10/9 The Day of the Harmonica Rising

Woke up to G playing Harmonica in his room. It was kind of nice, even though he can’t play, and I could ignore it until I wanted to wake up.

G then came into bed with me. He’s finally figured how to work a doorknob and we cuddled until one of the littles forced me awake.

Dancing with the kids. First to Sesame Street (Ivy loves to dance) then to some Dan Zanes. How we cut the rug all the way around the room.

Felt very productive at nap today. Did some cleaning, some posting, made some important emails. Sometimes, I feel like I have a handle on things, just a little.

I liked my daily paintings from the night before. And I did TWO, which I’d never done before.

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October 1, The Day of Dancing, Drawing and SInging

Who doesn’t love Sesame Street? Nobody in this house. We spent the whole hour dancing and counting and laughing

Singing songs at bedtime. Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row your boat, Mares Eat Oats, and I tossed in a little Moon Shadow.

Dancing the wiggle dance in the garden.

G and Ivy hiding together in the garden, drinking their milk.

The drawing I did last night, my little witchie poos on their night out.

Showing the kids my drawings.

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9/17 Photoshoot

9/16 B&W G

9/14 Tazer Loves the Garden

Ivy "Paints"

9/13 Late Birthday w Uncle Emilio

9/12 The Day of A Kind of Renaissance.

Saw Hellboy II and it was great. Much better than #1. You forget that this is the same director who did Pan’s Labyrinth, and then you watch and you’re like, “oooooohhhh!” It’s good to see a movie you love. It doesn’t happen often.

Hugs from Ivy at bed time, she hangs on tight and pats. Nothing quite like it.

Ivy likes to be tucked in now. I tell her to get in her crib and get comfortable and I will tuck her in, so she lays down and squonches up until she’s happy and I put the blanket on her.

G is getting better at potty. No accidents today!

G discovered how to take photos with my digital camera and spent a half hour wandering the garden snapping away. Oh the big smile on his face.

We made birthday cards for the kids’ Uncle E. It was my new project with geometric construction paper scraps. I painted their papers with glue and they put the scraps down. I made something that looked like balloons or flowers. G made a car. He was very happy with his car. I bet he won’t want to give it to his uncle.

Dinner was yummy. Whole wheat pasta with shrimp, mushrooms and peas. I should write the recipe down, because it was good.

Painted a picture in my journal according to the Inspire Me Thursday prompt of “yellow.” Yellow is not my thing, but I thought I’d try, and I struggled for maybe two hours. Layering paint over paint to try to get the colors and the outlines right. I started out liking it, then moved into hating it, then went back to liking it, even loving it.

Reread my 9/11 Memorial post. It’s sad, but it feels significant.
http://warriorgirl.blogspot.com/2008/09/iswas.html

I feel kind of like I am having a renaissance. Just a little. It’s been so long since I had my creativity flowing without stress. Even if I was writing, I have been unable to incorporate creativity elsewhere. Finally I feel like I am getting somewhere with being a mom. Finally I am getting some creative projects with the kids going. Before, I couldn’t even conceive of them, now I think of them, I collect supplies and I do it. Unheard of for the last four years.

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8/28 The Day of Obamamania and JD

Listening to Barack Obama’s speech, it occurs to me that I WANT to vote for him. I believe in him. He believes a lot of what I believe. I was a Hillary Clinton supporter before and was disgruntled by them both soon after. But I like O too! Enough to vote FOR him, and not just AGAINST the Republicans. Woo hoo for a glimmer of hope and faith in the system!

My best friend from High School found me on Facebook. I have been looking for her for I think years now. I did not know her married name, and she moved to New Jersey. But now we have initiated contact again! Wee!

Some slow and steady successes with potty training the boy.

Made myself an honest to goodness sandwich for lunch, with coldcuts and mayo and lettuce and tomato and everything. I don’t usually do that, but it did the job very well, thankyouverymuch.

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8/9 The Day of New Games-- Are You Going to Play or Not????

Ivy has decided she likes to run around with a blanket on her head. I can’t tell if she’s a monster/ghost or if she is wearing an outfit. The girl does like her clothes/hats/shoes/lip gloss. Help me.

G and Ivy were playing tag. G would tag her and run away. They would run around the table a few times, then G would catch up with her again and tag her again. I don’t think she quite got the point, but she liked the running.

Inspiration Thursday picked MY illustration as one of the showcases for last week! Shrink was the prompt. http://www.inspiremethursday.com/2008/08/08/spotlight-on-shrink/

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8/7 The Day of Very Close and Far Away

Getting in touch with an old college friend on facebook. I hadn’t talked to her in so long, and for once, it was a GOOD friend, not just a casual friend.

A package for the kids from their grandma. Oh they love getting packages.

An important email from a friend who is living in Costa Rica. Even though we are far, we can still be close.

G and Ivy ask to call papa on the phone. Particularly Ivy. She is quite clear about wanting to talk to him.

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8/8 The Day of Bedtimes and Art Supplies

Going to bed early. I didn’t even read. Just turned off the light and passed out.

My art supplies came from Dick Blick. I haven’t had the chance to use them yet, but what fun to open up a box and see all the wonderful colors. Ooooh, all the potential.

G and Ivy had such fun playing with Uncle today. They love him.

G sitting up in bed and “reading” Alice and Wonderland.

Walking through the garden and taking a moment to listen. Sounds through out the neighborhood. Someone singing as they rid by on a bike. The neighbors having dinner. Birds. A child crying because she doesn’t want to go to bed yet.

