Happy New Year!!

Happy Happy New Year Friends! I don't know about you but I'm ready to clean the slate and start this new year off on the right foot! Don't get me wrong, 2012 was great, full of wonderful opportunities and new additions (such as our very favorite, this little bug shown here) but I just love me some time to reevaluate, make some changes and get pumped to start up again. Don't you? And to do so we always choose a theme as a family for the year. I like to do this so that if some of my specific goals fall through the cracks, say oh about a couple weeks after I make them, then I always have a simple theme to fall back on...one that is easy to remember the entire year through...and one that will hopefully guide us through until the end of December.

I'm also big on alliteration. I find this helps me remember my theme even when it's July and starting fresh and goal making is not so much at the forefront of my mind.


Some past favorite themes have been:

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Relax (remember this one?! still a fond favorite)
• Creation and Compassion (tried to focus on creating more and consuming less and then reaching beyond myself and showing compassion to those around me)
• Friends, Family & Fun! (this one might seem like a no brainer but for a workaholic, creative hermit like myself I needed the reminder that the most important things in life are bonds you form with those around me. I needed the push to put my relationships in life first. And to have FUN doing it! Turned out really great.).
• Last year was all about Thriving...thinking this year might be a bit along those lines as well. Can't wait to nail it down!

What about you? Any resolutions? And what do you do to try to keep up on them after the will power to make it out the door to the gym subsides?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us over here at Mer Mag! I hope you had a most lovely holiday and are gearing up for a great new year.

This year has been incredibly good to us and we feel blessed to have shared it with all of you. We have so much fun in store for 2013 (ALT! We are working on our first kids craft book!! - maybe a facelift for Mer Mag, etc.). But first we are happy to reflect on the joy and peace we feel this season. There is so much to be grateful for - new babies, happy times together, fun opportunities here at Mer Mag and much much more. We thank you for going on this journey with us and hope to share more times together with you in the new year.

Love, peace and joy to all of you.

xo
Mer

Our DIY IKEA RIBBA Picture Ledge Tree

I wanted to do something different with our Christmas tree this year and after a recent trip to IKEA, I knew just what to do. Using IKEA's Ribba Picture Ledges Jon and my brother Kenton (who was in town for Thanksgiving) helped to make my vision come to life.

I was hoping to post on this much earlier but with baby girl in the hospital all week last week (with RSV - she's doing much better) things got put on the back burner a bit. But let me tell you we've loved having this tree up (the boys too! I was afraid the wouldn't think it was as cool as a real tree but they tell everyone about it wherever we go!) and it was just the perfect thing to calm our hearts when coming home.

To make this tree we purchased three 45.25" RIBBA ledges, two 21.75" ledges and one of the small ones for the very top. Because of course this would be temporary, I decided to use Command Strips to put it up. Worked like a charm. We laid out all of our shelves to decide just how large we wanted this. In the end we came up with the following measurments:

top shelf: 9"
2nd shelf: 15.5"
3rd shelf: 23"
4th shelf: 30.5"
5th shelf: 38"
6th shelf: 45.25"

The cuts were simple and quick to make. To install, we took a look at our wall and determined that we wanted 12" between each shelf. Then using our Command Strips we put our tree up. We used a total of 6 large strips for the lowest shelf, 4 for the next one up and so on, adjusting according to the size of the shelf and what we wanted it to hold.

We then got out our holiday trimmings and decorated our new tree! The boys love it! We just have to advise them not to play with their toys on the shelves too much (yeah right! There's a good reason why the styling is off a bit on the bottom shelf ;).

I also recently tried another variation by adding all of our books from our advent to the shelves (something I actually had in mind from the get-go). I'm super happy with the results but I will advise that if you are trying to go this route, I might secure the shelves to the wall with screws as the Command Strips might not be quite strong enough.

This project was so much quicker than I had even originally imagined so you definitely could still do it this holiday season. There are so many different ways to go with this and the decorating options are endless. I already have an entirely new deco scheme planned for next year! (or maybe I'll do it this year...you never know what mom's going to rearrange around here).

Meet Sweet Baby M

Sweet Baby M turned three weeks today and we are all head-over-heels smitten with her. I was hoping to have her birth story up on the blog last week but with four-year-old birthday parties, sleepless nights and grade school coughs and sniffles, things have been a bit "congested" around here. I do however have plans to share it this week if all goes well. I also have a slew of costume round-ups from years pasts to share as well as more Halloween fun!

Hope you have all been enjoying one of the most magical yet fleeting times of year. We've managed to have a few romps through the fall leaves (bringing baby M along for the fun...what a trooper) and have plans for pumpkin patches and cider sipping nights. Can't wait.

happy monday!

(baby M pictured above in our DIY hand stamped swaddle blanket. It's been soo great!)

Passing on the Legacy of the Doll

Hello friends! Sorry it's been such a quiet week around here. I'm actually up to my neck in fun kids craft projects that I can't share with you quite yet (but can't wait until I can!). And of course I'm scrambling to get so many things completed before this little girl gets here - now scheduled to be arriving on Oct. 2 (if not before!).  Things have been bustling around here and there is definitely an air of excitement and anticipation in our home. The boys are just over the moon about the prospect of getting to meet their little sister and so are Jon and I.

Our space in our home is very small so we have been trying to find the best way to incorporate this little girl into the room with her brothers. It's been a little restrictive but I'm always up for a design challenge (I'm finding the "less is more" aesthetic is definitely crucial for this space to work, which is hard as we need so much more...). Little by little we are adding small touches of "little girl" into our home and our lives. Just one of those touches is the the introduction to the doll in our home, such as this darling vintage doll, with a new hand sewn ensemble, gifted to baby girl by my sister Lorajean.

















The boys are trying to take this all in, especially A who has always been afraid of dolls (he insists that all dolls be removed from the guest room when we stay at my in-laws...he claims that they are looking at him and it makes him squeamish). That fear has now been translated into silly play where one of the boys will grab this doll and chase the other one around the house with it, giggling and threatening to scare one another. Oh boy. We've had a few chats about how we need to respect little sisters stuff and how this might make her sad in the future, etc....but we'll see how much it sticks (and I can't deny suppressing a few giggles and eye rolls of familiarity when thinking about teasing older brothers, who will torment and pester their sister one minute and then defend and protect her in the next breathe...something I know a thing or two about - having just such an older brother).



Well her brother's are going to need to get used to a few dolls around here because one thing I've been dying to delve into is the world of the doll. Well OK, I've sort of been into dolls for perhaps my entire life...and I just may or may not already have a small collection of them (that the boys have never seen). In fact, when we were found out we were expecting our third I told Jon that I was going to have to buy this blonde Blythe doll for the baby if it was a girl...and if it was a boy, well then the doll would just have to be for me :). (We didn't get the doll...yet....).

You see this affinity for dolls is really a part of my legacy. My mother was (and still is) a doll artisan of sorts. I grew up watching her make dolls and she has experimented with a wide variety of mediums from porcelain to cloth. I can remember watching her pour the porcelain into tiny hand molds and was mesmerized when I would watch her take tiny paint brushes and create little lips, eye brows and if it was a cloth doll, even eyes. She was also very picky about which dolls she would purchase for myself and my sisters. She would inspect them from top to bottom to see how they and their clothing were made before ever jumping into a sale. They had to have just the right look and design, or forget about it, we didn't get them (we never had Barbies - they didn't make the cut). She somehow ended up with five girls all with different hair colors and we all loved how our dolls would often match our hair color (I always got the lighter brunettes). I think my mother secretly loved having an excuse to purchase an entire line of dolls that she was really into. We each had a Fisher Price "My Friend Doll", a Hasbro's "My Beautiful Doll" (got to love those 80's clothes!), and I can still remember the Christmas when we all got our own Lady Lovely Locks Doll...yeah, that was a good year.

My sisters have also carried on the legacy of the doll in their own lives and in their own ways. Lorajean even makes her own darling doll sculptures. I've enjoyed creating a few dolls of my own and have quite a number of ideas for the future. Needless to say, I am excited to have an opportunity to carry on this legacy of the doll...in our our own way. And hey, if I every veer into "creepy doll lady" territory, I'm confident my boy's doll aversion will be sure to keep me in check ;).

What about you? Does your family have a craft/design/toy legacy that you want to pass on? I'd love to hear about it!

Roadtrip to the Rockies: Tips for traveling across country with kids

(First off, a big Thank You to all of you fabulous readers who were able to retrieve my lost post via Google Reader! I can't tell you how happy this makes me! xoxo.) 

We are back from our annual 4th of July reunion in Colorado. We had an excellent time but are very happy to be off the road, at home and in our own beds. Unfortunately Jon couldn't join us this year as he's acting in a play and has other work that he couldn't break away from. So I decided to take the 8 hour drive out to Colorado on my own with our two boys (Oh yeah, and at 6 months pregnant). Crazy you say? Well I do agree, but in someways this was one of the best road trips I've had with the boys. Why? Well in addition to having a little help from above, I think some serious preparation and planning (and the chance to caravan with my sister's family) did just the trick.


I'd love to share a few tips (some learned the hard way :)) for traveling across country with young kids (particularly if are traveling by yourself!).

TIPS FOR ROAD TRIPPING WITH YOUNG KIDS

• Evaluate your needs and devise a plan. How old are your children? Do you have an infant/baby? Are your kids potty trained or are some in diapers still? What are their needs and how can you address them in the best way possible both ahead of time and while on the road? For example, my oldest, 6 yrs, needs a lot of brain stimulation so I prepared a lot of dot to dots, mazes, math activities, etc. for him. Whereas my youngest, 3 1/2 yrs, needs a best friend play toy at all times and needs to snack constantly, to stay in a good mood. So I made sure I was ready for both of these things and more. After evaluating you might end up deciding that being the sole driver just isn't in the cards for you at this time. But then again, you might decide that you think you (and your littles) are ready and want to take the plunge! And you might just find out, like me, that it was totally doable and worth it!
• Separate the trip into shorter, manageable sections. This doesn't mean you have to stop at each "section" of your trip (but then again you might need to for feedings, diaper changes or bathroom breaks!) but you can have mile markers where you pull out a new toy or coloring book, etc. When Jon and I drive together on long trips we typically have the rule, no videos until after dinner or when it's getting dark. This encourages the kids to engage in their planned activities while it's still light out and day dream while looking out the window (a very important part of a road trip, if you ask me). On this trip however, as I was driving by myself, I told the boys that they could start watching videos after our "middle of the trip" mile marker,  Little America (where we would be also be meeting up with caravanning cousins for a short while). This helped me out as I wouldn't have to worry about entertaining them for such long periods of time and by making this clear ahead of time they knew what was coming and how to mentally prepare themselves for how the trip would play out.

• Involve your kids in the pre-planning. Let the Littles get involved with the plan up front so they are not as thrown by any surprises. For example, we had our boys earn money for a toy from the dollar store before the trip. They then each picked out a couple of plastic Power Rangers who quickly became their inseparable (and eventually armless) road trip companions. We also took them to the library where we picked out books on CD as well as movies on DVD. I like checking out movies from the library because it's something our kids have never seen so they are engaged and excited about it, but it's not as expensive (or even free at some libraries) as purchasing an entirely new show. I then throw in a few tried and true beloved shows from our home DVD library if all else fails. We also let them come with us while picking out snacks but make sure that they didn't break into any of it until the trip. Yes they got antsy and complained, wanting the yummy thing right then but I held strong and didn't let them have any of it until we got on the road. You could also work together to make a number of homemade snacks and treat which is a really great way to go. If I did this again I'd love to pick out some of my pinned snack ideas to make such as these, these, or these (we had candy buttons on another trip and my boys loved picking them off and eating them. They quickly became my "oh no, the boys are starting to lose it, time to break out another sheet of candy buttons" trick up my sleeve). This is a fun idea as well. I think keeping these things "special" along with knowing what sort of snacks they had in store before the trip started helped them look forward to the long adventure ahead.

