Daddy's Boxers Quilt

I love my husband's underwear.  He wears super cute, colorful boxers.  Love love love.

A few years ago, some of his boxers got old and ripped.  He asked me if I wanted them for some craft project.  Yes, I did.

I began envisioning a quilt called Daddy's Boxers Quilt.  I could picture our daughter bringing the quilt with her to college.  But, first I had to make it.

I test-sewed through many designs before I landed on the one that I wanted to execute.  I knew I wanted to incorporate a star motif somehow.  I tried some English paper piecing, but the rigidity of the paper piecing didn't work with the well worn fabrics.

Eventually, I came up with a crazy quilt design with a few stars thrown in.

The back of the quilt has a few more stars that didn't fit with the theme of the front, and it has a fabric that was passed down to me - probably from my great Aunt Ruth.

As for the quilting, I mainly did zig zags on the crazy quilt part with some decorative stitches.  On the orange accents, I did a swirly free motion design.  And, on the stars, I stitched in the ditch, and then echoed that to emphasize the star shape.  

My daughter, Star, loves it.   She loves snuggling under it, touching the fabrics and tracing her finger over my quilted designs.  I still can picture her bringing it to college with her in about 14 years. 

Winter Camps

Y'all know how passionate I got about arranging Star's 4 weeks off in August.  So, it would make sense that I would get equally passionate about her 2 week winter break.

But, no.  For some reason, I didn't put near the same amount of passion into figuring out her December time off as I did her summer time off.

Week 1 - I had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off for "the winter holidays", but let's be honest - it was for Christmas.  If they wanted to give me time of for Hanukkah they would have done it a month earlier!  Political/religious rant aside, Star and I had some fun adventures together.  On Wednesday, Scott also took the day off and we had family adventures.  We drove down to Burlingame to check out a playground which came highly recommended that we hadn't been to before.  And, the playground lived up to the hype.  There was a really long slide which both Star and I were too scared to go on, but Scott did it.  There were various climbing things and bouncy things.

After the playground, we played bocce and Star rode her bike around.  A park ranger was driving around, hopefully getting paid extra for working instead of being with her own family.  She called out to us, "Merry Christmas!"  "You too!!", my husband and I called back enthusiastically.  Then, she said to Star, "Did Santa bring you good stuff?"  Star looked at her like she was crazy.  In that situation, I'm never sure what to do.  I don't want to make the person asking feel bad, she was only trying to be nice.  But, I also don't want to be dishonest.  So, as nicely as I could, I said, "Santa doesn't come to our house."  She then made a friendly comment about the weather and drove off.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Star was with my parents, and Scott and I worked.  Saturday afternoon, I picked her up, and then we actually had a babysitter come over so Scott and I could go to a housewarming party.  We hadn't been to a party together without Star in a while!

Sunday and Monday, cousins visited.  They have a daughter who is 6 months younger than Star.  Star and she get along wonderfully well and look similar!  We visited them in LA a while back.  We went to the Steam Trains and had a nice time together.  

Week 2 - This was the week that could have been a disaster but turned out not to be.  I had planned for Star to be with one of her classmates at a nanny share.  But, I misunderstood the whole plan, and Star was going to be taking the place of her classmate's younger brother in the nanny share while the family went out of town.  So, Star was stuck there with a super young kid for 1 day.  It was awful for her.  I left work early to pick her up.

She was supposed to be with the nanny share for 2 more days, but Scott and I weren't going to put her through that.  So, we signed her up for Camp Gan Izzy at the last minute and Star loved it.  It's run through our local Chabad and they definitely have some motives about exposing kids to Orthodox Judaism, but that's fine with us!  They went on super fun adventures (Marine Mammal Museum, Jelly Belly Factory).  At the end, they presented the kids with a framed photograph of their whole group together.  This was for a 3 day camp.  It was really amazing.  Star loved it. 

"Mommy, I want to be a Princess Carrying a Ladybug"

That's what Star said when we started talking about Halloween costumes. 

So, I executed.  In September, while my in-laws were visiting, my mother-in-law and I went to the yarn store.  I knew I was looking for something kind of like ribbon yarn.  I ended up buying 2 yarns, from the sale section, to hold together.  For the bodice, I basically followed a pattern with a ton of modifications.  But, it got me what I wanted.  

Here's a closeup of the dress in progress.  The knitting took a lot of work.  I knitted while commuting to and from work.  The knit stitch is a seed stitch - knit 2, purl 2 - but you can't really see the stitch through the yarn.  But, what the stitch adds to the bodice is a lot of stretchiness which is what I was aiming for.

I added a bunch of yarn overs, relatively evenly spaced, throughout the bottom of the bodice where I knew I wanted to hang my tulle.

While I was knitting the bodice, I had a few fittings with Star where I would hold up the top to make sure I was basically getting the size and shape that I was looking for.

After the knitting was done, I hung the tulle, and then I crocheted around the armholes and neck with the light pink tulle to bring some sort of cohesion to the dress. 

I procured the ladybug from a seller on Etsy.  This ladybug is a totally expertly made stuffed animal.   If I ever have enough time and patience, I'd love to learn how to create stuffed animals this well. 

At school, there was only 1 other student ("friend") wearing a homemade costume.  For some reason, that surprised me, but we all seem to be busy parents and store-bought costumes are easy to find! 

Star was proud to wear her costume.  She told her friends that I made it for her.  And, we put it in a special place in her room so she can wear it again - possibly without the ladybug accessory this time. 

An Email Newsletter from Preschool

This is part of the reason why I love being a Berkeley Mommy.  I love the thoughtfulness and the unapologetic political correctness.
……………

Good Afternoon Cedar Families,

Today's helper was x!
This weeks other helpers have been: x, x and x.

New Sign In and Outs

Many children have been very interested in how to spell their names. We have observed friends writing their names or practicing some of the letters of their names. Many children have also been looking around the room and finding some of the letters from their names in our documentation. 

Since we have seen such interest in names, we asked the children if they would like to write their own names on a colored piece of paper for a new sign in and out. Every child is at a different level of skill at this time but they all felt proud as they wrote. Ask your child to show you their new sign in and out. 

Love Power

What is this? It is a substitute for what was once 'butt power'. Many children were observed saying butt power through out the day and then giggling. When we asked what this meant there didn't seem to be an answer other than, it's funny. Humor is an amazing part of each child's personality but we are working on not using potty humor as much as possible. 

Teacher Sarah suggested to a few friends that we find a substitute for this potty language. "What could we say instead?" Love Power was the decided upon substitute. Love power is when we give each other a hug, high five or other friendly action to show our love for each other. 

Bottoms up "Tooty Ta" Song 

You may have heard your child saying bottoms up at home. In one of our favorite sings "Tooty Ta", we move out bodies in funny ways. At one part in the song we put our "bottoms up" in the air and dance. 

Food Drive:

Hearts Leap is hosting a food drive "Share Thanksgiving".  Today we talked with our class about how there are families who don't have a lot of food. We have been decorating a large box with different pictures of food to place out non perishable food items in. This morning we spoke to the children about what kinds of food are non perishable and would be great to donate. The children are very excited to add to the food box and share the things that they have brought with their friends. 

Role Play  and Modeling: 

As many of you have noticed, the cedar room has been very interested in airplanes and going on plane rides. This interest started from a conversation that we had during meeting about friends being helpers to their parents while traveling with younger sibling. The teachers acted out some behaviors and asked the children which behaviors were appropriate for the plane and which would be better for outside time.  

The children really enjoy when us teachers put on plays about different  scenarios. This is one way that we can help parents assist children modify behavior. We have put on plays about brushing teeth, helping with young siblings, riding on an airplane and sleep issues. Please email or speak to a teacher if their is a behavior that your child is displaying that we may be able to help with. 

Lunch Time Dog Stories:During lunch time, many of the children have been enjoying one of the teachers telling stories about their dogs. We have told stories of runaway dogs, dogs getting into grocery bags and other funny stories. 

Share Calendar:
This week we have had a lot of children bringing in share items. We are very happy that many children would like to show something that is special to them. Unfortunately we have not been able to share all of the shares that have been brought in. We will be using a share calendar starting next week. Each child will have a special day that is their day to share. If a child forgets or is absent on their share day, they will have another day the following month. We will not be having make up days because it takes away from the child who's share day it is. Shares include books, music, something the child has made, photos, etc. We discourage toys, and commercialized products such as Disney items. 

Thank you:

Thank you to all the chaperones and drivers who helped make our field on our field trip to the Pumpkin Patch a success.  

Reminders:

- Please check your child's extra clothes bag and replenish as needed

- Please have your child bring a jacket a coat or something warm to wear when we go outside. 

- Halloween costumes can be worn to school next Thursday.  Costumes will be taken off before we go outside.  Please bring a change of clothes or have your child wear his or her costume over their clothes.  

