Flowing Creativity

Well we decided it was high time we did something crafty. We started late this afternoon and I just finished my little project well into the night. I originally got the idea last week when we went to a little shop over in Chester. They had these cute little artsy booklets, that were made out of lunch bags. I made mine a little differently, it's kind of more of a wall hanging type thing. This is the front. I got the picture offline and then used colored pencils to add some color. I used the dictionary and copied the page with the definition of passion. Added a little lace and a few words and viola!!

This is the middle of the booklet. The faeries I also got offline. The top faery has the definition of "whisper", and the bottom faery has the "dream" definition. Added some more lace and words, and again it was beautiful.
In the end I added some gold handles, and a little tag that has the definition of "faeries". It's so cute, it just tucks into the top of one of the bags.

The back page has another faery from offline, a strip of thick brown ribbon, and a definition page with "Goddess" in it. There are also some lace pieces, and a goblet with the definition.
It was so much fun, and yes work, but I feel so inventive!! Yay for me!!!

Bottle, Bottle, BOTTLE!!!

About a month ago my MIL called me and asked if I wanted to be part of a Halloween bottle swap. I had never done anything like that, and she had to explained that all I had to do was fill up a water bottle with a bunch of Halloween goodies, put it in the mail, and in a few weeks I would get one back. Since I was going to be at her house we put her address on it. So I got together an actual reusable water bottle (it's supposed to be a plastic disposable bottle that you can cut into the side). It had a huge mouth so it was easy to put things in. Then I went to Target and got a bunch of things I would like, put in some Halloween fabric that I really enjoyed, and then some candy corn as a filler. We sent it last week, and then patiently waited for ours to arrive. Laume got hers on Thursday and it was very exciting to go through it! Then today we opened up the mail box and mine was here too!!!! I immediately cut it open and this is what I found...



The witch in the front is a floating candle. Then there's a little pink fairy bear behind her. Next to that is a cute witch hand towel. There are some cool Halloween pencils and behind them there's a picture of a scary spider. Next to the floating witch there's a witch tin that's filled with candy corn. Next to that is my favorite thing. It is four hand-made Halloween coasters!! The figures are fabric that's been ironed on, and then there is two pieces of fabric with batting in between and sewn together. They are so cute! I can't wait to get home and use them!!

I have to say we had a very fun and eventful day today!! It started out with a drive over to Redding to watch William's game. Driving with a car full of people is also exciting in itself! Once we go to Redding we stopped where Sam was working to say hi. Joli wasn't so sure about just going to him, but she was perfectly happy about smiling at him from afar. Then Grammi put her down on her feet and she took 3 STEPS!! First she did it to me and then back to Grammi!! We got so excited, and Sam says "Was that the first time?" We were all so excited. Sad that Joe missed it, but excited. I told Joe about it later, and he was excited too, which made me feel a little better. Then we did some shopping. I finally found snow bibs and boots that will fit Joli, and I also got another book on CD for the drive home. Afterwards we went over to Sam's house, because I haven't seen it yet. He just bought it not too long ago, and is working hard to fix it up. He had just put in new windows when I saw it. I told him that I would describe it with great potential. It does have great potential and that is what you have to think when you see it. It also has an enormous backyard with a pool!! That's exciting. Once we were done with the tour we headed out to William's game. I have to say that William totally rocked!!! He was tackling people left and right and always in the right place at the right time!! He did great!! He's was a little sore and bruised afterwards but anyone that has played sports knows that it was worth it! Joli also enjoyed the game. We did a good job of paying plenty of attention to her and focusing on the game. She got to wear her Halloween costume too! I don't think she really cared but every one at the game definitely noticed. I sent her to the snack bar with Sam and he said they had to stop so every one could see her! I think he enjoyed it though. Here's my little lady bug from the back. She was a little pouty at one point, so here she is looking sad with her binky and her blanky.
Here's Sam and Kyla hanging out watching the game.
Joli loves to sit with her Grammi, and I think Grammi likes it too!
Joli was very good, considering the attention span of an 11 month old. She just hung out and watched the game, and got all excited watching the cheerleaders who decided to have a little cheer war!! Then we all went out to Olive Garden. It was so yummy!! We all had the Tour of Italy! Umm, good!! We thought we were going to go back to Sam's house and hang out for awhile, but once we got to the Bronco it was discovered that it wouldn't start! So we topped off the day with a ride in a tow truck all the way back to Susanville!! William and Papa got to ride in the Bronco on the back of the tow truck!! It's been described at interesting and scary! The girls rode inside the truck and chatting the driver's ear off all the way back. He didn't seem to mind though. We finally made it back to the house, where we all collapsed from exhaustion!

I know I'm Cute!!

Well I made new t-shirts for Joli the other day. Today she wore one of them and she looked so cute, and got comments all day about her shirt.

She doesn't deny that claim!!

Back to playing with pumpkins!

I also made her another shirt that says "GIRL" on the front and "in case there is confusion" on the back. I really like these iron-on letters!! Thanks Karina!! We're just keeping busy. We went on a little outing to a nearby town today. It was fun! Joli seemed to have a great time, until we got back and the screaming toddler jumped out again. Then it became a game of keeping her distracted again. We're still a little preoccupied with our friends that are dealing with fires at home. Just trying to keep our minds off it and hope every one's okay!

I Forfeit

In a sad turn of events, my cookies were cruelly knocked onto the floor of the pantry, causing me to believe that I should never again make an effort to make and decorate sugar cookies. It was somewhat suiting to my mood today. Although I did have fun going to the tea room, and walking around the cool shops uptown, I was still somewhat in a funk. I think it might have had something to do with worrying about the fires down by our house and how our friends are doing. Then there was the whole dealing with screaming child all day! Not sweet little baby, screaming, pick me up and hold me all day or I will scream at the top of my lungs, child! I don't know if she misses her daddy, or if she's picking up on my tension, but I was ready to throw her out in the yard and leave her there all day. In the end, I settled for spending most of the day out and about, where said child is happy about looking at the people and things that are going on around her. No picture though, just my little note about crazy child, and poor sad cookies!!

Clean Dry Cookies!!!

I should begin by saying that I do not frequently make and decorate cookies while I am visiting my in-laws. I don't do this very often because the first and only time that I decided to spend HOURS making and decorating beautiful cookies with intricate details, I left them on the counter over night. While they were sitting there on the counter so very innocently, just waiting for their family to get up and indulge in their delicious yumminess, some of the creatures in the house decided that they would beat us to it. Now that in itself would be slightly upsetting, except the previously said creatures decided that they do not in fact enjoy sugar cookies. So in an attempt to relay this message to me, they then decided to pee all over all but two of them. Now my sweet husband, in an attempt to prevent any signs of waterworks, thought that he could salvage these two lonely cookies, and that perhaps I might forget what they had been sitting next to just moments before. In the end I chose not eat the very close to being called "public toilet" cookies. So here we are almost three years later and I began to consider the idea of possibly making and decorating cookies once again. Perhaps it was just the Christmas holiday that they did not like. Maybe Halloween cookies will be okay. I was still a little nervous, and even after I was reassured that this had never happened before or since my beautiful masterpieces were mistaken for a litter box, I was not sure I wanted to spend that much time on something that clearly was not meant to be. In the end I was convinced that once I was done I could cover the new shiny cookies and put them in the pantry behind a closed door, away from any animals. So I did. I made these very nice and might I say, Delicious cookies!

I did it!! Yay Me!! Clean and Dry!!!

I also made some very cute baby cookies!! These are not decorated as it would have taken a lot more effort than I was willing to put in and then I would be much less likely to give them to the baby I made them for. But they are still quite yummy.

Beautiful Fall!!

We went on a lovely walk through the autumn leaves today! This is Joli in the front yard before we left. She was patiently waiting and chasing kitties.Once we got there she slept for a while. When she finally woke up, we took her down to look at the river. She really enjoyed the water, and continued trying to see it as we walked over the bridge.
Once we were finally done Joli got to ride on Grammi's shoulders on the way back to the car.
It was a beautiful day!

Naps, Rain, and Football

What started out as a lazy day turned into an active, cold and wet one. Joli and I got up and ate breakfast, went for a little run and then went back to bed for a couple hours. Once we finally got up I bundled her up and we played outside until the rain started. I think she was a little confused since the only experiences in which she can remember water falling, have been in the bath tub. The rain only continued and gained speed as the afternoon continued. It really had built up right about the time we showed up for William's football game. For anyone who has never had an experience of trying to hold an umbrella, a purse, blanket and screaming wiggling child; I don't recommend it. Eventually Joli fell asleep and the rest of the game was much more peaceful. We then played in the car for a little while until William came out of the locker room, and then we headed out for pizza. Another exciting day!

Before the rain!

Joli only holds still for pictures (That's why we have so many pictures!)

Fun in the car, I wonder what she has in her mouth, oh well too late now!

Oh hey mom, what you doing?

Pumpkin Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!!

Although I did enjoy our little outing to get pumpkins last weekend. It was nothing to the wonderful fun at the pumpkin patch here!! There was a dog, acres of pumpkins, a corn maze, tractors, pigs, cows, and lots of kids to play with! The kids were fun, except for one little girl that seemed to think Joli was a doll and kept trying to make her lay down in the grass. But there was a little boy that had younger siblings and was very sweet about playing ball with her. The animals were fun to look at. The horse was being a butt and wouldn't come over, but we got to look at plenty of "kitties" according to Joli (Meaning anything fuzzy, four-legged, winged, or sometimes anything without skin, like skeletons). Then we headed out to look for pumpkins. It was very fun except for the pokey things that were attacking Joli's clothing every time I put her down. She did find several pumpkins that she really enjoyed. We finally settled on a green and yellow one in which she refused to let go. After Grammi spent what seemed like hours trying to find her way out of the corn maze, we finally left to get some lunch. It was a very productive day and I got a HUGE pumpkin!! I also found a green pumpkin that I love! Happy day!!

Joli and Papa looking at the smelly "kitties"

Joli had a fun ride up to the pumpkins, she just didn't think Papa was going fast enough!

Joli found a pumpkin she enjoyed a little

But I think she LOVED this one!!!

On the way back Joli was convinced she was going to pull the wagon back herself!

This is the pumpkin she finally decided she just had to have. It was an enchanted afternoon!

Oh The Road Again

Well the last few days have been a mad frenzy of different houses, gas stations, and front seat diaper changes. But we have finally arrived and we don't have to drive anymore!!! Yipee!! The first day we drove to my mom's and watched my sister's soccer game! It was pretty fun. The we went to my friend Jessica's for a few days and hung out with her. Then this morning we got up and drove through rain and snow to finally make it here!!! Now we're just relaxing and hoping to be able to sleep at night!

This is Joli right before we left on our long journey. Notice the all pink!!

These are our tired shoes after a long day of exploring Sacramento!

Harvest Fun!!

Today we went to the harvest festival out at Summers Past. It was very fun to see Joli with all the pumpkins and just enjoying herself. She loves the pumpkins. She didn't really crawl around, she just played with whatever was closest or I brought to her. I wanted to get one big one to cook, and then I got her a small one to play with. She really enjoyed them.

Ah, pumpkin!
It is mine!
Oh, this one!!!

Then we went over to the little petting zoo they had going. She didn't really care much for the goats. It wasn't that she was scared or anything she just seemed kind of board with them. But then she saw the bunnies and she was all excited!

She couldn't touch them because they were inside a cage but she stood there and looked at them for quite some time. She also looked at me and showed them to me, to make sure I knew about them. The only time she really payed any attention to the goats was when they started pooping! I think maybe she thought they were chocolate or something because she started toward them then!!!

T-Shirts!!

This is the front and then back of the first shirt that I made for Joli!

This is the second!!

And this is the last!
I also painted this ornament last night.

Joe and I get a new one every year and this one was only a dollar!

Babies Know

The last few days have proved to be somewhat difficult on Joli. As an adult I've become used my husband's comings and goings. Although this does not mean that I do not miss him, I've just learned ways to cope. Unfortunately as a baby, Joli is learning everything for the first time, and this is just one more, very difficult thing that she is dealing with. I've had several people imply that she's "just a baby", or that she "doesn't really know he's gone". In those moments I'd really like to invite that person to come stay with us about 2-3 days after Joe has left. My sweet little baby makes this transformation, into a screaming and very bratty child. She will scream and cry while clinging to me throughout the day, and if I'm doing something, she will then crawl around the house crying and looking in all of Joe's normal locations. If she does not find him, she will cry louder and bury her head in her blanket. At least this is what happened last night. So I got Joe on the phone and let her talk to him for a few minutes, and she seemed to calm down a little. Then I got out our wedding album, which our photographer came up with the simply genius idea of making the pages hard and thick, so it's like a giant board book. I put it on the floor and helped her open the pages. We got to the page with the big picture of the two of us, and this is what she did.
Next time someone tries to tell me she doesn't know, I'm getting out that picture. Then we turned the page and she looked a little more.
Finally she decided she needed her blankie again.
It's very strange, but I've worked in a military child care center with children of all ages that are missing one or both parents, but I've never seen it have so much of an effect on such a young child. I know how to deal with the angry toddler and the crying preschooler, but this is a whole new thing for me, and honestly I'm a kind of at a loss. We talk to daddy on the phone, I show her pictures, we watch a video that he recorded for her every night, and we talk about him. I know to do all these things with an older child, but she's a baby. I just hope that I'm helping her in some way.

Girls Wear Pink!!!

Well my wonderful mother-in-law and I had a little conversation about the incredibly annoying cultural pressure to put my daughter in only pink and purple. We are not annoyed by the random people in the grocery store that mistake her for a boy. That is completely normal, and regardless if she's wearing purple, or grey, or pink ruffles, they still call her boy. It might be the bald head or the fact that I refuse to pierce her ears. Who knows the answer to the mystery of why narrow minded people continue to jump to conclusions about another person based simply on their clothing.

The people in which we are annoyed with are those I know personally. Somehow our society has decided that unless a girl has long hair, pierced ears or eventually breasts, then anyone that has a girl must only dress her in pink or purple, or maybe the more risky yellow! I'm sorry, she's too little for breasts, I can't get her hair to grow, and I don't think anyone has the right to put a hole in another persons body without their consent. She will get earrings when she is old enough to ask for them. I am just thankful that I have breasts, and I can wear what I want!! Because if someone where to tell me that I could only wear pink for the rest of my days, first I would throw up directly on their shoes (hopefully flip flops), and then I would move far, far away.

My whole philosophy on dressing my child is that I put her in things that I would wear. I don't force her to wear frilly and uncomfortable things simply to please other people. It is important to me to teach my child that although other people's opinion does matter, it is only what she thinks of herself that really matters in the end, and she only really needs to make sure that she is happy. I believe that one of the main problems with our culture is the amount of time we spend focused on what other people think. Form an opinion, stand behind it, and if you have to, tell others wear to stick it.

So I pick out clothes for my daughter based on my sense of style. I like black because it's slimming on me. So I will put her in a black shirt with tiny ruffles and a little pair of jeans. Even though she has pink tennis shoes on, she's a boy. My husband's in the military, so we wear camo. This of course makes her a boy. I know they make pink camo, but when my child pulls down the regular green camo off the shelf I'm not about to crush my child's spirit by saying "No hunny, you're a girl, you have to get the pink one." My husband also played football in high school and college, and I played soccer most of my life. We decided early on we would encourage (not force) her to play sports. So she has a soccer ball, a baseball, a football, and even a Frisbee. She also has several pairs of pj's with balls on them. Now I know these are "boy" pj's, I had to buy them from the boys section, but what are we teaching our daughters when they go to pick out clothes and the only thing they will find is My Little Pony, Dora, or Ballet Slippers. Is it okay to say to the future women of America that they can't have that football, they must go play with their toy kitchen? I would love to see the interview with the mother's of Mia Hamm and Danika Patrick, and to hear their answers to, "So, which ballet school did you send your daughters to?"

