for jessica

*

so the other day, in my previous post, i alluded to feeling all wonky about blogging. i took a little hiatus due to a bout of the blogging (also facebook, pinterest, and internet in general) ick. i can't be the only person who leaves an intimate session with my computer feeling jealous, unproductive, unfulfilled, and well...sad. in a flash of ridiculous vengence, i've struck blogs from my bookmark bar as though that action alone will bring relief from the endless window shopping i constantly subject myself to. that's just crazy.

then a few months (or less) go by, and i step back in, cautiously, vowing to spend only so much time in front of the screen, with only a select few, purposeful stops, promising to steer clear of the not-so-feel-good-spots i know still taunt me. and i think, "hey...i can do this! i'll just look a little, share a little, and walk away...just walk away."

today, on the actual telephone, my sister and i discussed this. i think we agreed to sum it up this way: who doesn't love show and tell? especially when you're the shower-teller? it's fun. it's a method of record keeping. it's like an interactive video game involving your own actual life where real live people can jump right in and hang out a little. the thing to keep in mind, though, is that it is a game. all those pictures aren't the whole picture, that's the thing. as long as i spend sufficient time unplugged (let's not get all matrix-ey here), i think it's gonna be okay.

in the meantime, if you don't mind me thinking out loud, subjecting you to the ongoing report of my life with children, or reading my profound retellings of some of the things i've seen or heard, you're welcome to stay. make yourself at home. and if i'm on your annoying list, go ahead and delete me into cyber nothingness. jess, you say you like it, and that's good enough for me. from all the way over here to all the way over there, this one's for you.

*coming soon: more clutter shots that tell the story of our lives, in all their chaotic glory.

happy birthday, dr. seuss...annnd....we're back!

well, hello there! apparently i'm on the nine-month plan, as it's been nearly that long since i've actually published a post. there've been a couple of puny little posts hanging out in my "drafts" box, but i never got back to them. oopsie. actually, i've been trying to sort out all this blog stuff in my head all this time, but that's a post for another day.

so why today? well because it's dr. seuss' birthday, and we had a darn fine time at doodlebugs, that's why. pure genius that man was, i tell you, and if he's not an inspiration to share your craziness with the world, i don't know what is. so here we go.

i set up three seussish stations for the kiddos to explore, all inspired by various seuss stories. first up, fish bowls inspired by the cat in the hat and one fish two fish red fish blue fish. a fish bowl outline, permanent markers, and water colors. there were all kinds of cool creations swimming around in those bowls!

next up? crazy creatures inspired by there's a wocket in my pocket and if i ran the zoo and pretty much every other dr. seuss book there is.

this little one just decided to go ahead and write her own book. yes!

and finally? OOBLECK! this was definitely a favorite, especially with the younger littles. we liked it much better than the king did in bartholomew and the oobleck.

even the kids themselves were works of art (aren't they always?) today. some came dressed in formal seuss attire: stripes, colors, wigs, polka dots, crazy hair, and any other wild combination they could think of.

this lasted all of five minutes before he spied his "robin" suit, which he preferred. hmmm...seuss and batman? whatever, right?