Today is confession day: I am a stalker. Specifically, I am stalking our across-the-street neighbor's home. I don't know anything about the couple, but their two boys are favorites of Little Man. Even though they are approximately 10 and 13 years old, they have always been really nice to him. This summer, Little Man regularly went over to "sweep" their driveway for them.
ATS Neighbors have been trying to sell their home for awhile. I'm thinking it's been at least a year at this point. It was for sale for awhile and then we saw them outside once and asked how their recent open house went. Not well. No one came! We found out that day that they were building, or planning to build, a new home near the river. (I actually don't know if it is supposed to be 'near the river' but that is what Little Man always says when he talks about them, so I'm going to pretend that is true.)
Side comment: we live in one of the few places in the country where home prices are slightly increasing, and home sales have slowed but it isn't as bad here as other places. The length of time that passes in this story is unusual for our area.
Last winter, they took the house off the market for awhile, and re-listed it in the spring with a new agent. We saw people come to look every now and then. I admit, once or twice I let the kids play outside a little longer than I planned so that I could check out the family walking through the house!
And then one day this fall, the SOLD sign was hung on their For Sale sign. It was a sad day for us, especially Little Man. The two nice boys would be moving away. But, hooray!, that means they get to build their new home. The husband told Eric that they "had to be out" by Halloween, so we assume they were supposed to close then.
November came and went. The SOLD sign stayed out there, but no one moved in. December, the same. The exterior garage lights that were left on burned out. Since we did a short sale on our old house this past summer, I am a Zillow fan.
And my stalking began... I checked out Zillow and learned that the house was taken off the market in October. And then, nothing. We kept waiting for someone to move in. Still nothing.
Naturally, I started regularly checking Zillow to see what was going on with the house! (Because wouldn't anyone do that?) At the end of November, Zillow showed the house going active again as a listing. Same listing, same agent. And yet, the SOLD sign remained outside. A search of our local MLS doesn't show the listing number as active.
In December, as Little Man and I drove past, I noticed some kind of flier on their front door. No, I did not go to their front door, I saw it as I was driving by! I thought it would be bad in a "drawing attention to the fact the home is vacant" to leave the flier on the door. Not wanting to be spotted stalking, I made Little Man go get the flier. And it was essentially a utility delinquency notice! Oops! (So Little Man ran back across the street with it and re-attached it to the door. Told you he is smart!)
Now I feel really sad for our ATS neighbors. I think their sale must have fallen through. And maybe they are stuck with a half built other house. Our recent short sale experience has made me feel really horrible for them, and extra curious about the circumstances.
A few weeks ago, a sticker showed up on the front window of the house. This time I actually did go over to see what it was. You know, because of punk kids. (!!) It was the dreaded notice from the mortgage holder that the home has been deemed vacant and will be winterized, locks changed, etc. Yikes!
Then last week, Eric and I were outside (legitimately - shoveling snow after the "snowstorm") and a guy with one of those bluetooth ear piece things got out of a truck with some kind of metal pipe tool. He explored the yard, through 6 inches of snow, by banging the metal pipe tool thingy all over the ground. I didn't even pretend like I wasn't watching. Was he looking for the irrigation? Was he the realtor? So many questions! No answers!
This week, we had some excitement! 3 days in a row a white sedan was at the house. We thought maybe someone was moving in this past weekend. And there was a boy! Hooray! I told my mom to keep an eye out while Eric and I went to the auto show out of town on Saturday. Prime moving day! When I got home she reported that there were actually 3 different vehicles outside of the house.
The For Sale sign with accompanying SOLD sign is still outside. We thought maybe the ATS neighbor decided to rent the house out. Or maybe the buyer moved in, but why would the SOLD sign still be there? And why is there now a lock box on the door?
Today, no action again. When Eric took our dog for a walk, I asked him to check to see if there is furniture in the house. It was dark, so he brought his cell phone so he could use the flashlight app to take a peek.
The mystery continues... the house is empty!
