Updates and Kidbits

It's the last week of school!  Yep, summer starts tomorrow.  We'll be going to a picnic of their elementary school cohort today, the ones they had class with from 4th through 6th grade.  It's the third or fourth year of this tradition.  I think the parents like it as much as (probably more than) the kids.

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Bud and I are learning a piano solo together, Coldplay's "Viva La Vida."  I have the melody and Bud is doing all of the rhythm and harmonies.  Because I'm not great at counting/keeping time, I rely on Bud to give me clues.  And I'm trying to practice a lot.  He's a very patient teacher and we're having a lot of fun; we definitely make our piano teacher laugh.  I'm also practicing "Amazing Grace."  I love the tune and it will be great to know for hospice.  I find that when I play the hospice piano, people like to stop and talk.  One time, when I was playing "Greensleeves," a woman came in--her mother had just died and it had been her favorite song--the daughter thought it was a sign.  I'm glad it brought her comfort.

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Sis had a horse show last weekend, riding Arthur.  She loves those horses.  She is less concerned with how the competition goes, especially now that she is in the intermediate group with more experienced riders.  She placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in equitation, pleasure, and then jumps.  Then she spent an extra 6+ hours hanging out with the horses.

She is taking a summer break from speedskating.  After Patience the horse stepped on her, Sis had to wear a boot and then loose shoes; speedskates are too much.  She'll resume with the next session.

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And Bud is learning a new kung fu form, "Eagle," which is another hand form (meaning no weapons.)  He loves the new moves and is practicing his aerial.  He's hoping to take parkour classes this summer to learn some more flips and jumps.  He loves to move and dance.  His favorite music right now is by BTS, the K-Pop (Korean pop) band that is taking the world by storm.  It's seven young South Korean men with likeable tunes and amazing dance moves.  Bud listens all the time, though half of the lyrics are in Korean.  And we're going to their concert in September, though it was a trick to get tickets (fortunately before the prices skyrocketed.)

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I've finished all of my CPE papers--6 case studies, 19 weekly reflections, a long midterm evaluation, and an even longer final evaluation.  I still have about 40 hours to finish in the next six weeks, but that shouldn't be too hard (knock on wood.)   I was at hospice yesterday for four hours.  It was a doubly special day:  I saw our flock of goslings, eight of which are losing their down and earning their goosey markings, AND the cheese truck came!  It was a nice change for lunch and lots of us treated ourselves.  I had a great grilled cheese with a bit of pesto.  So nice to eat something different. 

The Dominican seminarians are now with us for the summer.  I was in the hospital when they arrived but have now had time to get to know them a bit.  They're young and very cerebral, doing good works but very caught up (righteously) on what they think is true.  They don't see it that way--as their truth--only as "the truth." I just listen and say okay, uh-huh--which is not the same as yes!--and they really don't seem to recognize that I might disagree--how could I disagree with truth?--they haven't even asked.  And they have no clue what a Unitarian might be (except wrong about the Trinity, obviously!)  They've lectured to me about Thomas Aquinas and his Summa and the various daughters of Sin everyday this week.  Well, at least I'm learning something. Our older Catholic priest just rolls his eyes!  He's practically a hippie from the 1960s, in line with Pope Francis, a fan of liberation theology and mostly focused on the love of Jesus.  The brothers like John Paul II and have rigid ideas about sin and salvation and the sacraments.  It's going to be an interesting summer.

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Gommie will be here next week!  We're still trying to figure out some new and fun things to do.  After 16 years of visiting Connecticut, she's seen and done a lot.  But we're looking.

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Last night, Mama and I went to a department party at a go-kart place.  We didn't ride--though she wants to go back with the kids and her brother.  Instead, we played Skeeball and ice hockey and had a lot of fun.  And there's always good food at the parties--squash tacos, carne asada tacos, quesadillas, empanadas, french fries, tater tots with lime salt, chicken wings, little pepperoni pizzas!  Yum, yum!

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In my next post, I'll introduce our new foster cat, Romeo . . . . he arrives tomorrow.  It's a long story.

Tidbits and Kidbits

We continue our 70s show diet--we watched two episodes of "The Brady Bunch" yesterday and I think that has to be the kids' favorite.  They couldn't comprehend "The Love Boat" and weren't that impressed with "Happy Days."  And "Gilligan's Island" is just ridiculous.  In reserve, we have "Laverne and Shirley," "The Carol Burnett Show," "I Love Lucy," "Lost in Space," "Wonder Woman," and "Batman." I just deleted "CHiPS" and "M.A.S.H."--I don't think they'd enjoy either.  Wish we could find "Land of the Lost."

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We took that vocabulary test that has been floating around FB.  I got the top .01%, with a score of 30325 (I think), knowing I missed "avulse," which I now will never forget is a medical term meaning "to tear."  Mama scored in the top 1% or so (I forget.  Well, except I know I beat her.)  And Bud made it in the top 7%, on par with a white-collar professional, it said.  Sis was normal for her age (which I somehow doubt, but she also said she went through it pretty quickly.)  Pretty fun.

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Bud is watching me as I type this. And adding his edits.  Especially about Sis's score above.  "What? Don't type that!" he just said.  :)  This might be the last power I have!  Actually, both kids have actually started reading Mommy, Hungry!, which I hadn't expected for many years to come; I'm kinda surprised they're interested.  Maybe we're in the sweet spot when they're interested but not too embarrassed.  Sis started with the first posts back in August 2007 while Bud is reading backwards from the present day.    I guess they'll cross sometime around 2011, in first grade.  It's been fun to reminisce about the old stuff, but now I find myself self-censoring some of the more recent stuff (police shootings, racism, descriptions of giving Mo fluids which Bud hates.)  

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Bud and I tried to watch Footloose today.  I think he'd love the music and dancing.  But he couldn't get past all the discussion of sex and dating.  I can't blame him.  And this was PG?  One of the characters even made the hand sign for masturbating!  I guess there was more sex then, just like there's more violence in PG films now.  Also, we didn't have PG-13 then.

Speaking of which, there was a song--can't recall which one--on the radio in the car and Bud commented that it was "inappropriate."  I hadn't heard the lyric--I almost never do--but it was "they always want to come, but they never wanna leave."  And he got it.  Uh oh.  I better start listening.  Funny to watch the beginning of Footloose on the same day--all about music and easy sexuality.  Maybe the preacher in the film was right!  But banning it never does any good . . . and today's music would have just killed him.

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I feel like we're living in Captain America:  Civil War.  Or perhaps WWI.  Mo, Albus, and Hermione had staked a claim to our room, but Eris had infiltrated.  They've been going back and forth all day, with the hallway as some kind of battle line.  I have a feeling that Eris will win in the end, though for now she is down here.  

We've been calling Eris "Bumble-cat" because she gets all thick like a fuzzy striped bee when you pet her--and she is striped, too.  And she stings/bites!  Or, when she gets territorial, "Prissy McKitty Kitten."  What is it with pet nicknames?

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I hate this heat.  Hate hate hate.  It read 103F in my car today, though I think that was a mis-read from sitting in the sun.  But it was still 96 at 9 pm.  UGH.  I'm dreaming of deep fall--cold, gray, November days.  I daren't dream of snow--we just didn't get much last year.  At least it's snowing in my Dragonvale.

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Tidbits Plus

We have been very pun-ny recently, mostly before sweet Mr. P died.

• Sis, when we were talking about "Ceiling Cat," which in our family is kinda the Spirit of cats gone by, said that our cat Albus must be "Cat-olic."
• Goo referred to our cardboard cat tree as "Fort McKitty."

