Powerpuff!
I loved the Powerpuff Girls long before I had even the slightest hint that I would end up having 3 daughters. Now I love them even more. So I'm choosing this as my birthday image because those 3 girls (mine, not the Powerpuffs) are, along with their' [...]
day 3 - the *other* charlie brown (hehe)
day 4 - wooden angel
5th Annual Ornament Parade
Polaroid edition
funny how you can go to a place twice and fall in love with it so much that you miss it as though it were home. that is, truly miss it. that's how I feel about Akumal. I can't wait to go back.
5th annual ornament parade
Polaroid' [...]
Lisa was the maid of honor in my wedding. She led us in a happy and LOUD rendition of "Going to the Chapel..." on our way home from the hair salon that morning. Such a fun memory from my special day (nearly 15 years ago!).
5th Annual Ornament [...]
This is the sixth year in a row that we've hosted. I think it's safe to say Thanksgiving is "our" holiday. As usual, we had a really lovely time. Each year, Guy's nephew and his family trade-off with his wife's family and I find my favorite Thanksgivings are when' [...]
Sleep has taken over. Whatever I was doing this weekend (which was the usual: chauferring kids, birthday parties, groceries, etc), when I wasn't doing it, I was sleeping. I still feel foggy and like I could sleep through an entire week. I don't know if my body [...]
The other day it came to me: what I'm going to make for our thanksgiving centerpiece this year. Inspired by last year's centerpiece, I scribbled my idea on paper in crayon and promptly put it out of my mind. A few days later, as I was talking to my' [...]
...something this Florida girl never got to experience as a child
Tuesday, November 10
[...]
all images captured with my polaroid sx-70 (and yes, Charlie Brown really did jump in the lake)
[...]
...so I'm posting this one here for posterity. Who knows? It might end up on My Parents Were Awesome some day. (Have you seen that website? It's great.)
11/7/09 Guy and Nino as photographed by Natalie (age 13)
' [...]A fellow school mom called me out yesterday while I was having lunch with Elle. Elle is in 2nd grade. It's her third year at school. I love connecting with people, especially moms, I really do but I never ever ever go to the monthly Moms' Night Out gatherings. If' [...]
Natalie (age 13) and I have conversations that most moms don't have not only with their teen kids but with their children period. I love, love, love our relationship. And I love her perfectly balanced sweet/sassy/witty/soulful/innocent/creative spirit. Equal parts bookworm/artist/punk. Caretaker to a fault, shirker of household responsibilities. Whether it's [...]
The Halloween party was, as a guest put it, a "smashing success." I'll share more pictures soon (I didn't take nearly enough).
Wasn't it nice of Frida Kahlo to stop by?
' [...]
Stumbled upon this image via Cassia and loved it so much I just had to doodle it. And make it my new blog banner.
[...]
Kiel Johnson's Cardboard Twin Lens Reflex Camera Time Lapse from Theo Jemison [...]
Saw rainbow cupcakes on the Cupcakes Take the Cake blog and figured I'd give 'em a try. They will look great in Halloween colors, dontcha think?
Wanna make them? Here's what you need:
- White cake mix (I use milk instead of water)
- Food coloring
Divide the mix, create [...]
This afternoon I read two blog posts on weight gain back-to-back. It just worked out that way on my feed reader but it served to remind me, "Oh, yeah. I'm chubby." As if I could forget. I'm reminded every day of my girth by my very worst body image enemy: [...]
I live for shots like this...
...especially precious Polaroids...
...that I have to ration for their rarity...
...and expense.
When they turn out better than I could have ever imagined...
...it doesn't even register, that it came by my hand...
...or vision.
I just find it so beautiful...
...so pleasing to the eye...
I feel such' [...]
A few people asked how I processed the picture of Anna Sofia in the previous entry, so I'm going to tell you. Please note that I'm going to tell you how *I* did it. I am self-taught on Photoshop and as such I do not claim to [...]
Anna Sofia admiring the bubbles on the mermaid ride. State Fair of Texas, 10/6/09
I posted this picture and only this picture during a short bout of insomnia early this morning before the news hit. Funny, it seems every time Obama wins something, I have a whimsical, [...]
See that blog title? For full dramatic effect, you have to clench your teeth and grunt it. That's what I do. Often. Go ahead, try it.
Elle woke up perfect this morning. Perfect. Was up and dressed for school before I even pried an eye open. It was, in a word, [...]
...this comfy hoodie that my stepdaughter gave Natalie when we visited California last year...
...the fact that it's cool enough that I can wear it...
...our Halloween decorations and Tracy's big fuzzy spider on hers next door...
...walking Elle to school in the mornings...
...Mommy time with Natalie each night when we hang out [...]
That's all I get for my book, Through the Viewfinder ABC's. And it is quite enough. So what if I didn't win a prize? I'm glad I entered. I am very proud of my little project. It inspired others and brought me lots of joy. What more' [...]
I wish you could hear her infectious giggles. She is such a little goon. She is also almost FOUR. I can't believe it. Where has the time gone?
' [...]So I was tired of feeling tired and truth be told I think I might have been fighting off a bug or allergies or something because I was dogtired and sporting an ugly, defeatist attitude. While I'm in that state, I never think it's that simple but as soon as' [...]
We received a letter indicating that our school district will not be showing the Presidential address to our children in real time on Tuesday. Instead, with our specified permission, our children could watch it a day later outside of a classroom setting. Perhaps in the janitor's closet or the staff [...]
Before I went on a tanget about my ill health (I feel better, more on that later), I meant to write a totally blissed out back-to-school post. I even had a title for it "une belle chose," a beautiful thing. Yes, the start of the school year turned out to [...]
I don't know what's up with me. Here lately, I wake up tired and I go to bed with my stomach in knots, a headache, chest pain...sometimes one, sometimes all of the above. It depends on how angsty I am. I'm not sleeping well and I'm not coping well at' [...]
...for every time My Elmo Cupcakes have been viewed on flickr, I'd be $25,000+ richer.
Alas, I'll have to settle for the next best thing: having them featured on WomansDay.com alongside some truly incredible cupcake creations.
(cross-posted on facebook & twitter)
[...]
Captured this morning with my Polaroid SX-70 while out on a lovely bike ride around the lake with my best buddy, Tracy.
I've loved and admired this house for' [...]
he comes home in the middle of the night
and it feels like christmas
happy to wake up together again
we wrap ourselves around each other
luxuriating in the warmth our bodies generate
breathing each other in
the little girls giggle and frolic around us
and poke at our heads with plastic, light-up swords
[...]
through the viewfinder of wise old cameras
newest addition (second from left): Ansco Shur Shot
[...]Just heard that sweet Emily has passed away. Am devastated.
from her parent's CarePages site:
Angel's Wings
Posted 18 hours ago
Just after 3:00 pm today, our beloved daughter, Emily Ann Lewis, earned her angel's wings. She was sleeping peacefully, woke up, turned her head and opened her eyes at Debbie, who motioned me [...]
Sadly, no longer at my house. My brother & his family left this morning. It was such a nice visit. My nephew is absolutely yummy. YUMMY. And, as Guy so astutely pointed out, smart as a whip. He also took to calling him "Big B" which I [...]
So this summer? I've let the house go to shit. It's not for lack of trying, it's just that these 3 kids of mine are out to get me, man. No sooner do I tidy up, clean, load/unload/load the dishwasher, mop, whatever that someone has upended a dress-up drawer or' [...]
sometimes often the kids and I pull out the airbed and have a sleepover.
sometimes often I can't sleep when one of my babies is having a sleepover at a friend's house.
last night would be one such night.
' [...]
Emily, a friend of a friend, is 12 and in the last stages of cancer. She's at home surrounded by her loving family but, as you might imagine, not able to do much. She loves getting mail, though.
Please let me know if you'd like to participate and I'll send you [...]
Guy doesn't regularly read my blog but I changed the look and invited him to look at it (as I usually do) and then invited him to read my latest entry. He didn't like it. At all. He said I sounded miserable. He doesn't "get" blogs. To me they're very [...]
I had this great, evocative post about the indignities of motherhood written in my head. How crappy a job it sometimes is. How if given an honest description of the task at hand, most people would, at best, laugh in the face of endless messes to clean, near-constant whining and [...]
I've been to the pool a record THREE times today. Ahhh, summer.
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If there was such a thing as Mommy Camp?
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This article on AOL Health that Guy pointed out to me aroused all kinds of feelings in me that I didn't know I still had:
If you recall, I had an episode of Transglobal Amnesia back in January and it was darn scary. I didn't realize [...]
