Tuesday, September 19, 2006
What's in a day?
We don't have a school at home, but we do have a schoolroom. We have a dedicated room where we keep most of the supplies, especially the Montessori materials. Yesterday the kids kind of went bonkers and had a 7 hour work period. I couldn't get them dressed, couldn't get them outside. Eventually I just started taking pix, because it was what I could do. I didn't get everything, needless to say, but the big ones were particularly proud of their maps and art work.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Storing up for the winter
Winters here in the PNW are very strange. The temperature is actually pretty mild, and it can fool you into thinking "hey, this isn't so bad." Truly it isn't... you're not as likely to be shoveling snow and breaking icicles off the car as you would in the same latitudes, anywhere else in the country. However we do get the blustery winter winds, and given our direct proximity to both massive glaciers and the freezing gold Pacific ocean, the wind can and will knock the warmth right out of you.
Add to that the rain: the famous rain of the Northwest that seems to fall all at once during the winter. We're also far north, compared to the "sunshine days," as G calls our past in South Carolina, which means the days seem particularly dark for us. Sun up and sun down are very close together, the sun is just not as close to the latitude as we're accustomed to, and with the marine cloud layer and constant rain you end up with this forecast:
44 degrees, drizzling rain and blue. Every day. For three months.
It does stop the constant raining, long about the middle of January, but it stays blue (but getting brighter every day) until May. Occasionally there are "sunbreaks," a phenomenon which is just exactly what it sounds like it is. Just as in the South a cloud may stray across the sun, here in the wintry PNW, occasionally the clouds will part, temporarily letting in the sun.
There are extreme benefits to this, but it's difficult to remember what they are while you're in the midst of it. Last year, at the end of November we travelled to SC and made certain to call our friends here, as we lazed half naked on the beach. That cruelty will be rewarded this year, as we are without travel plans for this winter.
We had coping mechanisms last year. We would make sure to see our friends for indoor playdates; we visited museums and the human habitrail; as homeschoolers, we had plenty of engrossing, hands-on, at-home activities. My personal favorite coping mechanism was the sunbreak alert. We stayed dressed, because at any given moment someone--whoever notices first-- will scream "SUUUUUNN!!!!!!!!" and we all dash outside. We installed natural-spectrum lighting inside.
This year, we are taking steps. Not only is the school room SO IN ORDER that it has never shone this bright, (SCHANNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYGUUURRRRRRRRRLLLL!!!!!!!!) we have turned the garage into a sort of hobby shop / gym. Our large easels are out there (spill pain on the floor? why, go right ahead?), as is the futon and some large muscle equipment. We have a stereo out there and hopefully, that's going to be the Wiggle Room in lieu of hours of free-roaming, outside activity. Uncle Monkey gave the kids a giant, colored, light-tube tree, so that will be out there adding to the groovy coolness, as will racing stripes on the floor for them to ride their bikes and trikes in dizzying circles.
Here's to less squirreliness! Think it will work?
Add to that the rain: the famous rain of the Northwest that seems to fall all at once during the winter. We're also far north, compared to the "sunshine days," as G calls our past in South Carolina, which means the days seem particularly dark for us. Sun up and sun down are very close together, the sun is just not as close to the latitude as we're accustomed to, and with the marine cloud layer and constant rain you end up with this forecast:
44 degrees, drizzling rain and blue. Every day. For three months.
It does stop the constant raining, long about the middle of January, but it stays blue (but getting brighter every day) until May. Occasionally there are "sunbreaks," a phenomenon which is just exactly what it sounds like it is. Just as in the South a cloud may stray across the sun, here in the wintry PNW, occasionally the clouds will part, temporarily letting in the sun.
There are extreme benefits to this, but it's difficult to remember what they are while you're in the midst of it. Last year, at the end of November we travelled to SC and made certain to call our friends here, as we lazed half naked on the beach. That cruelty will be rewarded this year, as we are without travel plans for this winter.
We had coping mechanisms last year. We would make sure to see our friends for indoor playdates; we visited museums and the human habitrail; as homeschoolers, we had plenty of engrossing, hands-on, at-home activities. My personal favorite coping mechanism was the sunbreak alert. We stayed dressed, because at any given moment someone--whoever notices first-- will scream "SUUUUUNN!!!!!!!!" and we all dash outside. We installed natural-spectrum lighting inside.
This year, we are taking steps. Not only is the school room SO IN ORDER that it has never shone this bright, (SCHANNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYGUUURRRRRRRRRLLLL!!!!!!!!) we have turned the garage into a sort of hobby shop / gym. Our large easels are out there (spill pain on the floor? why, go right ahead?), as is the futon and some large muscle equipment. We have a stereo out there and hopefully, that's going to be the Wiggle Room in lieu of hours of free-roaming, outside activity. Uncle Monkey gave the kids a giant, colored, light-tube tree, so that will be out there adding to the groovy coolness, as will racing stripes on the floor for them to ride their bikes and trikes in dizzying circles.
Here's to less squirreliness! Think it will work?
Saturday, September 16, 2006
She got her slap on the wrist
Tina Carlsen will not serve any more jail time for "kidnapping" her son. Her attorneys struck a plea deal for her, and the state of Washington graciously admitted that what she did was with the best intent. She can stay out of jail if, at least for the next year, she is a good girl and does just what the doctors order for Riley. I am slightly disappointed, as I think she should have been acquitted, but it's clear she's doing what she thinks will get her back with her son the fastest.
In the meantime, (who didn't see this coming??) Riley has been started on dialysis at home. The surgery, which was supposed to be a just-in-case-he-needs-it-someday measure, was performed this summer. So now they've committed this baby to this irreversible medical course of action.
The custody hearing is next month. I hope the family has the opportunity to be reunited. And then I hope she and her baby get the hell out of Dodge.
In the meantime, (who didn't see this coming??) Riley has been started on dialysis at home. The surgery, which was supposed to be a just-in-case-he-needs-it-someday measure, was performed this summer. So now they've committed this baby to this irreversible medical course of action.
The custody hearing is next month. I hope the family has the opportunity to be reunited. And then I hope she and her baby get the hell out of Dodge.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Fall always was my favorite season!
Here is an email we received today:
The Mom in question is actually P-Daddy's, but I retain the happy privilege of being one of the few percent of the population who actually adores her MIL. GmaRose has never met D, and I know P-Daddy and GmaRose have to be thrilled about that first meeting; I know I certainly am. She had originally planned to come out to Washington just as we first moved here, to stay for D's birth and babymoon, but she had to have open heart surgery. As a result she missed the birth altogether, and I know this was a huge disappointment.
P-Daddy's actually so excited about it that he immediately said "I'm going to have to put in for some time off!" That takes some motivation.
It's been over a year since we had family in town, and when my parents came we'd only been in this house for two weeks. We had no established life to show off, nowhere to really take them because we didn't know the area. Now, we have all that in place and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
Hi, hows it going? Question for you. How would you all like some company
from Oct. 5 thru Oct 26. Deb was going to buy me a ticket but she called Uncle Steve and he got me a ticket using his frequent flier miles for Oct. 5 Should arrive on
XXX Airlines in SEA at 8:40 P.M. Does this sound O.K. Talk to you later. Didn't
want to try your new phone # since it was going to change today.
Lots of Love, Kisses and Hugs to all. Mom!
The Mom in question is actually P-Daddy's, but I retain the happy privilege of being one of the few percent of the population who actually adores her MIL. GmaRose has never met D, and I know P-Daddy and GmaRose have to be thrilled about that first meeting; I know I certainly am. She had originally planned to come out to Washington just as we first moved here, to stay for D's birth and babymoon, but she had to have open heart surgery. As a result she missed the birth altogether, and I know this was a huge disappointment.
P-Daddy's actually so excited about it that he immediately said "I'm going to have to put in for some time off!" That takes some motivation.
It's been over a year since we had family in town, and when my parents came we'd only been in this house for two weeks. We had no established life to show off, nowhere to really take them because we didn't know the area. Now, we have all that in place and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
Vote Down the Junk Science movement
Little incites my jaw-gape reflex faster than the junk-science-as-proof phenomenon. Ironically enough, it's what certain sectors accuse Darwin of doing: arriving at a conclusion and then going back and finding the evidence--any evidence-- to bolster the foredrawn conclusion. I've read it this year on mothering dot com, in frustrating discussions on everything from epidemiology to psychology to atopy to nutrition to social sciences.
Today's example went from one junk science assertion to the next, and totally caught me off guard. In a refreshingly reasonable and respectful discussion of the relative merits (and shortcomings) of Sally Fallon's interpretion of Weston A. Price's work, and her resulting tome , Nourishing Traditions, the discussion of salt mining in the paleolithic came up.
OK, so I don't give a Turtle's butt in Galapogos about paleolithic salt mining, but there it was.
Then someone dropped the junk-science bomb of stating:
What
the
FUCK???????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, I have heard that there are people "out there" who think stuff like that. Being a homeschooler, I have seen little online enclaves of happy homeschoolers who actually teach this stuff to their kids. I happen in, skeedaddle on out of there, and leave them to their business. I know they exist. I guess even now, I am actually running into people who quite calmly drive Mazdas, eat their greens, sing in the choir, walk the dog and fold the laundry, all the while thinking Mt. Rainier is a brand-spanking new pimple on the pearly, sculpted face of the Cascades.
It's people like this that make Americans, American Christians in particular, look like Fidjits. There is a certain amount of defensiveness that I have about my life right now, not because we are homeschoolers, but because we are (ok, admittedly laid-back, Lutheran) Christians who homeschool. It's very easy for other people to jump to the conclusion that I, too, think radiocarbon dating is someone's idea of smoking dope, and that exposing the fossil record is an elaborate hoax. (Perpetuated by whom, hey, I haven't gotten that far, but I am sure they'll educate me. ) Those people, the ones who take you in the back room and swear you into the secret "real Christian" society. If you don't shut off your BRAIN and filter all curiosity and information through Brother Fletcher's skewed dogma, based in turn on his own flawed perceptions of the Bible, then you and your entire faith are destined to rot, certainly never good enough to be true believers.
I don't mind if somone disagrees with me. Do you want to use grey sea salt instead of Morton's because you believe it's healthier? Go right ahead. Should I eschew processed sugar in favor of honey and maple syrup? Possibly. Do you feed your kids McNuggets and lunchables every day? That's on you. Do you think my chicken stock is inferior to yours, because my chicken wasn't free range? Rock on! Won't drink my hormone-free, pastured-cow milk because it's been pasteurized? That saves me some dairy. Women who refuse to nurse their infants and demand vanity c-sections to preserve the integrity of their vajayjay piss me off, but I also fully believe they're entitled to their decisions and I am not going to attempt to legislate them. Any of them.
But don't dare tell me I need to ban books, or insist that I "acknowledge the possibility" that our planet is indeed a "young earth." I really don't need to have that as a blip on my radar, and it is bad dogma disguised as JUNK SCIENCE. I have always objected to the legislation of religion, and this is a none-too-subtle way to sneak it in.
