Anne - her mom’s wedding dress. Very clever.

https://altopower.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/what-i-did-with-moms-wedding-dress/#comment-14033

My mom said it does not feel like Christmas unless she is sewing, especially doll clothes. Yes, she made all these outfits. Detail is exceptional. Really great. And each is in keeping with the doll's time, color choices and style. The two girls (23 and 19), my mother (76) and I (56) "played" with the dolls for hours on Christmas day. Dressing, doing hair, taking pictures. The pictures were all taken with my iPhone 7 in the light coming into the room from a french door with a west exposure. Really great, clear pictures.

This is Kirsten, American Girl. She belongs to middle. We have had her for many years. This is her St Lucia outfit (which is still the custom in Sweden). My mom made the dress. We got the wreath and socks, all American Girl brand, on eBay.

This is Molly. New to us, but an old doll (from eBay). She belongs to middle. The skates and fur pieces are American Girl (from ebay). My mom made the outfit. Yes, she embroidered the jacket.

Kailey. American Girl of the Year (2003). We got her from American Girl at that time. She belongs to middle. Kailey is a surfer girl. Middle has all the pieces that originally came with her. But that does not include a lot of clothes. Mostly surf stuff. This is the first outfit (dress and hat) that my mom has made for her. Shoes are from the original Kailey set.

Middle's Christmas presents from my mom. (She started sewing in June on Molly's skater outfit.)

Josefina. American Girl. Belongs to youngest who has had her for years.  This is a camisa, a skirt and a corset. Three pieces. And a lot of trim and lace and ribbon. This is very detailed and advanced piece. The shoes are American Girl brand for Josefina (from eBay).

Felicity. American Girl. Belongs to youngest. (from ebay). Very detailed. The gold is a skirt. The top is like a jacket that goes over it. The cape is "velvet" and has a hood. You can't see them in the pictures, but Felicity has dark red velvet shoes that match the dress perfectly that are American Girl.

Youngest's Girls. We have added Samantha to youngest's collection (old doll recently acquired from eBay). But Samantha did not get a dress this year. 

Kit. American Girl. Middle bought her for me, last year. Ebay. The shoes are American Girl. My mom made the outfit and hat, including the belt.

Addy, from American Girl. Mine. She and Kit are my favorites. My mom made this Christmas dress out of the fabric from a child's dress. The ruching on the bodice is from the original dress. The black is "velvet". The back of the bodice is black velvet also. 

Fire alarms while away from home

I can remember being a child, in a hotel with my parents, and my mom being really confused when a fire alarm went off.

Like running aimlessly around the room.

I can't remember how that story ended. I don't know if we were evacuated to the street. Or if we grabbed our stuff and went to the car. Or if we went back to bed.

I just remember my mom, woken out of a dead sleep and not prepared. And therefore not able to take care of her children.




Middle and I were evacuated, in the middle of the night, I think we were in Edinburgh, Scotland (2015). To the street. Out of a sound sleep. And no idea if it was an all encompassing fire or a false alarm.

And we were ready. We had shoes by our beds. Passports and money and cards by our beds. Electronics by our beds. We were shoving our feet in our shoes as we were grabbing our stuff. Clothes and luggage were easily replaceable. (And would have slowed us down and been difficult on the stairs.) We only grabbed what was really important and because it was ready, it did not slow us down.

And we took real shoes, not flip flops, because shoes for us are not easily replaceable.

We had hoodies or jackets pulled on over our pj's by the time we got to the street. Because those were ready too.

It is tough in a hotel room, to find things. Belongings can be in a jumble. And in a fire, there is no time to sort thru a jumble.

One thing I do not think we had ready was our meds. And that would have been difficult for both of us. So I might have to rethink what I put by my bed. And how I would carry it. I am thinking a packed bag by the bed is probably smart.

If you have never had this happen to you, this might seem like an over reaction. But if it has happened to you, especially far from home, it is an intense thing. It is an urgent thing. It is a life threatening thing.

And if you are the mom, it is a skill to be taught.

Amazon prime and Netflix and roku as gift

Recap - This started because a close friend got Netflix as a Christmas gift from her sons several years ago.

