EEMA: [finishes singing tonight's bedtime song request, ZYX]
BET: That's the alphabet backwards!
EEMA: Yeah! Now let's do it forwards. [opens mouth to sing the ABC]
ALEPH: Or we could do ZYX backwards. Because ZYX backwards is the same as ABC forwards.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
nobody expects the spanish inquisition
BET: Who made you, Eema?
EEMA: My eema and abba made me.
ALEPH: No, Hashem made you!
EEMA: [oops.] Yes, Hashem too. There are 3 partners to make a baby: the eema, the abba, and Hashem.
BET: Who made me, Eema?
EEMA: Eema, Abba, and Hashem! [oops.] ...andafewdoctors.
EEMA: My eema and abba made me.
ALEPH: No, Hashem made you!
EEMA: [oops.] Yes, Hashem too. There are 3 partners to make a baby: the eema, the abba, and Hashem.
BET: Who made me, Eema?
EEMA: Eema, Abba, and Hashem! [oops.] ...andafewdoctors.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
inadvertent tie-dye: a brand new craft
My first ever craft tutorial! Are you excited?*
*Don't get too excited.
By way of introduction, most people put cute pictures on their son's first tzitzit, if they customize them at all. My kids are of course generally weirder than most. In this particular case, we also ran into the 11th Commandment according to Aleph: And Thou Shalt Cause Everything to Be Orange.
I'm nothing if not accomodating when it comes to weird color choices, so here we go.
Step 1. Pester Uberimma for orange dye sources. Get excited about using Kool Aid with the kids.
Step 2. Try to get Kraft to tell us if they make Kool Aid on peanut-free equipment. As expected, fail spectacularly.
Step 3. Stew about whether traces of peanuts matter on the skin. Give up. Pester Uberimma some more.
Step 4. Settle on Rit. Stumble on liquid Rit, which practically does the dyeing for you. Pour into hot water, swish every now & then, rinse, wash with detergent, rinse again, hang to dry.
Step 5. Congratulate self as crafting genius. Don't skip this step.
Step 6. Present perfectly orange tzitzit to Aleph, who's ecstatic for 5 minutes, before he mentions he really needs some other colors too.
Step 7. Now Bet says he wants colorful tzitzit. Ask Bet what color. Wince. Talk him out of red.
Step 8. Go back to same store to buy liquid Rit in blue. Note that they are out of liquid blue.
Step 9. Figure powdered Rit can't be THAT different.
Step 10. Cue ominous music. (You may choose your favorite.)
Step 11. Decide to dye at 12 AM when you're reeeaaaaaaaaally in full possession of your faculties.
Step 12. Read as far as "wear rubber gloves" before deciding directions are probably not all that important.
Step 13. Pour powder right into hot water. Note the water seems much darker than expected. Note there are also splashes of blue everywhere: the tub, the walls, the floor, the...tiny cracks in your hands. Great.
Step 14. Wipe splashes off bathroom surfaces. Scrub hands.
Step 15. Note ruefully that hands are still faintly blue.
Step 16. Completely forget about tzitzit.
Step 17. Stumble back into bathroom at 1 AM to get ready for bed. Suddenly notice tzitzit, which you have not swished since 12.
Step 18. Remove in a hurry, rinse, and note...completely uneven color absorption.
Step 19. Hope you can pass it off as tie-dye when it dries.
Step 20. Present finished product to Bet, who you know was going to refuse to wear it anyway! The End.
*Don't get too excited.
By way of introduction, most people put cute pictures on their son's first tzitzit, if they customize them at all. My kids are of course generally weirder than most. In this particular case, we also ran into the 11th Commandment according to Aleph: And Thou Shalt Cause Everything to Be Orange.
I'm nothing if not accomodating when it comes to weird color choices, so here we go.
Step 1. Pester Uberimma for orange dye sources. Get excited about using Kool Aid with the kids.
Step 2. Try to get Kraft to tell us if they make Kool Aid on peanut-free equipment. As expected, fail spectacularly.
Step 3. Stew about whether traces of peanuts matter on the skin. Give up. Pester Uberimma some more.
Step 4. Settle on Rit. Stumble on liquid Rit, which practically does the dyeing for you. Pour into hot water, swish every now & then, rinse, wash with detergent, rinse again, hang to dry.
Step 5. Congratulate self as crafting genius. Don't skip this step.
Step 6. Present perfectly orange tzitzit to Aleph, who's ecstatic for 5 minutes, before he mentions he really needs some other colors too.
Step 7. Now Bet says he wants colorful tzitzit. Ask Bet what color. Wince. Talk him out of red.
