Out of the Mouths of Babes

Ben came around the corner with my pajama pants in hand (they must have fallen out of the laundry basket as I brought the dirty clothes down earlier this morning).  And he said to me, as he rolled his eyes toward the stairs...

"Mama, is THIS where we put our clothes?"

It's nice to know that the seventeen times a day *I* say that to the little people in my house, that someone is listening!  But man was it funny to hear coming back at me!!

Somebody had a Birthday!

Somebody in this house turned SIX last weekend.  And I haven't blogged about it yet because I'm in DE-NI-AL!  I swear, her legs grew two inches on Tuesday.  I'm beside myself!

It's been a big, HUGE, ENORMOUS year for Molly.  Kindergarten challenged her more than she's ever been challenged before.  And yet, she managed not only to succeed, but to do it with a smile on her face, a song in her heart, and with her own sweet spirit intact.  To say that we are proud of her is an understatement.  We are beyond proud of her!

So our little girlfriend deserved a fabulous celebration of turning six, even if Mommy went swimming in the Nile.  She'd asked (since August) for a party at the Brookfield Zoo.  But the zoo wanted $700 for a party with 8 kids.  I had to explain to Molly that this was not an option.  I had talked her into having her party at a tea party place downtown that does nothing but little girls' birthday parties - I'd even had someone custom make her a tea party outfit.  But one day while leaving Walmart I saw a sign from God....

...okay, actually it was a sign from Petland, but it sure felt like divine intervention!  It read "Have your Birthday Here!", and when I called they told me that the party included all partyware, entertainment and favors for up to twenty children for only $200!!! Are you kidding me??  That was my pizza bill from last year's birthday bash!  Sign me UP!

So here's how it went down...

We started baking cupcakes two days before.

Why yes, yes that is a naked 3 year old in the background. 

How else is one supposed to bake 48 cupcakes without interruption?

See how sweet and cute he looks?  Yeah, that's all an ACT!

See him eyeballing the merchandise?  Gotta watch out for grabby hands with 'helpers' like this one!

Eventually though, the mess was a bit overwhelming, so I accepted an offer of help
from a mysterious caped crusader.

In a cupcake apron.

He was handsomely rewarded for all his hard work with a cushy job as taste-tester.

Here's a sneak peek at the prototypes...

MAY 28

Finally the day was here! 

Molly woke up to a table full of all her favorite things.
Things that are usually no-nos.  But not on your birthday!

Pardon the fact that everything looks yellow.  It was the buttcrack of dawn and my photography skills (or lack thereof) couldn't compensate for the lack of sunlight.

In reality, it was a pretty exciting display of

pinkaliciousness.

There were whoppers in pink and brown, Pocky, Yam Yam, Good and Plenty and more Little Debbie than you can shake a stick at!  I rustled up some funky fleece from the basement (it was supposed to be a baby blanket for my cousin's baby....who is now three). 

Those fluffy things hanging from the ceiling are tissue paper pom poms.   I've seriously put of making these for YEARS, so sure was I that I couldn't do it.  And they were so. stinking. EASY!   The world needs more tissue pom poms - they are MAGICAL!!

Astoundingly, nobody ate the goodies on the table - I was shocked!  Instead, we had waffles and yogurt for breakfast and then got ready to PARTY!

And now you can hate me because there is much to do tonight to prepare for something else I am in denial about...THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!  I promise I'll report back with all the details of the party, but for now...

To be continued...

Before and After: Fairytales on the Ceiling

Big doin's in the Mallett house today!  A certain someone is turning SIX on Saturday and months ago I decided what I wanted to be her 'big' present.  Just like every night after storytime, I was lying on the floor staring up at this...

Just a big ole, almond-colored ceiling with a boob light.  Yawn.

Her bed and bedding were so cute, and yet this room was so DRAB.  So un-Molly.  So for her big b-day, I decided to change that. 

Here is the BEFORE. 

"Naperville-Beige" walls and that blasted almond colored trim and ceiling.  Ick.  The first job was to get rid of all that.  And if you know anything about Molly, you know we were going pink!  And not just pink, but PINK!!

