Here is a sneak peak of a few bags that I am working on now! Please enjoy!

Punky has discovered the NEW Electric Company, and he LOVES it!  I am amazed at what he picks up from it…and he watches it over and over again!

I remmeber bits and pieces of The Electric Company from when I was growing up, but I never really enjoyed it as much as Sesame Street… but holy cow!  This new version is totally hip!  They rap. sing, dance, and have lots of fun…and Punky just eats it right up!

Apparently, this new version started in January of 2009…with the following press release:

Taking the essence of the original The Electric Company (whose name was derived in 1971 from the light-bulb metaphor) and customizing it to relate to kids today, the new version uses pop culture to teach literacy through the use of music, animation, technology, humor and graphics. The show has been re-energized with a hip young cast, new format, and multiple platforms recognizing today’s media-driven generation. Weekly episodes will run nationally on PBS KIDS GO!, and will be supplemented with a richly interactive online environment as well as community-based outreach activities taking place in cities with high populations of at-risk children. The Electric Company platforms will focus initially on TV, outreach and internet, but will eventually include books and other print materials, portable media, hand-held and console games.

I guess that answers my question as far as a DVD of the new show…there isn’t one yet.

I have watched a few episodes with Punky this week.  After each episode, they say to go online to watch your favorite episodes over and over, so last night, Punky asked to go on the ‘puter and watch some.  We watched 2 full episodes… and he was loving it!

So, I guess we found a new show for him…and one that really promotes literacy in a super fun way!

Punky went to the dentist this morning for his first cleaning and check-up.   He did awesome!   He was amazed that he has 20 teeth!  Mama was a bit preoccupied and forgot her camera in the car, but I did manage to pull out my cell phone and take a few pictures!

And best of all…..NO CAVITIES! Way to go Punky!!!!!

Punky and I sat down on Wednesday evening to write his Christmas list for “Gwandma” Holly and “Gwandpa” Ed. He sat and deliberated for awhile and we came up with a list that we typed up in an email for “Gwandma.” He then practiced typing his name a few times, and then we headed back upstairs for our nightly board game rituals – Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, and Hi-Ho Cherry-O.

The next morning, I was upstairs getting ready and I heard, “Mama, come quick!” So, I scurried down the stairs to see the tail end of a toy commercial.

“See, Mama, that what I ordered from Gwandma yesternight!”

Yes, that toy was on his Chrsitmas list, or, ummm, his Christmas order.

Je vous ai déjà raconté que Zucchini était marginale de plusieurs façons, mais entre autres par le choix qu’elle avait fait dans ses premiers mots de dire “Merci.”

Faut croire que c’est de famille. Un des premiers mots intelligibles de Punky, autre le “papa” et “maman” c’est … “Pardon”. Non, mais on l’as tu l’affaire? *

*   Faut juste pas mentionner que c'est parce que Zucchini s'amuse à roter et dire
    Pardon ensuite.  Ca diminue un peu notre fierté :p

As promised, I tried to get some good pictures of Punky in his costume today…

I could have just nibbled him up, he was so darn cute walking around trick-or-treating! 

So, if I am your friend on Facebook, you may have seen these.   Here are Punky’s last three years of Halloween costumes. Tomorrow, (Halloween) I will post a picture of his costume this year!

His First Halloween (6 days old)

Our Little Sweet Pea…

And, of course, he had a cute “Jack O’Lantern” set, too!

His 2nd Halloween – 1 year old

Our cute little monkey!

His 3rd Halloween – 2 years old

Our curious little lion…

His 4th Halloween – 3 years old

Who can forget last year’s costume?

Our yummy little gingerbread “guy” (that’s what he called himself)

This year, Punky wanted to be nothing but the “gingerbread guy” again.  That was the plan; however, I guess he didn’t realize that mommies sometimes forget things, so when we went to Illinois 2 weeks ago to celebrate Halloween and Punky’s birthday, Mommy FORGOT his “gingerbread guy” costume.  So, we hit the stores and found a costume for him to wear in Illinois.   I have yet to get a good picture of him in it, so that will be my job tomorrow, on Halloween.   I will post it then!

Until then…

Tootles!

