Last year, I wrote this... This year, I'm not going to attempt to do a summary post for the year. I think I pretty much blogged it live. I will do a recap of my goals from last year and to discuss my new goals.
(Here were the 2007 goals in case you didn't click back)
1. Eat more whole grains. In general, we eat in a pretty healthy fashion, but getting more of these into our diet is my goal for 2007. I just found spelt tortillas that are pretty tasty to replace white flour ones. I need to find more recipes that use brown rice. We just tried a whole wheat pasta tonight and "not bad" was the verdict. Perhaps it will grow on us.
2. Hang with the girls more and specifically make sure I can spend more one-on-one time with each girl.
3. Learn to say NO better and also figure out what my limits are so I don't end up stressed.
I successfully accomplished #1 and did an okay job with #2. My strategy on Goal # 2 changed mid-way through the year... I decided I wanted to spend more time with all the girls together. I accomplished doing that, but now I am going to try to spend more one-on-one time with each girl again. I've missed it. It's good for us to have both all-the-girls-together-time and one-on-one time. I am delighted that the girls are getting old enough for one parent to be able to handle taking all 3 girls out by themselves for multiple hours now. It's good!
For Goal # 3.... I think we can all agree I failed MISERABLY. Maybe, just maybe, I learned something about my limits. (Yea, right...) Oh well, two goals out of three isn't bad, right?
So what are the new goals for this year?
Foodwise...
1. Now that we're eating a lot more whole grains, I plan to get us to eat more fruit and vegetables and even fewer processed foods. We eat a pretty darn healthy diet, but there is always room for improvement.
1b. I'm working on eating less ice cream. I eat a pint of ice cream most nights. That's not very healthy. But actually, in the last month, I have been a lot better. I think I've only eaten 5 or 6 pints total (in the whole month). I'm working on switching to eating oatmeal, cereal, or something like that if I'm hungry before bed.
Workout-wise
2. Work out more often and do more physical activities with the girls. I just realized I should let the girls see me work out and get them to play along. It's part of modeling a healthy life-style. I plan to do workout tapes with them around.
MWH just bought me some weights... 12 pounders... I am remember when I went up to 9 pounders... I think it will be fairly easy to do 5-10 minutes of arm work most days/nights. That will be good for me.
My goal by the end of the year is to do 3 heavy workouts a week and 1-2 light ones. If I can't manage 3 heavy ones, then for sure 2 good ones and 3-4 light ones. I do sit-ups most every day now and push-ups too. (I just need to keep that up.)
Work-wise
3. Determine how I can work "in one direction" rather than 10 (or even 5). I'm really not good at this, but I need to learn how to do this. I need to learn to say NO and I need to learn to let go of some of my interests... At least for a while. I need to let myself go hourly at work for a while (if necessary). I need to not let myself stress about being hourly. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Fun-wise
4. Hang with friends more often. Last year, I think we had 2 or 3 dinners at our house... Probably 3 or 4 afternoon play dates... I'd like to do more things social.
5. Hang with MWH more often! We used to occasionally get an afternoon date. This last year, we didn't get very much time to ouselves, but hopefully this coming year we can get an afternoon once a month or so.
House-wise
6. Start in on organizing the loft. The loft is supposed to be our office. We need to start unpacking boxes, get shelves, and figure out what to do up there. It's a nice space. We need to use it.
7. We need to get new light fixtures (for the entryway, the living room, the loft).
8. Get the backyard ready for the girls and landscaped.
9. Hang more pictures on the walls.
10. Get a new front door.
That's probably enough for now, eh? It's going to be a busy year.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
THE Questions....
Thank you so much for playing along! I so enjoyed reading your comments and thoughts. You can still play!
I found it interesting that most of you thought kids made you feel old and young at the same time!! I understand. My girls overwhelm me and make me tired, but they also get me to do really fun things and challenge me to see the world through their young fresh eyes. (It's what my college students do for me, too.)
I also found it interesting, it seems, if you have a spouse/significant other who is older, they seem to make you feel young. MWH is 4 years and 10 months older (but who's counting?) than me, but I rarely think of him as older than me... I do think of him as more mature because he takes care of all the bills, washes dishes and is MWH.... I often feel irresponsible, but then he points out that I keep the girls clothed and cared for medically, as well as insuring our whole family eats and eats well. He says I'm not irresponsible, but that we're differently responsible. I agree--it's what makes us a good team. Okay, Here I go...
My answers
1. What makes you feel young?
Bouncing, doing cartwheels, doing handstands, doing the splits, playing tickle with my girls, laughing with MWH, thinking, scheming...
2. What makes you feel old?
My gray hair. Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours having it made dark again. My hair grows really fast, so my gray starts showing quickly. Sigh.
I also feel old when I'm tired... My skin looks tired and feels old. Did I tell you about the time I saw some make-up that said it was an "illuminating anti-fatigue foundation?" I don't wear foundation, but I bought it anyway. I was pretty exhausted that day and figured it might help. It's actually a very light foundation/moisturizer and I kind of like it. (Good impulse purchase.)
When my back hurts, I feel old. In general, I've learned if I do sit-ups every day, and if I ice when my back hurts (and even when it doesn't), it doesn't feel too bad. I gave up on Western Medicine helping me and my back. I take ibuprofen only when it's really bad. The last few months, I've had a lot of headaches so I've taken more ibuprofen than I like taking. (Headaches make me feel old too.) The headaches are from the stress of our nanny leaving, my friend dying, and me doing too much.
3. In general, do you feel young or old?
In general, I feel young. At times, I'm tired, but I know I do a lot, and I don't blame feeling tired on age. I think it's important to do a lot because I think it keeps you feeling younger (when you're not exhausted!). I'm a firm believer in working hard, both mentally and physically. I believe if you don't use it, you lose it.
I can always tell when I am learning ... It does actually hurt a bit, but it feels good in general. It's the same way with my muscles... When I'm working out a lot, they get sore, but I like it... It means they are getting stronger. (Do I sound like a dork or what?)
4. At what age do you think you'll feel old?
I hope, never. Jack Lalanne is my new idol. This year, I have lots of plans for increasing what I do physically (work-outs), and I plan to continue to learn new things. I also hope I can manage to slow down a little, but we all know how good I am at doing that. (HAHAHAHA--I believe LMAO is appropriate here.)
I do believe there are things we can do to keep ourselves feeling young, and I intend to do them. In my copious spare time, I'll be reading all I can about anti-aging... I don't feel old yet, and I want to keep it that way. Definitely expect more on this topic in the future... (I even started a new category on the blog... A-G-E.)
5. How old are you?
I am 38, and I am a little freaked by the number 39. When I turned 29, it freaked me a little too. I was fine with 30. I am imagining the same thing is happening again.
Okay, must end this post... I ALMOST forgot we have tickets for a show today. K (3.5) reminded MWH of today's event. (Should I be embarrassed that my 3.5-year-old remembers our plans better than I remember them?) It's family-of-five-fun time now!
I found it interesting that most of you thought kids made you feel old and young at the same time!! I understand. My girls overwhelm me and make me tired, but they also get me to do really fun things and challenge me to see the world through their young fresh eyes. (It's what my college students do for me, too.)
I also found it interesting, it seems, if you have a spouse/significant other who is older, they seem to make you feel young. MWH is 4 years and 10 months older (but who's counting?) than me, but I rarely think of him as older than me... I do think of him as more mature because he takes care of all the bills, washes dishes and is MWH.... I often feel irresponsible, but then he points out that I keep the girls clothed and cared for medically, as well as insuring our whole family eats and eats well. He says I'm not irresponsible, but that we're differently responsible. I agree--it's what makes us a good team. Okay, Here I go...
My answers
1. What makes you feel young?
Bouncing, doing cartwheels, doing handstands, doing the splits, playing tickle with my girls, laughing with MWH, thinking, scheming...
2. What makes you feel old?
My gray hair. Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours having it made dark again. My hair grows really fast, so my gray starts showing quickly. Sigh.
I also feel old when I'm tired... My skin looks tired and feels old. Did I tell you about the time I saw some make-up that said it was an "illuminating anti-fatigue foundation?" I don't wear foundation, but I bought it anyway. I was pretty exhausted that day and figured it might help. It's actually a very light foundation/moisturizer and I kind of like it. (Good impulse purchase.)
When my back hurts, I feel old. In general, I've learned if I do sit-ups every day, and if I ice when my back hurts (and even when it doesn't), it doesn't feel too bad. I gave up on Western Medicine helping me and my back. I take ibuprofen only when it's really bad. The last few months, I've had a lot of headaches so I've taken more ibuprofen than I like taking. (Headaches make me feel old too.) The headaches are from the stress of our nanny leaving, my friend dying, and me doing too much.
