Bye Bye Butterfly

I wish I was enough a of a poet to make Fletcher’s first day of school today and the release of our butterfly yesterday into a beautiful metaphor but I’m not so I guess you just had to be here.  Yesterday, our second chrysalis (the first one seems frozen in time) turned black and hours later a gorgeous butterfly emerged.  The five us were immersed in the age old battle of mom’s need to commemorate the last day of summer and kids’ desire to stay in pjs and play video games.  I was losing until the butterfly.  It was exactly what I needed to mark the end of summer. (Yep, I said I, they are not even half as thrilled by the whole metamorphosis thing as I am.)  Our summer departed just like the lovely Madame Sally T-Rex Booty Badah.

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Today, Fletcher woke, dressed himself, ate, and brushed his teeth without any prompting from his parents.  Then like our butterfly we had to let him go.  (I did manage a simile but no metaphor). He jumped on the bus without a look backwards.  Today, I came across this letter, I love it and will be sharing it or some version of this message with him before his second day of school, For Adam. Better late than never.  Last year, we started each day by saying “Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit” this year I may go with “just be kind and brave.”  Either way I hope Fletcher understands that when we send him off to school everyday it’s not to become the best at anything or to prove anything to us or anyone else, it’s to be his bravest, kindest self.  

Summer is Coming

I love summer. More specifically I love the idea of summer.  In my mind, summer is sun drenched days by the water, afternoons in the hammock and long feasts of summer fruits that drift into evenings by the fire.  In my life, summer is chaotic mornings filled with guilt because it’s 11:30 and we’re still not outside. Followed by unimaginative lunches and sweaty naps. Eventually, leading to “yes, whatever, you can watch some TV.”  Finally, ending with very late bed times and cranky parents and kids.  In reality, I don’t even have a hammock or a fire pit, can you imagine policing my crew with those two hazards on site?

What’s a summer idealist to do? I cannot give in, if I accept defeat and admit that summer may not be our best season then I will have nothing to push me through Minnesota’s seemingly, unending winter.  No, I must take back summer!!!  I spent quite a lot of time contemplating this in February, March, April, and most of May when it was still freezing outside and developed a plan of attack.  I shared it with Twin Cities Moms Blog, please check it out if you want to know how I’m going to win summer or if you love me and want to make me feel good.

Summer is Coming: This Mom’s Guide to Survival

As always, I’ve held back a little for you, my few but faithful readers:

8. Summer cuts. Something about buzzing off most of their hair symbolizes a fresh start.  Also, it makes it a lot easier to check for ticks.

9. Fire Pit.  I am indeed hoping to add a fire pit to our outdoor decor.  Now that I have a plan life is \going to be too easy, so I thought I’d add a touch of mortal danger to our evenings.

#humblebrag

Have you ever been ridiculously proud of yourself for something completely unremarkable?  If so, you know exactly how I feel today.  So much so that I’m filling up your inboxes with an all to soon blog post with very few good pictures.

TODAY WE WENT TO THE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM WITH NO STROLLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That’s right folks no more training wheels for this mom.  Heretofore, I have relied heavily (yes the stroller is very heavy) on our stroller as a means of managing the chaos of taking Cooper, Hudson, and Nathan into crowded, public settings on my own.  The stroller served as a way of keeping them close, “tying” them down, and/or a possible punishment for misbehavior.  Recently though, they were riding in it minimally and it was mostly a crutch for my fears that they weren’t or perhaps I wasn’t capable of handling ourselves in these settings.  We were having a good morning so I threw caution to the wind and strolled (though not literally) into the Children’s Museum unencumbered by our lowrider.

My tightrope walk without a net went great.  No tantrums, no tears, no pee pants!  The latter is HUGE.  Every time someone sheepishly says “I have to go potty” everyone has to drop what they are doing, join hands and make a mad dash for the restroom.  When it was time to leave, I did run into a bit of resistance but it was nothing a little chocolate milk couldn’t overcome.  Yes, bribery is an important tool in my mombelt.  We made through lunch and all the way home with no fuss.  I think they are (and I am) pretty amazing.

And now, I want to sleep for a week.

Now, I am also congratulating myself for properly using “heretofore” in a blog post.  Who’s smart now?

Happy Easter Opening Day

I know that yesterday was a holy day for many of you but did you know how holy? In our house it was the holiest of holies. Like Pi Day, a lunar eclipse, solar eclipse, and Game of Thrones season premier all in one. That’s right MLB’s Opening Day on Easter Sunday. It was cold here so everyone was out in their wool and flannel and I’m pretty sure Eddie wore knee socks under his Sunday best.

If you think about it, Easter and Opening Day are kinda the same. The “commissioner” forgives all our past transgressions (maybe not steriod use). Everyone (except the Twins) gets a fresh start. And we have a renewed sense of faith and hope for the future (unless you’re a Twins fan). Christ is risen – and hopefully the Yankees will too.

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Our little in-field were all in rare form. They managed not to take any extra eggs from the younger kids at church, but I’m sure they had the lion’s share of the jelly beans during coffee hour. The Silly String added to their Easter baskets by a particularly devilish godparent (thank you Marya) was much more entertaining than hunting for eggs, but in the end, all the candy was located. By design, we ate while they napped and tried to clean up while they spread plastic eggs all over the house and demanded more gummi bears.

As you know I love to take photos of them and they were looking especially cute yesterday. Unfortunately, my desire for the perfect family photo was supersceded by my exhaustion. So while I am sure Eddie held vigil late into the evening, I was overcome with exhuberance and passed out early.

Staycation Spring Training

Am I the only person who is glad Spring Break is O-V-E-R?  Four days later and I still feel like I spent too many days in the sun with a umbrella drink in my hand (except I don’t have any tan lines or pictures of things I regret on the internet). We had a Staycation this year and despite avoiding TSA and the arduous task of packing and unpacking, I am exhausted.

