H&M has cured me of the terrible and expensive curse of Target...

Today my sister and I went to Target because she needed to get a few things and I needed to pick up a yoga mat for my Kindergartner's after school program (yup, yoga for kinders).

We started out in the dollar section where I picked up some Elmo barrettes for... you got it, a dollar, as well as some 2lb. weights that were oddly 1.50 each, but still qualified for the dollar section. Close enough, I guess.

And then we got to the clothes section, which is usually my downfall. It's not that I love the clothes at Target so much, because I am sufficiently snobby in that area, but there are sometimes some really great finds that inevitably make it into my cart and then somehow find themselves placed in the front of my closet where my fave clothes hang out. And then along with whatever new doodads I find in the kitchen section (another weakness), and the very cute $5.99 pieces from the little girls' section, and of course, the jumbo pack of size 5 diapers that I hope we're on the verge of not needing, we usually get to the checkout with a bill hardly ever less than $50-100. It's a very expensive way to save money.

But you know what happened today?

I looked that cute speckly grey sweater dress right in its tunic and walked away.

And then I walked away from the almost cute $12 watch, the weighted jumprope, and the running pants that were really cute except for the fact that they had lime green trim.

I then quickly walked past the kitchen section, put back a photo album and a pair of pajama bottoms and a large bag of gummy fish.

And when I got to the checkout, my bill was $34 which included the $24 yoga mat for Tali, which is at least $50 less expensive than my usual Target bill.

You might be wondering how this happened... How could I have been so strong as to withstand all Target shopping urges?

The answer, my friends, is H&M.

The new store opened last week and Mari, Kim, and I all made it to the grand opening. Supposedly, the first 200 shoppers were supposed to get gift certificates and cool bags filled with branded swag, but after the first hundred, it seemed that they started giving them out randomly. But somehow, Kim managed to sweet talk a bag from some guy ahead of us in line and then after divvying up some of her loot with the rest of us, she went back to work (how mature of her) and left us slackers to wait in line until the doors opened.

Which we did. Mari managed to dig up a lollipop from the bottom of her purse to bribe Naomi into her stroller because it store was too chaotic to let her out. And then we joined the hoards of people grabbing for hip and inexpensive clothes. We saw the greatest wool coat for $34.90 and seriously, while I was hemming and hawing for the 30 second decision between grey and black, they were all gone. It was a frantic frenzy as we all grabbed things close to our sizes with prices much lower than Target's and for clothes that were so cute.

Later that day, Mari returned a pair of shoes and saw that the clerks had completely restocked the shelves and we realized our frenzy had been for naught. But frenzy or not, compared to H&M, Target was a breeze. I have a feeling that H&M is going to be a problem for me.

happy 70th birthday, mom...

On Saturday night, we threw a party for my mom's 70th birthday.



To be honest, it was really her idea. We'd figured we would do something for her birthday and mentioned a party.



But then she kept bringing it up, as in "Here's a good date for my party." Or, "Here's who we should invite to my party," and "How big do you think this party should be?"






You could even say she was a bit persistent.





And so we sent out invitations, got the decorations, figured out the food and drink menu and ordered the cake.


We fussed over how much to make and whether the party should be in the evening or afternoon, and prayed for warm weather so that people could be outside in the yard.



We spent the day of the party doing prep--cooking food, preparing a slideshow, and Dan, Mari, and I rolled more sushi than forty people could ever hope to eat.



At 7pm, we were ready to go.









Dan even had to squeeze in the requisite little brother move of pretending to take a photo of someone else with the camera phone, but instead taking his own picture.









But what I didn't realize until the moment in the picture below, was how much this party really reflected who my mom is.


It was a great party because she loved it. My mom loves her friends and her community and she is very involved with them. Pretty much everyone we invited showed up because they love her and as she made her way around the room, I could see that everyone there was incredibly important to her.
A few people made some short speeches about how amazing her community involvement is, or how dynamic she is, and if I were a different kind of person, I would've made a speech, too. Or, perhaps if my drinks had been stronger, I might have also made a speech.

But since I'm not and they were not (lesson learned--stronger drinks next time), I'll say what I wanted to here.


Mom,

I think that if I had to sum up some of the most important gifts you've blessed me with as your daughter, I would choose these three that have most impacted my life.


Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love looks like. You have always been my safe place, and even when we don't agree, I know that neither one of us will ever go to sleep angry.



