Happy Weekend!

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Oh, hey everyone. It’s Friday, isn’t it? My brain is so fuzzy, I’m not sure if I actually remember what the day is anyway. This week I had such grand plans, but after a super productive Monday (I went running at 5 a.m.! I have to say that because I did nothing else all week except lay around like Jabba the Hut) everything went swiftly downhill. Monday night I came down with a fever and by Tuesday night, after fighting through a day at work and even a happy hour, I was down for the count. I spent Wednesday on my couch and my bed, alternating between eating soup and moaning.

Wednesday night Lulu had her first sleepover at a friend’s house and she was so very excited. They had an amazing time until I received a call yesterday afternoon to let me know the mom of Lu’s friend had found lice in her hair. Yup, Lu had lice. And then when I picked up Tate from daycare, I checked him and hoo boy, he had it too! Yay. And guess who else was infected…yours truly. It just keeps getting better, doesn’t it.

I don’t share this to be gross or whiny, I share it because I feel like a lot of the time blogs can make people look way more fab than they probably are in real life. I mean, I am pretty amazing most of the time, but sometimes I’m in a shower cap vacuuming all my furniture and washing every piece of linen I own while picking bug eggs out of my kids hair. Let’s keep it real, people.

Again, and yes I know this is annoying, my new life mantra and attitude made this situation so much less horrible than it could have been. Though I was mortified that my kid apparently brought lice to someone’s home, the other mom couldn’t have been more gracious. Turns out she’s a pharma rep with a friend who has spent the last few years developing an organic, safe lice treatment, so she knew exactly what to do. She even had a kit on hand that she gave to me to get rid of all those little buggers. (Sidenote: This product is AMAZING. If you ever have to deal with lice, I highly recommend. Safe enough for little Tater and got rid of everything.) It could’ve been so much worse. We were lucky. And a bonus, the treatment made my hair look model gorgeous, so there’s that.

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OK, enough griping, here’s some fun links to get you through the weekend, whether you’re holed up with a headcold/lice or just trying to stay out of the heat:

– Have you been watching the Olympics? Obviously we have, and we are loving the swimming and the gymnastics. Ever wondered how those leotards stay right where they are supposed to? Check out this article on how they are made. Super interesting stuff. I had no idea how detailed it all was.

– Speaking of gymnastics, tonight NBC is airing a documentary on the “Magnificent Seven” and you’d better believe Lu and I will be watching!

– This workout segment on the Sarah James show looks perfect for me. And by perfect, I mean quick and convenient.

– This documentary on HBO about supermodels aging looks fantastic. Can’t wait to check it out.

– Omigod avocado salad nom nom nom.

– I’ve always wanted to take the kids camping, but haven’t bitten the bullet yet. This post on backpacking with kids gets me excited though. We might need to bust out that old tent!

– Lane made homemade face scrub and I WANT IT NOW.

Here are some Instagrams from the past few days (weeks, years, hell, I have no idea…). You can follow our adventures by following me over there @crazy_bananas. Have a happy weekend, all!

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A Non-Traditional First Birthday Gift

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A few weeks ago one of my best friends’ little babes turned one year old! Hooray for toddlers! Welcome to the world of broken everything and lots of whining and temper tantrums! Luckily, it’s also the world of “I love you mama” and huge hugs and recognizing animals and all sorts of other wonderment, which pretty much makes up for all the bad stuff.

I knew I wanted to give them something special for their little one’s big day, but since they live in a tiny apartment in NYC, I figured any toy or gadget would just take up space they couldn’t afford to lose. I thought about giving them a book, but I knew they had a ton of reading material already and, again, there’s the space issue. I wanted to get them something personal, but I’m not much for monogramming or embroidering blankets, so that was out. In the end, I chose a super simple idea that turned out amazing! Personal, sweet and won’t take up too much space…behold, an Instagram canvas!

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I snapped this picture of their little family while waiting for the subway when I was in NYC in May. I loved how it was an unplanned moment (right after this shot, we tried to pose some, but this one turned out the best) and it totally exemplified their lives in the city. Making the image into a canvas was so simple. There are tons of ways to go about it, but I ended going to Acme Gifts in Manhattan, Kansas, when I was in town for family events. I took my phone with me, uploaded the image to their computer and a week later, tadaa! A beautiful canvas. I loved using Acme because they are locally owned and they had examples on hand of Instagram images on canvas. I was worried that the image would turn out pixelated, since Instagram dramatically reduces pixels when it compresses your images, but on a 12×12 canvas, it looked great! Having those examples on hand squashed some of those fears.

Another shop I’ve used for canvas in the past is Canvas OnDemand. I’ve never done an Instagram canvas through them, but their larger canvases are great quality and reasonably priced. Plus, they have Groupons a few times a year, so I try to get those when I can to lessen the price a bit more.

