OMG. Summer's Almost Over.

SUMMER sum·mer ¹ n.

1. The usually warmest season of the year, occurring between spring and autumn and constituting June, July, and August in the Northern Hemisphere

2. The time when Heather has too many people buzzing around her like fruit flies to get any work done.

My head is spinning. (Not literally, of course. Har. Har.) I thought there were four weeks left of summer vacation, but I looked at a calendar yesterday and it turns out the kids go back to school in just two and one half weeks!

Wowee! So, I am feeling what... relief that my afternoons will be my own once again? Panic that I have barely even mentally planned for back to school shopping? Confusion over where exactly the summer went? Anxiety over the realization that the older you get, the more time seems to pass in the blink of an eye and one moment you're taking your daughter to preschool with another toddler in tow and another baby in your belly and a blink or two later you're preparing now 5th, 3rd and 1st graders for school?

Yes. All of the above.

I am taking the former preschooler back to school shopping today. I used to put big, crazy bows in her hair that matched her outfit. Lately, she's declared herself a tomboy. She will not wear a dress or a skirt, only graphic t-shirts and bermuda shorts. No glittery shoes; only Converse or Vans skate shoes are permissable. Hair accessories? Fuggidaboudit.

She is my only daughter and I like GIRL THINGS. I am still stifiling the urge to buy her Barbies (which she never liked). *sigh*

I will take the fellas on their BTS shopping trips seperately this weekend. The first will be easy peasy. He's not concerned with a sense of style. He likes what he likes and doesn't give it any thought beyond that.  Hey, that shirt is funny or has a cartoon character that I like on it or is a color I enjoy. Buy it. Done. He is still wearing Super Mario pajamas that are snug highwaters because he "still likes them". Honestly, I admire his complete comfort in himself. WTG.

The second boy... the 1st grader. Well, he has a Justin Bieber complex. His style is much more (self) defined. I am still scarred by the memories of getting him dressed for school last year because most days ended up with at least one of us in tears because most of his skinny jeans were not skinny enough. He will not wear those that you bought four pairs of, Mom, only these two particular pairs. The ones that are usually dirty. And he loves himself a hoodie, too. He's probably planning a first day of school outfit that involves (skinny) jeans and a hoodie. It will probably be about 108 degrees and he will fight with me about it -loudly- because he will, of course, be perfectly comfortable -he swears- and I don't know anything. End scene.

So, uh... wish me luck!

xoxo,

The Family Vacation

So, remember the super glam and fabulous vacation I mentioned last week? No? That's probably because I told you it was actually The Husband's family staying with us for a week. Not to pish-pish that, because it was actually a nice time. It's just that six kids in your house does not a vacation make.

{elle j photography. She's pretty much a miracle worker.}

Observations from a week with half a dozen kids aged 6-10:

A family of twelve under one roof eats a LOT of food. Think two or three carts full of groceries. Also think another cart of beer for the daddies and wine and Skinnygirl margaritas for the mommies.

If you run out of nacho cheese on taco night, there is a good chance a ten year old boy will weep openly about it.

If your spouse recently had ankle surgery and wears a walking cast, he probably will not think to bring a pair of shoes. Just the one. So, be prepared to shoe shop for him before the family photo session.

Amidst the hustle and bustle in packing for such a trip, it's possible that you might forget to pack pajamas for the children. But it turns out that little boys like to sleep in their clothes. In fact, little boys who have pajamas readily available will probably choose to wear clothes to bed, too. It's just cool.

Photos, paintings and busts of Popes prominiently featured at Buca di Beppo might frighten children. And some adults, too. But bread makes you feel better.

Water park slides are torturous, terrifying, dizzying, possibly life-ending horrors. Avoid them at all costs.*

Those kids would disagree, but they're totally wrong and obviously were too hopped up on churros to notice how terrifically scary they actually are.

*opinion expressed is merely my own

Now, pay attention to this one: Baby wipes will remove this nail polish -while wet- from carpet. To avoid any embarrassment to family members that are not children, I will leave it at that. Accidents happen.

Sometimes mommies need to go to bed at 7:45. They just do, ok?

Mom Musings

Happy belated Mother's Day, mamas! Yesterday I was woken at 8am on the dot by The Kiddos, The Husband, and a tray bearing a belgian waffle, yogurt, coffee, flowers (not to eat...I think), and a mimosa which upon meeting my lap immediately crashed, broke, and spilled all over my white comforter. That is my life with my gang in a nutshell. {I love them.}

(You can really just feel the love and complete lack of irritation at the end of this photo session, can't you?)

When you're a mom, you:

Buy cereal in bulk.

I have 18 boxes in my pantry right now. They will be eaten in order according to how sugary and brightly colored they are. The Crunch Berries lasted a day. The Fiber One took up residence 6 months ago.

Are compelled to not change the station when Taylor Swift comes on the radio

even if you are not really a fan.

Eat last.

Thanks, kids, for saving that last bite for when I just sit down to my plate. Come to think of it, that even happened to me at a restaurant yesterday. I smell conspiracy!

Get misty at school performances

even if it's not your kid performing because every child suddenly becomes absolutely precious when they're singing in unison on a stage. Oh, unless your kindergartener is the kid who refuses to sing and just stands there in plain sight, hands in pockets, glaring at you for having your camera out.

Choose restaurants based on how loud the ambiance is

Sometimes you even decide that Olive Garden might be too fancy for your family.

Give up on manicures

except for special occasions. No, no manicure. Just the pedicure today. Yes, I know my cuticles look bad. You already pointed out that my feet are "very rye", thank you.

(Yes, that was me to the korean man who does my pedis at the nail salon. He insults me, but gives a mean calf massage.)

 

Choose the family's bedding based on ease of washing

Quilts, you're in. Bulky comforters? Hit the road.

*see breakfast spillage tale above for lesson in remorse.

Sit through kid movies

like Alvin and the Chipmunks. And Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. In a theatre.

I feel significantly less intelligent for having watched them.

But that's ok. It's the Sunday mornings filled with spilled breakfasts, handmade coupon books (including one for 10000 gitresteses -get dresseds in 5 year old), bouquets of button flowers, books about you pointing out that you a) love Target and cupcakes b) don't like cats or seafood and c )are awesome... reminds you why you do what you do.

And with that, I have to take my boy to the orthodontist to get a retainer removed. The ortho said to come back in 10 weeks for that. That was about a year ago.

There's no such thing as a perfect mom, right?

The Chore Store: AKA How my house got more clean

Did you have a nice Easter? We had a beautiful, sunshiney day. We kept it low-key  (which is something that just naturally kind of happens when you're an Air Force family), but it was nice. The Easter Bunny came and all of the eggs hidden in the back yard were accounted for.

There are The Kiddos in their Easter finery jammies.Those are wax mustaches and wax lips. I assure you my children didn't acquire that kind of appearance naturally. ;)

So...

About a week ago, my friend  Fabric Bliss Jen told me the tale of how she had implemented a successful Chore Store rewards system for her kids. She must have seen the tears of hope in my eyes because she generously offered her expertise in setting up one for my family and got to work on it right away (perhaps she saw tears of desperation...?).

The concept is simple:

1. List each child's chores/responsibilities and assign an earned ticket amount for each
2. Offer extra chores as a way for the children to earn more tickets
3. Create a "store" of inexpensive toys, trinkets, treats, reward coupons (including tickets for extra video game or tv time), etc. and price accordingly. It's pretty much a Chuck E Cheese-Peter Piper Pizza concept.
4. Open your store once a week and let your willing workers purchase goodies of their choice with their earned tickets.

After a couple of days of fiddling around with this, I decided it worked best to have The Kiddos cross out each task after it's completed. (Dry erase markers on glass or plastic frames. Sa-mart.) I also concluded it was much easier to gather the gang and do a tally up and payment of tickets at the end of the day. To prevent any ticket thievery or counterfeiting (MY kids did not do this, but I hear OTHER kids can be diabolical like that.), I wrote their name on the back each ticket they were given. I also made each kiddo their own envelope for stashing their tickets.

It's really so simple overall, but it has made a noticeable change in my home. Beds are made in the morning. Bedroom floors are free of clutter, and when I have to tell them to pick up, it's done without an argument. When I need someone to set the table, I announce that there is a ticket in it for him or her and it is done. Sometimes one of The Kiddos decides that they really don't want to make their bed -or whatever- and choose to forfeit their ticket. Then they are usually remorseful during payout time.

More deets -and other fun, crafty things- are on Jen's blog here.

Reminder *** Giveaway is ending this evening! ***

Happy Monday!

 

Jellybean Pizza... Yes, I am serious!

Congratulations! We made it through another week. I spent most of my day on an "arbor walk" with my son's kindergarten class. Five and six year olds are so cute. And rambunctious. And the little girls tell me I'm beautiful. I think I like them.

I did get home in time to whip up this fun and easy recipe. Let me specify: it is a kids recipe. I warned my husband that it's definitely not something you'd see on Top Chef, but The Kiddos were full of enthusiastic "Mmmmmm!"s while chewing it. So, make this for the kiddos and save the really exquisite stuff for yourself. Especially if you're at all diabetic. ;)

First step is to make a really basic sugar cookie dough. Preheat your oven to 350 and grab:

{My 2 canister holds the sugar. You'll just have to trust me.}

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Mix in egg. combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended.

Press dough into an ungreased pizza pan. It's a good idea to flour your hands for this step. If you're like me and foolishly bought a perforated pizza pan (WHY?), you would line the bottom with parchment paper.

Pop it in the oven for 8 or so minutes until it's light golden brown...

While the crust is cooling, you can mix up the filling:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract -or- lemon juice. I think lemon juice is great, but I only had vanilla today.

When the crust is cool, smooth the filling over the top and sprinkle on the jelly beans. Discard white and black jelly beans because who likes those?

Cover and chill in the fridge until serving. Easy peasy!

And just because it's Friday and I {heart} this... and Weird Al Yankovic in general. I just do, ok?

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your Easter. Remember your blessings!

xoxo

~Heather

Linking up to:

The Queen of Crayfish

My daughter's 4th grade class has been studying real, live crayfish. I'm sure it're fairly interesting and exciting to most ten year olds, but my girl L-O-V-E-S animals, fish, wildlife and/or critters of every kind, so it's been the.coolest.thing.ever. She's never been the baby dolls and barbies kind of girl. She's always been the dinosaurs and dragons kind of girl.

(For the record, I am still to this day a Barbie girl. I get the collectors catalog and everything, so don't knock it.)

At a recent school awards assembly, her teacher introduced her as "The Queen of Crayfish" because she was the only one in class who was never, ever afraid to pick one up.

(Also for the record, this brings to mind the fact that I took an F in high school biology because I refused to dissect a tapeworm. Seriously, a tapeworm, people! Blehhhh!)

So, when the study drew to a close and her teacher sent home permission slips to return IF your child wanted to take a crayfish home and IF you were crazy enough to let him/her... Well, it would have been borderline child abuse to tell your critter loving kid "NO". And it will make you feel less guilty for telling her "No, you may not have a pet lizard/snake/stinky reptile of any sort".

So, we have a new pet! Yayyyyyy....

Meet Spike:

Did you just jump out of your seat? Oh, because I did. This thing CREEPS ME THE HECK OUT!

But Mom, it's just like a small lobster...

I do not like lobster, not even to eat. It's creepy.

Mom! Don't say that, you'll hurt his feelings!

(Do crayfish have feelings? Are they even supposed to take up residence in one's home ever?)

How could I deprive her or her brothers of this joy?

I probably shouldn't show The Queen of Crayfish this:

Bleh! Even as an entree, they CREEP ME THE HECK OUT!

But at least I didn't have to buy her a lizard, right?

xoxo

~Heather