Visual Anarchy

A Fish Named Frankie

2009-12-28T08:50:00.004-07:00

After Madison got her first set of frogs Chase decided that he wanted a goldfish. Michael explained that Madison had done extra chores and saved her money to buy her own frogs and told him that if he wanted a fish he would need to do the same. We had been trying to get Chase to help out a little more around the house and thought the fish might be a good motivator.

Instead Chase started collecting change he found on the ground. Every time he found a penny or a dime he would hand it to Michael and ask, "Now do I have enough for a fish?" The answer was always, "No. But if you do extra chores you can earn some money."

On Christmas Eve his great grandma gave him a small stocking with a 5 dollar bill rolled up inside. He pulled it out, marched up to Michael, handed him the 5 dollars and said, "NOW I'm buying a FISH!"

We've heard beta fish are more hardy than goldfish so we showed him the beta fish right off. "Nope. I want a goldfish." In fact he insisted on a goldfish and pick an albino one that he named Frankie.

Don't tell Chase but the fish only cost a quarter, so he had enough money awhile ago, but I'm saving the rest of that 5 dollars for back-up fish.

Catching Up

2009-12-27T18:18:00.008-07:00

It's been a while but I've been very busy doing very important things. Things like cutting Chase's hair. I loved his long hair, but I missed his cute little face. What better time to cut his hair than before his preschool Christmas program, right? Wrong.

He was all for taking the clippers to his head until he looked in the mirror. Apparently the drastic change in his appearance was too much and he didn't recognize himself. He came out of the bathroom rubbing his head and said (in a very sad little voice), "Now I don't even have a name."

I have decided that motherhood is paved with good intentions and mine generally go awry.

By the time the program was over he had pretty much recovered--the candy canes they handed out helped. And though he may not love his short hair I do.

It WAS Bad.

2009-12-11T09:49:00.004-07:00

So the frogs died. In fact, they died and came back to life several times before they decided to just stay dead. Of course they were fine until she got home from school. They waited for her to see them die. It was horrible. She cried. I apologized profusely.

I told her if she got new frogs I'd never clean her tank for her again, in fact, I'd never do her any kind of favor just to be safe. "Mom, you can still do me favors. Just don't touch my frogs." she said. I thought that was fair.

As I hugged her while she sobbed I told her this was the time to ask me for something-- ANYTHING. Right then I would have done just about anything for her. She looked at me with big red swollen eyes and said, "Mom, do you think I could have a scarf?" Really, truly, she asked me for a scarf.

Because the frogs didn't last ten days the pet store said they would replace them for free. So after work Michael took her to get two new frogs. She is going to name them Blooper and Bobby, just like she named the last frogs. We could pretend this never happened if it weren't for a whole new line of jokes Michael has discovered, "Hey could you keep an eye on the meatloaf for me? Don't worry, it's already dead."

This Was Almost Very Bad

2009-12-10T14:16:00.006-07:00

I just killed Madison's frogs.

I had a little extra time and thought I'd do her a favor by changing the water in her frog bowl. It was pretty dirty and ITS IN MY KITCHEN. I was going to make her change it after she got home from school, but like I said, I had a few minutes and I was trying to be nice, and did I mention that it is in my kitchen?

I had to catch them with my hands because we don't have a net. It was nasty, but I did it. I even reserved some of the old water in temporary bowl for them to swim in while I cleaned. I rinsed the rocks and wiped everything down and I filled the bowl up with fresh water.

Then I let the water sit on the counter for 15 or 20 minutes before transferring the nasty little buggers back into their bowl. I then proceeded to scrub my hands with soap and very hot water.

A few minutes later I walked by and noticed one of them was floating belly-up. I freaked out. I poked it with a pencil. Nothing changed. I called Michael and watched as the second frog flip belly-up and floated to the surface of the water. It was horrible. And to make matters worse I was supposed to take these dead little frogs out of the water and put them in a bag so Michael could take them back to the pet store. Did I mention we don't have a net? I didn't enjoy touching them when they were alive, I really wasn't keen on touching them when they were dead! But what kind of a mother would knowingly let her daughter come home from school to see two dead frogs floating around in her bowl? I had to do it but I need moral support so I called Michael's sister. She's dealt with more dead pets than I have.

I came back in the kitchen prepared to touch two dead little frogs when I saw them--swimming around in the bowl like nothing had happened. I am sure they were laughing their little frog heads off too.

I hate frogs. Their sense of humor sucks.

A New Addition

2009-12-08T10:19:00.005-07:00

This weekend we welcomed someone new to our little family--actually two someones.

I tried to talk Michael into getting a puppy this weekend. It was a no go but I think we're getting closer. Instead he let Madison buy two very small aquatic frogs.

Their names are Blooper and Bobby.

Did I mention that they are living on my kitchen counter? Animals don't really go with my kitchen decor but Madison's room gets too cold for them. I think Santa might be bringing Madison a fish tank heater for Christmas.

