In which we reevaluate Donkeys...and decide they need sweaters!

     OK, I have lived most of my life unaware of how sweet and adorable donkeys are. Um, how did I not know this?!   Following a few farmy Instagram accounts has caused me to reevaluate my opinions of these sweet creatures.  They apparently are incredibly sweet and cuddly. Also can be quite territorial.  Did you know that??   See? All sorts of new things we did not know!  (If, in fact, you DID already know that, you get a gold star for the day.)

Also, raise your hand if you've ever heard the song by Lou Monte 'Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey'.  It's the hilarious cousin to 'I wanna hippopotamus for Christmas',  Both obscure animals with their own festive holiday song.  Go listen a moment, then pop on back.

I decided we need a sweatshirt featuring a cutie pie Christmas donkey wearing a festive knit sweater and hat.  It's an ugly sweater type Christmas sweater....except it isn't ugly. It's adorable: 

Adorable Christmas Donkey Crew Neck Sweatshirt.

Comes in white, black, red, green, navy, light gray, and dark gray.

And then, because I just  can't help myself, I decided we needed just regular cutie pie Christmas Donkey tshirts too. Both in Unisex fit, and Women's fit:

Unisex fit Festive Donkey Christmas T Shirt

And the Women's fit:

Women's fit Festive Christmas Donkey on VintageDutchGirl Etsy.

 

    And of course there might be adorable Festive Donkey shirts and sweatshirts for the kiddos too.  I'll pop back around soon to show you those soon. Now, the only problem that remains is naming this cutie. Any ideas? 

 

A

 

 

 

 

 

Sbux and Costco KNOW me...

Ya know, is it odd that when walking into a Florida Starbucks I feel the need to stand on one of the cushy chairs and exclaim,

"I'm from WASHINGTON STATE!!!!"

and expect special treatment?

I think not.

It's like I feel I have just a bit of ownership of Starbucks from being a Washingtonian.





Add Costco to that list as well.

Yes, while we are stuck here in Orlando waiting for our flight (8 hours from now) I think I'll find a Costco to run into and exclaim,

"I'm from WASHINGTON STATE!!!"

And when I order my iced mocha I'm going to be watching the food service peeps and reading into their every move:

I think she gave me extra chocolate because I'm from WASHINGTON STATE.

I think she smiled longer at me because I'm from WASHINGTON STATE.

I think he put that clear plastic lid on extra carefully because I'm from WASHINGTON STATE.

Yup. It's gonna happen...

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

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Real Simple New Uses for Old Things...Vintage Dutch Girl Style

Old Thing: Skooshy, much loved pink dolly.
Pin It
New Use: Toddler neck support travel pillow system.
Directions: Fold in half, shove between toddler's head and side of carseat. Perfecto!

Old Thing: Iphone/Ipod Charger

New Use: Mommy refocusing (via distraction elimination) tool.
Directions: Leave scissors and charger in a room with a 4 yr old.

Old Thing: Chip Clip

Pin It
New Use: Burrito Stabilization aid.
Directions: Open clip, attach to end of leaky burrito.

Old Thing: Thick Parmesan Cheese Ceasar salad garnish.

New Use: Dinner Entertainment....FREE!
Directions: Open mouth, insert cheese. Laugh.

Old Thing: Feminine Hygienic Liner.
Pin It
New Use: 4 yr old foot bandaids!
Directions: Leave 4 yr old unattended in bathroom. That's all it takes.

Amanda

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Vintage Xbox for Four (and a HALF) year olds...

Being that is was another cold Washington Summer Weather 2011 day, the kiddos were getting bored being stuck inside the house. Again. (and I may have been going slightly bonkers).

Having been introduced to the wonderful world that is video gaming by my boy cousins at a recent family dinner, I hauled out our old school Xbox to show Bubbalu how it's done.

A. When I say old school, I mean it. The date promter started at '01. Which made me giggle. Just think, only 9 more years and it's eligible to be sold as Vintage on etsy!

B. Bubbalu is a better Rallysport driver than I am. Embarassing. Being showed up by a 4 (and a HALF! he always insists) year old. Huh, all those days growing up playing Wolfenstein on our PC didn't teach me anything!?

C. Should I teach him DanceDance Revolution? That'd be some serious hilarity. And an effective energy burner....hmmm. (...Runs off to find DDR dance mat....).

D. I need to unearth some older Xbox kids games. Anyone willing to donate some old castoff games to the "Amanda needs to clean her house and keep her sanity" fund?

Happy gaming!

Amanda

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Unrecognizable Brown Blobs...for Breakfast. Yum yum!

