PBS Commercial: Thanks for making this possible with viewers like you.
Linus: We are not going to make it possible!
Eileen: Hmmm. (Finger over lips) I need to think.
Eileen: Say it. (If you pause too long before starting to read or stop for a moment)
Eileen: I'm gonna do it all by myself.
Linus: (whispering in Eileen's ear) I love you.
Eileen: Other ear. Linus says he loves me.
Linus: (in other ear) I love you.
Linus: I'm putting sweets dreams in her head.
Eileen: I airbender. Airbender wake up. (Eileen when I pick her up from nap)
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Lifelong Learners
As a teacher of course I believe in creating life long learners. While I currently have no desire to do homeschooling, I do like doing educational activities with the kids. I keep a large tub filled with workbooks, flashcards, and games. These days we tend to break open the tub of learning stuff during that horrible stretch of time between nap and dinner. It's really helped us survive.
Linus' current favorite is doing a tracing workbook. He thinks they are mazes and I don't correct him. Linus and I both really enjoy the Bambino Luk he got from his aunt. I had never heard of them until he got it as a gift. We have the concentration games pack and math pack. I like that he can do it independently and it requires lots of critical thinking.
Eileen is no longer willing to sit idly by while Linus works. She wants to be fully included and will not settle for a coloring page. She likes using the alphabet whiteboard. She really wants to learn the alphabet. One of her favorite activities is grabbing letters from the alphabet puzzle and asking me what letter they are. After repeating the letter, she runs back to get a new letter. The other afternoon I got out the puff balls for her to sort. She was entertained for a good thirty minutes.
I've been back at school myself this month trying to get my last few clock hours. I signed up for a few classes at North Seattle Community College. Since I can barely wield a hammer, taking a class called hands on home repair and maintenance seemed like a good idea. The class is a bit dry and I have managed to pick up a few new understandings, but I won't miss the class when it ends this Tuesday. Yesterday I took a grant writing class. I learned a lot and the teacher was really good. I am definitely excited to maybe try out that new skill. Today I attend a baking workshop focused on cakes, cookies, and quick breads. It was taught by the owner of Mangia Bene Catering. It was so much fun (and tasty)! Another woman and I partnered up and labored for five hours on a coconut and lime curd cake.
I came away with some really great recipes, one I think I can change to gluten free. I will definitely sign up for some more cooking classes there. I am on my way to becoming a domestic goddess.
Taking classes has been wonderful. I feel so invigorated. I love learning a new skill, even learning from my mistakes. Being out of the classroom for the while, I have come to appreciate good teaching even more. That grant writing class could have been a really long 6 hours, but it went by quickly. It was a little weird being away from my kids all weekend and I know that it was maybe a bit more exhausting for Dave so I probably won't sign up for a whole weekend of classes again if I can help it. In the meantime I am already fantasizing about what classes I will take next.
Linus' current favorite is doing a tracing workbook. He thinks they are mazes and I don't correct him. Linus and I both really enjoy the Bambino Luk he got from his aunt. I had never heard of them until he got it as a gift. We have the concentration games pack and math pack. I like that he can do it independently and it requires lots of critical thinking.
Eileen is no longer willing to sit idly by while Linus works. She wants to be fully included and will not settle for a coloring page. She likes using the alphabet whiteboard. She really wants to learn the alphabet. One of her favorite activities is grabbing letters from the alphabet puzzle and asking me what letter they are. After repeating the letter, she runs back to get a new letter. The other afternoon I got out the puff balls for her to sort. She was entertained for a good thirty minutes.
 |
| Eileen with the alphabet board and Linus with the tracing workbook. |
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| Using chopsticks to pick up puff balls. |
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| She quickly became proficient and then began sorting by color. |
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| Eileen can often be found under a pile of books, reading to herself. |
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| sooo good |
Taking classes has been wonderful. I feel so invigorated. I love learning a new skill, even learning from my mistakes. Being out of the classroom for the while, I have come to appreciate good teaching even more. That grant writing class could have been a really long 6 hours, but it went by quickly. It was a little weird being away from my kids all weekend and I know that it was maybe a bit more exhausting for Dave so I probably won't sign up for a whole weekend of classes again if I can help it. In the meantime I am already fantasizing about what classes I will take next.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Wiggleworks
As previously stated, the kids and I have been exploring some new kid-friendly activities. There seems to be a flood of new things in the area. Today after fueling up on some Starbucks, we headed over to Bellevue to Crossroads Mall to Wiggleworks.
While still pretty sad, Crossroads is not nearly as depressing as Factoria. I read about Wiggleworks in some of the local parent magazines. Yelp had a lot of good reviews and also provided some insights that really informed my trip.
Wiggleworks is an indoor playspace for the under 48 inch set. It is pretty at pricey at $10 for the first kid and $8 for siblings. However, you pay for the whole day. You can play, leave, and comeback. This sounds like a great way to break up a shopping trip with kids. The downside is that they get really busy and you can't make a reservation. Yelp reviews talked about incredibly long waitlists on the weekend.
A Friday morning seemed like a good time to check it out. We got there close to opening so it wasn't too crowded, but quickly filled. The place is set up nicely for the mom set. There is stroller parking. The outside of the play area is lined with counters and stools for supervising children/sipping lattes/looking at your phone. From where I sat, I could easily see the kids at all times and they could find me.
The color palette is obnoxious but otherwise it is a great space and I haven't seen anything like it before. There are several slowly motorized structures as well as a small slide bouncy house (but one that is designed so the kids don't bounce out. The kids LOVED it! They squealed with delight for the full hour and a half we were there. I had to drag them out of there.
I met some lovely moms while I was there. When we left the staff reminded me to call about the waiting list if we planned to return, which seemed like a bit of an ominous warning. Linus would like to go back tomorrow. The place exhausted him and he took a hearty nap this afternoon. At $19 including tax, it's not going to be one of our regular destinations but we can definitely add it to the list of options.
While still pretty sad, Crossroads is not nearly as depressing as Factoria. I read about Wiggleworks in some of the local parent magazines. Yelp had a lot of good reviews and also provided some insights that really informed my trip.
Wiggleworks is an indoor playspace for the under 48 inch set. It is pretty at pricey at $10 for the first kid and $8 for siblings. However, you pay for the whole day. You can play, leave, and comeback. This sounds like a great way to break up a shopping trip with kids. The downside is that they get really busy and you can't make a reservation. Yelp reviews talked about incredibly long waitlists on the weekend.
A Friday morning seemed like a good time to check it out. We got there close to opening so it wasn't too crowded, but quickly filled. The place is set up nicely for the mom set. There is stroller parking. The outside of the play area is lined with counters and stools for supervising children/sipping lattes/looking at your phone. From where I sat, I could easily see the kids at all times and they could find me.
The color palette is obnoxious but otherwise it is a great space and I haven't seen anything like it before. There are several slowly motorized structures as well as a small slide bouncy house (but one that is designed so the kids don't bounce out. The kids LOVED it! They squealed with delight for the full hour and a half we were there. I had to drag them out of there.
 |
| The balloon room was a favorite. |
Monday, January 21, 2013
Mixing it up a little
The kids and I go on regular adventures. It is what allows me to stay sane as a stay-at-home mom. I loathe the days that we do not leave the house. I rationalize the adventures by telling myself that I am providing them with enriching experiences they would not receive if they attended daycare.
Despite my best efforts, we occasionally fall into a rut. This month I have taken it upon myself to try some new activities to spice things up a little.
Our first new adventure was to OmKids Play Gym in Wallingford. I normally dislike toddler gyms at the community centers. They are loud and chaotic and then become dangerous when the community center preschool enters for their recess. However, at $3 they are hard to beat. Om Kids was an entirely different experience. It should be called Zen play gym. It was so relaxed! The lighting was dim with Christmas lights strung from the ceiling. Gentle music played instead of a 70s dance mix. It was a little pricey at $8 per kid (they do have a punch card), but it was nice to have something to throw into the mix. The place has tunnels, a balance beam, rings, one large and several small trampolines, swings, and a giant pile of Love Sacs. I definitely wouldn't attempt to bring Linus to the toddler time. They do have a preschooler time but he may still have to much energy for the space. I'd also like to give out a shout out to the bathroom. It was spacious and equally zen and had a changing table. There's nothing worse than going to a "kid friendly" space with non-friendly bathrooms. Here's a few pics of Eileen enjoying herself at Zen toddler gym:
Over the weekend we went to the Seattle Aquarium. This is actually one of our regular stops since we have a membership. I've taken to going when I know they have something special going on. We've seen all the animals and fish tons of time, so without something different the kids fly through in 30 minutes. Plus sometimes the special events are really cool. This weekend was a special Hawaiian theme (it's going on next weekend complete with a hula show). We all got lei'd. Both kids got their faces painted. Linus enjoyed being an octopus.
Today we finally got to try something I've had on my list of ideas for a little while--Baby Jam at Yanvalou Drum School (right by the Woodland Park Zoo). It's $7 per kid, and has a punch card option. Baby Jam consists of singing and dancing with instruments and scarves in English, Spanish, and Hebrew. They also do storytelling. One of leaders is always drumming, which really enhanced storytelling. Linus refused to participate during the first half. He was only interested in playing on drums with sticks. Luckily, there is a good 10-15 minutes of straight drumming. Linus picked the biggest drum he could find and went to town. Everything was better after that. He even asked to come back again every time class happened. The class was very feel good and the leaders were all great about letting the children explore the instruments. The people running it were really cool. We'll definitely go back. It was a great way for the kids to let out some energy.
You will notice Linus is sporting a bow tie and suspenders. He dressed himself the other day in a plaid dress shirt, dress shoes, suspenders and bow tie and asked me, "Do I look like a man?" Since then he has taken to wearing the suspenders and bow tie most days.
Eileen, for her part, is more interested in being part of the Seattle hipster scene.
No one can say my children lack style or personality.
Despite my best efforts, we occasionally fall into a rut. This month I have taken it upon myself to try some new activities to spice things up a little.
Our first new adventure was to OmKids Play Gym in Wallingford. I normally dislike toddler gyms at the community centers. They are loud and chaotic and then become dangerous when the community center preschool enters for their recess. However, at $3 they are hard to beat. Om Kids was an entirely different experience. It should be called Zen play gym. It was so relaxed! The lighting was dim with Christmas lights strung from the ceiling. Gentle music played instead of a 70s dance mix. It was a little pricey at $8 per kid (they do have a punch card), but it was nice to have something to throw into the mix. The place has tunnels, a balance beam, rings, one large and several small trampolines, swings, and a giant pile of Love Sacs. I definitely wouldn't attempt to bring Linus to the toddler time. They do have a preschooler time but he may still have to much energy for the space. I'd also like to give out a shout out to the bathroom. It was spacious and equally zen and had a changing table. There's nothing worse than going to a "kid friendly" space with non-friendly bathrooms. Here's a few pics of Eileen enjoying herself at Zen toddler gym:
Over the weekend we went to the Seattle Aquarium. This is actually one of our regular stops since we have a membership. I've taken to going when I know they have something special going on. We've seen all the animals and fish tons of time, so without something different the kids fly through in 30 minutes. Plus sometimes the special events are really cool. This weekend was a special Hawaiian theme (it's going on next weekend complete with a hula show). We all got lei'd. Both kids got their faces painted. Linus enjoyed being an octopus.
Friday, January 18, 2013
The Status of Things
I just realized that it's been a little while since my last blog post. I have been busy making a book of my blog instead of actually writing blog posts. Blurb is a cool program that will import your blog and let you turn it into your book. The process reminded me of the good old days in high school of doing layout for the newspaper and Lionize. So here is a random assortment of what is going on in our lives right now.
Dave and I both are in need of a good night's sleep. Eileen inherited my propensity for talking in her sleep. This combined with a recent run of nightmares repeatedly wakes us up all night long, along with requiring frequent trips downstairs to the kids room. It was so sad the other night when we could hear her crying, "No timeout. No. I don't like it," over and over again. Eileen rarely goes to timeout although Linus frequently tries to put here there.
Speaking of sleep, Linus is quickly giving up nap entirely. Eileen has rapidly gone from 3 hour naps to 1.5 hour naps. I miss my peaceful rest time in the afternoon. I'm relieved Linus will have preschool in the afternoon next year so I will only have to deal with naptime for one child.
We recently started focusing on getting Linus to stay dry through the night. Nighttime pullups were proving no match for him and I found myself washing his bedding several times a week. Part of the problem was he frequently just enjoyed the convenience of a pullup. Admit it. You know you've often thought you were just wearing a diaper so you didn't have to get out of bed. We decided to bribe Linus with the large caveman playmobile set he had been drooling over in the playmobile catalog. You were be surprised how well playmobile acts as a motivator. We currently take Linus to the bathroom before we go to bed. He looks so goofy half asleep. We are giving it a little more time before we stop that part.
Other big news is that Eileen has gone gluten free. She has had a distended belly forever, looking more like one of the poor Ethiopian children from the 1980s than just a chubby toddler. Eileen has also struggled with diarrhea since August. As a result, potty training has slowed/backslid. After her having a bout on my lap while in underwear, I relegated Eileen to pullups. Like her brother, she got too comfortable with them. Evil pullups. We've tried lots of yogurt and probiotics to help her poor gut with some success. Anyhow, after playing Google doctor I thought it sounded like going gluten free after Christmas (I couldn't deny her Christmas cookies!) might be a solution. We've seen a marked improvement. Now that she can wear pullups less often and not having explosions of diarrhea, Eileen is doing better with potty training. The rest of us miss gluten. I stole Linus away for a date to Starbucks to eat gluten. There have been a few tantrums protesting the lack of gluten. I'm hoping it's something she'll outgrow. I don't think she is truly allergic.
