My Painting

I’ve never painted before aside from the water-color and other fun painting I seem to do regularly right now.  Even more wild than the fact that I painted this huge canvas is that this crazy idea was for someone’s wall!  Definitely risky. 

Now, I would NEVER paint something for someone else’s wall, but when I visited my friend’s new house I saw this painting in my mind and I couldn’t get it out!  (Not a normal experience for me.)

I thought I would buy a canvas, sit down, and start painting.  Thankfully, my wise husband gave me some guidance.  “Why don’t you plan it out on the computer first?” 

So, my first painting is very calculated and exact, not exactly the way I envisioned painting.  But, I’m so happy with the result.  

I painted this in many separate short sessions.  Covering the canvas alone took about 5 different sessions.  There’s the base coat, the edges, and then several tecture layers.  All the dots had to have 3 coats and since some overlap, I broke them into several short sessions too.  It was really gratifying because in at the end of each session – maybe, 20 minutes – I could see the progress I made!

Here’s the finished version.  Their last name is painted through the middle of the canvas with turquoise paint.  I put this rectangle over it in Photoshop for my blog, because I don’t like identifying information especially last names on my blog.  So, you’ll have to work a little to “see” the final painting.

So, the big question.  Did she like it?  She sure did say all the right things and made me feel like she liked it!  She said it was the right style and the right color.  (That’s good as I went to Sherwin Williams and bought a little container of their exact wall color!)  I think she did.

Gunnar painted with me.  He gave them to our friends as a gift.  (Notice her turquoise accent wall.  Love it!)

I “ooohed” and “aaahed” over Gunnar’s paintings and asked him to paint one for me.   

Then, he painted one for Daddy.  Hmph!

I really enjoyed this project even though I was hoping the act of painting would be some romantic type experience where the emotions deep within me flowed out the end of my paint brush.  Not so much. 

I have one more painting planned.  I’m going to use this same idea with slightly different dimensions and different colors.  I’ve been wanting something above my fireplace for a long time.  But, you see, I can’t just go buy something because I have some strange prerequisite for all my wall art: it must be sentimentally significant for who created it or what it represents.  Weird I know.  Anyhoo…This one is 24×36 and mine will be 24×30.  Also, I will probably use a red background and maybe black letters.  I don’t know yet, but as I don’t have any turquoise in my home, I probably won’t use that!  I’m not really sure when I will get to this, but maybe sometime in 2010.

Right now, I have to  get off the computer because a 40″ tyrant says my time is up.  I hope the “story” makes sense and there are not too many grammatical errors.  Until next time blogger friends!

Thanksgiving Craftiness

I made this super cute Thanksgiving craft with the help of my mom and the inspiration from this blog.  Basically, it was more than just inspiration, I totally copied this idea but made some modifications.

All of my letters and leaves are stamps from Close to My Heart (my mom is a consultant for CTMH stamps and scrapbook stuff) and the base of it is a placemat.  I have 3 extra placemats if anyone is interested.

I used a 3×3 envelope template to make the little pockets.  (The original idea was made using bags which the blogger said she got from Target.)  Inside each pocket is a piece of cardstock to write down our blessings and all we give thanks for this year!

On the top right corner of each envelope, I wrote the date.  We are going to start our Give Thanks the day after Gunnar’s birthday every year.  That’s why my calendar starts with November 12th.  If you want to do the whole month of November, you will need a larger placemat (this one is actually on the small side) or use a smaller envelope/bag.

I wanted my Give Thanks calendar to be transferable from  year to year, and since Thanksgiving Day is on a different date each year, I had to figure something out.  I ended up stamping this “Happy Thanksgiving.”  It’s attached with a spiral clip (I love those spiral clips!)   Since it’s not attached with any adhesive, it will be easy to just clip it on to another date next year.

She Walked – Take 2

Graceanna really walked this time!  I saw it!

Yesterday, just before 5:00, I retrieved her from playing in the dog dishes and set her down in the living room.  As I set her down, I had a feeling she was going to walk.  She just stood there and I walked away pretending not to watch.  She took three steps and started giggling so hard she fell down.  I haven’t seen her walk since, but she was definitely proud of herself. 

She’s so funny.  She won’t walk, but she regularly stands in the middle of the floor and starts hopping up and down like she’s dancing.

Birthday Party #2

Wednesday, November 11th was Gunnar’s actual birthday.  The weather was so nice we let the kids play in the backyard for a while which ended up being way more fun than any games I had briefly considered.

Gunnar being chased by Kennedy.  You can tell he really hated that!

Gabe

Lucy

Sam, Gunnar, Gabe

Gunnar’s favorite activity: Tackling! 
Gabe, Gunnar, Kennedy

Time to open gifts!

Then we had cake! 

