Mothers' Day is coming up for those of us in North America (May 10th and 11th) and a bunch of other countries. I think it's a Hallmark holiday*, personally, but like to do something nice for my mom and grandmas. I've done the tote bags, brag books, hand prints, etc. Spew forth all your ideas for the ultimate in grandmother fulfillment, please.
Also, if there's something you wish someone would give *you* for Mother's Day, feel free to post it here. I would like these shoes in green (size 7 1/2).
* Of course I'll change my tune when my boys are old enough to really take responsibility for doing something nice for me on the day. But in general I think public celebration of it is pointless, and only makes women who haven't had children feel less than. I might change it to "Buy a Lady a Drink Day."
I bought my mom and MIL the same thing this year: a small LCD keychain that holds 30 pictures and I will be preloading them with pictures of the Bean.
Posted by: Laurel | April 18, 2008 at 09:52 AM
A pair of "Naughty Monkey Women's Getting Lucky Pump" for Mother's Day should be required for all moms. Nice choice, Moxie!
What I'd like for Mother's Day is to have an adventure downtown as a family that also allows me to do a little shopping. Nothing fancy.
I usually just do a phone call to my mom, somnetimes flowers, but I'm boring that way.
Posted by: rudyinparis | April 18, 2008 at 09:53 AM
my mom's favorite grandma gift was skype+her webcam. And when my kid hears the 'booooop.....booooooooooop' ring of grandma + grandad on the computer he LOSES. HIS. MIND with excitement. A big hit.
Posted by: shirky | April 18, 2008 at 09:53 AM
What I'd really, really like for Mothers Day is to have the day off. Is it awful to not want to be a mom on the day that celebrates motherhood?
Posted by: MadameOvary | April 18, 2008 at 09:54 AM
I don't think it is awful to want a day off for Mother's Day. I'm in a similar boat- all I want for Mother's Day is to NOT have to celebrate it with my mother and entire crazy extended family.
You know, I wish for Mother's Day I could get all dressed up and go out for tea at the Four Seasons with my 3 year old daughter (just us ladies) who would, no doubt, have the time of her life since most of her fantasies involve dressing up and pretending to drink tea.
Posted by: michelle | April 18, 2008 at 10:09 AM
@Laurel -- which digital keychain did you get? Have you tried loading it yet? I would love to get one for my mom, but the reviews at Amazon are putting me off...
Posted by: JB | April 18, 2008 at 10:18 AM
Last year for the grandmas I ordered various items from Snapfish (you can also use Shutterfly or Zazzle, or even stores like Walgreen's and Osco) with my son's picture. One got a scarf, another got a mug, another got a pillowcase, and another got a jigsaw puzzle. (I come from one of those crazy blended families, so my kid has a lot of grandmas and great-grandmas.)
This year I am going to TRY to make silhouttes for the grandmas, using these seemingly easy-to-follow directions:
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/04/diy-project-custom-paper-silhouettes.html
Please note that I have NOT tried this project and cannot vouch for its user-friendliness. It could very well be that this project is impossible, and my kid's grandmas are all getting boxes of Fannie May for Mother's Day. Side note: Are there any other west-coast transplants out there who really miss See's? (I know, I could order online, but it's not the sort of thing one thinks of in advance.)
Posted by: Shannon | April 18, 2008 at 10:28 AM
Homemade cookies. Fingerprints come into those without really trying. :)
Posted by: Shandra | April 18, 2008 at 10:36 AM
as usual, i like to have a specific day to celebrate whatever. but i'm nerdy like that. it was especially hard to hear/see the onslaught of mothers day commercials the year/year after my mom died- only got better really when i was pg w/ the pnut.
my husband always sends his mom flowers, and i get her something grandma themed from pnut since she loves that kind of crap.
this year we actually have retreat with our kids that weekend- my husband thinks that's the best mothers day gift to their moms- to have a weekend off from their teenagers? totally worth the 110 bucks or whatever it costs.
last year i got really nice windchimes and a peony plant (a favorite!) but i imagine that would only be good if you have a yard. we also buy our plants (flowers, veggies) that weekend and do our gardening that weekend- which, again, maybe not so much fun for folks who don't enjoy that. i think this year i'm going to ask to do sushi take out vs. trying to find a place to eat out that isn't nuts.
Posted by: pnuts mama | April 18, 2008 at 10:36 AM
If you have Fannie May, you might have See's. They're taking over Chicagoland (there's one on the near-norht side somewhere and I saw a brand-new building for See's in Algonquin (far far NW suburbs)).
I bought this digital photo key chain for my MIL for Christmas:
http://www.amazon.com/Innovage-1611266-Digital-Photo-Keychain/dp/B000S03FK4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1208529441&sr=8-1
I preloaded it with photos (not hard). I thought the picture quality of the screen was quite good and I think I only paid $19 for it back then. In fact, I was so excited about it, I thought my husband would buy me one (but he didn't). I don't think my MIL was thrilled with it though. She likes technology and does tond with digital photos. I put both her grandkids on there, but I think she needs her glasses to see it well, so she just doesn't use it. Oh, and it's not really a great keychain. It's better to have a nice keychain and use this more like a brag book in your purse.
Posted by: SarcastiCarrie | April 18, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Can't even remember the last time I did MD for my mum.. I don't even call. But I think this year will get me all soppy as I saw what Noah came home with for Father's Day, and just the idea that he will be working on something similar makes me go all teary.
And for those mums who want sometime by themselves on that day, can I come too??
Posted by: paola | April 18, 2008 at 10:41 AM
I am going to have my 3 yr old boys do an art project (if I can get them motivated to do it before Mom's Day) for their grandmas. I read this great art for children site and it talked about giving kids the chance to paint on canvas. So, I bought 4 small square canvases (on line) and am going to have each boy paint two canvases, one for each grandma. I think they would really like this.
As for me and mom's day... it is a hard day as we have obligations to celebrate with my MIL and my mom so the weekend is full of getting ready for their visits and really doesn't wind up being too relaxing or about "me". I'm guessing that will change over time as the boys get older.
Posted by: Maureen | April 18, 2008 at 10:49 AM
I do Mother's Day in the fall, for spring. I plant tulips in my mom's yard for her to enjoy.
This year the damn rabbits ate 3/4 of them before they bloomed. Grrr.
But that's my mother's day gift to my mom. I aim for a good 80+ tulips coming up in her yard. Last year, I swapped to something for winter, and got her some winterberry holly (a native holly) to enjoy. But with the combo of a year off and the stupid rodents, I think I'll have to do tulips again, as the show this year was pathetic. Sigh.
I'm not much into MD, even when my kids do it. I mean, I totally get squishy and teary at the school events when they all sing mother-themed songs at me (who wouldn't!?) but ... eh, I'm too Quaker when it comes down to it. Celebrate me every day, a little, and I don't need a big day once a year. Granted, when they move away, I probably won't mind so much the once-a-year reminder. But for now, no biggie. Hallmark holiday. (My mom's birthday is also in spring, and she's REALLY into the Mother's Day thing, so ... I accomodate her preference.)
Posted by: hedra | April 18, 2008 at 10:55 AM
@Shannon
The silhouettes aren't too hard. You just need a decent side shot so that there's something recognizable about the head. And if you're doing more than one head in a set, you have to make them sized correctly (Dad's bigger, kid's smaller, etc.)I made a family set for my husband -- now I just have to add our daughter!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melonkelli/271530259/
I have a 4y, 2y and 4 month old. Every month on their birthday day I've been taking a picture (more or less), so I'm hoping to put together a set of collages (48 photos of DS1, 25 photos of DS2 and 4 photos of DD) to frame. Or maybe that won't happen this year. Of course, that would set me up to have to make something cool for Father's Day...
I'll probably just end up sending out postcards with the kids' pictures on them. I print photos at Costco and stick photopostos (photopostos.com) on the back.
My mother in law will be visiting this year, so I don't know what is planned. I'll be feeding my daughter (4 months) breakfast in bed at least!
Posted by: kelli | April 18, 2008 at 11:11 AM
We don't really do anything for Mother's Day. I guess since my daughter is in preschool this year, she'll be coming home with something. Actually, I know what it is, since I'm making the mother's day gifts with the kids (they're making lip balm). I usually send photos of the kids to the grandmas, and my husband and daughter usually go and buy me a book. The book is often wildly inappropriate for the occasion (one year it was "Eat This Book" about the competitive eating circuit.) but always good for a laugh. Mainly, mother's day just reminds me that my kids don't have a "real" grandma - both my mom and my husband's mom are dead, and while the stepgrandmom's are loving, wonderful people, it's just not the same. I guess it shouldn't bother me so much, since my kids have never known any different, but I remember what a huge part of my life my grandmother's were when I was a child, and it makes me sad that my kids only get a pale substitute.
