what i thought i'd be when i grew up

yes blogging from houston- while highlighting shelah's hair...

okay you all know i am a flavor of the week kind of girl-I will admit, i always have been- growing up i had many thoughts of what i would be when i grew up... (and yes i was an interesting child) a few of my serious contemplations were...

archaelogist -I had great romantic visions of excavating things in a desert with the use of a tiny toothbrush- i love classical civilizations, ancient egypt (I think everyone should go to egypt before they die- it is breathtaking to see such amazing architecture) I think this was brought on by countless hours in ruins of turkey.

white house press secretary-i thought for a while this was the perfect job for me-i was going through a very political stage at the time- most 12 year olds don't love watching the news and can't tell you about foreign leaders and cabinet members but i could- a funny pick for at the time a very shy child)

interior designer- i used to beg my parents to let me go to ethan allen and match fabric samples (yes i was in elementary school- i used to cut out pictures of furniture and file them) now at least i get ot do this to my own house but then again i am paralyzed by my indecision.

cytogeneticist- i really like biology (remember i was the medal winning biology student of the year) bu then again i realized i needed something a little more social.

ballroom dancer- latin only-no waltzes and boring stuff or me. And hey i will take any excuse to wear fabulous stuff with sequins.

Interesting how if we made major life decisions at a different time (like careers, etc) how different they could be...

and if I had all the money and time in the world and nothing else to affect my decisions I would probably flavor of the week my way through the following...

NPR moderator (I love talking about interesting things)
Museum Educator
Non-profit aid worker
Serious Artist (with 24 hrs a day and an unlimited art budget- maybe i'd actulaly get "good")
Toy designer
Professional brainstormer

back to shelah's hair...

I made it... and art poll

My positive affirmations worked- i made it to houston, thanks to some benadryl induced sleep for smart baby, some of those "emergency fruit snacks", songs from my mellow playlist and some bose noise cancelling headphones (which markedly improve any flying experience)- I will have to post a great plane pic when i get home.

Assignment for the day... visit "my art" and tell me which painting you like best- (yes lurkers you may post anonymously- if you so desire) i am taking a sort of informal poll...

as for now shelah and i ahve to catch up, wrangle our kids, navigate some outings, and work in a run to Sonic!!

thanks

change that positive affirmation to "you will get to Texas"

the adventures have already begun... i should be about to land in chicago- but i am home at my computer- yes despite my most organized efforts- all children bathed, packing completed, all suitcases closed 2 hrs prior to departure, potty runs, a stop at target for gum, batteries, and a stop at wrights dairy to get dinner and treats for the plane, driving to the airport, parking, taking the shuttle, checking in, getting through security, and to the gate- to have them tell me (my flight was due to leave in 30 min.) that my flight hadn't even left it's previous destination yet and i would not get to TX tonight--

So my options were A. wait indefinitely(minimum couple hours) at the airport and hope to get to chicago tonight where i would have to pay for my own hotel and reroute the rest of the way in morning (or trouble shelah's mom to house me for the night) or B. go down and wait for 1/2 hour for the retrival of my checked bag. call the shuttle, go back for the car, drive home and do the whole thing over to take a 630 am flight.

at least i got to come home and read shelah's great reminiscience (thanks friend!)- although i must say she painted me in a kind light

"your trip will be easy"/"the flight will end"

Well smart mama is headed off for some summer adventures! I am going to visit Shelah, (a picture of from our college days- i was kind and dug out nothing incriminating & yes she is on her tip-toes) my best friend/former college roommate- i can't believe we have know each other for 13 years now!I will still remember the first day i met her at BYU- my first thought was "WOW- she has to be the biggest flirt I've ever met". Luckily she directed her efforts upon Eddie within the first too weeks - so that took care of that.

Sadly with 5 1/2 kids in tow and given the climate- we won't be up to any serious mischief- but I am sure I'll return with a few stories to tell (albeit about minor escapades in home decor or our late night food indulgences). For now, I must return to my task of packing for the multitudes and serious psychological preparation for the trauma that is flying with a 13 month old. (Good thing I am a child life specialist and coping is my job)

I am currently reciting positive affirmations- "the flight will end", "you are strong smart woman", "your trip will be easy", "it really won't feel hot" "all children will behave like angels" "you will feel rested and refreshed".