• Make or purchase accessories that will help your trip run smoother. This year I finally made another travel desk for Little O as well as an art portfolio case that could be used a top the desk and then placed within the underside pocket (where the board is) for storage. I then stuffed them full of fun games and activities as well as blank paper, markers and colored pencils. These were then slung over and stored on the side of their seat arm rests, making it accessible whenever they wanted it. As my oldest is more capable of helping himself and his brother out, I also put a bag full of additional books, games, tag readers, etc. between their seats so that they could help them selves out when they needed a change of entertainment. I also made sure that the boys each had a water bottle full and available at all times. I kept the snacks in a box in the captain's chair and passed them back when needed. Both my boys can now unwrap their own drink box straws, string cheese wrappers and more, making things that much easier (hooray!).
• Don't forget to assess your needs for the trip. Whether you are teaming up with another driver or going solo, you can't forget to evaluate your own needs for the trip. I mean, if practically every responsibility is going to to fall into your lap, you need to make sure you are happy, comfortable and excited about the adventure you have in store! Being 6 months pregnant I had make sure that I stayed well hydrated, had lots of healthy snacks (as well as the essential sour gummy snacks that keep my senses alert) and had opportunities for breaks to get out and stretch my legs (which the kids needed as well, so it worked out great!). I also needed to be engaged in the audio books so I had some say in what we finalized when going to the library before hand (Being a YA/Middle Grade illustrator, I'm quite the fan of these books so I was more than OK with a younger sort of book. You might have work something out when you can listen to a more adult book, perhaps while the kids are watching shows or have fallen asleep). Make a number of mixed CD's with music that will engross you and keep you alert and awake. I love songs that bring me back to past times in my life. Waxing nostalgic amidst stretches of red rocks, prairies and endless road can be quite fulfilling. This is also a great time to plan fun projects and brain storm about the future. I can't tell you how many young adult "novels" I've written in my head while road tripping. Maybe someday they will amount to something :). I also found that Instagramming the trip made things much more bearable for me. I was able to keep Jon in the loop and not feel so alone on this long journey (you might notice that a number of these pics here are from Instagram. I'm new to this world but if you want to follow me you can find me at mer_mag).

• Be willing to roll with the punches. As you can probably guess, traveling with kids requires a certain amount of flexibility. Fights might break out when you least expect. They need to go to the bathroom just ten minutes after visiting the last rest stop. They claim to be "bored" with the unending amount of activities you have planned for them (many of which they haven't even bothered to look at!), etc. For I us I decided that I was going to make this trip about the trip itself, and not just the destination. So when all else failed, we found a random place to stop, get out and photograph the beautiful scenes before us (Oh and I brought a long a digital camera for the boys to take pics themselves. The giggled for a good 30 minutes taking pictures of each other legs, noses, etc. while in the car. I highly recommend this for kids who can work a camera).

Stopping and taking breaks actually ended up being one my fondest experiences of this trip. We were able stop at one my favorite landmarks, the little white church in Virginia Dale, CO. My friend's grandfather actually built this darling church and I have wanted to stop and take a closer look at it for some time. Yes making these types of stops adds time to the trip but for us, it turned out to be completely worth it.
When we finally did arrive at my parents in Colorado we jumped right into to the pool to relax and cool off!
We were so ready and excited for all the 4th of July festivities to begin. And I what a fun time we had! I can't wait to share our story and all of our pics with you, which I will be doing so very soon!

What about you? What works for you when traveling with little ones? Do you have any helpful hints on how to make things go smoother? Or some funny flops, if nothing else :). If so please share. I know we'd all love to hear them!

What I'm up to when the blog is slow...And a Giveaway!

**Update: Giveway Now Closed**

So you might have noticed the blog has a few lulls every now and again. This typically happens when things get a little crazy around here. You see, in addition to crafting, blogging and the typical mom stuff (soccer camp, art camp, music class, oh my!) I more than likely have a number of exciting illustration projects on my plate. And so I thought, instead of hiding out when this happens, why not share a few of them with you?! I do have an illustration blog, that is quite neglected and not at all updated regularly, but I think I might try to merge some of these things onto Mer Mag. What do you think? Would you be interested?
At the moment I'm working on a super super fun project! I can't disclose what it is but it involves horses and I just can't wait to share it! I also have a number of other book projects going on that are just so cute and so much fun! If you are interested in looking up some of my work, I illustrate under the "pen name" Tuesday Mourning. Long story but basically I just loved the name and enjoy it when artist personas are as whimsical as their work.

You might have noticed from this blog that I love children's toys and so when I have the opportunity to illustrate for companies like Mudpuppy, working on great projects such as these fun finger puppets and flip draw book, I'm just head over heels! I'm crazy for this kind of stuff, aren't you? And I have to say, you should get some, because they are so much fun! And better yet, super affordable. The finger puppets are only $6 and the flip draw book is $8! Perfect birthday gifts, if you ask me.
And guess what? I'd love to share some with you! I've decided to gift a set of finger puppets and a ballerina flip draw book to one lucky reader. What do you say?! Just make a comment mentioning one of your favorite creative summer activities and I'll enter you into the drawing to win these fun gifts! And if you like "mer mag" on facebook and I'll enter you in twice! (I know, I'm seriously a slow poke when it comes to social networking - just joined Instagram this past week - so I'm finally getting around to really sharing mer mag on facebook :)).

