December Daily 2010

This year I am doing Ali Edward's Daily December project.  It is an album documenting the 25 days leading up to Christmas day capturing everyday life and holiday traditions.  I attempted this same project last year and quickly fell behind.  One of the secrets to the albums success is to putting it together before the month of December; something I did not do last year and quickly became overwhelmed. 

This year I started my album in October and it is complete waiting for me to start documenting tomorrow.  I am really excited about this album and wanted to share the bare bones with you as well as the finished pages as I go through the month.  (My goal is to post every few days.) 

Here is the album cover.  I am going to add some sort of embellishment, just haven't found the perfect one yet. 

Intro page.

Page One.   

Page Two.

Page Three. 

Page Four.

Page Five. 

Page Six. 

Page Seven. 

Page Eight. 

Page Nine. 

Page Twelve. 

Page Thirteen. 

Page Fourteen.

Page Sixteen. 

Page Ninteen. 

Page Twenty. 

Page Twenty-One. 

Page Twenty-three. 

Page Twenty-four. 

Christmas Day.

You may have noticed some days were missing.  I am planning on using full-sized photos for those pages and adding random items in as I go along.  Something you will see in my furture posts regarding this album.

Products Used:

BoBunny Bare Chipboard Album 9 x9 (cut down)

Paper Line:  Canvas Corp Kraft

Chipboard Letters & Numbers

Making Memories Cranberry Red Paint

Thickers

Ali Edwards 31 Days Overlays

Ali Edwards Christmas Boxes, Brushes & Stamps

Baseball card page protectors (cut down)

Office Report Covers

Being Thankful

Today was Braden's Thanksgiving Program at school.  Every year the kids sing festive songs and we enjoy a Thanksgiving feast afterwards.  Last year Braden sat on the bottom step with his thumb in his month the entire time.

And this year....he was quite comical.  I am sure there were parents who didn't see it the same way I did, but I must admit I couldn't help to laugh at him.  Being his mother, I know it is a huge challenge for him to stand still more than two minutes.  He has a short attention span and if he is not interested, he is just not interested and there is nothing you can do about it.  He spent more time chewing on his shirt sleeve and playing with his pilgrim hat than anything else.  

Most of the time, I was giggling to myself and thinking about how thankful I am to have this little guy in my life.. 

Finally, a song he wanted to sing!

She's dedicated

We often refer to Brynn as 'our little artist'. She is constantly drawing pictures, coloring or creating some sort of craft with whatever supplies available to her. Obviously having the same hobby, I love this about her.

Today she was home from school with a stomach bug. We were up most of the night making frequent runs to the restroom. Early this morning, she decided she wanted to stay in the bathroom to be closer to the toilet. When I brought her a pillow and blanket, she requested a bag of crayons, paper and glue instead!

files, files everywhere

The past few weeks I have been working on establishing an efficient filing system for the photos on my computer. Talk about a huge task and an extremely draining process.

It all began in the year 2000 when Danny bought me my first point-n-shoot digital camera. It was the beginning of my first digital filing system and over the years, new systems were created, dumped and created again. I did realized through the process my real problem began in 2005 after Brynn was born and receiving my first Digital SLR camera. No longer fighting the shutter delay, with a point-n-shoot camera I was able to capture every moment as it happened. And from the looks of the mad chaos on my computer, I did. I managed to capture well over 50,000 photos and saved them all too multiple external hard drives.

Over the years, I have adapted different filing systems and uses of computer programs to locate my digital files, but have never been 100% happy with my methods. Well, I think I am finally there and guess what? It is back to basics. I decided to go back to the very first method I used, before all the fancy computer programs and tagging systems.

It looks like this:

Folder for the year: 2010
Inside that folder, a folder for each month: October
Inside that folder, a folder for each event with the date: 10.31.10_Halloween

*Pictures that do not relate to a specific event will stay inside the monthly folder with the date taken and short description. 10.31.10_Braden in car.

Simple.

I am not completely finished with this process, but I am excited to get it accomplished. I think the most important thing I have learned while tackling this mess is I need to learn to hit the DELETE button once in awhile. We do not need 100 pictures of the local pumpkin patch where we the spent the afternoon one fall day each year, I am sure 20 or so will do. ;o)

Away...

Dear Blog (and my two blog readers),


Houseguests have kept me away.


Girl Scouts have kept me away.


Beautiful fall weather has kept me away.


The daily grind has kept me away.


Sick children have kept me away.


Travel has kept me away.


A new adventure has kept me away.


Doctor's appointments have kept me away.


New projects have kept me away.


Volunteering has kept me away.


A new puppy has kept me away.


Getting rid of a new puppy has kept me away.


PTA meetings have kept me away.


Birthdays have kept me away.


