Maybe I don't have a future at PARSONS

dress forms for the ancestor doll

It's always humbling when the 2nd grader's project is just a little intimidating at first, and then downright aggravating a few hours in.  And then, a few hours later, it becomes a competition...mom of the 2nd grader vs. the ancestor paper doll project.  And I am determined when it comes to such things.  Even when they are not supposed to be my things.

I did a lot, but Abbey learned a lot.  Her country was Germany, so she interviewed Mimi and Dad about traditions and foods and customs.  She even got a photo of Grandma Roubal, her great-great-grandmother who came to the United States from Germany when she was a little girl.  

the dressed doll

Then came the craft project, a paper doll to be dressed in traditional German dress.  I don't really do crafts.  After two attempts at free-hand cutting the dress out of fabric, I made a pattern.  Then it only took 2 more times to get it right.  I would have flunked out of design school.  Within the first week.

diy:  make a Geman paper doll

Once the dress was on, things got progressively better.  Especially when I grabbed the doilies out of the cabinet.  And the kitchen string.  Give me a well-stocked kitchen and the creativity just oozes out!  So here's the DIY.  Just kidding.  I don't think I have any business writing a DIY post!  But I could give you a few ideas of what to do with a package of doilies.  And how to keep your 2nd grader's hands off their own project so that you can finish it up in a professional manner.  

Abbey and her finished doll

Abbey stayed busy working on the other parts of the project, so she didn't miss out on the glue-fabric-doilie mess.  And, she did excitedly state that everyone would think her mom was a good maker when they saw her doll.  Only I had to tell her that it was her project, so she should be taking the credit and the really important part was to not tell everyone her mom made the whole thing.
I study at MOMS Design School.  Learning one 2nd grade project at at time.

Monster Long Sundays

Layne's Monster Face

Our Sundays have changed around here.  For the better, I think.  Yes, they are monster long.  And it is a mad dash to get my 3 kiddies dressed, fed, and out the door by 8:50 am...8:53 if you're feeling lucky.  If the 2 traffic lights go your way, you're golden.  If not, you tiptoe in.  I have been doing a lot of tiptoeing the last couple of weeks.  

But, we'll take it!  Because we get a monster long day to come home to!  We leisurely eat lunch.  We play.  Layne takes a nap, a very new thing for her on a Sunday.  We read books.  We draw, color, paint. We make a real Sunday supper.  And we bake something yummy.  My favorite part.  

I have cookbooks, baking books, bookmarks of recipes on my computer full of delicious foods to audition in my kitchen.  Today, nothing was jumping out at me.  I was craving something, but seriously could not figure out what it was.  I settled for Rice Krispies treats.  With browned butter and sea salt.  

Last week I saw a Rice Krispies treat pop that had been dipped in chocolate and covered in Valentine's sprinkles.  I thought it would be the perfect 2nd grade treat to send in for Abbey's birthday.  So, Abbey and I decided to do some dipping and some sprinkling.  Test run.

Abbey loved them.  So, some cute birthday sprinkles, cellophane bags, and a few dozen Rice Krispies squares and birthday treats are a go!  See why I run?  All of this needs sampling you know.  No good cook serves food without having taste-tested first.

We ended the night with 8 is Great.  So fun and exciting.  So unbelievable that my first baby girl will turn 8 and be baptized in just a month.  Abbey sat up straight and all grown-up next to me as we listened to the all the info. about her special day.  Then she took home a white balloon and a photo book to save for her baptism day pictures and a treat...a rice krispie treat!  We had a giggle at that.  

Oh, the next few weeks are busy at our house.  All the more reason to love our monster long Sundays.

  One nice long day.  Of rest.  Mostly.

This is a delicious version of Rice Krispies treats...a rich, salty flavor.  Enjoy!

Browned Butter & Sea Salt Rice Krispies Treats

1 stick unsalted butter

10 oz bag marshmallows

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1/4 tsp coarse sea salt

Butter or spray with cooking spray an 8x8 inch pan. To brown the butter, melt in a large saucepan over med-low heat.   Continually stir the butter...it will foam and bubble and start to darken.  Browned butter will have a nutty smell and a nice, caramel color.  It will take a good 4-5 minutes to brown.  Turn heat off immediately so that it does not burn.  Add marshmallows and stir until melted.  Add cereal and salt and stir to coat.  Press down in prepared pan.    

Withdrawals

I did it.  13.1 miles.  R signed me up for Camp Pendleton back in August, and I bailed.  I had lots of good reasons and my husband had an overnight scouting event he was expected to attend, so it worked out great.  But, I was having trouble committing.  I might have been a little picky.  Too hilly, too far away, coming up too soon, too hilly.  Then came Irvine.  Completely flat.  January 8th.