Plus, there have been three other fun and distracting events in the last few days:

• Mama took Sis rock climbing!  Sis loved it; even Mama climbed the wall.  (Bud and I stayed home in our pjs.  I fell asleep and, when I awoke, I said, "Did I fall asleep?"  He replied, "Yeah, Mom, it's April.")  Sis would love to go again, but, until she is 13, she has to climb with an instructor.  Maybe we'll take the Girl Scout troop.  
• Goo stopped by on his way home for a swazu in Vermont.  He loves the scenery and the food--local restaurants, food purveyors, and such.  He brought four loaves of bread (challah, brioche, boule, and baguette) to share with us from King Arthur Flour, and a great Cabot cheddar, plus some maple syrup and even maple syrup cotton candy.  He stayed for a few hours chatting and keeping us company.
• Today, the kids went rollerskating (as part of a birthday party, which Bud squeezed in between two kung fu practices) for the first time.  Yep, on wheels, not ice.  Sis took to the rollerblades right away, though she realized she couldn't move in them quite the same way.  Bud wore traditional skates and soon had the hang of it enough not to hug the wall.  The rink was old school, with disco ball, flashing lights, indoor carpeting, and those molded plastic-coated benches.  They even did the hokey pokey and the limbo (Sis did well at this, mainly because she is so little.)   I have such good memories of rollerskating--I took lessons (and could "shoot the duck," which was a maneuver squatting with one leg extended!) and even had skates well into college (when I had a terrible fall and almost broke an elbow--the nurses at the urgent care clinic had to scrub my arm to remove all the gravel!  And also use tweezers . . . ugh.  I never really skated again, but I could relive the sensation today.  I'm not sure I'd ever strap on stakes again, but it sure would be fun (and terrifying.)  I think the kids will skate again.  And I'd love to watch.  
  

Kidbits

I never thought I'd hear myself say, "You can only sword fight with weapons of the same material."  Sis had her wooden "fantasy" sword, while Bud had his plastic lightsaber.  And I just knew wood would crack plastic.  So we all had a lightsaber battle.

My new name is "Darth Mommy, Sith Lord of the Rock Wall."
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Quiche.

Quiche is the word around our house these days.  See, I've had the ingredients to make that for days and have mentioned every night for dinner.  And then we always have something else.

We even started singing about it.  "The quiche will come out tomorrow.  Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be quiche."  Or "Quiche, I'm going to eat it tomorrow!"  You name the musical, we made up a quiche song.  Drove Mama nuts, made Sis snort water out her nose.

We finally ate the quiche, to much fanfare, last night for dinner.

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The cooler weather has taken us outside.  Yesterday, for their day off, we played our version of tag/hide-and-go-seek.  This involves my searching after the children, who try to hide and not be seen, with frequent location changes.  It's more a game of spy because the object is for them to watch me while I don't see them.  We all stealthily circle the house trying to "win."  And once I see them, we just start again.  There's no running or actual tagging, just spotting.  It sounds kinda lame in the description, but we all enjoy it.  And sometimes I do manage to surprise them!

They also play real tag in the morning at the bus stop, especially now that there are more kids.  Besides our usual foursome--my two, the girl in their class, and the 2nd grader--there are two more girls (1st and 3rd grades?) and a 4th-grade boy (the kindergarten girl only rides home in the afternoons.)  And they've been playing tag (well, not the 4th-grade boy, who is not quite warmed up to us yet.)  Invariably they tag me and I try to sneak up on one of them to no avail.  These other kids are fast and don't realize I won't run, especially with my cup of tea in hand.  Sometimes they tag the 2nd-grader's dad and he runs very fast.  It's a wonderful way to start the morning, actually.

Kidbits

Bud was in a bit of trouble with me the other day and felt quite put upon, taking refuge in his room.  I was seated on the couch downstairs when I heard his iPod, which he'd repositioned in the stairwell so I could hear it.

"No good deed goes unpunished," sang out the lyrics from Wicked.

Ah, clever boy.  I couldn't help but smile.

Later, Mama asked what the good deeds might have been.  Bud would have said it was his honest mistake that got him in hot water.

Later that night, after hashing it out with Mama, he played from his iPod loudly, "Close every door to me, hide all the world from me . . . " the song from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when he mourns his imprisonment.

Well, I'll say this, the boy has his Mama's sense of lyrics!

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Sis was complaining yesterday that she didn't have anything to read.  We have hundreds of books, but she goes through them so quickly.  She'd started and finished my last recommendation, Island of the Blue Dolphins, in less than a day.  So I suggested Little Women, one of my favorites.

Later, she came downstairs.  "Mom, I'm not reading that.  It's boring.  They just sit around knitting and not doing anything!!"

Sigh.

Kidbits

After seeing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, about Jacob, Joseph, and happenings in Genesis, etc., Bud asked, "So, Mom, is there a book?"

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After hearing the song, "All about the Bass," about the size of your booty, that does nonetheless compare bass to treble albeit metaphorically, Bud said, "So, what instrument does the singer play?"

 'Cos, you know, she's talking about treble clef and bass clef.

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Kidbits

Just one today:

Sis wore a t-shirt proclaiming Mama's Alma Mater today.  And so I asked her, "Who went there?"

"Mama did."

"And . . . ??"

"You did?"

"Yes, what did I get there?"

"You got Mama."

Kidbits

Yesterday, Sis and Bud were playing with the little girl who recently moved in across the street.  It was so warm and beautiful that the kids pulled out their bicycles and were riding back and forth in the cul-de-sac while I walked and talked with the other mom.  When the little girl couldn't keep up on her Big Wheel (love the Big Wheel!) and she couldn't pedal her own big-girl bike yet, even with training wheels, Sis and Bud played running races with her.  And Bud even pretended to get tired and not make it to the finish line so she could beat him!  Later, they taught her how to play hot-and-cold as they took turns hiding her toy Brachiosaurus. Of course, Sis would stand right next to the "hot" place.   It was so cute!

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We went to a great school math night, each kiddo accompanied by a mom (that is, after we had a pizza picnic in my car--Sis and Mama picked it up on the way home from the doctor's--she's still coughing, we're going to wait and see 'cos there's no chest congestion--and Bud and I met them in the school parking lot beforehand.)  Bud and I had lots of fun.  You should have seen him scootering across the floor to get math facts to complete BINGO.  And he was six feet away, with the last fact we needed, when the boy next to us won.  And you know what Bud did?  He walked up to the winner and congratulated him, saying "Way to go!" and "Well done!"  I was so proud of him.

Later in the evening, we estimated the size of things using Twizzlers.  Bud figured he was six Twizzlers high and I was 10--he was right about him and off by one for me (I was 9.)  The teacher awarded him an extra Twizzler to eat for concisely defining estimation.  Again, I was proud.

And then we built a tower as a team with rolls of paper and flat sheets of paper.  Our Empire State Building-esque creation was about 8' tall, as was the other teams.  The kids were all having so much fun and cheering each other on.  It was fun to see them so excited.  (And the two dads, who had climbed on chairs in competition to build the highest tower--don't get me started on the meaning of that!)--gamely stopped at the same height.

Sis and Mama were having just as much (and the same) fun, but in a different rotation.

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Bud had a work of art exhibited at the Board of Education as part of a show of our school's third and fourth graders.  So today, while Sis and Mama were at the doctor's office, we went to check it out.

And we couldn't find it.

Had the teacher made a mistake?  Could it be on another floor?  I could see the rising disappointment in Bud's face.

We looked at all of the paintings and noticed that one of the artist's was the boy in his class who has the same name as Bud and Bud thought it might have been his picture (they were all derivations of a Matisse, so they looked quite alike.)  I wasn't so sure, so we went to find someone who could help direct us to perhaps more of the exhibition.  And she actually took the picture off the wall and checked the back--sure enough it was Bud's name!  The woman made a new name tag for us and rehung the picture, even taking a picture of us with it when my cameraphone gave out.  I'm grateful (and will be writing her a thank-you email shortly.)

To celebrate, Bud got a blue raspberry slurpee, his new favorite treat (especially since the little ice cream place not far from us closed recently.)

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Sis has been having quite a lot of kitty love recently, the best being when Hermione sat on her lap and purred.  Cats won't do that for just anybody and our cats have been a long time in sitting with the (usually in motion) children.  Albus has also been known to kiss her forehead repeatedly.  Awwwwww.