3. In general, do you feel young or old?
In general, I feel young. At times, I'm tired, but I know I do a lot, and I don't blame feeling tired on age. I think it's important to do a lot because I think it keeps you feeling younger (when you're not exhausted!). I'm a firm believer in working hard, both mentally and physically. I believe if you don't use it, you lose it.
I can always tell when I am learning ... It does actually hurt a bit, but it feels good in general. It's the same way with my muscles... When I'm working out a lot, they get sore, but I like it... It means they are getting stronger. (Do I sound like a dork or what?)
4. At what age do you think you'll feel old?
I hope, never. Jack Lalanne is my new idol. This year, I have lots of plans for increasing what I do physically (work-outs), and I plan to continue to learn new things. I also hope I can manage to slow down a little, but we all know how good I am at doing that. (HAHAHAHA--I believe LMAO is appropriate here.)
I do believe there are things we can do to keep ourselves feeling young, and I intend to do them. In my copious spare time, I'll be reading all I can about anti-aging... I don't feel old yet, and I want to keep it that way. Definitely expect more on this topic in the future... (I even started a new category on the blog... A-G-E.)
5. How old are you?
I am 38, and I am a little freaked by the number 39. When I turned 29, it freaked me a little too. I was fine with 30. I am imagining the same thing is happening again.
Okay, must end this post... I ALMOST forgot we have tickets for a show today. K (3.5) reminded MWH of today's event. (Should I be embarrassed that my 3.5-year-old remembers our plans better than I remember them?) It's family-of-five-fun time now!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
All I got...
It's been a busy break. I had been worried the girls might get bored, but so far, we've been really busy. Last night we went to an amusement park that has a holiday lights theme. It was a bit nippy and my girls thought they were freezing. On the way home, T (2.25) cried because she was tired and she wanted me to hold her. In her whole life, she's never been held in the car. Somehow she seemed to think if she cried enough she could get me to hold her. It was sad to listen to her cry, but alas, I couldn't hold her. I sat with my hand on her chest (reaching back from the front seat) and that seemed to help.
Remember, I just wrote about this? Last night, I managed to toss my retainer at the amusement park after we had a snack. My teeth are driving me crazy!
Tonight I'm tired. I didn't have enough tea/coffee today. I saw a friend... I mentioned her here. Unfortunately, she's not pregnant anymore. She had a miscarriage. She was devasted. I've been her sounding board since she knew I had one too. She is so worried she won't ever get pregnant. I understand, but everytime she gets a test done, she becomes convinced she has what they are testing. The days between the blood draw and the results are awful for her. I understand being worried, BELIEVE ME, but her worried behavior is really off-the-charts! (I can't even get close to her level of worry--and just ask MWH, I worry!)
Tomorrow MWH and I are planning to go see a movie. I'm so excited! We haven't seen one since Harry Potter #5 this summer. What should we see?
I should probably go do a little work. I'm not in the mood (and that doesn't happen very often).
Remember, I just wrote about this? Last night, I managed to toss my retainer at the amusement park after we had a snack. My teeth are driving me crazy!
Tonight I'm tired. I didn't have enough tea/coffee today. I saw a friend... I mentioned her here. Unfortunately, she's not pregnant anymore. She had a miscarriage. She was devasted. I've been her sounding board since she knew I had one too. She is so worried she won't ever get pregnant. I understand, but everytime she gets a test done, she becomes convinced she has what they are testing. The days between the blood draw and the results are awful for her. I understand being worried, BELIEVE ME, but her worried behavior is really off-the-charts! (I can't even get close to her level of worry--and just ask MWH, I worry!)
Tomorrow MWH and I are planning to go see a movie. I'm so excited! We haven't seen one since Harry Potter #5 this summer. What should we see?
I should probably go do a little work. I'm not in the mood (and that doesn't happen very often).
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Friends for Dinner...*
Same group from a year ago. I managed to cook this year. Dinner was yummy and so were all of the appetizers and desserts too. I need to get some new placemats... My friend went to put them out on the table and my favorite set only had 7 in it. I could have sworn there were 8, but who knows what happened to the eighth one! My second favorite set has 8, but I knew one was dirty... Oh well--there are worse things than non-matching placemats. I also need to buy wine glasses... We don't drink wine (or anything) so I have 2 (the others have gotten broken).
Every time I put out the placemats and cloth napkins, I decide I want to use cloth napkins more, but then I quickly end up back to my paper towel using ways... Maybe I can make it a goal for 2008 to use cloth napkins more often. We'll see.
It's really hard for me to blog about our lovely dinners. We talk and it's fun. It got a little crazy right about dinner time tonight... The folks who came over are my co-workers/colleagues and right before dinner we started discussing the project we're doing right now (Yea, the one with the deadline Jan. 8th--YIKES).
It was a little crazy because I wasn't supposed to be WORKING, I was supposed to be cooking. Fortunately, right at the end, my 3 female friends pulled dinner together and saved the day! It was a crazy ten minutes though, but luckily it did taste fine... the final trip from the kitchen to the table was not as graceful as I would have liked, but all's well that ends well, right? Note to self, don't start a big intellectual discussion right before dinner!
What else... After everyone left K (3.5) started calling my friend P____ yes, the one who made me the bracelet, P____-Pie. It was very sweet.
[Important Tangent in order to understand the previous sentences]
We use the ending "pie" as a very affectionate ending around here... We have a N___-a-Pie, a K___-Pie and a T__-Pie.... In fact, we use the pie ending so often it actually was a naming requirement that each name we picked worked with Pie tacked on as an ending (for N, you drop the last syllable and then it works). (The other naming requirement was that you could tack "cat" at the end of the name ... all their names work if you replace PIE with cat. Yea, I'm odd.)
[/Important Tangent in order to understand the previous sentences]
*Friends for dinner (heh... that's one of the Land Before Time Songs).
Friends for dinner
I'm gonna have friends for dinner
I'm gonna get a couple of those, a couple of these
Things from the bushes and things from the trees
I think they're yucky, but I know they'll please
My friends for dinner
Friends for dinner
He just wants to have friends for dinner
He wants to have three-horn soup
And Littlefoot Stew
You won't think it's funny when he chews on you
That's not a very nice thing to do
To have friends for dinner
He can't eat vegetables, only meat
He'll munch and he'll crunch those little duck feet
If he just eats Spike, wouldn't that be enough?
He would spit out Cera 'cause she's too tough
Friends for dinner
Don't wanna be friends for dinner
We'd rather sink in the mud
Fall out of a tree
Roll like a rock right into the sea
One thing we know we don't wanna be
Is friends for dinner
He'll gnaw your arm and he'll nibble your leg
But we've known Chomper since he was an egg
He'll bite off your beak (That would hurt)
Petrie Pot Pie and Ducky Dessert
Friends for dinner
Don't wanna be friends for dinner
Don't wanna be Spike A-La-Mode
Or Liver of Duck
I wonder if this tastes good?
Yuck!
You know you've run out of luck
When you're friends for dinner
Friends for dinner
Just friends for dinner
Friends for dinner!
Every time I put out the placemats and cloth napkins, I decide I want to use cloth napkins more, but then I quickly end up back to my paper towel using ways... Maybe I can make it a goal for 2008 to use cloth napkins more often. We'll see.
It's really hard for me to blog about our lovely dinners. We talk and it's fun. It got a little crazy right about dinner time tonight... The folks who came over are my co-workers/colleagues and right before dinner we started discussing the project we're doing right now (Yea, the one with the deadline Jan. 8th--YIKES).
It was a little crazy because I wasn't supposed to be WORKING, I was supposed to be cooking. Fortunately, right at the end, my 3 female friends pulled dinner together and saved the day! It was a crazy ten minutes though, but luckily it did taste fine... the final trip from the kitchen to the table was not as graceful as I would have liked, but all's well that ends well, right? Note to self, don't start a big intellectual discussion right before dinner!
What else... After everyone left K (3.5) started calling my friend P____ yes, the one who made me the bracelet, P____-Pie. It was very sweet.
[Important Tangent in order to understand the previous sentences]
We use the ending "pie" as a very affectionate ending around here... We have a N___-a-Pie, a K___-Pie and a T__-Pie.... In fact, we use the pie ending so often it actually was a naming requirement that each name we picked worked with Pie tacked on as an ending (for N, you drop the last syllable and then it works). (The other naming requirement was that you could tack "cat" at the end of the name ... all their names work if you replace PIE with cat. Yea, I'm odd.)
[/Important Tangent in order to understand the previous sentences]
*Friends for dinner (heh... that's one of the Land Before Time Songs).
