blog hunt

happy friday. i'm celebrating with a li'l party game.

play along if you please.
link it up. spread the love.

link a blogger who...
has an online shop: one girl
takes fantastic photographs: one love photo
has a new baby: kal / ali / ali e. / melissa {congrats!}
has flawless taste: black eiffel
is unique: pretty good
has admirable qualities: the pioneer woman
crafts up a storm: elise blaha / ella
is an artist: a beautiful mess
is intriguing: hi & low
you've bookmarked: oh happy day
lives far away: shim and sons
is an old favorite: your heart out
is creative: rae dunn / inchmark
features fabulous ideas: nesting
features loveliness: pia / maditi likes
features pretty products: oh joy / frolic
features fantasticness: a cup of jo / design crush
features weddings: idiy / grey likes weddings
writes about life: happy little life / there was one time
is a daily must see: cate
tells great stories: my mom
is funny: christie / gabi
is a designer: kp / lifelovepaper
works a letterpress: angel hardison / satsuma press
you are inspired by: paper crave
recently added to google reader: my spinning wheels / oh hello friend
gives fabulous tips: stephmodo

baby booties

our dear friend is living in Sarajevo for a few years. she thoughtfully sent us these darling booties for benji. they arrived just in time, on his unbirthday. they are hand knitted in the small villages around Bosnia, mostly in the winter when the women are not herding sheep. i very much love the intricate knitted patterns and the beautiful colors in the photographs she sent alongside. i am fascinated in the skills and crafts of women across the globe. it's nice to step back every once in awhile and marvel. what treasures these will be.

how it's going.

hello thursday.
and thank you for the conversations. writing week numero uno. i must admit, my first writing session was not pretty. i was all set up. my babe was napping. the clock was ticking. this desk was all cleaned off. i was ready.

i imagined my words would be so eager they'd be fighting each other to land on the page. not so. i had a hard time concentrating and letting my mind go and letting the words out. it was close to impossible not to guard myself or edit my sentences or want to completely start over. so that was day one. forced and ferocious. it's like the first pancake. which in my case, always burns.

day two was better. i had a load of laundry next to me. a little smiling boy looking up at me. and i just wrote the details of the day. time went by fast and it wasn't so painful. it was just the real me and a notebook. and some words.

happy writing to you. i am inspired knowing so many of you are with me. don't get discouraged, just write and dig deep. remember today is brand new.

this photo absolutely made my day.



thank you mary!
keep up the good work.

tomorrow is friday and i have a little game up my sleeve. i'm going on a blog hunt.

my unbirthday boy

my benji boy turns six months old today. my sweetpea, my bearcub, my lovebug, my munchkin, my happy boy. i can hardly believe he is already six months. the most joyful six months of our lives.


when he was born, our hearts were suddenly wholly his. and when others witnessed our newparent delight, they told us it only gets better. i wondered how it could get better than this? how could anything top the sweet newborn love, the wide eyes, the optimistic stare, the content sleep, the peach ice cream scoop cheeks, and the hopeful baby hands? it was perfect love from the start. i wished he could stay tiny. i just loved that little sack of potatoes on my shoulder.

then he turned one, two, three months old and gradually i came to the realization that i was loving each benji stage as it rolled along. each new age, i yearned for him to stay just that way. each my favorite stage. he'd grow and learn something new; discovering his hands, his feet, his toes, his voice. the joy of motherhood is in the journey. you have to appreciate the small moments before they are whirled away into a new stage. soon he will be crawling rather than sucking his toes. soon he will be turning pages rather than chewing them. soon he will play pat a cake without any help. soon his chubby li'l legs will be able to walk. soon he will be a big boy but i know i'll love him more and more as the months move forward. the best part is his months are monumental. and we get to share them together.

happy unbirthday my benji.

write now.

welcome to the club. here we go.
i'm starting write along with you.

i'm so fired up about writing. real writing. and i hope you are too. i've decided to start a writing club to get me writing in a notebook on a very regular basis. to stop talking the talk and actually walking the walk. i was going to start a few weeks ago, hoping i'd be the guru in write club, but i've been procrastinating waiting for your company. which now i realize is like selling blueberry cream cheese muffins without first tasting one. do they have enough brown sugar? are they done in the middle? are the blueberries ripe? so here we go. i'm simply along for the ride. as, i hope, are you. making it up as i go. pardon my inexpertise.

onto club business. my goal is to write. with my own hand in my own notebook for at least 15 - 30 minutes every day. i am aiming high. but i'm not going to beat myself up if i cannot get to it. though i'm truly going to try. no grocery lists. no to-do lists. no recipes or design ideas. with these writing exercises, i am planning to juice my imagination. to dig in deep. to give writing a shot. to not be afraid of what i'll find. to not be afraid of failure. to look fear in the face and just write what's on the inside. write. everyday. yes, it's a commitment. which gnaws at me. but i know, in the end, good things will arise. hopefully this will form a habit.

No one likes to write but everyone likes to have written. - Joel Salzman

the real writers advise to practice not lifting up your pen, to keep your hand moving during the entire exercise. you can always sift through the mumbo jumbo later. jot down whatever you come up with. whatever your mind is whirling. it can be a daily journal, it can be a random rant session, it can be a character sketch about the stranger next door, it can be details about your childhood, it can be chapter three of the mystery novel you hope to publish someday. every day can be a completely different writing session. no rules. no edits. no comparisons. no strings attached. do not worry about grammar or spelling. you are not handing this in. do not worry about who might read this. it's just for you. it's just practice. it's simple. just keep writing and good writing will eventually come out. though you may have to hunt for it among the busyness of your words. i figure practicing every day will only assist in juicing the real flavor.

so if you plan to play along, every week i will list three writing prompts to help you get going. they will only be suggestions. if you had a fabulous encounter with a mad man on the street, by all means, write about that instead. prompts are a simple way to get the pen to the page.

other write club suggestions.
start reading books by people you admire. books that have stimulating words. texts by authors who you want to write letters to and thank them for writing such glorious books. when you are so submerged in a good book, you are more motivated to write. good authors make it look so easy.

create sections in your notebook. 01.) excellent quotes that keep you inspired. 02.) writing prompts that you want to visit in the future. once you start noticing the details in every day, you'll begin to conjure fantastic writing material. don't forget them, write your own prompts down. i have whole notebooks with one-liners. ready for upcoming novels. if only my creative genius could come in paragraph form. 03.) make a list of books about writing that you have read or want to read. that way when you re-visit your notebook in four years, you'll get all fired up again and know where to go to feel enlightened.

but be warned, do not allow the set up (the notebooks and tabs and the reading of inspiring quotes and the search for the perfect pen) snatch up all of your energy. if you take too much time setting up, inevitably you will need to start dinner or make your bed or check your email or water your plants. and you will have missed your 15 - 30 minutes of madness. make your writing sessions brief but enjoyable. treat yourself to a handful of chocolate chips whenever you sit down to write.

ready, set, go.
write now.

writing prompts | week 01.
the real you. you got a new notebook? very good. now introduce yourself. use any of these prompts in any mixed up fashion you'd like to get your juices going.

01. describe your daily routine from sun up to sun down. use only nouns.
02. list your obsessions. what do you think about, obsess over, what types of things, ideas, ideals, plans, dreams, and hopes consume your mind? what are you known for? wearing red lipstick? write about that.
03. pick a year from your life. past or future. describe who you were, what you wore, what your problems were, what your biggest concern was, who you spent time with, who you dreamt of becoming, what you watched on tv, what type of shoes you wore, what you ate for lunch. dig deep and rediscover who you were then and who you are now.


have fun.
meet back next week.
with ink on pages.

my two cents: oscar night

best dress: marisa tomei
best accessories: angelina jolie
best haircut: taraji henson
best lashes: anne hathaway
best in show: hugh jackman

co-pilot

every sunny saturday it seems, we go on an adventure. since saturdays are no longer for sleeping in, we get an early start on the day and go for a drive. benj is a dream baby when it comes to travel. he is so congenial, cheerful and mellow. dan has mastered the art of the mini road trip. here are some of the best shots. dan says i'm the co-pilot. but since he's more the map guy i mainly focus on the photography aspect. that and the divvying up of the road trip treats.

cow country

it's calving season here in idaho. and chewing cud never looked so cute. i mean seriously, baby animals are the best. dan and i always pull over to take photos. as if we don't have enough baby photos taking up our hard drive already.

now that we live in the country dan has been learning more about cows. perhaps this is the first official step in becoming a true cowboy. i was on a mad search to find him a good book about cows, but to no avail. the book shops always have volumes upon volumes about ponies and horses but no books about cows. i found it quite discriminating. those poor cows. they can't catch a break. so when christmas came about, i put my mom on the hunt. she found the perfect cow book for someone like dan.


