Tippy Toes and Tantrums

Minecraft Birthday Party with Live Action Play

My kids participated in a live action Minecraft play at the Maker Faire that could easily be recreated for a birthday party. This is an off-the-hook kid party idea. Kudos to the Maker Guild of Los Angeles for putting together one of the most creative features of a super creative Maker Faire. 

To recreate this party, get a bunch of boxes and paint. Much like with real Minecraft, it's always about the blocks. 

Kids were divided into two groups, roughly bad guys and good guys. Can you tell I don't play? My Minecraft fans would roll their eyes if they read this. The good people were Villagers with the one lucky kid who got to wear the Stevie head. On the other side were Creepers and an Enderman, and if they touched you, you were out.

The play area included a small box tree with boxes below. Those boxes needed to be collected by Stevie and the Villagers and brought to a location to exchange them for tools. Boxes could only be brought for exchange one at a time, and kids needed to deliver more than one box to get a tool. However, to get to the tree, one had to go near the cave area with Creepers. Naturally this is where the battle ensued.

An adult manned the block/tool exchange, another over-watched the battle to make sure everyone was okay, and an older child eventually released the Ender Dragon. The Ender Dragon was on a home made zipline of sorts, allowing him to fly above. His head was a single box, designed to pop off when hit enough (less hits than a pinata), allowing him to be defeated and the game to end. 

Decor included a box cow, sheep, pig, and chickens. They were all adorable. Old sheets were painted to reflect the landscape. 

Look! The box flaps are wings. It's the cutest Minecraft chicken ever. 

Once the Ender Dragon was defeated, everything was put back into place, character heads were traded, and the game began again. It was great fun. 

Remodeling vs. Moving: Why We Stayed to Reinvent Our House

The quick answer was that remodeling was a better option than moving, but the whole story is a little more complicated.

It started in the middle of the night a few years ago, as I stepped on a small toy on my walk in the dark to the bathroom in the back of the house. Our room wasn't a traditional master bedroom with an attached bath, in fact, it was once a one car garage. There was a bathroom closer, right next to the kids' rooms, but I didn't want to risk waking them up. This wasn't how I imagined life nearly at age 40. 

Our house started as part of a neighborhood of cozy weekend bungalows for San Francisco families. It was two bedrooms, one bath, a small living room, kitchen, and a tiny one car garage. By the late 1970s, the neighborhood had transitioned into full time residences, and most of the bungalows were adjusted to reflect year round living. The previous owners of our house - remarkably a family with four children - added space, turning the garage into a bedroom, bumping out to turn a side patio into the kitchen, making the old kitchen a dining room, then adding a large family room, a fourth bedroom, and another bathroom. The house was a modest four bedrooms/two bathrooms, but when we bought it, we came from a tiny, 830 sq foot, two bedroom/one bathroom house that made this home look huge. 

The house was great, but it didn't feel like ours. We were one mention in the long history that belonged to the house. The giant rock fireplace, cheap wood paneling, and rod iron scones had the signature of the hunter two owners prior to us. The massive gold and crystal chandelier and thriving jade plant were put in by the Chinese national who sold us the house. The house belonged to its past.

When we moved in, now nearly nine years ago, we quickly said goodbye to the sconces, chandelier, and wood paneling. This has always been a good house, and we tried to give it the love it needed, but there came a point when too many improvements were tied to other improvements. We couldn't take out the fireplace without rebuilding the wall and changing the flooring. We couldn't expand the kitchen without strengthening the structure, and unfortunately, we couldn't add a bathroom to our room without major construction. We live on a hill with a view, and while we could have possibly added a bathroom to the front of our room, it would have cut off our view, and it would have required the garage downhill, to which our room now slightly overlaps, to be rebuilt for structural support. It made no sense, which meant for the second time in our house's history, the kitchen needed to move, and again, to an exterior patio. 

We did consider moving and we looked around at our options. We found plenty of homes in our range (what we paid for our home + the amount we expected to spend on the remodel), but none were right. Either the location was good, but the house was dated and needed improvements or the house was updated to someone else's tastes, but the location was awful. None had a view or large property like our house does now, which we found is nearly impossible to give up. 

