This doesn't bode well......

Just picked Nina up from school. She informed me that she wants to change her name. Whatever. I'm thinking she'll pick Lily, or Lila or Lucy, as she usually does. I have to call her that for about an hour, and I do it a lot.

Like 100 times.

Just to annoy her.

Because I can.

Sadistic, I know.

Well she didn't pick any of those names. Instead she wants to be called "Jewel Castle" or "Bobcat".

She can't decide.

Have to go start dinner now because Bobcat has skating in 45 minutes.

Say it with me....HOOOO-AHHH

Can you smell it? It's in the air. It's.....it's.....it's GARAGE SALE SEASON!!!! Yippee-Skippy-Yeeee!!!! The lure of items that I really don't need (we are living with less after all), but are so stinking cheap that I REALLY do need them - right down to my very core I need them. Mainly, we are looking for a bigger bike for Nina because I refuse to give those bastards at Toys-R-Us any of my money. I'm also always on the hunt for treasures from the 40s, and 50s. Top of the list are vinyl suitcases, travel tablecloths, wood scrabble letters (don't need the board), and dotted Pyrex bowls. And I'm cheap. Really cheap. I have a cap of $5 on most items, but prefer things that can be bought with my loose change. I have started filling up my wallet with singles because the Hills town wide yard sale is this Saturday. My heart is racing already.

Asher and I just picked up this gorgeous robin-egg-blue case from Goodwill this morning. It's a repo, but I don't care. I don't think that Nina's Polly Pockets will care either. They never had it so good.

"Mommy. Make a funny face".

Nina had the camera......

Walking

Another one bites the dust.....

Second tooth came out yesterday. Kit still loves her.

Girl Scout Camp

Nina's Daisy Girl Scout Troop was invited to spring camp this year.....and we got to spend the night! Usually the "little girls" only come up for the day, but this year they could stay over....if their moms stayed with them. It was fun. No, you know what, it was really fun. We stayed in a sort of dorm, with bunk beds and bathrooms on the top floor, and a kitchen and picnic tables downstairs. Nina tried sleeping on the top bunk, but that proved to be too scary (for both of us), so her mattress got moved to the floor next to mine. I kept telling her that it was her first sleepover, and she smiled from ear to ear.
There are 15 girls in Nina's troop, but only 9 of them made it up for camp. There was a lot of giggling, hand holding, singing, and crying. It still amazes me how they can all be best friends at 6 in the morning, by 2 in the afternoon, they're bitter enemies, and by 2:15, they're holding hands again.
I also wonder when personal space becomes an issues because it's not present for 5 year olds.Nina had a hard time getting the equipment right....and she wouldn't let me help.
At the end of camp, they all "bridged" to Brownie Girl Scouts. It was cute. They actually walked over a little bridge and got their badges. We were going to stay for the scavenger hunt, but both of us were exhausted. Nina fell asleep in the car on the way home. I carried her up to her bed and she didn't wake up until after dinner....and she was still miserable.

I had such a great Girl Scouting experience growing up that I really wanted her to be a part of it. So far, she seems to enjoy it. Or maybe it's just the chance to do something alone with me. It's good all the way around.

A Year of Living with Less

Two things happened this past January that made me re-think the way we've been living.

1. Christmas presents

2. The writer's strike

I got pissed. Really pissed. Something had to be done. We've embarked on somewhat of a social experiment. Our "Year of Living with Less". Before we buy anything, we stop, look at it, think about it, and decide if we really need this. We have so much, in both clutter and unused items, that it drives me crazy. Mainly because I'm the one who has to pick up and find a home for everything. It's just not necessary. The junk mail of our lives. So from now until the end of the year, we're just doing without what we don't already need. As for gifts, we're going the handmade route. I don't care if it's a drawn picture, or a rock that was found outside, it means much more to me if it was something that was made just for me. It means that a little thought was put into it - instead of the time spent at the mall thinking, "I have to get something for Mom".

