Boat Mama

Snow!!!

2012-01-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

We only get snow a few times a year, so three snow days in a row is
really something.

Cozy afternoon

2012-01-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

We are having a lovely cozy afternoon at home. I am one lucky mama.

Mr. Funny Face

2012-01-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

For Kate

2012-01-09T10:46:00.000-08:00

An emailed iPhone photo so you don't miss a thing.

I'm not a baby

2012-01-08T16:48:00.001-08:00

Welcome baby Alder

2012-01-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

Just in case you read my blog, but are not my facebook friend...

Baby Alder is here! He is wonderful, beautiful and doing great. We are managing to figure out sleeping, and having two kiddos. Yemaya loves her baby brother and is adjusting to the new reality of life.

Life can turn from good to...

...bad so quickly.

Yemaya took this photo of her baby brother.

Everyone cuddled up together.

Festival(s) of light(s)

2011-12-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

This is how we do it around here. Solstice bread and lanterns one night, Hanukah candles the next night, and the X-mas tree always in the background. Waiting for the yummy latkaes that Ari is whipping up in the kitchen, and considering how to celebrate Fetsivus without the Feasts of Strength because I don't think I'll be able to pin Ari to the ground.

Projects, projects, projects

2011-12-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

This is what you do during a long winter waiting for a baby to be born. I still have over a week until the baby's due date. So I will have to invent new projects to keep my mind and hands busy until the little man decides to grace us with his presence. Luckily after Solstice tonight there are still many nights of Hanukah to celebrate (We haven't gotten around to it yet), with latkes and stories. Who knows what New Year's projects will have to happen if the baby doesn't hurry up. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

A quilt for the baby.

Solstice sun bread.

Christmas stockings. (Thanks for the help Becca!)

Advent calendar. (This one too Becca.)

Go back to bed

2011-12-20T14:49:00.001-08:00

Okay, I'll admit being nine months pregnant with a toddler is
generally hard and not fun. Today Y did not nap (as usual). I lay down
while she is in her room, and then she usually comes in to my room to
tell me she is all done napping after about 20 minutes. I have
accepted things and take my 20 minute break.
When I went to get up today this is what happened.
Y: Don't get up.
Me: Why?
Y: Because I'll rub your feet.
Me: OK.

She is actually quite skilled for a two year old.

Cleaning

2011-12-18T09:59:00.001-08:00

Me: "Mommy has to clean up now."

Y: "Don't do that"

Me: "Why not?"

Y: "It's boring."

She is very young, but very wise.

Toy box?

2011-11-30T13:29:00.000-08:00

What a nice toy box.

This is from Yemaya: Xmuutfvfaaaqdggtyytyruqwe1)5433
/aaaZasewaaAzsqqqwsaqwehihvzwaSzsaseddds3...-2 .af

Winter sandbox time

2011-11-22T11:33:00.001-08:00

I'm a firefighter

2011-11-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

What are you eating

2011-11-14T17:15:00.001-08:00

Yemaya walks into the living room eating something.

Me: "What are you eating?"
Y: "A chip."
Me: "Where did you find a chip?"
Y: "In the kitchen."
Me: "Where in the kitchen?"
Y: "On the floor."

I guess we need to sweep.

Two butterflies and a caterpiller

2011-11-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Don't cook mommy

2011-10-24T16:45:00.000-07:00

"Don't cook mommy. I hate it when you cook."

My view of the world.

I'm not sure where she thinks dinner (and dessert) is going to come from if I don't cook.

Jeez kid, this is what I am making.

People keep asking if I have any cravings, and I didn't think I did, but I looked up the following recipes today (while eating a cookie).
Apple tart
Cinnamon Rolls

Good thing I passed my glucose test a few weeks ago! At least dessert will involve a fruit and I only used 2 tablespoons of sugar instead of the cup called for in the recipe.

Pumpkins!

2011-10-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

We went to the Sequim pumpkin patch with our cooperative playschool today. There was a really big slide and Yemaya went down it tons of times all by herself. She was fascinated by the pigs, and wanted to pick up the stray chicken. I'm not sure if she does this at her preschool, or she just saw her little friend who has chickens do it, but she just keeps insisting on trying. I must admit, I do not think I have ever picked up a chicken, and will be no help in pursuing this current fixation of hers. I also was not much help with the pigs. Another mom and grandma were sticking their hands in the fence calling the pigs over, I just sort of poked a pig with one finger. I send Yemaya to a preschool two days a week that has chickens, goats, and sheep with the hopes that the wonderful women who run the school will teach her about touching animals. While I happily dissect animal parts in my science classroom, while wearing gloves, it turns out I have very little interest in getting up close and personal with farm animals (or even most house pets).

Other moms at the pumpkin patch took nice pictures while the sun was out with their nice cameras, all I managed was a scowl when a cloud passed by with my phone. Yemaya is very proud of her pumpkin and will add it to the table that is getting quite full of all the little pumpkins we have bought and picked up at various activities this year. Stay tuned because I expect to have a pumpkin carving craze this weekend (for which we will need to buy more and bigger pumpkins)! Halloween is the best and my favorite holiday, and the fact that my beautiful niece is a Halloween baby only makes it an even better day.

Take a picture

2011-10-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Now she thinks we take pictures of eating every night.

Where have you been? And a bunch of Broccoli eaters.

2011-10-14T17:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I've written about 100 blog posts in my head, and taken many more pictures for posting, but then I think, "Well, we don't really live on a boat anymore. Maybe I should start a new blog." Well, that isn't gonna happen today, or any of the many yesterdays, and maybe we will live on a boat again some day. So I'll just continue doing some blogging about my life here. Plus this post will give me a chance to test out how well the iOS5 on my iPhone and the iCloud really do at streaming pictures from my phone to my computer with out ever attaching a cord.

I called my sister to say "hi" tonight, we talked about all the usual parts of life. We were both cooking dinner during our short phone call. Both our families would be eating some form of pasta. They prefer "worms" and we prefer rainbow spirals. A few minutes into our conversion we had both been interrupted by children, and in her case also a dog. There had been side conversations with children about toys, and the potty, and a few minor injuries. At one point I realized that pasta would not exactly meet the vegetable quota for the day so I starting cutting up the broccoli to throw in the pasta water. I must have said something like, "We are even going to eat a vegetable," to my sister and told her about cutting up the broccoli and cooking it with the pasta. She was inspired to also meet the vegetable quota the same way (no need to microwave, or make an extra pot dirty, which is usually my goal). At practically the same moment our dinners were done and we said good bye.

Moments into sitting down I received this text:

I sent this one back (Y does not smile for the camera):

I texted back Y's response to seeing Sydney: I don't see Owen, can I see Owen eating broccoli?"

