One Down, Many to Go

Almost thirty years ago, an excited five year old donned a rainbow colored dress and boarded the bus for kindergarten.  She had a great day sitting next to her friends, Justin and Reid, and was excited to share the day with her family when she got home.

Fast-forward to today.  That same little kindergartener is all grown up with a kindergartener of her own.  Yup, today was Biggest’s first day of school.  After yesterday’s post, it is common knowledge that I am slightly saddened by my oldest baby’s start of school.  I was feeling prepared, having set my alarm 20 minutes early to get not only Biggest ready but also myself (hello, we needed to take pictures together).  I knew when the bus was arriving (7:20 am) and was feeling mostly good about getting everything done.  Yeah.  We all know it is never that easy.


On schedule, I was up and ready, as was Biggest (because whether I want to admit it or not, it was her day not mine).  She was primed and ready to go by 7:00 am.  A few minutes later, we were outside taking photos with Biggest, Littlest and the neighbors.  While we were just starting down towards the bus stop, when we heard the unmistakable sounds of the bus barreling down the road.  Yikes!  Next thing you know, I am running down the road in my wedges and dress, trying to get Biggest to the bus stop on time (which was only 7:13 am, by the way).  We made it in the nick of time and Biggest happily and all too easily boarded the bus with her neighborhood friends.  The last thing I saw was her little face peeking at me from a window towards the back of the bus.  It all happened so fast I did not even have time to cry or even get a picture with her.

Sadly, I walked back to our house with my husband and Littlest.  Once home, I made Littlest promise me she would never get bigger and start kindergarten.  She said yes, but I don’t think she meant it.  Then, I began the rest of my day, which basically revolved around indulging mom’s whims to alleviate her sadness.
First, I stopped into the store (yes, I stop in on my days off.  It is what I do), where I found my next item of lust, a great jacket from Scrapbook (pictures will be coming in the future).  I just love retail therapy, don’t you?  After leaving the store,  I ran a couple errands to justify that my day was not totally wasted.  And THEN I found wine.  Actually, my sister and I found wine, but most of it was consumed by me.   We spent an hour or two together at a local wine bar, me drowning my sorrows and her basically humoring her sappy sister.   After a glass of bubbly and a bottle of Pinot Noir (and some lunch, we aren’t complete lushes), I got a quick buzz around the ears from my favorite stylist, Tracy, at Tangled Salon ,and headed home.  The rest of the afternoon was spent napping and generally being a slacker until Biggest and Littlest came home from school.  Did I mention they asked DAD to pick them up and not me?  Yup,  that happened.

Overall, the day was a success.  Biggest loved kindergarten.  Mom didn’t cry, found a new jacket, and had lots of wine plus a nap.  Littlest even had a great day swinging solo at her daycare.  God only knows what will happen during the rest of the school year.  Maybe I better hit Trader Joe’s and stock up on more vino……

A Day at the Fair.

Five years ago, I went to the Minnesota State Fair with my seven week old baby girl.  While at the fair, which by the way was a completely miserable experience thanks to my husband who was on a conference call, realized he left his wallet in the car AFTER we had already gotten into the fair, started a fight with me, etc., I purchased a new piggy bank for my baby girl.  It was cute, very girly with little flowers and butterflies, and, of course, her name blazoned across the side.

Now fast forward five years.  Picture the same cute little baby girl and the same cutesy little piggy bank, as a five year old who is throwing a tantrum over her piggy bank being a “boy”, simply because it doesn’t have eyelashes.  Uh…..what?  You have got to be kidding me.  I know they are going to draw on that pig’s face with a Sharpie, which I could do myself for free, but I also know this will not be good enough for Biggest. So, needless to say, all summer we have been talking about spending a special day at the Fair together, just Mommy and Biggest, in order to go back and get a new “girl” piggy bank. 

Now, we all know this post could go very bad with the things we saw at the fair.  Naturally, I could go on and on about the fashions at the state fair.  There is something about sending people into an environment like that which drives them to lose all sense of fashion (and in some cases, personal hygiene).   I will say, in their defense, that no matter HOW you dress for the Fair, you will end up stinky, sweaty and dirty.  Believe me, I know first hand and I was actually trying to pull off cute but casual.  Didn’t work.  All it earned me was a hot shower when I got home.  Yuck.