Every year, I get in a tizzy about the amount of birthday/Christmas/Hanukkah presents that the kids get. It's unreal. Santa was smart this year, and brought each of them 4 things. That's it. I could tell that Nina was a little disappointed, but I knew what was going to happen. In one word - Grandparents. Both of our parents are divorced, so there are 4 grandparents buying stuff, not just the two. And it seems like they have nothing else to spend their money on. I turn myself blue each and every year - pleading them not to buy too much. It falls on deaf ears. So, this year, I'm putting my foot down. Hard. Each child may only get 2 gifts per set of grandparents, no matter the size or cost, and anything over that amount will be donated to charity. Period. If they really have THAT much money to blow, then put some money into their college account. And yes, I know that you all read my blog, so please, please pay attention. You are not depriving your grandchildren if you don't get them every toy that's on the market.

And then there was nothing on T.V. Our cable company has a monopoly in our area. It's the only game in town, other than Direct TV. We were paying well over $100 a month - to watch nothing. So, I disconnected the cable in the basement and the playroom. Nina was shocked. Blake went on Zoloft. I didn't care. It's been 2 months without cable, and the strangest thing happened. The kids are fine watching movies from the library, or one of the dozens that we own. Nina has not asked to watch regular TV once. And, as a bonus, her behaviour has improved because she's not a TV zombie in the evening. I kept the cable in our bedroom, but as of Monday, that's gone too. We joined Netflix, and it seems to be a good match. Of course, a month could go by, and I don't turn on the TV, so it was no big loss to me. We're spending more time together. We take walks. We dance. We color, draw, paint. We build couch cushion forts. We connect with each other. It's been nice. It's also been a lot of work on my part to come up and seem excited about all these activities. If I could, I would remove the whole TV, but I don't want to make my husband cry.

She's getting so big...

It's been wiggling for weeks. She was so excited. Almost everyone in her class has lost a tooth, and been visited by the tooth fairy. So, she was anxious. And she didn't like being left behind.
With a little help from Mom this afternoon, the nugget was finally freed and placed in the tooth fairy pillow. It's now tucked tightly under her pillow and she's barely sleeping. Excited. She's wondering if everyone will recognize her tomorrow because she looks so different.

I'll have to try hard to remember what my little girl looked like....before she got so big.

Skipping

For Nina

I grow these for Nina. I let them bloom, admire them for a day or two, and then let her pick them. Every one of them. She puts them in a vase, high up on her dresser, and smiles. It lasts for days (the flowers and the smiles). That means more to me than a whole yard full of blooms.

Survivor

My lovely bleeding hearts survived another winter, and my piss-poor attempt at gardening. It's still too early to tell if my transplanted forget-me-knots made it, but I have hope. Grow, baby, grow.

Great book for kids.....

Nina's current favorite books are the Skippyjon Jones series by Judy Schachner. We, quite frankly, don't mind reading them either, which is a good thing because we have to read the same books over, and over, and over, and over again. They have enough 5 year old humor to keep Nina laughing, and we're perfecting our Spanish accent. There are even quite a few songs thrown in. It's a muy muy excellent book series.

Reading

Nothing beats a good, upside down book!

Book Club - Part 2

The other part of this new book club is that we all need to bring something to eat. Last time, Ginger made the Thai Pizza, Megan made a veggie pizza, Bridget made guacamole, Kelly brought these amazing cupcakes (I had two), and I brought Pillsbury Sugar Cookies - aka - Christmas cookies at our house. Yes, the cut and bake kind. I added some pink sugar sprinkles. I tried. A little. No one ate them. I ate them all at home over the next few days. Didn't bother me one bit. I am hosting book club this time around. Everyone is coming over here on Tuesday, and the to-do list is huge before that actually happens. Not to mention that I need to redeem myself for the pathetic cookies. I don't like to cook. I make really excellent bar food: salads, soup, sandwiches, basically anything that can be made with a sink, hot plate, and microwave. I can also open a bottle of wine with no effort, so that insures that I will never get kicked out of the club. On my "to-do" list is: replace living room carpet, get dog washed, remove the pile of artwork from the dining room table, actually frame a few pictures of Asher so it looks like we have two kids, hide all traces of children living here, hang the "I love NPR" magnets on the fridge, repaint entire first floor....oh hell, maybe we'll just have the meeting at the Holiday Inn. They have a bar.

