Mr. MaD (aka “daddy”) doesn’t do fashion. I don’t know about your husband but mine is clueless when it comes to dressing his girls.

Here’s the evidence:

• When Princess was about 8 months old, Mr. Mad put her in a little onesie that had embroidered flowers on one side, obviously the front. Okay, maybe it was only obvious to me. Well, Mr. MaD didn’t think anything was wrong with it when he put the side with the flowers on her backside. I said, “You put that one backwards!” Mr. MaD said, “Why, what’ wrong with it?” I said, “The flowers go in the front.” Mr. MaD said, “Why? I couldn’t tell.”

Princess in her backwards outfit.

• Just recently, Princess came home from school and I noticed that the neckline of her shirt was right up at her neck. Then I peeked in her shirt and it was backwards. Mr. MaD happened to dress her that morning. I said, “Princess’s shirt is on backwards.”  Mr. MaD, “Oh, I couldn’t tell that it was backwards.” I said, “Just look at how high it is up on her neck. It’s practically choking her.” Mr. MaD laughs. Okay, just to give  him the benefit of the doubt it was a shirt with no label. It was one of those shirts with the iron on type label. So it did have a “label”.
• This morning I had an early doctor appointment so Mr. MaD had to get Princess ready for school. I had already put out her clothes so he didnt’ have to choose that. It was an outfit that you could obviously tell the front from the back. That wasn’t the problem.  The night before Mr. MaD tell me, “Should we wake Princess up early (almost 30 minutes earlier)?” I said, “Why does she have to get up early?” Mr. MaD said, “So you can do her ponytails.” Okay, her ponytails are not that complicated. He’s seen me do it a million times. Okay, a million is an exaggeration. But you get the gist. So I said, “All you have to do is divide her hair in the back and ponytail each side. Add some gel so her hair stays in place. Then you’re done.”
• He’s dressed Baby in an outfit backwards too! Lucky thing he hardly has to dress her.

There are similar examples that I don’t have to list. I’m sure you know what I mean by now. Some might say it’s my fault since I tend to do everything. Then again, it isn’t like he hasn’t seen me dress them before. But like they looking and seeing are 2 different things. He’s been looking but he hasn’t really been seeing!

I just read this article about Crocs at The Washington Post.

Everywhere I look I see children and adults wearing Crocs. Most children are wearing the Crocs shoes with little embellishments on them. I see a lot of adults wearing either the shoes or the flip flops.

The interesting thing about the article is that one of the reasons that Crocs may soon be gone is because of it’s durability. During these tough economic times, people just aren’t spending money on a lot of extras. So why would we buy another pair of  Crocs (even if we want another color) if they are in such good condition. 

My girls have 1 pair of Crocs each. That’s it!

Isn’t it funny (well, maybe scary) that one of Croc’s biggest selling points may now be it’s biggest downfall.

Another one bites the dust?

I tried my hand at Jessica Sprague’s  FREE Photo-Editing: Special Effects & Frame-Ups class assignment. Day 4’s assignment was to use a clipping mask. I wonder if it makes a difference what photo you choose. Her example used a photo of flowers. That was pretty. I didn’t have any photos of flowers. So I chose one of the ocean. 

Here it is.

I really do like the look of  a photo when using a clipping mask. I think I’ll try my hand at it again. I’ve seen exmples of other masks used with people. Some of them are incredible. Jessica says that once you use a clipping mask you’ll want to use them on everything. She could be right!

Warning: This post may contain graphic information pertaining to potty training. Be warned!

Okay, so we had a late start potty training with Princess but it’s going so well that I’m happy we waited.

It’s not like we didn’t try earlier. We did. Princess would have none of it. We got her the potty dvd and the Baby Bjorn potty. She like both of them but it didn’t encourage her to go to the potty. I even got her some really cute undies from Gymboree but she still wasn’t interested.

