Jack and the Kumquat

Hair

2012-02-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Her hair is still large.

And still in charge.

Heirloom

2012-01-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is me wearing a dress my mom had when she was a baby:

And here's Alice:

Awkward.

2012-01-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

I've often said that I hope Alice is a little awkward during her pre-teen/teen years.

Keeps the boys away.

I have firsthand experience with this...

Twenty-Two Months

2012-01-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Alice,

I've never loved you more than I do right this second.

However, I must be honest with you.

You've been quite challenging lately.

Teething + strong-willed personality = tired parents.

But, I've heard this will pass.

(Well, the teething part.)

Please Lord, let this pass. :)

Here are some highlights from the past month:

Tea party with the zebra-

You always put stickers on your back...just like they do at the gym and at church-

You LOVE riding the penny pony at the grocery store-

You're a little interested in the potty-

Stringing pony beads on a pipe cleaner is one of your favorite activities-

As is stacking things-

We're really getting our money's worth out of your infant swing.

It's like your little hammock-

I was recently encouraged by a mama of many children.

She said having a child with a strong personality isn't a bad thing.

Strong-willed children often grow up to be leaders.

They are not easily swayed/pressured into things.

They are competent helpers and are reliable.

I'm praying those things for you, my little one.

You are funny, when you're in a good mood.

You purposely tell me the wrong answers just to make me laugh.

You love putting your bibs on Jack.

You are sweet.

You freely give Daddy and I hugs and kisses.

You love being held.

You are kind to Ella and enjoy helping me care of her.

You also take very good care of your stuffed animals,

making sure they are fed and rocked.

We love you, precious Alice.

You bring us so much joy!

Love, Mama

Sleepy

2012-01-26T21:02:00.001-07:00

I took this picture last weekend:

It reminded me of this picture taken almost 2 years ago:

Love.

The Klenkes!

2012-01-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Carey, Steve, and Abby, came to visit!

It was SO good to see them.

Pictures from their time here:

I can't wait for them to live in Colorado again!

Alice asks for Abby on a daily basis.

We miss our friends!

Picnik

2012-01-24T14:16:00.001-07:00

(Don't feel sorry for her.

If anything, feel sorry for me.

That tantrum was about picking up 6 Cheerios from the floor.

Lasted over 2 hours.

And I have skills, y'all!

I've worked with preschoolers since high school.

I have a degree in Early Childhood Education.

When it was all said and done, I won.

That was not a fun day.)

Like Alice, I've been sad over something petty.

I'm sad Picnik is shutting down.

I need those speech bubbles!

Anyone know of a good alternative?

Big and small things I want to remember

2012-01-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

1. My grandfather recently passed away.

I'm sad he's gone from this earth, but happy he's now healthy and spending eternity with Jesus.

(That's him with my Memaw and my mom.)

Things I'll always remember about him:

-He was deaf, but read lips like nobody's business.

I always thought that was so cool.

I'm pretty sure Alice knows more sign language than he did.

He never needed to learn it.

-He was a smoker when I was a child.

My sister and I hated it and would always hide his cigarettes.

-I love the memory of Grandpa coming to visit.

In the midst of total chaos, he'd fall asleep in a chair.

One of the advantages of being deaf? :)

-He created beautiful oil paintings.

-He was one of the first people I knew using online chatting.

His name was TnTooter.

He was a huge UT fan and probably never associated Tooter with passing gas, like I always did.

-When I was young, he and my Memaw lived in a home with a HUGE yard.

It had creek in the back and an orchard on the side.

I drove by there not long ago and was surprised at how it had shrunk in size.

Funny how growing up does that.

-He had the best laugh.

-He was concerned about me moving to Colorado.

I remember him asking me if we needed oxygen masks when we got off the plane

and if grass even grows at that altitude. :)

-He had an afro.

I'm not even kidding.

It was amazing.

-He loved me a lot.

And I always knew it.

I'm really looking forward to seeing him again someday!

I hope he's hanging out with my Dadums, too.

I think he is.

I can totally picture them laughing together.

2. I think Alice is going to be a good big sister one day.

(This is not an announcement.)

3. She's been super independent lately,

often saying, "Alice do it." or "I do it."

Or, if it's something she doesn't want to do,

"Mama do it."

Yesterday she insisted she could open a clementine.

When she got stuck, she looked at me and asked,

"Knife?"

We compromised with a fork.

She eventually got the orange out and gobbled it up.

4. I miss this sweet smile:

(photo taken yesterday)

She isn't feeling well today.

Low-grade fever, generally cranky and clingy.

I hope it's just teething, though this is the first time she's really acted this way.

She slept until 9:30am, napped for 4.5 hrs, and then asked to go to bed at 6:45pm.

5. I saw a picture a friend posted on Facebook of the pancake smiley face she made for her kids.

I thought I'd do the same this morning.

She only ate the orange.

Hard to know if it's because she wasn't feeling well,

or because the french toast lady freaked her out.

Over and out!

Ten on Ten, January 2012

2012-01-10T16:09:00.001-07:00

Finding the beauty in the ordinary moments...

Visitor

Placemat

Breakfast

Gym

Lunch

Play

"Helping"

Caffeine

Purple

Pretty

Pillow Pet

2012-01-09T11:56:00.001-07:00

Neato!

2012-01-08T08:00:00.001-07:00

We've now been a family of 3 longer than we were a family of 2.

That's so crazy to me!

A Friday Treat!

2012-01-06T15:37:00.001-07:00

Alternatively titled, "Ruining Dinner."

2012

2012-01-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

Take THAT, bad luck!

Happy 2012!!

Bolton Family Christmas

2011-12-31T23:19:00.003-07:00

(Last Christmas post!)

After our little family Christmas,

we went to Ben's parent's house to continue the celebration.

I didn't take many pictures, but here's a few...

Boots with jammies:

Checking out her dollhouse while modeling her new t-shirt and bow.

Quite the fashionista.

Spying through the window:

It was a busy day!

This concludes Christmas 2011!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Let's note that it's New Year's Eve at 11:15pm and I'm blogging.

Who's really cool?

|
|

This girl:

Our Little Family Christmas

2011-12-31T23:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we had our little celebration with the 3 of us.

Setting up her little train:

Jumping with excitement!

A zebra?! This is the best day ever!

Using the appropriate mugs:

Testing out my handy-dandy camera remote:

Stringing beads:

"Who put this poison in my toys?"

Raise your hand if you think this is the best day ever!

Her favorite gift= light up Stride Rite boots from Goodwill.

She opened the box and exclaimed, "Shooooooooes!!!"

Best $2 I spent this Christmas.

Looking through those pictures from yesterday makes me so happy.

I seriously love my life.

