Creative Mo-ments

Martins vs. Mr. Squirrel, Part 1

I will try to make this story as brief as possible, but they are quite a few funny details I cannot skip, so bear with me... Last summer, as we got settled into our cabin, the girls could hear something scurrying in their room..It was indeed a squirrel, but he was in the wall, NOT in their room! They freaked out, and we quickly assured them, he was harmless! We found a small hole on the outside of the house, that we knew was his front door, so we let him be. After all, we are in his territory, we have at least a dozen pine trees on our property! Forward to Summer 2010...We arrive last week to discover, Mr. Squirrel has made a small hole in the wall of our loft...okay, now he's messing with our territory! He had not entered the room, just made a nice project for our list of home repairs! grrr... We go outside to realize, Mr. Squirrel has now created a rather large hole as his front door!

So out comes our favorite repairman, Uncle Dale. The war is on. Dale patches up the inside drywall, and then climbs two stories and attaches a square of metal over the hole, and insists, that'll keep him out! Dale leaves, we sit back and relax...but nooo...Erica runs inside to get something, and comes out yelling, "I can hear him running around!!!" and we realize we have now trapped the squirrel inside! Dale had left the ladder to do some touch up painting, so Bill decides to climb up there to let him out~ meanwhile, Erica and I stand by to watch, and see Mr. Squirrel peeking his head out of a knothole in the wood, just a few feet from Bills ladder! So Bill unscrews the metal, and we wait...we suggest Bill goes inside and pound on the wall, while we stay at our lookout post for signs off our resident squirrel! Within a few minutes, he pokes his head out, looks around, and climbs on the roof. He stares, he glares. He lets me take numerous photos of him. He looks irritated, and off he goes... Bill climbs the ladder again (as I hold my breath) and closes the door for good!

Happy with our success, we sit back, and relax...but not Mr. Squirrel! Within an hour, he is back...he is watching Dale work, he is hanging on our fence, staring up at his front door. At one point, he scales the side of the house and peeks in the kitchen window! He hangs from the screen in our kitchen and just stares. We are being stalked by him! LOL! We laugh and talk about how long it will take him to find another way in....And sure enough, the next morning, Bill finds a pile of sawdust along the eave of our roof...and he is back! Last night, Erica went to bed saying, "I hear him Mommy, is he going to bed too?" I said "Yes, he is going to bed too, so just go to sleep!" 

Current score: Martins 1, Mr. Squirrel 2

Miss you Dad...not just on Fathers Day, but every day...

I miss the way you would answer the phone, "Hello" in a sort of grumpy way, until you heard my voice, and then your voice would soften to speak to me...

I miss your hugs. Not just an ordinary hug, but your big HUGS...with capital letters, as if to say, just in case this is our last one, I want you to remember it. I will forever Dad, I will...

I miss knowing that I was always understood, even if we didn't agree on the subject...I felt that you understood where I was coming from. Everyone needs that!

I miss the way you interacted with my girls, and I hate that you were taken from them way too early. Taken from ALL of us way to early...they miss you every day...Erica still asks why? I am not sure I will ever have the right answer for her.

I miss the way you would say, "I love you" and I would say, "I love you too"...and then you would say, "you have no idea how much" and smile...

I miss how we would come over and you would share music on your computer with us. It would always be, "come listen to this"...I miss that...and I miss YOU....

J on CHS TV 6/7/10

SchoolTube - 6-7-10 Live Show.

The segment is from 4:58 to 6:12 minutes. She said the kids in her Spanish class said, "We didn't know you were a ballerina!"  

The Mexican hat dance...

