being a mom.

Searching.

The endless trail the internet can lead you on... google images, more specifically.

All these things, things, things.

Diet Coke-a-Cola

This book puts me to sleep every night.

This shelf is neat...want one for our new place.

Loving these throws from Pottery Barn. (Wish that was my couch with all four throws...)

Might just make someone's day.

Even thinking about it feels good.

Excited Love.

Should I change my caramel apple routine to these?? Or do both?? Hmmm.

Getting excited for Xmas :)

DIY Monogram Mugs Tutorial a la Design Mom.Com

Love lyrics.

If you do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.

(probably also love post-dating more than I should)

I am alive.

"A little girl can be sweeter (and worse) more often than anyone else in the world. She can jitter around, and stomp, and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves yet just when you open your mouth she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes. A girl is Innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot."

Maybe I was just waiting for something to strike me. I've been out of the game for a bit with some terrible headaches and finally having two babies is taking its toll on my energy. But I am alive and there's no time like the present to start doing what I want to do...

On Thanksgiving it will be three years since I found out I was going to be a mother. What a frightening day. Although I was married to the man I love and we were perfectly ready to take on the responsibility, the idea of actually doing it put a knot in my stomach.

She came to be the best surprise I've ever had and if you know me, you know I love surprises :)

Some days she leads me on a bumpy path to my wits end and I can't understand why God chose me to be her mother...then Mark comes home from work and I see his example of patients and love and watch Ada's eyes light up for her daddy. She teaches me patients.

She is intelligent beyond words. I want to brag about her to everyone I know but she is also shy and wise about who she shares her smiles, dancing and singing with. She teaches me humility.

I look out the window at the rain and frown, she says "Mom, are you upset?" She can read my emotions quickly and she is so sweet and understanding already. Her hugs are meaningful. Her kisses are not given sparingly, you know you're special when she gives you one. She teaches me love.

customBAKEDcakes

Love making them. Don't so much love the clean-up, but am thankful for my cake-skills and tools none the less!

A two-year-old's imagination. . .

I love to watch her play in her own little world.

My Paper Bag Skirt.

Thanks in part to this tutorial, love of this skirt, and my improving sewing skills. I made this:

Love it.

I will be posting a tutorial in the near future on my other blog.

Connect Pass.

Love this card, here's why...

My sister and I, along with my two girls and a little girl she nannies, had an enjoyable and quite busy Wednesday, for FREE.

We began our day at the Hogle Zoo and because of the chilly morning all of the animals were out and active! Here is the Leopard, hungrily pacing back and forth in front of my Ada.

After the Zoo, we walked across the street to This is the Place Heritage Park. I'd never been there and it was awesome! If you've never been, it's worth a trip out there. It's about seven bucks an adult (I think 5 for children over 2years). In the summer though, the admission is only 2 dollars on Wednesday. I'll definitely go back.

Ada enjoyed riding the pony and next to that seeing all of the baby animals in the petting area. A train circles the park and there is something fun at every stop. We panned for gold, look at what turned up, we're rich!! We traded some of the gold to the bank for candy :)

After This is the Place, we drove up the canyon to Snowbird and we rode the tram to the top of the world ;) The girls loved the ride and the fresh air.

After Snowbird, I met Mark downtown and we enjoyed dinner at The Lionhouse Pantry, then Ada, Hannah and I enjoyed a laser show at Clark Planetarium. What a day!

Thanks to a friend of my sisters we got to do all of this for free, but had I payed for the pass I could have done all of this for just 24 dollars! Not bad at all.

tickets please.

Today, as I was on my way to the library with my two girls, I got pulled over by a cop. A bike cop. I was speeding and I got a ticket (do not love it, but what are you gonna do? (not speed, right?)).

Here IS what I love, it did not ruin my day.

I loved being able to control my thoughts and realize that stressing about a ticket was not going to make anything good happen.

Lesson learned: happiness comes from within and I can be happy no matter what, as long as I wanna be.

New Rose

I love surprises like this:

My plant has been rose-less for nearly two years, but not anymore...

this machine.

Could spend hours using it, feeling more confident every time I do.

Love to see the result of paying attention to the rules.

Reading patterns over and over until I understand.

Getting good enough to improvise.

This machine is older than me, it was used to create things I wore as a child and now I am using it to create for my own daughters. Love it.

Anthropologie

Could buy and buy and buy from Anthropologie. I've yet to purchase clothes but here are two little buys that I adore:

Both "biscuit" brand, microwaveable, dishwasher-able, adorable :)

I could spend days and days and days and days looking at all of the THINGS I want from this store.

Every time I go in I leave with someTHING wonderful.

Is it horrible to love THINGS???

If yes, call me horrible :)

Two.

Tomorrow my baby turns two. I LOVE HER. I am proud of her. She is one-of-a-kind.

Happy Birthday Ada Lynn.

picking up the pieces.

I had a hard week, was in a not so good place for a bit.

I'm happy I was able to realize what I'm thankful for, my family, my husband and daughters and my creative abilities.

I love feeling happy and some days it takes extra energy and focus to find that happiness.

