Mamatography 2012: Final 2 Days

 

Mamatography: A 365 Day Photography Project. At least one picture per day of what you did that day.

 

     Here we are: The last day of 2012. I could be cliché and say it's not the end, but a new beginning, but I, for one, am glad to see the end of 2012. Yes, there were plenty of good times, but there were also quite a few times that make me cringe (or cry) to think back on (I.e: Mamaw, Isaiah's stitches, Isaiah being bitten by kids at his old daycare, etc...)

Anyway, on to the last pictures of the year:

 

Isaiah playing in his new pj's from Mama and Papa. He's a scary dragon...

 

Rawr.

Fell asleep in the big comfy chair, couldn't even make it past 10.

     So, on to 2013. My resolutions are to become a better parent to Isaiah, improve my photography, and get healthier. Oh, and to complete another year of Mamatography, of course.

     Notice that, aside from the Mamatography, there aren't any concrete goals or limits on them. That's because any time I set limits or specific goals (like, "I want to lose 50lbs this year") they all backfire on me. 

     I'm curious to know, though, what are everyone else's New Year's resolutions?

Mamatography: Days 358-364

 

Mamatography: A 365 Day Photography Project. At least one picture per day of what you did that day.

 

Here we are: it's the last full week of Mamatography! It has been a long year filled with challenges I could never have imagined, but I'm so glad that I documented it as we went along. I just ordered a photo book from Shutterfly of some of the pictures (98 to be exact) from this year. Now I'll have something physical to remember it all by!*

 

Sunday, we had church then our Christmas exchange at my grandma's house. I forgot to take pictures there, but here's a blurry one Isaiah wanted to take while we were getting ready for church.

 

Monday, we had our Christmas with Mama and Papa, and B, N, and my brother-in-law. Isaiah had a blast opening all of his new presents. It was a pretty emotional day for me because it was the first Christmas Eve without Mamaw, and it was always tradition to get pizza from Pizza Oven and open presents with her that night. We kept the pizza tradition, and mom and dad gave all of us one last gift card from Mamaw, so we all know B and I were teary eyed.

Tuesday, we opened presents at home then went to my grandma's house for Christmas Dinner. I was hard pressed to pull Little I away from all his new toys and books long enough to get dressed and leave the house.

Wednesday was a lazy day playing with toys and chilling at home while a blizzard raged around us. Isaiah loved watching out the window between games on his LeapPad.

 Thursday, my prize package from Mamavation ** (& of course, Bob Harper). I got The Skinny Rules as well as all of Bob's workout DVDs so I've been reading this book and doing a few workouts since they came.

 Later Thursday, we cleaned off the car (after a little snowball fight) and headed to my parents to get out of the house before coming home again for dinner.

 He had fun just getting snow all over his gloves and shaking them all around to get it off again.

 Friday, I had some more of the amazing homemade applesauce that was my gift from my grandma. Then we went to my mom and dad's house for dinner and some quality time.

 This morning, Little I watched UmiZoomi on his Leap Pad while I read some more.

Tonight, we played with new toys (like the "tar" from Aunt B), played games on the Wii, and played our new game Uno Moo.

My little rocker!

 And then, after Isaiah was fast asleep, I watched a guy get arrested for drunkenly walking down the middle of my road yelling profanities at the police.

Yes, I'm that nosy neighbor that will take pictures of these kinds of things. Lol

 

* By the way, if you want to order a photo book, they're on sale up to 40% off, as well as you can get an extra 20% by using the code "EXTRA20", free shipping on orders over $30 with "SHIP30", and plenty other discounts and coupon codes that can be found at RetailMeNot. I'm not being paid to tell you this, I just think it's cool.

 

**Mamavation and Omron Fitness is hosting a 30 Day fitness challenge for 25 bloggers starting in January that you can find here. It's a really awesome opportunity if you think you'd like to apply to take the challenge

New Year, New Look

Hi! I changed a few things up on here because I was tired of the old background and layout.

If there's something wonky going on, please let me know. Also, if there's something you'd like to see on here, you can let me know through commenting,  on twitter, or via email.

Kid's Sock Snowman: Pinterest Sunday.. er Thursday.

You can find me on Pinterest and Twitter.

Sorry I'm late on this one. I thought I had it scheduled to go out on Sunday. Alas, I was wrong. Oh well.

This week's inspiration for a craft is from Just a Little Creativity. We did it the same day as we did the hand print snowmen ornaments, and Isaiah had fun stuffing the sock full of polyfil.

I did a few things different than the original poster: I didn't use a hot glue gun, googley eyes, or pom poms. Instead, we used paint. You'll see how I attached the top ribbon below.

1.) Fill a small sock with stuffing.

2.) Put rubber bands on the sock. We did two balls of stuffing (so two rubber bands).

3.) Add a scarf (ribbon of your choice) and either use your choice of craft supplies to make the face and buttons.
I used fabric puffy paint because I had it on hand I like how the nose stuck out some.

4.) If you don't want to use a hook to hang it on the tree, add a ribbon around/on top of the top rubber band. Then cut a hole in the sock and stick the rest of the ribbon through and tie it into a loop to hang on the tree.

