19 Aug
It’s been a very long work week. While I’d appreciate a vacation, I don’t think that’s an option again this year. So, I am looking forward to what I hope will be a restful and relaxing weekend, or at least one that gives my attitude the tune up it needs.
7 Aug
Olivia seems to know exactly how to ellict a “yes” from me when we’re shopping together…
2 Aug
A few shots from Las Vegas, with assistance from Instagram. Many thanks to Katie, Karyl and Jess for a fun trip!
31 Jul
This weekend has been filled with downtime, a sharp contrast to the weeks preceding it. Between a crazy work schedule and trips to Las Vegas and Madison, the last half of the month has been hectic at best. So, while we collectively catch up on sleep (and catch up with each other), we are looking forward to a relatively quiet week ahead.
One of the items on my very short task list this weekend (which really only included dinner with friends and a couple of naps) was updating the family calendar that hangs near the back door. As I wiped it clean, there was a moment in which it was completely, happily blank—deliciously devoid of deadlines and responsibility, much like this afternoon feels.
Of course, though, the new month looms. August has the potential to bring some very significant changes for us, and most certainly for one member of our family in particular:
In 17 short days, Ava will start first grade at the public school up the street. And suddenly, our lives will be dictated by a different calendar, one that includes surprisingly strict—and relatively early—start times (not to mention a rather hilarious amount of “planning days.”)
In my life, thanks in part to long ties to one campus or another, the start of the year is signaled by football schedules and cooling temperatures, not the blare of New Year’s Eve celebrations.
I’m looking forward to what this new year will bring.
6 May
Those of you on Facebook have likely seen the trend of posting your mom’s photo as your profile picture. For those of you who aren’t on Facebook (ahem, Mom and Gramma…), I thought you might like a peek at my post.
This is my mom’s senior photo, and one of my favorite shots of her. (My second favorite photo is one in which she’s holding my 18-month-old self and mimicking my very aggressive nose-picking, but that’s for another day.)
I know that I look like my mother, but I was shocked at the comparison of her photo next to mine. In part, it’s the hairstyle and nude lip, but I think the other similarities are remarkable.
When I mentioned this to to Mom, she said, “Remind me to show you the photo of me with Santa when I was a year old. You would swear it was Olivia.”
And, as luck would have it, my friend Molly just commented on my Facebook post: “Olivia is her grandmother’s granddaughter. The resemblance is uncanny. ”
Indeed!
11 Apr
We visited Iowa City this weekend, and while the main attraction was seeing Josh, Laura and my adorable twin nieces, an afternoon of shopping downtown didn’t disappoint. My favorite stop was Home Ec, an incredible little store that offers supplies and space for craft projects like sewing and knitting, and a cute little kitchen to boot.
23 Mar
I love the details that go in to an event. I don’t get to focus on these much at work anymore, and so they’ve become even more important to me when I have the luxury of planning something at home. Given the myriad of ideas available online (even for the seemingly small niche of woodland fairy birthday parties), I had a huge supply of inspiration for this gathering.
We started with very simple invitations with three-dimensional butterfly stickers.
I wanted to create the “woodland” feel with the party decorations, allowing the little girls to serve as the fairies. I started with the centerpiece for the main table, which I created by covering Styrofoam blocks in sheets of moss. I intended to use native grass cuttings from our yard, but opted for greener silk flowers instead. The letters spelling Ava’s name are borrowed from her bedroom wall.
I think this photo that Doug shot illustrates the main table the best:
The flag garland over the table was almost an afterthought—I had so much fabric left over from the mushrooms, I decided to make use of it. I stacked it up, made three quick cuts with my rotary cutter, then secured the flags to ribbon with a bit of hot glue. In all, they probably only took 20 minutes.
Ava and I painted small birdhouses (for the fairies, of course) and created fabric colored mushrooms to add to the centerpiece.
Despite starting our planning efforts nearly a month ago, there were several tasks I didn’t complete. My mom disappeared for a bit on Saturday morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see her return with flats of pansies for the pots in the entryway.
My favorite part of the planning and preparations was making the tutus for the little fairy guests. In all, Gramma Great and I made ten tutus by looping tulle around a ribbon.
Here’s the smallest tutu, made especially for Sylvia, our littlest fairy.
We hung the tutus and wings near the front door and secured them with flowery hair clips.
I had blue dragonfly wings for the boys, but they were remarkably unpopular…
We served chicken salad sandwiches, crudites, chocolate-covered strawberries (called fairy berries, of course), fresh fruit and cheese, and plenty of sweets. Laura, a calligraphy artist, created the gorgeous labels.
One of the best ideas I found online was for a make-your-own-trail mix bar, complete with chocolate nests for bowls. To make the nests, I mixed crushed shredded wheat with melted chocolate, and molded it into the inside of a dish. After a few minutes in the freezer, the “nest” popped right out. Dave made the wooden chargers we sat underneath.
I made flower-shaped cupcakes for Ava and her guests, and in keeping with tradition, I ruined the first batch and had to make a second to serve.
My mom made an angel food cake, which I nearly—and accidentally!–destroyed. Mom was thankfully able to save it, and we placed it on a cake stand that Dave built for the party.
Karyl and Ava decorated the number six sugar cookies, and then sprinkled them with a bit of “fairy dust” to make them glimmer.
We put the pinata in place, and waited for the fairies to arrive.
Up next, the party participants!
16 Mar
We are having a birthday party for Ava this weekend, and we’ve been working on a few projects to prepare. A few weeks ago, we started building a papier mâché piñata.
I inflated a round 36-inch balloon to about 24 inches, and Ava and I covered it in strips of newspaper dipped in wallpaper paste. The online instructions we used suggested four layers, but we stopped at two. Fortunately, that seemed to be enough.
After the paste was dry, we began work on the tissue-paper roses needed to cover the beast. I was grateful to have two willing partners in this endeavor:
To make the roses, we wound them around our fingers and secured the bottom with a staple.
Olivia’s approach was a bit less complicated.
I secured the roses to the base using hot glue, and only burned myself 750 times. I snapped this photo with my phone at the half-way point; I’d used 150 roses. This was the the moment I realized this pinata would be destroyed and thrown away. ON PURPOSE.
Nevertheless, we carried on, making numerous tissue paper runs over the course of the past week. In all, we made about 325 roses. Here’s the end result, filled with packages of Hershey’s kisses, and awaiting a visit from a few woodland fairies.
This is definitely a project I will do again–we had a good time working on it together. But next time, I’ll use a much smaller balloon!
13 Mar
I celebrated a birthday last week, and despite the fact I promised Gramma Great a photo, I’d much prefer to focus on the birthday celebration planned for Ava on Saturday. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a great day—the girls made me a cake (with a bit of help from Bryan), and my friends planned a gathering for me downtown.
If the day was any indication, 28 should be a great year for me.
As I mentioned, plans are underway for Ava’s sixth birthday. We’ve finished our papier mache pinata project, and we’re working on a few other details, too. It’s going to be a very busy week for both Bryan and me at work, but we are looking forward to seeing our families in a few days!
28 Feb
I turned out the lights upstairs tonight as I put the girls to bed. From the dark room, I heard Ava announce in a calm and even voice, “Mom, there’s a ghost right there.”
As goosebumps sprang up all over my body, I responded just as calmly, assuring her there were no such things as ghosts. I reached out to flip on the light, and the bulb went out with a flash and a loud pop.
I screamed.
I’ve scarred her for life, haven’t I?
Smith Family Weblog 