I will miss you all--and wish you were there to keep me company--I'll eat some peanuts and drink ginger ale for you (courtesy of southwest airlines).

PS- I don't think either of us could really stay away from our blogs the whole time so i am sure you'll be hearing from me...

Chain Garden IV

I finished another painting in the series a 24x24 gallery wrap canvas. I gold leafed the entire canvas first and the gold peeks through some of the centers and negative space. I think it is my favorite of the new series.

One of these days I will get around to starting an art blog but, until then you are subjected to posts of all my new paintings.

I will give you a hint about the secret symbols- it has to do with a famous scientist...

Smartbaby learns all things brown are not chocolate

A lesson learned the hard way today- when I was out of the studio/playroom room for 5 minutes- smartbaby snatched a tube of my brown acrylic paint (luckily he picked one of smart son's student grade paints-- less deep pigments)- flipped open the cap- proceeded to eat it some quantity-Yes, I had to answer that I didn't know if it was a "fingerful" or "handful" to the poison control lady (because if I was watching him I wouldn't have let him consume any- duh!)whom might I add always talks to you in a tone that assumes you are a grossly negligent parent. No this is not my first experience calling poison control, I have called them when smart son ingested a dryer sheet- they referred me to the manufacturer as they had no specs on the contents of snuggle- Snuggle in turn rewarded me for my negligence by sending me me a free box of fabric softener??? (he only ate one, not the whole box). Then there was that other time when smart son sucked down jewelry cleaner from the toothbrush I use to keep my diamonds every so sparkly- but my feelings on poison control- are you if ever in doubt call!! The number is 1-800-222-1222)
okay back to the story- after ingesting some unknown quantity, he smears it on his clothes and finger paints it on a 2 square foot patch of the office white carpet (his smart older brother is about 7 feet away playing and oblivious to the entire mishap)- I arrive upon the scene with shock and horror. Immediately, Stripped smart baby in the sink and ordered smart son to "boil water and get some towels" --wait no one is having a baby change that order to just water- unboiled and paper towels. As an artist who paints in a an off white carpeted studio I have become a master at paint removal (for any who experience this calamity- the secret is flood and blot- don't rub)- usually though it is when I clumsily drop a brush and leave a dime size mark-- but sheer panic and thousands of dollars were flashing through my mind when I happened upon the tragic scene this evening- sadly my first thought was take a pic for the blog (but I could also see smart daddy-o taking away my paint priviledges if I permanently ruined the carpet)- So I set immediately to the task at hand.
Sadly, smart baby's cute romper didn't not survive- the injuries it sustained were to massive. The carpet appears to have made a full recovery thanks to 2 bowls of water and 3/4 a roll of VIVA (the only great paper towel- don't get me started on it's virtues).

And I am overjoyed to report that smart daddy-o is finally returning from his week south of the border on business and my week of "EXTREME SOLO PARENTING" is coming to a close

RESPECT the MICROBES

"I have strep-to-coccus," smart son yelled out the window to the neighbors, explaining why he couldn't come out and ride his bike.

(He was actually very excited to learn which type of bacteria he had, This was a favorite because we did the agar plate bacteria farm a few months back- and he was big on the concept on the power of antibiotics)

Microbes- those bacteria, viruses, and fungi and mean and powerful little things- People fail to give them the respect they deserve. They can with one meager infection destroy a mom's plan for the week.

Today as I was driving home from the pediatrician stocked with amoxicillan (yes they gave me the right drug this time). I was thinking wouldn't it be nice if when your kids got sick there was some way of tracking where it came from (okay lots of times we figure it out but, I want strong legal proof)- so you could meet out vengeance upon the the infecting party- I can think of many appropriate types of retribution. They could get less than 5 hrs sleep each night for a week, endure the midnight feverish wailing, hysteria, crying, gnashing of teeth, wash the clothes covered in medicine and popsicle drippings, quarantine sections of their house, be house bound for days, cancel all fun plans, and they could pay your office and rx copay, gas $ and a little extra for emotional suffering. So my call is to responsible parties everywhere- RESPECT the Microbes- don't take you sick kids places, don't let them out when they have had a fever or vomiting in the past 24 hrs or the wrath of smartmama will be upon you!

