Wow Wow Wednesday!

Well, it's Wednesday and I have been doing some remodeling. What do you think of the new look? I am trying to figure out why that title isn't where I want it, but I am no html guru, so it may just have to stay where it is. Other than that, though, I really like it. I am going for simple these days.

This morning we finished up swim lessons and pulled weeds in the garden until my arms and legs were shaking (ok, not that long for most, but I am in pretty bad shape!lol) I am going to enjoy a salad for lunch and an afternoon by the pool. Hopefully I will be motivated to do laundry tonight...

The end of swim lessons means it is nearing back-to-school time. I cannot believe how fast this summer had flown by, or how nice it has been. I am sort of dreading getting back to the routine. But at the same time, having only one kid for 7 hours a day can't be all bad!

Here is a recolor I did on vacation last week. I didn't add any textures or overlays, so it is very simple, but still cute. See what you think.

Have a nice Wednesday!

Dive into a Book!

I am feeling a serious need to get back to reading. I have had a LONG break and I miss it. Those darned Golden Girls are just so funny! I never get tired of them! But, I am going to try to spend more time reading...luckily that will be easy because a friend picked up a Sarah Addison Allen book for me last week. This the second book of hers I have read. Garden Spells was a sweet, magical tale that I enjoyed last summer. The Sugar Queen (so far) seems to have the same delightful qualities. I find myself looking forward to bedtime so I can sneak in another chapter. Here is a link to the author's page (click the picture):

I would describe her a sort of a cross between Laura Esquivel and Adriana Trigiani--if you are familiar with them. :)

Check out goodreads.com if you want to read reviews of those and other authors.

I am having a hard time getting the colors I see in photoshop to translate to the colors I see on the web. I am guessing there is a setting I should learn how to adjust....

Well, in any case, last night I learned selective recoloring. So here is the only photo I could find that I thought lent itself to that sort of technique. It was really fun though. I am going to be shooting Emma with some flowers in the near future! lol

I also added a fun little texture from Zen Textures

Edge Burn

Photoshopping the Summer Away

Here's another shot of a barn in LaPlace, IL. I did this one with a faux TTV texture.
This is a dirty little texture. What do you think? Too much? Maybe I should play with the colors a bit. .. I wanted that old timey look. I think this works, but I am not above playing with it more. :)

Whatcha Been Up To?

People keep asking me that.

So here's a little sample of one more thing I've been up to.


I am taking a photo framing and effects class this week and next. In this class I was supposed to make the picture look like an old photo that had been hand-tinted. I am really not a fan of this tinting thing. (it looked better in photoshop.) I also added some wrinkles and a tear that is now not really visible. Oh well... It is nice to MAKE myself set aside some time to play with some of the techniques. Hopefully I will not over-edit every picture I take, but I know I will. All my kids will look back and say look how skinny mom was back then, or how her skin glowed! lol Little will they know it is the magic of digital. Gotta love it! :)

Monday Moments

I am recording as I go here:

Ian says: No Way! Thank you.

Joshua says: I have a friend. A girl friend. Not a girlfriend, girlfriend, but a GIRL FRIEND! (oh boy! here we go...)

Emma says: WHY can't I put these horsey stickers on the wall? Mom says" because it's our HOUSE and we don't put stickers on it. Emma says: "WHY" Mom says "Because they will stick." Emma says "so".

Michael says: What did you DO to our TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I told them this week the TV will go off at 9 am if they are up or not. When he got up todau it was not working. oooops! lol)

edited to add:

Mom to Josh: Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.
Josh to mom: Mom! That is SO UNTRUE! If you throw a dictionary at someone, it will hurt them! (totally serious)

Mom to Emma: You are supposed to be lying down!
Emma to Mom: MOM! I am rocking my baby!
Mom to Emma: Well your baby needs to lie down.
Emma to Mom: She's not REAL!
**thump thump** (Mom smacks herself on the forehead for playing this game in the first place!)

Changes in Attitude..

This morning I woke up and tripped on a few things on the way to the bathroom. As I came downstairs, I had to weave past a few toys, a fan, a highchair that didn't get put away. I persevered until I reached my goal: the coffee pot! Now that I am awake-ish, I began to contemplate this journey. I take it every morning. I will admit that few are the mornings I do not have to "jump" at least one hurdle to get there. In the the past, this would bum me out. I used to think "I would die if someone came by and saw this mess!". But somehow all that changed last December when I hit 36.

This has been a big year for me (6 mos.)! Nothing all that interesting has changed, but MY MIND feels totally different. I guess I realized I am nearly 40 and hadn't progressed much if I was still worrying about what other think of me. Somehow that has all lifted. Thank God! I realized that most people who know me well know that I have a different "style" of house-keeping...and like me despite that fact. I am no Martha Stewart. (but I'll bet I have the lower blood pressure!) But, I guess I am coming to see that that's OK. Maybe I can help them out by making them look good! lol

I used to stress about all of this. Most of my faithful readers know I was dreading summer BIG-TIME. I adore my kids, don't get me wrong, but MY management skills are lacking. And since they are lacking, there is often unnecessary discord and stress afoot. The housework, the cooking , the chauffeuring...it all gets to be too much! (I SO wish they gave REAL classes on parenting. Sign me up!) Little did I know that this change in my attitude would also reveal for me a whole other way to have summer with the kids. It is a lot more like the kinds of summers we had when the boys were little. There is a flow and a rhythm but no structure whatsoever. A wise mother of 4 once told me not to overschedule my summers, but I always did, until this year. This year we are all chillin'...and enjoying. And you know what, she was right!

Yes, my house is a big 'ole mess, but I am not at all stressed by this (right now, at least!). I do think sometimes a little stress would be good to motivate me, but... :) I am trying to let the kids be kids this year. I want them to sleep in and play and get dirty and stay up late catching lightning bugs. And they are. In the end, I think they will look back at this summer as one of the "joys" of their childhood. We are all here, not fighting, not yelling (Ok, I m not PERFECT!), just playing. And living life together.

And as for me: I am trying to capture it all by blogging, journaling, snapping pictures and scrapbooking. Next week I will start a photo-editing class. (hooray!) This week, my husband presented me with a pen and tablet so I can work on the journals in my own handwriting, sketches, etc. How awesome! I am trying to keep him in clean socks and underwear to thank him, but beyond that...

I hope my children look back on today,

And see a Mother who had time to play!
Children grow up while you're not looking,
There'll be years ahead for cleaning and cooking,
So quiet now, cobwebs; dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
-author unknown