a new look on lent

At Ash Wednesday Mass last night, Father was talking about our Lenten sacrifices. Traditionally, we give something up for Lent, as it's a time of cleansing and hardship to remind us of the sacrifices Jesus made for our salvation. But Father suggested that instead of giving something up, we take something on. Maybe be kinder to strangers. Or do a random act of kindness every day/week. Or add volunteer work to your agenda. And most importantly, keep it to yourself. Lent is not about broadcasting what sacrifices we're making {And I'm already guilty of that...see my Fat Tuesday post}...it's about cleansing ourselves from the inside out. Getting ready to celebrate the most awesome miracle. I really like this approach, and I think it's a great way to teach Emerson about giving to others.

So, while I still am not eating ice cream until mid-April, Em & I will be talking about people in our community and ways to include them in our Lenten rituals.

Make it a good day~

today was the best day

I'm beaming from the day! We had the best, THE BEST day! Nothing fancy, but just perfect. It was the way I'd envisioned being a stay-at-home-mom would be before I ever even got pregnant. And given that Herself has had NUMEROUS timeouts in the last few days for hitting, pinching, throwing toys, and general disorderly conduct, today was even sweeter.

Emerson slept until 7:30 (!!!), which is reason enough to celebrate. But that extra sleep must have done wonders because she's been in the best mood all day: Playful and laughing and kind and loving. She even tried to share her Binky with Jiko the cat. Too funny.

We had our class @ Gymboree this morning, which is always a crowd pleaser. I think she and Gymbo the Clown are an item. Then home to play (and we even got outside for a bit because it was over 50 here today...YIPPEE!) Then snack, fingerpainting, ring-around-the-dining-room-table, lunch, and nap.

After naptime, we went to Trader Joe's, which she loves because they give out balloons to the kiddos. We also hit the gas station, where we played inside & out peek-a-boo while the tank filled up. And then through the car wash...her eyes were literally filled with wonder as we rode through the wash. She loved the "hairdryer" {HA-ta-ta in her language} at the end.

Then home and more time chasing her down the sidewalk outside as it was just gorgeous out. Next was a snack of kiwi & blueberries, read books, and make dinner. Even THAT was great. She happily alternated between watching Jack's Big Music Show and helping me "stir" things.

Right now, she's playing darts with her Papa while giggling wildly.

Yep...it was a great day. I hope yours was too.

p.s. the picture is from last night...we made our first fort using pillows and cushions from the basement couch. As you can see, Emerson didn't think it was fun at all. Both Jeff & I LOVED making forts as kids. I'm sure we'll build some great ones with Em. So fun!

fat tuesday

In honor of Fat Tuesday, I did my part to ensure that I become just that. Here's some of the goodies that I noshed on today:

cinnamon roll @ playgroup

7 layer bar w/ lunch (thanks, Melissa!)

a handful of Cadbury's Mini Eggs...these come out for Easter every year and if you haven't had them, well you're missing out BIG TIME!!

a Samoa Girl Scout cookie

and currently, I'm eating my last bowl of ice cream until April 12. I give it up every year for Lent. Jeff thinks I should find something new because I do it all the time, but it never gets any easier for me. You have to understand...I eat ice cream every night. EVERY NIGHT. So not only do I miss the taste, but I miss the ritual. Sigh.

Anyway, looking @ this list, can you say PMS!!?!?!?!?! Sheesh.

a moment of silence...

This day was inevitable. It happens to everyone. EVERYONE. But the kicker is that it just sneaks up on you. Not like a hurricane, where you have advance warning and can batten down the hatches. No, this is more like an earthquake. Just knocks you off of your feet.

WHAT is this epic disaster of which I speak? I'll show you.

Yep. I found a grey hair. 31, and my dark tresses are rebelling against me.

I blame Emerson and her blasted pre-5:30 am wake-up calls.

the side effects

DISCLAIMER: I LOVE being a mom. I love it so much that I quit my "regular" job to stay home and do this full time. Emerson is my heart and I don't know how I was ever happy before I met her.

That's the disclaimer part. Now, on with the rest of my my thought.

I've gleaned, over the past 18 months, that there are some side effects of parenthood that no one tells you about. For those of you who don't have kids, take heed. None of these are worth avoiding children altogether, but you should just be forewarned:

** I had no idea that I'd be in bed by 10:30 every nite. My little angel has recently taken to a regular pre-5:30am wake up, so this is absolutely necessary in order to function without being a screaming ogre.

**No one told me that even when Emerson is not present, I would be incapable of eating a meal in more than 4 minutes. I've gotten so used to scarfing with one hand while feeding her with the other that I speed eat even when I don't have to.

**I was not aware that shopping would go from a fun outing to a dreaded chore. When your companion has the attention span of belly button lint, it's not so fun to try on new shoes.

**During Emerson's waking hours, I do not ever watch grown-up TV. Our esteemed Governor was arrested, tarred, feathered, and impeached without my seeing any of it. I think there's an election coming up, right? I wonder who the new President will be?