Then about 6 months ago, we finally decided we needed her to get on the potty. So Mr. MaD go her a Baby Bjorn potty trainer. At first, she didn’t want to sit on it. Then I had the answer! Yes, it’s called bribery! I grabbed the container of Trader Joe’s organic lollipops that a friend gave us and I offered it to Princess. That did it! She sat on the potty. That’s about all she did. Sit. After a few weeks of sitting with lollipops and drinking milk or juice on the potty, she finally decided she could use the bathroom. We were so happy and we praised her like crazy!

From that point on, we made every effort to take her to the potty at regular times. Then a few times we offered her undies. She wore them a few times but had accidents. Then she didn’t want anything to do with them. Every time we asked her to put on undies, she refused.

Then last week Wednesday her preschool teacher said that Princess was staying dry in her pull ups. She was even dry at nap time for the most part. Her suggestion was to have Princess start coming to school in undies. Whew! I couldn’t believe it. So on Wednesday night I brought out all her undies and told her that she was going to wear one to school the next day. At first she said, “no” but then I hyped up how cute the undies were. I asked her to pick the one she wanted to wear to school. She picked the purple one.

The next morning (Thursday) she put on the undie without any fussing. I sent her to school with 3 extra undies. I was so anxious to see how she did. When she came home from school, I saw her in her extra clothes and I saw Mr. MaD carrying her dirty clothes in a plastic bag. Mr. MaD informed me that she had only 1 accident after nap time. What? I couldn’t believe it. My heart jumped for joy and I couldn’t stop praising her. My little Princess was growing up.

Over the next few days, she only had 1 or 2 little accidents. At home, we continue to ask her if she has to go to the potty at regular intervals and when we see her tugging at her undies. The great part is that she has started to say that she has to go to the potty and gets up and walks toward the bathroom. I am so very proud of her.  We’ve been praising her like crazy!

There are a couple of areas that she still needs encouragement with. She is terribly afraid of the adult sized toilets. At preschool, they have child sized toilets and at home we use the potty trainer. This weekend we went to the mall and I took Princess to the potty. She was so afraid of the toilet that she was clinging on to me for dear life. I carried her on the toilet and held on to her. She clung on the whole time.  I praised her for going on the “big” toilet. 

She is also afraid to poop on the potty. Since she has worn undies, she hasn’t pooped in them. We’ve been able to get her to the potty when she shows signs that she needs to go. Then she sits on the potty for a very long time. I can tell that she is hesitant. Then when she’s done, she doesn’t want to come off. I have to tell her that she did a great job and tell her I’ll help her get off. After she’s done and clean, she refuses to look into the toilet. She doesn’t want to flush it either. She will only look and say goodbye to her poop after I flush it and the lid is down.

I remind myself that she has progressed so far in this 1 week. I think she’s done incredibly well. I mean she only had 2-3 accidents. That’s amazing to me!

I am a proud parent! I do think that things wouldn’t have been so smooth had we forced her to potty train earlier. I believe that Princess had to be ready to do it. I am also glad that she attends a preschool that is willing to let children potty train when they are developmentally ready instead of forcing them to do it when they can’t.

I don’t think there’s such a thing as overpraising! I am always willing to give praise when it’s well deserved. I’m happy. More importantly, Princess is happy!

P.S. I’m sure one day in the future Princess will be so mad at me that I posted about her potty training. I’ll remind her that it’s all part of growing up. Okay, maybe not the part about sharing her progress for the whole world to see.

I finally did it! I joined Facebook.

I was holding out for a long time because I didn’t want to add another thing to my already overloaded plate. Not to mention that all this social media stuff can get a little addicting.  I mean blogging takes up a lot of time in itself.

So why did I do it? Well, an old friend sent me an invitation. Simple as that. I figured I would just join to talk to him and possibly some other people who I haven’t kept in touch with in ages.

After joining, I added him as a friend. Then I did a search to find some other friends. Interestingly enough, I didn’t find as many people as I thought I would or maybe they are using different names, esp. women. I actually tried to look for a few friends from middle school but I couldn’t find them on Facebook. Facebook also has this feature where you can add an alternate name. I think it’s especially good for married women so that you can add your maiden name. That way old friends can find you.

As of today, I have 3 Facebook friends. One of them is my cousin. Isn’t that too funny! I promise I have more friends IRL.

Do you know your important numbers? I recently had a blood test to check my thyroid among other things.  A while ago, my doctor informed me that I had an enlarged thyroid.  I had to get a blood test done and an ultrasound to make sure it  wasn’t a tumor (cancer).  That was about a year or so ago. Recently I had another ultrasound and there weren’t any significant changes to my thyroid. That’s a good sign. My blood test also showed that my thyroid was functioning properly.

Besides my thyroid, another important part of the blood test was my glucose levels. If you’ve had gestational diabetes during pregnancy, then you know that you should get your glucose level tested regularly because you are at higher risk of getting adult-onset diabetes. My glucose levels were 89! Hooray! My doctor said that it had to be <99.  Of course, I should still eat healthily and exercise too.  I know I need to do better with both of those areas.

As for my cholesterol, those numbers were good also. My total cholesterol was 147. My HDL (healthy cholesterol) was 57. That should be >50. I think I can boost that up by reducing the amount of unhealthy fats in my diet and exercising more. I just mentioned to Mr. MaD that we should start eating more meatless meals every week. My LDL (lousy cholesterol) was 70. That should be <130. My triglycerides were 99. That should be <150.

Having that blood test makes me feel better about my health. I know that I still need to take better care of myself but at least I have some encouragement now. My hardest challenge is cutting back on sweets and junk food.

How are your numbers?

A while ago, I wrote a post entitled Could It Be Happening? to share about Baby’s possible elimination of her morning nap. I just received a comment from Dan Weissbluth (Dr. Marc Weissbluth’s son) informing me that he has started a blog with his father.

Although the Weissbluth Method Blog does not specifically address sleep issues it does refer to sleep as it is related to other issues. The blog will not be giving out personalized medical advice (for obvious reasons). Check out the blog is you’re interested in learning more. If you really want to learn more about sleep issues in particular than you should read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. You can read a review about the book here.

Baby’s morning naps are still inconsistent. Some days she naps in the morning for a good hour and a half (like yesterday). Other days (like today) no napping after being in the crib for 45  minutes. Then again, who wants to nap with poop in their diaper.

I know my age is catching up to me. The evidence is mounting.

Evidence #1 – Increase in concealer use

Last weekend I was getting ready to go to a graduation party and started applying my makeup. As I looked in the mirror I noticed that my wrinkles and lines looked deeper and my dark circles looked darker.  I quickly searched in my makeup bag for my concealer and began applying it on my forehead to lessen those frown lines between the eyebrows. Then I applied it on the sides of my nose and in those deep crevices on the sides of my mouth. No, they’re not smile lines they’re the edge of my sagging chubby cheeks. Then more concealer under my eyes. Then more on any blemishes or dark spots on my face. Whew! Should I have just applied concealer to my whole face?

Evidence #2 – Bifocals

This week I gave in. I decided to get bifocals. It was too much of a hassle to have to put on reading glasses everytime I needed to read something. Last week I was shopping at Whole Foods and I couldn’t even read the ingredients on a box because I forgot my reading glasses at home. My doctor assures me that everyone at “my age” have difficulty reading without a visual aid (aka: reading glasses).  He says he can almost predict what strength glasses I need because of my age. That’s scary!

Evidence #3 – The family car is a  mini van.

Yes, we finally got a van. When I was younger, I always said I would never drive a van. Don’t most young women say that. I mean driving a van is a symbol of motherhood, but what kind of motherhood? Soccer mom? Do the cool moms drive vans or not? After having my first child, I thought I could get by with my “crossover” SUV. Now after having 2 children, I realize how much easier it is with a van, especially one with automatic sliding doors. Not to mention, dealing with an aging parent who sometimes need to ride with my family. Often we would have to take 2 cars to go somewhere if my mother came along. Now, we have all the space in the world to carry a family of 4 including all our children’s stuff and any other passengers who tag along. Even if I succumbed to the mini van, I still told Mr. MaD to please take care of my “baby” (my SUV) since he’ll be driving that now.  Boo, hoo, hoo!

My sense of practicality is certainly overriding my vanity these days!

So now it’s official. I am certainly smack dab in the middle of being middleaged!  So yes, I am middleaged but please don’t call me OLD!

I just got some bento stuff from Daiso. I think my favorite is the mini fork and spoon set. It’s just the cutest thing!

Here are 2 small bento boxes I got. I thought they’d be good for some small snacks for the girls, esp. fruit.

Here are some other things that I got. Oh, aren’t those mini musubi molds so cute for little hands.

Last week  I had one of the scariest days of my life!

Baby and I went on an outing to the zoo. It was a nice day to be out and about. Baby was excited from the beginning when she saw the birds flying around. We did our usual route checking out the elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhino, hippo, etc. She especially enjoyed the monkeys since they were so noisy.

 We also went to the petting zoo for a quick walk through. It was very crowded with families and summer school students. Baby had a blast looking at the animals and all the children running around.

After a snack break, I decided to leave since Baby was getting tired. One of the things that she enjoys doing right now is walking. She actually walked around the zoo more than her sister did at the same age. She also doesn’t want to hold my hand while walking.

So we started walking towards the exit of the zoo. Baby was walking beside me as I pushed the stroller. She had a great big smile on her face. Just behind us was a family of about 5 people.

In an instant, Baby decided to turn around and walk the opposite direction. I looked down then looked back and saw her walking away. So I quickly turned around to get her. At the same time, a girl from the family behind us said, “O-Oh”.

Then it happened.

Baby walked right into the legs of the teenage boy. He wasn’t looking either.

Boom! She fell straight back onto the sidewalk! Yes, even her head hit the ground! It was like I was watching a movie in slow motion. You know it’s happening but you can’t do anything about it. The family was the first to pick her up since she was in the middle of their group. Then I scooped her us as she wailed uncontrollably. I felt her head for a bump and looked for any cuts. There were none.

The next thing that came to my mind was a head injury. Could she have a concussion? The family was concerned and gathered around us as we sat on a nearby bench. I told them that she would be fine. I consoled her until she stopped crying.

Inside, I was worried sick.

I quickly put her back in the stroller and walked out of the zoo. As soon as we exited the zoo, I called the doctor. I wanted to know what kinds of signs I should be looking for in case of a serious head injury. I also called Mr. MaD.

When the nurse called, she asked if Baby was walking funny like she was drunk or if she seemed extra tired. She also said to watch if she throws up. I told her that Baby was already napping  so she told me to try and wake her up. If she stirs and wakes up then she should be okay. If she doesn’t want to wake up at all ,then I should take her to emergency. She also told me to watch her for the next 2 days or so.

After I got off the phone I quickly went to Baby’s room and rubbed her leg. She stirred and moved around so I felt so much better!

When Mr. MaD got home, I filled him in on what the nurse told me. Baby was already getting up from her nap. Mr. MaD decided to call the doctor himself and asked to bring Baby in just in case.

The doctor looked Baby over. He checked for a bump on her head. He asked if she cried right away or did she go unconscious first. I said that she cried right away. He also checked her reflexes. She was alert and very active. That was a good sign! He told us to watch her for unstable walking (like being drunk), extra tiredness, and vomiting more than once. If we see any of those symptoms, we should take her to emergency right away. He also instructed us to wake her every 2-3 hours throughout the night. After about 36 hours of being symptom free, Baby should be fine.  He reassured us that falling from Baby’s height is not as bad as falling from a higher height (like the bed or from my height).

Baby did fine at night. The next day she was back to her active self. I was so relieved that she was okay. I have never felt so scared in my life. Nothing like this ever happened to Princess so I was not prepared for it. I also felt a lot of guilt for not being right there by her side or not watching her more carefully. I prayed so hard for everything to be okay. I thank God that Baby was fine. I know that God was watching over her.