Clover

2012-01-18T23:51:00.003-07:00

I feel like I’ve spent so much time and energy these last few weeks on things that could be categorized as trying to “fix” my little girl. Orthodontists. Eye doctors. Teachers. Reading Specialists. Psychologists. Ironically, I’ve never thought she was in need of fixing.

With the exception of some wickedly crowded teeth, that still holds true. She is smart. She is funny. She is beautiful. She is creative. She is athletic.

She is dyslexic.

I’m having a hard time this week separating that word from her. I think about it when I’m making her lunch or rubbing her back at bedtime. I thought about it when I scheduled a playdate for her tonight. I thought about it when I had lunch with her and her friends at school today. It’s a strange sort of obsession. Two parts worry. One part relief. She’s dyslexic. It’s a real thing. A thing with a name. A thing that won’t ever go away. A thing that will cause her anxiety and frustration. A thing that has already caused us both heartache. But it’s a thing that we can work on!

There have been many, many moments over the last two and a half years when the yet unnamed dyslexia has sucked big time. A few moments stand out pretty clearly for me in fact. I can already tell that those will be stories I tell to other mothers years from now when I’m reassuring the newly initiated that their membership in the club isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to them. And heaven knows that there are going to be more struggles, frustrations, offences taken, and battles over homework getting done. But today this diagnosis, this concept – it’s a thousand times better than the not knowing what the disconnect was and feeling helpless to help her.

I’d like to take a moment here and remind everyone in my not so subtle way that I TOTALLY called this in kindergarten. Not only that, I stated my firm belief that it was a shared family trait. And helloooo…right again. Damn I’m good. But anyway…

It’s overwhelming, to say the least. All this stuff I’m learning about how her brain may (or may not) work. It seems to be a slippery little thing, dyslexia. Even what most of us think we know about it isn’t accurate. And there are as many different iterations as there are people who have it.

Here’s what I know. She’s got it. And she’s got it good. (Damnit.)

I also know that educating our family, my daughter and her teachers about how to help her manage her dyslexia is going to take up a lot of my time over, say…the next 17 years.

See? Overwhelming.

Interestingly enough, here’s another thing I know. My girl will never step foot into a classroom and be a nameless face. She will not have the luxury of slipping through the cracks. For the next however many years until she finishes her education (probably a Post Doctoral degree) she will be requiring, and getting just a little bit more from her teachers. And I honestly believe that they will be happy to do it. Not only because she is a sweet, loving kid who people like to help, but because we have such great teachers here. So there’s a blessing, right? And another blessing is that we caught this in second grade, before she had a chance to decide she wasn’t very bright or that she didn’t like school. She loves school. She loves books. She certainly isn’t lacking in the self esteem department. My goal is to keep it that way. (Blessing number three…she’s got me. And you know how I just love to tackle a new challenge.)

I’ll let you know how it goes…
~Clover

2011-12-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

This year has been so crazy at our house. My going back to work has been an incredible blessing in so many ways, but it has been disastrous for the blog. Which is really a bummer for me. I love this blog! It’s such a history of our family life.

Sadness.

Admittedly, I’m better about posting to Facebook. (Although I do that much less now too.) It’s on my phone…and it’s easy to come up with a sentence or a quick iphone photo. When I post here I want to write. I want to post thoughtful pictures that have been edited and whatnot.

Someday I’ll be sad that I don’t have every little thing archived here. I guess not someday. NOW. Now I’m sad about that.

Le sigh.

I thought it might be fun to go through my Facebook account and post some of my favorite status updates from this year. They are below, chronologically from the end of the year to the beginning. Little snippets of life in our house. Little snippets…

I was just helping 4 year old William in the bathroom. As per my good mommy training, I said, "Nice work Will! Good job listening to your body." And he said, "I know mom. I'm a GREAT pooper. If I went to a poop festival, I would win a trophy. And I bet it would have a metal poop on top." Umkay. Yeah. Maybe we have been a little overzealous with the encouragement.

And just like that, I have two kids who can read. I guess I'm going to have to start spelling more complicated expletives. C-R-A-P!

Lauren: "I'm really thankful for Turkeys mom. Because they are yummy. (thoughtful pause) But I bet Turkeys aren't very thankful for us!" Hoping your Thanksgiving Day is filled with moments of gratitude. Big and small.

Two fabulous parent teacher conferences today. So proud of my hard working kiddos!

Will, "I need to get in the tub and wash my boobies." Lauren, "you're a boy, you don't have boobies." Will,"Oh yeah, what are these then?" Lauren, (incredulously) "Those are your pickles." Will, "Pimples?" Lauren, "Yes!" (rolling her eyes at her super un- savvy brother...)

Dear world,
Between my new job and both my kids being in new schools I have met literally a thousand new people in the last ten months. So if everyone could just wear name tags for a while, that would be SUPER helpful. K. Thanks.

Will was so excited to see frost on the ground today. Like, SO excited. Talked about it for 10 minutes straight. It was delightful to live in his wonderland for a bit. But now I'm just cold.

Will: I ate lunch with Autumn today. She's a kindergartener. Lauren: What does she look like? Will: (defensively) What? She's a girl. Lauren: I just asked what she looks like. Will: Oh, well...she has long curly hair, a nose and two eyes.

How did I end up at karaoke on a school night???

Happy 4th Birthday to my little man. Wow, how these four years have flown by!!

Happy "Lucky 13th" Anniversary to my Prince Charming, my Best Friend, my Soul Mate, my Babydaddy, and the only guy who can stand living with me...I love you Mr. G! You’re the berries.

Why didn't I take any pictures at the party we went to last night??? Now you guys are just going to have to take my word that I was in an incredible house, eating uber delish food like little ahi bites on sesame crackers, fancy little sliders, and jalapeño cheese puffs, while looking fabulous in borrowed stilettos with all my girls.

Went to my first all school Mass with the St. School kids today. Pretty moving to hear all those little voices singing and praying together.

Citizens of Earth...Never fear! We are safe from the evil Dr. Toilet Paper Roll. SuperKitten has destroyed it. It joins the fallen villains PaperTowelasaur, Mr. Homework, and The Tissue Box. The world can rest easy tonight. But SuperKitten knows that lurking in the shadows are an endless supply of evil paper products. And so he sharpens his claws and waits...

Yesterday we found one of the goldfish floating in the bowl. Lauren immediately announced that it was Will's.

So proud of my girl on her first day at a new school! She put on a brave face this morning, and by noon she was telling me she loves her new school! Yay! And phew!

Sometimes God comes to you disguised as your life.

Mr. G is either going to get a great pic of this barn, or a farmer is going to shoot at us for trespassing. Hard tellin' which.

Me: "Will, please be quiet and let your sister sleep so she will be a happy camper today." Will, "WE'RE GOING CAMPING???!!!" Let the daily (unintentional) crushing of his spirit begin.

Got my annual "dumb mom" sunburn. You know, the one you get when you spend the morning making sure the kids are covered in SPF 50, have their hats, goggles, snacks, beverages, floaties, towels, sand toys, etc. And then after 4 hours at the lake you realize you never asked anyone to help get that part of your back that you can't reach. I'm crispy. Prepared, but crispy. Damn.

Yesterday Will was afraid to get his face wet. Today I bought him some goggles, and no lie, he learned to swim. OMg, someone slow this crazy ride down!!

Thank you to everyone on Payette Lake who let us sit on their dock, play in their sand, ride in their boats, eat their food and drink their beer. This was one for the books!

McCall Friends, we have decided to let you fight over who gets to host us at their lakefront/boat-ready retreat tomorrow. You can start your bidding here. We take bar-tending staff, gourmet buffets, and fireworks viewing locales into consideration when making our decision. Go...

We took some items to the thrift store, including a chair. Will's reaction was straight off that hoarder show on A&E. He threw his body across the chair and wailed, "I'll miss you chair!" I had to make up a story about the chair's happy new life. So just for fun, Mr. G told him we were going to get rid of the couch too.

Lauren just informed Will that she is the Queen and he is the servant. Then she demanded that he bring her "a glass of martini." Who is that kid's mother???

Will: Dad, can I have chocolate milk for breakfast? Mike: I don't know buddy, that sounds a little... Will: Undignified?

I really hope 5/21 isn't the end of the world. I have Wicked tickets.

Happy Mother's Day to all my beautiful girlfriends! I'm thinking that all the stretch marks, sleepless nights, diapers, barf, smashed tubes of lipstick, whiney fits and temper tantrums to date have been absolved via a homemade card with a hand print and a poem in it. Hope your day is just as schmoopy. Or, that you get sent to the spa. Either way...

Happy Birthday to my beautiful girl!! Being your Mama for the last seven years is my greatest joy!

Navigating tomorrow without getting fired or causing my child psychological damage is going to require a bend of the space time continuum. I need some Harry Potter powers and I need 'em quick.

Will would like to let the other 3 year olds of the world know that flushing an entire roll of TP at once is, in fact, a VERY bad idea.

Will told me tonight that he has an itchy spagheeto bite.

2011-11-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

One of the myriad of things that I love about my job is the opportunity to attend our monthly all school Mass. (I love this almost as much as attending Mass on Tuesday mornings with my daughter’s grade school. If ever there was proof that God loves us, it’s a church full of happy kids singing and praying together.) This week, we celebrated Mass together on Tuesday, All Souls Day. Dios de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead. And here’s what I learned:

Someone smarter than I has estimated that since the beginning of time there have been roughly 110,000,000,000 people on earth. In case all those zeros confused you, I said one hundred and ten BILLION people. Some seven-odd billion of us are still here wandering around. So that means one hundred and three BILLION of us have gone on to greener pastures. Wow. Is anyone else sort of getting this mental image of bugs piled up in a porch light?

Anyway, the point is that on The Day of the Dead we are remembering, celebrating, and praying for those one hundred and three billion of our brothers and sisters who have already died.
I’m sure that it wasn’t his intention, but when Father Frasier got to this part of the homily I was starting to feel a little bit insignificant. And then he really drove it home with this gem:

Someday I am going to be dead. And everyone who knew me is also going to be dead. And I will be forgotten.

FORGOTTEN?

I suppose if you are super well adjusted that doesn’t freak you out. But anyone who reads this blog knows how far from well adjusted I am. Can you hear the panic in my printed voice?? Forgotten? Me? The girl who was convinced that by 37 she would have star on Hollywood Blvd? Me? The woman who is pretty sure the Great American Novel is lurking somewhere within? Me? Can’t be. I scrapbook. I blog. I take pictures of the stuff I make for dinner for goodness sakes. I’m ARCHIVED. Forgotten?
And then that quiet little voice inside my head asks me, “What do you need to be remembered for?”

Um…

I would like to be remembered for being kind and loving. I want to be remembered as a good mother and grandmother (someday). I want to be a good friend. I would hope to be remembered as generous, but the likelihood of that ever being at the level that gets your name on a building is slim. When it all boils down, I don’t think I really need to be remembered. I would love to be thought of fondly by the people who I interact with in this life. But when all you crazies are gone too, what does it matter if my name is ever spoken again? That’s a lot more than most can hope for.

That said, I know that God remembers. And Dios de los Muertos is a day for us as the church to remember. So say a prayer right now for someone else who led a good and ordinary life. And then was forgotten.

~Clover

2011-10-30T22:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

~Clover

2011-10-24T09:08:00.001-07:00

This weekend we celebrated four trips around the sun with Sweet William. I just adore that kid! I mean, seriously...could he be cuter?? And his heart is made of pure gold. He's kind and gentle, he's smart and funny, he LOVES his sister, he's a good friend and an excellent builder of train tracks, hex bug habitats and Lego creations. Every night before bedtime he asks me to sing him a lullaby. He remembers his pleases and thank yous, he gives incredible hugs and he loves to snuggle with his mama on the couch. Last week he drew me a picture of Jesus. (And it was pretty good!) That little boy is my heart, and I am so blessed to be his mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILL!! We love you so much!

~Clover

2011-08-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Superfun BIG excitement...

We got a new kitty! His name is Henry and he is absolutely the sweetest thing. Very mellow and snuggly. The kids are over the moon.

Henry is a little camera shy, but I'm working on getting a good snap of him.

In the meantime, check out Mr. G's new blog for lots of beautiful pictures of things other than Henry. You won't be sorry!

Reticent Photo

~Clover

2011-08-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

I’m just going to be really honest here.

I’m not very brave. I wish I was braver. I really do. Bravery is especially lacking when it comes to anything involving hurtling through space. Skiing especially comes to mind. But also riding on a motorcycle and even driving at night. There’s just something about the fact that I could get flung to neverland at any moment that doesn’t sit well with me. I can strap myself in and ride a rollercoaster until the cows come home. But put me on an inflatable tube behind a speeding boat and I’m gonna squirm.

My children, thankfully…or maybe not, I’ll let you know when we survive the teenage years…didn’t inherit this from me. I think I’ve mentioned before that it’s Mr. G’s job to make them brave. And he’s doing fine work. They love to tube and ski and otherwise put themselves in harms way in the name of fun. And somehow, when it comes to watersports, I’m always the responsible adult who has to get dragged around the lake with them. That makes no sense, does it?

There must be something about the look on my face or my white knuckled grip that makes Sweet Pea a philosopher when we’re tubing. Maybe she figures she better ask me questions about life and death while she still has a chance. Or maybe she thinks my guard will be down and I’ll tell her some secret that she’s not old enough to hear yet. Who knows? But for whatever reason, whenever we’re whipping around the lake at mach speed she asks me deep questions.

Last night she hollered at her dad to speed up, made a motion that indicated she would like him to try his best to give us whiplash, and then said to me, “Mom…what is the future?”

Uh…that thing that’s getting cut short right now.

I was stumbling through an answer, shouting over the noise of the boat when Will looks over at me and says with a sly smile…”Watch out Mom! THE FUTURE IS COMING!”

~Clover

2011-07-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

This summer feels like we have turned a corner, or made a leap...or something. My kids are just suddenly so...I don't even know. Capable? Accomplished? Grown up? All of the above. It's enough to take your breath away. And sometimes leaves me standing around wondering what I should be doing. Is it Ok, for me to sit and read a magazine?? I'm just not used to not being...needed. Le sigh.

But I do like to read magazines...

We headed into Spring with me in a panic over the lack of swimming skills at Casa Del Clover. It felt like a big parenting failure on our parts. So I signed the kids up for 4 weeks of swimming lessons and crossed my fingers. On day one, Sweet Pea jumped in the deep end and swam across the pool. Yay! Yay! So she's taken care of, and that was my #1 goal. But now I have to finish 2 more weeks of Mommy and Me swimming lessons at the public pool. And that is another post entirely. (They don't heat the public pool. Did you know that? And if you think I'm being a weenie about that, don't even ask me about the lack of waitstaff. I'm just sayin'...)

Anyhoo...I'm so excited about the newfound water skills. To that end, we have been beaching, boating, pooling and otherwise consuming more than our fair share of spray on sunscreen. (Has anyone else noticed how expensive that stuff has gotten? It's like $10 for two trips to the pool. I've over it. I bought a bottle of old school No Ad the other day. I guess that's another perk of older kids. They don't squirm while you grease 'em up.)

This week we are soaking up our summer sun Mountain style. These are some pics of day two of our Southern Idaho Staycation, at Davis Beach in McCall. (Courtesy of Mr. G.) In just a few days we'll head to Sun Valley for part deux of G Family Fun. My happy kids tell me they like this summer itenerary.

~Clover

2011-07-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

You know that thrill you get when you get to make the very first tracks in fresh snow? I absolutely love that. Ever since I was a little girl I've daydreamed about what a place would look like without buildings or roads, or even footprints. It's not often that I've been able to see a place that really looked untouched by people. A few days ago we went on a hike that was probably as close to that as I've ever been. Of course we saw the occasional trail marker, footprint, and even an old log fence. So it wasn't exactly an appearance on Survivor. But you felt like you could see for miles, and for miles and miles we didn't see another soul.

For all my local peeps, you should hike this trail. And if you camp, check out Goose Lake which is on the way. It is stunning and the campsites are right on the little lake. I think it would be perfect if you're camping with kids, but ready to break out of the campground scene. It would be even more fun if you had a canoe. (And I will come visit you and then drive back to my bed at my nice warm cabin. Hey, I'm honest...)

The trail we hiked is the Twin Lakes Trail. It is past the ski resort on Brundage Mountain in McCall, Idaho. (You keep driving on that road for 9 miles past the lodge.) The drive is stunning. The hike is listed as moderately strenuous. It's 3 miles roundtrip. A mile and a half up to the lake, and then you just hike the same trail back down the hill. It was muddy and rocky, and we found lots of little patches of snow. But the kids and the (old) dog did great. There was so much to look at (and sniff) that I guess they didn't notice they were climbing a pretty steep hill. This is a good one for families, but not an easy one. Everyone is going to need to be able to walk the entire distance on their own.

It's mid July and the trail was definately still mucky and wet. I wouldn't hike this with kids in the springtime. And there are big stretches without much shade, so pick a cooler day and wear sunscreen!

By the time you see this sign, you're almost there!

You start out in this meadow full of little yellow and white flowers. Wear hiking boots! It's soggy.

There was a big fire here in 1994. Ghost trees everywhere.

Up the creekbed. I bet the water was raging down this hill a few weeks ago.

Snow in July!

A vantage point about 1/4 of the way up.

The lake! The name Twin Lakes suggests there is another one, but I didn't see it.

See the snow? Yeah...the lake is c.o.l.d.

William's walking stick.

A family picture at the top.

When we got back to the meadow, Will found a lucky horseshoe!

Hope you get to have a beautiful summer day here, or whereever you may be!

~Clover

2011-07-19T06:00:00.001-07:00

I love that I am married to a guy who can program websites, balance the books, and make incredible art! Mr. G. has been tinkering with our camera and finally cracked the code on how to manage some manual settings in the way that he wanted. The results and have been breathtaking! I'm sharing a few courtesy of my better half...

~Clover

2011-07-18T09:50:00.002-07:00

My list of reasons for not posting more here is long and predictable. This job thing is kicking my butt.

I love my job. Really and truly I do. I am back to doing something that makes a difference in people’s lives. If you have a bit of a superhero complex like I do, you just can’t beat a career like that.

Not that staying home with my kids wasn’t impacting lives. I mean…duh. But that’s not on the table anymore. So as long as I have to go to work, I’m glad I love what I do. And bonus, my job comes with a few incredible family perks. Win. Win.

I’m doing a lot of writing at work. I think more than anything I’m all written out. And that’s been the pin in this grenade. Ok, that and my valiant attempt not to gain 20 lbs. In order to make it to my 6:00 a.m. gym date I have to go to bed really stupidly early. I’m just not one of those people who can function on less than 7 hours worth of sleep. If you know how I can change that, please share. If I could squeeze a couple more hours into the day I think I’d be a lot less stressed out.

I can’t help it. I like my stuff the way I like my stuff. It bothers me that my house is a mess. I miss planning lovely dinners. I long for organized rooms and shiny surfaces. I look sadly at neglected projects and undocumented events. (And in my head I pretend that all that stuff happened when I wasn’t working…)

But c’est la vie! We go to the lake instead of cleaning the house. We haul our laundry with us to the mountains. We hike and swim and eat takeout. And yeah, I gaine 5 lbs. (Damnit!) It is what it is. I’m learning how to be Ok with that. (And also I have threatened to leave the country if the housecleaner isn’t hired back the second school starts. So there’s that.)

Mr. G is picking up the slack in so many ways. Although its less sexy than emptying the dishwasher…he is doing a great job of documenting our summer fun. Pictures soon to come. In the meantime, here’s some stuff you might like to know:

Sweet Pea has spent the last few months becoming a world class athlete and scholar. She can now swim the full length of the pool, serve a tennis ball, hit a golf ball straight, kick a soccer ball, cross the monkey bars and…most importantly…READ.

She’s in a summer reading program - courtesy of Aunt Sue, the recently retired second grade teacher – and she’s making great strides. We were so lucky to have the first grade teacher and reading staff that we had. They got everything clicking and really lit a fire in her. This summer has been about working out some kinks. I know she’s going to have a great second grade year.

And speaking of…we’re off to a new school. As bittersweet as that decision was, we felt like we had to take advantage of the free tuition for catholic school that came with my new job. I’ve chatted with her teacher, made friends with a couple of new moms and tapped into the network of cool families we already know at St. New School. There are two uniforms hanging in her closet. I guess we’re ready! It’s going to be a big adjustment in terms of logistics and volunteer expectations. But I think it will be good. And when I think of the big picture, the fact that her school will also be part of her faith, I get a little misty eyed.

Will is absolutely hilarious right now. And also three, which means maddening. Mr. G calls him the Sour Patch kid. First he’s sour, then he’s sweet. He is so grown up suddenly. Of course I get a little sentimental about my baby getting independent. But mostly its fantastic! We can do so many big kid things now. Golfing, hiking, movies, restaurants…I love my little foursome.

We have discovered that Will has no volume control. Is that a 3 year old thing? He shouts All. The. Time. OMg, I’m not even exaggerating. By the end of the day he’s hoarse. Every day! I hope he grows out of it. If not, he’s going to be that loud guy. The good news is, the stuff he shouts is generally brilliant and really funny. He also randomly tells me how much he loves me and begs for butterfly kisses and lullabies. I’ll keep him.

I kept those babies up late last night so that they could roast marshmellows and hike around in the woods with headlamps on. They have been sleeping soundly, but I think I hear some rustling. I suppose that means it’s time to sign off for now. But since I’m on day three of my Southern Idaho Staycation, I’ll post more soon. Otherwise, it might be Thanksgivng break before you hear from me again…

A few summer snaps. Taken on my new fancy iphone and "Instagrammed." I <3 that app!

Froggy Friend

The famous Packer John's Cabin

Sailboats on Payette Lake

Tubers on Payette Lake

Will and Brennan feel the need for speed!

Sweet Pea's "Bird"

Flowers in my yard.

Summer is here!

He does everything with gusto.

At the park with Miss S., our summer Mary Poppins

Another baby tooth bites the dust.

Big, BIG rock.

Hiking the Goose Creek trail.

~Clover

2011-04-06T09:16:00.002-07:00

Me: I love you Will!

Will: I love you too Mommy!

Me: I fuzzy pickle you Will!

Will: I fuzzy pickle you too Mommy!

Me: I mugga mugga you Will!

Will: I mugga mugga you too Mommy!

Me: I schnozle de doop you Will!

Will: I schnozle do doop you too Mommy!

Me: I piney tree you Will!

Will: I piney tree you too Mommy!

Mr. G: I dirty snow you Will!

Will: Whatever.

~Clover

2011-04-03T11:48:00.004-07:00

Friday when Sweet Pea woke up I told her to hurry and get dressed for School quickly because I had just gotten an email saying that the school district had decided to end Spring Break one day early. Before I could shout “April Fools” she burst into tears.

I am SO good at this mom thing.

Will was just as gullible and even less fun to trick, because he totally didn’t get it He spent the whole morning confused about why Mommy would say there was snow when clearly there wasn’t. Le sigh. There’s always next year.

But April 1st is more than just a day create sadness and mistrust in the children at our house. It also happens to be my Un-Birthday. What’s that you say? Well, an Un-Birthday is an anniversary of your adoption date. And because I am a spoiled rotten princess, my Mommy gives me presents on my Un-Birthday. My children, having arrived into our family in the traditional way, are just a wee bit jealous of my Un-Birthday.

So I guess it is just a day to crush your kids’ spirits.

Moving on…

I think it’s kind of funny that my mom gives me treats on my Un-Birthday. It really should be more of a celebration of her. After all, it’s the day she became a Mommy! I usually get her flowers or something. But this year I was a schlep. Ironically, on a year when she was in top form. Because I got a Benjamin with a note that said it was ALL for ME. Woohoo!! And to the mall I went!

My mom has been pretty instrumental in helping me build back a professional wardrobe since the first of the year. Stay at home Mom-dom didn’t involve a lot of high fashion. Unless yoga pants are high fashion. No? Ok. Well then you can see my predicament.

Here’s what I have learned over the last couple of months as it relates to shopping: It’s not just that I am a total cheapskate. Women’s clothing is absolutely ridiculously priced. But the good news is that if you shop smart you can get cute clothes for roughly the equivalent of all the cash you got for Christmas and your birthday. Or, um…Un-Birthday.

I figure that between Christmas and today, I’ve spent about $600 overhauling my closet. I have really had to start from scratch because of my post pregnancy weight fluctuations. (Yay me! I’m 3 sizes smaller than I was last time I had a job!) Even though I work in a school, it’s a school with a dress code. Business casual can’t be too casual or you’ll be outclassed by 15 year olds. So you can imagine just how much I’ve had to buy with only $600. I think I’ve done really well. Here’s my tally…

3 pairs of shoes
5 pairs of pants
3 dresses
15 tops
1 belt
1 purse
3 pairs of earrings

I’m pretty big on quality too. It has to hang right, be comfortable and not fall apart. That seems like a reasonable set of standards for a wardrobe. But I absolutely refuse to pay crazy retail prices for my clothes. Not happenging. $60 for a t-shirt? No thanks J Crew. $85 for some Capri pants. Forget it Ann Taylor. Anthropologie…I don’t even know where to begin with you. At least GAP and Ann have decent sales. And I do shop the sale racks in those places. Ann Taylor Loft is one of my favorites.

I am a huge fan of outlet stores. (Uh…that’s about 60% of my motivation to go to Vegas. Black White Market Outlet - Winning!!) We live near an outlet mall that has Eddie Bauer, Bass and Van Huesen stores. And there’s a Ross up the street from me. Now, I know that I’m probably never going to be voted a fashion icon or anything. But I think I look good enough to be spared an appearance on What Not to Wear at the very least. My shopping trip on Friday even netted me some cute finds that aren’t straight out of the Preppy Handbook. For example - White capri’s (I.N.C. - $7.99 at Ross) a beautiful purple tank with silver detailing ($6.99 at Ross) and a pretty black wrap sweater ($12.00 at JC Penny). I’ve already got the cute silver kitten heels to finish off the outfit.

The trick to shopping at Ross is time. You really have to be able to go in there and try on about 3 times more than you are going to leave with. Taking my children on a Ross mission is impossible. Ross requires a solo afternoon. And an attitude conducive to treasure hunting. Sometimes I just can’t get into that. C’est la vie.

The outlet stores are slightly less daunting. The trick there is to 1) Understand which outlet stores are really outlets and which ones aren’t actually offering you any kind of sale pricing. (That’s right GAP, I’m looking at you.) 2) Sign up for their rewards programs, and 3)Pay attention to their sale emails. My shopping trip to Bass in December cost me about $250. But my savings from original prices was more than $500. My reward points from that trip earned me a $30 gift card that I used to buy my new silver purse and two pars of earrings – all of which were marked down .

The thing about those stores is that once you’ve been on a shopping spree there, you can probably skip going back until the season changes. They don’t seem to rotate their inventory more often than that. I’ve bought all I’m going to buy of fall/winter clearance. I won’t go back in there until mid summer when their shorts and sandals are on sale.

Given my penny pinching..or is it “smart shopping” ways…I realize that I sort of have some price points in my head that guide me. I can think of a handful of my friends who would die a thousand deaths before subscribing to my thresholds. But that’s fine with me. As long as there are fashoinistas willing to pay for couture, there will be clearance racks, outlet stores, and consignment shops for tightwads like me. That said, here are the prices I’m willing to consider for clothes and accessories that I love. (These are “up to” prices.)

Shoes - $30 - $50 for real leather and quality brands
Athletic shoes are different. I’ll pay $75 - $100 for a good pair of running shoes.
Pants and skirts- $40
Jeans - $70 or basically as cheap as I can get my favorite GAP jeans. When they fit, they fit.
Suits and suit dresses - $80
Jackets - $30
Tops/Sweaters - $25

Anything above that and I usually won’t even try it on. At my favorite haunts I can generally get pants for less than $20, tops for around $12, and shoes for $25 at the most. I don’t think my DNA would allow me to pay more than $20 for a purse or $10 for earrings.

A few more of my favorite places to look for treasures are:
Wal Mart – Danskin athletic clothes and t-shirts, Geranimals for the kids, OP swimwear for the kids, and their store brand kids’ cotton jammies are only $5.00. Bargain!
Shopko – flip flops, purses, Peanut and Ollie brand little boys clothes, kids shoes
Dress Barn Outlet Store – (Really? What were they smoking when they named this store??) I’ve found some nice cotton sweaters here, but you do have to really watch the quality
Maurices – their sale racks often have nice casual separates, but sometimes I think their more professional line is cheaply made.
Crazy 8’s – This is my new absolute favorite kids clothing store. I stick to the sale racks, and make sure to earn their $20 bonus certificates that can be applied to a future purchase of $40 or more. The jeans are every bit as quality as GAP Kids and often go on sale for around $12 a pair.
DSW – if we get a DSW in Boise I will have died and gone to heaven
Marshals – this is a great place to find cocktail dresses and the shoes that go with them
Old Navy – shorts and 100% cotton things
JC Penny - Maternity, girls sundresses, shoes, purses and sunglasses

I am often complimented on my clothes. And I’m even more frequently asked about how I keep my family on a tight budget. Now you know one piece of the puzzle.

~Clover

2011-03-29T09:55:00.003-07:00

Ok. It’s day two of Spring Break week, and I’m officially feeling better about things. Not out and out cheerful or anything. But better.

It’s still stupid cold here. And grey. Pretty dreary really. But I heard a rumor that it might actually get warm and quit snow/rain/slushing by the end of the week. Just in time for us to run off to the mountains. (Where they got 10 inches of new snow this weekend. Woo.)

We had a busy day yesterday with haircuts and errand running. I planned the week’s menu and got the groceries for it. I figure if nothing else, we will eat well this week. And a lot healthier and cheaper than if we were on a big fancy Disney cruise ship, or at some chi chi Mexican resort. Sniff. Sniff.

Anyway…moving on.

I’m laughing and laughing and laughing at myself over a recent little crafty problem solver I came up with. The problem was that every time I tried to pull a necklace out of my jewelry box I ended up with a tangled mass of chains. That's not ever a good thing if you are a gold chain. It is especially irritating if you are a mom of two trying to get to work at a reasonable hour. So I decided that it was well within my capabilities to come up with a solution to this problem. And the good news is that this is a function over form issue. The only person who has to look at it is me. Well. Ok. Mr. G. has to look at it too. But this is the guy who…Ok. I’m just not even going to go there this morning. Let’s just say he doesn’t always notice when things aren’t Just So.

Admittedly, I didn’t give this a ton of thought. It went sort of like this…”What can I hang necklaces on? Hey! These are cute!” And voila, I bought floral print potholders at the dollar store. I know, right. Function over form people. Next I sewed some pearly buttons on them and hung them up.

You know what, they work! And I’ll be damned if they don’t look just exactly like something my grandmother would have come up with. I seriously channeled my inner Ethel Baby on that one. She would love them. In fact I can hear her laughing with me every time I walk into my closet and see them hanging there. The only thing that would have made them more authentic is a wooden clothespin somehow being part of the mix. I might add that just for effect.

~Clover

2011-03-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

Do you want to know what? I have never, not ever, not one single time been on a Spring Break Trip. Ok. Well. Once when I was in college I decided that instead of sitting in rainy cold gloomy Boise for Spring Break I would rather sit in rainy, cold, gloomy Seattle. So I went up there and stayed with my aunties and (then) little cousins. I’m sure it was delightful in its own right. But at the same exact time that I was rusting in the PNW just about all of my friends – including my (then) boyfriend were hanging out on a houseboat on Lake Havasu, AZ for MTV’s Spring Break Party. Every now and again I would catch a glimpse of them on the teevee and feel just about how I feel right now. Grouchy. And Pouty. And hateful.

I have never been one for being the bigger person it seems.

Plus, when I got back to my beloved and yet even colder and gloomier and drearier than Seattle college town, I found out that my (then) boyfriend spent the entire trip cheating on me. Again.

Yay.

I think I have chronic Spring Break Depression. Poor me, right? The world is going to hell in a hand basket around us, and I’m pouty about umbrella drinks and cocoa butter. The good news is I don’t expect sympathy. In fact, I’d rather that we just not talk about it at all thankyouverymuch.

Don’t be surprised if I don’t look at your vacation pictures. In fact if you insist on spreading your stupid sunshine all over Facebook you just might want to brace yourself for a snarky comment or two from me. Ok. Not really. But in my head I’m totally flipping you and your cabana boy off.

~Clover

2011-03-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know who wrote this, but it sums up how I feel perfectly.
~Clover

Education Reform Begins at Home

Imagine it's the end of the marking period, but instead of a parent teacher conference to discuss your child's academic progress, the meeting's agenda is to assess your skills and participation as a parent?
Do you adequately supervise your child's homework? Do you assure he has a healthy breakfast and lunch each day and check to see that his gym clothes are always packed in his backpack? Are you responsive to his teacher's questions and concerns? Do you read the schools' weekly newsletter? Volunteer for playground duty? Sign permission slips on time?

Suppose that the end of the marking period assessed not only your child's performance in school, but yours as well? That's the goal of some politicians, administrators and teachers. I have to confess, it's an idea that has some merit.
Parents and teachers should be on the same team

Most of us recall a time when parents didn't question their children's teachers. If a teacher called home to discuss bad behavior or poor effort on the part of a student, his mom and dad were solidly in the teacher's corner – and if that student was you, you pretty much knew you were in big trouble.

That's not how it works these days. If a teacher calls home – something most of them avoid at all costs – they're likely to face an angry, suspicious, defensive parent who can't fathom that his or her child is capable of the behavior that prompted the call. It's typical for a teacher to hear, "Obviously, you've made a mistake. My son told me you would be calling but he wasn't involved. He told me so."

Rather than see themselves as allies working in the best interest of children, parents and teachers have too often become adversaries, pointing fingers and blaming each other for the failure of kids to behave appropriately and learn effectively.

My take? There's plenty of blame to go around. But since I'm a parent who believes first and foremost in taking full responsibility for the growth and development of my children, I think parents need to step up and admit a greater share of responsibility for the attitudes, actions and academic performance of their children.

