Style for Grace

About two months ago Grace dropped her rock-n-roll obsession that spanned two years (seriously, I have video footage of her strumming a guitar singing Foo Fighters) and replaced it with her desire to love everything princess-themed.

I share this because last weekend when the weather wasn't quite summery, I suggested a perfect mother/daughter rainy day experience: baking a cake. For Grace, this experience immediately became an opportunity to bake a princess cake.

Now, all you mothers out there that are clueless in the kitchen (ladies, I count myself in that group!) this is a very simple (an inexpensive) way to create a mother/daughter experience - seriously! Thanks to Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines - or whatever boxed brand you chose - you too, can pretend to be a baker and create a custom cake that will serve as an afternoon of fun with your little girl!

In my hopes to make our mother daughter experiences ones filled with learning, I told Grace that we had important decisions to make before we could begin baking. Side note: this took longer than I ever imagined. In 30 seconds I explained to Grace that we needed to decide three things:

1. Flavor of cake
2. Flavor of frosting
3. Decorations for cake
   
   For the purpose of time, I abbreviated our conversation below. This went on for 15 minutes! Immediately following the abridged conversation are 3 tips you can employ for future "planning" conversations with your preschooler.
   
   So, the conversation went like this:
   
   Mother/Aimee: Grace, what flavor would you like the cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Princess.
   
   Mother/Aimee: Yes, we can create a princess theme, but what flavor of cake: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry?
   
   Daughter/Grace: No, mama, I want to bake a Princess Cake.
   
   Mother/Aimee: Yes, Grace, we can talk about decorations last, what flavor of cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Ah, I want a princess cake.
   
   Mother/Aimee: Grace, let me show you something (I presented a box with chocolate cake on the cover and a box with yellow cake on the cover.) Which flavor would you like to have for your cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: I don't want chocolate or yellow, I want to bake a princess cake Mama. Please, pretty please.
   
   (The same question/answer dialogue as above continues for 3-5 minutes.)
   
   Mother/Aimee: Ok, Grace, let's talk about decorations. You seem really interested in princesses.
   
   Daughter/Grace: Yes, Mama, I would like Cinderella, Gus and Jaq, Belle, Mrs. Potts, Snow White, Ariel...
   
   Mother/Aimee: Ok, so we need to gather your Disney Princesses - great! So, now that we have decided on that, what color would you like the frosting?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Blue - yes - blue!
   
   Mother/Aimee: Great, what color would you like the cake?
   
   Daughter/Grace: Pink!
   
   Mother/Aimee: Perfect!
   
   Daughter/Grace: So, Mama, can I have a pink cake, blue frosting Princess Cake?
   
   Mother/Aimee: Absolutely!
   
   Daughter/Grace: Good! (Grace begins clapping.)
   
   3 important tips when planning to bake a cake with a preschooler:
   
   1) Flavor is OUT. Color of cake and frosting are IN! Regardless of taste, preschoolers are concerned with appearance and want to determine the color.
   
   2) Start backwards. In my mind, I thought we would customize the cake starting from the ground up: 1)Determine cake flavor 2) Determine frosting and 3) Finalize decorations. Grace (and probably any preschooler) wanted to customize the cake in the reverse order. So, if after asking the question 3-5 times and you get no where, reverse the order and see if your preschooler's answers change. In my experience, they did and I bet they would for you too!
   
   3) As much as you possibly can, let your child take ownership. For instance, I allowed Grace to mix the cake, pour the liquid contents and she also helped place the cake batter into the baking pan. She was thrilled to have these important responsibilities. Plus it kept her engaged.
   
   Interested to see how the cake came out? Here are some pics:
   
   Grace pouring water into the cake mix.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Grace mixing the cake batter.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   After mixing in food coloring to make a pink cake and pouring batter into the baking pan, Grace hands the pan to me to bake in the oven.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   How Fancy! Blue frosting!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Princess Decorations & Sprinkles: Perfection!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   One proud and happy girl!

