The Crafts

Over the past several weeks I have been drafting a letter to the zoo. I intend to send this letter to each and every zoo in the Midwest. I am certain some zoo around here has lost an animal and I believe I found it; disguised in human form with wispy blond hair and stormy blue eyes. Yes, she is wearing her swimsuit over her clothes and yes, I unsuccessfully convinced her to take it off before going in public today. We've had a trying day today. Every parent has them. Those days seem to come when you least expect it. This morning the air smelled ripe with fun. But the scent of fun must be a perfume and that perfume was masking the real odor; the stench of out-of-control.  I really want to be the perfect parent. I don't truly believe that person exists but I want to embody her, if that is at all possible. I certainly didn't appear to be the perfect parent today. After an hour and a half of chasing CJ from her death at the pool, I ended our time there with the bag on one ...

Coffee and I were in a torrid love affair for a good long while. But I decided it was time to pull back a little. To see how addicted I was to the stuff. So we broke up. But after a few nights of little sleep (thanks Miss Claudia) and a more hectic running calendar (thank Bix), coffee and I got back together. I think we are in love again. ************************** While I was away for a meeting Matt treated the girls to ice cream sandwiches. When I returned from my meeting Matt showed me pictures. And I laughed and laughed and laughed...until I noticed both girls were eating their ice cream sandwiches in the living room.  If CJ's face looked this messy I can only imagine what the couch and carpet looked like. But I'm not that kind of wife and mother so I let it slide. :) ************************************ This morning CJ found my baseball cap. It wasn't hard to find. I think it was lying on the living room floor. Actually it probably was hard to find when it'...

This weekend we visited lions and tigers and bears...oh my! (Sorry...had to say it.) We also made friends with pythons, chimpanzees, the world's largest rodent, silkie chickens (that is their real name) and so many more. Can you guess where we were? Not St. Louis, not Omaha...not anywhere close actually. We were in little old Manchester, IA. Living up to his good guy image, Matt planned yet another surprise getaway for the family. He wanted me to guess our final destination and with only one clue available to me I felt pretty confident. I told him I would write down my guess on a piece of paper and reveal it to him when we were close. Matt said he too would write an answer on a piece of paper. My only clue was our destination was just shy of a one hour drive. So I guessed... I know Cedar Falls is much less than an hour away but I felt confident anyway. Shortly before our arrival Matt opened my guess then handed me his paper. It said... He was right; I was clearly wrong. Anywa...

Not unlike Kate I typically have a lot of words in my mouth. I talk too much, which is why it's good I have a blog. So I don't subject my husband to too much of my ramblings. Instead he can choose to read the blog and 'hear' my thoughts or not. But today... I just don't have anything to say. I will instead share some pictures of last weekend...and probably a comment or two. Besides celebrating Father's Day, the family and I drank in all things Festival of Trails. It is our town's celebration. I ran in the 5k, like always. I believe this was my 10th Festival of Trails 5k. I did alright. The older gentleman in this picture was right  in front of me the whole race. I really, really, really wanted to pass him but he beat me out. Matt typically runs the 5k but after the  great running debacle of 2010  he has not run a day since. He instead planned to walk with Kate while she rode her bike. Kate rode much, much faster than Matt thought and well, he ended up ...

This afternoon between lunch and nap I made the girls a star box. My inspiration came from  here.   Andrea, a friend from my school days who is now a blogger and on Facebook turned me onto the site. She has completed a lot of cool projects with her two boys. It's a very fun site if you are looking for creative activities to share with your kids.  Notice CJ rocking the high pony again today? So cute. It only took me 5 minutes to put together... after I finally located and dug out a strand of Christmas lights. Similar to almost every other thing we do around here the girls played with the star box for no more than 4 minutes...tops. It's now sitting on a high shelf in the playroom. Sorry super cool star box. If you too decide to attempt this project I recommend you do not use a diaper box. All diaper boxes are plastered with pictures of super cute babies and you will feel rotten poking holes through their sweet little bodies. Even if it is just a picture, it still mad...

There are few guarantees in life but one surefire promise is that we will all age. Somehow, someway CJ sprouted an entire year in one quick morning. Last night the family and I put on our fancy party duds and spent the evening saying our temporary goodbyes to a friend who is moving away. She isn't moving too far but it is far enough, in my opinion. The party went until late. Well, it met my definition of late when kids are along. My girls didn't fall into bed until almost 10:00 p.m. That may not sound late but I'm a robot when it comes to bedtime. 8:00 p.m. Sharp. On the dot. There is good reason for that, and CJ helped us to remember that reason well until 2:00 a.m. last night while she wailed and sobbed and refused to settle down. I was honestly quite worried for today. Two little girls with little sleep equals a crabby day for all. Yet, today has surprisingly been a super day. Everyone has been well behaved.  Perhaps my 2:00 a.m. pleading prayer is the answer to this...

After all the commercial hoop-la surrounding Mother's Day I am surprised to not see much Father's Day coverage. I did notice a sign or two dangling from the ceiling of Pier 1 reminding women everywhere to buy something special for Dad. Uh huh, like any Dad would like something from Pier 1. Happy Father's Day Matt, I bought you a sweet bird sculpture and a 40 piece tulip etched dinner setting. Tuesday evening during the girls' bath I glanced around the house and thought about how badly this place needed a scrub down. And then I thought...whoa, I have a house to clean. I own a house. I have a husband and two little girls. When did the world decide I was ready for this. I have these mini-realizations all the time. I, of course, already knew these facts but sometimes little things can be big reminders. Learning to tactfully manage tantrums quickly becomes a reminder of adult responsibilities and lost youth. When I re-realize my realities I am so happy to share all those...