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I don’t know what it is about my husband and his car, but it is a relationship I truly do not understand. I joke with him all of the time and tell him “You would live in a dirt cave and be happy”, and his car is the closest thing to that as you can get.
My husband is normally a very organized clean person, especially at his job. But get him in his car, and it all goes out the window.
I had to switch cars with him today which I dread, usually, more than going for a root canal. Let me begin by telling you we bought this car as our first big purchase together in 1994. It is a great car. It watched us get married. It brought us out West. It has seen labor of our first daughter and brought her safely home after her birth.
Once we got a second car, this car became my husband’s.
His sanctuary.
His Manly Place.
At any given time you can find
about 20 coffee mugs in the back seat. Papers, food, mold, moss, thick dust, and dirt all call his car home. Not to mention (But I will) the two windows do not roll down, the hood is forever bent upward, and there is a part falling off of the side. I can barely drive through all of my coughing. It is that gross.
Today I cleaned it.
Oh what a feeling. Exhilarating, really, to liberate his car from it’s crusty shell. I threw away, combined, I donated, and vaccumed til this car shone. Until it was acceptable, by my obsessive standards.
Ah. That is better.
I understand he does need a place to be masculine (living with all of us girls) I suppose being a man has something to do with dirt. OK. But if you don’t tidy up now and again, nature will reclaim this car. It will cease being a car, and it will be just a home for the squirrels.
Tomorrow, it will probably resume being his cave on wheels, and that is alright.
Today it is clean.
Nature trying to take it to make a home for the squirrels.
So my 3 year old little girl says to me “I want to go to college. I will work very hard when I am there”.
Wow. OK. Yes.
Wait…Where did you hear that?
“Blues Clues. Steve said that when he goes to College he will work hard, and I want to too. So, I will go to Preschool, then I go to College.”
Yup, something like that.
Today my order from the Bare Book Company arrived. Yay! I feel the need to share this with you all because of what a great find it is.
Oh. My. Goodness.
A whole box full of Blank Books. There is something so exciting about that. Looking at a blank book or bare canvas or empty wall…limitless possibitlities.
*Sigh*
I also think of the hours that will be spent enjoying the creation of stories and drawings.
So cool.
The best part about these books is they were very inexpensive, but really well made. They are also something that kids can use their imaginations with and do not require electricity or batteries.
I got them to spread out during the year. Gifts for the girls for various holidays, and gifts for their friends. The only trouble is, I am really horrible about keeping surprises secret. Ugh. I also know how much they will like these, so it will be that much harder to keep until a holiday.
Tuesday. That is a holiday somewhere in the world, right?
Here is a link if you would like to check them out…
Our younger daughter has a “lovey”. A little Lamb called Lamby that she HAS to sleep with every night. This stuffed animal is about 5 inches tall and pretty darn grubby (because the “Easter Bunny” who gave it to her forgot to read the label- Surface clean only).
Yeah, right. I don’t know if you have ever tried to surface clean a well loved toy, but Damnned near impossible to make a dent in the grungy surface.
We have certain rules in place so it won’t get lost or too dirty.
- Lamby can never leave the house.
- Lamby must never sit with us at the dinner table.
- Lamby must go straight back into the bedroom if he ever finds himself out of it.
This lovey has been with us for 2 years now, and so far, we haven’t lost him.
Until now.
She woke up this morning and came into our bed to announce that she couldn’t find Lamby. I figured he must have dropped off the bed in the middle of the night, or something to that affect. My sleep encrusted eyes were longing for more sleep, so I mumbled”We’ll find Lamby Later”, and drifted back to peaceful slumber.
Well, I forgot all about dear old Lamby.
Now it is Bed time.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH. The frantic search for this Lamby would be somewhat comical, if I didn’t know what the consequences were for NOT FINDING HIM!!!
This is really a new world for us. Our first daughter didn’t form attachments to inanimate objects. She has two well- loved stuffed animals, but we could usually distract her if they were ever misplaced.
