Going totally suburban!

Or went, rather. This weekend. With "the teens", as I've said - which is how I will now refer to them. And - and it was actually QUITE a weekend with the teens. They sat and had Thai food with us Friday night (Green Mango in Regent Square - yum - lemongrass beef, spicy king chicken - pad thai....) - they did a sleepover that night (Lil and I returned from ballet in the morning - fresh from a soccer tantrum with Milo that required assistance in getting off the field - to find "the teens" lolling about in blankets in the tv room while the kitchen looked like there had been some sort of "pancake accident" with batter, dirty plates, bits of bacon, empty juice glasses, etc. all over) - there was a Central / Oakland mixer on Sat. night - and... we went homecoming dress shopping on Sunday - which.... brings me to the suburbs part - we went to Ross Park Mall so they could hit Juicy, Lucky, Louis Vuitton (yeah, right - on the latter ;-). All about the girls this weekend.

So .... we hit Gap, Ann Taylor, Nordstrom, Macy's - all the usual suspects - had pizza, lo mein and gelatto in the food court - grabbed sweet, steamy coffee drinks on a "break" - looked at jewelry and make-up we don't need - the whole mall experience. I have actually NOT done that in years!!! Years. I'm not kidding. Felt good, actually. Fun.

Anyway - big scores for both Olivia and Olivia B on dresses and shoes - my Olivia got a metallic-ish, simple swingy strapless dress with a tasteful gather / rose in the front - strappy silver sparkle sandals with a little heel to match, and.... Olivia B got a strapless black dress with pretty, textured flower detail on the full skirt and a pair of retro bright blue suede pumps to go with it. Super cool dresses AND shoes. Lil had a great time trying on shoes in Nordstrom. All the sales girls thought she was the cutest. She kept saying, "Look" and pulling her little leg to the side so that everyone could see the giant adult size 7 red patent high-heeled shoe she was proudly clomping around the store wearing (Mommy's size, but... like I said - all about the girls this weekend :-) - though we did LOOK at some awesome boots right up "Mommy's" alley - red ankle boots with a heel - high brown and black leather ones, lace-up and zip - new UGGS with buttons and straps - retro Frye - chunky boots with buckles - aahhhh... boots ;-).

Anyway ... some fun stuff:

Found this site after seeing the logo / label on the cocoa I use to make hot chocolate. My extended family has some diabetes and other health issues (I'm adopted so have no medical history - but my Mom's Dad was Native American and diabetes is an issue - my Dad's family had gluten allergies and other stomach issues, etc.) as does hubby and other people I know, so... worth a look. It is a site spawned by Oprah - HOW did I miss that all this time?

And here's a scary email headline: Vince Neil in your local Borders. AAAHHH!! Signing a book called Tattoos and Tequila no less. Wasn't he in Motley Crue? Right? I often block frightening childhood memories so .... may have that wrong ;-). Anyway .... some new books, etc. coming out - holiday deals on the horizon - worth a look.

And.... has anyone seen the M. Night Shyamalan movie, Devil? I love a scary movie - found the Sixth Sense brilliant, but... nothing from him since then has proven very good. Reviews seem mixed thus far...

Think of my little Milo today. He has his iron test today (blood drawn at Children's - good times :-(.

My night house... my day house....

At night - alone - whether hubby is home or away - or he and kids just asleep and I'm wandering, trying to get sleepy.... I do reflect on the day. A lifelong writer, I have to replay, record and / or analyze my thoughts - constantly. In grade school, I wrote little books that I would staple or tape together - in high school, I journaled - in college, I drank coffee and smoked cigarettes and talked and talked into the wee hours with my roommates - and.... since those formative years, have written, journaled, blogged, analyzed in person or over the phone, etc. the events of the day, the week, the month, the year. I can type four big paragraphs in like 10 min. - as you know ;-).

So ... last night, I reflected again on trying to be more patient - how to offset the escalating fighting and / or yelling and chaos that sometimes occurs at day's end. Olivia is trying to make plans with friends, asking me for spending money, complaining about not being able to find clothes in the clean laundry and always unable to find something she likes to eat in the house. Enzo and Milo fight - cry because I won't let them play Wii for hours - bake but then eat ALL the cookies - refuse to take showers or baths - and Lil - well Lil is two, and she is very, very TWO, tantrums, high drama and all.

I decided to try to focus on how the other night, after the swim meet, I drove Olivia and her friends (the other two Olivias - pictured earlier :-) around a bit. We joked about how we were going to cruise until 3 am in the minivan, but... really ended up getting waffle fries and depositing them back at a house that had some more interesting friends hanging out until the wee hours. I focused on, too, how one on one, the little ones are quiet and cuddly. Last night, Lil and I snacked and watched TV while the boys were in their room, watching the pre-bedtime movie. Enzo and Lil fell asleep while feisty Milo actually came down the stairs and ended up showing me a late night finger puppet show, singing, then eventually dozing off on the couch next to me. This morning, my early riser, Enzo, is cuddling with me on the big chair, watching Spiderman and eating toast, cuz, see... we always have our morning time when he is fresh and talkative and excited for the day (and one morning, we scored a tv-adapted version of Harold and the Purple Crayon while Enzo stole sips of my milky, sugared coffee).

Good to reflect like this. I feel calm .... listening to the birds sing - albeit while I take the garbage out, intercept email bills and note areas of the kitchen that need to be scrubbed, but...I can do this. I can bring order back to this house - underschedule the kids for even just today, and.... try to relax a bit. This is why I started this blog - to share my day - to hear from others in my situation - and to learn....

Anyway - have you seen both Garnet Hill and Tea Collection this month? GREAT kids fall stuff in both (always good "go tos"). Worth a look. Also, did NOT see Top Chef last night - DVRed it, so.... no spoilers... Here's something fun... I've always liked to do photo self-portraits (funny - interesting to look at later, etc.) - hubby and I have many - I do them with the kids - had many with friends in high school and college (until my Mom and brother boxed up my room in grad school, and I never saw those photos again :-( - and... it seems to be becoming a trend with the ease of the iPhone photos and all, so.... here's one spot with self-portrait tips - though there are MANY others (hello Google). And - did you read the Ramona (by Beverly Cleary) books as a kid? I did. I LOVED them, so... am excited to see Ramona and Beezus, which, I believe, opens this weekend. Lastly, hubby just bought some Marvel comic books for the boys the other day on his way home from a local photo shoot, and... I thought they would not be interested in them, BUT ... they are! And.... superhero violence aside, it seems to have inspired some urges to draw and document some their little character pretend play, which is interesting and... productive / creative, I think. Now and then, I get a "why did (insert female superhero here) kiss Spiderman on the lips?" but.... all in all, a good purchase and ensuing activity (need to mention here - waaay late - that gra[hic novel / comic book artist / author and Clevelander, Harvey Pekar, who visited my alma mater, Ohio U, years ago, recently passed away. RIP.).

Happy day, all.

Some Sunshine and Some Retail

First the sunshine - my beautiful kids at the beach!

Then - the retail (just a little bit - have been meaning to post some stuff in time for back to school but my brood is incredibly high maintenance these days)....

Requires some leg work but is a great community of helpful shoppers who post a lot and does have some good coupon-type assistance in the way of free shipping, some percentage off ,etc. - huge variety of retailers: http://www.retailmenot.com

Members only sites with some great trendy designer buys. Get on a waiting list and wait for the OK (a little obnoxious but worth it, I'm told - wouldn't know personally as I am still on list, but...). Endorsed / promoted by Real Simple mag: http://www.giltgroupe.com and http://www.giltfuse.com .