Easter re-cap

The bunny came by bright and early on Sunday morning and left a nest in the backyard. It was a little bigger this year, because it was for Maddy, too. But it contained all the usual things: clothes, books, toys, and of course, CANDY.

JT wasn't too sure about going out to the nest because he was "chilly." The mention of candy was enough to lure him outside anyway. We warmed up afterwards with Aunt Becka's homemade cinnamon rolls. Mmm, mmm.

After breakfast, I reached another Mommy Milestone. I forced my kid to wear a tie and sweater vest for a holiday. I also had to wet his hair down to keep it tamed for church. Coaxed by a few jelly beans, he eventually wore the whole outfit most of the day. Yay!

Bill, Theresa, and Maddy were looking darling on this sun-shining day. Can you believe Bill picked out Maddy's Easter dress? Excellent choice. She looked so sweet and classy in her green dress and white sweater.

After church, Aunt Memaw and Uncle Papa joined us for Easter dinner. We had "Vermonte" Cristo sandwiches (made with VT white cheddar cheese & syrup), 7 layer salad, and Nana's deviled eggs.

After lunch we played and took more pictures. As challenging as it is to get JT to sit still, we were able to trick him into sitting near Maddy for a picture. Unfortunately for her, our attempts to engage him meant that she got Easter grass on her head or was otherwise knocked over by her cousin.
But I think she doesn't really mind all the attention so much...

family time

The fam showed up on Saturday and we headed to the zoo.

Maddy experienced the zoo for the first time.

JT saw all his favorite things like snakes, penguins, and the aquarium. His favorite part is watching the diver feed the fish.

The adults were so inspired by the aquarium, we went out to dinner at a hibachi grill for some yummy seafood.

Back at home, we let the kids stay up way late playing trucks with Nana.

spring arrives!

Inspiring me today, as we approach Easter weekend. Flickr favorites, click for sources:

Flowery edgers for digital scrapbook layouts:


Perseverence (photo by me):


Easter morning excitement:

And amazing love:

cut and paste

We're in the habit of doing the same things year after year. Every year, we go to the beach with my aunt and uncle, hiking with my family, and host Easter at our house. One thing that I've done the past 4 or 5 years just for me is a scrapbooking getaway weekend.

This past February was again at the Scrap Happy crop in Tiffin, Ohio. I adore this uninterrupted time away with my sisters-in-law. We get to catch up with each others' lives, unwind, and maybe even get some scrappin' done. This page is one I put together at that retreat.


This layout celebrates the first completed art project JT ever brought home. And I use the word "completed" loosely, since it wasn't colored. I am so excited for him to show interest in crayons, glue, scissors, paint, or anything creative. I'm ready for a little crafty buddy! So the working bear paper bag puppet was a really big deal for me.

My inspiration for the layout was from this page at Two Peas in a Bucket. It's not a total scraplift, but I did like the panoramic photo that takes up two-thirds the width of the page. I also liked the simplicity of the design and colors used. I added some Bam Pop papers, Sticko stickers, and the cutest hedgehog stamp ever.

Now if only the pages I created in February will keep me going until next year's getaway crop...

jewels

Once upon a time, I cleaned my room. I took pictures. It was amazing. I had to face giant dust bunnies with TEETH to achieve this feat!

But that's not what I wanted to write about. In the process of cleaning, I unearthed a piece of furniture I acquired recently: my Grandma's jewelry chest. My Grandpa designed and made it.

The things inside the jewelry box are very much inspired by my Grandma. Many of the items she gave to me. It's full of enamel flower pins, giant bangle bracelets, strands of glass bead necklaces, vintage scarves, delicate handkerchiefs, and my other everyday jewelry.

The back/top of the box has a lid that lifts to reveal a mirror and two panels that slide up to display necklaces on tiny hooks. I love that my necklaces can stay untangled and away from the dust like this. Plus, you know how the dust bunnies can get around here... a hungry one could eat a few shiny gems all on its own!

I love the bottom three drawers for the wonderful treasures stashed inside. The hankies are an assortment of my dad's when he was a kid, to the ones I've carried in my purse since I started kindergarten, to the hankie I carried on my wedding day, to the special occasion hankies my Grandma would slip inside a Valentine card to me.

A box full of memories indeed.

history of style

I mentioned last fall that I was taking Ali Edwards' Yesterday Today class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Between working on my homework for that class and my Grandma passing away at Christmastime, I've become consumed by the past. At least every couple weeks I find myself at my scanner with a stack of old photos or mementos. It's influencing many areas of my life: scrapbooking, crafts, cooking, photography, and parenting to name a few.

