Thrift Store Magic

I've been hitting the local (and not-so-local) thrift stores for a while now, looking for things that would work in the bakery. The someday bakery. So far, I don't have much to show for it. Partly because I don't have a bakery to put anything in. And partly because thrift stores are so full of magical goodness that I get easily distracted.

I could record all sorts of thrifty goodness for posterity here. And, in all likelihood, I'll post some pics of bakery finds as I get them over on the Cakeapotamus blog. But today, there's this:

There are so many things to say about this oil painting. Yet, at the same time, there are no words. Wait, there's a word: Why?

Why is she making that face? It's like he just stepped on her paw and then backed off right when the picture was taken.

Except... this isn't a picture. It's a painting. So that face was on purpose.

Is this the lioness version of the duck face?

I took this picture at an antique mall a while ago. I remember that this painting cost a lot of money. Like- in the hundreds. Which is more than the $4 I would have paid. Though it is a lovely conversation starter.

I just don't think those are the types of conversations I want happening in my someday bakery.

Best Summer Ever

We've had many, many adventures this summer. Yesterday's shenanigans were particularly awesome for the monsters.

They started their day at my mom's where they ate bacon all morning. I remember thinking that 9am was pretty early in the day to peak. I mean, what can be better than hours of unlimited bacon access at Grandmama's?

I call the one on the top "Kevin"

But no! The day was about to get even better.

Not the part where I got lost at Midtown. That part wasn't fun. But the kids helped me navigate the labyrinth of one-way streets by repeatedly asking if I knew where I was going. 

This was not here when I was at Tech.

Eventually, however, we made it past the sketchy parking lot attendant and into the Imagine It! Children's Museum. It was like they'd finally found their mother ship.

You can really milk the cow next to the banana slide.

a play kitchen

SO MUCH play food

if Tinker Toys wore clothes, these guys would shop at Lane Bryant

the ball factory was a HUGE deal

There are 4 shopping carts in the whole exhibit. Competition for them got pretty fierce. 

sliding boxes down the conveyor belt

fishing

there's a viewing bubble in the stream

clay tables

paint on the walls

more ball factory

tractor!

I was glad to see my kids are not the only ones who think scales tell what something costs.

Oh, ball factory. How we mourn your distance.

I guess I score some mompoints by taking them to an interactive museum? Or is it too much? The neverending story of balancing excess and deprivation that is parenting.

All that and they still didn't take a nap.

The best part, though, and the reason I wrote this entry (besides wanting to dump the pictures of my phone) was this conversation that happened after we left a Wendy's drive thru:

Boo: "I got the same toy I already had." <really? We go to Wendy's twice a year and the kid gets the same thing both times?>
Bug: "I got a different toy!"
Boo: "You could share it with me?"
Bug: "No."
Me: "Bug, it would be sweet if you would share."
Bug: "But mommy, you said kids don't like to share when they first get a new toy."
Me: "Yes, but sometimes, super-sweet kids will share new toys."
Boo: "You're not super sweet. Keep doin' what you're doin'."

Best summer ever.

It's better that I wasn't there

My daughter is a beast.

Today, SuperHusband took our four year-old daughter to the doctor. I stayed home with the boy and worked on a cake.

Now, I wasn't there. But here's my version of how I think the doctor visit went based on witness testimony:

SH: "My daughter has an ear infection."
Nurse: "Oh, no! Poor baby."
SH: "She threw up in the car yesterday."
Nurse: "Uh huh. Any fever?"
SH: "No."
<Nurse checks Bug's temp: 98 degrees>
Nurse: "Any pain?"
SH: "Bug, what hurts?"
Bug: "Nothing."
Nurse: "Does your head hurt?"
Bug: "No."
Nurse: "Do your ears hurt?"
Bug: "No."
Nurse: "Does your throat hurt?"
Bug: "No!" (she's easily frustrated by people who don't catch on)
Nurse: "Do you feel sick?"
Bug: "No."
Nurse: (looks skeptically at SuperHusband)
SH: "She has an ear infection."
Nurse: "Uh huh. The doctor will be with you shortly."

