Hang Ups- Summer Projects 2

For some reason, when it comes to decorating my home, I move in slow motion. Things do not seem to come together very fast even though I wish otherwise. Some of this is a good thing because almost everything I have bought has been at thrift stores (horray for spray paint) or 50% clearance or a gift. A few things were bought out of some random people's cars or garage sales. I don't shop very often anymore so the deals have been further and further apart. Then I leave things in my basement waiting for me to finish them. I've decided to try and make my house look a little more put together so I've been cleaning things out and trying to decorate.

Two Fish hung up a ton of pictures etc. for me over the weekend. There are only a few things here that have even been purchased in the last couple months. Almost everything is 6months-2 years old and I've just barely gotten around to decorating with it. Isn't that sad?

I've been wanting to find someplace to put just fun things I pick up on trips etc. so I've decided to start putting them around the top of my kitchen cabinets. So far, I have a few pieces of blown glass (I love original artwork more than anything) and an antique gas can.I've had my nativity set out since Red Fish was born. Two Fish gave it to me to celebrate us becoming parents. The big blue pot in the background is new. I bought it at an artist co-op. The stuff in the pot is random stuff picked up on clearance at Hobby Lobby. The painting was bought out of the back of some guy's car. (Scary I know, but don't worry. My brothers were with me.)Two painting in the dinning room from the guy's car.

These are my new message boards in the kitchen. I bought the frames at a thrift store, spray painted them and put chicken wire in them for clipping things to. I think I want to make one for the girl's bathroom to keep all of their hair bows on.

These are curtains I made for our bedroom. I bought all the curtain rods at a closeout sale 2 years ago and I've had the fabric for 8 months. I finally got around to putting them up. My favorite part is the ties with the puff balls on them. I should have pictures of my whole bedroom as soon as I finish it up this week.

I made matching curtains for my bathroom. Two Fish hung up the candle holder on the wall. I'm so excited that I've actually made a little progress decorating. It's pathetic I had most of this sitting in the basement.

Bad To The Bone

Reunion

Went to my ten year highschool reunion. I felt 16 and awkward all over again.

Mommy

Today, August 26th, 2010 is the first time my baby, Red Fish, has called me Mommy. I have been mama, mom and a variety of other names over the past couple of years but tonight she ran downstairs saying: "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" I think I might cry. That's right- I now have a name with two different vowel sounds and two syllables said like they are no obstacle at all. It isn't the first time she has said a word like that but it's one of the first REAL words. It's a big deal. I know it may not seem like a big difference to anyone else but to me it is just a sign of the changes that have been occuring for her over the past couple of months. I love it.

Swimming Lessons

Red Fish has been taking swimming lessons once a week over the Summer and is going to continue through the Fall. Bubs and I get in the water with her for moral support. Red Fish is getting really good! She spends a lot of time around the water so I worry for her safety. Hopefully some proficient swimming skills will give us both a little more freedom. Plus, she just loves to swim.

Day At The Farm

The other day I took the girls to see some farm animals along with my Mom and friend Kel. Red Fish LOVES animals. It was hard to keep her out of the pens. New Fish just liked being outside and riding in the stroller. After the farm we went swimming (which is why my Mom and I are wearing our bathing suits.) It was a good day for soaking up the end of summer.

Why Hello Baby Delicious

Head Above Water

Right now, I need to give myself a pep talk and pull myself out of a funk. Sometimes I feel like I am swimming hard just to keep my head above water. I have so many balls in the air that I don't have time to breath. Instead of setting a few balls aside (which I've definitely been doing) I just want to drop them all and take a break. I want to do art with my kids. We need to fit in an hour of speech therapy. Maybe I should get dressed today? Nobody is sleeping at night. I'm trying to get along with everyone. I'm trying to stay artistically inspired and keep up with my work. I've had a fantastic summer with a lot of fun trips and great things have been happening... so why do I feel so tired?

So on with the pep talk.

Red Fish has made a lot of progress lately. Her vocabulary has expanded exponentially all of the sudden. I can hear her trying to repeat things I say. (Scary.) She makes up little songs and sings them around the house. She answers questions with a response other than yes or no. The extra time and effort we have put into speech therapy almost everyday is really starting to pay off. It's exciting to see her making this huge leap. We have an appointment for her tonsils next month and a few more tests. I feel like we are making some progress and at least headed in a good direction. It's a nice feeling, especially because things felt so stagnant for the last eighteen or so months.

I'm caught up for the most part on my graphic design work. It's always a game of hurry up and wait. I've gotten quite a few projects done this summer. My kids are adorable and I love my husband. Life is good. I need to learn how to roll with the punches.

The Little Things

I have a new camera and I cannot for the life of me figure out what setting to use inside. All of my pictures end up looking like this-

Good thing my subjects are so cute.