A Visit with Granny

2011-12-31T22:51:00.000-07:00

All I wanted was one good picture of the 3 of us...

Hardest person in the world to photograph=my Granny. :)

This one came after my direct request to, "just look at the camera and smile!"

It soon got busier at Granny's house.

Please note Ben as the Peid Piper, again.

It was just as crazy and loud as it looks. :)

I love my crazy, loud family.

Christmas Morning!

2011-12-31T22:40:00.002-07:00

Christmas Eve, part 2

2011-12-30T22:54:00.001-07:00

Back to Mom's house for our Christmas Eve feast.

This dinner is the love child of my Papa and brother-in-law, Paul.

23 people.

6 entrees.

4+ desserts.

Each year tops the last.

Chestnuts literally roasted on an open fire:

He still loves me!

Busy, crazy, fun!

Christmas Eve, part 1

2011-12-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

We went to my sister's house for brunch.

So fun!

Ben is the Peid Piper.

Twenty-one

2011-12-30T22:15:00.001-07:00

Dear Alice,

You turned 21 months old a few days ago.

I didn't do "official" pictures this month, but I included a few from the past week-ish.

Here are some facts about you:

Fact: You say "mama, mama, mom, mama, mommy" at least 200 times a day.

Fact: You love baby dolls and stuffed animals. Like, love, love.

You make them do things like wave, eat, and play with toys.

(You like real animals, too.

Especially Luke.

Let's not show this picture to Jack, okay?)

Fact: You have made it through 2 Christmases without breaking a single ornament.

I think that's noteworthy!

Fact: You eat ALL of the time.

Somedays it's every hour.

Fact: You spontaneously told Daddy, "I ya you" (I love you.) two weeks ago.

I can't even pretend I wasn't jealous.

Fact: I think you say 5-10 new words everyday.

It's so fun!

Fact: You often speak and sign at the same time.

Fact: You like sleep.

You've been asking us to take naps and to go to bed at night.

It's awesome.

Keep up the good work!

Fact: You have 5 teeth.

Maybe more.

I haven't looked in awhile.

Fact: You love shoes.

LOVE shoes.

Especially your ladybug boots.

Fact: When you get excited, you hold the open-mouthed surprised look for a long time.

It cracks me up.

I love you more than dark chocolate, coffee, and red wine.

More than Pinterest and crafting.

More than frozen yogurt bars.

More than travelling and exploring new places.

More than Gap's Long and Leans.

That's a WHOLE lot.

Love, Mama Mom Mama Mama Mommy Mama Mommy Mama

$7

2011-12-27T10:39:00.001-07:00

***UPDATE! They reached their goal!!! $10,000 in 26 hours. CRAZY!!***

This is my sister and her family:

They currently have 7 children

and are in the process of adopting another sibling group of 5.

I know some people think they're crazy.

I do not.

I know they are crazy in love with their kids.

I know their hearts break thinking about their 2 daughters and 3 sons

who are waiting for them in Ethiopia.

They believe every child should have loving parents who tuck them in at night.

Every child should be comforted when sad or ill.

Every child should have food in their bellies.

Every child should have someone to call "Mama" and "Daddy".

Who could disagree with that?

So, here's where I ask for your money. :)

They set up a site for donations.

They're asking for $7...$1 for each person needing a plane ticket.

And, it's easy.

The donations are made through PayPal.

A few clicks, and you're done.

And, if you feel led, could you share this on your blog?

Or on Facebook?

Or Twitter?

That would pretty much make you the coolest person in the world.

Don't you want to be the coolest person in the world?

Okay, that's all.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families!

If you want to see God move in crazy ways,

go here and watch the numbers grow!

They set up the page LAST NIGHT!

Insane in the membrane.

Guest posting is fun!

2011-12-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote a guest post over at Mabel's House.

You should go check out Liz's blog.

It's off-the-hook awesome.

For reals.

But, since I use this space as my little online scrapbook,

I want to post it here, too.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi there!

I'm Melissa.

I've noticed some things in my home lately and have thought,

"Hey! That actually worked!"

(I've tried countless decorating/organization tricks that haven't worked for us,

which is why I feel it's noteworthy when they do.)

Here's my little list of "Hey! That that actually worked!":

1. Baby wipes container to hold plastic bags

This keeps them all in one tidy place,

while also preventing me from hoarding them.

2. Black and white baby pictures (of my husband and I) on the changing table

My daughter has always loved looking at these pictures.

Now I get to chuckle every time she points at my husband's picture and says, "Baby Daddy?"

3. Spray painting indoors using a big, deep box

I needed to spray paint those ornaments, but it was way too cold outside.

I used a huge box, closed off my workroom, cracked a window, and went to town.

Result: Minimal stink, cute little ornaments, and no paint outside the box.

4. Speaking of ornaments, those apple containers from Costco

are awesome for storing the fragile ones.

5. Using cloth towels instead of paper

By keeping a stack by the paper towels, and a bin for the dirty ones by the sink,

we've gone from about a roll a week to a roll a month.

I just really like saving money.

6. Bread box (from a thrift store) for arts and crafts

It's been nice having a special spot for those items.

When I'm making dinner I can trap my child in her highchair and easily keep her busy.

7. An old sliding screen door as a baby gate

Those gates for wide stairs are expensive!

In a desperate moment, I stuck a screen door between the spindles to block off the stairs.

Finally after 8 months of this system, I covered it with burlap.

It works great and when we don't need it up, it hides easily.

---------------

Ta-da!

I'd love to hear what's working in your homes.

New uses for old things?

Organization systems that have weathered the test of time?

Ways to keep your kids busy while you cook dinner?

How do you spray paint things when it's freezing outside?

Merry Christmas to you all!
I wish for you a season of joy, peace, and minimal family drama!

And, Liz, I'll speak on behalf of all your readers and say,

thank you for writing.

Thank you for sharing your life with us.

Keep doing what you're doing.

We like it. :)

Pictures for Ben

2011-12-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

I enjoy sending Ben pictures while he's at work.

Ideally, pictures that make him question what goes on while he's gone,

and/or question my better judgement.

Here are a few from the past week:

A Snowy Day

2011-12-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

It snowed quite a bit yesterday.

So, I bundled up the kid and took her out to "play" in it.

Verdict: Alice not a fan of playing in the snow...yet.

She trailed behind me, only stepping in the path I shoveled.

We went indoors for a warm treat (1/2 eggnog, 1/2 milk) in her teeny tiny Santa mug.

Verdict: She loved it!

(Pictures from my phone. I love that thing.)

Footprint

2011-12-15T13:20:00.002-07:00

I channeled my inner preschool teacher and made an ornament for/with

the little sweetness I take care of during the week.

I love it!