T.V. has kept me away.


Redecorating has kept me away.



Life has kept me away, but I WILL be back.  I PROMISE.

Progress Report

We all survived the first week of Kindergarten, Yeah! Brynn absolutely loves it and really likes her teacher, which is a blessing. She looks forward to going and has been up every morning before the alarm.

Braden on the other hand, misses her a lot and asks about her several times throughout the day. He is slowly adjusting to her being gone all day. He greets her with hugs and kisses when we pick her up after school, which I think is so sweet.

When Brynn got home this afternoon, I decided to interview her about the first week of kindergarten.

Here is her responses...

How do you like Kindergarten?

It is the best ever!

What do you do all day?

We say the pledge, have center time, meet on the calendar carpet, go to the bathroom a lot, have recess, play with play-doh, pipe cleaners and jewels, go to P.E. and Theater Arts.

Do you like P.E.?

Yes, but Theater Arts is my favorite because you get to dress up.

What is your favorite part of the day?

Today, it was playing in the family center with the baby dolls and dishes.

What are you new friends' names?

Shania and Isabel

What do you do during recess time?

Slide down the pole connected to the monkey bars and slide down the slide.

Do you like your teacher? What do you like about her?

Yes. She is nice and likes to give hugs.

Do you want to go back next week?

Absolutely!

The Big Day!

At 6:30 a.m. I walked through Brynn's bedroom door to wake her and before I flipped the switch to turn on the light, she shot straight up in her bed and said,

"I can get myself dressed, Mommy".

Talk about excited! There is no telling how long she was laying awake waiting for me to come in. Last night before she went to bed, she reminded me to set the alarm clock so she wouldn't be late for her first day of school (as if I have a reputation for being late).

She dressed herself and made her way into the kitchen to eat breakfast. We got through our new morning routine in a little under an hour and headed out the door at 7:25 a.m. Being it was her first day, Danny went in late to work so he could go with us to get her settled in at school and I am glad he was able to because it was very crowded.

Brynn led the way to her room (I was glad she remembered from Kindergarten orientation) and without hesitation walked right in. We were immediately greeted by her teacher and given instructions on what to do next. After we unloaded her lunch box, snacks and school supplies, we made our way in the direction of the lockers to put her backpack and extra change of clothes in. She was thrilled to have her very own locker with her name on it. (The ear-to-ear smile on her face gave me peace and kept the tears away, my baby girl was is so excited to be here.). Eventually, she found her spot at the table with her name on it, put on her name badge and started the activity in front of her.

I am very grateful this morning played out the way it did, it made things ten times easier for Danny and I. It was hard to be sad, when she was so happy. I left the school feeling good, but nervous about how the rest of the day would be for her. I cannot wait until she gets home this afternoon to find out how the rest of her day went.

I hope it went well, so tomorrow will be just as trouble-free.

On a side note:   Braden has been a mess today. He was upset we left her behind at school and the first couple of hours he asked repeatedly if we could go pick her up and bring her home. It made me realized just how strong their bond is with each other.

the count-down is on

Brynn is counting down the days until she begins Kindergarten. Her excitement is growing daily and after last night something really hit me, in a few short days she will be heading into a world where her father and I will not be the only influence in her life. This is not a bad thing, but I must admit it makes me a little sad. For the past five years, we have been everything she needed (and wanted) and now she will be venturing out and having new experiences we will not be a part of. It is the beginning of a new chapter for all of us.

Last night we attended Kindergarten orientation and met her teacher, who is a sweet woman who has been teaching Kindergarten for 13 years. Several of the kids on our block have had her as a teacher and we have only heard pleasant things about her. She made all her students little gifts bags, which won Brynn's heart right away. I expected Brynn to open a bag full of candy and pencils, but instead it was a bag full of random items with a note attached.

Cotton ball - The cotton ball is to remind you that our room is full of kind words and warm feelings.

Hershey's HUGS - The hug is to remind you that everyone needs a hug sometimes, especially your teacher!

A Star - The star is to remind you to always shine by doing your best.

Eraser - The eraser is to remind you that everyone in our class will make mistakes (even you and me) and that is okay.

Band-aid - The band-aid is to remind you that we can help each other heal our hurt feelings.

Happy Face sticker - The happy face sticker is to remind you to wear a smile everyday.

Tissue - The tissue is to remind you to help dry someone's tears.

Lifesaver candy - The lifesaver is to remind you that you can always count on me to listen and care about you.

Penny - The penny is to remind you that you are special and valuable - especially when you are in this class.

I have a good feeling we ended up with the right teacher for our sensitive little girl. In fact, Brynn asked to put the happy face sticker on her backpack and the tissue and band-aid in her backpack. When I asked her why she wanted the tissue and band-aid inside, she responded, "just in case someone cries on the first day of school" (little does she know, it just might be her mom).

