i love slugs and bugs

We have a few kids cd's in our car. Rory once said to me, "let's put something in that has no xylophone." The xylophone is sort of the staple instrument, apparently, in kids music. But it can be hard to listen to these songs again and again and again.

Enter Slugs and Bugs. I was first introduced to Slugs and Bugs through The Rabbit Room, a blog I like of solid Christian thinkers. There are many authors who write on the site. A few of them are musicians, a few are artists, a few are pastors. Andrew Peterson (whom I love) and Randall Goodgame (who I now love too) came out with the first Slugs and Bugs. I would describe the songs as Shell Silverstein poems played with an incredible band. The songs are silly and the music is awesome. No xylophone on a single song.

And the last five songs are stunning lullabies that have now entered our family repertoir. Click here to see a song list  (at the bottom of the page) and be sure to listen to #16 Beautiful Girl, #17 My Baby Loves to Dance (both lullabies) and #10 Chicken Wiggle and #14 The Boy who was Bored (both awesome and silly).

***

BUT THE NEW FAVORITE is Sing the Bible with Slugs and Bugs! (The yellow cd pictured at the top).

This cd is 100% straight out of the Bible. Each song's lyrics are taken right off the page. And the music was heavily influenced by Paul Simon with a strong Graceland style.

Here's the thing. I always wish I could memorize scripture better. And I know that if I really worked at it, I could do a whole lot better. But you know the scripture that comes to mind when I need a word from the Lord? Every camp song I have every learned. Somehow that scripture is at the ready when I need it most.

I feel like Sing the Bible with Slugs and Bugs is a sweet gift for me. We got this CD for Christmas just while I was beginning to think, "I should make a goal to memorize more scripture in the new year."  We popped this CD in and bam, I have a whole CD of new verses in my head.

The songs are great, the music fun, the words powerful and there are some really silly moments mixed in too.

It's a good one for kids and mom's and dad's. Everyone will like it.

So I just looked at the other two Slugs and Bugs CD's, one for Christmas and one called Under Wear? And they look great too. I just heard a snipet of a song called "I'm adopted" on the Under Wear? cd that sounded so great. So maybe just buy all four, while you're at it. Until then, you can't go wrong with the other two I wrote about. :)

To close, I'll leave you with Ivar's most requested song on the Lullabies cd. A song that starts cute and ends so, so three-year-old silly. He laughs his head off every time:

i love alba shampoo

For all of our marriage I have shared a bottle of Suave shampoo with my husband. It's fine. It seems to have done the job for eight years. But I have a strange confession: I love using other people's shampoo and body scrub and face wash. Because using someone's Aveda is like a little sweet luxury. Using someone's four step face wash system is like a day at a spa.

So it was during the second polar vortex here in Minnesota that I found myself wandering the aisles of Target telling myself that I deserve nice shampoos. That maybe after eight years of Suave I could justify a shampoo like the ones I utilize at friends' houses. So I crossed over from the Pantene-and-friends aisle to the Bed Head, Redken and Bumble and Bumble aisle. I read labels. I gasped at the $29 price tags. You understand there is a 50/50 chance this will all fall into the bathtub with my kids one night and wash down the drain...

So I wandered a little farther down the aisle and found this Alba stuff for $10 a bottle. Ten bucks still felt expensive to my Suave-buying self, but I smelled it and it smelled like Hawaii. And a little Hawaii in the middle of a polar vortex is always welcome.

It's sulfate free. And though I don't know what that means, I feel I can sleep better at night, knowing I don't have all those pesky sulfates in my hair any more. I do know it smells awesome and leaves my hair soft. I love it. 

That night I also got a foot pumice, a new lafoof thingy and a big bottle of shea butter lotion. And let me tell you, a little home spa is a wonderful addition to my winter life. Especially when my showers are basically shared with two kids in and out, opening the curtain, letting all the cold air in. It's nice to have yummy shampoos when I'm freezing because the bathroom door is wide open.

**And I think this goes without saying, but just in case. I'm a teeny little blog here that has no affiliates. I don't get any kickback for the products I'm telling about this week. These are just my own thoughts, my own opinions...for what they're worth. Up next: my favorite kids cd!

i love melanie claire

So this is sort of fun. I've decided to take this week to pass along a few of my favorite things. At the start of this lovely short month of February, I am going to share a few things I love. Because you may love them too. From shampoo, to kids cd's to favorite etsy shops, here are a few things I love.

