The Little Bluebird Diaries

This is why...

Dear Son of Mine:

I paused for a moment from feverishly writing away to finish my analysis of a far away place called Afghanistan.  I wanted to see what you looked like on this very day a year ago.  When I came across this photograph I took, I remember instantly the feeling I had when seeing that smile creep across your face.  What joy within your soul, and thus mine, as well!

While I deeply regret not being able to take care of your every whim and need lately, you are why I do what I do.  I hope by studying and working to make places such as a Afghanistan better that you never have to live in such abject conditions.  A nation where...

(1) the GDP is $800 per capita

(2) there is a 35% unemployment rate (and we thought America was in an economic slump)

(3) 153 out of 1000 babies do not live

(4) only 28.1% of the people are literate

(5) and there are astoundingly high rates of major infectious diseases running rampant. 

I do hope when you grow up, you realize that we truly are the lucky ones.  And most of all, I hope you do your part for humanity to ensure even one less person has to suffer in such conditions.  You, my son, are among the most privileged to be able to call yourself an American.  With that honor also comes a heavy price.

Love to you forever and ever,

Your Mommy

 

A Red & Cream Easter

Red isn't a color I normally use much of, but I enjoyed the challenge of making a little something for a red-loving friend for Easter.  I thought I would share a little peek of the basket I made and sent off.  The egg was my favorite part -- a simple, white, plastic egg -- narrow velvet ribbon with sticky strip just above the seam -- and a snipped millinery flower on top.  Easy peasy for Easter...

So hoping I finish this analysis soon for grad school -- I have to play Easter Bunny on Friday for Coe Polk's school...

I {Heart} You

 

I {heart} you, I {heart} you, 1000 times over I {heart} you...

P.S. Still working diligently toward my deadline for graduate school.  It is over Thursday night!  I will answer e-mails and return phone calls on Friday unless its an urgent need.  Unfortunately, I had to postpone my blog's third birthday celebration until next week, but be sure to visit back for that along with a secret project I've been planning for a while.  Until then, I will pop in and share a favorite photograph or two from our lives together.  Thank you for understanding, truly! 

Wonder

"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery ...of the world we live in." -- Rachel Carson

Sweet Candy Cups

I participated in Heidi's  Sweet Candy Cup Swap recently and wanted to share with you these little candy cups I made using a paper nut cup as the base.  I added a few trinkets to go with my cups for their new owners Heather and Diane.  Thank you Heidi for such a lovely challenge!

(Top) is the first candy cup I made, and (Above) is the second one I made with inspiration from this yogurt cup I transformed into a mini-Easter basket. 

I normally, don't use anything but mint green in my creations, but I loved the look of this paper shred and the contrast it provided against the pastel. 

I hand-dyed some silk ribbons to tie around the handle.

I also used pink velvet ribbon to create a handle to match the cream box-pleated velvet around the base.

This is a close-up of the second candy cup -- behind it you can see one of the yogurt cup mini-baskets I made. 

I just love the juxtaposition of the pastels and against the vibrants...

I used the same hand-dyed silk for this handle -- so soft and delicate!

And I couldn't finish without adding some treats...and glittering up bunny's little eye and ear!

Remember these from yesterday?  This was the project I used them for...I included some extra treats to go with the nut cups for my friends.

 
And some Mehlenbacher's Taffy I purchased for them...in chocolate...

A box of yummy candy bird eggs...

 And finally more hand-dyed ribbons...

I'm off to learn more about how colonialism set the West up for failure in Afghanistan -- not exactly a sugary, pastel, and pretty topic, eh?  I think that's why I enjoy my little moments of creativity so very much.  Thank you for stopping by my little blog today!

  

 
 
  

  

   

Millinery Tags

 

I wanted to give a gift of millinery flowers for a recent project I completed.  However, I wanted to display them nicely instead of just including the flowers in the packages.  So I stamped a tag with the saying "Fabulous Friend," added a dot of sparkles, dyed a piece of ribbon, and attached the millinery pretties to the tag. 

I'll show you what went with this package later this week, but for now, yes you guessed it...back to writing and analyzing the cultural intelligence of Afghanistan.  Yipeee!

Land of the Leprechaun

It's been a busy few days -- taking care of a not-so-well boy and working on an intelligence analysis for graduate school.  I did want to pop in to share some pictures from our Saint Patrick's day, as promised.

Coe Polk attends a special needs class a couple times a week, so I e-mailed the teacher and asked if I could do a little something for these sweet children.  The Leprechaun, also known as Mommy, was busy delivering treats to Coe Polk's classroom while the children were outside to play.  I've been preparing Coe Polk for a few weeks now, teaching him about Saint Patrick's Day and all it entails.   

I first gathered Hershey's Nuggets (pictured above) and these yummy, little butter cream-filled kisses.

I then purchased some green and gold beaded necklaces from Target.

 

While sugary treats are always a favorite, I wanted to also include a little something that was educational.  I found these sets of beads and laces at the dollar store and couldn't pass them up.  They are wonderful to teach colors, shapes, patterns, and fine motor skills -- all for a mere $1.00 per pack! 

I pulled out my gift certificate from Christmas and went to World Market on our recent trip to South Carolina.  While there, I found and purchased packs of Haribo gummy bears and chocolate gold coins, along with foam shamrocks from Michael's Arts & Crafts stores.

I trailed the packs of candies, shamrocks, and coins from the front door of the classroom to the back door, which leads to the supply room.  This was the path the leprechaun took though their room, or so we told the little ones.

 

 

 

 

I tucked the gifts in hiding places around the classroom, such as the art board above.

And on the puppet theater...

And in the dump trucks...

