Disneyland… The scariest place on earth


Oh my goodness me. Well Disneyland was nothing like the easy, fun, relaxed vacation we had last year. Oh no. I think it was a whole combination of things, but mostly she’s just changed and now Disneyland seems huge, overwhelming and full of many dark, loud, scary things. Last year the colors, lights and people kept her so interested. This year those same things took her over the edge to mama clingyness times a million.
Tuesday doesn’t really know any of the characters, so rides that seem so innocent (like the new little mermaid one), are insanely scary when you have no idea who the villan is and why they are being so mean. I’m really glad Tuesday doesn’t know the princesses. The whole point of a princess is lame in my opinion, why would a kid want to be one when they can be a space ranger, explorer, etc? I never realized how many really dark elements there are to Disney stories until I was looking at them through the eyes of a three year old.

(please tell me I’m not tall enough for this ride)
I really feel so awful that she didn’t have more fun. Things she deemed acceptable:
Riding the Casey Jr. Circus Train:

Riding the Disney Railroad trains:

(Sciarrino got to come for a few days, which was awesome.)
Playing with her new bubble gun (non-mama approved, but oh well):

Riding the monorail (she seriously could have done this all day):

She also really liked meeting Minnie Mouse (while I was holding her of course), and remembered every detail of their encounter. She really just wanted to walk around, and by walk around I mean be pushed in our stroller, facing us. I lobbied hard to bring the big stroller and I’m so glad I didn’t let up, we really needed it. She wanted to be held or in there 99% of the time. I can say three years in that I still LOVE this stroller (we have the bag to travel with us, it comes with a warranty for if when the airlines break something) . I have used it so much all over the place in all weather and it looks and works fabulously still. Can’t recommend it enough as a great stroller for the long haul (50 pound max should last us until she ten! ha!). When it got all too overwhelming for her, she just pulled the shade down (there is another hidden inside that makes it so almost her whole body is covered) and snuggled in there.

Waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the hotel for a nap.
I think another big problem is that Tuesday and I feed off each other. Bj’s told me this before, and I think he’s right. I was really uptight, and super tired from having to carry her/having her climb all over me all time. I hate being the enforcer of the group, but with grandparents and other people that love her and just want her to have fun it’s hard not to be. I had to say no to yucky foods, I had to say, yes we have to leave for nap, etc. That is so hard and really makes it seem like I’m no fun at all. At the end I was really feeling like a terrible mother for the whole trip, and for not allowing x,y,z, or allowing a,b,c when I knew it would just make things worse. Then to top it all off Tuesday was totally anti birthday on her birthday. She woke up to a room we had decorated while she was sleeping only to tell us, that, no, she was two! No birthday! She calmed down about that later on, luckily.
I think we all need some nice time at home, and I’m going to look for a day Bj doesn’t have to work late and try to do a birthday re-do. Maybe some of her favorite (healthier) foods, her favorite books, outside time, and lots of train play. Really that’s all she wanted and we way overshot.
I think there are lots of good lessons learned here, I’m still pondering what they all are.
*Edited to add: I don’t think that Tuesday really minded that she didn’t like everything at Disneyland, and we certainly had some fun moments (as everyone else on the trip mentioned, they did have fun!). This tired mama is just being honest that not all trips are wonderful, and some are lots of work for us. It’s no one’s fault, it’s just really that you can’t always understand or know what to expect from toddlers and pre-schoolers, as other mama’s of young ones commented. They are fickle funny things, and really do like routines (dispute my terrible attempts at them I guess how we muddle through at home is a routine to her). I’m always going to be up for trying new adventures though, because that’s what life is.

The Three Year Old.


I followed this link and asked Tuesday some questions on her birthday. Love the answers, I think I’m going to do as the blogger suggests and pre-make a mini for Tuesday’s questions up through 18 so it’s easy to pull out each year. I also want to video her answering the questions (some of which I’m sure would have different answers tomorrow).
1. Favorite color? Green
2. Favorite toy? Thomas (her wooden trains)
3. Favorite fruit? Grapes
4. Favorite TV show? Thomas
5. Favorite thing for lunch? Grapes, apples, and salami meat
6. Favorite outfit? Jammies
7. Favorite game? Running
8. Favorite snack? Grapes
9. Favorite animal? Monkey
10. Favorite song? Thomas, The Mix (what she calls Somebody I Used to Know, since it’s on the mix Bj made me for Christmas)
11. Favorite book? Thomas: Toby the Tram
12. Best friend? Chloe
13. Favorite cereal? Chex
14. Favorite thing to do outside? Play with water
15. Favorite drink? Orange Juice
16. Favorite holiday? Christmas
17. Favorite thing to take to bed? Toys; Thomas toys (she never does this so I asked again), Birdie
18. Favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Candy Canes (never happened), Pancakes and Bacon
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Bacon, grapes
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A knitter
21. What do you want to do when you grow up? Take somebody to Disneyland and to animal store (?), knit, chew gum.
Anything else you want to tell me? Three is happy.
 
I added the parentheses for clarification when necessary. She is still so totally in the now. Can you tell who had grapes as a snack today? I also added the last question to the list I found, as Tuesday is more into what she will do over what she will be (a concept I don’t think she’s really grasped yet). This is such a fun thing to do. Part of me really wants me to do my perspective on her favorites vs. her answers, and I might do that on a scrapbook page.

Ok, here is the after

She is so proud of her first haircut. Her nana (Bj’s mom, retired professional hairdresser) cut it for her on the second day of the new year. I think nana’s been counting the days until she could cut her hair! And it’s so perfect, she really just trimmed off all those baby wisps that kept getting tangled up. It is so much curlier now. This is right after. I need to get a picture of her in the daylight (did I mention the first haircut was in an RV?!), but first I’ll have to give her a bath! I’m so bad about washing her hair because I’m terrible at it. So I always wait for the weekend and Bj washes her hair without fuss or tears.

It’s about time I guess, Miss Sparkly Pants will be three tomorrow… THREE!
But oh, she’s not three yet, and don’t you dare mention it!
Recent adorable conversation of the week:
Eli (just turned 4 year old friend), “how old are you”
Tuesday, “I’m two, right now.”
Eli, “But you talk so well.”
LOL and she does, none stop and all day long.

Tuesday’s Lens

As I mentioned in my last post we bought Tuesday a second hand digital camera for Christmas. I have done a lot of research on digital cameras for children and the basic consensus is, yes, they are some what indestructible, but the picture quality is terrible. Now, I’m a bit of a picture quality snob, but it’s not just bad by my standards. We’re talking 2 mega pixels max, and that’s for a $60 camera that includes games (Vtech Kidizoom). Needless to say that was not what I was looking for. So I waded through inexpensive digital point and shoots currently on the market. They actually had too many features and were too nice for what I wanted (too nice meaning, Tuesday will not know how to change her shutter speed, so I don’t need that feature). What I finally decided to do was check out digital cameras that were fairly inexpensive about 5-7 years ago. I really wanted one with a viewfinder (as opposed to just composing your shot via the screen on the back), but quickly realized that was going to be out of the $20 limit I had imposed on myself. Also if it could be cute, I knew Tuesday would appreciate it. I settled on the Polaroid i733 circa 2007 (yes, Polaroid brand, no, not an instant camera). Here is the actual auction I won, the camera (in hot pink) cost me $12.99 and shipping was $8.85 so I went a tiny bit over my budget.
day 2: the grocery store

Common problem: finger in front of the lens

Yes, this thing is made for adults. And it was a little tricky for Tuesday to get the hang of. Up until now she’s just stuck camera shaped things in front of her face and pretended to “photography like mama”. But she’s had it for over a week now and besides wanting to get too close to things she’s getting much better. I commonly find things like this on the card:

Pictures of her beloved books.
My favorite one so far:

Bj to Tuesday, “what are you doing?”
Tuesday to Bj, “I”m taking a picture of the dirty potty!”
(more on that to come…)
So let me run down a few pros and cons and then let you in on some tips.
Pros:
-awesome color, she loves her little pink camera
-minimal buttons on the back make pushing something accidentally very difficult
-adjustable exposure compensation (great if you constantly notice photos too over/under exposed)
-seems pretty durable so far, after all it’s 5 years old and is working great
-easy to find second hand, and the price is super reasonable
Cons:
-eats batteries for breakfast, lunch and dinner (but her constantly using the flash is a big part of that)
-not designed for children’s hands
-battery compartment can not be screwed shut, so you must trust your child not to open it
-must push down the on button for a second or two (it doesn’t seem like a long time unless you are almost three and want it on NOW)
-no viewfinder
Some tips and tricks:
-I managed to go through the menu settings and change things to make the camera work much better for us. There are two menus, one that you view from the camera mode and one that you access when viewing a picture (playback mode). Everything I learned about the menus was from playing around, as my camera came with out a manual. I suggest that you:
1.set the date and time, this is totally awesome for seeing what she takes picture of while I think she’s napping!
2.turn off the zoom! I think the camera’s ability to turn off the zoom is a great feature.
3.turn off all beeping/noises except for the shutter release. I found that Tuesday wanted to press the buttons on the back just to get that sound (probably because we don’t have anything else that makes a noise like that). As soon as I turned off the beeps she left those buttons alone.
4.turn on power saving options. Having the camera’s back screen turn off as soon as possible when not in use saves a lot of battery.
5.save your kid some heartache and be in charge of the flash. If you’re going to be outside, turn it off, if you’re going to be in low light turn it on (easily accessible button on the back of the camera.
-I think teaching your child how to use the playback function is great! Tuesday now knows how to push the tiny button on the back to see what she took pictures of, and she knows how to get out of that function to take pictures again.
-Even though the camera didn’t end up costing much, it is still a camera and I believe it should be treated with respect. One of the huge reasons I don’t like the idea of cameras that act like toys (big, plastic, with games, etc.), is that I don’t think they would seem that special to a child. Tuesday certainly thinks her camera is special. I bought a case for it (a funky green one with a wrist strap) that is easy to open and close. She is welcome to take her camera anywhere, but it must be in the case. She can use it anytime she wants, but she has to turn it off when she is done. I have had no problems getting her to follow these “rules” she wants it to keep working after all. My friend asked me how it takes drops, but I don’t know because Tuesday’s never dropped it. Of course she’s only had it for a little over a week, but I’ve found that she has been very careful with it. Tuesday is almost exactly three.
-Let them experiment, and gently guide them to take better pictures. At this point in the game we don’t talk about composition, color, depth of field or anything like that. I’m talking about the basics. Hand placement so fingers are not in front of the lens/flash. Which buttons do what. That getting too close takes blurry photos. I want her to have fun most of all, and if she gets something I can print out for her, or share with friends and family, that’s awesome. Really I want to just cut out frustration by guiding her to get the photo she wants to see. So for example when she’s pointing the camera at Nana and getting photo after photo of feet because she moves at the last minute, I can show her how to be still and aim at Nana’s face. If she pulls away and wants to do her own thing, no problem.
-There really is nothing like seeing your pre-schooler’s view, even if it’s of you un-showered, checking your iPhone in bed 🙂

Did you get a Silhouette for the holidays?

Well one of Bj’s co-workers did. And because I did a custom decal for his laptop she knew I had one (ok he did most of the work, but he did use my machine). She asked for some advice, and as per usual, I went a bit over the top. I figured it was too good not to share, so here it is.

I love my Silhouette. I have the SD and have for a little over a year. I love it and use it all the time. I’m not sure what you want to cut with yours, but I’ve tried pretty much everything with mine. For iron on vinyl I buy from Specialty Graphics.

 

For regular (indoor/outdoor) sticker like vinyl I buy from expressions vinyl. I would sign up for their newsletter, they have coupons pretty much constantly. I have also bought chalkboard vinyl from this place to make labels.

Yes, Silhouette does sell all of these things, but personally I like being able to buy smaller amount and more colors, the rolls from Silhouette are pretty large, and to me the quality is the same and doesn’t warrant the much more expensive price.

