Princess Hair, Memorial Day

Well, let me just say, I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF! I have not one single creative bone in my body, and I am usually very much not good at this kind of stuff, but still, I managed to do THIS to Bella's hair:

Oh, I just reread that and does it sound like I came up with this do all by myself? Well, I did not. I found this blog, The Story of a Princess and Her Hair. It's awesome, she posts frequently with pics and step-by-step easy instructions. So fun! I know there are lots of hair style blogs out there, this one is really good for little girls, and pretty girly-girl styles, at that. Anyone have one for older, less frilly girls (Emma)?

Shawn didn't have to work yesterday, and actually turned down a fishing invite from my dad to spend time with the fam. Once I recovered from my heart attack, I decided we'd better do something fun or else this would never happen again! But, since we had little time to plan and even less money to spend, we decided to take a drive and a picnic up to Mesa Falls. Our picnic turned into Jack-In-The-Box in the car on the way up, but oh well. Gary and Amber and fam went with us. We went to upper Mesa first, walked around, tried to keep toddlers from going into the falls, and let the older girls loose with the cameras. They have an old inn that has been turned into a museum of sorts/ gift shop. It's pretty cool. They had a cast of a grizzly bear print - man, those things are huge! We stopped at Warm River to play in the water and watch some enormous fish jump for their food. That was definitely the highlight for Shawn and Gar. The kids too, I think they mostly just loved being in the water again after a long winter! It was so warm, and I had insisted that my kids wear jeans, because it was forcasted to be a cooler day, and I figured up there would be ever cooler. Actually, the jeans were somewhat of a punishment for the girls, who had spent the better part of the morning arguing with each other, arguing with me over wardrobe options, and avoiding doing their chores. Argh! Anyway, on the way back, instead of taking the main road, we followed the river pretty much the whole way home. It took about twice as long, but it was fun. (You can take the fisherman out of the river, but you can't take the river out of the fisherman!) We even caught a stonefly and held it captive in a Jack cup. But it escaped. I expect to find it wandering around the van, half-dead, any day now.

These are just a few of my faves - I put more on Facebook.

I couldn't resist

I know I'm always gushing about the cute things my kids say, but hopefully someday this blog will be used for archival purposes, so.....

....Bella eating an apple, kissing on Kole; me hanging and folding MOUNDS of clean laundry....

Bella: ".... 5 plus 5 is 10.... with the wonder hanger...."
Me: "what?"
Bella: "Oh, nothing......Mom, you know how your closet is always all smudged up and you're always pulling out wrinkled clothes?"
Me: "yeah."
Bella: "Well, there's this thing called the Wonder Hanger. It has this hook, and there's FIVE hangers on it. And, if you call within the next five minutes, they'll send you ANOTHER Wonder Hanger. That's 10 hangers. AND, they'll send you ANOTHER ONE if you call right this minute. That's FIFTY hangers! Wait, 5 plus 5 is 10, and......." (wanders off chomping on apple.) I didn't bother to correct her erroneous math calculations.

By the way, the TV hasn't been on all day! I don't know why I'm so taken with my daughter's weird talent for remembering and repeating infomercials, but I am! :)

Welcome home, old friend

Isn't the weather just wonderful today? I feel settled today, as though all is right with the world. I feel not as though winter has been upon us and is now gone, but as though I've been somewhere else, and have now returned to summer, and it has welcomed me home with open, forgiving arms. I love summer, I love everything about summer. Especially the beginning of summer. From breakfasts enjoyed outside, to bare feet, to swimming and playing in the sprinklers. Newly awakened plants, fresh cut flowers, and of course, my new love, the GARDEN! From barbeques to sidewalk chalk, summer is where I belong. I feel so ME in the summertime. That's probably because I grew up in Southern California, where it is summer-like most of the time. It's funny, I have now lived nearly half my life in Idaho, but it still feels new in some ways. I wonder if I will still feel that way when I'm 80? I wonder if the place where you grow up has such a profound impact upon your life that it shapes your thinking and your attitudes forever?

Tiny disclaimer: I'm sure that three or four months' time will find me posting a similarly gushy ode to fall. I do love fall. I love it because it is a change. Summer is my love, fall is my crush.

