I need to stop watching Criminal Minds
Every morning I walk my dog Gilmore, we walk around the neighborhood, saying hello to the regular neighbors that we see. Gilmore barks at the same ones every time. I apologize. Then one day I heard a strange noise coming from a garage as I passed by. Gilmore was also very nervous around this particular house. For weeks, I would pass this house hear the noise, try to figure out what it was then walk on. Then one day I decided, what if someone was trapped, what if they had been kidnapped and I was just strolling by everyday ignoring their quiet plea for help. So this morning, I got the courage to face the evil that could be waiting for me. As Gilmore stared at me and wanted to flee, I investigated. While I was investigating I was spotted by my neighbor Yuki. She asked if I was looking to see the chickens. Relief swept over me. Thank God, there wasn’t a kidnap victim but a chicken coop. As I climbed down from my neighbor’s garage, I tried to explain why I was being sneaky instead of just ringing the bell. My neighbor Yuki, walked away and yelled back at me to stop watching Criminal Minds. I laughed and realized, great now I’m the crazy neighbor.
Seriously though, I’m so glad it was a chicken coop!
The eclectic farm…DIY
My latest project with Maggie is playing with The Farm. I also like to refer to it as the farm of eclectic orphaned animals. I guess we really have an orphan theme happening with our toys. I could go out and buy a bunch of actual farm animals for her farm but where’s the creativity in that. I think my favorites are the unicorn and the penguin.
I also think I know how somebody came up with the movie pitch for The Toy Story.
The Playroom…Review
PLACE: The Playroom
ADDRESS: 14392 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
WEBSITE: www.theplayroomvalley.com
TYPE OF PLACE: Indoor play space and party venue.
AGE RANGE: From crawlers to 3 years old is probably the best age.
STAFF DEMEANOR: The staff is always nice and cleaning equipment.
COST: $9 visit or buy a play pass and receive a big discount. If you are looking for party costs, go here
SPECIAL EVENTS: There are various special events that do happen here, you just have to check the website or go play and look on the chalkboard wall for upcoming events.
BIRTHDAY PARTIES: This is a great venue for toddler birthday parties. The space is big enough for all of the kids to play safely, there is a separate area with tables set up for food and drinks. I think this is a good alternative to having the birthday party in the home. Especially since entertaining young toddlers and then cleaning up is no easy task.
COMMENTS: The Playroom is one of our favorite indoor play spaces. For toddlers it is a great enclosed space and a safe environment. Great for crawlers, beginning walkers, walkers and small kids.
DIY Pretend Play
I’ve realized if Maggie is going to have a creative imagination and, I really have to be imaginative myself. She is just getting to the age where she really likes dolls and pretending to do the same things I do. While I was at the store the other day to buy some pretend play toys, I realized I didn’t need to buy any, we would figure out some fun ideas on our own.
My goal is to come up with a new activity using toys we already have.
Week 1: Doll Orphanage: I had most of the dolls put away for a later date, but decided it would be cute to make an orphanage out of shoe boxes and baby blankets for them. At first site, Maggie giggled then picked up one of the dolls to cuddle. So far she keeps kicking the same doll out of the orphanage by throwing her across the room. So clearly she has her favorites and its not the bald doll. Of course, the doll she keeps throwing out of the orphanage I’ve named Annie and have decided she is my favorite. No one should have a hard knocked life, at least not if I can help it.
AJ seems to think the orphanage is depressing, but I’m not sure why he cares so much about dolls.
Could’ve been worse
On Monday, I was driving to Parent & Me class and while waiting at a light, I was rear ended. At 9:45 am, Maggie and I were singing along to LadyBug Music, at 9:46 AM I was consoling her while she cried from being jolted in her car seat. Let me start by telling you that we are both okay. Thankfully. Earlier that morning I had adjusted the straps in her Britax Boulevard car seat, tightening them up. I think the accident really just scared her more than anything.
As soon as I could gather myself after the impact, I called 911 and let them know we were in a wreck and that I had a baby in the car. I pulled over to the side of the road and out of traffic, then called AJ. I still didn’t know how bad the wreck was, all I knew was Maggie was crying. I could see the car behind me was totaled and the car behind him was pretty bad. Then, maybe a minute later, the fire truck drove up with the ambulance behind them. They saw me and asked if I had the baby, I said yes. They scooped her out of her car seat and tended to her.
Me? I was just staring. Every one of the fireman were extremely good looking. Seriously! I’m trying to hold back tears and make sure Maggie is okay, but the Alec Baldwin look alike from Backdraft was holding her. If someone had cast “Backdraft 2…LA is on fire”, I was living it. As the other three amazingly good looking firemen make sure I’m okay, AJ walks up. I was happy to see him on one level. On another level – we’re talking 7 of the hottest fireman that probably exist.
Of course, I’m happy my husband has come to help me, my hero in life. Especially cause he could tend to Maggie as I spoke with the fireman and then had to give my report to the 2 police officers who had just arrived…to the 2 very handsome police officers. What is happening? Why is everyone so good looking?
In all honesty, after taking Maggie to get checked out by the doctors (she’s totally fine) I began thinking, how lucky I was that we were okay. But was I okay? I was pretty shaken up and a little discombobulated, my neck and back were sore too. Was I hallucinating that everyone I talked to at the car accident was that good looking? Or worse, did I have a concussion?
When AJ got home from work, he asked how I was doing? I then asked him, if he noticed the firemen at the accident? He immediately responded, “Oh, you mean the good looking firemen? That was really crazy how good looking everyone was. Then the police officers arrived and they were also good looking.” YAY, I’m not going crazy, even my husband noticed how hot everyone was. On second thought, I’m not too excited that my husband was checking out the firemen too.
My husband’s science experiment
Somewhere AJ heard that he could grow green onions in a jar with water. For the past month we have had this weird experiment happening on our kitchen windowsill. He thinks they are growing, but I think they are the same. The onions are beginning to look creepy and gross, a little bit Alien. At what point can I throw this experiment out? Or do I need him to come to his own scientific conclusion that the experiment is dead? Any hypothesis of your own?
Making baby proofing fun
Baby proofing makes parents cringe and those without kids disgusted. The problem is, it has to be done. AJ and I had in our minds that we would only baby proof what was absolutely necessary. Of course we had plenty of questions….What do we baby proof? Why is everything so ugly? Can we just teach our daughter to not touch anything?
Well turns out, you can’t rely on your baby to not touch anything. Babies are curious and we realized pretty quickly we had to baby proof our stair way. We have these awesome metal railings, great to look at, bad for babies crawling through. After looking at all our options. AJ came up with a safe and fun way to keep Maggie from crawling through the bars and seriously injuring herself. With his new found daddy protective sensibility, AJ built chalkboards to cover the railings. I think they are great. We have used them to write up the weekly menus, fun daily activities and fun messages to Maggie. I’m sure she will love drawing on them too, but for now I’m having a great time.
Who wasn’t fun and crazy in their 20s?
Do you ever wake up in the morning, look at your face and think WHAT IS HAPPENING!? When did I get so old? It feels like yesterday I was wearing a tutu with tights and a tank top to The Gig in Hollywood, while my uptight friend laughed at my eclectic ensemble. I fondly remember wearing, red, pink and green wigs daily, just because I felt like it and getting kudos on my style from my kooky friend as we drank Guinness at Dublins. Seriously, wasn’t I just wearing glitter on my face while dancing with crazy friends at the Viper Room, then to an after hours hula party? My husband refers to my 20s as my fun years. Mainly because I constantly tell him how fun I used to be. He usually laughs and comments that he can’t believe he fell in love with the boring version of me. I agree, I was really fun in my 20s.
Of course I’m not saying I’m boring in my 30s, I’m just a little more reserved. I prefer to go for a Santa Barbara Winery weekend or a Palm Springs Spa stay with the girls for the weekend. Some say having a kid does change your life, but age has changed me more. I’m pretty positive I can’t pull off wearing glitter and tutus anymore and I definitely can’t stay out all night drinking. Sadly, I actually just gave away my last two tutus at a clothing swap last year. I was really conflicted about it, but I think there should be only one person per household wearing tutus and Maggie looks much cuter in one than I. The same goes with glitter. I’ll let Maggie wear glitter as much as she wants, but I’m going to refrain from wearing it myself. Honestly, I’ll just look like a sad, aging stripper and that isn’t the look I’m going for. I’m definitely rocking the soccer mom vibe.
In actuality, I’d like to marry my youthful and fun 20s with my more conservative 30s. I want AJ and Maggie to think I’m the most fun mom around. I want to have family adventures every month, I want camping and skiing to be yearly traditions, and I want to have a girl’s weekend at least twice a year. OMG, I am old. I wonder if I can still pull off skiing in a bikini. Hmm…even if I could, I probably shouldn’t. I’d like Maggie to have fun in her 20s dancing with friends and not spending it in therapy.
Always something
Babies grow up fast. Clothes last for 3-6 months, toys seem to have a very similar life expectancy, and now I’m supposed to be thinking about changing the crib to a toddler bed. I love Maggie’s crib, and best of all she loves her crib. Lately, she will sit in her crib and play with the stuffed animals that I’ve placed in there. If we convert her crib to a toddler bed, then we have to worry about her constantly being out of bed. This brings up a whole new set of baby/toddler proofing dilemmas. I think I”m going to leave her in the crib, for as long as possible.
What age did you take your toddler out of the crib and put them into a toddler bed? Did you convert your crib or buy a big bed and put on rails? What did you find to be the most cost efficient in the long run? I love cost efficient and fun advice.
Dr Seuss is my neighbor’s gardener
There is no question these plants are from the Dr Seuss Nursery. I’m actually not sure if my neighbor just planted these or if I’ve been oblivious to their creative gardening since we moved here. Which ever it is, I love these plants. So cool and unique. Also, these plants have to be at least 6 feet tall. Love them! Does anyone know what they are called?
