Kendall Warhol

Thanks Lorie, I love this! This is a nod to Andy Warhol, a fascinating artist. While Monet (one of my favorites) would paint the same building over and over to pick up the differences in light depending on the day (Rouen Cathedral-my very favorites of all time) Warhol studied sameness. He had started as a commercial illustrator and his paintings are much like mass advertising. I also LOVE that he was okay with the imperfections that happened in screen printing...coloring outside the lines. I could go on and on linking him to other artist I like but I'll spare you the art history lesson. I just love creative people and I could find something that I like about any creative person.

Nothing a White Chocolate Mocha Can't Fix

Today started off disastrous, Kendall had an emergency bath and a total of three different outfits due to #3 problems (is this an effect of the ear infection medicine?). She was really fussy and I knew we had to get out of the house because a) she is happy in the carseat b) I was near tears. However, a trip to Starbucks and a grande decaf White Chocolate Mocha made me feel MUCH better! The new jeans that Brian bought me didn't hurt either, thank you honey. (I delayed getting one of my Christmas presents and I decided today was a good day to cash it in).

I made this little album for a friend that just had twins and tonight Lorie and I are taking it and dinner over to her. These are just a couple of the pages that I did. I made the album and everything (out of mat board). Lorie helped, actually it was her idea because I

couldn't find the album that I wanted to use.

I love these kids

Just looking through some pictures and missing my family.
Kelly and Patrick, you aren't supposed to grow up when I'm not there to witness it!

Musings

February will be a great month!

Reason number one: Kendall will be working this hot little number starting next week at her first swim lesson at the YMCA. Every girl needs a two piece though so she may have a little polka dot action happening in the coming weeks. (Can't you just picture her little pot belly in this?)


Reason number two: Brown County 2006 or as the boys like to refer to it BC2g6. Three nights spent here with three of the most fun couples I know. I'm hoping to have a repeat of the BC2g4 smackdown the gals gave the guys in Catch Phrase. Note to Brian: it's 'sea plane' not 'seap lane' sheesh what did you learn at Harvard Business School anyway?

Reason number three: The Paper Chick's second fun & funky scrap night. I'm excited to hang out with a bunch of other chicks that enjoy being creative.

On a completely unrelated note, have you ever wondered why so many nursery rhymes are so violent?

Rock-a-bye-baby: What mother would put a cradle in a treetop?
Humpty Dumpty dies
Jack and Jill fall down a hill
Little Miss Muffet was practically attacked by a spider
London Bridge falls down
I think I heard that in Ring a Round the Rosies the "ashes ashes" part has something to do with cremation?!
Seriously who thinks up these things and why do we sing them to our children?!?

One Sick Puppy

Our little munchkin has her first ear infection. I knew something was wrong because she had a couple really sad nights where she only wanted to be cuddled. I hate knowing she doesn't feel well!

I love this picture, she looks so sweet and cuddly and I think it's funny that my face is hidden.

I'm organizing another night time scrappin' session and I think we're going to have a big turn out. Luckily for Brian he'll be out of town when his house if full of all that estrogen, ha.

A Puff of Fruit

"Darn all these chins they just collect stuff"


I had the best birthday present today, Kendall said Ma ma ma ma!! She also stood on her own for about 5 seconds!

Brian and I had a nice night out too. It was great to just have an adult night with great food and good conversation.

I'm actually exhausted from all the festivities so I'm going to write a letter to my nephew in boot camp and then go to bed.

A Cow Says, "bah, bah, bah, bah"

So Kendall has a new favorite noise, she loves to say 'bah, bah, bah, bah.' Even when she isn't making the noise she likes to move her lips/mouth as though she is making the noise (we call it her fish face). This weekend I bought her a little stuffed animal that is the cutest gray sheep you have ever seen, I handed it to her and said, "what does a sheep say?" Of course she responded with, 'bah, bah, bah' and of course I said, "You are so smart!!!"

Today Kendall and I went to story time at our library. She was by far the youngest one there but I could tell she was having fun. At the end of every book the kids would clap and Kendall would look around and smile because she just knew they were actually all clapping for her. We did the hokey pokey, sang the Wheels on the Bus song and listened to a few books being read. One of the books had lots of animals in it and the reader would ask after each animal, "What does a snake say? What does a lion say?" and all the kids would make the appropriate sound. However, according to Kendall every animal says, 'bah, bah, bah.' The lady never did ask what a sheep says.

"Oh, She's Eating Cheerios!"

So I've been wanting to give Kendall these "Fruit Puffs" that dissolve in the mouth. On the label it says that a baby isn't ready for them until they are crawling though so I've been holding off. Tonight when I picked Kendall up at the gym nursery she was swinging happily in their swing surrounded by wholesome goodness, yep the non-dissolving Cheerios. Evidently she likes them and the mess on her shirt gives evidence that she is able to gum them into a goo like substance, so I guess she can handle them.

Blog Slacking

I've been a big slacker with the whole blogging thing lately. Here is a quick catch up.

The meeting went extremely well and the lady led me to believe that I would have an order for 5-6 ALBUMS (I charge per single page). She said that she was meeting with her client the next day and that she would let me know either way...still no word. I've sent my "Thank-you for meeting with me" email and called (but she was out of the office. I am bummed that it turned out this way but extremely peeved at her lack of consideration.

Kendall rocks, she has cut her first tooth and said her first word "hi". I've had a wicked cold and one of the 8,527,624 times that I went into the bathroom to blow my nose Kendall waved at herself in the mirror and said 'hiiiiiiii' too cute. She still has absolutely NO interest whatsoever in crawling or even playing patty cake, which really is a stupid game anyway if you ask me maybe she just doesn't want to look silly :)

Brian has an interview next week in Atlanta, an exploratory interview here, some GE guy in Puerto Rico calling him and some other job here that he MAY consider. My one wish is that he just finds something that he LOVES doing.

