Tuesday, August 31, 2010

who's that girl?

i scream, you scream, we all scream for...

“age
does
not
diminish
the
extreme
disappointment
of
having
a
scoop
of
ice
cream
fall
from
the
cone.”


― Jim Fiebig

Monday, August 30, 2010

lashing out

not sure any other car
could actually
pull off this look...

Friday, August 27, 2010

before, during, after: bath edition

my girls' bathroom...

BEFORE

a frame for my girls' bathroom...
BEFORE

DURING

AFTER:  take one

AFTER:  take two

AFTER:  take completed!
and that frame?
here it is around some UL.
however, i am not 100% about the UL...
thinking i need to words in different colors...
currently it is fresh linen and whipped creme,
but it is very, very hard to see/read...
but i totally L.O.V.E how the frame turned out!
amazing what a couple coats o' paint
can do for a frame...
...and a boring, white bathroom!

Monday, August 23, 2010

me & jennifer aniston...

so the past few days have not very good ones for miss aniston.

while out-n-about promoting her new movie "the switch",
(which i have had a couple friends say it was hy-freakin'-sterical, fyi)
she did & said some not so cool things.

first, there is bill o'reilly's rant about jennifer, calling the actress "destructive to our society."
why?
for this comment she made:

"women are realizing more and more that you don't have to settle, they don't have to fiddle with a man to have that child.  they are realizing if it's that time in their life and they want this part, they can do it with or without that..."

mr. o'reilly said that she was sending a very poor message to 12 & 13-yr-olds...telling them that they do not need a man to have a baby.

first of all, if her statement was even heard by a 12 or 13-yr-old, i'd be surprised.  secondly, if there is a parent out there that is allowing their 12 or 13-yr-old to go see this movie "the switch" (which is rated pg-13) with a gaggle of same aged friends, then i think that our society has more problems than jennifer aniston's words.  just because a movie is rated pg-13 does not make it okay for every 13+ out there.  parents should be involved and knowledgeable about what their kids are watching.  i do not know how jennifer meant what she said.  i did not hear it first hand.  it really has no bearing on my own personal life.  but, i can tell you that for as long as there have been sperm-banks, there have been women utilizing their services.  and one could go so far to say that if no men were "making deposits" to this type of bank, there would be no women "withdrawing".  age old question:  which came first, the chicken or the egg, right?  and i step off the soapbox.  ahem.

now, for something else that jennifer said that is getting a ton of flak, i can (unfortunately) relate to:

while on "regis & kelly" she committed a huge faux pas by turning around in her chair and reading (to herself...) regis' cuecard.  and then admitted that was what she was doing.  kinda funny, actually.  i mean, really - does anyone really think anyone on tv doesn't use some type of cuecard?

but what happened next was an unfortunate poor choice of words:  regis was saying that during a photo shoot she was basically playing dress-up.  and jennifer responds with, "yes, i play dress-up!  i do it for a living, like a retard."  oh. no. she. di'n't?  but, yes.  she did.  she dropped the "r" word.  inappropriate?  absolutely.  relatable?  absolutely.  see, a couple weeks ago i was with a group of gals - some i know quite well.  others, not so much.  and as i was trying to do something i forgot a quite important "step" and upon realizing my error, said outloud, "i am such a retard!".  pretty much what jennifer said.  did you hear about it?  nope.  (no?  really?  you did not?)  was someone at the table with me potentially appalled?  probably.  was i embarrassed?  ummm, yeah!  that's is something that you say inside your head.  not something to let come out of your mouth!  i apologized.  and proceeded to internally flog myself (which, flogging is also not socially acceptable, right?  good thing i kept that one internal, eh?!).

what is my point?  that me and jennifer are destined to be bff's?  ummm, yeah, for sure.  i mean look at that photo?  how cute are we together??  okay:  hardly.  her & i have very little in common.  as 40-somethings we share some thing.  yes, she is aging a bit more gracefully, shall we say (heck she looks better at 40 than i did at 30, not gonna lie here...)?  but what we do share is this:  we are human.  and as humans, we make mistakes.  mine, luckily, have a much smaller audience and do not seem to have any type of "ripple-effect".  hers?  not so much.  because of her fame and celebrity status, she is held to a higher standard.  which to an extent she should be.  but, if society starts to live based on jennifer aniston and not based on our very own set of morals...then i for one will be even more disappointed.  one person, regardless of who they are, should not dictate how each of us should live our lives.  well, except for jesus.  but that is another post...and those who know me, know where i am going with that statement :)

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

independence day...

it is official:  she is a kindergartner!
asked for pancakes for breakfast.  and she got 'em!
one of my friends,
who's daughter is in my daughter's class,
told me she made it back to her car before she "lost it". 
me?
i barely made it out of my car.

but i know she is ready.
she is confident.
she is excited.
she is ready.
and i am beyond proud.
a bit nostalgic...
it has been her & me since she was 16 months old. 
me & her & little sister.
us 3 girls have spent each day together.
and i will miss that.
i will miss her.
but when i picked her up
and
she told me
she had a great day
and
"i really, really, REALLY like my teacher!"
i knew it was going to be ok.

