Random Thoughts

We've decided (well, I decided, and then convinced my family, lol) that we're going to the Macy's Day Parade next Thanksgiving (2008). So, I've started to loosely plan that, though it's too early to reserve rooms and such just yet.

We chose our angels from the Angel Tree yesterday, and hope to do our shopping this weekend. We chose three boys age 7,4, & 3 (are you really surprised? ;)), and K and G are soooo excited (A says that he is, but frankly, with him, excitement is contagious). We'll also buy groceries to give to a local school breakfast/lunch program that makes certain that kids have enough to eat over the 2 week holiday break.

We're buying tickets to see the Nutcracker this year, too. Last year, I was stage managing a show, and so we missed the few performances that were in town. K is way excited about finally getting to see it on stage. We also hope to catch a performance of Oliver when we head back home for Christmas.

There's a lot going on in the homeschooling group this time of year, too, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to fit some of it into our schedule without going crazy.

A completely different thing (I did say these were random thoughts!): I love how imaginative and creative G is; how he'll be singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" softly to himself, and then start acting out a story about planes and leaving. Or how when he "reads" his Winnie the Pooh stories, he uses different voices for every character. It reminds me of when he was barely a year old, and would sit on the front step of the porch swinging his little legs and trying to sing "This Old Man".

I'm also writing more and more. Some flash fiction, some short stories. I've started countless projects over the years, but as with my cooking, I've committed myself to really writing and seeking publication. I've been writing my entire life, but sometime in college, I lost the ability to write for the pure joy of it (a history major with English and Computer Science minors can do that to a person -- the reading/writing/computer time involved was huge). I have to say, though, don't judge my ability to write by the state of my blog entries -- when blogging, I write like I talk. :) Endlessly, and often incoherently.

Such Fun

Well, ice skating is going splendidly. It's officially K's favorite sport. K is a speed demon to say the least. He loves skating, and his goal is to get good enough to start hockey lessons. G is loving it, too. By the end of his first lesson, G was up more than he was down, and was picking up some momentum. And as some of my dear friends know, the fact that both kids skate out onto the rink without looking back is huge to me. They haven't always responded well to new situations (and I'm still a bit scarred from a dance class that K took when he 3/4, even though he hasn't done that for a long, long while), but now at 7 and 4, they're taking everything in stride (better than their momma, I might add, who still mentally freaks out on her way to Improv class, *every* time).

Here are some pics. They're not terrific, as I was having trouble capturing action shots with the poor lighting (couldn't use a flash because of the plexiglass around the rink), and the distance (I was at the far end of the rink from them most of the time), and the sheer number of people on the rink at any given time. K's class was a bit quieter than G's, since it's at 2:00pm. G's 4:45pm class is peak time, when the number of people at the Sportsplex is overwhelming. So, these were the only two shots that weren't blurry:

I'm in LOVE

It's pretty corny to fall in love with a vehicle, but it's especially corny when the vehicle in question is a van. I'm more of an off-road vehicle kind of gal, or a BMW or Corvette woman, or even a cute little VW Bug girl. Sadly, though, I am totally smitten with our "new" ride -- a silver 2003 Odyssey EX-L. It isn't new, but it was well cared for, and it has lots of wonderful bells and whistles: heated leather seats, built-in DVD player, power everything, CD/Cassette/stereo (and a nice one at that), and so much more room than we're used to having. We have definitely lost the nice space in the back that was great for the dogs, and we're not sure how we're going to work that out yet. But it's roomy, easy to use, and it's easy on the eyes. And it didn't break the bank -- it was a chunk of change, but with no financing, we're loving it! And the boys love being able to stretch out and to see everything out the huge windows.

Speaking of the boys, I promised an update on G and A. I'll try to keep it short! G is learning how to ride his bike without training wheels, and is soooo very close!! One ounce more of confidence, and he'll be flying around the yard. He does the monkey bars like a pro now, and there is absolutely nothing that is too high for him to climb. NOTHING. We're seriously thinking of getting him involved in a climbing group. He's totally into anything with Curious George -- very appropriate, I think. He loves games and puzzles, and has started building cities out of his wooden blocks. He's also adding and subtracting, and his reading is progressing steadily. He tends to hide a lot of his progress from us, so I find out what he knows on the sly. Luckily, I'm a sneaky person by nature. :) If I can get our in-laws to stop quizzing him, we'll be golden! My MIL tried to convince me that he was skipping 7 whenever he counted for her, but not only does he not skip 7 when he counts around me, I had to wonder why in the world did she have him count for her??