Posted by: sue | April 18, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Last year I got my mom this "grandmother" figurine which she loved: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PUEWY0
DH got me a gift certificate for a massage which was from him and BJ. That was a great gift. What I'd love this year would be a fun day with the two of them. I've been working every weekend to get my dissertation finished and I'm so tired of missing out on the weekend fun.
P.S I'm so (irrationally) excited that we have the same shoe size, Moxie. If I lived in NY I could come over and borrow your (very cool) shoes!
Posted by: Katy | April 18, 2008 at 11:25 AM
@kelli -- that's so cool! the silhouettes turned out great. once i get ambitious enough, i'll have to give it a whirl.
this is my first mother's day as a mom,so i'm pretty excited about that. curious to see what the loving husband comes up with!
as for what we're giving the grandmas... i was totally swayed by snapfish's 20% offer,so both are getting photo necklaces with early-on pictures of the pumpkin with my husband and i, respectively. in past years, we've just gone the flowers route, but now that we have a little grandchild to display...! now for *my* grandma, who is now a great-grandma for the first time, i'm thinking about a photo mug or something. she's a morning coffee kinda gal, so the mug would be put o good use. and she'd just die to have something of her very own to use over and over with the pumpkin's picture on it. photo gifts for everyone! ;-)
Posted by: Suzie | April 18, 2008 at 11:28 AM
@sue, even some biological grandmas are pale substitutes. My own grandmas were, um, iffy. Non-present for most of the time, kind of batty the few times we were together.
My mom had a similar issue - one grandma was pretty decent, but another was rigid, commanding, and un-fun.
Her response, and mine as well, is to make sure that WE are the kind of grandma's we want our grandkids to have. (I invented a better set of grandparents than the crazy/predator catastrophe set I was born with, by adopting the elderly couple across the street. They were fabo grandparents, actually! Even though they weren't mine officially. Retirement homes and nursing homes are full of elderly who would love to be adoptive grandparents... the opportunity exists if it is important enough. So is talking to the loving wonderful step-grandparents and seeing what can be done to enhance involvement.)
Um, anyway, I'm sorry your kids aren't getting the same degree of involved grandparenting you got. At least you have a model for how to carry on yourself when you get there (presuming you get there - also presuming I get there, since I'm nowhere near there yet!).
Posted by: hedra | April 18, 2008 at 11:30 AM
My Mom's birthday usually falls around Victoria Day, which is usually a week or two after Mother's Day, so we'd combine the two. When we were living at home, we buy and plant all basket flowers for her for along the front balcony and walk.
I've never been a big fan of Mother's Day, until I learned last year that the impulse behind it (in the US) was as an antiwar protest. I thought that was very cool and I'd like to somehow mend that into the day, at least when my boys are a little older and more aware. Maybe next year? Writing letters or planting something? As you can tell, I haven't really thought this one through yet!
Posted by: m | April 18, 2008 at 11:31 AM
My mom has all the stuff she needs; she likes it when we make donations to charity in her name.
The shelter in one place I lived used to publicize a Mother's Day push to donate the cost of one night's stay; they sent a card saying "Peace on Earth begins at home." She loved it.
I've also made donations to the Pajama Program, because there is nothing she likes better than the sight of kids in their jammies.
Posted by: Slim | April 18, 2008 at 11:32 AM
My Mom's birthday usually falls around Victoria Day, which is usually a week or two after Mother's Day, so we'd combine the two. When we were living at home, we buy and plant all basket flowers for her for along the front balcony and walk.
I've never been a big fan of Mother's Day, until I learned last year that the impulse behind it (in the US) was as an antiwar protest. I thought that was very cool and I'd like to somehow mend that into the day, at least when my boys are a little older and more aware. Maybe next year? Writing letters or planting something? As you can tell, I haven't really thought this one through yet!
Posted by: m | April 18, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Mother's Day isnt a Hallmark holiday.
Mother's Day has a really cool history. It was started as a protest against war, specifically the Civil War.
Posted by: Brooke | April 18, 2008 at 11:33 AM
(Granted, my grandmas also still managed to find roles to fill, that were really valuable. One very batty was quite good at feeding the literacy side - books were a constant gift. Talking to her was weird, though, as she was a cross beween very paranoid, totally gullible (if she'd been on the internet, I'd be getting every urban legend sent on as proven fact), and scientifically rational. It made for a very bizarre experience.)
Posted by: hedra | April 18, 2008 at 11:33 AM
@m, that's kind of cool! I could definitely bring in a peace-on-earth angle, without fretting about the Hallmark version. Hmm.
Posted by: hedra | April 18, 2008 at 11:35 AM
My mom always says she just wants a meal with all of us. I buy her a card anyway, and we all usually do a lunch or dinner. She actually prefers a BBQ at their house, where us kids organize the meal and the men cook it. I'm sure we'll do that again this year.
For my gift, I would also like time for myself. It's great that I got a half-day at the spa gift certificate last summer for my birthday, but when am I supposed to use it? I'd rather he just bought a massage not a half-day thingy and just gave me time to go. Maybe even set it up for me, so I don't have to schedule things myself.
@JB - For Christmas, I got hubby the digital photo keychain from Brookstone. He loves it.
Posted by: caramama | April 18, 2008 at 12:19 PM
I'm going out of town for mother's day. By myself. Not even the Grover puppet will be coming with me.
Alex will be with my parents. I'll be back the day of, so we can all still celebrate together with a family dinner.
Posted by: Julie | April 18, 2008 at 12:43 PM
@sue- I agree that sometimes people are better as parents than grandparents. My parents have never seen ds #3 (2 1/2 yrs old) and last saw DS 1 & DD2 7 yrs ago. They said they aren't ready to be Grandparents at least to my kids.
As for gifts I tend to either give Lowes, home depot gift cards, magazine subscriptions or a calendar for the year with 12 different pictures of the kids. If the grandmothers have charm bracelets maybe a charm to add to it with the child's silhouette and engraved with dob?
Aloha
Dawn
Posted by: dawn f | April 18, 2008 at 12:49 PM
Love the sillouette idea!!
I'm doing a cookbook this year. I'm a real foodie so there are a lot of recipes to draw from and I'm having it published online at lulu.com.
Last year I did little scrapbooks for everyone with pics of the twins.
A few years ago I made tons of meals and froze them. Everyone got two weeks of not having to cook (which may just be my wish this year!)
Posted by: wendy | April 18, 2008 at 01:05 PM
I was browsing around online because of this thread and noticed you can get real US postage with photos of your kids (or cats, or whatever.) I might do that.
Posted by: JB | April 18, 2008 at 01:54 PM
This might not help anyone... ok it wont, but I am still sharing.
My mom is a big gardener so when I was in high school and working on a farm I brought her a big basket of poop for mother's day (it was her favorite gift by far)! But most years the agreement has always been I give her my body in labor for that day. We spend the day working in her garden. I don't love gardening the way she does but I think it gets to the essence of mother's day; time together doing something that makes her really happy, and just totally giving back to a person who gave so much in my life.
Posted by: sheSaid | April 18, 2008 at 02:02 PM
My Mom died when I was a teenager, so Mother's Day has always been a very sad time for me. After I married, the day turned to be about my MIL, which made me feel even worse. Now that I'm a Mom, too, I'm slowly feeling better on that day, however, the past 2 Mother's Days I happened to be visiting family, so the focus was split among myself, my stepmother, sister and sister-in-law. That sort of sucked.
I don't really need anything for Mom's Day (although a homemade card and appointment for a pedicure are always appreciated). What I'd really like is a non-stressful day spent in the park with my husband and son. Or hiking. Just spending the day together with no errands. And I don't want to have to cook dinner. :o)
Posted by: meggiemoo | April 18, 2008 at 02:47 PM
No brilliant ideas from me, but I appreciate hearing everyone else's plans! Personally I think the peony, windchimes, and a pre-scheduled massage escape sound good to ME... but somehow I don't think my mom would get the same charge out of it. Maybe the massage; I don't know.
Hedra, have you tried spraying the foliage of the tulips with Liquid Fence? It's basically made of diluted rotten egg and garlic and has worked pretty well in my bunny-infested yard.
Posted by: Meika | April 18, 2008 at 02:49 PM
Julie you crack me up, what the heck is Grover going to be doing all on his own?
we usu. just send cards, maybe we'll get bean to do some artwork to enclose.
my bday is right after, and we're doing combined MD/bday gift of professional photos, and will also use one as christmas gifts for the grands.
Posted by: Lisa F. | April 18, 2008 at 02:55 PM
Can I just vent about Mother's Day?
After many years of infertility (and sadness on Mother's Day), I now have a 2-year-old girl. Since she has been born, my husband has made a big deal of mother's day -- for his own mother. The first year he cooked a lovely stir fry at her house with shrimp, which she loves. Knowing I can't stand shrimp, he picked it out of my portion.
Last year, we all went out for dim sum the Sunday before Mother's Day, because his mother had mentioned that she liked it when she was in China. I think he may have wished me happy mother's day on that day. On the actual day, my husband never even said the words "Happy Mother's Day" to me.
I don't want to give you the impression that my husband is a mama's boy -- I think he just doesn't understand that it's his job to celebrate mother's day on our daughter's behalf. (In my opinion) I guess my subtle hints of gifts on Father's day every year just haven't worked.
I'm writing this in preparation for somehow communicating my needs to him in a positive fashion.
Oh, and my mother received lilacs from me for many years, until one finally survived in her yard...she's a good gardener, but couldn't find the right spot for it.
Posted by: Cecilia | April 18, 2008 at 02:57 PM
@JB I got the Tao 1.5" keychain from the Sharper Image b/c they are closing the store near me and they were on sale. Usually I do research, but didn't this time. Haven't tried to upload yet, but it came it cables and should work with Mac and PC.
Posted by: Laurel | April 18, 2008 at 03:18 PM
I'm going to a stitch'n'bitch (sewing type) the day before (squee!). No clue what, if anything, on the exact day; I suppose we'll call our mothers. But what's really cool is that I'm getting a baby shower from my MIL - not that weekend, because of how the family is scattered and all have assorted in-laws to attend to, but the next!
I didn't know MD started as an anti-war thing; I always assumed it was a stupid Hallmark holiday thing, as well. I guess I should go wiki it and find out!
Posted by: Katie B. | April 18, 2008 at 03:25 PM
Cute shoes and they would totally match my shiny green purse! I'm flat-footed so I can't wear anything that kick-A without being in agony all day. If you get them, wear them hard for me too!
Posted by: Carmen | April 18, 2008 at 03:35 PM
My mom and I are both tennis fans, so I bought the two of us tickets to see the championship match at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships in July. Usually I just order flowers and send a card though.
@Cecilia - My husband was the same way, the first MD after our twins were born. I had fantasies of new jewelry, breakfast in bed, etc, until he confessed the morning of MD that he'd forgotten to buy a card. He had done nothing to prepare for the day. He ran out to buy a card and a balloon while I cried. I would have been fine without all the fantasy stuff, if only he had gotten a card ahead of time.
I think Mother's Day is not only about celebrating your own mother, but for men, the mother of their children. In gestating and giving birth to our girls, I've given him the greatest gift in the world. And I want some recognition, dammit. Some jewelry wouldn't hurt either. Luckily, he did much better the next year, and I had a lovely picnic with him and the girls at one of my favorite spots (we couldn't afford jewelry that year - I'm hopeful for this year).
Posted by: cindy | April 18, 2008 at 03:36 PM
Maureen -- I'd love to know what the art for children website was that you found.
Posted by: Cassie | April 18, 2008 at 04:05 PM
Mothering Sunday over here (the UK) is centuries older than Hallmark, and is a Christian holiday originally - it's tied in to the Easter season. I went to the Mothering Sunday service at my local church, and ate some simnel cake - wild celebrations, I know!
Posted by: Tam | April 18, 2008 at 04:53 PM
@cassie I will bet ten dollars Maureen meant artfulparent.wordpress.com
Posted by: shirky | April 18, 2008 at 05:00 PM
OMG I met Jean (arfulparent) in Chapel Hill before they moved to Asheville! didn't know she had a blog, thanks for mentioning this!
Posted by: Lisa F. | April 18, 2008 at 06:18 PM
My own mom's birthday is just a few days before Mothers Day so I usually combine the two. I haven't been big on MD since Mouse was born--she just hasn't really been old enough and I'd feel weird getting an MD gift from anyone that wasn't actually my child. (And I'm kinda annoyed by the ads you see now--if you REALLY loved your mother, you'd giver her diamonds!!--good grief.) I have to say though, Mouse joined her preschool between Mothers Day and Fathers Day last year and the FD gift was freaking adorable, as was the absolute glow of pride on her face when she gave it to Mr. C (they did little cartoon sculptures of their fathers' faces--the teachers made balls of clay on sticks and the kids added the hair, features, etc. and painted them). Just this week Mouse told me there's a secret project going on and I kind of can't wait.
