Museum of Happiness

Kid Jokes

2011-10-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

Whenever I look for joke books, the content is a little over Monkey's head, but these great workbooks have some pretty cute kid jokes. This scholar series is my favorite of all the workbooks we have. They include some interesting concepts like circling the reason WHY something happened or circle things that are living. They're not only better than other workbooks, they're cheaper--and funnier!

What is the strongest animal?

The snail because it carries its house on its back!

How did the farmer fix his jeans?

With a cabbage patch! [although I don't think kids today know what mending holes is all about--just throw it away! We've got 75 other outfits!]

What is a fast duck?

A quick quacker!

What animal always goes to bed with its shoes on?

A horse!

What gives milk and says, "Oom, oom?"

A cow walking backwards!

Why do cows wear bells?

Because their horns don't work!

How do pigs write?

With a pig pen!

What do you call a crate of ducks?

A box of quackers!

What keys won't open doors?

Turkeys!

What kind of vegetable goes ding-dong?

A bell pepper!

Why did the farmer feed his cow money?

He wanted rich milk!

What has 2 arms, 2 wings, 3 heads, and 8 legs?

A person on a horse holding a chicken!

Things Natalie Said, Kindergarten Edition

2011-10-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Natalie: "I wonder what it feels like to be a hand?"
Mama: "Why don't you ask your hand?"
Natalie: "I don't talk to my hand. It talks to me."

"I love you super better!"

"I know how girls have babies. Want to know? Girls have eggs that disappear. One egg not disappears. And it grows into a baby."

Mama: "Who did that?!" [scratching on pillow]
Natalie: "It was you!"
Mama: "Aw, you're too smart for me."
Natalie: "I'm too smart because there's only two people here. Me and you."

"I was freezing and I felt cold hair growing on me fast."

"Don't come in my room! I'm doing something dangerous!"

Mama: "Does this piece go there? Yes! We're unstoppable!"
Natalie: "We're unstupido!"

Mama: "Let's save that orange shirt for school so I don't have to iron it again."
Natalie: "Oh, OK. But if I do this and not wear this shirt, then you have to clean my room every day."

"Here's a paper. You make a list. I do the work. You give me money."

[several hours into the first day of Kindergarten]
"Mom, you're supposed to leave me here. And not come back. For the whole day."

"See, I have you here in my pocket so I won't get lonely. So you don't need to come to school today." [a little drawing]

"I can't be in love with you. I need a man. But mamas who love their daughters find them a prince."

"Give me five kisses. Mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah, mwah. Now I'm in love with you."

Natalie: "I want to go to the toy store."
Mama: "No, I want you to pick out vegetables with me at the farmer's market."
Natalie: "Mom, you pick out ANY vegetables you want, and I promise I'll eat it, and I'll wait for you at the toy store, OK? I promise, I promise, I promise."

"I said to the children, if they don't know my name, they can just call me Francesca."

"My reading buddy said I have the perfect hair for Snow White. So I need to color it black."

"I'm not going to pee, poop, or fart, because you're not saying it in a nice voice."

"Mama, I have to get a puppy and a kitty, because we need to learn from them. They show you how to run and jump and have a healthy breakfast. And we can learn humanity."

"Mom, I had a dream about picking colorful bugs' eggs like a honey bee, and they were sticking to my fingers and they were colorful and you were there."

"It feels like... being the bestest, when you're a little kid. And friendly."

Mama: "What a big mess! What were you doing in here?!"
Natalie: "Um... I was loving you?"

Fridge Flowers

2011-10-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

Stina Ballerina's fridge flowers are so pretty, just magnets stuck on clothespins stuck on the fridge. (via Norske interiørblogger)

Willa Cather

2011-10-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

from My Antonia
by Willa Cather

Wick Cutter was the money-lender who had fleeced poor Russian Peter. When a farmer once got into the habit of going to Cutter, it was like gambling or the lottery; in an hour of discouragement he went back.

Cutter's first name was Wycliffe, and he liked to talk about his pious bringing-up. He contributed regularly to the Protestant churches, 'for sentiment's sake,' as he said with a flourish of the hand. He came from a town in Iowa where there were a great many Swedes, and could speak a little Swedish, which gave him a great advantage with the early Scandinavian settlers.

In every frontier settlement there are men who have come there to escape restraint. Cutter was one of the 'fast set' of Black Hawk business men. He was an inveterate gambler, though a poor loser. When we saw a light burning in his office late at night, we knew that a game of poker was going on. Cutter boasted that he never drank anything stronger than sherry, and he said he got his start in life by saving the money that other young men spent for cigars. He was full of moral maxims for boys. When he came to our house on business, he quoted `Poor Richard's Almanack' to me, and told me he was delighted to find a town boy who could milk a cow. He was particularly affable to grandmother, and whenever they met he would begin at once to talk about `the good old times' and simple living. I detested his pink, bald head, and his yellow whiskers, always soft and glistening. It was said he brushed them every night, as a woman does her hair. His white teeth looked factory-made. His skin was red and rough, as if from perpetual sunburn; he often went away to hot springs to take mud baths. He was notoriously dissolute with women. Two Swedish girls who had lived in his house were the worse for the experience. One of them he had taken to Omaha and established in the business for which he had fitted her. He still visited her.

Cutter lived in a state of perpetual warfare with his wife, and yet, apparently, they never thought of separating. They dwelt in a fussy, scroll-work house, painted white and buried in thick evergreens, with a fussy white fence and barn. Cutter thought he knew a great deal about horses, and usually had a colt which he was training for the track. On Sunday mornings one could see him out at the fair grounds, speeding around the race-course in his trotting-buggy, wearing yellow gloves and a black-and-white-check travelling cap, his whiskers blowing back in the breeze. If there were any boys about, Cutter would offer one of them a quarter to hold the stop-watch, and then drive off, saying he had no change and would `fix it up next time.' No one could cut his lawn or wash his buggy to suit him. He was so fastidious and prim about his place that a boy would go to a good deal of trouble to throw a dead cat into his back yard, or to dump a sackful of tin cans in his alley. It was a peculiar combination of old-maidishness and licentiousness that made Cutter seem so despicable.