And finally:

It was almost like having dinner together. It turns out it is really nice to have a sister to call on the phone and to find out how similar our lives are at some moments in time. Just one of the many reasons I am grateful for my wonderful sisters.

Note: So, iCloud worked really well. No need to plug in my phone to get these photos to my computer to post on the blog. With the new iOS5 on my old iPhone, I have decided that I do not need to buy a new iPhone (I don't think that voice assistant thing will work anyway with a screaming two year old in the background). The new phone was gonna be my early "push present". Now taking suggestions of something better to "ask" for.

My mother always told me...

2011-04-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

...to have cereal where the children can get it themselves. Sometimes
she makes a big mess, but she does know where to go when she is
hungry.

Too Cool

2011-04-11T09:27:00.001-07:00

A frog visits the aquarium

2011-04-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

Go Fly a Kite

2011-03-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

Daddy shows how it's done.

It's a butterfly of course.

Yemaya lost interest in the kite flying and is smelling the flowers.

"This one's for you"

A flower for Mommy.

Blow Fish fishing

2011-03-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

While taking care of two active kids (and a baby) it is important to have fun activities to make it through the day. I have been reading a really great blog, Made by Joel, it is filled with tons of cool ideas for projects to do with kids. Blow Fish is the first project that seemed right for us to give a try.


The basic blow fish concept.

I just free hand cut out the fish and the kids "decorated" them. Owen and I had a few blow fish races across the kitchen. His blue fish was super fast and always won. Because just two fish weren't enough we made three and put one of them on a zipline across the other fish from a high cabinet down to bottom of the fridge.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.

After a few minutes of blow fish, Owen wanted to go fishing. We devised a sort of fishing rod from a piece of tape on a straw "hook," tied to the spool of thread. He was quite happy to play by himself, while I tended to a crying baby and cranky toddler.

Fishing!

Hook detail.

When I had a chance to do some fishing with him we had a good time, even though he said we couldn't eat any of the fish we caught for dinner. I did of course string the fish across the kitchen in a way that I was constantly ducking under them to get to and from the kitchen. Which is fine, except I had the baby in the Bjorn. In case you are wondering, Baby Bjorn limbo is not really that fun and starts to hurt your back. So eventually, I took the fish down. When Hop arrived to help out for the afternoon, Owen wanted to show off his fish, and Hop helped assemble a three fish chain for fishing. Since Hop is a fish expert, he knew what would be fun.


Three fish are better than one fish.

If you are wondering where my daughter is, she said "No pictures."

Three kids, one mommy, and one grammie

2011-03-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

I'm helping take care of my sister's kids while she is on vacation. You can keep up on the adventures of three kids, one mommy, and one grammie on my sister's blog http://thetribbetts.blogspot.com/

Yemaya really likes being here with her cousins, but is finding that two other kids means a lot less time in mommy's lap. It also means watching Owen play with his trains, and to never, ever, ever touch them (except when he is napping).

Contact and tissue paper flower

2011-03-01T20:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we made a craft that I saw on some blog somewhere many months ago.

Basically you need 2 pieces of clear contact paper cut to the size of a sheet of paper, a piece of black construction paper, and little bits of colored tissue paper. Just cut out the outline of a shape out of the construction paper and stick it to one piece of the contact paper. Let the toddler stick as many tissue paper bits on as their attention span allows for. Then stick the other piece of contact paper on and seal it up and put it on your window.

Instead of clear contact paper I bought frosty contact paper, not on purpose, but because I can apparently no longer read. But don't worry I bought the big roll of it, so we will be making them "frosty" for awhile! Yemaya loves stickers so this project was a bit like reverse stickers. And other than a few bits of tissue paper on the floor it is a relatively mess free art project. I'm not sure how other mothers let 1.5 year olds paint inside the house because we did it once, and I don't think we will do it again for quite some time. The painting prep/clean up to toddler enjoyment time ratio was not what I like in a project.

But, the flower turned out real nice and looks pretty in our window. Today we made a butterfly. I tried to get a picture of Yemaya with her flower, but she just cried and tried to hit the camera away, so here is her very sad face instead of her smile.

In the snow and a butterfly video

2011-02-28T14:21:00.000-08:00

Well, we got a lot of snow this last week and Yemaya loved it!

Also, I have had a few requests to make a certain "butterfly" video public. It was a thank you video for Grammie who gave Yemaya the really cool butterfly garden ornament. Enjoy!

Hansel and Gretel

2011-02-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

"Mommy built this really nice kitchen for me, but I prefer to be cooked in the oven rather than cook"

A trip to the aquarium

2011-02-26T19:56:00.000-08:00

On a rare holiday Monday we were able to take a trip into the big city
to see the aquarium. It was after all octopus week there and Yemaya
had recently learned to say something resembling octopus. I think that
octopus week is a sort of farewell to the octopus that the aquarium
was going to release back into the wild, but it is hard to catch the
finer points of an exhibit with a toddler leading the way.

We had lunch at the cafe and when I asked the bus boy if it was really
crazy because of the holiday, he said, "Well, you know it's octopus
week, so it has just been crazy." He may perhaps have one of the only
jobs where those words could be uttered and not sound crazy.

New canned goods

2011-02-24T15:22:00.000-08:00

Picked up something extra at the canned goods section today.

Snow day

2011-02-23T15:37:00.000-08:00

Eating snack inside while the snow comes down outside.

The family demands more!

2011-02-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

I hear that everyone is missing us on the internet. Our new, but old, house, active homemaking, and an active toddler are delaying blogging. I recently finished de-wallpapering, painting and rewiring the heater in Ari's office and still have a bathroom wall to patch, a sink to replace and a new coat of paint as well. Ari and I have learned to can, as the only way to deal with our winter CSA box. I've sent time starting my own sourdough starter and mastering bread making (still working on the mastering part). There is the yard that desperately needs tackling, and hopefully a vegetable garden soon. During waking hours Yemaya and I go to a cooperative playschool one morning, and a Waldorf farm school toddler class another morning. Yemaya loves the animals at the farm, but likes the chickens best. Since I have been doing home improvement and various other tasks every hour that Yemaya sleeps, there is no time for blogging. This blog post means that Yemaya is having cereal for dinner, by herself in the kitchen! But you can see a bit of what we have been up to below.

The firemen came to playschool with the firetruck.

There are a lot of rainbows in PT. Yemaya likes to walk at this pond to see ducks.

We are starting potty training, she was a bit confused this day.

The office, mid-renovation, wall paper off.

Pickled beets. Yummy!

She can sit at the big table now.

Successful no kneed bread.

