Charlie goes to Disneyland

Finally! The day came to take Charlie to Disneyland! Our annual passes block us out for the summer months and we won't be allowed back in until after Charlie's 3rd birthday. We had to go now! After he's three years old, he would need a ticket of his own. Luckily, it all worked out so that we could go for the day. Exciting!

We left Gracie at home to have a Daddy & Gracie day. They had a blast and didn't miss us.

 I also took along a wonderful babysitter to help with these two kids. Libby is a clingy one and Charlie is a runner. Bringing the babysitter was probably the best idea I've ever had. I had two strollers but I wasn't sure if we really needed both, so we took both out of the trunk and decided that we would use them to the gates to keep the kids contained in the parking structure and through the gate crowd, then park one and go from there. I also brought my toddler-leash for Charlie. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to use it but I might need to show him that I have it and its an option.

Libby promised to wear her Rapunzel dress, but she changed her mind and wore an outfit that her cousin handed down to her, a Bambi shirt and cute little skirt. I stuffed that dress in my bag anyway. Charlie wore a handed down shirt too. He had a Mater shirt and he looked adorable.

Charlie was very happy to go to Disneyland. He fell asleep on the way there and got in a good carseat nap. Luckily, he woke up  happy! We were in the parking structure and he said "Where is Disneyland?"

The babysitter, Brit, and I made a gameplan for the day. We decided to hit up California Adventure first because Charlie can relate more to the modern Disney and Pixar attractions. We agreed to do what he would find most interesting and exciting first and then call the rest of the day a bonus. We would just leave whenever Charlie was done. Charlie immediately started asking to see Woody, so we made that the number one priority and were happy with anything else that happened.

We also decided to use two strollers in parking structure and to at least get us through the gate. We could always park one and come back to it later. My strollers are aging and they have a lot of miles on them, so I'm not too concerned about stroller theft. Especially since the kids are outgrowing the stroller phase. At this point, if the stroller disappears, then someone must need it more than I do. We ended up using both strollers all day. Both kids rode happily in the strollers and they were easy to manage this way, so we just went with that.

We entered California Adventure and made our way down Buena Vista Street. At the end, we found Mickey Mouse waiting for us! Charlie had a big hug for Mickey. Mickey was equally excited to see Charlie! Like a couple of long lost buddies, they hugged and hugged. What a great way to start the day!

Next, we saw Goofy dancing with the Five and Dime group. Charlie wanted to stop and watch Goofy. Once Goofy left the group, we went on our way. There wasn't any appeal to the live entertainment without the big dog.

We strolled down the way and came upon another street performance: Phineas and Ferb's Dance Party. Charlie loved it! He hopped out of the stroller and gave Phineas a fist-bump. Then he joined the Fireside Girls and danced with them and other children from the audience as well. Libby wouldn't leave her stroller, but she enjoyed watching Charlie. His dance moves were subtle; he was more in awe than anything. But he has a great time! Again, we only stayed for a short portion of the performance, just until the interest in it waned. On to the next.

Charlie was happy to see the other characters so far, but he kept asking "Where's Woody?" We went down to Paradise Pier to see if we could find Woody in his usual meet and greet spot. We got there and Jessie was there! Charlie was excited to see any Toy Story character, so he was pretty excited to see Jessie. We hopped in line right away, only to get halfway through and Buzz Lightyear took her place. Buzz! Libby was a little disappointed, but both were excited to see Buzz.

Because Brit is super awesome, she offered to get right back in the same line and wait for the next character. She is a Disneyland super hero and knows her stuff. Every 20 minutes Buzz, Woody and Jessie take turns in this meet and greet spot. By the time Brit would get to the front of the line again, it should be Woody's turn. Smart move! While she stood in line with Libby, I took Charlie across the way to King Tritan's Carrousel. The wait time on this ride is always minimal and it's fun. Charlie rode a lovely colored fish and he really enjoyed it. While we rode, I saw that Woody came and took Buzz's place. Awesome!

Sure enough, Brit had a place in line and she was more than halfway through so we joined her and the kids got to see Woody! Charlie and Woody really had a great visit. He asked Woody if he had a snake in his boot. They hugged, they compared boots, and Woody signed our autograph book too. It was the best Woody encounter!

Brit and I celebrated a little with some high fiving and congratulating each other with excited "Mission Accomplished" chatter. It felt great to fulfill the one and only wish that Charlie had for the day. The rest of the day is cake!  Brit took a picture of Charlie and me to document the moment.

We decided to head to the Ariel ride for Libby's enjoyment since she was being such a good girl and tagging along so nicely on Charlie's Disneyland Day without any complaints so far. She was happy to let Charlie choose what he wanted to do. Along the way, we happened upon another Toy Story experience: The Army Men performance. They drummed and chanted and entertained Charlie for a bit.

