Puppy Dogs

After recovering from the shock that I was pregnant with my second child, I got excited about having another girl. I envisioned the baby dresses I could un-pack from storage. I purchased a pink Baby Book. After already having one daughter, I felt sure I could handle a second.

When I found out my second child was going to be a boy, I knew that things would be very different. I was entering un-known waters. But I tried to keep an open mind and get to work.

First, was to go through all the baby clothes and hand-me-downs. I boxed up what was "too girly", and set aside the generic stuff for baby two to wear.

I noticed right away that most boy clothes were either covered in sports themes, puppies, or dinosaures. I was even given an outfit with a dinosaure playing sports! (Which was my favorite outfit until he grew out of it...)

I like dinosaures, so that was good. I've never been very into sports, so I gave most of those items away. And then came the puppies....

What is it with boys and puppy dogs? I'm a cat person myself. My daughter had several cat themed outfits. But all the cat clothes seemed too girly for my son. So, I resigned my little man to having a few puppy things, but that was it.

Until he was born.
Then the puppies flooded in.

First was a fuzzy blue dog from the hospital gift shop with the words "My First Puppy" stitched on a paw. Too cute! So, that was a keeper. Then came more puppy clothes, more blue dogs, and even a miniature of Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Not only that, but any time my daughter came across a toy puppy she'd automatically hand it to her little brother (awe!), thus re-enforcing the puppy thing.

It was quickly apparent that it was out of my controle. Which turned out to be okay, since my son seems very athletic, and likes all the puppies. So I guess they are here to stay.

"For One Small Moment"

I wrote this for my husband one night...
I thought it was too tender to not share.
It's nice to show when we get along at times. *grins*

"For One Small Moment"
By: Dalyn K. Roney

For one small moment
Everything is right with the world.
The children are sleeping
And the husband is home.
We're lying in bed together
And he just holds me.
No one between us.
No children with their toys and blankets,
Or the cat with her fickle claws.
Just my husband and me
Snuggling close
Under the blankets.
He's already asleep.
But I'm content
To steal this moment
And fix it in my mind.
So, next time we're seperated
By Life's madness,
And the kids are all screaming,
And I look up to the Heavens
And think, "why me?",
Then I'll have this small moment
To remember how great it all is,
How worth it, and wonderful.
And even if I feel too lucky
That you love me
And I wonder, "why me?"
Out of everyone else on this earth.
I snuggle closer in your arms
And thank Heaven for this
One small moment
We have
Together.
*kiss*

I want my own bed!

Before I got married, I was talking to a friend on the phone when my cat jumped up in bed with me. My friend asked, "Why do people let their pets sleep in bed with them?" I replied, "So they don't have to be alone." It was nice to have a friendly little warm body to snuggle with on cold lonely nights. But I was honestly just biding my time until I got married and had a husband to snuggle with instead.

Fast forward six years or so and I now have a husband that works nights, two children, and another cat. With my husband gone at night, my kids and I frequently snuggle in my bed until they fall asleep. Since my 6mo old nurses several times throughout the night, the baby often just stays in bed with me. So it's hard to justify making the 2yr old sleep elsewhere too. And by the time they are BOTH asleep (a very rare occurrence indeed!) I often just scoot them over and try to catch an hour or so of sleep myself.

But the quality of sleep I get that way is very poor. It's difficult to get much REM sleep when you can't sleep in your preferred sleeping position. It is also difficult when you wake up every time one of the babies rolls over or whimpers in their sleep. A toddler that kicks and pulls hair doesn't help much either.

And even when it's just my husband and me in bed, my hair is so long that he sleeps on it sometimes, and it yanks my head, and I get a headache. Besides, with him in bed, I can't sleep diagonally, which really is the most comfortable way.

That is why there are times when I want my own bed. Maybe those 60s sitcom couples who slept in separate twin beds had the right idea...

Meanwhile, what happens when my poor husband gets home from a long night at work, and his bed is covered with two kids, a wife, and a cat? Well, even when I do manage to get the kids tucked in their own beds before he gets home, one or both of them will wake when he comes home, so it was a small victory. So we sleep in shifts when we can...

Ahh, parenting... *yawns*

Fighting

There are lots of different kinds of fights. Sports competitions are fights. Haggling with a merchant to get a better deal on something is a fight. Any parent knows that every day is a fight. War is obviously a fight. Families fight. Countries fight. Sometimes a bit of healthy rivalry is good for comradery or the marketplace. But when it comes to verbal fights there are a few universal truths:

There are two sides to every story.
Sometimes more.

Everyone thinks they are right, and they want their way.

And they want a "compromise" that works out the best for themselves.

Now, a mediator might say that a good compromise is one that no one is completely happy with. Because that means that everyone had to relinquish something in order for the compromise to take place. Others will say a good compromise is one where everyone leaves thinking they got more of their way than the other guy, and so they are happy.

But when you step back from a fight you are in, completely believing that you are right, and you have the right to be right, and your compromise up to this point has been to try to be patient while waiting for the other party to admit that you are right, and do what you wanted...

When you step back and ask yourself, "Am I really right? Or just being selfish because I want my own way?" How in the world do you find the answer??? ...

-------

I started this last week.

I kept it back thinking I would have more to add later. But I realized that I do not. I still don't know what I am supposed to do. *sigh*

.. When you fight, sometimes it is better after because you get things out in the open, so you have a chance to deal with them. If you're having a problem and now you can both work on a solution, then that is a good thing. But more often than not, everyone just feels sad that there was a fight at all. And it's exaughsting.

