Somewhat disturbing news

Today I got an email from a gal who said - "...hey, go check this out! It's SO COOL! I could like totally play this on a permanent loop at my house lol!" I hesitate even to post it here, because, well, it means generating more hits for the author. But I will, and then you can see if you agree with my further musings.




Before I rant on about what bothers me, I'll go on record saying I do like a bunch of it. I think I like best that she has brought into the rant her love for children, and her ability to pick out the stuff that really drives mom's crazy. I can clearly remember my mom having flip outs over the mess in my room...and occasionally I really hate walking into Beca's room to read to her at night. In fact, we are to the point where I don't go in there on purpose, even though it makes me feel bad. I leave her laundry outside the door, I don't go in to tuck her in to sleep. I just hate the mess! In many ways, it reminds me of the millions of seconds, hundreds of thousands of minutes, thousands of hours, hundreds of days I have spent looking for: homework, books, keys, other people's stuff, wallets, glasses, bras, clean clothes in general, dirty clothes clean enough to wear, paperwork sent to me by doctors and dentists, schools, camps and lessons of various kinds, bills, flashlights, software, glasses of water, and a lot (I mean a LOT) of other stuff that just gets sucked into the void of THE MESS. So I see her in the same place, and I'm having a very hard time embracing it. I'm having a hard time embracing a lot of things about poor B at this moment, but this one is a biggee.

So - most of the vid is fine, and I can appreciate why she did it and that it's almost sort of funny. But the whole ending really pisses me off. A lot. I just don't like that she has taken this mainstream bs and a) feels it's ok b) moves it on into the slipstream of youtube watchers as RIGHT somehow, and c) that this woman, the one I got the email from, whom I truly admire for her homeschooling patience and knowledge, her wisdom in all things gifted for children, and on several other fronts where she reaches heights in volunteerism, and here she is PROMOTING this crap! This is disturbing to me because I have always been so freaking BLACK AND WHITE about these issues (which I'm working on) and I just have too hard a time separating the stuff I love about her from the stuff I really despise about her. Yesterday I didn't despise anything about her, today, I despise that she finds this funny, useful and applicable to her own life.

Ok - I'm going to be zen here and say maybe this is all a bit of a joke, and she doesn't REALLY have any of the bad stuff going on in her own home (because I'm THE MOMMY, THAT'S why) - she's just poking fun at mainstream parents? Maybe I'm overthinking it. But it is disturbing to me, and I hope that if you have gone and listened to it, that you do NOT go back and listen again. It isn't worth it.

Day 4

Well, day 4 of potty learning was...interesting. He made a total of FIVE poops, four in the potty and one in trainers. Of COURSE he poops in the trainers w/out the snaps. I wasn't expecting it at 3pm - usually he's an AM and late afternoon pooper. Yesterday we had the leftover lasagne from last weekend. I think we got the dairy one, because he had super runny poop (even in the potty), and he had the tell tale red ring. :-( Well, better to know! Beca can finish it! So pretty much every time we had trainers on, he peed in them. All of his pees at home (save one while he was playing with water in the kitchen sink) were in the potty, but here he goes nakey butt. So: while nakey butt, he has a great than 90% rate. With trainers on that drops precipitously to about 25%. Out and about he is batting 0, but most of our trips out have been short and sweet - under 1hr., and in those situations he's been FINE. It's all rather ... puzzling. I suppose there are just some humps we'll have to hurdle as we get better at learning what he's capable of doing. He's only once or twice looked at me and said he needs to go potty. Mostly he walks himself over to the potty and sits and goes. Otherwise he says he wet himself. Those seem to be our options. But the once or twice he's said something first, he's made it to the potty in time, and he's been very proud of himself. :D YAY LITTLE DUDE!!!

JAC is still ill, but no longer puking - this is GOOD!

Ori decided he hates the kid corner for good and real. I'm giving it one more good week, and then I'm getting my $$ back. It's so not worth it. I'd rather get up early or go in the evening when JAC is around and I can drive over to Planet Fitness or something. It'll save us about 900$, so I'm not going to complain! It would be NICE if the kid would figure out how to chill out in the kiddie section of life though. They have a TON of great toys, the place is new, so it's clean and the carpets are nice. There are tumbling mats and a slide and tunnel - really it's VERY nice! Hopefully he'll get better about being there, but so far he hasn't given me any real time to work out unless Beca is in there with him (which is against the rules).