Crayola Model Magic

Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze Spraypaint

Lace

I smooched her little foot in the Model Magic,

stamped her name in it,

and poked holes to hang.

Then, sprayed and hung.

Easy peasy!

It looks black in the picture.
Booo!
It's really more brown.

Linking up with Katie:

A Printable Nativity, part 2

2011-12-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Look what I found in the Target dollar bins!

A little wood manger!

A Printable Nativity

2011-12-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

When your kitchen looks like this:

crafting maybe shouldn't be at the top of your nap time priority list.

Unless you're like me.

And you saw this:

It's a printable nativity set for Alice to play with!

And it's quick and easy.

You'll have plenty of time to clean your kitchen afterwards.

See?

You can print your own here:

Marloes de Vries

I "laminated" mine with packaging tape.

Thanks,

How About Orange!

Makes me laugh!, part 2

2011-12-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Here is part 1.

Search words that are leading to this blog...

As you can see from the numbers on the right, I have a wildly popular blog. :)

Milisa

2011-12-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

I've hung onto this tag for over a month now.

I love it.

I love how the guy spelled Melissa.

Makes me smile.

I sometimes hear "2 s's, or 2 l's?", but never "2 i's?" :)

It's Electric!

2011-12-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo's Electric Safari last night with the Vande's.

Alice was bundled up to the point where she couldn't move.

She didn't seem to mind. :)

A repeat from my 10 on 10 set, but I love this Santa.

Same one we saw last year at a craft fair!

He's the best.

Ten on Ten, December 2011

2011-12-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

I love the 10th.

Time to find the beauty in ordinary moments!

Warm-

Cute-

Nose-

Red-

Sight-

Joy-

Read-

Clean-

Ride-

Sad-

Guest what!?, part 2

2011-12-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

Because this is how I perserve memories, I'm posting this here as well. :)

Anyone who blogs, or reads blogs, or is on Pinterest

can probably relate to the way I feel this time of year:

Oh my goodness!!!

There's so much I need to do/make/eat!

So, this is a different kind of list.

A list of things you DON'T have to do.

1. Christmas Cards.

(Gasp!)

(source)

Okay, for reals though.

I may be alone in this, but I've never thought to myself,

"You know what!? We never received a card from the _____ family! How rude!"

I just don't think many people would notice.

Or just send them to the parents and grandparents.

Done.

2. New Christmas party attire.

That awesome black dress you have?
It's perfect.

(source)

Wore it last year?
No problem.

It's black.

No one will notice.

Change up the accessories if you're panicking about it.

3. Cookies.

I'm not going to bake any this year.

The end.

4. The "to-do" list.

Man, I love to-do lists.

Write one up for almost every season and post it on my pantry.

Drive around and look at lights, drink hot cocoa, sit on Santa, build a snowman...

We can do these things, if we want.

However, making a list will make me feel like we HAVE to do it.

Not happening.

5. Elf on the Shelf.

Don't get me wrong, dude's cute.

(source)

But, I've heard countless stories about how stressful this is on the moms.

Can't your elf take a vacation?

Maybe he feels overworked and underpaid.

Maybe he needs to go check on other children for awhile.

I also hear the elf is a wonderful behavior modification technique.

But, you have tricks/skills for the other 11 months.

You could always fall back on those.

And why do the elves get to be naughty, but the kids do not?

I don't get that.

6. Christmas parties.

If you want to go, go!

If you don't, don't!

We're grownups.

We get to decide things like this.

"I'm sorry I can't make it. Thank you for the invitation."

"I wish we could, but we have a prior engagement that evening."

Your "prior engagement" could be sitting in your pajamas, watching Elf with your family.

That's legit.

7. Travel.

It's becoming important for me to wake up in our own home Christmas morning.

So, I believe this is our last year of dealing with the craziness of holiday travel.

People understand that...or at least they should.

You get to call the shots for what works best for your family.

I'm thinking we may start visiting family a couple weeks before Christmas instead.

Airport security lines are the anti-Christmas.

(source)

8. Shopping.

I found the key in not getting wrapped up in the shopping fiasco...

Ignorance is bliss.

I didn't look at the ads in the newspaper.

We don't have cable (or basic channels), so I haven't seen even one commercial.

I have no idea what the hot items are.

My daughter has no idea what all the cool kids want.

(I know this will change as she gets older.)

9. Christmas music.

(Another gasp!)

I can handle traditional Christmas music for about 10 minutes.

There's something about the constant jingle of bells that grates on me.

If you like it, crank it up!

If you don't, turn on some Adelle, or something.

I've been enjoying the "Indie Holidays" station on Pandora.

10. Pinterest.

You can choose not to open it.

Or choose not to type "Christmas" into the search bar.

Choose not to feel like a crafting failure for not making your own pine tree and Christmas lights.

Choose not to feel like a bad mother for not implementing 5 new Christmas traditions this year.

You can choose to keep it simple.

Isn't that what Christmas should really be about?

Simplicity?

Silent night, Holy night.

All is calm, All is bright.

Fall on your knees!

Oh hear the angel's voices.

Oh night divine.

Oh night when Christ was born.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I hope this is a blessed time for you and your family!

PS- Let it be known that I don't believe any of those things listed above are bad.
They're just things that I at some point felt pressured/obligated to do.
I want to do less this year.
I want less stress, more peace.

Guest what!?

2011-12-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

(You like what I did there?

I'm a sucker for puns.)

I'm a guest poster over at Little Bit of Life!

I wrote about some of the things we don't really have to do this time of year.

Just click on these words right here, if you'd like to go read it.

What should be added to the list?

Anything on there that makes you say, "Yeah right. You're nuts. I HAVE to..."?

And because it feels wrong to push "publish post" without a picture...

Can you hear the whine?

Sometimes I'm glad photos are silent. :)

:)

2011-12-04T18:30:00.001-07:00

This picture makes me smile:

A Small Group Christmas

2011-12-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Breakfast with Santa!

We all wore jammies!

And it snowed!

And James dressed up as Santa.

What a guy!

I love this picture:

Do you like how I torture our dog?

It's beginning to look...

2011-12-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

...a lot like Christmas.

I've been on a crafting binge the past month.

You should see my work room.

I look like a hoarder.

On second thought, you should not see it.
(Sorry, Cathy.)

I could blame lots of things...

First Christmas in our new home.

Craft Weekend.

Having a child old enough to notice.

Pinterest.

So many things I want to do.
But I'm ~~cheap~~ thrifty.

And we pay for things with cash.
And we don't have a "holiday decor" envelope...
yet. :)

Here's what I've been working on:

Hung vintage ornaments-
$1.99 for a huge bag at Goodwill

Burlap wreath-

$1 wreath from Dollar Tree + leftover burlap from stockings

Candles-

jars + stuff I had = free

Stockings-

burlap from fabric store. Maybe $10?