Before Netflix she had garage saled movies on VHS and watched for years. She likes something to keep her company at night while she does handwork, she lives alone.

That is what gave me the idea. However I did it in a way that did not cost anything extra.

We moved a Roku, we already had, to my mother's and then set it up to give her access to our accounts. So she has Netflix and amazon prime thru the Roku.

And she also has PBS thru the Roku which she uses a lot. PBS  posts current shows for a short time.  So it is only certain shows for a limited time, it is not every show, and it is not the same as just tuning into pbs on TV.

There are a few other things on the Roku too like the history channel I think.



Now - I keep adding/putting things on the watch lists for all of these systems. And then I send her a note.

So I get notice from PBS or Netflix or amazon prime about something that is now available. For the shows she would like, I take a screen shot of the notice, so she can see what it looks like, and email it to her with a note that I added it to the watch list.

Every once in a while she has trouble finding something and I take pictures with my phone of what the tv screen looks like (we have two more Rokus at our house) and send them to her as a step by step tutorial. I do the pictures so she can find it again later (rather than me running over and doing it, she learns). This does not happen often, but when it does, it is always about finding additional seasons on amazon prime. (Netflix has all the seasons one right after the other. So Netflix is actually easier for her to use than amazon. But there have been a lot of things on amazon prime she has really liked that were not on Netflix)

So she can immerse herself in something, which is now an old concept to us, but totally new to her.

For example she watched Downton Abby and the related behind the scenes specials (one on costumes and one on manners and I think two on castles) and then she read two books on the making of the show. And then she watched the whole series again.

She has a DVD recorder on her tv cable box. So she is able to watch what she wants, when she wants, all the way around her systems.

Oldest does not have network tv at all. He uses Netflix and amazon prime and free online things. He has lived this way since he started grad school in 2012. 

Oldest has his own amazon prime account. The rest of us are on mine. I do not know how many of us can be on at the same time. So far it has not been a problem.

We are all on one Netflix account that allows four tv's no matter where they are located (we are in three different states now) at the same time. We are all on the same account because it is cheaper to do four on one, than multiple separate accounts. Six of us do fine sharing four accesses.





I wrote about this a short time ago

https://baby-steps-v.blogspot.com/2016/12/it-wasnt-even-xmas-present-it-was-extra.html?m=1


My mother is 76. My other friend whose sons started this is 70. But if I did not know how use all this, it would be a great gift for me, at age 55. And it was youngest who physically set up my mother's Roku and all the access. It was very easy/fast for her. (So I am good at using, but not so great at set up.)

Zipper and button boards

I wrote about it here.

I did find something.

At the local art store.

(Thank you very much, because I was thinking lumber yard, not art store).

I am not sure what it is called. But it looks very close to the product used in making  clip boards (the brown ones).

The only thing we had to fix was sharp corners, my husband rounded them with sandpaper.

My close friend found zippers at a garage sale. And huge buttons.

And she talked me out of making calico shapes (that needed actual button holes) and into making felt shapes. Because I can just put a slit in a felt shape and have it be a button "hole".




I am knee deep in craft supplies, three ring binders, laminated activities, and stacks of random things.

Like baby dolls and their clothes.

And pom poms glued to magnets in cake pans.

And recess balls, parachutes, cones.

And a bin with science table items. That bin started nearly empty. It is now full with more coming.

There is an old scale on my kitchen counter, the kind with two sides that balance. Everytime I walk by, I scrub a little more with an old tooth brush. I found it at a garage sale on Friday. I was nearly speechless when I saw it. I told the lady - I will take it, but I am stunned that i found it. It will take me a minute to gather myself.

 It was one of the things middle specifically wanted.

So yes, I have piles.






Here is a very good example.

I found this list of things to keep on hand for crafts and activities. Really good list. I have added oatmeal round boxes, egg cartons, crepe paper, toliet paper rolls to it.

IF YOU THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE, PLEASE LEAVE ME A NOTE.

I HAVE almost all those things.

And those are the types of things when middle is in her college town, it sort of kills me when she has to buy something that I have in droves.

So, I am assembling all those things in an organized way.