We need to face facts: Teachers can only do so much. Given the limited amount of time each day to instruct their students in academic subjects, they ought not also be expected to instill manners, moral values, ethical standards, study habits and social skills.

Our schools are not responsible for the instruction of our children – we are. We choose and use schools to help us accomplish this vital mission. But to lay the responsibility for our kids on a public or private school system is to fundamentally misunderstand the role of parents in the development and education of our children.

Call a team meeting

When my kids were younger, I made a point of chatting informally with their teachers, with my children present. The purpose of these casual conversations was to reassure their teachers that I was there to support them in their dealings with my children. In short: I let them know I was on "their side."

Typically, it went something like this, "Mrs. K, I've reminded Amy that you and I are on the same team. She's welcome to join our team, but she knows that you and I are working together to help her through the coming school year."

Speaking in parent/teacher code language, I let my children's teacher know that a phone call, note or email to me about my children would prompt a supportive response. I'd be holding my kids accountable to behave in the manner their teachers demanded and expected, and I wouldn't be running in to defend my kids' poor behavior or accuse the teachers of misjudging them.

Talk about a great strategy! When they feel supported, teachers are naturally more willing to take the time and effort to help kids succeed. And when they believe they won't be assailed, blamed, accused or maligned by parents, they're more candid, more caring and more connected.

What's the goal, anyway?

We all want our kids to grow up to be responsible, caring, well educated citizens who are prepared to make positive contributions to their communities and the nation we all hold dear. That's the ultimate goal!

But we need to take stock of our style as parent-educators. We can't rely on the schools to teach the things we should be imparting in our homes. And we can't be so quick to defend our children that we undermine their respect for their teachers and administrators.

Statistics show our schools are in crisis. They aren't educating our kids as we expect, or as our children deserve.

Teachers aren't perfect, and some are in over their heads. Who better to support them and solve the problems facing our schools than America's moms and dads?

2011-02-15T22:55:00.002-07:00

Dear Summer,
We miss you. Please come back!

~Clover

2011-02-08T22:19:00.002-07:00

I realized today that I spend what is probably an inordinate amount of time trying to decide if I have totally lost my mind.

I also came to the conclusion that because I wonder about that, it probably means I haven’t tipped the scales just yet. I mean, crazy people don’t ever think they are crazy. Right?

Right?

I’m not sure exactly why this is a concern of mine. I decided long ago that a nice little mental breakdown might not be such a bad thing. Spend a few weeks hanging out in my jammies at a nice place that serves jello and has lots of crafts…As long as insanity looks like it did in that movie KPAX you can sign me up.

I have a feeling that’s not how it would go down for me though. I think it might be more of the “showing up to a society function wearing pearls and a bathrobe” variety. Or a murderous rampage over wrinkly table linens and botched catering.

You know how I like to put on a show.

I do hope that if its age that robs me of my mental capacity, I can become one of those smiley happy old ladies who thinks she’s a high school cheerleader or something equally cheerful. My grandmother, in her final years, took me on a tour of the facility where she was living and told me with great respect and admiration that her mother had picked out all of the beautiful fixtures. Even at the very end, when she rarely spoke, the staff and residents said she was a joy and delight to be around.

I can’t remember what it was that I had to examine for hints of madness earlier today. Whatever it was, it passed the crazy test. (Or did it fail the crazy test and pass the sanity test? Hmm. There’s another 10 minutes of thought I’m not getting back.)

I suppose for now, I’ll have to settle for being deliciously eccentric.

~Clover

2011-01-25T22:51:00.005-07:00

Remember those pictures I posted in September of the gigantic hole in my family room ceiling? Well, this post is all about the silver lining to that gigantic craptastic gray cloud.

Apparently, the fastest and least expensive way to get a new floor in your master bathroom is to have the toilet leak slowly into the sub floor for a while. The demo work happened amazingly fast. And then my insurance company gladly put new tile in for us. Gorgeous new tile. Big gray squares with a white pebble border around the tub and shower. So pretty.

(Um. Yeah...I forgot to take pictures of the floor. But I will. Just not now, because my laptop is being really lame. And I am quite sure that if I try to mess around in Photoshop any more tonight I am just taunting the blue screen of death into paying me a visit.)

Where was I? Oh, right...my beautiful, beautiful, beautiful new floor. It really is so lovely. And I am not just saying that because of the stained white carpet it replaced. Yes. You read that right. Somebody thought that it was a good idea to put carpet in the bathroom. WHITE carpet. And I am pretty sure that at one time it was really nice, expensive white carpet. It's wall to wall here actually. Clearly, there were no pets or children at this address before we moved in. Clearly. At this point, we are just waiting for all that formerly white carpet to spontaneously combust.

But back to my pretty bathroom. Once the (beautiful) new floor was in, the other parts of the very dated bathroom started to look even more 1991 ghetto. And then, as if in answer to my prayers, the white tile countertops began to crumble right apart. You would be brushing your teeth, and if you leaned against the countertop a tile would just come right off.

In addition to being super tacky, I deemed this to be quite dangerous and immediately started researching our options. As it turns out, a piece of remnant granite and in depth knowledge of Overstock.com can turn you into the next HGTV do it yourself star.

We had the granite installed professionally. But Mr. G and I did the rest ourselves. Mostly that involved some basic plumbing. But there was also an awful lot of silver paint involved. We still plan to put a glass tile backsplash up. But if we're being honest...I don't really care when that gets done. I'm just enjoying my fancy pants bathroom. Have a peek...

Incidentally, I have learned just how difficult it is to photograph a room. I now have a lot more respect for those guys over at Architectural Digest.

My shiny "new" vanity. Love. Love. Love. Even the little knobs are cool. Love. Le sigh.

And the rehabed medicine cabinet. Seriously, you can't even believe how ugly that thing was pre paint and new cabinet handles.

This is actually a candliere that I've had hanging there for years. But it looks so much better now that the rest of the bathroom isn't...well...ugly.

Ditto these towel hooks. I despise towel bars. Especially right next to the shower. Not functional at all. So I always rip them out and put hooks in. Now my hooks look kind of spa-ish. Says me.

Um. These towel bars don't count. First of all, they are pretty. And second, they are not intended to do anything except hold the towels that no one is allowed to use. Deckrashuns. As Will likes to call those kinds of things.

My vision for the master suite was always kind of a Caribbean feel. In the bedroom the walls are a bright green, and there are french doors that let in a ton of light. Then you go into the bathroom with its two big windows and the effect is quite summery. The cheery blue paint with the white towels and white starfish makes me feel like I'm on an island, even in January.

There are still a few things I would like to do in this room. New mirrors with big silver frames. And a new light fixture, specifically. And then we move on to the dreadful downstairs bathroom. I've been inspired by some of the wallpaper on the Nest Interiors blog. I don't have any black walls in my house yet...

When do I get my own TV show?

~Clover

2011-01-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

I am just going to go ahead and blame my lack of posting on whatever this viral ickyness that has invaded my system turns out to be. In fact, I think I’ll just whine about that in general for a few more days. And then I will get back to posting a whole lot of stuff. Specifically, a rant I have been thinking about involving healthcare. A new art mom project and my idea for my very own art mom blog. And maybe a list of stuff you can send me for my upcoming birthday. Expensive stuff. You should start saving now.
Until then…

I have just learned that some girlfriends of mine, and a few girlfriends of theirs, just started a blog. It looks pretty promising. You should check it out.

The Idaho 8

Alrighty then. Back to consuming mass quantities of Vitamin C and Echinacea. Ugh.
~Clover

2011-01-13T23:18:00.001-07:00

We had a parent teacher conference last night that has me…I don’t know. Questioning.

I think I’ve mentioned that Sweet Pea seems to be struggling with her reading. This was first addressed in Kindergarten, and continues to be something we are working on in 1st grade. I am feeling really good about the teachers we have on our team. I think everyone is on board with helping out my girl, with the number one goal being building her confidence and keeping her a bright, smiling, happy student. Which, thankfully, is exactly what she is right now.

So, here’s the part that is tough for me to sort through. Sweet Pea is probably only registering as a below average reader because she’s in a very above average school. We have been told by 2 reading specialists who are very close to our situation that in an average school she would be an average kid.

So. Um. Are we in the wrong school? Is that a crazy thought to have? Here we are, lucky enough to have a public neighborhood school that is AMAZING. AMAZING I tell you. So awesome. But is it too awesome?

It’s not like we cheated on an entrance exam. This is just a public school. It’s in a part of town that draws from some pretty upscale neighborhoods. (Uh, yes. I live in what we call the South East End Ghetto. No gate on my culdesac.) But rich kids are not automatically smart kids. So how that factors in, I’m not sure. But you know it does. I mean, duh. Lots of kids with very fancy preschool pedigrees. Tutors. And parents who have IQ’s that support their 6 figure incomes. (Mostly in technology, I’m guessing. Given the area employers.)

So there you go. Smart kids who have parents with a lot of resources. And voila, we have a really high functioning school. So my very normally functioning kid is coming across as low.

NOT THAT HER TEACHER HAS LABELED HER AS SUCH. That’s an important point to make. Her teacher gets all this, she’s the one explaining it to me. Again, her big concern is helping Sweet Pea feel more comfortable with her reading skills before she gets frustrated at being less adept at this than her peers. It’s not like she doesn’t notice either. We’re stumbling through the equivalent of Cat in the Hat and there are kids in her class reading Harry Potter.

You think I’m joking. Don’t you? Well. I’m not.

So what is a mom who has recently added “full time job” to her to-do list supposed to do? We have been armed with an arsenal of reading activities that are so fun my kids will be tricked into thinking they are playing. (Shhh…) I can’t wait to get started. But when the H-E-double hockey sticks am I gonna do that?? And let’s not forget that my girl is at school until 4:00 as it is. (And now afterschool care until 5:30.) She is so tired when we get home at night I can barely get dinner in her.

If someone has the magic answer, I’m listening.

~Clover

P.S. Parenting is hard on your heart.

2011-01-09T10:44:00.003-07:00

I just finished a little housekeeping around here. I made some updates to my blogrolls. I've added some really fantastic sites. Most are friends and family blogs that I am excited to learn exist! And there are also a few new sites in the "Inspiration" column. These are blogs I visit for art and food ideas. Lots of good stuff there. Please give them a looksee!

More from me later about a few home improvement projects we've completed around here.

I'd tell you about that now, but there is a yellow lab who is very determined to get up in my lap for a belly scratch. Princess Irie Dog always gets her way...

~Clover

2011-01-06T22:35:00.008-07:00

Some pictures from our North Pole Express train ride along senic Highway 55 in Idaho. It was a winter wonderland all the way to the North Pole. And the kids were thrilled when Santa joined us on the ride back to Horseshoe Bend.

A fantastic adventure! We hope to make it an annual tradition. (Thanks Bompa!)

2011-01-01T15:00:00.001-07:00

The other night I was talking with some of my girls about the lovely Sheila the psychic. You may remember that in a moment of desperation two years ago I consulted her about finding some lost keys.

Well, after she helped me find my keys we had a little psychic party at my house. About 6 of my girlfriends came over and Sheila did mini readings for them. Everyone left feeling quite happy about what she told them. (Psychic Sheila’s Suga Shack on Facebook, if you’re interested.)

My reading was, in retrospect, really awesome. It happened just a couple of weeks after I made the switch to stay at home mom two years ago. I was still kind of freaking out about how all that was going to work, and Sheila said exactly what I needed to hear. Quit living in your mind and start living your life. Be in the moment…

I had all these plans for launching a my little crafty business while I was home with the kids. Etsy, craft fairs, etc. It never happened, and I never really worried about it. I was too busy enjoying my time with my kids.

Sheila told me then that my time at home would be fleeting. She said that in just a year or so I would be back doing work for a non-profit. Planning parties and working with people.

I forgot she said that. Completely erased it from my mind. Until Scarlett and I were talking about her after Christmas dinner. (And also my mom, my mother in law, and my aunt in law. What fun girls in my family!!)

I start that new job on Monday. Alumni relations for a private high school. Wow.

~Clover

2010-12-31T13:26:00.001-07:00

Today is really freaking me out.

I keep remembering the day in grade school – I think 6th grade in Mr. Coe’s class at Garfield Elementary – when we figured out how old we would be at the turn of the century. My exemplary 6th grade math skillz told me that on January 1st, 2000, I would be 26 years old. Man. That seemed O.L.D. Ancient. Out of college and stuff.

I don’t remember what I imagined my life to be like at the decrepit old age of 26. But I do remember my heart stopping briefly as I thought about myself aging…really aging…for the first time.

When it was finally time to party like it was 1999 I was, of course, flabbergasted that 26 year old me had arrived on the scene so quickly. I think I spent a lot of time reminiscing about 6th grade me on that day too.

On the Eve of Y2K everyone was excited for history in the making, and nervous about the possibility of worldwide pandemonium. I was pissed about feeling completely underdressed. I made Mr. G. drive me all the way across town in a snowstorm so I could change clothes. Heh. I can’t imagine being able to upend our entire evening on a whim now.

I know that if we had dedicated a moment of thought that night to things beyond “The Perfect Cocktail to Toast the New Year,” we would have realized that the next decade would be the most important of our lives. But we were newlyweds in formal attire that had a party to attend with a couple thousand of our closest friends.

And here we are. That entire decade is over. I’m now 36. Which merely the thought of would probably have sent 12 year old me into some kind of depression. Of course I realize that 36 isn’t old. I might have a few creaks in my knees. A couple of very charming smile lines around my eyes. Some grey hairs. And let’s not even talk about the effects of gravity on the girls…But you know what? I feel fantastic. I’m quite possibly in the best shape of my life. And HELLO. I am damn cute! Not even in that “for a mom” kind of way. So there.

So many things have happened over the course of the last 10 years that will shape the rest of our lives. Mr. G started our business. We moved into our “forever house” and bought our little mountain escape. Most importantly, we became parents. 6th grade Clover probably wanted to be a mom someday. 26 year old Clover was wondering when it might feel like the right time for “someday” to arrive. Thirty-six year old Clover can’t imagine how we ever stumbled through the world without our kids to teach us about love and laughter and really living.

Tonight we start a whole new decade. When it ends I will be the mother of a 16 and 13 year old. Honestly, I can’t even imagine what that will look like. I just know it’s going to get here a whole lot faster than we want it to.

Happy New Year!
~Clover

2010-12-30T14:00:00.001-07:00

Mr. G found this picture of Sweet William on his computer yesterday. Every time I look at it, it takes my breath away.

~Clover

2010-12-29T23:00:00.002-07:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Ours was pretty fantastic. The whole month of December was in fact. We made a lot of cookies. We went Christmas Caroling in our neighborhood. I made the kids drive around and look at an obscene amount of Christmas lights. And we made it to church on Christmas Eve this year. Which you wouldn’t think would be difficult since that’s the only time a lot of people make it to church. But…with the party hopping we do so that we can spend time with all of our family, it’s been tough make it to mass.

We’ve learned a thing or two at Casa Del Clover this holiday season. Thing number one is that 4th quarter is a little Scroogey for our family business. It took us three years to figure out that little seasonal slump. But now we get it. And we’ll be moving through 2011 with that in mind.

The second, and most important thing that we learned is that thing number one doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas cheer. We cut way back on the amount of gifts we purchased this year, the number of people we purchased for, and the amount we spent overall. And it didn’t even matter. Not one bit. There were still squeals and smiles and lots of ripped paper on Christmas morning. (That’s right. I channeled my grandmother and wrapped boxes of sugar cereal. I worried that it would be ghetto. They LOVED it.)

Phew! I guess it doesn’t matter how many Hallmark movies you watch, sometimes you just have to learn life’s lessons firsthand.

Incidentally, part of the reason that our kids didn’t have to worry about whether or not Santa was coming down the chimney is because they have grandparents who spoil them rotten. So please don’t misunderstand our reigned in spending for a minimalist holiday. We are good people. But we aren’t Saints. I would love to tell you that our little family got through the holidays on love and baked goods. But there was an awful lot of Mattel and electronics up in here. C’est la vie. And thank God for the abundance we are blessed with here at Casa Del Clover. I know that many aren’t so lucky.

Kids being kids and all, mine were pretty caught up in the Santa-ness of the season this year. Sweet Pea wrote approximately 84,000 letters to Santa. She eagerly climbed up on his lap to tell him her hearts desires. And she wrote him a love note to leave with his plate of cookies. Will was more skeptical of his face to face encounter with the big guy. He didn’t mutter a single syllable while he was sitting on his lap. But he did smile. And he didn’t scream, cry, or even flinch. Progress!

I think the big difference is that Sweet Pea thinks of Santa as a jolly old elf with a big sack of toys. Will sees him more as a prosecuting attorney. He kept singing the lyrics to “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in a tone that suggested he was checking his rule book. He must have told me a million times that he did NOT want rocks for Christmas. On Sunday he informed me in a relieved voice that “Santa isn’t watching me anymore.” (My loss. Clearly.)

It’s Ok though. I have no doubts that he’ll be able to afford the therapy he may someday need to help him get over his deep seeded fear of Santa. Besides, that made room in his heart for his number one favorite person this Christmas season - Baby Jesus himself! It seems to be the trend when you’re three at our house. One adorable year of sweet and innocent Baby Jesus love before you get wise to the gift racket. And for the record, I will sing Away in a Manger as many times as they ask.

