Wednesday, October 16, 2013

{phfr}

{pretty}

I had a few snoods that I needed fabric for, so I ran out to JoAnn's earlier this week.  On my way to the checkout line I cut through an aisle and came across an entire row of fairy wings.  No way, I thought, looking at the $19.99 price.  Then I saw that they were on clearance for $5-something and I paused.  Sadie has been going through a Tinkerbell "Secret of the Wings" phase for a while now.  She loves Tinkerbell's sister Periwinkle and is constantly pretending to be the frost fairy.  And so I picked up a pair.  She spotted them in the car today and was on her very best behavior in hopes that she might get to wear them tonight.  Finally her wish came true:




{happy}

Apparently this was a find-deals-I-can't-pass-up shopping week.

Tonight we were at the store picking up foods that Mae can have to take to her testing tomorrow since we need to bring two treats she'll be excited about.  As we walked to the back of the store Paul pointed out a little pink chair that was on clearance.  My guess it was the floor model and they really, really wanted to get rid of it.  

The timing couldn't have been more perfect, because Mae has recently discovered that she can tip Paul's very heavy rocking chair over, which was a disaster waiting to happen, and so it was moved downstairs.  That corner is Mae's favorite spot in the house, however, and so I was happy to be able to replace it with another chair she can sit in while looking at her books, or gazing out the window.

And Patrick's a fan of the new plan too:


{funny}

Tonight I got to work on making this glitter bottles for the kids (I like them so much that I'm thinking of saving them for Christmas because I think they are present-worthy).  They're bottles filled with glitter and glitter glue and water and when you shake them they swirl and look beautiful.  When you set them down they settle and separate out and they can be used for relaxation or to time time outs or just to gaze at because they're really, really pretty!  

I made a pink one for Sadie, a purple one for Mae and a green one for Patrick.

But...  my normal clutziness came out while I was making them and in addition to a few glittery disasters involving the fine glitter, there was a glitter glue incident in which I couldn't get the top open on the glitter and I tried to pry it off while squeezing it... 

That did not end well.  I managed to shoot glitter glue onto my dress, the couch and the floor.  I guess I'm lucky it didn't hit the ceiling.

However the finished bottles are definitely going to be well worth it:



{real}

In the beginning we had one gate, which Mae easily hurtled every night after being put to bed.  

We got a taller gate and she broke it.  

We put the first gate back, hoping it would work until we found something new, and she broke that one too.  

We replaced that one.  

She jumped the new one. We put up a second gate above the first... and she broke that one also...

We found a gate we'd forgotten about in the basement that was sturdier and we installed that above the first one.  

It worked for about a month... until she realized she could easily scale the five foot blockade and drop down on the other side.  

Bed time was getting frustrating. It's hard to get Patrick to sleep in his room when I could hear Mae landing on the other side of the fence and then running into my room to find any sewing supplies that she might be able to reach.  I'd have to jump up and chase after her and an almost asleep Patrick would then be wide awake.

And even then I was often to slow.  Earlier this week I forgot to put a box of pins out of reach... it's not a mistake I'll make twice.

So finally I came up with yet another solution...  Three gates.  She can still get out if she kicks the bottom one hard enough... but if she does I'll hear the crash and after I put her to bed three of four times she usually finally stays there.  And so, this is the gate system of the moment.  Until she finds a new way to silently defeat it as well:


5 comments:

  1. That gate picture is a hoot to look at! :-) Have you thought about buying the door locks that go around the door knob on the inside of the room? The ones we have are very easy for an adult to use but Abby's only managed to 'escape' once and I think that was a fluke. They typically come in a bundle of three for around $10 or less (I think). Just tossing out ideas. Feel free to toss the opinion!

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  2. I did read about one parent making the bedroom door into a dutch door (cut the door or buy one where like the bottom closes and the top is open but I guess that would be too low. Another alternative would be a dutch door with a gate along the top?
    Finally could you close the door and use a latch on it at the top? (just a hook and eye) as you're dealing with safety issues here.

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  3. Have you thought about putting a screen security door on the doorway, Cam? That might keep the Houdini in, and a bit safer than stacking gates too :)

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  4. Teresa- That totally should have been on there too! The door knob protectors! Those were first, LOL! She would hit them so hard that they would break off. We went through a bunch before I gave them up.

    I would love to do a security type door but at this point something like that isn't really in our price range... I also go back and forth about whether I want it to her completely unable to get out because then I start stressing about "what if she really needed to get to me and couldn't..." which is why I like her being able to get out it she kicks the bottom gate (the top two stay up because they're each separately attacked) but the bottom gate clatters to the ground and I hear here. Definitely not perfect... I'm hoping we figure (and can afford) something else before too long... or maybe she'll stop being such a little escape artist (that's really the dream!).

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  5. We actually did put an old screen door on our oldest daughter's room when she was small. The lock on the outside. She had a great tendency to climb when the rest of us were sleeping!

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