My Fashion Plate

There was a time when I never would have left the house with a kid dressed this way. You know, back when I just had a couple kids. I used to think that if your kids were dressed to the nines, coordinating Gymboree clothing, hair neatly coiffed, unscuffed shoes and matching accessories, then everyone would think you were a good parent. If you went out in public with your 3 year old daughter wearing, for example, red, white & blue shorts, a teal tank top with metallic gold fish all over it and hot pink cowboy boots that are 2 sizes too big for her, then everyone would think you were a terrible parent.

Now, I realize it doesn't matter at all how your kids are dressed in public. Wait, scratch that. It would still matter to me if say, your teenage daughter was wearing a slutty dress or something like that. But, as far as little kids dressing themselves, it doesn't matter one little bit. In fact, I think you're better off letting your kids dress like hobos when you go out in public because really, when the mom with the kids dressed to the nines walks by, what do you think? You don't think - Wow, she's got it all together! Look at her kids! They're in matching duds and they're all clean and shiny! Nope, admit it. You think - what an overachiever, as you snort to yourself (even if you're secretly wishing that just once you could run to the store without one of your kids forgetting their shoes, another one with a cup and a half of peanut butter smeared on their face, and yet another one dressed like a color-blind clown.)

Here's my stubborn Brooklyn in the red, white & blue shorts, teal tank top with metallic gold decorations and hot pink cowboy boots that are 2 sizes too big. Yeah, we got some strange looks as my little fashion plate clomped along in her big, pink boots, but you know what? It doesn't matter. She was happy, I didn't have to fight with her about getting dressed, and I didn't have to worry about anyone looking at me like I was an overachiever.



***** For those of you who asked if/why Brooklyn was mad, here's the scoop. We came to a stop light and I said, "Gee that's a great outfit, Sweetie! Can I take your picture?" Brooklyn, being the most stubborn child on the planet, looked the other way and refused to smile. As soon as the light turned green and I turned around to drive, she looked at me, smiled, and said, "You can take my picture now." *****

Austin's Going to High School!

Austin graduated from 8th grade tonight. I don't know how that happened! I swear I was just pregnant with him, waiting, waiting, waiting for him to make an appearance (he was 2 days late and at the time it seemed more like 2 months overdue.)

I'm not sure what's up with the goofy face he was making and I have no idea when he got so tall! Just yesterday he looked like this...

:) He wore this hat for years. Every single day, day after day. He slept in this hat. I had to fight with him to take it off for his bath. This hat was his security blanket. I still have the ratty ole thing packed away in a box in my attic. :)

One down and five to go. And then there's high school.....and college....and weddings....oh my!

Sunday Sound Out

Now it's time for Sunday Sound Out, the part of the blog where Larry comes out and answers your questions.

I was wondering how much coffee you drink in the mornings to get you going?
I'm beyond coffee. These days, I just chew a handful of beans.

Dare I ask what they wanted to accomplish with this "experiment"? [blue liquid in sink] What treasure to mankind was to be made? Inquiring minds want to know (ok this inquiring mind wants to know)
Well, I asked Clay and Brooklyn what they were trying to make and they answered with a highly intelligent, well thought-out "I dunno".

What's up with the adorable White Sox top? I thought you guys were Cub fans...

&

Auww! What a terribly ugly shirt on such a cute little girl... poor Brooklyn!
I just knew someone was going to comment on that! I am a Cubs fan. Joe, Austin & Savannah are fans of that other team. And the shirt Brooklyn was wearing was a gift from friends of ours as a cruel joke. :D

I just have to ask - what was your reaction? [blue liquid in sink] Some days I wonder if I should yell or laugh when my kids do things like that.
Honestly, stuff like that doesn't usually bother me. So the little kids poured some stuff in the sink to see what would happen. No big deal, in my opinion. Is it going to matter next week, next month, next year? Nah. I don't yell, but I don't really laugh either. I kinda shake my head and try to explain that there are better experiments (that don't use copious amounts of shampoo and their brother's toothbrush) to do.

And I must also say that I've now read your book, it really was just as good as I expected and now I am looking forward to vol 2. How long do I have to wait? Until Christmas?
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You'll have to wait until 2020 if I don't finish up my rewrites soon! Actually, it's scheduled to come out spring, 2010.

Why was it that Veggie Tales "O, Where is My Hairbrush?" was running through my head the whole time I was reading your post?
I have no idea, but it's now in my head. Gee thanks for that.


hahahah. that's disgusting(and hilarious)LOLplease tell me you RE-washed the clothes. [crayfish claw in laundry]
Are you kidding? I do a good 4 loads of laundry a day. I don't have time to rewash clothes because there are dead animals parts in them. Besides, it gives the kids something to find during the day. It's a like a little surprise. They'll be sitting in school and reach into their pocket or put on their sweatshirt and find a claw, or a tail, or a foot in the sleeve. It's all good.

Thank goodness you don't have a hamster!
Yeah, that was a sad day when Fluffy went through the wash.

Your posts are so entertaining! I have to ask, what age of child do you enjoy most? What age is the worst? I have a 22 month old and I think the terrible twos have begun (though I've heard three is much worse).
I'm not sure, but I'm thinking age 0 - 18 is probably the worst.

OK, honestly, I like all the ages so far. It's cool to see how the kids grow and change. I love seeing how their minds work (and sometimes don't work) at each age. It's so great how they learn more and more at every stage. My teenagers have learned so much that they're smarter than I am now. I'm fact, I'm downright stupid compared to them.

Perhaps a buzz haircut will trick the Chicago weather into warming up. We can hope.
Shhhh, you shouldn't say that aloud! You'll jinx it!

HAHAHAH!!! well at least he's a boy and you COULD buzz him. what happens when a girl does that???? I'm so worried about my 2 girls. I'm sure one of them will do it. yikes.
Like this?


Savannah cut her hair after watching the movie Mulan. In the movie, Mulan cuts her hair to look like a boy. Cute, huh? Lexi cut her waist-length hair a week before she was to be a flower-girl in my sister's wedding. Actually, every single one of my kids (except Brooklyn) have given themselves or a sibling a haircut at one point or another. I give Brooklyn 6 months until she does it.

They ALL cut their own hair at some point. Or they cut a sibling's hair. It's just a fact of life. Sigh.
Hi I came across your blog while searching for party supplies for my son's birthday. He is wanting a green eggs and ham party and was wondering by chance if you know where i can get any decorations or even any ideas for the party. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Sure. All you have to do is click the little X in the top right corner of my blog. Then type "Green eggs ham party supplies" in your web browser. Make sure you type it like I wrote it. Don't go typing, "I need to find Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham party decorations for my son's birthday where should I go".
Talk about multi-talented! I not only blog, but I find party supplies for people, AND I teach you how to use Google.

I requested your book from the library. Good book btw. I was wondering why the little boys eyes on the book cover are purple?
Ummm, he's an alien in disguise?

Beauty School

I was giving Austin a haircut outside today so he'll be all handsome-like for his graduation on Monday. Clay came out and said, "Look Mom! I have armpit hair!"

I turned around to see this...

Yep, Clay scooped up the pile of hair from the garage floor and stuffed it under his armpits. A few minutes later, he ran inside and reemerged with this brand new hair cut...

Note the before and after pictures. Great new hairstyle, don't you think? Uh yeah. I asked him, "Clay, why did you cut your hair? Do you know how to cut hair? Did you go to beauty school to learn how to cut hair???"

To which I heard this reply, "You didn't go to beauty school to learn how to cut hair either."

Touché!

Then I buzzed him. That kid's gonna be the death of me.

More Things in My Washer

I guess I shouldn't have complained about all the missing socks yesterday. This is what I pulled out of the dryer today. Apparently I'm not only washing clothes these days, but crustacean parts as well. Oh gosh, I hope it was just a claw when it went in and not a whole crayfish! Ugh. "JACKSON! No more playing by the creek!!!"

Where Do All The Socks Go?

I'm the only person in my house who can find anything. Seriously, I'm the only one who thinks to look for Brooklyn's shoes in the bathtub. I'm the only one who would think of looking on the back of the toilet seat for Lexi's glasses. No one else in the family can see the orange juice in the fridge when it's behind the gallon of milk. If something doesn't jump out and bite them on the butt, they'll never find it.

"Where's my hairbrush, Mom?"
"Behind the couch."

"Where's my homework?"
"Look on the shelf with the video tapes."

"I can't find my headband."
"It's outside on the swingset."

I think I should start teaching classes on how to look for missing objects. I should show my family how to actually move things around in order to find the missing item. "If you don't see the yogurt, it doesn't mean it vanished from the fridge. Try moving the leftover pizza and look behind it. There you go! That's it! See? The yogurt's still there in the fridge and you can find it. All you have to do is look!"

I can find stuff. I'm good at finding stuff. So, why is that I can't seem to find the match for this many socks?!!!





Where do they go? Where on earth do all the stray socks go? And not only that, but I often find extra socks that don't even belong to anyone in my family! "I don't remember anyone having purple argyle socks! Where'd this sock come from???"

I suppose if I was a Martha Stewart kinda gal, I could sew cute little animal buddies out of the stray socks. But I'm not that deranged crafty. I've been hanging onto these things, optimistically hoping their sole mate (Get it? SOLE mate! Not soul mate. SOLE mate, like the sole of your foot! BAAA HAAA HAAA! Oh I just crack myself up! Hey, it's late.) would magically appear one day. I think it's time to give up the dream though. It's time I acquire some new dust rags, I believe. I mean, it's not like I won't have a brand new crop of singlets by this time next week...

Another Experiment

I walked into the bathroom the other day to find this...


their latest experiment...


But how can you be mad at a kid who turns around, picks some flowers and hands them to you, saying, "I love you Mama"? (In case you're wondering - yes, I replaced Austin's toothbrush.)

Sunday Sound Out

It's time, once again, for Sunday Sound Out, the part of the show where I answer viewer mail.

First, congratulations to Vicki Vaught who won a copy of Because I Said So in Jen Singer's The Housewife Awards on MommaSaid.net. You can check out her winning story HERE!

I'm still wondering how you cut the lipgloss cake. Did you have to set it on its side? Cut it in half from the top down and then set each half cut side down? Just trying to figure out how you would cut it so each piece has frosting.

You didn't like last week's answer that I used a knife to cut it? OK, the lipgloss cake was actually 8 small 6-inch cakes stacked up. Between every 2 cakes, I put a cardboard circle and dowel rods for support. See the nifty diagram I just slapped together on which I slaved for hours drawing to scale. When it came time to cut it, I just cut through 2 layers at a time, then removed the cardboard and dowels and cut through the next 2 layers.

I can't believe how much your kids look alike! You put them by age in reverse order, right? Brooklyn at the top; Austin at the bottom? I HAVE to know!

Yep! Very good! I'm impressed. I don't even think my family could get them all right.

So someone asked me, if there is going to be a translation [of Because I Said So into other languages] -- so is there?

I don't think so. But I ouldcay obablypray anslatetray itay intotay Igpay Atinlay oweverhay.

I just have an SSO question. Have you had to change your phone number or other personal info due to all this fame?

Yes, I've changed my name and am now answering to Ed.

oh so cool - um, I didn't know you could play these games on an ipod??? Will an ipod nano work?

I'm sorry. I should've been more specific. The apps I talked about are for an iPod Touch or an iPhone.

SSO: When do your kids get out of school? Are they doing any camps this summer? How will you keep them occupied? Send all your suggestions my way... Nothing worse than 5 kids saying, "I'm bored."

They still have another week to go. I don't have them signed up for any camps or summer school or anything. I just like to let everyone have a break from the routine in the summer. I don't have much planned. I'm more of a "fly by the seat of my pants" kinda gal. I'm sure we'll visit the zoo a few times, hang out at the local pool, go downtown a time or two, and probably do some camping. I like having our days free for impromptu get-togethers with friends and day trips to museums or waterparks and such.

If they tell me they're bored, I'll give them something to do to break up the monotony... something like folding laundry or cleaning the bathrooms or memorizing the periodic table of elements.

Oh yeah! My friend Denise sent me this resource. Check it out to see if there are any participating lanes in your area. You can sign the kids up at your local bowling alley and each kid will receive 2 free games of bowling every day, all summer long. Check this site for details, but it's a pretty awesome deal! KidsBowlFree.com

Please tell me you didn't get that mess of seafood from the Italian Village! I would be so disappointed if you did! It looks like you might have been eating outside though, so it couldn't be Italian Village....whew.

It was Volare and the food (other than the ocean on a plate) was really good. But I agree, Italian Village is my favorite! You can't beat that atmosphere!

*Come and knock on our door, we've been waiting for you, where the kisses are hers! and hers! and his! Three's Company, too*
Now I'm going to have that song in my head all day. :-)

I hadn't even THOUGHT of the song till you sang it and now it's in MY head too! Thanks!

Your pictures of the city make me want to just go downtown and be a tourist for the day! I love this city!!! (I just don't like driving in it!)

Neither do I! That's why I take the train. You meet interesting characters on the train! Like this old guy who was wearing pirate pants. For some reason, it amused me to see little jolly rogers all over his shorts.

Or Hanukkah Harry (I met him in December).

The sign is because people were getting their purses stolen off the hook on bathroom doors while they were "indisposed" ;)

Really? And here I thought there were really attack purses on the loose in the city!

I have a question, is there a way to get your blog posts sent in their entirety to email anymore?

Yep, give it another day and it'll be back to the way it was. :)

(Wow! My spell check really didn't like that Pig Latin!)

iPod App Winners

Oops, I forgot to announce the winners of the iPhone apps. Here you go...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

15
53

15 sandyn said...
Dawn,my son is always bugging me for $$ for apps for his ipod, wouldn't it be nice to get a few free ones?thanks for the blog...you rock!


53 Donna said...
i have an itouch, and in addition to games, i have downloaded books to read while waiting........

Congratulations! Email me to confirm. Thank you to everyone who left a comment. I got some great new app ideas from reading through all the comments!

Mmmmm Sonic!

The good folks at Sonic noticed I'd twittered and blogged HERE, HERE, and HERE about my little Sonic addiction how I like Sonic, so they invited my family out to dinner last night. I didn't want to hurt their feelings or anything, so I agreed. It had nothing to do with the fact that a large diet cherry limeade was calling my name. Oh who am I kidding! I've been addicted to Sonic since I visited my friend Kelli in Corpus Christi and she took me there. I'd always seen the commercials for Sonic, but had never been to one. Wait, let me rephrase that - Sonic has taunted me with their commercials for years. They've made my mouth water and made me want to drive to the nearest Sonic. The only problem is that, until recently, the nearest Sonic was several hours away!

Speaking of the commercials, I met Molly and Claudia from the Sonic commercials last night at the Algonquin Sonic. I think I'm going to have to make my own Sonic commercial. I can sit in a car while drinking some Sonic goodness and chatting! Why not?!


Molly, me, and Claudia

Yes, we're wearing jackets in June. It was only 55 degrees yesterday evening. (What is the deal with my hair??? I have wings! Ugh)

So, we got to Sonic and enjoyed our yummilicious dinner. I had a grilled chicken wrap and a diet cherry limeade because I was trying to be good. You know, since I tried on my shorts from last summer and they didn't so much fit. With any luck, the temps will stay under 60 degrees and I'll never have to put them on. :::sigh:::

Anyway, we enjoyed our dinners. Well, I'm guessing Austin and Savannah enjoyed theirs, but I'm not sure since they sat at their own "too cool to sit with anyone else" table and ate while Savannah played with her iPod and Austin read Harry Potter for the 80th time.

Meanwhile, Lexi, Brooklyn and Clay did the limbo under the menu board until Lexi forgot to duck and smacked her head. A free root beer float made it all better though. :) Thank you Anita and gang for the invite, the delicious Sonic yumminess, and all the Sonic goodies!

I couldn't find my camera when it was time to leave, and I only had the stinky camera on my phone. (BTW, when we got home, I found my camera in the bag where it's supposed to be. What idiot put it there?!!!)

