Nate isn't a huge fan of writing, and he isn't a fluent reader yet. He finds it really hard. I have gone through stages of pushing him (hoping that he would get past some barrier and suddenly get it) and completely ignoring it (hoping it would just happen one day like in all of the unschooling stories I have read). Now I'm just following his lead with a few well-placed nudges.
He loves cooking, so I picked up a few children's cookbooks last time I was at the library by myself (ahhh luxury...). He delved right in, and because it's a topic he's interested in, he's actually putting forth the effort to read the recipes that accompany the tastiest looking foods.
This morning he picked three recipes he wanted to make, like, right then. I told him that we didn't have all of the ingredients and we would have to go to the store to pick them up. Right. Focus on. He got a piece of paper and started making a shopping list. Reading the recipes, working out what we already have and in what quantities, and writing down what we need to buy. Total focus. No frustration. No boredom.
"Aha" moment.
23 August 2010
20 August 2010
All praise Maya, queen of Sick.
Maya woke up with a tummy ache today and was not at all interested in breakfast, except for a bit of smoothie. She was a bit emotional, but nothing huge. Then at noonish she was yawning a lot, so I asked if she wanted to lie down on the couch for awhile and have a rest. (Who wouldn't? You seen that couch? I'm in lurve.) She did, she joined Eli who was already sleeping there, and she fell right asleep. Unusual, and I finally realized that she wasn't well. I am, factually, the least observant person in the world.
After she woke up, she stayed on the couch for most of the rest of the day, even having another nap later in the afternoon (which isn't only unusual, but completely unheard of). She didn't eat, she didn't drink, she didn't go to the bathroom.
In the evening, she watched Swan Lake (the 1968 Kirov production) and started to look a bit sleepy again. I brought down her pajamas for her and helped her change. Now this is a person who likes to follow procedure - she doesn't like to skip a meal (even if we graze all day and none of the rest of us is hungry), she doesn't like to fall asleep fully dressed (even if she's in the car and we carry her up to bed) - so I asked her what she would like me to do if she fell asleep on the couch. Should I carry her up to bed? Should I wake her up for any reason? She thought it a bit silly that I would consider putting her in bed without having had her teeth brushed, so I suggested that we go upstairs, brush her teeth, then come back downstairs and she could cuddle up on the couch with the lights dimmed and fall asleep watching the ballet. She agreed. So upstairs we went, brushed teeth, went potty, etc. Since her bed was right there, I asked her if she would just rather go to sleep in bed since we're already upstairs, and she said, "Yeah, I think I should."
This little girl, this one who just turned five a few weeks ago, is so amazingly in tune with her body. She didn't complain once, all day long, except when I was urging her to eat her breakfast and not listening to her telling me that her stomach was hurting her (still learning here). Her body was using its energy to fight off whatever it's fighting off and didn't need that extra digestive load. She slept a lot because she was burning through a lot of healing energy and she needed the sleep.
Damn, this girl is awesome. Hooray for listening to our bodies. She's a major inspiration to me.
I hope she feels better tomorrow!
After she woke up, she stayed on the couch for most of the rest of the day, even having another nap later in the afternoon (which isn't only unusual, but completely unheard of). She didn't eat, she didn't drink, she didn't go to the bathroom.
In the evening, she watched Swan Lake (the 1968 Kirov production) and started to look a bit sleepy again. I brought down her pajamas for her and helped her change. Now this is a person who likes to follow procedure - she doesn't like to skip a meal (even if we graze all day and none of the rest of us is hungry), she doesn't like to fall asleep fully dressed (even if she's in the car and we carry her up to bed) - so I asked her what she would like me to do if she fell asleep on the couch. Should I carry her up to bed? Should I wake her up for any reason? She thought it a bit silly that I would consider putting her in bed without having had her teeth brushed, so I suggested that we go upstairs, brush her teeth, then come back downstairs and she could cuddle up on the couch with the lights dimmed and fall asleep watching the ballet. She agreed. So upstairs we went, brushed teeth, went potty, etc. Since her bed was right there, I asked her if she would just rather go to sleep in bed since we're already upstairs, and she said, "Yeah, I think I should."
This little girl, this one who just turned five a few weeks ago, is so amazingly in tune with her body. She didn't complain once, all day long, except when I was urging her to eat her breakfast and not listening to her telling me that her stomach was hurting her (still learning here). Her body was using its energy to fight off whatever it's fighting off and didn't need that extra digestive load. She slept a lot because she was burning through a lot of healing energy and she needed the sleep.
Damn, this girl is awesome. Hooray for listening to our bodies. She's a major inspiration to me.
I hope she feels better tomorrow!
Who you be
I've been thinking about how awesome it is to just be able to BE who you are. You know? Sounds so simple, but imagine it not even occurring to you to have to try to be something or some way? Imagine not even having a clue about all of these societal "rules". Imagine not feeling the need to fit into a category, like "I am totally emo so I can't possibly like that new Miley Cyrus song or delight at the taste of a fresh strawberry, that just doesn't fit."
And equally important, imagine not rebelling against these rules by trying to be "different", going out of your way to make the opposite choice of the majority, just for the sake of going against the grain. That isn't being true to yourself either. That is still painting a picture of yourself based on society, on everyone else, on those "rules" we profess to hate.
I've always been really aware of the mainstream and the right wing and all of the dogma and hate and bullshit that goes along with trying to fit into that mold. But now that I'm older and wiser, I can see it everywhere, on both sides (as if there are only two sides, but you know what I mean). I would never go on a feminist forum and mention how much I love being taken care of. I would never talk to the whole foods community about the joy of the Wendy's frosty. I don't talk about how much I love Costco with my anti-multinational friends.