Funny, we still get kinda excited when the six of us are all in the same room or even more amazing on the same bed!

Kidbits

Upon my opening a birthday card from Gommie which included some cash, the kids said, "The card is from Gommie, but the money is from Pop!"

And they were half right.  Gommie borrowed the money from Pop (and apparently didn't pay it back!)

Thank you for the birthday money!

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Sis and Bud were talking to Sis's gymnastics buddy about Disneyworld recently.  After we dropped them off for lessons, I said I was glad that Bud had enjoyed Disneyworld so much.  "You know, Mom, when you think something is great, you should use lots of good words to describe it.  I have 50 words for how awesome it was!"

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Bud's new Lego nutcracker, the Mouse King:

Kidbits

Sis: How do you spell strawberry?
Bud: "Straw" and "berry."

And she didn't deck him.

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Since critical thinking is a buzzword these days:

With the first week of school looking like Swiss cheese with days off here and there, I was trying to get a hold on the kids' specials schedule.  Sis said, "I think I'll have Spanish on Monday and Thursday because the teacher said we have Spanish twice but not at all this week."  Clever.

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Critical thinking, part 2:

Yesterday, I was explaining to the kids that I'll have to wear Breathe Right strips and later a special nose piece to bed because my very narrow nasal passages are creating a vacuum in my eustachian tubes (got that? it's not actually fluid, but pressure) and I said it was odd that my nose could cause trouble in my ears.  "Of course, Mom," Sis said, "remember that they are connected."

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Last bit of parenting vanity.  Yesterday Bud wrote a note to his 1st/2nd grades teacher and he began it with a dependent clause, the subject of which agreed with the subject of the main clause!!!!  That's what reading Harry Potter and those long Rowling sentences does for you.

Kidbits: The First Day of School

Last night, packing their school supplies, Sis carefully unwrapped everything and laid it in her box.  Bud kinda tossed his in . . . and then forgot to put the pencil box in his backpack.

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Bud, on putting on his new shoes and being asked how they felt:  "They're just like new shoes, weird yet satisfying."  I swear, that's exactly what he said.

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Like mother, like son:  Bud had been a bit nervous about not knowing where to go and the names of all of his specials teachers.  "Mom, I just have the jitters; it's not a real stomachache.  It will dissolve when the bus gets here."  And it did.

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Sis tried to console Bud's fear of not knowing where to go (they were supposed to go to the cafeteria and meet their teachers there), "Just follow the short people, Bud."  They're the youngest grade in the school.

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On arriving home, the kids were brimming with news:

• Our neighbor and now a teacher at their school, Miss K, stopped by to see them each twice.
• They went to an assembly welcoming the third graders to the new building.
• Bud had library, with a librarian subbing for the other librarian who had surgery.
• Sis had art, but they only got a tour and didn't make anything.
• Both had homework--to put 3 or 4 objects representing themselves in a brown mystery bag.  Bud chose his kung fu class schedule, a piece of sheet music, and a stuffed penguin.  Sis chose a Harry Potter Lego (2 in 1!), a little bunny statuette, a paintbrush, and a cat toy.
• They both liked the new playground and had recess together but didn't play together.  Sis played with her good friend S, who is in Bud's class, while Bud practiced his kung fu forms on the blacktop (we've warned him not to get to close to anyone or it will look like fighting.)
• Sis's class had snack; Bud's didn't today.
• They were both disappointed to learn they won't get their lockers until Friday (yes, lockers!  It used to be a middle school.)  As part of their Schultute this morning, they got locker bling.
• They were also disappointed that they will have homework on Fridays.  :(
• They both mentioned a good behavior/sticker reward system.  Sis's class also has a "desk fairy" who brings treats to those with neat desks, Sis's new goal.

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And tonight, their looping teacher for first and second grades sent all of her students an email saying she missed them and wishing them a good year!  It was the first time I teared up all day.

