Bizarre title, I know. But I think this is my new pet name for Eli (I haven't decided yet). The backstory:
On Thursday, one of my students, a particularly attitudinal, attention-seeking girl, asked how long I've been married [almost seven years] and then wanted to know, "Don't you get tired of him?" I was caught a little offguard, of course, because of the randomness of the question and what it had to do with lining up to go to lunch, but the co-teacher I have during that period jumped in and explained that she had been married for over 20 years and that no, she wasn't tired of her husband. The girl looked at me and said, "How do you still have things to talk about?"
How would we not?
What questions from a 12-year-old.
I told Eli about this later and his response was, "Do you ever get tired of your legs?" I thought this an odd response, so I asked him to explain this on-the-spot analogy. So (sorry, Legs, if I don't get this exactly verbatim) this is the gist of what he had to say:
Your legs are an integral part of you. Sometimes they hurt, sometimes they're painful, sometimes they go to sleep. But when any of these things happens, do you ever just say to yourself, "Man, I wish I didn't have legs!" No. You don't, because even though sometimes they don't feel brand new, they are still very important to how you function. They are a part of you that is necessary, even when they're having a bad day.
Eli is more eloquent than I will ever be, so that sounded a lot less WOW! in the recap than it did in its live debut. Nonetheless, it is so very true.
We then went on to talk about shared experiences (volunteering, Bible studies, family events) and responsibilities (Timmy, Coco, and Elsie) that keep up growing and changing and talking. It's also our independent experiences that provide fodder for our marital stability. For instance...
I had a meeting after church today and Eli sent me a text during it that merely said, "Poosplosion!!! Bath time..." which was later followed by a text that said, "Well, I can say this: she ate more peas than she dropped on the floor." He was, of course, referring to our jaunt to the Indian restaurant after the Auburn baseball games yesterday. We were served rice with peas in it, so we squished a few of them up and fed them to Elsie. She liked them a lot, but her pincer grasp is still developing the ability to handle rounded objects so we did pick up quite a few from the floor before we left. But this still elicited questions that couldn't be answered over text.
So, yes. We've been married almost seven years and here's our secret of longevity: we've made it this long by talking about poop. First Timmy's. Now Elsie's.
Cheers.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Recommend books?
A movie just came out that I haven't seen, but I've done better: I read the book. The Lightning Thief, the first in the Percy Jackson series, is an EXCELLENT book that I can recommend to any middle schooler. The series is a modern take on Greek mythology, and it introduces mythology in a way that students remember and can connect to. For instance, today in my 30-minute reading block at the beginning of the day, we discussed the seven wonders of the ancient world (yesterday, we had talked about Oedipus and the Sphinx, so this was a natural segue, of course). There were three items out of the seven that reference mythology: the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, and the Colossus of Rhodes (giant statue of Apollo). Several of the kids knew who Artemis and Apollo were already (from PJ book 3, The Titan's Curse). Small victory. I'm almost through the fourth book, and the fifth and final book is looking at me from the shelf, beckoning me to read it. So far so good.
But this has gotten me to think about another series that I love: Harry Potter. I have extremely mixed emotions about recommending this series, even though I adore it. It's weird. My hang-ups have nothing to do with the magic or anything. My hang-ups have to do with content. Let me explain:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is about a 10-year-old boy who has been through great loss in his life. In this book, he is finally finding a sense of belonging, a place where he fits in, friends, and a purpose. The book is so well written. I was in awe of the language used and the pictures painted with words. Every time Snape snapped, I had to smile, because it is physically impossible for me to read that without the corners of my mouth twitching. And when Dumbledore "twinkled" at Harry (furthermore known as HP), I would have to turn and twinkle at Eli. Loved it.
I would say this book is age appropriate for 10-12 year olds. Maybe. The problem lies in the fact that HP ages faster than his reader will. That 10-year-old will pick up the first book and read it. And then want the next one, where HP is 11 years old. And then the next one where he is 12. And this same ten-year-old reader (probably almost an 11-year-old by now unless he's particulary voracious) will then pick up the fourth book, the one in which HP is 14.
