Kelle, Author at Enjoying the Small Things

Pomp & Circumstance, Preschool Edition

May 24, 2016 By Kelle

Okay, you can officially add among my list of previous judgments before having kids “the ridiculous over-the-top graduation ceremonies they do for barely-something-to-celebrate things like preschool.” Because you know what I found out the cutest thing in the world is? Ridiculous over-the-top graduation ceremonies for barely-something-to-celebrate things like preschool.

Can you handle it? Because I CANNOT.

After spending the weekend in Ojai for my Spark Retreat, I woke up at 3:00 yesterday morning to get the earliest flight from L.A. to land just in time to run home, braid my travel hair and grab a new camera battery before heading to Nella’s preschool graduation ceremony.

I should add my dad took one look at my hair and dress after we parked and said, “Wait, I think there’s a separate parking place for covered wagons.” It continued all night with “Where do the prairie moms sit?”, “Is this reserved for the Ingalls Wilder family?” and so forth. Compassionate family, we come from.

But this little thing–this tiny celebration is the beginning of so much more. The foundation of Nella’s education journey began in this sacred place with wonderful teachers and friends and constant accommodations to help her learn in an environment that looked a lot like the world outside its colorful walls–diverse and open. From Day 1, we were told “we will listen, we will love her, we will change things up to help her learn.” And I can carry that nugget in my pocket for years to come.

And last night, as Pomp and Circumstance started playing and I made her out in the procession down the aisle, all smiling and waving, I whispered “Sweet Jesus” and a few other swears under my breath until Brett reminded me, “CHURCH. We’re in a church, Kelle.” It’s just I never forget that day–the one I thought that maybe I didn’t want to do this, that it would be too hard. The one when I forgot that when it comes to your kid, love will obliterate the “too hards”. I remembered the day again and thanked my lucky stars that it fell on us.

Also, we’re totally recreating this picture with all her graduations in life. There will be many.

And if enjoying last night wasn’t enough, a few more we’ve been drinking up. From Gasparilla Island…

Urchins!

The kids gathered floating coconuts and threw them over the dock over and over and over.

Dash started bringing them in twos.

These last two weeks? We’re in The Gauntlet, folks. The recitals, the final projects due, the half-ass efforts to finish this school year with the simple goal of STAY ALIVE. We can do this. Summer awaits. God speed.

Summer Bucket List Charm Necklace

May 19, 2016 By Kelle

Our countdown to summer begins! For our summer bucket list last year, we made scout vests and earned patches for each thing we crossed off. It was so much fun to keep track of, and the vests are now hanging in the girls’ bedroom, a reminder of all our adventures. I love the idea of having a keepsake from each summer, so we wanted to do another bucket list this year but in a different way. And with charm bracelets and necklaces making a comeback (have you seen the 80’s ones at Michael’s? Total blast from the past!) and such a huge variety of charms available, they make a great way to track summer adventures.

Eat breakfast in a fort on a rainy morning: toaster charm
Have a backyard dance party: record player charm
Catch a fish: goldfish in a bowl charm

We wanted to customize ours a little more specifically though, so we used one of our favorite craft items to design our own charms: Shrinky Dinks!

Your kids can draw and make their own charms or they can turn in their bucket list, and you can make charms for them.

We used this Shrinky Dink paper, drew our pictures with colored pencils, punched a hole in them and then baked them for just a couple of minutes before they shrunk, thickened and hardened into perfect little charms. We added jump rings and lobster claw clasps (from any craft store), and I found cute very inexpensive silver charm necklaces and bracelets at Michael’s.

We’re still adding to our list and creating charms, but with a little jump start, we’ll have them ready for summer.

I love the idea of having something we can all share and remember memories together–the summer of ’16 necklaces.

These aren’t just for kids either. Make one with your best friend. Or your mama.

And if you want to skip the whole make-it-yourself thing, Michael’s also has a huge collection of nicer charms.

Happy list making.

Splish, Splash, Arts & Crafts: A Pool Party Celebrating 9 Years

May 17, 2016 By Kelle

I introduced a friend to Parenthood for the first time last night–which feels a bit like leading someone to a secret island where there is buried treasure you know will change their life. As if the show isn’t already emotional in that ‘Parenthood will GUT you’ sense, we watched it together–me, on the night after celebrating my first born’s 9th birthday; her, stretched across my couch, her hands resting on a small hill of a belly where her first baby grows. For three hours (yeah baby, three episodes in a row), I felt turned-inside-out, more than usual, from the very thing that tied it all together in that moment–Parenthood, literally and figuratively. I was inclined to be the obnoxious person who keeps interrupting a good show with condescending explanations and commentary–“It’s really like that, just wait and see”; “Uuggh, this part makes me cry–I’ve so been there.”; “She loves her kid so much–can’t you just feel it?”–but I didn’t because no doubt my friend already feels it, and also I try hard not to be that girl. So I stayed quiet, instead calculating the fact that I have been a mother for a mere quarter of my life now, but cannot even remember what it’s like not to breathe love every moment of every day for someone that belongs to me–at least for a little while. Mother time weighs more than real time, so let’s just say I’ve loved this child for half my life.

Over the past nine years, I’ve saved a few trinkets that define her current year, stashing them in a big bag in my closet with the hopes of one day, years from now, stumbling upon it–maybe with her as we pack her bags for college or gather up her things for her first home or search for treasures for grandbabies–and suddenly remembering, “Oh my God! Zhu-zhu pets! You loved these! Squinkies! You had 100 of them. Shopkins–Lainey they were your world!” She grows and graduates from small windows of her life–quicker than ever now–while I pause to reflect on how much joy that little phase brought us. From the butterfly rattle to the Elmo doll, through My Little Ponies and Fur Real Pets, to Rainbow Loom bracelets and Shopkins. These little loves are reflections of the big loves that will one day embrace her and carry her into the world–the studies, the places, the people, the passions. But for now there’s charm necklaces and sticker books, and swimming and crafts. She wanted the latter two to team up for her birthday party theme, so it was “Splish, Splash, Arts & Crafts” this year. A little from our 9 year celebration this past weekend…

We set up three craft tables that didn’t require any mom help:

Design Your Own Water Bottle

bulk neon sport water bottles, Sharpie oil-based paint pens

Decorate a “Pool Tote”

…and Make a “Pool Tile” Necklace

I love using these “jello shot” containers for parties. They work great for making individualized kits for each kid. These had an assortment of glass beads, a pre-cut necklace cording and a clasp to tie once finished. Kids rotated stations on their own, and it was smooth sailing and mess free–just the way we like it.

The big hits were the pool floats (pretzel pool float, pizza float)

…and the money dive game. My dad brought a big bag of change and scattered it all over one end of the pool. We set the kids free to collect it all, and the top two amount winners won beach towels, and everyone got to keep their change. Winner strategy was definitely to go straight for the quarters.

Super easy and inexpensive party favors–dollar section packs of lipgloss; tuck one and a few pieces of candy in a little paper bag (Michael’s), seal with blue glitter washi tape and paint on some glitter waves.

It’s our last single digit year…to many more charms on her necklace. xo