all three of my children like to dress themselves. this SHOULD make my life easier. should is the key word here. i should be able to leave for work in the mornings comforted in the fact that my three bambinos have not needed my assistance.

but, miss emily has a style all her own. think:

hannah montana+

  Zoey 101 (before the whole teenaged pregnancy thing, of course) +

Sharpay = trying every morning to keep the slut-factor down in the first grade. also…i try to keep the belts and the jewels to a minimum….because, seriously? she’s 7.

my mother buys her things that she decides are “hideous. i could NEVER wear that” and are relegated to the giant rubbermaid container to wait a couple years for Isabella to reject them as well.

0f course, sometimes, she makes her own concoctions. (she wanted me to tell you all that this outfit she’s wearing is NOT the final product, because “mom, i would never wear pink and brown and green. and i haven’t done my hair yet and i haven’t accessorized!!! make sure you tell your blog people that!”)  i’m. telling. you. DIVA.

she took this sweater my mom bought..that she would “never wear, mom. gosh. it’s fug.” (who taught her the word fug? ahem)

and made her own Emily version…

she buttoned the bottom button behind her back and underneath so…presto chango…a cardigan becomes a half-cardigan…and somehow now it’s considered cool.

i don’t get it either.

now with Josh we have an entirely different problem. He’s got the clothing thing down okay (except for the day he wore the brown cords and the orange shirt. yeesh)

i send my kids to Jewish day school. and at school they are required the wear a kippah during the day. which is fine and we’ve discovered the art of keeping several superhero kippahs at school in his cubby so he doesn’t forget.

exhibit a:

exhibit b:

but, somehow, when i came home from work one day this week…he was wearing this:

what? what? what?

he can protest all he wants…but he can channel his inner Joseph’s grandfather all the way back to the judaica store to return it. superheroes? yes. giant beanies? no. sorry. it’s just not our thing.

(and while i appreciate the gift giver’s intention to buy it for him, at his request – what? why? – he’s going to have to choose something a little less shtetl and a little more 2008. and while i know that some of my friends and relatives children wear these, i do not judge. they just aren’t for me.)

i’ve gone and done twittered myself up. come on over and say hi.

why on earth hadn’t i given in to the peer pressure earlier?? hello, addiction! 

today you’ll see that this morning i flashed my nanny the “full ali” when my towel dropped as i was getting Isabella her morning milk. i am not sure who this was more traumatizing for. probably her, i’m guessing.