Friends for dinner
I'm gonna have friends for dinner
I'm gonna get a couple of those, a couple of these
Things from the bushes and things from the trees
I think they're yucky, but I know they'll please
My friends for dinner
Friends for dinner
He just wants to have friends for dinner
He wants to have three-horn soup
And Littlefoot Stew
You won't think it's funny when he chews on you
That's not a very nice thing to do
To have friends for dinner
He can't eat vegetables, only meat
He'll munch and he'll crunch those little duck feet
If he just eats Spike, wouldn't that be enough?
He would spit out Cera 'cause she's too tough
Friends for dinner
Don't wanna be friends for dinner
We'd rather sink in the mud
Fall out of a tree
Roll like a rock right into the sea
One thing we know we don't wanna be
Is friends for dinner
He'll gnaw your arm and he'll nibble your leg
But we've known Chomper since he was an egg
He'll bite off your beak (That would hurt)
Petrie Pot Pie and Ducky Dessert
Friends for dinner
Don't wanna be friends for dinner
Don't wanna be Spike A-La-Mode
Or Liver of Duck
I wonder if this tastes good?
Yuck!
You know you've run out of luck
When you're friends for dinner
Friends for dinner
Just friends for dinner
Friends for dinner!
More on the day...
I'm not sure what else I want to document here. I'll be putting up pictures/videos on the other blog soon. If you don't have access to it, and want to see it, let me know.
I guess one thing I need to document is how N (5.9) is becoming a six-year-old. We had some "moments" yesterday. You know, moments when you can't believe this is your child... Other moments, she is sweet and loving and I'm so proud of her. Yesterday, we had a moment that lasted and lasted...She didn't want to go the park with us. She wanted to stay at home and play with her toys. She cried for about 10 as we were getting ready to go and then pouted and wouldn't play for about 20-30 minutes after we got to the park. MWH tried to cheer her, but she was being difficult. She finally cheered a bit when we saw a pet bunny on a leash.
I got a second wind last night. I made eggplant (I promised you all a recipe a long time ago.... maybe in the next year you'll get the recipe with pictures even!) and I cleaned the floor. It felt good to move around and clean. The place we workout is closed for remodeling. It's been closed since the beginning of December. I guess they thought most people wouldn't mind at the holidays... THEY WERE WRONG. I've been doing lame workouts at the Y on the ellipitical all month, but I need more. I think I'm going to dig out my kickboxing video tape and kick and punch for a bit later.
Did I ever mention I am wimpy about weather? It's been beautiful here, but it's starting to get a bit cold now. I need to go buy all of the girls warmer coats. The ones they have are fine for walking to and from the car, but if we wanted to go outside and PLAY, the coats are not warm enough. Must do that soon. (Maybe today?)
I guess one thing I need to document is how N (5.9) is becoming a six-year-old. We had some "moments" yesterday. You know, moments when you can't believe this is your child... Other moments, she is sweet and loving and I'm so proud of her. Yesterday, we had a moment that lasted and lasted...She didn't want to go the park with us. She wanted to stay at home and play with her toys. She cried for about 10 as we were getting ready to go and then pouted and wouldn't play for about 20-30 minutes after we got to the park. MWH tried to cheer her, but she was being difficult. She finally cheered a bit when we saw a pet bunny on a leash.
I got a second wind last night. I made eggplant (I promised you all a recipe a long time ago.... maybe in the next year you'll get the recipe with pictures even!) and I cleaned the floor. It felt good to move around and clean. The place we workout is closed for remodeling. It's been closed since the beginning of December. I guess they thought most people wouldn't mind at the holidays... THEY WERE WRONG. I've been doing lame workouts at the Y on the ellipitical all month, but I need more. I think I'm going to dig out my kickboxing video tape and kick and punch for a bit later.
Did I ever mention I am wimpy about weather? It's been beautiful here, but it's starting to get a bit cold now. I need to go buy all of the girls warmer coats. The ones they have are fine for walking to and from the car, but if we wanted to go outside and PLAY, the coats are not warm enough. Must do that soon. (Maybe today?)
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
The day
Lots of presents, too many, but lots of the presents were books, so that was good. It's about 5:30 and it's dark now. I'm sleepy. What makes it such a lazy, sleepy day? All day long I've been wanting to take a nap and I didn't even get up early.
I got up around 8-ish. MWH and K (3.5) about 9:30, and T (2.25) and N (almost 6) around 10 am. Presents and eating on and off until 1:30 at which point we were done with presents and I got lunch into the little girls. The park from about 3:45 until almost 5. Hot chocolate was consumed to warm up. Now T's napping (I'm jealous) and N and K want to paint the piggy banks Santa left for them. Must go... Art calls.
I got up around 8-ish. MWH and K (3.5) about 9:30, and T (2.25) and N (almost 6) around 10 am. Presents and eating on and off until 1:30 at which point we were done with presents and I got lunch into the little girls. The park from about 3:45 until almost 5. Hot chocolate was consumed to warm up. Now T's napping (I'm jealous) and N and K want to paint the piggy banks Santa left for them. Must go... Art calls.
Quote of the day (thus far)
MWH was reflecting on the difficulty in opening packages of toys especially because Barbie dolls are wired in to their packages really well...
I didn't know Barbie dolls were into bondage. Their wrists are tied down and so are their legs.
The girls didn't hear this quote, but someday, hopefully, they can laugh at their Mom and Dad capturing this as a Christmas quote. Heh.
I didn't know Barbie dolls were into bondage. Their wrists are tied down and so are their legs.
The girls didn't hear this quote, but someday, hopefully, they can laugh at their Mom and Dad capturing this as a Christmas quote. Heh.
Amazing
It's 9:15 on Christmas morning and my girls are still asleep. Is that incredible or what? Merry Christmas to me from them! I don't need anything else. The fun should start soon though. I'm guessing they'll get up by 9:30. I should go wake MWH.
Monday, December 24, 2007
The eve -- Part 3
All of the presents are wrapped and under the tree. MWH and I have been wrapping since 9:15. I am not surprised MWH helps me with the wrapping, but I am so thankful. I don't like wrapping presents. MWH's Mom has given a lot of presents in fabric gift bags and I LOVE THEM! She gave 3 more presents in fabric bags this year and I'm excited! MWH says I should ask for a whole bunch some year for Christmas. Heh.
What else.... Lots of packages... Unwrapping presents will be an all day event again.
Bleh.... I'm going to end this lame post. I'm kind of sad tonight... I'm missing my friend who died. I'm not sure what started it for me, but something made me start thinking about her. It's probably because last year, she and I did quite a bit around this holiday...this year, she's dead. How is that possible? I just don't get it.
I'll be back tomorrow and hopefully cheerier.
What else.... Lots of packages... Unwrapping presents will be an all day event again.
Bleh.... I'm going to end this lame post. I'm kind of sad tonight... I'm missing my friend who died. I'm not sure what started it for me, but something made me start thinking about her. It's probably because last year, she and I did quite a bit around this holiday...this year, she's dead. How is that possible? I just don't get it.
I'll be back tomorrow and hopefully cheerier.
The eve -- Part 2
I had even less time than I expected today, but it's been a fun day (except the girls have been WHINIER (oh goodness the whining!) than usual).
This morning, around 10 am, Miss K (3.5) and I ran to the toy store with the backwards R to get her sisters a present. N (5.9) had already gotten her presents for the sisters, but I hadn't had a chance to take K. (Note to self, make sure K really understands WHO we are buying things for--that she is NOT getting anything before we go. Next year, it should be a bit easier. She will be older.)
K picked great presents for her sisters. She got N a Littlefoot Dinosaur. N's favorite things right now are dinosaurs. She also loves Land Before Time. She prefers the "knock-off" sequels (as Wikipedia describes them) to the original. K got T a cool Diego book. Diego's one of T's favorite things.
After the store we came home, ate lunch, played and eventually went to see our neighbors. We hung out with them for a few hours. We really like our neighbors. I'll have to tell you more about them later, but suffice it to say, we're thrilled we have people we like next door. Most excellent!
Now, we're home and I need to get off the computer and get the little girls to bed soon. Last night, they didn't go to bed until 10:40-ish. We didn't let T or K nap this afternooon/evening, so they'll be ready for bed soon. I'm hoping for all lights OUT by 9 pm. MWH and I have to wrap presents still.
Theoretically, I'll do a little more work on the thing I was working on this morning. I'm making some progress. It's good.
This morning, around 10 am, Miss K (3.5) and I ran to the toy store with the backwards R to get her sisters a present. N (5.9) had already gotten her presents for the sisters, but I hadn't had a chance to take K. (Note to self, make sure K really understands WHO we are buying things for--that she is NOT getting anything before we go. Next year, it should be a bit easier. She will be older.)
