This has earned her major cool points with brother. It's like all of a sudden sister-friend is alive to him. I think they are on the verge of becoming best buds.
Today I caught her "chasing" him.
Those two.
What will they do next?
8/29/11
Laurie Crawls
It's official, Laurie crawls. One minute she's in the room with you, and the next minute she's not there anymore. The girl can move.
This has earned her major cool points with brother. It's like all of a sudden sister-friend is alive to him. I think they are on the verge of becoming best buds.
Today I caught her "chasing" him.
Those two.
What will they do next?
This has earned her major cool points with brother. It's like all of a sudden sister-friend is alive to him. I think they are on the verge of becoming best buds.
Today I caught her "chasing" him.
Those two.
What will they do next?
8/28/11
Fruit Basket Turnover 2011: Stephen Small's New Bedroom
Not long ago, our little fam switched bedrooms. We named the big move day Fruit Basket Turnover 2011. We had t-shirts made.
Just kidding.
Stephen Grande and I have an inside joke about the expression 'fruit basket turnover.' I'll tell you about it sometime. But today is not that day. My apologies.
****
It all went down like this...
We moved our room to Laurie's room. Laurie's room to Stephen's room. And Stephen's room to our room. See....MAJOR fruit basket turnover.
The only damage done was a spilled bottle of liquid vitamin on our fine living room chair and our super special Peter Rabbit figurine was decapitated.
We dealt with it.
Stephen's room turned out to be my favorite. It says KID. And that's so appropriate because he is just that -- a KID!
It's a large room and consequently a little sparse. I like it that way. There's room to grow. There's room to dance to country music in there. Room to run. Room to laugh. Heck, I don't care. There's room to do almost anything you want to do in there.
We removed the closet doors because they were sliding doors that annoyingly came off their hinges. They made me say curse words. When one fell and decapitated Peter, that did it. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. And I marched those stupid doors to the curb.
It was liberating.
I aspire to sew a curtain one day, a closet curtain. I've got goals, people.
So now that you've seen the room all clean, I'll show you reality.
To whom it may concern:
Peter lives. We super glued his head back on.
All is right with the world.
We truly enjoyed this arrangement. Now we have the room with the {small} private bathroom and Stephen has the big room that is doubling nicely as a playroom. Stephen Grande says that he wanted to arrange the house like this from the beginning.
But then we would have never had Fruit Basket Turnover 2011. And that would have been no fun.
Just kidding.
Stephen Grande and I have an inside joke about the expression 'fruit basket turnover.' I'll tell you about it sometime. But today is not that day. My apologies.
****
It all went down like this...
We moved our room to Laurie's room. Laurie's room to Stephen's room. And Stephen's room to our room. See....MAJOR fruit basket turnover.
The only damage done was a spilled bottle of liquid vitamin on our fine living room chair and our super special Peter Rabbit figurine was decapitated.
We dealt with it.
Stephen's room turned out to be my favorite. It says KID. And that's so appropriate because he is just that -- a KID!
It's a large room and consequently a little sparse. I like it that way. There's room to grow. There's room to dance to country music in there. Room to run. Room to laugh. Heck, I don't care. There's room to do almost anything you want to do in there.
We removed the closet doors because they were sliding doors that annoyingly came off their hinges. They made me say curse words. When one fell and decapitated Peter, that did it. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. And I marched those stupid doors to the curb.
It was liberating.
I aspire to sew a curtain one day, a closet curtain. I've got goals, people.
So now that you've seen the room all clean, I'll show you reality.
To whom it may concern:
Peter lives. We super glued his head back on.
All is right with the world.
We truly enjoyed this arrangement. Now we have the room with the {small} private bathroom and Stephen has the big room that is doubling nicely as a playroom. Stephen Grande says that he wanted to arrange the house like this from the beginning.
But then we would have never had Fruit Basket Turnover 2011. And that would have been no fun.
8/24/11
Tagged, Old Posts, and Summer Photos
I was tagged by Margo of the lovely blog Thrift at Home and asked to highlight some of my past posts.
As I was searching through my archives I felt a wave of embarrassment come over me. I cringed as I read some of my old blogs. I was so young and naive when I wrote some of them....way back in 2009, when I was 25. So I know it wasn't THAT long ago. But really, I've come a long way {I think, I hope}. And I have a ways to go. I'm sure next year I will look at this year's post and feel a little self-induced humiliation. That's okay.
So here are some of my old posts....
Most Popular post....
Most Controversial....
Most helpful post....
A post whose success surprised you....
All three of the Less is More series
A post that deserves more attention....
The post you are most proud of....
Huge thanks, blog friends for reading ..... and for all your hilarious comments. Y'all give me so many good laughs.
And simply for the sake of memories, here's some photos of 'late summer'.
This last one is my niece, Millie. I babysat her one day and I felt sure she needed to be swaddled.
