the Official Lunch Survey

Almost every school day my third grader asks if I'll put a note in her lunch box. While I love that she wants a momlunchnote, it's hard for my early morning brain to come up with something original to write...and something that may or may not be shared with a table full of classmates. Usually, I'll write how I hope she's having a good day, studying hard and not causing too much drama. I also might add something that I plan to do while she's at school. Kind of boring stuff to write in lunchnote after lunchnote. Recently, I had this survey brainstorm to get Cara talking back about what was up with her—yes, I am soooooo tricky ; ) . I rolled up my survey (pictured unrolled above) with a fun ribbon and included a colored pencil for her to complete while she munched.

The survey was a huge success. Not only was I providing an interesting "momlunchnote alternative", but (the best part) I was getting some insider information as to what was going on at school that day. I know I'm not the only Mom who hears the "boring...nothing" response when you ask how school was and what happened at school. This idea catches the kid midday and in a fun way providing at least one interesting lunch survey result to talk about after school. I was privy-ed with some informative and funny answers as to to the happenings of Cara's third grade day. Of course I plan to save these past surveys and insert new survey opportunities in future lunches. As soon as the other two can read and write well enough, they'll find surveys too.

As the "additional comments" line above states Cara had a pretty fun time letting me know about her day (I love the exclamatory heart!) And here's a little gift from me to you...click on the survey at top of post, save to your desktop and print out for your kiddos (no mass distribution without my permission please). Let me know how it works at your house. And remember not to tell them that this survey is not all about the lunch!

Spring sprouts

These little lily sprouts represent my present projects that need a bit more water, sun and time to bloom. I've been chugging along with a mix of work that keeps me far from bored and thinking how lucky I am to be able to create—and get paid to do it. Let's not talk about the actual garden. It's a war zone out there with last summer being sooooo not kind. I have many many fatalities to deal with. And there's that family of moles that had a great time partying out front. A stroll across the lawn could lead to a broken ankle and a lawsuit (don't get any ideas.)

Yes, there is much to be dealt with. The sprouts remind me. And so will the 10 bags of mulch coming this weekend from the school sale. For now, I'm both happy and amazed to see life out there in so many different shades of green.

She's Three

She insisted it be Dora. And I know better than to argue with a soon-to-be-three-year-old over something as important as birthday cake. It took me a day or two to figure out how to make the Dora cake without doing anything crazy like buying a Dora shaped cake pan. I ended up doing the old cake in a bowl trick inserting a princess Dora instead of a Barbie. Nora was thrilled with her cake.

I think three is my very favorite birthday. There is so much excitement...really I expected her to jump right out of her skin. And the best part was that she was so thankful. She thanked me over and over again for her party, for her Dora cake and especially for her very special present from her Dad and me. Oh and she announced that she wants another Dora cake for her next birthday. Of course I know that 12 more months will bring new interests, but for right now I agree that every year should be Dora.

Driveway Masters

It's strange to compare this post with the last. Entries just days apart, but more like seasons apart. It's sunny and a pleasant 60 degrees today. The snow has almost completely melted away except for snow plowed hills here and there. We took the opportunity to break out brand-new-waiting-for-summer sidewalk chalk. The kids had a great time creating their masterpieces. Cara decided to illustrate a basic landscape while Brendan the Surrealist...

...well I was told this is Snake Meets Blue Tongued Skink. I'll have to say that I was rather surprised that my 6 year-old knew what a blue tongued skink was, let alone feel compelled to illustrate such a unique reunion. I see artistic potential.

And is it safe to say happy spring?

Spring Ahead?

I hardly think this is fair. When I give up an hour of my precious sleep for daylight savings I expect in return the promise of warmer days ahead. Instead our dear Queen City is under a snow emergency. We stopped counting at 14 inches. Even the postal service wasn't around for mail delivery. If we did get a newspaper today, we can't find it.

