I’ve raised these girls. One for 10 years. The other for 7.
I’ve been with them every single day, and for at least half of those minutes.

You’d think I’d know them.


I’m currently also raising the other two knuckleheads Soledad (5) and Phoebe (2), but this story is not about them, so pretend they aren’t in the picture.


And every single day, I learn something new about them. About WHO they really are. Their spirits. Their souls.

A few days ago, I took Shelbi (10) and Bella (7) back to school shopping for girls clothes.  This is an activity I don’t care too much for. The money spending makes me anxious. The rows, and rows, and rows, of clothes make me dizzy.  And the complaining. . . . makes me want to gorge my eyes out.

But on this day, something was different.

We went out to lunch at Subway. And the there, the three of us sat, talked and enjoyed each others company. We laughed more than we ate. Which was WEIRD. And oddly, it was the best sandwich I’d had in all my life.

Then. . . .we shopped for 6 HOURS. Without any complaining. Well. . .without much complaining.

Shelbi went straight to the sales racks. Scouring for deals and hot items. Such a sensible girl. She found a very darling $3 tankini, designer shirts for $5.99, and even though I was willing to drop some cash, she only wanted to purchase items that she really liked and was comfortable in. “Why should I buy something you’re willing to buy, if I don’t really love it Mommy?  That just doesn’t make sense.”

Smart and sensible. Check, check.

Bella was all about accessorizing. Carefully selecting just the earrings, scarves, and jewelry that sang to her heart. Dangly earrings that swayed back and forth, were tops on her list.  She’s a lot like those earrings. She’ll go wherever the wind takes her. And ANYTHING with glitter, caught her eye.  But what surprised me most, was that she was shopping for me also.  She pointed out things that she thought I would look good in, and offered to buy them for me. She looked out for me, and told me I was beautiful, and that she wanted to look just like me. Everything she purchased reminded her of something I owned.

Caring and Fancy. Check, check.

I love those girls so much.
I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with them.
I hope their husbands don’t mind.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The next day, I wanted to share something with them, because they had given me so much. So I pulled out my old jewelry boxes, and I let them go through it.

They were so excited, even though much of the jewelry was old, tarnished, and quite frankly, not very attractive (I’m not sure what that says about me).

Shelbi:  Is this real? How much is this worth? Can I sell it? Which is better silver or gold?  How much can I get for these gold earrings?

Bella: No, don’t sell it! I want it. Was that yours mommy? I want to wear that and look just like you.

Shelbi: Why would you do that, when you can sell it and get something you like better?

Me: Nobody is selling anything. Stop talking, and just pick out your jewelry.

And they happily did, with the help of the 5 year old who intermittently gave an appearance jumping up and down at the prospect of wearing this jewelry to kindergarten in 2 weeks. Uuuughh. I won’t even go there.

For now, I’ll just clean their new jewelry, and revel in the fact that my girls are with me now. And I am with them.

How to Easily Clean Your Jewelry Without Harsh Chemicals

What You’ll Need:

Dirty, Tarnished Jewelry
Microwave safe non-plastic container, a ramekin or a mug works well
Water
Liquid Dish Soap
A Microwave or Stove top
A fork (or something to remove your jewelry from the hot water)
Toothbrush

What To Do:

Step One: Fill your microwave safe container 1/2 way with water. Add a quarter size amount of liquid dish soap. Stir.

Step Two: Microwave for 2 minutes or until it gets hot and bubbly.

Step Three: Gently place your dirty, tarnished jewelery inside. Allow to soak for 1 minute or longer.

Step Four: Remove jewelry from the container carefully using a fork or spoon. Careful, the water is hot!  Place on a clean cloth.

Step Five: Dip your toothbrush into the solution and scrub the jewelry. Rinse.

Step Six: Using a dry cloth,  rub firmly to remove any remaining tarnish.

 

   

First it looked like this. . . .grimy and tarnished.



Then it SHINED like this!