What we've done

He's got....personality...

2012-01-25T20:26:00.000-06:00

We are so enjoying this little guy's personality. I can't wait to see what he's like as a boy- I imagine funny and cheerful.
Ali says, "I just want to squish him," and I know exactly what he means!
The other day I was talking to him as he ate, and he didn't appear to want a conversation- kept avoiding my eyes, and then finally gave me a bit of a glare. A few minutes later he was smiling and chortling at me, letting go of his latch to share his pleasure in whatever it was I said to him.
We had an ENT Dr. clip his tongue tie last week, but he still hasn't figured out exactly where his tongue goes when eating. I keep hoping and praying he will.

Talking to himself

2012-01-24T11:27:00.001-06:00

Sorry, this gets a bit long, but it shows Sami having a conversation with himself in the mirror. He looks so happy!

*just showed this to Sami, and he smiled!

**The older kids think the monkey hanging over his head is freaky.

Talking with big bro

2012-01-18T09:14:00.000-06:00

Photo by H, I think.

Birthday Present for Me!

2012-01-15T13:23:00.000-06:00

I just pre-ordered Ann Lamott's new book as a birthday present for myself. After all, that's the day it's due to come out. It's called Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Year. It should be fun to read as I watch my own son's first year unfold.

Catching up

2012-01-10T20:41:00.000-06:00

It's much easier to read than post while holding/nursing a baby, so it's been a while, especially because Sami eats a lot! He's a great baby- we're really happy with him- but he has a few little issues. For example, he has blocked tear ducts, which require me to massage them and give him gucky eyes in the morning. The other problem is he's just too skinny. While I like skinny babies as well as fat, this is kind of a problem. He didn't gain enough weight his first month. The second month I started giving him one bottle of supplement of day, and he gained a pound and a half. The Dr. was still worried about his weight, so she suggested I supplement at every feeding, and consult with a lactation consultant.
The lactation consultant and an intern came by on Monday, and we learned alot! Apparently, Sami has a very high palate, which makes breastfeeding difficult, and he also appears to have a posterior tongue tie. When I googled this I discovered that this is harder to diagnose/discover than a regular tongue tie, so it's often missed. It also makes bf difficult. Sami latches on pretty well, but he has trouble getting the milk out, and it really tires him.
The consultant has a very sensitive scale and measured him before he started breastfeeding, and then after he breastfed to determine exactly how much he was getting, and this also showed that he isn't being as productive at sucking as he should be.
The good news- he's gained quite a bit of weight with the additional supplementing, which means there isn't a hidden medical issue. In addition, if the posterior tongue tie is the biggest detriment to his getting enough milk, it's a pretty easy fix, from what I read on the internet.
It's really frustrating that he has so much trouble eating as it means I spend hours and hours feeding him or pumping each day.
The lactation consultant is coming back to weigh him on Friday, I think. I'm not supplementing at every feeding- just once or twice a day- as that seems to interfere with his time at the breast. He should still be gaining weight, however.
So, as I said, he has a couple little things that need work, but other than that, he's quite a joy. I've had to go in to work this week and I've taken him with me. Yesterday he started crying while I was meeting in my office with a colleague, but Tio Scott heard him from the office next door and came to get him. He stopped crying immediately and fell asleep.
Today he was kind enough to stay asleep throughout my department meeting, but woke up right at the end to be loved on and admired.
He's got a couple more meetings to get through, and me working on the computer, and then I get 2 months of leave. The pediatrician wrote a note saying he needs to be with me for frequent breastfeeding.

Joy

2011-12-17T23:18:00.000-06:00

Just now, Sami laughed out loud for me. He was doing his open mouth grin, eyes sparkling, when a chortle came out. Of course, when I got all excited, he sobered up and got serious. He's been smiling since early on. I know some people say it's just gas, but Sami would smile at us while engaging with us from very early days- week 1 or 2. Dr. Sears talks about internal and external smiles- internal smiles aren't in response to outside stimuli- but I really think Sami's early smiles were in response to us .After all, if babies grimace when they aren't happy, surely they smile when they are.

"Hipo"*

2011-12-13T00:03:00.000-06:00

Sami gets the hiccups almost every day. Our Tunisian friend said it's lucky for babies to get hiccups. He doesn't seem to mind, unlike Ali, who hates them. I realized that all those very steady, rythmic kicks I felt for months when Sami was still inside were probably just hiccups.
Right now he's sleeping squished up against my breast. If I put him down, I'm sure he'll wake up, so I'm letting him sleep here. I'll have to get ready for bed when I want to put him down so that he can cuddle up next to me. It's the only way he stays asleep so far.
*Hipo is Spanish for hiccups. Don't pronounce the H. Doesn't it sound fun?

more photos

2011-12-11T11:20:00.000-06:00

Observations of a six-year-old

2011-12-11T10:41:00.000-06:00

Last night we drove over to Santa's Village. The moon was just rising above the tree line, round and golden. When it finally got high enough for the kids to see, Ali observed- "It looks like ear wax." (I see a poet in training.- or an ear doctor!)
This morning he got into bed where I was holding a sleeping Sami and got me to make him an origami fortune teller (also called a cootie catcher.) Then he started telling our fortunes. For Sami: "You will soon drink milk." And for me? "You will soon be feeding Sami." Those aren't exactly hard fortunes- they describe 75% of our daily activities!