We like our location, we love our view and the peacefulness of our laid back, slightly rural-in-a-suburban-way neighborhood, and we weren't ready to go. We weren't ready to remodel, either, but it was my in-laws who suggested it as a solution, back when we thought it was going to be a simple, straightforward process of relocating the kitchen and building a bathroom. That was back before we know about the brutality of the county permitting and design approval process, which ended up changing everything. But that is for another post. 

This house is now ours. No longer are we a mere mention in the long history of this house. We put our stamp on it in a significant way. This house flows the way we want it to, and is designed with our needs and tastes in mind. We own this house. 

Remodel: Ready to Recap From Start to Finish

I'm finally ready to talk about the remodel. People ask me questions frequently and want to talk about it, but I don't. Part is been-there, done-that, part is that is the wound is still a teensy bit open. We love the house, it's incredible, and it will work well for our family, but there is the part where I still remember the downsides of construction. Every day was a confrontation, from tiny things to huge, potential deal breakers, and it wasn't fun. Not to mention, we lived here among the dust heaps, construction tools and debris with little escape. 

I could not have done this remodel 10 years ago. I don't think at age 30 - ahem - I could have stood so strong for so long. A friend told me last year that her mother always says, "If you don't open your mouth, you open your wallet." I said that to myself many times during the remodel, that if I didn't speak up, I'd end up paying for something I didn't want, didn't work, or was flat out wrong. Here is a simple fact of construction, and really life: you are your own advocate. No one was going to speak up for us. Many times I'd point something out to our builder, only to have the response be, "yeah, I noticed that, too." What I wanted to scream each time was, "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?" 

See, the wound hasn't healed. 

Then there are the moments, when I am sitting at the kitchen island on the family room side, working at my laptop, while dinner cooks a few feet in front of me, the kids are just behind me watching a baseball game, and golden light comes through the slats of of the kitchen shutters and I can see the pink roses outside in the sunlight. 

Or there is the morning, when I reach my office early, it's peaceful, and look out at Rocket coloring at the art table, awash in soft light. 

Those moments are perfect and it was all worth it to take our okay house and make it something that will work for us long term through the many stages of our family, with young kids, to teens, to someday an empty nest. 

This week I'll put a Band-Aid over the wound and begin to talk about what went well, what we'd do differently, and of course, show pictures, beginning with our master bathroom, simply because it is the cleanest room in the house. 

The Madhatter's Tea Party for Kids

Each class at my kids' school has an annual tradition - some event they put on for the rest of the school each year - and kids either look forward to going, participating as a student in that classroom, or reminiscing when they are older. Last week was the first grade's Madhatter's Tea Party.

The stage was set and everyone had jobs, from host to waiter to activities coordinator, and they all rotated for each tea party (there were seven total). 

The guests could select from the menu of peppermint tea, lemonade, grilled cheese or PBJ (both cut to tea sandwich size), scones and mini cupcakes. 

Backstage staff, peeking at the crowd

After the meal, there was a performance with jokes, magic tricks, piano pieces, gymnastics, and dancing. It was more than adorable. Afterward, everyone went outside for hatmaking and lawn games. 

No one went mad. Not even the parents, nor the teachers.

Eggs, Beans, and an April Fool's Day Non-Joke Joke

Easter happened with the requisite amount of eggs and sugar, both of which I ate as leftovers today, too. We dyed eggs with Kool-Aid after I saw the vivid colored eggs on Pinterest. The problem was our Target only carried Pineapple and Tangerine flavored (colored?) packs, and because I didn't want to hunt down a blue or a green flavor (color?), I ended my Kool-Aid rainbow there. Unfortunately my kids still blended the two colors together, dipping the egg in yellow and then orange or vice versa, ending up with the same orangey-yellow color on all eggs. 

Rocket asked me a great existential question of the holiday, which left me baffled: if we don't hide these eggs, why do we color them? 

We may have hunted for hard-boiled eggs when I was really young, but once people realized they didn't want to egg something left outside for an unhealthy amount of time and possibly mouthed by a squirrel, plastic eggs became king. We make the eggs because the kids like coloring them and it's the one time a year when I eat an egg salad sandwich for lunch. 

Many of you may be wondering if either of my kids ate so much chocolate that they puked. Thankfully, that tradition never took off after year one. However, the kid who over-chocolated himself until he threw up two years ago, took a new approach this year. This morning, he walked out of bed with either a giant bruise on his back or the sign of a horrific bathroom accident. His bed was it's own April Fool's Day joke with something mashed on the sheet that looked pretty gross. It ends up that someone may have eaten himself to sleep last night, and wound up sleeping on a nest of chocolate. The chocolate melted, of course, and looked rather...poopy. I opted against photos.

After a mild lecture, he retreated to the kitchen where he raided an open box of Milk Duds, and was soon busted again with one hand on the box and the other trying to liberate his teeth from the sticky Milk Dud. After both incidents this morning, he asked how we knew what he'd done. Hopefully he is this obvious about his teenage transgressions. 

Later, I found this in a cabinet pull out. This time there are two suspects, and one is not a child. 

Remodel: The Week Everyone's Dreams Came True

A rainbow over the recycling pile was a good omen. There was something for everyone this week. 

The most boring of the exciting things belongs to Kevin. The whole house fan he'd wanted for years was hooked up today. It's so boring that it was difficult to capture in a photo. We are ready for summer. 

My range arrived! Remembering the best piece of advice from wedding planning, which is to pick the one, most important thing and spend money on it, this was one of my non-negotiables of the remodel. I cannot wait to use this, just as soon as we uncover the pots and pans. Pancakes on the griddle this Sunday! (Hopefully.)

When I bought the Wolf, our sales guy at the appliance store asked if I wanted red or black knobs. After I said red, he said that no one ever wants black. Red is the signature. It has to be red. 

The television works! Rocket had been waiting for this day, well, since the TV was disconnected in July. He was watching a PBS video called It's Okay to be Smart, and about 30 seconds into it, he said, "This is boring, " and asked me to find something new. Now he'll never learn about DNA sequencing. 

Clover's loft bed arrived! It was backordered until late May, yet it arrived just slightly early. It needs to be moved though, not because it blocks the window, but because it overlaps with her new, super powered ceiling fan. I have enough worries with the loft bed to add decapitation to the list. 

This is moving weekend. The garage needs to be empty enough for baseboard painting next week. Wish us luck. 

Remodel: Day 198 - Let the Light Shine Down

Some of the most dramatic change is underway as the builder's spotlights have been removed and we're running on our real lighting. 

I am in love with the little Candlestick sconces for the family room (plus one in the hallway near the master bedroom). Even Rocket looked at one and said in a baby voice, "Ohhhh, they're so cuuuute." I didn't know they were going to be small when I ordered them, I mean the should have, but dimensions written online are somehow deceive me. Everything on Pottery Barn's sites look small to me, but they always arrive ridiculously huge. The lights are Restoration Hardware, so I should have known better. 

Love, in light form

The schoolhouse pendants went up over the kitchen island, with one more soon to follow in the laundry room.

The pendants come with rods in three sizes, which meant these are slightly higher than we'd like, but I'm still really happy with them.  

There was one fun surprise, which is that the switch plates in our kitchen don't have screws. I love the clean look of these. They were a complementary upgrade from our electrician, who we thought was awesome, even before the free plates. 

We ate dinner at our table last night under normal lighting for the first time since June. It's good to be back home. 

(Photos of the light fixtures at night while on are hard to get right. I wanted to turn them off for better pictures, but saying that the lighting was wrong would have been misinterpreted.)

Unplanned Day Trip to San Francisco with Kids

Another holiday impacted by the remodel. Yesterday was the first MLK day that we were all four off, yet much like the holiday break, work on the house continued, and while we were happy it did, we still needed to get out. Without a plan, but needing to leave asap, we headed to San Francisco.

Mission Dolores Park Helen Diller Playground

A reminder that six is still little

I've wanted to take the kids to this playground since it opened last year. They've run the grassy slopes of Mission Dolores Park after eating Bi-Rite ice cream, but that's because the only other thing to do was watch adults play tennis. Clover saw a spread on the new playground in Sunset magazine (this remodel has forced her to read my magazines due to the lack of stuff we're allowed in the house), and she's been asking to go for a few weeks. 

We got there early when the park was pretty empty. The bright sun was lovely on a winter morning. The kids loves the big slides. First they hit the twisty one, but the wide, straight slide got them moving fast. They probably went down it about 20 times. At one point, as I watched Clover slide, I heard the bongo drummers starting up - this is a San Francisco park, after all, but when I asked about Rocket, Clover responded, "He's playing the drums." Sure enough, there are drums built into the playground. Welcome to San Francisco. 

18th Street

Too early for ice cream or pizza, we got in line at Tartine Bakery for croissants and hot drinks. After, we walked to Bi-Rite Market for snacks later. (This is the spot to buy sandwiches, salads, and dessert for a picnic in the park.) Outside of the grocery, we came upon the solution to my hillside gardening woes: a seedbomb dispenser. With only two quarters, my grand landscaping plan was thwarted. The seedbomb is designed to toss into vacant, weed-filled lots, but that kinda applies to our hillside. We'll see what one bomb can do. 

Twin Peaks

Driving across town, I saw a sign pointing toward Twin Peaks and adjusting our course. I hadn't been since college, and it was always dark then, which meant the course was new to me, too. The kids loved looking out all over the city, pointing out AT&T Park, Marin, City Hall, USF, and Golden Gate Park. 

Lunch and Ice Cream

The kids wanted to return to the Ice Cream Bar for lunch. While it's all about ice cream, the grilled cheese on brioche with a side of sweet potato chips is not to be missed. The ice cream is good, too, with a good vegan selection. 

 

 

Ocean Beach

Skipping the beach on a gorgeous day is unCalifornian. Ocean Beach is a long stretch with tons of parking, but on busy days like yesterday, we ended up near the zoo before we found a spot. The weather was so lovely, people were swimming. 

Unplanned and beautiful.

One Decade of Motherhood

At 5:50 p.m. tonight I will have been a mother for 10 years. I have to be precise about the time because Clover is exact about things like that and insists she's nine until her birth minute hits. But really, motherhood began the second I found out I was pregnant, with all of the bed rest, horrible morning sickness, saying goodbye to caffeine for awhile and to my normal-sized ankles forever. Clover took over my body immediately. I was horribly sick, ate only refried beans for weeks (that includes breakfast which should make anyone ill), and craved sugar. At age 10, Clover would be perfectly content to live off of refried beans and Laffy Taffy. I've known her from the start.

She's always been strong and independent, but now her age is starting to match that. Now 10, soon 13, then 16, and then off to college. The pace is quickening, whether I like it or not. 

I'm lucky for so many things, but one that I reflect on often is that Clover is her age. Her interests are that of a girl, not a girl desperate to be a teenager. Those things will come, but she's in no hurry to get there. She's comfortable with herself, and she doesn't change to fit in, trusting that people will like her as she is. And they do. She's smart and sweet, with a range of interests so diverse, it was mentioned by her fifth grade teacher during her parent-teacher conference. One minute she's drawing cats and other cute creatures, then the next, she's talking about fantasy football stats, he said. The girl has range. 

Coincidentally, this is an appropriate time to change her room. With the remodel, it's time to repaint and redecorate, and she's seized this opportunity...and the Pottery Barn Teen catalog. Left behind will be the cutesy quilt on the little girl's bed, replaced with an ombre duvet cover, and a loft bed. There will still be Legos, stuffies with names, and enough books to fill a library. Signs of childhood continued, and not yet nostalgia for her past. 

Oh Clo, the last 10 years went by fast, and the next 10 will go by in a blink. Learning to walk was a big milestone of your early years, but the next 10 will be about learning to fly. 

I'll admit, I'm a little nervous about this next decade, but I cannot wait to watch you bloom. Ten years ago, you made me what I am, a mom. I love you, sweet Clover. 

We've Run Away to Escape Our Lives

We've run away to the Happiest Place on Earth® for a few days, with a one night stop in Santa Monica. There is nothing like getting up really early, when it's dark and cool, and driving far away to someplace warm and happy. We're not even at Disneyland yet, but so far this is exactly what we needed.