Boozey Friday Night Post

Tonight we enjoyed pitchers of Blue Moon beer and double decker pizza with a friend from work. We had a long and interesting conversation about politics. Noone was hurt. Now I have to try to recover enough to get up and run in the morning. Ugh. Fortunately, he's going with me.


In a totally unrelated topic, here is the bunny that lives in our backyard. This is the closest shot I've ever gotten of him! He's (she?) very squirrely. See the little brown spot with ears back by the "flower beds"?!

Gentleman Caller

A very polite young man came to visit me today. I think he said "Thank you, Leta" approximately 50 times while he was here. We had a great time playing outside and investigating all of Arwyn's new toys. Thanks for visiting, Henry!

Paint Projects

This is what I've been doing when Arwyn is gone. Painting anything that's not bolted down. Bubby sneakily took these pictures of me through the living room window.



My stripey table and chairs. In the background of this one, you can see the next project awaiting my attention: the fence. B has power washed part of it and I need to wait for him to finish before I start painting. I was hoping to get this done while Arwyn was gone this week, but it hasn't happened. Maybe next time.

Before After

Here's what my boring, ugly front porch used to look like.

Plain dirty white rocking chairs and strangely painted blue school desk.

Here's the redecorated version!

Not Sure How to Respond to This One

Bubby has a very nice, very expensive laptop that he brings home from work. Arwyn has been told repeatedly not to touch it. She once colored on it and then yelled, "NO!". A few days ago she pointed at it and said, "No touch Daddy's 'puter" except it really really sounded like "No touch Daddy's peter". Um, yeah, that's right. No touch.

Day Three

Around 2:30 this afternoon I realized that I hadn't washed my face or brushed my teeth yet today. I usually do those two things as soon as I get up in the morning. Since Arwyn is visiting my sister, as soon as I get up I head straight for the computer to check my e-mail just in case I might have an e-mail from my sister telling me how everything is going and what they have been doing. As I was belatedly washing my face, I had the thought that this is what it will be like when Arwyn is grown up and gone from our home. I will compulsively check my e-mail 50 times a day to see what she is doing and if she is ok. After two years I'm finally used to her being here and now I wonder if you ever get used to them being gone.

We Don't Color on Our Vagina

Just add it to the list of "Things I Thought I'd Never Say". I was changing Arwyn's diaper one day and she happened to have a blue crayon in her hand. I bent down to pick up a clean diaper, and the next thing I know she's coloring away in her "area". When Bubby came home I said, "If you see any blue marks down there, I didn't do it." Uh, no photo for this post.

Stragglers

These are the favor bags and CD's that we passed out at the party. In case you haven't figured it out, we had a fruit theme going on. Inside the gift bags were fruit stickers, fruit magnets that I made, fruit gummies, Twizzlers, and Runts. You can barely see one in this photo, but I made the little tags that said "happy birthday no. 2 arwyn!". Bubby and I collaborated on the CD. I picked out the songs (tried for fruit or b-day topics) and he burned all the CD's and made the labels. Our good friend drew the fruits and Bubs colored them in with his magic computer. B gets bonus points for buying the colored paper envelopes.


These are cards that I made for a garland that hung on the front of the food table. I used acrylic paint and foam stamps and punched little holes in the top and strung them on some curly ribbon. Then I had the excellent idea to take them off the ribbon and use them as thank you cards. My efforts were not in vain, and I don't have to buy (or make) additional thank you cards.

This was the scene on our front porch Saturday night. B whipped up some strawberry daiquiris (enough with the fruit!) and we lit every citronella candle we owned. I only made it through one game of Skip-Bo (I won, natch) before I had to go collapse in my bed, like a frazzled old lady.

Birthday Girl Recap

Whew! We have had quite the weekend here at the Horstman household. Friday morning we had a birthday playdate for all of our little friends in the backyard. There was lots of messy painting, snacking and sliding. I think everyone mingled well and had a good time. Arwyn decided to see what the paint tasted like. Not very yummy, from the looks of things.


This is the fruit pizza that I made for the family/friend party on Saturday morning. I made Ju-Ju slice it because I just couldn't stand to do it. It was very yummy and pretty easy to make. I might have to make it for future get-togethers.


This is the awesome birthday cake that Ju-Ju made for Saturday's shindig. That girl did everything I ORDERED her to do for the four days that she was here and wanted me to give her more things to do. She made cupcakes and the cake. She went to the store, she folded laundry, she shopped with me, she ran with me, she kept Arwyn out of the way so I could get things done. She didn't raise an eyebrow no matter how many times I said the f-word. She mopped my floor, for pete's sake. Now THAT'S a true friend.


Here's Arwyn opening one of her gifts. She was very excited about presents and oohed and aaahed over just about everything. One of our friends got her a little baby doll and she promptly threw it on the ground and yelled "One, two, three! Wake up, Jeff!!" (from the Wiggles). Almost as funny as in church this morning, Fr. Steve was talking about Jesus being asleep on a cushion and I whispered in Bubby's ear "Wake up, Jesus!" Gotta love Wiggles humor.


This is one of my favorite photos of the day. I didn't know Bubby had taken it until I went through all the pics. I can't believe my baby girl is two.


I don't think we got a picture, but we did get a video, of her "blowing" out the candle on the cake Saturday. It was rather windy outside and I couldn't get the candle to stay lit, so we faked it. I just said, "OK, blow out the candle!", she blew and everybody clapped. Crisis averted.

Arwyn is visiting my sister (AGAIN, I'm such a lucky dog) so I should have time to work on some more projects around the house and catch up on all my blog reading. More birthday pictures are on flickr.

A Bit Belated

This is the Father's Day card I made for Bubby's dad. We are so on top of the freaking ball that we haven't even GIVEN it to him yet. Yeah, we're good like that. Plain ole' card stock base, textured green card stock hills, blue card stock sky, car sticker, tag-line printed on computer and inked edges.


I swear on all things that are holy, I'll post birthday party pictures of the terrific 2-year old soon, very soon. I am so wiped out, I'm not functioning so great. I kept rolling right up through the party, then crashed. I'm still in recovery mode and my bed is singing me a siren song.

Postcards from the Edge of My Sanity

Here are the fruits of our labor from Katie's postcard project. I still have to finish writing some of them and mail all of them. If you are expecting a postcard from us, um you'll get it next week maybe? I'm planning a birthday party for crying out loud. Then there will be thank you cards to produce. Sheesh.


She really, really, REALLY likes to paint. Sometimes its hard to tell if she's saying "pants" or "paint" and I usually try to pass it off as pants. Sometimes it works ("Pants! Pink pants! Arwyn's pink pants!", sometimes not. This session was good for at least 30 minutes, which was almost equal to the clean-up time.


Arwyn Dae originals.

And why is everyone talking about puke?

Daddy Day

Happy Daddy's Day Bubs. I hope you had fun.

Red

These are house numbers that hang in our dining room. They were from Pottery Barn, and are now on mega-sale, but apparently only if you want 6 or 9.


This is the Grocery Man. He used to hang in my grandparent's retro red and white kitchen. I inherited him (and the pencil!) later. He now lives in my kitchen by the back door.



This is a little hodge-podge of vintage items. The chair belongs to the 1950's table-and-chairs that I inherited from my grandparents. The rolling pin towel on the back of the chair was my grandma's, as were the two plaid towels stacked on the chair seat. The other red item on the back of the chair was my grandma's kitchen curtain. It is in really bad shape, and I'm not much of a seamstress so I haven't tried to repair it. I'm not really sure what I'll do with it, but I have to hang on to it. The white towel with the red stripe I picked up at an antique shop in New Harmony. I bought the red Pyrex container on ebay awhile back and the potholder and red plastic basket were also my grandma's. I was so excited to find the red basket. I have wanted to use it a few times and couldn't find it anywhere and thought it was lost forever. When I was searching for items for this picture, I found it in the cabinet above the fridge, inside a roasting pan. Welcome back little basket!

Blue

Here we have a small metal box that came with my grandma's sewing machine from the 1960's.


Inside of said box. All of these items were in the box when I got it.


Some retro dished that I purchased from ebay "for Bubby". I really like dishes and we saw these in a magazine and he liked them also, so I found some on ebay and bought them for him. Behind the dishes is our living room wall.

My Baby!

The colors are looking a little jacked up on my screen, but this is the Totally Awesome and Rad party invitation that my man made for my baby's party next weekend. That's right. We're having a humongoid playdate on Friday and a family/friend party on Saturday. Because I am certifiably insane. Never fear, Ju-Ju will be here. Ju-Ju is my best friend from forever and ever (seriously, since I was in 8th grade - hello, permed hair and rolled jeans!) and she's coming to stay with us next week! YIPEE!! She does things no normal person would ever do, like mow the yard, or help me clean and grocery shop, or draw five hundred little polka dots on bowls for the party because THE BOWLS HAVE TO HAVE PINK AND GREEN POLKA DOTS.

The party is in 10 days and the invitations are sitting on my desk. My Bubs, he is a bit of a procrastinator and perfectionist. Do you know what this does to an organizational freak such as myself? Next year I will start riding his ass a month in advance. Mark my words, Bubby!

In other news, To My Asshole Neighbor Who Likes to Set Off Fireworks at 11:30 pm: It is June 13, not July 3. Cut that shit out.

Oh, and also today we got an invitation to this guy's show opening in July. I can't wait to see it, dude.

Black & Grey

An old rotary telephone that used to be Bubby's grandmother's and it still works, although the reception is pretty staticky. We have it set up in this little alcove in the wall in the hallway.


A vintage apron (looks homemade) that I found at a yardsale last year. A cast iron skillet that I found at a garage sale this year for 5o cents. Background is my dining room table, which was my grandparent's, circa 1950's.


Some shells that we brought back from vacation. It seems so long ago already.

Brown

I'm finally jumping on the Color Week bandwagon today. I am actually on the verge of loathing brown, unless it is a super-rich, dark chocolatey brown. I have very few brown things in my house. If it was brown, its probably been painted over. Like Stephanie said, I'm one of those neutral-schmeutral types. I just don't DO neutral.

This chair was Bubby's when he was a little boy. It has been varnished, so I haven't been able to sand it down and get at it with my paint brush. Alas, we don't own a sander. (See the floor? Used to be brown.)


This is some granola that I made Saturday morning. It was, um, interesting. Perhaps I need a better recipe, or maybe I should just stick with the store-bought kind.


And here is a shot of the back of Arwyn's sweet little head. I color my hair a lot (hello, don't like brown), but seeing how pretty hers is almost makes me want to go au natural. Almost.

Blowing Bubbles

Or maybe I should make that Attempting to Blow Bubbles. Yesterday I set up the pool in the backyard and we played "pas-side". She actually did produce a few bubbles. Then after awhile, handed the bubble wand back to me and said, "Mommy do it." A new phrase that she has started saying recently is "Try again!", which I think is so endearing. It seems like after she came home from spending a week at my sister's, she is suddenly saying all sorts of things and putting more and more words together. Bubble blowing is one of Katie's 50 Days of Summer activities for the week. We haven't dropped behind yet! Give us time, its only the first week.

Arwyn's Playdate to Be

This is the invitation to Arwyn's birthday playdate. I decided to go digital this time. I thought it would be easier than making them all by hand. All images are from istockphoto. Layout is Adobe InDesign. I had to ask Bubby to help me with a few things. Being the designing genius that he is, it was mere child's play for him. He didn't even sigh one time!

Happy Graduation

This is the giftbag and tag that I made for my nephew who graduated from high school. Twenty cent (I kid you not) giftbag from WalMart. Tag is cardstock, printed papers, stickers, ink, and hole protector. Tied with ribbon and rick-rack. Background is an art drop-cloth thingy I got for Arwyn at Target for $1. She's crafty and cheap, er I mean frugal.

Hedgie Brahms

This is an albino hedgehog that belongs to a friend of ours. He didn't mind having his picture taken, but he didn't like it very much when I touched his pricklies (that sounds vaguely dirty, but it wasn't, i promise). He kind of made this little huffing, put-out sort of noise. He was very cute.

Swappy Goodness

This is the awesome kid's cd swap package I received from Kristin! It was jam-packed full of goodies.


First of all, the awesome Latin-infused cd she made for us with pictures of her little one on the cover and label. Also included were a Hello Kitty charm, Hello Kitty sticker book and stickers, crafty stamps, an adorable children's hankie, a really cool reversable headband, a sweet note and those totally cool little paper stars scattered throughout! Thank you so much, Kristin! Can't wait to boogie down with Miss Arwyn! Background fabric is an apron my best friend made for Arwyn for Christmas.

I Thank You

Here are the thank you cards I wanted to postpone posting on until they were received. This one was for my friend's parents, who graciously hosted us for two nights during our vacation. Card stock, printed paper, ribbon, brad, ink.


This one was for my friend who invited us on the trip, organized said trip, bought groceries, loaned me diapers, and generally covered my ass the entire time. Cardstock, printed paper, ribbon, ink. The "thanks" was a scrap I cut out of a magazine or catalogue at some point.


Here's a close-up of the tag that sits inside the pocket.


I spent all day yesterday painting a rocking chair and hope to do the second chair today, so that will be my next crafty project post.

Summertime in the (Not Very Big) City

I signed up for Katie's 50 Days of Summer. Maybe it will give us some good ideas for fun activities to get us through the summer. So far our summer has been a string of nothing-to-do days when everyone I know is on vacation in between trips we are taking. I need a little more structure to our schedule. Or at least something to keep me from going crazy.

Happy Retirement

Sunday afternoon we went to a retirement party for Bubby's uncle. I think after this trip I am officially fired as navigator in the car. Bubs discovered that I was looking at the hand-drawn map upside down. In my defense, it wasn't a very good map and the street signs were mostly pointing the wrong direction, which wasn't very helpful. We finally arrived without too much huffing or yelling, and Arwyn had a great time running around outside with her cousins and drinking lots of lemonade (out of a big cup!).


