asparagus tree

so i have begun (again) a children's book- hopefully i will finish it this time...i found this image that i did a couple of years ago when i was playing with another idea...i hope you like it!

happy halloween!

linvilla in october

you might think that linvilla would be the most wonderful place to go on a sunday in october...the sun was shining, the pumpkins were blazing orange- and it was mobbed! i was remembering my trip as a kid; buying a bag of carrots for a dime and feeding the horses...so magical. this past sunday it was nuts. every person with a kid under the age of 9 was there- and boy were they all in a rush. they all needed fries-now...pies-now...hayride tickets-now. wow. thats all i have to say about the crowd.
we did go on the hayride, which we were looking forward to. our tour guide however wanted to take many moments to stop and have a lecture on all the different orchards- which would have been nice if the hay bales weren't covered with kids jack's age. every time mr. wizard stopped the kids would all start to fuss more. jack had obviously had enough of his banter. in the middle of one of the "lessons" jack stood up, waved his arm across his chest and yelled "GOOOOOO!" to the man. good thing the hay was there.

spit bubbles

so of all the constructive things i could have done with my son today, i thought i would take some time out to show him the art of the spit bubble. its sounds gross and i guess it kind of is, but he was laughing his diaper off. it was a wonderful learning experience.
i remember when i first figured out how to make one, i was in montessori. i was so excited to show miss augustine what i could create. i stood there and patted her on the shoulder as she sat in the class circle. i continued to tap for her attention until she looked up at me and asked that i stop patting her like a dog. she then smiled and asked what i wanted. i was sure that my skill needed no introduction so i just began to create. unfortunately, i was not a master yet- i just spit down my chin.
i'm better now.

confucius says...

father who sleeps next to baby,

wakes up with smiley face.

here we are

its been so long since i have visited here...we are just now getting into the fall groove. i have finally started back at the gym to reverse the curses of mother nature and jack has been enjoying the season with a new perspective.
i love to walk with him down the street- he has reminded me so much about stopping to see what the world has left for us to find. he spots the ant holes and the worms. he loves the crunching sound as he steps his small sneaks on the leaves. we lie in the grass and he babbles about the clouds and planes-he is quite the jabber jaws, and i wouldn't have it any other way...
i love fall-its a clean slate, its a sweatshirt warm from the dryer...people love spring for its rebirth of everything, but i think that fall offers its own rebirth- the air is crisp and feels clean, the sun is more appreciated when it warms your face, people can fall in love all over again, and a little boy can show you how to see wonders like you haven't seen in years...

just for you mom!

these are just some photos for my mom and the other babes rockin it out at the BVM!

sunday in the park...

this past sunday sage took us to the most amazing park- the sandbox alone was the largest (and surprisingly cleanest) i have ever seen. it had diggers that the kids could sit in and pull up sand and cutie tables built in- nevermind the boat in the middle!
the coolest thing had to be this wooden castle like structure- it had loads of nooks and crannies- it was the kind of haven i would have wanted as a teenager- a place to hid out and sneak smokes and kisses...*jack if this still exists by the time you can read you are in no way to desecrate this place in such a way!* anyway...it was beautiful...here are some images:

Rockin' It Out In D. Hill

i wrote ages ago about finding the perfect pool for jack...well that pool has long since popped-figures! we took a family trip to some stores in search of a new one ( even though i told sage that there wouldn't be many pools in between the back to school aisles). we looked and looked and finally ended up in kmart. as we were leaving sage made a reference to the tupperware bins and needing storage for some camping blankets... i'll leave the
rest to the visual.
ps-like our pool toys?!?

also

we also spent yesterday in lancaster with our friends anthony and aidan. we shopped around in the kettle kitchen and then moved on to strausburg...i'm completely guessing on the spelling here. we took a train ride on one of the open air cars. jack loved it. he held onto the brass railing and let the wind fly through his wisps. it was so nice to have a saturday with all of us just hanging out...there were no specific plans- just to relax .

crafty man!

on the fourth of july jack was loving this old helicopter at my grandmom's house...so jack's fantastic dad made him one from some scrap wood he had left over from the basement overhaul...lucky little boy!

happy 4th!

i hope everyone had a great holiday! me with my brothers, (s-i-l) jenn, niece evelyn, and of course jack henry!

so yummy...(the ice cream too)

making a break for it!

jack and evelyn...

real job?

so the kids at my camp are pretty well off. the other day they were talking about what their parents do for a living; doctors, lawyers, tv personalities...etc. one of the campers asked me what i do for a living during the year. i replied that i'm a stay at home mom...he looked at me- went back to his painting and said "yeah, but whats your real job?"

so far so good...

so the first few days sucked for my little man. he cried so much and sucked his thumb until he cut it open, poor guy. but, by wednesday he was doing better- and today, sweet thursday, he welcomed me with a smile. all in all today has been a good day, smiles from my man, a mom that brought popsicles to camp for us employees and a call from a dear friend who i haven't heard from in way too long. yay for today!

