???

I’ve had a bit of a bothersome belly ache lately.

Sciatica?

Dislocation due to an overly-motivated workout?

Regardless… I’m not feeling right. Off and on. For a few days.

Just a nudge of discomfort… enough for me to feel complainery… but not enough for one to feel the need to enlist the help of medical professionals or anything draaaaaastic.

In one of my complaining moments I said to my 9 year old daughter, “I wonder if it’s my appendix?”

Olivia: What?

Me: My appendix.

Olivia: *confused look*

Me: I wonder if the appendix is on the right or the left. This hurts here *presses on right side* Owie.

Olivia: *still looking confused*

Me: OH! I’m not talking about the appendix of a book, honey!

Olivia: OooooooooooKhay! I didn’t know an appendix was a body part!

*insert laughing We here*

She has the best sense of humor and the MOST infectious laugh. And she works on math for fun.

Speaking of kids… the kids really, really, really want some snow. We had a moment of it… and the youngest was all over it like, like… like a kid on/after an ice cream truck.

So cute. Yet so sad.

C’mon snow.

Do it for Lucy…

********

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The Appendix: Not to be confused with the appendix is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

I confess. See this box:

It’s a box-o Lucky Charms.

I have a picture of it here in this post because I have this box in my home.

Folks. Friends… Cast ye judgment aside lest ye cast yon first stone….

This is not the first time I have brought sugar cereal into my home.

Alas and whathaveyou.

Go ahead. Gasp. Get it out.

There.

Moving forward…

My 9 y.o. saw that picture on the box. She furrowed her brows, tilted her head and asked, “Mom. Lucky Charms makes you tall???”

My answer was… as always… filled with maternal wisdom, “Uh. Yeah. No.”

Lucy, never to be left out of a conversation… never to be one to let a mystery remain gave her two cents, “Maybe they make you lucky?”

*pause*

*blink*

*pause*

*blink*

*pause*

*blink*

“Or maybe they make you CHARMING!”

Yes. Let’s go with that.

Did I ever tell you about the time I yelled at my son… “You have to eat ALLLL your Cocoa Puffs or NO donut.” Or was it “Eat all your donut or NO Cocoa Puffs.”?

True story. The bonus for you is, no matter how low you hit in your own motherhood journey… I’ll be there to break your fall.

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The Confessional: I give my kids sugar cereal. is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

I will often tell people I am not creative. I am a WAY better copy cat.

*meow*

I would say I am far more CAPABLE than CREATIVE. And I am O.K. with that. I can do just about anything… I just need someone to tell what it is I will be doing.

EXCEPT FOR YESTERDAY Y’ALLS!

My kids are in a summer camp this week. And as all good summer camps do… each day has a theme. As much as I love to accessorize and such… I really don’t like to have to do it on a schedule. I am more of a “as the mood hits” kind-of gal… Or a random party.

Simply put, I am ill-prepared to accessorize according to a theme on a schedule, especailly when it involves people other than me (i.e. MY CHILDREN – FOR 5 DAYS STRAIGHT).

Aaanywho…

I realized it was crazy hat, hair and sock day 15 minutes before we had to leave Monday morning.

Great way to strat the week, ehh? The guilt. The pressure…

My mind raced. I saw images. I saw PIPE CLEANERS.

BOOM, I say… BOOM:

Friends. I have spent a good deal of my career as a mother feeling like my lack of on-demand creativity makes me less-than a mother.

But… every so often… there is a shining moment.

And based on the picture above… I nailed it.

Want a closer look? OK!

Here’s what you’ll need (a Crazy Pipe Cleaner Hat Tutorial):

• Pipe cleaners
• Hands to bend and twist said pipe cleaners

Please… please… hold your applause until the end…

OK. You can clap now.

*wink*

********

$100 Visa gift cards are AWESOME… so is the Facebook app I reveiwed – Check it out here, ya’lls!

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There really is a creative (mad?) genius inside. is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

My girl.

Sweet.

Compassionate.

Maternal.

Kind.

My girl.

I honestly have no idea where 9 years have gone. Plopped right between your older brother and younger sister, you have carved yourself a solid place in our crazy family.

You have that laugh… the laugh everyone tells me is simply the best they have ever heard.

And there has been a shift… a shift in us.

Your warmth is hot. Your hunger for closeness is the delight of my heart. “I love you” pours from your lips and right now I cling and savor the fact that you want me around for everything.

No embarrassment. No wet blanket… you need me. You show it.

I savor these days of we.

Our giggles. Our long hugs. Our return to snuggle time.

Olivia, you are so complex. You are the one I have the hardest time figuring out.

You are cool. Compliant. Easy. Diplomatic. Sacrificial.