K picked great presents for her sisters. She got N a Littlefoot Dinosaur. N's favorite things right now are dinosaurs. She also loves Land Before Time. She prefers the "knock-off" sequels (as Wikipedia describes them) to the original. K got T a cool Diego book. Diego's one of T's favorite things.
After the store we came home, ate lunch, played and eventually went to see our neighbors. We hung out with them for a few hours. We really like our neighbors. I'll have to tell you more about them later, but suffice it to say, we're thrilled we have people we like next door. Most excellent!
Now, we're home and I need to get off the computer and get the little girls to bed soon. Last night, they didn't go to bed until 10:40-ish. We didn't let T or K nap this afternooon/evening, so they'll be ready for bed soon. I'm hoping for all lights OUT by 9 pm. MWH and I have to wrap presents still.
Theoretically, I'll do a little more work on the thing I was working on this morning. I'm making some progress. It's good.
The eve -- Part 1
I'm going to try to blog little bits all day long, but who knows if I'll get to it. I feel like I've been missing out blogging little pieces of our life and this is supposed to be a navel gazing blog, (also see here), so I really need to get on it.
This morning I got up around 8-ish. I'm the only one awake--even the cat is still in bed. It's 8 am, but it feels very early here. It's so quiet. It's a little overcast so it seems still kind of "dark," like sunrise hasn't occurred. We are so NOT MORNING PEOPLE. I'm brewing very strong tea right now. I am going to go over and look at the data I need to understand and see if I explain it a bit.
okay... to the tea and data... see you soon.
This morning I got up around 8-ish. I'm the only one awake--even the cat is still in bed. It's 8 am, but it feels very early here. It's so quiet. It's a little overcast so it seems still kind of "dark," like sunrise hasn't occurred. We are so NOT MORNING PEOPLE. I'm brewing very strong tea right now. I am going to go over and look at the data I need to understand and see if I explain it a bit.
okay... to the tea and data... see you soon.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Important Notes...
If you make these wonderful treats, make sure to make LITTLE balls. The little balls bake better and are easier to stuff in your mouth. Also, make sure to get lots of powdered sugar on them when you dip them.
For health conscious folks, note this year I made them with whole wheat flour and they were most yummy. Heh.
For health conscious folks, note this year I made them with whole wheat flour and they were most yummy. Heh.
annoying...
When I'm stressed, my teeth annoy me. Seriously.
I can't really explain it, but my top front two feel funny, as one of my lower front ones seems to scrape the back of one of them more....and my tongue feels the need to rub on the back of the front ones a lot.... It's ANNOYING. Boy, this is obviously an odd post, but if I can't put it here, where can I put it? When I'm stressed, I have to wear my little retainer a great deal of the time. It helps me not feel my teeth. I've been wearing it a lot this week. The stress makes me want a top retainer too.
Tell me what you notice when you're stressed that you don't notice other times.
I can't really explain it, but my top front two feel funny, as one of my lower front ones seems to scrape the back of one of them more....and my tongue feels the need to rub on the back of the front ones a lot.... It's ANNOYING. Boy, this is obviously an odd post, but if I can't put it here, where can I put it? When I'm stressed, I have to wear my little retainer a great deal of the time. It helps me not feel my teeth. I've been wearing it a lot this week. The stress makes me want a top retainer too.
Tell me what you notice when you're stressed that you don't notice other times.
Really...
You really shouldn't leave MWH and I in charge for an extended period of time and no "structure." Our kids are going to be sleeping until noon by the end of this break. It's 7 pm and both K and T are napping. I'm hoping we can get them to bed for the night by 10 pm. Last night, we had some people over for dinner and the little girls didn't go to bed until 10:30. Our guests didn't leave until 11-ish, but that's a story for another day.
Documentation...
Today we went to T*ar*get, got last minute gifts, bought a few more ornaments for our ridiculously bare 9-foot tree (stop laughing, it's our first year of having a big tree!), went swimming at the Y, and worked out. (MWH and I took turns again. I'm really liking this. All the girls really like to swim it seems--me included.)
What else... I'm still working on some work stuff, but right now, I'm not stressing about it. I will work on it later tonight and maybe a bit tomorrow... Except for not being able to read Harry Potter, I don't mind.
Maybe I don't feel as crazed because last year, two days before Christmas, we moved... We were crazy. It's good though. I really wanted to be in our new house before Christmas and by-gosh, we did it. Happy new house anniversary to us!
Also, apparently I was working on getting some people some data for a project too... (Oh yea, I remember... The TL people...) Heh.
It was definitely crazier last year.
Documentation...
Today we went to T*ar*get, got last minute gifts, bought a few more ornaments for our ridiculously bare 9-foot tree (stop laughing, it's our first year of having a big tree!), went swimming at the Y, and worked out. (MWH and I took turns again. I'm really liking this. All the girls really like to swim it seems--me included.)
What else... I'm still working on some work stuff, but right now, I'm not stressing about it. I will work on it later tonight and maybe a bit tomorrow... Except for not being able to read Harry Potter, I don't mind.
Maybe I don't feel as crazed because last year, two days before Christmas, we moved... We were crazy. It's good though. I really wanted to be in our new house before Christmas and by-gosh, we did it. Happy new house anniversary to us!
Also, apparently I was working on getting some people some data for a project too... (Oh yea, I remember... The TL people...) Heh.
It was definitely crazier last year.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Every single time...
Every single time I think I might have time to relax a little, the universe laughs and says NOPE. We're working on something over the break for work. It's something I want to work on (when isn't it?) but still. I'm tired. I was looking forward to a little down-time. My colleagues and I have been joking that they'll come to my house and we'll sit around our Christmas tree and work. Wouldn't that be festive of us? Heh.
But seriously, I'm tired. I lost it this morning when I thought stupid M$ Word ate one of my documents. It wasn't pretty. I cried. Big huge elephant-like tears.
I still don't know what happened, but in the end, I found all of the content I had written in a document saved under a different name... Did I save it again under a different name? I don't know. (Probably.) Did I never save it under the name I thought I had? I dont' know. (Probably.) Did I paste the content in the wrong window and not create a new document? (I don't know.) I'm just glad I didn't lose the content 'cause it took more than an hour to create it. I am so glad I didn't have to recreate it.
Did I mention, I'm tired?
On another note, l I want to tell you all about potty-training, but I don't know when I'm going to get time. Right now, I'll start with requesting, a big round of applause...
Miss T (2.25) stayed dry for more than 6 hours yesterday and including through her NAP. Woo-hoo. She's very excited about staying dry in her NEW pull-ups. (I'm doing pull-ups Nino and I'll talk more about that later.)
On another note, I need to tell you about K's preschool "report card" and N's school and making gingerbread houses. There's so much fun stuff going on and I don't have time to blog it. If I don't blog it, I will forget. Sigh.
But seriously, I'm tired. I lost it this morning when I thought stupid M$ Word ate one of my documents. It wasn't pretty. I cried. Big huge elephant-like tears.
I still don't know what happened, but in the end, I found all of the content I had written in a document saved under a different name... Did I save it again under a different name? I don't know. (Probably.) Did I never save it under the name I thought I had? I dont' know. (Probably.) Did I paste the content in the wrong window and not create a new document? (I don't know.) I'm just glad I didn't lose the content 'cause it took more than an hour to create it. I am so glad I didn't have to recreate it.
Did I mention, I'm tired?
On another note, l I want to tell you all about potty-training, but I don't know when I'm going to get time. Right now, I'll start with requesting, a big round of applause...
Miss T (2.25) stayed dry for more than 6 hours yesterday and including through her NAP. Woo-hoo. She's very excited about staying dry in her NEW pull-ups. (I'm doing pull-ups Nino and I'll talk more about that later.)
On another note, I need to tell you about K's preschool "report card" and N's school and making gingerbread houses. There's so much fun stuff going on and I don't have time to blog it. If I don't blog it, I will forget. Sigh.
Friday, December 21, 2007
strange need...
I have a strange need* to share this with you...
Funny video!
*You'll understand why I say strange need if you watch it.
Excuse the lame post... I'm trying to get something written for work.
Funny video!
*You'll understand why I say strange need if you watch it.
Excuse the lame post... I'm trying to get something written for work.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
J*O*Y
I really don't have time to post, but my heart is bursting with love, joy, and song. Yea, it's kind of disgusting, but I'm in such a good mood right now. I'm going with it--embracing it even. I wonder if our co-worker, N, slipped something into the cookies he baked. They were yummy and I'm even surprising myself by having such an incredibly positive mood. (MWH is kind of amazed too.)
