HoT TiMeS SuMMeR iN THe CiTY

School FINALLY ended for The Spawn on Monday, so now it is officially time to send them away Summer.




This year, we let Complicated Boy choose which camp he wished to attend. He chose Baseball Camp, because he is currently obsessed with the sport. While it is quite probable that his intense passion will wain with time, right now SexyHusbandOMine is thrilled that CBoy's combo of ADHD plus mild obsessive/compulsive tendencies have led him to be fixated on something worthwhile...The Phillies.



CBoy's favorite thing about Baseball Camp is.... THE CUP. He has been wearing it around the house for days now and I often catch him Talking To The Man in the Mirror while Michael Jacksoning his crotch area. Had I known how much he would become enamored of this piece of sports equipment, that Renaissance Portrait we tried to take last month would have been so much easier... I could have just got him a codpiece and called it a day.



The Banana chose Drama Camp. She is currently playing the role of the six and a half year old who acts like a thirteen year old girl with issues: the last two mornings have been a blur of tears, arguments, door slamming (that was me), I CAN SO HAVE TUNA FISH EVERY DAY, I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR, I DON'T LIKE MY HAIR BRUSHED, NO I WON'T ,YOU CAN'T MAKE ME (that was me again.)




Evenings are spent like this: MOM WATCH ME SING ALL THE SONGS FROM A CHORUS LINE. MOM, YOU'RE NOT WATCHING NOW I HAVE TO START ALL OVER. MOM PUT THE BOTTLE DOWN AND LISTEN TO ME SING RAZZEL DAZZEL 'EM AGAIN.

I envy those people who ship their children off to sleepaway camp and just send care packages. You know those Friday the 13th horror movies? I'm thinking the reason the mom went crazy is because Jason was around June-August. Just sayin.
How are you spending your summer?

TRuE

THe BiG DaY!!

The big plan for Father's Day weekend was to whisk Sexyhusbandomine away to someplace with a lot of shopping romantic. We have not had a vacation without the children in nine years. Which is 63 years in cat years. Which is what it feels like.

But I made the fatal error of telling ComplicatedBoy that we would be gone for one night. At which point he Gauged his Eyes Out. O wait--that's Oedipus. I often get my own life and the play so mixed up.

I fell asleep Friday night gently turning over in my mind the idea of possibly lying to the children and just not coming home working something out. In my dreams, it was me, Sexyhusbandomine, and Johnny Depp, who was sweating so much that he had to take his shirt off--and as he did, he turned those big brown eyes to me and said

"Mommy I think I'm going to throw up"

Because I can sleep through practically ANYTHING but if The Banana stands beside my bed for two minutes, no matter how deep in REM I am, the full force of her stare will wake me up everytime. And nothing is worse than being woken up by THE STARE OF A CHILD WHO IS ABOUT TO VOMIT.

And so the next day was spent taking care of The Banana while Sexyhusbandomine and Cboy went off on an adventure. At one point I asked her if she needed anything and she replied "I NEED A BELL. A BELL TO RING SO THAT YOU WILL BRING ME THINGS." I realized then that I had taught her everything she needed in life.

I told The Banana that we did not have a bell, but she cleverly remembered that SANTA had brought a SET of bells this Christmas and so it is no wonder that when I finally got to whisk Sexyhusbandomine away for Father's Day brunch that I had A MIGRAINE THE SIZE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS. And for the record, I really wasn't going to actually kill the waitress if she didn't bring the bread basket in the next three minutes. Probably Not.

If this were not a Family Blog (Hi Nonnee) I might write more about the three hours that I did manage to whisk Sexyhusband away for...hours that involved several bloody marys and perhaps a Priceline negotiation. But I can say no more except for the fact that Sexyhusbandomine is one of the best Dad's in the world, and I love him tons.

Now...how many days until Mother's Day again?

THuRSDaY THouGHT

Click on the picture below, I could not resize the image. I'm working on a fortune teller line of products for next January and found this great sign. The Future Looks Bright.

BiG CHaNGeS AHeaD

Hola Chickens!

I am pleased to officially announce that in mid-SEPTEMBER 2010 we will be rolling out a BRAND SPANKIN NEW WEBSITE for fans of Our Name Is Mud! Kip & I will have creative control of the site and will be able to bring you all of our brand new products as they are released! Here's a preview of a new line I am launching this June called JUST YOUR TYPE. Here are just a few products in this new line-which is a fun, whimsical mix of vintage imagery with sentiment.

I am as excited as excited can be to be able to share the new stuff I have been making with my close personal friends on the internet. So please stay tuned! More to come!! Tell me in comments what your favorite item is above and win a surPRIZE! Just comment to enter.

EmPTy WiNe BoTTLeS

Happy Tuesday Chickens! If you are like me, this past weekend was spent getting drunk enjoying a libation or two- and chances are you may have a few empty bottles rolling around in the old recycle can. Well now, you can do amazing things with those empties!! Take a gander:

Wine bottle wind chimes $25.00 by C2 Design. Nothing I like better than the tinkle tinkle of wind through some windchimes..well except for the sound of another bottle being opened.


Wine Bottle Neck Necklace $15.00 also from C2 Design. This is pretty. I wonder if it is available scented.


Hummingbird Feeder (for some VERY HAPPY BIRDS) $29.95 at Sterling Wine. You provide the empty bottle. I personally could create a veritable hummingbird sanctuary. If I had a backyard. I wonder if this would work for pigeons?



Wine bottle lantern $45.95 also from Sterling Wine. A beautiful light to hold high in the air as you stumble through the dark alleys on your way home.


If you want to stay home and get your drink on, Pottery Barn has these great wine bottle chandeliers. I think the workers in China were very happy to gather the materials needed for this one.

There are many other great uses for your empties. Look: My Plants are having a Party!


And rolling pins will soon be used only to punish unfaithful husbands with--because who needs 'em when you have an empty bottle of Pinot Grigio nearby?


The possibilities are endless! So reduce, reuse, recycle people. And remember: a bottle of wine is a terrible thing to waste!