crashnotes

project life...in progress

2012-01-27T17:26:00.001-05:00

I'm working on a more substantial project life post but part of the process I'm slowly developing includes using some pre-made photoshop templates for planning my pages. I'm doing a mix of traditional/hybrid/digital but since the beginning of time (or, since the beginning of my scrapping life, and long before I ever thought of digital scrapbooking) I've always planned pages in some type of editing program (way back when I first started...almost 10 years ago (!) I used Microsoft Picture It) before actually constructing them.

Marcy Penner has some fabulous printables for a variety of page protector styles. I downloaded them, printed them in a mini book format and bound them using this technique to toss in my purse - perfect for waiting in the car for the boys to get out of school!

Once I have a basic plan though, I need to work it out in Photoshop...adding the photos and text into the spaces until I'm satisfied. That's where these templates come in. I created these for the mish mash of We R Memory Keepers and Project Life template styles I picked up. There is a seperate png file for each of the 12 styles I have. I added a tiny margin to make sure they would fit once I printed and slid into the protectors. If you can use them, you can download here.

Also, the winner of my kit releases from this past Tuesday is:

Please email me Marty so I know where to send the files!

new today and a quick tutorial

2012-01-24T11:45:00.002-05:00

Three new [tiny] kits today...each just 99¢

Date Slims

Journaling Cards

Paper Mask

I'll give all three kits to one of you! Just leave a comment, any comment, and I'll choose a winner Friday!

Now, for the tutorial. I wish I could figure out how to get better at screen capture videos but screenshots will have to suffice. Also, I'm all self taught so I'm adding a disclaimer that my methods may not be the best or most efficient but they get the job done!

I designed those Date Slims because I wanted something that I could staple to the edge of my pl page protectors. Something that would add a little continuity and make it easy to find a specific week. I wanted *mine* to look like white ink on kraft paper though so I'm going to quickly show how I took the file from the Date Slims kit and modified to suit the look I was after. You can download my 8.5x11" kraft paper jpg HERE. Just an FYI that this kit includes a blank label file as well so you can customize the dates if you're working a different format than Sunday - Monday.

Open the date slims file and the kraft paper file.

Activate the Rectangular Marquee Tool (keyboard shortcut M)

Draw a rectangle selection around week 1 and then click Edit>Create Brush from Selection

You can name your brush if you'd like but it's not necessary. If you're creating a lot of brushes at once (and especially if they'll look similar in a thumbnail like these week images will) then naming makes it much easier to identify the brush you want.

Switch to your kraft paper file, create two new layers, and stamp week one and week two on separate layers.

Rotate one of the layers 180° and position as shown.

Merge both layers together by selecting both (hold the shift key while clicking on both layers) and clicking ctrl+E.

Select your kraft layer and while holding the ctrl key, click on the *thumbnail* image for the label layer (click on the actual picture - not the layer name)

At this point, you'll see the marching ants (animated dashed lines) that indicate you've made a selection. Click ctrl+J to create a copy of the date labels from the kraft paper.

Here you can see the new layer that was created in the previous step.

Drag your kraft layer to a new white canvas to print.

OK, so maybe not such a quick tutorial but I'm not a natural teacher and have a hard time figuring out the best way to demonstrate the steps. If you have questions, leave me a comment and I'll do my best to answer them!

Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T19:50:00.001-05:00

image from here.

Today marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon. An auspicious occasion since *I* was born in a previous dragon year. And we can all see how well that worked out for me :)

The Year of the Dragon is supposed to be the luckiest year in the Chinese zodiac. A time of great change and opportunity. I haven't shared a lot on this blog about our current situation but needless to say, we're due for some positive change and opportunity. I'm not superstitious, I don't believe in astrology, but in this case, I say bring it on Dragon!

Of course, we had to look up the zodiac sign for everyone. Turns out, the signs pretty closely mirror personality.

I'm the quick-tempered, independent loner Dragon.
Carlos and Izzy are the loyal, sociable, passionate pigs. (also, if you know anything about Izzy, this fits her on a gustatory level as well.)
Jake is the popular, quick-witted, talkative, anxious horse.
Zack is the inventive, inquisitive, factual, manipulative monkey (also fits him due to the fact that he is, indeed, a monkey! I find him hanging upside down off the top bunk of his bed pretty much daily.)

In honor of the day, we had to have Chinese for dinner. We tried a new recipe tonight and it is absolutely, without a doubt our new favorite and go-to tofu recipe. The original recipe came from here (totally making the scallion pancakes they have on their blog sometime soon...maybe the next time we have the general tso's) but I modified it a bit to make it vegetarian and use supplies I had on hand.

Yes, that's tofu!

Here is the recipe I ended up going with per my modifications:

2 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 C vegetable broth
1 T soy sauce
1 T mirin
2 T hoisin sauce
2 t sriracha
2 t sesame oil
3 T sugar
1/2 C cornstarch
1 block firm tofu (pressed for about an hour)
oil for frying
minced garlic (I don't have a measurement for this...go with what you like, I typically add a lot more than what a recipe calls for because I LOVE GARLIC)
1 T minced ginger
1 t red pepper flakes
3 chopped scallions (white and green)

Marinate cubed tofu in apple cider vinegar for 15 minutes.
Mix sauce ingredients: veg broth, soy, mirin, hoisin, sriracha, sesame oil, sugar and 2 t of cornstarch and set aside.
Toss tofu with salt, pepper and cornstarch coating the cubes as uniformly as possible. Fry in a bit of oil until crisp. Keep an eye on it and give it a shake/stir often to make sure all sides brown. Drain on paper towel (I did my tofu in 2 batches so the pan wouldn't be too crowded.)
Dump the remaining oil so that the pan still has a thin coating. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions and red pepper flakes sauteing for 30 seconds or so.
Add tofu back to pan and stir in sauce to coat the pieces. The sauce thickens up quickly and turns into a delicious sticky coating.
Serve with stir fried broccoli and brown rice.

Seriously, this was amazing. I strongly encourage you to make it...tofu or chicken or even beef would be great if you're a meat eater. Or, just make some of the sauce and spoon it directly into your mouth.

kit winner

2012-01-20T22:12:00.003-05:00

Congratulations

Please email me and let me know which new release kit you'd like!

project life stash builder one

2012-01-19T13:45:00.001-05:00

So, since I'm tackling project life from scratch and not using a kit, I have a lot of work to do to build up my stash of page building elements. This is a super quick and easy way to dress up plain labels. I plan on using these to date and caption photos.

1. Grab some label sheets.

2. Arrange your labels on a sheet of printer paper.

3. Open your grid file (I saved this one as a PDF - you can download it from here if you'd like)

4. Print as usual. You're done! I threw a sheet of those hole reinforcements on just to see how they'd turn out. Kind of fun...I'm sure I'll be able to work them in somewhere.

baking for grandpa: January

2012-01-18T13:04:00.001-05:00

My dad is impossible to buy for. Not in the traditional way of being hard to please or picky or ungrateful but rather in the opposite way. No matter what you give him, he is happy and thankful. Just never in that WOW-what-a-perfect-gift kind of way that I strive for. Not every gift can be perfect, I know, but just once I want to blow him away with something totally unexpected. (I actually have had an idea for years and years but it's completely out of my price range. Someday though, when I'm independently wealthy, I'll be able to do it :)

Needless to say, Christmas is most difficult for me when it comes to choosing a gift for my dad. And this year, finances as they are, I decided to try a different tack. I gave simply but with intent and the promise of time. A card, some delicious lemon cookies, and the promise that for each of the following 12 months, I would make something for him and hand deliver it to him.

My dad and I live only 45 minutes apart but neither of us are great at keeping in touch on a regular basis (no ill-will or bad feelings...we're just similar in that we're not overly social...at least I'm not) Every time we connect, we both express a desire to talk again soon...on a more regular basis...a "how has it been 2 months since we talked? kind of thing.

My gift to him was a promise that I will make the effort every month to think of him, what he might like, and purposefully visit him, IN PERSON, to catch up on family and work and life in general.

He LOVED it. He gave me the best reaction of any gift recipient of the holiday. Phew.

So, yesterday my assistant and I set out to make grandpa his January treat. Tomorrow we'll deliver it and have a great visit and chances are, he'll demand that we stay for lunch.

This month, we made chocolate pomegranate cookies. They were good (honestly though, I think I'd prefer less chocolate -gasp- and more pomegranate) and easy (seeding the pomegranate - by far the most time consuming step.)

this is how we roll on lazy days at home...striped pants, long sleeve t from halloween and princess socks

when chocolate in involved, craziness ensues

I don't have a fancy schmancy kitchenaid so I had to use my decades old hand mixer. A quick warning (I can't be the only one with a jurassic era mixer) that stirring the dry ingredients into the wet resulted in my motor seizing up a bit at the end (the smell of burning plastic isn't all that appetizing...great when you're trying not to dip into the chocolate chips!) It was a thick and dense batter but the cookies weren't dry - I was worried!

The results were pretty though. Hope he likes them.

new today

2012-01-17T11:20:00.001-05:00

In the past, I've never really shared my "work" stuff much on the blog. Since my work stuff has been consuming a lot of my time though (and, since I seem to be posting on more of a regular basis) I thought I'd try to remember to post my new digital kits each Tuesday (that is, each Tuesday that I actually "have" new kits) and maybe give one away as well.

So, my new releases today:

journaling cards - all 3x4"

more journaling cards (and these are FREE)

and a 12x12 template (that could easily be cropped to 8.5x11" if that's your thing)

I'll pick one commenter on Friday that can have their pick of one if this week's releases. Have a great day!

playing with paper

2012-01-14T21:53:00.000-05:00

I used to be a scrapbooker. When my boys were babies, I would do a layout almost every night after they were asleep (seriously.) I'm so lucky that something I loved so much led me to Two Peas and BHG and all of the opportunities after. Early on, I had three scrapbooking goals: to be a Garden Girl, to be on the BHG Creative Team and to have an article published. I've been fortunate enough to have accomplished all three goals thanks to the support and encouragement of friends and simply being in the right place at the right time.

One of my earliest GG pages...and a good reminder for me right now.

These days, I am so happy to be a contributing editor for BHG and a digital designer for Two Peas. I love writing, I love designing. I really enjoy digital scrapbooking and have done it exclusively for the past couple of years. Most of my paper supplies are packed up in storage waiting for the day that I finally figure out what to do with all of it (the school can only handle so many donations!)

Lately though, I just haven't had it in me to scrapbook at all. I have been designing though and that's something that comes in fits and spurts - I have to take advantage of the momentum when it finds me. And I've been doing some journaling cards and such that seem to work well with project life. And that has me *thinking* about project life. Which is something I haven't done ever before.

Of course I've admired some of the incredible pl projects that have been shared - Glue, of course, for her ingenious technique, and organization and ideas for filling your pages with memories. And Liz for her amazing aesthetic and ethereal photos that make everyday moments seem like magic. And Kelly for her funkiness and enthusiasm and ability to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can be single and childless and still document an amazingly fulfilling life (oh how I wish I scrapbooked in my single years!) And Cathy, for always keeping it real and honest and being a design goddess. And all of the others that I've seen in passing but never really studied because, you know, I was never going to actually *do* pl.

But I've been craving paper lately...so I indulged myself by making those journals I mentioned in the last post (by the way - congratulations Janneke - you are the winner :) Please email me your address and I'll get them in the mail asap!) and putting together little embellishments for etsy. It's not enough though, I need to scrapbook again. And record actual stories again.

When I look back in my gallery, the layouts I did years and years ago are still, and will probably always be, my favorites. Cardstock. One or two embellishments. And the handcut titles and accents. Oh - I miss the handcutting! I really want to get back to that because I love those simple stories and designs most of all.

Enter project life. I resisted because like Nicole, I am resistant to all things current and popular. Be it scrapbooking or books or music or TV. I'm stubborn as a mule and though I realize that sometimes, things are popular because they are GOOD, it's a hard habit to break.

