Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Caught Without

The Bean has had a runny nose for nearly three weeks now.  No other symptoms, just a runny nose.  This has resulted in lots of nose wiping, followed by tears and dirty Kleenex. (No, not just any facial tissues, Kleenex.  We are bred to be brand loyal in this family.)  Actually, at this point, I am just letting the dried boogers be.  You've got to pick your battles, right?

Sometimes this new mom is without Kleenex.  On one such occasion I turned to Grandma for a Kleenex.  But, she happens to be a new Grandma and sometimes she is caught without Kleenex as well.   And then we started to talk about my Gram and her Kleenex.  She was never without one.  They were in her purse, tucked under her sleeve, always ready to wipe a little nose.  More often than not they were damp and ragged from overuse.  Kind of gross, I know.

The funny thing is I haven't thought about Gram's Kleenex for years, probably since the last time I tried to wiggle away as she wiped my nose.  But there my mom and I were, sitting in the car at a red light, discussing Gram's use, or over use, of tissues.  We love her and we miss her.  I wish more than anything that she was here to hold the Bean, giver her kisses, and pull through with her wet Kleenex.  I am grateful though, that something as simple as not having a tissue can spark a memory, and when Willa is old enough I'll be able to tell her all about her Great Gram.  Ah, the little things.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Game Face

This is the Bean's game face.  No wonder Brett threw so many interceptions last night.  I mean come on, she is pretty intimidating.

 

She also proudly sported her new Aaron Rodgers jersey that Daddy picked up for her at the Packer Pro Shop while in Green Bay last week.



Go Pack, Go!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Three things I didn't care for before becoming a mother, but now love:

1.  Coffee- I consider myself a morning person, but I still need a little something to help me shake of the haters when waking up earlier than I'd like.  That used to be a shower back in my working days, but now I have to squeeze those in during nap time, so coffee it is.


2.  Talking on the phone- Don't get me wrong, I love catching up with family and friends, but I've never been a big phone talker.  Now the phone is like my life line to the outside world.  A short chat with a good friend can really make my day. :)

3.  Exercise- Okay, so I still don't love exercise, but I do enjoy the 'alone' time and doing a little something for myself.  Plus, the Bean enjoys playing with other kids at the Y childcare so it is a win-win situation.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Leaf Clip

I love how easy it is to get the Bean ready for the day.  Throw on an outfit, put a bow in her hair, clean the food off of her face from breakfast, and tah-dah, all set.  On occasion I get her dressed and realize I don't have a matching hair accessory.  gasp!  Here is one I whipped up to go with her cute corduroy dress.

My pattern.  I cut out two pieces from brown felt and stitched the veins on using white thread.

 The plain leaf is for the bottom.

 I cut a slit in the plain leaf and slipped the clip through.

 Next, I placed the top leaf over the bottom leaf and the top of the clip.  Then I stitched them together using the same white thread.

Last but not least, I covered the visible part of the clip with ribbon.



 And here I am trying to get a picture of her modeling it.  Never mind the fact that I'm on the wrong side and she moves to fast for me to get a clear picture.  :)  It's cute, trust me.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Take Two

Mr. T's birthday was Sunday.  The big Three-Oh.  Although its a big birthday it kind of turned out to be a typical Sunday, with the exception of the pecan pie, ice cream, and the worst rendition of the Happy Birthday song the Lewis family has ever produced.

So, in an attempt to make the day (after) a little more special, Willa and I threw Mike a surprise party last night.  No, don't worry, your invitation wasn't lost in the mail.  We decided to keep it small.


What kind of birthday party would it be without birthday hats?  A boring one for sure, so we made our own.





On the menu: Meat pies.  In the 12 years I've known Mike he's told me, many times, about how much he loved the meat pies he ate in Australia when he was a wee little lad.  The wonder of Google lead me straight to an 'Australian Meat Pie' recipe and it turned out to be the guest of honor's favorite part of the party.  Woo Hoo!  


The party was a success!  The birthday boy even declared it to be the best birthday ever.  Lucky for us, he is pretty easy to please!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Outtakes

The Bean recently learned to give kisses, although more often than not they are more like licks or slobbers. Either way, as her mother I find them to be super cute, so I tried to capture one on camera yesterday.  Of course she was more interested in the blinking lights and beeping noises coming from the self timer than giving me kisses, but we almost had it at the end!  Here are the outtakes:


Forget you Momma.  I want that camera!






I am holding her hands so she can stand in this one,
NOT grabbing her shoulders.  he,he.



