Watch out Martha Stewart!!

So, this may be the easiest craft project ever, but I'm so amazed that I actually finished one, that I'm posting several pictures to document the occasion. 

I saw this trunk at Home Goods and really liked it.  I think the price was $25, which isn't bad.

But, my mom had given me this old suitcase, so I decided to decorate it myself.

I still have a program called Print Shop from like a decade ago that has a lot of graphic images.  I printed off a ton of vintage postcards and travel posters and decoupaged them onto the trunk.

Yay me!!

It only took a few hours worth of work.  Now, I'm going to fill it with some old Halloween costumes and let Anna go wild.  Tomorrow, I'll show you how to create a Tiffany-style lamp with popsicle sticks and gum.

Buzz, buzz

Been a busy bee...

1. Working on the photography business a lot, which feels good.  Please follow the blog--I've actually been updating it lately.

2. My child has suddenly reverted back to acting like a baby--, tantrums, saying "uppy, snacky, huggy" and ...not using the toilet.  Her doctor says we are locked in a "power struggle".  I say, it sucks.

3. I hate summer.  Anyone with me?  Bugs (I got bit by radio-active mosquitoes, which gave me red/purple baseball-sized lumps all over my legs), heat (yuck), sweating (nasty), grass that needs to be mowed (not my job, but still a bummer). 

4. I do like having frequent play dates with our neighbors.  Since I'm home and Renee is home for the summer, we've been seeing a lot of each other lately, which is very cool.  I LOVE that the girls are friends and so excited to see each other.  Anna keeps asking when she'll get to play with Sophia again.  And, we are having our second play date tonight with her friend Lydia, who lives not too far away.  It cracks me up that these are play dates for the adults as well as the girls, because we really like the parents of these kids, so that's cool.

5. I said I was done with vampires, but of course, I'm not.  I'm really enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse series and "True Blood", so....there.

6. I haven't actually finished a craft project in 4 years, so I'm very proud that I have one nearly done and will share pics next time.

7. We are shooting a wedding this weekend, which I'm excited about.

8. Paramore concert is one week away!!  Totally stoked!!!

And with that in mind, I give you the lyrics to my favorite Paramore song...

We Are Broken

Album: RIOT! (CD/Digital)

VERSE ONE: 
I am outside and I've been waiting for the sun 
With my wide eyes i've seen worlds that don't belong 
my mouth is dry... with words i cannot verbalize 
tell me why we live like this. 

PRE: 
and keep me safe inside 
your arms like towers 
tower over me. 

CHORUS: 
Cause we are broken 
what must we do to restore 
our innocence and all the promise we adored? 
give us life again 
we just wanna be whole. 

VERSE TWO: 
Lock the doors, I'd like to capture this voice 
That came to me tonight 
so everyone will have a choice 
and under red lights, i'll show myself it wasn't forged 
we're at war... we live like this. 

PRE: 
keep me safe inside 
your arms like towers 
tower over me 

CHORUS: 
Cause we are broken 
what must we do to restore 
our innocence and all the promise we adored? 
give us life again 
we just wanna be whole. 

BRIDGE: 
ahhhh 
ahhhh 
tower over me 
tower over me 

CHORUS: 
Cause we are broken 
what must we do to restore 
our innocence and all the promise we adored? 
give us life again 
we just wanna be whole.

I am SAHM, SAHM I am

This was my fourth week as a "part-time stay at home mom," meaning that Anna is now staying home with me three days a week. This is a big switch from going to school every day. She still goes to preschool two days a week, but that leaves ME in charge of her nutrition and education for three days. ME. The weekends don't count because we just play around. I knew she was getting a good education and nutritious meals five days a week, so we could be more relaxed on the weekends. Now, I'm responsible for making sure she eats veggies and learns to read. YIKES.

Ever since I became pregnant, my dream has been to stay at home with Anna. I was able to work part-time her first year, so I got to spend every afternoon with her and it was fabulous. But, she was a baby then and easy to entertain and easy to feed.

SAHM. The abbreviation is kind of annoying. Heather has her own version. The most fitting one that I could come up with for myself was: Slightly Anal Hell Monster. Roy would argue that "slightly" is not accurate.

