One More Thing I Never Expected To Say To My Son

Put that towel down and get dressed.

No, the towel is not a whip.

No, you cannot be the naked version of Indiana Jones.

Monday Music

Sometimes Mondays just make it so hard to be happy. The weekend's gone and it's back to the grind. This song by Junior Senior is perfect for making Monday a lot easier to take.

I love that this video is all hand-drawn animation. And it reminds me of the Tom Tom Club. Yes, that's the sublime Kate and Cindy from the B-52's on backup vocals.

Get up and dance around!

Steal of a Deal

Last week I had a coupon for Ann Taylor Loft's "Friends and Family" sale so I dropped in to see what I could find. This is one of the few stores locally that carries a great selection of petite-sized clothes that don't look like they belong on my 92-year-old grandmother (a la Bergner's, Macy's and Kohl's).

Because I don't buy full-priced clothing there, I perused the sale racks and came across a pair of jeans in my size. I tried them on and they fit just right (love when that happens). The price on the tag made me do a double take and wonder if the decimal point was misplaced. Regular price for these jeans was $54.

Wanna know what I paid?

$2.91!


Yep, two dollars and ninety-one cents.

That's with the 25% off coupon. Their final sale price was $3.88.

I also picked up a dress for under $23.

I have never paid under $3 for a pair of jeans in my life - for myself, my husband or my kids.

That just doesn't happen.

Woo! Hoo!

I Double Heart Euro-Mart!

On our way home from preschool, my daughter and I popped into our favorite international grocery today to pick up some things for dinner tonight and a few other things I didn't know I needed until I walked in the door (as is always the case).

I've written before about how much I adore Euro-Mart and my feelings have not wavered.

As Flynn and I browsed the aisles, one of the gentlemen that work there asked me if I needed any help. I mentioned I needed some Mimolette, a French cheddar that my son is addicted to (Euro-Mart's price is slightly better than Art Mart's). While he attended to that I went to the back of the store to pick a salami. Flynn picked out a package of Swedish fish to share with her brother.

While the young man was ringing up my order he says, "Did you write something nice about us on your blog?" For a second I thought he had me confused with Lisa at Champaign Taste, then I remembered my post, "Uh, yeah, I did." "Thanks," he said and then gave me a generous discount and Flynn a butterfly-shaped lolly.

Wow.

That's customer service and a lesson clerks at some other stores I won't mention by name should learn. Euro-Mart rocks!

And I was completely blown away (and slightly freaked out) by the fact that a) he's read my blog and b) recognized me.

By the way, Euro-Mart's celebrating their 4th anniversary this weekend. For those of you in the Chambana area, pop in on Saturday - they're having a party (there'll free baklava, cheese, chocolate and a bunch of other stuff). See for yourself the goodness that is Euro-Mart.

July In April

And I'm not just talking about the weather.

Flynn's preschool teacher decided that since the majority of the class celebrates their birthdays in the summer, it would be fun if each summer baby got to celebrate their special day at school.

Tomorrow is Flynn's turn and we're on deck for snack. Since we're celebrating her "birthday" I'm allowed to bring in a special (i.e., homemade) snack. Since our preschool is a licensed center snacks must be store-bought, but we make an exception when big days roll around.

A week or so ago I asked Flynn what she'd like to bring. She said, "S'mores." I tried to think of a way to do this without each child getting covered in goo. No dice.

Instead we made s'more cupcakes. Flynn and I made a batch of vanilla (because there are kids in her class that can't eat chocolate, poor things) and a batch of chocolate cupcakes from the awesome Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. The icing is decidedly non-vegan: it's marshmallow. And then we sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on top.

The cupcakes look pretty good, if I say so myself. I hope the kids like them.

To make the snack a little healthier, we're also having strawberries.

And, yes, I know the kids will be covered in gooey marshmallow icing. Should make for some fun pictures.

The Bane of My Existence

Flynn's been carrying this thing around for the past couple of days.

And I hate, hate, hate it.

If I could shoot laser beams from my eyes, that unholy candy-colored machine would be toast.

I don't know how she found it stashed away in the basement. But she did. And she brought it upstairs.

When Evan was a wee toddler, I purchased one of these at a garage sale for something like 25 cents. I figured he could croon along with his then-favorite group, The Wiggles, and it would be super cute.

It was until he discovered that if you hold the microphone in one hand, you can swing the tape recorder part around and around over your head. It then became a weapon and I relegated it to the basement, where, in our house, all noisy and destructive toys go to be forgotten until they're unearthed by a nosy child and receive a stay of execution (until I can hide said toy again or smuggle it out of the house and give it to Goodwill or our preschool's rummage sale fund raiser).

Flynn's been more attracted to the (accursed) Playskool tape recorder than Evan ever was. She carries that thing around with the mic pressed up against her little mouth so the only sounds we (meaning her father and I) can decipher are ones akin to those uttered by an adult in a Peanuts special. And because she insists on keeping the microphone so close to her lips, there's also a lot of feedback.

She howls into the mic pretending to be a wolf. My ears bleed.

She sings Hannah Montana songs, which is very cute but very loud. The sound of fingernails scraping down a chalkboard doesn't bother me. My daughter belting out "We Got The Party With Us", however, sends the shivers up and down my spine - and not in a good way.

She makes up her own songs (again, very, very sweet but incredibly loud). I grit my teeth and tell her, yes her singing is lovely, but to bring it down a notch. Or two. Or to please stop.

Last night as she climbed into bed, noise maker clutched lovingly to her chest, I told her that the microphones had to stay out of the bed. "But, Mommy," she protested,"if I wake up in the night I can use the microphone to call you and you will hear me nice and clearly."

She then proceeded to interview the 900 stuffed animals in her bed. All the animals responded to her questions with animal noises; ducks quacked, seals barked, dogs woofed, cats meowed. Except for her current favorite, a lamb she dressed in a Baby Born swimsuit. Lambie answered the question, "What would you say to Flynn?" with the following statement, "I would tell Flynn that I love her and that she is the best girl. And that I love Flynnie."

Heartwarming, yes, but I'm still planning on "accidentally" backing over that tape recorder with the car. A few times.

Did I mention that I hate that thing?

Feed The Kitty

Warner Bros.'s "Feed The Kitty" is quite possibly my all-time favorite cartoon. No exaggeration. It's Chuck Jones at his absolute best. There's also a scene in Monsters, Inc., when Sully thinks Boo's in the trash compactor, that's an almost frame-by-frame homage to the cookie-making scene in this short - something the director unabashedly admits because he's such a fan of the cartoon.

I love that Marc Anthony's owner does her housework in 4 inch heels, like me (yeah, sure).

Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot leave my kids almost breathless with laughter each and every time. Me, too.

I triple dog dare you to watch this classic and not laugh along.