**It so happens that former pampering errands like manicures and haircuts have gone from relaxing "me" time to another thing that needs to be coordinated around naptime and babysitter's schedules.

**I had no idea that I'd spend the equivalent of a college education on photos. That darn kid is so stinkin' cute that I can't stop taking her picture. I think I need an intervention.

I'm sure there are other things, but because I'm multitasking while Herself sleeps, you don't have my full attention. Feel free to add your own to this little list.

:)

scenes from the weekend

Ok, ok, so I've been MIA this past week. I'm not going to give you the blah, blah, blah about being busy. It's more truthful that I just haven't had that much to say. Sorry.

But, I have some fun pictures to share from our weekend. We met my college roommate, Christa, and her family in the Wisconsin Dells. Emerson loved, LOVED the waterpark, the hotel, playing with the Miehe kiddos, being with Mama and Papa. It was a MAGNIFICENT way to spend our Valentine's Day.

Em & her boyfriend, Clark were cracking each other up on Friday night.

Christa brought us a bunch of Evan's old baby clothes, including this duck swimsuit. Thanks!

Em LOVED the wave pool. She wanted to walk deeper and deeper. She even fell under twice and popped right up with no fuss. Our little fish!

Papa with his two dates for Valentine's Day.

At lunch today, Jeff was dripping drops of Diet Coke on Em's tongue, and she was CRACKING UP! I love this {albeit blurry} fit of giggles!

Thanks, Miehe family! We had a terrific weekend and can't wait to see you again soon!

really?

Emerson wanted me to tell you that last Tuesday, when we drove to the Aquarium, it was -17 degrees with the windchill. Today, it's over 60 degrees here.

And I wonder why I have a headache...

a glimpse at the "actual" Project 365

In case you've been waiting at the edge of your seat to see what the Project 365 album looks like, here you go. This is the double page spread that I did last week, with pictures from the week before.

Here's a closer view of each page. The pictures are {obviously!} on top, and then there's a corresponding journaling card at the bottom for each day. Since there's an extra pocket in the bottom, there's also a blank card with a pattern on it. It's really simple, and takes me only about 20 minutes each week to put the pages together. Nice!

Make it a great week!

2 quick pics

Howdy. I just want to share 2 quick pictures from the day. We headed off to the zoo to take advantage of the February thaw.

I love, love, LOVE this picture of my two loves.

My mission for the day was to get a decent picture of Em & me...since I'm always behind the camera, we are lacking in photos of the 2 of us. This one is pretty good even though she's not looking straight ahead.

So, my dilemma...which should I use for my Project 365 picture. The one of Jeff and Em is great, but because there are so few of me & Em, I'm torn. I'll leave it up to you. Please post a comment and tell me what you'd do.

Gotta run...my fabulous husband bought me a Nestle Chipwich sandwich, which is my favorite Disney World snack. He's such a thoughtful Boo!

she is 18 months old today

Has anyone seen this baby girl? She used to live at my house, but now I can't seem to find her anywhere. I'm afraid that I've lost her. Do you know where she is?

Oh, there's still a precious girl living at my house, but she's nothing like this girl. The girl who lives here now walks, talks, sings {La Bamba at 4:30 this morning!}, has an opinion about everything {and it's usually NO!}, loves puzzles, is into fingerpainting, popping bubbles, chasing the cat, and exploring everything. She can sit in the car for more than 10 seconds without screaming, is interested in playing with other kids, eats the same food as we do, and loves to make silly noises to make us laugh. The girl who lives here now is 18 months old today. 18 months. That's twice as long on the outside as she was on the inside. That's a real kid.

Holy cow. When did this happen? Will it happen again? Will I blink and then realize that my 18 month old is going to Kindergarten? High School? Getting married?

I guess this is what Motherhood is all about, huh?

take that, winter

This week, we've pulled out all the stops to beat the winter blues. On Tuesday, we headed downtown to meet our playgroup friends at the Aquarium. They're offering some free days this month, so it was a perfect opportunity to get away from the house for not a lot of dough. Emerson loved looking at the giant fish tanks, and even better, LOVED running around with her friends.

This kid is quite the tinkerer. She loves pushing buttons and was so pound to be big enough to reach.

Here's our playgroup friends. Such a fun group of moms & kiddos!

Today, we went to a local children's museum. I was a bit worried that the activities would be too "big" for Emerson, but I was pleasantly surprised. She LOVED exploring the sights and sounds, and most definitely the bubbles. We had a great time together, just us girls!

There is a room of musical instruments that the kids can bang on with mallets. Nice!

Babaloo!!!! Play it, girl!

There are GIANT peg boards lit up with black lights. Think life-sized Lite Brites. So cool!! This was my favorite thing of the day. Emerson would tell you that her favorite was the bubble room. At bedtime tonite, she was still saying "Pop! Pop!" The bubbles were HUGE and really thick, if that makes any sense. It was great fun until some soapy water splashed into her eye.

I love this picture of a blissfully happy hand splashing and popping bubbles. The black hose is an air hose that sits in the water and continuously blows bubbles. What a fun idea.

