Chalet Appreciation: La Toilette

Mr. Man and I have never really been blessed with large bathrooms. Every single house we have lived in has had a teeny tiny bathroom with lovely pedastal sinks. Beautiful, but so impractical when it is your only bathroom. We've gotten good at using fewer items to primp, so that it all fits in the medicine cabinet. It's the reason why Mr. Man and I are not so glam... there has never been any room for the products! Enter in the le petits and we were always scrambling for space.Outside that window is nothing but hillside. I love the view, and love that I was able to watch this the other day while shampooing my hair. Hello Rupert!! I also love this curvy tub. I find it amazing that my very favorite faux sister has the same bathtub in her house... 1000 miles away from me. This bathroom has the original tile and I love it all. I hope to reglaze the tub, change the floor... it's got some major wear, and possibly the medicine cabinet. Also, the cabinets don't stay closed, and it drives my OCD side completely batty. It's a lovely 1950's bathroom and it will make the perfect kids bathroom after we finish up the remodel.

Gro Boy, Gro!

It's planting time at Chalet du Francais. Gardening is a bit tricky at the chalet, we have to be wary of Rupert's growing appetite, the other deer, and the rabbits. I've never had to deal with wildlife. We decided to try a few different options with some raised and hanging planters. Everyone was pitching in with the planting. I was using some of this potting mix, which amoung the soil contains fertilizer balls that are released over time.

Mr. Boy walked over to me and said, "What are these?" showing me a handful of fertilizer balls, he has handpicked out of the soil.

Moi: Oh, those are fertilizer balls.

Mr. Boy: What happens if you eat them?

Moi: They are poison, so please don't eat them.

Mr. Boy: *brow furrowed* Oh.

Everyone carrys on and several minutes pass.

Mr. Boy: Mom, what happens if you eat five.

Moi: Um did you eat five?

Mr. Boy: Uh... well.. I accidentally ate one.

Moi: You will probably be fine, but don't eat more. Maybe I should check the bag.

Mr. Boy: So maybe... I accidentally ate two... or four.

The story came out, he ate 5 fertilizer balls and then I was on the phone with my pals over at Poison Control.. is this the 3rd or 4th time I've called? I've fogotten. Here is what I do know, I am making a list of things he has eaten that are not food. When it's time to go to prom, I'm going to sit down his prospective lady friend and say, "Ok, you need to steer clear of marbles, rocks, legos, and fertilizer balls, because he eats them." Maybe I'll safety pin a little note inside of Mr. Boys tux jacket with Poison Control's phone number... just in case. At this rate, we will probably on a first name basis with the Poison Control folks by then.

Mr. Boy meets Hollywood Blvd.

Mr. Boy is at Spring Break Camp this week, where he gets to do fun field trips everyday.


"Mom, on the way back from La Brea Tar Pits, we went down Hollywood Blvd. There were lots of crazy costumes. I saw Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Indiana Jones, Spiderman and cops talking to a lady who wasn't wearing a shirt!"

Who wants a Clean House?

Want to hear a confession? I'm not a morning person at all. When Mr. Man was away, the kids would crawl into my bed and we would watch Clean House on the Style Network, which had reruns from 7-8am. Towards the last few commercial breaks, everyone would scamper around getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc. We became big fans of the show, so when Cinnamon called and said, "a friend of a friend of mine is going to be on the show, let's go to their Clean House Garage Sale!" I was in, and knew that I had to take the kids. When the kids saw the cast, they flipped out. When AK saw the host of the show, her face lit up and she was stunned speechless. The cast was smitten with her, and AK got to film a few bits with Miss Neicy Nash. We just might need to get this gal an agent, she has some real spunk and I was stunned watching her play off Miss Niecy.

This is Matt Iseman, the GoToGuy...I'm not gonna lie, I think we had some chemistry. I love him. And I love his shoes... Mr. Boy was smitten with this Faux-Oscar and had to have it. Cim got it as a gift with purchase at the garage sale, and sold it to Mr. Boy for a dollar. We taught him to say, "Gosh, I can't believe I won, I am so honored to recieve this... First off I'd like to thank the Academy... "Mr. Boy is also smitten with Trish "The Yard Sale Diva" and refused to take a picture and preferred hiding inside my friend's cardigan. I whispered to Trish, "He has a bit of a crush... " and she showered him with compliments and gave him a high five. I'm pretty sure Mr. Boy hasn't washed his hand since. Is it just me or does Miss Niecy look a little bit like she's about to get a restraining order. This lady is also going to be on Dancing with the Stars, and she stars on my secret favorite show Reno 911. I'm pretty sure myself and my pals are going to be on the show, I'll keep you posted on the air dates. Super fun outing, and reason number #111 of why I love my new hometown. Psst.. I also scored Lincoln Logs and a pair of vintage red Mary Janes at the Yard Sale!

Chalet Appreciation: Master Bedroom

Nous dormons et faisons des choses vilaines dans ici aka The Master Bedroom First off, this house is ridiculously small. So all my pictures are horrid, forgive me. This is one of my favorite rooms. It's bigger than any other master bedroom we've had. I love that little chair in the corner. I sit there and read every evening. This room is an oasis from the chaos. I was going to do window coverings, but in the end, we love the light in this room, love waking up to sun poking over the hillside. Underneath our bed is every framed picture we own except for one. I wanted to wait until after the addition to hang our pictures. Walls are going to be moved and windows added everywhere. In fact in this room, the window over our bed will be gone. There will be two windows on either side of the bed. Also, do you see that ugly window air conditioner over the dresser... that will be gone and that will be where the door to our new master bath will be! A bath all of my own with white subway tile. I cannot wait! This is my inspiration for the new bathroom. And while this view is not exciting to the naked eye, can you see that there are TWO closets.TWO GLORIOUS CLOSETS! Thus ending 80% of the feuds between Mr. Man & I, which involved sharing a closet and my shoes encroaching his space. His and Her closets! Pure Bliss, no wonder I love this room so much.

We shall call him Rupert

We named the little guy on the left Rupert. He is a pretty new deer, and that is his mom next to him. You can't tell in the picture, but she looks exhausted. I can pick her out of the herd easily, because she is the one with one tired eye on Rupert and constantly looks like she needs a vacation or a valium. Or both.We LOVE Rupert. He doesn't stand still. The herd will graze happily and he is running back and forth at the speed of light. It's as though his legs are on fire and he is trying to put them out. I can just hear his Mama, "Rupert, stop running... settle down and eat this ivy. This is perfectly good ivy and who knows if it will be here tomorrow." "Rupert.. I said to stop... did you hear me?" Rupert never listens to his mama.

The other morning Rupert was running back and forth, doing circles around the herd at lightening speed. After a while he stops comes over by his mom, and sits down on his hind legs, just like a dog. I wish I had my camera, I've never seen a deer do that. His mama comes over and gives him a swift kick to rear end.

"Rupert stop that, you are embarrassing me. You are not a dog." He takes a few steps away and does it again. His mama comes over and gives him another swift kick. "Rupert KNOCK it off." He does it four more times. You can tell his mama is getting to the end of her rope, her kicks are getting a little more swift to his deer tush.

For some strange reason, I feel a lot of love for Rupert's mama. I don't know whyI feel so drawn to her. It's almost as though, we share a kinship as mothers... although I'm not sure why...

Pinch me

Pinch me... is this really where I live now? I knew we would end up back in LA for a long time, and I dreaded it. I thought we'd be living in a crowded neighborhood with rude neighbors.Let me introduce you to our new neighbors... There is Buck Owens and his entourage of ladies.So far... no one seems to miss the old house.

Sick Day

A few weeks ago I started to feel a bit rundown, I needed a nap in the worst way. It was a rainy afternoon and I fired up the electric blanket, tucked the kids in bed with me, and started rubbing their backs. It worked like magic, soon we were all snoozing away. At the end of the nap, I grabbed my cameraphone to document this momentous occasion. I never got them to nap at the same time when they were babies... this was a miracle and a luxury.
Soon they started to stir and before long... they were back to life.
But at least I had enough energy to carry on.

Off the deep end...

Mr. Boy has eczema, it's bad and it's not fun. We spend more money on skin care products for him, then the rest of the family combined. His body wash alone is $38 a bottle, and we use Aquaphor like it's going out of style. Be careful trying to catch Mr. Boy, because it's like chasing a greased pig with all the products we slather on him. We've been buying Tide Free for ages, but I just don't feel like the clothes get clean, plus the $13 price tag for 64 loads makes me grumble every time I buy it. Then I heard all about making your own laundry soap. The Duggars do it, but that just scared me. Next thing you know I'll have 19 children and I'll be driving a bus around town... and we will be eating Tater Tot Casserole from a big trough.

But then.. when I went to grab that giant bottle of Tide Free last week and flipped it around and noticed that they do not list the ingredients on it... So how do I know what kind of things are in it that are aggravating Mr. Boy's skin? That was the turning point and I threw open the window and said, "I'm mad as hell and I can't take it anymore!" Or maybe I wasn't quite that dramatic and I just put the Tide back on the shelf. I decided right then and there, no matter how weird it made me, I'd try making my own soap.

