It seems like many parents I know have issues with licensed characters. That, and toys that operate on batteries and therefore make all sorts of annoying noises.
While I agree that in a perfect world we might all play outdoors in a forest learning about nature and entertaining ourselves happily all day long, I just don't think that's the kind of world we live in anymore.
I am certainly not advocating an abolishment of imaginative play and simple creativity without props, but I do think that people can go too far in their attempt to avoid commercialization.
You may remember that when Rachel started to read on her own last year, one of the first books that she got was a My Little Pony book. Do I think it was the best literature available to her at the time? Heck, no! But do I think it was important that she read something relevant and interesting to her at the time? Definitely.
I will admit that Rachel's media literacy is sometimes alarming. She has been known to read the packaging on toys and tell me how we *need* all the rest of the collection, but that conversation ends abruptly each time with the response that she's proving herself to be susceptible to media influence and while she may *want* those things, she doesn't actually need them. Would I be better off banning all characters from my home? Let me think about that.
My own mother wasn't a fan of the current fads of the day. Perhaps I am living vicariously through Rachel when I indulge her fantasy of owning all things My Little Pony. Or perhaps I am still really bitter 23 years later that when I wanted a real Cabbage Patch Doll like all the rest of my friends, my parents instead got me a clay set to make your own Cabbage Patch figure. Um, not the same. Sorry, Mom!
That said, let me assess the licensed characters in my home. Rachel went through a long Dora phase so she does own an adorable Dora dress, lego blocks (sale at Costco, need I say more!?), some books (of which my favourite is "Dora Takes a Hike"), a Dora doll, and I think that's it.
We have some Disney princess items - a Cinderella backpack (clearance at the Disney Store and it's on its 3rd year of use!), some baby princess dolls, a few books, and some pjs.
We do have an abundance of My Little Pony paraphernalia, but you should see her playing with them! She is so creative and will happily spend hours telling stories and playing games with the ponies.
While I agree that the Disney princesses send off poor messages in the movies, we don't watch the movies because Rachel is not interested! And if she was, we'd discuss the good and bad parts. "No, Rachel, being half-naked is not the way to a successful and healthy relationship. And for that matter, you can be strong and successful without a man doing everything for you."
Rachel tells me frequently how Barbie dolls don't wear enough clothes. Will I eventually relent and let her get some? Maybe. Or maybe not. We've been eyeing the Groovy Girls dolls lately and I think that just might be the direction we'll go.
Now for the other side. We have umpteen elephants, and hundreds (yes, hundreds) of children's books, most of which are not character-related. We have blocks, dolls (that don't get played with much, ha!), puzzles, games, and way too many other things, I'm sure. So would Rachel's life be enriched if she had a stable full of regular toy ponies rather than the colourful ridiculously named My Little Ponies? (Toola-Roola? Scootaloo? Seriously, was everyone on crack in the '80s!?)
We don't run out and buy all the licensed character items, but we don't live in a bubble either. Rachel's not that interested in tv shows and movies although she's recently started watching Little Bear, Franklin and Berenstain Bears again.
Now on to noisy toys. With Rachel, we avoided toys that made noise for most of her first year. Until we got her activity table, I'd say that most if not all of her toys required more effort on her/our part than simply pushing a button. Anna loved the noisy toys though, and quite frankly, anything that kept her occupied for more than 10 seconds was a true blessing to us at times! As I look down at Anna's toys strewn about the floor (who has time to play when you're busy cruising?!) I see a mix. We have stuffed animals, rings, blocks, soft toys, her beloved ball-popping singing train, and of course there is always a sucky or two to be seen.
I'm sure I have much more to say, but I need to go get ready to take the girls to storytime at the library where no, there will likely be no character books!
Friday, January 30, 2009
More sleep tales
On Wednesday night, Anna slept from 6:25 p.m. until 4:22 a.m. Yay! She didn't nap well yesterday either, and slept from 6:20 until 1:15, and then back down after a bottle until 5:15.
Unfortunately, she's now been napping for almost 2 hours so we'll see if she still sleeps well tonight! At least we now know that she *can* sleep this long without incident. I think that after her birthday, we will likely try to cut out the last feed of the night gradually. We'll see.
Unfortunately, she's now been napping for almost 2 hours so we'll see if she still sleeps well tonight! At least we now know that she *can* sleep this long without incident. I think that after her birthday, we will likely try to cut out the last feed of the night gradually. We'll see.
It's like Mr. Snuffleupagus!
I apparently just stepped on Rachel's invisible elephant friend, Madison. As I walked by the kitchen table, Rachel/Madison loudly said "Ouch!" and then Rachel said, "Oh,sorry, Madison. My mom just stepped on you by mistake."
And to think, she's never actually seen an episode of Sesame Street.
And to think, she's never actually seen an episode of Sesame Street.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
More words and things
We went back to Kindermusik this morning and Anna had a great time. When we came in, there were lots of balls around so Anna decided to show me yet another word and said "Ba! Ba! Ba!" very excitedly. She also babbles random things that occasionally sound like complete sentences although it's likely just gibberish and we're overly sleep deprived. I'm almost convinced that she says "ok" though.
Anna has now managed to sleep 4 nights in a row doing 7-8 hour stretches before getting up to eat. I am hoping that the low point of this whole sleep thing was the other morning when she got up for the day at 3:19 a.m. Ouch. She did crash to sleep on my shoulder an hour later and transferred to her crib for about an hour, but let's just say that was not a fun morning. I have a hunch that Anna's working towards dropping her morning nap as she learns to sleep longer at night without needing to eat.
Rachel cracks me up. She was playing with her My Little Ponies today and talking all about how she's invited to Scootaloo's wedding tomorrow so it's good that I offered her a skirt and shirt to wear instead of pants. I asked her who Scootaloo was marrying and she explained that because there were no boy ponies, Scootaloo would be marrying a girl pony. She was quite emphatic that this was ok for ponies because there are no boy ponies but that it wouldn't be ok for anyone else. That amused me. If you know me, you'll know why. If you don't know me, again, why are you reading my blog?
I couldn't resist asking Rachel how the ponies would get pregnant and have baby ponies. She discussed her thoughts about the ponies having invisible uteri (although she of course said "uteruses") and that they just get pregnant. She has yet to ask any questions that I'm perhaps not quite ready to answer, although I certainly won't lie to her if she does ask. I'd rather she learn things from us.
Rachel made up a card game tonight that reminded me of how a friend and I used to play "invisible euchre" in high school. She set up all of her Elmo Go Fish cards face-up on her bed and I had to guess which card was mine. No, I did not get to pick a card. I got one guess. I was usually wrong at which point Rachel would say, "No! I'll give you a hent!" (hint comes out hent sometimes around here) She insisted on playing the game until I had "won" one of every type of card.
Rachel still wants to be carried upstairs to bed every night, all 43 pounds of her. I physically can't/shouldn't do it anymore, but Ben still does it when he's home. And Anna's no lightweight either. She was close to 25 pounds at the end of November, and I suspect that she'll be around 27 pounds by her birthday.
Anna has now managed to sleep 4 nights in a row doing 7-8 hour stretches before getting up to eat. I am hoping that the low point of this whole sleep thing was the other morning when she got up for the day at 3:19 a.m. Ouch. She did crash to sleep on my shoulder an hour later and transferred to her crib for about an hour, but let's just say that was not a fun morning. I have a hunch that Anna's working towards dropping her morning nap as she learns to sleep longer at night without needing to eat.
Rachel cracks me up. She was playing with her My Little Ponies today and talking all about how she's invited to Scootaloo's wedding tomorrow so it's good that I offered her a skirt and shirt to wear instead of pants. I asked her who Scootaloo was marrying and she explained that because there were no boy ponies, Scootaloo would be marrying a girl pony. She was quite emphatic that this was ok for ponies because there are no boy ponies but that it wouldn't be ok for anyone else. That amused me. If you know me, you'll know why. If you don't know me, again, why are you reading my blog?
I couldn't resist asking Rachel how the ponies would get pregnant and have baby ponies. She discussed her thoughts about the ponies having invisible uteri (although she of course said "uteruses") and that they just get pregnant. She has yet to ask any questions that I'm perhaps not quite ready to answer, although I certainly won't lie to her if she does ask. I'd rather she learn things from us.
Rachel made up a card game tonight that reminded me of how a friend and I used to play "invisible euchre" in high school. She set up all of her Elmo Go Fish cards face-up on her bed and I had to guess which card was mine. No, I did not get to pick a card. I got one guess. I was usually wrong at which point Rachel would say, "No! I'll give you a hent!" (hint comes out hent sometimes around here) She insisted on playing the game until I had "won" one of every type of card.
Rachel still wants to be carried upstairs to bed every night, all 43 pounds of her. I physically can't/shouldn't do it anymore, but Ben still does it when he's home. And Anna's no lightweight either. She was close to 25 pounds at the end of November, and I suspect that she'll be around 27 pounds by her birthday.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Anna's an overachiever!
As Anna finished up her snack of goldfish (crackers - trust me, there is no eating of raw fish here. We'll leave that to Uncle Mark who hopefully doesn't read this blog!!) and applesauce, she cheerfully exclaimed, "Damn!" in a long drawn-out voice. Random babbling? Perhaps she was anticipating being wiped up? Regardless, I hereby proclaim that Anna has spoken her first bad word.
She has now unofficially overtaken Rachel for earliest cursing in the family. I can't remember if I've blogged about this or not, but when Rachel was somewhere between 18 months and 2, we were walking through Sam's Club with her in the stroller. There was a couple looking at some merchandise a little bit ahead of us. One of them reached out to pick one from the pile to look at and the pile came crashing down. At that moment, Rachel yelled "Oh, sh*t!" Hey, at least she was using it correctly!
And they come by it honestly. Someone cut my mother off in traffic when I was about 2. Before she could say anything, a little (anonymous!) voice from the back piped up: "A$$hole!"
I have no idea what (if anything) Ben said when he was given wine instead of grape juice at a seder when he was about 5, but I suspect that my girls learn their vocabulary entirely from me. So here's to stay-at-home moms!
She has now unofficially overtaken Rachel for earliest cursing in the family. I can't remember if I've blogged about this or not, but when Rachel was somewhere between 18 months and 2, we were walking through Sam's Club with her in the stroller. There was a couple looking at some merchandise a little bit ahead of us. One of them reached out to pick one from the pile to look at and the pile came crashing down. At that moment, Rachel yelled "Oh, sh*t!" Hey, at least she was using it correctly!
And they come by it honestly. Someone cut my mother off in traffic when I was about 2. Before she could say anything, a little (anonymous!) voice from the back piped up: "A$$hole!"
I have no idea what (if anything) Ben said when he was given wine instead of grape juice at a seder when he was about 5, but I suspect that my girls learn their vocabulary entirely from me. So here's to stay-at-home moms!
An explanation
Yesterday afternoon, Rachel really wanted to sit down at the piano and teach us the 26 songs she's putting together for her special play in which I am apparently playing the piano while Ben conducts the rest of the orchestra. Some of the songs have words and some do not. I apologize for the shaky camera in the video - we were laughing too hard to hold it steady!
This play involves a princess, queen and king. One of the songs was called "Too flippy for the king" and was about the king and his pancake that was too flippy.
The song in the video was called "Haircut, Haircut". Lyrics by Rachel:
"Haircut, haircut, the princess got a haircut!
Hilarious laughing was all around!
But when she knew it she couldn't help
throwing her ball and hitting the queen by help!"
After all, nobody said modern music had to make sense.
This play involves a princess, queen and king. One of the songs was called "Too flippy for the king" and was about the king and his pancake that was too flippy.
The song in the video was called "Haircut, Haircut". Lyrics by Rachel:
"Haircut, haircut, the princess got a haircut!
Hilarious laughing was all around!
But when she knew it she couldn't help
throwing her ball and hitting the queen by help!"
After all, nobody said modern music had to make sense.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Anna Wa-ed
That's right, Anna wa-ed. Last night after services, we were playing with the girls in Rachel's room. Just for fun, I kept standing Anna up in the middle of the room to see what she would do. She is generally very lazy and inventive. If she can utilize her rubber arms to stretch out and grab something to hold onto for support, she will. She can shimmy and roll to get things if she really wants them, and she has yet to really crawl, pull up, or sit up all by herself.
We were all trying to coax her to take a few steps, even Rachel! Finally, after many times of sitting down on her bum and laughing at us, Anna took one step all by herself! As soon as she realized what she'd done, she sat down and refused to do it again.
At least this time I witnessed it happen! When Rachel was 13 months and 2 days old, she allegedly took her first steps for one of our sitters. The feat (ha, pun intended!) was not repeated until 8 days later when she walked to another sitter as we were chatting.
And yes, Anna wa-ed, not walked. One step is half a walk. No arguments please. ;)
We were all trying to coax her to take a few steps, even Rachel! Finally, after many times of sitting down on her bum and laughing at us, Anna took one step all by herself! As soon as she realized what she'd done, she sat down and refused to do it again.
At least this time I witnessed it happen! When Rachel was 13 months and 2 days old, she allegedly took her first steps for one of our sitters. The feat (ha, pun intended!) was not repeated until 8 days later when she walked to another sitter as we were chatting.
And yes, Anna wa-ed, not walked. One step is half a walk. No arguments please. ;)
Pre-Shabbat Amusement
I tried to post this yesterday but Blogger ate my post.
Just before we had Shabbat dinner, Rachel was busy making a hat shelf for her new paper hat that she made at library storytime in the morning. She was busy stamping it and commented that she was putting a giraffe stamp at the top, just like the eternal light on top of the Torah. Her comparisons crack me up. They are almost always logical once explanations have been provided!
Just before we had Shabbat dinner, Rachel was busy making a hat shelf for her new paper hat that she made at library storytime in the morning. She was busy stamping it and commented that she was putting a giraffe stamp at the top, just like the eternal light on top of the Torah. Her comparisons crack me up. They are almost always logical once explanations have been provided!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Anecdotes from the frozen north
We just got back from a few days in London. While I'm the first to say that I love snow, I will readily admit that it was cold back home this past week! At least the girls got to wear their warmer winter clothes; that doesn't happen very often down here in Kansas.
Rachel loved the snow. She was so excited by the large snowpiles. She got to play in it once during our trip and I would guess that that was one of the highlights for her.
We flew from St. Louis to Detroit because for ~$125 per person (taxes in!) you really can't go wrong! This meant that we had a 3.5-4 hour drive from Kansas City to St. Louis, and another 2 & a bit hours from Detroit to London. We crossed the border into Windsor late Friday night and debated whether Tim Hortons or Harveys would be our ricidulously late dinner stop. Harveys won out, and we pulled up to the drive-through window at 10:52 p.m., much to the chagrin of the poor employee who was probably all ready to close up for the night!
Our food was fresh and hot off the grill. Too hot. I knew that Rachel was very hungry, and the more she waited, the hungrier she got. Blowing on her food wasn't doing much of anything, and the last thing we wanted was an overtired hunger meltdown. Finally, in a fit of desperation, Ben suggested the only true Canadian solution to this problem. Why not open the window and hold the take-out tray outside so the cold air would cool it right down!? Luckily, we weren't on the 401 yet so this was a viable and very successful option.
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Rachel has taken to singing to her elephants. She likes to sing them lullabies to help them get to sleep. Apparently she has learned some French elephant lullabies, dances, and game songs. To our ear, they are pure gibberish, but to her they are definitely French! Actually, make that Frunch. When Rachel says French, it comes out as Frunch. So she's fluent in Frunch elephant lullabies. I suppose that's only fair since Ben and I occasionally resort to French if we don't want Rachel to understand what we're saying!
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Anna had a great time on our trip. She flirted with everyone she saw, and we learned that 11 months old is NOT too young to order and eat an entire kids' meal at a restaurant! I will try to add pictures later (yes, I always say this and usually fail miserably at it), but let's just say that gleefully rubbing macaroni sauce in your hair is apparently very fun. And for the technical people among my readers, no, Anna did not order her own food. She did emphatically nod her head and say, "Mmm. Mmm!" in loud approval when her food arrived though.
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Anna managed to sleep on both plane trips. Rachel was easily amused by sticker books and reading books. Ben and I enjoyed the free pop and chance to sit down and read fairly uninterrupted for more than an hour!
I did not enjoy the Detroit airport though. Too long a walk to get to where you're going! My sprained ankle was not too happy on the way there, but it wasn't that bad on the way back yesterday. Rachel loved walking through the tunnel between the different concourses. It involved music and a lights show that I'm sure would set off epileptic seizures and should come with a warning, but we all made it through unscathed.
The St. Louis airport is fantastic. They have a designated drop-off area where you can actually park and unload your car without fear of being ticketed or towed! We opted for the somewhat close outdoor parking instead of having to take a shuttle way out to the economy parking. It was still substantially cheaper than using the parking garage and this way we didn't have a long wait to get from the airport to our van.
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I find it amusing that we have travelled from Chesterfield to Chesterfield this week. For the uninformed, we have friends in Chesterfield, Michigan (which is very close to Detroit) and Chesterfield, Missouri is a suburb of St. Louis!
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Rachel has turned into a great hotel sleeper. We used to have to have her in bed between us no matter what. Now she can sleep in her own bed with her elephants, and sleep soundly until a civilized hour in the morning! Anna still gets up way too early, but she at least will sleep in a hotel crib or pack'n'play without too much fussing.
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I'll close with the Overland Park weather report. The expected high today is 64F or 18C!!! Mind you, it's supposed to get "cold" tomorrow. Oh no. I might have to put a long-sleeved shirt on. ;)
I've been debating the use of various weather terms lately. We often hear the local radio and television stations refer to the weather here (Kansas) as frigid, yet the high is in the 30s or 40s. (32F = 0C and 40F = 5C) Back home, frigid would be at least -20C if not -30C. Oh well, more fodder for amusement.
Rachel loved the snow. She was so excited by the large snowpiles. She got to play in it once during our trip and I would guess that that was one of the highlights for her.
We flew from St. Louis to Detroit because for ~$125 per person (taxes in!) you really can't go wrong! This meant that we had a 3.5-4 hour drive from Kansas City to St. Louis, and another 2 & a bit hours from Detroit to London. We crossed the border into Windsor late Friday night and debated whether Tim Hortons or Harveys would be our ricidulously late dinner stop. Harveys won out, and we pulled up to the drive-through window at 10:52 p.m., much to the chagrin of the poor employee who was probably all ready to close up for the night!
Our food was fresh and hot off the grill. Too hot. I knew that Rachel was very hungry, and the more she waited, the hungrier she got. Blowing on her food wasn't doing much of anything, and the last thing we wanted was an overtired hunger meltdown. Finally, in a fit of desperation, Ben suggested the only true Canadian solution to this problem. Why not open the window and hold the take-out tray outside so the cold air would cool it right down!? Luckily, we weren't on the 401 yet so this was a viable and very successful option.
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Rachel has taken to singing to her elephants. She likes to sing them lullabies to help them get to sleep. Apparently she has learned some French elephant lullabies, dances, and game songs. To our ear, they are pure gibberish, but to her they are definitely French! Actually, make that Frunch. When Rachel says French, it comes out as Frunch. So she's fluent in Frunch elephant lullabies. I suppose that's only fair since Ben and I occasionally resort to French if we don't want Rachel to understand what we're saying!
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Anna had a great time on our trip. She flirted with everyone she saw, and we learned that 11 months old is NOT too young to order and eat an entire kids' meal at a restaurant! I will try to add pictures later (yes, I always say this and usually fail miserably at it), but let's just say that gleefully rubbing macaroni sauce in your hair is apparently very fun. And for the technical people among my readers, no, Anna did not order her own food. She did emphatically nod her head and say, "Mmm. Mmm!" in loud approval when her food arrived though.
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Anna managed to sleep on both plane trips. Rachel was easily amused by sticker books and reading books. Ben and I enjoyed the free pop and chance to sit down and read fairly uninterrupted for more than an hour!
I did not enjoy the Detroit airport though. Too long a walk to get to where you're going! My sprained ankle was not too happy on the way there, but it wasn't that bad on the way back yesterday. Rachel loved walking through the tunnel between the different concourses. It involved music and a lights show that I'm sure would set off epileptic seizures and should come with a warning, but we all made it through unscathed.
The St. Louis airport is fantastic. They have a designated drop-off area where you can actually park and unload your car without fear of being ticketed or towed! We opted for the somewhat close outdoor parking instead of having to take a shuttle way out to the economy parking. It was still substantially cheaper than using the parking garage and this way we didn't have a long wait to get from the airport to our van.
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I find it amusing that we have travelled from Chesterfield to Chesterfield this week. For the uninformed, we have friends in Chesterfield, Michigan (which is very close to Detroit) and Chesterfield, Missouri is a suburb of St. Louis!
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Rachel has turned into a great hotel sleeper. We used to have to have her in bed between us no matter what. Now she can sleep in her own bed with her elephants, and sleep soundly until a civilized hour in the morning! Anna still gets up way too early, but she at least will sleep in a hotel crib or pack'n'play without too much fussing.
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I'll close with the Overland Park weather report. The expected high today is 64F or 18C!!! Mind you, it's supposed to get "cold" tomorrow. Oh no. I might have to put a long-sleeved shirt on. ;)
I've been debating the use of various weather terms lately. We often hear the local radio and television stations refer to the weather here (Kansas) as frigid, yet the high is in the 30s or 40s. (32F = 0C and 40F = 5C) Back home, frigid would be at least -20C if not -30C. Oh well, more fodder for amusement.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Rachel and weddings
We did our first Kansas City bridal show yesterday and it was a huge success. Actually, that's an understatement. Any weekend where I can book 3 gigs on the spot, send contracts home with another, turn away 2 more, get home to 2 phone messages and an email, and have another couple of serious inquiries the next day is an awesome weekend!
When we received our information packet for the show, it included a free copy of the KC Weddings magazine. Rachel has been looking through it because she likes the pretty dresses. She made an offhand comment about the "fake brides" to me a little while ago. I asked her how she knew they were fake brides. "Oh, you can tell because they have fake flowers," she answered easily. So I asked her how she knew the flowers were fake. "Because they don't look like this," she replied, pointing to a picture of flowers growing wild in a field.
Rachel took great delight in assisting Ben with our table set-up at the show when he went in on Friday. She did a very artistic arrangement of business cards and CDs and was quite proud of herself. It's probably a good thing that she doesn't remember getting free cake samples at the London show the last year or two, or she'd have been annoyed that she was left home with a sitter all day yesterday!
When we received our information packet for the show, it included a free copy of the KC Weddings magazine. Rachel has been looking through it because she likes the pretty dresses. She made an offhand comment about the "fake brides" to me a little while ago. I asked her how she knew they were fake brides. "Oh, you can tell because they have fake flowers," she answered easily. So I asked her how she knew the flowers were fake. "Because they don't look like this," she replied, pointing to a picture of flowers growing wild in a field.
Rachel took great delight in assisting Ben with our table set-up at the show when he went in on Friday. She did a very artistic arrangement of business cards and CDs and was quite proud of herself. It's probably a good thing that she doesn't remember getting free cake samples at the London show the last year or two, or she'd have been annoyed that she was left home with a sitter all day yesterday!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
New career?
Lately I've become rather obsessed with clearing out things on E-bay. It's a nice way to make some extra money, or as Ben says, it's a nice way for me to justify buying new things online! Either way, selling things we're done with is a good thing to do.
Last week I purchased a crib bumper from a rather fancy store for $9.99 marked down from $59.99. I promptly sold it on E-Bay for $25.00 + shipping. I was pleased, especially since this particular pattern hadn't been selling consistently. Fees were ranging from $10 to $40 so as usual, I priced mine right in the middle.
A few days later, I couldn't resist going back to the same store. I purchased another crib bumper, this time in a fancier pattern with a bigger pricetag. I paid $24.97. The original price was $89.99. Some sellers on E-Bay were getting $84.95 including shipping, so I priced mine at $75.00 since other sellers weren't getting any action on the same bumper. Lo and behold, mine sold tonight! After shipping, E-Bay fees and PayPal fees, I believe that I will still have made about $40 in sheer profit!
Too bad I sprained my ankle badly, or I'm sure I'd be right back at that store tomorrow morning looking for more clearance items.
Last week I purchased a crib bumper from a rather fancy store for $9.99 marked down from $59.99. I promptly sold it on E-Bay for $25.00 + shipping. I was pleased, especially since this particular pattern hadn't been selling consistently. Fees were ranging from $10 to $40 so as usual, I priced mine right in the middle.
A few days later, I couldn't resist going back to the same store. I purchased another crib bumper, this time in a fancier pattern with a bigger pricetag. I paid $24.97. The original price was $89.99. Some sellers on E-Bay were getting $84.95 including shipping, so I priced mine at $75.00 since other sellers weren't getting any action on the same bumper. Lo and behold, mine sold tonight! After shipping, E-Bay fees and PayPal fees, I believe that I will still have made about $40 in sheer profit!
