from not having a nap that day).

We gave both of her preschool teachers gifts at her graduation and it's also teacher appreciation week. I found this at our local independent bookstore and thought it would make a great teacher gift.

Ellie: Month 2

2011-05-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

Length: 22 inches
Weight: 11 pounds, 15 ounces

About You: Your favorite things are blowing bubbles, cooing, and your sissy. You smile so big when you see her. You already know she's someone very important. You've also started making a lot of new noises and try to have conversations with us.

Where do babies come from?

2011-04-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ava: "This is my baby sister. I bought her online."

5.25.11 Update:

"I found her in the woods."

"I borrowed her from Kmart." (We don't even live near a Kmart, I don't know where she even heard the name).

My sweet girls

2011-04-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get frustrated when I feel like I'm always picking up after everyone else and the house is never clean. Or when I cook dinner then have to take care of everyone else's needs and by the time I get to sit down and eat it's already cold.

But I hope my girls know how much I love them. And even when I get frustrated and grumpy, they are my treasures.

Ava is very mature, well-spoken and easy-going. Sometimes I forget she has a very tender little heart. Like the time she used too much toilet paper and clogged the toilet. Later in the week I discovered she had started throwing toilet paper in the trash can instead of flushing it because she didn't want to clog the toilet again.

Being a mom is the most important thing I've ever done. I need to protect and nurture those tender hearts and remind myself that if my girls are safe and warm and know they are loved, then we are greatly blessed and I can deal with a messy house and a cold meal.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm on maternity leave and my day job is not using up all my creativity, I've been wanting to make a project. Ava's preschool offered the perfect opportunity when the scheduled picture day on St. Patrick's Day. In order to add a little green to her outfit, but remove it for her photo, I decided to make a special St. Patrick's Day ribbon.

I basically just grabbed any craft supplies I had lying around that were green, pink or white and hot glued them together. Ava was pretty excited to wear it to school this morning (although you can't tell from this photo -- it was early).

I had to make that bow late last night after seeing the (much, much cuter) ones at Wendy and Peter.

Ava's preschool class is having green pancakes this morning and she was very curious yesterday about how you would catch a leprechaun. Holidays like St. Patrick's Day is so much more fun with kids.

Ellie: Month 1

2011-03-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

Weight: 10.5 pounds
Length: 21 inches

About You: You first smiled the day after you were born and you haven't stopped. Your eyes are still blue, but Daddy is sure they'll be brown soon. You like to be held up so you can stand and your little legs are getting pretty strong. You've also started babbling in your sweet little baby voice and like to talk back to us when we talk to you. You don't like to sleep in your cradle or crib, but you're a pretty good sleeper when you're in my arms or your baby swing. Your big sister, Ava, loves to hug and kiss you.

About the World: It's been warm this week (it's supposed to be 60 degrees tomorrow!) and the birds have started to sing. It's finally beginng to feel like spring is coming. The news is filled with the ongoing tradgy in Japan. On Friday, March 11, a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, causing an enoromous tidal wave and damaging a nuclear power plant. We've been praying for those affected along with the rest of the world.

Baby Lashes

2011-03-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Both my babies have incredibly thick, dark lashes.

So many people have commented on them lately. I wish I could take credit, but this is one feature they definitely don't get from me.

P.S. Ava's lovely Aunt Jessica took her to see Disney Princesses on Ice Sunday afternoon and she loved it so much that she has refused to remove her princess dress since.

Baby Ellie

2011-02-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

Our Valentine's Day was interrupted this year with something better than chocolate or flowers (although my awesome husband got me both of those things as well).

I went into labor with baby Elizabeth Lee on Valentine's Day evening and she made her debut on Tuesday, February 15, at 12:54 p.m. -- about one week overdue. We were so ready to meet her!

She's a chunky little sweetheart at 8 lbs., 10 oz. and 20.5 inches.

Ava has been talking about her little sister Ellie long before we were expecting, so we chose the name Elizabeth so we could call her Ellie. It's been a long time since I've posted on this blog and a lot has happened in the interim, including the sudden and tragic death of my husband's father, Lee, three days after Christmas. We gave her the middle name Lee in rememberance of him and his excitement for his littlest granddaughter that he never got the chance to meet in person.

NaNoWriMo

2010-10-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

November is National Novel Writing Month wherein you're supposed to write 50,000 words in 30 days. And squeeze in Thanksgiving preperations and holiday shopping. I've never finished, but I keep trying. But I'm not sure about this year. With the speed in which October has flown by, I don't know where I'll find the time...

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this month? How do find time for it?

Favorite Things About Fall: Food

2010-09-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

We're lucky enough to live in a part of the country where there are a lot of apple orchards. I knew fall had truly arrived when the crisp, cool breeze carried the faint sent of ripe apples. There is something so comforting about fall. The apple cider, knit scarves, hearty vegetables, snuggling under cozy blankets, sunny days and cool nights.

Even though we've actually had a major warm-up this week, I'm deep into my fall recipe file. I've already cooked a big batch of vegetable chili and had several bowls of butternut squash soup. And this week I created what I think is going to become a new fall favorite: creamy pumpkin ravioli.

We had ours with roasted Brussels sprouts. If you've never had them, do yourself a favorite and make a batch tonight. They are so good. Even my almost-4-year-old loves them. In fact, while I was cutting up Brussels sprouts for dinner she insisted on munching on a few raw.

