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today was one of those days where i felt like a horrible mom because my sweet little boy was disobeying my every demand (or so it seemed). i thought, "do i not follow through?", "am i not strict enough?", "do i pose empty threats?"...the sad thing is - i can answer yes to those questions at times...every mom can, i hope!? but today, i did follow through on every punishment, so i felt like he was in time-out all day long. i felt like i was the worst mom, and when i was tucking him tonight i just felt so bad for hounding him all day long. then, as i bent down to kiss him goodnight, jack said "love you mom, i love you this much" (and then he stretched out his little arms as wide as they would go and he smiled so big).
at this point i felt even more horrible, but blessed all at the same time that my 4-year-old could have such unconditional love for me, and a wonderful ability to forgive and forget. it seems i am constantly being taught by the ones i am supposed to be teaching. if only i could show the same treatment to others who have offended me or made me cry.
and now, you are probably wondering why i have a picture of a dandelion on this post (i promise i will bring this all together)...well, when matt came home we had dinner, and i thought we would get the kids in bed by 7pm tonight (which is their regular bed time), not to mention their naps were non-existent today, but jack wanted his daddy to play some baseball with him, so i said "okay" (one nice thing today)...while we were watching jack hit the baseball, gracie ran around our backyard collecting all the dandelions. she loved to blow off all the seeds and watch them blow in the wind. she spent an hour busily picking and blowing and smiling and giggling.
i was reminded of a few things watching my family enjoying the evening, and pondering on the "naughty" day we had:
*it's okay to not always follow the schedule
*kids are kids (and sometimes we should be more "child-like" too)
*all it takes is time for things to blow away in the wind
*life is too short to sweat the small stuff
*at the same time, life is too short not to enjoy the small stuff as well
sorry for all my ramblings, but some how i feel better about myself when i write it down. writing is therapeutic for me.
okay...so i guess i'll have to show you one room at a time. here is my sanctuary...sigh...my office/craft room. i also have my sewing machine set up on the other side, but that part is not set up yet. we have been so blessed to have found this house. it's perfect. the sad thing is - by the time we move back to AZ, we will most likely have to downsize. any hoo...i am certainly enjoying the extra space for the next 4 years. i love having a room that i can shut off from the rest of the house, especially two little ones who love to "scrapbook" too. it is is a room off the basement, and the basement is a huge play room for the kids - so it's perfect because the kids can play while i work! i can edit photos, design paper, and more right next to my kids. i love it!!! the pink chair, metal hanging pots, and brown and white storage boxes are from ikea. my desk is from pottery barn, and the paper shelves are from my boss, tara. dream street papers didn't need them any more, and she said i could have them. the shelf to the right of my desk is a garage sale treasure painted white (got it for 5 bucks!) matt jokes with me that i have my own little store down here. well, call it what you want, but it's perfect!
i'm so excited! my boss, tara governo, with dream street papers called me today and said that the proofs are in for my 2 new paper lines! i named my lines "jack" and "gracie" (after my own two bundles of joy). she says they look fabulous and that i can come see them tomorrow. i can't wait to post them for y'all to see (but not until july...sorry folks). you'll just have to keep reading...i'll keep you in suspense. the "jack" line is baby blue, orange, green, brown, and a tad bit of yellow...i totally love it! the "gracie" line is mostly pink (of course) with green, white, blue, and yellow too. these 2 lines are by far my favorite that i have ever designed. i can't wait to see them! thanks for letting me ramble on about my exciting news. stay tuned for more to come!!!
today i finished a project for miss kate, jack's preschool teacher and soon-to-be-mommy for the third time. she is being induced the day after preschool! (it reminds me of when wendy and i taught preschool up until we were 9 months pregnant and wendy had her baby a few days after preschool). tomorrow is jack's last day at preschool. he will really miss his teacher, and so will i. she has become a good friend to me as well. our boys played football together, and our kids did swimming lessons together too. we are just beginning the many "lasts" of things here in az. kate is now one of the many reasons i am sad to leave. she has become a great friend and we have lots in common. i just love her and her positive outlook on life. hopefully we keep in touch and pick up where we left off when we return to good ole' az. by the way...these are birp cloths, bibs, and a diaper and wipee holder. i had fun making them...especially because they are for a dear friend.
i realized that i haven't updated for so long! a week and a half is a long time for me! one of the many reasons it has taken me a while is this new book by stephenie meyer. this is one of my all time favorite reads in my life, seriously. right up there with harry potter. like jk rowling, stephenie meyer makes you fall in love with the characters in a way that makes you feel like the characters are your best friends. both books i mentioned are in the young adult section of the book store, maybe i still secretly wish i was a teenager or something (not really, but sometimes!) this book is all about a girl named, bella who moves from phoenix to a small town in oregon, forks. she moves in with her dad and doesn't expect to find anything remotely interesting in forks. it rains all the time, and it's a small town. well, she meets a boy named edward, falls in love, and realizes he is a vampire. that's all i'm going to say besides...READ IT. it will suck you in! i love this quote by paul sweeney, "You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend." i literally dreaded the last chapter of twilight because that meant it would be over. luckily the second of the series, new moon, is out right now too (i read it in two days...i know, i didn't get anything else done!) the third one comes out in august, and the fourth in fall 2008...i can't wait. i feel like bella and edward are my friends...stephenie meyer is amazing and inspiring to me as a writer.
well this weekend we went to amish country and saw many beautiful and interesting things. i admire them in many ways. i think we can learn a lot about them and their life style. they really believe in a "simple life" and in not trying to be better than all those around them, but equals. all their houses and land was pristine and beautiful. everything was so neat and clean and it's apparent that they take great pride in the upkeep of their homes, land, and country.
this was a general store in amish country that we went to with matt's parents and brother, rob, who came in town for the weekend (see next post). they had lots of cool toys and other nifty odds and ends.