Off we went to the Little Mermaid ride. We decided to separate here. I'm sure Charlie would have enjoyed it quite a bit, but he and I walked over to Cars Land while Brit and Libby went under the sea. I thought he would enjoy extra time in Cars Land more than in Ariel's world. Brit said they would catch up with us.

Since Charlie was enjoying the characters so much, I thought our first stop should be a visit with a car rather than a ride. But first, we stopped to see one of Mater's tractors. So cute!

Down the street we went to visit with Lightning McQueen! Another of Charlie's favorite Disney characters!

If you are wondering why he isn't smiling, it's because he was too busy enjoying his visit with Lightning McQueen to be bothered with turning around for me to take a picture. He finally turned to face me for a split second and then spun back around to enjoy his time with Lightning. Lighting revved his engines, rocked back and forth a bit, and talked to Charlie. What an exciting visit!

I walked him over to see the Radiator Springs Racer ride and enjoy the stroll down the Main Street of Radiator Springs. He loved it! It's just like you plopped right into the movie, so he was loving being there and just seeing the sights. While we were viewing Ornament Valley, a cast member thought we were waiting to line up for the RSR ride and he offered to measure Charlie to see if he was tall enough to ride. I wasn't going to force the kid into a line that had a 120 minute wait, and I didn't think he was tall enough, but I let the guy measure him. He was closer to the mark than I thought! Must be the boots. I know he would love the ride but I also know that he has no idea what he's missing and we are on toddler time.

Cars Land was very cool and exciting! But, Charlie was ready for a snack. I treated him to a Lightning McQueen cookie, which he only nibbled at. It wasn't as tasty as it was fun. He ate almost half of it and then I gave him healthy snacks from our lunch tote that we brought from home. The red frosting stuck around all day though!

Brit and Libby found us. They had a great time riding the Ariel ride and Brit said the air conditioning was especially refreshing. Lucky Duck! Since Charlie had seen most everything in Cars Land and he was still going strong, we decided to walk through Bugs Land. But, wait! We found Red!

In Bugs Land we rode a couple of rides. We've seen a lot of wonderful characters but hadn't taken him on any rides yet. First stop was a favorite of ours: Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. It's just adorable.

When that ride was over, he was hooked. He wanted to ride something else too! We moved on to the spinning ladybug ride. I do not enjoy spinning, but Charlie wanted to ride. Brit and I had a little stare-down to see who had to go with him, she's as big a fan of spinning as I am. I lost. I had to spin. Libby wasn't even having any of that nonsense. Aside from the nauseating spinning, it was great! He was so excited and happy on that ride! He just loved it! What fun!

He was doing great, so we kept going. We decided to hit another attraction of one of his favorite movies: Monsters, Inc. He'll love that!  Along the way, we ran into Mr. Frozone from The Incredibles. Freeze!

Charlie then tried to find his way into Monsters University, but he couldn't get the door open. Apparently, he's too young for college. This was a photo spot and I'm anxious to see the movie with the kids. I think they'll love it! Again, Libby was stuck like glue to her stroller. She was just enjoying the ride. I'm so glad I brought Brit along to push her around while I was having fun with Charlie.

We went to the Monsters, Inc ride and Charlie was super excited. He wanted to ride in the cars and Libby kept telling him they were taxis and we will be riding in them! She was pretty happy to be telling him what to expect all day long. She's such a pro.

He loved the Monsters, Inc ride! That's no surprise since he loves the movie so much. He thought Randall was scary, but he was brave enough to handle it and in the end, Randall wasn't a threat to anyone, just like the movie.

We came out of the ride and guess who we saw in front of the Monsters University set? Mike!

We didn't wait in line to hug him. Charlie didn't want to, and I don't blame him. Mike's arms are creepy.  We waved and yelled hello to him from a bit of a distance, which was fun enough.

Charlie was having such a fun day! Brit and I reevaluated our plan. The plan at this point was merely: Stay for more or go home.  We've seen Woody, and really anything else is not important to Charlie. We decided to feed them (and us) and then decide. Food. Always a good idea!

All day long I had been fielding calls and texts from my local mommy friends who were also at Disneyland that day. It seemed like we could all go on the same day and they all wanted to get together while we were all there. I wanted to, but everyone was scattered and I really wanted to focus on Charlie.

I met up for about two minutes with my friend, Kristin and her two lovely girls. They just ate and we needed to grab a bite, so our schedules didn't sync up very well, but we promised to find each other again in an hour or so. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Like their dresses? Look familiar? They look so lovely in them! I was thrilled to see them! I whipped Libby's Rapunzel dress out of the bag under the stroller and tried to shove it on over her head so the three of them would match, but Libby wasn't having it. She claims that she grew and it no longer fits. Darn. Charlie was very excited to see the girls. He knows them well and always loves to see them, but to see them at Disneyland was very cool!

Onward. We went to Downtown Disney to find the taco place that I love. Brit loves that type of food too and Charlie is always a good eater no matter what you give him. Libby only likes churros.  We got our delicious food and Libby threw a crying fit. I was hoping that she would be hungry enough to eat, but no, she only wanted a churro and she was not happy about watching us eat while she waited. This kid!  She wants what she wants when it comes to eating. She was born stubborn like that. We inhaled our food, laughed about that, and Libby fell asleep.