The Goblet of Fire and all the books after it are very dark. It goes right along with the story, and makes sense. But that didn't make it any less shocking when the first of several characters died. I was stunned speechless after reading it. And I was...21 years old when I read it? Can't believe it has been that long.
The battle between good and evil is genius (I do love the bit about the Elder wand), and you have to know that good prevails, as it will in most kids' books at this age, but that doesn't mean the imagery is appropriate for the same audiences that the movie makers are trying to appeal to.
So, it makes me uncomfortable. How is it that one of my favorite series of books EVER is something that I can't honestly recommend to my students because they're at that stage where they still want every book to have a happy ending--delayed gratification is NOT acceptable? I don't know if I would want my 10-12 year old reading past the third book due to maturity of subject matter. And if my child was not allowed to sit down and devour all seven books as the story unfolds, having to wait, then isn't that just as torturous as waiting for the seventh book to be published was??? Those six years from book four to seven were some of the worst waiting years of my life--so bad, in fact, that I refuse to start series that aren't complete anymore if I can help it(sorry, Eragon). So, no. I don't recommend them. To children, anyway.
But I don't shy away from magic, just to be clear. The legends of King Arthur and Merlin are excellent. The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) are excellent. The Dark is Rising series (Susan Cooper) is excellent. The Strega Nona picture books (Tomie de Paola) are fantastic. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are good if you're willing to chew chew chew on the jam-packed wordiness of Tolkein. (I vowed I would only ever read them once. Period.) And anything by Terry Pratchett (though he has few books intended for children). Anyway, I've read so many books that I'm sure there are many, many more that I'm leaving off, but I hope you get my point.
I've been reading magical books since I was a little girl, and I like to think that I'm pretty well-adjusted if not more normal than I sometimes would like to admit. I grew up in the church, and I had good answers and information from my parents. I hope to introduce Elsie, et al., to the world of reading and the wonder of storytelling, including stories with magic (hello fairy tales).
And that, my friends, is what my brain needed to unload this evening. Thanks!
Cheers.
But this has gotten me to think about another series that I love: Harry Potter. I have extremely mixed emotions about recommending this series, even though I adore it. It's weird. My hang-ups have nothing to do with the magic or anything. My hang-ups have to do with content. Let me explain:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is about a 10-year-old boy who has been through great loss in his life. In this book, he is finally finding a sense of belonging, a place where he fits in, friends, and a purpose. The book is so well written. I was in awe of the language used and the pictures painted with words. Every time Snape snapped, I had to smile, because it is physically impossible for me to read that without the corners of my mouth twitching. And when Dumbledore "twinkled" at Harry (furthermore known as HP), I would have to turn and twinkle at Eli. Loved it.
I would say this book is age appropriate for 10-12 year olds. Maybe. The problem lies in the fact that HP ages faster than his reader will. That 10-year-old will pick up the first book and read it. And then want the next one, where HP is 11 years old. And then the next one where he is 12. And this same ten-year-old reader (probably almost an 11-year-old by now unless he's particulary voracious) will then pick up the fourth book, the one in which HP is 14.
The Goblet of Fire and all the books after it are very dark. It goes right along with the story, and makes sense. But that didn't make it any less shocking when the first of several characters died. I was stunned speechless after reading it. And I was...21 years old when I read it? Can't believe it has been that long.
The battle between good and evil is genius (I do love the bit about the Elder wand), and you have to know that good prevails, as it will in most kids' books at this age, but that doesn't mean the imagery is appropriate for the same audiences that the movie makers are trying to appeal to.