Brothers and Colombians

2011-12-08T18:06:00.001-06:00

Four Weeks

2011-11-27T22:29:00.000-06:00

Sami has been in our lives for four weeks, which have just sped by. Last Saturday we had a "Sip and See" for him- a Southern tradition where people drop by to take a gander at the new child. A lot of folks came, and it was great fun to catch up with people from all areas of my life, some of whom I hadn't seen in quite a while. Sami was passed from person to person- he loved being held and slept through most of it. H was in the kitchen making pizza, and those who didn't leave early got some of that yumminess.
The kids mostly played outside, with excursions to the table for brownies, snickerdoodles, chex mix, and mini pumpkin muffins. The cake read- "Welcome Sami!"
Leila told one friend that she was going to skip puberty and go straight to adulthood. I asked her about that later, and she explained that puberty sounded to scary- I assured her that it wasn't too bad if one did it right- which meant talking to her mom. I hope that works for her!
My folks, who had been here for almost 3 weeks, left the next day, leaving us to deal with laundry, school age kids, and cooking on our own. Luckily it was Thanksgiving week- and my mom cooked us Thanksgiving dinner on Friday night before they left.
Thanksgiving holidays weren't that much fun for the kids. We did go to friends for dinner on Thursday night, and to the local paint your pottery place on Friday, and the library on Saturday. Tonight some other friends brought a delicious Chicken Masala dinner and tomorrow it's back to school. The laundry is part way done, the house is a mess, but Sami is asleep at the breast, despite my typing with the arm that is holding him.

2011-11-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

Ali sits down on the couch next to where I am feeding Sami.
He whispers- "Dear God, thank you for this food..." He notices I am looking at him quizzically. "It's for Sami," he explains.
"Dear God, thank you for this food for Sami. I hope he has a good day tomorrow and he doesn't cry too much."

Etiquette

2011-11-13T23:20:00.000-06:00

I was trying to get the wording right on an invite to come see the baby (if you want to come but didn't get the word, contact me), so I asked the room at large (aiming for my parents) what to say so people didn't bring gifts. Ali had an idea:

Please no gifts for the baby because if it’s electronic it could hurt him, or he could get his hand stuck inside and not get it out.

Doing it right- I guess.

2011-11-08T21:07:00.000-06:00

The other day, Leila told me that if people could choose their parents, she would choose us. She actually said- she was glad we are her parents- but that's what she meant.
She was thinking of this while looking at Sami.
I'm glad she's my daughter, too, however crazy she drives me on occasion.

Bits and Pieces

2011-11-05T14:14:00.000-05:00

About two days ago, Sami was letting loose with the stinkiest farts- ones that would make a grownup blush! I kept checking his diaper, thinking that kind of smell must have left something behind, but no- just gas. Who knew a baby could have that in him? It finally resolved late one night in messy diaper.
The kids are fascinated by his umbilical cord- the little stump is still attached. Leila said it looked like a packet of soy sauce. Today, with it almost off, Ali decided on a bit of sausage wrapped in plastic.
Ali says he's a smart baby. He asks him- What's 1+1? The baby, apparently, raises both arms in response, to Ali's great delight.
This morning, during another messy diaper change (Yeah! He's eating well!) Ali asked H why Sami's "thing" was so big.

A family of five!

2011-10-31T18:30:00.000-05:00

We're back home with a little boy- Sami Salem. He's enormous- 8 lbs. 6 oz. and a 141/2 inch head- lots of room for all the brains he's got.
He was born at 10:10 last night after a short but difficult labor. He managed to tie a knot in his very long cord, but right at the end of it all. He came out looking blue but quickly gained a great color, and he's very healthy looking with a healthy cry. I have to wake him up to feed him (I know! but just till my milk comes in) but he likes sleeping. Sometimes he'll cry- I think he has a lot of gas to burp up. He really likes to be held, of course.
Leila and Ali spent the night at our neighbors/friends and E brought them by on the way to school this morning. They were so happy to see him, giving him kisses. "I love you, Sami," Ali said as he said goodbye.
This afternoon he was having some trouble remembering his name, but when I let him think of it for a moment, he remembered.
Leila said something very sweet but I'm having trouble remembering it exactly- something about never having seen something so small and precious.
Ali wants to know if I'm still pregnant- he means the belly!
Leila went for a walk with me yesterday after my last post when my midwife told me to take a powerwalk for half an hour. I lasted 4 blocks and back. Then she said to lie down and see if they slowed down- they didn't- so we went in to the birth center. We beat her down there, so had to wait on the porch, and it got rather painful. Then things got better for a while- I got in the tub. Another walk afterwards, this time in the park next to the birth center with Habib, and then I walked around the room for a bit. I spent some time on the exercise ball (egg) with Habib rubbing my back. After a while the contractions got pretty bad and I wasn't dilating quite enough, so we decided to speed things up some. His little head wasn't coming down into the birth canal, so I had to push it down. Habib was a big help, holding me as I squatted and made the "angry cat" pose (arching my back) to force him down. Once he crowned it was pretty easy to push him out. (relatively! I think I pushed about 4 or 5 times. He came out about 10:10 p.m.
The funny thing- Habib had a dream yesterday morning before I woke him up to tell him I was in labor. He had a bug in a bottle. The bug had food and everything in the bottle, but when Habib opened it up, the bug got out and didn't want to go back inside. And he thought it was a male bug.
(I've tried to avoid TMI- you didn't get ALL the gory details!)
The older kids are off to dinner and trick-or-treating with friends, and I've got this one dressed as a duck burrito. (Almost all gender neutral baby clothes are ducks!)

A little early

2011-10-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke up at 9:15 with some pains (I'd woken up an hour earlier with no pains). I decided to make coffee because that would get me through the day, but I wasn't hungry, which is unusual for me. I've had pains off and on for a while all day- every ten or twenty minutes, lasting from 30 seconds to one minute. But lately they are slowing down, perhaps because I'm taking it easy.
It is a whole week and a half too early for this!
The kids said if the abby is born tonight or tomorrow they would rather go to school then leave early to see the baby. I said I'm making them leave early!

In the right place

2011-10-26T19:56:00.001-05:00

Ali wanted to know what was going to happen when the baby was born, so I explained who would take care of them and where he and Leila would be. "Where are you going to be?" he asked me. "At a special place to have the baby." "Where is Baba going to be?" "With me," I told him. "Where is God going to be?" "He's going to be with all of us," for which I am devoutly grateful. Then he asked "Where are the neighbors going to be?" I told him it was none of my business. (Unless they are the ones taking care of the kids!)

He was worried that the baby might come on Halloween- so am I! I told him Grandma and Grandpa were going to be here when the baby comes, and we would call them to come in from the camper. Leila thought they would like that, as the camper will be cold. But at the rate we're going with Texas weather, it'll just be too hot!

Trying to get a grasp

2011-10-26T12:28:00.000-05:00

I've had almost 8 months to get my head around being pregnant. Now it's time to really work on getting it into my head that we will have a little person in our lives in two weeks. I was watching The Rachel Zoe Project on t.v. last night. Her latest project was pushing out a baby, and I got a funny feeling in my tummy- butterflies, really- watching her with him, and realizing that'll be me soon.
Help!
At least I've ordered the car seat and it should be here tomorrow!

Still waiting

2011-10-16T22:39:00.002-05:00

Here's something I posted several years ago about new mothers growing a third arm. There are no signs of one this pregnancy either, but I'm hoping Ali and Leila might function in much the same way.

Stone Soup

2011-10-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

Late afternoon was spent by the lake with old friends and their friends. We ate- stone soup, dips, cookies, popcorn, more, and listened to music, and poetry, and the story Stone Soup, which has to be a part of this once annual tradition now being resurrected.
The theme was change. Leila shared a poem about how a tree changes with the seasons, and a fantastic book she worked on this summer. I shared some old poems and a new reflection- the ideas you'll recognize from a post about 6 months ago.

Reflection

It’s fundamental- we all know that 1 and 1 make 2.

And in the start, this is so true and 1 and 1 have lots of fun.

Then one day, we wake up to find that 1 and 1 make 3- the math has changed.

Still it’s okay as 1 and 1 each have two arms and sharing 3 is not too hard.

And even when, though Einstein won’t concur, math takes another twist and

1 and 1 make 4, it still works out- two odds add up to even and chaos is controlled,

More or less.

And there we set, with ledgers balanced out and math at rest, or so we think.

But Math is not as stable as it seems.

The sum will shift, with no warning, tectonic plates collide

and now we find that 1 and 1 will soon make 5.

Six-year-old thinking.

2011-09-29T18:24:00.000-05:00

I asked Ali to brush his hair this morning; it was standing straight up in wild patches. He refused- "I want it to look like a mountain on my head," he told me. Well, okay. It looked like a mountain that would be dangerous to climb- with hidden crevices and sharp drop offs, but whatever!
Last night H wasn't home when the kids went to bed. "Tell Baba I love him. And I love you. And the baby." And this morning, after my goodbye kiss as he exited the car- "Tell the baby goodbye."
Did I write about how he wanted to see the baby drive the car? That is, me with the baby inside driving the car? That was a few weeks ago.

