From Chaos Comes Happiness

Another great weekend of CREATING for me - this time, it was * * creating * * some fun adventures with my family (remember - CREATING, to me, is not just art or words. It's memories, too!) So, we decided to do something fun with the girls that we have never done before, and took them to the Museum of Science and Industry in downtown Chicago. I Love this Museum. It's amazing that I live near (just about 45 minutes south) this FANTASTIC CITY - yet I rarely enjoy it or take advantage of what it offers. PG and I have made it our goal to change that this year. And we have decided to take at least one day a month and bring the girls into the city - for FAMILY FUN! Today - Museum of Science and Industry. I haven't been to this museum in probably 15 years. So much of it has changed, but much of it was the same. Personally, my favorite part of the museum has always been the Colleen Moore Fairy Castle . I could get LOST in that room staring at that amazing doll house and dreaming. I

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY ELLA FRANCES!!! Three years ago the world became a little brighter when my Ella Frances joined it. Since then, my life has been even better than before (when I didn't even know it could be). In three years, she has taught me that: Having your face held in the hands of a child is the best feeling there is. Being told "You're a Great Mommy" by a 2 year old can make everything worth it. WASHABLE markers are really the very best invention in the world. MR. CLEAN DRY ERASERS are the second very best invention. The Wizard of Oz is really a magical movie. Playing with flour is really so much fun. Two dimples can get you absolutely anything. The Wii game CAN be conquered by a toddler. There is nothing wrong with eating cookie dough. "Tooting" done by a 2 year old can be very funny. Hannah Montana does have some great music. It is OK to not rock your child to sleep - they will learn how to put themselves to sleep on their own. PG really is the very

So, I've been creating. Like CRAZY! If you remember way back when in December, when I shared my 2010 Word with you (click there to be reminded), I explained that my goal for the New Year was to CREATE. Anything and Everything. Scrapbooks, journals, delicious meals and yummy desserts (I found a new banana cake recipe that is to DIE for, I'll share it with you at another time). But, let me tell you . . . I'm pretty proud of myself so far. For I have been a creating MACHINE!!!! (Well, sort of. . . ) Last week, I worked on a NEW project that I just have to share with you. And before I go into it . . . I will ask you, please, DO NOT JUDGE me. Please. Let me share with you my story, and perhaps you will look at it in a different light. The inspiration for my most recent creation is my kitchen. Here is a photo of part of that room. Last year PG and I had it painted in (what I call) Robin's Egg Blue, and Chocolate Brown. I love the color combination, and I LOVE my kitchen

So, I made an unauthorized purchase last week. Unauthorized purchases are those that are made without the spouse knowing. And while it was unauthorized when it was made, my catholic guilt got the best of me, and I fessed up to it just days after making it. My unauthorized purchase was for a book and a special art plaque by an incredible artist and writer, Kelly Rae Roberts . I stumbled upon her blog at least a year ago, while perusing the web for artists and inspiration. And I found exactly what I was looking for when I found her site. Her art inspires me. Her words motivate me. Her style brings a smile to my face and a joy in my heart. For the past year I have * wished * upon * a * star * for her book & some piece of her art to join my life. And while I wished and wished, I also waited and waited for a time when finances weren't so rough and when it wouldn't seem too much of a bad thing to spend some $'s on myself. It's not that they were that expensive. It was m

This is how I know . . . . . . because everytime PG is out of town, it snows. And right now, it is snowing. That's ok. I received a special **PACKAGE** in the mail this afternoon. It made me smile. It inspires me so! And I'm going to share it with you tomorrow. So, stay tuned!

