Concocting A Mess

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Evan is into Spiderman these days. As in, he can’t get enough. We play Spiderman, read Spiderman books and watch Spiderman on t.v. He is going to be Spiderman for Halloween, but I just ordered his costume yesterday. Later in the day Evan asked me if he could paint. I said sure, got out the paints and gave Evan some paper. I went about making dinner, which means I was in the kitchen with Evan, but had my back to him quite a bit. Imagine my surprise when I turned around to find this: 

He can even shoot webs. 



His feet got in on the action, too. 



Dinner was late. And I am still cleaning up red paint. Luckily it was washable. 


 

Concocting A Mess

Posted on by

Evan is into Spiderman these days. As in, he can’t get enough. We play Spiderman, read Spiderman books and watch Spiderman on t.v. He is going to be Spiderman for Halloween, but I just ordered his costume yesterday. Later in the day Evan asked me if he could paint. I said sure, got out the paints and gave Evan some paper. I went about making dinner, which means I was in the kitchen with Evan, but had my back to him quite a bit. Imagine my surprise when I turned around to find this: 

He can even shoot webs. 



His feet got in on the action, too. 



Dinner was late. And I am still cleaning up red paint. Luckily it was washable. 


 

Creating: Fun Photos

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Have you used Picnik yet to edit your photos? You can add borders, text and all kinds of fun effects. The best part is that it is free! You can upgrade to the premium service for about $25 a year, which I am going to do. It is so quick and easy to make a few small changes that really improve the look of your photos. So, if you haven’t tried it, check it out at www.picnik.com.

 

Creating: An Athlete

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My little guy is growing up. Sometimes the reminders are subtle, but other times I look at him and his latest achievement and realize that he is a kid—a real kid—and there is no baby left inside of him. Saturday was one of those days. Evan and Bryan embarked on a father/son ice skating adventure. They hit the ice and neither one of them looked back. Seeing my guy out there made me realize he is getting bigger and bigger every day. Luckily, I was too busy smiling, laughing and taking pictures to feel sad about how quickly time passes. There are so many things I miss from Evan’s baby and toddler days, but making memories like this…



helps ease my pain. Then I hold on tight to Madelyn, kiss her chubby little baby cheeks and try to get her to promise that she won’t ever grow up. She hasn’t answered me yet. 

Creating: A Star

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I did it…I’ve become one of those moms. The kind that thinks her child is beautiful and assumes everybody else does too. So because I’m that mom, I entered one of Madelyn’s apple picking photos in a contest. I received an e-mail today from Parents.com that she is a weekly finalist. I don’t know how many other people received this e-mail, but I do know that now Miss Madelyn needs votes. And because I’m that mom, I’m going to go ahead and ask you to cast your ballot. Will you spare a few clicks today, hop on over to Parents.com and vote for my little sweetie? You can also like it on Facebook! Remember…vote early and often. And, tell your friends. 

Creating: The Perfect Party

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I have never thrown the perfect party. I usually end up forgetting to serve at least one dish or running out of time to create all the little details I love so much. But, my friend Sarah on the other hand, does throw the best parties. She creates the cutest little things and launched her own party planning business, Sheek Shindigs. I’m lucky enough to get invited to some of her events.

Hopefully she’ll keep inviting me. I showed up an hour late to the last party she threw. The worst part was I thought I was walking in right on time, which I would have been if the party started at eleven. But it didn’t. It started at ten. It was on the eleventh. That means I spent the next hour feeling foolish. I hate being late. I really hate it. I think it comes from earning a living meeting deadlines.

Anyway, back to creating the perfect party. Take a look at Sarah’s blog for some great party ideas. She shares her own ideas and some of the best ones she finds online. I took the picture above at her Easter party. I was on time for that one! I am going to hire her the next time I throw a party. This week Sarah is giving away an adorable ceramic cupcake, so be sure to enter. I say that, but secretly I am hoping I win, because it is a really cute cupcake!

Oh—and, I do feel like I need to add that the week when I showed up late for Sarah’s popsicle party was a very hectic one at our house as my hubby and baby girl both had surgery within a few days of each other. I don’t want you to think I’m a complete flake!

 

Living: Rushing Toward Christmas

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Evan woke up today thinking it was Christmas. Really, he did. He jumped out of bed and couldn’t wait to see what Santa Claus brought him. I explained over and over again it was not Christmas, but he insisted on finding out for himself. He held out hope until he walked into our living room. The fact that Santa hadn’t come didn’t phase him all that much. “Let’s just look outside and see if it snowed,” he said as he lifted the blinds. I was happy that he thought Christmas could have come without ribbons, come without tags, come without packages, boxes, or bags, but my poor little guy had such disappointment in his eyes when he looked outside and saw it hadn’t turned to winter overnight. 

It’s my fault, I suppose. We’ve been talking a lot about Christmas travel plans lately, plus I’ve been singing Christmas carols since June. It all started with Madelyn, who was quite the crier when we first brought her home. I sang and sang to try to calm her down. After I went through my repertoire of children’s songs, I turned to Christmas carols. Little Miss developed an affinity for Let it Snow, so I’ve been singing it about four times a day for the past three months.

Then Evan started asking me to sing it to him at bedtime. Little did I know it is apparently the gateway carol. A few weeks ago he started asking for hard-core carols. Last night I did four renditions of Santa Claus is Coming to Town and three of Jolly Old Saint Nicholas with a quick Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer thrown in for good measure (my guy had a hard time settling down last night—hence all the singing). As I was tucking Evan in he told me he couldn’t wait for Santa to come. I had no idea he thought it would be so soon.

I’m going to have to tone down the Christmas talk or else the next few months will be torturous for my little guy. I do love Christmas and I love getting a jumpstart on the planning, but this little episode reminded me not to rush the fall. I think I’ll plan a trip to the pumpkin patch and get some Halloween decorations down from the attic. Time goes by fast enough on its own without wishing it away just so we can get to Christmas.

Living: A Multitasking Mess

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I shouldn’t multitask. It can have unhappy consequences. Like earlier this week when I slipped this pan of cookies in the oven, then interested Evan in some toys, put Madelyn down for a nap and started in on a work project. It wasn’t until the smell of burning sugar and butter made its way from my oven, through the kitchen and into the next room that I remembered I had even made cookies…let alone put them in the oven. It was a sad, sad day at our house. And I didn’t even have any cookies to help make me feel better.