Saturday, October 10, 2009
yuck
Cancer is reaching out its tendrils and grabbing people all around. A mom from the homeschool group has been fighting it since before I met her when she joined a playgroup I was in. Several other members of the homeschool group bring us updates from still other people with cancer. Wander tells me about his co-workers and adventure friends suffering from cancer. A friend from my quilting bee recently was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery earlier this week. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I hate it. And why are so many of the victims mothers, and mothers with young children? I just can't deal with it as graciously as the ladies around me.
canceled
A local ballet company schedules a free performance at the local pavilion once every year. It's the only place where I can drag Wander out to see the ballet (other than when his kids are on stage).
The girls and I were looking forward to seeing the ballet last night. This year it was "Swan Lake." We played the music from the ballet at morning music every breakfast this week. We checked out books with the story for the ballet so that they would be familiar with it when we went to see the performance. We drove over to the pavilion early so that we could catch the pre-show performances.
It was raining, but I wasn't too concerned. We had umbrellas, and the pavilion had covered seats. The last time Sparkle and I went to the ballet, the two of us watched the ballet, huddled under the same umbrella that I was carrying.
It was raining and the show was canceled. Arg. This is becoming a habit. Once the ballet was canceled mid-season, but I didn't know because I had an old event listing from early in the season. Another year a hurricane put the pavilion temporarily out of business. Then this year - rain again.
The girls were cold. I was grumpy. Wander took us home and told me to make chocolate chip cookies.
The girls and I were looking forward to seeing the ballet last night. This year it was "Swan Lake." We played the music from the ballet at morning music every breakfast this week. We checked out books with the story for the ballet so that they would be familiar with it when we went to see the performance. We drove over to the pavilion early so that we could catch the pre-show performances.
It was raining, but I wasn't too concerned. We had umbrellas, and the pavilion had covered seats. The last time Sparkle and I went to the ballet, the two of us watched the ballet, huddled under the same umbrella that I was carrying.
It was raining and the show was canceled. Arg. This is becoming a habit. Once the ballet was canceled mid-season, but I didn't know because I had an old event listing from early in the season. Another year a hurricane put the pavilion temporarily out of business. Then this year - rain again.
The girls were cold. I was grumpy. Wander took us home and told me to make chocolate chip cookies.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
National Night Out
Last night we went to National Night Out. We missed it last year but heard that it was so much fun that I decided to go this time. Wander was out of town, so it was just the three of us. I read online that there would be free hot dogs, chips, and drinks. Perfect, I wouldn't have to cook dinner or worry about after-supper entertainment.
My first mistake was deciding to walk to the party. The party was held in the parking lot of the local elementary school, so I figured that (1) it must be within walking distance, since the school buses for it don't pick up kids on our street, and (2) there would be no parking since the party was being held in the parking lot. We were okay for the first part of the trek, but when the sidewalk ended a couple of blocks away from the school, Glitter got tired. Then when we rounded the corner, I saw all these cars with families in them driving up to the side parking lot. D'oh. Oh well, too late now.
As soon as we got in, we joined the line for name tags and got tickets for the free food. Then the line fed directly into the food line. That seemed great, because I wouldn't have to worry about loosing the tickets. Unfortunately after we got three plates of food, turns out the girls weren't hungry. But I couldn't easily wander around carrying all the food, so I told the girls we couldn't do any of the activities until they had eaten.
Both girls ate really slowly, and Glitter ended up not even finishing her hot dog. Then Sparkle said she was going to throw her empty plate away. Okay. The garbage can was just behind us. Except that she didn't come right back as expected, so I freaked. The place was really crowded and I didn't know where she was! I called her several times, but she must not have heard over the loud music. Finally I spotted her wandering around but she still didn't hear me, so I told Glitter, who was still eating with a plate balanced on her knees, to sit still, and I got up and gathered Sparkle back to our spot.
When the girls didn't want to eat anymore, we got to see the fun stuff. The girls got to climb around a fire engine. One of the firefighters got geared up so they kids could see what they looked like. Glitter watched in awed fascination, but was too scared to do more than watch. The girls collected coloring books and they got their faces painted. I even won a door prize of a $20 gift card!