smart sons recent masterpieces

Well here are the flower pics that inspired my garden series- isn't he great! Also a lizard painting and snake painting and donut/donuthole painting (note the special homage to one of my favorite treats) Wonder no longer at how he learned to paint a dunkin donuts chocolate cream donut from memory with such accuracy- I loved his decription as he painted- putting the white paint on "kind of scrubby like so it looks like powdered sugar". The donut and lizard are going to this summer's VBF auction in honor of smart baby!

a painting groove, Garden chains, and hidden meanings

I started out with the 16x20 painting(see L)- going back to explore a painting called chains i sold earlier this year, but then as I got into it I was inspired by some paintings smart son (yes he rocks my art world) did the other day and it moved me in a botanical direction. Then i fell into a great painting groove (I have learned to only paint when i am in the right "groove" if i force myself to paint and i am not n the "groove" it always turns out wrong and i get annoyed and frustrated for putting effort into something that is not working) and in 2 nights did this 30 x40 gallery wrap version (see below)- definitely a new series i am going to be exploring- i don't think you can see the gold leaf in the pic very well it definitely has a klimt-y vibe. You all know my feelings on bollywood and i have say watching bride and prejuidice last night while I painted was keeping me loose and expressive (although i was tempted a quite a few times to put my brush down and hone my hindi dance skills).

My friend K2, I used to teach with, always asked me about my pieces- she would beg me to divulge my secret messages-the curiosity killed her. Because usually (not always) in some layer of paint hidden where no one can see (it may be buried but is nonetheless permanently there) there is hidden writing, or a specfic symbolic color choice, compositional element that has a hidden meaning. Something that only i can recognize. They are usually related to people, relationships, memories, events. They are little tributes to the "muse" of that painting. I will generally talk about the representations/meaning of the painting-- but the hidden parts are all mine- so guess away. It's like a diary written in a code no one can decipher-

Chain Garden III

Great foreign things- Philippines edition

1. Mangoes- they win for the worlds best mangoes- hands down

2. Tropical paradise- As a part of our med mission they took us to a private island (no inhabitants!)- La Isla Christina- for a day- where you saw starfish at the bottom of crystal water- ate off banana leaves, ate fresh coconuts the man scaled the tree to bring down for you. The most gorgeous place i have ever been in the entire world.

3. Purple yam ice cream- how come we don't have any of this?? so cool looking

4. An up and coming country- I was impressed by the desires for education and skills of many of the young people i worked with.

5. Caring families- I was so impressed by the care and attentivness of both parents to their children after surgeries (something that widely varies between cultures) Just a happy, personal culture. See pic of one of my favorite babies- Jeffry who had surgery to to correct a primary unilateral cleft lip.

6. Great textiles- sarongs, wraps, scarfs.

7. Many types of noodles- i could eat noodles almost everyday and in the Phillippines i did.

8. Eating ferns-- i had never had fiddleheads until went to the Phillippines.

9. Beautiful landscape, gorgeous plants, glorious orchids.

10. Jeepneys- yes those little motocycle/motorbikes converted for carrying passengers-- Although you see your life flash before your eyes at may points in the ride- a decorative and scenic albeit carbon monoxidey way to travel. (see pic)

BONUS- Worlds best massages hands down! One of the groups supporting us in-country also ran some other charitable programs including helping the blind find gainful employment - they had trained them in massage and music- and I have to say it is worth the trip there just for a fabulous 1 1/2 hr massage.

getting a makeover

well as you can see i am finally getting around to editing my template - gone is the blase pink - replaced by one of the branch paintings--(the pepto bismol pink never really expressed my true personality )-so sorry for the glitches as i work it out- I am HTML impaired (sorry if the text is tiny- working on that mystery at the moment! whenever i see a preview its fine- whenever you click on it for real it is small??) note my creative use of the highly limited paint program tools to craft my new profile pic (a masterful feat)- as much as i love symbolic objects - I can't give up a face to talk to...

and i am totally in a painting groove so hopefully i'll have some new works to show in the next few days...

