tomorrow will be fun

Today was fine...but I am looking forward to tomorrow. If the stars align (I am being silly and will explain), I will be doing a photo shoot tomorrow!! Yeah!! I so love doing them.

I have a friend who has been through a tremendous amount of stuff in the past couple of years. Last fall, she asked if I would take photos of her kids (she has five - I had done something similar many years ago when she had three). We had a blast doing the shoot and she mentioned more than once that she would like to do it again this fall. We have it arranged for tomorrow. S's parents will be there to so I can get some shots of the children with their grandparent's. I hope.

S's life is hectic and never seems to run smoothly so getting together is always a challenge. Even when something is written on the calendar there is at least a fifty percent chance the event will fall through.


I happened to get into my print photos the other day and found this photo. This is me in kindergarten (I am the one in the patchwork skirt). I was one of the homecoming attendants for basketball homecoming that year. I got to carry the Queen's crown on the pillow. Monica carried her flowers. Ricky and Shane held the train of her robe.

We looked through a few pictures and C thinks that the pictures are her if I don't tell her they are me. There is one of me in my early twenties - a profile shot of me blowing bubbles and she was sure it was a photo of her. We do look alike.

I am trying to take photos for Christmas cards and Christmas gifts. These are a few I took of the girls today.





I also took some photos of C wearing a crown that I made for her to give to her best preschool friend's birthday party tomorrow.





There is a tutorial at Suite101.

my beautiful K

Winners for my blogiversary gift-away are listed here.

if you like my clipboard collages

or if you like Mary Cassat

or if you like Carl Larrson

or if you like Georgia O'Keefe

or if you like the idea of samplers...

check out the eleven clipboards I made - they are at my craft blog Look What I Made.

and the winners are...

Tess from Anchors and Masts gets the button bouquet.

Elise from A Path Made Straight gets an angel.

Julie from Is there a Shadow gets a wind spinner.

I'm delighted to send out these gifts. Thanks for reading me this past year.

thank heavens for my daily schedule

Yesterday I woke up feeling gross. By the time C was at school, I had a splitting headache so I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping.

Thankfully, my main priority every day of the week is to make sure supper is ready by the time hubby comes home. With that in mind and with the added issue of hubby's rather erratic work hours, I make my food in the morning so that I do not have much in the way of last minute food preparation in the evening.

I am the queen of the crockpot and make ahead meals.

I was very thankful for my priority list yesterday.

Tonight I will draw three names!! :)

music in our house

My girls love music. When C was little, (around 2-2.5) I was on a Credence Clearwater Revival Kick and a Moody Blues kick. I remember listening to her sing (a word here and a word there) of Put a Candle in the Window or Have You Ever Seen the Rain from CCR it always made me smile. What made me laugh was to hear her sing along with the Moody Blues song Isn’t Life Strange. She loved the part where they sang “Cry, cry, cry...” she would be so very dramatic about it. She also loved to sing the instrumental parts of the orchestra with the song. The drums at the end were one of her favorite parts of the song. However, for all that C’s favorite music was and still is (for the most part) what she calls ‘Kid’s Sing’, which is, any music sung by children – particularly nursery rhymes and Sunday School songs.

When K was an infant, one song would usually calm her down and that was Amazing Grace (C’s favorite hymn is Battle Hymn of the Republic with Rock of Ages a strong second). I remember many, many nights where after I nursed her I would walk around the room singing Amazing Grace to her. However, as K grew older she developed a distinctive taste. Where C likes classical and is always excited when she hears and recognizes songs like Ode to Joy or the Hallelujah Chorus. K prefers rock and roll. In particular, K likes U2 and Newsboys. She loves to just listen to new rock tunes if she is unfamiliar with them. She doesn’t like it if you interrupt her listening.

However, one of the all-time favorites around here (at the moment) is Strong Tower by the Newsboys. This morning, before K got up, she lay in her bed singing it. It also pleases me that the other day while listening to the song, C pipes up “Is the strong tower, God?” C has a powerful grasp of metaphor and simile. (Excuse a brief brag moment. The other day while at the dentist, we were looking out the window at a swampy area full of very tall grass blowing in a very strong wind. C said “Mom, the grass looks like waves on the ocean.”)

Here are the lyrics to Strong Tower.

strong and mighty
strong to save us
like a fortress
never failing
strong in battle
strong in kindness
when we stray, Lord
You're strong to find us
when the winds come hard against us
You are steadfast, You are true
when the ground beneath us trembles
Your foundation never moves
CHORUS
strong tower
high and glorious
strong tower
mighty in love
our refuge
our defender
strong tower
Lord above
strong to lead us
through the shadows
strong to carry
all our sorrows
when the enemy surrounds us
closing in as darkness falls
though his armies rage against us
they can never scale these walls
- CHORUS -
BRIDGE
You are my shelter, my shield
You are the home I could never deserve
here I will serve, ever under Your gaze
here I will serve, ever singing Your praise
- CHORUS (2x) -
strong tower
Lord above
strong tower
Lord above

To my husband’s dismay, I’ve corrupted the girls and have them enjoying songs by people like Roger Miller and Johnny Cash. (I get a charge out of listening to C sing "Engaland Swings like the Pendulum Dooooo."

