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Mamie has been my girl's favorite doll from the moment she came into our house. She is a Corolle doll -- a very special gift from my mom when Miss M was just a wee one herself.
Mamie is also a very fashion-conscious doll, and has the most amazing wardrobe. A cousin of mine in France sews and knits incredible outfits for this young lady. Every time my mom comes to visit, she brings a few more outfits.
How lucky are we?
Click here to see more of Mamie's rad outfits :-)
And this is the latest installment in Miss M's toothy adventure. This month she chose orange. I always get a thrill wondering what color she'll choose next. How weird is that?
Sometimes my kids make me feel like a creative genius. Take today for example; it was hot out and everyone was just a little bit tired and slowly getting to cranky. Mama served up this simple summer treat of cantaloup "boats" with spoons to dig your way through 'em. They thought this was a grand idea and got to work right away.
Only thing is these melons are way bigger than the ones my grandmother would give me when I visited her in Brittany as a child and the kids could barely get more than half-way through 'em.
Quick quote:
"Today is the best day ever; no one's yelled at me or anything!"
Not ten minutes later we discover his new bike had been stolen. So much for having a great day... grrr.
This is one of our all-time favorite spots in Palo Alto. Right in front of the Junior Museum is this wacky interactive sculpture / play structure.
I imagine at some point a tree came down (at this very spot?) and rather than turn it into kindling, someone with a wonderful imagination cut it into sections and breathed a new life into it.
I have a spot in mind at the back of the garden at our eventually-to-be-new house where I want to do the same thing. It's plenty shaded and has lots of ivy scrambling around. I picture crazy little yellow flowers cozying up to the logs.
Wouldn't it be magical to happen upon something like this in a secret garden?
We are slowly settling into the slower pace of summer, and I am doing my best to keep it from getting frenzied. A tough balancing act, I tell you.
Our local library has a great reading program for kids where they each sign up and commit to reading a certain number of books, and at the end of the summer they'll win prizes. Miss M signed on for fifty books, and B is up for thirty. It's just a week into it and they are both well on their way to their goals. She with mostly Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Norse myths. He with Franklin, Dr Seuss, and anything Pokemon. We've been visiting at least twice a week, and I've also been letting them pick out movies which is a Big Treat for these guys.
Right next to our main library are the community gardens -- they are stunning this summer! Full to bursting with color and wonderful smells. One plot-keeps has even created an outdoor room complete with green and growing "walls" -- it's incredible, though we haven't dared to enter for fear or trespassing. We're hopeful to show up one day when they are at "home". Just outside the gardens is a lovely apricot tree that is dripping with fruit this year. Sometimes I have to question myself... am I taking the kids to get books, or am I secretly hoping the apricots will finally be ready for my greedy fingers to pluck?
I sometimes often regret having let our plot go when I was pregnant with the Little Guy, but I know it was that one thing too many that makes everything else suffer.
In addition to our little Library Camp, we've been getting to the pool pretty much daily, and I'm organizing weekly get-togethers at local parks and events for everyone and anyone who'd like to join us. I think in my fear of over-scheduling our summer, and my worries about this stupid job hunt, I've been over-cautious with my scheduling, but for now it's working (and I'm afraid to jinx it).
How's your summer coming along?
Way cool! The Silicon Valley Moms picked me as a finalist for their makeover contest! Folks who know me know that I TOTALLY deserve to get a makeover. I really, really need it. So please go vote now! :-)
UPDATE: yeh... so I didn't win. Quite ok though 'cause I was up against some mean competition! The gal who won was definitely deserving. If you have a minute, stop by her blog to congratulate the lucky gal.
Now I just need to make time to get that haircut I've been putting off for way too long! I had this crazy idea that if it was free I'd have to go get it chopped already :-)
ANOTHER UPDATE: I still didn't win the main prize but my (totally unexpected!) consolation prize is a manicure at the LaBelle Spa -- cool!