Tree skirt-

burlap + red IKEA fabric. Probably around $5.

Hung the pallet tree-

pallet from roadside stand + nails = free

Burlap wreath-

leftover burlap from stockings + $1 wreath

I should really go get more burlap to fill it in more.

But, I probably won't.

I'm lazy like that.

Have I bored you to death?

Sorry.

I've grounded myself from crafting until I clean up my mess.

It might be awhile.

We'll see!

TWENTY!

2011-11-28T21:37:00.001-07:00

Dear Alice,

You turned 20 months old yesterday,

and are more and more fun every single day.

You still have only 3 teeth, but the 4th should be arriving any day now.

I weighed you on the monkey scale at the zoo.

25 pounds!

You're talking like crazy!

New words everyday.

But you still sign quite a bit, too.

You're signing "time" in this photo:

You were probably telling me it was time to go outside...

one of your favorite things to do.

It seems like you turned into a big kid overnight.

The other day you played on the play structure at Chick-fil-A.

At first you couldn't get up on the first step.

But you kept trying.

You quickly conquered the step and went all the way up...

through the tunnels...

and even down the huge slide...

BY YOURSELF!

You know (expressively and receptively) most of the colors,

a handful of letters and numbers,

all of the major body parts,

animals and their sounds,

and a bunch of other stuff I can't think of right now.

You say funny things sometimes,

like "No, uh-uh, no, uh-uh."

and you call your pacifier "pappy"

and sometimes you say "ow" for "yes".

Speaking of the pappy,

enjoy it now.

It's days in our home are numbered.

And my favorite thing=when you say "hold you" when you want to be held.

I love that!

I always want to remember these little toes...

and these little chubby hands...

We adore you, sweet baby girl.

Love,

Your Mama

Tree Time!

2011-11-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

While Alice was napping, we put up the Christmas tree.

We knew she'd be SO excited to see it.

This was her first reaction:

She threw herself on the floor and non-verbally said,

"What the heck!? You guys put a TREE in our house?!?"

She quickly warmed up to the idea.

She pulled up a seat and stayed awhile.

(And now there's a photo of the terrible job I do parting my child's hair.)

It's official.

Having a toddler makes Christmas 10 times more fun.

Thanksgiving Recap and Review

2011-11-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

Even though this is Alice's second Thanksgiving,

this is the first year she really got to enjoy it.

She sat at the kid table...

and ate copious amounts of cranberry sauce from a can.

The worst part about the day was Ben was starting to get sick.

Sad.

He hung in there on Thursday, but was down for the count on Friday.

We suspected strep.

When I was a kid, I loved playing the matching game, Memory.

Comical now that I think about it.

My memory stinks...which is why I take so many pictures.

There was a tile in the game with black and red stripes.

Like this:

I called it strep throat.

This is what strep throat looks like to me.

Weird, right?

I totally forgot about that until Friday.

Ben's sister and brother-in-law stayed with us for a couple nights.

These little monkeys helped me make muffins one morning:

All in all, a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Winner, Winner, Turkey Dinner!

2011-11-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is far, far, far from a cooking blog.

Far.

But, I did two things right last Thursday:

1. Brussels sprouts

2. Sweet potatoes

I love brussels sprouts.

My in-law's not so much.

So I tricked them!

I chopped the sprouts into ribbons...

added bacon, figs, shallots, and walnuts.

A little balsamic. A splash of orange juice.

I knew it was a winner when my Father-in-law turned to me and said,

"I love this salad! What kind is it?"

He had no idea it was brussels sprouts.

Confirmation came when I forgot to bring the leftovers home with me.

They polished them off!

As for the sweet potatoes,

Ben's family never ate them with Thanksgiving.

Sacrilege, right?

Ben had a similar dish at his work potluck and loved it, so I gave it a shot.

I mostly followed this recipe.

So good.

Ben's mom, who doesn't like sweet potatoes, had seconds.

I saw her!

I'll be making both again FOR SURE.

Wednesday

2011-11-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

On today's agenda...spending time with family.

Morning movie-in-bed cuddles with Daddy.

Bath time!

Her bedhead is epic.

Visiting with my beautiful niece and her sweet parents.

Geeking out.

After Alice's nap, we went to Target.

We quickly left when our daughter had a come-apart.

On the way home, Ben suggested we go to the gym.

We checked Alice in to the childcare, which she was excited about,

and had yummy coffees while playing pool.

Best mini-date ever!

It felt a little weird to go to the gym and not workout,

but all three of us left happier than we came.

Success!

And then tonight, we hung out with our small group family.

A good day!

Tuesday

2011-11-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

Today's trip: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

She picked out this coat to wear:

Dressing for the occasion.

I like it.

Feeding the giraffes:

It was a gorgeous day!

And it felt like we had the zoo to ourselves.

And Alice was in a really great mood.

Perfection!

Monday

2011-11-21T21:51:00.001-07:00

Mission: The Children's Museum in Denver

Mission accomplished.

Verdict: Not planning to go back anytime soon.

Why: It was REALLY busy.

Begin rant:

I'm not a fan of passive parenting.

I couldn't believe how many parents were on phones, reading books, not watching their kids.

Hey Lady, your child just walked up to mine and shoved her...twice.

DO something before this mama lion takes out your child.

Love, Melissa

Alice had a blast!

It was just a little much for Ben and I. :)

Staycation Time!

2011-11-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

Is the word "staycation" annoying?

Like "jeggings"?

Anyway, Ben has the week off.

The WHOLE week!

I love you, CCB!

This afternoon we walked to Starbucks.

We're so crazy adventurous!

(Kidding. It's a whopping 1.6 miles away.)

Alice enjoyed her first ever hot chocolate.

I tried to get a picture of her chocolate goatee.

She says, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." when I put my phone in her face.

She was pretty cranky tonight...

She only wanted to cuddle, which is a-okay with me.

She's running a low-grade fever.

I'm hoping it's just that pesky 4th tooth that needs to pop through.

Please stay healthy, little one!

Thanksgiving, Part 1

2011-11-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

Every year we celebrate Thanksgiving with our small group.

It's one of my favorite nights of the year.

This year, we hosted.

And these are the only pictures I took:

Yep, pictures of the table.

Great.

As if THAT'S what I'm going to want to remember when I'm 80 years old

and thumbing through the book I will one day make from this blog.

Thankfully, Jennifer took proper pictures of the evening.

Thank you, Jennifer.

In short, it was a wonderful evening!

O Christmas Tree!

2011-11-19T15:46:00.001-07:00

I just made something and had to take a picture to share with all 5 of you.

