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Jan. 2nd, 2008 05:02 pmAlanna has just had a lovely baby bath, and so I decided to put up some gratuitous baby pictures of her in some of her new clothes, with the BabyLegs legwarmers.
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More squeeing over Xmas prezzies
Dec. 28th, 2007 08:48 pmGrandma Maggie gave Maggie Rose a great kid's card game called Hisss, that has been working out very well. It really doesn't have any more decisions to it than Candyland does - but it somehow is much less annoying to the adults than Candyland is. Maggie enjoys it very much, and Jamie's even getting some out of it. And you can just plop down on the living room floor to play it with them, you don't need to set up a board or clear off the table. Definite win.
Yesterday![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fordprfct and I went out to the Apple store in Southlake - now that I have an iPod shuffle, I wanted to go look at accessories and stuff. I'd never been in an Apple store before. Migods. I start to see why people get downright religious about Apple stuff. The place was like a temple of technology. And wow. The huge screens. The slim little clickety keyboards. Whoa. And they had something like 19 people working there that we saw.
Happy bouncy squeee - in addition to my Christmas present, I now have an early birthday present to go with it - this headset for the iPod shuffle to plug into. OMG I *love* this! I can just plug Turloch in, pop the headset on - under my braid, I found it fits just fine - and off I go. This is, IMO, good design. And it folds up SO cute.
Clearly I have been a Very Good Girl.
Yesterday
fordprfct and I went out to the Apple store in Southlake - now that I have an iPod shuffle, I wanted to go look at accessories and stuff. I'd never been in an Apple store before. Migods. I start to see why people get downright religious about Apple stuff. The place was like a temple of technology. And wow. The huge screens. The slim little clickety keyboards. Whoa. And they had something like 19 people working there that we saw. Happy bouncy squeee - in addition to my Christmas present, I now have an early birthday present to go with it - this headset for the iPod shuffle to plug into. OMG I *love* this! I can just plug Turloch in, pop the headset on - under my braid, I found it fits just fine - and off I go. This is, IMO, good design. And it folds up SO cute.
Clearly I have been a Very Good Girl.
Christmas happiness
Dec. 26th, 2007 09:39 pmWe have just had a Christmas FEAST here, selenite, fordprfct, mostuff, and I. Well, we're waiting a bit before we tackle dessert, so I suppose we still are. Oh yum yum yum. fordprfct can cook for me anytime. He's been teaching me about making a turkey. The roaster really helps.
Yesterday's Christmas festivities were lovely.fordprfct's mother Linda came over, too, and we had a great time. Alanna fell asleep blissfully and bonelessly across her lap. And later, Jamie climbed up on her lap and he fell asleep. Clearly next time the kids won't sleep, we'll wish she was here.
( Happy squeeing over presents )
selenite, fordprfct, mostuff, and I. Well, we're waiting a bit before we tackle dessert, so I suppose we still are. Oh yum yum yum. fordprfct can cook for me anytime. He's been teaching me about making a turkey. The roaster really helps. Yesterday's Christmas festivities were lovely.
fordprfct's mother Linda came over, too, and we had a great time. Alanna fell asleep blissfully and bonelessly across her lap. And later, Jamie climbed up on her lap and he fell asleep. Clearly next time the kids won't sleep, we'll wish she was here. ( Happy squeeing over presents )
I have an iPod!
I have a purple iPod. I have a personally engraved to me purple iPod shuffle.
I love this. His name is Turloch.
And other than the little incident with fruitlessly turning it up and up and up wondering why I couldn't hear it, and then finding out oh oops headphones not all the way in OW! - other than that, this is GREAT.
I have much wonderfulness. I have people who love me and do marvelous things for me. I have new SOCKS that are gorgeous and fit perfectly. I have books to read, movies to see, yarn to knit, chocolate to eat. At the moment, I am focusing on the new toy to play with and music to hear.
I love my family, and they have made me feel very special.
I also love how nicely many of my surprises have worked out for those I love.
I have a purple iPod. I have a personally engraved to me purple iPod shuffle.
I love this. His name is Turloch.
And other than the little incident with fruitlessly turning it up and up and up wondering why I couldn't hear it, and then finding out oh oops headphones not all the way in OW! - other than that, this is GREAT.
I have much wonderfulness. I have people who love me and do marvelous things for me. I have new SOCKS that are gorgeous and fit perfectly. I have books to read, movies to see, yarn to knit, chocolate to eat. At the moment, I am focusing on the new toy to play with and music to hear.
I love my family, and they have made me feel very special.
I also love how nicely many of my surprises have worked out for those I love.
Oookay. Jamie is turning the green rock thing from the nativity set upside down, and it's hollow, and he's putting the sheep and the camel and the donkey in it with one of the people, and playing boat. Possibly he's reenacting Noah's ark.
Ah, except apparently Noah's Ark crashes into something at high speed. Repeatedly.
Ah, except apparently Noah's Ark crashes into something at high speed. Repeatedly.