Step 8. Go back to same store to buy liquid Rit in blue. Note that they are out of liquid blue.
Step 9. Figure powdered Rit can't be THAT different.
Step 10. Cue ominous music. (You may choose your favorite.)
Step 11. Decide to dye at 12 AM when you're reeeaaaaaaaaally in full possession of your faculties.
Step 12. Read as far as "wear rubber gloves" before deciding directions are probably not all that important.
Step 13. Pour powder right into hot water. Note the water seems much darker than expected. Note there are also splashes of blue everywhere: the tub, the walls, the floor, the...tiny cracks in your hands. Great.
Step 14. Wipe splashes off bathroom surfaces. Scrub hands.
Step 15. Note ruefully that hands are still faintly blue.
Step 16. Completely forget about tzitzit.
Step 17. Stumble back into bathroom at 1 AM to get ready for bed. Suddenly notice tzitzit, which you have not swished since 12.
Step 18. Remove in a hurry, rinse, and note...completely uneven color absorption.
Step 19. Hope you can pass it off as tie-dye when it dries.
Step 20. Present finished product to Bet, who you know was going to refuse to wear it anyway! The End.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
through the looking glass, and back again
If you were obsessive bored enough to track down all the comments I've made on other people's blogs, over the last 5 years, you'd find more than a handful on the subject of Early Intervention. Somewhere along the way, they would move from theoretical support to personal endorsement.
And yet I haven't really talked about it here. It was, in fact, one of the main things keeping me from blogging here at all, the first couple of years. Because it's extremely difficult to talk about your children's developmental delays without sounding like an ass. Am I invading their privacy, by revealing their shortcomings to the world? Wait, am I supposed to be acting like it's a shortcoming in the first place? Is it okay to say I hope my child doesn't turn out to have X Y or Z? What am I implying about your child who does have X Y and Z and is lovable and perfect and hey, why don't I shut up now?
*cough* So yeah. I am, shockingly, as ambivalent about our experience with Early Intervention as I am about everything else. I think therapy should be about making life more navigable for kids, and whether that's because there's something 'wrong' with them that needs 'fixing', or because the world happens to be constructed in a way that works against them, I don't really care. It shouldn't have anything to do with how it makes me feel. It's about the kids: if they qualify for help, personally, I accept. At least in New York City, EI makes it an offer really hard to refuse. It's completely free (or it was; they're trying to pass a copay bill). They come right to your home. They have really good therapists.
...and I hated almost every minute of it. There were enough strangers coming into my home already, judging every parenting move I made. There was enough crying; I didn't need homework assignments which made the babies cry more. Aleph's physical therapist - whom I otherwise loved, for her ability to make Aleph laugh, for her interest in every part of his development, for her kindness and sensitivity - just couldn't know what it was like to raise multiple babies. She wanted us to do torticollis exercises dozens of times a day. When she realized it would take both me and Mary Poppins to do that (one of us to hold and stretch Aleph's neck, the other to do a song & dance routine to keep him from completely freaking out) she said "Well, maybe once in a while you'll have to put Bet down." Mary and I simultaneously burst out laughing. Once in a while?
And oh, the woman who came in to evaluate the babies for helmets was a piece of work. She made it sound like they had torticollis because I put them down in bouncy seats or swings too much. Hello, twins?? How many arms do you think I have?! Besides which, it's MUCH more likely they had it before birth. It's pretty darn crowded in the uterus, and multiples' necks get jammed in all kinds of ways they weren't designed for.
She also, not so coincidentally, worked for the company that sold helmets. She did not succeed in selling us helmets.
But she was the only one who succeeded in making me cry.
So there was worry that was probably ridiculous, that even if I did everything I was told, these might be delays they would not outgrow. There were medical tests the babies probably didn't need, and I certainly would have preferred not to put them through. And there was so much guilt. Because I knew I wasn't doing everything I was told. I wasn't willing to spend what little time I had when the babies were not crying, doing things that I knew would MAKE them cry. It took me over a year to let myself off the hook for that. "You have to be your child's primary therapist," EI told me again and again. "We're only here half an hour twice a week."
Anyway. I won't ever regret that we went through it, because when there's a known physical cause like torticollis, there's even less point than usual in 'wait and see.' But you can imagine I was relieved for more reasons than one, when both kids tested out of EI last year. Speech: check. OT: check. PT: check.
So why write about it now, after all this time?
Because, although no one is more surprised than I, we're voluntarily diving back into that world with Bet. My joyful happy-go-lucky Bet, who cries almost every day now, over something as mundane as getting dressed. I'm firmly convinced he needs sensory therapy. If he qualifies for something else, we'll probably take that too. Can't-hurt-might-help, as we said over and over in those days.
