"Girl, you'll be a woman soon . . ."

I am 32 years old. And I am a woman. I know, I don't wear womanhood well but I'm coming into my own. I'm just starting to grow into it. Here are a few "womanly" things I am just starting to do--
1) for the first time this year I had a wax. It was for the cruise. I had my legs waxed. That was a first. Someday maybe I'll do my eyebrow. Yes, that's singular. For a reason.

2) Sometimes I wear deodorant. Sometimes.

3) Jason bought me a set of makeup brushes for my birthday. I don't really use them that much since I don't use powder or blush or whatever else it is people put on with brushes. I'm sure I'll learn sometime in the next 32 years.

4) I now own an eyelash curler. For that 1 day a week I wear mascara.

5)I also bought eyeliner this year. I'm discovering how to use it.

6) I got my first pedicure 3 years ago. It only took 3 years to get my second one this year. Manicures still won't be happening. I'm a pianist for heaven's sake.

7) I have lotion that is specifically for my face. And I use it on my face. I know, sounds outrageous but true.

8) I even own a few headbands/clips for my hair. Is that too far?

Someday I may start to shower more than twice a week, or purchase clothes at actual department stores and not thrift stores. Or then again, maybe not. I still need to figure out how to decorate, and scrapbook, and make crafts and arrange flowers, wear jewelry, the list goes on and on. I think I hide it pretty well b/c people are always surprised by my lack of womanly skills and decorations on the wall of my house. The good news is that people in my neighborhood don't really know about my blog so I can pull it off a little longer that I'm a woman and I know what I'm doing. So, if you have a friendly advice that you've always wanted to pass on to me but never felt like you could- here's your chance.


Shame on anyone who knows the song for the blog title. I hate that singer.

All those within earshot

Yes, those are my children crying like it's the end of the world. Don't worry, I just asked them to weed a 2x4 plot of ground. This is one of those times when I pull the old "When I was a child I worked on the farm and we had to do . . . and . . . . and . . .." but really, they don't appreciate it. My siblings can vouch for me when I say it really sucked. And it was really, really long, hot, and hard. My kids do not know how good they've got it. Maybe I'll send them to my parents for a week to work on the farm. It will be like boot camp. They'll come back and be glad for the minuscule yard weeding.
So, if you hear the screaming, crying, yelling (from both sides) just know it's not abusive. Well, not by adult standards.

Summer Lovin'

It's summertime and the livin' is easy.
And that ain't no lie. I love that I can lie in bed until 8:30 with Eden next to me watching Dora. (Maybe a little too much since yesterday at a friend's house she said to her friend "Darce, come on- vamanos") I love that I can rest in the afternoon while my kids are doing quiet time or playing at a friends. I love the sun and the heat and swimming and . . . .the list goes on and on. Here are a few updates on our summer.

Mara
Mara is doing swim team and while at the first meet she was last in her age group for backstroke, at the second she dropped 15 seconds and moved up to 2nd to last. We're focusing on the 15 seconds! She practices every day and doesn't complain. That is something to be proud of. She is also doing tennis lessons with Asher for the 2nd summer in a row and they really seem to like it. I don't know how good she is because diligent mother I am, I send them out the door to walk to our friend's house for their lessons and have them come home when they're done. I have no idea what they are actually doing in that hour but I know I'm enjoying the time to get stuff done. You know, exciting stuff like weeding, laundry, all the fun things moms do when their kids are gone. Mara also started violin, FINALLY (as she would say). She's been wanting to but I made her wait. I warned her it's like piano where she has to practice every day and whatnot but she seemed determined. So far she has taken to it really well and I'm learning too!

Asher
For the month of June Asher was doing soccer camp which was great b/c we had to get out the door by 7:45 and it gave me a chance to do the track and Mara to bike around while he played. They had a guest instructor from England so now Asher insists on calling it "football." He also did T-ball with his buddies. I lied about his birthday by a couple months so he could play with his buddies and be the tallest kid on his team and intimidate the 4 yr olds. It worked very well. He did swim lessons which once again, I have no idea how he did b/c I just sat at the side of the pool with my friends and chatted. He enjoyed it a made a new friend- his friend's big sister who now always wants him to come over and play!

Eden
Well, she only colored on the walls once in the last month so we are really celebrating. Nothing went in the toilets and no lotion or makeup ended up anywhere it shouldn't be. She plays with toys now, of all things, and is getting more constructive and less destructive. ON the down side, her hair is now an inch long and she has already twisted it into a knot. The clippers will be coming out again soon. She loved swimming. I hated the fact that the cold water made her have to go to the bathroom EVERY time except for once. So instead of relaxing on the side of the pool I got to carry a wet child to the bathroom, help her strip, wipe and wash and then go back out for the last 2 minutes of lessons. She also had her birthday and loved going to the pool and all the other fun stuff. Lastly, she had an ultrasound on a cyst which was fairly traumatizing but she is doing well.

