Daily Happenings and House Update

Ugh, we are in the endless cycle of winter colds and coughs. Kids are walking petri dishes.

BUT! We managed to stay well long enough to take our family pictures with the amazing Bronwen Houck.

She is super talented at getting my kids to actually pretend they like each other. Ha. Just kidding. They love each other to bits but they argue like an old married couple. It's hilarious, when it's not driving me batty.

We're thrilled with the photos; I'm stashing them away until I get my holiday cards out the door.

In other news, we are back to only using half our house. This time, instead of the kitchen/dining room, our living room currently looks like this:

I decided that no way was I going to paint the remainder of our main living area, which also includes the hallway and office. I've had it with painting.

We made the decision to paint the trim and fireplace tile, in addition to the walls and ceilings. We debated long and hard about keeping the brown mahogany but in the end several painters told us that it was going to be near impossible to restore to its former glory.

Current state of the trim and picture rail:

Here is what it looked like on Monday morning:

Hope we made the right decision here; there is no going back on the fireplace tile so keep your fingers crossed for us!

xo,
Sonja

2016 Halloween Costumes

Ben has been in a tizzy for the past few months over the task of selecting the perfect halloween costume. We went back and forth, over and over, through hundreds of pinterest photos; the kid could not decide on a selection. Actually, it wasn't that he didn't like them, it was that he wanted to be them all: ninja, police officer, lego man, knight. 

First he was going to be a cop, and Emma an escaped convict. Eh, ok, except that our wee girlie would quickly grow tired of being 'arrested' multiple times a day. 

Then he switched to ninja, except that I couldn't come up with a good costume for Em. 

So finally we got back to the medieval theme and I started in on costumes so he couldn't change his mind again. It worked, he is completely over-the-moon about his get-up. whew. 

May I present:

A Knight and his Friendly Dragon

Behold, all rise for Sir Benjamin!!!

I was sewing pillows with my sister-in-law and she left me a few lengths of this gorgeous velvet that turned into the base for Ben's surcoat. 

We bought the sword and made the helmet (foam sheet) and shield (cardboard and poster board)

He's trying to look tough; I didn't have the heart to tell him that he looked like a sad little puppy.

The dragon image is from Freepik and it totally rocks. We used it both on the surcoat and shield. 

 Emma didn't get much of a choice in costume selection this year. I'm sure she'll have a strong opinion when the next Halloween rolls around.

She loves the dress. It's too small, but she loves that it's frilly and flouncy and has a silver belt. So my sure-fire way to get her to like her costume involved incorporating the dress. It..mostly worked.

Actually, we were in the grocery store the other day and ran into a few girls from Emma's old co-op. The elder one proudly announced that she was going to be a princess for Halloween. Emma lit up like a christmas tree, eyes wide, and turned to me: "Emma princess too!!!"

"What about your dragon costume?"

"NO DRAGON! EMMA PRINCESS!!!"

So we compromised: we've been calling it her princess dragon costume. She seems satisfied. 

This is the third costume that has used the navy pilot hat. 

Emma likes that she can 'wag' the tail.

 The hat is actually a last minute addition. For the past few weeks we've been working on a dragon mask in blue and silver.

But I should have known that masks are not great for toddlers. Especially heavy ones with lots of protruding pieces. Soft felt would have been ok but this one was too much for our little girlie. So we made a quick hat and ditched the mask.

 I'm going to wear it and be the Dragon Queen, along with our little Dragon Princess. 

Can't wait to go trick or treating with these little munchkins. Also can't wait to levy the candy tax on all collected goodies. I hear it's at about 50% these days. Wowza. :)

xo, 

Sonja

Resources

The costumes adapted from several online resources. 

Knight

-Cardboard shield

-Helmet (This one was great! I reduced the size to 87% to fit Ben's head)

-Surcoat and chain mail sleeves  - my own design. 

Dragon

-Dragon tail

-Dragon Wings. I read this tutorial, but based the shape on this gorgeous pair from Etsy. Regardless, these were a pain and I will never again sew dragon wings. Or fairy wings. Or anything winged that involves sewing in wire for structural support. 

-Mask. Sort-of based off of this stunning leather creation. Mine was made of paper mache and playdough. We're classy like that. 

Emma goes swimming.

A few weeks ago we were over at my parent's house raiding their fruit and vegetable gardens. The grandkids can get away with a lot...including deforesting an entire crop of carrots, as Ben has just done in the picture below.

Emma was in blueberry heaven.

Right up until she fell in the pond. 

In her defense, the surface was entirely coated with dense duckweed so it looked like a nice green carpet. Hard to tell there was muddy water lurking underneath.

I suppose it doesn't help when your mother  stops to take pictures, either...

Fortunately, we were able to bundle her into a towel and plop a bowl of blueberries in her lap, and that proved to be just the tonic for a unexpected pond plunge.

And look, new pictures for the baby book, right? These are exactly the ones that we'll all have a good laugh over in a few years.  Hopefully. :)

xo, 

Sonja

Another School Year is Upon Us

Somewhere along the way my kid grew into a kindergartener. We had to book it across the playground on the first day of school because we were thisclose to being late. Way to start the year off on the right foot. 

So far Ben loves his teacher, recess, and the fact that they have chocolate milk in the cafeteria. Whoa. Mind blown. 

My little guy also got himself sorted on to the correct bus on the first day and rode it home like a champ, sitting in the front row like his mama told him to. 

Yep, out of focus due to wild activity of the model. Pretty much the story of his life. We wouldn't have it any other way with our sweet whirling dervish. 

I am such a sucker for a photo montage, despite the fact that they went out of style back in, um, probably the 90s. 

Yes, he wore the same shirt twice in a row. Too big last year, too small this year. It's all I can do to keep him in pants that aren't too short. They don't make slacks for string beans.

And then we come to our wee little Em.

She started a few mornings a week at a preschool run by a sweet, nurturing woman named Anita. She was so ready for school. This summer when dropping Ben off at summer camp, she'd beg and beg to be allowed to stay with the big kids. And when that failed, she'd flop on the ground and have a wild tantrum. 

Points for determination, kiddo.

When Ben grabs his backpack and lunch bag, she insists on doing the same, despite needing neither for daycare. She's his little parrot, gleefully repeating back everything he says. 

Whoa nelly. My last babe is growing up. 

This is pretty much a perfect snapshot of the sibling interactions: Ben is moving, directing, and scheming. Emma is thrilled to be along for the ride as a willing and eager accomplice. Together they are boisterous, wild, and (mostly) having a jolly good time. 

Watch out, World. Team J is on the loose. 

xo, 

Sonja

Toddler Milestones

A few months ago, just as we'd left the house for a three day camping trip with friends, wee little Emma (age 2) announced that she was done with diapers. As in, right this second done with diapers.

Chris and I glanced skeptically at each other. Frankly, our eldest child, a kid who is fantastic in many ways, had been a bit of a potty-training nightmare and we were loathe to once again so suddenly jump into a process that had been plagued by lots and lots of excess laundry. Also, we were only a few weeks away from our giant Alaska road trip and figured that a babe in diapers would be easier to handle than a toddler that was in the very beginning stages of potty-training. Less mess, right? Especially when you don't have ready access to a washer and dryer.

Four hours later we arrived at the campsite with dry undies and only one semi-frantic attempt at finding a bathroom.

So far, so good.

Until..


She then promptly wet three pairs of pants in two hours. Eyeing our quickly disappearing stash of dry garments, we made the executive decision to revert our girlie back to her diaper-wearing existence for the duration of the camping weekend.

Under extreme duress, she grudgingly accepted the mandate.

But once back home decided that she was, indeed, ready to discard the diapers in favor of undies and the thrill of using her personal potty. It helped that we gathered at the bathroom door to give her a standing ovation (Ben being the most enthusiastic of the cheering committee members) and she basked in the thrill of her newfound accomplishments.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was the most painless potty training experience I could have ever imagined. Emma pretty much did everything all by herself and we followed along in her wake, not quite believing it was real. Not only did she shed daytime diapers, but the night time ones as well. We didn't do cloth diapers with either kid and I've always felt guilty about the amount of human poo we sent off to the landfill every week. So being a diaper-free household has been lovely.

At the very least, the whole process has reminded me how different two siblings, both raised essentially the same way, by the same parents, and with the same surroundings, can take so drastically different approaches to mastering skills and developmental milestones.

For us personally, we've especially noticed different projectories in socialization, gross motor skills, and language development. But it's also given me confidence not to push too hard, trusting that in most cases they'll eventually grasp the necessary concepts on their own timelines.

As I type this, Emma is boycotting bedtime, instead choosing to climb her wall-mounted bookshelf like a ladder, demonstrating that she too, is developing just fine in the gross motor skills department.

Each of our children is a force of nature, in their own wild and unique way. Let's appreciate their distinctive approaches to learning and growing. Especially if it means fewer dirty diapers.

xo,

Sonja

The Life of Emma

All toys out of their baskets? 

check. 

All clothing extracted from drawers? 

check. 

Clothing and diaper removed from body? 

check. 

My work here is done. 

Current Events

I went into the bathroom late last night to find Ben casually peeing on the sink cabinet. He was also mostly asleep. Something in his brain told him to get up and go into the WC but somehow he couldn't make it the final steps to the toilet.

Me: "Ben, it looks like you're standing in a puddle of pee."

Ben looks at his feet quizzically. "Nope, Mama, that's not mine."

because, you know, we are awash in random puddles of urine

Me: "Hmm. Are you sure?"

Ben: "Oh right. Yes, that's my pee.  But I'm all done now so I'm going back to bed."

And off he trundled. Still mostly asleep.



So many liquids associated with small children.



In other news, Emma has a new trick:

Sniff. My little baby is growing up. We promptly took down her crib and she's been spending the night on a mattress on the floor.

It's been going fairly well, despite the fact that she likes to distribute her bookshelf and dresser contents onto the floor every night before falling asleep.

My kids are like little drunk tornados, I swear.