Today...

...I am 37 years old. I'm getting grayer, getting a few laugh lines. With one foot now firmly in my late 30's (I have told many friends that you are not all the way in your late 30's until 38) I have to look around and say:

I kind of don't care.

I guess I always thought that at some point I would begin to feel older, feel grown-up, feel, I don't know, the weight of adulthood.

I don't.

I mean, yes there are bills to pay and kids to care for and a home to maintain and careers and jobs to do, and that stuff can be stressful, but life is good. My life is what I wanted. I have an amazing husband, 4 healthy, wonderful children, helpful, loving parents, a nice home, fabulous friends, a fun extended family, food on the table, a few nice extras and my health. Not too shabby.

Happy Birthday to me. The past 36 years have brought me to a good spot. I expect nothing less from my 37th. Bring it on!

Happy Birthday BFF!

Love you!

Cheap Knock Off

I have a thing for vases and candles and bowls. Anything glass and pretty catches my eye. I could LIVE in Crate and Barrel, but I cannot live with their prices.

A while back, like a year or more ago, on a blog called Get Your Martha On (what a fabulous name!) I saw a cool, cheap project that even the most craft impaired person can do. And just look what I made:

Cute, right? And so easy. I bought the pieces at the Dollar Tree (please ignore the spilled tea leaves on the counter.)

I got rid of the sticker that were on the bottom of the vase. Then I Krazy Glued them together, making sure the candlestick was in the middle of the bottom of the vase (and even still I think mine's a smidge off.) Then I set a weight on it while it dried, just for good measure.



Then I made dinner while it dried. This is what it looks like empty:

And one more time, the finished product:

For a grand total of $2.16. (I had the Krazy Glue already, as well as the decor inside.)

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not nutty enough to think this is as beautiful and what you might find at Crate and Barrel, but it is nice and for $2, I'm good with nice. I like it. I will put Easter Eggs in it in the Spring, maybe lemons in the Summer, mini pumpkins and acorns in the Autumn. The possibilities are many and my wallet is happy. Go me!

No fair!

Stomp.

Stomp.

Sigh.

Stomp.

Growl.

Sigh.

Stomp.

"Peanut, what is your problem?"

"I don't have ANY super powers and I don't like it!"

Merry Christmas My Bloggy Friends!

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with love, laughter and Christmas magic.

Too funny

I take Christmas pretty seriously and I will fully admit to getting a little stressed out over the holiday season. Please note that I have 3 shopping days left, 4 kids and about 6 stores left to hit and that every time I think I'm finished I think of someone I have left to get something for. IT NEVER ENDS!

So I could use a good laugh. I think most of us could. I found it here. Don't be put off by the length. Read it. I couldn't breathe and had tears streaming down my face. Seriously funny stuff. Many thanks to my friend Sharon for linking it to me.

Time to wrap some gifts.

Sweet Boy

StinkyMan and I were snuggling last night at bedtime when he wrapped one arm around me super tight and said "I love you, Mommy and I'm going to love you forever."

I love that kid.

And we're back!

We went to Disneyland and it was wonderful! I discovered that Peanut is a roller coaster fan, Curly rather likes having the snot scared out of her, StinkyMan does NOT like Space Mountain AT ALL (he got a little teary eyed after we got off. He tried so hard to be brave, but he was terrified, poor little man) and BabyGirl really is an awesome little traveler who loves to spin on the teacups.

But now it's back to reality. There is much laundry to be done, homework packets to be completed, groceries to be obtained, a tree to decorate and four rather tired children to contend with.

And I can't wait until next year to do it all over again.

Christmas Love

Peanut "Oh, Mommy, our tree is so cute! Can I hug it?"

Mommy: "Sure, but be careful, not too hard."

"Why?"

"Because you might accidentally knock it over."

"It's kind of prickly, too."

"That's true."

"Maybe I'll just give it a high five."

"That would be good, too."

Um, no.

Dear BabyGirl,

When you are out of the tub and buck naked, ready for your diaper, I appreciate that you are happy to lie down cooperatively. What I think we need to work on is your penchant for hurtling yourself to the ground, throwing your naked tushie in the air, legs apart, and screaming "TA-DA!"

It's just not what any parent wants to hear.

Thanks so much!

Mommy

Shop 'Til We Drop

Let me be the first to admit that bargain shopping takes some effort. I don't mean things like clicking on a link to a hot deal or being at the right place at the right time for a good markdown. I mean things like serious couponing and configuring and calculating.

On that note, the very patient night manager at a nearby Walgreens, who goes by the name of Brian, gets my vote for Deal Helper of the Year. You see, my friend and fellow couponer Jamie and I hit the 24 hour Walgreens at midnight on Thanksgiving (so, Wednesday into Thursday) and were ready to shop.

And we did.

But not without snags.

First, the deals did not kick in, so they were not producing the required Register Rewards (store money) to make the deals work. The prices were also not reflecting the Thanksgiving Day sale, so they would have to be manually overridden.

Poor Brian! He tried everything he could think of to get us our deals and get us out the door and back to our cozy beds. Finally at 2:30am, a mere 2.5 hours after our arrival, the register rewards started kicking out. WHEW!

But wait! The prices still were wrong! So the ever understanding Brian had to type most of them in by hand.

"So?" you say. "Big deal."

But you misunderstand. Because Jamie and I were not buying a few things. We were buying with a vengeance. Couponers on a mission, if you will. It was our goal to get enough stuff to send off a great box of goods to the troops overseas AND a local woman's shelter.

What do you think? Think we managed all right?


Oh, it's time for that En Vogue style breakdown:

24 tubes of toothpaste
10 bottles of women's body spray
10 bottles body wash
10 toothbrushes
10 heat wraps
10 bottles of men's body spray
12 bottles of shampoo and conditioner
6 bottles of hairspray
16 containers of men's shaving creme
10 packs of GUM dental flossers
10 packs of ponytail bands
10 boxes of candy (4 not pictured)
2 bags of candy (1 not pictured. I ate it.)
2 sodas (the small ones. We drank them while shopping and wearing poor Brian out. Jamie saved
her bottle for the picture. I did not)
2 Reese's chocolate things (Jamie's fuel, not pictured)
18 (2 liter) bottles of soda (6 not pictured)
1 Robitussin
10 Nivea face washes
10 boxes of Advil PM
40 holiday pencils
5 Pillow Pets (not pictured)


All in all we spent $107 and most of that was tax. In California we get charged tax BEFORE coupons are taken off.

The five Pillow Pets alone would have run me $100 plus tax without bargain shopping.

We saved $497.02.

We left Walgreens at 4:30 in the morning, running on the fumes of the caffeine and candy we had consumed. I'm pretty sure, as patient and helpful as he was, that Brian was glad to see us go because, you see, each transaction has to be rung up separately. You can't ring all this stuff up at once. So we're talking 20 transactions here, at least. And remember, he had to manually punch in the majority of the prices.

Yes, serious couponing takes a lot of effort and not just from the couponers. So cheers to Brian, the Walgreens store night manager. This Thanksgiving, in the wee small hours of the morning, I was very thankful for him. I am also thankful that I have the know how to bargain shop my way into a great contribution for those protecting our country and for those less fortunate than myself. And I was (and always am) thankful to my partner in crime, er, shopping, Miss Jamie. We had a blast. Next year, we will do it again.

Brian already said he'd be taking the night off.

Cuteness

"Mommy?"

"Yes, StinkyMan?"

"I really really think that BabyGirl is the cutest baby ever in the world, don't you?"

"I don't know, you were a pretty cute baby yourself."

"OK, then she's the cutest baby right now and I was the cutest before her."

"You are all 4 very cute."

"So, BabyGirl is the cutest baby, and Peanut is the cutest 3 year old and Curly is the cutest 7 year old and I am the cutest 5 year old?"

"That's right."

"I already knew that."

"Well pardon me! I didn't know you knew."

"You're a cute Mommy. You are the cutest Mommy ever in the world."

"Thanks, Bub."

Look! Look!

I had a couple of people request a recipe, so I changed the one in the margin! You should make it. It's delicious!

Decor

"Mommy?"

"Yeeeesssss?"

"Can I put all the Mr. Potato Heads on your white cabinet?"

"Um, I guess so StinkyMan, but....why?"

"Did you know that you are 'sposed to have mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving?"

"I know that lots of people do, yes."

"And mashed potatoes are made from potatoes and all these Mr. Potato Heads are potatoes and I think it would be a good way to decorate for Thanksgiving, by putting all the Mr. Potato Heads up there."

"Um, sure, Bub. Sounds great."

My Thanksgiving decor is WAAAAAYYY better than yours. I bet you don't have one single potato decoration. Pumpkins, probably. Gourds, maybe. Corn, perhaps. But not potatoes.

I have 6.

Henglebur and Kitchen

Henglebur and Kitchen are not a law firm.

Henglebur and Kitchen are not accountants.

Henglebur and Kitchen are not a Vegas act.

In fact, Henglebur and Kitchen are Peanut's way of saying "hamburger" and "chicken."

You haven't heard cute until your 3 year old takes a spoonful of soup and says "Oooooh. I got a piece of kitchen!" or makes you a Play-doh meal and says "Mommy! Here's your henglebur!"

She is so cute, I can hardly stand it some days.

Thanksgiving Awwwwwwww.

This came home in StinkyMan's backpack the other day:

In case you can't see, it says "I am thankful for my sister." with a picture of Curly.

And I'm so thankful he feels that way.

Christmas Cards

I love Christmas Cards. I love getting them and I love spending time perusing Shutterfly, trying to pick out the card I like the best to send out. I especially love photo cards.

What I do not like is trying to get ONE good picture of all 4 kids. A picture where everyone looks neat and like someone loves them enough to wash their faces and comb their hair. A picture where everyone is AT LEAST looking in the same general direction, no one is blinking or talking with a mouth full of food. Forget smiling. I'm happy if no one is scowling or howling.

So when I saw an offer from Shutterfly to bloggers I knew I could participate. Shutterfly says that if I blog about their holiday photos past or present, I can have some free cards.

Well that's not hard at all. Because of my above picture requirements, you could say that one great picture of all my kids is somewhat of a mission impossible. But Shutterfly saves me every year because they are the ONLY picture website I have found that allows me to put in 4 pictures, one of each child at their best.

They have great gift options too, which I have also used in the past. I know that the mug with a semi decent picture of all my kids was one of my dad's favorite gifts one year. And every single year he and my husband get a calendar with pictures of the little hooligans all over it. It can even be personalized with important dates to remember!

So yes, this entry may sound like an advertisement for Shutterfly. After all, they are paying me in FREE Christmas cards. But I order from them every year, free or not. I encourage you to do the same. You won't be disappointed! And if you are a blogger, you can participate too! Their offer for bloggers getting 50 free holidaycards is here. Have fun choosing your cards!

Confession

I am about to tell you something so shocking that it will forever change how you see me. You will be surprised. Shocked even. You will wonder how it's possible that I feel the way I feel. But I do, and it won't be changed. Are you ready to hear it?


Are you sure?


OK, here it goes.....


I don't like Thanksgiving.

I know! I'm a freak, right?

I don't like turkey. I don't like stuffing. I don't like cranberries. I don't even like pumpkin pie.

It's not that I don't like them BECAUSE they are Thanksgiving foods. I just don't like the taste of any of the big Thanksgiving foods. And since it's kind of a food holiday, it's just not my favorite thing. I mean, I'd be more thrilled with a pizza.

Technically, of course, Thanksgiving is NOT about the food, I guess. It's about family being together and sharing thanks. I'm good with that part of it. I am thankful for a lot of things, not the least of which is family. However, I try to be thankful for that daily, not because there is a giant bird on the table and an over abundance of side dishes.

But as we head toward the holiday and plans are being made and assignments of who is bringing what are being given out, I find myself feeling just really unexcited about the whole thing and that I am starting to side with the retailers; it's just my official Christmas kick-off and a great day to get bargains at Walgreens.

Hey! There you go! I'm thankful Walgreens is open on Thanksgiving with a TON of great deals.

I'm a little more excited now.

I'm such a freak.

Flower headband

So enamored with her fun new flower clip, Curly requested some more flowers for other shirts and she wanted to help. Not sure how that would work out, we decided that she could trace the flower shapes and I would cut and man the glue gun. She was in charge of the rhinestone. This time we attached it to a headband. Super cute!

Forgive the poor picture. I forgot to turn off the flash and since I already pulled her out of bed after tucking her in I didn't want to yank her back out to take another. The pulling out of bed thing also explains the bad hair! The colors on this one are hot pink, lime green white and a deep purple/blue with a pink rhinestone middle on a line green headband and it looks really cute in her hair.

I'm starting to envision Mickey Mouse head clips for our Disney trips, candy canes or Christmas trees for the holidays, hearts for Valentine's Day and so on.

The best part was that Curly could help out too and it gave her a real sense of accomplishment to help make her head band. It was fun to have a project with her and to spend that time together. I'm sure we will be doing some more in the near future.

Fun Hair Flowers

Twin Day at school has been taken to a new level. Curly is all into it. When she was in Kindergarten it was enough to wear a shirt that was the same color as her "twin." In first grade she just targeted a girl who owned the same shirt she did and they decided to be twins.

This year she picked the friend and then wanted to get the matching shirts. Lucky for us the friend she chose has a mom who works for a big clothing company. Bargain shirts! So Other Mom picked up shirts and darling bracelets for the girls and I was in charge of hairbows.

This is what I came up with:





On my head:



So cute and so easy. I think Curly will be pleased. I hope her twin likes them too. I see more flower making in my future. These were quick and (I think) came out really cute. Score one for Good Mommy!

Take note

of the wisdom of my 5 year old son:

"You can change your mind about who you are going to marry until you marry them. When you are married you can't change your mind anymore, so you hafta be careful who you marry 'cuz you hafta love them forever!"

Thanks a lot

So yesterday, Halloween, we were headed out to a party. The kids were dressed and ready. For a month I've been telling them that in our family, really only the kids get dressed up. Mom and Dad just go as Mom and Dad.

Well Husband threw together a ridiculous looking Mexican wrestler outfit at the last minute which left me as the only uncostumed one. I'm fine with that. Mommies are used to being the party poopers.

So I was finishing up getting ready and felt like I was having a good hair and make-up day when Curly asked me what I was going to be for the party. Feeling happy with my appearance I said "I'm a super model."

Doubtfully, she looked me up and down and said "Well, I think you are going to need a lot more make-up, then" and walked out.

Thanks. Thank a lot. Good thing my self esteem does not lie in the hands of my seven year old!

It's almost time...

for the Great Pumpkin visit our house. Woo-hoo! I think it might be my favorite part of Halloween. I blogged it last year here so I won't blog it again, but this year I've managed to get great gifts for less than before. Thank you Ross and TJ Maxx! Woo-hoo! Bargain Great Pumpkin. Even better!

Peace and Quiet

Curly is in love with peace signs. She wants practically everything she owns to have peace signs on it. As a result, Peanut is very aware of peace signs but has no actual concept of what peace is. If you know Peanut you know this is true because that child talks from sun up to sun down and she is NOT the quiet type.

Not too long ago StinkyMan was angry about something and he just needed to be left alone. Peanut, who also doesn't understand the concept of leaving her brother alone, was in his face, asking him why he was angry.

"Baby, he just needs some peace and quiet." I told her.

"OK." she said and she ran off. Pleased that she understood, I turned my attention to a tearful StinkyMan.

A minute later Peanut was standing next to us. "Here are some peas, StinkyMan" she said, helpfully thrusting a bag of frozen peas at him. See around here, we put a bag of frozen peas on owies. She was helping. (I know, so cute, right?)

I took the peas and thanked her before her brother could clue her in that she'd made a mistake and she happily ran off, pleased with her helpfulness.

Then yesterday she was using the restroom. I won't lie, we call it going potty, a term I swore I would never use before I had kids that I now use without a second thought. So she was going potty and was in there for a while, singing a little song. When she came out I asked (because I am a mom and we ask these things) "Did you go poops?"

"No." She answered cheerfully "Just pees. I was just in the bathroom having some pees and quiet."

No wonder she doesn't quite get her sister's obsession with "peace."

Peanut is...

just over 30 boxes of chocolate tall.

I know. Say what now?

Husband was on a week long trip to Hawaii. He brought the kids t-shirts and jewelry. This is what he brought me:






OK, they aren't ALL for me. He'd already given 2 to a coworker who picked him up at the airport and some are for family, but he shipped all his laundry home and packed his bag full of chocolate!

We stacked them into one tall tower and discovered that Peanut is just a bit taller than all 30 boxes together.

The kids think they hit the candy lottery and next week is Halloween! Let the sugar high begin!

Confessions of a Bad Mommy

I have never claimed to be perfect. Not once. This past week I was a bad mommy lots and lots of times. Examples (with counterbalances to keep me in the average mommy scoring range):

Bad Mommy: Lets BabyGirl have chocolate milk once a day
Good Mommy: it's just a droplet of chocolate in a whole cup of white milk

Bad Mommy: Let StinkyMan eat a Lean Pocket Pepperoni Pizza Pocket for breakfast
Good Mommy: denied BabyGirl a bowl of homemade butter cream for breakfast

Bad Mommy: Let Curly buy school lunch 2 days in a row, when 1 day is generally all that is allowed. That stuff is so junky.
Good Mommy: Packed very healthy lunches the other days AND some fun Halloween jokes from here for good measure.

Bad Mommy: Let the kids go to bed a smidge later than they should have most nights this week
Good Mommy: is crazy strict about bedtimes, so even going late, there were still all asleep by 8:30ish.

Bad Mommy: accidentally said "hate" in front of Peanut
Good Mommy: bit her tongue and stopped herself from swearing in front of Peanut when she rammed her toe into a wall (don't ask)

Bad Mommy: still hasn't gotten out the Halloween decorations
Good Mommy: is getting up in the morning to decorate instead of sleeping in.

A solid grade C for the week, and you know what? That's was just going to have to be good enough. It was a loooooooong week.

Math

I never liked math. I remember not having any confidence in my math skills as early as the first grade. I just never believed that I really, truly knew what I was doing.

I watch Curly struggling with the same issues. She cried tonight because she "just can't do it." The thing is that she CAN. Instead she messes around, talks in baby voices and, in general lacks focus. And then when I ask her to get serious and get it done she claims that it's too hard.

This is frustrating. For me and for her. I want to help her, but I want her to help herself too and TRY to do the work.

If I had known at 6 years old that 30 years later elementary school math would still be frustrating me I'm not sure I would ever have bothered to graduate to 2nd grade.

UPDATE: She came home from school yesterday and told me that her friend M had helped her figure it out. I thought "We'll see about that." But indeed, math homework was a breeze last night and a lightbulb seems to have gone off in her head. Apparently M, in all her 7 years on the planet, possesses something I, with a degree in Education, do not: the ability to teach math. All hail the Mighty Miss M for restoring peace and mathematics ability to our homework table!

Words

Curly: I bet I know what StinkyMan's favorite word is.

Me: Oh yeah?

Curly: I think it's "hideous"

Me: StinkyMan! What's your favorite word?

StinkyMan: Hideous!

Me: That's a good word.

Peanut: My favorite word is "Razzle Dazzle!"

Me: That's a good word too.

Peanut: Yes, it is! (pause for 3 seconds) What's a Razzle Dazzle?

Me: I'm not sure but it's fun to say!

StinkyMan: No, it's not. It's HIDEOUS!!!!

Cue peals of laughter.

Diaper Duty

To appreciate this story, you will have to use your imagination a little bit. I'll try to draw a little, but I have no computer abilities AT ALL, so it's lame, but it's the best I can do.

Pretend this is some of the downstairs of my house.

