This morning, I was at the coffee shop--no surprise there--and I saw a group of students gathering to study. Aww, how nice, I thought. As I walked closer, one of the students was sharing his wisdom. His advice... "I've found that you don't need to read the text book. Professors always test you over what they cover in their lecture. They rarely include things that aren't covered in their lectures on the test. I wouldn't bother to read the textbook unless it's really of interest to you."
I shared this with my students today and they all laughed. I have been really stressing that they read the book. They can't get it all from my lecture. I don't cover everything in the book. I don't have time.
It's also a "rule" that for 3 hour classes you're supposed to spend 6-9 hours outside of class studying each week. I make my tests so that if they spend 6 hours a week with the book and studying they'll get an A for sure. Most students could probably get an A on my tests if they just spent 2-3 hours a week with the book outside of class.
Did I mention that there are only 4 more classes this semester?????
I have a lot to do still.... We have 4 more chapters to cover!
Did I mention that this class is a lot of work, but I'm (mostly) loving it? I don't love it when the students are annoying. I do love it when I sense they are learning something. I do love it when they realize that I actually do care about them and that I'm not doing this for my own sake.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Students...
One of my students asked me, "Are we going to cover anything important today?"
Yes, my reply was, "It's all important."
Two of my students don't get that when I stand up in the front of the room trying to start class, and they keep talking, and I ask, "Do you need another moment?" that I'm being sarcastic. They frequently say, "Yes! Thanks!" And keep on talking.
Yes, my reply was, "It's all important."
Two of my students don't get that when I stand up in the front of the room trying to start class, and they keep talking, and I ask, "Do you need another moment?" that I'm being sarcastic. They frequently say, "Yes! Thanks!" And keep on talking.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Documentation
Today... Not really that blog-worthy. A nice day, but just your usual Sunday where MWH weeds, and then he and N (5) transplant her sunflowers.
I should get the last photo of the sunflowers in their new home, eh?
While MWH and N worked, K (2.9), T (20 months) and I went to get coffee. We came home and played...
Then we had lunch...
Then Alfred started cleaning and we headed out for an afternoon adventure....
K and T fell asleep in the car 10 minutes after we left. We drove around for a little while, decided to go home and get a little work done. After we got home, K and T woke up just 15 minutes later.... so we headed out again.
Target with the family... Little girls weren't very good.... A pregnant woman was glaring at me. I wanted to say, "It's really easy to get them to behave when they are still inside of you, but they come out and have minds of their own. You'll see." But I didn't.
Then the park for a couple of hours...
An easy dinner.
Little girls hung with Daddy while I cleaned like a mad woman... (I don't know what got into me!)
Bed time for little girls and work time for Mommy. Must get back to it.
I should get the last photo of the sunflowers in their new home, eh?
While MWH and N worked, K (2.9), T (20 months) and I went to get coffee. We came home and played...
Then we had lunch...
Then Alfred started cleaning and we headed out for an afternoon adventure....
K and T fell asleep in the car 10 minutes after we left. We drove around for a little while, decided to go home and get a little work done. After we got home, K and T woke up just 15 minutes later.... so we headed out again.
Target with the family... Little girls weren't very good.... A pregnant woman was glaring at me. I wanted to say, "It's really easy to get them to behave when they are still inside of you, but they come out and have minds of their own. You'll see." But I didn't.
Then the park for a couple of hours...
An easy dinner.
Little girls hung with Daddy while I cleaned like a mad woman... (I don't know what got into me!)
Bed time for little girls and work time for Mommy. Must get back to it.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Sisters
I just realized that K (2.9) is learning to write letters of the alphabet while T (20 months) is learning to sing the ABC's.
I love it!
On another note, N (5) is teaching K so much! Tonight, as they weren't going to sleep (still aren't in fact, and the astute reader will check the time on this blog post and note that it's after 11 pm), N was teaching K the planet song. How can you get mad when there is learning occurring?
I love it!
On another note, N (5) is teaching K so much! Tonight, as they weren't going to sleep (still aren't in fact, and the astute reader will check the time on this blog post and note that it's after 11 pm), N was teaching K the planet song. How can you get mad when there is learning occurring?
huh...?
I don't seem to have anything to say... I guess I have things that are on my mind, but I don't really want to publish them. However, those things seem to be blocking my ability to write about anything else. Don't worry about me or us....It's just work stuff....
Heh.
Work is very important to me so having it on my mind is kind of big. It's not new stuff happening... In fact, that's the problem, nothing has really changed in a month at work. If we don't have something good happen soon, then the absence of something good will be the same as something bad.
I guess, on Friday, something kind of happened... We went to a meeting with the HF people. My supervisor had one purpose in mind and my colleague and I thought we were there for another reason. The meeting felt like a really bad date.
Think of the worst date you've ever been on... You know, the kind where you say black and the other person says white and then you almost throw a drink in their face and run away. Yea, that's what the meeting felt like.
It wasn't a big picture bad thing, but it left a horrible taste in my mouth.
I think part of the problem, and why things are bothering me so much, is that I'm a "back-up plan" kind of person. I always have to have a back-up plan ready to go, and then I feel better. I have a back-up plan. In fact, I have about 6 of them now.... The problem is that until we have an outcome at work, I can't go on to any of the new things. Being in limbo, or purgatory sucks.
Okay.... That's all for now. I'll unveil more later if/when I can.
But wait...
On the little girl front, we had a fun day. We went to a birthday party for one of K's (2.9) friends. It was at a great park! I've heard great things about this park for years now, but haven't ever been. Now I'm wondering why we didn't go sooner! It was fantabulous!
Next up, I have to plan K's birthday party. I want to have it in 3 weeks... I should probably send out invites, eh? I'm just planning to do a small get-together here at the house.
Heh.
Work is very important to me so having it on my mind is kind of big. It's not new stuff happening... In fact, that's the problem, nothing has really changed in a month at work. If we don't have something good happen soon, then the absence of something good will be the same as something bad.
I guess, on Friday, something kind of happened... We went to a meeting with the HF people. My supervisor had one purpose in mind and my colleague and I thought we were there for another reason. The meeting felt like a really bad date.
Think of the worst date you've ever been on... You know, the kind where you say black and the other person says white and then you almost throw a drink in their face and run away. Yea, that's what the meeting felt like.
It wasn't a big picture bad thing, but it left a horrible taste in my mouth.
I think part of the problem, and why things are bothering me so much, is that I'm a "back-up plan" kind of person. I always have to have a back-up plan ready to go, and then I feel better. I have a back-up plan. In fact, I have about 6 of them now.... The problem is that until we have an outcome at work, I can't go on to any of the new things. Being in limbo, or purgatory sucks.
Okay.... That's all for now. I'll unveil more later if/when I can.
But wait...
On the little girl front, we had a fun day. We went to a birthday party for one of K's (2.9) friends. It was at a great park! I've heard great things about this park for years now, but haven't ever been. Now I'm wondering why we didn't go sooner! It was fantabulous!
Next up, I have to plan K's birthday party. I want to have it in 3 weeks... I should probably send out invites, eh? I'm just planning to do a small get-together here at the house.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Cuteness
Today was N's (5) spring program at preschool. As usual, it was so cute! The kids all did great. It was hot though! It was not hot two days ago, and today, it is hot! It's crazy how the weather changes so fast.
We took all 3 (with Mary Poppins). The cutest part of the day (to me) was after the show when we went to N's room for snacks. N got a cookie. She broke it up in 3 pieces and handed two of the pieces to me and said, "These are for K and T."
We took all 3 (with Mary Poppins). The cutest part of the day (to me) was after the show when we went to N's room for snacks. N got a cookie. She broke it up in 3 pieces and handed two of the pieces to me and said, "These are for K and T."
Thursday, April 26, 2007
What does the _____ say?
T (20 months) and I were going through her knowledge of animals and their sounds.
What does the lion say?
What does the cow say?
What does the sheep say?
What does the horse say?
What does the kitty say?
All were answered correctly... And then I asked, "What does the T__ say?"
She replied, "I don't want that."
Heh. That is one of her sayings.
I want Mama.
I don't want to.
I don't want to wear this.
I want to wear this.
are we in trouble or what???!
She talks so much. She'll say long sentences. I need to try to capture them.
What does the lion say?
What does the cow say?
What does the sheep say?
What does the horse say?
What does the kitty say?
All were answered correctly... And then I asked, "What does the T__ say?"
She replied, "I don't want that."
Heh. That is one of her sayings.
I want Mama.
I don't want to.
I don't want to wear this.
I want to wear this.
are we in trouble or what???!
She talks so much. She'll say long sentences. I need to try to capture them.
T, F, Q, O, I
Those are the letters that K (2.9) wrote the other night. Since January, she's been starting to do more "writing" in her drawing. Now she's moving on to actual letters. Her pictures are becoming more representational too. Check out this example. It's a clown. She drew it, but Mary Poppins was talking her through what to do. An example of the Zone of Proximal Development.
K couldn't have done as much on the clown if Mary Poppins hadn't have helped her realize that clowns have big hats and funny noses. Note the polka dots on the hat.
I leave you with a couple of web sites about development of drawing.
site 1
site 2
If you look at the pre-symbolism page you will see that K could be drawing for them!
K couldn't have done as much on the clown if Mary Poppins hadn't have helped her realize that clowns have big hats and funny noses. Note the polka dots on the hat.
I leave you with a couple of web sites about development of drawing.
site 1
site 2
If you look at the pre-symbolism page you will see that K could be drawing for them!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Dang it!
I have seen lots of virtual pets on people's blogs. I have thought they were cute, but didn't really want one. Then I found out you could get a black kitty.
Meet virtual HKM. The real HKM was my beloved kitty. I still don't know what I'll do about the meeting, but virtual HKM is very cute! If you pet him, he purrs!
The virtual HKM is making me miss my real HKM. Oh, how I loved that boy!
Meet virtual HKM. The real HKM was my beloved kitty. I still don't know what I'll do about the meeting, but virtual HKM is very cute! If you pet him, he purrs!
The virtual HKM is making me miss my real HKM. Oh, how I loved that boy!
too tired and too stupid to blog
Yesterday, I took a step aerobics class and we did 4,200 (give or take a few) squats. Today, I can't walk down stairs. Despite that limitation, I went to my regular aerobics class tonight. I can barely move now.
I was just thinking about a meeting that is important for my work that is about one month from now. I've been so looking forward to this meeting. And then I realized that I scheduled the meeting exactly at the time I'm supposed to be on a plane to see MWH's family. HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID? It's an important meeting. I hate to say I need to reschedule. Rescheduling will be hard. There are about 7 people involved.
Gah.
This meeting snafu is the main reason I can't blog right now. My stupidity trumps everything else I had to say.
I was just thinking about a meeting that is important for my work that is about one month from now. I've been so looking forward to this meeting. And then I realized that I scheduled the meeting exactly at the time I'm supposed to be on a plane to see MWH's family. HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID? It's an important meeting. I hate to say I need to reschedule. Rescheduling will be hard. There are about 7 people involved.
Gah.
This meeting snafu is the main reason I can't blog right now. My stupidity trumps everything else I had to say.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
done for now... Edited
Unless the two purple's clash. They look fine on my machine/monitor, but different monitors can make things look funny. These purples aren't websafe colors, but I like them. Let me know.
(MWH really dislikes yellow, hence the change. If you missed yellow and pink, just think Easter Eggs and Spring! (Be sure to think about them with the exclamation point.) I forgot to take a screen shot of the yellow and pink before I changed them to shades of purple.)
Edited to add a picture of yellow and pink blog. (I found an open window in my web browswer with it! Yay me for never closing windows.)
(MWH really dislikes yellow, hence the change. If you missed yellow and pink, just think Easter Eggs and Spring! (Be sure to think about them with the exclamation point.) I forgot to take a screen shot of the yellow and pink before I changed them to shades of purple.)
Edited to add a picture of yellow and pink blog. (I found an open window in my web browswer with it! Yay me for never closing windows.)
Yellow and Pink
Bear with me....
I can't decide what to do about the colors on this blog.
I obviously have too much time on my hands, eh?
Today I'm trying Yellow and Pink. Yellow is the color of K's and N's snuggle-blankets and Pink is the color of T's. Today, the color scheme is all about the little girls. Not my choice of colors, but this blog is pretty much all about them. Except when I take it over to complain... which is fairly frequently. Hrmmmm.
I liked the colors I had this morning that Nino liked, but it didn't feel quite right....
I liked Purple (as does A who I think is Alice), but MWH said, "That's not a 3 little girl color." I think N might like the purple choice...I'll play around with colors again later. I'm guessing Ruth might like the purple...
(A, I liked the D choice too.... But it felt too grown up for 3 little girls.)
If I don't pick your favorite, don't despair. It's easy for me to switch colors and we'll figure out something soon. I need to get the color codes for some more light puple/lavendar options and play with the html. With the template color changes I am limited to their choices. I'll play later. Now I have 1 hour and 50 minutes to work on my class. Must go do that.
Maybe I'll even try to find a picture to add.... Tell me if you HATE the colors so much that you're gonna stop reading. Tell me if I'm insane. I can take it.
I can't decide what to do about the colors on this blog.
I obviously have too much time on my hands, eh?
Today I'm trying Yellow and Pink. Yellow is the color of K's and N's snuggle-blankets and Pink is the color of T's. Today, the color scheme is all about the little girls. Not my choice of colors, but this blog is pretty much all about them. Except when I take it over to complain... which is fairly frequently. Hrmmmm.
I liked the colors I had this morning that Nino liked, but it didn't feel quite right....
I liked Purple (as does A who I think is Alice), but MWH said, "That's not a 3 little girl color." I think N might like the purple choice...I'll play around with colors again later. I'm guessing Ruth might like the purple...
(A, I liked the D choice too.... But it felt too grown up for 3 little girls.)
If I don't pick your favorite, don't despair. It's easy for me to switch colors and we'll figure out something soon. I need to get the color codes for some more light puple/lavendar options and play with the html. With the template color changes I am limited to their choices. I'll play later. Now I have 1 hour and 50 minutes to work on my class. Must go do that.
Maybe I'll even try to find a picture to add.... Tell me if you HATE the colors so much that you're gonna stop reading. Tell me if I'm insane. I can take it.
I need a moment...
Sigh.
My parents' flight was cancelled today. They are staying an extra day. There is a storm where they are heading and U*n*ited cancelled their flight. Of course, we found out that it was cancelled after we'd 1) packed up, 2) said our goodbyes, 3) driven them to the airport. It's about a 35 mile drive to the airport they were flying out of, which isn't a big deal, but I would have enjoyed not having to drive the drive today since I have to do it tomorrow.
The options were to 1) have them stay, or 2) let them go and they'd potentially get on a plane 3 hours later than what they were supposed to be on if the storm blew over. That would get them home at midnight. Maybe. If the storm blew over. If not, they'd be stuck at the airport. On flights cancelled due to weather, the airline doesn't have to put you in a hotel. Would you send your octegenarian parents off on an adventure like that? Yea, me neither. Huh, I guess I'm not a totally terrible daughter.
Now MWH and I get to 1) pack them up, 2) say goodbye, 3) and I get to drive to the airport tomorrow. Let's just hope this isn't a Groundog Day*thing.
*Cute/Good movie if you haven't see it.
My parents' flight was cancelled today. They are staying an extra day. There is a storm where they are heading and U*n*ited cancelled their flight. Of course, we found out that it was cancelled after we'd 1) packed up, 2) said our goodbyes, 3) driven them to the airport. It's about a 35 mile drive to the airport they were flying out of, which isn't a big deal, but I would have enjoyed not having to drive the drive today since I have to do it tomorrow.
The options were to 1) have them stay, or 2) let them go and they'd potentially get on a plane 3 hours later than what they were supposed to be on if the storm blew over. That would get them home at midnight. Maybe. If the storm blew over. If not, they'd be stuck at the airport. On flights cancelled due to weather, the airline doesn't have to put you in a hotel. Would you send your octegenarian parents off on an adventure like that? Yea, me neither. Huh, I guess I'm not a totally terrible daughter.
Now MWH and I get to 1) pack them up, 2) say goodbye, 3) and I get to drive to the airport tomorrow. Let's just hope this isn't a Groundog Day*thing.
*Cute/Good movie if you haven't see it.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Snippets...
Today was not the best day. I had a post up earlier that you may have seen and I took it down. Unposting.... It wasn't that bad of a post or day... but I didn't want to leave it up.
But really, how bad can it be when your 5-year old is teaching your 2.9-year old to sing Christmas Carols. Heh. (That's what is coming through the monitor from the little girls' room..... Go to sleep! It's late!)
So anyway, the day started off with one of our house guests (not my parents) tormenting K (2.9) until she became SGR girl. I knew when I was leaving to take A (the evil house guest) to the airport that there was a good chance that K would throw up. I was fuming mad.
A didn't understand why I was so mad. I tried to explain, she got a little mad, but I was so fuming mad that I didn't care that I made her mad. You make my children scream, I'm going to get angry at you. Don't be indignant about it or I will just get angrier.
A is 27 and rather egocentric--so much so that she makes K look caring, giving and able to take on other points of view. Anyway, A really really really really upset me. She had no clue what she was doing, but that was because she hadn't listened to anything I had said. All she wanted to do the entire time she was visiting, was agonize over this guy liked her or not. She barely said anything else to us. She spent a lot of time on the phone with other friends discussing the guy and the situation and then a great deal of time reading. I'm not sure why she bothered to come visit.
Okay... didn't mean to go off again.... This entry may end up edited.
So the day starts with A upseting me so much that it throws me off all day. I was almost late to class. I didn't get lunch before class (hell, I didn't even get breakfast). I was starving and after class I had to photocopy something. I was hurrying so I could go eat and then I forgot one of my bags in the photocopy room and another in my office. I realized this after I get home...
I was so worried about my bags that I had to waste an hour of my life going back to get them (one had my digital camera and I want to make sure I didn't lose it). The only good thing was N (5) agreed to go with me to the University to find my camera. It helped a lot because she was fun to talk to and she made me a carpool! Then we had fun running around the campus to my building. N walked by vending machines and said, "I'm hungry." It was so funny the way she said it. It was so funny that I got her some cookies out of the vending machine.
N's back to being a puppy. As we walked back to my car after retrieving the camera she chased squirrels up trees. Literally. My little girl treeing squirrels. I was cracking up.
Then I came home and cooked dinner for my parents. I like cooking for people, but cooking for "company" is different than cooking for your family. I'm looking forward to normal dinners and less pressure!
But then there is the guilt. My parents leave tomorrow and when they do, I always feel I should have done more, but I really can't do any more. I don't have any left to give. I think my parents wish I had some problems I would discuss with them. Like A. A is always telling them some amusing story and asking for advice. They love A. In my Dad's words... "She's a good kid." I had to get a little mad at them for not stopping A from tormenting my children. Just because you are related to someone does not give you the right to torment them. Mary Poppins called her "useless" and I must say I agree.
Okay... I'm trying to let go of it, but ....MWH is bringing me ice cream... Yay. I'll stop now.
But really, how bad can it be when your 5-year old is teaching your 2.9-year old to sing Christmas Carols. Heh. (That's what is coming through the monitor from the little girls' room..... Go to sleep! It's late!)
So anyway, the day started off with one of our house guests (not my parents) tormenting K (2.9) until she became SGR girl. I knew when I was leaving to take A (the evil house guest) to the airport that there was a good chance that K would throw up. I was fuming mad.
A didn't understand why I was so mad. I tried to explain, she got a little mad, but I was so fuming mad that I didn't care that I made her mad. You make my children scream, I'm going to get angry at you. Don't be indignant about it or I will just get angrier.
A is 27 and rather egocentric--so much so that she makes K look caring, giving and able to take on other points of view. Anyway, A really really really really upset me. She had no clue what she was doing, but that was because she hadn't listened to anything I had said. All she wanted to do the entire time she was visiting, was agonize over this guy liked her or not. She barely said anything else to us. She spent a lot of time on the phone with other friends discussing the guy and the situation and then a great deal of time reading. I'm not sure why she bothered to come visit.
Okay... didn't mean to go off again.... This entry may end up edited.
So the day starts with A upseting me so much that it throws me off all day. I was almost late to class. I didn't get lunch before class (hell, I didn't even get breakfast). I was starving and after class I had to photocopy something. I was hurrying so I could go eat and then I forgot one of my bags in the photocopy room and another in my office. I realized this after I get home...
I was so worried about my bags that I had to waste an hour of my life going back to get them (one had my digital camera and I want to make sure I didn't lose it). The only good thing was N (5) agreed to go with me to the University to find my camera. It helped a lot because she was fun to talk to and she made me a carpool! Then we had fun running around the campus to my building. N walked by vending machines and said, "I'm hungry." It was so funny the way she said it. It was so funny that I got her some cookies out of the vending machine.
N's back to being a puppy. As we walked back to my car after retrieving the camera she chased squirrels up trees. Literally. My little girl treeing squirrels. I was cracking up.
Then I came home and cooked dinner for my parents. I like cooking for people, but cooking for "company" is different than cooking for your family. I'm looking forward to normal dinners and less pressure!
But then there is the guilt. My parents leave tomorrow and when they do, I always feel I should have done more, but I really can't do any more. I don't have any left to give. I think my parents wish I had some problems I would discuss with them. Like A. A is always telling them some amusing story and asking for advice. They love A. In my Dad's words... "She's a good kid." I had to get a little mad at them for not stopping A from tormenting my children. Just because you are related to someone does not give you the right to torment them. Mary Poppins called her "useless" and I must say I agree.
Okay... I'm trying to let go of it, but ....MWH is bringing me ice cream... Yay. I'll stop now.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
ennui 3 (edited)
I got a little bored with the blog colors....
a.
(this is the version that makes me yawn)
b.
c.
d.
You vote...
Also, does the tagline stay...
Life with 3 very little girls. They are cute, but it feels like a circus most of the time.
or do I replace it with....
If you see a woman shaking her head and muttering, "don't lick my tomatoes," back away very slowly.
Edited to add:
Yea, I know, the new color schemes aren't that wildly different. I really like the dark burgandy color... The colors of my blog (currently) are colors you'd see me wearing. I usually wear black. I could try a very crazy different theme, but it wouldn't be me. I feel that I need to be loyal to the 3 little girl theme, but also true to my own color preferences.
a.
(this is the version that makes me yawn)b.
c.
d.
You vote...
Also, does the tagline stay...
Life with 3 very little girls. They are cute, but it feels like a circus most of the time.
or do I replace it with....
If you see a woman shaking her head and muttering, "don't lick my tomatoes," back away very slowly.
Edited to add:
Yea, I know, the new color schemes aren't that wildly different. I really like the dark burgandy color... The colors of my blog (currently) are colors you'd see me wearing. I usually wear black. I could try a very crazy different theme, but it wouldn't be me. I feel that I need to be loyal to the 3 little girl theme, but also true to my own color preferences.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
A glimpse of the future and potentially a reason for it?
MWH and I are sooooo going to be one of those old married couples that finish each other's sentences.... Heck, we'll probably be worse.... We'll probably say the same thing in unison....
We'll probably dress alike as well.... (Many times, we get dressed without seeing what the other has put on, and it's the same color-scheme*.)
Example: Tonight, K (2.9) and N (5) were making bracelets. Apparently, K liked stringing the beads. She got to the end of the string and took all of her beads off and started over. When MWH told me the story I said, "Well, the journey is the reward." He laughed, looked at me and said, "Did you hear me say that? That's exactly what I said."
I hadn't heard him. Granted, there are only a fixed number of possible appropriate responses, but still, more often than not, we choose the exact same one.
*I just remembered this......MWH, do you? We were on our honeymoon, near Jamba Juice in M.B. (I think we were in a drug store) and we saw a couple that looked IDENTICAL. They both had short curly hair, denim jackets, jeans, the same sunglasses... I think they might have passed this on to us. I think they could see our happiness and they passed on this, not exactly a curse, but..... Heh.
We'll probably dress alike as well.... (Many times, we get dressed without seeing what the other has put on, and it's the same color-scheme*.)
Example: Tonight, K (2.9) and N (5) were making bracelets. Apparently, K liked stringing the beads. She got to the end of the string and took all of her beads off and started over. When MWH told me the story I said, "Well, the journey is the reward." He laughed, looked at me and said, "Did you hear me say that? That's exactly what I said."
I hadn't heard him. Granted, there are only a fixed number of possible appropriate responses, but still, more often than not, we choose the exact same one.
*I just remembered this......MWH, do you? We were on our honeymoon, near Jamba Juice in M.B. (I think we were in a drug store) and we saw a couple that looked IDENTICAL. They both had short curly hair, denim jackets, jeans, the same sunglasses... I think they might have passed this on to us. I think they could see our happiness and they passed on this, not exactly a curse, but..... Heh.
The magic of 3
Today, K (2.9) went to her 3rd by-herself gymnastics class.
The first one... Oh my.... I started to write about it, but I couldn't even publish the write-up. Let's just summarize by saying, there was lots of screaming. Lots. Class is 40 minutes long... At least 3/4's of that class was screaming. I let her scream. I did not think leaving was the answer. I know my girls.
If we hadn't stayed and screamed through the first class, we would have had to scream through the second class. Call it conservation of screaming or whatever you want... That's the way my girls are. They have a certain amount of screaming they need to do.
The second class... Much less screaming. A lot of drama, but much less screaming. Probably only 1/8th of the class--maybe 1/4. It was painful still, but less painful.
The third class... I figured it would be a lot better today. I work with people (kids and adults) on novel tasks. I have found that after the third time they do something, regardless of what it is, it gets a lot better. Significantly. Qualitatively.
In addition, to make sure class 3 was better, I came up with the perfect bribe for K. I told her if she didn't cry at all, cooperated, and did her whole class that we would go to The Mue-Z-em. She's been wanting to go for a while now, but I haven't felt up to it.
Anyway, it worked.... #3 class and the bribe... She did EVERYTHING. She was enthusiastic (almost too enthusiastic on the trampoline.... she almost bounced off a couple of times). At one point, she yelled to me, "Mommy, I'm so excited." I said, "I can tell!"
She also said, "I don't need a teacher any more... I can do class all by myself." She did do great. She even tried walking backwards on the high beam (while hold her teacher's finger). Very impressive. I was very proud.
After class, we ate lunch and then I packed up the two older girls and Grandma and headed to the Mue-Z-em. Daddy and Grandpa had the easy job and stayed with little T (20 months) whild she napped at home. It was fun and crazy at the Mue-Z-em. But I must say...Two are easier than 3! 1 is easier than 2, and 2 are easier than 3. I have no doubt that 3 are easier than 4, but we're not going to find out first hand. I'll have to look to my friend KH to know for sure. Fun with numbers.
Also, another magical three thing... The 3rd night my parents were here (last night) T slept through the night! Woo-hoo. I didn't get woken up! I am feeling much better now. Still tired, but much better.
Okay... Must go figure out dinner now. Any ideas?
The first one... Oh my.... I started to write about it, but I couldn't even publish the write-up. Let's just summarize by saying, there was lots of screaming. Lots. Class is 40 minutes long... At least 3/4's of that class was screaming. I let her scream. I did not think leaving was the answer. I know my girls.
If we hadn't stayed and screamed through the first class, we would have had to scream through the second class. Call it conservation of screaming or whatever you want... That's the way my girls are. They have a certain amount of screaming they need to do.
The second class... Much less screaming. A lot of drama, but much less screaming. Probably only 1/8th of the class--maybe 1/4. It was painful still, but less painful.
The third class... I figured it would be a lot better today. I work with people (kids and adults) on novel tasks. I have found that after the third time they do something, regardless of what it is, it gets a lot better. Significantly. Qualitatively.
In addition, to make sure class 3 was better, I came up with the perfect bribe for K. I told her if she didn't cry at all, cooperated, and did her whole class that we would go to The Mue-Z-em. She's been wanting to go for a while now, but I haven't felt up to it.
Anyway, it worked.... #3 class and the bribe... She did EVERYTHING. She was enthusiastic (almost too enthusiastic on the trampoline.... she almost bounced off a couple of times). At one point, she yelled to me, "Mommy, I'm so excited." I said, "I can tell!"
She also said, "I don't need a teacher any more... I can do class all by myself." She did do great. She even tried walking backwards on the high beam (while hold her teacher's finger). Very impressive. I was very proud.
After class, we ate lunch and then I packed up the two older girls and Grandma and headed to the Mue-Z-em. Daddy and Grandpa had the easy job and stayed with little T (20 months) whild she napped at home. It was fun and crazy at the Mue-Z-em. But I must say...Two are easier than 3! 1 is easier than 2, and 2 are easier than 3. I have no doubt that 3 are easier than 4, but we're not going to find out first hand. I'll have to look to my friend KH to know for sure. Fun with numbers.
Also, another magical three thing... The 3rd night my parents were here (last night) T slept through the night! Woo-hoo. I didn't get woken up! I am feeling much better now. Still tired, but much better.
Okay... Must go figure out dinner now. Any ideas?
Friday, April 20, 2007
Don't lick my tomatoes
That's what I told T (20 months). Tonight, while we were eating dinner, she was sitting on my lap. She indicated she wanted one of the cherry tomatoes in my salad and I told her to take it. She grabbed one. She tried to take a bite out of it and then decided she didn't want it, but I was distracted and didn't notice. The next time I looked at my salad, I realized she had put the cherry tomato she had bitten back in my salad, and had pulled the another one out and was licking it. Who knows if she licked more.
I had to tell K (2.9), "Don't bite my oven mitts," just a few moments later. I can't believe some of the things I have to say.
One good thing about dinner tonight, I made salmon. Every once in a while, I really like salmon. I haven't made it in a couple of years. All I do is mix up spicy mustard, balsamic vinegar and honey and slather the salmon in it. Then bake... or broil... or grill... Your choice. Yum.
I don't know the quantities of the above ingredients... Probably 3 parts mustard, 1 or 2 parts balsamic vinegar and 1 part honey... I don't know... just to-taste.
N (5) surprised us and ate a lot of salmon tonight. She had been asking me to make fish for quite a while. (She loves to look at the (dead) fish in the grocery store and decided we should eat some a while ago. I told her we'd make fish when her grandparents came to visit. She was so excited. She helped me cook.)
One bad thing about dinner, I made salmon. MWH hates fish. Because of this, I had to do dishes... He was scared of them. I can't complain... Probably the last time I did dishes was the last time I made salmon.
I could do another entry on octegenarian time, but it's probably enough to say...I hung with my parents all day. We sat a lot. We went to lunch, and then we sat. We sat and we sat and we sat and we sat. (And I read the Cat in the Hat tonight... Can you tell?) It was a nice day, but so very different than what I'm used to days being like.
Oh, and then there were "the comments." Comments like, "I've never seen a rose bush trimmed like that.... Have you? It's so pretty, but I've just never seen one trimmed like that..." The amazement continues for 5 more minutes. And the discussion of the number of trips up and down my stairs at our house. My Dad counted that he went up and down 4 round trips.... But he was saying 8 trips and this led to a long debate between my parents about how many trips up and down the stairs they'd made today. And if it was better to count the trips as round trips or one-way trips. They are cute, and I enjoy them, but sometimes I really wonder if I am related to them.
I should go to sleep soon. Who knows what time T will be up tonight. The little non-sleeping troublemaker took a three-hour nap (yea, that song again) today. I didn't. I am exhausted!
I had to tell K (2.9), "Don't bite my oven mitts," just a few moments later. I can't believe some of the things I have to say.
One good thing about dinner tonight, I made salmon. Every once in a while, I really like salmon. I haven't made it in a couple of years. All I do is mix up spicy mustard, balsamic vinegar and honey and slather the salmon in it. Then bake... or broil... or grill... Your choice. Yum.
I don't know the quantities of the above ingredients... Probably 3 parts mustard, 1 or 2 parts balsamic vinegar and 1 part honey... I don't know... just to-taste.
N (5) surprised us and ate a lot of salmon tonight. She had been asking me to make fish for quite a while. (She loves to look at the (dead) fish in the grocery store and decided we should eat some a while ago. I told her we'd make fish when her grandparents came to visit. She was so excited. She helped me cook.)
One bad thing about dinner, I made salmon. MWH hates fish. Because of this, I had to do dishes... He was scared of them. I can't complain... Probably the last time I did dishes was the last time I made salmon.
I could do another entry on octegenarian time, but it's probably enough to say...I hung with my parents all day. We sat a lot. We went to lunch, and then we sat. We sat and we sat and we sat and we sat. (And I read the Cat in the Hat tonight... Can you tell?) It was a nice day, but so very different than what I'm used to days being like.
Oh, and then there were "the comments." Comments like, "I've never seen a rose bush trimmed like that.... Have you? It's so pretty, but I've just never seen one trimmed like that..." The amazement continues for 5 more minutes. And the discussion of the number of trips up and down my stairs at our house. My Dad counted that he went up and down 4 round trips.... But he was saying 8 trips and this led to a long debate between my parents about how many trips up and down the stairs they'd made today. And if it was better to count the trips as round trips or one-way trips. They are cute, and I enjoy them, but sometimes I really wonder if I am related to them.
I should go to sleep soon. Who knows what time T will be up tonight. The little non-sleeping troublemaker took a three-hour nap (yea, that song again) today. I didn't. I am exhausted!
Head spinning...
T (20 months) didn't sleep well last night. Separation anxiety BITES! Or sucks, or blows, or sucks and blows... or something like that.
She was awake from 3-6 am. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse... IT DOES.
I'm hopeful to get a nap today.
In the meantime, I leave you with this....
Amazing statistics there. What should we do for our future? I use a lot of technology with my girls because I think they are going to need to understand it very well. How can we better prepare our children for the future?
She was awake from 3-6 am. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse... IT DOES.
I'm hopeful to get a nap today.
In the meantime, I leave you with this....
Amazing statistics there. What should we do for our future? I use a lot of technology with my girls because I think they are going to need to understand it very well. How can we better prepare our children for the future?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Sleep, Interrupted
I'm quite sure the title has been done before, but at the moment, I'm too tired to care or to think of a better one.
T (20 months) gets the worst-sleeper award in this house. If you have been reading for a while, you might remember how good of a sleeper T was originally. Seriously. Amazing. It was important because K (2.9) wasn't.
The chance of a full night of sleep decreases given the number of children one has. With three children, I think we're down to about a 10% chance each night. I can't complain too much because I know there are kids who sleep less than my kids.
It's so hard when you're tired. I can't think well enough to do some of the work I need to do. Last night, I needed to read some materials, but I didn't bother because I was so tired that reading wouldn't have been a good use of my time. I went to bed early for me (11:15 pm), and I'm so glad I did. At 3:25 I woke up to T screaming. MWH had already been up once with N (5) because her ear hurt. He gave her tylenol and she went back to sleep. I let T scream for a long time thinking she'd go back to sleep. She didn't. MWH went down to comfort her at 4 am. She was comforted while he held her, but then started screaming again.
At 4:17 I went down, soothed her and put her back in bed. I didn't even make it out of her room before she started screaming again. I brought her to bed with me. After 30 minutes of being kicked and poked, I decided she needed to go back to her crib. She wouldn't. At 5 am, I brought her back to bed with us. MWH got out the benadryl. Around 5:30 am we all went back to sleep. K woke me up at 8. I didn't get out of bed and tried my best to ignore her requests for a yogurt drink and television.
Since my parents are visiting, the TV is not in our bedroom. We moved it out to the living room for them. This means that K's usual means of entertainment while we wake up is gone. She was very upset. At 9, she started to get upset so I got up, got her a yogurt drink and turned on the TV downstairs for her ('cause she wouldn't sit with my parents and watch with them). I didn't want to leave her alone, but I was still exhausted. It was Dragon Tales. Fortunately, MWH got up right after I came back to our room, he took over with K and I went back to bed until 10.
I'm still not moving very fast, but I'm hoping that ~3.75 hours of sleep, then awake for 2 hours, then asleep for 2, awake for 1, and asleep for 45 more minutes is enough.
T is pretty freaked out by my parents' visit. If other people are in the house, she cries if I'm not holding her because she doesn't want them to take her from me or for me to leave. She is in major separation anxiety phase. I am pretty sure the sleep disruption was because she was upset, not for any other reason.
Tonight, I will set up the portable crib in our room. Hopefully she'll fall asleep in her room, come snuggle when she wakes up in the middle of the night for a few minutes and then go to sleep without screaming in the portable crib. I hope I am not being delusional about this idea. MWH will have a good sense of what might happen too and hopefully between the two of us we can come up with a plan that works. I don't want to have to resort to benadryl again.
T (20 months) gets the worst-sleeper award in this house. If you have been reading for a while, you might remember how good of a sleeper T was originally. Seriously. Amazing. It was important because K (2.9) wasn't.
The chance of a full night of sleep decreases given the number of children one has. With three children, I think we're down to about a 10% chance each night. I can't complain too much because I know there are kids who sleep less than my kids.
It's so hard when you're tired. I can't think well enough to do some of the work I need to do. Last night, I needed to read some materials, but I didn't bother because I was so tired that reading wouldn't have been a good use of my time. I went to bed early for me (11:15 pm), and I'm so glad I did. At 3:25 I woke up to T screaming. MWH had already been up once with N (5) because her ear hurt. He gave her tylenol and she went back to sleep. I let T scream for a long time thinking she'd go back to sleep. She didn't. MWH went down to comfort her at 4 am. She was comforted while he held her, but then started screaming again.
At 4:17 I went down, soothed her and put her back in bed. I didn't even make it out of her room before she started screaming again. I brought her to bed with me. After 30 minutes of being kicked and poked, I decided she needed to go back to her crib. She wouldn't. At 5 am, I brought her back to bed with us. MWH got out the benadryl. Around 5:30 am we all went back to sleep. K woke me up at 8. I didn't get out of bed and tried my best to ignore her requests for a yogurt drink and television.
Since my parents are visiting, the TV is not in our bedroom. We moved it out to the living room for them. This means that K's usual means of entertainment while we wake up is gone. She was very upset. At 9, she started to get upset so I got up, got her a yogurt drink and turned on the TV downstairs for her ('cause she wouldn't sit with my parents and watch with them). I didn't want to leave her alone, but I was still exhausted. It was Dragon Tales. Fortunately, MWH got up right after I came back to our room, he took over with K and I went back to bed until 10.
I'm still not moving very fast, but I'm hoping that ~3.75 hours of sleep, then awake for 2 hours, then asleep for 2, awake for 1, and asleep for 45 more minutes is enough.
T is pretty freaked out by my parents' visit. If other people are in the house, she cries if I'm not holding her because she doesn't want them to take her from me or for me to leave. She is in major separation anxiety phase. I am pretty sure the sleep disruption was because she was upset, not for any other reason.
Tonight, I will set up the portable crib in our room. Hopefully she'll fall asleep in her room, come snuggle when she wakes up in the middle of the night for a few minutes and then go to sleep without screaming in the portable crib. I hope I am not being delusional about this idea. MWH will have a good sense of what might happen too and hopefully between the two of us we can come up with a plan that works. I don't want to have to resort to benadryl again.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tired...
I'm so tired. The cold over the weekend*, my parents visiting, the cleaning frenzy before they arrived, teaching, working on the presentation my friend/colleague are giving tomorrow night, and T's crying last night resulting in me giving in and bringing her to bed with me (so as to not disturb my parents) have all done me in.
I know we've had lots of cuteness around here, but at the moment I'm too tired to think.
N's complaining her ear hurts... I told we'd see what was happening in the morning.
Did I mention another family member will be coming in over the weekend to add to the craziness too? It's good, but crazy.
Did I mention I have a wonderful MWH? The most wonderful.
Okay... random blog entry ending.
Nitey-nite.
*No complaints here, but it was the weirdest cold. I was still getting sick on Saturday but on Sunday I was on the road to recovery. I wonder if all the Zicam I did to try to prevent the cold resulted in a cold of shorter duration.
I know we've had lots of cuteness around here, but at the moment I'm too tired to think.
N's complaining her ear hurts... I told we'd see what was happening in the morning.
Did I mention another family member will be coming in over the weekend to add to the craziness too? It's good, but crazy.
Did I mention I have a wonderful MWH? The most wonderful.
Okay... random blog entry ending.
Nitey-nite.
*No complaints here, but it was the weirdest cold. I was still getting sick on Saturday but on Sunday I was on the road to recovery. I wonder if all the Zicam I did to try to prevent the cold resulted in a cold of shorter duration.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The eagle has landed...
That's code for my parents arrived. Oh. Oops, I broke the code. Now I know why I've never gotten a security clearance. Heh.
More soon. My 81 year old Mom text messaged my brother today. I was impressed. However, she doesn't think she'll be doing that again because it took too long to get all the letters in (her words).
More soon. My 81 year old Mom text messaged my brother today. I was impressed. However, she doesn't think she'll be doing that again because it took too long to get all the letters in (her words).
Monday, April 16, 2007
The 6 o'clock hour
Miss T (19 months) is not a great sleeper... She usually wakes up and cries for a while most (70%) nights. I usually ignore her. Unless she cries a certain way, then I know she's poopy* and needs a diaper change. The worst time for her to cry is after 6 am. This morning she started around 6:15.... When it's 6 am, the sun is starting to rise and it's nearly impossible for me to go back to sleep and ignore her.
I tried to ignore her. I tried and tried and tried. At 6:41 she did "the certain cry thing" and I realized she needed a diaper change. I went down, changed her, nursed her, and told her, "Believe it or not, it's still night-night time." She solemnly nodded. She went back in her crib, waved and I haven't heard a peep since. I went back to bed at 7:06. I knew it was pretty much futile.
At 7:23, I heard K (2.9) get out of bed, stumble upstairs, take herself to the bathroom, wash hands, and come in our room**. I told her it was not yet 8 and she needed to go back to her bed. She burst into tears. I pulled her in bed with us, stayed for about 10 minutes, and then I decided to give up and get up. K's still in bed. I think she went back to sleep.
I am tired and grumpy.
My parents come tomorrow***.
I am still a bit sick. I needed my rest.
I have 4 million and one things to do today.
*Mommy blog. Get over it.
**Yea, pretty impressive for a 2.9 year old.
***Unless they change their mind. I told them yesterday how we were still a house o' germs and offered to pay the change fee on their tickets if they wanted to postpone their trip. I doubt they will postpone. I sounded pretty awful when I told them coughing and sniffling, so there is a chance. It's really going to suck when T does this cry things and my parents are here. The guest room is right next to T's room. I don't really have another place to put either the guests or T. Gotta start thinking creatively.
I tried to ignore her. I tried and tried and tried. At 6:41 she did "the certain cry thing" and I realized she needed a diaper change. I went down, changed her, nursed her, and told her, "Believe it or not, it's still night-night time." She solemnly nodded. She went back in her crib, waved and I haven't heard a peep since. I went back to bed at 7:06. I knew it was pretty much futile.
At 7:23, I heard K (2.9) get out of bed, stumble upstairs, take herself to the bathroom, wash hands, and come in our room**. I told her it was not yet 8 and she needed to go back to her bed. She burst into tears. I pulled her in bed with us, stayed for about 10 minutes, and then I decided to give up and get up. K's still in bed. I think she went back to sleep.
I am tired and grumpy.
My parents come tomorrow***.
I am still a bit sick. I needed my rest.
I have 4 million and one things to do today.
*Mommy blog. Get over it.
**Yea, pretty impressive for a 2.9 year old.
***Unless they change their mind. I told them yesterday how we were still a house o' germs and offered to pay the change fee on their tickets if they wanted to postpone their trip. I doubt they will postpone. I sounded pretty awful when I told them coughing and sniffling, so there is a chance. It's really going to suck when T does this cry things and my parents are here. The guest room is right next to T's room. I don't really have another place to put either the guests or T. Gotta start thinking creatively.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Gosh darn it.
Months ago, MWH and I planned to go away and have a night to ourselves. We finally lined it all up, got our favorite college students booked to spend the night with the girls, and everything was set. It's not easy with 3!
And then, I came down with a cold. Friday, I was still optimistic that we could go away for the night. Saturday morning, I was feeling worse, but still hopeful.... By mid-afternoon Saturday, I cancelled the hotel and decided I could handle going out to dinner, but that I would prefer to come home to my own bed.
We did manage dinner. We went around 6 and we were home by about 8:30. How pathetic is that? We snuck in upstairs and the girls were downstairs. We had the college students stay with the girls and put them to bed. The girls went down surprisingly well by 9:30 pm. Unfortunately, I felt worse and worse all night. I didn't know how bad the cold was going to get.
I started using the wonder drug on Friday night and it helped, but after dinner Saturday night I feared that this cold would be too much for even Afrin. Fortunately Afrin did let me get a full night's sleep last night. Today, Sunday, I have taken sudafed, ibuprofen, lots of caffeine, and sniffed Afrin. I feel like I've turned the corner with this cold and maybe I'll recover. Last night, I wasn't sure I would ever recover. I was a sniffling, sneezing, coughing mess.
I am so bummed that MWH and I didn't get a night away, but we had a nice dinner (yummy Italian! and we didn't have to chase little girls during it), looked at new televisions, and bought a new phone for the kitchen. Then we went home and surfed the web while sitting on our comfy bed. I was too sick to even blog. That's sick!
And then, I came down with a cold. Friday, I was still optimistic that we could go away for the night. Saturday morning, I was feeling worse, but still hopeful.... By mid-afternoon Saturday, I cancelled the hotel and decided I could handle going out to dinner, but that I would prefer to come home to my own bed.
We did manage dinner. We went around 6 and we were home by about 8:30. How pathetic is that? We snuck in upstairs and the girls were downstairs. We had the college students stay with the girls and put them to bed. The girls went down surprisingly well by 9:30 pm. Unfortunately, I felt worse and worse all night. I didn't know how bad the cold was going to get.
I started using the wonder drug on Friday night and it helped, but after dinner Saturday night I feared that this cold would be too much for even Afrin. Fortunately Afrin did let me get a full night's sleep last night. Today, Sunday, I have taken sudafed, ibuprofen, lots of caffeine, and sniffed Afrin. I feel like I've turned the corner with this cold and maybe I'll recover. Last night, I wasn't sure I would ever recover. I was a sniffling, sneezing, coughing mess.
I am so bummed that MWH and I didn't get a night away, but we had a nice dinner (yummy Italian! and we didn't have to chase little girls during it), looked at new televisions, and bought a new phone for the kitchen. Then we went home and surfed the web while sitting on our comfy bed. I was too sick to even blog. That's sick!
Friday, April 13, 2007
The K monster... (Edited)
K (2.9) has been really difficult lately. She's not so bad for me, but she is a Mama's girl. Kids are often better for the nanny or someone else, and more difficult for Mom, but K isn't. She is easiest for me. MWH finds her difficult and so does Mary Poppins. I'm sure both would rightfully accuse me of letting her get away with things because she has me wrapped around her little finger.
It's hard when someone other than me is in charge of her. It's hard for me to be in charge of her all the time because 1) I work and 2) because no matter how much I give to her, it's never ever enough. She would suck the life-force out of me if I were with her all the time. That's part of the definition of mothering, but even more so in the case of my relationship with K.
Anyway, Mary Poppins was pretty upset with K today. That's an understatement, but I don't want to go into the specifics. Mary Poppins doesn't even know what to do with K. We're working on it. It's hard for me to have a nanny sometimes, and this is one of those times. The nanny is very much a partner in the raising of the children... At least that's how it is with Mary Poppins, and in my opinion how it should be, but sometimes it's hard to find solutions that make everyone happy.
The current solution works for me, but not Mary Poppins. In fact, it's probably making things a little more difficult for her. Now that Mary Poppins has shared with me what she thinks we should do, we will find a compromise. I don't agree completely with what she thinks and she doesn't agree with what I think.
