I. Independent Play
J has been reading a parenting book that, so far, she is finding funny and insightful. I recommended it to her without having read it myself, so I look forward to reading it once she's finished to find out how thoughtful and appropriate my recommendation was. She turned to me on the couch yesterday and said "You know, I really like what this book has to say about letting kids figure out how to play on their own. It's better for the child and the parent if the parent just lets the kids go off into their room and be alone with their imagination instead of feeling pressure to butt in and be a part of whatever the kid is doing."
I agreed with her sentiment, so I was more than happy to write up my Pretentious Taco blog earlier this afternoon without feeling too concerned about where James was. If he was enjoying some play time on his own upstairs, that was just fine. Owen was mostly playing by himself next to me, and I had everything written up in about 20 minutes while I finished off a cup of coffee. Once I was done I scooped Owen up and headed towards the stairs.
"Daddy? Daddy?"
The bathroom door was shut and I could faintly hear James calling as I got to the base of the stairs. I bounded up and opened the door, finding him stranded on the toilet with his pants down and the lights off.
"Oh NO, James...have you been here long?"
"Yeah. I'm kind of cold. Where were you?"
II. Ash Wednesday
"Ash Wednesday is the moment each year when we touch and hold together both our baptism at the beginning of life and our funeral at the end of life. From dust you came, and to dust you will return."
It was a beautiful service last night at GPC, all the more beautiful because there were just a few of us there in that dark, empty sanctuary on a snowy February night.
III. Traumatizing the Babysitter
When I got back from the service last night I asked the babysitter how the boys did.
"Oh, they were both fine. James wanted to play Monopoly, so we got that down and he and I played that until bedtime."
"Monopoly, huh? He's never played that before. Did he understand the rules and everything?"
"Yes...we modified it so that we just put up hotels and passed around money, we didn't play the real way."
"Well thanks for doing that with him. I'm sure he enjoyed it."
"Yeah, he said he wanted to play it with you guys tomorrow morning."
...the next morning...
I went into James' room at 7:30 or so, and the first words out of his mouth were: "Hey Daddy, can we get the Monopoly game down? I want to be the race car, and you can be the battleship, and Mommy should be the hat."
I said good morning back to him, helped him out of bed, and then went over to the closet where our box of Monopoly had sat buried under a stack of other games ever since we moved in. I asked him if he'd had fun playing with the babysitter last night, and he assured me that Monopoly was his new favorite game.
I was interested in getting the game out again...our version of Monopoly was a custom board built by my brothers for us as a Christmas gift one year that was re-christened Smithopoly and featured properties where we had lived and Chance and Community Chest cards that had to do with our musical lives, hobbies, interests, etc. It was a great present and deserved to be opened again.
We went downstairs, and I opened up the box. I started sorting out the money and separating out the different types of Chance and Community Chest cards.
And then I remembered.
I remembered about the set of handwritten custom Chance and Community chest cards that were in the box. Cards that were not appropriate for ages 5 and up. Cards that were created sometime when we were living in Greensboro and were only ever supposed to be seen by J and I...
...and hence, for the second blog in a row, I'm concerned about our status with babysitters, because I'm not sure that we're ever getting that sitter back again.
Showing posts with label Quick Hitters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quick Hitters. Show all posts
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Quick Hitters
I. Berkeley
Finished a survey of the works of George Berkeley early this morning, who may have earned the dubious honor of being the most misunderstood man in the history of philosophy. It took a rare set of circumstances and mistakes for him to be popularly perceived as supporting the exact opposite view of the nature of reality, perception, and the philosophical task as the one he intended to promote. This is even more ironic for the reason that one of his principal points of emphasis was the use of clear and straightforward language. On now to The Origin of Species, which, in the words of GKC "a great many people are under the delusion that they have read."
II. Pancake Breakfast
We had to wait a little bit longer for breakfast this morning, since J made pancakes from scratch. One of my favorite parts of pancake breakfast is to tease James about how I'm going to eat the entire plate full of pancakes and will spare, at the very most, perhaps a half a pancake for him. By the time the pancakes are prepared he's so hungry that he isn't thinking rationally anyway, but I would have thought that by now he'd realize that I'm only teasing him and that there's no possible way I would even be able to eat the whole plate, let alone be so rude as to not share any with him. But no, every single time we have pancakes he comes to me with a nervous and imploring look to make sure that "you aren't gonna eat ALL of them, right Daddy?" It's a regular thing that we do now, sort of like taking his socks off before putting him in the bath. Whenever I have the tub running and am stripping him down for his bath, I always pretend to forget to take off his socks once I've got the rest of him denuded, and then lift him up and ALMOST put him in the tub while he hollers and kicks and protests that I forgot to take his socks off. I then pretend to realize my near-mistake and finally take them off. This has happened so often that he starts reminding me to take his socks off before we even go upstairs, and of course to take Owen's socks off as well. The difference with this situation is that I did once, when he was wearing a particularly ratty pair of old socks, dump him into the tub with his socks still on. (The scream could be heard for miles.) I would make an attempt to actually eat all of the pancakes myself some morning just to inspire a similar neurosis about the pancake problem, but J makes pancakes particularly rich, and I think I would just about burst.
