From Sweet to Funky

Maddie asked to redo her room for her birthday.  Now that she’s reached the ripe old age of 11, pink walls and a sweet patchwork quilt were decidedly too babyish for her.  <sob>

Of course, since this isn’t a home décor blog, I  didn’t think to get any before photos.  Duh.  So I went through my old photo archives and found just one:

Bubblegum pink walls with dot stickers, white sheers with little pink flowers embroidered onto them, and her sweet, lovely…babyish quilt. <sob>

First Maddie chose a new comforter.  She found a very funky patterned one at JCPenney.com (you’ll see that in a minute).  I found a lamp at Target which we glue-gunned with ribbon and buttons and I think it turned out pretty darn cute.

Maddie also wanted some original Madeline Elizabeth artwork for her room, so I got her 3 canvases and some acrylic paints in her comforter colors, and she spent an afternoon penciling in and then painting her new artwork:

Then she picked out her wall color.  She wanted a bright lime green to coordinate with the comforter, and bright lime green we got.   I got the room all ready to paint, and that’s when I remembered the dot stickers and the vinyl wall sticker with her name.  I wasn’t sure if I could paint over these stickers, then remove them leaving behind bubblegum pink circles, or if the paint would bleed under them.  I decided to remove all of the dots except those from her closet wall, and I also left the name sticker there.  I did get a picture of the dotty wall at that point, when I realized that people might be interested in whether or not you can paint over these things, but not the one of her name (duh):

Then I painted.  The dots did bleed, enough that I almost painted over them with lime green, but then I remembered I had some of the pink paint in the basement from  5 years ago when I originally painted her room.  I slowly and carefully painted nice edges around each of those circles.  I am so glad I didn’t let the circles up on any other wall!

Here is the reveal!

(Her vinyl name sticker came off beautifully with virtually NO bleeding underneath!)

Also new curtains:

Maddie loves her new room, she loves that it’s more funky than sweet <sob> and she loves that she had a hand in making it all her own.

I am linking this post with Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch!

Kiss Me, Baby!

When Dave travels, we usually communicate by Skype.

We see him on the big computer screen and us down in the corner.  He sees the reverse. You can see he is smiling for the camera, because I am taking our picture.

Whenever we open up Skype, we also open up the CyberLink YouCam, which we use to make our pictures all fahncy.  Like, we can make snow fall down the screen, or we can put a beautiful frame of roses around our faces, or…

(I like to say, “Kiss me, baby!” to Dave over and over.  Jack loves when I say that to him looking like a sideshow freak.)

Oh, my gosh.  Poor Dave.  I’m sure he misses us enough that he is also enjoying the show, but sometimes we forget he’s the reason we’re Skyping.

What I’ve Learned From Watching Children’s Television

1.  Dora has taught me to repeat things I want to remember.  “Bread, Milk, Toilet Paper!  Bread, Milk, Toilet Paper!  Bread, Milk, Toilet Paper!  What do I need?!  Bread, Milk, Toilet Paper!”  She has also taught me that having a trusted monkey by your side is invaluable.  Which is why I take Jack grocery shopping with me.

2. The Wonderpets encouraged me to keep Herbie’s cage lid down.  I am sure that somehow, somewhere a baby egret or baby hippo is caught in the mud/stuck in a tree/lost in the jungle/running from the law, but I have not given Herbie permission to moonlight as a superhero, and will not be any time soon.

3.  Sesame Street taught me that just because something (or someone) is in its (or her) forties, it (she) can still remain smart, funny, with it, likeable, and not at all old, undesirable, and dated.  Not at all. 

4.  The Wiggles taught me that fruit salad is yummy yummy!  And also about narcolepsy.

5.  DRAKE AND JOSH  TAUGHT ME THAT YELLING EVERYTHING IS WAY FUNNIER THAN ACTUALLY SAYING FUNNY THINGS.

6.  Scooby Doo and the gang taught me that no one can be trusted.  My next door neighbor, Old Man Solano (Hi Shelley!), could actually be trying to make me think my house is haunted because he knows there is a fortune in gold doubloons buried under the weeping cherry tree, and here I was thinking the creaking was just from the house settling (Brady Bunch taught me that), and if it weren’t for those meddling kids and their dog, Old Man Solano would have gotten away with it!

