Day 28: The Cabbage Patch

A few weeks ago, my mother called me quite excited. She had found my old Cabbage Patch clothes at the bottom of an old trunk. Now, I have not played with these dolls in well, at least 25 years. I was shocked. She was so excited and has been asking me ever since to look through my things in my attic and/or basement because she could not find the dolls.

I have to admit, looking for the dolls was not the first thing that popped into my head. Rather, the first thing that popped into my head was the Cabbage Patch song. I really have no idea where that came from other than the fact that it was there.



So with the dance moves remastered, I kind of forgot...okay, I admit it, I totally forgot about looking for the dolls. Then this past weekend, when I cleaned out the armoire in the basement, I found a girl doll, a baby doll and a Koosa. I brought them upstairs and put them on the kitchen table while I was getting a drink. With my back turned, my girls absconded with the dolls before I even realized that they were missing. You would have thought that they hit the lottery! They have been dressing and undressing them from the diapers and clothes that they were wearing. Then today, my mother gave them some of the clothes she had found from all those years ago. I promptly dressed the baby in the ridiculous sweater outfit on the picture above.

The best part of this find is that I have been reminiscing with ... err...about my Koosa, Fritz. I loved this little cat and I have to admit, based on the tag on him, I was eleven when I received this cat. I think I must have secretly played with him, because that would have put me in sixth grade. Actually, that was the last year that we played with Cabbage Patches. We were the last of a very innocent time. We still played with dolls until we were in sixth grade! Imagine that. And I know that I was not the only one as I sit here in my spinny desk chair and think about it.



Fritz was named after my favorite waiter at my favorite restaurant, Ellie's, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. It was a Middle Eastern restaurant where I was first introduced to Baba Ganouj, Tabbouleh, Kibbee, Kofta, etc. Those formative restauranting years have given me a lifelong loving of Lebanese food and food from the Middle East in general.

Here is a classic song from 1983, the birth year of Fritz, my beloved Koosa.

Day 27: Have wheels, will travel

Today was a happy day indeed, even through the downpours. My wheels were restored. Yes, indeed, the mom-mobile is back working and so far (knock on wood) no more engine problems. Let's hope that Honda has fixed the problem and not given it a band aid. By the way, that picture of our kids was taken in a taxi in Paris, but it was also a squishy ride!

It's funny, I was very excited to drive the other car, but it is just so squishy with all three kids. I actually breathed a sigh of relief when the girls climbed into the car after school today. There were no fights, or even one errant slap today. Peace has been restored to the drive. Ahhhh... this sure warrants a sigh the size of the lovely island of Ireland.

Now I am excited to have three rows of passenger seats. The DVD was a nice distraction on a longish drive this afternoon in the slllooowwww traffic on the highway. The kids no longer sound like they are screaming in my ear. And...the best part... we have 17 cup holders again. One can never have too many cup holders. I wonder if anyone has ever used all 17 cup holders at once. I wonder why a Honda designer decided to put them all in. Also, in the same vein, does anyone actually use the lazy Susan storage device in the floor? We are always afraid that we would forget things in there until the day we sell our vehicle. It is just much easier to deal with the other thousands of feet of secret storage.

Here's a song to celebrate the return of the mom-mobile.

Day 26: Art or Graffiti?

Is this art or graffiti? Funny, when I first looked at this earlier today, I groaned. See that little bit of wall art has been there on the wall of the staircase for well over three years. My little Picassos drew those lines years ago. That was the fifth time. Hours of Magic Eraser did not leave the space permanently clean. I decided three years ago to leave the red crayon because I knew that if I removed it again, it would reappear in days.

See this scribble really wasn't graffiti, even if it was a tagging of sorts. My son had just decided to pretty up the walls and the result of his work was what is in this picture. I can totally relate. I am not a fan of the wallpaper. Actually, if there were not really high ceilings over the staircase, the paper would have been removed six years ago when we bought the house. I was afraid to climb a ladder on the staircase, even those ones made for such jobs. So, we are just living with this paper until we get around to hiring someone. At this pace, it will still be up for another six years.

The crayon adds a bit of a spark, doesn't it? You can contemplate what the artist intended the strokes to be. It could be a ball of yarn, a firework or even a fireman rescuing a cat from a twenty foot tree while balancing on top of an elephant. You just need to use your imagination.

Today, was a day of being stuck in the house. My husband ran a 1/2 marathon and I decided to stay behind, because we were not sure how our son would do with a long drive squished in the small back seat of his car. (My mom-mobile is still at the dealership. I'll be lucky to get it tomorrow.) So, the kids and I stayed home. We watched cartoons. We made a photo book online from our trip to Paris and Germany for Christmas - my husband is from Germany, so it was a trip home with a layover. Not as exotic as it sounds actually.

