The Invisible Woman

I came across this video on a friend's blog and wanted to share it here too. 

 

The speaker, Nicole Johnson, speaks so eloquntly about the daily grind of motherhood and finding a deeper purpose and value in it.

Serendipity at Walton's

Maybe you saw this post about Gavin and I visiting Walton's for a lunch date a couple weeks ago.  Jokingly I said that Sandra Bullock was not there...

 

Well folks, David, Gavin and I headed downtown this afternoon for some coffee at Walton's and a walk around the lake.  It was a rainy day here in Austin and coffee and a walk seemed like a fun idea.  I was a super lucky gal that D was game to go downtown.  We almost never go downtown during the weekend.

 

I'd been raving to D about Walton's... it's a bakery, cafe, flower shop, catering business, and they sell picnic packages complete with a basket and flowers... this place is exactly what my dreams are made of and what I would create if I had the backing.

 

Anyhow, we had just sat down with our dessert and coffee when none other than Ms Sandra Bullock came in!  David spotted her, I thought he was joking, but we knew it was her by the sound of her voice.  She walked around the store, chatted with the manager, and stayed for a meal with a friend at a table just feet away from us.

 

I'm not goo goo for celebrities, but having seen someone popular, I'm so excited it was her!  So, here's a shout out to Sandra Bullock - your renovation and remodeling of Walton's is beautiful, and if it matters at all, I think you're a classy gal.

 

Definitely one of the coolest coffee dates I've had.

Favorites - June

* I subscribed to these daily cooking videos that I receive via e-mail.  Sarah Carey, editor-in-cheif of Everyday Food cooks a new dish in each video.  They are fun to watch, informational, and provide neat recipe ideas.

* While planning G's bday party I came across these little figurines sold by Toob.  Hobby Lobby carries them in their model building section, and they come in a variety of different types (insects, cars, pets...).  I think they are adorable!  I got a set to decorate the party table and am excited to see G playing with them one day too. 

* I came across a book review of Large Family Logistics, and while I have not read the book myself, I liked the reviews I found online.  One review mentioned the author's weekly regimine: she does laundry on Monday, deep cleans the kitchen on Tuesday, works in her home office (paying bills, online research...) on Wednesdays, Thursday she runs all of her errands, Friday she dusts, vacuums, mops..., Saturday they work in the garden and clean out the cars, and Sunday they rest.

The simplicity of her model appealed to me.  I like the idea of dedicating each day of the week to one (albeit potentially large) task. In the past I've kept lists that I've found to be too random with too many little tasks each day.  In the end, I'd feel guilty (self-imposed, of course) when I did not get to all things on the list. Even though I was accomplishing things each day they were to disjointed (at least for my mind) to feel like I had really gotten something useful finished each day.  Although I find lists helpful, I do not want to have my sense of productivity tied to check marks on a list.

So, for the last month I have followed the LFL model for chores. I like that it is easily memorized and not a chart I have to refer to throughout the day.  For example, when I notice the oven needs to be cleaned I do not let that task linger in my mind until I have the time to do it, and I do not add it to a list, instead, I know that next Tuesday I will get to it. This month,  I find that I have done a better job allocating my time, I feel more accomplished and I am more at peace at the end of each day. 
I recommend the LFL model to others who are looking for a workable home maintenance plan. David has enjoyed teasing me this month as I rave about how her model has "revolutionized" my life! I am kidding and being dramatic, but I am also soooooo THANKFUL for this routine and really believe it is something I will stick with for the duration.

Favorites - May

Costco is selling Lemon Cilantro Artichoke dip/sauce made by Pellegrini Kitchens.  It's fresh, flavorful, and versatile.  We have enjoyed it with chips, on a pizza, with pasta---soooooo yummy!  If you are in the Austin area and go to Costco, check them out!

I came across these Sonoma kitchen towels in my mom's kitchen and LOVE them. They are super absorbant and pretty! 

