At work, I get to pretend I'm a a professor in the humanities (literature is what I'm going to choose) and write up a scenario for a new project.
I am a social scientist. This should be fun.
Any humanities professors out there?
Don't all jump at once.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Sigh.
I was planning to take the 3 little girls to get their pictures made this weekend. Tonight, N (5) fell off her trike, landed on her chin and scraped it up, real good. Guess we'll do pictures a little later.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Jes or Ses or Tses or Hes
It's always very enthusiastic. It's how Miss T (21 months) says yes. She started saying it on our trip.
Nole me is hold me. Nole me now, Mama makes me melt. She still does the jargoning thing*, but she is speaking a lot more now. I asked her to do something the other day and she said, "No, Mama, I'm reading now." We get sentences like this on a regular basis. Tonight she was playing with a toy dog and N (5) took it away while she wasn't looking. She came back and said, "Where did woof go? I go find woof."
She learned "sky" on the trip over the weekend. She knew "moon," from reading books, but hadn't seen the moon in person because we NEVER go out after dark (the little girls are too crazy!). She got all excited about seeing the Moon.
One night, while I was typing on my crackberry, she asked to see my crackberry. I told her, "No, mommy is playing." She said, "I want to play." So then I tried to get her to say, "crackberry." She said, "crack." Then she said, "I want crack." Heh.
She sings E-I-E-I-O all the time and has just started singing "twinkle twinkle" for us. "Up up up above sky" is how she sings it.
Soon Miss T is going to be a talker and not just learning to talk. I am seriously going to miss this stage so much. It is so much fun to watch them learn to communicate and share their understanding of the world. My last baby is growing up.
*Jargoning is when they sound like they are talking but just make random sounds. They use correct intonation and you think you should understand them. It is very cute! Babies usually stop doing it by the time they are two. T's done it more than I remember K or N doing it.
Nole me is hold me. Nole me now, Mama makes me melt. She still does the jargoning thing*, but she is speaking a lot more now. I asked her to do something the other day and she said, "No, Mama, I'm reading now." We get sentences like this on a regular basis. Tonight she was playing with a toy dog and N (5) took it away while she wasn't looking. She came back and said, "Where did woof go? I go find woof."
She learned "sky" on the trip over the weekend. She knew "moon," from reading books, but hadn't seen the moon in person because we NEVER go out after dark (the little girls are too crazy!). She got all excited about seeing the Moon.
One night, while I was typing on my crackberry, she asked to see my crackberry. I told her, "No, mommy is playing." She said, "I want to play." So then I tried to get her to say, "crackberry." She said, "crack." Then she said, "I want crack." Heh.
She sings E-I-E-I-O all the time and has just started singing "twinkle twinkle" for us. "Up up up above sky" is how she sings it.
Soon Miss T is going to be a talker and not just learning to talk. I am seriously going to miss this stage so much. It is so much fun to watch them learn to communicate and share their understanding of the world. My last baby is growing up.
*Jargoning is when they sound like they are talking but just make random sounds. They use correct intonation and you think you should understand them. It is very cute! Babies usually stop doing it by the time they are two. T's done it more than I remember K or N doing it.
Interview with me by Nino
My dear internet friend Nino did this post. When she offered to interview people, I jumped at the chance to be interviewed by her! She sent me some great questions. So here is my interview....
1. What is the greatest lesson you will take away from your 30's?
I think one thing I have learned is how important it is to try to see the world from another's perspective.
I try to understand what the other person is thinking, and feeling before I react, but I fail miserably at doing so often. I hope that I get more patience as I get a bit older. I know I have more now than I used to have.
2. Tell me a little about your life pre-MWH?
Not nearly as good. I was 27 when I met MWH. From our first date, which was only a couple of days after the first time we really spoke, I was smitten. Life was wonderful, more colorful and full of roses!
My life was in "high change mode" when I met MWH. I was finishing graduate school and starting my career. I had been in graduate school for the previous 6 years. For me, graduate school sucked. (I wrote a little about it here.) I think most people who went to the program I went to thought it sucked. The professors were not nice people. Someday I'll write about it in more detail.
In addition to graduate school, before MWH, I was also miserable because I was dating Evil Boyfriend (TM). Evil Boyfriend broke up with me over email. What a loser, eh? Now, I'm actually glad that it happened like that. Makes a great illustration of just what a loser he was. I could give many other examples of how terrible he was, but really, I'd rather not remember. Oh, wait, I wrote about him here if you want to know a little more.
Life before grad school... College was fun. High school was fun in that teenage-angsty way that it is. Jr. High, the same as high school. Elementary school was pretty good. Preschool, yea, I enjoyed it too. Can't remember too much before that.
Mostly, I am thankful everyday that I met MWH. We are very happy.
3. What about your life B.C. (before children)?
I worked a lot. I worked about 60-80 hours a week. I love my job. It isn't that exotic or glamorous, but it does help change the world in small ways.
MWH and I hung out for about 5 years B.C. For fun, he and I took our aerobics class together, watched a lot of Sci-Fi, didn't watch Law & Order, went on dates, saw movies, drove around in our Miata (that's what we did on our honeymoon), hung with our black kitties, played on the Internet, took hikes, slept late, stayed up late, laughed a lot, and were a lot like we are now, except then we didn't chase children or spend much time at the park.
The little girls have changed our life a lot, but also, not so much. We've worked hard to maintain who we were before children. We wouldn't be happy if we hadn't.
4. Is there someone other than your husband whom you talk with every day? Besides him, who is your "go-to" person(s)?
Besides MWH and the 3 little girls, I don't think I talk to anybody every day now. I have many people I consider very important in my life, but I don't have time to talk with them every day.
5. How could your life get any better? If you could change or add something, what would it be?
I am very happy, but if I could change one thing, I would give myself more time to hang out with MWH, my little girls, my family, and my friends. There is just never enough time.
If you'd like me to interview you, leave me a comment. I hope I can come up with great questions like Nino did.
1. What is the greatest lesson you will take away from your 30's?
I think one thing I have learned is how important it is to try to see the world from another's perspective.
I try to understand what the other person is thinking, and feeling before I react, but I fail miserably at doing so often. I hope that I get more patience as I get a bit older. I know I have more now than I used to have.
2. Tell me a little about your life pre-MWH?
Not nearly as good. I was 27 when I met MWH. From our first date, which was only a couple of days after the first time we really spoke, I was smitten. Life was wonderful, more colorful and full of roses!
My life was in "high change mode" when I met MWH. I was finishing graduate school and starting my career. I had been in graduate school for the previous 6 years. For me, graduate school sucked. (I wrote a little about it here.) I think most people who went to the program I went to thought it sucked. The professors were not nice people. Someday I'll write about it in more detail.
In addition to graduate school, before MWH, I was also miserable because I was dating Evil Boyfriend (TM). Evil Boyfriend broke up with me over email. What a loser, eh? Now, I'm actually glad that it happened like that. Makes a great illustration of just what a loser he was. I could give many other examples of how terrible he was, but really, I'd rather not remember. Oh, wait, I wrote about him here if you want to know a little more.
Life before grad school... College was fun. High school was fun in that teenage-angsty way that it is. Jr. High, the same as high school. Elementary school was pretty good. Preschool, yea, I enjoyed it too. Can't remember too much before that.
Mostly, I am thankful everyday that I met MWH. We are very happy.
3. What about your life B.C. (before children)?
I worked a lot. I worked about 60-80 hours a week. I love my job. It isn't that exotic or glamorous, but it does help change the world in small ways.
MWH and I hung out for about 5 years B.C. For fun, he and I took our aerobics class together, watched a lot of Sci-Fi, didn't watch Law & Order, went on dates, saw movies, drove around in our Miata (that's what we did on our honeymoon), hung with our black kitties, played on the Internet, took hikes, slept late, stayed up late, laughed a lot, and were a lot like we are now, except then we didn't chase children or spend much time at the park.
The little girls have changed our life a lot, but also, not so much. We've worked hard to maintain who we were before children. We wouldn't be happy if we hadn't.
4. Is there someone other than your husband whom you talk with every day? Besides him, who is your "go-to" person(s)?
Besides MWH and the 3 little girls, I don't think I talk to anybody every day now. I have many people I consider very important in my life, but I don't have time to talk with them every day.
I talk to my "boss" and my closest co-worker almost every day. I've been working with him and her for almost 10 years. I am very lucky to have them in my life. They are both good and smart people. I would go to them with any problem or success I had.
I talk with my friend DM often, but she moved abroad so the 9 hour time difference makes it hard.... We used to talk nearly everyday... I miss her!
I talk with my friend DK a lot too, and I wish I could see her more often! She and I used to work together, and we still have a project together. I really enjoy collaborating with her and just hanging out with her!
