A new version (maybe, someone else probably did it first and better) because it is the most wonderful time of the year (after Christmas) - back to school shopping!
Notebooks and paper and pencils and rulers
Folders and binders and "these ones are cooler"
New tennis shoes that won't last until spring
These are a few of my favorite things
Fresh colored pencils and just the right scissors
Glue sticks and "no you do not need those stickers"
Princess t-shirts, Elsa's the brand new thing
These are a few of my favorite things
Boys in new jeans and iron man t-shirts
Girls with patterned tights under those cute skirts
These clothes definitely won't last until spring
These are a few of my favorite things!
When school starts, and the bell rings
When the weather's hot
I simply remember my favorite things
And hope the whole list was bought!!!!
Showing posts with label favorite things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite things. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Living Room Re-do
In the past year, I've redone my kitchen, my dining room (2 different links there so you can see the rearranging of furniture and the new color!), and Curly Girl's bedroom (which you can see here along with her birthday celebration). Which meant my living room was looking pretty drab. Kind of beige walls, nail holes from previous owners and where I had moved pictures, no real sense of design.
Driving me crazy, it was.
So we did this:
And then I decided to decorate. So using a technique my friend taught me (scrapbook letters on canvas, paint over, pull off the letters), I made this sign with a fantastic Tommy Boy quote to hang in the middle of the 22 (yes TWENTY TWO) family pictures I had printed for the wall.
This is my new favorite room in the house. Our hallway. I had to completely clean it out to paint, which meant the million boxes waiting to go up to the attic, had to go. And the toys by the bedroom doors had to go. And it had to be vacuumed after I finished pulling all the nails out of the walls (pulling out original lathe and plaster with them) and then plastered all the holes.
Anyway, I painted it the same fresh pineapple as the living room (this hallway is off our dining room, but you can see it from the living room), using the same marshmallow white as the diamonds above to paint white frames on the wall to give me my own little version of an art gallery.
You can barely see it, but on the right hand wall, above most of the pictures (which are all family shots of siblings and parents with some old dating and college things thrown in) is the beginning of the Ferris Bueller quote "Life moves pretty fast...." I free-hand painted that on the wall with acrylic paint and a tiny paint brush. It isn't quite centered in its square, which might drive Mr. Curly crazy. But I found out when trying to scrub off the crayon I had used for practice, that the blue acrylic will wash off pretty easy. So we might fix it in a week or two.
So. Living room and hallway done. Now I'm just trying to convince Mr. Curly that we've had the same bathroom design/linens/color for six years and we should redo it. And pull the wallpaper out of our bedroom.
But maybe I should give him a break from changes first.
Driving me crazy, it was.
So we did this:
The lighting is BAD here, really bad, and I somehow don't have a better before picture. But we went from beige-y blahness to fresh pineapple. A bright yellow, not too bright. Honestly, not really my color, but looks awesome with the rest of the house.
We have this little side area in our living room I call the "office offshoot." It needed something more than just a coat of paint. So after 2.5 weeks of trying tons of different things, we went with just nice big diamonds. It honestly makes me wish I would've done it on another wall too (the one our front door is on), but it gives this nice area a sense of purpose and design. AND this is a better representation of our actual wall color throughout the living room.
And then I decided to decorate. So using a technique my friend taught me (scrapbook letters on canvas, paint over, pull off the letters), I made this sign with a fantastic Tommy Boy quote to hang in the middle of the 22 (yes TWENTY TWO) family pictures I had printed for the wall.
This is my new favorite room in the house. Our hallway. I had to completely clean it out to paint, which meant the million boxes waiting to go up to the attic, had to go. And the toys by the bedroom doors had to go. And it had to be vacuumed after I finished pulling all the nails out of the walls (pulling out original lathe and plaster with them) and then plastered all the holes.
Anyway, I painted it the same fresh pineapple as the living room (this hallway is off our dining room, but you can see it from the living room), using the same marshmallow white as the diamonds above to paint white frames on the wall to give me my own little version of an art gallery.
You can barely see it, but on the right hand wall, above most of the pictures (which are all family shots of siblings and parents with some old dating and college things thrown in) is the beginning of the Ferris Bueller quote "Life moves pretty fast...." I free-hand painted that on the wall with acrylic paint and a tiny paint brush. It isn't quite centered in its square, which might drive Mr. Curly crazy. But I found out when trying to scrub off the crayon I had used for practice, that the blue acrylic will wash off pretty easy. So we might fix it in a week or two.
So. Living room and hallway done. Now I'm just trying to convince Mr. Curly that we've had the same bathroom design/linens/color for six years and we should redo it. And pull the wallpaper out of our bedroom.
But maybe I should give him a break from changes first.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Are you a certified mechanic?
Thursday night, I got to work on our car with Mr. Curly. I can practically hear the "So what?" you're thinking right now.
SOOOO - soooo, this is something we used to do regularly. We'd go out, change the oil on the car, clean it out, check a few things, talk, joke, laugh, and then get a treat.
I'm not sure we've done that since Curly Boy was born (3 years for those of you keeping track).