Then Sparkle started begging for cotton candy. The line was really, really long, and I told Glitter that she couldn't have any cotton candy since she didn't finish her hot dog. It didn't seem fair to make Glitter stand in the long line when she wouldn't get any cotton candy, so I left Sparkle in line and took Glitter to the nearby jumpy castle. Once she was safely inside, I checked on Sparkle, and she was fine, but had somehow slipped back in the line several places. Oh well, she's homeschooled and doesn't really know how to stand in line.
I returned to Glitter just before they made all the kids get out because it was dark and the kids were bumping into each other. Glitter got her shoes, and we went back to Sparkle. A Sparkle with blood pouring down her foot and leg.
What! I did a quick assessment. Other than the blood, she seemed fine. She wasn't crying. She was standing normally. I didn't see anything that she could have scraped against. What happened? She told me that she scratched it so much that it bled. Oh. The mosquitoes were having a party of their own. She must have scratched open a bug bite. Then she showed me where she got the dress bloody. It was a lot of blood for a bug bite, but maybe the mosquito had just fed. I asked if she wanted to leave, since I didn't bring my purse and didn't have any bandaids or such. But Sparkle wanted to stay in line to get cotton candy, so we did.
Then we had the long walk home. By then it was dark. Glitter was tired, but I couldn't carry her over the uneven dirt in the darkness. She was a trooper and walked all the way home. Once home, Sparkle wiped off the blood, and I put her dress in the washing machine. The girls took a shower and Sparkle got a band-aid for her boo-boo, which looked much better now that the blood was gone. Turns out it wasn't a bug bite, but rather Sparkle had scratched off a scab.
Finally I tucked both girls into bed, and collapsed myself. I'm really glad that Wander will be home tonight.
My first mistake was deciding to walk to the party. The party was held in the parking lot of the local elementary school, so I figured that (1) it must be within walking distance, since the school buses for it don't pick up kids on our street, and (2) there would be no parking since the party was being held in the parking lot. We were okay for the first part of the trek, but when the sidewalk ended a couple of blocks away from the school, Glitter got tired. Then when we rounded the corner, I saw all these cars with families in them driving up to the side parking lot. D'oh. Oh well, too late now.
As soon as we got in, we joined the line for name tags and got tickets for the free food. Then the line fed directly into the food line. That seemed great, because I wouldn't have to worry about loosing the tickets. Unfortunately after we got three plates of food, turns out the girls weren't hungry. But I couldn't easily wander around carrying all the food, so I told the girls we couldn't do any of the activities until they had eaten.
Both girls ate really slowly, and Glitter ended up not even finishing her hot dog. Then Sparkle said she was going to throw her empty plate away. Okay. The garbage can was just behind us. Except that she didn't come right back as expected, so I freaked. The place was really crowded and I didn't know where she was! I called her several times, but she must not have heard over the loud music. Finally I spotted her wandering around but she still didn't hear me, so I told Glitter, who was still eating with a plate balanced on her knees, to sit still, and I got up and gathered Sparkle back to our spot.
When the girls didn't want to eat anymore, we got to see the fun stuff. The girls got to climb around a fire engine. One of the firefighters got geared up so they kids could see what they looked like. Glitter watched in awed fascination, but was too scared to do more than watch. The girls collected coloring books and they got their faces painted. I even won a door prize of a $20 gift card!
Then Sparkle started begging for cotton candy. The line was really, really long, and I told Glitter that she couldn't have any cotton candy since she didn't finish her hot dog. It didn't seem fair to make Glitter stand in the long line when she wouldn't get any cotton candy, so I left Sparkle in line and took Glitter to the nearby jumpy castle. Once she was safely inside, I checked on Sparkle, and she was fine, but had somehow slipped back in the line several places. Oh well, she's homeschooled and doesn't really know how to stand in line.
I returned to Glitter just before they made all the kids get out because it was dark and the kids were bumping into each other. Glitter got her shoes, and we went back to Sparkle. A Sparkle with blood pouring down her foot and leg.