I talk to my parents often.
Mary Poppins is up there too. She is obviously very important to us.
I certainly don't talk to my brothers everyday, but if I needed them, they'd be there.
I have lots of other people I wish I could talk with everyday. Many friends who were my "go-to" people in the past... But they all are in different places (literally and figuratively), and life has a funny way of making everyone TOO BUSY.
5. How could your life get any better? If you could change or add something, what would it be?
I am very happy, but if I could change one thing, I would give myself more time to hang out with MWH, my little girls, my family, and my friends. There is just never enough time.
If you'd like me to interview you, leave me a comment. I hope I can come up with great questions like Nino did.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Overheard at the Park
Me to MWH:
"Did you ever think that 3 little girls wouldn't be "impossible?" I think they're growing up."
"Did you ever think that 3 little girls wouldn't be "impossible?" I think they're growing up."
Truths
I'm reading this...
An article about an amazing woman Biogeochemist.
She says something about motherhood and I am thankful she said it. She was given an award and spoke about how she would spend part of it. She talks about child care. She talks about what it takes to be successful. No one talks about these things. I'm quoting the relevant paragraph here.
I will be sharing this with the young females I know entering an academic career, or any career. I am so glad to find this.
When she wasn’t in Mexico, Matson was in Berkeley, and the constant bridge-crossing was becoming a problem for the two-academic family. By this time, Matson and Vitousek were the parents of newborn daughter Liana and son Matt. Matt had been born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that takes its biggest toll on the lungs. Doctors warned that he might not live past his teens. Although Matt, now a college freshman at Willamette University, has been remarkably healthy (she calls him her “miracle kid”), Matson was finding it difficult to juggle motherhood, research and her burgeoning role as an environmental policy adviser. After winning the no-strings-attached $260,000 MacArthur grant, Matson took some flack for telling The Scientist magazine that she planned to spend some of it on child care and taking the kids along on fieldwork. She says hiring a “third parent” allowed her and her husband “to work with focus and then be with the kids with focus.” It’s a decision—along with marrying the right guy—that she often cites when advising female students about how to balance family with academic ambition. In retrospect, she says, “A lot of women appreciated the comment, because it exposed a reality that women deal with all the time and that is such a difficult aspect of dual-career couples’ lives.”
An article about an amazing woman Biogeochemist.
She says something about motherhood and I am thankful she said it. She was given an award and spoke about how she would spend part of it. She talks about child care. She talks about what it takes to be successful. No one talks about these things. I'm quoting the relevant paragraph here.
I will be sharing this with the young females I know entering an academic career, or any career. I am so glad to find this.
When she wasn’t in Mexico, Matson was in Berkeley, and the constant bridge-crossing was becoming a problem for the two-academic family. By this time, Matson and Vitousek were the parents of newborn daughter Liana and son Matt. Matt had been born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that takes its biggest toll on the lungs. Doctors warned that he might not live past his teens. Although Matt, now a college freshman at Willamette University, has been remarkably healthy (she calls him her “miracle kid”), Matson was finding it difficult to juggle motherhood, research and her burgeoning role as an environmental policy adviser. After winning the no-strings-attached $260,000 MacArthur grant, Matson took some flack for telling The Scientist magazine that she planned to spend some of it on child care and taking the kids along on fieldwork. She says hiring a “third parent” allowed her and her husband “to work with focus and then be with the kids with focus.” It’s a decision—along with marrying the right guy—that she often cites when advising female students about how to balance family with academic ambition. In retrospect, she says, “A lot of women appreciated the comment, because it exposed a reality that women deal with all the time and that is such a difficult aspect of dual-career couples’ lives.”
Trip Documentation (May, 2007)
Long and probably boring post for those who didn't experience the trip. I left out a lot of details, because of the whole anonymity thing, but I think I got across how pleased I was at how well the trip went. Three little girls can be overwhelming, but on this trip, things went well and they weren't!
Our trip...
You may recall that I created a problem for myself. The meeting still occurred. It went VERY WELL. I "fixed" the problem by having MWH take K (3) and N (5) on the original flight, and I got another flight for myself and T. (Thank you MWH for being so understanding!) Since T (21 months) was a lap baby, this fix did cost money, but was the cheapest solution to the problem.
K did GREAT for MWH. N had a meltdown, but I never would have guessed! N is a daddy's girl, so who would have thought she wouldn't have been absolutely wonderful. T was a handful for me, but that's 'cause she wanted her own seat, and didn't want to be buckled. I didn't want her to sit by herself without being buckled. She screamed and squirmed a lot because of this.
T and I flew on S*out*hwest Airlines. We were on almost a full flight, but because she looked like such a troublemaker, we had a row of seats with only one other person who was brave enough to sit with the toddler that is T! I couldn't believe no one would sit with us, and though I felt a little rejected, I got over it because we had extra room!
We flew back Sunday night instead of Monday to avoid the craziness of the last day of a holiday weekend, and it worked. The airport wasn't crowded at all. We even had 6 seats for the 5 of us (not on S*W). Yippee! (That is a word T learned over the weekend, by the way. More on that soon.)
Sleeping arrangements
We all were in a very large guest room together... All. 5. of. us. T did not stay in that room the last night. Every hour she woke up saying "Nole me now, Mama." When we moved her to her own room, we all slept better. Note to self.... Make sure T has her own space for sleeping!
The family
MWH's family really is great. His Mom worries about interferring and is perhaps the best Mother-in-law because of that. I know she has opinions, but she rarely expresses them. Maybe if we were around more, she'd do so. When we left, I told MWH's Mother there was a plane ticket with her name on it anytime she wanted to come down and visit.
MWH's Mother just retired, and now she's a little bored. I hope she takes me/us up on visiting. Both MWH and I expressed to her how we just wanted HER to visit. His Dad is, um, um, different. He's very opinionated and he's always right. That's probably the nicest way to put it. I'll leave it there.
MWH's brother and his wife are just wonderful. We stayed with MWH's parents instead of his brother this time. MWH and his brother just talk and talk and talk and talk when they get together. Many people think of MWH as a quiet guy. All I have to say is that they've never seen MWH with his brother. MWH says I talk with his brother's wife as much as he talks with his brother. It's probably true, but I talk a lot with everyone. Heh.
His wife took me and all 3 little girls to visit a friend of mine from graduate school.* It was so amazing that it worked out for this to happen. I had been meaning to call my friend, but life is so crazy that I never managed to get it done. She has 3 boys (each about 4 years older than my girls--could we have a perfect match for the future?). We had all 6 kids together at my friend's house. It was insanely noisy!**
We also got to see MWH's sister. She's a fabulous cook and dessert-maker. She's also really smart and has an interesting career. She and her husband have a great DINK lifestyle.... (He had kids from a previous marriage.) They go to Hawaii all the time, have a fabulous house, and work insane amounts.
Activities
Not a lot.... We hung out... We played a lot with the little girls. I saw my friend! MWH's brother chased and entertained the little girls a lot. I am eternally in his debt--I am not exhausted. He had fun and the girls loved him! They miss their Uncle _____! N has talked about him many times and said how much she misses him.
Summary
The flight to see MWH's family is pretty short and it was a lovely trip. MWH was/is very busy at work, so it wasn't the best time for us to go, but it NEVER is. I was so stressed before the trip, and the night before the trip I looked at MWH and said something like, "Want to cancel?" Neither MWH or I like to travel, but now that it's over, I am very glad we went and amazed at how good it was.
I'll have to see if I can get MWH to weigh in on this post... It's so weird doing the documentation for the family... I can't wait until the girls are older and participate and help me remember. I don't like it all from my perspective.
*She knows my friend because I introduced MWH's niece to my friend. MWH's niece babysits for the 3 little boys. I didn't realize that the connection had really worked, but it had. I am thrilled!
**Note that MWH did not go with us ... He can handle a lot, but he couldn't have handled 6 kids in one house! Heh.
Our trip...
You may recall that I created a problem for myself. The meeting still occurred. It went VERY WELL. I "fixed" the problem by having MWH take K (3) and N (5) on the original flight, and I got another flight for myself and T. (Thank you MWH for being so understanding!) Since T (21 months) was a lap baby, this fix did cost money, but was the cheapest solution to the problem.
K did GREAT for MWH. N had a meltdown, but I never would have guessed! N is a daddy's girl, so who would have thought she wouldn't have been absolutely wonderful. T was a handful for me, but that's 'cause she wanted her own seat, and didn't want to be buckled. I didn't want her to sit by herself without being buckled. She screamed and squirmed a lot because of this.