Your Body is a Sports Arena

2011-09-14T11:08:00.000-05:00

Barbara Kruger has a famous work called "Your Body is Battleground." Lately, my body is feeling more like a sports arena. The baby is doing somersaults and other tumbling moves when he/she isn't practicing for Tae Kwon Do. It's weird enough when the kicks are on my outer stomach, but when the baby is kicking on the inner side, it's even stranger.
Yesterday I had a big migraine come on right in the middle of class. It's hard to teach grammar when I can barely see because of the migraine aura. Today I thought one might be coming on- and it still might- but at least I'm in my office and not in class today.
Yesterday we broke a record in Texas- the most days of over 100 degree weather. Some people were disappointed when a cold front a few weeks ago interupted the record for most days over 100 in a row. Now they can celebrate that this is officially the hottest summer on record. It should break with a cold front coming through tomorrow. I'm certainly ready for it. This was the wrong summer to be pregnant and stuck in Texas the ENTIRE summer. Usually we escape to cooler climes for a week or two at the least.
Oh well, it's over now.

bulls eye

2011-09-11T17:15:00.001-05:00

Leila thinks its really fun to make people she's just met guess her age. The other night at our group show opening, her victim of choice was Diego, who is doing his medical residency with my friend Jenny.
"How old do you think I am?" she demands.
"11?" "No."
"10?" "No."
"9?" "No."
"7?" "No." Finally he guess "8". (My upward gesturing hands may have helped.)
Then Ali gets in on the action- He's a little easier.
"5?" "No."
"6?" "Yes!"
The other Ali wants in, too. He's a little shorter than my Ali, so Diego thinks he MUST be 5, but no, he's 6, too.
Then Ali says- "How old is the baby?"
Immediately, Diego and Jenny both guess "32" (weeks, of course).
Those med students are good!

Mothering Narratives

2011-09-03T21:15:00.000-05:00

Susan at Pages Turned posted a response to a comment I had made on one of her posts about Mothering Narratives. I thought I should post the list I compiled with my professor's help for one of my PhD reading fields on what I was calling Mothering Narratives but has become more Maternal Feminism.

Aido, Ama Ata, No Sweetness Here

Alvarez, Julia, In the Name of Salome

Armstrong, Heather, It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita

Atwood, Margaret, The Handmaid’s Tale

Bryant, Dorothy, Ella Price’s Journal

Chopin, Kate, The Awakening

Chua, Amy, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Cixous, Helene, The Day I Wasn't There

Clausen, Jan, Sinking, Stealing

Drabble, Margaret, The Millstone

Emecheta, Buchi, The Joys of Motherhood

Fern, Fanny, Ruth Hall: a Domestic Tale of the Present Time

Foster, Hannah, Coquette

Freeman, Mary E. Wilkins, The Revolt of “Mother” and other stories

Gaskell, Elizabeth, Ruth

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Jacobs, Harriet, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Jocelin, Elizabeth, “The Mothers Legacie to her Unborne Childe”

Kincaid, Jamaica, Autobiography of my Mother

Kingsolver, Barbara, The Bean Trees

Kristeva, Julia “Stabat Mater,” “Women’s Time,” “A New Type of Intellectual: The Dissident”

Lamott, Anne, Operating Instructions

Larsen, Nella, Quicksand

Miller, Sue, The Good Mother

Morrison, Toni, Beloved

Olsen, Tillie, Silences

Ozick, Cynthia, The Shawl

Pennington, Sarah, Lady, “An Unfortunate Mother’s Advice to her Absent Daughters”

Petry, Anne, The Street

Rich, Adrienne, Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience & Institution

Rowson, Susanna, Charlotte Temple

Silko, Leslie Marmo, Ceremony (I've decided to read Louise Erdrich's Tracker, instead.)

Smith, Lee Fair and Tender Ladies

St Vincent Millay, Edna, "The Ballad of the Harp Weaver"

Steingraber, Sandra, Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood

Stowe, Harriet Beecher, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Tyler, Anne, Ladder of Years

Wolf, Naomi, Misconceptions

Yamanaka, Lois-Ann, Father of the Four Passages

Theory: (I was hoping for mostly novels, but had to get some of this in here, too.)

Chodoraw, Nancy, Reproduction of Mothering

Collins, Patricia Hill, Black Feminist Thought

Crittenden, Ann, The Price of Motherhood

Folbre, Nancy, Invisible Heart

Freedman, Estelle, No Turning Back

Gilligan, Carol, In a Different Voice

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, Women and Ecomomics

Hayden, Dolores, Grand Domestic Revolution

Ketrak, Ketu, Politics of the Female Body

Ruddick, Sara, Maternal Thinking

Walker, Alice, In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens

Williams, Joan, Unbending Gender: Why Work and Family Conflict and What to Do About It.

catching up on old notations

2011-09-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

When the kids say something, I write it down to blog about it, but then don't always get around to it in a timely manner.
So, here are some oldies-
Ali tells me- "You can't paint in the air but your picture will fall to the floor." He demonstrates. "I wish they had invisible paper."

I think this was Ali- it was a long time ago-
"You haven't seen these ears caues I've got new ears. And I got new eyebrows. I bought them."
"How much did the cost?"
"One dollar. Actually, 2 dollars."

Random bits and pieces.

2011-09-03T12:11:00.002-05:00

I did some sewing this summer and finally added a towel to the bottom of Ali's bath towel so that he wouldn't need two. I'd done Leila's a couple of years ago. She wasn't such an enthusiastic model.

I know I've said this before, but it bears saying again- this baby is the kickingest baby ever! I think s/he is trying to exit the womb with a yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do.

The sibling rivalry has already begun.

Part of the test involved breaking a board with a kick- you can see the two pieces in their handds. (Luckily there are no boards in my womb!)

Also, I've finally figured out why women are so keen on marrying "Greek gods." It isn't the sculpted abs, golden tans and beautiful faces- it's their ability to birth children, fully grown, from their foreheads!

First Day of School

2011-08-29T17:26:00.000-05:00

Last week was back to school for the kids, and back to work for me. L started 3rd grade, and A moved up to 1st.
L comes home excited every day about fun things they are doing in class- they each got a water bottle that they fill up first thing in the morning, and the teacher does brilliant and yucky points as rewards and demerits. A isn't having such a great time. This morning he really didn't want to go to school, even after working on some things with the teacher on Friday. He's struggling with writing, and "his brain hurts." Hopefully it will get better, though. The Asst. Principal says it's pretty normal in first grade to have some early days struggles. This teacher helped a friend of L's through a difficult beginning, so hopefully she'll do the same for A.

Here's me in all my belly glory on my way to report week (for real, this time.)

Tummy time

2011-08-29T17:14:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Leila told me that my growing belly doesn't seem that big or that odd to her. "Maybe it's because Baba's belly was that big for a while!"
Good thing she didn't say my belly was already big before I was pregnant!

The daily grind

2011-08-26T14:44:00.000-05:00

Every morning when I grind my coffee, I worry it's waking up the household- but it doesn't, really.
This week was back to work for me, and back to school for the kids. (I thought last week was back to work, so I actually had a nice week of vacation- no online classes even!) It's tough getting up early and dragging myself in. I'm back to having headache/migraines (with auras) and I think it's partly from sleep schedules being messed up. If I wake up in the middle of the night and get out of bed as pregnant women are wont to do, I have trouble falling right back to sleep.
The kids were excited about school, and Leila comes home every day with a new reason her teacher is great. Ali has had a harder time. The first day he got frustrated because he wasn't able to finish his work and his "brain hurt." They were writing sentences, and that's hard for him. I talked to him about his teacher- he seemed to think she was upset by him not finishing. The next day went well because it was math work, but yesterday was hard again, and this morning there were tears that he didn't want to go to school. He doesn't like writing, but he says math is easy for him. Finally I asked if he wanted me to write a note to his teacher, and I did. I hope he gave it to her. I think he likes his teacher, though. Yesterday before we went home he went up to tell her something.
Monday I face my students- 8 weeks of face to face classes, and online classes that continue all 16 weeks. I need to work on an assignment schedule this weekend that gives me some breathing space in November!

Not R rated at all.

2011-08-22T17:34:00.001-05:00

I saw this on Cup of Joe and had to share it: How to make a baby.

Pregnancy photos revisted

2011-08-11T13:57:00.002-05:00

I have to repost this link, because I wasn't preggers (or didn't know it) when I first posted it, and because they've added some new pics.

Weird Pregnancy Dreams

2011-08-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

I think I've had about one with every pregnancy, but I was wondering where the dream for this one was. I had it last night. I can't remember it in detail, of course, but I was traveling around with my baby. However, the baby hadn't really been born yet (I swear I had a similar one with Ali? where I decided he didn't need a car seat in the taxi because he wasn't actually born yet.) This time, the baby was out, but I was going to have to go to the birth center in a few weeks and actually go through the labor since I hadn't yet.
Where do these come from? Are they about the baby being reality?
This morning I "got" to do a 3 hour glucose tolerance test. I did the one hour last week before my 26 week visit. I had to drink a horrible drink and then have blood drawn an hour later. I wasn't supposed to eat for 2 hours before the drink. This time, I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight. Then I got to the center when it opened and had a baseline blood test drawn and THEN drank the horrible drink- over ice, luckily. An hour later they drew blood, then an hour after that, and one more time. I was really worried about not being able to eat or drink for that long since I wake up parched and ravenous in the morning, but it wasn't too bad. I slept on a comfy couch in the birthing room and read magazines between blood draws. But I think, now that I've had my coffee and lunch, that I'm going to head off for another siesta before my chiro appointment.
I'll get the results tomorrow. I'm not to worried about having gestational diabetes. I've gained a bit more weight than with the other kids, but really not that much. I think I lost a few pounds in the first 3 months- and I've gained about 18 lbs by now. With both L and A I gained 20 total, I think.

Using up Girl Scout Cheerios

2011-07-24T15:28:00.000-05:00

Way back in May we went camping as a girl scout troop. I bought most of the food but some moms sent snacks. There were tons of leftovers, including about 4 ziplocs full of Cheerios that I tried to return to the mom in question, but it just didn't happen. I'm really tired of having them sitting around my house, so I Googled Cheerio recipes. It turns out there is a whole section of the Cheerio website devoted to recipes- who knew? But the one I settled on was from About.com. (I doubled it- risky for a first time recipe, and left out the salty peanuts as I didn't have any.)
Today I mixed up 1 cup of sugar and1 cup of honey in a pan, and brought them to a boil. Then I threw in a cup of peanut butter, 6 cups of cheerios, and half a bag of chocolate chips, which promptly melted. I smushed them into a 9x13 pan and am waiting for them to cool so we can sneak them into the movies. The spoon I licked tasted pretty good, though.
These remind me a bit of the puffed wheat bars my granny used to make. I found a recipe online for those- they seem to be a prairie province Canadian thing- but I don't remember hers having chocolate in them. Anyway, I'll make them next.