splash zone pew

Anyone who has been to see shamu at sea world knows about the splash zone- where you are guaranteed to get wet- The metal benches are clearly marked SPLASH ZONE- I think they need these for our church. Today our friends jessica and patrick (and their kids) sat in front of us. And throughout the services they were "splashed" with various objects- einstein action figure, plastic medical play scissors, puppets, plastic pig, plastic cow, and small vw bus, flannel board pieces, etc. etc. Additionally smart baby was brushing peoples backs with a toothbrush. Really I am a good mom In my defense, please note that I sit alone wrangling my boys- creating barricades with scriptures and purses (plus this is during morning nap time) as smart daddy-o is up sitting on the stand conducting the service- peaceably and contemplatively listening to the messages. Smart baby is a master of chaos and short attention span at the moment- opening the hymnal will result in pages being ripped out in a mere second or the book being chucked at something or someone nearby. Today was extra bad as the cheerio snack which normal buys 15 mins of relative distraction during the service was locked in the bishops office on the platter of giant cookies I made for distributing to the fathers after the meeting- so i was forced to break out the "emergency fruit snacks" and feed them to smart baby-a delicacy he has yet to encounter but took to like a duck to water (this comes from a mom who screened preschools for smart son by reviewing their snack menus- only those with daily fruits and veggies were given consideration)...Next week we'll post a sign.

zoo

I love a great family outing. Today was a smart family trip to the zoo- not too hot- just a perfect summer day. The highlights of the trip-

Smart baby- loved riding on the swings at the playground and petting baby goats.

Smart son- of all the creatures great and small he couldn't stop talking about the prarie dogs and asked if we could please move to the West so he could go out and catch them, he was also big on the deer.

Smart mama- I have to say I was digging the american porcupines, and thought the baby camel was one of the cutest things I'd ever seen.

Smart daddy-o- liked seeing all the frogs, polliwogs, tadpoles in the pond.

Don't you just love being together...

previous chapters

sometimes we get so deep into the current chapter of our life that we forget the chapters before so i am going to reminisce to remind myself...some things i remember from those previous "seasons"

I used to wear nice professional clothes (oh how i miss my great ann taylor and express work wear- tailored pants, nice sweater knits, stretch blouses- now i just can't justify it when my clothes go from clean to banana mush in 20 minutes)

I used to give a mean lecture (any of my past students can of course come and refute that claim- especially those who were crazy enought to take a class that met for 6 hrs straight on saturdays!- but this is my blog and i can lead you to believe I was a pretty fun 23 yr old college instructor) Today i realized i really do miss teaching especially my college classes. I really, really love teaching no matter what the subject I love helping other people learn.

I used to be put together-i never spent a lot of time getting ready but, I miss having long bouncy curls each day-now i get the straight in a pony tail hair (yes i am choosing the moral frumpiness)

I loved getting dressed up to go out- I loved going to dances, parties, nothing like cranking up some good music on a saturday night getting all glammed up and doing something fun with your friends.

I used to travel to exotic places and had opportunities to do fabulous things.

My brain used to work quickly- it is a sluggish at best and quite forgetful lately - i think this has to do with sleep depravation (although my parents would attest to my ability to walk right past things without seeing them practically from birth)

the end of the pond cake

fun mom strikes again-

okay today is my sons official last day of preschool forever, they are going on a pond field trip as we speak- tuesday we made this cake on the spur of the moment-to celebrate this week's outdoor camp theme- puddles and ponds--this was an "on the fly" venture- post swimming lessons before dinner making- while holding cranking teething baby and one hand-edly working fondant into tiny frog fingers-- Oh fun mom who succumbs to smart sons creative bidding. To see a better view visit the cake blog

personal person

I am a "personal person".

That may sounds funny but I think it is one of the best descriptors of me- I like things to be personalized, unique- this is probably why i am an artist, teacher, child life specialist, etc.- I like unique, one of a kind things, it's why I like to have people over, to make things, it's why I like to swap goods and services with friends. I like collecting little bits and rememberances of people. It makes my life more emotionally cozy. It's why i make my friends wedding cakes, its why i have dinner parties, and showers, and bring people treats, its why I still hand write notes on personalized stationary. It just means more that way. I love songs, pictures, stories, clothes, objects because they remind me of moments of my life. I like the interesting unique things that make us individuals- our interests, our experiences, our likes, our dislikes.

I like making connections with people. In fact I think far too often in our world today we maintain very surface relationships with others. I have found that sometimes very random people, and not necesarily my closest friends have changed me the most profoundly or may live in my memory the longest.