Middle (currently) is deep in starting her behavior clinic job (which starts with a certification). That job is full time right now. It will go to part time and continue. Some of the hours count toward her masters program.

She is (currently) taking one condensed masters class this summer. I think that is nearly half done.

She attended a wedding this weekend. We are attending a wedding shower next weekend. We have plans for July 4th.

Busy.

Her three year old preschool class/job starts in the middle of August. (And I will be in Alaska when she gets full access to her classroom in July).

I am getting her (physical) stuff together for that class. Anything that can be done in advance, I am doing.

It is a lot of collecting and assembling/organizing. It is busy work. I enjoy it hugely. I have time.

We got the classroom books together two weeks ago and they are in her classroom ready (that was a big job). These are the board books the kids "read" during their story corner time. And also the books she reads to them each day.

She is steadily working on her lesson plans.

Ground turkey/migraines. And the gummy fiber pills.

A couple months ago I had ground turkey (extra lean ground turkey) burger, and then I got a migraine.

A few weeks later, it happened again.

And I thought I remembered it happening other times in the past. Like I had vague notion it was a pattern in the past too.

I called my husband and told him I thought I was now (freaking) being triggered by extra lean ground turkey.

And a few hours later he said he had looked it up and the ingredients were turkey and rosemary. Did I have a history with rosemary?

I was not sure I had ever had Rosemary other (evidently) than when I was getting it with the ground turkey. I don't even have Rosemary in my spice collection.

He said he did not think ground turkey was causing a migraine but we should try it again on a day that nothing else was likely to cause a migraine (my cycle, a storm, stress, etc).

So we tried it a few days later. NO migraine.

We tried it again a week or so later, no migraine.

So what I think was happening is that on a day a migraine was possible, I was feeling the first tell tale migraine line of pain, I craved a burger.

Now I want to add that I have had other things where I ate them for years and then one day I could not eat them any more (cantaloupe, cashews, beets, etc). So I do watch for patterns. Patterns are important for both migraines and asthma.

But I have found other things that I was subconsciously picking up on body cues and then reacting.

An example of this is gummy fiber.

I thought it worked for me.

I was not taking them at a regular time. I was taking them more impulsively, but every day.

And each time I took them, I pooped within a short interval.

But one day it occurred to me that I might be attracted to the sugar. And I might be taking them when I was subconsciously picking up on body cues.

So one day I THOUGHT about taking them, but did not take them, and I still pooped a short time later.

AHA!

Very interesting.









I have been meaning to note (all that) for a while. What brought it to mind today, was a post in Amalah's archives about gummy vitamins and cavities.

http://alphamom.com/parenting/toddler-parenting/toddler-toothbrushing-wars-continued/

I am against gummy vitamins in general. I think kids need to take big pills and little pills and shots just because it is something you do. It is a life skill. Sugar (and cheese) does not have to go on everything . . .

And if you start brushing teeth very early, the kids just don't know any different. And going to the dentist can be eased.

(Amalah writes she uses a brush that goes on the finger and brushes her kids teeth after nursing/bottle as part of going to bed routine. She writes a lot about not nursing/bottle to sleep, but instead nursing and then brushing, rocking, singing, book and THEN bed starting by about six months. And she writes about no bottles at all after 12-13 months. I have no pacifier or bottle experience, but it is still interesting to read. Because yes, I have seen 3-4 year olds with one of those many times).

Ditto with showers, water on face, going under water. (Yes, I know that sometimes an incident can create a fear of something they have always done). But if it is something they have just always done, you do not have a four year old freaking out about putting their face in the water at swim lessons.

I added a lot of pictures/ideas on the quiet church bag topic

Here is the first post.


Things we learned (about the bag) -

Put a small pack of Kleenex in the bag.

Read the board books, at home, a lot, so the child knows them by heart and can "read" them at church as they flip the pages.

So, I think having books that are prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary, like we discussed) is actually the best plan. I have those two, will be looking for more. ADDED LATER - I found some possibilities, pictures below. Please let me know if you find any others.

I think an I Spy church book would be really great. ADDED LATER - I think I actually found some, they are not board books, but they look like an educational version of I Spy for the bible. Pictures below.

The extra pages/scenes in the magnetic set are paper, and are meant to be placed against the inside of the tin to have things stick. (Not a fan of that concept) So, I am taking the pages to the hardware store to see if there is something (not sharp) metal that I can glue on the back. There are a lot of great animals in the set, four places to stick would be better.  ADDED LATER - nothing that would work at hardware store (and it is a huge one) so trying teacher supply store.

Lacing cards were big hit. Middle had to tie knots on one end of each string so they did not pull through the starting hole.

I also think the bags should not come out until a set time at Mass. Maybe it is after the Entrance/Greeting. It might be fun to have the kids watch for the priest and recognize them by name, and then get to open their bag. Maybe it is much later. But I think a delay and tying it into Mass would be smart.

I discovered, on Cafe Press, can search by the emblem/image/artwork and find all the products using it. So, I was able to find all three, on the style lunch box I loved.

AND

I found some additional books for consideration.

NOT board books, and I have not seen them, but looks like the I Spy concept I was pondering.

Kids Quiet Bag for Church turned into my GO TO gift for Baptisms

Here is the second post on the quiet church bag topic.






I must like having "go to gifts" for set occasions. Actually I guess it is more accurate to say - I love having a great idea for a gift and then being able to fine tune it and give a variation of this gift each time this occasion arises.






I have mentioned my current favorite for weddings is a pitcher. They are very rarely given/thought of any more and I think much appreciated.

My "go to" for baby shower/new baby is swaddling blankets which I make out of flannel. Again, not likely to get duplicates and much needed for a baby.

Our favorite for confirmations is a (15") beaded cross. We love these. We do not make, we buy.

Our standard for high school graduation recently has been letters hand painted by middle. We have given lots of these. (If we are invited to baby shower, we give the blanket. If we are sending new baby gift to the same family, we do letters.)

I still do not have a set gift idea for First Communion. So if you have ideas, I would welcome them.





I now have a set gift for Baptisms - Church Quiet Bag. And I love it. Very original and not likely to be duplicates. I put a note (below) with it explaining to save for preschool years. Sometimes there are grandma/first grandchild baby showers and one of these bags would be a really, good idea.

I mentioned this quiet bag for church way back here, asking for ideas. I got great ones.  Thank you. Which lead me to do a little web searching.

Remember, my goal was to only include church related things. And I tried for Catholic too.

Since I have been garage sale-ing, this has been especially fun.





This bag had a bit of an evolution, here is my thought process -

This (below) ended up being my inspiration piece. I did not buy it. Although one could, use it as it is, or add to it. It is a very reasonable price.  The bag I bought is the next picture. My bag is bigger. And my bag being bigger lead to different bags.

Love the illustration on this bag (below). Can't beat the price. I kept this one for myself. Very roomy. Too roomy in fact. Which lead to me buying the next bag(s) as my gift(s). In fact, I ordered three.

These are lunch bags. I thought I was going to like the brown handled ones best. But these were made to roll the top edge over a couple times to secure the Velcro. This is just awkward. I ended up taking them apart, attaching the velcro at the bag's top edge, and moving the handle higher. Yes, a lot of messing around. I did it for the two brown handled bags I had already ordered, below. Not ordering any more of this style. It is the third picture (below) that I love.

I had also ordered this third bag, because I loved the picture. I did not think I would like the style of the bag, but I really  did. Very good handle for little hands. There is velcro at the top to hold everything in the bag. The bag is actually very roomy.  I ended up using this bag as my Baptism gift  this past weekend. My RCIA sponsor's daughter had a baby over the summer. We (husband, middle, middle's boy, and I) went to the Baptism and then back to their house for an Open House. 

This is the first thing I put in my gift bag this weekend -

 I do not think any of my kids had these type of magnet sets, so it was a totally new to me idea from the comments on my original post. The tin box is 6" x 8 1/2" x 1" so it is a very nice size for a church bag.

