bloggin' the mail, part 2

i am lucky to have married into two really wonderful cousins- both of whom i appreciate beyond measure. so when i won something from amy's blog- i was tickled pink! she has a wonderful eye for detail and color and a strong vision of how to pull items together in such a way that you say to yourself: i. want. that. amy creates wonderful paper items and art using vintage pieces like wallpaper. she is also really talented with fabric & jewlery- you name it. to see how talented she is, visit her shop, please! seriously, click away from here and go, now!

so here is what came in the mail...thanks, amy! xoxo- j.

seriously- the bird's nest?!? love it. and the way each note card is so strikingly different and wonderful?!? don't get me started on the gift tags made of vintage wall paper- i have to go buy a gift right now!

bloggin' the mail

today's installment...BOOKS

my mom's day gift was a gift card to barnes & noble...here are the results! now, some pride themselves, and rightly so, on bargain shopping antiques, items for their e-bay store, craft materials, etc. for me, it is all about the books. (the library has no bigger friend than i!) pictured above are the fruits of three hours' labor (plus- not pictured two books for j. and one for c!). color me ecstatic...

our next installment...a surprise package from a swetie cousin!

WIP

for the uninitiated it is Work In Progress- and my cousins Jen and Amy take it to a whole new level! rare is the opportunity for me to share a WIP, although i could photograph stacks of half-graded papers or partially done laundry, it just isn't the same as their wonderful work!

so, i'm thrilled to be able to share this project that the mr. and i brought to our kids at school. it is the Poet Tree ( say it fast) and it is the joint effort of two local poets (one of them a dear friend). it is a place for kids to go, draw, write and share. when they write a poem, they leave it in the mailbox and i pick it up. then i share it with the school by posting it in a display case. the kids are pretty enthusiastic about it and we have gotten a great response!

there are poems on display in the tree, the piece of driftwood to which the letters are mounted represents out life journey, the windchimes remind us to keep a song in our heart and the open birdcage: an open mind. (yes- i painted the mailbox, but the kids helped with everything else)

here is a sample poem that made it into the tree:

I am mad

My dad is sad

Like a bird in migration

he flew and flew

away from me

-austin g. 8 years old

oh what a night

Yes. We. Can.

as andrew sullivan says, "know hope."
peace.

21 months

it is shocking to me that c. is going to be 2 at the end of the summer- we certainly can't imagine life without her, and yet, it has gone so very fast!

as you can see, she has more hair than any baby should! she also has all her teeth...(that is her "fake" smile in the picture)

c. counts to 11 without help and 20 with help, she still loves to read, she enjoys sesame street and playing with her babies and knows some letters by sight.

at 21 months, she eats like a horse and tries a little of everything.

this little one thinks that if she closes her eyes, you can't see her, will hide from you to keep from getting into trouble, knows how to tantrum, and is becomming very familiar with "time-out".

her favorite things to say: Daddy's home! Barack Obama! Who do'd that? Outside,please! I love you mama! Hello, morning!

things to look forward to: big girl bed (mom is too lazy right now to take that on!)

well, duh!

This article outlines research that says the oldest has it tough in family. No kidding! Someday I would like to be paid to research the obvious. I could have saved them alot of trouble if they had just called me. By the time baby C. is Joe's age, she'll have a tv, computer, cell phone, car and driver, no curfew, and can office aide for every spot in her HS schedule! Why? I'll be too tired to care...

peace in our times?

well-things got emotional around here when K. presented Joe with a scrapbook of pics and a handwritten letter for his birthday.
the thing the mr. and I have most stressed with our kids is that long after we are gone, they will have eachother (God willing). generally they look at us like we have 3 heads when we say this. but, sometimes, you get to glimpse the future and having one of them say to the other- "hey- you are a good person and I care about you", puts us over the moon!

15

today my oldest is 15- obviously it has been on my mind as several blog entries have been about him of late.

when i came out to the living room this a.m. and saw five hulking boy-men sleeping, it made me smile. Joe has chosen his friends well, and isn't that a comment on the kind of man he is becoming? he and his friends amaze me with their talent and the potential they will soon be bringing forth to the larger world: musically gifted, downright funny, technologically savvy, relatively well mannered, kind, kind,kind...

so, joe, you are doing well and today your dad and i are going to sit back and enjoy the fruits of our efforts. you are well on your way to accomplishing any goal you set for yourself and we will be rooting for you the whole way there!

xoxo-mama