Handmade - not

I am all for supporting handmade products. I love to create and make my own stuff. If there were 30 hours in a day, I'd be able to work again on my candles and start the bath product line I was researching years ago. All the supplies are patiently waiting in my basement for that day to come. Which will be never. However...there are some products, well, many really, but one product in particular should not be handmade. And that would be deodorant. I came across the recipe and then realized, it's just deodorant, NOT antiperspirant. Eck! And it's essentially just corn starch and baking soda. Either way, I'd rather leave my BO and sweaty pits to the experts. But, if you're into the au naturale way of living and you want to dabble, go here for the recipe. And try to stay out of hot, crowded gatherings.

No fuss kid treat for the summer

There's something fantastic I must share. If you already knew about it, shame on you for not sharing first. Yogurt pops for kids. Okay, I know that's not so fantastic, but what is fantastic is how you make them, and then of course the fact that the kids LOVE them. Buy one of those kids yogurt cup packs, like Danimals or Trix (which are better because they are two-toned, which is much more fun), stick a popcicle stick right through the foil lid. Pop in the freezer. Wait a couple hours until frozen. Run under luke warm water until it pops out, and voila! I can't keep them in stock!

Rainy days at the beach?

The sun has come out once. Here it is...

Rainy days at the beach with young children is disaster. DISASTER! They're excited to be at the beach, but stuck in the house because of the weather... DISASTER! The tv died in the middle of Thumbelina (Good for adults, bad for children). Dead tv + rainy weather + beach = nightmare.

I underestimated the self control of a 5 and 7-year-old (as if there is such a thing) and took them to the beach Wednesday morning before the rains set in. I expected, because of the cold, that we'd put our feet in, collect some shells and be done with it. That's not quite how it played out. How quickly I forget what it's like to be a kid at the beach...weather schmeather, who cares if it's 55 degrees out. They don't feel it. And I wasn't prepared. We had to make a beeline back for the house to put bathing suits and sunscreen on. It's not even summer yet!

The weather wouldn't let us spend the day on the beach so we ventured out for miniature golf. Tiger Woods we are not.Pirate golfers we are. As I took this shot I could see that Kyra was doing something, but I couldn't keep up. I could sense the attitude though.

So, I zoomed in. Always drama.

The next day... rain, wind...the flip flops flapped...

There is nothing but thunder and lightning that would keep kids away from the ocean. 55 degree weather is nothing. Who knows the temperature of the water? I thought in between rain storms, we'd venture down to the beach, collect shells, rocks and head back. High tide was in so there was no collecting. There was barely a beach, but the girls hiked up their pants and in they went.

The surfers were out... you know the water's crazy.
Why not us...? Deeper and deeper they got until ....

Kyra (predictably) got knocked over by a wave and the only thing dry on her body was her left shoulder. Hypothermia was sure to set in.

First vacation of the summer

The girls both finished school on Tuesday so we rushed out for our 3rd annual trip to Ocean City, New Jersey. Rushing is never good. You tend to forget important things like cell phone chargers, food and the pet fish.

Going this early in the summer (or rather, late in the spring) does not really lend itself to roasting in the sun and swimming in the ocean. It is downright chilly! We got down late Tuesday so we headed right to the boardwalk. The fashion style worn by everyone - hooded sweatshirts. One of the only places it is ever acceptable to wear sweatclothes out in public. The other place is the gym.I happen to love the beach when it's cloudy and chilly. I don't know why. Maybe all the years laying in the sun has me burned out from it. That pun worked out nicely. It also keeps the crowds away.

Some shore staples...

This is just a failed shot. Tried to get the flag blurry. I still like it.

We will be visiting Wonderland every night while we're here. I'm grateful the girls are tall enough and brave enough to go on the rides without me or Jeff. Another round on the Teacups would surely give me permanent vertigo.

Freezing...

Maybe another night when the wind chill isn't 20 below.A few rounds in the race cars is sure to get the blood flowing.Topped off with caramel popcorn and cotton candy, the sugary night could go on for hours.

Tomorrow... Brown's doughnuts fresh and hot. Seashell collecting, sand castle building and back to Wonderland.

Pole Dancing - an Olympic Sport

I was flipping through my latest Marie Claire over lunch as I hid from children in the kitchen, and came across something so disturbing I must mention it here. People are trying to get pole dancing as an Olympic Sport event. That's right. POLE DANCING. As in, the STRIPPER POLE.

The Olympic games are said to have been originated by Heracles and Zeus (Surprised I knew that, huh? I love Wikipedia.) and were mainly athletic but also combat and chariot racing events. These were athletes of extraodinary strength and courage. Sure, the games have changed with the times. Although, have you noticed that gladiator shoes are in style? Hideous things in my opinion. But I digress. Now there's synchronized swimming and badminton. There are, of course, certain guidelines that must be met for a "sport" to qualify as an Olympic event. But POLE DANCING?

Apparently, our friendly pole dancers consider it gymnastic art rather than erotic. You can probably even find a pole dancing fitness class at your local gym. Don't forget your stripper shoes and tiny clothes. I agree it takes great strength and flexibility to hang on to the pole, and I'm sure it's a fab workout. But an Olympic sport? Seriously.

Where's the tradition? The Olympics have become so commercialized that they'll do anything to keep the events edgey to attract an audience. It's now more of a spectacle. I say, lets go back to where it started and watch the strongest of the strong battle it out. Duels to the death!

Or, how about synchronized pole dancing? Now that's a sport.

Performances

I have spent a significant amount of time this week sitting theater style watching children sing and dance. In fact, we're talking about a record amount of time.

Ella was a lifeguard in the first grade musical, which included no less than 80 kids, on stage at once. Not only did my formerly shy child sing, but she delivered her solo line perfectly. Was she nervous, I asked. Not at all. I'm excited actually. Really, she said.

