the emperor's new clothes

Here it is, the obligatory "baby getting a sink bath" photo:

I'm still working through sharing photos from two weeks ago... there were a lot, it seems. At least in the future we won't wonder what we did in March 2008.

My Aunt Sandy sent JT a box chock-full of fun clothes. As you may have noticed in his St. Patty's day pic, the kid is growing out of clothes left and right. These clothes were so fun. Cute shirts and little playsets for summer. I love, love, love the troll shirt. He wore it today! Didn't get a picture of him wearing it... will have to do that. We also need to take our 52 weeks photo for the week...

Until next time, beware of trolls...

glitter easter eggs

glitter easter eggs, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

I love decoupage. Nothing like gobs of glue and paper to make me feel connected to past generations! And apparently covering objects with paper is my preferred method of decorating.

The idea for these eggs is from Inspire Co. Of course, hers are much frillier and prettier... and displayed in a much nicer bowl.

But that's okay... I'm loving how mine turned out. And if I want frills next year, I can do that.

Oh, you're wondering what the eggs are decoupaged with? And where did I get such things? Well back in 2003 I was enamored with altered art of all kinds. I ordered a pack of ephemera from ebay (the receipt was still in there - that's how I know it was 2003!). It's just bits and pieces of papers and things from different sources. So conveniently, I had an old map and a couple pages from foreign books with which to work. I loooooved the map eggs... they seem so worldly.

Now if I can pull myself away from the glitter, I can start some other projects!

easter happiness

John and I got baptized this morning! We both accepted Jesus into our lives a long time ago, but just made it official today. It's also our 2 year anniversary for attending our church.

My dad was here to celebrate with us. He and JT spent a lot of time playing.

The Easter bunny got into our house somehow and left a nest for us in the living room. Here is JT checking it out... wearing a sweater Aunt Joan knitted for him:

Later in the day, JT actually spotted the Easter bunny passing through the back yard!

After a sensible lunch, we let JT sample the peeps the Easter bunny brought. The jury is still out on those.

We colored eggs. Well, really, I colored some eggs. And I will probably spend this week eating them. I feel some egg salad coming on.

Joy of joys, the sun appeared today and it wasn't quite so cold outside. So we went for a walk at the park and played at the playground.

It was a great weekend... maybe the best Easter ever. :-)

the wedding guests

the fam at a wedding, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

We attended a wedding last Saturday. JT went with us... he was quite a trooper all weekend long, really. And look how charming he is being in this picture!

The wedding was fun. We didn't cut loose as much as we would have sans kiddo. I did have a little mishap with the tail of my skirt during the reception, but my pride will eventually recover. I mean, you can't spend your entire life mortified, right?

My dress was pretty cute though. I might actually wear it this weekend for Easter. We'll see though. John and I are getting baptized on Sunday morning, so we might be wearing something more appropriate to that.

And speaking of Easter, I have crafting to do... so I'm gonna go! N-night!

captain destructo

We call him Captain Destructo now. JT likes to bang his toys... on hard surfaces, against each other... anything that is noisy and destructive.

Earlier this evening we took him out of his bumbo because he's just a danger in it. So he was tipping the bumbo over and rolling it all over the floor. I think we're just going to retire it already!

Here he discovered playing with the big people chairs. Mind you, he can't even crawl yet:



I also taught him to howl at the moon like a wolf tonight after we read a book that had a wolf in it. His howl is pretty wimpy, but we'll keep working on it. (I am an excellent howler.) I want to make sure he learns all the useful things first!

happy st. patty's day

JT as a leprechaun, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Hope you had a lovely St. Patty's day! We are recovering from a long and busy weekend. I have more photos to post and stories to tell, but tonight I'm too tired.

Our boy was so cute today. His daddy dressed him in this goofy outfit. His shirt is too big, the socks are too big, and his pants are too small! I got him the hat last year when I was pregnant... miraculously, it fits. I don't know why JT was especially cute to us today... I think maybe because today he looked more like a little boy than a baby. I mean, I took his picture sitting on the front step!! Big boys do that!

I posted a couple new pics in the 52 weeks with my kid set.

love the snow

Staying up late crafting is catching up with me. I'm off to bed soon.

For tonight, I made JT some fruit cubes to last a couple weeks. The pears are so delicious... juicy! And we are going to experiment with an apple/kiwi blend. Don't make faces, it's actually very good (yes, I tried it).

And now I leave you with JT's reaction to the snow:

digging out

Well, apparently we haven't had that much snow since 1910 when we got like 15 inches. 20 inches of snow in two days. 20 INCHES. lol. All I can say is, good thing we were stocked up on bread, milk, girl scout cookies, toilet paper, formula, and diapers. :-)


We got up this morning thinking the storm was over and we'd get back to normal. We got the driveway all shoveled yesterday in preparation. Not to be... church was cancelled. I'm pretty sure we are still under a snow emergency, too. Major highways aren't cleared yet. And they say Columbus got it the worst in the whole state.

We are loving this kind of weekend... major relaxing (aside from the shoveling). We are all still wearing our pajamas. JT is in heaven because every minute of the day is all about him. We've had some yummy eats, too. Last night I made salmon burgers and steamed green beans. Today for lunch we had taquitos. Both of those meals were enhanced by the avocado and tomato I found in the fridge. And tonight we are having bbq beef sandwiches. (The meat is in the crock pot now with lots of onions and garlic.)

I also had time to photograph the pages I scrapped at the crop last weekend. The girls and I had SO MUCH fun. I absolutely love crop weekends. The Scrap Happy crop was well-planned, attended by fun gals, and the hotel was great. They're having another crop the first weekend in October... I highly recommend it! Thanks to Susie for a great event...

Here are some pics of what I got done. There is another minibook, but it's a gift, so you'll have to see that when it's been given. :-)


1. LO: Cirque Du Soleil, 2. LO: Theresa Best & Worst, 3. LO: You are Mine Love, 4. LO: Snow Angel, 5. LO: Say A Prayer

Now, if you'll excuse me... the sun is out and there is 20 inches of snow in which to play! Gotta go get dressed!

weekend update

Last night I sewed a blanket for JT that's been in the works for a while.

This morning I made myself a cappuccino to go with my eggs. It was delightful. And I love my yard sale Starbucks Christmas tumbler.

Then we bundled up and went outside to play in the snow. The news is calling it "The Blizzard of '08". So that's what I'm calling it. It kind of cracks me up. What will they call the next one in this same year?

And hey, guess what?! I won a giveaway at Scrapscene. Pretty darn sweet...

choppin' broccoli

Sarah sent this to me... our friend/cousin/ex-roommate Lesley LOVED this Dana Carvey routine. She watched it just about every night. I don't even know how, because that was before DVR and Tivo. And she would LAUGH until she got tears in her eyes... EVERY TIME.



You know you're laughin'...

survey

I've filled out 4 surveys in the past 24 hours. Kind of weird, huh? Giant Eagle sent one in the mail, Pioneer Woman had one on her blog, Hampton Inn sent theirs by email, and Sears had one on the bottom of my receipt today. So in honor of surveys... I've posted a poll over at the left. Check it out.

And in case you're wondering... Giant Eagle's prices are ridiculous, but selection is superb. I also whined about the most basic things being out of stock by Sunday evening when I get there. The Hampton Inn we stayed at last weekend was fabulous. The coffee was always ready and delicious. Since we were scrapping around the clock, that was important. Seriously, it was SUCH a nice hotel. And Sears is practically giving away kids clothes at the door. My mom did better in Chillicothe than I did here, but still good deals at 80% off.

The subject of my poll is inspired by the 8 inches of snow we may get by Saturday. Yikes! And by the way, I still like snow. Freezing rain can kiss my butt, but bring on the snow. My philosophy is that if it has to be cold, there may as well be pretty white stuff around. Those grey-brown, constantly below freezing winters are just awful.

Don't forget to let us know what we should do on Saturday... :-)

baby time

touchdown!, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

After being away over the weekend, Monday night was catch-up night. John joined in on the fun... he spent the weekend with JT, but I think 8 hours away from him on Monday took a toll. For fun, we took a lot of crappy, indoor, low-light, overexposed with the flash pictures. Have I mentioned that I'm looking forward to daylight savings time this weekend?

For those of you who play football with us, you'll be happy to know that the flags came in last week. If you click on the photo, you can see some other pics of JT demonstrating how the flags should be used. He may not totally get the concept yet. :-)

How's your week going?

3/52

3/52, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

We didn't get a very good photo last week... but we did take some. We took the camera with us first thing in the morning when we woke JT up. (Yes, it takes two of us to get the baby up!) What can I say, we are both too excited to see him in the mornings!

