Looking 32

So I was on the phone with a friend last night and we were bemoaning the fact that we're growing older.  I'm 32 now, and I'm starting to look like I'm in my 30s, which is really not what I want to look like.  This is odd to me, this whole growing-older-and-looking-it nonsense, because I'm one of those people who just have never really looked any different through the years.  My hair has a lot of natural highlights, so any greys have blended in; I have oily skin, so there are no dry patches, no wrinkles...I've had two children of course, so I'm a different shape than I was previously, but I don't think I ever noticed any major change in my appearance until recently.

It started last year, when I discovered those first few grey hairs, some at each temple.  I pulled them out, but they came back of course, and so I went to talk to the stylist about it.

"So, there are grey hairs just above my ears."
"I don't see any."
"Yeah, they're there.  Should we dye them?"
"No!  It's fine, it's not even noticeable."

Regardless, I saw them.  And since I wear my hair up a lot, I've just kept noticing them more and more.  And now there are more of them to notice, too.  And so the next time I went to see her I mentioned it.

"Still there.  The grey hairs."
"There are a few."
"What do we do?"
"I think they just look like highlights."

I think she's being optimistic.  But okay, okay, it's a few hairs, right?  Then this year I've noticed a change in my face - it's not quite as youthful as it once was, it looks a little older.  I used to be able to pass for a girl in her twenties, now I think I would look 30 no matter what I did.

My friend and I started joking about the wardrobe problems of getting older.  We don't want to dress like we're in our thirties, but we don't want to look like a trendy teenager either!  And we're both a little afraid of becoming 'comfortable' in our clothing choices.  In fact, I'm willing to bet I'm already there.  At some point in the conversation her husband yelled in the background "soon you'll be shopping at Talbots!"  It's true!  You're only a few years away from Talbots, Amy; you're only 8 years away from 40!

I blame the whole thing on Reitmans.  With their easy to wear cotton stuff that gives the illusion of being so fresh, so stylish while still working on a daily basis, but covering up the fact that it makes you look like a mother!  Ugh.  50% of my closet has to have come from Reitmans, or looks like it did.  The knee length skirts, the v-knecked tees, the little button-up-the-front blouses, they suck you in with their 'I'm teal and therefore will make you look nice and pretty this summer!  Also I go with every other item on this rack!'. 

And then you read articles like this one, that declare in such a happy way that in your 30s you are going to start looking like a hag.  Great.  Very uplifting.

Oh, I know how awful this sounds, this complaining business, but it's bothering me recently.  I've never liked my birthday, I've never like the downward aging slope.  I don't relish the idea of getting older and have never really had any desire to do so 'gracefully' in any way - I plan to fight it all the way.  And I'm not sending Reitmans any Christmas cards this year, either, no matter how preppy and cute they make their sweaters this winter.

What My Children Do In The Summer

Now that we have the bad rainy awful muggy nice weather for the next 30 seconds, this is what we've been doing with it.

Deck Painting.  All you need is water, a paintbrush, and something that looks cool when wet.  Done and done.

WIWS - The Extended Edition

Although this article is no doubt choc full of interesting ideas, I found it a little bit twee.  Is that the word for which I'm searching?  I suppose I think that if humanity as a whole hasn't, after several thousand years of civilization, managed to stop thinking about themselves and think only on higher subjects then we're not all likely to read an online treatise on the subject, look at our lives of apathy and regret and shout "My!  I've had it all wrong!".  Or maybe there are those who will, what do I know.  I've had very little sleep and quite a lot of stress over the past few days.

There was Church this morning, and it was an endeavour to get there.  After much prehistoric-type squinting at the sky I decided that it was Not Going To Rain.  This decision is almost always made by me even if the sky is black and ominous and gross and actual Rain Is Falling because I detest the plastic cover nonsense on the stroller.  It was designed entirely to annoy and infuriate your children who will, in turn, annoy and infuriate you.  Very un-Biblical.  Certainly not a Lord's Day sort of item.

Alright, then, here's what I wore:


Top:  One of the few items I own that was purchased by ME, for ME, at a store which was not of the thrift variety.  Skirt:  It's actually almost floor length, but I pulled it up to shorten it.  And I, yes, bought it at a thrift store.

The observant among you will notice that a head-like part of my body is conspicuously absent from said photo.  This is on purpose - my hair was awfully wet.  However, if you prefer to see pictures of me where I have a head, you may gaze in admiration at the one below, which was taken yesterday at the end of my very first race ever. 

I ran/ran walked/walked/limped/pretended to be running for 5km.

I am happy and exhausted and red like a tomato.

If you'd like something significantly more fashionable to read, check out the ladies at FLAP for the What I Wore Sunday Link-up.

Update on the cats, and something else to add to the list.

If you follow me on facebook you probably saw this morning that 1) I am looking for new cloth diapers for the children [You can see my Pinterest board on the cloth diaper choices here]and 2) There was a horrific...I mean horrific poo situation this morning.  I cannot explain it to you.  Samuel had to go to another room it was so bad.  I had to wash my arms.  It was...oh heavens.

I'm in love with these ones:

Kawaii Ultra Soft Cross-Over Square Tab:  $6.99 each or 24 for $129.90

Kawaii One Size Snazzy Minky:  $7.75 each or 12 for $89.90

Both of these Kawaii options are pretty low-cost, and they have everything on my lists of 'diaper needs', which includes adjustable sizing, snaps instead of aplix fasteners, fleece outers and inners and pocket options.

But then, I also like these ones:

Lollidoos Eco-Pocket diaper

The Lollidoos are, if it isn't too hipster to say this, a beautiful diaper.  They look very soft, very sturdy and durable, and they come in two weights of fleece that would probably easily cover diapering needs for a long time.  They also adjust via an inner elastic system.  And while I really really like them, they retail at about $32 for the heavy fleece diapers, and I found a sale on the lighter fleece diapers - those are on for about $18.50 right now.  Yes, that's per diaper.  One diaper.  Ack.