So many hypotheses! Now I think the action last week may have been the mortgage holder changing the locks, cleaning and doing other stuff to the house. Our maybe it was the real estate agent and people cleaning the house to get it ready for showings? My theory that it was home stagers is out since there is no furniture.
Part of me is a little bit ashamed of how much mental energy I have put into investigating the ATS house, but it is an interesting mystery at least, right? It leaves me wondering what I will do with myself when someone actually does move in!
Haan.Family.Life.Classroom
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
I'm a Titanic Groupie
My mom and I went to see The Descendants this afternoon. We walked in a few minutes into the previews and...
Not even 9 times... 10 times!! That's 32+ hours of Titanic movie theater time. And probably $60-ish of Titanic movie theater tickets. Plus popcorn X10!
It was sort of an accident. I didn't mean to become a Titanic groupie, but it happened. I cried in the movie theater 10 times during this scene...
Oh goodness, I am practically crying RIGHT NOW!
And you are either a)also crying or b)siding with my husband and making fun of me.
I am not as obsessed with the movie now as I was then. But I do own it. And we did "watch" it while I labored at home with Little Man. (What a strange choice I made! If I was in my right mind, I clearly would have chosen "You've Got Mail".)
How about you? Are you freaking out about going to see the re-release of Titanic? If you need me in the week or two after April 6th, check the movie theater, because I will probably be there!
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!
"Somebody's life is about to change..."
And that somebody is ME, baby! I am not even lying to you, Titanic is being re-released in April in honor of the 100th anniversary of the actual Titanic sinking. And I practically started crying with emotional joy just seeing the preview today.
The movie was originally released in 1997, while I was in college. At first, I resisted seeing the movie because of my whole thing where I am forced to have an attitude and hate/dismiss things that everyone else loves. And I don't tend to like "girl movies". It was a "pass" for me. But then I was home over winter vacation and my mom and I thought, "Let's go see this Titanic movie that everyone is talking about."
Was the Celine Dion song already being played 24 hours a day on the radio at that point? I am not sure. (And, no, that scene isn't a favorite of mine.)
So we saw the movie, and I liked the movie. I thought it was an adventure, and I liked the love story. (I also really liked Shakespeare in Love, which came out the next year and shares a similar tragic love story theme.) Plus, it had a great soundtrack, which is always key when you're talking about an epic film. I was in college with plenty of free time, and I actually had a job that didn't pay poorly for work study. So I invited a friend to see Titanic. And then I would learn someone else hadn't seen it, so I'd say, "You have to see it! I'll go with you!"
A month or two later, I had seen Titanic in the movie theater... 10 times!
Not even 9 times... 10 times!! That's 32+ hours of Titanic movie theater time. And probably $60-ish of Titanic movie theater tickets. Plus popcorn X10!
It was sort of an accident. I didn't mean to become a Titanic groupie, but it happened. I cried in the movie theater 10 times during this scene...
Oh goodness, I am practically crying RIGHT NOW!
And you are either a)also crying or b)siding with my husband and making fun of me.
I am not as obsessed with the movie now as I was then. But I do own it. And we did "watch" it while I labored at home with Little Man. (What a strange choice I made! If I was in my right mind, I clearly would have chosen "You've Got Mail".)
How about you? Are you freaking out about going to see the re-release of Titanic? If you need me in the week or two after April 6th, check the movie theater, because I will probably be there!
Friday, January 27, 2012
The White Room
Since I've been trapped in my house for the past few days with my sick kids, I have been planning out my organizing and redecorating schemes with the help of Pinterest. I also watched an episode of Colour Confidential where the woman redid a simple bedroom with a design that seemed almost achievable for a normal person.
And so, I spent an exciting Friday night at home watching The Debt and looking around on Pinterest for bedroom colors and bedding that might give me some inspiration. I'm not talking about finding super extravagant, ridiculously expensive, architecturally stunning bedrooms. Just simple things that someone like me (not very crafty, almost negatively skilled in the artistic department, with a very meager budget) could actually attempt.
