I Really Only Meant To Write About Target Today

I can’t believe I am going to write about Target again, but WHAT THE HELL, TARGET? You are hurting me. Deep down to the core.

What I entered the store needing:

Seventh Generation Non-Chlorine Bleach
Secret Unscented Conditioning Solid Deodorant
Neutrogena Anti-Wrinkle Anti-Blemish Cream (This is the best face lotion in the history of mankind. I don’t have acne-prone skin, but I read somewhere that it was good for mild rosacea and HOT DAMN, it cleared my rosacea right up!)
A bath puff thingy
Crayons

What I left the store with:

A bath puff thingy
Crayons

People, I don’t need any more crayons. I am literally drowning in goddamn crayons over here. Wito is obsessed with crayons — so obsessed that you wouldn’t even believe me if I tried to explain. The only way I can get in and out of Target without a nuclear whinefest is to buy him a new box of crayons. (RoseArt makes a great little box for less than a dollar, although it’s probably made from corrosive sublimate. Whatevs.) So I buy him one. Every. Time. And every time, he comes home and sings this highly annoying (yet peppy!) Box of Crayons song from Signing Times.

In a nutshell, he lines up his crayons in order of rainbow color and sings along, signing the colors and practically making out with them. HE DOESN’T EVEN ENJOY DRAWING, PEOPLE. And I’m a little hesitant to admit this, but he knows the names of an enormous amount of Crayola crayons.

(Annnd, begin tangent.)

It’s one of his favorite games – we hold up a crayon and he yells out the color. However, he has to look at the name on the crayon – it’s not pure memorization. (We’re talking pretty specific names here, such as Turtle Green, Apricot, Turquoise Blue and Blue Violet.) In all honesty, we’re not sure how he remembers all of the crayon names, but I do catch him sounding the words out when I’m not looking. Which brings me to my point- um, I think he is starting to read. We’ve finally come to the conclusion that he can’t possibly have memorized two shelves’ worth of books, yet he knows them word for word. And just recently, he’s been rattling off the names of street signs as we pass them. Um, WHAAAAA?

He memorizes everything you tell him, everything he sees, everything he hears. Don’t get me started on the spelling. He would rather listen to me spell words than spend a day at Sea World. Just this morning he asked, “Mom, how do you spell guinea pig?” UM, I DON’T KNOW, SON.

(GOD, this is sounding completely braggadocios. I am grossing myself out. Please forgive me, but if you want to know what’s going on with Wito, well, this is what’s going on with Wito. Please feel free to stop reading right now. I promise I will be back with a detailed account of my very first epilator experience later this week.)

(Painful, yet a truly delightful end result!)

I would be beyond grateful to hear any advice or suggestions you all might have for parenting early readers. Even better, I would love advice from parents who are dealing/have dealt with toddlers who have a never-ending desire to learn. Some days I really struggle with feelings that I’m not doing enough for him. I want him to be challenged, but I don’t want to be Rick Moranis from Parenthood either. It’s a slippery slope, man.

He’s only 2 1/2 years old, but he CRAVES mental stimulation in the form of memory games, spelling and reading. Do you know of any games that would be fun for him? People around here have suggested looking into “gifted programs” for him. It’s way too early in the game for that, right? Right? (Seriously, wouldn’t that be too much for a 2-year-old? He isn’t even potty-trained!)

I would kill for some wisdom right now. As my mother would say, I am “cornfused”. If commenting isn’t your thing, feel free to email me a sarahATwhoorlDOTcom. We thank you muchly!

Do You Know What Day It Is?

It’s Earth Day, dudes! I thought it would apropos to write about being kinder to our planet.

(Oh, wait. I do that EVERY week over here. Oh hahahahaha, silly me.)

Yeah, yeah. Okay, here’s the deal. Blake, a fellow FilterForGood writer, tagged me to participate in an Earth Day meme.

(Before I go on, have you seen Blake’s feature on his personal blog called The Food Chain? He sends little digital video cameras to his readers, and they use them to shoot their own food shows. It is beyond super cool.)

So, the Earth Day meme asks the question, “How will you FilterForGood this Earth Month?”

(What in the hell does that mean?)

It means you are supposed to list 5 things you are going to do this Earth month to better our planet. Easy peasy. Or is it? I’ve already dealt with five milion topics over at FFG, so instead of doing the same old “turn the lights off and recycle” gig, I thought I would revisit my earlier post about household cleaners. Since I originally wrote that on whoorl, I have found several other earth-friendly cleaners that I wholeheartedly adore. So, I give you Whoorl’s Additional Household Cleaners List That She Loves List. (Besides the original ones I previously wrote about, of course.)

1. J.R. Watkins Aloe & Green Tea All-Purpose Wipes – Biodegradable, durable and flushable wipes. They smell damn good and have coconut oil in them.

2. Method Lil’ Bowl Blu – Smells like eucalyptus. Cleans my toilet well WITHOUT bleach. End of story.

3. Mrs. Meyer’s Surface Scrub – Best tub and sink cleaner ever. Comes in yummy scents. (In honor of Earth Day, Mrs. Meyer’s is offering free shipping today and tomorrow.)