I actually paid a color-consultant $100 to help me pick the right colors for the kids rooms to make sure I didn't make a mistake.  I've done that before, but I was always painting things MYSELF with cheap-o Home Depot paint, and could re-paint if necessary (and did just that, many times in fact, as it seems I have a challenge picking colors.)

But this time we were paying professionals to do the job, since the ceiling was so high, and I didn't want to screw it up.  So Kristin the color-consultant came in and spent two hours hemming and hawing over paint chips.  And in the end, I hated the colors she picked.

If only that lesson could have been FREE!  And BEFORE I wasted two hours of my life (and of my sister's vacation here).  But some lessons cost moolah, and at least this one wasn't even more expensive I guess.

After all that, I went with my gut...and three trips to the paint store and three big swatches on the wall.  Here's what we got...

This is the DURING...

What?  I told you it would be PINK.  Not pink...PINK!!

But today was when the real magic happened.  Because I found *the one*.  I have searched for this person my whole life - in fact, I've tried to be this person my whole life, only to fail miserably because it is not my calling.  But now I have found HER.  Her name is Laura Campbell and she is a decorative painter. 

A DECORATIVE PAINTER!!!

She charges by the hour and paints like a speed demon.  And there is nothing in her portfolio that I haven't wanted to kiss I loved it so much!  In fact, when we were on our house hunt last year, I took pictures of a number of houses because, though the house wasn't right for us, the PAINTING was to die for and I wanted to steal the ideas for wherever we did end up.

And then someone gave me Laura's name because I needed my kitchen table painted.  And when she came that first time and showed me her portfolio, I just about CRIED.  Because it was HER!!  Every single one of the houses I had photographed, every ONE, was her work. 

So for the forseeable future, I plan on embezzling grocery funds and siphoning any other money I can scrounge up and paying this decorative-painting-angel to paint anything in my life that isn't nailed down.

But back to Molly's room!  We had to start somewhere, and that night, staring up at The Boob, I knew that was the spot.  So today as I ushered the kids out the door to school, Laura came in with brushes and a ladder.  And before the clock even struck nine, this is what we had going on...

Are you freaking?  Because I was totally FREAKING!!

Oh, but it gets BETTER.

I don't know how she can take the same Delta Ceramcoat that I pick up at Michaels and gunk up all sorts of projects with, and make this magic happen, but I am oh so glad she does!

You know there's a castle, right?

Of COURSE there's a castle!

Wanna see it?

Really?

You sure you can handle it??

Because I totally couldn't!

Are you DYING???

well, geez...I hope it lives up to your expectations now...

Kinda feeling like maybe I built it up too much.

You be the judge...

Oh my HEAD, can you stand it????

Here's a closeup

She painted six adorable butterflies for my soon to be six-year-old.

SIGH.

The purple flowers are a nod to Molly's second-favorite color.

Frankly, I'm exhausted from all the excitement.  The big reveal when Molly got home from school was a little surprising.  She was partly overwhelmed, partly surprised, partly in love, but partly concerned that,

"It might be too babyish"

I gave her a hug and told her it might take a while to grow on her and that was fine.

(even though, let's be honest, my heart was breaking a little.  Sniff!)

What I didn't tell her is

"Heck yeah it's babyish, because you're my BABY!!!  And if you think you're growing up, honey, you've got another think coming.  Because you're going to grow up with me kicking and screaming attatched to your leg holding you down like an anchor in babyland!  So get used to it!"

There are loads of people who are excited to push their kids on to the next step, and there's nothing wrong with that.  They can't wait for their little ones to get from lying to rolling.  From rolling to crawling.  From crawling to walking. From walking to running and soccer and gymnastics and twenty-eleven other activties, and into Justice clothes and then Aeropostale and Abercrombie and cell phones at ten years old and cars for their sweet sixteen and spring breaks for senior year and apartments in college...

I ain't one of them.

 So if you need me, I'll be hanging out in babyland with my castle mural, oohing and aahing over the pudgy little butterflies and imagining which room in the castle is mine.

(it's in the turret with the pink flag in case you were wondering). 

It's a Miracle...