T and I flew on S*out*hwest Airlines. We were on almost a full flight, but because she looked like such a troublemaker, we had a row of seats with only one other person who was brave enough to sit with the toddler that is T! I couldn't believe no one would sit with us, and though I felt a little rejected, I got over it because we had extra room!
We flew back Sunday night instead of Monday to avoid the craziness of the last day of a holiday weekend, and it worked. The airport wasn't crowded at all. We even had 6 seats for the 5 of us (not on S*W). Yippee! (That is a word T learned over the weekend, by the way. More on that soon.)
Sleeping arrangements
We all were in a very large guest room together... All. 5. of. us. T did not stay in that room the last night. Every hour she woke up saying "Nole me now, Mama." When we moved her to her own room, we all slept better. Note to self.... Make sure T has her own space for sleeping!
The family
MWH's family really is great. His Mom worries about interferring and is perhaps the best Mother-in-law because of that. I know she has opinions, but she rarely expresses them. Maybe if we were around more, she'd do so. When we left, I told MWH's Mother there was a plane ticket with her name on it anytime she wanted to come down and visit.
MWH's Mother just retired, and now she's a little bored. I hope she takes me/us up on visiting. Both MWH and I expressed to her how we just wanted HER to visit. His Dad is, um, um, different. He's very opinionated and he's always right. That's probably the nicest way to put it. I'll leave it there.
MWH's brother and his wife are just wonderful. We stayed with MWH's parents instead of his brother this time. MWH and his brother just talk and talk and talk and talk when they get together. Many people think of MWH as a quiet guy. All I have to say is that they've never seen MWH with his brother. MWH says I talk with his brother's wife as much as he talks with his brother. It's probably true, but I talk a lot with everyone. Heh.
His wife took me and all 3 little girls to visit a friend of mine from graduate school.* It was so amazing that it worked out for this to happen. I had been meaning to call my friend, but life is so crazy that I never managed to get it done. She has 3 boys (each about 4 years older than my girls--could we have a perfect match for the future?). We had all 6 kids together at my friend's house. It was insanely noisy!**
We also got to see MWH's sister. She's a fabulous cook and dessert-maker. She's also really smart and has an interesting career. She and her husband have a great DINK lifestyle.... (He had kids from a previous marriage.) They go to Hawaii all the time, have a fabulous house, and work insane amounts.
Activities
Not a lot.... We hung out... We played a lot with the little girls. I saw my friend! MWH's brother chased and entertained the little girls a lot. I am eternally in his debt--I am not exhausted. He had fun and the girls loved him! They miss their Uncle _____! N has talked about him many times and said how much she misses him.
Summary
The flight to see MWH's family is pretty short and it was a lovely trip. MWH was/is very busy at work, so it wasn't the best time for us to go, but it NEVER is. I was so stressed before the trip, and the night before the trip I looked at MWH and said something like, "Want to cancel?" Neither MWH or I like to travel, but now that it's over, I am very glad we went and amazed at how good it was.
I'll have to see if I can get MWH to weigh in on this post... It's so weird doing the documentation for the family... I can't wait until the girls are older and participate and help me remember. I don't like it all from my perspective.
*She knows my friend because I introduced MWH's niece to my friend. MWH's niece babysits for the 3 little boys. I didn't realize that the connection had really worked, but it had. I am thrilled!
**Note that MWH did not go with us ... He can handle a lot, but he couldn't have handled 6 kids in one house! Heh.
Monday, May 28, 2007
grading...
Grading papers written by college students who have already checked out for summer feels like a special circle in hell.
One of my students copied most of one of her answers from Wikipedia. The answers that she didn't copy from Wikipedia, she copied straight out of the book. Arrgh. She got a zero. I'm guessing she might have done the same on her midterm, but I can't check now.
We have this "plagiarism checker" that students submit their papers to... The checker did not catch the answer that was identical to the Wikipedia entry. I am not surprised. I don't rely on the plagiarism checker.
One of my students made me laugh... He cited Michael, 1994 as one example of how culture influences development. For those of you who don't know, Michael, 1994 finds that o * a l s e * (I'm leaving it to you to figure out the letters so that google doesn't lead everyone here) is common in well-educated European Americans and is rare in African American and Hispanic cultures. It is also uncommon in older Americans. You KNOW that the college boy loved citing that study in his final. Heh. The funniest thing about this is that we barely covered the chapter in which this study was discussed. He READ the chapter about sex. Go figure!
One thing I just don't get is why any one would leave a question blank. Why not make SOME sort of attempt at an answer? It's an open book, open note test....
A student I worked really hard to keep from flunking didn't turn in his essay questions. He could have gotten a C in the class if he had done them (most likely). I just finished his grade, and somehow, magically, he got a D. I'm going to have to doublecheck in the morning.
Another student chose not to do a 30 point assignment. When I asked her about it, she said, "I just didn't have time." She got an F on the midterm. She seemed surprised when she learned she might flunk the class. Yes, she did all the little assignments, but the little assignments were only 22% of her grade. The big assignment and the midterms combined were the other 78%. Even if she had gotten an A on EVERYTHING in the class, not doing the big 30 point assignment would have cost her 15% of her grade. I think I need to explain how to make good grade gambles to my next class. Many of the students aren't making good choices.
I'm ALMOST done with grades. Then we can go back to little girl stuff!
One of my students copied most of one of her answers from Wikipedia. The answers that she didn't copy from Wikipedia, she copied straight out of the book. Arrgh. She got a zero. I'm guessing she might have done the same on her midterm, but I can't check now.
We have this "plagiarism checker" that students submit their papers to... The checker did not catch the answer that was identical to the Wikipedia entry. I am not surprised. I don't rely on the plagiarism checker.
One of my students made me laugh... He cited Michael, 1994 as one example of how culture influences development. For those of you who don't know, Michael, 1994 finds that o * a l s e * (I'm leaving it to you to figure out the letters so that google doesn't lead everyone here) is common in well-educated European Americans and is rare in African American and Hispanic cultures. It is also uncommon in older Americans. You KNOW that the college boy loved citing that study in his final. Heh. The funniest thing about this is that we barely covered the chapter in which this study was discussed. He READ the chapter about sex. Go figure!
One thing I just don't get is why any one would leave a question blank. Why not make SOME sort of attempt at an answer? It's an open book, open note test....
A student I worked really hard to keep from flunking didn't turn in his essay questions. He could have gotten a C in the class if he had done them (most likely). I just finished his grade, and somehow, magically, he got a D. I'm going to have to doublecheck in the morning.
Another student chose not to do a 30 point assignment. When I asked her about it, she said, "I just didn't have time." She got an F on the midterm. She seemed surprised when she learned she might flunk the class. Yes, she did all the little assignments, but the little assignments were only 22% of her grade. The big assignment and the midterms combined were the other 78%. Even if she had gotten an A on EVERYTHING in the class, not doing the big 30 point assignment would have cost her 15% of her grade. I think I need to explain how to make good grade gambles to my next class. Many of the students aren't making good choices.
I'm ALMOST done with grades. Then we can go back to little girl stuff!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
home sweet home
We're home!
It's so nice to be back to our KING SIZED BED! On the trip, MWH and I were in a double. It's a good thing we like each other.
Despite the small bed, it was a really nice trip. Of course it went really fast. I'll be back to document the adventures of the 3 little girls soon. (I have to do the things I didn't get done for work before we left, and finish grading and turn in the grades for my class first.)
As I end this (LAME) post, I leave you with some advice... Don't wear a low-ish cut shirt that is very stretchy around the neck on an airplane with a baby who likes to stick her hands down your shirt and pull on the neckline... I'm just saying.... (I think I flashed a lot of people.)
It's so nice to be back to our KING SIZED BED! On the trip, MWH and I were in a double. It's a good thing we like each other.
Despite the small bed, it was a really nice trip. Of course it went really fast. I'll be back to document the adventures of the 3 little girls soon. (I have to do the things I didn't get done for work before we left, and finish grading and turn in the grades for my class first.)
As I end this (LAME) post, I leave you with some advice... Don't wear a low-ish cut shirt that is very stretchy around the neck on an airplane with a baby who likes to stick her hands down your shirt and pull on the neckline... I'm just saying.... (I think I flashed a lot of people.)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Simp?
"Want a simp?" That's what T (21 months) asked me when she had a glass of water. How cute is that?
She is really really really starting to talk more. More about this soon--I don't have very good connectivity here.
Both
This morning, MWH offered T (21 months) a choice between two toys, her reply was, "Both!" Heh.
Sent via my BlackBerry
Sent via my BlackBerry
Friday, May 25, 2007
Contented sigh
We're visiting family this weekend. I'm trying not to think about the two things I didn't get done before the trip.
Right now I'm sitting on a park bench watching K (3) play with another little girl. MWH's brother is watching T and N. This is the most relaxed I have been in weeks! The weather is perfect. As I said before, contented sigh.