"Of which I have none." A friend wrote an interesting entry about being a stay-at-home Mother during the summer. (I've linked it here with her permission.)
I don't know about anyone else but as a stay-at-home Mom, summer is my comeuppance. I mean, think about it. Summer: Kids around all [...]
Thirteen years ago I became a Mother. Let's let that sink in for a second.
:::
Whoa. What a loaded statement. It incites so many memories. They swirl about like a veritable vortex of emotions. I remember the moment Guy, then "just a friend," looked me in the eye with tears in [...]
I was sick of wasting paper towels to dry my hands with while cleaning the kitchen and cooking so I made this apron out of a dishtowel. It was as simple as it sounds. I just hand-sewed this ribbon I had laying around on to a dishtowel and VOILA!
Created [...]
I made Bakerella's adorable cupcake/brownie "hamburgers" and sugar cookie "fries." (click through to the pictures for the link to her how-to)
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
We also made an unconventional but delicious all-American dinner of ham, black-eyed peas, cornbread and home fries (we had burgers & hot' [...]
...we had a little red swing hanging on our tree just like that. Nat will be 13 a week from tomorrow. Can you imagine? Little Nino a mother of a teenager? Funny.
I keep meaning to share here for posterity that this past June was 5 years since [...]
Today is my niece Nicole's 16th birthday. It seems like yesterday that I watched her enter this world. It was a powerful experience that made a huge impression on me. Weeks later, I remember pissing my sister, Naty, off by waking Nicole up prematurely from her naps just so that [...]
...was lovely. I knew it would be. What could be bad about a day that celebrates the Guy who takes such great care of us? It's amazing what he does, really. As one of his gifts, I made him a slideshow of pictures of him and the girls dating all [...]
Playing with my Mother's Day gift. A negative scanner for my blackbird, fly film camera full frame negatives. I.am.in.love.
[...]
What could I write here that doesn't sound hollow after that last entry? Not much, I know. So how about I just throw out a list of incidentals?
In no particular order:
- I took Natalie to a casting call this morning purely for fun. It took no time at all. She' [...]
Pray for Us
Posted 20 hours ago
I could sit here all night, with my hands shaking over these keys, and still not have the right words to make this any easier to say. Over the past two weeks something that no one understands happened inside Emily that has caused her cancer [...]
...and we've hit our stride. Thank the good Lord. Last week, I was ready to ship all 3 kids back to school and I'm pretty sure they were ready to see me off to the looney bin. We were just SO.TOGETHER.ALL.THE.TIME. Nat & Elle were bickering quite [...]
Proud Big Sister Natalie & newborn Elle, circa June 2002.What can I write about Elle's birth in particular that doesn't sound trite? There is nothing. What is wanting to fly out of my fingers onto the keyboard is:
Seven years ago today my dreams came true.
See? Hokey.' [...]
I expanded our veggie garden this year. We let the strawberries successfully take over the built-in planter that runs the length of our back patio and I took to the neighboring patch of grass and laboriously turned it into a bona fide garden (for this Guy nicknamed [...]
I made these today for the girls' teachers. Super easy & economical. I got the vases, tissue paper, ribbon & foam craft balls (that hold the bamboo skewered candies) at the dollar store. I got the bamboo skewers & candy at the grocery store.
Here's [...]
Who knew, right? Honestly, though, I love the country. When I was little, I remember loving going to "el campo" in Puerto Rico with my family and, later during summer visits, with family friends. I loved visiting the barn & riding my friend Melanie's horse in high [...]
..until you've taken a country hayride in the pouring rain. :)
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I keep forgetting this blog is here. Only for a few days, but still. I remember the days when bloggy themes would dance through my head and I couldn't wait to put my thoughts down on "cyber-paper." The times, they are a'changin'. I'm not at all complaining. I happily go [...]
...except technically, he's not my nephew at all. The best I could claim of him "on paper" is that he is my brother's daughter's half-brother. Got that? Of course, I won't claim him as such. Just like I never call my sister-in-law, my EX-sister-in-law. She's a sister. Another Rivera sister' [...]
I know you can see the picture below on my flickr stream but I don't care. The stream will continuously update but this post will be here forever. I bought these over a year ago and I don't wear them nearly enough.
I hope you had a lovely [...]
