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How Does Your Brain Know?

Family, LifeWrite a comment

Last night I woke up from a dream. I was in my grandmother’s old house, with several other family members, and a tour guide of some sort was walking us through the house and describing changes and updates that had been made – only it wasn’t the sort of stuff you would expect like a new bathroom or new floors – she was showing us actual items that belonged to my grandmother and describing how they had been modified…it was all just very weird.

I love this picture of her: the dress, the clutch, the cars...what a great era.
I love this picture of her: the dress, the clutch, the cars...what a great era.

I woke up and lay in bed pondering it for awhile before realizing what the date was  – 5 years ago this week my grandmother passed away. When I nudged my husband and began to describe my dream to him he sleepily mumbled, “You always dream about her this time of year.”

Fishing in a halter top...saucy lady!
Fishing in a halter top...saucy lady!

It’s true..before I consciously take note of the date on the calendar, my brain somehow acknowledges the anniversary of my Nanny’s death – and each year since she passed away, I have all sorts of dreams involving her and her home. Sometimes they are memories of past events – sometimes they are very real, and very much in the present, and I can clearly recall that as I’m dreaming of having a conversation with her, my mind is simultaneously telling me not to wake up, because as soon as I do – she’ll be gone again.

nanny and mom with me in 79

Lil’ G is almost the exact age Miss A was when my grandmother died…and I so wish she could have known both my girls…hopefully, somehow, she does.

With a very tiny Miss A.
With a very tiny Miss A.

I miss you Nanny, and love you so very much.

Planning a Visit to The Happiest Place on Earth

Drama Mama Does Disney, Family, LifeWrite a comment

It’s Thursday. You know what that means…time for me to delight you all with more Disney-ana (I made that up, does it work for you?).

As I mentioned last week, this trip was mainly planned for Miss A.  So I put quite a bit of thought into how I wanted to tell her. Our trip was scheduled for a little less than a month after her birthday,  so on her birthday weekend we gave her a Disney Princess suitcase to open: it’s very cute with rollers and a sliding handle and it’s in the shape of Cinderella’s coach and best of all it is PINK.  Why didn’t I save myself some time and just show you a picture?

princess suitcase

So I had this great plan to stuff the suitcase full with Mickey Mouse balloons and shout.” You’re going to Disney World!” when Miss A unzipped it. Only a bunch of balloons didn’t fit…I managed to squeeze 2 in there safely. When the big reveal happened it took some time for the excitement to set in – you see, Miss A has been wanting to go to Disney for more than half her life (which granted given her age is not that long) and we  told her we would plan a trip when she was 9 or 10 and Lil’ G was 4 or 5 (I didn’t want to go to Disney with a baby…and while I’m very glad we took Miss A now, my instincts on this issue were spot on…more about that some other time). So when I told her she was going to Disney World, she was like, “Ok – sure, fine I know, whatever.” It took awhile for her to realize she would be going in 3 weeks, not 3 years. Once she figured that one out, she started the belated happy dance. Of course, the rarely used video camera had been put away by then.

Part of the fun of a trip like this is all the anticipation and the build up of what’s to come…like Christmas with a giant mouse instead of a fat bearded man. Like me, Miss A loves count down calendars of any kind, so making a few for her was a must do. There are some great calendar printables on the Disney website, and you can customize them and add various icons for birthdays and such…so I printed those for her to pin to the fridge. Then I went a step further and created a “Count Down” coloring book for her.

countdown binder

Basically it is a binder I filled with coloring pages printed from various websites that offer free printables. I photoshopped text detailing the days of the countdown, printed them out and organized them into the binder. It was cheap and easy, my favorite kind.

first page

In the pocket I placed various info material that our wonderful travel agent Lori (I mentioned her last week) sent us. Aishtyn loved ooing and ahhing over everything from the park maps to the hotel brochures. She would take them out again and again. You can also get a really cool set of 4 customizable maps (1 of each of the parks) sent to your house for free. Just fill out some info at the Disney site. I think you can order a set once every 6 months.

info page

I also added some other stuff Lori sent us, like brochures about the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and the Dining Plan. If it had a mouse or a princess on it, I inlcuded it. For the cover, I simply cut a page from one of the travel brochures and taped it to the front.

countdown binder cover

I left the binder on the kitchen table and every morning she would rush down to mark off her calendar and then sit to color her picture for the day…always taking a moment to count how many pages left until she reached the final page: Cinderella and her castle.

last page countdown

Of course she enjoyed passing the time til the big day by watching the corny info DVD they send you, and watching Disney movies to prime her Princess checklist…and shopping for a new Ariel swimsuit with matching hat, towel, and flip flops…and telling everyone from the bank teller at the drive-thru to her doctor to my dentist that, “Hey, guess what? I’m going to DISNEY WORLD!!!”