Creamy Pumpkin Ravioli
1 pkg. pumpkin (or butternut squash, or plain cheese in a pinch) ravioli
1 pkg. (8 oz.) neufchatel cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 cup canned pumpkin (make sure you get 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling)
Chopped walnuts (I didn't measure these, just added in what looked good)
Dash of pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of red pepper

Saute the onions and red pepper on medium until the onions start to get brown and caramelized.

Turn heat to low and add walnuts.

Once pan has had some time to cool, add the cheese, milk, and butter. Stir frequently until the cheese and butter has completely melted. Add pumpkin and spices, then cook until completely heated, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook the ravioli per package directions.

Devour immediately.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts
Olive oil
Salt

This really couldn't be easier, but the result is so delicious. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the ends of the Brussels sprouts, pull of any leaves that look yellow or brown, then cut in half. Toss the sprouts in olive oil, then spread out on a pan and salt. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to evenly roast.

It's a Girl!

2010-09-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

We're getting more sugar and spice and everything nice!

When the ultrasound technician said it was a girl, Ava leaned in close to me and whispered, "We're going to be best friends, Mommy." I hope so. She's already offered to share all her toys.

Image from Amy Atlas

Preschool

2010-09-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

My little girl is growing up. Ava started preschool this week.

Cute sign from Blonde Designs.

What up, Suckas?

2010-08-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Anyone still out there?

David and I were in the living room a few days ago and Ava walked in from her room and said, "What up, Suckas?" I don't know where she gets these things, but she always keeps us laughing.

I've been missing from this blog for several months now, but for good reason. We're having a baby!

I'm just now starting to feel human again after many long weeks of intense morning sickness. I don't even like to call it morning sickness because I think some people (especially male people) tend to think of morning sickness as no big deal and even kind of cute really. But this was like the most intense stomach flu I've ever had. I lost 14 pounds in three weeks and nothing was helping until my doctor put me on a medication normally used for people undergoing chemo. And now, well into my second trimester, it's still the only thing keeping me from throwing up every day (although I am feeling much better than I was). But, it's all for a very good reason.

Ava is very excited about the possibility of a sister, but NOT a brother. We'll find out on Sept. 21...

Missed

2010-05-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

High Street Market was having a vintage baby sale, including these:

I wanted to buy a few of these goose hooks to hold dress-up clothes in Ava's room because I've been calling her Goose lately (as in Silly, which she is all the time). But, I wasn't quick enough and they sold out before I could buy any.

Now, I'm on the look-out for something similar. Let me know if you spot anything!

30th Birthday Carnival

2010-05-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

For David's 30th birthday, we dropped Ava off at the Grandparents' house and went to the Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City. I had booked spa appointments for each of us and we had plans to go to dinner.

Little did he know that all his friends would be at the restaurant when we arrived.

And once there, everyone got a fun gift bag.

(There was also a fun package of animal crackers in each one, but those didn't last long.)

So, that was two years ago. This year, David's birthday falls smack dab in the middle of a four-day weekend and I have absolutely nothing planned. Any suggestions?

I almost forgot. My lovely photography assistant:

Teacher Gifts

2010-05-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

This Friday the parents' at Ava's school are organizing a teacher appreciation pot-luck and we're all supposed to bring a homemade gift. Knowing that I love Ava's artwork, but a non-relative who would be getting art from all the other kids as well might want something that would be useful as well as decorative. And it needed to be something quick and easy that Ava and I could do together.

We picked up a few supplies from the store and got to work.

I sprayed each pot with chalkboard paint we already had, then Ava filled each one 2/3 full with potting soil.

Then we added the flowers and Ava used chalk to draw a special picture on each one. (In hindsight, this would have been a lot easier if we'd drawn the pictures before we potted the flowers.)

Then we added a message on an apple-shaped post-it note (it says: "Thanks for helping me learn and GROW!") and Ava drew on another set of post-its, then we sandwiched an extra-large pencil between the two notes and stuck them in the pots.

Done! The whole project was less than $20 for all three and, while homemade, her teachers can re-write and re-use the pots to their hearts content (and think of Ava every time they do). Now to decide what to make for the pot-luck...

Tulip Festival

2010-05-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Ava's cousin brothers came to visit and we drove to Holland for the annual Tulip Festival. After getting lost (twice) we finally made it to Windmill Island, where they have an antique windmill, Dutch trading post, reenactments and tulips!

These people were camping out old-school for the entire two weeks of the festival (I love the socks with bows).

Ava tushie in the background.

Ava after we told her she wasn't allowed to pick the flowers.

We had so much fun! And Ava can't wait for her cousin brothers to come visit again.

Short Cut

2010-04-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about doing this for a while now. Ava has very fine hair and hates having it brushed. She also pulls out ponytails, bows, or anything else I put in her hair to keep it out of her face almost immediately. So, on Friday I took the plunge and took her to the salon.

It was really hard for me to watch, because her hair grows soooo slowly and it took so long to get as long as it was. But it's grown on me and now I think it's pretty cute.

This weekend, we went up to David's parents' house on the lake and Ava could not wait to go fishing. Despite the cold and rain, she convinced Grandpa to take her out. At first she tried throwing the worms directly into the lake, but she did end up catching a couple.

On the way up, we stopped so David could buy a fishing license and Ava and I waited in the car. After about 20 minutes, this is the conversation we had:
Me: What is taking him so long?
Ava: He should get his ask out here.
Me: That's not nice, we shouldn't say that.
Ava: You can say that.
Me: I can?
Ava: Yes, because you speak Spanish.