I jumped on the pallet train.

I was going to make a sign, like this one by Lindsey Jo,

but then this happened:

I'm pretty proud of myself because:

1. I used a power saw.

2. Though I'm sure other people have made something similar,

I haven't seen it, yet.

Sometimes I forget my brain is capable of creating new (to me) things.

3. It only took about an hour.

It's bigger than the picture looks (about 3-4 ft tall),

but I won't hang it until next week.

I'm a one holiday at a time kind of girl.

Okay, that's all.

Enjoy your weekends!

Photo Booth Fun

2011-11-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

aliens:

nose twirl:

bugs:

chipmunks:

we're so crazy around here.

Thank you!

2011-11-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

I am blown away by how many sweet responses I got from this post.

(It's the "holy crap, what happened to my sweet little girl" post from earlier this week.)

Thank you,

Joy,

Amy,

and Chrissy.

Mamas I've met,

mamas I haven't...yet.

All amazing women.

I felt encouraged, supported, loved, and understood.

Thank you for reigning me back in.

Thank you for being my voice of reason.

Update: no new teeth (still just the 3) and still no illness.

I thought for SURE we'd see one of those on Wednesday.

Confession: my heart rate rises each time she has a tantrum now.

She showed us what she's capable of Tuesday night.

Thankfully, there hasn't been any even close to that degree since then.

Phew!

And since I don't typically do picture-less posts:

Even though this is me,

I'm certain Alice gets her feistiness from the Bolton side. :)

10 on 10

2011-11-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Baking

Failing

Kissing

Playing

Pretending

Learning

Lunching

Relaxing

Awaking

Goodwilling

Finding the beauty in the ordinary moments.

Seeking Advice

2011-11-08T20:13:00.001-07:00

1. I writing this hoping someone can pass on pearls of wisdom.

2. I'm writing this because it's our digital scrapbook...how I preserve memories.

Tonight was the most challenging night we've had since having Alice.

Here's how it went down:

We had a good day.

Nothing out of the norm.

5:15pm- We left the gym.

She was as happy as can be,

until I put her into her car seat.

Locked her legs, arched her back, made it VERY difficult to buckle her in.

Screamed the whole way home...approx. 5 minutes.

Screamed/cried as I tried to make dinner.

Ben comes home.

More screaming, more crying.

I strip her down, thinking maybe something is hurting her.

Seems to be somewhat consoled, but far from happy, while I'm holding her.

5:40- Time for dinner.

Locked legs, arched back, total come-apart when I tried to put her in her high chair.

Sits in my lap for awhile, and is less ferocious, but still a beast.

Our rule: She has to eat meals in her high chair...as she has for over a year now.

Food is Alice's love language, so we're surprised she's not willing to sit in her chair to have it.

I try to bribe her into her high chair with juice.

(Juice is a VERY special treat around here.)

She wants the juice, but still refuses to sit in her chair.

We continue eating our dinner,

staying calm,

pretending like her behavior isn't getting to us.

(But it did.)

Eventually, I ask her if she's ready to go to bed.

She says, yes.

We put her to bed without dinner.

(Kills me to write that, even though I KNOW my child will not starve from missing a meal.)

She quickly falls asleep.

I think the hour-long freak out exhausted her.

-----------

I poured myself a glass of wine,

a beer for Ben.

We talked about consistency,

boundaries,

expectations, etc.

I've never seen her act like she did tonight.

Is this being a toddler?

Is this normal?!?!

(Someone, please say no.)

Is this what it's like to have a little girl?

I tend to blame everything on teething,

but tonight was unlike anything we've seen.

Oh, and have I ever mentioned I have a degree in Early Childhood Education?

And an associates degree in Child Development?

Comical, right?

For me, being a teacher was a million times easier than being a parent.

Okay, pushing "publish post" now.

I'm not even going to proof read this.

Please excuse my typos.

Holy cow.
I'm exhausted.
My one child has completely exhausted me.
I'm feeling pretty awesome right now.

And thank you, in advance, for any advice!

Makes me laugh!

2011-11-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I go to the "stats" tab to see what keywords people type in that lead to our blog.

It's almost always entertaining.

This is today's list:

"ability to push out my stomach" has to be my favorite.

I'm sure it lead to this post.

A to Z

2011-11-05T15:02:00.000-06:00

Because my household is napping and I'm drinking coffee, enjoying the silence...A. Age: Thirty-twoB. Best Friend: BenC. Chore That You Hate: Putting away the laundry. Can't stand it.D. Dogs: JackE. Essential Start To Your Day: CoffeeF. Favorite Color: I'm liking teal and red these days.G. Gold or Silver: Always reminds me of, "Silver and gold, silver and gold..."H. Height: 5'2.5"I. Instruments You Play: NadaJ. Job Title: Mama to Alice, Wife to Ben, Babysitter to Ella, Printing Press to Ben's DadK. Kids: One, AliceL. Live: Colorado, God's favorite stateM. Mother's Name: JeanneN. Nicknames: Mo, and sometimes MelO. Overnight Hospital Stays: Not since I was a baby. Wait! I stayed overnight with Carey when she had Abby. Does that count?P. Pet Peeve: Misuse of you're/your, lose/loose, there/their/they're, etc.Q. Quote From A Movie: "Greater good? I am your wife! I'm the greatest good you're ever gonna get."R. Right or Left Handed: RightS. Siblings: Chrissy, Cassie, Will, Gigi, and Grace. By marriage, Jonathan, Jennifer, Emily, and Caleb.T. Time You Wake Up: 7 am. I am NOT looking forward to the time change tonight.U. Ultimate Vacation: Touring Europe for several months with an unlimited cash flow.V. Vegetable You Hate: BeetsW. What Makes You Run Late: Alice's sleep. I'm still in the "NEVER wake a sleeping baby" camp.X. X-Rays You've Had: Only dental x-rays, that I can recall. Y. Yummy Food You Make: Pancakes, thanks to allrecipes.com.Z. Zoo Animal: Giraffes...nasty long tongues and all.
And because I can't post without a picture...

Goodwill

2011-11-05T13:06:00.000-06:00

I'm super excited about this morning's Goodwill trip!

1. Incredibly awesome tiny green desk, $14.99

2. Minnetonka moccasins for Alice, $1.99

3. Huge bag of magnet letters, $1.99

Goodwill makes me happy.

Don't Forget

2011-11-03T22:10:00.000-06:00

Things from this week I want to remember:

1. Carving a pumpkin to match Alice's shirt

2. Finding Jack like this:

3. Feeding her bear

4. Wearing "overalls"

5. Cutting her 3rd tooth=wanting to be held ALL of the time

I'm so thankful for my phone.

