Thursday, March 25, 2010

Easter Ideas

Aight, folks. I need some ideas on what to put in an Easter basket for a toddler. Growing up my Easter baskets were chalk full of goodies, mainly of the chocolate form, but usually I would get one legit toy, namely a doll. The toy would usually be hidden a la an Easter egg hunt. One year, my mom hid a Cabbage Patch kid in the oven. It wasn't on, of course. I remember bartering with my older brother to exhange his Reese's egg for my Peeps. It never seemed to work out in my favor. The Reese's eggs were prized possessions in my household and it would usualy be the first thing I consumed.

So now that I have a wee one to make holidays magical for as they were for me, I need some ideas. Miss S is too little to eat Whoppers, Jelly Beans, etc, so what kind of sweet treats are good? I was also going to toss in some new barrettes, maybe a bathing suit (although the reappearance of our wintry weather brings no indication that Spring will be back anytime soon, thus swimming in a pool is a bit far out).

As far as the Easter bunny is concerned, there will be no visits to see him this year. Each sighting so far at the mall has brought looks of terror and panic that I have had to beeline into a Disney store just for solice.

Word.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Spring Cleaning

Not that it officially Spring around these parts, I have decided to rid every last closet of unnecessary items. I have held on to too much stuff through the years with the thought that I would some day find that I need an oblong table cloth for a rectangle table, or need a pair of slacks I haven’t worn in three years but that I got on Clearance at Express and were a good deal dammit!, or the 478 dishtowels that have pasta stains all over them that I continue to store.

I think I will start in my closet first. I am finding that my work style has kind of changed through the years. At the early part of my career I wore collared shirts and sweater vests all the time, thinking that is what professional women wore. Since having Sonya, I think my style has been kicked up a notch primarily in an effort to make sure I still look fresh even though I am now a mom. So anyways, I will be tossing out a lot of collared shirts, cheap tops from Old Navy and slacks from Express that I just loath all of a sudden making my room for breezy blouses, my blazer & cardigan collection and skirts.

Then I will move on to the linen closets, Hubbs’ closet and finally our office closet. This past weekend I pulled out all of Miss S’s clothes that are too snug or too short and put them in storage. She has a little stash of Spring clothes going. I can’t believe she is moving into 24 months clothes. I think that half the reason she doesn’t have many warm weather clothes is because I have not wanted to move up from 18 to 24 months. She just is getting to be such a big girl!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Ode to the Irish

I am not Irish. I am German and Norwegion, however, I still wear green on St. Patty's Day. I dress my daughter in green on St. Patty's Day. I eat corned beef and cabbage and about 537 potato pancakes on St. Patty's Day. I like traditions, dammit, whether they really are relevant to me or not. Maybe I like traditions because basically they always involve wearing special items and consuming large quantities of food. Who really cares anyways.

I am about to embark on Budget Crackdown 2010. Not too thrilled about that one. Why? Well, I like to shop. I like Starbucks and I like spending too much on groceries each week. So basically, I just don't like the constraints of a budget. I figure, I work my arse off all week so that I can have a little fun now and then. But, I am back to brown bagging for awhile and maybe whittle down visits to the GAP, but come one I need to buy Spring clothes for not only myself but an adorable little girl whose little tee shirts from winter are so snug it is rediculous, but incredibly cute. Oh, and I am sure the hubbs needs some essential tee-shirts too.

And, to prove my non-existent point, it was 77 degrees today. Spring really is right around the corner. Why can't spring clothes grow on trees?

Thursday, March 11, 2010

What's Goin' On PART DEUX

1) The weather is starting to hint that Spring might be just around the corner. Weekends are starting to be consumed with more trips to the park.
2) I can’t believe Easter is merely weeks away. I so need to get Miss S’s dress still and get her pictures taken.
3) I ordered some Girl Scout Cookies from a co-worker’s kid and quickly realized that I really didn’t need three boxes, so I gave one to my parents. I know super exciting shit.
4) I am really looking forward to warm weather. Typically I am a winter girl since I am fair and like being amongst the pale crowd, but now that I have a kiddo, all I can think about are long lazy days of summer, taking walks after dinner while it’s light out and Mommy & Me swim classes and BBQ-ing.
5) Miss S is getting her “Eye teeth” in on the top and bottom. They are causing her some pain but she still is not as cranky as when she got 5 teeth in all at once.
6) Miss S is such a book lover. I so get a kick out of her reading her stories out loud, gibberish after gibberish. It is so cute, I want to eat her up.
7) I am wearing a pencil skirt today without tights. Let me tell you my legs are white! Bring on the self tanner!
That’s all I got in me.

Monday, March 8, 2010

The Mean Aunt

On Saturday I brought Miss S over to my brother and sister in law’s house where my mom was watching their four year old and 17 month old. We decided to take the three girls to the park, with the little ones in the wagon and Leah riding her big wheel. I started getting stressed over the thought that my mom and I were outnumbered with three kids. I was especially paranoid about Leah riding ahead into the street. Even though my mom insisted that she knew to stop and wait at each corner (and she did) I couldn’t stop the agitation. It got worse at the park when both Miss S and Little Ava tried to scale the double slide at the same time while I was watching them. I just couldn’t handle two kids to myself while my mom was across the park with Leah.

It was barely 15 minutes in and I couldn’t handle it anymore. I told my mom “let’s go!”. Her being the calm one (and also a elementary teacher and the best grandma ever) tried mellowing me out so that the kids could play longer. It didn’t work. I was stressed. Stressed that one kid might fall off the slide while the other darted towards the street. At one point I even yelled at my niece Leah for screaming to get our attention. “Leah, stop screaming, you are FOUR!” Nice aunt I am.
I know I am confident while with Miss S, but the prospect of watching one more or two more, makes me sweat. I don’t know why I got so ridden with anxiety. Can’t figure it out. All I know is that I am sure my niece Leah reported back to her parents that I am the mean one.

By the time we got back to the house I needed a cocktail. But it was only 4.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Moments of Bliss

This was my weekend. And it was blissful.