My Oldest Friends

Not too long ago, while cleaning out my grandfather's barn, I came acrossed these two lovely ladies, which I haven't seen since I was five. My grandfather, who was a carpenter, passed away a couple of years ago and we have started to go through his barn. It is full of mainly tools and wood and half finished pieces of furniture, but amidst all of that, tucked into a corner were my favorite dollies in the world. I remember going out to the barn with him to watch him make all sorts of magnificent furniture. Apparently at one point I left the dolls there and he tucked them away. I can't describe the joy I felt when I found them. It felt a little silly, but I LOVED these dolls. They were my security blanket for so many years. I'm sad that they have an air of neglect about them. I want to know how to clean them without hurting them further. Dirt or not, I'm so pleased to have them back.

Party with a Purpose

Comfest is quickly approaching and I can't wait! Since becoming a vendor a few years ago I don't get to enjoy comfest like I used to, but I love it all the same. Thousands and thousands of people coming together to enjoy music and such. It really makes our growing metropolis feel like a community. But.... now I have to step up production in our little shop and hope to God that business picks up from last year. I have high hopes that everything will work. And maybe the queens of comfest will put our booth in the grass this year! And maybe we'll be able to hear the music!

Graduation

Willow graduated from preschool. The bigger she gets, the harder time I have believing that she was once a tiny baby that came from me. She is so grown up with her own ideas and plans (because my ideas and plans are ALL WRONG). She is already planning where she wants to go to college so she can study worms and potato bugs. She informed me that she is ready for her own phone and her own kitten. She knows the boy she is going to marry. And so on and so on. But for today we are just going to celebrate the end of preschool and not focus on all of the plans she has made for the future. Congratulations my little Graduate!

p.s. How DO you flip a picture?

Yay for Charter Schools!

Yesterday was election day and our school system had a levy on the ballot. It was quite cheap, only $22 a year for a hundred thousand dollar house. And it was going to save our school system from the depths of despair. And it didn't pass. I am SO disappointed. I had a feeling this would happen, however, and we signed Willow up for kindergarten at a lovely charter school. But our school system will no longer have sports, clubs, or school funded recreation of any kind! No band! When I go to the grocery store I won't be able to hear the marching band in the field practicing. And they were good! The music has died, and it is your fault! (if you live in my neighborhood) What the hell is wrong with you, community?

So Tucker wakes up this morning with a runny nose and I immediately slip into neurotic mode. SWINE FLU! I was certain for a while it was swine flu and we are All Going To Die. I didn't use to worry about crap like that, but ever since I had the kids I freak out at the drop of a hat. I'm still not convinced it isn't swine flu but I suppose it is highly unlikely. We haven't really been around anyone, unless it was that evil child that sneezed as we walked by him in the grocery store. And we haven't been to Mexico. It almost makes me wish for the good old days of SARS and bird flu and even a little MRSA. Those certainly weren't pandemics. Or were they? Anyhow, we didn't get them. Tucker will be fine but why couldn't he have gotten sick last week when I was blissfully unaware of the nasty swine and their dirty flu?

Old School Volcanoes

Willow is very interested in science and math, and while I go slightly catatonic, or completely fall asleep, while discussing these subjects, I want to encourage her in them. So we learned about how to make a volcano! We used colors and made play dough and had big foamy messes that were fantastic and somehow educational at the same time. We started with a small vase and poured in two tablespoons of baking soda. We added a quarter cup of vinegar with food coloring to the baking soda and had a good sized explosion with that mixture. And that was SO MUCH FUN that we decided to make play dough and make a big volcano to explode.

Play dough - 6 cups of flour

2 cups of salt

2 cups of water

4 tablespoons of veg oil

food coloring

Just mix it all together. That's it. We covered a 2 liter bottle and added more baking soda and more vinegar and had fantastic explosions. It was a great project that took up all day.

Lovely. Just Lovely.

The other day I was down to one kid for the day and thought I would lay down for, seriously, like five minutes. All of the sudden I hear, "MOM! MOM! MOM!". I open my eyes and see my two year old son holding his foot precariously in front of my face. It was COVERED in poop. I snapped to attention very quickly and thought OH, SHIT. I followed him into the hallway where I found his pants, diaper, and the rest of the poop. What on earth would have posessed him to take his pants and diaper off and paint his foot in poo? My daughter never did this. I've heard stories about kids doing this, but those were bad moms and unruly kids. Certainly not something that happens in my life. But, there was the pile of poop in front of me as proof. I shall never nap again.