As a mother of a strong willed daughter in her terrible-twos, I am so tired of any fighting...

But for what it's worth, the fight between my husband and I that sparked this blog in the first place? I still absolutely believe that I am right, I have the "right" in this case to get my way, and the whole family would benefit from it.

But I still also feel a bit selfish for holding out until I get my way.

Life is so complicated.

Becoming a character - Part 1

I don't know at what point I realized it, but it has been pretty obvious for quite some time that Klingons and Star Trek would be a big part of my marriage. My husband started learning tlhingon Hol a short time before he met me, and it fascinated him as a linguist. He has since translated many things into the language (even getting PAID to do it!), and has studied the culture.

A few years ago he purchased a Klingon costume from some website, but hadn't consulted me first. Assuming for a generous moment that if he HAD asked me first that I didn't immediately say no, then I like to think that I would have helped him put our money into a better costume than what he ordered.

When we got it in the mail the first obvious flaw was that it looked like a Halloween costume you might buy at Wal-Mart. Cheap fabric, foam, and pleather with faded painted designs. :-/

Now, I'm not saying that to be mean. We've gotten some mileage out of it, and he's worn it to a few events. But the time has come to REALLY vamp it up as the Trekkies unite for the Star Trek movie premier in a couple weeks. Woo.

Of course, we didn't start the process until today. Not enough time? Nothing a lot of money can't fix! -- ... But we don't have a lot of money... Lame. But we DO have some ingenuity and resources, so maybe we can pull it off! My goal is to tweak what I can.

Trouble is, I come from a Theatre background, and a family of complicated over-achievers! So it is pretty hard to JUST tweak anything. It's WAY more fun to pull together and facsimilate something totally AWESOME! ... So we're trying.

Today I looked at reference material and made some calls to meet with my favorite make-up artists -- my parents. I detached a decal from the costume that had been manufactured upside-down, so I can attach it correctly. I also detached the mock knee boots from the cheap black pants it came with so my husband can wear them over his boots and some real pants. That alone will kick the over all look up a notch. I also have hopes of attaching some metallic pieces, scavenging for some gloves and a sash, and making a better belt buckle.

But the REALLY AWESOME accomplishment of the day was the creation of a Klingon forehead and nose prosthetic! Here is how it went:

1. Call Daddy and ask him very nicely if he is available to help with a prosthetic and pay him back with gratitude and Welch's Grape Juice.

2. Meet up and discuss options.

We talked about going the Alginate, Plaster, and Latex Mold route a few years back, but the effort required lead to never doing it. Today my Father offered an option involving building the prosthetic directly onto the actor. Sweet.

3. Assemble supplies:
Liquid Latex
Cotton balls
Tissue paper
Yarn
Tulle (sp?) That decorative netting you see at weddings.
Powder - for removal

4. Trimmed a piece of Tulle to the desired size of the prosthetic; covering the forehead. Should have also cut it to cover the nose, but forgot.

5. He put a bit of liquid soap along the hair line to help with removing the finished product.

6. Used a flat knife (Latex spatula was missing) to apply a thin layer of Liquid Latex to the skin.

7. Applied the pre-made Tulle base. This acts to give the piece stability, and keep it from falling apart when it it removed. It's kind of like the steel mesh used to reinforce a slab of concrete.

8. Then add Liquid Latex where you want to build up the prosthetic, and create the shape you want using cotton balls, tissue, yarn, or what have you.

To clarify: add a small amount of Liquid Latex to the immediate spot you want to attach the cotton ball to, to make it stick. Stretch it out or whatever to get the desired shape. You can apply more latex and materials to build it up, or take it away. As you go, Apply more latex over the cotton balls, and shape as desired. Repeat over the rest of the forehead or whatever until finished.

An artistic sensibility would be good here. You are limited only by your imagination. Checking frequently in the mirror will also help as you can make adjustments until the latex starts to dry.

9. Let the whole thing dry in place. How long depends on how much material was used. Our piece needed at least an hour or so. We could have waited longer, but my husband had to go to work.

10. Slowly peel the whole piece back off, working from one corner to another. It hurts like a large bandage being ripped off. If you got hair in it, it will hurt more. Powdering it lightly as you go will help to keep it from sticking to itself.

11. Once off and dry enough, store in a zip top bag. The fine line to walk is you do not want the prosthetic to dry out, as it would become too brittle, and break. That would be very sad.

When the time comes to put the prosthetic back on for the event:

1. Trim or adjust anything to clean it up a bit.

2. Apply the prosthetic with Spirit Gum. You may also want to have Spirit Gum Remover handy for later.

3. Use facepaint to blend it in with the rest of the actor to achieve the desired look. Artistic ability needed here too.

This is the kind of thing where practice will make perfect. I only applied some finishing touches to today's prosthetic, as the rest of the time was spent caring for our children. I declined creating a forehead for my 6mo old son at this time.

I think it turned out well. I would have done a few things differently, but next time. Before we started, my Father asked my Husband how long we'd like the prosthetic to last. My Husband said he would wear it until it fell apart. My father said that could be three minutes. I said we'd probably like to get a dozen events out of it. I don't know if it will last that long. But I am confidant that I can build another when the time comes. Obviously, there are better/more "professional" ways of making prosthetics (remember that Alginate and Plaster method?), but this will work great in a pinch. =)

... Now to finish the costume.

And we haven't started on mine yet. Apparently I get to paint myself green. That will be the easy part. Finding a modest costume will be the hard part. And do I really want the attention? ... That should be interesting.

But that's a blog for another day.