Part of my excellent mood might be because my class is over. The final is even graded. I have to finish grades (add in the extra credit and turn them in) but I'm ALMOST DONE. Yesterday, I was grading and I was in a such a funk--pretty much 180 from this lovely mood. I even had to call MWH and ask him to come home early. I said something like,
Back to today... The girls were in wonderful moods tonight and played on the computer together (nicely even) while I cooked a yummy dinner. (Remind me to post the recipe later.) Even my hair was better today than yesterday, probably also contributing to the happy mood.
Something exciting happened today at lunch... I was with all but one of my favorite co-workers. Then, my favorite, long-time (10 years), female co-worker (who reads this blog, but even if she didn't I'd still say all of these things about her) gave me this*....
She made it. Is that cool?
She is so talented.
Regarding the photo... I was trying to get a picture of it on my arm.... Each attempt was either blurry or my arm looked very weird. Apparently my wrist bone sticks out a lot. I decided to try to get a shot of the bracelet on a background. As I was trying to get a good shot, it fell into this position.
Since my friend Nino often takes heart pictures--she finds them occurring in nature too--I decided tosteal borrow the cool idea from her. I re-shaped the way the bracelet was laying to make it more heart-like and the result was the first photo in this post.
The heart is perfect because I wanted to express a sweet thank you to my co-worker. I love that she made the bracelet. I would have loved the bracelet by itself because it's really cool (and as we noted today at lunch, it looks like a bracelet that goes well with little girls), but she made it. With her own hands. How cool is that? I kept looking down at my arm all afternoon and smiling.
Oh...here's one of the pictures where my arm doesn't look too weird.
Thank you PS! Such a wonderful holiday surprise.
*I'd also say these wonderful things about her if she hadn't have given me the bracelet.
On another note, if you haven't, go to the previous post and tell me all about your feelings about age. I'm so enjoying reading your thoughts. Please? Thank you!
Part of my excellent mood might be because my class is over. The final is even graded. I have to finish grades (add in the extra credit and turn them in) but I'm ALMOST DONE. Yesterday, I was grading and I was in a such a funk--pretty much 180 from this lovely mood. I even had to call MWH and ask him to come home early. I said something like,
Well, I'm not crying, but I'm laughing hysterically... I need your help!
Back to today... The girls were in wonderful moods tonight and played on the computer together (nicely even) while I cooked a yummy dinner. (Remind me to post the recipe later.) Even my hair was better today than yesterday, probably also contributing to the happy mood.
Something exciting happened today at lunch... I was with all but one of my favorite co-workers. Then, my favorite, long-time (10 years), female co-worker (who reads this blog, but even if she didn't I'd still say all of these things about her) gave me this*....
She made it. Is that cool?
She is so talented.
Regarding the photo... I was trying to get a picture of it on my arm.... Each attempt was either blurry or my arm looked very weird. Apparently my wrist bone sticks out a lot. I decided to try to get a shot of the bracelet on a background. As I was trying to get a good shot, it fell into this position.
Since my friend Nino often takes heart pictures--she finds them occurring in nature too--I decided to
The heart is perfect because I wanted to express a sweet thank you to my co-worker. I love that she made the bracelet. I would have loved the bracelet by itself because it's really cool (and as we noted today at lunch, it looks like a bracelet that goes well with little girls), but she made it. With her own hands. How cool is that? I kept looking down at my arm all afternoon and smiling.
Oh...here's one of the pictures where my arm doesn't look too weird.
Thank you PS! Such a wonderful holiday surprise.
*I'd also say these wonderful things about her if she hadn't have given me the bracelet.
On another note, if you haven't, go to the previous post and tell me all about your feelings about age. I'm so enjoying reading your thoughts. Please? Thank you!
Monday, December 17, 2007
If you have any time...
I hardly ever shut up around here... Sorry about that... Because it's busy right now, I'd love to hear from you about something...
Age...
1. What makes you feel young?
2. What makes you feel old?
3. In general, do you feel young or old?
4. At what age do you think you'll feel old?
5. How old are you?
Yea, yea, I know you're not supposed to ask a woman her age ... You can post a comment anonymously. If you don't like my questions, feel free to tell me something about how you think about birthdays and getting older!
I've got a birthday coming up soon, and I'm thinking about "age" and how I feel. I'd love to hear how more people feel about age.
Age...
1. What makes you feel young?
2. What makes you feel old?
3. In general, do you feel young or old?
4. At what age do you think you'll feel old?
5. How old are you?
Yea, yea, I know you're not supposed to ask a woman her age ... You can post a comment anonymously. If you don't like my questions, feel free to tell me something about how you think about birthdays and getting older!
I've got a birthday coming up soon, and I'm thinking about "age" and how I feel. I'd love to hear how more people feel about age.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Making a list....
I can't believe it's the holidaze. I can't believe I'm not really too Bah Humbuggy even. I have a lot of work to do, but maybe I'm just getting used to always working on something.
I figured I'd make a quick list about what we did this weekend, and what I have to do this week. If I don't have much time to blog it's 'cause it is a busy time!
This weekend
1. Took the girls on a few errands.
2. Took the girls to lunch at one of our fav places.
3. Went to a pet store and looked at kitties needing homes. (N (5.9) will probably get one when she's 6! We saw a sweet little girl one... she was spunky... She might be the one, or not. We'll see.)
4. Went to the Y to work out... MWH and I traded-off with the girls. First, he took them to the park area there and then I took them swimming! Me, by myself! Impressive, eh?
5. Finished up Holiday Cards and most family gifts. MWH is heading out to mail them now. Woo-hoo!
6. Cleaned the kitchen floor.
7. Worked for about 8 hours on work stuff.
8. Cleaned the bathroom floors.
Yea, it was a relaxing weekend. (Really, it wasn't too bad. I've had much more stressful ones.)
This week
1. Get a good draft of a report to the I folks.
2. Work on the second part of the I folks stuff.
3. Finish writing my final for my students and photocopy it!
4. Give the final.
5. Grade the final.
6. Finalize and turn in grades.
7. Work on the I report.
8. Work on the combining two analyses idea.
9. Work on the C Report.
10. Work on the C paper.
11. Buy cookie cutters so we can make salt-dough ornaments (I've never done this before, but I want to try.)
12. Have one of our neighbors from our previous neighborhood over to hang out for a while. (Note to self, don't forget to get the gift for her!)
Fortunately, the two holiday parties I needed to attend this year were the 6th and 7th, so we don't have any social obligations. I would like to find time to have our neighbors come over and hang out during this festive time of year.
I think that about covers it.
I figured I'd make a quick list about what we did this weekend, and what I have to do this week. If I don't have much time to blog it's 'cause it is a busy time!
This weekend
1. Took the girls on a few errands.
2. Took the girls to lunch at one of our fav places.
3. Went to a pet store and looked at kitties needing homes. (N (5.9) will probably get one when she's 6! We saw a sweet little girl one... she was spunky... She might be the one, or not. We'll see.)
4. Went to the Y to work out... MWH and I traded-off with the girls. First, he took them to the park area there and then I took them swimming! Me, by myself! Impressive, eh?
5. Finished up Holiday Cards and most family gifts. MWH is heading out to mail them now. Woo-hoo!
6. Cleaned the kitchen floor.
7. Worked for about 8 hours on work stuff.
8. Cleaned the bathroom floors.
Yea, it was a relaxing weekend. (Really, it wasn't too bad. I've had much more stressful ones.)
This week
2. Work on the second part of the I folks stuff.
4. Give the final.
5. Grade the final.
6. Finalize and turn in grades.
7. Work on the I report.
8. Work on the combining two analyses idea.
9. Work on the C Report.
10. Work on the C paper.
11. Buy cookie cutters so we can make salt-dough ornaments (I've never done this before, but I want to try.)
12. Have one of our neighbors from our previous neighborhood over to hang out for a while. (Note to self, don't forget to get the gift for her!)
Fortunately, the two holiday parties I needed to attend this year were the 6th and 7th, so we don't have any social obligations. I would like to find time to have our neighbors come over and hang out during this festive time of year.
I think that about covers it.
More from T
MWH put a barrette in her hair this morning.... She looked at herself in the mirror and said, "I look awfully cute."
She is right.
She is right.
Jokes...
N (5.9) is very interested in jokes. I've been googling "Knock-knock jokes" a great deal. K (3.5) is trying to understand how to do them. She's not quite there yet. Often they are something like...
Yesterday, she had a good one...
MWH and I laughed and laughed. Heh.
Knock knock
Who's there?
Cuckoo
Cuckoo who?
Cuckoo cuckoo
Yesterday, she had a good one...
Knock knock
Who's there?
Bush
Bush who?
Bush cuckoo
MWH and I laughed and laughed. Heh.
Friday, December 14, 2007
T's perspective...