I stumbled upon a strange phenomenon: the white room. Here I am looking for fun and stylish bedding, and I keep finding white bedrooms! White furniture, white comforter. White, white, white. I notice the same thing when I look at other room ideas: office, playroom, kids bedroom. So much white!!
In my real house, we don't have any white furniture, and that is on purpose. You see, it gets dirty! I routinely curse our hideous kitchen and dining room vinyl floor because it is "white" (in quotes because it isn't actually white anymore). But we do have white trim and some white walls - the people we bought our house from painted not long before we bought the house and they seemed to really like the style of "3 walls color, 1 wall white" - almost every room in our house was that way when we bought it. Only some rooms have been painted since then.
Looking at white bedrooms and white bedding is nice. Oh so crisp and clean! But, seriously? With 2 young children? And a dog? And a husband? This will never be my house, so it isn't much inspiration.
I dare you: go on to Pinterest and type in "bedroom" in the search bar. Here are a few of the most recent pins:
I spy some green on that bed!!!
And so, I spent an exciting Friday night at home watching The Debt and looking around on Pinterest for bedroom colors and bedding that might give me some inspiration. I'm not talking about finding super extravagant, ridiculously expensive, architecturally stunning bedrooms. Just simple things that someone like me (not very crafty, almost negatively skilled in the artistic department, with a very meager budget) could actually attempt.
I stumbled upon a strange phenomenon: the white room. Here I am looking for fun and stylish bedding, and I keep finding white bedrooms! White furniture, white comforter. White, white, white. I notice the same thing when I look at other room ideas: office, playroom, kids bedroom. So much white!!
In my real house, we don't have any white furniture, and that is on purpose. You see, it gets dirty! I routinely curse our hideous kitchen and dining room vinyl floor because it is "white" (in quotes because it isn't actually white anymore). But we do have white trim and some white walls - the people we bought our house from painted not long before we bought the house and they seemed to really like the style of "3 walls color, 1 wall white" - almost every room in our house was that way when we bought it. Only some rooms have been painted since then.
Looking at white bedrooms and white bedding is nice. Oh so crisp and clean! But, seriously? With 2 young children? And a dog? And a husband? This will never be my house, so it isn't much inspiration.
I dare you: go on to Pinterest and type in "bedroom" in the search bar. Here are a few of the most recent pins:
I spy some green on that bed!!!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
We Interrupt This Blog Post...
This is an alert of the Child Sickness System. This is NOT a test.
Throw on your rain poncho and be prepared for overnight puking and waves of crying. Do NOT attempt to take Ambien to sleep, as you will be awakened multiple times by a puking child. Even your dog will puke in sympathy.
Sticky green boogers will be in abundance for the next 5-10 days. Imagination play will center around disease and medical treatment. Intermittent fevers will be spotted.
Check emergency supplies of Children's Ibuprofen, Children's Tylenol, 7Up, crackers and popsicles. Gigantic iced lattes from the expensive coffee stand down the street may be in order.
This concludes the alert of the Child Sickness System. God be with you.
Throw on your rain poncho and be prepared for overnight puking and waves of crying. Do NOT attempt to take Ambien to sleep, as you will be awakened multiple times by a puking child. Even your dog will puke in sympathy.
Sticky green boogers will be in abundance for the next 5-10 days. Imagination play will center around disease and medical treatment. Intermittent fevers will be spotted.
Check emergency supplies of Children's Ibuprofen, Children's Tylenol, 7Up, crackers and popsicles. Gigantic iced lattes from the expensive coffee stand down the street may be in order.
This concludes the alert of the Child Sickness System. God be with you.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Book Love
I'm a part of a book club. It is actually my third book club. Right after Big Girl was born, I joined a book club associated with an attachment parenting group in my town. I was drawn to it because they met once a month and chose a wide variety of books: fiction, parenting, other non-fiction. I was introduced to In Defense of Food and Brain Child magazine.
