Just posting some pictures to say Halloween has come and gone. Lucy actually really liked trick or treating...we were surprised, because she can be so shy with strangers. But the lure of candy broke down all mental barriers! Greta was a ballerina and when Lucy found out about this, she decided she wanted to take off her unicorn costume (which meant she was in PJs) and be a "ballerina" too. She kept saying "Sometimes, other people need to be ballerinas...sometimes". The first pictures, taken in the day, were at our neighborhood halloween block party.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween...
Just posting some pictures to say Halloween has come and gone. Lucy actually really liked trick or treating...we were surprised, because she can be so shy with strangers. But the lure of candy broke down all mental barriers! Greta was a ballerina and when Lucy found out about this, she decided she wanted to take off her unicorn costume (which meant she was in PJs) and be a "ballerina" too. She kept saying "Sometimes, other people need to be ballerinas...sometimes". The first pictures, taken in the day, were at our neighborhood halloween block party.
Friday, October 30, 2009
GONG-GONG!
I am posting some more Lucy videos...her favorite joke is adding the word Gong-Gong as a surprise! Get ready for Lucy-video-overload!
Goosey Goosey Gander, whither dost thou wander, Upstairs and downstairs and in my lady's...chamber?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Ups and Downs!
Some days are so easy and wonderful to be a parent...and then there are days like...TODAY!!! I'm grumpy and I feel like Lucy was refusing to cooperate with any little thing! I just want to go sit in a corner and rock back and forth!! : ) Ha, I'm just kidding, but it can be so frustrating! Thats why I am starting to think my below post about the Unconditional Parenting book is not possible. I love the idea of having Lucy not feel like my affection is conditional, BUT you can't help how you feel. And you can try and be cool, and try and say things like "I know you want to throw pinto beans all over the floor, but I need you to come get in your jammies" until you just snap and finally pick them up and carry them to their room crying! ...Anyways, I'm to veg-out and watch Glee and So You Think You Can Dance! And once again NOT stick to my weight watcher points!! ...oh, but wait, I hear someone calling from her bedroom...
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
FiSHieS!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Unconditional Parenting...

After reading a few articles by Alfie Kohn http://www.alfiekohn.org/articles.htm ( I have read "Parenting With Strings Attached" and "Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job") I wanted to read his book Unconditional Parenting. I have a feeling I'll need to write a few blogs about it, but so far I am only through three chapters...
So, to start off, I started feeling very confused by his idea of "love withdrawl". I understand the negative implications of praise, and also punishment, and the importance of respecting our children's emotions and even the importance of their defiance. But he confuses me when he talks about "love withdrawl". It sounds to me like it doesn't matter how the parent sees it, what matter's is if the child feels unloved or not unconditionally loved or accepted when they do something their parent doesn't like. So, it so far sounds to me like the parent isn't supposed to show that they get mad at the child at all, for fear that the child will feel conditionally loved and then therefore have a self-esteem that is contingent on other people's approval...which can make for a miserable existence! However, I just think it is not humanly possible to not get mad at your kids sometimes! They can be so trying!! With all the testing of boundaries, one is bound to get pushed to the edge, and react impatiently. For Lucy's sake, I hope my occassional impatience with her need to hide in the closet when I want to change her diaper, doesn't scar her for life and turn her intrinsic motivation to extrinsic... I mean really, this is a lot of responsibility! And part of me is just not buying it!
The part of me that is not buying the severity of this idea wants to believe that it is ok to show healthy emotions (including occasional anger) and that possibly it is even good! That maybe having these disputes and then being able to come back together, and reassuring my love for her in the way I do on a daily basis, will actually teach her her that in relationships you can have disputes, but it doesn't change the way we love eachother. And that anger is an acceptable feeling. I think that kids are smart and will see through feigned patience. And know that the parent is not acting authentically and then maybe conclude some other (way worse) reason for why the parent is mad. Maybe...just maybe... If you don't tell your child you are feeling frustrated that they won't come out of the closet to change their diaper, they will still feel unloved!
But I always forget this important tid-bit! To quote Magda Gerber, (when a child is testing limits and not cooperating) " There are 2 attitudes that are helpful in dealing with these games: 1.) you enjoy and acknowledge this playfulness; but when it is time to go on, 2.) you are firm. You allow a little time to play the game, and let the child know you are playing, but then you become firm and say it is time. 'Can you do it yourself, or shall I do it?'..." That part is my normal mode of operation, but here is the part I forget: " Try not to get angry. Be matter of fact and not aggressive. Anger only excites the child to want to play more." and you can say something like " I would have liked to have done it together, but now I have to do it for you. Maybe you can still help. Here, pull this is up." Sooo, I do notice this is true. When I start getting getting frustrated and Lucy knows it, she not only wants to hide in the closet, she decides it's time to go to the living room and color with crayons... Aaah!!
So, I guess I just really went on and on there...but these things have been on my mind. I am off to bed now to read more of the book and see what he suggests as alternatives to manipulative praise and Time-Outs...
Monday, October 19, 2009
The A-LIST?

http://www.austin360.com/alist/content/alist/index.html
That's what they call it and somehow I ended up on it. I figure I better make a post about it, because it'll probably be the first and last time!!
: ) ...I went to a robot making crafty party for my friend Beth's new company called The WonderCraft. They bought a big airstream trailer and turned it into a mobile crafting unit for parties and classes for all types of craftiness... It's pretty cool. This happy hour was at a sushi bar called Imperia downtown. It was fun... My robot did not win the contest though...
This bottom link is to the actual page I am on...The above one is to the A-list page...
Sunday, October 18, 2009
1st Halloween Party!
Mother Goose...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
This Morning
These are silk wings I made for Lucy yesterday (with oraganza insets for real butterfly likeness!) Today she tells me "I don't like those mommy...Maybe Greta will want to try them". I'm telling you...she says this every time I make something for her! Maybe I should give up! However...she still likes the playdough...

mmm, playdough balls for lunch! and whats that cooking in the microwave?? i think she said it was cookies!

masterpieces! : )


Well, I have a bad new habit of letting Lucy watch cartoons (Dora or Olivia) on the computer next to me in bed in the morning if I am super tired, which is approx. 2-3x per week! This way I can get some extra sleep... But we made up for it this morning with lots of creative stuff! Lucy painted for a half hour or so, then decided to start pouring the paint water cup out into another cup. So I got her some more cups to work with and a funnel and she sat there for another 30+ min pouring back and forth. She also presented me with a cup of muddy paint water and said it was tea with brown sugar and brown and white and blueberries and rasberries... She gave some to Sally too and was concerned that Sally didn't like it. I love to watch her play and see what she thinks of to do.
Well, I have a bad new habit of letting Lucy watch cartoons (Dora or Olivia) on the computer next to me in bed in the morning if I am super tired, which is approx. 2-3x per week! This way I can get some extra sleep... But we made up for it this morning with lots of creative stuff! Lucy painted for a half hour or so, then decided to start pouring the paint water cup out into another cup. So I got her some more cups to work with and a funnel and she sat there for another 30+ min pouring back and forth. She also presented me with a cup of muddy paint water and said it was tea with brown sugar and brown and white and blueberries and rasberries... She gave some to Sally too and was concerned that Sally didn't like it. I love to watch her play and see what she thinks of to do.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Lately...
Friday, August 28, 2009
The RANCH!
horsies!

Grimace loves the ranch!


