Headlines Don't Sell Papes. Newsies Sell Papes.

Reading: Theft by Finding by David Sedaris. Good Lord, I love David Sedaris. He seems like he would be friends with my sister and thus be forced to run into me at baptisms and bar mitzvahs. He would probably try to linger in the dining room doorway waiting for me to choose a dinner chair and then take the seat furthest from mine. He would avoid my eye and try to look very engaged in conversation with the person next to him. I would move though. You know I would. I would get up for more wine and then pull up a spare chair right next to David, squeezing out the bewildered guest who was innocently describing to him her latest oral surgery in detail. Later as they were driving home Hugh would laugh about David's inability to escape Kelly's weird younger sister.

Drinking: COFFEE. My caffeine intake is delightfully out of control. My migraines are in control (aaaaahhhhlelluia!) and thus the coffee floweth like... well... like coffee bean flavored hot water. We bought a new coffee pot that is programmed to automatically brew every morning. It is heavenly, like having a little robot in our kitchen that makes me coffee. In fact... it is LITERALLY a little robot in our kitchen that makes me coffee. I love it. I've gotten into that strange place in which I stay up too late and then sleep poorly and wake up and drink too much coffee. So then by the afternoon I drink more caffeine and thus the cycle continues. Not complaining though. Just how it is at the moment.

Eating: welllllll. This past spring was rather stressful to say the least and I may or may not have gained like 20 lbs. I finally pulled it together these past few weeks and am back on healthy foods. Unfortunately, I'm discovering that losing weight this time around isn't as simple as back when I was breast-feeding. Bummer. But, nonetheless, I'll just keep plugging along.

Carolena and Nils are really into audio books as of late. I mean really into them. Like, hour upon hour upon hour of listening to stories. We didn't leave the house for all of Monday and all of Tuesday because they were so engrossed. There aren't pictures or animation - just someone reading the books. I spent Monday crafting and cleaning and yesterday doing pretty much the same. By today I was about to lose my mind and forced them out to run errands with me. All they wanted to do was come home and eat lunch and listen to more of the book they were on. It's awesome. And weird. And awesome... but also weird.

Moi?

Oh, what? You think I'm supposed to be blogging?
I was under the impression I was supposed to be outside.

That's where I've been.
Outside.

All of the time.

So, if you need me... that's where I'll be... out.

My cell phone will be inside - let's face it, probably on silent, God only knows where. I'll be sweaty (hello humidity!) and happy and having fun with my munchkins or completely ignoring them while I search for fossilized sharks' teeth on the beach. I found 47 on our last trip. Yes, 47.

Pardon me, I have to go. The beach beckons.

Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

Man, we are good at summer around here. Other states might be good at winter with all of their snow and fires crackling in the fireplaces and whatnot, but man, when it comes to summer: we win.

The kids and I wore ourselves out at the pool yesterday. We spent the morning getting lunch packed and suits on and getting out the door. C went to swim lessons (and had a blast) and I was "that mom" who pretended to be sixteen and took off my coverup and lounged in the sunshine reading my book. It was glorious. Other moms sweltered in the heat and humidity chasing their kids and trying to find shade and all that jazz. I decided to embrace it and it was pretty heavenly. A book, a bathing suit, a ton of sun screen, a drink. I got half an hour all to myself to just lounge by the pool. Hmmm... maybe C needs more swim lessons...

After lessons we picked up N and headed back out to the pool. One of my bff's (Megan) and her kiddos met us there and we picnicked and played for hours. Hours!

When we got home Nils walked straight into his room, closed his door, and went to sleep (that guy) while C and I snuggled into my bed to chat and giggle. An hour later I woke up to find C and I had dozed off as well. Heaven.

We ate popsicles for snack. Homemade chicken nuggets for dinner while we watched The Parent Trap (Lindsey Lohan version - love it). Then we had to all spend time pretending a lizard had climbed in our mouths (Nils' idea). Bedtime and books.

Today, let's do it again. And we need to go to the grocery store... because tomorrow we're going to visit our friends who (wait for it...) run summer camp! Woo!

Yeah, we know how to do summer.

Summery Summary

I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty that there is nothing in this world cuter than a happy little Nils wet from a pool, wearing a puppy hooded towel, and eating a zebra cake.

Nothing. Nadda.

