for you, my Henley Mayes

oh, my sweet little Henley.

i feel like overnight, you've just turned into a KID. a funny one.

i guess i never did the whole 3 year old birthday letter.  let me say, your birthday coming right before Christmas is so tough.  i am sure you'll know this your whole life.  you kinda get birthday gifts mixed in with Christmas gifts from everyone and i bet when people think they've given you a little birthday money, it was just Christmas money.  and it's hard to get people together, when they'll be coming in for the holidays the next week, so they just wait. i mean, it is cool when you get to go with Mamie to see Santa ON your birthday AND you are first in line to sit on his lap because it's your birthday. that kinda stuff is pretty cool.

you are pretty proud of being 4.  you don't really want to wear anything that isn't size 4 clothing.  even though your skinny little waist is about a 2T but your legs are 4T. lots of leggings and tights for you. your hair is also a mystery, in addition to the skinny waist.  how in the world we got a blondie blonde daughter out of these parents is beyond me.  you have crooked bangs all the time, bless your sweet heart.  once, the hairdresser said "oh, mom trims your bangs, doesn't she?" hmph! they're just right, in my eyes.  thank goodness for them, too, since you wiped out on the skateboard (that we hardly ever bring out) and banged your head on the driveway.  nice bright pink goose egg, but hidden by the bangs!

you say the funniest stuff. this morning, i was working in my craft room and you were playing doctor with lillian.  you asked me to write out lillian's name and  diagnosis.  when you came back in, you had written some "reportments" and "erpscriptions" for her. hilarious.  see the XR XR XR? because I had told you medicine is sometimes called RX.  haha.

i've decided a good description for you would be "emotional". not dramatic, like causing drama... just reacting to things with great EMOTION. you have learned to ride your bike pretty well, using training wheels.  but when you fell down in the driveway, and skinned your knee, you screamed and ran at me instantly and fell again in your distress, which skinned your hands as well.  when you are excited, you are like bouncing off the walls excited. almost obnoxious, which i know sounds horrible to say about your own kid. :)

you love blueberries, hot cocoa, cookie crisp (thanks, david), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bean and cheese tacos, pancakes, bacon.  you have a super sweet tooth, and thanks to the parents you were blessed with, plenty of opportunities to indulge.

one thing that makes me so happy (and also frustrating at times) is your desire to create and make.  you love to come into my craft room with me and make little projects with fancy scissors and paper.  downstairs, you have some supplies- paper, colored pencils and scissors- and it's an everyday thing for you to make letters and gifts for others, leaving scraps and supplies everywhere.  you get our junk mail envelopes and use those, taping them closed and writing someone's name on them. and heaven forbid if i toss them into the trash at night when i clean up and you see your letter in the morning! i moved your little table upstairs for some space for a while and you have been asking nonstop if i would bring it back down so you have "some space to do your work".  tonight, i promise, dearest!

we saw frozen last week, FINALLY! it was even super late, all of our friends had already seen it. trip and anna kate would sing all the songs and you two poor sheltered things, didn't know the words but bless your hearts, would dance and TRY to sing it all. we bought the DVD and have watched it a couple times already. as i type this, you and mia, are acting out the scene where anna tries to wake up elsa.  you guys know the words, "wake up elsa, the skies awake, so i'm awake, so let's go play" and "i can't anna, i can't control the power". and cue the "do you want to build a snowman" music.  silly girls.

you're still crazy about ballet and dancing- when we meet someone, you get into first position and point your toes and twirl.  maybe coping with being shy?? it's funny.  you slip on leotards and "pointe shoes" every chance you get. here's your latest ballerina picture... see the bun? we need to work on hands...

you aren't BAD at all- but you do get into some mischief.  you are forever taking my shampoos and soaps and adding them to your bath or washing your pajamas in the tub.  yesterday, i came outside and you and mia were smashing up a bag of saltine crackers all over the driveway. but when i made you sweep it up, that was a fun game for you, too. you have been drawing with pens on everything lately.  your first cabbage patch from Santa and your new doll from this Christmas.  when you got in trouble, i made you write (copy) a letter to Santa and "mail" it to him on your Valentine balloon. you seemed to think this was really fun... you kept restarting the letter to "make it look nice for Santa". ;) and then dang if that stinkin' balloon wouldn't float up and then got stuck in the tree in the front yard.  so much for my tactics.

you have switched over to loving on dad again- for a while, you weren't kind to him. it was pretty mean.. you'd move away from him if he sat next to you and cry when i left for tutoring and you stayed with him.  but now, things are good and you are sweet to him. thank goodness- that made me sad!

i sure love you and your quirky and funny and sweet personality. you are headstrong and independent.  while these things can make me lose my patience sometimes, i know i'll be thankful for those traits as you get older. you are smart and beautiful and i'm so glad you're my #1 girl.  keep up the shenanigans, little dearie. i'll miss them, someday!

i love you so!

