Wherein I brag about my brother

Photo courtesy of YSUsports.com

Today Aaron was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week. Woop woop!

An excerpt from the press release:

Swenson notches Pitcher of the Week honors after allowing just one run and four hits over seven innings on Friday at Butler. He also struck out 10 Bulldogs in YSU's 12-2 victory.

The right-hander, a native of Twinsburg, Ohio, improved to a League-best 4-0 with Friday's win. He also leads the conference with 39 punchouts in 35.1 innings this season.

Way to go Aar Bear! Keep up the good work!

I hope Grandma Linda stocked up on detangler

I'm aware that I've taken a brief hiatus from blogging. I have no excuses for my absence. Except that I've been extraordinarily busy sitting around doing absolutely nothing.

La is on Spring Break this week. On Saturday we drove down to Indianapolis with Dr. P along for company, where we met up with my parents and caught two YSU/Butler baseball games. It was a great day. After the game, my parents took La with them back to Cleveland so that she didn't have to go to day care this week. I already miss her so much, but at least someone other than myself will be untangling her "morning hair" for the next five days.

It's quite the job, let me tell you.

Good luck mom! And thanks for taking my little rascal for the week. I appreciate it muchly.

A Morning Jog

It was a beautiful morning. La thought we needed a little jog, so she strapped on her Reeboks and we ran all the way to her school. That's about one mile. La made it the whole way without stopping (and so did I!). Pretty good for a little nugget like her. At one point I mentioned to La that she (I) seemed to be out of breath and asked if she needed a little break. She glanced sideways at me, rolled her eyes emphatically and responded, "No mom. That's the POINT. This is EXERCISE."

Gosh. I guess I wasn't aware.

As some of you might know, I'm not exactly the authority on exercise. The last time I was at the gym I was a freshman in college and I only went because I had a hankering for a calzone. But maybe this will be our new tradition. Running to school. A great way to stay in shape.

I'll let you know how long this lasts.

Chatter

Last night La had a sleepover with her best friend, J. This morning I woke up at 7am to the sounds of laughter and the Disney Channel. Their conversation went something like this:

La: J, you're too close to the TV. You need to back up.

J: Why?

La: Because it is RUINING YOUR EYES!

J: Oh.

La: And someday you're going to need GLASSES!

J: Cool!

La: No, not the cool kind. Not like sunglasses, J. I'm talking about the kind that old grandpas wear when they read the newspaper.

One of these things is not like the other.

This photo was taken yesterday on the way to school. Notice the precious purple flowers in the background, just beginning to bloom. The jacket La was wearing was overkill. In fact, when I picked her up from school it was 70 degrees and she was running around outside in short sleeves with sweat gluing her hair to her forehead. It was a beautiful sight.

The photo below was taken today.

Enough said.

It's a wonder La's teacher hasn't quit her job yet.

On Saturday, La had a birthday party at Glazed Expressions. Overall, it went really well. La had a blast, and that's all that matters.

Being the last minute kind of gal that I am, we went shopping for party supplies two hours before the party started. La picked out nose glasses to go along with the party hats. I thought the addition was very clever. Well done La!

We also grabbed a slew of cheap trinkets to pack up in favor bags for the guests. What kind of party would it be if we didn't send the kids home with bubbles to spill all over their bedroom carpet and kazoos to drive their parents insane?

The first party-goer that showed up brought his present wrapped in a "Christmas Kitten" themed gift bag. La immediately declared that the bag was The Cutest Thing Ever in The World and made me take a picture of her standing next to it.

Then it was time to paint.

The kids were wild. I mean WILD. There were only ten of them in attendance (nine from La's class), and it felt like 64. There were five adults helping out with the party, including one employee, and still the ratio of children-to-adults seemed daunting. I don't know how their teacher does it. She deserves a raise. Or at least some diamonds. And maybe a new Porsche while we're at it.

At one point during the party it struck me that I had actually CHOSEN to host a party for a six-year-old in a pottery shop. Isn't that hilarious? You know that whole "bull in the china shop" thing? Well. I'm officially changing the word "bull" to "kindergartner." Because I think a bull would have been more graceful next to that wall full of pottery.

The highlight of the day was when I asked one of the kids if I could help her put on her "nose glasses," and that sweet little sprite informed me that she couldn't wear them. Nope. She's not allowed. Because after all, as she put it, "They're made out of plastic. They have PFC's."

Well then.

And when her dad came to pick her up I apologized about serving her junk food and forcing her to wear PFC-ridden party favors. He chuckled about it and made it seem like it was no biggie (even though he was probably horrified). Aunt M swears that a I followed my apology with this choice statement: "Yep! Pizza, cake and PFC's! That's what this party is all about!"

I'm sure as soon as they got home that chemical-laden kazoo was pitched before it was even removed from the bag.

All-in-all, the party was a huge success. Shockingly, not one piece of pottery was broken! I think everyone had a great time. If you're thinking about hosting a paint-your-own-pottery birthday party, Glazed Expressions is great. However, for the sake of your sanity, I highly recommend waiting until your child is older than six to do so.