Labels: baking a cake, custom cake, Grace, mother daughter, mother daughter experience, princess cake

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm 7 months pregnant. Its been quite a pregnancy and I'm finding it hard to believe that my due date is less than 2 months away.

This past Monday, I had another ultrasound and everything looks great...except baby girl is breech.

My doctor has assured me that there is still plenty of time for her to turn. But as a precaution, we have scheduled another ultrasound in a month to check her position.

Am I worried?

Yes.

Am I confident baby girl will turn?

Absolutely!

I've chosen to see the positive of this situation which has made me more conscience to talk to my baby girl and foster our mother daughter relationship while she is in utero. In fact, I've done a little research and have learned that talking to babies in utero may help stimulate intellectual growth. Regardless, I think these last 4 days have been enjoyable for me and based on baby girl's kicking, I think she's loving it too!

I've even recruited Grace to help, so in addition to talking to her baby sister, we now pick a story during the bedtime routine to read to the baby. Grace is very sweet and kisses my belly and tells her baby sister, "I love you!"

I've also talked with some friends who had breech babies and have been reassured that their babies turned - some at the very last minute! Plus I've learned a few exercises that can help make the turning process easier for the baby.

So wish us luck, and chant with me: Turn, baby turn!

Labels: breech baby, Grace, mother daughter, talking to baby in utero

Every little girl is curious, right? My three-year old daughter Grace is no different. In fact, Grace's curiosity got the best of her - and my morning - this past Sunday when she conducted the experiment I now refer to as: Olfactory Crasin.

Our morning routine started the same as always: I was enjoying my cup of coffee, Grace was watching cartoons while she ate Cheerios and crasins.

About 5 minutes later Grace calmly walks over to me and says very seriously, "Mama, I put a crasin up my nose and its stuck."

Perhaps it was that I only had a sip of coffee, so I gave her a puzzled look and asked that she repeat herself.

With more emphasis, including hand gestures, Grace said, "I stuck a crasin up my nose and it won't come out."

Normally, this would be the moment I hit the proverbial panic button, but instead I calmly ask Grace, "Why would you do that?"

Grace says, "I don't know Mama."

To my response, "Ok, let's get a flashlight."

I instruct Grace how to hold her head so I could get a look up her nose. Surprisingly she does exactly what I tell her and I managed to catch a glimpse of the crasin which is comfortably positioned in Grace's right nostril.

Still remaining calm, I decided tweezers would be the best instrument to extract the crasin. I ask Grace to relax her nose as I try to remove the crasin.

Olfactory Crasin Removal Attempt 1: No dice.

Grace says, "Mama, can you get it out?"

My response, "Sure, it might take a minute."

At this point, I felt I needed to call someone with a little expertise, so I dial my mother-in-law, a retired nurse. She instructs me to wet a Qtip and gently try to work the crasin out.

Olfactory Crasin Removal Attempt 2: I got nothing.

I come up with the idea of a administering a saline rinse. I prepare the rinse and about 1 ounce later, Grace is screaming, clearly upset that I'm pushing water up her nose.

Olfactory Crasin Removal Attempt 3: Nada! Added Bonus: Grace is furious!

After 3 failed attempts, I call Grace's doctor. Thankfully they were opened for emergency visits, so when the operator asked if I could be there in 30 minutes, I quickly said yes and began preparing for our departure.

As I ran around the house, closing the windows, locking the doors, I sadly turned off the coffee pot and frowned at my full cup of coffee that would become cold and gross by the time I arrive home from mine and Grace's latest mother daughter adventure.

Meanwhile, Grace has turned her sadness into excitement as recalls all the wonderful things about the doctor's office. She says, "Mama, will I see the fishes at the doctor's office?"

"Yes, Grace, they will be there," I said.

"Oh, yeah!" exclaims Grace, "Mama, I have a little cough, I should tell the doctor."

"Grace, you can tell the doctor whatever you want, let's just hope he can get the crasin out of your nose," I quickly respond.

