There are so many outlets when it comes to creativity as a parent. If you have a toddler, you can slip peas into their macaroni and cheese to get in those required nutrients. If your child is not old enough to tell time, bedtime is as soon as it gets dark even if it is only 6:30. If your child cannot read, you can fib the tale and skip over some of the pages during story time. If your child has no concept of money, they will think that a penny is all the money in the world and pick up the entire play room for one! You can say inappropriate things in front of them because they have absolutely no clue what a thundercunt from hell is... The world of friendship and spouse chatter remains hollowed ground until... UNTIL that day when you get a choice phrase repeated right back to you. You pause. You ask them to repeat it back to you. Just to be sure, you then ask them to repeat it one more time. You listen ever so closely and lean in.. It was not the right inflection nor the correct enunciation, but that was definitely a dirty bird word. Well-played, kiddo. Then, you mentally say about 13 cuss words in your head. Your mind goes into catastrophe mode. I wonder who else has heard my daughter say that??? I REALLY hope that she didn't repeat it on the playground at her Christian preschool!!! You run into the closet and call your husband. He lectures you on how you should have stopped cussing like a sailor in front of your child months ago. You hang up and flip off your cell phone hoping that your unsympathetic husband feels a twinge of pain at his desk. You sit there in shock and ponder how you are ever going to effectively communicate as an adult again without occasionally dropping the f bomb. This is when you have to learn Kid Latin. These are phrases that still get your point across, but they will not bring irreparable harm to your child's ears. One of the first Kid Latin phrases that I adopted was "Astarstar" or "Astarstarhole". In written text, it would look like this: A**. Do not pronounce the "a" like "ah", pronounce it like "aaayyyy". It is SO liberating to still be able to tell your friend in the Chick Fil A play area that your child acted like a complete "astarstar" at the grocery store over the weekend. Your child continues on their merry way because they have absolutely no clue what an "astarstar" means. The venue when I undoubtedly cuss the most is in my car. There are SO many idiots on the road, and the cuss words just literally roll off my tongue with such ease. The fact that I cuss at other drivers is a long-lived Swick family tradition. I can remember sitting on 'the hump' next to my Pampa in his Buick as a child when he would angrily scream, "What the hell are you doing, you silly ASSHOLE!!!" to other drivers on the road like it was yesterday. Ah, the mems... And, let's be honest - all other motorists on the road are just not at your level of driving expertise, so they deserve to be cussed out. This is when I learned to use the word "Jackwagon". My girls now think that all "Jackwagons" are trucks and mini vans. This is no coincidence because typically the worst drivers on the road ARE Moms in mini vans or rednecks in their monstrous rigs. I yell "Jackwagon" at least once a day. Try it on for size the next time some driver cuts you off without any remorse. One day, my friend was trying to explain to me in front of our kids some recent mean girl behavior that she had witnessed. She carefully shared that the girl's overall behavior had been reminiscent of the adjective that rhymes with the word "itchy". Perfect way to use some Kid Latin on the fly - bravo!!!! BUT, our fear in using the word 'itchy' to describe obnoxious behavior was that it sounded entirely too close to the actual word and could easily be repeated. We thought long and hard, and we finally decided to refer to all bitchy behavior from that point forward as "Monistat". Did you see that girl on the carousel?!?!?!? She is a grade A "Monistat". If you are not understanding our reference, just look up what Monistat is used to treat... My husband is really talented at thinking on his feet. It is probably one of his best qualities. Over Christmas break, we thought that it would be fun to take our girls to Cabela's. As we walked in, their eyes glimmered with excitement. They looked around in awe and wonderment until our oldest child noticed that there were animals everywhere - most of them hanging on the walls. She got misty eyed and inquired why there were SO many animals in one location that did not move. My husband let her know that they were all stuffed. The questions really started streaming in at rapid succession. Without even skipping a beat, Chris looked right at our kids and let them know that Cabela's is a retirement home for animals. As animals start to deteriorate or get sick, they migrate there to die in comfort. The animals seen everywhere are monuments in honor of their lives. UM. My husband is a Kid Latin Jedi Master! I have a lot that I can learn from him. To this day, when we drive past Cabela's, our kids loudly announce how it is a world famous retirement home for animals! Creativity is needed in every aspect of our lives. It is what makes my life and your life so unique. The same can be said for decorating... There are no rules when it comes to home decorating - I encourage you to think outside of the box and step out of your comfort zone. Be creative.
My husband loves to hunt. He has several trophy animal skin rugs that he likes to exhibit. I personally felt our home was a little too formal for dead animals lying on the ground, but I reluctantly put some of them out. And, I think that they look stunning! It took me several attempts and multiple locations, but I finally found just the right place for them!
Chris had several paintings that belonged to his deceased Mom. They are undoubtedly unique, but were not something that I would have picked out myself. I have one displayed on an easel in our formal dining room and the others arranged in a gallery wall layout in the hall. You would be surprised how often I get compliments and am asked about these pictures!
Chris has a few European mounts. I have adamantly bucked him on hanging any type of mount in our house for as long as we have been together. Recently, resin mounts came into style, and I told him that I would be open to finding one to display. Of course, he was practically foaming at the mouth at the prospect. We shopped around, and I found this one that I really wanted! It is so gorgeous! BUT, it came with one resounding problem as we tried to hang it... It is white and blended into our walls - you could scarcely see it once it was adorned to any location. So, he came up with the idea to hang it in the middle of this architectural piece!
The best way to get creative with your decor is to appropriately layer your vignettes. I used the above example to show you what I mean. I simply grabbed a few objects around my house to put out on this piece. In the first example, they are flatly displayed sitting next to each other. It looks perfectly acceptable, but it still needs some pizazz. In the second example, I have layered the items. My two favorite layering tricks are to use books and cake plates in varying shapes and sizes. By giving the pieces alternate heights, the vignette manifests into a more distinctive look. The biggest trick to decorating is to be different - just be you. After most people find something that they like, their immediate thought is - "BUT, where will I put it?!?!?" I truly encourage you to purchase it IF you are in love with it. If the price is right, and you would consider marrying it if you were single, BUY IT. The fun part comes next - the adventure in finding a place to display it in your home! Now that we have creatively learned how to communicate around our kids and deck out our homes, let's have a drink!!!
If you love lemonade AND you love beer, why not combine the two to make a Beerade!!! These are SO yummy and refreshing by the pool! As the weather remains so beautiful, it makes me long for pool time and beerades!
Ingredients:
A 12 ounce beer (I recommend a pilsner)
1 ounce of Vodka
1/4 cup of lemonade concentrate
Mix the frozen concentrate into the beer/vodka mixture and serve over ice! Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment