Playgrounds & Lollipops - A Mess On the Inside, Put Together On the Outside

When:
June 11th &10th, 2010

Where: 
On the 10th I wore this outfit all day to take my car to the shop (because I believe the guys at the shop treat you with more respect if you look presentable), to Fashion Island for lunch, and to have friends over for dinner for the Lakers Game.  I also wore this outfit this morning to Taylor's Kindergarten orientation.

What:
Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft (paid about $14.99 for it!)
Shirt: Forever 21
Jacket: From local boutique Tullemoss
Shoes: 9 West
Necklace: H&M
Ring: My wedding band from our 10 year anniversary

Why:
When my neighbor Shelly saw me this morning she said, "wow you like like the put together mom" (or something to that effect).  Aha!  My plan is working then!  While I may have looked very proper and put together on the outside, I am a mess on the inside about Taylor starting Kindergarten.  Be warned, I will be one of those crazy moms on the first day of school bawling her eyes out and clutching for my baby as she walks through the threshold to start her life as a big kid.  So be careful when you make insensitive comments about "those moms".  I will be one of them.  In fact I was one of them this morning during the orientation.  I was literally a mess, crying ever 2 minutes the principal referenced how big of a step this is.  Art kept nudging me saying "Get it together, snap out of it."  That only made me cry more.

But hey, at least I looked somewhat cool and collected, right?  Right?

This outfit has gotten me through 3 occasions this week by the way, including a baby shower.  I love the skirt and the fact that it does not wrinkle.  Hooray for maintenance free clothes! 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.  We're off to the beach!

Homemade Pretzels

One of the great things about participating in a co-op preschool is getting to be a part of your child's preschool education, including the snacks that they eat.  Each day a parent is in charge of snack for the day, and at Taylor's preschool, the teachers encouraged us to serve a snack that was not only interesting, but encouraged involvement from the kids in preparing the snack.  Your typical cheese and crackers was sort of poo-pooed upon if I'm to be totally honest here.  While this could often cause a pressure cooker type of environment for the moms, it often resulted in some pretty cool snack options for the kids.

Case in point, homemade pretzels.  These were such a hit with the kids that they were prepared quite often.  We whipped up a batch today and I was amazed at how easy and fun they were.

Your ingredients:
1 package Rapid Rise Yeast
4 c flour (Better for Bread flour preferred)
1.5 c warm water
1 egg for egg wash
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
Kosher salt for sprinkling on top 

In a bowl mix together yeast, sugar, salt and warm water

Add in your flour

Stir it up

Knead the dough until as soft as possible on a lightly floured surface

Form pieces of the dough into any shape you want, such as turtles

Unicorns

Sneak in a bite of the raw dough when you think moms not looking, 

because no matter how gross it tastes, kids must always test out raw dough of any kind.

Brush on your egg wash

Sprinkle on your Kosher salt

And make silly faces while your pretzels bake in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until browned

When done, marvel at your yummy accomplishment!

And enjoy!  I like mine with classic yellow mustard, while Taylor prefers hers nice and simple.

"Look mom!  I bit off my unicorn's tail!"

Have you baked up anything fun this summer?  If so, please share.  

My sous chef is always looking for a new recipe to try!

Nesting

"The greatest work you will ever do is within the walls of your own home."
- Harold B. Lee

6:30 pm Friday night
my children were running around the neighborhood, my son without his pants on
they were unfed
nothing on the stove prepared
my husband nowhere to be found, at work still solving some crisis
I'm frantically putting finishing touches on a sewing project I promised someone
my house in disarray
barking orders at my children
snapping at my poor husband as he finally walks in the door, exhausted
"where were you, why didn't you call?"

I stopped, looked around, and instead of crying to discover what had become of my house,
picked up the phone, ordered CPK, and vowed to start fresh the next day.