I was going through all the pictures on my phone and came across this one:



I remember taking this photo because I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the shape was supposed to be. It's a holiday pancake mold, which makes me think it might be a snowman wearing a hat off to the side??!?

Seriously, what is it?

And furthermore, would you REALLY want a pancake shaped like that unrecognizable blog?

"Yeah, um, thanks for the....uh... long brown lumpy shaped blob on my breakfast plate. Super appetizing."

A

Facebook y'all.

Farmer Jed's Orange Grove...

Boy, "Seriously Farmer Jed, what HAPPENED to your oversized orange grove???"



Farmer Jed, "What are you talking about, yellow cap huge boy? These amazingly ginormous ears of corn and apple as big as my face severely restrict my peripheral vision."

Boy, "Your entire orange grove what picked apart by what appeared to be a famished 4 yr old human! Dude, what's up with your pants? Are you wearing an overall SKORT?!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

This is what ran through my head after serving the kiddos lunch.

I need to get out more...

A

Super Mommy Eye can Hypnotize...

I've long used Picnik.com for editing photos, especially for my Etsy shop to best represent my creations.

I uploaded a pic today to try out a bunch of the fun effects.

I discovered what I'll look like when I'm 75....Hello undereye circles:



Meet Naraama, my Avatar:



(singing) Rudoloph the peach nosed Mommy, had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw her, you would even say it glows:



Now, I realize my current favorite teal and red color combo may be awesome for home decor and fabrics but this....this just is taking it a few steps too far:



Peekaboo! I SEE you!

This is what my kids see when I come to check on them in the middle of the night.

And this is the Super Mommy Eye. The Super Mommy Eye sees EVERYTHING that goes on, nothing escapes her sight. She knows who hit who, who ate spoonfuls of chocolate milk powder for breakfast hiding in the pantry, she knows who didn't wash their hands or brush their teeth, she even knows if you are even thinking about talking back. Don't mess with Super Mommy Eye:

This is me if my gray spray paint nozzle is pointed the wrong way:

And this is me trying to hypnotize you, "You WILL bring me chocolate, offer to babysit my children for free, offer cases of Diet Coke, clean my house and encourage me to sew during ALL my spare time."

Did it work? Hope so.

Off to sew and eat lava cakes. Wait a minute, did I just hynotize myself?

Awesomeness...

Amanda

***Yup, I'm on Facebook. Whoop-de-doo!***

It's Really Just A Gangsta-Wannabe Salutation...

I'm collecting decorative letters so I can eventually have the entire alphabet on a wall in our bonus/playroom.

I keep a list on my phone of what letters I need so when i'm out and about dumpster diving, thrifting, clearance rack perusing or whathaveyou I can quickly see if I need a certain letter or not.

It's not going very quickly.

I'm already imagining the day when I have only two or three letters left and I find a particularly elusive letter. I'll be jumping up and down, pumping my fist and screaming "EEEE!! I found the EEEE!!!" or something equally embarrassing.

Being that it's been awhile and I've only put a fender bender-sized dent in my alphabet-collecting mission I'm needing to do SOMETHING with all these random letters sitting around. So, I just threw em up on the walls in the house.

Yes, I'm having a huge family party here on Sunday and I'm sure I'll get the, "Huh, look at that, there's a huge C on the dining room wall and none of their names start with C. Wonder what THAT'S for?". I'll have to make up something brilliant and wow them when I say it stands for the Spanish verb cocer (to cook) or the four C's of diamond gradation.

Conversation starter? Youbetcha.

Keeps me on my toes as well. Because really, it's going to be a mighty stretch to come up with what V F stands for. Very Friendly? Vocal fatigue (occurs VERY FREQUENTLY in our house).

That's it! Very Frequent Vocal Fatigue. Yup, sounds good to me.

Can you figure this one out?



Spring Break?

Green Beans?

Plant Biology?


Take your pick, I like em all.

And my favorite double grouping of them all:



It's really just a friendly gangsta-wannabe salutation.

And it's always nice to be friendly...

Amanda


***Whatthatyousay? Vintage Dutch Girl has an itty bitty Facebook page? Huh. Interesting.***

The Irony Of It All...

If you can't make out the lettering, it says, "ULTRASONIC BIRD REPELLER":



Yup, with a nest right next to it.

I really do find joy and humor in the mundane things of this life...

A

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Ta-Ta Level Determiner...

I LOVE me some Mod Cloth. Talk about inspirational. Not to mention unique. I usually get the sewing itchies after I check out their new dress listings.

For Example, check out this ruffled, pleated goodness:


and this delicious one:



Doesn't this one beg for a summer picnic shindig? Complete with a lattice-topped home made cherry pie and some sassy bright red shoes:



And then there's my all time fave, the Pin-up Dress:



But I must admit I burst out laughing when I saw this one. Yes, I REALIZE it's supposed to be the number Eighty Eight...but....to me it looks like a ta-ta level determiner shirt.



Meaning, you put the shirt on and can easily decide where your ta-ta's are typically residing in their current state:



Easily determine if your ta-ta's are in the 1, 2, 3, or 4 level bracket... or(gasp!) beyond the brackets altogether.

Yup, thinking I'm OK not knowing which bracket level my ta-ta's are in...

A

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Incriminating Evidence...

"Bubbalu, WHAT are you trying to lick off your face?"



"Nutin!"

"Bubbalu, did you eat your paint?"



"NO, I did NOT!!!"



Uh huh, RIGHT. Sometimes you just gotta let em paint...even if that means they sample it here and there...

A

Linking up! Go on over and read other Mama stories and fun!



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Bubbalu Likes To Vacuum...

Bubbalu did the 30 min Shred with me this morning. Lil Chick wanted in on the "fun" and did a few push ups and squats too. Yep, my kiddos will be ripped in no time. Nothing like a 6 pack on an eighteen month old. So anywho, I start the workout and Bubbalu takes one look at Jillian and says, "Mommy, that woman is angry. That is a MAD woman". You got that one right Bubbalu!

So on to my post subject...

If Bubbalu is bored (which happens frequently, evidenced by his insatiable desire to destroy things and see what household items the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser CAN'T remove sharpie from) my catch phrase is: "If you're bored you can choose to play outside or scrub my floors". I can just hear my Mom saying that to me when I was a young gal. What can I say? Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Bubbalu played outside for a good long while this morning on his play set. He then came to the screen door and said, "Mommy, I'm ready to scrub your floors!".

Love that boy.

Well, I scrubbed the floors yesterday so I offered him the job of vacuuming up the crumbs under the table. True to form, this boy not only vacuumed the entire dining room but moved on into the kitchen, pantry AND hallway making sure that no crumb was left behind.

LOVE that boy.

"Mommy, I'm done, now what can I do?"

SERIOUSLY?

OK, you can wipe down the table and your place mat for me.

So he wipes down the table, place mat, chairs and Lil Chick's high chair as well.

LOVE THAT BOY.

OK Bubbalu, you've helped out SO good, now you can go back outside to play.

Do YOU ask your kiddos to help out with daily chores? Which ones and at what age?

A

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Duplos...

So earlier this week I was on the phone having a deep serious conversation with my dear Mother In Law (whom I love dearly, by the way. Not your typical MIL to daughter-in-law relationship. So when I say having a deep serious conversation with her, that's a GOOD thing! ).

I was roaming about the kitchen and family room picking up things and doing that general tinkering about that most Mama's that I know do when chatting on the phone. Bubbalu and Lil Chick were nicely playing in the living room with the duplos.

I walked around the corner to check on the kids and BURST out laughing...right in the middle of a very intense sentence of Mom's.

This is why I was laughing:



Oh yes he did.

Duplos in the fishtank. WHY? I'm guessing he was thinking, "Well, she never said I COULDN'T throw my duplos into the fish tank, so let's try er out!".

I grabbed the little fish net thingy and was able to get most of them out. Yeah, I said most of them. There are three single duplos that sunk to the bottom that I couldn't get at.

Which is why, if you come over, you might see something like this in our tank:



But hey, at least the fish now have something to play with...

A

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Butter...blah blah blah...Muffins...

I left and returned to my house approximately 399 times yesterday(Wednesday).

Dropped of Bubbalu at MIL's house and brought Lil Chick to her nine month, 9:00 appointment at the doctor....on 9/09/09. Weird. She really did turn EXACTLY nine months old yesterday. Like I said, weird.

Turns out she is still super stinkin tiny, so much so that the Doctor advised adding butter, heavy cream or olive oil to her meals. Yum Yum, eat up darlin! She hits all of those developmental markers, she's just a pipsqueak. However, a fiery lil pipsqueak. She may be small, but she's mighty.

Lil Chick is a screechy, shrieking aficionado. I sometimes wonder if my neighbors think I lay around all day sticking her with pins. In reality, she screeches when she is holding a toy, looking at her brother, or just because she's bored. You know, maybe she just wants a big bowl of butter.

We had a lovely relaxing afternoon of x-rays, medication, schlepping to the doctor and tears from Bubbalu over concerns of a broken forearm...all turning out to be a dislocated elbow. It was a trying and emotionally exhausting day. I am praising God for Bubbalu's health and intact bones.