I'm going to give it a go though. I'm not saying it here because I plan to share every week or even to hold myself accountable but simply because like scrapbooking, this blog was intended to be a place to record stories and thoughts. And right now, I'm thinking that this project is a good way to satisfy my paper craving and get some stories recorded. Because it will never be 2012 again. And because my kids will never be 9 and 7 and 3 again. And even if I peter out halfway through, halfway is better than nothing.

If you need to find me, I'll be neck deep in playing catch up for the two weeks I'm behind.

quick hand bound mini journals: tutorial

2012-01-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

A few weeks go, I shared this instagram of some journals I made for my sister and had a few people ask for a tutorial. Finally, I'm getting around to doing it! These are really easy and though they may look labor intense, they can be done really rather quickly (especially if you do a bunch at a time and have a little assembly line going.)

You really only need a few supplies. Your cover material (I used kraft cardstock...because you can never go wrong with kraft cardstock.) Your inside pages (these have 20 pages so you'd need 10 sheets of paper to cut in half. Recycled or ledger type papers would work great as well!) If you're doing the peek-a-boo cover like I've done, you'll need some type of patterned paper or pages torn from a magazine. For these, I used pages from a yarn catalog. For my sister's set, I used landscape scenes from an Urban Outfitters catalog - they worked fabulously! To bind the journal, a needle and thread or embroidery floss.

First, trim your cover to 5.5 x 8.5" and cut your title from the cover. I made up a set of cover templates for you to download. The file includes the two shown ("now" and " "to•do") as well as twelve months. The placement is random (you can kind of see in the photo of my sister's set) because that's how I like them. If you aren't comfortable with an exacto, these titles are all chunky enough that they could easily be done with fine tipped scissors. You can grab the files HERE.

Now trim your inside pages to the same size as your cover. If you want to get a bit fiddly (totally unnecessary), you can trim them to different sizes so that when the journal is folded, the paper edges don't extend past the edge of the cover. For instance, for these journals, I first cut the 10 sheets in half and then progressively trimmed off a 1/16" sliver from the edges to the following sizes: (2) 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" (2) 8 7/16 x 5 1/2" (2) 8 3/8 x 5 1/2" (2) 8 5/16 x 5 1/2" (2) 8 1/4 x 5 1/2"

Fold everything and collate your cover, patterned insert and pages together.

Now you need to punch holes to bind the pages. I find the center of the pages (10" in the photo) with my ruler and position everything on a foam pad.

Punch the first holes through all of the pages.

Punch four more holes for a total of 5 - each spaced 1" apart from the next.

Thread your needle. I double up the thread before threading the needle so there are a total of four strands.

Using your threaded needle, pass through the top hole (inside or outside of the journal makes no difference and proceed in the pattern shown.

Wrap the needle around the end of the journal and into the first hole, threading in the opposite pattern of the first pass.

To finish, tie off both ends of the thread with a couple of knots and trim off the excess. There is surely a neater way to do this but I like the look of the loose ends and it holds up to regular use well.

Since I did a couple of these journals for the tutorial, I'm happy to send them to one of you :) Just let me know in the comments if you're interested in them and I'll choose someone Friday! Here are the completed journals:

2011:2012

2012-01-04T12:20:00.001-05:00

Our New Year's Eve was spent at home with my brother Jeremy, his fiance Kelly, and his son Tyler. The kids were incredibly and surprisingly well behaved...four kids and no intervention required at any point. That alone is a fantastic indicator that 2012 will be a good year. An omen that maybe, the Mayans got it all wrong after all!

We were determined to keep things classy. With boxed wine and processed cheese food. It wasn't easy hiding that giant box in my shopping cart. Gotta say though, that wine wasn't too bad. For $10 for the equivalent of more than 6 bottles, you can't beat the price!

Lots of snacks to keep us fattened up through midnight. This feta dip recipe was FANTASTIC and so incredibly easy. I just paired it with a giant loaf of crusty french bread and pretty much ate the whole platter myself.

The boys went with rum. I know one of them was regretting that decision greatly the next day. And it wasn't Jeremy. Pretty sure it was Sailor Jerry's that really made the difference.

After midnight, we celebrated with some twirling. (Side note, we missed New Year's by a minute. And when we turned on the TV at 12:01 to see the ball drop, we hit the PBS New Year's celebration first. Nothing says party into the new year like PBS!)

There was also some arm wrestling.

And some game play. Apples to Apples which was so fun!

Apparently, the cards you end up winning in Apples to Apples are supposed to describe you. Look at my cards. Don't you feel happy to know such a delightful person?

a very handmade christmas

2012-01-03T14:41:00.000-05:00

Every year, I gift handmade items. I love that I have an exceptional network of family and friends that appreciate the effort and thought I put into them. My intentions always far exceed my abilities but this year, circumstances dictated that I produce an inordinate amount of handmade gifts. Almost everyone that we include in our gift giving was the recipient of at least one handmade gift. Thanks to pinterest, I had an infinite supply of ideas. Here is a roundup of what I did this year as well as a link back to the inspiration if there was one.

CLOCKWISE: 1. Ornaments for my adult siblings - I did four sets of these four ornaments (we don't "officially" exchange gifts but I love giving them something small...usually a food item but this year, ornaments) knitted tree pattern 2. Hand cream and sugar scrub for 4 people 3. Handmade journals for my sister (I had a few people ask for a tutorial on these - I'll share one later this week :) 4. Bath salts for my two younger sisters (spaghetti sauce jars with a painted lid and tiny ornament glued to the top.)

CLOCKWISE: 1. Knitted blanket for my dear friend's baby (born last Tuesday!) backed with corduroy...my first time hand sewing fabric to a knitted item - hopefully this will get easier with practice...serious pain in the ass but so worth it! 2. Freezer paper onesie for same baby :) (I saw this quote on an etsy item and LOVED it.) Wish I could link you to it but I've lost the link :( 3. Items inside the fort kit: fort (not shown - I appliqued each of their initials onto the sheets using the same striped fabric as the bags) reinforcements (clothespins,) nourishment (microwave popcorn + cookies,) entertainment (board book,) and shadow puppet maker (flashlight) 4. fort kits for three young nephews - I bought 3 solid flat sheets (in blue, green and orange) and one striped flat sheet. I used the striped sheet to applique initials onto the flat sheets and to make the 3 storage bags.

CLOCKWISE: 1. Rice heating pad for Carlos 2. Pencil rolls for both of my boys and one of my nephews - the tutorial is just for a flat roll with one layer of felt but I did grey felt for the "outside" and cut colored felt, about 1/2" smaller all around, for the inside. I only cut the slits for the pencils on the inside felt and then inserted the pencils and used spray adhesive to secure it to the grey. I prefer this way as there are no slits on the outside of the roll that would catch or snag. 3.Knitted dish clothes and towel for my grandma 4. Knitted chunky scarf for my sister

CLOCKWISE: 1. Hand stenciled coasters for my step-dad. He's a home brewer so I created stencils of the two little men on his home brew beer label to create matching coasters. 2. Our humble little advent calendar (SO wanted to do the Lego version this year for the boys but no bueno) I hand drew a tree out of small paper bags and hung them backwards on the wall. The snowflakes are numbered and each night after dinner, we would flip a bag to "build" the tree. Oh, and of course each bag had hershey kisses for the kids :) 3. Reindeer nose treats for the boys to take to school.

And that was our Christmas this year. A lot of late, late nights but totally worth it.

Next year I start earlier ;)

something funny to ring in the new year

2012-01-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

Jake.

Breaking it down at the Pistons game a few nights ago.

Hilarious.

Happy New Year, all!

try it out Tuesday

2011-11-08T13:04:00.005-05:00

So, by far, the most active boards on my Pinterest profile are the two that house the recipes that I want to try and those that I have tried and enjoyed. Of course there are a number of other boards that have projects I'd love to get around to "some day," ahem, but a girl's gotta eat.

I'm a tinkerer though so I rarely follow a recipe to the letter. I thought I'd start sharing some of the recipes that I've pinned and made along with the modifications I've employed. And maybe, on occasion, I'll actually have a non-food related Pinterest project (no promises.)

A few months ago, Carlos and I went on a little one night get-away to Ann Arbor. While we were there, we ate at a vegetarian restaurant called Seva. It was delicious and my first taste of Indian (inspired) food. After drooling over recipes all over the internet, I ordered an Indian spices sampler from Amazon (spices are expensive, yo, and Indian food uses a lot of them!) and finally tried my hand at a cheater samosa recipe inspired by the ones I had at Seva. Here's my mash up of this recipe + this recipe + this recipe.

Samosa Puffs & Parsley Chutney

Samosas (makes about 15)
frozen puff pastry (defrosted for about 45 minutes and cut into squares - 9/sheet)
2 C diced potatoes (I use yukon gold but anything would work)
2 diced carrots
1/2 C frozen peas
3 T oil (I use grapeseed or olive)
medium onion, diced
1/2 can diced green chilies
1/2 T minced garlic
1/2 T ginger (I use the minced ginger that comes in the tube in the produce section - I'm sure fresh is better!)
1 t coriander seed
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t garam masala
1/2 t red chili powder

1. Boil the potatoes and carrots until fork tender.
2. Heat tho oil and cook onion, diced chilies, garlic, ginger, and coriander seed until onions are tender and slightly browned.
3. Mix lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala and chili powder in a small bowl. Add to the pan once onion is done and stir thoroughly.
4. Add the potatoes, carrots and frozen peas and mix until the vegetables are coated.
5. Lightly spray a muffin tin and gently push the puff pastry into each cup. Spoon filling mixture into pastry and bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes.

Chutney
1 bunch parsley
2 T diced red onion
1/2 T minced garlic
1/2 T ginger
more of the diced green chilies remaining from the samosas (I eyed it and probably used about 1/2 of what was left but adjust to your liking)
1 t ground cumin
1/4 C lemon juice
2 T oil
water

Pulse everything but the water in a food processor. Add water a little at a time to reach desired consistency. The chutney in the photo isn't very loose - I actually like it with more liquid but this was what was leftover from dinner last night so it was a bit dryer than how I usually prepare it. Still, completely delicious!

Sketchpad winner!

2011-11-08T11:11:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone that commented - I hope you'll all take the opportunity to check out Kelly's class! It really is wonderfully inspiring. But there can only be one winner! And according to random.org, that winner is:

Please email me your contact information Anso. And congratulations!

Sketchpad from Kelly Purkey

2011-11-03T11:53:00.004-05:00

I was fortunate to be asked by miss Kelly to contribute to her most recent Sketchpad class and she is generously allowing me to share a class giveaway with one of you! Simply leave a comment on this post and I'll announce a winner on Tuesday the 8th. Good luck (I've seen the class and it's amazingly inspiring!)

Sketchpad is a brand-new class from Kelly Purkey, spinning off from her series of successful Sketchbook classes. Sketchpad is a downloadable, self-paced class featuring 12 original sketches, 35 exclusive layouts from Kelly + and her talented contributors, 35 MORE sketches made from those layouts, and 12 amazing cards based on the sketches from the talented, Kristina Werner... all in a full-color 75 page PDF. Visit Kelly's blog for more details on the class and how to purchase.

missing this...

2011-10-31T12:01:00.002-05:00

One more from our CA trip. I took this one when we were driving through Pacheco Pass on our way from Fresno to Salinas to visit Carlos' grandma. Isn't it funny how the light looks a bit different depending on where you are? Amazing light here bouncing off the water!

California Adventures

2011-10-26T11:00:00.013-05:00

In early August, Carlos and I put on our brave faces and took the kids to California to visit family for 10 days. Only Jake had flown before (ahem, when he was about 18 months old) so needless to say, it was quite the adventure.

It was completely exhausting and wonderfully touching to introduce our kids to so many people that have such great love for them. We squeezed as much quality visiting in as we possibly could have and spent a lot of quality time together in a tiny little rental car bonding. And despite a handful of the usual sibling rivalry situations and some pain in the ass hotel employees, we had a fantastic trip.

traverse city

2011-06-13T18:24:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, my mom and I hit the road together and spent a couple of nights in Traverse City.

I can count on one hand the number of people that I can spend 48 consecutive hours with without rolling my eyes once (it's actually fewer but I don't need the people in my life to start placing themselves on or off that list) and without a doubt, my mom is on it.