Last weekend was an all-weekend crop with the girls and Scrap Happy. Oh my, sooo much fun and sooo much scrappin'. I really missed my boy though.

Ok... it's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to share this picture. There will be more pictures of scraps later...

should.go.to.bed.

I should really be in bed right now. I'm so tired! But I'm trying to upload some photos for printing so I have something to scrap this weekend. The girls and I are getting away for a weekend crop. I am so jazzed for it. I will miss my boy terribly, but I really need this time. Good friends, good scraps, good times!

JT's new foods this week are asparagus and peas. His diet was a little lacking in the green department. John fed him the peas tonight while I was getting my wig busted. He said JT loved them. Oh well, sorry that I've been neglecting to feed you peas thus far!

His nanny wrote in the journal today that he made a few motions like crawling. Hmm, we're skeptical. He has shown so little interest in it. He better not take it up while I'm gone this weekend... I'll cry!

It is a busy week. Busy at work and lots to get done in order to go away for the weekend. And the new project ideas are swirling in my head at a fast pace. I want to sew along with the pot holders and a table runner for March. I'm thinking that since I'll have my craft area cleaned up and all the scrappin' out of my system, I can get out the sewing stuff next week.

football in the park

Today was the first Brunner Bowl. Apparently this is an event that will happen regularly, so it's not the "first annual" or anything like that... more like the "first of many".

As you can see, it was action-packed. Check out all the photos here.

JT acted pretty bored with the whole scene. I think maybe he was tired from partying on Friday night at the fish fry and Jeni's ice cream:

Oh, but the fun doesn't end with Brunner Bowl... John challenged everyone to a game of Balderdash and battled it out with Krista for the win. Then we played a never-ending game of Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture DVD edition. I don't even know who won that. I think we ended up forcing someone to win just so it would end already.

Oh, John has been saying "Touché" like it's his job. Usually he says it when we are watching Lost or Friday Night Lights. He says it a LOT, and I'm not sure always appropriately. Well, now he has everyone saying it. In honor of that... a mac/pc commercial:

week 2

2/52, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Me and my kid... week 2 is posted. John took this week's photo, too. A lot of the pictures in the pool are self-portraits or timer shots... which I think are cool. I wish I was any good at those kind of photos.

But I think I like having John take the photos. Tonight he spent some time trying to get a good shot. So if once a week for a year, John practices taking pictures of his family, maybe he'll get used to doing that. And then our family history will show that I really was here. :-)

it's good to be king

We visited Uncle Bill and Aunt Theresa in Wooster last weekend. JT showed them all his new tricks: waving, biting, drooling, etc. JT also got to know his cousin Bailey. Maybe we are bad parents... but we let him have the full experience of doggie kisses. JT was amazed that there is a being out there that gives wetter kisses than he does!

We also introduced JT to fine dining.

Oh wait, that's not the photo of fine dining, that was the fast food on the way home. heehee.

On Saturday night we dined at South Market Bistro. The food is phenomenal. They feature seasonal produce and local ingredients. The chocolate fondant was out-of-this-world delicious. JT went with us. He was so good... charming everyone he met.

No pictures from the Bistro, guess I'll have to go back sometime soon!

play ball

play ball, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Ok, one last creation. I might like this one for JT's room. It incorporates my one little word for this year.

spring fever

spring fever, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

I'm quite addicted to these texture overlays! And I'm getting more brave... I added text to this one. haha!

How much longer until spring anyway? The daffodils have poked through already. The Japanese dogwood and the lilac bushes are chock full of blossoms ready to go.

happy prez' day

rusty flower, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

I spent today with JT. These days off are such a treasure. Of course, I forgot to snap our picture today for the 52 weeks of me and my kid. We'll have to see what the rest of the week brings.

There are stories and photos to share from the weekend, but that will have to wait for another evening. I have been playing with photos all night and didn't leave myself much blogging time.

Here is a flower pic I took last fall with an overlay I found on flickr... fun stuff these overlays. :-)

52 weeks with my kid

Mama and JT in the snow, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Ok, I'm taking the challenge... 52 weeks with my kid. One photo of me and JT every week for a year. Sure, starting in February is a little random. I was feeling non-committal in January though. :-)

We were lucky enough to have some daylight today and John took our picture. But I daresay it will more often be me doing a self-portrait. At least history will know that I was involved in my kid's upbringing. I mean, to look at the photos so far, I appear completely absent.

