Thursday, February 11, 2010
Oobleck, 2/11/10
Yesterday L went to her 1st "Seminar" day as part of the county gifted program. She was able to choose 2 topic sessions from a list, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. Her first choice for the morning was rescheduled once she was there, and she wound up attending a session called "Food Science". As part of this session, they made oobleck (goo from corn starch, water and food coloring). She was very excited about attending the session and I was working hard to keep her pumped up about it, since she has a tendency to be somewhat reserved about new situations. In the morning, once we were at school in my classroom, she suddenly became worried and emotional about the day, nervous about the bus ride and not knowing what to do in this new kind of situation. Luckily, there is another child in our school that is part of the gifted program and he is older than her, so he took her under his wing and guided her through the day. What a blessing! Anyhow, after L was back in the afternoon, she was telling me all about her day in the car on the way to Hutch to buy supplies to make Valentines Day treats for her classroom. She said that on a scale of 1-10, her day was an 11! She was especially excited about making oobleck, and I could tell that she was really smitten with the word "oobleck", that she was enjoying hearing herself say it. It was so fun for me to listen to her, to be able to tell that she was enjoying learning about new things and feeling the power of that cool new word.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Gratitude 1/10/10
I am so thankful for my daughter's teacher. Having an invested, supportive, intuitive teacher is a priceless blessing. My kiddo thinks that her teacher walks on water - anything that her teacher says trumps any knowledge my husband or I might have - but I don't really mind. I love that she is so admiring of her teacher, who I know to be a really good person. What a blessing!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Gratitude 10/20/09
Gratitude for Tuesday, Oct. 20. 2009
*an amazingly beautiful day - a respite from the unseasonably cold weather we've had lately. I opened the windows when we got home - even though it was almost 6 o'clock - and aired out the house. We kept the doors and windows open all evening. It was so soothing to make dinner to the sound of cicadas out the back door again.
*after dinner, I made a from-scratch apple&cranberry spice cake, using the apples that L and I picked at the orchard last weekend. I love the domesticity of baking from scratch like that, it feels so old-fashioned to me to stand in the kitchen, chopping and peeling, sort of a connection to my ancestors, I guess. Anyhow, while it baked, L and I went for a walk all over town. I treasure that time walking with her, her comfortability in holding my hand while we walk - I know those days are probably numbered, and I revel in her open communication with me, her desire to share and question and analyze with me.
*it is thundering outside right now - 10:50 p.m. While L intensely dislikes thunder, I love it when I know it isn't a potential sidekick to a tornado. So in this season, it seems charming to me, but fleeting - it seems like the time between tornado season and snow season is so short.
*L hugging me tight when I tuck her into bed and saying "I love, love, love you" - what a perfect expression from my kiddo today.
* saying prayers with L as I tuck her into bed. We have said the same prayer for so long in tandem that our inflections match, and we say them in exact unison. I try hard to stay in the moment during my time with her, but I can also recognize how sweet it is for me to hear her little voice, saying the prayer in the exact same way that I do.
*This day is one of those days when I feel especially blessed, surrounded by God's richness. A family that brings me peace and joy, traditions that I love, the blessings of having all of our basic needs met AND gorgeous weather on top of all of that.
*an amazingly beautiful day - a respite from the unseasonably cold weather we've had lately. I opened the windows when we got home - even though it was almost 6 o'clock - and aired out the house. We kept the doors and windows open all evening. It was so soothing to make dinner to the sound of cicadas out the back door again.
*after dinner, I made a from-scratch apple&cranberry spice cake, using the apples that L and I picked at the orchard last weekend. I love the domesticity of baking from scratch like that, it feels so old-fashioned to me to stand in the kitchen, chopping and peeling, sort of a connection to my ancestors, I guess. Anyhow, while it baked, L and I went for a walk all over town. I treasure that time walking with her, her comfortability in holding my hand while we walk - I know those days are probably numbered, and I revel in her open communication with me, her desire to share and question and analyze with me.
*it is thundering outside right now - 10:50 p.m. While L intensely dislikes thunder, I love it when I know it isn't a potential sidekick to a tornado. So in this season, it seems charming to me, but fleeting - it seems like the time between tornado season and snow season is so short.
*L hugging me tight when I tuck her into bed and saying "I love, love, love you" - what a perfect expression from my kiddo today.
* saying prayers with L as I tuck her into bed. We have said the same prayer for so long in tandem that our inflections match, and we say them in exact unison. I try hard to stay in the moment during my time with her, but I can also recognize how sweet it is for me to hear her little voice, saying the prayer in the exact same way that I do.
*This day is one of those days when I feel especially blessed, surrounded by God's richness. A family that brings me peace and joy, traditions that I love, the blessings of having all of our basic needs met AND gorgeous weather on top of all of that.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Gratitude 10/16/09
Gratitude for this week:
-No school yesterday, so we spent the day with my sister and her kiddos, who also had no school. We went to an apple orchard near Whitewater and let our kiddos pick their own apples for the first time! It was so fun to watch them pick and nibble - my sister's youngest is 1, and INSISTED on eating her way THROUGH an entire apple, through the center and all!
In the evening, L and I made apple crisp from those apples, working side by side in the kitchen. A good experience for me on so many levels - I loved building that connection for her that the farmer grows these apples and makes his living by selling them, we pick them, and then we make them into our food. And I loved working with her in the kitchen - she is getting so big and I love that feeling of passing on the skills that I have, that she will hopefully also use in her future.
-We have made it through another day and night HEALTHY. It hasn't hit us yet, although people around us are dropping like flies and I assume that it is just a matter of time. One of L's good friends that she plays with every day after school is sick, and the kids that she plays with at PTO and library meetings, and I work in "the cesspool" of germs...it's probably just a matter of time, but I'm enjoying every healthy day God gives us. I have a HUGE unreasonable puking phobia, so if we can just avoid that...
-Today's the day that L and I are going to try making zwiebach again. We tried last weekend for the first time, and it was a miserable failure. I learned afterward that I didn't let the milk cool enough and the heat killed the yeast. The zwiebach were like weapons to throw at your enemies' heads - terrible little round bricks. Stuart ate one anyhow, bless him, insisting for the first couple of bites that they "aren't THAT bad"...what a good guy. I called his mom to tell her thanks for instilling such good manners, because they were appalling. :) However, we're going to give it another go today, armed with increased yeast and temperature knowledge!
-No school yesterday, so we spent the day with my sister and her kiddos, who also had no school. We went to an apple orchard near Whitewater and let our kiddos pick their own apples for the first time! It was so fun to watch them pick and nibble - my sister's youngest is 1, and INSISTED on eating her way THROUGH an entire apple, through the center and all!
In the evening, L and I made apple crisp from those apples, working side by side in the kitchen. A good experience for me on so many levels - I loved building that connection for her that the farmer grows these apples and makes his living by selling them, we pick them, and then we make them into our food. And I loved working with her in the kitchen - she is getting so big and I love that feeling of passing on the skills that I have, that she will hopefully also use in her future.
-We have made it through another day and night HEALTHY. It hasn't hit us yet, although people around us are dropping like flies and I assume that it is just a matter of time. One of L's good friends that she plays with every day after school is sick, and the kids that she plays with at PTO and library meetings, and I work in "the cesspool" of germs...it's probably just a matter of time, but I'm enjoying every healthy day God gives us. I have a HUGE unreasonable puking phobia, so if we can just avoid that...
-Today's the day that L and I are going to try making zwiebach again. We tried last weekend for the first time, and it was a miserable failure. I learned afterward that I didn't let the milk cool enough and the heat killed the yeast. The zwiebach were like weapons to throw at your enemies' heads - terrible little round bricks. Stuart ate one anyhow, bless him, insisting for the first couple of bites that they "aren't THAT bad"...what a good guy. I called his mom to tell her thanks for instilling such good manners, because they were appalling. :) However, we're going to give it another go today, armed with increased yeast and temperature knowledge!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Gratitude 9/22/09
Today I am grateful for:
*unsolicited "I love you"s from L
*being almost caught up with my grading
*the knowledge that I have an eye doctor's appt tomorrow. My glasses are uncomfortable for some reason right now and I can't wait to get them fixed!
*unsolicited "I love you"s from L
*being almost caught up with my grading
*the knowledge that I have an eye doctor's appt tomorrow. My glasses are uncomfortable for some reason right now and I can't wait to get them fixed!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Gratitude 9/16/09
Today I am feeling grateful for:
*the health that my family and I are blessed with. Teeth problems are not significant when compared with the cancer that so many people in my social circle are struggling with.
*living in a small town, where people are supportive of our schools and library. I'm excited about the growth of our story hour, library, technology in our schools, etc and proud that our little town wants to support these things.