I have to give credit to my spunky almost-three-year-old. Nora's not letting a little snow stop her. She's had enough of sleds and is staging her own protest. She dug out a trike and is trying her hardest to pedal through this unseasonable amount of snow.

The older kids are happily doing snow appropriate activities—building forts, throwing snowballs and riding sleds. They've been outside almost all day. Maybe it's worth losing that hour after all. That's just as long as spring promises not to be too far behind.

Happy leapers

Frogs are the best leapers I know so I've included a few here in the spirit of the day. These are murals I painted in our playroom a few years back. I think this is what is really going on in that frog pond when we turn our backs.

If there is any day that you can justify picking up a good book it would be today. I mean it IS a special four-year-rarity.

Or how about just taking some time to look around in places you haven't been for awhile?

Go ahead..you deserve it.

Take one or two of those

extra 24 and do something fun.

I'd recommend taking at least two.

We'll have to give one back in

a few weeks to spring ahead.

Here's hopping you have

a great February 29th!

For the Squirrels

With another free Saturday morning and three anxious kids, we went back to Lowes Kid's Clinics for more wood building fun. This was the perfect project for us. Years ago, I gave up trying to feed the birds. The squirrels practically attacked any poor winged creature trying to get a bite from our bird feeders. We have squirrels the size of small dogs who are more limber and agile than the very best circus performers. When we had a bird feeder hanging from the deck, I ended up taking it down. The squirrels would catapult off the deck railing, swing the feeder back and forth, raid the seed and then do a Mary Lou Retton off the feeder back down to the ground. The noise was ridiculous and the entertainment factor got old quick. So today we surrendered. I guess the people at Lowes also recognize that a bird feeder at our house is useless. We waved our white flags and painted colorful squirrels on the top of our feeders to welcome back our pesky friends.

With this blend we're talking McDonald's vs. The Precinct, but we have to feed our kids too. Besides the squirrels around here don't seem to mind.

The squirrel feeders add little spots of color to the monochromatic landscape of winter. While I appreciate the subtle tones of winter, I have to admit that I'm a color person (did ya notice?!) I can hardly wait for traces of spring to start peeking out. And with summer up next, our feeders will soon blend right into the landscape. For now they're a reminder of the color (and warmth!) to come.

Welcome back furry friends. Birds you're invited as always...that is if you can sneak in a bite or two.

First Cut

Look out fingers! For the next month, this is what I'll be doing a lot of. Red Bull's Art of Can comes early in 2008. Last year in Chicago was such a great time, that I can hardly hold myself back from giving the art competition another shot. This year AOC is in Houston from July 11-25.

My entry is well underway. The concept, planning and initial construction are all complete so now I'm ready to can cut. I've pushed myself a little further this time, now that I've figured out some of the basics of can art construction. This year's entry has an electrical element that I think is going to be pretty cool. I'll have to keep you in suspense for a month or two. Cross your fingers that "it" makes the cut.

the strep party

alright so I can just hear your reaction as you pull up this entry..."what the...?!" And I do apologize for the extremes between my last post (mushy heart) and this post (medical looking throat)...but to be really honest I'm giggling just a little. Actually—if you can believe it—the two back-to-back posts relate! The above is what kept my husband and I from enjoying Friday night out to celebrate Valentines Day. Sitter lined up, reservations made and then came the fever and the throat pain from our eldest daughter. Immediately I knew what was going on. No ESP needed. Cara had been on two different antibiotics in the last 5 weeks to battle strep throat. As soon as she finished a 10-day prescription, the symptoms would reappear and a strep test quickly confirmed that the bugs were back (or maybe never left). On this latest visit to the doctor, we could choose between another 10 days of twice-a-day medicating or one quick shot. Cara picked the 10 days. I picked the shot. So Cara got the super penicillin shot. Hopefully, Cara will win round three with the strep guys. Once we got back home Friday afternoon, she asked me exactly what everything was in the back of her throat (including that mysterious hanging thingy in the middle) causing all of this torture. I tried my best to explain it all to her in my usual pen and paper way. That's when I thought, 'hey this would make an interesting blog entry...surely other Moms and Dads get these questions from their kids.' Well here you go.