So, instead if going down the path of ripping others to shreds, I am going to share with you the fun and special moments I had at the fair with Biggest.  This being her first “real” trip to the fair, I was excited to share it with her.  Yes, Biggest has been there before, when she was a baby, but we also went when she was three years old with her sister who was about eighteen months.  Wow.  I would not recommend that.  So here are the moments which really touched me that day and I hope you enjoy them too.

Moment #1:  The Food!  The food was terrific, as always.  We skipped breakfast at home in lieu of eating like crap all day long.  Totally worth it.  We started the day with Luigi Fries (basically a cheesy breadstick) and then had Sweet Martha’s Cookies.  Yup, it was about 9:00 am.  After that we had Mouth Trap cheese curds (a must for a true Fair goer) and a wild rice cheese burger.  Later, I got to split a beer flight with MY mom in the Ag building while Biggest shared a fresh squeezed apple juice with her Poppa.  Later on, she had a blue raspberry Icee and I had a Gizmo up on Machinery Hill.  Then we ended with the Tom Thumb mini donuts.  I was so full I could burst.  Normally, I am a mom who gets a little bit nutty about the kids eating junk or grazing all day, but that is the beauty of the state fair, right?!  It is a time honored tradition that I passed along to my Biggest and we can share year after year.  Honestly?  I did not eat for the rest of the day.  Biggest had a Happy Meal at McDonald’s on the way home.  Gross but at that point, what is the difference?

Moment #2:  The Sky Glider!  All day, Biggest and I talked about riding the Sky Glider, which is basically a chair lift you can ride from one end of the park to another.  You ride over buildings, streets, and all the business that is the Minnesota State Fair.  We had spent some time with family at the fair (grandparents and cousins) but this was time for just the two of us.  While Biggest and I were on the Sky Glider, we were lucky enough to see the daily parade pass underneath us.  We passed over bands, tractors, princesses, a couple big cows, you name it.  Biggest was bouncing in her seat!  I, of course, was trying to keep Biggest from bouncing too much and sliding out underneath the safety bar (42 inches without an adult, my ass).  We had time to talk, to snuggle and even snap a few photos of the fairgrounds (see above) and the two of us (thankfully, her blue Icee lips had worn off). 

Moment #3:  Some Girl Loses a Tooth!  While in line for the Sky Glider, a family was standing behind us chatting, a mom, a dad and two daughters.  Suddenly, we heard the younger daughter urgently saying “Mom, mom.”  She had just lost her first tooth.  Now, it was not my daughter who had lost the tooth, but it was such a cool moment to witness, especially with Biggest.  The little girl was full of a combination of pride, excitement and awe.  Biggest was fascinated by the little girl, who was about the same age as her.  She seemed to have a better understanding of what happens when you loose a tooth and was even more excited for it to happen to her.

Moment #4:  Dad Gets an Earful!  OK, so this moment happened the next day , but it doesn’t lose anything because of that.  It is the next day at 7:00 am and I am still in bed sleeping, since it is my day off (which really means I am laying in bed while my kids run around, slamming doors and yelling, my husband sings loudly in the shower, and 3 dogs are jumping on top of me, licking my face in an effort to get me up to feed them).  Biggest runs into the bathroom and starts telling her dad all about our day together, since he didn’t see her due to fishing the night before.  All I hear was snippets like this “This girl didn’t know how to drive her boat so I bumped her” and “I had cookies for breakfast”.  It was awesome just to her her replay the stories to him, knowing it was as special and fun to her as it was to me.

So in the end, our day at the Fair was a great success.  I got to spend the day with my Biggest.  We had food, we had fun, and we made some amazing memories.  And yes, in the end, we got a “girl” piggy bank.

The Thrill of the Hunt.

Three days ago, my husband gave me his blessing to buy everything on my wish list at work.  What?  Seriously?  I could not believe it. My frugal hubby, who just last week was telling me I needed to keep an eye on my spending, told me to get crazy and spend some of our hard earned money on myself.  Friends told me to take the money and run, not to look this gift horse in the mouth.  It is 3 days later and I have still yet to spend the money.  I can't help but wonder why?

After thinking about it, it finally hit me.  Much like the episode of Sex and the City where Aiden and Carrie are getting along too well, I was missing the thrill of the hunt.  Not just the hunt for those amazing finds or deals, but the hunt for MAKING the purchase and bringing it home.  I was getting to shop without the drama.  No calculating, hiding, sneaking around, just smooth shopping on the horizon.  No need to hide part of the purchases in the closet or in the trunk until I can get it past him at a later date.  I was missing the excitement and drama that is usually attached to a big shopping trip!