The little bugger still has a bit of a head cold. He's cheerful as can be though. You got love a hacking cough and runny nose with a big grin on his face.

He's waving all the time now. The other morning (when he woke up in bed with us... 3 binky retrievals and we opt for co-sleeping...) he waved at John and then at me. Upstairs on his changing table, he waved at his reflection in the mirror. Then he waved at a 2 foot tall Smokey Bear that my grandparents got him for Christmas. He is across the room from the changing table... JT has been eyeballing him only recently. And now it's tradition to wave at Smokey when we're in his room. And I ask him, "What does Smokey say, JT?" And in a very deep voice I answer for him, "ONLY YOU can prevent forest fires!" Lol... it's sure to be his first full sentence!

think or swim

You didn't think there was only one video from swimming, did you? Watch out, this one might make you dizzy...




John set JT beside me tonight while I was sitting with the computer on my lap. JT started banging on the keyboard, of course. He managed to open a new Firefox tab and navigate to the site thinkorswim.com. Haha... ironic. (I have no idea how or why that site - it's not something either of us had been to previously.)

sea legs

JT got his sea legs today. He goes crazy in the tub at bathtime. He kicks all the water out of the tub for no good reason most nights. So we decided to take him where there is a lot more water.

How do you think he liked it?

JT and Froggy

JT and Froggy, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

This picture cracks me up. JT and the frog have the EXACT same expression. lol!

I love digital scrapbooking... it's so neat and tidy. I wish I knew Photoshop Elements better though. I'd be a digital scrapbooking machine then!

Once again, I am up way too late. Going to bed now... Let's hope there isn't a humongously loud crack of thunder at 2:30am that wakes John and me out of sound sleep. He thought it was an explosion. I don't know how it didn't wake JT. Thunder - in February?!

just chillin'

I wish I was just chillin'... I am so tired. We just watched the end of the super bowl. That was the first time I'd sat down since mid-day. I spent the whole day making baby food for JT. We were almost OUT completely. I bought a bunch of stuff last week on Thursday and didn't get to make it up until today.

Here is the work in progress:

And here is the freezer full of goodies:

Many thanks to Ellen... the food processor and the white ice cube trays are all on loan from her. She also gave me the great idea for mango-applesauce. JT loves it! Today I made up several new foods for him, including cauliflower, carrots, and spaghetti squash. His new food over the weekend was YoBaby yogurt. The vanilla is delicious.

Oh, and I should mention... the baby food is freezing right now in our BRAND... NEW.... REFRIGERATOR!!!

The best feature? Ice and water in the door. Good-bye ice cube trays and water filtration pitcher!

JT's library

I've been pining for yard sale season lately. In order to get a little fix, JT and I visited the second-hand store one evening this week. He got a pair of swimming trunks for $1.60 (because we plan to take him to the pool soon for some splashing.) And I got 3 books. Ok, the books are "for him". But really, they're for me.

My favorite is Will's Mammoth:


I love the drawings and how the text works right along with them. The story just wreaks of imagination. The little boy imagines that he spends the day playing with a woolly mammoth and all the ice age creatures. Most of the pages just have pictures, so you can make up the story of his day as you go through the book... a book about imagination that requires imagination. Just look at these dreamy images:


The other two books are Clever Tortoise and Madeline and the Gypsies. Clever Tortoise won me over because it covers animals and African culture. It's also a cute tale with a lesson. And the Madeline book, well! Any story about a kid who runs off to be with the gypsies has to be good! LOL - I like when Miss Clavel gets the postcard and realizes that Madeline has forgotten how to spell in her time with the gypsies! Oh and sure, it has some French culture as well...


I've added many of JT's books to a list on WorldCat. Check it out: JT's Library.

new handmade

So I can't give up the handmade stuff. I bought these two prints for JT's room. Now I just hope they arrive before we go visit my brother. He can make me custom mats for them and I can paint up a couple yard sale frames to match all the other frames in his room. You know, the other frames that don't have anything in them yet. Yeah, yeah, I'll get to those.

Turtle Kite - Gocco Printed

by jenskelley

awww, how sweet is the turtle?!

Baloon flight

by MiaMiBox

This little girl in the balloon is a print of a mixed media painting. I love the trees. Have I mentioned how much he loves the balloon mobile in his room? My heart just lights up when he oohs and ahhs over it.

teething on a lollipop

valentine baby, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Sometimes after JT goes to bed, we sneak up to say good night again and watch him sleep. We did that tonight after watching Friday Night Lights. When that show ends, we say "shwew, thank goodness we won't have any teenagers for a while." Then we want to hug on our lovable bundle of joy while he'll still let us.