10 things I learned this morning on the internet:

1. Mckmama hasn’t posted an update on Stellan for over 13 hours now….continue your prayers!
2. Laughing At Chaos is banging out the posts on her snazzy new blog!   Love her new look!  (except the pictures of the snow!) 
3. Twitter now lets you create lists to organize who you are following. Very cool. 
4. After reading some of my fave scrapping blogs, I miss scrapping!      Gals, we need to schedule some time…SOON!   (Today, I read Becky Higgin’s blog, Cosmo Cricket’s blog, 7 gypsies’ blog, Jenni Bowlin’s inspiration blog, Chrsitine Middlecamp’s Retrospection blog,  Scrapbook Obsession, Scrapping with IKEA Goddess,  and Create something today.   
5. Tommy is coming home to the Walker Family this Sunday on Brothers & Sisters.  (I was reading Bloggers & Sisters.) 
6. If you can’t tell, I caught up on my blog feeder.   I HEART Chrissie and her twin sister Lisa.  Chrissie is over at Flipflops & Applesauce.  Lisa is over at Lisa Leonard Designs and It’s the Little Things.   
7. I hope RC is having fun with her family in Duluth.   They were going to stay where we stayed this past summer!  Her tweets sounds like they are having fun! 
8. Mr. Geek , Beau, and Helen have fallen off the blogging wagon.   COME BACK!!!!!   
9. Everything can be found on ebay. 
10. Etsy has some really cute gift ideas!

10 Things I want to get done this weekend:

1. Carve our pumpkin.
2. Roast Pumpkin seeds.
3. Take pictures of Punky in his cute Halloween costumes.
4. Write thank you notes for all of Punky’s birthday gifts.
5. Clean up the kicthen table – it has become a mass piling of everythign from this week.
6. Come up with some sort of storage solution for Punky’s closet.
7. Go through Punky’s clothes and purge what doesn’t fit him. (I’ll bring those to IL for my nephew)
8. Watch a movie with Hubby.
9. Sit down and write out my Christmas “To-Do” and “To-Get” lists (I already have some presents!  Wow!)
10. Take Punky trick-or-treating.

10 Things I am loving about Punky right now…

1. He is absolutely loving to play board games.  Candyland, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Chutes and Ladders, etc.
2. He cracks me up everytime he wears a sweatshirt with a hoodie, he feels it necessary to wear teh hood up on his head.  It makes me laugh.
3. The boy is so worried about me.  Between my visits to Urgent Crea this week and my already scheduled visits to my reproductive endocrinologist this week, he thinks I live at a doctor’s office.   He asks each mornign if after I get home from my appt, I coudl call him at daycare and tell him that I am ok.   Awwwwww…
4. On  Tuesday, he came home from daycare with Hubby.  I had such a high fever, I didn’t dare drive.  Anyway, he rushed right over to me on teh couch, gave me a kiss, then ran over to get his doctor kit and quickly took my vitals and listened to my heart.  He’s such a sweetheart.
5. He loves Blue, his blanket that Aunt Jeanne knitted for him after he was born.   Poor Blue has been through some rough times, but Aunt Jeanne always fixes it.   There ismore damage to Blue this week, and Punky keeps saying, “Aunt Jeanne will fix it for me….”
6. He tells everyone how many he is now all while holding up his four fingers….in only a way he can do it.  He smashes those 4 fingers together so tightly, I am amazed they can stand up to signal his age!
7. Punky  has been talking on the phone a lot to Gwandma Holly (Aka Grandma Knock-Knock) and his cousin.   I  love listening to them chatter away….
8. Punky got so excited this week to watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”  It was very cute.
9. He is so snuggly when it’s time for bed.
10. After I asked him to clarify something that I couldn’t believe he had just said, he simply stated, “Just let it go, Ma.”  WHAT?!?!?!??

I am off to rest now………..  but I am feeling better today! 

Ok, so it’s no secret, my immune system sucks this year!  I mean, who is sick from day one through day thirty-two of the school year? (ok, the first week or two was allergies…..but still!)     I have had students dropping like flies with flu, colds, sinus infections, etc.   Punky’s day care had been hijacked with the flu (most likely, H1N1) last week.We thought we were safe as Punky had been in Illinois the week before the sickness hit.   However, Punky and I have a horrendous cough now.   He doesn’t feel very good, but doesn’t have a fever yet.  (Kelly says that the cough was day one and the fever hit day 2…ugh).  I missed two dys of school the second week of October due to this crap.   Now, I have it again?!?!?!?  I am heading down to the nurse’s office on my prep….I am sure I have a fever now….even with meds.  I guess I should leave lesson plans out when I leave tonight…Just.in.case.