A is speaking SO MUCH now. He loves to call my mom and brother, or R's parents or sisters and chat. He has the unfortunate habit of just hanging up without saying goodbye when he's finished, but I'm hoping manners will come with time. He is way into sharing everything with his brothers, and loves to play games, especially Candy Land and Tell a Story, with G and K. He also likes to build blocks with G, but when he's finished, everything, including whatever G has built, goes flying. He's counting some, and if you need to find something in the house, ANYTHING, he's the one to talk to -- he can find just about anything, anywhere. Even if it's somewhere he can't reach (and there are literally only about 2 places that he can't reach), or can't get into, he knows what's there.

K sped through 2 volumes of Spiderman (the original Stan Lee, about 20 comics) in about 2 days, as well as a 341 page book in 3 days. He's a reading machine. 2 days ago, he got a Top Secret Adventures package from Highlights. It contains 25 pages of puzzles and codes that you decipher to discover who, what, and where. He's almost finished and can't wait to do another. The country of focus is Japan, and he's starting to learn some Japanese with R (who took Japanese in college, but is wayyyyy rusty now), as well as some cultural/geographical information. We've also been watching some biology and evolution dvds; some lean more heavily towards history, some towards science, and some towards the social impact. It's made for some very interesting conversations!

K has decided that telling children that Santa is real is an "evil, wicked trick." I can't say that I disagree, though my feelings are less intense than his, I think. I've often wondered why people go to the lengths they do in order to keep little children believing in something for so long. There's real magic and beauty all around us -- do we really need to invent it? A story is one thing -- a societal ruse, however well intended, seems to me to be something else.

Ah well, they don't call me the grinch for nothing! (Shhh... don't tell anyone that I've been listening to Christmas music, reading Christmas stories, and planning Christmas food/desserts for 2 weeks now -- it'll ruin my image!)

The Demise of Santa

Well, it's finally happened. K has officially admitted that he doesn't believe Santa is real, but since he wanted him to be, he didn't say anything for a long time. He's not upset about it at all, though. He's just working extra hard to make sure that he doesn't say anything to ruin the secret for G and A, and his 3 yr old cousin. G himself has had his own doubts (see previous post), but has rallied against them as we enter the Christmas season. Now, more than ever, he wants Santa to be real. He can't wait to go to the mall and tell Santa what his Christmas wishes are.

Who wouldn't want such a magical being to exist?

Inspiration

I rarely (if ever) post my admiration of John Holt, so today I will. Mostly though, I want to post this link:

Common Objections to Homeschooling

I also highly recommend any of John Holt's books, as well as those by former teacher John Taylor Gatto.

Síochán!!

Reading, Reading, Reading

I'm reading: Fitzroy: The Remarkable Story of Darwin's Captain and the Invention of the Weather Forecast; Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea; and La Telaraña de Carlota.

K's reading: The Little House series; The Sign of the Beaver; Encyclopedia Brown; and Treasure Island.

G is loving (and reads a bit): The Frog and Toad series; the Mercy Watson series; How the Grinch Stole Christmas (every day!); and the Mercer Mayer books.

A is loving: Anything Dr. Seuss but especially Fox in Socks; anything Bob the Builder or Clifford; most things with fish/dolphins or other animals.

R is reading: The Selfish Gene (and a dozen other things that I don't know about, lol).

Now if I could find the book that would make me stop missing my family and friends, my house (does it really belong to someone else now?), and my dog, Jaka (and Wicket, for that matter). R has adjusted; the boys have adjusted; the dogs have adjusted. One of these days I'll adjust, too, right?

Mr. Rogers and other great fun

These are from R's cell phone, so aren't as great as we'd like, but here ya go!






We had a marvelous trip to the Marbles Museum today. Best of all, G and A and R were thrilled to meet Mr. McFeely from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood; they got his autograph, and we have a photograph of G and Mr. M that is quite adorable (but unfortunately not yet uploaded). It's a great little museum, and well worth visiting again, especially on a less crowded day. ;-)

Another treat was listening to/watching the puppeteer/actor for Lionel (Between the Lions) read "Click, Clack, Moo" during a special story hour at the museum. G and I were ecstatic to get a behind-the-scenes look at one of his favorite characters (and the guy is really good at what he does!). He was less interested in the costumed manifestations of his other favorite show, Super Why!.

I'll post a picture of G and Mr. M later!

