Royal Wedding Fever...

I did not catch the fever.

I did not picture myself covered head-to-toe in white taffeta and lace all day Friday.

I did not wake up at 4am EST just to watch the proceedings live on television.

I did, however, gaze longingly at photos of all the Royal headgear going on ... and the fancy schmancy dresses ... and the poise & elegance that poured off the women in attendance.

I may also have scooped up 120 yards of white tulle at Hobby Lobby for a buck fifty...

I may also have splurged on some "authentic" teatime biscuits and treats from the International Foods aisle of my local grocery store...

I may also have picked up two huge bouquets of faux white roses at 75% off... and some hair doodads for the girls...and a cheapie little black silk bowtie for Mr. Man...

And Steph may have DVR'd the Royal Wedding...

And we maybe...just maybe...might have had ourselves a Royal Wedding Viewing Party fit for a queen...or at least a few princesses...and one zombie prince!

A quick How-To on the headbands:

I am constantly both surprised & pleased at the amount of crafts I end up cobbling together at the last minute with a bit of fabric & my hot glue gun.

The girls & I just sat down with a handful of $1 Store headbands & a giant roll of White Tulle and glued & pleated our way into some veils. I wrapped the base with some additional tulle to finish each on off.

And then, because giant protrusions from said head ornaments seem to be all the rage, we simply knotted & balled up some additional tulle and fastened it to the headband with a hair clip. Voila!

Wake Up!

“As you’re reading this, your life’s getting shorter. It’s ticking away. I’m not saying this to frighten you. Or even scare you. Though it may. I’m saying this to awaken you. To inspire you. To rise you out of your deep slumber. To really know you won’t live forever. To share your unique gifts. To ignite your great inner fire. To ignite your great inner strength. To ignite your great inner light. To shine. Brightly shine. To awaken your great inner beauty. To motivate. Yourself and others. To love. Yourself and others. To paint. To write. To teach. To innovate. To sing. To dance. To care. To feel. To listen. To learn. To laugh. The clock’s ticking. The world needs you. Make your move.”
~Mike Litman

I forget, sometimes, that life is about so much more than the small frustrations.
Happy Friday, sweetpeas.

Easter

Easter

And I'm finally getting my photos up...
Between brunch at Beccah's on Saturday and Latin High Mass + Brunch with the family on Sunday, not to mention a visit from the Easter Bunny bright & early Sunday morning, The Munchkins have enough candy last them through the milennium at least...

 

You can practically feel the attitude coming off of them in waves, can't you?

It was a whirlwind weekend, but The Munchkins held up surprisingly well throughout. They've never minded dressing to the nines... [see also: Mom! Can we put on our wedding clothes and have a show?] So there was  no cajoling Mr. Man into his three-piece suit or the girls into their twirly dresses...in fact I very nearly had to bribe them to take them off at bedtime Sunday night with promises they'd get to wear them again soon... Truthbetold, I didn't want to take MY dress off either. I ended up not wearing any of the various outfits I made, which is typical. I think I like creating for the kids much more than for myself. But, if I'm ever going to fit BACK into that lovely little LBD I'd better lay off the Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs... the Mini Marathon is less than two weeks away!

Vibrating

I am trying to stay calm.

I am trying to breathe.

I am trying to keep an open mind in the face of just losing the potential for ever having a social life ever again. I love my children more than I can ever say. But I think we can all agree that a break is a necessary thing for EVERYone's health and sanity. Yes? Yes.

Married couples are able to balance work-loads and late nights and spill-cleanup and bathroom time (because it would be SO nice to pee without getting interrupted occasionally!), and parent-teacher conferences and awards banquets and sports camps and hours upon endless hours of homework time by simply taking turns...or at least just being there to throw each other understanding glances when one or both of you feel the skin tighten around the corners of your mouth...when you're close to losing it...

Divorced couple achieve this same balance, although oftentimes hard won, by trading weekends, or holidays, or the occasional mid-week evening dinner. Yes. primarily these shared times are for the children, but they also provide a NECESSARY buffer for each parent; A period of time for one parent to recharge, so that they, in turn, can be better parents during their "on-time".

At the prospect of losing this time? I'm scrabbling for some sense of calm.

First and foremost, I want to make sure the kids are reassured in a time of transition for them, of course. But I also, as a responsible parent, need to make sure that I have time to recharge my battery as well. Even if it's just for a couple of hours over a beer with a handsome fella... or a dinner out sans Munchkins to Traders Point Creamery with the ladies... or a GNO extravaganza at The Sandpiper... or a Redbox movie and a bottle of cheap wine on my own damn couch to unwind.

I think I've earned it.

*breathe * breathe * breathe*

photo courtesy of habit  which is gorgeous in its simplicity. Something I aspire to in an abstract sort of way.

