Birds, birthdays, mushrooms, and mothers

I went to a 1-year old's birthday party yesterday.  I wanted to skip it, but at the same time, I knew I would get fed really well.  My desire for good food I don't have to make or pay for far outweighed the knowledge that I would spend 2 hours at a place where I only know the person who invited me.

After I got home I was ready to write a 10 page missive about how ridiculous children's birthday parties are, especially when you are one-year-old.  There were 20-ish adults at the party (yup, I counted), which makes about 10 presents.  I wouldn't doubt that every single package for this kid cost at least $30-$50.  Every single person (except me!) bought multi-step presents, and all of them (except mine!) included at least 2 outfits.  Seriously, this child had over 30 new outfits (15 were from her grandmother) by the time she was done "opening" presents (in reality her 3 year old brother opened them while she sat and ate tissue paper).  It was a good example of excess and ridiculousness.  I mean the food was good, but not that good.

I, on the other hand, firmly  believe in making presents.  When the 3 year old opened the present I brought, he was super excited about it and immediately threw it at his 1 year old sister.  AWESOME.

An owl pillow.  Made with materials I had on hand.  Turned out cute, I think.  Cute enough for a 1 year old at least.

And somehow it has turned into my Monday again.  How?  My weekends go by entirely too fast when there's less than 48 hours worth of them.  And again, two 12-hour days to start off my week.

*deep breath*

I made some fancy stuff so far today.  An ice-cream cake (my coworker requested it for her birthday on Thursday) is sitting in the freezer.

Veggie cornbread.  It kind of looks like a fail, but it is actually very very good.  The mushrooms make it, I think.  If you want to see what it's supposed to look like, see this recipe.  

Teriyaki tempeh with mushrooms.  Hard to tell what's going on because I used purple rice, so there's no variety of colors, but it is AMAZING.  If you don't want to use tempeh, just use the recipe for teriyaki sauce.  

I'm trying a blueberry banana smoothie today.  It is made and in the fridge, waiting for me to head off to work.

Earlier today I had to rescue a tiny bird from my sunroom.  Somehow it got in, but couldn't get out as it was confused by all the windows.  It kept flying head-first into them.  Yikes.  It only took 20 minutes to coax it into a box so I could release it outside.  With Atticus whining on the other side of the door the entire time.  Oi.

Happy mothers day to all the mothers out there!

Especially mine!!!

Love you, Mom!

Sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children.  
~ Marilyn Penland

My ink...my art...my mother....

My art.  I love thread sketching.

A tiny little camera purse!

Padded, to protect my mom's point & shoot....

What would it be without an antique button?

I did something different w/ the card.  The white/brown heart is actually leather cording I got at Tuesday Morning that is absolutely good for nothing except looking cool.  Any amount of pressure on it....it breaks.  So....I used it to make 3-D art. 

I love you, Mom!!!!

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~ Tenneva Jordan

6 hours

i think atticus has an internal clock. set to 6 hours. apparently he can go for 12 hours without the need to pee while i'm at work (at least i'm assuming because there are no accidents waiting for me when i get home), but when i'm sleeping he can only go for 6. 6 hours, and he's whining. and if not whining, then barking, or jumping on the bed and landing on me. he has no compassion for my double 12 hour shifts either.

6 hours.

and i understand. he wants to go outside. he wants to watch the world go by while sitting in the grass, not by staring out the window.

so, i begrudgingly (word?) wake up. throw on a sweatshirt and a bandana (for my hair). and we take walks. or we sit outside and watch the world go by.

or we go visit atticus's new best friend & my neighbor, ed....

(the steady supply of treats helps this friendship)

and we visit with attie's second best friend, ed's dog, monecca.

who absolutely adores atticus. reminds me of harold and maude.

what a life, atticus! adoring people, and adoring dogs. can't beat it!!

oh, and uh, dad? speaking of things to beat...

:D

"i've neutered almost all the males in my family." ~ m.segrest

jean

3 ways i could be more like my mother

1. she raised 5 kids. and i think we all turned out okay.

in contrast, i can barely raise a dog.

2. we had homecooked meals every night. or maybe 6 nights out of 7, i can't remember.

in contrast, the only reason atticus gets fed on a regular basis is because i scoop his meals out of a bag. i subsist on ham sandwiches and pickles. oh and hot dogs. and lots of macaroni and cheese.

3. my mom is the best money manager around. 5 kids/7 people on one salary. we never wanted for anything.

in contrast, i am just about the exact opposite. i hate budgeting. when i grocery shop i put what i want in the cart (for the most part) with little regards to price.

my mom is in the middle. isn't she gorgeous?

(p.s. i stole this picture from colley)

3 things my mom has taught me

1. just because its used, doesn't mean its bad.

2. laugh. a lot.

3. be happy over simple things.

(picture of a picture = poor quality!)

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOM!

I LOVE YOU!!

~ abraham lincoln