So off we go to the doctor's office. Now, I should explain that we are experiencing our very first heat wave and to boot I'm 7 months pregnant. My skin feels sticky and I feel uncomfortable. Grace and I arrive and wait in line to check-in.

Grace and I are standing in line for a few minutes when a woman that was sitting in the waiting area taps me on my shoulder. I turn to her and smile. She whispers, "Excuse me miss, I just thought you would like to know that your dress is stuck in your underwear."

"Fantastic!" is all I say as I smile and nod in gratitude while maneuvering my dress from my underwear. (Side note: While under normal circumstances this would be totally embarrassing, I'm so focused on the panic and mayhem that will ensue once the doctor attempts to remove the crasin from Grace's nose, that it doesn't enter my mind until much later that in all likelihood, a number of complete strangers saw my butt, underwear and disheveled dress. Yikes!)

So after we check in, Grace skips over to visit with the fishes. At this point, I'm hoping that our wait will not be long and begin to fight off worries that we may end up at a hospital if the doctor cannot remove the crasin in the office.

Grace makes her way to other toys and begins to play with a little boy. The little boy's father and I nod our heads to one another and say hello.

About 5 minutes pass and Grace begins to muster a sneeze. As I begin to open my mouth to say "cover your mouth" Grace turns and sneezes and suddenly a red object (one crasin that looked like a blood clot) flies out of her nose and lands on the carpet. The horror on the face of the little boy's father was priceless as he had no idea what flew out of Grace's nose.

I exclaim, "Grace, you're cured!"

Grace jumps, claps her hands and says "Yeah!"

I quickly pick the crasin off the floor with a tissue and explain to horrified father and another set of parents that were watching the situation unfold that my dear little Grace stuck a crasin up her nose and thanks to her hefty sneeze the crasin was freed from the Olfactory Prison.

Everyone laughed. I wished them luck with their appointments and Grace and I started to head out the door.

As we walked out to the car I said, "Grace, what did you learn from this experience?"

With a smile, Grace said, "Mama, I learned that if I stick a crasin up my nose, all I have to do is sneeze and it will come out."

Right Grace. Right.

The mother daughter adventure continues.

Labels: crasin, curiousity, doctor, Grace, mother daughter, nose

If you've ever read this blog, you have already gathered that Grace has amazing wit! She is famous for her one-liners and in recent weeks has become funnier as the Christmas holidays approach.

We began our Christmas preparations this week by decorating Grace's Christmas tree - that's right Grace has her own tree! Grace has a number of animal ornaments and yes, ladies and gentlemen, she has guitar ornament, and yes, Grace does pretend to play it. After decorating the tree, we turned the lights off and lit the Christmas tree lights. Grace clapped excitedly and said, "Ahh, the Christmas tree is ready for baby Jesus' birthday!" (I have no idea where she comes up with these remarks, but they are equally sweet and amusing!) We then completed the evening with yummy hot chocolate and a special viewing of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

So, what is Grace requesting this Christmas? Well, her Christmas list is rather short and concise! Her top request is a stuffed crocodile! When Grace and I first spoke about her wish list, I drew a total blank on where to find a crocodile. Thankfully, I found a 36" croc ala the late Steve Irwin collection on Amazon.com!

She also asked for the book, "Fancy Nancy's Collection of Fancy Words" and Color Wonder markers and coloring books. Lastly, Grace would like to add to her ever expanding instrument collection with the addition of a saxophone!

Of course, Grace has designed her Christmas dress from the Style for Grace Design Center - she decided to design the Natalie dress which goes perfect with her new black cardigan. Admittedly, Grace and I worked on this together - she wanted polka dots, I wanted a splash of red. The solid black bodice, as Grace says, "is a match" with the black polka dots.

At Style for Grace, we are in the Christmas spirit and there is still time to design a dress for the holidays. Starting today and through December 16th, we will take $25 off your Style for Grace dress ordered. Use coupon code: XMAS25.

Labels: Christmas wish, Color Wonder, crocodile, custom dress, dress design, Fancy Nancy, Grace, saxophone