Humorous art :-)

While cruising around the web for some clipart or silhouettes to use as designs for stencils I stumbled onto a rather silly website. I encourage you to check out Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre for a quick giggle or two.

Mad Mother Skills

I was just pondering last night if there was a genetic link between the increase in estrogen in moms/moms-to be and super powers. I know that I have developed some mad mothering skills in the past year. Some arrived early with the onset of pregnancy and haven't left. Other super powers have been slowly increasing in strength since the day he was born. Who knows...maybe by the time I'm ready to do this birthing thing again I might be able to fly!

Hearing increase - It is just like the national geographic channel...All's quiet on the African plains; the animals are peacefully grazing. Then...a random twig gently snaps, or a bird shifts his weight in his nest, or an ant sneezes. All heads come up and turn toward the sound. Danger? Warning? And they are off and running away. Yep. It seems like I can freakin' hear Everything! Every little rustle of the kiddo I seem to hear from several rooms away. Is he ok? Is he waking up? Is he crying? Is it time to run to his side?

Wicked fast reflexes - Tam has increased in his ability to sit un-aided in the past week. However, he still wobbles. When he looks like he is wobbling too much and heading for a face-plant, I usually can reach out and catch him. There are times when my hands fly into action even without my brain being involved, especially if it involves Tam's safety.

Delicate nose - Another sense that has become way more sensitive. Odors are still really strong for me (this started way back last year). Good or bad, I seem to notice them more now...especially wet diaper smells :-)

Lack of stomach for the gross - I'm a scientist and scientists don't find most things in life gross or icky. I could usually watch the occasional gory/ slasher movie and find it silly but not sickening. Blood, guts, puke, bio-hazard, zombies, axe-men, etc. no problem for me. Now, and this is new, my stomach has become a wee bit more delicate. A fellow scientist was recalling his latest street fighting match and describing the blood, and the punches, and the blood...blood....blood.... and I freakin' had to leave the conversation! My mind went mental with the picture of the fight and my stomach revolted at the scene. What? This is a new power I don't particularly like.

Teary-eyed at the thought of Tam growing-up - Yeah, the ol' tear ducts are in cahoots with my stomach. I now find myself more apt to cry at something sappy or tender moments, especially if they involve family or mom & sons. We went and saw the latest Harry Potter movie. Tight at the beginning of the flick, I began to think about Tam as a teenager and the tears started to well. Sheesh. I'm becoming a mushy mom too? Another trait that I haven't quite learned to deal with yet.

Now I haven't quite developed my Eyes in the back of my head, but they are on order!

Reusing old stuff ...

Oohhh...this is one of the coolest ideas for re-using old cabinets/end tables! Turn them into a play kitchen for the little one. Hmm....think I can get Brian to whip this up sometime in the future?

Check out the website:
Out of the Crayon Box

Freezer Paper Stenciling

Look what I did!

I tried freezer paper stenciled last night. The trick is that the waxy side of the paper sticks to the cloth when warmed by an iron. This lets it work as a single use stencil with fairly crisp borders.

The project only took a couple of hours. For much of the time I cruised the clip art online to find cute images to use. I copied them to the freezer paper (waxy side down) and then cut them out carefully with an x-acto knife. Slapped 'em on the onesies, secured them with the iron, dabbed on the paint... and then had to wait all night for the paint to dry. This morning I giddily ripped off the paper and admired my craftiness. Even Brian oohh'd and aaahh'd over them. I think that this might be a Christmas gift idea for all the babies we know :-)

Yes, I really should be working on my fall syllabus and lectures, but this was way too fun to do instead. Even Brian wants to give it a go with some more "odd" art.

Here's Tam sporting one of my favorite one finished project. Awesome little bubbling beaker on the front...damn cute little bio-hazard sign on the bum :-)

Tamlin's First County Fairs

This past week we had our first ventures to the local summer fairs. Last Tuesday, we went to the Berlin County Fair and last Sunday, we went to the Ionia Free Fair. I personally really enjoy going out to the local gatherings...tasting fried food, seeing farm animals, people watching, riding sketchy rides...it is ALL GOOD! Back growing up, I totally remember the county fair as a prime spot to go when on a date. I recall snuggling close on the Ferris wheel and sharing popcorn or cotton candy. Oh, and then winning silly prizes at the games for our significant other too :-) Good times...

While in Minnesota, we lived across from the state fair grounds so we went over there every year. This fair was HUGE! TONS of animals, people, and deep fried food on sticks. I have tried fried alligator (ugh), fried corn on the cob (ok), and fried snickers bars (rich). I loved going to see all the farm animals, especially that year's largest pig which was always freakin' huge. The arts, crafts, and vegetables were also a big hit with me. My favorite was checking out that year's "crop art" constructed out of beans and seeds. I'm sure that this year there will be some Obama portraits in seeds :-) And the people watching at the fair was fantastic! All sorts of folk in all sorts of outfits cruising around the park area.

Our first fair here was the Berlin County fair. Brian, Tam, and I headed out in the early afternoon after nap time. Since this was a county fair, it was not large at all and was not crowded, which meant that it was a great place to take the little one and not worry too much. We, of course, did all the traditional fair tasks:

• Climbing on farm equipment we didn't recognize or know how it worked

• Petting and feeding animals

• Admiring how huge cows and pigs are in real life

• Touching the bunnies

• Sanitizing Tam's hand after touching things before they got into his mouth

• Eating crap-tacular fried food

• Laughing at the misspelled words on the rides

• Sleeping in the car on the ride home (oh, wait, I was driving)

Tam seemed to love touching and watching any animal about his size or smaller (babies and bunnies). He started to freak out a bit while Brian was feeding the llamas and sheep and they started to crowd him. He didn't know quite what to think about the cows.

We also went to the Ionia free fair, which was much larger. Multiple barns of animals to look at, and a gazillion sketchy rides. (However, no miss-spellings that we noticed). We also got to go this fair with my mom and step-dad. Tam seemed to like this one just as well especially just hanging out in the stroller watching the people go by. What a great way to spend a summer day.