Meditating Sock Monkeys

This isn't just a strange blog title...it is what I painted on my middle son's walls yesterday.  He is nearly 12 and is a self-proclaimed nerd.  He's quite proud of it really.  However, he has this bizarre sense of humor and things that make him happy.  When we set up his room at the age of 8 he wanted to feel like he was in the sky, flying amongst the clouds.  We painted blue walls and fluffy white clouds everywhere and then put glow-in-the dark stars on the ceiling. He would gaze upon his world from the top bunk and dream...I guess.  Who knows what goes through a child's mind really.  This is my quiet child, the introverted one...I work really hard to reach him and make him smile so really, painting a few clouds on  blue walls was quite simple.

Advance to four years later, it is time to split the boys, whose age difference is 7 years, into two bedrooms.  The four year old predictably wants "dinosaur green" walls and some dinosaurs painted on them (or vinyl stickers as we are opting for).  When planning for this big split, I posed the question to the middle son...do you want anything new on your walls???  Mind you, we started talking about this long before it actually happened..."yes, Mom...monkeys meditating in the clouds...sock monkeys".  So I do the nod and smile..."okay son".  Meanwhile my mind is thinking..."is this kid huffing???  Are there any outward signs of drug abuse...my God he's only 11 going on 12...I've heard of such things...but MY kid!?!?"  So I give it several weeks as we are approaching the big weekend, I ask again, "still want those meditating monkeys???"  The reply was "yes, please".  Seriously...meditating sock monkeys???  Okay.  Of course, my son just assumes I will somehow magically make this happen.  Fortunately, I happen to be an artist and sock monkeys are cartoon-like so, I PAINTED MEDITATING SOCK MONKEYS IN THE CLOUDS!  And, there was no abuse of substances involved.

Will I ever know why my son desperately wanted them?  Probably not, but when he looked upon the finished product, he smiled and did a little jump and said "Mom, you are AWESOME".  That was a priceless mommy moment that I would not trade for the world!

Down with technology

I've done it!  Taken the plunge...gone rogue.  I've LIMITED MY CHILDREN'S SCREEN TIME...  Shocker isn't it!?!?!  Last Friday was the turning moment for me, when I realized that while I was toiling away in the garden, cleaning house, doing laundry, answering phone calls and MORE, my kids were sitting on their posteriors and rotting their eyes.

So, new house rule (which I am actually enforcing) one hour of TV and one hour of computer/game time per day...otherwise, you'd better be using your imagination, burning some calories or reading a book.  I realized that my 4 year old...yes, 4 year old, knows more websites for gaming than I do!  This is somewhat an artifact of having two older siblings that he watches and then wants to try what they are doing.  The most recent addiction, yes, addiction is Poptropica.  It is a "virtual world in which kids explore and play in complete safety".  Well, sure, there are no axe murderers but, what have you done to help my kid stay fit? NOTHING!
It is a great imaginative place of problem solving and reading but, endlessly, like EVEN MY 4 YEAR OLD wants to do...uh uh.

I may be the meanest mom on the block, or maybe the earth but my kids would spend all day every day doing things that involve screens.  It makes my eyes hurt just thinking about it.  I am not a particularly outdoorsy or active type myself but I can sure use my imagination, and remember building box forts with the neighbor kids and playing checkers in them.  Spending time with nature and the animals, even if it was only to read a book while sitting under a tree in the back yard... Lest you think I lived in Mayberry, USA, I actually had to bike at least 5 minutes for my nearest neighbor, I grew up out in the country on a farm and we kids had to work to be able to play together.

Call me old fashioned but I'd rather trip over the toys from the day's play that we forgot to clean up than trip over the cord of the computer plugged in to the wall.  We'll see how my sanity holds up, 'cause when my 4 year old uses his imagination, he tends to draw us all in, he is an active little boy with a big one.  It may just kill me because I have fewer moments to myself, but I will get to participate in the beautiful development of an AMAZING human being...  Look out world, my little guy is smart and compelling and I'm teaching him to use his IMAGINATION!

It's been a while

So, this blog was meant to be for my business.  But, my business has undergone a HUGE change...in that I have had to close my store front.  Economic conditions notwithstanding, (which is the MAIN reason I closed the store) I was EXHAUSTED!  Mentally, physically and spiritually EXHAUSTED!  So, it's been about 6 weeks since the closing and I am FINALLY getting a grip on life again.

I am appreciating the mommy moments that I had been missing.  I am settling into a new life as a stay-at-home mom and part time artist.  I am renewing my place as CEO of our household.  I'm left feeling frustrated that I couldn't make the store work.  Not guilty, not disappointed, just frustrated and maybe a little sad.

I don't miss difficult customers, I don't miss being tied to something outside my family 7 days a week, I don't miss stressing about paying the bills, because, there was NEVER enough to do that.  I do miss the people though.  So, even in this blog I am going to be changing.  It will be a place for me to post about my adventures in the art world and a place for me to post funny stories about my family.

Art update:  I won't be able to get a whole lot done until the kids go back to school BUT I have some new molds and some new equipment that is WAAAAAY fun to play with and I'll be creating some great things.  I signed up for my first craft event and I'm looking forward to showing people what it is I'm doing now!

Funny family story....

Hubby, Matt, and I are not the most "grown up" of parents.  We both have a serious childish streak in us and encourage play in our home.  We were having family dinner a couple of weeks ago and our 16 year old daughter, who loves to horseplay with her 11 year old brother, decided it would be a good time to wet-willy him.  Well...some willies were exchanged and things settled down...we kept eating as I had put the brakes on the horseplay in a moment of responsibility.