Ken and Di are off on their mini-vaca to Long Beach today! Have fun guys!!!

Ori'isms

While I can remember some of these...
In honor of him learning to use the potty: "Mama - I have to poopie and I needs a magzine."

(Looking at an anthill) "That not my house." (now points to his house) "THAT my house!"

(Rubbing my back while sharing my chair at the computer) "Mama's big butt back."

(while recovering from whacking the dog on his noggin, shaking out his hand) "No I don't hit!"

(morning ritual) Beca school, Daddy Work, Ori house, Zami House, Mama Ori Zami. (Somehow I understand this - everyone is where they belong.)

"Mama, Ori not go sleep, I too small."

If I think of more I'll add them...he's had some spectacular moments these last few weeks. Tonight he was having a hard time falling asleep (napping from 4-6pm will do that!), so he got himself up, went into the bathroom, poured a cup of water, brought it back to his bedroom (I caught up with him on his way into the hall from the bathroom), had a good long draught, licked his lips and sighed, placed it on the bedside table and climbed into bed. "Not thirsty now mama" he says, and purses his lips for a night night kiss. Again.

Today was his first real day wearing trainers. He mostly went nakey butt while we were at home. No accidents at home, but he did wet 2 pr. of trainers (no big deal!). While we were out walking Zami this afternoon, we stopped in to tell Nesh the BIG NEWS, and he says to her "I got big pants on!" and she looks, and he has his little jeans shorts on, nothing unusual. So I suggested he show her what's underneath (bing! she got it at that point) but he crosses his arms over his chest and walks away saying "I too big in big boy pants!"

I am so lucky to have his spirit in my world!!! I am feeling very grateful...

Poor JAC isn't - he's been feeling puky since about 1pm. So we had to say no to hosting a Hatian boy from the boys Choir who are visiting WHMS for the night/day tomorrow. Hopefully they have a great time and everyone does fine w/out our extra bed. It did get me to clean up the house, today, though!

Sleeping through a milestone

Last night, Theresa and Dave took Ori and Beca (along with 5 of their 6 kids) for a slumber party. WOW! JAC and I went out to dinner (Carrabbas) and spent THREE HOURS drinking wine and eating Calamari and good Italian food. We came home and watched the end of a GREAT Yankees game, walked Zami, and slept soundly until 9am. Holy Moly! We are like different people this morning! What a lovely lovely thing to give to someone - so a great big THANK YOU to Theresa and Dave (and Christopher who gave up his bed for Ori), and now the search is on... for whom do we pay it forward??? Several families come to mind... :D This is BETTER than a babysitting coop! Theresa said he cried for a very short time, maybe 2-3 min., and she went upstairs to pat his back. He cried that he didn't want to lie down, and she said he could just sit up. So he did. She suggested that he be very quiet so that Joey (HIS Joey!) didn't wake up, and he quieted right down. The next she saw or heard from him was 6:30am! Wow! What a great leap for him!

In other news - Ori is really getting the potty thing now. If he has any kind of pants on, he will still pee in them, but nakey butt he's doing everything in the potty - or outside. So long as the weather holds I'm happy leaving him naked and playing outside - but I think next week it's supposed to get colder again, and I'm not sure whether the house will, in general, be warm enough for him naked (with a shirt)... we'll see. He used diapers at Theresa and Dave's, and was happy to do so. But I'm really REALLY ready for him to be DONE with diapers. Then we sell off the lot of what we have, and that will pay for the NEW ERGO I've ordered!!! I'm SO THRILLED that I could figure out a way to get it from Europe! David Lee is helping, and hopefully it comes SOON! I definitely think it's the right thing to do. I do not want to stop wearing him anytime soon, but he's getting too big for the mei tai if I have any distance to walk. It's a beautiful green color, and is made from organic cotton. I'm much happier with it than with the non-organic one with the cool retro print. I just LOVE the green! Here's a picture from their website. I do actually really like that chocolate brown, too, but the GREEN! Wow - it's just like jade green, which is my very favorite green. And totally neutral, so easy for resale. I'm just THRILLED! I guess it'll be closer to a month before we see it, but I am very very looking forward to using it!

Feel GOOD!

Yk, we have been listening to this CD in the car for months and months now - and only today (listening to it yet again!) did I really hear the words - it's all about mainfesting whatever world you WANT! What an incredible message for children!

Here's the video for the main title song (Upside Down) which is the song I love the MOST on the album (and so does Ori!), but other songs on the album also speak to creating and co-creating whatever you want to with your life.



Enjoy!

How the heck did I do that?

I somehow double posted??? But nothing came through on thisone, and now I don't know how to delete it! Interesting ... something new to figure out!

King size kick ass questions

Watching the presidential delegate debates, it's so clear to me that we have more words than we have potential for reconciliation...why? There is such a disconnect, the players don't have a sense of ... connectedness to anything, it's all about I'm this and he's that and she doesn't have this ... it seems like there isn't a way for them to move forward without having a negative spin. :-( On the flip side, I think they are basically a bright, motivated bunch of people, and, when one of them becomes presidential candidate, we'll see if they have integrity, too. I don't hold out a LOT of hope, but I won't give up all hope, either.

So here are some new pictures I've been able to upload today - LOVE having the mac back...



Poppy and Beca in the Shakespear Garden in Central Park



Beca at Belvedere Castle in Central Park



Ori in the library garden. Pretty mums, huh?


Mary and Beca at the Coney Island Aquarium.

Mac's Back!!

It is SO nice to have the mac back home - they re-replaced the superdrive, the logic board, the plug ins...it was a fairly large job ($ wise, anyway - boy am I glad I got the mac care extended warrantee, but I gotta say - spend this much on a machine, it SHOULD be fixed for free! It BROKE didn't it!). Sooo nice.

I've been keeping up with most stuff on JAC's pc, which I must admit has been worry free and easy. One thing that came up was iLeonardo.com which is a totally cool search engine that lets you share notebooks of saved (bookmarked) sites with others online! Wow! Go try it!

I finally got to upload the pictures from my new Cannon Elph SD1000, which is such a fun little camera! I haven't really played around with the settings too much yet, but it sure is FUN!

Here's one from the first 2 days while in NYC:



Dad and Ori having lunch in Bryant Park



Ori on the Merry Go Round... that's about as as happy as he got...




Beca on the train.

Wanting to renew things

I renewed my YMCA membership last week. I've been once. He hated it. Well, he liked it for about 1/2 hr. then he hated it. I sure hope he likes it more this week! My goal: 2-3 times every week, for at least an hour. Also walking 2-3 times a week on alternate days with the weights.

When we go down to FLA in Feb., JAC and I want to renew our vows. I've found someone who can do it, and will do it OUR way, which is very cool. If Heidi has someone she really loves, we would be fine using them, too. I am thinking I will order cake (dairy free, small), flowers (small), and maybe a photographer. Again, if Heidi knows people who want to do these things, I would be happy to support them in the pursuit of their interests!

Now...I'd love to find THIS dress in my size somewhere...I wonder if I can figure out where she got it?



In the meantime, Beca's year has kicked off nicely. Will I revisit the band scene? She has decided she'd like to play the flute. Because it's easy to stick in a backpack. Hmmmmm...

JAC is in full fall swing at the office, wrapping up the summer projects, crunching data, and starting to figure out where the next round of $$ will come from.

We are in Girl Scout heaven, well, I am in Girl Scout heaven, not having to lead meetings or organize anything! YAY!!! I will organize the spring campout, although not sure whether this will be just our troop - all 4th grade troops - the SU197...lots of options. So still thinking that one through.

And Ori starts his classes this week to! Revisiting the library tots program is wild for me. I'm looking forward to it! This time around he's with me in the little room. In Jan, he'll maybe be able to go by himself! WOW! His first real experience all by himself with other kids. Should be interesting!

Time to revisit lunch here, before my little fella gets too cranky. :D

9/11 again

Six years ago, little girl of 3 thought Grandma and Poppy's apartment was burning in New York City...but it wasn't their apartment. It was our invulnerability. And since then?

This nearly left me blubbering (I definitely cried!), and this was beautiful and frightening and poetic.

