The curls are even more prominent in the summer.

Asians, because most of us have naturally straight hair (and some even spiky…ahem, boys…), long for that luscious curl…hence the reason I donned the 80s permed, big-hair look in my youth. Of course, I know that the grass is always greener in someone else’s yard and that all you curly haired people are wishing for straight, silky hair.

Thelma, wanting to see how her hair looked without the curls, asked me to straighten it one day. So, I took out my flat iron. I don’t use it often since I’m often using the roller brush to make my hair have body and look fuller. Big hair tends to make my ginormous head look a little smaller.

So here she is with straight hair…

Still stylish since the cut I gave her has many layers…looks a lot like a razor bob.

Thelma loves it because it makes her hair look longer…which is what she has been waiting patiently for…her hair to grow out. I guess this summer we won’t be doing the faux-hawk like last summer.

I like it but I LOVE her curls much more. Still, it’s nice to be able to do both.

Louise sees Thelma’s hair and asks me to straighten hers as well.

Louise has super thick hair and therefore the weight makes her hair less curly and it tends to look “POOFY”. She is not a fan of the poofy look.

The natural wave that she does have gives her larger, curled-out wave at the ends of her hair. So we put the flat iron to it…here’s the result.

For those with thick, coarse and even straight hair, a flat iron is a great way to make it more tame and smooth.

Due to the way that I had cut her hair previously, Louise also looks like I used a razor at the ends…still stylish, less POOF.

Although the girls want to grow out their hair, I think I need to at least give them a trim so that the dead ends would be more healthy. I love that their hair is finally growing out!

-Jane, Lover of curly hair.

“It’s my turn.”

“I asked first.”

“Remember I asked first but because he was crying, I didn’t get to hold him long.”

“You got to hold him two times in a row.”

“You got to hold him longer.”

“AHHHHHHH!”

Although the girls kill me with all their bickering, over their brother, I appreciate how much love they have for their little bro.

The girls always want to hold and cuddle their brother. However, Dick and I want Benz to also have his much-needed peace and don’t want the girls to pick him up all the time…especially if he’s sleeping soundly.

BENZ AND HIS SISTERS

What mom wouldn’t appreciate this kind of sibling love.

Now if they could just keep the bickering to a minimum.

-Jane, Mommy to Brother-loving Girls.

They look like these little crazy haired little “pets” that sit on magnets.

One is named “Goal” and the other “Crush”.

Aren’t they cute?

I just noticed, they don’t have any arms.

So what you do is put your shirt between the magnet and the buddy and now you have a shoulder buddy.

The magnets are pretty powerful but obviously, they can still be knocked loose.

They even work with tank tops.

The girls love them!

At least for now.

Those with kids know that novelties will last for a bit and then it’s on to the next thang.

-Jane, Mommy to Shoulder-Buddy Bearing Girls.

Says Thelma (Country Bumpkin):

“I wanna live in a cozy country-like house and have a red truck.”

Says Louise (City Slicker):

“I wanna live in a big city and a big fancy house.”

I just wanted to write it down and have it for the records so we can see if that’s how they still feel when they grow up!

I love both…but it definitely depends on the city and what stage of life you’re at.

Growing up, I hated living in a small city and wanted to live the fast pace life of a big city, like Toronto. However, now that I’ve traveled the world and have kids, I’m elated to be right where I am.

-Jane, Once a City Slicker now a Country Bumpkin.

Three miles!!! I’m concerned because throughout the entire time they were at practice, not once did they even run 5k.

The girls get to run with a partner. Obviously, with me being as pregnant as I am, I am NOT the partner.

Dick is and drove back home right on time to make it and be there for Louise. Even if I wasn’t pregnant, I probably wouldn’t be her partner anyway because Dick is more suited for these things. I am not really a fan of running. And I’m not even sure I could run 3 miles at once like this. I probably could if I trained some but like I said, I don’t really like to run.

We get registered.

I was like, “Oh look, you’re #1!”

It turns out, EVERYONE is #1.

I like that. It’s not meant to be a competition or race.

They have fun things for the participants like spraying paint on hair and face painting.

Then it’s time to get started!

Dick and Louise plop themselves right up front, but there are a TON of runners from all over the city.

Some last minute words of encouragement from Daddy.

I had already told Louise, just have fun, don’t over do it and do your best.

It’s not a race, it’s just an accomplishment to even finish.