We walked a ton (and crossed the bridge this photo was taken on a number of times,) did a little shop exploring, a little more winery exploring, enjoyed some good food (she went vegetarian with me for the weekend...and contrary to my step-dad's opinion, there was no coercion involved ;) some great weather, large hotel beds, a little knitting and so much great conversation.

It's been more than 10 years since we got away for a bit but after this trip, we're both convinced that it needs to be a yearly occurrence.

I am so grateful to have such a close relationship - FRIENDSHIP - with my mom. Everyone says how similar we are and to me, there is no greater compliment. I guess this is my belated Mother's Day ode. Because I have the best one in the world :)

SBE Craft It Forward

2011-04-11T09:17:00.003-05:00

I rarely post about scrapbooking on this blog anymore but I think this is such a cool idea (and a great opportunity to win $500 for yourself *and* the charity of your choice!)

Craft It Forward is a special program that BHG Scrapbooks Etc has launched to encourage scrapbookers, cardmakers, and papercrafters to craft for a cause and make a project to give to a charity or someone in need.

Each month, they offer a special project at craftforward and ask people to upload their creations on their web site for a chance to win $500 each for themselves and their charity. You can use the suggested project or come up with something appropriate for your selected charity on your own.

You can see a sample of the April project to the left. For detailed instructions on the project, ideas for possible recipients and details for entering the monthly contest, be sure to check out the craftforward site.

(wouldn't this be a fun seasonal service project for a classroom, scouts troop or church group?)

And just as an added incentive to play along, I'd love to send a goody box to a randomly selected participant. Just link me up to your project in the SBE Craft it Forward gallery by April 30th for a chance to win. I'll select and post the winner May 1st!

very happy

2011-03-22T12:16:00.003-05:00

that c and I got away for a night ALONE on Saturday. yay for free hotel nights (one benefit off a job that requires a lot of travel) and vegetarian restaurants (delish!) boo to an internal body clock that drove us from the hotel bar where we were enjoying some live jazz at 10 pm and maids knocking on the door at 9 am.
I finally broke Izzy of her night time light requirement. now to work on Jake.
baseball season starts in 9 days.
she shares her amazingness
that I discovered this gem of an add on for my gmail
to have carved out some knitting and reading time lately (also happy to live so close to our wonderful little library!)
that I knew better than to jump on the "yay! spring is here!" bandwagon. Since we have a winter storm warning for tomorrow.
parent teacher conferences are tomorrow and I never have a need to worry about how they will go. my kids are rock stars at school. wish it would carry over to home!
my yearly physical is Saturday. not happy to have it. happy that soon, I can forget about it for almost a year. and happy that we have insurance that pays for it and lowers our rates because we get it.

9 years

2011-02-16T09:41:00.004-05:00

I was totally remiss in not wishing my husband a very happy 9 year anniversary yesterday :) Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, we'll be in Maui a year from now!

This is my very favorite picture of him ever, ever, ever and I wish I had taken it myself. (You'll forgive me my momentary lapse into mushiness for this one? It doesn't happen often)

Happy anniversary C!

yesterday, after school

2011-02-15T13:57:00.003-05:00

I had this waiting for the kids as a treat. It was much easier than the Nutella cupcakes I had planned (that I WILL be making this weekend - yum!) Can you believe they've never had a Twinkie? Tragic.

On a somewhat related note, Zack came home with a certificate and new book for constructing the "sturdiest Valentine mailbox" in his classroom - am I the only one that finds that hilarious? I almost feel like we cheated as I couldn't find a shoebox and used an Amazon box instead. Is it cheating if I didn't realize there even was such a contest?

Hope y'all had a lovey-dovey day :)

today:

2011-02-08T12:37:00.005-05:00

marveling at the fact that jake is old enough to be learning multiplication and cursive and that zack is old enough to be writing short stories in school.
izzy smells like pickles and is watching an arthur dvd from the library.
finishing up a classic that I hadn't read before.
thinking about ordering some of these (I can't kill these, right?)
steeling my nerves to try sewing a fabric backing on the knitted baby blanket I made for zack's teacher...due with her first in less than 3 weeks.
waiting patiently for the new laptop I had to order - grrr :(
thinking I should go pick up a gift for the birthday party zack is going to on saturday.
happy that the sun is out! even if it is butt-ass cold.
looking forward to our roasted veg and salad dinner as I eat my ramen lunch.
thinking I should print out the mini valentines I made to sneak in the boys' lunches this week...I made one for every day this week + monday and have yet to include them. want them? download here.

you see?

2011-01-26T12:52:00.002-05:00

how she just grew up *snap* like that?

The long hair and sassy attitude. She spent the night at my parents' house last night and wore that backpack all morning in preparation for their arrival. Doesn't miss me a bit. Nope. Not one iota! Ungrateful monster. Hmph.

So, hey. I want to start a garden. We kind of loved our CSA last summer but the winter CSA has been less than spectacular and has kind of turned us off of it. I love that it introduced us to some new stuff that we wouldn't have used otherwise but there was also a fair amount that I don't' want to continue using. Tell me what to do. Seriously, don't laugh at me or tell me how woefully lazy I am for even considering it but tell me, is this a fairytale solution?

OK, short post as I've been alone, ALL ALONE, for the past 4 hours and have just 2.5 hours left. Off to find something to do that can only be done when I have the house to myself! Not sure what that will be just yet but there must be something!

sayonara numero dos

2011-01-24T21:11:00.003-05:00

Do you see what I did up there? How I mixed my languages? Just trying to keep you on your toes, my friends.

And the best part? He didn't SWALLOW it this time (we never did locate the first lost tooth...would you have searched for it?)

made me happy

2011-01-20T18:51:00.003-05:00

Just organizing and backing up photos today and I ran across this photo. I took it in June of 2009 and I just think it's the sweetest thing. I don't remember seeing these birds last year...I wonder if they broke up? Probably, he cheated on her. Or her, on he. Or maybe one of them kicked the old bird bucket. Maybe they retired together and took up permanent residence in Boca.

Whatever.

Just made me think about relationships and what makes them work and not work. Carlos and I work. We have our disagreements but we resolve them with respect. And we're stronger for them. And they are few and far between.

Mostly though, we share things. Interests. A strong belief in our children and their potential and how to guide them. A desire to spend time together. And apart.

We appreciate each others strengths and compensate for each others weaknesses. He has an uncanny ability to step in with a hug or a diversion or some sugar just when I need it. I hope I do the same for him.

Guess I'm feeling a little weepy missing him while he's traveling for work. I'll be better tomorrow when he's home again :)

So anyway, I hope the birds are happy. We do have some rather frisky (and fat!) squirrels that seem to have taken to the place. We welcome non-destructive animal pairs of any type here in casa de hernandez.

adventures in vegetarianism

2011-01-19T10:10:00.003-05:00

So, I know we haven't talked much in the past year+ but I've been eating a vegetarian diet now for close to a year with the rest of my family joining me for the past 8 months or so.

I'm not some crazed advocate so I'm not going to bore you with the details of the hows and whys but I know a lot of people like to do a meatless meal once or twice a week so maybe on occasion, I'll share a meal that we particularly like.

For the most part, we don't eat a lot of meat substitutes. We mostly stick to a large variety of vegetables, grains and beans. When we do eat "meat-like" we don't really go for tofu based substances but those made with vegetable proteins and the like. I'm trying to be very responsible about this because it's my kids' health and I don't want to cause any deficiencies that will hurt their immunity or health. So far, we all seem to be holding up pretty well ;)

THIS meal though - yum. It looks like meat, it has the texture of meat and it tastes like meat. It's not vegan, it's not low sodium, it's not low fat. It's probably the LEAST healthy meal we eat but it's still better than the real thing in a lot of ways so I don't feel at all guilty working it into our meal plan every couple of weeks. It would work in any recipe you use meatballs in. Everyone loves it (except for Zack, who has been subsisting on a steady diet of sandwiches and yogurt and fruit for years anyway.)

(apologies for the less than stellar photo)

I've adapted this from a cooks.com recipe - a few changes that make them much better ;)

1.5 C italian bread crumbs
1.5 C almond meal/flour (I use bob's red mill - I buy it in bulk from amazon - much cheaper than the grocery store usually!)
1.5 c. grated colby cheese
1 chopped onion
1 t garlic powder
4-5 eggs
a couple of shakes of worcestire sauce
1 pkg. (1.5 oz) pot roast seasoning

Mix everything together and form into balls (I get about 35 1" balls) and brown in a pan before baking for 20 minutes at 350.

I make a simple gravy from onion soup mix, low sodium/low fat cream of mushroom soup and water to pour over them while they bake but like I said, you could easily substitute these into any other recipe that calls for meatballs.

sharing of a crafty nature

2011-01-18T12:32:00.005-05:00

I went perusing my blog last night at some older (I mean baby Zack era) posts and got all verklempt. I simply love that glimpse of what our life was like in past years. So why is this so hard for me to continue? I'm trying, really. And seriously, I HATE visiting favorite blogs and seeing all of the "sorry for the lack of blogging, I'll try harder" posts. Just DO it - don't tell me about it. But here I am doing it. More as a reminder to myself that anything.

So, digging into the photo archives, I thought I'd share a couple of things I made for Christmas...since the gifts have been gifted and the photos taken :)

First up, some yarn that I dyed for my mom. In *my* favorite colors - green with just a hint of blue. I'm dying to see what it looks like knitted up (go mom, go!)

And a shawl knit for my aunt/best buddy Jaimie...in the softest tweed imaginable.

And a scarf for my grandma.

I feel like I'm forgetting something but my photo editing mojo is kaput for now so, we'll call it good :) Have a great Tuesday!

so, to sum up

2011-01-14T16:53:00.007-05:00

We're halfway through the first month of the new year. Just like that.

Over the past month we've had flu and earaches galore and sinus issues and a finger lancing [blurgh] and lots of fights and lots more good times. We've lost a first tooth (and promptly swallowed it...don't worry, there are two quickly following the brave leader) and spent a very first night away from home and mommy and daddy (she did wonderfully well and asked daily to spend the night at grandma and grandpa's AGAIN.) We have karate (ahem, pardon, Tae Kwon Do) and tennis lessons and daily homework x2. We're picking up speed and I'm fairly certain I don't really like it.

I've tackled 365 and amazingly enough, am 14/14 so far (go me!)

I still love parentheses and ellipses.

I still have lots of weird and random thoughts but have yet to stumble upon the formula that allows me to share them here on a regular basis.

Once again, it's January which means I have a serious boner for purging and organizing. (that word still makes me giggle like a 12 year old. sorry I'm not as sophisticated as I may appear :p)

I'm still knitting and occasionally sewing and reading lots and scrapbooking once in awhile (pretty much all digital now...that stash of scrapbooking goodies is high on the purge list in lieu of the yarn and fabric stashes which sadly, can't be stored on a hard drive.)

Me and my camera were on a break for awhile when it was out of commission with a serious case of broken-shutteritis and now, even a month or so after reuniting, we still haven't rediscovered that comfortable groove we inhabited once upon a time. So, my photos have a heavy tendency to be blurry and over/underexposed and there is just only so much our therapist, Photoshop Elements, can do to help us out. I'm wondering if the super talented Allison will be able to permanently resolve our intimacy issues and allow us to be comfortable together once again.

So, just saying hi to the blog.

(I do have other kids too but I so rarely see them during the daylight hours - oh, and this one is a ham!)

my girl

2010-12-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

We get to have a lot of good one-on-one time now that both boys are in school.

Some days, we get together a handful of times throughout the day and read or play for a bit and then she returns to the trucks and pencils and books that occupy the rest of her time.

Some days, she's a little leach firmly attached at the hip for the majority of the day.

Some days she takes naps...others she doesn't.

Some days, we spend the morning running errands and going to the library and grabbing a coffee and a milk.

Some days, she wears her PJ's all day (and makes me jealous that I can't do the same.)

She loves to sing Christmas carols, Big Time Rush and Queen.

She likes to count...1-2 and 7-8-9.

She dances unbelievably awesome.

She colors in the lines (ok, and also on the furniture and walls but we're working on it.)

