Kids come up with the most amazing games. They also come up with amazing ways to manipulate their Momma. Check out this game:
I give them lunch, then proceed to work on cleaning the kitchen while they eat.
They say thank you for lunch.
I say, "You're welcome," while still focusing on dishes.
They repeat, "Thank you."
I want to encourage them to say thank you, so I respond with a polite, "You're welcome."
Then they get louder. "Thank you!"
I match their volume. "You're welcome!"
They vary the pattern a bit. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
This is becoming routine. And I have dishes to focus on. "You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome!"
They try whispering. "Thank you."
I unconciously whisper back. "You're welcome."
Then they sing. "Thank you."
I sing. "You're welcome."
That's the best one yet. They sing louder. "Thank you!"
I can play that game. "You're welcome!"
Oh, singing is lots of fun! "Thaaaaaaaaaaaank yooooooooooouuuu!"
I'm starting to get into the spirit of things now. "Yoooooooooo're WEEEEEEEEEEELcooooooooooome!"
Before I know it, I'm mimicking the music from Phantom of the Opera while holding a dishrag. I finally realize what has been going on, and where it has led me, and thank my lucky stars that nobody was there to hear me.
I love my kids.
P.S. They love this game, and now try to get me to play whenever they can.
P.P.S. Our next performance is tomorrow at lunchtime, should you care to drop by!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Curly Girl
Friends, I'm a curly girl. It's a new thing. It's also... a whole lot of fun. And, since I mentioned it in the last post and got a lot of interest, I'm going to post a very quick, Chelsea-style tutorial.
First, I'm going to recommend you read the book Curly Girl, because it's awesome and gives a lot more tips and tricks than I know off-hand.
The HOOK:
Do you have curly hair? Do you think you have curly hair? Is your hair pretty when it's wet and frizzy when it dries? Do you worry about anything ever touching your hair after you've gotten it perfect because you'll have to get it wet and re-style it to make it look decent again? Do you wear hats, braids, and ponytails to tame the mop that is your hair? You, my friend, might be a curly girl!
The THEORY:
Curls are, naturally, very dry. That's just the way they're built. And, almost everything we do to them is damaging. Straightening, blow-drying, going for a walk outside in the sunshine, going for a walk outside in the wind... everything dries it out and damages it. That often makes hair look straight when it's actually curly. So, we moisturize!
The DON'Ts:
-Shampoo is a no-no. Even the gentle stuff will give you frizz that is virtually unmanageable.
-Brushing your hair will only separate your curls and you will end up with, that's right, more frizz.
-This is a soft no, because blow-drying can give you a softer, bigger, bouncier look than air drying. I like it, but blow-drying curls just adds to the damage.
The DOs:
-Condition your hair. A lot.
-Towel-dry your hair, and let it air-dry periodically.
-Consider doing a deep-treatment to your hair once a week or so. I'm still experimenting with things like mayonnaise and olive oil, but do some research and set aside thirty minutes of you time with your hair up in a shower cap getting infused with moisture.
The METHOD:
-When you first get in the shower, let your head hang back and just let water run through your hair for a couple minutes, like being in a waterfall. Don't touch your head yet. Just let your hair get wet.
-Then, using your fingers, gently massage your scalp. Try not to disrupt your curls; just agitate all of your skin for a couple minutes to loosen any oils and dirt that may be trapped there. Rinse your hair.
-Once or twice a week, massage your head with conditioner and rinse out, just to help loosen oils and keep your scalp from getting too dry.
-Then, apply conditioner. Put a small dollop in the middle of your palm, rub it between your hands, and smooth it over the top of your hair. Pay special attention to the very top of your head. Don't massage it in, just smooth over the top. If you need more conditioner, feel free to use it. Make sure you cover the "canopy" of your hair with conditioner. Put another small dollop of conditioner in your hand, rub it between your hands, and work it through the bottom and underside of your hair. I usually flip all my hair to one side, condition the bottom, then flip it over to the other side, and repeat with more conditioner. (But then, I have a LOT of hair.) I also apply a little bit more to the sides of my hair.