It is time, service, sharing that binds/bonds us to others. My series of branch paintings was inspired by that concept. (The colored geometric shapes and representations of those moments, events, "things", exchanges , the people- as represented in the gold) We encounter a lot of people in our lives- we have experiences/exchanges/ideas with them - Thats what our lives our ultimately made up of. Whether or not we stop to recognize it, the people we meet and our relationships ultimately shape our lives.

We can't predict what "life experiences" are ahead of us but, even beyond that i often think more that we can't predict the people and relationships ahead of us- how will those people those moments together change us, change how we think, and take us in new directions.

I have always been fascinated by interactions between people- some people we just spark with--these connections are often so palpable. I am not just talking about chemistry, or attraction, something deeper, these connections may come in many forms- like women who feel like your mother or sister or people you feel a untimely familiarity with. (Even with taking a doctoral level class in relationship development and mate selection I find topic one i can puzzle on for hours)

I guess my call today is to be more personal- put yourself out there- let people get to know you in a way that changes them. Be remembered deeply not just pleasantly.

virtues of being tall

I like being tall- when i was growing up i said i wanted to be 5'10" and sure enough i grew to be 5'10".

The virtues of being tall
finding a great pairs of long pants- i love how long pants look
seeing over people in a crowd
being able to reach things
more space to distribute that extra 10 lbs over
no stretch marks or heartburn in pregnancy (I like to attribute these to my added vertical space)
looking people in the eye
longer strides

The un-virtures of being tall
too many short pants, shirts, okay short everything- everyone makes petites but hardly anyone makes longs
no guys shorter than you ever approach you (hinders HS social opportunities)
leg room doesn't exist
walking into things other people walk under
barely fitting on beds
always having to reach things for short people at grocery stores

what happens in a week

sometimes it really is amazing to think of what happens in one week... here's a little glimpse from last week...

1. went down a size (new jeans-thanks EXPRESS- love that)
2. had family night 3 times- smart son is really into it at the moment
3. made a cake with a fondant lizard climbing over marshmellow rocks (cool mom moment- i vetoed the fondant hissing cockroaches suggested by s. son)
4. taught my primary class the story of the brass serpent
5. had friends over for dinner (i LOVE having people over- really i'd like it if we had company everyday)
6. playdate for smart son
7. soccer and swim lessons (smart son put his face under water- YAY!)
8. dinosaur themed preschool camp-3 days
9. ear infection/teething/dr appt/fateful pharmacy incident
10. smart baby started walking as primary mode of transport
11. gave a talk at RS
12. had friends over for bowmaking (i only made one and chatted and helped others- i'm trying to cut down)
13. family clean time (bathrooms, vacuuming, floors, etc)
14. smart daddy-o got a raise
15. took the boys strawberry picking
16. library runs- books, books on tape, and movies
17. fell asleep in bed each night listening to Jhumpa Lahiri's the Namesake on CD (loved interpreter of maladies- so i am trying her novel)
18. finished the DR redo
19. read tons of childrens books (our goal to read each one of the hundreds of picture books we have this summer)
20. new itunes downloads(perhaps, perhaps, perhaps- by cake, a you're adorable, papa loves mambo)
21. introduced smart son to Science friday on NPR
22. helping smart son explore the vast wonders of the WWW following science friday links
23. getting through reading The WRIGHT 3 to smart son
24. made dbl choclate peanut butter cookies
25. made 2 batches of muffins (smart baby's favorite food)
26. helped smart daddy-o fish much speaker wire to install our bose lifestyle 48
27. mailed 6 packages (with 2 kids- feat of the week!) also bought the new america land of superlatives stamps (always get the cool commeratives - i'll blog on that subject one day)
28. took the boys swimming 2x
29. went grocery shopping at 2 stores
30. mom and son lunch date out
31. planning new painting for VBF auction in august
32. reorganized office bookshelves
33. started nailing down details for a weddings I am doing cake and flowers for in august (yay lindsay!)
34. worked on summer travel plans (camping, vacations, etc)
35. reloading the food storage shelves

Really I don't sit around eating bonbons all day (although i did consume quite a few klondike bars last week)

Creating a flood

No, I am not talking about the incessant rain we've had in New England lately, smart mama is has been blogging on "lighter fare" lately so here is some meat! (Yes I am getting up on my sopabox)

So Mary over at Owlhaven and a great thing on NPR got me pondering again on one of my great passions-Our responsibility for the world- not just our tiny corner of suburbia- the bigger picture.