this little guy was tearing grass right out of his mama's mouth. in a herd of all black and brown cows, this mama is going to easily spot her little white faced calf. it's like cows just know how to create an irresistible photo op.



i loved this itty bitty brown cow (in the middle). every li'l baby thing i see reminds me of my own baby thing, benji which of course makes me very happy.

after dan reported that this herd of cows were beef cows, i told him i was taking a stand. i told him i was not going to make sloppy joes for dinner. then dan pointed out that the meat was already in our fridge. oh yeah. okay next week, chicken only. come easter, when the chicks come out, i'll be eating tuna fish.

oh hello weekend

thank you for the comments this week.. always makes me feel on cloud nine. am happy you love the handmade onesies, they are even cuter in person. the giveaway winner is michelle from made sweet. congrats! please email your info to marta@martacards.com.


happy weekend people. will be enjoying the bright sunshine, the sparkly snow, the red carpet, a tiny bear cub, cookies and milk and calamity jane. i told dan that it's just like 3:10 to Yuma. with doris day.

quote wall 01

dan forwarded me an
email with this quote.
i like it so much, i think
it belongs on the quote wall.

am doing my homework.

am all fired up to start writing club 101. am doing some heavy reading to prepare, jotting lists for dozens of writing assignments and finding brilliant quotes from brilliant writers. if you want to write with me this monday, be sure to find a decent notebook. mine is pictured here, spiral bound with blank pages. i'm even making my own tabs with tiny post-its. how cheap is that. it's definitely not intimidating or fancy. no italian leather yet. am starting simple. am excited to share the great goodness i've read about. am admitting, i've done more reading than actual writing, but at least i am reading about writing and that's a step. that counts.

birthday wish

happy birthday little whit.
you know you're my favorite.
hope today is among the happiest of days.

whit, i won't dwell on the fact that i am so sad not being around to help you blow out your candles, so i'll tell you what we would do if i were in town. first i would pick you up early to kidnap you for a birthday sausage mcmuffin and fresh orange juice. then we'd come back and snooze for an hour and call in sick. you'd teach me some yoga moves because you are the best yoga teacher i know of. and i would die for your itty bitty waist. and you'd tell me what tunes are on your ipod as of late. because you are always up to date and hip like that. you'd throw on something loose and casual and look gorgeous as usual. i'd ask to borrow something of yours, in hopes to look like your twin. and then we'd be off to anthro where we'd spend the day and all of our hard earned cash. and we'd zoom to home again for a deal on something fabulous and grab some cocoa on the way. we'd laugh the whole drive and our past memories would mingle with the present. and then to park city to baha cantina to share a chimichanga for dinner and a really fat piece of cake for dessert. we'd have to run to dolly's bookshop to see all the best letterpress cards in town. which we'd stock up on and later mail to each other. we'd come home and watch felicity reruns and then a flick featuring grace kelly and try to stay up all night long talking. and making big plans for our futures. because that's what we do best. inevitably, i'd fall asleep first.

am so blessed with a million memories.
am so thankful to have you for a best friend.
am doubly thankful to have you for a cousin.

i love the way our lives
have woven together
like the colorful embroidery threads
you keep in the corner of your room.
we've always been better together,
a pair of accordion paper dolls.

much love. mart

the best thing to hold onto in life is each other.
- audrey hepburn

a picture show

we had a pretty picture perfect president's weekend.







thank you dan for the perfect weekend. it is oh so nice having someone who knows that romance is not only making a fancy london broil but folding the laundry and doing the dishes too. thanks to little whit for mailing me you've got mail. it arrived just in time. as we all know, it's the perfect chick flick for valentine's. and it's one of dan's all time favorites, hee hee. and p.s. your sugar cookies were still soft and dreamy. thank you mom for sending john adams for dan's birthday. i especially enjoyed the part when george washington takes the presidential oath; a perfect episode for celebrating president's day. the two hour episode of bachelor was just a bonus. and thank you miss abby, you are the quilting queen. the map quilt turned out so beautiful, better than i imagined. thank you for sewing the perfect valentine gift for me to give to my map man. i loved watching him bounce benji from japan to africa and back again. benji discovered the arctic ocean before bedtime.

xo.

mini moo

i love anything mini. maybe because mini mart has been my nickname since i was small. the pet name later shortened to just min. i still love when i get a phone call and someone says, min! on the other end. i already know it's going to be a happy conversation. maybe that's why i have incorporated mini throughout my mini business. or maybe because dan says i'm pint size.

whatever the reason,
mini moo cards are just right.
such a simple way to design
a cute business card.
upload and go. i love moo.
even if they are putting people like me out of business.