You'll have to take my word for it because our pool doesn't allow people to take photos.

We've been spending our mornings at the pool as C is in the midst of swim lessons. It's been a joy this year. It took three years of misery, but finally this year has been great. Evidently 1015 is a perfect start time for us. We can have a leisurely morning and get there with enough time to check a protesting Nils into the kid's club. C swims. I chat with other moms or lounge around reading. Then we pick Nils back up, change him into his suit, and head back out to the pool for some more fun. A picnic lunch in the shade and we're ready to head home for naps.

Like how easy that all just sounds? I left out the part where dropping off Nils takes a lifetime because we have to crowbar him off of my leg. And the part where it takes an eternity to get everyone and all of our stuff into the car and then out of the car and then into the car and so on. And changing diapers in the midst of everything. And sunscreen. And stopping for various things like reading signs and checking out bugs and getting stamps from the front door at the pool. Oh, and neither kid can swim. It's a circus. A wonderful crazy circus. Swim lessons are thirty minutes long. Getting ready, getting there, swim lessons, a short swim, lunch... it takes our whole day.

*

Carolena wanted to introduce two of her girlfriends (one of whom has two sisters) so we hosted a luau this weekend. It was a genius idea as the parents totally would be friends as well (duh, why didn't I think to introduce them?). As per the usual party planning was put into motion and C and I enjoyed making decorations and hitting up the dollar store.

We had a house full of little girls and they all had a blast... that is... until 830 when they all simultaneously started melting down and we realized the party was over.

*

Luau decorations are staying up as they just scream summertime. Plus, they will fit right in with where were going with Carolena's birthday theme. C is getting giddy as we made invitations yesterday. I won't ruin the surprise, but excitement around here is at an all-time high.

Beer Boxes, Gorgeous Models, and Jake the Pirate

Conversation overheard yesterday:
Carolena examines a full case of beer on our kitchen table and exclaims, "Whaatt?! Nils, this rocket ship space helmet is full of coke bottles!" to which Nils stares in disbelief and replies, "whaaattt?!"

Does that mean our children have never seen a full beer box before?

huh?
wwwhhhhaaattt??


****

In other news... remember how Carolena has spent her entire life referring to me as
such glamorous people as Ursula and Miss Hannigan? As in... pretty much since as soon as she could talk. Her roles for me are pretty consistent and when she calls out, "Mommy! There's you!" I know not to get my hopes up. I am fully aware of how she sees me.

This morning Nils and I were sitting at the kitchen table together reading a magazine while I drank coffee and he had breakfast. We were discussing things like the Golden Gate Bridge and Colorado (both places that he wants to go) and I flipped a page. Nils cried out "That YOU!" and pointed to this photo:

Oh Nils, sweet Nils. What do you want? A pony? I will get you a pony. A real firetruck? Yours. A trip to the Golden Gate Bridge? Colorado? The moon? All yours. I have spent the last years with a small child yelling "that you!" at the most hideous of photos. Nils, you have no idea how much this means to me. Name what you want. It's yours my Nils.

Hey, guess what else! When we went to Joanns last week Carolena actually requested that I sew her a dress and picked out the fabric. This was amazing in that she has never been very keen on any dress I have made for her. She has always been very appreciative and very gracious but then calmly not worn the dresses. So, when we walked around Joanns and she carefully selected Jake and the Neverland Pirates fabric and pink flamingos I was totally on board.

We came home and looked at my patterns and she chose a cute one with little cap sleeves, we talked through what the finished product might look like, and I got to work. This dress was Carolena's design and I was merely the (semi-skilled) laborer. I am sure that she will refer to it as her "Jake dress" and in my mind I will continue to call it what I dubbed it during construction "Murphy's dress" as in "anything that can go wrong..."

After more than my fair share of seam ripping, and a total overhaul of the back of the dress when it didn't fit, and more ripping when I accidentally sewed the pocket to part of the back of the dress (silent cussing ensued at that point)... I finally arrived at this:

That is pre-last ironing because, well, because that's when I took the photos. As you can see, the solution to "ah! the top is too tight!" was to reconstruct the back to be an open back with a ribbon tie on top. I actually prefer this new back to the original pattern. It seems much more summer-y to go with the style of the flamingo/Jake/summertime dress. Carolena and I make a really good team. As we looked at the almost-finished product and did a little brainstorming we together arrived at the idea of cutting out some small Captain Hooks and Jakes from the left over fabric and made small pillow-like guys to put in the pocket. C did all of the stuffing while I did the stitching and now the dress is complete with two of each so that C and N can play with them in church. Yes, really, that's the plan.

