sometimes it's hard...

Yes, sometimes it IS hard... especially when you are such a good dancer AND a good song memorize-r. 

I'll tell you what, the last 7 songs played on Pandora's "Mickey Mouse Club House" station---I owned them.  I'm talking EVERY lyric I nailed.  Sometimes I don't think the 2 and 1/2 year old and 10 month old fully appreciate my skillz (yes, I used a "z".  that's what all the hip people are doing these days. obviously.).

And, recently I've been doing ZUMBA next to my dining room table.  We turn on YouTube and go crazy.  And, I'll tell you what?  If you think I'm rusty in the dance department?  THINK AGAIN.  

Honestly, I think Zumba and I were M.F.E.O. (for those of you who haven't seen "Sleepless in Seattle"---shame on you.  That little acronym means "made for each other").  I think my best friends can attest... I was doing some of these moves LOOONG before Zumba made it's way into the hearts of the general public.  Am I right, or am I right?  Sigh.  What do you do?

Anyway, sometimes I think it's too bad.  And, if I lived in Utah County, I'd go workout with one of Becca's BFF's sister, Allison.  Look at how exciting she makes the workout?  Click here to see her and her class in action (is she darling or what?). 

I know, I know.  I dogged gyms a few days ago... but since then, I've been educated by gym lovers everywhere.  Apparently the group classes are where it's at?  Maybe I'll give it a go.  And, I mean, if nothing else, people other than my family will be able to watch me in action.  Win win. 

Until then, I'll be here. Performing 8+ times a day, Monday through Sunday.

I'm Melissa Wood, and I'm a really good dancer and song memorize-r.  Thank you for your support.

my home makes me happy. take two.

Remember a while back when I said (like a real blogging professional) that I was going to start a series?  Well, I didn't forget.  I meant what I said and I said what I meant.  (Thanks, Horton.)  

 

So, a while back, my mom did a really great thing for me.  She thought it was ridiculous that Tillie didn't have a real "bedspread" and proceeded to make her bedding for her big girl bed.  Well, luckily for us, we know some girls who designed some fabric.  And, they had a little bit leftover. 

One thing that Becca and I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about was how loud each of the fabrics are.  It is great that they can hold their own, but when you put all of them right next to each other without a little planning---well, it can get a little overwhelming for the eye.  My mom was wondering how I wanted it to look, and I found a great quilt online that I wanted her to replicate (check out her blog and you'll be amazed at how lovely quilts can be).  It's perfect to let your eye rest in between our fabrics. 

(by and by, it's really hard to photograph a big quilt. sorry the pictures are kind of funky)

Anyway, this is the nap quilt (pictures of the bedspread will happen someday.  I decided to pull everything off of Tillie's walls and wanted to redo it all---so when it's put back together, you'll get the full effect.).  I love this little quilt so much that I have it in the front room on our recliner.  It makes me glad every time I see it.  

*Also, my mom did this with an cool method where she cut out the patterned pieces, and then, instead of pinning, she used ELMER'S GLUE to stick them where she wanted.   BRILLIANT! The glue then is washed away as soon as you wash it in your washing machine.  So, she was able to quilt it with out being bugged by a million pins.  She heard about that technique at a quilt retreat she went to this summer and I think it is so cool. Thought I should add that little tidbit. 

**Wow, another edit.  Becca wanted me to make sure I gave credit where it's due.  Apparently, SHE was the one to physically glue down every single patterned square.  It was long and tedious---and really, a labor of love.  She also helped convince my mom to stay with the original pattern I wanted and not squish all the colored squares together.  Wow.  Thanks, Becca.  So sweet.  Thanks to mom AND Becca for the lovely quilt.

There's something really wonderful seeing my kids wrap themselves in something I helped create.  I remember spending so many hours in front of the computer making these designs come to fruition while Tillie would be patiently playing next to me.  A billion emails back and forth with Becca and I, swapping files to tweak details on each of the patterns...

It's just pretty cool to see it come full circle.  

We're pretty lucky they chose the designs to print, because I'll be honest, it's pretty hard to get things picked up by the powers that be.  We've designed many many other "lines" but for certain reasons they're not quite right at the moment.  And, I'll be honest.  It's kind of discouraging.  We're crossing our fingers that other designs will make it someday.  But, for now, I need to remember how great it is that some of our designs DID get printed.  And, that little blanket in the middle of my house reminds me how lucky we are.  