We are making slow progress with the house. My brother is almost done with the drywall. The contractor was able to finish work on the back drain that had to be dug up. Today painters came to give us an estimate on painting the whole basement, stairwell, and an upstairs bathroom. So who knows, maybe by Easter I will have my basement back.
Today both kids are sick. Eileen has had hives this yesterday (probably from a virus) and Linus has a cough and fever. After cancelling our plans for fun adventure, I did take Linus to get a haircut. Normally, I take him to a kids salon at U Village. They do a great job but it's kind of expensive at $30. Instead I took him to Supercuts. I should have listened to the Yelp review that said watch out for the guy with the coke nail. Being me, I didn't know what a coke nail looked like. Once the hairdresser started cutting Linus' hair, I quickly learned. Linus noticed it too and wondered why he had one really long purple nail. I asked for a crew cut and he didn't know what I was talking about, so I said buzz cut. I then stood by in horror as I watched him butcher Linus' hair. For the record, he didn't give Linus a buzz cut. I give a lousy haircut, but I think anything I did would have been better. Linus is wearing a hat for the rest of the day. I think tonight either Dave or I will try and fix his haircut. Lesson learned. Do not go to Supercuts or at least do not let the guy with a coke nail who doesn't know what a buzz cut is to cut your child's hair.
So that's us right now. Never a dull moment.
Dave and I both are in need of a good night's sleep. Eileen inherited my propensity for talking in her sleep. This combined with a recent run of nightmares repeatedly wakes us up all night long, along with requiring frequent trips downstairs to the kids room. It was so sad the other night when we could hear her crying, "No timeout. No. I don't like it," over and over again. Eileen rarely goes to timeout although Linus frequently tries to put here there.
Speaking of sleep, Linus is quickly giving up nap entirely. Eileen has rapidly gone from 3 hour naps to 1.5 hour naps. I miss my peaceful rest time in the afternoon. I'm relieved Linus will have preschool in the afternoon next year so I will only have to deal with naptime for one child.
We recently started focusing on getting Linus to stay dry through the night. Nighttime pullups were proving no match for him and I found myself washing his bedding several times a week. Part of the problem was he frequently just enjoyed the convenience of a pullup. Admit it. You know you've often thought you were just wearing a diaper so you didn't have to get out of bed. We decided to bribe Linus with the large caveman playmobile set he had been drooling over in the playmobile catalog. You were be surprised how well playmobile acts as a motivator. We currently take Linus to the bathroom before we go to bed. He looks so goofy half asleep. We are giving it a little more time before we stop that part.
Other big news is that Eileen has gone gluten free. She has had a distended belly forever, looking more like one of the poor Ethiopian children from the 1980s than just a chubby toddler. Eileen has also struggled with diarrhea since August. As a result, potty training has slowed/backslid. After her having a bout on my lap while in underwear, I relegated Eileen to pullups. Like her brother, she got too comfortable with them. Evil pullups. We've tried lots of yogurt and probiotics to help her poor gut with some success. Anyhow, after playing Google doctor I thought it sounded like going gluten free after Christmas (I couldn't deny her Christmas cookies!) might be a solution. We've seen a marked improvement. Now that she can wear pullups less often and not having explosions of diarrhea, Eileen is doing better with potty training. The rest of us miss gluten. I stole Linus away for a date to Starbucks to eat gluten. There have been a few tantrums protesting the lack of gluten. I'm hoping it's something she'll outgrow. I don't think she is truly allergic.
We are making slow progress with the house. My brother is almost done with the drywall. The contractor was able to finish work on the back drain that had to be dug up. Today painters came to give us an estimate on painting the whole basement, stairwell, and an upstairs bathroom. So who knows, maybe by Easter I will have my basement back.
Today both kids are sick. Eileen has had hives this yesterday (probably from a virus) and Linus has a cough and fever. After cancelling our plans for fun adventure, I did take Linus to get a haircut. Normally, I take him to a kids salon at U Village. They do a great job but it's kind of expensive at $30. Instead I took him to Supercuts. I should have listened to the Yelp review that said watch out for the guy with the coke nail. Being me, I didn't know what a coke nail looked like. Once the hairdresser started cutting Linus' hair, I quickly learned. Linus noticed it too and wondered why he had one really long purple nail. I asked for a crew cut and he didn't know what I was talking about, so I said buzz cut. I then stood by in horror as I watched him butcher Linus' hair. For the record, he didn't give Linus a buzz cut. I give a lousy haircut, but I think anything I did would have been better. Linus is wearing a hat for the rest of the day. I think tonight either Dave or I will try and fix his haircut. Lesson learned. Do not go to Supercuts or at least do not let the guy with a coke nail who doesn't know what a buzz cut is to cut your child's hair.
So that's us right now. Never a dull moment.
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