Favorite part of my day occurred in the x-ray waiting room. This waiting room was extremely cavernous and seemed to magnify (ha! NPI) every whispered word or sound. Two year olds don't seem to get the whisper concept. At least my two year old doesn't get it. He's busy commenting on everyone's shoes, the man in the wheelchair, the lights, the gumball machine, the blue chairs...you name it. Everyone was politely ignoring him.

Then there was....silence.

Until a certain 31.8lb two year old voice belted out, "DO YOU KNOW THE MUFFIN MAN, THE MUFFIN MAN, THE MUFFIN MAN! DO YOU KNOW THE MUFFIN MAN WHO LIVES ON DRURY LANE!"

We are just the par-tay of the x-ray waiting room. You need an x-ray? Call us, we're quite entertaining. Who knows, we may even bring muffins...

A

#1 Trashiest Campsite Status...

I am freshly back from a nine day camping trip.

Yep, NINE days.

CAMPING. (Well, mostly motorhoming.)

With two littles. One potty training, one nursing.

Whew!

Things we discovered:

- It is shocking how quickly a toddler can trash a campsite.

- Bubbalu LOVES to pee outside, further establishing our "#1 trashiest campsite in the campground" status.

- Lil Chick is a movin' and a shakin'. She is scooting and just starting to crawl around. Here we go! Bubbalu learned to crawl in Spokane, Lil Chick on this camping trip. That's it, I'm not going ANYWHERE else! Lil Chick will stand up and recite the Heidelberg Catechism Q & A Lords Day 1 if I ever leave on another trip again....not that reciting the Catechism is bad...it's just TOO. STINKIN. FAST.

- Sunscreen in an spray can is AWESOMENESS.

- Bubbalu loves to say "AWESOMENESS!".

- An air conditioned motorhome is FAR superior to NON air-conditioned sweltering house that hit 95 INSIDE while we were gone.

-Potty training is set on the back burner while camping. This may be due to a specific ginormo poo in the underwear incident that I'd just as soon like to forget about. Underwear was tossed into double layer plastic zip-top baggies, squished with some laundry soap (kinda like those friendship bread baggies. "Day #3 - Squish the bag" - yep, EXACTLY like that) and then promptly thrown out of the motorhome...where it sat until it was time to pack up and go home. Once again, reestablishing our "#1 trashiest campsite in the campground" status.

-Many many MANY baby wipes are used while camping. Face, hands, buns, tables, high chair, legs, chairs, neck...you get the picture.

-Showering the children outside using the handy-dandy outside shower attachment on in-law's trailer is a GREAT way to prevent the trailer/motorhome gray water tank from filling too quickly. However, once again...#1 trashiest campsite in the campground.

-Giving Bubbalu a haircut outside using your home clipper set and a squirt gun filled with used pool water to wet their hair down doesn't help your "#1 trashiest campsite in the campground" status.

-Showering yourself (in the motorhome INSIDE shower) while STANDING IN A HUGE PLASTIC TOTE BIN and then carrying it outside to dump your shower out also saves your gray water tank, but again, doesn't help your status.

-Neither does pulling a utility trailer complete with two different chipped beyond repair paint jobs (that don't match), zero hubcaps and a horrible case of rust that you store at the entrance to your site covered with a hole-ridden, well past it's prime, bright green tarp.

I'm starting to wonder if the campground owners threw their hands in the air and cheered while we drove away.

However, that was AFTER my husband spilled a couple of gallons worth of raw sewage onto himself and the dump station before we exited the premises.

Yeah, they were DEFINITELY celebrating...

A

Surfin USA...

Everybody goin' surfin', Surfin' USA!



We teach em young over here.

A

Wordless Wednesday...

A

A Cupcake!

Bubbalu was digging around in our backyard a few days ago. My Mother in Law and I watched through the window as he took a giNORmous bite of dirt.

With a look of confusion on his face he spit it out. We, of course, laughed.

I went out and asked him what he was eating.



He said, "cupcake!".

Honey, if dirt tasted like cupcakes Mommy would be a MUCH better gardener...

A

They're Conspiring Against Me...

I discovered that my kids are conspiring against me:



However, I am ready for the attack and will prevail...

A

Re-Baptized...

Apparently Bubbalu didn't think Lil Chick's first baptism was legit. Mama came into the family room to discover her little baby like this:



Maybe that picture doesn't quite capture the moment. How bout this one?



Notice the pools of liquid on the Bumbo tray and that her hair is soaked?

Ladies and Gentleman, if it pleases the court, I'd like to enter into evidence exhibit A:



He doesn't look very remorseful, does he?

That'll teach Mama to leave out saline nose drops within reach of a certain tall toddler...

A