diggy, the dancing queen

I love the malapropisms of a five year old. Sadly (for me, not her future communication skills), they are waning. Small Person still mis-hears a lot of things, but is far quicker to catch them nowadays and correct herself. And, she can officially read now. I know! On the first day of kindergarten, her teacher promised that they would be reading on their own by the end of the year, so she's right on target. Even though it kills me a little more every day to see her growing up so damn quickly, I am thrilled. Must indoctrinate more bookworms! Tonight she read the bedtime story (another gem by Mo Willems) while I listened and helped with oddball pronunciations. For example: would, know, going. Those ones are tricky. 

stormy weather

Makes us all crazy. Add a three-day weekend, and that's a real recipe for disaster. Fortunately, Small Person spent part of the weekend at Baba's, and we managed to fill the rest. Crafts! Games! Roller skating! I've been encouraging craft supplies as presents practically since Small Person was born, so we're pretty well stocked. This weekend we painted a "stained glass" picture to hang in her window. You know, the plastic kind with various squeeze bottles of colors to fill in the blanks? That was a hit. An even bigger hit, however was the Hama midi bead kit. Those little plastic rings that you put together on a pegboard and then iron to melt into a solid shape. Voila!

Small Person had sooo much fun with these. She made four or five before we ran out of time, and then happily played make-believe with them while I fixed dinner. Extra thanks to Maya for the present!

Then, today was the highlight of the weekend: Small Person's first roller skating. The local rink has a tiny tots open session where shoes are allowed on the rink. This means lots of parents hanging out with toddlers clinging mightily to their pants legs. Being the daredevil I am, I opted for my own skates and tried to avoid Small Person's groping hands. She made it around twice before tiring. Not too bad for a first try. I consider it a success that she fell well without owies, and I didn't fall at all. Neither of us is quite ready to try out for roller derby, though.

i heart valentines

Okay, not really. But Valentine's Day in kindergarten is the best. Everyone is required to give you a Valentine, so you get to wallow in the passion of cartoon characters and conversation hearts from all of your classmates. The crafty mama that I am, of course we had to make our Valentines. No punch-out and fill-in-the-blanks in this household! Here's what we started with:

We made salt dough, then rolled and cut out cute tiny shapes. We've never played with salt dough before, but it was a huge success. The only drawback, really, was that our cookie cutters were so tiny, we were cutting and cutting and cutting for what seemed like hours. And, we have enough cut and baked to make into next year's xmas ornaments. Anyway, once baked, they are hard and virtually indestructible. It is definitely necessary to poke the holes before baking! We then took them over to a playdate to share the painting part. This is final outcome, painted, strung, and adorned with a Valentine tag:

Twenty little crafty Valentine necklaces for the whole class! As usual, I think I was the most excited and interested in the project itself, but Small Person was very pleased to hand them around and declare that she made them. She came home with a bag of sugary treats, ubiquitous to any school occasion, it seems. Since I've already scarfed my (self-purchased) Valentine chocolates, I think hers are safe.

i told you so

That's what all my friends and relations will say (are saying!) when I tell them how much I loved my first volunteer shift at the library. I got to sort and shelve! Then sort and shelve again! And again! I'm really even nerdier than I thought. Normally, I love browsing through the stacks anyway, but this is more like browsing with a purpose. I am learning the decimal system, for real.

I had  to immediately set rules for personal acquisitions. I've decided I can only check out as many books as I bring back on a given day. That's fair, right? Friday that meant three: Wife of the Chef, a memoir; A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style, by Tim Gunn; The White Death, A History of Tuberculosis.

Next week, I get to learn the scanning and receiving system!

book it

So I kind of got a job. Sort of. Okay, not really, but let's just pretend, okay? I'm starting volunteer shifts at the public library. How cool is that? I get to push a cart around, sort, shelve, organize, tidy, and absorb the dewey decimal system osmotically. Is it wrong to be severely excited by that last part? As if that wasn't enough, they'll even reimburse my parking expenses. Woot!

