For those of you in the Portland area (who also have kids or grandkids), I highly recommend you carve some time into this weekend to go to the Pass It On Consignment Sale. Pass It On is a semi-annual consignment event of children’s things – clothing, shoes, books, toys, equipment, furniture, and more – basically anything related to raising children from babies to preteens (including maternity clothes).

We discovered it last fall, and fell in love with it. So, this stay-at-home mom decided she needed a little extra cash, so she organized a consignment sale. It has grown into such a big deal that was set up to bring in a little extra cash is now paying for her family’s vacations. Buyers get great clothes for cheap prices, and consignors get a way higher percentage than selling them in consignment shops. And we have been highly impressed by the organizational skills behind the whole thing.

But really, the main reason why you should go is because we have spent the last few weeks getting together all of Mylie’s clothes from the last three years, washing, pricing, tagging and hanging. So, go, buy them, and help contribute to the “Pay for Karli’s iPhone” fund.

For those of you who got a kick out of seeing life from Mylie’s point of view, you should know that it wasn’t a one-time thing. She now thinks she has personal rights to use our camera (or anyone else’s for that matter) whenever she wants. We have to keep it up where I can hardly even reach it. And then I got an iPhone (ooooh, ahhhhh) for my birthday, and she discovered she could take pictures on THAT too. So, we’re getting quite a collection. Some we delete, but many are not too shabby. So instead of cluttering up the “Kids” photo album, we’ve made Mylie her very own photo album where we will be depositing her photos as they come in. You can see them by clicking here: Mylie’s Photography or by going to the Photo Album>Mylie>Mylie’s Photography.

I’ve developed a new phobia. And no, it’s not one of the normal ones like agoraphobia (fear of public places), arachnophobia (spiders), or claustrophobia (small spaces). Nope, this one is a fear of red traffic lights. Got a name for that one? Me neither.

Yes, I’m sure the general populous has a universal loathing for red lights. But this goes deeper than that. Why? Because of my second born child. You know how most normal kids (especially small little cute infants like mine) typically fall asleep as soon as you start the car? I mean, I’ve heard of parents who add extra gas money into their budget just to drive the kids around to get them to sleep. That would all be fine and dandy, as Mr. Nolan does calm down when the car gets moving. It’s just that as soon as the car comes to any type of a stop (i.e. stop sign, stop light, or too slow of traffic), he wakes up again and with a vengeance! In fact, he sounds like a wild animal that needs to be put out of its misery.

I’ve figured out how to avoid most major stop signs, or at least the best and easiest places to do rolling stops. And I never head out of doors at a time of day when I might get stuck in traffic congestion. But I still haven’t figured out how to avoid those stinking red lights! Who do I call to get roundabouts installed in every intersection in the city?

Until then, I thought everyone might enjoy a little piece of our heaven – this VW Jetta commercial from awhile back is pretty much Nolan, 100%. Too bad he wasn’t born a little earlier, or we could have made the commercial ourselves and at least gotten a little $$ out of the whole ordeal.

Oh, and P.S. I found the official name for my fear: Erytophobia: fear of red lights!

I know there are probably one or two people out there who have been anxiously awaiting the latest installment in the Winters lives, and it has been a long time coming. There are a number of excuses I could give (I was out of town for a week, it was my birthday, yadda yadda). But in all honesty, the truth is that I have been, ehhh… less than inspired in the last couple weeks. Why, you ask? Because somewhere, somehow, someone came in and stole my sweet precious little toddler and replaced her with a tantrum-throwing out-of-control monster rascal.

Oh sure, she’s had tantrums before, but I always saw them coming, could prepare, distract, or generally get through them in a couple of short minutes. But in an instant that all changed, for more or less no reason, and man has it been one long week!

The thing is, I probably got a little cocky in my parenting abilities. I’ve read the books, the websites, and watched a good deal of Supernanny. We’ve got a time-out spot (affectionately referred to as the “Naughty Mat” though we’re trying to change the verbage on that), and we haven’t been afraid to use it. I thought we had everything pretty much under control. So, I guess we needed a little lesson in who’s really the boss around here, lest we thought it was us!

The funny thing is, when I go back to the books and the websites, we’re doing everything they say. When she freaks out, I pretty much just let her go and I leave the room. Isn’t that supposed to get them to calm down, if the tantrum is not getting them any attention? Au contraire, my friends. Nope, her best one this week was clocked at 30 minutes, and I was upstairs and she was downstairs, writhing around on the floor.

And even that I can handle. It’s when I’m busy feeding Nolan and she starts in on one (yes, yes, I’m sure there’s some jealously playing in here) that I really struggle with because I don’t even get anywhere to escape! I’m forced to sit there and listen to the shrieks (and let me tell you, Mariah Carey better watch out) with poor Nolan looking up at my like, “Can’t you please just make her stop and let me eat in peace?!”

So, I just keep on talking to my friends with kids who are now four or older. This too shall pass, as they say. It’s going to be one long year until it does though. In the meantime, I keep trying to think happy thoughts, reminding myself that I’m the adult, and I know how to keep myself under control (how quickly I forget)! And then there’s always that inevitable moment where she makes it all better by saying out of the blue, “Momma, I love you.” And my heart of stone melts one more time, and I resolve to do better tomorrow, to be a little more worthy of that unconditional love she has for me. Thanks for hanging in there with me little one.