So, it makes me uncomfortable. How is it that one of my favorite series of books EVER is something that I can't honestly recommend to my students because they're at that stage where they still want every book to have a happy ending--delayed gratification is NOT acceptable? I don't know if I would want my 10-12 year old reading past the third book due to maturity of subject matter. And if my child was not allowed to sit down and devour all seven books as the story unfolds, having to wait, then isn't that just as torturous as waiting for the seventh book to be published was??? Those six years from book four to seven were some of the worst waiting years of my life--so bad, in fact, that I refuse to start series that aren't complete anymore if I can help it(sorry, Eragon). So, no. I don't recommend them. To children, anyway.
But I don't shy away from magic, just to be clear. The legends of King Arthur and Merlin are excellent. The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) are excellent. The Dark is Rising series (Susan Cooper) is excellent. The Strega Nona picture books (Tomie de Paola) are fantastic. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are good if you're willing to chew chew chew on the jam-packed wordiness of Tolkein. (I vowed I would only ever read them once. Period.) And anything by Terry Pratchett (though he has few books intended for children). Anyway, I've read so many books that I'm sure there are many, many more that I'm leaving off, but I hope you get my point.
I've been reading magical books since I was a little girl, and I like to think that I'm pretty well-adjusted if not more normal than I sometimes would like to admit. I grew up in the church, and I had good answers and information from my parents. I hope to introduce Elsie, et al., to the world of reading and the wonder of storytelling, including stories with magic (hello fairy tales).
And that, my friends, is what my brain needed to unload this evening. Thanks!
Cheers.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Bananas, Plums, and Grapes...oh, my!
This morning as we got up and were getting ready for church, I took Elsie and fed her the second container of bananas, plum, and grapes, a Gerber concoction. She had had it before and liked it well enough. And then I got ready and re-packed the diaper bag, something I tend to do on Sundays before church, mean to last the whole week.
We get in the car. We're driving. Elsie coughs and sneezes. Eli turns back and says, "Ew, I think there was a little more to that sneeze." I turn back. There's a splatter of pink/purple/brown concoction on her white bib. I wipe it off with a paper towel that's in my hand. We keep driving. Elsie coughs.
At the light by the mall (one light from our house, about 3/4 mile), Eli turns around and goes, "Eeeeeew!" I turn around. No splatter. Full purple/pink/brown concoction coverage. Ick. Elsie doesn't mind. I do. When the light turns green we cross the intersection and pull into the Panera parking lot to investigate.
This is bad. Really bad.
Elsie has puked up her breakfast. All of it. And it's all over her clothes and carseat. So....we strip her down right there in the parking lot and she's now unhappy about being mostly naked in public. We wipe down her hands and arms (ew) and put her in a clean onesie. We clean up the carseat, but it's wet and gross, so we make the decision to go home and switch cars. To do this, Elsie had to ride in my lap. I was a wreck, and was sure that we were going to be pulled over by the police. But, we made it home, and Elsie rather enjoyed facing forward.
We found some pants to go with the onesie, we started a load of puke laundry--carseat cover, blanket, clothes, socks, etc.--we found some more clothes to put in the diaper bag, and we left again. Over an hour after our first departure. I was ready for a nap.
Anyway, that was our technicolor adventure today.
On another note, I hate Charter. I'm ready for some competition to come to this area. Turns out that we had inadvertently been getting the expanded basic cable package for the last year and a half. Two days ago they corrected it. Not a problem, really, because it was their mistake. But, honestly, could they have not waited until the Olympics were over to do their audit? I've missed more than a couple curling matches and I'm none too happy about it.
What really makes me mad is that I've been telling people what a really good deal we've gotten at Charter, not realizing that the deal is not available to them since Charter messed us up. So I have been promoting a falsehood. Grrr.
And, our cable "promotional" price ends next month, so I think we're dropping it altogether, because, honestly, of the channels that come with the basic package, the only ones we watch are network channels, so why pay for that when you can get them for free? That, my friends, is why I had never had cable in my life until September 2008. The only problem is that we don't have a digital converter box. We'll see what happens.
Cheers.
