Marry an Artist

This is all I'm saying. Marry an Artist. Or at least befriend one and give them things. For artists have the power to make any boring old space into a beautiful one. I've been searching for art for Henry's walls for a while now and my sweet husband has either made or funded almost all of my choices. First, I (yes me, not Wade) made a banner of flags to go over his bed (although Wade may or may not have provided some guidance on the color choices, I'm not telling). And then I found these adorable cardboard deer heads to go in the middle. I bought a tiny one for Henry's room and saved the board with the cut outs so that Wade could make a big one for our living room out of old Rudy's pizza boxes (which reminds me, I should order a pizza for delivery). I La La Love these posters with lyrics from one of my favorite songs. Wade showed me exactly how to make them and then it was just off to Kinkos for a quick color print on poster board. This sweet little elephant was an Etsy find. I love her and I plan to copy the idea to make a peacock and an umbrella to go over Henry's desk. Wade has instructed me on the trials and tribulations of Modge Podge and I feel ready to take this project on.

This whale is another Esty find. I love it, but I'm not in love with it. I think chalkboards are fun but I am thinking Henry needs something bigger, to really show off his mad skillz.
And lastly, there is this panting. Also and Etsy find. Wade tells me we could paint something similar here at home. But I love it and I think I am going to buy it and marry it. This may not go in Henry's room. I might put it in our room. I need a house with less windows and more walls.
So, in conclusion. Marry an artist. He or she can then teach you how to make all the art you have been eyeballing for years. They will make fun of you for not coming up with the idea on your own. But artists are moody and hey, you are the one that decided to marry one.

Fun clicks

I just discovered Wordle. It is so fun. Just enter a blog address (This one is from Henry's blog) or type in your own words and then you can play with the font and the size and color and shapes. Great fun! But just let me warn you, it's addicting. :) This one is going on the fridge.

**Click on the photo so you can actually see what it looks like---because I cannot seem to make it any larger

Things that make me happy Thursday

My friend Emily told me that I should bring back the Things that make me happy Thursdays. I didn't even realize it had been that long since I last did one and honestly with the nasty weather and the fact that I only got 4 hours of sleep last night I am feeling pretty uninspired right now. But I can find something that I love to blog about....I love baby shoes. This week out of the blue I am going crazy with Henry's shoes. His feet are growing at records speeds and even his frog boots are getting to small {ah, moment of silence for the frog boots}. So, we are moving on. Size 8 here we come! Today I ordered new boots:And new kicks:
Everything is cuter in miniature. :)

On a Saturday

I am a total grump today. Henry woke up very early and I did what I always do when he is up before the sun rises, I brought him into bed with me in the hopes that he was still sleepy enough to drift back to sleep. It never works and in the end little bits of waking and sleeping are almost more annoying then just being up while rest of the neighborhood sleeps. I should have known it was doomed when the he started giving me directions right when we walked in the room. “No Mama, I go on Papa’s pillow and you go over there” (over there being the bottom right corner of the bed). “Henry, I don’t want to go over there, I want to lie on my own pillow in my own spot.” We lay down. “Mama? Let’s play the snoring game. Mama will snore and Henme say WAKE UP” “Baby please,” I say “take it down a notch. It is still night time. Please be quiet and go back to sleep.” A minute passes. “Mama?” Henry whispers “You say wake up?” “No Henry, I don’t want to say wake up. I want to go to sleep, please lay down.” I am begging at this point. He rests just long enough for me to drift off… “Mama?” He yell-whispers about 2 inches from my face. Ugh, it is like falling asleep in calculus class again…up, down, up down. “Mama?” he repeats, “I go look out the window and the sun IS still asleep. It IS still nigh-nigh.” Oh dear he climbed out of bed, walked over to the window and then climbed back into bed and I didn’t even wake up. He could have fallen, tripped, it's dark, there are clothes on the floor. He could have been playing with electrical sockets or eating antibacterial ointment and I would have just been snoring through it...I am a terrible mother! “You cold Mama? You need blankie? You have my blue blankie Mama. Here go.” And a damp blanket goes over my head. It’s damp because Henry likes to chew on his blankets. He takes the blanket off of my face and moves to about one inch from my mouth “You warm now Mama?”……and so it went. For over almost an hour it went. I woke up grumpy and even the shenanigans of the cutest little bean on the planet couldn’t snap me out of it.

