lunch break

...dear horizon milk

...I have a new mascot for you. Forget the cow. Forget the whole "organic" language. Use Charlie:

(And for what it's worth, the kid mastered drinking from a straw in .5 seconds. Genius. Don't worry, I'll be sure he includes that on his college applications).

...showing his true colors

...someone told me the other day that Charlie's haircut was very "Republican."

So today, we went to a horse race and he decided to show his true colors, donning a sticker for Maryland's Republican Governor candidate, Bob Ehlrich. He was so darn cute, he might have converted a few democrats. Or maybe not.

 

He totally had these goats and alpacas convinced that Bob is the right choice for Maryland.

...this, that, and everything else

...Charlie had his first day of class last week. And we have a little klepto on our hands. We got to the car after class and Charlie revealed to me a truck, stolen right from the classroom:

(He only looks sweet and innocent).

...He also has his first black eye. With five adults standing within three feet of him, he fell and sliced his eyelid with his finger. 

 

...I am excited, to a level that's inappropriate, about the start of a new TV season this week.

...We went to Williamsburg last weekend to participate in some reenactments for our next door neighbor's wedding. The weather was gorgeous. The resort was gorgeous. The spa was gorgeous. My toes are gorgeous. The bride was gorgeous. Six adults without their children? Um, not so gorgeous. Lets just say there are LOTS of inside jokes to be had amongst neighbors for say, the next hundred years.

...I got a text today from Charlie's babysitter that he was wearing an "interesting outfit that he didn't approve of." It's always fun to come home and see what he's dressed up as:

 

Do you see his fat feet? They are gigantic. He's in a size 7 and rounding the corner to a 7.5.

...Studio Calico makes me very, very happy. Here are a few sneaks for the October kit. The first page? Entirely inspired by Jen John's new tat.

 

 


...And that's that.

...starting from scratch

...My hard drive died a sudden and swift death last week.

...There's something refreshing about starting from scratch. (Everything was backed up, but needs to be reloaded).

...It's like a new computer. No bookmarks. No photos. No history. Whatever I want it to be. Combine that with a relaxing weekend away with friends, a light at the end of the tunnel at work, and the fact that I completed a scrapbook page in five minutes flat tonight, it kind of feels like I've drawn a line in the sand and am starting over from there.

--

The end of the philosophical talk. Back tomorrow with more fun.

xo

...little boy, lately

Thank you for all your thoughtful comments on my last post. Thanks for sticking with me.

...had his fifth ear infection. Heading to the ENT on Thursday and possibly the same fate as his momma...tubes and awesome bathing caps next summer.

...is sweet. And thoughtful. 

..has a new favorite song (stick with him, he builds up to a really grand finale)...And don't mind the crazy woman in the background. She forgot to take her medicine:

...loves grilled cheese, grapes, peaches, and recognizes the otterbein bag when we walk by them in the grocery store.

...his new nickname is "Big Foot." The boy is wearing size 7 wides. He wore his new kicks today and it was like, "Little Boy, Big Feet."

...gestures (and sometimes waves) at charmer's picture when asked where she is. But, to my breaking heart, is afraid of dogs. He likes (no, loves) them from a distance, but when they get up close, and want to lick him, hmm, not so much. To Ken's breaking heart, he looooves cats.

...we're thinking he might be a firefighter judging by his love of all things hose:

...loves his toys, but loves momma's headphones, camera charger, and stamp pads way more.

...had more fun at the Apple store pushing around his stroller than looking at the big computers.

...loves being outside. Nothing like sitting in the sprinkler:

...in the end

...some of of my most favorite scrapbook pages I ever made will be the ones I made as a Garden Girl for 2peas.

Today, I resigned as a "GG," as we are known.

Being a GG wasn't always easy. It was easy to be passionate about the site if you were passionate about the hobby. But there are mean people in the world who feel that everyone needs critiquing, even scrapbookers. Newsflash: I knew my style was too simple. I knew my photos were too small and my butt too big/hair too short/dog too fluffy. I didn't need anyone else telling me.

If I learned anything from being a GG, it's that community is everywhere, if you want it to be. And I wouldn't replace the times that the GG community surrounded me for anything. I wouldn't replace the friendships it gave me for anything.

I just don't have time right now to be a GG. It's mainly because I know there's a member of the site who can do a better job, participate more, and inspire more than I'm able to do right now. I'm sad, but excited to still participate in Studio Calico and maybe, when life slows down in say 2025, I'll start submitting to magazines again (are there still scrapbooking magazines?)

So I leave you with a few of my favorite pages from my time as a GG. It was hard to pick just a few.

   

...things I miss most

...I have been working on a huge project for about nine months. It was very similar to a pregnancy. It seemed small at first and then grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger and all of a sudden I couldn't see my toes. You see, this morning I gave birth to a new website.

It was a similar birth experience to Charlie except the labor lasted for about two months, there was no epidural, no ice chips, and instead of having one baby, woops, surprise, it's quintuplets! Oh and even after you give birth you still have contractions! And still no epidural!

I work every day and every night. It's not better now that the site has launched because there's things that don't work and people who aren't happy. I miss my life.

I miss folding laundry.

I miss television.

I miss not stress eating.

I miss walks and books.

I miss being in bed at 10.

I miss not racing through my blog reader just to get through it. Who does this?

I miss internet shopping. I completely missed the 30% off sale at Gap. Grr. Pretty sure Ken doesn't miss my internet shopping though.

If only the website was as cute as a newborn, it might be worth it.