Sent via my BlackBerry
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Flexibility
I am a very flexible person. Both in terms of being easy-going, and literally in terms of doing the splits and that sort of stretchy-thing.
When I was 16, my tap teacher turned 50. I thought she was so cool because she could do the splits at 50. I decided to make it a personal goal to be able to do the splits at 50 too. I'm not even close to 50, but I am over 35, and I can do the splits still. I hadn't done them in a year or so, but last night, I tried. I can still do the right side perfectly, but the left hamstring has been a little injured of late. I'm only about 90-95% splitting (is that a verb?) on the left side. I will be stretching and working on doing the splits on the left. Maybe, if you ask nicely, I'll post a picture :-).
I was reminded of my goal of the splits when Nino posted her Mother's Day adventures. I want her to be my new BFF. Her post reminded me that I need to make sure I can acheive my goal.
I am a firm believer that turning upside down on a regular basis will keep you young! I did a backbend last night to loosen up the old back (yea, it still hurts). I was pleased that I could still do one after a couple years of not, and will work on getting back in walkover and handspring form. Three pregnancies in four years tends to put a damper on how many cartwheels and walkovers one does! My goal for the weekend is to capture some photos of N (5) doing a cartwheel, and K (3) and T (21 months) doing some tumbling too. Maybe I'll get MWH to catch one of my cartwheels on digital bits. Fun, fun!
When I was 16, my tap teacher turned 50. I thought she was so cool because she could do the splits at 50. I decided to make it a personal goal to be able to do the splits at 50 too. I'm not even close to 50, but I am over 35, and I can do the splits still. I hadn't done them in a year or so, but last night, I tried. I can still do the right side perfectly, but the left hamstring has been a little injured of late. I'm only about 90-95% splitting (is that a verb?) on the left side. I will be stretching and working on doing the splits on the left. Maybe, if you ask nicely, I'll post a picture :-).
I was reminded of my goal of the splits when Nino posted her Mother's Day adventures. I want her to be my new BFF. Her post reminded me that I need to make sure I can acheive my goal.
I am a firm believer that turning upside down on a regular basis will keep you young! I did a backbend last night to loosen up the old back (yea, it still hurts). I was pleased that I could still do one after a couple years of not, and will work on getting back in walkover and handspring form. Three pregnancies in four years tends to put a damper on how many cartwheels and walkovers one does! My goal for the weekend is to capture some photos of N (5) doing a cartwheel, and K (3) and T (21 months) doing some tumbling too. Maybe I'll get MWH to catch one of my cartwheels on digital bits. Fun, fun!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Lack of Traffic
Today, I made it to N's preschool in less than 20 minutes. You may recall, I sat in traffic forever yesterday. Though we can't do too much comparing between yesterday and today, due to the difference in departure time (3:10 today versus 5:15 yesterday), we can observe that it took 30 minutes just to get to the freeway yesterday, and it would have taken 1.5 hours to get to the preschool.
Result:
I am a much happier camper today!
Sent via my BlackBerry
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Catch up #1
I've got so much to document. Last week was WAY TOO BUSY. I'm going to have to do it in little pieces.
Here's my Mother's Day present from N (5). I am going to frame it!
Here's my Mother's Day present from N (5). I am going to frame it!
Traffic
Did I ever mention how much I hate traffic?
Today, it took me over an hour to get home. I left at 5:15. I can almost handle 45 minutes. I prefer it when the drive takes 25 - 30 minutes. I am so sick of traffic. This is the third time in 2 weeks that I've WASTED an hour of my life sitting in traffic. I can't do this any more. I need to get Mary Poppins to pick up N at least once a week.
Today, it took me over an hour to get home. I left at 5:15. I can almost handle 45 minutes. I prefer it when the drive takes 25 - 30 minutes. I am so sick of traffic. This is the third time in 2 weeks that I've WASTED an hour of my life sitting in traffic. I can't do this any more. I need to get Mary Poppins to pick up N at least once a week.
Sunflowers
They are growing, but we lost one the other day (week of 5/10). (You can read more about them here.)
Apparently, we have a gopher who found N's (5) sunflowers. The gopher thought the flowers were a tasty treat and ate one. N cried and cried. She was ready to take out a contract on the gopher. She didn't want to put out poison though because she was worried another animal might get it, but she wanted to know if our kitty could go outside and catch the gopher.
MWH and N transplanted the sunflowers to big pots. Here they are in their new homes.
MWH and N planted one more seed so she can have 6 again. She loves her flowers. She checks on them every morning and night and worries that it's too hot for them.
Here's the new baby sunflower. Look, it still has it's seed attached... Just like a baby with its umbilical cord.
Here is N with the sunflowers on 5/18. Look how much bigger they are in a week! (The first photo in the post was taken 5/11.) They are growing!
Did I tell you about her pepper plants, her kidney bean plant, and her apple tree? More gardening coming soon.
Apparently, we have a gopher who found N's (5) sunflowers. The gopher thought the flowers were a tasty treat and ate one. N cried and cried. She was ready to take out a contract on the gopher. She didn't want to put out poison though because she was worried another animal might get it, but she wanted to know if our kitty could go outside and catch the gopher.
MWH and N transplanted the sunflowers to big pots. Here they are in their new homes.
MWH and N planted one more seed so she can have 6 again. She loves her flowers. She checks on them every morning and night and worries that it's too hot for them.
Here's the new baby sunflower. Look, it still has it's seed attached... Just like a baby with its umbilical cord.
Here is N with the sunflowers on 5/18. Look how much bigger they are in a week! (The first photo in the post was taken 5/11.) They are growing!
Did I tell you about her pepper plants, her kidney bean plant, and her apple tree? More gardening coming soon.
Monday, May 21, 2007
For my next trick....
I will now attempt to pack for our trip (for 3 llittle girls and myself) while grading final exam questions and tests... Oh, and simultaneously I'll be doing some online library research for a grant, running statistics, writing up some findings, getting ready for an important meeting, and planning some summer seminars.
YIKES.
YIKES.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Coming soon....
A report on K's 3rd party!
Me documenting JUST HOW many things I've done in the last week. It makes me tired thinking about it.
A post about K and everything that she's been doing... She is such a challenge. So cute, and so smart, but SUCH A CHALLENGE.
More about N reading and how great she's doing and how proud we are!
A post about T (21 months) and how she's hardly a baby. My last baby.
How we're going to see MWH's family at the end of this week.
Me documenting JUST HOW many things I've done in the last week. It makes me tired thinking about it.
A post about K and everything that she's been doing... She is such a challenge. So cute, and so smart, but SUCH A CHALLENGE.
More about N reading and how great she's doing and how proud we are!
A post about T (21 months) and how she's hardly a baby. My last baby.
How we're going to see MWH's family at the end of this week.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
MWRH?
My Wonderful Robotic Husband?
The other day, one of MWH's colleagues accused him of being a robot. Apparently, they were looking at pictures from 10+ years ago and they decided MWH hadn't aged. Then they decided MWH was smart in a way that could only be accounted for if he were a robot. It would explain a lot if he were a robot.
We're such techno-geeks that both MWH and I think being called a robot is a kind-of compliment. We've had much fun discussing the possibilities of him being a robot since then. MWRH or should I call him MWAH--My Wonderful Android Husband.
The other day, one of MWH's colleagues accused him of being a robot. Apparently, they were looking at pictures from 10+ years ago and they decided MWH hadn't aged. Then they decided MWH was smart in a way that could only be accounted for if he were a robot. It would explain a lot if he were a robot.
We're such techno-geeks that both MWH and I think being called a robot is a kind-of compliment. We've had much fun discussing the possibilities of him being a robot since then. MWRH or should I call him MWAH--My Wonderful Android Husband.
Best Friends
N (5) and K (3) are really wonderful playmates. They fight, scream and yell, but they love each other. Last night, N was talking about how K was a friend and I asked if K was her best friend. She said, "yes!" I asked K, and she said N was her best friend too. Awwww.
Today, at the S_______ Picnic (N's preschool), one of the little boys in N's class was trying to touch K. K didn't want him to. N got very protective and told him, "Don't touch my little sister. She doesn't like it."
A little later, N helped K go on the bouncy slide. She is really a good big sister. I am so proud of N.
Today, at the S_______ Picnic (N's preschool), one of the little boys in N's class was trying to touch K. K didn't want him to. N got very protective and told him, "Don't touch my little sister. She doesn't like it."
A little later, N helped K go on the bouncy slide. She is really a good big sister. I am so proud of N.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Meeting myself coming and going....