News on the cat front - I brought them both to the vet yesterday and he was as uncertain as I had been.  They didn't have any traces of blood on their *ahem* nether bits, and they are eating and drinking and playing and interacting in a normal way.  Their respective temperatures were normal, which meant that if we are dealing with an infection, it is minor.  There also weren't signs of bumps or anything that would indicate tumors, etc.  We decided to forego the antibiotics right now, and instead switch them back to the expensive urinary tract health cat food that I really had hoped was behind us.  This might be a urinary tract infection, or possibly pre-crystals.  I tend to think the later since we've dealt with crystals with one of them before.

I hope it works, because I like my cats.

Cats, Cars and the Country

The cats' little 'bathroom problem' has come to a head now, unfortunately, and so I've sucked it up and made a vet's appointment for each of them, since it's almost impossible to tell which one is having the issues.  It's going to cost at least $51 for the first examination, and then some unknown amount that the receptionist thinks will be less than that for the second examination.  I'm not looking forward to spending the money that we really don't want to spend - but it will put everyone's mind at ease to know that whatever is causing these issues is resolved.

The appointment is tomorrow afternoon, so if you feel like praying for my cats' digestive tracts, that would be great.

Also on the list of things that we really DON'T want to spend money on is driver's training for David.  The best quote is $595 for classroom instruction and road time, but the next class is at the end of June, when David is supposed to be taking two classes through the denomination to maintain his ministry license.  I'm really frustrated about this - because the driver's training people have told us that he can't drive their car until he finishes the classroom work, but that's at the end of July.  The very nice lady on the phone informed me that the driving portion will be at LEAST a couple of months worth of time since we live in a 'busy' area.  What all of this boils down to is the following options:

1)  David doesn't go to his ministry courses at the end of June, but instead takes the classroom portion of the driver's training.  He then spends the next two months of the summer working his driving portions around shift work and hoping that he gets good enough to 'pick it up quickly' and take the actual driving test.

2)  David goes to his ministry courses, and then takes the next classroom portion, which is at the end of July.  Then he has a month less time to fit in all of the driving portions, and based on what I was told this morning, it seems really unlikely that he would be able to get all the hours in within a month AND take the test.

3)  We skip driver's ed altogether and David works with a licensed driver on his own to get comfortable behind the wheel of a car and organizes his own driving test for the end of the summer.

4)  Some other option I can't think of yet.

The other driving school in the area isn't returning our calls, so so far these are the only options I can think of.

Ok, Amy, enough complaining.

Seven Quick Takes in less than 10 minutes.

10:48 pm

I'm exhausted, but I didn't post yesterday and I told myself I would - so now I super duper have to post something (anything at all!) today.  Seven Quick Takes, don't fail me now.

1.  We've started going to see David at work more and more in the evenings.  Partly it just nicely finishes a circular walk for me and my minions, but it also coincides with crazy time.  'Bout 4pm around here.  David seems to lurve the visits deeply, and who wouldn't want to see their flustered yelly wife dragging two hysterical toddlers into their place of employment?

2.  This afternoon I spent hours and hours and HOURS scrubbing the basement floor.  It was that dirty.  I'm revolting, is I guess what you can take away from this.  The floor needs to be repainted so the cleaning had to happen.  Also, my cats pee. 

3.  Family decision time happened the other day when we realized that our love of giant tupperware storage containers knew no bounds - we're going to get rid of all of our cardboard boxes in the basement and switch to big totes.  I know, I know, this is the most exciting thing you've heard all week.

4.  Clara is climbing those stairs way faster than I wanted her to.  Which means I have to face the frustration of The Gate.  We bought this bloody gate when Samuel became mobile and I've hated it passionately ever since.  I don't know if it's defective or I am, but the thing won't open without significant cussing and thrashing.  And it's supposed to be attached to the wall, which I failed to figure out how to do properly in the old place, and will likely also fail to figure out here.  Agggh.

5.  If you remember to add her to your prayers, there is a sweet local girl who just had her second child at only 28 weeks.  She has an eleven month old at home.  Please pray.

6.  Links!  This article almost made me cry.

7.  Tomorrow I agreed to go grocery shopping with my friend at 8am.  I must be crazy.

10:58 pm

Check out Jen for more Seven Quick Takes

What we're reading these days

In the last few weeks I've seen a lot of changes and milestones come along in regards to Clara's development.  Some surprising (climbing the entire staircase without either David or I noticing) some unpleasant (Don't like what's for supper?  Throw it on the floor.)  and some that I am eager for and very happy about - like reading.  Clara has finally started showing an interest in books; she has her favourites, too.

The very best book in the entire universe according to Clara is this one.  I thought it would be too busy for her, because of all the small little pictures on each page, but she loves it.

I'm so happy that she decided to like Goodnight Moon, which is also a favourite of Samuel's.

This one is part of a series of books, all similar in layout with thick flaps to lift.  She's entranced by the flaps.

Samuel is focusing heavily on Robert Munsch books.  Every night we read stories again and again, and often throughout the day as well.  He seems to have put aside all of his other books in order to focus entirely on Munsch.

And what am I reading?  Mostly Barbara Pym.  I'm stuck in that sort of rut where you know exactly what it is you want to read, but have no way to figuring out how to find it.  Perhaps you can help me?  Or maybe you shouldn't, because there is enough stuff I should be doing without adding books to the list.  I have A Year of Biblical Womanhood on hold at the library, and when it comes in I won't be doing any housework for a day or two, so I may as well focus now.