Be A Good Mom

Ahhhh….Fridays in the summer…..Garage Sale Season….I love it.

Here is what I got today:

•  Soft vinyl building blocks for Giggles $3
• 4 large plastic coated bibs $1
• a remote control car $1
• Twister $1

(all of these above were from the garage sale at Geetle’s school, which is why I let her spend $1 on a “remote control car” that is probably worth about $2.50 retail)

• a tetherball pole and ball for the backyard  $5
• 2 more vinyl coated bibs $1
• Crayola Crayon maker $2 (Geetle already tried it out….probably not even worth the $2)
• Mousetrap $1 (Wow.  Pookie probably wants to be an exterminator when he grows up now.  He loved this)
• Disney Princess Checkers $1  (Geetle and I have a date to learn how to play)
• a Cutter and Buck hoodie $1
• PJ Funnybunny Activity Book $.50 (he is one of Pookie’s favorites)
• 3 bunches of fake Gerbera Daisies $3
• a black chicken-wire basket $1
• a rhyming board game $1
• a medium sized Boyds Bear (new, the lady was a sales rep and had dozens of them) for a bowling prize at our family tournament next week $6
• a terry cloth swimsuit cover up for Giggles $1
• an old exercise trampoline, a small one $4.92 (all I had left in my pocket at the end of the day)

I normally don’t spend so much, but it was Neighborhood garage sales in the subdivision behind Target.   As I went from garage to garage I was surprised to see so many duplicated toys.  I saw the same race track 3 times in one block.  Must have been THE toy to have that Christmas.  I was also surprised at the prices some people think they can get for children’s clothes.  I realize they are Gymboree and that they cost $35 new, but that does not mean you can ask $5 for a sweatshirt at a garage sale.  If you are looking for a better ROI on your children’s clothes, might I suggest Target or Kohls?

It was fun.  I like bargain hunting.  I usually buy kids stuff, but I was pretty happy with my daisies today.  They look real and 3 bunches is alot of flowers.  They really fill the vase and look nice.

Here is a picture of the quilt Aunt Shel and I made for Mamaw’s 50th birthday.

I must admit that eventhough I was playing around with quilting, I never would have thought to do it if it was not for Aunt Shel.  She is good at these, I think she said this was her 3rd one.  Here’s how we did it:

Selected appropriate number of pictures, made them black and white, cropped them close and printed to special fabric paper (bought at Jo-Ann Fabrics)

Cut picture fabric and blocks to size

Had each family member sign their name on a piece of paper, which we traced onto the green blocks and embroidered by hand.  BAGD did most of the “50s”.

Sewed blocks and rails per quilt book instructions

Ta-Da.

We were pretty proud of ourselves because we finished on schedule.  Our schedule had a built in emergency buffer, but we didn’t even have to use it.  We finished with no problems.  The finished quilt is crib sized, which was perfect.  It was not too large of a project and very manageable for quilting.  I sewed the quilt top and I am still not perfect with my corners.  So, just like the Hawkeye Quilt, we could not stitch in the ditch.  So, instead, we traced a heart on each of the “50″ squares and quilted that.  It worked well, sort of like the quilted “I” in my Hawkeye Quilt.

Psst!  Dad!  Did you know pancakes are only a penny?

We attended a local restaurant’s 30th anniversary celebration, where pancakes were only a  penny a piece, limit 30.  It was very crowded and the poor servers were frazzled, but it was fun.  I wondered why the kids were not more excited and then I realized that they never pay for their pancakes so the whole “1 cent” thing was just not hitting home.  But they thought the pancakes tasted good, so that was all that mattered.

Giggles had a few tiny ones.  She is VERY into eating grown up food.  She gets angry if we don’t give her any.   Its a bit early, but I must admit I am encouraging it.  I hate the baby food stage.

So, all in all, we had fun.  Luckily we beat some of the crowd.  I am not sure how many pancakes we ate, but I think it was about 18.  (our bill included drinks, so it was still $12).

I love this.

I think its funny.

If I were these guys parents, I would have laughed so hard I cried, or cried so hard I laughed.

Hoo!  That is funny.

I found this site which will help keep us all on path, by reminding (nagging us) via “semi-unpredictable” email messages. 