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8/1 The Day of the PlayGround by the Sea

Went with my mom to a new neighborhood. We were supposed to go on a “Gallery Walk” but instead, found a playground and spent a couple hours there, then went for icecream.

G and Ivy met a little boy and they played with him and his mom. G particularly love the mom, and kept pulling her this way and that. Ivy particularly loved the boy, sitting on the bench next to him and saying, “hi.”

Ivy feeding G cheerios.

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8/2 The Day of Some Writing and Forward Motion

I actually WROTE in my novel during the kid’s nap time. I didn’t avoid it at all. Yay. I am still worried that it is writing around what I should be writing, but I think I have to write it first to know what I need to really be writing.

My slowly changing attitude towards my art, my work, my writing, my career, my business, my life and myself. Step by step, and I will get where I want to go.

Good posting on my blog. I read back and realized there is something developing in the larger scope of things. Not sure what yet, but it seems to be something of a unified vision.

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8/3 The Day of One, Two, Three, Four, Five... Six!

The big double grocery cart shaped like a car.

G’s happiness at getting a Go Diego Go I Can Read book. It’s only a matter of time folks. He may actually be reading before he can speak clearly.

Bedtime. They love to cuddle in bed with mama and read books.

Sponge alphabet. Oooh. Look, a G. An I.

G has 6 bobos (pacifiers) 6. And he likes to count them. 6 is new. It used to be 5 but we found another one in hiding. We have tried to get rid of the bobos, but it’s not time yet. He only uses them at bedtime and agrees to that. I think we’ll get rid of all of them at once, rather than having them disappear at the same time. Maybe we will do a bobo fairy and have her leave some good toy in their place. But after potty training. One traumatic event at a time, please.

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7/26 The Day of Getting Back to the Happy List

Gosh I spent some time over on the lists, and I foolishly marked this goal as accomplished, which it is, although I am not done.

So I had to mark it as doing again. How weird. Man, I think they kicked me off the front page. Oh well. So after putting this goal off for a while because of all the catching up I have to do, I’m just going to start again.

Iced coffee with coffee icecream. Yum

Google reader. So much easier to keep track of my favorite blogs.

Oreos with peanut butter. Why did I never discover this before? Just dip and crunch. Yum.

G’s golden curls. I do not know where they come from. It’s one of those genetic throwbacks, I know, but how strange.

G is also talking much better lately. Still hard to understand, but he seems to have gotten over his resistance to trying the difficult sounds.

Ivy and her chubby belly. She’s like a juicy apple and you just want to eat her up.

Uncle had G up on his lap and was pretending to be a boat and telling him stories about sailing and pirates, and G was just imagining away, looking through the spy glass and sighting bad guys and listening enraptured.

My cat has decided to come out of hiding and has spent some time down stairs while the kids are actually awake. I had G feed her a piece of chicken and give her some non-violent attention. She’s been scared of him since he was about a year old, but he doesn’t pull tails or ears anymore.

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7/16 The Day Before the (da dum dum) Road Trip

SYTYCD. Wee hee. Me loves the dancing kids.

Dancing with the kids. We held eachother’s hands and danced around in a circle.

Realizing that, although I am dreading the roadtrip tomorrow at 4 AM!!! I am still going to the mountains, to a place I have never been. That’s nice and fun.

Frosted mini wheats.

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7/14 The Day of Apple Cheeks and Crosswords

When I was surrounded by my kids… they’re small and there are only two of them, but they were so present that they definitely had me surrounded. Hugs all around. Big grins.

When I put them to nap a half hour early and they actually went to bed and I was able to shower and get my equilibrium back.

Reading a magazine this morning instead of turning on the computer.

Balloons with the kids. Oh, balloons make kids very very happy.

When Ivy went right back down when I went in to put G back in his bed. She didn’t fuss or cry or expect to be let out to run around.

Not happy exactly, but the perfect set of teeth marks left on Ivy’s cheek after g bit her. It wasn’t that bad, but I marveled at the little white marks in her tear streaked cheek. I definitely knew why she was crying, though. And G did not dispute the time out, for sure.

Starting my collage for my project. I’m using old crosswords that S did. I worked on that while I was watching Youtube videos of a girl who does these little art project tutorials.

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7/13 The Day of Ways to Be Creative, One Hundred and More

I’m really digging watching Children of Men. I’ve seen it before, but I didn’t realize how well made it was. And I loves me some post apocalyptic fiction.

Kids. Oh they get older. Ivy always runs to give G his milk, and then comes back to get her own. G comes over to see what’s wrong if Ivy is crying.

And they are still little and they want their mommy. They climb all over me and are cuddle bunnies.

Making my list of 100 ways to be creative, and then having more ideas. There are so many ways to live a creative life, you just have to do it.

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7/12 A Low Key Day

Laying on the couch with the kids, watching Little Bear. Hugs and games and cuddles and tickles.

G is learning to read… or at least he’s getting the concept. He sees words and then starts saying the letters. He doesn’t always get the right letters, but that’s okay. He read out some letters and then said his name, like he was reading his name. He was very proud.

Ivy running around today while Uncle cleaned. I couldn’t get her to leave him alone, but he said it was okay, she was “helping.” She wanted to hang out with him.

G and Uncle making noises with a long carboard tube. Honking and tooting and farting. G pretending to play guitar and singing along to uncle’s tooting.

During naptime, there was a nice rain shower. I went out into the garden with my camera looking for things to photograph. The lotuses in the pond were pretty. I found some key limes. The vines on the trees. And the rain and the waterfall in the pond were so soothing, pitter pattering away.

Then I was brave and stopped browsing the internet in avoidance and stepped up to my novel and wrote 5 pages.

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