S-----------------------------------------M----------------------------------C

I know. It's good, right? You can totally see it, I'm sure. S is for StinkyMan who was in the family room. C is for Curly, who was in the dining room doing her homework. M is for Me, in the pantry area, overhearing their conversation across the length of the house.

So StinkyMan is watching Husband change a rather smelly diaper and says, wrinkling his nose "When I get married I am not doing that. I will let the mom do it."

To which Curly says "When I get married and have a baby I'm going to let my husband change all the diapers." Then she thinks for a minute and says "Mommy, it's a good thing StinkyMan and I can't marry each other or our kids sure would stink!"

Yes. Yes they would.

Pears

I bought pears. Lots and lots of pears. 65 pounds of pears to be exact. The plan? Can them. Make pear sauce and can that too. And anything else pear related I could think to make and can.

Except my stove seems to be on the fritz, which is really messing with my ability to can anything. We had a cleaning crew come the other day for a "once over" fall cleaning. When the gal was done cleaning my (gas) stove it was making a weird clicking sound, like the kind of sound it makes when you turn it on but not far enough to ignite the burner.

Cleaning gal was perplexed. This had never happened to her before. A quick internet assured me that was normal, that sometimes when all the parts get wet during cleaning it will click nonstop. Best thing to do is unplug, let dry for a while, then plug it back in.

Worked like a charm.

Except that 45 minutes after the plugging back in part I heard a hum, followed by a POP, a spark and a smoking stove knob. I quickly unplugged the stove again and haven't dared to plug it back in. Husband will look at it when he comes back from his trip.

In the mean time, anyone want some pears? Because I've got them. Lots and lots and lots of them.

Toilet Paper Pumpkins

It's Fall Y'all.

Or so the calendar may say. The weather says something else entirely around here. But I love the idea of Fall. I love the colors and the cool air and the impending arrival of jack o'lanterns and trick or treaters. I even have certain foods I only fix in fall and winter, so autumn's arrival brings out menu items we haven't seen in a while.

And Fall always makes me feel crafty.

Two years ago StinkyMan made the cutest pumpkin in preschool. "I can totally make that!" I thought and then never did.

Last week when Peanut brought home her version of the same craft I thought "Why didn't I ever make one of those?"

So now I have.

Supplies for Toilet Paper Pumpkins:

1 roll tp
orange fabric
some kind of brown material, fabric, paper, cardboard, etc
something to make a leaf or some fake leaves or heck, real leaves if you want.
some raffia to finish it off nicely.

Step 1:

Put your orange fabric face down on your work surface. Put your tp roll in the middle.

I had WAY TOO MUCH fabric there. You don't need quite so much. What you need is enough to tuck all your ends into the middle without any of the fabric falling out.

Step 2:

Gather your ends

This doesn't have to be perfect. It's OK if your fabric isn't perfectly smooth or even or unwrinkled. No pumpkin is perfect!

Step 3:

Tuck it all in.

Step 4:

Roll your brown paper, empty paper towel roll, fabric or whatever you've got into a stem shape. You can glue the end down if you want. I didn't feel like waiting for glue. I used Zots.

I used green felt to cut out a leaf shape. It's all I had. You could use brown (I likely would have if I'd had any. Brown is more Autumnish after all) And then I just tucked my leaf in.

Add some raffia for extra cuteness and you are done!

I KNOW! Super cute, right? What about a whole fabric pumpkin patch?

Curly had a playdate over and each girl, plus StinkyMan and Peanut and myself made toilet paper pumpkins. I want to get some hay and lay these on the bales. How fun would that be?

I love Fall. Now if only the weather would cooperate!

Holy Moly

Friday morning I called the elementary school, asking when and where the talent show list would be posted, so I could be ready to congratulate or console as needed. The lovely school admin lady told me that the panel of judges had decided not to cut anyone after all. That instead, they would have the talent show, as planned, and then also an open mic night, so everyone would get a chance to shine.

I felt so much better after that. I mean, now, no matter what, Curly and her buddy would get a chance to do their thing. And I knew, if they got the open mic night assignment, I could spin that to not seem like a consolation prize.

But, amazingly enough, no spinning was required. Their hoola hoop routine earned them a spot in the talent show! Curly is ecstatic and I am so proud. November 4th is the big day, and there is much work that needs to be done before then, but the biggest hurdle has been cleared and the rest is just fun.

YAY!

Blah

Today was Talent Show Tryout day. I thought Curly and her friend did a pretty good job with their hoola hooping routine. Imagine my dismay to see the act trying out immediately after them was, not only also a hooping routine, but a hooping routine to the same song! And acts are getting cut. When the kids were initially finished with their routine I thought they had a good shot. Then I saw and heard the other kiddos' routine begin and I knew our chance of being cut had gone up exponentially. What are the odds of the kids choosing the same random talent to the same random song? Blah.

Then, all day long, I'd really been looking forward to the school photographer putting Peanut's school picture proofs online so I could see them. I couldn't wait to scroll through them again and again trying to decide which I loved most, which picture best portrayed my lively little sprite.

Except I don't like any of them. I'm so sad and even a little bitter. I wanted to order a bunch and frame them up as Christmas gifts and I just don't see spending the money on these shots. They aren't reflective of her at all. Another blah.

So tomorrow I will schedule portraits and hold my breath until the list of acts is posted for the Talent Show. Then we will either console or celebrate.

This mom business is hard work. Blah.

Uh-oh

Tomorrow are school talent show tryouts. Curly and her friend want to do a hoola hoop routine they have been working on in hoola hoop dance class.

I just saw their work for the first time. It's, uh, rough. Very, very rough.

I'm not sure they will make the cut and for that I feel sad.

If you could keep my Curly in your thoughts and send positive vibes I would appreciate it. They could use all the help they can get.

He likes her! He really likes her!

This morning, a bit after Curly had gone off to school, StinkyMan and Peanut were watching Sprout and laughing like crazy at Grover working on his rhyming. Suddenly StinkyMan got very sober and said "I wish Curly was here to see this."

Awwwww.

Stats

I took the kids to the doctor last week. I was a smidge late with check-ups this year. Oops.

Curly, who has always topped the charts, is now roughly in the 80th percentile. I think she will be like her dad and I...she'll hit junior high and be done growing. She's tall amongst her friends for now, but I think some of them will ultimately pass her.

StinkyMan is exactly even steven, dead center of the growth chart. He has always been in the 50th percentile. I do not foresee him being my future NBA player. He was so, so brave getting his shot. He didn't cry, protest or flinch. He never even said ow. What a trooper. I was really proud.