We spent the rest of the evening touring the school and meeting different faculty members. Brynn even got to experience riding the school bus. She was excited she got to do this, but in the end was fine with knowing she would not be riding the bus when she found there is no air conditioning (My girl likes her A/C).

It was cute to see all these little first-timers making there way in an unfamiliar place and every once in awhile I would catch one of them looking back for mom or dad and it would make me smile knowing, they will always need us.

Four more days to go....

Wow, has another month gone by again?

I cannot believe summer is almost over and in two short weeks Brynn will be starting Kindergarten. I, myself have mixed emotions about this new chapter in our lives; but as far as she is concerned, the first day cannot come fast enough. For her the only disappointment is she will not be riding the big yellow school bus.

I am looking forward to having some time with just Braden and me before he heads off to Mother's Day Out after Labor Day. I am not sure he will feel the same way, Brynn is his best friend and he will miss her dearly while she is at school.

This past month the kids and I have stayed busy with play dates, trips to the Library (which they love), staying cool in the water (it is the only way when it is 100 degrees), doing arts & crafts and baking. We even made cookies the old fashion way! Brynn could not believe it took so many ingredients to make cookies. And more recently we baked eight loafs (yes, I said eight) of banana bread, which I discovered you can pull out of the oven even when they have been baking for 15 minutes to add two very important ingredients you left out (salt and baking soda). Surprisingly, they still tasted delicious.

The last few weeks, I have been redecorating our living room, which has been the same color for the past eight years (a record for me). I started with caulking and repainting all the baseboards bright white and then moving to the framework and doors. I love the cleanliness white gives. I painted most of the living room a Soft Carmel color and accented two walls with the color Coffee (which is not near as dark as a I thought it would be). My original inspiration came from artwork I found on-line, but then I headed in a completely different direction after a trip to IKEA (that store gets me every time). My inspiration now, this pillow:

July 30th, we celebrated Danny's dad, John's 80th birthday. We threw him a big party at the local recreation center and had a wonderful turnout of family and friends. My mom, Jerry and Erin came in from New Mexico to celebrate with us, which turned, into double the fun for Brynn and Braden.

The picture on the cake is when John was in the Marines, he is 22 years old.

John with the last two grandchildren (Brynn and Braden) and five of the nine great-grandchildren.

In addition, probably the best and most unexpected news came on Saturday, July 24th. Danny was offered a permanent position at Applied Materials where he has been contracting the past seven months. He became a full-time employee with benefits August 2nd and I cannot explain the heaviness that has been lifted from us. We are so relieved and feel like we can breathe again. We will be facing several changes in the months to come, as he will be moving to a new group with new opportunities.

Fourth of July

Last night we met some friends of ours at a local park we have been going to the past few years to watch fireworks. Each year we get there at the same time, park on the same street (practically in the same spot) and claim our same spot to watch the show. In addition, each year I plan to take pictures of the fireworks, something I have wanted to do for quite some time and each year I capture complete blur for a million different reasons (forgot my tripod, wrong camera settings, etc.).

Well this year was going to be different, because when I purchased my new camera I also purchased a cable release, which is ideal for getting crisp and clear photographs of fireworks. I did all my homework and read up on taking firework photos, mastered the camera settings and packed my tripod. I was all set. All set, until a few hours before we headed out the door and I could not find my brand new cable release, a major kink in my plan. It is important because with the cable release I would not need to touch the camera to take the photo, which would prevent blurring and produce a crisp clean shot.

Disappointed about the cable release, I still took my camera. I managed to get a few shots out of the 50+ shots I took with just using my tripod. Here are few shots I liked (even with the blur).

I especially love watch the blur did to the one below. 

The good thing is there is always next year and I have plenty of time to find my cable release.

On another note, the show was good and the kids had a blast. Brynn's finally gotten over her fear of the fireworks and really enjoyed herself this year. Braden literally ran around us until the fireworks began (if we could bottle his energy in pill form, we would be rich) and managed to sit through the entire 15 minutes of fireworks without moving, a huge accomplishment. We did have a little help from a little girl whom we did not know that was nice enough to pass out glow bracelets to the kids, something Braden was quite fascinated with. So fascinated he evidently began chewing on it on our way home, broke it open and ended up with the liquid gel in his mouth, which caused a skin reaction around his mouth that resulted in me Googling glow bracelets, which resulted in 1 teaspoon of Benedryl and staying up later than planned. He is fine, turns out you would have to ingest quite a bit of the liquid for it to be toxic and skin irritations are common. I do not think he will be chewing on one of those again. 

We hope everyone had a safe and Happy 4th of July!!