The End?

Oh no, not the end of this blog. The End Of Diapers!? This is going to be very weird and boring for those of you who have no children, so skip this posting if you like.

This morning, my little caterpillar successfully did her business sitting on a real toilet! Well, this is not my girl, I was too busy holding her and encouraging her. No time to grab a camera. So, this one will do.

Stubborn was changing her diaper this morning, and then he decided to let her run FREE for a while, to air dry that sweet little tushy. Well, before he knew it, she squatted down, and peed a little on the carpet. Yeah, that's how I woke up this morning, by Stubborn's scream. So, I just jumped out of the bed, and ran to the bathroom to grab her potty. Just like this one, but the insert part is pink of course.

She played with it for weeks now, so she knew it's for sitting. What a good girl! Sat down, and peed a little more within a couple of minutes! Then she got up. OK, are you done? She said yes, then climbed back onto her bed, butt naked, then said "Poop"! Imagine what my reaction was? Grabbed her as quick as I could, put her back on the frog potty, which she refused this time. 'I am not sitting on that, it has pee in it. Ewww!' Ok, she didn't really say that, that was my guess. So, plan B. Since she likes to watch me sitting on the real toilet,and she loves her Elmo toilet seat (just for playing, sitting on it on carpet), we just had to give that a try. Ours is very similar to this one, but instead of Elmo and his friends all swimming, it just has Elmo swimming with the fish and seahorses. I sat next to her, holding her while telling her one of her favorite story, "the little bear who went to the bathroom by himself". It is a famous Japanese story book translated into Chinese. My friend's son potty trained with it. Even before I could finish the story, little caterpillar did it! I was so excited, yelling to Stubborn, "She did it! She did it!" Then I said if you can do it again, mommy will give you some toilet paper and applause. Oh, she loved it! And she did it again! This time she was really done. I wiped her clean, and flushed while holding her. She was so excited to watch the flush. Everything happened just like that little bear book! Of course according to the book, you have to wash your hands afterward. She loved the whole process! Maybe this is the beginning of the end?

Did you read this post even after I warned you not to? What? I am weird? No I am not weird. I am just too happy! We will definitely try this again. Next time, I will take some pictures. Oh, I will have to show you that cute little Japanese potty training book. It's so simple and colorful, very darling. Wish us luck!

Happy 4th!

How was your 4th of July weekend? We were totally relaxed, had so much fun with our friends, playdate and BBQ. Remember our new new pool? It held up pretty well for the party. Ignore that wrinkle in the middle of the top layer, I accidentally kicked one of the little cover thingy off, so it was leaking air for a while before we noticed it. Stubborn went and bought a small air pump, and he and his best friend fixed the problem while we were playing upstairs. Anyway, littler caterpillar cannot get enough of the pool,
while her little friend screamed for his dear life! He was so scared, won't even let mommy and grandma to change his clothes! They finally got him dressed, and put him down in the water, he just refused to let go mommy's leg. Eventually he climbed up that leg like a little money! See, that's my girl trying to help him out.
So we thought she is a natural swimmer, we had to take her to a big pool. There happen to be a city pool near our home, Stubborn purchased the bracelets last Thur. So, we just had to take her there and try it out. The second she saw that bigger pool, she became that scared little boy!
But once she found those floating ball thingy (I don't know what they are called), she started to have some fun.
After swimming, we took her to the playground next door. I guess she was happy about standing on dry land, she took off like a little bird.

See that cute little capris she is wearing, I refashioned it from a big shirt of mine earlier. The top is still a little bit too big, but this capris fits her perfectly now. Anyway, we had so much fun on Sat, we went back again on the 4th before we went out for dinner. BTW, we were surprised to see many stores and restaurants closed door on 4th!
Our timing couldn't be better. While we were at the restaurant, it started pouring outside! But when we came out, it was all gone! We got to go home, take a hot shower, and enjoy the fireworks comfortably in our own home. Our city's fireworks is not that far away from our home, so we got to watch that some pretty amazing fireworks in person, without the crowd and driving. Little caterpillar loved it so much, this is the first time she saw it and acturally understood it. Even though she was really tired, she stayed up through the whole thing, and asked for more when it stopped. Then we got to enjoy three more fireworks on TV, Boston, NY, and DC, while eating some cold sweet watermelon.
Happy 4th everyone!

New Favorite Blog

I found this amazing blog Sewing In No Man's Land yesterday. Well, I read some posts on there a while back, but this is the first time I really paid attention, and read tons of it at once. Well, for me, it's very sweet and family oriented. Kelly is such a energetic lady, raising 3 cutie pies, making all those fashionable clothes, while working as a professional photographer! Any single one of these jobs is a full time commitment for most of us, and she is doing all three wonderfully. I am so inspired by all her sewing projects, and her pictures are out of this world good. Well of course those cute models really helps too. I love all her tutorials, so nicely explained, all the details and tips, just makes me want to go home and make all of them for my little caterpillar. Not that she needs any more clothes, she has a big closet full of clothes already. But all her creations are soooooo cute, I think every mother will love to put their babies in them.

