a day spent frolicking outside with my two littles. splashing in fountains. feeling the warm sun upon our faces. laughing. giggling. being together. i lost sight of that a while ago, but thankfully, i have found it again.
tomorrow i'm heading to pmp for a day filled teaching two workshops, scrapping with friends and definitely more laughter. yes. it will be just what the doctor ordered.
happy friday! happy weekend!
xo
yesterday was a perfect day. the kiddos and i stayed in our jammies for "lazy friday" as maddie bean has started calling them. something i'm really appreciating right now, these friday mornings when we're all here, me, ben, maddie. i'm usually scrapping or doing chores or we're playing games. this will be our last year like this, next year it'll be and my little boyfriend while the girl is in school, and although i am looking forward to having him to myself for a bit, i'm going to miss our pony loving girl. sigh. it happens too fast, this growing up thing.
in the afternoon the kiddos headed off to nonnas and then i had the house to myself. *sigh x2*. seriously, i covet those hours i get, covet them. i headed over to sistv and played in angie's round robin. SO MUCH FUN! seriously, i don't think i've had this much fun scrapping in months.
and of course the hambly dt call was finally announced and i am so honored to be the dt coordinator. i adore allison, she's become such an amazing friend and she is so talented. and the product is just luscious and being such a supporter of all things handmade it just makes me so proud to be part of such an amazing company.
we're taking the littles to see kung-fu panda this afternoon... cannot wait!
happy saturday!
xoxo
* "i can do it myself"
* "when i'm in kindergarten i can __________________ "
* "i only cried a tiny bit" {when getting her shots yesterday}
* "you don't have to watch me mommy, i can do it"
* "can i wash the dishes... mop the floor ... laundry ... dust ... ???"
* "will bubba miss me next year when i'm at school"
* "i can say 's' now mama, isn't that great?"
* "i can take a bath by myself now mommy, you can go do something else" {not quite yet ...}
she's come along way, my baby girl. she's not a baby anymore, i have to keep telling myself that. i see this pic and i can recall how she smelled as a baby. my endless nights worrying about how her palate would effect her future. the way i feel because she always wants to hold my hand in public. how she hugs all of her friends when she sees them and when she says goodbye. how i love sneaking around a corner and listening to her play ponies, all those sweet little voices she uses. her sensitive heart. how her doctor/hospital anxiety has subsided and disappeared this past year, no more stress, worry or screaming at checkups. she's not a baby anymore...
i'm so proud of her.
my girl.
my sweetness.
my maddie bean.
xoxo
i went from making 3 layouts to apply to be a sistv fashionista to designing these beauties which i am SO proud of. who would have thought all this year with sistv has brought me. teaching in norway {hi girls!! i miss you SO much!!}, teaching at suzy's, october afternoon dt, a passion for sniffing vanilla infused papers, incredible friends near & far & in between, a creative outlet i adore and over 10,000 sisters who are incredibly talented, funny and supportive.
so... to celebrate sistv's 1 year birthday i'm giving away a paper pack of my pemberley collection + some vintage yumminess to go along with it. just a leave a comment by midnight friday pst and i'll pick a winner saturday morning.
happy birthday sistv!!!
xoxo
last thursday i was purging out the junk in our garage for the garage sale my mom and i had last weekend {it was amazing... thanks for asking!!} and i told maddie that she couldn't do something {can't even remember what it was now...} and she huffed off into the house in a foul mood. about 15 minutes later i went in to get some water and found this. on her door. which was closed. and heard her meekly talking to herself inside about how mean i was and i could just stay out all day.
dude.
do i look like this? really?
cause i have to say. i love that fact that my hips aren't as wide as they truly are in real life and she gave my hair some extra length and some manageable waves. and i've apparently lost about 90 lbs and i have been told i have a big mouth at times... and now that i'm talking about it what happened to my neck and torso and butt??
but the thing that got me was the talking to herself. because i used to do that. i used to get in trouble for lying when i was 7-8-9. alot. {yes mom.... i will finally admit it to be true. i lied alot.} and i used to be sent to my room to write lines. lines of things like ....
i will not lie. i will not lie. i will not lie.
i will not lie. i will not lie. i will not lie.
