suz-mae

Solo Trip

2012-02-02T16:11:00.006+02:00

Guess what. I’m taking a trip. ALOOOONE.

Say what?!!

It’s true. Today I’m flying to Charlotte to see my Sis, Bro-in-Law, nephew and of course… sweet newborn Daphne!

Just look a her. Just look. My sis tells me that she’s been asking about me all week and wondering when I’m coming.

Well sweet girlie, Auntie Suz is coming TODAY to meet you!! Don’t you fret your perty little self…

Aside from meeting her and hanging out with the fam, I plan to do other things that are even more rare occurrences. Like sit on an airplane seat all by myself (obvious, I know, but definitely worth a mention). And not carry any diapers. And travel with ONLY carry-ons (Did I just say that?!). And sit in my airplane seat marveling at the lack of toddlers by my side. Then sit in my airplane seat and cry at the lack of toddlers by my side. Then pull out a hanky to blow my nose and remember my sweet boy who made me a hanky for Christmas and cry even harder. Oh my. I also plan to eat my traveling snacks all by myself without sharing. I will walk through airports without pushing a stroller, without tugging a child by the hand and without spreading loads of crumbs in every gate I wait in. And when I arrive, there will be no traces of snot, vomit or smeared peanut butter on my clothing. Glory halleluiah.

Hold up. I'm not done.

When I arrive I plan to sleep in a (fabulous) King size bed all by myself, whenever I want, for as long as I want. I'm gonna sew stuff without one of my children on my lap. And read books without pictures. I’ll call home and talk to my hubby and my babies and tell ‘em how much I miss ‘em and how much I wish they were with me. Then I’ll hang up and wonder if I really meant that or not. Then I’ll struggle with internal conflict for the next half an hour. Then I’ll curl up on the couch and drown my internal conflict with a fuzzy blanket, a newborn baby and lots of cooking shows.

I think you get the idea. It’s gonna be great.

I’ve been seriously looking forward to this for awhile. I think it does a Mama some serious good to get away. And maybe it does the Daddy some serious good to? I can’t count the number of times in the past few days that Mikey has said “Don’t leave me!” He he. Don’t you worry about me, friends, I’m gonna be doin’ juuust fine… But maybe you could pray for my husband? Ha! He’s gonna be doin’ great too. He's amazing. I love him. And it's mostly him I have to thank for the gift of this weekend...

Vocabulary Lesson

2012-01-31T23:29:00.001+02:00

My boy’s vocabulary continues to multiply. He’s super fun and I love his words. Whether or not he gets it quiiiiite right…

This is a “House section”, aka, a housing development.

“Fire sprinkles” are what fly out of fire when it is stoked.

A “Steam roller” is used to roll out cookies.

He loves to drink “White water Coke”.

This is a “Whiskers”.

Grammi and Poppi played “Bee-nokoly” with him in Ohio.

Sweet N’s favorite property was the “Yai yai berks.” Ha!

The projected words on the wall at church is actually a “Magic wall.”

These are “Fire sticks”, naturally.

Which would make these “Ear sticks.”

And we have “Crew-nuts”

and “Glitters”.

I do hope you learned much from today’s vocabulary lesson.

Felt Baking Kits–Hearts!

2012-01-30T14:58:00.004+02:00

Recently I created these homemade felt baking kits for my two little munchkins. They were a hit!

It would make a super cute Valentine’s gift for the mini-mes in your life and there is still time to make it happen before the 14th of February.

Here is the whole kit. But I’ll show you some details…

The ‘dough’ that gets rolled out is two layers of tan felt. I doubled the felt so that it would feel less flimsy than a single layer. It would definitely work with one layer also. I spent most of my time zig-zagging around the edge of these pieces and if I’d only done one layer, it wouldn’t have been necessary to zig-zag at all.

Using a cookie cutter as your pattern, cut the shapes out of the felt with a sharp razor blade. That way your little baker can cut and re-cut the perfect shapes each time.