I had a mini-interview and maxi-orientation on Monday, I think just to make sure I'm reasonably upstanding and don't fear alphabetizing. This is the same downtown central library I've visited and loved since my childhood, so the tour was unnecessary, but still fun. I got to visit the offices behind the "Staff Only" door and see all the inner workings. The book drop conveyer belt! The acquisitions department! The break room with actual librarians raiding the fridge!

Okay, I'll stop with the exclaiming. I'm very pleased and interested to be able to spend this time at the library, even if it is unpaid. I think the only drawback will be the alarmingly large amount of reading material I will start to bring home.

billions and billions

Small Person's 100th day of school is coming up. They make a big to-do about it, partly because one of the achievement milestones for kindergarten is counting to 100, and partly just for fun, it seems. The kids are all bringing in collections of 100 somethings to display and share. Me, being the crazy crafty mom with a suddenly large amount of free time, came up with a doozy of a project. Bring out the hot glue!

First step: count the drawer full of crayons in Small Person's desk. I was pretty sure she had at least 100. Like her mama, she has an artsy-craftsy bent that I encourage. What? Art is life, right? So, yes, she actually had 115 crayonsby our count. We organized into groups of ten, counted and recounted to make sure, then arranged by color into a fabulous array. Way to make homework fun, mom! Then we counted again. After all, wouldn't it be embarrassing to discover we are one short after putting it all together?

Putting it together: ribbon, crayons all lined up, lots and lots of hot glue. The ribbon wraps both sides to keep the crayons secure and try to hide all the glue. So fun! I did the gluing, of course, but not too much of the rest. I try (somewhat successfully) to not get too perfectionist or invested in what is not, ultimately, my work. I'm determined to produce a craft-mate, but I know I'll get nowhere if I don't keep my fingers out of her projects.

We brought it in yesterday, which is also my classroom volunteer day. Hooray! The kids liked it, the teacher liked it, I shut up and let Small Person talk it up. The payoff: when she described the process Small Person was proud and happy and it was obvious she considered it her project that mom had helped with, not the other way around. Phew!

i am not a crook

I was let go from my job this morning; my boss accused me of stealing and showed me the door. Anyone who knows me or has worked with me in a variety of retail establishments knows I am not a thief. I'm sure I don't need to defend myself to you, my devoted blog audience. I'm shocked and hurt and feeling pitiful. I've never lost a job under such circumstances. Whether it was a spurious accusation intended to release my boss from an undesirable employee, or a true belief on her part, I don't know. I don't care.

I'm going to drink tea and mope a bit more, and then I'll start to get feisty again.

no news is good news

I know, I'm very late with the well-wishing. Nothing new there.

We're finally back into the swing of things with our routines. A relief, actually, after this year's holiday madness. Small Person is delighted to be back in school; as am I. We're still getting the tortured complaints about bedtime, but as I anticipate fielding those for the next 15 years, it's just another part of the routine. I'm also back in her classroom once a week again, starting today. The kids are still wild and excited about school and really fun to be around. Once a week is enough for me, though. I help out with the lesson of the day, trying to keep track of and assist seven kids at once with their different needs and try to keep my patience in check. Based on this limited experience, I have validated my opinion that I could never be a teacher. Fun and rewarding, sure, but it requires more creativity and stamina than I am capable of. Thank you to those who do it instead of me!

Work is good and less hectic post-holiday, and my classes haven't started yet, so I'm more calm than I have been in weeks. I've made the annual nebulous health/exercise/time management/self-improvement non-resolutions and am bumbling along with them. So far, so good. And with that in mind, I'm off to finish my list of chores before I retire.

winter break-down

Anyone with a "blended" family can tell you that holidays can be rough. Add a grandchild to the mix, and it gets even worse. Our clan has enough experience with sharing holidays to avoid fighting, but we do seem to get busier and busier every year. This was our celebration schedule, starting the Sunday before Christmas:

Nutcracker matinee. Small Person to Auntie L's for two nights.

Work, shop.

Shop, bake, get Small Person back.

Bake, wrap, panic.

Unwrap, wade through piles out the door to first visit. Eat, drink, unwrap, be merry.

Laundry, pack, wade out the door for next visit. Drive, eat, unwrap, be merry.

Drive to next visit, unwrap more, be wearily merry.

Drive, leave Small Person with last set of grandparents.

Drive.

Collapse.

Be forewarned, next year we're cutting somebody out. Or, making them come to us.

I've had a couple of days to relax, eat the treats from my stocking, and completely re-do Small Person's room. Yep, it's another project. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures, but it did turn out really well. We pulled up the gross carpet and cleaned up the beautiful wood floor underneath. Then we cut about two feet off the legs of her loft bed. She doesn't like being so far off the ground, but this way she still has some space for storage and fort building. It's too cold and wet to paint and re-finish, so we'll save that until summer, or birthday. She'll return today to the surprise; I can't wait!

...and I'm spent

Today I finished up the holiday madness at work and don't have to think about it for two weeks! Huzzah! The crazies were still ordering like mad to have things on time for xmas. Sure, we can ship your lovely little gift with express mail for thrice the original cost, no problem. Whatevs, I'm done for the season. When I get back, we'll start shipping all the orders made with gift cards. It ought to be nearly as busy as the pre-holiday weeks. Ah, well, no rest for the wicked.

Tonight we went to the traditional small town caroling event. Hot cider and cookies, loud, packed ballroom and miraculously sleeping babies in the midst of it all. Next on the agenda: to bed early and a Tuesday filled with wrapping and cookie planning and last minute grocery shopping.

And, I know I'm a day late (and always a dollar short!), but Happy Hannukah and Solstice!

winter wonderland

We got our xmas tree this weekend. The subsequent schlep home and decorating got Small Person so riled up as to make for an extremely frustrating bedtime scenario. Who am I kidding? Bedtime is always frustrating lately. 'Tis the season for all-nighters and middle of the night holiday prep, anyway, so it's not like I'm really missing out on my own beauty sleep. Having to shove a half-knitted hat under the couch cushions every time I hear the hinges creak on Small Person's bedroom door doesn't do any favors to that pattern, though. Fortunately, it's a forgiving fuzzy yarn, and she'll never notice anyway.

Okay, pardon the complaint tangent, back to the tree. The tree! We went for a potted one this year, and we'll try to remember to water it this time. No ornaments were smashed during the process, despite Small Person's best efforts and grabby hands. She did a fantastic job decorating one square foot of tree to the maximum saturation point, then was a good sport when we suggested a few relocations.

There are no presents under the tree, yet. There is shopping and crafting and online ordering to do this week, so it will stack up fast. Small Person is the only grandchild of a ridiculous amount of folks (thank you, blended families!), which means I can usually get away with a couple of strategic mom gifts and leave the spoiling to others. 

Awkward segue to: the latest garden news.

That is a photo of the freezy frost on our garden this morning. I admit to being a total wuss in cold weather, so I'm not particularly excited by this. But, it did thrill my black heart to see that my latest slug trap was doubly effective. Intoxicate 'em, then freeze 'em to death! I know, totally disgusting. Isn't that what the interwebs are for, after all?

Those funny things in the background are my recycled bottle cloches. Trash into treasure, that's my motto. Translation: I can't bear to throw that out, let's just hang on to it a little longer....?

wax on

This is today's completed craft project: teacup candles!

This project was so ridiculously simple. Really, what am I going to say? Melt wax, place wicks, pour slowly. That was about it. But, the reveal is pretty dang cute. And, I must congratulate myself (someone has to!) on the thrift-to-fun ratio of the project. Thrift store cups, wax, wicks, and scent from the craft store. Now, I'm pretty positive my gift recipient does not read this blog (if so, hi Grammy!), so only we will know that this charming semi-homemade gift took us less than a half an hour and cost less than $15. Shh! don't tell!

Plus, it's one of those projects with a high instant-gratification factor, perfect for Small Person to help and see results quickly. Perfect for me to not freak out when she sticks her fingers where she shouldn't. The wax doesn't get too hot, it's easy to stir and pour, and she can be proud of her skills when it's unwrapped. We'll definitely give it some fancy wrapping to complete the boutique look, and that's that.

One down, countless to go.