What Not To Wear

Or maybe I should have titled this post, What I Will Be Wearing in About 30 Years. Both options are incredibly gripping, I know.

I am guest posting at Laura's Better in Bulk site today.

Talking about this girl:

(This is a picture of my younger sister, Gianna, and me, many, many years ago.)

And how we will be wearing either this:


or this:


in about 30 years.

These are important issues on a Friday.

I hope you'll join me.

It is only a click away.

-Francesca

(Comments off.)

The Art of List Making

I love my little girl. Her laugh, her chubby thighs, the way she says, Mama, all literally brighten my day. However, Lucia is not for the faint-hearted. In fact, as she has entered her toddler years, I have often wondered if I unknowingly enlisted in Parenting Boot Camp for Dummies.

My little love has got needs and she lets you know about them…loudly. Most of her wants revolve around the basics: eating, sleeping, and playing. If any one of these three elements is removed from her daily routine, then look out. I have especially come to appreciate that sleep is fundamental to her daily happiness.

Putting Lucia down for a nap is fairly straightforward. She is usually very good about simply lying down and going to sleep. The trick lies in ensuring that I have remembered each and every element necessary to create her “sleep environment.”

This list of requirements is no laughing matter. Forget even one element, and you will undoubtedly find me running around my house like a crazed woman, counting things off on my fingers.


First off, it is of critical importance that all members of her posse be present and accounted for, including: Heffy, Bear, Baby, Puppy, and Elmo. After much debate with my husband last night, I finally realized around 10:00 p.m. that Lucia's new My Little Pony Unicorn had been added to the group. The pony is "priddy", so I probably should have seen that one coming.

Next are the multiple blankets. These accompany my daughter both to bed and most everywhere we go.

Other necessities include, but are not limited to a:

Pillow
Nightlight
White noise machine
Ensuring that the light in the aquarium is turned off
Closing all of the shades to ensure a night-time like sleeping experience
Warm milk
Her brother's nightlight

Like I said, she's not for the beginner parent or babysitter...

...but, my little girl can make it all worth it in an instant.

As for me, especially as I've gotten older, I require very little to fall asleep. Give me one or two minutes in front of the TV, and I am out like a light.

It's a gift.

-Francesca

I'd Rather Stay Home

I have a number of friends and family members who travel during the summer. And, as I catch up with different people on the phone or in person, the inevitable question arises: “What are you doing? Are you planning to go anywhere with the kids?” My response is always the same, “We’re just sticking close to home this summer. Vacationing with our kids is a ton of fun, but we thought we’d do something different this year and enroll them in a few local activities.”

In other words, I lie.

How we define a vacation has changed drastically for my husband and me since we had kids. The lovely trips from our past, where vacations were spent reclining on a beach with a drink in one hand and a book in another are no more. Instead, these delightful visions have been replaced with the realities of what it means to be adequately prepared and flexible during a trip with two young toddlers...

To read the rest of my adventure with my young two-some and the security gate at the San Francisco Airport, head over to Laura's blog at Under the Sheets-shhh. She is currently visiting her family in Toronto and asked me to write about a post about travel.

I chose to explain why I no longer fly with my kids.

-Francesca

(Comments off.)

I'm Bringing Sexy Back

It’s true. I have decided to bring sexy back. However, my efforts might be a little different from what you imagine. I am bringing sexy back in a whole new 1980s kind of way.

For our last Chick Chat segment, my lovely bloggy friend, Peewee from ummmm, asked if I was wearing Madonna's black rubber band on my wrist. I am sorry to say that at the time I wasn’t, although based on the striking resemblance between the Material Girl and myself, I can see how the mistake is easily made.


(Note: If you are not sure, Madonna is in the first photo and I am in the second one.)

I was actually wearing one of the many black rubber bands that I usually have in my hair each and every day. Rest assured, though, that going forward these rubber bands will be replaced with Madonna’s infamous bracelets. (I don’t like to do anything half way.)

It seems that I might not be the only fashion forward female in the San Francisco Bay Area either. As I go about my daily routine, I have noticed that there are others like me, those who are making it a point to bring the sexiness of the 1980s back...

There was the woman who made me throw on the brakes last week when she decided to cross the street immediately in front of my car at the last possible moment. Normally, I would have laid on the horn and yelled out the window, but instead, I was stunned into silence as I gazed upon what she was wearing.

I couldn’t believe it. The woman that I almost mowed down with my car was walking across the street wearing a leotard, without a care in the world. Perhaps she was on her way to a yoga or ballet class? Input from our yoggie readers is definitely required...

Then there was the lovely teenage girl who bagged my groceries yesterday. I do my best to keep young and hip by listening to music popular with all of the cool kids in my neighborhood. I like to think that it helps me to relate to a younger generation and makes me better prepared for being cool in my kids’ eyes as they get older. Imagine my surprise when I looked down and saw this teenager wearing white high top tennis shoes…only partially laced...

What? I remember how desperately I wanted a pair of these shoes when I was in junior high. They would have matched perfectly with almost anything from the Wet Seal, where, in my humble opinion, all high fashion of the 1980s began and ended.

I don't want anyone who may be reading this post to think that my efforts to bring back the 80s extend to every aspect of this fabulous decade. I have made a decision to stay awake from both 1980s hairstyles


and most likely make-up,


But don't think for a minute that I would miss the chance to resurrect my purple, cut-off at the shoulder, Flashdance sweatshirt.

Because something as cool as that will never go out of style.

-Francesca

Ce-le-brate Good Times, C'mon!

I am a planner. A bonafide Type-A, here's what we will be doing for the next four months, list-making type of girl. Given this, it should not surprise anyone that I have been planning for today since January.

I went back and looked at our old posts from this time last year. Somehow, we managed to skip over July 1st altogether. I have no idea what we were thinking. How could we let Kacey's birthday slip by without some sort of tribute? What we needed was a grand post in honor of her big day. What we gave her was nothing, nada, zilch.

I swore I would not make the same mistake twice. A few week's ago, I did what any good friend would and I got in touch with Kacey's mom and sister for photos.

I could not let my friend down again; not after the many, many years we've shared...

There was Kacey's Hawaiian-themed birthday party back in the early '80s.


Brownie Troop 301.


More Halloween costumes than I can possibly count.




There were dances, and boys.

(That last picture is for you, Barbaloot.)

But really, what I love most about our friendship isn't the history. Instead, it is watching my friend more recently.

Standing by her side as she got married,


Watching her with her beautiful baby girl,


And simply being amazed as she went from being my childhood friend...


to my lifelong friend.


She really is quite a girl.


Happy Birthday, Kacey, from the many friends and family who love you!

May your 39th year be your best yet! :)

Iron Chef America Chairman

That’s me…at least for today. I’m acting as the Chairman for Heidi’s Blogstyle Iron Chef Competition at Sacred and Profane.

(OK. Maybe I did give myself “the Chairman” title, but whatev. Go big or go home, people.)

Each month Heidi posts three recipes in her sidebar for her readers to try. For the month of June, Heidi focused on BBQ/Picnic Salads. Although I do not make salads very often, I do eat them. In my humble opinion, this makes me an excellent judge.

The three recipes entered into this month's competition included: Spinach and Strawberry Salad, Ramen Noodle Salad, and Pepperoni Pasta Salad.

Let’s meet our contestants, shall we? (I hope you are all noticing how much I even sound like a judge.)

Here's Vivienne from The V Spot. For this month's cook-off, she submitted a recipe for Strawberry and Spinach Salad. In preparing for my judge-ly duties, I read through all of the competitor's sites. One of my favorite lines that I came across on Vivienne's blog was in her profile: "I am discovering the fun to be had in sharing the things that make me happy: family, art projects, cooking and a big healthy dose of smart-assery." Anyone who can use the word "smart-assery" in a sentence is just plain cool.


Shelby, from Schweri Stories, submitted Pepperoni Pasta Salad. Yum! Life is just better when it is accompanied by a side of meat, no? I like to think that Shelby appreciates this.


Finally, Stephanie, from Life is a Miracle, submitted a recipe for Ramen Noodle Salad. I didn't have to read much on Stephanie's site to know that she understands my people. She wrote that she made a big bowl of this salad for herself and ate it all week. Hello new friend!

The second part of my judgmental task was for me to make each of these recipes and decide which I like best. Not a problem, unless you forget your commitment to the lovely Heidi and end up having to perform this small miracle in your kitchen on the day that you are hosting a playdate to three toddler boys, in addition to the two kids you call your own.

To say that the scene at my house yesterday was chaotic would be more than a bit of an understatement. I naively built up my confidence in my parenting abilities, telling myself that it would be a good idea to have all of the kids help with the cooking. I'd be the host of my very own cooking class for kids and prepare for a blog post at the same time. It would be multi-tasking at its finest.

In my mind, I saw something like this:


In reality, my end result was something more along the lines of this:


Mental note to self: Three year old boys would much rather be playing in the sandbox in the backyard than inside cooking on a sunny day.

So what have we learned? Let's recap:

1. Boys with high levels of energy should be outdoors in order to wear off said energy.
2. I am not the Giada to a cooking class of children that I envisioned.
3. If I had to pick my favorite recipe, I would go with Vivienne's Strawberry and Spinach Salad. In addition to being super easy, the strawberries were a hit with my posse of kids both on and off the salad.

Oh, and I almost forgot the most important point of all. I could so totally rock the Chairman's job.


Especially if it would get me my own Wii game...


I'd just need to do something about my "man hands" before I got really famous.

-Francesca

Thank you to Heidi for letting me play along. This was fun!

The Wheels on the Bus

I used to be a non-believer; one of those people who would scoff at spending time on the computer “for fun.” What was there to do on-line other than to quickly Google where I needed to go or what time a movie was playing?

My life today has taken a much unexpected turn. Thuy’s effort to get the three of us to stay in touch by starting a blog introduced all of us to a world that we didn’t even realized existed; a place where a laugh is shared, a story is told, and friendships are formed.