4. Seventh Generation Chlorine-Free Bleach – Great for washing kids messy, stained clothes. Free of dyes and/or fragrances and doesn’t contain chemicals containing chlorine.

5. TerraGloss lip gloss in Garnet – This isn’t a household cleaner, is it? Oh, shut up. Everyone needs to look good while being domestic. Smells like vanilla and doesn’t have a bunch of scary crap in it. (Interested in freaking yourself out about cosmetics? Take a look at this.)

Okay, there you go. Are you doing anything different this Earth month? Have you found any new household cleaners (or awesome organic cosmetics, ahem) recently? Do you want to win some great gift packs from Brita? Then post what you are doing differently this month and follow these somewhat confusing rules (copied from FFG because I am slow this morning).

Post five things you plan to do for the environment over the nxet month on your blog. At the end of your list, tag five of your favorite blogs, and include a link back to this post using the hyperlinked text “FilterForGood Blog Meme Contest.” Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs, or on their Twitter accounts (using the hash tag #FFGBlogMeme). Also, be sure to include these rules at the bottom of your post.

An Extra Bonus

At the end of Earth Month, FilterForGood will choose a few lucky bloggers who posted their five things to win some Brita/FFG gift packs to help you go green! Be sure you link back to the original meme post [http://www.filterforgood.com/blog/?p=1407] to enter the contest!

(Or just tell me in the comments section if the above blurb makes your brain hurt.)

I’ll Miss You, Kauai

After an incredibly long red-eye (thank you VERY LITTLE, headwinds) and a near miss of my carefully-orchestrated Overlapping Layover Plan in Phoenix, in which my saintly mother flew with Wito to Phoenix from Oklahoma City to assist in the Official Toddler Tradeoff, we’re home!

I’m sorting through six days of photos and videos and receipts, but I have tips. Lots of tips! And hundreds of photos of scenery that I won’t bore you with, I promise.

(I also never told you the results of $300 Kauai shopping excursion. 7 tanks, 3 dresses/coverups, 2 bikinis, 2 chemises (ooh la la!), 1 pair of earrings, 1 pair of sunglasses and 1 pair of shoes later…the grand total equaled $320. I lost the challenge, peeps. And I honestly could care less.)

Until then, I will leave you a photo of the best drink I have ever had the pleasure of sipping, the Lava Flow from The Beach House.

hi_fb

The first, but definitely not the last.

hair thursday makeover 58

This week’s participant is Dawn.

Dawn’s hair:

Naturally brown with “graylights”
Hair has the tendency to turn brassy when coloring due to the grays
Would consider highlights
Fine, wavy hair
Uses hair dryer with a round ceramic brush

I love Dawn’s waves. They have so much potential, don’t you think? Some light layering throughout with some long, bang-like front layers would bring those curls to life. Let’s take a look at some options.

Option #1 would be a fantastic shorter length for Dawn. The jagged layers cut throughout would keep her waves springy and I like the idea of a sweeping front layer. Dawn’s eyes are beautiful, and the addition of a front layer would totally accentuate her features.

Option #2 keeps the longer length with some modified layers. Like Option #1, the sweeping bang would give her hair the extra oomph she is looking for. I also love Jennifer Garner’s subtle highlights. A refined, golden highlight would be a great way to disguise Dawn’s grays and brighten her overall look.

(Notice how the “bangs” in both photos have no blunt lines, no heaviness…very easy to grow out.)

Great products for enhancing waves can be found here. (Check out the section on Type 2: Wavy hair.)

What do you think would be the best style for Dawn?

Pleated Silk Tee

pink

Pleated Silk Tee, Martin + Osa

I haven’t shopped for almost a month. A MONTH. OF NO SHOPPING. I need this shirt, people. I need it bad.

1. It’s my very favorite shade of pink.

2. In fact, it reminds me of my glasses, seen here on the dashing Brandon.

brandon

(I met up with some incredibly cool bloggers Friday night. I was completely overserved and forced people to wear my glasses. The end.)

((You really should read Brandon’s recap here. It may or may not include the most hilariously awesome photo created by Secret Agent Josephine in the history of mankind.))

3. Back to the shirt – not that I would wear the shirt and the glasses together, mind you.

4. It would be a lovely addition to my Valentine’s Day ensemble. Yeah, I might wear pink on Valentine’s Day, what of it?

5. I have dropped a few hints to the husband about this being the Best Goddamn Valentine’s Present Ever, but I’m not sure he is comprehending.

6. SOMEONE PLEASE BUY THIS FOR ME. GAH.

How To Curl Hair with a Flat Iron

Happy New Year, everyone!

For the second week in a row, Hair Thursday has fallen on a holiday. (YAY FOR HOLIDAYS!) However, I promise to be back on schedule starting next week.

In the meantime, why don’t you resolve to try this new hairstyle in 2009? That is, if you can deal with watching me babble for 6 minutes. (Please try not to fixate on the gross oven burn on my arm – I made this video one week after a Thanksgiving Cooking Accident.)

If you have any questions about the video and/or hairstyle, please leave them in the comments and I’ll try my best to answer to the best of my knowledge.


How To Curl Hair with a Flat Iron from Hair Thursday on Vimeo.