Walk with me ...

I've started walking. With the occasional 100 yards of a jog thrown in there for good measure. Trying to be healthy & lose some lb's. I hate working out. But I love being outside in good weather. And looking at beautiful things. I walk with my iPhone so I can be reached, for a time check & Pandora. But this time I decided to snap some of my favorite things. Also known as "a walking tour of my ADD thoughts."

We've had gorgeous weather here. Don't be fooled by my 'weather location'. I live in Missouri, not in Kansas, but on my walk I make a big circle that crosses the state line, then loops back again.

Good walking music. Keeps good pace. I tried to take a pic of the "Coldplay / Viva la Vida" song. But I missed it. That's an even better walking song. It calls for some long, fast strides. But if I have to give a "thumbs down" to J.Lo's "On the Floor" one more time ... seriously. Any song that has "back it up like a Tonka truck" in it is annoying. Thankfully, I think that's the only song with those lyrics, but one is too many.

 Fall is certainly arriving in Kansas City. I heart the RED on the leaves.

 One of my favorite houses. So symmetrical. Love the diamond windows & the brick. Simple.

 Hard to see ... but there are 2 tree swings hanging down just to the right of the trunk. Love tree swings.

Love this house. My favorite on the walk. The back yard is on a golf course.

 Kansas City is the city of fountains. We have the 2nd most fountains in the world. 2nd to Rome. 

 Even harder to see than the last one, but this gorgeous tree has 2 tree swings hanging on the left. 1 regular swing & 1 baby swing. Even if you can't see the swings ... how gorgeous are all the flowers at the base of that beautiful tree?

 I love being treated to a yard sale while on a walk. This one was "ehh". Definitely more like what one of our Goodwill piles looks like, than an all out sale. :) Unless you want to add to your seasonal & holiday windsock collection. In which case - stop by. They had about 20 different kinds.

Love the huge gas lanterns on the stone pillars.

Stepping over this, I always think of the root saying "I was here first!" while elbowing its way out. He is winning ... as he should. :)

I've seen a bunch of these flowers ... so pretty. The way the pink dries out & turns to orange & brown, such a pretty autumn look. 

Whenever I see this sign, I always think it would make such a funny announcement if you were expecting. But I can assure you, it won't be us. :)

Then I walk past this park. And get a little sad. I now have 3 kids in school 5 days a week. This is how we used to spend our days. Park hopping. I see mommies & toddlers on their play dates & get a little emotional that those days are behind us. I wonder if those moms know to enjoy it while they can. Those days go by too fast. But then I think of the people who walk past this same park & see the mommies & get sad for a different reason ... they haven't had a chance to be that yet. And I say a little prayer for the people I know who are going through that. 

Where Libby went to "Parents Day Out". :) The church bells sound at 12 noon. Gotta love that.

Another fountain. 

Where I live, almost every neighborhood or block has these little statuaries. Love them.

More statuaries.

A little detail on an urn at another block's entrance.

 Good ol' KC, MO. :) See the logo? City of fountains. :)

After lusting over bits & pieces of other houses & landscaping, I come home. Nothing special, but pretty roses that are still kicking after I transplanted them 3 times. :)

American Flag that flies 365 days of the year. 

 Definitely room for improvement, but plenty to love. We are here to stay. 

Happy weekend. :)

Keeping Busy ...

 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Okay, first of all. How darling are these chalkboards? I adore the colors, her sayings & her lettering! They are by Mary Kate McDevitt and are found here in her Etsy Shop. I wish i had enough wall space for 1 or all 5. I am a serious list-maker. If I bring my "A" game to each day ... each day gets a new list.