Anyway, in case you wanted to see the big girl in her big girl bed, here's a sneak peak of the bedding---and mostly it's to illustrate her love of BOOKS.  Oh my.  I've never seen someone more in love with books than this child.  Aaron and I couldn't be happier that her most favorite "things to play with" are books.  This situation happens on a regular basis: she asks me to turn on a movie for her, and then after about 20-30 minutes of watching, she goes to the book shelf under the TV or sneaks away to her room and pulls out books to read instead.  You go, girl.  

When we put her to bed, she takes a bunch of books in with her and will stay up reading them anywhere from 30 minutes to more than an hour.  She reads a lot of them aloud and then giggles when she gets to funny parts.  It probably is the sweetest thing I've ever seen.  

Anyway, I snuck into her room a few weeks ago to snap a picture during her nap time (sorry it's a little blurry, but I wasn't going to risk having the flash go off and wake her up).  So funny that she is TOTALLY ZONKED in this picture.  I love that the Tootle is still upright in her little hands.

Oh, that girl.

So, there you have it.  Another installment of "My home makes me happy".

good finds, sister becca. good finds.

My sister, Becca, compiled some great little videos on her blog.  Well, mostly they are commercials---  funny ones, beautiful ones, and then a really AWESOME and OH! SO RAD clogging/tap routine (is there really a difference between clogging and tapping? jk. i'm gonna get grilled for that one) done with HANDS!

I liked the last one with the hands so much that I've watched it probably 4 times in total.  That's a lot of like for one little video.

So, if you're up for a little entertainment, head over here and check them out. 
You're welcome.
Oh, and Thanks be to the Becca Face. 

pretty amazing new tool

So, Aaron was out of town for the last few days for work stuff.  I've decided he can never leave us again.  Life is 1.9 billion times better when he is here.  So, to make the most of his time away, I transformed myself into a busy beaver.  (insert me making beaver face right here.  good visual.) It's not even funny how much I accomplished.  Be proud of me.  And, if you're not, don't worry.  I'm proud enough for the BOTH of us.

ANYWAY, the reason I accomplished so much was TWO fold:
1) I wanted Aaron to be really impressed with his wife and what a ship shape household she could run.
2) Free up my life, so that when my special package arrived in the mail I wouldn't feel bad dedicating ALL my "free" time to it.

Well, people, it was worth it. 

This may not look like a big deal to many of you, but to me---it's crazy amazing.  Enter the Wacom tablet.  Basically, it's a little electronic pad that allows me to draw on it with a special pen tool---just like you'd do with a pen and paper.  For people like me who draw on paper, scan it in, digitally clean it up and then TRY manipulating it on the computer it's a BIG improvement.  The lines are so crisp and clean too.  Easy and fast.  Sigh.  I'm in love.  How I've lived my life thus far without it?

Anyway, these are a few things I did when I was messing around with it this evening.  And, don't be mad, but this blog is going to be like a big magnetic fridge that I will, at random, post drawings on.  Why?  BECAUSE I CAN---goodness, and I'm just so stinkin' happy right now. 

Oh, and do you think it's weird that for some reason I'm obsessed with drawing elves year 'round?  yeah, me too. But, he just seems so happy to be here...

the end.

my mom is a really good helper.

I'm not a fan when I make grammatical and spelling errors on my blog.  So, once upon a time, I asked my mom to watch for errors and email/call me when and if she finds them.  The problem is, she NEVER reads my blog unless I specifically tell her to.  And even then, she takes a few days.  Honestly, the nerve.  Fortunately, I can't be too mad, b/c she hears all the things I write minutes after they happen---so I guess I can forgive. 

Anyway, the last post had three mistakes:
My pal(s) Ashley and Aubrey
This last little days (what does that mean?)
Followed suit (not suite)

I just read the email from my mom and am shocked to see 3 mistakes.  Some of you are probably shaking your head and saying, "You have TONS of mistakes in ALL your posts..."  hA!  Maybe so, but this last one,  I didn't even proof read this last one.  Can you believe it?!

Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout out to my mom for helping me not look like a loser on the world wide web.

mom, you're the best.
thanks for giving me birth.
and thanks for sticking with me all these many many many years.
love your MOST FAVORITE daughter.

(that's for you, sisters).

love.

me.

the primary program and halloween festivities.

Oh boy.  First off, let's just put it out there---Happy Halloween. 
It's weird having Halloween on a Sunday, isn't it?  But, alas, we'll make do.  And we did.  Barely.
Let's talk about it.