Please, please, please vote. Because these people have the same power you do to shape our society, our government and our future. You may be raising intelligent, reasoning, sound future citizens, but they have peers who weren't given the same opportunities. The best thing you can do for the future of children you love is to ensure that they inherit a free America.
Today's example went from one junk science assertion to the next, and totally caught me off guard. In a refreshingly reasonable and respectful discussion of the relative merits (and shortcomings) of Sally Fallon's interpretion of Weston A. Price's work, and her resulting tome , Nourishing Traditions, the discussion of salt mining in the paleolithic came up.
OK, so I don't give a Turtle's butt in Galapogos about paleolithic salt mining, but there it was.
Then someone dropped the junk-science bomb of stating:
Sorry to go off on a tangent....but there is also no real evidence that "Paleolithic" peoples or even life at all existed more than 10,000 years ago...it is all theory.
What
the
FUCK???????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, I have heard that there are people "out there" who think stuff like that. Being a homeschooler, I have seen little online enclaves of happy homeschoolers who actually teach this stuff to their kids. I happen in, skeedaddle on out of there, and leave them to their business. I know they exist. I guess even now, I am actually running into people who quite calmly drive Mazdas, eat their greens, sing in the choir, walk the dog and fold the laundry, all the while thinking Mt. Rainier is a brand-spanking new pimple on the pearly, sculpted face of the Cascades.
It's people like this that make Americans, American Christians in particular, look like Fidjits. There is a certain amount of defensiveness that I have about my life right now, not because we are homeschoolers, but because we are (ok, admittedly laid-back, Lutheran) Christians who homeschool. It's very easy for other people to jump to the conclusion that I, too, think radiocarbon dating is someone's idea of smoking dope, and that exposing the fossil record is an elaborate hoax. (Perpetuated by whom, hey, I haven't gotten that far, but I am sure they'll educate me. ) Those people, the ones who take you in the back room and swear you into the secret "real Christian" society. If you don't shut off your BRAIN and filter all curiosity and information through Brother Fletcher's skewed dogma, based in turn on his own flawed perceptions of the Bible, then you and your entire faith are destined to rot, certainly never good enough to be true believers.
I don't mind if somone disagrees with me. Do you want to use grey sea salt instead of Morton's because you believe it's healthier? Go right ahead. Should I eschew processed sugar in favor of honey and maple syrup? Possibly. Do you feed your kids McNuggets and lunchables every day? That's on you. Do you think my chicken stock is inferior to yours, because my chicken wasn't free range? Rock on! Won't drink my hormone-free, pastured-cow milk because it's been pasteurized? That saves me some dairy. Women who refuse to nurse their infants and demand vanity c-sections to preserve the integrity of their vajayjay piss me off, but I also fully believe they're entitled to their decisions and I am not going to attempt to legislate them. Any of them.
But don't dare tell me I need to ban books, or insist that I "acknowledge the possibility" that our planet is indeed a "young earth." I really don't need to have that as a blip on my radar, and it is bad dogma disguised as JUNK SCIENCE. I have always objected to the legislation of religion, and this is a none-too-subtle way to sneak it in.
Freedom of religion goes hand in hand with freedom from religion.It's dangerous and yes, here's that word again, crazy, to try to bust us all back to the literal dark ages because it was easier to manipulate the ignorant Mob. The dumbing-down of America started with us resting on our laurels, but it's going to be perpetuated by our grown children squabbling over who invented the lightbulb, Edison or St. Peter. When one can't discuss a diet, without some random person acting on the compulsion to insert dismissive inanities about religious-based scientific theory, then it's not too large of a leap to imagining stalled legislative discussions. Coal reserves? Why bother with conservation techniques? Didn't God give us all we need? Wait! Coal can't exist, anyway right? That would mean we had compressed fossils turning into energy sources.....ummmm........Let's move on to that statue in the Smithsonian.... I think that bronze David needs a new grape leaf, for sure.
Please, please, please vote. Because these people have the same power you do to shape our society, our government and our future. You may be raising intelligent, reasoning, sound future citizens, but they have peers who weren't given the same opportunities. The best thing you can do for the future of children you love is to ensure that they inherit a free America.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Luscious Links
I was tagged to give up some of my homeschool kiddie links. I have so many, it was difficult to narrow down to just five. These are some barely representative ones.
Homeschool Lesson Plans -- Good way to get some ideas when you've hit the doldrums
Montessori Mom--One of my favorite Montessori homes on the web. This mom did not play around. Further, she takes pictures of each and every activity her homeschool offers and describes how it was made and what its intention is. I completely aspire to that kind of cataloging, because I am just that nerdy.
Golden Beads Online -- Montessori math manipulatives in an online form
Starfall / Study Dog -- These two have a similar place in our homeschool, so they are up here.
SFS Kids -- a fun place to learn about and compose music
I put the rest here
Homeschool Lesson Plans -- Good way to get some ideas when you've hit the doldrums
Montessori Mom--One of my favorite Montessori homes on the web. This mom did not play around. Further, she takes pictures of each and every activity her homeschool offers and describes how it was made and what its intention is. I completely aspire to that kind of cataloging, because I am just that nerdy.
Golden Beads Online -- Montessori math manipulatives in an online form
Starfall / Study Dog -- These two have a similar place in our homeschool, so they are up here.
SFS Kids -- a fun place to learn about and compose music
I put the rest here
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Saturday, September 09, 2006
The New First Grade
I am constantly surprised by how people react to the concept of homeschooling. A new one for me recently was that one mother was saddened for her child that one of her friends was "taken away" from her at school, to be homeschooled. The mother was also irritated that another kindergarten homeschooler was allowed to return to class for the final weeks, ostensibly because the kid wanted to have all the cool parties, this information granted to her through the kindergarten grapevine.
I wish there were another word for what we do. It's very cool, but there are some irresponsible homeschoolers out there who do play with the concept, maybe abuse it a little. I am not talking about the people who unschool, or the conservative Christians who are attempting to isolate their children, but the ones who may indeed be just toying with the rules a bit to convenience themselves. Clearly, especially given G's current status as an ancillary student, I do believe in making use of the tax dollars we have spent. Possibly, the K student in question had been done for quite some time with his own curriculum (HS usually seem to be ahead of the game when left to their own pace) and did want to hang with his buddies. I don't know.
The thing that startled me was the concept postulated by the public school mother that the homeschool mother didn't give any thought to how the children in the class would react when the first grader didn't come to class.
Well, DUH!
With all the considerations you have to weigh, all the concessions you have to make, the studying and the explaining you have to do, the curriculums you have to research / purchase / write / reject altogether, it would never, ever enter my mind to think about G's possible, future classmates and how they might react to knowing there was a homeschooled child in their social circle... or not. I have to wrap my brain around this one some more before I can fully articulate how odd, and how bothersome, this stance struck me. That another person can be so immersed in the mainstream culture to the point of thinking that homeschoolers have to explain ourselves even to their children... it floors me.
I have linked to an article on the New First Grade, and how first grade has changed all over the country. I know from my experience in SC that this is happening there, but as the article alludes, Washington state seems to have held its ground in protecting its kidlets. I had considered (for about 15 minutes) allowing G to go to kindy, because it is supposed to be all fun and games. I scrapped that idea because I knew I wouldn't allow her to go back for 1st, and I didn't want her to have that memory in her head as a guide for what the rest of it would be like.
I wish there were another word for what we do. It's very cool, but there are some irresponsible homeschoolers out there who do play with the concept, maybe abuse it a little. I am not talking about the people who unschool, or the conservative Christians who are attempting to isolate their children, but the ones who may indeed be just toying with the rules a bit to convenience themselves. Clearly, especially given G's current status as an ancillary student, I do believe in making use of the tax dollars we have spent. Possibly, the K student in question had been done for quite some time with his own curriculum (HS usually seem to be ahead of the game when left to their own pace) and did want to hang with his buddies. I don't know.
The thing that startled me was the concept postulated by the public school mother that the homeschool mother didn't give any thought to how the children in the class would react when the first grader didn't come to class.
Well, DUH!
With all the considerations you have to weigh, all the concessions you have to make, the studying and the explaining you have to do, the curriculums you have to research / purchase / write / reject altogether, it would never, ever enter my mind to think about G's possible, future classmates and how they might react to knowing there was a homeschooled child in their social circle... or not. I have to wrap my brain around this one some more before I can fully articulate how odd, and how bothersome, this stance struck me. That another person can be so immersed in the mainstream culture to the point of thinking that homeschoolers have to explain ourselves even to their children... it floors me.
I have linked to an article on the New First Grade, and how first grade has changed all over the country. I know from my experience in SC that this is happening there, but as the article alludes, Washington state seems to have held its ground in protecting its kidlets. I had considered (for about 15 minutes) allowing G to go to kindy, because it is supposed to be all fun and games. I scrapped that idea because I knew I wouldn't allow her to go back for 1st, and I didn't want her to have that memory in her head as a guide for what the rest of it would be like.
Super Speedy Day
For the first time in a year, I drove to nikirj's house and it was uneventful.
We simple got in the van and drove there. Then when it came time to leave, we drove home. It was little over an hour each way. No traffic, no tantrum issues, no scary knocking noises or magic smoke. For those who are local, hearing numbers like 16, 5, 405 and 90 in a sequence can send one into shivering terror like Hurley on a LOST episode. We lucked out. It was beautomous.
I have now cut 4 heads of hair in one week. Who's next?
We simple got in the van and drove there. Then when it came time to leave, we drove home. It was little over an hour each way. No traffic, no tantrum issues, no scary knocking noises or magic smoke. For those who are local, hearing numbers like 16, 5, 405 and 90 in a sequence can send one into shivering terror like Hurley on a LOST episode. We lucked out. It was beautomous.
I have now cut 4 heads of hair in one week. Who's next?
Thursday, September 07, 2006
I would really enjoy it if my Aunt would visit
I speak truly of any of my family members, but at this point I am referring to my Aunt Flo. I am feeling unhinged and I can't stand it. I should pop some EPO and be done with it.
A friend of mine is leaving for her native South American country, for over two months, soon. They leave on our seventh anniversary. It has taken me months to find the perfect base for some earrings I am making her, but I am so slow with taking time to myself to craft. I would really like these to be for her recent birthday, but it may end up being a Christmas gift.
Yesterday when I had to go to the school again, Schnaygirl watched the kids for me. My house has been coming along sufficiently that she had to use her son's diapers to change D. She didn't know where I keep my diapers!!!!!! I have always had clean dry diapers laying around in a laundry basket, waiting to be put away. I thought that came under the slack but funny category. (I store them under my side of the bed in an underbed container from G's old crib)
G woke up this morning a little too early for her. She was so excited last night that the extra classes were coming through, that she had a hard time sleeping. She kept getting up and wandering out while I was enjoying my LOST fest on DVD. Poor thing woke up this morning, stirred up trouble with her brothers, got her breakfast and vitamins, then put on some sleepy tunes and went back to bed.
This is a large nothing of a post but I wanted something, anything up here in place of my DRAMA this week.
A friend of mine is leaving for her native South American country, for over two months, soon. They leave on our seventh anniversary. It has taken me months to find the perfect base for some earrings I am making her, but I am so slow with taking time to myself to craft. I would really like these to be for her recent birthday, but it may end up being a Christmas gift.