What! I did a quick assessment. Other than the blood, she seemed fine. She wasn't crying. She was standing normally. I didn't see anything that she could have scraped against. What happened? She told me that she scratched it so much that it bled. Oh. The mosquitoes were having a party of their own. She must have scratched open a bug bite. Then she showed me where she got the dress bloody. It was a lot of blood for a bug bite, but maybe the mosquito had just fed. I asked if she wanted to leave, since I didn't bring my purse and didn't have any bandaids or such. But Sparkle wanted to stay in line to get cotton candy, so we did.
Then we had the long walk home. By then it was dark. Glitter was tired, but I couldn't carry her over the uneven dirt in the darkness. She was a trooper and walked all the way home. Once home, Sparkle wiped off the blood, and I put her dress in the washing machine. The girls took a shower and Sparkle got a band-aid for her boo-boo, which looked much better now that the blood was gone. Turns out it wasn't a bug bite, but rather Sparkle had scratched off a scab.
Finally I tucked both girls into bed, and collapsed myself. I'm really glad that Wander will be home tonight.
Friday, October 2, 2009
sizes, Glitter style
In Glitter's world things come in three sizes: as big as a truck, as big as the whole world, and as big as the house. Her most popular size is "as big as the house".
If we're discussing something large, be it a piece of furniture or nuclear bomb, she wants to know if it is "as big as the house?" We could be talking about a ball at the playground or a book that Wander had to use at work, something you could clearly hold in your hands, and Glitter will think that it is as big as a house.
Even more amusing, I recently questioned her and discovered that in her mind, "the house" is bigger than "the whole world."
Oh, and in Glitter's mind, the largest number is six, even though she can count much higher. When offered either ten chocolate chips or six, she chose six, because she thought that six was more. I think that she got the idea because Sparkle is six years old.
If we're discussing something large, be it a piece of furniture or nuclear bomb, she wants to know if it is "as big as the house?" We could be talking about a ball at the playground or a book that Wander had to use at work, something you could clearly hold in your hands, and Glitter will think that it is as big as a house.
Even more amusing, I recently questioned her and discovered that in her mind, "the house" is bigger than "the whole world."
Oh, and in Glitter's mind, the largest number is six, even though she can count much higher. When offered either ten chocolate chips or six, she chose six, because she thought that six was more. I think that she got the idea because Sparkle is six years old.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
riding a bike
I don't know how she does it, but one of Sparkle's more unusual features is her ability to fall off a bike, even with training wheels. Years ago, long before I started homeschooling, one of my goals for Sparkle was for her to learn to ride a bike by kindergarten. Well, here she is in first grade and still can't ride a bike.
Tuesday afternoon I took the girls out on their bikes in the cul-de-sac across the street. Sparkle managed to fall down maybe dozen times. She's gotten quite good at leaping off the bike at the first sign of trouble and got trapped under the bike several times.
Wednesday morning I took the girls out on their bikes in the morning before doing any school. Sparkle did a bit better and fell off slightly fewer times. I also tried to convince her that she could just put her feet down.
This morning, after dropping Glitter off at preschool, I took Sparkle to a deserted corner of the parking lot, and had her practice again. The parking lot was larger and flatter than the cul-de-sac, so it was a bit easier. I also was able to run alongside her better, as I didn't have Glitter getting into trouble on her trike and needing me. This time Sparkle did not fall at all! Not once. She almost fell a few times, but I was able to catch her. At the end of the session, I even convinced her to try turning the corner without me holding her or the bike! Yay!
Tuesday afternoon I took the girls out on their bikes in the cul-de-sac across the street. Sparkle managed to fall down maybe dozen times. She's gotten quite good at leaping off the bike at the first sign of trouble and got trapped under the bike several times.
Wednesday morning I took the girls out on their bikes in the morning before doing any school. Sparkle did a bit better and fell off slightly fewer times. I also tried to convince her that she could just put her feet down.
This morning, after dropping Glitter off at preschool, I took Sparkle to a deserted corner of the parking lot, and had her practice again. The parking lot was larger and flatter than the cul-de-sac, so it was a bit easier. I also was able to run alongside her better, as I didn't have Glitter getting into trouble on her trike and needing me. This time Sparkle did not fall at all! Not once. She almost fell a few times, but I was able to catch her. At the end of the session, I even convinced her to try turning the corner without me holding her or the bike! Yay!
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