Gee thanks, pandora radio

Nothing like looking at last night's Halloween pics and hearing "To Make You Feel My Love". Generally reducing me to tears.

There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do,
Go to the ends of the world for you,
Make you happy, make your dreams come true.
To make you feel my love.

The things we do...

I just drove around our block 4 times, windows down, music blaring. Times one and two, a neighbor waved and smiled. The third time, the man started walking toward the street and number 4, well- glaring, hands on hips, ready to report me for suspicious behavior.

You see, after running errands, I had 55 minutes before needing to leave again. And those chickies needed some sleep- trick or treating tonight!

So I let them fall asleep and pulled into the cool shade of a big tree in our driveway. And of course, I had to climb out the window of the car or risk the music turning off.

My neighbors think a crazy lady moved in, I'm sure!

All for this...

happy

happy about:

* finding forgotten about Christmas t-shirts bought last year for $2 at Old Navy

* little girls who look cute in said Christmas shirts

* yogurt covered pretzels

* handmade gifts in the works- so excited to give a thoughtful gift

* cool weather to come

* a brand new pack of Sharpies in a backpack- score!

* naptime

* little one sleeping from 8- 8- all night long

* Parenthood on Tuesday nights and Modern Family on Wednesdays

* $5 generic prescriptions

* glitter sign- pics coming soon

little things. happy for my blessed life.

counting my blessings

I think I figured out a few reasons why I feel like writing on my blog.

1. This whole staying at home and talking just to my kids 95% of the time leaves me having LOTS of little conversations in my head. Or I go to Wal-mart or the playground and talk a little tooo much (aka, I'm the psycho-starved-for-conversation mom) to complete strangers. Better to type them to no one than have them with random people.

2. My poor sister has to remind me to send a text with pics of the chickies- she's dying to see what's up with them and what kind of crazy notions they get into.

3. I like to document my little projects I work on at naptime or after bedtime.

There. And if no one is reading, it's ok. Just for me. And my sanity.

Here's a little naptime project from yesterday. I needed a little visual reminder right in front of my sink. Sometimes, I'm washing bottles and cleaning up from dinner and I get to staring out the window, having a huge grouch-fest in my brain.
"Why am I the only one around here who washes the bottles?"
"If I load the dishwasher, couldn't someone else unload it?"
"Why can't Mia drink 3 10 ounce bottles instead of 6 5 ounce bottles?"

And on and on. Some days I'm in a good mood- husband brought me gorgeous pink roses, potty training went great all day, scored some cool finds for 10 bucks-and the grouching isn't so bad.

AND come on- I'm a stay at home mom! I live in a comfy house near family and friends! I had a delish dinner! My babies are in their beds, safe and happy and healthy with full bellies to sleep a good night's sleep. My life is so wonderful. But those dishes just get me.

This is what I made to help me remember. I finally bought some vinyl to play with on my Silhouette. Oh, how much fun it is! Basically, I'm just learning the ropes right now. This was going to be on a plate but I messed up the actual vinyl letters and decided to use the surrounding vinyl as a stencil.

Basically, 3 steps.
1. Stuck the vinyl to the window. Smoothed out as much air as possible. [NOTE: I am in no way a perfectionist. I am a get-it-done kind of girl. My projects do reflect this quality of myself. I realize this and move on. Hope you can, too.] I also had to stick on the circles and ovals in the O, B, E and G.


















2. Painted with yellow acrylic paint over the stencil. I did two layers.


















3. Peeled off the vinyl. I freaked a little because paint seeped under the vinyl and it looked a mess, but by using a toothpick, I was able to scape it off really easily. I cleaned it up and was left with this.



















I like it because it will remind me how blessed I am and to quit griping in my head about the stinkin' (literally) bottles. And when I get sick of it, it will easily scrape off. Love. I plan to put one on the bathroom mirrors too. And yes, it is backward when you look at the window from outside. I don't care. I'm such a rebel. ;)