SO, poor unsuspecting 11 year old was eating happily away and big sister thought she would get a rise out of him by taunting him with a hovering wet finger...only thing is, he didn't NOTICE!!!  So, in a moment of frustration, she says "Carson, look how close..." and as he turns to listen to her...he POKES HIMSELF IN THE EYE WITH HER FINGER!  No joke...had to be there.  I laughed nearly as hard as I have in the last six months (after making sure he wasn't seriously damaged of course).  Aahhh..the beauties of having blond children...


So, as the days go on and my life gains new rhythm, I shall remember to write down the fun stuff...'cause well, like most busy moms in the middle of life...when I sleep...I forget stuff!  More to come later...I think I need to go play with some glass!

Mothering a family in middle America with head lice

So, my store manager said I should put an article about this in my next newsletter but I'm not sure I want my readers to leave with itchy heads!

We have recently been visited by the lovely harbingers of scalp itch...head lice.  First found them on my 4 year old after he'd been home for a week with illness.  Why he had a HUGE hatch out is beyond comprehension, he'd been itching on and off for several weeks and I (being a seasoned mother) had checked several times but all I could find was dandruff.  So, this little scenario came as quite a surprise to me (scratch scratch).  So, I happened to be taking my 11 year old (who I checked thoroughly) to school early for band and I stopped at the local drug store to pick up the obligatory chemical-full shampoo-suspended insecticide.

By 7:10 I had the kid saturated and was madly ripping all bedclothes off beds and stuffing fluffy animals in trash bags for their sojourn in the garage (if you take any eggs/nits/adults away from their food source, you interrupt the life cycle).  7:20 he was a-hollerin' in the shower while I scrubbed madly and fussed at him to keep the washcloth over his face lest the chemicals burn his eyes.  7:30 saw us in the downstairs bathroom with said 4 year old standing on the stool, wrapped loosely in a towel while receiving a mom haircut.  It was then that my husband piped in (he doesn't get up until 7 or so).  He says "hey hon, while you were out the Dept. of Homeland Security called, they want to offer you a job".  This was his way of complimenting my proactive stance on ridding our house of these little buggers.  Really, insects just give me the heebie jeebies.  I'm a spider squeeler, and Lord help us all when the ants show up in the spring. Show no mercy I say!

So, sporting a new hair cut, thank goodness I have that old pair of clippers hanging around.  The youngest and I spent quality time over Sponge Bob while I played monkey and picked his nits.  There is a reason the saying says "don't be such a nit-picker".  It is a tedious and heinous job, icky and gross and, well, it's nit-picky.  (Scratch-scratch).

Advance to 4:00 that afternoon.  Still running all the sheets, blankets, pillows and pillowcases through the wash & dry...there are 4 beds to be dealt with and a HUGE pile of clothes and though the washer has a sanitary setting, it takes 1 hour and 55 m in to get through it!  It's time for round two of nit-picking on the small one...I've checked everyone else in the house, no one else seems to have been infested (by some miracle).  By 10 that evening everyone is in bed, with clean bedclothes and I feel victorious!

Made sure to re-wash the little one's head a week later as per the label on the icky chemical shampoo.

And, the next day the 11 year old is itching!!!!!  Aaaaaaaaaah!  Are you freaking kidding me!?!?!?  AGAIN!?!?!?  So, repeat the scenario of a week ago..including the mom haircut (much to the 11 year olds dislike) thank heavens they are boys and even though it's January/February in one of the coldest places in the country, a buzz cut doesn't look too out of place..right? Re-wash all bed items, make sure the 16 year old does a just-in-case wash and hope that they don't come back.  Well, I rationalize that the 11 year old had no adults and no eggs so he must have picked up a couple adults from the little one right???

It is now almost a week later...guess what I found on my 11 year old's head last night...Yup, another little bug...where the hell did he come from???? AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

My first Blog

So, I put relationships in my list of interests.  This may generate more "interest" than I was counting on.

The truth is that I am interested in how we function in groups, treat one another in our daily interactions and generally make it through our days in a world full of people.  I'm not so concerned with romantic relationships (though I've had one for over 20 years with my husband!).  I'm more fascinated by the interplay between my employees, the dynamic between the family groups who come in to my shop and the great opportunity I have every day to people watch.

Recently I've been reminded that I went in to the business of paint-your-own-pottery and fuse-your-own-glass not just because it is a great creative environment and really fun.  I built this business because I wanted there to be a place that was an escape from every day life, where memories can be made and relaxing can happen.  There are no clocks at Uniquely Yours (at least that customers can see). It is the signal to leave your troubles at the door and come in, sit, relax, let us serve you and help you create a memory.

People have healed in my space.  I LOVE that!  I see the faces of two of my young friends whose father died in a car crash.  Mom brought them in not long after as part of their way of being able to talk to one another about missing him and wishing he were still here.  Mom came to us a couple of months ago and said "I just want you to know, this place was a very important part of our healing".  Just last week a young woman said "This place is going to help me get through my divorce".  That is the power of a relaxing activity where no one judges you and allows your inner child to jump out and play.

I've heard countless times "This is so relaxing....and cheaper than therapy!"  Well, there is tangible and intangible value.  In addition to the memories you make, you get a "something" to keep.  It could be a baby footprint tile, a glass frame, a special mug you use all the time, a wedding plate or countless other items and YOU MAKE THEM YOURSELF!  That is the tangible.  The intangible is the sense of relaxation and peace that playing with colors, painting with a brush or just hanging and having a good cup of coffee with friends can provide. Taking time to nurture your creative brain, even if you don't think you have one, is one of the countless ways we can take better care of ourselves.

I'll be reflecting on other aspects of being a mom, wife and business owner.  The busy part of my life is starting to creep in so I think I need to take a dose of my own medicine. In fact...I think I need to go play with something artsy...it'll make me feel good!