"Arting"

I recently completed an art project. I haven't done anything really technically challenging in a long time. And I found myself a little rusty at first but after a while I got my groove back... I haven't had it in a while (like 4 yrs). I have lame excuses for not keeping up with it but the truth is I really need to be doing a little "arting" all the time. So I have committed to myself to make sure I always have a project in the works. The one I just finished was a sign for my parents that has been in my head for years and finally I just had to do it. It was a gift to them for being my wonderful parents yes...but also because they just bought their first home and I'm so proud and happy for them! It is going to hang from the front porch of their beautiful home. I made it from a cupboard door that used to be in my kitchen. Joe and I did a little demolition when we bought the place to make room for a refrigerator in the kitchen. Before that it was in an adjoining room (so silly we thought) any way but I asked him to save the doors so that I could art on them when I got a few free minutes. The door was perfect because it was kinda knotty old ply wood but the edges had been beveled so it gave it a little character and I wanted it to look old because it was going to hang on an old house. Below it says "Welcome Home" the picture doesn't quite do it justice.And the colors were simple they were fall colors which my parents both love and they have recently become infatuated with copper so I decieded to showcase it a little in there name. It was really fun to personalize it to there specific taste. I haven't had so much fun in a long time with art. This felt like a little safer indeavor to dive in after an extended vacation from any serious art. Some time soon I'll start drawing my favorite subject... people. But for now my new project is painting some of the furniture in my living room. I found this way cool article of a woman who decorated her home with all kinds of colors none of them really matched but the way she used them with eachother made the whole thing make sense. As soon as I saw it I was so excited. The article quoted her saying "For many designers there are rules, for me there are none." And I tell you she was speaking my language!

I've got some tweaking to do on the little end table I painted but when I'm satified with it I'll post a picture.

2 months later...

So time went by fast and now the summer is over. I actually had to turn on the heater today. It was so chilly. We've had a good summer though. Chase is 7 months old now (I can't believe it!) and Savannah is getting ready to be 3 years old. They are so fun to watch grow up and interact. I'm so proud of my kids, they love eachother so much and that just makes me so happy.

So hmm... to catch everyone up...Our computer crashed. We lost everything on our hard drive. Which was very sad and stressful. I had the task of putting it all back on the computer which proved to be too much for me. So we hired a new book keeper. She was Joe's old boss's wife who did the books for their business. So she already knows the business and will be able to give us great insight. We're really excited. We've partied it up we went to a luau and a couple parades and the fair and now we're ready for fall.

Chase was our family's Big Kahuna at the ward luau.

Savannah watched the water balloon fight in disappointment when her water balloon broke before she could get in on the action.

They also had their very first bath together and it was quite an event. Savannah was so excited to have a buddy in the tub with her. Chase wasn't quite prepared for her enthusiasm but as often is the case he tried his best to be a good sport as she squealed and splashed. Adorable!

Last night we went to Music in the Park. Every thursday at 8pm at Claudia Driscoll park they are having a band of some kind play. Its so fun! Its been so fun to get out and feel part of the community I live in. Last week the Bitterroot Band played and this week the Kent Curtiss Band played. Savannah loves it she flits and dances all over the place and I even got up and jammed with her for a while. Chase loves it too he likes to stare off at the sky and listen. I think hes gonna be a deep thinker. We took our fun wagon and walked to the park and met some friends there and had some snacks. The kids wore themselves down and by the time it was over they were pooped. So on the walk home (they were in the wagon of course) Savannah and Chase wound down and were all ready for bed. It was a great evening....all except for one part...you know those fireman poles at play grounds that you slide down? Well there was a little boy in front of Savannah and she saw him step off the edge and go down. But I don't think she understood he was using the pole to slide down. She must of thought he just floated down somehow. Because she stepped off the edge didn't reach for the pole and landed on her back and bit her tounge. Oh she cried! And I was clear across the park feeding chase when it happened. I felt so bad.

Turning a new leaf

It has become apparent that there simply is not enough time in the day. Duh! Of course you already know this. I've been in denial for a few months. I was sure I could accomplish all I had to do with smile on my face and energy to spare by the end of the day. After failing time and again I decided to look at when my day started....8 am most of the time. And I decided there is a whole world out there of people getting up a few hours before that. Maybe they had the answer to my problem. So last week I gave it a shot. I woke up at 6 am giving myself two extra hours a day for a total of 14 extra waking hours a week. I tell you I am a new woman. Not only do I get things done I also have time to work off my baby chub since the gym is just a couple blocks from my house which increases my feel good hormones (so the researchers say puts you in a better mood.....and it has!!!) and I have 2 hours a day that I am awake that I have time to myself! My house is still a heaping wreck but now I have these two hours to think on how I'm going to change that. And the best part is the rest of the day I can be the happy mom and not worry about the stinkin dishes.

