Friday, September 7, 2012 at 9:51AM 
The other day Will did a quick sketch of Kellan. I thought it was very accurate. His hair's always sticking up in the back and his (litttle) big toe flips back when he's sitting.
The next day I walked by and noticed Owen had "fixed" the sketch. Kellan's leg was a little red from doing the one legged crawl (he pushes with one leg and kind of drags the other one) Now the sketch is totally accurate!:)
Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 11:13AM 
"Every day in the United States, nearly a dozen children are diagnosed with brain and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors. To me, that is a pandemic – can you imagine if our children were being abducted at a rate of 12 a day? The country would be on a manhunt!" via Jedi Noah's mom blog.
I don't know about you, but every time I see a fact like this I get extremely uncomfortable, actually it's more like furious and paranoid at the same time.
I was introduced to Noah's story a few years ago through my husband, who knew Noah's mom, Amber. Her blog really had a big impact on me. I admit it, I've shed quite a few tears behind my screen, but most importantly, I have learned quite a few things, not only about cancer but also about family. I have learned to value our health and the time we spend together more than anything else.
After years of fighting the cancer with EVERYTHING available, the Larkin family lost their 8 year old son Noah in May of this year. The reason I'm sharing this is because this family is so amazing that they started an organization called Noah's Light Foundation in an effort to find a cure for pediatric brain cancer.
Today, and until September 19th (Noah's birthday!) you can support them by voting for Noah's Light Foundation, as they were nominated for the Chase Community Giving's $250,000 grant. It will cost you nothing but will be priceless for them.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at 11:30AM 
We took another "mini vacation" this past weekend. Isaac was coming, so why not go enjoy the pre-hurricane weather? This was our first time at the Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort. We stayed at the Yacht Club just for one night and we loved it. That pool is just sooo amazing. It goes forever, it has sand on the bottom, and, it has all kinds of other fun features. One area has a sand island in the middle that kids were loving. Another part of the pool is a lazy river. There are also a few waterfalls throughout, an awesome slide that comes out of a pirate ship, and this small area that you go into and get taken for a spin, kind of like a hurricane. The four of us spent hours enjoying that pool. Owen got to practice his swimming and Kellan just hung out in his baby float with a big smile while splashing his own face.
In the afternoon we took a break for ice cream (of course) at Beaches & Cream. We did not get The Kitchen Sink. Even Will Gay — biggest lover of ice cream I know — said that was too much.
The cool thing about staying at one of the Disney hotels even if it's just for one night, is that you not only get to enjoy the pool, but they always have lots of family planned activities. The campfire at night is one of my personal favorites. They do it at this Resort, and I've also seen it at Fort Wilderness and at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Monday, August 27, 2012 at 9:37AM 
Images via Modern Twist
I bought a modern-twist placemat for Owen about eight months ago and I've been loving it so much that I'm ready to buy another one for Kellan. And while I'm at it, I thought I'd share with you. I got the "Fun on the Golden Gate" for Owen, and I'm thinking I'll get the "Farm to Table" for Kellan. I love the way these look, but my favorite thing about this placemat is how easy it is to clean. It's made out of silicon, so it's flexible, which makes it super easy to take and rinse in the kitchen sink. Then, I just lay it on the drying rack to be ready for the next meal.
The other cool thing about it is that you can color on it over and over again. Something that got Owen excited about it when we first got it, and that helped him let go of his old, very loved, but very worn out Mickey placemat.
Monday, August 20, 2012 at 3:43PM 
We went to downtown Winter Garden the other night. It happend to be the third Saturday of the month, so they were having the Cruz-N-Car Show. After walking through Plant St. and enjoying the cars and their engines (Owen was particularly interested in the engines) we decided to try The Chef's Table for dinner. We sat in their "Tasting Room" and were the only family with kids. At first, I thought we weren't gonna make it. Owen was kind of going limp and throwing himself on Kellan and myself. There was no kid's menu or colors, so I had to improvise. Telling him all about my first car (a 1969 red VW Bug) did the trick. Then, the cheese plate arrived and completed Owen's happiness. We ended up having a really nice dinner. On our walk back to the car we made a quick stop at Sweet Traditions and got a cookie each. And, we of course stopped to press the button and watch the train go next to the theater — We never leave Downtown Winter Garden without doing that!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 10:08AM 
I didn't sign Owen up for enough camps this summer, and yes, it's been crazy around here. I did it on purpose, so I could take him out and spend more time with him. The thing is that him and baby Kellan require LOTS of attention. I just can't even hear my thoughts when they're both around. Performing even the simplest task becomes a challenge when you're being told in great detail what the spaceships are doing, or when R2 tells you the story and Owen translates. My child takes no brakes when it comes to talkig. So, what's been helping me stay sane, and kind of on track with the basics? This little app called TeuxDeux and some chia seeds. TeuxDeux is just a to do list on your iPhone that syncs to an app on your browser. It's super simple, well designed, and tapping the item to scratch it off the list just feels good! Chia seeds are something eaten by the Aztecs for strength. May be psychological, but I do feel like I have more energy when I don't forget to add them to my morning oatmeal.
Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 10:02PM 
I'm so excited to finally post about this baby shower my friend Jen and I threw for our friend Lindsay. Jen came up with the idea of making it a "Mustache Theme" since the baby's father, Adam, is somewhat of a mustache enthusiast; and since the expected baby is a boy. Makes total sense of course. I designed the invitations, Adam (aka Hobo Press) printed them, and Jen sewed the mustaches. We used 140 pound Whip Cream paper and the Nighshift Blue envelopes from French Paper Co. The invites and the envelopes were both letter pressed.
For the party Jen and I made a flag banner using the invite colors. Adam screen printed some mustaches on some of the flags, of course. It looked so awesome I still haven't been able to take it down. We had mustache shaped flat breads, mustache decorated cupcakes, mustache cookies, croissants, a truly delicious French toast casserole that Jen made, and of course, fancy drinks, such as citrus infused water and Bellinis. Oh, and we set Pandora to the Pink Martini station. So it was all very fancy ...but not really, just fun.
We had some laughs playing the "Pin the Mustache on the Baby" game. The Bellinis might have helped, I don't know. We also did the traditional opening of the gifts. I gave Lindsay this awesome mustache from LittleAlouette (thank you so much for the speedy shipping!) And when the party was over everybody got to take home a little mustache decorated pouch filled with mustache cookies. So, all in all I had too much fun with this baby shower, but, I don't ever want to cut anything in the shape of a mustache again!
Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 2:27PM 
We took a little trip down to St. Pete Beach for father's day. Originally we were planning on a simple day at Cocoa, but we ended up finding a really nice last minute deal for the Don CeSar Hotel. We left early Saturday morning and came back on Tuesday. The beach was amazing.The water was super clear, shallow, and there was practically no waves — perfect for kids. The sand was really white too. We pretty much spent every minute out on the beach.
I really enjoyed that hotel too, beach towels, and noodles, and pool toys, and "citrus infused" water was all provided by the pool. The Don CeSar also had umbrellas and chairs for rent on the beach, but, for a hefty price. We just brought our Quick Shade, not a pretty thing, but it works great.
On the way back we stopped at the Florida Aquarium. It was pretty neat. We saw all the fish and funky sea creatures, played in the water area, and headed back home.
BTW, it's a only a 2 hour ride from Orlando to St. Pete Beach. If you ask me, it's well worth it.
* Also, as parents we're always trying our best to protect our children, so, we cover them on sunscreen. However, I recently found this scary research on sunscreen. You can use this website to check out the brand you're using (thanks Sarah!). We realized there's not a lot of options at the regular shops. Whole Foods has some good ones though. And, yes, we still need to cover them in sunscreen, just not one that's full of harmful ingredients.
Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 8:40PM 
Congratulations Emma Godbold, and thanks to everyone that entered today. I've been a big fan of OhNo ever since I saw him for the first time, and it makes me extremely happy to see how much you all like him.
Oh, and, if you didn't win but really want this poster, a few of them are still available through Will's shop. It won't be free, but you know...
Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 7:46AM 
Today I am giving away this awesome screen printed poster by my husband Will Gay. It's a signed Artist Proof. (I'll make sure Will signs it before it leaves the house). If you want a chance to win let me know by leaving a comment here, or, if you're a fan of the facebook page you can enter through there. Entering in both places will increase your odds! One winner will be randomly drawn today at 8 PM EST. Best of luck!
To learn more about "OhNo Floats" and how this print was made go here.
Friday, June 8, 2012 at 2:57PM 
1. Star Wars Weekends Ends on June 10th — so this is the last weekend — at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Check out the Build a Droid station inside Tatooine Traders, next to Star Tours. We had lots of fun doing that.
2. Remember Dad... Saturday 11AM - 1PM at the Mannello Museum. This is a workshop for kids and families where you'll use printmaking techniques to create special cards. $5 per child.
3. PLAY New touring exhibit at the Orlando Science Center. Giant games! Sounds fun.