ugh

i start work tomorrow for the next 9 weeks and my stomach is in knots. i know that moms go to work every day, and god knows that there were days that i wished i wasn't at home, but now the day is here.
maybe i feel like this because jack was extra "lovey" today. i think this would all be easier if he had a bad day, but it was quite the opposite. we followed our normal routine with some extra hugs along the way.
i know it will be good for him to play with kids his own age, and it IS a mental break for me. i know everything will be fine...it will- it will- its only 9 weeks damn it!!-pull yourself together!
sorry, just had to get that off my chest...have a good monday everyone

call the moma!

untitled #1

12x12" acrylic on canvas

materials- sponge, brushes, little fingers, and a size 4 baby shoe

big storm

years ago, when i was little- before there were so many rules and regulations, i used to lay in the back of our station wagon for long rides....

the way back

coming home on a rainy night-
making marks on the rear window
with my toes.

the rain streaks in reds and yellows
and plinks
on the roof.

my dad calls my name
and i flip up-
look into the rearview mirror

"do you see the moon?"

"uh huh"

"keep lookin' janniebean,
its good luck
if it follows you home."

.wink.

zoobalee zoo

jack henry's 1st visit!

not for the faint of heart...or if you just ate

i just got back from the dentist...i went to get a wisdom tooth checked out. i figured i would go in and she would tell me that we had to schedule an appointment for it to be taken out- whatever.
she took the x-ray and said "honey, (should i sue for harassment?) we should take it out right now. "
i have never had anything really done to my teeth and sheesh, i was scared. all in all it was not that bad...except for the needle in the roof of my mouth-that blew.
so here is a picture of my infected wisdom tooth-yuk. i swear that i brush everyday! i can't believe that this gross thing was in my mouth---and---that i was dumb enough to have a lunch that consisted of rold gold pretzels and hershey kisses- i am so hungry!

FiLTH-fLArN-FlaRN-fiLTh!

so one of the rings in the fantastic "3 ring inflatable pool" has a hole in it!...i filled the damn thing 2 rings high anyway- and jack went in with all his clothes on...his diaper weighs a ton, but he had a good time in that stupid-muck-%&*$in-hole-ridden-plastic-#*&%-POOL!!
have a nice memorial day...

fun in the sun

so this saturday i decided that little jack needed a baby pool. just something small, and cheap(insert dirty joke here). we ended up going to three stores- ugh! the first stop was the big k. i said a prayer to penny marshall that baby pools would be there...nope. not only were there no baby pools, there was no one around to help. i went to a manager and asked her if anyone was working today- she didn't get the joke. so i let jack loose in the toy aisle- he left his mark.
i ended up at cvs. ahh cvs; my indian name there is "runs with impulse buys". i did find a pool and some other "necessary items".-back to the home front-
i nearly had an attack trying to blow up this pool. regardless, i was determined. i filled the pool- changed jack into his too big swim clothes and brought him outside. i filled the pool with every plastic floating toy in the area. jack looked at me and smiled. i am a good mom. we approached the pool, ready to go. just then every cloud filled the sky, blocking the sun and the wind picked up. COME ON!!! i put him in anyway, good sport that he is. he was in for 20 minutes and he refused to sit down. maybe i'll have more luck today- harumph!

mirror images

so it is official- the room that i grew up in is no longer my own.
i went to visit my mom this morning and she handed me a cardboard box. i know that this sounds cold, but it's not- i knew that this day was coming and the box had been waiting for me.
you see my little brother still lives at home and has taken all 3 of the bedrooms that we (my 2 bros and i) had growing up. he now has a bedroom an office, and has so graciously let my mom make one a guest room.
so the box- most of my things were thrown away. its not all that bad, because i suppose if they were really important, i would have taken them when i got married. regardless, all that is left of the room i lived in for 23 years was a cardboard box with some odds and ends; pictures, a trophy etc...the picture here is from the 8th grade father daughter dinner dance...hot, i know!
i guess the wierdest thing is the mirror in my room. for years it was covered with pictures, movie ticket stubs, stickers and sharpie "tags". my brother cleaned it all off. i don't know why but it hurt a bit. this is the mirror that i looked in every day- through my changing phases of life. it is where i teased up my bangs, and put on black eyeliner when i thought i was punk...its the mirror i used to get dressed on my wedding day. call me a sap, but i always loved gazing around the mirror when i was getting ready- looking at the borders to see where i've been, and looking at my reflection to see where i was going...now its clean...

so this is my blog

so i have decided to jump on the wagon...i have no idea what this blog will be centered around, but for the time being i suppose i shall go to what is most prevalent in my every day gig- my little samurai- granted he is only 1/4 japanese, i know that he can feel the soy that runs through his veins. he is his father's son- he needs sunshine and the outdoors to feel complete, he is stubborn and likes to do things his own way, he has an endless curiosity and me wrapped around his chunky little finger- again, much like his dad.
today, while playing up the street with some of the neighbor's' kids, jack stepped into a 12" mud hole- he is all boy and loved every second of it. i on the other hand was left holding a pair of khaki shorts that look like...well... think of the grossest thing that you can relate to this situation and insert here.
well, so much for my first entry- duty calls, bath time and chicken pot (chicken pot, chicken pot) pie...see all the cool kids later at quizzo!