Yesterday when I had to go to the school again, Schnaygirl watched the kids for me. My house has been coming along sufficiently that she had to use her son's diapers to change D. She didn't know where I keep my diapers!!!!!! I have always had clean dry diapers laying around in a laundry basket, waiting to be put away. I thought that came under the slack but funny category. (I store them under my side of the bed in an underbed container from G's old crib)
G woke up this morning a little too early for her. She was so excited last night that the extra classes were coming through, that she had a hard time sleeping. She kept getting up and wandering out while I was enjoying my LOST fest on DVD. Poor thing woke up this morning, stirred up trouble with her brothers, got her breakfast and vitamins, then put on some sleepy tunes and went back to bed.
This is a large nothing of a post but I wanted something, anything up here in place of my DRAMA this week.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Stormfly
I read a blog today that reminded me of a photograph I shot, then modified, several years ago. It is still one of my favorites.
She introduces her blog in such a way that it immediately brought this photograph back for me:
She introduces her blog in such a way that it immediately brought this photograph back for me:
Dragonflies are messengers to remind us to tell the truth. They are also strongly associated with light. Illuminating those things that need to be brought into the light to chase out the shadows and the untruths is the goal of these sets of writings.
Ancillary Services 2
G liked it. I hated it.
I feel.......impure. I feel the draw. I feel like I should do all of it or none of it. We decided on Tuesday / Thursdays, but the classes meet at noontime, so it's smack in the middle of our days. We like to have all day plans. I think that's a small sacrifice, but an annoying one.
Doing all of it is not an option, but these people have "it" under control. I really liked them.
It's not them, it's SCHOOL. I am revolted by the idea of my small children being corraled like that all day. I love homeschooling with my kids. But days like today make me feel like a freakshow. I am so accustomed to my little world that I really feel shaken.
WTH is wrong with me???????
OK it's late and I am freaking out. I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING. But we have property taxes sneaking up on us in October and I thought it would be a nice win-win situation if I enrolled G in music and PE at the local elementary school instead of continuing to pay for private lessons on the side.
I DON'T WANT HER TO GO NOW. For no other reason than... I DON'T WANT HER TO GO. It's not fair, it's not rational, and while they are pissing me off with their "just one more!" form bull, one expects that from the bureacracy. I am hoop-jumping their stupid paperwork as we speak, but it's making me actually, physically sick.
So she has gone to one music class, I have met the teacher and I like her program. I love how she talks to the children and this woman flipping writes grants on her own time to benefit her music program at the elementary school. Dedicated and smart, she thinks outside of the box to fund her own job and heavily volunteers in the community parks department. She's insanely wondermous and she's why I even bothered with this. I sought her out, and this is how I can get her for G.
When I think of G in her class, I am fine. But the whole sense of signing my child over in legalese, even when I KNOW it's paperwork the schools want to keep their own behinds covered........ it makes me nuts.
Is this because she's never been in school?? Ever? Am I having my preschool meltdown three years too late? We're talking about two hours a WEEK, here.
So if I pull her for my own peace of mind, then how do I make peace with G, who is very excited about it all now, because I have TAKEN HER THERE. I have set her tiny behind up for disappointment if I flake on this now. That's something I dread equally, maybe even more.
--------
Lillian reminds me I am PMSing and perhaps I will benefit from chilling out. :)
I feel.......impure. I feel the draw. I feel like I should do all of it or none of it. We decided on Tuesday / Thursdays, but the classes meet at noontime, so it's smack in the middle of our days. We like to have all day plans. I think that's a small sacrifice, but an annoying one.
Doing all of it is not an option, but these people have "it" under control. I really liked them.
It's not them, it's SCHOOL. I am revolted by the idea of my small children being corraled like that all day. I love homeschooling with my kids. But days like today make me feel like a freakshow. I am so accustomed to my little world that I really feel shaken.
WTH is wrong with me???????
OK it's late and I am freaking out. I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING. But we have property taxes sneaking up on us in October and I thought it would be a nice win-win situation if I enrolled G in music and PE at the local elementary school instead of continuing to pay for private lessons on the side.
I DON'T WANT HER TO GO NOW. For no other reason than... I DON'T WANT HER TO GO. It's not fair, it's not rational, and while they are pissing me off with their "just one more!" form bull, one expects that from the bureacracy. I am hoop-jumping their stupid paperwork as we speak, but it's making me actually, physically sick.
So she has gone to one music class, I have met the teacher and I like her program. I love how she talks to the children and this woman flipping writes grants on her own time to benefit her music program at the elementary school. Dedicated and smart, she thinks outside of the box to fund her own job and heavily volunteers in the community parks department. She's insanely wondermous and she's why I even bothered with this. I sought her out, and this is how I can get her for G.
When I think of G in her class, I am fine. But the whole sense of signing my child over in legalese, even when I KNOW it's paperwork the schools want to keep their own behinds covered........ it makes me nuts.
Is this because she's never been in school?? Ever? Am I having my preschool meltdown three years too late? We're talking about two hours a WEEK, here.
So if I pull her for my own peace of mind, then how do I make peace with G, who is very excited about it all now, because I have TAKEN HER THERE. I have set her tiny behind up for disappointment if I flake on this now. That's something I dread equally, maybe even more.
--------
Lillian reminds me I am PMSing and perhaps I will benefit from chilling out. :)
Ancillary Services
That's what they call it when a homeschooler takes PE, art, music or whatever at the public school. We decided to pursue this because we chose not to enroll in WAVA, and HALL, which would have been my ideal, closed last spring because the PSD had to make those participants take the WASL, causing the parents to flee in droves. These classes are a potential convenience, but getting it all to come into focus is a pain in my butt, and it doesn't help me find local, secular, homeschooling contemporaries for my kids. This has been the larger goal for me for a year.
We have been pleasantly (ok *I* because I am the one doing all the contact and legwork with this) surprised with how cordial and accomodating out local PSD has been. I did my homework first, showed up with all the proper forms filled out, armed with the knowledge of what I did not have to provide. I had my declaration of intent, my ancillary services form in triplicate, and the emergency contact form. That thing is loooooooong, btw.
The first woman at the elementary school, nice as she could be, had no clue and tried to get me to first leave my file with her (uh, no, there are forms in there for you, me and the PSD), so she could call me back (no...I am standing here and this is easy), then she said "oh I get it!" and handed me an enrollment form to fill out while she went back to doing something else.
Please keep in mind, I showed up on the first day of school. They were harried, and she wasn't being dismissive. But I wasn't enrolling my daughter, either. I waited patiently while the kids went bonkers in the waiting area. We talked to the lunch lady*, the gym teacher, all while waiting. When she came back I said, "this isn't the form I need, because I am not enrolling her. " She looked befuddled but then got the go-to girl who knew exactly how things go down.
Ah, mental note: Jill is The One Who Knows.
Jill retrieved and tried to get me to fill out the ancillary services form, so I handed her the one we already had. She was surprised, but pleased. Then I handed her the other two, and she gave me the schedule of when the first graders had their classes as well as the name of the One Who Knows at the PSD office. She was VERY cool, and took a lot of time out of a crunch day to speak with us. I was impressed.
Even with how relatively smooth it went getting her hooked up, I have been struggling since Thursday with which classes to actually put her in with regards to meshing our schedule with theirs. All the first grade classes are lumped in the same hour space for their specialty classes (that's their term), so if I want her to take advantage of them and keep her with the same group, I have to send her every day. Um, no. Fine, so I break it up into two days a week. I can commit to that. That makes me pick and choose and here's where I am struggling. I wanted her to go into the music program there. They have an excellent instructor, one who is very involved in the community and who actively seeks grants to fund her own school programs. With rainy season coming though, phys ed would be something I'd like to give her as well. I am dizzy and ready to scrap the whole thing because it makes my stomach clench.
On the home front, Paul and I have been focused on changing the school room setup again so that it can reasonably accomodate the three ages we've got going. N's strength's and interests vary somewhat from G's so there is that, and we have a toddler again, which wreaks havoc on the entire system if we do it wrong.
Beyond that, I once again am having fun with it, and it's remarkable how well the kids behave when they have actively engaged homeschool projects. I have been focussed on developing the theme units we love so much, which is always rewarding for the whole family, and we purchased some k12 curriculum in math and language so that we can keep some continuity with Nikirj's girl, also homeschooled in the same grade level.
Once I get past this hump, I think I'm going to be really invested and excited about this.
Transient Temptations:
*PSD has been peanut free for this and last year. They don't allow the cafeterias to serve it, but I don't think the children are constrained from bringing it. Further, this elementary school has the children file through, pick up their (egads expensive!) lunch, then return to their classrooms to eat it. Hence NO PEANUT TABLE! NO OSTRACIZATION!
*As I was leaving, the UPS guy was unloading box after box of curriculum materials, which I recognized and liked from my own plans here, including handwriting without tears.
We have been pleasantly (ok *I* because I am the one doing all the contact and legwork with this) surprised with how cordial and accomodating out local PSD has been. I did my homework first, showed up with all the proper forms filled out, armed with the knowledge of what I did not have to provide. I had my declaration of intent, my ancillary services form in triplicate, and the emergency contact form. That thing is loooooooong, btw.
The first woman at the elementary school, nice as she could be, had no clue and tried to get me to first leave my file with her (uh, no, there are forms in there for you, me and the PSD), so she could call me back (no...I am standing here and this is easy), then she said "oh I get it!" and handed me an enrollment form to fill out while she went back to doing something else.
Please keep in mind, I showed up on the first day of school. They were harried, and she wasn't being dismissive. But I wasn't enrolling my daughter, either. I waited patiently while the kids went bonkers in the waiting area. We talked to the lunch lady*, the gym teacher, all while waiting. When she came back I said, "this isn't the form I need, because I am not enrolling her. " She looked befuddled but then got the go-to girl who knew exactly how things go down.
Ah, mental note: Jill is The One Who Knows.
Jill retrieved and tried to get me to fill out the ancillary services form, so I handed her the one we already had. She was surprised, but pleased. Then I handed her the other two, and she gave me the schedule of when the first graders had their classes as well as the name of the One Who Knows at the PSD office. She was VERY cool, and took a lot of time out of a crunch day to speak with us. I was impressed.
Even with how relatively smooth it went getting her hooked up, I have been struggling since Thursday with which classes to actually put her in with regards to meshing our schedule with theirs. All the first grade classes are lumped in the same hour space for their specialty classes (that's their term), so if I want her to take advantage of them and keep her with the same group, I have to send her every day. Um, no. Fine, so I break it up into two days a week. I can commit to that. That makes me pick and choose and here's where I am struggling. I wanted her to go into the music program there. They have an excellent instructor, one who is very involved in the community and who actively seeks grants to fund her own school programs. With rainy season coming though, phys ed would be something I'd like to give her as well. I am dizzy and ready to scrap the whole thing because it makes my stomach clench.
