I thought I’d share this picture.  It is of me and my guys in May of 2005.  My first mother’s day with my two little guys.  It’s amazing how quickly time passes.  I look at my guys now and am in awe of how big, strong, amazing and dynamic they are.  It is them that have made me what I am today.  Inspired, concerned, loved, crazed.  A mother.  Exactly what I’ve always been meant to be.

I send lots of love to my mother, my grandmother and my two sisters.  Four of the most amazing, strong and beautiful women that I know.   Happy mothers day to YOU too. All of you, out there too, that share the same funny life stories of parenthood. Thank you!

I never really liked that song, but it’s was in my head all day as I did the final touches for Super-E’s Egyptian costume. His Egyptian Opera was this evening.

moody Egyptian eyes

The kids did a fabulous job of performing an opera that they created (songs, music and script). Unfortunately, I had to sit through 5 other plays first, in a crammed cafeteria with my little I-guy on my lap, WHILE trying to video tape the performance. The other plays were cute and all, but those folding chairs do not make a pleasant experience for thee ol’ buttocks.

We made the collar together. I used an old piece of black-out lining (for curtains). It has a great surface to paint on and it won’t tear or fray. I drew the design he wanted and he had at it with the paint. Then we put his name on a shirt with hieroglyphics using this table. He LOVED that! I also sewed up an Egyptian kilt to complete the costume.  It was a fun time, but now I’m beat.

Now to bed…yaaaawwwn.
Good night!

First:  Thank you for all the kitchen love!!

Second:  Happy Earth Day!!! One of my favorite days of the year and I had to work.  Ah well, as my Super-E says, “it’s earth day every day!”  My little earth guys are so smart!

Right now, the weather here in Southern AZ has been incredible. We’ve been trying to spend as much time outside as possible, before it gets too hot.    Hiking, bird watching & desert exploring has been on the top of the list.

Ocotillo plants are hands down my most favorite desert plant.  They are in full bloom this time of year and the Sonoran desert is spotted throughout with bright bursts of orange.

 You can see where much of my color inspiration for my home decor comes from.

I hope you had a beautiful Earth Day!!!

 We’ve spent the last few days working on our front yard.  The hot, hot Southwestern summer weather is approaching us quickly.  So we scraped off the ugly green fish tank rock and had dirt brought in for our new low-maintenance desert landscape.  A drip irrigation system has been put down and we have plants all ready for planting. We had planted two young mesquite trees last year when we moved in to help with shading and cooling of our house.  They still have lots of growing to do.

The sad part will be breaking the news to out little guys that the dirt is really not for a giant sand box in the front yard (although a good idea for the back).  They have really been enjoying the sandy dirt with no shoes and free toes.

I am also doing stuff around the house too.  A little here and a little there.  It should get finished up, eventually.

We survived a weekend of hopping from home to home visiting family in Prescott and then came home just in time for me to go right to work for two days.  I’m exhausted mentally, physically and creatively. I am really behind on my blog reading, emails and comments and I just keep starring at my long list of things to do.  My head is spinning and spinning and spinning, which would explain my title~~too brain dead to think of something clever.

Anyway, here are some pics from my weekend.

I plan on getting a good nights sleep, and hopefully will accomplish something on my next two days off.

A while back, my little I-guy was tagged by ExPat Mom to list eight random things about himself. I thought this would be a really cute way to post for his 3rd birthday, which we celebrated yesterday. I’ll translate, his very good, but sometimes hard to understand I-speak.

1. I am three years old and had the best birthday yesterday with my three favorite people. “I am very bigger” and can do almost everything by myself even though my family insists on trying to help me sometimes.

2. I am also “very stronger” and “super fast” when I ride my tricycle. That is why I call myself “Super-I”. I even got a new bicycle for my birthday that is even “more faster”!!! I rode around the yard last night in the light of the moon until I crashed into the pokey rose bush. What a bad way to end such a great day.

3. I’m not potty trained yet and my parents don’t seem too worried about it yet, but I have a feeling that they are going to get serious soon. They keep going on, and on, and on about how I am three now and they keep getting corny potty-training story books at the library. Geez!

4. My best friend is my brother. He always likes to play with me and hugs me a lot. Sometimes he likes to takes over and rule the games, but I still think he’s the tops. Sometimes if I let out a big cry, he’ll give me whatever I want. Isn’t he swell? He likes to read to me and he’s really good at it. Almost as good as mommy. He’s also very good at getting me things I need like water, snacks and things I can’t reach.

