If there is a rock, and there is no sign, I need to climb it.

"If there is a rock, and there is no sign, I need to climb it," was Selena's quote the other day.  Rocks, trees, and everything else are fair game.  She is definitely getting in touch with her inner primate.  She is also doing great at the monkey bars.  Last summer she was really close and could do them alone sometimes, but now she can do them pretty consistently.  The other day she had impressed a group of pre-teens and they were cheering her on.

Preschool has ended and it has been wonderful.  She has been sleeping in till 9-10am and she is a lot nicer person.  There are far fewer outbursts of name-calling and mean behavior.  Now we just need to break Allie of the habits Selena taught her.  Her preschool teacher also called and said another little girl signed up for afternoon preschool next year, so we're planning on the afternoon again! :)  At the graduation ceremony she said she wanted to be a builder when she grows up. 

The ballet session ended and she has decided that she wants to sign up for soccer now but I think we are putting Papa in charge of that.
  
She's into dinosaurs right now and has watched many of the Land Before Time videos.  The problem is those movies are scary and sometimes sad.  At one point we were discussing what happened to the dinosaurs and I was explaining that many scientists think a meteor killed all the dinosaurs, but she got a bit confused and a couple days later she said, "I think a meat eater (meteor) like T-Rex ate all the dinosaurs and then he died and so they were all gone."  

We've been meeting more of the neighborhood kids and I enjoy it so much when they are all running around the cul-de-sac playing with the older kids accommodating the younger ones.  I just hope we get more opportunities as the summer goes on.

She's already starting to feel bad about her height.  The other day she sadly says to me, "I'm the smallest four year old I know."  I told her that she probably would always be the smallest of her age and that both her dad and I were always the smallest, but that sometimes being smaller is better because you are faster and can climb trees better.  She's also deduced from her dinosaur movies that if you are smaller you have to be smarter. I feel for her.  I spent most of my life wishing I was taller.

Burda World of Fashion 04-2008-116

I bought this issue of the magazine a long time ago always wanting to make this dress, and now four years later I finally have. I've made two versions of this pattern.  One a little black sleeveless dress, and one as a short sleeve top.  I like the top a lot.  The dress wasn't quite as cute as I'd thought it be.  Part of the problem is I don't really like a V-neck with no sleeves on me, the other is that the fabric I was using is very thin and it kind of feels like I'm wearing pajamas in it.

I made lots of changes to the pattern and they all worked, so I was pretty impressed with myself.  The smallest size was a 38 and my measurements are about a 34 in Burda.  So I used my Jalie 2805 t-shirt pattern (size R) as a block to make changes to the Burda pattern.  I completely redrafted the top front from the Jalie pattern.  If I had graded down the Burda pattern the armscye would have been way too low, the shoulders too wide, and the front way too low.  I pretty much used the Jalie piece for the back.  For the lower front I graded down the Burda piece, made sure that the side seams matched up, and the seams from the lower front to lower back.  The result fit perfectly and best of all the under bust seam does not ride up at all. I completely disregarded the instructions to use strips of fabric to finish the edges and seams and simply folded the neckline over and top-stitched.

I'm sorry for the lack of quality and number of pictures.  It is really hard to get someone to take a picture of me, when the light is good, it is not raining, and me looking presentable.

Allie is Finally Two!

I've been thinking she's two since she was 10 months old and now she finally is!  Though she might tell you she's three.  Selena's been working on this with her though, and she knows that Floyd and I are 30 and Selena is 4, but she'll still sometimes say she's three, or she'll say she's a baby--one or the other.  Overall she's really good with numbers, not only can she count to 12 or 13 but she can count up to 10 objects accurately most of the time.    She also can count in Spanish and Japanese.

Her favorite thing right now is doing puzzles.  While Selena is at preschool we spend the majority of the time doing puzzles.  She also does a puzzle game on my rooted Nook Color.  She also likes a superhero game we play outside. We pretend the big bad bear came and kidnaps one of us, and then the other two have to be super heroes and find the key to the dungeon, fight the big bad bear and free the one who was captured.  Hide and seek is also a hit.

We continue to leave her naked at home and she goes potty almost 100% in the potty all by herself, but if you put any underwear, pants or diaper on her she will only go, or ask to go, rarely.  She will often ask to go when we are out, or if Selena is going, but she usually just sits on the potty.  She says its hard.

She has become quite the snuggle bug.  As an infant she didn't often like to snuggle.  She'd wiggle and do baby death rolls to get out of your hands.  At night she didn't like to sleep snuggled.  Now she willingly snuggles for significant periods of time with lots of members of the family and often insists on snuggling in my arms while sleeping at night.  It's very sweet.  She also told me that she was Auntie Cynthia's favorite and that Auntie Cynthia loves her and snuggles her a lot.  She also calls her Auntie Mel Uncle Mel. :)  She also spontaneously will tell me that she loves me so much, and that I'm the best mom ever.

She still is very opinionated and knows what she wants.  For instance here is a conversation between her and Floyd.

Allie: I want Word World

Floyd: No

Allie: You no say no.  I want Word World on the TV.

Floyd: Maybe

Allie: You are making Allie mad.  You only say yes. Not no.

Or when we were at the Y swimming she wanted to buckle a life jacket by herself, but insisted on not buckling the correct corresponding straps, and then wanted to jump into the pool, and me not catch her, but start 3 feet away from the edge, and she doesn't really know how to jump.  When I would go to catch her she would get mad and go sit on a bench telling me, "You are making me mad!"   She kind of has a bit of a temper.

Homemade Egg Rolls

I've never really liked egg rolls.  They taste too cabbagy to me.  I'm not sure exactly what causes the cabbagy taste.  Old cabbage, or maybe over cooked?  I'm not sure, because sometimes I eat cabbage and it tastes just fine, great even.  Like in these egg rolls, and other times its just gross.  I'm not sure how or why I found this recipe, or why I decided to try it (since I don't like egg rolls, but maybe Floyd wanted me to), but these are really, really, REALLY good.   Apparently I am not allowed to make them without inviting my mom over.  Oops.

Follow the directions on how to wrap them exactly.  The first couple times I did, but then I started getting nonchalant and then they started unfolding while frying.  I did change the recipe in that I shredded all the veggies with a food processes making them very tiny.  I think it improves the taste and texture of the filling, which by the way is so good, you can eat it by itself.  Having the super thin wraps is also important.  The first time I made them I didn't, and they were still good, but when I did have the thin wraps they were even better.  Personally I am very intimidated about going into an Asian grocery, so I lucked out when I moved, and the grocery store I shop at has a huge Asian section. :)

Selena Ballerina

Selena started a ballet class at the Y a month or so ago.  She is enjoying it a lot and practices her tendu, releve, plie and saute's often.  She loves the terminology and is constantly asking me what each move is called and then in class loudly and confidently answers the instructors questions. She also enjoys going to the child watch at the Y.  She always seems to meet a friend and play games.

Preschool is also going well.  She seems to be enjoying it more now, despite the waking up early, and seems to be making more friends.  The preschool planned a mother's day performance and it was very sweet.  The kids sang some songs and recited some poems.  We signed her up for an afternoon program next year, but apparently she is the only girl signed up so her teacher recommended switching to the morning.  When I asked her if she would mind being in a class with only boys, she got very upset, and said she likes girls better.  So I guess she'll be waking up early again next year.  Now the dilemma is whether we should send her three days a week or stay with two like we had planned.

Her math skills are developing.  She is constantly counting things and is starting to add and subtract.  She is also always asking, "Is 60 more than 80? Is 80 more than 60?  Is 10 more than 30?  Is 30 more than 40? etc, etc"  or "What is bigger a house or a tree?  What is smaller a car or a river?"  The size comparison questions are hard to answer.

We went to the fire station and got the girls new helmets that fit well and since then Selena has been riding her bike a lot.  She's getting really fast on it, but still has a bit of trouble when the pedals land in a certain way, especially if she is on an incline.  Then she needs a little push.