Kidbits

• Sis and I were playing her American Girl questions game.  "What age do you want to be?"  I philosophically said the age I am now.  Sis said, "19.  Then I can drive, still live with you and Mama, but go walking around alone with my friends, like for trick or treating."  I love that the ultimate goal is independent Halloween.
• Another question was "If you could be anyone, who would you be?"  "Pop," she said, "So I could be with Gommie."
• Today, I asked the kids what they didn't have that they wanted for school.  Bud replied, "A get-out-of-school-free card.  And a sign that says 'no homework allowed.'"

Kidbits

Bud has been playing with Legos again, this time experimenting with different projects in a Lego Builder book.  He has made a sphere with green and blue legos, not unlike the earth.  I suggested he make another one, in grays and blacks:  a mini-Death Star!

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Sis made an entire batch of Snickerdoodles on Friday during the rainstorm.  All by herself.  I only took them in and out of the oven.  She is quite a capable baker.

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Bud found directions to make a bracelet with beads and safety pins and soon he was in the midst of stringing light and blue beads.  He persisted until he was done and wore it to school today.

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Last night during the Tony awards, Bud heard the music and came into our room to check it out.  We told him what the Tonys were and sent him back to bed.  Little did we know that he snuck back into the hallway to watch the Tonys.  We caught him twice!  I promised we'd show them the musical numbers from the show today.

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The kiddos are obsessed with pop music right now--"Firework," "Dynamite," "Call Me Maybe," "Mean," "Trouble," "Stronger," "Ever Get Back Together," "You Don't Know You're Beautiful," "Some Nights," "Perfect," "We are Young," "We Found Love in a Hopeless Place," "Perfect," and so many more.  I've made them a CD for the car and playlist for the iPod; they're even having a dance party for their birthday party.  We've also had several home dance parties, with the kids even devising performances set to music.  Sis even wants a poster of Taylor Swift for her birthday.  "Eight" is a totally new age.

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The kids are as witty and entertaining as they've always been but, in the greater chaos of our days, I forgot what they've said more often.  And sometimes they just aren't anything I want to put on the web.

Kidbits

In the last few weeks . . . .

The effects of reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:  We just finished our first foray into the Narnia series (albeit with the second book in the series chronologically) in a hours-long final read through the last several chapters, which encompass Aslan's sacrifice and death, plus his return and triumph, as well as the crowning of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.  The death scene--with the muzzling and shaving and mocking--is pretty brutal, which is why we opted for a daytime read as they cuddled up with Mama.  Almost immediately upon finishing, Sis was searching the house for entrances into Narnia, while Bud set to constructing it in Legos.  Later still, on the day Mama went into NYC, we watched the Disney movie.  Their favorite part?  The beavers!  Especially when Mr. Beaver wears armor at the end.  Of course, they had no clue about the Christian imagery of death and resurrection; no need to burden their fairy tales with adult baggage right now.  

80's dance party:  I'm not really sure how it got started, but Mama and I had an 80s thing a week or so ago, on one of those days when Bud felt almost like himself before Sis came down with her own flu.  Anyway, once we were perusing our 80's collection on the iPod, we couldn't stop.  "Mickey," "Eye of the Tiger," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Hungry Like a Wolf," "Karma Chameleon," "West End Girls," Heart of Rock and Roll," "We Got the Beat," "Hold On," "Hold Me Now," "American Hero Theme Song," Of all the songs, the kids were fascinated by "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and requested it numerous times a day for the rest of the week, all the while asking for the whole meaning of that song.

Bud and Sis's magic show:  Bud received a magic kit for Christmas from Beloved Babysitter about which he has been so excited.  He's got a hat to pull things out of, a variety of gadgets to do ball/card/rope tricks, and even a few rabbits!  He's working on sleight of hand, slowly, but doesn't quite have the audience participation part under control.  He had Sis be his assistant and did all the tricks to her, instead of to me the audience; neither understood why it didn't look magical to have her "guess" the color or number he had chosen.  Cute, though, with them in capes, waving wands, and coming out on "stage" through the red curtains in the living room.

Inauguration Party:  Even with the flu (and Bud's 103F temperature), we watched the most important bits of the Inauguration, from the two oaths to the Inaugural poet, from Kelly Clarkson to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir to James Taylor to Beyonce.  The kids were pretty much done after the oaths, but we stayed for the whole speech. Seneca Falls.  Selma.  Stonewall.  Brought tears to my eyes to hear about gay marriage.  And Newtown.  And even the environment.  Our cookies were good, too.

Sis's baking pride:  Twice recently I have served as Sis's sous chef, allowing her to be in charge of the recipe and tell me what to do, with my taking control only of the oven activity.  The first recipe was a simple coffee-cake box mix, though we usually work from scratch, but it had a special crumb mixture you had to fold in and sprinkle on top.  She was very pleased with the effort and the results.  We baked a second time, though I forget now what,  this time from scratch, and she didn't even need me in the kitchen much.  Yum!  Homemade on your own tastes the best.

Kidbits

Sis was describing one of her schoolbooks to me, "It's set in the petticoat past!"

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They're practicing yells in Bud's kung fu class.  Now, out of nowhere, he'll yell.  And it's this loud, booming yell.  I wouldn't want to hear that in a dark alley.

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Today is picture day at school so Mama and Sis went to the store for clothes because she's outgrown all of her dresses.  She chose a red plaid jumper with a headband!  But she headed to school with her usual mismatching socks--this time, one sock short and one sock long.  When I asked if it were a conscious choice, she said, "It's my style!"

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On the way home from kung fu this week, Bud asked why the Toys R Us people write their "R" backwards. He and Mama had a long conversation about brands, as she pointed out the golden "M" and the DD.  He was not impressed.

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Before we remembered that today was picture day, we toyed with taking the kids out of school to go to the Fairy House exhibition at the Florence Griswold Museum, since we loved it last time.  The kids protested that they didn't want to miss the "Polly story."  Apparently, their new art teacher has a parrot--an African grey--about whom she tells a new funny story weekly.

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My use of idiomatic language and aphorisms has been confusing the kids of late.  "Each to the devil in her own way," I said of my preference for sweets and mama's for savories.  The kid's could not figure out what the devil had to do with it, being rather unclear on who he is anyway.  And when I asked them to name their poison, Bud said he didn't want any poison, "Who wants poison, Mom?"

Kidbits

Including several from the August with Gommie and Pop:

As I've mentioned, the kids are obsessed with Pokemon, thanks to Mama and Goo (who was obsessed himself, years ago).  I know enough about Pokemon to identify Ash, the major Pokemon, and the basic plot of the tv show (we're not playing the card game yet).  I even have a favorite:  Snorlax, the giant sleeping cat.  But recently, the kids have decided I'm a different Pokemon--Smoochums, the huggy-kissy one!  So instead of our usual "huggles" or cuddles, we now have "Smoochum attacks!"

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Bud, in telling us about a trip to the fitness room at Gommie and Pop's hotel, said, "I picked up 5 ton weights."  We didn't have the heart to tell him differently.

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Last night after the Brownie ceremony, Sis and Bud were having so much fun playing and Mama and I were so ready for bed that we said they could stay up and lay and then camp out downstairs!  And they did!

But around 4:30 a.m. they both ended up in our bed after a spate of nightmares, snuggling up between us.  But because Bud had left Mr. Big below in his rush for safety and comfort, he would roll to one side and hug Sis and then roll to the other side and wrap his arms around me.  At one point, he said, "You don't feel like Mr. Big."  And so I gave him one of my stuffed penguins (yep, I sleep with two; they're big and support me, like those long pregnancy pillow things) and he said it didn't feel right.  i told him it was a penguin and that seemed to satisfy.

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When Bud broke out in a rash from too much fresh fruit (a holdover from babyhood), I said, "No fresh fruit, Bud.  How about some ice cream?"  Best.  Mom.  Ever.

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Bud on dressage during the Olympics, "Is that a real sport?"

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When Pop tripped on a basketball and fell in the driveway, scraping his knee (but not hurting himself otherwise), Bud panicked, "Did you get blood on the driveway??!!"