The C-word

2010-04-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

I had this mole that looked a little funny. In fact, it met all the ABCD requirements for "looks funny." But, like a lot of moms, I put worrying about myself on the back burner. I'm ashamed to say that years passed before I finally had it looked at by a dermatologist. When I went a few weeks ago she said she wanted to remove it "as soon as possible." So, last week I went in for out-patient surgery and 30 minutes and 10 external stitches (plus some internal) later my mole was on its way to the lab. To say I was worried about it is an understatment. But, good news, the doctor's office called yesterday and said it was perfectly normal (other than being funny looking).

Then, that same day, I learned that brain tumors had just been discovered in the 13-year-old brother of a friend. He underwent a 10-hour surgery yesterday to remove the tumors and determine if they are malignant.

The C-word is scary and I think all families have been affected by cancer in some way or another. The good news is we can do something about it. It's Relay season. I used to work for the America Cancer Society and I can attest to what a great organization it is and how carefully they spend donor dollars. So, whether you join a Relay team, make a donation, or just drop by the local Relay to show your support (and maybe buy some of the baked goods or auction items the teams sell to raise money) please considered getting involved.

One of my favorite programs that Relay helps support is Camp Catch-A-Rainbow. It is a camp just like any other, with the expection that it has doctors and nurses who volunteer their time to ensure that the campers get their needed cancer treatments. It's also for kids who have or have had cancer, which is great because those currently battling can see those who have come out on the other side. I was lucky enough to spend a few days at the camp years ago and, like a lot of things at ACS, it was both heartbreaking and uplifting. Kids as young as four with their cheeks swollen from chemo, but having a blast making craft projects or singing silly songs around the campfire.

That's all. Things are crazy at work right now, which is another reason posting has been light over here. I do have lots to share, so hopefully I'll get caught up over the weekend.

Recipe: Vegetable Chili

2010-04-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

When it's cold outside, nothing hits the spot like a big bowl of chili. We're big chili eaters, even Ava who requests chili for dinner all the time. But I'm not a big meat lover, so I've been on the search for a chili recipe that uses less, leaner, or no meat.

Imagine my delight when a stop in at the local bookstore revealed their cafe was serving vegetarian chili. I ordered a bowl and loved everything about it on the first bite. It had a variety of beans, colorful vegetables, no meat!, but still retained that essential chilli flavor. I asked for the recipe, but sadly they wouldn't share so I decided to try to recreate my own.

I wasn't sure if this would turn out, so I only have one photo.

Be warned, this recipe makes a lot of chili so you may want to freeze some or invite over the neighbors.

2 TBS olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can tomato paste
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, drained
3 cups vegetable broth
1 28 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup chili powder
4 tsps taco seasoning
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, then add onion, peppers, and garlic. After about five minutes, add the vegetable broth, tomato paste, and beans. Stir well, then add the stewed tomatoes, corn, chili powder, taco seasoning, and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer until it gets all chilli-y (about 45 minutes). Add water if it starts to look dry. Enjoy!

I think next time I might roast my peppers before I add them to the chili for a deeper flavor.

Thank you Wee Wonderfuls!

2010-04-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a giveaway of snack bags from Wee Wonderfuls! When Hillary emailed me for our address, I asked her to send them under Ava's name and she was kind enough to oblige. She may only be three, but the kid LOVES getting mail. When the package arrived, she was so excited and so was I, look at how beautiful they are.

Thank you so much, Hillary! We love them. As soon as she pulled them out of the package, Ava was filling each pouch with little treats and treasures. And she adores her special kitty.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous Easter!

We spent a couple days with David's parents, grandparents, and brothers, then went a bit further up north to visit my grandmother. Ava could not have had more fun, she had a perma-grin all weekend. The baskets full of candy and gifts were the icing on the cake (notice in the photo she wouldn't even stop eating candy long enough to smile). She got a darbie in her basket, which she named Jessica Heightens and always refers to her with both names.

One of her favorite parts of visiting my Grandma is getting to see cousin Kory and her black lab Zoe. This is the dog that Ava tells everyone is her's. I tried to get a photo of Ava and Zoe together, but they were both moving too fast.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter as well!

Counting my blessings

2010-03-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to have this attitude lately.

I love this song (and this movie).

Easter Nests

2010-03-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

The first time I remember eating one of these was on a visit to my Great Grandmother's house. I must have been about eight and I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. This is the first time I've made them myself, but if I had realized how easy it was I would have tried it a long time ago.

Just a few simple ingredients: Fiber One bran cereal (or similar branch-like shaped cereal), butter, marshmallows, non-stick spray and Cadbury Mini-Eggs.

Melt 3 TBS butter over low heat, then add 5 cups mini-marshmallows and stir until completely melted. You could also add some chocolate chips at this point if you the kids might be put off by the bran flavor.

Remove the pan from heat and slowly add 6 cups cereal. Stir until well coated. Spray your muffin pan with non-stick spray, then fill each cup with the mixture (it may help to spray your hands as well.

Next, use your fingers to push out the middle and create the nest shape (it's a little hard to see in this photo).

Then, just add a couple eggs to each one and you're done!

My taste-tester says these are delicious. We're taking them to her friends tomorrow, so we'll see what the others think.

Girl's Day

2010-03-21T19:42:00.000-07:00

David was still filling pretty under the weather Saturday, so Ava and I decided to have a Girl's Day and do all our favorite things. But when we went outside we had a bit of a surprise. After a week of 60 degree, sunny days, this is what greeted us Saturday morning.

We braved the snow anyway and made our way to our first stop. A library book sale (of course). The books were a little more than usual ($2 for a hardcover, $1 for a paperback), but the selection was really good.

