let's go.
to lunch
to the aquarium
to Outside
and to swim.
mmhmm. that'll do.
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
shine on
I'm not even sure how to begin the telling of our day.
Maybe with my first noticings.... Maddie wasn't feeling very well.
Her front tooth has been loose (more loose) the last few days, and on this particular day it was causing tears. She was totally out of sorts. Scared, anxious, in pain... almost completely undone.
My thoughts on it were, "Aah.... lots more extra love today. How wonderful."
It's been very interesting, this shift within me. I've moved (er... am moving) from a regular place of "I'm just not good enough at this" to, "Wow. Look how well I'm handling this, and how quickly I'm able to pause, and shift into a soft and loving place."
(All part of that Balance thing. More on that, still, later.)
So when she was feeling better, she wanted to build.
"Can I build with you?" I asked.
I was thoroughly loving this Beingness.
A few days ago we received our game Professor Noggin's History of the United States that we won from Jessica at Only Small Things. I had briefly looked at it, but we'd been sick, and hadn't gotten it out yet.
I had thought earlier that day that it might be nice to play it, as I am wise enough to know that even though the game wasn't something we'd normally pick out for ourselves, or something we necessarily specialize in, it might spark interesting conversations.
So we asked Eric to sit down with us (I figured we needed him, as we needed someone to win), and we began our history game.
"American History", I said of the game.
"Adolf Hitler was a soldier in the first world war," Trev began (did he see a card with Hitler on it?)...
"World War II, Bud," interrupted his Dad.
Irritated glance at Dad, then, "Adolf Hitler was a soldier in War World I," he reiterated, "And then the leader of the Third Reich in War World II, from 1933 to 1945."
"I can see quite clearly that I am going to lose," I said happily.
"What did the Suffragettes fight for?" to Trev.
"I don't know."
"Think about this, Bud. The mother in Mary Poppins is a suffragette. What did she believe in?"
"Votes for women!" (Granted, that one needed a little prompting, but I was so completely impressed at this point that it mattered not.)
I posed a question to Eric about Custer.... don't remember what it was, and, "Do you mean James C. Custer?" asked Trev. "He was known for his many, many small wars against the Native Americans."
Heh.
A few pilgrimage, early U.S. questions, and "How did the Native Americans get to the United States in the first place?" Trev wanted to know.
"The Berring Strait," answered his Dad, and so went the next topic of conversation.
Conversation, led by the game, went back into human evolution and then into dust bowls and droughts in the mid-west during and contributing to the Great Depression, among other things....
Trev won the game.
What a wonderful gift those few hours were.
Not only did I get to spend a long while completely enchanted with my child, but I was pushed in front of the mirror, and came face to face with doubts and values regarding how we learn. Even though I hadn't been asking.
No doubt there will be more on that in the coming days.... :)
Life is surprising.
And amazing.
And good.
Maybe with my first noticings.... Maddie wasn't feeling very well.
Her front tooth has been loose (more loose) the last few days, and on this particular day it was causing tears. She was totally out of sorts. Scared, anxious, in pain... almost completely undone.
My thoughts on it were, "Aah.... lots more extra love today. How wonderful."
It's been very interesting, this shift within me. I've moved (er... am moving) from a regular place of "I'm just not good enough at this" to, "Wow. Look how well I'm handling this, and how quickly I'm able to pause, and shift into a soft and loving place."
(All part of that Balance thing. More on that, still, later.)
So when she was feeling better, she wanted to build.
"Can I build with you?" I asked.
Spider
Drums
It was here at the table that the day took on another sort of shine.
For some reason, Trevelyn started talking about a young kid on youtube who likes to talk about his beliefs about the rightful (righteous, maybe?) unfairness of gay rights. Particularly marriage.
Trev then preceded to lecture us on how wrong this was. Eric and I listened for a long time, and naturally we put in our own observances and beliefs into the conversation.
