Feral Cats in the Land of Mouse - Ingredients for an Awesome Vacation!

Vacation was awesome.  Mainly because it was VACATION.  My future goal is to have a whole week or two off at once.  Doesn't that sound heavenly?  But even though my vacation was only four days - it was still pretty great.

We crammed 5 people into my Prius to make the trip to California from Phoenix.  From her all the way to the beach in Newport it's about 7 hours.  I always want it to be less, but realistically you have to plan on 7.  Man do I love that Prius.  I figure the gas to drive there cost us about $28.

We went straight to the beach and then had the luck of getting parking spot right next to a fantastic spot.  It couldn't have worked out better.  I fed the meter to allow us to stay until after 5 pm that evening.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The weather was perfect.  I even bought a fresh cut mango to enjoy on the beach and that was pretty awesome as well.  Here's an instagram photo I took while lazing on the sand with my book.

Later we checked in to our secret hotel by Disneyland.  I'm not going to tell you about our hotel.  Know why?  Because I honestly don't want everyone to find out about it.  It's the least expensive half-way decent hotel I've found close to Disneyland and they don't really advertise very much online so it's actually a little hard to find.  I found it back in the mid 90s through a travel agency (do those even exist anymore?).  They seem busy enough to stay in business but not so busy that they will remodel or rip the place down and build something expensive in it's place.  If you really want to know ask me and I'll tell you personally.  :)

We spent the next 2 days in Disneyland and California adventure and that is always fun.  But it was super great having all my grown kids there with me.  Yes, Disneyland was fun when they were little.  But I would say it's just as fun now.  And I don't have to find a bathroom to change any little kids diapers anymore.  We even ate at the Blue Bayou which was awesome (pricey yes, but totally worth it).

(we rode this Disney train and around and around one night - it was kind of crazy - I now have the weird song memorized that they play when you're in the "grand canyon and the primitive world").  

I can never decide what my favorite ride is.  I still really love splash mountain - but we got so wet this time I was wet for most of the day!  I do really like California Screamer and Tower of Terror too.  But honestly, this time I think maybe I most enjoyed Soaring over California - which I've always liked but seemed especially lovely this year.  There were a couple of new rides I had not seen or ridden before - the new Ariel ride in California Adventures is pretty cute.  And I will always love Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion - Pirates possibly being the ride we went on the most times.  I lost track. 

The kids were old enough to get into looking at all the interesting details and trying to figure stuff out like when you're on the Pirates ride - where the heck does that ride go?  (into the parking lot it would seem - or something!) and Jordan read up on all kids of weird disney facts before we left.  We were looking for hidden Mickeys everywhere and strange little things you've probably never noticed before.  

Jordan told us there are over 200 feral cats inside Disneyland and that they feed them.  I wasn't sure I believed that until the last night near main street and the Sleeping Beauty Castle one darted across our path!  She looked like this: 

When I got back to the hotel that night I had to look it up and sure enough!  They DO keep and feed feral cats.  They keep the rodent population down.  They showed up spontaneously in the early years of the park and they have been feeding them and spaying and neutering them ever since.  Random cats still keep showing up.  You have to admit it is a pretty good find of a place to live if you're a feral cat.  There are about 6 cat feeding stations around the park in areas where you wouldn't notice them.  One is up on the old platform for the old tram that used to stretch across the park and go through the matterhorn.  One of the stations is still there in Fantasyland kind of look up when you're in the food area kitty corner from Dumbo.  It's kind of hidden, but it's there in the corner.  Apparently the cats also really like the area around Tom Sawyer Island and the food area in Adventureland near Splash Mountain.  They like the area near the train tracks back behind Tom Sawyer island too and there is a feeding station near there as well.  

When Holden was little he used to say that if he was homeless he would go live inside Disneyland.  At the time I don't think he realized that place really never sleeps.  There are people working inside that park 24/7 so you really would not be able to hide inside that park.  But he loved that idea.  

Sadly, all Disneyland vacations must come to an end.  

We made one last stop on our way home in Pasadena.  We stopped at a place for lunch called Lemonade.  It was super tasty healthy food as well as macarons and multiple kinds of lemonade.  It was really good.  I would definitely go again.  In fact, I was wishing we had them here in Phoenix.  

I mean if you only have 4 days to spend on vacation - these are a pretty good way to spend 4 days.  

A love letter about being a mom of teens

Many times this week I have had a conversation or an email exchange with mothers who express worry and fear about "doing it wrong".  Or who are just struggling with parts of parenting that they never are quite sure about.  This post is made in the spirit of encouragement.  