5 am I woke up on Saturday morning and started ripping through my house like a tornado
or a pregnant woman nesting
but I am not pregnant
just a woman who takes her job seriously as a homemaker
and my oh my how I had been sloughing off at work

I realized on friday night that my first and most important job, is homemaker,
that is wife and mother to this family.
I am the head of this household.
I am responsible for how this place runs.
and lately I had been running it like a loony bin.

I started by taking down the tired old spring decor of birds and eggs and nests.
sounds like a silly place to start I know.
but as good a place as any
I freshened things up by adding a summer theme throughout the house.
and I didn't spend a dime.
by the time Taylor woke up she was able to help me pick out stones for our little memory frame

the frame holds special stones and rocks and shells that we have collected over the last few years of family trips.

 the broken stone marked fertility stone was given to me by the Saks DMM on a work trip in the Virgin Islands.  he told me to sleep with it under my pillow.  i was pregnant the next month, no doubt due to the fertility stone :)  it used to be shaped like a heart but has since been broken somewhere along the line.

upon breathing new life into our little house, we packed up and went to Tanaka Farms for CSA Day, where we picked veggies, barbecued them, and then picked strawberries until our bellies were full.
it was wonderful
except the part where art had to leave to go fix that work crisis that was still going on.

after Tanaka Farms the kids and I headed to Trader Joe's and I proceeded to break my previous record and spend $200 on groceries.
i bought flowers for myself.
my pantry and fridge is stocked and my heart is full
during nap time i cleaned out my pantry and fridge and threw 2 trash bags full of food away.
i had really let things go around here.

after a little pool and BBQ at the neighbors,
we came home, put the kids to bed,
art went back to work again,
and i went back to work.
i organized all of my crafting and sewing supplies.
nothing fancy, just functional
put all my most used items out and easily accessible so i stop ripping through bins like a loon,
leaving the room in disarray when i can't find something.
i separated seasonal fabric, from scraps of fabric and whole pieces

i cleaned our room, putting away laundry that had stacked up for days
i cleaned the kid's drawing station, throwing away old markers 

i was exhausted
but i felt at peace again
ready to be back at my job the next morning
ready to be the kind of mother and wife i like to be
and through all that cleaning and organizing, i was also recharged to CREATE.
excited, actually downright giddy, to get out my sewing machine

and by the time i crawled into bed at midnight, aching from the work
art walked in from work
crisis solved, order restored at work,
genius husband of mine, how i love him

so it may not have been the most relaxing weekend, or most peaceful,
but i feel at peace nonetheless.
i am officially ready for summer to start and to have some fun.

what did you do this weekend?
i hope it brought you peace as well friends.

p.s. i did get to end my weekend with a margarita and Sex & the City 2 with the girls.  that was pretty fun ;)

Blog Party Over at Cherry Tree Lane

Hey Friends! Cherry Tree Lane is 3 years old! Mrs. 17 is hosting a fabulous giveaway today on her site to celebrate, including a special little handmade frock by yours truly!
Just stop on over and leave a comment for your chance to win!

One Romper, 4 Ways

When:
Memorial Day BBQ @ my Uncle's House in La Canada (I swoon every time we visit and I look at their 1/2 acre yard.)

What:
$36 Romper from little boutique I like to shop at called Madison Bleu, worn with 4 different pairs of shoes and complimenting accessories.

Why:
So I wanted to show how you could take a $36 uber-trendy romper, and still get a lot of use out of it.  Now I know some of you are rolling your eyes and thinking, "you could never get me to wear a romper in a million years."  And don't worry, I thought the same thing.  But when I tried this baby on, I was so comfortable and I felt so funky!  Let me say that the ladies in the 70's had it right.  And for $36 I thought, what the heck?  My challenge to myself then became, make sure to get some good use out of it before the trend is long-gone.
*A little note about trendy items.  I know some moms are scared of dressing out of their comfort zone, and especially not dressing age-appropriate.  But I would say a trendy item is pretty mom-safe if you can find the item at Target and Old Navy, which you can with rompers right now.