I love this dress. It is sooo Carolena. A little funky. A little girly. Very happy and colorful. Something trendy (Jake) but the trendy thing isn't girly. Oh, it's just so C. A big blue jean pocket from an old pair of jeans (I've had that in my sewing box for like 15+ years). Rickrack, piping, flamingos, pirates, mismatched sleeves. Here's hoping she actually wears this one!

Scenes of Summer

It feels like it's been summer around here for quite some time. Is it not the middle of July? Huh... weird. I could have sworn it was. I'm thrilled that it isn't as we are having a great time. Going to Disney World and then the beach twice really threw us into summer mode around here, and things are going swimmingly. It seems everywhere I turn there are things that make me smile. Sure, the house is a mess (which I'm swimming upstream trying to clean it), but at least the mess is largely due to people having fun and using their creativity. We've watched little to no tv as we have all been have been too busy reading and playing and painting and creating and imagining. Ah, bliss.

I love when the tv is off. I'm convinced my children are far better behaved when they are getting out energy and creativity rather than zoning out in front of a screen. So, behavior around here has been pretty great lately too.

I can't remember the last time we ate dinner in the kitchen. Why would we when we can eat outside on our deck? A tablecloth, a "summer time" meal, dessert most nights, and candles that get promptly blown out by the wind, yes, we love eating on the deck. The lizards scamper around and we dream about what our deck dweller rabbit might be up to. And then we walk back inside carrying all of our plates and utensils, toss them into the sink, and clean up is nearly finished!



Bathing suits have been constantly drying in showers and laundry room. Watermelon is staining our clothing. A pile of "to be tie-dyed" has started in the kitchen.

Summer is in full swing around here and it's pretty darn swell.

I Lava You

Yeah, we went to Disney World last week.
Yeah, it was awesome.
I'll tell you about it sometime.

But for now... well, you see... I received a ukulele for Mother's Day... sooo...

Back off. I'm busy.

Maybe I'll play you a little ditty this summer and tell you about our trip.

For now, I've got to practice!

Sunday

Don't ask me how much coffee I've had this morning and I won't ask you how much you've had.
Hint: it's at least less than Voltaire.

I'm right in the middle of GWTW. Which of course means don't talk to me or expect me to do anything other than read. Holy mackerel that book is fabulous.

I'm thinking about ordering my bookshelves by putting the books that I reread all of the time together, books that I love but don't tend to reread together, and books that I haven't read yet together. That could be interesting and save time when searching for the next book to read.

I finally got control of myself and have lost a few of the pounds I needed to shed before ww weigh in. I'm not back to goal yet but hopefully will be before the end of April. How does one get control if they are Casey you ask? I filled the fridge and fruit bowl with fruit that I really like. I wrote "not for Casey" across the top of the peanut butter jar (my weakness), and hard boiled 50,000 eggs. And filled the freezer with edamame. That's about it. Voila, lost weight. I'm eating more than fruit, edamame, and eggs, but those are just good go-to things for me when I'm feeling snacky. Oh, and greek yogurt. Now I just need to maintain this control.

Disney countdown is in full swing and I'm busy squirreling away entertainment for the two day drive. I'm really looking forward to the car trip. Our last car trip was a blast. We're not a techy family and didn't watch movies on the drive or bring ipads or whatnot. I'm stocking up on conversation ideas, books, and car friendly games. I plan on getting a good audio book or two from the library as well. I can't wait!!

Magazine Life

Somehow, miraculously, yesterday's peace and potential resulted in this:

Now would be the time when Nils pops up out of nowhere chanting, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!"
Yes, he does that all of the time. It's awesome and amazing and does in fact boost one's energy. I told you, we're raising an 80s villain. He also likes to sing "Go Mommy! Go Mommy!" for me... and himself which is the best "Go Nils! Go Nils!"

Seriously though, Casey! Casey! Casey!