i am so proud and glad that in the last 5 years of parenting,
her daddy & i have already taught her so very much:
manners
pride
individualism
independence


despite some tears and sadness today...
i was more proud than anything!
 wren in her 1st Day Of School outfit
(chosen entirely by her!)

little sister (also in an outfit she chose!)
& her kindergartner

the daddy & his kindergartner

the momma & her kindergartner

in line, ready to head in to her classroom!

wren and her teacher!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

'twas the night before kindergarten...

and she opened a little gift from momma & daddy.  a new book and a pouch for "lil white kee-kee".
and then she chose her "1st day of school outfit".
a pink dress that has ruffles she really loves.  and rainbow leggings.  she loves rainbows!
except for the shoes.  going to wait to see if it is sunny, she can wear her daisy sandals.  but if it is still rainy, she will wear new socks and her star tie-shoes.
and little sister chose her outfit for her "1st day of taking sister to school".
she thinks this might be her choice on her first day of preschool, too.
she was so proud of her choices that i just could not tell her it doesn't quite match.
over the weekend we decorated a pringles can.
we put her name on it.
she chose the stripey-rainbow paper.
 and butterflies!  and a "hello kitty" bow.  and some purple ribbon.
 and even more butterflies!  "whole bunches of colors...like a rainbow!" according to wren.
 and inside the can she was to put 2 important things...she chose a photo of "lil white kee-kee" and ISU pom-poms.  pom-poms made just the right size for that "lil white kee-kee".
then last night we all went to her school's open house/ice cream social.
a great opportunity to get her photo by the welcome banner just outside the main entrance.
 and she gave us the big tour of her school - she knew the way to her room without any help!  once in her room, she introduced her daddy to her teacher.  and she found the table where she would be sitting.
 and i needed to get a photo of my 3 favorite people!  too adorable, huh?!
 we took all her supplies (everything labeled...individual crayons and pencils and markers...erasers, white t-shirt, folders, gym shoes, kleenex, baggies, oh my!) and a blanket (made with a favorite auntie) and i had to make a "brag sheet".  well, the parents were to make it.  the size of a scrapbook-page.  decorated.  telling all about our kindergartner.  i chose a bit of a non-conventional design.  each family member chose their photo and gave me a quote about wren.  i had to take some liberties with the translation of the pets' quotes, but you get the idea, right?  i told wren that this would probably go above her cubby where she'll put her gym shoes and backpack.  and that as she passes through the hallway she can see photos of each of us.  she loved that!  her favorite quotes were ruby and puddy's.  she cracked up when i was reading them to her.







ahhh.  glad to have that all done!

yesterday us girls spent the day at a waterpark.  we went on the big-big slides.  we rode the waves in the wavepool.  we laughed.  we picniced.  we soaked up the sun and one last summer day together.  and today when we woke up to rain, we were so glad for yesterday!

this afternoon all 3 of girls piled into the momma & daddy's bed and enjoyed one last "all girls snuggle".  wren wanted to do that because "we won't be able to do that until saturday or sunday since i am in school other days".  it was the best nap ever!
tonight i made wren's favorite dinner...and dessert was some of gram's homemade applesauce!  delish!

and someone has requested pancakes for her breakfast for her 1st day of school. 
she is going to have the best first day ever!!

Monday, August 16, 2010

dressing-up & dressing-down

yesterday was a very good friend's 5th birthday.
and the girls were quite excited about her party!
they arrived in their matching dresses...
but within 10 minutes they were selecting their "bridesmaid" dresses...
accessorizing with bangles, rings, earrings, tiaras...
and purses - cell phone & credit cards handy!
and then there was lipstick, eye-sparkles, rouge, spritz, nail polish...
and then the music was cued...
and each bridesmaid walked down the aisle...
and had her picture taken...
linnea tried on a couple other dresses, but finally chose this one with the "pure gold" skirt...
she even made sure to pull her hair back so that her "really dangley" earrings could be seen...
wren found this dress and did not waiver on her first choice!  she loved the "twirly skirt"...she chose a "rainbow full" of bangles and rings...but decided against the earrings as they hurt her ears too much - especially when she was talking on her cell phone.

i did not take my camera, so the photos above are photos of the photos the girls got at the end of the party (redundant much?!)

and then, they were back to their usual selves.
well, except for the eye-sparkles and nail polish!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

inspiration to fruition

the picture on the far-right, below, was
"the inspiration"
but before i could "reveal" the results of this project,
i had to get some "mississippi mud" on the bare kitchen walls.
and the white-chalky island 1/2-wall.
and then i had to decide where to stop with the "mud" in our very open-floor-plan home.  not happy with my current choice.  but, need more "mud" to complete the southern kitch wall. 
but i digress.

and so, here it is:

"the fruition":
looks a bit lonely up there, huh?
not for long though, folks!
an old section of barnwood.
some uppercase living vinyl.
2 bulldog hangers on the back.
(and all the enamelware?  most was my grandmother's.)

fruition = happiness