Mary Poppins thinks I'm too soft with K. I think she's being too hard on her. Now comes the part where we have to figure it out together.
My insight into K is that she's very high maintenance, and that she needs to be treated rather delicately. Time-outs don't really work on her. She just howls and never self-soothes. She needs you to hold her and help her calm down and talk her to the "right" thing in a gentle way. That's the way she is. It's really hard to do that when you are with more than one child and when she (K) is in her very difficult mood. When K is difficult, she can be downright ugly and snotty.
Mary Poppins really dislikes snotty behavior. I don't like it either, but the only thing I've found to work with K is to be really gentle. Even when she's being ugly. I forget sometimes. I'll try to give K a time-out or sometimes, I yell. This doesn't work. Every now and then, a well-timed yell will work, but positive interactions work better with K. I don't know... Maybe I do need to be more firm with her....
[sidebar: It's hard for me to be tough with K because I have a lot of guilt about having become pregnant so quickly. I am delighted we have T, but one of my first thoughts was how sorry I was that K wasn't going to get to be "the baby" for a longer period of time. Poor K has a difficult temperament and she's a middle child! Neither the eldest nor the baby.]
Relationships and families are never perfect, but I think documenting what they are like can help. I'll try to remember to write about the solution and what we figure out.
(Edited to add: I think that one of the reason's K is being so difficult is that she's bored. As someone who is easily bored myself, I sympathize. One of the things I want to work with Mary Poppins on is a better schedule that will allow her to get 2 of the girls out to do fun things with them. That will help a GREAT deal.)
It's hard when someone other than me is in charge of her. It's hard for me to be in charge of her all the time because 1) I work and 2) because no matter how much I give to her, it's never ever enough. She would suck the life-force out of me if I were with her all the time. That's part of the definition of mothering, but even more so in the case of my relationship with K.
Anyway, Mary Poppins was pretty upset with K today. That's an understatement, but I don't want to go into the specifics. Mary Poppins doesn't even know what to do with K. We're working on it. It's hard for me to have a nanny sometimes, and this is one of those times. The nanny is very much a partner in the raising of the children... At least that's how it is with Mary Poppins, and in my opinion how it should be, but sometimes it's hard to find solutions that make everyone happy.
The current solution works for me, but not Mary Poppins. In fact, it's probably making things a little more difficult for her. Now that Mary Poppins has shared with me what she thinks we should do, we will find a compromise. I don't agree completely with what she thinks and she doesn't agree with what I think.
Mary Poppins thinks I'm too soft with K. I think she's being too hard on her. Now comes the part where we have to figure it out together.
My insight into K is that she's very high maintenance, and that she needs to be treated rather delicately. Time-outs don't really work on her. She just howls and never self-soothes. She needs you to hold her and help her calm down and talk her to the "right" thing in a gentle way. That's the way she is. It's really hard to do that when you are with more than one child and when she (K) is in her very difficult mood. When K is difficult, she can be downright ugly and snotty.
Mary Poppins really dislikes snotty behavior. I don't like it either, but the only thing I've found to work with K is to be really gentle. Even when she's being ugly. I forget sometimes. I'll try to give K a time-out or sometimes, I yell. This doesn't work. Every now and then, a well-timed yell will work, but positive interactions work better with K. I don't know... Maybe I do need to be more firm with her....
[sidebar: It's hard for me to be tough with K because I have a lot of guilt about having become pregnant so quickly. I am delighted we have T, but one of my first thoughts was how sorry I was that K wasn't going to get to be "the baby" for a longer period of time. Poor K has a difficult temperament and she's a middle child! Neither the eldest nor the baby.]
Relationships and families are never perfect, but I think documenting what they are like can help. I'll try to remember to write about the solution and what we figure out.
(Edited to add: I think that one of the reason's K is being so difficult is that she's bored. As someone who is easily bored myself, I sympathize. One of the things I want to work with Mary Poppins on is a better schedule that will allow her to get 2 of the girls out to do fun things with them. That will help a GREAT deal.)
Help! I have a rock in my eye...
That was what K said when she discovered a sandman / sleepy in her eye this morning.
It was rather traumatic for her, but I got a laugh.
It was rather traumatic for her, but I got a laugh.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
A new puppy!
Lately, T (19 months) has taken to crawling around the house, panting and barking. She sees N (5) doing this a lot, and has decided it looks like fun and that she should do it too.
In the neighborhood...
We moved to our new house almost 4 months ago! I love the house. I like our street a lot too. It's quiet. It's a cul-de-sac. The one thing I'm uncomfortable with is that I haven't figured out is how to meet the neighbors.
We know our next door neighbors and they seem nice. We've been in their house a couple of times, chat with them outside on the weekends, and will probably do more as the weather gets nicer and cold season ends. (They have little kids too, and this winter, someone has always been sick so we haven't gotten together! We have seen them at the local part and have played/chatted with them there. I think as the kids get older we will play more.)
Anyway, there are several other houses on the street, and we don't know the people. Should we go over and introduce ourselves? We see people driving in and out of the driveways, and that sort of thing, but we haven't spoken, and neither have they. One time, one of the grandkids of a neighbor said hello, but no one else has.
One of the neighbors is doing a lot of landscaping and I don't know if we should use that as an opportunity to say "Hello" to them (when they are outside working). It would be nice to know the people on the street. I don't really want or expect friends, but they are our neighbors... We expect we'll live here in this house for a long time. What would you suggest for how to go about meeting new neighbors?
We know our next door neighbors and they seem nice. We've been in their house a couple of times, chat with them outside on the weekends, and will probably do more as the weather gets nicer and cold season ends. (They have little kids too, and this winter, someone has always been sick so we haven't gotten together! We have seen them at the local part and have played/chatted with them there. I think as the kids get older we will play more.)
Anyway, there are several other houses on the street, and we don't know the people. Should we go over and introduce ourselves? We see people driving in and out of the driveways, and that sort of thing, but we haven't spoken, and neither have they. One time, one of the grandkids of a neighbor said hello, but no one else has.
One of the neighbors is doing a lot of landscaping and I don't know if we should use that as an opportunity to say "Hello" to them (when they are outside working). It would be nice to know the people on the street. I don't really want or expect friends, but they are our neighbors... We expect we'll live here in this house for a long time. What would you suggest for how to go about meeting new neighbors?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
K at almost 3
I can't believe K (2.9) is so close to being 3. Three years ago I was nice and pregnant. I can't believe it's only been three years and that it's already been three years. In Star Trek, whenever there is a time anomaly, they detect chroniton particles.... There must be a lot of chroniton particles in this house! Lots of time weirdness.
Anyway, the point was not to talk about time continuum problems, but to give a little update on K. She's almost all the way weaned. Instead of nursing for 3 seconds twice a day (6 seconds total) she's asking to nurse (for 3 seconds) every other day. She's been dry at night for weeks now, but she still wants to sleep in pull-ups. I'm fine with that. We still have about 1/2 a bag left. I hope I don't have to buy another bag, but it's a small price to pay if it makes her happy. She says she'll stop wearing pull-ups after she goes to preschool (starts in June).
She entered a really good phase in February, but for the last week or so she's been kind of difficult. Not as difficult as she was before, but more so than the last couple of months. She's easiest for me, but challenging for almost everyone else. She is a Mama's girl. My sweet snuggly little one! She LOVES to snuggle. I love to snuggle with her. She just melts and molds to you. So sweet.
I can't believe how big she is. I'm looking forward to her doctor's appointment when she is three to see how tall she is. She just looks like such a little girl. No more baby. My second little girl is almost 3.
Anyway, the point was not to talk about time continuum problems, but to give a little update on K. She's almost all the way weaned. Instead of nursing for 3 seconds twice a day (6 seconds total) she's asking to nurse (for 3 seconds) every other day. She's been dry at night for weeks now, but she still wants to sleep in pull-ups. I'm fine with that. We still have about 1/2 a bag left. I hope I don't have to buy another bag, but it's a small price to pay if it makes her happy. She says she'll stop wearing pull-ups after she goes to preschool (starts in June).
She entered a really good phase in February, but for the last week or so she's been kind of difficult. Not as difficult as she was before, but more so than the last couple of months. She's easiest for me, but challenging for almost everyone else. She is a Mama's girl. My sweet snuggly little one! She LOVES to snuggle. I love to snuggle with her. She just melts and molds to you. So sweet.
I can't believe how big she is. I'm looking forward to her doctor's appointment when she is three to see how tall she is. She just looks like such a little girl. No more baby. My second little girl is almost 3.
Again...
Tonight, K (2.9) and N (5) are sleeping in the little closet thing because it is their cow home. N was calling it her "cage" earlier today. I've been telling her it's the barn or her stall, because when she says, "I slept in my cage last night," it doesn't sound so good... Heh.
one thing done...
My colleague and I did a presentation today as a "warm-up" for our big presentation next week. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been blogging as much because getting ready for today took some time! I really enjoy working with my colleague. It's nice, really really nice, when you can work really well together with someone.
A cow?
Miss N (5) has a very vivid imagination. She's been a sick pig, a puppy and today, she is a cow.
She really gets into character. Last night, she slept in a little closet we have because it is "her cow home." I agreed to let her sleep there never guessing she'd actually spend the whole night sleeping there. I figured it would last about an hour and then she'd mosey on back to her comfy bed. K (2.9) says she went to sleep with N too. I don't know if it's true or not. N corroborates the story. They were safe and quiet and asleep last night... So they slept in a closet.
(They've had a love of closets for a long time. N took one of our closets and turned it into her stuffed animals' bedroom once... Our walk-in pantry was so much fun. At our new houses, we have a half-sized closet (half-height door) under the stairs, and that's the closet that they currently love. If you were a kid, you'd love it too. Before we bought the house, I knew that closet would be theirs! I knew I couldn't even start to think about what I might store there because they would love it. I was right.)