Come on!   Go away, you nasty-ass germs!  I just want to feel 100% human, normal again!  Pretty Puhhhhlease?!?!?!?!?

Dear Punky,

I cannot believe you are four years old!   It seems like yesterday when I first held you in the hospital…where has the time gone?

You amaze me every single day.   There isn’t a day that I am not in awe of something you do or say.   There isn’t a day that I don’t thank God for blessing my life by bringing you into it!  You are an amazing little boy.  You’re so sweet, sensitive, and sincere.   You try so hard at everything you do.  You absolutely love your friends and family…and do lots of nice things for them each day.  I know you make Gwandma Holly’s morning when you talk with her on the phone.  I love listening to you share your thoughts with her.   

You are quite the explorer.  You want to know how things work and why things happen.  You worry about things alot….like NAPS!  You keep telling me you don’t want to grow up, but as I watch you explore new experiences, you are gaining confidence and independence.   There isn’t a day that goes by that I am not proud to be your mommy.

You whispered to me the other night that your favorite time of every day is when we snuggle at bed time.  That’s mine too, sweetie!   I love hearing you whisper in the dark about your thoughts, ideas, and experiences from the day. 

I love you to the moon and back…forever…..and ever!

Love,

Mama

I love these pictures.

If you knew Punky’s real name……you’d be laughing too!  

For now though, I will title these, “Punky in a box,” which isn’t the same effect, but you people are intelligent enough to figure out the humor.  right?

I know I am tardy in posting many events that have occurred in our lives over the past few weeks.  I will just start throwing some posts up here to try to get caught up.  A few weeks ago (ok, maybe 6 or 7, so more than a few) we walked over to a park near our house to play basketball.   Punky rode in his wagon.   He and Dada had lots of fun playing basketball while Mama took lots of pictures!

Lots of energy was released, lots of giggles were heard, and lots of fun was had by all!

Nap time has been a bone of contention in our house lately.   Punky worries about it all day long!  He HATES naps, and doesn’t want to take one anymore.   However, as the people who spend our evenings with him, the boy needs a nap…otherwise he is a complete crab…..apple!  (See, I can NOT swear!)  We had nap time down to a science at daycare, so it had been a non-issue for awhile…then Punky spent a week in Chicago with my parents…then daycare was closed due to sickness…and now as he headed back to daycare yesterday, nap time was again an issue.

The night before, at 7:30 PM, Punky and I were happily playing with GeoTrax when he burst into tears.  He was sobbing and trying to stammer out….”Mama, I don’t….want……to…..take….a…..nap……I……….am……..a……….big……..boy.  ………big………boys……….don’t……….take……..naps………”  *sob* *sob*  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!  He was so serious, and so upset, yet he looked so funny…..   (I know, once again, I ‘m up for  the “Mommy of the Year” Award!)

I explained that he needs a nap in order for him to stay up and play with Mama and Dada at night.  If he didn’t take a nap, he’d have to go to bed earlier each night, and we’d never get a chance to play!  I told him we’d talk about it when Dada got home.  Dada got home, and it wasn’t mentioned……until…….bedtime.   Ahhhhhhh…..the perfect stall tactic on Punky’s part!

We settled him down after 10 minutes of wailing and whining.  Dada left he bedroom, and I snuggled with him in his bed to review his day.  He got riled up again and started sobbing.  Same story.  He’s a big boy and doesn’t need a nap.   I told him that Kelly and I would think of an idea for him to take his rest time (he does better when we give him a “job” and wake him up “early” so he thinks he’s special! And it worked…until now)  He sat straight up in bed and said:

“Mama, I want you to ‘fink’ of ideas all night long.   I want to hear all of your ideas when I wake up in the morning, Got it?”

Wow.

He might as well have said, “Have it on my desk first thing in the morning.”

He’ll be a great CEO one day!

(Originally written on July 27, 2009)

.

I GOT THE B&B JOB!!!!!

I received this glorious news via a phone call at around 10 this morning.

I can’t believe it:  I actually got a job.  I was really starting to lose hope in the possibility that I would find one, especially in this economy.  For the past two-and-a-half months, I have spent HOURS EVERY DAY scouring the internet for job postings and applying to approximately seven of them on average each day.  Maybe 10 companies contacted me back throughout that entire time – and I was always rejected every time either because my Master’s degree made me overqualified or because I didn’t have enough job experience.  I was truly beginning to think that my only option was that I was going to have to ask Beast for a job at his distributorship.