Anyway, after cleaning out the guest closet, I was putting away some glasses and found a bit of a Magic Eraser. By the way, in case you care: The guest closet is one of those metal bar things with a covering that we haul up to the guest room -err playroom- and down to the basement for the rest of the year. My sister-in-law is visiting us for Easter from Munich and I am pretty sure that she does not want any errant toys playing with her shoes and clothes.

Back to the Magic Eraser bit, I found this shriveled up little half bit of it and decided to finally erase the red crayon. Our youngest is 5. Way past the age of wall decorating. After dousing it in cool water from the faucet, I gently, yet firmly, rubbed away the years old decoration. It is sad to see it somewhat gone -the eraser disappeared before I finished the job. There is still quite a bit left and I am seriously thinking of leaving a four inch by four inch square to remember the joyful look on my son's face when he completed the art work. I remember that I was not angry or annoyed when he did it. I had remembered decorating my parent's wallpaper at that time in my life. My parents were not so excited about my artistic expression. I, however, found it intriguing and was not running to lose it.

Here's a little firework inspired song. (Love that Katy Perry!)

Day 25: Car 1 down, Car 2 down...

Like my new ride? Yesterday as I was driving home from the school pick-up, the lovely, inviting engine malfunction indicator popped on in the Honda Odyssey. I was slightly aggravated, but figured I had nothing left to do, but hop on the highway and drive home. Once in our driveway, I took out the manual and read what said light indicator meant.

Have you ever actually looked at your car's manual? Who writes these things? Could they make them a little more fun? Maybe a few colors and a new font? Thicker paper perhaps? Anyway, after consulting the contents list at the end of the book, either page 68 or 728 were listed. I decided to try page 68 first. Once there, the reader is immediately directed to page 728. Here is my question: Why even bother listing that it is on page 68 if there is NO information on that page? It seems like it would save ink to just eliminate the intermediary step.

So, once on the correct page, I learned that either my gas cap was loose and to tighten it and wait up to three days for the light to disappear OR my engine was about to combust and needed immediate attention. Really? There is nothing else that could be the problem? I called the dealership and preemptively told the man on the phone, that I had already checked the gas cap and that was tight. He advised me to get it in to be checked and to not drive too much. After discussing the over idling and difficulty driving, we decided to have the car brought in this morning to have it looked at.

This is when we realized that car 2 was also in dire straights so to say. We have three kids. All still need to ride in the back seat in booster seats. We have three booster seats. There are three seat belts there in back. The car was running...except one of the seat belt buckle mechanisms was completely missing! I tried to fish it out, but could not even feel it!

So, now we were stuck with one car that was basically inoperable, one with one seat belt too few, and two different locations to be at within one hour. Thankfully, my Godmother lives nearby. She helped me get my son to his appointment while my husband took the girls to German school. After drop off, Benedikt (my husband) took his car to the dealership and they were scratching their heads about how the buckle was wedged so far in. It actually took a few service people to fish it out! Now we have one car that we can all fit into, and the Odyssey is still being diagnosed. We brought the mom-mobile in about two hours ago. They told me that I was so lucky because they were so slow, they were bored. Yet, they close in 30 minutes and I still do not know the outcome of the diagnostics. Hopefully, the phone will ring with good news soon.

On the bright side, we now know how to refish the belt buckle out of the trunk should that ever happen again. I also was able to spend some quality time with my Godmother and I found the perfect clock for the kitchen to replace our old, banged up barely functioning one.



I absolutely love it! I was worried about the aquamarine against the orange walls, but it is totally fab. And as an added bonus, the hour and minute hands are a fork and knife! How cool is that? My old clock is sitting on the dining room table looking forlorn. You served us well old friend, but the multiple bruises from the multiple moves over the last 10 years have rendered you breaking. We will miss you, dear friend.

As you can imagine, a little pick-me-up was needed this morning while I was waiting for my Godmother to pick us up. This song flashed through my head. It is a song that the Wheatones, one of the a cappella groups at my alma mater, Wheaton College, sang at every show when I was a young college student. Hopefully, it helps you get to a happy place the next time you are having car problems too!

Day 24: Mother Nature Plays an April Fool's Joke!

Today is April 1, 2011. In an ideal world, we would be smack dab in the beginning of a wonderful Spring after our harsh winter here in New England. Instead, in some cruel twist of irony, we are starting out our month, not with April showers that will bring May flowers. So I wonder what does April snow bring? Mother Nature is sure a jokester!

On the one hand the snow, is actually a really pretty covering and since only crocuses have bloomed thus far, the covering makes everything look neater. On the other hand, it is Spring! C'mon!

Today, my kids had a two hour delay and for some reason only a handful of families at the school received the automated call this morning. So while we were all cozy and enjoying "Yogi Bear," many families were waiting outside of the closed school trying to get in! Finally, the principal informed them about the delay and sent them on their merry way.

