I was going to clean the carseat anyway

I just wasn't planning on having to do a massive deep clean on the carseat and deal with a little girl who couldn't keep anything down. Poor M.

For the Z-Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVdfqEmGb8Y&feature=player_embedded

A renaisance man

I'm reading a biography of Richard Burton who explored the African interior in the 1800s. Wow, he was fluent in over 20 languages by the age of 25. He was really amazing, going on undercover missions and doing amazing things!

I love the part in his life line where his mother is trying to teach the children self control. She takes them to a bakery to stare at the pastries. She says "Now, my dears, let us go away; it is so good for little children to restrain themselves.' Upon this we three devilets turned flashing eyes and burning cheeks upon our moralizing mother, broke the window with our fists, clawed out the tray of apple puffs, and bolted, leaving poor mother a sadder and wiser woman, to pay the damages of her lawless brood's proceedings."

It gives me hope for my own band of rascals.

I forgot... Surprise!

So our offer was accepted on the house, and the deposit is held in escrow. So now we get to just wait until we close on November 1st, which is a Tuesday. We'll do a few little things like add gates to the patio and adjust the furniture that stays with the house to accommodate our meager supply. Then we'll move in on Saturday, November 5th!

But. But. But. I have a really good ability to forget details and now that the property is off the market, so the pictures are off-line too. The problem is that is that it seriously hampers my ability to imagine us in the space because I can't remember what it looks like!

Boys will be boys

Today M saw the boys D and his brothers taking out the trash at church. She is in love with D and she loves to take out the trash. So she says "I hope I can take out the trash like D." I told her that it's important to let the boys do the dirty work at church. Even though you can take out the trash, it's important to let the boys do it. Why is this? Though the girls are completely capable of taking out the trash, the thought of a girl helping with taking the trash at church is galling. I guess for me it says that I'm chauvinistic. I feel like if there is a boy or man around, the women should not be taking out the trash. If there are no men around the trash still needs to go out.

Men, in general, need to be needed. When they see that the ladies don't actually need them to do something, they don't do it. Women do things to help out, and to be nice. I don't think men are into that. My husband is an incredibly kind and willing to help out kind of guy, but he doesn't do anything that is not glaringly obvious, like going to get a crying child. Yet if I ask, he'll do anything but nurse the baby.

I think one of the unfortunate side effects of Women's liberation, besides dumping the consequences of sex solely on women, is that we've told men for the last 50 years that WE, women can do everything ourselves. They, being men, take us at our word and decide they don't need to support, protect, or be faithful anymore.

It's not like men not doing things they should has never happened in the past. But we use to call it a bad thing. I love my husband and am grateful he hasn't bought into feminism for all that he says I could beat him at arm wrestling, we've never tried that one out.

Children's Songs in ASL

I love our church. I am so grateful for the thoughtful people who have gone to the effort to make these resources, and make them available.

2011 Children's Sharing Time

Children's Songbook ASL

Adult Resources

Eye of the beholder

As I sat in the Deaf Sunday School today I thought about how much I understood but how little of the nuance I caught in the discussion. If I were to try and voice it for someone else, it would become even more basic and disjointed.

I thought how that is like someone making a painting. If I see something and make a painting of it, I, having seen the original can understand how my painting and the original are similar. Someone else seeing my painting might recognize some elements in it but unless I am very skilled they won't have any idea what the original looked like.

Similarly in music. If I hear a symphony, I may be able to hum a tune or two from it. But I'm just not able to convey it in any detail or the scope of the whole.

Tribute to bP

Happy birthday kiddo! You're amazing! Just one week before your first birthday your parents held a conference and decided to let you onto the floor in their temporary home. You took the opportunity to learn to walk like a pro. You can sign "More Please" but you prefer to sign "Eat" for "I want that." On occasion you will sign "Hungry" or "Again" then gift us with your brilliant smile of world domination. It is a pleasure to be your mom.

Haircuts

G and M cut their hair a little trim. I'm actually proud of how M held her hair up above her head so it ended up layered. Wacky kids... : )

Also, in other news, our offer on the most recent dream house was accepted!

maybe

Maybe we'll buy this house which comes furnished in a community with a 24 guard (aka gated) that is lovely.

We've been searching for and viewing houses big and small, scary and close to G's school. This is one that is big and lovely and far from G's school but close to church.

We have a verbal agreement on a price. That is the furthest we've ever gotten in the process. So maybe we'll sign papers in the next few days and move in in November.

Cute kids

M's super cute spouting back the things we tell her to say.

G's super cute having a fabulous time on Saturday.

Let's take a picture!

I was trying to catch this nice smile-with-new-haircut picture of G for this children's newspaper. And I found the unanticipated benefit that our new TV doesn't reflect the flash.

So it almost looks like (I can pretend anyway) that it's like taking a picture of him at a show.

Or a picture of her with her hero!

Check out this awesome Frog suit we found at the kids consignment store. M couldn't decide if she wanted to be a clown, or a flower, or tinkerbell which she knew she couldn't be because tinkerbell isn't modest... So finding this great costume saves me from worrying about what she may or may not decide to dress up as.

Pretty Things

When I grow up I want to make mosaics like these. Check out the cool use of iridescent glass and different colors of grout.



Meanwhile these are some of the things I've been making. Cards with nice blocks of paper sewn onto them. Very fun and easy way to have nice cards to send to people. It's not cheap per se but it is less expensive than buying them from someone else.


And... Tada! This is the new pattern I'm using to make slings. Note that it is lined in brown. Delicious. I also made myself a hair band/ribbon using this combination of fabric and orange ribbon.

Traditions

I love floating the Itchetuknee with the P family. So fun.

Now in motion picture!
Itchetuknee 2011

Class Size

I've been thinking that "Sid the Science Kid" with its class size of 4 makes "Cailu" with a class size of 8 look bad. When in reality class sizes for pre-school are more often 18-20.

Then there is "Dino Dan" that we're watching lately. His class is 3 girls and 3 boys. This is fondly reminiscent to "Magic School Bus." Let's think, Ralphie, Carlos, Tim, Phoebe, Wanda, and DA. Oh, 3 boys and 3 girls again.

You obviously don't want to have a television show with lots of kids in a class. That would be too hard to keep track of. It would give kids the impression that school is not so much a place of magic and learning, as it is a place of getting lost in the crowd.

That said, G's 1st grade class is actually only 4 kids. It's great. I love it that he's going to have small class sizes with the same kids for the next 12 years.