This week was really busy. Super-duper busy. I simply had too many plates in the air. I don't think I dropped any of them, but I'm not sure. I still have two big things to finish tomorrow.... plus all my grading... plus finishing the final... plus K's (3) birthday party... Oy vey! (That's not a saying I use generally, but it just works here!)
I got my hair cut today. I made the appointment 4 weeks ago (when I wasn't busy) and I couldn't cancel because then I'd never get in before our trip next week. I NEEDED a hair cut! Today, I actually CUT my hair--not just a trim.
My hair has been in a shag haircut since 12/05. It's been at or below my shoulders for a year. Now it's just above my shoulders in more of a bob. I wanted the change. Hair grows. I thought I was going to try to grow it out, but every time it reached an inch or two below my shoulders, I'd get it cut right back up to my shoulders. Now, it's much shorter. I was really tired of the shag look. It's definitely gone!
What else... We went to new kindergartener orientation tonight..... The school looks nice. The teachers look nice. I'm going to need to figure out how to work less at work because I'm going to want to volunteer as much as I can in N's room. We'll find out whether we're in afternoon or morning preschool about a week before school starts. We're really hoping for afternoon. We are soooo not morning people. 8:30 drop-off would do us in!
This is a boring post.... I've still got a lot of work to do.... Exciting posts coming soon! Heh.
I got my hair cut today. I made the appointment 4 weeks ago (when I wasn't busy) and I couldn't cancel because then I'd never get in before our trip next week. I NEEDED a hair cut! Today, I actually CUT my hair--not just a trim.
My hair has been in a shag haircut since 12/05. It's been at or below my shoulders for a year. Now it's just above my shoulders in more of a bob. I wanted the change. Hair grows. I thought I was going to try to grow it out, but every time it reached an inch or two below my shoulders, I'd get it cut right back up to my shoulders. Now, it's much shorter. I was really tired of the shag look. It's definitely gone!
What else... We went to new kindergartener orientation tonight..... The school looks nice. The teachers look nice. I'm going to need to figure out how to work less at work because I'm going to want to volunteer as much as I can in N's room. We'll find out whether we're in afternoon or morning preschool about a week before school starts. We're really hoping for afternoon. We are soooo not morning people. 8:30 drop-off would do us in!
This is a boring post.... I've still got a lot of work to do.... Exciting posts coming soon! Heh.
More reading!
N (5) read a whole book tonight. She's been reading trying to read books for a couple of weeks now, and she is getting better and better. We are so proud. It is so cool!
She was so proud of herself too. She was dancing around her room saying, "Reading is so much fun! I love it! Wasn't it great that I read Hooray? I sounded it out. It was a hard word and I just sounded it out."
I forgot to record what T (20 month) does when I read Melmo (Elmo) books to her. She kisses Elmo on every page. (So cute.)
She was so proud of herself too. She was dancing around her room saying, "Reading is so much fun! I love it! Wasn't it great that I read Hooray? I sounded it out. It was a hard word and I just sounded it out."
I forgot to record what T (20 month) does when I read Melmo (Elmo) books to her. She kisses Elmo on every page. (So cute.)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
More work...
I finished one of the things I had to do... Finished is probably a generous way to put it. I'm done working on it for at least 12 hours. We'll see what the morning brings after the project lead reviews it.
What else is going to be keeping me away from the blog?
1. K's party (haven't done much to plan it yet)
2. Finishing writing the final exam for my class
3. Grading papers for my class (A lot of grading, ugh!)
4. Finishing stuff up for some other work projects
All work means no time for blogging. Sigh. I do have a couple of posts 1/2 done, maybe I can finish one of them.
What else is going to be keeping me away from the blog?
1. K's party (haven't done much to plan it yet)
2. Finishing writing the final exam for my class
3. Grading papers for my class (A lot of grading, ugh!)
4. Finishing stuff up for some other work projects
All work means no time for blogging. Sigh. I do have a couple of posts 1/2 done, maybe I can finish one of them.
Reading...
Tonight, while reading to T (20 months), she said she was a "Big Guhr" not a Baby.
She also pointed to herself in the mirror in the back of a book and said, "T-T!"
Then K (3) wanted MWH to read My Little Pony to her. I'd already read it once. MWH muttered something about emasculation and started to read.... However, by page 3, he and I were laughing so hard that I had to take over reading... Poor guy.... surrounded by girls. Heh. He's in for it as they get older I think.
Now, we're working on getting K into bed. More about that later.
Oh, and tomorrow night.... Open House for the new kindergarteners at the school where N will go in August. HOW DID SHE GET TO BE SO BIG????
She also pointed to herself in the mirror in the back of a book and said, "T-T!"
Then K (3) wanted MWH to read My Little Pony to her. I'd already read it once. MWH muttered something about emasculation and started to read.... However, by page 3, he and I were laughing so hard that I had to take over reading... Poor guy.... surrounded by girls. Heh. He's in for it as they get older I think.
Now, we're working on getting K into bed. More about that later.
Oh, and tomorrow night.... Open House for the new kindergarteners at the school where N will go in August. HOW DID SHE GET TO BE SO BIG????
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Why???
Why is it that the lane I am in on the highway/freeway is the slowest (stopped actually) lane... It doesn't matter what lane I'm in, or if I change lanes--the lane I'm in is ALWAYS slowest.
Sent via my BlackBerry
Sent via my BlackBerry
4 deadlines...
One last Friday, one yesterday, one today, and one tomorrow are keeping me away....
Oh and K (3) isn't sleeping very well...
I'll be back to document it all soon. In the meantime, I might go through some of the draft posts I have and see if I can post any of them for fun now. (I have 9 minutes until I have to go to another meeting.)
Oh and K (3) isn't sleeping very well...
I'll be back to document it all soon. In the meantime, I might go through some of the draft posts I have and see if I can post any of them for fun now. (I have 9 minutes until I have to go to another meeting.)
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Their Mother's Day present...
Scene: Early morning (~10 am). MWH and N (5) are eating pancakes. T (20 months) and K (3!) are running around. I am trying to do a little work on the final questions I am giving my students tomorrow. K and T come in the bedroom and begin screaming "Mama" at the top of their lungs.
N to MWH....
I think screaming is their Mother's Day present.
Heh.
N to MWH....
I think screaming is their Mother's Day present.
Heh.
Happy Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day to all of my friends out there. Also, a wish for those who are trying to become a mother for the first time, or again, that it happens soon.
xoxo.
xoxo.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Me!
Here's a picture that K (3) drew of me. My hair is actually a little longer. Like the lipstick she drew on me?
For two years....
Tonight, at dinner, Miss K (3!) and I were discussing how she needed to stay in bed at night. She said, "But I usually do." And I said, "But not enough." She said, "But for two years, I was stuck in a crib."
It's true, for two years she was stuck in a crib. She learned to climb out of her crib just before her second birthday. She never looked back.
It's true, for two years she was stuck in a crib. She learned to climb out of her crib just before her second birthday. She never looked back.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Happy!
When I miss a day blogging, I always feel so overwhelmed. It probably doesn't help that I miss a day because we're really busy so there is a lot to record! Today was K's day. We had fun. She's so excited to be 3! She was disappointed that she didn't get her party with her friends. That's in a week. It'll be a tea party.
Today was so busy.
You may remember that K doesn't need a lot of sleep. Never has. She reached her lack-of-sleep limit today. Last night, she was so excited about her birthday that she didn't go to sleep until almost midnight. This morning, she got up at 8. She was tired by the end of the today! (So was I because I went to bed at ~2 and got up about 7:30. I was working on the application.)
Here are some shots of the new shoes.
New shoes are so much fun. N (5) wanted the orange ones. N loves colors. I have almost given up trying to keep her from wearing colors that clash. It is futile. I bought the orange shoes, even though I knew she'd want to wear them home and she was wearing her purple dress because, if you can't wear orange and purple when you're 5, when can you?
K has new princess-y tennis shoes. Girly-girl! She's so much fun to hang with. I'll have to do a mushy birthday post for her soon, but mostly I'll just end by saying I love my little-big K! (And my sweet T and my N-girl!)
1. K with her yellow. 2. At the fountain.
Today was so busy.
We did lunch with Daddy. (K ate french fries and mayo.)
Took in my application that was due today. (Yay! It's done!)
Played in a fountain. (I got a TON of cute pictures of K playing in a fountain.)
Went to a Mother's Day event at N's preschool. (It was so sweet. N made the greatest picture! I'll post a picture of that later.)
Went shopping for shoes for the girls.
Bought shoes.
Bought a jewerly box. (K wanted one and I had been looking, and hadn't found one, but the shoe store had one!)
Baked a cake.
And then collapsed.
