Thankful

Snow Day!

Today we awoke to the first snowfall of the season. After last year's 100+ inches I wasn't that excited to see it but it was pretty.

When Bunny saw it she went crazy. She stood on the couch jumping up and down clapping. "Lets go play momma. Lets go. Lets go. L-E-T-S G-O." (yes we taught her that stupid cheer where you spell out lets go and she says it all the time.)

If I would have let her she would have run right outside in her pjs. But because I am a mean mom, I made her wear clothes, inclulding a sweater, snow pants, boots, jacket, scarf, hat and gloves. Afterwards I wasn't sure she'd be able to walk but she did.

We headed out into the back yard where we discovered about 2 inches of packing snow. Mommy made a very lame attempt to make a snow man but with only 2 inches of snow and a small yard it didn't quite work. Its more like a snow pillar. I also tried to throw snow balls but I throw like an uncoordinated girl (which is fitting because that is what I am). We headed to the park for awhile and then it was time to go home for hot chocolate.

It was the perfect day.

Shoo x 2

So apparently Kate was right and we had two flies in the house.

I'm not happy.

Shameless Self Promotion Saturday

Today is the Second Annual Blogger Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair hosted by Neil over at Citizen of the Month. It is an awesome virtual fair highlighting the work of some very talented people.

Because I am one of the participants, I've decided to offer a discount for my lovely readers (all 6 of you). But Why Mommy readers will receive 20% off of everything in my Etsy shop this weekend.

Here is how the discount works:
Mention But Why Mommy in the notes to seller and I will send you a revised invoice to pay.

Be sure to visit Citizen of the Month to check out all the other cool shops.

Happy Shopping.

Shoo

We have an unwanted visitor in our home that is slowly driving us all insane. A fly has found its way inside and has been tormenting us all for the past few days.

As I may have mentioned before I am not a fan of bugs. And my budding entimologist hates flying insects. So it hasn't been fun.

At any given moment during the day you are likely to stumble upon the following scene in our house:

"Momma a fly. I don't like flies. Go away fly." While uttering these words Bunny will sprint towards me grab my leg and bury her head into my knee. Of course I am clutching a rolled up magazine looking to go all Carl Spackler on the fly. So there I am hunting the fly with a crazed wild look in my eyes while dragging a 30 lb. toddler on my leg.

Needless to say that doesn't work. The fly continues to buzz happily around our house while "I'm All Right" plays in the background.

Hoping that a different tactic would work, Bubs got all zen like a Fly Whisperer this morning. He tracked the fly to the back stairway. He calmly asked the fly to fly closer to the door. "I'm going to open the door and you are going to fly outside," he told the fly, expecting it to listen.

It did not listen. Why would it want to go outside into the cold when it could stay in our nice warm house.

The cats are no help either. When they were younger, they would have at least tried to catch the fly. There would have been flying leaps off of furniture at the fly. You would have seen them standing on their hind paws stretching up to pluck the fly out of the air. But alas they are in their golden years and they are content to lay in front of the heater curled in a ball while the fly buzzes around their ears.

So now I am developing a nervous tic. I imagine the fly is everywhere. I can hear his buzzing but I cannot catch him. Bunny is no better. She stops what she is doing every so often to scream "go away fly" and duck her head.

Go away indeed. We can't take much more of this.

Note: That sound of manical laughter you hear is me. The fly is no more. Ding dong the fly is dead.

Back to Reality

The staycation is over. Bubs went back to work this morning. And we are back to our old routine. Well actually the staycation was a preview of our new routine, staying indoors.

The weather has turned cold. The leaves have fallen from the trees. The tundra is ripe for freezing. Winter is coming to my part of the world.

There will still be occasional ventures outside if the thermometer registers above 40. But it will not be the same. We will be bundled up in heavy winter coats with hats, scarves and gloves. Battles will be fought over the clothing options. Sweaters must be worn despite objections.

We will no longer ramble freely in the parks in search of squirrles, chipmunks and deer. There will be no more hikes looking for the perfect leaf. We will not stand on the banks of the river communing with the ducks.

Our journeys now will be ones of imagination. We will build magical castles in the dining room. Our living room will become dinosaur island. We will take our tea next to a volcano with all sorts of wild creatures. Lizards, snakes and parrots will be our companions. Bunny will be the queen of this magical mysterious place and I will happily join her on her adventures.

The Way of the Gunn

Tim Gunn that is.

Now this may be interesting to no one but me, but yesterday I got to see Tim Gunn. I may have mentioned this before but I love him. So this glimpse of the man made my week.

Let's Build A Word

Words are magic.

The process of putting letters together to build words and words together to make sentences is very powerful. It allows you to express a need, a desire, an idea or a thought. It allows you to communicate with the outside world.

The right words put togehter the right way have an even greater power. Words can create poetry and art. They can make you laugh or cry. They can make you fall in love. Or they can inspire you to take action.

As a writer I struggle with words every day. I have an idea in my mind that I want to express. I could just use the basic words to describe it.

Bunny jumped in a pile of leaves.

But that really doesn't do anything for you or for me. Kids jump in leaf piles every day in the fall. Why was it special? Why should you care? The right words will set the scene. The right words will make you understand the beauty of the moment. The right words will make you wish you were there with her, laughing, dancing and experiencing pure joy.

