My Favorite Kind of Day!

Other than the part where these guys are all like, "Let's clean for Mom!" this is pretty much exactly how my Mother's Day morning went:



It was pretty spectacular.

I even got a pocket full of money from Gracie - I had her count it up, because counting money is not quite her strength yet.... when she discovered that she'd given me $3.79, she promptly said, "Oh I didn't meant to give you THAT," and took a dollar back.

But that's okay, because she made me a super awesome booklet, full of all sorts of information about me, such as my age (32), my weight (15 lbs lighter than she guessed), my favorite food (she claims it's fish tacos, but she might be projecting, as I know they're HER fave, and seriously, it's homemade Fettuccine Alfredo all the way), and the fact that I hope to publish nine book series very soon (Um?).

And then I baked myself a fancy chocolate cake!

And promptly covered it in chocolate frosting and chocolate chips because HELLO, CHOCOLATE. (also I need a powdered sugar sifter...)

Mmmmmmm.....

Also, there is a huge possibility that this cake is all I served for lunch....

Mothers out there - especially mine *waves* Hi, Mom! - HAPPY DAY! Hope it's been as grand for you, as it has been for me!

xoxo,

Dollhouse Days, Revisited, and Fancy Rewards!

Six years ago, when Gracie was a diaper-wearing toddler, I blogged about her love for Playmobil and the pop-up dollhouse I saved from my own childhood Playmobil-playing days. {clicky click}

Well, naturally my children destroyed the dollhouse (I blame baby Annelie) and lost all the people (I blame Gracie) and now they look at the pictures and regret being the Queens of Destruction very deeply.

GRACIE [gazing wistfully at the picture of toddler-self playing with rad dollhouse]: Ugh, that looks awesome.

ME [remembering playing with said dollhouse when I was her age]: It was. It really, really was.

Gracie, upon discovering that Playmobil has a super fancy royal set of dolls, has rekindled her love for her "people" - what she called her favorite toys when she was two and a half.

It's like they were designed just for her. And as a Playmobil-loving parent, I couldn't be more jazzed.

But..... I refused to buy them for her. Yep. 

ME [2 months ago]: Guess what, kids! I've come up with a new Hopkins Family System of Doing Things, and from now on, when you beg and beg and beg for more toys, I'll say, Sure you can have toys! But first you have to earn the tickets to buy them! [waves handful of freshly printed tickets from http://www.kidpointz.com/]

GRACIE: No way. I'm just going to use the money in my piggy bank. 

ME: Nope. After I caught Annelie with TWENTY DOLLARS in her backpack, so she could buy her friend's hand-drawn comics, Daddy and I have decided you girls are going to the bank and starting accounts, and you don't get to spend your money. 

[shakes handful of tickets] But good news! You get to earn tickets to buy whatever you want!

At first my kids were a little shell-shocked, because my new Family System of Doing Things involves hard work and math skills, and a zero-tolerance-for-sibling-rivalry policy. (they get to earn behavior tickets - yay! - but have to give them up to their sister when caught being rotten little meanies - boo!)

Fast forward two months, and now they have ticket jars full of awesome behavior tickets, and charts full of neon happy face stickers, for doing daily chores, and momwork (math tutoring w/ me - yay, fun!). And their chart stickers turn into tickets that can't be taken away, or given to their sister, once their chart is full. They're pretty excited about their tickets.

And I can never quite believe how much smoother life gets with an in-house reward system. My kids eat it up! They ask for extra chores and beg to study! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Anyway, Gracie has been saving and saving, and finally last week, after passing over 75 tickets and a printed voucher for the Playmobil Royal Dressing Room set, she bought herself her first toy - and proceeded to stalk the mail, counting down the 5 shipping days until her new playset was hers, all hers!

You guys, it was the cutest thing! I've never seen her so excited for something. 

And because I had an empty box laying around, and a room full of craft supplies, gold puffy paint, and a glue gun, *kisses glue gun* I said, "Hey, let's build your Playmobil a fancy dressing room."

So we did!

Her dolls came in the mail a couple days ago, and she hasn't stopped playing with them - and her new dressing room - since. 

And, because this is Gracie we're talking about, here... yes, I have already taken away behavior tickets for catching her out of bed, playing with them late at night on a school night - the little sneak.

