Sasquatch birthday

Dash wanted a Sasquatch-hunting birthday.  We had lots of fun learning all about Sasquatch and making all his party items.

First we got all the guests with this official-looking invitation. I put it (and the other pieces) in my store so you can do your own easy-peasy Sasquatch party.

Joe built each guest their own marshmallow gun and we had pictures of Bigfoot hung on the walls as targets. Which lasted about 2 seconds because it was more fun to shoot each other. While we made pizza, we learned all about Sasquatch - where he lives, how to track him and different methods of trying to capture one. We also watched Bigfoot Hunters on Netflix.

After pizza, we spotted (GASP!) Bigfoot himself digging around the trash cans in the front yard. The hunt was on! A neighbor had agreed to wear a ghillie suit and lurk around as Bigfoot. We also had a really scary-sounding moose call that totally freaked the boys out. We tracked him through the neighborhood, finally cornering him in the garden where the boys tackled him and brought him down. The real Sasquatch had better look out, because if he ever tries to scare a herd of Cub Scouts, he's dead meat.

Cake was cream cheese pound cake with strawberry filling, chocolate buttercream and some novice-level fondant work for the trees and lurking bigfoots.

Maybe my favorite was the water bottle labels. Printed on regular paper, we covered them with clear packing tape so they'd stay waterproof. Mmmmm, Squatchy!

Birthday!

It's been a busy month with JackJack's birthday. This naughty stinker has turned 3 with a vengeance!

Here is his last-minute, not-that-great pirate battle birthday cake. It looked great until the layers came to room temperature and started falling apart. Fortunately it was still delicious.

Donated hair

Violet has a friend in her Primary class who is in the hospital. Her friend Natalie AND Natalie's sister Alice both have a rare immune disorder and both are having a bone-marrow transplant that will hopefully (cross fingers!) cure the condition. If you want to read more about this amazing family, you can visit their blog Fishes for Marrow Wishes.

Anyway, at church yesterday, the class had a Skype visit with Natalie. Violet was a little worried that Natalie had lost her hair from the chemo and so we had a talk about it. After a few hours, Violet came back and said that she wanted her hair cut off and donated to Locks for Love (which mostly does wigs for children who lose their hair from alopecia areata). I asked her to think about it and say a prayer about it and if she still wanted to, we would get a haircut.

Well, today she was still excited about donating her hair. Here's the last minutes of her really long, down-to-her-waist (totally-in-need-of-a-trim) hair.

10 inches of hair is a lot on a little girl!

And here's the results! Doesn't she look grown-up and stylish? She has spent the evening telling me that it's OK, I will still be able to braid her hair and do half-ups and even low piggies. Do you like how she's reassuring me?

Do you ever have a day when, in between the sibling squabbles and constant demands and threats to lock them in their room and feed them meals through a cat flap, you are treated to a part of their personality that is generous and selfless and beautiful?

This was that day.

Today I...

Slept 1 hour between 3am and 7am but consoled myself with a little snack of milk and cookies while rocking a too-bright-eyed-for-4:47am baby.

Actually got 1/3 of the kids dressed and off to school on my very own. Made sure the other 2/3 are both clean and fed. Declared victory.

Wondered why I'm still procrastinating the blog book.

Finished made-to-order Valentines for Violet and Dash. They are glorious to behold.

Put pictures in a frame for Joe's desk at work. Marveled at the similarities in the three kids (still surprised that we are parents of three entire children). While they don't have that weird, cloned look-a-like thing going on, they were all definitely in the same aisle when they picked out their eyes, noses and chins.

Took a moment to be grateful that I can take my wedding rings off without removing an entire finger.

Tried to get 5 metric tons of melted wax off the kitchen counters because even though Joe the Stud spent his vacation time doing a massive cleaning of the house, he is still OK with letting the kids play with stupid toys that encourage the breaking of perfectly good crayons.

Changed a hozillion diapers.

Swapped out JackJack's clothes for the third time today people and decided that those silly Clifford the Big Red Diapers and I are officially In A Fight.

Wondered when JackJack will start loving the idea of a bath.

Ran another load of baby laundry because he has only a handful of clothes right now that don't swallow up his little body.

Thought up 5 different things that would be Good For Dinner and rejected them all as being too labor-intensive.

Plan on sitting with the baby Smittens on the couch and working on a pair of booties.

Internet names

Lisa has cleverly pointed out that the blog names Bart and Lisa will not work with the upcoming baby boy (if it had been a girl, Maggie would have been perfect). Yeah yeah... totally a critical decision, right? It's either that or go back to mourning the loss of Kurt Warner on DWTS. I miss you Kurt! And seriously, WHO is voting for Bristol Palin? Anyway, at Lisa's behest, I've been thinking of other threesomes. Here's what I've got:

Ellie, Crash and Eddie


Violet, Dash and JackJack


Candace, Phineas and Ferb
Thoughts? Suggestions? Votes?

