Mama Squirrel

What I Learned

The clock is ticking away the final hours of 2011.  After sixteen months, I think it's safe to say  I'm not going to crack in the next few hours and go on a shopping spree at the local Toys R Us.  

In other words, 

I DID IT!

In August of 2010 I used Facebook to ask anyone out there who cared to answer whether they thought I could go an entire year without buying toys for my children.  Not only did I get some enthusiastic responses, but it was suggested that I start a blog and write about my experience.  I began with this post.  

Even though  it was only August, I'd already bought quite a few toys for Christmas 2010.  To be fair, I decided that my experiment had to extend beyond the upcoming Christmas and through all of 2011.  In addition to a time frame, I made up some more rules and wrote about them here.  At the time, sixteen months, "until December 31, 2011"  seemed so long.

...except it really wasn't.  And now it's over.

So what did I take away from this experiment?

•  I will never see stuff in the same way.  Not just toys for the girls, but clothes, gadgets and decorative items for my home.  Where I used to buy impulsively for myself when I saw something that caught my eye, now I'm more apt to think about the purchase and it's long term implications.  It's fun to stumble upon kitsch from the 50s and 60s at an estate sale or flea market, but what's left after the thrill of the find?  Just something else to dust.  
• I've learned to value experiences over objects.  I put some of the time and effort I spent shopping for toys into providing Little Tiger and The Milk Belly Princess with experiences.  They've enjoyed classes in dance, swimming, ice skating, horseback riding, painting and yoga. In addition to teaching them different skill sets, those experiences have helped them develop poise and confidence in a way no toy ever could.  Along with different kinds of lessons, the girls accompanied The Mister and I to  concerts, plays and other family-oriented events.  We all savored our time together and focused on what we were doing rather than the souvenir we would get at the end.
• I got back to my crafty roots.  I started sewing again and wonder why I ever stopped.   Since August of 2010 I've had the pleasure of creating dolls and loveys for my girls and their cousins and friends.   I get a lot of joy from giving handmade gifts to people who are important to me.  One of my favorite comments from this blog is this statement by my friend Laura:  "Overall I believe that there is a correlation between the quality of the gift and the level of relationship. I think that if it isn't worth MAKING a gift for that person, then maybe a gift isn't appropriate for that relationship."  I know that due to time and skill constraints this isn't always possible.  (My lovely Aunt Barbara in Hawaii should not feel obligated to carve a surfboard for her children.)  But it is good food for thought.
• I discovered new opportunities that I never knew existed.   My job at Bayarts came about as a result of this blog.  Teaching hand sewing to children who really want to learn and use their creativity to take what I teach them and extend their projects into wonderfully original creations is so gratifying.  Without the craftiness that was reawakened by this experiment, I probably would not have become so  interested in Zerolandfill and, subsequently, Collective Upcycle which further inspired me.  

So what's next?  I've decided to continue with this blog.  I've always enjoyed writing and this space gives me an opportunity to write for an audience about topics that are important to me without the pressure of deadlines.  

I'm going to continue to give my girls handmade gifts, but give myself permission to purchase them when it is appropriate.  I'm not sure I'll ever again be able to justify the purchase of dolls or stuffed animals, but I won't feel guilty about buying them yoga mats since that isn't something I or anyone I know can make by hand.  

Happy New Year!  Have fun tonight with your family and friends.  I'll leave you with a picture of how The Milk Belly Princess and I spent our afternoon:

Hello Dollies!

As we approach Christmas, I'm working like mad to finish all of the gifts I've spent the past few months starting for the girls.  Today I was able to complete these lovely ladies:

My favorite little detail is the lady bug buttons from Bead Paradise that compliment the lady bugs in the dresses.  To make the dolls I used this pattern created by the amazing Emily Martin. If you've never visited her at The Black Apple you really should.  She also has an Etsy shop where she sells prints of her wonderful art work.  Her blog post about her studio inspired me to work on my own creative space. 

Speaking of creating, I need to get back to finishing some more projects for the girls.  I hope you are enjoying these days before Christmas.  The anticipation of something exciting and fun is one of the best parts of the whole experience.

Being Santa

Why is it that when I was young the month of December seemed to last for a hundred years, but now that I'm an adult the whole 31 day extravaganza lasts about five minutes?  

The girls are eagerly anticipated the arrival of The Jolly Old Elf.  So much so that he's worked his way into their imaginary play.  This morning, The Mister was called away from  the kitchen to obseve this little scenario:

Little Tiger used some yarn to make herself a harness and tied her reindeer self to the sleigh of The Milk Belly Princess. Here's a close up of Milk Belly Santa herself, ready to launch into the air and deliver gifts to the children of the world:

I am excited that even in their play Little Tiger and The Milk Belly Princess are on the giving end of Christmas, as they have been in real life as well.  Mysterious packages wrapped in tissue paper have started making their way home from school.  Last week, The Milk Belly Princess, accompanied by her teacher, walked down the hall at school and paid a visit to Little Tiger so she could present her with this:

She sewed a cuff (or "handcuff" as The Milk Belly Princess calls it) to match one she made for herself a couple of weeks ago.  I love that the girls go to a school where giving and craftiness are part of the school day.  Regardless of what happens between now and the end of grad school, I will always know that their first school experience was a good one.