Lamby is Special.
It has been about an hour now, and we still can’t find him. I decided to write about it, so that I can maybe think of somewhere we haven’t looked.
I suppose everyone has to let go sometime or another. It wouldn’t do to have a 20 year old still attached to her lovey. I just thought we could do it some day with a ceremonial Good- Bye Send Off for the poor pellet-stuffed curly- haired quadraped.
This is much harder.
My instincts as a parent, though, tell me to not give up. I can find this little furry comfort for my child. It has brought the fact that she is so attached to it to the foreground. Another thing to help her shed as she grows up.
But for now,
We all Need some sleep!
Lamby has been Found! That clever little animal was tucked into her blanket the whole time. Whew!
I have already started to prepare for the next Holiday…
Valentine’s Day.
I know. Early.
..But really only a few weeks.
I usually like to do something special for the girls to show how much I care. I also like to limit how much sugar they eat, so if I make something special, I resist the urge to go overboard with sweets.
This skirt is super easy to make, and I used an old Flat sheet that I had from the days I used to have a booth at the Farmer’s Market.
I like using materials I already have.
Nothing goes to waste, and it sends a message to them that it doesn’t have to be expensive to mean something.
I had a bit of trim to fancy it up.
We like this holiday. Any holiday that is all about showing how much you LOVE is OK with me.
As you may have noticed, I write about food quite a bit. That is because it makes up most of who we are and how we are. It is a necessity and a pleasure. A friend of mine says “It’s not about the food”, to which I always reply ” IT is ALL about the FOOD.”
I grew up in the 70’s in a very populated town in New Jersey. We ate a balanced diet, but we also ate crap. It seemed like prepackaged foods were everywhere with ingredients you couldn’t pronounce. They sure were easy to eat. Twinkies and Yodels a plenty. Really cheap food with no redeeming nutritional qualities. I am not sure most it was food.
Now that I have children of my own, I am extremely careful about what they eat, but still have tendencies towards glossy, really bad food for me.
As you may have figured out, I have a thing for chocolate. And Boy, It really loves me. I normally have a very expensive dark chocolate habit, but I also really like M&M’s. They are so pretty to look at and there is something about that crunch on the outside that completes the experience for me.
Where am I going with this? Well, I truly believe that you are what you eat. There is little that can compare with a fresh carrot from the earth or a green bean that you have grown yourself. Whole Foods is where it is at. Health and Happiness.
But there will always be a special place in my heart (and stomach) for those shiny Ms.
Aren’t they pretty?
I usually stay clear away from Politics in my Blog or in any conversation. It evokes such anger and aggressiveness and a passion to argue in people that I am not always up for.
Today I am filled with a Hope that I haven’t felt in a while. I can’t hold it in.
As soon as President Obama was sworn in, I felt a lightening of my spirit that I didn’t know needed to be lightened. He is such an eloquent speaker, and such a welcome change. I think that is it. I am hopeful because there will be change. There is no choice. There MUST be change.
I don’t think he will be the answer to all of the world’s problems, but I feel ready to listen to his ideas about what we should do.
For the first time I feel proud about this Country’s political decision, and want to share that with everyone.
Hope is Renewed.
A New Flag for a New Day.
My kids love to Read books.
They also love to create books. Usually they draw their pictures and put them together with string or staples. In about a day they fall apart, and usually wind up in the trash. Ugh.
I just learned about this site that sells Blank Bound Books. I am so excited about this. They are very reasonable, and this company offers free shipping to schools or businesses. I can’t wait for my girls to try them out!
Hope you all like them too.
Yay!