The notepads I'm using are as far from cute as you can GET. They are from when my Father-in-Law cleaned out his old basement office. He had personalized notepads from when he worked for this company - oh like 30 years ago. I just looked them up to see if they were still in business. They are - same logo that's on my notepads. :) I think we got over 100 notepads passed onto us. As ugly & old as they are, I was excited. "YAY! 'Cause I'm a LIST PERSON!" This was almost 2 years ago. We still have [a TON of] them. We have so many, they have become a joke in this house. In fact, when Kyle went to Afghanistan, I tucked one away in his luggage - with a note on the top sheet, of course. :) I told him I hoped it made his place feel more like home having one of those notepads.

Yesterday I had 2 lists going ... "In School", "After school". That was things I was supposed to get done while the kids were in school & the things they/I/we were going to do when they got out. I need the lists to help keep me focused. I need to get better at using the mere 24 hours a day we are all given more wisely. I would love it if, as in the Charles Dickens' Christmas Carol, I had a little ghost come & walk me through my day pointing out ways I'm wasting time, energy & my breath. My list seems so manageable when I'm making it [okay, reupholstering the chair was a bit lofty]. Then at the end of the day, the only 3 things I got done are what should have only taken me a combined hour. And I can't even tell you what 2 of the 3 were yesterday because they are so insignificant they should have never even been written down. They were definitely the freebies of the list. ;)

Long story short, these days are busy. There will always be 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week. News flash: THIS WILL CHANGE, like NEVER. I know that should be a given. But based on how I spend my days? I still don't think I buy into it. And now I have 14 hours left today ... to use up on my yesterday's to-do's. Luckily, I am excused from 2 of them because it is raining. :)

Happy Friday! 14 hours left to enjoy this fabulous day. Spend them wisely. :)

Under the Umbrella ...

Brett is funny. In so many ways. He's funny in ways that just leave you with a huge question mark in your thought bubble because you have no idea where he's coming from with an idea. It keeps things interesting. :) For instance, he Lah-Ha-Hoves umbrellas. Always has [as seen here in the bottom of a post from 2 years ago]. We? Don't get it. But that's okay. Who are we to question what's awesome & what's not?

A little over a month ago he drew the [above] umbrella. Before we knew it, he had cut it out and taped it to our door. After I got over the fact that he had gotten his hands on both the scissors and tape that I usually try I keep out of reach from little hands ... I told him how pretty it was. Brett was so proud of it, he showed all of us. And you have to know Brett. He doesn't just show you, he makes a production of it. He usually stands back with his hands on his hips with a smile so proud, yet bashful that you feel inclined to play along with the huge WOW factor, that quite possibly is there just for him. Sometimes he even adds a "Well, well, well... WHAT. do we HAVE here...."

His dad couldn't resist. He just came out & said what we have all been thinking. "Brett... why do you like umbrellas so much?" Instead of really telling us what the fascination is all about, Brett went on to tell us how they are useful, for instance that they protect you from the rain. Kyle, seeing a window of opportunity here, cut him off from his spiel & said "Brett. If you want ... I will buy you an umbrella. If you have 10 perfect days at school, I will buy you whatever umbrella you want.  You have to have 10 good days. I don't want to see "grumpy" or "sassy" or read that you stomped out of the classroom." Brett's face lit up like the 4th of July & said "You MEAN IT?" A big hug followed. So we made a chart. And day after day, we got reports of "Good; Great; Wow; Awesome; So proud!" I didn't tell his teacher until we were a few days into these good days because I didn't want to sway her in anyway ... I wanted the change to be real & noticeable.

He was so excited, he continued to have good days, every day. Even at recess during a kickball game when he reportedly kicked a pop fly & someone caught the ball, making it the 3rd out for his team. I think he had the umbrella on his mind when he slowly turned to look at his teacher & threw his arms up and ... just ... said .... "Ohhhh man!" [a line we've been feeding him for years for when he gets frustrated]. It was awesome.

10 stars later, we were ready to take Brett umbrella shopping. He had all sorts of ideas for what kind he wanted, but in the end ... it was slim pickin's at the store. But he was so excited to buy, he didn't want to go to another store to see what they had. In the ladies' section, it was leopard, zebra print, floral & this solid lime green one. In the men's section, they were all black. So we got the lime green one & he was happy. He was on cloud 9. All for an umbrella that was $7.99 + tax.

