how cute are these?

I found these on my daily stroll through the world of etsy. They are from plantsandanimal.
I dont know why but i really like the chick and chicken print. Maybe next paycheck.

Panda bear

I decided that I want to be a stay at home mom and create things. work on arts and crafts, pick up my camera, the one i teeter on whether to sell or not every time i see my bank account. I want to decorate Emma's room with handmade banners and pom poms, fabric decals on the walls and etsy bought prints. I wish i had the time and energy to cross off at least one of those things. so i spend my time at work fawning over other people's blog and finding inspiration. i bookmark and print tutorials in the hopes of one day having enough spare cash and time to go bananas at Michaels and make things. i guess i don't really need sleep but i do need to win the megamillions!!
So, I found this really cute blog by Lynn Roberts called mollychicken and one day i hope to be able to buy a sewing machine and make emma really cute, wonderful unique things.
My first project will be this panda bear.
http://mollychicken.blogs.com/my_weblog/2005/11/anna_panda.html
i still need to learn how to hyperlink...it cant be that hard.

emma goes apple hunting (work in progress

emma and gato

My first 'baby' was Pavlov, born Feb 12, 1992. She was the epitome of a love cat. I called her my puppy dog cat. She was born under my mother's bed, and I raised her from birth on. I loved all six of those kittens born that day, but because there were six , we could not keep them at the house. The day they were taken off to live in my grandmother's abandoned house, I was told I could pick one to stay with me. It all happened very quickly, a la Sophie's Choice, "you must choose one!". I don't know why I picked her over Harley or Duncan, I guess it came down to the name. Pavlov. I always wanted a pet named Pavlov and I guess she got lucky to not be born with any distinct markings like Tippy or Pinky. She was all gray with green eyes. She looked like a Russian Blue, but was simply a street cat. She followed me all over the house, yet was able to be on her own. During those lovely high school years, she was my only friend and witness. She would cry when I cried and lick away my tears. She would scratch at the covers to get inside and sleep with me all snuggled up. She was the best. She was, however, not a cat that adjusted well to different environments. She was quite comfortable with her life on Cimmeron Dr. I knew when moving to NY that I would not be able to take her. She was frail and skittish and would simply never adjust to a home outside of Tampa. It broke my heart but I knew she would be happy and well taken care. My parents were, after all, the next best thing to me.


So now I jump to almost 4 years ago when I found another cat on the street. I named her Moses because when I saw her come out of the dark street, she was a glowing white blob. Like Moses coming down from MT Sinai after seeing GOD. She was the opposite of Pavlov. So grumpy and placid, but I was immediately taken by her. I always joked how she was slightly suicidal and I felt as if I had given her a second chance. She was a jet setter and traveled well so I knew she would fill that empty spot and became my NY cat. I loved them both, they were my fur babies.


Shortly before Emma was born in September, Pavlov passed away at the ripe age of 16. When I was home in May for my baby shower, I just knew that Pavlov was holding on for me. I also knew it would most likely be our last time together. You always can tell when animals are saying goodbye. I looked in her eyes and thanked her for all those years of love and loyalty, and let her know that I was ok with her leaving. It was if she knew I was pregnant and wanted to see me to the end. I don't know the exact day she died or time, just that it was at home and she was at peace and had a huge meal that morning. My mom didn't tell me right away because she didn't want to 'stress' me out as I was about to give birth and had a "gestational hypertension" With emma being in the NICU for a few days, my mom decided to not tell me until thanksgiving, 2 months later...I guess I knew deep down she was gone and they were keeping it from me, yet I had some small bit of hope that Emma would get to meet Pavlov.

Momo passed away in July. It was something that was coming, with her bad toe, kidney disease and being at least 14 years old, but it was still a shock and a loss. When she finally went away, I was there, I witnessed it, I wrapped her in her favorite blanket and prayed that god would take her quickly. She was gasping for air and getting colder by the minute. I buried her under my grapefruit tree and like the idea that she is now nourishing my tree. My girls, they would not get to grow along with emma...i had always dreamed of all my girls playing together. After the sudden loss of our other cat, Cambers, the house was just empty. I knew emma needed a playmate. She loves animals and squeals with delight when she comes across a wha wha or a meow meow.

We finally went to the ASPCA last weekend in the search for our cat. Not mine, not Anthony's but our cat. A jammes-finney cat . I knew I wanted a girl and I preferred a kitten. However looking at sites and how older cats need love just as much I knew i couldn't exclude them. We went from room to room and each cat was cute but not right. When we finally found one we liked, his paper work said that he was not be adopted to a family with children under the age of 13. In fact of lot of them were not to be adopted to a family with a baby. While others had laundry lists of health problems or uber $$ diets, we were starting to feel slightly defeated. If we saw a kitten, it was taken. Then there was Momo 2.0, taken...We had our eye on one cat but her room was busy as they fed and medicated them. While we wait to see that cat we are in another room where most cats have those pesky life long health problems, yet there is one who goes almost unnoticed. His name is Kyle. He is stripped and seems tame. We agree to see him, but he does not want to come out of his cage. With Emma taking all the keys out of the locks of each cage, I have little interest in getting to know him, so we move to see the girl cat, only to realize she isn't the one. We go back to look at "kyle" and when we walk in he makes eye contact with us. It was a bit eerie, as if he knew. As if he remembered us and was telling us " it is just you and me". I read his little label and saw he had a heart murmur when he was brought it but it had gone away and the vet felt there would be no other cause for concern. I felt a Emma had found her kindred feline companion. A fellow heart murmurer...(is that even a word?) So he came home with us that night and it took him no more than two minutes to make himself at home.

