We went to the Academy of Sciences today with Grandma Judy. We found the secret little kids room, and popped inside. It was totally awesome! There was so much fun stuff for kids! I know where we’re going to spend every rainy Sunday morning this winter. (Allyson: Let me know if you and Anneke would like to join us. We’re members and we can all get in for free!)

There was a play house, a tree, a pond and best of all a sailboat complete with a galley. Izzy went straight to the galley and started whipping up tasty treats for all to enjoy.

We absolutely have to get her this play kitchen from Ikea for Christmas.

There was a tray full of plastic bugs to play with.

Izzy and Grandma Judy played with puzzles.

Izzy wore her fabulous new dress from Elena today. It was adorable and she’s such a little girl–loves to wear dresses. She looks kind of pissed off in this photo, but she wasn’t. She was just trying to figure out how to step down off the curb and in to the grass.

A few things I want to make include:

Doll clothes (I still need to find a non-creepy doll. Any suggestions?)
Pillows for Izzy’s room
Draft guard for Izzy’s room (more to block out the light and sound from under the pocket door, then the drafts)
Crib ledge liner (she’s been gnawing on her very expensive crib and I need to protect it)
Table Tent

What is a Table Tent you ask? It is probably the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. (Well, maybe not the most amazing thing. Have you met my daughter? She’s pretty amazing.) A Table Tent one of those “why didn’t I think of that” projects. Ladies and gentlemen. Behold, the table tent from Colorique:

It looks easy enough to make. I love that the table would still be usable with the tent tied onto it. I bet Isadora and Anneke would have so much fun crawling around and in and out of the table tent. I need to bump this up in project priority.

(Image: Flickr Member otrasventanas licensed for use under Creative Commons)

via ohdeedoh

We went to the Academy of Sciences today with Sarah and Ethan. They have a family membership so we got to go during member only hours (less crowded) and it was free! I went many times as a child and it was so much fun to remember various field trips and visits with my parents.

Izzy had so much fun slapping the glass and screaming at the fish. I want to take her back, when she’s more mobile. It was kind of tough on me putting her in the stroller to go to the next window and then taking her out so she could get a better look at the fish. I’m so glad I’m able to share this magical place with her. Although the building and exhibits were renovated and given a more modern look, there were still enough things to remind me of my visits there: the alligators, the whale bones, the sad taxidermied animals. But what I remembered most was the swinging pendulum. It’s there to represent the movement of the earth. It’s really quite fascinating. As it moves, it knocks down little pellets that someone painstakingly stood up.

Of the three times I remember being spanked for being “naughty,” one of them was at the the swinging pendulum. I was there with my parents and it was time to go in to the Planetarium for a show, but I didn’t want to leave the swinging pendulum. I loved watching the silver ball swinging back and forth and knocking down the pellets. I was so entranced that I ignored my dad’s commands to “come here!” Yeah, well. No, dad. I am not going to come here. I’m busy. It’s a good thing I’m not terribly scarred by that experience.

When she gets a little older and is ready for a big girl bike, and can ride along with me, I’m going to get myself an Electra Bike.

Behold the Balloon 3i:

and the Holiday 3i:

I LOVE the color of the Balloon 3i, but I’m leaning towards the Holiday 3i because of the front rack.

We’ll pick up the Original 3i from their Amsterdam collection for Mitch. I’m pretty sure he’ll like this model.

I can just picture us now, loading our bikes up on the rack on the Prius and driving out to Golden Gate Park to ride bikes. We’ll bring a picnic lunch with us and peddle until we find a nice little meadow to hang out and eat. We’ll swing by the lakes and feed day old bread to the water fowl before peddling back to the car and head for home.

The first concept was developed when Joey was still alive called “The Adventures of Walnut and Pea Brain,” and was all about the antics of Joey and Murky. I came up with Walnut for Joey because I heard that is the size of a kitty brain. Murky got Pea Brain because she was still quite young and I figured her brain was the size of a pea.

The other story in the works is “Freddie and Dominique: An Unrequited Love Story.” Freddie and Dominique* are a couple of sea gulls that perch on the building across the street from our apartment building. We recently acquainted ourselves with these delightful birds when we moved in to our new apartment. Freddie is a tough old, one-legged bird, and Dominique is a lovely slender, feminine gal. We’ve been telling each other stories about these birds since we met them. Like how Freddie lost his leg in a fishing accident or how Dominique keeps getting delayed on her way to the roof top and never gets a chance to meet up with Freddie who leaves before she arrives. They are soul mates who never had a chance at true love.