We get in the car. We're driving. Elsie coughs and sneezes. Eli turns back and says, "Ew, I think there was a little more to that sneeze." I turn back. There's a splatter of pink/purple/brown concoction on her white bib. I wipe it off with a paper towel that's in my hand. We keep driving. Elsie coughs.
At the light by the mall (one light from our house, about 3/4 mile), Eli turns around and goes, "Eeeeeew!" I turn around. No splatter. Full purple/pink/brown concoction coverage. Ick. Elsie doesn't mind. I do. When the light turns green we cross the intersection and pull into the Panera parking lot to investigate.
This is bad. Really bad.
Elsie has puked up her breakfast. All of it. And it's all over her clothes and carseat. So....we strip her down right there in the parking lot and she's now unhappy about being mostly naked in public. We wipe down her hands and arms (ew) and put her in a clean onesie. We clean up the carseat, but it's wet and gross, so we make the decision to go home and switch cars. To do this, Elsie had to ride in my lap. I was a wreck, and was sure that we were going to be pulled over by the police. But, we made it home, and Elsie rather enjoyed facing forward.
We found some pants to go with the onesie, we started a load of puke laundry--carseat cover, blanket, clothes, socks, etc.--we found some more clothes to put in the diaper bag, and we left again. Over an hour after our first departure. I was ready for a nap.
Anyway, that was our technicolor adventure today.
On another note, I hate Charter. I'm ready for some competition to come to this area. Turns out that we had inadvertently been getting the expanded basic cable package for the last year and a half. Two days ago they corrected it. Not a problem, really, because it was their mistake. But, honestly, could they have not waited until the Olympics were over to do their audit? I've missed more than a couple curling matches and I'm none too happy about it.
What really makes me mad is that I've been telling people what a really good deal we've gotten at Charter, not realizing that the deal is not available to them since Charter messed us up. So I have been promoting a falsehood. Grrr.
And, our cable "promotional" price ends next month, so I think we're dropping it altogether, because, honestly, of the channels that come with the basic package, the only ones we watch are network channels, so why pay for that when you can get them for free? That, my friends, is why I had never had cable in my life until September 2008. The only problem is that we don't have a digital converter box. We'll see what happens.
Cheers.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Ultrasound -- It's a...
SURPRISE! The moment came for us to decide if we wanted to know, and we stuck to our guns. We'll wait until August. The tech measured me at exactly 15 weeks, so my new official due date is August 12, not too far off from the original estimation, but as the tech mentioned, a week makes a huge difference at the end. :)
BB2.0 is not as photogenic as Elsie was, though is totally cute and laid back with legs crossed at the ankles. Actually, s/he was camera shy and kept getting lower and lower, moving behind my incision scar, making the poking and prodding with the ultrasound tool very uncomfortable. Here's the best picture from our study:
I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through the next several months blogging about this baby and not committing to he or she in pronoun use. So I think I will just alternate back and forth with masculine and feminine pronouns from post to post, but not in the same post.
So, before I go, I want to tell you that this morning I got Elsie out the door since Eli was at Bible study, and on the way out I said adios to the cats, "Bye, boys." And Elsie, from her carrier, said, "Buh buh." And yes, it was followed by other buhs, BUT she recognized that I made the sound. She is so cute. :)
BB2.0 is not as photogenic as Elsie was, though is totally cute and laid back with legs crossed at the ankles. Actually, s/he was camera shy and kept getting lower and lower, moving behind my incision scar, making the poking and prodding with the ultrasound tool very uncomfortable. Here's the best picture from our study:
I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through the next several months blogging about this baby and not committing to he or she in pronoun use. So I think I will just alternate back and forth with masculine and feminine pronouns from post to post, but not in the same post.
