Fat Barbie, yay or nay?

So its been a few months now that Mattel came out with their new Barbie dolls.  If you aren't in the know, the makers of Barbie added three new body types to the "regular" disproportionate doll that they've been selling since my mom was a kid. This was following the big changes that were made last year, where they added Barbies with a bunch of different skin tones and hair textures. The purpose for the latest big, secretive change was that the dolls are supposed to better represent the kid population in all of it's glorious diversity.

Tall, petite and curvy.

So, how do you feel about it? 

I'm not sure how I feel.  On one hand, it's so important for little kids to actually see diversity and differences in the dolls (toys) that they play with, because imaginative play is one of the ways they practice being grown-ups. But is Mattel missing the mark by focusing so much on body shapes and sizes? Why not just introduce a few new Barbies without concentrating so much on physical attributes, but just quietly adding them? Like say, putting out an athletic looking Barbie, who might have thicker, stronger thighs and flatter feet (better than the typical tippy-toe Barbie for cleats and sneakers). Instead of calling her "big-legged Barbie," they'd be focusing more on her strength and athleticism. I mean - why are we still so absorbed with "looks?"  Shouldn't we be paying more attention to more important attributes, like being smart, strong, independent?  Is beauty an important attribute?

I mean, chubby Barbie can certainly come packaged like a doctor, right?  Not all doctors are thin.

The truth is, physical characteristics can definitely play a role in how a person is viewed by others, and there are plenty of physical characteristics that people are born with that cannot (and should not) be changed. I think if beauty is an important attribute, the dolls should represent a broader view of beauty, but it definitely shouldn't be the sole focus.

Images that kids are bombarded with on a daily basis are not often true to nature, or at the very least, aren't the norm.  Seeing these images consistently equated with "perfection," or "beauty" discourages kids from accepting their own beautiful imperfect selves.  Ultimately, we should all be encouraging our kids to embrace the unique physical characteristics that they were born with, since those characteristics make them who they are. Dolls and toys that represent more of the general population is a step in the right direction.

I'm down with the idea of the new Barbies, I'd just like to see the focus move from "looks," to "strengths." What do you think?

Things I did as a kid that a modern day mom would lose her shit over

Every now and then (usually when I feel like drinking a TAB and locking my kids outside for a few hours) I think back to how much simpler it seemed when I was little. It just seemed like the worries and stresses were so much less, things were easier and parents didn't get all up in your junk for every little thing you did. Kids were allowed to be kids. Silly, crazy, energetic, curious little hooligans.

I wonder if every generation thinks they had it better, in some capacity. But crap guys, I might actually sound like my Nan when she used to scold us and say, "In my day..." Back then, I thought she was just old and cranky and lame. Sorry Nan.

Well anyway, in MY day,

We could go out to play after breakfast and come back when the street lights turned on. Jeez, when I was a little kid (I'm talking elementary school age), this was totally the norm, and we didn't have cell phones. We were not in constant contact with our parents. The rule was that we had to go home by the time either the church bell rang (6 pm), or when the street lights came on. So basically Mom had zero clue as to where we were all day. Usually she'd ask the mailman at some point if he had seen us, and he'd tell her where we were last spotted. We did have to stay in the neighborhood though. We'd be out in the woods, (with Swiss army knives no less) cutting shit to make forts and stuff. As I recall, we also attempted to crawl through the culverts to the other side of the street as often as we could. We never did make it the whole way... THAT'S SO DANGEROUS GUYS! In my wildest dreams I can't imagine not knowing where my kids are for an entire day. Or not flipping out if I found them scurrying like rats through a filthy, grimy underground culvert pipe, MOM.

I would ride my bike to the grocery store. Sometimes even alone. The grocery store in our town was a little less than a mile from where I lived. Often times Mom would ask one of us to ride our bike to the store for milk or paper towels or something. Nine times out of ten she would give us like $2 for $5 worth of stuff. It was always so embarrassing. But yeah, we'd pedal our little selves to the store WITH NO HELMET, park our bikes and go inside and attempt to buy 5 bucks worth of stuff with two dollars. 

We walked to the candy store by ourselves. The candy store was just about as far away as the grocery store, and we were totally allowed to walk there whenever we had scavenged enough money to get a baggie filled with goodies. I remember actually being shorter than the snowbanks, walking alone with a handful of change in my mitten. Oof, anything for penny candy. What was my mom thinking??