Too big to fit anymore

2010-11-16T17:07:00.001-08:00

Boat mama...run aground

2010-10-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, if you were wondering, "How long will Ari and Sarah really live on the boat with the baby?" The answer is 18 months (and only 15 of them with the baby). Each of us has our own version of the story, but it comes down to our life being a bit to big to live aboard right now. We both like to joke that it was the other one's idea to move off the boat. But in reality, it was both of us, I think, for different reasons and some the same.

We still have plans to go cruising in the future, but for now we want to enjoy life in our new home. We found a cute little house, on a quiet street, in the quaint town of Port Townsend, WA. We're not sure if Macha will come up or stay in the Bay Area until an eventual trip to Mexico. I miss her sometimes and hope she is okay without us for now.

Yemaya loves our new home. There are a number of wonderful and fascinating things that she did not have on the boat including: stairs, doors, a bathtub, her own room, kitchen cabinets, and a yard. She misses all the birds on the dock, but is making fast friends with the deer that roam our neighborhood. Yemaya and I left many good mama and baby friends back in Alameda and Oakland. I miss the women who so quickly and easily became a regular part of my life, and Yemaya misses the fun and activity of all of her playmates.

Ari and I are making a few friends here and both enjoying the larger bed and running hot water. In particular I am loving the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, hot shower (that is not a ten minute walk from my bed), table that I can leave stuff out on, garage with room for a bike and trailer, my art studio (in the garage), and an amazing and large kitchen. I don't know how long it will be before I stop looking for the foot pump at the kitchen sink, or how long it will be before I miss the cozy simplicity of the boat. But for now, I am basking in the space and room in our wonderful house. As I write this I am waiting for trick-or-treaters to come to the door. So simple for someone to come to our door. It does not require a phone call and a 10 minute walk to meet them at the marina gate.

But if you find yourself in Port Townsend, as many people seem to from time to time, we are just around the corner from Aldrich's Grocery and would love to have you over to share stories of life on sea and land.

She walks!

2010-09-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Yemaya and I spent a long day waiting for things to happen at our loft. It was hot and super boring with a big long hallway, so Yemaya decided (at last) to walk. She's not always this sad when she walks, but this is the only one I could capture on camera.

Yemaya does shapes

2010-09-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

Playing in the cockpit

2010-08-16T16:04:00.001-07:00

She now climbs the companionway ladder like a champ! Her reward is
playing in the cockpit.

Eating with a fork

2010-07-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

Where did a year go?

2010-07-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it! She turned one last week. We had a great time at a house in Sonoma with friends and family. Thanks to Hop, Sue, Kate, Owen and Becca for making the long trip to celebrate with us. Pictures have been demanded, so here they are.

Big girl slide

2010-07-06T19:46:00.001-07:00

She can't walk, but she can slide.

Parenting choices

2010-06-28T08:14:00.001-07:00

Do you take a picture or help your child? Yemaya got my shirt and was
trying to put it on. She wasn't crying, but was a bit stuck. So, I
took a picture.

"Hi"

2010-06-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Words

2010-06-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yemaya knows a lot of words now. She says "hi" and waves from the
moment she wakes until she falls asleep.
In addition she knows: dog, moon, bird, dada, mama, (ba)nana, no, and
baby.

-Sarah

Mama enjoys bed time

2010-06-12T20:37:00.001-07:00

My view:

Ari's view:

I love my husband.

Playing in the cockpit

2010-06-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

It was a failure. The water too cold, the breeze too much, the baby too cranky. It is hot. We are both sticky with sweat. The drops of it beading up on the bridge of our noses. I thought how nice it would be to close off the sea cocks, put a little water in the cockpit and have a little pool time in our always available kiddie pool. I put up some shade, filled it up, got the baby naked and plopped her in.

Whahhhhhhhh!

She hated it. She tried to climb out. Her little skinny legs not long enough to get out. She stood on her tiptoes to avoid having any contact with the water. Besides the crying baby, I was kinda enjoying myself. A light breeze, afternoon sun, cool water on my feet, and the quiet sounds of halyards blowing around.

So now we sit down below, breastfeeding and sweating. At least one of us seems happy with the afternoon activity. Enjoy it while you can baby.

Jumping on land

2010-05-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

She is a great jumper and is thrilled to have friends who let her jump
at their places.

Eating beets and bath in the cockpit

2010-05-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Yemaya loves beets! (But they are very messy for little babies)

One of my readers suggested a folding baby bath tub for the boat, and it finally came. And just in time, because the family that gave us our baby bath tub is expecting another baby and needed it back.
So it seemed like as good a day as any to try it out. It was still warm enough after dinner to take a bath outside. I took about a million cute pictures and here are a few.

Also, Ari wrote a great post about a race we did last week. I recommend you take a look.

Playing on the sole

2010-05-13T17:20:00.001-07:00

That's the floor to you non-boaters. Also, please note her super cute
boat outfit.

Sailboat race

2010-04-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

"Breeze in the face, breeze in the face, just enough for a sailboat race."

This is the little song that Ari sings to Yemaya when it is windy. She loves the wind, it makes her laugh and kick her feet. I like to think that it reminds her of home.

Ari and I did actually go out for a sailboat race a few weeks ago (before life became too busy to do anything). Our boat was not the fastest, and in fact we thought it might be the slowest, until we heard the horn go off for another boat 10 minutes after we finished. It was dark by then so we couldn't really see them. Ari says we need new sails to go faster, I think we should save money and not worry about winning. Different philosophies I guess.

Walking with dada

2010-04-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Standing Up and Family Comment Winner

2010-04-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

She can now pull her self up to standing all on her own! Are we in trouble or what? The baby cloth has to be all the way up now because she can pull up and lunge herself over it.

She loves standing, but it really makes her mad when she falls or can't quite pull up to see something she wants. She will just sit and cry and whine until she get what she wants or can pull herself up. Did I mention that I think we have a stubborn and tenacious daughter? We have no idea where that came from.

Also, we cleaned out her toy bag, and this is her laying in the middle of all of her toys (minus the singing dog that lives in the car). I think this may be one of the best moments of her life.

The family comment contest has come to an end. Thank you to all of you who participated. Congratulations Pop, you came in first place with seven comments, and will be receiving a Yemaya photo album (hopefully before she turns one). Kate, you were a close second with five comments and will be receiving a good second place prize (I'll come up with something good I promise). Thanks to all the non-family members as well for your thoughts and ideas. I love hearing from you all on my blog.

Also, we had a nice visit with Grammie, but didn't take a single picture to post here. Thanks for coming out!

