Thursday, November 17, 2011

Wow... one day can change your whole life!

I can't believe it.. I'm shocked actually. I have been actively drawing for a week now... only a week. Its hard to imagine that its only been a week, because the way I feel about it has changed completely.
Of course I liked to draw. And even though Steven would tell me I was good, I didn't really believe him. He's my husband.. he's supposed to tell me I can do things. But, when I post a new picture onto Deviant art, I love waiting for the responses. People are liking what I'm doing.. which in a way validates how I feel about my drawing.
I don't want Steven to feel bad.. but in a way I think he understands. I've been telling him he's an amazing actor for YEARS now.. but it wasn't until he got into one of the best Graduate programs in the WORLD that he is finally starting to believe it. Its just nice having other people acknowledge something that you're doing.
Now I find myself torn between drawing more pictures and coloring the ones I already have drawn so they can go up on my account. Its a really hard decision and sometimes I wish I had a million arms so I could just do it all.
I'm also starting to make a wish list of new supplies that I want. The first being a Drawing Tablet. I'm able to color with the mouse, but it would be so much easier if I didn't have to. And of course there's the bigger drawing pad. I just don't have a lot of room on mine.
I just hope that this isn't a fluke... that I didn't just have one good idea and once they're all done then I'm out. Because.. that would be very sad...
For anyone interested in seeing my pictures, here's the link to my Deviant art account: http://kushkapa.deviantart.com/

Thanks for all the support guys!!!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

"Obe you"

My sweet little Gavin is finally starting to talk more. He has a hard time pronouncing the words, so most of them are only half words, Like "ow" for Cow or "at" for Cat, but he's trying.
He walks around the house saying "Dadda, are you?" and its just the cutest thing ever. He also says "I did it" and "elp" for Help.
I've been working on getting him to say I love you for a few weeks now and he just smiles at me when I tell it to him. But the other day we were sitting on the couch as a family and Gavin turned to Steven and kept saying "Dadda" over and over again until Steven acknowledged him. Then, Gavin very adorably said "Obe you." It was the cutest thing ever! While I am a wee big jealous that Steven got the first I love you, I'm really happy that I got to hear him say it and even more so that it was just him saying it and not repeating it back.
After he said it to Steven, I tried to get him to say it to me and he just laughed and stuck his tongue out at me. The silly boy. But, it was cute and I wanted to write it down so I never forget. I love you my Gavin!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

My Style!

So, I have always enjoyed coloring and doing the occasional doodle. It even got to the point that Steven would tell me that he wished I could take an art class at a local College. I would always laugh at him, but the idea does kind of intrigue me.
I love all kinds of art, but pencil drawings are my favorite. I particularly like the pictures that are shaded perfectly and that's the kind of thing I would love to learn to do. So, a few weeks before we moved to Scotland, Steven finally went to the store and he bought me an art pad and some new pencils. He got one for himself as well and it has been fun for me to watch him grow in his ability as well. He has become quite the artist. So much in fact, that I was really great about drawing in my book when he first bought it for me but as I watched him get better it kind of depressed me in a way. I mean, I was happy he was getting better, but it was intimidating me to keep going.
He finally bugged me enough (and gave me some good suggestions on what to draw) that I finally drew a few pictures that I am quite proud of. I finally have my niche. My style. And I am loving it.
I do better when I can visualize something in my head, or have an example to look at, as opposed to just creating something all on my own. So, I have started to draw Disney characters. But to spruce it up, they are not your typical Characters. I'm mixing and matching the stories and combining them together and it has been so much fun. Steven has gotten into it as well and gives me some ideas on what to do. So, if anyone thinks of some fun Disney scenes they'd like to see put to paper, let me know and I will see what I can do. =)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Halloween

Halloween in Scotland was a little different then I was expecting. When we first got here, I wasn't even sure that they celebrated it. But when I asked our friend Olivia about it she told me that not only do they celebrate it, but that Halloween is actually a Scottish Holiday that America kind of took over. We commercialize it more in the States, so its not quite so crazy over here, but they definitely celebrate it.
If you read my previous blog you saw that Rhys already celebrated a little by going to the Halloween Disco. Well, our Ward wasn't doing any kind of "Trunk-or-treat" because there just aren't enough kids in the Ward to make it worth the effort. We were however, invited to another Wards Halloween party on Saturday night because they had a lot more kids and were having one.
Of course we took the boys and it ended up being a lot of fun. A few families in the Ward were given rooms to decorate and do an activity in and so we took the boys around to all the rooms. One of them they decorated biscuits into pumpkins. (frosted cookies) Another one they had to draw their face on a paper with their eyes closed. Then they got to hit the ghost to get some candy to fall out of it. Then they got to go visit a pirate and tell a joke to get a part of his treasure. I think the boys favorite part was reaching into a pumpkin full of fake worms to search for fake insects. If you found one then you got a chocolate apple and for some reason those were a huge hit with the boys. Rhys didn't hesitate and stuck his hand right in. Gavin was intrigued until he actually touched it. Then I ended up having to reach in for him. The guy was really nice though, and still let Gavin have his apple.
The boys also got to eat a donut off a string without using their hands. Rhys was able to do it with no problems.. other then he was laughing a little bit. Gavin however got scared when the donut would get close to his face. He eventually just reached up and grabbed it down. I'm just glad he was trying to do things with Rhys.
A bunch of people brought food so we got to eat some yummy stuff. And of course all the kids ran around the Cultural Hall like there was no tomorrow. Rhys discovered the balloons and was in heaven. Gavin ended up finding a soccer ball and kicking it around. They were both really cute and I was happy to have a reason to get them both dressed up.
On actual Halloween there wasn't much going on except Steven had the day off from School which was wonderful. We also ended up getting our new laptop (Or more accurately my new laptop since its not a Mac and Steven doesn't like them as much) and so that was fun. Steven and I got to play some WoW together in the spirit of Halloween. (I know... we're kind of nerds.)
We weren't sure whether we should take the boys out Trick-or-treating or not. Olivia told us that some people do, but its just not very common. We didn't want to tell them we were going and then have them disappointed when no one opened their door for them. Then when I picked up Rhys from School I overheard some mom's talking about how they weren't going to go out because they didn't when they were little and they just didn't think it was necessary. Steven and I ended up deciding that if we saw any kids out trick-or-treating we would take the boys, but if not we would stay in. We didn't even see one kid, so we just stayed in. We were prepared though and had bought a bag of candy for them to still get to eat. Luckily Rhys is such a good boy and when we explained that Scotland was different and so we weren't going Trick-or-treating he just said okay and that was that. I was really proud of him.
We still head our traditional dinner of chilli. We usually get Tamales too, but we couldn't find them anywhere. We also had donuts, which the boys loves. We ended the evening watching a classic Halloween Movie, Hocus Pocus. It was just Steven and me, but it was fun. We didn't want to scare the boys. All in all, it was a fun time.
The boys in their costumes.
Daddy trying to get Gavin to smile.. it worked.
Rhys successfully eating his donut.
Gavin scared of his.
Reaching into the worms.