On the home front, Paul and I have been focused on changing the school room setup again so that it can reasonably accomodate the three ages we've got going. N's strength's and interests vary somewhat from G's so there is that, and we have a toddler again, which wreaks havoc on the entire system if we do it wrong.
Beyond that, I once again am having fun with it, and it's remarkable how well the kids behave when they have actively engaged homeschool projects. I have been focussed on developing the theme units we love so much, which is always rewarding for the whole family, and we purchased some k12 curriculum in math and language so that we can keep some continuity with Nikirj's girl, also homeschooled in the same grade level.
Once I get past this hump, I think I'm going to be really invested and excited about this.
Transient Temptations:
*PSD has been peanut free for this and last year. They don't allow the cafeterias to serve it, but I don't think the children are constrained from bringing it. Further, this elementary school has the children file through, pick up their (egads expensive!) lunch, then return to their classrooms to eat it. Hence NO PEANUT TABLE! NO OSTRACIZATION!
*As I was leaving, the UPS guy was unloading box after box of curriculum materials, which I recognized and liked from my own plans here, including handwriting without tears.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Nothin but Net
This could be convoluted, but maybe not:
As I was posting this comment on Jesse's blog, I was IM'd by one of my Online Mommies. I haven't talked with her in quite some time, and I've missed her terribly. I asked her how she was, and she told me. Then she quipped,
"I'd ask you how YOU guys are doing, but I'm afraid you'd tell me to go read your blog!!!!!!!!!!"
The irony of the whole mix has me chuckling.
So yes, Jesse, it is an issue in our modern mommy lives!
As I was posting this comment on Jesse's blog, I was IM'd by one of my Online Mommies. I haven't talked with her in quite some time, and I've missed her terribly. I asked her how she was, and she told me. Then she quipped,
"I'd ask you how YOU guys are doing, but I'm afraid you'd tell me to go read your blog!!!!!!!!!!"
The irony of the whole mix has me chuckling.
So yes, Jesse, it is an issue in our modern mommy lives!
I have the same sort of group, as you know, and I just refer to them as the Online Mommies. My dh and I have met most of them. Some of them are actually RT friends we sucked into our circle. They're definitely real to us.
I do share your love / hate for the internet. It's been a blessing, but even when I want to turn it off for a week, it's how I pay (get!) my bills, hear from my Dad, get directions etc. It's like a silent phone for me.
It's back to that balance thing. You have to have a way to use your mind while you parent the little ones. The net allows that for a lot of us. My blog is away to capture these times that I will so easily forget, but also a way to keep my friends across the country. But it also allows me to complete sentences and share ideas, which even in a women's circle I am not always allowed to do. No interruptions. No hijacks. No mockery.
While it doesn't replace that cup of coffee, the internet lets you have the contact during the stretches of time when you just can't make the time to get away.
If you withold yourself online from your RT friends because you're "saving up" for RT meetings, then for me anyway, it's the same as witholding yourself in general. You can't not answer emails because "oh I might see them later anyway," when you can't be sure that you will. I know how I get when I am depressed, and when I struggle with that, I will avoid as many people as I can. I can still type in those times, dispassionately We have to meet each other where we are.
Good topic.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Crusty Land
Whatever the kids picked up at the campground is nasty, and a lot of my Mommy friends got it in their households, too. It presents as a bad cold, but their throats dry and clog in the night, so in the morning they sound like whooping cranes as they wake up. I know it hurts them, but hey are being little troopers.
That's pretty much what I am doing these days.
That's pretty much what I am doing these days.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Yikes.
Well.
I took no pix. (well one, but it was of purple haired cuteness, nothing else)
But I had good food, and good friends.
And our kids did well on their first camping trip.
Onto the real camping............
ETA:
On the way there, we took 410 and all it's glorious views of the mountains. What tripped us out was that D was saying "Hey guys look! Wow! Puty!"
Yikes. Sentences. Gosh he's cute.
I took no pix. (well one, but it was of purple haired cuteness, nothing else)
But I had good food, and good friends.
And our kids did well on their first camping trip.
Onto the real camping............
ETA:
On the way there, we took 410 and all it's glorious views of the mountains. What tripped us out was that D was saying "Hey guys look! Wow! Puty!"
Yikes. Sentences. Gosh he's cute.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Camping week
We have a tent up in the backyard, largely just for fun, but also because we will be going on an MDC campout this weekend with a vatload of our homies. We thought it would be nice to let the kids adjust to it and see how they liked sleeping outside.
Monday night, I spent the night in the tent with G&N. We read books by lamplight and pretended we were back at the Renny Faire where the knights could protect us and we could smell the faire food. I was impressed by how swiftly the children went to sleep, and how they slept all night. Their mother, however, was more like the princess and thepea large pile of rocks.
Not the loamy, soft earth of my home, my backyard. It was like sleeping on a bumpy board, and the benefit to this experience was that I now know when we go camping for real I will have to have extra blankets support our sleeping bags. P-daddy(who had a where-is-Mommy? snuggler) and I didn't sleep well that night, and when 5AM Boobie Call came around, I was happy to answer. For the record, I heard D in the tent, in the backyard, through the closed window. So rest assured, when we say he is loud, we do not exagerrate.
Anyway, the big kids had a great time, slept through the night and were so happy with the experience that they went back in last night. Their parents, however, declined to join them. With the kids ensconced asleep in their tent, the baby tucked away in bed, P-daddy and I got down to business in the most appropriate ways parents do when they find themselves alone: we scrubbed an entire load of work clothes that had been spackled by an inkpen hidden into a shirt pocket. Despite arising at 5, I stayed up until 12.30 AM. I had just lain down my head when I heard N wailing from the backyard, through the open bedroom window.
I wandered out there to hear G groggilly soothing him back to sleep. After speaking with an incoherent, sleep-talking daughter for a moment, I went back to bed. At 3AM, P-daddy did the tent rounds, eventually bringing both children inside, while D never really recovered from the movement of the P-Daddy even after he returned to bed. (How will we ever get him out of our bed if he requires bookends to sleep?) So here we are, dawning on day two into the experiment. The parents are even more tired than they were yesterday, and the children are snoozing away quite happily, sleeping late in their own beds.
I am pretty happy with NO ONE sleeping in the tent tonight.
Monday night, I spent the night in the tent with G&N. We read books by lamplight and pretended we were back at the Renny Faire where the knights could protect us and we could smell the faire food. I was impressed by how swiftly the children went to sleep, and how they slept all night. Their mother, however, was more like the princess and the
Not the loamy, soft earth of my home, my backyard. It was like sleeping on a bumpy board, and the benefit to this experience was that I now know when we go camping for real I will have to have extra blankets support our sleeping bags. P-daddy(who had a where-is-Mommy? snuggler) and I didn't sleep well that night, and when 5AM Boobie Call came around, I was happy to answer. For the record, I heard D in the tent, in the backyard, through the closed window. So rest assured, when we say he is loud, we do not exagerrate.
Anyway, the big kids had a great time, slept through the night and were so happy with the experience that they went back in last night. Their parents, however, declined to join them. With the kids ensconced asleep in their tent, the baby tucked away in bed, P-daddy and I got down to business in the most appropriate ways parents do when they find themselves alone: we scrubbed an entire load of work clothes that had been spackled by an inkpen hidden into a shirt pocket. Despite arising at 5, I stayed up until 12.30 AM. I had just lain down my head when I heard N wailing from the backyard, through the open bedroom window.
I wandered out there to hear G groggilly soothing him back to sleep. After speaking with an incoherent, sleep-talking daughter for a moment, I went back to bed. At 3AM, P-daddy did the tent rounds, eventually bringing both children inside, while D never really recovered from the movement of the P-Daddy even after he returned to bed. (How will we ever get him out of our bed if he requires bookends to sleep?) So here we are, dawning on day two into the experiment. The parents are even more tired than they were yesterday, and the children are snoozing away quite happily, sleeping late in their own beds.
I am pretty happy with NO ONE sleeping in the tent tonight.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Renny Faire
If you want to find our family next August, this is where we will be:
Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire
Click the title link for pix far superior to anything I could generate. I took the two larger kids, and left P-Daddy with Thumper at home. It was very unpleasant: hot, arid, noisy and dusty. We brought only water, peaches and some cheese puffs. But I couldn't get the kids to leave! They were in particular disturbed and fascinated by the fact that grownups dressed up in costumes. They see the adults in their life working working working, and I think they forget we like to play as well.
Next year we are totally camping. Did I mention it is a wee 2 minutes (if that) from our house?
N took this pic, which I think is the best of the day:
Is this the Dude who lives under the bridge? Yes, there was a troll bridge. And a machete-juggling fire eater. And real horses in real joust. Elves and fairies. Pirates. It was a trip. That's .... it was freaking awesome! Take Robin Hood, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean and Braveheart, mix it all together and toss it onto 15 acres in the middle of the woods.
The whole theme to it (this is what kicks it for me, and if you know me....) is that th
is is a shire from the 1600s in SCOTLAND. So lots of kilts as well. People. For a diversion, it just doesn't get any better than that! There was the big giant Scottish clan gathering last month on the other side of the county, so we had many authentic, drunken Scots wandering about, amidst the fairies and the gypsies.G learned how her precious Atocha coin was made, as they had a coin stamping booth. They showed the kids the blanks, and then rang the bell before the huge hammer fell. BAM! Out came the newly minted coin. G FREAKED OUT, wanting, craving, having to have one of those coins. (Mind you, she doesn't scream or rant or whine in these situations, in case you're picturing the kid from the mall last week. She just pleads with her eyes and tells me these things verbally) I reminded her that she got the last coin and that if we got a coin today, it would be for N. In the 6 year old all must be fair world, that made sense to her.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Hobbit Boy
I had to upload this one. Our child... truly a hobbit.
Speaking of hobbits, I found and uploaded my gardening journal from 2004. If you're mildly interested, you can go into the archives and see some pix there.
Speaking of hobbits, I found and uploaded my gardening journal from 2004. If you're mildly interested, you can go into the archives and see some pix there.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Got my C-family fix!
I only took pix of the toddler cuteness though.
I got to see Nikirj's new playtoy and she taught me something new to crave when she gave me a bag of kona-coated macadamia nuts. OMG. Those were tasty. They've been out of state for quite some time and it's been rough missing our buds! I was so happy to see them.
In other news,
G GOT PROMOTED TO LEVEL TWO IN SWIMMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did not see that coming. I haven't been expecting proficiency because I have been so focused on her just adjusting. Well, she's adjusted! She has such a different spirit when it comes to learning to swim now. She actually revels in it, and jumps right in (literally)! She's been begging to go to the next session when it starts in September, but we'll have to see. If I channel the money they charge for two kids attending this admittedly fabulous program into taking the whole family to open rec swim, we'd get a lot more swim time for everyone.
It's just a matter of deciding whether we can competently take it from here.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
harbor fairies
This was so very cool. We really had a nice "we live here!?" evening. We spent the morning painting fairy wings and Nick's new Tunic sash, but G decided to go all Martha Graham and not wear her wings or her shoes.
