Very Mary

Listography: Ten Things I Love About My Daughter

1. She is so gentle with her brother that it makes me want to cry.

2. She listens to EVERYthing and will randomly ask me about a conversation we had weeks and weeks previous.

3. She can use words like "actually" and "responsibility" in context, and yet, she still sucks her thumb.

4. She often has imaginary friends over to play. They all have interesting names that she creates.

5. She prefers to pick out her own clothes, and her fashion sense gravitates towards comfy pants and anything pink. 

6. She is naturally kind. And she is concerned about other people's feelings. 

7. She's in the habit of randomly saying, "I love my family."

8. She gives me what she calls "the Mommy squeeze." (She made up the style of hug and its name.)

9. She always wants to hold my hand. 

10. She can be outrageous and loud and SO funny. 

11. (I just can't stop!) She smiles, she smiles, she smiles, and that dimple just kills me.

How I love her. 

Works of Art

One day she was just scribbling away at unrecognizable works of art, and the next, she is suddenly drawing people!

Mommy, Sadie, and Daddy. (Caleb is not featured because, apparently, the artist ran out of room.)

Overheard

Sadie: Daddy is sweet like cotton candy!

(pauses)

And Mommy? You are a sucker.

 

(I'm not trying to win the situation here, but for the record, she doesn't even like cotton candy. She does, however, really like suckers.)

The First Snow

Thank you. For all the kind words. 

I read on yahoo.com yesterday about a study that suggested that people spend about half their time thinking about doing something or wishing they were doing something other than what they are actually doing, and it makes them unhappy. Apparently, it is better to "live in the moment." Ironic for me to read it yesterday, actually, because it put into words a concept that's been on my mind a lot. I've been really struggling to just focus on the present and enjoy what is happening right now. My mind is always racing a few steps ahead or dwelling fourteen steps behind. I'd like to take some time everyday to just be involved and really play with my kids without having to multi-task. I know you mothers out there know exactly what I am talking about...

My focus for today? Playing in the snow...

Just some gently falling flakes, a few snowballs, a happy little girl, and a Mommy with very cold fingers. 

More snow promised for tomorrow. I might have to get some better mittens. :)

Howdy, Pardner

Back in September, I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween, and she surprised me with "cowgirl." I fully expected her to change her mind several times, but apparently she did not inherit the indecisive gene from me because she never wavered. She did however, inform me in no uncertain terms that "cowgirls wear belts."  And after discussing the costume choice with her Grandpa, she added "cowgirls have ropes. Mommy, I need a rope." Gee, thanks, Grandpa. 

Amazingly enough, lassoes come in pink. And the rest was easy to find right here in the heart of the west. 

Dang it, rodeo never looked so good. And by the way, these poses and expressions were entirely her idea. Being a cowgirl is very serious business.

Although I did manage to coax a smile for the grandparents. And also to prove that she really did love her costume. 

Especially the cowgirl belt. And also the pink boots. Which she told me she will wear until Christmas. This is a good thing since I am cheap and bought them two sizes too big so that she can wear them from now until she is in second grade. :)

Yahoo!!!!!!!! Happy Halloween, y'all.

Ugly Pie

Ugly indeed (especially the brown goo dripping down the side of the pie plate and currently residing on the bottom of my oven). But it sure did taste good. The pie, that is. 

As we were leaving the kids' section at the library, I saw this book, and being Lisa Wheeler fans, we plucked it off the shelf for some bedtime reading. I should have guessed that crazy ol' bear would make his way into my kitchen. 

Sadie, being a bonafide kitchen helper extraordinaire, did a whole lot of mixing and measuring, and seeing as it was "ugly pie," I could put away my Martha apron and forget about the perfect pie crust. And therefore, a lovely afternoon in the kitchen was had by all. :)

We did mention to Daddy, however, that a piece of Ugly Pie would require payment in the form of some one-on-one scrub time with the oven. It's a good trade. Really.  

ABC (a layout)

The October monthly gallery at Write.Click.Scrapbook is Tumbler-inspired. What's Tumbler? For all intents and purposes, it's a digital bulletin board for visual inspiration and bookmarking ideas. For the more in-depth explanation, click and read here. :) I chose this piece as my inspiration and created a page about Sadie's first day of preschool:

Supplies:

• Red cardstock from That Was Yesterday Solids kit by Michelle Underwood
• White cardstock from White Foundation Papers I kit by Vinnie Pearce
• Frame from Curled Photo Frames kit by Mary Ann Wise
• Polka dot brush from HA Polky Dots kit by Hero Arts
• Stitches from Basic Stitches No1 kit by Mary Ann Wise
• Staple from That Was Yesterday kit by Michelle Underwood
• Ladybug rub-on from Bloom Rubons kit by Vinnie Pearce

Things to Note:

• I created this page digitally because I found that it was easier to translate the inspiration piece into a digital page, although you could easily create the alphabet art and print to paper for a hybrid page.
• The little ladybug rub-on is from Vinnie Pearce's Bloom kit. The rub-ons come in distressed and plain and they are so cute!
• I have little idea about what she did at her first day of preschool (because she wouldn't tell me) so I journaled from my perspective.
• I plan to use this same design for a page for Caleb's book. Not about preschool, but maybe for a title page. I love this aspect of digital! One design - click, click, click - two pages!