Look 1: This is how I actually wore the romper to the BBQ.  Havaiana flip flops, no belt and no accessories, except my standard gray mom bag.

Look 2: This would be a fun Date Night look.  I added a patent leather belt, some sexy heels by Chloe, a clutch and a chunky necklace from Kohl's Vera Wang line.  Do you wear heels on date nights?

Look 3: Girls Night Out to see Sex & The City 2.  Miranda, this is what I'll be wearing next week when we finally make it to the movies!  I kept the same patent belt, but changed the shoes to patent leather wedges from Via Spiga and switched to a patent leather bag.  I also toned down the accessories with just a simple gold chain necklace and a pair of gold hoops, and put my hair up in a pony tail to make it a bit more casual.  BTW, my aunt declared that this outfit was still a little slutty for girls night out.  Hmmmm...what do you think?

Look 4: Sunday brunch.  I kept the accessories all the same but this time just changed into a pair of patent leather flats.  Can you tell I have a thing for black patent leather?

The last picture is me laughing at myself.  My family thought I was a lunatic showing up at a BBQ with an aresnal of bags, accessories and shoes and were prodding and picking on me the entire time I was taking pictures.  I can't say I blame them. I am a little crazy.

A Father's Day Gift Idea

Who has Netflix here?
Well if you do, then do I have a Father's Day gift idea that will knock the socks off your husbands this year.  They will be kissing you and marveling at your sheer genius in getting them something they never knew they wanted.  Ladies (and maybe some gentlemen), I now present to you the Roku:

Now you can go to the website to read all the little techy details, but basically what this box does is hooks up to the internet and your Netflix account so that any movies, TV shows and other Internet based On Demand programs that you would normally only be able to watch on your computer, can be magically downloaded and played from your TV screen.

I don't ever get excited about tech type stuff.  When Art brought home our flat screen TV and hooked it up, I greatly disappointed him when I said "I don't see a difference."  You would have thought I stabbed him in the heart.

But this little guy is marvelous.
Let me do a little demo

So you have it hooked up to your TV already, and this is what your screen will look like.
Oh and excuse the crooked pictures.  I have had the stomach flu for the last 2 days and apparently it has affected my equilibrium and picture taking skills, and I don't feel like Photoshopping these guys.  I'm sure you'll understand.

You can pop into your Netflix account and view any On Demand type movies and TV shows for FREE at anytime!  This is how we were able to get caught up to the saga that was LOST.

There are a whole slew of kids programs to watch too, without commercials.  I hate commercials on kid's shows.  They are so obnoxious and badly made.

If you notice up top you'll see we have 80 of these types of programs in our queue.  There's no limit to how many you can download!

Oh and there's MLB.TV.  I think there's a TV show for NFL too.

Okay but my absolute favorite part of the Roku box is that we can get Pandora on it!  Do you know what Pandora is?  It's basically internet radio that only plays the kind of music you like.

You enter an artist such as Jack Johnson, and it will only play that genre of music.  And now with the Roku, we can play Pandora from our TV.  We love it, even the kids.
You can choose just about any artist you like.
Flight of the Conchords, Art's choice.  I think they're annoying, but whatever.

A little Cake anyone?

Jason Mraz is an overall family favorite.

As well as Jack Johnson of course

Anyhow, you get the idea.
The whole gadget is pretty impressive, but the fact that you can get Pandora on it, just takes it to a whole new level.

The Roku box starts at $79.95-$99.95.
We've had ours for over 2 years now and we use it almost daily.
I think your husbands would dig it.
But remember it only works if you have a Netflix account.

Please let me know if you decide to get your man one of these, and what you all think of it.

So since my husband already has this nifty little device that I'm about to recommend, can some of you provide me with some suggestions to get him this year?

Bubba, the Cowboy

Howdy partner.

I think this is about the coolest picture I've ever seen.  You can debate with me all you want, go ahead, but for this mommy, it just doesn't get any better.  I love this kid.