So after last night’s craziness, at 3am or so I finally passed out again until around 6:30 when it was light enough out that I walked out and finally got to go to the bathroom and take 3 Advils. I tried to take a few photos but I was in too much pain so I sat on my chair and tried to read a bit until the Advils kicked in.
When the rest of the family woke up, we broke down the tent and I snapped the above shot of our site. This below is David coming back from the bathroom with Jake.
While we packed, we had to put Nathaniel in the car for a while and he wasn’t all that happy about it.
And here’s me trying to snap a happy photo of David. He truly enjoyed every moment of this experience.
And my partner in crime. Our fearless reader. On the way home, we stopped at a small cafe and had a delicious breakfast which is where I snapped this shot.
We got home late morning and I put Nathaniel down as Jake unloaded the car. Everything was put away and we all needed some relaxing downtime. I’m now about to put the kids down and relax some more. Maybe even scrap some.
I hope your 4th of July was great.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am so grateful I get to have one more day off. My work is closed tomorrow. Another day of rest for me.
2. I am grateful that we’re home safe and sound.
3. I am grateful for Tour de France. I love watching every moment of this race.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. camping
2. daddy. (i’m going to have to remove this as an option just cause it’s making him not think as hard.)
We left home early Sunday to go camping at Samuel P Taylor State Park which is about 90 minutes north of where we live. We decided to camp for one night since it was Nathaniel’s first time and we had no idea how he would do.
The only slot they had open was #18. By the little stream but also relatively close to the road so we could hear cars driving by. Still, it was a beautiful slot. I loved being near the water. I think water always makes me happy.
And among the redwood trees. The magnificent trees which always make my troubles seem small.
When we got there, we immediately got to setting up the tent and the kids had to wait in the car to make sure we could do it quickly and efficiently. They were quiet and nice for a while but then got cranky.
When we were finally done, we got them out and Nathaniel took a while to get acclimated, especially to his shoes. (Actually those were David’s old old shoes, too big for Nathaniel, but I couldn’t find his shoes somehow.).
So Daddy held him most of the time. (Neither was complaining about the setup.)
We then sat to have some food. Most of what we are was cheese (and salami) sandwiches, grapes, strawberries, nilla wafers, etc. Simple, easy things.
Then we took a little walk up one of the trails. A very short one before we turned around cause all of us were tired.
Here’s my single most favorite photo from the trip.
Some of those yummy wafers.
Nathaniel liked them just as much as David. (which was a lot)
Daddy loved playing with both of the kids.
I was worried about Nathaniel going to sleep but he was a champ. We brought his pack’n’play which fit inside the tent easily and he slept on a sleeping bag, covered with lots of blankets. He only cried for a few seconds before he lay down and went to a deep sleep. We ended the day with some delicious s’mores.
After the food, it was getting cold and I was way too tired. So around 7:30pm or so, we all got inside the tent, and I think I was sleeping within minutes. Which is probably why I woke up at midnight and I was in excruciating pain. Which never went away. David then peed through his clothes and had to be changed, Nathaniel woke up a few times and whined but nothing so extreme. I think the night was hardest on me.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am so grateful that we live so close to such a magnificent state park. It’s such a luxury.
2. I am grateful that both of the kids had a blast camping. They were so happy and neither whined for one second.
3. I am grateful for a wonderful fourth of july day with my family, in the middle of such beauty and peace.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. daydreaming (he dreamt about a nice raccoon, he said.).
2. daddy.
This was one of the June layouts I did. It is for the Creative Imaginations sketch challenge for June. I turned the sketch sideways and used paper instead of extra photos.
Since Jake and I have almost been together 16 years, I thought it was a great topic to celebrate the man who makes me happy every single moment of every single day.
David:
1. Try one new food every day – Today’s food was sweet pepper. Orange to be exact. He liked it! and we’ve saved more to eat tomorrow. Also, he did eat the rest of the snap peas and carrots today. At least most of them. This is big progress for us.
2. Do 30 minutes of work daily – Today we did writing. He practiced letters a, b, c, d, e, and f. Upper and lowercase. He needs more practice but I think we made good progress.
3. Read 20 minutes a day from a book – We didn’t read today. It was his wii day.
Art:
1. Draw 100 faces – Another one today.
2. Make one art journal page daily – Zentangle again today. I did two layouts today so not a lot of time. Enjoying the zentangles though.
Health:
1. Exercise for 15-20 minutes 3 times a week – I did 21 minutes of Wii Fit today. It was painful and I didn’t think I was going to make it. But I did it. Yoga, strength, and step.