You know how magazines are always acting like people can turn nothing into something just by digging around their house? For once, that worked for me. A few months ago my mom snagged some awesome Kindergarten cubbies from my old school and saved them for us. They were awesome, real wood, and huge. So we cut them in half and turned them into this:

They are so useful. I could have cleaned them up for their blog debut and made them look like a magazine. I could have lined up our shoes adorably across the bottom. I could have put my llbean tote in there just so. I could have a picture that is centered and includes the cool picture hanging above them and flowers on top. But that isn't real life. This is what those cubbies really look like everyday. Hm... perhaps I will paint and distress those too...

Yesterday I contemplated the leftover cubbies (from cutting them in half). I ended up popping the side off of one of them and attaching it to the back of the other to make it stable. Then, I found some leftover paint from my laundry room and got to work (yes, my laundry room is that happy color). What fun! Some sandpaper completed the look and then the kids helped me move kitchen stuff onto it. I love it!

Again, I could have gone with magazine quality... but that's what our island actually looks like this morning.

For years now I've had a picture on our fridge of a kitchen I tore out of a magazine. It is an island with a beautiful shelf built in underneath. Finally! Finally!

Chris has been lovingly teasing me about our house lately. Something about the spring makes me nest. I can't stop daydreaming and working and changing and rearranging. Hm... speaking of which... I have a shelf to go hang in the bathroom...

Life is a Cabaret!

I put down my knitting, my book, and my broom (broom, ha!)...

 

Left our troubles outside. We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful...The girls are beautiful... Even the orchestra is beautiful!

It was fabulous, of course. One of the best... as usual.

Dinner and a night at the Cabaret. Need I say more?

Don't Call it a Comeback, I've Been Here for Years

I read two books last week. TWO. Like... as in... finished two books. In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Voyage of the USS Jeannette was fascinating and insanely good. Then over Saturday and Sunday I picked up The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and read it cover to cover. Sucked in. I definitely recommend both books. So, now what to read?? So many books to read and reread. And so many more books on the shelves of Goodwill!

Spring Break was great - the kids and I spent the week with my parents, my sis, and her kids all at the beach. The kids ran amok. I consumed far too many calories. Nils summed up the week-long trip by screaming, "Nooo!!! Go back Moom's house! Beach!! Nooo!!" when we turned off of the highway and into Katy. Yep.

Luckily for Nils (and the rest of us) Moom showed up at our house yesterday. Chris gifted me with two tickets for me to go see Cabaret with mi madre so we're heading into the bayou city for that tomorrow night. Party! Party!

I'm tired. I've gained weight. My caffeine consumption is through the roof. You know when would be a good time to get control? Yesterday. Instead I ate donuts and McDonalds (I don't even like donuts!). Today: restart. Again.

The Run Down

Reading: Coffee Tea or Me (rereading actually. I read it in college) and In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Voyage of the USS Jeannette. I usually just read one book at a time and really prefer to just read one at a time. I'm not sure how it happened that I'm in the middle of two insanely different books right now, but I am so now I need to finish them. My stack of books to read is growing and growing. My routine on Mon/Wed includes stopping at Goodwill after I drop the kids at school. So yeah, the stack of "to read" has grown considerably.

Consuming: beer... chips... coffee... oh Lord the coffee intake is out of control. Diet Coke. What's happening?!??! At least I can also include edamame and Yoplait Whips yogurt to the list. Those are my healthy over-indulgences. Most days I eat an entire bag of edamame for lunch. On one hand... really? On the other hand... that's a pretty great lunch.

Last night: perfect weather. Beer and chips and guac on our deck. A hot bath. Asleep before 8pm. Heaven.

Excited for: the beach!!! The kids and I are heading to the beach for SIX days. I am giddy. The girls and the kids are all heading to the beach for some fun and chaos and hopefully limited meltdowns (for both kids and moms). So, don't worry about checking my blog for a week. I'll be living it up on Bolivar.

Home, Home on the Range

Last night we lit a fire in the chiminea and all snuggled up outside to enjoy the fire. I started singing and Nils' face lit up and he immediately ran inside to grab our Family Car Songbook. We ended up singing "Home on the Range" over and over and over as C just learned that one at school.

Home, home on the range

Sitting on our deck. Fire popping and glowing. Children snuggled in our laps with their lovies. 