Then a few friends who knew I was book clubbing mentioned the possibility of doing a book club among ourselves. I ended up sort of being in charge of that one. I think we only read a few books (because then I moved away), and they were pretty big fails in my mind. (If I never hear about this book again, it will be too soon. Sorry Mom.)
When we came up here to visit so that Eric could consider whether to accept his Call to become principal here, I met a few school moms at Starbucks one morning while he was doing... something. I mentioned I was in a book club, and one of the moms was all about it! So when we moved here, she and I started Book Love - a women's book club with a generic name! =)
We've been meeting every month or two for the past 2 years. There have been some big successes (The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The Forgotten Garden, etc...) and some fails (The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Breakfast with Buddha, etc.)
Some people join book clubs to "force" themselves to read. That is not me. I don't have any trouble with finding time to read. I like book club because it gives me a chance to hear about books I wouldn't otherwise discover, read some books that are outside of my reading comfort zone, and talk with friends about books we've read. I admit, I don't really enjoy the "book club discussion questions", I prefer a less structured talk about what everyone thought about the book. And I have gotten a chance to get to know some women a little better, which is a good benefit.
Thinking about joining a book club? You should totally do it! Even if you can't read every book or make it to every discussion, it is a perfect kind of format to pop in and out. You'll get to spend time with other book lovers and keep that brain working too!
I have to give a shout out to GoodReads, which is a great website for finding books, getting info and reviews on books you hear about, and keeping a list of books you hear about that are interesting that you want to remember to read when you have a chance!
Then a few friends who knew I was book clubbing mentioned the possibility of doing a book club among ourselves. I ended up sort of being in charge of that one. I think we only read a few books (because then I moved away), and they were pretty big fails in my mind. (If I never hear about this book again, it will be too soon. Sorry Mom.)
When we came up here to visit so that Eric could consider whether to accept his Call to become principal here, I met a few school moms at Starbucks one morning while he was doing... something. I mentioned I was in a book club, and one of the moms was all about it! So when we moved here, she and I started Book Love - a women's book club with a generic name! =)
We've been meeting every month or two for the past 2 years. There have been some big successes (The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The Forgotten Garden, etc...) and some fails (The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Breakfast with Buddha, etc.)
Some people join book clubs to "force" themselves to read. That is not me. I don't have any trouble with finding time to read. I like book club because it gives me a chance to hear about books I wouldn't otherwise discover, read some books that are outside of my reading comfort zone, and talk with friends about books we've read. I admit, I don't really enjoy the "book club discussion questions", I prefer a less structured talk about what everyone thought about the book. And I have gotten a chance to get to know some women a little better, which is a good benefit.
Thinking about joining a book club? You should totally do it! Even if you can't read every book or make it to every discussion, it is a perfect kind of format to pop in and out. You'll get to spend time with other book lovers and keep that brain working too!
I have to give a shout out to GoodReads, which is a great website for finding books, getting info and reviews on books you hear about, and keeping a list of books you hear about that are interesting that you want to remember to read when you have a chance!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Anxiety Days
I struggle with panic and anxiety at times. Most people don't see that side of me, though I mention it occasionally. My anxiety is fairly mild, I'm not medicated and usually I can function well enough to hide it if I feel like I should. And not every day is an Anxiety Day.
But, today is. And since I'm trying to blog every day this month, it is my topic for today. I'm going to tell you about my Anxiety Days.
Usually, but not always, there is a sleep link. Last night, the later part of my sleep was disturbed. I had "stress dreams" about things that aren't actually stressing me out. I woke up having worked out the answer to a question that I didn't even realize I was thinking about. This happens sometimes and always makes me think, "I am smarter when I sleep than when I'm awake!"
My morning started as usual and today I didn't even realize it was an Anxiety Day until I got downstairs.
There was a pile of clean dishes on the kitchen counter left to dry overnight that needed to be put away. Some of Little Man'sjunk toys were on the stairs. The ordinary amount of clutter in the kitchen/dining room really bothered me.
