First Carnival For the E-Man

So, my son is going to be a daredevil. (Worried sigh.) On Thursday and then again on Friday (because we forgot our camera- doh!) we went to the Webster Groves Community Days Carnival. I have always LOVED carnivals, so much so that I would happily hop out of the car on my way to dinner to take a couple rides. We decided to take Ethan to the carnival thinking that he would like the lights, but expecting that he would be too scaredy to go on any rides. So, when we got there and saw they had several kiddie rides, we decided to start small with the train. By the end of the night he was giggling through the "Bigger Kid Kiddie Rides" that even sort of scared me. Here are some pictures from our revisit on Friday (which was WAY more crowded and crazy than our visit on Thursday.)

Everyone has a little 15 year-old in them, right?

At one point in time, I could have called myself a "reader." Unfortunately, five plus years, a child, a full time job, knitting, designing, not to mention trying to fit in maintaining a house, bills, cooking, cleaning, and spending a few moments with my husband, I find if I do pick up a book, it takes me a very long time (as in months) to finish it. But that was not the case with this book.

I think you can say I am officially obsessed with "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyers. I read it in a couple days ... and those days were work days. The entire time I read it, I felt this overwhelming sense of guilt that if I AM ACTUALLY READING, I should be reading something that would be more "beneficial" (whatever the hell that means) to me. I dunno, like maybe I should finish some of the books I *should* have read in highschool like Tolstoy (whom I have never read). The reality is I think I want to read Tolstoy because it is representative of a specific historical time and a plight of a people who helped create a foundation for what we have today and I find the idea of that compelling, but when I actually sit down to read Tolstoy, eh, it's not as interesting. (I'm saying this having not read anything by Tolstoy, so it could be completely gripping for all I know.) On the other hand, reading "Twilight" for me was like drinking a Cherry Coke -- something I totally enjoyed doing, but not sure if I should be expending my calories on something so unsubstantial. I realize that's not very nice to say about the book, and I kind of feel sorry for saying that, especially after having read Stephenie's inspiration behind her book and really relating to her plight as a mother trying to complete a project that she was passionate about. Another thing to feel guilty about: wishing for bedtime or naptime for your children so that you can work on your own selfish, creative obsessions. That's an entry for another time, though.

Regardless of my guilt issues, "Twilight" called to the younger girl within me and reminded me of what it's like to love and live passionately -- something that I'm sure we all forget how to do as time goes by. Unable to say goodbye to Edward and Bella, I'll be picking up Twilight's sequel tonight, New Moon.

Ellen's Bachelorette

So, my lovely friend Ellen is getting married in less than two weeks and I am going to be in her wedding. A couple weeks ago, my co-matron-of-honor, EB and I threw her a Bachelorette Party at Dave & Buster's. Ellen is a little Freaky Friday over games. I am too -- especially board games, but I digress. Here are the invitations I made for her party. I was trying to go with the video game theme. If it had been a shower, I would have made her a bride cake that looks like the pixel bride, but it wasn't so, oh well.







I also designed her wedding invitations, but I'll let her post them on her blog first. I also made here Save the Dates, that you can see at the following link. Ellen's Save the Dates

I would really like to start doing this on the side. I was a Printmaker in college, so this is right up my alley. It sort of bridges the gap between art student and sorority girl, both of which I was and both of which left me feeling conflicted.

mom

I miss my mom today. Everyday I miss my mom, but today there is a familiar ache and longing that accompanies my normal everyday wistfulness. I have a picture of her pinned to the board above my monitor and I’ve probably looked at it 30 times and it’s only 10:50. Because I’m missing her so much today, I’m allowing myself to indulge in remembering her details. I normally don’t do this because it’s comforting and painful at the same time – comforting when I first remember the way her hair grows at the nape of her neck, or how her pores looked on her cheeks and her nose, but then painful when I realize that the only place this is recorded is in my memory. So then I stop thinking about her. I also worry that thinking about her details too much will damage them. Sort of like handling a piece of silver adds tarnished fingerprints that change its composition. I should probably stop now and concentrate on my work. Maybe this is what it's like to get old or to know that you have alzheimers. I wonder if everyone is afraid of losing memories.