She really gets into character. Last night, she slept in a little closet we have because it is "her cow home." I agreed to let her sleep there never guessing she'd actually spend the whole night sleeping there. I figured it would last about an hour and then she'd mosey on back to her comfy bed. K (2.9) says she went to sleep with N too. I don't know if it's true or not. N corroborates the story. They were safe and quiet and asleep last night... So they slept in a closet.
(They've had a love of closets for a long time. N took one of our closets and turned it into her stuffed animals' bedroom once... Our walk-in pantry was so much fun. At our new houses, we have a half-sized closet (half-height door) under the stairs, and that's the closet that they currently love. If you were a kid, you'd love it too. Before we bought the house, I knew that closet would be theirs! I knew I couldn't even start to think about what I might store there because they would love it. I was right.)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Poor MWH!
He's sick. We thought he was getting better this weekend, but then, yesterday, it was pretty clear that he had a bacterial thing going on. So sad. He went to the doctor today and got some nice antibiotics so hopefully he'll feel better soon.
N (5) is on spring break from preschool this week, so hopefully we'll have a little chance to recover before she goes back to that germ infested place.
N (5) is on spring break from preschool this week, so hopefully we'll have a little chance to recover before she goes back to that germ infested place.
Monday, April 09, 2007
It IS a circus... (see tagline above)
The other day, MWH got N (5), K (2.9) and himself all on a tricycle and they rode it together.
I missed seeing it, but I heard about it. I picture lots of clowns rolling out a small car next... and we have a small car. I wonder if they can all fit in it. (Heh!)
I missed seeing it, but I heard about it. I picture lots of clowns rolling out a small car next... and we have a small car. I wonder if they can all fit in it. (Heh!)
Sunday, April 08, 2007
With confidence...
With confidence, and totally out of the blue*, K (2.9) told her daddy that they have bouncy houses in Switzerland.
We do have friends in Switzerland and we talk about them a lot, so it wasn't like she just pulled Switzerland out of thin air, but the bouncy house association is pretty funny.
We do have friends in Switzerland and we talk about them a lot, so it wasn't like she just pulled Switzerland out of thin air, but the bouncy house association is pretty funny.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Easter Eve...
Miss N (5) and Miss K (2.9) are trying to fall asleep quickly (unsuccessfully) tonight so the Easter Bunny will bring their baskets. I hope they like the little things the Easter Bunny brings.
MWH is hanging a HUGE whiteboard in our kitchen. Since our appliances are stainless, there is no where to play with magnets. Now, there is. We have lots of magnets for the little girls to play with and we've missed them since we moved here. We'll have a place to hang artwork too. Four by six feet of magnetic goodness. It looks like we should write some equations on it, and maybe in a few years we will.... When they are older it might be handy for homework help. Heh. I am excited about our whiteboard.
I have fantasies of little girls playing with magnets on it while I cook dinner. In peace. Without T (19 months) screaming for me to pick her up, while holding on to my legs. And then I have to cook dinner with one hand. Did I mention I am very strong? She weighs 25 (+) pounds. She's my sweet T, but she is getting heavy!
Oh, but that reminds me of some cuteness I want to record, when we go down our stairs, I go down a few and then she stands at the top and says, "Mama!" and I turn around and she jumps in my arms with her arms going right around my neck. It's our little game. It's so cute. She loves her Mama, and her Mama loves her!
MWH is hanging a HUGE whiteboard in our kitchen. Since our appliances are stainless, there is no where to play with magnets. Now, there is. We have lots of magnets for the little girls to play with and we've missed them since we moved here. We'll have a place to hang artwork too. Four by six feet of magnetic goodness. It looks like we should write some equations on it, and maybe in a few years we will.... When they are older it might be handy for homework help. Heh. I am excited about our whiteboard.
I have fantasies of little girls playing with magnets on it while I cook dinner. In peace. Without T (19 months) screaming for me to pick her up, while holding on to my legs. And then I have to cook dinner with one hand. Did I mention I am very strong? She weighs 25 (+) pounds. She's my sweet T, but she is getting heavy!
Oh, but that reminds me of some cuteness I want to record, when we go down our stairs, I go down a few and then she stands at the top and says, "Mama!" and I turn around and she jumps in my arms with her arms going right around my neck. It's our little game. It's so cute. She loves her Mama, and her Mama loves her!
Gymnastics with T!
T's first class was yesterday and she did impressively well.
When K started gymnastics, she was much more enthusiastic, but that's a personality difference. It is a nice change having a quieter child. You could hardly call T quiet or a shrinking violet, but she is more reserved and calm than her two older sisters. N was the most energetic child ever(TM). I could barely keep up with her. K was a lot calmer, and I could almost keep up with her. K had taken other gym classes with N before she started gymnastics so she was a bit of a spaz because she learned to be a spaz from N--heh!
Anyway, T really liked walking on the balance beam. She walked across the high beam holding her teacher's hand. She walked across the low ones holding my hands. She was a little dubious of the trampoline at first, but by the end of class she was begging to jump some more. We stayed five minutes after class with her running around on it. T liked the climbing, but not as much as I expected. She climbs up everything at home!
I'm sure T will be more enthusiastic about class next time. She tried everything, but since this was her first class ever, you can't blame her for being a little cautious. It's going to be so much fun taking this class with T!
When K started gymnastics, she was much more enthusiastic, but that's a personality difference. It is a nice change having a quieter child. You could hardly call T quiet or a shrinking violet, but she is more reserved and calm than her two older sisters. N was the most energetic child ever(TM). I could barely keep up with her. K was a lot calmer, and I could almost keep up with her. K had taken other gym classes with N before she started gymnastics so she was a bit of a spaz because she learned to be a spaz from N--heh!
Anyway, T really liked walking on the balance beam. She walked across the high beam holding her teacher's hand. She walked across the low ones holding my hands. She was a little dubious of the trampoline at first, but by the end of class she was begging to jump some more. We stayed five minutes after class with her running around on it. T liked the climbing, but not as much as I expected. She climbs up everything at home!
I'm sure T will be more enthusiastic about class next time. She tried everything, but since this was her first class ever, you can't blame her for being a little cautious. It's going to be so much fun taking this class with T!
T still loves Melmo!
Lest I forget this, or it changes, let it be known that T (19 months) still loves Melmo. Word on the street is that the Easter Bunny is bringing her a cool Aquadoodle Elmo book.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Quotes of the day...
K's quote of the day.
I'm making lunch for dinner.
MWH's quote of the day.
It was a good dinner, I didn't have to use the Heimlich Maneuver.
(I took a bite of my salad and nearly aspirated the dressing. I was never in danger of actually choking. Inhaling vinegar isn't good.)
Big girls....
K (2.9 years) and I have been doing gymnastics in a Mommy and Me class since January 2006. She was not yet 20 months when we started. It's been a lot of fun, challenging, great, and tiring all at the same time. I have LOVED watching her get better and better and more capable.
A couple of weeks ago was our last class together. She's just barely old enough for the class "on her own," but she's definitely capable of doing it. Watching her grow up is so much fun, but I can't help but wonder, how does it happen so fast? And why doesn't it seem fast when she's screaming her head off and being totally irrational?
Soon, K will start going to a gymnastics class all by herself. I will be excited to see how she does. I imagine, she'll be great (if she doesn't freak out about me not being able to go in with her!).
Soon, T will start doing the Mommy and Me class. I am so excited. Oh the cuteness!
A couple of weeks ago was our last class together. She's just barely old enough for the class "on her own," but she's definitely capable of doing it. Watching her grow up is so much fun, but I can't help but wonder, how does it happen so fast? And why doesn't it seem fast when she's screaming her head off and being totally irrational?
Soon, K will start going to a gymnastics class all by herself. I will be excited to see how she does. I imagine, she'll be great (if she doesn't freak out about me not being able to go in with her!).
Soon, T will start doing the Mommy and Me class. I am so excited. Oh the cuteness!
Thursday, April 05, 2007
sex and beer*
That got your attention, didn't it?
Recently, in my class, I first covered a topic that put my students to sleep. It's a topic that's near and dear to my heart. What I study. Apparently it's not that interesting to undergrads.
The next topic was related to the development of sexual identity. I said the word "sex" in class and literally all of my students woke up, sat up straight, and started taking notes. I am not kidding.
The secret to keeping college students awake....talk about sex. I figure discussing beer will be good when we finish talking about sex. They ought to be interested in that too.
*If a google search for the words in the title brought you here, you're sure to be very disappointed. Close your browser and look no further.
Recently, in my class, I first covered a topic that put my students to sleep. It's a topic that's near and dear to my heart. What I study. Apparently it's not that interesting to undergrads.
The next topic was related to the development of sexual identity. I said the word "sex" in class and literally all of my students woke up, sat up straight, and started taking notes. I am not kidding.
The secret to keeping college students awake....talk about sex. I figure discussing beer will be good when we finish talking about sex. They ought to be interested in that too.
*If a google search for the words in the title brought you here, you're sure to be very disappointed. Close your browser and look no further.
Tea
Yesterday I forgot to drink my last cup of tea. Or maybe I drank the last one but forgot the one before it. Either way, I was exhausted at 11 pm.
I also spent an hour trying to buy our tickets for our trip in June to where I was raised--that was exhausting too. It's really expensive to fly into the city that I grew up in because it's not a huge market. However, the next closest airport is about 2-3 hours away and doing a long drive with little girls after a day of flying doesn't sound like a lot of fun. We did it 2 years ago when we only had 2 and I knew we'd not be doing that again.
I really don't like traveling, and I really hate spending large amounts of money on airline tickets... And now our tickets are X 5. Even fairly cheap tickets add up!
Anyway, I have several posts almost done... I'll be back soon... (After I've had my coffee!!)
I also spent an hour trying to buy our tickets for our trip in June to where I was raised--that was exhausting too. It's really expensive to fly into the city that I grew up in because it's not a huge market. However, the next closest airport is about 2-3 hours away and doing a long drive with little girls after a day of flying doesn't sound like a lot of fun. We did it 2 years ago when we only had 2 and I knew we'd not be doing that again.
I really don't like traveling, and I really hate spending large amounts of money on airline tickets... And now our tickets are X 5. Even fairly cheap tickets add up!
Anyway, I have several posts almost done... I'll be back soon... (After I've had my coffee!!)
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Because I am a geek...
And because this is my external memory device...
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/models-science/
It's a good treatment of the relations between theories and models in the philosophy of science. I need to find it again. Now I have a link to it.
Heh.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/models-science/
It's a good treatment of the relations between theories and models in the philosophy of science. I need to find it again. Now I have a link to it.
Heh.
Long ago...
Long before I had heard of complex carbohydrates, I was a poor grad student. One of my favorite (and cheap!) dinners in the olden days was white rice with cheese and salsa. Now, being enlightened about carbs, I have modified the dish to use brown rice with cheese and salsa. When I work at home, it's often my lunch.
It's easy, because you can buy frozen organic brown rice at both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and it's still cheap!
So why am I telling you this? Tonight, MWH worked late (he's still there) and it was girls night! The little girls ate grilled cheese (on whole grain bread), guacamole, bean chips (baked not fried)/corn tortilla chips and milk (2 of the 3 drank soy milk). I had brown rice, salsa and cheese. Easy and tasty! (The only good thing about MWH working late is that dinners are easier--cooking wise. I'll take complicated dinners any night! I miss you MWH! So do the little girls! When I put T to bed, she said, "Want Dada." I said he's not here. She then asked "Where's Dada?" I said he's not here, he's at work. He'll come see you when he comes home, okay? She said, in her cute little way, "O-kay." )
It's easy, because you can buy frozen organic brown rice at both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, and it's still cheap!
So why am I telling you this? Tonight, MWH worked late (he's still there) and it was girls night! The little girls ate grilled cheese (on whole grain bread), guacamole, bean chips (baked not fried)/corn tortilla chips and milk (2 of the 3 drank soy milk). I had brown rice, salsa and cheese. Easy and tasty! (The only good thing about MWH working late is that dinners are easier--cooking wise. I'll take complicated dinners any night! I miss you MWH! So do the little girls! When I put T to bed, she said, "Want Dada." I said he's not here. She then asked "Where's Dada?" I said he's not here, he's at work. He'll come see you when he comes home, okay? She said, in her cute little way, "O-kay." )
Monday, April 02, 2007
No rest...
I still have a lot of work to do, but right now, I feel like I need a little down time. All night long I've been saying things that remind either MWH or me of a line from a movie. I thought I'd share ... see if you can name the movies....
T (19 months) took a 3-hour nap... when I say that, it reminds me of "3-hour tour."
And when ever I think of that show, the next thing I think of is the movie that had the line...
"Those poor people." (In reference to that show...Quick, can you name it?
And then "Cause, Damn!" (As in hire a decorator quick!)
And then, not related to anything, but Buffy, because there are some great lines in Buffy.
"It was like a meat party in my mouth. Okay I'm a kid and even I know that sounded bad." -- Dawn
"Clark Kent has a job. I just want to go on a date." -- Buffy
"Who you gonna call?" Weird look in reply from Buffy "God that phrase is never going to be usable again, is it?" -- Spike
"I now have my weapons categorized from A to Z, from "axe" to..."zee other axe"." -- Buffy
Okay, I should probably stop surfing the web for great lines from Buffy.... I should probably go do something a little productive... or just hang with MWH. I'm in mourning right now though... We finished watching all 7 seasons of Buffy the other night... MWH wants me to watch a movie with him tonight, but I'm missing Buffy. (Yea, I really ought to get a life.)
T (19 months) took a 3-hour nap... when I say that, it reminds me of "3-hour tour."
And when ever I think of that show, the next thing I think of is the movie that had the line...
"Those poor people." (In reference to that show...Quick, can you name it?
And then "Cause, Damn!" (As in hire a decorator quick!)
And then, not related to anything, but Buffy, because there are some great lines in Buffy.
"It was like a meat party in my mouth. Okay I'm a kid and even I know that sounded bad." -- Dawn
"Clark Kent has a job. I just want to go on a date." -- Buffy
"Who you gonna call?" Weird look in reply from Buffy "God that phrase is never going to be usable again, is it?" -- Spike
"I now have my weapons categorized from A to Z, from "axe" to..."zee other axe"." -- Buffy
Okay, I should probably stop surfing the web for great lines from Buffy.... I should probably go do something a little productive... or just hang with MWH. I'm in mourning right now though... We finished watching all 7 seasons of Buffy the other night... MWH wants me to watch a movie with him tonight, but I'm missing Buffy. (Yea, I really ought to get a life.)
MWH
He's just the best. Recently it was his birthday. On the morning of his day, we both went to work and then took the afternoon off to hang out. Taking an afternoon off is the easiest only way for us to get time together. Right now, it's too crazy to go out at night. The little girls like us home with them. In a couple more years it will be easier to have date nights. However, for the last 5 years, it's been afternoon dates for us. Regardless of the time of day, we love hanging out together. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful husband.
Little girls get so excited on birthdays! T (19 months) didn't quite know what was going on, but she had fun. N (5) prepared for over a week. She made cards and pictures and all sorts of things!
K (2.75) drew all over the cards I bought for her to give to him. T did the same. N and K wrapped his present one night. K wanted it in a box and the box she found was kind of big, but she WANTED that box. I used white paper and then N and K colored it and put foam stickers all over it. It was a collaborative project that lasted a good 30 minutes. Good times! When I download the camera I'll try to remember to upload a photo of the product of their collaboration.
I got a chocolate cake from our favorite bakery.
Happy day MWH! I love you! Thanks for being so wonderful.
Little girls get so excited on birthdays! T (19 months) didn't quite know what was going on, but she had fun. N (5) prepared for over a week. She made cards and pictures and all sorts of things!
K (2.75) drew all over the cards I bought for her to give to him. T did the same. N and K wrapped his present one night. K wanted it in a box and the box she found was kind of big, but she WANTED that box. I used white paper and then N and K colored it and put foam stickers all over it. It was a collaborative project that lasted a good 30 minutes. Good times! When I download the camera I'll try to remember to upload a photo of the product of their collaboration.
I got a chocolate cake from our favorite bakery.
Happy day MWH! I love you! Thanks for being so wonderful.
Recently...
Recently I saw a colleague from another institution. I don't see him very often. The last time I saw him was probably last summer. The last time I saw him, he flattered me and told me I didn't look like I had 3 kids. Again, he tells me this. Tell me do, what is a woman supposed to look like if she has 3 kids?
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Weekend Report
T (19 months) is much better now. She didn't eat much on Friday, Saturday, or today--until dinner tonight. She seems to be almost all the way recovered... except for the s'nose. And boy, is it a s'nose!
I worked a lot yesterday. I'm almost ready for my class... Almost. Here's hoping I look like an effective instructor tomorrow.
N (5) put on a show today. She made 10 big pictures (2X3 sheets of paper) and hung them on the wall. They were the scenery for the show. Then she stood in front of each one and told us what was happening. In half the show she was a flower that was found by a princess. In the other half the show she was a prince who got married to a beautiful princess. They had a baby. There was even a costume change and lighting. Oh, and music. It was quite the production. During the show, T came in with one galosh on and clomped around ... The cuteness never stops.
Here are some of the pictures she drew for the show.
And this last one is my favorite scene... It's a coach with horses. When this scene came up, N would stand in front of the picture and pretend to drive the coach by "holding the reins" from the picture. It was so cute!
We went to the library (but it was too cold for running through the fountains today). N is reading the Ramona books.... Actually, her daddy is reading them to her. He never read them as a child. He was a boy. Now he gets a chance to be introduced.
Is any one else having trouble believing it's April?
I usually don't do this here, but I must tonight....Lady with the little boy in the stroller at the library.... What was the deal with your shoes???? Why were they 3 sizes too small? You were otherwise very fashionable. Black slip-on pumps with your heels hanging off the edge are just not attractive. Fashion don't.
I worked a lot yesterday. I'm almost ready for my class... Almost. Here's hoping I look like an effective instructor tomorrow.
N (5) put on a show today. She made 10 big pictures (2X3 sheets of paper) and hung them on the wall. They were the scenery for the show. Then she stood in front of each one and told us what was happening. In half the show she was a flower that was found by a princess. In the other half the show she was a prince who got married to a beautiful princess. They had a baby. There was even a costume change and lighting. Oh, and music. It was quite the production. During the show, T came in with one galosh on and clomped around ... The cuteness never stops.
Here are some of the pictures she drew for the show.
And this last one is my favorite scene... It's a coach with horses. When this scene came up, N would stand in front of the picture and pretend to drive the coach by "holding the reins" from the picture. It was so cute!
We went to the library (but it was too cold for running through the fountains today). N is reading the Ramona books.... Actually, her daddy is reading them to her. He never read them as a child. He was a boy. Now he gets a chance to be introduced.
Is any one else having trouble believing it's April?
I usually don't do this here, but I must tonight....Lady with the little boy in the stroller at the library.... What was the deal with your shoes???? Why were they 3 sizes too small? You were otherwise very fashionable. Black slip-on pumps with your heels hanging off the edge are just not attractive. Fashion don't.
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