Thursday, October 14, 2010

Easy Peasy

Apparently I was being a bit dramatic in thinking it would take two weeks to clean my room.  I was able to get it done during three nap times, two short and one long.  I even had a few minutes to work on a project before the bean woke up from that long nap!  



As you can see, this room is nothing fancy, but it is a great space to work and store all of my supplies.  Cozying it up a bit is on our 'things to do in the house this winter' list.


 I would still like to label the drawers and fabric bins.  I'm not thrilled that they're not all matchy matchy, but you work with what you've got, right?  I was just happy to have enough bins for everything!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Zumba!

Its no secret that I don't love working out and I've always had a hard time sticking with it, unless training for some sort of event.  However, working out has taken on a whole new meaning since becoming a mom...alone time and doing something for myself!  Since we joined the Y a few weeks ago I've been trying out some of their classes.  Last night it was Zumba.

image found here

Have you ever tried Zumba?  I would describe it as an aerobics class disguised as a dance class.  Or maybe its the other way around.  Either way, its so fun!  I actually had to keep myself from smiling a big cheesy grin the entire time because I wasn't sure if that was appropriate.  Sometimes I slipped when the teacher would shout out things like "wa-hoo" in the middle of the song.  And how could I not smile at the 40-something lady that tied on her jingle bell sarong just before class started?  She jingled the whole time like she was a belly dancer!  It was great!  A little silly, but great.

So, every Tuesday I plan to be at Zumba, where I can travel back in time to my teen years and feel like I'm dancing around my bedroom.  Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Public Declaration

This is my craft room, work space, what-have-you.  As you can see, it is a total mess.  No surprise there, really.  The problem is that I often start projects without finishing them and leave the pieces out all over the place for when I'm ready to work again.  Okay, if I'm being really honest, even if I finish a project I usually leave my materials out all over the place.

Well, I've run out of room to work so I need to do two things.  First, clean up this mess and make use of all of the storage room I have.  Second, start finishing some projects!  My goal is to have my room all cleaned up and organized in two weeks.  Hopefully I'll finish earlier, but I'm trying to be realistic here.  Once I get my space clean I'll tackle my unfinished projects.

Wish me luck!

Monday, October 11, 2010

To Cut or Not to Cut?

That is the question.

How annoying would it be to have your bangs in your face like this?  

But how cute is that pony?

Thursday, October 7, 2010


Happy Birthday, Grandma!  We Love You!

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...."

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

We Have a Tooth!

The Bean has been more cranky and clingy than usual the past few days, which hasn't been much fun, to say the least.  We thought the stuffy nose was the culprit, but it looks like this pesky little tooth poking through has been playing a part in making the bean miserable.

This afternoon I ran my finger across her bottom gums and to my surprise a tiny little tooth scratched me!  The Bean still seems to be a bit uncomfortable, but is getting back to her playful, spunky, sweet self.  Yahoo!
Sucking my lip cause my gums hurt!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Apple Orchard



Saturday we made our first family trip to the apple orchard.  We (and by we I mean Mike) picked some delicious honeycrisps, found a few little pumpkins, and were sucked in by the yummy treats they sell in the barn.  All in all, a successful outing.


Good thing we have a tall picker in the family!


Picking out the perfect pumpkin



Monday, October 4, 2010

New Shoes

New shoes...




New season...



New things to explore!





Friday, October 1, 2010

The Evolution of a Frame

Last Tuesday the Bean and I made our first trip to the thrift store to find treasures that needed a new home and a little love.  We came home with two votive holders that will benefit from a fresh coat of paint, and this frame.

Check out the lighter part of the frame.  It is actually fabric.  The rest of the frame needed a little help and I had a vision for how I was going to help it.


I started by taking the frame apart to protect the fabric from getting paint on it.  Next I sprayed the outer frame with an aged copper paint. 

Hmmm...not what I had envisioned.  So, back to the spray paint aisle I went.  This time I emerged with a dark brown.  Not what I had envisioned either, especially now that my vision was starting to change.  I lay in bed that night, frustrated and not sure what to do next, when I realized I was going to have to sand it and start all over.  Ugh.  The next morning I decided to give it one last go with paint before I started the tedious process of sanding off the previous 6 layers of paint.  What's one more layer of paint, right?  

This time I got out the craft paints, browns and creams, and started going to town.  A little dry brushing here, a little glazing there, and tah-dah!  

 

It looks a lot like the fence, right?  Please say yes, because in the end that is the look I was going for.   

I decided to leave the center part of the frame out and turn it into another frame.  Another project for another day.  For now I need to figure out how I'm going to use this one.