beach – Thinker Mommy

Jul 11, 2013

Happy Family Summer Bucket List: Week 5 and 6

Unfortunately this turned out to be the weeks of crappy picture taking, for various reasons. But, I’ve decided to add in random nonsensical pictures to try to make up for it. You are welcome.

1. Have a Picnic – We did have a picnic with a parents group through Meetup but we didn’t bring any of the food so although we’re marking it off (because otherwise we’d be falling behind on our bucket list!), we’re still planning on having another one. Also we need a second picnic because Mommy obviously forgot to take any pictures. Oops. The picture above is Number 2’s first time in a swing!!

2. Attend a Baseball Game – Well, we were going to do this. There was a vintage baseball game being held by the local historical society nearby which looked awesome. But when we saw the 90 degree weather forecast and not a speck of shade to hide in at the field, we decided to pass on this one and Daddy and I had an Adult Movie Date instead (World War Z!!). Daddy and I wore zombie shirts because why not? (I forgot to take a picture when we were wearing them, of course). I know mine is a little scary. O and I had a discussion about the happy skeleton’s long lollipop after I came home and changed into something better for running around in public with kids in tow.

3. Play with Bubbles – O only wanted to play with bubbles while sitting on the potty so you probably wouldn’t want to see these pictures. After leaning over to pop or try to pick up the bubbles that landed on the floor and simultaneously spilling her “bubble juice” all over her clothes, diaper and the floor, we moved the bubble blowing to the bathtub, but again, pictures wouldn’t be suitable for the internet. But I promise, bubbles were blown. I love how Number 2 looks like he’s about to do a little jig dance in the picture above, haha.

4. Visit Sandy Hook – Well, I posted some pictures of this in my last post but I have more. Highlights from the beach trip:

In lieu of a rolling cart with beach wheels, Daddy had a “brilliant idea” (we should all be scared when these words are uttered). Unfortunately using a sled to drag our heavy cooler, tent, chairs, assorted towels, diapers and clothing, etc did not work.
Number 2 tried to eat sand, as predicted. He didn’t seem that bothered by it either (shudder).
O would not go anywhere near the water unless she was being carried and we swore not to put her down. Not even all the shells along the water line were enough to persuade her.
Number 2 headed straight for the water but was more than a little shocked when he got wet. After the waves pulled back though, he tried to march into the ocean again. Repeat.
Our SPF50 protected beach tent was perfect once again, especially for privacy while nursing!

Filed Under: Summer Bucket List Challenge · Tagged: beach, bucket list, happy family, summer, swing, zombies

Jul 1, 2013

Potty Training on the Road

By ThinkerMommy · 1 Comment

This is as close to the water as O would go

Adorable baby in a wetsuit. And super pale mommy in the SPF 50 protected beach tent

There always comes a time in every parent’s journey where something unplanned happens. As a super worrier, hyper planner and research lover, it doesn’t happen to me often. But, of course, it happened this weekend.

We decided (thunderstorm forecasts be damned!) to go to the beach and since we got there at about 9 am, we had plenty of time to play before the weather and waves turned nasty. O has been potty training at home but we’ve never done anything out of the house where a bathroom wasn’t very easily accessible (the mall or a restaurant, for example). Being the prepared mom I am though, I found these awesome portable, disposable lifesavers called Potty Flip. I think I actually bought a big set of them on sale when O was around 12 months old knowing I’d need them eventually. So, after having our beach fun, we got the car packed up and asked O if she needed to go. She used the Potty Flip for “number 2” (awesome!!) and it worked out great. I gave her a handful of trail mix that included 2 m&ms as a treat because I forgot to bring stickers and yes, we’re using the classic bribery method of training. I do a little I’m-an-awesome-and-totally-prepared-mom dance as I get in the car.

Well, everything is great until about 15 minutes later when O asks for “some more treat.” I tell her that we were done with treats for now but offer a cheese stick if she was feeling hungry. She passes on the nutritious food option. Guess what happens next. Never underestimate a preschooler’s brain. O puts 2 and 2 together and says, “I have to go potty!”

Clearly she’s asking to get another treat. But maybe she really has to go also. Obviously giving in and tossing her some candy in the hope that satisfies her for a while is not going to work (unfortunately). There is nothing around us but traffic. My husband and I look at one another. Neither one of us says a thing but I can tell his brain is churning out every scenario on the planet just like mine is. Do we stop on the shoulder and have her squat in nature? (ew). Do we just keep driving and pray for no mess? (at least we have towels).