Now that he's over age 3, the game has totally changed; there are labels like "disability," for one. And yet... I still don't care. This is not about whether my kid conforms to someone else's expectations, or even mine; it's about the fact that my kid is suffering. Whatever defenses I have to get over, I will. Are you going to help him? I think, each time we make his case to someone new. If not, then get out of my way.
And yet I haven't really talked about it here. It was, in fact, one of the main things keeping me from blogging here at all, the first couple of years. Because it's extremely difficult to talk about your children's developmental delays without sounding like an ass. Am I invading their privacy, by revealing their shortcomings to the world? Wait, am I supposed to be acting like it's a shortcoming in the first place? Is it okay to say I hope my child doesn't turn out to have X Y or Z? What am I implying about your child who does have X Y and Z and is lovable and perfect and hey, why don't I shut up now?
*cough* So yeah. I am, shockingly, as ambivalent about our experience with Early Intervention as I am about everything else. I think therapy should be about making life more navigable for kids, and whether that's because there's something 'wrong' with them that needs 'fixing', or because the world happens to be constructed in a way that works against them, I don't really care. It shouldn't have anything to do with how it makes me feel. It's about the kids: if they qualify for help, personally, I accept. At least in New York City, EI makes it an offer really hard to refuse. It's completely free (or it was; they're trying to pass a copay bill). They come right to your home. They have really good therapists.
...and I hated almost every minute of it. There were enough strangers coming into my home already, judging every parenting move I made. There was enough crying; I didn't need homework assignments which made the babies cry more. Aleph's physical therapist - whom I otherwise loved, for her ability to make Aleph laugh, for her interest in every part of his development, for her kindness and sensitivity - just couldn't know what it was like to raise multiple babies. She wanted us to do torticollis exercises dozens of times a day. When she realized it would take both me and Mary Poppins to do that (one of us to hold and stretch Aleph's neck, the other to do a song & dance routine to keep him from completely freaking out) she said "Well, maybe once in a while you'll have to put Bet down." Mary and I simultaneously burst out laughing. Once in a while?
And oh, the woman who came in to evaluate the babies for helmets was a piece of work. She made it sound like they had torticollis because I put them down in bouncy seats or swings too much. Hello, twins?? How many arms do you think I have?! Besides which, it's MUCH more likely they had it before birth. It's pretty darn crowded in the uterus, and multiples' necks get jammed in all kinds of ways they weren't designed for.
She also, not so coincidentally, worked for the company that sold helmets. She did not succeed in selling us helmets.
But she was the only one who succeeded in making me cry.
So there was worry that was probably ridiculous, that even if I did everything I was told, these might be delays they would not outgrow. There were medical tests the babies probably didn't need, and I certainly would have preferred not to put them through. And there was so much guilt. Because I knew I wasn't doing everything I was told. I wasn't willing to spend what little time I had when the babies were not crying, doing things that I knew would MAKE them cry. It took me over a year to let myself off the hook for that. "You have to be your child's primary therapist," EI told me again and again. "We're only here half an hour twice a week."
Anyway. I won't ever regret that we went through it, because when there's a known physical cause like torticollis, there's even less point than usual in 'wait and see.' But you can imagine I was relieved for more reasons than one, when both kids tested out of EI last year. Speech: check. OT: check. PT: check.
So why write about it now, after all this time?
Because, although no one is more surprised than I, we're voluntarily diving back into that world with Bet. My joyful happy-go-lucky Bet, who cries almost every day now, over something as mundane as getting dressed. I'm firmly convinced he needs sensory therapy. If he qualifies for something else, we'll probably take that too. Can't-hurt-might-help, as we said over and over in those days.
Now that he's over age 3, the game has totally changed; there are labels like "disability," for one. And yet... I still don't care. This is not about whether my kid conforms to someone else's expectations, or even mine; it's about the fact that my kid is suffering. Whatever defenses I have to get over, I will. Are you going to help him? I think, each time we make his case to someone new. If not, then get out of my way.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
too long for twitter
Scene: Aleph is trying to tell me something, but I can't understand him no matter how I try. The train needs to go fash? ...flash? ...fashed? ...frashed??? Aleph is in tears by the time I finally get it. FAST. Duh. Of course. I hug him, and talk about how frustrated he must be. Then Aleph pulls himself together.
ALEPH: Now you say something and I won't understand you.
[Note: We've never done this before.]
EEMA: Hey, that's a good idea. Okay. Um... oogalie boogalie.
ALEPH: [smiling] Snoogalie boogalie?
EEMA: [cracking up, but trying to wail] Nooooooooooo! Oogalie boogalie!
ALEPH: Floogalie boogalie?
***
Seriously, how did this kid get so awesome?
ALEPH: Now you say something and I won't understand you.
[Note: We've never done this before.]
EEMA: Hey, that's a good idea. Okay. Um... oogalie boogalie.
ALEPH: [smiling] Snoogalie boogalie?
EEMA: [cracking up, but trying to wail] Nooooooooooo! Oogalie boogalie!
ALEPH: Floogalie boogalie?
***
Seriously, how did this kid get so awesome?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
what exactly IS going on at preschool?
Scene: watching one of Laurie Berkner's many "empty white room" music videos.
ALEPH: Is that a classroom, Eema? I think they might be in a classroom.
EEMA: Think so? Hmm. I don't see any tables and chairs.
ALEPH: [look, don't try to best me at logic.] It's a class where you have to stay standing up.
ALEPH: Is that a classroom, Eema? I think they might be in a classroom.
EEMA: Think so? Hmm. I don't see any tables and chairs.
ALEPH: [look, don't try to best me at logic.] It's a class where you have to stay standing up.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
songbites
So it appears I have not been blogging. In quite some time. I'm not sure why that happened, or how long it's likely to continue. For those of you missing your fix (what? at least one reader said she missed me!) (what?? okay, so she's related to me!!), I guess I should mention that I am... uh... tweeting.
Friday, September 18, 2009
i'll be wrapped around your finger
Scene: one of the many disordered naps around here lately. Aleph woke up crying, lay down on the futon with me for a while, then crawled back in bed to sleep again. Bet was sleeping soundly, but couldn't go back to sleep once Aleph woke him up. He's still on the futon with me.
BET: Where did Aleph go?
EEMA: He went back to sleep.
BET: [whispering] Ohhh. Maybe this can be special Eema-and-Bet time.
EEMA: [Awwww!] Okay.
BET: [still whispering] Let's go in the other room.
EEMA: Okay.
[now in living room]
BET: [still whispering] Can I watch a video.
BET: Where did Aleph go?
EEMA: He went back to sleep.
BET: [whispering] Ohhh. Maybe this can be special Eema-and-Bet time.
EEMA: [Awwww!] Okay.
BET: [still whispering] Let's go in the other room.
EEMA: Okay.
[now in living room]
BET: [still whispering] Can I watch a video.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
just possibly we should have put aleph with the older threes
The first nursery newsletter included a poll of the children's* favorite classroom toys to play with:
Yankel: "trucks and cars"
Perel: "babies"
Bayla: "boats"
Shmuly: "tractors"
Yitzy: "elephants"
Aleph: "I like to play with things you can put together"
Moishy: "trucks"
Kayla: "blocks"
*not their real names, obvs.
Yankel: "trucks and cars"
Perel: "babies"
Bayla: "boats"
Shmuly: "tractors"
Yitzy: "elephants"
Aleph: "I like to play with things you can put together"
Moishy: "trucks"
Kayla: "blocks"
*not their real names, obvs.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
oh. THIS is a nice statement. it's... LOTS of fun.
ALEPH: [stopping mid-tantrum] Can I see if you have some uh, jewelry to put on?
EEMA: Hee. Okay. What kind of jewelry do you think I should put on?
ALEPH: I think some uh earrings, and maybe a necklace. I'll go see what you have.
EEMA: Oh, good choice. [puts them on]
ALEPH: [with look of mild horror] Uhhhh... I'll just go see if I can find you some different ones.
EEMA: Why, what's wrong with these ones?
ALEPH: I just wanted you to look PRETTY.
EEMA: Hee. Okay. What kind of jewelry do you think I should put on?
ALEPH: I think some uh earrings, and maybe a necklace. I'll go see what you have.
EEMA: Oh, good choice. [puts them on]
ALEPH: [with look of mild horror] Uhhhh... I'll just go see if I can find you some different ones.
EEMA: Why, what's wrong with these ones?
ALEPH: I just wanted you to look PRETTY.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
spin me another story, bet
on nail biting:
My finger got shorter. I ate part of it.
on (completely innocuous) painting of daffodils:
Why is that flower yelling? [how do you know it's yelling?] Its mouth is open. And it doesn't look happy.
on sleep regression (this is pretty much how it seemed to me, too):
I CAN'T stay in my room. All I do is come out and come out and then I never go to sleep EVER again.
more tales of the davkanik*
*also known as: Opposite Boy
ALEPH: Can I have some cheese on my challah roll?