We decided to ride the monorail, or as the kids call it: The Bullet Train. The monorail drops you into Disneyland at Tomorrowland, which means we don't have to go through the crowd at the front gate.

Since Libby was asleep we decided to swap strollers and move Libby to the bigger more comfortable one and Brit walked her into Disneyland while I took Charlie to the Lego store for fun. He loved it. And, he remembered it from a year ago when he went there with his Mom. Up until now, he really didn't have many memories to share of his trip to Disneyland with Lexie, but she didn't take him into California Adventure and that's where we spent our day so far. He loved looking around the Lego Store.

After a quick tour of the Lego store, I took Charlie to the restroom to change a very smelly diaper. But, I quickly discovered that I left the diaper bag in the larger stroller and I didn't have a diaper or wipes with me! Eww, oh no! I couldn't change him. I had to take a super stinky boy on the Bullet Train.

When we got to the Bullet Train, we were put in the first car with the driver. Cool!  Well, it was cool until she blew the horn. I'm sure she appreciated when we got to Tomorrow Land and vacated her little space. I'm betting the smell lingered on.

We saw the Star Wars Jedi Training show as we started our short walk to meet up with Brit and the diaper bag. Charlie was very excited to see Darth Vader!

We found Brit and Libby, who was happily eating a churro. Once we got Charlie changed and happy again, we tried to figure out what to do next. It seemed that he was just about done and we had accomplished a lot. We weren't sure if a train ride would put him over the edge or just be more fun for him. Deciding against the risk of a full on two-year old temper tantrum on a train, we strolled down Main Street toward the exit.

Our tour of Disneyland was brief, but good enough. It was actually too crowded to be enjoyable anyway. Once we left Main Street and entered the front entryway between the ticket gates and the train station, we were happy to discover Ariel the Little Mermaid turned princess!  How exciting!

Libby wanted to see her and Charlie did too. Libby didn't get to go to the Princess Fantasy Faire like she wanted to, so this was a special treat to have Ariel right there. We stood in line to see her, but by the time it was our turn, Libby changed her mind and hid in the stroller. Charlie was ready for a princess hug though. He ran right to her and hugged her like they were long lost friends. Such a sweet hug! She loved him right back and it was beyond adorable!

I think we made the right decision to leave at this point. We were at the resort for over 6 hours, the kids were good but getting tired. They smiled their little faces off and they were done. Brit and I were done too, we both felt great about the day. A person can't do everything in one day but we did the best we could and we did pretty well. Its best to leave on a high note rather than leave with a crying screaming kid, so we did just that. Back to the parking lot tram for our last ride of the day.

It was such a wonderful feeling to take my grandson to Disneyland and enjoy this special day with him. I'm very happy that Libby and Brit came along to make it more fun! I think bringing Babysitter Brit along was the ideal way to spend the day. Thank you, Brit!

Whale Watching - Best School Field Trip Ever

When I was a kid in a little town in Montana going to public school, we didn't go on any field trips. Or, if we did, I don't remember them. My sister's class all went on a field trip once, they walked across the street to our house to see a live turkey in our backyard. His name was Fuzzy and we ate him for Thanksgiving dinner. She should blog about that someday. Anyway, that's the only time I can recall anyone ever going on a school field trip.

My older two daughters went to elementary school in South Dakota. They went on one field trip. Every year the fourth graders went to an event called "Ag Day" and they went somewhere that the 4-H kids had set up convention style with booths. Booths of livestock and farm information.

Gracie's school has totally blown me away. They have a field trip every month and this month: Whale Watching Cruise. Oh yeah!  Montana and South Dakota have got nothing on California! This school rocks!!!

For a two hour whale watching cruise, the cost per person was $11. The museums cost more than that!

We got up early and left early because the cruise was out of Newport Beach which is a little over an hour away in perfect conditions. But on a weekday morning, we had to battle the commuter traffic on one of the busiest freeways in the state. This means we were traveling at top speeds of 20 and sitting parked on the freeway when it would come to an unexplainable halt. So boring!  We squeezed Gracie, Libby and Charlie in the back seat and with them squished together the ride seemed even longer. It took us two hours to get there, but we made it on time.

We checked in and waited for 45 minutes to board the boat. The kids have now been bored to death for 3 hours.

The people who paid regular price for their tickets were boarded first, and they were sent to the upper deck. The school group was loaded onto the main deck.  The boat looked smaller than it was. A long line of people boarded and there was still room for us. Everyone was choosing just the right spot to sit, little did we realize that everyone would shuffle around and trade places over and over again.

My first thought while on the lower deck was that if anyone on the upper deck were to lean over the railing in the midst of sea-sickness, the puke will land on the people below. That'd be me.