III. $35
I made a promise at the beginning of the year (recorded on a napkin at a Chik Fil-A, then posted on Facebook) that I did not need to buy any trumpets this year. I am, of course, sticking to this promise, and it should be an easy one to keep. I'm perfectly happy with the instruments that I have, and I am (for the first time ever) not lacking any major pieces to the collection of instruments I would conceivably need to do the jobs I'm working. Now the napkin doesn't say anything at all about restraint in the matter of mouthpieces or mutes, but I would be kidding myself if I didn't acknowledge that the spirit of the napkin didn't cover those sorts of purchases as well. And here's the thing--there's a mouthpiece on eBay that I find very intriguing. J has long preferred the sound of one particular cut and style of mouthpiece to all my other ones in a number of blind tests, and this new eBay mouthpiece is that exact model but with a rim I might find more comfortable to play on. It would be $35...how do I convince her that I ought to purchase this new mouthpiece--which by her own testimony makes for the most desirable presentation of my sound--without violating, at least in spirit, the agreement that I signed with her at the beginning of the year. (And yes, I acknowledge that we aren't even out of January yet.) I suspect that the answer is to passive-aggressively write about it in a public space and semi-shame her into acknowledging that I really ought to go ahead and get the mouthpiece, because, after all, it's awfully cheap and maybe this mouthpiece could be a really good thing for our family happiness.
But this trick will probably only work once, so I sure hope this mouthpiece is worth it.
Finished a survey of the works of George Berkeley early this morning, who may have earned the dubious honor of being the most misunderstood man in the history of philosophy. It took a rare set of circumstances and mistakes for him to be popularly perceived as supporting the exact opposite view of the nature of reality, perception, and the philosophical task as the one he intended to promote. This is even more ironic for the reason that one of his principal points of emphasis was the use of clear and straightforward language. On now to The Origin of Species, which, in the words of GKC "a great many people are under the delusion that they have read."
II. Pancake Breakfast
We had to wait a little bit longer for breakfast this morning, since J made pancakes from scratch. One of my favorite parts of pancake breakfast is to tease James about how I'm going to eat the entire plate full of pancakes and will spare, at the very most, perhaps a half a pancake for him. By the time the pancakes are prepared he's so hungry that he isn't thinking rationally anyway, but I would have thought that by now he'd realize that I'm only teasing him and that there's no possible way I would even be able to eat the whole plate, let alone be so rude as to not share any with him. But no, every single time we have pancakes he comes to me with a nervous and imploring look to make sure that "you aren't gonna eat ALL of them, right Daddy?" It's a regular thing that we do now, sort of like taking his socks off before putting him in the bath. Whenever I have the tub running and am stripping him down for his bath, I always pretend to forget to take off his socks once I've got the rest of him denuded, and then lift him up and ALMOST put him in the tub while he hollers and kicks and protests that I forgot to take his socks off. I then pretend to realize my near-mistake and finally take them off. This has happened so often that he starts reminding me to take his socks off before we even go upstairs, and of course to take Owen's socks off as well. The difference with this situation is that I did once, when he was wearing a particularly ratty pair of old socks, dump him into the tub with his socks still on. (The scream could be heard for miles.) I would make an attempt to actually eat all of the pancakes myself some morning just to inspire a similar neurosis about the pancake problem, but J makes pancakes particularly rich, and I think I would just about burst.
III. $35
I made a promise at the beginning of the year (recorded on a napkin at a Chik Fil-A, then posted on Facebook) that I did not need to buy any trumpets this year. I am, of course, sticking to this promise, and it should be an easy one to keep. I'm perfectly happy with the instruments that I have, and I am (for the first time ever) not lacking any major pieces to the collection of instruments I would conceivably need to do the jobs I'm working. Now the napkin doesn't say anything at all about restraint in the matter of mouthpieces or mutes, but I would be kidding myself if I didn't acknowledge that the spirit of the napkin didn't cover those sorts of purchases as well. And here's the thing--there's a mouthpiece on eBay that I find very intriguing. J has long preferred the sound of one particular cut and style of mouthpiece to all my other ones in a number of blind tests, and this new eBay mouthpiece is that exact model but with a rim I might find more comfortable to play on. It would be $35...how do I convince her that I ought to purchase this new mouthpiece--which by her own testimony makes for the most desirable presentation of my sound--without violating, at least in spirit, the agreement that I signed with her at the beginning of the year. (And yes, I acknowledge that we aren't even out of January yet.) I suspect that the answer is to passive-aggressively write about it in a public space and semi-shame her into acknowledging that I really ought to go ahead and get the mouthpiece, because, after all, it's awfully cheap and maybe this mouthpiece could be a really good thing for our family happiness.
But this trick will probably only work once, so I sure hope this mouthpiece is worth it.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Quick Hitters
I. The State of the New Year's Resolutions
I love New Year's Resolutions. Every year on New Year's Day you have a beautiful blank canvas: 365 brand new, completely unspoiled days to work out what you want to do better than you did for the previous year. Here's how it's going so far.
1. Straighten out bedtime/rise-time schedules. This has been easy. I turn off my phone at 8 PM when we put the kids to bed and leave it downstairs on my desk. I'm asleep by 10 PM with no trouble whatsoever
2. Stay in regular correspondence with those family members who I wouldn't regularly see otherwise. Harder, especially since I can't text them after 8 PM anymore. But not everybody texts. And some people don't text, but like email. And some people prefer a letter impressed with a wax seal. (Sorry M, I owe you a letter.)
3. Save ---$---. Okay so far. No major expenses in January yet, but I know that our car insurance renews in February. (Blargh)
4. Add some yoga into my regular running routine so that my back isn't perpetually on the fritz. This has not worked out at all so far. Running is just so much more enjoyable that yoga...but MAN, is Owen getting heavy. And he really likes being held...and bouncing...and dancing.
5. Finish all Unread Books. I've been making solid progress on my big list of books that I own but haven't finished reading. Just since the first of the year, I've finished: Rabelais, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, In Dubious Battle, Polikushka, and A Tale of Two Cities. (Which I'd read before but didn't own. I ran out of books while traveling and had to buy a cheap copy of something.) Now on to Henry Esmond...
II. Folding Clothes
It's important to make things new again. And the best way to make something feel new again is give it a good cleaning. But when all of your clothes are clean and they still look like a wrinkly mess, you can make them all seem new again by folding them EXTREMELY meticulously and storing them in a pleasing-looking manner. This was a great game for the boys and I. I folded all of my undershirts to the tightest and neatest looking fold I could get and stacked them all perfectly atop one another in my laundry cube. The game was that they would be normal human boys while I attempted to neatly fold the laundry, and I would try to protect my work. They mostly won, but I will say that my clothes drawer (and all of J's, after I finished mine) look like department store shelves for the time.
III. DFW Airport
I was sitting in the terminal thumbing through a book and itching to get home to my family. I saw a little blonde boy with a bouncy step--the sort of step that you have when you're three years old and you know that you're about to take a ride on a REAL airplane--holding his mother's hand, backpack on pack. In his other hand was dangling something brown and very well-loved. It was a George. The George had no shirt, and had the same shapeless well-loved look of a certain other George that I know. I was happy for George and the boy, that they would get to ride the airplane together.
IV. Bad Back
Seriously, I might need to do some yoga soon. An hour of lying in bed in comfortable PJs with the mattress pad heated up and a glass of wine is not loosening anything up. Also, Owen might not get picked up very much tomorrow...
I love New Year's Resolutions. Every year on New Year's Day you have a beautiful blank canvas: 365 brand new, completely unspoiled days to work out what you want to do better than you did for the previous year. Here's how it's going so far.
1. Straighten out bedtime/rise-time schedules. This has been easy. I turn off my phone at 8 PM when we put the kids to bed and leave it downstairs on my desk. I'm asleep by 10 PM with no trouble whatsoever
2. Stay in regular correspondence with those family members who I wouldn't regularly see otherwise. Harder, especially since I can't text them after 8 PM anymore. But not everybody texts. And some people don't text, but like email. And some people prefer a letter impressed with a wax seal. (Sorry M, I owe you a letter.)
3. Save ---$---. Okay so far. No major expenses in January yet, but I know that our car insurance renews in February. (Blargh)
4. Add some yoga into my regular running routine so that my back isn't perpetually on the fritz. This has not worked out at all so far. Running is just so much more enjoyable that yoga...but MAN, is Owen getting heavy. And he really likes being held...and bouncing...and dancing.
5. Finish all Unread Books. I've been making solid progress on my big list of books that I own but haven't finished reading. Just since the first of the year, I've finished: Rabelais, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, In Dubious Battle, Polikushka, and A Tale of Two Cities. (Which I'd read before but didn't own. I ran out of books while traveling and had to buy a cheap copy of something.) Now on to Henry Esmond...
II. Folding Clothes
It's important to make things new again. And the best way to make something feel new again is give it a good cleaning. But when all of your clothes are clean and they still look like a wrinkly mess, you can make them all seem new again by folding them EXTREMELY meticulously and storing them in a pleasing-looking manner. This was a great game for the boys and I. I folded all of my undershirts to the tightest and neatest looking fold I could get and stacked them all perfectly atop one another in my laundry cube. The game was that they would be normal human boys while I attempted to neatly fold the laundry, and I would try to protect my work. They mostly won, but I will say that my clothes drawer (and all of J's, after I finished mine) look like department store shelves for the time.
III. DFW Airport
I was sitting in the terminal thumbing through a book and itching to get home to my family. I saw a little blonde boy with a bouncy step--the sort of step that you have when you're three years old and you know that you're about to take a ride on a REAL airplane--holding his mother's hand, backpack on pack. In his other hand was dangling something brown and very well-loved. It was a George. The George had no shirt, and had the same shapeless well-loved look of a certain other George that I know. I was happy for George and the boy, that they would get to ride the airplane together.
IV. Bad Back
Seriously, I might need to do some yoga soon. An hour of lying in bed in comfortable PJs with the mattress pad heated up and a glass of wine is not loosening anything up. Also, Owen might not get picked up very much tomorrow...
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Quick Hitters
I. Swimming
We took the boys swimming at the HC pool today. James vaguely remembered swimming there last year, and I'm not sure he's been in the water since then. Watching your two-year old who can't swim get excited about the pool is a little different than watching your three-year old who can't swim. When J told me that we maybe ought to consider paying for some swim lessons for James I immediately dismissed the thought. Why would we pay to have someone else teach James a skill he could learn in a few afternoons at my parent's pond? Well, for one thing, it turns out that we haven't been out to the ancestral pond terribly often this year. For another, J isn't particularly fond of pond-swimming as an activity either. I don't know if James would mind or not...he certainly loves "Papa's Pond" and is currently making a collection of sticks to either throw in or fish with (he knows which is stick is for which use) beneath his carseat. Whether or not we could get him into the pond to swim, there would still be the problem of actually teaching him to swim. I assumed that he would splash around in the shallows and eventually begin to float on his back and doggy paddle, or possibly be thrown bodily into deeper water by a loving and impatient parental figure without any promise of retrieval. None of these have happened, and he may need to learn swimming at a public pool. He did well at HC today, although Owen was clearly the braver of the two boys. Owen would kick his feet vigorously, careen off his parent toward the water, and then make excited splashes in the water with an expression of unbridled delight until he splashed himself in the face, at which point the expression would change into drenched and blinking shock, followed by a broad grin, and then more splashing. Even though James was a little more cautious, he still didn't want to leave once our time was up. He immediately asked when we could come back to the pool, and I told him maybe Friday.
As I put him down for his nap this afternoon, his last soft question as I closed his door was "Hey Daddy...when I wake up from my nap will it be Friday yet?"
II. J's Thoughts
1. When was Owen's last diaper change?
2. How many servings of fruits and vegetables has James had today?
3. Remember not to step on the second to last step of the stairs or the squeak will wake Owen up
4. If you just ignore all the facebook activity of you more active friends for more than a few days at a time they're going to assume something is wrong.
5. When can I get my flute in for a clean, oil, and adjust?
6. Need to respond to Pearce emails during naps today
7. Need to remind Roy my car needs an oil change
8. Take the chicken out of the freezer before lunch or it won't be thawed for dinner.
9. Everyone had dessert for lunch today, shouldn't be any sweets for dinner
10. Look up how many months old Owen needs to be before he can start eating cheese
11. Roy said he's out of white dress shirts, make sure a load of white laundry gets started
12. Remember that laundry will also need to be flipped during naps
13. Check to see if Roy emptied dehumidifier before leaving for rehearsal.
14. Has it been more than three days since I washed my hair? Could have time to wash and dry it during nap, but may have to give up something else
15. Make sure Owen doesn't sleep too late during morning nap or else he won't want to sleep for afternoon nap
16. Be sure to put letters out before lunchtime, or else they won't be remembered before the mail comes
17. Need to get milk at the grocery store
18. Need to leave an extra five minutes if taking my car, since we'll need to stop for gas as well
19. Remember to grab a pencil from the nightstand when going upstairs for the white laundry
20. Set aside some time for coffee this afternoon if you're going to still be awake to work out this evening
21. Make sure James helps clean up the mess of wood blocks before bed tonight since it's an extra long workout
22. Should nap be spent on a shower if I'm going to work out later? But won't have time to dry hair afterwards because Roy will probably want to get right to bed...
23. When was the last time Owen had a poopy diaper?
24. Did Roy remember to give Owen miralax in his bottle last night
25. Is Roy driving or carpooling to rehearsal today...will he be able to answer text questions?
26. Make sure that James practices some phonics words?
27. Make sure dishes get put away from dishwasher
28. Make sure dirty dishes get loaded into dishwasher so I can have counter space to make lunch
29. Make sure that I write down somewhere that I'm going to need to buy bread at the store
30. Remember to put the shopping list in my purse before I leave for the store with the boys
31. Remember to put sunscreen on both boys before we leave since it's supposed to be so scorching out today
32. Remember to grab sunglasses from the desk before trying to drive around out there
33. Check with Roy to make sure he doesn't need anything from Wegmans
34. Even though he says he doesn't, make sure he isn't about to run out of body wash or deodorant
35. Put down "clean bathroom" on the list of nap to-dos so it doesn't stress me out tonight after kids are in bed
36. Text Roy and ask where his drop-cloth from the tub project is supposed to go
37. Need an explanation for James as to why one of his roof slats was donated to make paint
38. Remember to help James look for his lost Lightning McQueen car
39. Is Owen making noise just because he's drowsing, or is he really getting up?
40. Remember to write back to texts from Mom, sisters, and friends while Owen is nursing
41. Make sure James has some quiet activity to do while Owen is nursing
42. If I give James iPad time now is he going to have too much for one day when I teach my lesson later?
44. Remember to text my student and make sure she knows not to come right at 4:15 today.
45. Remember to check calendar and see if Roy moved his Wednesday student
46. Remember we need more diapers for Owen...should this be a Wegmans trip or a BJs trip?
47. Calendar says Roy isn't teaching on Wednesday...text him to check anyway.
48. Write back to Diane's email once the boys are down and I can type it out on the computer
49. Check to see if Roy took the computer with him to rehearsal
50. Since it's here, make sure it's plugged in and charging so it won't have to do a whole boot-up once you turn it on
51. Make sure you turn printer on too if you're going to have to print off stuff for Pearce during nap
52. Text Roy and see if he knows what's up with this error message on printer
53. Check those potential BPO dates that Roy just sent against the calendar in the kitchen...will we need more childcare
54. Remember where you left the grocery list before you start packing up boys...kitchen? desk?
55. When was the last time James went potty?
56. Where is Steven Bear?
57. Try to get James to wear his sandals again, even though he's going to insist on sneakers
58. Leave Owen in a place where he can't get into anything to help James wipe himself
59. Put "more outlet covers" on grocery list
60. Remember to cancel Thursday student
61. Find a post-it note to jot down reminder about Thursday student
62. Check Owen's mouth to make sure there isn't any more of that crayon in there
63. Remind James about manners and not hitting Owen
64. Talk with Roy later about what to do when James pretends to be fighting
65. Keys? Phone? Wallet?
66. Remember to ask Roy again about getting battery in key fab replaced
67. Be on the look-out for steering wheel cart
68. Remember to get individual pack of sanitary wipes for cart
69. Look at the pretty cheesecakes. Could tonight be a cheesecake night instead of exercise night?
70. Are we out of apples again?
71. Not going to get diapers today. Remember to schedule a time to go to BJs later in the week.
72. Drat. Remember to schedule a time to go to the other Wegmans to pick up prescriptions.
73. Which is cheaper, 6 avocados for 4.99 but probably not all of them will be good, or 4 avocados for 3.49 but you know that the quality will be better in all 4?
74. Ignore other mother in cute jogging shorts with awesome double stroller. Do not covet, do not covet.
75. Need new bras...could possibly go to Target and leave kids with Roy tonight? But that means no working out
76. What's the best thing to do with a cartful of groceries and James while changing Owen's diaper in the restroom?
77. Remember you absolutely HAVE to stop and get gas on the way home now. Is it cheaper at Hatch Road or further down Empire?
78. Need to invite Hamways over for dinner
79. Need to remember to find childcare for Friday afternoon while Roy is at rehearsal
80. Remember to download podcasts so you don't have to listen to Life Is A Highway again
81. Be sure when you do Pearce work this afternoon that you cc in the guest pastor for this coming Sunday, even though he probably won't look at it
82. Ask Roy how much money is left on the Amazon gift card...
83. Make sure James doesn't end up carrying the grocery bag with the eggs
84. Keep Owen awake in backseat so he'll sleep during afternoon nap
85. Is the battery going in the garage door clicker as well?
86. Respond to Csehy availability survey while you've got laptop open this afternoon
87. Ugh. Roy bugging on about passport photos again.
88. Make sure that James has full sippy before going down for nap.
89. Try to suggest a story that isn't Curious George Lost and Found before nap
90. Be sure to remember to wash out James' lunch dishes before you start nap-work so that everything doesn't get stuck on them when it dries
91. Underneath Owen's high chair really needs to be swept out
92. This Excellus notice that came in the mail...is there any way this can be deciphered into English?
93. Why is James crying? Oh yes, he wanted his Yoshi stuffed animal in bed with him too.
94. Owen doesn't look sleepy. Could possibly work on Pearce stuff while he plays on floor?
95. Remember to move back end table so it doesn't clutter up living room after you've done work on laptop with Owen on the floor
96. Remember to move James' tangrams down to basement so Owen can't get into them once both boys are asleep
97. Remember to turn on Owen's fan, since you turned it off (trying to conserve electricity) when you put him down from nap
98. Remember to plug in phone and charge for a bit once you get downstairs
99. Does Roy know that something is growing in the gutter outside Owen's room?
100. Why is James making monkey sounds when he should be sleeping?
We took the boys swimming at the HC pool today. James vaguely remembered swimming there last year, and I'm not sure he's been in the water since then. Watching your two-year old who can't swim get excited about the pool is a little different than watching your three-year old who can't swim. When J told me that we maybe ought to consider paying for some swim lessons for James I immediately dismissed the thought. Why would we pay to have someone else teach James a skill he could learn in a few afternoons at my parent's pond? Well, for one thing, it turns out that we haven't been out to the ancestral pond terribly often this year. For another, J isn't particularly fond of pond-swimming as an activity either. I don't know if James would mind or not...he certainly loves "Papa's Pond" and is currently making a collection of sticks to either throw in or fish with (he knows which is stick is for which use) beneath his carseat. Whether or not we could get him into the pond to swim, there would still be the problem of actually teaching him to swim. I assumed that he would splash around in the shallows and eventually begin to float on his back and doggy paddle, or possibly be thrown bodily into deeper water by a loving and impatient parental figure without any promise of retrieval. None of these have happened, and he may need to learn swimming at a public pool. He did well at HC today, although Owen was clearly the braver of the two boys. Owen would kick his feet vigorously, careen off his parent toward the water, and then make excited splashes in the water with an expression of unbridled delight until he splashed himself in the face, at which point the expression would change into drenched and blinking shock, followed by a broad grin, and then more splashing. Even though James was a little more cautious, he still didn't want to leave once our time was up. He immediately asked when we could come back to the pool, and I told him maybe Friday.