He had certainly met his match when he married Mrs. Cutter. She was a terrifying-looking person; almost a giantess in height, raw-boned, with iron-grey hair, a face always flushed, and prominent, hysterical eyes. When she meant to be entertaining and agreeable, she nodded her head incessantly and snapped her eyes at one. Her teeth were long and curved, like a horse's; people said babies always cried if she smiled at them. Her face had a kind of fascination for me: it was the very colour and shape of anger. There was a gleam of something akin to insanity in her full, intense eyes. She was formal in manner, and made calls in rustling, steel-grey brocades and a tall bonnet with bristling aigrettes.

Mrs. Cutter painted china so assiduously that even her wash-bowls and pitchers, and her husband's shaving-mug, were covered with violets and lilies. Once, when Cutter was exhibiting some of his wife's china to a caller, he dropped a piece. Mrs. Cutter put her handkerchief to her lips as if she were going to faint and said grandly: `Mr. Cutter, you have broken all the Commandments--spare the finger-bowls!'

They quarrelled from the moment Cutter came into the house until they went to bed at night, and their hired girls reported these scenes to the town at large. Mrs. Cutter had several times cut paragraphs about unfaithful husbands out of the newspapers and mailed them to Cutter in a disguised handwriting. Cutter would come home at noon, find the mutilated journal in the paper-rack, and triumphantly fit the clipping into the space from which it had been cut. Those two could quarrel all morning about whether he ought to put on his heavy or his light underwear, and all evening about whether he had taken cold or not.

The Cutters had major as well as minor subjects for dispute. The chief of these was the question of inheritance: Mrs. Cutter told her husband it was plainly his fault they had no children. He insisted that Mrs. Cutter had purposely remained childless, with the determination to outlive him and to share his property with her `people,' whom he detested. To this she would reply that unless he changed his mode of life, she would certainly outlive him. After listening to her insinuations about his physical soundness, Cutter would resume his dumb-bell practice for a month, or rise daily at the hour when his wife most liked to sleep, dress noisily, and drive out to the track with his trotting-horse.

Once when they had quarrelled about household expenses, Mrs. Cutter put on her brocade and went among their friends soliciting orders for painted china, saying that Mr. Cutter had compelled her `to live by her brush.' Cutter wasn't shamed as she had expected; he was delighted!

Cutter often threatened to chop down the cedar trees which half-buried the house. His wife declared she would leave him if she were stripped of the I privacy' which she felt these trees afforded her. That was his opportunity, surely; but he never cut down the trees. The Cutters seemed to find their relations to each other interesting and stimulating, and certainly the rest of us found them so. Wick Cutter was different from any other rascal I have ever known, but I have found Mrs. Cutters all over the world; sometimes founding new religions, sometimes being forcibly fed--easily recognizable, even when superficially tamed.

Louise Glück

2011-10-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Purple Bathing Suit
by Louise Glück

I like watching you garden
with your back to me in your purple bathing suit:
your back is my favorite part of you,
the part furthest away from your mouth.

You might give some thought to that mouth.
Also to the way you weed, breaking
the grass off at ground level
when you should pull it by the roots.

How many times do I have to tell you
how the grass spreads, your little
pile notwithstanding, in a dark mass which
by smoothing over the surface you have finally
fully obscured. Watching you

stare into space in the tidy
rows of the vegetable garden, ostensibly
working hard while actually
doing the worst job possible, I think

you are a small irritating purple thing
and I would like to see you walk off the face of the earth
because you are all that's wrong with my life
and I need you and I claim you.

Franz Kafka

2011-10-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

Unmasking a Confidence Trickster
by Franz Kafka

At last, about ten o'clock at night, I came to the doorway of the fine house where I was invited to spend the evening, after the man beside me, whom I was barely acquainted with and who had once again thrust himself unasked upon me, had marched me for two long hours around the streets.

'Well!' I said, and clapped my hands to show that I really had to bid him goodbye. I had already made several less explicit attempts to get rid of him. I was tired out. 'Are you going straight in?' he asked. I heard a sound in his mouth that was like the snapping of teeth. 'Yes.'

I had been invited out, I told him when I met him. But it was to enter a house where I longed to be that I had been invited, not to stand here at the street door looking past the ears of the man before me. Nor to fall silent with him, as if we were doomed to stay for a long time on this spot. And yet the houses around us at once took a share in our silence, and the darkness over them, all the way up to the stars. And the steps of invisible passers-by, which one could not take the trouble to elucidate, and the wind persistently buffeting the other side of the street, and a gramophone singing behind the closed windows of some room - they all announced themselves in this silence, as if it were their own possession for the time past and to come.

And my companion subscribed to it in his own name and - with a smile - in mine too, stretched his right arm up along the wall and leaned his cheek upon it, shutting his eyes.

But I did not wait to see the end of that smile, for shame suddenly caught hold of me. It had needed that smile to let me know that the man was a confidence trickster, nothing else. And yet I had been months in the town and thought I knew all about confidence tricksters, how they came slinking out of side streets by night to meet us with outstretched hands like tavernkeepers, how they haunted the advertisement pillars we stood beside, sliding around them as if playing hide-and-seek and spying on us with at least one eye, how they suddenly appeared on the curb of the pavement at cross-streets when we were hesitating! I understood them so well, they were the first acquaintances I had made in the town's small taverns, and to them I owed my first inkling of a ruthless hardness which I was now so conscious of, everywhere on earth, that I was even beginning to feel it in myself. How persistently they blocked our way, even when we had long shaken ourselves free, even when, that is, they had nothing more to hope for! How they refused to give up, to admit defeat, but kept shooting glances at us that even from a distance were still compelling! And the means they employed were always the same: they planted themselves before us, looking as large as possible, tried to hinder us from going where we purposed, offered us instead a habitation in their own bosoms, and when at last all our balked feelings rose in revolt they welcomed that like an embrace into which they threw themselves face foremost.

