Saying yes is messy.

Tonite we made the greatest oatmeal cookies on the planet because Wesley wanted to make them.

We did not make them because I needed to eat all of the batter or perfect my raisin roasting skills. We did not make them because Mario wanted to clean then kitchen twice. And I know we didn't make them to have a massive stash of soy free dairy free sugar on hand.

Instead we made a mess in the spirit of saying yes even when it meant flour in the floor boards. Tonite it also meant delayed dinner and dough tasting as appetizers. But we also got to hear the sweet squeal of glee when Clare exclaimed "I cracked an egg all by myself!"

Now as an added bonus, the midnight fridge raid will be worthwhile!

Pre race jitters

Location: the red van on I-95 South near Savannah
Time: 8:30 pm
Date: Friday

Clare: (in a sleepy voice) I FORGOT MY RUNNING SHOES!
Mario: What?!?
Me: It's okay. Go back to sleep.

A short trip in to Target produced breakfast and 2 pairs of backup shoes. Thankfully her pink glitter sneakers were still in GA so we got to return the others.

Note for the next race: pack your very carefully chosen and coordinated outfit also includes the shoes! *And I as the Mama now know to double check for those too.*

Super Dolphin Girl

This girl ran the whole race without stopping. She finished in 11 min and 15 seconds. Her mama ran holding her hand for the last 1/4 mile trying not to bust out in sobs. She rocked it.

Boat boys.

The boys went on a little boat ride. It amazes me how ornery and fidgety the kids can be until we put them in a boat. The water seems to calm them and they are happy just to sit and look around. On occasion they want to paddle, but for the most part the water seems to make them as happy as it makes us.

Run Clare! Run!

Clare's RACE that she's talked about over and over and over for the past year is this Saturday! She is super excited and has her outfit picked out. Actually, I think she picked out the outfit months ago, it is the practice outfits that crack us up the most.

This weekend we went on a few practice runs. The first one (on the road, a huge deal for her) lasted about three houses in length. Then she face planted. She scraped her knee, elbow, and got a rock stuck in her palm. So sobbing we went back home and Mario patched her up with a bazillion band aids. Through alligator tears and heaving sobs she told us that she wouldn't ever run in a race and that she didn't want to run in her race next week.

My response: Okay. Fine. If you don't want to you don't have to.
Mario's response: What about if we tried running around the house on grass where it wouldn't hurt if you fell?

And the next thing I knew they were off and running. Dads are so good like that. Mario rocks in that department.

So folks. We're in. We're registered. We are running in the 33rd Annual Super Dolphin Day Race. I'm resisting all urges to make it about me and sneak an entry in for the 5k or 10k. I will run the fun run with Clare. We will celebrate her race. We will celebrate my re-entry into running. We will have a blast running faster than dolphins!

Rolo Pretzel Love Bites.

I adore these cookie candy things. Clare asked to do something with me after rest time this weekend so we went ahead and made our treat for Wesley's upcoming bake sale. So easy. So good. Now that Clare stays later each day at school for lunch she craves special things and time with Mario and me. During the weekends and afternoons we are trying really hard to meet that need and little things like crafts, walks, and baking seem to work. For this project Clare helped me do every part of the process including the finger licking and the tasting. So here's what to do.

• Buy: 1 bag of Rolos Candy and 1 bag of pretzel minis or pretzel snaps.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Unwrap all of those candies and test at least two.
• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.
• Arrange pretzels and top with one Rolo candy.

• Place in oven for 4 minutes.
• Remove.
• Smoosh another pretzel on top.
• Lift parchment paper off of sheet or place entire cookie sheet in freezer to set chocolate.
• Remove when chocolate is set.
• Place 2 cookies in a cupcake liner, put inside a baggie, and tag it.
• Rolo Cookies! 2 for 25 cents.

$2.99/gallon.

These kids LOVE this jeep. We found it at the Salvation Army thrift shop and took a gamble. At first we weren't so sure that it was going to work out, but after a good long charge it seems to be working just fine. They go grocery shopping, get gas, and do all sorts of stuff in it.

I only objected when they actually wanted to turn the hose on to fill the jeep up with gas.

Sand beach.

"I want to go to the sand beach!" said Wesley. So we promised to take him there. He finally figured out that going to the beach didn't always mean that we would actually go to the beach. This weekend, with temperatures that hit eighty degrees, we made our way over with a few snacks and treats to enjoy sunset. Mario dug his first hole of the season. Clare expressed dissapointment that there wasn't any water inside so he pointed her towards the ocean with a bucket.

And the kids ran. And ran. And ran. That part rocked because it meant that they crashed later on and our adult evening time started that much smoother (and earlier). Good stuff. We need to visit this sand beach more often.