She grew an inch!  She is now 37 inches.  I was starting to worry a bit because she hadn't grown in quite a while and after mentioning it to a few people a week later my sister-in-law said she thought she looked taller. I took her home and measured her and she was!  So that has eased my mind a bit.  Food intolerances are seeming to be identified more frequently now, so I start wondering if maybe she has some, but then I'm pretty sure both Floyd and I were probably just as small as she is now, when we were that age.  However I do think her bowel movements aren't that healthy so I'm going to keep an eye on that a bit more carefully.

She has been going to sleep at night a bit easier, and on my sleep in days, and her sleep in days she has voluntarily chosen to fall asleep on her own.  So that has been fairly nice.

When we go out her behavior is usually fairly good, but at home we are having some problems with her just being plain mean.  Mostly to Allie but also to Floyd and I.  Her random self-talk always seems to veer off to, "Allie needs to go to jail.  I'm better than Allie.  Allie needs to go away.  Allie's rude. etc, etc."  And she'll also randomly kick, poke, hit me or Allie.  Sending her to her room temporarily helps, but it is constant throughout the day, really aggravating, and it upsets both me and Allie a lot.  It mostly happens when she gets bored.  I'm developing a strategy to work on this but I really need to just start implementing it.  But I'm really tired and worn out so I just keep hoping the weather will get nicer and I can just send her outside.

Random stuff

• When her and Allie play baby dolls she is always the dad.
• She was telling me that white, right (as in correct), and right (as in right vs left) all sound the same but mean different things.  So I tried to explain that white, was with a W and had a slightly different sound.  I went to write it down to show her, and realized that write also sounds the same as right, but has a W but does not make the W sound.  Poor kids, how are they supposed to figure all this out?
• She is always climbing.  She climbs really high.  It's pretty crazy.
• She ran a 1 mile kids race, while I was running a half.  Floyd ran with her and was encouraging her to pass people.  When she caught up to them she turns to Floyd and says loudly, "I passed him."  But she ran a 13:22 mile and got first place for girls four and under.  She was really excited for the race and all week was talking about how she needed to get her race shoes, and her watch, and her stretchy running clothes all ready.  I can't wait till she and Allie are a bit older and we can run together.
• I've been getting a few plant and animal identification books, and I was looking through them and she was kind of bored and asked me to read her my plant book.  I read her a fairly complicated passage about plants growing in the canopy of maple trees.  She seemed pretty bored so I stopped.  A few days later we were walking on a trail and I pointed out some ferns growing way up in the tree, and how that was kind of weird, and she looked at me and said, "Yeah mom, your book said that the moss made dirt up there, so plants could grow."
• Bob the Builder is out and Diego is her new favorite show
• She is very logical and always nay says my fantastical stories.  For instance I couldn't get a hold of my sister and I was getting worried.  I said, "Maybe auntie has been kidnapped by alien's and that is why she can't answer her phone."  Selena said, "She probably just left it at the gym and that is why she isn't answering."  

Rhubarb Scones

When we moved in last year we discovered a few rhubarb plants in our backyard.  Last year I picked all the rhubarb, except one stalk on each plant, in one go and made strawberry-rhubarb ice cream and then did nothing with the rest and it went bad.  The plant withered away over the winter and I couldn't even tell where it went.

Then magically, it started growing this spring--and it grew fast. It got bigger and bigger and bigger and I didn't do a thing!  Definitely my kind of gardening.  However I did do a bit more research and came across an article saying to pick just a bit at a time and the rhubarb will continue to grow and you'll be supplied all summer long, so that is what I plan to try.  I made some more strawberry-rhubarb ice cream with the first batch I picked and decided to try making scones with the second batch.  I made these scones last year with wild red huckleberries and thought rhubarb might taste good too.

I chopped the rhubarb up into tiny pieces and then "dehydrated" it in the oven for 2 hours at 180 degrees.  This didn't completely dry it, but it did reduce the water content.  Then I made scones using this recipe and they are delicious.  I think the lemon zest is what makes them special.  I do prefer the huckleberries more than the rhubarb, maybe next time I won't cut the rhubarb  as tiny, or maybe I'll do huckleberries and rhubarb!  Mmmmm.  I might have to go and eat the rest right now.

