Happy Tidbit: She had the baby!!!

Dy had a beautiful baby boy yesterday, on Easter! His name is Jason Thomas. He weighed in at 7lbs 4 oz, and was 22 inches long. And in less than 6 weeks, I will be able to hold and cuddle him, and smell his sweet baby head! I am so excited!

Go to Classic Adventures and scroll down a bit to see amazing photos of each of Dy and Zorak's big kids lovin' on their new baby brother. And while you are at it, say a little prayer, and wish them well, because when I talked to her earlier tonight, the big kids were all barfy and sick.

That's all I got. I am off to bed.
T.T. F. N.
LB

toddler love

Here is my borrowed toddler, Abe. Look how big he is getting! He is two and a half now, and is becoming such a little boy! Now before I show you these pics, you have to promise me that you will picture him saying "CHEESE!" every time I aim the camera at him, lol. Here he is doing a puzzle. Here we are talking and singing in the big blue chair. We spend a great deal of time here, reading, reading, reading; singing, singing, singing; and talking, talking, talking. And yes, I am wearing my Dude's tie-died shirt while he is out of town- who cares if it is flattering or not, it smells like him!
When PianoGirl heads down to the studio to practice, Abe likes to go with. We bump down the stairs on our bottoms, and he dances around the studio while PG plays. Today he sat on her lap and played for almost half and hour. I must have taken 30 photos just of the two of them playing.
He really got into it today, and PianoGirl was so very patient with him.
And even though this isn't the best quality photo because the sun was shining in the window right behind us, I love it. Abe had just given me the biggest open-mouthed toddler kiss, and was really enjoying being snuggled. He has been so very affectionate lately, wanting me to "carry you" and "hold you" much of the time. I am not complaining!
Abe is now tall enough to stand on a stool in the kitchen and "help" me make our lunches, and load the dishwasher. Sniff. Where did this little boy come from and where did our little baby go?!

Hope you enjoyed the Babyfix photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.
LB

Tidbits: Sick Me, Toddler-Boy, and Mola Assignment

I have been under quite a bit of family-related stress this week, and it seems to have caught up with me. (I won't go into details about the specific issues, but have you noticed how stress can do this??) I noticed Thursday morning when I awoke that I was a bit sore in my lower back and hips, and my joints felt a bit stiff. This achy feeling grew through the day, as I carried, lifted, cuddled, chased, sang to, and played with my toddler buddy Abe. (I will talk more about Abe in a minute.) I stopped by the grocery on our way home to pick up a pizza or three so I wouldn't have to cook, and it was all I could do to walk through the store, and I was so C-O-L-D in the freezer isle!! By the time we were home, it was all I could do to move, and I was so exhaused I was yawning constantly. Being with a toddler is not usually this physically draining for me, so I knew something was up. So I have been laying in bed, or on the couch, with a heating pad on my lower back, wrapped up in all the afghans and quilts I can find, trying to rest, and directing the kids from here. We watched "For Your Eyes Only" last night, and then I actually got 9 hours of sleep.

My goal today is to only get up to go to the bathroom, which I plan to do often as I am going to drink so much water my eyes float- gonna flush out the toxins that are causing me such achiness. I have my art journal stuff still packed from yesterday, so I may work on that for a bit to keep from getting bored or getting too sucked into the internet. I will have to take the Boy to the High School, but other than that, they can take care of themselves and me today.

I did have fun with my sweet toddler-boy yesterday. When we started this relationship with the BPTOTP (Best Piano Teacher On The Planet), I had no idea that one of the perks for me was going to be having a special relationship with her baby. I love being "Nanny" again, and teaching, learning with, and loving this special little fella. Abe is getting so big now, and doing so much more fun stuff. He is now tall enough to stand on a stool in the kitchen beside me (instead of on the counter with my arm on his chubby leg, making sure he doesn't topple off) as I make our lunch, recognizing letter sounds and shapes ("Nanny, draw a diamond for Abe."), etc. His language abilities have really grown in this last month, and he has grown so tall and thin I can't believe it! He is becoming a little boy now, leaving so much of the toddler traits behind, although he still has those wonderfully chubby toddler hands and feet (I still love to nibble on his toes and hear his little giggle.). He referred to himself as "I" yesterday instead of "Abe" several times. Abe is also so very 2.5 lately. He is discovering whining, hitting, demanding, and the word "NO!". It is good that he keeps my inner preschool-teacher on her toes! I do love Thursdays with Abe.

In the art area, I haven't been doing much, but I have been working in my art journal. I will take photos of my journal work when complete- I am working on a specific asignment, one I got from SuziBlu. Her work is a very different style than mine, but her video challenges are very inspiring. This assignment is to do a journal entry on your"power animal", mola style. I am working on two different renderings of my totem animal. Bet you can guess what animal I am working with. Bet you can. I have actually been quite inspired by a number of artists doing YouTube videos on art journaling- not all of them are as wacky and fun as Suzi, but inspiring none-the-less.