The kids totally stole and MADE the concert and it was fun for all of us.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Letters from Grandaddy
Unpacking the last memory box tonight, I found two letters from my Grandaddy, written in 1977. He never wrote in script, just in large, crisp, block print lettering. One read,
It was a letter from my Grandaddy to me, when I was G's age and preoccupied with exactly the same things that she is now. My head is spinning and my heart is aching. He never met my children, and I miss him so damned much.
Dear ~L~,
I hope the tooth fairy comes tonight
Love,
Your Grandaddy
It was a letter from my Grandaddy to me, when I was G's age and preoccupied with exactly the same things that she is now. My head is spinning and my heart is aching. He never met my children, and I miss him so damned much.
P-Daddy and the rockin' out day
Something I left out of my big long post about the G-victory hike was that during the last half of it at least, I couldn't put D down. The D-meister is not a small child for his age. He's the one who looks skinny but is made out of something dense, like industrial grade rubber. Anyway, he was hot, scared, cranky and tired during the bushwhacking and the easiest thing to do (believe me at that point, it was) was to nurse him while I walked. This put an unbelievable strain on my back, as I had to hold him at waist level, while stepping over brush and fallen trees, crawling through brambles and dodging spider webs.
Fast forward to a sore Saturday, but an even more strained Sunday evening after working 8 hours on my feet cooking salmon for the masses. By Sunday night my back was crying, I wasn't moving too fast and I was kind of dreading Monday morning. I would have an extra baby during swimclass while Schnaygirl went to a very important appointment. Problem? Both toddler boys know and love the pool and for the first time for Schnaybaby, wouldn't be in it. We'd gone just Friday night, so I knew D would be a pain. The thought of restraining two active toddlers on a pool deck while the big ones attended class was not appealing. It was a close second in potential suckdom, though, to waiting out in the entrance to the pool building. The foyer is a 14 x 14 glass box with one long, wooden, slatted bench and a drink machine. It has two exterior doors, two doors into the locker rooms and one leading directly to the pool. NOT A TODDLER FRIENDLY PLACE.
Anyway, last night P-Daddy decided to stay home and he took the kids to swim while I stayed with the energy cousins. By the time he got home, Schnaygirl was back. He said "why don't you take my car to get an oil change...and then maybe go for coffee? I'll keep Schnaybaby here."
Do you think he had to twist our arms?
It gets better. While we were gone, strolling GH waterfront and sampling tastiness of all sorts, P-Daddy was picking blackberries and making jam. He tired the kids out and even did the dishes. after he fed them all lunch.
He rocks. He really does.
Fast forward to a sore Saturday, but an even more strained Sunday evening after working 8 hours on my feet cooking salmon for the masses. By Sunday night my back was crying, I wasn't moving too fast and I was kind of dreading Monday morning. I would have an extra baby during swimclass while Schnaygirl went to a very important appointment. Problem? Both toddler boys know and love the pool and for the first time for Schnaybaby, wouldn't be in it. We'd gone just Friday night, so I knew D would be a pain. The thought of restraining two active toddlers on a pool deck while the big ones attended class was not appealing. It was a close second in potential suckdom, though, to waiting out in the entrance to the pool building. The foyer is a 14 x 14 glass box with one long, wooden, slatted bench and a drink machine. It has two exterior doors, two doors into the locker rooms and one leading directly to the pool. NOT A TODDLER FRIENDLY PLACE.
Anyway, last night P-Daddy decided to stay home and he took the kids to swim while I stayed with the energy cousins. By the time he got home, Schnaygirl was back. He said "why don't you take my car to get an oil change...and then maybe go for coffee? I'll keep Schnaybaby here."
oh
my
god
my
god
Do you think he had to twist our arms?
It gets better. While we were gone, strolling GH waterfront and sampling tastiness of all sorts, P-Daddy was picking blackberries and making jam. He tired the kids out and even did the dishes. after he fed them all lunch.
He rocks. He really does.
Friday, August 11, 2006
The D-meister and the pool
We went a la familia to the open swim at the local pool tonight. G and N were showing off, relaxing and having fun with the instaplaymates there at open swim. It was nice having P-daddy participate in something that has been consuming so much of our time and energy. The water was also warm, which was a nice change from the South Kitsap pool N and I had visited a few weeks ago. That was cold!
The star of the evening for me, though, was little man D. He has not been in a pool since the day of his birth, and I thought from some of his behaviour this summer with the kiddie pools that he might not like it at all. I guess watching all the kids have fun without him for so long immured him to any fear.... he jumped in and went for it. Long after he was blue lipped and shivering, D was doing the count "uh TWO fer!" and jumping at me. We could get him to float sometimes, and he enjoyed being whirred around like a little motor boat, but his definite activity of choice was jumping in the pool.
Let's hope this is the kid who stays unafraid of the water! :)
The star of the evening for me, though, was little man D. He has not been in a pool since the day of his birth, and I thought from some of his behaviour this summer with the kiddie pools that he might not like it at all. I guess watching all the kids have fun without him for so long immured him to any fear.... he jumped in and went for it. Long after he was blue lipped and shivering, D was doing the count "uh TWO fer!" and jumping at me. We could get him to float sometimes, and he enjoyed being whirred around like a little motor boat, but his definite activity of choice was jumping in the pool.
Let's hope this is the kid who stays unafraid of the water! :)
Thursday, August 10, 2006
The path she knew
Let's just say : Score One for G.
Day 6 of vanlessness pinnacled with the news that we could pick up the van. Shnayfemme called Schnaydude to come get Schnayboy to take home, so that she could squeeze the rest of us into her sedan to go get said van. No one likes a vanless ~L~. She gets awfully squirrelly.
Anyway, while waiting for Schnaydude we took the kidlets for a little walk. Typically, by the time we got all the littles ready for the walk and started down the road to the Harry Potter Woods, Schnaydude was pulling up. Schnayboy convinced Schnaydude to join us so off we went. We entered the woods, had fun, then decided to go down this path. Then that one, and "hey what's down here?" The last time *I* had been on these paths we had C-family with us and it hadn't been cut back yet. Today was clear sailing and it was awesome. Our five minute walk was turning into a fifteen minute one, but we had until 6 PM to get the van so we were golden.
We ended up in a beautiful open gorge with a large fallen cedar crossing a rock bed stream. "I have GOT to go on that bridge!" I said, and with just that much provocation, Schnaydude (wearing Schnayboy on his shoulders) did a jig right on across. The rest of us followed, on and under, in whatever fashion seemed best to us at the time. My &@$# acrophobia nabbed me so I made nice cover of helping the baby on the low road over.
This is where the adults' good sense departed. Completely. Utterly. We decided to continue on into the uncharted, unbeaten woods rather than return to the path--with 4 kids, only one of whom was over 4. We meandered for a while, but soon the vegetation became much denser and as the forest closed in around us, the kids' imaginations took hold and they started scaring each other with stories. The toddlers, carried up and above the fern line, didn't much care until came the wailing of the ones who couldn't see anything at all but brush.
Schnaydude (Schnaydude the Tank to his coworkers) took point, stomping through the ferns and trying to find a path we just knew had to be thereand kept spouting encouraging, uplifting phrases for the increasingly more agitated children like "you think this is scary? you should have been in the jungle of Panama, trying to get through the brush with all the fire ants...."
"SCHNAYDUDE!!" Schnayfemme would bark, reminding the military veteran of his audience. That was the dance for the next hour as we crossed, oh, roughly a quarter of a mile of terrain. I would collapse in laughter at the ridiculousness of it all, because somewhere in the grownups' minds you would think it would be ok to turn back to the path. I think we were all mired in "WE STARTED THIS WE'RE GONNA FINISH IT."
Finally we broke the tree line, after a nasty last fight with blackberry vines. Poor G, who incidentally started all this, had been wearing shorts and flip flops. I was wearing shorts and birks, while the boys at least had on pants and sandals. Most of us were bleeding and battered, but we were FREEEEEEEEEEEEE. Cue the soaring victory music: It was a movie moment as we hauled ourselves into the back yard of a house I had never seen. As G stalked up the slope ranting about how "I am never doing that again!" Schnaydude asked, "Isn't this your neighborhood?"
"Uh, no, but that house is awesome!"
"Well, just avoid the guy with the shotgun sitting on the back porch, " Schnaydudey quipped artfully. Haha, right? N collapsed into a shrieking hysterical bundle on the ground, wailing in fear.
"Schnaydude!!!!" came the bark.
"Aw, it's ok Boy, you ain't in the South anymore!" More laughter from me as we headed up the slope into these people's back yard. We knew they were definitely home; cars in the yard, TV running. The house was in the center of what has to be a 15 acre wooded spread, complete with an apple orchard. It was a homestead though, a self built house. It would be perfect for my family. I was in awe. But I was also trespassing. The homeowners chose to ignore us, and we chose to beat it out down the driveway.
G instantly recognized where we were. "I know that apple tree!" shouted the 6 year old, "I have been here with Daddy!" The other grownups visibly doubted, and I admit to a certain wonder.... we were very far away from home, apple trees are apple trees and I know P-Daddy would not do what we had just done. We continued out the driveway when G saw the entrance to a service road, blocked by a small ledge of gravel. "This is it! I know I can get us home! I know it! I know THAT apple tree, I know this path and I slid down this slide, I know that house now from this side, I KNOW WHERE WE ARE!" G was dancing in intense conviction, and she knew she was going to have to prove her case. But Mom was on her side. She clearly knew where she was, so she was not very understanding when the adults wanted to continue out the driveway, which led us quite in the opposite direction.
"We just want to see what street we're on, honey," I tried to explain. Schnayfemme was the only one who made it to the end of the longest driveway in the history of the Western world, to find out it was 110th street. I did believe G, so I was weary of carrying toddler and encouraging N, who kept dropping and begging to be carried. G flat refused to go any further because she knew we were going in the wrong direction, so we had a clear hiking mutiny on the French front. Eventually, intel in hand, we headed down the path she knew.
It was just as beautiful in there as all the other paths in our Harry Potter woods. We could hear horses whinnying somewhere close, though we couldn't see them. Within 5 minutes we came upon........a beautiful, open gorge with a large, fallen cedar crossing a rock bed stream.
OHHHHHHH the dancing, the wiggling and the "I DID ITs!" that commenced. I have to tell you though, it was music to my ears. G got to truly lead, it was a good moment for her and she and I were both proud of her.
And no, we didn't get to go get the van.
Day 6 of vanlessness pinnacled with the news that we could pick up the van. Shnayfemme called Schnaydude to come get Schnayboy to take home, so that she could squeeze the rest of us into her sedan to go get said van. No one likes a vanless ~L~. She gets awfully squirrelly.
Anyway, while waiting for Schnaydude we took the kidlets for a little walk. Typically, by the time we got all the littles ready for the walk and started down the road to the Harry Potter Woods, Schnaydude was pulling up. Schnayboy convinced Schnaydude to join us so off we went. We entered the woods, had fun, then decided to go down this path. Then that one, and "hey what's down here?" The last time *I* had been on these paths we had C-family with us and it hadn't been cut back yet. Today was clear sailing and it was awesome. Our five minute walk was turning into a fifteen minute one, but we had until 6 PM to get the van so we were golden.
