Post-nap picnic

Cameron and Mommy having a little picnic snack in bed while Munchie naps. Playing with the iPad is his special treat if he plays quietly in his room for an hour or so (and let's Mommy nap in peace). Pretzels, grapes, and Angry Birds. What more could a 4-year-old ask for?

Weekend work

We were crazy busy this weekend with a 2-day yard sale. It was hot, dirty, exhausting work...but we off-loaded tons of stuff we weren't using and made a little cash in the process. Win!

Not a lot of time for art, but I did get a few minutes last night as my sweet husband was putting our kids to bed. I had a background basically done - it was a bunch of left over paint on stencils, on my paint brush, and from stamps that I had used on other pages and just "cleaned" on this page. Made the rest of the page go quickly. Gesso, washi tape, clutter from around my desk, india ink...done!

Watercolors?

I really don't get watercolors. Acrylics I get...they feel comfortable. So I've been trying to do some work in watercolors to see if I can make them work. You see, we will be traveling for most of August and I'm going to have to do art on the road. And a small watercolor kit is much simpler than a bunch of acrylics (though I'm bringing some of those too).

Anyway, it's definitely an experiment. I am loving the Caran d'Ache - probably because they give me the same control and vibrancy as acrylic paint, but are mess-free.

As always, it is all, just like me, a work in progress.

Happy 4th!

We had a great 4th of July yesterday. I don't know about you, but having it fall on a Wednesday made the day seem much more low-key. There weren't any huge BBQ's or parties...just people doing parades and small get-togethers.

We went to the big parade here in Ridgewood. People start putting out their chairs along the parade route over a week in advance! We just showed up that morning and found a shady spot where the boys could watch the parade or run around and play.

In the afternoon we went over to a friend's house for a quiet cook-out - just our two families. The boys spent hours swimming in their hot tub. Then Caleb and I went home and Kevin & Cameron went to see the fireworks. Overall, a perfectly lovely 4th.

Now it's back to work! We're having a HUGE yard sale this weekend, so I've gotta keep purging and organizing. I love it!

Hope you had a wonderful 4th!

Confession time...

So it's easy to make confessions on a blog no one reads, right?

This is my practice session...I'm practicing saying this outloud: I have gotten very involved in Mixed Media art in the past 6 months...specifically art journaling. It's hard to say that to anyone as it feels like it carries a sense of expectation. Like, "really? So what do you do? What does it look like? What do you do with it? Are you any good?" Ok, no one has actually said that - but then again I haven't really told anyone.

I'm super self-conscious.

Plus I'm still figuring it all out - what materials I like, what my style looks like, what I'm expressing.

What I know for sure is that it is ridiculously fun. I am having the best time taking humble elements - paper, paint, sometimes castoffs - and creating something that wasn't there before.

So, there you have it. That's what I'm doing with the snippets of free time I have here and there.

Whew...that wasn't too bad.

Summer in the City

We were trying to figure out something fun to do with the boys this weekend. With Cameron's broken collar bone, Sesame Place was out. So we decided to hit the city! We drove in this morning, picked up lunch, and headed to Heckscher Playground in Central Park. It's the largest playground in Central Park and has some great water features. It was a scorcher today...perfect for a day in the water!

On a happier note...

Last week Cameron and I went into the city with Aunt Carrie and cousins who were visiting from Houston. Had a great and exhausting day! Lego store, Top of the Rock and lunch at our new favorite food truck!

Ugly

Seriously not pretty. But boy it felt good.

Desperate

Desperate to get all the grrrr blech argh ugh out at the end of a wretched day. Thank God for art...often more cathartic and expressive than words.

Deep breath. I'll be better in about an hour.

As long as I've got my brother...

...even the doctor's office is fun!

Sweet brothers

Now, I don't want anyone thinking my boys are angels who play sweetly together all the time. We do have our share of scuffles. But this particular moment was precious. Munchie wanted to give Cameron a hug before he left for school, so Cameron sat down & Munch laid his head in Cameron's lap. Cameron patted his back & rubbed his head and kept saying "shh, shh, shhh...it's ok Munchie." Really sweet!

Wednesday's photo

"I running, Mama, I running!"

Until he fell down about 5 seconds later...for the third time that morning.

Then the rest of the day it was, "Mama, I got a little hurt."

Tuesday morning

You never know what you'll find at your local Trader Joe's...

Monday morning photo

Our new routine - nebulizer twice a day. What a trooper.

Post-pancakes, pre-church

Even a week later, the boys are having a hard time adjusting to the time change. Caleb was up at 5:30am yesterday, 6:00am today. Cameron's about the same. Caleb is also fighting an awesome head cold - coughing, sneezing, lots of gunk. Good times. As a result both boys were asleep by 6:30pm last night, and I was lights out at 9:00pm. Ah, the exciting life of a mother of small children.

But all is good now...they're cozy on the couch with Daddy watching Little Einstein with tummies full of pancakes and jammies covered in syrup. Pretty perfect Sunday if you're 3 1/2 and 19 months (and 34 years old).

What to do when there is no school...

New Jersey has in-service this week so kids all over the state are out of school. Which also means moms all over NJ are scrambling to find something to do with their kids before they tear all their hair out or run screaming insanely down the street. (Ok, maybe that's just me...)

Thankfully, my pal Holly had the bright idea to set up a playdate at In the Swing, and indoor playspace. Unfortunately, every other mom in Bergen County had the same idea. It was a bit jammed, but all our kids - particularly my boys- had a ball. Cameron ran and played until he was rosy-cheeked and sweaty-headed. Munch was confident that he could do absolutely everything big brother was doing - which means I was rescuing him from ball pits, bounce houses, tunnels and slides all morning. Ah well, we were out of the house and working up a killer appetite for Burger King and naps. Perfection.

Here are the boys playing in the balls and hitting (literally) the arcade...

Why do I even try?

My boys much prefer mass-produced deep-(questionable) fat-fried, formed "chicken" nuggets to my homemade, all-white-meat, toasted-baguette-bread-crumb coated, extra-virgin-olive-oil-pan-fried nuggets. I suppose it's just the start of a lifetime of my children turning up their noses at dinner.

Ah well...I'll try not to take it personally.

*********************************

PS - Dear Mom, sorry for every time I gave you grief - whether spoken or by the silent teenage-eye-roll - over meals you made for us.

If I had only known...

Testing, testing, 1 2 3

So I just got the Blogger app for my iPhone and I'm testing it out to see how it works, if the posts look the same, if I can upload photos, etc.

We're having one of those mornings where it's not even 9:00am yet and I'm counting the hours until nap time. These boys are crazy today - and therefore making me crazy. We have to get out of the house. Hmmm...playground? Backyard? Ikea? Something better than this madness.

Dinner of Champions...

I've gotta grow up...

Quotable

About 10 minutes after Cameron went to bed last night:

Cameron: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! MOMMY!

Me: What, Cameron? What's wrong?

Cameron: (Repeatedly pointing at me with his finger, but not saying anything.)

Me: What? What do you need? Are you hurt? Did you hurt your finger? Do you need me to kiss it?

Cameron: No. Burgerger.

Me: Cameron, don't call Mommy all the way up to your room because you have a booger on your finger. Go to sleep.