This quiz is effing hilarious! Reminds me of what life must have been like when Senator McCain got married. And cheated. And then married again. And again. Oh, sorry, which house, oops, I mean wife were we on? I lost count. Sorry.
I'm not sorry that I'm average 1930s wife. I'm shocked I didn't score lower. Maybe the fact that I praise my husband in public makes up for the fact that I don't walk around in stockinged toes and that my seams are never straight.
Take the quiz. See what oppression feels like. Might be fun if you're kinky like that.
Nothing to see here. LOL Just a little vlog for friends & family. (FYI, this post is PG-13 rated. Sorry about a little bit of language. I'll think more about that next time or try to keep warning you beforehand so you can make the appropriate choice as to whether or not to view this around the kids.) Come say hi by leaving a video response of your own. Lucian and I would love to see you!
what's happeninjust me rambling to friends & family a little bit about what's happening in our life right now
Hand-Made Mac Tip No. 6 Toddler-Proofing Your Mac with AlphaBaby
I want to tell you about one of my most favorite Mac applications for kids. It's called AlphaBaby and it's a FREE download. It really came in handy before, during and after our recent cross-country road trip. This application is loaded on all three of the computers in our home. We have a G4 in the office, an iMac in Lucian's room and the MacBook Pro - everywhere. The laptop and the iMac each have a separate user account created just for Lucian with almost identical preferences set. Daddy's G4 has the AlphaBaby icon readily accessible in the Dock.
Ready You may remember in a previous post how I detailed setting up a separate user account for your child on your Mac. (I plan on revising that tutorial for OS X 10.5 Leopard once I finally decide on which screencasting application I want to use.)
Set I can not tell you how many times this app has come in handy. You can customize the application for different age groups so when Lucian was an infant, he loved just looking intently at the colors and shapes on the screen. As he got older, I changed the preferences to show letters, colors and lines. Between using this application and a few other online resources, he has learned the entire alphabet before the age of two.
Go This past summer, we went on a cross-country road trip and we drove from AZ to PA and a couple of other states along the east coast. During the trip, Nate drove and I sat in the back seat next to Lucian and entertained him. Having the laptop along for the ride came in handy many times. All I had to do was click onto Lucian's user icon in the menubar and as soon as the cube began to rotate, his face would light up. I could launch AlphaBaby and entertain him for just a while longer until we were ready to make the next stop.
During this long, 2-month trip, Lucian got to see and meet many different friends and family members. The last time we flew out to PA, he was only starting to speak a few words and associate faces of people. A year later and he can now comprehend who people are and he is beginning to learn which family members are related to him and how. Now that we're back home, I want him to be able to retain the connections he's made over the summer. AlphaBaby is a wonderful tool for this because you can set the preferences to allow photos to pop up whenever certain keys are pressed. I didn't, but you can even map certain keys to specific photos.
A Familiar Face In Lucian's user account in his iPhoto album, I loaded 170 photos of friends and family members. I used photos of people he knows locally as well as far away since we have family and friends all over the world now. I even used a mixture of recent as well as older photos of some of the children as well as side views of people to see if he recognizes facial changes and he does! It's amazing how well he recognizes peoples' pictures and can say their names more and more clearly every time he interacts with this application. Before we came home, he couldn't say the name of his new Aunt Joanna, who likes to be called Aunt JoJo. Now, with practice, Lucian can instantly recognize a picture of Joanna as "An YoYo." We're still working on saying Great Grandmom.
It would take some time and effort, but you can, if you want, go into iPhoto and change the title of each picture to the name of the person and then in AlphaBaby, tell it to speak the name of the photo. This works ok, but for harder names, you can imagine the speech to text is not perfect. I prefer us interacting with him while using this application in a flashcard type of way.
Allow Me to Demonstrate AlphaBaby will no doubt come in handy for the future as we get new pictures of people that I can add to his iPhoto library. We just got a new baby cousin a week ago and now another cousin is on the way so as soon as I get those baby pictures, I'll add them to his library and AlphaBaby will add them in at random.
Here is a bad, sorry video I made of PoltergeistAlphaBaby in action starring Lucian teaching his Daddy about colors, shapes and people. (Sorry about the video quality, but I snuck up on them playing and it was night time. I don't know where the knocking sound comes from. The video is from our little point&shoot Nikon. Someday I'll get a better camera when we can afford it.)
The Specs, Ma'am, Just the Specs The computer in Lucian's room is an old slot-load 400MHz PowerPC G3 Tangerine iMac with 512MB of RAM and a 10GB HD running Tiger 10.4x. Someone was getting rid of it and Lucian's uncle snagged it for us and replaced the ailing DVD ROM drive and swapped the HD with one from another iMac we scrapped for parts. It's amazing what treasures people throw away! Check your local Craigslist or Freecycle and give an old iMac a good home. These machines make great kids' computers because, with a little TLC, you can upgrade them just enough to run Tiger and a few simple applications. For little ones, this is plenty. This particular model is even capable of utilizing wifi with a built in airport! I don't currently have it connected to the internet because the airport card in it is a little too old to be compatible with WPA2 encryption. One day, I'll get an old wireless router and hook it up just for this purpose. For now, I have an almost identical user account set up for Lucian in my MacBook Pro with almost the same preferences.