Pass it on

I am always frusterated because it seems I can't find what I'm looking for online in the time I have to find it. Often this problem comes up when I am researching parenting questions or health concerns or whatever. Stuff that mommies need to know. So I have found a great resource in my friend Lindsey who does research on that kind of stuff for a living while raising a 2 year old boy at the same time. She has started a blog on her findings and I love it! She has it all organized and linked to her sources and her writing is a hoot to read. So informative as well as funny....can't ask for more. The link is http://mommy-multitasking.blogspot.com I highly recommend checking it out.

Savannah running for Mayor

Got a deal on pictures for Fathers Day and thought hey why not. I'm pretty happy with them so wanted to share. However I feel that this will be the last time I try to go without some back up. Savannah bless her sweet heart was bored to tears. The picture taking process is really not a problem because she can be the center of attention. But when that part is over and its time for Mom to pick out what picture we want Savannah went to great lengths to entertain herself....
Chase, my sweet boy, was smiley and happy and more than willing to cooperate during the picture process too. He did a great job! I really was expecting more of a struggle with him but again the picture taking process was good...

So we went and had lunch after....the studio requested a few minutes to get everything ready to show us. When we got back there were people everwhere. Standing room only. Okay maybe thats an exaggeration. So we wait another 45 minutes (that is not an exaggeration) in this little tiny waiting room with 3 other families. My stroller is constantly in the way because Savannah is trying to take it for a walk. And my son is ready for a nap and I'm thinking I'm gonna leave... you people suck. But I didn't want to do that because its not like I can just run back over when its convenient. Its an hour drive from Hamilton. Not to mention the whole reason we went was to give a picture to Daddy for Fathers Day and that wasn't going to happen if I left. So I stayed.


Sigh.... Then Savannah started to meet the people. I like to call it "Running for Mayor" because she turns on this charm and will not relent until they have been charmed. Which they all think is really cute and stuff but it makes me crazy sometimes. The waiting room of Sears portrait studio is more like a very small section of the store. There are no doors to close to contain my 2 and half year old. Across the way is the infant section of the store where Savannah thinks it would be nice to go shopping. And there is also an exit to the parking lot right next to where I'm sitting. So people are walking in and out of this door all the time. She is welcoming these people in, she even gave a couple little girls a hug just for visiting sears that day!
Her crowning achievement was when a family with a little almost 2 yr old boy came in and his daddy was in a wheel chair. And Savannah made fast friends with them by playing ring around the rosy circling the wheel chair. They went in to take their pictures. in the adjoining room....again no doors....nothing is holding her back. And of course she is curious. So she peeks in and I'm telling her "Its there turn to take pictures now, you need to stay right there." Okay Mamma is her reply and she seems content just to peek in. And by this time the stinking sales lady is ready to talk to me about our pictures...so I'm doing the head bob trying to give my attention to both events. Savannah really was a good girls for most of it... I'm just relating the "social" encounters she had. So after a while I feel confident she is going to stay still and just watch. As I'm making my final selections I hear this "Vanna's turn now!" (she calls herself Vanna...Savannah is hard to say) and she climbs over the daddy in the wheelchair past the photographer and parks herself right next to that little boy in the middle of taking pictures. What can I say...they all thought it was hilarious...so no harm no foul. But I sure was happy to have everyone in their carseats and driving home.

We love our backyard!

Freedom! As many of you may know our yard has resembled a construction site for the last year since our business has taken off. It really caught us by storm and we weren't prepared with a storage plan for all the gear. So just recently we got it all cleaned up and child proof. So now it is Savannah's wonderland and she had been loving exploring in a world of her very own (until Chase grows up of course) So we decided we needed a swing set to finish it off. And we have been loving it.

Potty training has taken off in the last week I finally got serious about it I think. We didn't go anywhere for 4 days and focused on the potty. Of course we did other stuff in between. SO it turns out that Savannah needed to actually wet her "big girl panties" in order to take the whole thing seriously. Shes the kind of kid that would sit in pee or poo forever. But getting her panties dirty was a sad sad thing for her. So we're going through a little more laundry than I'd like but hey...at least we're learning.

Chase our sweet boy, has been teething for the last month and we have pretty much no progress so thats just awesome. Hopefully it will be better than Savannah we started teething at 3 months and never got a single tooth until she was 13 months old. He however is a giggler which Savannah was not. He laughs when I change his clothes... shoving his arms in and out of sleeves is the funniest thing to him. Its so darling. He will outright crack up. I love my boy. And he is growing lots. This week he started reaching for things and has been successful already so far his left hand is better at it... we'll see if it stays that way.

As for the two of them they are thick as theives. Savannah loves to play with him. She bends over and lets her hair hang in his face and he doesn't really like it but she thinks he does because each time he opens his mouth and kinda smiles (I think he thinks hes supposed to eat it) so she thinks hes laughing or at least smiling at her. He is making lots of sounds now and the two of them chatter away ( in baby talk) and giggle. I love my kids.