Six.

Dear La,

Today you turn six years old. Six!

I know. I can't believe it either.

Over the past year I've watched in amazement as you transformed from a sweet little preschooler into a mature and able kindergartner. You've still got the sass, oh yes. But my, how you've changed in one year.

Your unique style and flair for fashion have intensified over the past year.

There are just some looks that only you can pull off.

And oh, how you love your accessories.

This summer you appeared as a flower girl in three separate weddings. After you got over your initial control-freak "flowergirlzilla" escapade, you found a rhythm and blossomed into the best darn flower girl that Ohio has ever seen. You made your mama so proud.

In September you started kindergarten.

Your adjustment period lasted for four solid, miserable weeks — which was about three weeks longer than I could bear. Every day I would pick you up from school and you would immediately begin crying about having to walk a whole mile back to our house. It got to the point where as soon as you would begin tearing up, I would grab your hand and drag your whimpering little self right down Broadway, ignoring your cries the entire way home.

I will probably win the Mother of the Year award for that one.

But thank goodness, you got over it. And now you're a champ about our walk.

When you started school you had to give up your fashion-forward ways and submit to a navy blue and white uniform. You were not pleased with this concept. But when you tried on that little blue jumper with the little white polo underneath and the little blue sparkle tennis shoes for the first time, I completely lost it. And you were all, "Great. Now I have to wear this damn uniform AND deal with a blubbering fool of a mother every morning when I get dressed."

Darn right, La.

You were such a peanut back then. I'm not sure why they even let you into kindergarten. I mean, just look you. You were such a shrimp!

This year was all about making new friends.

The best kinds of friends.

The ones that you know will stick around.

... But it was also about keeping the old ones.

... And laughing regularly with all of them.

This year was also about eating as much bratwurst as possible. I think I have at least six photos of you just like this one:

La, I have witnessed a beautiful metamorphosis this year. Every day you change, you learn, you grow. You make me so happy.

You are my pride, my joy, my closest companion. I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have you. You make everything about life so much brighter, richer, fuller and happier. And just when I think it can't possibly get any better ... somehow it does.

Happy Birthday to my special girl! I love you immensely.

The Dentist

Today La went to the dentist for a checkup.

La generally detests going to the dentist. Each of her past visits have been marginally successful only through copious amounts of coercion, trickery and bribery (my three favorite parenting tactics).

Maybe her fear has something to do with her unfortunate history of three separate incidents of oral trauma. And then there was that whole tooth extraction thing. But regardless of the root cause (ha! get it? "root" cause? Like a tooth? ... has a root? ................ *crickets*), her fear of the dentist has become so extreme that the last time we went for a visit I didn't dare tell her where we were going until we were standing right outside the office. When she realized where we were, a colossal meltdown ensued and I had to carry her kicking, thrashing, screaming body into the building slung over my shoulder like a sack of unruly potatoes.

I'm happy to report that today was our best visit by far. Maybe it has a little bit to do with the fact that La will be six in less than one week. She's getting older, more mature; perhaps a little less suspicious of the instruments found in the dentist's office. But the biggest difference was that instead of feeding her my typical full-of-crap line that goes something like, "Don't worry La! The dentist is our friend!" ... This time I could truthfully say that the dentist is our friend.

Still, she was a tiny bit nervous sitting in that chair all by herself.

But then Dr. P came in and she relaxed a bit. He has that effect.

Then she voluntarily opened her mouth and allowed him to clean her teeth. (WHOA, people. This is HUGE.) And I sat there with my iPhone snapping all kinds of pictures. I'm sure that wasn't annoying at all.

Thank you Dr. P for taking such great care of La today (and for looking so darn cute in your scrubs). We appreciate it more than you know.

Don't ever challenge La to a staring contest.

... Because you will lose. The kid can keep her eyes open for an infinite amount of time. Here's a video of one of her shorter stints. Keep in mind that this footage doesn't do her staring knack any justice. The kid can stare forever. Finally all those years of gawking at innocent restaurant-goers, passers-by, and random truck drivers on the interstate are paying off.

It might seem that I won this particular staring contest. But in reality she was just concentrating SO HARD on not blinking that she didn't notice that I had already blinked about 84 times. One of these days she'll wise up to my trickery. And when she does, I have a feeling that I'm going down.

Happy Birthday Granny Lin!

Happy birthday mama! We love you!

French Market

On Saturday we took a trip down to the Loop to visit Chicago's new French Market. The market is divided into segments with different vendors selling everything from artisan cheese to eggplant to lamb chops to macarons. It's basically an indoor, year-round farmer's market. There's also a French Fry stand that serves mayonnaise for dipping, and that alone is reason enough to justify the $14 parking fee. Those fries are the stuff of dreams, I tell you. Amen.

While we were there, La decided that it would be cool to wear her coat backwards. And when La makes decisions, she sticks to them.