Trust me, if I finished I would be plenty proud!

The finish line also happens to be the starting point.

The runners go down half way and come back the same way.

And they’re OFF!

Louise starts off so hard I’m worried she’s going to tire herself out by the end.

But, I know she’s got the best running partner and coach by her side and I’m sure he’s advising her to pace herself.

Look who else is here to give support…Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, Lucy Lu and Mr. Bean!

Lucy can’t hardly go anywhere without snacks.

Dove, chocolate covered almonds.

I help her finish the bag too.

I guess I have somewhat low expectations because I know how difficult it would be or me to run 3 miles so we’re thinking it’s going to take a while. At least 45 minutes???

Thelma keeps herself busy with this bean bag toss and then we decide to walk towards the runners so I can see if I can get some pictures of them running and I’m thinking I have plenty of time before she gets close to the finish line.

Except, Louise starts coming back sooner that I anticipated!!

She’s one of the first 10-15 runners!!

I’m so excited and proud!

Luckily, Fanny Mae anticipated this and was waiting at the finish line.

See her? With the hat?

So here are a few pics from Fanny Mae’s vantage point, catching them as they are approaching the finish line.

Everyone cheers for all the runners.

Oh yeah, super thirsty.

Dick said that while they were running, Louise was being quite the competitor and any time she would hear footsteps behind her, she would totally pick her her pace!

WOW! I’m so super impressed and proud of my daughter!

I totally expected her to come at the middle or even towards the end.

Grandpa was impressed too!

Actually, we are all impressed!

And look at my Dick, such the Hot Tottie Daddy that he is.

Really the bestest Daddy evah!

So proud of you my love!

Great job!!

-Jane, Mother of Running Louise.

Little did I know how bad it would get.

HOMESCHOOL

It’s a co-op day so I take all the kids to school together.

Our co-op is awesome and our visitors can tag along with the girls to their classes.

The kids ended up having a lot of fun. Here they are in art class doing a ceramic project.

SOCCER PRACTICE

Thelma also has soccer practice that day so I take everyone with me while the boys are running errands.

Poor guy. Sucks to be the only guy amongst all girls.

Luckily they decided to kick the ball around a little.

After they were bored with that, they started looking for 4-leaf clovers.

I used to love doing that!

I didn’t actually think they’d find any but persistence pays off and they do!

The boys make it right around the end of practice.

GOOD-BYES

After practice was over, the girls started up with the SADNESS again.

However, Thelma and the little one were kinda joking around…

So I thought there would definitely be some SAD, LONG FACES but then they’d get over it.

The other two were serious though.

Then I see the CROCODILE TEARS.

Which turn into STREAMING TEARS.

Little sister then just EXPLODES!

Louise is teary-eyed as well.

Their friends don’t want to leave and want to stay with us.

Their dad is being extremely patient and understanding even though they are crying SUPER LOUD and people are starting to look.

Dick’s laughing, “People are going to think we’re beating these kids.”

“I wanna stay! I don’t wanna go!”

The girls are relentless and REFUSE to get into the car.

Big brother is trying to help out.

Dick and I are being great parents by laughing in shock at all this…and feeling sorry for our friend, Mr. Bean.

Girlfriend is resisting BIG TIME.

And look at the expression in little sis’s face…PRICELESS.

Little sis is basically following suit and mimicking Big Sis…except double the DRAMA.

After both girls have had to be physically placed in the car (No, we were not abusing them.LOL),

but they’re still crying incessantly.

We were told they cried until they fell asleep.

I remember being this sad as a kid when my  family would visit from Toronto.

I would be a sobbing, blobbering mess.

Sometimes I still am.

So, I feel ya girls!

Yes, it was a sad day for the girls.

Don’t fret girls, there will be plenty more visits!

-Jane, Mother to Sad Girls.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/drama-ensues-when-the-girls-say-good-bye-to-their-friends/feed/ 0 http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/louises-8th-birthday/ http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/louises-8th-birthday/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:29:13 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=22303 As I mentioned, Louise has been talking about her birthday for quite some time now. Last year, we were suppposed to have a party for her but she ended up getting sick and we had to cancel. Therefore, this year, I told her she could have the party she wanted, but still keeping it small because I just don’t think I’m up for a big task.

Louise decided she wanted to have her party at our house…a slumber party for those that were allowed. We actually don’t allow our girls to spend the night at other people’s homes…and I’m not saying we won’t when they get older but not now. However, it’s totally okay for friends to spend the night at ours.