Busted!

2011-07-11T22:33:00.002-05:00

Ali asked me tonight why I put money under his pillow. I tried to play it cool, but it turns out he really had caught me red-handed a couple of weeks ago, making the tooth fairy drop.
It started with concern that his tooth had come in almost completely and the baby tooth hadn't fallen out yet, paving the way for a future of braces. Even though the tooth wasn't very loose (I told him to keep wiggling it) H decided to pull it while I was out of the house. We decided that was worthy of a lot of money from the tooth fairy.
However, Ali wasn't sleeping in his bed, but in the camper with Grandma and Grandpa. I completely forgot (as usual) to put money under his pillow, and my mom told me the next morning that they had put some money on his bed. I wanted to put some more money, so went in to augment their contribution. Then I remembered these cool dollar coins I'd gotten in change from the train ticket machine, so went to get those. Just as I was getting them onto the bed, Ali came in. I thought the sight of the money had distracted him, but alas, I found out tonight, it was only a temporary distraction. Besides which, he heard me say, "I almost got caught!"
So now he knows the tooth fairy isn't real, but he's going to keep believing anyway. And he went ahead and told his sister, too.
I've always forgotten with Leila, too. Usually she forgets to check under her pillow, too, and I get a chance to sneak it under, but one morning she came in to tell me that the tooth fairy had forgotten to come. When I checked it out a few minutes later, I found that the money had "fallen" to the floor. Whew! Quick thinking saved me.
Last time Ali lost a tooth it was on the soccer field!
Ali has decided he needs to believe in the tooth fairy and so has talked himself into a new version of what he say. Apparently, I was just checking that the tooth fairy had visited when he caught me. He seems to think Leila wrote her a letter because she was a few days late.
They know Santa isn't real, but they talk about how it's possible to believe in the tooth fairy but not Santa. I don't quite understand their logic, but I'll try to be better at remembering the money!

July 4th

2011-07-05T19:43:00.001-05:00

Patriotic toast a la Leila.

Goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa

Pool fun

Fireworks.
Sleep.

Myths of motherhood

2011-06-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

I've been reading Adrienne Rich Of Woman Born, which was written in the 1970's. In it, she talks about the myth of motherhood- that there is a natural way to feel about a baby. This myth makes mothers who don't feel this way- an instant connection and the ability to be patient and attend selflessly to all the child's needs- that they are "bad mothers."
Then I went and read this blog post on Cup of Jo, and realized that this myth still persists. The post is from the perspective of a father on the first year of his first child. I appreciate hearing his side of the story, but one comment rankled. He said, "Many women seem to have a tremendous capacity to step outside themselves and see things through the baby's eyes, like reading children's books." (Okay, granted, he didn't say "all" but there is still the suggestion here that it's a feminine ability).
Here was my comment:
Mother's do not necessarily have the ability to step out of themselves and look through a baby's eyes. Although I like some children's books, reading them over and over again is boring! And having to go slow is boring, too. Some women, and some men, too, may be able to do that whole childlike thing. But it's unfair to just assume that "women" are like that. We aren't all like that, and it puts unfair expectations on those of us who aren't. It tags us as "unnatural" or "bad mothers." And that's not true.

Okay, I just had to say all that. Adrienne Rich would be proud of me.

healthy!

2011-06-13T17:50:00.000-05:00

Leila has been into eating healthy and taking care of herself for a while, but Ali not so much.
This morning he woke up relatively early after a very late night. I suggested he eat breakfast right away (trying to avoid the crankiness that hits when he doesn't) and he said he wanted something healthy- deciding on a banana. When I left for my walk he was doing pushups. I guess someone he met last night really inspired him.
He does swimming lessons in the mornings and both kids are doing Tae Kwon Do for the first time, and really enjoying it. Now to convince him that cleaning up is healthy, as is helping with chores and reading. (Though, he is getting into reading with the help of the Library program this summer.)

Love

2011-06-01T21:16:00.000-05:00

"Have a nice day at school, Ali," I said as he headed out.
"I love you, mommy. And tell the baby I love it, too."
"Ali loves you baby," I say in the direction of my belly.
Sometimes, when he isn't in a hurry to get to school, Ali kisses the baby via my belly. He's going to be a very loving big brother.
Everything was great at the midwife today. I have to do my food chart still, but was glad I haven't since last night's dinner was pizza and the midwife was the same one I had when I did my food chart with Ali, and she's very strict.
My back is doing better now that I've done some exercises, and I saw the chiropracter today. She tells me she likes to see her "Preggos" throughout the pregnancy, and I've scheduled a massage along with my adjustment next week.

Good News/Bad News

2011-05-31T16:59:00.000-05:00

The good news is that I finally tackled my closet yesterday and can now see the very dusty floor. The bad news is that I threw my back out- probably by sitting on a stool instead of just squatting. I was afraid my legs would be sore today if I didn't use a stool, but now I'm thinking that would be better than this.
I have history of lower back pain that leads into sciatic pain, and it seems I'm headed in that direction. The midwife told me on my first visit that I shouldn't do my core strengthening exercises, which are what I usually turn to in this kind of situation, but just visit a chiropractor. Luckily my primary care physician agreed to give me a reference without my having to go in, but I couldn't get an appointment till tomorrow. So, since I'm not sure how much that will help, and tomorrow is busy, I googled back exercises while pregnant and learned I could do a couple while pregnant. I also found a heating pad and got that on today.
Tomorrow night I'm shooting 6th grade graduation (Leila seemed to think that very violent, but really, they asked me to!) I have to be able to move around a bit for that. I'm hoping the chiro is a miracle worker!

Soccer Player

2011-05-27T22:27:00.000-05:00

This is the kickingest baby. I identified that these funny feelings were baby kicks a couple of days ago, and the baby has been practicing for mid-field goals ever since. The other two NEVER kicked this much, even when I was much bigger. At 3 and a half months, this is pretty active.
More good news- the low level nausea, especially when hungry, has pretty much disappeared, and I haven't had a migraine in a while. They were pretty frequent in the first couple of months. It helps that I'm working on heading them off by eating protein- nuts and such.

Leila's 8th Birthday

2011-05-04T20:36:00.001-05:00

Almost a month after, I'm finally getting around to posting about this. Leila had a fun party this year- we did a Movie Star Mystery from Dramatic Fanatic. 12 of her friends joined us for a red carpet walk and an award ceremony in the back yard. It wasn't quite as exhausting as usual- and having Grandma and Grandpa there was a big help.

On the day of she requested pie instead of cake. Ali's gift was a gift card to Burger King- and a crown to go with it. He was going to get her a Sonic gift card, but we drove past it and found BK instead, and he REALLY liked that idea.

Art night at school

2011-05-02T16:37:00.000-05:00

The new math

2011-04-27T08:07:00.001-05:00

We taught the kids that 1 + 1 = 3 and then 4. Now they have to learn it can also equal 5! Yes! Just when I got it into my head that we were always going to be a family of four, I found out my math was faulty. Baby #3 is coming in early November.

Here they are practicing with a friend's baby.

If I don't get it together after the baby's birth in November, I'll just use this last one as our Christmas card!
My beautiful friend Angela dropped by with this cutie last week. When Ali came out to the living room and saw the baby, he actually thought this was the one we've been waiting for. I explained that it was still quite a few months before our baby would show up, and that I would be gone for a couple of hours (at least) before bringing the baby home.

A mysterious stranger

2011-04-17T20:54:00.000-05:00

Tonight, a mysterious stranger visited us. Oddly enough, Leila missed all of this as she was out playing in the yard.

Community

2011-04-17T20:52:00.000-05:00

Back home, I spent years sitting behind people in church. After a while, one gets to know the backs of heads almost as well as the face, and I could easily identify anyone from our community from the shoulders up. It was a joy to sit behind some well known back-of-heads last weekend at a wedding of a girl from home. Even after years, certain napes, the way hair swirls, a tilt- were completely recognizable.

(hint- they are all sitting in the fourth row from me.)

I still sit near the back of the church. I don't recognize people by their necks and heads anymore, but I do recognize and know a surprising number of people from my various interactions in the community. The first day I walked into this church, a friend from grad school was there. Then I saw a mom and kids from our kids' preschool. Later I got to know a girl scout leader and her daughter who also attend there. Last week a student in another grad class commented that she'd seen me when I went up for my birthday blessing a couple of weeks ago. And this week I realized I recognized a woman whose son is on Ali's soccer team. It makes me realize how connected I'm getting in this town- people from all areas interconnecting in different ways.

April Fools Day

2011-04-03T14:58:00.000-05:00

Leila loves to think of tricks to play. After she brushed her teeth on the 31st, she told me not to go into that bathroom until the next morning. I thought something was wrong- like a big mess or something on the sink- but she assured me it wasn't that. Of course, I had to go into the bathroom to brush my own teeth, so I saw her note written with white board marker on the mirror- "Happy April Fool's Day, Mommy." then I found the spider she'd put inside the cabinet.
I decided to play my own trick on her, and switched all the bags of cereal around in the boxes. Then I had to remember where the Sweetened Wheatfuls were for my bedtime bowl. But in the morning the trick worked well, and she appreciated it. She even switched the spider to the front of the mirror with tape.

Grass

2011-03-30T09:26:00.000-05:00

Here's an older picture taken with my Voightlander, I believe.

Higher Math

2011-03-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

Ali: 1 and 2 are soft numbers, and three is hard as an apple. 4, 5, and 6 are soft numbers. And 7, 8, and 9 are soft numbers. But 10 is hard as an apple.
Numbers are more than numbers to him still- they are images with texture and form. It's a magic of childhood. I used to have stories in my head as I played the piano- the keys were more than keys to me. I lost somewhere in the duty of practice. I hope Ali keeps number magic longer.