Giveaway: Oliver Handmade tees

happy president's day everyone.
here we go with another cute & kid friendly giveaway.

mama & business owner, erin, sells sweet tees for babies and toddlers in her shop, Oliver Handmade. each tee has original designs, featuring hand appliqué and embroidery. her up close attention to detail is exceptional. she has a bundle of darling designs that are perfect for the little ones in your life. customized clothing makes a delightful one of a kind gift for any li'l babe. benji was lucky to receive a cute customized onesie of his very own. thank you, erin for being so thoughtful!

Oliver Handmade is giving one m.writes reader a hand-sewn tee in the size and design of their choosing. comment here by thursday, february 19th to enter to win. i'll announce the winner on friday, february 20th. but wait, there's more. erin is kindly offering an exclusive sale: 15% off all orders through the end of february. simply enter code "m.writes" in the message to seller section at checkout and wait for a revised invoice before payment. hoorah for baby tees. we can never have enough. merci.





oh sew sweet.

bear world

I honestly can’t believe that cinnamon bears are not universally available. Marta told me that some of you have never, ever experienced this gooey, gummy, stuck-in-the-grooves-of-your-teeth ursine goodness. I’m shocked and appalled. Cinnamon bears are (or at least should be) as much a part of every childhood experience as hand-me-downs and Super Mario Brothers. Next you’ll be telling me that there are places where you can’t get Fry Sauce with your burger combo meal.

I realize that the economy is on the skids, and that Congress thinks they’re doing us all a huge favor by concentrating on the stimulus bill. What they should be doing is ensuring that all Americans have equal access to cinnamon bears. Like Marta, I’m campaigning for cinnamon bear reform. I won’t rest until cinnamon bears can be found in every grocery store, quickie-mart, and truck stop from sea to shining sea!

To start, I’m sending (well, technically Marta is sending) a free package of bears to Victoria, our completely random winner, who loves When Harry Met Sally and who has apparently been leading a life without cinnamon bears. Please email your info to marta@martacards.com.

To those who weren’t quite as random and yet still want to experience the blessings of cinnamon bears, I have only one suggestion: write to your Senator or Member of Congress.

(I'm informed that Marta promised to announce her favorite romantic movies in this post. Since she's busy, I'll take the liberty of listing her top chick flicks, in order of preference: (1) This is Spinal Tap, (2) The Godfather II, (3) The Bourne Ultimatum , (4) Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift, and (5) Beaches.)

my funny valentine

happy valentine's day.
hope your day is lovely.
i can't begin to describe
all the love in my heart.
and to think, just a year ago...

dan is full of surprises today
because he knows i love surprises.
and benji is his cutie cupcake self
because he knows i am crazy about him.

today is the day. love is in the air.
find someone to share it with.
hold the elevator. send a note.
deliver a secret. buy a flower.
shovel a driveway.
make breakfast in bed.
eat chocolate truffles.
love a lot.

big day friday

thanks for participating in this week's jewelry giveaway. congrats to caitlin you are the winner! please email your info to marta@martacards.com. special thank you to leigh of leedle deedle designs for offering up a pair of pretties.



monday will mark the last giveaway of the month. so tune in for something itty bitty, handmade and darling. and enjoy your valentine's day with those you love most. and if you don't have a sweetheart to share it with, love it up anyway. get yourself a pedicure or a new library book or an ice cream cone or a car wash or a corn dog or whatever makes you happy. valentine's day is for everyone. of course if you're so over valentine's day, stay in and rent a horror film. it is friday the thirteenth afterall. we'll be staying in with a heart pizza and chocolate mousse. because he loves pizza and i love chocolate.



xoxo.

weekly wrap up

thank you for all the niceness. i'm very much feeling the love.
i've left a lot of loose ends out there, so here is a thursday eve wrap up sesh.

01. am loving that you love my baby's feet as much as i do. merci. a good question was brought up about the actual size of his li'l footprint. to give you a better idea of how itty bitty, i've photographed my favorite print alongside sixty seven cents to give you a reference point. oh so sweet.