Bittersweet.

The dismantling of Christmas is slowly beginning here. I start my new job on Monday, and the thought of my house looking like a corner of the North Pole all next week is making me stabby. But I still have some pictures to share, so Clover might be holly jolly for a while longer. This Christmas was fabulous and I want to remember it through the eyes of my 3 and 6 year old kiddos. I have a sneaking suspicion that next year won’t be quite the same.

~Clover

2010-12-27T11:15:00.001-07:00

I have been dying to share my latest photobook creation. But since it was a Christmas present for my FIL, I had to wait. These are pictures from our trip to the cabin at Dworshak this summer. Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book.

~Clover

2010-12-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope your Christmas is full of love, joy and abundant blessings.

~Clover and Crew

2010-12-24T23:32:00.003-07:00

Allow me to be Queen Obvious here for just a second and say, December has been a crazy busy month. We have been decking the halls, making merry and all kinds of other fa la la la la-ing. I have even been taking some fun pictures of all our snowy holiday adventures. But I haven't had two seconds to sit down and type. (Or play in Photoshop, and quite frankly that's the really important part.)

So I will just take a moment to tell you that I got that job I was going on and on about a few posts ago. I start January 3rd. And while I am excited about the job, I am fa-reak-ing out about the whole "leaving my house and children on a daily basis in clothing other than yoga pants" aspect of it. More on that once we get rolling, I'm sure. Much more in fact. Bear with me.

Once the mad mele is over here - next week, I'm guessing - I am hoping to have time to edit all the pictures I took on our Polar Express train ride along Idaho's scenic Highway 55. It was gorgeous, and of course a total dream come true for my Santa and train obsessed children.

For now, I leave you with this:

My sister-in-law Scarlet's near professional quality Christmas cookie decorating.

And mine:

In all fairness, this was by FAR the worst one. And I had clearly just given up at this point. But really. My 3 year old did better than this...

Ho Ho Ho
~Clover

2010-12-01T09:40:00.003-07:00

It's a snow day!! It's a snow day!! It's a snow day!!

We have had the weirdest weather lately. Although, if I think about it, it's only weird because of how retro-normal it is.

First October was really warm and sunny. And then the second half of November was cold, cold, cold and snowy. We're kicking off December with almost a foot of snow on the ground. Remnicient of my childhood. But unusual for the last few years.

Poor Mr. G had to go buy a new snow shovel this morning because our wimpy one couldn't handle the driveway. And after an hour of hard labor out there, you can hardly tell he shoveled.

The kids and I have big plans to get the house ready for full blown Christmas decorating to commence. (Sorry honey. We are ignoring the "no Christmas until after your birthday" rule this year.) And we might bake cookies.

I'm also thinking about starting on my birthday treat for Mr. G's birthday dinner on Saturday. (If you're going to be in McCall, come on over!) I'm making red velvet cake balls a la Bakerella. Should be yummy.

Remembering to enjoy the unexpected today...

~Clover

2010-11-16T16:52:00.001-07:00

Lessons in Leaves

Don’t look too proudly on all you have accomplished. A gust of wind will scatter your efforts.

In a whirlwind some chose to dance on the edges and others jump right into the vortex.

There is beauty in dying.

Hidden beneath a beautiful exterior may lie a pile of poo.

To one it is a heap of work. To another it is an autumn igloo.

Even when the bag seems full, more can fit in.

Curse not your neighbor’s tree. It drops leaves indiscriminately.

There is no end to your raking.

~Zen Clover

2010-11-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

I’ve spent the last two weeks engaged in a humbling and yet empowering exercise…updating my resume.

Let’s start with the why. Just in case you haven’t spent 30 seconds in my physical presence recently and therefore haven’t had to hear me and the constant narration of the voices in my head. As it happens, there is a job opening at my high school for an Alumni Programs Manager.

I know, right? When I left the university to go back into the marketing world I was pretty sure that part of my career was over. I always attributed at least a portion of my passion for the advancement field to my passion for my Alma Matter. I feel pretty confident that the door is open if I ever wanted to return there, but unlike a lot of advancement folks I don’t have any interest in university hopping. I want to stay in Boise. And as much as I’m trying to get on board the “lets all be friends” bandwagon, I don’t really want to go work for Boise State. I guess I figured that ship had sailed.

But now my other Alma Matter needs someone who can do, well, everything I can do. I have to throw my name in that hat!

Of course I am incredibly nervous about reentering the world of grown ups. If I am the successful candidate I am going to have to go shopping for something other than yoga pants. Actually, I might have to do that just to get through the interview…

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First you have to write a resume, right? I dug mine out and realized that it’s been almost 11 years since I’ve applied for a job. In 1999, when I was hired at the University of Idaho I listed Outlook as a software in which I was proficient on my resume. And if I recall, that was a gold star in the interview.

Heh.

Heheheheheh.

Starting the process of writing your resume is always a little like laying bare your soul. I never feel like its adequate much less impressive until I’ve made a huge jumbled list of responsibilities and started to organize them into a cohesive picture of who I am as a professional. Once I do that it’s like, whoa…I was good at that. I was really good at that. And I loved it. Plus, I’m so old now that my resume can legitimately be 2 pages long. It’s easier to cover 14 years of work experience when you aren’t limited to bullet points and 12 synonyms for “created.”

Mr. G and I have had a bunch of “what I want to be when I grow up” conversations over the last couple of years. I felt like my 2 years at home with the kids left me so far in the dust where technology and marketing were concerned. (He never agreed.) It seemed to me like the thing I was best at in the whole wide world was so specific and niche that it would never be useful again. (Well, yes. I can make custom designed nametags and table cards in less than 30 seconds. Why do you ask? Facebook? Facebook is my playground. Of course I have the phone number to the convention center on speed dial…) I wouldn’t trade my time working with my hubby, or my time with my kids for anything. But I can’t say I haven’t worried that I gave up the job that was perfect for me.

Mr. G says he always knew another job would be perfect for me. Wouldn’t it be nice to always have everyone else’s confidence in you?

I’m not going to lie. My head swims when I think of going back to work before both kids are in school. But then Sweet William asks if he can go to preschool everyday. Or Sweet Pea says that she would like to do that afterschool program at her school. And I think, I can do this. I can ROCK THIS.

So wish me luck.
~Clover

2010-11-07T16:46:00.001-07:00

I’ll admit it. I’ve got a new obsession. Ok…Maybe new isn’t the right word. Maybe annual is better. It’s pumpkin. Pumpkin seeds, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin spice steamers, pumpkin candles, and pumpkins all over the house. I’m addicted. So the fact that I am getting little pumpkin muffin crumbs all over my keyboard right now shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

These muffins are so good. SO. Good.

Lucky you. I’m sharing the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease and flour a muffin pan, or use muffin cups.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons sour cream
½ cup water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix sugar oil and eggs
Add pumpkin, sour cream and water, mix well
In another bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder spices and salt
Add dry ingredients to wet and mix. Stir in chocolate chips

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.

This is supposed to yield 24 muffins, but we got 19 big ones.

~Clover

(Forgive the weird photo. My camera is still on vacation in Mr. G's office. My Blackberry isn't exactly professional quality.)

2010-11-06T09:01:00.002-07:00

Kind, Smart, Funny, Creative, Energetic, Thoughtful, Confident, Careful, Silly, Athletic, Talented, Caring, Serious, Focused, Intuitive, Joyful, Empathetic, Imaginative, Loyal, Trustworthy, Adorable.

Mine.

~Clover

2010-11-04T15:49:00.001-07:00

NO MORE POLITICAL ADS!!! WOOHOOOO!!! It’s over! It’s done…for now. But hey, lets live in the moment. For right now, it’s over. I honestly think that if I watched another crappy commercial accusing someone of stabbing babies my head would flat out explode. And the amount of glossy cardstock that was going straight from mailbox to my recycling bin was obscene. A forest worth of unread postcards. It’s sad really.

I’m mostly Ok with the results of the election here in Hideyhoo. Quite frankly, I don’t have the energy to go into all the gory details. But in most cases I think the right guy or gal won. There’s a state legislative race that I think is still undecided, and I’m still hoping for my candidate to win that one. But the rest…I don’t know. I guess I’m a little apathetic about it all. Either the old regeime gets a second chance or a new batch of idiots gets to screw things up for a change.

Whatever. No more politicking for a while. Wheeeee!

I did learn that we need to have a little civics lesson at our house though. Sweet Pea has somehow mixed up democracy and horse racing. She came home from the mock election in her classroom just pleased as punch that she’d picked the winner.

It’s only first grade. I’ll deal with that later.

~Clover

2010-10-31T14:55:00.000-07:00

2010-10-28T16:46:00.003-07:00

I’m starting to realize that the days when I feel like a total Rockstar Mommy are often the days when I have to do the least amount of actual parenting.

Fortunately for me, Sweet William is giving me a lot of opportunities to flex my Mommy muscles these days. I’m dropping into bed at night feeling as mean as Joan Crawford on a tequila bender, but oh…the parental wisdom I’m gaining.

In fact, just this week I’ve learned so many valuable lessons. Like, exactly how fast I can run in my high heeled boots. And how to get sharpie marker off of upholstery. Or how many toys actually fit into the box we use for possession purgatory, a.k.a. the “Gobble Box.” And my personal favorite, how to dismantle a locked bedroom door using a crowbar and a sledge hammer. (I don’t make this stuff up. Really. I don’t.)

All the parenting books will tell you that my 3 year old is “asserting his independence.” Which is true, of course. But it feels more like some medieval form of messing with my head. For instance, the other day I asked my sweet boy if he would like to go to his all time favorite place on the planet…Shopko*. He was exuberant in is affirmative reply.
“Great!’ says I. “Go and get your shoes off of that chair.” And so it begins. He can’t get the shoes. He won’t get the shoes. He forgot to get the shoes, he was distracted by something shiny on the way to the shoes, and then finally he emerges wearing shoes…but they are flip flops and it is practically snowing outside. So finally I just go get the damn shoes, and then we have a temper tantrum of monumental proportions because HE WANTED TO GET THEM. .

Riiiight.

Fourty five minutes later when we finally make it to the car, we do the same dance over getting into his car seat. And putting on his seatbelt. And, naturally, keeping the freaking shoes on his feet.

*Shopko has an entire section of Thomas the Train stuff. Enough said.

I know that anyone reading this right now is probably wondering why I don’t just pull the plug on the Shopko trip altogether. Right? You were being a tiny bit critical of my parenting just now…admit it. But here’s the deal. I really NEED to go to Shopko. At this point, I have been trying to go there for 4 days, and each day after a frighteningly similar scenario I have nixed it . I have used my best mom voice to say, “Aw, that’s too bad. I guess maybe tomorrow you’ll remember that if we make poor choices/dilly dally/don’t cooperate with Mommy we don’t get to go do fun things.” But now the situation is desperate. If we don’t go to Shopko I won’t have anything in the diaper family to wrap around his obstinate little bottom at bedtime. And since he decided - after 6 weeks of being 100% potty-trained - that he now can’t make it through the night with dry pants (Which is totally normal for a 3 year old, right? Totally normal?) pull-ups are not optional at this point. I have to go to Shopko.

It’s maddening. And I have tried a million different tactics ranging from trickery to bribery to get him to come willingly along. But I’m no match for him. The other day he was almost in tears because he had to pee so badly, but then he held it for an additional 20 minutes while he threw a fit about whether or not I would spin a toy top for him BEFORE he got on the potty. I offered to spin that top like a madwoman the entire time he sat on the John, but he narrowed his eyes to evil little slits and said, “You spin the top or I am NOT going to go pee pee.” He’s like a tiny villain with a hostage. It’s constant negotiation. And you can’t give in to that crap! Can you? CAN YOU? I find myself holding my ground about the most ridiculous of things lately.

I’ve had a lot of people tell me that my children’s stubbornness will serve them well when they are older. They won’t be pressured into trying things they don’t want to do. They won’t be bullied or pushed around. But I’m not entirely convinced it will work in my favor. What if they just end up being the kids doing the bullying and pressuring? Sweet Pea could talk her way out of a grand jury indictment. And Will is already answering to “Frank the Tank.”

I see this ending badly.

But then again, sometimes I don’t.

~Clover

2010-10-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Good times.
~Clover

2010-10-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Even if it weren't 10.10.10, today would still be a special day. Today is our "silk" anniversary. Which means 12 years. It also means I totally botched my anniversary gift for Mr. G. Sorry honey, I didn't get you a cravat.

I don't think there is any lack of schmoop around here. I may have even been told that I needed to "get a room" after that post about what a hottie Mr. G is. I've written about how hard he works to keep our little family in a constant state of bliss. I've posted a thousand pictures of the amazing family fun we have. You get it. He's awesome.

So instead of more of the lovey dovey stuff, I think I'll tell you something embarrassing. Maybe I could make a list of embarrassing stuff...Oh, that's a great idea. Ok, here goes:

We have a secret code in case either of us is ever body snatched or cloned by evil forces.

We stopped worrying about whether or not the bathroom door was shut years ago.

Sometimes we find each other dreadfully boring. Usually that happens when we are driving somewhere and he only wants to talk about work, and I only want to talk about kids. When that's the case, we sometimes play a driving game where you think of actual band names that could double as nasty STD's. Or alternately, where you make farty noises with your mouth and then name them things like, "The Sneak Attack" or "Unabomber."

Long ago...before we had children...I made him learn all the old Girl Scout Camp songs that I know. And he sings them with me in the car.

8th grade humor makes him giggle like a girl.

I accidentally gave him the same Valentines Day card 3 years in a row because I thought it was sassy and sexy. Something about how I like my Valentines like I like my martinis...dirty.

I buy him silly boxer shorts, and he wears them even though he gets embarrassed about them at the gym.

At his bachelor party he threw up on a stripper.

And he never thinks twice about being silly with me or the kids just for the sake of having fun and making memories.

I love you honey! I don't know who these old people are celebrating 12 years of marriage. But I'm glad you're still my boyfriend.

~Clover

2010-10-09T10:22:00.003-07:00

I spent a good part of yesterday being clever and crafty with Halloween treasures procured from the Dollar Store. And I would love to show you the results of my spooky spectacularness. But, alas, Mr. G has our camera in his office for some unknown reason. So you get nothing.

Grrr.

Well. Almost nothing. You get something. Something pretty fabulous actually. I found a new Blog and I heart it.

From Blah to Ta-Daa

The food looks amazing. I am dying to make the cocount shrimp. And one of these girlies lives in Maine, which has me in a tizzy of envy. So there you go. Read about their fabulousness and trust that I would be showing you mine if I had a camera. (Boo hiss!)

~Clover

2010-10-06T10:14:00.002-07:00

Will: "Mom...we have to be very quiet. Shhhhh..."

Me: "How come honey? We're outside, this is your chance to be as noisy as you want."

Will: "I know. But China might be right over there (pointing.) Or right over there..."

Me: "Um...?"

Will: "Or over there...or over there...or over there..."

Me. "Are you worried about waking up the people who are sleeping in China?"

Will: "Yes because it's nightnight time there right now."

And so our charmed life goes on at Casa Del Clover

~Clover

2010-10-01T13:46:00.002-07:00

Some of the reasons that you have pets is to teach your children about compassion and love and responsibility…and ultimately the circle of life. Right?

Well. The circle of life sucks. Wednesday night our kitty, Oreo, got attacked by some kind of animal in our yard. We aren’t sure what it was, possibly a raccoon. Anyway, whatever it was bit him badly and snapped his back leg. The only fix was a surgical procedure that would have cost $1,500. I wish that I could say we didn’t have to make decisions like this. But, well. We did. And so today with a lot of tears and an incredibly heavy heart I took Oreo to the vet and held his little head while he went to sleep forever.

Sometimes I think that I am a little bit emotionally detached. Like maybe I protect my heart by being funny or sarcastic or even just pragmatic. But not today. Today I am so, so, SO very sad.

I told Sweet Pea last night that there was a good chance Oreo couldn’t get well. I gave her some time to say goodbye to him. And this morning I even let her be a little late to school so she could give him one last snuggle. I’m not sure she totally understood though. And I am really dreading 3:45 today.

Right this second I am very sad. I am missing my sweet kitty, and feeling like I failed him by not keeping him inside. Or having pet insurance. Or even just having a lot of money to spend on poor little kitties who wrap you quickly around their little paws.

Oreo, you were a great kitty! You were sweet, and funny. Friendly and snuggly. And you made two kids very, very happy. I loved your comforting purr and the adorable little white stripe that ran across your bottom. I loved how you followed me around like you were a little fluffy dog. And I know that when you left dead things on the back step you did it because you wanted to show me that you loved me too. I’m glad you came into our lives, even if it was just for a very short while. I didn’t know I even liked cats before there was you, so thank you for purring your way into my heart. I promise if we ever get another kitten I won’t make the same mistakes. See you at that Rainbow Bridge!

~Clover

2010-09-25T09:59:00.003-07:00

Last Friday we packed up the kids and headed across town for what was billed as a "Balloon Glow" on the fairway at our golf course. We knew there would be at least one hot air balloon on display. We heard there would be food. We hoped there would be wine.

