Domestic Adventures

Emmie and Micah conspiring…

E: Here’s the plan. We’ll lay out a blanket and tell Daddy to sit on it. When he sits on it, we pull up the blanket up and tie it. Then we’ll drag him away.

While I was putting on my make-up…

E: Mommy, you look pretty.

A: Thanks, Emmie. You look pretty too.

E; Well… I always look pretty. But you look pretty now.

From the back seat of the car…

E: I had a lot of fond memories, but Micah squashed them all.

According to the Royal Shakespeare Company, “Shakespeare should be taught to children as young as four, before they have become intimidated by the language.” It turns out this is the thought of many educators, which is an encouragement to me since Shakespeare is one of the topics I’m assigned to teach at co-op thjs fall. Though I am a great lover of literature, I was a bit intimidated by the idea of introducing Shakespeare to kids as young as five - no, wait, as young as three (though theirs will be a much simplified version of the older kids’ class). Today, though, help arrived in the mail. Shakespeare for Kids is full of background information and craft ideas. I’ve flipped through it and it looks pretty good. Starting with Shakespeare had really impressed me. It’s custom made for introducing young children to Shakespeare’s work in a classroom setting, though it has me wishing I had weeks instead of hours to teach. Perhaps we’ll do a unit study on Shakespeare here at home. The teaching philosophies of the authors is sound and it offers real practical help on how to approach the works in a fun way as well as breaking down several plays into “kidspeak” with a touch of “shakespeak.”
Exciting year ahead.

Once upon a time, before we had children, we went on a trip to Canada. It seemed only proper to go dog sledding while in the frozen North, and though Trent and I were so allergic to the dogs that we had to ride with tears streaming out of our red, puffy, allergy-filled eyes, it was so much fun. We learned a lot about dog sledding on that trip, such as “mush” is what you do, not what you say. And the dogs are trained in some strange language to understand “Gee” and “Haw” instead of “right” and “left”. As we traveled through the woods with two dog-teams, we learned that the lead dog team was kind of slow and distracted. They were already ahead on the narrow trail, no need to hurry. The second dog-team, however, was always trying to get ahead. To them it was a competition, so they hustled. Ahead of us, the guide had to poke and prod his dogs to keep moving, but our team was very aware of the need to keep moving, not wanting to be left behind.
I never imagined I would use this lesson in parenting, but it’s amazing how much like sled dogs children can be. I often find myself behind them as we head out the door or up the aisle. Already in the lead, the kids meander and lolly-gag, not interested in moving ahead and distracted by everything. No amount of “Hike, hike! Walk faster!” from me will motivate them. However, if I can wiggle my way ahead of these wee ones, suddenly they think they may be left behind. They hustle just like that second team of dogs trying to keep up and (for the most part) leaving other distractions behind as long as I keep moving forward. It seems an easy lesson, but it took me a while to get this one and remember to always be the lead dog.

Overheard this bit of advice from Trent on how to compliment a woman’s looks…

“More romance, less accuracy.”

ha!

“Mommy! Mommy! I went underwater!” Micah shouts as he bounces excitedly from the pool. We’ve been enjoying swimming lessons the past few weeks. Both kids are doing really well and enjoying it. Micah was a little fearful at first, but he’s learning the motions and feeling more and more confident. His teacher, Miss Beth, is amazingly sweet and patient. Emmaline is also having a great time. She has done so well that this week that she graduated to the next level and has now joined the “eel” class.
For my part, I enjoy sitting in the shade watching my two swimmers do their thing. So proud of them!

After a full dinner, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a cup of milk, and a cup of frozen peas, Micah just could not stay in bed. He padded out of his room, peered around the corner, and in his saddest voice said, “I’m all the way hungry and it feels like monsters.”
Oh, I am such a sucker for his sad voice.
So we stayed up eating a late night snack, reading Little Golden books, and rocking in our rocking chair until the monsters went away.

Lounging with Daddy, reading Lego magazine while the rain comes down outside. Life is good.

This is the question that constantly plagues us. Urbanspoon has provided the solution. Urbanspoon provides a directory of area restaurants, but of particular interest is their iphone app. It locates you via GPS, then you give it a shake for a suggestion. If you’re looking for something specific, you can lock in your desired neighborhood, food type, and/or price range. For instance, if I’m looking for Italian food near the airport, it offers Pasquale’s Italian Restorante. If that doesn’t sound good, I shake it again and get Cariera’s Cucina Itliana. It can look at reviews and of course click the address to pull up google maps.

I’m having so much fun with my new iphone

Near the pool where the kids are taking swimming lessons, these tiny frogs are hopping in abundance. When I was a kid I called frogs like these raindrop frogs because they were only about as big as a fat raindrop.
We captured a few and brought them home in a cup with the condition that they be set free before lunch. The kids were thrilled to have “pets for a day” and excitedly dubbed them “Snowflake” and “Tree”. After an hour or so of hopping from hand to hand, the terrified frogs were granted their freedom and escaped into the flower beds.

Another winner from Target’s dollar spot: cowboy hats.