Elf Invasion

Last night, we were invaded by elves. If you haven't heard of this tradition, check out Elf Magic (http://www.elf-magic.com/index.html) - Basically, Master P and Miss Priss write to Santa each year asking if he could spare some elves during the Christmas season. They come to visit, and proceed to wreak havoc in our house. We sprinkle them with "North Pole Snowflakes" (a little shaker of white paper confetti) each evening, leave them with crackers and water, and when we wake up in the morning, we find "The Mischief" as Master P calls it. Sometimes, the mischief is pretty tame, but sometimes, the elves are super naughty - The elves who visit the family of my friend Cathy (http://thebluehousechronicles.blogspot.com/) are SUPER naughty - getting into folded laundry and hanging underwear on the tree, "driving" their minivan into the bushes in front of their house, etc. Ours tend to be a little more tame (mostly because I will admit to a striking lack of creativity in this area). The biggest hit last year was when the elves climbed up and rode our ceiling fan in the family room - Master P loved it because after a few rotations, the elves had a tendency to go flying off across the room. So, we're back on elf duty, until they return to the North Pole with Santa on Christmas Eve. Tonight, I think that they are going to dump a package of marshmallows into the powder room sink and take a marshmallow bath . . . That should be a hit. I've already decided that on Saturday morning, when we leave for NC, they are going to be in the car ready to go, with Bradford at the wheel of the SUV, and Eugenie strapped into Miss Priss's car seat. Maybe we can actually convince them to drive us there!

Santa Success!

Soooo, last year, Miss Priss was . . . not a fan of Santa. It was an all-out, full-scale Festival of Shrieking (poor Santa - he was a really good sport).

This year, I feared that we would have more of the same, because we've had months of "I not sit in Santa's lap" comments from her. One year of the Screaming Picture on Santa's lap is cute - something for the wedding rehearsal dinner slideshow. Two years in a row, and you start to look like you are torturing your children. However, we saw a ray of light a few weeks ago, when Master P informed her that Santa would give her toys (we had mentioned this, but the light seemed to go on when he told her). She started saying, "If I sit on Santa's lap, he will bring me princesses." Yes, baby - That's PRECISELY right. Heck, if you sit on Santa's lap and smile, Mommy might even get him to bring you a PONY. Seeing my window of opportunity, I talked it up BIG all week, and finally on Friday, I decided to suck it up and take the plunge . . . SUCCESS!!!! I even got a darling, smiley picture out of it. Plus, at the end of their time with Santa, both kids gave him a huge hug:

It was a very happy mommy moment. Plus, I apparently captured lightning in a bottle, because when we went to Breakfast with Santa the next morning, she was back to old ways - refusing to sit on his lap, and just waving at him from behind Mr. Belle. Oh, well. I got my picture, and DFS isn't going to come get me for Santa Torture, so it's all good.

Hellooooo, Gorgeous!!

Oh, dear. I just had to email Mr. Belle and tell him I've been naughty. So very, very naughty. Rue La La's Kate Spade boutique opened this morning, and they had the oh so beautiful hot pink Tarrytown Quinn bag (ret. $395) for an amazing $178!!!! Needless to say, Santa is sending it to my house - hot pink with navy polka dot trim? It had Carolina Belle written all over it. I hope that Mr. Belle won't give me a lump of coal in my stocking, but some deals are just too good to pass up . . . Soooo, get thee to Rue La La ASAP! There are still some cute bags left (and some darling shoes).

At last!!! Christmas cards out the door!

Sigh. I am so relieved - I just dropped 100+ Christmas cards in the mailbox! I didn't think I would ever get them out the door. They've been sitting on the desk half finished for two weeks! We traveled to Chapel Hill this past weekend for a dear sorority sister's wedding, and then I hosted my book club (dinner for 11 ladies, plus a cookie exchange) the night after we got home, so there simply hasn't been any time. Finally, last night I sat down and knocked out the rest (well, except for a few stragglers that Mr. Belle hasn't given me the addresses for). Now I feel like I can breathe a little bit. The decorations are up, the cards are out, and the shopping is almost finished! We leave to go back to North Carolina on the 20th to spend Christmas with my family, so time is running short.