Then came the holidays, the flu, the rains.  I wasn't sure I was ready.  I wanted to put in a few more miles, but time was up!  Complete.  That was the goal.  I was really happy to do that.  In 2:08.  Not bad for a first-timer.  And, I felt good until the very end.  A couple of hours later was a different story, but my hips eventually worked again and by Sunday I was walking more like my own age rather than a 90-year-old lady!

I anticipated a feeling of completeness.  I was excited to not run the following week.  Who would really want to run after finishing the race.  Goal accomplished!  Yet I found myself dropping off Abbey at school each morning and wishing I was running that route rather than driving it.  Insane.  I know.  But, if you run, you know.  I put my sneakers on and went for a run.

But now I miss the goal.  I miss the training schedule and the date to work towards.  And I have started to wonder if my legs could carry me 26.2 miles.  Just wondering, that's all.

I think I am going to have to start looking for the next race.  To end these crazy withdrawals.

I want to be a super-busy-multi-tasking-mom when I grow up...

Abbey as a Chef...Landen as a Zookeeper

It was "dress up as what you want to be when you grow up" day at school.  We only remembered at 7:30am this morning...after checking my email and seeing a note from another mom who actually did remember.  I decided to go ahead and remind my kids, and Abbey was still pretty sure she wanted to be a chef.  Her kindergarten year, it was a police officer.  I was at Walmart at 10pm the night before buying a whistle to go with the hand-embellished blue shirt and homemade badge.  She was legit.  But, she knew she didn't want to be a police officer anymore, and darn it, Landen didn't want to be one either.  Landen didn't really want to be anything until Layne started wearing his zookeeper hat this morning, and then he up and decided he needed the hat back to dress up as a zookeeper for school.  And off they went.

I really can't remember what I wanted to be when I was a kindergartener, or even a 2nd grader.  A mom was in there somewhere, but I had no idea it would turn out to be this super-busy-multi-tasking-super-woman!  Maybe super-woman is a bit of a stretch.  But I am sometimes amazed at how many different things I do in one day.  Not amazing in quality, but in quantity.  When my head hits the pillow at night, and I don't immediately pass out from exhaustion, I sometimes think about what else I could be doing right now.  Sometimes, it looks a million times better.  A chef?  I would be in heaven running a kitchen.  I already do, but I don't make a dime and I get lots of whiney, unfounded complaints.  A zookeeper?  O.k. really we don't have a lot of masculine dress-up items in our house.

But, I can come up with many more careers that are enticing to me on a daily basis.  I don't think I ever really considered motherhood a career.  I thought it was what you did while your career was on pause because you really wanted to raise your kids.  Which I did.  But now, I am fully immersed in this salary-less career.  40 hours a week, plus regular overtime.  A full-time gig in the complaints department.  Do you remember that cartoon?  It's a very real visual to me.  My head and shoulders peering above a desk, with a sign reading "complaints department" posted over me.  In this department, sometimes I struggle to even make out the complaints, with all the R's coming out as W's and the L's that sound more like Y's and the screeches and grunts that come from the littlest one here who just forgets to talk when she's mad.  Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

Maybe I'm not the mom that can say in that completely confident voice, "I can't imagine doing anything else right now."  Well, I can.  And, I bet they secretly can too.  But that's the real beauty of it.  I can imagine doing a big list of other jobs right now, but I confidently choose to do this.        

Must Love Sand, Saltwater, and Swings

January 17th, 2011.  First beach day of the year.  I know it seems crazy.  I know we are the envy of 75% of the frozen country.  It's just what we do here on an 80 degree Martin Luther King holiday!  As we got on our swimsuits and packed up some towels, Abbey busted up laughing and said that it was January and we should be going sledding and most people were asking their moms to go sledding today!  I guess they are starting to figure out that we really aren't normal here in Southern California.  We won't complain one bit though.

This little Layne loves the swings.  Lucky for me, Landen loves to push her.  

So my arm gets a break and I get to grab a few shots of these big smiles.

Abbey learned how to flip over in the swing.  Not from this height!  

Much lower to the ground, but she was pretty proud of this new skill.

Landen and I did brave the ocean for this bucket of water.  

Evidence that it still January.  My toes will be thawing out 

for the better part of the day.  

I know.  I know.  I have a million shots of Layne.  With buckets.

Blue striped dress.  Bright yellow bucket.  I just couldn't resist!