You have until Friday to enter. I'll then Announce the winner on Monday, June 25th!

OH BOY have we got news!

So if you didn't catch my very subtle announcement at the end of this post we are expecting!! And we couldn't be happier. The baby is due Oct. 4th and...

And we couldn't be more thrilled! The boys and I are over the moon to welcome a new little lady into our home. And although I'll be sure to keep up with the "boy" aesthetic and gender neutral crafts that you've all grown to love from Mer Mag, I can't deny that I might throw in a bit more femininity here and there. I think it will only broaden the range of fun stuff we can do, right!?

We're having fun thinking of names, nesting, rearranging things, trying to figure out how she will fit in our little home while already making a place for her to fit into our hearts. A swears he will "change her diapers" (we'll see how that one will go, I'm happy if he ends up being willing to throw them out for me). Little O is so excited and talks about how cute she will be. He's quick to point out every little baby he sees. Once he squealed when he saw a little baby girl and loudly proclaimed "Mom! Look they have a baby girl and she already came out!". And I dare say, I think Jon just might be the most excited of us all. He's sworn she'll never touch her crib (he'll be holding her so much) and he's even started a pin board for little girl clothing which just blows me away. It's pretty adorable to see really. And me, well I'm just looking forward to meeting her, learning about her personality and trying really hard not to impose all my girly dreams on her :). So yeah, I have a plethora of pin board ideas as well and I'm pumped to start sewing, sewing, sewing!!!

So any advice from transitioning from two to three kids? I'm a little nervous, I have to admit. And what about having a girl? This is all new territory for me! I'd love to hear your thoughts and stories!

School's (almost) out for the summer!

Posts have been light this week because we are in full End of School mode! A had a teddy bear picnic at the park with his class today and tomorrow is a field day his last official day of school! I'm equal parts excited and nervous about having both boys home all day, everyday! Of course we'll do the summer classes, sports camps and swimming, etc. but I'm sure we'll still have to come up with A LOT of fun crafts to keep these little guys entertained. And like always, we'll be sure to share them all with you!

Little O and I have also been enjoying our last few days together one on one with ice cream dates here and park excursions there. He'll be headed off to preschool next year (again, equal parts relieved and sad my little guy is growing up).

We also have our first official family reunion this weekend. And so it begins. WooHoo for summer!

Painting Beds Peach: Or Teaching Your Kids to Love Work (and Design?) at an Early Age

Our family spent the weekend working, working, working! We've been rearranging our little home to better suit our current and future needs as a family and the boys were right there with us the entire time (OK, we did have to send them out to the back yard a couple of times and did put in a show for them from time to time when things got super hectic, but for the most part, they were right there in on the action with us).

We started the day with painting the boys beds, and let me tell you, the boys were really into it. I love the excitement and fervor little ones have when the are included in on "adult" work.
Wanting to take advantage of their excitement, I decided to put them to work. So we suited them up in paint gear (a.k.a old seasonal pj's) gave them some brushes and rollers and let them go at it. Well, we did have some guidelines for them, so things didn't get too out of control, such as:

1. Stay on the plastic.
2. Only dip your brush/roller into the paint after applying several coats to the beds.
3. When dipping into paint only get a little bit of paint, letting excess paint drip off before applying brush/roller to bed.
Etc.

Throughout this process I also learned that as a parent I needed to follow a few guidelines myself, such as:

1. Don't overreact when they make mistakes (which is pretty much a guarantee with Littles), such as when they get globs of paint in spots on the bed. Simply point out what is going on and help them to smooth it out.
2. If you need to go back over things, be careful to let them know that they did a great job, and that your painter job is the "follow upper", or something with an even sillier name.
3. Be patient.
4. Put on some fun motivating music to keep all of your spirits up (we tuned it to Pandora's Vampire Weekend station and rocked out).
5. Try to run with their enthusiasm and not to squelch it when they want to do something above and beyond what you had in mind for them. Realize that pushing your limits (as well as theirs) is just as much a part of this process.
6. But even still, remember that it's OK to have boundaries, like when they want to paint the underside of the bed. Say, "Oh I'm so happy you LOVE painting so much, but we don't really need to do that and we are done, so let's put the paint and brushes away now".
7. Teach them how to clean up (and the importance of it), even though you really just want to do it yourself as it will be much faster and a whole lot less of a mess.
8. Sigh in relief when it's all through, and then pat yourself on the back for aiding in creating self-actualized human beings and relish in the family work time spent together.