Sewing Some Kids Play Pants

This is a review of the Willow Wayfarer Hipsters for Slimsters kids pants pattern.  I bought it a while ago off of Etsy and have now made 6 pairs of pants from it.  The smallest size in the pattern matches Selena's measurements exactly, and the pants fit her perfectly.  The pattern is made for woven fabrics, but so far I've only used it with knits.  I have even made Allie some pants from this pattern and by using a knit they fit her with a cloth diaper on.  I'm not a huge fan of the large hem (see middle gray/blue pants), but that is easily remedied.  The pants sew together fast.  Probably 30-45 minutes from cutting to finishing.  It is a pdf pattern that you have to print out and tape together, so a bit of work, but also semi-instant gratification.  The pattern is one piece and so simple, yet you can not believe how hard it is to get a pant's pattern that has the crotch curve just right and the waistline just so, believe me I've tried.  While the pants I've made haven't been heart meltingly cute, they have been highly functional.  Hopefully some day I will make a cute, fancy pair, with pockets and applique.

Also I highly recommend the creator's blog Indie Tutes, she's got lots of great stuff.  I also won a copy of her Spitfire Playdress in a giveaway and can't wait to sew it up, though Selena is begging for a ballet leotard first.

From left to right: 

• Old cotton/lycra yoga pants of mine recycled for Selena.  I wore them while pregnant with Selena so they were both too small, and too big at the same time. ;)
• Nice 100 Polartec Fleece.  I didn't have enough of this left to cut so the stretch was width-wise, so I had to cut it with the stretch length wise.  Since the pattern is for wovens I had no problem.
• Some random knit I bought at Joanns for very cheap.

Here is Selena wearing her pants (on the right).  The ones Allie are wearing are from Old Navy, however the jacket is a monster Halloween costume I made for Selena when she was two.  Allie wears it often. I just want to add that these girls get along so much better when we are outside.

* This review is of a sewing pattern I purchased.  I was not given anything for this review, or even asked to write it.  

The Nook Thief

Allie is 23 months old, still a one year old for a bit longer, but she gets more and more grown up each day.  I got a Nook Color for Christmas and I rooted it and installed a puzzle game, a sock matching game, and Angry Birds.  She was already stealing it before I rooted it to read, Pete the Cat.  Now she steals it to play puzzles, match socks and make stuff timber.  She quickly became adapt at using it and is pretty self-sufficient.  If she needs some help she asks Selena, who by the way, knew all about Angry Birds, even when I had no clue.  Apparently Uncle Chris had shown her how to play on his phone.

Allie's conversation abilities is ever increasing.  Today she was explaining to me why she should get to watch her television show and not the one Selena wanted because, "I asked first.  Selena watch Diego on the bed.  I watch Super Why on the couch."  She likes to stand on my legs and jump up and down singing, "Dancing a jig, dancing a jig."  She likes licking my face while saying, "Free licks." (That she got from her dad.)

Right now she enjoys doing puzzles and can do the 25 piece cardboard ones with minimal help.  She also is great at building.  She loves Duplo Legos, Citiblocs, and Superstructs.  She also likes swimming.  We've gone to the Y a few times, plus we took a road trip to Olympia and our hotel had a pool, and she really likes splashing, kicking and games in the pool.  At first she clung on to me real tight, but about 20 minutes later she was using a noodle and kicking around the pool.  She likes when we play shark and swim up and get her, as long as we don't pinch her.

Allie's a great eater.  She likes meat.  She scarfs down chicken and steak.  She likes soup.  It makes me feel so wonderful when she has the same appreciation for the delicious soups I make as I do.  She also likes eating eggs and smoothies and we share breakfast every morning.

