Avinash and Nandini

Survival Mode

2012-01-26T16:26:00.003-06:00

We are in survival mode this week.

Nandini is teething something awful and has bitten me twice in addition to grinding her own teeth all the time. Sophie the Giraffe gets the real brunt of it actually. She sometimes bites her, gets mad and throws her across the room. Is it wrong to laugh??

And, Avi skipped pre-school yesterday because I was terrified of getting caught in another flood, especially since I had to bring the baby with me.

So, yeah. Things get a little crazy. Baths get skipped. But, we nap. There is no skipping of the naps.

When the rain let up a little bit I took them out in the stroller to unwind a bit. It was too cold to get out and play anything though.

Signs of the repaving going on in our neighborhood right now. I tried to get Avi into it and showed him as many of the steps as I could. We also read about it in our What People Do Everyday Richard Scary book. I remember my mom did this me when I was little and hope I lived up to the task myself. Although, honestly, he was ambivalent about it. He does seem to remember a lot of it though given how little he seemed to be paying attention. He just checked the ground today to see if it still felt hot from the tar.

Nandini just enjoyed being out and eating her cheerios with different scenery. Like, dripping rose bushes.

I didn't even notice she was smiling in the background of this picture until now. Unbearable cuteness, argh!

I was amazed because I managed to keep them busy with very little television. Which meant that we watched SuperWhy all morning today. We did pop out to the museum for a bit. My plan was to keep it low key and hang out in the library.

This was not Nandini's plan.

She kept scooting and alternately crawling away. She would head right out the door every time I picked up her and brought her back. She screamed when I held her until I let her down. So, Avi and I abandoned story time and followed her out. Obviously, this girl was on a mission! (And, Avi and I were delighted to see what she was up to).

After that she kept turning around to make sure we were following her. She headed straight for the stairs and wriggled right up them. Now, we don't have stairs in our apartment so she has had no practice at this. I guess she just worked out how to do and needed to try it that instant!

Her independent spirit and strong will still manage to astound me sometimes. Maybe standing and walking are next?

Cookie Date

2012-01-21T16:45:00.000-06:00

It was supposed to be a play date. But they both made cookies for each other because "I love him" and "I love her too!" And ate pizza together outside at twilight. And argued over whose turn it was to 'mop' the patio after watering the plants. Plus they kissed at the end of the night, so, yeah, big stuff.

I bought these little mailboxes from the Target Dollar Spot to store cookies in after we were done. There weren't that many left actually, but I think they are still cute. Of course Avi was really worried because I didn't make one for her Mom too. Oops. I just used my glue runner to attach the heart doily and added thickers for their names. I added some of Crate Paper's new chipboard stickers and the ribbon, also from target.

I love all the valentines colors. Pink, dark pink, red and a little aqua thrown in for good contrast. And to make it a little less girly for Avinash.

I bought some foam and glitter stickers as well and let the kids decorate the mailboxes some more themselves. A few minutes of ~~diversion~~ fun at least.

The cookie dough needed to set up in the fridge for 30 minutes so I made that ahead of time. The kids had a blast just squishing it in their hands, rolling it out and using the cookie cutters to make shapes.

Of course, nothing could hold a candle to the fun and excitement of frosting and sprinkles time. I had them do this over (cool) cookie sheets to *try* and contain the mess. Honestly it wasn't that bad. I had to wipe off the table and vacuum afterwards but it probably needed it anyway.

I used strawberry frosting from a can and made my own blue per Nisha's request. I tried looking up recipes but ending up just mixing up a bowl of powdered sugar with a few drops of food coloring and cream. It was easy and tasted fine. Not sure if it would harden up like it normally would on sugar cookies because we never got to that stage. The sprinkle set was also from Target. I'm glad that I bought it the small container assortment set. It helped to contain the chaos a little.

Avinash has been begging to make cookies with a friend for months now because of a cookie press commercial. The actual cookie press was really difficult too use, the old fashioned cookie cutters worked out much better.

It worked out well with just the two of them as Nandini and Roshan only took part in the taste testing part of the activity. The cookies are not to sweet on their own because they got plenty of frosting piled on top. I made another batch with some chocolate chips sprinkled on top that were also really good. I'm thinking of trying this with 50/50 wheat flour next time to alleviate the sugar guilt I inevitably feel. We had a lot of fun, but I would be a little scared to do this with more than two kids at a time.

Cookie Recipe
1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, vanilla and almond. Sift together the dry ingredients and combine. Roll into a log and chill for thirty minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Project Life Goodies

2012-01-19T05:58:00.003-06:00

I have some new project life goodies to share. I found out about the new line from Martha Stewart at Staples and basically rushed over and bought everything she had. My order arrived in the mail the other day and I had almost an hour to play with it yesterday during a very abbreviated nap time thanks to two sick babies. Thankfully this stuff made catching up with some old pictures easy to do.

I wanted to share because I really loved the stuff. It is relatively affordable, high quality, versatile and perfect for Project Life!! I added the new sheet protectors right into my album and stuffed some of the tags and stickers inside the first two for easy access. They are about 4x5.5 so I can add my vertical photos in with a slight trim (I am using PL style A otherwise and it doesn't have vertical photo slots.)

I also used one sheet for pictures today. After sorting some new prints I only had time for one sheet (front and back, but the front picture was too blurry to share..). Some of the stuff is from my stash, like the backing from a set of Jenni Bowlin alphas, the Amy Tangerine die cut. I also used my new Jenni Bowlin punch to make the little sticker with one of the martha note pad papers.

