The following is cross-posted from the Weekly Gratitude Blog. I will post there every Tuesday and decided to post those posts here, too. For those of you who read both blogs, I apologize in advance. Some weeks the content might be different and other weeks, exactly the same.
Nature. Stunning nature. (also our gratitude theme for April)
So I cut my hair. This is a bad photo but I wanted a record. I will try to get a better one this week. It will look cuter when my hair is natural (which is wavy.)
here’s Nathaniel coming to say hi while I work on the couch.
here he is asking for some milk.
here he is getting mad for not instantly getting what he wants.
yeah it’s fun. not.
but i love him so!
I am still feeling exhausted. I did a lot of work and cleaning up today since my parents were in the city. The house is looking much better between my mom, the cleaning lady and me. Oh and I finally got a coffee machine. A dinky little one but still….let’s see how it works.
Note to Self:
Tomorrow David goes on vacation for about 10 days. I want to make sure that we spend some of this time together doing things that we don’t normally get to do. I also have summer break coming up and there, too. It’s hard to juggle it all together but in a few months he starts kindergarten and then he’ll be in school all day long. I will miss having him around so much. He’s such a low maintenance and wonderfully helpful little boy.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. I am grateful for a more relaxing week this week. One that I hope to spend productively.
2. I am grateful that two books I am looking forward to and have preordered are coming out next week.
3. I am grateful that I signed up for a new workshop with Carla Sonheim and it starts in two days!
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Daddy bought him squeezable yogurt treats
2. Getting to watch some TV with mommy (while mommy folded laundry!)
Yesterday, by the time we came home from the movies (we saw Greenberg) I was way too tired to do anything at all. I didn’t even remember to take Nathaniel photos until at bedtime. Here he is looking out the window.
And more
ok, and one more.
I have so much to write but I’ve been so busy. My parents are only here for a few more days and I will catch up at length once they are out of town, I promise.
Note to Self:
I always stress when my schedule is off. It’s like things take just the right amount of time in my day so when I add something on, it throws everything off balance. I need to schedule “free time” more often maybe? Or prepare to just have it all go out the window when I have company. So I don’t ever stress.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Some more house improvements and just general small things. Love the difference they made in my home.
2. Sweet, wonderful date night with my hubby.
3. Family dinner at Donato, our favorite restaurant. Despite Nathaniel’s screams.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Getting to have a chocolate croissant.
2. And chocolate ice cream!! (big day for little boy.)
This week’s craft was inspired by this (click image for source):
It was considerably harder than it looked and I ended up doing most of the work.
We were good until that point but then scoring it while the top piece was bending was way too hard for me and I just could not get it right. Here’s the finished house.
David then colored it and he likes it naked and unfinished as it is but we might embellish it some more still.
This is done with the January A Million Memories Kit.
Journaling Reads:
There are so many days where
I wish you could talk.
So you could tell me
when you’re in pain.
So you could tell me
what you want.
So you could tell me
what makes you happy.
So you could tell me
what you’re thinking.
Little boy,
I love you so deeply and so much and I cannot wait for the day when you can tell me
everything that’s on your mind.
Here’s the little boy, whom I saw so very little today. I was out running errands all day and he spent most of the day with his Daddy and grandpa.
And David spent his day playing the Wii and running around and playing with my Dad. One lucky, lucky boy.
Great, productive day today. I got my hair dyed and cut. We went clothes shopping. We hung all the little frames in the living room. (and it looks great!) And then I went out to dinner with my parents. They’ve been here for 3 days and my mom and I already have done 90% of what I had on my list. It’s amazing. All things I’ve been putting off for months and months. I am so thrilled to finally be doing all these.
Note to Self:
So my plan for the things I mentioned yesterday has begun. It’s a major self improvement project (not on the inside but outside this time.) It started with cutting my hair, and getting new clothes. There are a few more major steps. I will write about it at length once my parents have left and I have some consistent chunks of free time.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. My hair, hair, hair. I was so looking forward to cutting it and I love it!
2. Some new, delicious tops from the always unusual anthropologie.
3. All the frames on my wall. This little project was 3-4 months in the making and it turned out beautifully. I am so grateful.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Playing wii! (shocker, right??)
2. Playing with with opapa (my dad)
45. Make an inspiration board for my crafting/design area.
The first step here was finding the right board. My craft space is in the living room so I don’t have a lot of space to hang a board in and the cork board I had was too big. I wanted to buy one that I saw in Pottery Barn but it was a little more than I wanted to pay so I got this one instead. It’s not on sale anymore but it was $15 when I bought it. It’s just the right size and it’s a quiet beige.
The board came, I hung it on the wall and spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do. Then I decided that since I am really inspired by fabric and stitching and people like Rebecca Sower and Pam Garrison right now, I’d make the board a stitching sampler.
I measured interfacing in the exact size of the board and then started stitching random bits of fabric on to it.
I didn’t pay too much attention, just lined up the ones I liked and kept stitching.
After a long while, I was done. I had the whole thing covered.
Then I added some lace.
And then started stitching a bit. Still practicing my French Knots. I still screw up more often than I get it right.
I added some more details here and there.
I then pinned it on top of the linen board:
My plan is to add a lot more stuff. Every now and then as I feel like it. I want to add buttons, dangle things, stitch, add beads, I have a lot of plans. I will share more photos as I work on this but it’s already inspiring me just to look at all that fabric I love.
Here it is with my sampler and the hearts on there:
Little boy’s ears are all clear! Woohoo! He’s still taking medicine for another day but he’s much better and I am so so thankful.
I caught David doing math today while he was working on a workbook my sister sent. He was so focused that he didn’t even hear me take the photos (and my camera is loud!) I am so proud of him and the person that he is. Beyond words.
And here’s one more of the little one.
I am glad this week is over. It was stressful and not productive in many ways. Now it’s weekend and I can focus on being with my parents. More pictures to hang. Furniture to arrange. Clothes to buy! You’ve all been quiet, too. I hope it’s cause you’re out doing really productive things and not cause you’re tired or overwhelmed.
Happy weekend everyone!
Note to Self:
Tomorrow I plan to start something I’ve been planning for a while. I will write about it at length over the next few weeks, I promise.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. My mom and how easily decorating the house comes to her. She has such natural talent and I am so grateful.
2. How wonderful and sweet Nathaniel was today when I grabbed him right after his nap and dragged him to IKEA for hours without food. He didn’t make a peep. Love that boy.
3. I am grateful to be resting a bit now. I feel incredibly tired. Grateful that it’s the weekend.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Playing police with opapa (my dad)
2. The new didj game he got (spelling and car racing.)
The journaling reads:
I grew up in a city much like New York City, where people live in apartments and don’t have backyards. As a kid, I always dreamt of living in a house and having my own backyard.
When we moved to the San Francisco area, I decided we had to rent a house (instead of a condo) and it was the best decision I made. We then got lucky enough to own a house with its own small backyard.
Even though we don’t use it everyday and it’s really quite small, I still love having it. I love going out there to sit with the kids and soak up a little bit of the California sunshine. I love sitting outside when friends come to visit. I love taking my computer out to the yard. It’s like my own private piece of sunshine and grass. I really enjoy having it.
So this week I am really thankful for my little patch of green in this world and I plan to fill it with bubbles as often as possible.
Trying something new. I found this beautiful frame here.
My mom and dad are here. It’s so great to see them and see how excited David was to see them. Nathaniel is still having attachment issues so he doesn’t like being with anyone but me.
Today was a stressful but also great day. For the next few days while my family is here, I expect the updates to be lighter than usual. Because if I’m not spending time with them, I’m spending time with my husband while they babysit so I am not home much. I’m sure to go back to my ordinary life when they’re gone.
Note to Self:
My mom and I finally put up some of the art and paintings I had lying around and my living room looks so much better now. My house actually has a personality. It’s quite amazing the difference it made. I plan to do more for the playroom tomorrow and also my bedroom and the kids’ rooms and I am really excited. I’ve been waiting almost a year for this and am so glad it’s coming together as I’d hoped. Tomorrow’s project is a bit bigger and more daunting but my mom is a master at this so I am not worried.
Three Things I’m Grateful For:
1. Hanging up the living room art.
2. Going to the movies with my awesome hubby.
3. Seeing David so excited to see all his presents and seeing him be so well behaved when opening them. Seeing the kids with my parents is such a joy.
Two Things David’s Grateful For:
1. Awesome awesome presents he got from my parents and my sister.
2. Playing with my dad for such a long time right around bedtime.
When I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time a few years ago, I loved the story, the unique character, the point of view. It is a magnificent book.
So when I saw Mark Haddon’s new book, A Spot of Bother, I knew I wanted to read it.
It took me a while to get into the book but I absolutely loved it. The quirky but believable characters in this book are easy to relate to and the stories intertwine in the most delightful way and the story leaves you with a feeling of delight.
You are welcome to play with these as much as you want and use them anywhere you’d like. You are NOT allowed to sell them ever. You don’t have to but I’d appreciate a link back if you do use them.
This is part of a weekly digital download series. They are posted every Thursday. You can find all of the ones that were posted here. If you like my downloads, please click here and give me ideas/requests for 2010. I would like to continue this feature but I am not sure I can come up with enough ideas on my own.
