So. I got this award.

So. I got this award. No... not that one up there. I just felt like posting it since I thought it was cool and I only dream that one day one of my offspring would even think of being presenting me with one of those. Uh.. that's a different post. (Actually, clicking on it will take you to a knitted burger beanie on a store who's got these #1 mom trophies but they're outta stock to date).
I may not have children who appreciate me (just yet), but I certainly have friends who do! Look what I got! The meaning of this little award is this:
The award is for PROXIMITY and it's explained this way:
"This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."
Kinda spiffy. Thanks!

In the Woods

I felt an urge to spotlight some local hotspots, of the world famous, and almost monumental variety.
Actually, it wasn't my initial intention.
What I really wanted to do was complain... seeking your compassion, or pity, cyber-hugs or handshakes, because I live near the LAX airport. And not just near the airport, but directly in a flightpath zone... my street serves as an arial road map to the brave pilots who whisk in aircrafts full of international visitors and returning locals. And, living near this airport and in this flightpath puts us interneting hopefuls in an interesting predicament. The noise we get used to, but the annoying fact that our computers start operating in the most sluggish pace each time a large plane comes in for landing??? Unbearable!
See? I went and did it anyway. I had decided I wasn't going to complain, but being the weak mortal I am, I fell prey to, well, myself once again.
Now, back to the giant donut which was to the left but now is above you. I was lookin' for a picture of a plane goin' over in my neighborhood, when I stumbled across this awesome photo of Randy's Donuts. It was taken by eyetwist at flickr, and you really should check out the other fabulous photos. The plane was NOT photoshopped in. The angle, the hue... it's fun and quite pleasing, isn't it?
And now onto Randy's. For those of you who eat donuts (yes, I had to say that. My home, my life; they're teaming with vegans and puritists of all kinds), you have to come here at least once in your life. Donuts. Who doesn't like donuts? Randy's is a step above regular donuts. It's worth the drive to get there, and it's pretty central. They sell shirts with donuts on them, too.
Address, info: Randy's Donuts
I love L.A.

Micah's New Shoes

This may be a new feature section on my blog... shoes, particularly for Micah. Anyway, I like to share the awesome steals I get, so here are Micah's new shoes, typically $30-45 a pair, that I scored for just $14, including shipping costs! The style is called "Charlie" and they're made by Pedipeds.

I have a thing for handsome little items for tiny boyish tots, and these are gonna look just awesome. Micah's other shoes, from Livie and Luca, still don't fit! (I get confused with the European sizing).

another watercolor creation, with directions!

I wanted to share this cool princess watercolor Aiyana made the other day and some easy tips to get cool effects with your own kiddos. Aiyana's specialty is drawing princesses, fairies, ballerinas... you get the picture. Then, she loves mixing mediums- crayons, pencils, scrap paper, material, paint, etc. I really like the awesome mix of effects.

Here are the steps she took to create this painting:

1. She drew the princess lightly in pencil (i like how the legs are doing a little ballerina dancing action)
2. Then she took a white oil pastel crayon (will also work with a regular white wax crayon) and added designs and details to the dress and hair (see the circles, lines, and ruffles?). This is the cool part.
3. Then she painted over it with watercolors- lots of colors is always best (we think so!) as you get awesome blended effects you don't get with crayons. that's the point of watercolorin' if you ask me.
4. Lay to dry (flat! remember, they're WATERcolors: flowy, drippy, messy.) somewhere out of reach of your pillaging toddler whom you have renamed, "Destructor".

The frame was made in a similar fashion, 'cept it involves a bit of cutting, glueing, and constructing. You can use a light cardboard (we used a manila file folder. I got a box of these babies for just $2 and they have been SO useful for so many projects. See the linedancin' cow-people for another example).

1. Put your dry (or, almost dry if you're as impatient as I am) painting on top of the cardboard and trace around it. Make sure the front side of the "frame" is facedown.
2. Once you find your ever-missing pair of scissors, stab (or gently snip) a small hole in the middle and cut around the traced lines, leaving 'bout a 1/8 of an inch or more between the line and your cut edge.
3. Now, for a fancy top. Take your homemade frame piece and place it on top of another piece of cardboard, marking the width where the top of your frame will be (horizontal or vertical?). From here, you can draw any sized fancy top to the frame, but make sure the width of the frame stays the same. Again, the front side should be face-down.
4. Cut the brilliantly ornamental frame-top out and glue it on top of the frame you made just mere minutes before.
5. If you want to get more crayon/watercolor effects, do so now. Then paint it all one color so it appears as seamless as possible.
6. You can add a backing to the frame by using more cardboard, then writing your inscription (if it's a gift) on the back.