Being a mom - I have absolutely 100% loved being a mother.  Nothing I ever do will compare to it.  I love it so much, I almost feel guilty about it.  Probably because I am no stranger to unmet needs or wishes - there are lots of things I would like in this world which I do not have, and I know there are lots of men and women who would like to have children and don't have them for various reasons - I have a sort of weird guilt about that - that in this one area of my life I feel like I practically won the lottery.   I know I have been an imperfect mother.  But all the moms in the world are with me on that one - we are all imperfect.  Probably the very best most gratifying part of being a mom has been watching my kids turn to teens and then adults (yes, it's true, in spite of feeling like I could still be a teen myself sometimes, I have an ADULT child).  

When I was young I could not have anticipated how this would feel.  I thought having teenagers would be scary and hard.  But really, other than a few minor mishaps, it has been the best part of being a mom.  And I am so grateful for that.  I think I'm a better mom to older kids than I was to my little kids.  I think I have more patience for this type of mothering.  And I'm not even sure why I never had confidence in myself enough to see that clearly except almost in retrospect, but it's true.  I have been a big fat fail at many things some moms are fantastic at.  But the things that have really mattered to me - the things that in my opinion really count - those things I have been successful at accomplishing.  And although I don't really want to necessarily go into a lot of details about where I feel my success lies - I will say that raising children to like themselves and to be confident in who they are, was probably the most important thing to me.  It was the one thing that I was able to keep my eye on as a goal through out my role as a parent and it's still the driving force behind the majority of my decisions.  I've never regretted that and I think the fruit that it has bore is very very good fruit.  

Being a mom certainly means some sacrifice.  But it's also the one way that I have learned to become my best self.  I am so flawed in so many ways, but being a mom has kept me sane and on track in trying to be a better person today than I was yesterday.  I don't know who I would be without it.  Probably the best parenting advice anyone can ever hear is quit being too hard on yourself.  Just stop.  You're going to screw some stuff up.  You're going to say things you wish you wouldn't have and generally be inept beyond what you think is acceptable at times.  It's okay.  

Which is not to say you can't improve.  You can.  Here's what I think is probably one of the single most important thing you can do as a parent:  Ask yourself what is your goal?  What goal do you have for your children?  How and in what ways do you want to affect them?

Your goals and my goals might not be the same and that is totally OK.  But your goal should be something that is for them and not for you.  Nearly all parenting mistakes can be traced back to this very essential thing.  Certainly all permanent damage can be traced back to it.  If you're struggling with this - if parenting is something that meets some unmet need for you and you have a hard time thinking of your children as individuals who exist separately and who aren't here to meet any of your own needs - it's not too late to solve this problem.  

Maybe you are the mom of a teen and all my waxing poetic about parenting teens is not exactly ringing true.  I hear you.  I have not being totally conflict free in the teen zone.  And while I have avoided some of the messiest aspects of the teenage years thus far (knock on wood and all that...), I understand that some moms absolutely adore the baby and toddler and childhood stages and really aren't so much feeling this whole independent person-hood known as adolescence.  Here's what you need to remember - if you rocked as a mom of little people and struggle with the bigger people mode - you probably did so much good in your previous modes that this bumpy ride is a temporary thing.  Relax.  Chances are, everything is going to turn out just fine.  

And let me say one last thing I feel I would be remiss without mentioning.  If you're really struggling as a mom - or if your child is experiencing problems you think are a little scary or particularly challenging, please don't hesitate to get professional help either for yourself or for your child.  It is so gratifying to watch kids involved in a therapeutic process change and grow.  And as a parent, it can be incredibly empowering to deal with some of your own problems in ways that allow you to be your best self for your kids.

And to all moms - new and not so new, above all else remember to laugh, just love them for who they are, and give yourself a break from being too hard on yourself.  Do the best you can, and then take a deep breath and enjoy. 

  

Major Room Make-Over - Sophisticated Chic

I am very PROUD to finally reveal the photos of the room remodel project for Jordan's room which received the finishing touch of a chandelier today.

Remember this project?  Yeah I know, it was a while ago that I started this!

Here are some before photos:

Too bad I didn't really capture how kind of awful the room was before.  Emerald green carpet, yellow and lavender walls, and a general feeling of sadness.  The bed was a massive bunk bed which almost reached the ceiling and became quite cumbersome to climb in and out of - it was meant to leave enough room for a desk underneath, but in effect, it just made the room seem unwieldy and uncomfortable in general.  Nothing really matched and the IKEA dresser we had broke beyond repair.

We started out by putting a million paint chips up on the wall to find the perfect pink.  It was hard!  It took weeks just to get through this part.  It needed to be the perfect pale pink - not so light that you wouldn't realize it was pink, but not dark at all.  Subtle as possible while still being obviously pink and no harsh tones or bubblegummy.  Sophistication was the word and the thing we were looking for.