The pan and spatula were bargains and I added my own details…

I love tiny details. And these small details help to keep the whole set along the same theme and make it easy to identify that it’s not my spatula that I suddenly find missing when I’m trying to scramble eggs. But it also makes it possible to distinguish her rolling pin from his rolling pin, if you know what I mean and if you understand the importance of being able to distinguish! the two. Two bakers fighting over whose rolling pin is whose are not happy bakers. (Yes, I made a boy set too!)

I covered a bargain hot pad with my accent fabric and trimmed the edge with pinking shears. Easy peazy.

Who wants a cookie without toppings? Okay, I’ll take a cookie any ol’ way, but it’s more fun with icing and sprinkles!

Perfect!

I also included this sweet apron. It was mine when I was tiny, but it wouldn’t be hard to create your own.

Lastly, I sewed this cute bag to gather all the bits and bobs.

Here’s the boy kit. It’s so manly, eh? His apron is a dish towel with a length of black binding tape quickly sewed onto the top. He looks oh-so-handsome with it on too!

And here are the little details on the boy set. So fun.

In closing, I have a Warning: DON’T attempt stars unless you’re really committed… it was much more difficult to zig-zag these felt shapes than the hearts. I really wish I’d just chosen a circle or something, anything without 10 sides!

My kids love these sets. I have even hauled them to church as a quiet activity and it worked. My happy little bakers baked away. Until my littlest baker started hitting her spatula on anything hard that made a noise. Oops. What are you gonna do? She’s two! I still called it a success!

So there ya have it…

Dedication

2012-01-30T04:52:00.001+02:00

My daughter is passionate about the kitchen rag. She asks for it at each meal and then complains if it’s not wet enough. “Yai yai!” she demands. So I wet it and pass it on over.

And she will go to great lengths to make sure she gets every last inch of the table clean.

That’s what you call dedication. Ha!

If only I could get her to help me clean the rest of the apartment. Oh my…

Quote of the Day

2012-01-26T18:33:00.001+02:00

H: Mom, is it summer?

Me: No.

H: What season is it?

Me: Winter.

H: Okay then, I’m doing a wintersault instead of a somersault.

H’s First Homework

2012-01-26T02:22:00.001+02:00

My boy started preschool a couple weeks ago and looooves it. Like, totally.

It wasn’t long before he came home with his first homework assignment. I think I may have been almost as excited as he was.

He was super concentrated on his assignment, which was to connect the big shape to the little shape with a line.

He did it with almost no help from me, but as you can see, he didn’t take the ‘short route’ between the shapes. He did NOT want to have to cross one line with another line and would take the loooong way around to avoid having to cross lines. I had to do quite a bit of cajoling to get him to finally cut across the magenta line near the bottom right corner to connect the big diamond to the small diamond. Silly boy!

And here’s lil’ missy, who also completed a project when she had a playdate the other day. She was so proud, showing me the second I walked in the room to pick her up and talking about her project and her flower all day long…

Reverie

2012-01-24T19:23:00.001+02:00

Sunday afternoon I lay in bed after a rare and wonderful nap. Swedish foam and down comforter on a wintery day are an amazing combination. I think I could have laid there till the next morning…

I stared up at the ceiling trying to decipher shapes and faces out of the dimple dots above me as my mind was wandering around the world and back.

I was feeling so reflective, pausing to remember in detail our home in Africa. I was walking through our apartment laying my mind’s eye and my thoughts on various details that I love. That I miss. And I was fondly thinking of our friends there. I miss them too.

Enough time has passed that our life there has largely become idealistic in my head. I think this happens naturally when you are separated from a place or person for a significant amount of time. However, I’m smart enough to know that life there wasn’t perfect and that it comes with a heap of ‘character-building’ experiences, DAILY.

But I still miss my white tile countertop and my santuko knife. And the local market. And my gas stove. And I really, really miss my friends. For a short time that afternoon, I felt like I was back there again. It was nice.

“The gift of reverie is a blessing divine, and it is conferred most abundantly on those who lie in hammocks or drive alone in cars. Or lean on hillside fences in Kentucky. The mind swims, binding itself to whatever flotsam comes along, to old driftwood faces and voices of the past, to places and scenes once visited, to things not seen or done but only dreamed.”