i will not lie. i will not lie. i will not lie.
i will not lie. i will not lie. i will not lie.
i will not lie. i will not lie. i will not lie.
and if i did the long line of l's, trying to connect the letters in the words from top to bottom {to save time} i would have to start over.
but the point is that while i was writing these lines i would talk to myself about how much no one listened to me. how they didn't love me, like me, care about me... yadda yadda yadda. and last thursday. listening to the bean mutter her sadness made my heart swell in love and smiles. because i felt and knew that she is mine. she will be my legacy. she will be me and yet, she will be herself in so many ways. and that, to me, is a perfect moment of knowing, and loving, that i am her mama. wavy, mouth agape, stick picture and all.
xoxo
and btw : that project i talked about yesterday? comcast delayed it one full day by deciding that today was the day they would shut off our internet and drive me and the kids go spend a splendid day at auntie sarah's where we swam in the pool. ate hot dogs and drank gatorade in the club house. we were mellow and free out in the sun on a 90 degree day. and i can't thank them enough for getting my butt out of this house for some friendship and fun!
if only i had a few hours with this sweet girl. me in 1980. eight years old, about to have things change in ways she had no control of and no possible way of understanding.
i'd sit and hold her hand. i would tell her to be strong. i would tell her there will be rough waters ahead. times when she will doubt she was loved. times when she would feel completely alone. times when she wouldn't understand one little bit of it.
and then i would tell her that there would be a time, a time when all of those uncontrollable events are long and far behind her. a time when she will begin to see. when she will begin to understand. when she would know she was special. worthy. loved.
so i would tell her to be strong. to persevere. because i would be there always. always.
and i love her.
more and more each day.
*************************************************************
inspired by this lovely post.
today was an amazing day for my bean. my beautiful first born child becasue today, today she made the *s* sound on her own.
YAY!!
wait.
let me say that again... YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is a major break through for her, a task that does not come without three long years of struggle and patience, practice and determination. a breakthrough that we did not know if she would ever get to. a breakthrough that had me in tears and so incredibly thankful that on this day, today, i thought to bring my camera with me to her class. something i have NEVER done before.
some of you who have been long time readers may remember that last year in april maddie had major surgery at stanford childrens hospital to repair her missing soft palate, which had been underdeveloped and basically missing on her left side, a genetic fluke that she endured in utero. due to this abnormality she has been in private speech classes for two days a week since she turned 18 months. learning to speak and articulate the basic sounds that you and i take for granted.
but today.
today was a glorious day.
a wonderful day.
a perfectly perfect day.
and i am SO PROUD of her.
because today.
today my love for her grew three times as big.
and now i know.
this child.
this magical, beautiful, radiant child.
has taught me a valuable lesson.
that with determination and perseverance.
through doubt and struggle.
we can do anything.
if we just try.
happy happiest of wonderful mondays!!
xoxo
366 days ago i took the plunge. i grabbed a piece of patterned paper. some glue. a few random pictures of mike and i. the kids. me. and i made a layout. my first scrapbook layout ever. and exactly 366 days later, today, march 8th 2008, i have a pile of amazing works that are mine. pieces of my heart. thoughts from my head. random scatterings of things and places and feelings that i have felt over the last year.
up until that point, 366 days ago, i had been searching for a craft where i felt connected {amazing since connect is my word of 2008}. i have been a knitter. a jewelry maker. a sewer. a painter and a potter. i was an art history major in college and a vintage clothing website owner. but yesterday, yesterday i was thinking about how one thing led to another and each step that i have taken over the last 10 years has led me to scrapbooking. slowly and surely. but with a determined glide and focus.
the past ten years have led me to the place and a craft where i could take pieces of each of those interests and combine them into one. i could take my love of design and pattern and turn it into a creative outlet. something where i can put a picture, some amazing product and glitter or paint and even piles of vintage love on another piece of paper and call it my own. i can take my thoughts and my feelings and my dreams and record them for the future. i can play and dream and have something to show my children who i am, who i was, who i will become when i am old and they want to know.
and for all of it, i am forever grateful.
happy anniversary me and scrapbooking.
i love you, with my entire heart.
xo
kl