The space villian and the Spanish beauty

This year the kids did not want to dress up as a pair. One child wanted a licensed-character, out-of-the-box costume and the other... well... she had her own ideas. I borrowed this gorgeous flamenco dancer dress from a friend (we had a little bookclub costume exchange) and thought she would be so excited because the dress was all the way from Spain. Then she had herself a right little tantrum because apparently red is not pink enough and... well... I stopped listening. But after scouring all the costumes at the local Buy-and-Large and bribing her with a new red lipstick for her very very own, she mysteriously changed her mind.


And I'm glad she did. Because she was ever so lovely.

This was a birthday party outfit and instead of being a regular princess, she wanted to be a Halloween princess. Have I mentioned less than 5 million times how much I love her beautiful hair and how much fun I have doing it?

Fall Break Fashion

Or...
On Holidays I Will Let You Wear Whatever You Want In Public So Long As We Don't Have to Discuss (Argue About) It.

Bathtime

Bart has so many toys in the bathtub with him right now that, with little or no exaggeration, this is what the tub looks like.

Little faces

These little monkey faces, with their bed-head and sweet, tired eyes
Looking at me over the bar, with their bowl of morning cereal
They tell me all about their dreams at night and their plans for today

These are the things that make me remember how much I love being 'Mom'

Time changes are hard on everyone

Even the littlest of monkeys.

It's hard to get him to preschool on time when he wakes up like this, because he drags his tired little bed-headed self to the living room and wants to sit in your lap until he's more awake. So, more often than I would like to admit, he just goes to school with messy hair, yesterday's shirt and too-short pants.

Officially 4

You're pretty much not an official 4-year-old until you've fought crime and saved princesses whilst wearing a dishtowel cape. It's like a right of passage. Bart prefers the vintage flour-sack dish cloths. Because he rocks.

Batman cake

The finished product.

Oh yeah. He just oozes justice and crime-fightability. We tried to limit the amount of black icing by using some grey and purple - I think he looks pretty awesome! Here are some of the pictures of the decorations. We kept it pretty simple but birthday boy really loved it.

Joe drew this awesome Batman poster and we played Pin The Batarang On The Utility Belt (or whatever.)

Minnie colored the poster after Joe drew it so everyone got to be involved.

In case I needed reminding

You know you're the mother of an almost-4-year-old boy when a conversation happens as follows:

Mom: What is all over your face?

Bart: It's blood.

Assistant to the Princess

Minnie was invited to the birthday party of a girl in her kindergarten class. The invitation asked them to come dressed up like a Princess. Minnie was so excited and had lots of specific requests for her attire.

I love to do hair. When I was younger my mom gave me books to teach me to French braid. And because I learned to do tight, even braids, my mom had me do her hair for work every morning. I also loved to do Karin's hair, until she butched it all off to prevent any sort of cute style being attached to her head. (Oddly, she's currently the most fashionable of sisters, with a brand-new hairstyle almost every day.)

Anyway, when I was blessed with a cute daughter with lovely, straight, thick hair, I was excited to bring my skills back into practice. I must say that little-girl hair is the most fun to do because you really can't go too overboard with bows, curls, braids or flowers. In their mind, the fancier the better.

Even though this particular blogger isn't posting regularly anymore, I still use her blog for hair ideas all the time. I highly recommend the She Does Hair site. There are lots of others but this is my favorite for fancy-but-not-unrealistic style ideas. This is where we got the idea for Minnie's princess up-do for the party.


I wish I had a picture of the finished product with her makeup and teeny tiny crown - she was ever so lovely. But you get the idea. She loved that the ringlets were bouncy and flouncy and she hopped around for half an hour before we left for the party, insisting that everyone watch her hair. I love little girls!

Tinkerbell party II

A few rolls of crepe paper go a long way and are always impressive (especially to a group of 4-5 year olds).

I used lots of the ideas that people suggested a while ago. We had the Queen of the Fairies visit our party and grant each girl a 'talent'. She and Minnie had special wings that we made together. For each girl, we made a no-sew tutu that they got to take home with them. They're surprisingly easy and inexpensive, check out the video tutorial here.

I keep trying to find good pictures of her cute wings but these are all I have. Oh well, the party was a hit and we had tons of fun. Thanks everyone who came!

How to break through a wall with your head in 7 easy steps

Step 1: Select wall (It's best to check with your wife first. She knows what walls you do and do not need. She will have helpful input like "that wall separates the dining room from the shower." Or "that wall keeps The Outdoors from trampling on the sofa. We need that wall.")

Step 2. Make sure there are small children on the other side of the doomed wall who will be impressed with your manly man-ness.

Step 3. Punch wall with fist. If you are a Weaker Sort, you might consider a hammer. Or hiring a Professional Wall Puncher.

Step 4: Enlarge first hole. Take careful aim (avoid the long wooden beams, unless you enjoy concussions).