Hope you have fun! This project took just 10-20 minutes, depending on how picky your child is about their art. Mine are picky. All of their pencil tops are wore down to a nub and we own a lot of erasers.

hip organic duds for tots on super sale!

sale! sale! sale!

get nearly 40% off these awesome wide leg baby or tot pants made from vintage woven fabric and lined in 100% organic cotton jersey. shuh-weet! just $20! The weight of the vintage fabric makes these pants drape nicely and makes them a lot more special than your average kid sweatpant, but lighter than a jean. will have people askin, "who's kid is THAT?" but in a GOOD way this time!

PLEASE EXCUSE MY SHODDY PHOTOSHOPPIN' SKILLS. These pictures don't do them justice. Also available in just the cozy organic cotton jersey for a fraction of the cost.

Seven Years...

but who's counting?
That's how long I have worn a matchin' ring on my left ring finger with this guy on the left.

Firebeam!

This past week was our anniversary. I don't remember what we did, but I think it was fun.

Natural resources...

I think the first step to teachings kids about conservation and waste is leading them to an understanding of what natural resource are and why they are so important to us. The supplies for this project were easy to find: construction paper and used magazines to cut up (glue the magazine cut-outs to a piece of paper, then cut that into the shape of the "leaves" before glueing that onto the colored paper.) Some of the interesting items she found were pics of tea, a map, drums and other instruments. We also thought it was neat that the very pencils and papers we used, and the air we breathe, also came from trees. Trees are quite extraordinary! (What? Haven't you read the Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings?)

Since the drought here in California has been pretty bad, we also did a poster on how to conserve water at home.

Independence Day

Aiyana made some artwork depicting how her family celebrates Independence Day. I helped with the black silouhette family (that's us) and she built the little fireworks from strips of scrap construction paper. I liked the way it turned out.... makes me smile. :)

Line-dancin' Cowpeople

Well, howdy there folks. Top o' the morning to y'all.

Today we bring you good people a samplin' of the kiddie book Cowboy Things to Make and Do to play to the gallery. Tell me this here Cowgirl didn't do a bang-up job on her art project. A careful inspection will reveal some grand watercolorin' skills. It ain't no shoddy crayon sketchin' and I ain't passin' no biased soft-solder 'cause she's my kid.

Uh... this cowboy slang is tough. What I mean is:

Today we're showing off a sample project from the children's book Cowboy Things to Make and Do. Didn't Aiyana do a super job on her art project? She's getting pretty good with the watercolor painting (I love watercolors... the sloppier the awesomer in my book). It isn't a typical crayon drawing... and I'm not giving biased flattery because she's my kid.



And now for the shameless plug. Besides this fabulous string of line-dancing' rodeo cowboys n' girls, the Cowboy Things to Make and Do book from Usborne books shows you how to make 17 other rootin' and tootin' stuffs (a showdown collage, a cowboy hat, a saloon door card and dancing cowboys, and more), plus comes with two pages of colorful cowboy stickers to decorate your activities. Every activity is clearly and vividly illustrated in an appealing and colorful style, with easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.
And the best best part? It's only $6.99. Awesome!

Um. Yeah.

It's been way longer than I thought it has since my last post. I know I said I'd finish the flat-tire charade story, but I'm just not feeling up to it... maybe "next time." I can tell you it involved coasting off the freeway, parking in a random unauthrorized spot, walking in heels 'bout 1/2 a mile to the nearest payphone... oh... and three kids. I know I mentioned that. I had wanted to get some creative writing workouts done, and what better topic than mi vida loca con ninos, pero I ain't up to it. Yes, I speak a bit of Spanglish. Te gusta?
Anyway, since that post, we have purchased a new (to us) vehicle: much safer and newer and bigger and just grand. Here's a pic of the kids sitting in the backseat (there are two more pilot seats in front of them and it's got an automatic door... I could cry!):

(I'd like to add that nearly every parent knows how hard it is to get a good photo of ALL your kids at once. Micah's a little dazed here. It's the best we could do at the time).

The outside looks a little something like this:



haha!

So, stay tuned for some fun posts featuring some of A's artwork. Pretty spiffy stuffs.