And it had taken me such a long time in this man's company to recognize the same old game. I rubbed my finger tips together to wipe away the disgrace.

My companion was still leaning there as before, still believing himself a successful trickster, and his self-complacency glowed pink on his free cheek.

'Caught in the act!' said I, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Then I ran up the steps, and the disinterested devotion on the servants' faces in the hall delighted me like an unexpected treat. I looked at them all, one after another, while they took my greatcoat off and wiped my shoes clean.

With a deep breath of relief and straightening myself to my full height, I then entered the drawing room.

Vintage Trailers

2011-10-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

I love vintage trailers, especially Spartans. Vintage Vacations is a "site for trailerites who are devoted to the restoration and preservation of pre-1960 travel trailers." And the RV/MH Heritage Foundation has some sweet vintage trailers in their museum in Indiana.

Welsh National Costume

2011-10-01T13:50:00.001-07:00

John Thomas, Two women in Welsh National costume drinking tea, 1875, The National Library of Wales (via a polar bear's tale). I love the mix of patterns. I should try that.

Holy Guacamole

2011-09-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

I just checked, and there are 949 things I've backlogged waiting to write about when I start up this blog again. Now that we've moved and Kindergarten has started, there is no time like the present. And I think because my little bunny isn't a baby anymore, I'd better just open this blog up to all the wonderful things in the entire world. Sometimes it is easy to forget, but just about everything in the entire world is, in fact, wonderful. Here's to Happiness!

Things Natalie Said, Birthday Edition

2011-08-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm a brave girl, so I don't get dangered. Because I have a spirit. And I also do karate.

You can't see my secret. I don't want to tell you. It might break my heart... OK, I'll tell you my secret. The secret is: to not tell anyone.

I had a dream of my little pony, Thunder, flying with fairies, and when he fell down, his wing was broken. Then I found him. And then the doctor comed to fix it. And then he flied again with the fairies.

That's why I always named my [dolls] Necklace. His name is Nicholas. That's the same.

I'm staying up late tonight and I'm going to do all my homework in the whole world.

Don't show me your butt. Don't show me your pink butt.

I have a hypothesis!

I had a dream that Netta had purple gum in her mouth. And she was playing with it. It was purple. And it was messy. And I got a towel. And it was wet. And I cleaned her face off.

What was I doing first? Before you asked me to swim? (losing her train of thought in the bath tub)

Underwear servant! (calling me from the potty)

It's floating! Made out of little pieces! How I made that? (poop)

Mama: How did you learn this by yourself?
Natalie: I just started thinking. Thinking makes you happy. And smart.

Why you can't dance?

I can't stop loving you, Mama.

I can't believe my eyes! You made it spin a long time! (a top)

Mama: Didn't we have a nice weekend with Papa? Didn't we have so much fun?
Natalie: Let's go to sleep now. Let's talk in our dream.

Does the queen bee love all kinds of sandwiches or just jam sandwiches?

Carnival mountains (cotton candy)

Mama: Anything that's sweet like ice cream or fruit has sugar in it, and those sugar bugs try to make holes in your teeth.
Natalie: Mom, do you know broccoli makes a hole in your teeth too?

The show is starting! Donny Osmund! The best and humored man! He wins races on Tuesdays! (Barbie show)

I think the spider is seasick in that wind.

(watching Alaska home videos) You're at the North Pool! Santa Claus's pool!

Tallulah Belle. I like that name. I'm going to name my kid that when I grow up and get married. "Tallulah Belle! Come here my kid!" Like that.

I'm holding my toe up. That means I have thumbs-up toes!

June 18, 2011 Mama: The parade is cancelled.
July 3, 2011 Natalie: What does cancelled mean?

Canvas Tipi

2011-08-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

This looks like a real good honest sturdy tipi for about the same price as one of those flimsy kiddie tipi tents.

Old School Lego

2011-07-25T09:22:00.001-07:00

I like this old box of Lego that I saw on eBay. Remember the little window shutters?

Covet Garden Magazine

2011-07-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

My baby is not a baby anymore, so I thought I'd expand this blog into a repository for ALL things happy. Online magazines are good. Covet Garden comes out monthly and has a little home decor, a little of this, a little of that.

Things Natalie Said, Easter Edition

2011-04-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you following along at home, another big long blog break means another big long miscarriage. But it was resolved as well as it could be. For anyone who wants unsolicited miscarriage advice, I can tell you what felt best for me. With fertility babies, it seems like the magic point is getting past the 9-week mark. Somehow the human body knows if the fetus isn't the best possible fetus, and at nine weeks makes a decision whether to hold onto it or let it go. Or maybe the fetus decides. Isn't that amazing? "My chromosomes aren't lined up, so I'll check out and make space for another one."

The doctors always want to suck it out of you and move on quickly. But in my case, I knew from the last time, that it helped me to wait it out and deliver it naturally at home so I can see it and hold it and bring it in for DNA testing. It was really good closure for me to know both times exactly which chromosomes were defective and that I didn't cough it out or do something wrong. It just wasn't scientifically viable. Yes, this method makes it last months longer and you bleed forever and your hormones are still going nuts, but for me it was worth it.

The first time, the fetus came out two weeks after the heart stopped, and the second time it took two freaking months. By that time, I thought I'd already passed it and missed it, but trust me, you really do have labor contractions telling you when it is happening, and both times for me, it came out perfectly enclosed in a little sac like a chicken yolk, only tougher and clear instead of yellow, and floating around like a little Magic 8 Ball. Sorry if I'm grossing you out, but for me it wasn't gross at all. They just looked like little scientifically beautiful impossible things. It makes it tangible instead of just feeling like a broken dream.

And now I have 600 things saved up for you, so we'd better get started. But first, time to celebrate the sweet baby I do have, and what a joy she is! The last time I posted the funny things she said was when she was in Italy without me, and now she is there again for Easter.

"I don't know how to make a rainbow painting. I only know how to paint good dragons and bad dragons and good ghostes and bad ghostes."

"Mom, can you get the water in here and make a river? I want the house to float. You hang on to your chairs!"