02. am delighted with your chick flick choices. you've reminded me of some i haven't thought of and others that i could watch 23 times in a row. and by the by, cinni bear lovers unite. to those of you who have never heard of a cinnamon bear, i'm telling you, just you wait. i should set out a cinni bear booth in park city at sundance next year. uma thurman would be all over them. please do yourselves a favor and get some next time you ski utah. and buy yourself a pina colada + banana slurpee at the 7/11 along with a chocolate chocolate donut. they are the very best.

03. thanks for the awesome feedback about my writing 101 project. all of your reactions got me super excited. i was nervous about it and wondered if this writing idea would fly. so i'm happy you're happy about it. i am on page 54 of this book and am thoroughly enjoying the words jumping out at me. following amy's example, i found a like new copy for just a dollar + shipping. i can't wait to get it in my hands to mark it up and love it up to pieces. and thank you for suggesting other books for me to read too. such nice people you are. keep them coming. i have already requested the anne lamott book from my local library. i'm keeping track of all of these good reads on my amazon wish list.

p.s. no homework required. a gal emailed me wondering if she has to read up on certain texts to join in on the writing assignments. no way. nothing required except a pen and paper. but if you want to read along, i'll be citing all of the texts i gain inspiration from with each exercise. i will mainly urge you to write it all out. let loose. because really motivating you will give me a motive to get writing more often. jotting in life as it goes by. living deeper. writing the nitty gritty details that too often get swept under the rug.

happy v day preparations.

footprint valentines

the boy and i did a little project together. and i can only hope it's the first of many. he was chuckling every time i painted his foot for another print. i love how each footprint came out uniquely different. each card is a one of a kind print. there is nothing as sweet as little baby feet.




valentine prints diy
01. non-toxic washable paint set.
02. fine bristled paint brush.
03. art pad, i like thick paper made for watercolors.
04. baby wipes for quick clean up.

i painted & stamped benji's little footprint repeatedly on one piece of large art paper which was a speedy and efficient process, a must for having a wiggly wee one as your sidekick. then i cleaned him up and let him loose. i let the prints dry and used a paper cutter to cut them into cards. i added a simple message on each. it was fun to make valentines together, starting a tradition long before the days he and i are standing side by side in the supermarket choosing between thomas the tank engine and batman.

giveaway: cinnamon bears

yep. another giveaway.
because it's love month.
and i love love month.

it has come to my attention that the term cinnamon bear isn't necessarily readily identifiable. to some, a cinnamon bear only resides in the imagination. such a shame. believe me, those bears are oh so chewy cinnamoney sweet and, as it turns out, hard to come by. so when i found them on sale at my local grocery store, i came home with ten packages. after seeing dan's quizzical brow i gave the speech i had prepared, i am on a mission to spread cinnamon bear goodness worldwide. plus they were on mega sale. practically every gal i know loves these li'l bears. i would sell them by the pound if i could manage the wholesale property rights and the temptation of having bears bombard my workspace. but instead i plan to mail each package to a blog pal. so i give you a cinnamon bear giveaway in honor of valentine's day.

comment here and please tell me your favorite chick flick romance movie. i'll pick one random comment on valentine's day and ship the bears straight to the winner. the first package went to my new friend, summer who loves to list, write and create. she emails me with good questions, delisch recipes and nice words.

oh so beary sweet.

sweet tooth

yesterday my cousin and i were discussing what sweets we would be baking, that is if we weren't too busy napping or chatting on the phone. she has a plan to mail me some valentine cookies. yesss. i'm watching for them, sugar. and i won't mind if they don't arrive 'til st. patty's day. she is the best recipe finder and never fails to email me her discoveries.

as you well know, i have a major sweet tooth. i might even say sweet teeth. which is why i so enjoyed reading this article about yet another darling sweet shop in new york, a bakery in brooklyn called baked. mmmm.



i love it when fancy famous bakeries give out their recipes.

baked spicy brownies
red hot velvet cupcakes
double chocolate loaf
strawberry whoopie pies

i think the strawberry whoopie pies sound delicsh. i might whip up a batch someday. if not just for the opportunity to answer a phone call and say, oh... just baking whoopie.

