Tending the Eclectic Kinder-Garden

I’ve spent my stay-at-home-mommy-year blogging, crafting, reading, crocheting, baking, and reading some more, discovering fun new things to try, and searching out necessary materials and supplies at craft stores, yard sales, etc. Yesterday I thought I’d sort through all of the pretty ribbons I had found or bought this year so I could show and share them for my usual Thursday post.

I underestimated the widespread appeal of the ribbon however. I also underestimated my toddler’s determination to satiate his interest in “helping Mommy” with the ribbons. And I committed the ultimate faux pas: I turned my back on the toddler while he was in my crafting area. With…the…ribbon. ALL…of…the…ribbon.

Did I get a photo of the resulting tangled-ribbon-noodle-like-mess on my floor? Uh, no~I couldn’t take a picture because I was too busy putting myself in a much-needed Time Out. Just superimpose ribbons over the toys in this bedroom shot in your mind to get a feel for the mess I enabled the boy to create:

While I was rolling my ribbon back onto their spools, a miracle occurred! I got an email from Michael’s Craft Store with a fifty-percent-off coupon in it. I took a break from the grosgrain and satin, and searched the store online when lo and behold, a link for Martha Stewart Crafts took me to a page featuring ribbon storage boxes. Michael’s and Martha~ how did they know?

Here’s the midpoint:

(Did you notice there’s no sign of the toddler? I learned my lesson, and had Sister take him out to play in the water while I rolled, sorted, and organized!)

Muuuuuuucccccchhhhhhhhhhhh better:

Earthy browns, blacks, and black/white:

Golds, cream, white, and an extra roll of patriotic red/white/blue:

Purples, greens, yellow and orange:

Blues…

Solid pinks:

Patterned pinks and reds:

And look! With the lids closed, you can still see a little peek of what’s inside. Once we’re in our new home and my craft area is established, little tails of ribbon will stick out of the slots… just so my toddler can yank on them and unspool them onto the floor…AGAIN!

*****

*Don’t forget, Sunday is Father’s Day!

*The Pioneer Woman Cooks Cowboy Nachos

*GoodyBlog posted about Velcro’s Birthday (and shared a photo of a much-desired-by-me Velcro WALL…here toddler-toddler-toddler, here toddler-toddler-toddler)

*And how about a blog written by a dad? Perfect for this Father’s Day weekend!
*****

Tags: crafts, humor, links, toddler

Spring has sprung here in the Bordertown, so the toddler and I decided to take a walk today, enjoying the foliage, flowers, colors, and textures:

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* Here are some details of our local desert foliage, thanks to El Paso Water Utilities.
* A Plant Hardiness Zone Map for those of you with greener thumbs than mine…
* Martha provides how-to’s for making pressed plant cards…

* Casa Sugar suggests making your own aphid spray to keep the pests at bay and your plants thriving…

* Paper-and-String made “disguises” for her Happy Trees!

* Crayola has a cute craft idea for spring or May Day bouquets (kindergartners LOVE to dress up and sneak through the school to leave these on classroom doors- and the dress-up factor helps me in some sneakiness of my own: May 1 is the day I photograph my students for their end-of-the-year certificates!)

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Where flowers bloom so does hope.
- Lady Bird Johnson, Public Roads: Where Flowers Bloom

Tags: crafts, links, Show and Share, toddler

Remember when I told you that I had won a 500$ giveaway from Childish Clothing via Hostess With the Mostess?

Guess what arrived today:

I’ll post a slideshow at the end of this blog so you can see my toddler sorting through all of his cool, new, funky fashions, but here are some close-ups for you:

It was like Christmas (or a fashion-filled birthday!) in April when we unwrapped all of the goodies, and the timing couldn’t have been better, considering the toddler just went through a huge growth spurt:

“Big boy” underwear…

Some of the coolest tee’s out there (they say “My Dad is My Hero” and “My Dad is Cooler than Your Dad”…

The softest shorts and pants (t-shirt soft!), swim trunks too:

And big boy flip flops (we’re still working on keeping these on our feet):

Go, go, go check out Childish Clothing (we ordered for our son, but yes, they have girl and mommy-to-be items…great gift items too!)-

…and see if you can tell which shirt ended up being our toddler’s favorite:

THANK YOU Childish Clothing and Hostess With the Mostess!

Tags: fashion, giveaway, links, toddler

Scene: Sunday morning. At home. Sister still asleep, Daddy working in the garage. Toddler gasps after entering the living room, looking toward the window.

Me: (following his gaze) Oh! Look! A visitor! It looks like a grasshopper!

Toddler: No Mommy. No hopper. Ucky Bug.

Me: Honey, that’s a grasshopper. What’s he doing on our screen?

Toddler: Mommy! NO HOPPER! UCKY BUG!

Me: Sigh. Okay, you can call the grasshopper “ucky bug” if you want. Do you want to see it?

Toddler: (nods) Aunt (”want”) ucky bug. Yook (”look”)!

Apparently it’s easier to get closer to the “ucky bug” if you’re inside the house, on the other side of the glass. If, however, you choose to go outside and join the ucky bug in the fresh air, your bravery will be greatly increased if your ducky blankie accompanies you.

Thanks to ZoomSchool.com for the following image (I enlarged it and turned it into a coloring page for the boy):

Tags: bugs/insects, family, humor, toddler

Here are your choices for this post:

1) Hansel, the Early Years

2) Trails (or Trials) of Toddlerhood

3) My Mommy Loves Her Dyson Vacuum

4) Parents, Fear the Silence

(I’ll tell you the toddler’s caption after you get a chuckle from the photos):

To quote our can-do boy, “Mommy, no pa-pates (pancakes). See-do. (Cereal).”

And yes, I *do* love my Dyson!

Tags: family, humor, toddler

(back in the “good ol’ days”), rabbit ears were essential to cartoon-viewing?

They still are:

Tags: family, humor, toddler

I’ve been doing “the mom thing” today. All day.

I’m going on a trip on Friday- a*four day* trip- back to Oz to see friends, their new babies, and do some treasure hunting. Yes, only four days. Get there on Friday afternoon, and leave around Monday, lunchtime. But to visit Oz, I am leaving my dear husband, my thirteen year old daughter, my toddler son, and my cat here in the Bordertown. For four days. Without moi. So the “mom thing” that I’ve been doing has included:

~anticipating any and all grocery needs/emergencies/cravings

~ shopping for said groceries

~making sure the laundry is done

~making sure Daughter puts all of her school and social activities on the calendar

~making sure Daddy knows to *check the calendar* in case he has to pick her up from school (and he WILL have to)

~ watering the plants

~ and any other housecleaning-type-jobs that I just won’t feel good about leaving undone before leaving.

So when do I pack? When do I figure out what toiletries to take, clothes, shoes, etc? Eh, the night before. Packing doesn’t stress me out- I’ve told friends I’m not a “panic packer.” If I forget something, I know how to stop at a store to correct the situation. No, what to wear, what to bring, how much room I’ll have to bring stuff home…these things don’t bother me.

Imagining the state of disarray the house will be in upon my return…THAT bothers me. While secretly grateful that my husband will have a smidgen of a taste of what I’ve done for years while he’s been TDY or deployed, I still know Daughter will end up taking up the slack. A lot of it. The toddler has entered a Destructo-Mode recently, requiring much more hands-on time, and exponentially more clean-up time, and the cat has begun to feel more comfortable expressing her displeasure with the boy whenever he chases her under the beds or couches. I fear the phone calls I’m going to receive. I’ve had nightmares for the last two nights in a row. I know, I’m over-reacting, but hey, it’s “the mom thing.”

More “mom thing” related documentation:

Daughter’s Valentine Treat Bags are almost done (just need cookies and the pecan/rolo/pretzel nummies added, then bows tied on), as are her cards:

Cookies? What cookies? Oh yeah, I need to make cookies! Red and pink sugar was added later:

While cleaning out the fridge, I found a lone pie dough roll…oh darn, I guess that means I’ll just *have* to make date and marmalade pastries:

For a pick-me-up, I enjoyed a snack, er, “taste test” of the cookies:

…and then right as I was wandering back toward Worrysville, darling husband appeared with these:

Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t worry about him, the kids, and the cat…

Maybe.

Tags: crafts, family, military life

Tick, tock, the toddler’s clock…

doesn’t match my own…

(Wall art found here)

Awake at three-thirty, thirsty. Awake again at four-thirty, wet. Five-thirty he snuck into our bedroom while I was preparing coffee (I thought I had locked the door so husband could sleep in) flipped the lights on and shouted “Daddy, wake UP!” Sigh. I turned off the light, LOCKED the door, and escorted Mr. Assertive-Way-Too-Early back to the living room. “Dodgers, Mommy!” Duck Dodgers. The t.v. goes on, I make “bunny milk,” and the toddler is happy, and more importantly, quiet again.

