Dreamy...

 

We made her a dream catcher, to ward off the bad dreams....

Growing...

Needed a growth chart for the kiddos - PRONTO - as they are growing by leaps and bounds. I saw the idea for a wood plank painted to look like a ruler (Pottery Barn, Pinterest), but why spend $89 or even $5 when I could make one for free on the side of our game room bookshelf?

 

The curtains hiding all the board games and craft supplies are from IKEA. The bookshelves, surprisingly, were not. I think those pre-date the Round Rock store and came from Office Depot or some such place.... 

Whole Wide World

My grandma always used to say, "I love you more than anything in the whole wide world." And I remember my tiny five-year-old brain trying to process that. More than ANYTHING? "What about W-- my cousin." She'd smile, "I love you both more than anything in the whole wide world." I was always a cynic I suppose....

I made these mixed media art pieces to hang on the wall outside the kids' bathroom (mixed media as in I used two canvases that my daughter painted on four years ago [shhhh...], a map from Wal-Mart, Mod Podge, repositionable posterboard letters, and spraypaint.) I like the idea of each of them entering the hallway after bath and reading that and thinking, she loves ME more anything in the whole world, even my sibling? :)

fathers...

It was an especially tearful day. Never gets easier, especially when I know how he would cherish his grandchildren....

Nerd Onesie

Done with a freezer paper stencil:

Dog Pillow

T4's favorite word/sound is "WOOF." He says it every time he sees a real dog, a picture of a dog, or a dog on TV. I just HAD to make this pillow for him.
It passed the test when he saw it and said, what else, "Woof!"

The one in which I return to blogging...

There has been so much going on in our lives that I've completely abandoned this poor little blog! It still lives strong, however, just hiding out somewhere in the far reaches of my mind.... In the short hours after everyone is tucked away in their beds (or, as is often the case, sprawled out in mine) and I think about all the wonders that happened on any given day, I still have a nagging urge to jot it all down here. I just rarely get to it preferring, instead, oh I don't know, SLEEP. Or cleaning....

There are some highlights as these little creatures get bigger and ever bigger still that I have to record for records sake:

This girl.... My gosh she is so tall and stunning and I just cannot believe how her mind works. She was always such a clever little "problem solver" which is ironic, because, in her own dramatic way, EVERYTHING is a problem. Ha! The best recent example was when we were people-watching at a stoplight and noticed a man in a full suit behind the wheel of a U-Haul truck. "Why do you supposed he's so dressed up?" I asked. Her quick answer: "I bet he's going to prom and all the decorations are in the back." Okaaaay.....
 

She wanted her hair cut short. I thought this was a great idea for summer and for ease of getting ready in the morning. Plus, she would complain every time I went to play with her ringlets! I've always wanted curls and envy them. She was so cute to think that nobody would recognize her with short hair.

 

The boy. (His hair-do care of "sissy.") He follows her around non-stop and cracks up the most for and at her. He copies her motions (especially the finger to the mouth for "shhh") and when he wakes up in the morning, he makes a bee-line for her bedroom door, which he opens with ease....

Such a little stinker! It is a bit like fire and ice, these two. They are complete and total opposites in every way. For all of her intensity, he is so laid back. For all her screams and tears, he is giggles and smiles. He doesn't mind at all being splashed or wearing socks or sitting in the grass. She freaked out over all that "sensory" stuff. Still does, to some extent. He nursed like there was no tomorrow. She went on strike (early on) and never went back. Black/white. Girl/boy. He sure has filled all of our lives with such joy that we didn't even know possible....

And, one final, story:

 

I never would have expected the Olive Garden to stir up a sentimental moment in me, but it was K's choice for her end-of-first-grade dinner, and dammit if the tears didn't well up: 

 

There were a few different parties there of high-school graduates in their caps and gowns, joined by their extended families, and I remembered going there with my family after graduation -- TWENTY YEARS AGO. 2-0. I haven't thought about that dinner in years. I was once that girl and the head of the table explaining to her grandma what all the ribbons around her neck meant. I once had all that love surrounding me and shared that MOMENT -- one of many moments that passed by unnoticed, until BAM 20 years later you look back and think: That was it. That was my moment. (Why wasn't I paying more attention?!) 

I looked around our table, and congratulated my girl on finishing the first grade with an excellent report card, ordered her her very own dessert, and I marvelled that THESE are my moments now. (I have to sneak them all out of my mind and into this blog!) Also of note: it was in an Olive Garden about three years ago that K counted the four chairs at our table and said, "We need one more person in our family to fill that chair! It's like someone is missing." !!! Indeed, there was: