It's official...and am I ever happy!

I have watched my leggy daughters' escapades in Elementary School with joy and trepidation. I have such moments of clarity of my school days, the good and the really bad, and I want her to only have the happy parts. Yes, she loves boys but won't admit it. Yes, she now calls her friends and they coordinate their outfits. Yes, her teeth are coming in funky but they just may pull out of it and settle in straight. This last one is a major concern for me as I went through braces 3 times......I'm sure that qualifies as a post all in it's own right. But these things are not the things I am happiest about.

When my girl gets to school in the morning she is ambushed by a pack of 3 other adorable girls who all love to be together. The cute part is my girl is the shortest one of the bunch! Considering her parentage (both parents over 6 feet), I know this phenomenon won't last. But for now she can enjoy perhaps one year of school with others who are taller. I don't think I ever had friends taller than myself....ever! If my daughter can see how rare of a treat this year is, I know she will appreciate it. I know it won't last. But am I ever happy she gets to try on "shorter" for once.

Rites of Passage

She is only 9 but she already knows her own mind and the funny thing is that I know where she is coming from. It all has to do with shoes.

My daughter and I could not be more alike or more different, and one of the major differences is in shoes. She adores them. She craves them. She will look up shoe web sites online to look at shoes. When she was little she called dress up shoes "snappers" because of the sounds they made as she walked. Now she is taller and more interested in how she looks....this girl can pull together an outfit that would rival magazine photos! As all girls know, your outfit is only as smart and sexy as the shoes that go with it.....this kid knows.

The decision was made to be a pirate for Halloween. Yes, we now know there will be hundreds of thousands of pirates this year but who really cares. we are going to put together the ultimate pirate costume. We got the sword, the shirt, the sash, a scarf for her head, big silver hoop earrings, black eyeliner and nail polish......but what about the shoes? This costume truly just begs for some nice black boots. The discussion usually starts out with a comment about needing new boots because last years boots are already too small, then she moves on to how she could use her new boots for her costume and as an additional perk....she won't even wear them until Halloween. In all honesty, how could a mother not appreciate her sensitivity and understanding? HAH!!

Off to the mall with the boys in tow (getting into all sorts of trouble and fun along the way), we hit the shoe store. Why do they look so innocent and simple from the front window? Why can't they offer 3 kinds of shoes in many different sizes? Why can my 9 year old fit into a womens size 5 shoe????

They are black. They are suede. They go up to her knees. They have 3 inch heels. It was love at first sight. No other shoe existed in that store for her. I was toast.


She teeters, she wobbles, she nearly crashes to the ground but she giggles the whole time and delights in the different sounds they make on different types of flooring. The little girl inside me remembers what it was like to want to wear high heel shoes. I was always the tallest in my class and it never stopped me. My mother actually let me wear the coveted high heel clogs from her closet for a school play. Life was grand!

I'm not sure why my ideas about shoe shopping changed, but I have a theory that the bigger your feet get the less cute they look in shoes. In fact, not many shoe makers create strappy and sexy little shoes for the size 11 foot. They don't look good and they don't "snap". They clomp. EEEWWW.

I'm not sure why I have been blessed with a shoe-loving, leggy blonde daughter but each day brings it's own adventures and we never get bored!

Garden tools for leggy girls......

I have been out in the yard for weeks and weeks already and I swear my arms are 6 inches longer, my back is permanently hunched and my neck is killing me.

It's all the shovels fault. Oh, and the lawn mower. The tiller did have a part in it. The wheelbarrow really has been a lousy helper. I guess all my garden tools are conspiring to make my body one big aching mess this summer. I swear I'm not experiencing user error as I do know how a shovel works and it does it's job correctly. I just feel like I'm the one being tossed all over the yard instead of the dirt.

Is it too much to ask to have tall gardening tools? An extension for the lawn mower the way strollers are getting longer handles? Can someone make a shovel with an extra 6 inches in length? Is it even possible to make a wheelbarrow that is ergonomic and better for tall users?

Let's see what is out there for the women gardeners this year....pink plant containers at the store, pony packs with little handles, pink garden hoses, nice gloves but all still too small...keep wearing the manly leather one's I guess. Nice little tools that look more feminine but certainly not any stronger. Come on folks! I'm a hard working tall chick here just looking for tools that I like to get the job done! This is what I would like:

• Butter Yellow or Sage Green tools. Those colors would look good, be easy to find but not stand out and make my eyes water like those neon orange extension cords.
  
• A really fun wheel barrow that has an anti-tip device of some sort. I want soft handles, tires that don't puncture and those same nice colors of green and yellow that makes any color of dirt look beautiful.
  
• How about some light weight planters with built in watering reservoirs and handles to pull them all over the yard because nothing is safe in one spot in my yard.
• An extension handle for my manly colored lawn mower.
  
• A paint kit for my manly red and black mower or at least a kit to make it look like a ladybug or something. I have seen some great art work that could be made into decals for all these yard tools.....I may need to start a Cafe Press account to sell these......
• Gardening gloves that look feminine and breathe but keep the thorns and nettles out.
  

Guess I'll start on modifying my own tools. A can of paint, some happy stickers, a good attitude. Who says all you can do in the yard is plant flowers? The only problem is once I open a can of paint, I end up painting many more things that I had planned. The garden boxes and bird feeders are all fair game. Stripes or polka dots? Now I have to go to the store....

In the mean time I'll stand up and stretch myself back out and lay my long legs on the grass. Spring is awesome and I need to breathe deep and just enjoy it.