I can’t convince either of the girls to like The Proclaimers, much to my husband’s delight.

Oh well, I find myself skipping quite a few songs from all three artists if the girls are listening with me and there are lots of artists I don’t even bother with when the girls are around. Hubby sometimes puts on rougher stuff when the girls are listening. I wish he wouldn’t. (What do you say to a five-year-old who is asking about Cherry Bomb by Joan Jett?) I carefully refrain from any of my raw-edged faves (like Meat Loaf - I met him once - he is very cool).

It is fascinating what they are willing to listen to – they enjoy most Celtic albums but if I put on Loreena McKennit there is an immediate whine. They like a lot of classical music but they get anxious if we put on Twenty Fanfares for the Common Man. It is fun to listen to John Williams with them – they can tell when it is scary theme music. I love the Moldau by Smetna. K can’t stand it. 1812 Overture puts them both in hyper mode (do you think it could be the canons?) ;) Neither care to listen to Canon in D they don’t actively dislike it they just see know need to listen to it.

They both love to have Mom (whose voice is average to low-average in quality) to sing. They also love to have me make up songs (which I do remarkably well if I say so myself).

blogiversary

I've been doing this for one year today! In that time, I've written 322 to posts. The only thing that has saved you all from more posts is the fact that I started more blogs and I started writing for Suite101.

To celebrate my blogiversary, I am going to have a drawing. Next week Wednesday, I will draw three names from our small stainless steel mixing bowl (maybe I will have each of the other members of my family draw one name - that would equal three).

One person will receive this button bouquet:



One person will receive a yet to be made hanky angel (something like these):






One person will receive a wind spinner (yet to be made and possibly featuring buttons):



Just leave a comment!

emotional mindset

Thanks for your concern. I want to let you know that I am doing much better today. Yesterday my single goal in life was to do nothing. Today, I am doing better.

Several of you suggested I might need to take it easy. You are right and I know it. I am doing that to the best of my ability. We have a lot of scheduled external commitments that require my presence and energy [such as doctor appointments and school meetings (I think homeschoolers are wise - homeschooling can allow the parents' to arrange schedules to fit better into their lifestyle and to step outside the insanity)] but I am trying to limit everything else as much as possible and to simply give myself space to switch gears from one task to the next.

The second half of the week has fewer external requirements and should be easier.

The wind spinners were made last week. So do not worry, I did not sit down and create a bunch of spinners this week. :)

Wind Spinners

These wind spinners are made from thrift store jewelry they are fun to make (at least I think so).





Tutorial at Suite101.

I am tired and depressed today

and as far as I know there is no reason that I can pinpoint...it started yesterday afternoon.

they drive me nuts fighting

but I love how they love each other...

everyday things-part of our entry

I just put this together the week before the in-laws arrived. We needed new floor mats (the old ones would leave huge piles of grey dust behind every time you lifted them). And hubby felt the girls should have pegs to hang things on so I went to Goodwill and bought a peg shelf and spray-painted it. The stool I already had from Goodwill.

You don't want to know about the hole I made in the wall behind this when hanging it. :(

I was going to put something else up for decor on the shelf but I've been rotating children's books and the bright colors and sweet illustrations cheer me so I think I will continue in that mode for awhile.




BTW what color would you say my entry is? (I painted the entry three years ago - the color is not new.)

In answer to Heather's Question the blue book is an Eloise Wilkins and the yellow one on the far right is a collection of Eloise Wilkins. The smallest book is a collection of Margaret Wise Brown stories and the one on the left is Margaret Wise Brown's Home for a Bunny. I can look up the illustrators if anyone is interested.

outfit that I made for C's birthday gift

Instructions at Suite101. It is not expensive (if you buy bargains and stash them until they care coming out of your ears like I do) or difficult but it is time consuming.

Photo Hunter: Plastic

This plastic/rubber pony ball (like a hop ball with a head) has been one of C's all-time favorite toys. When she was little she had the Rody (actually shaped like a horse). Rody is now K's horse. A few weeks ago, C accidentally popped Pony by hopping on a small toy. She was devastated. We ordered her a new one for her birthday but due to technical difficulties it has not be inflated yet.



I should take some pictures of C riding on it. She can fly around the room and navigate tight spaces like you wouldn't believe.

september 4

September 4 was C's first day of kindergarten and her sixth birthday.


She was very nervous.


We had a picnic for C's birthday party.



bright eyes


Children love to be alone because alone is where they know themselves, and where they dream. Roger Rosenblatt




If you want to see what children can do, you must stop giving them things. Norman Douglas


I love the versatility of a child's imagination. This is a house.


C wanted a Cinderella wedding dress so her Grammy bought her a first communion dress. The veil is a little one's tutu! :)


C blows out her candles (shot without a flash).