THE QUEEN OF QUIRK

around the world, around the world

Been browsing online during all of these super incredible after-Christmas sales and I wanted to point out  a few things I think are super cool.
Got this for a couple of special girls in our lives.

I just couldn't resist! I can't wait to see photos of them in these!
~~~~~~~~~
Saw this and grabbed a few in white for my office. I love the idea of a clothesline, but I wanted something a bit more streamlined and slick looking. I just think this idea is so cool!

~~~~~~~

I've always adored the wallpaper in the Brocade Home catalogs. So pleased to see they are on sale now. I don't think Colin could never stomach something so girly on our walls, but a girl can dream, right?
Gosh, that would look great in a powder room or a closet...wouldn't it be so incredibly lavish to have that tucked away in your closet, just for your own viewing pleasure? Swoon!

And before Christmas, Colin and I took a shopping day by ourselves so we could pick up some last-minute trinkets for the girls. I happened upon a beautiful silver lotus blossom. At its core you were supposed to put a tealight in and let it glow. i thought it was so beautiful. I haven't been able to find one like it online (the ones I found had this bizarre thing in the middle that made the candle sit above the blossom...no likey). But during my search I found this super cool lotus...

If it didn't have that ring on the bottom, it would be perfect. I love how it's green...yum!

Anyway, it's not like I can get any of this stuff....just browsing and dreaming today and thought you might like them, too! :)

The girls and I had a very active morning jumping and dancing along to their Dance Dance Revolution pad. They kept wanting me to do it so we could get up to higher levels. It's so funny at this age when their coordination is extremely focused and intense because it's so hard for them to just sway and get into the music. Have you ever noticed that? How when children try to stay in rhythm it's so very jerky and awkward? I love that. :)

At the moment I'm working on a "Year in Review" album. So excited about this! At the same time I'm trying to format all my photos for our December Daily album as well. I really want to get this scrapped and put together.

I also have a big announcement to make, but I'll leave that for tomorrow. :)

I want to wish everyone a very happy new year! See you in '09!

come play along with me at 2Ps!

Hello! :)
Since I'm brand new to twopeasinabucket.com, I thought it would be fun to host a little contest! You can read all about it HERE.
You get a free template and a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to my store! :)

Look at all these fabulous layouts my creative team has put together! I seriously have the most amazing CT! :)

Come and play along! :)

december daily: day 28

Lots of creating and imagining going on today. Lara and Mia are putting on a play in their playroom and have dressed up.
Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present The Sheep Bird and the Shepherd!

I love how just a few scarves can be transformed into fabulously funny and cute costumes!

After Norah woke up from her nap, she requested a tea party with her daddy. I even threw in some real cookies because she's just so darn cute! So happy she's feeling better.

Love the new tea set we got. Noodle just adores having tea parties, but she is so rough that she'd broken most of her porcelain set. So, we got this great (and great looking!) metal tea set from Pottery Barn. She drops it endlessly and it never breaks. Why didn't they do this sooner?!?! :)

catching up~ december daily: days 22-27

Man, I am terrible at this!
I really don't think I should take on any more "daily" challenges when it comes to the blog! I think my blog resolution will just be "do better than I did last year". That should be good enough, right??!!? :)

Ok, so back to December!
.........................................................................................................................
december daily: day 22
Noodle has been sick on and off again all week. We really hope she perks up. Although, we can't complain about the amount of snuggles we are on the receiving end of.

.........................................................................................................................

december daily: day 23
The gingerbread house: We've been doing this for years now and it's one of our favorite traditions. We help the kiddos build it, but then we just let them go to town!

The icky sickies are creeping up on us. Time for some hot lemon and honey!

.........................................................................................................................

december daily: day 24
We always have our dinner on Christmas Eve. I am a big fan of relaxing on Christmas day, so we just have leftovers and snack all day. Pure bliss!
So, Christmas Eve contains most of our hustle and bustle. There were cookies to decorate, Christmas pajamas to unwrap and Santa's goodies to lay out (as well as the reindeer's). Noodle was feeling her worst today, though. :(

.........................................................................................................................

december daily: day 25
Merry Christmas!
all is calm, all is bright :)
a day of relaxing, snuggling, and staying in our pajamas until we go to bed. It doesn't get better than this. So many sweet presents were exchanged. My favorites were the ones that the children made and wrapped themselves. Lara made me a box with my name on it (for my desk) and I burst into tears the minute I saw it. She was a bit taken back and told me, "Mommy, it wasn't meant to make you cry..." Poor thing! I probably really freaked her out!
So thankful to spend this day with my wonderful family.