Review of Camp Mommy

Back in this post, I pre-worried about planned for Star's weeks off from preschool.  Here's how it went.

Week 1 - Jewish camp in the morning.  The camp itself was fine - not spectacular and not horrible.  Truth be told, it wasn't even a camp.  It was just their normal preschool which Star joined for a week.  I liked that Star got a bit of Jewish exposure here.  The other main positive to this week was that Star did great in an unfamiliar environment.  If there was an activity or a game she wanted to join in, she would observe for a bit and then find a way in.  She would introduce herself to other people.  I was so impressed with her social skills.

There were a bunch of not good things about this week.

• I dropped her off at 9am and picked her up at 12:30pm.  With parking and driving time, there wasn't a lot of free time for me.
• We ran into a lot of people from our past.  For instance, an ex-girlfriend of Scott's who knew who I was but who I had no idea who she was.  Running into people like this from our past wasn't bad, but it was a bit weird.
• I felt like the teachers and the parent community wasn't as good as Star's regular preschool.  Maybe this is because there wasn't enough time to establish continuity and connections, but it was disappointing nonetheless.  

Week 2 - Mommy Camp and Trip to LA.  On Monday of this week, Star and I had a playdate at Habitot with an old friend of mine and the 4 year old girl that she nannies for.  That was super fun.  Then, Star participated in a study at BabyLab - we did a few of these studies when she was younger.  On Tuesday, she had a Dentist appointment, and then we met friends at Crab Cove in Alameda where we participated in a program on poop!  We learned about different kinds of animal poop and then walked around outside looking for it.  It was a bit gross, but Star loved it.  Then, we had a picnic lunch on the beach.  

On Wednesday, we drove off to Los Angeles.  We stayed with cousins and Star got along wonderfully with her cousin who is 6 months younger than she is.  One day, Star and her cousin went to the cousin's day care together, and I took Scott to Orange County so he could see where I grew up.  The next day all six of us went to Disneyland.  This wouldn't have been our top choice, but our cousin is currently working at ABC so he gets free tickets.  The day after that, we went to breakfast with a Junior High/High School friend of mine and her family, and then went to the LA County Museum of Art with our cousins - the picture here is of Star and her cousin doing some watercolor painting at this museum.  It was a good trip.

Week 3 - Monkey Business Camp.  I had her scheduled from 8:30am-6pm so that I could have some nice long stretches of time to myself.  But, the problem was that she wasn't napping there.  So, if I pick her up at 6, she'd be horrible until she fell asleep.  By mid-week, she wanted to be picked up at 3:30pm when some other kids get picked up.  So, I cut my days short so I could pick her up at 3:30pm and let her nap in the car for 2 hours before we started dinner and our night time routine.  Other than the nap issues, I felt that this camp was OK.  It seemed like they did the basics to meet the requirements of camp - play, craft project, sing...  But, if I ever asked about how Star's day was, the counselors couldn't give me any specifics.  And, Star has said that she doesn't want to go back to Monkey Business next year.

Week 4 - I went back to work and Star went to her preschool's camp for a week.  It was nice to be back in a familiar environment, but camp even at our preschool, which we think of very highly, wasn't as good as regular school is there.    

Now, we're back to the work full time juggling madness.  Camp Mommy was an overall success - I'll change some things up for 2014, but I'm looking forward to Camp Mommy Year 2.  

I'm a Berkeley Mommy Because:

• When the straps of my Lululemon bag rip after shopping at Whole Foods, I re-sew the straps back on.
• We planned a homebirth.
• I take casual carpool into work and I don't think it's creepy.
• I've been TV-free for over 20 years - long before you could access any TV show online.
• My daughter goes to a Berkeley preschool where the kids are called "friends."
• At this preschool, one day, the kids got naked (but kept their underwear on, my daughter assures me), so that they could feel clay on their bodies.
• We are members of a babysitting Co-op.  
• The prized possessions in our house are the ones that are handmade.  
• We belong to a car sharing service.  I sometimes feel bad that we own a car at all, but I am able to rationalize it because our daughter needs a car seat which would be too difficult to always get in and out of the car share car; and because the car that we own is a hybrid.  
• The stated dress code at our wedding was "Berkeley Formal."
• We named our daughter Star.  Her Hebrew name means Queen of the Stars.
• When my daughter said that her vagina looked weird, I took off my pants and underwear and showed her what mine looked like so she could see that ours looked similar.