As silly as it may sound, it has captured countless memories.

Worth every single penny.

(Now I'm thinking about how annoying it would be to walk into the Apple store

and pay for an iPhone with pennies.)

Another Pinterest Challenge

2011-11-02T08:07:00.001-06:00

The girls over at Bower Power and Young House Love

are hosting another challenge.

Here is the summer edition.

I need things like this to get me moving again.

I'm a challenge girl.

A list girl.

A deadline girl.

In other words, I'm not very self-motivated. :)

Here are some projects I've been working on around here...

1. I saw this on Pinterest:

$300!

What!?

Burlap is CHEAP, people!

Anyway, I covered an old lampshade:

Note to self: do something with that garage sale end table.

2. I've seen many pins on making fabric roller shades.

So I gave it a shot:

Do you see the snow?

We're having a "blizzard".

Annoying.

3. I also love all the cute jewelry organizers I see.

I've been using a thread holder for jewelry for a couple years now.

It works great!

But, as we all know from Pinterest,

most things can be made cuter with spray paint.

Before:

After:

Ta-da!
That's all for now.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T07:35:00.000-06:00

I'll just tell you.

The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. :)

A change

2011-10-30T13:59:00.000-06:00

We just switched our blog from www.theboltons.me

www.theboltons.com

Fancy, right?

So, please update your bookmark/Google Reader feed/etc,

if you'd like to keep reading.

Fanks!

PS- We have a ghost in our house.

Spooky-ooky.

A White Chalkboard, part 2

2011-10-30T13:05:00.000-06:00

Here's "A White Chalkboard" part 1, in case you want to know what I'm talking about.

We LOVE having our family calendar posted in the kitchen.

Ben and I both have calendars on our phones, but this is the one we reference daily.

After 4 months, I have finally perfected the system.

So here were the problems with the original:

1. The black bistro marker erases, but it's a pain.

I had to scrub.

I ended up repainting the white several times just to make it white-white again.

2. I was redrawing the grid each month.

It HAD to be perfect or it'd make me crazy.

So, here's the system that works for us now:

1. I used a Sharpie and drew the grid directly on the pantry doors.

2. I cover it with Contact Paper.

3. Then, I can write with Sharpie or the Bistro pen...depending if it's something that may need to be erased.

End of the month:

Goodbye, October!

Hello, November!

Now, I'm off to fill it in...my favorite part!

19 months old

2011-10-27T22:01:00.001-06:00

Dear Alice,
I went a little overboard with the picture-taking this afternoon.
Therefore, I'll go easy on the words.
Life with you is more fun than we ever could imagine.

Pouring "tea" for your bear:

It was a nice tea party.

You offered some to Jack.

Whoops.

The eyes, they kill me.

2 thumbs up on the outfit choice today.

I questioned the ladybug rain boots,

but I think they really worked well.

My view.

I'm going to miss this.

Accessorizing Jack:

He is so patient with you.

Jack: "Save me."

We read approximately one million books a day.

Making faces in the mirror, a favorite past time.

You are:
funny,
sweet,
beautiful,
kind,
feisty,
determined,
smart,
precious.

Love,
Mama

2 little videos

2011-10-23T21:20:00.001-06:00

1. Alice said her first 3-word sentence today.

I thought it was cute.

(Of course I did. I'm the mom.)

(She's saying, "Up please, Mama.")

2. We went to the park this morning to play with Alice's cousins.

She'd climb up on the big kid structure and slide down.

I can't get over how non-baby she looks.

And, I love the very end when her cousin helps her.

So sweet.

Family Photos!

2011-10-22T08:07:00.002-06:00

Nathalie Windsor came over last week to take family photos.
We wanted them taken at our house.
Our trees, our front porch, our couch, etc.
We want to look back and see our home in the background.
Mission accomplished!

This one is one of our favorites:

Alice was in the throws of teething that day.
Just what you want for picture day, right?

Blowing bubbles:

Nathalie is running a special mini-session deal...
$50 for a 30 minute session and a disk of 20 edited images.
Here's the kicker: you have to book by today!
Go to her Facebook page, for more info.

Thank you, Nathalie!

PS- I didn't post our favorite picture.
It'll be on our Christmas card. :)

3 Pinterest Recipes

2011-10-20T14:06:00.000-06:00

1. I saw this recipe on Pinterest:
(No Sugar Oat Drops)

I made these:

Verdict: They're good!
Best right out of the oven.
A good "cookie" for Alice.

2. Because I love all things pumpkin, I wanted to make this:

(Pumpkin Spice Syrup)

So I did!

Verdict: Awesome.
I'll be making more this afternoon.

3. Continuing with my love of pumpkin,
I saw this recipe for Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins.

Here's mine:

Verdict: They're good!
Alice is going to love it.

A quick rant:
If you search for "pumpkin muffins" on Pinterest,
you know what you'll find?
A recipe where you mix a box of cake mix with a can of pumpkin.
That's not a muffin.
That's a cupcake.
The end.

Ben is famous.

2011-10-19T15:23:00.000-06:00

Alice is convinced Ben is in her teapot book on this page.
Can you spot him?

She gets so excited when she sees him...

points and says/signs "Daddy!!"

Yep.
She thinks the guy with the creeper mustache is her father.
I think it's hysterical.

Front Porch

2011-10-19T15:12:00.000-06:00

I've done some work to our front porch.

Here's an unofficial "before" picture.

What I hated: all the brass.
Dated brass light, doorbell,
storm door handles and kick plate,
and front door knobs and kick plate.

Here's the "after":

Painted the bench red,
spray painted all the brass on the doors,
installed new light,
and a humongo pot of mums from Costco.

Much better!

Sad, then Happy

2011-10-17T08:16:00.000-06:00

Saturday night was a sad night.

A hammer fell on my beautiful little computer.

Cracked the screen.

Total freak accident.

I cried.

After many Google searches,

I was extra sad.

The going rate to have the screen replaced is $700-$800.

What?!

Are you kidding me!?!

The left side was still usable,

so I was planning to not fix it.

I scheduled an appointment with the Genius Bar anyway.

I wanted to hear it from them.

I told George the story...

hammer fell on my computer.

He said he was going to do what he could to make it okay.

After a couple minutes, he put a box on the counter.

A new MacBook Air.

He said I could have it.

I was confused.

Ben was confused.

Alice was eating graham crackers.

Though I was within my one-year warranty,

I'm well aware that it doesn't cover accidental damage.

And then I may have cried.

So I left the store with a brand new computer.

It's even better than the one I had.

I'm still shocked.

This definitely goes down as the best For Free experience I've had thus far.

Thank you, Jesus, Apple, and George!

*I know FOR SURE this was an unusual experience.