This is my unscientific portrayal of the streptococcal bacteria. Isn't this what they're doing? having a party? All of that dancing around back there has got to hurt. Brendan and I have had our tonsils removed. I know that doesn't make us immune to strep throat, but I think tonsils make for more spaces and places for the strep guys to hang out. Anyway, let's hope Cara can get rid of the green guys this time. Enough already!! And Mike and I are going to try to get out tonight for our belated Valentine's dinner.

Happy Valentines Day

A more sophisticated heart..after all Valentines is for parents too! Here's to Mom and Dad's night out at a restaurant that doesn't have crayons, placemats to write on, booster seats, crackers shaped like fish and/or cups with lids. Have a day filled with lots of L*O*V*E.

You've Got Mail

This past weekend we did a first. The planets all aligned. We actually had a nowhere-to-be, nothing-to-do Saturday morning. While at Lowes earlier in the week, I noticed a sign for Kid's Clinics. So feeling adventurous and free my husband and I, along with our three kids plus an extra kid friend, hopped in the van and headed for Lowes to build Valentine mailboxes. I brought my camera thinking I would capture some onsite building. But that could have meant sacrificing one of the 40 fingers we were trying to keep our eyes on. As a result, no pix exist from the actual clinic...too many hammers flying around. Believe me.

We completed four really cute Valentine mailboxes at the store. As we were leaving, the Lowes people handed out leftover kits from past clinics. We brought back home lots of projects and spent the rest of Saturday happily hammering away in our garage/workshop. If you have a Lowes around and have never been to a kid's clinic, I highly recommend checking it out. The kids get aprons and a badge (kind of like brownies or cub scouts) for each project they complete. And it's all free!

The best part about it all is the sense of pride and accomplishment that kids get from actually building and constructing wood projects. There is big time satisfaction that comes with swinging a real hammer—with adult supervision of course. The next clinic around here is on February 23rd. We're pretty excited about going again as we'll be building squirrel feeders. And boy oh boy have we got squirrels to feed.

While the Lowes mailboxes were very cute, they won't work for collecting Valentines at school in a couple of days. We need larger enclosed type boxes to hold all of those love notes and candy attachments from classmates. I made the mailboxes above for my school age kids out of recycled dry food boxes. I covered the boxes with fabric and embellished with felt scraps, ribbon and lace. The openings at the tops are lined with fake fur (Brendan's) and fabric (Cara's) to prevent peeking. Right now we're working on the task of addressing cards to friends and adhering candy to the envelopes. Actually Cara finished this activity in an afternoon some time ago. Brendan can handle about five cards per night so we're still working to complete his class list. Ahhhh...the excitement of Valentines Day....and hang tight squirrels, you'll have your treats—in your very own feeders (no stealing from the birds)—in a week or so.

Dear Mother Nature...

With all due respect Mother Nature, your chaotic weather is making me C*R*A*Z*Y. I realize that we humans are partly to blame... breaking down the ozone layer and all, but really. Last week we had days in the single digits. Yesterday, it was almost 60 degrees. Today, the wind is howling with a sporadic rain and at 7:45am the temperature is 55 degrees—in February in Ohio! My kids and I are painstakingly trying to figure out what they should go to school in.

The meterologists say by mid-afternoon the temps will drop back down in the 40s. Will the kids make it through recess if I send them in spring jackets? Or will falling degrees make them yearn for warmer winter jackets before I can pick them up from school? And just how trustworthy is my local weather channel? Will you play a fast one on those poor weather forecasters that try so hard to figure out what you're going to do next?

Forget about the days when you rolled out one season's wardrobe at a time. Now we must have spring, summer, fall and winter dress ready at a moments notice. My 1950s coat closet sure isn't big enough for this. I'll agree that predictability is boring, but even the plants don't know if they should sprout or rest.