Although it’s more work for me when we have it at home, I think it’s more fun for the girls to really enjoy themselves with their friends, so I’m happy to do it.

In keeping with the “Hippie Chick” theme, I decorated a little.

Those are all custom bows I did by hand.

I really like how they turned out.

FIRST GIFT OF THE DAY

Thelma can’t wait to give Louise a couple of gifts first thing in the morning so I let her.

OMG, I love these monkeys like CRAZY!

LUCY COMES FROM LA TO CELEBRATE

Louise REALLY wanted Lucy to be there so Lucy made plans to be here for Louise’s birthday.

Remember, she lugged that cake all the way from LA.

Totally the Best Auntie evah!

Fanny Mae is there to help celebrate as well.

Again, the Best Grandparents evah!

SILLY STRING MADNESS

The girls have been wanting to play with Silly String forever so I told them we could do it for Louise’s birthday.

Of course I thought of the consequences but every now and then, you gotta let the kids get their inner crazy out.

We move the party outside and let them go crazy.

And THAT they did!

We’ll talk about the clean-up later!

WE EAT

Louise wants to have pizza, eggrolls, and pigs-in-a-blanket to eat.

Freddie Mac provides us with his super-yummy Eggrolls.

WE DO CAKE

No one even notices the booboo and the red velvet was YUMMY!

WE OPEN PRESENTS

SLEEP OVER

In the end, there were a few girls who ended up spending the night.

They decided to pull all the couches together to make a “sleeping area” for all of them to  enjoy popcorn, Toy Story 3, and staying up until 2am having “girl talk”.

I was fast asleep by then.

However, next morning and I’m the only one up.

They had quite a night!

Slowly but surely they finally got their tired butts up!

Louise said she had the “best party ever” and this Mom is super happy about that.

I’m really loving having these smaller parties for them.

Less chaos, more manageable, more fun.

Here’s a video montage of the party.

Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

<

-Jane, Mother of Sweet 8-year Old Louise.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/louises-8th-birthday/feed/ 1 http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/aunty-lucy-lugs-a-birthday-cake-for-louise-all-the-way-from-la/ http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/aunty-lucy-lugs-a-birthday-cake-for-louise-all-the-way-from-la/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:50:53 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=22255 Being the loving and totally awesome Auntie that Lucy is, Lucy decides to order a cake in LA and from the same place we had bought a cake for Thelma’s 8th birthday that we celebrated in LA.

Louise had decided on using a “Hippie Chick” party theme from Party City…so Lucy used the invitation as inspiration for the theme for the cake.

The cake turned out beautifully!

Louise was specific that the cake be Red Velvet.

BIRTHDAY CAKE TAKES FLIGHT

Lucy purchases a container for it so that she can lug it cross country for Louise’s birthday.

Here the cake is at LAX, in the aisle way.

The airport agents thinks she’s crazy…

And, all the passengers are disappointed to find out that Lucy did not make the cake herself.

Here the cake is waiting patiently at O’Hare during a layover.

It seems there has been a MISHAP with the cake…

(Can you see it under the “Snapware” label?)

The cake must have shifted while it was in the above-luggage compartment mid-flight.

Here the cake is in the Ladies Room, where Lucy had a “mishap” of her own.

Having wine with dinner prior to the red-eye flight is NOT a good idea.

Ewwww!

Luckily, the cake still makes it in once piece when it arrives in Metropolis.

Lucy does the best she can to repair the booboo.

No worries, I just turn it around so that the booboo is not visible.

The cake smells so good we are quite tempted to taste it.

Louise ends up LOVING the cake.

Such a Fabulous Auntie Lucy is!!

-Jane, Sister to Awesome Auntie Lucy.

Except, Louise isn’t the only one in anticipation…so is Thelma. Thelma had an idea to make an $8 bill for Louise with her face on it, rather than some boring President. Cute idea! So, I told Thelma I would help her out.

First, we went online and looked for images of bills. Of course, there wasn’t an $8 bill. So, I took an image I found of a $2 bill.

Second, Thelma helped me pick out a picture of Louise.

Then, I took the image and turned it green to match the money.

After that, I masked out an oval, cut, paste and added the “8s” (which were a font Thelma picked out).

It still has the “TWO” written everywhere but that was too much for me to try to fix.

