Check your coats...

It was a chilly LA day. We don't get much of them around here. I take it upon myself to dress the part when I can. I've got this fabulous yellow puff vest. It's the kind of vest that never really goes out of style...until it does.
But for now I absolutely adore it. So does Mudd. I think it reminds him of the construction workers and their yellow slickers, or maybe it's the sheer density of the thing and the way that it weighs him down.
This morning I was looking everywhere for the vest. When I finally found it, I was in a hurry to get Mudd to preschool. It was only as I was driving around town that I reached into the pocket and pulled out:
a toy hammer
a toy screwdriver
and 3 toy pliers.

I love my Flip-Flops!

It's a good thing that I live in LA where the warm weather makes a mani-and pedi a weekly activity. Tons of people in LA live in flip flops all year long. We take our flops very seriously. Designer or not, it's all about comfort. Here are my top three flip-flop choices (in the luxury, mid-sized, and economy range) for the new year:

1. Monolo Blahnik, Pipilia: Fabulous gold and shimmery evening flop. I love them because they are so sexy, yet still flats! They are a flash of color that will go great with the right nail polish.

Barney's

2. Tory Burch, Miller Thong: Perfect Jeans and a T-shirt flop. The logo is just the right size to give these flops flavor without being annoying. I love casual couture, and I love these shoes.

Tory Burch

3. J. Crew, Classic Wedge Flip-Flop: Whether you are wading in the water, or walking on the hot sand, these flip-flops perform. They get the job done and they still manage to look good in an "I don't take myself too seriously" kind of way. Plus, they are under twenty bucks!

http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=prod76173231&catId=cat280218

Things I love...

I am so totally obsessed with Jemma Kidd. I know, I know. With three kids, who the heck has time for make-up? But you know what, the glistening lip gloss is just delicious. Seriously.

Seeing is Believing...

Jam is jonesin for glasses. Yup, eyeglasses. As a contacts wearing, optical despising Momma, I keep telling the kid to enjoy the perfect vision while it lasts. But he wants no part of it. " I want glasses!" he is known to scream on numerous occassions.

He just had his four year old checkup (okay, so I was only about four months late on this) and he got his beloved eye exam.

Do you know what my sneaky son did? He sabotaged the test. No joke.

The RN asked the kid colors, and he looked over at me and smirked. Every color that she pointed to was orange. Every last one.

He failed the exam on purpose. So, now he has an appointment with a specialist and I know that the kid can see. At least I thought I did....

Jemima WHAT?

It was absolutely hideous.
Hives.
A ring of redness all around Mudd's cute little pouty lips.
Red spots all over his body...
This screamed allergy, but what in the world did darling Mudd eat?
Mudd is the kid who dove into peanut crackers at ten months old causing near convulsions (to me, not him as I watched him and prayed that he didn't have a peanut alergy). Then I remembered that for the past few days my boys have been insisting on waffles. I normally keep my go to girl Aunt Jemima ready to roll but I was feeling like a healthy, earthy momma and bought them organic maple syrup in a glass bottle from TJ's (Trader Joe's, not Tijuanna!). My boy is allergic to maple! Did you know that Aunt Jemima syrup does not contain maple? Check out the ingredients and it'll scare you.

To Every Season...

You know the Byrds song:
"To Every Season, Turn, Turn, Turn...
There is a Reason...."

My eighty three year old grandmother passed away on Friday. She was really ill and in a great deal of pain. She is finally at peace. But, still...it doesn't really make the grieving any easier.
My boys have been itching to go to her house; I think that they can sense something is up. I used to take them there almost every day. She was the boys' number one playdate.
She gave them popsicles, candy, chocolate, soda, and Jello. All things that Momma doesn't buy. She never listened when I told her my boys' don't need "that junk."
Her reply? "In my house, I'm the boss."

She was amazing, M&M's and all.

We're really going to miss you, Bubbie.

The Witching Hour

Every day, without fail, the boys start to lose it at around five thirty. The madness lasts for a good hour.
Conveniently, Big D is still at work for the brunt of the crazy times. Jam, Mudd, and Baby Wiz start a chorus of whines that manifest into wails.
The boys eat dinner, take baths, and maintain the funkiness without fail every day. I've tried lengthening nap times, bed times, snack times...all to no avail. Nothing I do makes any difference.
The three amigos feed off of each other and I'm just there to watch and pray that nobody gets hurt.
If you're not doing anything tomorrow, whaddya say you swing by my house at about five?
That would be swell.

The Simple Things

Recently, Jam and Mudd have become absolutely obsessed with garbage trucks. Baby Wiz even crawls to join the boys as they look out the window and watch the truck do its thing. I'm telling you, it's wholesome famiy fun.

Since it is painfully hard for the boys to wait an entire week for trash day, we've taken to watching you tube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB9ePIbRYg8

Let this new year be one filled with an appreciation of the simpler things...