Well, that's my whine for today. Maybe it's the rain making me cranky. Or maybe it's lack of sleep. The weather sirens went off last night at 1:30am to alert me that severe thunderstorms were moving in. Wait...is that sunlight starting to fill my windows?!? hmmmm...what was I complaining about again?

baby Kings and baby Queens

This weekend was about signing off on proofs (design work) and putting the finishing touches on my January baby tile orders that just arrived back from the kiln. I've been selling these 8" x 8" tiles (along with a wedding version) for several years. After having two little queens and one little king I've learned that they are the real rulers of the house/castle.

There is a scary number of beads that live in our house. I would not doubt that if they were lined up they could stretch across Ohio and maybe even back again. They are all organized by color which makes them all the more attractive and irresistible to me.

How precious is a New Year's baby? Here I'm stringing the carefully chosen beads on this tile's wire hanger. It's like the icing on a cake. As is signing off on projects that I enjoy while I'm doing, but somewhere along the way seem like they will never bid farewell to my desk or my studio.

The best part is now I can make room for new endeavors. I can hardly wait to get started on that one.

When Pigs Fly

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." —Walt Disney

I created a flying pig (from wood and aluminium cans) that serves as a reminder to live my dreams and ignore the pessimists, dream crushers and doubters. Yes, even when that pessimist sometimes happens to be me.

Besides everybody knows that pigs really do fly in Cincinnati.

Sweets for the sweet

This is the kind of "sponge" cake you were thinking right?! What 6-year-old boy would want anything but a yellow sponge that wears clothes? It's a big deal to me to make my kids birthday cakes. No bakery, no store-bought, no, never. One of my psychological hang-ups is the need to bake and decorate all child b-day cakes myself. I hope some day my children can look back at their b-day cakes and see all the mommy love that went into cake creations that were admittedly far from perfect. To begin I always have a birthday cake consultation with the soon-to-be star of the day about interests and dream birthday celebrations. This latest interview resulted in my first character cake and don't think I didn't ask "Are you sure you want Sponge Bob? Really, really sure??? 100%??" I'm not a big fan of duplicating characters or promoting TV watching, but this year I caved. Maybe it had to do with Brendan coming off a 5-day flu bug. Regardless he got his wish. Hopefully I can avoid making another Nickelodeon cake for the youngest in two months.

I have taken a few cake decorating classes to learn some tricks and get just a bit better than before. Having the right tools makes a big difference. And if you crave vibrant colors like I do you have to use gel paste to color the icing.

These are for the classmates. Since I'm behind for Cara's birthday, I'm settling up both birthdays by sending sugar cookies to school tomorrow with both Cara and Brendan. I made myself do something simple—bright and happy birthday colors with lots of colored sprinkles. Only when I snapped this picture did I notice how the Nancy Thomas studio prints resting on the counter had inspired my cookies. How obvious.

Happy 6th birthday Brendan...you're the sweetest boy I know.

XX00X Love, Mom

visual heat wave

brrrrrrr....Ohio is chilly today. I am NOT a cold weather kind of girl. It's in the low 20's dropping into the single digits tomorrow--yikes! So for warmer day visual focus I've provided a sunflower painting of mine. If you stare long enough and turn the below up to HIgh maybe we can convince ourselves that it really isn't that cold outside.

During the winter this guy makes it possible for me to get my work done in my cold basement office. Speaking of work I've had a lot this week. I'm finishing up a magazine design and preparing for another birthday. Our middle child is turning six and has requested a sponge cake. Stay tuned...

Is it Monday yet?

It's been a long week. The middle child was acting strange last Tuesday. On Wednesday when I woke him for school, I discovered that the sick monster had paid a middle-of-the-night visit. Feverish, pale, lethargic and hoarse led me to think that perhaps I'd have an extra child home with me. To confirm, I presented my 'areyoureallysickorjusttired' test by calmly noting out loud that today was gym day at school. Brendan replied that he was too sick to go. Stay home on a gym day? Check. He passes.

