Oh my goodness, I can't be stopped!

I make one lousy pilgrim hat and look what happens. Here's my Thanksgiving centerpiece that I made of completely found objects in the house. Look out world, here I come!!!!

Eva Begins Her Life of Crime

I got several emails on the back story of Eva in this photo so here you go:
Eva robbed a bank and the "pigs" got a hold of her, see. Doing her "time" of three minutes of time out has made her hard. She came off of her naughty mat with an Elmo tatoo. I hardly know her anymore.

Where is Martha Stewart When I Need Her?

Last week, I got a letter from Jack's teacher with stapled instructions on how to create a pilgrim's hat for their Thanksgiving celebration on Friday.

Immediately, my palms started to sweat. Isn't this a craft that the teachers usually do? Why are they making the parents do this?

Here's my problem. In addition to the MANY things that I have NO skill in whatsoever, I am a terrible artist. Seriously, when I draw, people comment on what a great artist Jack is.

Now I have to build a pilgrim hat from scratch? Immediately, I take off to Michael's where I'm SURE they have a pilgrim hat kit.

Guess what. Like all retailers these days, they have completely skipped over Thanksgiving and have all their Christmas decorations up. No pilgrims there. Oh, man, I have to do this myself.

So, here you go. My attempt at a project usually reserved for five year olds. Not bad, eh?

I CAN WHISTLE!

(this is also posted on the North Texas Kids website)

As part of a group called Mother Talk, I get to review books from time to time. Of all the books that they had available for review, The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz was the one that intrigued me the most.

Why? Well, those of you who know me know I am most definitely NOT a girly girl. I have short hair because I can't style it. I wear little to no make up because I don't know how to put it on without looking like a clown. I hate shoe shopping because my feet are gigantic and narrow so they never have any shoes to fit me. I am a terrible cook so Jon does all the cooking.

So, when I had my daughter a year ago, I was a bit terrified. What am I going to teach this poor child?

When I saw this book on the list, I immediately signed up. In reading it, it turns out that I am more of a girly girl than I realize (at least to the Daring Book for Girls authors). I know how to make friendship bracelets! I know how to play hopscotch! I can make a mean sit upon! I can play freeze tag! Maybe there is hope for my daughter after all!

I cannot wait to sit down with Eva when she gets a bit older and read this to her. What an interactive story time we'll have! I know she'll enjoy the story of the female pirates and the real-life princesses in addition to learning to make a clock run off lemons??! What fun!

One thing that I think is really a neat is that each of the sections is multi-faceted. For example, the section on weather not only has the definitions of cloud types but famous sayings about the weather and even poems about the weather. Most of the sections on sports not only have a how-to play but a history of the sport. I also enjoyed how they chose such interesting sports or "sports" as it were.

I have to say, I have had more fun reading this book. In addition to all the history lessons given, I learned all important karate moves. Each night Jack, Eva and I have a dance party before dinner. Our song of choice? The Kung Fu Hustle. So, now when we're "kung fu fighting, fast as lightning", I can look like a professional!

The best part for me, however, as the title of this blog states, is I can now whistle! I can't wait to try my new found skills on NYC cabs in a couple of weeks when I go. Thank you Daring Book for Girls!

Here we are, just in time for Christmas. I would highly recommend this book as a Christmas gift to girls of any age. I know I'll be sending it out for sure.

October

Well, here I am on Sunday, the first week of November. All I have to think about is where did October go?

October was such a busy month. Between weddings, Jack's soccer, parents in town, Eva's birthday, Eva's sudden illness (a mean bout with RSV, ugh), Halloween, and that dreaded kitchen remodel, I seriously feel like I completely missed the month. I feel like I've been on auto-pilot just moving from one event to the next.

When I was young(er) and single, I had plans 6 nights of the week. EVERY WEEK! Six nights, I would be out on the town or over a friend's house or staying out late and then would get up and go to work. Sleep? No problem. I'll just take a power snooze at 5p when I get home from work so I'll be ready for the next night's activities.

What happened to me? Eva gets sick and I average three hours sleep for seven days. It about kills me. I was so tired, I could not even blog about how tired I was.

I'm 37. I guess I have to accept it. I'll save my big nights out for my trip to JazzFest in April or my girl's weekend in NYC in December or the occasional time Jon and I get a sitter. And you know what? That's ok. Just please give me a little rest from time to time.

So, now we're in November. It's fall and the weather is fabulous. I've had two nights rest and feeling really good. Ready for November. Bring it on.

Happy Halloween!!!