New Wallet, New Me

Kari, Kari, Kari. Has your blogging really come to this?

Yes, yes it has. I ran to Target the other night, in my "home" maternity pants (= should not be worn in public), face splotchy and eyes red and squinty from allergies, looking and feeling like a train wreck, to buy such prosaic items as storage bins and little girls' underwear. Didn't even bother wandering through the dishes or clothing, which sometimes give me a thrill. I was simply too tired, and feeling wholly dull.

UNTIL!

On the way to the check stand, a splashy display of kaleidoscopic purses, totes and wallets jumped in front of me. Hey, I've been needing a new wallet. My current one has been threatening retirement.

But it's such a commitment, and it takes so much time and thought to find just the right one, with all the right compartments, to fit my personal wallet style. And is Target really the best place? I'm sure there's a better selection somewhere else.But wait - what's this? Floral, vintage, laminated, magnetic, roomy, and oh-so-adorable. I can't think any more tonight. Sold.
I was still wearing the shouldn't pants. I was still extremely fat, splotchy, and dull. On the outside.

The untrained eyes at Target probably never picked up on the transformation that had taken place in a few minutes and the exchange of $14.99 + tax. But these are desperate days for one Disco Mom, and I do what I can, and what I must, to get through. So when a new wallet makes me feel alive, even a little (gasp!) sassy, I buy in. I buy in big time, and it's worth every penny.

Sweeties

Look at these two. I just love them so much I could die.

My Awesome House: Girls' Room

Until recently, the girls have been sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Hazel has a twin and Ginger was using the crib mattress. We never even bothered to assemble the crib after we moved in May because we were planning on getting the girls bunk beds "soon." So they just slept on the floor and we all got used to it. But Spanky's arrival is approaching, and we will need the crib, including the mattress, for her. What better time to make good on our 9-month-old promise of bunk beds?

I did do my research. I wasn't overly picky but I did look at a lot of sets, both online and in stores. I figured if there are ones I like more than others, we might as well get one of those. So we did. At first both girls wanted to sleep on top so we alternated nights, which worked well, although one night we found them like this:I thought we might have to alternate forever but after a week or so the novelty wore off and Ginger preferred to stay on the bottom. The top has become Hazel's haven, and we find her up there almost every morning surrounded by books and dolls, deep in her own imaginary world. Sometimes Ginger still naps up there for fun, but mostly she just likes to climb onto her bed through the ladder.With new beds came the urge to stock a few sets of matching sheets. With matching sheets came the desire for pretty quilts. Mom and I conspired and made simple reversible tied quilts out of two of my favorite fabrics. Cute throw pillows were pure indulgence on my part. All we needed now was an area rug to pull it together. It's not like there was one main color or theme working in the room so I needed something cute, classy and fairly multicolored. Thank you, Land of Nod.When we first moved in, the girls' room was a pale yellow that I liked. But I painted one wall Pale Avocado for some depth. And hired my artist cousin Katy to paint a dandelion on it for whimsy. I think the overall effect is PERFECT.For once in 8 years of marriage, and really 17 years of adult living (and mostly renting), I have a real, honest-to-goodness, pulled-together room I am truly, profoundly proud of. And I'm so glad I got pictures because that is cleanest it will probably ever be.One awesome room down, oh-so-many to go.

Daniel and the Lions' Den (in 40 seconds or less)

We've been listening to "Follow the Prophet" a lot lately in the car. If you don't know the song, you can hear it here. If you do, you know it's fun to sing, especially for kids, for the first few verses. And then it's like, "Holy rats, when is this song going to end?" Luckily we have a jazzed-up version by Clive Romney (click here for the CD) that makes the whole thing bearable, even cool.

The girls love it, so we have it on repeat a lot. Which means they are actually learning the verses, each about a different scriptural prophet. And learning leads to questions. Which leads to more learning. So as they ask, I tell the simplified versions of Bible stories, and lately they have asked to retell the stories for Family Home Evening lessons. Adorable. It's always interesting what story parts sink in and what gets left out. Last week Ginger taught us the story of Daniel (her favorite.) A few nights later I got her to retell it again on video. (The dress-ups are incidental, just what she was wearing at the time.)

I never know how understandable my kids are to others, especially on computer video, so here's the transcription:

"In Daniel and the Lion's Den, Daniel...one of the people made a law, and, so none of the people could pray to God, but Daniel did pray to God. So he was in the lions' den, but God was there to send the angels. But the king was crying because his best friend...he thought his best friend was hurt, but he wasn't. So they got rid of the law. (What about Hazel's speech?)"

Is she the cutest thing ever? We'll do Hazel soon. I think her favorite is Jonah but it changes.

Nesting

I've been frantically coming up with, and starting, projects. The closer the due date gets, the more projects I think of. Gotta do this, oh I should do that. As if my life is going to come to a complete halt for at least a year starting April 23. Which may not be exactly true, but not far from it, either.

My cousin Aaron has been staying with us temporarily, and when he got home the other night he was kind enough to sit and listen to me rant and rattle off all the stuff I "need to get done," as I worked on one of the new quilts for the girls' room. As the oldest of eleven children, and a father of one, he smiled and said, "Yeah, I didn't use to believe that nesting was a real phenomenon, until I saw it firsthand when Katy (his wife) was pregnant. She did so much sorting, cleaning out and reorganizing - there was no other explanation." I stared at him. Nesting. I never even thought of that.

Sure, I know about it. I'm sure I've done it before. But when I had Hazel we moved 3 months before, and 3 months after, she was born, so I never noticed the difference between nesting and packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking. With Ginger, it's hard to remember. Everything from that time is hard to remember. Plus we moved during that pregnancy, too, to have room for her. More packing and unpacking.