Every year, our church has us do a little program for the rest of the congregation to share the lessons and wonderful songs we've been learning about all year.  Since I've been the chorister for the past year and a half, I've cared a little more about these programs than the average joe.  We've been working so hard on the songs for the past year, and the kids pulled it out.  Mind you, I had visual-aids all done up that I was flipping through like crazy, and hand jives and dance moves (literally) to help remind them of the words---but in the end, I think the kids did well.  Hopefully the theme of this year, "I Know My Savior Lives" came through and reminded people about the reason we go to our church meetings and do what we do.  Here's a link to some of the songs we sang.  They were lovely.

My own kids?  They did pretty good.  Unfortunately, my right hand man and life partner (oh, he's also my husband and the man of my dreams), had to step out of the meeting half way through for some work thing---so, alas.  Left me stranded with two kiddos.  Nice.  Thankfully, my pals Ashley and Aubrey stepped in and entertained my kids while I was telling the kids to stand up and sing when they weren't supposed to.  Way to be focused, Melissa. And, yes, I did have the outline in front of my face.  Sigh.

In the end, we did it.  Now, on to entertaining the kids for the next two hours... yikes.  Remember how today was Halloween?  Remember how their little bodies are FULL of sugar?  Yes.  I remember quite well.  So, I was gearing up.  As Tillie and I were flying down the hall to take her potty before going into the nursery... we realize that the excitement of the primary program maybe was a little TOO exciting for her.  She had an accident.  So, I strip her down in the bathroom stall.  Say a silent prayer of gratitude that I had the where-with-all to put her in pull-ups this morning---could have been a lot worse.

Wash up.  Drop her off and then set out for a fun "way to go on doing a great job, let's celebrate you" singing time.  My mom graciously sent down this fun "Scripture Power" bingo game that the kids were excited to play.  Unfortunately, a few minutes into the fun game time, Calvin decided to throw up all over himself AND sweet Ashley's beautiful WHITE skirt.  Oh man.  No fun.  For ANYone involved.  He had a fever too.  I decided it was time to go home.  Passed off the bingo cards to my friends and got outta there.  Luckily, another great friend, Kate, helped me out to the car.  I don't know how people do the church thing with ONE adult and stay sane.  Kudos to all y'all out there. 

Got home.  Was able to breathe a little easier.  Life started to get better.  Isn't everything better at home?  Man, I love being home. I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

ANYWAY-------enough about today's craziness.  The kids are in bed, and I can appreciate better these darling pictures of the Halloween's happenings these last few days.  Enjoy.

- - - Remember how I went to Boston for a few days with Cal?  Aaron was the ULTIMATE dad and took Tillie out on the town!  You name it, they probably did it.  This girl adores her dad and vice versa.  He took her to a little pumpkin patch and here are some of the photos. 

thanks for the outfit, dad.  looks like the little boy you never had. oh wait...

 

love the hair flip.  does this remind anyone else of "Field of Dreams"?  me too.

"is this how i do it?"

looks a little dangerous...

and there's the fall.  love that Aaron was snapping the photo instead of being her spotter.  but, I'll admit, pretty crazy he caught the shot.

love that Texas landscape.

cute cute.

My friend had a baby shower and monsters have been on the brain.  I'm wanting to make 20 more of these and embellish them even more.  Kind of fun.  Found this idea here.

- - - We decided to take Tillie, for the first time in her existence, to an actual pumpkin patch.  I have always seen on blogs in the past, darling pictures with their kiddos amidst the pumpkins.  So, we followed suit.  I think it was fun and probably a good tradition.  This one was free to attend and the pumpkins were pretty reasonable.  So, we purchased ONE.  I am lame. I know it.  hA!  Turns out Walmart's pumpkins are a ton less.  We bought three more there.  And, that, my friends, is why Walmart is taking over the world. One. pumpkin. at. a. time. One day I will break free from the grasp this store has on me.  Those darn prices... makes it hard.

Anyway, here are the photos. 

Cal wanted to eat the corn in the tub.  Not a good idea.  His dad tried to help him understand this wasn't a good idea.  Cal, being the sensitive child he is, cried his heart out.  Here's his sad face.  Tillie loved it.

Cal feeling better.  Tillie opening her eyes.  Good times.

