Me, with my shadow. And my other shadow, and her shadow.
Steph
July 13, 2012
June 17, 2012
Find of the Century: Sylvie's Tea Party Dress
We found Vivi's Indian tea party dress for ten bucks at Kinder Klozet, a local children's consignment shop. The owner Lyn's good friend is from India and her father sends his granddaughter TEN fancy Indian dresses every Christmas. The tags were still on this one.
We were going to have her dress as Alice in Wonderland and I had a special blue full tutu skirt made for the occasion, as well as an apron just like Alice's, but Vivi took a dislike to the expanse of the skirt. (The outfit probably cost $100 in total and she preferred the $10 one -- take note, other mothers with Ideas.) I'll try to get a photo of her in it later, when she's up to it. She even has a pair of white gloves to go with it.
Lillet and Grapefruit Juice and Rose Birthday Cake
My new favourite treat. Lillet and pink grapefruit juice on ice, accompanied by a slice of leftover rose birthday cake. Spent the afternoon painting a bookcase grey and two old seatless chairs, one in bright red, the other in turquoise, in preparation for a project similar to this one. I can barely type now but I can certainly shovel that cake into my mouth. And the drink has disappeared in the time it's taken to type this. Perhaps I should have another one...
June 15, 2012
The Cake
Mama really loves the cake, which was made by the lovely and talented Yumi of Sweetie Pie Cupcake Boutique. Yumi also made us a dozen chocolate cupcakes, half topped by white roses, half by red, in honour of the Red Queen, of course.
Vivi really loves the cake, too. That's Chelsea, apparently Barbie's daughter, who is holding a rabbit on the top of the cake and playing the role of Alice. We had a blast. Tons of pictures to come.
June 10, 2012
The Best Laid Plans: That Skank Barbie Tries to Destroy My, I Mean Sylvie's, Tea Party.
So Sylvie's having a vaguely Alice in Wonderland themed tea party for her third birthday this week, and I have been having a lot of fun planning it. Perhaps too much fun. One of the things I was most excited about was making (or ideally, having someone else make) this pink cake iced with roses (found here). I just showed Vivi the photo and she smiled and said she liked it but that she wanted a Barbie cake. Horrors. First of all just ugh and secondly I am not a big fan of Barbies. But it is her birthday, after all, not my own personal fantasy extravaganza tea party day. Do you think I could get away with cramming a Barbie doll into the top of that thing?
June 05, 2012
Breastfeeding and Birthing Dolls and A Rather Heated Conversation About Vaginas
We seem to be talking about breastfeeding and birthing here all the time lately, weirdly, since we are done with that phase. But the kids are still very interested in the subject and clear information and a healthy attitude about the whole thing will help to prepare them for their own future families. I just happened upon these Mamamor Dolls and I think they are hilarious, adorable, and informative. The babies have little snaps for mouths that attach to nipples, also made out of snaps, on the moms. (The designer should consider using pink, red, and brown snaps instead of silver ones, though.)
Some of the dolls also show how the babies are carried in the moms' bellies and how they come out. Some of the babies come complete with detachable umbilical cords and placentas.
There are even VBAC dolls, which also have a slot in the stomach through which the baby can emerge. Which reminds me of a conversation Luke and I had on the weekend. It was the kind of conversation that should have been an exchange of information expressed in a matter-of-fact, healthy manner, but it got away from me.
Steph (witnessing Luke putting shreds of a red balloon that has burst into his mouth): Luke! Never ever ever put pieces of balloon in your mouth! They can get stuck in your stomach and KILL you. And especially not red ones! A surgeon won't be able to find the red pieces in your stomach because they look just like blood and all the other stuff inside you.
Luke: How about if I chew this yellow one? Yellow wouldn't be hard for the surgeon to see...
Steph: Absolutely not! I don't care if yellow is an easier colour for the surgeon to see. It is NEVER a good thing if you have to be cut open.
Luke: All girls have to be cut open when they have their babies.
Steph: No they don't. Just sometimes, when the babies won't come out their vaginas. And it is NOT a good thing.
Luke: Ewww. They come out their vaginas?! Ewww. I came out your VAGINA? (starts laughing)
Steph: No, you did not. You wouldn't come out properly so they had to cut my stomach open and take you out that way.
Luke (still laughing): I came out your vagina! Ewww!
Steph (laughing too, but getting annoying and starting to shout): No! You DID NOT COME OUT MY VAGINA!
David (entering the room, says mildly): Well, now the whole neighbourhood has that clear.
Luke (continuing to snort and giggle): Did you come out of your mother's vagina?
Steph: Yes. Yes, I did. (muttering) Everyone comes out of their mothers' vaginas and it is natural and beautiful. That is what the vagina is for.
Luke: But you just said that I didn't come out of your vagina.
May 09, 2012
A Dangerous Maze and the Common Sense Media "Unwatching" Contest
I never should've let Luke watch Marie Antoinette as such an impressionable age.
Common Sense Media is asking for your stories of moments when you wish your child hadn't seen something on television, in a movie, or online. I shared the story of my own horrible moment like that here. Please do go read it and if you like it, vote for me! Or share your own and vote for yourself. (I did. You can win a $500 Amazon gift card!)
March 31, 2012
Updated Weather Maxims for the Age of Global Warming
Image from here.
Traditional Maxim: If March comes in like a lion, it'll go out like a lamb. If it comes in like a lamb, it'll go out like a lion.
Update: If March comes in like a lion, it'll suddenly turn into a lizard, then briefly into a Labrador retriever, then back again into a lizard before it goes back out again like a lion. If March comes in like a lamb, it'll be served with mint sauce.
March 25, 2012
Dreams of Riches
Grampa: Steph, how does it feel to be rich?
Steph (puzzled): What do you mean?
Grampa (laughing): Last night I dreamed you won the lottery.
Steph: Oh wow, I hope your dream comes true. Wouldn't that be nice, Sylvie, if we were all rich?
Sylvie: Grampa have bad dream? Like my dream treasure cat?
Steph: No, honey, Grampa had a good dream. Not a nightmare, like your bad dream about the Cheshire cat [from Alice in Wonderland]. He dreamed we were rich!
Sylvie: That bad dream.
Steph: No, it's a good dream! I was rich and Daddy was rich and Lukie was rich and Vivi was rich!
Sylvie (looks appalled and insulted, screeches at the top of her lungs): I NOT A WITCH! (bursts into tears.)