William Nack wrote those prose in his article “Pure Heart” about Secretariat in Sports Illustrated. I read the book last year and read his article soon after. This paragraph struck me as some beautifully crafted sentences and I wrote them down and have read them many times since then.

If you ask me, reverie is also conferred on those who snuggle in a warm bed on a frigid Sunday afternoon. And it was a blessing divine.

Quote of the Day

2012-01-23T22:49:00.001+02:00

I think this is my first time posting a Quote of the Day from someone other than a family member. This is the first and will not be the last. Words hold such power and wisdom. They challenge and inspire, don’t they?

It is the good things that keep us from the best things.

–Anne Ortlund

The Best Christmas Gift Ever

2012-01-22T05:10:00.003+02:00

I reached a new level in my Mama experience this Christmas. My boy H made me a gift (with Grammi’s help)! It was the first time he has ever made a gift for me. Oh. My. Goodness.

The tears welling up in my eyes really took me off guard as I unwrapped it and saw what it was. My heart EXPLODED when I opened this treasure.

It’s a hanky. (Yes, we’re a hanky family and proud of it. Cotton fibers are so much nicer to the skin than the paper fibers of tissues.) My son colored a rainbow of his favorite colors on his Mama’s new most favorite hanky ever. It's beautiful and I love it. It can’t be explained. Also, it's way too lovely to ever actually blow any of my snot into it. Just too darn special.

Way. Way. Special.

Hearts ‘n Stuff

2012-01-21T07:53:00.004+02:00

Tonight I decided it was high time to decorate for Valentine’s Day. You agree? No? You think I’m crazy. But that’s okay!! I don’t care!

As a side note, I ordered a four dollar kids book about Saint Valentine and I’m super excited to read it to my kids (or watch Mike read it to the kids, which is much more likely) and learn how the holiday started... I know it’s roots aren’t traced back to Hallmark. I also know I could just google it, but I’d much rather have a book.

Aaaanyway, I brought some things from Ohio decorate with (I love shopping at my Mom’s house!), and they certainly make do in our current temporary place!

I sewed these little (not-handmade) flowers onto this gorgeous crocheted lace. I like this little garland so much I do hope I can find somewhere to put it all year ‘round! ( I talk as if I have a home… ha!)

The subway art was downloaded from eighteen24 – a lovely site – and framed in a thrifted frame.

And I had no plans to make this little guy (gal?), but I saw the supplies when I was digging around in the sewing box that I grabbed out of storage a few days ago, the idea popped in my head and I whipped it up. I love it!

I don’t think these will be the last pink and red and hearty things you see from me…

Quote of the Day

2012-01-20T05:39:00.002+02:00

Me: H, what was the best part of your day?

H: Snuggle time.

Me: Where did you have snuggle time?

H: At school. (preschool)

Me: Who did you snuggle with?

H: Jesus.

Fresh to This World

2012-01-18T05:20:00.001+02:00

This morning I got a text. It was a photo.

Have you ever seen a woman in labor look so happy and perky and beautiful! Um, yeah… you ain’t never EVER gonna see a pic of me when I was in labor up here in these virtual parts.... Lord have mercy… how does my sister look so fabulous?!! This was even before the epidural! Also, let me mention (with a tad of jealousy)… that she was 5 to 6 centimeters dilated before labor even really started… have you ever heard of such a thing?! She’s a machine, I tell ya…

Anyway, you may have guessed by now that she made me an Auntie again today! Woot woot!

Daphne Eve Marie was born this evening weighing 9 1/2 pounds and measuring 22 inches long. She a healthy gorgeous thing and everyone is doing great!

She is perfect, has some good lungs (heard her on the phone calls!) and looking so much like her big brother’s little sister! I can’t wait to bundle her up in my arms when I get to take a solo (yes, I’m traveling alone!) trip to go and welcome her to this world myself sometime soon.

Congratulations Sar and Dave! She’s a miracle, formed by God’s hands and placed in your arms.

Homemeade Baby Legs (aka Leg Warmers)

2012-01-16T17:27:00.003+02:00

Sweet N had some teeny tiny legwarmers when she was a wee one, thanks to my husband’s cuz (Hi Nicole!). They were pretty darn cute and I wanted a repeat. So I made her some! I picked up a couple pairs of women’s knee socks on clearance at Target way back in the summer.

Then I took them to Jordan, followed the instructions on this website, using the foot of the sock to make a cuff on the long leggy part.

I sewed it all by hand over several sittings. I rarely sit for more than, um, twelve seconds, so it’s a bit challenging to find time to hand sew some toddler leggings. Ha! They are far from perfect, but I was very pleased with the outcome.

My model was on location in India when these photos were taken.

These knit leggies have already several countries and back again. Oh my.

But they don’t stay still for long!

Stubborn Little Stinker–N’s Two Year Portraits

2012-01-13T21:11:00.001+02:00

While down in Charlotte last week I thought it a good time to take advantage of the milder weather and attempt some portraits of my girl, since she had a birthday and all.

Oh my.

I took my photography entourage to the park along with the wee model. My entourage included my father with a second camera and my husband with a backpack of some 'make her laugh’ tools and some candy for bribing.

We wandered around that park for probably an hour, doing anything and everything trying to crack a grin out of my daughter and mostly, we all failed. Miserably. At certain points we could tell that she was purposefully trying to hold back her cute smiles. That little stubborn stinker, I can’t think of where she could have possibly gotten that personality trait!

In the end, Dad got two pictures before his battery died and I took over 600, most of them not good. Mikey had rolled down hills, thrown her in the air, done silly dances, bonked me on the head with a plastic bat and given her (green) candy that you may spot if you look closely. And still, most of the photos capture her more contemplative, melancholy look. What are ya gonna do?

It was fun and her joyful little self was finally captured in the end when Poppi flipped her upside-down, Mikey threw her up in the air, two of us swung her, first holding her hands and then putting her on the real swing, where she throws her head back and giggles non-stop every time. I love this age. I also think my daughter might be a miniature adrenaline junkie. Not sure.

Oh, I do love my girlie. Smiles or not, she is a beautiful masterpiece of God’s craftsmanship. At least this proud Mama thinks so…

Celebrating N’s Birthday

2012-01-13T00:26:00.004+02:00

This is a mostly picture post, just so you know. We celebrated my girlie’s 2nd birthday while we were down in Charlotte with my family.

It was a fun and simple celebration of our precious girl.

Hit the Road Jack

2012-01-12T06:34:00.002+02:00

Sunday afternoon before driving half-way across the country we celebrated Mike’s Grandma’s 90th birthday.

It was a fun open house!

Near the end of the party we changed into our traveling clothes, kissed and hugged everyone in sight and waved goodbye to Mike’s family as we pulled out.

We hit the road at about 3:30pm.

And by 3:44,

Sweet N already started snoozin’ (and she snoozed for a looong time),

Hudson was hard at work on his computer,

and Mike was feeling good in the driver’s seat.

I had purchased some of the road trip essentials for him, including a case of Big K Citrus Drop (nothin’ but the best for him!)

and Sunflower Seeds. I’d even thought ahead to pack a ‘spit cup’.

The trip continued uneventfully through the afternoon and evening. Well, unless you count Noelle getting mad at me for refusing to take the lid off her water cup and proceeding to remove her shoe and throw it at me in the front seat an ‘event’. Which maybe I do. Who is that little firecracker?

Aaaanyway, night time came and the kiddos didn’t seem to eager to sleep. This glow stick was well worth the 8 cents it cost me. She played with that thing until she repeatedly dropped it and I refused to pick it up and return it to her a fifth time. Oh well.

Right around 9pm our tire started to sound odd. I ignored it for awhile, but then it couldn’t be ignored anymore and we pulled over the side of I-70.

Flat. Boo.

Luckily, my husband wisely added roadside assistance to our car insurance policy and he made some phone calls to get some help on the way.

While help was coming, I needed me a break from that van and those kiddos, who were getting crankier. The weather wasn’t too cold and I paced the side of the freeway for awhile. A little walk on the side of a big scary road always does a Mama good. Ha! N and H stayed strapped in the van.