So if you’re planning a trip – I highly recommend you milk it for all it’s worth and build that anticipation every way you can. It’s almost as much fun as going on the trip itself.

Almost.

Check out next week when I review the whole packing and travelling angle of the trip…my least favorite part.

And if you really don’t want to spend an hour searching for free printables and making your own countdown pages, feel free to borrow some of mine – available below the fold.

Continue reading “Planning a Visit to The Happiest Place on Earth” →

Another point for the e-reader

Cool Stuff, General Suckitude, ProductsWrite a comment

Yesterday I had to do something I really detest.

Something I try to avoid at all costs.

Yesterday I made a return at Wal-Mart. Why…why is there always the line of doom stretching towards infinity at Wal-Mart service desks? So there I am, Lil’ G in the cart making faces at the old man behind us (he was making faces right back), people with frickn’ tv sets from 1982 in line ahead of me…and I’m thinking that if Wal-Mart was around when Dante was alive…well, you know where I’m going with that.

But you know what? The e-reader, tucked neatly in the front pocket of my purse, was a beam of golden light, saving me from the drudgery of my  surroundings. In seconds I went from flourescent lights and bad stretch pants to Imperial China and the Festival of Fertility. I tell you what, it was the first time EVER I was disappointed to get to the head of a line at the WalMarts.

Oh e-reader, what will I do when you are gone from my life?

A Monday Muse Finds Me

Monday MuseWrite a comment

Serendipity. Last week I went out in search of some new MM’s and lo and behold, one finds me. Turns out, she was looking for “Mama artists” too…funny how things work – so she finds my site and leaves a comment…of course, I go check out her site, and well, wouldn’t you know it – she is the perfect example of a Monday Muse!

So, I ask her if she minds if I feature her as a MM, and (this is so sweet) she asks me “What do I need to do?” Here was my response:

You already did it! Your site showcasing your talent, and your dedication to your craft, juxtaposed with life as a wife and mother are what I find so inspiring. When I started the Monday Muse thing I was really beating myself up about not balancing the demands of daily life with the drive – need – to create (in my case, working on my novel and a few short stories that are half fleshed out, though I have dabbled in watercolor and pen and ink, completely as a novice though). Looking around for other busy mothers who had managed to continue to pursue their artistic side, and do it well, gives me hope (and a good kick in the backside) to keep trying myself.

She also was kind enough to honor my request for some suggestions on other possible MM’s, which I will be checking out over the next few weeks.

SO, without further ado – let me introduce you to this week’s Monday Muse: illustrator Jennifer DesAutels (even her name is artsy, doncha think?) She does beautiful watercolors (my favorite medium) and I love how she captures her children in everyday moments and turns it into art. (The one of the 2 girls in the shopping cart reminded me so very much of my own 2 girls!!!).

She also makes adorable personalized growth charts (I am adding this to Lil G’s wish list right now). So if you are looking for a very unique gift, check it out!

Thanks for sharing your life and art with us Jenn, keep up the great work!

Weekend Homeschool Report

HomeschoolingWrite a comment

Who says you can’t have school on the weekend? During the summer? At 6:00 in the evening? It’s homeschool baby, and we do it where we want, when we want, and how we want…that’s why I’m doin’ it in the first place. Going with my new picking a planned day for specific kinds of posts, I shall regale you with words of wit and wisdom about the homeschool life every weekend. You will be smarter by Monday, I promise. (Or at least wiser, which is the more important one anyway.)