I was so happy to hear his arguments and observations... he might not have a keen understanding of a lot of the problems and challenges that gay relationships face (he's ten, after all), but he has a very definite understanding of fairness and respect for humanity.
As conversations do, this one evolved to talking about behaviors and tendencies in animals, and then human evolution....
Soon he was quite done with that topic and moved onto oil drilling in the ocean.
(And how he doesn't like it.)
I was curious to what his opinions were, so I started asking questions.
(These were very slow-moving games, with all this talkin' we were doing.)
"Why not ocean drilling?"
Oil spills, harmful to the environment...
"What about on land? Doesn't it harm the land, too?"
He talked about that for a minute or two, then, "Well... if we didn't have oil, wouldn't we just be forced to have only electric cars? To find other ways to do things?"
He talked about that for a minute or two, then, "Well... if we didn't have oil, wouldn't we just be forced to have only electric cars? To find other ways to do things?"
:) Yup. We would.
"What other ways are there?" I asked.
"What other ways are there?" I asked.
And so it went.
Evidently he had some talking to do, for soon he moved on to "Bot Flies".
"What are bot flies?" I asked.
And then the Hell Creek Formation in Montana (cretaceous rock).
A few days ago we received our game Professor Noggin's History of the United States that we won from Jessica at Only Small Things. I had briefly looked at it, but we'd been sick, and hadn't gotten it out yet.
I had thought earlier that day that it might be nice to play it, as I am wise enough to know that even though the game wasn't something we'd normally pick out for ourselves, or something we necessarily specialize in, it might spark interesting conversations.
So we asked Eric to sit down with us (I figured we needed him, as we needed someone to win), and we began our history game.
"American History", I said of the game.
"Adolf Hitler was a soldier in the first world war," Trev began (did he see a card with Hitler on it?)...
"World War II, Bud," interrupted his Dad.
Irritated glance at Dad, then, "Adolf Hitler was a soldier in War World I," he reiterated, "And then the leader of the Third Reich in War World II, from 1933 to 1945."
"I can see quite clearly that I am going to lose," I said happily.
"What did the Suffragettes fight for?" to Trev.
"I don't know."
"Think about this, Bud. The mother in Mary Poppins is a suffragette. What did she believe in?"
"Votes for women!" (Granted, that one needed a little prompting, but I was so completely impressed at this point that it mattered not.)
I posed a question to Eric about Custer.... don't remember what it was, and, "Do you mean James C. Custer?" asked Trev. "He was known for his many, many small wars against the Native Americans."
Heh.
A few pilgrimage, early U.S. questions, and "How did the Native Americans get to the United States in the first place?" Trev wanted to know.
"The Berring Strait," answered his Dad, and so went the next topic of conversation.
Conversation, led by the game, went back into human evolution and then into dust bowls and droughts in the mid-west during and contributing to the Great Depression, among other things....
Trev won the game.
What a wonderful gift those few hours were.
Not only did I get to spend a long while completely enchanted with my child, but I was pushed in front of the mirror, and came face to face with doubts and values regarding how we learn. Even though I hadn't been asking.
No doubt there will be more on that in the coming days.... :)
Life is surprising.
And amazing.
And good.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Found
Wednesday morning I had tossed crumpets on my bare toes before eight o'clock in the morning. They had formerly belonged to Trevelyn.
So loving him sweetly with soft words and cool rags took up the rest of my day.
Maddie had a sleep-over on Thursday (well, they both did, but....) Trevelyn was feeling much better by then, though wiped out, and of course he stayed home.
Madeleine was looking and feeling spry, so she headed out with her five or six bags of gear, and went to play with friends. None of us were certain how well it would 'take', especially without Trevelyn - she's never slept away from her Mama and Daddy, you know. We got a one a.m. call, at that time she had been asleep, and woke my friend Julie with "I wanna go home".
After Julie called us (we live just about exactly one mile away), and while Eric was on his way, Madd said she had to go to the bathroom, and promptly threw up.