I just learned yesterday that I think we are going to the Carolina bowl game in Charlotte on the 27th. Now, the question is, what to wear?? I'm trying to hunt down a Vineyard Vines UNC headband online (clearly, it's not a big item out here in the midwest), but I am struggling mightily. Whatever I wear, I want to wear my new silver Tory Burch Revas with it. Any good suggestions for cute Carolina wear?? I'm tired of all my stuff . . .

Black Friday Memories

I come by my love of shopping honestly - I come from a looooong line of shoppers. Starting when I was a very tiny girl, my mom, grandmother, and I would go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. We didn't do the 5 am door busters at the big box stores - that's not really our style. (No piece of electronic equipment is worth getting run over for, in my opinion). Rather, we would go to SouthPark in Charlotte, and hit Ivey's (miss that store!) and Belk's, and the other shops in the mall. Then we would hit some of the boutiques around town as well. We'd end our morning with a very casual lunch at the Eckard's lunch counter, which, while it wasn't fancy, had the best hot dogs I have ever eaten (The cole slaw was out of this world. Mmmm). It was such a fun, lovely tradition, and it is one of my favorite memories.

My darling grandmother passed away a few weeks before Miss Priss was born, and I always like to think that Miss Priss's arrival was a way to make our little trio whole again. Last year, we were in NC for Thanksgiving, so my mom and I took Miss Priss out for a little while on Black Friday. It was a bittersweet moment. We're with Mr. Belle's family this year for Thanksgiving, so I won't be able to shop with my mom, but Miss Priss and I will carry on the tradition (even at 2.5, she's a fine little shopper already), even if we just go to a few selected stores. I'll be thinking of the sweet memories of my grandmother the whole time.

Many wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving with the people you love!

I'm back!

Ever have one of those weeks when you drop off the face of the earth? That was last week for me! Mr. Belle out of town, Miss Priss with strep throat, me with an ear infection (yuck! I haven't had one of those in 15 years), and a busy week at work meant I hardly had time to breathe. I am SO ready for Thanksgiving.

As you may recall, I am a Twilight fan. Yes, I'm one of THOSE people. Much to my dismay, I could not go see the movie on opening night because Mr. Belle had the audacity to be born on the day it premiered. I figured it might be bad form to leave him on his birthday to go spend the evening with my fictional vampire boyfriend. However, I was finally able to go check it out on Sunday. Let me just say that seeing him on the big screen just made me fall in love with Edward Cullen all over again. The movie was cheesy and corny and melodramatic, and I'm going back to see it again on Saturday. Heh. I can't wait until it comes out on DVD (I KNEW that Mr. Belle's 58 inch plasma tv would come in handy someday).

License to Redecorate

We bought our current house about 2.5 years ago. It is a great house, and I love it down to its studs. However, when we moved in, it was covered in scary early 1990s wallpaper. Well, almost covered - we had the blinding red toile in the kitchen removed before we moved in. I love toile, but sometimes a little goes a long way. Behold the scariness (this is from the real estate listing pictures - it's not our furniture, etc.):
Other than the kitchen, the children's bedrooms, etc., the other wallpaper stuck around (literally) for about a year while we decided what to put in its place. Then, last December, we did a major makeover, having all the wallpaper removed and painting done. Along with that makeover, I got my Christmas present . . . My exquisite, magnificent Henkel Harris mahoghany dining room table and chairs. The picture does not do it justice, but here you go:

Here it is in the newly de-wallpapered, and freshly painted dining room before dinner on Christmas last year (behold Master P's Lightning McQueen sippy cup). [As an aside, the dining room (which is still a work in progress in this picture) looks almost black in this photograph, but I promise it's not. It's a rich blue. Specifically, it's the color "New York State of Mind" from Benjamin Moore. The Southern girl in me was a little horrified to have a dining room color with a Yankee name, but I liked the color so I got over it. The light fixture is sadly still with us - It's on my list to replace).

I love my table and chairs to the depths of my soul (Mr. Belle would likely say that's appropriate, since we had to sell our souls to pay for it). However, after that furniture purchase, I knew that it would be a loooong time before I could go furniture shopping again.

We don't have the type of relationship where we typically run purchases past the other person, but if it's a big ticket item like furniture, we have an unwritten rule that it needs to be a joint decision. Well, guess what??? Yesterday Mr. Belle signed off on new furniture for our family room! It is desperately needed - we have a Hickory Chair sofa and a Jessica Charles chair that were once quite lovely, but have been completely trashed by five years of Master P (Miss Priss does her part, too, but it's mostly the use of the cushions as pirate ships/forts/etc. that have killed the furniture). I think we're going to replace the carpet too (I want hardwood like we have in the rest of the downstairs, but Mr. Belle wants to keep that one room carpeted. Boo). So, now I'm off to shop for furniture! It will likely take me 3 months to pick anything out, much less order anything, but it should be fun!

I love election day!

I am a political junkie. I freely admit it. I'm one of those people that even watches the conventions (BOTH parties) - I love the pageantry of the whole darn thing. I even love the roll call votes at the conventions: "Idaho, Land of the Great Potato, casts its votes for the next President of the United States, ___________". So fun. I should have known I was going to grow up to be a lawyer when I visited Washington, DC for the first time when I was a little girl, and I got goose bumps while checking out the Constitution on display at the National Archives (that said, my favorite thing to see in DC is still the display of the First Ladies' inaugural gowns at the US History Museum).

I always think that voting is such a fun, friendly experience. I waited in line for about 30-40 minutes this morning, and had such nice conversations with the people around me. It didn't matter who we were voting for - the shared experience was still a pleasure. Plus, our polling place is awesome and has snacks and drinks for while you wait, so it really wasn't bad at all.

Usually, on election night, Mr. Belle and I crack open a bottle of wine and sit back to watch the fun. [Oh, how you will be missed tonight, Tim Russert]. Mr. Belle's an election junkie too, so we are a good pair. Tonight, we're actually going to an Election Watch party at a friend's house, so that should be even more fun - I'm taking dip with red, white and blue chips, I think, to get in the spirit of the day. I just wish that I thought it wasn't going to be a complete blowout tonight, because I like it so much better when there is a little bit of suspense. It is certainly exciting that, regardless of the outcome, the result of this election will make history, with either an African-American President, or a female VP. That's pretty darn cool.

So, whether your candidate wins or loses, Happy Election Day!

Since when did J. Crew get so la dee da?

I've been shopping at J.Crew for as long as I can remember. It was always a great place to get nice, classic pieces that didn't look like an old lady. So don't get me wrong, I love J. Crew. However, now they have introduced the "J. Crew Collection," which is essentialy Fancy J. Crew. Banana Republic did this too (the "Monogram Collection," I believe). However, I haven't noticed any $2000+ items at BR. And yet, there it is, at J. Crew, a $2200 Astor jacket! If you don't like that, there is a $400 beaded shell. What on EARTH? Are they serious? I mean, I love J. Crew, but if I am going to buy a $2000 jacket, it's not coming from J. Crew. (Mr. Belle is thinking, "um, NO, Carolina Belle. There will be NO $2000 jackets. From anywhere").

As long as J. Crew continues to have the normal stuff they've always carried, I suppose I can get over it. I still think it's crazy though! While we're on the subject of Fancy J. Crew/Banana Republic, however, how cute is this top (from BR Monogram)?

I think it would be adorable for Christmas parties, New Year's, etc. I might need it. Hmm . . .

Christmas Cards

OK, I promise I am NOT one of those people who thinks it's ok to have Christmas decorations for sale in Hobby Lobby on October 1st (it drives me insane, to be perfectly honest), but I am nothing if not an advance planner. So, when October rolls around, I start thinking about The Perfect Christmas Card Picture.

Since I discovered her incredible work a few years ago when Miss Priss was a baby, the amazing L from Eyesmiles Photography (http://www.eyesmilesphotography.com/) has done our Christmas cards. L is awesome because while her clients typically dress their children in a more urban/contemporary style, she knows that our family will be showing up for our photo sessions in Southern trunk show finery and Lilly Pulitzer, and it doesn't bother her one bit.