Today, while we were walking into gymnastics class, we saw Santa! T (2.25) and K (3.5) were very excited. As he walked closer, they got a little scared. After he passed us, T said very solemnly, "He's very big."
T and I were driving around discussing "stuff." Who knows what, it was fun, suddenly T said, "Life is good. Yep, yep, yep, life is good."
So. dang. cute!
T and I were driving around discussing "stuff." Who knows what, it was fun, suddenly T said, "Life is good. Yep, yep, yep, life is good."
So. dang. cute!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Back seat driver...
I think I've mentioned before how T (2.25) is a back seat driver. This weekend, MWH was driving us around. T kept yelling, "Be careful Mommy!" as MWH drove*. I kept pointing out to her I wasn't driving. Heh.
*He was being careful, T is just rather cautious.
*He was being careful, T is just rather cautious.
energy
1) I wasted a bunch of energy dealing with a whiny student today. I will be glad when the grades are done. I grade very consistently off of a rubric that I give to my students BEFORE they write their papers. I am glad I do so. I can explain WHY someone got a certain grade very easily.
If students spent as much time doing their homework as they spend worrying about whether their professor is being fair to them, they'd ace every class. Seriously.
2) T is weaning. I'll soon have more energy.
3) I got my hair trimmed. My hair stylist uses lots of product. We think the smell from the product is giving me a headache. (Apparently, I'm becoming VERY sensitive to smells as I get older. Wonderful. (NOT!))
If students spent as much time doing their homework as they spend worrying about whether their professor is being fair to them, they'd ace every class. Seriously.
2) T is weaning. I'll soon have more energy.
3) I got my hair trimmed. My hair stylist uses lots of product. We think the smell from the product is giving me a headache. (Apparently, I'm becoming VERY sensitive to smells as I get older. Wonderful. (NOT!))
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Tuesday
This morning, T (2.25) woke me up at 6:48 am. That's really early around these parts. After half-of-an-hour of trying to sleep with her poking me I gave up and started to take her back to her room. As I was heading for her room, I slipped on the stairs. I fell, dropped her, and she tumbled down some stairs. She was scared and crying and I was scared. MWH came running out to check on us (he heard the thump-thump-thump and screams). (I've never seen him move so quickly at that hour!) T and I were both fine. We snuggled for another 1/2 hour and then she and I went back to sleep (9 for me and 10 for her). I'm so glad she's okay. It was scary watching her fall down the stairs and being hopeless. She keeps saying, "I was holding you and I dropped you and fell on the stairs." I ask, "Were you scared?" She says, "Yes and I cried and cried." Poor girl.
The rest of the day, I've been a little, groggy. It's always the case when sleep gets disrupted.
I spent about an hour talking with a colleague about a new project idea. We concluded our ideas were "orthogonal." Truly, they are. It's okay... My supervisor wants me to pursue my idea a bit more and talk more again on Thursday.
We got word that we got a new client today. We're happy, but my supervisor's supervisors were less than enthusiastic and we were a bit annoyed by their reaction.
When I got home from work, slightly late because of trying to figure out why the upper supervisors weren't happy, n3nny had to go and I had very whiny children and I was very tired. Not a good combination. At one point N (5.9) and K (3.5) were both screaming and I had to throw my head back and laugh to keep from screaming too. Good times. I'm not even going to blog about what I got to do with T (2.25) tonight--let's just say I got some extra mommy points. More good times.
It's okay. It's not a horrible day, just not really one for the blog. I'm blogging this much because it wouldn't be a fair picture if I didn't, but the details aren't important.
The rest of the day, I've been a little, groggy. It's always the case when sleep gets disrupted.
I spent about an hour talking with a colleague about a new project idea. We concluded our ideas were "orthogonal." Truly, they are. It's okay... My supervisor wants me to pursue my idea a bit more and talk more again on Thursday.
We got word that we got a new client today. We're happy, but my supervisor's supervisors were less than enthusiastic and we were a bit annoyed by their reaction.
When I got home from work, slightly late because of trying to figure out why the upper supervisors weren't happy, n3nny had to go and I had very whiny children and I was very tired. Not a good combination. At one point N (5.9) and K (3.5) were both screaming and I had to throw my head back and laugh to keep from screaming too. Good times. I'm not even going to blog about what I got to do with T (2.25) tonight--let's just say I got some extra mommy points. More good times.
It's okay. It's not a horrible day, just not really one for the blog. I'm blogging this much because it wouldn't be a fair picture if I didn't, but the details aren't important.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Don't know...
It feels wrong to me if most of my students fail. Traditionally, the class I'm teaching has a failure rate of at least 10% each semester. I currently only have one student failing (3%). Granted, they still have to take the final, and that could change things, but only 2 are in danger of failing. Most probably they'll get close to the grade they got on the first test (unless they study less). But of course, who knows!
I include a lot of assignments so that tests aren't weighted so heavily. I give extra credit because 1) they like it and 2) it gets them to do more work. If they do more work, they think more.... if they think more, they generally do better on tests and remember more.
I changed one assignment that NO ONE ever passed to be one that I helped walk them through and then they wrote a paper discussing it. It didn't seem like a good use of our time to give an assignment (the old one) that I knew they couldn't do. They would have disliked it and I would have really disliked grading it!
When I teach, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I will want them to remember in 10 years. These are the issues I test over. I don't generally test over the small details, but the big picture issues. I don't kid myself and think they'll remember the itty-bitty details. They won't. Some of my students still fail the tests, but a lot do really well. The average grade on the last test was a LOW B.
I don't think I'll get "tougher" or "meaner" but next semester, I do think I'll change my grading scale from 89-100, 78-88, 67-77, to 90, 80, 70. That change would make the average test score a C. I will also be making some changes to get them to to read the book. It drives me crazy that we can't have discussions, and when I ask questions they look at me blankly.
I think next semester I will have more confidence in what I'm doing and how to get them to learn even more. I don't like to just lecture. I don't think any one learns anything. I really don't like the bored faces I get. Does any one really like lecture? Does any one think they learn well from lecture?
I include a lot of assignments so that tests aren't weighted so heavily. I give extra credit because 1) they like it and 2) it gets them to do more work. If they do more work, they think more.... if they think more, they generally do better on tests and remember more.
I changed one assignment that NO ONE ever passed to be one that I helped walk them through and then they wrote a paper discussing it. It didn't seem like a good use of our time to give an assignment (the old one) that I knew they couldn't do. They would have disliked it and I would have really disliked grading it!
When I teach, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I will want them to remember in 10 years. These are the issues I test over. I don't generally test over the small details, but the big picture issues. I don't kid myself and think they'll remember the itty-bitty details. They won't. Some of my students still fail the tests, but a lot do really well. The average grade on the last test was a LOW B.
I don't think I'll get "tougher" or "meaner" but next semester, I do think I'll change my grading scale from 89-100, 78-88, 67-77, to 90, 80, 70. That change would make the average test score a C. I will also be making some changes to get them to to read the book. It drives me crazy that we can't have discussions, and when I ask questions they look at me blankly.
I think next semester I will have more confidence in what I'm doing and how to get them to learn even more. I don't like to just lecture. I don't think any one learns anything. I really don't like the bored faces I get. Does any one really like lecture? Does any one think they learn well from lecture?
5 more...
I have 5 more papers to grade... Then I have to put in all of their grades. Then I will be DONE... except for giving and grading the final.... but that's a whole week away--not thinking about that yet! (The test is basically written.)
Do you know where I was when I graded two of the papers? I was on the Elliptical. Do you think any of your college profs/instructors graded papers this way?
Do you know where I was when I graded two of the papers? I was on the Elliptical. Do you think any of your college profs/instructors graded papers this way?
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Lights
Tonight we drove to a local park where they have a huge display of Holiday Lights. I'd been wanting to do this since N (5.9) was almost one (five years now!). It's always been too crazy-busy around the holiday to make it happen. This year, I felt we could manage it and we did. I'm glad we did it, but we'll probably wait a few more years to do it again.... (Unless there's a way to do the train ride through the park.... Driving through the park took a long time. Getting in to the park took a long time too. The girls were really good and suprisingly patient--especially given how impatient they usually arel Overall, it was a fun evening, but not exciting enough to do again soon.)
On another note, T (2.25) didn't want to nurse tonight. She's been nursing less and less. Average time now is about 3-6 minutes total each night. Two months ago it was probably an average of 10-20 minutes total each night. We're on our way to being done with nursing. She's also working really hard on learning to use the potty. (Potty training post coming soon.)
On another note, T (2.25) didn't want to nurse tonight. She's been nursing less and less. Average time now is about 3-6 minutes total each night. Two months ago it was probably an average of 10-20 minutes total each night. We're on our way to being done with nursing. She's also working really hard on learning to use the potty. (Potty training post coming soon.)