Larry the Leprechaun…By Carson
My children do not watch TV, but they can watch movies. Our older girl can watch a movie per day on the weekends. Tonight is Movie Night. She chose “The Wizard of Oz”. It surprised me a bit since that movie has been out of rotation for quite some time. A couple of Halloweens have been spent donning Dorthy and Munchkin costumes. Many a day has been spent traipsing around in red sparkly shoes. She has seen this movie probably almost as much as I have, and we never tire of it. We may put it away for a while, but it always makes another appearance. There is a magic about that movie that seems bigger than anything that has been made since.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE movies. All kinds. But The Wizard of Oz has this special place in my heart, and its grandness goes beyond the screen.
I had an uncle that would do an impression of the cowardly lion every time we’d see him. As kids, we watched this every year when they played it on TV. Ever since she was a little girl, Our big Girl has watched this movie mesmerized and entranced by the colors, the characters, the songs. Our little one has not watched this yet, but I can’t wait to share it with her. And hopefully she will be as enchanted as we are.
My 9 year old was sitting at the table looking through a magazine as I was going through the mail. As I was about to discard one of the flyers, she said, “Wait, I want to look at the missing children. I always look at them in case I see one of them.” I had no idea.
Then she looked them over, and said, ” Wow, there are a lot. I didn’t realize there was so much Evil in the world.”
Yes. Yes there is.
This was one of those moments I had no other reply. She knows there is a lot of good, but I think this is the very first time that it dawned on her that the world is not all good. Of course my child has read books. Lots of Books. More books than I can count. Most have quite disturbing themes. She has read all 7 of the Harry Potter Books and LOVED each and every one. This is different. This is real. There is a balance in the world, and sometimes, it seems the balance tips slightly one way or another.
One realization down, about a Million more to go.
I know what you are thinking…”Two Posts in ONE day?!”.
Remarkable.
Actually, I was just looking through pictures of quilts and was thinking that I would LOVE to make a quilt that would stretch from one end of a room to the other. Kind of like a rug, that you could climb under to keep warm. A bunch of people could share one blanket. You could use the body heat from all of the people to keep even warmer.
I am really cooking now!
(See? I needed to write this down before I forgot what a great idea this was).
I think I am all the more inspired because our heater just broke. Whenever we find ourselves without power or heat it always brings me back to simple ideas to keep warm. Things the pioneers did.
I am funny that way.
I also was thinking of how incredible the women who hand-quilted so long ago (and some that do today) were/are. They made these large (not as large as a floor) beautiful quilts with just a needle and thread. They did this for their family to stay cozy and warm and so
they would know they were loved. How could they not? That is a lot of work.
Whew.
Anyhow, even though I am not a pioneer, in the traditional sense, and do not hand-quilt (I am an instant- gratification kind of gal), I do make things to warm my family just as the women of old used to. Usually, much smaller quilts and much snazzier clothing.
I may not ever make a quilt that covers the floor of an entire room, but that vision is keeping me warm.
Ok, I had a few days off. My mind and body lay idle (for the most part).
I so needed that.
Little One asked me, a few days ago, to make Sock Puppets. I finally got up the energy to clean out everyone’s drawers and closets. Ahhhhh. Nothing like a bit of organization to get me back in the swing of things.
I found….Socks. A lot of socks. Most of them missing their pair, and others were too holey to wear (not an intentional rhyme, but I do that all the time). Instead of throwing them away, I took the entire bag to the table so we could choose the “perfect” sock to make into a character. She chose a green one. It really snowballed from there. We both started to get inspired, and out came the buttons, glue, yarn, scraps of lace, and scissors. A few minutes later…. Da Ta Da da….We have Glue, the Sock Puppet!
Glue in all his Glory
After I did my morning “chores” today, that was pretty much it for the day. I just took it rather easy for the rest of the day. Consequently, I don’t have much to write about. I did want to post these pictures my girls drew. Our 3 year old drew this picture. She was very excited to show me, and told me it was her “First Sun”. 
It is funny how, as a Mom, I get so very excited with her about these things. I find myself swept up in the moments of Firsts… First time walking, First loose tooth, First time on the Potty. I know you know what I mean. Who knew that her going potty would evoke feelings of such happiness in me.