Newport Beach Harbor is beautiful! The weather was awesome too. Even the kids enjoyed the harbor and seeing the boats and homes along the shore with the Los Angeles skyline on the horizon. Very pretty!

So far the ride was nice and smooth, but the kids were hanging onto the railing for dear life. Libby already didn't like the motion of the boat on the water and we were going slow on the easy stretch. Might be a long cruise for the kid.

As soon as we were in the ocean water, we saw sea lions on a buoy. All of the kids on the boat were super excited!

And.... now the kids are bored. And cold. And feeling queasy.

We went into the cabin and sat in a booth. Now they wanted candy and crap from the snack counter. I brought snacks, but they want overpriced sugar from the boat guy. No. 

This is going to be a very long two hour cruise.

After a while we came upon a pod of dolphins. We saw several pods of dolphins, one group after another. It was great! The kids loved seeing the dolphins swim alongside the boat. They jumped and squealed and waved their flippers and tails. I'm sure they were very happy to see the boat full of school kids!

Everyone wanted to see a whale, but the dolphins were very fun to watch. We never did see any whales.

Actually, I was glad that we didn't see any whales. The thought of whales made me nervous. What if they bump the boat and tip us over? I know, these whale watching cruises run multiple times a day and they didn't mention that whales tend to tip over the boat and eat the passengers, but that thought was prominent on my mind.

The teacher asked me if I heard the safety announcements at the top of the cruise, and it occurred to me that I hadn't.  But I did a quick scan earlier to look for marked storage places where floatation devices were. Someone else said they heard the safety schpeel, so I must not have been paying attention when it was announced. Not that it mattered, the idea of whales still made me nervous.

More dolphins! Yay!

Libby didn't care about any of the dolphin watching. She was queasy and cold and miserable. She really didn't like the motion of the boat.

Charlie was feeling confined. The boat wasn't big and he wasn't allowed to run amuck. He's two! He must run around! Poor kid. Gracie wanted to run with her friends and swing on the railings and jump over people and squeeze through others. One hour to go.

More dolphins! Look kids! Dolphins!  They didn't care any more.

At this point, the whales could come and put us out of our misery. Yes, that's how much the kids were enjoying the cruise. 

At least Gracie was having fun with her school friends. I was so glad she was having a good time and hanging with her friends! She had been doing a lot of recent complaining about fitting in socially and idolizing some other kids in her class, all of that finding her place in the social construct of the playground sort of thing. This was great to see her interact with her peers and I found out first hand that she exaggerates her social woes. She's just fine and her friends treat her well and she has nothing to complain about. I was actually worrying about her. This cruise was good for that anyway.

Libby and Charlie fell asleep. Yes!!! They won't give me that "Can you make this super disappointing boat ride end already" look anymore.

When we were returning to the harbor, we saw a huge swarm of seagulls attacking the water. The Captain said they were eating anchovies. It was kind of creepy and weird.

Just like that, the whale watching cruise was done! Yay! It was great! Ok, I am just trying to convince myself that it was great. It was boring and the kids were too confined for their enjoyment. The school kids loved it, but they are old enough to get a bigger thrill out of it than the two littler kids. Gracie had a great time. I was so happy to get off of that boat with the kids!

We searched for a playground near the dock or anywhere near, actually. These kids were as well behaved as they could have been and they had 5 hours of pent up energy, and were recharged by short naps. A two hour drive home would not be easy if they don't play.

There are no playgrounds at Newport Beach.

None.

Luckily, it only took an hour and a half to get home and that included a stop for fast food lunch.

Now if you ask the kids, they will say how much fun they had when we went on a big boat in the ocean. They saw dolphins and birds and can't wait to go again!  I love that their memory of the day is so much happier than the actual cruise was. That makes it worth the hassle.

None of them puked. And nobody on the top deck puked on the people on the lower deck (specifically, me). Nobody fell overboard. Whales did not tip us over. 

With that, I declare the whale watching trip a total success! Let's do it again!

Happy 105th Birthday to my Grandma!

Only the best people can celebrate 105 birthdays. Only the most resilient, stubborn, adventurous, confident, graceful, delightful, commanding, caring, generous, compassionate, respected, intelligent, loving people can stand strong for so long. My grandma Grace is celebrating her 105th birthday today. She is legendary!

What do you give to someone who is celebrating a 105th birthday? Any and all gifts are just more junk and clutter for her to shuffle around.

Sending flowers is ridiculously expensive and they don't deliver to her home. They'll deliver to the gas station in town, but they won't go all the way out to her house unless they are sent via FedEx. She usually receives a few bouquets of flowers anyway, so I didn't do that.

Someone suggested that I buy a star and name it after her. Well, that's a great idea, but a star? I don't think  you can really own a star. I think you and pay someone and think you own a star, but I am pretty sure that's it. I decided I will wait until its dark out, look up and name 105 stars "Gracie".

