···Mama Scribble···: 06.2011

A Tooth Story

It was loose for several weeks. She, my Luna, was very excited and all this Mama could think about was that her baby #2's tooth was about to fall out and that would be the beginning of a new stage (whaaaa!-sniff-sniff). It may sound silly and all but when their adorable little baby teeth start moving out to make room for their 'grown-up' teeth, it's sad in a way. Not the kind of sad that induces melodramatic sobs, no, not those but just a little upturning of your mouth and a head tilt sad with a hint of joy. The gesture you'd make when something dear to you inevitably changes. To my surprise, she was extremely calm about the entire process. In the past Luna had shown anxiety and fear to her teeth falling out. But now, she knew that her tooth would have to come out and that she may or may not bleed and that there was also the chance of her swallowing her loose tooth from her night-time thumb sucking. Yes, she's five and a half and she sucks her thumb and I have zero qualms about it.

She was aware of it all and she seemed to accept it quite well. It's funny how there are subtle clues into how your child's demeanor can resemble ways that they came into this world. What I mean are the events that took place during their birth. Luna gestated for forty weeks and three days, she was in no hurry to enter the world and her labor was calm and gentle (4 hours total), just as she is. She delivered a sense of trust and inner wisdom through me that changed me forever. At age five now, she trusted that her first tooth would come out when it needed to, never forcing or speeding up the process. She owns this ability just as I owned it during her birth.

You could imagine how proud of her I was when the tooth inevitably came out. The five of us were sitting out in our outdoor patio playing a family game called Head Banz and she asked me to look and see how 'loose' it was. I then asked her if I could wriggle it and check and then voila, it popped right off!

Me: "Oh look Lulu, your tooth came out!"

Luna: "Ahhh, let me see, let me see!"

I was smiling so hard I almost made myself cry. I handed the tiny ivory tooth to her in her cupped little hand and she lit up like a little fire fly. She raced inside the house to search for the special little tooth fairy box I had bought her one year ago (the one she's holding up in the picture above). She knew exactly where I had tucked it away for her, among my bras and sexy lingerie. Don't ask me why there, I'm a Mom of three okay-sometimes you just gotta put things in the quickest possible place. She was giddy and wanted to get ready for bed. I thought, 'Geese, if this is the reaction for a fallen tooth, then I should pretend that the tooth fairy visits every night to check for brushed and flossed teeth too!' In any case, we prepared for bed but before she climbed up to her bunk, she made her Daddy print, from my Facebook page, the pic of her holding out her special tooth fairy box because according to her, she wanted to make sure the tooth fairy knew exactly where to find her. She taped the black and white printed picture to her bed facing the door. It was so cute and hilarious at that same time. After all the ruckus and excitement about the tooth, all three of them were asleep.

I was a teensy bit close to forgetting my night time 'tooth fairy' duty (like I did one of the time's our Sabrina had lost a tooth and we had to do a round two of fairy duty). This time I got all into and made the fairy's visit extra special with a hand written note and added glitter to her loot. It was so much fun!

When Luna woke up (at 6:45 a.m.), she came dashing into my room to show me what 'her' tooth fairy had left her.

Luna: "Mommy, look at what I got! I note from my tooth fairy and one dollar and two coins (that's what she calls quarters). She has such pretty handwriting."

Me: Still half asleep, "Wow Luna, that's amazing!" Even at that hour, I was in awe of her bewilderment about the note.

Luna: "And look Mommy, she left a picture of herself with this sticker. That's what she looks like, Mommy! That's her!"

It's incredible what a little make believe can do. Hope you enjoyed that story.

Pre-Loved doesn't mean Less-Loved...How this Mama practices her 3 R's

We all know that tune by Jack Johnson, 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.' And if you're a penny pinchin', smart shoppin' Mama like me, then you know where to save on your kiddies' clothing. I'm a huge fan of local consignment shops and perhaps those of you local 'Miami Mamas' have heard of a few. I currently have two favorites, both in Coral Gables, FL. Why do I love being a consignee? Because I get to get my hands on the latest kids fashion, brands, fads and shoes at a fraction of the cost. It's a win win fellow Mamas! Now be under no illusions about my saving tactics because I still buy off the department store rack clothing for my little girlies as long as there's a conspicuous sign that reads SALE :) Okay, okay, I admit that I cave at an adorably irresistible un-sale item every now and again. I'm not that disciplined.