Busting out....

I have always needed to shake up my surroundings. I have some odd fascination with moving furniture, painting, changing the look and feel of a room or even the whole purpose. Rooms that have stayed still for a year are a rarity around this house. I wonder if it goes back to helping my mom move furniture seasonally. It always seemed to freshen things up and made it feel so good. The last couple big changes were to move the kids rooms and guest room all around. That only took 3 weeks to clean up the mess!! The one before was changing the front room to a dining room and adding chocolate brown paint and white sheer curtains. Combined with big fat winter geraniums, it has to be one of my favorite rooms right now.

Well, my husband has finally seen that I treat the outdoors with the same idea.....uh-oh. I admit, I just can't leave it alone. So we are tearing off the old deck this week and replacing it with one slightly bigger but much more sturdy and useable. We are also adding a little more grass to the yard (which is a huge project that we will be working on for many more years) so the kids can get from the front door to the back door all on grass. I always seem to have a couple of big early spring projects waiting, so I am quite happy to be starting on these ones. The problem arises when I start dragging the shovel around......

All those baby comfrey need to be moved to the back....

Those daisies need to be thinned and moved to the side yard......

Wouldn't it be fun to sprout some willows and plant them over in that corner?

Ooohhhhh....periwinkle along the fence....all those little purple flowers...

When should I try to move some of those hops vines to the arbor?

The geraniums in the house are about ready to go outside.....where would they love to be?

Hmm...garden seeds. Carrots, lettuce, parsnips, beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers

Ack!! I forgot to plant the sweet peas again!!

I truly believe my yard is just another set of rooms and each area has it's own personality. Colors must go together, the eye must wander from one area to the next creating a craving for your feet to follow. A little snack along the way is a bonus.....spring peas, asparagus spears, a fuzzy peach or apricot...Now I need to start planning for my reading spot this year and take some nice cushions, a blanket and a citronella candle. I'm so happy to be outside again...the furniture is happy too so it can rest.

Valentine's Sweetness

We made it through Valentine's Day at our house with minimal damage. I must admit to being bowled over by what came home with my daughter from school. She ran in the house, tossed her bag in a chair and casually said, " Look at the bear and ring I got today."...................... HUH???

She opens her bag and pulls out a cute fuzzy teddy bear from a boy in another class. He found her at recess to give it to her. He's a funny kid who every time he makes a mistake on something says "Doh!" like Homer Simpson. The ring came from a cute tall boy in her class who she says has had a crush on her all year. It was in a red ring box and everything! He wrote a note that said, "Do you like me?". What is a mother to do? (My husband reminds me the Dads get stressed about this, too.)

Do rings at age 8 mean anything? What kind of mom lets her boy take that to school? Oh my...what if it's real? That would be entertaining. I guess I just have to give it up and say we all do weird things on Valentines Day.

On the flip side, I have this gorgeous little brown eyed boy who adores his big sister, and when she came home he took all his valentines from school and gave them all to her. Including the candy! Who is this kid....what have you done with the typical gimme-my-candy child? How dare you be so sweet....can I just have the Reese's peanut butter cup that's mostly smashed in the bottom of your bag? Please??

The only thing I feel my children are missing is the opportunity to make their own Valentines Box to collect their notes and candy. I did find a site where a parent made beautiful boxes for the kids teachers, but what happened to oatmeal boxes and tinfoil? I would love to see pictures of those......especially the outhouse my sister got to take one year. I have a feeling that one was my Dad's idea.

Go tell those around you that you love them. Make it sincere. Promise yourself to love more and judge less this year. It's amazing how beautiful this world can be when we let ourselves see the good side.

Long Legged Benefits

So, do long legged runners have to work harder to move longer legs while exercising or is it easier because their legs are longer and they can run farther?

Do these pants look weird to you?

When you're young and impressionable and your legs go to Mars, the last thing you want is to deal with too short pants. In fact, like my little girl, all you want to wear are skirts. Skirts in the snow, skirts at the skating rink, skirts at recess. Too bad we can't all keep that happy-go-lucky attitude and wear skirts all our life. Pants are an issue that must be dealt with and thankfully there are great solutions now!

I have clear memories of too short pants during all my school years. When knee high boots came into fashion it solved a lot of problems...but only for a year until the fashions changed again. I was the girl that could see over nearly all the boys heads. I was the one that scared them all into being nice to me. Desks never did fit well, but things change as you get older and wiser. I found a couple of tall friends that have stayed close ever since.

When you find a friend you can look in the eye, you have an instant rapport. One friend brought balance and depth and joy, so I married him. The second friend created havoc and silliness and fun, which we laugh over to this day. We are finally fulfilling a dream of providing tall clothing options to other tall women and men by hosting a site called Tall Clothing Mall. Check it out at www.tallclothingmall.com and see what you think. It's been a long road but we now know how important it is to have pants that really fit.

As for my favorite pants right now, they have to be a pair of PJ bottoms from J.Crew. They have a wonderful waffle weave that doesn't shrink in the wash and the softest waistband with a feminine drawstring. I will admit to wearing them all day and then to bed that night. They look good, they feel good and now I need another pair in another color. Go through our site and check out the beautiful clothes we have found for you and help us provide a place for easy and intuitive shopping. It should be fun to get a new pair of pants and if you still aren't there yet, email us and we'll be your personal shoppers!

I hope we will never have to be afraid to walk out the door in a pair of pants....now they don't have to look weird anymore! Happy Shopping!