2. Eat one fruit and one vegetable every day – Banana and corn.
Productivity:
1. Do one nagging task daily – I finally folded all the laundry. This was weeks overdue.
2. Start and End each day better – Right after I worked out, I flossed, brushed my teeth and showered. It wasn’t first thing in the day but it was still better than I would have done otherwise.
Soul:
1. Journal for 15 minutes a day – didn’t do this today. My arms are in a lot of pain. I told myself it was ok to take a break. Might still do it before bed.
2. Mediate for 5 minutes a day – about 4 minutes today.
3. Write a thank you email every day – Wrote one to Amy today. She is so wonderful.
Nathaniel woke up obscenely early today. I was so tired, so worn out, I wanted to cry. But I did end up recovering a little bit after I lay down for a while. He was in great moods, though and loved it when his daddy wheeled him around.
While David played wii.
more laughter.
We took a brief break to watch Lance. I am a huge huge fan of Tour De France. I have been waiting for this year with great anticipation.
After he wreaked havoc and cleaned all the drawers, Nathaniel finally did play with his toys. Only once he emptied everything else.
I am still so very tired and working out today didn’t help much.I did do two layouts and read a bunch and several other things but I really need to go lie now and that’s what I am going to do. I hope you have great Fourth plans if you live in the US. I’m excited about ours!
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I exercised again! go me.
2. I am thankful for audio books today.
3. I am so so grateful for a wonderful three weeks filled with Tour De France.
Since I bought a new camera, I had to do this one again:
13. Create my own camera strap
This time I just did my own little solution. I didn’t do the triangular edges and since the fabric I used is thin, I put a layer of batting underneath it. It’s nice and cushy now.
David:
1. Try one new food every day – Today he tried a bite of celery – he didn’t like. He then tried snap peas which he did like. And carrots which he also did like. All in all, not so bad.
2. Do 30 minutes of work daily – Today we did reading. We focused on b-words and c-words. He did great and he’s getting better and better at sounding things out and more importantly his confidence in himself is growing.
3. Read 20 minutes a day from a book – We’ve switched to another book by the Famous Five: Famous Five on a Secret Trail but we’re still reading and I make sure he tells me a short summary afterwards to ensure he really is following.
Art:
1. Draw 100 faces – One more today. I really dislike this one but I was so tired, I am lucky it happened at all.
2. Make one art journal page daily – I woke up late today and got started in my day even later. And then did a layout for CHA so I didn’t think I was going to get to this at all today. But then I felt like doing a zentangle so I did it.
Health:
1. Exercise for 15-20 minutes 3 times a week – No exercise today. I really needed the rest. The goal is 3-days-a-week after all.
2. Eat one fruit and one vegetable every day – Banana and celery today.
Productivity:
1. Do one nagging task daily – I delivered David’s application today, something I’d been meaning to do for over a week. I plan to do a few more nagging tasks that I’ve been ignoring.
2. Start and End each day better – Even though I didn’t work out, I flossed, brushed my teeth and showered right before I put Nathaniel down for his nap.
Soul:
1. Journal for 15 minutes a day – done. Still unsure I like to do this but I decided to give it the full month and then decide.
2. Mediate for 5 minutes a day – done.
3. Write a thank you email every day – Wrote one to my friend Larissa today. She is amazing and I am quite thankful for her.
Today started slow and complicated. I am still feeling exhausted and unable to rest for some reason. So I had a slow start. I did get better and the kids were angels but I am still feeling worn out.
David’s been playing with his legos still. Loves them.
And the little boy is playing with his legos/blocks too.
Look at those little toes.
I even scrapped. Doing more layouts for CHA. I am trying to pace myself and just do one a day and see how it goes. Let’s see if I can manage it. Next week promises to be crazy with more layouts for CHA and then the AMM kit. So trying to take it easy now.
Plans for tonight are to rest and possibly read some. Lonesome Dove, here I come.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Grateful that my kids are so good on their own.
2. Grateful that I am getting some good nagging tasks done. Ones that need doing.
3. Grateful that I am now starting a 4-day weekend!!
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. lego men.
2. daddy
Journaling Reads:
I have been blessed with the most amazing parents.
I must admit that I have not always been actively aware of this fact. As a child, I spent most of my time wondering how I ended up in this family where I felt like I obviously didn’t belong. It’s not that they were bad people, it’s just that they were so very different than I was. They had different priorities and ideas of fun than I did.
So I did a lot of sulking, a lot of doing my own thing and taking these amazing parents for granted. Yet, they never gave up on me and supported all my crazy and far-fetched dreams. When I told them I wanted to study in the United States, they did every single thing in their power to make it happen for me.