As I was searching through my archives I felt a wave of embarrassment come over me. I cringed as I read some of my old blogs. I was so young and naive when I wrote some of them....way back in 2009, when I was 25. So I know it wasn't THAT long ago. But really, I've come a long way {I think, I hope}. And I have a ways to go. I'm sure next year I will look at this year's post and feel a little self-induced humiliation. That's okay.
So here are some of my old posts....
Most Popular post....
Most Controversial....
Most helpful post....
A post whose success surprised you....
All three of the Less is More series
A post that deserves more attention....
The post you are most proud of....
Huge thanks, blog friends for reading ..... and for all your hilarious comments. Y'all give me so many good laughs.
And simply for the sake of memories, here's some photos of 'late summer'.
This last one is my niece, Millie. I babysat her one day and I felt sure she needed to be swaddled.
8/23/11
How I Approach Grocery Shopping
Today I wrote a post about grocery shopping.......
because it's my passion
because it's necessary
because it gets me out of the house without kids
Click HERE to read on Literally, a Spoonful {my food blog}.
because it's my passion
because it's necessary
because it gets me out of the house without kids
Click HERE to read on Literally, a Spoonful {my food blog}.
8/22/11
Home
I Smile.
We are home.
Sigh.
My poor little Honda Passport has seen more miles than it can take.
Vacation is nice.
But home is really nice too. One makes you appreciate the other, I guess.
All four of us under one roof. That makes me so happy.
We are grateful.
We've had a full summer.
God is good.
The clothes are clean.
My fridge is stocked.
Just livin' my life here, folks.
My littlest one is crawling.
And Stephen Small has taken to playing in the backyard again. Slowly, summer is moving on. I'm thrilled.
We are home.
Sigh.
My poor little Honda Passport has seen more miles than it can take.
Vacation is nice.
But home is really nice too. One makes you appreciate the other, I guess.
All four of us under one roof. That makes me so happy.
We are grateful.
We've had a full summer.
God is good.
The clothes are clean.
My fridge is stocked.
Just livin' my life here, folks.
My littlest one is crawling.
And Stephen Small has taken to playing in the backyard again. Slowly, summer is moving on. I'm thrilled.
8/18/11
ART
I love art and so does my family. I love art that is beautiful and colorful. I love art that means something or has a story connected to it. I like to know the artist. Or at the very least a little about them.
For years my parents have been collecting and commissioning art. They are unprofessional art dealers. The blank walls in my home drive them crazy and are quite often promptly filled with some art they've discovered, a gift. For Laurie's room, my mom had a gift bag from World Market framed. It's a wildly colored butterfly. I'll show it to you sometime.
When my parents are in the market for new art, here are some of the things they consider:
1. Do they like it? Is is pleasing to the eye? Is it beautiful? Colorful?
2. Is it indigenous to the area, both in subject matter and artist?
They have no paintings of lions or tigers because besides the Jackson zoo, there are no lions and tigers in Mississippi {I hope}. However, they possess watercolors of an alligator and deer {both by Walter Ingles Anderson, a well known Mississippi artist}. They have an enlarged photograph of a sunflower field my dad planted himself. They have paintings of little white country churches and cotton fields, both common scenes in the Mississippi Delta. They have Biblical scenes, pictures we {their children} drew in elementary school, framed maps of the states they've lived in, photo collages of birthday parties, commissioned paintings of their front porch, local pottery, and more. Wall after wall after wall is adorned with ART collected over the course of their almost 30 year marriage. My dad's personal favorite is a commissioned piece he gave my mom for her 40th birthday. It's an abstract scene of a party {a dance}. He said he likes it because it represents the dance of marriage and life, a reminder that marriage should be celebrated as a source of joy and renewal. It hangs in their bedroom.
3. The artist. They appreciate a local artist, a Mississippi artist. They like to know the story behind the person who created. They have been known to tour artists' homes and they have had multiple works commissioned. One of my favorites is an abstract hunting scene in which the two men in the painting look eerily like my husband and brother, neither of which the artist had ever met. It is in the room Stephen Small sleeps in when he visits, named the Situation Room {and I don't know why they call it that}.
Below is my personal favorite, Poppies. Not sure if this is the correct title or not. It hangs in their dining room. I've claimed it. When Lovie and Doc go on to glory, this piece is mine. Not kidding.
I love the colors. That bluish-teal has always been one of my favorites. The combo with the gold and red - love it. Also, I love flowers and all things floral....fabric, wallpaper, etc. Flowers make me happy.
In my opinion, All of life is ART. God made everything. He is Maker and Creator, the ultimate Artist.
Recently I listened to a phenomenal sermon by Joseph Wheat, the pastor that married my cousin and his wife. He so eloquently discusses why Christians should appreciate, marvel at, and celebrate art. Listen to it. Click here. Sermon title is The Highest Art - Creating Art, date 7-31-11.
This post is dedicated to my dad. He has been encouraging me to do a post about art for longer than I have been alive. Today is the day.
Blog header changed today in light of this topic. It's a watercolor by Stephen Small.