But since I am happy to blame as much as possible on pregnancy (weight gain, heartburn, swollen ankles, poor sleep, cravings, forgetfulness, exhaustion, confusion, stuffy nose, etc.), I much prefer "nesting" to "totally unnecessary and unrealistic frantic mania," which is what I thought I had. What a relief.

So here's to nesting. That makes it OK to have a million things to do, mostly self-imposed. Here are just a few on the list this week:

• Finish quilts for girls' room (we got them bunk beds and fixed up the room a little - it will get its own post when everything is done)
  
• Finish Hazel's skirt I started sewing weeks ago
  
• Make 3 pairs of summer capris for Hazel (I have the fabric and pattern - now that she is in big girl sizes I hate almost all the clothes in stores)
  
• Make Ginger's baby book (if I don't do it now, will she ever get one?)
  
• Have my friend Julia come over and show me how to make her awesome peanut butter rice krispy treats since I can't get them right on my own
  
• Get way ahead on VGP posts
  
• Gather things for girls' Easter baskets, EBX basket, and surprise bags for while I'm in the hospital
  
• Finish consulting with Mom on the new baby's quilt
  
• Clean: all the bathrooms, master bedroom, stairs, doors, walls, all the floors
  
• Find and buy a great changing table/dresser from Craigslist
  
• Do all of Ginger's preschool paperwork
  
• Do all of Hazel's kindergarten paperwork
  
• Sign girls up for summer swimming lessons
  
• Plan and send invitations for Hazel's birthday party
  
• Attack pile of mending on my sewing table
  
• Write that children's book I've been thinking about
  
• Go through a huge stack of magazines I want to read before recycling
  
• Continue to harass the county about zoning our block for parking
  
• Make my 2008 and 2009 blog books
  
• Make a "Crazy Box" (an idea I've been working on - will tell more in a post someday)
• Make freezer meals and collect super-fast 20-minute recipes
  

And of course blog about at least half of the above.

A few things I've already done:

• Sort baby 0-6 month clothes
• Make one skirt for Hazel
  
• Sign the girls up for 1 week of summer camp
  
• Made - and devoured - a bunch of chocolate milkshakes
  
• Cleaned the office
  
• Got the girls' bunk beds set up, and a new rug for their room
  
• Finished VGP 2009 cookbook
• Pre-registered at the hospital
  

And then there's the regular stuff that must be done every day, like cooking, cleaning, FHE, seizing teaching moments, modeling perfect patience, limiting kids' TV time, reading stories, teaching Hazel to read, giving baths, doctor appointments, watching what I eat, visiting teaching, mailing the tax forms, teaching Peewees, reading parenting books, and keeping everyone happy.

I'm not overwhlemed. I'm nesting.

3rd Annual Easter Basket Exchange

Mhm, that's right. You know what that picture means. It's time for EBX10 (Easter Basket Exchange '10)! Easter this year is April 4 - that's only 5 1/2 weeks away - so if your interest is piqued, read on.

A brief history: The last two years on DMTotW we did an Easter basket exchange because the truth is most husbands (or other loved ones) cannot be relied upon to do justice to the best candy holiday of the year. Not only do they stink at making, or remembering, or caring about, baskets; they also don't always appreciate the painstaking measures we go to to put together something awesome for them. Hence the exchange. I was supremely satisfied in the baskets I have both given and received in past years and cannot wait to get going on the next one! (Actually, I already have...)

Who Can Participate

1. As with last year, you do not have to be a mother, married, female or Christian. You can fit pretty much any demographic as long as you qualify under #2 and #3. You can even be one of the poor unfortunates who knew about the exchange last year and chose not to participate.

2. But you do have to live in the continental U.S. or have an APO address.

3. And I do have to know you personally or be connected to you through someone (like you are a friend/relative of my friend/relative.) Just include in your comment or email how I'm supposed to know you.

How It Works

It worked great last year so we'll do it pretty much the same.

1. Leave a comment to this post or email me directly (kyounc at yahoo dot com) to say you want to participate. Make sure I have your email address!!! The deadline to sign up is Saturday, March 13, which gives you almost two weeks to sign up, two weeks to put your basket together, and a week to get it to the recipient. Once you sign up, I will email you a brief questionnaire to fill out that will be later forwarded to your assignee (again, make sure I have your email address.)

2. On March 14 I will mix up the names and email out the assignments; your personal information will not go up on the blog. I will also email you the questionnaire your recipient filled out and you can use it as much or as little as you want in your preparations.

3. This is the fun part. Once you have your assignment, and a little information about your person, put together the funnest, coolest, most amazing Easter basket ever for her. Make it her (or your) dream basket. Spending cap is $30, not including shipping. The one requirement for everyone is that you must include quality chocolate, and I mean good quality chocolate. Other than that, run with it. A few ideas include, but are not limited to: book, magazine, recipes, something you handmade, fizzy bath balls/salts/soap/lotion, other candy, gift cards, cd, socks, kitchen gadgets, a local specialty item from where you live, beauty products, jewelry, the list goes on and on. Seriously, if I had an unlimited budget I could put together 20 awesome baskets and no two would be the same.

4. Put your basket/package together and mail it to your person so s/he will receive it by Easter. NEW RULE: Please ship Priority Mail - this will insure it arriving within a week. I usually like to use a flat rate box, available in various sizes from the post office, so I'm not limited by weight.

5. Wake up Easter morning and have an awesome time opening your package! Email me a picture for the blog, and send your sender a thank you card.

6. Try not to be too sad it's another year until next Easter.

Let the fun begin!