The Black Hole of Death

Well, okay...so it wasn't really a black hole. Nor did I die. But it sure seemed like it! (for those 5 seconds...but I swear they were loooong seconds)

Ever have one of those fears, fears that you have no idea how they came about...they just did? Yeah, me neither. Wait...I mean, yes...I do. I am completely afraid of drowning. No clue as to why I have this fear. I am an excellent swimmer. I don't believe I have been close to drowning (at least that I recall...or have been told about). My other fear...(crud, you found me out ) small, dark places. While I'm claustrophobic to a point, as long as I can see...I'm usually okay.

That brings me to today. I entered what I can only imagine to be a black hole of death...a completely enclosed waterslide! "Why?" you may ask a.) would you be afraid of this? b.) would I even do such a stupid thing??? Simple answer...my 6 year-old daughter.

For the past year I have reveled in the knowledge that my daughter was not yet 48" tall...thus she could not go on the newly built (last summer) waterslide at our local aquatic center. Off the hook...until today. Apparently, while I wasn't looking...and she was wearing shorts...she grew. She is now 48" tall...and I'm S.O.L. So today was our first hike up the tall stairs to try the waterslide. As we wound our way up...up...up...I noticed that tube was awfully narrow...and has a bend in it. The thoughts running through my head were..."SHIT! This is going to be dark...and I'm going to die!" and "Double SHIT if she goes first and is scared out of her mind...because it's going to be dark...I'm going to be comforting her for days...and I will hear about it for the rest. of. my. life...how I was Mother of the Year and "made" her go down the black hole of death and that she was scared and cried (I just know this would happen)."

So there we stand, at the top of the slide. The kid (boy) ahead of us goes...screams the entire way down. "Seriously, I'm going to die" was all I could think. And what does my little darling say to me? "Mom, you go first." Ugh. Fine. UGH! Fine. So I go. It's narrow (like I'll get stuck or something) and starts to get darker and darker...then pitch black! Water rushing...AAAAHHHHHHH this is the part I hate! THEN! A sliver of light! There's hope! I'm not going to die after all...I think. And then...the end. The ride probably lasts 30-45 seconds...but those 5ish seconds of pitch black is a killer!

When I gather myself and climb out of the little water run, my darling says..."Mom, I don't want to go on it." Of course...and neither do I...EVER AGAIN!

The things we do for our children.

What do you get...???

What do you get when you take an empty coffee can, a used Chinet cup from a party the weekend before, some pine cones, pine needle clusters, pebbles, last year's day lily flower stems, an X-acto knife and alotta hot glue???

A fairy happy girl*, and a pretty snazzy fairy house**!

*Who decided to paint her face like a cheetah.

**No, I've never made a fairy house before...but the Squirt is talking "fairy town" now. Oy.

Birthday gifts

I don't know about you, but having your child invited to classmate's birthday parties is great...but also a bit stressful. To come up with a fun, age appropriate gift, that doesn't break the bank (especially since there seems to be a slew of them lately) can be a challenge.

With the challenge set firmly in front of me, I think of my own daughter and what she loves (besides everything!). Art. Creativity. Plain and simple. So this is what we have come up with...and it's knocked it out of the park!

Total cost...$12. Not bad!

A Blanket

A piece of cloth or two (or more depending) sewn together, thrown on a bed...It seems so simple, doesn't it? But not when a grandma makes it...then it's so much more.

Tonight as I snuggled in with my sweet one, she started to kick all the covers off, and only wanted "the flowers" on, and her "cozy"...that's when it hit me, in that stillness...both of these blankets were made by my grandmothers. "Flowers" was made for me many moons ago by my "Regular" Grandma* and was my favorite...it kept me warm and cool all at the same time. "Cozy" was made especially for the Squirt when she was newly with us because Great Gram thought she needed a cozy blanket to snuggle.

So tonight as sleep came over my girl not only was she warm, but also blanketed in love...a love of one grandma I'm so happy she gets to experience and another she will only know through her mother's own quirkiness. A blanket may be just cloth to some...but some cloth is so much more.

P.S. As I sit here writing this all down, another thing has dawned on me...my girl has 3 grandmas too...2 "Regulars" and a Great...lucky girl.

