My Favorite Project. EVER!

Every so often I get the urge to redecorate my home.  Often these urges concur with the removal of seasonal decorations.  There is almost nothing like the potential of a fresh, empty canvas of a living room.  So today I set out to create a piece of art for over my fireplace.  Armed with some inspiration, a basic knowledge of internet investigation and a lotta' luck, I happened upon the Flickr photostream of Leo Reynolds.  He has posted thousands of photos of typography and signage (and other interesting things) and he is kind enough to let us use them with a very few restrictions.  I spent hours going through everything finding just the right letters and numbers in just the right colors, downloading them in just the size I wanted (1024 x 1024 pixels), and stitching them together in Gimp.  Here's the great part -- you can order a 20 x 30 inch poster print online for between $10 and $20.  Mine was $9 plus tax at Costco, ready in 3 hours.  I can't wait to get a frame and put it up.  Thank you, Mr. Reynolds.  Thank you very much.

(Technically, this is a collage, but it does not negate the promise I made yesterday.  Because I said so.)

Doin' Something Right

You know your cooking skills have taken a sudden turn for the better when, twice in one week, your youngest, most finicky eater turns to you at dinner and says, "Mmmmm.  Mom, you've got to give me this recipe."

His response to my startled, albeit amused expression says it all.  "What?  I want to make it for my boo when I'm a dad." 

Parents of blond-haired, docile, slightly unsophisticated daughters, the line for a piece of this kid starts right here.

Christmas Was All a Blur!

OK, OK.  This will be the last collage for a while, I promise.  We've just taken so many pictures this week, I didn't know how else to show them.  On Christmas Eve we made sure to hang our "magic" Santa key on the door knob.  That's how he gets into our home, you see.  While we are lucky enough to have a chimney here in Arizona where chimneys are really unnecessary, ours is blocked by a big red couch so that we can put up our Christmas tree.  This has always worried our children.  How will Santa get in?!  The key seems to be doing the trick.  We also baked our Linzer Schnitten, wrote letters to Santa, and carefully laid out our stockings.  Try as I might, I just never get good Christmas morning pictures.  The kids are always in constant motion, as the blurry photos attest.  They're good, good memories anyway.  I can't tell you how many times over the past two days I have heard my kids say, "This is The.  Best.  Christmas.  EVER!!!!!"  I don't know what made the difference this year.  Don't tell the kids, but they actually got fewer gifts than in years past.  Cheesy as it may sound, I think the greatest gift we gave our kids this year was the gift of time and undivided attention.  And that made all the difference.  We hope you all enjoyed a blissful holiday, too.

On the Road Again

The sun has set on Day 3 and we had a blast at the Arizona Science Center. But first we had a quick "brunch" at Cinnabon because D had to use the free coupon that came in the Mall Cop dvd he opened Sunday.  (You didn't hear this from me, but the Caramel Pecanbon is pretty tasty.)  We rode the Light Rail again, which the kids are old pros at by now.  At the Science Center Sis and Ri rode the Sky Bike which is a bicycle that balances on a tightrope stretched across an open space between second floor balconies.  *Scary!*  D was too short so he got to climb the rock wall instead.  They all laid on a bed of nails and "battled" each other to see who could move a ball with their mind the best.  And I, for three days running, avoided being in front of the camera.  Sweet!  Aside from a panicked moment when D got stuck in the elevator all by himself, we have had a few of the best days I can ever remember spending as a family.  Unity and kindness and blessed peace. 

With this adventured-filled week behind us, tomorrow we bake.  And stare longingly at the beautiful packages that have found their way under our tree.  Preferably in our pajamas for as long as possible.  And not before 8:30 in the morning.  Please children.  Please.

Pinch me! I Must Be Dreaming.

Two days of family fun with no I Hate You's or Shut Up's?!  This must be one of the finest ideas I have ever conceived.  The Natural History Museum was lovely today.  Not too crowded, fun as ever.  It was rainy and cold so a late lunch at Thai Rama on the way home was just the thing we needed.  Sweet Sticky Rice and Coconut Ice Cream never gets old.  Only two more days . . .

Observe & Report

Day 1 of Operation:Occupy Children 'til Christmas was a huge success!  So fun, in fact, that we're going out again today.  To the Dinosaur Museum it is (unless we can swing by the library and get a Science Center pass -- fingers crossed!).  And, yeah, I just noticed that I spelled museUm wrong in that photo collage.  Blast!

Pass the Culture, Please.

Brent has taken this entire week off from work.  *It makes me giddy just typing those words.*  We spent all last week deep cleaning the house, finishing our shopping, and doing every possible "job" we could think of so that we could take the next five days and completely devote them to making family memories.  On the list of possibilities:  dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant, ice skating (thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Great's Christmas money!) and attending fun museums.  Our local library has these wonderful things called "Culture Passes" available for check out which allow four people to attend various museums around the valley for free. It's pretty competitive to get the good ones -- namely the zoo, the science center, and the dinosaur museum.  I was able to get one for the Children's Museum today. My kids are off-the-wall excited about riding the Light Rail  train downtown to the museum.  I'm sticking a batch of my Sweet & Spicy Chili in the crock pot before we head out so we can come home to a delicious, warm dinner.  Here's hoping it's as idyllic as I'm imagining it to be . . .

(And that we can get a pass to one of the really good museums Tuesday or Wednesday.  Wish us luck!)