HassleMe

This is a good idea.  Often, I blind copy myself in on emails, so that it pops up fresh in my email again, reminding me to follow up on something.   With this free service, I could send myself reminders like:

• Hey!  Not everyone has a computer, but they still want to see pictures of the kids.  Send hardcopy photos to the old family folks who don’t read your blog.
• Are you flossing?
• When was the last time you told BAGD that he rocks?
• Today would be a good day to let Pookie ride his bike around the block at .000002 mph.
• Today would also be a good day to let Geetle take some photos and work on her scrapbook.  She loves that.
• Time to clean 6 kid ears!
• Are you remembering to say “yes” to the kids more?
• Why are you keeping that pile of clothes in the back of the closet?  Get rid of them!

I could go on and on.  I think I will set up a few. 

Surely you have taken your kids to the mall to play on those soft play grounds.  You’ve seen the signs out front.

No food

No drinks

No shoes

Socks Required!

Why?   I assure you that my children’s feet are among the cleanest parts of their bodies.  Are we worried about preschool athlete’s foot?  According to the Wikipedia, up to 15% of the population may have athletes foot.   The bacteria that cause athletes foot live in moist environments.  Ok.  But if the soft play structures are “moist” its because some other fluid leaked directly out of a kid, one way or another.  And I would be more worried about that fluid than I would be about the fact that it now created a moist environment that could harbor athletes foot bacteria.  Plus, having bare feet gives the kids better traction and reduces the injuries on the play equipment.

Geetle is old enough to read these picto-signs and knew that it said she must wear socks.  Having come to the mall in her crocs, she was worried that she could not join Pookie, who had worn more sensible shoes.  I told her it was OK.  She was then worried  that she would get in trouble.  I have not begun to explain the whole “when its OK to break some rules” thing yet, so I just said “its OK’ and pushed her through the gate.

This whole “Socks Required” thing is just a ploy to get us to buy a $5 pair of socks from the children’s apparel store that just HAPPENS to be located right next to the play area, I think.

But, once again, I am here on the Internet just trying to eductate myself.  So if you know what the big deal is, why they need to wear socks, please let me know.

I am concerned that Geetle is stressing herself out. She worries so much about Pookie. She tugs at his arm, telling him to come along, walk faster, watch out, etc. She gasps when he wanders 3 feet away at the grocery store and touches the canned goods. If he carries a toy or book into a store, she takes it from him, so he won’t lose it. She has always answered questions for him, but the rest of this is new.

Generally, Pookie is a good kid. He does not wander far, he does not get into trouble. He is a lolly-gagger, but what 5 year old boy doesn’t drag his feet at Wal-Mart? BAGD and I are trying to teach him independence and how to manage himself. Therefore, we keep the leash pretty slack. We make sure he stays with the group, but if he wants to look at the “Coke vs Diet Coke” SuperBowl display at the grocery store, we let him. He comes back. He behaves himself.

But, Geetle worries. She thinks he will get lost, or hurt, or in trouble. Her heart is in the right place, but I don’t want her to get too stressed out. We have never said anything about Pookie being “different” in front of Geetle. We never even say “Autism” here. We say “the big A”. But somehow she seems to have figured out that Pookie needs some support, although she is not sure how much. We see that she does it with Giggles too, so we know that it is just her altruistic tendencies coming through. She is our Little Mother.

Pookie, for his part, lets her do it. He listens to her when she tells him to put his shoes on. He will hand her his Capri Sun if he can’t get the straw to poke thru. But he also will tackle her when he wants to play. So, while he accepts that she is sometimes right, he knows she is a kid and technically not the boss of him.

When Pookie wandered over to the OREO display at Wal-Mart today, I told Geetle to take the day off, that I would worry about him for her. She giggled and grinned at me, so I think she knows that she should lighten up. I don’t mind her helping me watch him, because she is polite and tender when she does it. She never yells at him, she just grabs his hand or tells him to hurry up. And Pookie does not mind it. But I do not want her to get too stressed out. I know how stressful it is to be the parent of a boy with autism, and I do not want my 5 year old daughter to go through that.

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If you get anything, you owe me 10% finders fee.

Do it now!  The deadline is May 19th 2008!