Peanut stole the show. She is in the 40th percentile for her weight, the most she's ever been, but in the 90th percentile for her height. Tall and skinny, we may have to consider changing her nickname, as she is no longer a peanut. I think she may be my future supermodel, because her feet are HUGE and one can only hope she'll grow into them. She also, as she says "got shot" at the doctor and seems to think her last name is "Foo" because of a nickname she has here at home. Let me assure you, our last name is not "Foo" but that didn't stop her from telling the doctor that it is.

And finally, my little bulldozer, my BabyGirl. Coming in at only 4 lbs less than her slightly older sister, she is in the 75th percentile for height and weight. She was also a trooper and only cried a little after her 2nd shot. She said "Ew" in this tiny little squeak when the first one went in, but the 2nd one reduced her to tears. A lollipop was the cure for that.

They are all just getting so big. Too big for me. But, no matter what I do, they won't stop growing. And so I blog it all, to hang on to these young years, just a little longer.

The first line of defense

It's good to know that if someone ever wages war on the front hall from inside the kitchen, the Transformers are ready to defend it. And I take great comfort in the fact that their secret weapon, the soccer ball, is there as backup.


Don't you wish sometimes you could get inside their brains? (Your kids that is, not the Transformers.)

Awwwww. SPLAT!

We were exiting the car in the school parking lot, me, StinkyMan, Peanut and BabyGirl. StinkyMan and Peanut dutifully waited on the sidewalk while I unloaded their little sister.

"OK, let's go!" I said, ready to head towards the school.

"WAIT!" urges StinkyMan, pointing towards the ground next to my tire. "A Roley! He looks scared." He leans down. "Hi little Roley Poly. The parking lot is not a good place for little bugs."

"He's going to get squished by a car" says Peanut somberly.

"Mommy, can I put him in the grass where he will be safe?" StinkyMan is such a kind boy.

"Of course. I think that would be very nice." I say, my heart happy that my bub is so compassionate.

With great care he picks up the Roley Poly on his finger...and chucks him overhand straight down towards the ground.

"There. He's safe now."

"And he won't get dead" says Peanut.

"Because he already is, you Bug Bullies!" I think to myself.

Instead I say "Very nice. Time for school."

We might have to work on our compassion follow through a bit.

Currently:

StinkyMan is "ignoyed" by his sister. That means, I am told, that he is ignoring her because she is annoying him.

Peanut is standing in my kitchen with her arms crossed, huffing and puffing and sighing with anger because she wants to be a princess for Halloween and I won't buy her a castle. Not a toy castle (which I also wouldn't run out and buy) but a real castle for us all to live in. "But I want to be a princess and so I need a castle!" she has wailed. Explanations of property value, mortgage qualifications and castle upkeep don't seem to be swaying her steadfast belief that a castle is her birthright.

And BabyGirl is working on a black eye. I was just going to call and book a portrait appointment this morning when somehow she tipped a rocking horse sideways and fell with her face onto a toy.

Thank goodness Curly is in school or who knows what drama she would add to my morning.

What's your shape?

Yesterday I took the two little girls to do some grocery shopping. They look so cute sitting side by side in one of those double seat carts. However, when the cart isn't made for that store (it was a Sam's cart in Walmart) the aisles can get a little narrow to share with other customers. I needed to make a right down an aisle and was looking for a row with no one in it so I could avoid the squeeze.

"Let me just find an empty aisle and we'll be in good shape." I told the girls.

A minute or two pass and Peanut says "But not a circle. We are not a circle shape. We are more like a triangle."

"The good shape we are in is a triangle?"

She nods. "Because people are not circles! That would be so crazy!"

I love how little minds work.

Surprise!

I was gone for 3 days, visiting a friend, having a blast learning new cake techniques and hanging out. We shopped, worked on cakes, went to the movies (I recommend Easy A. Fun stuff) and just chilled.

But as every mommy knows, you don't come home without something for the kids. So I got them each 2 little gifts. Curly is all into peace signs, so she got a rhinestone peace sign and a pack of gum. StinkyMan got a $5 movie and a pack of gum. Peanut got a new dress and a pack of gum. BabyGirl really has no idea what's going on, so I just stashed her a bag of pretzels off the plane.

And what do they like the most?

You guessed it: the pretzels. Thankfully I had enough to go around. I was keeping them for school snacks, but I guess not anymore.

I agonized over those gifts too. Next time, I'll just save myself the trouble and bring home the airline snack and forget the rest!

What would you say?

I watched this today and I wondered what my card would say. In the end, what I think I would say is "Everything is about to change in the best way possible...better than you can even imagine."

I want to know what yours would say. Leave me a comment and tell me what you would write on your card.

Fun

"Mommy, we're fun, right?"

"Yes, Peanut, I think we are fun. Do you?"

"Yes. We are a fun family. We play games and we tickle, tickle, tickle and we laugh and Daddy wrestles and you dance and we are silly, so we are fun. And StinkyMan plays Puffles with me and Curly plays on the structure with me and we eat popsicles and BabyGirl is so cute and we have fun all the day. So we are a fun family, right?"

"Right!"

I hope she always thinks so.

Cake Weekend

Let me just begin my telling you that I used no less than 10 pounds of powdered sugar this weekend. TEN POUNDS, People. Do your teeth hurt yet? Mine do, just thinking about it.

First up was my BabyGirl's birthday party. It was a small party. Well, small in the sense that it was just family, really, but our family isn't small. So it was a medium sized party, I guess. The cake, however, was more large party sized. It took me the better part of 2 days and about a bazillion steps.

A little extra something on the 5th cake ball:
And it all comes out to be this:

It was a success. Looked good, tasted good. No time to rest. On to the next project: Another Mario Cake.

I'm getting pretty good at these Mario cakes, if I do say so myself. This was my third one. Curly's friend "C" was having a Mario party and his mom is an AMAZING artist, so we worked out a trade. She's going to paint a growth chart for me and I would make the birthday boy a Mario cake.

About halfway through I got nervous that I wouldn't have enough cake for all the guests, so I made up some cupcakes too.

And the final product:

Please notice the caterpillar body part remains in the background. Hee-hee.

We are all caked out around here. Many thanks to my wonderful Husband for not only doing EVERYTHING else while I make these elaborate cakes, but for supporting and encouraging my craziness while I'm making them.

Next weekend I am going to visit a friend who makes the most astounding cakes and she is going to teach me some of her tricks of the trade. I hope some of her creativity and skill rub off on me. But until then, I don't even want to think about cake.

The Generosity of Friends

It came in pieces.

Lots and lots of pieces.

Sometimes it was too hard to wait for the end result.


It took a handy Husband, some friends and a beloved uncle to get it all together in the hot, hot sun.

A modification was made to prevent any nasty falls.

And VOILA!

My family could not be more thankful to the "G' family for thinking of us when they were ready to get rid of this fabulous play structure. It was free to us, People. FREE! Can you believe it? Neither can I! This is really BEYOND generous and I'm currently trying to think of something I can do to repay them in some small way. I doubt I will be able to think of anything as cool as our fancy new playground!

Mommy Moment

You know you are a mom when you are out in the backyard at 10pm, with a flashlight, hunting for a sippy cup.

Public Service Announcement

Do not, I repeat DO NOT buy "Rainbow Popsicles" for your children. They stain skin something fierce. BabyGirl went to bed looking like a rabid Smurf.

School is in session...

...and so are the germs. First victim? BabyGirl, who has a very nasty cold, undoubtedly picked up from a slightly more immune school aged kid.

Let the games begin. Who's next? I'm thinking Curly, who was a bit wacky yesterday and had a terrible time getting out of bed this morning.

The downside of late August through early June is the germs. They roam at school without hall passes and attach themselves to my kids. Blah.

Banana Fresh

StinkyMan and I were driving back from the dentist today when we passed a "Baja Fresh." Reading it quickly as we passed he said "Why is that place called Banana Fresh? I don't understand what's going on in there. Do they only sell bananas? That's weird. I don't understand that at all. How come they would only sell bananas?"

I just didn't have the heart to tell him it was "Baja Fresh" so I just said "I don't know, Bub."

He shook his head "That's just weird."

Well yes, I guess it would be.

Bargain HIGH

I went to Kohl's. This is what I bought:

A la En Vogue, "And now it's time for a break down" (breakdown at 3:05ish):

2 pairs of shorts for Husband

2 pairs of cropped leggings for Curly

5 pairs of kid sunglasses

3 pairs of kid flip flops

1 pair of capris for me

1 pkg of undies for Curly

1 pkg of undies for Peanut (not pictured. She wanted to open and wear them immediately)

1 pair of shoes for BabyGirl

1 shirt for Curly

3 pair undies for me (not pictured, because quite frankly, you don't need to see my underwear)

According to the good people at Kohl's I saved $319.40

I spent a grand total of $33.02. Actually, I had a gift to return (a duplicate of something we already had) and got a merchandise credit of $24.98, so what I really spent OOP (out of pocket) was a whopping $8.04.

I love Kohl's clearance racks, I love coupons and I love my husband, who let me go out ALONE to bargain shop my brains out.

The Christmas stockings are already starting to look full.

CSI Miami...

... and David Caruso have nothing on my Peanut.

She put my sunglasses on and admired herself in the mirror. Then she turned to me and said "Do you like them, Mommy?"

"Oh, Peanut, you're so cool!" I answered, smiling at the big glasses on the tiny face.

"I'm not cool." She said, seriously.

"You're not?"

"No!" And she smiled a smile bright enough to rival the sun. "I'm fabulous!"

School is uncool

Said indignantly:

I don't like Kindergarten because there isn't as much outside time as preschool. Outside time in kindergarten is 99 minutes long and the game I like to play is 100 minutes, and so I never get to finish my game.
~StinkyMan, age 5

Baby No More

Tonight I put my last baby to bed for her last night as a baby. When she wakes up in the morning, she will be a two year old.

I feel weird. Not sad, necessarily, because I'm one of those freaks who thinks the age of two is a whole lot of fun, but more...I don't know...wistful, maybe.

When Curly turned 2 I was 7 months pregnant with StinkyMan. When StinkyMan turned 2, Peanut was a 1 month old. When Peanut turned 2, BabyGirl was 6 months old. I have had a baby in the house for 7.5 years running, more or less.

But not anymore.

2 years ago I was in the hospital, being induced for high blood pressure. Husband just kept saying "Didn't we just do this? I can't believe we are doing this again!"

She was gorgeous and definitively my last. I knew, even as I pushed to bring her into this world, that I would never do that again. I remember thinking to myself that I needed to savor it, all of it, because I wouldn't be back to labor and delivery.

And then they took her from me and moved her to the NICU in another hospital 40 minutes away and I had to stay where I was. I will forever be grateful to the nurse who came on duty the night BabyGirl and I were separated. She walked into my room, flipped open my chart, read it, looked at me and said "Oh, Honey. You want a big ol' strong sleeping pill?" With thankful tears I nodded. I didn't see getting through the long night any other way. Even now I get watery eyed just thinking about her kindness on that miserable night.

I was discharged the next day and went to see my baby.

She was in good hands and in better condition than many of the other babies there. In fact, she looked like a beast compared to some. Even with all the wires and machines she was breath taking.

She came home with us about a week later. It seemed endlessly long that she was in that NICU.

Now it seems like I blinked once and 2 years went by.

And I have no more babies in the house.

Happy Birthday to my 2 year old; my beautiful, sunshiney, stubborn, sweet, happy, smart, funny BabyGirl. You may not be a baby, but you will always be MY baby. I love you.

Highs and Lows

We like to sit around the dinner table as a family and talk about our day. We ask for one high, one low and anything in between that anyone wants to talk about. Curly, in particular, loves this part of dinner and likes to go last, I'm guessing in an effort to have her high top all other daily highs.

"My turn!" She crows.

"OK, what was your high?"

"M has a crush on me."

"He does? How do you know?"

"Well, R told me. She said that he said that I'm hot."

"Oh really?" I'm a bit flustered. "You're hot?"

"Mmm hmmm." She smiles "And that was my high."

Here I was thinking she was 7. Apparently, she's 17.

Baby Blackmail

BabyGirl has a new trick. It's baby blackmail. If I don't get her out of bed fast enough when she wakes up, she takes her diaper off for amusement and then pees all over her bed.

I'm being bullied by an almost two year old.

Bully

I've noticed up around the big kids' school they have "Bully Free Zone" posters. Bullies are something I worry about. It seems you hear an awful lot about them these days.

Yesterday Curly told me that they talked about bullies in class, did some role playing and had some discussion about how to handle bullies. She seemed to know all about how to handle a bully, but I wondered if she knew what a bully actually was.

"What does a bully do? Can you give me an example of what a bully would say?"

She thought for a moment. "Well," she said slowly "I'm not exactly sure, because I am not a bully. I think it's mean words, though and mean actions. Like, they make people feel bad with stuff they say and stuff they do, like calling people 'stupid' or making fun of somebody."

"That's good, Baby" I said. "You don't have to put up with that. If anyone is trying to make you feel bad or is being mean to you, no matter what they say, that is NOT okay and you need to tell a teacher right away."

"I will." She said cheerfully "But mostly I will just be their friend. Maybe they are grumpy and like a bully because they really just need a friend and then I will be their friend and then they will stop."

I just smiled and gave her a hug.

If only the world were so simple.