Speaking of Wonders

I'm totally amazed by my new love of cooking. I've always *known* how, though my results have been far from consistent, and I've tried to plan nutritious meals on a regular basis since before I graduated from high school. But I've always failed -- always. I've been the yo-yo cooker. Until now. Really, I can't wait to plan my meals each week; can't wait to shop for the ingredients; and can't wait to put Nora Jones or the Eagles or George Winston or Enya or Pearl Jam or Solas (on and on, ad nauseum) on the stereo and make dinner. I don't know if it's ds #1 and #2 and their love of cooking (my own mom is a great cook, as was her great-grandmother, but we come from a long line of definite non-cooks), or my entire family's love of trying new foods, but I'm smitten. It's right up there with theater and reading, and more consistent than my knitting as of late. I've always had a ton of cookbooks, and now I'm actually using them regularly. This week, we had an Asparagus Tart with ricotta cheese and steamed kale with garlic and parmesan on Monday; Chicken Enchilada soup and side salad (with Romaine lettuce, carrots, walnuts, grapes, cheese and dressing) on Tuesday; Baked Butternut Squash, Three Cheese Mashed Cauliflower and Kale, and side salads on Wednesday; and Avocado Pasta w/cilantro and Pan fried Tilapia tonight. We usually go out to eat or do something simple on Friday, and then R cooks on Saturday and sometimes Sunday. I make a dessert a couple of times a week, and somehow it's working out well and consistently for the first time in my life.

I had my first improv class on Monday, and por supuesto, I was a nervous wreck the whole drive there. But it was awesome, and I secretly (haha) wish it were three times a week. I wish that I could cut myself more slack, and not expect to "get" everything the first time I do something. Sigh. But I'm counting the days until Monday when I can throw myself back in.

We are going to see ComedySportz for kids this Saturday, as well as visiting the Marbles Museum in Raleigh. And, hopefully, this is our last weekend to look at vans. I absolutely cannot wait to separate the kids -- driving with them crammed together has been more than challenging as of late.

Basta por hoy, R and G are making spice cookies, and I need to get one while they're still warm (and not in anyone else's mouth!).

Wonders Never Cease

When K was 2 1/2 - 3 years old, he drew a rather convincing Elmo and Big Bird using his stuffed animals as guides. But, honestly, since then, he hasn't drawn much of anything. He wrote early, but it usually involved letters and numbers. Only when he really felt inspired did he spontaneously draw pictures for fun. Until the last few weeks. Over the summer, I had him put entries in his journal (something he really likes doing), and he started putting illustrations in along with his words. Over the last couple of weeks, he has started drawing convincing animals, and this week has started making his own comics. I haven't asked him to do any of this, and I've never pressed him to draw or color (though I must admit I've lamented his lack of doing so because drawing/coloring/art was my favorite pastime next to reading throughout my childhood/teenage years). Suddenly, almost overnight, he draws almost as much and as well as he reads and computes. Exciting how these things happen! FWIW, my dh, who has scored no less than the 99th percentile in math/science/logic and the 95th percentile on verbal on ANY test he's ever taken, has only drawn a handful of things in his entire life. Most of them involved buildings and architectural type things. He spent his childhood reading, taking things apart, writing computer programs, listening to music that my mom would have died before allowing into our house, and making movies with his friends (along with a GREAT amount of work on the family farm). A rock-n-roll geek with muscles! ;-)

K is also teaching himself to write in cursive. Yay! G and A are doing wonderful things, too, but I'll chronicle those in another entry. :)

I wish that parents wouldn't pigeonhole their children. I wish that if they don't see a certain trait develop before a certain age that they wouldn't decide that that their child is deficient in that area. It has taken me years to develop confidence in my ability to sing, for example, and I still can't do it in public because of very negative comments that I received from key people early in my life. I hope to overcome this eventually, but until then I urge everyone to maintain an open mind about loved ones, and keep negative, non-constructive comments to yourselves. :)

Slowly getting there

We're slowly putting together a life. We have library cards (and books), have signed K and G up for ice skating, have joined a Sportsplex (with a pool, ice rink, and more!), have found a piano/violin instructor (the boys will start in January), have signed up for the homeschooling group (well, we've sent the form, lol) and have located a church. We still need to find a dojo and figure out the massive parks and rec. system so that G can take an art class and a gym class. Eek. But we're getting there. Hopefully, we'll have decided on a vehicle before Thanksgiving. We think that we've decided that we'll stay in the rental house until after the baby comes. The choices out there right now are crummy (have been actually for months), and the interest rates aren't likely to jump up any time soon. But we'll see.

Estudio español. No es difícil, pero trabajo muchas horas cada día. Espero hablar, leer y escribir muy bien antes del próximo verano. Por supuesto, el ejercicio hace al maestro. :)

¡Basta por hoy!