Gunnar wanted brownies and popcorn for his party.  So, that’s what we had!  Unfortunately, he didn’t like the brownies I made.  (I usually get a different box brand. ) 

Gunnar was so embarassed when we sang Happy Birthday to him.  He squirmed around and couldn’t stop grinning.

Gunnar, Graceanna, Gabe, Max, the very edge of Caleb, and the back of Kennedy.

Jack, Lucy, Gunnar, and the back of Kennedy again.

Back row:  Lucy, Jack, Kennedy, Optimus Prime aka. Gunnar, Max, Gabe
Front row:  Caleb, Sam
Floor: Graceanna, Gus

Birthday Party #1

We celebrated Gunnar’s 4th Birthday with a family party on Saturday, November 8.  Gunnar could not wait for his cousins to arrive!  Aunt Natalie brought Carter, Sutton and Myers to celebrate with us.  Grandma and Grandpa came over too.

Steve took Gunnar and Sutton geo-caching while Natalie and I, the two babies, and Carter went for a little walk.  The weather was so gorgeous.  It was sunny and warm.  I had on a short-sleeved sweater and was very warm.  We ate tacos for dinner and then Gunnar was ready to open presents. 

He was very sweet about Sister playing with his bows, and he didn’t seem mind having her help him.

Aunt Nat and Graceanna sharing a sweet moment.

We took a little break from the festivities when Sutton fell outside and cut his head on a brick.  There was lots of blood but it turned out that his injury wasn’t too bad.  After a little clean up, bandaging, and more clean up we were ready to have cake!

My mom made the cake of course.  I love it!  Mom and I wanted him to have a Cars theme again this year.  I found some Cars invitations that were so cute!  Gunnar was really torn because he still loves Cars, but he also wanted Transformers.  (He, one time, saw a picture of Transformers and loved them.  He thinks they are robots)  So, I decided we could do both themes since we were having family over on the weekend and friends on the afternoon of his birthday.

It’s so rare for me to be in a picture since I’m always shooting, so I’m including this picture even though it’s blurry.  Plus, Gunnar is looking and smiling.  That’s amazing.

 

W spent all day Sunday playing with Gunnar’s new toys.  He’s been up a little after 6:00 every morning this week to play with his train set.  James, the red engine & Edward who is green were added to his collection.  He also got some fun bridges and The Roundhouse!  We’ve parked everyone in the house and pulled everyone out more times than I care to count.  But, it’s been so much fun.

These two pictures were taken Sunday morning.  I got up to find him playing while wearing his new Bumblebee (Transformer) costume.  Cute!

Say “Momma”

Coming soon to a blog near you:  Pictures from Gunnar’s Birthday Parties! 

But, first a conversation with Graceanna.  I walked into Graceanna’s room this morning to get her out of bed and start our day.  I said, “Hiiiiii!  Graceanna.”  She said, “Hiiiiiiiii.”  So, I tried some more.

Me:  Graceanna, say Momma

Graceanna:  Dadda

Me:  No.  Mama

Graceanna:  Dadda

Me:  No.  Mamamamama

Graceanna:  Dadadadadada

Well, fine.

Graceanna is then playing in her room.  The baby gate is in the doorway to contain her while I try to quickly clean the bathroom.  About 15 minutes into bathroom cleaning, I hear “Mamamamama!”   Wouldn’t you know Graceanna is standing at the gate looking for me!  That little turkey!

Raking with Poppa

 This post might be more appropriately titled “Playing with Poppa!”  They had so much fun and I have so many pictures, and I just couldn’t bring myself to leave any out.  These were on Oct 19 when it was a little warmer and before the grass had turned brown.

First you must prepare the pile. 

Poppa bought Gunnar his own rake.  Poppa’s intention was to get a kid rake but Gunnar made it clear he would like a big rake like Poppa’s, so Gunnar’s is an adult rake just a bit shorter than Poppa’s.

Leaf pile is now ready.  (I love this picture of my dad.  Living each moment and enjoying it fully.)

Notice Gunnar’s foot is all you can see of him as he went sliding through the pile.

Being covered up in a leaf pile = every kids dream on a fall day.

 The jumping in process from another angle.

 

Halloween 2009

I’m having a hard time keeping my blog updated and unfortunately I don’t see that getting better until after Gunnar’s birthday.  But, I really wanted to get these pictures up with them in their costumes.  They were so cute.

Spiderman and Sweet Pumpkin

Huh.  What’s this hat on Sister’s head?  I think I will bite it.

Graceanna says, “Grandma, what are you doing with my costume?”  While Gunnar checks out the scarecrow.

“Fine.  I will look at you.”

“That’s it.  I’m done.”  Spiderman, then, spits his web at us.  I’m not sure when Gunnar will realize spiders don’t spit their webs or rev their engines like race cars.

