{Rubber-Sol: Why, hello there!}

5 + 7

Despite the threat of RAIN on Henry's birthday, we managed to throw one heck of a party for our little dude.   Of course we changed venues, and the grass was a bit soggy, but Hank also managed to rent a bouncy house at the last minute.  On a Sunday morning. Whew was that a close call!  Our little 5 year old was quite the happy chap.

And now we're busy planning Alison's birthday party.  She'll turn 7, and we're planning a more sophisticated party for a more sophisticated little girl.  No bouncy house for this gal.   Our initial plan was to invite her closest friends for a day out at a paint it yourself pottery house down in Belmont Shore, but somehow the party has ballooned to a much bigger size  (doesn't that always happen?)

Anyway, the invites went out yesterday.  Here, take a peek, will ya?

I basically snagged the bird design off of my stationery, and repurposed it for the invite. And the little matchbook reads, "Just in case. . . " with the pottery house address and other essential info. 

Other than party fun, we've been just chugging right along.  The days are taking on a rhythym of their own, and the kids, Hank, and I are enjoying this ride called life. 

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And onto sillier things.  I forgot to mention who in the heck "Frannie Girl" is.  Well, she's my mom of all people.  Now imagine a local girl like my mom growing up in Hawaii with a name like Frances-Louise.  Yes, two names.  One hyphen.  Apparently as a girl my grandmother had a pen pal "in the states" (this was pre-statehood) named Frances-Louise.  She became so smitten with the thought of life on the mainland that when her first child was born, my grandmother named her Frances-Louise.  Eventually the name wore down to Frannie Girl, and today most of my great uncles still refer to my mom as such.  So there you have it. The history and legend of Frannie Girl.

Over the Hump!

In the grand scheme of things, all things and events that happened in the past are all lumped into YESTERDAY.  Everything pressing and of the moment are considered TODAY.  And the future, both the near and the far, is considered TOMORROW.  I've made it over the hump, and I can finally enjoy the right now moments.  Today has never been so grand!

 

Yesterday, I:

• Tended to all three kids who were sick with:  pneumonia, the flu, strep throat

• Gocco'ed over 1000 cards for the shop

• Had our IEP meeting for my son Henry.  We're moving forward now in such a great way!

• Announced the winners of the Valentine's Day Contest (via e-mail) -- The winners were: Amanda, Kelli, Allison, Lisa, and Courtney! All packages were shipped last week, save for Courtney and Lisa.

• Packaged up the largest wholesale order yet!  The 3 months they gave me to fulfill the order was crucial to my sanity!  Be gone package! Be gone!  So happy that is over and done with. . .though my fingers are crossed that my products do well in hopes that they reorder!

• Watched as Hank and Alison attended the first annual Valentine's Day Ball at school.

Today I enjoy:

• Taking Kate to her Giggles and Wiggles class (which she loves so much!)

• Planning for Henry's 5th birthday party this weekend.

• Watching Alison and Henry overcome their fears in their karate class

• Reading in bed before falling asleep (5 pages a night is okay, right?)

• Listening to Kate rattle off a new word every day!  Her newest faves?  Elmo, owl, trash, and waffle.

Tomorrow I am:

• Looking forward to visits from out of town guests

• Enjoying time with friends + family + celebrations!

• Enjoying the present!

My Little Valentine!

OK.  Finally in from the printers. . . finally!  Just in time for V-Day! 

I'll choose 3 random peeps to receive a mini set (4 cards + 4 envelopes) of these sweet girls, and all you have to do is tell me about your favorite Valentine's Day.  Or perhaps your worst!?  Just leave a comment down below, and I'll draw names next week sometime.  Sound good?

And if these girls don't do it for ya, what about this:

You can win a set of these guys too (20 sheets + 10 envelopes) if you can guess who Frannie Girl is!?  Go on. . .take your wildest guess, and post it in the comments below!  I'll choose the winner based on either a.) the correct answer or b.) the funniest, wackiest answer!

And I know.  Aren't you AMAZED that I've posted again this week?! What on earth?! 

P.S. Thanks for the e-mails regarding the wacky comment code from the previous post.  All I can say is, "I dunno what happened!"  Bizarro!

Lotto Here I Come!

I've been a reader of Ez's blog for a bit now, and when she announced her giveaway, I couldn't resist entering.  Last month I was the lucky, lucky winner of Creature Comfort's fabu, fabu giveaway. Yep, lil' ol' me!  About four days after the contest ended, an enormous box was delivered to my doorstep, and it was filled to the brim with such goodness.  It contained adorable kids' stuff like this:

An artist's roll of crayons for little hands by Teacups & Tadpoles.  I love, love, love the ric rac and the girly pinkness of it all.  Lucky me, I have two daughters!

And to add to the eye candy, how about this:

These Under Golden Branches" hairpins are so pretty, and I spent a good chunk of time browsing through all the lovely goodness at Jeweled Elegance. 

And it was such a treat to receive paper goods from other paper shopgirls out there.  I Love Jezebel truly has a love for all things vintage, and you can tell from their line of paper goods.  Here's a sample:

The gems you see here are just a smidgen of what I received.  I urge you to peek at my photo album to see everything up close and personal!  I was absolutely blown away by the generosity, creativity, and craftsmanship of these indie shop girls!    And I'm most grateful to Ez of Wren Eleven for hosting such an amazing give away! Thank you so much!

Tabula Rasa

Happy New Year!!  I'm happy for new beginnings, a fresh start!  Tabula Rasa.  I started yesterday by getting rid of the old by overhauling my studio space (aka Le Garage) with Hank and my dad, and I'm hoping that the space will be more functional from now on!  I can actually walk without tripping over this and that so I consider that a mini success! 

And I'm hoping to work at some of my New Year's Goals too:

•Organize my ever growing stash of photos -- some are too precious to be sitting in a box on our bookcase!

•Keep the house tidy. (Ha! I almost have to laugh at myself on this one. . . )

•Print a mini grocery list of all my fave recipes -- that way I can shop in a jiffy!

•Have a weekly date night with Hank.  A simple cup of tea + a movie at home is such a treat!

•Trim down the amount of magazine subscriptions, and renew the ones that I actually read:  Domino, Mother Jones, HOW, BUST, and The New Yorker. (Yes, an eclectic collection, I know! :)

•Spend more time illustrating for fun.

•Write a business plan for the year.

•Post more frequently on this here blog! (Awright, you can stop laughing!)

Hmmm, I'm sure there are more, but this is a good start!  I'll keep you updated you on my progress!

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And before I close, I just wanted to add a shameless plug for The Paper Princess. I recently added a new line of greeting cards, and I'm really excited about them.  If there's something you'd like, please feel free to use my coupon code for 20% off of your entire order.  Simply enter RESOLUTION upon checkout!

Don't Hate Me Cuz I'm DONEZO

Yep!  I'm donezo with the holiday shopping!  Hoorah!  I've finished the last bits o' shopping oh about two and a half weeks ago!  Hip hip!  Hooray!  But that doesn't mean that I'm immune from the holiday frenzy 'cause frankly, the holiday madness is about to swallow me whole!!  Anyway, the daily hoopla is the main reason why I've been so darn blogligent lately.  Everytime a blog-worthy thought pops into my head, I find myself with a sinkful of dishes, a living room to tidy, or Mr. Sandman is calling out to me.  So sorry!

Well, I've been staring at this blank blog page for a bit now, and I'm still waiting for some amazing blog-worthy thought to fly into my head.  But, er, that's not happenin'. So instead of boring you with the story of how one of my kids bit me yesterday, how 'bout a contest?!  Last year I had y'all guess how many 44 oz jars of peanut butter we might eat in a year, so I thought I'd up the ante and move up to KETCHUP.  Yep, the red stuff.