We ended up in a beautiful open gorge with a large fallen cedar crossing a rock bed stream. "I have GOT to go on that bridge!" I said, and with just that much provocation, Schnaydude (wearing Schnayboy on his shoulders) did a jig right on across. The rest of us followed, on and under, in whatever fashion seemed best to us at the time. My &@$# acrophobia nabbed me so I made nice cover of helping the baby on the low road over.
This is where the adults' good sense departed. Completely. Utterly. We decided to continue on into the uncharted, unbeaten woods rather than return to the path--with 4 kids, only one of whom was over 4. We meandered for a while, but soon the vegetation became much denser and as the forest closed in around us, the kids' imaginations took hold and they started scaring each other with stories. The toddlers, carried up and above the fern line, didn't much care until came the wailing of the ones who couldn't see anything at all but brush.
Schnaydude (Schnaydude the Tank to his coworkers) took point, stomping through the ferns and trying to find a path we just knew had to be thereand kept spouting encouraging, uplifting phrases for the increasingly more agitated children like "you think this is scary? you should have been in the jungle of Panama, trying to get through the brush with all the fire ants...."
"SCHNAYDUDE!!" Schnayfemme would bark, reminding the military veteran of his audience. That was the dance for the next hour as we crossed, oh, roughly a quarter of a mile of terrain. I would collapse in laughter at the ridiculousness of it all, because somewhere in the grownups' minds you would think it would be ok to turn back to the path. I think we were all mired in "WE STARTED THIS WE'RE GONNA FINISH IT."
Finally we broke the tree line, after a nasty last fight with blackberry vines. Poor G, who incidentally started all this, had been wearing shorts and flip flops. I was wearing shorts and birks, while the boys at least had on pants and sandals. Most of us were bleeding and battered, but we were FREEEEEEEEEEEEE. Cue the soaring victory music: It was a movie moment as we hauled ourselves into the back yard of a house I had never seen. As G stalked up the slope ranting about how "I am never doing that again!" Schnaydude asked, "Isn't this your neighborhood?"
"Uh, no, but that house is awesome!"
"Well, just avoid the guy with the shotgun sitting on the back porch, " Schnaydudey quipped artfully. Haha, right? N collapsed into a shrieking hysterical bundle on the ground, wailing in fear.
"Schnaydude!!!!" came the bark.
"Aw, it's ok Boy, you ain't in the South anymore!" More laughter from me as we headed up the slope into these people's back yard. We knew they were definitely home; cars in the yard, TV running. The house was in the center of what has to be a 15 acre wooded spread, complete with an apple orchard. It was a homestead though, a self built house. It would be perfect for my family. I was in awe. But I was also trespassing. The homeowners chose to ignore us, and we chose to beat it out down the driveway.
G instantly recognized where we were. "I know that apple tree!" shouted the 6 year old, "I have been here with Daddy!" The other grownups visibly doubted, and I admit to a certain wonder.... we were very far away from home, apple trees are apple trees and I know P-Daddy would not do what we had just done. We continued out the driveway when G saw the entrance to a service road, blocked by a small ledge of gravel. "This is it! I know I can get us home! I know it! I know THAT apple tree, I know this path and I slid down this slide, I know that house now from this side, I KNOW WHERE WE ARE!" G was dancing in intense conviction, and she knew she was going to have to prove her case. But Mom was on her side. She clearly knew where she was, so she was not very understanding when the adults wanted to continue out the driveway, which led us quite in the opposite direction.
"We just want to see what street we're on, honey," I tried to explain. Schnayfemme was the only one who made it to the end of the longest driveway in the history of the Western world, to find out it was 110th street. I did believe G, so I was weary of carrying toddler and encouraging N, who kept dropping and begging to be carried. G flat refused to go any further because she knew we were going in the wrong direction, so we had a clear hiking mutiny on the French front. Eventually, intel in hand, we headed down the path she knew.
It was just as beautiful in there as all the other paths in our Harry Potter woods. We could hear horses whinnying somewhere close, though we couldn't see them. Within 5 minutes we came upon........a beautiful, open gorge with a large, fallen cedar crossing a rock bed stream.
OHHHHHHH the dancing, the wiggling and the "I DID ITs!" that commenced. I have to tell you though, it was music to my ears. G got to truly lead, it was a good moment for her and she and I were both proud of her.
And no, we didn't get to go get the van.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Can't get ahead.
So the van was officially on fire.
The starter, which had been cranky, apparently wouldn't stop "starting" while I was driving that day. It caught fire and then baked itself so badly that I can't even change it out with a core charge. It took the wiring harness and the battery with it.
Then they said we have a "significant coolant leak" which pissed me off because in February, they replaced the radiator and the water pump, which is partly why we're mired in credit card hell. I told him he'd better have a very nice answer to me on that one because those parts pretty much are the coolant system, and I didn't expect to hear much more about it once they'd repaired that.
The starter, which had been cranky, apparently wouldn't stop "starting" while I was driving that day. It caught fire and then baked itself so badly that I can't even change it out with a core charge. It took the wiring harness and the battery with it.
Then they said we have a "significant coolant leak" which pissed me off because in February, they replaced the radiator and the water pump, which is partly why we're mired in credit card hell. I told him he'd better have a very nice answer to me on that one because those parts pretty much are the coolant system, and I didn't expect to hear much more about it once they'd repaired that.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
ARRRRRRgggggggghhhhhhhhh
How do you explain scientific method to someone who just thinks science is "neato!"
Google actually has a search function I can respect, rather than just enjoy: http://scholar.google.com/ I have been using it heavily lately!
Hugh Sampson is a personal hero of this family.
Google actually has a search function I can respect, rather than just enjoy: http://scholar.google.com/ I have been using it heavily lately!
Hugh Sampson is a personal hero of this family.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Tagged for weirdness
Me weird? Nah.
I've been tagged by the Daily Crunchy to reveal 6 weird and interesting things about me:
(I am recycling one because if homeschooling is weird, then hey I can use it.)
1. I would be so grateful and happy if I could morph myself and my family into the world of LOST, monsters and all. I grew up in that climate and could totally build a bamboo house and live off the land.
2. I speak French without thinking about it sometimes, but would much rather be fluent in Spanish.
3. I have at least 12 years of photographs in various storage forms (boxes, sleeves from Costco developing and digital files) and still don't have framed pictures up in this house where we have lived for one year now.
4. I homeschool my children.
5. I worked as a nude model for artists while I was in college. 15 dollars an hour was big money then.
6. If I could make my living as a multimedia artist, I would be so much happier, but I am terrified to even show my work to even my closest friends. Instead, I have been a graphic designer / marketing professional, a social worker and a personal chef. In college, I edited two newspapers.
You're supposed to tag 6 more people, pass it on, so I am tagging:
NikiRJ, Rockingthistle, Pwincess Tewa, Danelle, Jesse and Danya
I've been tagged by the Daily Crunchy to reveal 6 weird and interesting things about me:
(I am recycling one because if homeschooling is weird, then hey I can use it.)
1. I would be so grateful and happy if I could morph myself and my family into the world of LOST, monsters and all. I grew up in that climate and could totally build a bamboo house and live off the land.
2. I speak French without thinking about it sometimes, but would much rather be fluent in Spanish.
3. I have at least 12 years of photographs in various storage forms (boxes, sleeves from Costco developing and digital files) and still don't have framed pictures up in this house where we have lived for one year now.
4. I homeschool my children.
5. I worked as a nude model for artists while I was in college. 15 dollars an hour was big money then.
6. If I could make my living as a multimedia artist, I would be so much happier, but I am terrified to even show my work to even my closest friends. Instead, I have been a graphic designer / marketing professional, a social worker and a personal chef. In college, I edited two newspapers.
You're supposed to tag 6 more people, pass it on, so I am tagging:
NikiRJ, Rockingthistle, Pwincess Tewa, Danelle, Jesse and Danya
Friday, August 04, 2006
Why extended warranties are good
Let's just say, my van made magic smoke today. We were en route, just G and I, to her dr to get new epipen prescriptions. On the spit of land over Henderson Bay, the van started to really reek. I pulled over to investigate while smoke, not steam, billowed forth. The acrid smell really alarmed me so I ordered G to unbuckle and get to the door while I pulled into a makeshift parking space and cut the ignition. I got her to a safe distance and I checked out the situation.
Enter AAA, grateful-spirit calls to Schnaygirl who had the other two, and much bustle while we maneuvered van to shop and people to home.
So. No epipens for G, no happy pills for me.
Enter AAA, grateful-spirit calls to Schnaygirl who had the other two, and much bustle while we maneuvered van to shop and people to home.
So. No epipens for G, no happy pills for me.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Resolutions
The subject about which I wrote a horribly emotional post for today is being resolved. I have removed it temporarily because it was so caustic, and I have no wish to villify someone who may have had no control over events.
In a true mother's quandary, the neighborgirl was wholly responsible for what happened, and no responsible person can bring that sort of anger to bear towards a 7 year old girl.
In a true mother's quandary, the neighborgirl was wholly responsible for what happened, and no responsible person can bring that sort of anger to bear towards a 7 year old girl.
My feelings are so hurt I can't even stand it
That damn allergy again.
We had a great day... really a great, shining, idyllic day! The kids got to their final swim class (on time) and finished wanting more. G is now jumping in just like her brother, and even submerging herself further than he is. She has pronounced "I am not afraid anymore!!" which is worth the money alone. That's all I wanted-- I think the rest will come on it's own. Even so, P-daddy and I are putting them both in for one more session because they asked, and because they will get the skills we can build on later.
We left there, drove around in the country burbs admiring amazing hidden neighborhoods. We snagged some snacks at a service station in Rosedale, (a pretty service station, can you imagine?), then went to the library. After a quick stop at the grocery, we came home.
The neighborkids of two months were playing in the backyard so mykids joined them. G came back in all excited because they were playing slip and slide, and she got to use her sporty new swimsuit. Well, GIRLIE GIRL new swimsuit. I got an hysterically funny email from a friend about housework and it contained a line that Neighborwife used last week, so I printed it out to take over to her.
As I rounded their back deck, I heard 7 yo Neighborgirl saying to G that
"Peanuts don't come in a shell anyway, silly!" My fun spirit evaporated as my stomach sunk to its current state. I came up the deck to find my kids watching Neighborgirl, Neighborboy and two young guests chowing on a gallon zip-loc bag of pistachios. For the uninitiated, G is allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. They're two different things entirely, and even while pistachio nut doesn't rate high on her list of allergens, it's produced and roasted on the same factory lines as the other treenuts that would send her into anaphylactic shock. Cross contamination is a very real issue.
This is their home, they have friends over and they can eat whatevery they damn well want. I am good with all that, truly accepting of it. All I asked of Neighborwife was that she keep my kid out of harm's way. Send her home. Just Send.Her.Home. I kind of gaped at the scene for about two seconds, before I said, "G, go home. Neighborgirl, where's your Mom?" On the way in, I found N's sandals in the doorway so I called him back to retrieve them. When I went in, Neighborwife was on the couch, clearly in hearing distance of all of it.