Passionate.

But I have to watch close.

Complex.

Delightful.

You inspire me to become. To reach. To listen.

I am a far greater person because of you, my daughter. I treasure you… I admire you.

I am so proud of you.

The way you care. Your heart…

You are capable and it doesn’t occur to you that you cannot.

You are brave.

And strong.

And so very tender-hearted.

I am honored to be your mom. I pray for me… to be the mom that nurtures your heart in the specific way your heart should be nurtured. I pray for our relationship… in this time of bounty… and in anticipation of the years we have yet to meet. I want it to be this way forever. This is a golden time… I treasure it. But even when rough patches hit… I will treasure you. Us. Know I love you always, no matter what.

No. Matter. What.

I pray your laugh will always topple people. Infect them. Affect them.

I pray your sensible and practical head prevails when hard decisions must be made. I envy your ability to shrug and let small things roll off. You teach me so much!

Olivia, I love you beyond measure. I adore you.

Plus, I have so much fun with you… So very much fun…

********

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That girl. is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

A lot.

My daughter and I.

The 8 year old.

She blogs.

Cuz she’s cool. I made her that way.

On Wednesday I went with her to a local Young Writers Workshop.

There are so many things awesome in that.

To watch her love for words and stories… To realize she has this innate passion for storytelling. Looking into her eyes as she looks up after reading one of her stories… how they sparkle… they scan mine for approval and excitement.

And imagine my pride… the pride for my child… the fruit of my loins… when she got up to share her story at the final workshop of the day. I won’t share it in any of it’s entirety here… I think that should be for her blog. The story I get to tell is the part where she was one of the last readers.

So we knew the sweet content the others had scribbled in pencil, crayon and marker.

And then Olivia proudly got in front of the group and shared her fictional story (she says she prefers fiction)… Of getting sick on Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

A story…

SO delightfully descriptive about

BARF

that went

down…

the…

drain…

Others wrote of clouds and puppies. My daughter?

BARF.

And today, at her parent-teacher conference it was all good news. Great grades, great behavior… but I knew. I knew there HAD to be SOMETHING…

And there was.

Her writing. It’s not that she’s slow, it’s that she writes TOO much.

And I nodded.

I knew.

For I also struggled.

With the written word.

It’s art.

It’s form.

It’s boundless power to not move mountains… but to move my fingers across a keyboard.

To move pencils and pens.

And…

to move the hearts of men.

My daughter feels this and tries to harness it as she writes…

about lumpy Cinnamon Toast Crunch-y barf and the way it slips down the drain.

*poetry snaps*

********

Speaking of something totally unrelated… ACCESSORIES. I’m asking what is your “must have” accessory. Bop right on over here to see who’s wearin’ what!

********

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We Use Our Words is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

There is a certain substitute at my kids’ school that… shall we say… has not found favor in the eyes of my children.

{photo cred}

On the way home from school today the oldest (11) said, “I don’t think I’ll survive if I have Ms. So-and-So again.”

His 8 year old sister offered him comfort, “You’ll be O.K… I had her last week for FOUR days. I didn’t die.”

********

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Overheard: Surviving the Substitute is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

I remember when I was a little girl. I DREAMED of being able to dance on the clouds.

To prance and swoosh and spin in the light clouds.

It never occurred to me that were I to step out of a plane onto a fat, white cloud… I would fall to a certain death.

My Lucy.

As were were driving to school, we drove into a wall of fog.

Her 5 year-old self burst with excitement, “I want to walk on clouds, Mama!”

Her older sister brought reason, “You can’t walk on clouds, Lucy.”

Lucy, being the blossoming lawyer that she is counters, “Well. How come PETER PAN can?!”

Olivia says dryly, “Because that’s a fairy tale.”

Lucy, “Oh.”

I didn’t have an older sister to dispel myths for me. This may or may not have worked to my advantage. I was the dream-squasher for my younger sister.

What’s YOUR birth order? Do you think this has affected your development?

Heehee…

********

Iced coffee anyone? Seattle’s Best has their line of iced coffees out NOW. I got to try them and wrote about it here…

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I Want to Walk on The Clouds! is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

I was trying on this dress today:

Premiered at BlogHer in NYC, August 2010. Thankyouverymuch.

My beloved.

The entire dress is sequins.

And I use the word “entire” loosely… for it is a fine line between “dress” and “long shirt”.

Aaaaaanywho.

I was trying her on, for she maybe be worn at an event very soon.

I needed to see if I could still zip her up and need to brush-up on how far I can bend before risking arrest for indecent exposure.

My 8 year old daughter came into my room. She has a pretty good eye for fashion, so I turned, put my hand on my hip and said, “So???”