7. Spongebob taught me optimism.  Squidward taught me pessimism.  Sandy Cheeks taught me adaptability, Patrick makes me feel smart, and Mr. Krabs instilled the value of money in me.  Plankton showed me persistence, and Gary made me fall in love again.  (I’m kidding, Gary’s just a nice little snail).

8.  Caillou taught me  that I should be on some kind of mind-altering medication, because the only way Caillou’s parents could possibly put up with him as cheerfully and optimistically as they do is by being continually high, drunk, or quite possibly, mentally unbalanced.

9.  Thomas the Tank Engine has expanded my vocabulary to include words such as “cheeky”, “rubbish”, “lorries”, and “bust my buffers”.  I feel confident that should I ever visit Great Britain, I will be able to speak easily with the natives.

10.   Blue’s Clues taught me that if I jog in place, the background will move behind me giving the illusion that I am going somewhere, when in fact, I am not!  Wait.  That’s not really useful information.

11.  Mr. Rogers taught me how sneakers and crayons are made, how mushrooms are harvested, and how to be a good neighbor.  He also taught me that true kindness and goodness really do exist in the world. I heart Mr. Rogers. 

Memory Lane

It’s February.  It snowed again.  Yet another two hour delay (I actually like two hour delays, I wish school always started at 11:00, then I could sleep in more have more time for exercise and dusting).  There’s just not much going on besides the fight breaking out behind me over the t.v. remote, but I’m betting you don’t want to see a picture of that.   Or maybe you do, but that’s totally mean that you would get so much joy from my personal misfortune.

I began blogging about this time two years ago.  I wish I had discovered blogging sooner, not only because it’s a valid reason for turning my back to fights breaking out over remotes, but because I’ve found I really love the creative outlet blogging provides for me.  Also…there are years and years worth of stories stored in my head and photos stored on my computer that will never get an audience. 

Or will they?


Does the fact that the spaghetti is Healthy Harvest cancel out the fact that there is Easy Mac in the cupboard?



Ha!  This is my bratty brother Dave.  He is very cool and plays in a band.  (This was not his best hairstyle ever).  (And his other guitar is nicer).  (I am happy to report I no longer own that chair.)  




This one is from 2008, when Maddie’s feet still didn’t reach the floor.  I’m not sure anymore why she removed her pants to practice .





We felt bad about removing this baby ear of corn from its mama.  Or maybe…just maybe… we saved the world from being taken over and dominated by some crazed mutant corn alien who enslaves us all and forces us to husk and butter all of its mutant corn alien friends who then taunt us with their deliciousness.  

This is why I don’t write fiction, people.




Here’s my mom (on the left) and her big sister, my Aunt Betty.   They are funny together.   Aunt Betty is ten years older than my mom and was her second mother.  My mom slept with Aunt Betty until Aunt Betty got married and moved away when she was 19 (and mom was 9).  They fight like little kids.   Aunt Betty still likes to boss her around, mom bosses her back and tries to prove to Aunt Betty she’s a big girl now and doesn’t need her suggestions.  When I see them together, I’m both glad and sad that I don’t have a sister.





Looking for a Christmas tree.  Like I’m Christopher Columbus. 





Yes.  Jack was just eating dirt.





Can you say “BLACKMAIL”?





As cranky and tired as those baby days made me…pictures like this make me want them back again.



One of my favorite pictures ever.  For multiple reasons.

(Oh my gosh, look at the diaper peeking out of Ben’s Teletubby PJ bottoms.  I just want to pick him up and pat his sweet baby belly and kiss him.)

(Hmm.  I kind of want to do that to Dave too.)



Well, I guess I’ve ignored the t.v. remote business long enough, though now they’ve moved on to fighting over a ball and paddle one of them picked out of the dentist’s reward drawer last week.  No cavities!  Hooray!

P.S.  One of my favorite bloggers, Ally from Today is My Birthday!, lives in Christchurch, NZ.  Luckily, she and her family are fine, but I’m sure Ally will be filling us in on the earthquake details there in the coming weeks. 

Desperate Times

The time has come. 

Bom bom  BOM! [cue flickering lights, lightning strike, and merciless sound of stomach growling in the distance]

My friend Deb and I have been commiserating over the sad shape of our bodies lately.  The sad, sad shape of our sad, sad bodies.  Actually, hers is fine, go over to her blog and see her, she’s one fine looking chick.  In fact, if I weren’t married and into guys, she would be just my thing.  So cute.  And sassy.  But I AM married and totally into guys and I was just saying.