I'm a big fan of giving kids the opportunity to work on a large scale. When I found this roll of paper at Home Depot, I had to have it. It's cheap ($10 a roll) pretty thick and 34" across. We spent hours today tracing our bodies on a big sheet of it. Red Fish even spent some time tracing her Daddy after he got home from work. If you are looking for Christmas presents already (because I am) this roll of paper is a good deal. If only I could wait until December...

The Diva

Red Fish is very into dressing up right now. We keep most of the toys in the family room and playroom because Red Fish will play with them when she is supposed to be sleeping. Apparently her closet has now become her new favorite toy box. When she is supposed to be napping she will come strolling out wearing 10 different outfits in about 20 minutes. She changes her shoes multiple times throughout the day. Last night when she was supposed to go to bed she kept sneaking out wearing a combination of wild outfits. When she finally fell asleep we went in to find her snuggling her favorite sandals.

and her closet looked like this.

11 Months

Miss New Fish is 11 months. I can't believe it is time to start planning a party already. The year is speeding past. It seems like New Fish has been changing overnight. She has gone from my tiny baby to this little person with SO MUCH PERSONALITY. She talks to me and points at things she wants. She has these sparkly little eyes that just light up when she is happy. Her eyes also betray when she is looking for trouble. She gets this look of mischief and determination that is unmistakeable.

She can walk really well now except she tries to go to fast and ends up falling down. She wants to keep up with her sister desperately. She dances by pumping her little fist in the air. She is already climbing on things and getting into EVERYTHING. I'm going to have to beef up my baby proofing.

New Fish knows exactly how to get a rise out of her sister Red Fish and seems to enjoy teasing her. The two of them are best of buddies and in constant competition now.

New still only has two teeth but she can eat just about anything anyway. She is getting pretty good with her sippy cup. I've finally stopped giving her a feeding in the middle of the night because she stopped drinking most of the bottle. (Yes, I completely realize that most people think I'm a sucker for doing it this long but I don't really care.) She still doesn't sleep through the night but I think we are finally getting close. She is just very different sleeper than her sister was.

I still hold her bottle when I feed her because it's one of the only chances I get to snuggle her. She wants to be held 24/7 but the snuggling isn't as common. I can't imagine our family without her anymore.

Random Wedding Pics

I didn't get very many pictures (especially of the bride and groom) because I was trying to stay out of the photographer's way and trying to keep my kids out of the swimming pool. So here are just a few random pictures in random order.

My Dad and New Fish dancing.

Red Fish busting a move on the dance floor.

My Mom dancing with Doo (Brother M)

Dancing with my Bockum and New Fish.

First dance

Sharing a cream puff

Some of the flower girls with M.E.

Mimi with New Fish

Lee Lee and New Fish

M.Eeeeeeee Doooooooo

The last of the T-fam was married today. Today my youngest brother got married to his love M.E. Watching him kneal across the alter from her and look at her with that much love in his eyes made me cry. (Although I'm a crybaby just like the rest of my family, so it was inevitable.) Today, I am in love with love. Red Fish calls them M.E. and Doo and so all week long she has been marching around singing M! E! Dooooooooo.

Summer Projects

Random flowers made from chiffon, ribons, zippers, felt, wool, buttons and beads. I have made more than this but I couldn't fit them in the picture. This has some of the different types I've been making. The red, gray and black one is my favorite. I'm definitely getting better at making these. It has swarovksy crystals (found on clearance for 50 cents) glued on the flowers.
These are for the wedding tomorrow. M.E.'s colors are coral, green and peach. One of these is for my hair and the rest are for the girls.

I haven't been saying much on the blog about the projects I've been working on this summer. Some of the projects have been to preserve my sanity. I've very suddenly become a crafter because creating fun things for no reason has become my new therapy. It's nice to make something that doesn't need to please anyone but myself. It's soothing when I'm stressed or pulled in a thousand directions at once. Since I am totally obsessed with hair accessories it has been especially fun to figure out that I can, in fact, make them myself. It is WAY too much fun.

Some of my other projects have been those grown up things that we all have to do at some point. The biggest project of the summer has been our backyard. We put in flower beds, a drip system, curbing, bark chips, trees and a ton of plants. The rest of the flower beds will be empty until next summer but I'm pretty excited about the way things are looking. I really wish I had a before picture of what all the weeds on the rocks looked like. It was ugly. The best part is I can check this off my goal list for the year. Woohoo. I love to check off things, especially big goals.

Art Group Day 9

This week we used air dry clay to make pinch pots and coil pots. It was really fun to see what the kids came up with. Every project was completely individual. I think my favorite part of this summer project has been seeing the kids gain the confidence to do something completely different from the rest of the group. I love seeing them experiment with the supplies.