It's In The Air

DISCLAIMER:

Megan: I must be PMS-ing. I totally lost it when I came home today.

Me: Me too. I'm making Rice Krispie treats, listening to some sad music and drinking PBR (from a can).

Megan: Rice Krispie treats sound sooo good right now.


Over the last few months I've been making plans for summer. Plans to make a bunch o money, basically. However, one day very recently I had an epiphany!

This is the last time that Olivia won't be in school all day, everyday for the REST OF HER LIFE!!! Oh geez. I just started crying! Where did the time go? What the hell happened to the first day of school three years ago?! I remember it like it was yesterday! Damn those people that told me, "It'll just fly by!"

So...my summer plans have changed.
I make these plans knowing full well that come July I will think it was the stupidest plan on the planet but I also know that (in the words of Paul Simon hehe) "these are the days of miracle and wonder" and I will never get them back.

So I will temper, "Get me the hell out of this house!!" with, "oh my baby is growing up, sob, sob" and I will hope for a good balance of spending time enjoying these last days of freedom from obligation with keeping mom's sanity intact.

It's a tricky balance for sure but I hope to come away from this summer with a good healthy dose of snuggles, blanket forts, giggling, monkey legs wrapped around me, her brilliant ideas, sweaty baby neck (mmm), lots of talking, and all the wonderful things about my 5 year old sweetie. I will store them away and 10 years from now (oh god. 15!) I will cherish them.

Two things that made me cry recently:

Pioneer Woman. The picture of that beautiful baby waking up then falling back to sleep in the way that only a toddler can do.

And from Soule Mama:

"As a new season of growth begins for us in the garden, I feel the growth of my children too. I'm reminded through this seasonal rhythm we celebrate and treasure - these yearly markers of time passing. One tells me ever-so-gently that I'm putting the potatoes in the ground incorrectly. He knows how to do this better than I (and he really does - with his memory and his body that has gardened his whole life. I still look in books). One explains to his sister in great detail and with accuracy just how it is that all that worm poop is good for her peas. She, old enough now to write, makes markers for each crop with an enormous amount of pride. And this year, I feel the kicks of a happy, vibrant boy on my back - the one who was still just a dream himself at planting time last year.
And thus, another season of growing begins."

28 Things To Do Before I Turn 29

Yeah, my birthday was a month ago. I'm lazy. That's why I need lists!

1. Use these more. For journaling prompts (kids and I both), discussion topics, and family art/drawing time:

(by the way, these are Table Topics and 52 Things To Do...)

2. More backyard picnics, blanket/clothesline forts, yard naps and camping out on the grass

3. Do this:

4. Have that perfect day I wrote about (and have edited a hundred times)

5. 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die (just want to get started)

6. Listen to all the This American Life Podcasts that I have on my ipod

7. Make these sweaters with thrifted and felted wool:

8. Make these prints:

on skirts with one of these:
9. Take more photos

10. Take that one photo that I really want

11. Make some simple cloth dolls and clothes with the girls

12. Read the books on the list

13. Make a path or piece of patio that looks like the one I took a million pictures of in Fremont

14. Finish those tea towels I bought at the flea market

15. Make the reusable snack bags before Olivia starts school in the fall

16. Bust out the books and the preschool teacher arsenal more often

17. Make marshmallows with the kids

18. Use these cute birds on something

19. Alter/embellish/make more of my own clothes

20. Implement my brilliant movie night idea

21. Make the skirts (the more difficult ones)

22. Do some linoleum block prints

23. Teach Livi to jump rope (and all the rhymes)

24. Get Jamie off those training wheels

25. Put the tree swings up in the front yard

26. Drive the damn Cadillac!

27.

28. Do all the things I didn't do from "27 Things To Do..."

See 27?

It's blank. I need one more thing. Really it's just an evil plot to get all 2 of my readers (hehe) to make a suggestion. What would you add? What do you think I should add?

Family Drawing Time

Read this.

Last summer we rid ourselves of that pesky television and as an alternative to evening TV watching I bought some new games and art supplies.

The best purchase was these sketchbooks.

I bought one for everyone and everyone got new markers, colored pencils and oil pastels. The girls and I have spent a lot of time drawing in our sketchbooks. We don't collaborate, we just draw or write whatever is on our mind. It has been a nice way to wind down in the evenings and I love looking through them later to see all the different things they've made. Sometimes they'll dictate a story about their drawing and those are so fun to look back on.

In January we had filled them up so we took a little outing to Quality Art to buy new ones. We also bought a giant roll of butcher paper for collaborative drawing (just like the post above)

We have covered the table a few times and did some big drawings where we each added to one another's and we have made some wrapping paper but my favorite "giant butcher paper project" was this:

We cut up a Burpee seed catalog (for hours, I think) and made our imaginary garden. Each of us with a little plot to put whatever we wanted in. (Yes, those are my orderly rows.)

So...BLA BLA BLA! I said all that to say: I highly recommend some family drawing time. Either on your own paper but working side by side or an a ginormous paper working together. It's fun. It's relaxing. It's a great way to get your kids talking about what they're thinking about.

Now...if we could just get that one obstinate member of our family to participate.

Side note: That dream garden hangs in our hallway and we LOVE looking at it and so does everyone that comes to our house!