Be that as it may, I immediately burst into tears of joyous relief following that phone call.  After composing myself, the first person I called was Beast; I couldn’t wait for him to know that I wasn’t just this overrated failure after all.  However, he was unreachable because he was in-flight on his way home from wherever it is that he was this time, which, I believe, was out-of-the-country (he travels a lot for work, both nationally and internationally).  So, unsurprisingly, the next person I called was Martyr.  And she didn’t answer either!  Ahh – all I wanted to do was share my wonderful news with someone else!  Mario was working, so I texted him, and then I called Scarlet.  Someone FINALLY picked up! That conversation went as can be expected and then Martyr called me back.

Martyr was, of course, incredibly enthusiastic (she went on and on about how god “blessed” me with this job and how she’d been praying and praying that I would get this particular job) and we decided to go to Polly’s for celebratory wine and lunch.  Punky was the day bartender/server.  Punky currently lives with Leto in the apartment below mine since Belle moved out.  She’s really cool; I like her a lot.  Anyways, after Martyr and I had finished eating, Punky insisted on buying me a congratulatory dessert.  That was really nice of her to do and something I wasn’t expecting – so I gratefully accepted it and made her indulge in a bite or two with me!

Also while we were at Polly’s, Beast got around to calling me back and I was able to share my good news with him.  After finishing our drinks (I had a few more than Martyr, who was driving), Martyr dropped me back off at my apartment and we set up plans to send Chip and Dale to pick me up later this evening and bring me to the house for dinner.

Then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, B&B called me back at around 3 this afternoon to discuss with me the exact details of my offer.  In our previous discussions, they had left me with the expectation of a salary somewhere in the ballpark of $75,000.  That was shocking enough.  But this, I was in no way prepared for:  the HR woman on the phone told me that I will be receiving an annual salary of $85,000 PLUS 10% bonuses PLUS benefits:  health, vision, and dental insurance AND a relocation package.

Yea.

This news literally left me in shock – my whole body shaking in utter, well, shock.  Throughout the entire delivery of this information, I pretty much just sat there in silence with my jaw gaping wide open.  At the end of the (one-way) conversation after informing me of all this, the HR woman then said, “I know that’s a little more than we had discussed…”

Yea, no kidding!

This picture is from a few weeks ago when Punky was visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Illinois.

Click here to view more WW Participants!

We went to take Punky’s 4 year pictures last night at our local Sears Studio. Our little boy is growing up so fast!

My favorite photo was one of the above, but enhanced.   In it, Punky looks so much like my mom and her siblings!  It’s almost scary!   (I’ll have to get a photo of them to scan so you too can see the craziness!)

Punky and I went to IL for a week to visit my family.  We had lots of fun visiting, laughing, and playing!  Punky and his cousin had several adventures, laughs, giggles, and pure, 100% fun together!

Fun in the sprinkler/pools…

Taking a bath in the “world-pool…”

Splashing in puddles and playing in the rain…

Painting…

with such determination!

Eating green eggs and ham, ok, it’s sausage, that Grandma made for breakfast…

Learning to ride a bike…

Playing with the neighbor kids…

Taking turns with “grandma’s bikes…”

Riding like a pro…

Visiting Great Grandma (aka “Grandma Smart” as Punky calls her!)

Eating at Auntie Tabby’s and Uncle Geoff’s house

Modeling their new fireman jammies…fronts……

and backs!

Best Buds!

Hubby and Punky have tended our vegetable garden  this summer.   (Let’s not discuss the feast the rabbits have had in said garden!)  Anyway, a few weeks ago, it was time to reep their hard labor.  The corn was ready.   I can’t explain Punky’s excitement in words, so I’ll let him do it for you…

Nice job, Punky!

I don’t know why you would name a shop after Johnny Rotten’s feet, though clearly what we have here is a punk foot-fetishist. I’m not judging, just sayin’. Here I am modelling a variety of styles, from “homeless hooker” to “super-kawaii loli.” (Black undies are an old Shai freebie, so as not to reveal anything Mature.) I like when someone has gone to the extra effort to make something look old and broken, it makes SL seem more sinister and perverted than it… okay, it is sinister and perverted, I can’t lie about that. But the point is that most things look new and I like occasional old-looking things. Blame my Hobo roots and Arcadia Asylum’s builds.