We would walk to school. God forbid. When I make my kids walk to school I am looked at as the mean mom. Which is absolutely ridiculous. Most kids have legs, so it really shouldn't be a hardship for kids to use them for all of 9/10 of a mile. My mom RARELY drove us to school. We had to walk. Every day. Rain or shine or snow (or lugging along a freaking heavy-assed tuba-like instrument). There were no parents dropping their kids off and picking them up after school. Kids were encouraged to actually walk or ride their bikes and get exercise and breathe fresh air. Go figure.

We rolled down grassy hills and played in the woods (omg ticks). These days I have a mild panic attack if one of my kids rolls down a hill or plays around in the woods. Isn't that so sad?? We live in deer tick country, and I am super paranoid about Lyme Disease. It's a real issue around here. When we were kids, that threat was a non-issue. There were no moms frantically chasing after their kids trying to squirt them with DEET to avoid death by Lyme tick. I seriously find this to be really sad... it's like just playing and being a kid is so much harder these days. No wonder all of those little a-holes sit around on their cell phones all day. 

We played on merry-go-rounds. Oh jeez, there were merry-go-rounds everywhere when I was little. Who knew they were so dangerous?  All I knew was how awesome it felt to be twirling around in a cloud of dusty dirt til you almost threw up. We had one at the elementary school and one at the local playground and we would get those things going so fast... I remember my one skinny little sister would literally be hanging on for dear life with her legs flailing in the air. It was really funny. We had no clue someone could easily get really hurt on those things. I don't think my kids even know what a merry-go-round looks like.

We would ride in the back of pickup trucks. Doing this was the norm out in the country. If someone had a pickup truck, it was a guarantee that there would be people riding in the back of it, end of story. I can't imagine that none of us ever fell out because we were generally idiots, misbehaving and cheating death left and right. I actually rode through the entire state of Texas ON A HIGHWAY in the back of a pickup truck filled with blankets and pillows and teenagers. WTF, MOM?! I could be dead right now! I would never let one of my kids ride in the back of a pickup truck, what am I, a moron?

Our dad took us out driving well before it was legal. I seriously learned how to drive at like 12 or 13 years old. My dad or uncle would take us driving out in the country every now and then. My uncle in particular would pick up a forty (or three), and let us drive him around for hours. That's why I am such a great (and so modest too!) driver. A week or so ago my dad mentioned taking my 14 year old out to drive and I was like, THERE'S NO WAY!

We could go to the gate at the airport. Remember the days when you didn't have to wait 45 minutes to go through a security check line fumbling through your bag removing anything that could potentially be deemed as terroristic, with your shoes and jacket off? Remember when you could bring whatever you wanted on a plane, even a jack knife or an open container of mayonnaise?  Remember when you could meet your person at the gate, just like the movies... all exciting and amazing, waiting and waiting and waiting for the plane to just land. I miss that.

Everyone in the universe could blow smoke in your face. Back in the day, you could smoke anywhere, at any time, for however long you wanted. The days of everyone smelling like a god damn ash tray are over! Because now people give a crap about inhaling someone else's shitty, cancer causing, tar-filled second hand smoke. It makes me gleefully happy that I don't have to be forced to waft the smoke from my eyes when all I really want to do is chill with my friends, or watch a movie without hacking, or sit on an airplane breathing relatively decent air. I have to admit on my most recent flight, I wanted to secretly light a cigarette in the bathroom just to see what would happen. I'm such a rebel. A rebel without a cigarette.

We got some serious (and well deserved) bare hiney spankings. Oof. Kids these days have no idea of how scary it was when your Mom said, "Just wait til your Dad gets home!" Which actually meant, "Just wait til your Dad gets home and whips your ass, you little jerks!" When I grew up it was totally acceptable to get a bare hiney spanking for being a shitty little brat. When we would misbehave enough to get my Mom frazzled enough to utter those terrifying words, we would hustle upstairs and put on as many layers of underpants as we could fit on our butts, hoping that our Dad wouldn't notice the extra paddding when he smacked us good for being naughty. Apparently you're not really supposed to mention that you're not opposed to giving your kid a swat on the ass anymore as needed, or other parents will promptly report you to DSS for child abuse. There's a huge difference between abuse and a smack, in my opinion. 