 

For iron on interfacing (so you can cut fabric) I have bought the Silhouette brand and did a little research, it is exactly the same as heat and bond (an interfacing you can by at most big fabric stores, jo-ann’s etc., in packages or by the yard in the interfacing area). The Lite is the same as the sewable  and the Ultrahold is the same as clean cut. I like the lite best, and have had great luck making shirts like these.

 

I’ve also cut random things like avery label paper to do print and cuts and make labels for my canning. And these I didn’t print, but were cut from the same material. I have good luck finding half packs of this kind of label paper at goodwill for cheap.

 

I have tried one of the aftermarket brand blade holders and titanium blades. I didn’t have the patience for it, even though some people have great results. I found it was easy just to click double cut on thicker things (like cardstock; speaking of, American Crafts brand cardstock cuts the best).

 

This coupon code for 20% off a subscription expires the 31st: YEAREND. It is totally the way to go for buying shapes in their online store, and if you pay all at once they give you an additional 5% off. You then get a dollar credit amount. I used $50 a month last year, and am going to do the same this year, it works out to $11.40 if you pre-pay. You can stretch that even further if you buy the bulk of your shapes when they go on sale (usually 99 cents, they are often 75 or even 50 cents, sign up for the newsletter to be notified, plus they always have clearance shapes). So you could, hypothetically, get 100 shapes for $11.40. 🙂

 

You don’t have to buy shapes from the store, I like it because it’s so easy and quick. Tracing special shapes is easy though, like the stuff I’ve done for Bj’s computer. Here is an easy tutorial on using PNGs (that you would buy from other digital sources), and tracing them to cut.

 

I learned the most by opening up the user’s manual (accessible while in the program), and going through a lot of the steps. This helps with getting a grip on basic commands, the program is super simple though.

 

If I missed something ask me! I love my machine (obviously). This yahoo group is also good to join, they have tons of info and are happy to help.

 

I hope this email doesn’t make you think I’m crazy obsessed, I just like to be well researched in general!

Totally random photo from Tuesday’s “new” digital camera.

 

Lingering


We’re only through family celebration one of three, so you can see why I’m loving to linger over Christmas lights a little longer.

I love the tree this year, and because we didn’t get it decorated until the 21st I want to keep it up a lot longer. Sciarrino gifted me some beautiful vintage ornaments that make my tree just glow this year. We had a very late start Christmas morning as some one woke up feeling a little under the weather (I have a feeling it was too much of her cousin’s wonderful fudge the night before). It was lazy and relaxed and I loved it.

I was totally right about this 2008 Thomas catalog being one of her favorite things ($4 on Amazon Marketplace). She’s toted it around and told me countless stories about them all. Bj and I have entertained ourselves plenty building elaborate train sets. As I said we have more celebrations upcoming. And I can’t wait to get started on my Project Life album. I’ll be popping in now and then until mid-January. Then hopefully I’ll get myself back on a schedule.
Much more merry to you all!

When 13 is one, you’ve started too late

I finally finished one of my advent projects (the other one I’m hoping to have done next year). In case you don’t know an advent is a countdown to Christmas (my baby-sitter didn’t know what it was).

This is one of the Silhouette advent calendars, they were running a special and I picked one up (looks like they are no longer at the store, maybe they’ll come out again next year). It comes with a download card to make all the little drawers (making little boxes are also an option). I stayed up way too late before my trip to California working on this, cutting the boxes was so addicting! I used a variety of cardstock patterned papers, and then regular vinyl for the numbers and letters.

I have the perfect place for it above our fireplace. It’s great because Tuesday can’t reach it, yay!

Even though I had a great time visiting with my dad in California, and seeing Indianapolis for the first time (we took off a day after we got back from Cali), it is kind of a bummer that the first box Tuesday gets to open is the 13th. I love the lead up to the holidays, all the planning, the crafting, the wrapping. It’s so crammed together this year. Expect posting to be light while I decorate, sew, knit, and generally craft it up! Oh did I mention I threw a baby shower Sunday, the day after I got back from Indy? I am so crazy, but I love it! Hope your holiday prep is going well, are you getting as crazy as me?