EEMA: No, we're having cheese for lunch.
ALEPH: But I need something to cover my butter.
EEMA: You could have honey, or jam...
ALEPH: [starting to smile] Just say one of them.
EEMA: ... Jam.
ALEPH: [grinning, and nearly instantaneous] No, honey.
ALEPH: Can I have some cheese on my challah roll?
EEMA: No, we're having cheese for lunch.
ALEPH: But I need something to cover my butter.
EEMA: You could have honey, or jam...
ALEPH: [starting to smile] Just say one of them.
EEMA: ... Jam.
ALEPH: [grinning, and nearly instantaneous] No, honey.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
zero to three stuff: best of
So this is probably not exactly what Rachel had in mind, but I don't think I have it in me to give comprehensive buying advice right now. Instead, here's a non-inclusive list of things we really enjoyed using (ymmv). Note: big-ticket items were almost all found secondhand in great shape.
This is turning into a List Blog, eh? Sorry. I have at least 3 different prose entries in the works; I just can't find the headspace to finish them.
gear:
Fisher Price Baby Papasan cradle swings - side to side seems a much more gentle option than back & forth for newborns; I think my kids might have slept in them from months 0-6 (ssshhh)
Bonavita Monroe cribs - lovely & sturdy upper; flimsy drawer under; matching toddler rails discontinued (bah)
Dutailier gliding chair - really glides, unlike cheaper ones that look like a glider but have same motion as a regular rocking chair. Though we should have gotten a wider model; ours was too narrow to nurse even one baby at a time. And probably a locking one, too - I was always nervous a baby would get his hand stuck in the works, or tip the whole thing over trying to climb on
Mountain Buggy Urban Double stroller - with fittings, subbed as a bassinet for the first few weeks; takes city curbs like a dream; now the only thing that can still push our 35 + 40 lb twins
Maclaren Volo single stroller - easy folding, lightweight, has a carry strap; pretty nice to push, too
Toastie Toddler stroller inserts - way more expensive than Bundle Me, but waterproof, which is handy when your raincover splits a seam
Moby wrap - there's a learning curve for sure, but once someone showed me how, I loved it
Patapum baby carrier (good grief, that must be the worst product photo ever - why a mannequin? why a see-through mannequin?) - pretty much like an Ergo, but cheaper, and with one less buckle to fuss with
Fisher Price Healthy Care boosters - no cushion is less to clean for a baby with reflux; collapsible enough to take to friends for Shabbat lunch; just watch out when snapping on the tray, we pinched a baby's finger once
Stokke Kinderzeat/Tripp Trapp highchairs - I assume you don't need me to go on about these ;)
Superyard XT gate/play yard - I have to say that (a) I hated the sight of this (b) it was endlessly useful, at least for multiples. We got 3 sets and used them together/apart as needed
foam puzzle mats - these come in all colors, not just rainbow or blue; ours are purple
Ikea nonskid play mat - a fraction of what these usually cost
revolving shadow nursery lamp - we got one with moon & stars, but I gather aquarium theme is classic (we've also used blue Xmas lights to good effect)
Joy (Just One Year) cloud fleece blankets - ordered a couple of these from target.com, and for some reason they were easily twice as plush & wide as the others I'd seen in-store. Went across both babies' laps in the double stroller, with room to tuck in at the sides. So soft and snuggly I think they became MY security blankies, because although they're too small for the boys now, I'm having a hard time giving them up
Fleece Baby crib sheets
Ikea crib pillows - actually flat enough for a toddler to sleep on, unlike some others I could mention
Snoogle pillow - crucial for sleep while pregnant, but I also used it along with a Boppy for nursing after
Playtex sippy & straw cups - IME, consistently the least difficult to clean & reassemble
EDIT: for pete's sake. Forgot to mention Peapods.