We went to Ring Lake Ranch with almost every Gennrich there is! It was a great time. The ranch is beautiful, just outside a small town in Wyoming called Dubois. We spent a week visiting with the horses and hiking around, and swatting as many mosquitos as we could manage! here are some pics...
We went to Ring Lake Ranch with almost every Gennrich there is! It was a great time. The ranch is beautiful, just outside a small town in Wyoming called Dubois. We spent a week visiting with the horses and hiking around, and swatting as many mosquitos as we could manage! here are some pics...
Lately...
Lucy has really been liking to get dressed up...in sunglasses, goggles, headbands, wings, my shoes....
Her Auntie D sent her a teddy bear, which she loves and takes to bed every night.
I have been making things for my Etsy page bugbugstudio.etsy.com ...I also have a blog bugbugstudio.blogspot.com
Well, we have just been hanging out....getting a little tired of the hot hot hot summer. Yesterday we tried to go to the children's museum, but it was closed. However, right next to the museum (which happens to be in a charming area of downtown, seriously we felt like we were on the "downtown" set of a Meg Ryan movie) there was a cupcake shop called Delish! So we got a few cupcakes! Mexican Vanilla, Chocolate Banana, and Lemon Meringue... they were crazy awesome!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Living off the Land!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
SUMMER
We are enjoying our first Texas summer. It is super HOT just like everyone warned, but we are liking it a lot. Life is just so much easier with a driveway, carport (for shaded not so hot car), backyard, close parks and public kiddie pools. I'll post some recent pictures.
Lucy/Daddy painting collaboration. Lucy likes to tell us what to paint and then we try our best to make her vision come to life!

We finally got the screen porch cleaned and uncluttered!! I even shampooed the carpet!!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Auntie Jugee visits!
Well, Lucy's pronounciation of Julie, has gone from Jugee to now, Jewey, but I still love Jugee! Jules came for a long weekend and we had a nice time. We took her for a train ride and ice cream at Barton Springs. So I thought I would post a few pics. Other highlights included going out Saturday night ( my mom came down to babysit) and we saw a modern dance performance and then went to a sports bar and watched skateboarding and ultimate fighting, whilst eating bar food. it was good to be out... : )
Monday, June 22, 2009
i keep forgetting to post this...
i did a triathlon! i was inspired by my friend Beth (who I used to work with at BCBG in LA) who lives here in Austin. So, I started thinking about it, then slowly training, and then really training...and then i did it! it was fun! ...i was very slow! here are the stats! ...It took me 2hrs 19min
| Overall Rank | Class Rank | Swim | Swim Rank | Trans1 | Bike | Bike Rank | MPH | Trans2 | Run | Run Rank | Pace | Final |
| 1509 of 1977 | 235 of 288 | 00:24:57 | 953 | 00:06:53 | 01:03:38 | 1707 | 11.3 | 00:04:30 | 00:39:41 | 1289 | 00:12:48 | 02:19:41 |
Monday, May 25, 2009
wallpaper + file cabinet = fun file cabinet
well, i got a file cabinet from a resale shop down the street, because we really wanted a BIG file cabinet. we have lots of little box ones, so when i saw one for $20 bucks, i got it! i was going to spray paint it, but then i saw this fun looking project on a blog...so i tried it out. you can use any paper, but it used vintage wallpaper i found on ebay. i really like the way it looks! and it only took a few hours, with help from some small assistants! http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/how-to/how-to-wallpaper-a-filing-cabinet-melbourne-063250
Thursday, May 14, 2009
i LOVE having a yard!!
We have set up a fun little playzone in the backyard and it is so much fun. What a difference from having been in a 1bedroom apartment! I can't imagine what we would be doing if we still lived there. Probably the same thing, but just on our balcony...or at the park. But phew, it is so nice to have some space. Greta from next door comes over and Virginia (her mom) and I can just hang out and talk while they play. I'm calling it Baby Woodstock(because there is a lot of naked frolicking), but Mike says it's more like Burning Man...either way we are just dorky trying to come up with a name for it. But it's fun!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Whats your name mommy?
I am just blown away by how much Lucy can say now! I thought I would make a post so I can remember all this later. So, just a few weeks ago, right after she turned 2 she seemed to start getting the concept of "I". She started saying things like "I want Gam Kacker" (translation: graham cracker) instead of "Lucy want Gam Kacker". And now she even adds an A saying " I want A Gam Kacker mommy" ...But one fun new conversations we have now is "what is your name?". Lucy says "Whats your name mommy?" and I say "My name is Amy" and she says "Mommy's name is Amy" . Then I say "what is your name?" and she says "My name is Lucy". She goes through everyone's name. "What is sally's name?" Sometimes she answers herself saying "Sally's name is Weenie!". She is so fun to talk to! So far, I like the 2s and they are not terrible at all, but she is pushing her buddy Greta a lot and saying lots of NOs, and that is stressful sometimes.
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