Shenanigans and other such tomfoolery

So, my dear little Bella has many wonderful qualities, however, efficiency is not one of them. Unfortunately, she inherited my sense of punctuality, which means she runs about 15 minutes behind on everything. And that's with my constant prodding. If left to her own devices, nothing would EVER get done! So, why was I not surprised when she got completely ready for school today all by herself? I mean, hair done, dressed, socks, shoes, backpack, waiting downstairs for my okay to run to the bus stop. (I am assuming her teeth were not brushed, though, because usually that requires a breath check. I know that's gross, and moms with only one or two kids are probably gagging right now, like I would have been a few years back. Trust me, you'll get here!) Anyway, she had also informed me that she did NOT want me to walk her to the bus stop, and she did NOT want a kiss. Now, all of this was happening as I was doing the dishes and absently visiting with Jagger about something. I know she had me approve her hair do, but hindsight tells me that she was hiding her body behind the kitchen wall as I was checking her hair. So, promptly at 11:11, so she has exactly enough time to skip off to meet the bus without having to wait (read: without a minute to spare for last minute wardrobe substitutions), I came downstairs to send her out the door and watch her walk to the bus. SHOCK! SURPRISE! DISMAY! HILARITY! I wish I had had the time and a working camera to take a picture of my sneaky little girl's outfit, but try to picture this: 1. Cherry red Gap Product Red t-shirt that says something like Ado(red) in cutesy baby pink lettering 2.Fuchsia pink skirt 3. multi-colored striped leggings 4. no socks 5. brown suede loafers 6. deep turquoise hoodie with soft laura-ashley inspired print in hood and on front applique. 7. bright turquoise Scott Foresman tote bag that came with last year's reading curriculum. .......... If I hadn't been laughing so hard, I probably would have been mad. Bella frequently comes up with funky outfits that she thinks are stylish, but most of the time she ends up looking like a polygamist's daughter. I ALWAYS let her wear her creations around the house, and I NEVER let her go out in public looking ridiculous. Well, my friends, today is the exception! I wish I could be a fly on the wall in her classroom when her teacher sees her - she'll think I've flipped my lid. Or, maybe she'll think I'm out of town and dad was in charge of dressing the children. I swear, not even Shawn would have allowed this one!
Then, I came in the house to discover Jagger crouched on TOP of the kitchen counter like a little frog (sans shirt due to a syrup incident from breakfast), poised and ready to knock several clean pans and glass bakeware off of the counter to their death on the tile floor. Whew, caught just in the nick of time! But, the cat-that-got-the-canary grin on his face, and his so-proud-of-himself laugh were priceless!
No sneakiness to report from Emma, she's much more of a serious gal. But, she has been writing stories lately. It's so fun to see the inner workings of her mind. She's so much like me in that way - very grounded in reality, likes to build on what she knows. And talk about stream of consciousness! One thing flows right into another, but I can tell that to her, at the time, it made sense. I hope she keeps it up - maybe she'll turn into a better journal writer than her mama, and hopefully use that talent to help her sort out all the adolescent girl drama that is to come!

Book review, more Bella-isms

So, I loved Twilight. I think I've posted about this before. :) While I don't claim that the series is a difficult or challenging read, I do love to read about Edward and Bella, and all my other favorite vamps. They are addicting! I had really no intentions of reading The Host (also by Stephenie Meyer, for those of you who may not be Twilight freaks). HOWEVER, I had heard it was okay, and someone was nice enough to loan it to me, so I figured I'd give it a try. It was great! Still not a challenging read, and only a bit more grown-up than Twilight, but it was really good. I am very much NOT a sci-fi person, but I loved this alien-in-a-human-body piece. When I read a book, I am most interested in the characters, and SM is very thorough with her characterizations (um, Midnight Sun)! Although her characters were not new or novel, the way she writes them makes them feel like friends. I found this one layered in ways that Twilight wasn't, as well. I would describe what I mean by that, but I have a boy who is ready to get out of the tub, and one who is DONE with his nap. (I wrote the portion below first).

I also recently read Interview With The Vampire, by Anne Rice, because I couldn't get enough of vampires, but didn't want to read any of the SM knock-offs that seem to abound lately. Anyway, Interview disappointed me just a bit. The beginning was captivating, the middle was slow, and the end was abrupt. The reviews said something about it being sensual and maybe fascinating or something. Well, sensual is certainly right, but in a slightly disturbing way. Although, I admit it could have been much worse (after all, the book is 30-some-odd years old, imagine what an author could have gotten away with in today's media)! It seemed that Rice also wove some of her own personal turmoil about God, mortality, and the nature of good and evil into the storyline. That part was semi-interesting, but I guess I feel that I have a pretty good handle on those things, and that the character was immature in his centuries-long search for answers. Anyway....

Oh yeah, Bella. Here is a conversation that took place earlier today:
Bella: …said through many tears and sobs, “Why is everyone trying to challenge me today?”
Me: “Being challenged is one of the best parts of life, my love.”
Bella: “No it’s not! The best part is eating treats and talking, and living, and having fun while you can!”

Fish, mercury, and omega-3's

I was visiting with some friends the other night about how much omega 3 fatty acids we need, where to find them, and what are the specific guidelines for pregnancy and nursing. Well...... here's a link to a page on the American Heart Association's website that answers all of these questions. Enjoy!

Fish, Levels of Mercury, and Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Bella-isms, Donna Reed

When she was younger, Bella used to make up words, and use them in perfect context. I know, how does a made-up word have context? Well, all of hers did, and they were always big words. My favorite one was "dequintified," which I believe can be defined as somewhat of a cross between flabbergasted and frustrated. Now that she's so much older and more sophisticated, she doesn't make up words anymore, but she does like to use big words. And she always uses them correctly. Yesterday, something was certainly, and apparently, and evidently! She can also repeat infomercials with the exact right intonations, etc. "Mom, you need to get the (insert fabulous product here). It will make your life so much easier, for only 3 easy payments of $14.99." Always with a straight face she says this, and takes herself completely seriously. So, being completely used to the ways of my daughter, why was I so smitten with this conversation?
Bella: "Mom, why is it called Zucchini Bread?"
Me: "Because it has zucchini in it."
Bella, several minutes later: "They should just call it bread and be sneaky about the zucchini part......Because if someone has a bite of it and likes it and doesn't know it has zucchini in it, but they wouldn't like it if they knew it had zucchini.....(wanders off rambling about zucchini).
Hmmm, would that someone be you, Bella?

Lately I have been serving dinner at 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I decided to try this because, for several different reasons, it seemed like that time would work better for our family. It does and I love it! My meals are now on time, and much more fab than they were before. I feel like Donna Reed, so accomplished. So now it's 4:20, dinner is done, dishes are done, kitchen's clean, and the only thing I will have to deal with later is a light meal before bedtime. I'm sure in another week or so I will fall apart again, but at least today is a good day.