No More Monkeys

Lars is into jumping. He loves to jump off the couch, on the couch, on the bed, off the bed, on a pillow, let me count they ways! What is the best however is that as he jups he says, "No more monkeys jumping on bed!" He also points his finger and shakes it at me as he jumps. I know this is great fun for him but I get so worried it will be a trip to the ER. That is the last thing I want to do!

Spiders Beware!

My daughter is 3 1/2 and sleeps in my room. It's not like we wanted it to happen- it just kinda did. She had not been allowed in the bed for some time and she sleeps on the floor next to my side of the bed or as she calls it , "Down Low". Every night se begins in her bed but in the middle of the night she ends up in our room, "Down Low".

Well late last night, she suddenly was up in our bed crying and completely freaked by a large spider under our bed, right by her, that was making some noise. Now I am pretty certain there was no large spider under my bed but her body was shaking and crying so hard that we did not quite know what to do. She refused to lay back down on the floor and insisted on sleeping in our bed- which my husband and I agreed it not an option. So her only other choice was her room. It took much coaxing and helping but she finally fell asleep and spend the whole (gasp) night in her room. It has been 2 nights now and she will not even enter our room.

Now if I had known all I needed to get her to sleep in her bed was a spider, I would have done this a long time ago. It is such a crazy thing however since I pride myself in being nice to spiders and I model it for my kids every chance I get. I carry spiders outside. I show and name all the spiders I find in my garden. Lots of good it did because right now she has a full blown arachniphobia!

My Valentine's Bouquet

It is raining, soon to turn to ice. This snow business is getting to me. So I needed a pretty picture. These are some carnations leftover from valentine's day. It took me 5 shots to get one I was happy with. When will I figure out this digital camera? I love natural lighting but the camera does not automatically adjust when I have uneven backgrounds. I wish I still had my Pentax, but I love the immediate gratification of my digital. I also think I have the watermark thing figured out. But is it too annoying or is it worth the work?? I am very undecided at this point.

Ella's room

I snuck into my daughter's room and this is what I saw. I was informed the dolls were napping and I needed to be very quiet. Okay. Let imagination reign.

Birthday Invite Obsession

I love invitations. I obsess over invitations. I love stationery stores where they sell custom cards and invites. I cruise the internet looking for cute ideas - but I almost always end of making my own. They are so much more individual and I guess I love the whole creation of each invite too! I think it is accurate to say I spend more time obsessing over the actual invite, than I do about the details of the party. Although the cake has become another slight obsession, but I do not enter that realm until the invite are sent out.

Now I am not against the idea of a theme party- princess, pirate etc... But my kids are so young that I try to stay away from much else than a few friends. Characters are also out in my book. I do not want to take them anywhere until I think they are old enough to have an actual outing with a friend, possibly 5 or 6. It weird but in my head I have a lot of "rules" for birthday parties for my kids. I never, NEVER, had a "friend" birthday party. My birthday is 3 days after Christmas- so I always celebrated with family. I guess that is part of why I insist on keeping things low key and small.

This year, Lars is having a "Messy Party" . My choice -because he is just a messy kid. I think he will have fun making playdough and painting and anything else messy I can think of. He loves mixing and as you have seen - pouring. Last year he loved balls, so he had a "Bouncy Party". We filled the basement full of balls and a Jumpolene where kids could bounce. Perfect for the 1-3 year olds we had attend.



My daughter on the other hand has been totally different. Age one for her was a family party, "Cupcake", where we announced we were pregnant again. I loved this invitation becasue it swung open adn had velum which added a nice dimensional layer to the cupcake. I just could not find anything I loved like this so I made it! (Actually I think I made 25!)

Age two, we had an outdoor swimming party in the back yard with 4 neighbors. At age three, she loved pink, so a "Pink Party" it was. I did not stress to much on making too difficult of an invitation as I just thought a cute poem on a pretty card will be sufficient- and it was! She understands now that the party should be for her friends and things they will like to do as well as a reflection of her likes.

Cape Creations

I have been intending to get some capes sewn for my kids and one for Ella's school. This was to be a gift. I have pictured it in my head for about 3 months now. I am still learning and practicing applique- but I am pretty pleased with how it turned out overall! I really wanted the logo to show on both sides and I did not know if I would be able to get it to turn out- but it is clearly her school logo and her teacher was so tickled. Now only to keep the 3 and 4 year olds from fighting over it. I wish her luck! Now I only have 4 more to go...

I Pouring Mommy

I will try to capture a moment everyday. This is mine for today. Lars is into pouring. He stood at the sink and poured for 5 minutes. He poured from one cup into another, then over and over. He smiles at me and announces, "I pouring mommy." Only 2 weeks til he is two. How did this happen so fast?

Snow Day Cookies

It was one of my MANY snow days this year so far. This year is only one inch behind the most snow of all time for Iowa City! Since we could not go anywhere, we decided to make cookies. We carefully washed our hands then put on aprons from Amy & Brian for Christmas and set out mixing and rolling our cookies.

It really was just a moment- but it was a moment- where they worked side by side decorating their cookies. It did not really matter how they tasted. It was the fun of making them and showing daddy when he came home.

Here is a happy Lars with cookie crumbs and frosting all around the edges. His dimples still melt my heart every time I see them!!

Kids for Obama

Could the children be used for anything more gratuitous than a photo op for the next president of the US? I love the fact that my children yell "Obama" at the top of thier lungs when they see him. They also know Hillary and Bill- but Ella thinks Bill might be President. I hope all of these kiddos are as interested in politics as their parents. We will be so proud if they are.

The Snow- by Ella

One of the teachers at my school fell on the ice and bitted her lips. I like snow. It has germs and ice. My nana is too cold and sick from the snow.

The End

Better Than Me

A goal is to enjoy what I do and what we have. I am particularly blessed to have such good friends who help out and are there when we need it. It also helps that Ella loves Nora and her girls Alice and Greta. Today was a late start school day so she helped out and even braided Ella's hair! So cute.

New Year ?

Okay- so I know it really isn' t "the new year", but I have wanted to begin an electronic post to keep track of my life. More importantly the lives of the changing children in my home- Lars and Ella. Lars will be 2 in less than a month and Ella is 3 1/2 but wants to be big in so many ways.

Lars is growing up so much faster than his sister did. this morning I was greeted with, "Mommy. My lamb fell on floor." which sure enough it had- l athough I have my suspicions that it was thrown.

Ella relayed to me that she would like a pet, a mermaid -of course. She said she would keep it in her room in a tank. But she was unsure where I could get one. Ella also declared Candyland the best game ever today! Who knew how much fun a 3.99 game could be!