Kids aboard books

2010-04-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

One of my readers (yeah!) Lara asked about what books I read about having kids aboard. I've been meaning to post my list for awhile and to see if anyone else had other suggestions. I read them all when I was pregnant and we were thinking of living aboard. They are now somewhere in storage, so I will have to recall from memory what I liked about each.

Adventuring With Children: An Inspirational Guide to World Travel and the Outdoors by Nan Jeffrey

I really liked this book a lot. Nan Jeffrey had twin boys, and another baby later I think as well. They traveled by sailboat as well as many other adventures. This book definitely made me feel like there was no reason to be afraid of giving it a try.

Cruising with Children by Gwenda Cornell

Babies Aboard by Lyndsay Green

Kids in the Cockpit: A pilot book to safe and happy sailing with children by Jill Schinas

The three listed above have somewhat similar advice, but each has it's own gems. They are quick reads, and were worth it to me. I like to be informed!

All in the Same Boat : Living Aboard and Cruising by Tom Neale

This is the only one I found written by a man. It was good to read about kids aboard from a father's point of view.

Cruising for Cowards: Strategies, Boats and Equipment Preferred by Experienced Cruisers by Liza Copeland

We read this one in the beginning of our cruising dreams. It is not all about kids, but I think there is one chapter in there that was really good about kids aboard. The rest of the book was a good read for someone who has never been cruising before (like me). Simple and practical tips and some good stories.

If anyone else out there has suggestions of good books I'd love to read them. I figure I can't be too prepared.

A day at the beach

2010-04-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

Yemaya loved the ducks, digging with the tools, and her very first
taste of sand!

Baby Safety (Part Two)

2010-04-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

This post is for you Dad.

Part one was the baby gate cloth, and lee cloth for her berth (which does need some redoing already, now that she has figured how to poke her head out and look at us when she is suppose to be asleep, which lead to the worst bed time ever last night, but that is not the point here).

Baby gate cloth half up.

Part two took place today and over the weekend. I installed baby latches on our only two cabinets. They both have things in them that it would be best for Yemaya to keep out of. In addition, the latches they have on them are not the best underway, and have been known to open up when we are really healed over on port tack. The new baby latches should help serve as a nice back up when the primary latches fail. It is strange that I live in a world where I need secondary latches. Yemaya and I learned an important lesson during the instillation, she hates power tools. I had to stop after each latch to comfort her, so it took quite awhile, and I'm glad it is done.

Baby Latch

We also purchased a kid harness and tether from West Marine this weekend. There was a brief discussion in the store about how we could make our own and maybe save a little money, but we quickly came to the conclusion that it would never happen while our daughter was young enough to need the harness. Today, I tried out the harness. It took a bit of fussing, on my part and Yemaya's, but once I got it on, it looked good. I could pick her up from it in back, and she played on deck harnessed and tethered. I still have to work out exactly how long her tether can be and where the best place to tether her is, but it seemed like it will work. Her harness is now ready and waiting by the companionway hatch for the nice days of spring.

Happy harnessed baby!

Baby Bath?

2010-04-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

She has a little baby tub on the boat, but this worked just as well and did not require heating up any water on the stove. I'm on the look out for a tub(and by that I mean plastic bin) that is big enough for her to lay down in.

Babies aboard everywhere

2010-03-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

A few different blogs of sailing families that I follow are expecting children soon. One family, SV Sereia, has put up their sailing for awhile and are returning home to have the baby. Another, BoatBaby, is still living aboard on the East coast with her five year old son, and plans to continue life as usual. I hope that they will all continue to share their lives with me through blogging because we don't actually know anyone (in our non-virtual life) that have babies aboard, and it is nice to not feel quite so alone.

People seem to react to us when we tell them where we live with some kind of shock and horror. Boatbay recently posted some FAQ of her own that inspired my own posting. Thanks!

What's it like having a baby on a boat?
Well, it is small, and we don't really have any hot water.

How do you take a shower?
We walk up to the shower house and take her stroller into the handicap stall, or I go to the gym where there is child care. I never have to clean a shower stall anymore, which is good, because I hardly ever did that in the first place, and it was expensive to have a cleaner come every week when we lived in an apartment.

Do you plan to travel on your boat?
Yes! We have plans once Yemaya is older and the finances are in order. They involve Mexico and beyond depending on how much fun we end up having and how long the money lasts.

What are you going to do when she can walk/crawl?
Well, it depends. It is about a 10 minute walk up our dock. Right now she travels that distance in her stroller (which I am also enjoying as a dock cart). There is really no reason that she can't continue to ride in the stroller until she is able to be trustworthy enough and a decent enough swimmer that I am not terrified that she will fall in the water. Of course, our daughter is already demonstrating some temperament traits that leave me to believe she will want to do everything on her own, so ridding in the stroller might not go down well. We will just hope that the birds continue to be a nice distraction along the dock, enough to distract her from her own desire for independence that is.

Don't you worry about her falling over board?
Yes, and no. Of course I worry about it, but I'm not worried about it. We will see what we do, but just as you would not let your toddler play in the front yard near a street unattended, I don't plan to plop her up on deck and then do something else. It always makes me want to ask don't you worry about your toddler darting into the street? It is so dangerous to live in a house.

Things that people never ask, but they should.
How many pairs of pants do you have? How many books fit on your book shelf? How do you and your husband deal with each others messes from projects? What happens when you need some space from each other? How many people can brush their teeth at once? How often do you accidentally kick or step on someone else? What do you keep in your dock box? Why is your car always full of stuff? To me these are the more interesting questions about boat life, the ones that I actually ask myself on a regular basis, and tell you a lot more about life on a boat then, "Where do you shower?"

Birds

2010-03-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Yemaya loves birds. They are the first animal that we ever saw her pay attention to when we were walking around. On our dock nearly every time we walk up or down we run across a Great White Egret. They let us get quite close and don't seem all that scared of us. Sometimes they just slowly walk up a finger to get out of out way. But, Yemaya prefers the Pelicans, ducks, and Seagulls because they move faster and fly over her head.

Earlier this week we took her for a walk and there were plenty of birds for her to see. She watches they quite intently, pulling herself forward in her stroller or craning her neck and twisting her body in our arms. She coos in the cutest way and couldn't be happier then when we are watching ducks.

She, of course, has not learned to say duck yet, or even understand it, but when she does, perhaps I can use an old family trick to keep her awake in the car and tell her to, "look at the ducks,"even when they are not there.

Yemaya watching what are not buffle headed ducks, despite the buffle on their heads.

Family Comment Contest

2010-03-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I would like more comments on my blog. My most frequent, and generally only commenter is a very nice woman I have never met (Thanks boatbaby!). I mean, come on family, step it up! Either you don't read my blog, which makes me a little sad because I take all kinds of silly pictures just for you, or you don't know how to use the comment feature (which I am fairly sure to be the case for a number of you, but it is not rocket science). I do like blogging, but an, "awww, so cute!" or, "sounds fun" every once and awhile would let me know that you read my blog.

So, I am having a contest for my family to help increase comments and keep me motivated to keep taking pictures of Yemaya for you all. The family member (by blood, marriage, or love) who makes the most comments on my blog over the next month can win their very own copy of Yemaya's photo album that I am currently putting together in iPhoto. You can see the work in progress below.

Pop is already winning with two comments on my previous post! Sorry, no visit for the winner, but we will come visit soon, and you are always welcome here. If you are one of my family members that needs a little technical support, just call and I'll do my best to talk you through how to leave a comment. Non-family members are always welcome to comment too, and perhaps we can have a contest for you all later. Let me know what you want to win.

Hobbies

2010-03-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

The other day one of my friends and I were talking and she asked me what kind of hobbies I have...well, I guess that blogging is my hobby right now. I think about things to write about, take photos to go with my blog posts and this is what I do while my daughter is napping. One reason is that it is a quiet hobby. I can't really make much noise on the boat while she is napping. Another reason is that I can do it from my iPhone. And as some of you may know, I love my iPhone almost as much as I love my husband and daughter. And then there is the rain. There are things I could do outside while she naps, like walking her in the stroller, or projects on the dock, but it keeps raining. The weather has begun to turn, but today it is raining a lot! Sure I have other hobbies: sewing, knitting, reading, sailing, and hiking. But they just don't really happen during nap time right now. Maybe one day...until then above is a photo I took with my iPhone of me blogging and below one I took using photo booth.

Also, I have been using Google analytics to track my blog readers. I can see all sorts of cool data about how many visitors I have each day, where they are from, how long they stay, how they got to my blog and so on. Sometimes this is really cool. Like for example I have had 102 unique visitor to my blog over the last month. But really I think I have about 10 readers. Also, I have had readers from 9 countries in the past month. And only 11 visits from Canada, which means Ari's friends and family really need to pick up the slack. It is a little creepy to me actually how much data I can get on my blog readers for free. I'm sure that it can be much more detailed, but they just don't give all of it away for free. For example, I can see that I have had five visits from a particular city, but I can't tell if they are all the same visitor, but I'm sure that Google can tell. And, because I know who most of my 10 regular readers are, I can tell that my father, or Ari's mom has checked my blog recently, or not, and then I wonder why they are not reading the blog. Now that you know you are being tracked, I hope you don't stop coming to my blog!

All the data also sometimes makes me think that I should promote (or tell people about) my blog more. Some blogs are full of comments and have lots of regular readers, and that seems really fun to me. My friends often say things like "You have a blog?" I don't post my blog updates on Facebook all the time because I don't want to be "one of those people." But then recently my friend Jackie started a blog, and I was so glad that she posted it on Facebook because I almost never hear from her and now I know about a new business she wants to start. I think that maybe I feel a little strange about having a blog, and putting a part of me out in the world for everyone to see. I've never really been someone who wants to be the center of attention all the time. I prefer to keep things quiet and private, so blogging requires me to put myself out there a little bit more. And as my friends and family have spread themselves around the world it lets me reach out to all of them and say hi.

Just a girl in a swing

2010-03-07T20:04:00.001-08:00

Car Seat on a Boat

2010-03-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant, and we decided to move onto the boat and get serious about our cruising saving and plans, I did a lot of research about cruising with kids. I bought every book I could find on the subject. There seemed to be some general consensus that installing a car seat on the boat somewhere safe was a good option when you needed to put the baby down and do some sailing. So, it only took us 7 months to make it happen, but we took our first sail with the car seat!

I bought an extra, used, inexpensive infant car seat base that Yemaya's car seat clicks right into. Ari installed two mounting rings that car seat LATCH systems can clip right into (so it will be good for the next car seat size up too). Ari clipped the base in and snugged it down tight. We plopped the car seat in and buckled Yemaya in safe.

The sail took place a little late in the day, and Yemaya was not in the best of moods, but she was safe. I hung some nice toys for her, but she really prefers the vang and cunningham lines. I'm fairly sure that the fancy lines Ari bought are not organic cotton, but Yemaya does love sucking on them. As we tacked up the estuary I played down below with the baby. When we turned around and headed downwind, the wind was getting lighter and Ari wanted to put up the geniker. So into the car seat Yemaya went. We sailed nicely downwind for a bit as we watched the container ships and tug boats moving around. And as it always happens, as we sail by, the container ships get ready to move. Oakland is, after all, one of the busiest ports on the West Coast. At that moment it was nice to have two hands on deck. Not absolutely necessary, but nice to have the baby down below and safe so we could move to one side and take the geniker down, while the container ship was turned and pushed out to the Bay. Yemaya cried a bit, but I sang to her, and she was fine.

I spent some time feeding her and playing with her down below before we docked. But then, back in her car seat, grumpy and tired, for a quick moment while I helped with docking. Again, we sang to her to calm her down and keep her happy. I wondered if anyone heard us and was curious as to why the small boat was docking to "Itsy, Bitsy Spider" and "Five Little Ducks." In case there are other sailing parents out there, I have used "Five Little Ducks" on two different crying children on sailboats and both times it worked like magic. Not sure why, but a good one to know in an emergency. http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/f005.html

In general, the car seat was great. Yemaya was a little over tired from a busy weekend, so she did not show her love for the car seat set up, but I think it will grow on her. Now we just have to get the same set up going for Macha. After that, the next baby safety project is a harness and tether for when she is walking or crawling above deck (which requires both learning to crawl/walk, and for the rain to stop).

A while back, before the baby, I summed up everything I had learned from my reading about cruising with babies and kids. If any of you out there have more suggestions or stories to share I'd love to hear them. http://sv-macha.blogspot.com/2009/04/baby-aboard.html

Missing cars, Tsunamis, and Costal Vacation

2010-03-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

For reasons that are too complicated to explain, I am a City Car Share member. Which means I can use a variety of vehicles for short or long periods of time. So, we thought we would reserve a Mini Cooper Convertible for a weekend trip down the coast. We arrived Saturday morning at the pickup location, no Mini Cooper. I call City Car Share, and after some time the nice woman confirms that while I have a reservation, the Mini Cooper is "missing"! I don't think this happens very often. So we decide to take our perfectly nice (but very messy) car on our mini vacation.

