7 Quick Takes: Super Quick

Okay, these will be super fast because Birdie's PT is coming in 10 minutes and I want to get these posted before he shows.  So, ready, set. go!

--1--

Birdie is 10 months!  She is crawling all over, almost pulling up, and enjoys standing while holding on to someone's fingers.  She might surprise us all by walking before her first birthday.  Then again, perhaps not.  If there is one thing I know about this girl, she likes to keep us guessing!

--2--

Boo is still a pain.  That is all.

--3--

Piglet is thoroughly enjoying summer camp, and we are so glad we sent him.  He comes home happy every night, and is developing quite a nice tan and rosy cheeks.  He seems to be getting along well with the other kids, and is even learning a few baking skills.

--4--

I've been a bit soporific this week, and have spent a lot of time watching streaming video on Amazon or reading.  I finished Those Who Save Us this week, and can't recommend it enough.  It is about the burden of memory.  Made me think more about some storylines I have running around in my brain, and I filed away some of them to examine in more detail later.  My next novel is cooking away in there!

--5--

So what did I watch this week, you ask?  (Because I know you are looking for frivolous things to watch).  Bel Ami (watch it twice--it is hard to take it all in the first go-round.  And the performances improve on the second go-round), Step Up (who knew Channing Tatum had such great moves?), and Birdsong (Eddie Redmayne, yes, please!).  All good and interesting.  Birdsong was slightly depressing, but Step Up more than made up for it as a frothy fun dance film.  

--6--

Before you ask, I'm not discussing the SCOTUS decision of yesterday.  My husband far more qualified than me to discuss such matters.  In fact, he is giving phone interviews today.  All I'll say about it is that the Chief Justice crafted an opinion that dealt very narrowly with the issue at hand, while at the same time seeking to limit the (over) reach of government for the future.  A tricky bit, that.

--7--

I saw this pic this morning and decided this woman is my new hero.  

Bonus:

 A card! CASEd from Mary Brown at stampercamper.com

7 Quick Takes: Long Lost Edition

--1--

We spent most of last week visiting my husband's brother and sister-in-law, and their 2.5 year old daughter in S. California.  I've never been to that part of the state, and I kinda get why people like it there.  The weather is fabulous, the produce is fresh and seasonal, and you are never far from the ocean or the mountains.  

--2--

Considering between our two families we had four children four and under, (plus one baking in the oven--not mine!), everything went pretty smoothly.  They are fairly laid back people, and my kids just rolled with the different schedule, time change, etc.

--3--

At least until our red-eye flight home on Saturday night.  The flight itself was fine (unless you count the idiocy of the airlines in seating my four-year-old by himself on the plane, necessitating some quick switching with a kindly older lady in the bulkhead), but we arrived back to the East Coast at 7 a.m. local time, 4:00 a.m. West Coast time.  Needless to say, Father's Day was a bit of a wash.  We came home, went back to bed, and slept all morning, but we've spent this week trying to get back on schedule.

--4--

Piglet started camp on Monday. It is being run by the same group that runs his preschool, so we are thrilled that he is with some of his same teachers, and even some of his classmates. He does classes in the morning and then they have outings in the afternoon. This week has been crazy hot, so a few outings have been switched around to make sure the kids are safe with the heat indexes, but he comes home happy each night, so that is good. Today they are at Sesame Place, so I'm sure he will be tired by the end of today!

--5--

The two littles, on the other hand, are clingy, whiny, and generally tough this week.  Nap times are all kinds of screwed up.  But in other news, Birdie went from being a floppy lump on a log at the beginning of April to rolling-over-sitting-up-crawling-almost-pulling-up in the last few weeks.  Craziness!  I'm not used to her being so mobile.  She also looks to be a high-maintenance chick (pun intended) as she gets incredibly angry when her will is thwarted, or she doesn't get what she wants Right.Now., or is generally frustrated in her quest for absolute mobility.  I think she won't really be happy with herself until she is walking.  It is completely crazy to me that she might end up an early walker after all the drama of these last nine months.

--6--

I mentioned this yesterday in a separate post, but I've reopened the shop!  Since things seem to be settling down now, and Birdie is doing so much better, I'm feeling like I'm ready to handle orders again.  I'm hoping to get some new items made and listed soon, so check back!

--7--

On the other hand, while Birdie is doing much better physically, her nights continue to stymie us.  Last night I sat in the chair with her for more than an hour while she cried, whined, squirmed in my lap, and tried to be comfortable.  She didn't want the bottle, or the paci, or to be held, or put down, or....you get the idea.  At least it was before midnight, but gheesh, I'm tired.  This has.got.to.stop!

Go see Jen for more Quick Takes!

Shop Open

Sorry for the long silence!  We've been busy with summer travels, a tantruming, potty-training toddler, and various other miscellania that go along with having small children.

I just wanted to pop in to say that I've reopened my etsy shop after a five month hiatus to deal with Birdie's health issues.  As she seems to be doing much better, and things are calming down around here, I thought it was time to get things up and running again.  My listings are small for the moment, and I don't have anything new to offer, but I'm hoping to add some new things over the next few months.  Stay tuned!  I'm always happy to take custom requests, so be sure to ask if you have something specific in mind.

(These are two cards I CASEd from Patty Bennett a while back--I include them in this post for visual interest only)

7 Quick Takes: Boo-less Edition

--1--

Yesterday, my husband and Boo left for a trip to Portland.  As in, Oregon.  As in, my husband took my tantruming-every-2 minutes-over-every-darn-thing two-year-old on a cross country trip.  Alone.  Leaving me with the other two, one of whom is in preschool all day.  Life is calm and peaceful right now.  I'm sure Boo will find some way to make me pay for my few days of peace and quiet when he returns, but for now, I'm enjoying it.

--2--

Piglet had a follow-up appointment with the audiologist yesterday, since he failed his last hearing tests in February.  He has since has tubes put in, and adenoids taken out, but I felt that his hearing wasn't as good as it should be.  And....his hearing is normal.  So it turns out that when it seems like he doesn't hear us, he is just not listening.  (And is basically a typical four-year-old in that way...)

--3--

Birdie has gotten quite good at sitting up, and is even starting to pull herself up to sitting now.  She wobbles around a bit, but mostly catches herself.  She did do a header onto my desk yesterday (I was holding her and she pitched herself forward and banged her forehead on my desk top, poor baby) and ran into the wooden chair leg in the living room this morning while getting herself up to a sit, but a few bumps and bruises are all par for the course in learning how to sit up and move around.  

--4--

And a card!  I made this one a while back, from a design by Jenny Peterson.  She does simple vintage very well and I get lots of great ideas from her.  I tweaked a thing or two, but mostly it is her design. Also, the new catalog is now live!  I love the new product suites this year, and I hope you do too!  Let me know if you want me to send you a catalog.

Supplies: River Rock, Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard (textured), Verry Vanilla, Early Espresso cs, Paisley petals dsp (retired) 4 Frames, Fabulous Phrases stamp sets, antique brads, blender pens, Early Espresso and More Mustard classic inks, crumb cake seam binding, scallop border punch

--5--

Piglet also had his end of the year parent-teacher conference--turns out that he is kind of good at math.  I know he doesn't get that from me! This is more my style:

--6--

I saw Snow White and the Huntsmen last Friday morning, and apart from the final scene, I enjoyed it thoroughly.  The last scene was a little high on the cheese factor, but overall, it was a great escapist type film.  Good special effects, interesting philosophical questions to ponder (the queen's search for immortality and ageless beauty by stealing it from others), some lovely eye candy (I'm looking at you, Chris Hemsworth!)  I also watched The Vow last night on Amazon.com streaming--what a great film!  It is definitely a tissue-worthy film, and I thought Channing Tatum was great.  The whole story was just lovely, and I thought it was even nicer that it was based on reality.  It raises the question of how much of what we love and value in our spouses is based on the person we are at the time we meet them, versus the person we have been, or will be.  An interesting question, to be sure.  I'm sure there's a novel in there somewhere.  

--7--

Speaking of novels, I have another one percolating in my brain.  I think some of my readers know I self-published a book on lulu.com a few years ago called Deliverance.  I lived with those characters in my head for over a decade, and once I finally worked out a few key plot details that were holding me up, the story literally just spun out of me, almost without effort.  A new protagonist popped in my head about two weeks ago, with a new story line, but I'm still waiting for him to tell me more about himself.  All I know is that his first name is Dmitri, he looks a lot like Max Brown, has Russian ancestry, and some serious moral conflicts. I think I might have to live with him in my head for a while before I'm ready to write.  In the meantime, I'm carrying my small writing notebook with me again, just in case details occur to me at odd moments.  

Go see Jen for more Quick Takes!