I wrapped the canvas pretty simply, using Kansas City newspaper clippings (which I knew they’d get a kick out of in NYC) and red and white bakers twine. I attached a little homemade card, where I used some of Elise’s stamps to personalize it a bit. You can see the final wrapping here (it’s the main photo on the weekly wrap up post).

There you have it, a simple, easy first birthday gift, that is personal and will be loved for years to come! Happy Instagramming!

Happy Weekend!

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Happy Friday, everybody! This week has been so overflowing with fun and good times, that even though I know I’m exhausted, I’m still smiling. I’m working on some secret projects that I get to share in the next few weeks and I just cannot wait. Tonight I am headed to the Kauffman Program Graduation Ceremony at Arrowhead Stadium. I have mentioned before that I’m a Big Sister through BBBS-KC, and my Little Sis is a proud Kauffman Scholar. Once she graduates from the program she has to begin prepping to leave for college. I’m so proud of her! This weekend we also have two birthday celebrations (one for a friend of Lulu’s and one for a friend of mine), so suffice to say, we’ll be busy partying it up.

Here are some fun links from around the www this week:

– This video of famous artists doing their work is just fascinating. I loved the one with Monet in the waterlily garden and the one with Renoir being assisted by his young son. My favorite is the video with Jackson Pollack, who says to the filmmaker, “When I’m painting I have a general notion of what I’m about.” So awesome.

– This time lapse capture of the Earth from the International Space Station gave me chills.

– Why yes, that is a backyard shed transformed into a Tardis. And yes, I definitely need one.

– Jasmine Star’s Shooting Star Series is my favorite photography “How To” these days. Her videos are always spot on. This one’s on how to photograph wedding rings.

– My childhood idol Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, died this week from cancer. Here is a list of five things even I didn’t know about her (and I knew a lot). Sidenote: The fact that a “reporter” had the audacity to ask her if she had ever “weeped on the job” is so infuriating. Bah!

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Here are this week’s Instagram shots. Pretty please, come follow me over there if you’re so inclined. You can find me @crazy_bananas. Happy weekend!

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Happy Weekend!

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Hooray, it’s finally Friday! Did this week fly by for you? Because I could swear it’s still Wednesday in my brain. We are headed to the lake today for a fun weekend of fishing, swimming and generally trying to stay cool in the expected 106 degree heat. My other main goal will be keeping the baby (who does not have any fear and will dive head first in to any body of water) from killing himself. Fingers crossed!

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Here are some links that got me thinking and laughing this week:

– Have you all heard of WIGS? It’s a channel on YouTube that is producing and releasing high quality dramatic shows via the web. Some people are saying it’s what will replace the now dying genre of soap operas (RIP AMC). I don’t know about that, but I’ve watched a few of the series and there are definitely some big stars participating. So far my favorite is “Christine” starring America Ferrara as a girl at a speed dating event.

– This self-written obituary by a man who knew he would die soon is charming, funny and poignant. He confesses to misdeeds as a teenager and apologizes to his wife for smoking (which gave him the throat cancer that he died from). Really lovely.

– The BBC wrote a feature on Kansas City’s renaissance and for once focused on our amazing culture and arts, instead of BBQ and cowboy boots. It’s a great read! (Note: I love BBQ and cowboy boots, don’t get me wrong, but it was nice to be called out for all of the other parts of our incredible city for a change!)

– I’m obsessed with this photo shoot of Keith Richards and his family. This is what I picture when I imagine my future…well, without the formerly drugged out rockstar.

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Last weekend was one of the first ones in a while where we were all home in Kansas City AND Trent was able to stay away from work all weekend long. It was glorious! And lazy! Lazy gloriousness! We ended up going down to the Nelson-Atkins Museum where they were doing this cool installation creating a super huge picnic blanket. It was definitely a bit hot to be out there, but we had a little picnic in the shade and ran around for a bit anyway. We’re hoping to take the kids down for a real weekend visit before the end of the summer, since it’s one of our favorite places in the city (you can see more posts from previous trips in 2004 and 2011). Most of our Instagram pics from this week are from our afternoon at the Nelson, although there is some other fun stuff sprinkled in as well. If you’re on Instagram, remember you can find me @crazy_bananas.

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Missy Misdemeanor Elliott

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I had the privilege of photographing my wonderful friend Lane’s new baby girl the other day, and holy moly, is she a cutie pie. Miss Elliott is super sassy already, and has some very strong opinions on music. In fact, if Mr. Ray LaMontagne wasn’t playing somewhere in the vicinity, she almost lost her marbles. She’s got good taste, this one.

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And just for laughs, I wanted to post a picture of what happened when her favorite song of Mr. LaMontagne’s was over and it scrolled to the next. Miss Thang was not happy. This might be my favorite photo from the shoot. Ahhh, trouble.

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Congrats to Lane and her husband Keegan on one beautiful little girl! Can’t wait to watch her grow up (and possibly attend our mother-daughter ABC Family marathons!).

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