General Under the General Tab, I have it set to just flash one letter or number per key press on the screen and in rainbow colors. Only letters or numbers will show which are mapped directly to the characters on the keyboard. This helps him actually learn keyboarding skills. He is getting better and better about actually pressing the right keys when I ask him to. Right now he's mastering letters and we're slowly incorporating numbers as well. He can almost count to ten.
Images Under the Images Tab, I have the source of the photos loaded from the main iPhoto Library. You can, however, have photos load from a specific photo album or even a folder somewhere else if you're not a fan of iPhoto. I also have it set to randomly load a combination of shapes along with photos since we're still learning colors and shapes. You can see though, I pushed the slider more towards the images since I really do favor photos of people right now since he's learning about family right now too.
I love how this operates in a flash card mode. The pictures pop up at random and repeat at various stages. You never know what you're going to get when you press different keys on the keyboard. He could keep pressing the space bar or any other modifier key and it will show a different photo or shape each time. It really helps him with keyboarding skills because he quickly learns that letter keys result in a letter, number keys a number and any other key results in a photo or shape. He is old enough to make deliberate decisions about what to press. He knows that he will get only photos if he presses keys other than letters or numbers and it's fascinating to watch him make those choices!
Sound Under the Sound Tab, I have it set to speak the letters using the Victoria voice. It's not perfect, but it's pretty acurate. (The text to speech has greatly improved in Leopard 10.5, but for this demo, I'm using the Tiger 10.4 version of the app.) This is the place where I mentioned previously that you can tell it to speak the images. It will convert text to speech by reading the file name of each photo. So, if you leave your photos named DCSN1045, that's what Victoria will say instead of Pop Pop. Drawing Under the Drawing Tab, there are many items from which to choose. When Lucian was really little, I used the stars, ducks or trucks because objects were interesting to him. When kids are really little, you'll want to uncheck the box for drawing requires mouse down. This way, all they have to do is push the mouse or move their finger across the trackpad and it will instantly draw a line on the screen. Little ones don't yet have the hand-eye coordination needed to associate with a pointing device. This tool really helps them grasp that concept much sooner because it draws their eye to a simple line draw which allows them to make the connection between cause and effect of the pointing device. This works well whether it be a single or two-button mouse or a trackpad on a laptop. You can also vary the line thickness. As babies begin to develop peripheral vision, the thickness of the line that appears on screen can make a difference in what they see. If you make the line too thin, they probably will not notice it much. If you make the line really thick, they will take notice of it better and realize the cause and effect relationship between the mouse and screen while their head is pointed down and their eyes focused on the keyboard or mouse.
Hey! Quit It! Oh and, by the way, make sure the FIRST thing you learn is how to quit the application! You have to press the control-option-command-Q keys all at once, so you might want to practice that maneuver before launching it. Make sure you press those keys only or else you'll find yourself logged out instead. After you've mastered that, then practice launching the preferences by pressing (all at once) the control-option-command-P keys. (Hint: it's the same combination, only the 'Q' changes to 'P.')
To vlog or not vlogI'm considering putting some more video format on my blog and I'd like to see if friends and family will find this a fun way to keep in touch.
Since the Mister and I have returned home from our summer road trip, we've been trying to do little home improvement projects here and there. On our way back home from our trip we developed mixed emotions about the current state of our tiny little starter home here in sunny Tucson. (Makes me feel better when I call it a "starter home.")
While we were traveling, we stayed with friends and family along the way out as well as the way back. Only twice did we stay in a dive motel and for me, those were the times when I felt really great about our little house knowing that waiting for us back home was a yard looking like a jungle and a master bath with peeling wall paper. So many times I was in awe at the way other people live and keep their homes. Now, I'm sure, like me, they probably cleaned like mad before our arrival and then just acted like that's the way they always live. Ok, maybe that's just me. I certainly hope I don't make people feel like they need to clean and sanatize everything before coming to stay with them, but I know I do it myself so I can't blame someone if they do. (Just so you know, dustbunnies only make you human so I leave them alone on places like the rafters and lightbulbs. Consider yourself warned if you ever come to my house.)
Nate and I try to live as simply as possible. We both come from a family chock full of packrats, savers and collectors — pick your own label. Between the two of us, we have a lot of schtuff still, but I've been on a personal mission to reduce the load by purging and, well, just not buying schtuff as much as I can help it. That's why Nate does most of the shopping. He's much more disciplined than I. Whenever we go shopping, it is personal hell for me because I have to contiplate every penny I think about spending on something and whether or not it will contribute something to a landfill that really and truly doesn't need to be there. The only money we've spent on the house in the past 2 years has been for emergency things like plumbing repair. Hell, we still have painter's tape baked on a few of our windows that we have yet to scrape off. Needless to say, we've fallen behind and it's starting to eat at me. (Translation: I'm turning into a nag and need to vent about it so I don't drive the mister completely nuts.)