So, don't go breaking your screen thinking they'll give you a new computer.

10 on 10, 10/10

2011-10-10T19:03:00.000-06:00

Today was a rough day.
I can't quite pinpoint why, but it was.
But, you wouldn't know it by looking at these pictures.
I guess this is what "finding the beauty in ordinary moments" is all about.
Here we go, Hipstamatic style!

First things first:

"My mom is hysterical!"

Added a new print:

Alice making Ella be a tiny witch:

I'm a Little Teapot, for the millionth time:

Naps= Quick! Clean something!

A little more organized:

Enjoying the outdoors with a sweet little fussy girl:

Check!

Playtime!

Dinner!

(She says chili makes her skin smooth.)

Daddy time!

Yes, my child stayed in her jammies all day.
It's my way of lessening my carbon footprint.
Less laundry, less water used, right?
Truth: Didn't leave the house, so I didn't get her dressed.
More truth: I'm glad this day is over!

Moriah, Noah, and Millie

2011-10-09T06:58:00.001-06:00

I can't sleep.

My heart is heavy.

I have 3 friends with 3 little girls who need prayer.

This is Millie (and her parents):

As I type this, Millie is in surgery.

She's getting a new liver.

You can read more about her story here.

This is Noah (and her parents):

Noah has had several heart surgeries already,

and will have another on Wednesday.

You can read more here.

Last, but not least, this is Moriah (and her family):

Moriah has spend a LOT of time in hospitals.

Far more than a three-year-old ever should.

She was born with a heart defect and CHARGE syndrome.

She's currently back in with an infection.

You can read about her story here.

I'm begging you to join me in prayer for these little girls.

Pray for the doctors, surgeons, and nurses.

Pray for healing.

Pray for their parents, who are all super awesome people, by the way.

This is more than any parent should have to go through.

Though I don't understand it,

I trust in the Creator who does.

Fall and Snow

2011-10-08T21:03:00.000-06:00

Driving into the mountains to see the aspens
is a very popular fall activity around here.
We aren't that dedicated.
However, I WILL go in our yard to see the leaves. :)

Tree across the street:

(it's my favorite)

Every time I see a picture of our house, I see a face.
Do you see it?
He's looking to the left.
Here.
I'll show you.

Anyway, onto the "snow" portion of the title.
It snowed.

My favorite tree this morning:

(They probably think I'm really weird.)

Going out and playing in it would've required getting dressed.

I brought some inside for her instead.

The sun came out this afternoon and dried up all the snow.
(Now singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider in my head.)

I love living in Colorado.

For Free

2011-10-06T20:03:00.000-06:00

I used to get good stuff for free all the time.

It's kind of weird,

but I like it.

Here's what I got for free today:

1. A pizza from Dominos.

2. New Nikes

3. Free Starbucks drink

It was a good free day.

Windows

2011-10-06T14:00:00.002-06:00

I've written about exciting house repairs,
like cabinets and counters.
Why stop there?
Let's talk about windows!

Old wood windows:

Wait!

Let me hang the curtains back up.

I love our new windows as much as a girl could possibly love new windows.
LOVE.

In case anyone is in the market, we went with Window World.
I figured if Dave Ramsey endorses them, they must be legit.
They were great!

Play dough

2011-10-06T13:31:00.000-06:00

I bought this at Target yesterday:

I told Alice, "We are never coming to this store again!"

Went in for 2 things, left with 8.

I love how her little tongue sticks out when she's concentrating.

"Smile!"

We'll have to work on the forced smile.

I tried to get her to say, "cheese!"

She signed "cheese" instead.

The downfall of teaching your kid to sign, I guess.

Oh, and I finally got a picture of her little tooth!

She's now cutting #2.

From the iPhone...

2011-10-05T12:18:00.000-06:00

Alice has discovered dandelions.

There should be a LOT more growing in our yard next year.

Sorry, Ben!

She also has a mini obsession with stars.

Sandwiches, cucumbers, and cheese taste better when star-shaped.

I mean, look how happy it makes her:

Ridiculous billboard.

A thousand tiny words.

What a waste of advertising money.

Fail.

I raked a pile of leaves yesterday.

Alice loved it!

Thankfully, I left it in the front yard, so we can play in it again.

(Has nothing to do with the fact I hate bagging leaves. Promise.)

Honeycrisp apples.

Best apples in the world.

You can try to disagree, but you'll be wrong.

That's all.

You feel enlightened now, don't you?
Challenged?

Encouraged?

No?
None of these things?

Yeah, that's the kind of blogger I am. :)

Craft Night!

2011-10-03T08:45:00.000-06:00

Some friends came over Friday night.
We crafted up a storm.

I made these cookies, but used dark chocolate and added pretzels.
They were awesome.

I made the bunting Meg made as seen here.

(I need to find a home for it. It's not staying there.)

Then I altered some boys shirts I found to make them a little girly for Alice.

A lace skirt for the robot:

Some lace and ric-rac for the stripes:

Lastly, I made a super hero cape for 1-year-old's birthday.

It was a super fun night.
It was surprising how much we all accomplished.
I'll be doing that again, for sure!

Linking up with Crystal!

day twenty-nine

2011-10-01T20:37:00.000-06:00

Black and white:

My child's hair= out of control.

I'm calling the 30 Day Photo Challenge complete.
I skipped days 21 and 30.
I'm sick of self-portraits.

That was fun!
You should do it, if you haven't already!

day twenty-eight

2011-09-28T19:28:00.001-06:00

Flowers:

Flowers in my living room:
tray, Holly Hobby, print, diaper bag
blanket, my shirt, mantle, bag

day twenty-seven

2011-09-28T19:21:00.001-06:00

From a distance:
(cue Bette Midler)

Okay, so it's not a great picture.
I know.
But this is the view from Ben's work.
I think that's awesome.

18 months old!

2011-09-27T20:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Alice,

Happy Half Birthday!

1 1/2!

Disclaimer: Neither one of us were into taking pictures today.
Therefore, let the blurry-fest begin!

(you're growing!)

This biggest news from this past month is...
YOU HAVE A TOOTH!

It's still pretty tiny, but it's getting bigger.

I'm sure more are on their way,
but for now, there's just one.

(being chased by daddy)

You enjoy:

Coloring

Stuffed animals

Being outside

Reading books

Eating

Drinking from a "big girl" cup

Collecting wood chips (see below)

You do not enjoy:

Teething

Diaper changes

Boundaries

(typical evening scene- playing with "the fun one", jack photo bombing)

You're doing so many big kid things these days:
You want to eat catsup as a side dish, rather than a condiment.
You love staring at your reflection (see below)...fireplace, oven, sliding door, any of those will do.