Now, this story wouldn't be complete if I didn't tell you what happened in the 5 minutes while we were taking the above pictures of him with his umbrella. Completely unrelated to the umbrella, but yet it falls under the umbrella of Autism. No true segue here at all. I'm just going to throw you into the situations as quickly as I was thrown into them. It's part of the fun.

Brett loves people. He loves to smile, say hi & hug. I'm usually hoping it just ends there. It normally doesn't. We can sometimes unknowingly find ourselves knee deep into an uncomfortable situation. Within about 5 minutes of each other we found ourselves in about 3.  He was on a roll. He pointed at a lady in a red Rascal & thought it was awesome :\ ... He's seen the infomercial & does think they are awesome. A Hispanic family walked by speaking Spanish. He spoke it back to them. And by "it" I mean a made up jargon that was his impression of the Spanish language :\ ... And when 3 Asian girls in their late teens walked by, he JUMPED at the chance to show off his Chinese he has learned from the cartoon Ni Hao, Kai Lan & gave them a friendly "Ni Hao" :\ ...  I decided to wrap up our umbrella photo shoot outside the T.J. Maxx ... 3 potential insults was our Maxx.

From there we went to the grocery store where in the parking lot he saw a lady maybe in her 60's. She did have gray here. He yelled & waved "hi". Surprised by Mr. Friendly, she happily said "hi" back. Then he said to me, "Mom, look! He's a grandma!" Double whammy. Wrong pronoun [every time] & then there's the age thing :\ ... so much for making her day. We're going on 4-5 years of this 'insult' in particular. I've probably told him 100 times, just because they have gray hair, it doesn't mean they're a grandma or grandpa. And some aren't comfortable with the term either way. :\

So, as we conclude this year's Autism Awareness Month, I think part of Autism Awareness is making you aware that not all insults are created equal. Some are born from a very sweet, innocent & friendly place. If only I had a chance to explain that to everyone we encountered. Perhaps I need to start carrying around pocket sized leaflets. They would read: "Sorry 'bout that. Rest assured, we will talk about ___________ and this situation just as soon as we walk away. Work in progress here. We'll learn about you, if you learn about us. Go to www.autismNOW.org. :)  Thanks & have a wonderful day!"  I will have to look into having some of those made. In the mean time, we'll be getting a lot of use out of that umbrella...


Did he say just say that? *unsnapping the closure strap ... hitting button ... vwoomp ... doo-dee-doo ... you don't see us under this big green umbrella ... keep walkin'.*

P.S. Tomorrow is the last day of the month, also the last day of my fundraiser & handmade with purpose! :) Thank you for all your support!

Never mind ...

[photo credit: Libby]

What you do not see here is a huge gripe session ... Because I have deleted it. Because it was random. Because everyone is busy. And doesn't have enough hours in the day. And has sick kids. And has a messy house.

Not just me. :)

So instead, I will leave you with these fascinating close-ups Libby left me with on my camera.


You're welcome!!!!!!  :)

P.S. If you want to use these photos on your blog, please ask before doing so. ;) [hee hee - just a little blog photo humor]

DIY PBJs

[Blizzard out the window]

[Lots of licks goin' on.]

[Brett cutting his in 1/2]

[Davis cutting out his penguin]

[You can't see it, but I pulled off a dog hair from in between his sandwich

right after this photo was taken]

[Libby trying to cut around her polar bear]

This is our 4th snow day in 3 weeks & 1 day. So we interrupt the boredom & what seems like endless Wii-fighting to bring you ... a fun activity that I get to do approximately 21* times a week! [* = okay, Kyle helps out with this when he's home]

Here were my reasons:
1) Snow day activity.
2) They'll think I'm the coolest mom ever.
3) Looks like I have the next 2 snow days to clean up the kitchen [at the rate this snow is going].
4) Give myself a break from the 21 PBJs / week.
5) Maybe there would be some appreciation gained, for me not ripping the bread & making them look tasty [not gross].

