I am engaged to Kevin Jonas.

So I love to trick my kids at camp. That sounds bad, but you should hear some of the terrible things they put me through every stinking day for the past three summers. I am allowed to fool them once in awhile. 

This past week I convinced my kids that I'm engaged to Kevin Jonas. My k-1s are always bugging me about a ring I wear on my right hand ring finger so I just always told them it was my engagement ring to Kevin Jonas. I don't know why I did this. I'm not a JoBro fan. It just seemed like a fun idea. The k-1s bought it no problem. However this past week I had 4th and 5th grade. These kids were a harder sell. 

Step number 1. Change the BF's name to Kevin Jonas in phone book.

2. Show kids that most of my recent calls and texts are from KJ. This convinced quite a few of them pretty throughly, but it just wasn't good enough for me. 

3. Get the BF in on it. 

Wednesday when my kids started asking for proof I let them text message the BF/KJ directly from my phone. I'd type the message and send it, then put it back in their little palms. You should have seen their little eyes light up when my phone vibrated and it said "1 New Text Message- Kevin Jonas." Oh my gosh I almost died laughing. It was so easy!!

 Later the BF texted to ask me if they had bought it, "Hook line and sinker" I replied. 

A short transcript for those interested:

TT (Twinkle Toes): "The kids don't believe that you are KJ!"

KJ: "Of course I am, I would call you but I'm on tour right now. I miss my Twinkle Toes!"

TT: "They still don't buy it!"

KJ: "Didn't you show them the ring?"

TT: "Yup and I told them all about how we searched for it when you were on tour in Europe!"

KJ "But we did, we got it in Prague. We searched the whole day for just the right one!"

TT: "Jack has a question for you: This is Jack. Are you really going out with Twinkle?

KJ: "Hey Jack! This is Kevin. Twinkle and I have been going out for quite awhile now, it's true. 

TT: "Jack: Give me proof."

KJ: "What is the name in Twinkle's phone, it should say Kevin. I have a dog named Skip, live in California, and I wrote Love Bug when I met Twinkle."

Best day ever. Easily. 

DIY Wall Art

This is a little craft I've had my eye on all summer... I keep seeing new variations and I love them all. My problem is coming up with a quote, there are just too many!

Via Decor8 and Apartment 412

Lamps

I must be on to something, check out that architect/pharmacist/task lamp!!

Via Decor8

Task Lamps

I want these. 

But I could settle for this. 

I've seen them called architect lamps, pharmacy lamps, and task lamps. Either way, I'm sold. 

Found via i suwanne.

The Berghoff

The Berghoff is a famous old German restaurant in downtown Chicago. I've walked past it too many time to count, taken dozens of pictures of their sign, but only visited one half time. 

In 2006 many terrible things were happening in Chicago. Chicagoans went momentarily crazy and allowed Marshall Fields to disappear and The Berghoff to close. It was my senior year and I had made many many efforts to make a last visit to my beloved Fields and hadn't made it. When my aunts suggested they take my sister and I to Chicago to visit The Berghoff and Marshall Fields one last time I, of course, accepted. We made the trip in February 2006. As we trekked down Adams and got closer and closer to The Berghoff it took our notice that the famous sign was not lit up. We also noticed that the crowds which should have accompanied the last day of this historic restaurant were non existent. My aunts had gotten the date wrong and a lonely sign on the door told us were one day too late. 

The happy ending is that instead we dined at the Walnut Room and bought Christmas ornaments at Fields one last time before the unspeakable turn to Macy's. The Berghoff had an even happier ending and reopened, hardly two months after our visit.

And that my friends, is how I visited the Beghoff one half times. 

Have I Mentioned How Much I Love Chicago?

I dare you to find anything better than a day in Chicago with the girls. It doesn't exist.

Every summer I am amazed at the friendships I create with my fellow counselors. This summer started a little rough but ended so much better than I could have imagined. I love these girls and I hope we stick together over the years! 

Skipper, Twinkle Toes (me), Bingo, Cricket, Meeko

Time Traveler's Wife

Just finished the Time Traveler's Wife. It's simultaneously terrible and wonderful. Keep tissues at hand, but definitely read it, it's worth the tears. 

I always forget how wrapped up I get in a great book until I read one. On the field trip yesterday I dropped at least three tears on the bus just thinking about where I'd left off in the book the night before. It's wonderful to get caught in a story and have it permeate everything you do, but there are times where it's somewhat disruptive to my life. Last summer I read a great book and was mad at the BF for days because the guy in the book was such a dick.  Whoops... 

Spread the Love

I so want to be this girl! Color Me Katie is a fantastic blog about a truly genuine girl living in NYC and doing wonderful things that make the world a better place in a thousand tiny ways. Example? She makes thought bubbles and scatters them throughout Brooklyn then waits for passerby and takes a picture. Why? Well, why not?

One day she was bored so she cut dozens of hearts out of pink take and scattered them throughout Brooklyn. Why? To make people smile. 

I wish I had the courage to do all these things but I just don't have the gumption! Check out her blog, it's seriously addicting and it makes you want to spread a little joy around!

Dear Krylon,

Hermione does not believe that I can get our black plastic, $2.50, 8x10 picture frames to turn white. She has no faith in you, and possibly even less in me. She was giving me that look that says "You are a crazy person who reads too many decorating blogs" while humoring me with an, "Ok Char, whatever you say." I have decided to take this as a challenge and I have chosen you as my partner. The Bonnie to my Clyde. The Ethel to my Lucy. I hope that you are up to the challenge. 

Love, 

Char

Contact Cases

Random fact about me I just noticed. Ya know how contact cases have an R and L on each little pocket? One for Left and one for Right obviously. Well I put mine in the opposite. Every night I put my left contact in R and my right one in L and every morning I put L in my right eye and R in my left. There is no reason for this. I have tried to logic it out and I can't, I have tried to switch it back and I can't. I'm just crazy. 

BTW when I went looking for a picture of a contacts case I found this adorable Etsy site that sells decked out cases! I want one!

Child Discussion of the Week

A little girl was talking about how she is going to be a flower girl next weekend. One of the boys asked her what a flower girl was and she said that flower girls throw the flower petals. Another little boy looked up from his coloring and said completely seriously, "Yeah, it's just like throwing chairs, " and started coloring again. 

Whaaaaat?

Baby Gremlins

I wonder if being badly behaved takes up as much energy as disciplining those being badly behaved. I'm guessing not, because at the end of today my kiddos were still climbing walls, jumping on my back, and spilling kool-aid while I curled up in a corner mumbling profanities. 

I need to report at least 30 break-ins. Between the hours of 4PM yesterday and and 8AM today 30 young angelic children were kidnapped. Left in their places were 30 replicas. 30 tiny little graffitiing and pinching gremlin replicas. I say gremlins because they are so dang cute but as soon as you get too close they bite. No really, they do... I'm not even joking. Yesterday two boys came up to me, one was crying but it ended up being a misunderstanding. The one boy kept crying though so I asked the other boy why he was still crying and he said, " I dunno. But he did bite me. Maybe that's why." The little tiny teeth marks were still there even. A whole bunch of gremlins is what I have.