I start to think I don't have time to put all of the dishes away, make Big Girl's lunch, make the kids breakfast, sort through the clutter, get the kids to clean up their mess, make sure everyone is dressed, hair combed, wearing socks, etc. before it is time to leave for school. I probably won't have time to make myself any breakfast! Two or three times I check my duathlon training log to see what workout I am supposed to be doing today and run through the timing of school drop off, errands and going to the gym. It feels like the kids are hovering around me, asking too many questions, talking too loudly. I am overwhelmed.
I am overwhelmed by things that are very "normal" in my life. These are things that I see, hear and do pretty much every day. And I am frozen by them today.
I check my workout plan multiple times for a few reasons. I am afraid I am going to forget today's plan. I am afraid the timing won't work out to get to the core class I need to take. And I know that going to the gym for a serious workout will help me get through today.
I check my email and cannot focus to reply. I open new windows in the middle of reading an email, but for no reason that I can recall. I answer the 2 emails that seem most pressing, that I can feel will worry me until they are answered. I am brief.
While I am sitting still, I feel the physiological anxiety signs. My shoulders are tight. I am breathing shallow breaths. My whole body is tense. I feel like my skin is twitching or "crawling". I know going to the gym will help.
I focus on one thing at a time. I make a list so I don't have to worry about forgetting what I need to try to get done today. (I should probably instead give myself permission to forget things, but I'm working on that!) I got done everything I was worried I wouldn't get done this morning AND had time for some Greek yogurt for breakfast.
I did my morning workout as planned and it has cleared my head a bit. I feel a little better. I am not home right now, and am still feeling anxious about getting home and seeing mess, clutter and messy kid rooms and playroom (and living room, and dining room, and stairs...). This is frustrating because normally these types of things don't bother me so much, and I know that it is because today is an Anxiety Day. But we will be home soon, and I will resist the urge to throw away pretty much everything in my kids rooms. Yes, I will probably actually consider that for a few moments. Seriously, it would make cleaning and finding things easier!! =)
I will finish up my day following as close to my normal routine as I can. I will try not to overwhelm myself with feelings that I am drowning in things to do, or am falling behind in my life somehow. I will be in prayer today for peace and release from feeling this way. I will probably talk to Eric about it when he gets home. Maybe I will even try to take a nap or read my new library book!
And, hopefully tomorrow I will wake up as my normal self, trip on Little Man's trucks on the stairs and feel good about the day.
But, today is. And since I'm trying to blog every day this month, it is my topic for today. I'm going to tell you about my Anxiety Days.
Usually, but not always, there is a sleep link. Last night, the later part of my sleep was disturbed. I had "stress dreams" about things that aren't actually stressing me out. I woke up having worked out the answer to a question that I didn't even realize I was thinking about. This happens sometimes and always makes me think, "I am smarter when I sleep than when I'm awake!"
My morning started as usual and today I didn't even realize it was an Anxiety Day until I got downstairs.
There was a pile of clean dishes on the kitchen counter left to dry overnight that needed to be put away. Some of Little Man's
I start to think I don't have time to put all of the dishes away, make Big Girl's lunch, make the kids breakfast, sort through the clutter, get the kids to clean up their mess, make sure everyone is dressed, hair combed, wearing socks, etc. before it is time to leave for school. I probably won't have time to make myself any breakfast! Two or three times I check my duathlon training log to see what workout I am supposed to be doing today and run through the timing of school drop off, errands and going to the gym. It feels like the kids are hovering around me, asking too many questions, talking too loudly. I am overwhelmed.
I am overwhelmed by things that are very "normal" in my life. These are things that I see, hear and do pretty much every day. And I am frozen by them today.
I check my workout plan multiple times for a few reasons. I am afraid I am going to forget today's plan. I am afraid the timing won't work out to get to the core class I need to take. And I know that going to the gym for a serious workout will help me get through today.
I check my email and cannot focus to reply. I open new windows in the middle of reading an email, but for no reason that I can recall. I answer the 2 emails that seem most pressing, that I can feel will worry me until they are answered. I am brief.
