31 July 2010

boys of summer, part one: the little guy


about a month ago
we were driving down the road
to & fro
going where ever we were going
& Q said
'do you know what i would like?
i would like to have a day
with just you & me
& we go & do things that we want to do
with just you & me
& no miss m!'
(he said her actual name, of course :)

& so every few days he would say
'when are we going to have OUR day?'
& i would say
'we need to plan it, don't we?'
& i felt so bad
we have just been doing
fun summer thing after fun summer thing
(i didn't feel bad about that :)
& he just kept asking...
i mean what mom of more than one kiddo
doesn't want to hang out with just one kiddo
for a whole day?
especially when they want to, too!

& so
friday we got to have our day!

he got to choose everything we did
the only boundaries were price
(i had to pre-approve)
& distance
(i nixed legoland
especially since we are heading there soon for real :)



first he had his last swimming lesson...
then Q wanted to go to a movie
& so we headed to a movie
but first lunch:

me: what would you like for lunch?
you can get anything you want.
Q: bacon.
me: like on a sandwich?
Q: no, just bacon.
me: anything else?
Q: turkey.
me: like on a sandwich?
Q: just turkey. well, i guess it could be on a sandwich...

ha ha!
so we got turkey sandwiches
with a side of bacon...
don't you just love him?

we also got candy for the movie
('mom. can i get THIS, too?'
'yes!'
'wow, i thought you would say no...'
:)

we went & saw
'how to train your dragon'
he had already seen it but
after i read him the list of what was playing
that's what he wanted to see
so we did...
i hadn't seen it
& i loved it!
what a wonderful movie...
& during the scary parts
Q reassured me
that everything would be fine...
too sweet.


after the movie we hit the photo booth
(surprise! surprise!)
2 actually
the black & white one was
crazy close-up...

he had mentioned dinosaur bones earlier
& so i suggested the natural history museum
& there we went...
sadly it was closed for remodeling
(but we got a ticket for free entrance when it reopens...cool!)


it was 3ish & Q was starting to fade
so i mentioned that we might
sit on the grass & rest...


he suggested that i sit on the grass
by the truck (that we had driven)
& read my book
while he climbed in the back of the truck
& built a little living room
with brian's stash of wood...


he totally re-energizes by (semi) alone time
to make stuff...
hmmm
why does that sound familiar?

then it was time to head home
but not before some ice cream...
had to end on sugar :)


this kid just kills me
he is so sweet
& such a rough & tumble guy...
when he talks he has something to say
& i'm really happy that i got to hear him
(just him) today...
i am so glad he is my boy
:)

27 July 2010

summer 2010: jump in...




it's more than halfway over...

summer, that is...

(i don't know if that's technically correct

but i know teachers report back in 5 weeks

& that's when summer's over for me :)

is there anything you've been meaning to do?

anything that's just itching to be done this summer?

what are you waiting for?

jump in!

:)

24 July 2010

when i was young...

this girl was tiny...
running around our church
just like, being a little girl...
eventually her dad was my high school pastor
& look at her now!
she's making videos
& cds
& doing the ONE project
(like bono!)
(click here to see that video)

& this video is so super cool...
so pretty...
& so creative...
& the song is gooood...



i love the line
'the more you live
the more you see
that people hurt when
they don't know what they need'


thanks anna...
fun to see you growing up :)

anna gilbert on
myspace
facebook
cdbaby
itunes (just type in anna gibert...
i can't figure out how to link to it
without linking you to my itunes
& while it would be loads of fun
to treat you all to some of anna's music
we are planning a trip to legoland
& i'm not sure Q would understand...)

:)

22 July 2010

i totally heart my friends...

this weekend i got to go play
with some of my favorite girls...
(rachael got to hang out for a little bit :)

thanks to one of heather's connections
we were totally spoiled
& got to stay in a great place in sunriver
& were given a complimentary
float in double kayaks down the deschutes river...
we felt like rock stars :)
no small feat for busy moms...

thanks girlies!
i love you & your feathers :)

:)

ps
a special shout out to the dads
for hanging with the kiddos...
10 altogether!
(if you're keep track,
i have 2
so that leaves 8
divided by 2
yes!
angie & heather each have 4!
i know
you were told there would be no math...)

:)

19 July 2010

a sense of wonder: july 2010

*hearing*
the table saw
homemade knock-knock jokes
vbs songs in 4-year-old melody (& from 4-year-old memory)

*smell*




the heavenly combination
of
sunscreen
chlorine
& little kid sweat.
i always love to smell my elves heads
but the summer is my favorite...

*taste*













girls weekend
in sunriver...
enough said?


*sight*
watching: the bachelorette
embarrassed?
perhaps.
enough to stop watching?
not on your rose accepting life...

reading:
zach efron in instyle magazine:
"I'm big on knit sweaters right now.
Life After Denim has neat ones.
And I love vintage clothes-
things that have been on
an adventure prior to me owning them"

neat & adventure in one comment?!
from a 22 year old cutie?
come! on!


seeing:
those elves grow up
before my very eyes...