Just Because

2009-12-05T07:19:00.003-07:00

I saw this on Ped Eggs and Hamlet and it went along with my post from yesterday so well that I had to post it too.

I Hate it When Religion Gets in the Way of a Good Time

2009-12-04T13:47:00.004-07:00

While thinking about the upcoming holiday Kai asked, "Why is all the Jesus stuff mixed in with Christmas?"

Apparently primary and I have failed him. Perhaps he should start listening to the AM radio again.

Polling Results

2009-12-02T14:13:00.003-07:00

My poll ended and the hot chocolate won by 1 vote. So hot chocolate it is! I hope my neighbors appreciate how much thought you all put in to their present. I know I do.

So This is Christmas

2009-12-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

I am glad to have November behind me and looking forward to an exciting December. Every morning Chases asks me if today is the day he is going to get presents and I remember how much I used to love Christmas.

For me Christmas has lost some of its luster. I still like to make the house look festive and I really enjoy giving a perfect present. But I don't wake up at 4am on Christmas morning full of anticipation like I used to. Perhaps I just value my sleep more.

However, I still want my kids to think Christmas is wonderful and exciting. So this year I will advocate watching as many Christmas movies as possible and drinking mounds of hot chocolate. And, like my friend Sparklebot, I am going to try to do something Christmasy everyday. Tonight I think we'll decorate the tree.

I will also try to get Davis better presents this year. He is two now, and heaven forbid we have a repeat of last year.

Etsy Shops

2009-12-01T13:18:00.002-07:00

I have decided to post a few things in my esty shop again. It's been a while, but I have a bunch of things I've been meaning to put up. I finally put up a few ornaments and plan to put up more this week. I also have some vintage material and buttons I'm going to put up. So go check it out. visualanarchy.etsy.com. While you're checking out etsy you should look at sweetersweater.etsy.com and sheartyrants.etsy.com.

I've mentioned The Sweeter Sweater before-- she makes awesome sweaters out of reclaimed wool. I bought a couple of hair clips for Madison to wear for our family pictures and they are SO adorable. Seriously, her stuff is awesome.

Shear Tyrants is very cool too. She has crocheted scarves and monster themed IPod covers. Tell me that isn't awesome!

I also added links to both the Sweeter Sweater and Shear Tyrants stores to my side bar.

Excuses and a Poll

2009-11-25T11:38:00.006-07:00

I realize I'm not posting very often, but this time of year seems to stress me out a little. I'm pretty sure I said this last year (to no avail) but next year I'm going to make fewer Christmas presents. Its just way to time consuming.

Anyway, speaking of Christmas, I have been thinking about what to give my neighbors this year. I have narrowed it down to three options, they are

1. Hot Chocolate Mix (homemade and put in a cute jar)
2. DIY S'more Kits (Idea taken from here)
3. A hand knit dish cloth (Nothing fancy. Just the traditional eyelet edged version.)

I am adding a poll to the side bar so go and vote. I love not making my own decisions!

An Open Letter to the Boy

2009-11-18T08:57:00.005-07:00

MacKay--

I am a firm believer that if you're sick you should act sick. None of this running around the house wrestling with your brothers. If you are throwing up every 10 minutes you should be lying in bed moaning in the mean time. You'll get a lot more sympathy that way.

Love,

Your Mother

Brothers

2009-11-16T20:18:00.003-07:00

The Sweeter Sweater Company

2009-11-15T18:55:00.005-07:00

One of my friends just started an awesome business. She makes sweaters, barrettes, hairbands, caplets, and all sorts of things out of reclaimed and felted wool. The detail in her designs are amazing. You should totally check it out (sweetersweater.com). Right now she is doing two giveaways the first (link here) ends Monday the 16th (sorry for the late notice) and the second (for a 25$ gift certificate to her store) ends Wednesday the 18th (link here). So go check them out and enter!

Question of the Day

2009-11-13T16:05:00.002-07:00

Question: Should I be concerned that my 4 year old son got in the fridge, ate a raw egg and then told me it tasted disgusting and he thought it might be spoiled?

It's Time For My Morning Jog

2009-11-09T09:05:00.008-07:00

At least he has his shoes and socks on. Right? Seriously! My kids can never find their shoes and socks. It really is a small miracle.

Now That's an Idea!

2009-11-06T07:57:00.004-07:00

Boy: HEY MOM! Check this out! I just found these in my closet-- it's like they're Levis, but they're shorts! I'm going to call them "Levi Shorts!"

This is Chase

2009-11-04T13:16:00.009-07:00

Right now Chase is trying to figure out what he can say and do to push my buttons when he's mad. He used to stomp his foot and yell, "I'm so mad!" and then run off. That just made me giggle, so he stopped doing it. Then he tried to tell me things like, "I hate John Deere!" But when I suggested we give all his John Deere stuff to someone who still liked John Deere his tune changed pretty quickly. He also threatened to not go trick-or-treating a few times. I was totally on board with that. But the following is his most recent and one of my favorites--

Chase: I hate you!
Me: Oh? Well that makes me sad. But I still love you.
Chase: OKAY LOVE ME! BUT NO MORE HUGS AND NO MORE KISSES!

A Grand Unveiling

2009-10-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

After several trips to the craft store and many hours hiding away in my craft room I finally finished the kids costumes.

Madison is going as Hermione

Kai is going as the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi

Chase refuses to have his picture taken.
So instead of going as John Deere Farmer
he'll be going as an Amish farmer.

and Davis is going as a Halloween pumpkin.

Bring on the candy!

I Must Be Forgetting Something

2009-10-29T08:37:00.005-06:00

This picture of the boy was taken in the fall of 2006. I cropped it from his 4 yr old preschool class picture.

And three years later . . .
I give you Chase cropped from his 4 yr old preschool class picture.

I can't very well argue that this particular problem is genetic so I've concluded that there must be a void in my potty training regime.

In my defense buttoning your pants back up seems like a fairly obvious step in the whole process. But then again, with three little boys I should know to never make assumptions.

Dressing Up

2009-10-21T07:54:00.006-06:00

As Chase and I were sitting in the living room waiting for his school bus yesterday, I realized when Chase said he wanted to dress like a John Deere farmer for Halloween he was saying he wouldn't be dressing up at all.

Costumes

2009-10-15T09:59:00.005-06:00

This year each of the kids knew exactly what they wanted to be for Halloween. Long gone are the days when I could convince them to go as some sort of theme. Even Davis, at the sweet age of 2, knew he wanted to be a pumpkin as soon as he saw this seasons first crop in the grocery store. Regardless of Michael's urging them to go as various Ben Ten characters, this is what they have decided they want to be . . .

As I said before, Davis is going to be a pumpkin, Chase is going to be a John Deere farmer, Madison is going to be Hermione Granger, and Kai is going to be the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi. Thats right. Not Obi Wan Kenobi, the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi. Speaking of which, do any of you know how to make a 7 year old glow?

All About Chase

2009-10-06T15:11:00.011-06:00

When Chase got home from school this morning he had this in his backpack.

Isn't it cute? They traced his body and then wrote out some of his favorite things.

Did you know that Chase's favorite animal is . . .

. . . a cow? I did not know that. Though, cows are found on farms and he loves a good farm so I'm not in shock.

Did you know that Chase's favorite color is . . .

. . . yellow? I totally knew that one. Yellow and Green? John Deere? You see where I'm going with this.

Did you know his favorite toy is . . .

. . . race cars? Again, not surprised. You thought he would answer some type of tractor didn't you? Well as he has learned from the John Deere for Kids website a tractor is not a toy*. Now a race car on the other hand . . . .

And finally, did you know his favorite food is . . .

. . . whaaaat? I think Kai said it best when, in one breath, he said, "What the heck are hod dogs? Who wrote that? Was it his teacher because why would she write hod dogs? That doesn't even make sense! HOD dogs?"

*The above link will take you to a John Deere Lawn Safety Quiz. If you haven't already, I suggest you take it. It could save your life one day.

Why ARE Farms So Perfect?!

2009-10-05T09:14:00.009-06:00

In the last few weeks we have visited not one but two farms and Chase has been in Heaven.

The first place we visited was the Blue Moon Alpaca Ranch. It was open farm day so I went to buy some lovely lovely alpaca yarn. The kids got to walk around the farm and see the alpaca, to which Chase dreamily asked, "Mom, why are farms so perfect?"

Was it perfect? Yes, I think so. Not only did I come home with wonderful yarn, I bought alpaca wool roving too. Why would I buy wool roving? Because I'm taking a spinning class.

Before you fall out of your chair, I won't be on a bike. Instead I'll be turning roving into yarn. I braved one of those biking classes when the boy was a baby and it took the instructor 20 minutes to fix the bike so my short little legs could reach the peddles. Apparently it took 20 minutes because as the instructor said, "those bike were not really made to go that small." Needless to say, I didn't go back.

The second farm we visited was the Red Barn. We took a wagon ride out to the Red Barn's pumpkin patch where the kids each got to pick out any pumpkin they wanted. To honor the occasion Davis wore his new, and very cute--thank you very much, pumpkin hat. He is a little obsessed with pumpkins right now.

Madison picked the roundest pumpkin, Kai picked the largest pumpkin, Chase's pumpkin had the longest stem, and Davis pumpkin was, well, small and cute just like he is.

Chase was all about his pumpkin until he saw our wagon was being pulled by a John Deere tractor. He didn't take his eyes off that thing the whole ride. When asked about the trip to the farm he said, "That was AMAZING!!"

Two Bits of Very Good Advice

2009-09-30T14:05:00.002-06:00

This morning while Chase was getting ready for school he said, "Yesterday my teacher said, 'Color in the lines and stop touching your neighbor.'" Such wisdom!

And I know I haven't been posting regularly. If you think I've been slacking off here you should see the pile of laundry I have yet to fold.