Ok, here is the back, even if it is blurry. Does anyone have good tips for photographing these page protectors? I used more Martha stickers, a few strips of glittery patterned paper,u and one little strip of a doily left over from a Studio Calico almost a year old. Hmm..at least this helping me get over my hoarding tendencies.

I was totally inspired by a friend and fellow scrapbooking mom to make something with Avinash using my new punches too. She made some gorgeous tags that way. We only made stickers for our shirts by punching the sticky note pad paper, but we had fun.

The rest of the stuff put away in my album. Those little flags will be perfect for adding the date as I usually do that as an afterthought. The tags all come with baker's twine around them and are perfect for little journaling spots.

I also really, really love the quality of the these red label stickers. They are thick and finely textured. She also has kraft stickers and chalkboard stickers. I think I'm supposed to use this stuff to organize my home and pantry but we all know that isn't happening any time soon. I found it to be a great value too because you get a lot with each set (they are $3 to $4 each). These red ones are 48/pack and the multicolored ones are 120/pack. They should definitely last me a long time.

Click here first for 4% cash back and free shipping (no minimum).

A sale at TwoPeas can't hurt either. They have lots of great brands upto 75% off, check it out. I love to buy basics like adhesive, cardstock and albums when the sale comes up.

Check out this week's free printable: boys and girls journaling cards. And get free shipping with the code NY2012 on $50 or more of product.

And, just so I don't get too far behind, some happenings of the week so far.
Sunday: Tiny Boxwoods brunch. Avi dipping his fries in butter while we all eat nothing but pastries.
Ryan and I watch Hum Tum, the bollywood remake of When Harry Met Sally. So happy that Ryan enjoyed it. A couples moment of dancing together during a song turns into a family moment very very quickly, ha.
Avi and I walk along the train tracks in the park on our evening walk. We had decided to see if we could hear lions so we were all walking towards the zoo. We discover a trojan bear on the way. Avi can't climb to the top on the way to the zoo, but can do it on the way back. Nandini is delighted to play peek a boo on the other side. We don't hear any animals at the zoo but we come upon some bunnies and scare them away and have a great adventure anyway.
Monday: Pondicheri brunch. Aloo subji and parantha that rivals Bina Mamiji's in Kavi Nagar. Unlike India, we have to sit at the table with our own kids instead of just letting them run around on the floor by themselves, this puts a slight damper on things. At least the coffee is amazing too.
The cookie {play}date. Cuteness, frosting, chasing, crying and kissing ensues. This time we do just let Nandini fend for herself on the floor while helping the kids bake.
All 8 of us have dinner together outside on the patio (in January, jealous?). We have pizza and Cupcake Red Velvet, it is so lovely.
Avinash is spinning around like a top after they leave and is running laps all over the place on our evening walk.
Tuesday: Family breakfast, eggs on garlic ciabbatta. Children's museum where I show Avi the leeches and tell him how I scared Ryan with them when I did a science project with them in school.
"You scared Bappi? That not nice"
and two seconds later....
"Can I go there mommy? Please?"
That was like ten years ago.
"YEAH YEAH! I see you ten years old! PLEASE!"
Noodles with tofu and cotija cheese for lunch.
Pancakes for dinner.
On our walk, I put the blanket around Nandini and she grabs with her two tiny little hands and starts lifting it over her head to play peekaboo with us! The cuteness is almost unbearable. Avi suddenly remembers that he LOVES peekaboo and jumps in the stroller to play too. But not with her, he wants us to laugh at him too...ha.
Wednesday: Avi is back to school. After I pick him up the three of us go to the park to feed the ducks, read books and have a little picnic. Both kids fall asleep in the stroller on the way home but won't stay asleep, argh! The rest of the day is lazy since all have the sniffles. Getting frustrated because I know think it might have to do with the dampness still in our walls. The owners of our apartment are willing to get it fixed but expect us to arrange it all, not fun.

{Some affiliate links used, the Martha stuff I just liked.}

And, who could forget Martha's scrapbooking on Arrested Development:

{I can't believe it took me this long to remember this.}

DO NOT READ THIS POST.

2012-01-18T23:57:00.011-06:00

Especially if you have weight related resolutions still going on.

I will not be held responsible for any pounds gained from this recipe, hehe.

I saw this awesome recipe on her foodTV show and I was hooked. It looked so simple to make, plus I found blackberries being sold by the quart at the grocer store that week. I think it was a sign. I love pie (and all dessert), but I really love cobbler. Especially with a crunchy sweet crumb topping. But crumb topping is a huge pain to make and doesn't always turn out.

This recipe is easy, simple and turns out well every time. I have made this at least a dozen times over the past few months and came up with my own recipe. Mainly because I don't have self-rising flour and apparently can't ever buy it either. I also like mine with less sugar and much more fruit.

Also, please be amazed that I took some pictures of my food before ~~devouring~~ eating it daintily and in a lady-like manner.

Our favorite cobbler.
1. Measure 1 cup flour (+1.333333 tsps baking powder and salt), 1 cup sugar (save 1/4 cup sugar for later) and 1 cup milk. Melt 1 stick butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash 4 cups or 1 quart fruit (no need to dry).
3. Find a cute boy to butter the baking dish. Actually, I'm surprised he didn't take a bite out of the butter after that...
4. Mix dry and then wet ingredients together. Again, little helpers can assist.
5. Pour batter into 8inch round pie dish.
6. Put fruit on top.
7. Sprinkle reserved 1/4 cup sugar and a healthy grating of nutmeg over top. A little extra salt can't hurt here either.
8. Bake for one hour at 350.

