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.

I made these hats for my guys in only a couple of hours.  I think I may need to make them a little longer so that they fold up.  They are for when we go up the mountain with the snow and cold.  I might be making matching scarfs.  I love the color combos–very much my guys.

We also attempted to do the annual holiday photo for sending out cards (which will probably be very late).    These are some of the outtakes, although they are pretty darn cute too.

I’m wishing for a long magical life of believers. That the children of the world believe in you longer than they seem to be lately. That this belief is sprinkled in with lots of the other meaningful holiday traditions.

It’s just more fun to believe and keep that childhood imagination soaring for as long as we can. It’s that imagination that flames a long fulfilling creative life.

My Little guy spent a good portion of Tuesday writing a letter to Santa. I love the “I try to listen” part. He does try, which is so, so hard for a 6 year old. He added a few questions at the end. “How do you get your mail?” and “How fast does your sleigh go?”. We’ll be working on a return letter just to keep the holidays a little more magical for him. I love that he believes in Santa. He is usually a little more skeptical (like his father) about most things. I think The Polar Express helped seal the deal a little.

How fast does Santa’s sleigh goes anyway?

Do you love my Santa collection. I do! They are “vintage”. My lovely mother-in-law gave them all to me I think. I’m not sure about the one on the far left. I have a growing collection of Santas and of snow globes. I always look forward to pulling these out of the closet every year. They make me smile.

Tomorrow morning I will announce the ornament winners!!  The cut off for leaving a comment is tonight at midnight. 

Here is what we made with our salt dough.

It was such a great family project. Everyone played, even daddy.

See the little Yoda in there.  It’s a mommy/daddy collaboration.  Daddy did a fine job sculpting and I painted. The force is strong with him, don’t you think?

Here is the recipe in case you want to try this out. Very basic.

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup warm water

Combine all ingredients and knead for 10 minutes (really work those arm muscles). The dough should be soft, elastic and not sticky or too dry. Add more water or flour to get correct consistency. Allow to rest for 30 minutes then roll, press, twist, smash, form, shape– whatever suites your fancy. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees for a long long time (2-4 hours, depending on how thick your ornaments are).  They are done when they are brown on bottom and very hard.  When cooled, paint, paint, paint.

TOMORROW:  Ornament GIVEAWAY!!!!! 

The tree and half of the decorations are up and some salt dough was made for ornament making. Having a wee bit of spiced rum and silk-nog helped, especially when a certain person(me) was getting bunged up about dumb stuff.  It’s all goooood now.

Cheers!

I spent the day with my little Super-E and his class at the local botanical garden. The weather was perfectly sunny and warm (at least in the sun). It truly was such a beautiful day.

The butterfly house was our favorite part.

The rest of the garden is beautiful as well, but we could have spent the whole day with these wonderful little fluttery creatures.