After breakfast and some coffee, lots of coffee, I decided to tackle some unfinished business. Yesterday afternoon, before Henry took his nap we were supposed to bake some cookies together. But lunch took what felt like hours to finish and then there was still reading stories and getting into jammies to do. And speaking of lunch he ate 3 servings of applesauce and 2 servings of vegetables plus 2 pita’s with his hummus and probably 25 grapes for lunch. He ate more than I did. And he calls his applesauce “Dappletoss” and his vegetables “Bedgabuls” and I secretly hope that he never learns how to say it correctly. Anyway, we didn’t get around to making cookies. Henry was sad. He doesn’t quite understand how we could buy everything for cookies and yet when we got home there are no cookies. In the car he kept saying “Henme have tookie now Mama?” I just couldn’t get him to make the connection between the ingredients that make up the cookie and the cookies themselves. So we made cookies this morning. It is a challenge to make cookies with a two year old. For starters he is both slightly afraid of the mixer and wanting to stick it into anything that it might fit into at the same time. So he will gladly shove it into the sugar canister but then screams and cries when it makes a loud banging sound as it hits the metal sides of the canister and sugar flies all over the counter. Also, he has yet to get the concept of holding something still and not eating what you are fixing before you have finished fixing it. Being a vegan is good on that end because you don’t have to worry about e-coli in your batter. Anyway we got the job done and 20 minutes later sat down for some cookies and soy milk. Yum….but still grumpy.

I am at work now. Working hard (obviously). Being here on a Saturday doesn’t do much to help the mood. Maybe I will listen to a vegan pod cast or Savage love pod cast or an old Obama speech. Yeah, that’s right I listen to Obama’s speeches for fun. I also have a picture of him above my computer with hearts around it and I have already told my husband that if the time ever came I would totally pull a Monica Lewinsky on him. He seems okay with it.

In other non-Kelly family related news, the fabric for my chairs is still not out which is so bad because it gives me time to change my mind over and over again. Not only am I terrible at making decisions but I always end up wishing I had made a different one after I finally do make the decision. I am the person at the restaurant that takes forever to decide what to order and then wishes I had ordered what you ordered for the rest of the meal. Anyway, now I am thinking of painting my dining room table and chairs a brighter color. Like an distressed teal or a bright red. These bookshelves are such a great color and I love this red bed. Both of these pictures are from Anna Maria Horner’s blog. I love her style. I mean just look at this sofa. It is covered in her fabric. I LOVE IT! This is definitely the fabric I am going to use for the chairs. Any advice? I guess it is hard to say when you haven’t seen the table. Here is the post I did when I painted them months ago. I do really like white furniture. And I want to put in a bright colored chandelier like the one from Heather Bailey's blog I posted about months ago. I am thinking in orange (oh my mother would pass out if I did that...hee hee) which would probably be a little over the top with brightly colored furniture.

Okay, back to work. At least there will be basketball on tonight. I hope Louisville beats NC. I know I know….I am still bitter. And happy trails Miss Lisa. Hope you’re having fun in Chicago. My blog is a lonely place without you ;)

Take that

There are times when I feel like I am not a very good mom. Those times are usually from around 12:30-3:00 on Friday afternoon. That is when I am trying to put Henry down for his nap without Wade's assistance and it never goes very well. Today was no exception.
We read stories, snuggled, got the animals all lined up in bed, had several drinks of water, rock-a-byed and then I put him down in bed. He was up within seconds, telling me "I do not like night night nap mama." I left the room and stood outside the door. He said that another 60 times. "I DO NOT LIKE NIGHT NIGHT NAP!" Me either.
Then it got quiet. I had a moment of hope, maybe he is asleep.
"Oh Mama. Poo poo diapy on the bed." I ran in. Henry was nude from the waist down, his poopy diaper laying on the bed. I scooped him up-new jamies, new diaper, new blankets, new sheets...back in bed. More hoopla-crying, yelling, jumping, headbutting while rocking. After about 10 minutes I told him "Henry lay down and go night night. If you get up one more time I am leaving the room and not coming back in." "Okay Mama" he said. He was up in less than a minute. I left the room and waited outside the door. He cried for a while and then I heard him busily moving around. This could be good, I thought, he is usually really squirmy before he settles down.
"Uh-oh Mama. Medicine on the blanky."
I run in. He has somehow reached over to the other side of his dresser, grabbed the diaper ointment and squirted it all over his bed, himself and the walls. Oh, and he is nude from the waist down. New jamies, new sheets, new blankets....In the chaos I forget to take the ointment out of his hands. I tell him "Henry give me the medicine." "NO." he yells. "Please give it to me Henry." He puts his hand out like he is going to give it to me but instead squirts it right in my face. This is a no-no chair offense and he is happy to go because it means that he doesn't have to be in his bed. In and out of the no-no chair for 10 minutes. I have to reset the timer 5 times. Finally, he does his time without getting out of the chair and we are back in the bedroom. I laid him down and he actually stays down. I think all the crying, pooping, yelling, squirting, and headbutting finally has worn him out. And me too. It's a funny feeling when a situation can make you feel like crying, punching a wall and laughing all at the same time. Oh well, I think Mama needs a night night nap.

My lunch break

Went to get the mail during my lunch break today and found this postcard. Wade's Mom is doing her part to fill up our postcard wall....

and we are getting close...
During my lunch break I got to eat with my favorite little bean. Who happens to LOVE beans.
He loves them so much that he has to sing about it.

Not sick

Henry-boy is feeling much better.

Bingerberries, as promised