Friday, September 23, 2011

to infinity....

and beyond!
Yesterday we took a trip out to get S her halloween costume.. this year she is going to be Buzz Lightyear (no shock to those that know her..) and after wearing it along with an ear to ear smile all evening we decided she needed a rocketship to go with it! A few cardboard boxes, duct tape, streamers, and fabric straps and we are ready to blast off!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

how to sell a sandwich

We tend to be creatures of habit in this house when it comes to mealtime, if it aint broke don't fix it, right? I found a really cute piece on "sandwich art" so decided to surprise S with one of her favorite charecters for lunch.
Can you name this face?


I'm not offended if you can't, it is a bit rough, but S loved it! That is my attempt at Winnie the Pooh. The extra two minutes it took was well worth the excitement and the giggles I got as I watched her talk to her sandwich!

Monday, September 12, 2011

bonjour elephant~

One of my summer projects has been at last concluded and nailed to the wall so I can at last share it with you!
When I was designing H's nursery I thought about making one entire wall a world map.. What a great way to both decorate and educate right?! However when it came time to put it all together I became a bit concerned it would be too overwhelming and opted instead for a giant map print of 5'x7' to hang opposite his crib and above his changing table/book shelf combination. It looked really lovely and was a great accent untill he discovered it mid diaper change one day. Because of the large size I hadn't framed it and that was likely my mistake but really, that would cost a fortune! From that day on it became H's mission to slowly rip the edge of the print and eventually he tore one large piece right out of Antartica and the Atlantic and the map was no more.
Since then I have been dissapointed and trying to think of what to replace it with but having a tough time deciding as I really did like the map but what made it interesting was the size and that obviously wouldn't work there..
At last I decided to cut up the map and piece together a new picture from the pieces. Origianally I had a patterned background but wasn't completely sold so I actually recut the pieces (a bit larger this time) and placed them on a simple whit backing. I was thrilled with the results and hopefully created something that can work on his room for many years to come!

how far we've come


This week S will be starting her new preschool and I can't help but reflect on how far we have come in the past year!
This time last year S was about to begin her "Two's" class at a school that I could already tell was a bad fit for us (always ALWAYS listen to your gut!) and I was not only a nervous wreck but 9 months pregnant. I was worried, she was worried, we were both anxious, tearful yet eager.. I worried about how she would make friends, how she might be received by her peers and teachers, what would happen if she got hurt or scared and I wasn't there to comfort her, what if she got lost, or forgotten..
I was sleepless and it didn't help that she was too. She cried any time I said (with a forced smile and way too much enthusiasm) "this is where you will go play with your friends and mommy will come right back and get you when you are done!"- in fact she welled up any time we passed the school which is almost next door so often. And we barely made it through the year. We almost didn't. She was anxious every day, she had night terrors, she cried every single day before school and that was on the good days. We were planning on pulling her out at winter break (due to the advice of our friends, families, pediatrician, child development experts..) but they switched her to a new class and lo and behold she met a wonderful little friend who got her through the rest of the year and she did okay. She never once wanted to go to school but did at least look forward to playing with her friend.
This week, this year, is different. Her new school is already a perfect match and it hasn't even begun yet. The kids had orientation in May and have spent the whole summer doing weekly play dates so by now parents and kids are all familiar, comfortable, friends. The teacher even came for a home visit and S was so excited to show her some of her favorite things (no way- the teacher has a buzz light year doll at her house too?! cool!!).. To top it off I will be in the classroom as a parent volunteer every six weeks or so (as will all of the other parents) and we are both thrilled at that chance to share the experience together.
We smile and wave every time we drive by and she chats endlessly about all the fun she will have there with all of her friends. And I know she will. We are both going into this confident. And comforted. And relaxed, eager, and genuinely enthusiastic.
I know how much we have grown over the last year, how much time and experience has changed each of us. I know it might be rocky the first few days, I expect a few tears from either or both of us, but I also know this will be good. Very good. Today at a play date with two of her future classmates the kids got a bit carried away with the paint, this my child who a year ago would freak out if she had a drip of paint on her fingers and make me stand by with a wash cloth to wipe her clean as she went..

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

owl hands


I have spent the past several weeks scouring the web, books, and magazines for some new crafts/projects/activities to try with the kids.. Among my very long list (which I can not wait to delve into) are quite a few really sweet handprint projects. Up until recently S wouldn't tolerate messy hands so this is all quite exciting for me!
Since I am a sucker for owls the first hand print activity we tried was this owl print. I cut the body shape out of construction paper, we used stickers for the eyes, the handprints made the wings and then S painted the really cute legs.. Love it! Might have been better with some color control but we were happy enough!

Monday, September 5, 2011

so long to summer


As you might have noticed I took the bulk of August off from writing in..
Well, here we are now officially past labor day and there is definitely a hint of fall in the air and I for one am completely psyched. I am looking forward to cooler days and breaking out our fall clothes, and even more so I look forward to getting back into a routine. I am looking forward to making this blog part of my weekly routine along with our new school schedule, my much needed fitness routine, a babysitter one evening a week, and who knows what else!
I feel like I am on it and excited anticipating everything coming up.. So many fun projects to do with the kids, great fall activities to try, we have scheduled our first ever "crafty girls night out", and there is also H's first birthday party which is already in the works! And I look forward to sharing all of it with you!
It was a wonderful summer but I happily bid farewell and welcome to fall.. xoxo