Mama: "Who's your best mommy?"
Natalie: "That one behind you."

"Coughing makes my hair dance."

Natalie: "Mom, do you need a teddy bear or anything? If you need ANYTHING, just call me."
Mama: "OK. Thanks."
Natalie: "You're welcome."

[Your first lie.]
Mama: "Baby, where's the chocolate advent calendar?"
Natalie: "I didn't take it. I didn't put it somewhere. I didn't hide it. I didn't eat it all. It wasn't me. It was...somebody, I think. It must be a mystery!"
[found it in the bed pillows]
Mama: "Papa, give this evidence to the police."
Natalie [instant tears]: "Don't put me in jail! I don't have any money! My family!"

Mama: "Do you want to play this card game?"
Natalie: "No, I have too many haircuts to cut. What kind of haircut do you want?"
Mama: "A princess haircut."
Natalie: "We don't have any princess haircuts. How about a rockin' haircut? Shaving is for your beard. Do you have any beard? This is a woman's shop and a man's shop. We change it with different buttons."

"The firemans are catching the lemagrams?" [trying to teach her parallelograms]

"Mom? How do you get love when you're not mad?....That's a joke!"

Papa: "Do you want to go to the M-O-V-I-E?"
Mama: "No."
Natalie: "I do!"
Papa: "You don't even know what we're talking about."
Natalie: "The alphabet store?"

"The dragon picked me up! It was a nice one. A happy one. It let me for a ride. It was a nice dream."

Mama [singing]: "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."
Natalie: "What's that from?"
Mama: "I don't know. One of your movies. Cinderella or Snow White or something."
Natalie: "I know! It's...it's...what's it called?...Pinocchio! And there's a star! With wings! And the boy can talk! Good job, Mama! You want to hear Boy Loves His Cow?"

"Mom, tell me a story about popcorn."

"Hey, you have a chicken ballerina rainbow on your head!"

[building train set, pieces are stuck]
Natalie: "Dammit!"
Mama: "Where did you hear that?"
Natalie: "SpongeBob."
Mama: "What does it mean?"
Natalie: "Dammit means it's not right."
Mama: "When did you watch SpongeBob?"
Natalie: "With Papa."

Natalie: "I just want to type something."
Mama: "Not right now."
Natalie: "So YOU'RE in charge!"

"I'm going to dream about my nice mama petting my nice puppies."

"Mama, I figured out what I want to be when I grow up: a doctor who goes to peoples' house who are sick who are girls."

"You're a good liquid. So I licked you."

[bringing me the Little Miss books]
"Mama, can you bring me these movies please? I want to know what their voice is."

"Someday my sister babies will make it out of your belly."

Natalie: "Why your grandma used this?" [typewriter]
Mama: "Because a long time ago people didn't have computers. They didn't know how to make them."
Natalie: "I know how. First you put this part. And then you paint it and wait for it to dry. Then you put the numbers inside. Then you put the glass thing on. Then you're done."

"Mom, will you close the door so you don't know what I'm doing?"

Natalie: "Mom, what does good luck mean?"
Mama: "It means I hope you do a good job."
Natalie: "Oh, like break a leg."

Natalie: "I need to erase this."
Mama: "Crayon doesn't erase."
Natalie: "I need to find the big crayons with the pink thing here." [pointing to her butt--pencils with erasers]

"You don't know everything. Only one people know everything. It's me."

Mama: "You want some milk with your chocolate?"
Natalie: "That would be stinkuous."
Mama: "Stinkuous? What does that mean?"
Natalie: "It means that would be very nice."
Mama: "Stupendous."

Natalie: "Mama, why is the radio singing, "Baaaaaaaaaay-king soda?"
Mama: "It's singing My Sherona."

"The pasta is burning! Mamas are supposed to cook and not dance! ONLY cook food!"

"I wish my Prince Charming would get here. He's very gallant and so brave about things. And he's very strong. He can fight a bad man by himself. And my prince is a very little bit funny. Sometimes he makes me laugh. Sometimes he talks good. He has a sword to kill the dragon of our kingdom, the Kingdom of Fairytale Land."

[On the powers of the Netflix search engine]
"I want to watch I Want to Go Pee on the Ground. Type it in there! It will find it!"

[At a magic show, Natalie wanted to be chosen from the audience to go on stage to help make a table levitate, but I was chosen instead, and I really do think it was the worst moment in her life]
"I raised my hand! But he didn't see me! I was so brave! I wanted to help! Why didn't he pick me?! We need to go to another magic show! One with no big people! And only five kids!"

Mama: "What did you do with Papa?"
Natalie: "We went to a restaurant with crazy things inside. The man said, 'May I take your plate?' And I said yes. He was very crazy. And there was a lady with purple hair in front of us. I began to not freak out."

Hot Pink Hearts

2010-11-29T23:24:00.000-08:00

So pretty! Customized pink paper heart art from Etsy seller sarahandbendrix, $211. (via the style files)

Leaf Alphabet

2010-11-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

Here is a good idea from Martha Stewart, pressing leaves and making alphabet cards. They'll be brittle, so they won't last forever, but maybe the tip about rubbing a clean sheet of paper over the leaves while gluing will help them stick better.

Morality Puzzle

2010-11-29T21:54:00.000-08:00

Six moral sentences beginning with the letter T. Lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1875. This took me a long time to figure out, but I think I've got it. I'll post what I think the answers are in the comments. (via Happy Go Lovely)

French Rabbit Doll

2010-11-29T21:16:00.000-08:00

So cute! This Parisian rabbit doll kit that you can sew yourself is $18 from mikodesign on Etsy. (via Bloesem Kids)

Green Cord Dress

2010-11-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

That's a pretty green cord dress, $54 at Lucky Wang.

Crazy Bunny Dress

2010-11-29T17:58:00.000-08:00

This crazy bunny dress is just crazy, in a good way. And the back shows the bunny backs. 119 Euros at nobodinoz, in Spain I think.

Cat Scarf

2010-11-29T17:34:00.000-08:00

Cute kid cat scarves from Yohi & Olivia.