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At some point, and I forget the whole story, Gommie and the kids were talking about what if you didn't hear with your ears.  Gommie lifted up her shirt, as if her bellybutton were listening, and said, "Whadya say?"  The kids now randomly lift up their shirts and repeat her question, breaking into hysterics!

Summer Fun: Tidbits

36.  Playdates with friends

"Bud, I want to be your minion forever!"

From Bud's playdate on Monday.  They had performed a magic show and a talent show and then were doing a play, with a wizard and a runaway girl and all sorts of magic and mayhem.

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I was encouraging Bud to help me with our plan for the day when he paused, "Mom, I can't plan the future."

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Sis to Bud at dinner last night, "Bud, say something that makes sense!"  And he wasn't even practicing the Giberrish language Babysitter had just taught him.

Kidbits

I was reviewing Bud's progress report with him earlier this week and, when I got to the part about the poetry and non-fiction unit, he said, "Poetry is my favorite genre!"

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On Sunday during the children's lesson, Bud raised his hand to answer that Jesus was the figure in the Bible who spoke about light, which songwriters adapted to "This Little Light of Mine."  We had been surprised that Bud knew that because he's not nearly as interested in Jesus as Sis is (Sis loves the Nativity, not so much Easter; though, when she was much younger, she thought the Resurrection was when Jesus became the Easter Bunny!).  So we asked him.  And he said, "Well, I knew he was in the Bible . . . and he's religious!"

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After performing his kung fu forms for his school and receiving many congratulations, Bud told us he was embarrassed and it "made me flattered!"

Kidbits

Reverberations of our Boston trip are frequently felt:  Bud recreated the midnight ride of Paul Revere in Legos. And then Sis constructed her own colonial "chocolate" mud making system complete with metate, or stones to grind it.  Then they spent all of dinner retelling the Aquarium's IMAX movie to me.  So, of course, we're thinking of going back!

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We have a system for quelling some disagreements, particularly about tooth-brushing:  Sis gets to go first on the even dates and Bud gets to go first on the odd dates.  This works well, except when a month ends on an odd date and of course the next one starts on an odd date (like, well, today).  Last night, upset by the fact that there were two odd days in a row, Sis declared, "I want to be odd!"  And hearing this statement, we all burst out laughing and they both began dancing around the dinner table, trying to be as odd as possible!

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We had a dance party last night, each of us choosing a song (plus one for Mama, who worked late).  Sis chose  Justin Bieber's "Baby," Bud chose "Bad Romance."  We picked "Dynamite" for Mama.  and I like "Born this Way."  All the "Glee" versions.

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We are reading The Borrowers now, one of my favorite childhood books, in advance of eventually seeing the new Studio Ghibli film.  But Sis, having seen the movie commercials, keeps calling the book by the movie title, The Secret World of Arietty.  Either way, we're really enjoying the story, them for the first time, and me 30+ years later.

Kidbits

Bud lost a tooth.  Literally.  He came home with one missing on the bottom.  He noticed it was gone on the playground, probably either dropped or swallowed.  But he much prefers to think it fell out (and frankly so do I).  And he was very worried that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't come if there wasn't actually a tooth.  No worries on that score.

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Over dinner the other night, Bud told Sis that he could read her mind.  "Prove it," she challenged him.

"I don't want to right now," he demurred.

She kept insisting and so he gave it a try.  But she said he got it wrong.

His explanation?  "I was reading another part of your mind."

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The kids were practicing their "ang bao" rhyme for Chinese New Year, with my help.  Of course, I don't speak Mandarin or Teochew (our family's dialect), but I can pronounce the words atonally so I was helping.

Well, come time for the kids to perform the rhyme for Ma and Gong to ask for the envelopes and the family started laughing.  The "tua tua" part the way I pronounced it, and taught the kids, sounded like "peanut" in Thai (another language I don't speak that the family does), not "big" in Chinese, and everyone thought this was funny.  Because, of course, the last thing you want is a peanut-sized envelope!  So I laughed and said that in one of the languages I know, Latin, "tua" is your.  And asking for other people's envelopes isn't a bad idea.