Often for me, the right words don't come. I can see them in my mind. They are there just out of reach. If I stretch far enough I can reach one or two. Maybe I can grab enough for a good post, maybe not. I have enough posts that I've started with a good idea only to be abandoned because the words did not come.

Every day I sit at this computer and write. I try to write better. I try to write more. Sometimes its not enough, my words have failed me.

But the true magic in words is in their discovery. The discovery that certain letters and sounds make words and those words mean something to someone. The discovery that even if the words you make don't mean anything, they are still magic.

I will sit on my living room floor and close my eyes just to experience that magic. I hear words like dog followed by bog, fog, log, hog, jog, nog, mog and frog. Cat is followed by bat, hat, sat and mat. A newly built tower will be cristened a rockstack because there is no other word to describe its magnificence.

Words are placed into action to describe play. The dino went here, he did this. Then they are streched into stories describing events that can only take place in her imagination.

It is in those times that I am remineded of the magic and beauty of words. I remember that even the simplest words have power and I am inspired to try harder.

Are You Going to Work, Daddy?

This is a question that gets asked daily in our house. 5 days a week the answer is always yes. But not today. Today is different. Today is the first day of my husband's staycation.

What is a staycation, you may ask.

According to the Urban Dictionary, a staycation is "a vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer."

My husband has a few things planned for his staycation. He wants to golf (its November in Wisconsin, even my golf fanatic dad has his clubs in the basement, but whatever) and he wants to go to the casino to check out the new poker room. No problem, those are reasonable requests.

But he wants to spend the rest of the time hanging out with his girls. In order to enjoy all that home and one's home environs have to offer, Bubs will be spending the week doing the following:

1. Going to music class (with me)
2. Going to swim class (without me)
3. Going to the park
4. Helping me potty train Bunny - you know I was saving that one until I had help
5. Cleaning
6. Working around the house

So in other words he will spend his staycation doing my job.

Which is pretty sweet for me. With his help, I may even find time to go to the grocery store without a toddler, to go to the gym which is actually open days other than Saturday (or so the sign says), to sleep in, to shower on a daily basis (which is also good for everyone else).

So it appears that a stay at home mom can in fact have a staycation.

Yes We Did

Yesterday was one of those once in a lifetime moments. I wish I could bottle how I felt then and how I feel now. I am filled with hope for the future.

It was the perfect example of what I strive to teach my daughter. If you want something and you work hard, you can achieve it. It doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, here all things are possible.

Yes We Can became Yes We Did.

I Voted, Did You?

I remember it like it was yesterday. I stood in line in the basement of Ogg Hall on the University of Wisconsin campus for three hours. I was 19 years old and I was waiting to cast my first ballot in a presidential election. Finally I reached the head of the line and I entered the booth. I reached up and pulled the lever for Mike Dukakis.

I was thrilled. I felt energized. I had been involved in politics since I was a child when my mom took my brother and I to hand out pamphlets for George McGovern in 72. I had been involved in local elections, handing out match books for a judicial campagin. My mom also worked on a local assembly race in the 80s. I had a Mondale-Ferraro bumpersticker on my backpack in high school. I worked as a page in the State Assembly in college. It was in my blood.

I was dissapointed when Dukakis lost but I was happy that I had voted.

Since that time, I have continued to exercise my right to vote. I have made my voice heard. I've voted for the winner and the loser, but I've voted.

My faith in the political process took a hit in the 2000 election but it survived. I like knowing that I count, that my voice means something. I have called and written my congressmen and senators to let them know my stances on issues. But to me, there is nothing like casting your vote for a candidate that you support.

So on October 23rd at 4 pm, I went to City Hall to cast my vote in this historic election. There was no one waiting, I was able to vote with no problems. I placed my ballot in a sealed envelope which will be counted on election day. In a way I was sad to have voted early, I love the energy of election day. But I knew there would be high turnout today and I had visions of standing in line with a cranky toddler. Voting early made the most sense for me.

I voted for Barak Obama. I believe that he will be the best leader for our country. But even if you don't believe the same way I do, you need to vote. You need to have your voice counted.

So stand up for yourself and for your country. VOTE! There is nothing like it.

A Door Is Never Really Shut

This is a lesson you learn when you live with cats and children, there is no such thing as a closed door. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a little paw reaching under a door trying to pull it open. Or how many times I have heard the sound of a little hand trying (albiet unsuccessfully) to open a door.

Doors are not meant to be shut. There are rooms behind those doors. Maybe the room is really messy and you just want to shut the door so no one can see the clutter and chaos. Maybe the room is empty, just waiting for someone to come along and live in it. Maybe its the bathroom and you just want a few minutes of peace.

There are things on the other side of those doors that are part of our lives. We can't really shut them out.

I tried shutting a door recently. I proclaimed to the wilds of the internets that I was no longer reneedesigns.



But the second I tried to shut the door, there was something trying to push it back open. I felt an overwhelming urge to create. It didn't matter what it was, I just had to make something. During my toddlerless times, I found myself in the car driving to the craft store or to the bead store. I found myself holding beads in my hand imagining what they could become.



I've been searching for inspiration too. Looking for something, anything to ignite a spark in my soul. Things like the colors of the leaves, the doodles of my daughter have lit a slow burning fire. I've got a million ideas in my head trying to find a way out

I am reneedesigns again and it feels good.