Have a Listen - Emiliana Torrini

WAAAAAYYY diggin' Emiliana Torrini lately.
My recent faves are these two.


{Big Jumps }




{Heart Stopper}

5

Captured!

This afternoon when Evangeline awoke from her nap I sent Ella in to say hello, like I always do. And it was oddly quiet in the nursery for a long time. Then I heard wicked giggles.

When I finally went in to check on them I found this....two little monkeys jumping on the bed. Red hair flying. Trying their best to destroy the frame-work of our $300 crib.

But aren't they just so joyous and cute?!

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11

Fabulous Find!

On Saturday we went to Old Navy to get Ella a new jacket for the Spring and cool days this Summer. While out and about town, we stumbled upon this completely wicked-cool game of Memory featuring the color illustrations of Charley Harper. And it was a steal! Next on my wish list is the ABC's book by Charley.


I love Charley's colorful, yet understated style. And guess who else does? Todd Oldham. The clip below is a video essay about Charley Harper as one of Todd's art heroes. Try and see past Todd Oldham's curiously high sing-song voice and see the coolness that this artist offered.

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Follow-Ups & Photos

Many of you have asked about Eva's shirt from her birthday photo. It is actually a dress and we bought Ella the same one in her size. They are from Wal*Mart and they were $6.00 each. Mostly, Wal*Mart has kinda crappy clothes, but these are fabulous and soft and easy to throw on. We bought an extra one in yellow for Ella as well.



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In this photo, Eva's legs are tucked up under her and Ella's knees are against her chest. it's good to know that if we were ever short on money our girls could join the circus and rock the Clown Car show.
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Eva's test results came back with the great news that her kidneys show no damage. Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts.

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Ella is currently going through a "model" phase. Where, when I point the camera at her, she poses like a model. And for some reason, this is her go-to pose. Pointed finger. Pouty face. And no, that is not a regular hair bow, but a dress-up accessory from a friend's house. When I asked her why she wasn't smiling she replied, "Because models never smile. They always look angry."



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I made this Mystery Hero Bunny last week for a friend and Eva has completely commandeered it. She eats with it, sleeps with it, won't let it go. Can you blame her? He is wicked cute. Guess it's back to the sewing machine.
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Recently...on The Scrap Review

I made this layout for this week's article on The Scrap Review about the Color Combos Galore challenge site. This is the first time I attempted the Color Combos galore challenge and I have to say I quite liked it! I will definitely be participating again. Here was the color pallet challenge for this week.


And here's what I created using this color pallet. Click to enlarge.



This layout came together in less than 30 minutes and I love the results. Sometimes, it all just works. This is totally hybrid. I ran the grid paper through my printer to print the journaling and the digital brush in the top left hand corner. Then I mounted it on pink cardstock and added the photo and the rest of the embellishments. Voila!

Products: Cardstock (Worldwin), Patterned Paper (October Afternoon), Circle Punch (Marvy), Chipboard Circles (Scenic Route), Circle Stickers (Creative Cafe), Corner Punch (EK Success), Alphabet Sitckers (American Crafts, Jenni Bowlin)
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5

And She Said Goodbye

Remember this post from this week?
Truly, I really thought long and hard about what is important.
And what I was sacrificing to keep all of these balls in the air.
And I had to say goodbye.

The difficult thing is, that as an adult, you realize for the first time in your life that you may have to say goodbye to things that you absolutely love to save the things that you absolutely love even more.

So I resigned from some scrapbooking teams.
Because I love scrapbooking, but I love my kids even more.
And I know so many women can do it all. They are on 6 different teams and work for magazines and have more kids than me. But I figured out that I cannot do it all.

I will still be teaching classes for Big Picture Scrapbooking.
Creating for my first digital love, Paislee Press.
Running The Scrap Review.
And doing assignments for magazines.

But, more importantly, I will reinstate arts and crafts time with my girls.
And relish long drawn out story time before bed.
And take them to the park at least once a week.



So I wrapped up in a cozy homemade scarf from a good friend and thought it all over.
And now I am ready to let go of the "busy work" and focus on life.
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20

Call CPS!

This week I asked Ella, "What makes Daddy sad?"

To which she replied,
"When we're not here....or if we stayed inside a cage forever."

Just for the record...
I have never kept my children in a cage.



