The Mom Crowd

It’s that time again: the start of school.  For many of us moms, it’s the start of pre-school.  My kids have been in pre-school for about four weeks now (and my mental health is the better for it!)  Lucy is in the 2-year old class, so she brings artwork or little projects home twice a week.  Eli, 1, goes once a week, and doesn’t bring anything home yet.

I love that the kids get to do fun projects at pre-school.  I love seeing how proud Lucy is when she shows me what she did, and listening to her cute voice describe it: “What did you make, Lucy?”  “A col-LAGE!”  Another new word in her ever-expanding vocabulary.

So this is just the beginning.  Soon, artwork is going to start piling up all around us if we don’t have a plan of action for what to do with it.  I’m sure lots of you moms know what I’m talking about.  What happens when there’s no more room on the fridge?

Thanks to ideas I’ve read in various magazines over the past couple of years, I’ve acquired some helpful tips for this issue.  I don’t really take credit for these ideas – except for #1 and #3, which I just thought of as I was writing this post.  I hope this helps you prevent mountains of construction paper from forming in your house & car!

1. Turn your laundry room or spare wall into a gallery.  As I mentioned last week, my house has out-of-date wallpaper.  In our laundry room – a place where I spend a fair amount of time each week, and also the room we walk through to get to the garage – the wallpaper is pretty busy.  So I started taping up the kids’ artwork and projects.  Every day that Lucy brings home something new, she helps me pick out a spot on the wall, and up it goes.  It’s her artwork-central.  She loves it.  I get to appreciate it, and the less of that wallpaper I see, the better.
2. Take pictures of the artwork as it comes in, and save them in a special folder on your computer.   Then the opportunities are endless:  use the pictures for your screensaver, or make a photo year book for each school year!
3. Create a blog just for their artwork.  Give the address to family members and friends so they can comment.  The kids will love the praise on their own special webpage!
4. Mail pieces of artwork to distant relatives.  Not only does this get it out of your house, it gives Grandma a special surprise amid her bills!
5. Keep a special portfolio, box or file for each of your childrens’ work.   At the end of each quarter or semester (or any time you feel is necessary), sit down with your child and the artwork, and do a cleanout.  Have them choose their 5 best pieces, and save them in the portfolio with the dates and their signature.  Then decide what you will do with the rest.  Tell your child that any of options 2-4 are acceptable, but it’s time to make room in the portfolio for new things that come in.  Not only does this whittle down the amount of paper you’ve got at home, it gives your child ownership in what is kept, and even helps develop a critically-thinking mind.
6. Frame your favorite pieces to be hung on the walls.  I saw a picture of this in the latest Real Simple; the decorator created a collage on the wall of framed family pictures and artwork.  It was really cool and colorful.

Surely there are other ideas and tips out there for cherishing the work of each of our little Picassos, Monets, or better yet, Dalis.    What have you done?

Months ago, Amanda posted a great peek into her daughter’s beautiful nursery.   I was so impressed with how cute and practical it was.  Recently, another friend of mine redecorated a room in her house to create a second nursery for her new son (nursery #1 is now her todder son’s bedroom).  I was practically drooling at the colors, the theme, and the pristine, matching furniture.  This weekend, I read the new People magazine, which featured “Baby Yearbook 2008″, covering celebrity baby lifestyles from fashion to nursery decor.  I marveled at J. Lo’s extravagant nursery for her twins, and then imagined what it must be like to have two other houses with two other nurseries decorated exactly the same way (Max & Emme won’t be confused at any of their three homes.)

My reality is altogether different.  Here are my true confessions:

• We’re renting a house.  This means major decorating is not only restricted, it’s kinda pointless.  Therefore, we make do with what we have.  And what we have is funny.  It’s hilarious watching peoples’ reactions to the wallpaper in my son’s room.  Three walls are a masculine, somewhat dark pattern, which is fine.  One wall, inexplicably, though, is a repeated pattern of pictures of colonial American buildings.   Let me say that again:  it’s a repeated pattern of pictures of colonial American buildings.   It’s a bit like having a giant, permanent history poster in your bedroom.  On the plus side, Eli has a better sense of our country’s past than I ever did at that age.  So, bonus!
• The crib bumper is adorable.  It’s green, blue, and red, which we bought at Wal-Mart.  It doesn’t match the wallpaper, of course, or anything else in the room, for that matter.
• There are no curtains for the window.  I wouldn’t even know how to hang them if I had some.
• I find random baby room decor at Target when it’s marked down, and occasionally, I buy it.  So Eli’s room has a few animal plaques here, some safari animal clings there, and a wooden sign that says “Thank Heaven for Little Boys” over his window (this sign was a gift, actually).  All of this is hung on top of that wallpaper.  (Sometimes, if you stare at the walls long enough, you can make out new images, like those old Magic Eyes books.)

• We’ve moved a few times since my kids were born.  Therefore, Eli’s room is also our storage/junk room.  This is fine for now, since he only uses the room for sleeping.  Other than the crib and wall decor, it’s pretty much my dumping ground for extra books, picture frames, and boxes.  His closet is our extra storage closet.

• My daughter Lucy’s room is painted blue.  Go figure.   
• I try to stay away from Pottery Barn Kids, Babies R Us, and other baby specialty shops as much as possible, to keep my envy in check.

As much as I wish I could have a nursery that is airy and bright and serene and precious, with gliding rockers and lullabies playing, it’s just not in the cards for me.  And frankly, the kids just don’t even know any better.   