But then, Tsunami warning! Should you drive down Highway 1 during a tsunami? Was all this a sign that we should avoid our little vacation? We saw a sign "All San Mateo County Beaches Closed." As we drove along we saw closed beach, after closed beach. We stopped for lunch at a nice little place at Gazo's Creek, and as we were finishing up the fire marshal called and suggested that they close up for a bit. So we wondered, should we stay on the road on the coast or perhaps play it safe and head a bit inland for awhile. So we detoured inland to buy some wine and chocolate, and returned a few hours later (supposedly post-tsunami). So we survived the tsunami. I gather that there was some kind of small surge, and a fisherwoman we met the next day did remark how churned up the water was, but who knows.

At last we arrived, Costa Noa, our favorite little retreat, just past Half Moon Bay. We stayed in a little tent with two beds. As cute and small as can be, with heated mattresses to keep you warm and bathrooms just a short walk away. Not sure why exactly we thought this was vacation seeing as how right now we live in a tiny space, with bathrooms just a short walk away. It must be the heated mattresses that lured us there.

Ari and I have spent some wonderful weekends at Costa Noa. There are hiking trails to the beach, a nice restaurant, and no cell phone service. For the two of us iPhone addicts, the lack of email, phone calls, and texts seems to be an important feature of a nice getaway. This time we did some nice walking with Yemaya and generally enjoyed the time away from the rest of our lives. Yemaya did quite well on her first (kinda) camping trip. She slept great and enjoyed every flower, bird, and kitty cat that we met along the way.

On Sunday we drove back and stopped in Half Moon Bay. We saw many interesting things there. A boat covered in stuffed animals. We don't know why, but it does get my imagination going. An octopus caught by cab fisherman, that ate all the crab in the pot. And most interesting of all to Yemaya, a baby that looked just like her.

Wet cockpit

2010-02-24T20:53:00.001-08:00

Q: Where do you put a baby to play outside when the cockpit is wet?

A: In the baby bath tub of course.

Just out for a sail with a baby

2010-02-17T19:27:00.001-08:00

Ari and I took a quick sail on the Tuna with the baby after work. It
was a wonderful sunny day, and isn't that why we (he) bought it after
all. But right now, sailing with the baby means that one of us is
watching her and one of us is single handing the boat.

We hope to make a way to put her car seat in so we can strap her down
when needed, and perhaps I will figure out some other method of
containing her safely. But for now, when the winds get light and Ari
wants to hoist the geniker, and then the winds get lighter and he rows
a little with the geniker still up, this is what you end up with. Notice the line in his mouth!

It was a really great family sail. Yemaya loved every minute of it. I'm not sure she knew what was going on, but she loved cuddling with mom and dad, rolling over onto the sail bags, and flashlights and shadow puppets after sunset. Hopefully, with the winter rains coming to an end soon, and longer days, there will be many more sails on the Tuna at sunset before returning home to Macha to tuck the little one in for the night.

Boat Projects with Babies

2010-02-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

Today I tried to finish a project while alone with the baby. The project is a baby gate of sorts to keep her confined into a safe space on the boat. It is only a rectangular piece of fabric with six snaps on it, but it has taken me many days. First I cut and sewed a piece that turned out to be one inch too small because I forgot to add one inch when I was cutting for the seams. Then I remeasured and cut another piece of fabric. That fabric has now been sitting around for a few days waiting for the right moment. Which occurred at nap time today!

I quickly sewed some seams and then "whahhhhhh". My darling baby slept for exactly 30 minutes today! But, it is not all bad, because I broke out the bouncy swing. That gave me at least 10 more minutes of banging and drilling to put a few snaps in place. Of course she poops while in there and needs a total outfit change and is not really interested in going back in to the chair. I tried putting her in the safe bed to play, but that just made her mad. I tried playing with her and she cried, I tried ignoring her and she cried. I finally fed her some rice cereal, and gave her a few new toys. 5 more minutes, one more snap. More crying, more breast feeding. More toys and crying, and at last four hours, and three days of work, after I began my one hour project it is done! She now will be safe and confined for at least a few months until she becomes smart enough to escape from this as well.

Sailing Macha

2010-02-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

As promised here are some photos from our sail a few weeks back.

Sails hoisted (with an accidental, but amazing shot of a bird).

Yemaya down below "napping."

Craig on the helm.

Ari and the Estuary sunset.

We are in trouble now

2010-01-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

She no longer stays put. Her latest skill, climbing out of the cockpit.

Yemaya plays drums

2010-01-24T09:34:00.001-08:00

Life on Land

2010-01-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

So, we are spending five weeks in an apartment to have a little break from the boat and figure things out. The place we are subletting has all the luxuries, showers, washer dryer, cable TV, two bed rooms, and a hot tub. Yemaya has been enjoying the floor space, Ari and I have been enjoying a TV in the living room and bedroom.
I'll admit that living on the boat isn't the easiest thing all the time, but I also love it. There have been a bunch of sea lions spending their time in our marina, and I spend more time walking and getting exercise when we are there. So far with such a little baby there has been only a little sailing, so that makes it a little less fun.
But last weekend we took Macha out (pics to follow once the camera and computer are reunited) for a quick sail. Thanks to Craig for the encouragement and sailing so I could take care of Yemaya and sail a bit. Yemaya sat in her little bed and played and cried a bit. We put up the main and pushed off the dock. Head sails followed for a few tacks up the estuary and then with the wind and current helping a gentle sail back to the dock. It was only an hour or so, but it was nice to get Macha off the dock after nine months. Ari and Craig had earlier take the Tuna out for a spin before dropping the mast as part of Ari's ongoing project to get her ready to race. Hopefully we can get the boat(s) out more and start to make our life on the boat feel a little less like sacrifice and a little more like fun.

Yemaya Eats Squash

2010-01-10T11:06:00.001-08:00

Yemaya's first drawing

2010-01-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

With the help of cousins Z and S, Yemaya was able to make her first drawing. She is very advanced!

The joys of travel

2010-01-03T22:54:00.001-08:00

Here you can see what I like to call "My dad let me pee all over my
clothes, and then I pooped in the baby bjorn and had a major blow out,
and mom only packed one extra outfit, airport tee shirt." The smallest
shirts they had were 2x, but the yellow one at least fit over her
head. The very cute Canada shirt has the smallest head hole I have
ever seen. Ari couldn't believe there was not some kind of
standardization for these kind of things.

Visiting the cousins

2009-12-30T06:21:00.000-08:00

Up here in Canada we have been spending many busy days with the Paynes. Yemaya is not used to all the noise and busy bodies here, so she naps more than usual. Sometime she cries and if we walk her into a quite room she is happy again. She is a little spoiled by her quiet life in California.

Last night we had our first experience with a vomiting infant. Despite the fact that she is quite the spitter-upper, I was horrified by the amount of vomit all over me. My sister in law agrees that child spit up soaked through to your underwear is the worst! She seems to be recovering well, and we only had to wet vac the carpet and couch so far. Luckily anything that Yemaya could slime up, one of her cousins has probably slimed before.

Long trip north

2009-12-28T06:32:00.001-08:00

Well, we made our 14 hour trek to visit family in Canada and for
Yemaya to see her native land. It was long and Ari and I watched
movies instead of sleeping on the plane. By the time we got to the
train station Ari could hardly see straight. I however was still awake
like a champ. By Christmas day we were almost back to normal. Ari set
his alarm so not miss all the little ones fun. The next morning the
whole house was up at six with Ari's alarm. Good thing we didn't all
sleep through.

I said I would never

2009-12-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

I used to see parents give their keys to children to play with, and
for what ever reason I thought that there was something bad about
that. Well, now that I have a baby and want to eat lunch without
anyone in my lap, I have changed my mind. Of course, letting a child
play with my iPhone... I don't know about that. Owen "helping" me make
a video of Yemaya was just good sense. And Yemaya is too small to hold
the phone anyways.

The Yellow Sweater

2009-12-06T08:34:00.000-08:00

The legend has it that this sweater took nearly 30 years to complete. The design is fancy and intricate and the acrylic yarn was hard to come by, but it was the ribbon detailing that really took the last 29 years or so. But at last my mother finished it at Thanksgiving and my daughter will now been seen in a sweater meant for the previous generation of Finger girls. We have some ideas of putting her in a green outfit underneath and making her look like a flower. The first fitting did not go so well, but she has since been able to wear it without crying.

Why is she crying?

2009-12-01T21:02:00.000-08:00

The other day she was screaming in the car the whole way from the store home. She was fed and changed, so I had no idea what was wrong...until I went to get her and saw this...

I would be mad too if I puked all over myself. I made the photo nice and big so you can see the detail.

Photos and more soon about all our adventures in Denver (if my sister Kate ever emails me some pics).

This one's for Deirdre

2009-11-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

Deirdre has the best taste in clothes! And she hasn't even spit up on it yet.

She reads

2009-11-12T16:19:00.001-08:00

Our New Sail

2009-11-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

So we hoisted the new drifter and it is quite something. We bought it off Craigslist for $400. (Plus it came with 4 bins of miscellaneous junk thrown in that the sellers wife foisted off on us. I am very excited about all the junk. Ari and I have a bet about how much I can make selling the junk. He thinks $75, I say $100.) It seems to fit fairly well, which is a bit of a surprise because both my husband and the seller seemed a bit unsure of all the dimensions. We have not actually used it to sail the boat and there are some concerns that it might not tack well between the jib and jib topsail stays. But who needs to tack when trying to go upwind in light air?

The whole process of hoisting a sail was a bit more difficult then I would ever have imagined. Ari has been sick for a few days and keeps getting out of bed acting like he is doing fine. And then he will say things like "I feel a little woozy." So when I proposed the sail hoisting project I thought he was feeling better. Only to discover halfway through that he is still feeling sick and light headed. So, I feel a little guilty that I let him go out on the bowsprit twice. Also, when I suggested hoisting the sail the baby was asleep, and she of course woke up as soon as we got the sail on deck. So I lay her down in the cockpit on a sail bag, and Ari or I would go back and check on her when she started complaining about how boring it was by herself looking at the sky. In our efforts to hoist the sail, with Ari not thinking clearly because he has hardly eaten in two days and me half thinking about my poor baby in the cockpit, we (I) first hanked the sail on to the wrong stay, and we hoisted it up before we realized what was wrong. But at last we got it up on the right stay, and it is glorious!

But, does it really matter how many sails your boat has if you are too scared (and messy) to take your baby out sailing and you live on your boat? Yemaya will be 4 months old this week and she has been sailing three times! Twice on a 30 ft catamaran and once last night on our Santana 22 just up to Jack London Square and back. And perhaps soon we can take her out on Macha. I guess as long as the boat doesn't heal very much I can hold her safely underway. But when Macha is powered up by the afternoon Bay wind, I am worried my little one and I will not have very much fun sliding around in the boat. But who knows, perhaps we can just play on the sole and come up when things are calm and we will not be in the way. And maybe we will figure out the whole car seat lashed down below thing too. Since she can't really move herself around yet I worry about leaving her in a padded berth where she may get smushed in a corner with out really being able to get herself out on her own. But soon she will be older and stronger which will help me be braver about the adventures we take her on.

We have refrigeration

2009-11-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

So, for the record I am fine living with out refrigeration. I have read Lin Pardey's book "The Care and Feeding of a Sailing Crew." And I know that most stuff does not need to be kept in the fridge. But Lin Pardey is not a breast feeding mom who wants to leave her baby with her husband in the evenings from time to time. So after much discussion and a some difficulty we have bought and wired in a small fridge. I can not wait to fill it with milk and lots of other things. Ari can't wait for cold beer (I mean as long as there is a fridge, we can drink cold beer). I'm sure that it will fail at some time, but until that day...I am so happy!

Yemaya at the Claremont Hotel

2009-11-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

She loved the king sized bed and had a very relaxing day at the spa. She said she is happy to return anytime.

Baby Monkey

2009-11-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

Well in case you missed it the first time around... Yemaya was a monkey and Ari and I were on Safari. We went on a Halloween Parade with Deirdre, Naomi and her family. Yemaya missed out on most of it because she apparently thinks her Halloween costume is for sleeping.

A Macha Halloween

2009-10-29T23:50:00.000-07:00

I can't wait! My favorite holiday is coming so soon. Today we went to this Alameda Parents Group and carved a pumpkin. We have no candles so I made a little alcohol burner with tinfoil to light it up. The flame is a little bluer and not as bright, but took some nice pictures. The jack-o-lantern is in honor of Ari's study of celestial navigation with a North Star nose and Waxing and Waning Moon eyes.

Yemaya's new berth

2009-10-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, she is almost too big for her basket now. So we finally cleaned up enough so that she can sleep in her very own big girl berth. Last night she made it through the night all by herself in her big bed (despite the scary howling wind). I had to put on some white noise to cover up all the little bangs and howls from the wind. As I told Ari last night, "Scary Wind Storm" was not one of the tracks on the, "White Noise for Babies," album that we use. Here she is taking a nap, as cute as can be.

And here is a video so you can hear the scary wind that we have been having for the past few days. Ari reports being land sick at work because of all the bouncing the boat is doing.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

We went to buy a BIG genoa sail last weekend. Pictures to follow once we get it up. There have been strong winds for a few days, so that will have to wait.

On the way I saw a sign for the pumpkin patch, and I love Halloween! So we stopped in to see the world record corn maze, and it was decimated by a previous storm. We did how ever see many pumpkins bigger than Yemaya.

Cute hands

2009-10-27T12:37:00.001-07:00

Yemaya can do all sorts of things with her hands now. She can get her
thumb in her mouth, put toys in her mouth and hold on to her parents
shirts. She likes to feel Ari's beard when he gets her in the mornings.

Monkey

2009-10-13T21:28:00.001-07:00

It's raining, so I dressed her up warm in her monkey suit. She
couldn't be cuter.

Drip, drip, drip

2009-10-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

So we knew there was a leak in the bed...but it really does suck to wake up to a drip on your toe. But good news, it was not just one drip, but at least two! The rain is suppose to let up soon. So we should have a chance to fix a few of the leaks before the winter is really here, and before a few more leaks spring up.

Dock Baby

2009-10-12T21:12:00.001-07:00

The first storm of the season is coming and we had to turn the boat around in the slip. Because I have nightmares about the boat getting away from us when we are warping it around, the baby can not be on the boat when we are moving docklines. So instead, we placed her on the dock in her basket where she would be safe. Notice the "safe" cans of diesel next to her on the dock.
But she was happy as a clam, babbling away and watching the storm clouds roll in.

We went to Fairyland

2009-10-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

This was the best day ever. We had lunch at the new Lake Merritt Boat House. The food was nice, the beer was yummy, and no one got attacked by a seagull, goose or pigeon. Afterward we took a walk and ended up going to Fairyland, a wondrous place for all children (except Yemaya, I think she could care less).

First we saw all the animals. There were bunnies, ducks, donkeys, goats, and geese.

Then we saw the castles.

Then we changed diapers and outfits, due to a code brown, and feed in front of the castle. It was totally worth the $14 for us to get in.

We tried to take her on the train, but she was too sleepy and screamed when we picked her up because she just wanted to sleep in her stroller. So she slept down the yellow brick road.

We are bad, or stupid, parents because then we took our happily sleeping baby into the musical fairy tunnel. Where of course she woke up, and surprisingly was not too mad about it. The tunnel is actually really cool. There are bells, chimes, and some kind of rolling thing. The acoustics are neat and there are fairies on the walls. It is the kind of place a five year old would love.

All in all Fairyland was fun. I think even by the time she is a year old she can get a lot out of it. Ari and I enjoyed ourselves and were happy to spend a Friday afternoon together as a family instead of Ari being at work.

She talks...sort of

2009-10-11T10:10:00.001-07:00

Cute and ready for winter

2009-10-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

Hip Mama

2009-10-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, in my short time in motherhood here in the Bay Area I am quickly learning what the important hip "must have" baby products are. Some are actually useful and nice, but I'm not sure that babies with out Sophie Giraffe are really any worse off then those who have one. But in case you are wondering what every new mom needs, even if she doesn't, here is my list.

1. Babe Au lait (formerly Hooter Hider)

These come in about a million hip fabric patterns and are good for my friends who are anxious about breast feeding in public. They have a piece of boning that helps hold the fabric away from you so you can see the baby. I just made one myself last night, rather than paying $35. My mother taught me to be cheap and not spend money on things you don't need (and even those you do), so I have a hard time buying a yard of fabric with a strap for $35. It was easy and took about an hour and cost about $9. I haven't used it yet, so I'll report back. I used directions I found on the web.

2. Sophie Giraffe

I was given Sophie as a gift from another mom. She told me at the shower that it was the most popular baby toy. At my first mom and baby yoga class 12 of the 15 babies had one there. It is rubber and made in France, so I guess that is how you know it is hip. Yemaya has not shown really any interest in Sophie or any other toy for that matter, so I can't give you my review yet.

3. Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets

They have cute little animals and such printed on them, which I'm sure adds to the hipness factor. They are a lose weave cotton (although I don't think they are organic, and they are made in China, despite the designed in the USA on the tag) and much bigger than the average baby blanket. My aunt remarked on the absorbing quality as well (good for copious amounts of slime that comes out of my daughters mouth). I was given the cow one as a gift by a parent at my school. After many months I have come to the conclusion that I need more than one (because of the aforementioned slime that goes stale if left unlaundered for long). And because of my mother and the cheapness I cannot bring my self to pay $20 for a yard of cloth (although a 4 pack is only $44), do you see a theme here. I have been to the fabric store and searched online and I can not find a fabric like them, so I may just break down and buy some soon.

4. Trumpette Baby Socks

They look like shoes, but they are really socks. How cute! I swear that my mom friends mention these more often then any other baby product by brand name. They all swear that they are the only socks that will stay on. I have only put socks on Yemaya about 10 times, but they do seem to stay on. Now that it is fall she will be wearing her ballet slipper and converse socks more often. I do not know why we talk about sock so often, but apparently as a new mom socks can come up in just about every conversation.

5. Lovies

These are those cute little blankets made of something soft with an animal head, and sometimes arms and legs. Apparently if you don't have one of these your child will be very sad. And my friends say that their pediatricians said it is okay for the kids to sleep with them. I very much doubt that there is a Lovies and SIDS study out there, but whatever the doctor says. Yemaya has one that looks like a monkey that she has shown some moderate interest in holding accidentally for short periods of time.

6. Ergo Baby Carrier

This is the baby carrier I do not own. We have 2 slings and a Baby Bjorn, but the really hip and earthy moms all own this one. It costs about $100, and some are organic. I keep looking at them in the store and will probably buy one soon, they are quite hard to find used, and when I do find them they sell just below retail. People report them as more comfortable when the kid is bigger. And just look at the picture, that mom is hip.

Just in case you were worried that I was bought out by corporate America, my blog has not been sponsored by any of these companies, but they are all free to send me free things if they want. Also, Mom, I love that you taught me to look at what things are really worth and to not throw my money away on junk.

Laundry Day

2009-10-03T16:14:00.001-07:00

Having a baby is great. The stroller can hold laundry on top, below
and even in with the baby. Look close and you might see a little
Yemaya somewhere in there.

She laughs

2009-09-25T22:00:00.001-07:00

Today was the best day. Ari made her laugh in the car by shaking a
rattle and smiling. I only heard it, but it made me want to pull over
and see it.

Babies in a row

2009-09-25T21:52:00.001-07:00

Here is Yemaya with her first friends, the babies in my new mom group.
They are so cute lined up in a row.

The innocence of babies

2009-09-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the minutes are ticking away until her first doctors appointment with shots. Here is a video of her innocently looking at her mobile and cooing, not knowing what she is about to have done to her.

Anything with monkeys is funny

2009-09-23T15:04:00.000-07:00

She wasn't happy about it, but it sure was cute!!!