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse + Dora + Elmo + Thomas = winners.

Dislikes diaper changes (yes, still.)

Talks in full on sentences that blow my mind.

The other day, I marveled at the fact that in every child's life, you start by measuring their development by all their "firsts." And then, at some unknown point, you look around and realize it's really all the "lasts" that you missed that act as subtle reminders of how fast they are growing and changing. When did we stop closing the bathroom doors? When did we stop putting the garbage up high so she couldn't dig for treasure? When did we stop closing the baby gate at the top of the stairs?

OK, sappiness over I've got work to do and a baby to play with.

Later, friends!

my counter kicks ass

2010-12-02T13:27:00.003-05:00

A completely unintended benefit of the new island and countertop we added a couple of weeks ago: wrapping presents! Just a big, open space for spreading out and getting crafty. No more backaches wrapping presents on the floor or bed. Both of the boys share a downstairs bedroom so I have lots of recovery time if I hear one of them up and about while I'm wrapping. I wrapped all 24 holiday books in under an hour (ps, Target $1 spot wrapping paper is PERFECT for this)

I was already happy with our little mini reno but now I'm in love.

Aren't you glad I'm back with these thought-provoking posts?

sweaters and sneakers

2010-11-15T11:23:00.002-05:00

The other day, Izzy laid in bed with me and watched Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I was glad to have an excuse to watch it and the boys never would have watched for so long or with such intensity.

God, it was cheesy. But I couldn't stop smiling...not for even one second. I loved a lot of shows as a kid. I think maybe Captain Kangaroo and Pee Wee's Playhouse ranked right up there as well but Mr Rogers was the best. And still is.

I can't think of any other show that was so gentle. That taught respect and a desire for knowledge and neighborliness in such a thoughtful way.

The one we watched though had a Big Bird mention...how could I have watched so many episodes of MRN and never noticed the Sesame Street Crossover?

My Fred Rogers love renewed, I just added this to my reading list. I think everyone should read it :)

2010-11-11T21:22:00.005-05:00

So, it's been almost exactly a year since I updated this thing.

A lot has changed. Even more has stayed the same.

I've been thinking for awhile about coming back to it. Composing posts in my head but never putting pen to paper as it were.

Then today, as I went about my day, I had this overwhelming sense of deja vu. I popped over to the blog and it all made sense looking at my last post. So, it was obvious to me that this would be the day that I made an attempt to revive some semi-regular updating.

LAUNDRY...NEVER ENDING | RAKING LEAVES | WORK MUSIC

Maybe it was the gorgeous fall day; far too lovely for early to mid November. Maybe it was the pinch as blisters set into my hands. Maybe it's because a couple of weeks ago, I picked up that brown sweater that I'd started last fall (intent on finishing AND wearing this Thanksgiving!)

Whatever it was, nostalgia brought me back. And all of the coincidences that led me back, also made me decide immediately that DQ for dinner was an absolute.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll think about updating that banner, huh?

saturday in pictures

2009-11-15T10:02:00.004-05:00

2009-11-05T17:18:00.005-05:00

I so rock at this blogging thing.

a couple of people asked about how I made these fabric pinwheels
for Izzy's birthday. seriously, they were so half-assed but it's cute fabric and a pinwheel - how could I go wrong? I was going to try to cobble together some sort of tutorial but I haven't had the sewing machine out once since the party soooo, I stumbled on this tutorial and I haven't looked at it but I'm positive it's 1000% more thorough than anything I could come up with so check it out if you're interested!
YAY. I bookmarked her work forever ago and even made my own yarn wreath last year...this year though, it'll be much better thanks to this tutorial!
and if I make one of those, I'm going to need one of these
as well.
I bookmarked this tutorial
awhile ago and want to make it badly but I still haven't figured out where to put it. If I have to, I'll put it in the damn laundry room.
I made this recipe that Rebecca shared. Make it. Now. So delicious. I just made sauteed onions and brown rice rather than the green rice and we wrapped it all in a tortilla. YUM.
I'm obsessed over this blog. I keep going back and studying all the details. So cool.
Halloween was a success even though I completely wussed out on the preparations...store-bought costumes, no pumpkin carving (though we did make it to the pumpkin patch in mid-October) and no decorations. The kids could not possibly have cared less about all the stuff I *didn't* do though. Star Wars costumes + candy out the ears makes them happy. Izzy and I shared a box of Nerds while C took the boys out.

OK, there was more but I started this post more than 24 hours ago so that's all you get for now :p

Peace.

september 29: made me happy this morning :)

2009-09-29T11:33:00.001-05:00

september 25: having a baby girl flipped my long forgotten estrogen switch

2009-09-25T14:21:00.001-05:00

september 24: fuzzy fo

2009-09-24T13:08:00.002-05:00

september 22: quiet time

2009-09-22T14:26:00.002-05:00

september 21: hanging by a thread

2009-09-21T23:25:00.000-05:00

september 16: fourteen months and counting

2009-09-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

september 11: rockstar in the making

2009-09-11T12:29:00.000-05:00

september 8: no first day jitters for these two

2009-09-08T12:26:00.000-05:00

september 6: still infatuated with the mario brothers

2009-09-06T12:23:00.000-05:00

september 2: late summer beach trip

2009-09-02T21:02:00.005-05:00

an impromptu (hence the phone picture) trip to the beach on a gorgeous late summer day :)

september 1: new specs

2009-09-01T11:08:00.003-05:00

making stuff...the party edition

2009-08-06T21:20:00.002-05:00

Izzy had a party a couple of weeks ago dontcha know?

So, I knit her this hat.

Because I needed a good picture for this invitation. (her middle name is walker but I shortened isabella to "izzy b" awhile ago and it stuck :)

And I have a sewing machine that is begging to be used so I made this banner to hang some pictures from for a display of her first year in photos.

And then for favors, I made some fun pinwheels and clipped them to some brown paper lunch sacks that I sewed shut with my sewing machine. That thing is proving to come in handy.

I made this little cake too. My first buttercream frosting ever. And it was good. And buttery. And way pinker than I intended. But I never used a gel color before. Lesson learned.

She seemed to be fine with it though :)

making stuff...the patriotic edition

2009-08-04T22:37:00.001-05:00

One day, I took Zack to Hobby lobby. And while we were checking out, he asked if he could have one of the bandanas at the check out. They were orange afterall. And, they had red as well. So, I could satisfy both boys and their color preferences for the rock-bottom price of 99 cents each. And, there was a third color - blue. So, of course miss Izzy could have her own color.

But why not get 2?

And turn it into the simplest little dress EVER.

Hem the bottom.

Create a pocket on top for the eyelet lace ribbon.

Seam the sides and voila! (note, I did not type "viola!" because that is a stringed instrument not an exclamation synonymous with "check it out!")

making stuff...the gastronomic edition

2009-08-02T17:00:00.002-05:00

So I went out of town for a few days. I had good intentions of setting up a few blog posts ahead of time to post while I was gone but although I started 5, yes FIVE, new posts, none of them were completed and ready to go. I have a good start on them though so I should be able to get on a good roll this week :)

For this one, just a quickie. Another recipe that we really enjoy. I think I got it from allrecipes but I can't remember for sure! I realize it doesn't look like much in the photo but trust me - seriously delicious (as long as you like just a bit of heat.) I add some toasted sesame seeds on top and serve it over brown rice. Usually with some steamed broccoli (which hadn't made it to the plate when I took the photo.)

Orange Garlic Beef

cloves minced garlic (you know me by now, right? yes, add more)
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb boneless sirloin steak cut into strips
1/2 t grated orange rind
1/4 C orange juice
1 T cornstarch
2 T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
3/4 C sliced green onions

Combine garlic, pepper and beef tossing well.
Whisk together rind, juice, cornstarch and soy sauce.
Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add beef mixture and onions - saute about 2 minutes.
Add juice mixture and cook until sauce thickens (about 2 minutes) stirring frequently.
Enjoy!

And, a few link shares:

love this jewelry collection

we don't really buy bottled water anymore but how pretty is this diy project?

how fast could I go broke on $25 hooded onesies? FAST. Especially Dandy Lions. And mmmh, Delicious. And Pillow Fight. And Be Cool. And. And. And.

making stuff...the notalgic edition

2009-07-24T06:17:00.002-05:00

This is a blanket I finished a few months ago.

It's not really a pattern I would typically choose.

But my grandma was a knitter and taught me how years and years ago. She knit me countless sweaters and slippers and blankets. This is all I have left though. And, it has a hole in it.

I quit for more than 20 years and had to be re-taught. I wanted to knit something to connect me to my grandma and preserve the last gift she gave to me in some small way.

So, I found the stitch pattern she had used for the blanket, chose a yarn and set to work.

And now, it's done. And even though it was kind of monotonous, I'm glad I did it. Izzy sleeps with it now. And she seems to like it. That's all the validation I need.

making stuff...

2009-07-23T06:40:00.007-05:00

So, I haven't had much of a desire to blog lately but I do still want to have this to look back on at some point. I'm sure I'll regain my motivation sooner or later so, in an effort to post *something* I'm going to share some of the stuff I've been making. I'll spread some projects out over the course of a few days in an effort to prove that I am still doing something :)

First up this little halter top for Iz. I seriously love this thing - I think it may be my favorite finished knit ever and it was SO easy that I'm thinking miss Iz needs a few more in every color of the rainbow. You can find the pattern here if you're so inclined to make one yourself - I knit it in the round because I prefer circular needles and am not a fan of seaming.

just seeing if it still works...

2009-07-03T07:56:00.007-05:00

Hmmm, I'm thinking the blog may have run it's course.

After the previous post, I had a couple of people ask about the recipes I mentioned that we tried and really enjoyed. I'll try to remember to post about them as I re-make them. Here is one we tried that I made again last week. Super easy, all basic ingredients and it was even found in a weight watchers magazine. I'm not a weight watcher by any means but it was on the cover and I had to grab it.

Pasta. Yes please. Every day if possible.

Sun dried tomatoes? Oh yeah. Double the amount for me :)

And bacon. I could eat bacon at every meal. It is probably the sole reason I could never be a vegetarian...without bacon in the mix, I could easily be a veggies and pasta girl!

Bacon & Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

8 ounces uncooked multi-grain penne
1 (10 ounce) package refrigerated low fat alfredo sauce (such as Buitoni)
1/2 cup sun dried tomato, packed without oil cut into strips
10 slices of pre-cooked bacon (I bought regular bacon and cooked it myself though)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (much prettier if you sprinkle on top of your bowl rather than mixing it all in like I did :p)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper

cook pasta according to package directions; omitting salt and oil.
while pasta cooks, combine alfredo sauce and sun-dried tomatoes in sauce pan. cook over low heat stirring occasionally. 6-8 minutes or until thoroughly heated and tomatoes are juicy and plump.4
while sauce cooks, microwave bacon according to package directions. crumble bacon and set aside.
combine cooked pasta and alfredo sauce in a large bowl. top with bacon, basil and black pepper.

I bought the magazine for the recipe but I searched around and found it here as well - enjoy!

And, a few other links that I bookmarked just because and the old blog is as a good a place to save them as any!

we LOVE Oliver Jeffers books and his site is gorgeous
another book we love and are anxiously awaiting the movie release in the fall...waiting patiently for the movie tie-in site to go live!
and while we're talking about books - have you ever ordered a blurb book (not one created from your blog) I adore this guys art and am so tempted to get the book. He has an etsy store too :)
and while we're talking artists - I stumbled on her work somewhere around one of the billion blogs I like to ogle and really love it.
and this site just makes me laugh :)
has anyone tried this? does it work? I've never bought anything from an infomercial but I am so damn tempted (and, they sell it at Target so I could even pretend that I didn't buy some cheesy infomercial product)
hehe
I really dig this photo for some reason...aaaaaaand, I think I need to set up a photobooth for Izzy's birthday party (because I don't have a hundred other things to do for the party that are slightly more critical...like cook. and clean.)
and these photos too...so awesome!
possible birthday present? so fun!

OH! And one more thing...if you're a hybrid scrapbooker, check out this post for info about a current BHG call.