Too bad I sprained my ankle badly, or I'm sure I'd be right back at that store tomorrow morning looking for more clearance items.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Well, I have been wanting a cat...
...and now we have one. Its name is Garfield.
Well, really her name is Anna, but after witnessing her eating breakfast yesterday, we're contemplating a legal name change to Garfield. Speaking of legal name changes, that reminds me that I never did get around to blogging about how my computer magically transposed all the letters on Anna's birth registration over by one so that it seemed like a secret code. As befits a baby who was addicted to nursing, Anna Gitter became Boob Hjuufs. Yes, Boob Hjuufs. And Boob Hjuufs' father was born in the city of Upspoup. Not to mention that I was 43 when she was born and that she weighed over 5000 grams. (4540 is 10 pounds so feel free to do the rest of the math!) Luckily, the second time I printed it off, the letters returned to their proper places. I was a bit apprehensive until we received her birth certificate though, because the application was submitted online! I could just see explaining that one at the border.
Back to yesterday's breakfast... Anna was eating some cheerios on her highchair tray. I walked over and saw an empty plastic bowl on the table so I picked it up and went to put it in the kitchen. Anna noticed me, and started indicating very strongly that she would like that bowl, thank you very much! I put some cheerios in it and placed it on her tray, figuring that it would be amusing to watch her toss it over the side or some such thing.
As Ben and I watched in semi-horrified wonder, Anna picked up the bowl and poured the cheerios into her open mouth. She wouldn't do it again on video or believe me, there'd be proof of this!
When we ate dinner later, Anna shovelled in Kraft Dinner like she'd never eaten before. (As an aside, I'm impressed that there is a whole grain version of KD. There's much less guilt when it actually has fibre in it - 3 grams per serving as compared to the regular version that has next to none at all.) After finishing up the macaroni, I peeled a banana and came over to the table. Anna immediately started nodding her head vigorously, saying "Anna! MMM! MMMMMMMMM! Anna!" until I nicely agreed to share it with her.
She's certainly not shy about making her needs known. She's started shaking her head no when she doesn't want to do something like have her diaper changed or go down for nap. But if she sees food or a book coming her way, she nods her head as fast as she can. Since she's still so little, her whole body gets in on it and never fails to crack us up.
She can also cruise all the way down the upstairs hallway using the wall for support. Good thing we ordered the gate installation kit for the upstairs bannister!
Well, really her name is Anna, but after witnessing her eating breakfast yesterday, we're contemplating a legal name change to Garfield. Speaking of legal name changes, that reminds me that I never did get around to blogging about how my computer magically transposed all the letters on Anna's birth registration over by one so that it seemed like a secret code. As befits a baby who was addicted to nursing, Anna Gitter became Boob Hjuufs. Yes, Boob Hjuufs. And Boob Hjuufs' father was born in the city of Upspoup. Not to mention that I was 43 when she was born and that she weighed over 5000 grams. (4540 is 10 pounds so feel free to do the rest of the math!) Luckily, the second time I printed it off, the letters returned to their proper places. I was a bit apprehensive until we received her birth certificate though, because the application was submitted online! I could just see explaining that one at the border.
Back to yesterday's breakfast... Anna was eating some cheerios on her highchair tray. I walked over and saw an empty plastic bowl on the table so I picked it up and went to put it in the kitchen. Anna noticed me, and started indicating very strongly that she would like that bowl, thank you very much! I put some cheerios in it and placed it on her tray, figuring that it would be amusing to watch her toss it over the side or some such thing.
As Ben and I watched in semi-horrified wonder, Anna picked up the bowl and poured the cheerios into her open mouth. She wouldn't do it again on video or believe me, there'd be proof of this!
When we ate dinner later, Anna shovelled in Kraft Dinner like she'd never eaten before. (As an aside, I'm impressed that there is a whole grain version of KD. There's much less guilt when it actually has fibre in it - 3 grams per serving as compared to the regular version that has next to none at all.) After finishing up the macaroni, I peeled a banana and came over to the table. Anna immediately started nodding her head vigorously, saying "Anna! MMM! MMMMMMMMM! Anna!" until I nicely agreed to share it with her.
She's certainly not shy about making her needs known. She's started shaking her head no when she doesn't want to do something like have her diaper changed or go down for nap. But if she sees food or a book coming her way, she nods her head as fast as she can. Since she's still so little, her whole body gets in on it and never fails to crack us up.
She can also cruise all the way down the upstairs hallway using the wall for support. Good thing we ordered the gate installation kit for the upstairs bannister!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
A related funny
I suppose in light of what just happened this is perhaps not that funny, but Ben and I still think it is.
The other day, Rachel and some friends were playing upstairs with our play kitchen. When offered a play hot dog, Rachel was adamant that she could not have it because hot dogs give her diarrhea. Good to know that I don't have to worry about her eating things that she shouldn't!
The other day, Rachel and some friends were playing upstairs with our play kitchen. When offered a play hot dog, Rachel was adamant that she could not have it because hot dogs give her diarrhea. Good to know that I don't have to worry about her eating things that she shouldn't!
It's 5 a.m. and I know where my children are
The baby is asleep in her crib. She went to bed at 5:47 p.m. last night after two days of multiple poopy diapers and some all-around crabbiness combined with drinking less milk than usual. She didn't wake up "for real" until 2 a.m., thus possibly filling up one hand's worth of 8+ hours of sleeping through. (She did cry a couple of times at 1 a.m. but by the time I'd gotten a bottle of milk from the fridge she'd already stopped.) She had a whopping ounce or so, and went back to bed where she still is.
At 4:30 a.m., Rachel showed up in our room to announce that she had thrown up in her bed. Luckily it was very contained and did not involve any elephants. We also still double-make her bed, so it was easy enough to peel off the top sheet and mattress cover so that she could get back to bed.
I'd be willing to bet that if I go back to bed now one or both will be up in minutes. Anna's room smells a bit suspect, so I'm guessing that she may also have thrown up. I'm not about to wake her up to find out though!!!
Here's to 2009! It's already off to a great start. ;)
And now I'm editing probably before anyone reads this to add that Anna woke up at 5:15 cheerful as anything with lovely curdled milk spit-up everywhere on her and in her crib. Rachel never went back to sleep. She threw up again, so I got the chance to discover that the spot-cleaning soap bar my mother gave me really does work - at least it works on carpet! We'll see about clothes next.
I've spent the past hour bleaching and doing laundry. Fun times. Ben gave Anna a bath and now it's Rachel's turn. Could be a long day...
At 4:30 a.m., Rachel showed up in our room to announce that she had thrown up in her bed. Luckily it was very contained and did not involve any elephants. We also still double-make her bed, so it was easy enough to peel off the top sheet and mattress cover so that she could get back to bed.
I'd be willing to bet that if I go back to bed now one or both will be up in minutes. Anna's room smells a bit suspect, so I'm guessing that she may also have thrown up. I'm not about to wake her up to find out though!!!
Here's to 2009! It's already off to a great start. ;)
And now I'm editing probably before anyone reads this to add that Anna woke up at 5:15 cheerful as anything with lovely curdled milk spit-up everywhere on her and in her crib. Rachel never went back to sleep. She threw up again, so I got the chance to discover that the spot-cleaning soap bar my mother gave me really does work - at least it works on carpet! We'll see about clothes next.
I've spent the past hour bleaching and doing laundry. Fun times. Ben gave Anna a bath and now it's Rachel's turn. Could be a long day...
Friday, January 02, 2009
Murphy's Law
I've been contemplating putting Anna back into cloth diapers for awhile now. When I packed them away in July, the idea was that I would start up again once we were settled. 4.5 months later I'm finally feeling ready to start. It doesn't hurt that Anna is already in size 6 diapers and therefore we get fewer diapers for the same amount of money, so I'm slightly more motivated at this point.
Of course she had outgrown the sized pocket diapers that we had, so I've begun the process of selling them off - yes, you can make money off of used diapers! Here's to the internet!
I got a good deal on some large Fuzzi Bunz. We had tried that brand very briefly with Rachel, but the fleece linings seemed to irritate her skin, thus prompting me to share with a friend back home one night that we sold our Fuzzi Bunz on the internet. (Just read that out loud. It sounds so much worse than it is! Luckily, said friend was also trying out cloth diapering at the time so he did understand although he has never quite let me forget that moment.)
Anna has never had a diaper rash. Even when I stopped nursing her and she switched to formula only, we had no problems. So of course today she has pooped 5 times (3 in brand new cloth diapers) and now she has a nasty rash. :(
Hopefully it'll clear up soon. She didn't have any problems when we used this kind of diaper before, so possibly it's related to something she ate. It's getting difficult to monitor what goes into her belly these days. As Ben says, watching Anna eat is like watching Garfield the cat. She scoops up food as fast as possible and shoves it in her mouth, saying "Mmm! Mmm! MMMM!!!" She also digs around in the pocket of her bib looking for any stray food that might have fallen in there. It's quite funny to watch. Tonight she had challah, chicken, corn, peas, carrots and maybe even a stray bean or two. Meanwhile, Rachel ate her fries and challah, proudly cut a few pieces of chicken by herself, ate even fewer pieces than she cut, picked all the carrots out of her mixed veggies, and then tried to convince me that she could make corn & challah sandwiches. It's amazing how different they are.
Of course she had outgrown the sized pocket diapers that we had, so I've begun the process of selling them off - yes, you can make money off of used diapers! Here's to the internet!
I got a good deal on some large Fuzzi Bunz. We had tried that brand very briefly with Rachel, but the fleece linings seemed to irritate her skin, thus prompting me to share with a friend back home one night that we sold our Fuzzi Bunz on the internet. (Just read that out loud. It sounds so much worse than it is! Luckily, said friend was also trying out cloth diapering at the time so he did understand although he has never quite let me forget that moment.)
Anna has never had a diaper rash. Even when I stopped nursing her and she switched to formula only, we had no problems. So of course today she has pooped 5 times (3 in brand new cloth diapers) and now she has a nasty rash. :(
Hopefully it'll clear up soon. She didn't have any problems when we used this kind of diaper before, so possibly it's related to something she ate. It's getting difficult to monitor what goes into her belly these days. As Ben says, watching Anna eat is like watching Garfield the cat. She scoops up food as fast as possible and shoves it in her mouth, saying "Mmm! Mmm! MMMM!!!" She also digs around in the pocket of her bib looking for any stray food that might have fallen in there. It's quite funny to watch. Tonight she had challah, chicken, corn, peas, carrots and maybe even a stray bean or two. Meanwhile, Rachel ate her fries and challah, proudly cut a few pieces of chicken by herself, ate even fewer pieces than she cut, picked all the carrots out of her mixed veggies, and then tried to convince me that she could make corn & challah sandwiches. It's amazing how different they are.
Just another Shabbat dinner
Before I clean up from dinner, I have come over to the computer because if I wait, I will forget.
Tonight we had a rather lazy Shabbat dinner. I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for $6.99. Seriously, where is the incentive to buy and prepare my own chicken when I can get two meals out of the ready-made ones that are so delicious!? (Well, to be fair, I type with a little guilt. This was not a kosher chicken. I very rarely buy rotisserie chickens for this reason.)
I also made curly oven fries (Rachel announced that she had the longest fry in the world and I think she was probably almost right about that!) and mixed veggies. Add in some challah and you've got a recipe guaranteed to please both an almost-5-year-old ("No, I'm almost 4 and 3/4!" Rachel would say) and an almost-1-year-old.
I lit the candles and blew the match out after the first one because it was burning a little too rapidly for my liking. Then we stopped and had a discussion about whether or not it was ok to light another match when one of the Shabbat candles was already lit but had not yet been blessed. (Yes, we're aware that it's a moot point since we are making use of our electricity and I'm still online. Bear with me. Small steps, right?) I lit a new match from the already-lit candle and that created quite the spark.
After the grape juice and challah, it was on to the meal. Rachel was eager to try out her growing skill at cutting her own piece of chicken, and she didn't once complain about not having enough fries on her plate! (Shockingly, she didn't ask for more fries and I had actually made extra for once. Oh well.)
As we were finishing up the meal, Rachel asked me how they had made the rotisserie chicken. I explained that it had some spices and herbs rubbed on it and then it was cooked. "But what did they do before that?" she asked. I answered that they put on kitchen gloves, washed the chicken and tied the legs together before putting the spices on and putting it in the oven. "But what did they do before that?" she asked.
Not ready to discuss the decapitating of chickens over what was meant to be a nice Shabbat dinner with the family, I deflected her. "Rachel, I don't know because I wasn't there. How about we ask next time we're at that grocery store?" Luckily, that worked for now. I'm not opposed to having her learn that our meat comes from actual animals, but she's a rather sensitive soul and I'm not sure that a more detailed explanation would be beneficial at this time.
Where was Ben during this, you might ask? Ha! He was making excuses to carry dishes back into the kitchen so he wouldn't burst out laughing. At least it saved me some table-clearing. ;)
Tonight we had a rather lazy Shabbat dinner. I picked up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store for $6.99. Seriously, where is the incentive to buy and prepare my own chicken when I can get two meals out of the ready-made ones that are so delicious!? (Well, to be fair, I type with a little guilt. This was not a kosher chicken. I very rarely buy rotisserie chickens for this reason.)
I also made curly oven fries (Rachel announced that she had the longest fry in the world and I think she was probably almost right about that!) and mixed veggies. Add in some challah and you've got a recipe guaranteed to please both an almost-5-year-old ("No, I'm almost 4 and 3/4!" Rachel would say) and an almost-1-year-old.
I lit the candles and blew the match out after the first one because it was burning a little too rapidly for my liking. Then we stopped and had a discussion about whether or not it was ok to light another match when one of the Shabbat candles was already lit but had not yet been blessed. (Yes, we're aware that it's a moot point since we are making use of our electricity and I'm still online. Bear with me. Small steps, right?) I lit a new match from the already-lit candle and that created quite the spark.
After the grape juice and challah, it was on to the meal. Rachel was eager to try out her growing skill at cutting her own piece of chicken, and she didn't once complain about not having enough fries on her plate! (Shockingly, she didn't ask for more fries and I had actually made extra for once. Oh well.)
As we were finishing up the meal, Rachel asked me how they had made the rotisserie chicken. I explained that it had some spices and herbs rubbed on it and then it was cooked. "But what did they do before that?" she asked. I answered that they put on kitchen gloves, washed the chicken and tied the legs together before putting the spices on and putting it in the oven. "But what did they do before that?" she asked.
Not ready to discuss the decapitating of chickens over what was meant to be a nice Shabbat dinner with the family, I deflected her. "Rachel, I don't know because I wasn't there. How about we ask next time we're at that grocery store?" Luckily, that worked for now. I'm not opposed to having her learn that our meat comes from actual animals, but she's a rather sensitive soul and I'm not sure that a more detailed explanation would be beneficial at this time.
Where was Ben during this, you might ask? Ha! He was making excuses to carry dishes back into the kitchen so he wouldn't burst out laughing. At least it saved me some table-clearing. ;)
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