At a birthday party this afternoon, we were discussing the communication flub this morning. Then somehow, the conversation transitioned to this happiness project, or rather I told my friends that I have been trying to just be happy this Lent and that it seemed to be working. This was said as one was lamenting that she gave up bread and the other was lamenting about something else given up. I told them that I decided to add to the world this year. To my surprise, my friends - these are friends who did not know that I was doing this project - were excited about my crazy idea. I hope that they find their own ways to increase their happiness. It is really a win-win situation. You feel better and other people want to hang out with you. :) So, I have sent them the link to this blog and hope that they find their way here.

Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra sing this wonderful tune about this kind of weather. Hope it brings a smile to your face too.

Day 23: Everyone needs a little bit of art!

Today was a tiring, but such an enjoyable day. I was given two free passes by BzzAgent to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and asked a very good friend from college to join me.

We met early in the morning at her apartment in Cambridge and then drove over to the museum. The Museum had been under construction and the new wing has been open for a few months, so we were excited to explore the new wing and look at some old favorites - I was particularly excited to check out their collection from Generation 27 (more later).

The architecture of the new building was great and we had a blast picking which pieces of art to listen to on the iPod that the desk lent to us. It was great to revisit old favorites and discover some really cool new art.

I am a contemporary art and handicraft person, so I really enjoyed seeing all the pieces that were being shown in those areas. I did not realize that museum has such an extensive Alexander Calder collection and it was great to find my beloved Picassos and Mondrians from the older collections.

My friend and I had a chance catching up on the last few weeks and it was so great to get out of my life for a few hours. Even though we were in the museum less than four hours, it felt like a weekend getaway for me. It was time to take in art, relax, walk around and hang out with an amazing friend.

As I drove home later, I could not help but thank whatever force compelled me to do this happiness project. I think if we had done this trip even a month ago, I would have been too busy worrying about the time on the clock. I would not have taken the time to look at some pieces in depth, and some in passing. I would not have had such a great time. They say that it takes one 21 days to learn a new habit. I think that I am learning step one of many new habits in my 40 day project.

The rest of the day after I left this friend is such a blur - thus my tiredness. Two pick ups ensued, followed by a play date with six children! The parents all stayed so it was a nice time to chat over some delightful pastry from Flour, my fav bakery in Boston. I have lots of leftovers, so tomorrow's breakfast is starting to look interesting! And now, my cherubs are in bed, with their nightly shananigans. I am trying to ignore them and concentrate, but their little voices are startling my words right out of the grey matter.

When I was at UCLA, I specialized in Spanish literature. Being a Penninsularist, I concentrated on the Generation of 27. This generation was composed of great artists from the 1920s who left an indelible mark on the international arts scene: Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Louis Buñuel, to name a few. The research I did in those years, bolstered my love for the works of the great masters who all lived and worked together in Madrid and later Paris. They paved the way for all of our great contemporary artists and put Spain's art scene back on the map. Of course, Franco tried to squash their great works, but nearby Paris offered a haven for them and ensured that many generations would know their work.

Salvador Dalí is one of my favorite artists. Here is a great tribute to the genius that graced us with his fantastic works of art and literature.

And here is the classic "Un Chein Andalou" by Louis Buñuel on which he collaborated with Salvador Dalí:

Day 22: Little Doves of Corn

Palomitas de maíz...little doves of corn. For some reason, popcorn sounds so much more romantic in Spanish. It is one of many words that I prefer in Spanish. The list is long, but though I love palomitas de maíz, mariposa (butterfly) is still my favorite word - but I digress. Palomitas de maíz, just the word, brings me to a tranquil plain. Today, my son and I finished off lunch with a small bowl of the warm, fluffy stuff. It was a small bowl, but the crunchy texture was heavenly.



Today has been a day of happiness and tranquility. The major clean up of the first floor is complete. I do admit that there are cabinets to clean out, but all the surfaces are deep cleaned and in addition to the playroom, we have reclaimed the kitchen, the dining room, the hallway, and the living room. Even the staircase leading upstairs is devoid of clutter. We usually put things on steps to be brought up later and then sometimes the things stay there too long. Funny how that happens.

Nothing extraordinary happened today, but in a way that was extraordinary. The children did not fight for the first time in months. My son was content all day and did not have even one meltdown. They picked out their own Converse at the Converse Company Store (we live near the global headquarters). I even told them how my grandmother was a stitcher for the lovely shoes years ago. My innocent little son asked me, "Was Nana real?" That question really gave me pause. Of course she was real, but how could I explain that to him. He had never seen her. He is a very visual kid, he needs to see to believe. Unfortunately, I did not have a good answer.

After the shoe purchase, we went to a great bakery and bought the kids some Easter cookies, then home for homework, gymnastics for the girls, dinner with Grammie, and bedtime.

Today was a great day. I heard birds chirping, felt a warm breeze, ventured out without a coat, and tried not to think about the snow forcasted for Friday. I felt loved and loving toward others. I felt like for once, in a long time, that I was on the right path and that life was a joy. I wanted to tiptoe through the yet to poke through the ground tulips and become one with nature. I hope the feeling lasts...