As I put him down for his nap this afternoon, his last soft question as I closed his door was "Hey Daddy...when I wake up from my nap will it be Friday yet?"
II. J's Thoughts
1. When was Owen's last diaper change?
2. How many servings of fruits and vegetables has James had today?
3. Remember not to step on the second to last step of the stairs or the squeak will wake Owen up
4. If you just ignore all the facebook activity of you more active friends for more than a few days at a time they're going to assume something is wrong.
5. When can I get my flute in for a clean, oil, and adjust?
6. Need to respond to Pearce emails during naps today
7. Need to remind Roy my car needs an oil change
8. Take the chicken out of the freezer before lunch or it won't be thawed for dinner.
9. Everyone had dessert for lunch today, shouldn't be any sweets for dinner
10. Look up how many months old Owen needs to be before he can start eating cheese
11. Roy said he's out of white dress shirts, make sure a load of white laundry gets started
12. Remember that laundry will also need to be flipped during naps
13. Check to see if Roy emptied dehumidifier before leaving for rehearsal.
14. Has it been more than three days since I washed my hair? Could have time to wash and dry it during nap, but may have to give up something else
15. Make sure Owen doesn't sleep too late during morning nap or else he won't want to sleep for afternoon nap
16. Be sure to put letters out before lunchtime, or else they won't be remembered before the mail comes
17. Need to get milk at the grocery store
18. Need to leave an extra five minutes if taking my car, since we'll need to stop for gas as well
19. Remember to grab a pencil from the nightstand when going upstairs for the white laundry
20. Set aside some time for coffee this afternoon if you're going to still be awake to work out this evening
21. Make sure James helps clean up the mess of wood blocks before bed tonight since it's an extra long workout
22. Should nap be spent on a shower if I'm going to work out later? But won't have time to dry hair afterwards because Roy will probably want to get right to bed...
23. When was the last time Owen had a poopy diaper?
24. Did Roy remember to give Owen miralax in his bottle last night
25. Is Roy driving or carpooling to rehearsal today...will he be able to answer text questions?
26. Make sure that James practices some phonics words?
27. Make sure dishes get put away from dishwasher
28. Make sure dirty dishes get loaded into dishwasher so I can have counter space to make lunch
29. Make sure that I write down somewhere that I'm going to need to buy bread at the store
30. Remember to put the shopping list in my purse before I leave for the store with the boys
31. Remember to put sunscreen on both boys before we leave since it's supposed to be so scorching out today
32. Remember to grab sunglasses from the desk before trying to drive around out there
33. Check with Roy to make sure he doesn't need anything from Wegmans
34. Even though he says he doesn't, make sure he isn't about to run out of body wash or deodorant
35. Put down "clean bathroom" on the list of nap to-dos so it doesn't stress me out tonight after kids are in bed
36. Text Roy and ask where his drop-cloth from the tub project is supposed to go
37. Need an explanation for James as to why one of his roof slats was donated to make paint
38. Remember to help James look for his lost Lightning McQueen car
39. Is Owen making noise just because he's drowsing, or is he really getting up?
40. Remember to write back to texts from Mom, sisters, and friends while Owen is nursing
41. Make sure James has some quiet activity to do while Owen is nursing
42. If I give James iPad time now is he going to have too much for one day when I teach my lesson later?
44. Remember to text my student and make sure she knows not to come right at 4:15 today.
45. Remember to check calendar and see if Roy moved his Wednesday student
46. Remember we need more diapers for Owen...should this be a Wegmans trip or a BJs trip?
47. Calendar says Roy isn't teaching on Wednesday...text him to check anyway.
48. Write back to Diane's email once the boys are down and I can type it out on the computer
49. Check to see if Roy took the computer with him to rehearsal
50. Since it's here, make sure it's plugged in and charging so it won't have to do a whole boot-up once you turn it on
51. Make sure you turn printer on too if you're going to have to print off stuff for Pearce during nap
52. Text Roy and see if he knows what's up with this error message on printer
53. Check those potential BPO dates that Roy just sent against the calendar in the kitchen...will we need more childcare
54. Remember where you left the grocery list before you start packing up boys...kitchen? desk?
55. When was the last time James went potty?
56. Where is Steven Bear?
57. Try to get James to wear his sandals again, even though he's going to insist on sneakers
58. Leave Owen in a place where he can't get into anything to help James wipe himself
59. Put "more outlet covers" on grocery list
60. Remember to cancel Thursday student
61. Find a post-it note to jot down reminder about Thursday student
62. Check Owen's mouth to make sure there isn't any more of that crayon in there
63. Remind James about manners and not hitting Owen
64. Talk with Roy later about what to do when James pretends to be fighting
65. Keys? Phone? Wallet?
66. Remember to ask Roy again about getting battery in key fab replaced
67. Be on the look-out for steering wheel cart
68. Remember to get individual pack of sanitary wipes for cart
69. Look at the pretty cheesecakes. Could tonight be a cheesecake night instead of exercise night?
70. Are we out of apples again?
71. Not going to get diapers today. Remember to schedule a time to go to BJs later in the week.
72. Drat. Remember to schedule a time to go to the other Wegmans to pick up prescriptions.
73. Which is cheaper, 6 avocados for 4.99 but probably not all of them will be good, or 4 avocados for 3.49 but you know that the quality will be better in all 4?