Where the deer and the antelope play

Chris and I tucked in those munchkins (to the tune of more Home on the Range) and then went back to the chiminea. I dozed off in my chair and awoke to Chris telling me it was time to go inside.

Where seldom is heard a discouraging word.

Home.

Incoherent Ramblings

Want to listen to me obsess some more? I just can't get into my next book. You know the feeling when you loved the book you just finished so much that it seems impossible to move to the next book? Yeah, I've got that problem. Maybe I should just reread Touch the Top of the World. I've started like three books and just can't move on yet. Or maybe I'll just go to an old standby palette cleanser like Don't Stop the Carnival.

If you don't know the feeling I'm talking about then you need to find better books to read. It's the feeling of the book you just finished being so good that you forget that you have finished it. It's the feeling of not being able to move on to the next book because your brain is still stuck firmly in the last one. It's a wonderful and horrible place. Gone With the Wind... yeah... that one will do it to you.

OR maybe I shouldn't start another book and should instead spend my time wisely prepping for the Quiet Day I'm leading a week from today. Hm. That wooouuld be wise. Nah. I'll let Future Casey deal with that.

I was listening to an interview with Yann Martel on NPR recently and he was asked about sending books to the Canadian Prime Minister. Martel (author of Life of Pi) said that he heard the Prime Minister say that he doesn't read fiction and was horrified. Here's what stuck with me: Martel argued that reading fiction is one of the things that brings people to compassion. It is when we read that we enter into the shoes of another person and walk around in them. That is so true. Reading is an escape that watching tv or playing online just isn't. Reading Touch the Top of the World I became a blind man mountain climbing. Reading Gone With the Wind I'm Scarlett watching Atlanta burn around me and just trying to get home to Tara of the past. I've been a middle aged Jewish man in the Caribbean. I like to return to the terror of a world in which people burn books and only listen to ipods. Reading transforms the user experience in a way that watching could never do. Martel is so right. Reading brings the ability to walk in another shoes and truly learn what it is like to be someone else. Reading breeds compassion. The end of the story was that Martel started mailing books to the Prime Minister that he recommended he read. That's awesome.

I think this might be my favorite time of year: Texas Spring. It's technically still winter (ha, winter) but outside the weather is glorious. The birds are singing and the sun is out. The humidity is low and the suffocating heat of the summer is still far enough in the future to seem like it might not come this year (double ha).

Okay, I'm lying. This isn't my favorite time of year. Fall in another state is my favorite. But, hey, this is what were living so this will be my favorite. Minus all of the allergies.

You know what would be a good security system? Putting those little kid door handle things on the outside knobs of your house.

My coffee intake is out of control. Too much coffee. Too much junk food. Ugh. Today is reset day. Well, not reset caffeine day, don't be ridiculous. Future Casey has way too much on her plate to start that crap. *sigh* When will I ever learn? When will I eeeevvvver learn?

Super Weekend (see what I did there... like Super Bowl but who cares about football)

Universal Law of Motherhood: when a child wakes a mother up before her alarm goes off that mother gets to drink one extra cup of coffee per twenty minutes of lost sleep.

That means today I'm looking at two extra cups.

We went to a birthday party at Build-A-Bear this weekend and Carolena may have had one of the best days of her life. It was right up her alley and she immediately announced that she too will have a Build-A-Bear birthday... you know... a million months from now when it's actually her birthday.

So, I spent yesterday morning creating a nap mat, skirt, and dress for her new Build-A-Bear puppy.
And sitting at the kitchen table with my new book (Illustration School: Let's Draw Cute Animals). I'm addicted. I wonder if they have some sort of anonymous group for being addicted to such a thing.

Yesterday I heard the magical words, "Enjoy the quiet house!" as Chris and the kids hopped out to go check on his new fish at work. I, very wisely, spent the time with my new drawing book and Mr. Toad. A sequel not written by the author of the first book is certainly open to some skepticism... but wow... Mr. Horwood did it. The Willows in Winter is fabulous. A keeper for sure.

AND Carolena and I had a "just the girls" outing yesterday. Lunch at Chick-Fil-A (her choice) and a trip to the mall. C got two dresses and a cute pair of Converse which came with a handshake that she would learn to tie them. She kept her part of the deal and worked on it when we got home... but teaching a lefty to tie her shoes evidently confounds me and we might have to bring in an expert for shoe tying lessons (*ahem*UncleTrent!*ahem). After shoes and dresses we hit up Claire's. Ohh yeahhh. At one point C screeched in happiness, "I found a locket!!! Just like in Annie. I didn't know these were real! I thought it was just in Annie!"

So now she owns a $7 locket.

I finally managed to hang out with one of my very favorite people (we rarely get to see one another due to schedules). We got casually dressed up (as in nice shoes with jeans) and went out to eat. Mom heaven. Well, except for when she told me her family's quest to move into the country has finally come to fruition and they'll be moving before next school year. An hour and a half away. At the time I was caught up in her excitement (and still am), but it hit me when I got home and I cried. My very best friend in Katy is moving. I think this is an okay time for an "oh shit" except that I am so insanely happy for her that if it fell through I would be sad and disappointed. Plus, now I will be able to go visit her cool farm house and her future chickens and such. Life was awesome back when she and I used to be able to hang out several times a week though.

Last night I fell asleep in front of the fire (it's okay, Chris was awake as it was like 740) and am starting the day with those two extra cups o'joe on the horizon thanks to Nils. So, yeah, I'd say today looks promising.

Reading, Eating, and Rising (Too) Early

Reading: The Casual Vacancy. I am totally sucked in and spent all of yesterday ignoring my children and reading. I don't feel guilty about that at all... that's how you teach people to love reading isn't it?

Eating: Too much. Ugh. I dread weighing in at WW this week. *sigh* What happened???
Oh, I remember. I switched migraine meds and have been crazy eating every since. Crap.

Coffee: two cups and sometimes a Diet Coke with lunch. What happened???

Amazon recommended this for me this morning: Pass the Tooting Stinky Pig - Funny Hot Potato Farting Dice Game Toy.
I'm speechless. Amazon, do you not know me at all? That seems like something someone would buy for me all the while thinking "Casey will love this. This is so her sense of humor" and I would open it and smile and think, "wow. This person does not know me at all. My feelings are so hurt that they think I would like this" and our friendship would be forever changed in subtle ways because of it. Amazon, that friend is you.

Nils has been waking up before 5am. I blame Chris.
Okay, okay, put down your pitchforks. Here's why: because like a week or two ago Chris said with a sigh, "Neither of our kids have ever come and slept in our bed."
I was like, "umm... yes. We're lucky like that."
To which he responded with "I wish they would. Just wake up during the night and run and hop in our bed and snooze. That would be great."
Me: "No. It wouldn't. That's why parents complain about that."

Fast forward to this morning. 430am Nils in our room.
Me to Chris "I blame you for this."
Chris, "I just want him to do this and not wake us up."
Me, "aaaargh!"

Just Beachy

For the first time (ever!) my mom and sister and I went to the beach together. Just us (with guest appearances by Jimmers).
It. Was. Awesome.

We drank margaritas and danced the night away at the Ship's Wheel and got manicures and laid out.

*Kidding*

We worked on puzzles and searched for sharks' teeth for hours (I found fourteen!). Then we worked on more puzzles. We wandered through the Gulf Coast Market and Bolivar's one and only thrift store. We worked on more puzzles. We blew right through nap time and looked for more sharks' teeth. We went out for dinner at seven pm (what?! wild and crazy!) and Kelly and I ate a mountain of bbq crabs at the Stingaree.We didn't change any diapers. We didn't refill anyone's milk. We were un-needed for over 24 hours while our own mother took care of us. It was pretty much mom-of-toddlers heaven.

I even stayed in bed until seven. What?!

And then... I came home... to the greatest family ever. One of the best things about going away is missing each other. Chris and I have known each other for longer than we didn't know one another. That sentence was confusing. I met Chris when I was fourteen and I'm now almost thirty-three. So, yeah, missing him every once in a while is kind of nice.

I came home to a clean house and a huge cardboard space shuttle in the living room (I paid 8 bucks for that thing at Goodwill. Score! It's bigger than it looks online). A clean house. Sleeping beautiful children. Bliss.

And then...

And then there was the time Carolena and I built some amazing log cabins while Nils was asleep and she got a seventeen year old version of herself to sit in for the picture.

 

And then there was the time I found Nils decked out! 

 And then there was the time this happened...

And then I sewed another dress!