writing 101

this is my latest borrowed read. i found it at the local library and can tell it's been loved. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. why the libraries insist on placing their laminated barcodes directly over the titles of their books completely dumbfounds me. aren't librarians supposed to love their books? two pages in, i found myself wanting desperately to jot in the margins of this book. this book is so similar to my favorite book by brenda ueland. i wonder if natalie loved her as well. i can just imagine them mingling on a train platform.

just as i was about to mark it up, i heard in my head a subsequent speech about defacing property from my beloved. so i hastily got up to get my paper and pen to make my notes. now this alone should tell you something. a book that forces me to get up after tucking my blanket just so, having my icy drink ready with the ottoman perfectly angled after putting benji down for a nap has got to be good.

i have read the first few chapters and feel like i'm on top of the world. i'm back in the game and have decided once again i want to be a writer. a good writer. i realize i have to practice. really practice. sometimes i think i am like one of those kids on Made who want to be made into a dancer or a pageant queen or an ice skater in only a matter of weeks and yet never practice and their coaches get unbelievably fed up... so for me practice means with a pen and paper. i'm going to start it all up again. writing basics 101. no expectations. no hopes for publishing and no hopes for anyone to care. i'm going to give myself little writing assignments. and soon. and i want you to join me. if you want. i say this only because i've received a handful of emails telling me that i should hand out tips about becoming a better writer. these emails not only put a smile on my face, but get starred and shuffled away for me to re-read on a rainy day. although flattered to pieces, i do not yet know how to teach writing. because i am still becoming a writer and know no formal way to teach except to do. therefore i invite you to learn how to let it all out with me.

as i've mentioned before, i had a series of inspiring incredible teachers who made me love writing simply because they allowed, spurred, provoked creativity. form was not graded. the more creatively crazy, the better. if you want to join me in my writing experiment, i'll post my made up writing practices & assignments on the blog. to motivate you and to motivate me. however let me make this clear, these assignments will just be available for the taking. not to obligate you. because obligations do not motivate. inspiration, on the other hand, moves mountains.

here we go. more details after valentines and such.
i will see if i can get my act together.
lets say february 23rd. save the date.

a lovely gesture

am digging out sweet valentine ideas from my archives. and thinking this mud chocolate ice cream looks divine. i remember eating this little ramekin of ice cream while sitting on the floor by the radiator and falling in love with a novel while dreaming of what having a baby would be like. boy, i really had no clue motherhood could be this fantastic. and i had no idea i'd be living in idaho a year later either. i would never believe that only a year later i'd strangely miss the days of sitting in front of that silly heater watching dan study. funny the things you remember are not the things you thought you'd remember.

sweep someone off their feet
love quotes for your love notes.
ideas for your valentine via last year
sweets and treats
and my favorite anniversary gift yet

giveaway: earrings by leigh

leigh is a local in my hometown and happens to have a habit for the handmade. she makes pretty jewelry and has a shop filled with handcrafted lovelies. her simplicity in design and attention to detail really makes a statement. even for a jewelry shy gal like me. plus, she packages the little beaded danglies in the most darling fashion.

just in time for valentine's, leigh is offering one m.writes reader their choice of earrings from her shop. this is the perfect thing to give yourself this love month. leave a shout out here with your favorite earring design by thursday, february 12th. the winner will be announced friday, february 13th. thank you, leigh, for making lobes more lovely.

q&a: baby showers

Q. Hello, Miss Marta. I'm hosting a baby shower for a first-time young mom in my neighborhood. I'm keeping things very low key, but I'd like to include an activity of some kind, some sort of non-typical baby shower game. I'm coming up short. It needs to be budget friendly, accessible to older ladies and younger ladies alike. I thought you and all your creative juices and genius would have some ideas?



A. oh, yes. the Baby Shower Game. what a great obstacle. you want a vehicle for conversation. a game to keep your guests buzzing, not bored. something easy, fun and entertaining, not tacky or embarrassing. after all, the whole point of a baby shower is to honor the lady in waiting, not terrify her. once i heard about a horrible game requiring guesses about how many inches around a pregnant lady's tummy had grown. yikes. now that would never be fun, ever. the least bit fun while in a state of water retention and high hormone turmoil. hopefully i have a better idea for you. all thanks to the hostess with the mostest, mary.



my sweet sister-in-law, mary, hosted a fabulous luncheon for me last summer. every detail was lovely. we partied on the patio with close friends and cool mint lemonade in our cups. while we enjoyed a delicious lunch, we played a perfect baby shower game. it's simple, fun and educational for the new mama-to-be.