While I was thinking about all these things, I decided to come up with some t-shirts that I want to have made for Joli. So far I have three ideas:

1. Bald is the new pink

2. Well why aren't you wearing your pink dress today?

3. Sorry my pink clothes are dirty, blue with have to do.

I had a few others, but finally decided that curse words were not appropriate on a baby.

Speaking of blue. Joli has the cutest t-shirt that is blue and says "Everyone loves a blue eyed girl". I have received several compliments on how it really brings out the color in her eyes. But maybe I should get rid of it, I mean after all it is blue, and blue's for boys! While I'm at it, I'll throw out the blue dress with red ruffles, and the blue shirt with a baby chick that says "cute chick", and I better not even think about putting her in the blue sweat set with the purple flowers on it, that's for boys too! I know, I'll save all that stuff for when we have a boy, and then we'll see what society thinks.

I would be lying if I said "forget it, it doesn't bother me", because it does. Joli is my child, and everyone that knows me, knows she is a girl, and also knows my views on the way females should be treated. I will tolerate the occasional stranger making a mistake, and politely tell them she is whoever she wants to be, but I should not have to defend my actions to family and friends, many of which do not have their own children, or experience in worrying about the lesson they are teaching their child. I'm done being nice and polite, because that's not really who I am. From now on, whoever thinks they should voice their opinion on the way I should raise my child, better be ready to defend that opinion, because I have opinions too, and they are not pink and frilly ones.

The Island

This morning was spent putting together the island. It wasn't too bad except the tools I had kept pooping out. I did have a little help though.
I didn't actually stain it or anything yet. I think it looks pretty like that for now. Once we get back from our travels I will probably put in the effort to make it gorgeous, but this week is going to be mostly devoted to things that need to be done before we leave. Joli was just fine with the process and enjoyed all the fun things to play with, right up until the last two screws that for some reason where resisting, and between them and the crying it felt as though someone had turned on the heat. But I persisted and won. I don't think Joli was done being angry though.
She's still not speaking to it. I assume that once she gets up from her nap, she will forgive it in order to get to the clanky bowls that are so much fun to play with.

Birthday Presents and Finds

I received several wonderful things for my birthday. Some of which were given to me and some of which I bought with birthday money I got from grandparents and my dad and his family. One of my favorite things is this mug I got from Starbucks when Kacie and I went out for coffee Saturday morning. They had just marked it down to $2.99, and my friend Katie gave me a Starbucks card for my birthday so I just had to buy it!

When my family came they also brought presents that included a giant cookie, (which was eaten before I could take a picture), and this luminary! It's really cool!

After we went out for my birthday dinner, we went to Target and I used some of my birthday money to buy some things. One of which was this spooky candle holder. And then I got the candles at Micheal's yesterday!
And these are my fuzzy boots that I've been asking for for about two years. Now I just got to get some skinny jeans to fit in them!While we were at Micheal's I found these photo/video boxes for only $1.50!! They were just so pretty. These one's I'm using for pictures and scrapbook stuff.

This is what the tops look like. They're just so cute!
I also got some to organize our VHS tapes . This way I could put the DVD's in the drawers and I don't have to worry about tiny fingers pulling them out anymore.
Then today, Kacie and I went to Ikea! Without husbands to complain, it made for a very fun trip! While there I found this adorable little lantern for just a couple dollars!I'm also been looking for some kind of nightlight I can put above Joli's bed to be able to see her better at night. So while we were at Ikea I found this sweet little moon light that attaches to the wall. They also had stars but the light of the moon was just too cute. This is what it looks like in the dark.

And this is with the lights on.
I also found an island for my kitchen while we were at Ikea. We have a fairly large kitchen area so I thought it would give me more cooking space and I would have to have my back to Joli all the time. They had some on sale for $49, and I can stain it whatever color I want. I already have a dark wood stain so I think I'm going to use that. Plus it'll match my kitchen table better. This is what it looks like so far. (I haven't done anything but take it out of the box.)
Hopefully I'll have more pictures of it tomorrow. I also got a ton of scrapbook stuff yesterday when we went to the scrapbook store. And Kacie got me some cool scrapbook stuff for my birthday too. I'll show more of those once I get some pages done!