*I was lucky enough to have had 3 grandmothers growing up, so to differentiate them they had different names, which I gave them...and "Regular" was anything but...which is another post in itself.

The Great Preying Mantis Release 2011

On the last day of school, my good friend SweetDani* and I ended the school year with an outing to a local garden store while the girls were at school. We found quite a few lovely plants, and I'm pretty sure we'll both be going back...but I digress. While we were checking out, SD found some preying mantis pods at the cash register. They came in a pouch of 2 and asked if I wanted to split it with her. Not being a huge fan (but I'm not a killer though either) of insects I was a bit hesitant but agreed to it as she said her lovely daughter had such a great time with it last year.

Well, today while having my coffee I noticed that there was something crawling around it the container...THEY HATCHED!!! Oh my goodness, there were SO many crawling around in there! I retained my composure as I didn't want to alert CiBaby to the goings-on until I was prepared with my camera. Once I was ready I told her to come and see something really cool.

After looking outside at them, in their container, I was ready to release them...BUT WAIT! CiBaby really wanted her bestie to be there too...another bug lover. So we called up J and told her the pod had hatched and that we would wait until she got to our house to release them.



It was so neat to do, we will most likely do it again next year.

*Did you know there was a lemon basil named Sweet Dani? Me either!

Note: A quick word of caution, next time I will put them in a mason jar with a screen...some lost their lives in the tape. :(

"Well...that wasn't very nice."

Those are the words CiBaby said to me after our entire, funny, interaction.

CiBaby: "Mama, I'm hungry."
Me: "What would you like for breakfast?"
CiBaby: "I don't quite know yet."
Me: "Okay. Well, I'm going to quick go to the bathroom and you think about it."
CiBaby: "Okay Mama."

I head off to the bathroom.
10 seconds later, the door flies open.

CiBaby: "Mama, I know what I want for breffas."
Me: "Can't this wait until I'm done?"
CiBaby (clearly not listening to me): "I want cinnamon toast and salsa toast and a half a cup of orange juice."
Me: "Salsa toast?"
CiBaby: "The kind we had last night."
Me: "Honey, that was dill bread."
CiBaby: "Oh! Right! I want cinnamon toast and dill toast, wif buddah and a half a cup of orange juice."
Me: "Okay, I'll get it for you when I'm done. Go pick out your cup and plate. Now could you let me finish?"

CiBaby walks alway and slams the door.
10 seconds later...the door flies open.

CiBaby: "Mama, is this right?" (holding a straw to a straw cup)
Me: "Yes, dear, but I'm not going to get you anything until I'm finished."
CiBaby, sitting on the edge of the tub chitchatting away...
Me: "Honey, really...could I please have some privacy?"
CiBaby: "Oh! Right! I forgot."

Out she goes...door slams again.
10 seconds later I hear her hand hit the doorknob...the door starting to open.

Me: "Honey! Leave me alone!"
CiBaby: "Well...that wasn't very nice."

Sigh.

A Sherpa without a Map

I feel like a Sherpa leading my charge up a great mountain...without a map. Which path to take? Either path will lead to spectacular views...but completely different.

I know I should go with my gut, but right now I can't tell if the tightness in my belly is intuition telling me which way to go...or if it's just plain hunger pains.

A Spring Delicacy

Most people associate asparagus with Spring. Here in the CzaMama house, while we love asparagus, CiBaby goes crazy when these lovely little lawn ornaments start blooming!

I believe her eyes rolled back in her head when I showed her today's harvest...1/3 lb dandelion blossoms! Dandelion fritters for dinner!

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Happy Easter!

Our little Easter egg...

Egg Dying

This year I decided to try my hand at making natural egg dyes,

 just for fun.

(pickled beet juice, grape juice, pomegranate tea, passion tea, green tea, chili powder, and red cabbage)

Here is how they turned out... 

(from top left:  red cabbage, grape juice, green tea, passion tea, pomegranate tea, and pickled beet juice. The chili powder is pictured in the center of the bowl...a golden brown)

And a very excited little girl! She insisted on eating the pink egg first...it was quite tasty!

It was definitely a fun experiment.

Loveliness

Fluffy Rain

Spring snow? No...it's just...

1. fluffy rain
2. bloated water...maybe it had a lot of salty and greasy food yesterday
3. a new slow-release watering system
4. rain with an inflated ego

You choose.