Have you got any confessions you’d like to share?  Anyone out there in a similar boat?

p.s.  I recently painted these letters to add to the decor, and I am pretty proud of them.

This summer, my daughter had the opportunity to play with lots of her friends’ toys, but one of her favorites was the water table.  She likes dipping her hands in water and playing with sand.  On this same day, she couldn’t even be pulled away from the table to take pictures with everyone; she stuck by that table with great determination, as seen on her face.

When I asked the other moms in my playgroup if they liked this toy, they said yes, but one mentioned how she didn’t like the sand.  After these pictures were taken, they removed it from the table.  Apparently, it attracted bugs.

I recently noticed a water table offered on my local Freecycle, and I wondered if I should go through the trouble of acquiring it.  How many of you have water/sand tables?  Is it a must-have for your toddler?  What inconveniences have you noticed with keeping one?  What other toys were indispensible for you this summer?

What does your hair look like?

Have you changed it much after having kids?

Do you ever feel like cutting it all off to make life a little bit easier?

You may recall the decision that Shelby made in Steel Magnolias – to cut off that beautiful mane because of her “need to make things as simple as possible.”  You may have, like me, envied young Julia Roberts’ perfect hair all throughout the film only to gasp at the mom cut she is saddled with near the end.

She goes from this:

to this:

If you recall, she’s brought to tears by the shock.  (As was I.)  You’ll notice that she hardly ever dons hair this short in any film after that.  Look how long and flowy and pretty it is in Erin Brockovich.  Notting Hill.  Mona Lisa Smile.  My Best Friend’s Wedding.  The Pelican Brief.  Runaway Bride (my favorite look). 

So, every time I’m set to have my hair cut, my hubby always says, “Don’t come home with a mom cut.”  And he’s only half-joking.  He’s picturing this.  I always laugh and say, “I won’t!”  I’ve generally had long hair my entire life.  And as a full-figured momma, this suits me best.  But it had never been as long as this before!

Yep, that’s me.  3 weeks ago.

It was kinda taking over the world.  I wash it, pull it back wet, and ignore it.  Which kinda told me that no matter how I cut my hair, it wouldn’t really matter, ’cause I’d never style it anyway!  And how impractical!  My one year old is always pulling it, just two or three strands at a time on accident, which is way more painful than pulling all of it, ya know?  Plus, the heavier it got, the less clean it looked. 

Before:

After:

I ended up taking 3 inches off, which is hardly noticeable to anyone.  It looks cleaner.  It’s less heavy.  Overall, it is a conservative, practical cut.  But I have a confession: I miss those inches.

I want my length back.

Because when I did fix it up, I felt as glamorous as Julia.  

Now it’s your turn.  Tell me your mom hair stories.  If you can’t lose the long hair either, tell me.  If you have an amazing short ’do that gives new meaning to the phrase ”mom cut”, show us!  Link us to pictures.  I love this one, but I’d never do it.  What about you?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been playing the album “No!” by They Might Be Giants during mealtimes.  Most lunches, in particular, I’m home alone with the kids, and musical stimulation is necessary for me to not go crazy with boredom.  (The kids are cute & all, but not exactly great conversationalists.)  I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. 

This album came out in 2002 – well before my kid-making days – which explains why I’m late in discovering it.  But what a fun discovery!  There are 17 tracks, but I’ve chosen a few favorites and why we like them.  Scroll down a little further to hear the songs instantly as you read about them!  They are all very short.

“In the Middle” – A cute little ditty that doubles as a public service announcement to tykes who want to cross the street. 

Don’t cross the street in the middle of the block
Use your eyes to look up
Use your ears to hear
Walk up to the corner when the coast is clear, and wait, and wait
Until you see the light turn green

I find myself doing a choreographed jig to this one when I’m making the grilled cheese.  (Yes, I think I can dance.) 

“I Am Not Your Broom” – The most TMBG-like.  In other words, totally random and silly, and not so musical.  Sure to get everyone’s attention.  Last week, it actually came on while I was sweeping.  Lucy stood there processing it all.  It was so funny.

“Bed, Bed Bed” – Its percussion beat had all three of us pounding on the table and dancing in our chairs.  Pull out the pots & pans and watch the family drumline fall into place!

“John Lee Supertaster” – Starts off with a funny spoken intro, and launches into a cool tune that sounds right out of the Ocean’s 11 soundtrack.  It’s perfect for a puppet act, which I’m trying to get my husband (a puppeteer) to put together.  Motown-style background singers and a superhero for a character?  What’s not to love?

“I Am a Grocery Bag” – Like it’s straight off a Beck album.  Ask the kids to list how many items they can recognize in the song.

In the special “Grooves for Mom” category:

“Sleepwalkers” & “Lazyhead &  Sleepybones”

“Where Do They Make Balloons?” (Eli, my 1-year old, busts a move to this one; evidently he likes the mellow stuff.)

And my personal favorite:

“Clap Your Hands” – it’s SO incredibly funky and fun, I dare you not to dance!!  This one has Lucy begging, “Again??!!” over & over.  I feel like I’m in 1960s motown when I hear it.  Air organ playing!!

Listen for yourself!

SeeqPod – Playable Search

Other albums my kids enjoy:

Lisa Loeb & Elizabeth Mitchell – “Catch the Moon”

Rockabye Baby - “Lullaby Renditions of U2″

Do you have these albums?  What other pop favorites of yours have made kids’ albums worth hearing?