Thursday night, Mr. Curly worked on the car a bit by himself while the kids played and I worked in the garden. Then I bathed the kids (and left an adorable ring of dirt around the tub. I love the days my kids have played so hard that the tub is filthy when they're done. Silly I know, but it means we had a good day.), put them to bed, grabbed my nook (from my mom, I'm loving it) and went out to keep my husband company.
Turns out, the nook was unnecessary.
I added windshield wiper fluid, and oil once the new filter was on. I read capacity limits in the car's manual. Then I helped remove and put new transmission fluid in the transfer case, and helped pump new transmission fluid into (where else) the transmission.
My hands and hair got greasy (I can't work on a car without getting dirt on my face and oil in my hair) and I'm pretty sure I ruined the pants I was wearing when a hose of transmission fluid leaked on them (I didn't dress for the job unfortunately).
But I had a really great time with my husband. We laughed and talked and joked, searched out parts together and came in at 10:00 at night thoroughly dirty and pleased with the job we had done.
There is something satisfying about working on a car yourself. There's something even more satisfying about working on a car with your spouse.
SOOOO - soooo, this is something we used to do regularly. We'd go out, change the oil on the car, clean it out, check a few things, talk, joke, laugh, and then get a treat.
I'm not sure we've done that since Curly Boy was born (3 years for those of you keeping track).
Thursday night, Mr. Curly worked on the car a bit by himself while the kids played and I worked in the garden. Then I bathed the kids (and left an adorable ring of dirt around the tub. I love the days my kids have played so hard that the tub is filthy when they're done. Silly I know, but it means we had a good day.), put them to bed, grabbed my nook (from my mom, I'm loving it) and went out to keep my husband company.
Turns out, the nook was unnecessary.
I added windshield wiper fluid, and oil once the new filter was on. I read capacity limits in the car's manual. Then I helped remove and put new transmission fluid in the transfer case, and helped pump new transmission fluid into (where else) the transmission.
My hands and hair got greasy (I can't work on a car without getting dirt on my face and oil in my hair) and I'm pretty sure I ruined the pants I was wearing when a hose of transmission fluid leaked on them (I didn't dress for the job unfortunately).
But I had a really great time with my husband. We laughed and talked and joked, searched out parts together and came in at 10:00 at night thoroughly dirty and pleased with the job we had done.
There is something satisfying about working on a car yourself. There's something even more satisfying about working on a car with your spouse.
Monday, February 13, 2012
SNOW!!!!
Yesterday during the morning announcements, Mr. Curly said "Old man winter may have passed us by, but Jack Frost is definitely here."
Well, Old Man Winter must have felt that was a personal challenge!
We woke up to what the radio called 2 inches of snow, I'm pretty sure it was more like 4 and it is still snowing!
I had to run to the bank at 7:30 this morning, so went out to clear off the car.
It still amazes me how light and fluffy the snow up here in the north is (compared to the 3 inches of ice and then layer of snow we would get in KS). You just breath on it and it flies in the air. So brushing 4 inches of snow off our '02 Explorer was no big deal. And I still clean a car off like I live in the country - all the windows, the lights, the hood (so snow won't fly up on your windshield when you speed up), as much as the top of the car as possible (so snow won't slide down your back windshield), the sideview mirrors.
Car cleaned off, I headed off the bank, delighting in watching snow plows, seeing the mounds made in the middle of main street, having to gun it a bit to make it over the mounds at the crossroads on the boulevard and lesser streets. When the light is just right (dawn but dim so there is no snow blindness) and there aren't many people out, I adore driving in the snow.
Happy Snow Day!
Well, Old Man Winter must have felt that was a personal challenge!
We woke up to what the radio called 2 inches of snow, I'm pretty sure it was more like 4 and it is still snowing!
I had to run to the bank at 7:30 this morning, so went out to clear off the car.
It still amazes me how light and fluffy the snow up here in the north is (compared to the 3 inches of ice and then layer of snow we would get in KS). You just breath on it and it flies in the air. So brushing 4 inches of snow off our '02 Explorer was no big deal. And I still clean a car off like I live in the country - all the windows, the lights, the hood (so snow won't fly up on your windshield when you speed up), as much as the top of the car as possible (so snow won't slide down your back windshield), the sideview mirrors.
Car cleaned off, I headed off the bank, delighting in watching snow plows, seeing the mounds made in the middle of main street, having to gun it a bit to make it over the mounds at the crossroads on the boulevard and lesser streets. When the light is just right (dawn but dim so there is no snow blindness) and there aren't many people out, I adore driving in the snow.
Happy Snow Day!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Back in the day.....
This last Friday was such a throwback to my childhood.
When I was growing up, Saturdays were cleaning and shopping day, but only after Mom got to sleep in. I remember my brother and I watching cartoons and eating cereal, only until Mom got up. Then, once she was ready to clean, we cleaned.
After a nice lunch of pancakes, we'd take off to do the bi-monthly shopping at the closest Walmart (1.5 hours away), unless it wasn't a shopping week, and then we didn't do a whole lot of anything.