These things were very cheap, so possibly I got lost in a discount section, but either way I am not complaining. I need to save my spacebux for the jewellery and skin fairs, yo.

SLURL time!

Shoes are from Canimal, skin is Pixeldolls,  black hair’s from Kin, pink hair is a group gift from Rotten Toe, which was totally worth one of my 25 spaces.

On se demande souvent quoi acheter à une nouvelle maman. Moi je me suis fait THE cadeau. De moi à moi avec tout mon amour.

Tadam:

La petite remorque à vélo. Pas pour retrouver la forme après l’accouchement. C’est pas moi sur le vélo, c’est ma mère. C’est que voyez vous, Zucchini et Punky adorent aller faire un tour, arrêter au parc et revenir. Et comme je suis le réservoir de lait de Miss-la-petite-dernière c’est moi la pauvre esseulée qui doit rester à la maison. Alors pendant que Papa sue, Maman, elle, s’en va dans le bain finir son 15eme bouquin depuis la naissance de P’tite-dernière. C’est tu pas un beau cadeau ca?

I have been in SL an awfully long time without ever buying a skin from Laqroki. But now the Portrait line is reduced to 900L a pack, so I went to have a look and picked up ‘Mima’. I had to mod my shape a bit about the lips but that is normal really. I went over a year in the same skin from Sin Skins and have only started buying skins in the last year and now I have Several. But the point is that I now have 9 almost idential skins for the price of one. Hurrah!

I got these skirt-trousers from BP* and punked it up slightly outfit-wise to match. T-shirt is obvs from Armidi, hair is from Gritty Kitty, and those are the HoC trainers that I always end up in when flats are called for. I did sort through my heels last time I was in SL, so higher shoes are likely to happen in future now that I know vaguely what each pair looks like. How many pairs of shoes are enough, anyway? It’s a bit like how I have over 300 hairs but keep ending up in the same ones. Perhaps a clear-out of my hair folder is in order. Am I really going to wear the ones I got from [name redacted]?

I think the outfit needs some bangles but it turns out I have hardly any of those so you’ll have to pretend I am wearing some in the picture. Perhaps you could print it out and draw some on.

I first saw Thought at a Halloween Party in 2007, and I was blown away.   Nevermind the dance party that erupted with their first note, nevermind their crazy Goth looks (which were just halloween costumes, sadly); it was the songs, the musicianship, the blend of SO many influences into something simple and ferocious.

My first thought was that they sounded like a combination of Maceo Parker and Nirvana.  I’ve thought of a million other references since then.

Honestly,  these guys are uncategorizable.  Funk, Pop, Jazz, Rock, Punk, Jamband.   They literally blend it all seamlessly into something utterly unique, and utterly unclassifiable. If someone out there can come up with a good description of this band in a couple of sentences, I’ll give you a $100.  Email me.

It turned out that these guys were from Buffalo (I love all people from Buffalo), and tight with Eric Biondo, so it wasn’t long before I was recording and producing their record. It was the first time I ever produced a full-length album of someone else’s music. Success I think.

Since then, we’ve become best of friends and continue to collaborate.  They don’t know it yet,  but they’ll be providing the funk in the rhythm section with the FunkeyMonkeys this Fall.  It’s Politics for KIDS, yo.

je sais, je sais, je n’écris pas souvent. Voyez vous, ma p’tite dernière a apporté avec elle le soleil. Alors on en profite. Chaque jour je me dis que j’aurais bien des choses
à raconter : mon p’tit bébé qui est un ange. (C’est la première fois en trois enfants que je peux souper sans être en train d’allaiter! ) ma grande Zucchini qui est une deuxième maman attentive ( Faut que tu redonnes à boire à ma soeur, elle a échappé un peu de lait. – dit elle après que sa soeur aie régurgité). Punky qui déplace de l’air mais qui est tellement surprenante. (elle n’a pas 15 mois et elle nous impressionne tous les jours avec ses prouesses). J’pourrais vous parler de nos sorties dans tous les parcs de la ville. (Vous voulez voir que vos enfants ne sont pas si tannants que ca? Facile ! Allez faire un tour dans un des parcs du coin, y’en a des bien pires!)

Mais bon j’profite du beau temps, de mes princesses et je vous promets de venir vous écrire quelque chose d’intéressant d’ici peu! J’vous laisse des photos en attendant :p

Delicious!