Finding L made obtaining The Perfect Christmas Card Picture much easier, because she's so talented that the usual problem is choosing just ONE great shot. The problem is, The Perfect Christmas Card Picture comes at a price, and we have a lot of friends, so we send a lot of cards. Mr. Belle is typically not amused by my large expenditures on these cards, so I have to exercise a little restraint. In past years, I have ordered 75 fancy cards from L, and supplemented with 25 or so extra (i.e., cheaper) cards for the more "fringe" members of our Christmas list (yes, we have an A list and a B list - it's awful, I know).

This year, I had grand plans to cut back spending by only ordering 50 cards from L, and doing 50 cards of the cheaper variety. I figured I would take Miss Priss and Master P out to a scenic location, dress them up, and use massive bribery ("Lollipops for all who cooperate!!!") to get a reasonably decent picture for the B List card (note: while I am not a particularly talented photographer, I have an awesome digital SLR camera that typically allows me to get very respectable pictures of my children). Let's just say that this activity was an unmitigated disaster. It started with a thumb-sucking Miss Priss in tears, and ended with a bawling Master P. I couldn't even get one shot (this from the girl who took 75 pictures at the pumpkin patch).

So, I came home, freaked out about it for a day or two, and today I bumped up my order from L to 75. I am at peace. I'll work something out for the remaining 25 cards, but they won't be going to really close friends, so I won't be as stressed out about it. Lesson learned. ALWAYS entrust your Christmas card pictures to someone who actually knows what they are doing!

Resort! Resort! Resort!

Woo hoo!!! Lilly's 2009 Resort Line is up! Now, I always like to see things in person before I come to a final conclusion on my favorites, but I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw these - they are Lilly Shift Dress Christmas ornaments!!! TOO CUTE!
While we are on the subject of Lilly shifts, I loved this one from the Resort line:

And finally, if you are still in search of appropriate footwear for an election returns celebration, check out these shoes . . . Sorry, Obama supporters - Looks like Lilly is a Republican: Happy shopping! I can't wait until our store gets in the new stuff so I can check it out in person.

Go Heels!

I would just like to say that it was a challenging weekend at my house. My beloved Tar Heels played the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in football on Saturday. "But Carolina Belle," you say, "Didn't the Tar Heels win?" Why yes, they did! So what's the problem? It's quite simple: DH went to Notre Dame. Eeek! Not only did he attend Notre Dame, but he is as big a ND fan as I am a Tar Heel fan. So, we had people over for a little game-watching party, and I used my cute Carolina serveware, and dressed Miss Priss in her UNC bishop dress, but the fun of the party (and the victory) were overshadowed by DH's despondent mood. Poor boy. I tried to be compassionate and respectful, but I really wanted to do a little victory dance. Oh well. Next week we'll be back to rooting for the same team again. Meanwhile, GO HEELS!!!

Christmas Dress Agony

This is a big year for Christmas at our house - We are headed back to Carolina Belle's Mother Country (yay, North Carolina!) to spend the entire week of Christmas at my parents' house, along with my brother, sister in law, and sweet baby nephew. Last Christmas, we were here with DH's family, so I am beside myself with joy at the prospect of a Carolina Christmas.

Last year, I hit it out of the park (in my humble opinion) with Miss Priss's Christmas dress. Behold, the magnificent Amanda Remembered Nativity Bishop:

After last year's glorious selection, I was eager to find an equally gorgeous follow-up this year. Sadly, as each line debuted their Christmas selections, I was disappointed time and time again. My visions of Miss Priss prancing down the same church aisle I walked down as a bride in The Perfect Christmas Dress were not working out as I had planned, because I couldn't find a dress that inspired me.

Finally, I happened upon this (admittedly beautiful) Strasburg bishop, to use for Christmas Day:

And I decided on this (again beautiful) white bishop from Orient Expressed for Christmas Eve:

I do think that the white bishop with a red satin hairbow really will be gorgeous at Church.

I was (mostly) satisfied. But then today, I found this:
Yes, that would be a GORGEOUS Anavini Nutcracker bishop dress, for those of you playing at home. Since I really do think that the white Orient Expressed bishop is ideal for church on Christmas Eve, the first thought I had was to return the Strasburg bishop. However, due to Strasburg's stupid (and ridiculously draconian) return policy, I was out of luck. The AGONY!