-As you are conditioning, gently finger-comb through your hair. This is where you get out all the tangles and make sure the conditioner is evenly distributed. You will lose some hairs in this process, but that's normal. You typically lose about 100 hairs a day anyway. As you are finger-combing, your hair should feel like wet seaweed. You can put your hair under the faucet for a couple seconds if needed to help evenly distribute the conditioner. I usually don't.
-Don't rinse out the conditioner. It becomes your moisturizer and your product all in one. (That part weirded me out at first. I can accept not shampooing my hair, but then not even rinsing out the conditioner? Crazy. I tell you what though, it works!)
-Don't wring out your hair. I usually flip it over upside down while I'm still in the shower and scrunch it a bit just to encourage the curl.
-When you get out of the shower, towel it dry. (I actually use an old t-shirt I cut up, because it helps reduce frizz.) Don't rub it, or squeeze it. Treat your curls delicately! Instead, flip your hair upside down and, starting at the tips, scrunch your hair up toward your head with the towel. Flip your hair to either side and do the same thing. Then, leave them alone for a few minutes while you get dressed.
-The book says to use a little bit of gel at this point, scrunched up into your curls the same way you towel-dried it. I found I didn't like the gel so much; it just made my hair heavy. Feel free to experiment with different products and methods. Different hair likes different stuff!
TIPS AND TRICKS:
-If you blow-dry your hair, make sure to use a diffuser, and blow-dry from the bottem up, scrunching it with your blow-drier the same way you did with your towel. (There are a bunch of videos on you-tube that will show you how to do this.)
-Curly hair looks better with a bit of volume on top. I was always afraid of volume, because my hair is naturally so big, but since going curly, I've started to encourage the roots to lift a bit more by flipping my hair upside-down or sticking a couple of claw clips in the top just to lift it as it dries. Maybe that's where I should use the gel... on my roots! Oooh....
-This process takes a couple of weeks to really start to look good. You'll notice a difference in the first day or two, but give your hair time to heal. Expect to have awesome hair in 2-3 weeks.
-Layers can look AWESOME with curly hair!
-The first few days are a little weird, and you do have to do some experimenting with what your hair likes best, but seriously, this is the easiest, most worry-free, most fun, best way I've ever styled my hair.
Good luck and have fun!
First, I'm going to recommend you read the book Curly Girl, because it's awesome and gives a lot more tips and tricks than I know off-hand.
The HOOK:
Do you have curly hair? Do you think you have curly hair? Is your hair pretty when it's wet and frizzy when it dries? Do you worry about anything ever touching your hair after you've gotten it perfect because you'll have to get it wet and re-style it to make it look decent again? Do you wear hats, braids, and ponytails to tame the mop that is your hair? You, my friend, might be a curly girl!
The THEORY:
Curls are, naturally, very dry. That's just the way they're built. And, almost everything we do to them is damaging. Straightening, blow-drying, going for a walk outside in the sunshine, going for a walk outside in the wind... everything dries it out and damages it. That often makes hair look straight when it's actually curly. So, we moisturize!
The DON'Ts:
-Shampoo is a no-no. Even the gentle stuff will give you frizz that is virtually unmanageable.
-Brushing your hair will only separate your curls and you will end up with, that's right, more frizz.
-This is a soft no, because blow-drying can give you a softer, bigger, bouncier look than air drying. I like it, but blow-drying curls just adds to the damage.
The DOs:
-Condition your hair. A lot.
-Towel-dry your hair, and let it air-dry periodically.
-Consider doing a deep-treatment to your hair once a week or so. I'm still experimenting with things like mayonnaise and olive oil, but do some research and set aside thirty minutes of you time with your hair up in a shower cap getting infused with moisture.
The METHOD:
-When you first get in the shower, let your head hang back and just let water run through your hair for a couple minutes, like being in a waterfall. Don't touch your head yet. Just let your hair get wet.
-Then, using your fingers, gently massage your scalp. Try not to disrupt your curls; just agitate all of your skin for a couple minutes to loosen any oils and dirt that may be trapped there. Rinse your hair.
