Grayish?

It’s interesting the way a child’s mind works. So simple at times yet so complicated. Or maybe it’s because I’m an adult I think it’s complicated. I guess they do tend to be pretty basic. Anyway that’s not my point at all.

The other day my girlfriend sent me an article about Mercury being in retrograde and that it essentially makes people kind of crazy. I believe it. Usually I am the epitome of understanding and patience but lately when it comes to other children I’d like to punch them. Not all but some. I know it’s terrible of me to say but I’m being honest. Let me throw this disclaimer out there, I would never punch anyone, especially a child. And again, back to my point.

Something happened today while we were at a birthday party. I overheard a conversation between my daughter, Lily, and another little girl ( a bit older than Lily). She asked Lily if her family was grayish. I could tell by Lily’s lack of response that she had no idea what the little girl was talking about. My hubby heard and was a bit thrown by the whole exchange, I think. I quickly jumped in for a couple reasons. First, I knew she would continue down this path and I knew Lily wouldn’t quite catch on to the line of questioning. Second, I wanted to have the conversation with her and not let it be left hanging in the balance. Clearly she was having thoughts about our family but maybe wasn’t sure who to ask.

I asked her if I had heard correctly that she asked Lily if her family was “grayish.” She said yes and immediately started to shy away. I told her it was a legitimate question and she should not be embarrassed. I said, “Did you ask that because I’m black and David is white?” Of course her response was a big nod of the head.

I took a breath and figured out how to approach the subject swiftly and to the point. No need to make a big deal out of it. I decided to use paint. I asked her to take look at my skin and said to her, “Well it’s not really black is it?” She shook her head no and I pointed out that my skin color was actually brown. I asked her if you mix brown paint with white paint what color do you get. Of course her answer was gray 🙂 but I’m thinking she might have felt a bit put on the spot. I continued on that we actually wouldn’t get gray but a lighter version of the darker color and that’s what our family is. She got it…I think.

We are all different shades. We talk about being color blind and how we shouldn’t judge by ones skin color. But have we forgotten that when someone’s skin color isn’t the same as ours questions might arise? Maybe for most adults it’s not a big deal but we have to make sure for the young minds just learning the world we accept their questions with open hearts.

Oh and don’t worry I didn’t want to punch this beautiful mind with such a true question.

I Sell Juice!!!

Summer has finally arrived. What better way to spend a hot summer day than on the driveway selling juice?

On our way home from the Y, Liam said let’s have a juice stand. My first reaction was to say not today, but I took a moment before answering. I realized there was really no good reason for me to say no, so I said sure let’s do it!

He originally wanted to make blueberry and lemon juice but we didn’t have enough. We ended up freshly juicing oranges, carrots and apples with a splash of sparkling water. Delicious!

While I was juicing Liam was making his sign.

I gave him the letters to trace and he wrote very well. Proud mama!

We setup shop and waited. And waited some more. I was praying for a neighbor to come out.

Then lo and behold my neighbor came over!! His first customer!! He was so very excited. Audrey was out helping at this point. I think having reinforcements made him feel a bit better.

Between customers he would yell, “I sell juice.” Then he would get discouraged because nobody was coming. We talked about building his business and having to be patient waiting for his customers since he was a new business.

All in all, it was a great learning experience. He ended with four customers. One even tipped him. It’s all he can talk about and wants to have a juice stand every day.

Mom Fail: Bunny

LAL were given bunnies when I was pregnant. Liam and Lily love their bunnies beyond belief while Audrey could take it or leave it. Here is where my fail comes in.

Last week my friend gave us coupons to the circus. I figured, why not? The kids would get in free! How could I deny my munchkins their first circus? We planned to go but had the usual “try to get out of the house drama.” Lil and Liam both asked to bring their bunnies and I said no. Cue the tears. From both of them. So I folded in an effort to get out of the house. I told them both bunny was their responsibility and if they lose it, it’s on them.