.........................................................................................................................

december daily: day 26
Not much going on today. The whole family slept in. I'm sure we needed it after so much craziness and excitement from the previous two days!
Very dreary. Not much sunshine in sight. However, it does help justify our laziness and hermit-like behavior!

.........................................................................................................................

december daily: day 27
Lots of moving around today, especially when you consider the last 2 days of slothiness!
Moved my office upstairs to our guestroom to have a more quiet space for me to work in. As much as I love being in the hub of my house so I can easily watch the kids, it makes for a pretty chaotic working environment. And since I will be upstairs, hopefully this will force me to work within my newly self-appointed work hours, i.e. when the children are not here.
This move has led to a lot of shifting in my work day. I'm gearing up for the new year and how insanely busy I will be. I'm putting myself on a highly organized new schedule. Hopefully that will help me maintain all the many hats I have to don during the week! It's nice to have a space that's all my own.

.........................................................................................................................
Thanks so much for stopping by! If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your family!
And Happy Hanukkah!
Love, Jan :)

december daily: day 21

Today was the "Hurryup!It'sthelastweekendbeforechristmasandwestillhaveHOWmanypresentsto

buyforpeople?!?!" kind of day. Lots of running around but we had a good time. The stores were surprisingly quiet, though. Where is everyone?
Mia asked if we could put Christmas lights up on the house this year so that was part of our search today. Unfortunately we didn't find any. Well, we did, but they were blue. And if anyone knows me, you know I don't do blue lights at Christmas. :)
Watched House of Flying Daggers with my man and went to bed way too late. Tomorrow's the first day of the Christmas break. Here's hoping my kids sleep in!

And Kim, I hope you had a wonderful birthday yesterday! (((HUGS)))

december daily: day 20

Cooking with my little kitchen elf. :)

deember daily: day 19

The last day of school.
I tell you what...I am so excited for this break. Usually I'm not all that chipper about it. Since I work from home, having 3 kiddos running around for 3 weeks without a warm, sunny garden to play in can get a bit frustrating to say the least.This year is different, though. I can't wait to wind down and relax. I can't wait to stay in our pajamas all day and watch movies and nap and snuggle.
Everything's been so crazy hectic that we really haven't had a chance to just sit and be and relax this holiday season.
I say this now, of course.
Let's see which tune I sing after 2.5 weeks of hanging around the houses in my pajamas...plump with snacks and leftovers and scary looking because I haven't brushed my hair in a week.
It's bound to happen. :)

Today I am thankful for one more weekend before Christmas.

december daily: day 18

Every year I feel two different things.
1: I am happy that every Christmas is small, relaxing, and cozy because it's just us.
2: I wish I had a home of my own where my parents, brother, in-laws, and friends could come and spend Christmas with us.

It's such a double-edged sword, this traveling around. We get to see the world, but we have to do it on our own. Everyday is a new adventure, but at the end of the day our support system is thousands of miles away. We've never known what it's like to have grandparents who live in the same town, let alone the same state.

Even though we try to make it as special as possible, there is no substitute for being surrounded by the family and friends you love.
Today I am thankful for the support we have. It stretches across the ocean.

new releases at 2ps

Just popping in real quick to post my new releases at 2ps. :) Hope you like them!
Some is new and some is old. The older bits have been revamped and streamlined, though, so that they match my current design style. Thanks for stopping by! :)

december daily: day 17

So many wonderful things going on. I just love this time of year. We spend so much time together and we get to see our kiddos in cute little plays. It's the sweetest thing ever.
And since we live in a foreign country, everything, even a simple school play, is a chance for us to experience something new...and possibly hilarious.

When we finally stop giggling, we also take note of the fact that our children are growing way too quickly. Where does the time go? And when did our first princess turn into such a little lady?

Today I am thankful that we are happy.