She was super excited to comb though my Southern Living magazines for room decorations - especially when she found Monet's Waterlilies (her favorite).

Isn't her little dressing room cute? She used the Napoleon Apartments at the Louvre as her inspiration, and made sure it had the chandelier of her dreams.

And dogs wearing fancy necklaces.

Also, after taking some photos of her playing with her new dollhouse... I realized I never wallpapered the outside of the box.... 

 ME [to Gracie]: Don't worry, I'll paper the outside for you ASAP.

WILL: Why would you cover up the best part?

GRACIE [rolls eyes]: Da-ad!

So that's what we've been up to, lately! Also, someday I'll blog about my husband winning us a spring break trip to Jamaica, and then winning another trip to Jamaica while we were in Jamaica. Yes, he is that amazing.

Happy Friday, folks! Hope you have a great weekend! 

xoxo,

Hippity Hoppity Easter's On It's Way

We have officially reached the first holiday in which a child KNOWS THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU KNOW WHO.

(no, I'm not talking about Voldemort, you guys. I'm talking about a certain cotton-tailed, gift-giving creature)

This discovery happened a couple weeks into the new year, when Gracie, my 7-year-old, upon rifling through a stack of scrapbook paper, came across a familiar patterned paper.

VERY FAMILIAR.

It was a paper that looked exactly like the papers the Tooth Fairy uses for her hand written in special curly-cue handwriting notes. Also, Santa? Yeah, his handwriting is the same. 

She cried out in horror, and I when I turned around and saw her, she was clutching the paper and her chest, her face crumpled and tears dripping from her chin. It was so tragically hilarious I finally understood why Will finds it physically impossible to keep from laughing whenever I cry. Gracie takes after me in many, many ways. And we both apparently take after the Make it Snow Girl, because watching her YouYube vid is like looking at myself in the mirror when I'm feeling particularly emotional.

Poor kiddo. Watching her complete and total devastation made me want to cry for her shattered innocence and laugh all at once (I restrained myself). I hugged her and talked to her about it, but nothing I said made it better, and she also cried that mermaids must not be real, or Saint Nick, or anything that she has ever believed in.

After a few minutes, she promised to keep the secret from her sister and started to leave for her room so she could sob in private... But just before she left, I turned over the paper she'd found, and unfolded it.

And whattadya know....

IT WAS THE NOTE THE FLIPPIN' TOOTH FAIRY LEFT FOR ANNELIE THE PREVIOUS WEEK.

"Gracie... did you LOOK at the paper you found?"

"No."

"Well..." So I showed her. She couldn't believe it. Also, lately Gracie has decided that jumping to the worst possible conclusion in any situation is the way to experience life, despite the fact that it frequently leaves her emotionally drained. Again, she sort of takes after me a little.

The last few months have been a challenge for her. With Easter approaching, she's been emotional all over again. She went crawling into my lap the other day after hearing Annelie gush about how excited she is for a certain carrot-loving visitor. The fattest tears were streaking down her cheeks.

Sometimes it's hard for me to watch the kiddos growing up. But sometimes I think it's harder for the kiddos to watch themselves growing up.

In any event, she showed how grown up she can be this morning, when I reminded the girls to pull out their baskets so they can leave it for the Easter Bunny. Annelie started crying immediately, because apparently her basket is gone (I'm guessing she took it outside when she wasn't supposed to, and it got rained on and wrecked), and she figured that meant she wouldn't be getting any presents this year.

"Here, Annelie! You can use my basket!" Gracie jumped in immediately, passing Annelie her basket. With how much sibling rivalry has been going on lately, this kind of sisterly sacrifice made me all sappy.

I just love it!

And I love even more that when I said, "Hey, Gracie, don't you think you'll need some kind of basket for YOUR presents?" she got super excited and produced this crafty little number:

I made sure to let her know that the Easter Bunny might be giving her something a little bigger than a candy bar (the exact size of her paper bunny basket) and she gave me a huge smile back.

You know those movie moments where the mother and daughter share a little secret, and smile at each other all knowingly, and the music swells and it's heart-warming?

Yeah, it was just like that!

I hope all of you who celebrate Easter, have a lovely day tomorrow! And all of you who celebrate the Easter Bunny, have a lovely day, too. And for those of you who simply call tomorrow "Sunday, the day to sleep in," I hope it's amazing.

xoxo,

Happiness Is...

... having another writer in the house - one who TOTALLY GETS the thrilling possibilities of a blank page in a composition book, the wonderful smell of a new ink pen, my writing inspiration playlists (and has same taste in music, which is the best kind of bonus)....

...too bad it's not exactly convenient when said other writer breaks all concentration with excited sharing of her own brilliant ideas. Hard to focus on my latest shiny idea when thoughts are constantly interrupted with stories of a Princess called Donut...

Such is Friday night. And mine is looking mighty nice so far!

Hope yours is, too. Have a great weekend, folks!

xoxo,

Gracie the Poet (with the Trophy to Show it)

Since she was in kindergarten, my 7-year-old has dreamed of winning her school's Imaginations creativity contest. There's a range of mediums to choose from - art, photography, short stories, etc. In kindergarten, when the theme was announced, she was so excited she planned on entering in every category.

It's a project without parent involvement, so I provided whatever materials she would need, then gave her space to do her creative little thing. Gracie had big plans - huge - and knew it would possibly take all the weeks allotted to complete her projects. That only excited her more, and she worked every day after school....

And then her friends began handing in their own finished projects, and Gracie seemed to realize there was a chance she might not win.

With that, she was done. She set down her art supplies, looked indifferent, and insisted, "I don't have to enter. It's not homework. It's just if people want to. And I don't want to anymore."

When Gracie digs in her heels, she goes NOWHERE. Not the tiniest millimeter further, no matter how much encouraging and cheering Will and I are doing on the sidelines. (Sometimes being a parent sucks)

I was so mad. I tried not to be. Being mad at her certainly doesn't help at all. Besides, she's exactly like me, EXACTLY. And when I dig in my heels because of self-doubt, that's that.

Also, I learn from example, and she does, too. So after the contest passed for the SECOND year, and she still didn't enter because she was still too afraid to lose, and I was once again MAD, I told her that I was going to enter a short story contest - even though short stories aren't really my area of expertise. The winner of a contest I'd been toying with the idea of entering would be published, and that sounded like a mighty nice prize. And I told her that in second grade, no matter what, she had to enter her school's contest.

Gracie was intrigued by the idea of me entering a contest, too, and promised she would. I updated her on my short story-writing status for weeks. When my story was done, she watched me chew off my nails as I entered. A couple weeks later, the winners were announced and I wasn't among them. I was disappointed and she was the cutest thing as she hugged me, and let me know it would be okay (Most of the time, being a parent doesn't suck). She watched me get over it, sit at my computer, and get back to work.

Weeks ago, the contest at her school was announced, the theme being Elect to be Excellent! She remembered her promise, and took it all very seriously, sketching out pictures of kids being excellent by acing spelling tests, and considering possible short story ideas. Annelie entered in the K-1st grade Art division, but two days before the deadline, Gracie still wasn't sure what to do about her half-finished pieces. She was already talking about the other kids winning, and I worried, once again, that she would lose to self-doubt.

So I dug in my heels. "Either finish a project you are working on and possibly win, or turn it in unfinished and definitely lose. It's your choice, but YOU ARE ENTERING," I said. (breathing fire. I can be scary)

And it worked! Gracie tossed out every unfinished, hated thing she'd begun and grabbed her notebook - which she is never without. Starting fresh, she wrote the most brilliant poem!

The Spelling Test

by Gracie Hopkins

My spelling test is on Thursday.

I haven't studied yet.

I really don't know the words well.

I'll study so I won't forget.

I studied and studied.

My friend asked me to play.

I said, "No way! 

I want to get a good grade!"

It was Thursday.

We took our spelling test.

I got everything right.

It felt good because I did my best!

(awesome, yeah?)

And here is Annelie's entry, TAKING CARE OF FRIENDS (also called, THE SICKNESS, because she loves how morbid that sounds):

Friday was the award ceremony, which is a pretty big deal at their school. The judges are all professors of the arts at local universities, and hearing all the fuss made by the principal during the ceremony, I understood Gracie's past intimidation. We knew ahead of time that she had won a prize in her category, which ranged from a long string of honorable mention ribbons through 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place trophies. (poor Annelie was devastated because she had not won a prize)

Will and I were so nervous and excited for Gracie when the 2nd - 3rd grade poetry division winners were announced...And WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! Gracie won 1st place!

 Yaaaaaay, we are all so proud of her!

Well, not exactly all of us... Annelie sobbed through the entire ceremony. "It's not faaaaaairrrrrrr," she wailed when it was over.

I think Mama's Next Lesson needs to be something about supporting Sister's successes gracefully, and not being a sore loser...

Ha! Good luck to me.

Happy Monday, folks! Hope this week is filled with win!

xoxo,

Shredded Teddies

I love getting song recs from my mom, and Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons is the latest.

I like it. My favorite part, however is the video, which reminds me of something straight out of Annelie's wacky, creative little mind.




Just so you know, my childhood teddy would totally annihilate all those critters.

See how tough he is?

(too bad a 3-year-old Annelie, appropriately nicknamed The Queen Of Destruction - also, The Annihilator, defeated him years ago. Sigh.)

And as for Annelie's latest wacky and creative stuffs, here you go:

Its a picture of a monster being light-zapped by the sun, screaming, "No! you can't do this to me!"

And the duck, a mere onlooker, is saying, "Why not, baby?"

Haha.

What have you been up to lately, folks?

xoxo,

Chore O'Clock

I've been meaning to do this post for about 6 months, when I was asked to share how I do chore time in our family. So... a little belated, but here we go.

I hate cleaning. Hate it. I didn't really do a lot of cleaning in my youth. No, seriously, this is what happened when little Marisa was told to go clean her room:

(There are other photos in this collection.
My 'cleaning' began on my bed, and then
I fell to the floor and the 'cleaning' continued)

Well, I wasn't about to let my kids live their life without a heavy duty list of chores. Not so much because I want to instill a belief that this house is mine AND theirs to take care of, but because if I delegate all my least favorite chores, then my life is happier. The instilling a belief that this house is mine AND theirs to take care of is just a bonus.

So, about a year ago, I gave each of my girls a job. Annelie's job was feeding the dogs, and Gracie's job was giving all the pets water. This job was done every single day. No exceptions. It went very well! (they also got to help me around the house when I told them to - with MUCH complaining on their part - but as for jobs, they just had one)

A handful of months later, I called the kids for a family meeting, and congratulated and thanked them for their jobs well done. Then I gave them their very first Helping Hands charts, which were decorated with a pretty flower border and featured many shades of pink.

(I chose to call it Helping Hands instead of CHORES, because my kids refused to cooperate when it was called chores. As soon as I called it Helping Hands, they were all for it. Why? Because they're strange)

(also, decorating their chore charts and making it all pink and flowery totally made the difference in how they viewed their chores. And the free spaces are their most FAVORITE PART.)

THE RULE: do the chores at 4 o'clock (which I call '4 o'clock, chore o'clock'). If the week's chores are done without complaining, the kids get $2. If they complain, they don't get anything and still have to do the chores. They love options and I thought these options were pretty fair.

Well, these chore charts have lasted a whole 6 months and let me tell ya, my kids are SO GREAT at doing each one of these chores because they've had so much practice. They've also learned that if they do the chores fast, they get more playtime. If they do them fast but are too sloppy, they have to do them again.

And I have gotten really good at making sure they do their jobs - even if it means writing 'kids do chores' on my daily to-do list so we don't all forget (this seems to be a necessary part of chore time)

Today I made up new and improved lists, and added an extra free space because I gave them a heck of a lot more work than they had before (of course I didn't point this out to them, other than saying LOOK! I gave you an extra free space! to which they replied with enthusiastic YAY!!!s)

Gracie flipped out over the fun text and Eiffel Towers. Honestly, it is THAT easy to get her excited about a Helping Hands chart.

And that's that. My kids do their chores at chore o'clock, every day.

And my life is much happier. 

UPDATE - I saw this post on Money Saving Mom: 20 Chore Ideas for 7-year-olds (and there is one for 4-year-olds, too) and it sounds a lot like how it's done at my house - much praise, assistance on certain chores (laundry, etc), and patience when it comes to kids meeting expectations. My kids have been folding laundry since they were four, and at first were so sloppy, but I repressed the compulsion to do it myself, and now they are pros. It's wonderful.

Do those of you with kids dole out household chores? If so, what chores! I'm both curious and eager to delegate new responsibilities, so please tell me!

xoxo,

The Greatest Girls' Night

Last night, Will went to a friend's house to watch golf, leaving the girls, me, a box of pepperoni pizza, and Hulu Plus, behind.

"Girls' Movie Night! Woo! Go pick a movie," I told Gracie as I dished up the pizza. She grabbed the Wii Sport disc and stuck it in the player. "That's a game. I said pick a movie," I had to remind her.

Annelie stuck on the Wii people-making game after that, so I had to say, again, that they were supposed to be picking a MOVIE.

"Let's watch Eerie Indiana!" Gracie exclaimed. Best 90's show ever, but...

"I said MOVIE."

"America's Funniest Home Videos!" Annelie exclaimed.

This was getting ridiculous. I was three seconds away from giving up on movie night, and wondered if the kids even knew what a movie was....

"Pass me the remote - I'll pick," I said. So I did. I picked only the BEST MOVIE EVER CREATED.

Yup, that's right. The 1968 Heidi. My most favorite movie when I was the girls' age. I can remember making paper dolls of the entire cast, which I played with non-stop - including a 3-D wheelchair for little Klara.

This movie contains all the classic elements of the perfect, perfect story: orphaned little girl with braids who doesn't even know how to read, mean, reclusive Grandfather who doesn't even want her (but does know how to read!), baby goat on the verge of starvation, in need of a mother (Heidi!), a basket of orphaned kittens in need of a mother (Heidi!), going from poor to wearing fancy dresses with LACE, a sad crippled same-aged cousin in need of tough love and a best friend, and a forbidden romance between the beautiful governess and Uncle Richard. 

Oh, and Maximilian Schell, ie, Uncle Richard?

TOTAL HOTTIE (although back in 1986, child Marisa thought Heidi's friend Peter was way cuter).

Let's just say I laughed and I cried, and the girls laughed, and then wondered why I was crying.

"It's just... it's just... the best movie EVER."

I mean, how could I not get misty-eyed from all the dramatic character and plot changes?

Especially not when there were misty eyes everywhere I looked.

And the nostalgia, oh, the nostalgia! Listening to the girls whisper, "You be Klara and I'll be Heidi when we play, okay?" was just too great.

I got especially teary when Gracie busted out the paper and crayons and asked me to make her a wheelchair for her little paper Klara, who, along with her best friend Heidi, is now on Gracie's bookshelf, proudly displayed  beside my childhood Victorian dolls and teddy bears (which Gracie dug out of a long forgotten moving box a few months ago, and claimed for herself)

When it was done, Gracie said, "Wow, that was a really great movie. You know what I also want to see? Anne of Green Gables."

!!!

I'm not sure I can go there just yet. I'll need to thoroughly hydrate myself, because those eye-mists of nostalgia, and seeing my girls discover Miss Anne with an E, will drain me completely.

Hope you're all having a fantastic weekend, folks! It's raining non-stop here, which means a movie marathon weekend is on the agenda. Can't complain about that!

xoxo,

Vampire Miscellany (and Hilarity!)

Item #1:

There's a hardcore vampire lover in our house, and I'll grant you the gift of eternal life if you can guess correctly who it is.

I'll give you a clue: It's not my hubs.

I'll give you another clue: It's not Gracie. (at least not when it comes to the blood-sucking kind of vampire**)

I'll give you another clue:  She wakes up in the AM, grabs a magic marker, and draws vampire bite marks on the side of her neck, and has been doing this for... Oh, I don't know, about a YEAR now??

No, it's not me. I can be slightly unconventional at times, but I'm not a total vampire bite mark-drawing kook. It's this girl:

 Yep.

But she doesn't want to be Bella. No sirree. Sparkly vampire boys aren't her thing (thank heavens). Annelie wants to be everyone's favorite electric guitar-playing, blood-sucking hipster, Marceline the Vampire Queen.

I absolutely cannot blame her. I think I want to be Marceline the Vampire Queen, too.

Item #2:

**Vampire Weekend.

This is one of Gracie's favorite bands.  My kid has awesome taste in music, if I do say so myself.

However...

