Spring – Long Island Chick

Wordless Wednesday 4-18

Kathleen — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:41:18 +0000

Give the Most Precious Gift of All: Your Time

Kathleen — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:04:20 +0000

Our time is truly our most precious commodity. We are always so busy doing something or going somewhere. This is the age of multitasking – I used to boast about carrying on more than 5 conversations at once – texting, instant messaging and email. Now, I don’t necessarily think that is quite as impressive as giving someone your undivided attention – especially our children. Many of the mom bloggers out there have infants and toddlers – take heed: THEY GROW UP QUICK! Before you know it, that little cherub of a son will be busy with his own friends and you will be wondering where the time went and why you didn’t spend more time with him when you were his whole world.

Today, I decided to do just that – give my son, Ryan, my undivided attention. I asked him to come out back with me to survey the yard and garden. It is such a beautiful day and I wanted to get some fresh air. Ryan, as long as you aren’t asking him to go to Walbaums (heaven forbid!), is happy to do what ever you would like to do. He promptly put his sneakers on and we went outside. Spring is a time of new beginnings and I love seeing the plants push through the soil. It is also the time for us to do some yard cleanup as we never really accomplish that in the fall. My one rose bush has shot up to be taller than me – we walked over there to admire its tenacity when I noticed a bottle of bubbles. These scented bubbles (green apple) were in Ryan’s Easter basket. Like finding hidden treasure, Ryan said “ooooooohh” and reached for them. You know your boy is still a child as long as he can enjoy blowing bubbles. So we sat down on the steps of the deck and blew bubbles together:

I was very content to just watch him blow bubbles and enjoy his delight in blowing some huge bubbles and catching them, especially after last week. The accident changed my perspective a bit I think – makes me appreciate the little things because it is these little things that sometimes count the most.

So, go out there and give your child your undivided attention and create some memories!

Easter Is On Its Way: Wreaths to Make

Kathleen — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:28:15 +0000

What a beautiful first day of Spring here in New York! I don’t remember it ever being this warm in March – the trees are blooming, I see crocuses and daffodils everywhere and the birds are chirping away! It is time to get the house ready for Spring and Easter. Many talented crafters are posting tutorials for Easter and Spring wreaths and I thought I would share some to inspire you to make your own:

Peep Wreath from Spittin Toad

I just love peeps!!!!! They are such a symbol of Easter and so very colorful! Make sure to read her tutorial carefully to avoid disastrous results!

Easter Washi Tape Wreath at Tatertots & Jello

How beautiful is this wreath? A foam wreath base, white plastic eggs, ribbon and some washi tape and you have a spectacular wreath!

Butterfly Wreath at Alisa Burke

This upcycled newspaper wreath is breathtaking – love, love, love the butterflies!

Spring Wreath at Dollar Store Mom

At first, I thought this was made with paper mache yarn eggs but no, she managed to find rattan eggs and dyed them!

All Things Spring Wreath at Crafty Sisters

Stock up on that craft moss whenever you can – it certainly comes in handy!

These are some of the wreaths that caught my eye. Please link up your wreaths and share your Easter creations!

Hooray! Spring is Here!

Kathleen — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:55:00 +0000

Never mind the calendar, Spring is here. I know that the first official day of Spring, or the Vernal Equinox, is March 20, 2012, but you can’t tell that to Nature. Also, we end Daylight Savings Time this Weekend and Spring Ahead the clocks (that part I am NOT looking forward to in the mornings). So don’t forget to set your clocks ahead one hour Saturday evening. AnywayI started noticing the signs this past week during our daily walks after dropping the kids at school.

First, it was the buds on the trees. Our months of barren sticks is coming to an end!

Then, the crocuses’ green shoots pushing up in the gardens that line our path. How I love to see the bright colors ranging from yellow to purple. By Matt’s school, I noticed Daffodil shoots and tulips coming up as well. I know I have flowers coming up from bulbs I planted some past autumn.

Last, and the most telling, the red robin I saw this morning. He wasn’t very trusting and I don’t think appreciated me sneaking up on him so please forgive the lack of clarity. But you can see exactly what he is – the harbinger of spring.

I’m looking forward to all the bright pastels, airing out the house and decorating for Easter.

Have you noticed the signs of Spring? What are your favorite Spring activities?

Spring Is In The Air!

Kathleen — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:16:00 +0000

Today, it felt like Spring was in the air and boy did that feel good! I am definately one of those people who are affected by the weather. Late winter kills me – all I want to do is hibernate. Today I felt alive and I actually wanted to leave the house LOL. Went to the gym this morning and had a fantastic workout with Jerri. Not only is she a fantastic trainer, she is hilarious! At the end of the session, we always do a pretty intense ab workout on a fitness ball. So while I am bent over this thing, I noticed I had some old man’s ass hanging in my face. Of course, as I am going through the repetitions, Jerri is whispering to me how the old man is probably farting and it must smell like cat food (YUCK!!!!). Very motivating, isn’t it? I just tried to find a happy place! Today I actually felt like working out and it was good.

I went over to Oceanside to the Sands Mall (fantastic spot – Gap, Victoria’s Secret, Express to name a few- and all have terrific stock because this strip mall is a hidden gem). Shopped at Gap and Children’s Place for the boys, picked up Flushed Away and Uncle Buck at F.Y.E. and met my sister in law for coffee at Starbucks to talk about our upcoming family vacation at Disney (year 5 for us) among other things. I definately needed Uncle Buck with this family’s new infatuation with bowling. I also picked up the new SSX snowboarding game for Wii – SWEET DUDE!!! It was a peaceful afternoon – I didn’t have any appointments and it is nice to take a break from the fast pace we had in the office up to the end of the year. The rat race will start up again this Spring as people’s thoughts start to turn to house buying – atleast we all hope so!

So I bought out the store over at Gina Miller’s shop. Got a nice email from her today thanking me. See courtesy is still alive and kicking – especially in the digiscrapping world. I love her designs – especially these adorable felt circles and felt hearts I picked up, amongst other things. Please visit her shop, you definately won’t leave empty handed. I am definately going to scraplift some of her layouts – I have her gallery linked on my blog under Scrapinspiration.