Step 5: Slam head into wall.

Step 6: Bask in screaming admiration of small children.

Step 7: Make small children assist in cleanup process.

Our own pictures

I think most photographers don't do a lot of pictures for their own families. I know I struggle with my two kids. Today I took them both out on the 4-wheeler and saw a location that was just perfect. I had to give it a try.

Just a few minutes into this project, I remembered why I don't do their pictures often. They don't listen to me! Threats like "Bart, if you don't smile, you'll get locked into your room until you grow facial hair!" don't really faze him. And Lisa does this thing where she looks anywhere but the camera. Plus, no one can give you fits of the giggles quite like a sibling, especially when you're trying to be serious.

However, in spite of an entire reel of these:

...you do finally get one of these.





Thank heavens for digital photography. Also, click on the collage to view it large - some of our outtakes are real winners.

Shoe shopping - figured out!

This is last year's school-shoe shopping experience, re-posted:

After a summer of flip-flops and Crocs, it is time for some new shoes. Bart is growing out of his sandals and Lisa's shoes are all missing; some went with her cousin back to Maine and others have vanished entirely. Shoe-shopping stresses Joe out. Not that he doesn't love shoes, don't ever get that idea. The boy has more specialty footwear than the rest of our family combined (light hikers, work boots, everyday boots, Sunday boots, nice sandals, lawn-mowing sandals...)

No, the stress comes from the kids, and by "the kids" I mean "Bart". This child turns insane in a shoe store. Having inherited his father's love for shoes, he wants to try on each and every pair in any available size. He presents his bare toes, wiggles them and demands "choos!" Newly-shod he will then run laps around the entire store. I can catch him long enough to do the traditional toe-press fitting before he's off again. And new shoes make him FAST. Bart came equipped with a turbo-boost feature that allows him to outrun the casual chaser, you have to really be determined to catch him. Although I did learn that if you only put a shoe on one foot and leave the other bare he tends to run in circles for a while, making him easier to catch. My technique is to lie in wait at the end of an aisle and snag Bart as he rushes by, change his shoes and let him continue on his way.

Meanwhile as Lisa clomps past in a size 12 pair of red Mary Janes, I can usually distract her long enough to try on a pair that is her size. But as I'm checking out all the shoe options, looking for sizes and casually searching for anything cute in my size, Joe is the main referee of the Amazing New Shoe Race. He's the one that keeps the kids from pulling down displays, bolting for the emergency-exit, finger-printing up the windows and asking passersby if they have chewing gum. Isn't he a great husband?

This year I was not so lucky. Lisa got it into her head that ONLY the most ridiculously Disney-Princess-Or-Perhaps-Dora-Themed Shoes would do. The more licensed characters and blinking lights the better. Plus they cost at least twice as much as the ballet flats I was considering. I'm sorry but... no. I may let them wear Halloween costumes to the grocery store in February but I have to draw the line somewhere. After about 10 minute she had a complete meltdown in the store and we took both kids home - sans shoes.

Fortunately Kelsey from Vanilla Joy had a great shoe-shopping tip that inspired me. Why take the kids along at all? I think all the shoe choices stress them out and turn them insane. So instead, I measured Bart's feet compared to Lisa's. While she was at school I took him to the store with me. While he contentedly clomped around in a 14-sizes-too-big pair of rain boots, I picked shoes that fit him and estimated the size for his sister. I picked shoes I knew she would like and a style that she needed. My master plan worked perfectly and when presented with only one choice of shoes, she happily switched to the new ones without argument.

Lisa loves to name her shoes - so far we have had her Kicks (pink Buster Brown slip-ons), her Steps (clompy buckle shoes), her Slides (pink and purple sandals), her SlipSlops (interestingly, they're flip-flops) and now these. These are her Taps.

Great hair styles

Minnie is starting to have a lot of hair - it is getting thicker and I have to trim the ends pretty often. I really like her hair long though, so I have never considered a short cut. I love to comb and braid her hair (and it can get pretty out of control if I don't). So when my friend Missy showed me this blog, I was really excited. If you have little girls with long hair (hello Jessica!!!) you will like this blog as well.

I like this blog because the styles are cute, easy to do and appropriate for little girls. Minnie scrolled through the pictures on her own until she found this style. She couldn't wait to show her "princess hair" to Daddy when he got home. What she doesn't realize is that she has to wake up 10 minutes earlier now so I can do her hair for school, instead of letting her go like this...

One time I told her "your hair is a bird's nest" and she responded "no, more like small bears". So there you go.

How NOT to teach your child to read

In my defense, the "H" is sort of close to the "K" on the sticker maker.

My daughter has been doing really well with this technique. She spent today pointing out letters that she recognizes (D and R). Tomorrow I'll try a different one. She's 4 and showing a good desire to actually read words, so we're starting small and making little games. Any thoughts, techniques or success stories?

love, etc...

jeri