My mom has also been providing me with inspiration, scanning photos from Mammaw's (her mother's) photo albums. Here is a picture of my ever-beautiful Mammaw when she was pregnant for my uncle in 1956. She was about 38, I think. Still today, in her 90s, she will put on a cute outfit and makeup to chat with family and neighbors on the porch.

My mom also scanned slides taken by my Dad's family. I had no idea that my Grandpa was an amazing photographer. The full set of photos from my dad's childhood are inspiring. My Grandma's sense of style come through in every image: the decor, her clothes, the kids' clothes, etc. Just look at her and these darling kids. But remember, the one darling kid is my dad, and he's known to be the orneriest kid on the block!

Further fueling my what's-old-is-new passion are images from the Library of Congress that keep appearing in my contacts stream on flickr. Long live flickr Commons. I am c.r.a.z.y. about that project. Here are some Parisian ladies who drove me to click the favorite button recently:

On Saturday one of my favorite bloggers, Scott from The Sartorialist announced a contest featuring his readers' vintage photos. He has been posting the entries and stories that he is receiving. I can't get enough. You must check out the entries and read the stories.

How is your past influencing your future?

she's a gift

Perhaps you've noticed that I'm fond of props in my photos? When JT was a baby, I took a picture of him in the bathtub with his rubber duckie on his head. The duck was a baby shower gift. It also appears in my maternity photos. And he still takes a bath with it every night. So, just maybe it's worth noting that duck in the documentation of our lives.

That brings us to my sweet little niece, Maddy. This past Christmas I got to take her pictures when JT took his nap. Luckily for us, JT was VERY slow at opening his presents and hadn't opened all his gifts. The remaining gifts were from my Aunt Joan and were wrapped so pretty. Perfect opportunity to play dress-up!

To make it special for me, Maddy is wearing a skirt and tights that I got for her. And she's holding the stocking that Mammaw got her. The stocking is very much like JT's personalized stocking. Again, making it special to me. Can you imagine the flood of memories seventeen Christmases from now when we are drinking egg nog by my brother's fireplace where this stocking will still hang... looking at pictures from years gone by?

With babies, props can be quite handy. Maddy couldn't quite sit up at this time, so we used a blanket to cover up some pillows and put the presents within reach to keep her tilted forward. It worked to keep her upright and engaged where I needed her attention for the shot.

This one was more of an outtake. She was looking away from the camera, but giving a sideways smirk... likely to her mama. Her perky little ears and sideways smile resemble my mom's baby pictures. Yes, there she is, under her Nana's Christmas tree flashing her Nana's smile.

Maddy is spending Easter with us this weekend. I can. not. wait.

inspiration

A few things inspiring me right now... Amy's glitter eggs.

I actually made these eggs when she posted them before. But I didn't finish them nearly so sweetly...

A bunny bunting...


The latest Anthropologie catalog... can I take some pictures now?


And I'm thinking about participating in Ali's week in the life 2010. Hmmm...


Here's hoping a chilly weekend ahead means some inside time spent crafting...

vroomin'

Last weekend I scrapped exactly one page for my own album. Yay! I mean, 10 would be great, but I'll take what I can get, right? I took these pictures on St. Patrick's Day. They aren't anything spectacular, but they do represent right now in JT's life. He's all about the trucks. And we are LOVING the spring weather and sunshine. The title is his own verb. When he drives a truck, he says he's "vroomin' it." I'll ask him to put his trucks away and he'll say, "Can I vroom it over there?"


I ordered supplies for some upcoming projects and threw in some just for fun items. The box arrived last week, so I was feeling inspired. I got Glimmer Mist in Lemon Meringue and Candlelight. It doesn't show up very well on this red background, but it looks spectacular on textured white cardstock - like a little spritz of sun!


The photo booth template is by KristyAnn Designs. I have used this template before on 2 or 3 different layouts. One of the strips of photos is hanging in my office at work. It has pictures of JT when he was about 7 months old. It's a favorite template... highly recommended. Use the template to size and clip your photo, layer under the strip, and select "overlay" as the blend mode. Presto! It's a great way to tell a story in 4 small photos.


I'm pretty excited about the wheat grass in the first picture, too. JT got some seeds on a field trip to Great Harvest Bread Company. Apparently if we take the grass back to them and show that we grew it to at least 2 inches, we get a free cookie. JT hasn't taken much interest in the wheat grass, but I bet he'd notice a chocolate chip cookie the size of his head!

being a boy mom

Being a boy mom means...