"Stepping stone or stumbling block?"

i LOVE mark JUDD

way to go to my husband!

Super Strength.

You feel down on your luck, down in the dumps, down right $h!##y, and somewhere within yourself your mind (or spirit) says, "you're going to be just fine."

I love inner strength. I don't care so much for those times that it sometimes takes to get you to notice that you're wonderful or a super-mom/wife/daughter/sister/friend/person :) but as long as I learn from my mistakes it's all good.

BUSIness

When I am too busy to think. When my day flies but also lasted forrrever.

Why do I love days like these?

Because I can say for sure I was not bored.

Ada's chalk drawing of the slide and swings.

Love Life

No matter the weather (which has been great in my eyes), or the toddler melt-downs, or the messy diapers and errands to run, I am loving life right now.

I feel that over the past few months of comparing myself to everyone or constantly scrutinizing my own work, and feeling unsure has payed off in a GOOD way... I've been able to take a step back and think about all of the things I love about myself, love about my life and love in general. So, thanks love blog :)

I might not be perfect (yet) but I'm a good mom, a good wife and friend. I'm a good writer and painter. I can craft with the best of em and I've been known to whip up some good dishes (not so much in the early 2000's, but at least in the last two years).

There it is, I'm loving life.

time-outs

Potty-training one little girl, breastfeeding another little girl. Reading Goodnight Moon. Soothing an infant to sleep. Entertaining a toddler. Nap-times. Lunch-time. Dinner-time. Spending time. Bath-time.

My time. Coffee and whipped cream, nothing spectacular or gourmet...but good.

Three...two...one... and I'm back to playing pretend. Playing dress-up. Cleaning up. Loving my life.

loving again.

l o v e these. especially since i'm still losing the strange after-baby belly.

Victoria's Secret Essential V-Neck Tee

I have a size LARGE and MEDIUM in white and blue...and I usually wear XS, but I really love the look of a looser fitting top.

It feels comfy, like I'm wearing my husbands tee, but it's more feminine because it's shear and has a low neckline.

I could probably wear these every day.

Home-made goods.

I used to tell Mark, my husband, if I make it at home, it's home-made...even if it's from a box or bag.

Wrong.

Two years later, I prefer bread that I make over store bought bread. I prefer my cookies from scratch, hand made pizzas and everything else I can learn to make.

Growing up, my mom and even sometimes my dad, made dinner every single night. Sooo much better than fast and pre-prepared meals. I think this is why I love to make dinner every night and bake my own goodies. What a great influence I hope to pass on to my kids.

I remember before I was even a teenager trying and trying to make chocolate chip cookies like my mom's and I could not even come close. She told me that I have to have more patience and take time to measure things correctly.... the most important lesson: Take time.

Especially now that I'm a stay-at-home momma, I have plenty of time to try and try again and it's helped me to perfect even the chocolate chip cookies. What do I have to work on still? Cooking, I can say with confidence that I'm great at baking, but my cooking needs a little work in terms of not being bland.

I love that I have the opportunity to work on my home-made goodies and meals.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

As is typical of Woody Allen's films, this story begins quickly with a short and precise description of it's characters, and immediately draws you into their out of the ordinary but not so un-relateable lives.

At first, I had a hard time adjusting to the narrator's tale intertwined with the story but upon watching it again (and especially with a toddler running around my home), I decided that I love the third party description as well as the character's dialogue.

I like Woody Allen movies, so perhaps it is no surprise I liked this one... If you like his movies too, you'll love this one. If you don't or haven't seen any, I suggest Annie Hall for starters!

So why do I love it? I think because this movie reveals the beauty of people, not physical beauty (although this movie has a great looking cast), but the intimate beauty that we all possess. The kind of thing you only see in the people you love, when you or they are most vulnerable. I feel beautiful after watching this movie and like my talents are worthwhile, that I walk on air!

making an effort.

i really learned to paint when in high school under the instruction of Micheal Dente.

i learned to love expressionist and impressionist artists and most importantly it is when i learned to develope my own style of painting.

i love everything about oil painting, the smells, the feel, the mess!

i still paint atleast one major paining a year...yeah, that's not much.

(this is the painting i gave mark for christmas last year)

last week i set up a baby-proofed area so that i can start painting more. exciting.

i love to paint but most of all i love that i'm making an effort to do something i love!

chocolat.

chocolat by joanne harris

i love this book, here is why: it makes me smile, makes me feel empowered, makes me crave chocolate (although i did before and probably always will), makes me want to visit france...move to france...open a chocolaterie...

the novel tells the story of a woman who is traveling europe with her young daughter in tow. she begins to run a chocolate shop in small french town but there is more about her than meets the minds eye. the woman seems to be a whitch...you would think the story might turn hokey here but it doesn't! in fact, this aspect remains sort of a mystery because the woman never reveals herself to be any different than the towns people.
the story follows the woman's struggle to fit into the old-minded catholic town. it describes her relationship with her daughter in fantastic little glimpses of fear and joy.

the mood of the book almosts gives me the feeling i'm watching the movie amelie.

here is why you might love the book: it will probably make you smile, make you feel empowered to do something creative and crave chocolate...although who doesn't?