Few things have changed my life more than living, studying, and working abroad. I have seen horrific things, I have seen the piles of dead bodies from of the AIDS epidemic, I have seen extreme poverty, I have known many children orphaned because of special needs, I have seen prostituition, pain, corruption, hunger, abuse, rampant illiteracy, the lack of access to medical care, opportunity, any education. I could tell the saddest stories, I have pictures of many tragic things in my photo albums. I take them, I keep them, so I don't forget. People don't often like to talk about these things - beyond news stories- not that we don't feel they are tragedies and or want to help but sometimes we get lazy and sometimes honestly we don't know how...

I am passionate about providing my children with experiences to see beyond the opportunity laden, comfortable world of their existence to realize the incredible weight of responsiblity that is on them to give more, do more, and leave this world a better place than they found it.

We need hard eye opening experiences to cause a very healthy disruption of our priorities, a profound appreciation for all we have, and a heightened sense moral obligation to do more and do better with what we have. After seeing these things there is a constant mental struggle- in so many ways all of our lives here seem excessive. Where do we find the balance- how can we live our lives knowing how others live. We cannot carry all the weight of all the injustice and evil of the world or we would crumble under its sheer load.

One person can't solve the worlds problems in a day- but many tiny drops of rain over time can eventually cause of flood. We can try each day to think about what we have, we can question our stewardship, our accountability, we can make the time and the effort and the sacrifice (yes i said the S-word one that is very taboo in our self serving American culture) for others. If we take stock of ourselves we can find ways to make a difference- personal ways. We will become passionate about things as they touch our lives in a personal way. We need to share our skills, our experiences, our talents, our possessions, our education with others.

You know i have blogged before about my work with Operation Smile, VBF, RESOLVE, donating art for auctions, etc. I am not talking about this to seem important or good but to show we each have experiences & skills that prepare to help in very specific ways- if we all find them, if we all do them --I can't even imagine how much better our world would be- Our causes may be domestic or international, they may be in any number of areas, we may support them in any number of ways.

We each have seasons in our lives to devote our primary energies to various things - right now my season is the fairly consuming one of young motherhood. One of our family values we teach our boys is that of accountability, the importance of doing much good of your own free will, we also teach them of service, of love, of the importance of knowledge. Hopefully this teaching will make the world better as "i mutiply" the minds committed to change. I try to involve them as much as possible in opportunities for giving and sharing their time and talents now. I speak often of my experiences, and my commitment to be involved. When my boys are grown it is one thing i want them to remember me for.

The other month another woman on NPR was talking about our cultural shift as we have become a 2 income family society- there is rapid decline in community and civic involvement. We are too busy about the causes of money to be about the business of care and how this is impacting our society. I want to reverse this trend in a time when we know greater technology, greater education, greater leisure we should be more committed to using our time, education, resources for good.

We all need the reminders--Can we forgo that dinner out or new clothes and send that money somewhere great like here. Can we spend a few moments today helping our kids do something or making a plan as a family to be more involved or searching out a cause that has touched us or group who can use our skills. We can find ways to help even in the busy seasons of our lives.

So today- let's stop and think-- let's be the raindrops- let's create the flood!

house tour- dining room

okay- as promised some house tour- todays feature the Dining room which has been the subject of much work lately. My style is generally classic but not super traditional, I like color and clean lines and of course- art.

1. new paint- the blue is about 3 mo old.

2. new light fixture- ikea- about 2mo old - love the candle or light option- i am all about mood lighting at parties.

3. new paintings- nightpebbles (don't ask what i used to paint it- because i don't know if the use of marshmellows in art would disqualify me as a "real artist"), and branches on green 2 giant 30x40 hung together and a tribute to jackson pollack drippy on the little wall

4. new flowers (pier 1, pottery barn outlet)

5. new curtains (yes silk dupioni curtain panels i got for 4.99 a piece-total steal--i sewed the stripe at the bottom because i wanted a long puddly look- yep total curtains cost 25$!),