(notice how I had many more guidelines than they did throughout this process?! Remember, teaching kids to work, and to love it, is actually more work for you in the short term, but a huge pay off for both you and them in the long run).

I can recall a number of fond memories working with my family as child. One such memory involved my dad and my older sister and I deep cleaning our entire kitchen one Saturday morning so that we could then go to a water park later on that afternoon. I'm sure I initially wasn't into it but as we all chipped in together and cranked up the Beach Boys we all had a really really fun time. (I still think of this memory when hearing certain Beach Boys songs to this day! I think my sister also introduced me to Tori Amos that morning and I've loved her ever since.) I can remember feeling closer to my dad and sister in this moment than in our typical day to day interactions. Isn't it crazy how work can do this?! I also remember that the first water park we wanted to go to was closed down so our dad drove us all the way to Loveland, Co (another town just outside of where we lived) to catch the very last few moments of that water park before it closed. I can't say as I remember much of that water park experience, but I do remember the fun I had cleaning the kitchen with my dad and sister very well!

OK, so In addition to painting beds, we moved the boys into our larger room and put our things into a much smaller room (which I actually LOVE a whole lot more as it has a much more cozy, clean and simple vibe to it now). I got a quick snapshot of the boys new "in progress" room just as the light was beginning to fade (which explains the dark, graininess of the photo).
We love it so far (although I really want to change the boys quilts out for a simple grey and white patterned comforter, such as these from West Elm. Don't you just love peach and grey together?! Although Jon fears it will veer too feminine. What do you think?). Well I was sure to point out to the boys what a difference all of their hard work made, and they are definitely over the moon about their new beds. We have sort of a manta in our house that goes something like "sometimes things are hard, but we do them anyway". We are then sure to point out the pay offs, and stuff like, "it will get easier the more you do it", etc. I'm big on not letting my kids miss out on experiences in life just because they were too afraid or because it was "too hard" (or let's be honest, because it was too hard for me to deal with at the time). Jon jokes that I sort of lean towards a "China Mom" parenting philosophy in this respect. I'm definitely not all China Mom but I strongly agree with the last statement from this article: "the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they're capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away."   And hey, if I ever get too intense I think my mom's influence of laid back California parenting kicks in and helps to balance things out a bit - or at least I tell myself this to feel a bit better when I lean too far to one side or the other...

So what about you? Any tips you've come up with to help your kids learn to work and to love it? Do you increase the "at home work load" once school is out or do you just let them lazily dream in fields of green grass? Or both? How do you find the balance? I'd really LOVE to hear what your thoughts are on this!

xo
Mer

Moms

I'm trusting you all had a lovely Mother's Day weekend. I was spoiled. Jon and the boys made me sweet fruit crepes for breakfast (SO perfect and yummy!) and then savory ham, mushroom and cheddar cheese crepes for lunch (to die for). The littles showered me with home made cards which are a mother's dream. A made me two of them and said the most lovely things, like "Mom, you are beydoful" (i.e. beautiful). Little O drew me an excellent picture of us saving Mario Universe together. So him, and so perfect.

And of course I couldn't forget my own lovely mother (pictured above with her first child, my older sister Daryllyn) on this most perfect weekend. My mom is a legend. She's mothered 9 (and is actually still mothering...2 are still under her wing at home) creative, strong, spirited, and dare I say somewhat challenging (OK, I'm owning up to that one) children and she did it with creativity, humor and fun. My mother is all about fun. And I swear, it's a big thing that has kept my family close. We just LOVE to be together so much because we have SO MUCH FUN and love to LAUGH! My mom's a California girl all the way too. She grew up in South Pasadena (where we recently moved from) and even though she's been in Colorado for many many years, she just can't shake her laid back California ways and she NEVER wears anything but sandals. I think there was a short period in the 80's when she would wear boots in the winter, but that didn't last and to this day she still wears sandal wedges in the winter. After living in gorgeous Cali for three years, I can relate to how hard it is to put socks back on when you've been going without them for long.

My mother is also the queen of creativity and I have to credit her for laying the foundation of a richly creative life for me. In fact, my mother is actually quite the artist. She can whip out a pretty wonderfully stylized caricature of any one of us siblings, and it is dead on. She also is an amazing seamstress and I grew up with her at the sewing machine, like pretty much non stop. She made us ALL of our Halloween costumes, and remember when I said she has 9 children? Well I'm not kidding you when I say that she made all nine of us costumes, year after year (OK we did re-wear costumes from Halloweens in the past at times, but you can bet at least 3 new ones were made every year. In fact we knew we had to put in our order early if we wanted ours to be priority. And even still, she usually whipped them all out one or two nights before the big day).

Well needless to say, I think my mom's pretty great and hope to incorporate all of her wonders into my own parenting. Oh and she's a FUN grandmother! Just last night she told my Little O a bedtime story over the phone so he would go to sleep and both my boys insist on me pushing their "dream button" (the tips of their fingers) every night so that their dreams will start and that they will have good ones (something grandma introduced to them). I love my mom.
 And I can't forget my most lovely Mother-in-law, Jon's mom (pictured above with her first child, Karen). She is a beautiful mother who carries out her life with style and grace. And Oh the things she can cook! If I had just one ounce of culinary talent that she has, I'd consider myself a success in the kitchen. And don't get me started with her gardening skills. Let's just say, she's a wonder. And she has always been so loving and welcoming of me and is a dream of a grandmother. If A had his way, he would be going on walks and hikes with her, pretty much every day. And picking peas with grandma from her garden? Well, I'm pretty sure there are few things more magical than that for my boys.

So yeah, I'm super thankful for mom's and the wonderful examples of them that I have in my life. I consider myself blessed to be a mom, and although far from a perfect one...I'm grateful for the chance to go on this crazy (and sometimes magical) ride called life, as a mom to my wonderful littles...all three of them...er um...did I just spill the beans there?...

Turn the record player up, for that sweet sound...

While we been making a more concerted effort to unplug the TV we've simultaneously decided to plug in Jon's vintage record player and have been collecting a very fun selection of our favorite tunes and stories ever since. The result - a most enjoyable atmosphere of crackly tunes, singing, dancing and happy happy faces.

I started collecting vintage kids records (as well as some show tunes, a little Neil Diamond here and a little Temptations there...and anything else that spoke to us) the late part of last year when we found Jon's record player in storage. In fact, we've sort of started a new tradition of taking the family to thrift stores every other week to look for vintage record treasures. (We've also made it a point to stop at thrift stores wherever we travel to see what their vinyl selection is.) And we've been thrilled with what we've found.

The boys favorites are the Chipmunks see Doctor Doolittle (we have the Christmas album too), the Smurfs Sing Along and the Return of the Jedi record and book read-along (we think we might have to go to ebay for the rest of the Star Wars collection as we've not been able to find anymore in stores).

My personal favorites are Annie, Mary Poppins (the vintage cover art is just to die for), Peter Pan and Robin Hood (I was seriously head over heels for Robin Hood when I was younger and was convinced that to be Maid Marian would be the most exquisite thing in the entire world. I mean, does it get any better than Disney's waterfall scene? I think not.)

We recently had some needle disrepair so we are waiting for a new one to arrive in the mail, and let me tell you, I'm going through some serious withdrawals. Our home is just not the same without that old time vinyl sound vibrating throughout its walls. On a recent trip to see my sister, we found a treasure trove of records at her thrift store that we are still waiting to listen to. I seriously can't stand the suspense.

I can tell the boys miss it too. If they aren't singing and dancing along to the records, they are sitting and playing quietly while listening to suspenseful or silly stories.

What about you? Do you own a record player? Where do you find your records? Thrift stores? Online? And has it made a difference in your home? I'd love to hear your stories as well as which records are your favorite (and that I just might need to add to our collection)!

Unplugged

Jon and I had noticed that our boys behavior had been especially out of sorts in recent months. We noticed a significant increase in the drama department early on in the beginning of the year when we returned home from our holiday travels. They weren't being creative, they didn't really play with their toys and they were fighting with us and each other non-stop.