For years my parents have been collecting and commissioning art. They are unprofessional art dealers. The blank walls in my home drive them crazy and are quite often promptly filled with some art they've discovered, a gift. For Laurie's room, my mom had a gift bag from World Market framed. It's a wildly colored butterfly. I'll show it to you sometime.
When my parents are in the market for new art, here are some of the things they consider:
1. Do they like it? Is is pleasing to the eye? Is it beautiful? Colorful?
2. Is it indigenous to the area, both in subject matter and artist?
They have no paintings of lions or tigers because besides the Jackson zoo, there are no lions and tigers in Mississippi {I hope}. However, they possess watercolors of an alligator and deer {both by Walter Ingles Anderson, a well known Mississippi artist}. They have an enlarged photograph of a sunflower field my dad planted himself. They have paintings of little white country churches and cotton fields, both common scenes in the Mississippi Delta. They have Biblical scenes, pictures we {their children} drew in elementary school, framed maps of the states they've lived in, photo collages of birthday parties, commissioned paintings of their front porch, local pottery, and more. Wall after wall after wall is adorned with ART collected over the course of their almost 30 year marriage. My dad's personal favorite is a commissioned piece he gave my mom for her 40th birthday. It's an abstract scene of a party {a dance}. He said he likes it because it represents the dance of marriage and life, a reminder that marriage should be celebrated as a source of joy and renewal. It hangs in their bedroom.
3. The artist. They appreciate a local artist, a Mississippi artist. They like to know the story behind the person who created. They have been known to tour artists' homes and they have had multiple works commissioned. One of my favorites is an abstract hunting scene in which the two men in the painting look eerily like my husband and brother, neither of which the artist had ever met. It is in the room Stephen Small sleeps in when he visits, named the Situation Room {and I don't know why they call it that}.
Below is my personal favorite, Poppies. Not sure if this is the correct title or not. It hangs in their dining room. I've claimed it. When Lovie and Doc go on to glory, this piece is mine. Not kidding.
By Mississippi artist, Ginny Futvoye
I love the colors. That bluish-teal has always been one of my favorites. The combo with the gold and red - love it. Also, I love flowers and all things floral....fabric, wallpaper, etc. Flowers make me happy.
In my opinion, All of life is ART. God made everything. He is Maker and Creator, the ultimate Artist.
Recently I listened to a phenomenal sermon by Joseph Wheat, the pastor that married my cousin and his wife. He so eloquently discusses why Christians should appreciate, marvel at, and celebrate art. Listen to it. Click here. Sermon title is The Highest Art - Creating Art, date 7-31-11.
This post is dedicated to my dad. He has been encouraging me to do a post about art for longer than I have been alive. Today is the day.
Blog header changed today in light of this topic. It's a watercolor by Stephen Small.
8/16/11
Tractor-Trailer Situations
S. the Smalls has been at my parents' house for the past several days. It was so lovely to have a break from all things two year old boy.
But oh how I missed that child.
****
His favorite thing in all this world is tractor-trailer situations. Anything with wheels that he can tie to something else with wheels and haul around the neighborhood is LIFE.
I feel like watching him gives me an unedited glimpse into the male mind.
Speaking of two year old boys, I'm amazed. I'm amazed at all mothers of two year old boys, including myself. People say, "I don't know how you do it everyday." And I. don't. know. either. Wow.
I want to say that I'm teaching him all these wonderful thing like Bible verses and instilling in him a love of reading. But in all honesty, my only goal now is to keep him alive and avoid maiming injuries.
****
For kicks, here's LB playing outside in her pack n play.
A tiny hint of fall is in the air which means we have returned to the great outdoors.
Be back soon!
But oh how I missed that child.
****
His favorite thing in all this world is tractor-trailer situations. Anything with wheels that he can tie to something else with wheels and haul around the neighborhood is LIFE.
I feel like watching him gives me an unedited glimpse into the male mind.
Speaking of two year old boys, I'm amazed. I'm amazed at all mothers of two year old boys, including myself. People say, "I don't know how you do it everyday." And I. don't. know. either. Wow.
I want to say that I'm teaching him all these wonderful thing like Bible verses and instilling in him a love of reading. But in all honesty, my only goal now is to keep him alive and avoid maiming injuries.
****
For kicks, here's LB playing outside in her pack n play.
A tiny hint of fall is in the air which means we have returned to the great outdoors.
Be back soon!
8/10/11
Dresses for LB
I sorta laugh on the inside when someone asks me a question about sewing. And that is because I am still such a beginner. If I get stumped in the middle of a project, I google the answer or just wing it. I am the most amateur sew-er you've ever seen.
I made these two dresses for Laurie B. using one of my favorite children's patterns....Holly and Hunter 131.
I love this pattern because it comes with really detailed instructions. GREAT for beginners LIKE ME.
****
She's 7 months old today.
Here we go!!!!!
I made these two dresses for Laurie B. using one of my favorite children's patterns....Holly and Hunter 131.
I love this pattern because it comes with really detailed instructions. GREAT for beginners LIKE ME.
****
She's 7 months old today.
Here we go!!!!!
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