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November 20, 2007
uncanny
Doesn't Finn totally look like Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock?
Posted by lisa at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)
this boy looooves his doggie
He said, "Mommy, Santos makes me happy. Take our picture."
Posted by lisa at 07:46 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2007
Announcing Plush!
Remember our friend, Kimberly the Sexy Artist? Well, Kimbers has taken her comely brand of creativity and gone commercial. Her new site, Plush, sells her handmade notecards packaged in miniature keepsake ottoman boxes. This woman has a gift for taking the ordinary and transforming it into something luxurious and extraordinary. Do check out her new site and consider it when you start making your holiday shopping list.
And yes, Kimberly's paintings are still for sale here, with new ones added almost daily.
Posted by lisa at 07:26 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2007
licking the beaters
The best part about making chocolate chip cookies.
Posted by lisa at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2007
New Haircut
Posted by lisa at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)
November 15, 2007
things Finn has tried to give a "time out" to lately
Finn is no stranger to the "time out," especially since he's been bringin' the two-year-old attitude lately. When you're two, you have little providence over the world. Rightly so, considering some of the things Finn has taken a stand on these days. ("Nooooo! The purple one!! I want the puuurple one!")
So, when it comes time for him to pretend what it's like to have the power to give someone or something a time out, he's found that he really has very little jurisdiction. Here are some of the things he has given a time out to lately. When I ask him what the offense is, he invariably says, "He take Baby David's toy." Which must have been something that happened at daycare.
* Thomas the Tank Engine
* Percy
* Santos
* Mommy (did not go over well)
* Carrots
* Teddy Bear
* His blanket
* His penis
Posted by lisa at 09:58 AM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2007
a boy and his dog
It was probably inevitable that Finn would become an animal lover. Both Shawn and I have entire conversations not just about our dog, but about the neighbor's dogs, if you can believe it. And there were rumors that orphaned kittens were living in one of the alleys by our house. Let me tell you, Finn and I went on stroller patrol, and if those kittens were there, they were pretty good hiders.
Finn really loves Santos. Really loves him. It is so cute to see. He calls for him first thing in the morning. He tries to get a befuddled Santos to play Thomas the Tank Engine with him. ("Here, Santos, you be Percy.") He comforts Santos when there's a thunderstorm.
While Santos once just kind of tolerated Finn for the trail of snacks that follows him wherever he goes, he really seems to love Finn, too. This weekend, we were all on the couch, curled up watching a show because everyone was sick. And when Finn laid down, he used Santos as a pillow. And Santie curled up even tighter with Finn. And we all watched Thomas.
Posted by lisa at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2007
Halloween 2007
Finally—here is the motherload photos from Halloween. Eight pages in all. I just updated it to include the whole shebang. As I mentioned before, we had a pre trick-or-treat party here where we tried to fill up the kids on good food (well, pizza) before hitting the streets. This was seriously one of my most delightful days as a mom. Finn just couldn't believe how awesome it all was. He was all like, "Wait--my friends are coming over to eat pizza? All of them? And we get to wear awesome costumes? And... let me get this straight... then we get to go to people's houses and they give us candy? Awesome." *
Don't miss the group shot photos, that start on page four. These are best viewed in sequence, as they show the delightful chaos of trying to get a group of kids psyched about Halloween to stand still for 10 seconds for a photo. Their wonderful energy shows the tone of the evening.
* After I re-read this, I realized that I had written the same thing, almost verbatim, in the original Halloween post below. My apologies. I blame my striking team of writers.
Posted by lisa at 07:16 AM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2007
Hold my hand!
Finnie dragged his chair over to mommy so he could sit next to her and then requested that she hold his hand. But this very sweet and tender moment was followed by an intense 45 minute case of the Pre-Bed Crazies—manic swings from squealing ridiculousness to pensive book reading, as seen in the rest of these photos.
Posted by shawn at 08:46 AM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2007
what Lisa's been up to, October edition
Have I mentioned that I've been busy before? Really? Because I feel like I'm busy like never before. And while, yes, there were days when I worked for Chronicle Books when I would duck out early to go to yoga, and then take a hour lunch with friends, then leave early to have a glass of wine with Brenda (sorry, Chronicle), working for myself is a whole different animal. My boss? She's is a slavedriver.
