Diabetes Repair?

Hi all!
The Barley and I are fixin' to do something awesome!
Sunday morning at 8:00am we are going to be down at Husky Stadium looking for the cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
Sunday marks the 27th annual Beat the Bridge to Beat Diabetes fun run. The Barley and I joined team McWalto (a combo of our team's names) to raise money and walk 4 miles to do our part in helping find the cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
This is extra special to us this year because just a month or 2 ago we found out that our Meg (of "Auntie Meg" and Hello Grey Day fame) was diagnosed with Type 1 and it has changed her life and ours.She faces so much responsibility everyday as she constantly says NO to her beloved mashed potatoes and milkshakes, checks her blood sugar levels and gives herself insulin shots...which she will have to do the rest of her life without a cure.
There is a permanence in this disease that must feel daunting at times, but she is such a trooper and we are really proud of her!
So if we can walk 4 miles for a cure for Meg on Sunday, than we will be there! (with bells on our toes.)
If you want to support our team in meeting our personal goal click HERE! And then choose my name on the list (p.s. I added an Esq. to my name because I thought it sounded jaunty. I thought it was some sort of royal suffix but apparently it just means you're a lawyer.)
I know, I hate asking people for donations, but I hate more the idea that Meg can't eat what she wants and has to go "ouch!" 8 times a day.
Stay tuned for more mad cap fun from our Beat the Bridge adventure!

25 going on 50

Whew, what a week! It has been a non stop party here since last Thursday. I turned 25 last week and we heralded in this important sounding number with a costume party and all kinds of fanfare! As we were planning my party (which I don't usually like to do, parties have so much pressure on them to be fun and I don't like "planned fun".) I thought about what kind of party I had always wanted to go to? And voila! A classic cinema costume party it MUST be! Everyone was to come as their favorite old movie character and we would party like it's 1949!
So Kent ordered food from my favorite restaurant (Purple), we got all gussied up and then to put the cherry on top Kent flew up Dianer (one of my favorite people) from California for the occasion.
Fun and games ensued...

Kent came as Prof. Henry Higgins (his all time fav). He manned the bar, put the twists where twists were needed and gave the room a scholarly air.
I came as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's. I drank bubbly, was bubbly, and lent over all birthday purpose to the event.

Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn, and Princess Grace

An old fashioned sing along! Just like in the movies...a lifelong dream.
We also had a Sherlock, a Baroness Von Schraeder, a Katherine Hepburn, a Dorothy and Scarecrow duo (complete with munchkin 4 month old), a Desi Arnaz, Mary Poppins, Dude in a suit, and sailor from South Pacific.
Oh and who could forget the Barley as James dean!She was our little rebel without a cause. We even put a little ciggy behind her ear (candy of course).
It was a wonderful night. My dad came to run the baby check upstairs so all the parents could enjoy the night foot loose and fancy free.
The best part of it all was that everyone who came had fun with the theme, played my favorite silly games, and got a little lost in yesteryear...because really, haven't you at least one time or another wanted to live in an old movie?
Happy Birthday to me!

Hi there, Barley here...

Mom can't blog at the moment since all of her insides currently want to be on her outsides, and she is laid up on a bed of pain resting. So I thought I would take this chance to exercise my burgeoning talents for all of you and write my first blog post. (By the way, blog is a silly word it sounds like something that should come out of my nose.)

This week has been full of firsts for me. I had my first taste of real food, and appropriately, it was barley cereal (the parents had a chuckle over that one.)

I have been rolling over to AND fro, as well as displaying scooting power. This is a darling picture dad caught of me mid-scoot.

I was just scooting off that pillow on my way to Marseilles. (I hear the weather is particularly fine this time of year, and have no known cases of that swine flu everyone is talking about.)

However, I was rerouted last minute by my dad who assumed I was just being cute. I have since changed my mind on the whole matter... None of my shoes fit and I am not going to go galavanting around Europe like a shoeless vagabond.

Besides, things are nice here! Dad vroom-screeches me around the house as if I were a truck and tosses me in the air (the weightlessness of the experience thrills me to my toes!) AND he makes bagels on the weekend.

And mom, well, she's just too cute.

Oh, and speaking of cute, I was sooo cute the other day. I was in the middle of one of my rolling over exercises and got sleepy (I think I was up too late that night querying about something or other) and I just fell asleep right on my side mid roll! Can you believe it? Mom got a picture. She thought it was just the sweetest... but then again she thinks that about everything I do:)

Well, I think I had better go I have a rumbly in my tumbly and that must mean it's 6:00 and I get delicious dinner milks.

I hope the warmth of love and friendship rests upon the houses of you and yours.

-The Barley

p.s. Today I turn 19 weeks.

Hot Dog!

What a great opening day!
I sold all of my little illustrations today. It's very encouraging to watch our store's inventory disappear!
Since my little tree animals were received so warmly I think I will be posting a batch of little sea creatures next time. Stay tuned for info on the next shop update.
Thanks to everyone for taking an interest in our little shop!
Now it's on to wrapping and mailing...

Grand Opening!

Isn't it grand?
Today my first batch of Art Cards and Wee Animal Illustrations are for sale on Etsy.
having a little shop is very exciting. I have had websites before, and sold stuff before, but there is something very big moment-ish about having something called a "Shop Grand Opening".
Any ways, if you want to get caught up in all the fanfair come and visit! Just click on the Hello Grey Day link. (The big one over there on the right...with the big cloud...yeah...the one that says hello grey day...)
And for heavan's sake buy something.
Meg and I will be watching!....

4 Months...and taller than you.

So we had Greta's 4 month checkup on Monday and she's doing great! All healthy stats, fat enough, strong enough, smart enough, oh yeah and taller than you.
She is in the 99th percentile for her height! Which Kent pointed out is the biggest number you can get statistically because to be in the 100th would be saying that she is the tallest baby in the world. And well, I don't know about you, but that just sounds boastful.
So my fears of her being a behemoth when I was 9 months pregnant are coming to fruition, and all the pants her age are capris.
Like any good parent Kent is making the most of her skills and since she is skilled at being the tallest ever he is trying to teach her how to walk and get some use out of those daddy long legs.
But we don't push her too hard, we still give her quality time with her friends, like Mr.Snail. She has been fascinated with this little snail for months! Staring at it, learning its secrets, and now it has blossomed into a special friendship.

One Week to go!

One week from today marks our first Etsy shop opening!
So I have been busy ordering stickers and figuring out packaging details. Here is a look at a couple more sets of art cards I will be posting on the 27th.
Well it's back to work! I have some illustrations that need to be painted and I don't think they're gonna paint themselves!