And what’s not to love? The friendships that I have formed through blogging, with people I have never seen nor met, mean the world to mean. As I go about my day, I will catch myself thinking, “Pooba would totally think this is funny” or “I know I am not alone. Helene is facing the same challenges I am.” Even as I sat in front of my computer on Saturday night, eating my Ben & Jerry’s and chatting with one of my lovely blogosphere buddies on Facebook, no less, I had to laugh. I had become one of “them”…those people who meet others on the Internet and enjoy it.

Over the last few years, as I made my weekly trek to and from school, my thoughts were on Meg. For quite a while, her blog chronicled her adventures riding the Triangle Transit system somewhere in the South. Her encounters with the bus drivers and the wacky passengers always made me smile. As I sat in traffic and stared out my car window for the past few years, I often wondered what Meg would think of the area that I live in...

Passing the “massage parlor” was always a highpoint during my trip. I’d try not to make eye contact with the patrons. After almost a year of driving by this place, it finally dawned on me that maybe the “X” was a part of business name for a reason.


On the days that I had to take Giancarlo with me, driving by the liquor store would usually evoke some type of reaction from him. “Look, Mama! It’s the ABC store. Let’s go there.” Sadly for my son, my response was always the same. “Not today, baby. I think it is closed.”


Finally, my favorite shop, the Ice House of Grillz and Custom Jewelry. I was endlessly fascinated by this place. First and foremost, there was the picture on the wall of a child with a set of grillz.


Good times! What mother wouldn’t want this for her little one?

There were also rows upon rows of options pictured for adults. After carefully considering my choices for at least a year, I finally settled on:


I think it is important to “represent” wherever I go.

I’d like to believe that Meg would think so too.

-Francesca

I Think Mary Might Be Drinking...

It's sad, but true, friends. As my husband and I sat watching last night's episode of So You Think You Can Dance, I turned to him and again questioned whether or not Mary Murphy has a drinking problem.

During the summer, when TV programming seems to fail miserably and all of the quality shows, like my beloved Ghost Whisperer, have closed up shop for the season, I was excited to see So You Think You Can Dance step onto the scene a few summers ago.

I must admit, though, that Mary's "Hot Tamale Train" approach to judging takes reality TV to an all new level and drives me a bit crazy. In an interview with TV Guide, Mary stated that her sheer "nonstop enthusiasm" is a source of pride for her. To her, enthusiasm is a dying art; an approach to life that few adults embrace. "I don't care what those [critical] people think because [the dancers] deserve more. It's a human connection."

But is she really "high on life"? My belief is that she just plain had too much to drink before filming.

I think Joel McHale would agree with me...


Have a good weekend!

-Francesca

Boot Camp

At the start of each month at my son’s preschool, the staff sends home a short newsletter regarding events in his classroom. Usual highlights include upcoming events and reminders to label your children’s clothing. The honest truth is that I usually scan the updates on my way to the trash.

For the June newsletter, things were a bit different. There, on the front page of the communication from the school, was a summary of the potty-training status; a quick overview of the “super-stars” and those that are “almost there.” My son was in the latter group.

I must admit that I have been somewhat of a lackey when it comes to toilet training. Giancarlo’s “almost there” ranking is more my doing than his. However, is it worth pushing the training camp on a kid who is not really ready? Everyone I know has a bit of advice for me.

The staff at the preschool we attend usually likes to take advantage of the drop-off or pick-up time to discuss potty training with me. I receive insight on how toddlers should “listen to their bodies” and what clothes Giancarlo should be wearing. It is one of the highpoints of my day. There is really nothing like having to repeat the word urination with a straight face while trying to prevent two toddlers from running out the door.

As many of you know, Thuy is my oracle. Some people use Google to find answers; I just pick up the phone and call my friend. She points me in the right direction. For toilet training, Thuy of course had a strategy...something about filling your kid up with an obscene amount of liquid for 24 hours and having them sit on the toilet for most of the day. She swears it will work. Now if only she could find an open spot in her calendar to come over and make it happen.

My cousin is a die-hard believer in what I like to call “adventure potty training.” This is a complicated hybrid of techniques that involves many different elements. I am not quite sure if I am ready to step into her world yet. She prides herself on teaching her boys to "sink the battleship" using Cheerios in the toilet bowl. Another popular method is to have the boys stand above the bowl and make the "blue" toilet water turn green.

My grandmother has probably been the most fanatic. It undoubtedly has something to do with the fact that she thinks of her age as a badge of honor. When Giancarlo turned one, she gave us a check. We were supposed to buy a wooden toilet training seat, like the kind that she used when her kids were young. Shockingly, her local Wal-Mart did not carry this item, even after her repeated conversations with the store manager. My son is now three and a half and my grandmother still asks me about the seat. Have I found it yet? What is my plan?

Today, I took a bit of time to finally follow up. Here are a few options I’ll probably send her way…



I think I like option # 3 the best.

-Francesca