Notes:
I have, out of concern for my readers, added double baking powder to see what happens. The entire crust rises over the berries and is still very enjoyable. You could of course skip the baking powder and just use 1 cup self-rising flour. I also really enjoy adding double salt.
I usually use blackberries but also enjoyed blueberries, apple and pear. This one used mostly blackberries and a few pieces of unpeeled apple, since Avi wanted apple pie.
In numbers this recipe is 11111.333331.33333483501.
Or, if you want to remember it more easily 111111111.
1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1 cup flour, 1 pinch baking powder, 1 pinch salt, 1 quart fruit, 1 pie tin, 1 hour at 350.

My little helper all dressed for baking in his favorite milk and cookies pajamas.

This little stinker has a surprisingly looooong reach when it comes to cobbler. (And how let her make a mess all over the coffee table? Shameless stuff.)

I can safely say that my whole family likes this, even Ryan who prefers straight hot fudge usually. I like to think it's a pretty healthy dessert since it has milk and so much fruit, but it's addictive so don't say I didn't warn you.

Make her happy.

2012-01-17T20:33:00.000-06:00

*For Stephanie's weekly SC challenge, monochromatic*

This is the final picture I took of our trip to Disney in September. Nandini was tired and cranky after another long day. I love how tenderly and intently Avinash is singing to her. It makes me so happy when he is sweet to her (especially since his jealousy has been flaring up a lot recently). He sings her ABCs or My Little Pony and of course requests that I sing the Lakshmi ki aarti or Ek ladki ko dekha from 1942 a Love Story.

He knows most of the words to both these songs and sings a long with me. He even asked me to sing to another little cranky girl on the Disney shuttle bus one night.

I used a lot of old Sassafrass stuff on this layout and hand cut that heart. The die cut paper and stamp (in Apricot zing embossing powder) are both Studio Calico. I couldn't resist one pop of contrasting color with the ribbon, hope that's okay!

project life - week one

2012-01-16T16:35:00.007-06:00

I guess I totally skipped New Years and all that. There are a bunch of things from this week not included, like a trip to the Zoo and a couple of dinner with friends. But, I'm not one for a lot of eating out pictures and different stuff will work it's way in eventually!

I used one page protector and two sheets of cardstock for this week. I really liked Nicole's one page per week idea (fellow brain enthusiasist and scrapbooker), check out her week one here. I had some issues printing out photos. I wanted to get it done while everything felt fresh. I tried our photo printer at home and got these pictures. This one was a test sheet on copy paper. And? I loved it. It just looks so unique to me, I had to include it. I didn't even put it in a 12x12 page protector, just punched holes in the cardstock. I wanted to keep it super simple and debated about adding anything else at all, but I really love the way the title turned out. Lots of different thickers and one spare grocery store doily. I am not going to include any journaling or dates so far. These are the highlights essentially from husband's iPhone in 2011.

This is another attempt at home printing. The ink just would not dry on the glossy paper (which I hate anyway, but it's all I have at home). Ryan thought it looked cool so I added this sheet too. I knew if I put it in plastic the ink would just smudge all over that so I have a piece of blank cardstock facing this. I just wet the crayon from this story, slid the wrapper off and stapled that to the photo. I love the look of layering with die cuts so I couldn't resist doing it again this week. I really like both sides even though it's not meant to be double sided. I also embossed a little studio calico moon stamp in lavender behind the die cut. You can just barely see it peeking through the 'window'.

I included three stories from this week, the purple crayon, Nandini saying 'buh', the flood and a picture of Saturday mornings here. This drawing is as close to memoribilia as I've gotten with PL, but I like cutting it up and slipping it into adjacent windows. In addition to a couple of Clementine cards I added some OA label stickers and sticky keys letters, washi tape and more thickers. I used an office stamp to stamp the dates and kept messing up, but I think that adds to the artistry here, don't you? I guess I'm still into actual titles versus week 1, jan, etc. I think they just make a page feel complete to me. I couldn't fit this one entirely on one card so I just stuck one word on the outside of the pp. I hope that they don't fall off.

Of course I couldn't leave the plain cardstock alone so I added the rest of the coloring pages tied up with twine and the same smudgy photo from the glossy paper printed on cardstock. I think it's a great effect. Ryan's reaction was great, "Oh? It's great to experience it and then see it here right now." Maybe I'm one step closer to getting him to write some more stories down as well.

Post your links in the comments too, I'd love to see more inspiration :)

Avinash is so cool...

2012-01-15T15:55:00.000-06:00

I.....

am printing out so many pictures for project life. I tried plain paper, glossy photo paper and cardstock at home. Then gave up and ordered from Ritz. And ended up forgetting the one picture I really wanted so I printed that one from home later on cardstock. Included all four types of photo in my spread.

finished a whole box of mother's milk tea in less than 3 days. Nandini's weight gain in slowing down and need to do something about it. Hoping to avoid formula. Does anyone have any advice or is it too late for nursing to help?

really miss coffee even though I think it probably causes weight gain (something to do with cyclic AMP, I don't know, I worked it all out in my head and then I forgot).

still feel so thankful I sit behind the wheel that we made home through the flood in one piece.
wonder if this blog will someday embarrass my kids in like twenty years. Makes me laugh to think that it might.

love these random google searches that have lead people here:
lick Nandini story
avinash is so cool (this one has been searched multiple times, ha!)

All I can say is, not sure who you are looking for, and if it is yourself the answer is probably no, but this Avinash definitely is so cool.

