Monday, July 30, 2007

My Right Arm is GONE

This weekend was busy, busy, busy....I was exhausted. The worst part is I BROKE MY CAMERA! I dropped it trying to find a binky for my 2 year old. ARGH!

The good news is....due to a broken washing machine....I had time to work on some ATC's. I think I might even have mine out on time.....SURPRISE!

More on our crazy weekend and crafting later.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Birthday Madness


Treasure Bags
Originally uploaded by UpNAdam
I love birthday's! I always have, but now that I have children the madness has reached a new level. We celebrated Adam's first birthday with 50 of our closest friends and family at Wiley Post Airport. The festivities included a private viewing of a vintage airplane. Daddy even got to ride in it during the taxi.

This year (2) is no different. We are having a pirate themed party. It will be here at our house and we have tried to keep the guest list down. Just a couple of friends and the whole family. I have made tablecloths, Treasure Bags, and plan to do hamburgers and sides. We bought the cake (I am NOT a baker) at Brown's Bakery.

Adam seems to be excited. He can sing....yes, sing...every word of Happy Birthday. We have been practicing. I will let you know how it goes.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Crazy Crafting Business

I have so much going on right now I hardly have time to sleep, much less blog. But, I am trying to discipline myself and I want to keep everyone updated to the current happenings. I will write just a snippet for now and update with more detail as time allows.








My boys and I just returned from our second trip out to New Mexico. We had such a good time! This trip we took some friends and all enjoyed some much needed rest and relaxation mixed with nature, art, and (of course) "playing with cars"....boys.














My oldest will have his 2nd Birthday on July 31st and his party is THIS SATURDAY. I wanted to do something special, so we settled on a Pirate Themed Party at home. I made the invitations, we plan to grill hamburgers, and I am currently working on all of the decorations. I need to make the tablecloth and some "treasure bags" for the favors. This will be my primary task for the day.










I have also been stressing over my first ATC for CMP. I am really excited, but VERY intimidated. I am also having trouble with the theme, "A Midsummer Nights Dream." I really need to get on the ball and get some of my ideas on paper. I am also reading up a storm....and since Jessica introduced me to Shelfari on her podcast Halfway There....I am hooked. It has fed my reading addiction.


I am still knitting. This is my comfort these days. I love to knit, although my skills still need a little honing. I am trying to finish a "Prayer Shawl" for a friend who is fighting very serious cancer. I want to finish it soon and I do hope it provides her some comfort as I have thought of her often. I also took a knitting class at SWAK...loved it. And, best of all, I am going to Stitch n Bitch after a little postpartum break (for the organizer, not me:))










I made an little artist drawing case for my son and then gave it to a friend. It was from a pattern I had found on Craft Apple. It turned out really cute, but I learned a few things I will do differently next time.

















I have been playing with photography. Here is one of my favorites from NM.

Please let me know if you are reading this....I am curious about my current audience. Thanks for all of your kind words.

BTW, I was asked to take a self portrait a LONG time ago by Amy at CMP. So, here are a couple.
Me with the youngest

Me Sewing Outside

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Reading with Erica

This week I went to Quayle United Methodist Church to read with the children. Project Transformation is a program for inner city children. I read with three different children. The first, Erica, was a good reader. She was reading Amber Brown is not a Crayon. With a little help, she finished the book and picked out an Animorphs book for next time. Then, I was assigned to a sweet little girl that had a lot of trouble reading. She was obviously familiar with sounds and phonics, but she could not seem to see the words through the letters. She sounded out each sound never pausing to recognize when one word ended and another began. Reading was frustrating to her. She was tired and unenthusiastic. She finished her book and then I read a book to her. Finally, it was time to pick two new books. “Pick out a book for me to read, and I will pick one out for you,” I offered. We selected our books and returned to our seats. She picked out Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? I opened it and her face lit up. She read along with me…at first she wanted to peek at the next page to help her along…when I didn’t let her, she very patiently and very enthusiastically sounded out every word. She did great and I discovered the genius behind Eric Carle once again.