You may remember that K doesn't need a lot of sleep. Never has. She reached her lack-of-sleep limit today. Last night, she was so excited about her birthday that she didn't go to sleep until almost midnight. This morning, she got up at 8. She was tired by the end of the today! (So was I because I went to bed at ~2 and got up about 7:30. I was working on the application.)
Here are some shots of the new shoes.
New shoes are so much fun. N (5) wanted the orange ones. N loves colors. I have almost given up trying to keep her from wearing colors that clash. It is futile. I bought the orange shoes, even though I knew she'd want to wear them home and she was wearing her purple dress because, if you can't wear orange and purple when you're 5, when can you?
K has new princess-y tennis shoes. Girly-girl! She's so much fun to hang with. I'll have to do a mushy birthday post for her soon, but mostly I'll just end by saying I love my little-big K! (And my sweet T and my N-girl!)
1. K with her yellow. 2. At the fountain.
T's Foot
I forgot to post more about T's foot. The next morning (Thursday), she was running around and acting fine. It still looks horrible, but it hasn't slowed her down. The two pictures are from Thursday night. (The accident happened Wednesday.) The pictures I took on Wednesday weren't as good because she was pushing my hand away and not wanting me to take the pictures.
Poor little toes!
Poor little toes!
Sleep NOW
Very busy... Application for something due tomorrow... And K's birthday... And 3 other things I must do..... Must sleep now....
Oh, I forgot to tell you my favorite moment from Sunday.... MWH was helping K (2.99) learn to do cartwheels at the park. I was watching from across the park because I was playing with T (20 months). It was so sweet.
Oh, I forgot to tell you my favorite moment from Sunday.... MWH was helping K (2.99) learn to do cartwheels at the park. I was watching from across the park because I was playing with T (20 months). It was so sweet.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Stable for the moment.
I'm having an identity crisis. We won't call it a midlife crisis, because I won't admit I'm that old. I am stable for the moment, but I promise you that you'll get to hear more about it later. I know I'll have another meltdown at some point! When work stuff gets stupid, which was how my interaction with that person was yesterday, I decide that working is for the birds. I don't have time to deal with stupid, unneccessary stress. I'm usually unaware of the office gossip, or politics... I try to just do my work.
I like having colleagues that are good, and challenge me in a positive way, but making me feel stupid, unnecessary, and unappreciated makes me want to quit. I don't need that.
On another note, we had some unneccessary excitement around here tonight... T (20 months) fell off of one of our kitchen chairs and it fell over on her. It landed on her right foot. Her poor foot! It is so swollen. I tried to put ice on it, but she hated that. She let me run cold water on it for about 10 minutes. MWH and I debated about the ER. We called the advice nurse. She thought it didn't sound bad enough to go to the ER tonight. We agreed. It's not pretty, it's big and purple*, but T walked on it without limping too much**. She also was consolable.
The nurse said if it was broken, that foot fractures are often just in a single place, so they are more likely to be in one small place and stable (hey another tie to the blitle***). I took stable to mean less likely to need to be set, and also that T probably wouldn't injure it more overnight. The nurse said to see how she was walking in the morning and if neccessary, take her to the doctor.
Totally unrelated to ANYTHING.....there is this older man who is always at the coffee shop in the morning. I think he's a retired firefighter. He's not that old, but he seems kind of, um, like he wants to be thought of as old. I don't know the term for that ... Maybe, mostly, he seems like a luddite.
Anyway, he was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Got B___?" In my first quick glance at him, I thought it said, "Got Blog?" I was shocked. I didn't figure he'd wear a shirt that said that****. I took another look and realized it said, "Got BBQ?" and it made a lot more sense that he would wear a shirt that said that!
*I did take a picture, but T didn't want me to take it so it's not that good. I'll download the camera later and maybe add to this post.
**It is so sad to see a baby limp!
***blitle=blog title... MWH started calling them that.
****That would be a cool shirt!
I like having colleagues that are good, and challenge me in a positive way, but making me feel stupid, unnecessary, and unappreciated makes me want to quit. I don't need that.
On another note, we had some unneccessary excitement around here tonight... T (20 months) fell off of one of our kitchen chairs and it fell over on her. It landed on her right foot. Her poor foot! It is so swollen. I tried to put ice on it, but she hated that. She let me run cold water on it for about 10 minutes. MWH and I debated about the ER. We called the advice nurse. She thought it didn't sound bad enough to go to the ER tonight. We agreed. It's not pretty, it's big and purple*, but T walked on it without limping too much**. She also was consolable.
The nurse said if it was broken, that foot fractures are often just in a single place, so they are more likely to be in one small place and stable (hey another tie to the blitle***). I took stable to mean less likely to need to be set, and also that T probably wouldn't injure it more overnight. The nurse said to see how she was walking in the morning and if neccessary, take her to the doctor.
Totally unrelated to ANYTHING.....there is this older man who is always at the coffee shop in the morning. I think he's a retired firefighter. He's not that old, but he seems kind of, um, like he wants to be thought of as old. I don't know the term for that ... Maybe, mostly, he seems like a luddite.
Anyway, he was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Got B___?" In my first quick glance at him, I thought it said, "Got Blog?" I was shocked. I didn't figure he'd wear a shirt that said that****. I took another look and realized it said, "Got BBQ?" and it made a lot more sense that he would wear a shirt that said that!
*I did take a picture, but T didn't want me to take it so it's not that good. I'll download the camera later and maybe add to this post.
**It is so sad to see a baby limp!
***blitle=blog title... MWH started calling them that.
****That would be a cool shirt!
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
So very very very overwhelmed
Maybe it's just today. Maybe it will all be better tomorrow.
I remembered the two other things I needed to do today.
1. Reschedule dentist appointment. I did. My appointment was last Friday and I was 15 minutes late. We did the x-rays and the check-up, but couldn't do the cleaning. My cleaning is now scheduled for 7/6/07. Doesn't it seem ridiculous that I couldn't get in before then?
2. Figure out N's art class. (Do we do it again or sit this session out? I'm leaning to sitting this session out. She wants to take it. I need to look at the schedule and see if there's another time that will work.)
I remembered the two other things I needed to do today.
1. Reschedule dentist appointment. I did. My appointment was last Friday and I was 15 minutes late. We did the x-rays and the check-up, but couldn't do the cleaning. My cleaning is now scheduled for 7/6/07. Doesn't it seem ridiculous that I couldn't get in before then?
2. Figure out N's art class. (Do we do it again or sit this session out? I'm leaning to sitting this session out. She wants to take it. I need to look at the schedule and see if there's another time that will work.)
Why I am not a writer...
I document, and I don't write. I have a hard time recording somethings because I self-censor. I am having an issue I'd like to blog about on one of my projects, but I can't commit to putting it down on e-paper, not because I don't think it would be useful, but because I don't want it around for that person to find.
I am having an identity crisis, but I can't put that down because what if someone I don't want to know figures out that this blog is MINE. I have friends with some interesting things (some good and some bad) going on, but I can't write about any of them because those aren't my stories.... When my girls are older, I won't feel comfortable writing about their stories either.
Sigh.
Maybe I ought to give it up now?
I am having an identity crisis, but I can't put that down because what if someone I don't want to know figures out that this blog is MINE. I have friends with some interesting things (some good and some bad) going on, but I can't write about any of them because those aren't my stories.... When my girls are older, I won't feel comfortable writing about their stories either.
Sigh.
Maybe I ought to give it up now?
No brain...
I had 3 things I needed to do this morning, and I can't remember them.... I did one of them, but what are the other two????
Work is getting busier because I'm gearing up for working more this summer and not teaching. It's unfortunate that to be busy this summer I have to start now because, for my class, I still have to
1. Grade last assignment (tonight)
2. Finish outlining one more chapter (tonight)
3. Finish writing the Essay/Short answer Questions for the Final (Almost done!)
4. Finish writing the Multiple Choice part of the exam (I'll give myself until next Friday to get a first draft done and Tuesday next week to finish that)
5. Grade the Final (essay/short answer)
6. Do grades
7. Do grades some more. I really need to streamline how I do grades. I'm not sure how. I need to talk with some experienced folks.
Did I mention I'm also writing an application to teach my class in a new way next year that will be a lot of work? It will be fun, but I am insane!
Work is getting busier because I'm gearing up for working more this summer and not teaching. It's unfortunate that to be busy this summer I have to start now because, for my class, I still have to
1. Grade last assignment (tonight)
2. Finish outlining one more chapter (tonight)
3. Finish writing the Essay/Short answer Questions for the Final (Almost done!)
4. Finish writing the Multiple Choice part of the exam (I'll give myself until next Friday to get a first draft done and Tuesday next week to finish that)
5. Grade the Final (essay/short answer)
6. Do grades
7. Do grades some more. I really need to streamline how I do grades. I'm not sure how. I need to talk with some experienced folks.