You throw yourself onto the floor when upset.
You say "thank you" when given something.
You're becoming particular about what clothes you want to wear.
You walk into the MOPS nursery like you own the place.
You're slightly obsessed with shoes.
You carry bags on your shoulder, like Mama.
You love harassing Jack. You try to sit on him all the time.
You squeal with delight when you see your friends.

You are such an awesome little kid.

I love you so much it makes my heart hurt.

Love, Mama

P.S.- Who still needs bigger shirts?

(i'm sorry i chopped off your hand. i didn't mean to.)

day twenty-six

2011-09-26T12:41:00.000-06:00

Close-up:

Pumpkin muffins!

day twenty-five

2011-09-26T12:38:00.000-06:00

Something pink:

Thing Waldo

2011-09-26T08:39:00.000-06:00

Thing 1

+ Waldo

=

Thing Waldo

Feeding the Dog

2011-09-25T20:48:00.000-06:00

Alice got a stuffed dog at a little harvest festival yesterday.
He came with the name, Skoots.

This was breakfast this morning:

Feeding Skoots.

Reloading.

Stabbing his nose.

Poor Skoots.

Maybe if she fed Jack with a fork he's stop begging?
Doubt it.

day twenty-four

2011-09-25T20:34:00.000-06:00

Animal:

Looks like an animal massacre around here.
I think the hippo did it.

day twenty-three

2011-09-25T19:31:00.000-06:00

Sunflare:

day twenty-two

2011-09-24T19:25:00.000-06:00

(skipping around a bit)

Hands:

day twenty

2011-09-24T18:55:00.003-06:00

Bokeh:

A video

2011-09-21T21:50:00.001-06:00

Another reason why we do not need a dog:

Jack can't even do that.

day nineteen

2011-09-20T14:54:00.000-06:00

Something orange:

day eighteen

2011-09-20T14:50:00.001-06:00

Shoes:

day seventeen

2011-09-20T14:48:00.001-06:00

I'm stuck on day sixteen: Long Exposure.
I can't get it right.
Shutter stays open too long=white photos.
Not long enough: the effect isn't there.
Any of you photo peeps have tips?
Kate? Laura? Meg?

Anyway, I'm moving on.

Technology:

This is the tech basket that sits on our fridge.
Cords, chargers, camera accessories, all in one place.

day sixteen

2011-09-19T19:18:00.000-06:00

Long exposure:

Do you see the blur of a toddler?

day fifteen

2011-09-18T08:18:00.000-06:00

Silhouette:
(I'm pretty proud of myself for spelling silhouette correct on the first try.)

She's been sporting a lot of bare-midriffs these days.
Time to move up to the 18-month clothes!

day fourteen

2011-09-17T12:17:00.000-06:00

Eyes:

I couldn't decide which one I liked best,
so I did all three. :)

You look like Boulder (day thirteen)

2011-09-16T14:09:00.001-06:00

That's what I was told this morning.

"You look like Boulder."

The conversation was about how we make general statements to try to explain our behavior.

One of mine is that I lived in Boulder.

Example:

(In the grocery store)

Alice happily eating sheets of Nori.

Woman: "What is your baby eating!?"

Me: "Seaweed."

(Saying "nori" would've been more confusing.)

Woman gives concerned look.

Me: "I lived in Boulder."

Woman: "Ohhhh."

End scene.

See?

So easy, so effective.

Other commonly used blanket statements given to excuse behavior:

I have a newborn.

I was home schooled.

I'm an only child.

I'm a type-A.

Anyway, that was a tangent.

So, do you want to see what Boulder, CO looks like?

There you go.

I don't think I look particularly Bouldery at all.

Oh well.

I'm going to go ahead and count this as my

day 13, yourself with 13 things photo.

1 dress (purchased 4 years ago in Boulder)

2 boots (from Target...in Boulder)

2 earrings (made by a 4-year-old's mom in Boulder)
=13

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater.

I know.

day twelve

2011-09-14T22:26:00.000-06:00

{Brace yourself for the lameness you're about to see.}

Sunset:

Yeah, that's not sunset.

That's sunrise.

I just wanted a picture of fall attacking that tree.

I love it.

I love this, too:

She was accessorizing with my camera cord.

And before you're all like, "Your kid has a cord around her neck, you terrible mother!",

I know she does.

I know the dangers of toddlers playing with cords.

I was watching her.

The other thing I love about this picture is that she has no idea who Big Bird is.

I'd be thrilled if she never knows who Elmo is, too.

I hate that guy.

She needs a Shaun the Sheep onesie.

Can you tell it's late and I'm tired?

day eleven

2011-09-13T19:36:00.000-06:00

Oh man.
I'm falling behind on this.

Something blue:

Craft Weekend, The Swag

2011-09-12T13:30:00.001-06:00

Meg linked up some of the sponsors of Craft Weekend in this post.

You should check it out.

The s.w.a.g. (stuff we all get) was amazing.

Every morning was like Christmas.

Here's the loot I came home with:

(click on the picture to go see where it came from)

Not all of it is from official Craft Weekend sponsors.

Crafty people are just so stinkin' generous.

(Not officially swag. I won that bag!)

Alice, thinking, "where's MY swag!?"

She got a vintage Fisher Price camera. :)

Nap time is almost over.

I can't wait to get more snuggles.

I missed her like crazy.

PS- Just in case any of the 10's of you are wondering,

no one asked me to give a shout-out to anyone.

I'm just still in shock about how much stuff I came home with.

Again, crafty people are incredibly generous.

PPS- I know the formatting on the 5th row of pictures is off.

I tried to fix it.

Spent a long time on it.

I just have to let it go.

I hope you can, too.

PPPS- I hope the picture links work.

If not, I'll fix them later.

Craft Weekend, Day 3

2011-09-12T11:32:00.000-06:00

I stayed up way, way, way too late the night before.

Coffee is a must.

Lots of coffee.

All of our beautiful aprons chickity-chillin' together:

And then my camera freaked out.

Thankfully, there were lots of other cameras there.

This one is from Kimberlee:

L to R:
Susan, Angela, Me (That's my "crazy" pose. I'm so not cool.),
Amy, Blythe, Ashley, Kimberlee, Meg, Lisa, Crystal, Kate, Cyndi, Keri, and Amy.

Stuff I made:

(2 necklaces, hair pretties for Alice, pillowcase, camera strap, and an apron)

I'm working on one last Craft Weekend post=

the swag.

It's unbelievable.

Craft Weekend, Day 2

2011-09-11T08:02:00.000-06:00

Antique store finds:

day ten

2011-09-10T23:03:00.001-06:00

Childhood memory:

Craft Weekend, Day 1

2011-09-10T15:19:00.003-06:00