I came across a menu planning site that I adore.  It generates a weekly dinner menu with recipes and a shopping list each week for $5/month.  It's called eMeals (here) and it offers a handful of options to choose from.  We have been using it this month and I really really really really like it.  We chose the Whole Foods menu option and the recipes are delicious!

My mother-in-law gave me a set of this Italian stationery for Christmas.  It is like sending a piece of art to someone and makes letter writing a beautiful process.  It is probably my favorite stationery to have ever used.

A friend told me about these emoticons available for free download on iPhones. My sister and I have had so much fun messaging each other with their icons.  There are a few hundred emoticons ranging from a kissy face to a television screen, and everything in between.  David is less enthusiastic about receiving messages from me with a handful of emoticons... but it sure makes texting fun!

My Favorites - April

I thought it would be fun to list some things I have come across in the last month that I have liked and found interesting/helpful... Maybe you will like them too.

Baby Sign Language
www.babysignlanguage.com offers 50+ free printable flash cards for basic signs to teach a baby. I printed out a handful of them to teach to Gavin.

Produce Bags
I was inspired by Annie's Eats and considering that the City Council in Austin is working to ban plastic bags in grocery stores, I thought I may ease myself into the transition with these affordable and useful bags.

Battlefield Maps
I came across Smith's Map Studio at the Christmas Affair last year. The owner, Chris, draws EXQUISITE battlefield maps. The majority of his art is focused on Texas battlefields but he is also starting a new series on The Civil War. For David's birthday this year I gave him one of the maps and I can't wait to hang it in our home! (Who would have thought I would find a battlefield map to be pretty? Well, these are!)

X-Ray Photography
I've been looking for art to hang in our home and came across x-ray photography of flowers while looking for black and white prints. In particular I like this image of alstromeria flowers.

Donations Tracker
I bet you already knew about this site but I found it this tax season while looking at Turbo Tax's site. In the past I have created a spreadsheet of items we donated to local charities. Now, I just click on items from a list and enter the quantity. Then, the site assigns a value to each donation. It is SO much simpler than how I used to value and account for donations we made throughout the year.

Ikea
For my birthday this year I asked D for a workstation area to be set aside in the garage for me. I have sketched out a plan for the space and it included an Expedit and Besta shelving unit. Last summer we bought a couple of the Bestas (like a pantry with a door) for our garage and a Expedit bookshelf for Gavin's room. Needless to say, I have loved both and have joined the Ikea bandwagon--for these 2 products in particular.

Nuby Cups
We are transitioning Gavin from the bottle to a sippy cup but he was not adjusting well to switching between a bottle's soft spout and the hard spout of a sippy cup. A friend recommended these soft spout sippy cups to me as an interim step and they are working WONDERFULLY! He loves this cup and drinks so much more water now!

Pacifier Labels
My friend, Danielle, recommended the Nuby Cups to me as well as these labels from Cherry Hill Designs. We use them on the bottles and toys G has in his diaper bag. I have soaked his bottles numerous times and the labels are still perfectly intact!

Peacemaking Women
A friend recommended this book to me and I LOVE it. Like the (original) book, it's purpose is to present a biblical guide for resolving conflict. This version is authored by 2 women and is tailored to issues women face. There is a wealth of wisdom and biblical principles woven through the text.

Baby Food
My sister shared this book with me and I am a fan of it. It's similar to a textbook and contains more recipes than I am choosing to use. But, it is very informative and has lots of recipes that are straight forward and match our family's lifestyle. There is also section dedicated to fun activities for young toddlers.

Curved Shower Rod
We installed this in our master bath recently and it works like a charm! It was a bit pricey compared to a $2 rod that you can find at a discount store but I decided to bite the bullet. Plus, with a 20% coupon to BBB you can get a little price break! Some nice things I appreciate about this rod are: (since it is screwed into the wall) there is no chance it will slip down like the cheap rods can. Secondly, compared to a less expensive rod that we installed in our guest bathroom it never catches on the rubbery length extender. And, because it is curved, it provides a noticeable amount of extra space in the shower. If you are updating a bathroom, consider this rod!

