crooked house

Adventures in a Certain Wallpaper Pattern

 

Some of my legions of readers may remember the wallpaper on the walls of my childhood bedroom. And by some of you I mean my mom, my brother, and my oldest friend from childhood, Sara. And by legions of readers, I mean those three, although Sara doesn't get online much, and maybe two or three others.

I've framed a scrap of that wallpaper and it's there on that shelf by Vivi's bed. Do you see Vivi's sheets? The pattern is very similar -- I found them for a song at a store in town that was going out of business. And that's the quilt from my childhood bedroom. You can see that I am reliving my own childhood through my daughter's bedroom decor, whether she likes it or not.

And now I've started dressing her in the pattern, poor thing.

You can get a good view of the dress from all angles in this impromptu performance. If you can't stand the song about how she is a pink-red rose, fast forward to the rear view, which happens around 34 seconds.

And thus endeth the "let's forcefully relive our own childhoods through our children" post of the day. (It's nice that so far, she still cooperates.)

Sandwich Bag Art

David LaFerriere, a graphic artist, has been decorating his sons' sandwhich bags since 2008. There are hundreds of them. Watch a video of him here.

Poor Teddy

Poor Teddy. Don't you feel like everyone is going a little nuts? It's cabin fever but I still feel it when we go outside. Maybe they should rename that winter fever.

 

It's True, She Is

Last night, three-year-old Sylvie and her father were having a bit of a disagreement about her dinner. She didn't want what was on offer and was suggesting a list of other items she might deign to eat instead. (I tend to cater to their whims; David thinks they should eat what's been set in front of them.)

David (frustrated): You should've grown up in MY house!

Sylvie (in the same frustrated tone of voice): I AM in your house!

Vivi Reads a Story

She does this all the time lately. Lots of expression, not so much meaning. Is this what the experience is like for her when I read to her?

Sylvie and Her Manger Scene

Sylvie just set up our wooden manger scene, along with a couple of additions. Yes, that is Santa over to the side, resting in a pink high chair. Those are his boots (perhaps with his feet still inside them, which might be why he needs the special chair) over behind that lumpish sheep or ox.  She says "They are having a party." I guess they kind of were.

Remember the ranger and the rangel?

Snow White and the Leaf Monster

Sylvie wearing her Snow White false eyelashes, which she now begs to be allowed to wear everywhere. No, I don't let her.

And here is Snow White with her good friend, the Leaf Monster. What, you've never read that one?

Good Night Moon Bedroom

This Goodnight Moon-inspired bedroom belongs to two-year-old Annamarie Mack. It is perfect. You can see other bedroom homages to children's literature on Apartment Therapy, via The 49th Shelf, on facebook.

Not Now, Bernard Or Parents: Do Not Ignore Your Children

I've been feeling very busy and distracted lately and Not Now, Bernard has been on my mind a lot, sort of playing in the background as a warning. It's one of those children's books that seems to be more for the parents than the children, although both my kids get a kick out of this one. (Sylvie is definitely a bit concerned about the monster no one seems to notice, however.)

That's a whole subcategory of children's books, isn't it? Books that pretend they're for children but really they're for the parents. A teacher friend of mine always gets annoyed whenever Love You Forever is mentioned. She insists that it is only of mild interest to children, yet their parents are weeping and swooning away as it's read. I have to agree with her about the effect it has on parents -- it affects me that way -- and she's probably right about its general lack of appeal for kids. I don't think a child would ever pick it as a favourite. Guess How Much I Love You is a bit like that, too. Not that it's always a bad thing, for a picture book to appeal to the parents as much or more than the kids. It's just a bit of a trick. (A trick that often leads to enormous sales, as in the case of both Love You Forever and Guess How Much.) Can you think of any more?

Fairy Costume

The Halloween costumes are out in the grocery store already and once Sylvie caught a glimpse of this one, it was unlikely we'd be able to leave the store with our good moods intact. But instead of fighting her on it, I caved immediately -- it was only 14 bucks -- as I know it will get a lot of wear before and after the one big day. The problem will be getting the thing off her, to wash it. (Cross your fingers it doesn't fall apart in the machine.)