However, they did smash themselves into their dress-up trunk yesterday.

Just for the record...again...
I had no idea how much stuff was shoved under my armoir until I got onto ground level to snap this picture!
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10

Something's Gotta Give

I am stressed.

More stressed than I have been in a really long time.
And I need to do some thinking.
About what I really want and what I need to let go of.

But don't I do this every six months?
And then I feel relief and I take more on.
And then it builds back up again.
I know how to say no...so why don't I?

This is my desk tonight.
After I cleaned it.
And this desk is what my life looks like.
Unorganized, hurried, chaotic and muddled.
Something's gotta give.



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Where's Wemilie - March 09

Here's where my work can be seen on magazine stands and online this month. I list these here on my blog so my Mom (in Sweden) can see them. Not trying to be braggy!



- I'll be heading to Boston at the end of this week to teach two seperate classes for October Afternoon. SOOOO excited for that!

- "Glammed & Dangerous" CREATING KEEPSAKES (March 2009)

- I also have 3 layouts in the March issue of SCRAPBOOK TRENDS

- You can also catch me as a Guest Artist at Kraft Girls Kits. This was one of the easiest kits I have ever worked with. The layouts came so easily and I love how they turned out. Here are three layouts I made with their amazing March kit...available for purchase here.

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Going Blind...For Reals!

Okay, let's chat about my contact lens abuse.

I have worn contact lenses since 10th grade...so it's been around 15 years or so now. And for all of that time I have been shamelessly abusing these disposable contacts. I sleep in them every night and usually wear them for a good month before throwing them out. Doctors have told me not to do this before, but did I listen? Nope. Partly because they never tell you WHY. Partly because I was 14 at the time...but what's my excuse now?

So I visit the eye doctor last week for my annual eye exam and as he stared into my eye with the beam of light he suddenly stops the exam and gives me the bad news. My blood vessels surrounding my cornea are growing into the cornea. Why? Because my eyes have been deprived of oxygen for about 15 years. That's why.

And now, as a 31 year old adult, I am faced with the very real moment of feeling like a complete butt dog in front of my Optometrist. So, here's the deal. If I continue, as I always have, eventually my blood vessels would cover my corneas completely and I would go blind. Fun news eh? Well, there's good news too. It's early and I can fix it.

Next week I pick up new glasses, which I will be wearing 24/7 for three months, along with using special eye drops with flax seed oil to fix my eye problems. Then a check to see if I corrected or at least halted the damage. After that, I may get lasik surgery. And all because I wouldn't listen.

Hey Mom, you can call me anytime this week, in the early afternoon preferably, and say "I told you so".

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15

The Sewing Streak

Continues!

I am currently eying this amazing looking book.
If you know me you know my crafting attention span is short.
Very short.
This is right up my alley.



Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching
by Heather Ross

And look at the fabulous photo group for finished projects.
Shout out to Dana Delaware for introducing me to the Sew Mama Sew! blog.

Thanks Dana...You complete me.
And by "complete me" I mean that you pointed out a really cool blog.
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3

An Ahern Family Ritual

Every year, against my will, I am forced by my wonderful husband to fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket. And every year I do the same thing. I spend 45 seconds choosing schools with funny or recognizable names. I usually choose Gonzaga...because it's funny. And Cornell because Andy Bernhard went there. And I always reject Steven F. Austin and Robert Morris...because is that even a college or just some guy's name?

Every year I have failed miserably. I filled out my bracket this year like the dutiful wife and checked in today with the official results and I am SCHOOLING my husband! Woot!


Here are my official brackets....not sure why the actual lines aren't showing up. This will possibly mean nothing to you and everything to your significant other. My pick to win is Villanova...not because they have a great 1st string or a wicked defense this year....because I like how it sounds when I say it all funny. Come on...say it with me.

Villa-NO-va!
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Lifelong Passion Shared

My passion in life has always been reading. So I thought I would share this little list and hope you will share yours with me. Don't take too long to think about it. Ten books you've read that will always stick with you. First ten you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. I am including links because you really should consider buying these books.

These don't have to be great works of literature, just books that resonated...

01. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
02. Creating a Charmed Life by Victoria Moran
03. The Story of Edgar Sawtell by David Wroblewski
04. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
05. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
06. Jacob the Baker by Noah benShea
07. Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli (children's)
08. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (best book ever, I read it yearly)
09. Jesus The Christ by James E Talmadge
10. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom


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9

The Hospital Visit

So, they said she was a model patient.
Of course she was...she's my little Fifi.

Matt took her for the first part of the morning and I came with Ella after Ballet and stayed with her for recovery. I have to say that seeing her still sedated was a bit hard for me as the Mommy.

Ella colored a picture for Evangeline from her coloring book while we waited for the awakening.


Soon, she began to stir.


And before we knew it she was sitting up, eating graham crackers and sipping apple juice from a straw. She watched a bit of Ni Hao Kai Lan as she continued to come to. Soon the nurses unhooked her IVs and brought in a treasure chest filled with little toys and prizes. Evangeline chose these glasses, which I am pretty sure were donated to the Children's Hospital by Elton John in the 1970's. She's rocking this look by adding the open mouth of a still slightly medicated toddler. But I'm pretty sure Elton John was slightly medicated for the entirety of the 1970's as well.


They brought a wagon for discharge, since she isn't allowed to walk around on her own until tomorrow. She glammed it up Paris Hilton style. She resembles a Real Housewife of NYC, holding divorce papers, a shopping receipt from Barneys and waiting for the limo to be brought around. Chommed I'm Sho-ah!


We won't know the results of the tests until next week, but I am just relieved this part is over.
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12

Hospital Day

Today we will be going to the hospital for 5-6 hours with Fifi. She was born with Urinary Reflux and last year our Urologist in Utah told us we could take her off of her antibiotics and just bring her back if she ever got another UTI. She hasn't.

So we took her for her 1 year follow up a few months back and our Urologist here in Delaware was very concerned. He said children with this condition should ALWAYS be on antibiotics for the first 3-4 years or they could sustain permanent kidney damage. Well, that freaked me right out. He ordered more thorough tests, which will be happening today. She will be sedated and tested and then observed for a few hours. And I am very nervous and stressed about it.

I don't know how traumatizing it might be for her, so last night we went to the park for a picnic dinner. It started out warm, but as the sun went down it got very chilly. We bundled the girls up for a swing.

This is Fifi, hanging on with freezing hands and loving every minute of it.

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20

When Irish Eyes are Smiling.

I awoke early yesterday morning, got the girls bathed and dressed in their most greenest green outfits. Aren't they the perfect vision of Irish Lasses?


We did not have an all green meal, (I fear for that much food coloring entering our systems) but we did make green rice crispy treats per Ella's request.


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4

Erin Go Bread!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here in the Ahern household, we take this holiday pretty seriously. Not only because of our Irish roots, but also because both of our kids came home from the hospital on St. Patrick's Day after their birth!

Click Here if you're just dying to read the History of the Aherns (a.k.a. Lord of the Horses). And check out our wicked-cool Coat of Arms pictured left.

But I'm pretty sure you may be more interested in this. My Ahern Irish Soda Bread Recipe. It's quick, easy and delicious! If you're not a bread maker don't worry! There's no yeast and it's goof proof! Make it tonight!

Ahern Irish Soda Bread Yields 1 loaf

3 cups bleached all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour or substitute with ¾ c. flour + 2 T. cornstarch

2 T. granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 1/2 teaspoons table salt

3 T. unsalted butter (2 tablespoons softened + 1 tablespoon melted)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk or substitute with 1½ c. milk + 1½ T. lemon juice or vinegar

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl. Work softened butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.

2. Add buttermilk and stir with a fork just until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Do not knead until dough is smooth, or bread will be tough.)

3. Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet or in cast-iron pot, if using. Place the loaf on a cookie sheet and cut a cross shape into the top.

4. Bake at 400 until golden brown and a skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperature reaches 180 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter.

Note: this bread is always best warm. When it cools it loses some of its magic - so make it right in time for dinner!

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8

Whew! No more birthdays until September.

So, we are finished with Evangeline's birthday extravaganza!

Sunday (her actual birthday) she went to church and they sang Happy Birthday to her in Nursery. I stayed home with a terrible cold. We had lasagna for dinner (one of Eva's favorites) and Disney Princess Jumbo Cupcakes (made by me). They were white cake with vanilla frosting and raspberry cream filling.