...but I finally did get them to come in for bedtime.  It involved crying, bribing and threatening, but eventually, they came inside.  Ben's eyes were rolling back into his head he was so exhausted.  And Molly is probably going to be seasick from too much swinging. 

It was a wicked good day.

Good Lord does she look like a Mallett in this picture! 

Wicked.  Good!

It's a happy day for the Mallett kids!

The wait is finally over! Ten months without a swingset (for kids who used their old one every day) is a long time. There are going to be some very happy little peoPle in our house tonight! If the installers finish early, I'm tempted to pick them up from school early...

Mother's Day

The day started with the sound of shushing and clanging plates as three little elves snuck (loudly) downstairs.  I'd asked for two things for Mother's Day: to sleep until 8:00am and breakfast in bed (toaster waffles - no stove allowed!)  My little elves delivered!

One sausage, one Cutie, two Kashi waffles with whipped cream on top.  Color me impressed!

Oh, I meant TWO cuties.

Okay THREE!! 

Cutie number four was too busy with his job as head chef to stand still for a picture.

And Cutie number five was on the other side of the globe.

After a lovely morning cuddling and snuggling in bed with my cuties, I got to spend Mother's Day this year doing what I'm best at - mothering!  Marc was midway through a two-week business trip to Australia, so I was single parenting for the holiday.  Our good friends Emily and Dan invited us over to hang out with them for the day.

"Hanging out" with the Houlihans, means playing all day with their 3 year old Abby and all her fun toys (read: Barbie Jeep) and hiding from (Ben) or hugging to death (Molly) their 4 year old, 200lb mastiff Arthur (Molly's not partial - creatures big or small, live or dead, she loves them all!).

I was thrilled to make it to Lake Forest and back without getting lost - it's an hour drive both ways.  It was one of the only nice days we'd had in a long stretch of ugly ones, so we had a great time outside.

This is all you need to know, to know Emily.  She stands here cooking bacon on her top of the line Wolf range.  I admire the pan and she gushes - isn't it great?? It's truly the perfect pan.  I use it every day!  Calphalon?  No way!!  Costco!!

We then proceeded to praise Costco for a good ten minutes.  Folks in Massachusetts just wouldn't understand.  BJ's is great, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't survive out here without Costco!  And when has BJ's ever had Hanna Anderson or Heartstrings?  I guess I forgot how many little changes we have adjusted to this past year.  But spending time with a friend and fellow Massachusetts expat reminds me what big impacts these little changes have had on our lives.

For the record, Emily was was pan frying the bacon to compete with the bacon she was baking in the oven.  Dan didn't believe that baked bacon (which is way easier to cook and clean up) could taste as good as pan-fried.   After brunch was over, there was no bacon of either kind left, and I didn't hear one complaint!  So next time I cook bacon, you'd better believe I'm using Emily's oven-baked method!

While brunch baked, the princesses chatted while the villainous Joker was apprehended by none other than the caped crusader himself.

Abby - after Molly's own heart!

If Marc wasn't in Australia, I don't think I'd have been sitting at home enjoying this kind of brunch!  So thanks for traveling, honey!  It was delicious!  I'm going to buy a Cuisinart just so I can make Emily's delicious cinnamon chip scones (that I gorged myself on until I thought I'd burst). 
We washed them down with homemade raspberry limeade.  Oh the happiness!!

But enough about the FOOD.  Because how can you talk about food when there's a pink Barbie Jeep to drive around in?

Someone needs a safe driver course under his belt before being set loose in a battery powered vehicle.

The girls had so much fun being girly together.  I just kept oohing and aahing over the flowers - Spring had shown up in Lake Forest in a big way!

.

Clearly, the male aversion to the color pink does not apply to motorized vehicles.

The hills are alive...with dandelions!

This is Arthur.  As I mentioned, he is not small.  For some perspective, Emily is 6 feet tall flat-footed.  Hard to believe this is the puppy I rocked to sleep when Ben was in my belly.

Tulips and English Ivy.  SWOON!

It was my first Mother's Day in Illinois and I thoroughly enjoyed it thanks to three great kids and some fantastic friends.   Next year I couldn't ask for more, except maybe to have my honey home to celebrate with.  Let's hope the Australia project is finished by then!