Perched on the other end of Freddie and Dominique’s building is a flock of pigeons. Tons of them. They never mingle on the Sea Gull side of the building–they self-segregate. I wish I knew why–perhaps the reason will reveal itself as I develop the story. We haven’t named any of the pigeons (yet), but they play an important roll of the story of Freddie and Dominique. The story line will be much like a Greek tragedy where there is a speaker (Freddie or Dominique) and a chorus (the pigeons).

Well, I won’t be getting around to take a drawing class any time soon, but I have something that is even better at my finger tips! My wonderful husband gifted the most awesomely thoughtful presents this Christmas, one of which is Comic Life that allows me to create comic strips using my photographs. The software is really simple to use, and I don’t have an excuse to keep me from developing my stories (besides a new baby and a full time job and a husband and family and friends and grocery shopping and a dirty toilet).

I finally sat down tonight and played around with the software. Here’s an idea of what the cover of “The Adventures of Walnut and Pea Brain” might look like. I still need to refine a bit and get comfortable with the editing tools.

I also want to start studying comic book covers so I can get a better feel for layout, but I’m pretty happy with this first draft. I’m looking forward to seeing how far I can go with Walnut and Pea Brain, but I will most likely need to develop a spin off since Joey died and we now have Kirby. It may be entitled “Kirbles of the Wirbles” and feature regular appearances by Murkfatistan.

*We really shouldn’t have named these Sea Gulls because now we are totally attached to them. After we moved in, we didn’t see Freddie for about a week and we were just devastated. Seriously, I’m mean it. We talked about him every day. When I came home from work, I would ask Mitch if Freddie came by. One day he reappeared, and we were just elated. We photograph him often. If he ever disappears completely, we are going to wonder what happened to that tough old bird for the rest of our natural born days.

1. Clean/Organize Closet – Not Started (The reason I took a vacation day to begin with. Lame. Can someone come over and do this for me?)
2. Sew Pantry Curtains – Complete (See below for before and after photos)
3. Bake Banana Bread – Complete (and all of it nearly eaten)
4. Go to Crafty Party at Mo’s House – Complete (I didn’t get any crafting done, but ate some really awesome homemade vegetarian chili that Elena made. Yum!)
5. Sew Felt Baby Shoes – In Progress (See previous. I’ll probably finish them in time for Izzy to have already outgrown them.)
6. Sew in ends of scarf for… – Not Started (Don’t want to say who it is for. It’s a gift)
7. Attend Art opening at Studio – Not Started (We completely missed it. The art is still there, so we’ll swing by next weekend to check it out. I love the Tiny show–totally affordable tiny art. I bought stuff a couple years back, and I see quite a few things online that I like. Hope some of it is still available when I get there.)
8. Put Away Clean Clothes – In Progress (We finished our clothes, but not Izzy’s)
9. Put Away Clean Dishes – Completed (Many thanks to Blanca for washing the dishes last night while I slept.)
10. Buy a Crib and Mattress – Completed (Yay! After weeks of agonizing over which set to get, we finally decided on Munire’s Urban Crib. When we saw it in person, neither of us liked it. It looked and felt cheap, so we decided on Bonavita’s Metro Crib and five drawer dresser. We also got the toddler bed and full size bed conversions so the furniture grows as she does.)
11. Sell Co-Sleeper on Craigslist – Completed (I posted the ad around midnight, and had an inquiry by 9:30. It was sold before noon. I heart Craigslist.)
12. Sell Maternity Clothes – Not Started (Dependent upon me cleaning/organizing my closet)
13. Pay Bills – Not Started (I’ll probably do this after dinner…Update. Nope, I decided to eat ice cream instead. Maybe tomorrow.)
14. Take a Shower – Not Started (There’s always tomorrow)
15. Tidy Desk – Not Started (There’s always next weekend)
16. Tidy Izzy’s Room – Not Started (If I leave it long enough, Mitch will take care of it.)
17. Post extra stuff on Freecycle – Not Started (So close to dropping this crap off at Goodwill.)
18. Grocery Shopping – Not Started (We have frozen and canned stuff. We’ll eat that for dinner this week. Oh and take out. We’ll have some of that too.)

Awesome, but cluttered looking pantry:

Pantry with fabulous curtains hiding the clutter (and a kitty):

In the last couple of weeks Isadora started to:

• grab her feet and pull her socks off
• roll over from her back to her belly
• pet Kirby when he walks by
• grab a toy floating in the bath (she likes the pink hippo best) and bring it to her mouth
• scream like a banshee

Mitch brought Isadora downtown today and met me at the office. We stopped by the daycare center my company contracts with to check them out. We get 20 free days of back-up daycare each year. When I first mentioned it to Mitch, he was horrified. He said we would NOT give our baby to a stranger.