I did a little (a lot) of planning in advance to avoid the Lord of the Flies reenactment that happens at my house when the boys get bored.  To learn more about this you’ll have to read my most recent post for Twin Cities Moms Blog: Spring Break Staycation.   Having a plan definitely helped but unfortunately our lovely early spring 60 degree weather promptly iced over as soon as Fletcher got home from school.  I should have toughed it out and forced us outside because it is the best way for us all to let off steam. C’est la vie! Instead, we visited the Children’s Museum, the MN Zoo, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Roseville library.  Between our outings and lots and lots of potty breaks there weren’t many moments left but we filled them with crafts and games.

The week was sort of my time trial for summer.  Apparently, I need a lot more practice.  My Pinterest researching to activity hands-on time ratio is way to high. I need to do some patience stretching exercises.  Perhaps, I’ll run up and down the stairs with an over stuffed bag in one arm and a screaming child in the other.  Hopefully, this regimen will reduce my recovery time so I don’t have to spend all of September hiding from the world.

In the meantime, here’s some Spring Training game tape for your review:

Ode to …

We made it to Dr. Suess’ Birthday this year but sadly we’ve been thrown for another Alleyoop

lottowinners

In the depths of my desperation to exorcise  this interminable stomach bug from my home, I considered photographing the results and posting them to the blog.  It seems that whenever my children are doing something adorable, they stop as soon as the camera comes out.  Logically, if I tried to take a picture of the vomit, it should magically disappear.  Right?

At that moment, I was willing to try anything!  Fortunately for you, the odor was so overwhelming my reflex to rid us of the stench left me with nothing to photograph.

Instead, I was inspired to share with you my feelings on the last two weeks in verse.  If you are more of a visual person, I suggest having someone read the following aloud so you can properly picture the appropriate illustrations.

(Thank you, Dr. Suess)

I am Alleyoop I am Alleyoop Alleyoop am I That Alleyoop That Alleyoop…

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Bonspiel Broken Heart – An Ode to Curling

For all the icy hearts out there who were unmelted by the adorable photos that recently flooded your inbox, I am keeping pt. 2 of my fundraising promise.  Below is my rock throwing inspired playlist:

1. Hammer to Fall – Queen
2. You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart – Eurythmics
3. Hazy Shade of Winter – Bangles
4. Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
5. Cold Hearted – Paula Abdul
6. Funky Cold Medina – Tone Loc
7. Cool It Now – New Edition
8. Cooler Than Me – Mike Posner
9. I Want You – Third Eye Blind
10. Glass, Stone & Concrete – David Bryne
11. Baby, Baby, Baby – Joss Stone
12. Hearts of Stone – GB Leighton
13. Under My Thumb – Rolling Stones
14. The Weight – The Band
15. Something So Strong – Crowded House
16. Ice Cream – Sara McLachlan
17. Cold Cold Heart – Norah Jones
18. Paradise – Coldplay
19. Cool Change – Little River Band
20. Dark End of the Street – The Commitments

If you’d prefer to create something a little more personal you can read my best mixed tape tips here.

Photos for a Purpose

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  The Curl-a-Thon was yesterday and I rate it as a fantastic success.  My team the Freezer, exceeded our fundraising goal.  Thank you.  We won our game and in a last minute upset ousted the 2nd place fundraising team for the silver in donations.  Most importantly a lot of money was raised for FEA which is what really matters.  All in all over $6,000!

There was one small hiccup in my fundraising plan to exchange cute photos and mediocre playlists for donations.  Since I was not our team captain I was not notified of who donated to the team.  Of course, I know all of you did so I will shower you with photos and perhaps a Curling/Valentines Day inspired mix.  If you’re feeling a little guilty about receiving these lovely smiles and not donating (like the World Wildlife stickers that spread guilt all over our art projects) you can still donate at http://www.razoo.com/story/Freezer.  For those of you who did THANK YOU and enjoy!

Curling for A Cause

Surprise, I’ve waited until the last minute to do something!  I know, I know it’s so out of character for me. Typical or not I have waited until a few days before to ask you all to support me in a Curl-A-Thon for the Fund for Education Abroad.  FEA was my baby before I had lots of babies and I am so impressed and delighted at how much good this organization is doing.  In the three years since our initial group of scholars in 2011-2012 they have tripled the number of scholarships to 21 recipients for 2014-2015.  I am so proud to have been a small part in helping send these deserving students abroad.  This Thursday I get to continue in this support through the 2nd annual Minnesota Curl-A-Thon.  Since I am not much of a curler, I’m hoping you can help me bring something else to the table.  Please consider making a donation to FEA through our team The Freezer.  You can donate at http://www.razoo.com/story/Freezer, even a small donation will help us reach our goal.

On another note TCMB posted my latest article today with tips on creating a “mixed tape” for your valentine.  If Vintage Valentine for the Digital Age, makes you wonder about my playlist prowess and you’re willing to donate to FEA, I will trade a curling inspired (or theme of your choosing) playlist for any Freezer team sponsorships.  And/or if you prefer cute pictures of my adorable children I will post cute new photos in return for donations.

Here’s a little something to inspire your generosity:

You Think You’re Cooler Than Me

You think you’re cooler than me and you’re probably right.  But my kids are cooler than me so the bar isn’t set very high. This week on the Twin Cities Moms Blog, I talk about how I use my kids as an excuse to visit neighborhoods that are too cool for me.  It’s called Nordeast for Mini Hipsters but I’m so lame I’m not even sure what a hipster is so no promises it will up your cool factor.

For those of you who are too cool for the whole “reading” thing, I’m attaching two photos for your viewing pleasure: