Bits and Pieces

Whew. Busy week. Planning, hosting, shopping, driving ... it all makes for a thin margin of time to write.

But, still plugging along with Project Life, I have been taking pictures! Here are a few bits and pieces of life this week:

1. The girls spent a couple hours one afternoon making an amusement park out of cardboard boxes for their dolls. Caroline's doll is all strapped in with a duct tape seatbelt and crash helmet here (which she definitely needed). Just one more reason to nominate the inventor of duct tape for a Nobel prize.

2. As you know, we love listening to audiobooks in the car. Our latest "read" is The Magician's Elephantwhich I frankly enjoyed much more as an audiobook (the narrator is faaaaabulous, dahling) than as a read-aloud. And I say that as a Kate DiCamillo fan. I just didn't love the book the way I have others of hers ... but the audiobook won me over.

3. We attended a wedding reception for our friends Joseph and Joanna (yup, Joe and Jo!) on Sunday afternoon. Caroline is always eager to be photographed with the bride. Maybe she's hoping the romantic aura will rub off on her? That girl seriously scares me sometimes with her eight boyfriends (all older and sweetly disinterested in her none-too-subtle designs on them). 

4. I've been purchasing books/curriculum and digging reusables out of boxes like a crazy woman. And, this week we attended orientation for our Classical Conversations group. I came away both exhilarated ... and overwhelmed. The mass of STUFF to organize, file, laminate, put in page protectors, review with the children, and remember each week is not for the faint of heart, my friends. And, my inner introvert wanted to curl up among the couch cushions and suck her thumb, as is typical when we're in large groups and the Inner Extrovert has to drive for a while. That said, I'm so impressed by the other mamas involved in this group. They're kind, reassuring, and apparently quite productive.

5. I'd promised Ashley, my 11-year-old niece, that I'd show her how to make a duct tape wallet way back in June. Well, with five days left before school starts for her, we got it done! Then she and her sister and cousins (my girls) had a duct tape crafting extravaganza. See point #1 concerning  the Nobel Prize.

Happy Weekending, everyone! 

P.S. Fellow Texans, this is the weekend to shop for school supplies tax-free. Even if you homeschool like us, you still need a few pencils and markers on hand, n'est-ce pas? 

Project Life 2011: Who's With Me?

I know at least of couple of my friendly blog-reading peeps have taken the plunge with Project Life this year. Stand and be counted!

Don't roll your eyes, ye non-scrappers. This is totally the project for anyone who: 1)loves to scrapbook but simply doesn't have the time to stay "caught up," or 2)doesn't scrapbook, but feels sorta guilty about the pile of miscellaneous photos hibernating in a box or computer file somewhere.

I've done the project for two years now -- roughly one photo a day, with a couple sentences of journaling -- and it's been so worth it to have a finished album that preserves all the moments, a few extraordinary (vacations, milestones) but mostly ordinary.

Indeed, some of the photos can't get more mundane. What we ate for dinner. Our shopping cart at Costco. Kids playing with the hose in the yard. But these are the plain little pearls that string together our magnificent lives. Pick a random memory from your childhood. Is it that big trip to Disneyworld or, perhaps, the way you'd run out on the first day that felt like spring and pump on the swing as high as you could? I submit that both deserve commemorating.

Jessica at The Mom Creative has a Tuesday linkup where folks post the POTD's (Pictures of the Day) for the week. I thought I'd participate this week.

Oh, and this year I'm attempting a digital version for the first time.

Oh, and Amazon just got in a new shipment of Project Life - Amber Edition and Project Life - Turquoise Edition. No, it's not too late to start! (Or don't even start with January 1. Do your baby's first year, or your first year of marriage, or a few years with monthly highlights, or whatever works for you.)

Here we go.

Jan. 19: Building a crate for Pongo, our much-anticipated puppy. 

Jan. 20: Lunch with Nonnie (my MIL) at Panda Express. We do this mid-school-day every few weeks whenever the spirit moves her. It's fun. 

Jan. 21: Introducing our brand new puppy to our back yard. By the way, Pongo is a mix of chow, golden retriever, collie (we think), and we're-not-sure what else. He's a rescue from Austin Pets Alive. 

Jan. 21 (#2): Friday afternoon at our house with the whole neighborhood gaggle ... minutes before a hot chocolate party. 

Jan. 22: Visiting our neighbors' brand new (sixth!) baby, Margaret Sophia. Holding her is another neighbor, who was clearly pleased as punch to have a real, live baby in her arms. 

Jan. 23: My kids are weird. Need I say more?

Jan. 24: I posted this yesterday, but this is the POTD. Eliza has taken to the puppy like a little momma. Nurturing comes naturally to this one. 

Yes, friends, we are living in a puppy world. With difficulty, I resist becoming a blogger who simply blathers about her pet(s). Help me stay strong. Over and out.