Did I mention I'm also writing an application to teach my class in a new way next year that will be a lot of work? It will be fun, but I am insane!
Monday, May 07, 2007
Lies I have told to myself...
I always thought I gained about 40 pounds with each pregnancy. It turns out, I gained more. I think my brain shut-down and refused to process or acknowledge any additional weight gain after 40 pounds.
I've recently had to face facts though because, I've now lost 41 pounds from the high that I hit when pregnant with N and T. I should be under my pre-pregnancy weight, but I still have 3 or so pounds to go. Doing math suggests I gained ~45 pounds with N and T and ~39 with K.
At least I'm losing it, right? Almost there. 1X1 is what I'm weighing at the fitness center now. The weight I lost due to bronchitis has stayed off. Yippee. I'm glad because I was stuck at 1X5.5 for a really long time (from 7/06 - 1/07). It had just started to come off a little when I got really sick.
The weight loss, it's slow. Partially it's slow because I don't diet. I only exercise and listen to my body in terms of eating. I do not think dieting is healthy. I do increase the amount of exercise to help, and I do try to increase my muscle mass so that I can have a higher resting metabolism rate.... Partially the weight loss is slow because of nursing. My body won't stabilize and get to its final weight until I stop nursing.
I've recently had to face facts though because, I've now lost 41 pounds from the high that I hit when pregnant with N and T. I should be under my pre-pregnancy weight, but I still have 3 or so pounds to go. Doing math suggests I gained ~45 pounds with N and T and ~39 with K.
At least I'm losing it, right? Almost there. 1X1 is what I'm weighing at the fitness center now. The weight I lost due to bronchitis has stayed off. Yippee. I'm glad because I was stuck at 1X5.5 for a really long time (from 7/06 - 1/07). It had just started to come off a little when I got really sick.
The weight loss, it's slow. Partially it's slow because I don't diet. I only exercise and listen to my body in terms of eating. I do not think dieting is healthy. I do increase the amount of exercise to help, and I do try to increase my muscle mass so that I can have a higher resting metabolism rate.... Partially the weight loss is slow because of nursing. My body won't stabilize and get to its final weight until I stop nursing.
MWH is also MHH
My handy husband.
See? He installed all the pulls on the cabinets in our bathroom. (The picture doesn't show the whole set of cabinets. I couldn't get the camera to take it all given the door/configuration/how tired I am.)
See? He installed all the pulls on the cabinets in our bathroom. (The picture doesn't show the whole set of cabinets. I couldn't get the camera to take it all given the door/configuration/how tired I am.)
Sunday, May 06, 2007
It's May!
I can't believe it's May. I really can't believe it's May 6th and this is the first chance I've had to say that I can't believe it's May.
This weekend...
I'm not going into a lot of details but like last Sunday it was a nice weekend. The last couple of weekends have been kind of low-key and nice. Probably the most excitement we had*** this weekend was when a bug flew into N's eye at the park tonight. She freaked.
* yes, plural
**N wanted movie night, but I think we've been watching too much TV, so we compromised and had popcorn, sat on the couch as a family, and read books. (N's idea to sit on the couch as a family and enjoy our popcorn.)
***Except when I was busy stressing out over cleaning. That was exciting, but not a good kind of excitement. The good news is that our house is fairly clean!
This weekend...
- Gymnastics
parks* on Saturday afternoon
a playdate (okay, not totally typical and I had to freak, clean the house, and stress because we've never had this Mom and her little girl over before and if our house wasn't clean, they would tell everyone how we live in filth... poor MWH having to deal with me...yea...)
the library
more park
popcorn on the couch with the family**
I'm not going into a lot of details but like last Sunday it was a nice weekend. The last couple of weekends have been kind of low-key and nice. Probably the most excitement we had*** this weekend was when a bug flew into N's eye at the park tonight. She freaked.
* yes, plural
**N wanted movie night, but I think we've been watching too much TV, so we compromised and had popcorn, sat on the couch as a family, and read books. (N's idea to sit on the couch as a family and enjoy our popcorn.)
***Except when I was busy stressing out over cleaning. That was exciting, but not a good kind of excitement. The good news is that our house is fairly clean!
Friday, May 04, 2007
In context...
Perhaps the funniest thing I overheard today, was said by a woman with a large chest. She was walking down the hallway, talking with another woman, and gesturing wildly. She was talking about how she (and pointed at herself in the large chest area) wasn't going to pay $17 for any watermelons.
It was funny.
Or at least to me.
Maybe you had to be there.
I almost burst out laughing as I walked by, but I stifled it until I got back to my office.
Now, as I'm blogging, I'm chuckling.
It might not be that funny to you all, but it was to me!
Miss T (20 months) did sleep all night. However, Miss K (2.95) woke up and went to the bathroom at 5 am. She wasn't happy because the light in the kitchen was off. In fact, she was howling. She was so very upset. It took me a while to realize that when she normally gets up, at 8 am, the light is indeed on in the kitchen. It's the sun. It took me a bit longer (while she was howling) to realize that I could turn the light on in the kitchen and therefore just make her happy.
I was tired. It was 5 am. I wasn't dealing very well with the howling. It was very loud. Getting jarred from a deep sleep by wake-the-dead howling isn't fun and doesn't make me the clearest thinker.
I don't think I would have won any parenting awards. I did figure it out. I did make her happier. I comforted a little, but not a lot.
Sigh.
Work is getting a bit more fun. Or at least it has been the last 2 days. My challenge now is to not let it get too fun, aka take over my life completely. I need to learn how to do this in balance. I was just saying (in my last post) how I thought I'd learn to put boundaries on things at work because I've been doing it all semester due to my class.
I realize now, I haven't actually learned how to put boundaries on my work... I just added external demands (the class), and what I really need to learn is how to create boundaries.
It was funny.
Or at least to me.
Maybe you had to be there.
I almost burst out laughing as I walked by, but I stifled it until I got back to my office.
Now, as I'm blogging, I'm chuckling.
It might not be that funny to you all, but it was to me!
Miss T (20 months) did sleep all night. However, Miss K (2.95) woke up and went to the bathroom at 5 am. She wasn't happy because the light in the kitchen was off. In fact, she was howling. She was so very upset. It took me a while to realize that when she normally gets up, at 8 am, the light is indeed on in the kitchen. It's the sun. It took me a bit longer (while she was howling) to realize that I could turn the light on in the kitchen and therefore just make her happy.
I was tired. It was 5 am. I wasn't dealing very well with the howling. It was very loud. Getting jarred from a deep sleep by wake-the-dead howling isn't fun and doesn't make me the clearest thinker.
I don't think I would have won any parenting awards. I did figure it out. I did make her happier. I comforted a little, but not a lot.
Sigh.
Work is getting a bit more fun. Or at least it has been the last 2 days. My challenge now is to not let it get too fun, aka take over my life completely. I need to learn how to do this in balance. I was just saying (in my last post) how I thought I'd learn to put boundaries on things at work because I've been doing it all semester due to my class.
I realize now, I haven't actually learned how to put boundaries on my work... I just added external demands (the class), and what I really need to learn is how to create boundaries.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Night of girls
Now that the little girls are getting a little more manageable for one person, I'm trying to let MWH work late one night every other week, (or every week if he really needs it). Tonight was the night. We had fun!
I started the night early, as I had Mary Poppins bring T (20 months) and K (2.95) home early. Then we went and got food and ran around outside for a while (with Mary Poppins). After that, the girls and I came home and it was easy because the girls were happy to be home (since they'd had a dinner adventure), happy to take a bath, and then happy to watch about 30 minutes of this movie with me.
The movie is cute, but not educational. I usually try to do just educational TV, but MWH read about the movie and rented it from NetFlix. He watched it with them the other night. I have only seen about 1/2 of it now, and it is sweet. It's got a few parts that scare K, but nothing that is too scary. The movie even gets T engaged, and she never watches TV. We girls were having fun hanging out. I hadn't even gotten the girls in bed when MWH came home.
I am hoping that by spending some extra time with T that she won't wake up howling at 3 am for Mommy like she did last night... "I want Mommy...." (Imagine the most incredibly sad voice saying that.) I went and got her when she started crying (because it sounded so pitiful) and I tried to get her to go to sleep in bed with me. After an hour of getting poked and kicked non-stop, I put her back in her crib. She did her sad chorus of "I want Mommy, don't want that (crib)..." for about 40 minutes. I felt horrible that she was so sad, and I couldn't sleep until she finally fell asleep, but I couldn't have slept at all with her in bed with me. (Poke, kick, rinse, repeat.)