Then we grabbed lunch and headed to our next stop.

Our first ballet! A performance of Cinderella by the West Michigan Youth Ballet. It was incredible, especially since the performers were all between the ages of 6 and 18.

Ava loved it. Obviously.

After the ballet, we stopped in at our favorite toy store (this stop was all Ava's idea, but it was girls' day so we went for it), where we found a couple new books.

The Color Kittens was one of my favorites when I was little, but I had completely forgotten about it until I spotted it on the shelf. Note that Golden Books now labels it "classic" -- ouch. What I didn't know was that it was written by Margaret Wise Brown, who also wrote Goodnight Moon.

Then, to make a good day even better, when we got home these were waiting for us.

Then, we did manicures before bed (with a sparkle polish top coat).

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a box of Thin Mints waiting for me in the freezer.

Book Review: Alexander and the Dragon

2010-03-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

Alexander and the Dragon is about a little boy who is afraid of the dark because when the lights go off, he begins to imagine the things in his room are terrible things.

Most terrifyingly, a shadow right under his bed that he thinks must be a dragon. His father tells him there are only two ways to deal with a dragon: scare it away or make friends with it.

So, Alexander bravely confronts the dragon.

I won't give away the ending, other than to say that Alexander no longer needs a nightlight.

I remember this book from when I was a kid, and it's one of the ones Ava wants us to read over and over. What I didn't realize until recently is that the author, Katharine Holabird, also wrote all the Angelina Ballerina books (also favorites in our house). A Chicago native, Holabird summered in Michigan as a child. About her childhood, Holabird reportedly said, "TV hadn't become a fixture in every home, and we created our own imaginative world." Hmmm, something to think about

Ups and downs

2010-03-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

Ava has been fighting a nasty cold virus this week. David and I have taken turns staying home with her and Wednesday was my day. After waking up in the middle of the night because of a coughing fit that ended in throwing up (and a visit to the doctor resulted in an eye infection diagnosis in addition to her cold), I thought she could use some sunshine, fresh air, and a little fun.

I couldn't believe how fearless she was, she climbed up the ladders, slid down the biggest slides, and even climbed the big kids' rock wall. It really hit me at how big she's gotten, seemingly overnight. Didn't she just learn to walk?

But, I think we may have overdone it a bit, because after a short nap she had a meltdown. Sobbing huge elephant tears because Daddy wasn't home to help her put Darbie's clothes on (despite the fact that I had offered to help).

This was so unlike my usually easygoing little one, I had to take a picture. Which set off a whole new batch of tears. "Don't take my picture, I'm crying."

In other news, I think Ava's watching too much TV. How do I know? This was the conversation her dolls were having yesterday:
"Are we clear?"
"Claritin clear."

I just have to get David on board with this ban, as he's as big a TV fan as Ava. I don't want to give up movies, though, because I am totally addicted to watching Masterpiece theater online.We watched 39 Steps last night and it was so good. (David hooked up the computer to the TV with so we can watch it on the bigger screen.)

The film is based on the book of the same name by Scottish author John Buchan, who, honestly, I've never heard of. But, I'm really interested in reading the book now and there are apparently four others in the series.

Now that Ava is feeling better, David has caught her cold. He stayed home today and she went back to school, but she was doing everything she could to convince us to let her stay home and watch cartoons (see, she's addicted!). When she and I were finally in the car on the way to school, she looks over at the car next to us and says, "Her little girl isn't in her car. Her little girl is home with her daddy." And sticks out a little pouty lip. She's 3.5 and she's already trying to guilt me...I'm dreading the teenager years...

Bad day, good dinner

2010-03-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

After a windy, rainy, cold weened, today was beautiful, sunny and nearly 60 degrees. Unfortunately, I was cooped up at work with no windows and it was a really, really long day. One of those days when nothing is easy or seems to work out right. So, when we got home, Ava and I decided to try a new quick and easy recipe.

We tried this Gimme Some Oven recipe for gnocchi with asparagus and pesto. I'm not a big seafood fan, so we used organic chicken and apple sausage instead. It was so delicious. It took about 15 minutes to make and tastes like something that cooked all day.

After dinner, we decided we deserved a little treat. (update: Ava calls these Orioles)

Bubbles, books and broken eggs

2010-03-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend, my sister brought her boys (the cousin brothers) to visit. We planned to hit some thrift stores and fabric stores, but the kids were too worked up to safely enter a store with anything breakable.

We did manage to make it to this weekend's library booksale. We got there during the last hour, when they charge $1 per bag. So, we did the Supermarket Sweep version of book shopping and shove anything that looked interesting into a grocery bag while trying to wrangle three little ones (two of which had just been cooped up in the car for three hours).

The weather was rainy and a little chilly, but we did manage to make it outside for a little while to blow bubbles and draw on the sidewalk.

When the wind got too chilly, we went inside to plant egg herb gardens based on Darby's. We planted basil, rosemary and cilantro. Connor is eight and I think he was the only one that actually kept all the same seeds in a single egg. Ava and Jamie were a bit more free spirited.

"Mom, look how pretty I look"

2010-03-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

On an innocent trip to the bathroom, someone thought she would try mascara.

We had a nice long talk about not using makeup (or anything in the bathroom) without permission.

Book Review: Prodigal Summer

2010-03-09T17:38:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late on the Barbara Kingsolver bandwagon. I'd never read anything of her's before, but I saw this one at the library booksale and decided to pick it up. I am so glad I did. Let me just tell you that I read this entire 444 pager in one day. One. I could not put it down.