The Babied Baby – Ethan's Farm Nursery

EthansNursery, originally uploaded by lucyschutte.

My friend Ellen is getting married, and watching her, I don't think anything can become quite as big of an obsession as planning your wedding. After you get married, you buy a house and become all-consumed with decorating. Still, it doesn't quite compare to planning a wedding because decorating a house is a long term (really an endless) project (plus, you just blew your whole budget on your wedding, so who can afford to make over their whole house at once?) Then, you get pregnant. Budget? Who cares about a budget when we're talking about you CHILD? As evidenced in $900+ chandeliers for a baby nursery from PoshTots. My husband and I tried for years to get pregnant and when we finally did, I was hesitant to start planning our nursery (although I had been secretly planning it in my head for a very long time.) When the time did come, I was pretty disheartened with the examples of baby nurseries out there. I couldn't really find anything. Eventually I would like to start a website where people can post pictures of their nursery so that expectant moms and dads can see all the cool things that people are doing in preparation for their newest member. Until I do, I decided to post pictures of my own nursery here.


I decided to do a Farm theme based on a print that was given to me from my grandma. It's a picture of a milk maid and a little kid drinking milk on a farm with cows and cats and a farmer standing in the background. My Grandma Young would hold me in front of the picture when I was a little girl and tell me stories about the farm family. I decided to hang it in Ethan's room. My husband and I added the mouldings and I painted all of the silhouetted animals. Also, in rebellion against paying $900 for a chandelier, I made my own. I sculpted a pig, a hen and chicks, a cow and out three dogs for each arm. (If you are interested in a custom chandelier, feel free to email me. dianacweir@yahoo.com)

Here are some images from the completed room...

Here's a list of where I bought everything:

• Freckles Farmyard 4-Piece Crib Set
  


• Espresso Pinehurst Lifetime Crib from Babies R' Us (It looks like they don't have the Espresso one anymore)


• Waverly® Carlton Drapery Rod - 26-48"


• Old MacDonald Had a Farm Rug

I'll add more to the list as I think of things, but if you have a specific question, just let me know.

If I Crotcheted (or had a cat)

Image from Lion Brand's Newsletter
Goldfish Cat Toy
This cracks me up. I can just see little kitties wriggling their little tushies in the pounce position and sending this little guy flying into the air with his little bulgy eyes.

E is for Easter, Ethan and Elmo?

I'm not exactly a huge fan of childhood characters. Don't get me wrong, I definitely qualify as immature when it comes to my love of cartoons and "kid" movies (at least the good ones.) However, I can't stand the syrupy, commercialized cartoon characters plastered on every kid product from diapers to baby yogurt. I also don't like to put my kid in "character"clothes. I just don't. I like the basics. Lately, however, in a quest to build my child's language skills and attention span (and to give mom and dad a break from climbing furniture, tormenting the dogs and throwing everything but what he's supposed to), we have Tivoed "Sesame Street" so that Ethan can have some quiet time. It has worked. He sits still for more than five minutes as Elmo rides his bike around talking to the same Gordon and Maria I watched 25 (maybe even 30) years ago. So, I have to admit, when he looked at his Elmo and Cookie Monster laden diapers and said ecstatically "MoMo" and "Cookie" it made my heart melt.


I really wasn't going to do anything for Easter, because he doesn't really get these things yet. He wants to throw Easter eggs, not hunt them, and God forbid he should get his hands on a bunny. Guilt (or Patti B. at my work) got to me and I decided he might enjoy an Elmo egg like the Ernie and Bert my dad made me when I was little. It was one of the most memorable things my dad did for me. I loved my Ernie and Bert eggs that he blew out and decorated. They were in my Easter basket every year. So hopefully Elmo can be in Ethan's. That is, if we can keep him from throwing it.