having talked a few days about her desire to go "Far away on a plane to visit grandma sue and james." k had a fine day. we dealt with the disappointment of not going to new jersey, by visiting cutie catty who enjoyed the company. she ran around the park with uncle tom. and then mom and k came home to skype with nani and nana for nana's bday, followed by a quick lunch. then we were off to swimming practice, grocery shopping, and library. k enjoyed hearing her brother's message on the answering machine and expects to have an update daily, especially about the weather and the luggage. evening brought some manicotti, salad, and wii activity. k picked out a molten chocolate cake from trader joe's for dessert. so we split one before heading upstairs to read. both of us fell asleep instantly. a nice end to a sunny day. the only difficulty is that mom has pink eye in both eyes and can't see as well as usual.
we will be social while we can. we have plans for some dinner tomorrow night. to see a friend tuesday night. and then we have to reconfigure our calendar based on the anticipated weather. so watch out world -- k and mom are on the loose. several of my friends and i have been conversing about how having one child for a week by yourself is like a vacation. it is so much easier. it should not be, but it is. funny how it gets exponentially more complicated with more people.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
On a happier note...
upon trying a cinnamon apple rice cake for the first time, r announced, after he finally tried a few mouthfuls, "i like it. it's really cimonony, and you can't taste the apples so much after a while. but they're still there. there's so many flavors all at the same time! it's like there's a rainbow of flavors in my mouth!"
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
1st day of school
r started his first day of unanticipated homeschool today with me.
last night we decided to pull him from his kindergarten.
now we have to make it to the end of the semester and try to regain the ground he lost during the last six months at school.
at least we know he won't be kicked or hit.
last night we decided to pull him from his kindergarten.
now we have to make it to the end of the semester and try to regain the ground he lost during the last six months at school.
at least we know he won't be kicked or hit.
Monday, March 22, 2010
bedtime conversation with k
k says spontaneously: i like my grandparents and my aunts. and my nieces.
j: nieces?
k laughingly replies: no. i am masee's niece.
j: nieces?
k laughingly replies: no. i am masee's niece.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Back to the drawing board, Dad.
Lately R and I (Dad) have been playing with numbers - positive, negative, orders of magnitude, number lines, adding, and subtracting.
On the car ride home today R asked, "What is negative one thousand minus negative one thousand?"
D: Negative two thousand.
R: Whoa. Negative two thousand.
(Short pause here).
R: No, Dad. I mean SUBTRACT. What's negative one thousand subtract negative one thousand?
D (realizing he hadn't been paying careful enough attention): Do you mean what's negative one thousand - minus - negative one thousand?
R: Yeah!
D (smiling to himself): What do you think?
R: I think it's zero!
D: You're right, it's zero!
R (with obvious pleasure): Yeah!
On the car ride home today R asked, "What is negative one thousand minus negative one thousand?"
D: Negative two thousand.
R: Whoa. Negative two thousand.
(Short pause here).
R: No, Dad. I mean SUBTRACT. What's negative one thousand subtract negative one thousand?
D (realizing he hadn't been paying careful enough attention): Do you mean what's negative one thousand - minus - negative one thousand?
R: Yeah!
D (smiling to himself): What do you think?
R: I think it's zero!
D: You're right, it's zero!
R (with obvious pleasure): Yeah!
repost
As K likes to say: how was your day?
Around here, the answer is that we are trying to get to a smooth flow going again.
1) 3 pink eyes in the last week
2) heavy coughing and mucous expulsion by preschooler
3) sewer pipe not draining leading to expensive repairs
4) bullying at school
5) no chance of catching up in terms of the lost learning due to awful circumstances for the kindergarten student
and yet. unlike other times when the stress might be overwhelming. we are keeping our chins up and doing our best. our attention is focused on comforting K and thinking about the next few months for R. slow and steady with changes we can manage and implement. my work to do list is actually entering the manageable zone. so i can turn my attention elsewhere. this is what tenure affords me at the moment: flexibility, ability to self-pace, and re-prioritizing.
thanks everyone for your support. we are doing ok financially and emotionally. don't fret about us.
on a brighter note, k really enjoyed mr. rogers neighborhood today. it was her first viewing and she clearly could follow the conversation, the make-believe, and the songs. she was highly engaged. it made me appreciate how wonderful that show was and is. quite different from the much faster paced, quick edit, and glossier children's programming. she really understood the lessons about what happens if you do something to hurt people when you are mad, how to handle your feelings, and the gentle inquiry addressed directly to her. it was fun to watch her enjoyment.