A great deal of times I'll find unworn, tags still on, clothing at consignment prices. Other times, I'll have fallen in love with say, Gymboree's current seasonal line but don't necessarily want to pay $35.00 for a cotton dress and low and behold, it makes it's way to a rack at one of my local consignment shops, score! I love when that happens! Just today I was at Peek A Boo (local consignment in Coral Gables) and was lucky enough to stumble upon Toke children's shoes for $24 that were brand NEW in the BOX. Fantastic! I was a very happy consignment customer. I just became a customer of Peek A Boo and I'm pleasantly satisfied with their prices and organization. Go visit them, you're sure to find some fabulous finds. I've been a loyal customer of The Children's Exchange located in Coral Gables (off Sunset Drive) for the past seven years and I cannot say enough about how organized, clean and stocked full of great finds they are there. Check them out, you will be strolling out with a bag or two. I'm never disappointed at my children's consignment shopping experience because I always find something my girlies need and sometimes surprised to find a real steal.

My best advice to those new to shopping at children's consignment shops is to first scope out where they're at locally and visit them. Go in and get the feel for the owners and see how they organize their merchandise, inspect the clothing and/or gear that they have. Get a list of the brands they carry (the ones I shop at keep a line of high end brands, i.e., Gymboree, Baby Gap, Juicy Couture, Janie & Jack, etc.) and also get a list of what they will not carry in their shop as well. Every children's consignment shop will have different policies and practices so get to know them so that you're not mislead. Find out what percentage they pay out (most do a 40/60). You have a choice of getting a check or using up your credit. I never have them cut a check for my sold items because I simply use my credit toward merchandise I need. Once you've done your simple homework, you're set to shop and sell your pre-loved or gently used children's clothing and/or gear. It's that simple!

The experience of building a consistent relationship with these children's consignment shop owners is one that stretches beyond just some cute shoes and a holiday dress. It's a place where you feel relaxed enough to shop with your kids and save a slew of money in your pocketbook. If you're friendly enough, you'll make it to being able to count on them to watch out for a favorite or needed item or two. So save yourself some $$, reduce your clothing clutter and recycle your children's ever so fast growing 'out of' clothing. Happy Shopping!

♥ Mama Scribble~

Garbanzo Bean Salad

~Garbanzo Bean Salad~

Okay, so here's a fairly simple bean salad recipe that I think most of you would enjoy. It's a perfect dish for a hot summer day. It was a last minute whip-up I made to accompany some Grilled Herb de Provence chicken I made.

The ingredients you'll need (minus the radish. Changed my mind later.) I recommend using fresh veggies and herbs whenever possible.
Parsley has a long 'crisp drawer' life so store it smartly.

First drain your garbanzo beans and corn well and then dump away!

Next take your parsley and either hand chop or put it in a handy food processor (which is what I did). Dump that in too!

Next you'll want to add in your dried cranberries and chopped walnuts (you can alternate using other nuts like sliced almonds or chopped pecans to switch it up).

Go nutty on yourself!

Go ahead and mix all that yummy stuff in to get it looking pretty and colorful!

Now that you've got that mixed, go ahead and cut grape or cherry tomatoes in halves.

I like to keep the grape or cherry tomatoes on hand because you can use them in so many recipes. Just rinse them and store them in an air tight glass container (or BPA fee plastic one). It'll keep them bursting with goodness!

Little fingers must be supervised! My sweet Sabrina loves to help in the kitchen.

Next grab your plump little tomatoes and dumb them in!
Your salad will be shouting with some gorgeous color now.

Grab yourself about two to three lemons and cut them in half.

Love the bright and beautiful 'yellowness' of these guys!

I next took my handy little citrus presser and squeezed the heck out of half a lemon.
Continue with the rest of them and you should turn out with
about 1/4 c. to 1/3 c. of fresh lemon juice.