I tried to play it cool, I carried over the printout in my now-limp hand and gave it to her, kind of feebly making the joke I'd planned on delivery. Then I said "did you know they were eating nuts out there?" She said, "well yeah, but I thought she'd be ok if she didn't eat any." I said "She can't really be around them at all, so I sent her home." Neighborwife's friend came back into living room from the bathroom. Yay. An audience for the crazy neighbor show.
"Well, they'll be done in a minute I am sure, and they'll be back out there playing." She seemed genuinely puzzled, and I was feeling the fluttering of irrational anger coming in; I wanted out of there so bad. Internal monologue: Do not tank new neighbor relationship. G likes Neighborgirl. They're really cool. Behave. Be honest, but behave. Smile. External monologue:
"She's contact sensitive, so now that they've got nuts on them, and they'll be all slippin' and slidin' together, she will get coated too. It's ok that she goes home, it's cool, really." I beat it out of there making a lame joke about hanging the email on the bathroom mirror for Neighborman to see. I know I looked frazzled.
Why did I say that? It's not cool It's not cool It's not cool!!!!!! Do not fuck with my daughter's life. I am so pissed off and hurt. How hard is it to get the "no nuts for G" thing?? IT'S NOT ROCKETSCIENCE. I don't want Neighborwife thinking about it that hard. We live just next door. Send her home. Don't feed her. If you want to enjoy your nut snacks, please do but please send her home. It's no more alienating than having one kid standing there, waiting and watching while everyone else enjoys a snack she can't have.
So now I am here just stewing, spinning in my head. Second guessing everything I did. Frustrated with G for not going home, as she KNEW to do. I just posted today on MDC about how smart she is about the allergy. Well blow that all to hell. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure, even at age 6. Frustrated with Neighborgirl for being a smartass or a dumbass one, telling G peanuts don't have shells. WTFever. Frustrated with thie mother who just....what the hell was that??? I don'tknow what it was?? Was she stupid? Careless? Not paying any attention at all? She manages a restaurant! Her dh is a fireman! They supposedly know this stuff.
Angry with me for letting my guard down and trusting someone way too soon.
Scared shitless that we could have gotten that ambulance ride, real easy.
We had a great day... really a great, shining, idyllic day! The kids got to their final swim class (on time) and finished wanting more. G is now jumping in just like her brother, and even submerging herself further than he is. She has pronounced "I am not afraid anymore!!" which is worth the money alone. That's all I wanted-- I think the rest will come on it's own. Even so, P-daddy and I are putting them both in for one more session because they asked, and because they will get the skills we can build on later.
We left there, drove around in the country burbs admiring amazing hidden neighborhoods. We snagged some snacks at a service station in Rosedale, (a pretty service station, can you imagine?), then went to the library. After a quick stop at the grocery, we came home.
The neighborkids of two months were playing in the backyard so mykids joined them. G came back in all excited because they were playing slip and slide, and she got to use her sporty new swimsuit. Well, GIRLIE GIRL new swimsuit. I got an hysterically funny email from a friend about housework and it contained a line that Neighborwife used last week, so I printed it out to take over to her.
As I rounded their back deck, I heard 7 yo Neighborgirl saying to G that
"Peanuts don't come in a shell anyway, silly!" My fun spirit evaporated as my stomach sunk to its current state. I came up the deck to find my kids watching Neighborgirl, Neighborboy and two young guests chowing on a gallon zip-loc bag of pistachios. For the uninitiated, G is allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. They're two different things entirely, and even while pistachio nut doesn't rate high on her list of allergens, it's produced and roasted on the same factory lines as the other treenuts that would send her into anaphylactic shock. Cross contamination is a very real issue.
This is their home, they have friends over and they can eat whatevery they damn well want. I am good with all that, truly accepting of it. All I asked of Neighborwife was that she keep my kid out of harm's way. Send her home. Just Send.Her.Home. I kind of gaped at the scene for about two seconds, before I said, "G, go home. Neighborgirl, where's your Mom?" On the way in, I found N's sandals in the doorway so I called him back to retrieve them. When I went in, Neighborwife was on the couch, clearly in hearing distance of all of it.
I tried to play it cool, I carried over the printout in my now-limp hand and gave it to her, kind of feebly making the joke I'd planned on delivery. Then I said "did you know they were eating nuts out there?" She said, "well yeah, but I thought she'd be ok if she didn't eat any." I said "She can't really be around them at all, so I sent her home." Neighborwife's friend came back into living room from the bathroom. Yay. An audience for the crazy neighbor show.
"Well, they'll be done in a minute I am sure, and they'll be back out there playing." She seemed genuinely puzzled, and I was feeling the fluttering of irrational anger coming in; I wanted out of there so bad. Internal monologue: Do not tank new neighbor relationship. G likes Neighborgirl. They're really cool. Behave. Be honest, but behave. Smile. External monologue:
"She's contact sensitive, so now that they've got nuts on them, and they'll be all slippin' and slidin' together, she will get coated too. It's ok that she goes home, it's cool, really." I beat it out of there making a lame joke about hanging the email on the bathroom mirror for Neighborman to see. I know I looked frazzled.
Why did I say that? It's not cool It's not cool It's not cool!!!!!! Do not fuck with my daughter's life. I am so pissed off and hurt. How hard is it to get the "no nuts for G" thing?? IT'S NOT ROCKETSCIENCE. I don't want Neighborwife thinking about it that hard. We live just next door. Send her home. Don't feed her. If you want to enjoy your nut snacks, please do but please send her home. It's no more alienating than having one kid standing there, waiting and watching while everyone else enjoys a snack she can't have.
So now I am here just stewing, spinning in my head. Second guessing everything I did. Frustrated with G for not going home, as she KNEW to do. I just posted today on MDC about how smart she is about the allergy. Well blow that all to hell. Never underestimate the power of peer pressure, even at age 6. Frustrated with Neighborgirl for being a smartass or a dumbass one, telling G peanuts don't have shells. WTFever. Frustrated with thie mother who just....what the hell was that??? I don'tknow what it was?? Was she stupid? Careless? Not paying any attention at all? She manages a restaurant! Her dh is a fireman! They supposedly know this stuff.
Angry with me for letting my guard down and trusting someone way too soon.
Scared shitless that we could have gotten that ambulance ride, real easy.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Sunflower House / Crop
We have sunflowers growing in three different spots in the yard. We'd lost half the sunflower house to slugs, so we had to replant. But those that lived are flowering now. Lots of sunflower seeds for us this autumn, we hope!
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Monday, July 31, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Got my back yo
It's nice to have people who get it, even when they don't have to live it.
One person's food
is another's poison
---Lucretius
Friday, July 28, 2006
Totem Owl
Last night during our pre-slumber cuddles, the entire bird population of our back woods went nutso. Primarily composed of black-capped chicadees and Robins, a chorus of bird screeching went up like I'd not heard since Bermuda when I visited the Rainbow Lory exhibit in the zoo. It went on long enough that I took N, sleepy in my arms, out to investigate.
Halfway up our tallest hemlock, a moon-faced owl sat perched, staring down into our yard. I called loudly for P-Daddy to come out too. I didn't want him to miss it! He came out with D in arms, and we sat watching the cacophany. Every bird in the vicinity had flocked to this tree. Each branch was laden with angry, small birds intent on driving this predator away. When finally he left, shortly after G joined us, he flew directly diagonal across
our backyard, giving us a beautiful view of his wingspan and coloring. It was a magnificent, large specimen of Northern Saw-whet Owl.
OH how I wish for my camera to be repaired. I tried to get pictures, but he was just too far up the tree.
What really trips me out is that Shnaygirl and I heard the flipping thing earlier that day, and couldn't figure out what it was, this after a conversation about totems.
Lunch today: bubble and squeak, using cabbage, onions and purple new potatoes from the farm.
Halfway up our tallest hemlock, a moon-faced owl sat perched, staring down into our yard. I called loudly for P-Daddy to come out too. I didn't want him to miss it! He came out with D in arms, and we sat watching the cacophany. Every bird in the vicinity had flocked to this tree. Each branch was laden with angry, small birds intent on driving this predator away. When finally he left, shortly after G joined us, he flew directly diagonal across
our backyard, giving us a beautiful view of his wingspan and coloring. It was a magnificent, large specimen of Northern Saw-whet Owl.OH how I wish for my camera to be repaired. I tried to get pictures, but he was just too far up the tree.
What really trips me out is that Shnaygirl and I heard the flipping thing earlier that day, and couldn't figure out what it was, this after a conversation about totems.
Lunch today: bubble and squeak, using cabbage, onions and purple new potatoes from the farm.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Monsters and Turtles
I am raising a flock of cookie monsters.
I love cookies. But only homemade cookies. Slightly sweet, lots chocolate-chippedy and somewhat tender, homemade cookies. G describes them as "crunchy outside and fluffy inside." Dat's what I'm talkin' about.
Schnaygirl took the big ones to swim class (she and Schnaybaby are in class at the same time) while I stayed behind with little D to make the cookies. They all get out of the pool ravenous, so I thought it would be nice to end the weeks' class by giving them big fat treats. Schnaygirl was in on it of course, but kept mum so the kids were all lit with glee. Much fun. I especially enjoyed having that baby to myself. It so rarely happens, and we really got to have fun with one another. It helped fill my love cup significantly!
It's back to being perfect NW summer. We almost fell asleep in the balmy, sunny, 70-degree backyardedness.
Neighborgirl lost her turtle in our back woods when she put down his carry-basket to go pick blackberries with G. I feel real sorry for her, but I don't hold out much hope of finding Oscar. With a compost pile right on the edge, he's probably going to burrow in and we'll not see him again until he's as big as Presleydog.
After P-Daddy came home tonight, he met turtle challenge head on. After scouring the immediate surrounds with no success,
P-daddy spent a half hour building a "turtle trap."
I haven't seen the fruits of his labor, so I am not certain what that entails, but if it works I know two little girls who will be thrilled, and two parents who will feel relief that they've not just released 250.00 to the wild.
I love cookies. But only homemade cookies. Slightly sweet, lots chocolate-chippedy and somewhat tender, homemade cookies. G describes them as "crunchy outside and fluffy inside." Dat's what I'm talkin' about.
Schnaygirl took the big ones to swim class (she and Schnaybaby are in class at the same time) while I stayed behind with little D to make the cookies. They all get out of the pool ravenous, so I thought it would be nice to end the weeks' class by giving them big fat treats. Schnaygirl was in on it of course, but kept mum so the kids were all lit with glee. Much fun. I especially enjoyed having that baby to myself. It so rarely happens, and we really got to have fun with one another. It helped fill my love cup significantly!
It's back to being perfect NW summer. We almost fell asleep in the balmy, sunny, 70-degree backyardedness.
Neighborgirl lost her turtle in our back woods when she put down his carry-basket to go pick blackberries with G. I feel real sorry for her, but I don't hold out much hope of finding Oscar. With a compost pile right on the edge, he's probably going to burrow in and we'll not see him again until he's as big as Presleydog.
After P-Daddy came home tonight, he met turtle challenge head on. After scouring the immediate surrounds with no success,
"Show me exactly where the turtle escaped!
