Postcards from Playtime

Norah has been obsessed with "Sleeping Beauty" ever since Disney released it last month. I bought it for fear that it would go back into the "Disney Vault" never to be seen again before she was too old to enjoy it (yeah, I've totally fallen prey to Disney's sneaky marketing "vault" scheme, but that's another rant for another time) At any rate, I thought it was way too scary for her to watch now and planned to put it away for when she was older, but after several days of persistent begging coupled with my failure to communicate my "plan" to postpone her first screening, Jason caved and let her watch it with him. She has done great with handling it (I've always thought of Malificent as the scariest of all Disney villains), but now talks about it non-stop.

Her favorite part of the movie is when the faries, Flora and Merriweather, have the "Pink!" "No--Blue!" wand duel over what color Aurora's dress should be. It cracked me up when I caught Norah reenacting her favorite scene with my knitting needle...errr...I mean her "wand" held high! (Please note the pink shirt and blue tutu...mere coincidence? I think not!)

This morning, Norah brought me Charli and asked for me to please "wrap her up nice and snug". She then abandoned the newly swaddled babe and emerged a short while later from her room with a pink blanket and the request for me to "Now, wrap me a baby". She then proceeded to cuddle up beside Charli and pose for photos.

From the Mouthes of Babes...

Last week, we checked out "Olivia Forms a Band" from the library. At one point in the story, Olivia puts on some red lipstick. When her mother finds her, she orders Olivia to "Wipe that glop off your face, right now!" The following Monday morning as I was getting ready to go grocery shopping with the kids, we had the following conversation:
N: Mommy, where's your glop?
A: I don't have any glop, Norah. (I prefer lip gloss, to lip stick, and she knows the difference)
N: Oh, Mommy, that's too bad. Maybe you can buy some glop at the grocery store.

Then, tonight, Jason took her to her room to get her ready for bed...
J: Norah, it's time to get ready for bed.
N: Ok, but can I have a surprise?
J: Sure. SURPRISE! It's time to get ready for bed.
N: No, Daddy, I want a GOOD surprise.

She still didn't get one, but at least we had a good laugh!

As for the picture...it really doesn't have anything to do with either story, but since a couple of you have admitted you don't read posts without pictures, I threw it in for good measure. It's proof that the second child has it way easier than the first. Norah didn't get a taste of anything sweet until her first birthday. It's pretty hard to deprive the second child when the older sibling is eating Bluebell (or anything else) RIGHT under his nose. He doesn't look at all smug, does he?

A Season for Purpose

Something (or Someone) has been constantly tugging at my heart to read "The Purpose Driven Life". Our church read through this New York Times best selling devotional together several years ago, but I didn't get on the band wagon in the beginning, and never even attempted to catch up. However, this time, my heart has been pricked, and I am answering the call.

"The Purpose Driven Life" is a 40-day Biblical study that centers around why we exist. The book's tag-line is, "What on earth am I here for?" I feel like it is completely appropriate to begin this study now, just a little over 40 days (44 to be exact) before Christmas. To have something to deliberately keep myself focused during a season when it is SO easy to forget everything not associated with turkey, tinsel, and finding the perfect gift for everyone .

As I've mentioned on numerous occasions, the holiday season is my favorite time of year. I am one of those who prefers to start listening to my Christmas music the day after Halloween, and even on through New Year's. I am, at this exact moment, fighting a strong urge to abandon this blog post to commence with trimming the tree. And I do not think that there is anything wrong with that.

Believe me, I don't skip over Thanksgiving-- the two holidays are sort of intertwined in my mind. I can't help but be thankful all the way through the holiday season (and really all year long) for the countless ways that we've been blessed. However, I do think it is a good idea to commit myself to refocus now, before the insane, calendar-filled weeks of Holiday Season 2008 strike, leaving me want for any time of personal study and growth.

I invite you to get a copy of this book (either from your local library, book store, or the shelf in your house where it's been gathering dust since the last time you read it) and join me in reading. As I stated before, Christmas is 44 days from today, so if you start reading now, you will have finished this study by Christmas. Consider it your gift to yourself this holiday season.

From the book's introduction:
"The Bible is clear that God considers 40 days a spiritually significant time period. Whenever God wanted to prepare someone for his purpose, he took 40 days:
Noah's life was transformed by 40 days of rain.
Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai.
David was transformed by Goliath's 40-day challenge.
Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from a single meal.
The entire city of Ninevah was transformed when God gave the people 40 days to change.
Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness.
The disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus after his resurrection."

Aren't you at least a little curious what He can do if you give him 40 days in your life?


PS--If you are of the type who makes it a habit of judging books by their covers, don't assume that because the book is over an inch thick that it will be long and boring. It is divided into SHORT daily readings that are very do-able, even for a mom with small children.

As a bonus, if one of your New Year's resolutions is to read or study your Bible daily, you will have already laid the foundation of starting that habit on into 2009. Whether you simply read it and ponder what thoughts it provokes, or spend extra time journaling and committing its many scripture references to memory, I know that you'll be blessed.

Blog Fluff and Sewing Stuff

I'll be the first to admit that when I'm productive elsewhere, my blogging suffers. Hence, the no blog updates in over a week. Sorry 'bout that.

As penance, or maybe just because I like to brag on myself, here's a little glimpse of what I've been working on.

The sock monkey was a shower gift for a good friend who's expecting a baby boy in a few more weeks. She had mentioned that her nursery colors were "chambray blue and chocolate brown", and I just happened to have the perfect socks!

I think these little sock monkeys might be one of my all-time favorite sewing projects. I have about seven more monkeys in different stages of production, each with personality all its own. I tend to find myself giving them names (I prefer to think of this as "child-like", as opposed to "childish", thank you very much). I may even decide to list them that way (by name) if they make it into my etsy shop. They (along with the rest of my inventory stash) are going to make a brief stop at a "Day After Thanksgiving Craft Bazaar" in Austin, after which I plan to list any of the left overs on Etsy.

Grocery List Cozy for a friend's birthday...

















Another grocery cozy for another friend's birthday...

















And another grocery list cozy for...well, me. And, it's my favorite so far! (I know, I'm a terrible person for keeping the best for myself, but I simply can't bear to part with it) I LOVE vintage fabrics and reproductions, and had randomly won a "Recess" charm pack by Moda from Sew, Mama, Sew a few weeks back. I was floored when the pack arrived in the mail, and quickly used it (along with a couple other fabrics from my personal stash) to whip up this little number, and my grocery list hasn't been cold since.

The red interior fabric (with the kids skipping rope) is one of my all-time favorites. I used it in a quilt a few years ago and had been saving my precious, few scraps for "something special". I figured, what could be better than something that would brighten up a "mundane" task?! And, so far, I think it was a good call, because I smile every time I see it!