I adore gifts the girls make at school, but we're busy at home as well, making final project choices for gifts to give to those we love.  If you're interested in getting crafty this week, but aren't sure where to start, allow me to make some recommendations.  Here are three really fun and inspiring posts from The Crafty Crow:

My favorite of the bunch is  this post full of adorable softie gifts for parents to make for kids.  One of the items on the list is the mermaid doll I featured in this post .  If stuffed animals aren't what you had in mind, the post called 21 Gifts Parents Can Make For Kids has instructions for making an easel and some rustic, yet lovely, wooden gnomes .  If your Christmas shopping and crafting is complete and what you really need is something your littles can make for their loved ones 20 Gifts Kids Can Make is an eclectic list containing everthing from paper mache pens to a bowl made of yarn and thread.

Regardless of what you're making or buying, remember any gift made or selected mindfully is something you can be proud of. 

Adventures in Painting

Last fall, in this post I shared Little Tiger's painting of a jack o' lantern and mentioned that she created it at a friend's birthday party.  I'd like to tell you more about where she painted it and her painting class at Daugstrup Fine Art  this summer.  

 Two years ago, Lori Rosenbaum  began offering children's art classes and hosting painting parties in a space initially intended for her private studio. Here's a look at the studio after one of her most recent classes:

Located on the third floor of an unassuming office building on Center Ridge Road in Rocky River, Daugstrup Fine Art would be difficult to locate if students and their parents had to find it on their own.  Lori, however, understands that her location is tricky and is ready with clear, specific directions when new students call to register for one of her classes.  When I called a month ago to see if there was space available for Little Tiger in the painting class that afternoon, Lori was very friendly and took the time to make sure I knew how to get there.

Every Monday, Lori offers a 90 minute painting class for children.   There is a different composition each week and sign-ups are on a week-by-week basis.  Students and their parents can register for a class because they really like the subject of the weekly painting or simply because they are in the mood to be artistic.  

After students check in and put on a painting smock, they sit down at a station that contains all of the supplies they will need for class including a picture of the weekly composition, brushes and paints.   

From mounting the hardware onto the 8x10 canvas to mixing colors, students follow step-by-step directions to complete their paintings.    When Little Tiger created this street scene  she was eager to tell me about how she mixed her own colors and the special technique she used to texture the tree and shrubbery.

The following week, she painted a sand castle and really enjoyed applying the red speckles at the bottom of the canvas.

Last week, the class made a departure from architecture into the animal world and made zebras.

This afternoon, Little Tiger was proud to come home with this painting of a sand bucket and shovel, a nice compliment to the sandcastle painting from two weeks ago. 

Although she still likes to squish around in fingerpaint and, on occasion, delights in mixing her watercolors at home into murky brown soup, Little Tiger really seems to enjoy this class.  I wasn't there during her painting sessions, but at the end of each one she was pleased with her work and excited to tell me about how much fun she had.  Although she's not trying to use techniques like shading and perspective when she paints independently (yet)  I really appreciate that she is being exposed to this now.  One aspect of The Experiment that I am most grateful for is that the money I've saved not buying toys has enabled me to be more adventurous with the experiences that the girls are exposed to.  Watching them develop new interests in everything from riding horses to sewing over the past year has truly been a joy.

Pony Camp

Not only do I feel guilty about spending time away from my girls, but about the experiences that they miss out on because I have to work.  Where we live, the majority of places offering activities for preschoolers cater to the schedule of stay at home moms (Lest you think otherwise, I'm not being critical of stay at home moms.  Make no mistake--I'm jealous).  When Little Tiger FINALLY met the criteria for most of the local preschool activities of being three years old AND potty trained I was discouraged to learn just about everything she was eligible for was offered at 10:30 on Tuesday morning...right in the middle of my third period English One class.  

While many families see summer as a time to cut back on scheduled activities, I like to use my weeks off to expose my girls to experiences that they cannot have during my teaching year.  This year especially, since I am making an extra effort to focus on doing instead of having, I want to introduce Little Tiger and The Milk Belly Princess to the many  different worlds they have expressed interest in to see what speaks to them and inspires them to explore more deeply.  

Last week, Little Tiger attended five days of pony camp at Rocky River Stables.  She was part of a class of six little girls who were each assigned a pony and a teen helper.  Every session began with grooming the ponies, followed by a ride on the trail (weather permitting) or in the indoor arena.  