I simply couldn't leave Miss Priss's perfect Christmas dress out there waiting for her. It would break my heart. In swooped my dear friends (and fellow children's clothing addicts) C and A, who are the BEST when it comes to helping me rationalize purchases I really shouldn't make. Hee. C astutely pointed out that the Strasburg bishop would likely fit next year (her very tall 3.5 year old can wear the size I have, and Miss Priss will be 3.5 next Christmas). Plus, she knows me well enough to know that I simply had to have the dress. We are both big Christmas People, and suckers for all children's Christmas clothing. My friend A ran the numbers, and somehow came up with a formula in which, spread out over the number of years that I can feasibly choose Miss Priss's Christmas dresses, made the dress essentially free. Who can argue with that?

Now I'm thinking that I should take Miss Priss to the Sugar Plum Fairy Tea Party here in town so she can wear her dress . . .

WWJD (i.e., What Would Jackie Do?)

Most of the time, I consider myself to be a pretty classic girl - you know, White Gloves and Party Manners. However, there are times when I succumb to the pull of trendier clothing items that I KNOW I will end up getting rid of in a year. While sometimes that's ok (see, e.g., the darling Dalmation print ballet flats I bought last year - STILL love them), I really do have to restrain myself on occasion. I have found that when I am struggling to fight the allure of items that are on the funkier side, I have only to ask myself one question to rein myself back in. WWJD? No, not that "J." I'm talking about this one:

While Mrs. Kennedy's (I'm not even going to address the Onassis period - I'm not a fan of oversized sunglasses) political views were quite different from mine, her sense of style was simply beyond reproach, in my opinion. There are so many occasions when I have been standing in a store, trendy sweater in hand, asked myself if it's something I could picture Jackie Kennedy wearing, and put it back. I have never regretted those decisions. I HAVE, on the other hand, regretted those rash moments where I have ignored the WWJD litmus test and thrown caution to the wind. I always end up looking silly in those purchases, and wishing I had left them in the store. It's not that they aren't darling. It's that they look ridiculous on me.

Now, lest you think that I am running around Target in a little black dress and pearls, have no fear! Jacqueline Kennedy could look just as fabulous in a casual sweater as she could in a ballgown . . . It's just all in the sweaters she chose. For me, determining which sweaters fall into the "yes" category and which ones fall into the "Um, no" category is the tough part. In addition to the challenge of determining what is cute and classy, and what is destined for the donation box, there is also a fine line between "classic" and "frumpy." (Talbots, in my opinion, often loses sight of that line). I want my clothes to be classic, not matronly, and I want just enough trendiness in there so that I don't look dated. It's complicated. Allow me to demonstrate:

Something like this little Lilly number I tried on this weekend would be a clear "yes, please!"

As would this sweet sweater from J.Crew:

Whereas this would be a definite, "no, thank you" (as an aside, what is UP with all the ruffled and bow blouses this season? I feel like I'm watching "Tootsie" when I flip through magazines. Ick.)

OK, so clearly I would probably never even pick up the turquoise number and have to make the WWJD assessment, but I'm exaggerating to prove a point. Really, for me, if comes down to making sure that I keep myself more on the Charlotte York end of the spectrum, and less on the Carrie Bradshaw end. (Because somehow I'm guessing that Jackie Kennedy wouldn't have walked around Washington in a tutu with a giant flower pin. I'm just saying).

Am I the only one who does this?

A Serious Post for Serious Times . . .

OK, so mostly this blog is just for me to rattle on about frivolous things like smocking and shopping. But, the economic events of this week have dimmed my shopping mood a bit (don't worry, it didn't stop me from picking up these wickedly cute little numbers for Miss Priss and Master P from Mini Boden, or a black cashmere sweater for myself).