Then we opened presents. She got a serious haul. So serious that we didn't end up giving her one of the presents we had originally planned for her. The star of the night was the life-like puppy that yips and moves when you pet it and comes with a mini bottle.


Today we headed with four of Ella and Eva's friends to Moon Bounce (it was a big hit for Ella's B-Day so we did a repeat). We had Ali & Madison M. and Olivia and Isabel F. with us and the girls had a ball!


Afterwards the girls were all hot and so we went outside and had a picnic (read: More Cupcakes) and presents. Eva loved all of her presents and drove home cuddling a new baby. I swear this kid is going to be overjoyed when we decide to add to our family again. She loves playing Mommy more than anything.


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4

Turning Two

Today little Eva turns two years old. She came on the Ides of March, the English Lit major in me was worried, but she could not be any sweeter. A delivery on max pitossin with no epidural...I won't be doing that again if I can help it. Here she is on her actual birth day.


She was such a calm and easy baby. Never fussing, always happy...even when her horrible mother rammed her in a large tea-cup to take her 5 month photo.

Or when I rammed her into a home-sewn Elvis costume on her first Halloween so she could be EVA Las Vegas.


As she grew her happy and gentle temperament stayed. She was a good sleeper, a good eater, a good....everything!


She has the sweetest disposition. Whenever Ella gets sent to Time Out, Eva goes and stands by her and holds her hand so she's not lonely. She cares deeply for other's feelings and is always ready for a fun time or to share a happy moment.




And here she is today as she headed to church. She loves playing with her sister, loves babies and being a "Mommy". She still loves Cinderella, but has added a passion for the Imagination Movers to the mix. And she still loves food. The only food she has ever turned down is Lima Beans....and really, can you blame her?


Her little gentle soul has been a calming force in our life and reminded our entire family to be a little more gentle, kind and loving to each other.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET LITTLE FIFI!.

19

Scrapping and Sneezing

I had a great day yesterday cropping with my new and fabulous friends...Amy, Karen and Cassie. I had my dreaded head cold and I think I may have broken a Guinness World Record for sneezes. Seriously....It was like someone had animated me as a cartoon mouse with a bad cold. All I needed was a red and white polka-dotted handkerchief. I probably sneezed 15 times in two hours.


(Ella concentrating on gluing a flower to her layout.)
The best part of the crop, as always, were the new friends who share my same passion.

Amy was a perfect host. She had fabulous snacks set out, a small gift for each of us and bottled water. She was fun, personable and had adorable kids.

Karen got some great scrapping done. And, lucky girl, she is married to a man who bears a striking resemblance to Daniel Craig. She showed me the proof and he totally does!

Cassie was a card-making extraordinaire and had a cute little daughter there named Sophia who showed me all of her scrapping layouts and was so adorable! I gave her a few chipboard shapes and she was so stoked (did I just say stoked? Hello 1993!) it was super endearing. She also loved posing for pictures for me and told me she has 4 different smiles and poses for photos. Watch out America's Next Top Model.


(Sophia showing off one of her fierce poses.)
And I rocked out some good pages. I usually never get anything done at crops, but I am currently setting a goal for myself to trust my scrapbooking instincts a bit more. Instead of obsessing over every detail and laying every single piece out first, then rearrange, then carefully lift and glue down....I am now trying to just go with it. This accounts for my productivity yesterday and I enjoyed myself immensely.


I was scrapping with a new line from Bo Bunny called Abbey Road and it is delightful. My fave line of theirs by far. I am their Guest Artist in April so I can't show you everything I made, but here's a little peek at just one of my layouts from yesterday.


(Eva was pooped out after all of the playing.)

6

a COLD front

Not outside.
Inside...my head.
I have the beginnings of a head cold.
Ick.
Why?


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Headed to an all day crop in PA with some soon-to-be new friends.
Packing up the Cricut Expression and this fabulous new Cartridge.
Very exciting!


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Stalled on sewing this bag since I cut out the fabric incorrectly.
Thoughts of abandonment fill my head.
Thinking of sewing up this instead.
A little dress sewn by my friend, Kim Kesti.
Anyone who thinks I get a lot done should get to know Kim.
And isn't her little girl adorable?
This red-headed model is Kim's number 8.
I feel tired just typing that number.


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