Signs of life

We got a little misty sprinkle of rain this morning--the first precipitation we've had in weeks. Apparently the daylilies liked it though—they are starting to sprout like crazy.

Beware of "The Phog"

We watched our fair Cyclones on Sunday as they visited the hallowed halls of Allen Fieldhouse. I haven't been there in some time, so it was fun to reminisce and remember some of the things we enjoyed about Lawrence and KU.

It was Pink Day for Breast Cancer Awareness--pink uniforms, pink shoes, pink popcorn.


The old center court at Allen Fieldhouse.


Parker's favorite part was seeing all the current uniforms.




And then a little visit downtown to Massachusetts Street, to see some of our favorite independent retailers and a little pizza.

DIY Photo Project

Another gem from our friends at Photojojo.

Photo Jars



Supplies:
* A clean, clear jar (free of labels)
* Photos
* Ruler
* X-acto knife or scissors
* Pencil (optional)

Step 1: measure the jar
Measure how tall your jar is. If needed, trim the height of your photo to fit the jar (i.e. a 4"x6" photo will be too tall to fit in a 3" jar).

Step 2: insert the photo
Roll up the photo slightly and slide it into the jar so that the photo will be right-side-up when the jar is upside-down. Poke it into place with your fingers or the eraser end of a pencil.

Step 3: glass jar frame
Turn the jar upside down and display your simple thrifty genius in a place of honor!



Bottles: The Next Level



glass bottle frames
Bottles work just as well as jars, but they’re a little trickier. The photo won’t be able to unroll any further than the narrowest part of the bottle. There two ways to deal with that:

* Pick a photo that looks good when it’s only an inch wide, or
* make your photo no taller than the widest part of the bottle.

To use a bottle, roll up your photo tight enough to slip through the opening of the bottle. Slip the photo in right-side-up and maneuver it into place using the eraser end of a pencil.

Prince of Moresville

Tell me something I don't know.

A follow up.

If you haven't heard the "pink toothbrush, blue toothbrush" song, I believe it was made popular by the Smurfs in the (ahem) 80's.

Peanut, Peanut Butter...

Imagine my surprise the other night when Parker was singing this song from Kindermusik class...I thought it was a completely made up song from when I was younger and one of my aunts sang it to a newborn cousin. This ranks up there with "You're a pink toothbrush, I'm a blue toothbrush..."

Peanut Butter

Chorus:
Peanut, peanut butter - and jelly!
Peanut, peanut butter -and jelly!

First you take the peanuts and
You dig 'em, you dig 'em.
(Pretend to dig up peanuts)

Dig 'em, dig 'em, dig 'em.
Then you smash 'em, you smash 'em.
(pretend to smash peanuts)
Smash 'em, smash 'em, smash 'em.

Then you spread 'em, you spread 'em.
(pretend to spread the peanut butter)
Spread 'em, spread 'em, spread 'em.

Chorus

Then you take the berries and
You pick 'em, you pick 'em.
(pretend to pick berries)
Pick 'em, pick 'em, pick 'em.

Then you smash 'em, you smash 'em
(pretend to smash berries)
Smash 'em, smash 'em, smash 'em.
Then you spread 'em, you spread 'em.
(pretend to spread jelly)
Spread 'em, spread 'em, spread 'em.

Chorus

Then you take the sandwich and
You bite it, you bite it.
(pretend to bite a sandwich)
Bite it, bite it, bite it.

Then you chew it, you chew it.
(pretend to chew a sandwich)
Then you swallow it, you swallow it.
(pretend to swallow peanut butter sandwich)
Swallow it, swallow it, swallow it.

Coloring

Parker and Daddy had a little time coloring the other day.

I Cheese You?

Parker has been asking lately if he can "cheese" you. As in, I can cheese you, momma? = I take your picture? He's fascinated with an old Polaroid camera of mine (sniff, sniff) that I don't mind if he bumps around a little bit.