Help arrived, in the form of middle-aged Kevin and his flat-bed tow truck. We were advised to skip the whole ‘put the donut on the van’ thing, which was good, since we would have had to empty the whole back of the van (which was seriously full) to lower the donut down from under the vehicle. He suggested towing us to his shop and putting a new tire on there.

Only thing was, the tow-truck only had three seats and we were five people (including Kevin), so there was no way we could ride in the cab. I didn’t know what we were going to do! I expressed my concern to Kevin and he assured me it is legal to continue riding in the vehicle WHILE it is being carried on top of the flat-bed.

Seriously?

I mean, REALLY?!!!

Oh my word. He said it and what choice did we have but to believe him! After our approval he proceeded to winch up our mini-van and all it’s contents, including our family of four still buckled in our seats onto the bed and then raise us up and level us out.

Whoa. We were up there. Strange sensations were felt by all as we were chained down and started bumping down the road. Yes, bumping… it’s not a smooth ride way up there! The flashing lights were blinding us and we started flying down the freeway fifteen miles in the opposite direction from Colorado.

It was so odd way up there. Totally freaky.

Can you imagine if you were driving along on the freeway and a flat bed truck is driving next to you? Okay, that part is not hard to imagine. But then you look over and notice the older maroon mini-van chained down, and THEN you notice that there are two adults in the front seat buckled in and two kids in car-seats in the back just riding along as if all is normal?

Oh my goodness. It was funny.

So, we arrived at this shop after 10pm. Kevin turned on the heat for us and our kids ran around wreaking havoc on the place while Kevin sold us one of these new tires.

It’s all they had in stock and while probably more than we’d usually pay, it sure beat getting a hotel for the night to try to save twenty bucks on a tire the next day. That wouldn’t have made any sense at all.

I sure was thankful for Kevin and his night shift. This cot that I saw in the garage made me think he must just sleep there waiting for calls from stranded folks like us all night long.

God bless ‘im.

If you’re ever driving through Effington, Illinois, I recommend these guys! And if you ever want to get a little chuckle, just say the name of this small town outloud. It sure did provide us with some much-needed comic relief…

SO, three hours after the blown tire, we were finally back on the road and feeling good.

Or at least Mike was feeling good after he tried this! Blech. Tasted like cough syrup. He took most of the night shift and I did a couple hour stint in the middle of the night to give him a break.

Once the sun came up we took turns through the remainder of the drive (not this girlie, though) and arrived in the afternoon just about 24 hours after leaving Ohio. Not bad, I’d say, if you take into account the flat tire and the two lil’ kiddos that we had along.

I do believe I'd choose a long car (van) journey over a long airplane journey most any day of the week.

Pack. Unpack. Pack. Unpack. Repeat.

2012-01-08T14:42:00.002+02:00

Recently I had the thought “The world is my home” as I drove down the road in an unusually empty and quiet vehicle.

Then the biblical worldview buzzer went off.

Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it.

(1 Peter 2:11)

Okay Bible (God). I stand corrected.

I hadn’t really been thinking that I can call anyplace in the world my home or that I love all that this world has to offer, but just that we HAVE - out of necessity - made many places temporary ‘homes’ during this season. You have to work with what you’re given, right?

I was thinking about all the places we’ve laid our heads to sleep in the past eight months of world-wandering while waiting for visas to return to our North African home. I’ve done laundry, cooked meals, read to kiddos and tucked them into all sorts of beds in all sorts of accommodations all around the globe, literally. As “homeless” as I have felt at times, I am so thankful for the grace that God has given us to sojourn for such a long time with wee kiddos. It’s only been his grace that’s gotten me through. He is the biggest rock in my life. My husband is my second biggest rock… he’s been incredible through all of this too.

I have obviously been longing for some security, certainty, life-plans, personal space and routine in our lives for awhile now. But I realize how easily those things make us feel ‘cozy’ here on earth. They aren’t inherently evil, of course, but obviously God hasn’t chosen those things for our family during this season and that’s okay. I’m looking forward to a little stability the next few months… at this point it seems the right thing to do to for my children (and my sanity). I don’t think I would ever choose insecurity, uncertainty, an unknown future, lack of personal space and loss of routine for my family. But looking back I am thankful for all God has taught us through our wanderings.

God’s grace has covered us. God’s grace has covered ME (most of the time, Ha! Just ask my husband about those other times. Or don’t, on second thought.) I am so thankful that all this not-ideal bouncing around is a fairly good reminder that this planet is not my home. But that “Life is just a field trip, heaven is home”, as my friend Laurie says. Our lives these past eight months have literally been a field trip. I have the passport stamps, the worn out luggage, the tiny shoe wardrobe and the muffin top to prove it.

It’s normal for a woman to want to make a cozy place for her family. I’d even say it’s a God-given desire, since God made us the nurturers of our children. I LONG to make a cozy place for our family again, but I am (attempting to) embrace this season for all it has been, for all it continues to be.

And it does continue. The past few days have been spent packing (again). Today we’ll load up our minivan and our two precious munchkins to make the 20+ hour drive to Colorado to unpack and continue waiting from there. We still don’t know when or if we’ll get visas to return to Africa. We shed tears at the thought of having to close that season of our lives and we hope that it’s not the end. But we trust God. We know His plans are far better than ours. So we continue to push on doors. And until the day I find myself in my heavenly home, I’ll do my best to set us up another temporary home in another temporary place and thank God for the grace to continue walking through this season- these temporary homes- with joy.

My First Snow Card

2012-01-08T00:58:00.001+02:00

I got my first snow card the other day when Poppi took the kiddos outside to play in the snow. There was a little wandering ‘outside the lines’, but I sure did love it!

Two Short Days

2012-01-06T06:02:00.001+02:00

Lookie who is back in our lives! Even if it is only for two (only two?!) days… we are so thrilled to have (Aunty) Leah with us again!

Also, no, I’m not pregnant. One of the kids just picked that book out of an old stack! Just in case you were wondering…

Expectation

2012-01-05T14:42:00.001+02:00

Did you know that my sis is going to have a baby girlie, like any day? Umm, yeah. How’d you miss that? My little niecey isn’t due for several more days… but you never know when she might decide to make her appearance!!! (Soon, I hope!)

I’m a little excited, in case you couldn’t tell. Also, doesn’t she look incredible for nine months pregnant? I’d say!

I don’t know if my sister wants to know this or not (probably not), but a couple weeks ago I had already reached the point where every time she called me I was listening to the tone of her voice and the background sounds to give me the first clues as to whether or not she might be getting ready to tell me that she’s in labor! Ahhh!!!

It’s awful, I know. I know what it’s like to be so uncomfortable and so ready for little baby to show her sweet face and for people to look at you like you’re about to pop (although I’m sure my sis isn’t the size that I was at nine months pregnant… Lord have mercy) And I KNOW that it’s not fun that people look at you and listen to your voice on the phone like you’re a ticking time bomb. But I can’t help it!!

I am just SOOOO stinkin’ excited for that phone call!!!

Expectation is fun like that. We know something amazing, something beautiful, something so so special is on the (her) way and that soon I’ll get to lay eyes on her and swaddle her up tight and put little booties on her and kiss her little cheekies and tell her that I’ll love her forever and ever.

I’m so excited.

Did I mention that?!

Also, it’s tradition now, for Auntie Suz to doctor up some burp rags for the offspring of her precious sister and sister-in-law. Here is the third batch, sewed with love! I managed to avoid pink, for my sister’s sake, but it was really REALLY hard for me!

C’mon baby girl! I’m ready for that phone call. My heart is full of expectation for your arrival!

Throw Some Paper On It

2012-01-03T05:48:00.002+02:00

I used to be so creative. I used to show such pride in my work. I used to spend such time. I used to pay attention to such detail.

And now, NOW I just throw some paper on the thing and call it wrapped.

Bah.

My family has had an unofficial non-judged gift-wrapping competition for many years. And I used to have at least one un-official entry in this non-judged contest each year. Usually more. I loved it. I am a creator at heart and this was a fun outlet. I also love giving gifts and giving them in beautiful packages makes it exponentially more fun.

But now, NOW I have children.

And that’s that. End of story.

Let me demonstrate…

Example 1, Pre-Procreation:

Christmas in 2004. Charlotte. I remember this Christmas well.