Your safety was definitely over-rated back in those days. Seat belts, bike helmets, sunblock? What's that? Locking the door to your house, wouldn't think of it! Letting your kid walk home from school alone to an empty house? No big deal... and while you're at it, why don't you start the noodles for dinner? Going for a Sunday drive with the fam? Don't forget to grab Dad's six-pack! The more that I think about it, the more I am shocked so many of us actually survived.

second guessing, over indulging and the domino effect

I was just thinking about the time that I went to the moving up ceremony at the elementary school when my youngest was going from kindergarten to first grade. Several of the parents brought flowers, balloons and/or gifts for their kid. I was like, these guys are 5 years old for fucks sake! Nothing like setting them up for a lifetime of thinking they get a huge prize for every footstep they take! I don't know, maybe that sounds cynical and mean, but when did a kiss and hug and, "Wow great job!" become too little?? Don't these over-indulgent people realize the domino effect that they'll have on the other, normal-ish parents?? You're all thinking, greaaaaat, now at the next event, everyone will be bringing their kids fancy prizes to avoid looking like that one single DoucheParent, and to keep up with all of the other SuperParents... where does it all end?!

Truth be told, I felt shitty and caved. My kid came off the stage and ran to me all excitedly looking for her balloon and WRAPPED PRESENT, and she promptly asked, "Where's my present?" My husband and I looked at each other like, shit... I felt so guilty, I told her that her present was going for an ice-cream cone and to the local dollar store to pick out a shitty prize. I wish I had it in me to just be like, "Your prize is being a Kindergarten graduate! And isn't it awesome that you got a certificate for Outstanding Student?  WooHOO! Now lets go to the playground and I'll push you on the swing til I'm so bored I can't think straight." 

I hate when I cave to things like that!!  It never even occurred to me that anyone would bring their kid a bouquet of flowers. Because, why?? Why would you? If I had known that was normal protocol, I would have been better prepared mentally. For future reference, I'd appreciate a heads up when we are all supposed to be over-indulging our kids. Not that it would change my stance or anything, but at least I'd have some pre-thoughtout response when my kid looks around at the 5 year old in the ballgown getting a dozen roses for doing something that every other kid in the universe does.  Like, come on!  I am barely even exaggerating when I say a kid was in a ball gown getting a dozen roses. I was like, huh? 

On another note, is it just me or is it stupid that there is a moving up ceremony for every freaking step of the way in school? First there's a "Moving Up from 3 year old Pre-K to 4 year old Pre-K." Then there's "Moving Up from 4 year old Pre-K to Kindergarten, " then "Moving up from Kindergarten to First Grade." At least you get a break between Elementary and Middle School. Because yes, yes there is a "Moving up from Fifth Grade to Middle School" ceremony. When I was a kid, at the end of 6th grade when all of us dumb bells were leaving Elementary School and heading to Junior High, my mom handed me a brown bag with a soggy tuna sandwich in it and said, "Have a great day!" And then I walked almost a mile to school (God forbid!) with my little sisters tagging along behind me like I was the Pied Piper, asking me to tell them a story for the walk. The only real ceremony we had was when we actually graduated (from High School) and were heading to college!

We of course had like, a last day of school doing cool stuff, playing games and eating popsicles and bouncing around with excitement at the upcoming summer vacation, and that was good enough! It was fun! I almost think having a million different ceremonies sort of dulls the excitement of the real achievement - graduating from High School. The kids are all like, "Oh. Another party. Bleh."

I guess my biggest issue is that I hate second guessing my parenting skills because I know that I am a good, smart, logical and kind parent with a shit ton of experience and patience. I really, honestly did raise some decent humans, which means I've done something right, right? 

What are your thoughts on presents, awards and prizes for every damn achievement under the sun?

18 pretty important manners kids should learn

I'm by far a perfect parent, but I have been one for 26 years, so I have a little experience. I still screw things up often enough, yet somehow I ended up with some pretty decent kids. Go figure. I guess I'm doing something right. It's always been super important to me that my kids are respectful, polite and have decent manners. Because manners still matter guys. 

I often find it kind of surprising how many people don't use (or teach their children) basic manners these days. I pretty much feel like as parents, it's our job to grow decent adults. That's what we signed up for when we decided to have kids, right? 

From the very beginning, we've done our best to model this stuff at our house. Of course the best role models that kids have are their parents, so for kids to learn what is appropriate, the most important thing you can do is show them by example. It makes sense that it's not going to stick when you tell your kid she has to use an inside voice, but you scream at her brother for not picking up his toys all of the time. Those mixed messages are hard for kids to reconcile. Except when you step on an errant lego. That's totally worth an errant psycho scream.

It's best to begin with the basics, then add age appropriate etiquette rules as children get older and have more of an understanding of things. I think when you continually reinforce polite behavior and good manners, kids will eventually catch on. Coaching, reminders and positive reinforcement are very important in getting manners to stick. With consistency, even toddlers should have the basics down.  I actually still remind my kids about manners and polite behavior sometimes, and they're all in double digits now. Does it ever end?  One would wonder.

I've put together a few of the basics. I'm sure I'm missing some. If you think of more, let me know in the comments!

