We went to First Fridays this weekend.

It was awesome.

Maren got her face painted by the most artistic clown ever.  Man, think of the killing I could make on kids’ birthday parties if I would have gone to clown school instead of getting a degree in education. Doh!

We went to the zoo.

Spent hours at Micheal’s and Joann Fabrics. Worked on Maren’s 5th Birthday Party Invites. I do not believe in over-done Birthday parties but I am over doing it. You only turn one whole hand once.

Bought new lunch bags for the kids. Violet starts her one day a week school this week. She carried this Hello Kitty bag around for 2 days. I’m pretty much opposed to any of the flashy commercialized kids stuff, but Hello Kitty I can take. I don’t know why?

Drank beer and wine with friends.

Played some Taboo.

I didn’t even heckle Jim and played nice both with and against him.

I’m turning over a new leaf.

Did some yoga.

Hope you had a nice holiday weekend too!

Us.

We went to a wedding reception this weekend.

Here is a picture of us. Wow!!! This never happens anymore.

Most date nights involve sweats and the kayaks. Not fancy stuff.

I love this guy.

He’s kind.

Funny.

Forgiving.

And handsome.

I’m glad we’re married.

Make a Zoo

Once in awhile the kids get into a really good creative mojo type of mood. This usually happens with the help of kids that I am babysitting at the time. One of the greatest things about having a rotating stream of part-time, drop-in babysitting kids here is that they all bring something different to the table. Some are large motor skill minded, others love pretend/make believe play, some are interested in creating something with their hands.

I doubt I would ever go back to a classroom. I do though, love watching different kids here, and it’s good for my kids to always have some different faces to play/cooperate with.

I love this. Don’t you remember that feeling as a kid? Proud, excited, innovative, and sure that you were the first and only kid in the world to think of this idea?

Plus it’s always easier to be creative when you are dressed up like Belle and Superman.

What happened to polos?

I want a dress code.

How is it that we as a society find it acceptable and humorous to dress our young girls in degrading clothes that make sexual and relationship references… at age 4?

Here is what I’ve seen over the last week:

One little girl  wearing a “Boy Magnet” shirt

Another  wearing flip flops with a 3 inch wedge heel.

A shirt that says Bratty with Attitude.

Why is this acceptable?

I know my daughter is pretty. I know she’ll someday attract the attention of boys and men. I know at some point she might enjoy it, and may feel powerful because of it. But, as a mother, it’s my job to reinforce the ideals of brains over beauty. I want her to play, learn, enjoy life, work hard, love her body and know and value how intelligent she is.

I wish every other Mother felt the same way.

When I was young, strangers would approach my Mother when I was with her and would comment on what a pretty child I was. My Mom would tell them, “She’s also very smart.”

I was never a straight-A student, but I always felt appreciated, special, and witty around my parents. I know I can entertain people through my writing. I credit my Mother for that, as she has the most joyful and easy laugh of anyone you’d ever meet. She probably gave me an over-inflated ego when it comes to my comedic and writing abilities.  She was easy to entertain and her jolly laugh came freely.

(When she’d take us to Wal-Mart, my sister and I would frequently wander to other aisles… this must have been pre-sicko child molester days?) I’d look at Betsy and panic, “Where is MOM!?” Betsy would quip, “Duh, just listen for her laugh.” Sure enough, much like pressing the “handset locator” button on a cordless phone, we’d walk up and down the aisles, waiting to hear her infectious laugh. We’d run in the direction it came from, only to have to walk aimlessly again for a few aisles until it started up again.

True story.

In the meantime, I think the school she attends for Kindergarten will have a dress code. I never thought that would be a priority when I was choosing a school for my child.

Any words of wisdom for me? Veteran Moms, is this another thing I am being much too hyper-sensitive about?

Dear Jim,

Your carpentry skills are really improving. That’s great! So, I have a project for you. I bet if you bribed my father-in-law or a friend to help you, you could have this done in a weekend. They’d look great will all the other built-in features of the bungalow, don’t you think?

I’ll provide the drinks and hot meals while you hammer away.

Love,

Amanda

Randoms

We took the crib down yesterday. “We” meaning Jim. But I told him to. So it was a group effort.

Days with Violet often go oh so slowly. But the last two years? Just a blink of an eye it seems.

We went bunk bed shopping today. I find it frustrating that modern furniture is crappy and flimsy, yet all we can afford really. Why would I want to buy furniture that is all dinged up and damaged? I’d like to let my kids do the honors.

When I was small my Great Aunt Lois and Great Uncle Ben bought me this beautiful antique 3/4 sized bed. I wish all the furniture in my home was of this quality. They just don’t make it like the used to, do they?

Maren starts school in a week.

Violet starts her one-day-a-week program the week after.

I will have 6 hours to myself on Wednesdays. I am giddy with anticipation but dread that it might mean I am supposed to clean or do other monotonous productive things with that time. In my dream head I will go to Wilson’s Coffee. Drink lattes. Engage in conversation with smart people and pretend I have been in the world of the living for the last 5 years. Read the paper. Come home and sew. Paint my toenails.

Sounds lovely.

Maren is learning to read a bit. I am desperately trying not to push her, but as a “reader” I am so excited for her to be welcomed into the wonderful world of words.

I want a Flip Camcorder.

If you dump boiling water over a pair of Crocs, they will shrink.

Now you know.

Have a happy Monday!

Amanda

PS Here is Maren’s T-Ball photo. Cute, no?

Right Place. Right Time.

Until last Friday I hadn’t been to a single garage or estate sale this year.

I know, right?!

About 6 months ago it occurred to me that all the amazing deals I was finding at Value Village and Salvation Army were turning into almost daily trips. While I would occasionally find nearly new clothing at pennies on the dollar for the kids, I’d often come home with “treasures” that began to add up. And clutter up. While I had cut out lattes, I was spending twice that much every week on a lot of crap.

So I went cold turkey. When spring came around, I had little to no desire to garage sale because let’s be real here. Putting Violet in her car seat often causes me to consider cracking open beer(s) at 10:30 am. She screams “I DO IT MYSELF!” and will flail, hit, and kick  if you try to assist her in any way, shape or form. 20 minutes will go by and she will still be insistent on “DOIN’ IT MYSELF” all the while we are now 30 minutes late instead of my normal 10.

Exhausting.

But last week, while blowing time before an appointment, I took the kids to an estate sale in a prestigious part of town. It was an elderly couple manning the sale who shout, ‘We Have No TOYS!” as we walk up. That’s how old people passively aggressively tell you to GO AWAY.  I retort with “My Kids are Spoiled Against My Wishes and I Do Not Come For Toys, I Come for Old People Things.”

The woman has open bags of Honey Comb cereal with a sign under it that says “Free Snack While You Shop!” and  amateur art at reasonable prices. Most of it bad art. I dig around until I find a piece that catches my eye. It’s a watercolor scene of a stream and it is signed. The name seems familiar. I try to focus as the kids run in circles around me, playing a made-up game that involves chasing each other with cat sound effects. Eggert. Who is Eggert? Why do I know that name? Finally I remember. Eggert is the surname of the family who originally lived in my home for over 40 years.

I  ask the lady of the sale how much. “$2.00 she says.” I appreciate that despite her wealth, she isn’t trying to screw me. Perhaps she wants us to go quickly, because at this precise moment Violet is shaking table legs and shouting “I WUBBB G’wage Sales!”

When we get home, I ask the neighbor man, “Did the old man who used to live here paint?” He replies, “Oh yes! I have a painting he did of me 20 years ago in my uniform.  I stood by your tree there for a bit and he worked on it from the front porch.”

It’s hard for me to explain why having a painting from a man I don’t know is important to me. It feels like a part of history though, and it makes me feel nostalgic, a little warm and fuzzy, and really lucky to have found this treasure at the first sale I went to this year.

Home from our first camping trip of the year.

It went well. Minus the whole tornado and high winds along with 5 inches of rain part.

I’m coming down now to a slower pace. The Eat Right Racine Food Tasting went very well. You can read about it here: www.eatrightracine.org. If you are local, there is a segment on CAR25. I hesitate to share that, because I have no idea how big of a bonehead I look and sound like.  We don’t get CAR25.

Both kids have summer colds.

The garden is finally coming, but if  could just get my hands on that rabbit that keeps eating my green bean plants to the ground we’d be having rabbit stew in the crock pot.

Tonight I am going to re-introduce myself to the eliptical trainer. Nice to meet you! Sorry about the dust. Let me clean you off a little. Then I’m going to go hang out with my sewing machine because it’s been months since I’ve seen my crafty side.

Happy weekend people!

2

Happy 2nd Birthday Violet.

Today you are two.

It’s so cliche, but it’s true. Time flies after the second child is born. I look you you today and I can hardly remember you as a newborn. Today I can hardly get you to sit with me. There are too many hairs on Maren’s head to pull, too many bugs to squash, and plenty of couches to jump off of. Stopping to sit is not something to have much time for.

Violet, you are the spice in my life. I think of our family as a home-cooked meal.  Comfort food. Easy to eat. When you were born, you were the dash of cayenne pepper that made the dish memorable and talked about.

I love that you are sassy, chatty, determined and silly. Everyday you do or say something that makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time.

You call yourself  “Vi-zee” and it fits. You love trains, planes and slides.

You are a gem Violet. Mom loves you and life is good because we have you.

Happy Birthday!

Homemade Face & Body Paint

2 tsp Cornstarch

1 tsp cold cream

1 tsp. water

3-4 drops food coloring.

Mix together in an egg carton or muffin tin, apply with paintbrushes.

Laugh hysterically as you make your Mom look like a deranged clown.

Fun times.