For the inaugural Weekend Homeschool Report (which we will refer to as WHSR from now on, k?) I want to focus on that which makes the day to day  life of a homeschool family much easier…well, there are many things that do that – and check back each weekend for more on each and every sanity-saving piece of info I have – but for now, I am referring specifically to that wonder of wonders: the Internet.  The plethora of lesson plans, craft ideas, field trips, textbook sources, suggestions, tips, ideas, advice,  and general STUFF available on the web is wonderful…and a tad overwhelming. The Internet is certainly not my only source of teaching material, as I will delve into further in later posts – but it is a great tool to help supplement everything from basic reading curriculum to science fair project ideas to printable craft projects.

As anyone who has ever googled for anything knows, there is a lot of well, crap, on the web. Homeschool sources are no exception – there is plenty of crap available out there, and yes, it can be frustrating to try and sift through it all, but when you do come across a useful website – bookmark it, and share it with everyone you know (well, not your single friends, they could probably care less about a State Flag coloring website).  Taking my own advice, let me share with you now: on the side bar you’ll see a section called “Teachin’ Mama” – with links to various homeschool friendly teaching resource sites I have found useful.

A big thing for me is FREE. I feel squicky about websites who are looking to make a buck from the second I click on their page – so I don’t stick around. Some sites. like StarFall, have the right idea: they have lots of various curriculum items for sale, but also make a great deal of their material available on-line for free (and I love it!).

If you like free too, you’ll want to visit this site and join their e-mail list, every week, you’ll get a list of free sources to download from their site (the key is you have to visit the site each day, every free source they offer is only available for 24 hours). Overall, I have been very pleased with the variety their site offers; it’s a Christian based educational site, so sometimes the sources may not be exactly what I’m looking for under the heading “Education,” but nobody is forcing me to download it, and if I want to skip a source…well, um, I skip it. Easy, no?

So if you’re a Homeschooler, and you avoid using the internet because you feel (like I did when I refused to buy any Cliff Notes while taking that Chaucer class where the text was in Middle English) that it would somehow lessen the authenticity or quality of the education  – well, knock it off and join us in the 21st century. (And for the record, I was an idiot for not using the CliffNotes…I could have saved many, many hours of my life had I lowered my bizarre personal code of scholary ethics).

Keeping with the Free theme, in the next WHSR we’ll cover Homeschool on the Cheap: Garage Sales.

Drinking and Driving

Books, Cool Stuff, Products, Time WastersWrite a comment

Each day of this summer test drive, I am finding another thing I like about my little Sony e-reader. I am saving up most of these tidbits for my review, but here’s one I discovered last night. It’s a pretty amazing revelation…I just had to share, are you ready? Here it is:

You can drink a glass of wine and read at the same time.

As in: the glass in one hand, and the novel (e-reader) in the other. Simultaneous intake of booze and book.  So convenient when lounging on the couch after the rest of the family has gone to bed.

I suppose you could do the same while holding a paperback…but my dexterity isn’t quite up for that. Especially after a glass. It’s sad but true…one glass of wine and my toes are tingling.

e reader and wine

Though I think I have made another discovery: the wine at the bottom of the box has a higher alcohol content.

Yes, I drink boxed wine.

Occasionally.

Please don’t judge me.

Oh, go ahead and judge me – I won’t care – I’m too busy getting soused.

Startin’ Today: Thursdays are Disney Days around here

Drama Mama Does Disney, LifeWrite a comment

I may have mentioned once or twice or fifty times that we recently went on a vacation to Disney World. I had big ambitious plans to bestow upon you all wonderful insights, advice, suggestions, trip highlights, near disasters, don’t miss this ideas, photos, and…more photos.

Then I got busy with something else.

But I really want to torture bless y’all with our Disney experience. So what to do?

The only thing that seems to work for me: schedule a date and make it “official.” It’s crazy how motivating the simple act of assigning a specific date/time to something can be.

So from this Thursday til infinity (and hopefully probably not beyond), you can catch a bit of Disney Magic…Drama Mama style.

I’m going to start at the very beginning… a very good place to start…when you read you begin with A -B-C, when you sing you begin with (do you know the rest? Can you name that tune?)

So – why Disney? Um…..Miss A is a little girl in love with all things Princess.

Image131

And even more in love with all things Peter Pan.