 

 

I bought this hat last year.  You might remember this picture?  Anyway, I was shocked that she kept it on all evening.  It's darling. 

here's her last fall with the hat.  notice the lack of hair?  Amazing the difference a year makes.

running.  remember? it's her favorite activity.

Cal's just happy to be here.  Aaron was making sure Tillie wasn't smashing pumpkins.  Her mom?  Where was she?  Recording the event.  Nice.

 

 

 

*warning*  best picture of the two of them to date.  I love that they are BOTH smiling. BOTH looking at the camera.  And, heck, look how darling they look in front of the pumpkins? 

cute dwarfy little pumpkin.  almost bought it.

 Made two rounds of cupcakes in a week.  Recently I bought a legit canvas frosting bag and new frosting tips from a cool restaurant supply store (more on the store later).

 

 

- - - Took pictures of the kids plus our cute neighbor.  (who we just found out is MOVING! nooooo. not another best friend moving.  boo.)  Story about Tillie's REPEAT costume from last year?  Okay, I'll tell. My mom, being the savvy shopper she is, found some sale costumes last year after Halloween. Trying to guess the sizes for the following year, she purchased a 2T cow costume for Tillie and a 12-18 month leopard costume for the baby boy we'd have.  Little did we know that Tillie would sprout up to a 4T and Calvin---well, we all know he's a BIG BIG boy, so he, being the 9 month old that he is, wore Tillie's 2T cow costume.  Tillie fit in the bear costume again, but the leggings were more of a capri style this year.  Ahh, who cares?  

Here's Tillie last year:

 and here she is this year...  hA!!

 

oh cal.  love that boy.

 

 

 

 

 

at a darling little trunk-or-treat activity that we didn't realize we (and anyone else who wanted to come) were invited to.  good times.  it was fun.  the kids got way too much candy.  good times.  I love what Cal is doing in this picture.  I imagine him saying, "Cowabunga!"

 - - - Since we opted out on the actual trick-or-treating on Sunday, we thought Tillie and Cal might like to get a little more wear out of their costumes.  So, here they are at our most favorite store ever, COSTCO.  Too funny.  I love Cal's hat I got in Boston.

 

So, there you have it.  Halloween 2010.

in my 26 years, I've learned a few things.

It's true.  I've learned a few life lessons in my long 26 years.  In case you are struggling or need a pick me up, here are a few ideas that might make you feel better:

 

1. Take a shower.  Showers are not over rated.  They automatically make you feel 87% more on top of life.  Living life in your pajamas isn't rad.  Actually it is sad... especially when you have an unexpected visitor.  (I have no personal experience here. oh wait...)

 

2. Try brushing your teeth.  Another simple act that will always make you feel better.  I promise, my dentist husband didn't set me up to that one. 

3. Sometimes a little bit of chocolate can lift your spirits.  I'm sure there's a legit study on this to prove I am right.  In case you think you need to open up that bag of Halloween candy, remember that there is probably a bag of chocolate chips in your cupboard.  If you take 10 of them out, it might help your mood.  But remember, close the bag as soon as you've taken 10.  If you grab any more than that, you might start feeling regret (says the girl who may or may not have eaten 1/2 a bag over the last week).

4.  Pick up the clutter in your house.  You will be surprised what can happen to your mood if you turn the timer on for 20 minutes, turn on some pump-up music, and race against the clock.  You can accomplish a lot in 20 minutes.  I'd forgotten that concept and I remembered today.  It's amazing.

5.  Move your body.  I'm anti-gyms.  I feel like I have 10,000 other things I want to do rather than 1) pay a huge sum of money, 2) take the time to drive there and back, 3) sweat in front of other people.  Again, I don't mean to offend if you are PRO-gyms.  I still like you.  In fact, one of my sisters is PRO-gym, and I love her.  So, don't be mad, for heaven's sake.  I like the concept of work out videos that I can do on my own time, in my own space.  Or, I'm also a fan of getting outside and walking or trotting (for you anti-runners out there. let us unite!).  Regardless of what you do, if you're pro or anti, moving your body will make you feel better. 

So, there you have it.  Unsolicited advice from your neighborhood dweeb.  I'm still trying to remember these simple lessons, so don't think I'm a pro.  Trust me (or take it from my husband), I'm not.
And who says you don't get an education from blogging?
Happy Monday. 

p.s. I'm using my scanner more and more these days. so I thought I'd add a few "awe-inspiring" illustrations I did.  you're welcome.