I woke up this morning and I was feeling really terrible. My headache had exploded overnight and it took more than three advils to make it go away. I had to lie on the couch for several hours before I could even get up. I was so upset that I would be too tired and sick to function and I just decided to give myself the day off. I slept, napped, relaxed and just didn’t do anything. If I get sick, everything will fall through so I might as well take one day and heal.
My sister sent Nathaniel some stuffed animals. Which he inspected closely.
And then grabbed all at the same time.
David got some toys, too. You’ll see them in his gratitude section.
And I snapped one more of the little boy who has a boo boo on his chin. (and he’s suffering a bad tummy which also caused diaper rash. Not to mention the MMR and chicken pox shots he’ll be getting tomorrow š ).
In the afternoon I felt much better, thankfully. I had David’s parent-teacher conference. He’s doing great. On target on everything and socially doing great, too. Knock on wood. Now that the kids are sleeping, I have a list of 20 items and I am still feeling far from 100% so I am going to go slow and try to finish as much as I can. It will all work out eventually. As it always does.
Three Things Iām Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I am back home and getting back into my routine. I am a person of routine and as much as I loved being with my sister, home is the best place for me.
2. I am grateful that the weekend went well and I didn’t freak out. It was my first time leaving Nathaniel and I am so glad it went so smoothly.
3. I am thankful that David’s doing well at school and thriving. I wasn’t (and still am not) sure about public school but it’s going great so far. knock on wood.
Three Things Davidās Grateful For:
1.getting the math toy – yona sent him a match quiz toy
2. playing tic tac toe – also a toy yona sent him
3. writing in my journal at school (he wrote about how happy he was to play wii)
Yesterday was a weird day in that I spent most of it on the plane. And yet I did so much before the day was half over. I exercised, I had brunch with my sister and her family, I went to FedEx to print my boarding pass, and I even got to meet with my highschool friend Burcu before I took off for the airport.
While I did all that, Jake and the kids went to the discovery museum which is where I imagine these were taken.
Yea, not the best ones but I still am happy to have them, especially since I didn’t live these days with them.
I was snapping photos on the other side of the country. Here’s my amazing sister.
Isn’t she so beautiful?
And so is her family. Wonderful, beautiful people inside and out.
Here she is with one of her twins, Aksel.
And here we are, the two of us. We look very different but we love each other so deeply.
I should have taken a photo with Burcu, too. Bummer.
The flight back was painful. I watched movies but I had a terrible headache. I am guessing it was from talking all weekend and my TMJ. But it would not end. Not when I got there. Not when I went to sleep. Not even when I woke up. So I went to bed at 8pm as soon as the kids were in bed and I checked in on some small things and went right to sleep. Grateful to be in my own bed. With my family.
Three Things Iām Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I got to spend such a great time with my sister. We didn’t fight one single time. It was authentic, genuine and honest and so so so heartfelt. I love her so much.
2. I am grateful that I got home safe and sound and that the kids and Jake were all happy and relaxed and happy to see me.
3. I am thankful that thanks to a great coincidence I got to see my friend Burcu. I hadn’t seen her in probably six years and it was a miracle that we got to be in NYC at the same time.
Three Things Davidās Grateful For:
1. playing indiana jones on the wii
2. going to the museum with daddy
3. having mommy come back
As promised here I am trying to make sure I catch up on all the days I was gone. I left California at 11pm Friday evening and flew all night. I brought a full-size pillow with me, hoping to doze off on the plane. I did sleep for some of the flight, but of course, not nearly enough. When I landed in JFK, I took a cab to where my sister was staying and thus began our wonderful weekend.
I had made Jake promise to take photos but all he had was my little point and shoot so here are some photos he took.
These are outside in good light.
And you can see it’s not him, the camera is just not so good.
Though I still think my kids are cute. Then again, that’s my job š I am really thankful he took them perfect or not.
And here’s me with my sister and her boys.
We spent the whole day chatting and walking. We possibly walked over twenty miles. But it was wonderful and relaxed and no timelines, no obligations, absolutely no stress. Just the two of us for a long long time and then the five of us. It was beyond perfect. Absolutely, stunningly perfect.
We ate dinner at the restaurant next to their building. During dinner, I called David to get his three things. Since we were all together we decided Yona’s kids and Yona would do them, too. So here they all are.
Three Things Iām Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that my flight was relatively uneventful and passed quicker than I expected (and that I got a bit of sleep!)
2. I am deeply grateful that I got to see my sister and brother in law and my nephews. I love them so much and we don’t see each other nearly enough. I am so so grateful I did go there. And every minute was spent so wonderfully. So deeply. So relaxed. It was truly amazing.