This second picture was done by my 9 year old. It is also exciting watching her develop her own style, and really work on details in her drawings.
So I am now going to end this day with doing a lot more of nothing, but thinking about all of the things they have accomplished.
Good Night.
Growing up, We had a Polish Aunt. She was married to our Italian Uncle. It made for really great food and interesting stories. This Aunt of ours was a bit mysterious. I always thought of her as a witch. She had green eyes that could pierce right through you. She always told us stories that frightened us, and played really great card games. Along with her visits to our house every Sunday, came the Best Italian Pastries, A big Italian dinner, and things that ingrained themselves in me (whether it was a song or a life lesson or a strange story or sometimes all three).
She taught my sister and I a song that has stuck inside my head for all of these years. A Naughty song. A Polish Song. I feel compelled to share it with you.
(Please forgive my spelling of these words, she only sang it, not spelled it).
Stada Baba Neema Gotchi Allez Bouji Ma
Allez Bouji Ma
Allez Bouji Ma
Stada Baba Neema Gotchi Allez Bouji Ma
Allez Bouji Ma
Her Translation: The little Old Lady without any underwear says “Kiss My Ass”.
Years later, I sat with my husband’s Grandmother at his Grandfather’s Funeral. She was Polish. She asked me if I spoke Polish. I told her the only thing I knew was that song that my Aunt taught me so many years ago. She told me to sing it. She joined in, and we sat there in that moment sharing that song.
First I must say “Thank You” to all of you who sent me pictures of your children wearing Noggin’ Toppers. If you want to check them out, I posted all of them on the
Hats page.
Now on to Things I think are Brilliant…
Otherwise known as Really Good Ideas.
I think I will add to this list as time goes on, because that is how my mind works best. I use running lists for EVERYTHING. Ideas just trickle in and, if I don’t write them down when I think of them, they trickle out.
- Art Table: I set up a folding table covered with Butcher Paper, put Art supplies in cans on the table (Not paint), and then walked away. Brilliant. Kids trickle in and trickle out (Much like my ideas), and make wonderful art as they wish.
- Reading to Your Children: I know everyone has heard this before, but it truly is wonderful to do together. Eventually what happens is a chain reaction. They develop a passion for reading. THEY read to others. So very good.
- Bins and Baskets: I function so much better when everything has its place, and so do my daughters. We have bins for everything from shoes, to hats, to art supplies, to medical supplies. I always know where anything I might need is, and they know where it goes when they are finished with it. Brilliant.
- CHOCOLATE: I can’t believe I didn’t think of this first!
Chocolate goes with EVERYTHING. Every Mood. Every Time. Really the all around Perfect Food. It was the first thing I put in our Emergency Kit. It should really have it’s own food group. Always A Good Idea. Yum.
- Chamomile Tea: Many a fussy night this has saved me and my sanity, and helped my kids with their ailments. When they were about 1 or so, I started giving a very diluted chamomile tea to them in a sippy cup to soothe the pain that teething causes. Later it was employed when belly aches or insomnia came into play. It does me good too! A brilliant thing.
- Kid Friendly Chop Sticks: We eat a lot of Asian food. My kids love chopsticks but sometimes can be a bit frustrated by them. These are a perfect solution. They look like a giant clothespin, and are really very easy to use.
- Crayon Rocks: These are just fun. They are made of soy , and are in the shape of rocks. That simple. I have a link on the side to a site that sells them.
- Did I mention Chocolate? So Brilliant, I dare to mention it twice!
- Baby Slings: You must have known that was coming, right? I am not just mentioning these because I sell them (that doesn’t deter me either). These are Brilliant. They hold up to 40 lbs. so, not just for babies, really. We have gotten plenty of mileage out of our baby sling. A very worthy investment.
- Fleece Hats: While I am shamelessly promoting my slings, I might as well throw in my hats! They are Brilliant, and warm too. I think every silly soul needs one.