Kyra has already declared her need to begin prepping for her first grade play. She is very proud of her sister.

After that celebrity-studded evening, we watched Kyra graduate from preschool, complete with paper graduation cap to boot. She even received an award for the best storyteller. If you've never heard her stories, you should head over to The Adventures of Barney. I'm a little behind on updating because I simply can't keep up with the amount of stories.

Then, of course, Kyra who seems destined for the stage because she is essentially Miss Drama, had her first dance recital, which was really a bunch of preschoolers in costume jumping around in utter confusion.

And so continues my life...

Working from home sucks!

There's something glamorous assumed when someone mentions they "work from home". But I'm here to tell you there is nothing glamorous about it - and I'm not referring to working in your pjs and curlers, unshowered and make-up-free.

Everytime I work from home, I'm busier than normal. In fact, I'm busier than any normal human being should be. And usually it's due to the fact that, well, I'm trying to get work done, and trying to take advantage of being at home and get home stuff done - for instance...

• 5:15 - ignored alarm for all of 17 minutes until the sheer disgust of not exercising drove me out of bed.
  
• 5:40 - weight lifted with 4'2" and 60 lbs of Cathe Friedrich. Oh lets face it. That woman works out 8 hours a day and doesn't eat. Why do I bother?
  
• 6:30 to 7:15 - worked on two e-mails for a brand new product.
  
• 7:15 to 8:30 - got kids off to school, including breakfast, dressing, teeth brushing, packing lunch and lots of irritation.
  
• 8:30 to 10:30 - included more work, a semi-shower, prepared a fruit platter for Kyra's pre-school graduation, conveniently held at 11 am in the middle of the week.
  
• 12:00 - Post-graduation: dragged Kyra to get blood work done, which included chasing after her as she screamed bloody murder back down a busy street when she realized where we were going, carrying her into the hospital screaming bloody murder, and wrapping my entire body around her while she was stuck with a needle and had blood drawn, screaming bloody murder.
  
• 2:00 - Entered toy store for Web Kinz treat after suffering through needle.
  
• 2:15 - Left toy store because there were only two TWO Web Kinz. This cannot be put off. Must get Web Kinz to make getting stuck with a needle all better now.
  
• 2:30 - Entered book store that sells Web Kinz. Get side tracked oogling knitting KNITTING? books. Get Web Kinz!
  
• 2:50 - Home. Run to email. Projects waiting. People wondering if I'm coming into work. Throw some horrible Barbie BARBIE! movie on to get Kyra to stop talking to me so I can concentrate.
  
• 2:55 - Suddenly remember that Ella's friend is coming home from school with her. This could be good. Or very, very bad.
  
• 4:00 - Walk to bus stop. Uneventful. Start making cake pops for Bake Off at work tomorrow. I summon my inner Martha Stewart. Work.
  
• 5:00 - Still need stuff for cake pops. Also need to get newletter files delivered to printer. Where is friend's mom?? Work some more. Intermittently check on kids as they dig holes in my yard in search of worms. Worms.
  
• 5:30 - Friend's mom shows up 30 minutes late. Then, we gab for 30 minutes. Make a mental note to not be so friendly when busy.
  
• 6:00 - Make dinner for kids. Try not to kill them. Continue making cake pops.
  
• 6:30 - Exhaustion sets in. Husband gets home. Tantrums begin. More work to be done.
  
• 7:00 - Get cake pops chilling and newsletter to printer.
  
• 7:50 - Say good night to the girls. Get dinner started for hubby and me. Pour wine. God help me, wine.
  
• 8:45 - Forget the cake pops. Fuck the Bake Off.
  
• 9:00 - Eat dinner. Keep eyes open long enough to catch some worldly news.

No, I didn't get the dresser.

Need opinions - STAT!

I found this great dresser on Craigslist. And I want it! But, I only want it if I can find a home for it. I was thinking it would look great in my foyer which is like it's own room. Add a couple lamps... But I'm not sure if it's right. Here's my foyer (before we moved in) ... It would go against the wall on the left in this pic.


What do you think? Would it work here?

For the children!

Summer is fast approaching. This can be great, or very, very bad. If you're like me and you work outside the home (See how PC I am? Stay at home mom's work too!), you're relying on other people to keep your kids occupied this summer. Or, if you're home with them, the pressure's on you. Either way, these two websites will keep all of us out of the doldrums. Check them out and rejoice! Tot classes is pretty much what you'd expect but it's not just for tots. And Dancing Meatballs keeps you updated on local activities, and affordable to boot!

Can you tell I have nothing else to do today?

Yeah, work is a little slow. Three posts in one day is unheard of around here. Typing makes me look busy though.

I am 11 days away from having a child in second grade. Well, I suppose technically that doesn't really happen until September, but still. First grade is about to end. I am way to young to have a child in second grade. WAY too young. I look at the other parents at the school events and the birthday parties, and I'm certain they are older than me. Unfortunately, it's not very likely. It's not like I was 21 when I had my kids. I was 30 for crying out loud!

I don't think I have ever felt my age. When I was younger, I wanted to be older. Acted older. Felt older. Now, I feel like I'm closer in age to my twenty-something co-workers than other parents even though I'm constantly reminded of my responsibilities. I can't make the happy hours because I've got birthday parties to plan and babysitters to relieve. I can't go to the inter-company football game because I have a first grade play to attend. Not that I'm complaining...entirely. I just wish there was time to work it all in.

A funny read

Every once in a while I remember to check Blogs of Note to see if there's anything I'm missing. And I found this. She writes well, is funny and clever. The best combination. Check it out for a good laugh when you have time to read.

Sweet!