3. I am thankful that Jake indulged me and did not get grouchy one time that I called too much or checked in too much. They had a wonderful day and I could tell they were all happy which made me feel more relaxed and present with my sister.
Three Things Davidās Grateful For:
1. getting the lego indiana Jones wii game
2. playing wii
3. going shopping with daddy
Three Things Yona’s Grateful For:
1. having a relaxing lunch and chat with my sister
2. having my sister come to visit
3. the frame my sister made for me (the one i posted last saturday, she did love it.)
Three Things Aksel’s Grateful For:
1. having my aunt come to visit
2. getting an ipod touch
3. going to the empire state building
Three Things Jeff’s Grateful For:
1. Going to the nintendo store (and getting a game)
2. getting an ipod touch
3. having my aunt come to visit
Journaling Reads:
Since I knew your school photo was coming up, I tried to get you to learn how to smile properly to the camera. Day after day we practiced but your smiles never stopped being awkward. You would look down, all demure, and make this fake smile. As we approached the big day, things seemed to be better. I thought that maybe all that practice was finally paying off. On the day you went to get the photos done I just wished for the best. And while you were looking at the camera, your smile was as goofy as ever. I will cherish this so much more.
Tim Holtz Products used:
Shabby Vintage paper
Alphabet soup Grungeboard
Fired Brick Distress Ink
Barn Door Distress Ink
Black Soot Distress Ink
Red Pepper Paint Dabber
Ruler Ribbon
Filmstrip Ribbon
Timepieces
Game Spinners
Elements Grungeboard
Stonewashed Alcohol Ink (I used this on the arrow grungeboard, it’s really subtle but gives it a blue shine.)
Details:
This is something I did a while ago for Nathaniel’s baby book. It was a lift of a member layout for A Million Memories blog.
This is one of those projects I tackled back in June but I know my sister reads my blog so I didn’t want her to see this before I gave it to her.
31. Make art for Yona
I wanted to do something about love. But I was stuck until I saw these stitched pieces by Donna which inspired me.
I wanted mine to be much more subtle, so I made the pieces from similar shades of linen:
a few details:
and here it is in the frame:
i hope she likes it.
And here we are. Friday. I leave in three hours. I spent the whole day working, crafting, hugging my kids, and packing. Exercising and being tired too.
The kids were a joy as they often are.
Especially this one.
Oh, ok, this one, too.
Lest you think it’s always strawberries and peaches here, here’s Nathaniel yelling at David cause he’s sitting at the chair and Nathaniel doesn’t want him too.
And here’s David’s response.
Yeah, not always so smily and perfect, my kids. But I love love love them.
I am off to spend just a bit more time with them before it’s time to leave for the airport. No Daily Diary tomorrow cause I am not bringing my laptop, I’ll catch back up on Sunday. See you then.
Three Things Iām Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I get to leave my boys with their wonderful dad. My husband is amazing and they will have so much fun together.
2. I am grateful that hopefully tomorrow morning I get to see my sister!
3. I am thankful that I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot in the last two weeks and I can leave without stressing too much about what awaits me when I come back. I still have a long week next week but I feel less like I might crush under the buden of it all.
Three Things Davidās Grateful For:
1.daddy being home
2. getting to go out to dinner
3. getting to spend the weekend with daddy
Journaling Reads:
I was recently reading a blog post by an artist I admire whoās about to have a kid for the first time. She was saying how sheās been told itās impossible to be creative and successful once you have a baby. They are so much work and so inspiration goes out the window.
I thought, no way, itās totally the opposite.
My children have brought me more inspiration, more creativity, and more success than anything else. They inspired me to scrap, to paint, to take photos and to get better at each of them so I could capture our memories in the best possible way. They gave (and continue to give) me unlimited fodder for art, photography, writing.
More significantly, they inspired me to be more authentic to myself, to be happier and more peaceful so I could set the best example to them. Show them that people can live a full life and still be authentic. They accepted me and loved me just the way I am. They encouraged me by telling me how beautiful my art is. They are the definition of inspiration.
I feel better for the first time in two weeks. One would think having both kids at home is worse for the stress level and not better but I loved having both my kids home today. We snuggled up. We laughed and hugged and even did a little workbook work. I also snapped a ton of photos of Nathaniel.
In the middle of the day, the DHL man delivered this amazing piece of art. By my friend Lia, who is amazing. Amazing. This definitely was a big highlight of my day. David thought this was amazing too and looked at it for a long time. Thank you Lia!!
Here’s David relaxing with all of his silly bands.
When I tooted and hollered for Nathaniel to look at me, all he did was give me this face. “I’ll smile but I won’t look” face.