The other day the girls were playing Wii People Creator (I don't think it's actually called this, but I don't know what the game is really called, so we'll just call it Wii People Creator) and I discovered their latest Wii person. It was a pretty average looking Wii person, by Wii people standards. A head, a body, a name...

My eyes popped out of my head when I saw the name:

F * C K    (only w/out the asterisk. I'm trying to appear rated PG, here)

Yes, that's right, my kids named their Wii person F * C K

*facepalm*

Naturally, I blamed my husband. I mean, how else are the girls hearing swear words? Maybe the playground at school - you know how kids are - but certainly not from me!!

OR SO I THOUGHT.

Will and I were watching a totally awesome BBC show called Pramface, which has THE BEST soundtrack, and they began playing the song Oxford Comma by Vampire Weekend - yes, this song is one of Gracie's FAVES.

And the F-word was all over the place.

*facepalm*

How did I not notice? I've blasted this song from our PA system aprox. 1.5 million times. (itunes claims it's 51 times)

I'm sure this proves that when it comes to music, I'm lyrics-challenged. Also, I'm sure this proves that I won't be winning any Parent of the Year awards. Also, if your kids are coming home from the playground saying the F-word, you probably have me and my children to blame. Sorry.

Item #3:

This video.



This is all over the internet today, and absolutely hilarious. Watch with caution. And by that, I mean, don't take a sip of coffee until you are done watching, or else you might end up with coffee out your nose. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE.

Item #4:

These cookies.

Halloween is a-coming, which I know because the girls can't stop talking about what they're going to be for Halloween this year. To get in the holiday spirit, I'm totally going to make these Vampire Bite cookies. Don't they look disgusting? And by that, I mean fantastic?

You can find the recipe (with pictures!) here at The Mama Dramalogues.

Item #5:

My fellow at-home-mama-writer and friend Melissa Luznicky Garrett has a new book out. 

Since getting attacked by a vampire, I didn’t believe in beginnings. Only endings. Every person born to this world comes with an expiration date, but I had never considered mine. At least not until I met John.

Now the end was all I ever thought about. I woke up every morning wondering if that day would be my last. Venom pulsed in my veins and seeped into my bones, infecting all my vital organs and changing me from the inside out. Slowly killing me.
 
But I’d welcome death in the end, if only because the alternative was even more frightening. 

-----------------

Melissa's books are self-pubbed, which means she gets to price them affordably, always. (win!) I just bought this one, and am only about 20% in, says my Kindle. But so far, it's my fave of all of Melissa's books.

You can find it on Goodreads HERE.

and for only $3.99 on Amazon HERE.

And that's all the vampire fun for today! Have a bloody fantastic Wednesday, folks!

xoxo,

Hola, Mis Amigos

Aside from Brave (which I still haven't seen yet!?!) I haven't wanted to see a kids movie since the trailer for My Little Ponies: Reign of Buttercup Sprinkles.

UNTIL NOW.


Why oh why can't this be a real movie?

(thank you Winn, for bringing this video to my attention. You made my day)

xoxo,

Berry Picking!

We've been very, very busy lately, as berry season is in full swing and the forests here in Sweden are brimming with blueberries and wild strawberries. 

. 

It's been rough, very rough, if you can imagine - waking up, walking outside to the forest in our backyard, blueberries bursting from every bush, strawberries hiding under every leaf.  

And what has all this back-breaking labor been for? 

I mean, is it even worth all our blue and red-stained fingers?

...

...

YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT. 

Also, I'm just going to add, this ice cream is made by the happiest cows in Sweden. Probably even the world. No really - they milk themselves when they're feeling up to it. Just hook themselves up to a milking machine and pick themselves up a little treat on the way out of the barn. Is that not the cutest thing?

And last, see those cookies up there? MOVE OVER, OREO, because Ballerina Marängsviss are the BEST SANDWICH COOKIES EVER. 

Take it from me, they even beat out Double Stuf Oreo's, which is saying a lot. I might never leave Sweden, just so I don't have to give up Ballerina cookies. 

Hope you are all having a wonderful week so far, folks! We leave in 8 days, which means this trip is flying by. I'm pretty sure I'll be going into shock when we leave summer in Sweden (normal climate) and enter summer in Texas (hell).

xoxo,