74. Ignore other mother in cute jogging shorts with awesome double stroller. Do not covet, do not covet.
75. Need new bras...could possibly go to Target and leave kids with Roy tonight? But that means no working out
76. What's the best thing to do with a cartful of groceries and James while changing Owen's diaper in the restroom?
77. Remember you absolutely HAVE to stop and get gas on the way home now. Is it cheaper at Hatch Road or further down Empire?
78. Need to invite Hamways over for dinner
79. Need to remember to find childcare for Friday afternoon while Roy is at rehearsal
80. Remember to download podcasts so you don't have to listen to Life Is A Highway again
81. Be sure when you do Pearce work this afternoon that you cc in the guest pastor for this coming Sunday, even though he probably won't look at it
82. Ask Roy how much money is left on the Amazon gift card...
83. Make sure James doesn't end up carrying the grocery bag with the eggs
84. Keep Owen awake in backseat so he'll sleep during afternoon nap
85. Is the battery going in the garage door clicker as well?
86. Respond to Csehy availability survey while you've got laptop open this afternoon
87. Ugh. Roy bugging on about passport photos again.
88. Make sure that James has full sippy before going down for nap.
89. Try to suggest a story that isn't Curious George Lost and Found before nap
90. Be sure to remember to wash out James' lunch dishes before you start nap-work so that everything doesn't get stuck on them when it dries
91. Underneath Owen's high chair really needs to be swept out
92. This Excellus notice that came in the mail...is there any way this can be deciphered into English?
93. Why is James crying? Oh yes, he wanted his Yoshi stuffed animal in bed with him too.
94. Owen doesn't look sleepy. Could possibly work on Pearce stuff while he plays on floor?
95. Remember to move back end table so it doesn't clutter up living room after you've done work on laptop with Owen on the floor
96. Remember to move James' tangrams down to basement so Owen can't get into them once both boys are asleep
97. Remember to turn on Owen's fan, since you turned it off (trying to conserve electricity) when you put him down from nap
98. Remember to plug in phone and charge for a bit once you get downstairs
99. Does Roy know that something is growing in the gutter outside Owen's room?
100. Why is James making monkey sounds when he should be sleeping?
Thursday, July 9, 2015
More Quick Hitters
I.
I finished Neuhaus' Naked Public Square a few days ago, and now the Amazon "Recommended for You" tab keeps on suggesting that I order Ann Coulter books. (No.) I much preferred Calvus' Sunday sermon on church-state relations to the Neuhaus analysis, but it was a worthwhile read as a classic in the field and as an interesting glimpse into the world of the early 1980s when the Moral Majority and Evangelical Conservatism were fresh forces. This was the moment when our parents were hearing college lectures, watching the news as independent thinkers for the first time, and casting their first votes. Some of Neuhaus' prophesies about the secular public square appear to be coming true rather rapidly, but there are other ways in which the role of Judeo-Christian moral discourse has influenced public discourse with disastrous effect. (Most notably, the responses to the Middle East.) If anyone wants to thumb through my copy, you are more than welcome to it. (Although Owen did eat part of the dust jacket.)
II.
I have the night off tonight! My BPO concert was rained out, and although I can't mow the lawn (to James' disappointment) I have plenty of other domestic chores that have been put off for far too long. The downstairs is finally swept, the laundry may yet be put away, and I can continue to responsibly clean my new French Press after every usage. It's a Bodrum press, and the filter detaches easily...so far I've noticed a marked improvement in taste. I also found out that you're supposed to stir the brewed coffee with a wooden spoon before plunging? I attempted this for the first time this morning, and J's analysis was "a much smoother, more even taste."
III.
My copy of Claudius the God arrived a few days ago, and I'm devouring it. Most of the book so far hasn't been about the Emperor Claudius, but a backstory about Herod Agrippa. (The Prefect of Judea who was educated at Rome and indirectly succeeded Pontius Pilate.) This book is just as good as the first so far, and the two together are absolutely my favorite new novels of the last year. I wish he'd written more!
IV.
James' new favorite game is Sock Wars. He tells me this every time we play, so I know that he means it. We drag three (exactly three) chairs into the living room, bring down all of my rolled up black socks from upstairs, and then pelt each other as hard as we can. Well, he throws them at me, and then I try hard to throw the socks close to him without actually hitting him. Two nights ago when I actually caught him in the face he turned me in for "hitting his eye." This goes on as long as I'll permit it, although the game periodically stops because he gets the giggles so violently, or because he can't return the socks fast enough for me to have any ammunition but he wants to see me throw before he'll make his attempt. We've been blasting music from Return of the Jedi both for research purposes (I have a John Williams show on Saturday night) and because it's fun.
V.