I later found out definitively that it wasn't nerves, that she had kept her daddy up all night with her many bouts of retching. Friday morning found Trevelyn better, Maddie gray, and me still hopeful.
I went to the grocery store that afternoon, got foodstuffs and Maddie a soft little stuffed puppy (because I love her, and I knew she would greatly appreciate that) and some jello and Sierra Mist. (I didn't have the truck or lots of extra money when Trev was sick.)
By somewhere around six or seven o'clock Friday night, I was totally helpless and incapacitated on the bathroom floor. (Imagine the worst... it would be true.)
Saturday found me pondering my gratitude for many things.
First on my mind was the fact that I was the last to be ill. There was no way I would have been able to take care of another while that was raging through me.
Next on my mind were various things... how enjoyable it was to just lay about and snuggle, for days. Myth Buster marathons (we started with one, and are now on episode 31), RugRats, Angelina Ballerina... depending on who was ill and doing the choosing.
There was an incredible softness in those days... a gentleness that I greatly needed to notice.
You know that I was feeling out of sorts a week before... doing a lot of noticing and criticizing of my thoughts and emotions... lying about on Saturday (because though I wasn't feeling particularly wretched, I couldn't move) gave me lots of 'witness' time.
This last week or so found me in a completely different place.
No longer was I feeling harried or critical.
Apparently, I was done with objections and objecting.
I was finding a new Balance.
I have a lot to say about that, but it will have to wait for a bit... gotta get it (and my house!) straight and tidy before I can convey my insights properly.
Saturday also found me watching Ram Dass : Fierce Grace, noticing that Deepak Chopra is having a winter 21-day meditation challenge beginning in February (which I have signed up for), and dreaming of an ashram in India. :) I don't have India, but I do have temples and mountaintops in my mind, and I do have teachers, so....
Sunday found us better. Me with a slight amount of energy (enough to be standing on my own), Maddie whirling and making up for lost time, and Trevelyn looking and acting just barely less than his usual self.
I expect we'll all feel quite recovered today.
I'm looking forward to it!
So loving him sweetly with soft words and cool rags took up the rest of my day.
Maddie had a sleep-over on Thursday (well, they both did, but....) Trevelyn was feeling much better by then, though wiped out, and of course he stayed home.
Madeleine was looking and feeling spry, so she headed out with her five or six bags of gear, and went to play with friends. None of us were certain how well it would 'take', especially without Trevelyn - she's never slept away from her Mama and Daddy, you know. We got a one a.m. call, at that time she had been asleep, and woke my friend Julie with "I wanna go home".
After Julie called us (we live just about exactly one mile away), and while Eric was on his way, Madd said she had to go to the bathroom, and promptly threw up.
I later found out definitively that it wasn't nerves, that she had kept her daddy up all night with her many bouts of retching. Friday morning found Trevelyn better, Maddie gray, and me still hopeful.
I went to the grocery store that afternoon, got foodstuffs and Maddie a soft little stuffed puppy (because I love her, and I knew she would greatly appreciate that) and some jello and Sierra Mist. (I didn't have the truck or lots of extra money when Trev was sick.)
By somewhere around six or seven o'clock Friday night, I was totally helpless and incapacitated on the bathroom floor. (Imagine the worst... it would be true.)
Saturday found me pondering my gratitude for many things.
First on my mind was the fact that I was the last to be ill. There was no way I would have been able to take care of another while that was raging through me.
Next on my mind were various things... how enjoyable it was to just lay about and snuggle, for days. Myth Buster marathons (we started with one, and are now on episode 31), RugRats, Angelina Ballerina... depending on who was ill and doing the choosing.
There was an incredible softness in those days... a gentleness that I greatly needed to notice.
You know that I was feeling out of sorts a week before... doing a lot of noticing and criticizing of my thoughts and emotions... lying about on Saturday (because though I wasn't feeling particularly wretched, I couldn't move) gave me lots of 'witness' time.
This last week or so found me in a completely different place.
No longer was I feeling harried or critical.
Apparently, I was done with objections and objecting.
I was finding a new Balance.
I have a lot to say about that, but it will have to wait for a bit... gotta get it (and my house!) straight and tidy before I can convey my insights properly.
Saturday also found me watching Ram Dass : Fierce Grace, noticing that Deepak Chopra is having a winter 21-day meditation challenge beginning in February (which I have signed up for), and dreaming of an ashram in India. :) I don't have India, but I do have temples and mountaintops in my mind, and I do have teachers, so....
Sunday found us better. Me with a slight amount of energy (enough to be standing on my own), Maddie whirling and making up for lost time, and Trevelyn looking and acting just barely less than his usual self.
I expect we'll all feel quite recovered today.
I'm looking forward to it!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
tuesday
I found this first thing this morning. She drew it a couple of days ago, she said. I love it so.
making food for the pups.
Kitty Heaven in the livingroom. (Condos, toys, climbing things, batting things... she likes to create things)
Magic School Bus (surprise!!)
downstairs for Mama (hup-two exercises--still loving that...)
Do you ever wonder where Trevy is in our pictures?
Here's a fine (and utterly usual) example of his life:
"Whatcha been researchin' today, Bub?"
"Mostly dinosuars. Did you know there is a dinosaur called the Elvis dinosaur?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. It lived in the Campanian stage."
"The Campanian stage!? I've never heard of that." (And I figure I'm pretty knowledgeable, as I live with him.)
"Yeah. It's a period at the end of the Cretaceous. Followed the Santonian. Was a diverse time filled the first flowering plants, as well as frogs, salamanders, lizards, and birds."
"Oh! We should fill these time periods in on our timeline. And the Elvis dinosaur lived here?"
"Yeah. It's called Brachylophosaurus. Its remains were found in 2000(ce), and it was literally mummefied. It was a spectacular find in Montana, with skin imprints tissue, and even the last meal the animal ate."
"Wow."
"I have a picture of one in one of my books..." (We have several prehistory encyclopedias.)
[He looks for it in a book--knowing exactly which one it's in, of course, and his Mama catches up here, writing all this down.]
"Are you caught up, yet?" he asks.
"Yeah." Smiles. "Now... where were we?"
"The Brachylophosaurus. The dinosaurs also documented in the same feeding grounds in the Campanian stage -in Alberta- included the the tyrannosaur Daspletosaurus, which was a small relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the other hadrosaurs; which included Parasaurolophus and Hypacrosaurus. Also [here were] horned dinosuars, which include Centrosaurus and Styracosaurus, and the oviraptid Chirostenotes. Also included, the giant crocodile Deinosuchus, two kinds of dromaeosaur, one called Saurornitholestes, and Bambiraptor. And last but not least, the giant of the pterosaur family, Quetzalcoatlus. Now, ...." and so goes the lecture.
Mmhmm, I'm absolutely crazy about him.
So we tended to the timeline.
Trev is bemoaning the fact that we have so few creatures on it--really gotta get the printer fixed.
An' there was mucho rasslin' on the stairs for a while.
Because... you know. We were there.
An' there was Out.
And then... just them. Into the big, wide world.
And let me just tell you.... that took a reeeeeeeeallly long time.
I'm not sure who was whimpering more.... Annabelle, or me. Rrrr.
But you know. Gotta make those babies happy. Even if it's without me. Her. Us.
And so.
How'd that turn out, you ask?
Well. Ahem.
Too much whimpering. Hers or mine, doesna matter. Took its toll.
"Five minutes, Annie. Five minutes, and we go and get them."
That lasted for a few seconds.
'Til I pictured Maddie walking across the ice or bank of the duck pond, and [then quick progression, because, as I've mentioned, this is the way my mind works...] Trevy trying to fish her out while hypothermia sets in.
"C'mon, babe. Let's go get the babies."
So we loaded up into the truck, and went searchin'.
Up the hill, around the corner, and into the condos and to all the various duck ponds thereabouts. There are like six or something.
huh uh.
To home, then.
Pull in, and see Trev in the livingroom window.
"Dude. Too long. You were gone too long. That was over an hour."
Maddie cries. Her mama scoops her up, and holds her tight.
"We went up there," she wails, "and for a walk, and then over there, and to over there, and then there were street lights, and I was cold and tired, and we were lost!!!" Poor wee one.
"Dude. Not cool."
"I know...I'm so sorry!.... I didn't mean for that to happen...." and so it was.
"Here's the thing... I was cool with you wanting to go and have an adventure without me... that's fine with me! I totally get Kid Freedom! But you said to me 'up to the top of the hill', and you were not at the top of the hill, and I waited and waited and waited and waited... and then you were so far away that Maddie was uncomfortable... not cool, Bud. Gotta watch out for her, and take these things into account."
"I know.. I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again without bikes or a car or a skateboard..."
"No, dude." I tend to say 'dude' when I"m perturbed, "Not good enough. Going too far away on bikes isn't cool, either." God help me. Much larger radius, then. "Gotta just let me know where you're going. And stick to it. Just let me know! It will help when we have another set of walky-talkies, and we'll do that immediately. But in the meantime, you gotta do what you say you're going to do. Just let me know... that's all I ask."
"I'm so sorry, Mom," he says, while Maddie still clings to her mama.
"I know, Babe. Everything is alright, now. Here. Get these warm jammies back on, Madd (she had had a bath right before adventuring), and I'll get dinner on. Wanna get tucked into the couch with this warm blanket and Magic School Bus, while I start supper? Getting tucked in will make you feel safe and warm. It's alright, darling. All is well."
And yes... All is well.
Enchiladas in the works while one learns about physics, and the other watches yet another dinosaur documentary.
And it's true, lest you wonder, that all really is well.
Life takes on lots of wherefores and heretofores and even thoughs... an' I adamantly still say, that indeed, it is... a sweet, sweet life.
And thank God I don't have to send them away every day! :)
I like them too much to be able to stand it.
Roller skating. While talking a-million-miles-an-hour.
Mmhmm, she's recovered.
And skating and turning around -sans hands- in the kitchen.
She's getting tricky!
I do love this life.
making food for the pups.
Kitty Heaven in the livingroom. (Condos, toys, climbing things, batting things... she likes to create things)
Magic School Bus (surprise!!)
downstairs for Mama (hup-two exercises--still loving that...)
Do you ever wonder where Trevy is in our pictures?
Here's a fine (and utterly usual) example of his life:
"Whatcha been researchin' today, Bub?"
"Mostly dinosuars. Did you know there is a dinosaur called the Elvis dinosaur?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. It lived in the Campanian stage."
"The Campanian stage!? I've never heard of that." (And I figure I'm pretty knowledgeable, as I live with him.)
"Yeah. It's a period at the end of the Cretaceous. Followed the Santonian. Was a diverse time filled the first flowering plants, as well as frogs, salamanders, lizards, and birds."
"Oh! We should fill these time periods in on our timeline. And the Elvis dinosaur lived here?"
"Yeah. It's called Brachylophosaurus. Its remains were found in 2000(ce), and it was literally mummefied. It was a spectacular find in Montana, with skin imprints tissue, and even the last meal the animal ate."
"Wow."
"I have a picture of one in one of my books..." (We have several prehistory encyclopedias.)
[He looks for it in a book--knowing exactly which one it's in, of course, and his Mama catches up here, writing all this down.]
"Are you caught up, yet?" he asks.
"Yeah." Smiles. "Now... where were we?"
"The Brachylophosaurus. The dinosaurs also documented in the same feeding grounds in the Campanian stage -in Alberta- included the the tyrannosaur Daspletosaurus, which was a small relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the other hadrosaurs; which included Parasaurolophus and Hypacrosaurus. Also [here were] horned dinosuars, which include Centrosaurus and Styracosaurus, and the oviraptid Chirostenotes. Also included, the giant crocodile Deinosuchus, two kinds of dromaeosaur, one called Saurornitholestes, and Bambiraptor. And last but not least, the giant of the pterosaur family, Quetzalcoatlus. Now, ...." and so goes the lecture.