Not perfect but I thought it turned out great anyways.

We cut out the front and back and glued them together.

Because Thelma was so excited, we had made this $8 bill early and, of course, she just couldn’t wait to give it to her. So, we gave Louise an early birthday present.

Louise was so excited!

It ended up being a very creative gift and Louise loved having her very own money!

“Do you think I could use this to buy something?”

LOL.

Let’s not get Mommy in trouble for counterfeiting money.

-Jane, Mother to creative Thelma and happy Louise.

While we were there looking at the Orchid Exhibit, the girls see a Choo Choo Train that goes around the mall. What?!?!?

For those who have kids, this is the new gimmick at the mall to get your money.

You tell me one kid who would not be enticed by this!

It’s like those shopping carts for kids that are in the shape of a car.

(My kids tried to get one but they don’t fit them anymore…thank goodness.

One more thing to lug around.)

So while I was looking at the Orchids, my mom took the girls to go ride the train.

Cost is $5 per person (you have to pay for the adults too, of course.) and there’s a machine where you can stick your credit card in it (like the machines used to pay for parking.)

And you ride around for maybe 5-10 minutes….down only ONE hallway…not the whole mall.

The girls liked it so much, they REALLY wanted to ride again and this time, they want me to go with them.

I’m not really inclined to go but seeing that they REALLY wanted me to, I couldn’t be a party pooper.

So, I squeeze myself into this mini-train.

Here’s Fanny Mae trying to get a picture of us. She’s so cute.

The halls are crowded enough but now you also have this train meandering through as well.

Oh the things we must do as parents.

Now how to get myself out of this thing.

This totally reminds me of that song that had the dance moves to go with it.

Here’s the video for a quick blast to the past:

C’Mon Ride the Train (by Quad CIty DJ).

C’mom ride the train, let’s ride it.

C’mon ride the train…the choo choo train.

Did YOU ever ride the train, the choo choo train?

(I’m talkin’ about the dance.)

-Jane, Choo Choo Train Rider.

Who else can have class in bed?

Here they are, all snuggled in bed, in their pajamas and I’m reviewing some English basics prior to their Standardized Testing (SATs) coming up.

Yes, I get them tested yearly to make sure I’m not retarding their brains. Oh and I’m not trying to offend anyone and be non-PC. “Retarding”, in its verbial form, means to delay or slow down.

Here were doing a review on syllables. I was showing them a weird method one of my language arts teachers taught me. She was a nut but I love her! (Shout out to Mrs. Robbins.)

Anyway, so every time your chin hits your hand when you’re saying the word, it’s one syllable.

Except, the girls are exaggerating their intonations creating too many syllables!

So, this method proved unsuccessful for us.

We move on to review subjects and predicates.

Remember I painted a chalkboard in their room when I redecorated it?

It’s come in handy!

I may get criticized for my teaching methods (Yes we homeschool at Starbucks, outside, by the fireplace and in the car, etc.) but my girls kick ass in math on their placement tests and are in the mid 90s percentile and  average or above average in English. Not braggin’, just sayin’. It’s probably just good genetics though and not my teaching ability. (Was that a backhanded way of complimenting myself? LOL)

The apple does not fall far from the tree. I always aced the math and bombed the English. I’m Asian, what can you say. You can probably tell from my writing I was not an English major (Not many Asians are.). My writings are just sputterings of all the crap in my brain.

-Jane, Homeschooling-in-bed Mom.

It was a rose from a bundle my dad had bought for my mom for Valentine’s day.

So I ask the girls,

“Why are these rose petals here? Who did this?”

Thelma responded with,

“He loves me!”

And was beaming.

So innocent and cute!

-Jane, Mother of In-Love Thelma.

I’m talking about Louise, previously known as my METH HEAD when she lost her two front teeth. Girlfriend will fidget with that thing until basically, it gets yanked out. Who needs to bother with a dentist?

My girls are both really great about losing their teeth.

Of course, you know why…

Their motivated by the tooth fairy and just can’t wait to cash in!

Louise, mommy needs some money so we can all go to the movies.

Can you spit out 5 teeth please?

-Jane, Mommy to Fearless Tooth Yanker.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/my-fearless-tooth-yanker/feed/ 0 http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/sweet-sisters-my-lovelies/ http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/sweet-sisters-my-lovelies/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:05:40 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=21226 I am so thankful to have such wonderful girls in my life.

Words cannot even express how much I adore and love these girls.

-Jane, Mommy to Lovelies.

Today was crazy clothes day and Thelma threw something together that morning. Pretty crazy that girl and she didn’t even have any help from her crazy Momma. I stopped dressing them a few years ago.

She’s so cute, she kills me.

-Jane, Mother to Crazy Thelma.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/homeschooling/thelma-goes-crazy-at-crazy-clothes-day-at-our-homeschool-co-op/feed/ 0 http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/thelma-and-mommy-alone-time-biking-to-pier-1-and-starbucks/ http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/thelma-and-mommy-alone-time-biking-to-pier-1-and-starbucks/#comments Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:24:16 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=20520 Lately, Thelma and I don’t get to spend that much time alone. Her and Dick have alot in common and tend to gravitate toward each other. However, she’s still my baby and I thought we could use some ALONE TIME together. So,  we decided to go hang out while Dick and Louise went for a run.

Thelma must be in the middle of a yawn in this pic.

We decided to go biking because it was a gorgeous, sunny day of about 65F. My mom, Fanny Mae, totally balked at me saying I was taking Thelma biking.

“I think you should walk.”

Before she could say any more, I interrupted her and gave her the hand, signaling…I don’t want to hear it. Fanny Mae is always in FEAR mode, overly cautious and obviously fears that I’m going to fall off my bike. She means well but I’m a little more competent at biking than that, even if I got a heavy load up front.

Thelma wants us to go biking to Pier 1 just to browse.

Pier 1 always has cool stuff to look at.

PIER 1

I love going to Pier 1.

There’s always so many things that I see, love and don’t need…but just want.

Bling bling!

This throw was super soft and very nice…fit for a queen.

In the end, I walked out with this thing. I guess I decided I did NEED it!

The nose lights up. A pig light for the keychain is necessary!

STARBUCKS

After we looked around at Pier 1, we went to Target. But, nothing too interesting to take pics of there. I was just looking for a replacement front basket for my bike.

Thelma wanted to go to Starbucks for a Pumpkin Loaf (YUM!) and to play some cards. This mommy definitely isn’t going to say no to that.

We were playing that Vietnamese game we always play, Tien Len. Four twos usually means an automatic win but I decided to keep playing anyway.

She’s a very gracious loser and immediately switches the game to CRAZY 8′s upon losing.

Alright, go ahead and do your victory dance.

I guess you can tell who won at Crazy 8s.

Kids love having that one on one time with a parent and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

We’ll have to do this more honey!

-Jane, Mommy to Sweet Thelma.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/thelma-and-mommy-alone-time-biking-to-pier-1-and-starbucks/feed/ 0 http://janeanddick.com/homeschooling/mind-blowing-science-the-kids-learn-about-acids-and-bases/ http://janeanddick.com/homeschooling/mind-blowing-science-the-kids-learn-about-acids-and-bases/#comments Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:29:39 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=20364 For Christmas, my cousin from Australia (MIA), you know the one who visited me and we went mechanical bull riding, sends the girls an awesome Science kit called Mind Blowing Science.

The girls have been itching to do the projects ever since Christmas and yes, I’m just getting to it now. Because I’m thinking this could get messy, it’s take me some time to be able to sit down and do it with them.

Today, we did Activity 2: Color Changing Liquids.

(We also did Activity 1 but the pics aren’t as interesting.)

This “lab” shows the girls what happens when you add an acid or base to Red Cabbage Powder.

We start out with three cups.

The girls take turns doing stuff in order to be “fair”, each pouring water into their cups.

We add red cabbage powder to water.

It dissolves and turns the water PURPLE.

Then, they both added the BASE to their solutions,which turned the purple water BLUE.

Thelma used more so hers turned darker blue.

Time to see what happens when you add ACID to one of the solutions.

Acid turns the solution RED.

So now you have an ACIDIC solution (red) and a BASIC solution (blue).

Now to see what happens when you add the BASE (blue) to the ACID (red).

RED and BLUE make PURPLE!!!!

So we’re back to our original Cabbage Powder Purple.

We end it by seeing what happens when you add Baking Soda to the purple solution.

It fizzes! Hence I guess this is how they get Soda drinks.

Dick happens to pop in during class to see what we’re up to.

Ooohhh…ahhhhh…

Naturally, after we’re done, the girls do a spectacular job cleaning up.