When we got there we were totally blown away. There were actually 6 balloons, and they were giving rides to the kids! It was absolutely amazing to watch not only the balloons, but the people who were operating them. It took several strong adults on each balloon to hold the lines and keep them from flying off into the wild blue yonder with our babies dangling beneath. And the heat that each balloon puts out is intense.

Sweet Pea was ready to hop inside the basket as soon as we walked onto the fairway. Will clung to my hand a little, but when I told him that only kids could go up he ditched me for his sister in a flash.

It was so cool to see my kids get to experience something that I have never been able to do. What an amazing life they are getting to live! We are so lucky.

I took some pics of course. This is my first time shooting in RAW, and since it was dusk the light was tricky. But I think these turned out pretty cool.

~Clover

2010-09-17T10:31:00.006-07:00

We had the honor of hosting a party in our backyard this week for the current Governor of Idaho, CL "Butch" Otter. Y'all know how I just loooove to throw a party. And giant holes in my ceiling be damned...we did this one up right.

I don't care who you are or how you vote, the fact that I live in a place where the Governor will come hang out in your backyard and talk to your friends is a pretty cool thing. Our government here is so accessible to the people it serves. It was a fun night with an interesting and thought provoking crowd. The food was absolutely outstanding, thanks to a couple of my foodie friends - Edward and Tim. And our house was looking pretty good. (That's how I get stuff done around here, doncha know. "Hey honey, lets have a party and invite all your friends and clients...")

Anyone wishing to live vicariously should take note of this absolutely outstanding menu…

Lentil Soup Shooters with Crème Freche
Crudites and Dip
Artisan Cheese Board
Curried Potato Wedges with Mango Chutney Dipping Sauce
Beef with Horseradish Crème
Kubota Pork Bites
Idaho Salmon with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

And of course for dessert…Lemon Chiffon Cupcakes

Uh. Yeah. It was awesome. All of the beef, pork, and fish, as well as the potatoes and lentils were Idaho products. The meats were donated to us from Snake River Farms, an Idaho company with exceptional products. I’m not even kidding, that stuff melts in your mouth. You can order online too…Yummy. And the beer was compliments of our friends at Stein Distributing. (Thank you!)

We had a great time! Can’t wait to do it again.

The Hosts with the Mosts

Me and Mr. G

Our friends and partners in partying, Eddie and Traci.

This boy can cook!

Color coordinated candy and slightly melty lemon chiffon cupcakes

Mr. G giving the intro and welcome.

My nephew Zach had the option of leaving and going with all the other kids to play, or staying to hear the grownups talk shop. He stayed, and he was mesmerized!

Governor Otter talks with his constituents...IN MY BACKYARD. Still cool.

One more reason I love Idaho.

~Clover

2010-09-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

Getting there...

2010-09-11T11:25:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

2010-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

And in other news...

Damnit.

~Clover

2010-09-07T22:02:00.003-07:00

R.I.P. Coco the prize fair fish. And also Coco #2, the look-alike replacement fish, purchased over the weekend to shield my kids from the horrors of death by our sweet neighbor and fish sitter Katina.

You were good fish. Very swimmy and all that.

Well. Ok, Coco was swimmy. Coco #2 didn't have much of a chance to prove himself. But we understand that he was under a lot of stress in the short time he was with us.

Sadly, there are no photographs of Coco. But there is this picture of Coco #2, taken just moments before he died of a heart attack.

You will be missed.

~Clover

2010-08-28T08:53:00.002-07:00

Mission “Begin First Grade” accomplished! Sweet Pea rocked her first week, albeit a short one. She is completely enamored with eating in the cafeteria. In fact, if you didn’t pry you might think that was the only thing happening in first grade. But if I bribe and distract I can usually get her to let slip with some more information. For example, one of the boys in class has a dad who is a college basketball coach. (And unless there are a whole handful of dads over 7’ who wear college basketball shirts to drop their kids off at school, I am pretty sure I know which one he is.) Also, there is a reading loft in their classroom which she f.i.n.a.l.l.y got to access on Friday. I was also getting sketchy information about a thing called a “Patty” that goes on the back of your chair to hold your books and whatnot. (They don’t have desks.) Then yesterday she told her dad all about her book CADDY and that made considerably more sense.

She has mentioned a couple of new friends. And has also talked about meeting up with the old crew on the playground at recess. She comes home pretty wiped out. And she and her brother are kind of love/hating each other right now. But even with all that, I think we can consider the start of first grade to be a big success.

As for me…well…I’m a little giddy. Between starting our day early and organized, and being down one kid I feel like Supermom. My house is really clean. I’m knocking things off my to-do list like you wouldn’t believe. And I’ve been in the gym every day since school started. Not to mention getting some one on one play time with Sweet William. (Who keeps saying that he misses his sister. But as the days go on he seems to be adjusting to singleton status quite nicely.)

We have a very busy fall ahead of us. Will starts preschool this week. Both kids have gymnastics classes beginning soon. And there are at least two Vandal football games on the books. But right now the biggie occupying my time is a little soiree in my backyard in two weeks for our Governor and about 70 of our closest friends and strangers.

Today is all about yard work.

But now that school is here. Clover is back.

2010-08-23T21:16:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow is our last day of summer vacation here at Casa Del Clover. And I'm not gonna lie to you...I am a leetle bit freaked out. This is FIRST GRADE people! My little buddy is going to be gone ALL DAY. She will be eating cafeteria food. There will be an expectation that she can sit at a desk for long periods of time. Without randomly falling out of her chair.

(For years I heard my mother in law tell a story about getting called down to the elementary school for a meeting with the principal because the wee Mr. G just could not help falling out of his seat. And the mental image I had was of him sort of just randomly flopping to the floor like a fish out of water. Which always made me giggle uncontrolably until I saw Sweet Pea do that exact thing one day at kindergarten...)

She doesn't seem to be grasping the gravity of the situation. Which I suppose is all well and good. But. You know. Maybe she could throw her mom a bone and act like she might miss me. Just a tiny bit?

I keep hearing from the other moms that her teacher is kind of a meanie. (Ugh.) So maybe after a week or two I won't be so tongue in cheek about that. Fingers crossed that's not the case...

And time marches on.

~Clover

2010-08-13T12:30:00.002-07:00

We are still having too much fun on our marathon vacay to N. Idaho and Washington. But I had to share a new blog. The owner of this crafty space is a gal from Mr. G's hometown. I remember meeting her for the first time when she was about 12...

But she's all growds up now, and creating beautiful jewelry and other treasures. If you live in northcentral Idaho, you might be lucky enough to find her at a craft fair or decor store. Otherwise you'll have to find her on etsy. Check out the blog, Bu2ful by Betsy B.

And then go drool over her wedding photos...Amazing!!!

Wedding Chicks - DIY Rustic Barnyard Wedding

Enjoy!

~Clover

2010-08-09T19:36:00.007-07:00

We are at Papa and Gigi's ranch having a FABULOUS weekend. Not much time to write, but as they say, pictures are worth a thousand words.

~Clover

2010-08-04T23:35:00.004-07:00

One of the first things that attracted me to Mr. G oh those long years ago was that he was, well, attractive. That might seem like stating the obvious. But first of all, when I say attractive I mean superfreakinHOT. And also that might have been, for me, a totally new quality in a boyfriend. I know, right? Embarrassing. So here was this incredibly sweet guy, who also happened to be really smart and fun and hilarious and Ohmahgah…HOT. Like muscley and broad shouldered and rippley ab-ed and…ahem. Did I mention his sweet ass? No? Well, let’s just say that boy still melts my buttah.

So there I was with this total jock boyfriend who jogged and played sports and even had a triathlon t-shirt. Suddenly my line about not participating in anything that might cause me to break a sweat or a nail didn’t sound so cute. In fact, it sounded totally lame. I wanted to get sweaty with this guy! Uh…I mean…Ok. Well, we all know what I mean.

So one day I told him that it was his job to make me into Sporty Spice. Which he immediately decided was about the most sexy thing I could have said to him. And he set about turning me into an athlete.

Yeah. Well. One really miserable bike ride had us both lowering our expectations pretty quickly. However, I can say with some certainty that 14 years later I am considerably more active and coordinated than I ever thought I would be. I may not be Serena, but I have completely gotten over my aversion to exercise. A couple of summers ago we even played golf with a couple who complimented our athleticism and I about died out of sheer joy. Me! An athlete!

Which is not to say that I laaahuuuuve to go to the gym or anything. I mean, it’s called WORKINGout. Not nappingout. Or shoppingout. Or even eatingicecreamout. So I have developed a few tricks over the years to keep me motivated. Not the least of which are shopping and eating ice cream. But the one that is relevant to this totally irrelevant blog post is this…When I am doing cardio I have to have a playlist full of really trashy, angry, sexually fueled hip hop and pop music blaring in my ears.

It’s beyond embarrassing really. I mean, we are talking about a whole bunch of Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg, Pussycat Dolls, Usher, Nelly, and sadly even some Miley Cyrus in my ear buds. I drive my Mom wagon to the gym. I lead my two adorable children to the kids club. And then it gets all Hott In Here.

Okeydokey. So. Now that you know that, it will come as no shock to you that I have recently been tuning into the Ke$ha station on Pandora for my gym tunes. (That’s right. I just typed a dollar sign in order to spell someone’s name.) Pandora, much like Tivo, can see you coming from a mile away, and immediately starts to put together playlists that it thinks you will like. Pandora apparently thinks I am a 20 year old stripper. Which is PERFECT for gym music. I figure if it makes you want to spin around on a pole in your birthday suit, it is going to motivate you to run that extra mile on the elliptical machine. (Just humor me.)

Howevah…I keep getting these Eminem songs that are just So. Totally. Insane. I mean, that guy is completely messed up, right? Have you heard anything off his “Rehab” album? OMg Marshal, you don’t need couples therapy. You need freakin’ shock therapy.

The song that has been on a constant loop in my brain today is “Love the Way You Lie” which features Rihanna on the refrain. That girl’s voice is amazing. In fact, despite the fact that the parts that Eminem sings are crazy and vile, I am going to put it on my playlist over there just so you can hear her. Just push play. Go ahead. You really need to hear it anyway so that you can rally with me on this next part.

Interweb…can we please find Eminem a nice girlfriend? I’d do it myself but I’m taken.

~Clover

2010-07-19T12:29:00.002-07:00

This morning I was passing along a compliment I received over the weekend about my kids. I told them that our dinner guests said that they were funny, smart, cute and well behaved. Sweet William said, "Yeah. That's how we always are."

Well. Mostly.

~Clover

2010-07-16T09:09:00.002-07:00

Really? I had a whole bunch of new traffic to this little slice of my headspace this week. And yet no one posted what they might try to do for 365 days?

Well. I've been thinking about it, and I've got a few things. But just in case you think my list is a little Pollyanna, I should tell you a few things that didn't make the cut.

Working out.
Having the sex. Sorry Honey.
Taking a photograph - tried that once. Miserable failure.
Writing a blog post. And really, everyone should be glad. I just don't have that much interesting stuff to say.

But I might be able to...

Tell my kids I love them, times 10
Tell Mr. G I love him, times 10
Say something nice about and/or to someone else
Count my blessings
Eat well
Laugh
Recycle/reduce consumption/etc.
Pray
Read/learn something
Play with my kids
Relax

That's about all I've got right now.

ANYONE ELSE??

~Clover

2010-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

A little blog surfing today led me to a post on Margo: Out and About with the header What would you be willing to do for 365 days in a row?

I'm thinking about it. But admittedly, its tough to be inspired about such things when you're downing 6 giant horse pill sized antibiotics every day. (Stupid summer cold...) So I'm not coming up with much.

What would you be willing to do?

~Clover

No Z in Boise

2010-07-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

This just so happens to be a particular pet peeve o' mine. Thanks Jewel!!

~Clover

2010-07-09T16:39:00.003-07:00

I always have such grand plans for Fridays. My kids are at the ‘rents house (“Mom, when are you going to leave so we can have fun with JUST Grandma and Grandpa?”) The promise of the afternoon stretches out before me. On Monday I start thinking of what I’ll do. Shop in silence? In stores with lots of things that will break or smudge or turn to dust if touched by little fingertips? Work on some artsy fartsy project involving toxic chemicals/welding/sharp knives/insoluble paint or other materials unsuitable for children? Ooooh…I know…take a book to the pool and lounge on a chair in solitude for hours…

Uh huh. Today I cleaned the house and did laundry. Which is pretty much what I do every Friday afternoon. Le sigh.

I’m not complaining though. I know that to have a job free afternoon, much less a kid free afternoon is a luxury.

And you can’t really complain about a clean house. So yay me. And thanks Mom and Dad.

I spent a lot of time in my own head today. Thinking about friendship, and how hard it is to maintain one at this phase of life. Thank God for cell phones and the internet or I don’t think I would be as passionate about my current career.

Earlier I was kind of mentally ranting to myself about how I only have a little bit of time to devote to people outside the 4 walls of this house. So the people who want a piece of me had better be really fabulous. Right? And then I had this little ah ha moment where I had to stop and wonder if I was living up to my own friend expectations. I really hope that I am. I mean that. If you are choosing to spend some of your time and energy away from your family, and directing said attentions toward moi, I hope that I am making you laugh, cheering you up, helping you de-stress, making you feel listened to and understood, telling you what an amazing person you are exactly when you need to hear it…whatever it is that you need from a friend. (Ok, getting drunk with you should probably include a couple other positive attributes. So lets dig deep peeps!)

I really and truly hope that I am. And if I’m not, feel free to call me on it.

And then my next thought was of a friendship that ended in a big ball of flames. It still makes me mad. It still makes me want to stomp my feet and shout that I was right and she was wrong. How could someone be so totally selfish and childish?

Well, said my all alone in my house with nothing to distract me from introspection self, maybe she was hurting so badly that she couldn’t bear to see anyone happy. Ever felt like that, Self Righteous One?

Ooooh. Yeah…Ok. Weeeeelll…

Something to think about next Friday while I’m folding clothes.

~Clover

2010-07-07T11:58:00.004-07:00

Random:

Happy birthday (one day late) to my beautiful Mom! She is my best girlfriend and an incredible role model. LOVE YOU MOM!! XOXOXO

We celebrated her birthday, and also my Uncle Barry's birthday (which is today) last night. Dinner was fabulous. Cashew crusted salmon fillets, roasted sweet onions, and a garlicky Napa Cabbage sautee. For dessert we were being indecisive, so we had homade strawberry shortcake parfaits, AND chocolate cake. Uh, yum.

***

Today marks 2 weeks of waking up with a dry pullup. Does that mean we are officially pottytrained?? Sweet William has decided after a week of practice peeing in the grass (and on the rocks, and in the sand, and in the lake, and on the road, and on a tree...) that he is ready to stand up at the potty. Gotta work on his control when the hose first turns on. (Note to self. Add clorox wipes to grocery list.)

***

The sun is FINALLY shining on us frozen little Idaho spuds. And everyone at Chez Golightly has a cold. Lame.

***

Our 4th of July was spectacular! Hope yours was too.

It seems like there should be a lot more to report, given that I am neglecting my little blog everso. But we are just busy living summer life. Both kids home all day means a lot of refereeing, chauffering, cleaning and entertaining. Wouldn't trade it though...

~Clover

2010-06-23T10:37:00.016-07:00

I'm big time procrastinating going to the gym. So lucky you, I've been editing the rest of my pictures from our trip to Wisconsin!

Most of the snaps I took were of our trip to the National Railroad Museum for our Day Out with Thomas the Train.

You can understand the importance of this day, yes?

If you should ever find yourself in Greenbay, Wisconsin with a train enthusiast you really should visit this place.

You're probably wondering how it is that we lucked out and ended up half way across the country at the same time as Thomas the Train. And then I will remind you that very little in this life is due to luck. Earlier this year, I found out that Thomas would be touring the country all summer long. And shortly thereafter I found out that Thomas wasn't going to be anywhere near Boise, Idaho. My options were the middle of nowhere Utah, (Uh, no thanks.) just enough outside of Seattle to be really complicated and inconvenient, and Greenbay, Wisconsin. Just a scenic hours drive from my dad's house in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Perfect!

Ok. Well. Except that I would have to get myself and my 2 kids to Wisconsin all by my lonesome. Admittedly I debated whether or not I could do it for a looong time before I ran it past my dad. When I finally got the nerve to ask him about it I told him that as long as he had a martini waiting for me in the car outside the airport I thought I could do it.

As it turns out, my kids are fantastic travelers. I would take them anywhere. Yay! Now we just need to win the lottery and become the world travelers we always dreamed of.

That's not to say there weren't complications. Well, one very notable complication. For some reason - I'm pretty sure just because he likes to see me freak O.U.T. - Will decided to lick the seats in the Boise and Denver airports. I knew it would end badly. And it did. There was a frantic middle of the night call to housekeeping our first night in the hotel. But fortunately for us the smiling staff at The Inn on Woodlake handles 3 AM hazmat detail with efficiency and good humor.