Then we figured it out. The boys received a couple of WII games for Christmas (Little A's only request from Santa) and wanted to play them ALL the time. Of course we didn't let them play nonstop, but they still were exceptionally cranky and disobedient when they weren't playing or watching DVD's or TV. I tried to encourage them to play with their toys more, go outside and be more creative...but Little A rejected the notion wholeheartedly (not normal for him) and the whole ordeal usually ended in bouts of crying and writhing on the floor.

Something had to be done.

So we did it.

We pulled the plug.

No TV, No WII, No DVD's, No Netflix (which I think is choice overload for a small child and not my favorite platform for kids TV)...for a week, at least.

And little by little my sweet little creative, playful boys came back. They began imagining new things to do with their toys (such as line them all up a top their beds - which have been squished together during the colder months as Little O kept getting sick sleeping by the window) and they didn't come to me so much complaining of boredom.

Once things were back to normal for a decent amount of time we did let them watch a show or play a WII game here and there but we are now much more careful about monitoring their time with the tele and make sure that it stays very limited. And if things ever get out of sorts again...well...we know just what to do.

Have you ever experienced TV/Video Game sensory overload with your children? Do they act out? What are your back up plans keep things in check? Do you think this happens to adults as well? I'd love for you to share your tips!

Altitude Design Summit

("I heart SLC" shirt made from Freezer Paper stencil for the conference)

Hello friends! I'm currently in Salt Lake City along with a slew of fantastic design blogging friends (and personal heros) and I couldn't be more in heaven. If you haven't yet heard of ALT, you are in for a real treat. In short, it's a dream design blog conference full of fantastically inspiring people. You can get more of the low down here.

OK, so you might be surprised but I really haven't left my children to go galavanting off to conferences, or even on a couples retreat...like ever. (I know, Jon and I seriously need a little Valentines rendezvous, don't you think?).

So as excited as I am to have a bit of time away, it feels a little weird to up and leave. To make things easier on the boys (or on me?) I left them a little gift (just a fun activity book) for them to open after I left, letting them know how much I love them and asking them to be good to dad, and that I'll be back soon, etc. I wanted to make them a batch of Hershey Kiss cookies like my mom did once when she went away for a wedding. I remember feeling so much love from her every time I ate one of them. I unfortunately didn't manage to get around to it, but maybe I'll have to keep that in mind for next year! Because if the rest of the week is as good as this first night has been, I know I'll be back!

And I know that the boys will be having the time of their lives while I'm away (I'm sure there will be a lot of WII playing going on. Jon turns into a little boy himself with he's with those two...it's really quite adorable...and a little funny).

(the boys made a matching triangle shirt for Jon last year for father's day)

what things really look like around here...

It seems like every year December gets just a bit more busy than the previous year and every year I recommit myself to trying to simplify during this month. Yeah...I'm still working on it. Right now, while little A is at school, I've been busy filling etsy orders, drawing and painting portraits and working on illustration jobs, all while little King Kong does a number on his toys in his room and I try to keep the season merry and bright for all. In actuality, I love having this activity as it adds to the spirit of giving for me. I love to send out packages to customers knowing that they are a special gift for a loved one. I love being able to share in the joy of it all. I do however have to be careful to keep things balanced...well at least to some degree...

So what about you? What is your secret to keeping things in check? Are you like me and love the hustle and bustle, so long as it doesn't start spiraling out of control? Or are you good at just taking things slow, kicking your feet up and warming you bones by the fire?

[Crayon installations and...]

So things are starting to look more like home around here and I can't tell you how much of a relief that is. I don't do well amidst clutter and boxes - let's just say it doesn't bring out the best in me. For better of for worse, I'm highly influenced by my surroundings. So I'm happy to report that I'm feeling calm and happy now that things are more or less in order and I'm ready leap right into fall.

The boys are also really starting to feel more at ease here. Little O is our assertive explorer and has discovered what to do with every nook and cranny in our new home. Such as this creative crayon installation that he initiated.

Little A jumped right in to join in the fun. And I have to say, I'm quite taken with their creative eye. Those clever little artists.

And so my only question is, is it too early to delve into Halloween? When do you start your frightful festivities? Do you wait until October or do some of you sneak into the spooky fun before the harvest month begins? Do Share!