Owen has learned how to balance up on his hands and knees (Thanks, Aunt Jessica!) and to shake his head "no." He doesn't really differentiate between "no" and "yes" and he smiles an enormous smile no matter what he means, but he's looking rather eager to communicate whether he "wants to go to bed" "wants to eat more beans" "wants to wake James up" or "wants to get in the bath." (The answer is "no" to all of these, but really "YES!")
VI. The phonics wall is assembled. There are forty paper doilies taped to the wall of our back room with all the three-letter short-voweled words I could think of. My theory is that once we can get James reading on his own, we might actually have a chance of expanding our own reading materials beyond Curious George and Richard Scarry during his waking hours. But then again, Owen is starting to enjoy looking at books as well. (But mostly just eating them.)
Friday, July 3, 2015
Quick Hitters
I.
This morning I was shaking my fist at the gods.
I was getting ready to make coffee, you see, and the base to my already-falling-apart French press fell off. The adhesive was completely worn away, and the plastic would no longer fit into the frame. When the gods took away my coffee, that was when I began to make my complaint against them.
I lost a job yesterday. It's complicated and unofficial, but I was informed via phone call that I'd been made redundant by the hiring of a new full time music professor. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that I'd confirmed my return for next year with the previous Dean (who took a bolt as soon as the semester was over) and resigned one of my other teaching jobs so that I could free up my schedule.
And now I'm out both jobs, and two jobs' worth of income. It's a good thing I collect spare jobs for fun and have several others on which I can temporarily float by...
All parties involved have been gracious so far, and it isn't an appropriate time (or space) to get into details, but it sure has been a lousy 24 hours.
II.
Sick kids are terribly sad, and Owen was a very sick boy this week. He had a high fever and didn't sleep well, and there was something awfully wrong with the back of his head and ear. He went to the doctor, was sent home, and slept poorly some more. Now he's starting to look like himself again, albeit a little more pale in the face and tired-out. He's a sweet little boy even when he's sick...he'd be whimpering and obviously upset, and then if he saw someone make eye contact with him he'd give his best effort at a goofy grin...he's a trooper.
III.
It's back in the saddle for orchestra work. If anyone wants to attend a concert, drop me a note about one of these dates and I'll see if I can get you comp tickets
3 BPO 9 pm at the Bisons game
4 BPO 8 pm in Ellicottville
5 BPO 7 pm at Niawanda park
7 BPO noon at M&T plaza
8 RPO 7pm at Ontario Beach
9 BPO 7 pm at Knox Farm
10 RPO 8:30 pm at Geneseo
11 BPO 7pm at Artpark
12 BPO 6 pm at Artpark
14 Syracuse BQ 7 pm in the 1000 islands
15 BPO 7 pm in Clarence
16 BPO 7pm at the harbor
19 Syracuse BQ 6pm at Thornden Park
24 RPO somewhere really far away
26 BPO 8pm at Old Fort Niagara
Needless to say, if anyone wants to bring over a bottle of wine and some takeout Chinese food to our house, J would probably appreciate some company...
This morning I was shaking my fist at the gods.
I was getting ready to make coffee, you see, and the base to my already-falling-apart French press fell off. The adhesive was completely worn away, and the plastic would no longer fit into the frame. When the gods took away my coffee, that was when I began to make my complaint against them.
I lost a job yesterday. It's complicated and unofficial, but I was informed via phone call that I'd been made redundant by the hiring of a new full time music professor. It wouldn't have been so bad, except that I'd confirmed my return for next year with the previous Dean (who took a bolt as soon as the semester was over) and resigned one of my other teaching jobs so that I could free up my schedule.
And now I'm out both jobs, and two jobs' worth of income. It's a good thing I collect spare jobs for fun and have several others on which I can temporarily float by...
All parties involved have been gracious so far, and it isn't an appropriate time (or space) to get into details, but it sure has been a lousy 24 hours.
II.
Sick kids are terribly sad, and Owen was a very sick boy this week. He had a high fever and didn't sleep well, and there was something awfully wrong with the back of his head and ear. He went to the doctor, was sent home, and slept poorly some more. Now he's starting to look like himself again, albeit a little more pale in the face and tired-out. He's a sweet little boy even when he's sick...he'd be whimpering and obviously upset, and then if he saw someone make eye contact with him he'd give his best effort at a goofy grin...he's a trooper.
III.
It's back in the saddle for orchestra work. If anyone wants to attend a concert, drop me a note about one of these dates and I'll see if I can get you comp tickets
3 BPO 9 pm at the Bisons game
4 BPO 8 pm in Ellicottville
5 BPO 7 pm at Niawanda park
7 BPO noon at M&T plaza
8 RPO 7pm at Ontario Beach
9 BPO 7 pm at Knox Farm
10 RPO 8:30 pm at Geneseo
11 BPO 7pm at Artpark
12 BPO 6 pm at Artpark
14 Syracuse BQ 7 pm in the 1000 islands
15 BPO 7 pm in Clarence
16 BPO 7pm at the harbor
19 Syracuse BQ 6pm at Thornden Park
24 RPO somewhere really far away
26 BPO 8pm at Old Fort Niagara
Needless to say, if anyone wants to bring over a bottle of wine and some takeout Chinese food to our house, J would probably appreciate some company...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)