**I have to take a time out to tell you that Sweet Pea just came in here and played "Jingle Bells" by blowing across the top of an empty wine bottle. Damn, I am an AWESOME mom.

Ok. Where were we? Right. You should click that hotel link up there and check out the rooms. When you stay in Kohler, Wisconsin - yes, that Kohler - your bathroom fixtures are going to be pretty fabulous. We all have shower envy now.

The pictures I posted the other day are from the art museum in Sheboygan. Bompa's friend, Auds, took us there on our first day so that the kids could play in the biggest craft room ever. It was so fun to play and create with them that I never even checked out the exhibit happening in the galleries. But we did check out the bathrooms, and they are works of art in and of themselves. This is the ladies room.

Day 2 was the big Day Out with Thomas. Bompa had our train tickets all ready to go. As we drove to Greenbay the kids had a million questions about Thomas. Would he be as big as a real train? Could they touch him? Would we be able to really ride with Thomas? I had no idea. So, Imagine our excitement as we walked toward the museum grounds and heard a very familiar, "Peeeep Peeeep!"

Just after we stepped inside, Bompa spotted some steam rising above the trees, and before we knew it Thomas was chuffing toward us.

Will stood perfectly still, eyes as big as plates, shaking from head to toe with excitement. I am pretty sure that was the most monumental moment of his little life, to date.

We really did get to ride on Thomas. Our passenger car was named Josephine. She was a real passenger car from the 1950's, and we had a conductor aboard who knew lots of fun facts about Thomas and trains in general. About half way through our 20 minute ride he came down the aisle and punched each of our tickets with a star. Sweet Pea thought that was very cool, a la Polar Express.

I have to tip my hat to the Thomas the Train people. They did a fantastic job with this event. The museum had so much to offer, and the Thomas stuff was the right mix of commercial vs. just plain FUN.

The kids had a great time exploring in old trains and passenger cars:

Looking at the toy trains:

And meeting celebrities:

Sweet Pea even got on stage with the one man band.

It was a really fantastic day!

The rest of our trip was just as wonderful. We went to a Dinosaur movie at the Imax in Milwaukee. And spent some time in the Butterfly Garden at the Milwaukee Public Museum. As it turns out, my kids aren't scared of 2 story Dinos, but butterflies are terrifying.

We went to a Family Fly with my dad's remote conrol airplane club that was really neat. The kids got to see some serious toys, including at $12,000 remote control jet! We also ate lots of brats. Which is just what you do in Wisconsin.

Oh, and the other thing you do in Wisconsin is yell, "Hi Girls!" out the window whenever you see a field full of cows. We are trying to incorporate that here in Idaho, but somehow it just isn't the same.

Quite a bit of our down time was spent at Miss Audrey's house playing with her kitties, Nina and Lulu. Lulu is a little shy, but Nina and Will posed for the camera.

And Bompa's cat, Maxwell Paddington, posed for the camera too. Maxi makes Garfield look like a Jenny Craig success story.

It was a really fantastic week. We would love to have Bompa closer to us. But now that we know how to get to Wisconsin, we'll be sure to make that a more regular visit.

Go Packers!
~Clover

2010-06-21T14:25:00.002-07:00

I really and trully do feel bad about my little blog being so neglected as of late. I do. And there has been so much fun stuff going on too. School is out. Kindergarten is over. We've already been to Las Vegas and Wisconsin, had a weeks worth of golf lessons, had a visit from my nephew, spent a day at the pool, caught bugs, eaten popsicles, watched the fireworks stands going up...

It's been madness! Today things are starting to calm down a little. But we had to take advantage of that and clean our rooms. All of us. (But Sweet Pea's was by FAR the messiest!)

Tomorrow I've got a little gardening to do. And then I'm going to get going on getting that etsy site up and running.

(If you don't know what etsy is, please go get your credit card and click HERE immediately. You may think now that you won't need your credit card, but I bet you will find a treasure and be running for it. So save yourself the trouble and just go get it now.)

Anyway, I will be here soon with tales to tell. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures of my adorable babies at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

~Clover

2010-06-20T11:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Father's Day to all the fantastic dads I know.

~Clover

2010-06-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

Having only ever owned dogs. And having always been a little mystified and, ok…slightly terrified of cats, I was inclined to believe the popular theory that cats are the smarter of the two popular pets.

No longer.

Crazier? Sure. Fuzzier? Yeah, definitely. But smarter. No freakin’ way.

I’d like to submit the following as evidence:

Yesterday at approximately 3:30 p.m. our new kitty, Oreo went outside. He’s been exploring the back yard with a little bit of supervision ever since he got here. And he always comes back in the house after a few minutes. I am certain that he feels like the King of this castle. And after doing a formal inspection of his grounds he checks back in to make sure the servants are preparing for his next whim. But yesterday he didn’t come back in right away.

I went outside and called for him. I could hear him, but I couldn’t see him. And he didn’t come running like he usually does for me. We had gymnastics to go to. So even though I am reluctant to leave him outside while we are gone – we live near a semi busy street – we did just that. Sweet Pea was beside herself.

About half way through gymnastics I had this brain flash that the kitten was probably stuck in a tree. So I sent the kids home with grandma and ran back to our house at about 6:30 p.m. to see if I could find him. When I walked into our backyard it was pretty obvious that I was right. There was a squirrel so outraged about the intrusion that he was actually making a quacking sound at my poor kitten. Oreo was about 25 feet up in a pine tree, meowing and generally looking miserable and embarrassed about his predicament. My estimate is that he’d been there at least 2 and a half hours.

It took me about 15 minutes to coax him out of the tree. At first it didn’t look like he was going to budge, and all I could think was that you probably can’t really call a fireman to handle that kind of emergency these days, can you? Then it looked like he might fall and I wondered about the truth of the 9 lives thing. But finally he got down low enough to jump into my arms. Where he immediately snuggled up in gratitude.

So I put him down on the ground. And guess what the little turd did?

Yup. Fast as lightening, right back up in the tree.

Even the birds were taunting him at that point.

I left. But in his defense, when I got home he was out of the tree.

Stupid cat.

~Clover

P.S. Oreo just jumped up into my lap, looked at the computer screen and then bit my thumb. Maybe he is smarter than I think? Well. The dog can’t read. But she’s never been stuck in the same tree twice.

2010-05-25T10:00:00.002-07:00

Psst...If you look down underneath the horribly outdated (and frankly, rather strange) picture of me, you will see a new page I added. It's my first stab at putting my "Bucket List" on paper. It's evolving, obviously. But it's sure fun to think about what you'd do if you had unlimited time and resources.

Happy Dreaming

~Clover

2010-05-21T17:37:00.004-07:00

I think I can explain the weird weather around here. You know, the reports of possible snow tomorrow – May 22nd – in Boise. I think hell might have frozen over. Yeah. That’s right. We got a kitten.

Sweet Pea has been lobbying for a cat since, well…the womb I think. She really amped it up this year around her birthday. Not in a whiny/beggy kind of way. More like a, “if I say my prayers and use all my wishes to ask for a kitten I just know one will magically appear” kind of way. It was tragic really. Because, as you may have heard me exclaim more than once over the years, we are not cat people. I mean, clearly. We have a dog. And not some yappy little purse puppy either. We gots us a huntin’ dog. That’s right. She weighs 80 pounds, and she likes to swim, she doesn’t like to be outside, she wants to sleep on the bed, she chases flies, and she likes to curl up in my lap every night while I watch the teevee…Oh. Ok, wait. She really is a dog.

So anyway. The other day my neighbor tells me that she found this stray kitten. Of course he is absolutely adorable and sweet. Of course he is already potty trained and really mellow. OF COURSE she can’t keep him, and the no kill shelter is full…

Mr. G tried really hard to play the “if you think it’s a good idea, then go ahead” card. But I would not let him. I just can’t handle the guilt of a bad pet decision resting squarely on my shoulders.

Let me tell you how that bit me in the butt. Sweet Pea has been telling everyone that it was all his idea. That’s right. Her Daddy decided she should have a kitten because of how he loves her SOOOO much, and he knew it would make her SOOO happy. Isn’t that just great? I bat my eyelashes, and make certain promises, and swear that he will never have to go near the littler box, and he gets the Parental Medal of Honor.

And if that is not even bad enough, the kitten also thinks that Mr. G is just fanfreakintastic. Nevermind that I spent a whole day of my life picking out the most soothing litter box colors, and researching the best cat food. Nevermind that I am the one who got up 5 times the first night to help him find the potty. NEVERMIND that I saved him from a lifetime of being named Sparkle Bella. The little stinker likes Mr. G the best.

I think that it’s a mutual admiration society though. Mr. G seems a little kitten smitten. Proof positive – this picture and a whole bunch of others that he has been snapping of the newest member of our clan.

Meet Oreo…

~Clover

2010-05-12T09:56:00.001-07:00

I get a lot of comments (complimentary ones) about what good eaters my kids are. Specifically, people tell me how lucky I am to have kids who like veggies. Here’s the thing. Luck has nothing to do with it. If Sweet Pea had her way, we would have Kraft Mac N’ Cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Will is in his vegetarian stage. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just don’t cook for a vegetarian. So if he’s skipping all the protein on his plate he’s not getting a very balanced diet right now.)

The thing is, my kids don’t get to choose what they eat. Because they are kids, and I understand as an adult that they aren’t going to make great choices. Do they know that? Uh…NO. Of course not. They think they run the show around here.

They have no idea that they are products of a lot of hard work and persistence on my part. I honestly believe that it all started when they were very young and I ate all kinds of garlic and chili and curry while they were nursing. Then I learned that you have to offer a child some new foods 12-14 times before they will ever try a taste. Sometimes they finally get it to their lips only to instantly reject it. But that doesn’t even make me blink. I just keep putting it in front of them in new and interesting ways.

They may never eat squash voluntarily. But then again, they might! And if I gave up the first time a little nose wrinkled up at me we’d be living on pb&j. I am lucky in that I have a lot of mom friends who feel the same way – I’m sure all of you reading fall into this category. But you know how fun it is to preach to the choir. My smart friends have taught me a lot about how to get healthy into my kids diet. Again, this is probably not news to anyone here. But I’m feeling so bummed out about how unhealthy American kids are becoming, so I’m going to type out some of my best strategies and hope that someone reads them and makes a change that makes their kids healthier.

• Don’t do battle with your kids over food. They have control over 2 things in their little lives. What goes in, and what comes out. If you start this power struggle you will lose. They know they aren’t going to starve, so they aren’t emotionally invested like you are. YOU WILL LOSE. Don’t do it.

• Feed them when they are hungry. Will eats more for breakfast than I do. Sweet Pea licks toast crumbs from her fingertips and declares that she is stuffed. At lunch it’s the opposite. At 4:00 they are both starving so I load them up on veggies and dip. If they ruin their dinner appetite because they ate a pound of vegetables, so be it. They might be complicated. But they are usually predictable. Your kids won’t eat veggies and dip you say? Try it. Put out a veggie tray and see what happens. Kids love to graze. They also love to be in charge of serving themselves. And they LOVE dipping. Win. Win. Win. You might want to make their tray separate from yours though. Their dipping manners aren’t fully formed yet.

• Make them think they have choices. The trick is doing this without becoming a short order cook. But letting them choose makes them feel like they have control. For example, this morning my kids chose between toaster waffles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt. They also got to choose which kind of fruit was on their plate. (SP chose yogurt and orange slices. Will chose all of it.) Sweet Pea also helps with our meal planning for the week. We sit down with a calendar and talk about what we would like to have that week. She used to only pick noodles, but now she usually requests broccoli at least once. And she’s a big fan of my Shepherd’s Pie, which is full of veggies. She begged for that this week. Will is too little to help with meal planning, but he is my grocery shopping partner. He knows that we love Pink Lady apples, and counts them as they go into the bag. He gets to choose what other snacks we buy– he usually picks pears, kiwi, sweet peppers and cucumbers. And he helps me pick lunch meats at the deli. By the time the food makes it to his plate, he’s convinced it was all his idea.

• Inform them that they are good eaters. I tell people all the time, in front of my kids, what great eaters they are. I talk about how they will try anything. I tell them what the food they are eating is doing for their bodies – “Wow, I can tell your bones just got stronger when you drank that glass of milk!” I tell bedtime stories about pint sized superheroes who save the world with tummies full of leafy greens. At the end of each well eaten meal I tell them what a great job they did putting healthy food into their bodies. It’s totally cheesy, but it’s working.

• Require a “Thank You” bite. At our house, we call this a “no thank you” bite. Meaning, that before you can say “no thank you” you have to have a bite of it. But I like my friend Jennifer’s approach better. The bite says, “thanks mom/dad for all the work you put into making this meal.” If they choose not to eat it after that, don’t make a big deal out of it. They can’t make a big deal out of it either.

• That doesn’t mean that as long as they take one bite of their dinner they have met all the requirements. At our house when my kids ask to be excused from the table they get a plate assessment by moi. Often times, this is what they hear, “You may be excused from the table. However, you didn’t eat enough healthy foods to have dessert tonight. So if you’re done, then you may go. But maybe you would like to stay and have some more bites of ____.” Then it’s over. It doesn’t come up again until dessert.

I’ve learned with Will to keep his plate in the fridge. Because often, as his sister is chowing down on her treat he will decide he really did want to eat a couple more bites of chicken. But if he doesn’t, then I just calmly repeat, “I’m so sorry. Do you remember when I told you that you didn’t eat enough dinner to have a treat tonight? You chose to be done.” He isn’t calm about this, of course. But you have to be. And you can’t give in.

If they skip dinner and dessert, and then complain about being hungry at bedtime bring out that veggie tray again. Or slice up an apple and serve it with peanut butter for dipping.

• Have at least one thing you know they will eat on the menu. At our house that usually means some kind of carb. Noodles for Sweet Pea, potatoes for her brother. They can have seconds of the favorite item when they have sufficient bites of the other things on their plates.

• Have realistic expectations. It’s pretty likely that kids aren’t going to love things like fish and Brussels sprouts until they are older. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t cook them. But on fish night you may need a backup plan. When I make fish I usually let the kids have some chicken too. (They still have to have a thank you bite!) I think that just seeing us eat a lot of different things is going to be beneficial in the long run. And little by little we are having success with those foods on the Yuck List. Sweet Pea liked the potato battered cod, and both kids love eel rolls at our fave sushi place.

• Sneak in vegetables whenever you can. Now, I don’t advise that you ONLY serve vegetables that are disguised as other things. That just makes vegetables seem more suspect. But it can’t hurt to grate carrots into your marinara sauce. Or chop spinach and mix it with meatloaf. I even use butternut squash puree in grilled cheese sandwiches, and Mr. G. swears that it is a vast improvement.

• And lastly, eat some junk on occasion. McDonalds isn’t standard at my house. But it isn’t mysterious either. We all know that you can make something seem a lot more exciting by making it taboo.

I hope this helps someone. At the very least it should confirm that a lot of us are like minded and working hard to turn our kids into the foodies of tomorrow!

Better Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Mix together:
2 tablespoons butternut squash puree
1 cup shredded cheese
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Salt and pepper to taste

Spread on your favorite whole grain bread and grill!

~Clover

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

This is the most perfect present I could have ever gotten for Mother's day. :)

~Clover

2010-05-08T22:34:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you rockstar mommies out there!

~Clover

2010-05-01T21:01:00.001-07:00

Stuff I did today:

Made cupcakes
Went to the candy store
Walked on a balance beam
Successfully completed a pullover
Log rolled down a wedge of “cheese”
Ate ice cream
Played with Playdough
Made plastic beaded bracelets
Jumped rope
Colored
Had a hot dog with all the fixins
Drank a glass of merlot with friends

And next I’m going to go warm my toes by the campfire.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

~Clover

2010-04-30T21:55:00.002-07:00

I know you’re going to think that I am totally full of it. But hand to my heart, this is the honest truth. (I mean, by now you guys can tell when I’m just flat making stuff up, right?)

On Monday I put Will on the potty. This is nothing new. He has been on the potty about 3-4 dozen times and not had a freakin’ clue what he was supposed to be doing up there. He would sit and unroll the toilet paper and then smile the “I can’t get into trouble for making a major mess and wasting natural resources because I am THIS CUTE” smile. And then he would hop down and flush while exclaiming, “I DID IT!”

I did not have high hopes.

I am not above bribery however. Not long ago I bought him some Thomas the Train underpants. I even let him wear a pair for about 10 minutes. Until, he peed the underpants, his last clean pair of jeans, and my couch. (Uh, who needs training here?)

So anyway, on Monday when I put him on the potty he did have the promise of some big boy underpants to motivate him. He peed. It was glorious. Naturally, his sister and I did all the requisite jumping up and down, cheering, and having him call friends and family far and wide to discuss the aforementioned pee pee in the potty. Then we went downstairs and celebrated with a Bear in the Big Blue House video where they sing about The Potty Train.

Honestly, I think that’s what did it. Because he started talking about how he wanted to “get on board the potty train.” So we made him a sticker chart and promised 1 sticker for sitting there and trying, 2 stickers for pee, and 3 stickers for Code Brown. Then I promised that if he filled up his sticker chart he could go to Toys R’ Us and buy a Sodor Engine.

The next morning I put him on the potty and he pooped. Again, fanfare. And 3 stickers.