Davis & Libby decided on their own that they wanted their sandwich in a shape. So they went & picked out one of my cookie cutters I occasionally use on sandwiches [mental note: Surprise them more often with shape sandwiches.  Apparently, they love it even more than you thought].  The peanut butter got taken away from each child as they put their spreader in their mouth.  And the jelly got taken away from Brett after he put the top of the entire bottle in his mouth.

Brett did freak out a tad when while cutting the bread in 1/2, it was starting to crumble. But the best was Libby saying "This is fun, right Davis?"  And Davis saying,

[wait for it]

"No, this is hard. My arm is tired."

Yes, I think my kids have a full appreciation now for the pretty little triangles [or shapes] that show up in their lunch box or on their plate each day.  And you can tell I've made many in my lifetime.  I don't think I've EVER complained that my arm hurt while making a PBJ.  That must be a newbie thing.

7 things ...

A little blogging fun for this Monday was just what I needed.  :)  Dana [plum tree studio] tagged me as a "Versatile Blogger", so here goes.

1) thank and talk about whoever gave you the award

2) share 7 facts about yourself

3) give the award to 7 other bloggers who rock!

Who is Dana?  That's a tough one to answer without it being its own blog post, which I will have to do!  But in a nutshell ... she is a dear, dear friend who I have never met in person.  She is my Etsy trail-blazer & matriarch of creative blogging.  We've been friends for 2 years now - but I was a silent blog reader of hers for about 9 months before that!  We did, however, talk on the phone last week for the first time!!!!  :)  It was our solution for a much needed catch-up session ... when we knew it was too much for an e-mail!

So my 7 things ... [Note: I have sat here for like 15 minutes thinking of something to say.  So sorry if these are RANDOM.  They indeed are. Starting with #1. Wow it's so random.]

1. I sort of have landfill phobia.  The landfills freak me out.  Not being at one.  But having stuff go there & the idea of having mounds of stuff covered up by dirt & grass acting like it's "pretty".  So as a result, I try & reuse as much as possible, give away, recycle, compost.  Even if it means extra trips places .... like the paper bins at the kids' school.  And the glass bins around town.  [Interesting links .... I know]

2. I also don't like throwing money away.  So, yes.  I am not only a Box Tops cutter, but a year ago I finally was clued in on the whole Coke Rewards thing, too.  Last year I probably turned in $50 worth of Box Tops to our school [my mom & sister Becky give me theirs, too!] & because of my Coke Rewards I got a free year subscription to Better Homes & Gardens.  My mom & sister Leah also got me hooked on SwagBucks & I have enjoyed $30 worth of gift cards to Amazon in the last year.  [If you don't know about all that stuff ... now you know!]  :)

3. I invented the tight-roll.  I don't exactly have proof of that, but I swear I did.

4. After graduating with my degree in Communications, I landed an internship with Fleishman-Hillard [an international Public Relations firm] in St.Louis where I was the UPS intern.  Every morning I had to be downtown at 7:00 AM searching the internet & newswires for any & ALL stories on the United Parcel Service & all of its competitors ... then I compiled them all into a "Daily News Summary" which was then sent to the appropriate head-honchos at UPS.  It was fun & exciting to be around all those creative people & important decisions in the operations of such big name companies.  Fleishman-Hillard was sort of where my fun, flashy corporate job got started & peaked.  :)

5. I have a story published in a "Chicken Soup" book. Years ago when we were in our 1st squadron, I learned they were looking for some stories for the upcoming "Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul".  I wrote a story & submitted it.  I had forgotten about it, until I got an e-mail confirming I was the author of my story & wanting me to okay the edits.  I got a check mailed to me for $200 & a free book.  I will never forget seeing the cover on the shelf at Target for the first time ... knowing I was on page 301.  The whole thing is a little cheesy ... but the inspiration behind my story [a simple pep talk from my grandma] still has stuck with me.