Outdoor Living

So I've been trolling gardening sites incessantly of late, soaking up inspiration for how I want to redecorate my patio for the Spring/Summer this year.

We've got a teensy weensy little privacy-fenced back patio that's maybe 15'x 30'. I mean it's pretty tiny. And part of it is taken up by an A/C unit in the corner, so there's not a whole lot of room to work with.  I've been stumbling my way through sites like ApartmentTherapy.com and (godblessherlittleheart) MarthaStewart.com  and of course, the gem of Swedish culture: IKEA, to see if I can't find some way to transform this little bit of greenspace I've got into something semi-fabulous. I'd like to be able to sit out back in the evenings, under a strand of little outdoor lights, with a book and some music, and enjoy my patio...

To that end, I've purchased a little two-person glider from WalMart and assembled it my ownself (thank you very much!) AND a lovely little bitty patio table from Ikea that still sits in all its flat-packed glory, as yet unassembled.  I'm hunting for some cute/cheap-ish wrought iron chairs, and spied a pair at Meijer's garden shop for $15 ea. that well yet be mine this year...

apartmenttherapy rocks

ohhhh how I love those patio sun chairs... so simple & elegant.

And then, just as I'm getting all stoked about container gardens and outdoor chair cushions and miniature Pottery Barn-esque porch gardens, I find THIS photo...and want to start alllll over:

Isn't it gorgeous? All that dark flooring...those bright pops of color...that outdoor bed?! I want to LIVE on this patio.  It's from Elle Decor's LookBook this year. And I swooned. Nearly right out of my chair.

Anywho. Planning, in my opinion, is half the fun anyway... so I'll continue doodling my patio designs on napkin backs and along the edges of my notepads. And I'll continue purchasing things one piece at a time, on clearance, because that's how I roll. And perhaps, just perhaps by the time the June Birthdays roll around I'll be ready to host a little birthday party shindig in style.




p.s. When my back patio IS open for business...it will totally completely and absolutely forsure be featuring one or two of THESE beauties I found on etsy.  Awesome.

Lions & Tigers & Bears! Oh My!

Some days you're the witch.

And some days you're the house.

And some days you're just the squinty midget in the corner with a giant fake lollipop that you can't even eat.

I'm not sure which I am today, but it's been a real humdinger, folks.

Fortunately. I had an amazing weekend prior to today.

It didn't go as planned. But sometimes those are the best kind. It was no beach vacation in Orlando with Leeeetle Broooooother (you owe me one! BIG time!)... but I did get to travel quite a bit this weekend. And I got some QT with Mr. Handsome in his hometown of beautiful, snowy Lansing. I got to exercise my trapezius muscles while painting his living room (a badass shade of gray thanyouverymuch). And we found a new TV-series-on-DVD to chill with (that includes partial nudity! wheee!)...which I'm always fond of with that guy.

So... all in all...the good FAR outweighs the bad here.

I've gotta remember that.

<3

Compartmentalized Awesomeness

The Munchkins are a little quirky.

I know. Shocker, right?

So lately they've been big into packing their own lunch, which rather puts me in the mood to hyperventilate, because last week Mr. Man tried to slip out of the door with one package of pudding and a plastic spoon and a can of coke...which is a fantastic lunch in my book, but not so much in the IPS & State Board of Health's book.

The funny thing about the Munchkin's lunches is they all have a variety of requirements...

Baz has to have at least two kinds of chips & one kind of fruit, but nothing can touch

Isabelle has to have a sandwich every day, but doesn't want it to touch her chips or her dessert

Sophie just begs to pack one, so I usually end up packing her a "snack" to eat in the care on the way to school so she doesn't feel completely left out.

But the time these requirements have all been met, I've usually forgotten to pack MY lunch.

So to say we're all struggling  in this particular department is pretty much the understatement of the year.

And then [drum roll please] I found THESE

These babies are awesome.

I ordered them Friday. They came in the mail Tuesday. I unpacked them Wednesay and by Thursday morning Baz was dancing around the room with his, isabelle had packed her own and one for me (hence the 1st grade lunch photo above...because it totally is...) and sophie was. well. she was drumming on hers. But Still! Harmony in lunch-packing has been ACHIEVED! I feel like I should hear a barrage of digital coins or discover I've unlocked a new level or something...

Check 'em out. They're sturdy plastic with interchanging lids. They're not totally leak proof, but hey! That's what Glad Press'nSeal was made for, right?!

Best of all? Everything COMPARTMENTALIZED! Just like a Lunchable...only reusable...and with brighter colors...and healthier food...and pretty much more all around awesomeness.

I'm trying my best not to sound like an infomercial here, but I seriously want to kiss the feet of the women who designed there. And you all KNOW how I feel about feet.

So there you go. There's my two cents.

If your kids are quirky [read slightly OCD about their food touching] you need to pick up a couple of these. They're worth their weight in gold.

Four containers of AWESOMENESS!