Thank you for expecting so much from me. Even though your expectations have always been high, your expectations have enabled me to expect so much from myself, and to believe that I'm capable of doing what I feel I need to. You have taught me how to be strong.

And, thank you for sharing your love of literature with me. Besides opening up entire new worlds for me as a child, in what is probably the simplest explanation possible, your high school English teacher instructions that a paper (or a poem, or a story, or even a fraction of one's life) needs to be, and can be, revised until it is where you want it, has taught me that nothing is finished until you decide it is.







I love you and we are so lucky to have you in our lives...






















And Happy Birthday, to Natalie, my mom's twin sister! We love you!

my sister's visit brought Shrug and her sister new shrugs!

wordless wednesday...

cake wrecks, mmmm...

So I was wasting time again online late last night instead of sleeping (which is making me a bit miserable this morning, but really, it always seems worth it at the time), and I found this site that I almost didn't click on because I like to eat cake, but am not truly all that interested in cakes.

But cakewrecks is seriously worth clicking on... I mean, I never imagined that Tom Selleck's hairy chest could be so, um, deliciously? immortalized in frosting. It's scary, but you should totally experience this.

I could easily become obsessed with this...

my left hand @ NW Film Forum...

I just got back from the NW Film Forum where I saw my friend, Josh Isaac's, documentary about his journey with cancer, My Left Hand. It truly is an amazing film in all its honesty, beauty, and pain. And it's inspiring that through all of the trials and struggles that cancer has brought to his life, the film truly celebrates hope, joy, and life. The original soundtrack by Kevin Thornton is also really good and worth hearing.

If you missed the screening, you can buy the DVD on the My Left Hand site.

david is a camper, too...

So I was going to post again about Sarah Palin and how my obsession is driving me (and everyone around me) insane, but I just got back from a really good run and I reread my post and was annoyed by the fact that I can't get her off my mind so I'm totally ignoring that whole post I already wrote. (I hope that I can control myself from posting it tomorrow, though...)

So in an effort to remember the PSP (pre-Sarah Palin) days, I'll share a video taken from our good old Camp Runamucka days.

Someone needs to stop me from shooting video sideways...

piper palin spit shines trig's hair...

This was definitely the highlight of Sarah Palin's speech at the RNC on Wednesday...

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on the verge...

The first week of school is more than halfway finished and things are more or less back to the regular school-year swing of things (except that Tali constantly has this wild, thrilled look in her eyes because she's about to tell you AGAIN that she has school tomorrow). Samuel is already complaining about homework, the dinner, bath, bedtime hours are rushed, and I've already ruined another pot boiling eggs.

The thing that is different is that I'm not working at all.

I'd expected to go back to work in September and then never found the right project. And while trying to keep up with the kids, and especially with Naomi, who has suddenly undergone an extreme makeover from easiest child ever to Super High Pitch Screamer Two Year Old (complete with cape), I haven't had time to really search for anything. Or pretty much do anything, but keep her from falling into fountains, drawing on the floors and walls (okay, there's proof on my walls that she got away from me, but the pen really came right up off the floor), or applying lotion to her hair.

"Do you really want to go back to work?" Boaz asked me the other day.

I didn't even need a moment to think about it. YES YES YES YES YES!!!

I think I can safely say that while I have totally and absolutely adored having extra time with my munchies, I love working. I love being engaged in a project, I love the challenges and education, I love hearing Samuel's opinions on work problems (he's surprisingly insightful about work politics)...

But mostly, I love the rhythm of the week. I love looking forward to the weekends, I love looking forward to the end of the day when we all get to see each other again, I love talking about our days.

And though I know I might be exhausted from all of the travelling over the past few weeks, but lately, I feel like all the days, then weeks, are just blending in to each other and I just cannot get enough energy to get much done. Usually I stay up until 1am and then with a good run in (and a lot of caffeine), I'm good to go.

But I've definitely been dragging over the past few weeks. It could be that with a two year old and a crazy carpooling schedule, it's just hard to get much done. And while I'm always mourning how fast the kids speed through their phases and years, it would do my soul some serious good to get some outside the home productivity going.

Tomorrow is my first child-free day (at least until 3:30) for longer than I can remember and I'm going to get my act together. Wish me luck.

the day we've been waiting for all summer--the kindergartner's very, very first day of school...

wordless wednesday...

my confession of double standards...

It's been a few days since McCain announced Sarah Palin as his choice for VP and my opinion of whether this is good for the Dems has flipped and flopped and then flipped again. But regardless of what McCain's reasons were for choosing Palin, as we discover more about her, I've found myself more and more uncomfortable in discussions about her.

And it has less to do with her politics than her status as a mother.

Politically, she is as polar opposite from me as possible on almost every front, and that's pretty much what I'd expect from McCain's running-mate.

So why on earth do I find myself judging her parenting?

My first gut reaction upon hearing that she has five children, with the youngest under one, is to wonder what kind of super powers this woman must have to be able to run a vice-presidential election with so many kids?

And then I remember, "Oh yeah, I work." (At least usually...)

"But Self," I think, "you're not running for vice president of the United States. If you did that, you'd never see your kids. Who would make sure they do their homework? Who'd make sure they didn't have too much screen time? Who'd kiss them goodnight?"

"But she's serving as a strong example to her children about what women can do, whether they're mothers or not. That's a powerful message."

And who knows? Maybe their father is the one who is more hands-on.

Soon after Samuel was born and I'd just returned to work full-time, a friend who stayed home with her kids said to me, "Wow, I don't know how you do it. I don't think I could hand my kids over to someone else to raise them."

It took years for me to truly get over that comment. Even though I didn't believe that having my kids in daycare meant I wasn't raising them, her words triggered the guilt lever and I wondered whether or not I was doing my kids a disservice by working on my career--something that makes me happy and is also quite helpful in paying the mortgage.

And I certainly don't mean to start a battle between working moms and stay home moms--I feel very comfortable with my decision, with the fact that this is a very personal choice people have to make for themselves, and that every family's situation is different.

But even though I pray Sarah Palin is never elected as Vice President, and that I feel that her nomination was a desperate move by McCain for PR (a move that is truly insulting to women in general no matter what Palins' accomplishments include), I feel genuinely guilty that my gut reaction is to question her parenting choices, when what I believe I should feel is an acknowlegement of her success.

the next american idol...

For whatever reason, I never really got into the television show, American Idol. Maybe it's because it's not music I usually listen to, I don't have much time, and really, I spend too much time online to spare on AI.

But yesterday, Kim and I headed to the mall to purchase the American Idol Encore game for Wii and I'm sadly addicted. (Have I ever mentioned, though, how easily I am addicted to anything?) We stayed up late into the night singing to songs I haven't heard since the 80s, and then getting trashed by Simon, Paula, and Randy. I never realized quite how ungroovy I actually was--I felt like that Tina Fey character in Baby Mama. But once you got over the fact that you were trashing the songs, it was so ridiculously fun. Who would've thought that simply being handed a microphone and an audience would make you want to sing out loud and proud?

But the best part was waking up this morning to some loud crowing from downstairs. I ran down to find Samuel and his friend, Jacob, singing along to Madonna's Holiday, and trying to read the words as fast as they'd appear.

Now, they'd really have me addicted if I could add my own music to the game. And despite all his trashtalk, I think that Wii Simon really loves me.

college plans and things to do when you're grown-up

While we were walking through the UW campus during our trip to Wisconsin , Becky and I overheard Ben and Samuel talking about how they should go to college together someday in Madison and how fun it'd be if they could be roommates. Earlier in the day, I'd threatened, I mean mentioned, to Samuel that he badly needed a haircut (something he absolutely abhors because he wants to grow his hair long, and is somehow and oddly fascinated by mullets (though I swear he has no idea what they look like, but that doesn't seem to deter him at all).

Here is Samuel and Ben's list of things to do when they're college roommates and all grown-up (haha!):

1. Get a very short haircut before college and then not get it cut for a WHOLE YEAR.


2. Watch NC-17 movies without their moms around. Maybe watch an R-rated movie.


3. Play M-rated video games (much cackling from the boys about this wicked act)


4. Go to McDonalds (added by Tali)


5. Stay up very late... Maybe even until midnight.


6. BBQ every night.


7. Get married because even though they don't like girls now, Ben says this will probably change later.

For now, though, the boys are getting ready to tackle third grade. Which is big enough for me right now...
---------------------

On another note, I was so inspired by Obama's speech last night. I feel that same excitement in the air that I haven't felt since the 1992 election... I truly believed last night that this country was going to make the move toward change. All of the speeches were amazing and our democrat speakers seemed so poised and controlled and articulate about how to manage this campaign.

And then I woke up to McCain's announcement of his running mate, Sarah Palin. I never expected her as a choice for him and wondering how this is going to affect this already tight race. It seems like such a clever choice for him, even though I know very little about her. Can't wait to read what the pundits are saying, though, I'm hoping that this choice doesn't hurt Obama's campaign.

hang 10...

wordless wednesday...

surf city USA...

We spend the last week of every summer (or at least for the past five years) on the Oregon coast with the same friends. It's a great way to close out the summer--some sun and beach, usually a little rain. But the rain did not stop Boaz and crew from hitting the waves and deciding that this was the year that B and Samuel would teach everyone to surf.

The first lesson involved learning how to put on the wet suit, which apparently is not an obvious thing since five of our six surfers put theirs on wrong. Four were backward ("I wondered why the zipper had such a long pull in front!") and one was inside out... But after some minor corrections, they were off!

The kids were amazingly brave, with all of them being able to stand up on their boards for at least a short bit. Olin and Samuel definitely looked the part of little surfer rats and Gracie and Claire definitely looked cooler than Gidget ever did.

And Samuel managed to really improve on what he'd learned during his first lessons in Kauai... I know that Boaz has sugar plum father/son surfing trips floating in his head.

Next year, Tali and I will get on the boards, as well, since learning to surf is definitely on my bucket list.

But for now, I'm satisfied with the long run I had by myself on the beach this morning. It just does not get much better than this...

We're all going to have quite the rude awakening next week when school begins.

the roadshow continues... next stop--the oregon coast

The air-travel-alone-with-three-children-gods must have been watching over me yesterday because almost as soon as I got my red, puffy from crying because I was leaving my cousin sister face on the airplane with my three kids and then got them settled in their seats, Naomi's eyes drooped and she passed out for two hours. This is a child who hasn't had a nap for a week so I think she was just grateful to be sitting and buckled in.

And then I looked at Tali sitting in the row behind me who had made friends with the two kids she was sitting with. Samuel was playing his Nintendo DS, despite the fact that I'd taken it away for pretty much the rest of his life for disrespectful behavior. But it didn't matter and I let it slide because for the first time in months, I was free to start the novel that I'd been carrying around in my purse for just in case.

So I read for two hours. And then Naomi woke up and the kids began to get restless, but not so much so and I was refreshed. Which makes me firmly believe that if I could get just two hours a day to myself everyday, I'd be a completely different parent. Now I just need to find someone willing to let me have that...

Anyway, by the time we landed at Sea-Tac, we were all in good moods and excited to see Boaz who pulled up in the car with the Thule already packed and ready to go. And then without passing Go or going home, we were on our way to the Oregon coast for four days with a stop in Portland for the night on the way.

It was the perfect transition... First of all, Portland is an amazing city. Somehow it's hippy and cosmopolitan all at once. We ate at an amazing sushi place and the kids actually ate sushi, which makes me very excited about future eating out adventures. And then today after stopping at Powell's Books where we bought a bunch of great new and used books for the kids in an effort to lure them away from brainsucking television shows, as well as a copy of the latest O. Henry short fiction prize winners for me, we headed down to the coast for four days of beach play on our annual trip with our friends the Wolfs and the Morris's.

I'm starting to get very used to this transient lifestyle... And the kids are totally loving it. Six different beds in three weeks and Samuel is thrilled to have been in three states yesterday.

Wonder how I'm going to get myself back to work next month...

what we didn't do...

Camp is over tomorrow morning and cousin sister Becky and I are sitting at the dining room table with large glasses of wine and talking about how short our visit was and realizing that there is a whole list of things we didn't get a chance to do.



Here they are:

We didn't get our night out sans kids. It was a result of babysitter scheduling conflicts and also wanting to spend time with family, but we did really want a chance to talk grown-up style (for those of you without kids, that simply means having an uninterrupted and uncensored conversation).

We didn't have our banquet awards ceremony. This is where we ceremoniously award each other camper awards hand drawn on paper plates. One year when we were about ten years old, Becky and I awarded each other about twenty blank plates before anyone ever noticed. They weren't so happy when they did realize that we were hogging the stage.

We didn't have any successful shopping trips. That is pretty much an impossible feat with four children under eight. And in fact, we had a very impossible shopping trip today where I stopped at two stores on State Street to purchase a Badger sweatshirt, something that I've wanted to buy every single time I've been to Madison. Pretty much the scene where Becky, the 60+ year old saleslady, and I are all chasing Tali and Naomi through the store was not a very happy scene.

I did not buy a UW Badger sweatshirt. As I mentioned, for some really irrational reason, I really want a Badger sweatshirt. I've always wanted one because Madison is such a nostalgic place for me. Oh well, there's always next time.

I didn't eat a Brat. That seemed like such a Wisconsin thing. But Becky is assuring me that this is a good thing.

I did not get enough time with my family. I hate the night before departure. I always feel sad about leaving and about having to miss my family again. We all had such a great time and I love hanging out with my cousin sister princess cousin Becky.

Oops, forgot to buy the Co-Jack for Boaz. How can you not love a cheese called Co-Jack? Even if you really love it for its name???

See you later Wisconsin... We will definitely be back.

another letter from camp...

Camp is fun. I like it a lot.

Except that I may be losing my mind a little.

I held off posting for a few days because I couldn't find the USB cable to load my many, many photos and then tonight, whilst hoping that someone in Princess Mikkimoto's building left their wifi unsecure, I had this thought that wouldn't it be funny if I'd very conscientiously tied up the cable with my power cord in order not to lose it and it was right there?

And it was.

I am very lame.

So here I am... Ready to post some photos about our many Camp Runamucka adventures.

Pretty much, camp looks a lot like this:

But in between this, we have seen lots of cousins...

And because we were the adults, we made our brood wear homemade camp t-shirts that we made about 20 seconds before we stuffed them in them. It would've been nice if we'd stopped long enough to read the directions on the transfer decals, which we'd assumed were really just a repeat of common sense.

However, it seems that common sense was something lacking in our camp administration. The first person to figure out what is wrong with this photo will win their very own Camp Runamucka 2008 t-shirt!

However, we only have the shirts in size 2-4. No matter... We made the kids wear them, anyway!

As usual, there has also been a lot of eating...

And there's no better way to rally the troops than to get them involved in some good old fashioned Tupperware organizing.

So that's all from camp today! Tune in tomorrow for some more exciting adventures...

camp runamucka is very, very, very fulfilling...

wordless wednesday...

postcard from camp runamucka...

Dear Moms and Dads,

Camp is great. I love it here and am not homesick. Yet.
Here is what I've been doing.

Love,
Amy

my left hand...

My good friend Josh Isaac has produced an amazing film called my left hand, which documents his battle with epithelioid sarcoma. His documentary captures his journey through spiritual, physical, and emotional effects of his chemotherapy and radiation treatments and then the eventual amputation of his left hand.

It's an amazingly honest and moving work and for those of you in the Puget Sound area, you should absolutely see the screening at the Northwest Film Forum on September 8th at 7pm.

There will also be a panel discussion after the film and a chance to hear Josh speak about his work.

Cost: $5/advance; $8/at door. Scholarships available. Space is limited and advance tickets strongly recommended. Tickets available through https://www.brownpapertickets.com/index.html or 1-800-838-3006

we're off to the land of cheese, packers, and brewers...

Tomorrow the kids and I leave for our visit to see Princess Mikkimoto and her son Ben, as well as the rest of our very lovely family in the midwest. It should be a very interesting and fun-filled trip and the kids could NOT get to sleep tonight because they're so wound up.

Expect some interesting posts over the next week... But what I really want to know is, what exactly is a Packer?

the great wolf lodge is an alternate universe...

I think that after a day at home, I've officially recovered from the Great Wolf Lodge. We all had an amazing time, seriously, but for the first twelve or so hours at the lodge, Ally and I had to readjust our mentalities in order to survive. Seriously.

The place is bizarre. I'm not sure what I expected, but their Web site made it look like heaven. Parents were lounging on deck chairs happily watching their kids, children are smiling and laughing, and there is even a shot of a small child sleeping, exhausted, on his mom. There are photos of buffets, high lobby ceilings, the "Iron Horse" fitness center (that we never even pretended we'd use), and luxurious rooms.

These are the photos used to lure unsuspecting parents into their lair...

I was shocked to pull up to the lodge to find a glorified and enlarged Mariott decked out entirely with a North Woods theme, complete with huge wood carved statues of wolves in front. We wait in a Disneyland-sized line to check in, collect our wristbands (which we immediately all put on too tightly) and drag our brood of four to our Kids Kabin room.

(Can I just note for the record that I will consider the room's cuteness--or kuteness-- EVEN if they had decided to use proper spelling. K'mon Great Wolf!)

Ally and I find the room disappointing. We'd splurged on a big room with a special kids room, but found it small and sort of barren, but definitely woodsy. However, when we look to see how the kids are reacting, they're ecstatic. Their special kid room is a little log cabin tucked into a generic hotel room, complete with a bunkbed, daybed, painted walls, and their own... gasp... flat screen television and remote. The three big kids each claim a bed, without fighting, and settle in happily playing with Legos while we unpack.

"This is the best vacation ever!" Samuel says. We haven't even left the room.

We head down to find the waterpark. I wonder if there seemed like there would be more big slides, but the kids are in heaven. There's a wave pool, a huge tree house to climb on with buckets of water to dump and pulleys and levers everywhere. There's a toddler section that is just as fun for the big kids, fountains coming out from the ground that Naomi loved to step on, and a big regular pool with basketball hoops and floating animals to climb on. We haven't even touched the slides yets. We continue nonstop for hours until we're exhausted and then emerge from the heated and indoor waterpark into the hotel, change our clothes quickly and then head to the buffet dinner where all four kids sit nicely, use their best manners, and eat like little great wolves. The food is decent, the decor is equivalent to that of a school cafeteria. It doesn't matter because we're drinking wine.


After dinner there's an animatronic show about the rhythm of life (which seemed suspiciously like a knock-off of "The Lion King" theme) and then story time. They had our kids full attention, even Naomi's.

Then, the kids played this Magiquest game where they use purchased magic wands to fulfill quests and adventures. Suddenly, all of the tacky decor comes to life as the kids literally run around the entire hotel with the wands waving them at everything. The art on the walls light up, bear rugs come to life, treasure chests open and crystals ignite. These runes are all over the hotel, on every floor, in the stairwells, in the lobby, in the restaurants and kids are running up and down the halls with wands and capes. And then brilliantly, at 10pm, the game is turned off. Time for bed. Or for some television in your own Kid Kabin.

Ally and I suspended schedules for this trip. I'm usually sort of a slave to schedules because I know they keep my kids sane. But oddly at The Lodge, the kids were on their best behavior and feeling great on their own schedule, all while being extremely indulged. Huh? They seemed possessed.
We'd tell them it was time to take a break from the water and they'd nod and say okay. We'd say it was time to go to bed and Samuel responded by saying, "Oh good!"

So what's up with the water at this place?

Ally and I finally realized that it must be because while most of the world caters to adults with gestures to kids in the forms of a desert bar or a kiddie ride, The Great Wolf Lodge caters to kids with a small gesture to adults in the form of a very inaccessible and expensive full bar. This place did not even have clocks around, so we never knew what time it was, nor was there a newspaper to be found.

So we embraced the challenge. The kids passed out in their beds when they were so exhausted, they couldn't stand it any longer. They swam and played in the water until their fingers and toes turned to prunes. They ate dessert with their meals and didn't ask for more. Samuel and I went out at 9pm one night to ride the scariest water slides over and over, screaming at the top of our lungs, until the park closed. And seriously, every so often each one of them would turn to us, or grab our hands and spontaneously say thank you, or I love you, or give us a hug. It was just like the ads--all happy family and good parenting...
And Ally and I had so much fun, too. We caught up on each other's lives, picked up where we left off, and had a ridiculously fun time playing with the kids in the water, at the arcade, talking at night... We got to be kids again for a few days, too.

I have no illusions about the Great Wolf. It is not a family vacation. It is a kid vacation. But I'll go back because a vacation where the kids are so happy that I get a chance to be a kid, too, is worth it.

**note that there are no pictures of the waterpark part of the trip because, um, we forgot to take them since we were too busy playing.**

experimental music...

wordless wednesday...

going to the lodge...

Even though it's practically the end of the summer (can you EVEN believe that???), we start our big vacationing marathon tomorrow. Our first stop? The Great Wolf...

My dearest old college friend, Ally, and her son Nick flew up here from LA to visit and tomorrow we head down to the The Great Wolf Lodge for two nights and three days of indoor waterpark family fun.

Yes, I said indoor. An inside waterpark. Inside. Where the sun don't shine. And the oddest thing is that even though at first that was a turn-off, now that it's raining and chilly again in Seattle, I'm actually glad that we still get to romp around the water in our bathing suits during the season that is called Summer, but isn't all that hot. I don't care if we have to do it inside.

The other thing about The Great Wolf is that besides being incredibly Northwoods theme-based with theme-based names of activities all featuring words like Buckhorn,Great Lights, Camp, and Critter, and posessing a huge wolf pack buffet (not so good from the double dub perspective), but you also must stay at the resort in order to participate in all of the water fun. Otherwise, we'd never stay. (I think...) I imagine it'll be like three days in the Chuck E. Cheese catacombs, but with a full bar.

But since Ally and I tromped off to the Sinai desert together, in addition to countless other hapless adventures, we'll manage this and probably have a lot of fun with the kids.

Did I mention there's a full bar? See you on Wednesday with lots of pictures!

chain letter hits the blogs... blame helmey...

I hate chain letters and when they come in the mail, I pretend not to see them and toss them. But I am embarrassingly superstitious so when Princess Mikkimoto tagged me with this chain letter, I had to respond. Also, since non-compliance apparently results in spontaneous combustion, which sounds sort of painful, I'll do it. But not before I blame Helmet, too, since he tagged Princess in the first place.
Here it is:

8 things to do in my life...

1. Take a trip to Greece with my friends and sing ABBA songs the entire time.
2. Start my own business.
3. Have a reason to do a book tour.
4. Finish a marathon.
5. Learn how to dance. (Really. I cannot dance. At all. At least not in a way that is acceptable outside the toddler crowd.)
6. Own a beach house.
7. Learn to surf.
8. Have the chance to spoil my grandchildren so incredibly rotten that my kids get mad at me and talk to each other behind my back but so that my grandkids adore being at me house.

Alright... I hate to do this, but I have no tagbacks. I may be a chain letter loser, but cannot keep the chain going. If you feel like answering so that I don't spontaneously combust, please do, but if not, don't. So there.

guest post over at seattle mom blogs...

If you're feeling like some words on this sunny Wordless Wednesday, go check out my guest post about becoming a SAHM for the summer over at SeattleMomBlogs...

one more reason why i love boaz...

wordless wednesday...

what does yoda have to do with big girls sleeping in their own beds?

Boaz came home late tonight and as a result, he was conveniently absent for bedtime and specifically for getting Naomi to bed, since he'd taken her transition to a big girl bed as his own project.

"What's the secret?" I ask this morning. "You've gotta tell me if you're not going to be around for bedtime."

"No secret," he says coolly. "Just put her in bed and say goodnight. "

"I can't believe you're not going to tell me."

"There's nothing to tell," he says. "You just do it."

"If she's up when you get home, she's yours," I tell him.

So because I had a ton of stuff to do this evening in addition to a mountain of laundry that is growing faster than the science experiment in the refrigerator (why is doing laundry somewhat satisfying and folding it such a major pain in the arse?), I stressed out pretty hard around bedtime. In fact, I lost my temper with the kids when Naomi wouldn't stop whining and then screaming for fun. It was completely not fair and I felt like a miserable parent. So when I turned off the light in the girls' room, I patted Naomi for a bit while she laid there with her eyes open saying "pat me?" repeatedly.

After about the umpteenth "pat me" I realized it wasn't helping her and that I was absolutely doing it because I felt bad about yelling. I'm not sure why I thought it would since I don't pat her for more than a few times in her crib and then kiss her goodnight as she curls up happily to sleep (at least most of the time). So I kissed her goodnight and left the room. She cried out once as I was leaving and then curled up and went to sleep.

Huh?

He wasn't kidding. There's no magic secret except for perhaps believing that she'd go to sleep? Or as Samuel pointed out to me tonight, Yoda says "No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."

I totally channeled my inner-Yoda tonight.

we've been bunk'd...

Last week the kids and I took a trip to Ikea to buy bunkbeds. Ikea is one of those places I try forever to avoid and then... boom... my house looks like I won an Ikea sweepstakes.



But it was time for bunkbeds. Samuel wanted a place for his friends and cousins to sleepover and Tali has been sleeping in a toddler bed since she was two and because she continues to grow taller and is practically a kindergartner, we've decided that it's time for her to be able to sleep outside the fetal position her toddler bed requires. (Okay, it's not really that bad...) But Ikea is cheap and so are we, so off we went.



But the problem is that because the kids all have very small bedrooms (we had to knock out the closet in Samuel's room in order to get a twin bed in there and well, two twin beds just don't fit in the girls' room, hence the toddler bed), in order to let Tali straighten her legs, Naomi had to move from her crib.

It's a little soon for her to be making this transition, since she just turned two in June. So I thought we'd just leave the crib in the corner of the room when we started building the beds today, and then we'd move her to the bed gradually.

Except that there was no room to leave the crib. So Boaz broke it down and said in the kindest way possible, "Get over it--there will be no more cribs in this house."

"Forget the emotional part,"I said, panicked. "Who's going to chase that girl down for naps and bedtime? There is NO way she's going to stay in her bed."

"It's not going to be a problem," he said. "I've got it covered."
I'm pretty sure I heard Naomi cackling "Waaa haaa haaaa!" from the bedroom at this point.

At naptime she wouldn't lay down in the bed and everytime I thought she'd relax and go to sleep, I'd hear her little pitter patters down the hallway. Finally, I called Boaz in to make good on his deal.
Somehow he got her to sleep. And I don't think he drugged her, either.

Same thing tonight. I tucked her in with her usual bedtime routine and she just wouldn't lie down. I called Boaz in and she flattened herself immediately. Within fifteen minutes, he was back downstairs.

I could wonder what I'm doing wrong, but for now, I'm enjoying having him be the one to get her to sleep.

I wonder which one of us will regret this decision first?

In the meantime, the bunkbeds are cute and the kids love their rooms.

this is what happens when your pants are too tight...

Poor Polly Pocket...

Her pants were just too tight and when Tali tried to pull them off, Polly pretty much self-destructed.

Really, Polly... Those plastic silver skin-tight pants are cute (and still intact), but nothing is worth the fate you've met--certainly not a pair of plastic pants.


Why am I still letting my daughter play with this crap? Partly because the book I'm reading about raising girls swears that their confidence in themselves isn't threatened by playing with slutty dolls.


But also because after this catastrophe and the tears were wiped away, she proclaimed "I will never wear pants that are too tight!"

mama needs a new phone...

All right. So I don't really need one, but I want one very, very badly.

I've been phone shopping because I just hate my Blackberry Pearl. Hate it. I hate it so much I keep waiting for it to die, or for one of the kids to kill it "accidentally" like they did with my last phone. Everytime I look at it wrong, it screams SIMCARD ERROR at me and I have to shut it down and start it up again, which is about three times a day. And sometimes I don't receive any email for long periods of time (and it isn't because I'm not really not getting any--really).

And while other than those issues, it works, I haven't quite handed it over to Naomi to take it's little crackberry life forever because that seems sort of wasteful (and I'm trying hard to earn back my super nature girl status). But mostly because I had such high hopes for it, and cannot believe it's such a drag. Because it really is so petite and almost cute.

So I've just been looking--not full-on cheating on my Pearl.

And I can't find ANYTHING that is just so irresistible I wouldn't be able to pass it up. And really, I'm so up for irresistible. But I have requirements and while they don't seem to hard to fulfill, I haven't found the dream phone to fulfill my wildest cell phone dreams. Sigh...

Here is what I'm looking for:
1. I want to be able to have two Exchange accounts on the phone so that I can differentiate between home and work email. I've read that the new iPhone won't let me do this, so I'll check that one off my list even though it sounds so amazing, I'd give up my #3 requirement.

2. I want faster internet service than my Blackberry provides. (...and I'm not looking to surf on this service--I just want it to not take a short eternity to click on an emailed link. But okay, it would be fun to have the sort of connectivity B gets on his iPhone)

3. I'd like something not huge. In fact, because I refuse to ever clip my phone to a holder on my beltloop and don't often wear shirts with chest pockets like B does, if I want to have my phone on me during meetings, I need to place it on the conference table where it buzzes or vibrates when it rings. It's an annoying occurrence that happens all the time at meetings and it's distracting when you're presenting something and someone's phone begins to unapologetically and unabashedly vibrate. And to be honest, more often than not, it's a guy's phone that is buzzing around on the table. Which got me thinking...

What I love about my Pearl (and why does it have to have such an adult toy name?), it that it fits neatly and discretely in my back pocket. Nobody has to know when I vibrate.

I don't care about large number keys because my fingers aren't huge and quite honestly, I don't need too many features, though I'd love to have my phone be my main email form factor since I spend so much time running around.

So my question here is, why is this dream phone so hard to find? I'm seriously not looking for the George Clooney of phones here. But it seems to me that most of the phones I've seen are made for men. Seriously. Why else are they so incredibly big? Do the tech companies out there think that women don't like toys, too? Or am I being unreasonable?

If you have any recommendations, I'm definitely up for them..