Hello, world. I am behind on Christmas prep, even for me. This is not surprising - this has been the year of being behind, from not being ready for FenCon, barely being ready for Halloween, not being ready for Thanksgiving - and then an unexpected trip out of town for a week at Thanksgiving, that really threw the wrench in.
I can't mind all that much. Some of it has been New Baby! Some of it has been that well, two small children in school produces the Germ of the Week club, and you just have to weather it. A lot of it has been I'm living the life I want with people I love, and doing enjoyable things with them, and it takes up a lot of time!
So mostly I'm just going to be having a relaxed, low-key holiday season. No cards this year. Light on presents. And what I do send out will probably mostly get there late. Forgive me, and accept my time warp.
There are a couple of things I want to achieve in the next couple of days, and I'd like to ask my flist for advice.
Firstly - stocking stuffers. I need to find them for the kids in general, but I also need to find some for Jamie's class - they're doing stockings for the kids in class. 3 and 4 year old preschoolers, some neurotypical, some developmentally delayed. No food/candy, no balloons.
Any advice on where to go? I was going to order stuff online - but it turned out I couldn't get it here in time. I tried Hobby Lobby, no luck. I'm thinking of going to a party store where I remember finding good stuff for Easter baskets a couple of years ago - although it's not really close and it's going to be a PITA to get to.
I'd really rather not go out and shop in person - but it sounds like I'm going to need to.
The other thing is a nativity set / creche. While looking at Hobby Lobby, they had sets 50% off, and I was tempted. Most of them tend to be "big and breakable", not too good for household with small kids. We had a wooden one when I was growing up that I loved. I think Maggie would love one. They had a couple fabric stuffed ones - but gah, the fabric choices. The Christmas crafts aisle had a couple of little resin sets that weren't bad, rather tempting, pieces a couple of inches tall - but it didn't come with a stable. I'm trying to think of some way to come up with some sort of stable thing... without getting too complicated or difficult. Low-key here, that's the point. But since we haven't done ANY decorating for the holiday - and I'm not sure if we will - I want *something*.
I think ideally I'd like to getselenite to get ALL the game stuff off the library octagonal table (please, darling), and then put up the little fiber optic tree on that, and put a nativity set underneath it.
Okay, and I am kinda tempted to buy a pre-lit wreath for the door.
Anyway, give me advice and ideas, please.
I can't mind all that much. Some of it has been New Baby! Some of it has been that well, two small children in school produces the Germ of the Week club, and you just have to weather it. A lot of it has been I'm living the life I want with people I love, and doing enjoyable things with them, and it takes up a lot of time!
So mostly I'm just going to be having a relaxed, low-key holiday season. No cards this year. Light on presents. And what I do send out will probably mostly get there late. Forgive me, and accept my time warp.
There are a couple of things I want to achieve in the next couple of days, and I'd like to ask my flist for advice.
Firstly - stocking stuffers. I need to find them for the kids in general, but I also need to find some for Jamie's class - they're doing stockings for the kids in class. 3 and 4 year old preschoolers, some neurotypical, some developmentally delayed. No food/candy, no balloons.
Any advice on where to go? I was going to order stuff online - but it turned out I couldn't get it here in time. I tried Hobby Lobby, no luck. I'm thinking of going to a party store where I remember finding good stuff for Easter baskets a couple of years ago - although it's not really close and it's going to be a PITA to get to.
I'd really rather not go out and shop in person - but it sounds like I'm going to need to.
The other thing is a nativity set / creche. While looking at Hobby Lobby, they had sets 50% off, and I was tempted. Most of them tend to be "big and breakable", not too good for household with small kids. We had a wooden one when I was growing up that I loved. I think Maggie would love one. They had a couple fabric stuffed ones - but gah, the fabric choices. The Christmas crafts aisle had a couple of little resin sets that weren't bad, rather tempting, pieces a couple of inches tall - but it didn't come with a stable. I'm trying to think of some way to come up with some sort of stable thing... without getting too complicated or difficult. Low-key here, that's the point. But since we haven't done ANY decorating for the holiday - and I'm not sure if we will - I want *something*.
I think ideally I'd like to get
selenite to get ALL the game stuff off the library octagonal table (please, darling), and then put up the little fiber optic tree on that, and put a nativity set underneath it. Okay, and I am kinda tempted to buy a pre-lit wreath for the door.
Anyway, give me advice and ideas, please.
Maggie's school Christmas tree project
Dec. 4th, 2007 10:13 pm
Maggie and I made a "Christmas tree" for her homework. It's cutouts of all of the family's hands in green paper, glued upside down into a triangular tree. 12 hands makes for a good tree. I have been helping her decorate - star stickers and heart stickers from my paper arts treasure box, and a little gold filligree thingy glued on as a tree-stand, and I glued on smarties candies as little ball ornaments.
Jamie and the Black Knight
Jan. 7th, 2007 08:15 pmWe've been doing Christmas by the Twelve Days once again - presents getting slowly opened, because there was too much for the kids to handle all on one day. We'd been putting off Jamie's present from his Aunt Robyn for a bit, because, as Karl put it, it looked like a "beat up your sister kit". Today we gave in and let him open his Black Knight set - hard plastic sword, dagger, helm, breastplate, bracer. They got help opening things up and putting them on from our friends kd5mdk and jazz007, still visiting after selenite's party last night.