The book jacket says Prodigal Summer is about human love, but I disagree. I would say that, at it's heart, Prodigal Summer is a book about family in its many forms. It's set in southern Appalachia and Kingsolver's descriptions of the setting are magical. But even better are her characters. Each one was so well-crafted I found myself thinking about them days later (the sign of a good character, I think).

Prodigal Summer centers around Deanna Wolfe, a wildlife biologist who identifies with coyotes more than she does with people; Lusa Maluf Landowski, a scientist who marries a farmer and moves to the country only to feel like an outsider among her in-laws; and Garnett Walker, an old man convinced his neighbor is God's test for him. Through these three interconnected lives, we see how families are created and destroyed, how widely encompassing they can be -- beyond genetics, beyond species -- and, overall, how just how important they are.

On top of all of this are Kingsolver's rich descriptions of the flora and fauna in Zebulon County, a sign of her biologist roots, but done so seamlessly that it lends a richer layer to the tapestry of the story rather than distracting from it.

This is the book's first sentence: "Her body moved with the frankness that comes from solitary habits. But solitude is only a human presumption. Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot; every choice is a world made new for the chosen. All secrets are witnessed."

It gives me shivers. This is the kind of writing that inspires me to run for my comupter keyboard and just write and write with the hope that I can come up with something a fraction of this good. I can't wait to read more from Barbara Kingsolver. This is why I like discovering writers after they've been around for a while, she's already written lots more novels for me to read ; )

Progress!

2010-03-07T20:36:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! It was 50 degrees and sunny. And, best of all, it smelled like Spring! I opened all my windows and let the fresh air in Sunday afternoon. It feels like Spring is just around the corner and I am so ready for it.

So, in the spirit of Spring, we scrubbed and repaired and organized. We even Spring cleaned the car Saturday with a car wash and oil change : ). Afterwards, we went to the thrift store, paint store, the market, and about a million other places running errands and working on Ava's big girl room. We had lunch Founder's Brewing Co. I'd never been before, but I'd heard good things and it lived up to the hype. Mmmmm, BLT and pale ale. And, we got to go to a library book sale (one of my favorite things) to stock up for reading month.

We also just got Ava's costume for her dance recital. She has begged to wear it almost every day since we got it, so I think this one will live on in her dress up trunk. After I took this photo I realized those things on her legs go on her arms. Oops.

After lots of thought, and anxiety, and research, I think I have landing on the right direction for Ava's room. I want it to be reflective of her (very girly and outgoing) personality, but also be a calming environment that can grow with her.

The paint color is a soft bluey grey from Benjamin Moore called Glass Slipper (perfect name for a princess!). I also found a lot of incredible artwork for the room (from Kiki and Polly, Erin Tyner, Anna Bond ). The butterflies I bought are from Meijer Gardens butterfly show.

For the windows, I'm thinking the Moda orange floral for roman shades with the natural linen as drapes with grosgrain ribbon trim that will match the shade. The problem with this plan is that I have wide windows. Wider than the fabric already, before hemming. I think I have a possible solution, but I'm going to have to play around with it a little. More on that later.

I'm looking for a vintage bed that looks like this Ethan Allen one. I know I've seen them on Craigslist, but now that I'm looking for one they are, of course, no where to be found.

I'm thinking the Amy Butler sunspots fabric to reupholster a chair and ottoman that will sit next to the dollhouse bookcase my dad built.

Unfortunately, the weekend flew by and now it's back to work.

March is reading month!

2010-03-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

I come from a family of readers and I think nothing beats curling up in a cozy, sunny nook with a cup of coffee and a good book. My husband...not so much. So, I'm trying to nuture Ava's love of reading by reading to her and by showing her how much I enjoy reading.

Her daycare has a contest every March where the parents keep track of the books they read to their child and the room with the most books read has a party at the end of the month, which I love. So we're reading up a storm this month. Right now we're reading The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L Konigsburg. It's a chapter book, one of my favorites as a child. As I mentioned a while back, I think reading chapter books to younger children is a great way to encourage their imaginations (and maybe even increase their attention spans). Sarah Jane just posted about this a little while ago with a list of chapter books I can't wait to search for at the next library book sale.

And, in honor of Reading Month, I'm going to post reviews and recommendations on what we're reading lately all month!

Dirty Little Secret

2010-02-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

I think most people who know me would say I keep my house pretty tidy. But what they don't know is I have a dirty little secret....I'm a closet shover. I tend to shove things into my closets until they look like this:

Yikes. This is the coat closet and the pantry. We'll call these the "before" shots, because I spent a few hours on Saturday to turn these from this into this:

I found some random things in these closets, including a power drill, 3 flashlights and tons of sidewalk chalk and bubbles.

The baskets in the pantry were on clearance at Meijer for $9 for the set. Pretty much everything else was already in there, buried under all the other junk. I now have a bag of coats and another of shoes/boots for Goodwill and, best of all, I can actually find things.

I was wondering as I was working on this if I like them get like this intentionally (subconciously) just for the sense of accomplishment I get when I clean them out.

Next up, the office *shudder*.

Book Club: Firefly Lane

2010-02-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

This month I hosted my very first book club! I've always wanted to be part of a book club, but it never worked out for one reason or another. Then, about a month ago, I found a special offer from the publisher to host a party and in return get a free book for everyone you invite. I'm lucky enough to know lots of fabulous ladies who love to read, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

The Party: The book follows two friends from when they meet in the 70s as children to today, so for the party we listened to lots of Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty and drank Faygo and "fireflys" (grapefruit juice, citrus vodka, and grenadine) served in canning jars just like the ones we used to catch real fireflies in. I love how the chips are (unintentionally) 70s colors. We ate them with warm goat cheese dip, so easy and delicious.

I also decorated a little with tealights in jars. This party was totally easy to prep for, which is perfect for book club.

The Book: I've always loved reading, but it's a totally different experience to discuss the book with friends afterward. I really enjoyed hearing how others responded to or interpreted different things in the book. Everyone said they really liked the book. I, personally, had a hard time getting into it at first. Because there is such a large amount of time covered in the book, I felt like the author, Kristin Hannah, did a lot of "telling" rather than "showing" in the beginning 1/3 of the book. So, it took a while for me to get to know or care about the characters. The rest of the book I spent either hating one of the characters for being so self-centered and or the other character for being such a doormat. That said, I thought there was a lot of really good stuff in the book and everyone who read it could relate to something in it. I would definitely read something by Hannah again.

For March, we're (re)reading The Time Traveler's Wife, then watching the movie.

Ava's Favorite

2010-02-17T17:12:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention, this is Ava's current favorite.

So, my three year old is totally cooler than me.

Favorite Things

2010-02-17T16:51:00.000-08:00

A few of my favorite things right now:

1. the all new Emma on Masterpiece Theater (which totally rekindled my love for Jonny Lee Miller. Remember him in Hackers?).You can watch all the episodes on the PBS website. And, you can pick your favorite Jane Austen man right here (who did you pick?? This was really hard for me). Next up on PBS is Northangar Abbey and Persuasion, so don't ask me to do anything on Sunday nights for a while, because I'm goning to be busy : ) There is also an online Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum.

2. Imogen Heap

3. One Republic

4. Turtles

Obviously my taste in music is about two years behind, but I know my chocolate!

Valentines

2010-02-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

I unapologetically love Valentine's Day. I know everyone thinks it's a commercial holiday designed to make people buy expensive gifts at the last minute, but growing up it was always more of a family celebration rather than a romantic holiday. And I'm all for any chance to celebrate how much I love my family. : )

This year, I wanted to make valentines that wouldn't cost a lot and that Ava could help with. She loves to help cook, so I thought these would be fun for her.

I picked up some fortune cookies and milk chocolate chips at the store, but had everything else on hand.

I melted the chocolate in the microwave, then my little helper dipped in the cookies (well the first five, then she got bored) and added the sprinkles.

Then, I tucked each one into a little cellophane bag with some wax paper and whipped up a little label. The labels could have been a bit bigger, but at this point I was too tired to mess with them.

We also put some in little take-out boxes for Ava's babysitter and her cousins.

From the mouths of babes

2010-02-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

This is a conversation I had in the car with Ava yesterday on the way to dance class:

A: "Audrey has ugly hair."
Me: "That's not very nice."
A: "No, it's not nice. She shouldn't get a hair cut like that."

Inspiration: Kids Rooms

2010-02-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

I've been really wanting to redecorate Ava's room into something more calming. These are some of the images that I've been drawn to lately.

Every day is a gift

2010-01-17T07:26:00.000-08:00

Already this year we've gotten some pretty big reminders at how precious every day is. First, on Jan. 8 an old friend passed away suddenly after a fall on the ice. He was only 28. Then, not long after, the devastating earthquake in Hati that has claimed and continues to claim the lives of so many.

So, today we're getting our financial papers in order and drafting our will. Because there are no guarantees.

Day 1

2010-01-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

I love the symbolism of a fresh new year, a clean start. Especially this year, where not only is it a new year but a whole new decade. Unfortunately for me, it seems that even my best laid plans go awry and my New Year's goals are quickly forgotten amongst the everyday tasks and surprises that take precedence.

I'm trying to make this year different. So, I'm posting my New Year (and new decade) resolutions here to keep myself more accountable.

This Year:

Be more organized (in life and in home). Get rid of what we don't need or use. Iron more often, do hair and wear makeup everyday. Plan. Bring a place setting to work and eat lunch on real dishes. Drink coffee from a cup with a saucer
Increase educational activities for Ava and reduce the amount of TV and other distractions. Take advantage of local resources like nature centers and museums.
Get back in share once and for all. Take better care of myself by making time to excercise every day, eating more organic, local, and natural food, and making dermatologist, dentist,and other important health appointments.
Be more adventuruous. Try new things.
Be more generous in time as well as money. Help those who need it, not just by donating money, canned goods, clothes, etc., but also by volunteering time more often.
Be more spiritual and hopeful. Find a church that we love. Look for the good in the world, not just the bad.

This Decade:

1. Finish writing a novel.

2. Work on a movie set.

3. Go to the Sundance Film Festival.

4. Be a better person. Every day.

5. Work in visual design.

6. Go to France and take a cooking lesson.

7. Work in interior design.

Status:

I've cleaned out my closet and have another huge bag of clothes to give away. I bought a new closet organizer to install to maximize the amount of space. Today, I'm going through Ava's closet and packing up all the clothes she's outgrown into the "save for future new baby" or "donate" categories. I also have a bunch of furniture to donate.

I'm trying to be better about preparing the night before by laying out clothes for me and Ava and making sure whatever we need for the day is ready to go. I've also been trying to get up earlier in the mornings so I can do my hair and makeup. I'm not completely there yet, but I'm working on it...

I've been trying to do the Body and Soul magazine Whole Body Action Plan. The first week was a detox/cleanse week and I already lost 5.5 lbs! I've also been working out more, although I'm not consistent about every day yet.

