"Y" like Hawaii

Avery loves his letters. I finally found some letter magnets at the grocery store and he plays with them while I cook dinner most nights. I made an alphabet on paper and he matches the magnet to the letter on the paper. The other night we were going through and matching up the letters, he was asking me what sound each letter makes. He held up the B and I made the B sound, "like ball". We went through a few more then he held up the Y and said "look Mommy, Y like Hawaii!" It was so cute, I had to agree!  What a smartie!

All Stuck In My Head- a poem

It happens to me, I dont know about you

When I read lots of books to my son who's just two

They are Dr. Seuss books using all words that rhyme

But those fun little words are in my head all the time!

Long after my little one has gone to bed

My thoughts rhyme and sing non-stop through my head

We read every night just two books or three

But those catchy cute phrases sure stick with me

Its true I'm afraid, the rhymes are here to stay

But my little ones loves them so what can I say?

Happy Valentines Day to you!

Avery is really into saying "Happy Valentines day to you!" He tells me a couple times a day! He is a sweet boy. He made this valentine for me (thanks Carlota!) I love it. 

Seriously?!?

UPDATE

The good news is I found two of the missing socks mates. They were just hiding from me. The bad news is, I also found another single. A friend gave me some good advice that I need to try, get a little washable laundry garment type bag, you know the mesh kind, and put all the socks in there. Make sure they have matches going in and zip it up. I think I need to try this. 

This is one laundry trip (we do three loads at a time since we use the laundry room in our building) worth of missing socks. There are 10!! Where the heck do they go??? The worst part is the cute pink, cream, and brown socks are brand new! I have only worn them one time! Help me understand...

Where do they go?

(And yes, I did check the washer and the dryer when I was taking clothes out. I have tried!)

For my sweet little niece

My most recent creation for my newest little niece. It  the disappearing nine's quilt square that my friend JJ taught me. It was pretty easy! This quilt has the "home made" look for sure (there were some serious matching up issues). But thats why she will love it. Its made with love from her dear old auntie. 

Library Day

Today we ventured out to the library. Of course the sword had to come along. We made castles and cupcakes with the blocks. We about cleaned out the dinosaur section and came home with some literary treasures (that we read at least five times a piece!) I even got some books for me this time. If you haven't read the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series I recommend it! Fun, cute, easy reads. 

(notice the short sleeves and no jacket outside? It was such a treat to have 50+ degree weather. Too bad it wont last. The weather man calls for snow on Wednesday)

The Model

Last week in painting class we had a model come to class so we could practice painting a live person. Im not sure who I was expecting to show up, but in walked an older man sporting a Russian Commy hat and an accordion. I was pretty skeptical at first but once we got going it was really fun. And yes, he did actually play for us (I think it was causing problems for those who were trying to paint his hands). I chose to do just a portrait of his face since I wont have too long to finish. You can see my "drawing" in the first picture. This is to make sure the placement of all the features is correct before too much paint is added and it would be really hard to fix. I got a lot done last week, its still not done but dont you worry, I will post the finished product when Im done. 

Any one interested in hanging an old man accordion player painting on your living room wall? You just let me know if you are, I think I can probably make it happen. 

(He never fell all the way off the little stage he was on, but there was at least 2 close calls. I made a joke about I hope he doesnt fall because then we will have to paint a cast in next week, but no one laughed. I thought it was pretty funny.)

City Kid

City kids know how to ride subways.
City kids take the elevator to their house.
City kids think all high rise buildings are houses.
City kids think that the concierge's desk is the best,
cause that's where the packages filled with toys come from.
City kids think that museums are somewhere you go every week,
like, church and Costco.

I love having a city kid.

My latest creation

Owl Family

Oil on Canvas

16x20

I am taking painting class again this semester and this is the first painting of the year. The three owls remind me of our little family. Avery said the owls are scary so I dont think he really likes this one. I had fun painting the wood they are standing on. It is just a light liquin glaze then gently brushed over when it was partly, well mostly dry. For some reason I am loving owls lately. 

Lavacourt Under Snow, Claude Monet

With painting class starting up on Monday I felt I needed some fine art to adorn my blog once again. I especially like this painting. It is so perfect for this time of year. I have been totally freezing all day and cant really look at a sunny painting today, it just doesn't seem right. So go make some hot chocolate (like I just did, with extra marshmallows that I am trying to hide from my two year old) and enjoy how colorful white snow can be. 

PS If you read blogs in an RSS reader like I usually do, you will probably have to go to my site to see the painting at the header