Mmhmm, I'm absolutely crazy about him.
So we tended to the timeline.
Trev is bemoaning the fact that we have so few creatures on it--really gotta get the printer fixed.
An' there was mucho rasslin' on the stairs for a while.
Because... you know. We were there.
An' there was Out.
And then... just them. Into the big, wide world.
And let me just tell you.... that took a reeeeeeeeallly long time.
I'm not sure who was whimpering more.... Annabelle, or me. Rrrr.
But you know. Gotta make those babies happy. Even if it's without me. Her. Us.
And so.
How'd that turn out, you ask?
Well. Ahem.
Too much whimpering. Hers or mine, doesna matter. Took its toll.
"Five minutes, Annie. Five minutes, and we go and get them."
That lasted for a few seconds.
'Til I pictured Maddie walking across the ice or bank of the duck pond, and [then quick progression, because, as I've mentioned, this is the way my mind works...] Trevy trying to fish her out while hypothermia sets in.
"C'mon, babe. Let's go get the babies."
So we loaded up into the truck, and went searchin'.
Up the hill, around the corner, and into the condos and to all the various duck ponds thereabouts. There are like six or something.
huh uh.
To home, then.
Pull in, and see Trev in the livingroom window.
"Dude. Too long. You were gone too long. That was over an hour."
Maddie cries. Her mama scoops her up, and holds her tight.
"We went up there," she wails, "and for a walk, and then over there, and to over there, and then there were street lights, and I was cold and tired, and we were lost!!!" Poor wee one.
"Dude. Not cool."
"I know...I'm so sorry!.... I didn't mean for that to happen...." and so it was.
"Here's the thing... I was cool with you wanting to go and have an adventure without me... that's fine with me! I totally get Kid Freedom! But you said to me 'up to the top of the hill', and you were not at the top of the hill, and I waited and waited and waited and waited... and then you were so far away that Maddie was uncomfortable... not cool, Bud. Gotta watch out for her, and take these things into account."
"I know.. I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again without bikes or a car or a skateboard..."
"No, dude." I tend to say 'dude' when I"m perturbed, "Not good enough. Going too far away on bikes isn't cool, either."
"I'm so sorry, Mom," he says, while Maddie still clings to her mama.
"I know, Babe. Everything is alright, now. Here. Get these warm jammies back on, Madd (she had had a bath right before adventuring), and I'll get dinner on. Wanna get tucked into the couch with this warm blanket and Magic School Bus, while I start supper? Getting tucked in will make you feel safe and warm. It's alright, darling. All is well."
And yes... All is well.
Enchiladas in the works while one learns about physics, and the other watches yet another dinosaur documentary.
And it's true, lest you wonder, that all really is well.
Life takes on lots of wherefores and heretofores and even thoughs... an' I adamantly still say, that indeed, it is... a sweet, sweet life.
And thank God I don't have to send them away every day! :)
I like them too much to be able to stand it.
Roller skating. While talking a-million-miles-an-hour.
Mmhmm, she's recovered.
And skating and turning around -sans hands- in the kitchen.
She's getting tricky!
I do love this life.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
monday love
a super delicious day
~
music and dancing
recording time.
because she has a sleep-over in a couple of days,
and wants to have the passing of time down to minutes.
by herself.
friends.
from the left: Mina, Kyan, Maddie, Soleil
Exago for the three of us.
Rat-a-Tat Cat for Trevy and I.
Mancala for Trev and I.
He wiped the floor with me, one game.
But I rallied, the next.
play
Body play
(SomeBody game)
and a book, too.
And throughout :
research,
working on the Field Journal,
laughing,
and many, many Magic School Bus episodes.
all
is
well.
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