You should have seen him. The kid looked at those three stickers, did the math, and then climbed back on that toilet and set to work trying muster up anything that would get him closer to the Tomas Train purchase. He wanted to know how many stickers for a toot. He wanted sticker credit for burps. And finally, he earned 3 more stickers.

He has not looked back. I have not changed a diaper in 4 days.

Thank you Thomas. You’re a very useful engine.

~Clover

2010-04-28T06:00:00.001-07:00

Happy 6th Birthday to my bebe girl. I love you Sweet Pea!!

~Clover

2010-04-26T09:29:00.007-07:00

I was looking for a long lost file on my computer the other day, and came across some little treasures that I made long, long ago. The original idea was to have "drink of the day" underpants. But that didn't pan out. So...I took the logos and made drinkwear at Cafe Press. There are t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, and even BBQ aprons and wall clocks. Pretty cute stuff, and not priced too terribly.

If you know anyone who needs a Martini logo on their softball team jerseys, this is for you...

View Thirsty gear.

View Therapy gear.

View You Had Me at Merlot gear.

View Martini gear.

View Cosmo gear.

View BEER gear.

2010-04-22T22:10:00.004-07:00

Just in case you have 5 year old girly girls, and you'd like to know how to create their - and I quote - "BEST DAY EVER!!"

It's pretty fun for the Mommies too.

When you get to the salon and they ask you what you'd like to have done, just say the words, "Toddlers and Tiaras." They will know exactly what to do.

~Clover

2010-04-15T08:55:00.002-07:00

Listen to this little indulgence.

In honor of the sun coming out, I am going to go upstairs right this second - in the middle of the morning on a THURSDAY - and take a shower. I know, I'm living dangerously right now. My kids might actually watch more than their alloted 1.5 hours of television today. Or, G-A-S-P, make a MESS. But I am throwing caution to the wind.

And then, after my shower, I AM GOING TO PAINT MY TOENAILS.

I know. It's probably about the most foolish and selfish thing a mom has ever done. But CPS be damned...

And if the kids want their toes painted I'll do that too.

Wheeeee....! It's all spring fever crizazy up in here.

~Clover

2010-04-11T19:12:00.001-07:00

You know how everyone has a memory of some time during their childhood when an adult treated them unfairly and unkindly?

Mine is from this time when a carnie at the State Fair yelled at me and called me stupid because I went the wrong way in the funhouse.

Well, today, at a fleamarket, a woman with a booth full of J.U.N.K. made that memory for Sweet Pea.

Here’s the deal though. Sweet Pea’s “mean lady memory” is also going to be about how her mom and grandmother went toe to toe with the old witch.

Nobody talks to my girl like that.

~Clover

2010-04-08T10:00:00.001-07:00

My Father in Law has a newish hobby that just so happens to be a fantastic grandkid activity! It's called Geocacheing (sp??). In layman's terms, you use a GPS device to hunt for treasures that people hide. You go online to get a list of official treasure spots, and then you tromp around until you find things like baseball cards and McDonald's toys. When you find a cache, you are supposed to sign the log with the date and your Geo-handle - yes, my FIL has one - and then take a treasure and leave a treasure. My kids had great fun before we even left the house selecting what little trinkets they would leave in their Geocaches.

I totally volunteered the whole famdamily to go on this trek without even asking anyone if that is what they wanted to do. And, given that it was snowing on and off all day, I think Gigi was a pretty good sport. Thanks Gigi!

These are some serious treasure hunters. You can tell, because Sweet Pea wore her favorite sundress over her best jeans, and even brought a parasol.

At first we didn't find much, except wildlife. This hunting spot was called, "Heron's Harem" on the website. And when we saw these trees full of heron nests we knew why. I counted 22 nests, and we saw about 8 heron in them.

Mommy found a treasure...this picture does not even do this house, nay...estate, justice. It is HUGE. I couldn't even fit the guest house in the frame. Funny, this is walking distance from my little ghetto house. I think I should become BFF's with my neighbors, don't you?

You know that saying about marching to the beat of a different drummer? In Will's case it's something about hunting for treasure on your own (cold) trail.

Another wildlife treasure! Someone on the trail a few yards before we reached this spot warned us that Daddy Swan was being very protective of his Lady and her eggs.

But we found Daddy to be quite friendly. He totally followed us around long after we were away from the nest and practically posed for my camera. I couldn't have been more than 5 feet from him when I took this. Funny, because today Sweet Pea's teacher was telling me about being chased by that same swan yesterday. I think that swan digs me...

YAY! Treasure!! We found 4 that day. Pretty good hunting.

~Clover

2010-04-07T22:30:00.012-07:00

I have a few pictures to share of the trip we made to North Idaho for my Grandparents' funeral. Admittedly, these are not spectacular pictures. I am so bad about taking the camera and then not really using it. I hear tell that between my Aunt Donna and my Uncle Pat there were more than 3,000 snaps of the weekend...

But this is what I've got, and for various reasons I think they are pretty sweet.

On the way to Coeur d'Alene we spent the night at my In-Law's house. This is the swing in their front yard. Sweet William is F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. big enough to swing in the tree swing without getting bucked off. What a rite of passage! So is a spring picture in the swing.

Again, I love it when they love each other.

These next 3 pictures were taken at the very lovely reception we had for family and friends after the FUNeral. I say FUNeral, because every single one of my Grandparents' children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren were packed into three pews of St. Thomas Aquinas Church. It was not at all quiet or reverent, and Grannie would have loved every kid outburst. Esp. the part where baby K ripped a huge burp, and when Sweet Will shouted out, "WHEN DO I GET A DOUGHNUT??"

This picture is of almost all the Great-Grandkids. We are missing two little boys who had significantly better things to do than SIT STILL.

Sweet Pea and Baby K.

Baby K and her mom, my cousin Elli. Elli is a beautiful and very cool chica! I love this picture because you can see the family resemblence in Elli.

After the reception we went up to my Aunt and Uncle's room and broke open a special bottle of something strong to toast two incredible people and the legacy they created. This is, of course, a terrible picture of me and my cousin-who-is-like-a-sister, Sarah. But I think it's kinda fitting that it's blurry...

A beautiful view of Lake Coeur d'Alene and Tubbs Hill. My grandparents loved their hometown, and I have so many awesome memories of being here with them.

Of course there was a lot more to the weekend. It was a truly wonderful thing to have my whole (Giesa) family together, even under the circumstances.

I am so blessed to have lived my life. I hope my kids understand how much love grows on their family tree.

~Clover

2010-04-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have decided as of late to become a little bit of a philosopher. I’m not sure if that is good or bad, given that I have never taken a philosophy class or read a philosophy book. But I figure that I am really good at thinking about things. And even better at making proclamations about my thinking and the resulting conclusions, and then acting as if I have solved all the problems of the world. So. If nothing else, this should be entertaining for a while.

I’ve got two things I’m thinking on right now – cogitating, as my grandma Ethel Baby would have said. The first is the whole “Power of your Thoughts” thing. The message – that your thoughts have the power to bring about things in your life – keeps getting tossed at me with the subtlety of a carsick rhinoceros.

It started with this woman who spoke at a conference I attended last year. Apparently she helped make that movie called The Secret. And when I went on Wine Weekend last year a couple of my girlfriends were all about changing the way they spoke about their goals. Instead of saying that they “wanted” or “wished” that things were happening (like a promotion at work, or a successful new business venture) they were using a more active tense. “I will” and “when ____ happens,” Remember when I lost my car keys? Well, that psychic spent a lot of time telling me that I needed to put the power of my mind to work for me. And then my uncle said essentially the same thing to me last week when I was fretting about something over which I have little or no control.

So I’ve been thinking about that. Thinking about the areas of my life where I project pessimism and doubt. The parts of me that are scared to be successful, or are comfortable with an “oh poor me” outlook on life. I have been focusing on letting go of worry. Accepting what I can change. Understanding and believing that “difficult” doesn’t mean “dangerous” or “doomsday”. Knowing that everything is fluid, and change is the only thing that is certain. And if that’s true, then why not focus on positive change? I’ve also been really working on “loving detachment” from some unhealthy relationships in my life. I’ve actually been meditating about giving hugs to people who generally cause me irritation and frustration.

Which I guess is bad news if you have been feeling cosmically hugged by me lately. But anyhoo…

I actually think all this is working. How is it working? Well, I’m a LOT less stressed out for one. And right now that is pretty much my only concern. But other little things are happening too. Things are falling into place in a way that they haven’t for a while. I’m having a lot of “small world” kind of interactions. Opportunities are knocking.

How cool is THAT?

The second thing I have been thinking about is a little deeper. It’s about God, and me. And what God wants from me, really. I haven’t gotten terribly far on this one. Mostly, I think, because I have a really REALLY hard time shutting up long enough to hear any voices other than the ones in my head that are totally engaged in over thinking this particular topic already.

Here’s what I’ve got so far: My life is a gift that I want to make great use of. God created me in his/her image, so God knows I have a L.O.T. of potential.

And like I said, opportunities are knocking.

~Clover

2010-04-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, Mr. G and I just got word that we have won the multimillion dollar prize in our state lottery. I guess that means I will be turning off the Clover blog and moving to a tiny private island in the Caribbean.

Good news for you loyal readers though. Anyone who leaves a comment today gets a check for $50k.

Happy April 1st!
~Clover

2010-03-31T22:16:00.002-07:00

Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

I hate it when the crickets take over. We have been without interweb here at Casa Clover for almost two weeks. (Not cool. Not cool at ALL.)

But now that we are back up and running I will be once again oversharing. Soon. Very, very, soon. Yawn.

~Clover

2010-03-16T08:00:00.001-07:00

We live in such a cool place. These pictures were taken a few weeks ago while we were walking around our neighborhood. (They are mistakenly labled January, but really it was February before we ventured out this year.)

Why do ALL little boys, given the chance, ALWAYS pick up the rock and throw it? Always.

This picture cracks me up because it is so quintessentially Sweet Pea. Skirt over jeans. Jeans tucked in, so as to show off boots. Demanding to accessorize with her scooter, even though we told her a thousand times that we would NOT carry it once we got on the rough and muddy trails. At least in this picture she's got a good reason for the bike helmet. Usually, not so much.

I love it when they love each other. And usually they do.

Will's "crazy" face. Awww.

Mr. G says that I never like pictures of myself. Well. Here's why. Because Mr. G thinks it's all artsy to take these incredibly close up candid shots of the side of my head. Without fail I am making the "something smells" face. After a wee bit of Photoshoping, (come ON. Nobody over 19 looks good from that close) this one isn't terrible. So here ya go honey.

Happy Tuesday

~Clover

2010-03-15T10:18:00.002-07:00

Not surprisingly, they weren't apart for long. Not even a whole day in fact. I am guessing that they have already hosted a cocktail party...

William M. Giesa
September 1915 - March 2010

William Giesa and Baby William, February 2008

Gran and Gramps, Christmas 1959

Gran and Gramps, Christmas 2003

2010-03-12T22:10:00.002-07:00

I am uncharacteristically without words.

My grandmother passed away this morning. My grandfather will be joining her in a matter of days, if not hours. Of course I am very sad. But not so overcome that I can’t put words to paper. I just…I don’t even really know. It’s all sounding very trite and dramatic to me.

So I am going to wait until I have spent some time with my family next week. And then I will come back here and tell you about two amazing people. Two amazing lives. And the way that their love and support shaped me in so many ways. I guess that part is dramatic.

I just didn’t want today to go by without acknowledging that Grannie has reached the peaceful end of what became a long and sometimes difficult journey.

Heaven got a whole lot better today. I am smiling thinking about the welcoming committee that must have formed at the pearly gates. I wonder how St. Peter does with crowd control?

I love you Gran!

Margaret Gridley Giesa
May 1918 – March 2010

This picture was taken with Grannie's "surfing" partner on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Northern Idaho. She was about 17 years old. They won a trophy that day. This sign hangs in our mountain/lake house.

2010-03-11T16:13:00.006-07:00

Mr. G and I have been following Phase 2 of the South Beach plan for a few weeks. I have to say, I really like it. It doesn't seem like a "diet" at all. In fact, with just a few modifications - buh bye potatoes - it's not much different than how we always eat 'round Casa Clover. Also, I have lost 10 lbs., thankyouverymuch. I would imagine that has romanticized mashed cauliflower just a lil’ bit. (For reals, it’s pretty good.)

After 4 weeks of eating a LOT of salad, the other day I was craving something naughty. I wanted it to be rich and savory. And completely devoid of lettuce. Fortunately for me, South Beach has a lot of room for faking decadence. So I came up with this dinner, and it completely fit the bill! It was like going to a steakhouse and ordering something that immediately upped your pants size. But, not really. Yay!

Cheesey Stuffed Pork Chops

4-5 thick cut pork loin chops

2 cups part skim mozzerella cheese
1 cup chopped spinach
½ a medium yellow onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tbsp low fat cottage cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1 package of French onion soup mix

Preheat your oven to 350 and spray a large covered baking dish with no stick spray.

Mix together the cheeses, spinach, onions, garlic, and salt/pepper for the stuffing. Stir well, and allow it to sit and blend for about 10 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, take one of the thick cut pork chops and insert a small knife into the side to create a pocket. (Repeat for each pork chop.) Stuff the cheese mixture into each pork chop. Really push it in there with your fingers to fill the pocket.

Place the pork chops in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the French onion soup mix on top.

Bake covered at 350 for 35 minutes or until juices run clear.

The cottage cheese makes the stuffing mixture really creamy and not at all pizza like. And the onion soup gives it a very comfort food feel. Almost like it had been breaded or had a gravy of some sort. This was SO yum! My kids and husband loved it. We are going to be adding this to the rotation. I served it with roasted asparagus and a big salad. It was so rich and creamy nobody even asked about a starchy side.

Happy eating!
~Clover

2010-03-08T15:03:00.006-07:00

It’s really mind boggling to me that it has been 18 years since I made the decision to attend the University of Idaho. I suppose, in all honesty, that I didn’t have a lot of other options. The universities on my short list were narrowed considerably by the price of tuition and my rather mediocre high school GPA. (A paltry 3.2. Good, but not great.) At the time I think I faked a little bit of disappointment over not being offered a huge scholarship to attend a prestigious Catholic university like Gonzaga or Notre Dame. But really, I had wanted to be a Vandal ever since the 5th grade when (my BFF) Jennifer Perry’s older sister went to Moscow and pledged the Delta Gamma Sorority.

She would come home for break with Greek letters on her shirt, a pack of beautiful DG “Sisters”, and stories about how much F.U.N. they were having and how much havoc they were wrecking. Ohmahgosh…I was hooked.

I vividly remember being invited to a Panhellenic recruitment event at someone’s house the summer after high school graduation. There were about a dozen confident and poised looking college co-eds, and about 30 wide eyed soon-to-be freshmen. We mingled in the lawn drinking punch and asking the older girls questions about where we were going to sleep and what we should pack, and they sized us up to see if we would be (Insert Greek Letters Here) Material.

I remember being a little nervous about Rush. But I am fairly certain that my heartbreak over parting ways with my high school boyfriend was taking center stage those last few weeks of summer. And then, about a week before I had to leave for college I caught pneumonia and all I was worried about was missing Rush altogether. It didn’t really occur to me that it was an audition of sorts until after the first day, when I found myself anxiously waiting to see if I had been “dropped” by any of the houses I liked.

While we waited another girl in my Rush group, Jen, and I rehashed our day. I remember being really focused on who had the nicest rooms, the biggest closets, and the most impressive looking house on the intimidating and beautiful Old Greek Row. Jen said that we would probably both end up in the “Brady Bunch” looking house. We may have shuddered.

It’s weird to me that I can’t remember where I put my car keys 90 percent of the time. But I can remember this absolutely vividly. About midway through the week I attended my 3rd round of Rush parties. I sat on the floor of the living room at Gamma Phi Beta – the “Brady Bunch House” – and realized that those girls I was talking to (Kendal, Gloria and Angel specifically) were the girls I wanted to live with. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to be liked by them. I wanted to be a part of that easygoing, natural, and honest friendship that they clearly shared.

Suddenly stakes were higher and Rush got scary. I got dropped by a house for the first time that night. And even though it was a house I didn’t want to live in, it freaked me out that they didn’t want me. What if Gamma Phi didn’t want me?

The last night of Rush is called Preference night. The women on my campus attend two final parties at two final houses. In sorority land, it is quite simply, A BIG FAT DEAL. And we all knew it. I was in my prom dress. I had a package of Kleenex in my pocket and butterflies engaging in some WWF in my stomach. I was invited to Preference parties at two lovely sororities and would be spending time with two women who were each going to do their best to convince me of where I needed to be. It was a beautiful night, and a pretty tough sell by Delta Gamma. But a sweet junior named Melanie at Gamma Phi Beta made my lil’ heart sing when she told me with such sincerity that I belonged with the Gamma Phi’s.

I don’t know that I will ever be able to really put into words what an impact all of that, and the 4 years that followed had on my life. I know that it sounds really sappy. It is a little sappy. But if this gives you any indication of how important my Sisters have been to me…I am sitting here with tears streaming down my cheeks just typing this out.