5. I breast-fed for 32 months and it was the greatest thing ever. My mom says that it made me really healthy and smart. Now, I’m a big boy and I don’t do it anymore, but I miss it sometimes. Snuggling up with mom is the second best thing, especially when I don’t feel so good.

6. I love riding on the back of daddy’s bike when we go bike riding. He goes super fast. He also carries me in a pack when we go hiking too. He says that I’m getting too big to carry and I’ll be hiking soon all by myself. I know he’ll still carry me when I need a break though.

7. When ever I am eating I like to take a long time. My mom and dad will say are you done yet? and I’ll say, “3, 2 bites”. That means I’m still working on my food and have 2 or 3 bites left. Some of my favorite foods are broccoli, rice, beans, and any kind of fruit. I love drinking soy, rice, almond and oat milk. They are all very yummy. If it were up to me, I’d only eat candy and cookies. I guess that’s why my mom doesn’t keep that kind of stuff in the house very much.

8. I still like to dance and listen to music. I love watching and listening to Animusic a lot, but I thought I could play with the dvd’s and now they are all scratched up. I especially like to listen to music while I am playing. It makes me very happy.

I am thankful for so many things today…

1. That my children are no longer sick with the flu, and are healthy and in very good spirits these past few days. The sad whining has turned into happy laughter. Yay!!

2. Spending time with my family and doing little things like eating at Govinda’s for lunch.

3. The amazing and crazy weather that has been Tucson. One day it is warm and bright, the next it is cold and snowy. I love the variations.

4. For little gifts in the mail. A little P.I.F bird from Susan at Art Esprit ~thank you! Holiday ornaments from Amy’s swap (thank you for working so hard to get these out), and a special Valentine from Raesha, who never ceases to amaze me with her generosity and kindness.

5. That my child has a kind and patient teacher who is allowing her students to blossom, explore and grow.

6. For my friends at work, who make things easier. For old friends that I am getting back in touch with and for new ones that like to play crafts!!

7. For all of you who stop by to visit and leave kind messages of encouragement and support. For people like Elizabeth and Marcia, who tagged me with the “You Make My Day” award. Thanks you so much! You both made my day for sure.

Now, as a part of this, I am to list ten other bloggers who I find inspiring and full of happy goodness (this is the hard part because there are so many I find inspiring and great).

Geninne
tiny happy
greeting arts
kleas
twelve22
green kitchen
Chara Michele
Trail Mix Designs
Nikki-shell
Artsy-crafty babe

Thank you all (Elizabeth and Marcia included) for inspiring me with your amazing creativity, warm and thoughtful words, funny stories and for sharing so much of yourself!

 My little Super-E has been in the chess club for a couple of weeks now and is really getting into it. He needed a more sturdy chess board (the one we had was too flimsy) and so the coffee table was painted and has now become the new chess game area. I had been planning on painting it anyway (it’s getting kind cruddy) and that’s not going to happen anytime soon. This will work for as long as he’s interested.

Some exciting stuff has happened this week.  A large spread in the AZ Daily Star featured local Etsy sellers on Saturday.  It was a great article.  I wasn’t in it, but it led me to my local Etsy street team and I was able to get into their group.  They are super  talented and a very active group. We are having a small craft fair on Feb 10th.  Check out our website: Sonoran Artisans and flickr group.  So very exciting for me because I can meet real live, in the flesh, crafters and artists, right in my hometown!  It is also the kick in the butt I need to be a more focused on my shop.

Very quickly, I have to share this movie I rented last night.  It’s called Once, a modern day musical and it is excellent!!! And the music is amazing too!!!  If you haven’t seen it,you have to check it out.  Click on the movie link above to hear the song “Falling Slowly”,  an Academy award nominee for best song.  Then listen to the next one too “If you want me”, it’s my favorite. So beautiful.

20 reasons why my birthday was so wonderful + 10 of my favorite things + 6 things I’d like to do this year = 36 things about me.

36. Daddy came home Friday from Dallas, to relieve me from a long hard week alone with sick kids.
35. I felt much better Saturday morning, after having fevers, chills and aches on Friday night.
34. Perfect weather all weekend–sunny, clear, warm.
33. Wore a new shirt that I made and love. It’s the famous Built by Wendy pattern #3835. I opted for the longer sleeves with the ties.