Book Club

I just finished a book for our first book club meeting. I hated it. It sucked. And the reason that I thought it was a piece of crap was not because of the writing, or the story, but more because it very closely resembles my life....without the poorly thought out murder intrigue. It was about a mother of small children, living in a "Pleasantville" town, feeling incompetent, questioning her life and what had become of the person that she used to be. Why would I want to read something like that, when I can just look around and live it? I feel the same about the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond". That is also an exaggerated version of my life. It's not funny. It's pathetic. And I'm left wondering about this sucky book, "What on earth could we possibly discuss about it"? The whole point of this book club was to get together and drink a lot of wine (oops), I mean, to exercise our minds a little bit. There are eight of us in the group, we're all stay at home moms, most of our husbands travel a lot, so I guess the premise in choosing this book was that it was something that we could all relate to. Brilliant. I must have been totally trashed by the time we voted on it. I hope the next book is a little better. Someone suggested a novel about the Middle East, but since I haven't seen the news in about six years, I might not have much to contribute to that either. I'll just make a good Falafel, and hope that no one notices.

What the "F" is wrong with this dog?!!???

It's not like we have a puppy. He's a 130 pound, ridiculously smelly 9 year old Golden Retriever. He can barely make it up the stairs anymore. So, why, WHY, W-H-Y the frig is he tearing apart all of his stuffed animals and taking the squeaker out? There's crap all over the backyard. It's driving me crazy.

Thai Veggie Pizza

This is a variation on a Pampered Chef recipe. It's one of my new favorites.

1 pkg. (10 oz.) thin crust pizza (I like the whole wheat Boboli)
2 garlic cloves - pressed
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice vinegar
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp ginger
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 package broccoli slaw
2 green onions with tops, thinly sliced
1 package sliced precooked chicken (like Tyson)
cilantro
chopped peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 425. Spread garlic on to pizza crust, bake 8 - 10 minutes until crisp. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

2. In bowl, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey. Whisk until smooth. Add ginger and whisk in. Spread on to pizza crust.

3. Sprinkle with chicken and other ingredients. Finish off with cilantro and chopped nuts. Cut into wedges and serve right away.

Today's Nina-ism

When we have a short trip to the store, I don't let Nina take her jacket off - for many obvious Mommy reasons. This infuriates her. She said this to Blake last weekend, when he took her to the grocery store, "I'm takin' my coat off because the Boss isn't here".

She's going to be a fun teenager. As I often tell her, "Nina, there's nothing that you can do, that I haven't already done". She doesn't get it. I feel bad for her.

It's done, it's done!!!!

Well, it's done, it's done, it's finally, finally done!!! This poor sweater has been sworn at, sent to my Mom to embroider the face, shoved in the knitting bag, and now finally completed. It only took 2 years. It was suppose to be a Christmas present, but I developed Carpal Tunnel in my right hand while I was pregnant with Asher, and then Asher didn't sleep forever, and on and on. It finally came down to, "I am finishing this darn thing before it's too small for her to wear, and I really want to move on to other projects". I'm happy with it, and so is she. Done.

Sun Whore

Kit on the dining room table. It's not even worth trying to keep him off. I'll just change the tablecloth in time for the bookclub meeting. If it were acceptable, then I'd like to lay in a sunbeam also.

Interns needed.....

An exciting opportunity has opened for a qualified intern. Applicants must be willing to work for the Swedish Chef from the Muppets and must be at least 13 months old. Applicants should also have an overweight Golden Retriever to help with clean up. Please apply in person to demonstrate your "flinging" ability.

Seriously - no one better show up at my house!!! It's bad enough that we can't go out to eat anymore.

Asher's famous....ok, and so am I!!!!

www.yarngal.com "And this is a great way to end this post. Look at Rebecca Botvin's adorable little guy in his bright red devil hat. He looked so cute - and was an angel the whole time they were in the store! You can't tell from the picture, but the ties are little pointed devil tails. I should have gotten a picture of his sister, who was wearing an outfit made by Rebecca, who designs children's clothes. Next time she's in, I'll ask if there's a website (if my brain is working that day.) "