Miss A and Mr Pan

And even more in love with all things Mermaid.

Miss A and Ariel

And even MORE in love with all things Fairy.

Miss A and Tink

So really, this trip was for Miss A. There is no denying I enjoyed myself…but a healthy chunk of that enjoyment was watching how much fun Miss A had.

The husband and I had bounced the idea of a Disney trip around for awhile…always thinking it would be a few more years down the road – when both girls were old enough to enjoy it. Then I happened to have lunch with a friend who was leaving soon for a – you guessed it – trip to Disney. After hearing how cheap it was (the buy 4 days, get 3 free promotion was going on at the time) I started to wonder “what if…” just a bit. Then I told my husband about it and he sealed the deal with a simple “Let’s do it.”  Miss A was the perfect age to really enjoy all the magic of a trip to Disney: old enough to remember everything and young enough to love everything about it.

Of course,  the actual scheduling and arranging of the trip wasn’t quite so simple. Let me tell you here and now – don’t waste your time stressing about it – find a travel agent that specializes in Disney vacations. Their services are free, and priceless in the time they save you:  from planning the trip, to making hotel and dining arrangements, to finding out about little extras and special deals,  a great Disney travel agent is the first step to a great Disney trip (I should be making commercials for these guys).  Our travel agent was Lori Bandera, part of Small World Vacations, and I found her through the MouseSavers website.

That’s another thing…websites. There are an insane amount of websites devoted to Disney travel, and you could go insane trying to read them all (I did get the feeling many posters to these sites are a bit mad in the hatter). My favorite was MouseSavers, but I also found AllEars quite helpful. After that, they tend to blur together. These two sites distinguished themselves from the rest and seem to offer the most variety of info in the most depth, and they both offer e-letters with updates on all things Disney.

I think that’s enough Disney for one day; to review (in case you’re a skimmer):

1: If you are speculating on a Disney trip – go for it, there are lots of great deals right now.

2. Get a travel agent who specializes in all things Disney.

3. Use the sites to help you plan, but don’t get sucked into the insanity.

Next time: we plan how to surprise Miss A with the big news, and some ideas for creative fun ways to build the anticipation.

When am I going to learn…

Time Wasters, Working OutWrite a comment

that if I want to get a full workout in during the a.m. that I can’t, not even for one second, touch my computer? I was all set for a morning session of yoga, everything ready, girls still in bed, hubby at work. Then I went to grab my ipod off the computer and thought I’d check e-mail “real quick,” which turned into checking a few blogs, which turned into commenting at a few blogs…and before too long Miss A was awake, it was 7:30, and the window of opportunity had closed.  Missing a workout that I planned to do in the morning can really make me mad at myself all day…whereas when I manage to squeeze it in I feel great about myself all day…so why don’t I do myself a favor and just get it done?

One more hurdle for the old willpower…I am doing a great job of saying no to chocolate, now I need to learn how to say no to the computer.

I think I’ll make a little sign to put above the monitor…”Have you worked out this morning?”

Maybe I’ll add this: “No? Then GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THE CHAIR AND JUST DO IT.”

I’m sure Nike won’t mind if I borrow that last part…they’re free to use my half of the statement.

Surfin’ for a Mama Artist

Monday MuseWrite a comment

I was browsing the web looking for blogs from moms who work hard to find the balance between raising their kids, maintaining a home/career, and indulging in whatever art form speaks to them… and that’s when I stumbled across this woman’s site. Her most recent post really illustrated what I look for in a Monday Muse, and I love the way she took a frustrating situation and highlighted all the perks. It can be so easy to forget such perks when you just want ten minutes of un-interrupted time to finish that paragraph you’re writing, that face you’re sketching, that photo you’re editing…whatever.

Sometimes all the interruptions can be really disheartening and make the finished project seem an impossible dream…but deep down I know one day I will be begging my children for 10 minutes of THEIR time, so for now that paragraph can wait. But as this Monday Muse Judith Hunt says, “Being a mom made me a healthier, happier, and much more complex artist.” I need to remember how much my children enrich my life, not just frustrate it.

Enrich your  life with a visit to her site: the Art Farm.

Now I need to go, my baby has just enriched my life by taking her own pants off.