I mean, really... I'm not going to stop smothering him with hugs and kisses. He'll just have to get used to it. *kiss*

little taste of sugar

JT had his first taste of sugar... in the name of photography!



Oh yeah... Lost is back tomorrow. Can't wait! I just rewatched the last episode from last fall and I'm pumped!

Caesar... salad.

We had PF Changs takout for dinner. You know what that means... lettuce wraps, mmm-mmm.


Caesar... salad., originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Hey JT, you look like Caesar. Caesar salad!!

C'mon, lettuce go get a bath. :-)

feel good

feel good, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Little guy just coughed in his sleep. It was a nasty sounding cough, so I ran up to check on him... he was sound asleep still. But since I was there, I may as well kiss him and tell him I love him. He wrapped his little hand around my finger so tight in his sleep. Awww... this must be why mommies gain weight with pregnancy. If I were a smaller woman, I'd crawl right in his crib and cuddle with him. :-)

Last weekend was a long weekend out of town away from JT with our youth group. It was a great weekend, but exhausting in many ways. And uplifting, in many ways.

And then this week has been so busy at work. My eyes are so tired that when I blink they threaten not to open back up.

Good things planned for the weekend... looking forward to it. Also hoping to find some time to be creative!

blankie

blankie, originally uploaded by brungrrl.

Aren't these blankies yummy?! I have an idea in mind for a blanket for JT... in the greatest shade of green. Now if I just had the energy to put it together. Last night I went to bed with a headache at 9pm. Tonight I've lasted til 10, but I'm fading fast.

I got some good tips from a quilter friend at work on how to attach seam binding. She also showed me how to make my own binding from fabric. I'm looking forward to trying it out. Just.need.energy.

My poor little guy is spending his days in misery over his teeth. I just want to spend the whole day snuggling him (and holding a teether for him to gnaw).

And so... I'm short on interesting things to post this week... maybe next week I will get some inspiration back.

play, play, play!

JT has been in bed for almost 2 hours now... I miss him! He was fun and adorable all weekend. He's teething pretty fiercely which causes some grouchiness, but overall... much happiness. The drooling and gnawing of teething has not been in vain, his first tooth came through this weekend!

On Saturday JT played with Ally and Nicholas most of the day. We walked in the park and played on the swings... it was beautiful outside! There was a LOT of baby laughter that day. We gave Ally the fleece blanket I started on around the start of the new year. I have a few more blankies lined up for the sewing machine... I'm pretty excited about how this one turned out and looking forward to some more:


John, JT and I spent a lot of time just playing. He is sitting up on his own really well now. He is launching backwards less every time we try it. :-) So we make little "baby nests" of pillows and toys and let him go to town.

So here's looking forward to another week of play and laughter... and no more growing up!!

6 months

Half a year already, can you imagine? Our little JT is so sweet... how did we ever get by without him? I think he had a pretty good half-year birthday today. He did have to get stuck a few times for vaccines, but otherwise it was fun. He weighs 17 lbs and is in perfect health.

His daddy took the day off and they hung out all day. The three of us had sushi for lunch. JT totally flirted with the cute waitress. He even convinced her to carry him around and she showed him off to the other tables. In the evening he and I had a little photo shoot (obviously), played some games, and watched Sesame Street.

I could write a blog post every day about how much I love him and what he means to me. I was thinking today about how lucky we are to have him and that he is so healthy (and I sent up a little prayer of thanks once again)... and I remembered the finch who visted us last May.

I'm pretty sure we weren't very thankful for him at the time and I called him some ugly names (sorry about that). Susannah pointed out that the finch symbolizes "multiplicity, new experiences and encounters." Other sources claim that during the Renaissance the finch was associated with the Passion and Christ's crown of thorns (because it eats thistle seeds).

His timing was just uncanny. He was around for a couple months at the end of my pregnancy. I don't remember exactly when he stopped visiting. And while a bird tapping on your window doesn't necessarily have to mean something, I can't shake the thought in my head that he was bringing us a message:

Your little boy is going to be just wonderful.

a blurb

Have you heard of Blurb? I'm going to try it out. The coolest thing is the ability to "slurp your blog into a book". How cool is that? I think if I had in mind that my blog would become a book at the end of each year, it would take on new meaning.