This last Friday, I put a movie on for the Curly Kids at 6:30 AM and then slept until Curly Baby woke up. Then it was time to clean bedrooms, straighten and vacuum the whole house, eat waffles for lunch and laze away the afternoon.
Yep, definitely a throwback day. Loved it.
When I was growing up, Saturdays were cleaning and shopping day, but only after Mom got to sleep in. I remember my brother and I watching cartoons and eating cereal, only until Mom got up. Then, once she was ready to clean, we cleaned.
After a nice lunch of pancakes, we'd take off to do the bi-monthly shopping at the closest Walmart (1.5 hours away), unless it wasn't a shopping week, and then we didn't do a whole lot of anything.
This last Friday, I put a movie on for the Curly Kids at 6:30 AM and then slept until Curly Baby woke up. Then it was time to clean bedrooms, straighten and vacuum the whole house, eat waffles for lunch and laze away the afternoon.
Yep, definitely a throwback day. Loved it.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Let them eat cake!
Around the time of my birthday I was feeling kind of like a bum for not contributing to the family finances in anyway. I mean, some people have jobs to contribute, some people coupon to contribute (My sister-in-law is amazing at this), some people have etsy shops. Me? Well, I try to be creative with what is in the pantry so we don't spend so much on groceries, but that doesn't always work.
Anyway, Monday I was reminded of why I so much wanted to be the bum not contributing to finances.
Sunday evening, Curly Girl watched Cupcake Wars with me and really really wanted to make blue cupcakes (one of the competitors made blueberry cupcakes).
Monday afternoon, we made these (from scratch even!):
Monday evening after supper, Mr. Curly, Curly Girl, Curly Boy and I set down and decorated the cupcakes, ate a few, and had a good time spreading sprinkles.
It was a great evening, a fun family time that I wouldn't have had time for if I was working a full time job.
I very grateful for the reminder of why Mr. Curly and I have ordered our life the way we have.
Curly Girl sorting cupcake papers.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
I'll be there for you....
As I write this, I am setting in our town's best coffeshop and creperie Habitue. Actually, it is the only creperie, as far as I'm aware, but that still doesn't change the fact that I believe it is the best coffeeshop as well.
It's a beautiful shop - two levels and a garden courtyard. Blues, golds, greens and burgundies are foundin the paint, the floor, the furnishings. This coffeeshop is unique to other coffeeshops I've visited in that, instead of playing mindless soft rock, they play current Christian music. There are Bible verses on the wall.
Whether the Bible verses and music were here or not, the owners have done a fantastic job of creating a warm, inviting, comforting place.
I sit by the window, hoping I look cool and hip as I type on my laptop. You know, like the background people in Central Perk on Friends. I have a feeling though that I look like every other 20-30 something who spends their time in coffeeshops on laptops. It's no longer a new, hip thing, but very passe.
But that is me - passe. I come into every fad just as it finishes.
Still, I'm enjoying my quiet time. My time to eat without sharing with my kids, to enjoy a fresh made drink without having to wipe toddler spit off the straw. It is a new experience for me, and one I am quite enjoying.
Today, as I write this, it is my birthday. Curly Girl is at dance camp and the Curly Boys are with Mr. Curly, working on something that Mr. Curly won't tell me about.
There is a verse above the back counter that reads "He who refreshes others is refreshed himself."
So while today is my birthday, and I'm enjoying my time alone, I pray that tomorrow, when this will post, that Mr. Curly feels refreshed, because I am enjoying this quiet treat of a frosted cinnamon roll and strawberry-banana smoothie (SO GOOD) because of his love for me.
Now I'm going to get off blogger and enjoy my new library book and my hour left before I pick up Curly Girl and return to the duties of Momma.
It's a beautiful shop - two levels and a garden courtyard. Blues, golds, greens and burgundies are foundin the paint, the floor, the furnishings. This coffeeshop is unique to other coffeeshops I've visited in that, instead of playing mindless soft rock, they play current Christian music. There are Bible verses on the wall.
Whether the Bible verses and music were here or not, the owners have done a fantastic job of creating a warm, inviting, comforting place.
I sit by the window, hoping I look cool and hip as I type on my laptop. You know, like the background people in Central Perk on Friends. I have a feeling though that I look like every other 20-30 something who spends their time in coffeeshops on laptops. It's no longer a new, hip thing, but very passe.
But that is me - passe. I come into every fad just as it finishes.
Still, I'm enjoying my quiet time. My time to eat without sharing with my kids, to enjoy a fresh made drink without having to wipe toddler spit off the straw. It is a new experience for me, and one I am quite enjoying.
Today, as I write this, it is my birthday. Curly Girl is at dance camp and the Curly Boys are with Mr. Curly, working on something that Mr. Curly won't tell me about.
There is a verse above the back counter that reads "He who refreshes others is refreshed himself."
So while today is my birthday, and I'm enjoying my time alone, I pray that tomorrow, when this will post, that Mr. Curly feels refreshed, because I am enjoying this quiet treat of a frosted cinnamon roll and strawberry-banana smoothie (SO GOOD) because of his love for me.
Now I'm going to get off blogger and enjoy my new library book and my hour left before I pick up Curly Girl and return to the duties of Momma.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
That's entertainment!
I love when I'm doing my morning email/facebook thing and turn around to see this:
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Do the watermelon crawl...
>Mr. Curly and I have always tried to have a "fun" night for supper - some sort of really bad for you food and a movie.
Last Friday we did "build your own" pizzas and watched Madagascar with the kids. They absolutely loved it and actually ate all their dinner!
Last Friday we did "build your own" pizzas and watched Madagascar with the kids. They absolutely loved it and actually ate all their dinner!
Monday was in the upper 90s so we pulled out the swimming pool and on my grocery shopping run, I couldn't resist the watermelon on sale. I wasn't the only one who couldn't resist. 
Curly Girl actually ate 2 pieces and Curly Boy ate two huge chunks and took a bite from every piece on the plate!
Curly Girl actually ate 2 pieces and Curly Boy ate two huge chunks and took a bite from every piece on the plate!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Let's go fly a kite!
Every once in awhile, Mr. Curly will base his work schedule off the weather forecast. And then we get great afternoons like this one....
Curly Boy did pretty good for his first kite flying experience, though if there was a really big gust of wind, he'd lose his grip! Still, he had fun for awhile, and when he was done flying kites, he went to play on the slide, where he insisted Curly Baby take a turn as well!
Curly Girl got the hang of it instantly! She narrated everything. "The car is flying!" Then, in a sad tone when it started to fall "It's not flying." "IT'S FLYING!" Was always the excited response when the wind picked up the kite again.
Curly Boy did pretty good for his first kite flying experience, though if there was a really big gust of wind, he'd lose his grip! Still, he had fun for awhile, and when he was done flying kites, he went to play on the slide, where he insisted Curly Baby take a turn as well!
Curly Girl got the hang of it instantly! She narrated everything. "The car is flying!" Then, in a sad tone when it started to fall "It's not flying." "IT'S FLYING!" Was always the excited response when the wind picked up the kite again.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Picture Update
Curly Boy's birthday gift from Mr. Curly and I:
This was a HUGE hit.... and I know for a fact he has a CARS sleeping bag coming from Grandma and Granddad that will have to be set up in here!
And Mr. Curly made Dirt Dessert for the celebration and covered it with new little CAT and John Deere machines - another huge hit!
And, to show just how much my kids love Curly Baby - here is a shot of them each sharing their special bears with Curly Baby at the hospital. Curly Girl's is the security blanket bear named "Sleepy Bear" and Curly Boy's is the traditional teddy bear. We call him "Buddy Bear," Curly Boy just calls him "Me bar."
Monday, April 18, 2011
Curly Baby is here!
Curly Baby Boy was born at 5:59 pm on April 16, 2011. He was 8 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches - my biggest baby yet!
I'm debating a birth story - I like to hear them as a mother myself, especially if I'm not anxiously awaiting my own labor and delivery, but maybe not everybody else does?
Mr. Curly is fantastic as always - sleeping in recliners, giving Curly Baby his first bath, waking me up when Curly Baby is hungry (because he doesn't cry!), shuttling the other Curly Kids around and arranging baby sitters.
Curly Girl is madly in love with him and Curly Boy thinks he's pretty cool too, but prefers me not to be holding him.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
First off, if you're going to insult me....
Curly Girl has been working on her insults, and she doesn't even know it!
Tuesday night we went to a track meet. While watching bugs in the grass, she says "That bug kind of looks like your mom."
Mr. Curly and I, trying desperately not to laugh, say "What?"
"That bug, looks like his mom. Like I look like you, Mommy!"
So yeah, she totally made a your mom joke at 3 years old.
Yesterday, on our walk, she said my tummy was getting big like a bear. I told her that I wasn't so sure I looked like a bear.
And then she said I looked like an elephant. With a laugh, I said "I REALLY don't like that!"
"No, your arm shadow looks like an elephant."
Then I understood. I was pulling her in a wagon, and my free arm swinging, combined with the shadow of the wagon, looked like an elephant.
So maybe it isn't so much the insults she's working on, as the imagination.
Tuesday night we went to a track meet. While watching bugs in the grass, she says "That bug kind of looks like your mom."
Mr. Curly and I, trying desperately not to laugh, say "What?"
"That bug, looks like his mom. Like I look like you, Mommy!"
So yeah, she totally made a your mom joke at 3 years old.
Yesterday, on our walk, she said my tummy was getting big like a bear. I told her that I wasn't so sure I looked like a bear.
And then she said I looked like an elephant. With a laugh, I said "I REALLY don't like that!"
"No, your arm shadow looks like an elephant."
Then I understood. I was pulling her in a wagon, and my free arm swinging, combined with the shadow of the wagon, looked like an elephant.
So maybe it isn't so much the insults she's working on, as the imagination.
Post title from "Monsters, Inc."
Friday, April 1, 2011
Pregnant S'mores
Wednesday night I created the most perfect s'more ever. Everyone knows how to make the typical s'more. My best friend's mom made hers with reese's peanut butter cups once, and I didn't think it could get much better than that. But it can. Ingredients: 2 honey graham crackers 1/2 hershey chocolate bar (3 squares per s'more) 6 strawberry flavored heart-shaped marshmallows Sweetened coconut flakes (the baking kind) On half a cracker, place 3 marshmallows. Microwave for 10 seconds (marshmallows will be fully puffed) Remove, quickly top with chocolate, coconut and remaining half of cracker. Enjoy! I suppose you could substitute the strawberry marshmallows for regular ones (1 large marshmallow, or 6-7 of the mini-kind), but all I had were heart ones left over from valentine's day! Anyway, my coconut craving is getting rather out of hand (I want it on EVERYTHING and will even eat it plain, something I used to shudder at), but this was a marvelous snack! You should try it!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Curly Girl's Christmas
This post covers Don't numbers 8 and 10 and Do numbers 4, 8, and 14. And some other things.
Curly Girl has fallen in love with princesses, like little 3 year old girls everywhere do. She likes to wear princess dresses and dress shoes (though the flashing princess snow boots have gotten her preference lately).
But she's also pretty energetic and wild. So when we rolled out Curly Boy's car mat, the first thing Curly Girl did was march across it, proclaiming loudly "I'm walking on the map!! I'm walking on the map!!" Once she got that out of her system, it was on to driving cars and crashing them.
We had some good girl moments though. Like when she put on her robe for the first time....
Or when she decided the hair wraps I made her for Christmas were just the coolest things ever. Once we got one on, she would wear it until her hair was completely dry!
And, of course, we spent hours playing with our new make-up kit. I even had the privilege of a make-up make-over session and wound up covered in shiny, glitter make-up from my forehead to my chin (obviously, Curly Girl feels that eye shadow looks marvelous on your nose too).
And since we were taking pictures of everything else, she felt her Grinch needed a picture under the tree as well.
For Christmas, her stocking held a new spatula and skillet, along with a little wooden pizza. She has a play dough set from her second birthday that also has quite a few food presses. A great-aunt sent her an apron to help Momma in the kitchen. And her aunt and uncle sent along a play kitchen that they no longer needed. Thankfully, it's a little one (Mr. Curly and I have nothing against imaginative toys, we're sure to have a tool bench some day, but we hate our living room looking like a daycare or toy aisle, so the big plastic things don't make it our way very often).
Curly Girl has fallen in love with princesses, like little 3 year old girls everywhere do. She likes to wear princess dresses and dress shoes (though the flashing princess snow boots have gotten her preference lately).
But she's also pretty energetic and wild. So when we rolled out Curly Boy's car mat, the first thing Curly Girl did was march across it, proclaiming loudly "I'm walking on the map!! I'm walking on the map!!" Once she got that out of her system, it was on to driving cars and crashing them.
We had some good girl moments though. Like when she put on her robe for the first time....
Or when she decided the hair wraps I made her for Christmas were just the coolest things ever. Once we got one on, she would wear it until her hair was completely dry!
And, of course, we spent hours playing with our new make-up kit. I even had the privilege of a make-up make-over session and wound up covered in shiny, glitter make-up from my forehead to my chin (obviously, Curly Girl feels that eye shadow looks marvelous on your nose too).
And since we were taking pictures of everything else, she felt her Grinch needed a picture under the tree as well.
For Christmas, her stocking held a new spatula and skillet, along with a little wooden pizza. She has a play dough set from her second birthday that also has quite a few food presses. A great-aunt sent her an apron to help Momma in the kitchen. And her aunt and uncle sent along a play kitchen that they no longer needed. Thankfully, it's a little one (Mr. Curly and I have nothing against imaginative toys, we're sure to have a tool bench some day, but we hate our living room looking like a daycare or toy aisle, so the big plastic things don't make it our way very often).
Curly Girl LOVES it! She made juice, she baked pizza, she washed her new tea set dishes and then did it all again.
The only thing better than her play kitchen, is the real kitchen. I can't do the dishes without her finding her stool to help rinse (this is not a complaint). And we had a great time making cookies for the New Year's Eve party. Curly Girl was even more excited when a snowstorm kept the party from happening and those 50 cookies stayed with us. More frosting, more sprinkles, more, more more!!
And even though Sunday afternoon held a meltdown that resulted in nap time without a potty break first, which resulted in an afternoon bath and washing clothes and bedding (she had been crying for over 30 minutes, we had no idea the cries had changed to 'I need the potty' cries!), it also meant that I got to nap with my sweet little girl on Momma and Daddy's bed. And while I pretended to sleep, hoping it would get her to go to sleep, she pushed my hair off my forehead and cheek and pulled the blankets up around my shoulders.
Eventually, I had to go check on Curly Boy, so I got Curly Girl a doll to snuggle with and told her to take a little nap. I'm not sure she ever slept, but the quiet time was definitely good for her.
We know she got the point of Christmas though, when she told us that we celebrated Jesus's birthday, when he was laid in the manager and the angels appeared.
I wouldn't have my sweet, smart, wild, little girl change one thing.
And even though Sunday afternoon held a meltdown that resulted in nap time without a potty break first, which resulted in an afternoon bath and washing clothes and bedding (she had been crying for over 30 minutes, we had no idea the cries had changed to 'I need the potty' cries!), it also meant that I got to nap with my sweet little girl on Momma and Daddy's bed. And while I pretended to sleep, hoping it would get her to go to sleep, she pushed my hair off my forehead and cheek and pulled the blankets up around my shoulders.
Eventually, I had to go check on Curly Boy, so I got Curly Girl a doll to snuggle with and told her to take a little nap. I'm not sure she ever slept, but the quiet time was definitely good for her.
We know she got the point of Christmas though, when she told us that we celebrated Jesus's birthday, when he was laid in the manager and the angels appeared.
I wouldn't have my sweet, smart, wild, little girl change one thing.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Curly Boy's Christmas
Once again, for those tracking, this covers the Do List numbers 3 & 6 and some other things.
Last things first, Saturday night, I attempted to cut his hair.
It was a bowl-style cut, or aiming towards looking that way. I only trimmed up around his ears, eyes and neck.
Which resulted in this pile of curls:
But on to the fun stuff....
Curly Boy, Curly Boy, what will we ever do with this child? He is such a younger sibling. Anything to make us laugh. Anything goofy. He reminds me SO much of my brother sometimes.
He loves his big sister and can be an extreme copy cat. So, you can imagine Mr. Curly's dismay when Curly Boy started playing with Curly Girl's new make-up kit. The old chapstick tubes came out quickly, because boys can use chapstick. Mr. Curly is now talking camo paint for his birthday....
And then dress up came. Curly Girl put on her new tutu and headband and wanted to dance. And Curly Boy grabbed the leotard. I said "oh my goodness would your father throw a fit if I put this on you." Thankfully, Mom's co-worker saved the day! She had sent a bag of boy clothes, so we went digging.
First we found a KC Chiefs jacket, but that was just a jacket, so then we pulled out slicky shorts. Pulled up over his footie pjs (just has Sissy had her skirt on over her footie pjs) he was in business. And super cute too. And just happy to be dressed up silly like Sissy.
There was also a night he must have been cold because he decided to wear Mr. Curly's hoodie.
And while we did spend 30 minutes playing with a doll (learning how to pat the baby gently, and feed the baby nicely, and NOT poke the baby's eyes out or stick our fingers in the baby's mouth), he also spent several hours playing with Lincoln logs, hot wheels on a car mat (thank you Papa and Nanny) and his new tool box (thank you Granddad and Grandma!)
Curly Boy LOVES stuffed bears, but only bears. I can't get him to play with the lion, the dinosaur, the uber-fluffy sheep I made him (as seen in this post).
And yet, for Christmas, I made him this:
He is supposed to look like this:
Which I found at Jane Avion, most specifically, this post.
And you know what Curly Boy did? He looked at the pig, he pulled the pig's nose and then tossed it aside. I'm trying not to be heartbroken, because really, considering all the other cool stuff he got (A CARS seek and find book? SCORE), a stuffed pig made of socks really isn't all that great. And it's definitely NOT Buddy Bear.
Still, for a 20 month old, he was incredibly well mannered (lots of thank you's - actual words, not just sign language!) and loving (lots of hugs and kisses and cuddles) and gracious (we tried on all our new clothes and he even wore the robe I made him!). So what if he threw his cars across the mat, or made them crash into each other? Or wrestled the dog and cat to the ground, squealing with joy the whole time? Or tried to eat the shark tub toy, and then made the shark tub toy attack the dolphin tub toy?
He's a boy. And boys will be boys, even when they goop up their hands with little girl make-up.
And I wouldn't have my little man any other way.
Last things first, Saturday night, I attempted to cut his hair.
It was a bowl-style cut, or aiming towards looking that way. I only trimmed up around his ears, eyes and neck.
Which resulted in this pile of curls:
But on to the fun stuff....
Curly Boy, Curly Boy, what will we ever do with this child? He is such a younger sibling. Anything to make us laugh. Anything goofy. He reminds me SO much of my brother sometimes.
He loves his big sister and can be an extreme copy cat. So, you can imagine Mr. Curly's dismay when Curly Boy started playing with Curly Girl's new make-up kit. The old chapstick tubes came out quickly, because boys can use chapstick. Mr. Curly is now talking camo paint for his birthday....
And then dress up came. Curly Girl put on her new tutu and headband and wanted to dance. And Curly Boy grabbed the leotard. I said "oh my goodness would your father throw a fit if I put this on you." Thankfully, Mom's co-worker saved the day! She had sent a bag of boy clothes, so we went digging.
First we found a KC Chiefs jacket, but that was just a jacket, so then we pulled out slicky shorts. Pulled up over his footie pjs (just has Sissy had her skirt on over her footie pjs) he was in business. And super cute too. And just happy to be dressed up silly like Sissy.