Before we got pregnant (and during), we knew that once the baby came, our lives would be turned upside down. We knew we wouldn't have the time, energy or money to do any home improvement projects and that the house would have to be put on hold for a while. Right now, we've come to a transitional period of time where Lucian is now old enough and the house has been babyproofed for the most part that he has a defined space where he can play and I don't have to constantly keep after him for touching things. That was a huuuuuge stress on us while we were on our road trip. Almost every place we went was not curious-toddler-friendly. There were a lot of Jeffrey moments which resulted in some new grey hairs.
When Lucian was a baby, it seemed that his swag just dominated the house. It felt like everywhere you looked — baby stuff. He slept in a crib in our room for over a year and a half. When we transitioned him out of our room and into his own, it was a weird feeling. The only thing in our bedroom that remained of him was some framed photos and his diaper bag. And, of course, HIM at 2 am. In our bed.
Yeah, so him sleeping in his own – now completely stocked with toys and kid stuff – bedroom is still not working out so well. He likes his room, I think, but he just doesn't want to stay in it for a whole night. This is why I still struggle with insomnia. Sometimes he'll go almost a whole week sleeping through a night, but then a couple of days will go by where he won't. It's just inconsistent. The road trip also spoiled him because he got used to sleeping with us, if not in bed with us, then on a little bed at the foot of our bed.
If that's not hot, I don't know what is.
We had to wait till it was nap time and then go sneak somewhere while we turned into teenagers at a drive through movie.
during the commercials.
no, commercials. Intermission is much longer.
Anyhow, so in order to make myself a little happier to combat the sleep deprivation nastiness, I thought a little living room makeover might do the trick. When Nate bought this house, he was still a bachelor so he did what any bachelor on a budget does and he got consignment furniture. I've always admired his thriftyness and the furniture was a good find at the time. The eightiestastic pattern nicely matched the teal carpet. Used furniture is also perfect for while you have a young family. Only problem is, it's starting to show it's age and wear. The loveseat sprang, well, a spring and every time you sat on it you got stabbed in the crotch. Yeah. Lovely. Rips and tears started showing up soon after Lucian learned how to climb up and then jump on the cushions. (ok, ok, I'll fess up, it was really from me stepping up onto the seat and over the arm so I wouldn't have to unwedge the perfect little jailing system I had going with the playpen, couch and loveseat to keep Lucian from wandering the rest of the house before we babyproofed.)
Another problem was created when we invested in a nice window treatment for the main window. The pattern and colors we chose went well with the carpet and walls, but not with the pattern on the furniture which came from the set of Miami Vice. So, we covered it. Badly. I got so sick and tired of the blankets and throws I was using because they never stayed in place and I couldn't get enough spare material that matched so the two pieces looked like a pair. It still looked like furniture from the set of Miami Vice with blankets thrown over.
Last Sunday, we went out in search of a solution even if that solution meant new/used furniture that didn't poke you in the ass anymore. We went to a couple of consignment shops with no luck. Just when we had given up, I said, let's go check out JC Penney and see if they still have the curtain sheers in the same red. For a while now, I've felt that the sheers on the window just weren't full enough looking, so I wanted to get one more. (Martha Stewart moment. It happens to the best of us.) While we were there, we took a look at the furniture department and depressed ourselves even more looking at the price tags on just the sofas alone. I hate their signage. Working in the advertising business so long has made me really cynical. They put this cute little sign on the coffee table that draws you in thinking it's a discounted price for the whole set, yet it's really just the price of the most expensive piece.
Anyhow, we went around the corner to the pillows section and there we hit the Jackpot.
Clearance slipcovers to the rescue!!!
Once the nice new slipcovers were on, it was so refreshing that Nate took another look at the love seat and was able to fix whatever it was that was causing the hardware to poke through the cushion. It no longer reclines, but who cares! No more instant vascetomies for our male guests!
In conclusion, we only spent just over $100.00 for this living room makeover. We kept the furniture we had and just improved it. I cleaned up the baby toys and relocated more of them to Lucian's room. I moved the playpen back into our bedroom because we only ever use it for discipline (we call it baby jail). We know we want to have another baby, so there is no use in trying to temporarily reclaim that now empty space in our bedroom and the playpen will convert back to the bassinet for that space. We do know now, from experience where the best place is for a baby swing in the living room, so this change works well for a future adaptation when the time comes.
Take a Tour of Our Living Room Here are the results in a handy little slideshow. If it doesn't view or you like more details, you can click on a link and view the photos with captions. There is one photo in there from before to compare.