I had heard finding the ingredients West of the Missippi were a bit challenging. So I headed over to my new favorite website: Alice.com It's like Alice the maid from the Brady Bunch, who I wished we had living with us when I grew up. The stuff on the website is reasonably priced and if you order 6 items it ships free. Plus their packaging is clever and eyecatching. The only thing they didn't have was the Fels-Naptha but I found that at the regular grocery store. I had heard that Dial soap works great too, so I decided to use the 1/2 the Hypo-Allergenic Bar of Dial Soap and 1/2 Fels Naptha. Total cost to make enough for at least 120 loads: $12. I still have tons of the Washing Soda & Borax leftover, probably enough for at least 15 more batches. Mr. Man walked in right at this moment, and said, "Is that soap in the Cuisinart? What is going on?" I told him about my new plan and he just said, "I think you've gone too far with this natural thing, I get the whole organic food thing, but really?" I know he's wondering if I'm going to start cooking our laundry in the backyard in a giant kettle. He's already told me if I bring home a cow to put in the back 40, it's a dealbreaker. (As luck would have it, we are not zoned for cows, so the marriage is safe.) Here's the recipe for the detergent.

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

-Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons. Yields: 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

I tried it out on a load of whites, tossing in one of AK's chocolate stained shirts. Without using any stain treatment, it came out white! The clothes smell clean too.

So, now I'm off to buy a bus, and get me 17 more kids. Wish me luck!

Perfect Pic for Over the Mantle

I found this little gem while scrolling through some old photos.... Just one minute earlier I had blasted them with my stun gun. It comes in handy on family outings.
*this photo was NOT staged... because you can't stage this kind of awesome.

Fun with Playmobil

I often come across scenes around the house that make me laugh... such as this line of gentleman waiting to use the restroom. Or this scene where the lions have decided to have their way with one of an Egyptian grave robbers. Occupational Hazard I guess....

This one was put together by AK who earlier in the day had gotten a .0000001 milimeter gash on her knee. Obviously, she was trying to communicate that I underestimated the severity of the situation.

Cinnamon: The spice that's nice

One of the big perks of Chalet du Francais is the close proximity to Cinnamon (yes, her real name.) Actually, most of the folks on my blog get a fake name, except for Cinnamon, because you can't make that up. Everytime we go out and she introduces herself, everyone asks if that is her real name. Cinnamon is wild, irreverant, funny, and fearless. This gal rides a motorcycle, surfs, and you never know where she will end up calling you from. "Hey, I went to Vegas today, what's the name of that Thai place you like here?" Best thing, my kids love her, call her Auntie Cinnamanamonim, and she loves to hang out with them. And I love hanging out with her.

Chalet Appreciation: Mudroom

Have you read the Pioneer Woman? She is a city girl who married a cowboy and now lives in the country. She talks constantly about the amount of mud-caked laundry country life gives her. I always thought she embellished the quantity, now I believe her. Chalet du Francais, the mountain house in the big city, is surrounded by muddy hills and filled with workmen and children who drag all that mud into the house. As soon as I saw the Laundry Room, I knew it would be the perfect mudroom. I have ALWAYS wanted a mudroom, but in California most houses don't have them. I don't have a true before picture of the laundry /mudroom, but here it was when we moved in and before Mr. Man did some magic. Since this is the side entry to the house, right next to the driveway it easily becomes a dumping ground for everything. Before we moved in, I told Mr. Man how I envisioned this room. I couldn't believe it when he said, "Let's do it right away." So we bought a new front loading dryer to match our other one, which means both dogs can now watch the laundry spin, no more fighting!My original plan was to put a countertop over the washer and dryer, but it got to be way expensive due to the depth of the counters. So Mr. Man just slapped some plywood on top until we have a better idea. I stained it to try and make it look less plywood-like. The counter makes all the difference, I can fold laundry, do projects there, pile up junk, sort stuff.. the list goes on!Mr. Man installed cabinets and a shelf, and now there is tons of storage. The cabinets are just prefab cabinets from the Hardware store. (and notice they still have the labels on them, I finally just took them off!)
Now, when the kids walk in the door, they each have a basket to stash backpacks and school stuff. There is a bathroom right there, which is handy for muddy hands. Believe me there is lots of muddy hands, muddy paws, and muddy shoes. It's the simple things in life... for me it's the mudroom!

Toasty.. from a few weeks ago

It was one of those nights, cold and dreary. The mood around the house had been somber for days. Mr. Man had been grieving the sudden loss of a colleague and friend who passed away from a heart attack at the young age of 43. Mr. Man was at the funeral, while I was stuck at home with two kids who were constantly bickering. I just felt like we all needed a little indulging in life's simple pleasures. Something to lift the mood... I built a fire in the fireplace, using my mediocre girl scout skills. It took several attempts, but I finally got it going long enough to roast marshmallows and make smores.
The fire seemed to melt away the sadness, the bickering, and helped lift the mood. Have you ever noticed that people are more prone to open up and talk in front of a fire? The kids were asking deep philosphical questions intermixed with goofy ones. Why do people die at different ages? Why do frogs start out as tadpoles? Are donkeys and horses cousins? We made two smores for Mr. Man and kept them warm in the oven for when he arrived home. There's something about sticky fingers and mouths ringed with chocolate that lifts the mood and heals the spirit.