Hiding

So perhaps hiding in my closet to eat candy and read Mindy Kaling's book wasn't the best way to spend the afternoon on my "Restart Day! Lose the five pounds I gained in the last month!" Oh well. You know when a good time to get a grip and lose weight is? Tomorrow.

*sigh* or today I suppose. At least it's "I'm happy weight" which one can trick oneself into believing looks really insanely good. Weight gain due to beer consumption, chips and queso, and secret candy in the closet can do that to you.

Nils had his own "Oh crap where can I hide?!" moment yesterday too which consisted of him grabbing the tv remote, glancing all around him to both (a) check if I was watching and (b) find a secret location to inspect and subsequently push buttons. He opted for scrambling to the "Time Out!" spot where I found him squatting, smiling, pressing, and glancing at me with that impish grin and a twinkle in his eye. "One more minute?" he inquired. That smile. That eye twinkle. He has me wrapped around his chubby little tv-remote-button-pushing-finger, so of course I let him.

The Girl is Crafty Like Ice is Cold

Reading: The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. Yes, still. This is a fabulous book if you want to learn every single detail of the life of BFrank. It's not a general overview. Whew. So it's long and sometimes tedious. I'm thisclose to the Boston Tea Party episode though so I can't put it down now! I need to finish it though so I can move on with my life... my pile of books to read and reread (Gone With the Wind!!) is just getting larger.

Coffee Intake: One cup a day! And by one cup I mean one single little scoop of grounds. Go Casey! Go Casey! I think it would be fairly easy at this point to drop that cup, but I enjoy it so much that for now I'm keeping it. At one cup a day I wake up feeling great rather than like I'm going to die if I don't get coffee. Although... that could also be due to the fact that I've been sleeping more than our cats lately.

Sleeping: a lot. A ton. A plethora. I'm not sure what happened but I've been falling asleep between 7 and 8 every night. Not that I was staying up late before... but man, I've been pulling a Jimmers (my dad) and falling asleep while tucking in C (like he used to do to me) OR coming out of a kid's room from tucking-in, turning on The Twilight Zone, and falling asleep on the couch 2 minutes later. Oh well, at least I'm still getting up early. Lots of people need 10 hours of sleep... like cats... and teenagers.

Crafting: Why, yes, I have been. Thanks for asking. I miraculously finished this:

I think I'm going to rip out the date and put it smaller in the corner. It takes away from the family. And hey, what's a cross-stitch without 50 million rip-outs and redos, right? In case you can't tell, it's our fam. From left to right: Max (or a rapid racoon?), Chris, Carolena (holding her lovies Whoppie and Howie behind her back), Nils with his "night-night" blankie and a dead racoon "King Julian," and moi with a cup of coffee and a book about polar exploration (in theory the white stitches on the book are a Compass Rose with bigger N/S arrows... in reality it's just a blob), and of course, Lieutenant Square Body, the fiesty Olive herself (with a purple calm collar on) rounds us out on the right.

I love it. If you want me to make one for your family I'm charging $400,000 due to the cost of labor. Man, cross-stitches would really be a breeze if it weren't for all of the "that looks weird" and ripping out and restitching.

I also pulled out my sewing machine yesterday and made a dress for Carolena. I used an old pattern that I tweaked (look at me, tweaking a pattern!). She LOVES it and when she tried it on yesterday so I could mark where to cut and hem she insisted that she wants it "looonnng" - so it looks like we're going long. Still needs to be cut and hemmed though.

et cetera: Yesterday I taught my son to wipe his nose on his sleeves. Yes, on purpose. It just breaks my heart to see Nils sitting there with a runny nose and he's snot going to get up and go get a Kleenex. So that's a habit I'll have to break later but for now his life will be all that much better. Tonight is Kinder-Expo at school! What?! I'm excited. C is just starting to show signs of restlessness at home. I think by the end of the summer she'll be jumping out of her skin to start kinder. I've got a date on the calendar to go to the beach with my mom and sister (woo!) and I'm feeling footloose and fancy free. I'm dying to see the new Christian Bale movie (*sigh*) so I need to either go next week or find someone (cough cough) to meet me halfway. Yesterday Nils pointed to the sky and yelled, "Bird!" but I heard "Batman!" and was about to put on some fresh lipstick in case it was Christian Bale. Unfortunately, it was a bird.