What ever happened to just a good pair of jeans and a t-shirt?

I really dislike clothes shopping.  What ever happened to a good pair of jeans and a t-shirt? And why, when you do find a t-shirt, is it about as wide as my 4 year old daughter's t-shirt and the jeans are skin tight?  Or the shirts are shaped like a box and the jeans come way above my belly button and are shaped like an upside down triangle?  And this is what I find in the adult section of the store.  Where is the middle ground for the mid 30's mom (with a few trouble spots) that still wants to look stylish?  Where are the jeans that hit in just the right place to hid the baby belly fat and are a little bit wider legged all the way to your feet?  We do not want to wear the same type of clothes that were in style when we were in high school (note picture above...cool then not so much now).  We do not look or want to look like an emaciated teenager or that we are even older than we are (sorry but I'm still trying to accept being over 35).  So where are clothes for us?  This is why we get dubbed as wearing Mom clothes and why we wear the same stuff everyday.  It's because we can't find anything else that looks right or is age appropriate.  So come-on, clothing designers, you're missing the mark.  We want nice looking inexpensive clothes that fit our bodies too! Lesson of the Day:  Clothes shopping stinks!

Grillin' Jack-O-Lanterns and Feeling Thankful

As I relax and de-stress more and more, I'm remembering all the things I loved about being a stay-at-home mom. Not that making an open faced jack-o-lantern grilled cheese takes a ton of time or effort...it's more the lack of distractions. My Mondays are no longer filled with cramming a weeks worth of errands and cleaning into one day or trying to find subs. Today, we're even taking a nature walk as we leisurely walk to J's school to pick him up. I love being at home. I think I was born in the wrong decade. Lesson of the day: It's sad but amazing how much more we appreciate the privileges, we once took for granted, once we've had to live life without them. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! Psalms 106:1

International House of Spies

Craftiest Mom on the Block Strikes Again...

Check out the advent calendar I just completed. Each number is on a pocket that I'm going to fill with some type of small treat (ornament, candy cane, pencils, piece of a nativity, etc) for each day before Christmas, with the final one being something to do with Baby Jesus. I'm might also add a star or something for J and Z to move from one pocket to the next to mark the day. The sample I stole this idea from had a little Santa. Maybe I'll do a little bird to remind them, "Santa's Birdies are watching!" (If you grew up in my house you get that one.) Hopefully this will help Z count down the days until Christmas. She gets so excited about any event. Everyday she asks me if today is Halloween or my Birthday. I saw a similar thing done for Thanksgiving (I might use this for that too) where everyday each member of the family put a piece of paper in the pocket with something they were thankful for written on it. Lesson of the Day: Love a multipurpose craft!

Repunzel, Repunzel, let down your hair

Picnic in the fort...oh, excuse me...I mean, picnic in the princess castle.

What did one Jack-o-latern say to the other?

Ater Patch Kid's Annual Window Pumpkins

What did one Jack-o-lantern say to the other?  Cut it out!
Why do Jack-o-lanterns have goofy smiles on their faces?  You'd have a goofy smile, too, if you had just had all your brains scooped out!
What's the ratio of a pumpkin's circumference to its diameter?  Pumpkin Pi (3.1428571428571428571428571428571)
How do you repair a broken Jack-o-lantern?  Buy a pumpkin patch!
Why do pumpkins never quarrel?  Because they have no stomach for fighting.

Z's Art Studio

(she colored from 2:30-6:30 yesterday with few breaks

and used almost every sheet of paper)

Well, this is different....

For 8 1/2 years, I have been a busy mom.  I've been the classic 24/7 stay-at-home mom and I've been the part-time working mom, but I've always been busy, either cramming a full week of work into the two days of preschool or taking care of someone who needs taking care of.  I've watched my friends drop their kids off at preschool from the time they were teeny-tiny and then go home to relax or go shopping.  While that is fine for them....it's not for me...that wasn't an option I wanted.  Unless I had to work, my kids were going to be with me.  I wanted to be the classic stay-at-home mom and I've loved it.  Yes, it's hard sometimes and you tend to stay in a state of "tired" and you hardly get any time for yourself, but my kids are only going to be preschoolers once.  Anyway, my recent change in employment status is going to take some getting used to.  Last Tuesday, I dropped Z off at school and left the church.  Left is the key word in that sentence because I've worked there the whole time she's been in preschool.  If she needed me I was just on the other side of the building.  I had very mixed emotions...happy, excited, anxious, and a little sad.  Well, I had some errands to run so 5 hours whizzed by.  Thursday, J was sick so I was busy all day taking care of my sweet boy.  Now, it's today.  I dropped Z off and came home .......................................................... it's quiet ........................................................ very quiet and no one needs anything.  I'm not so sure what to do with myself.  It has me pondering life without kids...after they grow up.  What did I do with my free time before I had kids?  This is very strange.  It's nice but definitely going to take some getting used to.  I'm sure I'll get a lot done.  I guess I'm now the classic house wife on T-days.  Good thing I like to bake and iron.  Maybe I'll get a fancy apron to go with my new job.    Lesson of the day:  Change...sometimes it's not easy or hard....it's just change.