*the health that my family and I are blessed with. Teeth problems are not significant when compared with the cancer that so many people in my social circle are struggling with.
*living in a small town, where people are supportive of our schools and library. I'm excited about the growth of our story hour, library, technology in our schools, etc and proud that our little town wants to support these things.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Gratitude 9/9/09
It's been a while since I've taken the time to blog -my routine has been scattered (to say the least) since school started back up. Today I am grateful for:
*my relationship with my daughter. I've made a determined effort the past couple of days to relish in-the-moment time with her, to make the most of our evenings, to really listen, and it has been very rewarding. She has such a sensitive soul and a creative mind - I love to hear how she is thinking about and processing everything around her. Tonight she wrote a story, then dressed up as her main character, acted out the story and had me take photos of key points, loaded the photos onto VoiceThread, and then she narrated her story on the "slides" on VoiceThread so that she could share her story with other people we know. I'm pretty sure that my mind didn't work like that when I was her age!
*the joy I find in organizing - I may not do it terribly effectively or frequently, but it just makes me feel good to sort through boxes or cupboards and organize my "stuff". The impending change from summer to fall wardrobe is always a doozy when it comes to organizing our closets.
*the State Fair. I don't know why I enjoy it so much - maybe it's mostly in the abstract, being more fond of something when it is not a part of my daily life, but rather more like a fond fuzzy memory. I love the IDEA of the State Fair, and the opportunity to show L things we wouldn't otherwise see on a daily basis. I could, given a more generous income, go to the Fair every day it is here and just meander around in the afternoons. However, I am not willing to pay $8/day or whatever outrageous price it is currently. So we'll go a couple of times and buy flavored honey spread and warm spiced nuts and maybe some Crocs. And ride on the carousel and assorted other slightly-frighteningly-temporary, don't-think-about-the-safety-regulations rides. And spend an excruciating amount of time in the animal barns. And apparently, ride the SkyChair this year (which is my phobia, in case you didn't know. I intensely dislike ski lifts, but L and Stuart love them. And I feel compelled to ride with them because the idea of them falling and dying without me is more frightening than the idea of just riding along with them. My rational mind knows that isn't sensible, but I just can't get over it. Stuart frequently points out that if you feel from a chair lift, into the snow, you probably wouldn't die - but so far we have never ridden one over snow, only in the summer over bare ground. At least the one at the Fair is not as high up as traditional ones.)
*my relationship with my daughter. I've made a determined effort the past couple of days to relish in-the-moment time with her, to make the most of our evenings, to really listen, and it has been very rewarding. She has such a sensitive soul and a creative mind - I love to hear how she is thinking about and processing everything around her. Tonight she wrote a story, then dressed up as her main character, acted out the story and had me take photos of key points, loaded the photos onto VoiceThread, and then she narrated her story on the "slides" on VoiceThread so that she could share her story with other people we know. I'm pretty sure that my mind didn't work like that when I was her age!
*the joy I find in organizing - I may not do it terribly effectively or frequently, but it just makes me feel good to sort through boxes or cupboards and organize my "stuff". The impending change from summer to fall wardrobe is always a doozy when it comes to organizing our closets.
*the State Fair. I don't know why I enjoy it so much - maybe it's mostly in the abstract, being more fond of something when it is not a part of my daily life, but rather more like a fond fuzzy memory. I love the IDEA of the State Fair, and the opportunity to show L things we wouldn't otherwise see on a daily basis. I could, given a more generous income, go to the Fair every day it is here and just meander around in the afternoons. However, I am not willing to pay $8/day or whatever outrageous price it is currently. So we'll go a couple of times and buy flavored honey spread and warm spiced nuts and maybe some Crocs. And ride on the carousel and assorted other slightly-frighteningly-temporary, don't-think-about-the-safety-regulations rides. And spend an excruciating amount of time in the animal barns. And apparently, ride the SkyChair this year (which is my phobia, in case you didn't know. I intensely dislike ski lifts, but L and Stuart love them. And I feel compelled to ride with them because the idea of them falling and dying without me is more frightening than the idea of just riding along with them. My rational mind knows that isn't sensible, but I just can't get over it. Stuart frequently points out that if you feel from a chair lift, into the snow, you probably wouldn't die - but so far we have never ridden one over snow, only in the summer over bare ground. At least the one at the Fair is not as high up as traditional ones.)
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