Since the Multicultural festival at her school, E talks about nationalities more. She has noticed her skin is browner than her Daddy, and asked, "What are you, Daddy?" His reply...Irish, English, and a bunch of other stuff.
E;Then does that make me Irish, English and other stuff?
Me:Well, not exactly (she knows she is adopted, but it doesn't all fit together yet)
So immediately she says, "Well then what am I?"
Me: You are mexican.
E: I am?
Me: Yes, and so am I...
E: You are too? Oh yay! We are Mexican. All Mexican? Yes, maybe with a little bit of Indian! Indian? oh cooool!
E: Then what is J? Well, she is Mexican and Irish, English and stuff.
E:Oh, cuz she was in your tummy, right? So is that why Sissy can do the Irish jig?" (J jokes around doing this silly dance she calls the Irish jig)
Me: I guess so! (trying so hard not to laugh out loud...she is serious!)
E: So what dance do we do?
Me: Well, we have lots of dances we can do...like salsa dancing, and mambo, and others...remember when I taught you some salsa? And you were really good at it?
E:Yes, that's cuz I'm Mexican
Me: Do you want to learn another dance?
E: Sure!
Me: I proceed to teach her the mexican hat dance, I probably learned when I was younger than her. She picked it up quickly, and we danced around a baseball hat! I told her it was our pretend sombrero. We giggled and messed up, and had so much fun. Then we showed it to Bill and J. J didn't know it, so E taught it to her. She loved that part!
I'm positive that this will not be the end of the endless questions about nationalities, culture, skin color, etc...but, so far I think it went pretty good! Thank you God for my brown eyed girl!

A work in progress...

Work in progress...I am the type pf crafter who always has three or four projects going on at the same time...not sure how it compares to other scrapbookers, but I have realized over time, that it's what works best for me...once I get bored with one, I move on to the other, until eventually, someday, they all get finished...
Currently in progress:
A "top secret" project for one of my girls
A mini album for a friend
A never ending list of journaling to do...
And stepping out from scrapbooking, I'm painting a pair of pointe shoes for Jessica to hang in her room. They are new, not old and stinky, thank God..CRAFT ON my friends...have a great week!

Promise Yourself...

A little reflection is always a good thing. As I sat in the radiology department on Saturday, waiting my turn for my first mammogram, I felt small and rather nervous. Not knowing what to expect, I found myself looking around the room to waste the minutes while I waited. I looked to my right and saw this poem on the wall. A tattered piece of copy paper, with a poem typed on it. I read it and thought about the person who put it up there. How they must have hoped it would bring comfort to someone, and it did...that someone was me. So now I share it with you...

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to everyone you meet.
To make everyone you know feel that there is something good in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble in your mind.
~ Christy Larson

The girl behind the camera...

The girl behind the camera…

More commonly known to myself as me

For my time is spent behind the lens,

rather than in front of it.

Someday when you look at the scrapbooks

I’ve created through the years,

filled with photographs and memories,

you’ll  know that your Mom was

the girl behind the camera.

And although you may not see me,

I was there…

laughing at your silly face,

capturing that  moment that went by so quickly

and watching you learn and grow along the way.

Sometimes I made you giggle or

asked you to smile just once more.

I’ve lived through all these memories with you,

and each one has meant the world to me,

because after all,

I’m the girl behind the camera

…and I love you!

xoxo, Mom J

Check out my Slide Show!

Ever feel like life is flying by??....

 
I had that feeling...first thing this morning. It started with the exciting news that my niece Alyssa had her first baby last night, a beautiful baby boy named Luke. WAIT...Alyssa? The baby girl who Bill and I used to borrow and play "parents" with? It really doesn't seem possible. Then Erica comes in, dressed, ready to go to school, backpack on her back, shoes on...believe me, that never happens....and I realize, my little girl  is growing up too...Darn it...she was the one that was supposed to stay little forever. My plan is not working! Grrrr...It doesn't really help that I went to bed last night after talking with Jessica in her room about her Drivers Ed course, the chapter on drunk driving and her wishes to get her permit soon. And of course, there is the trip to NewYork....so excited for her, but I can hardly stand the thought of it...Honestly, it is really all too much for me to grasp today...I think I'll go back to bed!

CLASS CANCELLED as of 4/28/10! Becoming a "certified" doodler...

I made the decision to apply for the Certification process with Copic Markers a company who is a leader of art markers in the Art Industry. These are what I call, "grown up markers" and to learn how to use them is a process. Anyway, I found out today that I was accepted into their class in June, and am very excited! My chosen career was in Fashion Merchandising/Display, but I've always been into drawing, sketching, and doodling. I am looking forward to adding another element to my paper crafting, as well as sharing what I've learned with others~