As to the less TV/more educational activities, I think we're going to cancel our Tivo : ( Our three year subscription is up, so it seems like it's a sign. I'm also thinking about reducing our cable to basic only, which will be hard for Ava because the Disney Channel is pretty much the only one she watches. Ava loves to bake, so we did a lot of that while we were on vacation around the holidays. I also picked up a couple kids cookbooks on clearance so we can cook dinner together. I'm also looking for some more fun, TV-free activities that are age-suitable.

How about you? Do you make resolutions?

Santa's Workshop

2009-12-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas (and all of December) has gone by in a whirl. For weeks before I was busy making, enhancing and buying other handmade things.

Ava and her cousin brothers each got a personalized tote bag filled with books and art supplies.

Connor, who is practicing his handwriting, also got some personalized stationery.

And Grady, who is too young for art supplies, got a handsome new outfit and some special blocks.

For my best friend, I made a desktop pin board and ordered a 2010 planner from Kate Spade.

I also made some ornaments, then stained a wooden box and used some evergreen boughs for padding (for some reason, I could not take a good photo of these...)

This one had a tiny mistletoe sprig. Some of the others had tiny pine cones or cuttings of pine boughs.

Santa filled this adorable bag (from Shim and Sons) with a matching tissue holder, lip smackers, and what Ava deemed "the most beautiful polish in the world" and left it in Ava's stocking.

She also got this adorable little set in her stocking (from Goose Grease Undone). I think I may have to paint a few of these little guys, you know, for instructional purposes.

Christmas Cards

2009-12-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

Are in the mail! I ran out of time and didn't design them myself. Instead I went the quick/cheap route and ordered from KodakGallery.com

But, I think it turned out pretty cute.

Family that doesn't live too far away will also be getting these:

We hope everyone can make it! Ava is especially excited that her cousin brothers might be coming to our house for Christmas. The plan is to have all the kiddies eat at the little table and I think it would be so much fun to have a "sleep over" with all the kids in one room together. Although, Ava may keep her cousin brothers up because she's not the best at going to sleep when told.

Now, on to finishing my Christmas shopping/making and planning the menu for Christmas brunch. Is there really only 10 days until Christmas??

Rethinking Christmas Toys

2009-12-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

There are so many amazing toys out there now, it's easy to go overboard. And this is the first year that Ava's started to really express a desire for a particular toy (I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with Garbie). But she also has a bedroom and a playroom filled with so (so, so, so) many toys. Many of which she barely plays with.

So this year I've really been focusing on quality, not quanity, and on really well made, well designed toys, especially those that are also educational. I've also been buying things she needs like books and clothes, and even jewelry and hair accessories instead of toys. I even filled a bag with toys she doesn't play with to take to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.

And, I've begun to look into better storage options for her toys, so she can find the ones she wants to play with and knows where to put them away when shes done (cleaning up is something we really need to work on with Ava). For this, I'm taking a page from her daycare's play book. They have different areas set up for different kinds of toys or types of play and everything has a particular place so the kids know where to put it back.

These are some of the toys I'm thinking about this year. A Puppet Theater, adorable Dollhouse Furniture to go in Ava's dollhouse, a Paper Doll Game that's won lots of awards, Magnetic Dress-Up Dolls, and Ivy and Bean books.

The Ivy and Bean books are for a bit of an older audience, but Ava's nickname is Bean and we've also started reading the Junie B Jones books, which she loves. I think it's actually good to sometimes read books to younger kids that don't have illustations on every page because it encourages them to use their imaginations.

I also love all the Wooden Play Food from Melissa and Doug (also available at Land of Nod and Target) and this adorable Art Easel from Ikea for only $15 (plus a Splat Mat from Land of Nod to catch any spills)

For storage, I'm thinking bins, baskets, shelves, and jars all labeled and easy to spot.

I'd like to add rub-on numbers (from the craft store) onto the jars and use them to store small toys like Darby accessories, legos, Playmobil and Little People. The candy jar style ones are only $5 at Target, but are only available in stores. The baskets (these ones are from World Market) would be great for under bed storage or on a bookshelf and could hold things like play food, blocks, etc. I would add tags painted with chalkboard paint. The bins are great for doll storage (especially the cute paper doll bins from DwellStudio) or stuffed animals.

I'm also trying to focus more on handmade/homemade gifts this year to cut down on consumersim and to give our loved ones something we really put our hearts in. More on this later.

First Snow

2009-12-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

We got our first accumulation of the season this weekend. Ava couldn't wait to get outside and build a snowman, so David finally relented and they did their best.

I thought they were going to have to borrow snow from the neighbors. : )

They were pretty proud of this guy. Ava named him Yuleton and she kept telling me how handsome he was.

Afterwards we had hot chocolate and opened today's square on the advent calendar.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2009-12-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, my company had it's annual Children's Christmas Party at the local movie theatre. We got free tickets to Planet 51 and snacks, plus Ava got to see this guy.

She's telling him she wants a Princess Darby with gold and silver shoes and a mask and a stuffed puppy dog with a hairbow and earrings.

After she told him what she wanted, he gave her a candy cane. Ava doesn't like mint, but she always wants to try it. So we unwrapped it and she put a piece in her mouth, then promptly spit it out and told me it was too spicy.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to visit my parents and Ava got to play with all three of her cousin brothers. Ava said she was thankful for birthdays, but I know she's also thankful for cousin brothers. Almost everyday we're not with them she tells me how much she misses them.

Jamie is running at full speed in almost every photo I took of him.

After we all froze our buns outside, we went inside for hot chocolate and pie.