Baby Bath Time

2012-01-11T11:26:00.001-06:00

{Linked up with...Paper Mama, 5 Minutes For Mom,Parenting by Dummies, Project Alicia,And Then She Snapped.}

Project Life Tuesday

2012-01-10T15:33:00.001-06:00

I am still playing catch up from October, but I love these pictures so much. I could never decided which one to scrap and putting them all together made it much easier. Hopefully next week I will also have time to put a current week up as well.

I did two layouts and and used one side of Photo Protector A style. I love using the diecut SC paper and letting the other side peak through. I used a mix of Studio Calico and Amy Tangerine goodies.

I was saving that Amy Tangerine camera sticker for something really special and I think these pictures qualify. Same thing for those older Lily Bee rubons. Too bad my handwriting came out so wonky. Ryan always teases me for my weird grammar on layouts.

I just used the B-side of the same SC paper and kept it pretty simple. The wood flags add so much texture.

I used my smash date stamp here. It is not the most even stamp, but I think that adds to the charm.

I worked on recording some great stories from this week on Sunday.

Yesterday Avinash and I ended up having another adventure together. Houston weather went crazy and after one morning of rain there was flooding everywhere. Of course everything seemed fine in the morning when Ryan dropped him off to school, but by the time we took Nandini to the doctor for her weight check the sky had opened up. I didn't realize how truly bad it was until I set out to pick him up. Thankfully Ryan stayed home over lunch and watched Nandini. The normal highway I take had turned into a river. There were abandoned cars everywhere. I spent the next hour praying and calling people to ask for help finding a route to the school. A little over an hour later I made it there. His classroom was flooded, but I eventually found him and his class. He was having a good time especially since every kid got a brownie at school. He very blithely put on the galoshes I brought for him.

So thankful that we made it home safely. Avinash even fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep for a good nap at home. We stayed inside after that. I made cobbler and we watched the cartoon Avatar. Love that show and so happy Avi does now too.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!!

2012-01-09T11:31:00.000-06:00

So, I'm not sure if I'm going to get time to scrap yesterday in my project life album as soon as I want. I want to at least write about it here.

Yesterday was the perfect project life day. Totally average but filled with amazing moments.

We ate an early dinner of maggi so we decided to go for a walk in the evening. Avinash made me get out his purple beep for the walk and his drawing thing. It me a minute to realize why. We had been doing the coloring activity book all day so I didn't know if he wanted to continue that. Then he kept taking about the moon. We drew a map to the moon together, but it wasn't enough for him. Need to add lot more stuff! Forest, jungle, trees... Hmm, glad he knows that those are all different things.

So, we drew a little bit of Harold and the purple crayon on every page. We have only read the book a few times, but he remembered a lot of it. We drew the road, the apple tree, the dragon under it, the ocean and boat. He drew the mountain and the moon himself. But he couldn't find the window around the moon.

And, when we went outside he was clutching his purple crayon and paper pad in the stroller when we saw this big beautiful full moon. It was magical.

The Steelers lost their wild card game. Avinash woke up from his nap just in time for their first touchdown. He really wanted to watch cartoons, but he got so excited by the touchdown and grabbed his terrible towel. So happy about his excitement at least. And, towards the end, he was wondering why mommy was mad. I explained to him about the bad blue guys and good yellow guys. He really got into that as well and started shouting at the tv at the end of the game. Hey! You kidding me! I said no blue guys. Blue guys bad, yellow is good!! Sigh. And, can I just say I hate how people are turning this into some moral victory. Pittsburgh is not some godless sinful city. Pittsburgh is full of good people and most of the team and the fans are awesome. God loves us too (hello, six rings?!).

Yesterday was a big day for Nandini as well.

Nandini learned to say buh.

It was like watching Newton discovering gravity. Well, not exactly. She actually discovered a few weeks ago already. But, experiments are ongoing while she works out a few more equations. We are here willing lab assistants who pick up all of her various trials - different cheerios, books, papers, balls mostly.

Avinash was pretty excited to see it. "B says buh!" Apparently the big unanswered question that Nandini was struggling to figure out was "what sound does the letter B make?"

So she spent the rest of the entire evening saying "buh!!!!!!" with as much emphasis as she could manage. She definitely said baba, but not quite Bappi. I wonder, will Ryan be called Bappi by all our children now? I loved seeing how proud she was to be saying it.

Not exactly her first word, but it was almost unbearably cute to see. I swear she did say Ganga in the midst of her babble the other day. And, when we visited our friend Garima in the hospital Nandini was holding on to the bed rail and toddling around the bed. She toddled as close to Garima as possible, waved her hand and said "hi" clear as a bell, though i'm not sure anyone else heard her.

Amazon Mom Prime~r: Baby Diaper Buying 101

2012-01-08T09:49:00.000-06:00

Close friends of our just had a baby. In fact, I know three (four? I can't keep track) couples who had babies this past month alone and several more with one on the way.
I was about to type my friend an email about my diaper strategy and I decided to just post it here. For everyone. You're welcome.

First- Sign up for Amazon Mom. It's free and gives you perks like free 2-day shipping and 15% off diaper orders.

Second - Choose the type with the most diapers per box. For the same price, the sensitive and Swaddlers pampers come with about 50 to 100 less diapers. Not worth it for a little extra 'softness.'
Baby dry is the best value in my experience.

Baby Dry, Size 1, 276 count

Baby Dry, Size 2, 246 count

Baby Dry, Size 3, 222 count

Third - Click on the Subscribe&Save option when ordering. It will save you an additional 15%. You will have to choose to recieve the same package of diapers in 2 weeks/1 month. Do it, even if you aren't sure you want more diapers. After the order ships (usually within 24 hours), go to your account, click on my subscriptions and cancel it. There are no penalties and you keep your extra 15% off.

You end up saving 30% off, plus free shipping, plus no sales tax.

The price goes from 47.19 (17c/diaper) to 40.12 (14c/diaper) to 33.03 (12c/diaper). The boxes last about a month or two. Overall, I think it is a pretty good value.
I sometimes buy diapers from Target or Babies R Us using coupons, but I rarely have more than 5 dollars off, plus maybe an extra 1 or 2 off from pampers. I have never tried Costco or anything.

I have always used Pampers because my babies always seem to leak through the huggies samples I've tried. And, don't use those newborn size diapers for too long. Once the belly button falls off they are obsolete so you don't need many. And, having a snug diaper only leads to more blowouts. So, there's that.

Another way to save is of course early potty training. I have tried elimination communication training with Nandini a little bit, but have trouble being consistent, so we are way off accomplishing that.

Another way to get gift cards for Amazon is Swagbucks. I have belonged for about a year, but have only recieved 15$ in gift cards. I recently found a great site that offers daily tips on getting more swagbucks. The numbers are climbing.

Let me know if there are any questions. Happy Diapering!

(disclosure: affiliate links used.)

I am...

2012-01-06T23:44:00.002-06:00

I used to have a website in high school with my random musings on it. Like, my experience dying my hair called 'Seeing Red' or another article that I basically wrote for English 'Dark of Heartness'. I was very clever with the titles too.
I also had a lot of favorite poems and quotes on there too. And I was obsessed with the counter at the bottom. Obsessed. I watched that thing like a hawk. (Still do...)
And, I had a Calvin and Hobbes section. I lovingly scanned almost every single comic strip I had from books and the paper and uploaded them onto my site. It was a long process.
My favorite stuffed animal growing up was a little tiger. My mom gave it to me when I was around 3 after I requested a puppy. She was smart like that.
So yeah, I like tigers. And I was randomly thinking about this comic strip the other day. Because Avinash likes them too so we talk about them alot. Especially since he now plays with my stuffed tiger, he bought one for Nana at Christmas, and especially since he saw a certain show about Bengal tigers.

And thus, I realized something...

I am the paper tiger mother.

You know. The type of mother who never remembers to do flash cards with her kids, but pastes them into her scrapbook if they have pretty pictures. The type who encourages new skills for their photographic potential over any awards. The type of mother that is fiercely loyal, strong but not strict. The type who pretends not to notice when the kids eat dirt (since its good for their immune system anyway).
the end.

Becky Higgin's Project Life - Big Picture according to Niru

2012-01-05T15:40:00.002-06:00

So, like, this is basically day one of my project life experience, unless you count yesterday opening the box and getting organized…obviously i’m not an expert.

First – Why all the drama? Why worry about what each child gets and gets to take with them??? You think a lot of really cool college freshman lug 18 photo albums from their mom to their dorm room? Not really. And, probably not a good idea anyway. Kids may page through them every once in while, and then again with significant others over christmas, etc. To expect more is a little far fetched, in my opinion.
If YOU are going to scrapbook then do it for YOU!
That being said. I just can’t help loving so many things about project life. Especially the colors in clementine. My first page was additional pictures not already scrapped of my son’s birthday in October.
I love it so much, I can’t even tell you. I love taking a million pictures at events and I hate not including all of them. I had already made like 5 layouts of that day, but this was the perfect way to include all the ones I felt were missing. And so much fun to do.
It is kind of like scrapbooking within a haiku. All the little precut boxes give you more freedom to be creative.
I am going to incorporate project life pages along with the rest of my layouts. Sometimes with everyday pictures that don’t need their layout, and sometimes all those great extra photos from big events. All I bought was two packs of page protectors and the clementine core kit. I think it is working out already.

Avi's third birthday. All the previous layouts were great, but I was starting to notice a theme--Avinash and Nisha, Avinash and Nisha, Avinash and Nisha. So, in the spirit of remembering that other kids attended his party I made this two page spread as well. Don't worry, Nisha still figures pretty prominently though, ha! (And most of the adults are totally excluded--sorrry guys.)

I used these Jenni Bowlin vintage flashcards and the basic Clementine stickers. I was never big on doing flashcards for myself or my kids, but I like them in scrapbooks, go figure. And I redid this little card about five times before liking it. Luckily those little PL stickers and very forgiving.

The day after I got home from Christmas vacation I was wondering what to do with all the little scraps littering my desk. Oh yeah...project life! Those little pockets are perfect for scraps of paper I can't bare to part with. A lot of these are leftover from my Disney album(s). I use this red striped glitter paper on every other layout now. And, a perfect chipboard star, if only there were more in the package.

B-side. Avinash turns 3 in Candyland. I pretty much bought these candy cane thickers for the sole purpose of spelling out Candyland with them. They seem more vibrant in the picture than they are in real life. I kept it simple, but still had fun with it. And, found a new use for washi tape. Plus, it kind of gives that film reel look that I still love. That brand is actually really sturdy, repositionable and more high quality than most.

out-takes

2012-01-04T01:00:00.010-06:00

Mini-photo shoot at the Hershey Hotel after dinner.

Though I'm partial to the outtakes too. She can wave(and she is very excited about it!).

Linked up here: PaperMama, 5 Minutes For Mom, Parenting by Dummies, Project Alicia, And Then She Snapped, Jenni from the Blog, and Live and Love Outloud.