1. "Please," and "thank you," "no thank you," and "you're welcome," are great to start with. It shows respect and appreciation.

2. Don't interrupt when someone is talking, and if you do need to get someone's attention, say "excuse me."

3. Look at me when I am talking to you. It makes me feel like you are hearing me.

4. Respond when someone is speaking to you or asking you a question.

5. Call adults Mr. and Mrs, unless they tell you otherwise.

6. When meeting someone new, say, "It's nice to meet you."

7. Eat what you're served, or at least try a bite of everything.

8. Clear your own plates from the table. 

9. Make your own beds.

10. Say excuse me.

11. Knock before entering a closed door.

12. Ask to help.

13. Don't badger. Badgering is a surefire way to not get what you are asking for in our house.

14. Write a thank you note  when someone gives a gift. 

15. Say "goodbye," and "thank you for having me," when leaving a friend's house.

16. Don't call people names or make fun of others. This is a hard and fast rule, there shouldn't be any exceptions.

17. Say "I'm sorry," if you hurt someone, or do something that you didn't mean to do.

18. Be a good sport. Even if you lose a game, it's nice to say "Good game," to your opponent. Good sportsmanship also means not to gloat or be what we call a "sore winner."

Things Moms say...

As a mom of four kids, a Norwegian, a dog, and a blankie called Nanny, I find that I am often surrounded by little people.  In honor of the impending Mother's Day extravaganza weekend ahead, I figured I'd post a few things that I've found myself saying in response to certain situations involving certain little people.

Would you burp like that if the President was here for dinner?


Get off of your sister's face please.


Do not whip your brother with Nanny!


We don't say kill you.


We don't say half-wit.


Please do not lick your meatball.


Please do not lick the door knob.


Quick! Get your undies on! You cannot go to the ice-cream truck naked!!


No, we cannot have skittles and orange soda for dinner.


Do not shoot your sister again, or you will sit on the stairs.


No, not ALL moms have those dents on their legs. Thanks.

Can anyone tell me why there is applesauce in my shoe?


I will spank your bare hiney right here in public if you do that again!


Little girls are not really supposed to drink coffee for breakfast.


Do you really want dirty little germs to build their little germ houses on your teeth? Good! then brush!


Why does your blankie have a leash on it??


No, you can NOT try to blow up a potato with gasoline.


No, rocks don't catch on fire. Wait, WHY??!


Maybe you can jump off the bridge when you're nine.


Not it!!!!!


I will pay you if you try out for baseball.


I will pay you if you wear what I pick out for one week.


Uncooked spaghetti is probably not considered a healthy snack.


Because jumping off the shed onto the trampoline is dangerous, that's why!


We don't say, "poop on a shingle."


We don't say, "pooped in your face."


If I hear the word "poop" one more time at the dinner table, someone is sitting on the stairs!


No, I will not give you $39 to buy a BB gun.


You can't live off of Pop Tarts and applesauce.


Who ate bee yo-yos* in my bed???!!


Is that my toothbrush that you are using on your doll's hair??!


Because I'm the Mom, that's why.


Any momisms you'd care to share?

*bee yo yo = Honeynut Cheerios.

do you like your kids?

Did you see that clip on the Today Show this morning with the mother who wrote an article in Redbook about the fact that she didn't/doesn't like her daughter? 

Just to be clear, I am not posting to trash and judge the mom, because that's just not what I do.  I am posting to give you my opinion.  Because I have one and I want to share it I guess.

If you haven't heard about it, the mom (who remained anonymous) went on the show to discuss the fact that she could never identify with her child.  She was disappointed in her child because she didn't reach the typical milestones that children are supposed to reach timely enough, that her child didn't make good eye contact.  She didn't like her child because she didn't sleep great and looked uncomfortable when playing or interacting with other kids.  Basically, the mother didn't like her child because she didn't meet her expectations. 

I really wanted to have some sympathy for her because I think (and know personally actually) that many moms today have this idealistic (and unrealistic) idea that somehow they will be able to be perfect mothers and have perfect children.  They feel this pressure to show the world that they have it all together, all of the time.  

That pressure comes from all sources of course, but I believe it comes mostly from inside of yourself.  You are looking at that one mom who's kid never seems to throw a fit in the grocery store, the one mom whose five kids somehow sit quietly through church every week, the mom who just made the cutest cupcakes for the bake sale effortlessly, or the mom who always seems to breeze through the school with her child looking like she just came from a photo shoot.

And then you look at your child, who refused to wear the dress you put out for school, then smacked her brother's cereal bowl off of the table and dumped baby powder all over the bathroom floor.  On purpose.  And you feel like a failure.  You  feel like people are judging you, you're judging you, and you're like, what is wrong with me?

I had to learn that it's just not realistic to ever expect perfection.  Type A or not, nothing in child rearing is ever going to be perfect.  Nothing.  So if you are going into parenting with that expectation, prepare to be disappointed.  Prepare for the "poop-up-the-back of the onesie diaper explosion as you are walking out the door to an important meeting" moment.  Because it's going to happen.  If not poop up the back, certainly something equally unexpected.  And gross.

So anyway, I wanted to be sympathetic.  I really did.  But then I heard what she had to say and I felt terrible.  Not for the mother, but for her poor daughter.  The one who has to suffer the ultimate rejection.  I wanted to scoop her up and bring her home with me, and love her - regardless of her struggles.

I will say that I appreciated the mother's honesty.  But I was devastated for her daughter. I am so not one of those perfect moms who has perfect children and a perfect marriage. I am not ridiculously happy radiating sunshine every moment of every day.  So basically, this opinion is coming from a pretty imperfect person.  

As a mom of four kids, there are definitely moments when I don't like something my child has done.  Definitely.  And there are definitely moments when I am disappointed in one of my children.  But never have I been disappointed at who they are, or at what I got.  And never have I felt a dislike for my child as a person.  Sure, a dislike of an attitude, a moment, something that one of them has done.  But never would I look at one of my children and wish that I got something else.

I think our kids are in many ways a reflection.  Some things, some characteristics, are just intrinsic of course, but for the most part kids learn what they live.  Parents are the single most important role models their children have. 

I think it is cruel to tell your child that you don't like them.  I do.  I think those words from a parent cut deep, and they are words that will not really ever be forgotten.  I think it is 100% acceptable to tell your child that you don't like something that they did or said.  I'm not suggesting we sugarcoat life and give our children the impression that everyone is going to like them all of the time.  But I sure do think we need to tell our kids that out of everyone in the world, we are always going to like them.  Even if they do misbehave, even if they have trouble making friends, even if they mess up on a math test, even if they don't sleep well.  I guess I feel like those are the moments when our children need to feel our like/love for them most of all.

What did you guys think?

is it only me?

Apparently me and my sisters are so very cool, that our kids want to lurk around whenever we are sitting and chatting together.  For the life of me, I just can't fathom ever trying to sit in on a conversation with my Mom and my aunts when I was a kid. B.O.R.I.N.G.

The thought of all of that adult boring stuff would send me running for something fun to do.  We also grasped the concept that if we bugged my Mom enough, sooner or later, she would just wrangle us all up and go home.

Don't get me wrong, I love having my kids around, and I especially love having real conversations with them.  To be honest with you, I do like the fact that they actually want to be around me.  But.  I also value and appreciate time with other adults.  Kid-less time with adults.  Where topics can range and we don't have to censor ourselves to little nosy ears that pick up on so much.  Often times we are discussing stuff that is none of their beeswax or completely inappropriate.  My sisters and brothers-in-law are peers, so we can throw around terms and conversations and information that just isn't what we want the kids to being hearing. 

My sister Jenney tried to put it into perspective for her daughter Abby, who was hurt one day when we asked her to take a hike during an adults only conversation.  Jen said, "How would you feel if the next time you had Anna and Kaitlyn and Missi over, I came up and flopped on your bed and listened to your boy talk and tried to act like a teenager?"

The thought of that mortified Abby, and I think she finally got it.

The question is, am I the only extremely cool Mom out there that has this problem??

snow... snow... snow...

best and worst

In our family, when we sit down at the table to have dinner, everyone shares what their best and worst of the day was. Many times answers are pretty generic, but I like that it opens things up for discussion. Like the other night Megan confessed that she got a yellow card at school because she ran in the hall (quick recap: green card is good, yellow is a warning, red is bad). She didn't mention it to me before her turn sharing "worst," so it made me feel like she felt more comfortable putting it out there that way. So of course we talked about it, consequences for behavior at school, etc. It took Brooke a long time to understand that "worst" meant bad. No matter how many times I tried to explain it to her, she'd inevitable say something like, "My best was that Mommy and I made jello, and my WORST was that Daddy came home for dinner!"
Poor Daddy.
Last night's bests and worsts:
Alex - best: someone broke their arm at the basketball game and it was really cool (nice.) worst: he had to clean all of the GARBAGE out of his room before he could play a video game.
Megan - best: she made a plan to bake and sell cookies with her friend to raise money for the victims of Haiti. worst: We didn't have pink piggy ham for dinner and she didn't get the blue car when she was playing Barbies even though she called it first.
Brooke - best: she got the blue car while playing Barbies. worst: Megan wouldn't let her use the pencil sharpener, and Mommy only played four games of Hi-Ho the Cherry-O before dinner.