For the first 2 or 3 hours I tried (really I did) to keep the sick child sequestered namely from miss lovey-dovey-two-year-old Nora. That was before I caught her drinking right out of Sick Child's cup and realized that my efforts were fruitless. Nora needs to be right next to her siblings loving them and sharing everything. On sick days, I usually give a reprieve from my tv and Nintendo playing limits. Nora of course wanted to be supportive (above) so she's "playing" with Brendan. Brendan let Nora "play" his Nintendo while Brendan used big sister Cara's. Everyone knows that Nora is hardly trustworthy with a Nintendo so after the photo snap Nora was diverted to more appropriate two-year old activities (swear).

Finally, after 4 long days of a nasty flu bug and ear infection things seem to be looking up. Brendan is planning on going back to school tomorrow. And in case you're wondering Nora was sniffling by Friday. Hopefully the rest of us can stay healthy ....wait...did I just say that??? I'll be knocking on wood, throwing salt over my shoulder and avoiding black cats for the next several weeks. Happy January.

Half-price Inspiration

I treated myself. And I'm not talking about the cinnamon streusal muffins (although those are a treat too.) I'm a pretty lucky girl having one of my very favorite stores on the planet less than 4 miles away. This past weekend I spent some time soaking in the color palettes at Anthropologie which makes it a work-related trip ; ). I splurged on that clearance-priced potholder. The nostalgic pattern and color make me want to bake rich, wintry, comfort foods. Potholders CAN make a person happy.

Okay, I didn't make it out with just a potholder. I snagged the last "D" of the clearance fabric letters too. My strong attraction to letter forms has resulted in an extensive collection of "D's" all over my house. Kind of like a "D" I Spy (hmmmm...fun blog entry idea...I'm making a mental note.)

The first thing my husband said when he spied yet another D was "you could make that." I know he's right and honestly I thought that too....but honey, did you hear me say CLEARANCE! And I need this D standing around for inspiration. How can you not buy inspiration when it's marked half-price? So upholstered letter forms are now on my (very long) to-do list. Actually I'm proud of myself for making it out for under $20. Daley Dexterity Deserving Dignity (sorry—that came too easy! maybe I should lay off the D's??!)

If Only She Had a List

Here's my latest character...that naive girl with the red hood. Maybe if her mom had sent her to Grannies with a 'To Do' list she would have remembered that Mom had told her not to talk to strangers. If Red hadn't talked, the wolf would have never known she was on her way to Grannies. That big bad guy wouldn't have stuffed poor Grannie into the closet and sabotaged what was going to be a nice visit between a little girl and her Nana. Then Red might have made it to the cleaners. Thank goodness a hunter rescued the pair. Talk about a story that could have had an ugly ending.

The concept of putting all inclusive lists on my kids of what to do and not to do..."Don't fight with your brother/sister", "Be nice", "Eat your vegetables", etc. is thought provoking, but probably not practical (definitely not cool). I guess I'll continue to repeat all my pearls of wisdom over and over hoping that something will eventually sink in. Unfortunately, life experience and mistake making is the best teacher. I'll bet you Little Red Riding Hood will NEVER talk to a wolf she meets in the woods again. And just how long do you think it will be before her mom trusts her to take goodies to grannie by herself?!?

Creating

Life isn't about finding yourself.

It's about creating yourself.

This past Christmas one of my BFF's gave me a plaque with that saying. I've been saying it over and over to myself for the past several days. It's exactly the hit on the head I needed to break out of the 'who am I funk' I've been suffering through over the last few months. No more of that silliness. It's time to go at it.

Was that 2007?

Wow—that went by fast. I'll have to remember that they have a tendency to do that.

I hope your 2007 brought lots of happiness.
Cheers to the new year ahead!