..while I catch up on the Mother's Day Rally letters over at postpartumprogress.typepad.com
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Contact: Katherine Stone
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MOTHER’S DAY RALLY FOR MOMS’ MENTAL HEALTH TO FEATURE
TOP MOMMY BLOGGERS & AUTHORS
May 4, 2009 -- This Mother’s Day – Sunday, May 10, 2009 – the first Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health will be held online, featuring 24 open letters to new [...]
Elle was crabby this morning and was basically talking "smack" to me as I was fixing her breakfast and packing her lunch. I very casually told her that she was only upsetting herself. Of course, her answer was "uh-uh." I explained to her, one of my favorite concepts: anger is [...]
Guy makes me laugh so hard during our bike rides, I can barely climb the hills. Punk!
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I said I'd try to write every day and I forgot to write yesterday. Oops! I'm sure no one minds so onward!
As I write this, I'm rethinking the whole posting every day thing. I don't have much to share lately. You don't want to hear all the boring little' [...]
Guess my phone will have to do. I think I'm feeling writerly again. Will try to write every day this month. Happy May!
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...because the Elle Squirrel is back and we're always so happy to see her. There was a dead squirrel in our yard back in winter (looked like it drowned or froze or both - so sad) and I was honestly super concerned that it was our beloved Elle Squirrel.' [...]
Yesterday was as good as Sunday as a good Sunday can get. It was a gorgeous day (Dallas in the spring just ROCKS). I ate my cinnamon roll on the patio. Hung out in the garden with the kids for a while. Ate a delicious lunch (spinach salad with apples, walnuts, feta [...]
Out to our first lunch together in nearly two weeks, which as you know, is an eternity for us (Guy's been SO busy lately, which is good, but still, bless his heart) and it was raining out. Guy dropped me off as close to the door of the restaurant as possible and [...]
I'm blown away by the trailer for "In a Dream" executive produced by Pamela Tanner Boll ("Who Does She Think She Is?"). WOW. I love learning about the lives of artists. I often think I would very much like to let go entirely and be exquisitely "crazy."
It's that time of year again. Time for vote for my beautiful and talented niece, Ashley Rivera for Female Vocalist of the Year in the Atlanta Country Music Contest. The past few years she's been ***this close*** to taking the top title. She's had a banner year of winning awards [...]
This blog turned 5-years old yesterday. This, from my very first entry seems incredibly relevant:
Though, I don't know. I sometimes feel like Twitter and Facebook killed the Blog much like "Video killed the radio'" [...]
Today is World Autism Awareness Day and I'm supporting my stepdaughter and her beautiful son (yes, MY [step]GRANDBABY - he he he), among several others, whose lives have been touched by this disease. I've posted on Twitter, I've changed my Facebook status, become a Facebook fan of ASA and am posting' [...]
Simplicity. Most people say they want it but they set specific goals they want to achieve before they let themselves have it. Maybe it's a certain amount of money they want to make, or a relationship, or children or a level of education or that coveted promotion [...]
Anna Sofia's creation at dinner last Friday
(crappy photo taken with my phone)
[...]
Elle, learning how to sit up at 4 months, with Big Sister Natalie behind her (at age 6), cheering her on.
I joked with my friend and walking partner that there is something fundamentally wrong with waking up extra early on Fridays and then I proceeded to wake up [...]
I've been sick again and you know how being sick messes with my feeble brain. Combine that with truly feeling as though my body is out of whack hormonally (I'm old! ugly! decrepit!) and well, that makes for a very not happy Nino. So, a few things to be very thankful for:
1. my husband, [...]
I keep having baby dreams. (I honestly don't want another baby. Like, not even a little bit. Als
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...for your responses and not only because most of you agree with me. heh But, really. This may be more about me and my duplicitous attitude about large crowds and apparent disorganization. I have no problem running a marathon with 10,000 of my "closest friends" but put me in a [...]
Raise your hand if you think hosting a Christian-based club at a public elementary school is a bad idea. Yes, you there with the red skintone, horns and forked tongue holding the pitchfork. Thank you, sir. Anyone else? :::crickets chirping:::
I think it's a horrible idea. Both Guy and I do but Elle [...]
So, as you can see if you visit this site, my TtV (through the viewfinder) 365 photography project is going very well indeed.
Today's post:
[file this...]...under small things that make me ridiculously happy. Back in the fall, I helped the librarian at our beloved little independent neighborhood library [...]