6.new plates- i am going to exchange green for black on next ikea run--

7. new rug -sadly did not cost 25$ -made of FLOR carpet tiles- that stuff rocks- i've only had it picked out for 2 yrs and finally bit the bullet and got it- repositionable cool carpet tiles that come is so many fab colors and patterns- i might buy a few chartreuse to throw in to funky the DR up a bit--you can rinse them off in your sink and replace them if they get stained!!If you ever want any order through koo de kir they give a 10% discount!) smart son loved laying them down and plays hopscotch on them.

and a big shout out for smart daddy-o who made the table for our 5th? anniversary-seats 10, antiqued black- isn't he great! okay truth be told he also sewed the curtains-(a talent he uses only for the good of our own house) but I will claim to be the visionary overseer of the project.

sorry pictures under seperate cover-- lame blogger day-

 

side wall 

the new and improved dining toom  

smart baby's top 5

smart baby's top 5 favorite things today
5. vomitting on the playroom and kitchen floors
4. getting his temperature taken (the baby way)
3. gagging down amoxicillan
2. having blood drawn by a semi-competent phlebotomist
1. having an otoscope stuck into his infected ear

yep thats the kind of day it's been at our house...

snack droppings and the curse of entropy

we love science in this house- but there is one law of nature i despise- that is entropy

Things will always more from a state or order to disorder
Yes, a a mother this concept is the single bane of my existence-- It thwarts my every attempt at organization. In mere minutes we can see this principle in action

My neatly folded laundry will become a dirty, smelly heap

My gleaming dishes will be coated with food remnants

My mopped, shining floor will be covered in snack droppings

My son's beautiful birthday cake will be consumed and reduced to a pile of stray, dry crumbs

My new filing system will overflow will overflow and require hours of sorting and shredding

The beautifully wrapped Christmas presents will become garbages full of ripped paper and a mothers nightmare of small toy choking hazards

We see entropy not just in it's immediate forms but it's more complex- long term forms - as you live more places, meet more people, do more things- life gets more complex- goes from the simple order of childhood to the hectic responsiblity of adulthood. You go from the simple order of being able to fit all possessions in your car (albeit it packed!) as a college student to jam packing a semi truck in less than 4 years...

I guess entropy is to teach us mortals the concepts of endurance and patience but i still say-- DOWN with ENTROPY

smart baby likes the unfrumpy look 

to frump or not to frump

lets just say the "busyness" of motherhood has a way of unleashing the frump in each of us

i am not a frumpy gal, never have been- i don't like to leave the house "un-done"- but lately there have been far too many frump days- so I decided to read frumpy to foxy in 15 minutes- (the 4-- 50sish ladies at the library were getting a kick out of it and wondering who reserved such a book on inter-library loan) to see if it would de-frump me

thanks to this book-- i did clean out of my closet-- with the deep and probing questions--"do i really wear that- do i look even remotely good in that?" and have made more directed attempts at foxiness

what i also realized-- i don't always have 15 minutes-well 15 consective minutes- frumpy to foxy is best suited for the non mother crowd- because it also requires the time to shop for non frumpy attire. (most of us don't intend to be frumpy it has more to do with the 101 sizes that goes with childbearing)

also i have failed to set aside $ in my wardrobe budget for things like "lounging clothes" "special foxy shoes for the gym" etc.

Smart daddy-o picked up the book and scoffed at a number of their ideas (such as tucking a fresh flower behing your ear for a glamourous dressy evening-he said it was only ok if you were hawaiian) - i added if you are someone who is totally gorgeous and can pull off anything.

So after reading that i finally went and got the pedicure i had been meaning to get for so long (with the gift certificate someone gave me whensmart baby was born)

Sadly i felt like a fish out of water in the toxic fume emitting nail salon--although the other clients chatty we couldn't get past-how they always choose the same color- or shocking deals on BCBG sunglasses at Filenes basement--

i did look at the price list (but decided i'd probably rather spend the $ on a family treat out for our favorite chinese) it was luxurious and pampering and yes my toes have never looked and felt better

but when it comes down to frumpy or foxy- although we'd all like to be foxy-- somedays frumpy is the right choice- the moral choice- somedays my sick baby wins out over coiffed hair, perfectly shaped brows, or glowing exfoliated skin--and making regular deposits into the boys 529 college savings plans, and mission funds takes precedance over painted nails, or another pair of cute jeans.

So my resolution is I will try harder to be foxy but i'll let a little frump slide in the name of love.