I am supposed to be sewing a pair of pajamas for her and I thought for sure that I would have that done by the time  her birthday and Mother's Day rolled around. But, I have stitches in my finger and it isn't healing very quickly so I am still not able to sew. I can type because I can backspace over my mistakes. That isn't so easy to do when sewing!

Years ago, I gave her a gift certificate to the local chocolate shop, but one of her friends was making a decadent chocolate cake for her and that might be enough chocolate.

Hmmm....

All of this thinking amounted to no more than a hill of beans. The day is today and I didn't even send a card yet! Gosh, how could I have let the time go along so fast and not get a card in the mail. I really need to aspire to be more like my grandma.  She never ever forgets a birthday, holiday or special occasion. Ever! She's very thoughtful and organized.

I guess my gift to my grandma is my admiration of her and my desire to be more like her. Someday I will get this birthday thing figured out and learn to mail cards in a timely manner. You know... Before the birthday! 

I know my mother tried to teach these values to me at a young age, and at a not so young age she's still trying to teach me. It's not her fault that I am slow to pick up on this the concept of how a calendar works and plan ahead and things like that. I have been trying to teach my kids too. Hopefully it will catch on in the next generation! We went to Disneyland yesterday and we remembered Great Grandma on all of our adventures during the day since she gave us the passes. We have been telling everyone that she is 105 years old today. And, Libby and I baked cake-pops and covered them with chocolate so that we could celebrate Grandma's birthday here at home in her honor.

I am going to count myself lucky x105 because my grandma still loves me even though I am not there for her birthday and I forgot to mail her card. She knows I adore her and love her very much, but I've got a lot to learn!

Happy Birthday, Grandma!  See you in a month or two!

Stitches, more stitches, and no sewing

Finally, a blog post that isn't about something I'm sewing, rather, I've been sewn. Sandy and I both have stitches.

The dog had a gigantic tumor on her hip and it kept growing. It was outa control!  Poor dog looked like she had a football in her pocket. So, the vet removed the tumor and the dog had a very large incision with some of the ugliest stitches ever. After a week, we took her cone of shame off and she was free to scratch her ears again.

Taking the cone off only seemed like a good idea. Sandy thought it would also be a good idea to remove the stitches too. She bit them off and it was nasty! Back into surgery she went to trim up the incision and get stitched back up. She's back in the cone!

The very next day... I cut my finger. I was helping my daughter load some things into her car and I reached to open her car door and the handle of it was broken a little bit. Slice! I cut my middle finger pretty good. Ended up with 5 stitches and a tetnus shot. I'm so talented.

The dog and I are clumsily trying to get through the day without hurting ourselves even worse, or getting the cone stuck between chairs. I'm trying to type and start a new sewing project while flipping the bird , er, holding up my sore bandaged finger.

For your viewing pleasure, there are no photos.

Princess Merida dresses

Fresh from under my sewing machine - a dress to "change your fate!"  The perfect dress for "climbing Crown's Tooth and drinking from the fire falls". Just right for a girl who wants "to stay single, hair flowing in the wind while riding through the glen firing arrows into the sunset."

I may have seen the movie Brave a few too many times since the dialogue is so easy for me to quote!

I started working on these dresses a long time ago. The fabric came from Joann Fabrics and was probably a seasonal print. It's various shades of dark green with a clover print. I don't remember where I got the gold; it was either Joanns or Hobby Lobby. The green is a cotton broadcloth and the gold is a glitter infused polyester. Unfortunately, the gold is rough and itchy.

I raided the donation bag (why do we always have a bag of worn, neglected, unloved clothes? I always think I cleaned out all the old stuff, and as soon as I donate it all, we start another bag)  for old black Tshirts. Score!  Lining for the dresses is soft black Tshirt cotton.  I lined the front of the bodice, and the inside of the sleeves with what I cut from the Tshirts. I had a bit of the bottom of a bright yellow Tshirt from a day that I trimmed off the bottom of a Tshirt to make a comfy play dress for my daughter (that she has not  yet worn, arg) and lined the backside of the gold collar ruffle. Ahh, anti-itch softness next to the skin! My girls are officially spoiled!

I didn't have a pattern to work from, although there's probably one out there on the market. I just decided to wing it. After carefully looking at pictures of the dress from the movie, the Disney store, and the princess herself in Disneyland, I came up with what I think is authentic yet kid-friendly.  In the movie, Merida rides her horse, climbs a mountain, goes fishing in the creek, runs, jumps, eats, and more all in this dress. My kids will be just as active in it, but I'm keeping them off of horses and away from bears.

The sleeves and shoulders were the most difficult part of this dress. I cut the sleeves in half and then cut out a good three inch strip from each. Once I had a lower and an upper sleeve, I inserted a strip of gold in a lightly gathered sort of way. I also made little belt loop type strips and stuck three into the mix to make it look suspended. For the shoulder suspension, I just added the rufled gold strip on top of the shoulder seam and it worked! I'm happy with the way the sleeves and shoulders turned out! I opted not to add gold to the wrists too; let's face it, these girls are going to drag the edges of these sleeves through ketchup, chocolate, dirt, and many many other sticky things. The laundry factor plays a role in the design as well.

