Oh, how the proud have fallen...

Remember way back at the beginning of the school year when I bragged aspired to make the princesses thier school lunches at least 4 times a week?

I had such a great first semester.  Then I got bored with photo-blogging the lunches, so that dropped off.

Then I just got bored.

Now, I am doing good to make lunches 2-3 times per week.  This is not good, y'all.  don't get me wrong - St. Mary's has great lunches as far as school lunches go, but man, they are expensive!  About $4.50 a meal.  Now, for your average 12-year-old, that is pretty darn good - but when the eaters are ages 4 and 6 - they probably eat about a dollars worth. 

I think part of my problem is just letting my evening get away from me.  Out of routine.  Out of wack. 

This is a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but I really do like sending thier lunches and knowing exactly what they are eating.  So, just got to get back in the groove.

Oohhh, groove...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIaTEOUCft0

Things I wish my daughters did not have to learn the hard way.

1. Play-doh gets hard if you leave it out overnight.

2. It hurts when your friend won't play with you.

3. You can't buy everything you want just because you want it.

4. If you do not go to the bathroom before you leave the house, it will be a long miserable ride to school. 

5. When you don't share your toys, then your sister won't share hers either.

6. That toy/boy you didn't like will suddenly look oh, so much more attractive when your sister becomes interested.

7. Puppy love hurts.

8. That boy who didn't notice you earlier in the evening did not suddenly fall love with you at closing time.

9. He didn't lose your number, he just didn't call you.

10. Sometimes being sorry isn't enough.

Sometimes I think the hardest part of being a mom is all the things I can't protect them from - right now, its broken toys.  One day all too soon, it will be a broken heart (stupid boys!).  How I wish I could bottle up everything I ever learned the hard way and give it to them in one dose.  But I know that somethings have to be learned by doing.  And then, my job is simple.  I will be there...always.

I love you, Savannah and Tara.

So, what is the one lesson you wish you could save your kids from learning the hard way? 

All Kinds of Pretty

All Kinds of Pretty is the name of a great blog where I have recently started blogging.  The whole idea of it is so awesome - real women, real bodies, real budgets.  When I saw Snarky Mommy talking about it, I had to check it out and once I did, I knew I wanted to me a part of it. 

Since I came across All Kinds of Pretty, I have really been thinking alot not so much about WHAT I wear, but WHY I wear it.  Not just WHAT are my fall backs, but WHY they are?  I don't know about you, but I have slightly strange relationship with my clothes.  I have certain ones that are make me feel like a goddess and onces that I put on when I want that MILF status.  I have jeans that I only wear when none of my others are clean and sweaters that I don't really love but I know they look nice for work. 

I think being a part of this site is going to be great for me.  There are lots of great women posting there, moms like me, some who balance work outside the home with raising thier families, some whose full-time job IS taking care of thier  - we are all so different, but it makes me realize that everyone has that "thing" with thier clothes - clothes help us show the world who we are and they make us feel good.  And that is a good thing.

So check us out.  I think you'll like it.

 

It's a Drag...

So in the news this week is the matter of a gay teenager in Mississippi who has been told she cannot attend her prom wearing a tux and with her date.  I could go into a billion reason why this angers me on so many levels - not the least of which is that she is gay - so what?  I am sure her classmates already know this and aren't going to be corrupted by her presence with her date.  I will go even further and say that she is probably not even the only gay person planning to attend prom - she is just the only one that sought to clarify the "conduct rules" issued about prom attendence beforehand.

But there is another thing about this that annoys me.  The part where the school apparently equates the ideal of a woman wearing at tux as dressing in drag.  Seriously?  Isn't a tux basically a suit jacket and pants?  And don't women wear jackets and pants every day in this country?  Are we really THAT narrow minded as a society? 

Give me a break!  Women have been rocking tuxedos since the tuxedo began.  Thier suggestion that a woman in pants and a jacket is wearing drag is ridiculous beyond all reason!  This is a small point when you consider the much bigger issue at play here - I am praying that Constance McMillan gets to attend her senior prom with the date of her choice in the attire of her choice.  And as a mom, I am thrilled that her parents support her in what she is going through here.

But in the meantime, I give you....Women in Tuxedos:



Film Legend Marlene Dietritch





America's Sweetheart, Meg Ryan





"Not that innocent" Britney Spears





Not sure who she is, but she rocks it...