And Moxie, I heart your taste--could you seriously wear those in your urban/on-foot routine? If so, you are a stronger woman than I (mine easily runs to a couple miles a day with hills and I can't do heels for that distance). Some smashing but semi-practical Fluevogs would have to do for me.
Posted by: Charisse | April 18, 2008 at 06:21 PM
My own mom's birthday is just a few days before Mothers Day so I usually combine the two. I haven't been big on MD since Mouse was born--she just hasn't really been old enough and I'd feel weird getting an MD gift from anyone that wasn't actually my child. (And I'm kinda annoyed by the ads you see now--if you REALLY loved your mother, you'd giver her diamonds!!--good grief.) I have to say though, Mouse joined her preschool between Mothers Day and Fathers Day last year and the FD gift was freaking adorable, as was the absolute glow of pride on her face when she gave it to Mr. C (they did little cartoon sculptures of their fathers' faces--the teachers made balls of clay on sticks and the kids added the hair, features, etc. and painted them). Just this week Mouse told me there's a secret project going on and I kind of can't wait.
And Moxie, I heart your taste--could you seriously wear those in your urban/on-foot routine? If so, you are a stronger woman than I (mine easily runs to a couple miles a day with hills and I can't do heels for that distance). Some smashing but semi-practical Fluevogs would have to do for me.
Posted by: Charisse | April 18, 2008 at 06:21 PM
ack, sorry for the double!
Posted by: Charisse | April 18, 2008 at 06:22 PM
i like the idea of MD if it actually means something to you. this year, my first with TheBug, helps me appreciate what my mom did for me. it's f-ing hard being a mom who is loving and present even 80% of the time.
as for MY MD gift, i've already got the perfect "gift" picked out. I'd like Husband to take every night shift (letting me sleep a full 8+ hours, and then waking up to a pot of coffee and freshly baked muffins. oooh, muffins... yum.
Posted by: ritchiegal | April 18, 2008 at 07:38 PM
It "only makes women who haven't had children feel less than" -- that is so true. It took four years and all that medical science could offer so that we could have my daughter. Mother's Day was an awful day back then. This year, it will be awful too, because it will be the first time that I will not have a mom to call or send flowers to. I effing hate Hallmark.
Posted by: midlife mommy | April 18, 2008 at 09:09 PM
My birthday is two days after Mother's Day so we combined the two during the early years. Our long standing tradition for Mother's day and Father's day is the parent gets the entire day off and breakfast in bed!
I found this much more satisfying than a big event to celebrate with the entire family where I still had to cook and clean, yuck!
I was tired, and I wanted a few hours of peace and quite.
Late in the day all the women would meet at one location and sit down! We would direct the kids back to the Dads and not lift a finger! If one of us felt guilty, there were plenty of other women to grab us and say sit down, it's once a year!
Since the children have gotten older and now have children of their own the tradition has continued and has turned into Mother's day brunch that lasts most of the day, and we still don't lift a finger!
Posted by: Mommie Mentor | April 18, 2008 at 10:53 PM
i'm loving the idea of making a donation in memory of my mom (or if you have a living mom)- what about to a womens shelter for mothers day.
@ sue- you made me cry! i deeply miss the fact that i have neither my biomom or the mom who raised me so often now that i have the pnut. just something about not having the woman who gestated/birthed/nursed me or the one who raised me to rely on or have to share this experience- so many times i've said to myself "oh, if she were here she'd do this with/for pnut" argh. i know my mil loves my little girl but there is still a grandma-shaped hole in her life that she'll never even understand.
@sheSaid- oooh, the gift of poo...nice!! maybe i'll ask for mulch this year...the black mulch that smells like chocolate is expensive!
@ hedra- also, you can buy organic bloodmeal (TMI ALERT) which is basically the decomposed remains of animals and spread it wherever you don't want critters to dig up your garden. it's gross as hell but it works! we also read recently that used coffee grounds spread in the garden keeps cats away. we love cats, but not the 4 million that pee all over our yard since the crazy cat lady down the way feeds them. yuck.
Posted by: pnuts mama | April 18, 2008 at 11:27 PM
Cassie... Shirky is right. Amazing site - great ideas and super for a not-very-artistic type like myself that still wants to expose her kids to art. She's inspired me to (sort of) start my own art playgroup. We tried liquid watercolors for my 3 yr old boys on real watercolor paper - beautiful!!
Posted by: Maureen | April 19, 2008 at 12:46 AM