music/video:
Elizabeth Mitchell - least annoying children's musician EVER. Let me rephrase that: loveliest voice in children's music today; excellent taste in rock & roll, too. Back when the boys were waking up 3 billion times per night and then Aleph thought the day started at 5 AM, I could put on "So Glad I'm Here" and feel a little less like stabbing myself in the head
Ralph's World - oddly, we didn't like a single song on Green Gorilla Monster and Me; on Kid Astro, we love at least 5 of 'em. I'm not sure which one is representative
Justin Roberts - we started with Yellow Bus
Sandra Boynton - we started with Philadelphia Chickens
For the Kids, Vol. I
Free to Be You and Me - the kids don't like this as much as they WILL (if I have anything to say about it), but they've at least learned to appreciate "The Helping Song"
They Might Be Giants - including their awesome puppet podcasts
Rockabye Baby - far better bedtime music than tinkly-classical Baby Einstein; they have something for everyone, but we're partial to U2 and the Cure
Laurie Berkner on Noggin - the kids like her more than I do, but their joy is contagious
lots of other stuff to poke through on jitterbug.tv
and perhaps my favorite kids' music discovery of all: Foolish Frog, by Pete Seeger - this must get more brilliant every time I see it. Watch for the moment the houses pick themselves up, and it all turns trippy
toys:
Munchkin Sing With Me Magic Cube - the only battery-operated baby toy I actually liked
for some reason, this Fisher Price gym was much more popular than Tiny Love's Gymini
vintage Fisher Price parking garage
play kitchen - any of them, really; we've had 3 hand-me-downs and liked them all
Ikea train tracks - as I've mentioned, not perfectly compatible with other brands; but affordable enough that we have two starter sets + two expansion sets
Ikea play tent - again, not perfect; there's not enough cross-ventilation, and setup is a bit of a pain. But at $10, I'll stop talking now
collapsible tunnel - Ikea has one that's fine, but we found a caterpillar one on eBay
toys I played with as a kid: Lego, Colorforms, Viewmaster, Play Doh
magnetic play sets - for the car, or anywhere else you don't want them making a mess
overpriced pull-tab & pop-up books for shul - Brava, Strega Nona is the current favorite
clothing:
Ikea hooded towels - seriously, the best toddler towels on the market. So much cheaper; kids look like a charming cross between a sprite and a kkk member; snap down the sides. I imagine some of you are thinking baby/toddler towels are a waste of money; but let me tell you, when you have mobile twins, the ability to put a towel on the first baby that will STAY ON while you take out the second baby is a godsend
Babylegs - I know I've gone on about these as well. I should mention again that Babylegs might have the best patterns, but not necessarily the best design; Huggalugs have wider cuffs, so are more likely to fit a chunky baby who can't get a Babyleg past his chunky knee. (Not that we would know or anything.) OTOH, the chunky baby might (hypothetically) slim out enough to wear Babylegs the following year instead
Bumkins bibs - I was a Mally fan for a while, but I had to concede defeat. Mally bibs got small fast, and were too expensive for me to upgrade. Plus, after the magnetic clasp pinches your baby's hair once, good luck getting it on ever again. Plus, if you don't clean them right away, stuck-on food can peel off the finish. Bumkins come in 3 sizes, are comfortable, and you can wash them right along with the dishes
fleece hats with 2 tassels - I don't know why I love these so much; the babies look like they have antennae? what?
One Step Ahead fleece hood/hats - but these are all that AND a bag of chips. One of my favorite discoveries ever. Eliminates the need for a scarf; can't fall off; easy to adjust from warm to superwarm; make the kids look like elves. I kind of can't wait to use them again
Hanna Andersson or LL Bean fleece snowsuits - not for actual snow, but as Moxie points out, much safer than anything puffy in a car seat
Columbia tectonite snowsuits - for actual snow; I love how flexible and easy they are to move in, compared to most snowsuits
pajamas - I've said enough on this topic
Old Navy sueded t-shirts - so soft! their onesies were lovely, too
Genuine Baby/Genuine Kids clothing - for some reason, their colors are always just what I would choose
books:
I've already done a whole post just on books, but I need to add a brilliant one to the list: Go Away, Big Green Monster. If you have a fearful kid, this one will let him literally deconstruct his nemesis. Not to mention giving him a much more useful thing to yell during the stupid monster game than "aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
EDIT: totally forgot to mention Scholastic Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics - as long as you read the books too, guilt-free DVDs!
Hope you find something you like.
This is turning into a List Blog, eh? Sorry. I have at least 3 different prose entries in the works; I just can't find the headspace to finish them.