mary passed out index cards to all the ladies. we each wrote down a question about motherhood, pregnancy, or birth, etc. this was a great game for everyone. whether you're young, old, whether you've had a child or not, we all have questions about kids. mary then gathered up the cards and gave them to me. i read each question aloud and the group laughed and agreed and answered each one, everyone adding their own tips and experience. some of the questions were ones i hadn't even thought of, but very insightful.

what should i take to the hospital? (mary's helpful advice, bring clean socks to wear for the delivery.) what do i do if my baby gets sick? which is the best baby gear to buy? how do i help my toddler behave at a restaurant? does an epidural hurt? what can i expect for recovery? how can i help my husband bond with the baby? what should i do now to prepare my nursery?

all the light hearted questions got us chatting, learning wisdom from the older women and ideas from the younger gals. delivery experiences vary greatly, so it's nice to hear a collection of tales. most mothers love to tell their story again and again.



thank you, mary.
it was a beautiful celebration for our baby bird.

on a side note. when i was pregnant, i wanted to know exactly what i could expect from the moment i felt my first labor pain. i wanted to be completely prepared as possible. little did i know everything i thought would happen, didn't. and visa versa. i thought the epidural would be terribly painful or have major complications. nope, the epidural was glorious. the best thing ever. i thought i would be in labor for hours. nope, benji wasn't tolerating it well, so i had a surprise c-section and in moments i was wheeled into surgery. hello!? surgery? wasn't at all planning on getting sliced open. i wondered if dan would bond to our babe. are you kiddin' me?! benji and his dad are two peas in a pod. the cutest thing ever. i wondered how nursing would go and feared the worst. it's way better than i ever imagined. feeding him is a learned skill, but well worth the effort. i thought i would be taking benji home from the hospital in a matter of days. nope, our babe had to stay a few more days for extra tender care.

basically my advice to you new mamas is, expect the unexpected. be flexible. be happy. be positive. know that this experience will make you stronger. be nice to your nurses and they will be nice right back to you. nurses are like angels. they became my best friends. around the clock ice water refills and offers for a dose of pain killers is a surefire way to make a new bff. they will give you good advice, if you just ask. and they will care for you in ways you might not expect. i'll never forget the time my nurse gave me a big hug when i found out benji had to stay in the nicu. she didn't say a word, she just hugged me. it was exactly what i needed. i still get teary thinking about her and that moment.

read books to prepare yourself and don't skip the c-section parts, love your baby and sing to him from the get go, take tons of photos and let dad hold him a lot. everything will work out. you were born to do this. and after the baby arrives, put down your books and let your instincts lead. the first few months are precious, give him your undivided attention. pause everything else in your life and enjoy the brand newness.

cran razz

am feeling back to my ol' self again.
and am back to my ol' friend again.
am writing lists. typing words. revising my work.
am trying to check off my must-do's
so i can get to my want to's.

discount on darcy cards

hello weekend bloggers.
a special little sale is going on in my shop.
mr. darcy cards are now available for half price.
order now to get them in time.
you have just one week 'til valentines.

handmade and heartfelt

here are my favorite valentine ideas from martha. she always makes me want to get out my craft supplies. so go all out, make something sweet for your love.

because when you put your heart into something, it shows.
this is decidedly my theme for next week's blogging. parties are always more fun when there is a theme to celebrate. see you monday.

clockwise from top left.
hearts and blocks
paper heart wrappings
dainty doily envelopes
heart seals
antique style
hand-stitched

the pretty hearts go to..

hello lovies. i had to take my whiny i'm so sick post down because it was making me even sicker. really, i'm on the up and up. i was happy to hear that you've been there, done that and healed up. i've heard a lot of sad news lately about heartache and heartbreak and i couldn't pretend that my illness was even worth posting about. there are bigger things to think about. i'll be posting all about stuff that matters and stuff that doesn't next week. and there will also be another fine giveaway. or two. next week is valentine's week afterall. time for spreading the love. there is no excuse not to love. love a little more this weekend. i'll be loving my little family, my stack of library books, my heating blanket and my dvd player this weekend.

without further ado, the sweet heart garlands go to miss A.

congrats! simply email your details to marta@martacards.com. happy weekend. don't forget to get out your pretty paper, scissors and gluesticks. there is only one week left to make and deliver your love letters to your valentine. there is still a little me in there who is dying to make a valentiney mailbox.