mommapalooza

rain, rain, go away ...

It's Friday, and I didn't even have to look out the window to know that it would rain this morning. This is the fourth rainy Friday in a row, which is unfortunate because it was only five weeks ago that Madeline's preschool class started their Friday morning outdoor water play program. So, Madeline's class has only had water play one time since the beginning of the school year. I've dutifully packed her swim outfit in her backpack every Thursday night, and I feel a little sad each time I unpack it, dry, on Friday afternoons. I think that she really liked the water play - after the first time, she told me that she played with soapy sponges. Chris saw a photo of her class at her school's open house earlier this week - it was taken during water play and they were trying to see how many three year-olds fit inside a single bathtub. It sounds like Madeline and her classmates are missing some good stuff ...

Speaking of good stuff, it's been a really long time since I had my act together to organize my favourite links of the week ... but lo and behold:

• Z Recommends - this is one my new favourite blogs. I think that Madeline might be a little older than Z, but the posts at this site are for such interesting toys, products, and music!  I found the Sippy Cup Showdown post very informative (because the leak factor is oh-so-important to me), and I actually won something (a deck of Bright and Beyond activity cards) from reading this site. Cool, huh?
• Monkey Bars are so Old School - I'd never contemplated the evolution of children's playgroup equipment before, so I found this article interesting. I'm from the old-school era (loved merry-go-rounds), so it was helpful to have some of the new-fangled equipment on the playground explained to me :)
• I've seen this kid-friendly bento box in a few blogs, but Ask Moxie has a good post about it (and plastics) here. I think they're terrifically cute and useful in that the number of containers would motivate me to fill them all with veggies, but sadly, Madeline's school will provide lunch when she attends for a full day. No whimsical bento box for her yet.

spin and fly

I read something on the web the other day that I meant to bookmark so that I could blog about it, but I seem to have forgot to bookmark the article, and thus, I have no idea what to say here tonight! So ... maybe I'll post a photo of Madeline in her new tutu in an attempt to make the lack of insightful and witty writing less obvious. Is it working?

Julie and I made this tutu a couple of weekends ago, actually. I'd seen a similar one with a $28 price tag at one of those baby boutiques. I spent about $7 on this one, for three yards of tulle (I already had the elastic for the waistband in my sewing kit). I borrowed the super-easy technique from this post on the Baby Bargains board. I didn't even have to set up my sewing machine!

I don't want to think about how many Fridays have gone by without posting some nifty links. I have some today, though, from The Silent "I" - truly, a blog after my own heart. It's all about traveling with young children. I haven't gone back through all of the archives, but I do have to recommend the posts about navigating through airports with babies and toddlers, and then the inflight experience with babies and toddlers. The next flight I will be taking with Madeline is a doozy: Calgary to Bangkok. Something like 26 hours ... the only thing I am exciting about is trying out her Gogokidz Travelmate wheels ...

reading along

If I'm not working on a post, there is a good chance that I'm catching up on my reading;  there is a ridiculous number of parenting blogs that I try to follow.

I can't remember if I've mentioned how I love A Readable Feast before.  I've put quite a few of the books that Anne-Marie discusses on my "to-read" list for Madeline. Recently, she had a post about Mouse Cookies & More (which Madeline doesn't have as she has most of the books individually) that included a recipe for egg-free Moose-approved muffins, which I think would be fun to make with my toddler.

We've decided that before we make another big move, we'll upgrade our digital camera, so I was delighted when Tracey starting posting about lighting, ISO, and even wrote a  series of posts on choosing lenses here, here, and here.  The posts on lenses were really insightful and demystifying!

Lately, I've been feeling like Madeline and I aren't sharing a vibe quite like we used to. We're bored with each other, and acting out a little. The playground where we used to go to run everything out of our systems is buried under six feet of snow, so instead we engage in power struggles over getting dressed, taking naps, going anywhere requiring wearing a coat or riding in the car, and a million other things. Thus, I'm  particularly intrigued and closely following Kristen's 1-2-3 Magic book-a-along over at The Mom Trap. The book is already in my Amazon shopping cart, ready to be ordered ...

random neat things

I didn't have my act together on Friday to put together a post of cool stuff I've found on the internet at large lately, but I'm going to make for it today.

First, one of the writers over at Blogging Baby has started doing kid-friendly CD reviews. The second review, Here Come the ABCs by TMBG, was posted today. The first review was of a disc called Mommy Says No by the Asylum Street Spankers. Never heard of them, but they sound kind of funky.

There have been many more little kids at YMCA/YWCA lately, which means that it's become more difficult to ascertain which empty snack container and drinking box is Madeline's when I go to pick her up after my 10 am date with the treadmill. It's often like going on a treasure hunt, One of the other parents there recommended that I try out Mabel's Labels, and Madeline's arrived in the mail today. Love them. Even if these sticky labels weren't dishwasher-friendly, I'd still love them for the cute little graphics. I asked Madeline if she preferred the little fish, the little butterfly, or the little bird, and even she had trouble deciding (obviously, the fishy won out).  I wouldn't say that they're expensive, but they weren't cheap. I think I'll reserve my final judgement of their "value for the money" factor once I see just how long they last.

I am almost as excited about Mother Proof as I am about those labels showing up in the mail. It was featured on Cool Mom Picks the other day, and it's a website that reviews vehicles to determine their worthiness for the monniker "family car". The current car-of-my-dreams is in there :)

Quotable Madeline

Madeline has appointed herself the official phone-answerer for our household. It started on Wednesday - the phone would ring, and she'd race me to it. Of course, I'd have to slow down so as not to knock her little three-foot self over, so she'd get ahead of me and grab the receiver first. I'd stand off to the side, and whisper, "say hello!", hoping for the best.

Without missing a beat, Madeline does say, "Hello!". Sometimes it's "Hello! How's it going?", even. Anyone eavesdropping might hear her chatter about something that she's been occupied with, or else be treated to a stream of high-speed babbling, depending on the conversation. After a minute or two, I usually can make out, "okay, talk to mom!". She'll pass the phone to me and say, "it's for you!".

Also, Madeline finally started to say her own name about two weeks ago. Previously, if someone asked her what her name was, she'd chirp "I'm me!" or else just bury her head in my shoulder. For awhile I thought that it was our fault for giving her a three syllable name, but then I realized that many of Madeline's same-age or younger playmates were calling her by name. I concluded that Madeline was just unmotivated. Then, a few days before Christmas, one of Madeline's grandfather's friends asked her what her name was, and she replied, "I'm Ma-da-wen!" clear as a bell! Sadly, I was out of the room for this triumphant moment, but Chris's excitement over this development was contagious!

In other news, I wasn't online much this week and don't have much to offer in terms of nifty articles/do-dads/links, but I was delighted to see that the best-est nursing pillow ever (designed in Calgary, even) was featured on Cool Mom Picks two days ago! I ended up buying a Baby Buddy pillow after testing one out at the lactation consultant's office when Madeline was a few weeks old. It really made a huge difference in how comfortable I was breastfeeding!

The Vocabulary Sponge

About ten minutes ago, Madeline wandered over me as I was unloading clean dishes from the dishwasher, and asked, "Mom, where's my milk to?"

Bad grammer? Only if you live somewhere in the country other than Newfoundland. Asking where any particular object is "to" quite acceptable in this province. Though I was hoping that Madeline would avoid picking up any Newfoundland-isms during our stay in here, I guess it really isn't so bad - we've been here for ten months, and this is the first time she's said anything like that.  We'll be moving back to Calgary in about six weeks, so she has plenty of time to pick up words like "howdy" and "y'all" in time for the Stampede in July.

As for Friday links, I just have one: Babble, a new online parenting zine. Love it. It's smart. It's witty. I read every one of those essays, even if I disagreed with the point the authors were trying to make.

Screaming for our supper

No one noticed the cute little girl who ran to the front of the dining section at The Keg on Wednesday night, let out a single piercing scream, and then laughed as she ran back to her booth, right? Right?

That's what I thought.

Dining out with Madeline is usually a manageable endeavor. As long as she likes the food, and there are crayons or packets of sugar to investigate, she's good (ie. happy to sit still) for at least forty minutes at a restaurant. That's okay with me. I believe in respecting her attention span and ability to curb her urge to move, move, move; Madeline's only two, for heaven's sake. Right now Madeline is rejecting sitting in her booster here at home and highchairs at restaurants, so remaining seated through the meal is something that she's still learning, and I actually have noticed improvement this week.  The was a post on Blogging Baby earlier this week (this one here) that asked what parents do to keep their kids amused when dining out, and Chris and I have had to adapt to Madeline's level of development in this regard. For awhile, all we needed to bring was a container of Cheerios, because sticking Cheerios onto a skinny straw to make a "kebab" for her was the high of amusement when she was around a year old. We've done crayons and markers, and those little containers of playdough. My newest trick to bring out my iPod where I've downloaded several Pixar shorts, which helps to fill the time between when she's done eating, but Chris and I are not. A few of the commenters in the BB article kind of go all Sanctimommy at the idea of toting objects of amusements into restaurants because they just "talk to their children", and it really bugged me at first, but I've come to the conclusion that their kids are more Thinkers than Movers. I could engage Madeline in dinner conversation for an hour straight, but she would still want to do something physical. So, we chat and see how high she can stalk containers of cream, draw shapes, etc.

We're still allowing Madeline to learn the social rules of dining out, but we just have to go about it in a different way.

Fab "First of December" Friday Links ...

• Mitten clips! I couldn't justify buying the Snug as Bug ones, so I bid on and won a pair from eBay earlier this week. They're pretty cute, and a lot less spendy. The seller makes them herself and they're also available on her etsy site here.
• The iCrib! I'm not going to buy one, but I think it's cool. Madeline is content with her Ocean Wonders Aquarium, though I must admit that her bedtime lullabies are the most played track on my iPod! Courtesy of Parent Hacks.
• Coolest baby announcements ever: 5starbaby.

Who me? Change?

Before Madeline came along, I don't think that I really liked children. Talking to a child was a painful ordeal for me. I never knew what to say. Should I ask how school is going? If he/she's read any good books lately? I kept remembering how weird it was when I was a little kid and adult acquaintances tried to strike up conversations with me, so I had a policy of merely say "hello", or just smiling while keeping my mouth shut.  Little kids chattered away in their little voices in the crowded movie theatre, distracting my attention away from The Lost World. Why did I go to a matinee, anyway? I still remember going out for lunch with a friend in 1995 and watching in horror as her little brother and sister played tag in the middle of Pizza Hut ...

And now ... Well, I'm crazy about preschool toys and picture books. Proud that I can understand English spoken with a toddler accent. I'm glad that Chris and I take Madeline to the occasional restaurant so that she can figure out the social rules of that type of environment. I think that after Madeline was born, the resident who stitched me up sneaked in a Patience & Understanding Expansion Pack while no one was looking, because I suddenly find myself empathizing with small children left and right. Ten years ago, I never wanted to have a child of my own, and now I secretly hope that a small flock of these wonderful little people lands on my doorstep one of these days.

Before Madeline came along, I was a chicken. One year of being bullied at school really did a number on me, and even ten years later, I still had no faith in my social skills. I moved to Calgary without any friends in the city, and the only ones I made were people that I worked with. I never drove anywhere by myself, lest I get lost or into an accident and have to have an intelligent conversation with a *gasp* stranger/bully-in-waiting. I'm not sure if it was Parenthood-with-a-capital-P that motivated me to get out in the world, or else just Fear-with-a-capital-F that I'd otherwise turn into a hermit with raging PPD, but something changed inside my head when Madeline was three weeks old that made the thought of spending fifty weeks of mat leave without speaking to another adult outside of my husband unbearable. It was sooo hard, at first, to get out. So many scary things to confront. I had to learn how to drive myself places on insane Calgary roads, requiring straightforward routes, and no uncertainty about what lane I needed to be in to make my turns. Second, I needed to be comfortable with the thought of Madeline screaming her little newborn head off from the SnugRide in the backseat while I ignored her and paid attention to the road. And I need to be confident that I could stay calm in the midst of a public newborn meltdown, and be impervious to the Judgment-with-a-capital-J of others while doing so. Twice a week we went to a StrollerFit class.  It truly was an ordeal at first. I struggled with unfolding the stroller. Held my breath every time Madeline would squawk. But you know what? Madeline gave me my courage back. I'll drive on roads that I've been on before if they take us someplace fun for Madeline. I still worry about having to talk to people I don't know, but if they're holding hands with another toddler, I just might be the one to say "hi" first.

There. Two ways in which becoming a parent has changed me.

Fabulous Friday links to read and love:

• The Sanctimommy over at Mom 101. I love this post. I love this reality check.
• I've already mentioned my fondness for picture books in this post, so it just makes sense admit that I've been indulging in A Readable Feast for the last couple of weeks.
• I have to plug Preschool Rock as fellow St. John's resident/mom/writer Stephanie Olsen used some of my recent ranty post in her article The Makings of a Preschool Parent. Isn't that a great name for a website, btw? I must admit that I've been reading some of the other posted articles to prepare me for life with Madeline a year from now :)
• semi-healthy muffin recipes at Ask Moxie.  And my own semi-healthy muffins recipe (just because), posted at Going Domestic. (note: link to muffin recipe has been corrected)

Riddle of the Day

It's like a lame joke: How do you night-wean a two year-old toddler?

Why, very gently.

Madeline and I have made good progress with the weaning project. The night-time nursing sessions have been gone for over a month now, and I'm feeling so much better. And we're both sleeping better, which is also a good thing.

I did this on my own, and thus prepared myself to face hours of inconsolable wails. A few days before Night 0, I told Madeline that very soon I wasn't going to have any milk for her at nighttime, but that she and I still could cuddle. On Night 0, before tucking her into bed, I told her that if she woke at night, I wasn't going to have any milk for her; night-time was for sleeping, but that if she was hungry she could have some Cheerios, or if she was thirsty, she could have a drink of water.

Sure enough, Madeline did wake up shortly after midnight. She howled in my arms for about six minutes, but then asked for water and Cheerios. I tucked her back into her crib, and I didn't hear from her again until morning. I was shocked. I guess that sometimes it *is* possible to reason with a toddler!

The second night was similar, except she was angry for a much shorter amount of time. These days, Madeline usually wakes up once and calls for me, but it's a quick bed-side visit. Most of the time she merely asks for her cup of water to be refilled or a cuddle, and then she rolls over, taps her Ocean Wonders Aquarium on, and re-assumes her sleeping position. Two nights ago, she actually slept from 8:30pm - 7:15am without requiring my attention at all. Amazing!

Friday Links: The Carseat Version

• I stumbled upon Kids in Safe Seats, which is a volunteer organization promoting the safe use of carseats in the province of Newfoundland. Their information about the importance of staying rear-facing longer isn't up-to-date, but they do hold free seat checking clinics (and the schedule is on the website). The neat thing about this organization is that they've been keeping stats on correct and incorrect installations since the fall of 2000. Thus far, only a little over 6% of parents are using their carseats correctly when brought for inspection. I'm stunned.
• One of the other parents on the parenting forum I'm a member of posted a link to Top 10 Cars for Kids in Car Seats, and it's a really good article! To date, I've installed Madeline's Marathon in an elderly Ford Tempo, a Toyota Camry, a Toyota Tercel, a Chevy TrailBlazer, Mazda Proteges of both the sedan and hatchback varieties, a Nissan Altima, a Mazda 6 sedan, a large Lincoln something-or-other, a Chevy Malibu Maxx, and now, a Ford Escape. Let me tell you, bumpy seats, oddly angled seat-backs, and protruding headrests are the bane of my existence. I agree with the article naming the Malibu Maxx to their Top Ten - the rear seatback reclined so I could get a better fit with Madeline's carseat, and the entire rear bank of seats could be adjusted back so that there was plenty of room. My next fave would be my Tempo back in Calgary. It's too old to have anything other than a plain-jane backseat.
• Car Seat Safety with Winter Coats is another timely article about how to check that your child's warm winter gear doesn't compromise the performance of their carseats. Everyone knows that thick coats are a no-no, right? Even if you live in Alberta and it's 48 degrees below zero with the windchill factor it's a no-no :) Jokes about my traditional winter home aside, please read this article and make sure your little person will be safe in a crash. Keep the thick and puffy coats in the car in case you need them, but they don't belong in a carseat.

as if she wasn't growing up fast enough!

So, we're moving back to Calgary soon, and you'd think that I'd be worrying about packing, figuring out where to donate nearly brand-new crib, and the 3.5 hour time change, but I'm not (not yet, anyways). I've been going a little crazy about whether we should see if any preschools might accept a new student (that student being Madeline) in January. Yes. That's what has been keeping me up at night.

But you know what? She's two. She won't start kindergarten for until she's five. I am quite aware of how much she enjoys interacting with other toddlers, and know how valuable the socialization is for her. It's probably okay if she doesn't start preschool just yet. If I could find something like Early Achievers in Calgary, I'm sure that both Chris and I would be all for signing her up for a morning a week. But I can't find anything similar, the great majority of the preschools will only accept kids who've already turned three, and frankly, we could enroll her in a plethora of those Gymboree-type classes AND swimming AND Kindermusik* and it would cost us less each month :)  I think we'll be okay if I skip placing somewhat-panicky long-distance calls to Calgary preschools.

This week's fun links:

• Some concerned and informed parent made a short little movie about the relative safety of rear-facing carseats versus forward-facing carseats in a collision and posted it to YouTube. I understood the risks of turning a seat forward before seeing this video, but I think that this might help broadcast the message to the skeptics out there.
• Things to Do in San Francisco with a Toddler, from CityMama (a long-time fave blogger of mine). I love this. All we need are plane tickets now :)
• Mitten clips! I like these ones from Snug as a Bug, though I am not sure I'm going to order them as the clips themselves are under $5, but the shipping is a minimum of $8.95. I might email them as ask if the clips might be able to be posted in an envelope instead. Madeline lost a terrifically cute purple-and-green-striped handknit mitten at the grocery store last winter, and I'd rather skip a repeat performance.

* Not that we would sign my toddler up for that many things at the same time. We've found that 2-3 scheduled activities in seven-day period is just the right amount.