I remember this tree and this enormous pile of presents clearly. It was the first Christmas that Mikey and I were married. It was Sar and Dave’s second Christmas in their cozy and sweet apartment that they moved into as newlyweds. Good times.

Here’s me, looking young and silly and excited over Audrey Hepburn movies. I do love me an Audrey Hepburn movie. And that haircut is the haircut I had in my first drivers license that I got when we moved to Colorado and I took my love’s name. And those sweat pants were favorites that I wore all through college. I had them in navy blue too. And that wooden etagere in the background used to be my Aunt Gail’s and we used to lay in her bed and watch movies on the TV that sat on it when we were kids. Oh… the memories abound in this photo… who knew?!

This photo and commentary is irrelevant to the topic of this post, but I thought I’d share anyway. In fact, I couldn’t help myself. Also, for many of you, this may be the first time you’ve ever seen me without mascara. Please don’t be alarmed. And now you understand why I always wear mascara.

Aaaaanyway…

This was my best entry that year. The gift was for Dave. I had “DAVE” written on the front using only ribbon taped down at different angles. It’s gift-wrapping creative genius, no? I was so proud.

Example #2 Pre-Procreation:

Whatever year this was, we apparently did hand out actual awards. This is the winner of ‘The Best Ribbon Award’. I don’t know who fashioned this ribboned masterpiece, but I stand amazed.

Example #3 Pre-Procreation:

Another Christmas. (Duh) Not sure what year it was, but it sure looks prehistoric, judging by the photo, Mikey’s hair and my slimmer waistline.

It showcases more artsy ribbon placement. It’s like a gravity defying ribbon explosion. Love it.

And now, if you’re ready, I’ll sheepishly show you some of my ‘work’ this year.

Examples 4-8, Post-Procreation:

Oh my.

The ones I’m showing have ribbons, which most didn’t. This one’s ribbon was so badly sized that just setting it on the floor made it slip off the sides. And instead of even bothering to hide the gift-tag on the bottom, I obviously haphazardly stuck it to the top. Before, I wouldn’t dream of messing up the design of a beautiful package with a silly tag stuck on the front.

Whatever.

Several times when I started wrapping a gift I realized that the paper didn’t quite cover the back. A few years ago I would have chosen a different paper and begun with a new gift wrap design (seriously). But now, I just grab any ol’ scrap and throw it on the back.

No one looks at the back anyway.

This charming little one was crumpled, folded and taped on one end and gathered and tied at the other end with a ribbon. Snowmen paper again. It must have been the roll on top of the pile. And you can thank me, also, for it’s odd shape because I was too lazy to try to find a gift box to fit one of the skirts I made my daughter so I shoved it inside a misshapen roll of paper instead.

This lucky devil got more than just the paper. And more than the occasional curling ribbon. It got extra embellishment! In previous days this tinsel garland could have been carefully and imaginatively applied to achieve an interesting and thoughtful piece.

In previous days.

These days it’s thrown on the top with some GINORMOUS pieces of tape that didn’t even stick because my girlie was crying in the other room and what good are gifts if the receiver cries in solitude while the ‘cheerful giver’ is wrapping and cursing at her lack of time to spend wrapping gifts alone in the other room?

That wouldn’t be good at all.

Soooo the pretty ribbon days are over. The slap-the-paper-on-it-and-call-it-done days are here. I’ve accepted it. I have.

But I do hold out hopes that maybe when my kids are middle school age-ish, that the unofficial non-judged gift-wrapping competition can live once again, someplace outside of my heart and memories.

My hope is that I can one day proudly win back The Best Ribbon Award.

Cousins Snoozin’

2012-01-01T04:15:00.001+02:00

My boy and my sis’s boy had their first sleepover the other night. They did really well! Not well enough that we have repeated it since that first night… but there is a first time for everything, right?!

Two Today

2011-12-29T19:00:00.000+02:00

Today our Sweet N turns two. Two years have flown. How we love our tender little firecracker!

Happy Birthday sweet girlie! We love you so!

Christmas Day(s) in Photos

2011-12-27T22:31:00.001+02:00

2011-12-25T23:40:00.000+02:00