Then when she was done with the lemonade, the cup apparently morphed into a ball.

Eventually, she started sticking her hand inside the cup and pouring the lemonade on the ground. That's when I decided she'd had enough lemonade.


This is the card I made for the occassion. Cardstock, printed paper, ribbon, snaps, wire raffia, ink.

Home Again

I just returned from a two-day trip to my hometown to visit my sister and her family. This is probably the only five minutes of the stay that Arwyn wasn't throwing a fit.


She goes to stay by herself quite a bit and my sister always assures me that she is a perfect angel, which I find somewhat hard to believe. When she and I go together, she is a huge brat and makes me regret making the trip. And also makes me look bad, but maybe that is her goal. Hmmm, how can I make Mommy look even worse in the eyes of her family and cement her position as the black sheep? I know, continuous whining and screaming! My sister offered to keep her for a few more days and I gladly accepted.

This shot was taken on the way up in the car (as I was driving - so safe!). I couldn't resist at least one picture of good ol' farm country, and the sky was beautiful that day.


I'm off to enjoy some peaceful and quiet child-free days. I know you're jealous.

War of the Ants

I am at war with the MF ants. I just went to Lowe's and bought some ant-killing products. There are definitely fewer today than yesterday (maybe due to the boiling water?) but they are regrouping, I can sense it. So I set out some traps inside and around the house outside. And also distributed some smelly little pellets where I saw the ant hills. I hope the cute little bunnies that have been living in the backyard (have never been able to get a shot, very skittish they are) don't bother it. I really don't want to see dead cute little bunnies in the backyard.

Here's a gratuitous shot of Arwyn multi-tasking: riding the car, coloring, and watching tv at the same time. The girl and I have been at odds the past few days. I was beginning to think she wasn't feeling well, because she's been a real pain. Maybe its two-year molars. Maybe its the constant diaper rash. Maybe its just adjusting to life without Daddy 24/7, which we all enjoyed while on vacation. But we'll be visiting some of Bubby's family tomorrow and then she and I are taking a short trip to visit my sister, where she will be spoiled beyond belief.


She has been SUCH a Daddy's girl, which I love to see and I also appreciate the break from constant kiddy demands. Today she wanted nothing to do with me as long as Daddy was around, UNTIL it was time to change a poopy diaper, then she cried and said, "Mommy do it!" Wha?!!? Moms always get stuck with the shit jobs.

I was able to make three cards yesterday, but need to scan them so that will have to wait for a later post. And two of them are thank you's and I'd like to wait until they have been received, as the recipients read the ol' blog.

Just Peachy

I finally used up the last of the AL peaches and made this Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler to take for dessert to a friend's house tonight. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com which was rated 5 out of 5 stars. It was pretty easy to make, except for rolling out the dough. I ended up dumping a bunch of extra flour on and then rolling the bottom layer in the pan (real professional-like). I thought it turned out pretty well, all things considered. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

I boiled two huge pots of water in an attempt to drown out the ants that are taking over my kitchen. I have really grown to hate those little bastards. I think I burnt my toe in the process (note to self: don't dump boiling water on the ground while wearing flip-flops) but it will be worth it if the ants are gone! We've had the ant guy come once already and they were supposed to come this morning but rescheduled because it was raining. I can't deal with the anty bastards for another week. If I find an ant in that cobbler, I'm torching the backyard when we get home.

I Wanna Go Back!!!!

I really liked hanging by the pool, but we had to watch Arwyn every second. She is completely fearless around the water, and didn't even care if she went under. She did love those Splash Bombs.


This is the beginning of her extensive shell collection. She is still a Gatherer and made no exceptions at the beach. She would line all the shells up, then throw them back in the water. I think this is all she did one whole morning at the beach.


My little poser. I love this picture. I have it on my computer desktop.

Beach Bums

Here's our first sight of the ocean Monday evening.


Arwyn and Mommy watching the waves come in.


Arwyn and Daddy walking to the beach.

Arwyn in her cute little cover-up. This was Tuesday morning and we were anxious to get back to the beach. Miss Arwyn had just woken up and didn't know what all the fuss was about.

Roadtrip

I did something I swore I'd never, ever do. 11 + hours in a car with a 1 and 11/12 year old, are you KIDDING me?!!?! You call that a vacation?? But she did so great, way better than I was anticipating. We did break the drive up into two days each way, which made it long but managable. This pic is from the second day when we stopped for lunch at a Burger King with a play area. She liked the slide.


Here she is reading a new book to herself (the only time this happened, by the way).


Enjoying her milk at lunch, which was the only thing she consumed from her kid's meal.


Stickers! Stickers totally saved us. She played with them the entire trip. "More! More stickers!!"