While I am sitting still, I feel the physiological anxiety signs. My shoulders are tight. I am breathing shallow breaths. My whole body is tense. I feel like my skin is twitching or "crawling". I know going to the gym will help.
I focus on one thing at a time. I make a list so I don't have to worry about forgetting what I need to try to get done today. (I should probably instead give myself permission to forget things, but I'm working on that!) I got done everything I was worried I wouldn't get done this morning AND had time for some Greek yogurt for breakfast.
I did my morning workout as planned and it has cleared my head a bit. I feel a little better. I am not home right now, and am still feeling anxious about getting home and seeing mess, clutter and messy kid rooms and playroom (and living room, and dining room, and stairs...). This is frustrating because normally these types of things don't bother me so much, and I know that it is because today is an Anxiety Day. But we will be home soon, and I will resist the urge to throw away pretty much everything in my kids rooms. Yes, I will probably actually consider that for a few moments. Seriously, it would make cleaning and finding things easier!! =)
I will finish up my day following as close to my normal routine as I can. I will try not to overwhelm myself with feelings that I am drowning in things to do, or am falling behind in my life somehow. I will be in prayer today for peace and release from feeling this way. I will probably talk to Eric about it when he gets home. Maybe I will even try to take a nap or read my new library book!
And, hopefully tomorrow I will wake up as my normal self, trip on Little Man's trucks on the stairs and feel good about the day.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
When Kids Pick Their Own...
One thing I have learned about myself over the past few months is that I tend to do too much for my kids. They are very smart and capable, but I am very type A and often things are just easier for me to do myself. Big Girl's kindergarten teacher told me at fall parent teacher conferences that I should encourage her independence and let her make choices, when appropriate, to develop her self esteem.
So I asked a few friends what kinds of things their 5 year olds did on their own and discovered that I hardly let/make Big Girl do ANYTHING on her own! Of course, a week or so before the PT conference, I brought in Big Girl's laundry basket with the clothes folded and sorted and asked her to put them away. You would not believe the battle of wits that ensued about that small amount of responsibility!
I have held strong and Big Girl is in charge of putting away her laundry. And both she and Little Man help dump out garbage cans on "garbage day" (this is right up Little Man's alley since he wants to be a "garbage truck man" when he grows up). I try to let her help me with dinner, and there are regular battles about who gets to help in what way with setting the table.
The easiest area for me to give up control and let the kids make choices is with their clothes and hair. Big Girl has always had a very unique style. And I don't take their outfits seriously - I know some moms probably think that their kids clothing is a reflection on their parenting, but I don't feel that way. I love that they express themselves with their clothes.
Yesterday I learned that my acceptance of this quirky self expression has limits. There are SOME limits already -- Little Man knows that when he picks clothes for church he is supposed to pick "a shirt with buttons". Big Girl knows that we prefer she pick clothes out of her closet for church.
Friday was my great-aunt's 90th birthday. She is very wealthy and very put together. Her nails are always done, she always "dresses to go out", etc. And, unlike me, she gets concerned if I bring the kids over for lunch at her retirement center and they aren't looking 'their best'. So, last night we had dinner reservations with my mom and great aunt to celebrate her birthday. We asked the kids to get dressed to see Noni, which they know means they should look "fancy", while Eric and I got dressed.
So first Big Girl comes in with clips across the front of her bangs. And she wanted a half ponytail with curly hair tendrils hanging free. I helped do her hair the way she asked, but basically her hair looked like a giant bird's nest with multicolor clips all across the front of her hair. I suggested we just brush her hair out because that is the way Noni likes it best, and she was in tears.
As I started to follow her to her room, out comes Little Man from his bedroom. He dutifully put on a shirt with buttons and "school pants", but also one of Big Girl's 2 inch wide turquoise blue cloth headbands. (Yes, we will let him wear funny headbands and even nail polish on his toes.) I ended up getting sidetracked trying to convince him to take off the headband for Noni. (He did eventually remove it in favor of a trucker style Cars 2 hat, which he wore but removed at dinner.)
