Best Shot Monday - Treasure

We've spent the week with my mom...Mia calls her Ita. Yesterday, I put my hair up in curlers, and you know Mia wanted some, too. Ita brought out her jewelry box to organize....it turned into a show and tell of wonderful memories. My mom was delighted to clip a pair of pearl earrings on her 2 1/2 year old granddaughter.


My mom pulled out the bird pin that I'd made for her while in art school. From a thin sheet of silver, I pierced and sawed out the shapes of two birds in a tree. Here, some 18 years later, it was sitting in my daughters hand. Moments like that are mighty surreal.

Mia mostly had eyes on the treasure chest. A little gold filigree treasure chest pendant filled with pearls and crystals. When I was little, this was a piece I literally treasured. I always cherished it and it felt like time stood still when it was in my hands. My heart melted as I watched my precious daughter fall under it's spell.

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Mia has been helping her Ita water the garden every evening. They both really get into it, but I usually stay inside...nothing can escape their rain. That's what Mia calls it...their rain. Actually 'my rain'. Ita aims the hose way up and Mia scurries around gathering her animals so they can take their baths. Mia usually takes a bath with them, but this time Mia got a hold of the hose, and turned it on her Ita!!!!

So Crafty

I've already posted about the Sculpey animals and botanicals. I brought a whole bunch of craft stuff down with us...paints, paper, glue sticks, scissors. Yeah, those kid only-cuts-paper-and-not-hair scissors are amazing..they do NOT cut hair! I experimented on Ita's dog while Mia was not looking...I know I don't have to explain why :) The cutting thing was difficult. Mia's never handled scissors before. They are HARD to work if you don't know how. So, we've been practicing. She cuts gashes into the edges of paper, and I model by cutting different shapes out. Today, we got the glue stick out and she glued my shapes to a very orange piece of paper.



We've also been painting a lot, too. I took advantage of another Michael's 50% coupon and grabbed a canvas for Mia. She painted it, and herself, this morning. Mia wouldn't be Mia if she didn't add a little color to herself....especially her lips :)

Ita's Botanical Garden

Some pics from some fun in Ita's garden. Now, I'm usually not into floral pics at all, I guess I'll make an exception since these are my shots of my mama's flowers :) We're also taking some souvenirs from the garden home with us. Mia and I made Sculpey imprints of some of Ita's botanicals....we get to make some more tomorrow, because Ita wants a set, too :)

my fav...it's from the blue & white flower that's posted above

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what we've been up to

We went swimming at the neighbors...Mia loved it, and dove off the edge and swam to me a few times, then she wanted to spend the rest of her time and energy chasing the purple ball around the pool.

Ita and Mia still spend each morning and evening in the garden. Mia likes all the animals put together in groups. She says they are families or on a playdate :)

She also has a resin rooster that she takes EVERYWERE!

it was an orange...

...i promise.

monday's best shot has been on my mind after several comments along the lines of 'oh, I thought it was a lime...are you SURE it wasn't a lime?'

how i WISH it were a lime...it would have gone great with my beer, but sadly, no. the piece of fruit in question was an under ripe orange. my mom has an orange tree. here are a couple of pics of Mia picking from said tree....the fruit are round, not oval like limes. well shit, some limes are round! but, this was an orange :)

now, where did i put that limeless beer?

Animales

Yesterday, Mia and I hit Michael's scored some Sculpey...yay 50% off coupon! We sat together and made some animals for Ita's garden. Mia made two worms and I made a dragonfly, butterfly and an ant. They were baked, and this morning we painted them. Mia, as usual, gave herself a good painting, too. She had it all over her face, hands, legs and feet. She then went up to Ita, and in a very excited voice said, 'Ita, I'm painting!'. Like Ita couldn't tell. Ita is so enchanted by her granddaughter, that she happily sat and listened to the whole painting story. The animals came out pretty well, except for the ant who lost an antenna, and are all in Ita's garden. We were so thrilled with the outcome...we made more today. More butterflies, another ant and I added a couple of bubble bees to the mix...all baked and ready for the paint shop bright and early in the morning :) Oh, how I LOVE pics of my beautiful daughter COVERED in colorful paint!

Best Shot Monday ~ The Squirrel Feeder

Mia and I are visiting my mom this week. In Ita's garden, there are several little creatures that my mom (Ita) takes much pleasure in moving around so Mia can find them in a different spot in the morning. The morning critter hunt is the highlight of every morning here at Ita's house.

This morning, Mia tired to feed a very under ripe orange to a resin squirrel...stuff memories are made of.


For more magical shots, visit Tracey at Mother May I

safari

On the drive down to visit my mom in McAllen, Mia and I detoured for a safari adventure. It was just a few miles out of the way, but what fun! Mia couldn't see much from her carseat, so I sprung her out. She ended up sitting on my lap or leaning out the open window trying to feed the wild beasts. The speed limit was 5 mph. Have you ever driven 5 mph? It's sloooooooooooooow! She had a super fun time talking with the animals and driving. Yes, she drove the car. She liked turning the steering wheel at times it most definitely did not need to be turned, but other than looking drunk...she did a great job. She didn't hit a single animal. I have awesome video of her driving, but can't post it till we get back to Austin...keep an eye out for it. We did end up making it to Ita's house, a total of 7 hours driving. Mia was FABULOUS! She watched her shows...yes, I put the dvd player back up...and sang songs from her Music Together cds. Oh, while watching her dvd, I wasn't allowed to listen to the radio. If I tried, all I got was whining....not worth it. Hit my blog to see what MY trip was like :)