"Mom . . . where did my alien go?" is the line I have heard about 100 times the past few nights, as I put Ella (or attempt to put Ella) to sleep. "Mom, the alien in my bed. Mom, where'd the alien go?" she'd ask. To which I'd always reply, "Oh, honey, there's no such thing as aliens." "MOM . . . WHERE DID YOU PUT MY ALIEN?" she'd question, again, and again. I have to tell you . . . this alien thing was getting OLD. I have spent the past few nights going over 100 areas of concern for my Ella, as the loss of this "alien" was REALLY bothering her. I was about to put a moratorium on the Sci-Fi channel in our house, and had proof positive why "FUTURAMA" is not an appropriate show for our 3 year old, even if her father thinks it's perfectly fine for her. I was certain that the Avatar commercials her Daddy insists on watching over and over had finally taken toll on her sweet girl mind, and was about to ba

HELLO Dear Strangers!!!! My . . . I am REALLY having a hard time with that " Multi-Creatively Challenged " issue that I brought up to you last week! So sorry I haven't posted in a while, but it's all been good for me. Today, specifically, was a pretty great day, and one that I really wanted to tell you about. You see, we had a major day of transformations in our home today . . . and it has left me feeling really really good. One was cleansing, one was rewarding, and the last symbolized growth. Each one was equally important enough to want tell you about them. So, allow me if you will, to share. #1 - The Cleansing Over the weekend I once again gathered with my scrapbooking girls and soaked up the creativity and inspiration I have come accustomed to from this great group of ladies. It also was a great opportunity to CREATE - (which, if you recall, was my GOAL for the new year )! At one point during the day we talked about life and setting expectations and reaching fo

I just received a phone call from PG . . . who is waiting for his luggage at the baggage terminal in Midway Airport in Chicago . "Daddy is Home!!" the girls are shrieking and jumping through the house in total delight. They have been so good for me, and they have missed their Daddy so very much. Tonight we will all sleep very soundly, for our universe is once again whole . And while I am at Peace with my family . . . . . . a candle for those suffering in Haiti . May God Bless the people of this land and may the world come together to help those in need . Peace to You and Yours.

Ella is definitely a Daddy's girl. When PG is in town and home, there are few moments when she wants me. It's all about Daddy. Daddy must help her get dressed. Daddy must snuggle with her. Daddy must read her a book before bedtime. Daddy. Daddy. Daddy. Most of the time, I am pretty o.k. with all of that. But sometimes I get a little selfish and wish she would long for some Mommy love. When PG is out of town (as he is now) - that's MY time with her. And I love each and every minute of it. I am off on Wednesdays, so those are REALLY one on one Ella and Mommy days (when Katie is at school.) Tonight Katie was invited to have dinner at a friends, so I found just Ella and I sitting at the table enjoying a lovely bowl of vegetable soup, and singing the ABC's. Really loud. Ella would sing first. Then I would sing. Some rounds we sang together. Some rounds not. Some rounds we sang while holding our mouths, as if "yelling" the ABC's to someone. Sometimes we sang wit

Happy Sunday! It's day 7 of PG being out of town. For those of you who may not be familiar with me and my routines . . . day 6 of a long PG trip is usually when things start to turn UGLY in me. It's usually the time when I really start to feel burned out, stressed and like I'm loosing patience with the day to day CHAOS of our home. So last night, that was me . . . CRAZY UGLY Mommy. Ugh. After a stressful night of attempting to get these two children (and, let me remind you . . . ONLY 2 children. You know, I think the Lord gives you what you can handle. Because I am certain if I had more than 2 I would probably turn into Mommy Dearest ! I am in awe of those Moms out there who handle many MANY children. And then those single moms and dads who handle many children. You are ALL my heros!) I digress . . . So, after a stressful night of attempting to get these two children into their pajamas and into bed, I found myself on the couch . . . asleep. I was drained. I managed to get m

Ella has discovered "The Wizard of Oz" and it has been playing, pretty much non-stop, in our house for the past week or so. It's funny how you can know a movie so well that you can recite practically every single line from it, with the same inflection and tone as on the film. It's also funny how a line from a movie that you have heard a million times before can suddenly hit you like a ton of bricks and make you think. Gees . . . I hate when that happens (the thinking.) It always disrupts my rather clueless state! ; ) Today I actually stopped what I was doing when I overheard the Wizard say to the Tin Man, A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. Seriously. I'm sure I have heard that line a gazillion times in my life. But today, it was almost as if it was the very first time. A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others. So great, isn't it? I'm going to let you ponder that