Like this Button Up Bloomers, I would never imagine it's so easy to make!

And this adorable Butterfly Dress and Headband, it's so perfect for a hot summer day on the beach, or anywhere else. I only wish my girl is cooperative like hers, she could never keep anything on her head for more than 5 seconds! Oh, how I just love her pictures! Oh yeah, I said that already. Wish I could take pictures like that, or even close to that. Yeah, Stubborn bought me a very nice camera, but I never sat down and read the manual or watch those DVDs about how to use it, so I definitely wasting it! Kelly was nice enough to offer some professional tips on photography, telling us what kind of lens to use. I never really paid much attention to my 50mm F1.4, only used it in darker rooms. But I will practice with it this weekend, see whether I can improve my pictures. Also she shoots only in manual! That got to be really hard! Oh, how I dream to become a great photographer one day! Seriously, you guys just have to jump over to her blog to see all those amazing pictures.

Another Pool

While the play center pool was drying out on the deck, I stopped by Target and picked up a new pool. This one is rectangle shape, and can hold much more water. Worrying about its final weight when it's full, we decided we will put it on the driveway instead. We also have a garden hoe right there, and the end of our driveway is unused anyway. I will have to remember to put the foam pads down first this time. Oh yeah, it will be closer to the cars, so we don't have to carry it to the deck, not that it's that much further. Best part, when we drain this baby, most water will follow the slope of the driveway and go to the drain on the street. No more worrying about too much water too close to the foundation. Let's just hope this one will hold the air and water, so we don't have to go through this searching process again.

Bad News About The New Pool

It leaks! Imagine what our faces looked like when we got home yesterday, and saw the big section of the pool totally empty! We were so disappointed! Little caterpillar didn't really care. As long as there is a drop of water, she will have some fun with it. Too bad! I really liked this one. Guess we have to spend a little bit more than just $30 to get some good quality. Now I have to search online really hard, since I already sort of invited our friends over for a pool party this weekend. OK, worst case scenario, they can bring over their personal pool (they bought the same one we had), and we can let the kids swim in their own tiny pool. Totally separated, but still swimming. Hmm, that will be weird.

Big Kid Pool

Last year, little caterpillar had so much fun with this personal baby pool my friend gave me. That might be too small for her now. We need something much bigger, and can provide much more activities to her and her little friends. Yeah, gotta teach them the idea of sharing. We also have to share the water with a certain big 'kid'. Look how tight it was when Stubborn decided to jump in that baby pool last year. So bad I cannot show you their faces, but imagine a tiny baby staring at the relaxed daddy, very unhappily! This picture cracks me up everytime.
So, this past Sunday, when we were shopping at BJs, right after Stubborn vetoed my kiddy pool (those 30" ones) idea, we saw this one. It's 90" by 90", big enough for several kids and adults. At only $30, we had to grab one. I was so eager to set it up, but little caterpillar fell asleep on our way home. That air pump was too loud, just pumping up the two flower thingy already almost woke her up. So, I had to stop and wait, and wait, and wait.
When little caterpillar finally woke up, she was very excited to 'help' mommy set up the pool. Well, before I started the air pump, I had to convince her it's ok, not to be afraid. I cranked up the music (that air pump can only be plugged in the car), and little caterpillar just grabbed two little balls and danced. So cute. Stubborn and I carried it to the deck, started adding water to it. It was almost 6pm, and water from garden hoes was so cold, I had to bring some hot water from the kitchen with a big pot to make it just bearable. Little caterpillar didn't care about the temperature, jumped right in. Looks like we are going to have a great summer here!

Finishing Up Some Projects

Stubborn had enough of my messes everywhere in the basement, demanded me clean up his half. Well, you see, my half is smaller because of the utility stuffs and lots of shelves, and my crafting and sewing tables, and wook bench. Also it's very crowded with some of my future projects. So, when I want to build something, I just take over his side (wide open, with just a sofa, TV and a treadmill). Since I don't have the time to finish projects immediately, they ended up all over his side. Anyway, while I was cleaning up, I realized how rediculous it is to have so many half done projects still hanging around. So, I took some time, and managed to cross two items off my to-do list, and move them out of the basement.

I found this metal art deco vanity bench at local Salvation Army several months ago. I thought I took the before pictures, but cannot find them right now. Yeah, that's how organized I am. Anyway, it was the those shiny brass one, with some rust here and there. The seat cushion might be white originally, but when I saw it, it was really disgusting. So, I took the seat off, spray painted the frame white. I tore off the old fabric, added some padding and stapled it down. But then I couldn't decide which fabric I want to use! So, it just sat there for months collecting dust. Now I am glad I didn't finish it then, I totally don't like that fabric now. I chose a fun piece instead, after all, this one is going in to my little girl's future bathroom. How do you like it now?

This second item was not taking up too much space. But it was on my sewing table for a while, and I really want little caterpillar to wear it this season. Nothing wrong with it, just a little bit boring. So, I just grabbed a long piece from a jelly roll I got from a swap, 10 minutes later, it's like this.
Very cute, don't you think? My kind of project, fast and easy. Again, before:And after:

Refashioned T-shirt Dress

Remember this dress I refashioned for my girl in winter? It's finally warm enough for her to wear it, and pose for mommy. Well if you call standing while watching TV 'posing'. It's a perfect fit! Before I have time to make some matching hair bows, these orange elastics will do.
Have a great weekend, everyone! I am so excited for our first daycare BBQ party, cannot wait to meet other kids and their parents, and make some new friends. Just hope the rain won't interrupt our fun. Now what dessert should I bring?

BTW, for those of you who loving sewing and making clothes for your little ones, I just saw this wonderful news on MADE. Dana was nice enough to inform us that Joanns is running a seersucker sale, only $3/yard! Amazing! Oh how I want to ran right over there and grab all colors they have! Then I remembered that I have about 10 years worth of fabric sitting in my basement, including some very cute seersucker fabric (big sis gave me tons of fabric this time while we were visiting my parents). I have to keep my promise to use up those first! But if you love seersucker on kids, you should definitely go! The sale ends tomorrow! Let the summer begin!

Thrifting Finds

Ever since we came back from China, I have been thrifting every Sat morning. I had very good luck finding these shirts, really thought I used all luck for this whole year! But fortunately, I didn't. Look what I found during the past couple of weeks!

I have been looking for these lotus bowls ever since I saw these on flickr. I fell in love at first sight, but never thought I could have the luck to find one. So, when I spotted this familar shape on the bottom shelf at my local Salvation Army, I held my breath. I couldn't believe I found not one, but five, creamy white lotus bowls, in perfect shape! And they were just $.69 each!


I was so excited about the bowls, went directly to the cashier without spending time looking around for other stuffs. Just as I was paying for my perfect bowls, I saw a lonely shoe on counter. It was a toddler girl shoe, looked brand new. Of course I asked for the other one, and no one knew where it was. Then I thought, let me check their shoe shelf, it might be there. Well, it wasn't there! There were lots of kids shoes on that shelf, but they were all very disappointing looking. But as I turned around, I saw something at the corner of my eyes. There they were, three pairs of girl shoes, so beautiful, almost never worn. Quickly, I grabbed them and ran to the cashier again. One pair was even on sale for 1/2 off. So I got all my girl's shoes for next summer for about $8! Just the day before, I saw similar ones sold at Payless for $20! Aren't they just adorable!


A week later, I found this little guy on their bottom shelf. I am not so sure, but I think it's pure silver. It has that tarnished silver shine, very soft, and look closely, there is a strange mark on one of the candleholder. I will have to polish it and then tell you whether that $2 was wasted or not.

Then last weekend, I went to a different Salvation Army on Rt 1. They have a bigger furniture section, and I am still looking for a cute little desk or vanity for little caterpillar. I didn't see anything interested me. Well, there are lots of amazing pieces, but they are too big, we simply don't have any space for them. A nice dresser for the guest room will be great, but I didn't see anything in the right size. Anyway, after walking around the front store a couple of times, I was kind of disappointed, until I spotted these two cups in the corner. I think I have seen this type of cups in stores, but don't remember their price. The guy who was arranging the items told me he just took them out of their box, they are brand new. Well, I have been looking for some tea cups for my girl, future tea parties. So, at $.59 each, they have to go home with me. Aren't they cute? Even the inside is beautiful.This is the mark on the bottom.

How is your thrifting luck lately?

Garden Updates

I am so lucky! I didn't even lift a finger this year to get all these gorgeous flowers! Hooray for perennial garden! Perfect garden for lazy gardeners!
And my potted plants are doing pretty good too! Before I had little caterpillar, I gave away half of my plants, only kept my orchids and jasmines, and some air filtering plants. I don't have time to take care them as before, but they are still rewarding me with some amazing flowers. This pink jasmine was a gift from AK a couple years back. This one is the first flower of this season, and the color is more intense and flower is bigger! Looks like there are more buds coming, going to be quite a show!
And this baby (Encyclia radiata) just 'enjoying' my ignorance. It blooms every year, and 3 or 4 spikes at a time! The sweet scent is so strong, I normally cannot have it inside.