Bad Mommy

My boy. He's got the strep throat. After a trip to the doctor, we headed for Safeway to fill his prescription and get a little treat from Starbucks as we waited. As we're standing at the counter in the pharmacy, Goofball reminds me that he's been watching too much T.V. with the following conversation:

BuddyBoy: Mom, do you see that green box of medicine back there on the shelf?

Me: Yes.

BuddyBoy: Do you know that it's the best medicine for getting rest when you have a cough or cold?

Me: How do you know that?

BuddyBoy: That's what studies show.

Nice. Way to go advertising companies. Chock one more up on your tally board for product recognition for the five and under set. Don't worry, he'll probably be begging me for McDonald's or Coke products before we make it home.

Easy ABC Art

I am so excited to be in the midst of making over Sweetpea's room. She just got her first big girl bed and it has inspired me to complete projects I have had on my "craft to-do" list for months (years?). The first is a quilt. I have purchased the most spectacularly adorable Amy Butler fabric, but have yet to actually start cutting. The second project is this super easy ABC Art for her wall. I was inspired by a similar project I saw in a scrapbook magazine a few years ago. The whole project cost me about $10.00 and I just love it, and more importantly, Sweetpea does too!

First, I gathered my supplies.
* a canvas, any size (I had this humongo one hanging around the house from a failed "fine art" attempt I made a few years ago, then spent some time in our family room covered in some cool fabric from Ikea, now on to it's new life as ABC Art...)

* Chipboard ABC's
* patterned paper of your choice

* pictures, trinkets, stickers, etc. for your ABC pictures

How To:

1) Paint the canvas (I used a bright pink acrylic)

2) Spray paint the chipboard letters (I used a turquoise blue, then distressed the edges with some sandpaper)

3) Cut 54 squares or rectangles in your choice of paper (a mix of stripes, polka dots, and flowers are my favorite combo)

4) Gather trinkets to pictorially represent each letter (some of my favorites are the owl sticker for "o", the picture of my girl for "m", an old key from my Grandma for "k", a zebra print ruffle for "z") If Sweetpea were older, I might have had her illustrate some of the items, kid art is so awesome and would really become a keepsake. This is the fun part!5) Arrange the letters and pictures and modge podge those suckers to the canvas

6) Done! A totally cool and unique to your family piece of kid room art!

I've Got the Fever...

...Spring Cleaning Fever that is. With my trusty sidekick (my label maker) at my side, and some sparkly new rubbermaid containers, I'm organizing every last nook and cranny in this crazy house. Thanks to my friend Lisa for the great idea to use a shoe organizer in my pantry. Gotta run, my laundry room shelves are calling my name...

Lost tooth, twice

So Goofball's bottom two teeth had been awfully wiggly this last week, so last night we decided to try to pull the wiggly-est of the two. We pulled and pulled, even trying to lasso the darn thing with dental floss, with no luck. I made Goofball promise not to lost his very first tooth while he was at school today, because then his very sentimental mom would miss the monumental event. So he lost his tooth at school, of course. To top it off, he lost it! After it fell out, he told the teacher's assistant (who is a very sweet young woman, but clearly doesn't understand the erratic behavior of my pre-kindergartener!), and she told him to PUT IT IN HIS POCKET! Well, he didn't. Instead he wanted to show the entire class what they too had to look forward to. And now it's gone. I pulled myself together upon hearing this tragic news and am now composing a letter to the tooth fairy explaining this whole debacle.

The Crazies get Crazy

Up until now, finding things to do, besides just hanging out at home or the park, when Grandma and Grandpa are in town was hard to do. Our kids were too small to do most things, and you can only take guests to the zoo so many times before it becomes fairly redundant.

Monday, we went bowling. The bumpers worked like a charm for Goofball, who pumped himself up for each turn by throwing up his fist, shouting, "Victory is mine!" Goofball coined his signature "Run and Toss" bowling form. He also discovered that bowling shoes and floor are the perfect combination of slippery-ness for some seriously hard-core breakdancing. Even Sweetpea loved heaving her little 6- pounder up to the line and giving it the slightest nudge, just strong enough, to get the ball down the lane (except for that one time that her ball actually started come back at us in the opposite direction it was supposed to be traveling). At its fastest, her ball clocked a whopping 1.45 mph. Did you know the new lanes have counters that actually clock the speed of the ball? I didn't. We also rode the new(ish) Phoenix light rail train from a spot near our house to downtown's Old Spaghetti Factory. We got an eyeful of some interesting public transit folk and some great views of downtown. Both extremely entertaining.

On our last night together, we joined the Snowbirds (The "Bluehairs" as Gary calls them... any Arizonians with me on this one?!) down at the Organ Stop Pizza. Loud Organ Music for an hour. Awesome. Some super cheesy fun. The Crazies couldn't get enough.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great visit! Please come see us again soon (we have one Goofball very anxious to give up his bed again for you!)

All Dolled Up!

So, Did you notice anything different? New hairdo? No. I look like I've lost weight?! Oh, go on... but no. My new and improved BEE-YOU-TEE-FULL blog?! Why yes! Thanks to Sharon over at Redbud Designs, this here blog is all gussied up and ready for the new year! Grab my button over there on the right, and spread a little love on your blog too.

Do you love it as much as I do?

Goals 2010

I cannot believe how much my life has changed in the past 10 years. Ten years ago tonight I was with a great group of friends making a time capsule (Which has yet to turn up! No one remembers what we did with it!) and cautiously mocking those preparing for Y2K. Remember that?! We are all married now, and many blessings have been given to each family. So I'm reflecting on the past year, and decade, and thinking about what is important to me to accomplish this year. So, here's my top 20 list of things I want to do this new year. Some are more eternally important than others, but I do adore checking things off a list, so I figure I'll be more motivated this way!

1) Become a Stay-at-Home mom, and do it well

2) Take a cake decorating class, or two

3) Take a sewing class, and sew more

4) Make a quilt for Sweetpea's big girl bed

5) Finish landscaping our yards

6) Read the Bible all the way through

7) Find a new home church, and get involved

8) Be a good friend and make connecting with friends more of a priority

9) Have a Girlfriends weekend with my college friends

10) Have a weekend away with Gary

11) Call out of town family at least once a month

12) Have a baby

13) Build L'alfabeto, my Etsy shop, and spend more time on it

14) Participate in two Christmas Boutiques

15) Find, and set aside time for, a couples Bible study with Gary

16) Spend time with God, everyday

17) Pray for the things in my life that are important, consistently

18) Expect, and pray for, a miracle of supernatural proportions for Kate

19) Grow out these pesky bangs (Why do I keep thinking bangs are a good idea?!)

20) Laugh more

I know I will add to this list, and I hope to revisit the list several times this year to stay on track. I know several of these things are beyond my control, but they still need my time and attention. Do you have a list?