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    Joe the squirrel

    October 19th, 2013

    G introduced me to a friend of his yesterday, at pre-school pickup: Joe. Joe is a squirrel. He’s small, black, and likes nuts.

    Joe should not be confused with Joe, the other squirrel, that is also small, likes nuts, but is standard brown.

    That’s right – both squirrels are named Joe.

    There’s something else about Joe (the first) climbing over G, up his pant legs, and around his arms looking for nuts. I didn’t quite follow because they sounded like the ramblings of a drunken frat-boy, but I at least got Joe’s name from that story.


    My “me-cation”

    October 18th, 2013

    I quit my job two weeks ago. I will be starting a new gig with a different company come Monday, but decided to enjoy two weeks off… and they were blissful. I still had regular ole’ me duty evenings and week-ends, but between the hours of 8:30am and 5pm it was me doing what I want.

    I walked the new Bay Bridge span

    I got a facial

    I played tourist in the city

    I did some hikes

    I ate great food

    I reconnected with some old friends

    I went shopping… for ME

    I did some chores that were good to do with no kids around

    I feel exercised, and educated, accomplished and reconnected. It was an awesome experience, that only makes me long for an extra week… although I know that if I had 3 weeks off, I’d wish for 3 more. It seriously makes me wish retirement came first in adult-life 🙂

    Still… I’m excited about my new gig — here’s to a new professional life!


    My “get rich quick” scheme

    October 18th, 2013

    Here goes:

    You know the privacy glass installed in limos? You know… the little sound-proof window that comes up between the driver and the passengers in the back? Yeah! After-market installs for standard vehicles.

    For any parent of 2+ kids you know why this is needed.

    Who wants to line up for this? I’m taking early sign-ups here.


    Foto Friday – Weekend walks

    October 17th, 2013

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    Foto Friday — He bakes!

    October 17th, 2013

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    Foto Friday – Tall Towers

    October 17th, 2013

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    On teaching

    October 17th, 2013

    I am really, really excited about the breadth of curriculum G is exposed to at his new pre-school. Like today? They talked about the Mid-West (although somehow the Mid-West became China? I’m not really clear what happened there). Yet while all this makes me really glad, I can’t help but feel a little sad too. Sad because I feel that some of these things should be coming from me. I realize this isn’t practical. Not only am I NOT cut out to be a teacher, but the scale of knowledge about our world is beyond my skill level, education level, and quite frankly patience and time availability. Still, I feel a little dig in there.

    Meanwhile, I do need to brush up on some topics. Yesterday, G asked me why our shadows were so long in the morning. And why when we make shadow puppets on the wall, his hand looked bigger when it was closer to the flashlight. Physics: Hooray. [Yes, that was sarcasm :)]


    Bucket filler

    October 16th, 2013

    G’s school is pretty big into the “How Full Is Your Bucket?” book (by Tom Rath/Mary Reckmeyer). They have posters all over the grounds asking if “you’ve filled a bucket today?”

    He brought home his first “Bucket Filler” award. It’s cute. I’m glad to see that he’s being helpful there and proud of his recognition.


    The meaning of “No!”

    October 8th, 2013

    S2 is having some difficulty with the word “No!” Mostly in that he doesn’t know what the reprocussions are when he says that he doesn’t want something or doesn’t want to do something. Case in point:

    S2 loves his Bagel Poppers from Noah’s bagels. Over the week-end, we head there for breakfast before a Home Depot kids workshop. S and G get out of the car. I get out of the car, and open S2’s door, ready to get him out.

    S2: NO! I don’t want to go!
    Me: Ok, that’s alright we’ll stay in the car.
    S2: [flips out.] Yes! Yes I do!
    Me: Ok, fine. [head to unbuckle him]
    S2: No! I don’t want to get out

    At this point I motion for S and G to just go get stuff. This stand-off wasn’t going anywhere, and I decided to stay in the car with S2, “honoring his wishes”. Yeah, you’d think I had kidnapped him from the ongoing screaming after Daddy and his brother went on. It went consistently between. “I do. I do want to go” and “I don’t want to go”. I wasn’t even saying anything — he was just having a screaming fit with his multiple personalities. I did attempt to give him one more shot while the guys were still inside, met with the same response as above. I quit!

    He just doesn’t get what saying “No!” means, and no matter how many times we’ve done this natural consequence response with him. It’s just not sinking in. Ah – yet something else I’m looking forward to outgrowing 🙂