Pumpkins, Policeman, and Princess... Oh my!

This year Evelyn was very specific about what she wanted to be for Halloween, a princess with a crown and a star wand.  I decided to make a dress for her since I figured that it would get a lot of use as dress up after Halloween.  I think I was right.  She has worn it off and on for four days straight.  I wanted something cute and little girly, not just a small grown up dress.

I used a regular dress pattern and switched the pinafore a bit to button up the front and added layers to the overskirt.  I really liked the bows on the sleeves and the sparkly irridescent polka dots.  She likes the princess police badge.

 The braid down the front is a bit I got from Mom.  The rest around the neck and bodice is gold ric rac twisted together like this.

 I especially liked the effect with the kitty boots...
 

...and the coordinating lollypop.

Buddy Boy was a policeman.  Surprise.  Surprise.  Only this time he was a detective, plain clothes.

Sunday afternoon we carved pumpkins, in uniform this time.

What should it look like? 
Round eyes.  Tongue out.  Like this...

Like this?

Like this.

OK.

Buddy Boy carbed a zombie.

This one is my favorite.  I like the target eyes.

Figs

The fig harvest has begun. I was pleased that our new house has a fig tree in the backyard. Tree might be overstating it a bit. I'm taller than the "tree", but there were a few dozen little green figs on it when we moved in this summer. Now the figs are bigger and green. I don't know what variety these are, but they aren't the black mission figs I see in the stores. They go from grass green to this sort of limey-granny smith apple color. Both very pretty, but it makes it a little tough to tell when it is time to pick them.  If you wait too long you get this...

...and the ants get the fig.  Or the squirrels.  It seems they like figs as well.  I don't know much about figs.  I don't know that I've ever eaten them fresh.  In Guatemala they boil them in sugar syrup.  It ends up overly sweet and bland.  They also have fig flavored yogurt in the stores there.  I think I remember I liked it.  I am more familiar with the Newton variety of figs, and I definitely like them.

 I love the colors, corally pink and yellow green, but I'm not sure about the overall effect once it is sliced open.  Somehow it reminds me of some bodily organ that shouldn't be eaten.  So I close my eyes and try to ignore it.  After that, tasty!

If I ever get enough ripe at one time I'll try making jam.  A little sugar, maybe a little lemon from the tree next to it.  Sounds good.

Apple spice syrup

Tragedy struck this morning when we ran out of maple syrup three waffles into breakfast.  Waffles just need syrup, not jam.  OK, lots of whipped cream and berries works, but we didn't have these things either.  So I came up with this:

Apple spice syrup
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple juice
5 shakes cinnamon
2 pinches cloves
2 shakes nutmeg
2 shakes salt
3 shakes black pepper (Why? I don't know.  I guess I watch too much Chopped.)

Combine in a small saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved and syrup thickens slightly.  Done.  Serve over waffles and diced fresh pears.

This doesn't make much, but I wanted to try out the concept first.  Obviously the amounts on the spices are a little vague.  I guessed using the proportions from the banana bread I made yesterday, mostly cinnamon, very little nutmeg.  Cloves and nutmeg can be very strong.

P.S.  It is also very good for dunking bacon.  mmmm....

A camping we will go...

OK, so it is mid October and we finally went camping.  Better late than never.  For as much as we like camping, and as much as we did while younger, we are admittedly wimpy when it comes to camping with kids.  This weekend we went out with some friends (and their trailer) for a little camping at Sunset state beach.  We left a beautiful sunny day and drove to the coast to find this.

We went UP and DOWN the dunes to get to the beach.

We played and ran...

...and dug in the sand.

We played red light green light. 

Dad started a fire with his flashlight so we could have s'mores.

We had a great time and then we called it good and went home the next morning before the kids had a chance to get muddy from the fog/mist/rain that fell during the night.  Maybe more camping next summer.

Blood Boy

Instead of Buddy Boy, perhaps I should call him Bloody Boy.  He is fascinated by blood of all things.  I'm not sure where it came from.  Perhaps it is related to the bats and vampire thing that showed up last year before Halloween and is coming back this fall.  He actually said, "I think blood is so interesting."  When I asked why he said, "Because it carries oxygen and stuff."  At least he has some of the facts straight.  He said he was a blood expert so I taught him the word hematologist.  Here are a couple of the library books he has been reading lately.  He chose the Magic School Bus book himself from the school library.  The other one I picked up from the local library.  There is some great information in a very kid friendly format.

Going along with his blood thing he has been doing some blood themed drawings.  According to his description this one is a blood factory where vampires go to get their blood so that they don't have to bite people.  How nice.  I think.

Happy Halloween (in a couple weeks)

So this is what my front window looks like after dark.  Pretty cool if I do say so myself.  The window faces east so we get cool shadows on the curtains in the morning.  I borrowed the house design from a pumpkin carving pattern you can find here.  It just makes me smile.  I hope the neighbors like it as well.

P.S.
How I did it:
I used a roll of black paper from the teacher store and cut lengths the size of the windows and taped them to the window.  The neighbor stoopped by at this point.  Saturday morning-ish.  I'm in my pajamas taping black paper to the windows.  She must think I'm crazy.  I drew the designs on the back of the paper while it was hanging up, then took the paper down and cut it out.  The paper I had was white on the back which made it easier to sketch the design.  You could use white chalk to draw the pictures if you have to draw on black paper.  My curtains are sheers with a twiggy sort of pattern to them which really looks cool with the haunted house.  These are from Ikea, but discontinued.  There is something similar at Bed, Bath, and Beyond if you want to go for the full effect.

Positive Discipline: agreements and follow through 2

The last  part of the steps for coming to an agreement included the understanding that you need to follow through and hold the child accountable.  Here are four hints for effective follow through from class:

• Keep comments simple and concise.  "I notice you didn't do your assignment; would you please do that now?"
• In response to objections, ask "What was our agreement?"
• In response to further objections, shut your mouth and use nonverbal communication. (Point to your watch.  Smile knowingly.  Give a hug and point to your watch again.)
• When the child concedes to keep the agreement (sometimes obviously annoyed), say "Thank you for keeping our agreement."

I haven't tried this much yet, so we'll see.  A few of the other parents in the room who have been there for awhile swear it works.

Traps that defeat effective follow through:

• Wanting children to have the same priorities as adults.
• Getting into judgements and criticism instead of sticking to the issue.
• Not getting agreements in advance that include a specific time deadline.
• Not maintaining dignity and respect for the child and yourself.

I thought that the first one was particularly good.  Kids just don't need what I need.  I need to get out the door  sooner than later.  They need to play.  I need quiet for just a minute.  They need to KABOOM and play the kazoo in the car...  *sigh*  I have a lot of work to do.

More at http://www.positivediscipline.com/

Food Fun

The other evening at the craft store Buddy Boy was captivated by the Halloween baking items, sprinkles, cookie cutters, and a haunted gingerbread house.  I'm a sucker for sprinkles and also we came home with FoodWriters.  What fun, edible markers for food!  I got the Halloween pack thinking of cookies, but we did a quick preview with toast.  The fun of frosting without the sticky mess.  I'll probably spring for the Christmas pack in a couple months.

Positive Discipline: agreements and follow through

Part of what we talked about today was winning cooperation by coming to an agreement about expected behavior and then following through on that.

Agreements

In each class at the beginning of the year they make a list of classroom agreements.  Usually these would be called the class rules.  The difference here is that they come from the kids (in theory) and the teacher so that everyone has their needs met.  I wish I could have been there for that class meeting.  It would have been interesting.  You can do this on a large scale (classroom agreements) or fine tune it for a particular situation.  Here is how it goes:

• Have a friendly discussion where every one gets to voice his/her feelings and thoughts around the issue.
• Brainstorm for possible solutions and choose one that both you and the child agree to.  This isn't you telling the child what to do and expecting them to agree to it.
• Agree on a specific time deadline
• Understand children well enough to know that the deadline probably won't be met and simply follow through with your part of the agreement by holding them accountable.

This part of the class brought up an interesting discussion about the word "obey".  A mom wanted to know why is was so bad to tell her kids they needed to obey her because she knew best.  You could see the group leader cringe and bristle at the thought of being so authoritarian and dictatorial.  This mom mentioned that she came from a Biblical point of view where obedience was a good thing and there is an authority figure who knows what is best.  There wasn't a good resolution to this in the class, but I thought about it more after class.  Listening and coming to an agreement on behavior helps kids feel like you understand their point of view.  It shows empathy.  It makes win-win outcomes more likely.  Someone is more likely to follow through if they were part of the solution.  I think that her concern may have been what she perceived as an abandonment of absolute morals (there is right and wrong) and an embracing of moral relativism (it all depends).

President Gordon B. Hinkley spoke repeatedly about the shifting values of modern society and the degradation of morals.

“The world we are in is a world of turmoil, of shifting values. Shrill voices call out for one thing or another in betrayal of time-tested standards of behavior. The moral moorings of our society have been badly shaken."
- Gordon B. Hinkley

I don't think that the two approaches are mutually exclusive.  By opening up the options you are not abandoning your needs.  Part of the process is that both parties have their needs met.  It may have been a little scary to this mom if she perceives this as giving up control and opening every little thing to endless negotiation.  My thoughts on this are that if we think we are in control we are fooling ourselves, and that it can actually be faster and less painful to come up with a win-win solution than to endlessly beg, threaten, or bribe the kids.

Here is how it went tonight:

Me:  Time to get out of the bath.
BB:  No, I want to play more. 
At this point I could have pulled him out of the tub, yelling all the way, wrapped him in his towel and sent him pouting off to his room.  I resisted the urge.
Me:  It is late and time to go.  How about 1 more minute.
BB:  Two minutes.
Me:  OK.  That's not much time because it is late.  I'll be back in two minutes.
I went back in two minutes (or maybe it was five) and he happily got out, got dressed, and we were on our way.  The fact that he happily and quickly got dressed more than made up for the two minutes I let him play.

That's enough for now.  More on follow through later.

Zig Zag Ric Rac

Even though summer is officially over, summer temperatures come late here so I finished up a couple of summer sewing projects.  A couple of months ago I bought enough of this light weight denim for a skirt for me and some cropped pants/shorts/capris for Baby Girl.  You can tell which pair I made first.  They have faded a bit.  I wanted a little something extra so I added the ric rac along the bottom of the legs, one mini, one jumbo.  It adds a bit of femininity.  It turned out that the fabric was 60" wide instead of 45" so there was enough for an extra pair for Baby Girl and a pair of shorts for Buddy Boy.  Four things for less than $10.  Sweet!