He and Emma are so cute together. They are buddies, he follows her, she follows him. She calls him gato and smacks her lip to call him. She knows the purple feathered whip-like toy is his and just how to get him to play with her. They snuggle at times and he likes to sit next to her as she bathes. He even tolerates her splashing him in the face. It is amazing how we really did just find each other. He was meant to be our cat. He is wonderful with her, at time he goes Sybil on us, but overall, he is just what i wanted for her and our family. he is a love cat. he is not a kitten or a girl, but somehow that doesn't matter when you see how much joy he brings to our apartment. There will never be another Pavlov or Moses, but Im quite sure in 20 years I will be saying that there will never be another Vincent.

Emma's world: emma goes to Philly

Emma's world: emma goes to Philly

emma goes to Philly

this is how she spent most of the day

she is thinking about it

first taste of ice cream

daddy likes it

streets of philly

us in the dark

constitution hall

emma waiting to go inside

she is very impatient

eating at Ariana...yum yum

emma and dad in front of ye old constitution hall

Two weekends ago we took emma to Philadelphia. She had a good time. Ant and I had been before so this was just a nice day trip to get out of the city and treat anthony to our favorite afgani restaurant, Ariana. it was after all his bday!!

Then I treated him to ice cream at Franklin's Fountain, a yummy ice cream parlor that is truly authentic. They only take cash, hand make everything, sell old school candy and the employees wear traditional Victorian garb and only use paper or glass products. it is quite pricey if you think about paying 8 dollars for a root beer float, but well with the expense and after all, what are special occasions for?! So here are some pics of our trip, not too many...but emma did have her first taste of ice cream there. i think she like it.

here is the actual post, im still learning how to hyperlink things

1. Display the Art
Even for just a day. If your child is proud of their artwork, show it off. Right now, we use simple magnet clips on the side of the fridge. For a cleaner presentation, this company produces frames that open on hinges, allowing you to swap out your child's art easily and often. Just last week I came upon this ingenious DIY frame with the same purpose and I like it even more. A cute little clothesline like this works famously too.

2. You Save, I Save
Each of my children gets their own "treasure box." They are allowed to keep anything they want in their box, but it must fit in the box. New art often replaces old art in their boxes as they constantly work to make sure the lid stays on the box. I also have my own acid-free "treasure box" for each of them and hold myself to the same rule — I can't save more than what will fit in the box. I save only the most special drawings. They are usually the ones with good stories attached, or where it's obvious my child has spent more than her usual attention span, and I always save "firsts". Like the first time my child drew a circle with arms growing out of the sides and called it "mom" instead of the typical scribbles.



3. Preserve with a (re)Purpose
Preserving your child's art in an acid-free box is one thing, but using it as inspiration to create something else takes preservation to a whole new level. My children love seeing their art come to life as "softies", handkerchief embroidery, carved pumpkins, personalized neckties, t-shirt transfers, and Christmas ornaments. I will admit the time I spend creating with their art might partly be my way of making up for the fact that I throw the majority of their artwork in the trash. If sewing is not your thing, this company creates sterling silver pins out of your child's art and this shop will turn their art into a sweet little pendant, both perfect for gifting.



Whatever you decide to save, make sure to write the child’s name and date on it.Also, remember to record and attach “the story” if it has one. It's all going to be vital information down the road. You always think you’ll remember, but you won’t.

Thanks to Gabrielle for having me here this week. I’ve had a great time sharing with all of you! I hope you’ll take the time to create, preserve and share your family heirlooms.

Ideas to preserve children's art work and other similar items

I always love ideas that help you preserve small tokens such as a drawing, be it your own or of your special child. Even concert tkts or coasters, bottle caps can be used to create something that has meaning and will last more than one generation. I believe in somehow explaining why something is "valuable" to you. After spending my summer cleaning out my fathers storage space and home, i realized how futile it is to "collect" things. They eventually will be thrown away and never serve anyother purpose than to collect dust. Most of his items never saw the light of day, their fate was to be sealed in a tupperware tomb and eventually end up in a landfill. The movie UP sealed that notion for me on how things are just things. So I love finding clever ways to use such tokens and turning them into something both functional and practical. here is a link to one of my favorite blogs with ideas on how to do just taht. I will keep you guys posted as I find more.

http://www.designmom.com/2009/10/preserving-childrens-artwork-by-guest.html

emma and anthony's party

Emma and anthony's birthdays are almost one week apart, so I decided to throw a little party for anthony and our new york friends last weekend and also give our friends a chance to celebrate emmas first year of life. Of course emma was the center of attention, but it was nice to be able to also give daddy a special day.

emma is too cute!

i'm just putting back to where it belongs.

see.

yeah, I am a diva!

you mean this face wont get me out of trouble?

i said no more!

i keep telling daddy that shoes go on the shoe rack .

a little more over here.

Emma'a hair is growing out and i can finally, kinda of, put her hair in pigtails..i just thought she looked so adorable. She is also our little helper. She loves to "sweep" and take things out of their place, only to put them right back to where they belong.