There was also a night he must have been cold because he decided to wear Mr. Curly's hoodie.
And while we did spend 30 minutes playing with a doll (learning how to pat the baby gently, and feed the baby nicely, and NOT poke the baby's eyes out or stick our fingers in the baby's mouth), he also spent several hours playing with Lincoln logs, hot wheels on a car mat (thank you Papa and Nanny) and his new tool box (thank you Granddad and Grandma!)
Curly Boy LOVES stuffed bears, but only bears. I can't get him to play with the lion, the dinosaur, the uber-fluffy sheep I made him (as seen in this post).
And yet, for Christmas, I made him this:
He is supposed to look like this:
Which I found at Jane Avion, most specifically, this post.
And you know what Curly Boy did? He looked at the pig, he pulled the pig's nose and then tossed it aside. I'm trying not to be heartbroken, because really, considering all the other cool stuff he got (A CARS seek and find book? SCORE), a stuffed pig made of socks really isn't all that great. And it's definitely NOT Buddy Bear.
Still, for a 20 month old, he was incredibly well mannered (lots of thank you's - actual words, not just sign language!) and loving (lots of hugs and kisses and cuddles) and gracious (we tried on all our new clothes and he even wore the robe I made him!). So what if he threw his cars across the mat, or made them crash into each other? Or wrestled the dog and cat to the ground, squealing with joy the whole time? Or tried to eat the shark tub toy, and then made the shark tub toy attack the dolphin tub toy?
He's a boy. And boys will be boys, even when they goop up their hands with little girl make-up.
And I wouldn't have my little man any other way.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Should we be hysterical? Maybe! But not right now!
Movie review time!
Toy Story 3.
Why in the WORLD did they make this movie? I told Mr. Curly it was only made for all the adults who like Toy Story, because some of the spoofs and jokes were WAY over the Curly Kids's heads.
And then I realized that any adult that likes Toy Story, at least adults around my age, were just entering their teen years when Toy Story (also full of spoofs and good jokes above kids's heads) was released. Boy did THAT make me feel old.
I never really wanted to watch #3, everyone I knew that had seen it had cried. I cry way too easy these days. But it was good. Very emotional story arc, marvelous ending.... and guilt about every single toy that I can't remember ever having or what happened to it.
I wasn't sure what Curly Girl was thinking, until the scary climax towards the end when she crawled into my lap, whimpering about "the toys, what is going to happen to my toys?" THAT almost made me cry, but then Curly Boy bit my shoulder and the crying over the movie and Curly Girl's distress was over.
There were so many laughs and "ah-ha" moments when you realize Andy's feelings for his toys match some of yours.
But the best part of the evening? Sitting on the floor with the Curly Kids, watching an animated movie (that I still feel was geared more to adults) that we all could enjoy. Family nights are some of my favorite things.
Oh, and while I LOVED the quote I chose for a post title, the best quote of the night goes to Mr. Curly who said (after hearing "Woody was right" for the umpteenth time) - "Woody must be a pathological liar because they NEVER believe him."
Toy Story 3.
Why in the WORLD did they make this movie? I told Mr. Curly it was only made for all the adults who like Toy Story, because some of the spoofs and jokes were WAY over the Curly Kids's heads.
And then I realized that any adult that likes Toy Story, at least adults around my age, were just entering their teen years when Toy Story (also full of spoofs and good jokes above kids's heads) was released. Boy did THAT make me feel old.
I never really wanted to watch #3, everyone I knew that had seen it had cried. I cry way too easy these days. But it was good. Very emotional story arc, marvelous ending.... and guilt about every single toy that I can't remember ever having or what happened to it.
I wasn't sure what Curly Girl was thinking, until the scary climax towards the end when she crawled into my lap, whimpering about "the toys, what is going to happen to my toys?" THAT almost made me cry, but then Curly Boy bit my shoulder and the crying over the movie and Curly Girl's distress was over.
There were so many laughs and "ah-ha" moments when you realize Andy's feelings for his toys match some of yours.
But the best part of the evening? Sitting on the floor with the Curly Kids, watching an animated movie (that I still feel was geared more to adults) that we all could enjoy. Family nights are some of my favorite things.
Oh, and while I LOVED the quote I chose for a post title, the best quote of the night goes to Mr. Curly who said (after hearing "Woody was right" for the umpteenth time) - "Woody must be a pathological liar because they NEVER believe him."
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Who started this silly game anyway?
This is me at 18 weeks pregnant.
When I was roughly 8 months pregnant with Curly Boy, and Curly Girl was finally walking, we began a little game of "don't touch Mama with the X" (whatever was in her hand).
In the beginning, it was a striped fish finger puppet. I would tickle Curly Girl with it, and then she would "chase" me as I pretended to be terrified of this fish. The chasing was easy, take 3 steps away, watch as she toddled closer, jump away, she'd giggle and try to run. Super cute, super easy to do, even pregnant.