-Once or twice a week, massage your head with conditioner and rinse out, just to help loosen oils and keep your scalp from getting too dry.
-Then, apply conditioner. Put a small dollop in the middle of your palm, rub it between your hands, and smooth it over the top of your hair. Pay special attention to the very top of your head. Don't massage it in, just smooth over the top. If you need more conditioner, feel free to use it. Make sure you cover the "canopy" of your hair with conditioner. Put another small dollop of conditioner in your hand, rub it between your hands, and work it through the bottom and underside of your hair. I usually flip all my hair to one side, condition the bottom, then flip it over to the other side, and repeat with more conditioner. (But then, I have a LOT of hair.) I also apply a little bit more to the sides of my hair.
-As you are conditioning, gently finger-comb through your hair. This is where you get out all the tangles and make sure the conditioner is evenly distributed. You will lose some hairs in this process, but that's normal. You typically lose about 100 hairs a day anyway. As you are finger-combing, your hair should feel like wet seaweed. You can put your hair under the faucet for a couple seconds if needed to help evenly distribute the conditioner. I usually don't.
-Don't rinse out the conditioner. It becomes your moisturizer and your product all in one. (That part weirded me out at first. I can accept not shampooing my hair, but then not even rinsing out the conditioner? Crazy. I tell you what though, it works!)
-Don't wring out your hair. I usually flip it over upside down while I'm still in the shower and scrunch it a bit just to encourage the curl.
-When you get out of the shower, towel it dry. (I actually use an old t-shirt I cut up, because it helps reduce frizz.) Don't rub it, or squeeze it. Treat your curls delicately! Instead, flip your hair upside down and, starting at the tips, scrunch your hair up toward your head with the towel. Flip your hair to either side and do the same thing. Then, leave them alone for a few minutes while you get dressed.
-The book says to use a little bit of gel at this point, scrunched up into your curls the same way you towel-dried it. I found I didn't like the gel so much; it just made my hair heavy. Feel free to experiment with different products and methods. Different hair likes different stuff!
TIPS AND TRICKS:
-If you blow-dry your hair, make sure to use a diffuser, and blow-dry from the bottem up, scrunching it with your blow-drier the same way you did with your towel. (There are a bunch of videos on you-tube that will show you how to do this.)
-Curly hair looks better with a bit of volume on top. I was always afraid of volume, because my hair is naturally so big, but since going curly, I've started to encourage the roots to lift a bit more by flipping my hair upside-down or sticking a couple of claw clips in the top just to lift it as it dries. Maybe that's where I should use the gel... on my roots! Oooh....
-This process takes a couple of weeks to really start to look good. You'll notice a difference in the first day or two, but give your hair time to heal. Expect to have awesome hair in 2-3 weeks.
-Layers can look AWESOME with curly hair!
-The first few days are a little weird, and you do have to do some experimenting with what your hair likes best, but seriously, this is the easiest, most worry-free, most fun, best way I've ever styled my hair.
Good luck and have fun!
Friday, January 4, 2013
New Year's Resolutions
Hello, all!
Happy New Year!
Hope it's been a good one, so far.
I've had a good one, mostly because we made a turkey dinner for New Year's Eve and I've still got leftovers in the fridge. Turkey sandwiches are my favorite. :)
Also, I have curly hair.
(Don't worry, that last bit was completely unrelated. Although...)
Since we're on the topic, can I tell you about having curly hair? It's pretty awesome.
See, I've always known I had curly hair, but I had no idea what to do with it. It should have been very pretty. Instead, it was frizzy. Unless, of course, I went a day or two without washing it, at which point it became smooth and shiny and straight. That was always fun. And a little gross.
Then, I stopped washing my hair altogether, and it turned super curly and pretty and fun!
Well, that's not entirely true. I also stopped brushing my hair.
There you have it. The secret to curly hair is not washing it or brushing it.
And using a ton of conditioner.
Water + Conditioner - shampoo - brushes and combs = fun, shiny, bouncy, easy easy easy curls.
Welcome to the new year!
:) :) :)
Oh, right. I was supposed to talk about New Year's resolutions.