Look at this rascally guy. Can you tell his middle name is Danger?

Photo Party

2009-12-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

We invited some friends over recently and had a professional photographer come and share tips on how to take better photos (especially of kids). She taught us things like how to get that cool blurred background (I'm still practicing this) and why you should never use flash or the automatic setting. So, of course, the next day my sister and I staged a photo shoot. It didn't hurt that our models were so adorable.

While the adults were upstairs improving our shutterbug skills, the kids were downstairs having a party of their own (with a babysitter to monitor sugar intake).

Stationery Design

2009-12-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

I've been picking up a few design jobs for friends here and there. These are some of the pieces I've done lately.

Nick and Nicole wanted Ben's announcements to look like baseball cards, so I suggested adding a stick of gum and a little glassine envelope. The photo doesn't do them justice, the packets were so cute in a person!

Gayle needed an invite for her annual family Christmas party. She wanted something traditional, with a fun spin. I love polka dots.

And this one I designed as a baby gift for my friend Amy. After Ava was born, we never got around to sending out announcements, so I wanted to help Amy avoid the same fate.

I have so much fun designing stationery. I'm sure there will be more to share soon.

Book Sales

2009-12-06T07:32:00.000-08:00

I love library book sales. They are ~~probably~~ most defintely one of my favorite weekend pastimes. This was a particularly good haul a couple weekends ago. I think all of this cost about $10.

But, I must not be the only one who loves book sales because there's a website devoted to finding them. It's fittingly called Book Sale Finder.

Halloween

2009-12-05T20:57:00.000-08:00

I love all holidays, but the holidays this time of year are my favorite. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. I think it's something about the chill in the air that makes them just a bit more exciting. These photos are from some of our Halloween festivities this year. I'll post Thanksgiving photos next.

We were up north at my Grandparent's house and it actually snowed on Halloween, so we called Ava our Artic Mermaid.

Boo

2009-12-05T20:38:00.000-08:00

Our first year in our home, our neighbors included us in a fun Halloween tradition called "Boo-ing" your neighbors. You leave a bag of goodies, a poem explaining the tradition, and a ghost to hang in the window and show they've been booed. Then they have to do the same to two other neighbors. Last year, no one started the booing, so this year we decided to be the first.

I found these cute tags online at the Blonde Designs Blog.

My lovely assistant (who insisted on being included in a photo).

After we filled the bags with goodies, my helpers dropped them on our neighbors doorsteps and ran away.

Ava's Continuous Birthday

2009-12-05T20:14:00.000-08:00

We went to Chicago for Ava's birthday and afterwards she got to celebrate with her cousin brothers and Grandma and get presents from Grandpa, Grandpa and Grammy, and Great Grandpa and Nother One Grandma. She was a very lucky girl this year and loved all her birthdays.

I love Jamie's face in this photo.

Ava calls this a "Darby." How cute is that? We recently bought a bunch of toys for Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army Angel Tree. One of the things Ava picked out was a Princess Darby with lots of accessories, but she then had second thoughts about whether or not she was willing to part with it. In the end, she made the right choice and gave the doll up. But Santa, if you're reading, please bring a Princess Darby.

P.S. Ava just reminded me that she named the Darby in the above photo Calico Woman. In case you were wondering.

Yes, she hugged every present like this after she opened it.

Car Washing

2009-12-05T19:26:00.000-08:00

When Ava saw David washing the car, she had to help. But we only had one washing mitt, so I had to give her my oven mitt : )

It's possible that more water ended up on Ava than on the car, but at least she had fun.

Tiny Dancer

2009-12-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Ava started dance class this year! She's in a class of 3 and 4 year olds who do ballet, tap, and tumbling. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever. The only downside (other than the cost, yikes) is that the only class that worked with our schedules is from 6:00-7:00 pm, so she's sometimes pretty worn out by the time we get there.

I don't really know why she's making this face, but I love the little outfits they wear.

Berry Picking

2009-12-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun this summer with Ava's cousin brothers. This is at my grandparent's raspberry patch. I don't think we made it back to the house with any berries, the kids ate them all sun-warmed directly from the bush.

All the kids love this trail wagon of my Grandpa's and beg for rides every few minutes.

And they always get one. : )

Living Room Update

2009-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

I also bought some new chairs for the living room over the summer, so I took a few pics.

It's amazing what fresh flowers can do for a room. These were from the grocery store.

The new chairs! I love them, David is not a fan. He thinks they're uncomfortable, but if it were up to him, our house would be full of La-Z-Boy Recliners and nothing else.

But Ava likes them!

The other side of the living room. (P.S. that table was only $20 at the Pottery Barn outlet).

Deck Makeover

2009-12-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

This summer, I gave our tiny deck off the kitchen a little makeover. Here's the before and after.

Before:

Note David's stack of half-used bags of charcoal....

After:

S'more Cupcakes

2009-12-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

I love, love cupcakes. And my favorite way to make cupcakes is to doctor box mixes. These are S'more cupcakes, but they started life as boxed spice cake mix.

Here's the recipe:

box spice cake mix (NOT carrot cake)
crushed graham crakers
chocolate frosting
Hershey's chocolate bar
Marshmallow Fluff
Mini Marshmallows

Mix the cake batter following the directions on the box. Fill up cupcake pan 1/4 full, then add a spoonful of Marshmallow Fluff. Cover the Fluff with more cake batter. Bake according to the directions on the box. After the cupcakes have cooled, frost, then roll the edges in the crushed graham craker. Decorate with chunks of the chocolate bar and mini marshmallows. Enjoy!