Christopher

Our Elf on the Shelf has returned from the North Pole for another season. As you may know, he sits high up on a ledge all day, flying back to the North Pole each evening to report on behavior. This year, I wasn't sure how things would fly given the skepticism from last year. But, to my delight, both girls were excited to welcome Christopher back. Mary wrote him this sweet letter:


And Lucy kept it sweet and simple.

Thankfulness

We have so much to be thankful for this year- which we scribed at our Thanksgiving feast in Bend thanks to these great print outs from Emily Jones Design Company.

First, we are thankful for our house, and that our project is just weeks away from completion!

Second, we are thankful that our sweet Ryan got to meet Uncle Ryan!

Third, we are thankful for time together. The siblings (minus Em and Ben) escaped to the pub one night for a hilariously great evening. It was an incredible weekend of togetherness in Bend, with Bahrmans who are always the most gracious hosts.

Procraftination

I have slowly started doing a few consulting projects for my client again, which is helpful for our remodel hemorrhage...I mean, budget. But, I have to admit, the idea of getting new children's rooms ready makes me want to spend time crafting instead of working. A new version of procrastination... let's call it procraftination.

Last night's project was this fun one-- a canvas to hang in Ryan's room. I started by painting a canvas blue and then putting adhesive lettering on it.

Then, I applied a crackle medium, to give the painting a little texture.

When I applied cream paint over the top, the crackle did its magic.

Then, I peeled off the adhesive letters, and viola, this is the final product.

Sleep & Smiles

Ryan is 8 weeks old today, which means it's been nearly two months since I've had more than 3 hours of consecutive sleep.

But, this is the greeting I receive after each snooze. As you can imagine, the sleep deprivation is instantly forgiven. Ah...my sweet boy!

You're so Vain...

I bet you think this post is about you. And, if you happen to be our spanking new vanity, you are right! The custom-built (Curtis-designed) vanity has finally been installed in the kids' new bathroom. Now, to pick handles for those drawers...

(And many apologies if Carly Simon's voice is now stuck in your head like it is in mine.)

Six Weeks

Evil Empire

When I worked at Adobe, employees often referred to Microsoft as the Evil Empire. Now that I have children, I'm learning of another Evil Empire: the American Girl company.

Yes, they have beautiful dolls which have surprised me with their quality. And, they come with well-written historical books that knocked my socks off. But good God, does everything need to cost as much as a rare jewel? The catalog (which Mary "rescued" from the recycling) arrived last week, and to my dismay, the girls pored over every item in it for hours. Then, they circled the items they wanted. Consumerism has a young start these days.

Mary showed me a little armoire and said, "I'm asking for this for Christmas." I tried not to choke on my coffee as I saw the price tag: $349. I said, "Oh, sweetie, that's very nice but it's much more money than is appropriate for a Christmas present. It's $350!" To which she replied, "Oh, I know. That's why I'm asking Santa!"

Me: "Well, Santa has to buy toys for the whole world, Mary. He can't spend that much on just one gift."

Mary: "Mom, are you forgetting about the elves? They will make it, and then it won't cost anything at all! See, Mom, I have it all figured out!"

And off she went to write her letter to Santa and his elves, so they could get an early start. Gulp... see what I mean? Evil Empire, I tell ya.