SO we decided it was time to throw away our hidden stores of KitKats and Oatmeal Cream Pies, pull out our dusty scales, fire up the treadmills, go public with our intentions, and throw down the gloves.  Deb has dubbed our competition Biggest Loser:  Blogger Edition, however here will be no Jillian Michaels.  There will be no televised tears.  There will be no corporate sponsors.

But there will be a photo posted on the winner’s blog of the Loser in a Swimsuit. 

Our competition will begin tomorrow and run through the last day of school in June.  We will weigh in every week and share those details with each other only, but we will provide you, our lovely readers, with monthly updates on our progress.  The winner will be determined based on the percentage of weight lost.  To be a good friend and supporter of Deb, I will be generously dropping off delicious, home-baked goods on her doorstep occasionally, sliding free DQ gift cards into her mailbox, possibly bribing her children to slip Crisco Oil into her morning OJ and I will be kicking her (skinnier than my) butt, because no one (mostly me) wants to see a picture of me in my swimsuit on the internet.

Thankyouverymuch and stay tuned…

Oops.

Sometimes it’s good to be a guinea pig.

But sometimes, it’s not good.  Like when mom says, “Time to go to the library!” and your boy jumps up and gets his shoes and coat on and forgets you in the dump truck.  And then you need to sit and wait until they come back.  And you have nowhere to pee and poop except in the dump truck…so that’s where you do it…for about an hour.  And if you were an adventurous guinea pig, perhaps you would jump down and explore around, but you aren’t an adventurous guinea pig, so you just sit in the dump truck for an hour, peeing and pooping, and wishing for a carrot, and feeling, you must admit, a bit dejected and lonely and kind of damp.

We’re sorry, Herbie.

Feeling Crafty, yet Grumpy

I enjoy reading about Meg from Whatever’s weekly craft with her children (Craft Thursday), but I’ve never tried any of them out until now.  Meg has a whole cupboard dedicated to crafts containing paints and fuzzy things and beads and tissue paper, and she herself is very crafty, sewing pillows etc. for her Etsy shop.  But I am not so crafty.   Last week, however, she featured this craft, and I decided it was one I thought the kids and I could try.

Jack and I shopped for doilies from Wal-Mart.  We have plenty of watercolor paints at home, and that was all we needed.  Maddie had a friend over, and we got to work.

Basically, we painted those doilies with the watercolors any way we wanted.

(By the way, notice the pile next to Maddie.  That is her seat at the counter, and no matter how much I nag her, her personal things tend to pile up there.  Is that deodorant I see?  Yes.  Yes, it is.)

So, I had this picture in my head, of my three children (and a friend) smiling contentedly at the counter, enjoying a non-holiday-spurred craft (painting Easter eggs, decorating a gingerbread house), chatting with each other, thanking their mother for bringing this fine craft into their lives.   Mmmm.  It was a nice mental picture.

But.  Ben was playing a game on the computer and wasn’t interested, and Jack?  Well, apparently I gave him the watercolor set that was the messiest looking.  He wanted a nicer looking one.  And had he asked nicely, it might have happened, but around here, crying and stomping your feet does not get you what you want.  So he ended up in his room with a tantrum, and Maddie and her friend worked on the craft.  Oh well.

Eventually, Jack came downstairs for some comfort.

And then Maddie kindly offered to trade paint sets, and he and his red and soggy eyes got to work.

Then I strung them up and hung them in the living room window.

(Wikki Sticks on the window.  We just can’t get enough of the Wikki Sticks.) (The field behind the fence is the FOX field.)

I think it worked out pretty well, considering.

Foxy!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 

Last week Dave noticed our friendly neighborhood fox was out and about in the field behind our house, so I grabbed the camera, mainly so we could see him up close.  I didn’t realize that there were actually two foxes, until they, ummmm….separated.  And even with the camera zoomed out the whole way, the foxes were just a couple of blobs.   I knew I’d have to get the photos cropped on the computer to really see them.

And so I did. 

Would you like to see my fox pictures?  This is probably not one for the kiddos, but  it’s pretty darn tame.  Jack looked over my shoulder at one point and said, “Awwww!  Look!  They’re friends!”  Of course, if your children can read, this post probably isn't for them...

Best wishes to you for a Happy Day of Love…and here’s hoping you both get a say in the valentine activities this year!