Then I made some more noise and I got this.
He was playing by himself when I worked and when David and I did workbooks.
And he’s quite creative. He’s got the hat, the wii remotes, and the shoe.
These are just for me cause I love them.
And I love him.
Soooooo much.
And when I asked David for a smile, here’s what I got from him.
My last night before I leave for NYC. In 28 hours I will be on a plane to NYC. Alone. Flying for the first time in three years. Seeing my sister and her family. I am worried, excited, thrilled and stressed. But I know it’s going to be amazing. As it turns out one of my best friends from high school will be in New York for the two days as well so I will get to see her, too. Which is extra wonderful.
Nathaniel seems to be getting better, too. thankfully. And I know this weekend will be special for the boys, too.
Three Things Iām Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I get to go out tonight, too. I will see some good friends from work. People who are wonderful.
2. I am grateful that my flight tomorrow is late at night so I have all day to prepare and pack cause I have done nothing so far.
3. I am thankful that I spent lots of quality time with both my boys today! And I walked 3.2 miles today! I decided to alternate between distance and speed during the week. And today was all about distance. And i did it!! I am proud of myself. This is a big deal for me.
Three Things Davidās Grateful For:
1. playing on the computer
2. doing the workbook with mommy (we did word completions where letters or letter combos are missing from a word and you have to put them in.)
3. playing with nathaniel
I finally finished my December Daily album this past weekend. A few months ago, I’d already decided to use a pre-made album this year. I bought a 6×6 American Crafts modern album in red and decorated the cover with muslin, linen and ribbon.
I then put it aside and couldn’t decide what to do with it for quite some time. I first thought I’d make mini-layouts each day and so I’d fill it with white cardstock and page protectors. Then I thought, no, I need more variety. I went back and forth for weeks. I couldn’t decide if I wanted something plain, something artsy, something simple. I finally ended up doing what I do each year partly because I like that most of the album is premade this way. I work with what I have. Having said that, I reserve the right to still change my mind. I might scrap the whole thing and go back to just white. I might use these pages in a weird way. I have no idea. That’s what December is for.
With all that, here are my pages so far. Most of them use The Girls’ Paperie, My Mind’s Eye, Collage Press, papers I had left over from the previous December albums, and the only addition this year is 6 pajama fabrics I bought. More on these later. A LOT of images here obviously so apologies in advance.
For those of you who receive my posts by email I did not want to fill up you inbox with all the images, so I didn’t mail out this post.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For some inexplicable reason I didn’t take a photo of the back. Will do so soon.
Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to respond asap.
More on December Daily soon.
And another book club pick was The Cookbook Collector. I wanted to read this one so I was excited it got picked.
Even though I think the name was terrible and misleading, I loved this book. I loved the writing, the characters, even the plots. I am not sure exactly what spoke to me. Maybe that it was so contemporary. It took place mostly here where I live. And in the tech industry which I am in. Who knows what it was, all I know is that I really, throughly enjoyed it.
I’ve never read this author before but if all her books are like this, I will be reading more of her.
I have two more days in this week and my todo list is still large, albeit getting smaller. Today was a quiet and productive day for the most part. I have been coaching myself not to stress. So far it’s only working so so.
This afternoon David had a classmate come over for a play date. Nathaniel took the opportunity to play, too.
David was mostly well-behaved. The little girl didn’t want to play Wii (though her dad did) so he nicely turned it off to play with her instead.
Nathaniel spent a lot of time making messes over and over. When we cleaned, he’d cry and then dump the whole thing back on the floor. He dislikes neatness maybe?
It was fun to see them all play together, though. Maggie’s sister joined us a while later, too and it was sort of like the feeling one must have with four kids. Overwhelming but also a lot of fun.
Tonight is mom’s night out for David’s class. This has been a very social week for me. I am a homebody so it’s taking a toll on me as well but I feel like I should go out more so I am making myself go to the events. Let’s see how tonight turns out.
Three Things Iām Grateful For:
1. I am grateful that I took Nathaniel to the doctor today just to be 100% he’s ok. He still has a runny nose and some more small symptoms now but he is perfectly ok. No infections, nothing in the ear or chest. Good to know before I go since I will be worried no matter what. But at least less so this way.
2. I am grateful that I get to go out tonight. Maybe I’ll make friends with one of the moms.
3. I am thankful that I get to watch Glee tonight. We were out late last night so I’ve been saving it!
Three Things Davidās Grateful For:
1. maggie coming over for play date
2. mommy
3. daddy
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projects for twenty twenty-five
projects for twenty twenty-four
projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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