So this year... more stories and more pictures. What do you think? I mean... it's pretty much a scrapbook of our lives that I don't have to work very hard to capture.

I'll let you know how it goes.

*play*

Now... about resolutions and the new year and all that... I did terrible with last year's resolutions. Here's the recap:

• Gain no more than 30 lbs before giving birth. Really should have stopped gaining at 30!
  
• Lose that 30 lbs by December. Needless to say... the amount I went beyond, I still have to lose.
  
• Read more books. I think I read 3 books... which, sadly, was more than the year before. (This was reading for pleasure... not slurping up every bit of info I can find about caring for a baby.)
  
• Put photos in photo albums (takes pressure off scrapping EVERY photo). I think I have one photo album started.

So this year...

1. Lose the remaining 11 pounds of "baby" (er... ice cream) weight.
2. Play

That's right... just two. I'm not going to better myself beyond the weight loss, not going to save money, not going to get organized. I mean, I might do some of that. But the big thing is my one little word... PLAY.

P L A Y

This year I want to remember to take time to play with my little munchkin. I want to remember not to be so serious, so type A, so uptight, so hurried to "accomplish". I want to savor every moment with him by taking time to just play. Hopefully along the way I will be present in more moments with him and create some cherished memories.

And hey, maybe some of our play will bring weight loss!

believe it!

You won't believe it, but it's true, every bit of it. Tonight, JT said his first word. During his bath he looked up at the shower head and said... "bubba". LOL.

Then... he pooped in the potty. That's right, he pooped in the potty just shy of 6 months of age! More LOL! Ok, he had some help on this one. He made what we call "the poop face" in the bathtub. In this situation, the easiest thing to do was to take the baby out of the tub and set him on the toilet. Potty training. Done.

:-)

create(d)

My "one little word" for 2007 was CREATE. I'm not sure how well I did with that. I did manage to create a new life. I've created a lot of messes and some new fat cells over the past year, also.

And my 2007 resolutions... blah. I gained more than 30 lbs... and of course, it's not gone yet. I have 11 more pounds to go. So sad, that is probably the amount I gained by overeating ice cream. *Sigh* If I had behaved, I'd have made the goal already. I think I read three books this year. Sadly, that is better than last year. I have read a TON of baby information online and elsewhere, does that count? I put a few pictures in albums, but I wouldn't say I am caught up on that one, either.

Not sure what this year's word and resolution(s) will be. I am thinking one resolution this time around. Although, I do have a goal to ditch that 11 lbs by April. And I have another goal in mind. Maybe I will have it decided for posting by New Year's Day.

Well, in the creative department... I am carving out time to make stuff. I have done a little digital scrapping. Designer Digitals posted several very cool freebies recently that I totally dig. So I downloaded those and have been playing.


And you won't believe what I did today. I sewed. Still have a bit to finish. Maybe a photo by Tuesday. :-)

buying handmade

Now that Christmas has passed, I can tell about my handmade purchases. I photographed a few of the packages as I received them. I got some notecards from annacote. There is some beautiful stationery on Etsy... definitely check it out. I ordered scrapbooking what-nots from elles and maythird. A few lucky ladies got a handbag and a wristlet/wallet from lulaballou. In the delicious department, I gave a little and pampered myself with some aspenspa. Yum, yum. Go for the juicy pear lip balm!

All the packages were shipped speedily (even if the post office was a little nutty in delivering on time this past holiday season). Every single package was neatly packed. Items were well-protected by plastic wrap and tissue paper. And I think every single seller included a hand-written thank you note. It's a beautiful shopping experience... I love it!

I'll be giving more handmade stuff in 2008. And maybe next year I will be a little more prepared for Christmas with some gifts I hand make myself.

We took the Christmas stuff down tonight. I just couldn't bear the thought of doing anything but relaxing on New Year's day. I got a little caught up on laundry the past few days. But of course, JT got a TON of new clothes for Christmas, so I'll have to pre-wash all those things... so more laundry.

I love his little clothes... they are so cute and I love the thought behind what people pick out for him. My 4-wheeler ridin' aunt and uncle got him a 4-wheelin' outfit with camo sleeves - too cute. My other aunt got him a Pooh outfit in an outdoor explorer theme... it's totally us. I just wish he didn't have to outgrow everything so quickly. Can you believe I have already filled a storage tote with the 0-3 months clothes he outgrew?!

Ok, I'm sleepy... off to bed. N-night.