Alison and Henry recently discovered ketchup, and wow! it goes with everything!  Yes, it goes with the typical stuff like fries and burgers, but it also compliments other goodies like chicken dinos (thank you Costco), rice, corn dogs, mac and cheese.  Okay, enough peering into my kids' healthy eating habits. . . and let's move onto the fun stuff, shall we?

How many 66 ounce bottles o' ketchup do you think my kids will polish off in a year?  Go on take a guess!  To give you a fairly good idea of how large a 66 oz. bottle is. . . just imagine that the bat broke at your son's birthday party, and the wee guests are eager to knock the lights out of the candy filled piñata.  What do you grab first?  Yep, that 66 oz. bottle of ketchup.  That's what.  Okay, not the best example, but I think you get the picture.

So, please dear readers. Go on and guess. . . .

Testing. . .1, 2, 3

Testing. . . . 1, 2, 3

Testing.  Ahem, is this thing on?

Okay good.  Glad you're still hanging around this here blog.  Since when did this become a once-a-month posting place?!  Oh right.  A long time!  Well, what's new?  Um, a lot.  A little.  Nothing.  Everything. 

We're entering mid-November with much enthusiasm and excitement for the upcoming holidays!  Can you believe that I've already started my holiday shopping?  Yep!  Started last month with a few things here and there, and this month I intend on finishing up so that December can be relaxing and calm!

It seems that every day Hank and I enter a new dimension of parenting.  New discoveries, new challenges.  I swear every day I learn something new about my kids, and something new about myself as a person.  Parenting is by far the most important and most challenging job I've ever had, and fortunately I have an amazing husband with whom I can share this journey.  What would I do without you Hank?  I spend a lot of time reflecting on my parenting choices and style, and oftentimes I wonder how much of my own childhood  has influenced the decisions I make today.  (Parents) Do you ever think about that too?

Anyhoo, I just wish there were a Parenting Manual, complete with instructions on how to proceed when, say, your son flushes his underwear down the toilet (immediately after the plumber leaves).  Or on a more serious note, when your daughter writes something like this:

Yesterday we gave Alison a timeout, and the funny thing is I can't even remember why.  We don't give them that often, but when we do, it's usually so that our kids can calm down and so they can get their thoughts together.  After about five minutes, Hank found this (unfinished) note on her doodle board.  Initially I thought the note was cute and a bit dramatic, but after thinking about it more, I realized that Alison's feelings are a big deal to her.  And they should be to me also.

Alison and I talked through the problem, and we were able to think of a solution for future situations. . . But see?  I told you I need The Manual.  That should have been a no brainer, and yet I found myself stumbling through the "what do I do?" and "what do I say?" question-answer session.  Gah! 

****** Well, I couldn't leave this here blog without telling y'all about some new Gift Enclosure Cards that I just added to the shop. I've been having a lot of fun with pattern creating and brush making. Go check 'em out. And if you sign up for the newsletter, you can get top secret discount codes and other fun stuff.  Oh, and the FIRST FIVE people who comment below will win A Baker's Dozen Variety Pack of gift cards!  Go on now! :)

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And I'm terribly, terribly behind on e-mails.  I will catch up soon! I promise!  Have a great week (er, month!)

Miss October 13th

Time's a flyin'!  Here's what I've been up to. . . in a nutshell:
Homework. Soccer. Birthday parties. Running (3 miles a day!**). Costumes. Magic Shows. Conferences. Dinner with friends.  Netflix.  Frozen Yogurt.  Cooking. Book fairs.  Mail love.  Walks with Henry.  Exploring with Kate. Learning with Allie.  Living and laughing with Hank.

Life is good.

** Edited to add: Woops!!  Can I clarify something?  Um, I run 3 miles each time I workout . .but I don't run every day. Big difference, no?  (I usually run 3-4 times a week. . . if I'm lucky).  And I have to say that I've never been much of a runner, but during the summer I bought a pair of Nike +, and boy have they ever motivated me! 