Little Tiger was thrilled to have Buttercup for the whole week.   In a pair of thrifted cowgirl boots and a riding helmet borrowed from the stables, she looked like a pro. On the last day of camp, all of the parents gathered at the fence and watched the campers guide their ponies through a number of tasks including trotting which Little Tiger seemed to really enjoy.

 

Odds are that Little Tiger will not grow up to show horses (or be a gymnast, or a ballerina or a professional figure skater), but it doesn't matter.  Life isn't about being conditioned for the one thing that you will ultimately become.  In fact, if you are wise, you know enough not to commit yourself to anything until you have really considered all of your options.  Life, especially childhood, is about the ride and living well enough to know that when you get there you will have sampled enough of the world to know that is truly where you belong.  

Sleepy Time Dolls

I've been meaning to post this for MONTHS.  This little set was given to The Milk Belly Princess in the dark days of February as a present for her third birthday.  It is my favorite toy that I've made so far, but for one reason or another, it kept getting usurped for other blog posts.  I made this set from a pattern in Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love which is one of my favorite craft books.

Here are all of the gals together:

 And individually:


This set is part of a bed time ritual with The Milk Belly Princess.  Every night she hugs them tucks them in
and gives them each a good night kiss.  Good night, sleep tight!

Toy Lust

This weekend the local preschool PTA held what I refer to as "the spring baby sale."  In case you live somewhere without this tradition, allow me to explain.  Before you get a mental image of over-wrought mothers auctioning off their young to the highest bidder, let me assure you that it is only the clothes, toys and other paraphernalia of young children for sale.  

I've been shopping at these sales since Little Tiger was a newborn and recently have started to sell items as well.  In our efforts to pare down the overwhelming number of toys at home, I've spent the past few weeks weeding out toys that the girls have outgrown or never really played with in the first place.  Our best things go to one of our favorite little girls, but beyond that there's still a lot of second string stuff to get rid of, Potty Time Elmo and a toy vacuum cleaner that no one could ever remember to turn off to name a couple of things.  On Friday night, I loaded up my car, went to the local high school gym and set up my table.  This is when I faced my biggest challenge yet in this seven month old buy-no-toys experiment.

The women who set up at the table right behind mine had really good taste...even in the rejected toys and children's clothes that she brought to sell.  Sweet wooden hand painted baby doll furniture. Two adorable toy kitchens.  A fabric zip-open castle with a royal family and their furniture.  Everything was in practically pristine condition. And it was all for sale at reasonable prices not five feet from where I was sitting.  

I felt like one of those dogs that is trained to balance a piece of meat on its nose and not eat it.  Selling what seemed like five hundred board books at four for a dollar left me with a big stack of one dollar bills.  And yet somehow I refrained.  I returned home with a laundry basket full of clothes, but not a single toy.  

I've known for awhile now that desire and possession are two opposites of the same vicious cycle, but this experiment has forced me to see what happens when the cycle stops.  What happens when you want something for your children or they beg for something and that yearning goes unfulfilled? I remember being a little kid and asking my parents for things (an Atari, a Cabbage Patch Kid, a pair of Guess jean overalls...) and always truly believing that, once I had whatever I wanted at that moment, I would be completely satisfied for the rest of my life.  Somehow my tiny mind thought that I could stare down teen angst, middle age and octogenarian dementia armed with Frogger or a CPK Preemie.  I received every one of the above-mentioned items and, while I said thank you and enjoyed them, it was only a matter of a day or so before I moved on to wanting something else.  

I want Little Tiger and The Milk Belly Princess to realize that, while it is healthy to want things, it is not always beneficial to get them...and that the world doesn't end if they don't.  Not only that, but when an unfulfilled desire for a particular item wears off I hope they find that they're better off somehow, stronger, less attached to things and less inclined to want to keep up with the Joneses.

Temptation

Four months into my experiment, I'm pleased to say that I have not caved.  I have not bought a toy for either of my two children.  For the most part, it has been smooth sailing. In fact, I've noticed that, since I've stopped spending my leisure time sipping Pinot Grigio and trolling the internet for The Next Big Thing for Little Tiger and The Milk Belly Princess, I have a bit more of a discretionary income.  Most of this I save because, sadly, preschool is not free.  However, instead of buying THINGS for the girls, I've become more interested in exposing them to a variety of different experiences.  

Last month Little Tiger attended a one day pony camp at Rocky River Stables.  She was assigned a horse named Oreo that she learned to clean and brush.  After grooming time was over, she and a helper led Oreo out into the ring and she spent a solid 45 minutes riding her pony. Here they are getting ready to ride:  Total non-sequitur, but the boots she is wearing were purchased for her uncle 50 years ago and have been worn by every child in the family at one time or another.  To my knowledge, this is the closest they've ever come to any real cowboy-type action.  