Typically, I don't believe in them. In fact, I still don't believe in them. Too arbitrary.
However, I have a new goal, which happens to coincide with the New Year, so I'll fudge on a technicality.
This year, I'm going to take pictures. Hopefully, there will be lots of them. Then, once a month, I'll get them printed off. Then, I'll stick them, unceremoniously and un-craftily, into a picture box. The end.
There will be very little editing, little-to-no captioning, and no cutting or glueing. Print and stuff, baby. It may not be much, but in 20 years, I'll be thrilled to have tons of pictures to look through.
This bit of brilliance was my Mom's doing. Thanks, Mom!
Also, I want a puppy. Does anyone else want a puppy?
Happy New Year!
What are you not resolving to do this year?
Happy New Year!
Hope it's been a good one, so far.
I've had a good one, mostly because we made a turkey dinner for New Year's Eve and I've still got leftovers in the fridge. Turkey sandwiches are my favorite. :)
Also, I have curly hair.
(Don't worry, that last bit was completely unrelated. Although...)
Since we're on the topic, can I tell you about having curly hair? It's pretty awesome.
See, I've always known I had curly hair, but I had no idea what to do with it. It should have been very pretty. Instead, it was frizzy. Unless, of course, I went a day or two without washing it, at which point it became smooth and shiny and straight. That was always fun. And a little gross.
Then, I stopped washing my hair altogether, and it turned super curly and pretty and fun!
Well, that's not entirely true. I also stopped brushing my hair.
There you have it. The secret to curly hair is not washing it or brushing it.
And using a ton of conditioner.
Water + Conditioner - shampoo - brushes and combs = fun, shiny, bouncy, easy easy easy curls.
Welcome to the new year!
:) :) :)
Oh, right. I was supposed to talk about New Year's resolutions.
Typically, I don't believe in them. In fact, I still don't believe in them. Too arbitrary.
However, I have a new goal, which happens to coincide with the New Year, so I'll fudge on a technicality.
This year, I'm going to take pictures. Hopefully, there will be lots of them. Then, once a month, I'll get them printed off. Then, I'll stick them, unceremoniously and un-craftily, into a picture box. The end.
There will be very little editing, little-to-no captioning, and no cutting or glueing. Print and stuff, baby. It may not be much, but in 20 years, I'll be thrilled to have tons of pictures to look through.
This bit of brilliance was my Mom's doing. Thanks, Mom!
Also, I want a puppy. Does anyone else want a puppy?
Happy New Year!
What are you not resolving to do this year?
Monday, November 19, 2012
An Unfair and Almost Blasphemous Indictment
Moms are scary.
To this day, I am scared of them.
And I'm scared of being one of them.
We all know the joke: "Oh, no, I'm becoming my mother!" and "I swore I'd never do that to my kids... I hated it when my parents did it to me, but there I was, a mirror image of my mother."
I am currently reading a book called "How to Hug a Porcupine." It's a great book, and talks about the art of loving difficult and toxic personalities. The big thing it focuses on is criticism. It warns against "parenting" people with the words "should," "need," and "ought." This advice makes so much sense to me, and I truly try to stay away from anything that looks like parenting with most people.
Of course, the question arises, "How do we effectively and kindly parent our children while still showing them respect as individuals?"
And then, a deeper question haunts me. We need to parent our children. They need anywhere from 10-1000 corrections per day. "You need to get dressed, now. No, now." "Please just eat your food; don't play with it." "This letter comes next in the alphabet." "Don't hit your brother." "Play with something else." I understand the need to let children make mistakes and learn from the natural consequences that come. I try really really hard to give them the space to do that. But still, they need direction and guidance. How, when my job is to correct people so often, each and every day for weeks and months and years and years and years, do I keep from being a toxic mom? A toxic person? How on earth can I be loving to my kids? To my husband? To myself, when I fear and hate so much of what I have to do to help other people?
Care to weigh in?
To this day, I am scared of them.
And I'm scared of being one of them.
We all know the joke: "Oh, no, I'm becoming my mother!" and "I swore I'd never do that to my kids... I hated it when my parents did it to me, but there I was, a mirror image of my mother."
I am currently reading a book called "How to Hug a Porcupine." It's a great book, and talks about the art of loving difficult and toxic personalities. The big thing it focuses on is criticism. It warns against "parenting" people with the words "should," "need," and "ought." This advice makes so much sense to me, and I truly try to stay away from anything that looks like parenting with most people.
Of course, the question arises, "How do we effectively and kindly parent our children while still showing them respect as individuals?"
And then, a deeper question haunts me. We need to parent our children. They need anywhere from 10-1000 corrections per day. "You need to get dressed, now. No, now." "Please just eat your food; don't play with it." "This letter comes next in the alphabet." "Don't hit your brother." "Play with something else." I understand the need to let children make mistakes and learn from the natural consequences that come. I try really really hard to give them the space to do that. But still, they need direction and guidance. How, when my job is to correct people so often, each and every day for weeks and months and years and years and years, do I keep from being a toxic mom? A toxic person? How on earth can I be loving to my kids? To my husband? To myself, when I fear and hate so much of what I have to do to help other people?
Care to weigh in?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Falling
Summer cries. Its tears stream down in late afternoon temper tantrums, spending the last of its scorching energy.
Then it fades.
The world settles.
The sun rises lower in the sky.
Ever so slowly, the seasons change.
A leaf begins to die, turning a lively yellow, saluting the sun.
Whole mountains turn red, and a chill moves perceptibly down into the earth.
Darkness becomes a blanket, a presence, a whole world of stars and breath and prayer.
Creatures begin to hide in thicker coats and deeper homes and hoarded food.
In a last farewell, the land covers itself in crimson, gold, and copper.
And, with a last breath and sigh, the summer fades.
Softly, ever so softly, Autumn falls.
With snow, and spices,
the world settles.
It sleeps.
Then it fades.
The world settles.
The sun rises lower in the sky.
Ever so slowly, the seasons change.
A leaf begins to die, turning a lively yellow, saluting the sun.
Whole mountains turn red, and a chill moves perceptibly down into the earth.
Darkness becomes a blanket, a presence, a whole world of stars and breath and prayer.
Creatures begin to hide in thicker coats and deeper homes and hoarded food.
In a last farewell, the land covers itself in crimson, gold, and copper.
And, with a last breath and sigh, the summer fades.
Softly, ever so softly, Autumn falls.
With snow, and spices,
the world settles.
It sleeps.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Facebook Official
Last week, we scheduled our first lesson for Bridle Ranch.
Last night, I bought file boxes.
This afternoon, I designed our website.
Then, I created our facebook page.
That's right, friends. Bridle Ranch is official. It's on facebook.
Bridle Ranch Website
Bridle Ranch Facebook Page
It's rough. But it's a beginning.
Like us. Share us. Tell your friends. And come play!
Last night, I bought file boxes.
This afternoon, I designed our website.
Then, I created our facebook page.
That's right, friends. Bridle Ranch is official. It's on facebook.
Bridle Ranch Website
Bridle Ranch Facebook Page
It's rough. But it's a beginning.
Like us. Share us. Tell your friends. And come play!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
I'm Baaaaaack!*
Hello, everybody!
How's your summer been? I hope you've been on lots of fun trips, and gone camping, and soaked in swimming pools and stuff. You deserve it.
We've had a crazy crazy crazy crazy summer. Here's a quick recap:
2 working parents
2 kids
2 cats
2 horses (Yes, we got a second one at the beginning of the summer. His name is Snip. He's cool.)
1 car
and...
2 babysitters.
All of which equals:
a dirty house
a dead lawn
two dead bike tires
a couple of exhausted parents
persisting 3-year-old prayers that Mommy not go to work
one temper tantrum telling Mommy to go back to work
a diploma
a new dining set (I now have the coolest table ever!)
and a "condolences in this time of sorrow" card given to me at my graduation. (It was pretty funny. I laughed.)