32. Went downtown on Saturday to explore.
31. Used my wonderful new camera that I got a week ago from my hubby and took lots of pictures (more on that later).
30. Ate lots of kettle corn and roasted corn on the cob at Dillinger Days festivities.
29. Ate out for lunch with the kids!!!(a rarity) at a pretty outdoor restaurant.
28. I-guy had the whole staff at the restaurant singing witch doctor.
27. Bought some excellent hand ointment for my mommy/nurse working hands.
26. Made chocolate cake with the guys and ate a whole lot of it for dinner.
25. Woke up on Sunday morning to Rock lobster and handmade gifts by super E.
24. Went on a beautiful hike.
23. Saw an enormous Saguaro cactus.
22. Ate chocolate cake for lunch (yum!)
21. Our friend Tim baby sat for us.
20. Went on a date with my hubby, the first in a loooooonnnngggg time (another rarity).
19. We went to see Juno. I highly recommend. Excellent soundtrack too!
18. Went out to dinner and had a delicious vegan dinner.
17. Had uninterrupted conversation with my husband for over an hour!

Favorites:
16. tea: Ambrosia White Plum
15. food: vegan pesto
14. song 1: I feel it all
13. song 2: True Affection
12. color1: Turquoise
11. color2: Orange
10. feel: Soft baby feet
9. sound: The kids laughing
8. scents: Baked bread and cinnamon
7. chocolate: Dagoba Xocolatl

Things I must do this year
6. Finish fixing up our money pit of a house!
5. Grow our garden– start in April
4. Start a compost by spring.
3. Take the Lactation Certification Exam in July.
2. Exercise daily.
1. Meditate daily.

Well, oddly enough, I am totally sick again. Apparently my body decided to give me a break for my birthday weekend but we were back on schedule with the fevers, chills, coughing, and aches by Monday morning. I am determined to feel much better by tomorrow!

Books are very important in this family. We collect them, love them, (sell them) and take very special care of them. There is no mistreating of books of any kind allowed in this house. Oh no, no, no! No throwing, standing on, tearing of pages, no water anywhere near and definitely NO dog ears. We’ve been ingraining this into our kids since they were babies (we are still working with I-guy on this). That is not to say that there aren’t books scattered all over the house. There is! They are, for the most part, gently used, loved and respected.

Books are informative, inspiring, magical, amazing. We love them. So they have become a huge part of the holiday gift giving in this house as well as birthday gift giving too. Needless to say, we are starting this year with a nice big stack of new books.

For the Kids (from friends, family and Santa):

Uncle Wiggly’s Story Book by Howard Garis.
The Big Book for Peace. A collective of several different poems, stories and illustrations.
Star Wars: A Pop-up Guide to the Galaxy by Michael Reinhart
The NEW Way Things Work by David Macaulay
The Way Science Works by Jayne Parsons

For the kids, but really for me:

A Kid’s Herb Book by Lesley Tierra and The Book Book by Sophie Benini Pietromarchi. I am the most in love with these two books. Both are so very well done and just simply amazing. The herb book seriously makes me want to run out and grow an herb garden. Now, I am a strong believer of the powerful medicinal properties of herbs, so this book is right up my alley. It is full of easy to understand information about all the different herbs and loads of activities and recipes for treats, drinks and common childhood ailments.

The Book Book is such a wonderful inspiration for book making. Not only does it give excellent instructions for making several kinds of books, but it has brilliant ideas for what to put in the books using everyday around-the-house objects. A wonderful resource for getting children to think creatively.

For me:

The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stoller
The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter
Simple Sewing with a French Twist by Celine Dupuy

I could go on and on about each and every one of these, but then this would be the longest post EVER! So I’ll just say that they are so fun to look through and get inspired by. All incredible and so beautifully done. I can’t wait to get bakin’ and makin’. Yeah Baby!

Even Daddy couldn’t resist the new translation of War & Peace even though he already has more books than he knows what to do with.

Tomorrow starts the beginning of the “Month of ME!!” where I make and share lots of things that I’ve wanted to make for myself. Yes, Me Me Me. This “me” list has been staring at me for such a looooong time. I can’t wait to get started with it.