<Doctor enters room>
Dr: "What going on in here?"
SH: "My daughter has an ear infection."
Dr: "Oh, no! Poor baby."
SH: "She threw up in the car yesterday. And she asked us to turn the music up."
Dr: "Uh huh. Any fever?"
SH: "No."
<Dr checks chart, sees 98 degrees>
Dr: "Any pain?"
Bug: "No."
Dr: "Do you feel sick?"
Bug: "No."
Dr: "Any loss of appetite?"
SH: "No."
Dr: "Any loss of energy?"
SH: "No."
Dr: "Any history of motion sickness?"
SH: "Yes."
Dr: (looks skeptically at SuperHusband)
SH: "She has an ear infection."

At this point, I'm sure the doctor was wondering who the real patient was. Or maybe he thought he was being Punk'd.

However, to his immense credit, he did not call the authorities nor mental health to check out SuperHusband (that we know of). He did check Bug's ears. At that point I like to imagine that the trendy, young doctor couldn't help but exclaim, "TARNATION!"

He's the only one I know who says, "Tarnation!"

And that Burberry scarf just tumbled right off his shoulders as he stumbled back in awestruck amazement. In my head, he was wearing a scarf despite the 100 degree weather because it makes it funnier that the scarf falls off at this point in the story.


She has an ear infection.

A double, actually, but he was only able to tell that after they extracted a blockage the size of a peanut M&M from the left ear.

You're Welcome

Bug ended up getting great care from that doctor. And four princess stickers which, you know, is the mark of a truly gifted healer to a four year-old.

I wish I could tell you that she's feeling better, but she was never feeling bad, so there's not much of a difference to look for.

It's nice when your parental instincts prove true despite all objective evidence.

And, I also think it's pretty awesome that SuperHusband and I have the moves so well rehearsed that, when Bug or Boo get sick in the car, we can get the kid out, their clothes changed, and everything cleaned up without any kind of discussion or hesitation. It's like a choreographed dance now. And, as gross as it is, it's one of the best parts of being married.

K is for Kiss: Bucket List: Complete a 10K

Remember that time I couldn't finish that 5K? No, not that time, the other time. It's true. Way back in the day, before the girl was born (but after the boy), I attempted a couple of tiny little 5Ks, and I couldn't finish them. I went too slowly and gave up pretty soon after the races started. I didn't want to be the slowest and the last. And the police who followed the end of the racers didn't want to wait on me.

Now, back in the day, I could do a 5K any day of the week. When I lived in Texas, I did a bunch. They were very walker-friendly and so I wasn't the slowest (or the fattest).
Having kids changed my body. Wussing out on those 5Ks brought that reality into painful focus. I could no longer just throw down a quick (45 minute) 5K. Everything had shifted and I was simultaneously weaker and stronger.

I still have not successfully completed a 5K since I had kids, and I have serious doubts that I will ever be able to. I have, however, completed a 10K. In my weird little head, this makes complete sense. I can't finish a 5K so I'll just do a 10K instead. 3.1 miles is as unpossible as failing English. 6.2: totally doable.

SuperHusband and I did the Peachtree Road Race together this year which completely counts as a romantic date. On July 4th of this hot, hot year, we walked through Midtown Atlanta together. And it was awesome. For two hours, we talked and took water from strangers and ran through sprinklers (me!) and avoided sprinklers (him). He did the race last year and so it wasn't as big a deal to him. Me? I freaked out and almost quit about 37 times before we began.

Here's what I learned:
1. The Peachtree is very walker-friendly.
2. That 91 year old who was walking ahead of us is a beast.
3. It is less fun to walk past the Barnes and Noble in Buckhead than it is to go there on an adventure with Tamara.
4. Mile 3 is a hill. The whole mile.
5. Walking past the Cheesecake Factory plays a significant role in future dining selections.
6. The Peachtree needs shuttles from the finish line to MARTA stations- that extra 2 miles of walking was complete unnecessary.
7. I can do a 10K

It's an interesting experience. I certainly wasn't the fastest but I wasn't the slowest either. I wasn't the fattest, I wasn't the oldest. My feet got sore but not my legs and not my back. I was tired but not dead.

We signed up for another 10K in October. Hopefully that one won't make me dead either.