Little Schoolgirl (a layout)

Over at Two Peas, Garden Girl layouts are now going to be released on Mondays (rather than throughout the week). This is a little more like the bi-monthly releases of years past, but with less chance of "idea overload." I prefer this, since I am trying to prioritize my internet time (say what?), and now I know exactly when to take a peek at the Garden.

Here's a layout of mine that went up today (with links to supplies and more information here) for the August "school" theme:

 

Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• Bazzill Basics Kraft cardstock
  
• American Crafts cardstock
  
• Bo Bunny Double Dot patterned paper
  
• October Afternoon Story Hour patterned paper
  
• October Afternoon Science Fair patterned paper
  
• October Afternoon Report Card die-cut
  
• Maya Road square kraft envelope
  
• We R Memory Keepers metal grommet
  
• Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety button
  
• American Crafts silver mini-brad
  
• EK Success Notebook punch
  
• Ranger Industries paint dabber
  
• Ranger Glossy Effects
  
• AL Serenade font

Things to note:

• I used the October Afternoon Report Card 8" x 8" stack, but it no longer appears to be stocked at Two Peas, so I've linked the full-size 12" x 12" patterned papers for your reference.
• The stars are homemade. Chipboard painted yellow and covered with glossy effects for a shiny finish. You can see a closer look here.
• The title was created in Photoshop. I used the pencil tool to draw blue lines and a dotted red line. 
• I printed my journaling on a die-cut, but I messed up the spacing and left an open space at the bottom, so I drew a little line with a real pencil. 
• Two Peas doesn't have the EK Success notebook punch, so I've linked you to the binding edge punch. I bought my punch at Michaels for nearly double the price. Oh Canada!
• Those Maya Road kraft envelopes look grey on-line, but in real life, they are a nice warm kraft.
• On a personal note, this is my little schoolgirl in the "getting-ready" stages of the first chapter of her school career. I have glowing memories of school, so I sure hope she feels the same. :)

Tiny Dancer

She's never seen the ballet. She did not know what a leotard was. But somehow in the last three years, she has determined that life would be much improved if only she could wear a pink tutu and prance about to "ballerina music." And by the way, did you know that ballerina music and princess music are actually different? Yes, yes, they are.

And so today marked the beginning of our Ballerina-in-Training program, and the first activity she has done on her own. While there were several other little miniature ballerinas, teary-eyed and clinging to their mothers, this one galloped into the studio without a backward glance. I'm not sure whether I should be proud of her sense of independence or a little nostalgic for the good ol' days when she needed me. :)

When I asked her after class what she learned in ballet, she told me matter of factly, "Tap and jazz." It's possible she gets her dancing skills from me.  

Ride My Bicycle (a layout)

Behind (as per usual) in sharing some layouts for those not accustomed to frequenting the Two Peas gallery. Here's one that was posted a few weeks ago, with one of my favorite photos from 2009 (more details and links to supplies here):

©Two Peas in a Bucket

Supplies:

• White cardstock from the White Foundations Paper I kit by Vinnie Pearce
  
• Bicycle patterned paper from the Birds, Blooms, and Bikes Paper pack kit by Stacy Marks
• Polka dot patterned paper from the Holiday Party kit by Brandy Buffington
• Kraft paper from the Winter Romance Solids paper pack kit by Michelle Underwood
• Bicycle rub-on from the Birds, Blooms, and Bikes Elements kit by Stacy Marks
• Stitching from the Basic Stitches kit by Mary Ann Wise
• Label from the Vintage Labels kit by Rhonna Farrer
• Brads from The Basics:Brads kit by Sande Krieger

Things to note:

• It had to be a digi layout after I saw the bicycle rub-on. Although, I'm tempted to print it out and make a paper version with a lot more photos that I took that day.
• It seems that I scrap a lot with white cardstock (paper-wise and digi), so I really love White Foundation Paper kits by Vinnie Pearce. The texture is so nice on digi - can't wait to my layouts printed.
• She can now pedal all by herself.