For Miss Priss:
For Master P (who has an inexplicable penguin obsession):

So, all shopping aside, in the spirit of the seriousness of this week, here are some serious thoughts from me (somewhat unrelated to the US financial crisis, but not entirely):

I am a part-time working mother - I'm an attorney for a university. I love my job, and the people I work with. I love the financial freedom it gives me to buy fun handbags and spend more than I should on my children's clothes. That said, I worry that I am becoming the mother that is so busy managing the big picture that I am missing out on the little things. Case in point: Each week, Master P has to take three pictures from magazines, newspapers, etc., to pre-kindergarten that begin with the Letter of the Week. It's supposed to be an opportunity to sit down with your child, go through periodicals, etc., and find the items. You know what I've done the past two weeks? Just sat down myself on Monday night, pulled out the pictures, and handed them to Master P. Isn't that awful? It makes me cringe. I was just too worn out and too swamped to take the time to work with him. I know as he gets older, it will only get more challenging, and I don't want to be a "hands-off" parent, or one that simply does my children's work for them. The delicate balancing act that I have perfected over the past five years is starting to come crashing down, and I'm going to have to do something about it soon. It seems like Miss Priss and Master P are watching more and more dvds these days, and spending less time with Mommy, because Mommy is too busy just trying to keep our household running. I shouldn't complain, because DH is great about pitching in, and we have a wonderful lady who comes and cleans our house. It's just the management of our lives that seems to be taking more time as the children get older. I suppose that I shouldn't be blogging if I'm already short on free time, but oh, well!

I know I'm not alone in this, because I've had a few other moms in the same position make the same comment to me lately. Short of getting up at 4:30 am every day (which would bring its own set of issues - eek), I'm not sure how to confront this issue, but I've got to come up with something . . .

It's the Mooooost Wonderful Tiiiiiime of the Yeeeaaar . . .

Being the good Southern girl that I am, I like to buy a lot of Miss Priss and Master P's clothes from trunk shows (well, not so much Master P anymore - He's getting a little old for appliqued elephants). The bad part of buying from trunk shows is that I have to order everything in February (for the spring/summer) and July (for the fall/winter). It's also bad because the credit card bills for those months are usually on the scary side, and I often (sometimes justifiably) get the evil eye from DH. The GOOD part of ordering from trunk shows (aside from the precious clothes) happens about now, because all those clothes I selected and paid for several months ago start showing up on my doorstep. Hooray!!! For example, yesterday, this cute little number arrived from Just Ducky (I did Miss Priss's full monogram on my order):

A few weeks ago, this Wizard of Oz bishop arrived from another one of my favorites, Orient Expressed:
It has a darling little sweater to match, and I actually found "ruby slippers" at Target to complete the look (I don't usually go for sparkly shoes for non-costume wear, but I figured I'd make an exception for the Wizard of Oz bishop).

I also got this darling Ladybug pants set - love the polka dot pants:

And this pumpkin bishop for the pumpkin patch trip and Thanksgiving:

From another favorite company, Kelly's Kids, I picked up one of these name shirts and the polka dot pants:

Of course, the best deliveries are yet to come - My custom orders (these are the BEST trunk shows - you pick the style of outfit, you pick the fabric, you pick the applique/smocking, etc.)! My favorites are Beaux et Belles and Hannah Kate, but there are others I like, too. I'm trying out Three Mommas for the first time this season - We've got the little apple outfit coming (I liked the sample so much that I didn't change a thing!):

So fun! I wish I had Miss Priss's closet.

Darling Edward

If you haven't read the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer, you are missing out. They are the perfect escapist books . . . kind of a mix of Harry Potter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Pride and Prejudice . . . three of my favorite things, by the way (I know, an odd mix).

Yes, yes, these books started out being marketed as teenage fiction, but boy, have they moved beyond that demographic. After the last Harry Potter book came out last year, I never thought I would experience that feeling of breathless excitement for the next book in a saga again, but the Twilight series brought that back for me. I took the first book in the series to the beach with me this summer, and finished it in a day. I seriously contemplated driving around NC's southern Outer Banks in search of a Target so that I could find the next book. Instead, I ended up re-reading the first one three times that week. I finished the final three books within the next week, leading DH to comment that "ever since you started reading those books, you don't talk to me anymore. You just read." Oops. Sorry about that, sweetie.

Little did DH know that I was having a literary fling with one of the two main characters of the books. Sigh. Darling Edward. Edward Cullen is (DON'T LAUGH) a 100+ year-old vampire who falls head over heels in love with a human high school girl, Bella (and she with him). How could she not? He has the manners of Mr. Darcy combined with the face of an angel and the always intriguing danger element (since Bella is, on a basic level, lunch). Their love story is just my style - Necessarily chaste (the standard issue romance novels just make me blush) but completely fiery under the surface.