Top ten for 2011

2012-01-02T22:35:00.008-06:00

I loved doing a top ten list last year, so I decided to do it again this year - especially since I haven't been sharing that many pages lately.
Feel free to link up your 2011 pages at the bottom, I love sharing inspiration!

Six Skunks

One of my recent SC Brooklyn Flea layouts. I love that stamp! I embossed it with 20 year old black embossing powder I had from home. (see? I use stuff that I ~~hoard~~ save.) The little stickers are October Afternoon Campfire Collection. I almost surprise myself with how much I love and use it, despite the fact that I have never ever been camping, lol.

the Birthday Boy

These two are the cutest little best friends I've ever seen. Of course it took until Avinash was staying with his grandparents for a week before I found time to scrap his birthday party. Using that new SC Brooklyn Flea stamp again, this time embossed white on kraft. The hearts are the most darling things from Pebbles. I love them so much. I added a little twine and glued on some wood stars as well.

our baby girl

I used so much Webster's Pages for Nandini's baby album. I love that vintage, ephemeral, classic look. I created my own embellishments by embossing doily stamps in white and then adding buttons, flowers and twine on top. Since most of my baby pages were journaling heavy, I left this one rather bare in that sense.

My two babies.

Something about this I really love. More Webster's paper. Maybe it is the use of blue in an otherwise sea of pink pages. I just can't get over Avi's face here. After getting over his initial trepidation he just exuded so much pride and love for his little sister, even if most of his pictures were of his own finger.

beautiful.

This one was featured on the Jenni Bowlin site and I was so soo excited when I saw that. What can I say? It doesn't take much.

Enjoy

One of my first SC kit pages, I want to say Lawn Party? The eclectic look is very hard to do right in my opinion, but I think I managed to hit it here. I sort of have a right to left, top to bottom rainbow color thing going on here that helped it. Also, wood is such a great way to add texture, I've got to stop hoarding it!

Smile

Another Avi page. He really knows how to pose when he wants to, and having a great photographer doesn't hurt either. Our MckMama photoshoot was such a blast we repeated it later in the year too. The tag was created by Amy Tan for an SC kit Paper moon (I love their kit names so much).

My absolute favorite picture is her sitting up in the monster outfit. I look at it to make me smile.

The title is a text my brother sent me about Nandini. How can that not just warm your heart? I waited a long time to scrap that photo (it is her sitting up for the first time), but Anuj provided the perfect title finally! Pretty simple, but I love long titles when I can think of them!

So sweet.

Another Sc Lawn party layout, I guess I really, really loved that month. This is a lift of a Stephanie Howell layout. I added the buttons/brads clusters and kept the title simple with a pre-made MME tag.

baby girl*

Last, but not least, one more SC Lawn Party layout. I never knew that I would love pastel plaid paper so much! And kraft doilies? I bought a million more after I got this kit.

I'd love to see your pages too! Some of my favorites are Jen (2011 Top Ten) and Jill (10 on the 10th). Love these (garden) girls! Just link to this blog and link them up in the comments below here.

(Disclosure: Affiliate links used.)

BE.

2012-01-01T10:55:00.033-06:00

I am not posting any new year's resolutions.

I am not even sure I have any, other than to just say 2012 IS going to be happy, joyous and good. And that is not a wish. Just a statement.

I mostly just want to be.

I could go back and look at all I may have missed out on or not measured up to in 2011, but I don't feel like it. Not one little bit. I know I'm not perfect, but I'd rather not dwell on it.

I keep reading on pinterest that 'nothing tastes as good as thin feels'. I sort of fool myself into thinking that is true when I read it. But then I thought about it. And when I was thin (I used to really be thin, at more than point in my life), I never felt thin and that fact alone never made me feel good. I always worried about my thighs and my belly. Even my friends told me I had a big butt (I didn't), we used to laugh about it (who remembers mindar??). I didn't mind that, but it's funny because now I really do but I know it could be bigger and has been. 'Nothing tastes as good as thin feels' is a ridiculous statement. The point is, I suppose, I will not be making any weight loss resolutions either. Especially since after I ~~bragged~~, er, posted on fb that I only needed to lose ten more pounds of baby weight I never lost a single pound after that. I blame the internet, I really do.

I want to take a minute to just BE. Maybe that is not intentional enough, maybe that is not smart enough, but that is all.

Thanks to all who read my blog, I really appreciate the support. It is a great outlet for me, even if saying half this stuff in real life would embarass me.

First Snow and Hershey trip.

2011-12-30T20:29:00.000-06:00

I couldn't believe it. After being in the 60s a week ago, we got snow. And, it just started coming down as we pulled into Hershey's Chocolate World for our vacation-from-vacation-overnight-mini-break.

Avinash was delighted. Snow!! It's Christmas, christmas day!!
We twirled and tried to catch snowflakes on our tongues. And, Ryan and I tried to capture the snow on film as well. May-be we are in withdrawal from too much Texas, but it felt so magical.

And, even though it isn't technically Nandini's first trip to Hershey, it is her first time out of my tummy and first overnight stay here. It was also her first real snowfall.

This year.

Last year.
Does it always snow outside of chocolate world, or are we just lucky?

We rode the chocolate tour three times. Nandini was so excited she was bouncing up and down in my lap the first time. Avi sat by himself very proudly on our last ride. We played chocolate bingo, Avi was one of the winners, and made kiss ornaments, which is when Avi eats as many kisses as quickly as he can and both mommy and daddy fail to get any kisses to stick to the styrofoam.

