parenting

The last two weeks have certainly been interesting as a parent to the Lucas children.  Between all of the chaos of Christmas, the Elf on the Shelf and Santa Claus, Gidget has made sure to keep me on my toes.

Via

Two incidents in particular come to mind.  The first "incident", which I had hoped would be the worst we would have for awhile, proved to be, in my opinion, the minor of the two.  The girls and I had just come home from the store.  I brought the girls inside the same way we have done a million times before.  I brought them inside, turned on one of Gidget's favorite shows, left Birdie in her car seat next to Gidget and ran outside to grab the three bags from the car.  (If there is a simpler way to unload groceries without the fear of a child running into the street or going to jail for leaving the kids in the car while you unload please let me know).  I was outside for probably about 30 seconds, closed the back hatch to my car, started walking the 5 steps to our front door when I heard the chain to our front door being moved.  Gidget had never played with it before but knowing her I knew I needed to hurry.  It was too late.  Apparently her first attempt to lock the chain was a success.  I tried to remain calm and talk her through unlocking the chain.  Well Gidget doesn't think like that.  First she began yelling at me that she wanted more crackers and juice and could not understand why I wouldn't just open the door and get her what she wanted.  She would try once or twice, get aggravated and then go watch her show for a minute or two, ignoring her mother's pleas to be let back inside the house.  Finally after about 10 minutes of all this, she finally figured it out and let me in.  Needless to say, our chain now is tied in a knot to avoid this situation again.

Now for the grand finale.  Or, as I like to call it: Reason No. 543,178 why it is ridiculous to have Rapunzel length hair.  My husband didn't find this story as shocking as I do.  So if you do not understand the insanity of all of this then I apologize.  Just try it yourself and get back to me, I'm sure your feelings will change.  Okay so here goes: I got a new vacuum for Christmas (I had asked for one so it's completely acceptable as a gift).  Our vacuum before was pretty horrible at it's one job in life so I was excited to try out my new one.  The girls were playing in Gidget's room and I decided to use the hand attachment to clean under all of Gidget's furniture.  Picture it:  I am lying on the floor, on my stomach, cleaning under Gidget's armoire while I am telling her to quit playing with the vacuum while I am using it.  Next thing I know the vacuum has been knocked on it's back and my hair has been sucked up in the vacuum with my hair on the back of my head rolled all the way up to my scalp.  Well apparently, the vacuum has amazing suction.  No matter how hard I pull the vacuum will NOT release my hair.  The pain is pretty horrible and since I have the vacuum attached to the back of my head I cannot reach the off button or the power cord.  Nor is my phone anywhere near my reach.  Gidget just stands there and screams as I plead for help.  Finally after what seemed like an eternity I was finally able to reach the off button.  At this point my hair is so tangled in the vacuum that I just had to pull and let the vacuum keep a rather large handful of my hair.  While traumatizing I also know how funny this story will be for years to come.  I never understood until now why so many women cut all their hair off when they become mothers.  Not only is it more convenient it is now an OSHA violation in my own home!

In light of all of this, I have come across a few articles on parenting I thought were good.  This one I will have to put on the fridge as a reminder for situations such as these.

via Pinterest

A Child's 10 Commandments to Parents

1. My hands are small; please don’t expect perfection whenever I make a bed, draw a picture, or throw a ball. My legs are short; please slow down so that I can keep up with you.

2. My eyes have not seen the world as yours have; please let me explore safely: don’t restrict me unnecessarily.

3. Housework will always be there. I’m only little such a short time—please take time to explain things to me about this wonderful world, and do so willingly.

4. My feelings are tender; please be sensitive to my needs; don’t nag me all day long. (You wouldn’t want to be nagged for your inquisitiveness.) Treat me as you would like to be treated.

5. I am a special gift from God; please treasure me as God intended you to do, holding me accountable for my actions, giving me guidelines to live by, and disciplining me in a loving manner.

6. I need your encouragement, but not your praise, to grow. Please go easy on the criticism; remember you can criticize the things I do without criticizing me.

7. Please give me the freedom to make decisions concerning myself. Permit me to fail, so that I can learn from my mistakes. Then someday I’ll be prepared to make the kind of decisions life requires of me.

8. Please don’t do things over for me. Somehow that makes me feel that my efforts didn’t quite measure up to your expectations. I know it’s hard, but please don’t try to compare me with my brother or my sister.

9. Please don’t be afraid to leave for a weekend together.  Kids need vacations from parents, just as parents need vacations from kids. Besides, it’s a great way to show us kids that your marriage is very special.

10. Please take me to Sunday school and church regularly, setting a good example for me to follow. I enjoy learning more about God.

article via

Also, Sarah Sophie Flicker's article, "My Daughter Myself: A Girly Girl Raising A Girl" is really good if you have girls.

   

we'll have a blue christmas without you

 

 Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

all i want for christmas

1//2//3//4//5//6...via//7//8//9

wise words

happy thanksgiving

Listening to my new favorite holiday cd...

She and Him

while this is simmering on the stove...

The Scent of Christmas

and drinking hot cider while baking all of my Thanksgiving goodies!

trick or treat

Sorry if it seems like I've been living under a rock lately.  I really have to work on being dedicated to blogging, but in the last two weeks between Gidget's 2nd birthday and halloween and all of my little diy's it has been very busy around Casa de Lucas.

I have done a ton of diy's, some have been a disaster and some have turned out pretty good.  I'll be sharing the good ones ASAP.  Two weeks ago was Gidget's 2nd birthday and I had a ton of ideas, way more than I had time to accomplish, as usual.  We had a vintage circus theme.  I saw a circus invite that I loved awhile back and our theme was born.  Of course, our invite wasn't beautifully letterpressed but I still loved them and they were so fun and easy to make.