Lemon Tree Playroom

2010-11-29T17:23:00.000-08:00

Jen Talbot created a lemon tree playroom for a client in Brooklyn. Look at all that felty crafty woodland goodness. (via Kireei)

Chevron Wood Floors

2010-11-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

I want floors like this please. (via DecoPeques)

Superfun Deathtrap

2010-11-29T16:41:00.000-08:00

It is really cool though. (via DecoPeques)

Cute Swedish Twin Beds

2010-11-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

Cute Swedish twin beds. So nice. (via desire to inspire)

Gorgeous Gorgeous Food

2010-11-29T16:10:00.000-08:00

Oh wow, what a yummy fruit and vegetable table, and so pretty! See more photos here and read about the menu and creative process here. Note to self: the watermelon cubes are stuffed with apples and grapes and topped with a yogurt dressing. Yum. (via Ohdeedoh)

Things Natalie Said, Thanksgiving Edition

2010-11-25T14:29:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever posted anything personal before, but it has been a rough month, and I'm just so grateful for my little Nugget. Here she is dressed as Your Majesty for Halloween. She is the best. All the U-turns in my life led up to her. How did I get so lucky?

Mama: "I've never loved ANYTHING as much as I love you!"
Natalie: "What about jokes? I LOVE a joke about tickling!"

Natalie: "What next!..."

"Don't EVER plant bagels. She's not a flower."

"A big cherry robot! I want to make it. I don't have any structions!"

(dancing)

"This is The Shaking Booty Show!"

"I had a dream about the prince giving my shoe back. I was not Cinderella. I was just Natalie."

"I had a dream about girls and trucks. It was very full. And a small hill. And circles of chocolate."

"Mama, I was a baby in your belly and you pushed me out, and now I'm here in my sweet home. You pushed me out in your belly button. Not in your mouth. Food goes in your mouth."

"Too many faces. I had a dream. You had two heads, a man head and a mama head. The bad man head talked. He said there is no mama here. You had toilet paper like this [wrapped around head like a mummy]. We rescued you. Papa and Natalie. Like this [tearing off toilet paper]. Papa was not brave. I rescued you. From the back, not the front. We picked you up."

(with both arms in one sleeve)

"My hands are stuck. I can't do anything: take a shower, wash my hands, rescue someone, pick this up, close the door, eat on a plate, look in a telescope. Can you help me?"

(talking to doll)

"Cinderella, I saw your movie, and I love you very much."

"Mama, you married a papa, and I'll marry a prince."

Natalie: "I had a dream. Papa and me. I didn't have you. And Papa picked me up [on his shoulders]. I didn't touch anything."

Mama: "Where were you? Inside or outside?"

Natalie: "Inside. In a store."

Mama: "What kind of store?"

Natalie: "A don't-touch-anything store."

Mama: "Do you know how much I love you?!"

Natalie: "ALL much!"

"How I'm gonna find a prince to marry? I have to do it quickly before the other girls get him."

"Do squirrels have butts, Mommy? Do they go poop and fart and pee?"

(windshield wipers on birthday camping trip)

"Why is the window wet? Because we're in the rain forest?"

"My nice Mama!" (with a big hug)

"Let's make a mozzarella cake! And use MY RECIPE. You need mozzarella and a recipe: Mozzarellipe!"

"Papa's home! I remember HIM!"

Natalie: "Mama, you're the greatest."

Mama: "YOU'RE the greatest!"

Natalie: "Yeah. You are too."

Natalie: "I did it! I did it! I pushed out a poop!"

Mama: "Oh, it's just a little one."

Natalie: "Last time you were proud of me for just a little one."

Mama: "Don't put the carrots by the photo album. You'll get it all wet."

Natalie: "Yes, Your Majesty." (bowing)

Papa: "Do you hear the birds? They're cheering you. They're saying, 'Good job eating, Natalie!'"

Natalie: "No they're saying, 'You need a puppy and a doggy, Natalie.'"

"I want to be ME, Mama! I just want to be ME when I grow up."

(looking at photos)

"Look! Jacopo is giving me a baccino!" [big kiss]

Mama: "You're so smart! You can read the clock! You can count! You can do math! You can add! I'm so proud of you!"

Natalie: "And I can make silly mouths for babies with sad faces. I can go daddledaddledaddledah and make them laugh!"

"Only teachers hate goats." (Mary Had a Little Lamb)

Mama: "Do you like your Lego? Aren't we nice parents?"

Natalie: "Yeah. Berto was bad. He was trying to get us. We need to help him. We need to make him happy."

"I want five families. Brothers and sisters to look at me like a big sister. To play with my toys. I wish for that. I wish for Papa to marry some mamas."

"You think harder with your eyes closed. It helps your imagination come out."

"Mama, do cats poop? What from? From their butts? Where is their butts?"

"I want a park in front of my house. With binoculars. You need to move it."

"My imagination will throw me! My big magic hands will fix the world! With tape!"

"I love you very much. You tell me a lot of stories, Mama. Thanks for you."

(jumping on bed and bonking head)

"I'm not dead. I'm OK."

"Remember we didn't eat egg sandwiches yesterday? Can you make them for me? I'm not a good cooker in the kitchen. I'm only a little guy."

"Mom, I want you to save the world. You need to save the world so I can be proud of you. We need a lot of people to save the world."

"Mom! I can make money for you! To help Bugs Bunny! Remember, I saw it yesterday? Now I need to help you get more money!"

Mama: "It is very hard to make a baby. We don't know if it will work."

Natalie: "You just shoot it out of your butt, then you wash it, then you take the temperature, then you measure it, then you put on a bracelet. Remember?"

(talking to self while writing an angry letter)

"Dear Mom, you are very funny. Sorry I hate you because I want to watch a movie. I love you. I'm going to give you a big bear hug so you can be happy. To Natalie: Would you like a puppy? Or a kitty? Or a doggy? When I grow up to be a human, I'm going to cook by myself!"

Natalie: "I miss my Chicken. Not the dinner, the cat."

Mama: "How do you know about chicken dinners?"

Natalie: "It's only bad people who want to peel the animals."

Mama: "Do you like the Brussels sprouts you helped me cook? They're so delicious. We can bring them to Oma, and she'll say, 'Thanks! They're so yummy!'"

Natalie: "No, her DOGGIES will say they're so yummy."

Natalie: "Mama, you're the best cook in the whole world!"

Mama: "The best cook?"

Natalie: "Yeah, I'm pretending to be someone else."

(doing a puzzle)

"Are anyone helping me? I'm having trouble, people. Guys? Why are you laughing, guys?"

(laughing while sleeping)

"I dreamed about a boy. He was eating a seed. There were puppets. He was eating a nut, talking about Santa. He was going to find the bad Santa. It was really funny."

Natalie: "I wish I could fly like a fairy."

Mama: "People can fly in a hang glider."

Natalie: "That's right! That's right! That's how people can fly! A hang glider! Good job thinking, Mom!"

(the night before leaving for Italy without Mama)

"Who is going to take good care of you?! Here, take my bear! He will take good care of you!"

"I'm going to miss you. A lot. Don't worry. I'm going to find a new mama. I will be with Jacopo's mama. I will be part of that family for a little bit. And then I will come back and be your family again."

I wrote her name and airline on her arm and told her if she couldn't find Papa to go into a store and find a lady and show her the words on her arm, and we kept practicing. So at the airport, on our last hug, I asked her again, and she said, "I find a lady and show her the words on my arm that says I don't want a new family. I already have a family." And then they went through security and Natalie was blowing kisses, and when they were far away, she shouted, "I LOVE YOU!" and about 100 people laughed and I started balling.

(on the phone)

Mama: "Do you want me to bring you flowers when I see you at the airport?"

Natalie: "Yeah. Cut flowers, and food, and a fruit basket, and...more food."

And now she is home, and we're snowed in, nice and cozy. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Vitamin D

2010-11-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

After reading this article in Science News about the utility of vitamin D, I decided that maybe our annual sunburn in Hawaii isn't going to suffice for sunlight for the entire year. So I picked up these drops at Whole Foods, though I see now they are cheaper at amazon.com. My Squigglepants LOVES taking them and watching the little drop slide out. My only concern is that it doesn't have a child-proof cap, and she may decide to self-medicate (but usually I hear the dragging and clunky stacking of her furniture-tower-ladder before she gets too close to the top shelf). In fact, she likes them so much that I use the drops to bribe her to eat her chewable vitamin, Rainbow Light's Kids' One, which I think tastes good--like Smarties (but we found out this Halloween that she doesn't like Smarties either). I chose the Kid's One vitamin because the ingredients sounded better than a lot of other kid vitamins (like no gelatin--ground up bones--for us vegetarians), and I imagined that the even the vegetarian gummy vitamins would be worse for the teeth. And more about vitamin D: I read that you need D3 not D2, and I read that you need to take vitamin D for many months to get your levels to recover. That concludes my very scientific research, so you're better off just researching it yourself.

P.S. D2 is from plants and doesn't last as long and D3 is from sheep wool. Read this.

Chain Link Scarf

2010-11-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a cute design for a girl's scarf? It is a continuous loop of chain link so it won't slide off in the playground. Too bad it is acrylic though. But I'm still hesitant to put a scarf on my Little Bunny. That is how Isadora Duncan, the founder of modern dance, died you know. But her scarf had to be much, much longer than this, I'm sure.

Girl's Room

2010-11-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

What a perfect bedroom Jeanette Lunde of FRYDE + DESIGN created for her daughter Alma!

Swedish Cottage

2010-11-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

Is this the cutest house you've ever seen? Can I relive my childhood here? Or maybe I'll start building it for my daughter right now. How hard can it be? (via Aesthetic Outburst)

Cotton Shirts

2010-10-21T10:08:00.001-07:00

I just discovered the brand Winter Water Factory and their collection of printed cotton clothes. There is a good selection at the store Sweet William. The designs come in onesies, T-shirts, dresses, sweatshirts, and even bedding. I just can't decide which pattern to get! Birds and flowers shirt? Danish flower sweatshirt? Toolbox sweatshirt?

Cotton T-shirt

2010-09-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

I spent a whole day at the mall searching for a simple kid's T-shirt. It was impossible to find one without glitter or cartoons or modal or polyester. Enter the Long Sleeve T-shirt from Land's End. It is thick cotton and really well made. I liked it so much, I bought five of them. The amethyst color is really nice in person, not so grapey like in the photo. Land's End usually has free shipping sales and you can return items to a local Sears store if you need to. Some of their things have yucky chemicals in them--a whole range of clothes with wrinkle-free chemicals and their shoes have antibacterial chemicals. But this shirt is a winner.

Floral Sneakers

2010-09-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Aren't these Ginger Floral purple sneakers from Morgan&Milo so great? I saw them in the store, and they were more flexible than your average clunky sneaker, so I hope it fits. The store didn't have the right size, but luckily Zappos has them. Love their free shipping!

Cute Girl Has a Catchy Dance

2010-09-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

Striped Trench Coat

2010-09-20T09:30:00.001-07:00

Marie Chantal is such a luxury brand for kids, but when they have a sale, they have a SALE! Check out all the beauties that are currently 70 percent off, including this striped trench coat.

Elephant Dress

2010-07-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

This purple cord dress ($36) with elephant applique from Boden is just adorable. And their baby sizes now go up to size 4. Woo-hoo!

Boombox

2010-07-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

We've been really happy with our iThunder portable boombox for kid music. The iPod sits in there really tightly, so kid fingers can't get it out, yet the operational controls are so simple that a toddler can now have opinions on which songs are good for dancing and skip through the rest. You can either use batteries or plug it in. It also comes in pink or black.

Felt Flowers

2010-07-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

I forgot where I saw this, but this ribbon and felt crown and necklace look so easy to make.

Family Tree

2010-07-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

I love this funny family tree by Norman Rockwell.