So, before I go, I want to tell you that this morning I got Elsie out the door since Eli was at Bible study, and on the way out I said adios to the cats, "Bye, boys." And Elsie, from her carrier, said, "Buh buh." And yes, it was followed by other buhs, BUT she recognized that I made the sound. She is so cute. :)
Monday, February 15, 2010
Random & Baby Stuff
Random #1: I'm surprised parents have teeth. The number of times Elsie has bonked her head on my mouth is innumerable. Tonight, I have a fat lip, in addition to the gash on my cheek where Elsie accidentally scratched me on Saturday.
Random #2: Call me sheltered, but I just realized what the Fantasy Suite on The Bachelor is all about (yes, it's the 14th season). Skanky. I feel so betrayed and let down by humanity, but really I just put too much faith in reality television to not spread their germs and bacteria so freely.
Random #3: Eli just told me that he's glad we didn't meet on The Bachelor because he would have cut me early because I don't know how to walk in heels (or, at least, I didn't when I was 20...I've had a decade of practice and though I continue to fall over while standing still, I'm not as bad anymore).
On to the baby stuff...
The weaning has begun, with me down to nursing twice a day. I went to school today and did not pump. Sigh. It's the beginning of the end.
I've been thinking a lot about VBAC. On our initial visit, the doc said I was a candidate and gave me a brochure. But everything I've read has disqualified me--I'm over 30, it won't have been 18 months since my c-section, and I made it to 10cm before having surgery. Three strikes. Am I out? I need to know this before I make an effort to find a doula. I've inquired with four in the area and have struck out four times for various reasons, so before I expend effort and get my hopes up, I want to know. I WANT TO KNOW!!!
Because if I'm NOT a candidate, then I have the pressure of picking BB2's birthday. And there are lots of implications there. You know, since Beavers are prime!
3, 5, and 7 are too early in the month. 11 might also be too early. 13 is a Friday (not a problem--it's my lucky number, but it's been done three times by Beavers--me, M, and dad-in-law). 17 and 19 have been done by Mom-in-law (17), and Eli and S (19). And then you're hard pressed for 23, 29, and 31 as they're late in the month. See. Too much to think about. Lord, let this child come in Your time. Not mine.
Truth be told, if I have to choose, I have chosen. And it won't be prime. GASP! I'd still prefer not to choose.
Cheers.
Random #2: Call me sheltered, but I just realized what the Fantasy Suite on The Bachelor is all about (yes, it's the 14th season). Skanky. I feel so betrayed and let down by humanity, but really I just put too much faith in reality television to not spread their germs and bacteria so freely.
Random #3: Eli just told me that he's glad we didn't meet on The Bachelor because he would have cut me early because I don't know how to walk in heels (or, at least, I didn't when I was 20...I've had a decade of practice and though I continue to fall over while standing still, I'm not as bad anymore).
On to the baby stuff...
The weaning has begun, with me down to nursing twice a day. I went to school today and did not pump. Sigh. It's the beginning of the end.
I've been thinking a lot about VBAC. On our initial visit, the doc said I was a candidate and gave me a brochure. But everything I've read has disqualified me--I'm over 30, it won't have been 18 months since my c-section, and I made it to 10cm before having surgery. Three strikes. Am I out? I need to know this before I make an effort to find a doula. I've inquired with four in the area and have struck out four times for various reasons, so before I expend effort and get my hopes up, I want to know. I WANT TO KNOW!!!
Because if I'm NOT a candidate, then I have the pressure of picking BB2's birthday. And there are lots of implications there. You know, since Beavers are prime!
3, 5, and 7 are too early in the month. 11 might also be too early. 13 is a Friday (not a problem--it's my lucky number, but it's been done three times by Beavers--me, M, and dad-in-law). 17 and 19 have been done by Mom-in-law (17), and Eli and S (19). And then you're hard pressed for 23, 29, and 31 as they're late in the month. See. Too much to think about. Lord, let this child come in Your time. Not mine.
Truth be told, if I have to choose, I have chosen. And it won't be prime. GASP! I'd still prefer not to choose.
Cheers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)