MARTHA STEWART and team SHOW

We went to the Martha Stewart show. There are pictures to come. If you'd like to read the whole story go here or click on the happy extra link to the right.

Notice that the hair color has gotten much lighter.

Also, let it be known that whenever I think of Martha Stewart I think of the amazingly talented people that I know personally that have worked for her and all their incredibly hard work.

Children's Museum of Art in Manhattan

There is this fabulous art museum in Manhattan that is directed to children and developing their sense of art--by hands-on activity.

It was all about child creativity.  The building was full of stations for children to make art. There was a paper folding station, beading station, flubber station, paint with watercolors, paint with paint in bottles, paint with a marble in a big long box, play dough, foam blocks and the kid's personal favorite the yoga ball pit.  Just a note, the kids need to eat before and right after. All the creative juices demand more energy (it will save you a grouchy kid).  It is geared for kids 2.5 to 9 or 10 (unless they love, love, love art--then they'll love it more).

T Time

Last night T was saying his prayers. It started as a normal prayer a few family loops, thankful for a few toys (each individually--thank you for Buzz Lightyear), then he began on the rooms in the house and it went something like this. 

"Thank you for the computer room and the room where I sleep and the room where I eat and the room that I watch "Baby Einsteins."  Please bless us that we won't died. Please help mom that she'll feel good and be happy not grouchy."


That kid is going to get some serious blessings, I have never heard a two-year-old pray so lo-o-ong and so specifically and of course with definite faith.

Then a few moments ago he was turning around and around in a circle and he said, "Mom, look I'm speeding! I'm speeding!"

I said, "You're speeding?! I'll have to give you a ticket."

With the utmost glee and excitement he cried out, "A ticket! Where's my ticket?"

Free Photo Book from Walgreens

Check this: http://www.mamacheaps.com/2011/01/walgreens-free-purse-photo-book.html

Like the Mama Cheap says:
Create a purse sized photo book at Walgreens.com for FREE when you use the promo code PURSE at checkout.
If store pick-up is an option, choose that to get your book completely free.  Or have it shipped to you for a small shipping charge.

Floyd Bennett Field

On Sunday a couple of weeks ago I felt like we needed to go for a drive. We drove 30 minutes to  Floyd Bennett Field.  It was fr-reez-ing.  But we had a glorious time driving about, walking on the beach for the two minutes we could stand it.  It felt like such a blessing just to be together.  How I love my dear family.

Ikea

S got a new bed. I thought I would be a cost-efficient genius and get it from Ikea.


The bed lasted a total of 2 hours, before W knelt on it to reach some thing and snap. One of the boards supporting the mattress broke.

Dear people, just because something says Ikea, does not mean it is cheap.  But when it comes to bed they definitely fall into the cheap category. My experiences at Ikea have been quite negative per buying furniture.  It is just not meant to last the trip home.  We had a dinner table chair set react the same way--sit snap (only that was 5 years ago).  Obviously I was expecting some improvement.

The second little pig did not build his house of twigs, he got his house at Ikea.  The wolf has a hey day following unsuspecting piggies from Ikea.

Lesson learned. Again. Back to the old drawing board.

On the up-side. Ikea has good cookies. And non-furniture objects occasionally. 

Road Work

They are doing road work outside my house. It seems to take forever and while I am doing my dishes I hear the glasses klinking against each other.  The room feels like it is having a miniature earth quake and the noise, noise, noise.

But in my head, I imagine they are not working on the road at all, they are not fixing broken pipes or diverting traffic for some small hinderance to Brooklyn-kind.

In my head I image the workmen digging, digging, digging looking for the lost diamonds of Mobster Tony the Fig---Yes, haven't you heard of him?  He was this huge mobster and when the people didn't pay up he would force them to eat figs--a whole cart load.  Then when they couldn't handle the figs he would switch to fruitcake.  Oh, those poooor people.

Well, it is widely speculated that he got better results than any other mobster in the area and he happened to own this one building (mine) and he loved the building. As a front he put in a grocery store that claimed to be open 24 hours a day, but was really only open 18 hours a day.  In the underground part he put in a huge safe--it was disguised as a refrigerator hiding the cursed diamonds, so as not to draw unwarranted attention.  But in reality it was the most sophisticated safe known to man at the time. 

Until recently no one knew about the safe, but it was found quite by chance when they were digging to check on some random pipe.  Imagine workman number 5 digging and clank. Oops, a refrigerator. Maybe there is something for his taste buds. But no?!  A lock requiring a combination?!

He doesn't say anything except "I call dibbs on the refrigerator down here."

His friends, "What?! Sure why do they have a fridge down there anyway?"

Well, sadly workmen 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 surreptitiously came down with a case of "stomach flu" and couldn't come to work the next day so Workman no. 5 called some of his "trusted" good buddies to lift the fridge out of the ground. . .it takes a lot longer than they think because under the fridge is a set of dinosaur bones, of a dinosaur no one knew existed, the New York Yankeesaurus (they agreed on the name together).  It's as tall as a roller coaster and it has plates on the back that look like the cars on the roller coaster, of course.  They'll make a fortune.

But, oh that Tony the Fig, he was hiding A LOT more than a fridge and a dinosaur.

Under the dinosaur they find a . . .

Okay, so I am curious why it takes road workers so long.  My imagination has a way of running wild when it takes a moment to ask questions.

My Motto For the Year and Goal Board

dearness

Okay, I will not lie. One of the happy moments of my life was last night. T had fallen asleep in our bed and W went and put him in his bed, when T cried out, "No! I want my mommy back!"

Then this morning W and T were sitting in the same room with R and S doing a stirring rendition of the ABC's, but right before that T said to W, "Dad, I want some Mommy."

Aw shucks, it is good to feel loved and needed.

Comments of Absurdity

Have you ever had one of those days where several things happen that make you laugh.  Like things people say to you to express their dear, but utterly ridiculous opinions.

For example, one lady told me I was nuts to let my child wear anything but tube socks when it was so cold outside.  She may be right, but I have never been upbraided on the type of socks my children wear--isn't that a bit--much?

One guy introduced my children to his Chihuahua named "Killer."

The other day I was out taking my kids to school in my huge enormous-est coat to maximize warmth and congenial feelings toward all I meet (especially my kidlets). And this elderly gentleman comes up to me and asks, "What do you do with your kids while you model on TV?"  I just about burst out laughing and was slightly mortified at the same moment. It may have been more fitting, at the moment I am referring to, to imagine me as wild-haired teletubby (even though I know Teletubbies have no hair).  The picture below may have been not quite how I looked, but similar to how I felt.

That strange guy that walks around Fifth Avenue like he owns it--that is as tall as an elephant (and I feel like the girl in the picture). Each and every time I have the strange sensation to ask him how the weather is up there and each and every time he has some odd thing to say. Last time I saw him he said, "Little Bo Peep and all her sheep."  At that moment,  I was shepherding my lambs (kids) home.

Sometimes the most practical thing to do is smile and nod--just smile and nod . . . and then chuckle about it in one's head as one walks away from the concerned people. Other times it is just fine to turn and walk away, like the Bo-Peep man.

Oh, and if we're talking one day and out of the blue I say something completely ridiculous, please do not take offense. Just smile, nod and laugh in your head and it is okay to think--I think M is having a bad day or a sugar low. She's not that crazy.  Your forgiveness is greatly appreciated.

If you want to know where I got the pictures, click on them. :)

Favorite Moments of the Day

Today E.J. (the oldest daughter of the people that just had triplets in our neighborhood/Church) came over for a play date today. T loves it when she comes over because they are about the same age and talk like crazy. We went to Costco for us and for their family and T, E, and I had a thank you game.  It went some thing like this.

T: Thank you.
M: No, Thank you.
E: Thank you.
M: No, Thank you.
T: Nooo, Thank you.
E: Thank me.

At which point we all just burst out laughing for a good 30 seconds.  And then we'd do it again.  I love laughing with 2-year-olds.  They are such sweeties.

We also passed under this huge vent that blew a powerful breeze (not hot, but not cold) down the isle.  T kept insisting we go down the isle because when we passed under it we would pretend we were being blown away.  Which made the two-year-old giggles increase.

Later, after I'd dropped E off at her house, the kids and I looked all over for a place to make a snow man.  Well, near where we live there limited options for such an idea, but across the street from where we live we found a place where the snow had not been well shoveled and we made a 2 foot snow man. It was glorious to see my kids making snow angels in a small square of snow and then be delighted with the outcome no matter how funny it looked.  R loves to throw snow balls.

A school bus stopped by us as we fussed with the snow man and a couple of kids in the back seat looked out the window and saw us and screeched with excitement at what we were doing and mouthed the words, "I want to make a snow man too!"  Then I gave her a big smile and the thumbs up sign (perfectly acceptable in America) and she smiled back with a thumbs-up sign too.

A note from S

S loves to make notes and letters and is constantly asking me to spell words for her so she can elaborate upon her letters.  I am not sure how her teacher handles 25 kids asking her to spell words for them all the time, because after about 10 words I meet my calm curb.  She made this one in school if you cannot read it, it says:

Get well
Dad
I love mom.

S gave it to me in a note.  We were all sick for Christmas break. It cheered me right up.

Thoughts On Money, Tithing and Children

The last couple of days I have determined that another one of my new year's goals is that my children will do more chores--and help more around the house.  In order to get them excited about it the kids and I made up a list of possible chores they could do on their own and when I asked them.

They started with ideas of a dollar a job, I chuckled that off and told them they could earn up to 25 cents on some jobs, but the most common ones pay 5-10 cents.

At dinner we talked about goals for the new year. When W asked S what her goal for the new year was she looked at me and said, "What's my goal this year Mom?"

W and I exchanged small smiles and I said, "How about using your nice voice all the time?" 

She smiled hopefully and said, "For money?"

I wish I could get paid for using my nice voice. . . I'd be a lot more motivated to use my nice voice on a much more consistent basis. . . even when the kids are skipping gleefully out of their bedroom when they are supposed to be asleep.

Along with making an income we talked about tithing tonight after the payment of funds.


One of the blessings of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the privilege of paying tithing. This privilege is a double blessing. By paying tithing, Church members show their gratitude to God for their blessings and their resolve to trust in the Lord rather than in material things. They also help further the work of the Lord in the earth, blessing others of God’s children with the opportunity to learn of Him and to grow in the gospel...
Church members give their tithing donations to local leaders. These local leaders transmit tithing funds directly to the headquarters of the Church, where a council determines specific ways to use the sacred funds. This council is comprised of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Bishopric. Acting according to revelation, they make decisions as they are directed by the Lord. (See D&C 120:1.)
Tithing funds are always used for the Lord's purposes—to build and maintain temples and meetinghouses, to sustain missionary work, to educate Church members, and to carry on the work of the Lord throughout the world. 


We talked about this verse.
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). 


After family prayer and thanking the Lord of the blessing of tithing and asking the Lord to help us to be able to recognize the blessings from paying our tithing, S turned to me very thoughtfully and said, "Mom, when the windows open will we see the angels?"


How I love my dear ones.