Ball Pattern

2010-07-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

Grand Revival has a free downloadable pattern for sewing these fun balls. Simple!

Party Favors

2010-07-15T15:38:00.000-07:00

I like the way this pile of gift boxes from Emersonmade looks. Pretty colors.

Flutter Sleeve Dress

2010-07-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Very cute Liberty print flutter sleeve dress, $65 at Finn's Finds.

Dragonflies

2010-07-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

I love the little dragonflies fluttering all about the walls of this twin bedroom in Bermuda designed by Phoebe Howard.

Portugal Paper Festival

2010-07-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in Portugal there is a paper festival where the streets look like this.

Seat Belt Commercial

2010-07-11T19:47:00.001-07:00

Sheet Music Tiara

2010-07-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

Amazing sheet music crown for the birthday girl, $40 at d.Sharp.

Wooden Apple Box

2010-07-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

This beautiful wooden apple box is $30 at MissNatalie's Etsy shop.

Triple Bunk Bed

2010-07-11T08:06:00.001-07:00

Simple and fantastic: a triple bunk bed room in Madrid. (via automatism)

Skype

2010-07-10T21:26:00.001-07:00

Our friends watching Pingu. Grandpa is on the other side of the world, but he is right there next to them on the laptop watching Pingu too. You guys are the cutest.

Outer Space Room

2010-07-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

Super cool outer space room! (via Bloesem Kids)

Striped Colors

2010-07-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

I was in a gift shop and fell in love with the cover of this book, Sara Midda's South of France, $14.25 at amazon.com. It has very delicately sweet little travel paintings, but mostly I just want the cover in a big giant poster.

Barbie Dress

2010-07-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

I forget where I found this, but I love this vintage Barbie dress, and I want to make a me-sized version of it. So lovely.

Little Bugs Tea Set

2010-07-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

This Little Bugs Tea Set is too cute, $29 at Finn's Finds.

Wall Stripe

2010-07-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

I like this wall with a painted stripe. It looks very 1920s this way, I think. (via Jojo's Room)

Elephants Rescue Drowning Baby

2010-07-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

Vintage Fabric Pocket Skirt

2010-07-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

The adorable Grace Pocket Skirt, made from vintage fabrics, is $34 at Baby Bean.

Dandelion Necklace

2010-07-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

Just pop off the flowers, and dandelion stems are hollow and make a perfect necklace. Who knew? (via Ohdeedoh)

Victorian Shack

2010-07-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

This little Victorian shack featured in The New York Times is so cute. (via Lovely Clusters)

The Way to Save the World

2010-07-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

I really like these photos from the White House showing Obama and Medvedev perusing a burger menu in the limo and then eating at Ray's Hell Burgers. And then a few days later, spies are exchanged. That is the way to get things done. Find common ground. Isn't that so much better than the Cold War we grew up with?

Pop-up Gift Ribbon

2010-07-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Wrap a gift in homemade pop-up ribbon and make it extra special. And cool. (via The Crafts Dept.)

Rainbow Stairs

2010-07-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

I love these rainbow stairs! (via Puffling Scoop)

Twin Beds with Desk

2010-07-10T16:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is the layout I was going for, but Christine of Full House has more stick-to-it-iveness than I do, and she managed to make it happen. And she has twins and triplets. And it was under $250. Amazing. (via Ohdeedoh)

A Real Fairy Tale!

2010-06-19T19:15:00.001-07:00

Swedish Princess Victoria married her personal trainer today. Cute!

Liberty Ruffle Skirt

2010-06-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

I love the shape of this Liberty Mauvey fabric skirt currently on sale for $89.60 (in sizes 2-12) at mariechantal.com (yes, the real princess!). So fun!

Mismatched Wallpaper

2010-06-10T11:05:00.001-07:00

I just love the look of the mismatched vintage wallpaper in this room featured in the deco supplement to the online magazine Papier Maché. (via famille summerbelle)

Egg Rug

2010-06-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's an egg rug!

Danish Modern Cradle

2010-06-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, look at this Danish Modern cradle designed by Nanna Ditzel in 1964. It is for sale for $2500 at Retro Modern Design, which is also a great site to explore an archive of designers.

Striped Paper Straws

2010-06-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Here is another alternative to plastic: striped paper straws, only $3 a box at Kikkerland. They come in red, blue, green, or gray.

Cardboard Wall

2010-06-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

I kind of like this cardboard wall in a kid's room--or more of a warehouse, it looks like. At least I think it's cardboard. (via vintage for kids)

Piggy Bank

2010-06-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

The pop menagerie piggy bank from Jonathan Adler comes in pink or blue for $48.

Amazing Quilt

2010-06-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

This amazing quilt by Kathy York is called Little Cities. Just incredible!

Fairy Forest

2010-06-10T10:12:00.001-07:00

Etsy seller QuietudeQuilts makes very sweet fabric fairy forests.

Giant Doily Rug

2010-06-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

Just get a big box of rope and crochet yourself this super duper doily rug.

Teenagers

2010-06-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

Teenagers. Tired of being harassed by your stupid parents? ACT NOW! Move out...get a job...pay your own bills. Do it while you still know everything.

Knit Nesting Bowls

2010-06-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

Etsy seller Enjoyables knits these gorgeous rainbow bowls from reclaimed wool. Perfect for nesting and stacking into a tower, a set of 10 is $47.

Blue Bunk Bed

2010-06-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

I love the light blue and red color palette for this classic kids' room designed by Sarah Richardson.

Creek Cleaning

2010-06-10T08:59:00.001-07:00

This little girl has made it her mission to clean up her local creeks and blog about her efforts. One girl changing the world. So fantastic! These are the same creeks I played in when I was little, so I'm extra proud of her. Follow her adventures on her blog Clean Up Your Creek!

Girl on Horse

2010-06-10T08:55:00.000-07:00

This dreamy Victorian print of a girl on a horse just sold on eBay.