And perhaps the most famous use of tux on a woman in modern times...What a Feelin...Jennifer Beals

So what are your thoughts?  Is a tux really "drag"?  Seriously?  Is the perfectly nice pants suit hanging in my closet "drag"?

It's Dazzling...

So, this comes as no surprise to those who know me, but I am something of a shoe wh0re.  It is a something of a joke between Prince Charming and me - and I will say that he is a pretty good sport about it.  He indulges me when my shoes encroach upon his shoe storage space [in our micro closet, a whole other story...] and doesn't laugh [much] when I am trying to decide between the black boots with the block heels, the black boots with the skinny heels or the black boots with the pointy toe.

There is a point to this, I promise.  Having 2 little girls tends to cut into my shoe shopping time.  Just sayin... So, it was very interesting to me when, while volunteering at an event for St. Jude recently, I happened to overhear some of the field representatives [okay, I was eavesdropping] talking about one of the girls shoes [which I had noticed] and she was telling them about this shoe "club" that she had joined.

Okay - shoe club - now I am really listening.  So, I butt into the conversation and get the scoop about ShoeDazzle!  Now, you might ask, just what exactly is ShoeDazzle!?  It is a shoe "society" with a membership fee of $39.95 a month.  Each month, you are sent an email containing a link to 4-5 different shoesm which are selected for you based on criteria that you provided when you joined the site.  If you want a pair, you select them and voila!  You are the owner of a new pair of shoes for $39.95.  If you don't want any shoes, you just make sure to respond by the 5th of each month and decline.  And you can cancel at any time.  Sounded reasonable to me, so I joined.

The first month, I got the cutest pair of brown ballet flats - something I had been looking for and just never had the time to shop for (thank you, Savannah and Tara...those girls just do not understand that it is important to try on ALL the shoes in your size when going to a shoe department...). 

But, it is the second month where I truly fell in love.  Just look what showed up in my inbox on Feburary 1:

I adore these shoes!!!!  They are the most gorgeous, shiny, leather, RED heels and I am in love! Again, something I have been wanting and just haven't had time to shop for recently.

So, I am a huge fan of ShoeDazzle!!!  And it is rubbing off on my co-workers because several of them have joined recently, too!

And, no, ShoeDazzle! is not paying me for this...lol...although I certainly wouldn't mind if they wanted to comp me some shoes...

Yeah, what she said!!!

So, if you haven't heard about all The Family Guy / Sarah Palin bru-ha-ha, I guess you have been hiding under a rock for the past week.

So, in a nutshell Chris goes on a date with this girl with Down syndrome and at some point during thier conversations, she says she is the daughter of the former governor of Alaska. 

Somehow, Sarah Palin made this about her son, Trig, who has Down syndrome.  I can't really figure that out...yes, there was a reference to Sarah herself (maybe - really it could be some fictional governor of Alaska...ahhhh, but I digress...), but no one said anything about her son.  And guess, what, Sarah?  When you are a public figure - which you seemed determined to make yourself (as much as I might wish othewise) - people are allowed to talk about you...  Look it up...

I came across this great article today about Andrea Fay Friedman, the actress who provided the voice of the character on The Family Guy.    She has such a great take on the whole situation and in an email to the New York Times, explains to Sarah Palin the use of sarcasm. 

I loved it so much that I sent the link on over to a great blogger named Ellen whose blog To The Max is one that I follow regularly.  Her son has cerebral palsy and I love her take on life and her kids.   Her son, Max is especially inspiring to me since I "inherited by marriage" a nephew with cerebral palsy when my brother remarried last year.

Come to find out, Ellen had seen the article (which didn't surprise me), and had actually written a response to the whole issue for Huffington Post.  After I read it, I wanted to cheer!  Take that, Palin!!!  Ellen is right - you should be grateful! 

The whole thing just goes to show what I already knew.  Sarah Palin will take any opportunity to put herself in front of the media.  This was something that actually showed a kid with a Down syndrome doing normal things - including being a brat!  People are people.  And you know what?  Sometimes it really is not all about you.

Is there a 12-step program for this?

That is 10, count 'em, TEN lunch boxes (and there is one is our fridge at work that is not pictured).  This is what happens when someone with a purse obsession starts packing school lunches.  My newest faves are the little paper-bag styled ones (the pink one with the peace signs and the blue with the small flowers). 

I think I keep the school lunch crowd of teachers entertained - not just with what is IN the lunch box, but in WHICH lunch boxes the girls will be carrying that day.  What can I say?  I like to change it up...