Hi. My name is Leanne. And I am "Multi-Creatively Challenged." You see, I've been having an AWESOME WEEK doing some really creative things . . . and in doing so, I discovered a pretty big revelation about myself that I wanted to share with you. You see, I can not "Multi-Create" (another one of those 'Leanne Invented' concepts.) I seem to throw myself 110% into a project (this week = scrapbooking), and then I can't create anything else (this week = No inspiring and interesting Blog posts). So, while it bums me out that I loose my writing mind, I know that you (my faithful blog reader) will stand by and wait for me to come up with something inspiring to tell you about. Won't you? Oh, I do hope so. Since I have nothing inspiring to write about . . . I thought I'd share with you a couple of the things I've been scrapbooking. First, a really cute Winter Wonderland mini-album. I can't take credit for ANY of it (it's a BoBunny kit that

Wow! What a difference the New Year makes! At least, for me. I'm feeling very energized this week, and am creating lots of new stuff already (YEA!!!) It is always a fantastic moment . . . when I am actually feeling the creative energy and letting it work itself through me. I've been Scrapbooking like CRAZY the past few days, and I'm SO thrilled with that. Scrapbooking has always been a great release for me, and I'm really in the zone right now. PG is out of town. He just left today for 10 days away (bummer!), so I'll be using the ol' AMORE coffee cup for the next 10 mornings (sniff sniff.) But, we had an extremely productive weekend putting away Christmas decorations and getting the house de-Christmasized . Don't you love the words I come up with? I swear, I don't know why Websters isn't knocking on the door! ; ) Anyway, as much as I LOVE Christmas (and I'm pretty sure you know I do!), I equally love taking things down right after the first

Here we go, that time of year to make my list of what I want to accomplish this year. While CREATE is my WORD for the year, I have some specific things that I want to do to either assist in that word, or completely add to it. I do this each year. I don't call them resolutions . . . . don't know why. The "resolution" word just sounds too . . . painful. Silly, huh? Maybe it was all those years of seeing Bally's Chicago Fitness Club commercials on the TV, as they painfully reminded the viewer to resolve to get themselves in shape. Do I need a commercial to remind me of the terrible shape I'm in? Nope. I can do that all on my own. I digress. So, NO resolutions. Just Goals. For the new year. As a matter of fact, I've decided to call it TA DA's!!!! Not "To-Do's!" TA DA sounds like it is more of an announcement of GREAT magnitude! With GREAT enthusiam! When I was in high school, our Choir Director often said, "Nothing great is ever achie

Every once in a while I have one of those moments when I think to myself, "You know, Phil and I are doing something right." It usually happens at a moment when one of my children does something that just warms my heart so much and when they do something to show what amazingly sweet and kind people they are. I usually follow-up my thought with a, "No, it's not us. These kids are just incredible on their own. They just . . . get it." Tonight was one of those moments. And while I really don't want to be one of those Mom's who toots her own horn, I really do want to share this moment with you. It has to do with my Ella. (Sigh.) She is such an amazing little girl. She lights my life more than she will ever realize. Nine of my dear family members gathered for a special New Year's Day dinner at my Mother-in-laws today. We have been doing this for a couple years now, and it really has become a lovely way to welcome the New Year in. My Mother-in-law (who h

Happy New Year! I was really looking forward to 2009 ending, and to the New Year beginning. I am looking forward to starting some new projects, accomplishing some new goals, and putting behind me what has been a really rough financial few months for our home. But this morning, I was inspired to look through some photos of the year after reading my friend Cindi's blog, and in retrospect - 2009 was a really fantastic year for us. Here is a little recap of some of the milestones and events that our family encountered in 2009: Ella turned 2 in January! I received a ticket for speeding (shame on me) to a Saturday Morning Scrapbook gathering event in February. Uh-oh! Katie finished Kindergarten and started First Grade this year! Way to go Kate!! We added a fun playhouse to our backyard! The girls enjoyed this all summer and fall! We traveled to New York to meet my nephew and Godson, Carlo Gianni Della Ragione, in May. God Bless Baby Carlo! We enjoyed lots of goodies at the Wisconsin S