HALF FULL THINKING

Sorry for the late/non-inspiring post today! My computer's power cord died so I had to run to the closest apple store and well...it took longer than it should have. 

So, Preston and Elliott are out of town for a week. A whole week! I've never really been alone for that long especially from Elliott and I'm not going to lie, it sucks. A lot. I have decided to try and look at this as a "vacation" for myself and I plan on doing some fun things in the city, but I also want to take advantage of this time and work on some projects I've been needing to get to. So basically, I'll be here (home) with little trips here and there - hopefully not to the apple store. It's hard being away from the ones you love, but It's comforting to know that 1. They are probably being spoiled rotten (they're with my family) and 2. I get to see this face in a week!

How's that for glass half full?

WEEKEND-ED

Elliott and I had a pretty relaxed weekend. Preston on the other hand has been crazy busy getting a presentation done for a film festival he's in next week (yay!) I had planned on an outing or two but it snowed. Not a lot, but enough that the stroller wouldn't function properly. So home we stayed! Some semi big news for Elliott, he used the toilet for the first time! We weren't planning on starting potty training until next month, but when they ask to use the toilet you say "OK!" and you read them good books to pass the time and give them horse stickers when they're done.

How was your weekend?

Mini Date Night

We had ourselves an in home mini-date last weekend and it was much needed, simple and wonderful. We played Farkle, listened to some new-to-us-music and of course had dessert. Occasionally we would hear the little man talking in his sleep about how it was the "best ever dia" (best day ever). It was a pretty perfect night.

What do you do for a date-night when you can't get out of the house? We're always looking for ideas!

Our Gifts - Part Two

And finally, here are Preston's gifts that he made for Elliott and me:

I have been asking for individual family portraits from him for a few years now and by George, he finally started! He painted my portrait first. So for the time being, it looks like I might be a little narcissistic. Just a tad. But he promises the others are coming soon, so we'll keep it up waiting patiently for the other two portraits.

You may remember these prints? Well, I contacted the artist to see if she could make them larger and she said she couldn't. So Preston decided he would paint a similar one himself. Elliott LOVES it. Like, screams "horsey!" every time he goes near his bed and stares at it for a minute, loves it. Does a heart good.

Our Gifts - Part One

We decided to make a lot of the gifts for each other this year for Christmas. Some people in our family are more talented (ahem - Preston!) then others (me). But we really enjoyed making them and we all have loved the outcome! Here are the gifts I made for Preston and Elliott:

The oh-so-popular notebook shirt. I made the mistake of thinking I would prefer to make it with fabric markers rather than fabric paint. Even though I do like the "hand drawn" look from the markers, it took way too long to do.

This is a fishing pole. Elliott was using "mommy's pretty" (my necklaces) to fish off of the coffee table. So I thought this would solve that problem and it has. It's a dowel rod, hand painted (not taped - again, I wanted that messy look), and I drilled a hole towards the top and strung it. Originally I tied the string on, and it was not working. So I drilled. Yes, there was smoke and yes, I had to take a drilling break every 2-3 seconds or else I am sure it would have caught fire, but it works! 

One of the gifts I made for Preston was an NYU hoodie. He kind of collects them from the universities he has attended. So I looked up pictures of some examples and designed my own. The font was tough to make, but after that it was pretty much the basic freezer paper, fabric paint project. Except for the zipper. That zipper! The "Y" had to go right in the middle and therefore over the zipper. But it all came out in the end. The important thing is that he loves it.

Part two (Preston's gifts) coming up Monday!