I also put this lacing set in my gift bag this weekend -

Ordered these lacing shapes (Noah's Ark theme, so still church related). This was in comments too, I think. And also in my inspiration bag. I think I was picturing heavy felt, for some reason, looking at the Amazon listing. It is very nice, durable, strong, firm plastic. Very easy to hold and lace. The aglets (or eiglets) are nice and long, for easy stringing. Really nice set.

 I also put this little set of books in my gift.

Other books sets I have ordered and now have on hand for Baptism Church Quiet Bags -

These (below) are all board books. I found them at used book stores and garage sales. These are in my bag (that I am keeping, now you know why I kept the big bag).

These first two are most definitely Catholic. 

Second set of two clearly Catholic also.

Patricia Pingry has some really excellent board books. These are not Catholic books (per se) but I really like what she does.

 These two are also not Catholic. Youngest went through them at the bookstore and said that there was nothing in them that was confusing, and we loved some of the pictures. So we were very pleased to add them to our little collection.

These are just sort of universal themes. And they 'go' with my Noah's Ark magnet set.  

I can see having several sets of themed stuff which is switched out regularly to keep the bag fresh and interesting. I would not load my bag with all of these things at the same time, but mix them regularly.





I have my eye on these last three magnet sets (below). I think they would be great additions. I am making note of them here. BUT I think they are too big to fit in the lunch size bags. They would have to go in the big bag. -

To give you an idea of the (larger) proportion of the bag I kept for myself -

These are the items I included in the Baptism gift this weekend, I just put them in the smaller lunch bag with the exact same picture. And there was plenty of room in that bag for a lot more things.

And two more items (below) I noticed. Not for my Church Bags, but as good gift ideas for small children for religious events.

Kids' church bag and story of my paternal grandmother's purse

Added later - this is my follow up post with my own church quiet bag and the Baptism gift that followed.

We have sat in a pew in front of a desperate dad, with a grouchy toddler, and only one toy in the diaper bag which happened to jingle.

Last week we were at mass with our six year old who wrote notes, attached star stickers and passed them around (there were 7 of us in pew/together).

Neither one of those particularly bothered me. But I NOTICED.

I am collecting stuff for a Kids's church bag as I see it.

The rule on my bag is only one thing at a time. If you want the next great thing, have to put the first great thing away (no passing).

And all my things will be pretty silent.

And if they can be church related, that is preferred.

Board religious books (with great pictures, maybe no words) are the first thing to come to mind.

Other ideas please?




Story of my paternal gradmother's purse.

I remember my grandmother well. But actually I do not remember this "magical" aspect/fact about her purse (at all).

My mother has always said, very fondly, that my paternal grandmother could easily, quietly passify many children with her sort of magical purse.

My grandmother had a sixteen year spread between between the oldest and youngest of her own four children. And her first grandchild arrived when her own youngest was about 4-5. So I think she never got out of "mom thinking". Her head stayed in the game.

My mom said magical things would appear out of grandma's purse and be passed down the pew or across the table. Colored pencils, bits of fun paper. I am not sure what all. I do not think any of this would have been purchased for kids. I have a feeling she kept her eyes open and picked up samples and bits and simply stuck them in her purse.

My mom did not actually do a lot with kids. She really never got IN the game, so I can see how obvious things in a purse would seem magical to her (and normal to me as a child).

And if she was somewhere with a fussy child (and had nothing) and her MIL always had an answer in her purse, it would seem great.




To this day, and starting very, very young, my own kids ALWAYS bring things with them. A book, homework, earbuds/music/audio book, something.

I do not care for a fidgeting, bored kid. We are a busy family. Sometimes there is a wait or delay. Sometimes one thing leads to another. They all have learned to think ahead, bring a sweater, wear the right shoes, bring a water Kanteen and perhaps a snack, and something to do.

Baby Swaddling Blankets - we are making them again

Okay, this first one, middle had everything wrapped before I remembered I had not taken pictures.

Luckily I had fabric scraps to show -

This box went to the east coast. Oldest sister of one of youngest's best friends had first baby. A girl.

We put an instruction sheet in with each set of blankets. Not sure if swaddling is common knowledge or a lost art.

This second set was for a baby shower middle and I attended last month.

Yes, these are the same style headbands I posted a while ago.