"What time did he get loose?"
P-daddy spent a half hour building a "turtle trap."
I haven't seen the fruits of his labor, so I am not certain what that entails, but if it works I know two little girls who will be thrilled, and two parents who will feel relief that they've not just released 250.00 to the wild.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Learning to Swim
N is having a blast. G is enjoying herself despite herself. This is a smile!
G is a starfish.
Look at the smile on our Brasilian Goddess!
"But I wanna swim too!!!!!"
G is a starfish.
Look at the smile on our Brasilian Goddess!
"But I wanna swim too!!!!!"Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Baby Steps
Mom who took baby allowed to see him more
The Pierce County mother who took her 10-month-old son from a Seattle hospital to keep him from having court-ordered surgery will get to see the boy more often.
KAREN HUCKS; The News Tribune
Published: July 25th, 2006 01:00 AM
| |
Superior Court Judge John McCarthy approved an agreement Monday that allows Riley Rogers’ mother, Tina Carlsen of Sumner, to see him as often as she wishes, as long as his dad is there.
Riley was born with deformed kidneys, and Child Protective Services took custody of him in June after Carlsen opposed his doctors’ treatment plan. He underwent surgery – an operation his mother feared would kill him – June 30 to prepare him for kidney dialysis to filter toxic by-products from his blood.
Two and a half weeks ago, McCarthy approved an agreement that let Riley go home to Bonney Lake with his father, Todd Rogers, until a trial over whether the state Department of Social and Health Services will take permanent custody of the child.
Under the agreement, Rogers has to take Riley to his medical appointments, comply with treatment and keep in contact with the court. Carlsen was allowed to visit the boy – whom she was still breast-feeding – at least twice a week, but only with supervision from the state.
Also Monday, McCarthy postponed the trial – scheduled for August – until October.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Swimming along
After a year's break, we have the kids back in a structured outside class again. It's more of a camp actually, since it lasts only two weeks and meets every day, but it's swim class nonetheless. They enrolled last Friday and met the teachers, and God Bless her, their actual teacher came out and talked to G at length. She was so sweet. The instructors decided G and N are in the same level class (along with their friend EV) and they started this morning. After watching them, I would have to agree.
Poor G. Her first and former swim instructor through the Charleston county parks department really sucked. She was also the only one in the class (why they kept it open I don't know!) and as a result got all the attention and no breaks. Making it worse, she got to see her little brother in the tots class one pool over, yukking it up with his full class and P-daddy in the pool with him. If she were a different kid, or wasn't so afraid, that may have been a good thing. As it is, she's still pretty scarred by it.
Fast forward to this morning, where G's vocal anxiety provoked N into saying he wasn't going in the pool, he was scared and he wasn't going to have any fun, etc etc. I maintained an upbeat, positive dialogue with them but it didn't seem to help G overcome her fears. N literally jumped right into things and had "super fun," but G was a screamer again at the very beginning. I actually left the pool area and watched through the windows. Without me there, while the tears were plentiful, G didn't scream. She participated pretty well actually, and only opted out of one activity. For all the buildup I am pretty pleased with how she did.
N, on the entirely other hand, was like a little fish. I am excited for him, and I hope maybe a little of that enthusiasm will wear off on G-girl. He was all smiles and can't stop talking about it.
The teacher is awesome, and they have a lot of protocols in place for the terrified swim student. They don't force the kids to do anything and they are all smiles. No judgments, no pressure. Perfect for G in this environment, and extreme fun for the kids like N and EV who aren't scared.
After swim, we went to Kelly's Diner and had ice cream and pancakes, then went on to the Beach Basket to get tomato cages for our droopy darlings.
The lady behind the counter gave each of the kids a stuffed, decorative flower. So nice. It truly was a pleasant morning overall. Lots of positives to balance the scary swim class for G.
.......
I hate feeling like I am forcing any sort of lesson on her. She has to learn this, though. We live on the beach, we're surrounded by water wherever we go and she loves it so much. I don't feel that swimming is an optional lesson. It's a life skill, like wearing helmets when you ride, holding hands when you cross the street, taking water when you hike or driving properly. I am emotionally invested in this beyond where I want to be, because I want her to be stronger than I was. I want her fear gone. I want it eradicated by her own empowered skill set. If she weren't so terrified, I wouldn't feel so strong about it.
I don't want her to go through childhood with the secret shame of not being able to swim. Already, all of her friends swim, and do it well. I didn't learn how to swim properly and overcome my terror of water until I was in college, when I was a camp counselor and knew I had to be responsible for other children. As a result I took a lifeguard training course. I didn't get my certification. but the instructor pegged me for what I was really there for and I finally did learn how to swim every which way, and do it well.
You see, my family of origin literally thought "sink or swim" was a valid way to go about things. G is very much like me, and the terror I had for water just incited my parents to anger. They thought it was all drama and would toss me into the Atlantic ocean whenever they could to "get me used to it." When the tossing didn't work, they thought gently carrying me out into the calm, deep water past the breakers and releasing me would work. They did try in their own misguided ways ways to teach me to swim, but they mercifully gave it up. On a vacation with my grandparents (without my parents) when I was 9, my uncle impulsively decided to give it another shot. He picked me up and thew me into the deep end of a hotel pool. I still remember the terror, the sensation of spinning end over end in the water, the sting as the water entered my sinuses and I inhaled in shock. I remember hearing muffled screaming as my grandparents demanded he go in after me. They knew I wasn't coming back up, but he waited, as he was just so sure I would. He got me right as I was blacking out.
Needless to say, G is in no danger of anyone doing that to her. However, my life experiences clearly inform how I am reacting to her own challenges.
Poor G. Her first and former swim instructor through the Charleston county parks department really sucked. She was also the only one in the class (why they kept it open I don't know!) and as a result got all the attention and no breaks. Making it worse, she got to see her little brother in the tots class one pool over, yukking it up with his full class and P-daddy in the pool with him. If she were a different kid, or wasn't so afraid, that may have been a good thing. As it is, she's still pretty scarred by it.
Fast forward to this morning, where G's vocal anxiety provoked N into saying he wasn't going in the pool, he was scared and he wasn't going to have any fun, etc etc. I maintained an upbeat, positive dialogue with them but it didn't seem to help G overcome her fears. N literally jumped right into things and had "super fun," but G was a screamer again at the very beginning. I actually left the pool area and watched through the windows. Without me there, while the tears were plentiful, G didn't scream. She participated pretty well actually, and only opted out of one activity. For all the buildup I am pretty pleased with how she did.
N, on the entirely other hand, was like a little fish. I am excited for him, and I hope maybe a little of that enthusiasm will wear off on G-girl. He was all smiles and can't stop talking about it.
The teacher is awesome, and they have a lot of protocols in place for the terrified swim student. They don't force the kids to do anything and they are all smiles. No judgments, no pressure. Perfect for G in this environment, and extreme fun for the kids like N and EV who aren't scared.
After swim, we went to Kelly's Diner and had ice cream and pancakes, then went on to the Beach Basket to get tomato cages for our droopy darlings.
The lady behind the counter gave each of the kids a stuffed, decorative flower. So nice. It truly was a pleasant morning overall. Lots of positives to balance the scary swim class for G........
I hate feeling like I am forcing any sort of lesson on her. She has to learn this, though. We live on the beach, we're surrounded by water wherever we go and she loves it so much. I don't feel that swimming is an optional lesson. It's a life skill, like wearing helmets when you ride, holding hands when you cross the street, taking water when you hike or driving properly. I am emotionally invested in this beyond where I want to be, because I want her to be stronger than I was. I want her fear gone. I want it eradicated by her own empowered skill set. If she weren't so terrified, I wouldn't feel so strong about it.
I don't want her to go through childhood with the secret shame of not being able to swim. Already, all of her friends swim, and do it well. I didn't learn how to swim properly and overcome my terror of water until I was in college, when I was a camp counselor and knew I had to be responsible for other children. As a result I took a lifeguard training course. I didn't get my certification. but the instructor pegged me for what I was really there for and I finally did learn how to swim every which way, and do it well.
You see, my family of origin literally thought "sink or swim" was a valid way to go about things. G is very much like me, and the terror I had for water just incited my parents to anger. They thought it was all drama and would toss me into the Atlantic ocean whenever they could to "get me used to it." When the tossing didn't work, they thought gently carrying me out into the calm, deep water past the breakers and releasing me would work. They did try in their own misguided ways ways to teach me to swim, but they mercifully gave it up. On a vacation with my grandparents (without my parents) when I was 9, my uncle impulsively decided to give it another shot. He picked me up and thew me into the deep end of a hotel pool. I still remember the terror, the sensation of spinning end over end in the water, the sting as the water entered my sinuses and I inhaled in shock. I remember hearing muffled screaming as my grandparents demanded he go in after me. They knew I wasn't coming back up, but he waited, as he was just so sure I would. He got me right as I was blacking out.
Needless to say, G is in no danger of anyone doing that to her. However, my life experiences clearly inform how I am reacting to her own challenges.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
More of the same
P-Daddy has been home to help entertain the kiddies but we have the west windows (the entire back of our house is west facing) covered in blankets for that trailer-chic look. It doesn't cool it down any but it does block the sun. Yesterday we went into Seattle for his corporate picnic at Woodland park and then we had dinner at ChezSchnay. They have a split level so at least there was some pseudo-basement chill happening.
I am running around in the early AM getting the chores done while it's not so hot inside, so that we can just "be" in the afternoons. Unfortunately the heat isn't fading at sundown like we've grown accustomed to, so our I-don't-want-to-move stupor continues well into the evening. I grew up in this (we didn't get a/c until I was at least nine years old in semi-tropical SC) and I am remembering how to handle it, but the rest of my poor family is just wilting. G can't sleep in her room because she has a loft bed and is about nine inches from the ceiling. That's GREAT during the winter here, but imossible to withstand now.
I know if we had a/c we would most certainly abuse it and use it far more often than necessary. However, this house in particular is not built for withstandng a heat wave. It's built, successfully and awesomely, to capture as much sun as possible in a moderate climate. It's difficult to get a true draft going and that is frustrating me to no end. Today it was 89.6 inside the house until 9 PM.
I know this entry is rambling but hey. I'm uncomfortable.
I am running around in the early AM getting the chores done while it's not so hot inside, so that we can just "be" in the afternoons. Unfortunately the heat isn't fading at sundown like we've grown accustomed to, so our I-don't-want-to-move stupor continues well into the evening. I grew up in this (we didn't get a/c until I was at least nine years old in semi-tropical SC) and I am remembering how to handle it, but the rest of my poor family is just wilting. G can't sleep in her room because she has a loft bed and is about nine inches from the ceiling. That's GREAT during the winter here, but imossible to withstand now.
I know if we had a/c we would most certainly abuse it and use it far more often than necessary. However, this house in particular is not built for withstandng a heat wave. It's built, successfully and awesomely, to capture as much sun as possible in a moderate climate. It's difficult to get a true draft going and that is frustrating me to no end. Today it was 89.6 inside the house until 9 PM.
I know this entry is rambling but hey. I'm uncomfortable.
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