For those thinking about having kids...
I thought this article was pretty funny. In particular the part about feeding cherrios to a melon ;) For the record, G is the coolest thing D and I have ever experienced--but a lot of things in this article are also true.

Full Disclosure: I was not asked to endorse any of these items. They are just things I have come across and liked.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

In January we dedicated* our little boy to the Lord at church.

To celebrate the event we invited our families, small group from church, and some of David's colleagues to join us at the dedication and then at our home for lunch.

Gavin's baby dedication marked the first time we had family in town while I was getting ready for a party. Everything worked out wonderfully and I was very happy to have our moms' help since I had a full plate!

Decor
Trains- David and I have liked trains since early in our relationship. It dates back to an Art class I took in college where we asked our significant others to choose a mode of transportation that symbolized our relationship, and then draw that object. David drew a train. For many reasons I love that he choose a train as well as the other things that he added to the picture.
Then, this Christmas Gavin received an ADORABLE train sweater from his Gran and Grandad Smith and the theme was born for this event!
Another special train memory for me is the train my Grandpa Dick made for our family when I was young. I have always loved the things he crafted and painted for us. My parents brought the train to the party and seeing it brought back a flood of memories of my Grandpa!
Wreath-I made a party wreath for this occasion and decided to do a black and white polka dot fabric so that it could be interchangeable for future events. I really like seasonal wreaths and the idea of a welcome wreath for parties is something I like to greet our guests with :)
I pinned on the bows and the "All Aboard" sign. For future events I will change out the bow and make a different sign to hang in the center.Signs- layering paper attached to wood skewers, I made a few train themed signs. One was at the entry as a little welcome sign, another was near the party favors, and another near the food.
This sign ended up saying "Tank You". I reprinted the sign after getting the idea but did not take a picture of it :)

Menu-I was careful to plan a menu that could have most prep done ahead of time and a main dish that could simmer in a slow cooker while we were at church.

To add some pizazz to the meal I researched the names of train parts so that I could name each item something special. For instance, a little sign near the cups said, "chugga chugga" and the sign near utensils said, "chew chew"!

Menu
Baggage Car = Utensils
Cargo = Condiments
Diesel Fuel = Ice Team
Locomotion Lemonade
Water Tower = Water
Produce Car = Assorted Veggies
Food Labels
I made the labels in Microsoft Word using a font I downloaded online. I attached striped scrapbook paper (that I cut with a scallop punch) and a small clip-art train.

Fortunately, almost everything was prepped one or two days out before the event. Because, Saturday afternoon I came down with a stomach bug and was basically useless most of Saturday evening and Sunday. I had baked cookies ahead of time but did not get to decorate them to look like trains and I did not get to finish making homemade train suckers. With those minor disappointments aside, it was wonderful how our families helped us finishing prepping all the food and setting out the platters and decor so that the party could still be a pretty and yummy event!

Music- Luckily for all of our guests I downloaded almost 100 train-themed songs. Yeah, I didn't know there were that many either... It became a joke how crazy it was to hear train engines and lingo, again and again and AGAIN!

We are so thankful to everyone who joined us for this special time! I promise I will get better at taking pictures of people!!! If it weren't for my dear sister I would not have any pictures of this party. So, thank you sis for being on your toes!
Gavin and I with his Cousins Josh and Jenni
G playing with David's family after the party

One last shout out:
Our church gave Gavin and a set of books as a dedication gift. I like them all but found one of them particularly interesting: 801 Questions Kids Ask About God. I find the q&a to be thought provoking and helpful! I highly suggest checking it out!

*Baby dedications are when parents of a young child stand before their church family and state that they will raise their child in a Christian home. The parents ask for prayer and support for the endeavor as well as for their child to grow in knowledge and love for Christ.