Lovely
This morning, I woke up at 9. Lovely. One of the little girls was awake, but she watched a video, and the other two slept until about 10. Really, it doesn't get much better.
The little girls have been playing and mostly ignoring their parents this morning because they want to play with each other. We feel obsolete, but happy.
I guess N (5.9) didn't ignore us completely. She got up, sat down at the kitchen table, and told me NOT TO LOOK AT WHAT SHE WAS DOING. A little bit later she presented MWH and me a card with a wreath and candy cane drawn on the front and writing on the inside that said,
Did I tell you how T (2.25) gives K (3.5) the biggest hugs and says, "I love you" when they are reunited after separations? They do this when T goes with me to get K from preschool, when K comes out of her gymnastics class, and when K comes home from school. In public, their hugging action causes most people to stop, and say "awww." It is really cute. As their Mom, I totally melt into a big goopy puddle of Mommy.
Another fun thing is a game T and I play... It's the "I love you so much game..." It involves lots of hugging and telling each other "I love you SOOOOOO much!" Everyone wins. If I try to play the game when she's not in the mood for it, she'll look at me very seriously and say, "I don't want to love you so much."
It's not Love Thursday but there isn't any reason to wait until a Thursday for love!
The little girls have been playing and mostly ignoring their parents this morning because they want to play with each other. We feel obsolete, but happy.
I guess N (5.9) didn't ignore us completely. She got up, sat down at the kitchen table, and told me NOT TO LOOK AT WHAT SHE WAS DOING. A little bit later she presented MWH and me a card with a wreath and candy cane drawn on the front and writing on the inside that said,
Mommy I love you
Daddy I love you
Did I tell you how T (2.25) gives K (3.5) the biggest hugs and says, "I love you" when they are reunited after separations? They do this when T goes with me to get K from preschool, when K comes out of her gymnastics class, and when K comes home from school. In public, their hugging action causes most people to stop, and say "awww." It is really cute. As their Mom, I totally melt into a big goopy puddle of Mommy.
Another fun thing is a game T and I play... It's the "I love you so much game..." It involves lots of hugging and telling each other "I love you SOOOOOO much!" Everyone wins. If I try to play the game when she's not in the mood for it, she'll look at me very seriously and say, "I don't want to love you so much."
It's not Love Thursday but there isn't any reason to wait until a Thursday for love!
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Planned...
I had it all planned.... I wasn't going to be stressed in December. When MP quit and walked out, it required me to take about 60 hours of vacation I hadn't planned on taking.* This put me waaaaaaaay behind at work. It also ate up most all of my vacation hours. I kept up with my class, but just barely. Then my friend, DK, died. I was already a month behind at work, and I fell completely apart in class. I look back at some of my notes from the time around her death and am surprised to see things I covered, but don't have any memory of it. It was good, and I did it in a manner I approve of, but it is scary to me that I don't remember it.
See why I'm giving up planning anything? It never works.
Believe it or not though, I'm actually less stressed than I was in Dec. 2004.... Oy vey! I didn't have a blog back then as a place to vent.... I'll have to tell you the 12/04 story someday.
My goal for 2008... To turn my life down. I want to go from always being at 11 to maintaining 7-8 on the dial of life.**
*I'm trying not to still be mad at her, but right now, in the midst of my stress, it's hard not to be a little angry. I am trying.
**Extra credit for the person who names the movie and the reference to which I am referring in this metaphor. (MWH will get it I'm sure!)
See why I'm giving up planning anything? It never works.
Believe it or not though, I'm actually less stressed than I was in Dec. 2004.... Oy vey! I didn't have a blog back then as a place to vent.... I'll have to tell you the 12/04 story someday.
My goal for 2008... To turn my life down. I want to go from always being at 11 to maintaining 7-8 on the dial of life.**
*I'm trying not to still be mad at her, but right now, in the midst of my stress, it's hard not to be a little angry. I am trying.
**Extra credit for the person who names the movie and the reference to which I am referring in this metaphor. (MWH will get it I'm sure!)
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Questions!
My online friend Alice (no blog for a link) posted some questions for me in the comments on this post. She asked...
First, let me say questions are always welcome! They help me think about things from new perspectives. Please, if you have questions, ask them!
I'll start with the easiest question.
How is N doing with her bike? I thought that your no-pedal teaching technique is pretty neat. I will do that when I have kids.
I can't take credit for thinking up the no-pedal technique. The bike store guy told us about it. N (5.75) and her bike... She is riding really well. She got the bike on 9/29. She learned to balance really fast without the pedals. She was riding (coasting around our driveway and balancing) on the first day.
She'd push with her feet to the "top" of the driveway and then coast down. She was steering and it took probably a week or two for her to master steering. She asked for the pedals on 10/26 and MWH put them on 10/27. Within 5 minutes of him putting the pedals on she was riding. No training wheels! We were delighted! I think it was a great way to build her confidence. I think she would have been ready for the pedals sooner, but she was in charge and she wanted to wait. We listened to her wisdom. I'll be putting up videos documenting her learning on the other blog over the holiday break.
A long time ago (I don't remember exactly when) you wrote that you felt that the mean age level in your house was (I believe) around 3. What would you say is the mean age/developmental level now?
This is a harder question... I wrote the mean age in our house was around 3 in February. The mean age now, if you calculate it, is 3.83. Recently, I wrote
I think the mean age is probably close to 4. N is acting so much older than 4 (most of the time) though. She's not a little kid anymore. Age six is the start of Middle Childhood. She is seeming so much more mature. I know six is very young still, but she's my biggest girl. I'll be writing more about this soon.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not sure what the average age in our house is now. Sometimes close to four seems right on, and sometimes it seems like N isn't part of the average. I will come back to this one later. Maybe MWH will play along and make a comment and give his opinion....
This question Two related questions (with some preamble): In my family I grew up as 'the baby'. By the time I was T's age, I HATED being called 'the baby'. Is T experiencing any of this? Does she identify herself as a 'baby' or a 'big girl'?
T calls herself the BABY. She is proud of her status as the baby. She likes the attention it gets her. I think K would have been delighted to have stayed the baby and T knows that she won the title from K. Seriously. I honestly think T knows she displaced K and she's proud of having done that. (I realize that's a pretty sophisticated concept for a 2.25 year old to have, but I honestly think she sort of has it.)
As to part 2 of that question Related to this topic, I was wondering about K. You often hear people speak of 'middle child syndrome' and the like. Does K find it difficult to be stuck in the middle? Do you notice 'middle child traits' in her? She is such a middle child. I will devote a whole post to this someday ... (Haven't I done this in the past?... Let me dig.) There's some here and there's a lot more here too. I am sure there will be more!
Last but not least, POTTY TRAINING! .... I'm going to set aside a whole post for this one really soon. I'm exhausted right now.
Over the past few days I have come up with a few questions for you... I hope it's alright to go ahead and post them here.
A long time ago (I don't remember exactly when) you wrote that you felt that the mean age level in your house was (I believe) around 3. What would you say is the mean age/developmental level now?
How is N doing with her bike? I thought that your no-pedal teaching technique is pretty neat. I will do that when I have kids.
Two related questions (with some preamble): In my family I grew up as 'the baby'. By the time I was T's age, I HATED being called 'the baby'. Is T experiencing any of this? Does she identify herself as a 'baby' or a 'big girl'?
Related to this topic, I was wondering about K. You often hear people speak of 'middle child syndrome' and the like. Does K find it difficult to be stuck in the middle? Do you notice 'middle child traits' in her?
Last but not least, the little girl I babysit has recently begun potty training. I was just wondering where T stands with regards to using the potty. And what techniques (if any) do you use when potty training with your girls?
First, let me say questions are always welcome! They help me think about things from new perspectives. Please, if you have questions, ask them!
I'll start with the easiest question.
How is N doing with her bike? I thought that your no-pedal teaching technique is pretty neat. I will do that when I have kids.
I can't take credit for thinking up the no-pedal technique. The bike store guy told us about it. N (5.75) and her bike... She is riding really well. She got the bike on 9/29. She learned to balance really fast without the pedals. She was riding (coasting around our driveway and balancing) on the first day.
She'd push with her feet to the "top" of the driveway and then coast down. She was steering and it took probably a week or two for her to master steering. She asked for the pedals on 10/26 and MWH put them on 10/27. Within 5 minutes of him putting the pedals on she was riding. No training wheels! We were delighted! I think it was a great way to build her confidence. I think she would have been ready for the pedals sooner, but she was in charge and she wanted to wait. We listened to her wisdom. I'll be putting up videos documenting her learning on the other blog over the holiday break.