• Navigating with the "car cart" at the grocery store.
  
• Keeping your eyes peeled for garbage trucks when you drive around town.
  
• Potty training for 5 and a half months.
• You don't put a toy truck away, you "vroom it" to its parking space.
  
• Reading stories about cars, trucks, trains, and spiders.
  
• Reminding that we don't scream or yell at the dinner table or in the car or in the grocery store...
  
• Getting hugged around the neck so hard it almost chokes me. (But I love it!)
• Being asked "Can I say gross? It's not an 'ucky word?"
  
• Squeezing the water out of an alligator after bath time every night.
• Tucking a boy, a bunny, a blankie, and a plastic spider into bed.
• Washing wet, muddy clothes late at night.
  

no tv

Since it gets dark so early and it's been a little chilly, we've been spending our evenings in front of the tv and our computer screens. Spring is a long way off, so we had to break this pattern.

In combination with the nice weather this weekend, I unplugged the tv. I do this from time to time. John still has his tv in the basement, but we don't spend much family time there. I unplugged the tv on Friday morning.

When I was getting his breakfast, I saw JT try the power button. Nothing. Try again. Nothing. Try another button. Nothing. Walk away. Look at toys. Pick up toy. Start playing.

He has asked a couple times to watch cartoons or a movie. But no meltdowns when I refuse. He thinks the "battery died" on the tv and we have proven ourselves to be less than efficient at replacing batteries, so he doesn't ask further.

We played outside a LOT, which is pretty usual for nice days. But we also got into some art things. Crayons and a coloring book lasted for more than the usual 5 minutes. Ok, it was 6 minutes, but I'll take it!

And I couldn't believe JT was completely enthralled with the watercolor paints tonight. Last time I tried painting he didn't want anything to do with it. But tonight, he found my little paint tray, asked what it was, and immediately wanted to get some paint for it. I put water in each well. He dabbed paint from the watercolor tray into each new spot of water, mixing colors along the way. I have to say, looking at some of what made it to the paper, he has an eye for color!

storytelling

The pic has nothing to do with anything... just an old shot from April that makes me think, WOW, JT has grown a TON!

I've been thinking a lot about storytelling lately. Between reading to JT, devouring some fiction, and writing my own story for Ali's Yesterday Today class, it's on my mind frequently. I also listen to a podcast of This American Life and catch StoryCorps on NPR sometimes.

The other night JT wanted to read Good Dog Carl. This time, I had him tell me the story. Good Dog Carl is a picture book with just a few words on the first and last pages. John and I each read it a little differently. It was much more like a conversation than storytelling, though. He didn't understand the laundry chute because he's never seen one. So I spent some time trying to explain that. And he told me the dog was mean, though we've never told the story to portray the dog as mean. He must have just thought the Rottweiler looked mean. It was a wonderful way to see what he has taken from our readings of the book.

We aren't just reading stories, we are making them up, recitng tales, and discussing old stories, too. Becka mentioned Little Red Riding Hood the other day when she was here. Unfortunately for her, she then had to tell JT the story of Little Red. JT's Nana tells him the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. He looooves this story. I think she told it about 20 times in one weekend.

And the stories he makes up when he's rambling in the car or at bedtime? They are classics. The Halloween decorations from around the neighborhood have provided endless fodder for characters to his stories. He and roof cat have had some amazing adventures in his mind!

It occurs to me that storytelling may be a good way of encouraging learning. I think it appeals to his sense of adventure, forges a connection to loved ones and the world around him, and maybe even helps to develop critical thinking skills. Yet, when I peruse our vast collection of books around here, I have found we're lacking in the wordless books. I made a meager list of the two books we do have. You can find it here.

Won't you share with me the title of your favorite picture book? I can add suggestions to this list and hopefully develop it into something a little more substantial.

accessories

JT: I wanna go to the MALLLL.
Me: Nope, we don't have any money.
JT: Yes jou do.
Me: Oh yeah, I'd like to know where?
JT: In jou SUITCASE.
Me: *huffs* It's not a suitcase. It's my purse.

falling

I think it was on Sunday after we set the clocks back an hour. JT woke me up insanely early after spending most of the night in our bed kicking me in the head. While I was making coffee I noticed the sun was coming up, causing the yellow tree in the back yard to glow. There was frost, so the leaves were heavy and falling off at a slow, but steady pace. It's such a different feeling than when the wind blows warm, dry leaves from the trees... it's a much more peaceful way to usher in the next season.