I don't want to harp, because I don't think it will help me, or you. But I don't feel we've done the right thing. I don't feel we are any safer now than we were. I don't feel we are fair or just, and I think we are making the situation worse in places like Iraq. I don't think there is much love lost between many nations and our own, because we are so damned sure that we are RIGHT...or is that righteous... I am only afraid that 9/11 will occur again because we don't send out love, we send out control.

I keep forgetting

Today was one of those days... Things were just happening in my head so fast! I had the whole morning with Ori to clean out the downstairs toys (YAY!) and do laundry - ALL the laundry. I'm one big load (or two smaller) short of finishing, but I did a LOT of laundry!

I had ideas today - ideas about my book, ideas about JAC's new manifesting job, ideas about cameras, ideas! I felt overwhelmed, a few times, 'cause I just don't have an outlet for this much energy! I can't get online often enough for me, and it's all too often for my kids, and ... well, ... finding that balance is hard.

So although I got a lot done today (house power washed, laundry, cleaning out the toys, breakfast, lunch, two snacks, and dinner made, photos taken, photos printed, finished edits, titled, and sent in my Nut. Ed. article for the Coop Scoop in Oct., picked up JAC and took him to the dentist, got the # for the endodontist to make appt. for him, arranged for drop off for me tomorrow so JAC can pick up Ori at WHMS and be home in time to get Beca etc.) - I still don't feel like anything really got DONE. Plus, the house is just trashed. And tomorrow AM is shopping day (coop and PC) and I still need to get printer ink and a chair mat at staples. Sigh.

Also can't find the Y swim class at a time that is just PERFECT.

I did get a bit of reading done while B was at class...and my Love and Tea came today! My moon time tea is Ahhhhhhhbsolutely Vunderful, Dahling! Really, it makes me just feel better. And I had a nice 30 min chat with Nicholas' mom in class today - which is nice. Boy, is she a smart cookie!

Ok, so all in all a good day, with a lot of energy floating around, and I'm not real really glad, because it's all good! But it'd be nice to understand it more too. ;-0

Just in case you needed a pick me up!

Read this.

Read through it. Amazing amazing story. If it's fiction, it's award winning. It's too freaky to be true, though. HA!

Totally stumped

I have gotten so far and not an inch further with my knitting. I am trying a simple (lol!) top down hoodie for Orin (smartly I chose size 4!). I got the first bit done, the hood. But to expand the neck, I need to add stitches. But the next step in the directions is SO complicated!!! It's knit 2 pm k5 pm k33 pm etc. So ... I have to now go and actually count the # of stitches they want me to make, and figure out how many MORE I need to do, and then bring that to Lynn and figure out with her how to get the extra stitches onto the needle in the right places, so that the markers (for shoulder, v neck etc.) are all in the right place. Simple, huh?

A whole nuther year gone by

Well, first day of school has come and whomped me upside the head, again! Holy Cow!!! how did I get to be the mama of such a big girl??? Where did that little curly headed creature who wore shiney purple sneakers and munched on banana chips go??? Where is my little barefoot angel, the one who stripped off her swim suit so that she could FEEL THE WAHTA MAMA! She has blossomed into a child of imagination and swirling emotions, of ethics and dominion over her own self. Wow. So she has begun the journey into upper elementary, and I watch from even further up the bleachers...happy to watch and not cry, most of the time. This may be the last september I ever get to have a little one around my ankles all day long, though I'm not making any bets on that!

Six Flags New England Pics

Christopher and Beca




WINNINGS!!!




Beca is on there - she's in the front row, sitting by herself. She's INSANE!!!



It was a full moon, a very full moon.



It's all ajumble - what a long strange trip, huh!

Pounding on the Ridge

Lots of fun at the Pound Ridge camp out this year! It's so nice to get together with such a diverse crowd! Well, ok, reasonably diverse! Certainly as varried as my life in Delmar...

The girls (and there were SEVEN nine year olds) had a blast, and the littles (5 of those) had fun too. Ori was the youngest by a couple of years, but everyone really dug having him around. :D Ain't that nice!?

We did some pleasant hikes,

the weather was awesome -

all in all a fabu weekend!

Some other fun stuff from recent days:



Shimmy shimmy cocoa bob



Rice Ball Fixings