O cannot hear our brains and repeats herself. Mimi (Grandma) senses it may take longer for us to compose words than a 3 year old’s patience (or she sees the terrified look in our eyes) and says, “Ok, I hear you have to go potty. Let’s try and hold it for a few minutes and Mommy and Daddy will find a place to stop for you.” Oh thank god! … Wait, oh no… we might as well have just told our daughter to go surf an eggplant because “holding it” is a totally foreign concept. As I’m cursing myself for not having thought about explaining this ahead of time and trying to find a way to phrase it in an understandable way now, we see a sight I never thought I’d be so grateful for: golden arches.

In case you’re wondering, yes she was able to hold it. Yes, she really did have to go (a little). And yes she got another little treat.

I was not endorsed, sponsored or compensated in any way for the product mention in this blog.

Filed Under: Thinking · Tagged: beach, golden arches, grandma, number 2, parenting, portable pottys, potty flip, potty training, preschoolers, road trips

Aug 29, 2012

Ocean Nursery Update 4 – Under the Sea Crocheted Baby Mobile

By ThinkerMommy · 5 Comments

We had an ocean themed nursery for our first baby, and we’re continuing that theme for our second. Since I crocheted O’s baby mobile, and since I think it’s still comforting for her to have it hanging from the ceiling above her bed (it has been there all her life), I didn’t think it was really fair to cheat baby number 2 out of a mobile of his own. Of course, I decided this way too late so I’ve been crocheting every night until my hands ache. But at least it paid off and I (just barely) made my deadline (yes, I’m hanging the mobile the night before my c-section).

So, first I needed to come up with a new list of colorful underwater creatures that weren’t entirely impossible to crochet. The first mobile had: a lobster, mermaid, humpback whale, octopus and a striped fish. After much debate and pattern searching, I decided on: a sea slug, angler fish, stingray, starfish and seahorse (lot’s of S’s strangely). After deciding on a way to hang the mobile, I ended up needed a few more creatures so I added in a penguin and more starfish (since they were easy and looked good in lots of different colors).

my sea slug

my angler fish

Don’t you love how my sea slug looks like he might also be going to an underwater disco? (I used Martha Stuart Glitter Eyelash yarn). On the angler fish, I used glitter safety eyes from this site and a cool lace for his teeth to make him a little more friendly. The stingray below has pipe cleaners in his “wings” and tail to give them a nice shape.

my stingray	my seahorse
my penguin	my starfish

If you’re crafty-inclined and want to try out some of these patterns too:

Sea Slug – $4 pattern from edafedd on Etsy (well written, easy to follow patterns!)
Angler Fish – free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, taken from the book 75 Seashells, Fish, Coral & Colorful Marine Life to Knit & Crochet.
StingRay (or Manta Ray minus the mouth flaps) – free pattern from Roman Sock
Blue Starfish – free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn
Seahorse – free pattern from Mausica’s Magical Menagerie
Amigurumi Penguin – free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn

And here are pictures of the original ocean mobile I crocheted for O (email me if you’d like links to the patterns I used for the first mobile and I’ll try to dig them out for you):

octopus (well, pentapus)	whale	lobster
striped fish	mermaid	O’s mobile

The second thing I had to figure out was how to hang the mobile. Ah memories… I remember giving my husband and his work friends the next to impossible task of drilling holes of equal height and equal distance from one another into a large wooden egg for mobile number one. I’m so proud of him for totally pulling it off! But I think he’s already has enough “fun” project memories from this pregnancy, so I wanted to hang this second mobile in a more simple way. I think the easiest hanging options are a wooden cross or a circle or maybe multiple tiered wooden bars (there I go getting complicated again). I found some hanging examples below on Etsy (and, by the way, if you click on the pictures, I linked back to Etsy where you can purchase them):

by LovelySymphony on Etsy

by Yarntoybox on Etsy

by Lovelygiftforkid on Etsy

But, as luck would have it, I came across a gray Pressa Octopus Clothes Drying Rack from IKEA that I’d had lying around the house for a while (it was in my Christmas stocking) and my mom suggested I use that for the mobile… brilliant!!! (and also – duh Nicole!!!). I took off all the clip hooks and I just used the existing plastic loops to hang the mobile pieces from.

Drumroll please…