-The gluten-free zucchini bread I made from a gigantic zucchini, as well as the pumpkin and butternut squash soup I made collaboratively with our house guest. Hurray for fall produce and a capable kitchen companion.
-Going on a 6:20am walk around the neighborhood with E last Saturday. It was just getting light, and everyone was asleep except us and a few other people, and it felt like a secret. Plus we had a really good talk, and he loves me.
-Every single E hug and kiss, especially in the morning when his hair is all messy and his breath smells like feet, but his blue eyes sparkle and warm up the whole house.
-The mini-date L surprised me with last night, babysitter included. She took me to a chocolate/coffee shop and we sat outside drinking extremely delicious hot chocolate and just talking, but it felt fresher and exciting. She looks just as beautiful (maybe even beautiful-er) outside of the house we share. Wow! Dates are fun!
-Birthday party planning for E. It is going to be AWESOME. It’s Ancient Egyptian themed and he made golden pyramid shaped invites with each of his friends’ name written in hieroglyphics. Yep, I’ve memorized the alphabet, pretty much.
-The book I am reading: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
A Brief Interview With The Almost Seven Year Old
Mama: If you could fly, where would you go?
E: I’d fly to Disneyland and go on the Jack Sparrow ride.
Mama: If you were invisible, what would you do?
E: I’d sneak around on Halloween and scare people by shouting, “Boo!” and they’d look around and no body would be there. Or! I’d stand still and people would bump into me but me super confused cause they wouldn’t see anything there. They would be so creped out! That would be awesome. Also, I could hide out where robbers live, and I'd arrest them without them seeing me.
Mama: If you could read minds whose mind would you want to read?
E: Yours.
Mama: Mine? Why?
E: Because then I would always know what you were thinking, and surprises wouldn’t exist, because I’d always be able to know about them if you were thinking about them. And if you had a special treat planned, I’d know about it, and so I’d behave really well.
Mama: I bet you can guess what I’m thinking now.
E: That you love me?
Mama: Yep, that’s what I was thinking.
E: I’d fly to Disneyland and go on the Jack Sparrow ride.
Mama: If you were invisible, what would you do?
E: I’d sneak around on Halloween and scare people by shouting, “Boo!” and they’d look around and no body would be there. Or! I’d stand still and people would bump into me but me super confused cause they wouldn’t see anything there. They would be so creped out! That would be awesome. Also, I could hide out where robbers live, and I'd arrest them without them seeing me.
Mama: If you could read minds whose mind would you want to read?
E: Yours.
Mama: Mine? Why?
E: Because then I would always know what you were thinking, and surprises wouldn’t exist, because I’d always be able to know about them if you were thinking about them. And if you had a special treat planned, I’d know about it, and so I’d behave really well.
Mama: I bet you can guess what I’m thinking now.
E: That you love me?
Mama: Yep, that’s what I was thinking.
Monday, September 12, 2011
We Are Completely Moved In!
We finally finished unpacking! Horray! A friend is moving here this week from far away and will be staying with us, so that was the extra push we needed to finally do it. L and I had been avoiding our room, and it was the worst of all, with a row of boxes at the end of out bed like where a Hope Chest would be, except uglier. We found places for everything, even if I did fill my drawers up very full. The place looks good, and I want to keep it that way. E’s room was the first to be unpacked, because he’s so special, I guess. But now we are all special. I’ve just started reading Room by Emma Donoghue, and I think it’s making me think and write like an imprisoned five year old. “House is unpacked and that’s like empty but with things.” It’s really really good so far.
My favorite thing about unpacking is finding things we thought were gone, or had forgotten we were looking for, like my collection of wooden and plastic toy chickens that used to live on my window sill in my last apartment. I also found all my cameras, and thank god, because I am so tired of the crappy resolution of iPhone cameras. I used to have a gigantic SLR camera with me at all times, and then I got super lazy. But E hasn’t stopped being adorable and photogenic all the time, so I have no excuse.
We spent some time this weekend looking through my photo albums my mom made for me. When we were at my parents house on Saturday, E and I went though the gigantic trunk of dress up that my sister and I played with everyday of our childhood. E and I made away with a small but exquisite sampling to add to his dress up chest: a rainbow clown wig, a red “rock star” wig that my sister got when she was 3, a glitter baton I’ve had since I was 4, a plastic sword that is perfect for magic tricks, the blue and orange clown suit my mom made for Halloween that I wore in third grade and in fourth grade, a silver sequiny sash, a blue floral skirt I made for my 5th grade school play, and a few beaded necklaces. E fits into the clown suit! I love when that happens, when the things I loved turn into things he can love. He’s thinking maybe he wants to be a clown for Halloween. We looked though the photo albums to find the two different Halloweens when I wore the clown suit, once with the rainbow wig, once without.
My photo albums are glorious. I think they actually make Elliott a bit jealous, which is hard to watch. He sees the life I had and wants it. Of course, he’s only seeing the photos we wanted to put in, but still. He loves to see the birthday parties, the summers at the beach, the swim team and soccer. The dad who took me to airplane museums and baseball games. The aunts and uncles and snowy adventures. Quite a different life he has in some ways. L and I had similar childhoods. Girl scout camp, sisters, church, soccer teams. E is in a city, and his back yard is small. Both his parents work full time now, so there isn’t the luxury of afternoons that I was used to.
We have a kid who is learning how to be safe on busy city roads. He knows about speeding cars, and buses, and how to ride a train. We have a kid who knows that there are always people asking for money right outside the train station and that people who hang around the playground talking to the trash can are probably “sick in their heads” and he shouldn’t stare or play near them. Sometimes L and I are surprised when we go on evening strolls with him and we turn the corner and we are on a busy street littered with junk food wrappers, beer cans, and cigarette butts. E has an eye for “treasures” and is always trying to bring home trash. He sees colorful things on the ground and goes to pick them up. We are always shouting “drop it!” so he stops holding on to that broken piece of glass, or bit of used hairbrush that he finds so amazing. It’s disgusting. Sometimes I think how lovely it would be to go on walks in the county, or even the suburbs, and let him pick up the things he finds. A pinecone, an earthworm, a rock. Here, I’ve had to teach him that he can’t take little rocks from people’s front yards or from the sidewalk in front on a church. I’ve explained that those are “landscaping rocks” and that people had to pay for them, so they belong to them. It seems like such a silly concept when I have to explain it, and answer his questions. “But where do they get them? Are they made in a factory or do they take them from nature? I don’t get it.” It's weird.
I can’t tell if I have a cold or if I have leftover dust allergies from unpacking, but either way it’s highly unpleasant. I’ve definitely done more sneezing than is appropriate for one day. Good thing we also discovered a dozen little packs of tissues.
And with that, I bid you achoo! (adieu, of course-it’s a pun, E-style. Extremely clever and hilarious.)
-B Star
My favorite thing about unpacking is finding things we thought were gone, or had forgotten we were looking for, like my collection of wooden and plastic toy chickens that used to live on my window sill in my last apartment. I also found all my cameras, and thank god, because I am so tired of the crappy resolution of iPhone cameras. I used to have a gigantic SLR camera with me at all times, and then I got super lazy. But E hasn’t stopped being adorable and photogenic all the time, so I have no excuse.
We spent some time this weekend looking through my photo albums my mom made for me. When we were at my parents house on Saturday, E and I went though the gigantic trunk of dress up that my sister and I played with everyday of our childhood. E and I made away with a small but exquisite sampling to add to his dress up chest: a rainbow clown wig, a red “rock star” wig that my sister got when she was 3, a glitter baton I’ve had since I was 4, a plastic sword that is perfect for magic tricks, the blue and orange clown suit my mom made for Halloween that I wore in third grade and in fourth grade, a silver sequiny sash, a blue floral skirt I made for my 5th grade school play, and a few beaded necklaces. E fits into the clown suit! I love when that happens, when the things I loved turn into things he can love. He’s thinking maybe he wants to be a clown for Halloween. We looked though the photo albums to find the two different Halloweens when I wore the clown suit, once with the rainbow wig, once without.