The children came in the room, and found the loot.  I came from the supply room with my camera under the guise of trying to catch the leprechaun and get a picture of him.  Coe Polk really believed his teacher called me back to the school for that very purpose.  Perhaps that's a sign I take way too many pictures of everything we see? (Please excuse the blurred faces, but I wanted to respect the privacy of the children.)

This sweet girl was scooping up the treats as fast as her little hands could move.  The expression on her face was priceless.

And the one word to describe the expression on this sweet boy's face was -- wonder!

My heart melted when this boy came to me to ask if I would take his picture with his treats -- he was oh-so-proud of himself.

When we returned from class, the Mommy Leprechaun had left treats all over the porch at his G.G. and P.Paw's house.  We even spotted that little, green man running through the woods a few times on the way.  Such innocently-beautiful gullibility!

"Take a picture, Mama!"  -- Coe Polk insisted.

Sporting his new boots...

And going for more...

With hands full of treats...

He jumped up to share and sit with his P.Paw!

And P.Paw shared with him...

What a lovely, beautiful, magical, and lucky life we live!  Being the mother of Coe Polk on days like these, makes me realize I truly am the lucky one.   
 

 
 P.S. Mothers: do remember to take out your leprechaun paraphernalia prior to going to the store the next day to pay for your groceries.  It is quite difficult to conceal from your 3-year old while attempting to not look completely crazy in front of the cashiers.
 

 

   

Leprechauns & Winners

And the winner is...Teresa!  In your package I've included some favors from this post, sweet Andrea's online baby shower.  A packet of the hand-dyed ribbons above.

A pack of diaper pins for crafting from the new line Pitter Patter by Making Memories.  I'm in love with the little, pink birds!

And a 1 pound lollipop from Hammond's Candies!  I put a piece on taffy on the lolly in the photograph, so you could see just how big it is -- a little over 13 inches long.

How did we arrive at the winner you might ask?  Well, I'm still trying to figure out the random number generator on the computer, so that wasn't an option.  So I had another idea -- I've been teaching sweet boy his numbers lately by having him circle one then I'll say the number.  So the first number today he wanted to circle was 10 -- and Teresa was the 10th comment to be left.  I hope you enjoy your goodies -- please e-mail me your address!

Here's a little picture of some St. Patrick's day treats a leprechaun left for some very special little children in Coe Polk's classroom.  I'll be back with more pictures tomorrow.  I'm not sure who had more fun -- the children or me!

And be sure to check back next week -- I have several packets of different types and colors of hand-dyed ribbons to give away for my blog's 3rd birthday.  Wishing each of you a lucky year ahead...happiest Saint Patrick's Day!

 

 

 

No Pictures, Just Secrets

I'm sorry I haven't been back sooner like promised...truly...I will tomorrow...post the numbers and winners...and send out the baby shower favors.  I ended up not returning to my house like planned -- hence the lack of pictures in this post, as well.

In the mean time I wanted to check in and tell you about a lovely little game I just played with new and old friends.  Everyone had to submit a secret to me about themselves, then each girl guessed which secret belonged to which girl.  It's amazing what you learn about people that you thought you knew so well. 

We all have secrets.  I think they are an important part of a person -- little (and sometimes monumental) pieces of information that are only ours to share with the world if we so choose.  Sometimes we give those secrets to our dearest ones for safekeeping.  Nevertheless, they are sometimes fun, sometimes earth-shattering, sometimes comfortable tidbits that remain within our soul. 

A new friend of mine just introduced me to this book-- I can't wait to read it.  Wouldn't that be a fun little project in blogland sometime -- anonymous secrets.

I'll leave you with one of mine -- no laughing -- promise?  When I die, this is what I hope people will think of when I cross their mind -- that I served my God, my family, and humanity well.  I try really hard (although I fall short many times) to live my life accordingly.

Oh, and a little less serious secret that is really of no importance to anyone but myself -- I don't like to drink out of glasses.  I prefer to-go cups with lime in the bottom, even though I have some of the most beautiful glasses that fill my cupboards.  They are pretty to look at, most people prefer them when they come over.  I suppose they're not at strange as I am.

So there you have it.  Two of my secrets.  What are yours?  Are you brave enough to leave one in the comments section -- you can do it anonymously.

See you tomorrow...promise.

In Support

Thank you all for your encouraging and supportive e-mails.  There was so much love for baby Emma this weekend and all the other little angels that went home to Heaven.  We were surrounded by the richness of life this weekend. 

I took Coe Polk out of his stroller for the last stretch and let him run it with me -- it was so beautiful to see him so vibrant and well that day -- able to run.

Photograph of baby Emily at the run.

Photograph of baby Joshua at the run.

Coe Polk saw baby Emma's photograph and leaned in to kiss her.  He then asked me if she was there -- if "God had brought her to the run?" 

 
When I looked up and saw this sight above Emma's other picture along the race course, I undeniably knew God had brought all of our little angels there that day to see the love and remembrance for them.

I deeply enjoyed being with my dear friend, Mary, who had the honor of being Emma's mother.  She is so very brave and is the epitome of what the word "friend" really means to me.  I am continually reminded through her example what type of friend I aspire and earnestly attempt to be. 

True friendship to me means loving the other and doing for them selflessly and happily even when it's not the most convenient for you.  It is the knowing that they can count on you to be there, no matter what.  It is being there and being present in both body and mind.  It is encouraging, celebrating, supporting, praying, and enduring.  I hope you, Mary, know how very blessed I feel to be able to call you my friend, my deeply true and fiercely loyal friend.

P.S. I'll be back tomorrow to draw some names for some party favors from this post.