2009-05-20T10:50:00.000-05:00

March...was a bust. Do something for myself every week? Yeah right. Moving on :p

I *did* have a "do something" goal for April even though I never posted about it. I cooked a different meal every night for the entire month. We had three leftover clean up nights...didn't want the food to go to waste! But I didn't repeat a meal the whole time. And we haven't eaten from a restaurant (other than the occasional coffee) in close to two months now. Feeling a little bit healthier and proud of myself for trying some new things (nothing complicated but we did discover some easy new favorites :)

For May, I want to sew something. I've had the machine for like 3 months now but haven't summoned the courage to try it out. I suck. I will sew *something* in the next two weeks though. And I promise to share it even if it looks like something the cat coughed up. I have a few fabric remnants that I bought to try some stuff out and plenty of inspiration. It's the skill and motivation that's lacking. It will come.

Miss Izzy turned 10 months a couple of days ago. Pure craziness, I tell ya. Still just two little teeth on the bottom but one of the top teeth is visible just under the gum. She's not thrilled with that. She's walking along furniture, starting to let go for brief moments, carrying stuff in her mouth when she crawls (no, we don't have a dog so the smarty pants figured that out by herself) sleeping in her crib all night and for one or two naps during the day, LOVING food - especially pasta (because she is mine through and through) saying mama and dada all the time, still not a cuddlebug at all watching her brothers like a hawk - she is so into what they are doing! Basically, we love her to pieces and am trying to stall these last 2 months before one as long as possible. Oh, and obviously, she's in that won't-sit-still-for-a-second phase :p

School is over in four weeks and in that time we have one day off (Memorial Day,) three field trips, a school picnic, field day, a kindergarten program, a graduation open house and an awards ceremony. How will I handle it when I have three kids in school AND involved in actual activities? I don't know how you all do it.

Yesterday was my dear husband's birthday (happy birthday, sweetie!) And we celebrated low-key with hamburgers and the richest chocolate cake ever. Thanks for joining us, mom and Scotch...errr, Scott.

And watermelon. Definitely can't forget the watermelon (looking forward to diaper changes today - woo hoo!)

so I really don't have a lot to say

2009-04-29T06:52:00.003-05:00

I downloaded this ages ago and have played with it a ton (even did a couple of layouts using the results) but never thought to share here...check out Poladroid here :)

nine in, nine out...

2009-04-23T10:44:00.004-05:00

This photo was taken on Izzy's 9 month "birthday" a couple of days ago - see the two little teeth! she's crawling like a champ, pulling up on furniture to walk along it and starting to let go to test her legs before plopping on her butt. Kid #1 and kid #2 were 10 month walkers so it's only a matter of time...sigh.
Also, how serendipitous is it that little missy moo learned how to say mama the same week I started putting her in her crib to sleep at night? (dripping sarcasm)

2009-04-12T08:18:00.001-05:00

do something feb/mar

2009-03-01T20:00:00.002-05:00

So, February the month has officially reached it's end but I'm still a bit short of reaching my goal. 24/28 notes written...4 to go. I'm not giving up! I've been saving all of the notes/cards/packages...piling them up so I can mail them all together. Honestly, the documentarian in me just wants a photo of all of them together :)

Since January and February were HARD and since my birthday is this month, I'm doing something fun for March. Something for me. Every week. Nothing extravagant (because 1. money and 2. my little missy moo joey that is attached at the hip) Like most moms, I feel guilty doing anything for me. But I shouldn't. Let's face it, I rarely even leave the house unless it's to take the kids to school or buy food. Getting out for a coffee and some quality time at the bookstore is an absolute delight. I thin I'll do that one week. So that's March How about you?

PIF :)

2009-02-25T10:03:00.002-05:00

I have a vast and wide array of topics to blog about but this one is at the top of the list for the moment :)

Who doesn't love getting some happy mail? Something unexpected. Something handmade. Something that doesn't require a check to be written to some nameless jerk in Hoboken. My super talented and funny and beautiful friend G is on board for a fun pay it forward project she found on this blog. It's a total pyramid scheme but a good one where everyone wins :)

I signed up to get some delicious G goodness at three random times this year and it's my turn to pay it forward to my blog readers! So, the first three people to comment that they're interested will be on my PIF list. The only catch is that you have to promise to do the same on your own blog! I think in this economy, we could all use some surprise happiness every once in awhile.

And, to sweeten the pot, I'll let you in on a secret. I got a hand-me-down sewing machine yesterday so you might just find yourself receiving some horribly cobbled together crookedly sewn handmade goods. Now, before you all run screaming in the opposite direction, I promise to include something that's actually well made along with the botched sewing projects ;)

Who's in?

happy sunday...

2009-02-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Sunday from Erica Hernandez on Vimeo.

(please ignore the mismatched clothes, cereal-stained shirt and drool-induced chin rash :p also, I didn't watch this before I posted because I hate my voice and probably would have just deleted otherwise!)

2009-02-01T19:19:00.004-05:00

un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq,

2009-01-17T11:05:00.006-05:00

SIX (which is kind of anti-climactic since it's spelled the same in english and french...and here I was trying to show of my 8th grade french class skills...)

I was going to do a mid-month "do something" update but that will have to wait until tomorrow since a half-birthday is ever-so-much-more important :)

do something january: mid month update

2009-01-15T18:42:00.016-05:00

**January 26, 2009**I'm keeping the original title (and post date) so you can see that I started working on this post like, um, 10 days ago. I actually had it pretty much done 10 days ago. I know you make time for the things you love but clearly, my blog is not on that list. I wish it were...like I wish exercise and regularly scheduled hair cuts were.

So who is with me on this still? Despite my lack of updates, I've actually made some kick-ass progress on my January goal. I haven't stuck *exactly* to the schedule every day but I've done pretty well and I wouldn't be embarrassed by any drop-in company :) Well, not embarrassed by my house at least ;) Here is what I went with for my schedule:

pick up daily; at least one load of laundry daily
monday - upstairs bathroom
tuesday - kitchen/clean out fridge/meal plan + grocery list
wednesday - groceries
thursday - dusting/vacuuming (I will NEVER be able to spell that word on my own)
friday - downstairs bath/laundry room
saturday - mop
sunday - strip beds

I also finally followed through with creating chore and behavior charts for the boys so they've been put on a regular chore schedule as well. They're doing great with it and it's making my life so much easier in the process.

Sticking to a schedule and a well-timed lull in "work" has had the unintended affect of creating a serious purge desire (less to clean and maintain!) Since the start of the year, I've also:

- shred paperwork (3 grocery bags full or old bills/receipts + another bag full of contracts and check stubs) I've been saving this stuff for like 3 years. I know, ridiculous. I never remembered to buy a shredder after our last one broke though. I did think to add it to my Christmas list though (thanks, mom!)
- donate clothes...I'm pretty good about doing this fairly regularly. Two more bags were donated this month though.
- cleaned and organized the pantry
- cleaned a bunch of junk out of Izzy's closets
- cleaned out the closet in the playroom/spare bedroom
- went though a metric butt ton of old magazines...tore out pages, filed them and donated the carcasses to the paper recycling bin at Jake's school. It helped that I had a supportive partner cheering me on. This pile is only about a third of the total. I may have a problem.

One with outrageous lashes.

So, with February just a few days away, I'm trying to decide on a new goal. More on that Sunday! I'd love to hear where you guys are at. Feeling good about your progress?

one week in...

2009-01-07T09:55:00.009-05:00

2009 - a week in the books. How is yours going so far? I think everyone here is happy that school is back in. Ready for the tail end of winter (which I know is still far, far away but once the new year hits, we can be hopeful, right?)

This little girl had a bath in the BIG tub yesterday. Well actually, it was the little tub in the big tub (rather than the typical little tub in the kitchen sink routine we had up to this point) Because she is just so damn BIG that we can't do kitchen sink baths anymore. And although she technically can sit up, falling down is ever-so-much-more fun. These pictures were from right after her bath when she's so soft and good-smelling and happy. I always take these pictures after her bath :) Tonight, we start cereal. I always hold off until 6 months but she's just 1 week away from that mark and so completely pitiful every time we eat that I'm giving in a few days early. Tonight/tomorrow I'll be making some baby food to freeze so we have lots of veggies on hand for the coming days and weeks.

She breaks my heart with her adorableness.

So hey, did you know I have a couple of BOYS as well? They don't show up here as much because every attempt at capturing them in their natural habitat invariably ends up with a variety of goofy faces including but not limited to scrunched up eyes, hands over the face and some sort of visible tongue.

But look! Here they are anyway. Playing with the completely awesome microscope that mister J got from his grandparents (this was how we spent New Year's Eve day...before we all went to bed around 8 pm. We're crazy like that :)

But wait people, there's more!

Do you KNOW what those ARE?!?

SEA MONKEYS!

We haven't broke into them yet but we will...oh, we will.

2009-01-01T13:14:00.004-05:00

January 1st always marks the day the holiday decorations come down. So far, everything is put away but the "big" tree. So, I figured this would be a good month to establish a regular cleaning & shopping schedule.

The rest of the day will find me finishing up the decoration storage, putting away all of the CLEAN laundry so I can start fresh with everything put away and a general sweep of the house. I already did a pretty thorough cleaning of the boys' playroom after Christmas to get rid of all of the broken/missing pieces/junky happy meal type stuff. Then later on I'll establish my schedule and get my grocery list started - so fun! ha.

I figure starting off the year with a not-as-fun month will encourage me to go strong so I can reward myself with a more exciting task next month! Plus, it will be nice to not freak when we find out guests are coming. I'd prefer a generally acceptable house as opposed to the "oh-shit-we-have-company-coming" emergency scramble cleaning I'm accustomed to ;)

So, for those of you playing along (and I'm so grateful that some of you are!) I'd love to hear what you've settled on for January!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

do something...

2008-12-31T08:14:00.002-05:00

I don’t make resolutions. I'm too ADD to focus on a single objective for 12 months. I don’t want to feel bad about failing at something that should inspire me to better myself. I don't like trying to sum up my personal goals in one or two all-encompassing cliches. And "be a better person in every way possible" seems like kind of a lot of pressure to put on myself. But in the end, that's what we all want, right?

So, in 2009 I resolve to do something. Every month. Evaluate my life, where I'm at, what I'm doing, what area I feel needs immediate improvement and establish an intention for that month. It'll be a personal challenge to learn something new, get something done or just meet a goal that I've set for myself. Some will be fun...others will hopefully help me establish a routine that I hope to maintain.

I have a tentative list of things I might do but it's fluid and could change as the months go by. There is no set order to them and I've yet to decide what goal number one will be but I'll decide today and let you know tomorrow. You know, to keep me accountable. This is my tentative list of things I could do:

• maintain a cleaning/shopping schedule for one month (deep clean the bathroom every Monday; baby laundry every Friday; grocery shopping every Sunday...that type of thing)
• write a letter every day (this could be to friends or family or to my kids)
• cook a different meal every night - to force me to try some new things. we rarely eat out (OK, never) but no take out or fast food for dinner for a month. I'm good at meal planning and only shop once every 7-10 days but I tend to stick to the same things over and over
• learn to sew
• learn to screenprint
• finish the baby room (I know, I know)
• finish the boy room (even worse, I know, SHEESH)
• Christmas done in Nov (cards, shopping, wrapping...crafty stuff is still OK in December)
• journal every day (NOT blog...I will never commit to blogging every day)
• hang stuff - all of the frames, art, shelves, etc that I've accumulated but not hung
• mini-remodel of our half bath (paint/accessories)

So, there you have it. I'd love for one or two of my 5 readers to pledge to do something with me in 09. You know you want to.

so I'm really good at this sharing stuff, huh?

2008-12-23T09:33:00.002-05:00

I have been doing stuff. I'm just lazy with the blogging bit.

Also, I have other important things to keep me busy.

Like this.
And this.
And this. (um, not for the profanity-phobe...but hi-freaking-larious.
And then there's this.

Sigh, so much to do every day.

5 months...

2008-12-20T13:15:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, she turned 5 months old.

Today, she is miserable with a cold and pink eye. And yet, she still smiles.