Before and after.

My helpers. Make that, my very helpful helpers.
Before.
After.
Completed space for mama just in time for rest time.

Little lovelies.

Deciding to feel better.
Marsh air.
Toast with raspberry rhubarb jam.
Morning chats in sunshine.
Feeling organized.
Tracing leaves.
Long phone calls from friends.
Hoses and mud.
Online fabric shopping.
Eskimo kisses.
Pretzel M&M's.
New books.
Kitchen dance parties.
New radio stations.
Knitting in the dark.
Tree swings.
Random mossy hearts.

Expert advice.

Wesley: Daddy! If you are going to steal my nose be careful not to squish out my booger.

Daddy: You don't have a booger.

Wesley: Yes I do! A big one up inside.

Daddy: Uh. Okay.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thrift Love: Vera

Sometimes I just need a little wandering by myself.

Thrifting is less expensive than coffee.

Take this awesome vintage orange and yellow Vera scarf. $2.

Technically a tall coffee is only $1.50, but I'm happy to spend 50 cents more to wander around lost treasures.

For a certain Snuggie fan.

Wild Wing Cafe: Charleston, SC
Seen from our hotel windows.

Just imagine how cool a pink snuggie would be at a Snuggie Pub Crawl?
I just don't know how you would keep it closed in back.

and C is for...

CAROLINE!

After stuffing ourselves silly with chocolate croissants and running the halls of the hotel, the kids checked out the the sights. They enjoyed playing I Spy out of the windows from their chair perches and sipping orange juices from elegant coffee cups.They got super clean with Hermes toiletries and got out of the tub with wrinkles that a designer bath deserves. And then...

they put the Wall Street Journal to good use as drop cloth while they made Valentines. They used the Q tips and cotton balls we found in the bathroom to paint. It was so nice to relax and to just enjoy painting with them versus whatever it is that I do when the paint comes out at home. Perhaps we just need to subscribe to the newspaper again and my painting stress level will stay low?

After all of that and a walk down a bit of King Street for candy, owl inspiration, and lunch...we then spent time with Caroline. I'm so glad she's there to visit. I'd skip all of that fancy fun for a morning in my pajamas sipping instant coffee in her living room just to hang out with her.

C is for...

Charleston
Coffee
Chocolate croissants
Cartoons
Cookies
Conferences
Creativity
Cooper River Bridge views
Country music dance parties
Change of scenery

Milestone: Well Check.

We are on the very delayed well child check up schedule. Last week Clare finally had her five year old well check up and hooray! she's healthy! Mario and I predict glasses will be in her future based on our observation of the vision exam.

The final analysis came from Clare which we overheard her sharing with Wesley, "I just talked to my doctor about eating vegetables." Indeed she did.

I also made Clare a promise at this appointment to give her the most complete and comprehensive medical history of herself and her family as possible. I am amazed at how little I know and how little my friends know about our own family medical histories and I just wonder how much that information can/could/would/might help us now or in the future.

Botox Update: 2 Weeks

2 weeks ago I received 200 units of Botox injected into my body to relieve migraine headache pain. The injection sites ran across my forehead, between my ears and temples along the hairline, along the base of my skull, down my neck and through my shoulder muscles.

At that appointment I received a brochure to order a neck brace because my neck would become floppy and the news that it would tke at least two weeks for the first signs of the botox to work on my migraines. I ordered the Caldera Releaf Neck Rest and after some pretty strong neck pain (think: I slept on my neck wrong and it hurts to move pain) I called the neurologist. I left one of those 'I'm not sure if this is normal, if it is then okay, but if it's not, is there something that we can do to fix it because it really hurts and is uncomfortable' messages after week one.

So one week out I had zero migraine relief, a releaf neck brace on, and some super wonderful muscle rub Rx.

And then began a no good awful string of migraines that hit every day somewhere during the witching hour (3:30 PM-6 PM) that knocked me on my tush. Add that to a war with our new beautiful health insurance pharmacy provider and reliance on some pretty bad medications = zombie mama passed out in lots -o- pain. But the worst part is that they keep coming every day, I don't know when they will stop and they are excruciating.

I am now totally unreliable past 3 PM. As of today I am no longer taking evening appointments because I hate the cancellation feeling. That part just sucks.

Somewhere in this two weeks a wonderful friend emailed and called. She had a similar story to share about sudden onset migraines and a cure with some dental appliances, mouth guards, and TMJ. Oh the hope! Oh the joy! Mario and I both went to the dentist last week with great hopes that a dental device of some sort would provide relief.