Once we got everything out of the room we started ripping up the carpet.  Originally I was going to have people come lay new carpet.  But I was getting impatient with certain budgetary constraints of this project and opted to start ripping into it with the help of my kids.  We cut if out with a kitchen knife thank you very much.  

(this carpet survived baby and toddlerhood and preschool and elementary school and all 3 kids lived in this room at one point - you can imagine how bad it had gotten - oh and every time our old dog was sick he went in this room to throw up on this carpet!)

Once we got the carpet and the pad up and thrown into the trash (not that easy of a feat in case you were wondering) we found the old stick on tiles that were underneath.  I said let's chisel those up and get to the old brown concrete floors underneath.  I knew they were there because when we got the loan for the house FHA made us carpet.  Some tiles came off easily.  Other had to be chipped one tedious spot at a time.  

If you're going to scrimp somewhere - don't scrimp on the paint!  I love Dunn Edwards.  

Can you imagine how fun this project was to clean up all those little pieces of tile?  Holy cats.

So for month we toiled away at this project.  My fantastic friend Shannon found us the dresser and the vanity for free!  I repainted them in a "shabby" style with a slightly off white paint.  She also found us the chandelier and night stand.  Jordan's dad bought her a new bed at his place and let her move this bed to our house.  I shopped at Ikea for bedding and curtains and made the curtains that are on the closet door.  We made our own artwork by printing black and white photos that represented places - one for Paris, London, Hollywood, New York and Rome.  These "collage" things have kind of become a signature project for me.  I love making them.  We did the same thing on the back of her door but with black and white photo copies of pictures of Jordan from the time she was a baby up to and including a few recent photos.  In the end I think it turned out fantastic!  

The end result is a sophisticated shabby pink room for teenage girl.  We're very happy!  

Enjoy the afters:

Ikea Bedding, Artwork by me

free vanity, already had the shabby chair, free mirror (Jordan eventually went over to Shannon's one day to do work off some of our "free")

We just think these are darling even though there's rarely a chance to wear them.  

I love how the light filters through these gray sheers in the late afternoon (Ikea sheers)

There are two of these mirrors - one above the vanity, and one to check your make up before you walk out the door

Place for her change and a bobby pin holder she made in pottery class.  The lamp is vintage with a new shade - my son bought us the lamp at a rummage sale for couple of bucks. 

My oldest son used these in a mural project outside.  Jordan co-opted the cut-outs for her wall. 

This cupboard of dolls is vintage as well. It was not only mine when I was a little girl but it was also my aunts when she was a little girl.  Most of the dolls are story book dolls.  

I couldn't resist a photo of her cute post-it notes...she's the best.

I made a curtain for the closet door from material purchased at Michael Levine when I was in LA - it was on sale in bulk so this whole curtain probably cost about a buck. 

part of the back of her door

We just decoupaged the heck out of that thing.  Jordan did most of the door by herself.  It was her idea after I did the other art work.  And best part - it was FREE!  :)

Fairly inexpensive Ikea rugs I laid on top of the cement floors.  I bought three of them to cover most of the room where you walk.  

It's kinda great yes?

An Instagram Wall

I'm a little late to Instagram.  Not that I didn't know about it or didn't want to join in the fun (oh guys, I so DID want to join in the fun).  But because I don't have an Iphone.  Or any sort of smartphone whatsoever.  Because I'm old school like that.  Because I refuse to sign another 2 yr. contract with my provider (who does not have Iphone...and who used to have the most amazing customer service on the planet but who now outsources the most basic things...like 411...to Asia and other parts unknown...who insist that no, there is only ONE pizza hut in all of Phoenix.  Are you kidding me Tmobile?...but I digress).  Anyway where was I?  Oh yes, Instagram.

So I have just observed Instagram from afar, staring wistfully at it.  But now that I have an Ipod which can take photos, I am able to actually join the fun.

I am pretty impressed with the artistic talent of two of my children (poor Brennan is on an equally old school phone like me...and so no instagram for him either...middle child syndrome) I love seeing some of the photos they take and post.

Which has led me to the idea that I need to do an instagram wall.  Here are some examples of instagram walls which turned out really great:

 

I love this idea.  You can also mount the ones you like very most individually inside a frame like this too:

 

There are companies you can use to print them professional quality, but you can also just print on your own printer if you like.  

I'm not 100% sure yet where I want to do this in my house and which photos I'm going to use, but it's definitely something I want to do.  Here are a few of my favorites so far.

Holden's photos:

 

And my lovely daughter Jordan's photos:

I've even done a few I like too:

 I always look forward to a new project.