Taking Off

My 23 month old son "G" is a runner. Every opportunity he gets, he runs as fast as he can away from me. His favourite place to go is the middle of the road. He is so fast, I can't believe it. I have opened the car door, turned to grab him and he is already at the end of the drive way and almost onto the road. He's too big to carry every where and he insists on walking anyway, and refuses to hold my hand, so it difficult to keep him close. I am seriously considering getting one of those toddler leashes. It would strap on to him like a back pack or harness around his shoulders and then have a leash that I can hold on to. The thought of strapping my son to a harness and leash makes me feel a little silly, but it might be the safest way to keep him from running into the street. Just the other day I was picking my daughter up at school, and "G" took off and was in the parking lot before I could catch him. It was frightening. I am aware now of what he wants to do, so I guess I just need to be extra vigilant.

Quilt Squares

I've been kind of crafty lately. My last two post have been about my new Cricut (that I love), but I have also been working on some quilting squares. My mother-in-law asked me to make 4 squares (one for each of us in the family) and send it to her. She is making a quilt for her mother (my husband's grandmother) for her birthday. We each had to make the square reflect ourselves or something we like.

Mine is a colourful flower, and the first one that I attempted.

My 5 year old daughter "E" drew a picture on her square of a mountain, birds, the sun, grass, and flowers. I then embroidered over her pencil drawing with coloured thread and used buttons for the sun and flowers.

For my 23 month old son "G" I traced his hands on fabric then sewed them on the square.

My husband wanted his square to be of his guitar and amp. He loves music and is an excellent guitar player. He didn't have time to sew it (or the inclination) so I did it for him. I'm not much of a sewer (obviously) and have only done a few projects like a baby quilt, and some aprons for "E". But I must say, I am rather pleased with how this one turned out. First I want to show you the originals.

The amp:

His Guitar:

And my quilt square:

I think it turned out well, "A" likes it anyway. I first cut out the basic shapes of the guitar and amp and then used fabric glue to  put them on the square. I used sequins for the pots and silver thread for the guitar strings and mesh of the amp. For the lettering, I used my Cricut and glued that on as well. I used my sewing machine for all the stitching (outlines, mesh of the amp, frets on the guitar neck, etc.). It was a lot of fun, and I hope Gramma likes her quilt.

More Cricut

I think I'm starting to get a hang of my Cricut. I'm testing a few things out and having tonnes of fun! I made a couple of cards, just trying out a few things.

This one is for my good friend who just had a baby boy:

Ooh I love it! Making cards is so much more fun when I can make adorable little giraffes!

Here's another that I did for some future date:

The grass was a lot of fun. For the grass, flower and leaf I used the Plantin SchoolBook cartridge. For the text and giraffe I used the Sugar and Spice cartridge.
And a few birthday cards:

I'm not sure if you can see, but there are a few presents on each of the cards that I popped out. Not the greatest pictures, I know, but I've never claimed to be a photographer. For the text on these brithday cards, I used the Plantin SchoolBook cartridge.
I think I'm going to have to be careful not to spend too much time on this and neglect my kids. It will be tricky, 'cause it's so much fun!

Cricut

Hooray! Yesterday my mother's day gift (that I picked out for myself) came in the mail. I got a a Cricut Expression (die-cutting machine) and Your Story (book binder and laminator).

I am so excited to make fun cards and scrapbooking pages. I have been making my own cards for years, but I had limited resources and they always looked amateur. Now there will be more things that I can do with this new machine and it will be lots of fun. So right away I unpacked the Cricut and tried it out. I'm still getting the hang of it but here are my first two (simple) attempts.

Hopefully my mother and mother-in-law won't see these pictures before they get them! I couldn't wait to show the pictures though, I'm too excited about my new Cricut! Next step: get some fun cartridges and get to work!

Not A Baby Anymore

I think it's time for a toddler bed. I've been putting it off as long as I could but now I think it is inevitable. My 23 month old son "G" has learned how to climb out of the crib. Yesterday I put him down for his nap. He was fussing a little when I left and then I heard a 'thump' and then the doorknob turning. He opened the door, looking guilty, and said, "Hi Momma." Then this morning as I was getting ready I heard him open the door again. There's no use keeping him in a crib anymore, and I don't want him to hurt himself by climbing out of the crib. "G" will be two this month and he's getting so big. Putting him in a toddler bed is the next step - he won't be a baby anymore.

Busy, Busy, Busy.

It has been busy lately, and it's getting busier. So much is going on. My 5 year old daughter "E" is finishing up ballet for the year and has classes, dress rehearsals and performances. She is also playing soccer twice a week and is in school. My husband "A" is working hard and playing just as hard. He is the lead guitarist in a band and they have been booking gigs, recording, and are going to be playing in a few festivals coming up. My 23 month old son "G" is just a crazy, busy boy and always keeps me on my toes. For myself I am finding that I am a soccer mom, a ballet mom, and a groupie. Not to mention I am a youth leader in my church and we have activities once a week as well as a campout coming up. I am starting to train for a half marathon and trying to plan a weekend getaway for just me. I am planning on seeing the Broadway musical "Wicked" and need to plan for babysitters etc. I have to travel six hours to go and see it, but it will be so worth it.

Scheduling has been rough and it's stressing me out a little. I always told myself that I would never be one of those mom's with their kids in every activity and so busy that nothing really gets done and I have no time for myself. It's not that "E" is in a lot, the two activites just overlap for a few weeks. But it's all the activities from the whole family combined that make it difficult. Well, I guess I'll figure it out.

My Muse

The shower is my muse. Let me explain.  Shower time is alone time, me time. I'm away from the kids, chores, the phone, and everything else in the house. It's all about me. I love the shower. And when I'm in there ideas and thoughts come to me. It's my brainstorming time. Characters and plots develop for my writing projects. Complications in my stories that I have been thinking about and mulling over, suddenly I know how to resolve them and they become clear. It's great. I get some of my best ideas in the shower.

Sometimes I wish I could stay in the shower for hours, but then little hands knock on the door or the hot water runs out, and suddenly my creativity is interrupted and the muse is gone. I need to get back to the real world where little people need me, chores need to be done, and I am Mommy again.