Last night he got his hands on our point-and-shoot. Here's what happens when you give your two year old a camera and free reign:



BTW, he's feeling MUCH better. Even yesterday he was a lot perkier and ate like there was no tomorrow. So we think it was just a very short flu bug, and fortunately the rest of us haven't caught it yet. :)

Shoo, flu.

Nothing says "I love you" quite like cleaning up a couple of rounds of puke. :)

Poor Parker has it BAD. It's been going around his class at school like wildfire and it finally struck our house.

His eyes got really big at the sight of what had just ensued and he said, "Sowwy, momma. I sowwy. I sowwy." I think he cried harder that he was ashamed of himself for doing it than worrying about being sick. My heart broke for him. Of course the last thing I want is to see him suffer, and his shame in not feeling well made me hurt even more for him.

After a little bath and lots of snuggling, he is snoozing on the couch. Bear and Grover are taking a bath in the washing machine, so Washington the monkey had to stand in--and obviously he's a good snuggler. Let's hope for a quick recovery.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We don't get too into the "holiday" around here--it's more fun to celebrate being a family (and all that smooshy stuff) all year round.

We sent our valentines earlier this week and went the simple route this year—just been too busy with other stuff lately. I found the scalloped cards and vellum envelopes on clearance at Target (imagine my excitement!) and lots of cute heart stickers. Parker is totally into stickers and markers so anything to do with either--or both--was sure to be easy to get him to cooperate. He colored a couple of them extra-special. :)



We also celebrated for a little while with his class at school yesterday morning. We took krispie treats--Parker was very generous with the sprinkles on top. A little extra lovin', if you will.

Things in Threes

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I never wanted to be one of those part-time bloggers that it seems I am turning into.

Too much bad news lately. And all in three's. There's just too much loss and heartache among the people we love right now. Someone tell me something good. Like how you might get three flowers from your valentine. Or you passed three green lights on the way home from work.

In the midst of all this bad news life's been busy. Which is good!

Went for a four+ mile run yesterday and felt like I was on top of the world. Thinking about a 10K in March...but nothing decided yet. Can't remember the last time I even thought about participating in a 10K. Eeeeesh.

Added some new blogs to the reader: Real Simple : Simply Stated Beauty (one of several under the "Simply Stated" blogs by Real Simple editorial team, and a recently-discovered friend's blog about their beautiful baby girl.

We sent our valentines today...photos to come.
And happy B-Day uncle MM!

Outside

Geez...days like this remind me why I miss Colorado and its 300 days of sunshine. The fresh air, warm sunshine and gentle breeze definitely woke us up from our winter hibernation.

We played outside nearly every possible minute.

Basketball in the backyard. Parker says, "dribble, dribble, shoot..." and then launches the ball.


And we ran races from one side of the fence to the other. Line 'em up.


Then out front to ride tricycle...an awesome gift from G&G. He doesn't quite fit the pedals yet (notice the blocks) but in a couple of months it will be just right.

Quite possibly, the best birthday gift ever.

I'm so excited about this that I can hardly type. Today, for my birthday, I've given myself a gift which I am unbelievably excited for and can't wait to share the fruits of it with all of you and my clients in the months to come.

At the end of April I'm going to San Fransisco for a photography workshop with MeRa Koh, Brian Tausend, Rick Chapman and Garrett Burdick. These four are amazing photographers who I have admired for some time now, and am so thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from the best in the business. It's a huge leap of faith to do this, and I can't wait to share and put into place the discoveries I'll make about myself and my businesses!

Doesn't this sound FUN!? I can hardly wait!!

Parker and Daddy

In matching shirts.

Des Moines? Hell, Yes.

Daddy had some official "unofficial" business up north this weekend so Parker and I met up with G&G and had some fun in the 515. And a good time, we had--a little shopping, a little snacking, a little splashing. What's not to like?

We visited the warm confines of the botanical center and took in all the lovely breaths of spring....




I loved this idea for a garden hideaway or screen porch.


Some good grandma and poppa lovin'...




We let our curiosity shine...


And got our cute on.