For a moment I considered taking the video camera out and setting it up on a tripod to capture those leaves falling to the ground. But I didn't brave the cold (and stench of skunk) to go set it up. So now I'll just have to close my eyes and remember when winter is getting me down.

Hopefully the pictures will help me remember.

yellow leaves

yellow leaves
Originally uploaded by brungrrl

Remember daylight? Daylight was cool. We did fun things when there was daylight after 5:30pm...

fall romance

I got some slouchy calf-high boots to wear with skirts. What do you think? I'm not sure I'm a boots with skirts kind of gal, but it's certainly comfortable and these boots are so warm... I'm going to love them when it's cold out.

The fall color was just phenomenally beautiful last week. I don't know if it was a combination of activities, weather, and trees... but it was such a scenic and romantic time. Monday morning first thing I noticed was the missing colors from the leaves that had fallen. And then there's the lack of sunlight making my mood more somber. It has been an amazing fall for us. I have so many pictures still to process and share with you. In time... there will be plenty of winter for picture play, right?

One of the wonderfully romantic things we did last week was to take a nighttime walk around our neighborhood to see the Halloween decorations. (Sorry, no pics!) JT fell in love with an inflatable kitty he dubbed "Roof Cat". He has talked about the spider webs, witches, elephants, and tractors a lot. Yeah, I saw a witch and a cat, he saw an elephant and he won't let it go. Who am I to argue? He also saw a tractor where I saw none and there was apparently something hiding behind it. Ok, if you say...

Well, today he asked if we could go see Roof Cat, the witch, and the spider webs. I told him they were taken down already. He got tears in his eyes an his lip started to quiver. Oh, the fancy talking I had to do to defuse that puddle of tears.

So now we'll look forward to the excitement that Christmas will bring. It is going to be an amazing, wonderful holiday season.

How about you? What has been lovely in your world? What are you looking forward to?

déjà toddler

I'm scanning some pictures tonight for the Yesterday Today scrapbooking class I'm taking. I came across this picture and had a bit of a panic moment. Suddenly JT is grown, married, and has a kid of his own. Aack! My heart can't take it!

This is my brother in December of 1981. And he is grown, married, and has a baby girl. In this picture he's about 3 years old, just a little older than JT is now.

What caught my eye was the studious look on his face, the long eye lashes, the footed pajamas, and the piles of toys with an emphasis on trucks.

I'm having so much fun talking to JT right now. He tells wacko stories that are mash-ups of what has happened and what he'd like to happen. He says "pick me up like a rectangle". Which means to hold him horizontally like when he was a tiny babe. I have no clue why that's like a rectangle, but it makes me laugh. He always asks, "what brought me that shirt?" which means, who got him the shirt. It's funny that he asks that way and I love that he wants to know who to associate to some toy or shirt that he likes. And he'll say, "I have an idea." And when you ask him what his idea is, it's usually a truck or firetruck. "Good idea," I tell him.

big boy bed

John put JT's big boy bed together tonight. This task consisted of removing the front of the crib and replacing it with a single board. So it's the same bed, just with easier entry and exit for the boy. He has been asleep for a couple hours now... we'll see how he does the rest of the night.

We're actually well past ready for this step, we just had to wait for the Amish furniture store to finish up the board for us. JT has been able to get out of the crib for a while now. I think he got out 2 or 3 times. He just usually didn't try very hard to get out. He was much more likely to stand in there yelling "MOMMY!"

As you can imagine, the first thing you have to do when you get a new bed like this is to use it for jumping...

October 12

There really isn't a good way to catch you up on what we've been doing since I last posted in July. You'll have to follow on Facebook or Twitter if you want to hear the latest updates. Those updates are a bit more real-time. So for the blog, let's just jump in with something recent.

I'm still capturing our lives each month on the 12th. I'm loving this project. It's very exciting to have 10 layouts completed for this year. I love seeing the little things change. Like when JT moved from the high chair to the booster seat. And when he started potty training.

There's also security in the things that stay the same... like playing at the park, morning and bedtime routines, and drinking coffee- mmm,mmm.

Next year I want to change the layout up so I can feature larger photos and more journaling. I always capture more details of the day than I am able to share in this 8.5x11 layout. I think a 2-page 12x12 layout may be more the ticket next year. And it will probably still be digital because I can get those completed pretty quickly.

So if I start posting again, is anyone going to read? If you are still reading, leave me a comment. I'd love to know you're here!

Oh, look! There's my old blog. It must have gotten lost in all the mess. Maybe I will update it again soon...

JT chillin' with the flu and some cartoons.