hey kids, this is what I did today...

I tried to find Rachel Ray, to give her my smoothie recipe, Jake.  But I couldn't find her.  So Food Network invited me to take some pictures by their sign, instead.

Your cutie cousin Jaden, and uncle JD.

There were weird dancers dancing with cupcakes across from Magnolia Bakery. 

We decided not to wait in the humongo line, and went for some rice pudding instead. 

We sat in a park and ate our rice pudding.

Mmm.  Chocolate Hazelnut.  So yummy

I got excited about the Scholastic Book Headquarters...

and they had a store.  So I shopped.

And look who I ran into.  An international celebrity.

I love you.

And I miss daddy, a lot.

hey corrie, take a picture of me asleep on the subway

no wait.  Don't make me laugh.  Take another one.

Okay, seriously.  I'm seriously trying to sleep.

Yeah, I'm totally asleep on the subway.

i heart NY

Such a fun day.  i miss my kids.  But there's food, fun, and fashion everywhere.  And New Kids are back.  It's all good.  Tomorrow, we shop.

going to nyc

seriously.

on my way.

me & corrie.

i'll eat a cupcake in your honor cassy.

soho shopping.

food.

myself.

food.

good food.

see ya next week.

maybe

I'm going to try clothes this summer. Skirts. Tee-shirts. Tops. Pants.

That's my ticket into the world of fabric design. Come up with some fabulous clothing. Open a wildly popular etsy shop. Wake up one morning with the ability to draw. Pull more time out of the universe. And dream a little more.

iwanna

I'm playing the iwanna game today.

Because it's quilters market season. So everywhere i look there are peeks of fabulous booths, fabrics, designers, and envy oozing out of every click.

oh, patience and gratitude, be my friend today.


sandi henderson's new line of fabric, Farmer's Market
joel dewberry's new line, Ginseng
modkidboutique report of market


i wanna do that.

sneak peek for sheila

thankyou, Leslie Patricelli

Can this be more perfect?

Oh my gosh. I love this book. We're goin' out.

That's LESLIE PATRICELLI.

There's more. About loudness. Blankies. Yuckies. Binky's....

your kid eats dirt too, right?

Something new and exciting for me...

I read. Sometimes.

In fact, I just finished a real book. It only took 5 months.

Not reading because you don't have time is obvious. I don't have time to blog, either. Not reading because it takes you a good week to come out of the place you just stepped into is a little more real for me. However, I made the decision to enlighten myself with the world of fiction to catch up with my fancy pants read-ee sisters who appear so sophisticated and intellectual when they talk about books.

So I leave a little early to pick up the kids from school, park in the car ride line, hope the boys fall asleep while we wait, and I read a chapter. Or half. Or less.

Has anyone read this book?

I know, it's not thick at all. 5 months, gimme a break.

I claim total ignorance when I bought this book. An impulse buy in the aisles of Target because I liked the cover. I was thinking Chronicles of Narnia or something. Intrigued, after reading the back...

If you start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old-boy named Bruno. (Though this isn't a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence.

Fences like this exist all over the world. We hope you never have to encounter one.

It wasn't until the 4th chapter I caught on that this book was serious. Even with the reference to "Out-With", I was still waiting for the talking goat. Duh.

John Boyne's ability to portray Bruno and Schmuel's naivety caught me. I was put on the level of my children, looking up, wondering what I'm talking about. Making my own interpretations. Never considering...the other side of the fence I suppose.

I kept reading. Interesting book. La-dee-dah. Then...Chapter Nineteen.

Oh...my...goodness. What? No.

It's taking me a while to get myself out of that place with Bruno and Schmuel.

So I need a new book. Shannon Hale, the Goose Girl? I own A Wrinkle in Time? I've never read Narnia? Peter Pan? Ope, I forgot Corrie bought me Tuesdays with Morrie for Christmas. Oh, and Narnia, 4 years ago. Um. thanks.

All of you Read-ee girls, give me a good one. Knowing at this rate I can do two, maybe three books a year (sad), which book do I choose. Out of all the places you love to go, and people you love to go to...give me your best. It's like the one trip buffet; you've got to be careful you only put the most delicious on your plate.

I'm not up for the vampire thing. The werewolf talk threw me off. Huh?

the tale of two pow-woofoo ambathadoes

This is King of All Frogs. And Queen of Some Turtles. They are powerful ambassadors who live in a place called AndyLand. They don't like eachother. And they are vay-wee, vay-wee skay-wee.

One day, the King of All Frogs decided to eat a popsicle and watch Wubzy, instead of fight.

Queen of Some Turtles agreed.

And there was peace.

Until he remembered Frogs only eat green popsicles. The Turtle Queen was trying to kill the King of All Frogs. With a blue one.

Thneaky. Vay-wee thneaky.


His imagination is astounding.

A word or two on an ugly boot.

Words are so superficial.

My mind is not highly vocabularied. In fact, it is a jumble of mishaps and misrepresentations of the English language. Words with mistaken identities. Thrown amongst none their equal. What comes out of my mouth doesn't compute with what goes on in command central. Like Captain-Explain-Yourself thinking he's firing a high-impact round of precision and clarity, when all that comes out of that gun are flowers and doo.