Today I'm starting with a bang. Melanie Claire is a good friend of mine. She has a heart of GOLD and is a very empathetic listener. She's a joy to be around and if I were to describe her in one word, I'd use the word sweet. Kind, thoughtful, considerate...sweet.

And she makes the most adorable dolls and sells them on etsy and recently in a store in Minneapolis. Here's a question: Do you feel a certain joy when a friend you know opens up their own online venture? Or is that just me? Because I think it is the coolest, most inspiring thing to see someone take their own creations and offer their craft to the world. And to make some money for all the time time, love and labor they put into their craft. I don't know, maybe it's just me. But I'm inspired by people selling their goods.

Especially adorable dolls. Like this one I purchased for Elsie for Christmas, who we have affectionately named Melanie Claire. (Who was very cooperative this nap time for her window sill photo shoot.)

I mean, people. Short, red hair for my red head? Polka dot tights? A chevron skirt?!! How cute could a little fabric doll be? And how fun is it to use Elsie as my excuse to start buying dolls again?!!

Her dolls are getting a little face lift this month, and you can check out her new girl and boy dolls on her etsy shop: Melanie Claire Creates. And be sure to click on the doll faces to see the whole doll...because the outfits are cuter than I dress my own children.

Might be fun to surprise your little one for valentines with a new doll. Might be fun to surprise yourself by buying a new doll just for your own adult self. Might be fun to buy a doll to keep at your house for when your grandkids visit. Just sayin... Because I love them!

Back tomorrow with my new shampoo.

mom hours

\

This was a good week for me. Monday during dinner I had a particularly helpful conversation with Rory. Monday was an especially solid day. I felt good about my role as a mama. I played hard with my kids. I ran a few loads of laundry. I had a plan for supper and had it on the table before little children came and threw themselves at my feet to "Eat! Eat!"

It was during dinner, and about the eleventh time I had gotten up to get something that I said to Rory, "hey, would you do bedtime tonight?" He said he would. A few moments later I added more. "And would you mind clearing the table and starting the dishwasher tonight?" He said he would.

And the strangest thought came into my head and I said it aloud. Without the typical exhausted emotions, without being an ounce dramatic or full of self pity I said, "I guess I'd just like to be done for the day. I put in a good days work, I was present with the kids, I accomplished many things, and any boss would be pleased by my performance today. I guess I'm done." I said something like that.

And Rory replied, "You mean, you'd like to go home now."

Bingo.

"Right! I would like to go home and disconnect from my work tonight. I would like to turn on the tv and eat chips and corn salsa all night long."

It was such a funny non-emotional conversation. Usually these conversations are intense with me exhausted and needing an out. But this conversation was so matter-of-fact. I just wanted to go home for the night, come back in the morning and once again give it my all.

Rory did load the dishwasher and I went out to feed the chickens. Then we put the kids in the tub to fill up the last hour of the day. The kids did go down, and eventually I was on the couch watching the bachelor eating corn salsa.

I just had wanted quittin' time to come three hours earlier. Because mom hours are long hours.

ivar quotes

+ A few nights ago we told him he needed to play nicely with Elsie in his room until it was time for her to go to bed. He came down the stairs a while later:

Ivar: I'm so tired of this! I'm so tired of this!

Me: What are you tired of?

Ivar: Of her up so long!

+ We have a favorite Sesame Street book and when he reads the characters he'll say, "and here's Bernie and Ert!" He also calls the remote control the camote untroll.

+ One of his best not-falling-asleep-stalling tactics is to yell from his bed, "I HAVE A BOOOOOGER!" Which means he wants a kleenex. I brought him one during his nap and he let me know, "there are teeny rocks up there."

+ After he and Elsie stayed with Rory's folks while we were at Disney he said to me, "When Papa was my daddy, he put a washcloth on my eyes." I love that so much.

+ Ivar is beginning to quite consistently drop his nap. I am in a season of grieving. While drinking my afternoon coffee, watching tv he came down the stairs quietly, sneaking out of his bed. He came up to me and said sweetly, "After this day I'll try to sleep for a long, long nap. okay, mama?"

And just tonight Rory tried to talk to him about his lack of napping.
Rory: Ivar, how come you aren't sleeping any more during the day?
Ivar: I'm not, because I'm not really into naps.