Me
I went to Oregon for my sister's graduation with her MSW from Portland State and enjoyed being in downtown Portland with family. My brother and his family came for a few days and we did lots of fun stuff and ate lots of food. It was great! Otherwise, I've been doing lots of driving and hanging out at the pool, park and home. But I love it. I love the heat. Relaxing. Weeding. Actually, scratch that one. Late night walking. Summer. I love it.

Hope all is well with you. I know this isn't an interesting post but it is a post so that's a start. How's your summer?

Meet "Eddie"

this cute girl

+

this: (knots cut out approx 1-2x daily)

=this Meet "Eddie"

time will only tell if this breaks the habit.

Willpower

Willpower is a funny thing. You may think you have a lot of willpower. Except for that one area. I love this quote by Victor Hugo-- People do not lack strength; they lack will.
I like to think I'm this type of person. Physically, I will keep going. Despite how tired I am, how down I am, whatever. I will make dinner for my family, take treats to the neighbor, play piano for the choir, read stories to my kids. I will work and work and work and work . . .
But, that is what's easy for me.
Do I have willpower when it comes to my tongue? Sometimes.
Do I have willpower when it comes to my emotions? Not as much.
That is not as easy for me. I can't will myself to feel a certain way about a situation. I can control my tongue more but the emotional side is tricky. I'm sure we've all found ourselves in situations where if we could, we would have willed ourselves to not cry, yet, unfortunately we can't. That is part of the human condition. So, until I botox myself an unfeeling mask of a face, with the smiles and laughter you may occasionally see an "undesirable" emotion such as me crying or heaven forbid, getting angry. Sorry, I'm working on it.

Beginning to see the light

People, I know we're not completely through but I'm feeling like I'm coming out on the other side. Things are starting to get better.
Before you get worried thinking this is some heavy topic (or excited thinking I'm going to share something deep) let me tell you I'm talking about our 2 1/2 year trial called Eden.
This child is something else.
I tell people that if you take all the horrible things your 2 year olds did and put it all together, you get Eden. She has gone through every horrible stage of a 2 year old. I ran into an old friend and she commented on my Christmas card and said "is Eden really that much trouble?". Oh honey, yes, yes, and YES! Here are just a few of the stages she has gone through--

makeup infatuation (still going on but mostly now limited to "lips" as she calls chapstick and any lipstuff). This led to makeup being colored all over my bathroom and numerous other things. I still have to be careful because I may walk into my bathroom to find her putting on mascara.
climbing onto the counter and getting into the cupboards- again, it's getting better. She will still sometimes climb on the counter to pour her own drink (another infatuation) but . . .better.
tantrums-getting better. You still may show up at my house and hear her screaming outside. (I put her out on the deck for the neighbors to listen to and not me) but it's less often.
Dog food and dog water-now that she's a little older she can get Zoe food and water and there's less of a mess.
Toilets-oh, toilets. In one week we lost 5 toothbrushes in the toilet. The next week, we had to replace our toilet only to find a little play cookie lodged in one of the kinks.
coloring on things-walls, floors, books, herself, the table, and on , and on, and on.
the fridge-ketchup is a favorite and easy to squeeze into the mouth.
nudity-she still likes changing frequently but usually asks now and, big step, keeps her underwear on. whew!
sneaking candy
hiding-oh, this was a bad one. Eden is a really good hider. And very quiet. I could search over the house for 10 minutes and still not find her. Telling her if she didn't come out in 10 seconds or she would be in a timeout didn't work. That doesn't really motivate her to come out, now does it?
Spitting/hitting- we are still in the throes of this but I'll take it when compared to some of the other stuff.
Well, this is just a start.
So, who's up to the challenge? What did your 2 year olds do and let's see if Eden did it too.

If you come to my house, don't be disturbed by . . .

...2 yr old panties lying on the floor. They are mostly likely clean and have only been worn for maybe an hour.

. . .being flashed by a 2 yr old while she is twirling in her dress with no panties.

. . .children chasing each other and screaming. It is only a little game we like to call monster.

. . .a dog with an exposed tail bone. (Is that what it's called?) Hey, imagine what you'll look like at 77.

. . .finding a random object in the toilet. Just come tell me and I'll fish it out.

. . .a 5 year old with a bald spot. Twisting one's hair is a dangerous habit.

. . .a dog/child rifling through your baggage. I'll try my best to remind you to put them out of reach. Or just don't bring anything you may not want a 2yr old or a dog getting into. Both acceptable options.

. . .a grown man playing xbox, or xbox 360, or wiii, or playstation, or playstation2, or playstation 3. Don't ask.

. . . A 7 yr old with braids and ponytails sticking out all over her head. She's learning to do her hair herself and experiment.

. . .graffiti on the windows. It is one of the FEW acceptable places to color that is washable.

. . .a mother who looks like she hasn't showered for days (she probably hasn't) and her hair looks like bedhead. (It probably is.)

That is all a part of normalcy chez Gough. I hope you understand.