Pictures start here - http://pics.livejournal.com/celticdragonfly/pic/000egyka/g56
No significant injuries yet. We're realizing that what we need to come up with to go with it is a pell.
Jamie is THRILLED. "Sword!" he says. Repeatedly.
kd5mdk and jazz007, still visiting after selenite's party last night. Pictures start here - http://pics.livejournal.com/celticdragonfly/pic/000egyka/g56
No significant injuries yet. We're realizing that what we need to come up with to go with it is a pell.
Jamie is THRILLED. "Sword!" he says. Repeatedly.
Christmas Quote Du Jour
Dec. 27th, 2006 09:09 pmKarl's talking about Christmas stuff on the phone with his mom, maggieallen. I just heard him explain why we got the 2nd drum - "The only thing that would be louder than one drum is two drums, and the only thing that would be louder than two drums is two kids fighting over one drum."
So true. It's working out pretty well.
maggieallen. I just heard him explain why we got the 2nd drum - "The only thing that would be louder than one drum is two drums, and the only thing that would be louder than two drums is two kids fighting over one drum."So true. It's working out pretty well.
More Christmas present pics
Dec. 27th, 2006 08:53 pmHere are some pics of Maggie enjoying her big presents from her Nana and her Grandma:
http://pics.livejournal.com/celticdragonfly/pic/000e7r97/g51
http://pics.livejournal.com/celticdragonfly/pic/000e7r97/g51
Yes, the mystery presents were the ones from the godparents, as I'd have realized if my memory was functioning at all. Mary had even told me some about the presents. The largest was a sticker book that Mary and Maggie had enjoyed together some. The two similar sized ones were educational stuff for the kids.
And I must say I'm impressed. They really picked stuff JUST the right level for them. Jamie's is a set with little rubber plastic toy bugs - six different types, each in six colors - and heavy cardboard cards for the bugs to get matched up to - one with all red, one all blue, one has two orange, two purple, two green, one has a spot for each color cricket, etc. Very good matching. We'd determined in his recent testing that he can match colors (at least some) but can't name them, so this is just right for him. He and I just had a session with them, with me encouraging him to match the colors and repeatedly naming each one for him. This should be helpful.
We passed his attention span after a bit, so he's now happily coloring with the new crayons from his stocking.
Maggie's is designed to help kids practice pre-writing skills - completing lines, curves, shapes, etc, with erasable crayons. As she's just starting writing, this will be perfect for her. She worked at it a bit this evening with her Daddy, before switching back to the sticker book again.
Bedtime for them now.
And I must say I'm impressed. They really picked stuff JUST the right level for them. Jamie's is a set with little rubber plastic toy bugs - six different types, each in six colors - and heavy cardboard cards for the bugs to get matched up to - one with all red, one all blue, one has two orange, two purple, two green, one has a spot for each color cricket, etc. Very good matching. We'd determined in his recent testing that he can match colors (at least some) but can't name them, so this is just right for him. He and I just had a session with them, with me encouraging him to match the colors and repeatedly naming each one for him. This should be helpful.
We passed his attention span after a bit, so he's now happily coloring with the new crayons from his stocking.
Maggie's is designed to help kids practice pre-writing skills - completing lines, curves, shapes, etc, with erasable crayons. As she's just starting writing, this will be perfect for her. She worked at it a bit this evening with her Daddy, before switching back to the sticker book again.
Bedtime for them now.
Mystery packages
Dec. 26th, 2006 07:24 pmWe have not yet opened up all our packages. A few, because the kids just got too overstimulated yesterday - well, particularly Jamie did. And, as Karl puts it, the living room still looks like a grenade exploded in Santa's workshop.
But there are three that we have not opened because they don't have labels and we're not sure who they're from, OR to.
Three packages. My mother disclaims recognition of that wrapping paper. Karl's mother apparently also. Robyn had stuff sent to us by mail order. Karl's aunt and uncle sent two wrapped and labeled packages for the kids, outfits they're very happy with. So whose are they?
How frustrating. Perhaps we just need to open them and find out - but I'm feeling inhibited about it.
REALIZATION: those must be the packages from the kids' Godparents. I know they'd given us some, and I don't remember opening any from them. So they must be from them to the kids. I guess we'll open them after dinner, and see if it's clear which is for whom.
But there are three that we have not opened because they don't have labels and we're not sure who they're from, OR to.
Three packages. My mother disclaims recognition of that wrapping paper. Karl's mother apparently also. Robyn had stuff sent to us by mail order. Karl's aunt and uncle sent two wrapped and labeled packages for the kids, outfits they're very happy with. So whose are they?
How frustrating. Perhaps we just need to open them and find out - but I'm feeling inhibited about it.
REALIZATION: those must be the packages from the kids' Godparents. I know they'd given us some, and I don't remember opening any from them. So they must be from them to the kids. I guess we'll open them after dinner, and see if it's clear which is for whom.