How hard is it to get a good family photo anyway?

The coordinating new clothes usually tips them off.

Every year in the spring and winter, I like to get a good shot of all of the kids together. What can I say, it makes me happy to see how much everyone changes over the years. The process however, not so much.

They are used to me -- generally by the time we are finished, someone ends up in tears, someone is pouting, and someone is thoroughly ticked off. (I must admit I've been accused off becoming all three of those & more) You would never know it by the end result though! Usually I take at least 50 pictures. How is it that it's nearly impossible to get a shot of four kids smiling or at least looking in the same direction without ONE of them closing their eyes?

Really, those photos above aren't the bloopers, I would be in big trouble if I posted those (!!) --when we finally feel like we get at least a couple nice ones to choose from, I take a bunch of silly poses so they can blow off steam.

the last day

Tomorrow is the last day of summer vacation for my kids. I would love to say I have something great planned, but sadly, I have to bring two kids to their respective annual physicals, and one of them is going to be getting two shots. Guess which one?
B R O O K E
This is not good news.
Poor little peanut is going to be very upset. I have this lovely little yellow lollipop in my purse, and I was thinking about bringing it out after the tears, but then I think to myself that I am setting her up by placating her with sweets.
I hate worrying about all of that crap. Really.
Why can't I just give my kid a pop when she is sad without feeling guilty that I am going to create a kid who needs a lolli to make her feel better??
Do all mothers feel guilty about these things?

What else makes me, as a mom, feel guilty lately?

--not giving each kid enough individual attention
--being distracted when I am talking to my kids
--not playing enough games with my kids
--not baking enough with my kids
--not doing more active stuff with my kids
--not cooking dinner every night
--not reading enough with my kids

...oh this list can go on and on.

I sure do love lists.

Shameful

So the other day was the first time I have posted all summer, basically. That is just shameful, and I have no great excuse. Summer went along as it typically does in our house. I always have these great big plans of doing lots of fun, inexpensive, memory-making stuff with the kids, and then... nothing. We do the same old stuff - nights and weekends filled with our kids softball and baseball games, then tournaments, then soccer. Before you know it - GAPKIDS is putting up their back-to-school clothes online, and I am getting ridiculous amounts of fall catalogs in the mail.

Crap. Another summer, over.

This summer was particularly painful, because we had more rain than sun. I often felt like I was stuck in some bad Groundhog Day in Seattle movie or something. Rain really put a "damper" (hehe - admit it, that is funny) on my plans. The kids actually go back to school in less than a week! I'm not even done getting everyone organized for school, and that's almost like a crime in my book. I can't stand to be disorganized.

These are some of the things that I wanted to do this summer:

--Go to Sleepy Hollow Lake (not once)

--Go to Lake Taconic (no)

--Go strawberry picking (nope)

--Go camping (negative)

--Take fun bike rides with the kids (barely)

--Make my backyard look GREAT (boo, soggy marshy mushroomy yard)

--Go to Cooperstown (did it!)

--Go to the Bronx Zoo (nah)

--Take the kids to Six Flags, Zoom Flume or Hershey Park (no)

--Go Hiking (not once)

--Howe Caverns (Jenney and HER family went...)

--Weekend in the city (Statue of Liberty, Museums, etc) - this did not happen.

Oh well, I guess I will put those things on my Summer To Do List for next summer!

Call me Ishmael

So we were getting ready to go to the library yesterday, and Megan, my 8 year old says, "I want to get out Moby Dick!" I was like, impressed. I've been a big reader since I was just a little girl, and I have been excited to see Meggie fall in love with books these past few years. So I went on to explain how Melville's Moby Dick was classic literature, considered to be one of the world's greatest novels - something everyone should read once in a lifetime, etc. I began to tell her I thought she might be a little on the young side for Moby Dick (ya think?), and it eventually occurred to me to ask her where she heard of Moby Dick in the first place. She smiled, and informed me that she heard about it from Timmy Turner. As in the kid from the goofy Nick Jr. cartoon, Fairly Odd Parents. Then she skipped out of the kitchen, giggling - with goldy summer hair billowing behind her.

ANOTHER week later...

Oh my gosh!! It's harder to find the time to sit and write on this blog than I thought! Also, I don't often feel like I have anything of great importance to say, so I just don't write. As a stay-at-home mom, I feel like my life can get pretty boring on an every day basis. Sometimes, I feel like I have NOTHING NEW at all to say to my husband when he calls me during the day. Isn't that just sad??