Know what I just realized? That picture of Austin to the left there was taken at Sonic! Notice the blue coconut slushie tongue! LOL!

Ocean on a Plate

Last weekend, I went downtown with some friends to celebrate a friend's birthday. I snapped these pictures out the window of the cab on the way to the restaurant.

Does this name sound familiar? Name the sitcom.


This sign was on the door inside the bathroom at the train station. It cracked me up. Just what exactly do stolen purses do to make one beware of them?


This is why you should always listen to your waiter when he explains the special. You should ask questions if you don't understand. Don't just assume that the "seafood special" contains little bits of lobster and shrimp and clams amid some pasta with a light sauce. Sometimes the "seafood special" actually means "ocean on a plate". This picture was actually taken after I'd finished eating. There were even more dead sea creatures on my plate to begin with. Half a lobster, clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp, chunks of some sort of icky fish...


I found myself feeling sorry for this lobster. I mean he was cut in half. I think the rest of his little lobster body was over on my friend, Julie's plate. And he was covered in sauce. I mean, COVERED! There was no way I was going to try to crack that thing open or I'd have flung sauce all over myself and probably at least the 5 or 6 people sitting closest to me because I'm just classy like that. Next time, I'm ordering the gnocchi.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And here's the winner of the year's supply of Kraft macaroni and cheese...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

42
Timestamp: 2009-06-04 07:16:43 UTC

Vanessa said...
1 year...OMG...that would be a LIFESAVER!!!!! My kids eat it EVERY DAY...seriously. They like it the old fashioned way...just like the box directions. I even sneak a few bites here and there...talk about comfort food! :)
Vanessa

Congratulations! Email me with your shipping address and we'll get the mac-n-cheese out to you right away. Thank you to everyone who left a comment!

iPhone Apps

I got the chance to try out a couple new apps for my iPhone the other day. I have to admit that my iPhone is as much a video game/toy/entertainment center for my little kids, as it is a phone for me. Yeah, I've got a couple apps on there that I use like Facebook and Twitter and this one that has a virtual ocean complete with crashing waves. But I have 2 pages of apps to occupy the little kids while we're out. I've gotta say, I'm loving this technology. When we're sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office, I don't have to drag along coloring books, and crayons, and dolls, and cars, and activity books. All I need to do it pull out my phone and let the little kids watch a video or play a game when they're getting restless and we've already played "I Spy" 4000 times.

Color Now is one of the new apps I tried out. You can choose from 12 images (more to come later) to color. The images aren't well-known characters so my little kids were less than enthusiastic about them. You "color" the pages by touching the color crayon you want and then touching the section of the picture you want to color. There are no sound effects or music so it's a nice quiet game that can entertain the kids when they need to play quietly so you don't disturb others around you.



Although I love the idea of having virtual coloring pages for the kids, we found these particular pictures difficult for the little ones to color. They have a lot of really small spaces that my 3 and 5 year old lacked the coordination to "color". I think simpler, larger images would've been much easier and more enjoyable for the little ones to color. As it is, they lost interest in this app quickly. Now, if you're an older kid or an adult who likes to color, you'll probably like to play with this app.

The other one I checked was Stuck Genie. In this game, you maneuver a ball around a maze while picking up other balls on the way. You have to figure out how to move all the balls around the walls of the maze while scooping up every last one. There are numerous levels of increasing difficulty so you won't get bored. There are sound effects and music on this game, but you can control the volume on each. You can also type in your name and the app automatically saves your progress so when you get to level 23 and decide to take a break, you don't have to start all over at level 1 the next time you pick up your iPod/iPhone.



This game is too hard for little kids, but older kids and adults who like puzzle games, will love it! I'm personally addicted to I personally like this game. Savannah liked it so much, she put it on her iPod and my friend's 7th grader played it "to help me win a level", but had a hard time giving my phone back to me when he finished the level. It's a fun time-waster!


If you've got an iPod or iPhone, leave me a comment here and you could win both these new apps for FREE! I'll choose 2 random winners on Thursday.