I spent four or five nights in a roger rabbit purple mouth guard with a loooooong string attached that went over my front 2 teeth as a trial. No dice. No difference. The migraines continued. Both the dentist and ourselves are reluctant to put $900 worth of mouth guards in me right now until we know that they have some inkling of hope. I clench my teeth, Mario can hear me doing some grinding/jaw thing at night when I sleep, but we are holding on that for the moment.

So as for the botox. Ahem.

When I raise my eyebrows up in exclamation!!! I only can produce one or two ridges of wrinkles near the tippy top and on the very sides. Which is weird. I guess if you want the botox make sure to plan 2 weeks in advance of any event where said botox would make a debut. I wish I planned time lapse photography on that one. It's kind of freaky.

As for botox and headaches? I have nothing to report other than: 1. a really sore neck, 2. daily intense headaches, 3. continued frustration.

I am trying to take full advantage of tbe time I do have that is headache free which I still acknowedge as a total gift. On Monday Lorien and I went for a six mile walk/talk/jog at the Sesquicentennial State Park. I had no idea if I could even finish a 2 mile walk when we started. This loop was my first out and about physical excercise that did not end in migraine pain which gives me great hope. I plan on trying something again in the morning soon, if I could run again, even just a tiny bit, I would be so very very happy.

*Photo from Droid phone taken at Sesqui.

Making me smile.

"Flowers" for the dinner table.
Picked and arranged by Wesley and Clare.

Sweet Clips.

Today while the children played and in between the times when they claimed to be starving, Laura and I made these little Valentine Heart Barrettes using the Purl Bee tutorial. They were really easy to make, sandwiching existing clips between cut out felt hearts that we stitched up with embroidery floss. I should probably mark this day on my calendar because I didn't go to Hobby Lobby to buy additional supplies!

Easy. Simple. Cute. Fun. The girls thought they were the bomb. When Clare tested hers out for fit and style she told me I could keep her old clip becuase she needed to test the new one for a little bit longer.

Wesley declined to sample our new product.

Tutorial link here.

Sugar Sweeties

Approximate time it takes Wesley to eat 7 doughnuts: 45 seconds.

Approximate time it takes Clare to eat 1/2 a doughnut: 45 minutes.

We took a little family trip to the West Columbia Krispy Kreme to redeem some wonderful valentine's day coupons (note: if you buy a dozen doughnuts right now they give you TWELVE valentine's with a coupon for 1 free doughnut on each valentine) that a friend sent us from Virginia. Awesome.

Except.

I discovered that Clare prefers my dark chocolate kreme filled doughnuts to the heart shaped sprinkle thing that I thought she would like which left me watching her savor all of the dark chocolate goodness.

Once upon a time I remember my mother eating box macaroni and cheese leftovers while I ate the homemade macaroni and cheese leftovers. She said it was what being a mother was all about.

Today I understood.

Clean Sweep

This morning all four of us went to the Columbia Junior League's Clean Sweep at the fair grounds. I. Love. That. Sale.

The kid's favorite part: the snack bar combo.
$2 = 2 krispy kreme donuts, chips, candy bar, and a soda.

The kid's second favorite part: picking out a toy.
Clare = stuffed owl.
Wesley = motorcycle (later claimed by Clare b/c it's the perfect height/length for a Barbie).

Mario's favorite part: the furniture section.
Mario = an awesome $15 coffee table.

Mario's least favorite part: herding children and waiting on me.

My favorite parts: linens and housewares.
Me= pretty napkins for embroidery plus fabric plus ikea jars plus appetizer servers plus vintage notions!

He chose our date venue: the library.
He chose our date mission: more music for the minivan.

I tagged along and threw a few books in my bag (those in sight that I could grab without disrupting the general flow of the boy lead date afternoon). I think I managed to nab a cooking book, an organization book and something else from the front stacks.

Our library has a special luncheon area set up between 11-2 PM. We brought our lunches, enjoyed some lunch conversation, and avoided eating another round of fried food. My current mission outside of getting well and knitting: figuring out the ubiquitous packed lunch.

Susan's Cake.

We ate cake.
We talked.
We opened gifts.
We drank coffee.
We watched people.
We talked more.
We celebrated friendship.
Three years worth.

Bunny ear huh?

First: Check out this outfit.

Second: God should match right handed children with right handed parents and left handed children with left handed parents.

Third: If schools are going to teach bunny ear whatever methods of shoe ties then they should send home papers with these rhymes and methods. Consisitency. Teach me how to teach shoe tying. I'm sure I can google it and I'll figure it by the time Wesley gets to it, but this first round of stuff is hard. (Especially with the #2 issue.)

Fourth: Check out this outfit.

Lunch Buddies.