Anna's preschool teachers would definitely be able to comment on my new nickname for myself. They have felt alot of my wrath lately as we've had many "incidents" that they needed to address. That is a whole other issue that I can't go into right now, but I'm sure they call me much worse behind my back. But honestly, she only goes two days a week now! You would think they could manage to follow regulations and keep her safe for TWO DAYS!!

ANYway, I'm proud to say that we've been doing pretty good here though. Anna is certainly enjoying more time at home. The first day she was here, I quizzed her on her letter recognition and we've been working on the ones she had trouble with. We do a letter per week and work on recognizing it, drawing it, and associating a sound with it, as well as words that begin with that letter. It really is fun to see her pick out letters she sees now and to know that I taught her that.

She loves the library, the mall and the park, but we've also had a ton of fun playing dress up and dancing around the house. She does a great job of alternating music with me so that we aren't listening to "Bop Bop Dinosaur" all day. She can sing the "Mamma Mia" soundtrack almost as well as I can. Some days are easier than others, of course. There were a couple of times that we actually yelled at each other, but I know we're closer than ever. She tells me everyday that I'm "her best friend," so I take that as a good sign.

Yesterday was a very good day. We made chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. Then, we decorated Mother's Day cards for grandmas. She practiced writing some letters and was very proud of herself. We got out my beads that have been gathering dust in the closet since her birth and made a bracelet. She picked out all the beads and loved the result so much that she wore it to school and showed it to everyone.

This whole experience is weird for me because I feel like I am in limbo. I don't really consider myself a stay-at-home mom because I intend to get a job and am actively looking for one. However, no one wants me, so it could be awhile. I would like to be a full-time writer and photographer, but while I attempt to refine my skills in both on a daily basis, I feel like I'm not getting very far because I have to split my time between so many things. Marketing yourself online really requires a LOT of time. And then there's housework. Ugh. I just can't keep up with everything, so that suffers the most.

All of this plus the drama that I don't write about and the fact that next week would have been my due date makes me a very blue girl sometimes. So...I talked to my doctor and upped my medication yesterday. I hope this gets me over the hump. I really meant for this to be an upbeat post...kind of screwed that one up.

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

Pleated Petal Tank ANTHROPOLIFICATION GIVEAWAY!!!!

I totally want this!!

Expose Yourself: Day 2

Yesterday, I was at Bed, Bath & Beyond with my mom and we were looking for a bed pocket for Anna's bed. They didn't have one, but they did have lots of new wall art, which I have a real weakness for. I can't tell you how much wall art we have sitting in our garage that is not being used.

Anyway, I saw this...

...which inspired me to try something similiar. So, when today's clue was "something borrowed", I decided to "borrow" BB&B's idea and make my name out of objects around the house. Voila!

Once I decided what I was going to do, this exercise was so much fun! At first it was hard to find things that look like letters, but by the end I was seeing letters, letters everywhere!

Free Downloads for Busy Mommies

Today, I'm doing short posts instead a long one. Hope that works for you. ;)

Mommies need lots of help (physically and psychologically), but you already knew that. Mommy Track'd has provided some adorable (and FREE!) downloads that might help you on your way to organizational bliss. Or, in my case, it might just be more to add to the pile of lists and post its that only help me think that I'm more organized, but it will be a cute pile, dammit!

Week One Wrap Up

Monkey and I did a lot of laundry last week. Working on the computer doesn't neccessarily net tangible results, so this made me feel like I got something accomplished. It is washed. Folding it and putting it away is a completely other matter.

On Wednesday, we joined my aunt, Jen, for scrapbooking. My daughter is three now, so I decided that maybe I should try working on her baby album. Yeah, I'm a little behind. I had Roy buy me one of those pre-made ones, so all you have to do is add the pictures. But, it was so beautiful that I never wanted to mess it up, which I was sure I would do if I attempted to actually put something in it. Jen has a million scrapbooking tools...seriously amazing. Even with a lunch break to celebrate her birthday, I actually managed to finish 5 pages. Very impressive. And then Monkey did a number 2 on the book, so now I have to start over. My mom told me, "Never trust a monkey."

We spent the next 2 days resume-building. I found a fabulous job that I will never be considered for, but I put a lot of effort into selling myself anyway. Monkey is actually a very helpful spell-checker.