gear:
Fisher Price Baby Papasan cradle swings - side to side seems a much more gentle option than back & forth for newborns; I think my kids might have slept in them from months 0-6 (ssshhh)
Bonavita Monroe cribs - lovely & sturdy upper; flimsy drawer under; matching toddler rails discontinued (bah)
Dutailier gliding chair - really glides, unlike cheaper ones that look like a glider but have same motion as a regular rocking chair. Though we should have gotten a wider model; ours was too narrow to nurse even one baby at a time. And probably a locking one, too - I was always nervous a baby would get his hand stuck in the works, or tip the whole thing over trying to climb on
Mountain Buggy Urban Double stroller - with fittings, subbed as a bassinet for the first few weeks; takes city curbs like a dream; now the only thing that can still push our 35 + 40 lb twins
Maclaren Volo single stroller - easy folding, lightweight, has a carry strap; pretty nice to push, too
Toastie Toddler stroller inserts - way more expensive than Bundle Me, but waterproof, which is handy when your raincover splits a seam
Moby wrap - there's a learning curve for sure, but once someone showed me how, I loved it
Patapum baby carrier (good grief, that must be the worst product photo ever - why a mannequin? why a see-through mannequin?) - pretty much like an Ergo, but cheaper, and with one less buckle to fuss with
Fisher Price Healthy Care boosters - no cushion is less to clean for a baby with reflux; collapsible enough to take to friends for Shabbat lunch; just watch out when snapping on the tray, we pinched a baby's finger once
Stokke Kinderzeat/Tripp Trapp highchairs - I assume you don't need me to go on about these ;)
Superyard XT gate/play yard - I have to say that (a) I hated the sight of this (b) it was endlessly useful, at least for multiples. We got 3 sets and used them together/apart as needed
foam puzzle mats - these come in all colors, not just rainbow or blue; ours are purple
Ikea nonskid play mat - a fraction of what these usually cost
revolving shadow nursery lamp - we got one with moon & stars, but I gather aquarium theme is classic (we've also used blue Xmas lights to good effect)
Joy (Just One Year) cloud fleece blankets - ordered a couple of these from target.com, and for some reason they were easily twice as plush & wide as the others I'd seen in-store. Went across both babies' laps in the double stroller, with room to tuck in at the sides. So soft and snuggly I think they became MY security blankies, because although they're too small for the boys now, I'm having a hard time giving them up
Fleece Baby crib sheets
Ikea crib pillows - actually flat enough for a toddler to sleep on, unlike some others I could mention
Snoogle pillow - crucial for sleep while pregnant, but I also used it along with a Boppy for nursing after
Playtex sippy & straw cups - IME, consistently the least difficult to clean & reassemble
EDIT: for pete's sake. Forgot to mention Peapods.
music/video:
Elizabeth Mitchell - least annoying children's musician EVER. Let me rephrase that: loveliest voice in children's music today; excellent taste in rock & roll, too. Back when the boys were waking up 3 billion times per night and then Aleph thought the day started at 5 AM, I could put on "So Glad I'm Here" and feel a little less like stabbing myself in the head
Ralph's World - oddly, we didn't like a single song on Green Gorilla Monster and Me; on Kid Astro, we love at least 5 of 'em. I'm not sure which one is representative
Justin Roberts - we started with Yellow Bus
Sandra Boynton - we started with Philadelphia Chickens
For the Kids, Vol. I
Free to Be You and Me - the kids don't like this as much as they WILL (if I have anything to say about it), but they've at least learned to appreciate "The Helping Song"
They Might Be Giants - including their awesome puppet podcasts
Rockabye Baby - far better bedtime music than tinkly-classical Baby Einstein; they have something for everyone, but we're partial to U2 and the Cure
Laurie Berkner on Noggin - the kids like her more than I do, but their joy is contagious
lots of other stuff to poke through on jitterbug.tv
and perhaps my favorite kids' music discovery of all: Foolish Frog, by Pete Seeger - this must get more brilliant every time I see it. Watch for the moment the houses pick themselves up, and it all turns trippy
toys:
Munchkin Sing With Me Magic Cube - the only battery-operated baby toy I actually liked
for some reason, this Fisher Price gym was much more popular than Tiny Love's Gymini
vintage Fisher Price parking garage
play kitchen - any of them, really; we've had 3 hand-me-downs and liked them all
Ikea train tracks - as I've mentioned, not perfectly compatible with other brands; but affordable enough that we have two starter sets + two expansion sets
Ikea play tent - again, not perfect; there's not enough cross-ventilation, and setup is a bit of a pain. But at $10, I'll stop talking now
collapsible tunnel - Ikea has one that's fine, but we found a caterpillar one on eBay
toys I played with as a kid: Lego, Colorforms, Viewmaster, Play Doh
magnetic play sets - for the car, or anywhere else you don't want them making a mess
overpriced pull-tab & pop-up books for shul - Brava, Strega Nona is the current favorite
clothing:
Ikea hooded towels - seriously, the best toddler towels on the market. So much cheaper; kids look like a charming cross between a sprite and a kkk member; snap down the sides. I imagine some of you are thinking baby/toddler towels are a waste of money; but let me tell you, when you have mobile twins, the ability to put a towel on the first baby that will STAY ON while you take out the second baby is a godsend
Babylegs - I know I've gone on about these as well. I should mention again that Babylegs might have the best patterns, but not necessarily the best design; Huggalugs have wider cuffs, so are more likely to fit a chunky baby who can't get a Babyleg past his chunky knee. (Not that we would know or anything.) OTOH, the chunky baby might (hypothetically) slim out enough to wear Babylegs the following year instead
Bumkins bibs - I was a Mally fan for a while, but I had to concede defeat. Mally bibs got small fast, and were too expensive for me to upgrade. Plus, after the magnetic clasp pinches your baby's hair once, good luck getting it on ever again. Plus, if you don't clean them right away, stuck-on food can peel off the finish. Bumkins come in 3 sizes, are comfortable, and you can wash them right along with the dishes
fleece hats with 2 tassels - I don't know why I love these so much; the babies look like they have antennae? what?
One Step Ahead fleece hood/hats - but these are all that AND a bag of chips. One of my favorite discoveries ever. Eliminates the need for a scarf; can't fall off; easy to adjust from warm to superwarm; make the kids look like elves. I kind of can't wait to use them again
Hanna Andersson or LL Bean fleece snowsuits - not for actual snow, but as Moxie points out, much safer than anything puffy in a car seat
Columbia tectonite snowsuits - for actual snow; I love how flexible and easy they are to move in, compared to most snowsuits
pajamas - I've said enough on this topic
Old Navy sueded t-shirts - so soft! their onesies were lovely, too
Genuine Baby/Genuine Kids clothing - for some reason, their colors are always just what I would choose
books:
I've already done a whole post just on books, but I need to add a brilliant one to the list: Go Away, Big Green Monster. If you have a fearful kid, this one will let him literally deconstruct his nemesis. Not to mention giving him a much more useful thing to yell during the stupid monster game than "aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
EDIT: totally forgot to mention Scholastic Treasury of 100 Storybook Classics - as long as you read the books too, guilt-free DVDs!
Hope you find something you like.
mini me
Bet just brought a library book to the table "so I can read it while I'm eating."
Excuse me while I expire from cuteness.
Excuse me while I expire from cuteness.
Monday, August 24, 2009
remedial twin parenting
Note to idiot self: STOP BUYING two different toys, on the theory that they'll get more mileage out of switching when they're bored! All they want in the entire world these days is to parallel play. We will now need two of everything. The end.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
is there anything you boys want to tell me?
part 1
Scene: Bet takes a book to bed for naptime, flips through a few pages, and realizes he can't tell this story to himself. He starts to cry.
BET: Eema, I need a different book!
EEMA: I'm sorry Bet, you can't come out for another one. It's naptime, you need to stay in your bed.
BET: But I don't knoooooow this story!
EEMA: I know, honey. It's okay. You can look at the pictures.
BET: But Eeeeeeeeeema! I can't read the WOOOOOORDS!
part 2
Scene: Aleph is playing with his new Playmobil fireman.
ALEPH: Eema, I think you're wrong. It's not a fireman, it's a firewoman.
EEMA: [looks more closely] Hey, I think you're right. How did you know that?
ALEPH: Because it says so on the box!
EEMA: Uh... what!?!
ALEPH: See? [points to picture on box]
EEMA: Oh. [phew!] But how did you know from the picture?
ALEPH: [points to chin-length bob] Because it's a hair of the woman.
EEMA: Ah. Because it's a hair of the woman. I see.
[and then, just when I relax]
ALEPH: But I think the box needs a W for woman.
Scene: Bet takes a book to bed for naptime, flips through a few pages, and realizes he can't tell this story to himself. He starts to cry.
BET: Eema, I need a different book!
EEMA: I'm sorry Bet, you can't come out for another one. It's naptime, you need to stay in your bed.
BET: But I don't knoooooow this story!
EEMA: I know, honey. It's okay. You can look at the pictures.
BET: But Eeeeeeeeeema! I can't read the WOOOOOORDS!
part 2
Scene: Aleph is playing with his new Playmobil fireman.
ALEPH: Eema, I think you're wrong. It's not a fireman, it's a firewoman.
EEMA: [looks more closely] Hey, I think you're right. How did you know that?
ALEPH: Because it says so on the box!
EEMA: Uh... what!?!
ALEPH: See? [points to picture on box]
EEMA: Oh. [phew!] But how did you know from the picture?
ALEPH: [points to chin-length bob] Because it's a hair of the woman.
EEMA: Ah. Because it's a hair of the woman. I see.
[and then, just when I relax]
ALEPH: But I think the box needs a W for woman.
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