I don't know, does it look like this kid was having a good time? I can't get over that pose (for his hershey factory ID). Who taught him that?

Eating out at Hershey is great, because at even there are crayons and high chairs at even the fanciest restaurant. We ate at the Circular Dining Room, one of our old favorites. We had the most amazing vegetarian consumme soup there last year, but it did not make a reappearance this year. We were trying to count how many trips to Hershey we have made over the years and couldn't keep track. That consumme alone is enough to keep us coming back.

{Ryan dressed her in her cutest dress, is it any wonder I kept taking pictures of her throughout dinner?}

We asked for a vegetarian sampler and it outshined most of the top restaurants in Houston. Hmmm....they combined sweet potato puree, spaetzle, swiss chard and some crispy potato gallette with a grape/red wine sauce. It was so nicely balanced and flavorful. Sweet, soft, rich, crispy and tangy. Yumm. And, that was after eating two slices of olive bread and one of chocolate bread. Nandini loved the olive bread too. Somehow, all Avinash wanted was carrots and cucumber for dinner. Is it possible he had too much chocolate? He still had some room for more kisses with dessert luckily.
We drove through the sweet lights display after dinner. The best part was the Fairy Tale section, driving through a forest with lit up displays of all the different fairy tales along the way, so magical. Avinash of course did a few laps around the lobby when we got back.
Even after all that excitement, the sugar high had not worn off. And it was somehow contagious? Because Nandini couldn't sleep until after midnight either. Sigh....bad parenting maybe, but you try to stop a three year old from eating kisses when he is being showered with chocolate at every turn, ha.

In another classic move, we failed to realize that the actual hershey park isn't open during the day this time of year. Uh-oh.. Well, Avinash didn't seem to notice or care. He and I went swimming in the morning and then we all walked through the Hershey gardens after breakfast. (Wow, still can't believe that I took a pre-breakfast swim.)

The gardens were really beautiful, even if, not exactly in bloom. I was recently reading about the power of visualization and I decided to try it. It took me from worried and disappointed to happy and relaxed. Avi very happily held the map and directed us to the butterfly garden, over the bridge and under the rainbow colors. So, so cute. Nandini was beyond tired and fell asleep right there in Ryan's arms. I know she won't remember anything, but I wonder if Avi wil remember this trip. It was short, but very sweet.

Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums.

2011-12-26T10:58:00.005-06:00

On Christmas day.

Nandini had three different outfits on today. {shanti claus in the morning for presents under the tree, princess dress from Nana and Nani for Christmas dinner and baby girl monkey romper for playtime before bed.}

Avinash wore his pajama shirt all day.

Avinash really surprised all of us with his restraint over the last few days. We let him open one or two small things Friday and Saturday, but he also really wanted to give all of us our gifts. He did the present handing out this year and told everyone, Happy Birthday!! with each gift. He even picked out special presents for everyone at Target the other day which he was so excited about handing out. I love how much he wants to share his joy with us. And he didn't even mind one bit helping Nandini unwrap all of her presents either.

We all got some really good stuff, but they both had more toys and presents under the tree than I ever imagined. Maybe Santa did visit last night. {NB: Anuj got me some amazing gifts. He really is the sweetest guy ever, that must be where Nandini gets it from.}

Pretty much every toy ever advertised on the Hub, so Avinash was in heaven.

He wanted to open his playdoh dentist set first. He loved it. Making a tongue!!!! And teeth, which you can then brush!!!! (not that he likes brushing his own teeth.) Nandini of course loved it too because Avi was playing with it and because she loves to try and taste playdoh whenever she can. After a little while I finally tried to distract her with her turtle reader. Which then quickly became Avi's new favorite toy. All day everything that they played, they played together. We tried to put her to sleep a little early and she was not having it. She wouldn't suck her thumb, she wouldn't nurse. I brought her back down and she played happily for the next two hours, silly Mommy!

I love how active she is right now, playing and bonding with everyone. It makes my heart so happy to see her content with everyone. I guess I better remember that she does not want to miss out on any of the fun while she is sleeping either.

our christmas pan

2011-12-25T22:27:00.001-06:00

Source: stamps4fun.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

**homemade version**

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1/2 cup shortening, cut into pieces (or 1 cup butter)

2 cups buttermilk

3 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup chopped pecans, opt.

1/4 cup chopped almonds, opt.

Combine the dry ingredients. Cut the butter/shortening into the flour until it resembles small peas and add the buttermilk, just barely mix. Flour surface and lightly roll out dough. Cut into rounds (about 15, I had a few left over which Avi got to roll out and mix over and over while we waited for the bread to bake).
Combine melted butter and syrup. Pour half into bottom of pan, sprinkle half the brown sugar and spices on top. Arrange biscuits in a circle and pour the remaining ingredients on top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes in fluted bundt pan. Invert onto serving dish after taking out of oven.

Pictures are from pinterest, but I made mine differently with homemade biscuits instead of pillsbury. We really think they turned out much better that way. And, Avinash was too excited for christmas pan to wait for me to take a picture before eating. It fed seven of us very well, but no leftovers.

Dressed in holiday style

2011-12-24T18:46:00.002-06:00

Wishing you a very merry little Christmas tonight.

Was able to get the bokeh light effect by myself (!) on the Christmas tree. Though my Aunt helped by catching Nandini's eye here and getting that cute look. I used Av mode, had plenty of natural light so it could focus on the fast moving foreground quickly. When I shot straight on there was not enough distance between Nandini and the background to get a good blur, but when I tilted the camera up I got enough distance. Although I think the white balance was a little off.

Baby it's Cold Outside {Snow Day at the Houston Zoo}

2011-12-21T18:22:00.001-06:00

Nandini and I braved the elements Saturday morning in search of snow.

What do you know,

we found some.

In the middle of Houston. At the zoo.

Nandini was totally unimpressed by it. May-be because it was just a small patch of grass in the zoo with some ice on it.

All of the kids thought it was super fun to kick at the snow. Because that is what we used to do on snow days up North. Stand outside and kick snow all day, tons of fun. It didn't take long for that little patch of ice to get muddy. And, all of the parents there thought it was really important to dress in ski jackets, masks and boots. For the two inches of not actual snow. Not that I found that funny or anything. Or, maybe I'm just trying to justify the fact that Nandini has no shoes or socks on.

Luckily her boyfriend, er, baby friend got her some legwarmers and she's all set now.

New Amy Tangerine, with Lily and Avi

2011-12-20T18:07:00.000-06:00

I love using all the new Amy Tangerine stuff. Pages seem to come together so quickly and easily. Everything coordiantes well.

One of my many Lily and Avi pages, about them hanging out in Disneyland last winter. He followed her around like a shadow, look how proud he is to have an ice cream just like hers.

A very simple page, with one background patterned paper and one more to make the journaling circle. (The yellow chevron is so perfect for everything. I have used many, many sheets of it already.) Add a few punched hearts and some stickers. Plus, Amy Tangerine thickers for the title of course.

I was so happy to see all the new Amy Tangerine stuff in stock today. Four new daybooks. Love these envelopes and die cut shapes. So cute!

And, don't forget my free shipping code...

(affiliate links used.)

If you're thankful and you know it

2011-12-18T13:32:00.001-06:00

My parents have really been wanting to see these videos, so here you go. Avinash's very first school show. Well, actually just the rehearsal, but I think we got the same effect even without their 'Indian' feather hats on.

Of course, finding your seat is very tricky business.

Note how Avinash only really eats the green beans, but takes time to chew and swallow. He doesn't really get into it until the pumpkin pie part anyway, which he is dying to try.

Notice how he points and tells Nisha, my family there. That and blowing kisses are the best.

What are Avinash and Nisha whispering about? And, that is Nandini in the background blowing raspberries and getting bored.

I love all the organized chaos. Grandparents, enjoy!

Bright lights, big wish...

2011-12-17T05:50:00.012-06:00

It rained and rained the entire time during Avinash's birthday party (just like a bollywood movie), so much for the kids running around the patio on crazy candy-fueled sugar highs. And so much for crisp, gorgeously lit birthday cake photos. It was more like yellow and horrendously blurry birthday cake photos. But, our family is there and Avinash is beaming. Happy and confident. I didn't hesitate for a moment about scrapping these photos in a big big way.

I have so many ideas and different sources of inspiration it is sometimes hard to edit, but I decided to take a cue from this pin (one of the very first I believe) and use confetti as well as keep it simple.

Source: 3at12.blogspot.com via The Wool Acorn on Pinterest

Of course, now I am looking at the big confetti on here and loving it too. I remember for the 'millenium' (2000), times square had a different confetti drop every hour. A friend of mine saved some cherry blossom confetti for me and I have always loved that thought.

Source: blogs.babble.com via Sydney on Pinterest

Here is my project:

I used white tissue paper from a boden order over bright white textured cardstock. I punched lots of circles from one piece of Basic Grey patterned paper. I needed about 2/3 a sheet for all this confetti. I just used a glue runner on the paper and sprinkled confetti down and shook off the excess like glitter (and then I added a little white glitter of course). I kept my embellishments to a minimum. Stickers from basic grey, studio calico and jenni bowlin. This AC Chaps chipboard frame is incredibly high quality (much more so than all the other chaps stuff), the color is rich and the feel is glossy and finished. I used white glitter and black foam AC thickers too. Love these fonts so much. Journaling on tag, tied off with a little cherry twine. Most of this stuff came together in my Studio Calico Brooklyn Flea kit, this was a really great month!

And starting today...
Two Peas Year End Clearance Sale! Save an additional 10% off clearance items. Discounts up to 75% off.
Discounts good 12/17/2011 (12:00am CST) through 12/31/2011 (11:59pm CST)

Don't forget free shipping with NKFFRL Two Peas in a Bucket coupon code.

*affiliate links used

My Little Babies Mommy is Magic (no semicolon)

2011-12-16T13:30:00.003-06:00

Just a little video to make Ryan miss us all a little bit more than he probably already does. Hopefully. Also, I'd like to take this time to remind him that he is not allowed to lose any more weight without me.

All of us playing together, staying in our pajamas waaay too late, and the retelling of the greatest game of hide and seek. In which I disappeared from the front closet and then later reappeared.

Of course Avinash believes I am magic (rightly so), but Ryan is having a tougher time with that. But still can't work out how I did it.

I normally love hide and seek, because I just find someplace comfortable and cover myself with a sheet. Avinash runs around and I get to nap until he finds me. Unless Ryan is also playing, this can take a while. I always seem to think I'm better concealed than I actually am. Until the game of magic, when I became the forever champion of hide and seek. My only regret is not magically recording their shocked reactions to my reappearing act. It is easy to disappear, it is in the reappearing that the true magic happens.

Needless to say, I will not be playing hide and seek with Ryan around again.

Also, please ignore my hair in the video. Doing magic takes a lot out of me.