Tada! You're done!

Disclaimer: This is only semi-kid-friendly. Isaiah stuffed the sock, helped with the picking out of the ribbon, and started the black painting, but then I had to touch it up with white afterward.

Mamatography: Days 351-357

 

Mamatography: A 365 Day Photography Project. At least one picture per day of what you did that day.

Sunday, while I was upstairs getting ready for church, Isaiah decided he was still hungry. For raw eggs. On the bright side, it all stayed on the table, and he put the shells back in the carton. And, his cracking skills got better as he went on. 

Sigh.

 

Monday, work on the floors on 26 side continued. They're almost done now. Then it just needs carpet upstairs and a few finishing touches and it will be DONE. 

Tuesday, we played around. Isaiah wanted to pose and take pictures.

Wednesday, Isaiah made his own bed/chair out of a laundry basket (that usually holds all his stuffed animals, dumped in the background) to watch a movie. 

Thursday, I began making N and B their presents (camera strap covers). Pick your fabric!

Friday, we had a movie night. We watched Veggie Tales and Mickey Mouse, snuggled up on a blanket on the floor, and had plenty of snacks.

Saturday, Mom, N, B and I got pedicures together as part of N's present to us.

Wordless Wednesday: The Aftermath

Sorry for the break in regular posts! With Christmas and the craziness of everything, I got a bit sidetracked. Things will be to normal shortly.

Mamatography: Days 344-350

 

Mamatography: A 365 Day Photography Project. At least one picture per day of what you did that day.

Sunday, a group of men from our church signed The Resolution from the movie Courageous. They did a study based on the themes from the movie leading up to the signing during Sunday's service.

Monday was the first day of Christmas vacation. Dad and Pastor Brown continued putting down flooring, but stopped because roofers were coming the next day to start on the new roof.

 Tuesday, the roofers began working on putting on a new roof.. at 7:15am. Since it was the first week of Christmas vacation, we were looking forward to sleeping in.. Isaiah wasn't happy to get up and get dressed.

 Wednesday, before I finished rearranging the living room, Isaiah spent some time playing with some old glow bracelets.

Thursday, the work on the roof continued. They tore off the old shingles, and Isaiah really enjoyed watching them throw them off the top roof from the playroom window.

 
 Friday, we headed over to my parents' house, and Papa let Isaiah watch the Backyardigans in their bedroom. Isaiah was very happy.

Saturday we went shopping with Mama, tried to get Isaiah to take a nap (total FAIL), and finally got some presents wrapped, thanks to the wonderful invention of glue dots. They're so much easier to use than tape. Still have a few more to wrap and have to buy some stocking stuffers.

My 5 Christmas Break Projects

I took my last final exam today, so now I am truly on Christmas Break!


I have a list a mile long of things I want to do over Christmas break, but the thing I did first was rearrange my living room. I started with this:

And (after 7 different arrangements and a few hours at it) I ended up with this:

There's still a lot of odds and ends that need to find a home (sitting in the dining room doorway)

There is tons more room right in the middle of the space, which is much better. Also, Isaiah's toys now have the TV stand in the corner (now termed "his corner") with a big end table as his table and his Thomas the Train chair, and the TV got moved on the coffee table. I started on Tuesday night just before midnight after I got the urge to just move everything while Isaiah wasn't around to be in the way. I decided to carry my loveseat upstairs to the playroom/office by my self...I realized half-way that I should have waited for help. I gave up--unsatisfied--around 3am and went to bed, only to have my dad/the roofers wake me up at 7:14. I finally got everything to where I like it during nap time.

I have a feeling some of it will be moved around again once the Christmas tree is down.

This is where the loveseat ended up:

Yes, those walls really are that pink. I want to paint, but I don't know what color yet. Any suggestions are welcome.

Something I recently decided needs to be on my "to do" list is sewing, specifically:

1.) A cute camera strap for my little sister (and possibly for me). I found this awesome tutorial tonight from Becca at Home is Where My Story Begins, and while I might not follow it to a T, I will use it as a general guideline.

2.) A small playhouse for Isaiah. Something like one of these.

Hallway tent via ikat bag

Felt Playhouse, via This Big Oak Tree

The hallway tent is much easier, so that one might be the one, however the card table playhouse looks like something Isaiah would enjoy, too. Maybe I'll do that one for his birthday? Ikat bag also has an awesome pvc pipe(?) tent/playhouse that looks awesome. If you're interested, here are Phase 2 and Phase 3  of the felt playhouse from This Big Oak Tree.


3.) Some of these Fabric Scrap Keychains via Craftiness is Not Optional:

4.) These grilled cheese rolls from Dainty Chef:

 5.) Make my own pajama pants. I'm a big fan of making my own (and Isaiah's) clothes, because then I know I can take it apart or take it in if it doesn't fit right. This might happen after Christmas, though, so I can use any Christmas money I get for fabric. I like the tutorial I found at My Cotton Creations 
 

 

Oh, and by the way, you can find most of these over on my Pinterest boards.