On the afternoon of Halloween we went to a little festival at Gunnar’s “school.”  They had fun games that were so great for kids their age.

Then, we went Trick-or-Treating with Kennedy and Caleb and their mom and dad who dressed up as characters from Wizard of Oz at Kennedy’s request.  Gabe & Sam and their parents were there too.  The kids had so much fun.  They ran up to the doors and tried to remember to say “thank you” when they got candy.  Gunnar didn’t think it was time to go home because his pumpkin was only 90% full of candy.  I’m sure he thought the goal was to fill it up.  What a super fun night!  We’re all already talking about next year.

Safari and Friends

A few weekends ago, we took a little trip to see the changing Fall colors and also to visit my roommate from college.  Carla and her family live about 4 hours away and I did my best to prepare for the hours in the car, but I have to say my nerves were shot by the time we arrived.  Graceanna doesn’t love her car seat and it was difficult for her to take a nap, so by the time we arrived she was not in the best of moods.  Much to my surprise we immediately sat down at their table and Graceanna feasted.  I really expected to put her in bed as soon as we arrived, but with a full tummy and some new friends, she was a happy girl!

On Saturday, Carla and I took the kids on a Safari while our husbands sacrificed their spot in the car so we could all ride together in their van.  I know watching hours of football was really hard on the guys.    First, we drove through the animal park where many of the animals are roaming free.  Then, after the Safari you could get out and pet the little ones.  By the time we made it through the drive, we were ready for lunch and naps. 

My favorite animal was the camel.  Gunnar liked the lion, but his favorite is the animal that bumped the van with his horn.  I think it was a yak but can’t remember.  As you know, I’m still learning my way around the camera.  It was so bright that day and I over exposed almost every single shot.  But, I learned a lot!  Keep in mind that my lens does not zoom.  These animal were so close!  The camel’s used Carla’s side view mirrors as scratching posts!

Have you ever seen the cuteness of a camel’s mouth?  Now you have!

I LOVE this brown camel.  I couldn’t get enough of him or was it a her?  Whatever.  I liked it!

I think they were shedding their fur.  But, that doesn’t make sense to me because winter is approaching.  Do they get rid of a summer fur for special winter fur?  I don’t know.  Unlike so many other animals, the camel’s coats looked so clean and soft except for that molting area.

Lots of Zebra.  Even some with brown stripes too.

The lions and tigers and other creatures of similar danger were locked up tight.  I didn’t like seeing them like that, but I knew G would want a picture of the lion, so here it is.

As soon as we were home from the Safari, Gunnar went to take a nap.  He skipped lunch, even chips.  That’s when we suspected H1N1 might be with us.  He slept several hours but woke up ready to play.  He had a fever from about 12:00 pm until about 9:00 am.  It didn’t keep him down, but unfortunately we did leave Hog Fever, as it’s called in these parts, with our friends.

Gunnar (almost 4), Dorothy (5), Violet (2)

Dorothy and Gunnar on their “hike” through the wooded are by the house.

Graceanna and Carla

Graceanna dazzled and amazed Brent and Carla with her ability to shovel away the food.  It really can be amazing.  One night at dinner, Brent noticed it looked like Graceanna had swiped Violet’s cup.  Sure enough.  Graceanna was guzzling the apple juice.  As this was her first experience with juice, she did not put down that liquid gold until every drop was drained.

After our 48 hour excursion, Steve and I both felt like we’d been hit by a bus.  Within a couple days we both had H1N1.  We don’t know for sure if Graceanna has had it or not.  If she has, it was a much milder case than ours.  I called Carla later in the week to see if they were sick yet.  The girls were sick but the biggest news was that the night we left their septic tank caused a flood in their super nice, just like staying at hotel, basement.  She assures me we didn’t do anything to cause it, but oh my.  Not only a mess, but a very expensive mess which may not be covered by insurance thanks to their insurance sales person.  I wonder when we will be invited back.  Maybe the next time some world-wide-crazy-flu comes to the US or maybe the will invite us the next time we have torrential rains sure to explode their septic system.

Smiley Girl

Graceanna’s top left tooth broke through this past weekend.  I could see the top it for about a week before it came through.  It didn’t seem to bother her much, but she’s still drooling a lot.

Graceanna is riding my mom’s rocking horse.  As you can tell by her smile, she loves it.  And, she’s so proud of herself.  She can rock it back and forth on her own power.  Her legs are just long enough that if she leans to one side, she reach the bottom which helps her to keep her balance.  I don’t remember Gunnar really knowing how to rock the horse until he was several months older.  I also don’t remember him liking the horse as much as she does.

She’s smiling in anticipation of the lunch Grandma put together for her.  She’d had a really good nap that morning, so she was really happy – and hungry!  She loves Poppa’s pork cutlet, as does Gunnar.