I did learn a few things while I was up there. I learned that I don't work well with people with cognitive disabilities. I learned that I'm absolutely terrified of high ropes courses. I learned that I really really really appreciate organization and consistency. I learned that one can get culture shock only an hour away from home. I learned how to better deal with difficult situations and difficult people. I learned more about how to have patience and be calm.
It was, overall a very good experience. It was a huge juggling act, trying to balance 30-40 hours of work a week, 10 hours of driving time, a house, two kids who suddenly don't have parents, a teenager out of the house for the first time, an exhausted husband, an exhausted me, and four animals, not to mention the fact that the work was a huge learning experience for me. Still, like I said, I learned a lot. I can't even articulate most of what I learned, because so much of it was simply the experience of being there and of coming to peace with myself in a new environment with a new population.
Can I tell you what I did, though? For my senior project, I created a training manual template for the company. Basically, they have several different programs up there, but each one is run in its own little way, without much of a sense of cohesion between them. I created a template that each program supervisor will just have to fill in the blanks to complete, and voila! Questions answered, all information covered appropriately, and a sense of cohesion built throughout the company. I was pretty pleased with the results. I'm curious to see if my efforts will actually help them.
So, for the past few weeks, I've been putting my house back together, harvesting our garden, cramming all the fun we should have had over the summer into a few brief hours over the weekends, and working on starting a business. (More to come on that later!)
Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't blogged very much lately. Blogging fell off my list of priorities for awhile. Truthfully, I'm not sure how much time I'll have for it in the next few months, either, but I will try. In the meantime, keep watching for updates on facebook. We're getting a website set up! It'll be awesome.
See you all soon!
*Rachel, this post was instigated by you. Thanks for facebooking me!
How's your summer been? I hope you've been on lots of fun trips, and gone camping, and soaked in swimming pools and stuff. You deserve it.
We've had a crazy crazy crazy crazy summer. Here's a quick recap:
2 working parents
2 kids
2 cats
2 horses (Yes, we got a second one at the beginning of the summer. His name is Snip. He's cool.)
1 car
and...
2 babysitters.
All of which equals:
a dirty house
a dead lawn
two dead bike tires
a couple of exhausted parents
persisting 3-year-old prayers that Mommy not go to work
one temper tantrum telling Mommy to go back to work
a diploma
a new dining set (I now have the coolest table ever!)
and a "condolences in this time of sorrow" card given to me at my graduation. (It was pretty funny. I laughed.)
I did learn a few things while I was up there. I learned that I don't work well with people with cognitive disabilities. I learned that I'm absolutely terrified of high ropes courses. I learned that I really really really appreciate organization and consistency. I learned that one can get culture shock only an hour away from home. I learned how to better deal with difficult situations and difficult people. I learned more about how to have patience and be calm.
It was, overall a very good experience. It was a huge juggling act, trying to balance 30-40 hours of work a week, 10 hours of driving time, a house, two kids who suddenly don't have parents, a teenager out of the house for the first time, an exhausted husband, an exhausted me, and four animals, not to mention the fact that the work was a huge learning experience for me. Still, like I said, I learned a lot. I can't even articulate most of what I learned, because so much of it was simply the experience of being there and of coming to peace with myself in a new environment with a new population.
Can I tell you what I did, though? For my senior project, I created a training manual template for the company. Basically, they have several different programs up there, but each one is run in its own little way, without much of a sense of cohesion between them. I created a template that each program supervisor will just have to fill in the blanks to complete, and voila! Questions answered, all information covered appropriately, and a sense of cohesion built throughout the company. I was pretty pleased with the results. I'm curious to see if my efforts will actually help them.
So, for the past few weeks, I've been putting my house back together, harvesting our garden, cramming all the fun we should have had over the summer into a few brief hours over the weekends, and working on starting a business. (More to come on that later!)
Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't blogged very much lately. Blogging fell off my list of priorities for awhile. Truthfully, I'm not sure how much time I'll have for it in the next few months, either, but I will try. In the meantime, keep watching for updates on facebook. We're getting a website set up! It'll be awesome.
See you all soon!
*Rachel, this post was instigated by you. Thanks for facebooking me!
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