Okay, off to get a handful of Ibuprofin, a pitcher of water, and maybe another quilt.
Hugs,
LB

Tidbit: Happy Thursday!

It is one of our early Thursdays. The Dude left before 5, I ran the Boy to the high school by 7 am (as he had some basketball championship at which the band is playing), and we leave for Piano Lessons at 8 am. Piano Girl has adjudications today, after her lesson and a quick lunch. Of course I am content just knowing I get some toddler time today. The kids and I apparently left my camera in the Dude's work car, which is sitting down at the airport, as the Dude is in Boise today, so I can't take photos of PG in her finery, or of Abe, who has lost so many of his baby-like qualities, and is getting to be such a little boy.

Ok, that's all I have time for, but wanted to update a tidbit or two. I have been in the studio a tiny bit, and will update (minus photos, I guess) on that soon.
T.T.F.N.,
L.B.

Tidbit: Toddler quote

Cute toddler quote of the day: While playing with his mama's vintage Fisher-Price camera (kinda like this one, only older and cuter), Abe says, "I take-a smile, Abe?" Very cute. I will miss this third-person toddler talk.

And the fact that TBPTOTP (The Best Piano Teacher On The Planet) is the only other person I know of besides myself who saved her vintage (funny- they are only as old as we are- does that make *us* vintage, too?) Fisher-Price toys for her kids is another reason I love her so.

I cannot believe how much this little guy has grown in just a week! I swear he is 3 inches taller than he was last Thursday.

That is all I have right now. I am plum tuckered out.
T.T.F.N.
L.B.

Another Thursday

Well, as usual, I wasn't in the studio as long as I would have liked yesterday, but I did get a bit of work done prepping substrates last night. I am working on a series of the little "rough" paintings to put in a soon-to-be-open etsy shop, I am trying to keep track of how much time I spend and how much money on supplies for each piece, but it is not easy! We shall see how much work I am able to get done on these this weekend. The Girl is having a birthday/slumber party Friday- 5 girls from 11 to 16 will descend on my studio space. We will make Valentines, and do a couple of art projects (guess I should be planning those, hmm?), and then head upstairs for food (pizza?) and a movie, and they will camp out in the living room. Then I will have to get up early, and take the boy to his tournament on Saturday. The girls will go home by noon, and I will head to the tournament to watch the Boy's rounds (usually don't start till 2 pm). Sunday will bring a trip to the East Side to visit Mama, and head to Unity if I am not too tired, and a friend wants to have coffee in the afternoon on Sunday. Man, to be honest, I am tired just thinking about it. I may decide to commune with God in my dreams Sunday morning.

I have been up since 4:30, getting the Dude off to the airport. It will be so nice when we have two cars (this weekend or early next week, I hope!), so I won't have to run him to the airport anymore! I am headed to the tub here, and then we will all be getting ready for our long Thursday.

I won't see the Boy all day- he has a basketball game to play at tonight, so will just stay at the high school, and get some of his school work done there, as well as practice his HI.

The Girl and I will be heading for all day piano lessons (only 2 weeks till the Simon Fizet competition!), and I am looking forward to my toddler time. Abe is getting so big, and so vocal. He talks the entire time we are together, except when I am reading- we read for several hours every Thursday. He himself is getting closer to reading, starting to make the connection that the words on the page (that he follows with his chubby little fingers) are connected to the letter sounds he is learning. He is an amazingly bright little fellow, reminding me so much of my own Boy, who began sounding out words and reading at this age.

Okay, off we go! Enjoy your day today.
LB

More toddler fun, and a WIP.

Can you have such a thing as too many toddler photos? I thought not. This is my other fave toddler, the baby sister of Pony Girl. I don't have a blog nickname for her yet. Hmmm. Here she is, getting ready to "read to you".Here she is again, telling me not to pull the kitty's tail. Love that toddler-speak. Her mama needed some last minute toddler care, so I lucked out, had a fantastic evening with her, and got a nice baby fix.
And here is my latest work in progress: Thank you cards. The kids' cards are all complete, and half of them went out in today's mail. I of course, am still working on mine. How many layers of paint is too many?!?!
That is all for now, hope it keeps you busy for a bit!
LB

Catching up on photos

I will try to catch up on photos a bit in the next few posts. It really has become a trial to post photos lately as it involves a very slow computer, my laptop, and a great deal of patience- so I know you will appreciate the effort! Feel free to click and enlarge.

Here are my Fine Young Man, aka the Boy, and Piano Girl, reading to Abe, my adorable borrowed toddler, just a few days before Christmas. I love that my teens adore him, and think it is a treat to be able to spend time with him!Here is our lovely tree on Christmas morning. Looky looky at all those gifts! We were very spoiled this year, and it was lots of fun.
Here is Piano Girl, with another of our family friends, Pony Girl. Pony Girl came over several times in Nov. and Dec. to work in the studio with me- she did two oilstick paintings that she gave to her cousins for Christmas gifts. She is an excellent student, and is also becoming an amazing artist in her own right.
Here are the Boy and Girl, in early November, just as they were getting started on Christmas gifts this year. I love having them in the studio. We jam to tunes, and no one treats me like a "Mom", ya' know?