*touch/feel*
touching: the steering wheel
(i've been driving around a lot)














feeling: excited for barnhouse...
wanna come?
check it out!


***extra sense*****

saying: thank you
to everyone who commented
here,
on facebook
& to me in person
about my
cheap (ahem) inexpensive pretty shirts post!
i loved doing it
& i might just have to make it a monthly thing:
11 awesome necklaces under $9!
8 fun flip-flops under $5!
6 cute toothpicks under $2!
the possibilities are endless!
(your attention span might be less so
if i resort to toothpicks though...)

:)

ps
you know i couldn't not
google 'cute toothpicks'
& there were no less than 1,190,000 results
(seriously)
& what do think i found:
adorable on a stick from who else?


















(image from marthastewartweddings.com)

:)

15 July 2010

real, real simple...

okay
so
i get daily emails from real simple magazine
& i really enjoy them
but yesterday i got one titled
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $80'

& i just had to laugh...
i mean i love a list
but it might as well be
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $8000'
as far as my pretty shirt budget goes...
& so after voicing my 'concerns' on facebook
i decided to challenge myself to find
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $8'
yep $8.
& boy was it fun!
i love doing research like that
(doesn't everyone? :)

& so with no further words from me
i give you

10 Pretty Shirts Under $8




Surplice Halter Top
Newport News
$7.99


Polka Dot Tee
Forever 21
$7.99



HEM SLEEVE V-NECK TOP
Love Culture
$6.90


Walmart
$6.






Eyelet Lace Tank
JCPenney
$6.99


American Eagle
$6.95

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

& a little more
for
a little more...


Ruffled Cap Sleeve Top
Charlotte Russe
$14.00

American Eagle
$9.95


east5th Square-neck Corsage Blouse
(plus size)
JCPenney
$9.99

was that fun or what?

i was pretty impressed with what was out there
for not much money...
i hope you're finding some great deals
& pretty things...

:)

ps
the original article
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $80'
really does have some cute shirts in it...
super inspiring
for a little discount shopping shopping :)

drive in: part deux

(i'm pretty sure this was from the 50's...
we paid a little more than $1.50 :)


i had to do another post about the drive-in
it was just that fun :)

& the snack bar deserved a post all to itself....










(wow, she looks bored...
or pensive?
or trying to look bored & pensive?
hmmmm)



the drive-in was in newberg, oregon
it's the 99w drive-in...
here's a cool site where you can look up
a drive-in near you
they list drive-ins in lots of states
& seven countries, too...
pretty neat!

we went to see toy story 3
with the idea that we might stay for karate kid
if Q was up for it
& he totally was...
he watched the whole thing
(i even fell asleep for about 20 minutes in the middle)
& then slept all the way home
& until noon on saturday...
so funny...
miss m fell asleep 3 minutes into karate kid...
brian was bright eyed the whole time...

:)

also check this out:
doesn't that look so fun?
i will be out of town so i'm going to miss it this year
but i'm putting it on my calendar for next year...
here's their site with more info
their facebook page has pictures from last year...
oh!
it looks so great!
loving it...

so grab a friend
hop in the car
& head to the drive-in
(to watch or shop :)
you won't regret it...

:)

14 July 2010

found on friday: drive-in (& drive & drive & drive)







we headed to the drive-in at 7.
arrived at 9.
the second feature started at 12.
we got home at 4.

& the night altogether?
a perfect 1o.

:)

08 July 2010

just a small town girl...



i am loving 'glee'
& i just had to
make something
reflective of that love :)



if you're not sure what i'm talking about
take a listen:
(& a look :)
(i know glee is bumping into my tweets
but i don't know how to fix that
right now
& there are elves clamoring for cereal
so
i think they can just be cozy friends today...)



you can see this little artsie piece
& others that i have made
over here on my etsy site
(& while you're at it browse around...
there's a lot of great stuff
around 'the etsy' :)

05 July 2010

a grand old flag...


i hope you all had a good holiday weekend
(if you are 4th of july celebrator :)
i guess your celebration is still going on if you are
a government worker :)

we had a great one...
brian pr-ed in our city's annual 10k
we swam
we played with cousins & friends
we ate good food
the boys stayed up late to watch fireworks
(the girls went to bed :)
& i hope i will get to share photos with you soon...
(it all depends on how i decide to spend
10pm...asleep or online?
hmmmmmm)

as far as this little artist's flag goes...
about 10 minutes before we were
supposed to leave the house to cheer brian on
Q ran to the art closet
'i need tape!
i need a stick!'
& away he went...
he comes by this so naturally
because that's exactly how i work
10 minutes before a baby shower:
'i need a button to finish the present!
i need a flower to make a barrette for my hair!'

last minute art is sometimes the best art...
:)