In the meantime, poor Eric handled Big Girl and the hair drama. I headed downstairs thinking we might actually be on time to pick Noni up for dinner. And then, down came Little Man. Wearing lipstick. Over pretty much every part of his face below his nose. "I put on Big Girl's chapstick!" he said proudly.
Thank you to whoever gave Big Girl tinted chapstick for Christmas. Oh wait, that was me!!
I got a death glare from Little Man as I frantically tried to scrub the lipstick/tinted chapstick off of his face, lovingly explaining why having lipstick all over his face was not a good idea when we were going to take Noni to her birthday dinner.
And finally, everyone was put together, we made it to the car and actually picked Noni up within 5 minutes of the time we were supposed to be there. Ahh... success!
So I asked a few friends what kinds of things their 5 year olds did on their own and discovered that I hardly let/make Big Girl do ANYTHING on her own! Of course, a week or so before the PT conference, I brought in Big Girl's laundry basket with the clothes folded and sorted and asked her to put them away. You would not believe the battle of wits that ensued about that small amount of responsibility!
I have held strong and Big Girl is in charge of putting away her laundry. And both she and Little Man help dump out garbage cans on "garbage day" (this is right up Little Man's alley since he wants to be a "garbage truck man" when he grows up). I try to let her help me with dinner, and there are regular battles about who gets to help in what way with setting the table.
The easiest area for me to give up control and let the kids make choices is with their clothes and hair. Big Girl has always had a very unique style. And I don't take their outfits seriously - I know some moms probably think that their kids clothing is a reflection on their parenting, but I don't feel that way. I love that they express themselves with their clothes.
Yesterday I learned that my acceptance of this quirky self expression has limits. There are SOME limits already -- Little Man knows that when he picks clothes for church he is supposed to pick "a shirt with buttons". Big Girl knows that we prefer she pick clothes out of her closet for church.
Friday was my great-aunt's 90th birthday. She is very wealthy and very put together. Her nails are always done, she always "dresses to go out", etc. And, unlike me, she gets concerned if I bring the kids over for lunch at her retirement center and they aren't looking 'their best'. So, last night we had dinner reservations with my mom and great aunt to celebrate her birthday. We asked the kids to get dressed to see Noni, which they know means they should look "fancy", while Eric and I got dressed.
So first Big Girl comes in with clips across the front of her bangs. And she wanted a half ponytail with curly hair tendrils hanging free. I helped do her hair the way she asked, but basically her hair looked like a giant bird's nest with multicolor clips all across the front of her hair. I suggested we just brush her hair out because that is the way Noni likes it best, and she was in tears.
As I started to follow her to her room, out comes Little Man from his bedroom. He dutifully put on a shirt with buttons and "school pants", but also one of Big Girl's 2 inch wide turquoise blue cloth headbands. (Yes, we will let him wear funny headbands and even nail polish on his toes.) I ended up getting sidetracked trying to convince him to take off the headband for Noni. (He did eventually remove it in favor of a trucker style Cars 2 hat, which he wore but removed at dinner.)
In the meantime, poor Eric handled Big Girl and the hair drama. I headed downstairs thinking we might actually be on time to pick Noni up for dinner. And then, down came Little Man. Wearing lipstick. Over pretty much every part of his face below his nose. "I put on Big Girl's chapstick!" he said proudly.
 |
| It was basically this look, only he was wearing a shirt with buttons. |
Thank you to whoever gave Big Girl tinted chapstick for Christmas. Oh wait, that was me!!
I got a death glare from Little Man as I frantically tried to scrub the lipstick/tinted chapstick off of his face, lovingly explaining why having lipstick all over his face was not a good idea when we were going to take Noni to her birthday dinner.
And finally, everyone was put together, we made it to the car and actually picked Noni up within 5 minutes of the time we were supposed to be there. Ahh... success!
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