One of the coolest things I launched in October was a series of podcasts for world-famous author Sara Paretsky. Sara came over to our home and we set up some of Shawn's old microphones and my copy of GarageBand. We went ahead and recorded a series of ten different podcast episodes. Sara read from her new novel, Bleeding Kansas (which will hit bookstores January 1st) and her series of essays on her journey as an author and advocate of free speech, Writing in an Age of Silence. My liberal soul especially admires her writing in the chapter entitled, "Granny, look what we're doing in the land of the free," a meditation on her immigrant grandmother's experience as an American, compared with her own today. You can subscribe to her podcasts via iTunes, or listen to any of her podcasts on the site. It was an absolute delight to work with Sara, particularly in this new medium. There will be a major media push for her new novel when it pubs in January, so look for more interesting developments in the coming months.
Next, I designed an email newsletter for Incorporating Movement, a New York City-based Pilates studio. I've been doing a ton of email newsletters lately for clients, a medium that presents interesting challenges and results. Like with Sara, it's been exciting to see my long-term clients further expand their businesses.
If my butt looks kind of big these days, it is because one of my new clients is Cincinnati-based Madisono Gelato. This new and delicious client is building a business that supplies Cincinnati's best restaurants with his creamy confection and a new store that sells direct. In the coming months, we'll be working on selling online. I have been generous enough to test Madisono's shipping services by receiving sample pints because I should really know my clients as best as possible.
And my most ambitious project to date, Margot Madison Creative Stationery, (yes, she is married to Madisono) is getting very near completion. Keep watching for that exciting launch.
Lastly, my article for HOW Magazine about design for the Christian market entitled "Putting a Fresh Face on Faith" has hit newsstands with the December issue. I spoke with a variety of incredibly fascinating designers who are working to elevate the level of design for the Christian audience from the likes of clip-art doves, praying hands, and dusty-leather bound Bibles to innovative and (yes) inspirational design. My favorite folks were the provocatively petulant Brad Abare of ChurchMarketingSucks.com (a blog dedicated to challenging churches to actively market themselves as a way to reach their members) and Relevant Media, who are creating some of the most progressive design I've seen, Christian or otherwise. And Ty Mattson, who has sucessfully worked with a number of faith-based organizations to help them elevate their design to better promote themselves. (One of his biggest clients is the author for "The Purpose Driven Life.") You can read the entire article here.
I wrote about a million reviews for MomFinds.com. Some of my favorite products of late have been the Beinjoy Yoga Mat, Zooni Mop Top hats, and the Chicago skyline T from So Silly Stuff.
Lastly, I've been writing about a ton of fun Chicago adventures with kids for Kids Off the Couch. Finn has definitely benefited from this one, as I was totally in the know of where to go for art exhibits for kids, fruit-picking, and even an adventure to Greek Town.
Phew! I told you it was a lot.
Posted by lisa at 07:24 AM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2007
we are so telling his future girlfriends this one...
After Finn successfully peed in the potty today, he said, "Mommy, I love my penis!"
Posted by lisa at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2007
he likes the way they dribble up and down the court
Since the weather is getting cold here and we won't be able to play as much outside, I signed Finn up for a "basketball" class on Friday mornings at the Y. Finn's bud, Delilah signed up for the class, too.
It was pretty much hilarious. It wasn't "basketball" so much as it was a bunch of toddlers running around, chasing the ball. It was pretty cute. And it was fun to see how excited Finn was for it. When the teacher asked the kids who wanted to try putting the ball in the basket first, Finn immediately piped up, "Me! I try!"
I always kind of thought that Finn would be a shy guy, since I had always been a little shy. But Finn was giving his teacher "five," running around, and having a blast. The fact that Delilah was there only seemed to make him happier. And all that running around meant a great nap that day, which was wonderful.
Posted by lisa at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2007
Fireman Finn
We are still going through all the photos from Halloween, but I had to post one of Fireman Finn. He ended up having a GREAT time. We seriously had about 40 adults and children over here for some pizza and other snacks before trick-or-treating. When we went trick-or-treating, Finn insisted on going up to every house by himself. ("Mommy, Daddy, you wait here.") At the first house, he tried to give them candy, but let's just say that he caught on pretty quickly. It was like he couldn't even believe such a concept existed. He was all like, let me get this straight. i get to dress up, walk up to people's houses, and they give me candy? awesome!
Posted by lisa at 06:58 AM | Comments (0)