We met with the director of the center and went on a tour. The place is pretty awesome. They don’t allow street shoes in the playrooms–that’s a plus for me. You all know how I feel about no shoes in the house. If you want to go in, you have to put booties on your shoes! The kids we saw there looked really happy. The outdoor area has a ton of play equipment and is secure. They have a giant stroller thing that seats six babies at a time (sort of looks like this), and they take them for a walk downtown. The center is just a couple of blocks from my office, so if Izzy was there, I could hop over at lunch to play with her or nurse her. Each of the rooms are segmented according to age: infants, toddlers, preschoolers, etc. Oh, and parking is free for drop off and pick up. How much more convenient can you get?

Mitch was sold by the time we were done with the tour. We picked up an application for full time and part time care. There is a 1 1/2 year waiting list. We figure, by the time she’s almost two, we’ll all be ready for her to have regular outside care.

After the daycare center visit, we grabbed a quick lunch at Kate O’Brien’s and headed back to the office. Izzy was hungry by then and I had to dash to a meeting, so we warmed up some milk I expressed earlier in the day and gave her a little snack, then she and Mitch went on their merry way.

It was so nice to have them come down to meet me for lunch. Too bad I was so pressed for time. We’re going to try it again soon. This time, I’ll make sure to keep my calendar free. We’ll also get sandwiches and bring them back to the office. We have a lovely patio on the 8th floor, or so I’m told as I haven’t had time to check it out yet.

It’s getting late. Everyone else is in bed. I should do the same. Good night!

Anyway, with the recent baby boom here in town I think all of that baby-hating is starting to change. My gym offers day care starting at 6 months. I haven’t used it yet, since Isadora is not old enough (and also Mitch isn’t too keen on sending her to day care yet). Other places are starting to become much more kid-friendly. I just found out about a salon that opened recently that offers childcare while you receive services. Mani & Nanny opened recently and they take babies as young as 6 weeks. You can keep an eye on your little kidlet on a flat screen TV in the salon. I can’t wait to try it out. The services are reasonably priced. The best part about this salon is that their equipment is cleaned in a hospital-grade sterilizer. No worries about catching the foot fungus from the previous client. I know. Ew.

The new place looks absolutely fabulous (before and after photos will be posted soon). I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this new apartment. We already feel so at home here despite the controlled chaos of the move. With Mitch’s folks in town, we have 5 people occupying this apartment and it still feels so spacious. Mitch thinks it’s a bit decadent. I disagree. At 1,000 square feet, I believe it is an appropriate size for our small family.

Murky adjusted to the move easily. She has always had command of the public hallway in our building since back in the day when she used to take daily walks with Joey. She loved running between apartments during each round of moving stuff over. We never had to worry about her getting lost while she was out and about. If she got spooked by a sound or an unexpected neighbor, she would just run into one apartment or the other.

Kirby, on the other hand, did not handle to move well at all. Once we deposited him in #600, he would dash out the front door and run back to #604 and hide in a closet. He also doesn’t know the layout of the entire building as well as Murky, so if he got spooked for some reason, he might end up in the basement. I was also a bit worried about him getting lost again. He was lost last month for a couple of hours and it sucked trying to find him because he can’t hear us when we call him on account of him being deaf. This is our third night in #600 and Kirby finally seems to be mellowing out somewhat.

One of my favorite things about moving is the purging that goes on. Usually I leave unwanted but usable items on the street for someone to discover or I drop them off at Goodwill. The problem with leaving things on the street it that bags of stuff get rummaged through and leave a mess on the sidewalk. I don’t really like to send stuff to Goodwill either. I am not convinced that my stuff won’t end up in landfill somewhere. For this round of purging, I’m using Freecycle, and it is awesome!

Freecycle is a network that lets local people offer up stuff they no longer want to people who want it. I’ve been reviewing the list and this is truly a situation where one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So far I’ve gotten rid of a handful of diapers that Izzy outgrew and some Ketostix that I had to use while I was diabetic. Tomorrow, someone wants to come by and pick up the old shower curtain hooks that were left behind by the previous tenant. I’m also going to try to get rid of my father in law’s digital camera that no longer works. Well, it still works; it’s just not predictable with the images it captures. I think an arty person could have a lot of fun with the camera and take some intriguing photos with the camera. I’m half inclined to keep it myself, but alas, I am in purge mode.