Ohhhhhh, Daddy and Sister are going to have an interesting time when I’m out of town next weekend.

Yes, I’m traveling back to Oz to see friends and to wander through some of my favorite antique mall/stores. Without the family. A little break for me provided by my wonderful Valentine.

Remembering Times Past

Abilene’s Downtown Antique Mall

Broadway Antique Mall

The Texan

Yesterday’s Rose Antique Mall

Little Apple Antiques

…and whatever places are open on Sunday in Paxico...

WB Antiques

Paxico Antiques

Mill Creek Antiques

I’ll be on the lookout for game pieces (Scrabble, etc., for crafting), copper pots, watering cans, or other containers, Russian lacquer, salt cellars, Mar-Crest (though it’s heavy and weighs a TON), old books, and whatever other treasures strike my fancy or bring back good memories.

As a person who doesn’t travel on her own too often, I’ll just say that now, at age thirty-eight, it is certainly nice to know that feeling alone and being independent are *not* one and the same.

Tags: family, Oz, toddler

I’m still smiling from an encounter that occurred yesterday afternoon. Daughter and I went to the Science Fair to retrieve her board and reports (she got second place, not bad for a district/city this size!), and she asked if we could go to Barnes and Noble so she could buy a book she wanted with one of her holiday gift cards. Friends know that twisting my arm to go to B&N is not a difficult task, so before we knew it, there we were, inhaling the Starbucks coffee aroma as we walked through the book aisles.

Our toddler is at that “change diaper, Mommy, ucky” stage, so potty-training is right around the corner. Since our other children are ages seventeen, sixteen, and thirteen, any and all potty books have gone the way of all good things, passed on to other friends and family or sold at a yard sale years ago. Consequently, I made a beeline to the childrens’ book section while Daughter headed straight for young adults’. After looking through the selections available without finding what I was hoping for, I headed to magazines, Daughter on my heels (she found the last copy of Hacking Harvard), to see if the British versions of some of my favorite magazines were available.

The home decor/design/crafting magazine aisle was packed for some reason, and I found myself on the far left of the stands, just waiting for an opening. Scanning through the group of customers, searching for a way in, I saw a woman, magazines in hand, on the far right of the magazine stands, also looking for entry. After several customers looked right at me, then went back to flipping through their magazine without scooting an inch, I continued to stand my ground, as did the lady at the opposite end of the stands. Finally, people shifted and then left the area completely, so Right-Side-Lady and I made our way in. I quickly found the magazines (too many!) I was hoping to, while Right-Side-Lady replaced some of the magazines she had been looking through. She seemed worried about crossing my line of sight, so I laughed and told her “no, you’re fine” and she told me she forgot where she had found one magazine in particular as she wanted to put it back in its proper place. We continued with some small conversation, finding relief in communicating with another apparently rare, polite person. She asked where I found Country Living, so I grabbed a copy for her, and we chatted on. She mentioned she was just looking for color inspiration, at which point I mentioned that I had run across a blog that had linked to Pantone, which had recently published a “fashion color report” that provided color samples for the home decor and fashion we’d be seeing this year. Right-Side-Lady introduced herself as Rosie, and told me she was a weaver and spinner- I had noticed she was wearing the most wonderful shawl/wrap- and we continued on with some chit chat, very relaxed and pleasant. Before she left she gave me her card, invited me to her workshop and made it clear that it would be for a visit, not for shopping.

Shannon is visiting at the end of the month, so I was thrilled to email her yesterday with the B&N story to ask if she’d like me to contact Rosie and set up a time we could visit. Affirmative! So this morning, I found the Pantone color reports online, and printed out the Spring 2008 and Fall 2008 color palettes to mail to Rosie (apparently she’s not online) along with a card asking when a good date during Shannon’s visit would be to come out to her workshop. Looms, weaving, textiles, color… it all sounds wonderful and as charming an experience as meeting Rosie was yesterday.

Rosie left B&N before we did. Even though my arms were full of magazines, Daughter and I decided to look through Valentine cards and stationery, and we eventually wandered toward the craft and hobby section. And there it was:

You *make* them! Fairy Tale Dress-Up Day will never be the same again. My poor family. My poor colleagues. My students are going to LOVE this (and my friends are laughing their tushes off, I’m sure!).

Tags: books, crafts, humor, links

“Merry Christmas to All, and to All a good night.”