So that brings me to my kids. I love how much they are themselves. Just the essence of them. I love that Nate's favorite outfit is head to toe rainbow tie-dye, and he wouldn't even have a clue what the word hippy means. I love that rambunctious Eli's favorite pajamas involve Tinkerbell and lacey edges. And as a woman, I can really appreciate that Maya has no preconceptions that a girl should be weaker or slower or quieter or daintier or shorter or thinner. She loves Disney princesses and yes, I found disappointing at first, I'll admit it, because it didn't fit into MY parenting category. That, of course, has nothing to do with her. She is what she is. They all are.
And equally important, imagine not rebelling against these rules by trying to be "different", going out of your way to make the opposite choice of the majority, just for the sake of going against the grain. That isn't being true to yourself either. That is still painting a picture of yourself based on society, on everyone else, on those "rules" we profess to hate.
I've always been really aware of the mainstream and the right wing and all of the dogma and hate and bullshit that goes along with trying to fit into that mold. But now that I'm older and wiser, I can see it everywhere, on both sides (as if there are only two sides, but you know what I mean). I would never go on a feminist forum and mention how much I love being taken care of. I would never talk to the whole foods community about the joy of the Wendy's frosty. I don't talk about how much I love Costco with my anti-multinational friends.
So that brings me to my kids. I love how much they are themselves. Just the essence of them. I love that Nate's favorite outfit is head to toe rainbow tie-dye, and he wouldn't even have a clue what the word hippy means. I love that rambunctious Eli's favorite pajamas involve Tinkerbell and lacey edges. And as a woman, I can really appreciate that Maya has no preconceptions that a girl should be weaker or slower or quieter or daintier or shorter or thinner. She loves Disney princesses and yes, I found disappointing at first, I'll admit it, because it didn't fit into MY parenting category. That, of course, has nothing to do with her. She is what she is. They all are.
18 August 2010
17 August 2010
Music at the library
Today our library hosted Greta Pedersen, a local musician with a literacy slant, lots of songs with word play and such. It was aimed for 1-5 year olds so I was thinking Nate might get a bit bored, forgetting who he was for just a moment and thinking by numbers. I was wrong. He totally loved it and participated in everything without caring that he was the oldest kid there. I love that about him.
And just because we're talking about Nate, here is my current favorite picture of him:
Awwww. I love that kid.
She brought along a beautiful Appalachian dulcimer:
and played "Cat Goes Fiddle-I-Fee" or "Bought Me A Cat", not sure of the title. But we have been enjoying lots of folk CDs from the library and that song was on one of them, so it was fun to recognize it.
She was great and the kids (and parents) loved her!
And just because we're talking about Nate, here is my current favorite picture of him:
Awwww. I love that kid.
She brought along a beautiful Appalachian dulcimer:
and played "Cat Goes Fiddle-I-Fee" or "Bought Me A Cat", not sure of the title. But we have been enjoying lots of folk CDs from the library and that song was on one of them, so it was fun to recognize it.
She was great and the kids (and parents) loved her!
Finally, some pictures of our place, now that we have furniture! The walls are bare - our stuff is still en route from Australia so we should have some pictures to hang up in about three weeks. Use your imagination.
Here is our spacious, full-of-natural-light kitchen that overlooks a city block of community garden:
Our brand new awesome red couch. Eli is a testament to its comfiness:
Nick hard at work (about to upload these photos for me!) in our computer room:
View of aforementioned community garden from the computer room. The library is visible (brick building behind the big tree in the upper right corner) and the park with the fountains next to the farmers market (well, you can see the patch of grass and some flowering plants in the upper left):
Nate and Maya's domain:
Our ginormous bedroom with the bathroom through that door on the right and the walk in closet to the left:
After getting the couch and the two little ottomans (that double as storage cubes and tables), it finally feels complete! I love home.
Here is our spacious, full-of-natural-light kitchen that overlooks a city block of community garden:
Our brand new awesome red couch. Eli is a testament to its comfiness:
Nick hard at work (about to upload these photos for me!) in our computer room:
View of aforementioned community garden from the computer room. The library is visible (brick building behind the big tree in the upper right corner) and the park with the fountains next to the farmers market (well, you can see the patch of grass and some flowering plants in the upper left):
Nate and Maya's domain:
Our ginormous bedroom with the bathroom through that door on the right and the walk in closet to the left:
After getting the couch and the two little ottomans (that double as storage cubes and tables), it finally feels complete! I love home.
13 August 2010
Preparations
Tomorrow is our housewarming party. We haven't had a huge response so it might be a very quiet day. Nevertheless, I want to have everything looking all beautiful and perfect.
So where's our couch??
We found an awesome red sectional couch that was marked down from $999 to $699. Then it was $499, and an additional 10% off. Now that 10% has turned into 20%, so we're looking at $400 for a $999 couch. But the couch isn't in stock, and we keep hearing that it will be Wednesday, now Friday, now Monday, now "the middle of the week", and now the official answer is "Friday night or Saturday morning." Geez, I sure hope so! It would be very nice to actually have our couch before our housewarming party.
So where's our couch??
We found an awesome red sectional couch that was marked down from $999 to $699. Then it was $499, and an additional 10% off. Now that 10% has turned into 20%, so we're looking at $400 for a $999 couch. But the couch isn't in stock, and we keep hearing that it will be Wednesday, now Friday, now Monday, now "the middle of the week", and now the official answer is "Friday night or Saturday morning." Geez, I sure hope so! It would be very nice to actually have our couch before our housewarming party.
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