After making four lovely suspended sleeves, I added two of them to Libby's dress. The next day I discovered that they just looked weird somehow. Low and behold, I put a size 4 sleeve on the left and a size 8 sleeve on the right! The joys of making identical dresses! Since her arms are both the same size, I had to fix that.

I was going to put the sleeves on Gracie's dress, but it was 86 degrees out and the forcast looks about the same for the next week. Summer is coming too. What was I thinking making lined long sleeves for a girl who never gets cold? I decided to put her long sleeves in the bottom drawer where they will never be seen again, and give her a sleeveless Merida dress. I gave the dress some little cap sleeves, even though I vowed to never do that again because the cap sleeves crack me up too much. They are so funny looking! They stick out like little wings. But, it works on this dress and with the gold on the shoulder, there had to be something. She didn't want short puff sleeves, so funny little wings it is. That's ok, laughter is good for me.

I could not find a good ribbon for the bottom hem. After searching and searching, literally for months, I settled for the black ribbon with a Greek key pattern, or maybe it's Egyptian. Greek/Egyptian ribbon and Irish clovers on a Scottish princess dress. Eh, the kids will never know.  The ribbon does give the hem a finished look and the Disneyland Merida has lots of fanciness at the bottom of her dress, so I had to add something.

The belt is just some brown polyester and I made a gigantic button out of a piece of cardboard covered with the gold fabric. I'm not entirely happy with it, but once I get the plaid piece attached, that will make it much better. Merida has a Scottish plaid hand-towel or snuggle blanket or handkerchief something to that effect hanging from her belt. Whatever it is, I'll make one and attach it. I did not realize that blue/green plaid would be so hard to find in the spring. So far, no luck. I might have to add a blue/green floral print instead. I believe the plaid symbolizes the family clan and if that is true, our clan pattern will be flowery. Why not!  In the movie, she has a quiver hanging from her belt, so if I cannot find a good clan piece, I'll whip up a quiver instead. I love having options.

I put a metal zipper on my four year old's dress and she promptly told me, "Can you make a placket for the zipper so it won't touch me?" Yes, child, you can have a placket. Any four year old who knows what a placket is deserves to have one.

I've decided the ultimate finishing touch would be for the girls to have mops of big red curly hair. Yeah, umm... no. they'll just be wearing the hair they were born with: straight, tangled, mousey-brown. Maybe a red hair clip?

All  that is left to do is take these dresses for a test run at Disneyland. Once the girls put them through a full day of activity, eating, sweating, spilling and such then we will know whether the dresses are a success or not. Stay tuned!

*Update:  I found a piece of plaid! A long lost pair of winter flannel pajama pants resurfaced from the depths of my dresser drawers. The two legs became the plaid kerchiefs and now I have a pair of plaid pajama shorts! Ta-Da!

Friends with Big Warm Hearts

I have friends with great big wonderfully warm loving hearts. And.... then there's me. I've apparently got an ice cube beating in my chest. I'm not even upset by that, see how cold and harsh I am!

Recently, three of my friends have rescued dogs. As each one did this kind-hearted deed, I thought to myself, "No way would I have done that!" Kids, yes, I go all mama bear and am fiercely protective to all kids: mine, theirs, strangers... but dogs, no, they are not human children. My maternal instinct does not kick in for them.

We do have a pet dog and I do love her, but when it comes to other dogs I do not feel the same way. I am especially not warm-hearted when it comes to people rescuing dogs. Our dog has gotten away a few times, bolted out of the garage door when I got home with my arms full. Rather than chase her down while she's running 40 mph down the street, I just let her go while I take in my children, groceries and things and then I go back out and call her home. She enjoys a wee bit of freedom when she escapes, but only for a few minutes. On occasion, she is "rescued" by friendly neighbors just a block away, or less. Those are the times when she doesn't come back right away and I think, oh great, someone saved my stupid dog. ugh. It's the same routine, a few minutes pass and then we get a phone call from the Home Again people from which a code number was found on her tag. Yup, I'll go get her, where? Oh gee, that's just a few houses away and she's been gone for almost 5 whole minutes. Then I walk over, reclaim my lost and endangered dog from her rescuers who express all sorts of worry and distress on their part and we walk back home. These are not rescues, these are people who want to rescue but their big emotional hearts can't tell the difference between a dog who needs help and a dog who is just out for a joyful bolt in the sunshine. Rescue or kidnapping? You be the judge.

One of my husband's coworkers found a little dog and added it to her brood. She already owns three little dogs and after this lost dog wasn't claimed by anyone, she gave him a name and a personalized food dish. If that had been me, I would have not even noticed the little lost dog. And if I had, I certainly would have never entertained any thoughts of bringing it home and keeping it. No way! My ice cold heart wouldn't even have melted a little bit by just leaving the lost dog to fend for  himself in the big world. My friend, she would never think of leaving a lost little dog out on the street. He's a happy little mutt now!

Another friend found two black labs out wandering together in the street. So, she pulled over and put them in her mini-van and took them home. Her heart is big and loving and she just knew those dogs needed her help. She stuffed those big dogs in her van with her little children strapped into their carseats and took the dogs home. No freaking way would I put strange dogs, who incidentally, have big teeth, in my vehicle with my defenseless confined children. Me? Never. Ever. She called Animal Control and they came to her home and scanned the dogs for microchips, found the owners and all was well. Turned out that the dogs didn't eat her children and they were close to their home when she picked them up. Frosty ol' me says that's because they weren't lost and in need of rescue, they were just a short distance from home and probably would have returned home when the owner yelled for them. If I had seen them and felt any inclination to be of any help (let's face it, that feeling wouldn't have come over me anyway), I would have just called Animal Control and reported loose dogs. No way would I have risked life and limb to "save" them. She said she couldn't live with herself if they had gotten hurt. I say, they are dogs.

The other day, another friend of mine rescued a dog too. Once again, I totally wouldn't have done it. My thoughts, "Eh, dog in the street. He'll move."  My wonderful friend, "Oh no! A dog in the street! I'll save him!"  We were having coffee at a cute little coffee shop downtown and sat near the front door. From where I was, I couldn't see the street, but she could. A couple tied up their little dog to a chair on the patio and came in for coffee. Their little ankle-biter ran, knocking the chair over and my friend bolted out the door so fast I had no idea what happened. I heard the chair fall and could see it on it's side, all I could think was that someone fell over and proceeded to fall off the patio. Did that happen? See, I only think of helping people, not dogs. But even that thought did not prompt me to get off my tush and go be helpful in any way. I knew my friend was on the case, so there was no need for me to feign thoughtfulness. She ended up running after (or chasing?) the dog into the street and to catch him, she stepped on his leash. That act of kindness flattened her and she hurt her ankle. It looked like an Easter egg. But, she saved the dog from certain doom. I'm thinking, as fast as that little furball was going, he was not going to get hit by any cars. Plus,  his owners could have chased him down or hollared for him or something. At best, my effort to help in this instance would have been to stay in my chair with coffee in hand and just say out loud to the owners, "Hey, your dog ran off."  See, I'm not all icy inside.

No matter who I compare myself to, I am the cold one. I have ice running in my veins. I do not care about dogs on the loose unless they are about ready to attack me or my children. No way would I grab hold of a strange dog. They don't know that they need to be rescued. They don't know that they shouldn't bite. They might have ringworm or lice or who knows what kind of dog ickiness. I don't want that! My strong sense of caution overpowers any generosity, charity, friendliness or compassion. My friends, wonderfully loving people, they are all admirable women who have enormous hearts. I think they're all nuts.

The Many Adventures of Flat Tyler

We hosted a Flat Stanley these past couple of weeks. He is in transit back to his classroom in Colorado now, but we sure had fun with while we had him. 

We kept him busy and made sure he wrote in his travel log daily. He was very good about posing for pictures and gathering local brochures.

Here is a copy of Flat Tyler's journal:

Flat Tyler’s Travel Log

I arrived safely into the mailbox of my cousins, The Schumacher Family, in California.

Uncle Keith (who is actually my grandma’s cousin) is a middle school teacher and he teaches college. Aunt Mary is the mom of the family and the kids are my cousins, Gracie and Libby. Gracie is 7 years old and in the first grade. Libby is 4 ½ years old and will be in Kindergarten next year. Gracie goes to school part-time and does homeschool part-time.

 They also have a dog named Sandy. She’s 12 years old and very sweet.  

While I was visiting, The Schumachers had company. I met Uncle Ed from Las Vegas, Grandma Helen from Wyoming, Aunt Patty from Montana and cousin Jennifer also from Montana. They drove to California to spend a weekend with me and the Schumachers. Mostly, they wanted to meet Baby Alfred, my newest cousin.

The Schumachers took me to lots of places to see the local sites and experience California culture.  Gracie and Libby taught me to say “Chaw” and “Dude” like a Californian. I never needed my jacket or hat because it’s nice and warm there.  I told them about Colorado; they’ve never been there. The girls didn’t know what skiing is, but they have seen snow and pine trees when they took a winter vacation to Wyoming and South Dakota last year.  

Western Science Center -  Hemet, CA:  Gracie, Libby, Henry and I went to a dinosaur museum. It was a lot of fun! We saw the bones from a mammoth and a sloth. We got to see a short movie about dinosaurs in the Inland Empire (that’s what they call this area of California) and we got to make a fossil out of clay .

Busker Festival at Seaport Village:  We went to San Diego to the Busker Festival. A Busker is a street performer. Seaport Village is a shopping and eatery center along the edge of the San Diego Bay. We saw lots of different street performers and artists. There were musicians, dancers, acrobats and magicians. We also saw an escape artist and a couple of unicycle riding jugglers. 