So you think you are immune to the siren song of Edward Cullen? Let's just say that after following my recommendation to get Twilight, a friend of mine ended up reading it at stoplights and stalking the delivery of volumes 3 and 4 on the online UPS site. She has sterling taste in everything, so clearly it's a worthwhile read . . .

The Change

My mom is coming to visit this weekend, and I am going to take advantage of her presence to accomplish one of my least favorite tasks of each season: The Great Closet Change. Basically, this involves me going to Target and buying four giant rubbermaid bins, and then spending several hours wading through Miss Priss and Master P's closets, pulling out the out of season items, and arranging the new season's clothes. For many people, this is probably an easy thing to accomplish. At our house, it is an all-day affair (or at least, it feels that way). DH would (and will) no doubt comment that this headache could be alleviated by purchasing fewer clothes. Silly boy! Miss Priss and Master P have a reputation to uphold! So, for the love of all things smocked and monogrammed, I continue to face this painful task twice a year.

It gets more complicated as they get older, because I cannot simply put everything away. For one thing, the clothes have gotten too big to keep them all (it's not like those tiny newborn bubbles). In addition, some of them might actually fit next year, so I don't want them hidden down in the basement storage room, where I might forget about them (On second thought, if I "forget" about them it means I get to go buy them more new stuff next year . . . hmmm).

I have to examine each piece, to determine whether it goes in the "donate-without-a-hint-of-sadness" pile (those are mostly the playclothes), the "probably-will-donate-someday-when-they-are-in-college-and-I-can finally-part-with-it" pile, the "could-not-bear-to-part-with-under-any circumstances" pile. My problem is that most of their clothes fall into category three for me, hence the giant mountain of Rubbermaid containers that reaches almost to the ceiling of our basement storage room. Eeek.

And so, off to Target I go, where I'm sure I will pick up $100 or so of other decorative items that we "must have" in addition to my Rubbermaid bins. I do love Target.

The Bigger the Bow, the Closer to God

Just by way of background, I have always been a Bow Girl. My wedding cake had a big white fondant bow on the top. In college, I had a collection of over 70 different hair ribbons - one to match virtually any outfit combination. My sweet ZTA sorority sisters at UNC used to tease me, because at night I would change my hair ribbon to match my pajamas. (Lord knows, you can't have a red hair ribbon and pink pajama pants. Because THAT would just be silly. Ahem).

So, when my precious little baby boy "Master P" was born, I was at a loss. He was always dressed to the nines in smocking and appliques, but despite DH's laments that I "dressed him like a girl," I obviously wasn't going to be putting any bows on my sweet boy. It was a dark period for the Bow Girl.

Then, 2 and a half years later, "Miss Priss" was born, and the Bow Girl in me rejoiced. At last, a girl to dress in bows! Then, sadly, I remembered that my babies are mostly bald. Miss Priss was no different than her brother before her. Blonde peach fuzz is not conducive to bows. I would have to wait a little longer.

By the time Miss Priss had arguably enough hair to be seen from a few feet away, she was also regrettably old enough to have an opinion about Mommy putting strange objects in her hair. And so began "Bow Training."

I have often had friends ask how I am able to get Miss Priss to keep bows in her hair. Bow Training was the secret. It requires three things: (1) a baby; (2) a bow; and (3) a burning desire to succeed. Think of it like potty training - Eventually, if you persevere, you will prevail. Bow Training consisted of sticking the bow in Miss Priss's "hair" (if you can call it that - she still did not have much), and putting it back in immediately each and every time she pulled it out. We did this for a full weekend, over and over again. Finally, I think she just got tired of me chasing her around and relented. Victory was mine!!!! Now, Miss Priss's bows are limited only by her (still questionable) amount of hair. I suppose that when she has a collection of 70 hair ribbons someday, I'll have only myself to blame.

Just for fun

So my good friend CM of Moores of the Blue House talked me into starting a blog. Because clearly, I needed something else to do. Too fun! Now when my sweet DH gets tired of listening to me talk about children's clothes, I can just come and prattle away in cyberspace instead.