If you haven't been to the French Market yet, I highly suggest making a visit.

100 Day Hat

La had to write all of her numbers from 1 to 100 for homework the other night. When I picked her up from school yesterday, her work had been transformed into a nifty little hat. Neat!

The Project

So ... That project I mentioned ... The one that Krissy flew in from D.C. to help me with ... The one that I've been working on for weeks and weeks ... The one that makes me happy I chose to become a graphic designer ...

Are you ready to see it?

Wait for it ... It's gonna be good.

Spectacular, even ...

I'd perhaps go as far to say "breathtaking" or "awe-inspiring" ...

You ready?

You sure?

Ta-DA!!!!

Just kidding!

I had you going, didn't I?

The atrocity pictured above is actually a homework assignment that La had to complete by tomorrow morning. The idea was to create a t-shirt with 100 "things" on it to celebrate the 100th day of school. Neat, huh? The project was assigned to her more than a week ago, and being the hard-working overachievers that we are, we finally got around to slapping it together at 7:00 tonight. Because that's how we operate in this household. It's the only way anything ever gets done. Procrastination. I'm teaching my daughter well!

The "real" project that I've been speaking of is Kristin and Nick's wedding invitations, and being that Kris is one of my best friends in the whole world, this whole process is very dear to my heart (Not that the puff-ball t-shirt isn't).

Oh, I have so thoroughly enjoyed working on every little detail of these invitations. I am honored that Kristin and Nick allowed me to design them. Actually, getting Kristin to agree to it was not as easy as you may think. When I offered to do them, I was expecting her to agree immediately. But she hesitated. She later explained that she was experiencing painful flashbacks of our college days when I offered to design them for her. I guess whenever I had a project due, my even-keeled nature would erupt into something more akin to Swamp Thing. As Kristin said, this usually only happened after I pulled two or three all-nighters in a row. I would get a TAD touchy. Ornery, even. But I'm proud to tell you that I have not freaked out like that about a project since La was born. I've freaked out about PLENTY of other stuff, but not a design project. Nowadays, unless someone's life is in danger, I generally keep my cool.

So I did what I had to do. I begged to design the invitations, promising that I would not let myself get stressed out. And it worked!

A while ago my friend Angela sent me a link to some invitations that were screen printed on handkerchiefs. I thought they were incredible, and shared the idea with Krissy, who also thought it was swell. We decided to go for it.

Thus, the process commenced with the collecting of hankies. Most of them came from eBay. Fifteen of them randomly showed up wrapped in a plastic bag underneath my mailbox one night, which was really weird. I have no idea how they got there or who may have put them there, but I didn't ask questions. All in all, we collected more than 200 hankies. Some were used, some were new. The used ones skeeve me out a little when I think about it too much. I'll catch myself wondering, "What are the chances that someone at one time or another blew their nose in this hanky that I'm about to print on?" And then I tell myself that it doesn't matter. It's not like you can SEE the boogers still. (Although they're probably still clinging to the fibers at a microscopic level.)

ANYHOO. We weeded out all the ones with any hint of "booger stains." Don't you worry!

Then came the printing. We did part of the process ourselves at DIY Hards. I had no idea how to screen print before this project. Thanks to my friend Chris and the lovely Sarah at the shop, I kind of know how the process works.

Here's an out-of-focus (whoops!) close-up of a completed hanky:

We ordered some dark brown, no-bend envelopes and I designed a rubber stamp to use for the return address and one for their name logo. I'm a big fan of the white ink on the dark envelope. It's the small things in life that make me happy.

I can't remember where I first saw this product, but somehow I found out about this thinly-sliced wood veneer stuff that can be used exactly like paper. I'm in love with this stuff. I ordered a bunch of it, intending to use it as a wrap. The only problem was that I was envisioning a dark wood, and the sheets that came were all on the light reddish side. We solved this dilemma by getting some walnut-colored stain and staining every sheet.

Much better.

So, without further ado, I give you Kristin and Nick's completed wedding invitations:

Oooh, I am so tickled about how well these turned out.

I think this one is my favorite:

Oh, no. Wait. This one is my favorite:

Then again, there's something absolutely stunning about the all-white ones:

Oh yes. That's nice.

And then there are the colorful ones too. They're perty.

I love them all. I'm so happy with how they turned out.

Krissy and Nick, thanks so much for letting me design your invitations! And thanks to Hadley and Poonam for helping so much with the assembly process. It would have been quite an undertaking without your help.

Whirlwind

This weekend my best bud Kristin came into town to work on a very time-intensive (but very rewarding) Labor-of-Love project. Hadley came too, and we put her right to work!

I act like all we did was work the whole weekend, but really we didn't. We went out Friday night to my new favorite restaurant and then to DOC Wine Bar. Aside from the near throw-down with DOC's management staff (their service stinks!), it was a great night.

I'll try to get photos of our project up in the next couple of days. I'm just tickled with how it turned out! Stay tuned ...