Just a little update.

Hey all,
Thanks for the input on the Priveledge survey. I thought it was fun and interesting. Feel free to do this if you haven't already.

I meant to post last night, but I was so very tired. I got up at 5 yesterday, to take the Dude to the airport, and then hit the grocery store just as it opened. Got home, fed the kids, and kissed the Boy goodbye. The Girl and I headed for piano lessons and my toddler fix. Oh. My. Goodness! Has my little friend Abe grown in 3 weeks! He talks a mile a minute, and is doing that fun toddler thing where he speaks in third person, and ends his sentences with his name, as if you had spoken, and not him. "Do you want to play trains, Abe?" "Here is a cheerio, Abe." It has always cracked me up that toddlers do this.

We left early, so Abe's mama, TBPTONP (The Best Piano Teacher On The Planet), could nap with him today, stopped off and picked the Boy up from school, and then hit the feed store for chicken food, went to a curriculum store to pick up WASL prep materials (I don't wanna talk about it!), grabbed some dinner, and then picked the Dude up at the airport. By the time we got home, it was all I could do to take the kids down to the studio to work on their thank you cards some more. I was in bed by 8, and asleep before 9.

Today, I have to face the laundry mountain, help the Girl get packed for her weekend trip to visit the G family in CA, and try to put a futon frame together, which I am not looking forward to. I may skip that and head to the studio to work on my thank you cards.

That's about it for now- I still need to get some photos up. I know I procrastinate on this, but it isn't easy- I end up having to use two different computers, one that holds the photos, and is so SLOW, and my laptop to do the rest of the post. It takes patience and time.

T.T.F. N.
LB

Tidbit: Papa's comin' home!

Yay! We are just leaving to go pick up the Papa Dude from the airport. Yay! I hope he's not too tired to make up! ;-)

And yes, I had a delightful day with my borrowed toddler. Oh how I love him. He so reminds me of when my Fine Young Man was little. He is very sweet and very intelligent, and makes Thursdays so much fun and very relaxing for me.

I came home, did the dishes, folded a bit of laundry, helped both kids do some school (history, latin, biology, and math), and then did a tiny bit of art journaling. I will try to do and post more tomorrow.

As Pooh says,
TTFN,
LB

Tidbit: piano day and toddler fix

Hey! Good Thursday morning to ya!
We are supposed to have winds up to 40 miles today. I am just hoping it doesn't stop my Dude's flight home today.
Off to all day piano lessons (Piano Girl has a performance this weekend!) and my toddler fix for the week.
Hugs,
LB

Tidbits: Toddler love and a link or three.

For Tami, here is a better shot of the mural. I haven't worked on it in several months, and I really should- I find that even though I have very little experience painting, it is very freeing, and makes me happy. I need to do more of it, how else will I get better?

Also, if you haven't met Lemondrop yet, you may want to head over and check her out. Tami is her creator, and the kids and I love to see new bits of Lemondrop's story every week. If you have littles, they will love the illustrations. My tweens are hooked!

I took a 2 hour nap yesterday, so was awake till about 2 this morning. It's all the Birthday Girl's fault, really. Miz Booshay posted links to the current Dancing with the Stars show, and I went over to YouTube to check them out. 2 hours later, and I had watched a LOT of ballroom dances featuring Mario Lopez. I can see why you folks with tv reception and cable could get sucked into this show. Good thing we don't do tv- probably a good thing Netflix doesn't have DWTS.

I had the most wonderful time with my borrowed toddler today. While his mama, TBPTOTP (The Best Piano Teacher on the Planet) and Piano Girl worked for 3+ hours downstairs, we did puzzles, and played trains, and read, and read, and read some more. We played our special games, the "I like/do you like" game, the "woof/meow/oink" game, and sang lots of nursery rhymes. Once a preschool teacher, always a preschool teacher. He calls me nanny (my 3rd person name for myself) now, and is just so sweet. And if all that wasn't enough, get this- every week, I sing him lullabies and rock him to sleep, then lay him down for his nap. I know he is way old for this, and I am the only person who puts him down for nigh-nights like this, but hey- he will grow up soon enough, and his mama lets me spoil and enjoy him this way. Anyway, I always say, "Goodnight, Abe. I love you. See you next week." as I lay him down, whether he is asleep or not. Today, he was really tired, but fidgety, so after about 20 songs,I lay him down awake, and said my usual. He snuggled down into his crib, and said, "I love you too.". Now if that just wasn't enough to keep me glowing all the rest of the day, I don't know what else would.

Edited to add this pic of Abe. It isn't the best, but he moves constantly- I took over 20 photos of him yesterday, and this is the only one that even sorta came out- but it is cute- notice his Thomas cap, and James the red engine- classic Abe accoutrements.

I have more I could update you on, but we are headed out the door to pick the Papa Dude up from the airport. I took tons of photos at the fair, and have some art to upload too, will try to be better at posting in the next couple of days- been fighting some bug, and actually sleeping!
TTFN,
LB