Thursday, I took her into the doctor to get a prescription for eye drops. She gained a full pound since her check up just two weeks ago.

Which is weird because we can't detect even an ounce of pudge on her.

;)

Yesterday, she learned to wave hi and takes great delight in us reciprocating. I predict lots of waving in the coming days.

Which is fine by me.

Snow day yesterday meant I did not get out to finish my shopping. And, it means one extra day tacked onto the 16 consecutive days of nonstop brother in-fighting. Bummer (seriously.) We were bums. Today, a few craft projects (cardstock reindeer are under construction right now) and cookies. I'm also doing a few last minute simple crafty kind of things to include with the purchased gifts. I made my mom promise not to check out the blog until after Christmas so I could share them here (the finished product and the files.)

This is just a simple 5 x 7" calendar. I printed it on photo paper and added a sheet of magnet paper to the back for Proper Refrigerator Display Purposes. The circles aren't on the file I have here for download - those are just a way for my parents to know what days C works so they can plan stuff when he is off! Two files - the png is with the patterned paper and colors as shown - just drop in the photo. The psd is layered so you can choose your own digital papers and colors. Have fun!
png file

psd file

Oh! Also, I don't like to pimp myself out here on the blog but I have a kit at 2Peas to create a year's worth of calendar desktops for your computer. Would be a quick and easy grandparents gift or stocking stuffer for your spouse. Here is a preview (click the preview to take you to the kit on 2Peas.)

not to be forgotten...

2008-11-30T09:02:00.004-05:00

loves to stick out her toungue and blow baby raspberries
reaches to be picked up or held
knows her name and will turn when you call her
can sit for a few seconds at a time (longer and longer everyday)
26 1/4"
16 lbs 15 oz
(yes, that puts her in the 90th percentile)
loves to jump in her activity center
can pick up small toys and play with toys on her activity center
is such a little love bug I have to remind myself not to squeeze her too hard!
loves chewing on her sleeves
cheeks grow daily
talks in the sweetest little voice ever
has a kick butt mohawk going (but not nearly as good as Zack's was)
rubs her eyes when she's sleepy (can't fool me, missy!)
is ridiculously, outrageously clingy...ahh, 4 months.

the final countdown...

2008-11-26T07:54:00.002-05:00

(Image from Pioneer Library System's flickr)

feeling good about our Thanksgiving prep (now Christmas, that's a *totally* different story.) There were a few things I wanted to post but I do still have some stuff left to do today and how many of you are blog-hopping today, anyway?

I did want to mention one thing though because I think it's a great idea - especially since most of my 11 readers are scrapbookers ;) NPR has teamed up with StoryCorps and deemed tomorrow the National Day of Listening. A day when you sit down with a relative or other loved one and record a meaningful conversation with them. You can see more information on StoryCorps website and listen to some of the conversations NPR hosts have recorded for airing over the course of the last week here: NPR National Day of Listening

How many of you have a really great depth of knowledge about your grandparents' (or even parents') lives pre-you? Aunts, uncles, cousins, family friends. Choose someone special and sit down with them for some quality conversation. All 4 of my biologic grandparents are gone. I really wish I would have done this with them. I'd love it if even one of you took the challenge.

4 months...

2008-11-16T16:25:00.005-05:00

Well, hello there...I'm flirting with you. Aren't I pretty?

I'm a showoff. See me sitting up?

Here's looking at you!

I like to drool. And pull mommy's hair. And I reach for people now too :) My bouncy farm activity center is awesome - I can spin my duck toy and make the music go when I jump like a little madman in it.

My mommy has these at the top of her knitting list. Every little papoose needs some Thanksgiving moccasins, right?

Hope you had a good weekend - we have snow - wheee!

ooh la izzy...

2008-11-11T13:06:00.004-05:00

I'm starting to remember how much fun it was to dress up dolls when I was younger :)

2008-11-04T09:46:00.001-05:00

2008-11-02T18:31:00.002-05:00

(click it for bigger)

my camera died after 5 shots

2008-11-01T15:15:00.004-05:00

*sob*

they were all good ones though :) (why does red always look so funky in big blocks?) As was the weather. hope you all had a good one too!

I wasn't going to share this...

2008-10-22T09:31:00.002-05:00

Because although I'm very interested in politics and this election, I'm *not* interested in swaying people's opinion. Either you have good reasons for voting for your chosen candidate (whomever that may be) and I totally respect that. OR, you have some crappy, twisted, ill-informed reasons for your choice in which case, you're not going to listen to what I have to say anyway :)

It's too cute not to share though and I love that both boys are interested in the election process as well. They've asked to go with us when we vote and who am I to say no? I hope as they get older, we can help them maintain a healthy interest in the political process and the importance of fully informed voting.

yeah? so?

2008-10-16T08:47:00.002-05:00

Even my "mama" felt the need to point out that I haven't updated in a bit. You wanna make something of it? (though, I do love that my mom really did finally leave a comment...even if it was to "mother" me ;)

I'm not really posting much with this either. Just wanted to say that 3 months ago today, we welcomed this little girl into the world:

Now, we have this one:

Isn't life sweet?

zucchinis gone wild...

2008-08-28T08:14:00.005-05:00

This is what happens when you let your garden go unpicked while you traipse off on a two week vacation. Squash run amok. You know that zucchini multiply like rabbits, right? Another couple of days of growth and the national guard may have had to be called in.

This post will be full of randomness...FYI :)

You guys have been rickrolled, right? Kind of random and juvenile and you wonder if the perpetrator just c/p the wrong link? (I'll admit though, the song is still rather catchy. Carlos Barack Rolled me last night - I laughed my butt off. I don't care what your political leanings are. This is some funny stuff :D

We all know that Flickr is a great time waster. I could spend weeks there, bleary eyed and caffeine hyped, admiring all the talent and "WTF were they thinking" inspired photos. It does my heart good though, to know that groups like this exist. Don't ask me how I found it because I forget. Really now, everything *is* better with bacon though, no?

I want to make some of these for the babies room.

I hope this works because I despise getting all of those wasteful phone books delivered to me - I NEVER use them!

Big combined birthday party BBQ on Monday for both boys. Have I planned or prepared at all? You know the answer. Cupcakes will be involved though. How cool are these? Too cutesy for my purposes but so pretty. I do have this book though so I'm sure we'll have something fun for them :)

OK, work to do...a rainy day here so perhaps I'll clean the house (groan)

so help me little girl...

2008-08-26T17:17:00.002-05:00

If all of this fussing and hand gnashing and drooling means you' re teething already, well, I don't know what but I *won't* be happy. The good news is that the 10% of the time you were happy today, you were making all kinds of adorable cooing noises and squeaks. More of those, please!

Really hoping I come back to this post 6 months from now when you really ARE teething and laugh at myself for thinking it might be happening so soon.

happy 1 month, baby girl

2008-08-19T10:13:00.000-05:00

1 month has passed already. feels as if you've always been here though; you my dear, were a seamless integration :)

you're definitely just coming off a growth spurt - you ate like a champ for about 3 or 4 days (you always have but there was a noticeable difference) I have a feeling we'll be very surprised by your growth at your dr. appointment on Monday! ** OK, I started this post on the 16th (when she turned a month) but am just finishing it up today...1 month stats: 22 3/4" and 11 lbs 4 oz (no wonder I've had a relatively easy time dropping the pregnancy weight :p)
you've been much more alert the past few days - I'm guessing this goes hand in hand with the growth spurt! you've got a lot of head control and are constantly turning your head to follow voices and light.
you love your baths and diaper changes - never cry for either.
you seem to be losing your hair at about the same rate as me...good thing we both had quite a bit to begin with!
your brothers are big fans :)
I could go on but I'm getting lazy and you're in my lap getting hungry (shocker!)

not technically perfect...

2008-08-07T08:27:00.003-05:00

but I still love it! One of my biggest challenges each day is making sure these boys stay off of Iz long enough for her to eat/sleep/rest in peace! Any opportunity to hold her while she's alert and not fussy, they JUMP at. She's pretty tolerant of their excessive and smothering hugs and kisses though. We'll see how long it lasts before she starts getting her revenge!

A quick layout share too...I've been doing a series of templates for download at 2Peas and this layout was the result of my most recent. I'm embarrassed to even calculate how many photos I've taken in the past 3 weeks. It's been extravagant, to say the least :p

And finally, just a couple of links :)

Being the child of the 80s that I am, I almost squealed when I saw this. You're a big fat liar if you aren't thinking "I pity the fool that doesn't buy my onesie!" after looking at that link.
Knitting a few of these for recent and impending babies (there are so many!) SO cute and SO easy!

how...

2008-08-04T07:17:00.003-05:00

did she know I would call Isabella my little monkey? (among other nicknames.)

The loooong toes and even longer fingers. The slight covering of hair on her back. Her little "o" mouth that appears as if it could easily produce he "ooh, ooh" monkey call.

She also sent the most adorable little knitted dress. How can you not adore the butt ruffles? I really do have some awesome friends...I've been overwhelmed by all the sweet stuff you guys have sent! I'll share some more cuteness when I get some photos!

Today though, we're off to grandma and grandpa's for some Slip-n-Slide fun! Have a great week :)

oh yeah...the winner :)

2008-07-25T11:11:00.004-05:00

*Finally* remembered to check and see who the best guesstimator was in the baby pool. Wouldn't you know it was Miss Mel who inspired me to do the whole thing? We had 3 people guess the 16th (Sue and Kristina had the right date too!) but Mel was off by less than 2 hours.

And, can't post without sharing a couple of photos, right?

Enjoy your weekend! We certainly are :)

terribly smitten...

2008-07-21T09:24:00.002-05:00

we are so in love with this little girl...sigh.

Thank you so much for all the emails and well-wishes!

Introducing...

2008-07-20T14:47:00.002-05:00

Isabella Walker Hernandez
7.16.08
8:44 am
8 lbs 15 oz
21 3/4"
Izzy and I are doing well (by far my best, best labor and delivery - I'm tired, of course, but I feel terrific!) We came home on Thursday but I haven't been taking a lot of photos and she's been back to the hospital for bloodwork every day. Today was the last day though and we're looking forward to settling in and establishing a little normalcy. Daddy and big brothers are in love as am I. Thank you for all the well wishes!!

39 + 2 weeks

2008-07-08T06:38:00.002-05:00

I call this series..."Blue Moon"

Taken at 7 am this morning :)

(and yes, those are my most favorite maternity pants EVER)

remember being 9 months pregnant...

2008-07-07T12:41:00.004-05:00

and having to bow out your legs and stand on your tip toes to pick stuff up off the floor? Yeah, I've been there for awhile but it was just the other today that I realized how ridiculous I must look. I'm walking like a drunk duck...39 weeks and 1 day today. I should try to squeeze in one more photo as I'm assuming it won't be too much longer (11 days at the most, right?)

Obviously, there's still time to enter the baby pool for a chance to win a bunch of goodies! We hit the first guess Saturday and our second today and knowing my babies, even if my water broke this instant, there's no way she'd show up at any point before midnight (sorry, Lisa and Jennifer!) I did have strong regular contractions for a full 24 hours last Saturday. I went to the hospital, they monitored me, sent me home with the promise that I'd be back at some point later that day to have this baby. Now, NINE DAYS later, not a sign of her. Carlos claims she's showing us who is boss already, I'm confident that that's true. For him :)

Not much else to update at this point. A few finished knit projects to share (this is the blanket, dress and pants I talked about before.) You can see them in my flickr account that I just use for knitting stuff.

Oh, and just a couple of links (because what kind of post would it be without them?

this crib set is *absolutely* perfect. Exactly what I want. But $60 for a SHEET? I don't think so :p I'll keep looking :)
this site is very cool. Great "practice" if you want to bone up on your journaling skills!
I can't wait until someone else has a baby so I can do my own version of this. What a cool and fun idea!

OK, back to work. Have a great week!

all's quiet on the baby front...

2008-06-25T09:59:00.000-05:00

(sorry for the "deer-in-the-headlights" look in my picture...I'm so not comfortable in front of the camera!)