The game has continued and evolved as Curly Girl's skill has. Now there is real running, now she wants to be chased too. And now Curly Boy has joined in the game.
Monday night, for 30 minutes, we played "don't touch mama with the snake." The 'snake' being a broken necklace chain (a thick one) Curly Girl found in the dirt this past summer. Making hissing noises, Curly Girl began chasing me around in circles in the family room.
It soon became running from the family room to the living room, catching Curly Boy so he wouldn't hit the hardwood too hard when his stocking feet slipped out from underneath him.
But then, the Curly kids wanted to be chased. So there we were, Mr. Curly firmly planted in his recliner in the middle of the action, working on the laptop, while I chased the two kids from the couch in the living room, across the room, into and across the family room, through the dining room to the far corner of the kitchen. There, hissing for all I was worth, I would tickle as they screamed with laughter.
And then we ran back to the couch, where the children would jump up for safety, but of course, the snake followed them there.
I have no idea how many trips we made back and forth across that house. We had to end the game however, when Curly Boy fell off the couch, missed the area rug and fell flat on his back on the hardwood. After that, we played "26 card pickup" with Curly Girl's alphabet cards: Counting to 3, throwing the cards in the air as we all screamed "Woooahhh!!!!"
It was so much fun, and the children even helped pick up all their toys before bed. But, as I wearily climbed the stairs to take them to baths, I looked at Mr. Curly and said "Who started that silly chasing game anyway?"
Completely laughing at me, he simply answered, "You."
Ooohhh yeeaaahh. Hm.
Friday, November 12, 2010
So I'll dance with Cinderella....
Well, in this case, it's Belle from Beauty and The Beast.
Most of our movies have gone down to Iowa, but we have a few left here. One of Curly Girl's favorite right now is "Beauty and The Beast."
Today, during the ball scene, when they sing the love song, Curly Girl asked me to dance with her. Usually this means holding one or both hands, while she jumps, sways and spins around. Today, just like Belle does to the Beast, Curly Girl took my hand and put it on her waist, then held my other hand and started stepping back and forth.
It was adorable and hilarious all at the same time.
She asked for a princess hat last weekend, out of the fleece we bought earlier that day. She has a princess wand, and a velvet shirt with a wide neck that she likes to wear just under her arms and call it her gown.
Every little girl should believe she's a princess. And if Curly Girl wants to be Princess Belle, well, that's just fine with me.
Post Title from "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman.
Most of our movies have gone down to Iowa, but we have a few left here. One of Curly Girl's favorite right now is "Beauty and The Beast."
Today, during the ball scene, when they sing the love song, Curly Girl asked me to dance with her. Usually this means holding one or both hands, while she jumps, sways and spins around. Today, just like Belle does to the Beast, Curly Girl took my hand and put it on her waist, then held my other hand and started stepping back and forth.
It was adorable and hilarious all at the same time.
She asked for a princess hat last weekend, out of the fleece we bought earlier that day. She has a princess wand, and a velvet shirt with a wide neck that she likes to wear just under her arms and call it her gown.
Every little girl should believe she's a princess. And if Curly Girl wants to be Princess Belle, well, that's just fine with me.
Post Title from "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
I'm not waiting forever to get those shoes!
So, awhile back, my sister-in-law found an awesome $1 shoe sale. And, being the marvelous girl she is, she bought shoes for both my babies. Curly Girl's are about 3 sizes too big, but we knew from the beginning that they would be stored in the closet until she grew into them. My sister-in-law is a stocker (read her post about it here).
She also bought Curly Boy 2 pairs of shoes - a pair of dress shoes, and a pair of Winnie the Pooh shoes that are just 1 size too big to use as play shoes.
Curly Boy rediscovered those shoes the other night. For about 15 minutes, he carried them around. Then, as I was fixing dinner, I noticed he was opening the velcro straps and trying to get his toes in them, so I helped him put his shoes on.
You should have seen his grin. He was so THRILLED to wear those shoes! When Mr. Curly came into the kitchen, Curly Boy ran over to him and held up his foot to show off the new shoe.
He wore them all evening and cried when we had to take them off for bed.
The next morning, he cried when Mr. Curly insisted he put on pants before the shoes.
It's awesome. I have a little man completely enthralled with shoes. I love it.
Post title from the Wizard of Oz.
She also bought Curly Boy 2 pairs of shoes - a pair of dress shoes, and a pair of Winnie the Pooh shoes that are just 1 size too big to use as play shoes.
Curly Boy rediscovered those shoes the other night. For about 15 minutes, he carried them around. Then, as I was fixing dinner, I noticed he was opening the velcro straps and trying to get his toes in them, so I helped him put his shoes on.
You should have seen his grin. He was so THRILLED to wear those shoes! When Mr. Curly came into the kitchen, Curly Boy ran over to him and held up his foot to show off the new shoe.
He wore them all evening and cried when we had to take them off for bed.
The next morning, he cried when Mr. Curly insisted he put on pants before the shoes.
It's awesome. I have a little man completely enthralled with shoes. I love it.
Post title from the Wizard of Oz.
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