Made a birthday balloon wreath...I'm sure it will be getting lots of love over the next few years.

The favor boxes seemed to go over well, they were paper popcorn boxes (from Hobby Lobby) filled with animal crackers and little fish soaps. For the soap there were two tutorials that I read before making them and then I just kind of went for it.  They didn't turn out as lovely as the tutorials, probably because I didn't use the rubbing alcohol step but Gidget still loves using her soap every day hoping to get through to that goldfish soon. Tutorial No. 1; Tutorial No. 2

 

By the way, it was kind of cute when one or two of the fish settled belly up in the soap!

I also made Gidget's outfit.  She was a little ringmaster but I can't seem to locate a picture of her with her hat on!  I'm going to miss the days when the girls don't let me play dress up with them anymore!

Pictures of the day:

This Elmo laughs and rolls around on the floor.  Gidget is terrified of him when he's in action and will scream and smack him in the forehead until he falls over.  I need to get it on videotape, it's so cute!

...........

Halloween was celebrated at our church family fall festival and at the grandparents.  I made both of the girls costumes.  Birdie was a little indian and Gidget was going to be Snow White until the day before and we made the decision to throw it out and start all over.  Which means I spent the day before Halloween making her a little senorita/flamenco dancer costume.  She seemed to love twirling in it and now no one can say we're not multi-cultural.

This cracks me up.  If she sees something she wants she goes for it!

(Sorry Senor Lucas is never in any pictures, he absolutely loathes them and will do whatever it takes to NOT be in a picture). 

In unrelated news, if you haven't seen this movie and don't mind a documentary I highly recommend it.  Bill Cunningham is such a kind, endearing, authentic man.  I found it to be very inspirational.  Mr. Cunningham has a new fan, I think he's just the cutest!

  
That's all folks!

what we've been up to

Last weekend my hubby and I went to my 10 year high school reunion.  This officially made me feel like a grown up. 

It wasn't as bad as I expected, not that I know what I really expected.  It was great to spend time with my lovely friend Catherine back from California.  She's amazing and these days I try to live vicariously through her.  I miss her so much!  The red lipstick was fun, but I probably wouldn't do it again.  I'm not known for wearing very much makeup and I felt a little like I was on drill team.  It kind of ages me (not something you want to happen for your reunion), and seems to smear really easily.  I'm sure there are ways to avoid this but as I said, I'm no pro.  I was kind of going for a modern take on the 1940's, the era that I'm so sad I don't live in, that and the 1960's.  The shirt was my own design.  It has a few flaws but as long as I don't look to close I'm pretty proud of it.

      
I made these cake batter truffles...

recipe here

They were soo good!  Found (of course) via Pinterest.  The bottom of the bowl looked pretty in the sink after I was done so I just had to sneak in a picture.

Made new drawer pulls for Gidget's armoire...

Her armoire was a neighborhood find.  Someone put it in their driveway with a sign that said $50.  So, needless to say, we brought it home.  In true form, I've changed everything about it, and am still not done but am pretty happy with it so far.  The pulls have definately been a challenge.  The original ones were not screwed in.  I don't even know how to describe it, I've never seen anything like it, they were attached with wire and braided into the wood on the inside.  I cut them off (not an easy task) only to realize they were also made in a size that does not come standard.  I spent about two weeks searching every earthly place trying to find something that would work.  Finally I remembered I had bookmarked this tutorial awhile back and it worked perfect.  In the end I'm happy nothing else worked because I love these agate pulls.  I ordered the bases the same place that she did in the tutorial and ordered the agate off of eBay.  It was so cheap to do and it looks pretty high end.  (My husband rolls his eyes when I tell him this, but I love him for it).

I have been trying to get Gidget to color since the day she was born and this week she finally is interested, and in full force.  This makes me so excited!  And so proud! 

I don't know about you, but I think she is quite the artiste. 

In honor of her newfound love I made her this...

This has been all over Pinterest for a very long time and I finally decided to make my own.  It wasn't as easy as I had expected.  It took a lot longer that I thought it would and my hands are a little beat up from the process but I like it.  Mine has quite a few flaws but I think this is supposed to have a lot of imperfections.  That's what I love about dripping wax.  So, between that and my love for all things Rainbow Brite/Lisa Frank lately, this works perfect.  There are several ways on Pinterest that this is being done, I used the hot glue gun version.  Personally I didn't want the crayon wrappers on mine and a glue gun is only $2 so you're not heartbroken when you destroy it.  If you're hands are as shaky as mine are be prepared for random splatters, i.e. the bottom of the canvas and all over my kitchen.

I drink this all year round but this just tastes like fall to me and makes me happy...

Love it!

I just found this and can't understand why they have it priced so high.  After all, I don't think you will love it as much as I do if it doesn't have your last name on it...

via eBay

I think it would look perfect in my home, don't you?

I think this has been my longest post ever.  I have a lot more coming but I will save that for later.


PS if anyone knows of someone who would like to model vintage clothes for free let me know, please!!!  It would be pretty fun if you like to play dress up and I may be able to actually pay someone for it at a later date but my little business is just getting started so that, as well as a professional photographer, will just have to wait.  We did a "shoot" with several items for the store yesterday and I'm just not cutting it as a model.  Being borderline albino just doesn't make for great pictures.  I'll let you know when I get all of my new items listed in the store.  I love them all so much I am going to have a hard time parting with them. 

Until then,