After a bit of a hiatus in using the toilet, and even at one point taking off her diaper to pee on the floor, she is back to using the toilet often if left bare bottomed.  She is very independent and wants privacy, if the door is open, she will wrap the shower curtain around her so you can't see her.  She also wants to dump her pee and poop from the small toilet into the big toilet by herself.  While she loves trips to the bathroom in public places, she doesn't seem to like to go in a public toilet.  Allie really does not like to be told what to do, so any attempt to make her go on the potty upsets her a lot.  So I plan on letting her go bare bottomed when we are at home, wear diapers during nap and at bed, and either a diaper, a pull-up, or maybe some thick undies with a diaper cover when out and do that for a while and see how it goes.

Minimalist Baby

Minimalism is becoming a bit popular.  Partly due to saving money, partly due to the ethical ramifications of over-consumption, partly due to the aesthetics of not having a lot.  It isn't an easy thing to do, especially with children, but here are some things I've learned that you don't need or you don't need a lot of. Note: I had almost every baby item imaginable, but I found that they mostly just took up lots of space and weren't really needed and though I had saved all the paraphernalia from my first I hardly used any of it with my second.

Things you don't need:

Baby Bath - I took baths with my baby.  I didn't have to bend over and my girls never cried when I was in the bath with them.

Swings, Bouncers and Exersausers - A baby blanket works just as well.  Selena did LOVE the swing and it was really nice, but Allie could take or leave anything.  But really a simple blanket with a few rattles nearby worked pretty good. 


Crib/Bassinet/Pack and Play - I know most people would not agree with this at all, but Allie has always either slept/napped in our bed, on a mattress on the floor, or on a blanket on the floor, or while being held (in a baby carrier).  I tried having Selena sleep in the crib, but I couldn't convince myself it was right and it stressed me out, so I didn't even bother with Allie.  It worked out well.  It is a lot easier to lay a sleeping baby down on something that doesn't have a rail in the way.

Nursery - If you aren't going to do a crib, you don't even need a nursery.  You just need to find a place to put their clothes and diapers.

Push Walker - An upside down laundry basket works better than any of the fancy toys that kids push to learn how to walk.  With a laundry basket they can cruise around it to push it another way and turn it.


Stroller- If you have a good baby carrier, you really don't need a stroller.  I mostly just used the stroller to carry stuff with when I was out.  Not having a stroller can be super convenient in that you don't have to look for ramps or elevators.

Fancy Breast Pump - If you are going to be working and breastfeeding then this would be a must, but if you are planning on staying home the only time you would need one is if/when you want to go out and leave your baby with a babysitter.  I had an Avent Isis hand pump and it worked just fine when I needed one.  I even used it for a couple months when I was working part time right after Selena was born.

Things to Cut Back On

Onesies - Yes they are adorable and you probably need quite a few, but usually these are something that you have way too many of.

Bottles - If you plan to breastfeed and stay home you really only need one or two.  Even if you bottle feed and stay home you can get away with just a few by washing the bottle right after each feeding.  If your child will be going to day care you will probably need more.

Bibs -  This kind of depends on the kid.  If your baby is especially drooly a lot might be nice, but for eating all you need is to get one Baby Bjorn bib and you are set.

Blankets - Two or three LARGE sized swaddling blankets.  They can be used for swaddling and setting baby's on the ground.

Toys - Buy a nice set of wooden blocks and you are set.  Supplement with bowls, spoons, and measuring cups when they are young.  When they are older you can make all sorts of toys from cardboard, or paper  (origami) and when they get tired of the toys you can just toss them in the recycling. 














 

Carseat Safety

Some people have asked me why Selena, at four years old, is still rear-facing.  There are all sorts of data showing the safety of rear facing, recommendations from various institutions, and laws regarding carseat safety, but really all I needed was to watch these two videos (the videos are below - 1 is 12 seconds the other 4 so they do not take long to watch) and know that I would keep my child rear facing as long as the car seat was built to allow it.  I also made sure to buy seats that allowed rear facing up to larger sizes.  I am fairly liberal compared to many parents as far as child safety, believing in many cases that the learning benefits outweigh the "risk".  Thus I let my kids climb on high things, stand on chairs, and use scissors, but riding in a car is highly dangerous so I make sure to keep them as safe as possible.  It isn't an inconvenience to have them facing backwards, and they aren't missing out on any opportunities, so I figure why change.