The Me Book

2010-06-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

The Me Book (reprinted from 1974) is so cute, with the sweetest illustrations by Tibor Gergely of silly animals doing fun things. I had to go back to the store the next day to buy it, because I couldn't stop thinking about it. It is $5.99 at amazon.com for a nice board book.

BPA in Canned Food

2010-05-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to read new research showing how pervasive bisphenol A is in canned food. One can of food eaten one time is too much BPA, and it is extra important for pregnant women and small children to avoid this chemical. We've been eating our beans only from Eden Foods brand, since their cans are lined with a natural resin and do not contain BPA. They don't make green beans though, and sometimes we get lazy. But this article is a wake-up call, and we can boil our vegetables to mush ourselves if we really want to. Who needs cans for that? Check the store locator to find Eden Foods near you.

Telegram Invitation

2010-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Such ingenuity! Check out these cool airplane invitations made by Brenna at paper & ink. She built toy airplanes, painted the boxes to look like an airstrip runway, and even found airmail tape and labels. The best part is the telegram invitation itself. Fantastic!

Liberty Fabric

2010-05-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

Isn't this farm fabric cute? Lucy's Farm is one of the many gorgeous fabrics from Liberty of London. I've seen it in blue, pink, brown, and purple colors, and although it seems to be out of stock, you can usually find it on eBay and Etsy. The cotton lawn fabric from Liberty is the softest breeziest fabric, just so lovely.

Mommy Calling Cards

2010-05-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

Make friends the old-fashioned way--with handy dandy calling cards! No more writing phone numbers on grocery lists at the playground; no more fumbling for a pen and writing on your hand. Be cool, be organized. For just $18, you can have Etsy seller ArtsyNikki make you the cutest calling cards you've ever seen. She was such a joy to work with, the most patient person on earth, I think. The sight of your little one so eager to bestow this little gift, suddenly not shy at all about making friends, will melt your heart.

BY FRYD Magazine

2010-05-19T21:58:00.000-07:00

You have to go see the cuteness that is the new BY FRYD online magazine. It is full of gorgeous Scandinavian decor and kids lifestyle shots, created by blogger Jeanette Lunde.

Environmental Toxins

2010-05-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

I'm such a nag when it comes to lecturing friends about environmental toxins. And I don't even know what I'm talking about. Imagine how friendless I'll be once I read this book! Could everyone please read Slow Death by Rubber Duck and learn about the environmental toxins that are hurting your kids? I would sleep so much better if I weren't worrying about you anymore. Thanks. Because I love you. To give you an idea of how ubiquitous the dangers of chemical exposure are, here is a quote from Mindful Momma:

The book is pretty engaging, for a book about chemicals. Each chapter starts with a story. One of my favorites was when one of the authors was appalled to discover that there was triclosan in his garden hose. "For the love of God...Is there no corner of our lives that hasn't been invaded by chemical companies peddling their modern-day snake oil?" he said, when he realized that he had been watering his homegrown tomato plants with germicide.

Farm Fabric

2010-05-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

This super-cute farm fabric is $16 a yard at fabricworm. It comes with the Eau de Mer logo on it though, which is annoying. But you could cut and sew around it, making little pouches or quilts. (via Bloesem Kids)

Felted Ball Chandelier

2010-05-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Chandeliers are so expensive but so pretty for a little girl's room. Teri of giddy giddy (whose hair clips we own and love) created this colorful chandelier out of felted balls. And I'm so jealous of those fantastic vintage curtains in the background!

Stamp Cake Garland

2010-05-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, this is so pretty! I remember stamp collecting as a kid and having to sort out all these British stamps with queens that looked exactly the same in just subtly different colors. This lovely spectrum cake garland is made by Denise of d.Sharp and is $75 in her Etsy shop.

Lift?

2010-05-19T19:46:00.000-07:00

To quote Liz Lemon: "Whuck?" and, "I want to go to there." Where is this crazy place?! (via tiny happy, who also makes cute things)

Heart's Desire

2010-05-19T18:34:00.001-07:00

Kids at the Circle of Peace School in Uganda were asked to draw what they would buy if they had $50, and their drawings are being sold for $50 to raise money for the school. The results are charming and also a little heartbreaking, as it is clear that most of these kids (many of them AIDS orphans) have no concept of money, their desires ranging from a banana to a house. Mamatove Irene, age 5, wants to buy the moon. (via Junior Society)

Wealth and Giving

2010-05-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

"All personal wealth beyond that required to supply the needs of one's family should be regarded as a trust fund to be administered for the benefit of the community." --Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth, 1889.

Embroidered Patches

2010-05-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

Remember before this current disposable society when kid's clothes used to be patched? You can buy Anja Rieger's forest critter designs for embroidered patches if you have a fancy sewing machine. (via print & pattern)

Blue Loves Green

2010-05-19T17:54:00.001-07:00

Blue and green look so great together in a kid's room. (via Jojo's Room)

Seven Kids

2010-05-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

I'm obsessed with this show, 9 By Design, about the super-cool Novogratz family with their seven kids and house remodeling gig. I start getting giddy with anticipation about a day and a half before the show is available on my instant viewing thing. I love that they design with a few major impact pieces and not a lot of clutter. I especially love the antique beds in the twin girls' room. And I love all the kids' names: Wolfgang, Bellamy, Tallulah, Breaker, Five, Holleder, and Major. The only thing that would make the show better is if they filmed their kids eating vegetables every so often. (via decorology)

Vintage Peasant Dress

2010-05-19T17:24:00.000-07:00

I want this so badly. But it will immediately get ruined, right? This cotton gauze peasant dress with blue embroidery ($95) is just one of the many gorgeous vintage clothes at Belle Heir.

Colored Sand

2010-05-19T17:20:00.001-07:00

Such a pretty mess. By dianamuse.

Outdoor Party

2010-05-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

Wow. I'm so in love with outdoor parties lately. Just wow. (via the style files)

Three Boys

2010-05-19T17:02:00.001-07:00

I love three beds in a row, and I love giant art, so I love this Moscow room for three boys by Kate Hume. (via Remodelista)

Fox Print

2010-05-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

How cute is this fox print by KidsHaus on Etsy?