avoiding sleep

child of ours, master of avoiding sleep and prolonging conversations...

night-time conversation (still pondering our dialogue with our friend Kale): how can we be in between [boy and girl]? can we wear clothes for both. oh right, but boys can wear dresses so that is not both. we can have our hair short in front and long in back [sounds like a mullet]. and some people have ginas and penises. are they left and right, or up and down. i like up and down better.

night time conversation2: can wheelchairs come inside if their wheels are dirty? even on carpet like at my school?

night time conversation3: do people in jail get food? do they get what they need, but not what they want? why don't they get what they need?

relay

dad had to work late today so i did double pick up. we came home to sunny near 60 degree weather. no way we were going inside and playing. they played independently dolphin and what in the back yard for about 10 minutes and then wandered in. i herded them to the front where we drew a bulls-eye and practiced shooting rubber bands. k has been doing it a bit after we read Breakout in the Bug Lab
which has a woman shooting rubber bands to get a hissing cockroach off the ceiling at a lab facility. she has gotten fairly good at it. r had not tried it before and kept making the rookie mistake of shooting himself in the face. this clearly shocked him and he renounced his desire to try. we switched to bean bag balls which they enjoyed trying to get in the bullseye.
then we moved on to relay races (thinking of mr. springfield and our friend kelly). they ran back and forth passing a squeezy caterpillar. then they jumped, hopped, galloped, scootered, skipped, and backward-walked another dozen passes. each time they got more creative and thought of new variations. for the most part, it was a great exchange with cooperative sibling play.
there were a few times when there was discord. but generally, they were able to work it out.

the cats who had come to visit did not like all the activity and sauntered off to quieter pastures (after trying to repeatedly sneak into the house). once the kids had reached their tolerance, we went back inside and they got a chance to "help the community" which is what we call doing chores. they helped set the table and get the food there as well. that somehow inspired cooperation again. finally we all ate dinner while i tried to simultaneously read the little town on the prairie to them. some nagging was required at dinner. but it was mostly fun. then k did some reading and it was bedtime. i wish i was asleep too.

april

well we are almost through the shingles outbreak at our home.
Dad has been recovering slowly over the last 2 weeks from a painful and contagious condition that i related to the chicken pox vaccine. as his workplace as well as the kids' schools are filled w/ kids some of whom may not have had a vaccine or the chicken pox, he has been quarantined at home. let me just mention that dad gets cabin fever.
luckily it has not been the most painful version of shingles. but the shingles is definitely an indication of low immunity. not a good sign. the rash is subsiding and yesterday he ventured out to fetch the kids. i think it was sensorily irritating.

otherwise spring is coming to our land. the kids are sprouting. k is in a new talkative growth spurt. very chatty. ro has had bouts of unfocused energy as he thaws. the cats are out and the semester has gotten even busier. we see bits of green peaking out of the ground. and the sun is shining and warm to the skin.

we are thinking about the upcoming months of sunshine and warmth and everyone is excited. we played outside in the backyard for a couple of hours today. time to get active.

looking forward to spring.
time for everyone to visit us