she also had her first big kid swimming class. she did terrific. she proudly did monkey cheeks, kicked in the water, scooped in the water, and blew bubbles. she less liked having her nose and eyes in the water, even with goggles. r also had his next swimming class. he is comfortable in the water and it will be great to see him gain some new skills (back stroke, etc.).
this week will be tax week at our home.
and i will try to publish some pictures. by the way, last week at picnic teacher, r ate a peanut butter sandwich. and tonight for dinner, k had thepla, daal, and saag paneer. r had thepla, saag paneer, and pau bhaji. so they are doing well on the food front. things are speeding up a little too as we are cutting back on reminders.
that's all for now.
and did i mention that it was about 60 degrees and sunny today. our spring is arriving in leaps and bounds. we are all very excited.
Around here, the answer is that we are trying to get to a smooth flow going again.
1) 3 pink eyes in the last week
2) heavy coughing and mucous expulsion by preschooler
3) sewer pipe not draining leading to expensive repairs
4) bullying at school
5) no chance of catching up in terms of the lost learning due to awful circumstances for the kindergarten student
and yet. unlike other times when the stress might be overwhelming. we are keeping our chins up and doing our best. our attention is focused on comforting K and thinking about the next few months for R. slow and steady with changes we can manage and implement. my work to do list is actually entering the manageable zone. so i can turn my attention elsewhere. this is what tenure affords me at the moment: flexibility, ability to self-pace, and re-prioritizing.
thanks everyone for your support. we are doing ok financially and emotionally. don't fret about us.
on a brighter note, k really enjoyed mr. rogers neighborhood today. it was her first viewing and she clearly could follow the conversation, the make-believe, and the songs. she was highly engaged. it made me appreciate how wonderful that show was and is. quite different from the much faster paced, quick edit, and glossier children's programming. she really understood the lessons about what happens if you do something to hurt people when you are mad, how to handle your feelings, and the gentle inquiry addressed directly to her. it was fun to watch her enjoyment.
she also had her first big kid swimming class. she did terrific. she proudly did monkey cheeks, kicked in the water, scooped in the water, and blew bubbles. she less liked having her nose and eyes in the water, even with goggles. r also had his next swimming class. he is comfortable in the water and it will be great to see him gain some new skills (back stroke, etc.).
this week will be tax week at our home.
and i will try to publish some pictures. by the way, last week at picnic teacher, r ate a peanut butter sandwich. and tonight for dinner, k had thepla, daal, and saag paneer. r had thepla, saag paneer, and pau bhaji. so they are doing well on the food front. things are speeding up a little too as we are cutting back on reminders.
that's all for now.
and did i mention that it was about 60 degrees and sunny today. our spring is arriving in leaps and bounds. we are all very excited.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Pillow talk
Dad, again.
Bedtime for R usually consists of some reading, followed by wind-down conversation, after which he'll lie in bed and let his mind wander, usually to problems he's trying to solve. A wandering mind will frequently need to articulate what it's pondering.
Tonight, a few minutes after a description of some machines he's planning to build, R made the following observation:
R: "If black holes decay, it must mean that they can't be tunnels to another side of space. They must be more like buckets with stuff falling out when they decay."
D: "Hmm. I don't know - I'd have to think about that. Mom might know more about that than me."
R: "Well, I guess they could be tunnels."
D: "Yeah, I suppose if they're tunnels and they start to decay, then the tunnel might just collapse."
R: "Yeah, and then it would just be like a bucket."
Pause.
R: "And it wouldn't be connected to the other side of space."
Sweet dreams.
Bedtime for R usually consists of some reading, followed by wind-down conversation, after which he'll lie in bed and let his mind wander, usually to problems he's trying to solve. A wandering mind will frequently need to articulate what it's pondering.
Tonight, a few minutes after a description of some machines he's planning to build, R made the following observation:
R: "If black holes decay, it must mean that they can't be tunnels to another side of space. They must be more like buckets with stuff falling out when they decay."
D: "Hmm. I don't know - I'd have to think about that. Mom might know more about that than me."
R: "Well, I guess they could be tunnels."
D: "Yeah, I suppose if they're tunnels and they start to decay, then the tunnel might just collapse."
R: "Yeah, and then it would just be like a bucket."
Pause.
R: "And it wouldn't be connected to the other side of space."
Sweet dreams.
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