Wednesday is my birthday and my Oh So Sweet Husband arranged a babysitter and made dinner reservations at the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner.

What's Your Dream?

I like to dream, I'm always appreciative of what I have and where I am but dreaming motivates me to get up and do something. Growing up my dream was to have my own family, to be a wife and a mom. I wanted to have art projects spread out on the kitchen table and to sit on the floor and color or play with legos with my kids. I have that, well actually now I sit on the floor and play with quacking ducks
but we're getting there.

I've found that when one dream comes true you just have to find another one. I have a couple different ideas, I either want The Paper Chick to take off just enough that I'm working but not too busy or I want to own a little shop. Growing up I wanted to own a bookstore (think Shop Around the Corner in You've Got Mail) but places like Barnes & Noble kind of changed that (again think Shop Around the Corner in You've Got Mail). So now I'm thinking a little shop that sells local artist's work or unique gifts. I can really see myself designing displays and ordering product. Just a little dream.

Speaking of which, today I have a meeting with Louisville Concierge to show my work. Actually, I'm not nervous, I think that my work will sell itself, it's just if my style is what their client is looking for or not. Appointment is at 4:30 I'll keep you posted.

Tag, I'm It

I got tagged by Erin AKA 'the knotty girl' so here it goes:

4 jobs I've had in the past:
Gap employee
waitress
Scrapbook instructor
Mommy

4 movies I could watch over and over:
You've Got Mail
sadly, I'm drawing a blank. I do love movies I just happen to be married to the anti-movie king himself.

4 places I've lived:
Pensacola, FL
Cambridge, MA
Everett, WA
Louisville, KY

4 places I've been on vacation:
Alaska
Nantucket
NYC
Ocean City (ummm, this coming summer)

4 Websites I visit daily
2 peas
Jenn's blog
Ali Edwards blog
Heidi Swapp's blog

4 foods that I love:
cookies
Mashed Potatoes
Steak
ice cream

4 places I would rather be right now:
Actually today I would just like to be here at home in my comfy clothes alternating between playing with my scrapbook stuff and cuddling with my family.

4 bloggers I'm tagging:
Actually I'm just going to do two:
Jenn
Lorie
With the disclaimer that you don't have to do this if you don't want, I'm kind of iffy about the whole thing myself because it feels a bit like a chain letter which I absolutely despise

Well Mannered Frivolity

Lorie and I went to see Harry Potter tonight, loved it! What a wonderfully imaginative story/series that is. One of my favorite lines was when Professor McGonagal is talking about the ball and calls it 'well mannered frivolity.' I did find some of the creatures extremely disturbing. The mermaids were awful and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was pretty hideous as well. It was 2.5 hours long but they still cut out a lot of the book which kind of stinks. I'm ready for the next book and movie to come out!!!

Great day

I had a one-on-one session at the gym today. They have this super cool computer system that you sign into and it tells you how many reps to do on each machine & it keeps track of calories burned, weight lifted, and ensures that you get the full range of motion... I'm just doing one set of 8-12 reps on 7 different machines but by the end of the day I lifted 3,010 lbs!!! That is really cool.

Another 'wicked' thing that happened today (I just started saying this and I've been away from Boston for about nine months) is that I was contacted by Louisville Concierge. They got my contact information from our local scrapbook store (who has my business card) and they have a client that wants to have some scrapbooking done. I gave them my prices and they are going to talk to their client and get back to me. Yipee, what fun! Hope it works out!

Jelly Knees

I just got home from the gym and I have major jelly knees! I have been wanting to 'love' working out for a long time and I think that I finally do. I've noticed a big difference in my moods on days that I work out I'm a happier person. I've also noticed that on days that I eat poorly I'm grumpier.

Kendall tried to drive me batty today, she was incredibly clingy. I would put her on the floor, give her a ton of toys, and sit down right next to her and she would squirm and fuss until she had maneuvered herself into my lap. It did get a little old but I would just think about how it won't be long before I won't be able to convince her to sit on my lap.

Are we moving?

I have had a really good coupla nights. Last night Lorie and Karin came over and we scrapbooked until 2 in the morning. We had a lot of fun just goofing off and I acutally got a few pages for Kendall's book done. Tonight our friends Nicole & Brian came over for dinner & we had a good time talking with them. We really like them, I think that we have a lot in common. However, in the past just when I start to hang out with someone or have a new friendship we move so I'm thinking that Brian's job hunt may lead us to another town. Hmmm

Giggle Fit

I've been kicking butt at the gym. Two consecutive days, whoo hoo. I think I'm going to start training for the mini marathon in April.

I can NOT stop laughing. I met Lorie and Karin at the gym tonight and we took a "Pump & Abs" class and the lady in front of me FELL OFF OF HER FITNESS BALL!!! I completely got the giggles. It's hard enough to do crunches on those things but try doing them while trying not to laugh, it is just about impossible. Darn mirrors everywhere so everyone could see that I was about to lose it. Just when I thought I had it under control I would picture her legs flying up in the air or I would hear Karin next to me giggling and I would lose control all over again. This was over three hours ago and I still keep laughing. It's just so funny because I know that it is going to happen to me.

Here is the cutest picture of Kendall. Love it! She's been such a good girl lately, sleeping later, napping longer and being a trooper at the gym nursery.

On another note, I'm loving my Jack Johnson CD I got for Christmas (thanks Mike). I'm working on convincing Kendall that it is better then Baby Mozart CD's so we can jam together in the car.