OK, ladies.  Let's be real.  We all try to pull things over on our men, especially regarding shopping.  We know we do it.  They know we do it.  It is all part of what keeps our relationships exciting.  The excuses  we make, the half truths, and the outright lies are all the thrill of the hunt which is shopping.  Can you honestly say the following has never left your mouth?

• "Oh, I have had that forever..." - Since when does forever equal one week?
• "These never go on sale.  It was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up."  - Really?  Never goes on sale?  Just this one time?  No one really believes that, not you, not him.
• "No, I only spent $XXX today." - Yeah, right.  You probably spent twice that and hid the rest on your "secret" credit card or used your cash stash.
• "I just haven't worn that since before I had the kids." - This one was my favorite.   It doesn't work anymore, but it did for awhile.

There are hundreds, if not thousands more I could add to this list.  I am sure my hubby could even add a few of his own.

Really, it is by far not the worst problem to have.  I am sure most of you are screaming at your computer/iPad/phone screens that I am an idiot for waiting this long, even if my husband has spoiled the hunt for me. I am extremely thankful my husband desires to make me happy.  The way to a man's heart may be through his stomach, but my path just might start in the closet.  Happy wife, happy life, right?!

In the end, I will suck it up and go shop.  It is a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Dress for it!

My sister recently went shopping at La Rue Marche, a cute little shop in Hudson, Wisconsin.  As she was happily showing me her new wares,which included a super cute skirt I anticipate she will wear to death and meal planning guide which I would realistically give about 3 months max before she quits it (Sorry, Carrie), I noticed a cute label on the outside of her bag.

I was struck by the simplicity and truth behind the message.  Everyday IS an event.  We SHOULD dress for it.  Frequently, I run into moms, both at work and in my personal life, who tell me they would love to dress more stylishly but they don't go anywhere.  I'm sorry, did I not just run into you at Target?  Are you not out running errands or shopping?  Doesn't your husband see you daily?  These are the questions I find myself wanting to ask (and at work I frequently do ask).  Why NOT get dressed for life?

Am I saying you need to "put on the dog" every single time you leave the house?  Nope.  Do you need to "impress" your husband or anyone else?  Not at all.  I would be lying  if I said I always wear makeup and cute clothes when I leave my house or on my stay home days.  But I still try more often than not.  It makes me feel good to be presentable for not only my family, friends, or strangers but just for myself.  My confidence is lifted and I have an extra pep in my step. I feel like the days I "dress for it" are some of my best days, in and out of my house.

So, this morning I was feeling inspired by the idea of dressing for my day.  So I pulled out the yummy fall sweater (which I have been dying to wear for the past two weeks since I bought it) and paired it with some mom friendly shorts and sandals.  Add a scarf and some earrings, my look was almost complete.  I even felt inspired to get a little crazy with the new eye shadows from Sephora and create a little smokier eye than normal. 

Sweater - Free People

 Shorts - Paige Premium Denim

Scarf - Thirty Nine 42

Shoes - Dr. Scholls

(all via Hot Mama)

The few minutes of extra thought and effort must have paid off, because I kept getting compliments on my outfit and makeup, even from random strangers.  I will be honest, it felt good to have people notice!  To continue my good feelings and attitude, I have left almost the entire outfit on (except the scarf and shoes) while chilling at home after work.

 So next time you find yourself in  a "getting dressed slump" (you know you have them) or believing that you don't go anywhere or see anyone, think about the day ahead of you as an event and dress for it.  Who knows what could happen?

Pin-spiration!

I admit it.  I heart Pinterest.  What social media obsessed person doesn't?  It is where I go to be insipired, feel like a domestic goddess and express my love of fashion and trends.  So naturally, as I was starting my blogging journey, I looked to my Pinterest boards for inspiration.  You know you have them....those boards which you pin your "pin-spirational" quotes and sayings to that either inspire you or just plain make you giggle.  Heck, I have at least TWO of them titled:  Yup and Just Makes Sense!

Here are some of my favorite pins that inspire me as a mom, as a fashionista, and as a mom fashionista who is paid to empower moms, making them look and feel hot (which I LOVE to do):

Maybe it is wrong (or slightly cheesy) but I try to live each one of these every day.  I am absolutely fruity, zany, imperfect yet very happy.  Is it a recipe for success or insanity?  Maybe a little bit of both.  You be the judge!  :)