We made it to the circus. Amidst the complaining it was too loud and the general needs of a four year when out in public we got through it. There were elephants, tigers ( we missed them because we were a but late), aerialists, clowns, motorcycles and the usual things you find at a circus. It was a nice afternoon. And of course once we left, LAL talked about how much they loved the circus. That through me for a loop because while under the tent Audrey was the only one mesmerized. Anyway we got into the car and Liam asked, “where’s bunny?” I said, “I don’t know. Where IS bunny?” He looked in the car, and we recounted getting into the car. At this point I couldn’t remember whether he had actually brought it or not. Then he said he had left it at home and didn’t bring it. I trusted his word though and we waited for parking lot traffic to die down.

I wish I had taken them back into look for bunny. Part of me knew it wasn’t at home but the girls were complaining and I just couldn’t be bothered. I also had the wherewithal, halfway through the show I thought to look around where we were sitting to make sure no bunnies were floating around. Then again as we were leaving I turned back to check again and there was nothing. This is why I believed he hadn’t brought it. When we got home bunny wasn’t home. Liam everyday since tells me how much he misses bunny and he doesn’t think he will ever see bunny again. It makes me so sad to my little guy hurting. He such a sweet boy. I wish I had just sucked it up and gone back in. Who knows if we would have found bunny but at least I would have tried. I know time will mend his broken heart but I wonder about mine. I feel like I failed my little guy.

Bad Guy Potion

The other morning Liam asked me if the bad guys were still here. I asked him, “What bad guys?” He looked at me and said, “Remember mama, we were on the stairs and they were behind us and they made us invisible?” At first, I was going to brush it off and disregard the bad guys. Then I thought about the night before.

Liam had come into our room several times. He came and snuggled with me for a bit and then took him back to his bed. A few minutes later he came back asking me to sit with him. I groggily obliged. Liam laid with his eyes wide open looking from side to side. He told me he didn’t like the star above his head so I turned ladybug (one of the best gifts we’ve ever gotten, thank you Jess) to give him new stars and he started to drift.

He must have had a bad dream. I told him the bad guys were gone and they won’t be coming back. He asked how I knew they weren’t going to come back. I said, “Well we’re going to make bad guy potion.” He was intrigued.

I ran down to the basement, grabbed some glitter, a few beads, glycerin and a spray bottle. First, I let each munchkin choose a “special jewel.” Next, I added water to the spray bottle and let them each shake some glitter into the bottle then their special jewel. After they did their jobs, I put in a few drops of glycerin so the sparkles don’t settle right away.

Now for the bad guy potion ritual. We all stood in front of the front door and they each sprayed one spray in front of the door. Then we went to the back door and sprayed that door. I figured the two major entrances should cover it. I told them the potion would travel all over the outside of the house and it was impenetrable to bad guys. Last but not least w had to seal the shield by eating ice cream!

The next day Liam asked me if I saw any bad guys last night. I said I had not and asked if he had. With a big smile, he said, “No.”

Job done!!

The Day After Christmas

‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through house…yeah that’s all I got. But it really is the day after Christmas and it was a wonderful day!! LAL had a day filled with, cars, princesses, books, puzzles and most importantly family. David’s sister, mom and step father came over to spend the day with us.

Now that Christmas is over its time to reflect. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with a friend about the magic of Christmas. We were saying how, as adults, we get caught up in what did you get for whom, where we have to go, how are we going to afford everything we want to buy, are the kids going to be happy, etc… That’s not very magical. It’s so easy to get caught up in the what, rather than the who and why.

Last year I went crazy and bought LAL tons, too much to be completely honest. It was chaos here and talk about over stimulation. We made a decision at that point to keep Christmas simple going forward. My strategy this year was three gifts each plus stocking stuffers. Surprisingly, I actually kept to it!! I’m proud of myself. Christmas morning was much more manageable. They all loved their presents. Smiles all around.

Back to the magic. After that conversation, I figured maybe I should start making some magic and seeing the magic that is right under my nose. First, in an effort to teach LAL Christmas is not only about them, we took a charity ornament off the tree at the Y. We purchased a coat for a young boy. It’s definitely becoming more of a challenge telling three toddlers we’re not purchasing for them. But after some explaining they understood. We also made gifts for their grandparents along the lines of this from Pinterest. Sadly I think it only works with black permanent marker. We tried it with colored and it didn’t work out so well.

Something else that always warms my heart are Christmas lights. I personally don’t enjoy crazy over the top light displays. I’m more of a simple elegance type girl. This is how I decorated our house

I love seeing a lit up Christmas tree through people’s windows.

Every once in a while marketing teams hit the nail on the head with their holiday commercials. Here are my three favorites. Two of the three are from this. The coffee commercial is from a few years ago but never ceases to get me choked up.
Coffee

Air freshener

Computer

Though these commercials did not make me run out and purchase their merchandise, I do think they are very special.

And last but not least, Christmas PJs!!!!!! I don’t know why but for some reason I LOVE Christmas jammies. I’ve always done it for LAL but this year I stepped it up a notch and got them for David and I, too!!

I hope you found the magic in your own special way.

Christmas Crafting

On Wednesday Audrey said, “Let’s go get a cwistmas twee.” At first, I was hesitant but then thought about it and realized I really didn’t have a reason for saying no. I said, “Okay let’s go!” She was surprised. We got in the car and headed to our local nursery to pick out a tree. LAL are like me they all wanted the 12 foot tree, I’ve already made the mistake of getting a tree that was too big once. The kids often ask who drew on the ceiling and I go into the story. We all agreed on one and chose an eight foot tree. Once we got home I put it in the stand and told LAL we couldn’t decorate until tomorrow so the the branches could settle. Now for the magic to begin…

Thursday LAL went to school and Cubby the elf went to work!!! By the time they came home to decorate our tree the house was decorated for Christmas. They were in awe when they walked through the door. They still are. I love that they are so proud of the work that Cubby did they show anyone who walks through the door multiple times. We put Christmas music on and got to decorating.

Oh I’m completely off track I’m supposed to writing about crafting. Here it goes…

I love Pinterest! I love it for recipes, crafts, and anything really. One day I was looking for an easy DIY wreath from my front door. And I came across this. It looked simple enough. Everything looks simple on Pinterest though so I was hesitant which is why I didn’t take a ton of pictures of “the process”. Well I didn’t take any really. Ok one…here.

That picture was really for me to see what it looked like. Not for blogging purposes. Maybe one day I’ll learn how to use my fancy camera and actually take decent photos. Anyway back to the story.

All I bought for this was a whole bunch of ornaments from the dollar store (I think I bought 15 tubes in different sizes), a glue gun, and a styrofoam wreath base. Then I started gluing. And that was it!!! All in all, I’d say it took me about two hours to complete. This is the finished product.

Next time I’ll do a couple of things different. First, I’d spray paint the wreath base. When I look at it up close I can see some of the white. Which drives me bananas. But I’m trying to cut myself some slack since it’s my first one. Second, I’d cover the back with a piece of felt. I thoroughly dislike whenever I walk past my front door seeing the back of the wreath. Again rookie mistake so I’ll let it slide and adjust mine eventually.

If you’re up for it, this is an easy DIY. If not, you can buy one from me!!

Love That Dirty Water?

I’ve lived in New England for over 15 years. As I’ve mentioned before it has taken me close to 12 years to feel like I really fit in here. Actually it wasn’t until I had LAL that I stopped moaning about wanting to move back to NJ. I think it took me having children to find a group of people that I could relate to. In no way am I discounting friendships I have made during the first 12 years but, I do have a couple of true friends that I met early on and I am grateful for them. But sadly with the majority there was a common thread, anyone I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with left New England. One thing to know about this region is that it’s roots run deep.

To be completely honest I haven’t fully given myself to New England but am I starting to come around. I will always be a Jersey girl, I will always say “cawfee” and I will never say “pahk” nor will my children for that matter (I’ve already started the correction of the silent R). Over the summer we took LAL to the Museum of Science, we always park on the top level of the garage, and this is what I saw

I thought to myself who could not enjoy something so beautiful. I even sent a text to my Jersey girls showing them that photograph saying I might be starting to like Massachusetts. Flash forward to the past two weeks, I posted these photos…

And

I see progress being made if I am taking photos AND posting them, of my munchkins in anything other than NY or NJ sports gear. With all this being said, after the events of the Boston marathon this year I can say it is only fitting that the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, in Boston. I am a part of Boston, Boston is a part of me. I have lived my pain of the marathon as have many others their own. I am Boston Strong, we are Boston Strong. This is exactly what this city needed. So, do I love that dirty water? I cannot say love just yet but I am starting to like it!

Embracing Fall

I usually dislike the arrival of fall. I tend to blow right past it and think about what is to come. Winter. Living in New England during the winter months can be a mixed bag, it might be mild (once every 7-10 years) or it might be miserable with snow…lots of snow. I thoroughly dislike snow. That’s what I think about. Because of this, completely miss the leaves changing, apple picking, apple cider, pumpkin this and pumpkin that. Then I had LAL. Because of them, I told myself to cherish every moment to the best of my ability, I am seeing the beauty in fall or as Lily tells me “some people call it autumn.”

Now that they are three, they get excited when the house is decorated for the season. Last year I had a couple of things for fall. Honestly, it looked slightly pathetic. This year the merchandiser in me resurfaced and I had some fun. I decorated our front porch and the foyer.

My mother-in-law cleaned out her attic a few weeks ago and I found that amazing clay pumpkin in the dumpster she hired. I couldn’t believe it. So I dove in! I love it! And I love free!! The cornstalks are from our garden. Free as well!! The pumpkins and mums I purchased at Trader Joe’s for about $35.00 for three fairy pumpkins and three mums. I don’t know if I got a deal on those, they were convenient.

Everything on the window sill I purchased from Christmas Tree Shoppes a couple years ago after season. We pass a house in the way to school that is all decked out Halloween style and Liam has started asking me if we can make our house look like that one. I told him after Halloween we can get some more decorations for next year because that’s the best time to buy. He was cool with that answer, thankfully.

The table sign, witch and scarecrow came from Christmas Tree Shoppes. And the votive holders, votives, and candy corn were from the Dollar Tree. The plastic pumpkins LAL had gotten last year from somewhere and I decided to keep them. The look on LAL’s faces was priceless! They love it!

We also went apple picking!!! This was my first time, ever, I think. Maybe in Brownies or something but I don’t remember. So this was my first time. It was a time though LAL were over it in about five minutes. I secretly was happy having to be the one to pick the apples. I would show you pictures but I took them with my good camera and have no way to put them on my iPad since none of my computers work. Someday maybe. Anyway, what to do with a peck of apples other than eat them as is. Make apple hand pies!!!! I worried how this would work out for me but they were delicious!!! And ridiculously easy. Thank you Pinterest. I used cortland apples, yum, yum, yummy!!

So if you’re like I was and tend to fly through fall, slow down, take a look, and appreciate the season.

First Broken Heart

As a parent there are many life lessons I know my children will have to learn. I often wonder how they will be taught and when. One moment I’ve always said I’ve dreaded is a broken heart. Mending a broken heart is not fun but it’s something we all go through. Until know I hadn’t considered it happening so young but it has.

From when they were snuggled close in my belly LAL have gotten many special gifts. One gift in particular was given to me by one of my mothers in law ( yes, I am blessed with two) at my baby shower. It was “Bunny.” Bunny is a sweet little stuffed bunny holding a blanket about the size of a chipmunk. Bunny has been with LAL since they each started sleeping in their own cribs around three and a half months old. Lily and Liam quickly became attached to Bunny and would sleep with it every night. Audrey could take it or leave it. Bunny has been with us on all of our travels, soaked up many tears and has always been there when needed. Until last Saturday. We were about to leave my brother in law’s house when an exhausted Lily asked for Bunny. I’m usually on top of Bunny patrol having a good idea where he is or where he’s been left. Not that night. I could not picture where and when I had last seen Bunny. We convinced Lil that Bunny was at home and we’d find him waiting for her. She reluctantly agreed and we were on our way.

We got home and Bunny was not waiting. Audrey was kind enough to let Lily borrow her Bunny for the evening until we could do a proper “Bunny hunt” in the morning. The next morning David searched high and low and still no Bunny. I’ve prayed to St. Anthony, and still no Bunny.

Lily’s heart is broken. Every night she cries because she misses her Bunny and just wants to sleep with her Bunny. I feel terrible. Part of me feels like I’ve failed my little girl. I know there is really no way for me to keep up with everything all the time but I know how special Bunny is. Maybe I should have stuck to my guns when I said, “Bunny doesn’t leave the house.” When she cries I know how badly her heart hurts and all I can do is hug her and tell her I know how she feels. We’ve come up with the story that Clover (the rabbit from Sofia the First) needed Bunny’s help with something so he had to go be a good friend and help. I told Lily that Bunny would not have left if he didn’t think she would be ok, but he knew she would be able to get on without him. If Bunny doesn’t show up by Saturday (please St. Anthony do me a solid) we’re going to get her a new something for her to snuggle.

And It Begins…

Well we did it. LAL are in school! I originally had decided not to send them to school this year and keep them with me for another year. Then I came to my senses. I was a bit late coming to this decision (hence why I call myself “Last minute Lucy” I work better under pressure), like August late. David, as he always does, just road the roller coaster until I got to the final stop.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to send them to school this year because its early. At least in my mind its early. I’m sure there are people out there who consider three and a half to be late but I’m not one of them. In my mind, this is the beginning of the end. They are going to be in school for the next 15+ years! Why start it now? And believe me I know it’s not the end, but I’m speaking in regard to them being home with me. Part of me wants to keep them in our little bubble forever.

Then one day I heard myself yelling, I don’t normally yell. I am usually the epitome of patience, thank you grandma Mary (everyone says she had the patience of Job)!!! But I have noticed a difference in myself since the day after they turned three (that’s a whole other story for a different day), I have had less patience than normal. This is what got me to realize I do not have the capability to stimulate my three three year olds enough anymore. It made me sad to think that I wasn’t enough for my children. But the reality is, I know if I’m getting irritated by typical three year old behavior it’s time to call in reinforcements. It can only benefit all involved. I obviously knew I wasn’t always going to be the only one to shape their beautiful little minds but I guess I wasn’t expecting it to come so soon.

Three and a half years have gone by so quickly it’s unbelievable. Everyone says how quickly time passes and I wondered if I was rushing time by sending them to school. I still don’t know the answer to that but the decision has been made. The best I can do is stick by the choice we made and go with the flow.

Their first day of school went well. I had always thought I’d be the mother hysterically crying while my kids were throwing up the peace sign burning rubber with their sneakers. That’s not how it went. We had had a rough morning so I was actually not sad at all to see them off to school. What got me was pulling into the parking lot and seeing David’s car. He surprised us! He had sent me a really lovely message in the morning so I didn’t even think it would be an option for him to come. He did and I got a bit emotional. LAL loved it! They were so happy to see their daddy at their new school. I have a good man. We all walked into their classroom (they’re all in the same class) together they showed him a couple of things. Lily and Liam birth said, “bye mommy, bye daddy” and Audrey had more and more things to show us but then her teacher caught her attention and we slipped out. Flash forward two and a half hours, I seriously mean flash, those are the quickest two and a half hours EVER! We picked them up and all was good. LAL enjoyed their first day of school!! The days since have been a mixed bag, a cut lip, some tears but nothing major. I think all will be good sooner rather than later.