Wheee! I've been tagged by Ali over at domesticali
I've only been tagged, like, once since I stared this blog, so I still think it's rather fun to do. I figure it gives folks who don't know me personally another perspective on who I am, and at the very least I can highlight some new blogs I've discovered and like :-)
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER
ANYONE? Nope
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Sheesh. I cry almost daily. I'm a total cry-baby. Happy, sad, or mad... I'll cry.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING It's alright.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? Sopressata salami.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Three!
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Absolutely.
7.
DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? My daughter says I do.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS Yep.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nope. Scared of heights
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Musli
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Untie.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Working on it.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? Don't have one. I like sorbets better. Cassis!
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Expression.
15. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I take things more personally than I ought.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST Mamie
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Huh?
19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Barefoot & stripy PJs
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Coffee. Though Tomas insists that is not food.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? iTunes is on shuffle -- Right now it's on a Danish choral thingy -- probably Christmas music.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Teal?
23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? Roses, Lilly of the Valley, Lilacs.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My Mom
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Love her blog :-)
26.
FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Soccer
27. HAIR COLOUR? Brown
28. EYE COLOUR? Brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yep.
30. FAVOURITE FOOD? Too many to list here.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Bridge to Terabithia
33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? yellow
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? BOTH!
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Huh?
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND Huh?
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Bend the Rules Sewing
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't have one.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Don't have a TV
42. FAVOURITE SOUND? Nature
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Singapore
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Nope
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? New York City
47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE? I wouldn't want one.
Now
the passing on of the tag... These are some blogs I've just recently discovered:
Enjoy!
I love it when the kids decide what's for dinner, it takes all the pressure off of me in those times, like now, when I'm in a cooking rut. They must be so sick of the same old, same old that I dish out.
Earlier this week My Girl decided we should do a simple dinner of open sandwiches and cheeses as it had been a hot, hot day and no one wanted to get near a stove let alone eat anything steamy.
She also wanted to prepare what she called "Cucumber Boats." I imagined cucumber canoes filled with olives or something. Instead, what she came up with was cucumbers, salami, and carrots skewered onto toothpicks. They looked great and tasted even better. The best part was the joy she took at setting the table and presenting her special dish to the family.
Last week Miss M decided that she wanted to give embroidered pillows to her teachers (she has two). She had a very specific idea in mind -- if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time you'll know that this is always the way it is with my girl -- my job, as always, is to facilitate.
She picked out her coordinating fabrics and threads, and wrote her teachers' names in her very best cursive using a fabric pencil. After all the kids were off to bed, I labored over the embroidery for the first pillow. It was extremely stressful as I hadn't embroidered a thing since I was my girl's age. It didn't help that I was completely winging it.
The glorious smile she beamed on me the next morning thoroughly made up for all my cursing and stressing the night before.
The second was done much more peacefully the next night :-)
For over twenty years I've worked outside the home and always plugged away at my career in a pretty much take it as it comes approach. That's worked pretty well for me. I've had more great jobs than bad, and the learning opportunities at the bad ones (mostly) made up for any negativity.
This past September I decided to take some time off (ha!) to focus on my kids. Looking back, I've discovered that I haven't done exactly that.
Now that the olders are out of school for the summer, I don't have Little T's nap-times to count on for my working hours and I've gotten myself into a bit of a tangle of competing responsibilities.
Oddly, I just realized that I'm not in a panic over it. Having just written the list out, I can clearly see which projects I'll have to step away from. I'm not the sort who ever likes to say no -- it's something I'm working on.
Following the last Dot.Com bust I worked at Stanford for a number of years, and one of the benefits I appreciated most was that they had a Work/Life Office. I learned a lot from the woman who runs that group, probably the most important being that it's good to stop and take stock every once in a while. Oh, and remember to breathe.
Doing that now I recognize how much I truly love to work in a collaborative environment. I get a kick out of learning from others and sharing what I know. It's gratifying and feels right.
The trick now is to manage the job hunt so that it doesn't interfere with the kids' well-deserved fun time, and to pare down the extras to a manageable level of insanity.