I guess if I think about it, I do have a lot going on lately.

Megan's First Holy Communion is on Sat, so we're having a party after. Because my niece Brenna is the same age (and also celebrating communion) it's a joint party for both girls. That means I will have more people here than I typically do for family parties. I have to say, my sister Ali's in-laws are like part of the family - it's not like we aren't close or anything, so it won't be awkward. (I do tend to panic and get mighty anxious is social situations, but that's a story for another post).

Of course we're throwing the party together, which is nice - but since it's at my house I am definitely stressing over making sure everything looks nice and put together. That's just me. Tomorrow will be spent cleaning til my back feels like it's on fire.

I can't really pre-clean too much - other than the kids rooms, which I already have under control. Mainly because our house is really open, and the kids are really in and out of the kitchen/family room/bathrooms in the downstairs constantly, so I'd be better off waiting til the last minute. At least Alex took a day off tomorrow, so he'll help some, but I was counting on him to neaten up the yard. I think he really expected me to just do everything on my own without his help.

I really do.

I asked him the other day if he was going to be able to give me some time to help get things in order for the party, and he was stammering and blahblahblah about his schedule. I mean, I appreciate that he has a lot of confidence in my abilities managing parties and all, but hello??? There will be about 70 people at my house on Saturday morning. I have three young kids that I have to manage all day long, and half of the time, Alex doesn't roll in til after they're in bed. So. I guess I'd say I don't NEED his help, but I'd sure APPRECIATE his help, you know??!

Saturday is plain out of the picture for cleaning. I have to wake up at the crack of dawn to make a massive Ziti, a massive fruit salad, and just get other party-type stuff in order. THEN, after all of that, I still have to make sure Megan looks great, as well as the other kids - they also have to eat breakfast and in general, try to keep the house looking perfect before church - MAYBE I will have time to get my fat butt into something that doesn't make me look like a horse before we go for an 11:00 am service. My sister did say she'd come over early to help get everything ready, I hope she does. Oh well, our parties always turn out great, and I really am not too worried about it. It's not like it's a bunch of people I don't know.

Do you think I could get a refrigerator in one day? I mean, I'd really like to get a second fridge for the garage, because there is never enough room in my fridge for food when we have a party. Can you just walk into Lowe's and say, "I'll take a fridge?" and you go put it on a thing and bring it home? I'm going to see if we can make that happen for tomorrow. Nothing like waiting til the last minute!!

A Week Later...

I'm very motivated to keep up this blog, my goal is to post at least a few times a week. This past week though was HARD! I had three little punks home from school for the week with their spring vacation, and it was just BEAUTIFUL out!!!

Couldn't have been any better than if I planned it.

Lots of moms get this particular look on their faces when you say the words "week off of school," and it isn't pretty. It's like we're all panicked at the thought of spending 7 full days with our offspring - no break whatsoever. I tend to feel this way also. But let me tell you, it was a great week at our house. Shockingly, everyone got a long well, even with cousins in town for the week. Because it was so pleasant outside, the kids just played in the neighborhood ALL WEEK LONG!

We live in a pretty small neighborhood, consisting of three streets. On our street there are 11 houses, and 20 kids ranging from 5 months to about 15 years. The majority of the kids are in the 8-12 year-old range, and my kids just fall nicely into that category. Within the past few months, a family moved into the neighborhood that has a little girl Megan's age - they have become the best of friends - spending every day riding bikes, making lemonade stands, going from our house to theirs and back again to ours - just generally happy to have each other.

I truly hate the electronic age we are in (as I sit writing this on my laptop :] ), in the respect that our kids spend so little time interacting with each other face-to-face, spend so much more time on computers and in front of TVs and video games. I say "our kids," but I don't mean my kids. My most often used phrase is "Go play outside," or "Go find someone to play with." In my opinion, the TV is for a movie on a rainy day, it is not supposed to be a playmate. We have all of the typical toys, and we do use them - but definitely as a LAST CHOICE. My son plays Guitar Hero on the wii that he had to have, and chats with friends on aim, but usually after the sun has gone down, homework is done, and the evening is winding down. If it isn't raining or real cold, my kids are definitely outside -building forts in the woods, exploring the neighborhood on their bikes, jumping on the trampoline, throwing together a pick-up game of soccer or baseball, or pushing each other on the swings. We make picnics, do painting and play-do on the back porch... I feel like we are lucky though. One of my sisters lives in the woods - pretty isolated and a few miles from town. She has to arrange play-dates (which I abhor), and her son (the youngest with two older sisters) tends to play alone a lot, with nobody to just track down and hang around with.