A Chair for Kate

When Hank and I first got married, we always talked about our future and our to-be children.  We always knew we wanted them, and we always knew we wanted three of 'em.  Yep. One. Two. Three.  So along came Alison, then Henry, and then several years passed.  And then, finally, Kate.

During the pre-Kate years, everything came neatly in pairs.  Mama and Alison.  Daddy and Henry.  Hank and I played one-on-one quite easily, and parenthood was pretty darn fun.  It still is, don't get me wrong.  Just adding the extra little body makes things kinda chaotic at times. Like Amanda (fellow mama of three) once stated, adding one more kidlet is more of a logistics issue (though she said it much more eloquently, I'm sure).  Like take this, for example:

3 Kidlets(own minds) + 2 Cookies = Chaos

Yeah, things like that make life nutty (and funny).  Sometimes the youngest kidlet gets the short end of the stick. . .and they end up with no cookie (so to speak).  In our case, Kate almost wound up with no chair.  You see, years ago I handpainted a table and chairs (IKEA!) for Alison and Henry, and they spent years and years playing and eating and coloring and playdohing at that table. And because I always knew kidlet number three would someday make his/her debut, I went ahead and bought a third chair just for him/her years ago. 

People always wondered why we had a single white chair, and for the first year of Kate's life, the chair remained white, dingy, and oh so lonely!  So finally (finally!) I went ahead and painted a chair for her.  Here, take a peek:

I feel so relieved to have checked that off of my to-do list! And next up?! Her Christmas stocking. . . I know I still have that wool felt. . . somewhere.

Hello! Hello!

Hello all!  I hope that September is treating everyone nicely!  Out here in SoCal, the sun is fighting to stay, to extend summer for as long as possible!  And you know what?  I don't mind!  Not one bit!  Henry, Kate, and I took a walk today, and it felt so, so good to have the sun shining and warming us from above!

With the approach of September came our return to routine and schedules:  school, sports and practices, homework, planned meals, dinner with the family.  Alison is now a big FIRST GRADER, Henry is in preschool, and Kate is a busy, busy toddler (always underfoot!)!  Nothing out of the ordinary in the Rubber Sol household. . . so I thought I'd just chime in. . . dust the cobwebs off of this blog, and complete this fun meme (tagged by sweet Lori!)

5 THINGS.
5 things in my refrigerator:
1.  4 Gallons of milk (2 whole, 2 skim)
2.  Fruit (grapes, strawberries, pineapple!)
3.  Leftover pizza!
4.  Penne Pesto (a la Chef Hank!)
5.  String Cheese (who has kids and doesn't have string cheese?)

5 things in my closet:
1. Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!
2. Photos
3. Bridesmaid dresses  (that will never be worn again!)
4. Quilts
5. Clothes (regular and maternity!)

5 things in my purse:
1. My handy dandy Blackberry
2. Alison's hair bands
3.  A random sock (not mine!)
4.  Henry's Happy Meal Hummer
5.  Baby Wipes

5 things in my car:
1. Umbrella stroller
2. 3 basketballs, 2 soccer balls
3.  Picnic blanket
4.  3 carseats!
5. Baby Wipes! (yes! They're everywhere!)

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And last month I had the joy of meeting Claudia, her husband, and her sweet, sweet girls!  She graciously took us into her home, fed us, and took us out on a date!   And she did this all while being preggers (very, very preggers!).  Actually preggers no more; her little one arrived just a few days ago!  :)  Big hugs and congrats, Claudia! :)

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And I finally, finally uploaded my new Stationery Flats onto The Paper Princess!  After a month or so of waiting for their debut, they are finally up and ready!!!  If you get a chance. . .go take a peek!  And if you're feeling really sassy, why not jot down this coupon code?  Because, you know, you rock!  Here's the top secret discount code (good for 20% your entire order!):  ROCKON  This coupon dealie is good until the end of this month!
 

And here's a little sneaky peeky!

***** And I have more goodness to share. . .lots of mail love this month. . . you must see!  Stay tuned!