This weekend about 500 Gamma Phi Betas descended on my college campus for the 100 year Anniversary of Xi Chapter. There was a woman there who pledged Gamma Phi Beta in 1937. There was a tiny 12 week old girl named Emory who was instantly dubbed a future Gamma Phi. Most of all, there were 8 decades worth of friends who were there because of what we, and our sisterhood has meant to us for all these years.

If you have been reading this blog for more than 5 minutes I don’t think I need to explain to you that my girls know how to get their party on. We had big fun. My sides hurt from laughing, I have lost my voice, and my liver ran out a white flag sometime yesterday afternoon. It was good times.

I know that if I tried to tell you about what it meant to me to spend time with those women who I love so fiercely it would come out really trite and schmoopy. So I am just going to say that after 18 years I am still awestruck by our collective beauty. Not just because we are totally smokin’ hot mamas. But because we are an incredibly smart, strong, fun, funny, wise, selfless, kind, and loyal group of women.

I am so lucky to have my sisters. I love you guys.

In IIKE
~Clover

2010-03-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Y’all are just never gonna believe what my Mamma brought to my house Tuesday night.

(Um, yes. In my head sometimes I speak with a Southern drawl. That’s totally normal, thankyouverymuch.)

Do you see the carnage? The bio-hazard? The 2 inch heels intended to be worn by someone who can’t even read??? (Ohmahgah, Sweet Pea is just DYING to wear these. Natch.)

And now, in her own words, my Mother’s redemption right here on the interweb:

“After I read your blog last night all I could think about was how I raised you to be a good person. A person with strong ethics and morals. And then when you needed to make a decision about the right thing to do, I told you not to worry about it. Mommy guilt never goes away. Never!”

Aww. Isn’t that sweet?

She just felt awful about it. She made a special trip up there and dug though the shoe boxes to find them. Although she did say it wasn’t hard to spot the box with bloody fingerprints on it…

But anyhoo…Isn’t that cool? Thanks Mommy! I think we all feel better now.

(For the record, she also tried really hard to object to my statement about her being present for 98% of my “Bad Mommy” filings. But then I started to make a list and she got real quiet. And now y’all know why she’s so much fun…)

~Clover

2010-03-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

Things making me happy right now.

2010-02-25T22:31:00.002-07:00

In the spirit of Lent, and Catholicism, and generally NOT going to hell in a hand basket I am going to exercise my right to over share on the interweb. This is another one for what my mom calls “The Bad Mommy Files.”** In other words, the many, many times when I have totally messed up as a parent. Or as a human, in front of my children. This might be the only one that qualifies as a misdemeanor though…No…Case #126 involved a traffic citation. Fanfreakintastic.

**You know, now that I think about it, my mom has been present for about 98% of the submissions into the Bad Mommy Files. Interesting. And again tonight, there she was by my side, quickly and quietly ushering me out the door...

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Our sordid tale begins with my mom telling me that she found a very cute pair of slip on athletic shoes on sale, and in my size. She wanted to buy them for me. I will tell you a little secret about that. I NEVER say no when my mom wants to buy me clothes. That just seems like a bad idea right there.

So there we were in the shoe section of the mega grocery/department store in my neighborhood. We had the kids with us. And it is probably worth noting that they were all hopped up on McDonalds. Not because that is particularly relevant to the story. But it does lend to the “I am a crap parent” theme. Right?

Sweet Pea, knowing that I am distracted, and also that her grandmother is present and she is allowed to do just about anything at all when her grandmother is present, takes the opportunity to try on a pair of peep toe wedge heel espadrille sandals that are about 3 sizes too big and, HELLO, total hoochy mama shoes made for a 7 year old. (However, for a 36 year old they would have been cute. In fact, they are exactly what I spent all last summer looking for. Le sigh.)

I was just in the process of explaining to her that they were not really appropriate shoes for a little girl. And she was just in the process of planting her hand on her hip and rolling her eyes at me - God help us – when baby brother found himself a pair of peep toe heels and started parading around the store too. (Let me tell you. Hooker shoes on your 5 year old daughter is terrifying. Hooker shoes on your 2 year old son is pretty freakin’ funny.)

We all had our laugh. Except for the clearly heartless man who was trying on ugly black athletic shoes not 3 feet away. I mean, COME ON DUDE. That is some really cute and funny stuff. Nothing? Really? Whatever...So, I go over to help Will get his own shoes back on and, OMg. It looks like a scene from Halloween XXI. Will has a cut on his finger that is bleeding, and we are talking some serious bio hazard spattered all over him, the shelf, the floor, and yep. The Shoes.

Everything kind of went to slow motion then, I shoved the shoes back in the box and put them on the shelf. Then I asked my mom for a wet wipe, hoping that I could be discreet for just a moment while I figured out what to do. But nope. Right about then, Sweet Pea sees the blood and starts screaming, “MOM, WILL IS BLEEDING. HE GOT BLOOD EVERYWHERE! IT’S EVERYWHERE MOM, THERE IS BLOOD ALL OVER EVERYTHING!!”

I think I hissed at her through my teeth, which will be really good fodder later when she is retelling this story to her therapist. And then I whispered to my mom that there was blood on the shoes, and should I buy them? And my mom asked if I had any money, and I said no, of course not. If I had money I wouldn’t be hissing at my daughter and trying to shove my 2 year old into my coat before he bled out all over ladies footwear. And my mom was unconvincingly all, “It’s probably fine.” And then we paid for my shoes while I held my breath waiting for the Hazmat team to haul me off. And then I ran out of the store and drove around my neighborhood calling people and asking them what I should do. (Everyone said to forget about it, it wasn’t a big deal. OMg. It is SUCH a big deal. Someone is going to open that shoe box and scream.)

And then we saw a raccoon. Which again, has no bearing on ANY of this. But it doesn’t happen all the time, and Will thought it was cool. So I’m just throwing it in here.

Anyhooo…I am pretty sure that I am not going to be able to sleep tonight. And I am pretty sure that I am going to go back up there tomorrow and buy those shoes. We can donate them to the children of one of the people who I called tonight. Since, clearly, you are all heathens who would probably not have any problem letting your young daughter wear hoochy mama high heels.

See. This is why I drink.

~Clover

2010-02-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

I have gotten all inspired by Lindzee over at Cordon Pink. So, from this day onward, I will be occasionally posting photojournalist style recounts of food we eat here at Casa Golightly.

OMG. I know. You are so freakin' excited you can hardly STAND. IT.

Mmmmmkay. Anyway...

Do you like how I am continuing to write this blog as though people might actually read it? I do that to make myself feel cool. And also to give myself a chuckle on those late nights when I go back and reread my blog for fun.

I know. I need therapy.

I should probably warn you in advance that I cook by looking, smelling, tasting, and generally faking it. I suck at recipes, and unless I am baking, I never measure stuff. In truth, sometimes that doesn't work out so well. But for the most part it's cool. You are just going to have to throw caution to the wind and do the same if you ever want to recreate one of these. Which is to say, all measurements are approximate. Also, I use some prepared foods to make things easier, and quite frankly, better. So if your sensibilities are going to be all offended because I didn't make everything from scratch, then. Um. Well. Sorry. (And, maybe you should drink more wine, Sister.)

But here you go. I'm starting with a Friday night fish dinner since it's Lent and all.

Not Quite as Good as Skippers, but a heckuva lot better for you Fish and Chips.

4 fillets of a mild white fish, like cod. No skin!! Ew.
1 large egg
2 tablespoons of milk
1 package of flavored mashed potato flakes. Like Idahoan brand with herbs and parmesan
salt and pepper for seasoning
Olive oil cooking spray

Your favorite frozen French fries. I prefer crinkle cut. You?

Go ahead and start making your fries as the package directs. Most frozen fries need to be baked at 425, and that’s a little hot for our fish. So I suggest getting those done first and keeping them warm while you make the fish. If you like your fries crispy, get them almost done and then keep them in the oven with the fish to crisp up. I always sprinkle mine with a little seasoning salt before they go in the oven.

Cool, or Preheat your oven to 350

In a shallow dish whisk your egg with the 2 tablespoons of milk. Open the package of potato flakes onto a plate. Season your fish fillets with salt and pepper on each side.

Dip each fish fillet into the egg mixture and coat on all sides. Immediately dredge in the potato mixture, pressing the flakes onto the fish to get a nice thick coating.

Place the coated fish on a non stick baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 7 minutes on each side, or until the fish is no longer translucent, and flakes with a fork. Remove from the oven.

Spray the fillets lightly with the olive oil spray. Turn your broiler on and return the fish to the oven to broil until they turn a nice brown color. (About a minute.)

Serve with fries, tartar sauce, and a big green salad.

Yum!
~Clover

2010-02-23T11:17:00.002-07:00

Is there anything cuter than a little boy in mooose pj's and a tutu?

Nope. Nope. And, NOPE!

Well...unless you teach him how to "shake his booty" like a bumblebee.

What do you think of that Jack?

That's what I thought.

~Clover

2010-02-19T15:21:00.002-07:00

Soo...Whady'all think of Tiger's apology? I haven't seen it yet. Not sure I even want to. I just keep thinking that maybe when you have everything you could ever need, you start inventing things to want. Bummer.

Of course the big news here in Hideyhoo is about the 8 missionaires who got to come home from Hatian jail today. Not sure excatly what I think of that whole mess either. Part of me wonders if this was a very arrogant woman who let her need to feel like a hero get the best of her. Part of me wonders if she was being influenced by someone with very, very, terrible motives. Yucky. I just keep praying for those children.

Speaking of children who needed praying for...Say a couple for my nephew if you could. I have this feeling that his life is in a place of limbo right now. And the adult trusted to make good decisions on his behalf may not be living up to her end of the bargain. Sadness.

But on a good note, I saw "The Blind Side" last night. And I may just have a new favorite movie!! Thanks to my friend J for sharing her movie passes with me. That was F.U.N!!

That's all for my headspace today. What's up with all of you?
~Clover

2010-02-16T10:42:00.003-07:00

I keep watching this over and over. It is so nostalgic, but even better the second time around. And that it is helping the people in Haiti makes my heart smile.

We donated a weekend at Chalet Golightly to a silent auction and helped raise $350 for Haiti! And I am scheduled to give blood on Thursday. It doesn't seem like much in the face of so much devistation. But I suppose every little bit helps.

So please watch and have your heart warmed too. And if you can, download it and give $10 to the efforts to help those poor people.

We ARE the world. They need us in Haiti.

~Clover

2010-02-08T20:32:00.003-07:00

Sweet William: "Get a job Mom!"

Me: "Uh..."

Sweet Pea: "Yeah mom, you should get a job."

Me: "I have a job."

Sweet Pea: "What is it?"

Me: "Taking care of you."

Sweet Pea: "That's not a job. That's just work."

Touche.

~Clover

2010-02-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Ladies and Gentlemen…

Today my scale shows the lowest number that is has shown since the beginning of my pregnancy with what we now know to be the biggest baby in the world…nay, universe.

Which means that I have conquered the Holiday backslide, and I am now, officially, one pound closer to losing what I (in good conscience) really need to stop referring to as baby weight. Especially given that said “baby” is right this second climbing onto countertops and talking about Tank Engines on the Island of Sodor. He’s probably also putting a lot of thought into where he wants to do his undergrad.

I’d like to thank Gold’s Gym, my purple trimmed Asics, lean protein, crunchy veggies, the Black Eyed Peas, and last but certainly not least, water. We've still got a long way to go, but I couldn’t do it without you.

~Clover

2010-01-31T19:03:00.003-07:00

It is Sunday night and I am SO BORED. Which is dumb in that "only boring people get bored" kind of way. And also in that "I am the only adult in the house and while I am in here randomly searching the interweb for entertainment my children are running amock" kind of way. (Not that I think they are going to hurt themselves or each other...I'm not a terrible mom or anyhing. But I did just clean the carpets on Friday. And they have a bad history involving white carpet and crayola markers. I'm just sayin.)

Why does this happen to me on Sunday night? Ok. Well. I know. It's because I am so, like, Over. It. on Sunday night. Over refereeing. Over cooking. Over cleaning. Over thinking of fun memory making family activities. Just over it. I want to sit on the couch and watch something totally stupid like that Jersy Shore show on MTV that I keep hearing about. Total trainwreck. Perfect Sunday night fodder. But I can't, because MTV isn't Nickelodeon. And that is the only channel my TV will go to apparently. Well. Ok. Nick and ESPN. But I am pretty sure that's it.

Anyway. Lucky for us - that's YOU and ME dear readers. Because I finally got around to visiting a blog that Mr. G has been telling me about, and it is FEEEnominal. Check it:

Cordon Pink

The owner and writer of said blog is a second cousin of ours. And now I would like to officially put in a request for her to adopt me.

Um. In some very strange Twilight Zone moment, my children have just requested air popped pop corn for dessert. So I think the only thing I can do is make it for them quickly.

Enjoy your last few moments of weekend.

~Clover

2010-01-26T23:02:00.002-07:00

Thanks everyone, for all your kind and thoughtful comments to my last post. I got a lot of feedback here, on Facebook, in email, and even face to face. It's a lot to think about, and that's just what I'm doing. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, I thought I would share a couple of layouts I just finished with Chrismtastime pix.

~ Clover

2010-01-24T16:49:00.001-07:00

I think I am having a crisis of church. Which, in my opinion, is different than a crisis of faith.

I feel pretty comfortable with my belief system. Likewise with my relationship with God. I don’t have all the answers, and sure, there are days when I wonder if it’s all just a big joke. But so did Mother Theresa. So, you know, I feel good about this.

My problem is Sunday services. We go to the Catholic Church in our neighborhood. It’s a small parish, mostly families from our neighborhood. Many that we know, but I’m not going to go so far as to say that we have gotten involved in our church community. The priest is nice. The other parishioners are nice. No complaints about the choir or the coffee or any of it. It’s all just fine.

Unless you are two and five, in which case it is the most horrible awful ordeal that you have ever been forced to endure. Which means that every Sunday morning I either:

1) engage in a major battle to get everyone out of bed, dressed and somewhat polished so that we can race to 9:00 mass – the only one offered - where we then threaten our kids with a doughnut boycott for an hour if they don’t sit still and “use their whisper voices”.

OR

2) Lie in bed in a pool of guilt and rationalize how it just isn’t worth it to engage in the aforementioned battle.

It has been about 5 years since I’ve actually sat and listened to the priest, or followed along in the missle, or…lets face it…not left church feeling pretty frazzled and cranky. Which strikes me as not really what it’s all about.

Am I right?

I don’t know what to do though. We have attended other churches over the years. But nothing has clicked. The church my brother and sister-in-law attend is not only in our neighborhood, but they have about 4 different services to choose from, a choir that sounds like a rock band, and…hello…DAYCARE. You drop your little kids off for an hour of play. Your older kids go to their own kids’ service that they love, and you go have an hour of spiritual bliss. I mean, really, I love this. Right?

Well, kinda. Mostly. I don’t know. There’s a couple of things holding me back. Thing one is that their church is in the process of building a new campus clear across town. To another town actually. And that seems incredibly problematic to me. Thing two is that while we certainly love my BIL and SIL, we’ve spent our fair share of time around a lot of families from their church. And I feel a little bit like a hypocrite around them because I am just not as conservative as they are. (Again, these are lovely, wonderful people. That was not intended to put anyone down. This is about ME. Me who thinks gay people should be able to get married. Me who doesn’t get through the weekend without a bottle of merlot. Me who votes pro choice, albeit conservatively and not without some cringing involved.)

For some reason being Catholic and all of those other things has just never been a problem for me. Oddly enough, Catholicism in Idaho is fairly liberal. They tend to lean more toward “Love they neighbor” and the rest is a big mix of “don’t ask don’t tell” and “pray for forgiveness”. So I have my little list of things that me n’ the Good Lord are going to have to work out one of these days. But, I have no fear of lightening striking me as I walk through the doors of the church.

And then there’s thing three, which is, I’M CATHOLIC. It sort of seems like deciding not to be Italian, or American, or white. It’s just what you ARE. If there is not incense and a little stand up sit down during the services, I just don’t feel like it really counted. Not to mention the Virgin Mary. I absolutely adore the Blessed Mother and feel a pretty strong connection to her. If you’re not Catholic she barely figures in, right?

So. There you have it. I don’t know what to do. I haven’t known what to do for several years, so I have just been stuck on this hamster wheel of guilt and frustration. But now it’s all coming to a head, because Sweet Pea is in her first year of Catechism classes, and she is starting to understand that SHE is the only one who spends any time at our church. (She goes on Wednesday nights. So it doesn’t help us on Sunday morning.)

Ugh. I don’t know. Someone fix this for me.
~Clover

2010-01-18T10:56:00.001-07:00

Enjoy your day off, and remember why you have it.

~Clover

2010-01-13T22:55:00.005-07:00

I got a suggestion to fan a digital scrapbooking site on Facebook the other day, and I am in Lahuuuve!!! Check out Sweet Shoppe Designs. I am absolutely drooling over some of their kits, especially the 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, and Football themed ones. Drooling. Me. Drool....

Some pages from my calendar this year. This is a kit I bought from Shabby Princess. But obviously the pix are my cuties. :)