37+3 weeks along now and nary a sign of our girl. I'm *fine* with that though as I still have 101 things I'd like to do before she makes her grand appearance. I have a feeling she is big though and definitely the strongest of the three (at least in-utero!) I'm far more uncomfortable this time around than I was with my previous two but I'm hanging in there and know these last weeks will fly by in the blink of an eye :)

So, a la miss Mel, to make these waining days of my last (yes, absolutely, 100% positively LAST) pregnancy a bit more fun (for you and me!) I set up a baby pool. Winner gets a big old box of lovely scrappy things in need of a good home :) Now that I'm about 50/50 digi/paper, I just don't need all this "stuff." Someone needs to love it and use it! Closest guesser to the correct time of birth - it's all yours.

A little info to help you concoct your guess: my due date is officially July 13th. Jake was 8 days late, Zack was 2 days early. If she doesn't feel like coming on her own, the absolute latest I will have her is some time on July 18th via c-section. So, no jokers guessing late July :p

I've also been knitting more. I've finished a little blanket (which turned out kind of "duck-ish" and totally wasn't intended that way,) a dress which I absolutely ADORE and want to do more of in every color of the rainbow, and finally, I seamed up those little pants. I'm crocheting some baskets for her nursery out of twine right now. Hoping to pick up some soft tangerine colored yarn to crochet a blanket (maybe a good distraction while I'm in the hospital?)

Her room isn't even close to being done but that's not a worry - she won't be using that room for a few months :p We did put her dresser/changing table together though! Still need to find a comfy chair and refinish a side table that I'm stealing from my dad. Oh, and doors for the closet. And curtains. Those would be nice too :p We finally got new bedroom furniture for OURSELVES a few weeks ago too. We haven't had a real bed since we moved back to MI more than 3 years ago! The time was right, lol. Eventually, I'll have to get some picture of the bedroom now that it's about done! Hoping to add a couple more finishing touches in the coming days...stuff on the walls and a couple of accent pillows I want to make with the fabric left over from our closet curtains.

I've also been playing around trying to design some fabric to finish off the nursery. This site allows you to upload your own designs and have them print the fabric for you. SO many ideas swirling around in my head trying to decide what I want to order first. They are still in beta (invitation only) but I got my invitation super fast - I want to say 2 days?

Another cool, designey type thing? Carolyn at Ecojot had a blog drawing a few weeks ago for some of her gorgeous goodies. I've never entered a blog giveaway but couldn't pass this one up...her color choices and designs are right up my alley. And guess what? I won! I was thrilled and even more so when the box arrived. I'm afraid to use it, it's all so pretty! I am using the file folders since they aren't getting messed up and it makes my filing so much more fun ;) I definitely need to order more of her stuff - SUPER high quality (the little notebooks are so sturdy and thick and everything is made from recycled paper!)

More good news? Coldplay had to re-schedule their tour so now, they aren't coming until November! Whoohoo! Looks like this would be the perfect first date night out for me and Carlos. I should be able to put a dent in the baby weight by then :p (btw, have you guys bought Viva la Vida yet? So good. I adore them.) AND, it looks like they'll be on Jon Stewart tonight...how can you not love Jon Stewart and Coldplay? DVR...SET)

We've also been to Cedar Point and took the boys out for their first Putt Putt excursion in the past couple of weeks. They were actually both pretty good! Zack used more of a hockey technique (push the ball with the club rather than actual putting) but he didn't get frustrated and the ball made it to the hole! I want to take them to see Kung Fu Panda this weekend (because I love Jack Black.) Also, I think a pet in is our eminent future. And by "pet," I mean fish. Or if we're feeling really crazy, a turtle.

Now, a bunch of links:

I want to make a bunch of these (these are good for a less-than-beginning sewer, right?)
The boys are addicted to these videos (for the scrapbookers reading, there's actually a Cricut reference in one of them :p)
Definitely ordering a set of these once little miss arrives...want to make sure my fingers return to their normal circumference and hey...we're 95% certain on her name but things could always change last minute!
I want this and this and this and this and this and and and(who knew I would love internet window shopping even when I hate the real thing? I've spent THOUSANDS of pretend dollars in the past few months :D)
and how cool is this site?
and this one too?

Sorry for the mammoth post. If you got through a quarter of it, I'd be impressed. I've been adding to it a little bit here and there for days. OK, today, FOR SURE, I do baby laundry :) Maybe even pack a hospital bag if I'm feeling really ambitious! Have a good one!

E

that's what she said*

2008-06-02T18:34:00.007-05:00

If this doesn't make you tear up, you're completely heartless...totally made up for making me stay up until 1 am on Monday only to lose in heartbreaking fashion (well, almost...winning in Detroit would have been just a bit sweeter) I actually felt really sorry for the Pens at the end - they were a great opponent and I've no doubt they'll win the cup very, very soon.

at my house you hear things like "hey zackie, why don't you throw things at my face" followed by "OW!" in very short fashion...go figure :p

Week 35 checkup this afternoon. I'm already lamenting the fact that I didn't have any maternity shots done this time around...there won't be any more chances after this :( I'll have to try to get at least a couple with my timer in the next week or so!

proof that I'm completely anal...on the left, you'll find a layout for the mid-month garden at 2Peas. One the right, you'll find my PSE mockup that I created before I started on the hard copy version. Scary, just a little, huh?

Ashley will love this one ;) I'm sure it's tied heavily to her weekly tribute-to-the-80s posts. I had a dream a few nights ago that she was COMPLETELY ROCKING a Flock of Seagulls hairdo. And there was no joke involved. She'd just mix it in with her regular everyday hairdo from time to time. And no one batted an eye. You have to be hardcore cool to get away with something like that :) Ashley? Lunch? Panera? If you come with the 'do, lunch is on me ;) (last night's dream had *something* to do with cruise ships and rapidly multiplying purple tigers running rampant)

email - I promise I'm trying to catch up! I just don't like being on the computer any more than necessary these days (though I love the email - I swear!)

and of course I have loads of links but I'll refrain from now so I can take care of lunch for the boys :) Later, gators!

* If you're an Office fan, you'll get this ;) If you're not, well, a big fat zerbert in your general direction.

this and that...

2008-05-16T06:41:00.004-05:00

what I've been doing:

watching a lot of this
and a lot of this
and even some of this (though they suck in the worst way possible...a team chock full of talent that hasn't been able to sustain a concerted effort to WIN)
wondering if it would be just too weird/irresponsible for me to go to a concert 8 days before my due date :p (Carlos says yes)
playing a lot of "guess the baby part" every night after the boys go to bed when the little miss wakes up and stretches her limbs
knitting for baby girl (I'll try to share some photos soon)
thinking about giving these a shot (totally cute and I think not as labor intensive as full on cloth diapering?)
trying to decide what type of sling to get...I definitely want one that I can use from birth - right now, I'm leaning towards either a hotsling or a gurumama or a sprout pounch or a gosling - would love to hear your opinions!
this which has taken up the majority of my time
this layout done recently for 2Peas...just wanted to share it as I haven't shared a belly pic in quite awhile (this was 29 weeks...I'm *almost* 32 now)

what I've been admiring/coveting:

this boys' bedroom that I just think is way too cool (someday, I'll get the boys' bedroom decorated!) from Desire to Inspire
these chopping boards and napkin rings (yeah, like I EVER use napkin rings, right?) from the MOMA Store from hwtm
this bedspread (which has sold) that would have been so nice in the nursery for cuddling with the girl while I nurse her
adorable shoes but I know I can't justify $34 for baby shoes that won't even get a scuffed sole :p
lots of this yarn to knit many beautiful little baby girl sweaters

and this put such a huge smile on my face yesterday...brought tears to my eyes seeing the reaction to the decision. What an incredible victory, FINALLY. I hope this is only the beginning of more moves like it across the country. Everyone deserves the happiness that California afforded it's gay and lesbian community yesterday.

Trying to prepare myself for two whole days of alone time while Carlos takes the boys camping for a couple of days next week...want to make sure I have all of my nesting and cleaning projects planned ahead of time so I can get all of my shopping done this weekend! Maybe I'll finally put a dent in that nursery!

Have a great weekend :)

the best thing about buying a house in the fall?

2008-04-24T07:26:00.020-05:00

The pleasant surprises you discover in the spring. We've had such beautiful weather the past week or so. I wander the yard admiring the new flowers and plants that seem to pop up daily. I pull weeds and take pictures and probably make my neighbors wonder what kind of crazy person moved into their neighborhood. I'm trying to enjoy them this spring because I am completely inept at yard/garden maintenance and this may be the last time I ever see them :p The boys hit trees with sticks and stomp on ants and push rocks in the back of their truck from one end of the yard to the other. I wonder how much different our backyard time will be next spring :)

Then there are other happy discoveries like how the spring light comes through the window and shines onto our "gallery" wall. Do you have one of these in your house too? Jake lives for keeping this wall next to daddy's desk well adorned. Jake is an artist to the core. He draws for hours every day between school and home and *every* occasion warrants a brand new notebook or two to meet his expanding needs. The multicolored pens (remember those from our childhood?) are a favorite tool as well.

Added to my girly list in the past few days? (images are clickable so you can go steal them away from me before I buy them...ahem, for you, Jamie ;) Hello! The second one is reversible too...double the cuteness!

And finally, a layout I did last week for the BHG blog. There is journaling on there...it's just teeny tiny (you can click the layout to make it bigger)! I recently discovered that Liz designs digital products under the name Paislee Press over at Oscraps and instantly fell in love. I've always adored her minimalist style and have had her in my BOS since forever. I was thrilled to find out I can (try to) copy her look without the effort of being creative myself :) Be sure to check out her stuff! (Other digital supplies are from Catscrap...see the BHG blog for complete credits)

On my mind...

2008-04-18T11:01:00.001-05:00

So last week was a quiet week for me work-wise so I got to do lots of knitting :) Today and tomorrow I'll be scrambling to finish some stuff up but it's worth it for the relaxing week I had!

Baby blanket is DONE other than the fabric lining. Chenille was the overwhelming consensus so I'll be out shopping soon to find a good option for that. I'll admit, the prospect of it all together isn't thrilling me! I love how it turned out though. Super heavy so it will be a "lie it on the floor for the baby to play on top of" type of blanket rather than a "wrap her up and smother her with it" blanket.

I've also been knitting some little pants for her (knit pants - something *only* a baby can get away with!) They are coming together super quick so I should be able to share them in the next couple of days (or weeks...depending on my sporadic blogging activity :p)

I'm in full on waddle mode - this one is kicking my ass! So much soreness this time around that I didn't experience with the boys. Listen closely, ladies: being pregnant in your 30's is SOOO much different than being pregnant in your 20's. At least in my case. Or maybe it's just because it's a girl this time around. I'll take the bad with the good though as I found out at my checkup yesterday that I passed the one hour glucose test with 15 points to spare! Both the boys sent me in for the 3 hour ordeal so thanks for sparing me from that, little miss! Although, I was kind of looking forward to that 3 hours of uninterrupted knitting time :)

I realized a couple of days ago that with about 12 weeks until d-day, we have yet to purchase a single diaper or piece of newborn clothing. My miniature shopping splurge at Old Navy a few weeks ago netted us some clothes for *next* summer but other than that, her closet it bare. *I'm* not concerned - I know it will all get done before she makes her arrival. The mom at Jake's school that asked if I'd drown myself in newborn pink yet practically stroked out though. A carseat...yeah, that would be a wise purchase too! On my to-do list, I swear!

How beautiful are these books? I'd love to commit to a photo a day for her first year but I know me. So I won't. Be sure to check out the Photo a Day/First Birthday book!

And this dress is so cute! It's from a line of dress up clothes called Wovenplay but I would totally put her in it anytime! Love the colors and cool retro feel :) I'm sure that even if I could find it, it would cost an arm and a leg though!

OK, off to pick up Jake from school and then off to the park! Have a great weekend :)

continuing on a theme...

2008-04-04T13:16:00.006-05:00

Holy crap - how cute are the clothes on this blog?? That's it, I *must* learn how to sew.

I've had a lot of people ask about the nursery...decided that I better put some thought into it! I put together this quick 12 x 12" wall hanging yesterday and decided that I love the color combo. And it goes perfectly with the paint color we had already done back when we moved in. The room is a light turquoise-blue with white trim and white bead board on one wall and I think the punch of tangerine with a slightly darker shade of the blue will be perfect! Feminine but not *too* girly. I'm planning some touches of silver as well. We have an old mirror (one of those nasty big old gold gilt mirrors - really ornate) that I think will be awesome if I paint it silver and rub some turquoise paint into the crevices. The nursery has french doors on it as well so I need to do some new curtains for those. There are two closets that are built out into the room. Right now, there aren't any doors on them but I've drawn some up for Carlos to build. I'm excited now to work on it some more! I think these little suitcases would be the perfect accessory. And a nice cozy chair is a must.

This weekend I get to scrap all day tomorrow (yay!) and have a few people over Sunday to barbecue. FINALLY we have spring. Hope you all have a great weekend too!

OK, so I understand now about shopping for girl vs shopping for boy

2008-03-29T13:02:00.007-05:00

I haven't actually bought anything other than a couple of sale items from Old Navy but the window shopping...oh man.

Pretty sure little miss needs
this
and this (ok, ok...I know it's a 3T :p)
and this
and a couple of these
and this
and these

I could go on all day :)

I've been working on my miter blanket quite a bit. It sat for months when I realized how much seaming would be involved for a queen sized version. Once we found out about baby girl though, I realized I could turn it into a baby sized blanket lickety split. I have 2 more complete squares to knit (so, 8 more mitres...I've done 28 so far) and then the seaming. I'm trying to decide if I want to back it with corduroy or chenille (not sure of a color yet) What do you think?

So Saturday's Dream? Purple & Brown and I undertook a business venture together. After locating and extracting some rare mineral from the ground (one that had a striking resemblance to green slime) we all became fast billionaires. Just my luck that I woke up before I got to spend any of the money.

Last night? I obtained a coveted job as a cocktail waitress in a British pub owned and operated by PeeWee Herman. He stole me away from the pub across the street that was the brainchild of the crew from Lost in Space.

If there are any producers out there that want to option any of this stuff, my email link is in the upper right corner :)

all I can do is baby talk and random.

2008-03-28T08:40:00.003-05:00

What's awesomer than awesome? Grabbing one of your husband's long sleeve t shirts out of the closet to wear for the day (because, you know, more belly room) and when you take it off for the day, realizing it says "arrogant bastard" down the back of both sleeves. And you wore a down vest over it when you took your son to school. And picked him up. Yup, I'm that mom.

The three year old watching a documentary about budo the for an hour this morning. We think a martial arts class would be good for the boys...if you're kids have done martial arts, what age did you start them?

Why didn't I start a dream journal when I found out I was pregnant? I mean, I have some pretty fantastic (and by fantastic, I mean weird as hell) dreams when I'm gestating. And I can never remember them for more than 15 minutes after I wake up. I do remember that the last one I had involved me being a member of a dream team of robots. We were traveling for a competition (still unclear what it was we were competing *at*) when there occurred a particularly heated conversation about sleeping arrangements. My line was "Relax everyone. We are Just Robots. We can sleep on the floor." Dreams also often involve birthing adult sized babies (that look a lot like this baby...and come out already diapered...and can talk) or having a fetus that pokes and stretches my belly so much that it's entire body is recognizable and I can HOLD IT IN MY ARMS while still in vitro.

On the topic of pregnancy, my brother Shawn asked me how far along I was on Easter. When I said 24 weeks, he said "Oh, almost halfway then, right?" To which I replied "no you crazy fool! I only have 16 weeks left" And smart guy said "isn't it 52 weeks" and I said "no you crazy fool! that's how many weeks there are in a year. And how long I might carry this child if I were an ELEPHANT. Don't make me get medieval on your ass." Perhaps it's a good thing after all that despite us bugging him and his wife to contribute to the grandchild pool, they haven't jumped in yet.

Jake counted to 100 last Tuesday, March 18th :)

I was behind a car a few days ago that had a license plate frame that said "I'm an Organ Donor." Not sure that's something I want to advertise to the person in the mammoth SUV behind me drinking his coffee, smoking his cigarette, eating his taco and talking on the phone.

What's the best wrong number message you've ever received? Mine is "Hi Dan, it's Pat. You just walked out and I realized you forgot your bagpipes. Thought you might need them." I saved it in my cell phone and still listen to it occasionally.

I've actually been scrapbooking quite a bit. Everything for BHG or 2Peas though so you'll have to wait to see most of it. I did do this one for the BHG Digital blog this week though.

Lots of knitting too but I've been bouncing between projects so no good "finished" photos yet. I also taught myself to crochet so woohoo! A whole new obsession. Hopefully I'll be able to share some photos soon!

OK, I think that's all I have swimming around in my brain at the moment. Oh and for the curious, not even a gas issue for nasty hard boiled egg boy. He survived without incident!

Happy Friday...Happy Weekend :)

In case anyone was wondering...

2008-03-26T20:02:00.002-05:00

If you're 3 1/2 year old eats a hard boiled egg that's been sitting out unrefrigerated for close to 4 days, at worst, he'll get a little gassy (according to Poison Control.)

Mine was quick enough to realize after one bite that the egg wasn't really that tasty anyway. We still haven't determined if he swallowed that bite or not but regardless, he'll be fine ;)

Apparently a common call to Poison Control this time of year...even up to 2 weeks after Easter (ewww!)

so apparently...

2008-03-07T17:29:00.008-05:00

this is my 200th post. Woohoo!

OK, party over.

Here I am at 22 weeks. Incredible how fast the time is going. (For the record, I probably *won't* be saying that in a few months) Movement is slowly increasing but I'm not yet to the point where I can see her little elbows poking out (I love that part :D) I spent the day yesterday moving all of my "stuff" from my office to Carlos.' I guess we'll be sharing from now on since my office will be the nursery...I guess it's ok ;) I made about a million trips up and down the stairs yesterday. I consider that my exercise for the month. I'm good till April.

That frame is from this Songbird Avenue digital kit that my buddy Kate contributed to. Be sure to check it out, it is GORGEOUS and the proceeds go to such a good cause. Here is a layout I created with it so you can see more of the pieces:

Good news today? The laundry is done (AND folded...AND put away,) the grocery shopping is done, my husband is off work all weekend and best of all? The HUGE snowstorm that was supposed to hit tonight went further south than expected and Ohio will be the recipient of the majority of it :) (Sorry my Ohio friends...well, not really. I hate snow.)

Oh, and Julie knows how much I love being tagged so I'm going to think hard tonight and answer her tomorrow. I'm not sure I can come up with 7 interesting facts about myself. I'm pretty boring :p

And look HERE. Finally! I think we were all holding our breath waiting for miss Camryn to make her appearance. So, so happy for the Bauer family!

why can't they add leap year day to a good month?

2008-02-29T18:27:00.006-05:00

I'd seriously enjoy a 31 day June. You? An extra day in the month of weddings and graduations. A happy month like June deserves an extra day more than a cold, wintery, crappy month like February. Write a letter to your congressmen.

We got to see little miss again yesterday. She's still a girl. Her heart, kidneys, liver, stomach and head all look good. No indication of Down Syndrome or club feet (?) She was moving a lot at even seemed to wave a little to us. Carlos is in love :)

Her pretty profile:

And now she's looking at you :)

And, they moved my due date up a bit again. Originally July 25th...now we're up to July 13th! And my stomach is growing by leaps and bounds lately. Desperately trying to avoid buying too many maternity clothes until it's warmer. Wish me luck!

Some good stuff today:

Tonya's FABULOUS brushes - seriously cool and best of all: FREE.
My buddy Gillian - blogging again - yay!
Tons of new digital kits at 2Peas - have you seen the new 99 cent offerings? Good stuff!
Baby Bauer watch is still on :)

again with the random

2008-02-26T14:06:00.004-05:00

I bought this Doodlebug bag from 2Peas on a whim awhile ago. No idea what I was going to use it for. It was just cute. Now that I look at it again though, it's gonna make the *best* little diaper bag. Perfect size for a couple of diapers and a change of clothes.

Carlos is getting excited about meeting little miss in a couple of days. He couldn't make it to the first ultrasound so he hasn't had a chance to see her in "action" yet. I'll be able to share some ultrasound photos after Thursday!

I've been doing more baby girl window shopping. I've always loved Mahar Drygoods - lots of beautiful unique stuff. I really love these alphabet cards. I want to come up with something "alphabet-y" for baby girl's room but I think I want to do it myself rather than buy something. Great inspiration though! LOVE these wall plates too!

I finally decided on a first knit for her as well. This Debbie Bliss pattern from Simply Baby - just a simple 2x2 rib sweater with some hemp yarn I've had for awhile. I love the color and while the yarn isn't the softest to work with. the knitted fabric is lovely. shouldn't take me too long to actually make some progress that resembles something sweater-ish.

Stamp winners - I *finally* packaged up the stamps today and will get them in the mail tomorrow...I told you it could be awhile but you should have them by the end of the week!

More snow today. Seems like it will never end. I'm so tired of looking out the window and just seeing a sea of white. I need green. NOW. I know a lot of you are in the same boat so I won't whine too much :p

And finally, this video had Carlos and I laughing our butts off (warning, might be offensive to some :p) Amazing how many celebrities he got to participate!

Later!

2008-02-22T09:44:00.002-05:00

This past couple of weeks, my stomach totally popped. No more regular pants...I had to break out the Bella Band a couple of days ago :)

After lots of prodding, I finally started to cautiously do a little window shopping around the web for little miss. Yesterday, I made my first little girly clothes purchase thanks to an Old Navy baby sale. Nothing overly girly but I did buy her a skirt a hoodie with flowers. Big step for me! Now that I've actually laid out money, I'm sure my ultrasound next week will reveal an error and show that we're actually having a third boy :p

I've been checking out bedding too. Thanks to Lisa, I've been turned onto the Dwell line at Target. Nothing is *quite* what I've imagined though so after some more searching, I found this (which is *exactly* what I had in mind) and this which I completely adore. Not sure I can justify the price of either though.

Current food obsessions: Sweetarts, veggie eggrolls and grape tomatoes. Yum. And I could easily eat all three together for the same meal! The boys and I are enjoying smoothies too; frozen berries, a banana, OJ and a container of yogurt. Good stuff.

OK, loads of work to do in the next week or so (at least 7 or 8 layouts that I can think of - eeek!) and zero motivation so I'd better get to work. Oh, and a quick congrats to miss Gabby on the birth of Evansen and lots of happy thoughts to Mel who is expecting baby Bauer any day! Can't wait to "meet" him/her!

Have a great weekend!

Yes, "it's" an "she"

2008-02-09T14:49:00.004-05:00

Trust me, I'm as surprised as anyone! I believe I did a double-, make that triple-take when the technician told me.

This one has me almost completely turned off food (at least for the moment) but addicted to grapefruit juice. I drank five glasses the other day. Then I read the calorie count...130 calories/glass. Also over 100% of your vitamin C. So how did I get sick? Now I'm trying not to drink more than 2 glasses a day.

This one has me vomiting a couple of times a week still. With the boys, second trimester meant the golden era of pregnancy. She's already demonstrating some of the differences between the sexes, huh?

This one has me wanting this shirt in a bad way. I just wish it came in a color other than pink!

Carlos is over-the-moon excited about this little girl. We've had a girl name picked out since before we knew Jake was a boy so at least that part is out of the way. We can talk to her everyday and call her by name. And she most definitely gets daily conversation with at least one of us.

I'm dreaming of spring. Ogling the Burpee catalog daily trying to decide what I want to grow this year. I have a black thumb so I know I need to start small. I'm thinking just some small herb plants on our deck this year. The tomatoes are calling my name though. And maybe just a couple flowers. (I clearly have no willpower and should not even try to limit myself.)

And this boy has a way with paper and scissors. Notice a resemblance? (probably not if you haven't seen Kill Bill before. And if you haven't, you should! And no, Jake has NOT seen Kill Bill...the resemblance is purely coincidental...we're pretty lenient about the content they see but Kill Bill is a little too liberal for a 5 year old :p)