Miss T usually only wakes up howling when she doesn't get her RMDMQ (required minimum daily mommy quotient). For her, the minimum is about 4 hours of Mommy a day. Yesterday, I would have gotten at least four hours with her, but she slept in late and I didn't see her before I left for work (usually we get about an hour before I leave) and then took a late nap, so she was alseep for about 1.5 hours of the time I usually spend with her in the afternoon. When she was asleep, both times, I did worry about the lack or Mommy-time coming back to bite me in the a#*$@&, but you just don't wake a sleeping baby! But, it bit me, and kind of hard.
Four hours a day sounds like so little time, but when you consider she sleeps for 14-15 hours a day, 4 hours a day means I get almost 1/2 of her awake time each day, so that's not so bad... The same is true for K, I get about 1/2 her awake time. She sleeps less, probably only 12 hours total, but I always get a couple of hours in the morning with K, so again, it probably works out to about half her awake hours.
As soon as my class is done, I plan to spend more time with the girls.... The class has helped me put boundaries on how much time I do spend at my other job. I just need to keep those boundaries. I think I can. I need to make sure I don't go in to work EVERY day.
Oh and on this post, Nino asked if I'd be teaching again. I will be teaching again in the Fall. A different class. I'm teaching an intro class this semester, and I'll be teaching an upper division one next (in the fall). I planned to teach the same course again, but then the chair of the department needed someone for the upper division course, and I'm qualified to do it. Plus, I like the subject. Even though it's more work to teach a different class, I'm excited to do this new class. Ask me at the end of the semester how I feel. Heh.
Okay... must end this rambling post NOW. Sorry I'm barely coherent. Maybe I'll fix it in the morning.
I started the night early, as I had Mary Poppins bring T (20 months) and K (2.95) home early. Then we went and got food and ran around outside for a while (with Mary Poppins). After that, the girls and I came home and it was easy because the girls were happy to be home (since they'd had a dinner adventure), happy to take a bath, and then happy to watch about 30 minutes of this movie with me.
The movie is cute, but not educational. I usually try to do just educational TV, but MWH read about the movie and rented it from NetFlix. He watched it with them the other night. I have only seen about 1/2 of it now, and it is sweet. It's got a few parts that scare K, but nothing that is too scary. The movie even gets T engaged, and she never watches TV. We girls were having fun hanging out. I hadn't even gotten the girls in bed when MWH came home.
I am hoping that by spending some extra time with T that she won't wake up howling at 3 am for Mommy like she did last night... "I want Mommy...." (Imagine the most incredibly sad voice saying that.) I went and got her when she started crying (because it sounded so pitiful) and I tried to get her to go to sleep in bed with me. After an hour of getting poked and kicked non-stop, I put her back in her crib. She did her sad chorus of "I want Mommy, don't want that (crib)..." for about 40 minutes. I felt horrible that she was so sad, and I couldn't sleep until she finally fell asleep, but I couldn't have slept at all with her in bed with me. (Poke, kick, rinse, repeat.)
Miss T usually only wakes up howling when she doesn't get her RMDMQ (required minimum daily mommy quotient). For her, the minimum is about 4 hours of Mommy a day. Yesterday, I would have gotten at least four hours with her, but she slept in late and I didn't see her before I left for work (usually we get about an hour before I leave) and then took a late nap, so she was alseep for about 1.5 hours of the time I usually spend with her in the afternoon. When she was asleep, both times, I did worry about the lack or Mommy-time coming back to bite me in the a#*$@&, but you just don't wake a sleeping baby! But, it bit me, and kind of hard.
Four hours a day sounds like so little time, but when you consider she sleeps for 14-15 hours a day, 4 hours a day means I get almost 1/2 of her awake time each day, so that's not so bad... The same is true for K, I get about 1/2 her awake time. She sleeps less, probably only 12 hours total, but I always get a couple of hours in the morning with K, so again, it probably works out to about half her awake hours.
As soon as my class is done, I plan to spend more time with the girls.... The class has helped me put boundaries on how much time I do spend at my other job. I just need to keep those boundaries. I think I can. I need to make sure I don't go in to work EVERY day.
Oh and on this post, Nino asked if I'd be teaching again. I will be teaching again in the Fall. A different class. I'm teaching an intro class this semester, and I'll be teaching an upper division one next (in the fall). I planned to teach the same course again, but then the chair of the department needed someone for the upper division course, and I'm qualified to do it. Plus, I like the subject. Even though it's more work to teach a different class, I'm excited to do this new class. Ask me at the end of the semester how I feel. Heh.
Okay... must end this rambling post NOW. Sorry I'm barely coherent. Maybe I'll fix it in the morning.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
apparently I didn't get enough sleep last night...
I'm grumpy....
These are the things that are making me grumpy.
1. Two police cars were parked in the driveway to the coffee shop. They were discussing who-knows-what. Granted, it might have been something very important to police business, but if it was so important and urgent, why did they (nearly) block the driveway for 10+ minutes. (They were still chatting when I left.)
I wanted to say something, but I figured it might be a bad thing to criticize two police officers. Why? Because 1) they looked like they were 12 2) they looked like they enjoyed having the power they have TOO MUCH and 3) they were FRICKIN' clueless about what they were doing and probably wouldn't have liked having that pointed out to them given 1 and 2.
2. One of my students... She has less patience and perspective on the world than N (5). Seriously. She is over 20 and she acts like my 5-year-old. She (the student) annoys me. To. No. End. She does an assignment and runs up to me to ask what her grade is. I have 36 students. I don't have time to calculate HER GRADE every time she does an assignment.
She wrote me an email about how she didn't want to be associated with this other girl (probably her best friend--they talk all the time) in the class because grades were so important to her (the annoying girl).... and she didn't know how important they were to the other girl....
It was so funny because the other girl (who doesn't bug) has a 103% in the class and the annoying girl has 84%. I think associating with the other girl would be a good thing.
3. That I can't send emails from my regular work when I'm at [local-state] University.... They have some firewall-thing I've yet to figure out how to bypass. Usually I can get it to work, but not here. Grrr.
Okay, must work now....
These are the things that are making me grumpy.
1. Two police cars were parked in the driveway to the coffee shop. They were discussing who-knows-what. Granted, it might have been something very important to police business, but if it was so important and urgent, why did they (nearly) block the driveway for 10+ minutes. (They were still chatting when I left.)
I wanted to say something, but I figured it might be a bad thing to criticize two police officers. Why? Because 1) they looked like they were 12 2) they looked like they enjoyed having the power they have TOO MUCH and 3) they were FRICKIN' clueless about what they were doing and probably wouldn't have liked having that pointed out to them given 1 and 2.
2. One of my students... She has less patience and perspective on the world than N (5). Seriously. She is over 20 and she acts like my 5-year-old. She (the student) annoys me. To. No. End. She does an assignment and runs up to me to ask what her grade is. I have 36 students. I don't have time to calculate HER GRADE every time she does an assignment.
She wrote me an email about how she didn't want to be associated with this other girl (probably her best friend--they talk all the time) in the class because grades were so important to her (the annoying girl).... and she didn't know how important they were to the other girl....
It was so funny because the other girl (who doesn't bug) has a 103% in the class and the annoying girl has 84%. I think associating with the other girl would be a good thing.
3. That I can't send emails from my regular work when I'm at [local-state] University.... They have some firewall-thing I've yet to figure out how to bypass. Usually I can get it to work, but not here. Grrr.
Okay, must work now....
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Grown up
Miss N (5) was really trying to read a book tonight... A long 15 page book.
We made it through 7 pages in about 1/2 hour. We sounded out words. She knows quite a few sight words and that is nice. She did well and worked really hard. She really wants to learn to read now.
For the longest time, N seemed to doubt whether she could read or not, but now she seems ready. I have most of a post written by MWH (when I begged him daily to write one) about what he did to get her started learning to read. They started back in November '06 or so. I need to get him to finish it up and post it....
Anyway, now N wants to 1) learn to read, 2) lose her teeth, 3) be grown up.
Hang on! Don't grow up so fast! My first baby! She's so big!
In the same theme, I'm filling out all of the paperwork for K (2.9) to start preschool this summer....
We made it through 7 pages in about 1/2 hour. We sounded out words. She knows quite a few sight words and that is nice. She did well and worked really hard. She really wants to learn to read now.
For the longest time, N seemed to doubt whether she could read or not, but now she seems ready. I have most of a post written by MWH (when I begged him daily to write one) about what he did to get her started learning to read. They started back in November '06 or so. I need to get him to finish it up and post it....
Anyway, now N wants to 1) learn to read, 2) lose her teeth, 3) be grown up.
Hang on! Don't grow up so fast! My first baby! She's so big!
In the same theme, I'm filling out all of the paperwork for K (2.9) to start preschool this summer....
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