I keep trying to get my sister to move back to our town. I am confident that she can RECREATE all of the coolness that she has where they live now, right HERE at home -- in our little town.

My sister feeling guilt about her son missing his cousins may be working in my favor!



peace and quiet

Shocking, this house is overwhelmingly quiet and peaceful right now. This is not what I expected of a week's break from school.


Kara headed back to college yesterday - I was sad to see her go, but it's nice to know that she's wrapping up her semester soon. Before we know it, she'll be back again. I always feel so much more comfy when all of the kids are home in their own beds at night. We're going to see her in a few weeks because her play (Sweet Charity) will be opening on the 22nd. I think we'll go on the Friday, because it'll just be easier with getting a sitter for the little kids. I am really looking forward to seeing it because the last musical she was in was in high school! I miss seeing her on stage, she is so talented. She wanted Charity, but she got another decent female role instead - she's loving it regardless. I can't wait to see it!!

Little Alex went with Dad and a few of the other grand kids to Jeepers. I am hoping it will go smoothly - when he gets with some of his cousins, there is always a chance of something going awry! Dad called me this morning while I was at Wal-Mart, annoyed because my house was locked. He was trying to get in to get Alex a pair of sneakers, as he only has his soccer cleats on (he was being picked up from practice on the way). I didn't know he was going right after practice, so I never packed his sneaks - oh well, at least he's wearing his indoor cleats. He'll get over it. Maybe he'll start a new trend.

Megster had a Girl Scout field trip to Build-a-Bear in Albany today. I dropped her off with her leader, and they were heading up as a troop to build some bears! It was their reward for selling so many cookies this year. In other words, Megan is being rewarded for nudging me along to fall SO HARD off of my diet wagon, that I can't even stand myself. How anyone can resist a box of Samoa's is beyond me. And Thin Mints. Ahhhhh...Tag-a-Longs. In all honesty, I have no will power at all against most Girl Scout cookies. Thank God it's only once a year.


And lastly, Miss Brookie is "doing a quiet" in my bed. I try my absolute best to keep kids in a nap schedule for as long as humanly possible. Now that Brooke is approaching 4, she seems to be having a harder time actually napping. Honestly, I don't mind if she plays in her bed for an hour or two, just so long as I get a little quiet time to myself each day. Quiet time for me is catching up on email, going through real mail, cleaning, reading, etc. I think every stay-at-home mom needs a little quiet time! So when Brooke asked ever-so-sweetly if she could do a quiet in my bed with the TV on, I caved and allowed it. I think she may have fallen asleep though, because it is awfully quiet up there.

I think I'd better go check to make sure she is not getting into anything...she is my mischievous kid after all!

coloring eggs

We all gathered around the table in the kitchen and colored eggs this afternoon. I know I am a grown-up and all, but I actually woke up this morning thinking about coloring eggs, and how I was going to do mine. :) I thought had some good ideas! I remember it being so anticipated when I was little. Of course, my kids were all excited and happy. We started a little earlier than usual, because Kara had to go to work tonight. So I boiled up about two dozen eggs - we had a few crack as they were cooking, so we ate those. Dad got the mugs situated and plopped in the colored tablets and vinegar in the water. The smell of vinegar immediately makes me think of Easter eggs. It's funny that way.

Everyone did 3 or 4 eggs. Brooke finished hers too quickly of course - it's really so hard to be patient when you're three. She just totally loved the whole process. It's actually been so fun with her this year, holidays and all - because she really just gets things now, and she honestly loves to be a part of everything and included. Alex ended up with a few brown eggs because he had to put his in every color - eventually he realized that he was just ending up with dull BROWN. Kara is like me, she took her time and thought it out. She was funny - tried to write something in white, which of course she couldn't see as she was writing. Megan's were thoughtful too. I put some rubber bands around one of mine and made stripes - very cool. Kara thought it was "nautical." I put some stickers on one of the others, so I ended up with a green and yellow (square) polka dotted egg when I removed the stickers after dying it. I also put tape around an egg, both lengthwise and around the middle - that turned out neat too - kind of looked like a cross, so I guess that was fitting for Easter.

It makes me happy because I think the kids really enjoy our traditions - they were definitely looking forward to coloring the eggs all day. When I started boiling the eggs, they were lurking around the kitchen. It's just so hard to wait! They all stuck around pretty closely because nobody wanted to miss anything.
 

I hope Easter will be as fun as coloring the eggs. Looking forward to getting the everything ready later tonight, and of course - the best part - hiding the baskets and eggs!