Duck Pond – Temecula, CA:  One day we went to a city park called the Duck Pond. All it has is a pond and a walking path around it.  It was nice and there were a lot of ducks!  I had to be careful not to flutter in the wind or I’d end up swimming with the ducks.  

San Diego Air and Space Museum: We set out for an adventurous day at the San Diego Zoo. When we got there, the parking lot was packed solid and so was the overflow parking and every parking lot in the area. Aunt Mary finally found a parking spot but it was pretty far from the zoo. Conveniently, she discovered that we parked close to the Air and Space Museum. Gracie and I thought that was a better idea anyway!

The Air and Space Museum has a special Ripley’s Believe It or Not exhibit and we were able to see the museum and the Ripley’s exhibit too.  It was a lot of fun. We came home with coloring pages and paper airplane origami pages for fun at home. I got to see Bumblebee there!

Cabrillo National Monument:  We drove out to Point Loma which is a Navel Base at the tippy end of a peninsula. It was really cool!  From the point, you can see the San Diego Bay, the harbor, and the Pacific Ocean in the other direction.

Cabrillo was a European explorer and he is the first European to set foot on the west coast of what is now the United States.  This monument recognizes his adventures. He’s just like me: an adventurer discovering amazing places!  Cha!  (I’m really getting a hang of the California language).

There is also an old lighthouse at the National Park and you can go down to the shore to the tidepools and caves. There are small caves in the sides of the cliffs that were made by erosion. The land is very interesting and goes from shrub covered hills on one side of the peninsula to sand covered eroded cliffs on the other. 

Coronado Island, San Diego:  We drove across a huge bridge over the San Diego Bay to Coronado Island.  We played in the sand on the beach by the Ferry landing where I met a friend, another Flat Stanley! He didn't speak English, but we played and had a good time anyway.

Balboa Park:  Balboa Park is in the middle of San Diego. It houses the San Diego Zoo, a couple of playgrounds, numerous museums and gardens. The day we went, we just strolled on the walkways and enjoyed the local artists, played in the fountains, and admired the architecture.  Luckily, the bird rescue group was at Balboa Park so we got to see the birds again. We saw them at the Busker Festival too! They save abandoned pet parrots and exotic birds and readopt them to new homes. We didn’t adopt a bird, but we did get to hold a few. Libby doesn’t like to hold them because she thinks they will poop on her. She finally decided to try it and it was a lot of fun.

 

Easter:  I celebrated Easter with the Schumacher family. We went to an Easter Egg Hunt party at a friend’s house. He name is Justin and he’s 5 years old like me. His back yard is landscaped with natural California grasses and plants, so it was a lot of fun. They have the best back yard for an egg hunt! 

On Easter Sunday we went to a friend’s house for dinner. We had lots of great food. The Sanchez family had two dogs and two tortoises. They were really neat! They had an area of the back yard underneath the tree house that was their home. They live outside in the yard. One tortoise lost a leg so the family glued on a wheel from a toy car so she could get around. They both crawled faster than I thought they would. They love to eat dandelions. 

Science Center:  This is a museum in Balboa Park. The girls love this place. When we entered the museum the employee who greeted us at the entrance said, “Have fun and touch everything.”  Awesome!  We had a great time playing with all of the science center exhibits. There is a part of the museum that looks like a city and we played there for a while too.

Montessori School: One day I went to school with Gracie. She is in Ms. Andria’s class. Gracie is in a mixed class of 1^st – 3^rd grade. They have lunch outside on picnic tables. Their parking lot is also the playground and the gym. Most elementary schools have a playground but they do not have a cafeteria or a gym. They eat and play outside every day. Gracie and her classmates have never had a snow day.

Disneyland and Cars Land:  On my last day in California, I went with the Schumacher girls to Disneyland and California Adventure.  Gracie and Libby go to Disneyland often because it isn’t very far away. We left after school and got home a little after bedtime.

First we went into Disneyland. It was very exciting! We saw Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Goofy right away. Our first stop was the first aid station because Gracie’s tooth was falling out and she wanted an envelope or something to put it in when it fell out. They were very nice and gave her a little container. We walked up Main Street. Gracie’s favorite part of Main Street is the Magic Shop. It was amazing! Libby wanted to go to the Princess Fantasy Faire. We saw Ariel, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. I was made an honorary citizen of Disneyland and I got a button to wear for the rest of the day. Then we rode the Small World. We then went into Fantasyland and rode Alice in Wonderland’s Teacups.

Next we went to California Adventure, which is where Cars Land is. Cars Land is amazing! It is just like you step into the Cars movie! I got to meet Mater and Lightning McQueen! I also got to see the main street of Radiator Springs and see Ornament Valley. When it got dark, all the neon lights came on and it was just like it was in the movie. We rode on Mater’s Tractor ride which was more fun than anything!