Cliches are in there somewhere, hiding from me. They hate me.

Like the six to one half dozen of the eggs in my basket in the hayfield with the black kettle who got the short end of the raw deal, hiding behind the horse's foot in my mouth.

Um. Seriously.

I've learned to accept it. We just try to leave eachother alone.

Nursery rhymes...oh brother...those claim anomoly. Am I ignorant? Maybe. I prefer uneducated. Wait a minute...

There was an old woman living in a shoe, who didn't have a bone for her dog, cause she ate flies, and whipped all her kids....while the spider sat on her muffet. Huh?

Oh, literary pleasantries.

I've had this "thing" with the old woman in the shoe. I remember as a child sitting on our blue flowery couch reading in a book of nursery rhymes, looking at this picutre and thinking..."I'm glad I don't live in her shoe."


It is, in fact, such an ugly shoe. I'd prefer some Vans. A classic slip-on. Camoflauge. So all those kids couldn't find me. Or maybe some clear sparkly Jellies from the 80's. My favorite.

Words have a history. They are history. So let's explore the past of this unstable woman in the ugly shoe thing, and maybe we'll learn something...

There was an Old Woman who lived in a shoe,

She had so many children she didn't know what to do!

So she gave them some broth without any bread,

And she whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.

Uh, yeah, okay...again, words alone are sketchy. Don't judge them so harshly.

Here's the history.

The Old Woman refers to King George who began that wierd white powdered wig thing in men's fashion. He was consequently referred to as the old woman.

All those kids were the members of the English Parliament, and the shoe was the Parliament House. Makes sense.

The term "whip" is given to the English Parliament member who is tasked with making sure the other members toe the line. (There's another one. What the heck does toe the line mean? I know, do what's right, follow the rules, blah blah. What does that have to do with toes?)

So there it is. The poor cranky woman I labeled as cruel and needing Social Service attention was really a powerful man with fashion sense. All these years, wasted. We could've had a relationship.


Funny how easy it is to brand someone by the words we think we understand, referring only to our own subjective dictionary, without delving a little into their history?

One time Conan was leaving the house, on our anniversary, and so I asked him where he was going and he said he was going to see a man about a dog. I was SO mad. I didn't want a smelly dog for our anniversary! SO DUMB! I'm not going to love that dog...what is he thinking...

He came home with a trunk load of flowers and window boxes. For me. I apologized.

Point being, I've learned something from the Old Woman. You can't launch an inquisition on a persons reverenced past; so you can't pretend to know the true story behind their flowers and doo. Or what's going on inside their shoe. Whether it be an ugly old crowded boot, or a funky red stiletto. Who cares.

I'm sure the ugly boot was charming.

Like a camel in a haystack.

Huh?

scribbit write-away contest

i'd like to some day...

have really intelligent & informative things to say here.

Hmmm.

noT today.

for katie...

diaper pockets & changing pads

d is for diaPers, and plenty of 'em.

You need soMewhere cute to put 'em, eh?

The Diaper Pocket hoLds 3 to 4 diapers, your wipes,

and possibLy some much appreciated pLastic bags.

It's friend THe Changing Pad is so darn cuTe; it folds up with one hand,

while your other is occupied.

Perfect baby shower gift, with or without the intials or the ruffle.

Diaper Pocket $20

Diaper Pocket with initials $26

Changing Pad $20

includes shipping and handling

Send me an email, cally.cruze@gmail.com, let me know what you'd like,

and I'll send you a PayPal payment request.

Please allow 3 weeks to process your order.

Canadian residents add $2 for shipping. Sorry.

Happy Diaper-ing.

Thanks.

sk*rt isn't sk*rt, it's a k*rtsy

Browse a little.

The Family & Parenting section

just might let you know why your kid ain't sleeping.

Or you can not see my cupcakes among Martha's winners

in the Food & Home deliciousness.

I may just read about Politics

(that's the thing where people run your country and talk about it).

Well done. Kirtsy.

lily

happy birthday, cassy. i love you.

we got a trampoline tonight...

I'm still the butt war champion.

the Frig-ee-Loc

Thanks to the ingenuity of Grandma Kay,
we have a new friend. The Frig-ee-Loc.

She took to heart the chocolate syrup + Joey = disaster plight, and my lack of a decent solution, and went to work. She found a tarp secure contraption thing at Lowes, and the wheels began to turn. She brought one to me, hoping I could turn it into something fabulous. Well, I had plans to, but she beat me to it. She brought this beauty of a prototype over Saturday morning, and I have had an unusual feeling of peace and security consume my whole soul ever since.

It works. Here's the proof...

Fantastic. Thanks Mom.

whadya get?

Let's get in each others Mothers dAy business...and focus on the selfishly materialistic part of the days celebrations...what did you get? Or your best part of the day? Most importantly, how much sleep did you get?

I got lots. aNd lots. Good Times. I've missed my old friend, sleep.

I also got a free meal from the Cruze Cafe, some coupons, cards, a clean kitchen, and a generous donation to the Cally-wants-to-go-to-NewYork fund. Thanks hubby.

If any of you know of really cheap fares to NYC, you are perfectly welcome to get in my business on that accord.