Hope you are having fun beating the winter blues, wherever you are!

a.

these are a few of my favorite things

Apropos of nothing, here are some of the things that I'm into these days, in no particular order.

Stonyfield Farms organic Greek Yogurt, called Oikos. I'm digging the honey. YUM!

Speaking of food, do you shop at Trader Joe's? It's a cute little grocery store with locations scattered around the country. At first, I was freaked out because they don't carry the brands that I'm familiar with. But now, that's what I love about them.

One last food item...I LOVE G2 by Gatorade. It has less calories than regular Gatorade, so you can drink it after a workout without undoing all that you've done.

These days, I'm living in my Ugg boots. Yep, they're pricey, but so worth it. Period.

Have you ever heard of Boden? It's a great women's, men's, and kid's clothing company out of England. They don't have stores, so it's all Internet & catalog. They're fun, funky, and wearable. I love Boden!

I'm a jeans kind-of-a-girl. And my new fave is Kut From The Kloth. They're comfy, reasonably priced, and fit great.

If you're into hip, handmade, one-of-a-kind items for yourself, your kids, or your home, you simply MUST check out Etsy.com. You can literally get everything from hairbows to jewelry to artwork to hand dyed yarn. Very cool! But don't go there if you're in hurry...there's so much to check out!

I'm a purse addict. I have quite a collection, and there are some big names in there...Kate, Prada, Coach... you know the drill. But the purses that I've been buying lately are all custom designed by ME at 1154 Lill. If you're lucky enough to live in Chicago, KC, Boston, or Philly, there's a Lill location near you. But for the rest of us, you can use the design tools online to create you own fabulous bag. They literally have hundreds of styles of fabrics, and you are the designer. Warning...this is TREMENDOUSLY addicting. But SO fun!

One of my favorite pastimes has always been reading. And lately, my guilty pleasure has been chick lit. I'm in love with Irish author Marian Keyes. Her wit and sense of humor will grab you and her ability to tug at your emotions will keep you turning the pages. My favorites are Watermelon and Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married.

I'm obsessed with lip balm. Jeff is convinced that the manufactures put crack cocaine in it as I'm ALWAYS applying it! I love Burt's Bees. I have one in everyone of my purses (that's about 15), as well as stashed in drawers around the house. There is never a time when my Burt's is not within reach. Enough said.

I've had painted nails every day of my life since I was a senior in high school. I get regular manicures and can't imagine what my hands would look like without polish. I love dark browns and maroons in the winter and am currently loving Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ by OPI. My favorite summer shade is Jumpin' Junkanoo by Essie.

Do you watch Friday Night Lights on NBC? Check it out, Fridays, 9/8 central. I've always has a fascination with small town life in Texas (I'm being totally serious!) and would love to move there for a while to see what it'd be like. Now, I don't have to.

I'm way into the art of Joe Sorren. There are so many layers, such intricate details. The paintings are simultaneously dark but hopeful, and there's humor in almost every one. Way cool stuff. Oh, and Joe just happens to be my cousin :)

My favorite way to spend a few hours to myself is scrapbooking. If you'd like to get started preserving your own memories, my friend Kathy can help. She's a Creative Memories consultant and has been my go-to-gal for supplies and inspiration for a number of years.

That's what's been on my mind. Hope you're inspired to try something new.

TTFN~
a.

some snapshots

Hmmm...snapshots...is that even the correct term for digital images? Will that word become obsolete in this digital age?

Here's a look at our life over the last few days.

Tuesday: We didn't get our of our jammies for a few days last week. Well, we did, but only to change a blowout. Sorry...TMI. Anyways, Em had a grand old time coloring for a bit on Tuesday morning.

Wednesday: my ultimate love...ice cream. I have it daily, 325 days a year. I give it up every year for Lent, which is quickly approaching. Boo.

Friday: Em was blissful as she experienced a new form of bubbles courtesy of Papa's gum. I wish you could have heard the squeals and giggles.

Sunday: Plumber Papa and his ace assistant fixed a leak under the kitchen sink. What a team.

That's all for tonite. I have a raging headache, and my bowl of triple chocolate Twix ice cream is calling me.

Make it a good nite~

bring it on, Phil

On this Groundhogs Day eve, I find myself thinking about the promise of 6 more weeks of winter. While I DID appreciate the thaw that Mother Nature bestowed upon us this weekend (sadly, not in time for my 7:30 am run at the Arboretum yesterday!!), I feel like we've already had MORE than our share of cold and snow. My husband would be quick to point out, right about now, that less than one month ago, I was in sunny, warm Florida for 5 days. True. But that was a vacation. This is reality. And the reality is that we're all getting a bit stir crazy. There are only so many indoor things one can do with an 18 month-old in tow. And I feel like we're burning through that list quite rapidly. Even Emerson is over it. We drive by the park at the end of our street quite regularly, and she often points, says "Pah," or even sighs. So bring us the Springtime, Punxsutawney Phil.

Please.


p.s. I promise that more Project 365 pictures will be here soon. I HAVE kept up, but don't feel like I've had anything terribly fun to share lately. It's just not been a fun week.