Even though they don’t really understand what I do and sometimes they aren’t sure why I make the choices I make, they are always 100% behind me and they are first to cheer me on. When I falter, they are the first to rush in an help me. I’ve always known that my parents were supportive but it’s only in the last few years that I’ve come to full appreciate them.
Welcome to the Blog Hop! The hop starts today, Friday July 2nd through Sunday July 4th. Each blog will be showcasing a different project inspired by summer and all of its glory! Hop through each blog to check out the instructions for creating each project, then choose a project to recreate. Post your project in the AMM gallery and in this thread. You will have until Friday July 9th at midnight to post your project to be eligible to win an Echo Park Collection pack! More than one project created earns you another chance in the random drawing. Please be sure that projects are created especially for this contest. Good luck!
Since David is starting Kindergarten in the fall, I decided we would spend this summer at home together. I didn’t sign him up for summer school or for any specific activities. To make sure we wouldn’t get bored, I made a layout with a list of activities we can do. I used photos of each of the activities and also listed them. This way, if we want spontaneous ideas, we can close our eyes and point at one and do that one.
Here are a few details:
I wanted to show you how I did the photos for this layout so I took a little movie in Photoshop. I am pretty sure you can do the same thing in Photoshop Elements.
David:
1. Try one new food every day – Today’s food was persimmon. I obviously should have read about it before we tried it cause ours was still extremely astringent and our mouths puckered up immediately and we ended up trashing the rest of it. But he did try it and that’s a step. That’s all my goal is with this.
2. Do 30 minutes of work daily – Today we did math. We studied places, 1s, 10s and 100s. We also discussed what makes one number bigger than another and he took a mini quiz comparing numbers and got a 5 out 5 and a gold star. Good so far!
3. Read 20 minutes a day from a book – When I was little, I used to love and adore the Famous Five books by Enid Blyton so I decided they would be fun for David, too. For now that’s what we’re reading. Let’s see how it goes.
Art:
1. Draw 100 faces – Only one today, but better than none, right?
2. Make one art journal page daily – Went for something simple today. Just used some of the spare fabric I had. This awesome stamp by Margie and some stitching.
Health:
1. Exercise for 15-20 minutes 3 times a week – I did 21 minutes of Wii Fit today. It was painful, trust me. But I did it. Yoga, strength, hula hoop, and step.
2. Eat one fruit and one vegetable every day – Banana and Broccoli baby. I even ate some eggs.
Productivity:
1. Do one nagging task daily – I called the woman from transportation to David’s school, nagging indeed.
2. Start and End each day better – Right after I worked out, I flossed, brushed my teeth and showered. It did make me wake up quicker.
Soul:
1. Journal for 15 minutes a day – done. A bit odd and I am not sure if after all this blog writing I still have stuff to journal about but trying it on for now.
2. Mediate for 5 minutes a day – done. As I imagined it was harder than it seems.
3. Write a thank you email every day – Wrote one to my friend Lori today. She is awesome.
Something weird. Not sure I like it but I am not full of options anymore. Gotta go shooting.
Today was a good day. Hard but good day. I will give a happiness project update in a separate post. There was a stupid pedometer in our room that decided to have an alarm go off at 2 in the morning, waking us both up. Which, of course, meant the rest of the night was super hard. Nathaniel woke up nice and early at 5:30am. And he’s gotten really good at rummaging through the drawers.
While David plays with his legos.
And chases him around to kiss him.
And hugs him.
I swear, he loves his little brother so much.
I am 100% worn out. Tired. I plan to veg on the couch all night as I process and print 60 some photos for scrapping. I like having my photos printed. This way, when inspiration strikes, I don’t have to sit and find photos. I have some The Girls’ Papirie CHA work to do and some more coming next week. I love Margie’s designs so much that just looking at the paper makes me happy.
I am *very* slowly reading Lonesome Dove, our book club pick and then I have two more really long books to read. I might take a break in between and read something quick and fun. I think the problem really is just how tired I feel lately. Hard to focus. Feeling good, though. Strong, happy, thankful.
Note to Self:
I think I am going to skip this section for the month of July while I do the Happiness Project since it will be mostly about that, I imagine. If it turns out I have unrelated things to say I reserve the right to bring it back. 🙂
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I exercised this morning. It hurt like crazy for something so small but still i am proud of myself.
2. I am thankful for getting to work with papers and product I love. I wanted to be on a design team for a while a few years ago but then I had stopped applying and I am so picky about what product I love and the idea of working with something less than ideal just so I can be on a team is unappealing to me. So I am eternally grateful that I get to be on a team and work with products I love. I am not taking it for granted for a second.
3. I am grateful for my July project. It’s tough but it’s making me happier.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. reading the book with mommy.
2. doing math with mommy.
3. daddy.
