Thanks for the finger painting
The clean kitchen
The folded laundry
The spring flowers
The cards
The kisses
The wonderful dinner
The new blender (no "Father of the bride" moments here:)
The scheduled hair appt (Yes...Kenneth called the salon all on his own)
The new apron
The snuggles and hugs
The first time hearing Ian say "hop-py Mama Day"
And for being my biggest fan club.
I love being a mom, but I love you guys more.
Degeega.
Well I finished the shows...sold a bit, traveled a bit, didn't sleep a bit...but traded a bit! I love trades, and I think I may have just landed on my BEST trade ever.
Let me give you some back story:
Santa brought Addie and Ian Bla Bla dolls for Christmas. I LOVE these dolls, and didn't know how Addie and Ian would respond to them (no batteries, blinking lights or frills here!) and was SO pleased when on Christmas morning they became adopted as their new best friends. They named their dolls "Sheesha" and "Monkey Friend." Sheesha and Monkey Friend have been nearly adoptive children in our family ever since. Addie and Ian do everything with them. But, selfishness gets the best of all of us, and more often than not Addie and Ian would fight over who got to play with both of them at the same time. Addie insisted that Sheesha needed a dance partner and best friend. Ian doesn't take rejection well.
Well, my problem was solved last night when at the Beehive Bazaar I ran into Susan from Persimmon and Pink who makes these INCREDIBLE stuffed animals. I was so excited when she wanted to trade 2 prints for two dolls...and let me tell you. These are AMAZING!! The fabric is to die for and the quality...just great.
These two cats have now been with us for 12 hours, and now instead of 2 adopted children, we have 4. They came to church with us, had breakfast with us, laid out in the sun with us, read stories with us, and even came close to getting in the bath. Mostly the kids are just excited that Sheesha and Monkey Friend aren't friendless any more. We immediately asked what their names were, and they came up with "Happy" and "Flower". Let me just say it is the cutest thing in the world to see your two year old son prancing around the room with his Japanese fabric cat rhythmically chanting "Happy Happy Happy Happy!"
Welcome to the family! Left to Right: Flower and Sheesha, Monkey Friend and Happy.
And Susan, if you are reading this...Please oh Please open an ETSY shop soon. Her shop Persimmon and Pink is just getting started, but you can see more darling stuff here on her blog. But I hope other kids will be making new friends like these this summer!
Stay tuned for more Sheesha and Flower, Happy and Monkey Friend adventures...
OK folks. I am a little behind today. Well, I am behind on a lot of things. Note to self: Most things go on hold when getting ready for a show.
So, now that I am behind and feeling that pile to the left of my keyboard getting higher and higher (my "do it soon" stash) I find this article particularly helpful today.
So, without much ado: READ THIS and you will be ready to be clean and enjoy spring.
Hint: if you are needing a little more emotional freedom from clutter, this is for you.
(Brought to you by Apartment Therapy).
And when you are done reading this, go clean a corner, then get out and smell the flowers. Happy Mother's Day everyone!!
OH, and remember: All clearence items in the shop are gone after tonight. Yep. A shop has to be clean and neat too! And....all UTAHN's! Get over to the Beehive Bazzaar and Oh Sweet Sadie. You will be blown away.
I love this blogging world. Being a young mom with young kids, I don't travel much anymore and I don't get out as much as I used to. Those are the two negatives about being a mom. The only two. (Well, the wider hips aren't my favorite either).
Blogging has changed all that for me. (Well, not the hips part).
Remember a few "Happy site Friday's" ago when I posted about Ariadne at home? I went as far to mention how I would do anything to get a hold of their magazine (they don't ship to the US). Well, my new dear pen pal Tania immediately emailed me to share that because she lives in Belgium, she could get a copy on her way home from work. And let me just tell you....I have made a new best friend. TWO new best friends. Tania....and Aridne.
I just got my hands on the Children's edition, and I am still pouring over it ( I have had it for a week now). The colors, freshness, hand-made-ness, the scandinavian modern meets traditional, etc. etc. etc. I AM IN LOVE!
Somehow, getting a style magazine from Belgium (and knowing that there probably aren't that many people in the US that have this sitting on their coffee table) has just made my month. I have always had travel in my blood, and thanks to my new blogging friend, my need to be overseas has been satisfied (at least for now:)
Thank you Tania!!! You might also want to visit her new ETSY store...she is super talented! I have some of her handmade children's accessories, and they are DARLING!!
Tonight and tomorrow will be days I will want to soon forget with all the work that goes into getting ready for TWO shows. Yes, there are two shows that lie on the same weekend. Just when I thought that I was prepared and ready to go, I find myself covered in paper scraps and cello sleeves. You should just see my office. Yikes! Cleaning it will be a project itself!
Well, no hilarious children's sayings and no big news except to say:
SUPPORT MY TIRED FRAMING AND WRAPPING FINGERS AND COME SHOP THESE TWO SHOWS THIS WEEKEND!
Just kidding. No really, Come anyways, cause you will want to see the incredible goods that people can come up with. Truly talented people out there. I love handmade. Ok...back to printing and paper cutting...
Well, for most people, Spring Cleaning has already happened. And it has in our house, but this week, I am doing some spring cleaning in the shop.
I have a lot of prints in my shop that 1) are not consistent with my style that I have created, 2) haven't sold enough of them to justify keeping them or 3) I really don't like.
SO......this week, I will be having a clearance SALE for these items. They will be GONE by the end of the week.
RIDE A COCKHORSE slate
JAIME MAMAN & PAPA size 7"x7"
(I am keeping the 7x9 size)
BREAKFAST BUNNY LAVENDER
I am seriously tempted to get rid of
WHAT LITTLE BOYS ARE MADE OF and
LITTLE ARTIST
EDIT: I AM getting rid of What boys are made of
So, by 1pm Mountain Standard Time today, all theses items will be a whoppin' $14 (sets will be $32). And by Friday, they will be biting the dust.
I am really wanting to make more space for other things, and since I do my own printing, it will make my job easier with less in the shop.
Ahhhh....feels great to be clean!
Today I am featuring sites to find GREAT KIDS MUSIC.
What music do you AND your kids love: That is the question.
(it's your house...you should love it too!)
I could list hundreds of songs: but this is a short list of what my kids are loving right now.
Disclaimer: Itunes links weren't working, so most links are youtube...some videos are dumb. Links were chosen for music not video:)
The Real Old Stuff:
Some of the vintage classics are on itunes, but you can also get CD's at the library. I thought my kids wouldn't like the sound quality or how out of date these are. Quite the opposite! This genre deserves a whole blog post by itself,but here are two of their favorites:
Whose afraid of the big bad woolf?
Vintage record version
Popeye the sailor man
My kids fall over in histerics over popeye's laugh
The worry Song:
Gene Kelly and Jerry mouse dancing from the movie "Anchors Away." LOVE Gene Kelly.
Here is the video: Your kids will LOVE this!!! (Have I said 'love' enough?)
Muppets:
Ok, so not that old at all. But a staple in our home. Check out the album from the first season, as well as this FAVORITE video. I just can't ever get enough.
Manamana
Folk:
The Littlest Bird: three good tanyas
Don't you love this group? And to have a song about/for children...even better.
James Taylor:
You just can't go wrong. His music will put your kids to sleep, but also get them dancing. So easy to listen to!
Sweet Baby James: James Taylor
How sweet it is: James Taylor
Jack Johnson:
You can't go wrong. My kids love ALL of his albums. these are favorites:
Upside Down
3R's: Reduce resuse recycle
Better together
Banana Pancakes
Classical:
Peter and the wolf
Perfect to play make believe and act out the story. This link has the narration.
The most relaxing classical music in the world ever
Perfect for getting them calmed down before bedtime, or provide ambiance
Raffi:
Ok, so some of you will say no to this, but his music is so great for kids. soothing voice, songs from every culture, the most "kid song-ish" I will go.
Baby Beluga
Baa Baa black sheep
My new favorite artist: Asheba
No more monkeys
If you only listen to one song on this post, listen to this. Kids classics with a Jamaican rhythm. This song gave me a library fine (my kids listen to it everyday!!)
African:
The lion sleeps tonight
Best authentic rendition I have come across. Remember Graceland by Paul Simon? This is THAT South African group. My kids love the african vibe, and love acting this out.
Paul Simon:
Speaking of him, anything Paul Simon is a good choice.
I know what I know: zimbabwe performance
Father and Daughter: This is Addie and Kenneth's Signature song
My new favorite CD that has the two songs above, plus more that I can't find right now: Putumayo
World music for kids! I love it! My kids don't realize that they are learning other languages!
Other great music:
Anything Tracy Chapman
King singers Kid's Stuff (anyone know where to buy this? It is out of stock on Amazon)
Martha Stewart Kids: Playtime
Michael Buble: Everything
...etc etc etc...
EDIT: I just received a comment with a link to this site. An ENTIRE blog dedicated to children's music! Yahoo! Hear it, love it share it.
OK: so this was a lot longer than I originally planned it to be. But now it is open to you:
What music to you AND your kids love??? Please share!
I will try and put together a compilation we can all access.
OK. I have to admit that I do the dumbest things as a mom. I hope I am not the only one here who hits her forehead daily and says "Dumb! That was really dumb!" Like when you give your child crayons to play with so you can finish that phone call, or when you leave them unattended with play dough, or when you give them ice cream cones in their car seats just to avoid getting in an accident during rush hour.
Well, this was worse.
I missed my daughters dance class pictures. I got her all excited about dressing up in her new costume, wearing makeup and practicing how to not "fake smile" for the camera. 20 minutes before class, I got a phone call from a mom. "Oh we missed Addie on Saturday for picture day." My heart SANK!!! How could I be so dumb!!! Addie started to get worried at my tone, so I quickly hung up and told her that we were ready for her glamour portraits in the living room. I played photographer, and she was SO proud. I was SO glad that she is only 3 and didn't know what to expect, and that she can still believe that her mother is the REAL photographer.
To be honest, I was dreading picture day with her in this bright orange, black and copper fruffy dress. I mean, BLAH!! Who comes up with these costumes?!?(This is for a Lion King dance...so I guess orange=lion.) But even still, she is gorgeous. These pictures will always remind me of my absent minded brain. But even more, they will remind me that Perfection isn't always lost when dressed up in a bunch of ugly. She makes this dress look stunning. Only she. Only Addie. Unaffected by the yucky. And seemingly unaffected by her mother's dumb mistakes. Oh she is perfect. Thanks Addie.
(and for my utter distaste for those 80's glamour shots, I just had to throw this in:)