A long time ago (I don't remember exactly when) you wrote that you felt that the mean age level in your house was (I believe) around 3. What would you say is the mean age/developmental level now?
This is a harder question... I wrote the mean age in our house was around 3 in February. The mean age now, if you calculate it, is 3.83. Recently, I wrote
We're definitely entering a new era around here with new bigger kid activities now. The three little girls are so different than they were last year. It's nice to have it be a little less stressful when we go out, and to be able to do more!
I think the mean age is probably close to 4. N is acting so much older than 4 (most of the time) though. She's not a little kid anymore. Age six is the start of Middle Childhood. She is seeming so much more mature. I know six is very young still, but she's my biggest girl. I'll be writing more about this soon.
I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not sure what the average age in our house is now. Sometimes close to four seems right on, and sometimes it seems like N isn't part of the average. I will come back to this one later. Maybe MWH will play along and make a comment and give his opinion....
This question Two related questions (with some preamble): In my family I grew up as 'the baby'. By the time I was T's age, I HATED being called 'the baby'. Is T experiencing any of this? Does she identify herself as a 'baby' or a 'big girl'?
T calls herself the BABY. She is proud of her status as the baby. She likes the attention it gets her. I think K would have been delighted to have stayed the baby and T knows that she won the title from K. Seriously. I honestly think T knows she displaced K and she's proud of having done that. (I realize that's a pretty sophisticated concept for a 2.25 year old to have, but I honestly think she sort of has it.)
As to part 2 of that question Related to this topic, I was wondering about K. You often hear people speak of 'middle child syndrome' and the like. Does K find it difficult to be stuck in the middle? Do you notice 'middle child traits' in her? She is such a middle child. I will devote a whole post to this someday ... (Haven't I done this in the past?... Let me dig.) There's some here and there's a lot more here too. I am sure there will be more!
Last but not least, POTTY TRAINING! .... I'm going to set aside a whole post for this one really soon. I'm exhausted right now.
Happy Dance!
Yes, professors get excited at the end of classes too. Teaching is a lot of work! The last lecture has been given. Now I must grade and create a test. I need to get 3 things done before I leave. More soon... Really!
Monday, December 03, 2007
Rice
I love rice. I eat lots of brown rice. When I saw this link www.freerice.com on my friend Ruth's blog I knew I'd be linking to it too.
Freerice.com is a fun vocabulary game you can play. For every word you get right, you donate 20 grains of rice to help end world hunger. You're learning and helping at the same time. I love it.
I ate a bowl of brown rice while playing. I think I'm in the spirit!
In unrelated news, I have a really bad headache.
Freerice.com is a fun vocabulary game you can play. For every word you get right, you donate 20 grains of rice to help end world hunger. You're learning and helping at the same time. I love it.
I ate a bowl of brown rice while playing. I think I'm in the spirit!
In unrelated news, I have a really bad headache.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
slowing down...
I'll be slowing down on the cold posts. I'm starting to feel like a bit of a human again. It's about time! Okay, so I'm not the most patient sick person. Heh.
I may even leave the house today. We'll see. I don't want to get too crazy. I am going to try to go the day without cold meds. I will take advil. My head is pounding. Did I mention I got up with 2 little girls (K and T) four times last night? Sigh. I also got up once for the cat and once to go to the bathroom myself. And then I was thinking about the stats for the project and figured something out...I've got that jittery feeling again. I feel very AWAKE, but I have a very bad headache. I don't know if it's from the Sudafed or if it's the illness. K seems extra awake too so it might be the illness.
I leave you with one of the nicest things a husband could say to a wife... MWH was folding laundry last night*. He folded a pair of my pants and said, "Those are really small." My pants! Small! Woo-Hoo! Then he said, "How long until I get your clothes mixed up with the girls' clothes?" Again, very nice! That's why he's MWH.
*That earns him his name too!
I may even leave the house today. We'll see. I don't want to get too crazy. I am going to try to go the day without cold meds. I will take advil. My head is pounding. Did I mention I got up with 2 little girls (K and T) four times last night? Sigh. I also got up once for the cat and once to go to the bathroom myself. And then I was thinking about the stats for the project and figured something out...I've got that jittery feeling again. I feel very AWAKE, but I have a very bad headache. I don't know if it's from the Sudafed or if it's the illness. K seems extra awake too so it might be the illness.
I leave you with one of the nicest things a husband could say to a wife... MWH was folding laundry last night*. He folded a pair of my pants and said, "Those are really small." My pants! Small! Woo-Hoo! Then he said, "How long until I get your clothes mixed up with the girls' clothes?" Again, very nice! That's why he's MWH.
*That earns him his name too!
Saturday, December 01, 2007
New word...
Crining: Whining and crying at the same time.
Common Usage: Stop crining!
(MWH coined this one tonight.)
Common Usage: Stop crining!
(MWH coined this one tonight.)
Part of the problem...
I think part of the problem is I keep thinking I should be better by now. But I've only really been sick since Thursday night. On Thursday, I was a leeeetle sick. On Thursday, I knew things could go either way--either I could get really sick, or I could fight it and win. I was still optimistic I could fight and win until around 6 pm Thursday. It was around then I started sensing I was losing the battle. I kept taking Zicam and didn't fully given up hope until around 11 pm Thursday night.
Aren't you so glad you get to have analyze every move of my illness?
I'm a little bored. I'm too sick to really concentrate on anything very heavy-duty (e.g., the stats I need to be working on for a fun project, or the papers I need to grade) for very long.
I have managed to go shopping online and get more presents for the little girls for the upcoming holiday. I've also managed to find all the video tapes I've taken of the little girls recently. For a while, this afternoon, I was worried I had lost a whole tape. Fortunately, I just hadn't played all the way to the end of one and the footage I was looking for was there! Whew!
Oh, I'm tired. I'm even boring myself here. Maybe I should try to sleep. I wish I could turn on bad TV and snuggle up to MWH, but someone has to take care of the 3 little girls. I don't like watching bad tv alone.
Aren't you so glad you get to have analyze every move of my illness?
I'm a little bored. I'm too sick to really concentrate on anything very heavy-duty (e.g., the stats I need to be working on for a fun project, or the papers I need to grade) for very long.
I have managed to go shopping online and get more presents for the little girls for the upcoming holiday. I've also managed to find all the video tapes I've taken of the little girls recently. For a while, this afternoon, I was worried I had lost a whole tape. Fortunately, I just hadn't played all the way to the end of one and the footage I was looking for was there! Whew!
Oh, I'm tired. I'm even boring myself here. Maybe I should try to sleep. I wish I could turn on bad TV and snuggle up to MWH, but someone has to take care of the 3 little girls. I don't like watching bad tv alone.
Quotes, by me
Last weekend I said, "They are all illogical, some are a little less illogical sometimes."
(The quote was about the three little girls.)
This weekend, as I watched N (5.75) bounce in the kitchen I said, "I am jealous. I doubt I'll ever have the energy to bounce again."
MWH replied, "This is when we need to video record you and play it back for you when you're bouncing off the walls in aerobics."
(The quote was about the three little girls.)
This weekend, as I watched N (5.75) bounce in the kitchen I said, "I am jealous. I doubt I'll ever have the energy to bounce again."
MWH replied, "This is when we need to video record you and play it back for you when you're bouncing off the walls in aerobics."
feeble
I feel so exhausted today. I was hoping for a miraculous recovery. K (3.5) seemed to have most of her energy back quickly. Is it just because I'm old? Or is because I've had a lot of stress this fall and now it's all caught up to me?
Give it to me straight, I can handle it.
T (2.25) moaned and cried in her sleep last night, I went and got her and had her sleep beside me at 3:45. She was so hot. MWH had given her tylenol at midnight-ish, but she still felt burning up when I got her. She snuggled next to me and was pretty good until 7:30-ish. She thought the day should start then, and started kicking and pinching. I did not think the day should start then so I put her in her crib in her room. I slept until 10:00 am-ish.
Now, I'm alone with 3 while MWH ran to an appointment. He's been trying to schedule this one since early November. You can bet we're watching videos.
How come little girls who are sick have a lot more energy than their Mom? It's not fair.
Give it to me straight, I can handle it.
T (2.25) moaned and cried in her sleep last night, I went and got her and had her sleep beside me at 3:45. She was so hot. MWH had given her tylenol at midnight-ish, but she still felt burning up when I got her. She snuggled next to me and was pretty good until 7:30-ish. She thought the day should start then, and started kicking and pinching. I did not think the day should start then so I put her in her crib in her room. I slept until 10:00 am-ish.
Now, I'm alone with 3 while MWH ran to an appointment. He's been trying to schedule this one since early November. You can bet we're watching videos.
How come little girls who are sick have a lot more energy than their Mom? It's not fair.
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