Anyway, Little Tiger LOVED it.  Se loved it so much that she's already signed up to do it again.  She loved it so much that, ever since that adventure, one of her favorite kinds of imaginary play features her smaller stuffed animals going horseback riding on the larger ones.  

So a few days ago I was browsing around Pat Catan's for some craft supplies and my eye landed on a small teddy bear-sized English riding helmet priced at a reasonable fifty cents. I thought nothing of picking it up and tossing it into my shopping basket.  I knew that Little Tiger would love it.  It would make her horseback riding play so much more authentic if her little animals had the proper head gear.  

I made it to the end of the aisle before I realized that this was a TOY.  Buying it would violate my contract with myself almost a full year before it ends. I returned it to the shelf, startled at how, for just a minute, I completely forgot myself.  I wasn't angry or disappointed, just really startled.  I don't DEFINE MYSELF as The Woman Who Does Not Buy Toys For Her Children, but this experiment is really important to me and I found it strange that it suddenly and temporarily seemed to just slip my mind.  

Black Friday

So it's been awhile since my last post.  Just when I thought that the sniffly-sneezy-coughy-sore throat crud was out of our house it came back with a vengeance.  Then grades were due and blah, blah, blah.  Part of why I've been so scarce is because we are sort of between cameras right now.  Our current point-and-shoot is still serviceable, but the pictures, well, they look like they were taken with a digital camera.  We've debated the merits of the whole SLR thing, but, truth be told, I really need something that is quick and easy to use.  My patience for technology is wafer thin.  

The Mister went out on Wednesday and came home with some sort of new Canon point-and-shoot, but, after he bought it, he started to wonder whether they would be on sale tomorrow as some sort of huge Black Friday deal (for the record, I hate the word "doorbuster").  He questioned me about this and I said that he could research it and go out in the pre-dawn hours tomorrow morning, but that 4AM will find me snug and asleep in my bed.  He said no more. Actually, as I write this I have no idea where we are on this issue.  Hey Mister, if you read this maybe you could let me know in the comments section...thanks.

The truth is, I used to enjoy the whole Black Friday silliness.  I can remember racing up the escalators at Kohl's in my early twenties to score half price Fisher Price toys for my much-younger cousins.  Even last year a good friend and I were the first people in the door at Carter's to buy Christmas outfits for the following year...but that was mostly an excuse to go out to breakfast afterwards and have an adult conversation without having to cut anyone's food or worry about spilled syrup.  Ironically, now that I have children of my own, I find the whole thing completely abhorrent.  

Tomorrow isn't my birthday, but in 1974 the actual day that I was born did happen to be Black Friday.  So you'd think I would have more enthusiasm.  The truth is, I've been really impressed with the local grass roots efforts to encourage people to, if not give their own handmade gifts, to purchase those that were handmade locally by someone else.  Today Little Tiger and I were talking about some upcoming birthday parties in early December and what I was going to make for the birthday children.  I do have to say that my heart did a little dance of joy when Little Tiger said that she was "going to make presents too...because buying is boring."

So I read somewhere that blog readers would rather see an unrelated picture in an entry than no image at all.  I'm not sure if this is really true, but in case it is I'm going to leave you with this:  Little Tiger sharing one of our Christmas morning traditions with her grammy last year.  We all put red dot paint on each other's noses so we look like Rudolph as we eat breakfast and open our gifts.  I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Bonjour mes amis!

I'm working on a few more mice and  one last Halloween cat.  Since you've already seen those, I thought this would be a good time to post another picture of my Great Grandma Katherine Boileau's dolls.  These dolls are very similar to the Dutch dolls in my last post in terms of style and size, but they are dressed to be French.   I've been thinking a lot about the comments I received after my last post.  My favorite comment addressed the fact that, by looking at the dolls and their clothes, I can get a sense of the material that my great-grandparents and grandparents wore.  I never knew any of my great-grandparents, so the thought that I can hold and touch the fabric that they owned and maybe even wore before it was turned into doll clothes really appeals to me.

In other news, today was another test of my resolve and whether or not, in the midst of temptation, I could stay true to the rules of my experiment.  Twice a year in my community and surrounding suburbs, the local early childhood PTAs have resale events where, for a nominal fee, the parents of older children can rent tables and sell the clothes, toys, furniture and books that their children don't use or need anymore.  It's nice for the sellers because the events are well publicized and typically draw a large crowd.  Its nice for buyers because there are as many as 100 sellers in one location.

I really enjoy these sales.  In the past I've found great deals on clothes, toys, books, furniture and craft materials for Little Tiger and The Milk Belly Princess.  Some of the stuff is brand new and only costs a dollar or two.  At today's sale I knew that I would only be able to look at clothes and shoes, no toys or books.  I was like a dog with a nice, juicy steak balanced on her nose...but I did it!