And so it begins

I dropped Curly off for her first day of second grade yesterday. Despite her nerves, she kept her composure. Her teacher is very sweet and soft spoken and I think she is just the perfect teacher for my oldest child. At the end of the day, the teacher said she had had a great day and was a wonderful student. That's my girl!

StinkyMan was my wild card for the day. I just didn't know how he would do. Husband and I took him in. The first thing the teacher had them do was a scavenger hunt. They had to find their cubby, find the rug, find the bathrooms, etc. It was a great way to familiarize them with the room and he was totally into it. Then they read a story and encouraged the kids to say goodbye to their parents. He could barely be bothered to see us off. There wasn't a tear in sight. All right, maybe one, from me, but even I did pretty well. He seems eager to go back.

3 kids in school. Next year it will be 4. I managed to hold it together this year. When my baby goes, though, all bets are off. If you live in my town, you may want to take out some flood insurance now to prepare.

My Peanut is a Preschooler

At 6:20 this Tuesday morning a tiny little girl stood next to my bed and said brightly "Mommy, it's time for school!" I stumbled downstairs with her, fed her breakfast and tried to wake up.

At 6:40 she said "Don't forget my backpack, Mommy. Let's go!"

She was very upset to discover that Mommy thinks that 6:40 is a bit on the early side for school.

By 7:30 she was fully fed, fully dressed, piggy tailed, packed up and beyond impatient to leave.

By 7:50 she had received a goodbye hug from StinkyMan, though we were nowhere near ready to go.

At 8:05 Grammy arrived to stay with the other kids so that Mommy could give her full first day of school attention to Peanut.

On the 10 minute drive to school Peanut talked about how fun school was going to be. She talked about friends and playing outside and teachers. She said it was StinkyMan's school and I reminded her that now it was her school. That piece of information was processed with a BIG smile.

She entered the school with confidence, stopping to hug a familiar teacher and sauntered into her room. The only blip was when she whispered to me "Mommy, I want to play outside!"

"In a little while" I promised. "Can I have a kiss?"

And she kissed me and found a place to play. With a wave over her shoulder, I was dismissed.

I held myself together pretty well. It probably helps that I have one more baby at home. But what nearly reduced me to tears was not watching her leave me with ease, or leaving my tiny girl for 3 hours.

No, it was a note I found in her backpack from her big sister.

"Hi Peanut! Have a fun day at school! Love, Curly"

Just like the notes I slip into Curly's lunchbox, so had big sister done for little sister.

It's days like these and things like that that let me know that somehow I'm doing this Mommy thing right.

Technologically advanced

Today StinkyMan took our new dvd player upstairs and installed it himself. I think that officially means my son is more savvy than I am when it comes to technology.

Don't be wasteful

Peanut found me in the bathroom this morning, blowing my nose into toilet paper because we are out of tissue.

"Mommy, don't use all the toilet paper. I need that" she cautioned as she got on the toilet.

Eyeing the nearly full roll I said "I don't think I will use it all. There is a lot there."

In her most impatient voice she said "Mommy! My vajay-jay is going to need it tomorrow too! You need to save it. My vajay-jay is more important than your nose."

No kissing allowed

I am no longer allowed to kiss StinkyMan.

This started a few weeks back, but I am starting to realize the kid means business.

Last week he told me I could kiss him "in three days" and, true to his word and without my prompting he told me 3 days later "It's your night. You can kiss me tonight." So I did, and I thanked him.

But tonight I asked if I could kiss him goodnight and he said "No. You can kiss me on August 17th."

"August 17th? I can live with that. That's in 4 days."

"Four days?!" He reconsidered. "You can kiss me at Christmas time. But that's it."

"That's a really long time from now. I don't think I like that."

"Well, that's the rule."

I think it's a rule I will break, even if I steal my kisses while he sleeps.

A little story

Let me tell you a little tale. A tale of two couches, two cakes and a whole lot in between.

Back in Spring my friend Melisa saved me from my ugly couches. She had a lovely couch set she was looking to get rid of and I happened to really want some new furniture for my family room. So I offered her a trade. Her girls have summer birthdays so I offered two custom made cakes in exchange for her couches. A deal was struck and the couches were moved to my living room (and they look and feel fabulous. I'm sitting on one as I type this all out.)

So the first cake order was for a Toy Story cake. It came together easily and Melisa, and more importantly the birthday girl, absolutely loved it.

So, yeah, ignore the stuff on the counter. When cakes are being made, all else falls apart.

The second birthday girl requested a chocolate cake with pink frosting and Disney Princesses. Easy enough, right?

Wrong!

And here is where the story really begins.

I headed out the Friday before the party to scout out Princess stuff and try to figure out exactly how I was going to do this cake. Stop number one, The Dollar Tree, yielded no real results. Usually full of Disney Princess items, they had nothing I could use. Undaunted, I headed to Michael's, stop number 2. And at Michael's I also found nothing but a sense of panic and a kind clerk who suggested Party City.

Party City, stop number 3 had a few options but nothing I loved. My stress level was starting to hit the roof when another kind clerk saved the day with an idea: "I wonder if a store bakery would sell you their cake toppers?"

Ding, ding, ding! Knowing the regular grocery store bakeries would be closed I headed to Walmart, stop number 4.

It was 9:05pm. Apparently the bakery closes at 9:00 because the gal behind the counter would not acknowledge my existence. Then she finally relented and informed me that yes, they would sell me the cake toppers, but I would have to come back in the morning because they were closed. Nothing I said would convince her. It was a bakery item and the bakery was closed.

So I went back the next morning, stop number 5, where a very sweet little old man handed me a pack of Disney Princess cake toppers and told me I could pay for them in the front after I did the rest of my shopping.

"I don't have to buy them here?"

"No ma'am. They have a barcode, so they'll scan at any register."

I officially now hate the bakery clerk from the night before.

Angry yet happy, I headed home, cake toppers in hand, and began to design the cake by stacking the pans when I realize the toppers won't fit on the cake layers as they are. They are too wide.

Plan B. A bigger cake pan on the bottom would solve that problem.

I start to mix up the batter for the first layer when I realize I am out of the stuff to spray in the pans to help the cakes come out of the pans.

No worries. I called Husband, who was out, and he said he would pick some up for me. No stop for me, but all in all, stop number 6.

Perfect.

Except he was gone a REALLY long time and I was SUPER behind schedule by the time he got home. And when I poured the first pan full of batter I realized that I didn't have enough batter and I didn't have the ingredients to make more.

Husband went back out for stop number 7. I decided to make the little icing flowers I was planning to put all over the cake.

I threw them in the freezer so they would harden in a few hours and be easy to apply to the cake.

Husband arrived with ingredients and I continued making batter. The baking proceeded well for a bit and I started to think I was in the clear.

You should never, ever think you are in the clear. Ever.

Because I ran out of frosting.

And those flowers? Yeah, they didn't freeze. I was going to have to do them all again directly onto the cake.

At this point I was on the edge of losing it. I took a walk around the block and pondered what would happen if I showed up at the party with a sheet cake from Walmart.

When I came home, my wonderful husband had frosted a good portion of the cake for me (he's the best, though at the time I was too distraught to properly appreciate him) and he happily went out to grab us both dinner and some more frosting stuff (stop number 8) while I stuck the kids in bed and finished up frosting and began piping.

I finished after midnight. There were moments, lots of moments, where I wondered if it would come together like I wanted. I think that, for the most part, it did.

The birthday girl and her mama were happy. And I love my couches.

But I never, ever want see pink frosting, Disney Princess cake toppers or that mean Walmart bakery employee ever again.

Hide and Seek

Peanut: Mommy! Don't see me, OK?

Mommy: Are you hiding?

Peanut: Yes! I'm playing Hide and Go Seek with you. Don't look in the closet, though, because then you will see me and I will be sad because I losed.

Mommy: So I have to find you but I can't look in the closet where you are?

Peanut: No, because you will find me there.

Mommy: Fun game. I'm going to go look in the laundry room now. Are you there?

Peanut: No, you can look there. I'm in the closet, not the laundry room.

Somehow I don't think she quite has a handle on this game, do you?

Aw

Me: Are you guys getting excited about school starting?

Curly: Yes. I'm excited to see my friends.

StinkyMan: I wish there was no such thing as school.

Perplexed because he LOVED his preschool I asked: "Why?"

StinkyMan: Because then you would never hafta go anywhere without your mom.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

We're baaaack

And we had a great time. Curly LOVED the lake. She's such a little fish and was perfectly at home in the mountains. Peanut declared "There is sand at the beach and the beach and the mountains and the trees are all perfect!" StinkyMan had a good time, but I think he is my "city boy" because while he enjoyed his time there I don't think he adored it the way his sisters did. When we all fed a mama deer and her babies off the back porch, he quickly lost interest and went back inside.

As for me, I enjoyed myself. It was nice to just focus on 3/4 of my kids. No phone calls, no computer (although I did steal Husband's phone to check Facebook. I can't live totally without my internet life) and no interruptions. I missed my BabyGirl, though and she was very happy to see us all return, despite having a wonderful time with Grammy.

Tomorrow a return to real life, but for now, 3 of my kids are sound asleep, dreaming of their days at the lake, while my baby sleeps knowing her mama is home with her.

Vacation

I did well at the Target clearance. It will be all I can do not to ask Husband to stop at every Target between here and our lake house tomorrow.



Speaking of, I'll be gone for a few days. We're taking all but one kid with us to our family lake house. BabyGirl will be staying home with Grammy. (Don't even get me started on the Mommy guilt, but she eats sand and opens all the cabinets, you know?) I'll try to update some and put up DOTD's but it might not be possible and hey, everyone deserves a vacation, right?

The Gap

Not the store.

In my son's mouth. StinkyMan has lost his first tooth. He told me "Look, Mommy, my tooth is wiggly!" and five minutes later it was out. So now he has the cutest little gap in his bottom teeth and is one 50 cent piece richer than before. (Our tooth fairy is on the cheap side of things.)

My little boy is getting so big.

*sniff*

Quick Fix

Today Peanut plastered a Band-aid over her nostrils.

Why?

"Because my nose is running and the Band-aid will stop that."

Gotta give her credit for ingenuity.

She did it!

Every night when I put BabyGirl to bed I say "Night, night, Baby. Get good sleeps. I love you."

And tonight, for the first time ever, as I was closing her door, my baby said "Ah wuv ew" back to me.

This is the stuff that makes it all worthwhile.

Scandalous!

So, the other day StinkyMan and Peanut are drawing at the table. After a while Peanut brings me a picture. "It's for you, Mama. It's Boo's door" (from Monster's Inc.)

"Thank you. I love it. Great job!" and she runs back to the table.

Then StinkyMan brings me a house that he drew. He's quite proud and so am I. I've never seen him draw a house before and I think it's quite good for a 5 year old. I tell him so and he beams, then runs back to the table.

Then I hear the laughing. It's loud and bawdy and maniacal...the kind of laughter that generally means they are up to no good.The kind of laughter not usually associated with coloring and drawing. I come around the corner and watch for a while. Those 2 kids are laughing so hard, I think they might actually pee their pants. And with every stroke of StinkyMan's crayon to paper they shriek with glee and naughtiness. Whatever this is all about, it's obviously hilarious.

I edge closer to see a paper filled with this:

Clearly not getting it, I decide to interrupt their peals of laughter.

"What are the two of you doing? What's so funny in here?"

They both turn around to look at me, barely able to keep their faces straight. Peanut tries very, very hard to put on her best "disapproval face" and fails miserably.

"Mommy," she says solemnly, while her lip quiver betrays her, "StinkyMan is drawing HEINIES!"

Cue laughter, as they both dissolve into puddles of giggles. StinkyMan draws another and another, each as funny, if not funnier than the last.

Clearly this is the naughtiest and most scandalous thing they could think of. I also let them continue on. There is something hilarious about drawing heinies, even I can admit that. There is also something sweetly innocent about it...they were drawing heineis. Not butts, rear ends or even bottoms....heinies.

If that is the naughtiest thing they do all summer, we'll be in good shape.

I must add that the next day he drew more heinies, but they were made up of shaky lines because they were dancing heinies. We've since had a chat about where and when it is acceptable to draw heinies. That's just a call I don't want to get from the kindergarten teacher.

Knots

I spent the better part of 6 hours between Sunday and Monday combing out Curly's hair. I am not exaggerating. And once I finally got all the tangles out she wanted to go in the pool. My oldest child is part mermaid, so I felt guilty saying no. So I said yes.

Big mistake. Huge. Because after 30 minutes in the pool, it was incredibly tangled again. And after 90 more minutes of hopeless picking at her head, I gave up.

Today, our hair stylist cut these out of my Curly's hair:

Those are knots. Not clumps of hair pulled out of a hairbrush, not the hair swept up off the floor of a salon. Those are the actual knots.

You can't really see how bad the knots were, but they were horrific. I couldn't get my finger through the middle of them. The stylist said it was like dreadlocks, wrapped up in themselves and the worst she had ever seen. She worked hard to untangle a good portion of the mess, but some of the tangles just had to be cut out.

And so my girl's long curly hair is now to her shoulders. She loves it, I'm on the fence. I adore her long, gorgeous locks, but I won't miss the snarls and tangles of summer swimming. I would never stop her from her favorite activity just to save her hair. And it's just hair, right?

Right?