Tiny Mushroom

Tiny Mushroom

Little thing. Out of the dead things.

The Return of A Photo A Day

In The Sun

Long time no see.

I've decided it's time for me to start documenting the good things in my life. I've gotten a new camera, so I get to play but it's also about adjusting my own attitude. Look for the positive. Engage the beautiful. Experience life as it is happening.

This is a picture of Ivy, now 6 years old, after kindergarten one day. I was having her "emote" for the camera. "Be frightened." "Be a zombie." "Watch a zombie movie" "It's raining."

This one is "It's a sunny day."

She said to her brother, "Be the sun!" and he put his fist up to be the sun. And the she turned her face up to the pretend sun to just soak it in.

Happiness.

Yes that is her gap toothed smile. She doesn't like it. But it's still her baby teeth, so who knows what will happen when the grown up teeth come in.

October 28th The Day of Getting Things Done

Gabriel is finally able to say his own name. The sounds have always made it too hard. Gabriwo he says now. The closest he’s ever gotten.I didn’t realize it would be so tough to say or write when we picked it.

He also says he wants to write his name, although he’s such a perfectionist that he hates to do things he can’t do write and keeps giving up. But yesterday, I sat down with him and wrote out his name. I started on the G, but just asking him to copy the letter was too hard. Instead I showed him the proper way to hold the pencil and also we practiced drawing circles. In the end, he had success with a lowercase g instead of the uppercase G and managed a couple of wiggly “g”s. Then he said he wanted to try the A, because that was more fun, so we worked on a couple of “A”s also wiggly. Then he got tired, and that was fine, because he did a bunch, and I told him how many things he had learned in those few minutes, even if he hadn’t managed to write his name yet.

And Ivy peed in the potty TWICE. She usually sits on the potty and doesn’t pee. I should really step up the potty training, but I’ve been expecting to move for so long, that I keep putting it off for the move, and then the move keeps getting delayed so I could have done the potty training way back when. Well, maybe I should just do it anyway. I’ll probably end up with a girl who refuses diapers but has no control on a flight across country. Ah. but this is the happy pages so let’s just ignore that.

Getting things done yesterday. Remarkable how accomplished mopping the floor makes one feel.

The multivitamin is working. I have more energy although I still can’t wake up easily.

My creativity chapter is starting to take form. Yay for journals.

See more progress on: The Happy Pages

The Day of Rearranging things

Some money came through unexpectedly without the hassle that was expected. yay.

How much kids love a package of 1.99 rubber snakes.

Thunder and lightning and dark swirling clouds.

Rain in summer.

rearranging the kids room.

Rearranging my room to facillitate packing/moving. It makes me feel like I’m taking steps.

Reading stories from inside the newly rearranged playhouse/camp tent/bed.

New magazines with lots of ideas for things I can do.

Good day in California.

(when I figure out how to reduce picture size on my new computer, maybe I can start posting photos again. where is the “thumbnail” file?)

See more progress on: Write things that make me happy, daily

1 to 50 Joyous Things

1. Ivy’s chubby hand holding mine.
2. The way G always runs to me to tell me the story of the latest thing he’s seen or learned.
3. A nice cold glass of water.
4. Reconnecting with an old friend across miles and year, through the internet.
5. Dreaming of good things in a new home.
6. Laying down in a nice air conditioned room after a day spent in the heat and humidity.
7. Making a dinner from scratch that tastes delicious.
8. The sun glowing through a corona of strawberry blond curls.
9. Ivy starting to draw people.
10. G starting to draw elaborate plots and dreams and stories.
11. Singing songs at bedtime.
12. Making up songs at bedtime.
13. Playing our new game of “wiggle wiggle” where I tell them to do something and they do it.
14. Figuring out a game that has them clean up their room without protest. (make it a race and see who can put 10/20 things away first.)
15. Learning numbers and letters all day long, as part of the day.
16. Finding myself in an etsy treasury.
17. Curating my own etsy treasury.
18. Reading a book that sweeps me away.
19. So You Think You Can Dance.
20. So You Think You Can Dance (second night)
21. Talking about So You Think You Can Dance.
22. Painting a new painting that really hits home.
23. Meeting new people via the internet who will be in the neighborhood of my new home.
24. Good conversations with S.
25. Good “conversations” with S.
26. Cuddles with the kids in the morning before they start yelling and/or fighting.
27. Every body going to sleep at bedtime without drama or escapes.
28. Long afternoon naps… them, not me. Ah silence.
29. The rain.
30. Figuring out technology.
31. Building a blanket fort in the living room.
32. Clouds and the shade they bring.
33. Lotus flowers in the fish pond.
34. Bare feet on warm wood floors.
35. Kids playing in the rain.
36. Tank tops.
37. When the mail comes and there’s a package/letter for me.
38. That the kids seem to love creativity, reading, singing, drawing, stories…. just by virtue of seeing me take part in those things.
39. Helping people.
40. New notebooks.
41. New art supplies.
42. Ivy with her dolls.
43. Gabriel making sets/scenes with his animals and figurines.
44. “Arr, I be a baby pirate!”
45. Tang.
46. Fruit off of the trees; grapefruit, key limes, carambola, lychee nuts.
47. coffee
48. That other people are getting something out of my 100 paintings in 100 Days.
49. Having a breakthrough and catching up in my 100 in 100 creative challenge.
50. The number 50 and being half way done!

See more progress on: List 100 things that bring me joy

More than a weeks worth of happies, and I've forgotten so many. Damn.

Rain, and the cooler weather it brings.

Going over my thousands of photos and deleting masses and finding gems.

The relief when what you thought was a disaster either resolves itself, wasn’t that bad to begin with, or is cleaned up and just bloody over with.

A nice shower after said disaster.

So You Think You Can Dance. Seriously. So good.

Getting surprise packages in the mail. I never get snail mail.

Finding long lost friends. I love Face Book.

Relaxing and coming to terms with the fact that it does not all have to be done right now.

My made up pork tacos… these things came out GREAT. In a crock pot. A pork roast, a chopped onion, half a chopped pepper, a couple of chopped garlic cloves, a spoonful of pureed chilpotle con adobo, a small can of pureed tomatoes, tbs cumin, tbs chili powder, tsp oregano tsp adobo… on high for 4-6 hours. Shred. Fill a flour tortilla with meat, sour cream, guac, diced jalapenos, scallions, tomatoes, whatever floats your boat. YUM.

A call from my cousin in California.

Cuddling with the kids.

See more progress on: Write things that make me happy, daily

6/14/09 The Day of Impromptu Birthday Party Planning

Mom coming for a short visit and playing with the cuckoo kids.

G and Ai having a blast, playing football, hide and seek, chase, just generally laughing ridiculously.

planning an impromptu birthday party for G on thursday, although his bday is net months (so we can celebrate with S before he goes to California) and finding martha stewart to be a great example.

Birthday menu: parmesan chicken fingers, french fries, greenbeans, juice, berry tarts, strawberry ice cream cones.
Birthday decor: balloons, birthday banner, pennants, wading pool, sparklers

G saying, “That’s exactly the ice cweam I’ve always wanted!” strawberry, in a sugar cone.

Ai agreeing and saying pink ice cream was necessary.

playing in my Wreck this Journal.

Finishing today’s painting and having the kids say it was wonderful

See more progress on: Write things that make me happy, daily