thimbly things

As the summer is drawing to a close (fingers crossed), I thought it might be nice to reflect on summer adventures of old. This has been a fairly uneventful one for us, especially since we have two little ones. It’s truly difficult to get out and have adventures. Thank you, Dear Internet, for giving us a window to the outside world.

First, let’s look at a typical college summer for us:

Pretty ridiculous, huh? I’m the one at the bottom of the pic, and I’m just not even going to try to explain this. Evan was there somewhere, but I doubt there are any pictures of us together from that particular summer. And that’s another story that deserves its own blog entry. Anyway, this was the summer of 2001.

Continuing with the theme of self-deprecation, here’s what I was doing in the almost-summer (actually it’s dated for spring, but it was hot, I was at the beach, and this is a pretty good indication of my life at the time) of 2004. You can find me on your own if you so desire. There’s no Evan in the picture because he and I were a no-go at the time. And he was in Panama.

Two summers ago, Evan and I joined his family for vacation in England. Here we are with Paddington Bear in, of course, Paddington Station. I was 20 weeks pregnant (which is halfway) with Emily.

And our little family last summer:

This summer, the family is one larger. Evan and I are all grown up… no longer dressing like hooligans and traipsing about Myrtle Beach without a care. We’re focused on our little creative worlds and our babies. We may not be able to travel to Europe or even to the beach this year, but our lives are good. We are content to be in this exciting new season of our lives, teaching our children, writing, drawing, changing diapers, baking granola, staying cool, and loving one another.

to Polyvore. This may not be anything new to you, but I just found out about it a couple weeks ago. I knew at once that as soon as I gave myself a chance, I would become an addict. And I am. I wasted–ahem–spent 2 days avoiding actual productivity in favor of forming expensive outfits that I could never afford to buy and have likewise pledged not to. But it was great fun. And I keep telling Evan that this is “important design practice.” Whatever that means.

Consider this a cautionary tale. If you let yourself have at it, you will be hooked.

Want another one? Okay!

Grama Debbie sent a package to Emily and Jacob this week.

Now they have new summer wardrobes.

Thanks, Grama Debbie and Grampa Scott!

I’ve had more sewing adventures that I’m eager to share, and we’ve had plumbing problems that I’d rather not talk about (blah).  Anyway, I will try to update more this weekend and stop being such a slacker!

I’ve had to simplify life while Evan is away, and that’s why I haven’t been able to update much.  Really, it’s because I’ve got my hands full with these babies.

Emily has been a constant source of entertainment, singing on the phone for Grama Debbie and Grampa Scott and saying, “Ponies!  I love you!” during Mansfield Park (which seems to be scorned by many of the reviewers on Amazon.  I’ve never read the novel, but I enjoyed watching this adaptation.) and begging a stranger for a banana in the waiting room at the doctor’s office.   And Jacob has been smiling more than ever, which is just great.

So I haven’t had time to craft since I’m squeezing Wii Fit in every chance I get.  I love love love this new contraption.  I love unlocking new exercises.  I love checking my BMI.  I love seeing improvement on my balance.  Wii Fit is just about the most genius way you can spend $90.

It didn’t take much convincing for Evan to let me get it. He gets a new accessory for his Wii, and I get a smokin’ hot bod. So he’s a winner all around. Plus, it’s way cheaper than a gym membership with the added benefit of privacy. (You can even password protect your stats if you are so inclined.) So far, I’ve put in close to 2 hours of legitimate exercise in 2 days. With the exception of an occasional walk, that’s more than I did during the entirety of my last pregnancy.

So my goal for the month of June is to use Wii Fit every day. You could call it “Getting in Tune in June.” tee-hee

Part of that will have to include eating better. I gradually slipped back into my old habits of sweets and junk food as I neared the end of my pregnancy. That, and I’ve come to realize that Evan and I like to reward ourselves with food. You would never know it by looking at him though… Anyway, it’s time for a new rewards system! Do you guys have any suggestions? What works for you?

To kick things off, I’m alone with the kiddies for the next 5 days. When they’re both asleep, I will either be a) showering, b) sleeping, or c) working out with my very own inhuman personal trainer! And on my grocery shopping trip today, I loaded up on fruits, veggies, yogurt, and legumes. Emily and I will be sticking to a relatively healthy diet as long as I keep the junk out of the house!

Evan is filming for a few days on the Perfect Weight America Tour, so I hope he comes back energized and adds momentum to our healthy June. Maybe we can do a ‘cleanse’ or something…

In case you’re wondering, I turned a large salad container into our medicine chest, and it now resides in our hall closet. It’s clear and plastic and makes sense. Everyone seemed to have the same advice on that one, and it’s hard to disagree when I think about wiping red infant Tylenol off of a pain-stakingly handmade vessel. Function won this battle. (But it wasn’t very picture worthy.)

Would you believe that I’m alone with just Jacob for a couple hours this morning?  He’s asleep, so this is like a mini-vacation for me.  And when Evan returns with Emily, she’ll probably be ready for a nap.  This may mean that I get up to 5 hours of the previously mentioned alone time I have so craved.

Time to stop and read.  Or maybe just pray and think.

First, I want to share some kindness with you.  Ruthanne, a dear friend I’ve made through blogging, gathered together several books from her personal library that she thought would interest me.  (I was looking for reading material for when I nurse.)  Not only did she send me about a dozen good reads, but she also sent some sweet gifts for the babies (including a Fisher Price radio/cassette player dating from 1991.  So fun!), homemade granola, and a couple books for Evan.  And a very kind letter to boot.

I’ve already read a little in Gift of a Letter, and I can’t wait to read Ten P’s in a Pod, Hidden Art, and Thrift Score.  Really though, it’s hard to know where to begin.  There’s so much variety, and every selection sounds excellent!

And that Little Golden Book… As far back as I can remember, I’ve been a Richard Scarry fan.  I may have to photograph some of the pages a la doe-c-doe and share them with you.  Very cute.  Very inspired.

Ruthanne, you’re amazing.  You are a shining example of what I desire to be as a woman–thinking of others selflessly, giving, extremely thoughtful and kind.  Thank you for being a Proverbs 31 woman and for sharing your godly character with me.

So this is my final May post for A Post a Day in May.  It’s been a good exercise in regular blogging, though it has been difficult at times.  There were a few evenings when I had to fudge my timestamp because my post went through 5 minutes after midnight.  And I actually missed one day altogether while family was in town.  In the future, I’ll try to post everyday, but it will be nice to have more freedom and flexibility with my blog.  I don’t want it to feel like a burden, ya know?  Thank you, Allsorts for the inspiration!  Accountability is always a good thing. : )

Due to some forgetfulness on our part, I had the hour between church and birthday party to whip up a gift for sweet little Elena, who turned 1 on Thursday.  Here’s the Lady of the Hour in all her birthday glee.

“It’s my party, and I’ll play with my toes if I want to!”  Happy Birthday, Elena!!!

Here’s the whale I made.  Seriously.  We’re talking 30 minutes start to finish.  I didn’t even know what I was making until I started rummaging through my fabric.  Whew!  I don’t recommend doing this if you love your family and want to maintain the Fruits of Kindness and Patience (and Love and Joy and Peace and…).

Buttons are a major no-no when making toys for babies.  So Elena’s Mommy might be gluing the sucker (or putting him on a shelf?).  I actually tried to embroider eyes, but with 5 minutes, things were looking disastrous.  Out came all my buttons in a frenzy, and then I breathed very deeply and sewed this one on as securely as possible.

[One good thing about this experience is that I now want to make a stash of baby gifts like the whale to have on hand for parties.  This may be wishful thinking, but it would certainly be convenient!]

All the kiddies got to play in a ballpit at the party.  That was pretty great.  Emily was even more interested in the balls than she was in the puppy, and that’s really saying something!

My friend Leah and I compared our newborns.  This is Jacob and his buddy Augustine.  Jacob is the older of the two by about 20 hours.

BFF

B, a friend of ours who we haven’t seen in nearly a year, stopped in Tulsa over the weekend to liquidate her belongings. It had all been in storage for at least 9 months while she traveled throughout Europe. B decided to take a one month French immersion course this summer, and then I suppose she will go wherever the wind takes her.

Meanwhile, she more or less gave away everything she owned on Saturday. As a result, we got our very first dresser (yes, we are pushing 30 and have never had real bedroom furniture).  It’s beat-up, but I like it that way.

And we scored several small kitchen items, including lots of cookie cutters.

Not only is B a free spirit of sorts, but she is incredibly generous. I’m at a place in my life where I cannot be a free spirit per se. I have a family to take care of. But her generosity is convicting. She didn’t care at all about making a profit off her stuff. I actually felt uncomfortable–as though I was robbing her. Have I ever made anyone uncomfortable because of my generosity? I mean, that takes some skill.

B, we’ll miss you!  Hope your free spirit wanders back to Tulsa soon.

I hope I don’t bore you too much with this topic, but this is Evan’s birth announcement.  The picture was taken April 16, 1980.

And here is Jacob.

OK, I apologize for posting this multiple times.  But when I saw the birth announcement, it just furthered my suspicions that he is his daddy in baby form.  Evan Jr., my friend.

[Can you tell that posting every day is a little tough for me?  Every night at about 11, I jump off the couch and say, “Oh, shoot!  I haven’t posted yet!”  To which Evan brushes his teeth and goes to bed.  And then I’m up trying to figure out something worth sharing.  It stretches me a bit, but I don’t know if I’ll join in on this particular challenge in the future.  I say that now…]

In other news, I had a friend and her two little boys over this afternoon, and at some point I’ll have to share the video I took of Emily and the boys playing instruments together.  It was quite a riot, especially with the 12 month old be-bopping like a groupie.  He had the tambourine, but mostly he just danced.  And you can absolutely see the influence of Yo Gabba Gabba in these kids (mine included).  They all want to be drummers!  So one day when they are teenagers and decide to have a garage band, you can guess whose garage they won’t be in!  Well… neither of our garages if we have a say-so.

Like I said before, we had a fantastic week with the fam. Here’s a meager list of stuff that rocked:

• Taking the ladies to the Quality Thrift Store (I’ll show you my new treasures later this week… And I haven’t forgotten that I promised to share some other thrifting finds a while ago. I will! I have my trusty blog to remind me.)
• Seeing Speed Racer with the siblings (I love this movie and don’t care what old fogey critics think! It’s pure fun. I especially love monkeys who wear little boys on their pajamas. Watch the music video and try to pretend you’re bored. I dare you. And here is Evan’s very very very positive review.)

• Getting some of Evan’s old things from when he was a kid, including an old birth announcement and a super-cute quilted wall hanging (I’ll share that later too.)
• Emily in the pool

• Emily calling her Uncle Collin “Tony.” There’s a story we’ll be telling when we’re 80… It started out sounding like “Collin” and quickly devolved (video footage to come)
• Praise reports such as Dad getting tenure and the family’s house selling
• Playing Mad Gab for the gazillionth time and Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture Edition for the fourth time
• Losing both games
• Beauty salon time with the ladies (new styles all around!)
• Jacob looking like an old man

• Enjoying The Office and Lost together while eating 3 kinds of ice cream and chocolate chip cookies
• Bibi making a dress for Em
• Just being together, if only for 4 days

And I can’t not mention this: Today, Jacob is one month old. I really can’t believe it! Has he already been with us that long??? What a sweetie. He seems to be moving to a 3-4 hour schedule too, which is a nice change. I’m pretty sure he slept for about 5 hours last night, so we’re getting closer to a full night’s sleep! Woo-hoo!!!