Thanks cousin MIA! I know it took me a while to get them started on this but we’ll be making it a part of our weekly science class lab. They love it!!

“So cool and fun!” – Thelma.

“This was awesome!” – Louise.

-Jane, Science Teacher and cousin to MIA.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/homeschooling/mind-blowing-science-the-kids-learn-about-acids-and-bases/feed/ 0 http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/louise-tries-to-copy-my-drawings/ http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/louise-tries-to-copy-my-drawings/#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:14:02 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=20133 Louise loves art and had seen my sketches of the stick figures I draw laying around. So, she took it upon herself to try to copy my drawings.

Here’s what she came up with:

She did so good! I love her adorable stick figures!

Here’s the comparisons:

She also did a few of her own, this being one of them.

A ballerina.

I love that she is practicing to draw. It doesn’t matter that she’s copying something. So long as she practices because the more practice she gets, the steadier her hand will get and she will only get better. Love it honey!

-Jane, Mother to Artistic Louise.

The girls leave messages on his dry erase board to show how much they’ve missed him.

They also know how to write their names in Persian.

-Jane, Mommy to Thelma and Louise.

Inside, Lucy has drawn in a calender with the remaining days until her arrival.

And she includes several sets of super cute stickers that she bought in Hong Kong while she had a layover there.

Asian countries have some of the cutest stationaries and stickers. When I was in Japan, I just couldn’t get enough of their assortment of ultra cute stationary and stickers. My mom also still has my collection from when I was a kid. I’ll have to show you my collection some time, if I remember. You know how I like to make empty promises.

Immediately, the girls started to fill out their calendar.

So, if you ever want to get your nieces, newphews, boyfriend, girlfriend…whoever, excited about an upcoming visit by you, send them a special card with a calendar and some cute stickers. It most certainly does the trick and keeps you in their thoughts.

-Jane, Sister to Fabulous Lucy.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/auntie-lucy-lu-sends-cards-with-super-cute-stickers-from-hong-kong/feed/ 0 http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/need-a-project-to-do-with-the-kids-how-about-collaborate-on-a-painting-together/ http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/need-a-project-to-do-with-the-kids-how-about-collaborate-on-a-painting-together/#comments Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:33:46 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=18881 Louise and I were at home together while Dick took Thelma to her training academy. So, Louise wanted to do something TOGETHER and thought it would be neat to work on a painting together. Normally, since the kids always want help with stuff, I would be like, “It’s more special if you do it by yourself” but actually, I thought this was a GREAT IDEA.

So, we got our acrylic paints out.

Now you don’t have to be an artistic prodigy to be able to do this with your child.

All I did was take a pencil and scribble a pattern on the paper.

Then we worked together to color in the spaces.

I used that copper color at first but ended up hating it so I painted over it.

ART is like that. You can change your mind whenever.

After we painted the base, I got inspired by that white swirly blob you see at the lower left corner of the page and we decided to repeat this pattern across the top of the painting.

Then, at the end, we decided to paint the white swirlies with glow in the dark paint.

I let Louise paint the glowing parts.

Turned out pretty cool!

Thanks Louise for inspiring Mommy!

It was great fun!

-Jane, Art Collaborator.

The playroom used to have those plastic, maze-like play areas that you usually find at Chick-fil-A or McDonalds. However, we find out that all of that had been removed because some of the parents complained that they (the adults) were having difficulty getting to their kids when they wouldn’t be able to come out on their own. I would have to agree that it is but then just don’t bring your kids there!

Well, since they took everything out, all they had in the room now is this mini ping-pong table…

A mini basketball goal…

and a table with some mini chairs that I had to fit my adult ass into.

DODGE THIS!

Thinking they would be totally bored in this sparse room, I was happy to be be wrong when I see the girls get creative and make do. The girls decide to take the mini basketball, chase each other around and try to tag the other with the ball, like in dodgeball.

They were laughing so hard and having so much fun.

COLOR ME BAD

After Thelma and Louise get tired and decide to take a break, we find some coloring sheets and crayons.

I love to color so I join them.

What do you think of my masterpiece?

Bad-ass right? lol

After a bit, Thelma gets bored and decides to go kick the ball around.

Soccer is in her blood.

Louise also loves to color and mentions to me that she wishes she could color like me.

I told her it just takes practice and show her some simple pointers…like coloring inside the lines, in one direction and fill in all the white space.

Louise then works furiously on a new piece.