She piped up, “I REALLY like that dress, Mom!”

I tossed my hair and told her I would take good care of that dress so she could wear it one day.

I shouldn’t push it like that.

Pride comes before a fall.

She says, “YEAH! I would LOVE to wear it when I’m almost 40!”

*blink blink blink*

Did she just call me “old”?

I said, “Well. Honey. You will probably be able to wear this when you are 20, maybe even SOONER!”

She giggled, “I won’t be that big when I am 20!”

Did she just call me “fat”?

I said, “Listen. I am the same height now as I was when I was 18. I haven’t grown AT ALL since I was 18.”

Her reply…

Well… maybe you shouldn’t drink so much coffee.”

The above comment was brought to you by the “Old Wives Tale School of Parenting” – “No, honey. You can’t have coffee. It’ll stunt your growth…”

********

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"Maybe you shouldn't drink so much coffee…" she says. is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

My daughter Olivia and I are taking on a little project in 2011.

Project We

She has been bitten by the blogging bug, and… well… I think that is just stinkin’ awesome.

I also have seen it as a great opportunity to share an interest with my will-not-forever-be-8-years-old daughter. She’s blooming. She’s open. I want to take hold…

Over the last week, we settled on a little title for our project – Project We… because we will be doing this together. We have created an editorial calendar for all 52 weeks of 2011. Want a peek?

Jan 3-8: new
Jan 10-15: smiles
Jan 17-22: Winter
Jan 24-29: sweet
Jan 31- Feb 4: yellow
Feb 7-12: blue
Feb 14-19: red
Feb: 21-26: green
Feb 28 – Mar 4: music
Mar 7-12: kindness
Mar 14-19: waiting
Mar 21-26: food
Mar 28 – Apr 1: bubbles
Apr 4-9: circles
Apr 11- 16: stripes
Apr 18-23: squares
Apr 25-30: lines
May 2-7: spring
May 9-14: laughter
May 16- 21: accessorize
May 23-27: flowers
May 30 – June 4: children
June 6-11: grown-ups
June 13-18: animals
June 20-25: dancing
June 27- July 2: birthdays
July 4-9: independence
July 11-16: summer
July 18-23: floating
July 25-30: beach
August 1-6: sunshine
Aug 8-13: weeds
Aug 15-20: camping
Aug 22-27: barefoot
Aug 29 – Sept 3: back to school
Sept 5-10: hands
Sept 12-17: eyes
Sept 19-24: mouth
Sept 26 – Oct 1: toes & feet
Oct 3-8: autumn
Oct 10-15: together
Oct 17-22: favorite things
Oct 24-29: letters and words
Oct 31- Nov 5: costumes
Nov 7-12: cooking
Nov 14-19: leaves
Nov 21-26: story telling
Nov 28 – Dec 3: create
Dec 5-10: bright
Dec 12-17: love
Dec 19-24: giving
Dec 26-31: family

If anyone wants to join in… a badge is coming. I encourage finding a partner. It is called Project We, afterall…

Having weekly themes will help us BOTH with focus. We will write or draw or take pictures . Our filter? Goodness, beauty, bright spots, fun… A positive focus. Our intent is to each post 3 times a week on our own blogs, and link to each other’s most recent Project We post. We will both take a Sunday break.

This is a bit of a 365 project, with a twist. I did a 365 in 2008. It was great, but it was stressful to post every day. I want to help Olivia foster a love of creating. For her eyes to be opened to all the stories that are happening all around us. I want her not to feel like she must post, but I also know the more you do, the more you explode with ideas.

To be honest, I don’t know if every week we will be able to pull off 3 posts each. I want to be optimistic, but I know the effort it could take. At least on this mama’s part.

During this time, Olivia will be learning… to upload pictures, to scan her creations, to keep her camera charged, to edit pictures, to share stories. There will be questions. I am pretty sure I have no idea what genius creativity she will come up with.

And I am afraid to post this because… what if in 2 weeks this project goes silent?

I know our life. It is filled. To the tippy-top.

And it is for that very reason why I hope we can journey in some form of this together. To forge a deeper bond. I want to understand her more. I want her knee-jerk reaction to be to talk – to me. To be comfortable sharing with me. I hope this time together will be a line in the sand in her development… still so young, but growing all-too fast.

More to come.

That is the intention.

********

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Project We is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...

I helped my daughter with her blog this weekend.

I walked her through the process of uploading a picture to her posts.

Finally.

For a post about Thanksgiving.

I found this note in my inbox a few days later…

Of all the awesome… My girl.

Not only do we share a love of accessories, but also a love of writing…

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Makes A Mommy Blogger Proud… is a post from: Jenny On the Spot * This is what I do...