6.  I am a total wannabe home stager.  If I were to get a [real] job ... that's what it would be.  I love problem solving with design & decorating.  Love it.

7.  A huge pet peeve of mine are lights left on when no one is in that room [I get that from my dad] or lights that are turned on during daylight when they are unnecessary and have no lighting impact whatsoever.  Apparently I'm the only one in this house who has a lighting pet peeve ... they keep me busy going from room to room.  :)

So there you have it.  7 quirks & randomness.  I now have to pass it on.  I don't think I can come up with 7.  But I will name Lindsay, my sisters Leah & Becky, and my mom.  Have at it, ladies.  :)  Happy Monday!

I'm in ...

[found here]

This photograph is hilarious.  This is where I am.  Stuck in Limbo.  :)  It's how I have felt all week long ... I even started [but never finished] a blog post 2 days ago with a title of "Blah :P" if that tells you anything.  Doing searches for Etsy items with "funk", "blah" & "limbo" [to go with my blog posts] are also signs that I'm in over my head with stuff.  :) Don't you think?

Things are just crazy.  Including the place where the kids are driving me.  I have some boys that can't keep their hands off each other & a girl who can be a real sassy lassie.  Our basement which is where my "studio" is & where the kids play their computer games, Wii, etc. ... is getting torn up.  We've just had a sump pump put in.  The basement will soon be under construction.  The thought of relocating everything for a few months is bittersweet.  The design details might drive me crazy [I know what's in my head doesn't match what's in Kyle's].  And pushing fast forward doesn't help because ... I know at the end of construction brings the beginning of something that is extra blah :P - a little deployment.  It's a little one, don't worry [1/3 of what we've had before].   But since we haven't had one since Davis & Libby came into the world ... it's going to rock our world.

So.  Since Limbo looks like no fun at all, I'm going to do what I can to get us out of here.  I put the shop on "vacation mode" just so that it's one less thing to think about.  :)

Hmm... I'll have to check the map.  It appears I've left Limbo & crossed over to Pity-Partyville.  Huh.  :)  And I think I liked the looks of Limbo much better.  Who knew? At least I could see there were some beautiful mountain top views ahead when I was in Limbo.  :)

The big picture ...

I've been kicking around this idea since the last time I painted a nest.  As I painted the previous nests with overlapping perfectly blended browns ... I thought "they are all not this pretty".  When you look closely at a nest you usually will see little random bits of things that surprise you ... string, trash, etc.  But when you look at the big picture, all you see is a mother who did the best with what she had with what little time she had to work with.  And on a wing & a prayer, it was enough.

I am not the perfect homemaker.  That is not my claim to fame.  We have piles of magazines, junk mail, papers & kiddie drawings that I'm waiting to get to before I decide "keep, recycle, trash".  I can't keep up no matter how hard I try.  We have toys everywhere ... even after passing on things to little cousins, yard sales & Goodwill.  Our house is small ... we've almost been here 3 years & we're still trying to find the perfect use for every square inch of space.

Our dining room is sometimes where I photograph my artwork because of all the natural light.  As I was photographing my latest canvases ... I looked at the "big picture" & thought "Wow.  Here's the real deal. All this stuff ... I'm trying to block out of my photograph & act like it's not here."  So I took a picture of that.  Because it's my imperfect nest.

The little birdies in the eggs are unaware of the imperfect surroundings.  They just know their needs are met. They are safe, loved & given a soft place to land.  I hope my little birdies always know that feeling. And as for me, I'd rather have a puzzle drawer in my dining room left open, than not have one at all.  It means our nest is full & I love it that way.  I love every random bit of my imperfect nest when I look at the big picture.