Before.

After.

A great improvement don’t you think?

Great job honey!

I’m so glad my girls can find fun in simple things, makes life so much more enjoyable and easier!

-Jane, Mother of Simple & Imaginative Girls.

Usually, it’s summer when they want their hair short.

But now, summer is over and the girls are wanting their hair to grow out.

Slowly but surely, it’s getting there.

Of course, by the time their hair becomes long again, it’ll be summer again.

If I had a smaller head and face, I might be able to pull off such short hairstyles.

I’ve always wanted a short, fierce hair cut…

You know, like Meg Ryan had in her earlier days.

That messy but cute, look like you just rolled out of bed, tassled look.

Well, what do you think? Is it me?

Photoshop magic at it’s best.

That’s not even my body…just the face

Click HERE to see what celebrity’s body and hair I really used.

BACK IN THE DAY

Actually, I already went thru my short hair phase when I was in college.

Unfortunately, it was during my chubby days with the added FRESHMAN 15.

If you don’t know what that is, it’s the 15 extra pounds you add on your Freshman year of college.

You know, when you’re eating all that yummy and healthy DORM FOOD.

Being young and experimental, I also went through many different shades of red and orange.

But, having short hair only made my already ROUND face, ROUNDER.

Funny enough, when I first met Dick, I had short hair and was about 20 pounds heavier.

Of course, he’s telling me how lucky I am to have LANDED him.

Whatevah!

Me thinks me prefers me long hair.

Low maintenance and covers a lot of the surface area of my face.

-Jane, Lover but not Possessor of Short Hair.

]]> http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/short-hair-long-hair-which-do-you-prefer/feed/ 1 http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/thelma-and-louise-eating-worms/ http://janeanddick.com/thelma-louise/thelma-and-louise-eating-worms/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:10:58 +0000 Jane http://janeanddick.com/?p=16843 Whenever I am lazy to cook and need something fast, I always check to see what kind of INSTANT RAMEN I have in my pantry. Today, we have Chapagetti. It’s a non-soupy, instant noodle that tastes like a black bean sauce. Very yummy!

Image by www.homecookingdiary.com.

(I threw away the packaging before I remembered to take a picture).

Easy, fast and to spark my girls interest in eating it initially, I told them I was making WORMS for them to eat…you know, because eating WORMS sounds super appetizing.

You have to admit, they do kinda look like worms.

Well, it worked.

The girls love pretending that they are eating “WORMS” but they really love the taste.

It’s yummy! I like WORMS too!

I know, not exactly healthy but I feel it’s okay to splurge every now and then.

Of course my girls know how to use chopsticks! They’re Vietnamese!

And I can’t even take credit for it. They taught themselves when they were toddlers.

Since we’re eating worms, my girls start up an impromptu game of PRETEND. PRETEND is when they make up stories as they go and start off with “pretend we’re…” and then their imaginations go wild.

“Pretend we’re HOBOS but we have nice clothes.”

“Pretend we’re eating worms BECAUSE we’re hobos.”

“Yeah and pretend we have nice clothes because we got fifty cents and we went to the dry cleaners.”

OMG, where do they come up with these things!

So, if you’re looking for a great ramen that the kids (and adults) will love, I highly recommend trying some WORMS, aka CHAPAGETTI (which can be found at your local Asian grocery store).

-Jane, Mother of Worm Eaters.

This time it’s for the kids’ closet. As you know, I can’t stand a chaotic mess so I make the girls clean out their closet. They’re complaining of not having enough space so we also decide to get rid of anything they don’t wear or fit any more.

We dump out everything from the shelves so that we can sort, refold, refold, refold and put back nicely.

I moved the already neatly folded sweaters from the top shelf to the middle, where it’s more reachable, since the girls will be using them more now in the fall and winter.

Like some things, it gets WORSE before it gets BETTER.

The room is looking like a disaster area.

My stress levels peak just looking at it.

TA DA!!! CLEANSED!!!

However, after we WEATHER the STORM, we find it was all worth it. (At least to me.)

Yes, those are some of my clothes there on the left.

There’s just not enough closet space in this house.

That or we just have to much shit.

The girls like their room neat too…they just don’t exactly enjoy the road to get there.

But once we were OUT with the BAD…GOOD CHI has now filled the room.

It almost looks like it did when I first painted it.

And this futon bed is super comfy!

-Jane, Closet Cleanser.

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