My photo albums are glorious. I think they actually make Elliott a bit jealous, which is hard to watch. He sees the life I had and wants it. Of course, he’s only seeing the photos we wanted to put in, but still. He loves to see the birthday parties, the summers at the beach, the swim team and soccer. The dad who took me to airplane museums and baseball games. The aunts and uncles and snowy adventures. Quite a different life he has in some ways. L and I had similar childhoods. Girl scout camp, sisters, church, soccer teams. E is in a city, and his back yard is small. Both his parents work full time now, so there isn’t the luxury of afternoons that I was used to.
We have a kid who is learning how to be safe on busy city roads. He knows about speeding cars, and buses, and how to ride a train. We have a kid who knows that there are always people asking for money right outside the train station and that people who hang around the playground talking to the trash can are probably “sick in their heads” and he shouldn’t stare or play near them. Sometimes L and I are surprised when we go on evening strolls with him and we turn the corner and we are on a busy street littered with junk food wrappers, beer cans, and cigarette butts. E has an eye for “treasures” and is always trying to bring home trash. He sees colorful things on the ground and goes to pick them up. We are always shouting “drop it!” so he stops holding on to that broken piece of glass, or bit of used hairbrush that he finds so amazing. It’s disgusting. Sometimes I think how lovely it would be to go on walks in the county, or even the suburbs, and let him pick up the things he finds. A pinecone, an earthworm, a rock. Here, I’ve had to teach him that he can’t take little rocks from people’s front yards or from the sidewalk in front on a church. I’ve explained that those are “landscaping rocks” and that people had to pay for them, so they belong to them. It seems like such a silly concept when I have to explain it, and answer his questions. “But where do they get them? Are they made in a factory or do they take them from nature? I don’t get it.” It's weird.
I can’t tell if I have a cold or if I have leftover dust allergies from unpacking, but either way it’s highly unpleasant. I’ve definitely done more sneezing than is appropriate for one day. Good thing we also discovered a dozen little packs of tissues.
And with that, I bid you achoo! (adieu, of course-it’s a pun, E-style. Extremely clever and hilarious.)
-B Star
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Gnomey Hat Homework
My son started Waldorf school yesterday! We were all so excited that I even blow dried his hair, and it looked really good and super extra blonde. He picked out an awesome outfit, but his top was wrinkled and he made me run it in the dryer so the wrinkles would disappear and he wouldn’t look sloppy. First graders care about that sort of thing, I guess.
So anyway, this morning, after breakfast, he informs us that he had homework that he had “forgotten” until that moment. He said all the kids have to bring in a gnomey hat, because they are going to make gnomes today. A gnomey hat? Sure, that sounds like normal homework. I’m pretty sure he made that up, because who assigns that as homework with out giving the parents a heads up? Not everyone has gnomey hat-making supplies lying around, right? I mean, I guess if you are a Waldorf family, there’s a good chance you do have felt and thread, but still. Anyway, he ran to grab the extra orange gnome hat that we made the other day for a gnome for our new nature corner, but didn’t use because it was too small. because we DO have extra gnome hats lying around. So there we go. Fake made-up homework done and done!
Yesterday E reported making beeswax honeybees, learning how to color with rectangular crayons, and he’s pretty sure he already kinda knows how to play the pentatonic flute! I let him show me on my old flute, and no, he doesn’t know how to play it. That’s ok. He was so excited to learn from his teacher that they each get their very own flute (Did he think they'd be sharing? Gross.), and eventually they will be knitting their flute cases ALL ON THEIR OWN! He made knitting needles! I didn’t have the car when I went after work to pick him up from his friend’s house, so we rode the bus. Specifically, we walked a half a mile to the bus stop, then waited for the bus for ages, then we rode the bus. And the whole time he told me about his day.
This is unusual. I have the kid who has never told me more than a few words about his school day when asked. Sure, stuff slips out, and I’ve gathered bits and pieces, but if you ask him, “How was school?” he says, “Good” or “Stupid” and nothing else. Sometimes I’ve been able to trick him by asking really odd and specific questions, like “Hey E, did Nick have string cheese in his lunch again?” And he’ll accidentally answer, “No, he had yogurt though, and I really liked the sandwich you packed. Nick called me a butt head and the teacher didn’t even notice!” or something like that. And then I know that Nick is a meanie face.
I take it as a really good sign that he talked about his day for an hour straight. Yes, it took an hour to get home via public transportation. But that hour included the MAJOR CRISIS of E’s feet getting blisters from his new school shoes. It was completely tragic, especially because he was ALSO HUNGRY, and didn’t even seen to notice the two clementines and granola bar I shoved in his mouth, because he was still STARVING, and he didn’t know which to complain about so he just moaned and sat down in the street. (Have I mentioned my child is ALWAYS hungry?) Thank goodness for his friend’ mom who handed us a container of delicious pasta with meat sauce as we walked out the door. Yay for eating dinner on the edge of the sidewalk while waiting for a bus! And yay for Waldorf school and tiny gnomey hats.
So anyway, this morning, after breakfast, he informs us that he had homework that he had “forgotten” until that moment. He said all the kids have to bring in a gnomey hat, because they are going to make gnomes today. A gnomey hat? Sure, that sounds like normal homework. I’m pretty sure he made that up, because who assigns that as homework with out giving the parents a heads up? Not everyone has gnomey hat-making supplies lying around, right? I mean, I guess if you are a Waldorf family, there’s a good chance you do have felt and thread, but still. Anyway, he ran to grab the extra orange gnome hat that we made the other day for a gnome for our new nature corner, but didn’t use because it was too small. because we DO have extra gnome hats lying around. So there we go. Fake made-up homework done and done!
Yesterday E reported making beeswax honeybees, learning how to color with rectangular crayons, and he’s pretty sure he already kinda knows how to play the pentatonic flute! I let him show me on my old flute, and no, he doesn’t know how to play it. That’s ok. He was so excited to learn from his teacher that they each get their very own flute (Did he think they'd be sharing? Gross.), and eventually they will be knitting their flute cases ALL ON THEIR OWN! He made knitting needles! I didn’t have the car when I went after work to pick him up from his friend’s house, so we rode the bus. Specifically, we walked a half a mile to the bus stop, then waited for the bus for ages, then we rode the bus. And the whole time he told me about his day.
This is unusual. I have the kid who has never told me more than a few words about his school day when asked. Sure, stuff slips out, and I’ve gathered bits and pieces, but if you ask him, “How was school?” he says, “Good” or “Stupid” and nothing else. Sometimes I’ve been able to trick him by asking really odd and specific questions, like “Hey E, did Nick have string cheese in his lunch again?” And he’ll accidentally answer, “No, he had yogurt though, and I really liked the sandwich you packed. Nick called me a butt head and the teacher didn’t even notice!” or something like that. And then I know that Nick is a meanie face.
I take it as a really good sign that he talked about his day for an hour straight. Yes, it took an hour to get home via public transportation. But that hour included the MAJOR CRISIS of E’s feet getting blisters from his new school shoes. It was completely tragic, especially because he was ALSO HUNGRY, and didn’t even seen to notice the two clementines and granola bar I shoved in his mouth, because he was still STARVING, and he didn’t know which to complain about so he just moaned and sat down in the street. (Have I mentioned my child is ALWAYS hungry?) Thank goodness for his friend’ mom who handed us a container of delicious pasta with meat sauce as we walked out the door. Yay for eating dinner on the edge of the sidewalk while waiting for a bus! And yay for Waldorf school and tiny gnomey hats.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Hurricane Irene
I would have written a post about how a small chunk of our ceiling caved in due to a water leak upstairs. It would have been witty and absurd, because when you come home to your ceiling on the floor, that's absurd.
But then Vermont happened. Hurricane Irene that is. She flooded my favorite state, tore it to bits! And I thought I had a water leak!
http://this-small-planet.com/2011/historic-flooding-in-woodstock-vermont-from-irene/#more-249
This is Woodstock, Vermont, the town where I got married this past Spring. This is sad and very upsetting and I wish I was there to help.
B-Star
But then Vermont happened. Hurricane Irene that is. She flooded my favorite state, tore it to bits! And I thought I had a water leak!
http://this-small-planet.com/2011/historic-flooding-in-woodstock-vermont-from-irene/#more-249
This is Woodstock, Vermont, the town where I got married this past Spring. This is sad and very upsetting and I wish I was there to help.
B-Star
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