Persphone Books

2011-03-21T13:49:00.000-05:00

I just found an interesting publisher through Pages Turned- Persephone Books- which helps contemporary audiences rediscover authors of the past. This might be helpful for my PhD, but otherwise, something to read when I'm finished.

Birthday blessings

2011-03-20T15:39:00.000-05:00

This morning I woke up to the sound of the kids in the kitchen. Leila was cutting up fruit for a salad. (With a table knife, not a sharp one!) They both brought breakfast in to me- strawberries and bananas in a salad, and a small glass of orange juice, plus a card from each of them.

I had to get up and make my tea and oatmeal before I could eat this breakfast, but then I got to open my presents. Leila has had some of them wrapped for over a week, and the bag has been high up on a shelf in my room. The gifts were from everyone in the family: a magazine that Leila made- including advertisements, a kaleidescope from the optical science event at the library, and some earrings that H took her to buy last night.

She left the price tag on the earrings but was very excited to tell me last night that what they had bought me was supposed to cost $50 but they'd gotten it on sale. That makes it even better in my opinion, as she well knows.
For lunch Leila decorated the table with a special placemat for me announcing "Birthday Girl!" and she even got a banner up while I was in the shower.
Tonight we're going out for pizza and gelato- yum!

First lost tooth

2011-03-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Ali ran off the soccer field when the quarter ended and told us he'd finally lost his tooth. I double checked that he hadn't swallowed it, but he assured me it had fallen on the ground. I tried to convince the kids that it would grow into a tooth tree, but they wouldn't believe me. I told them the tooth fairy planted all the teeth she got in her garden and grew more teeth which she planted in kids' mouths, but they weren't biting. Leila said she uses the teeth to build her house- like to add a pool room- a pool table room and a swimming pool room, both.
This morning I remembered that the tooth fairy had forgotten to visit last night, and I snuck a dollar's worth of quarters under his pillow pet. Luckily he had forgotten to check, so he was excited when I reminded him and he found his loot.

Learning young

2011-03-13T10:48:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning television for children has few offerings. KERA, our public station, usually has cartoons, but they are on a fund drive, so instead they are watching a regular station that has commercials. One came on for the "Baby Bullet" and I heard Ali say, "I don't want to buy the Baby Bullet. It's a waste of money."

Charlie Brown

2011-03-05T23:04:00.000-06:00

Tonight Leila and I went to a production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown put on by the college where I work. The students did a good job, and I was impressed by the small orchestra (is 6-7 musicians considered an orchestra?) Leila enjoyed it, too. One of the musicians was delayed in traffic, so the director and choreographer took some questions from the audience while we waited to start. One man asked, is this play still relevant in 2011? The director's answer was that it is- it is timeless. She's right, too, but while Charlie Brown's lonliness and awkwardness were funny (sort of) many years ago, now his depression and isolation made me think of the more serious stories we hear of kids today and how they deal with lonliness. Of course, Charlie Brown has a lot of friends and is really well liked, but he doesn't realize that.
Years ago the high school students in Beautiful Hills put on this play. I must have been in about 5th grade. In order to see, I sat on the back of my chair in the very back row. Charlie Brown sat down and began his siloliquey about "the little red-headed girl" eating her lunch all alone. He happened to be looking in my direction, and I slowly slid down into my seat, blushing in fear that everyone was now looking at me.
He later told my older sister that he could hardly keep his composure.

New Bike

2011-02-24T20:38:00.000-06:00

Ali's been needing new tires for his bike for ages. We got the bike- one of those minis- for free from some friends. It was a girl's bike, but H and a friend spray painted it red in the friend's body shop, and it was as good as new. Except for the tires. I finally got to the bike store and bought new tires and inner tubes- $30 for the whole thing. For that price, we realised, we could practicallly get another bike. So I asked our friend across the park today about her son's bike, a size up from this mini, and Ali is now the proud owner of a "new" bike- this time definitely a boy's- and not much more money than the tires.
Speaking of the boy, he was absolutely hilarious in the shower tonight singing a song he was making up, I think, as he went along. One of their friends taught them "I throw my sandwich in the air sometimes, singing Wayooo, where's the Mayo?" and they've taught it to their friend's at school. Ali taught it to his classmates, and then one of Leila's classmates was singing it the next day because his sister had taught it to him. Now they are riffing on it- Ali's friend changed it up a bit, and this is what he was singing in the shower and adding to. Next time I'll have to post the words here.

Bono on God and faith

2011-02-24T20:22:00.000-06:00

Between the Madeline L'Engle novels I've been rereading lately and this interview with Bono on Grace, Karma, the Pope, and religion, I'm feeling good.

cooking

2011-02-16T20:11:00.000-06:00

Ali was fussing while I made dinner. He wanted to ride his bike, but I couldn't help him pump up the tires. He wanted to ride the scooter, but it was in the back yard (having spent some time getting a snow treatment) and he needed it in the front yard.
I explained that I was busy and I couldn't stop cooking. Usually that would make for a lot of whining, but he was remarkably cheerful about it. "You are so busy cooking that you don't have time to cook?" he asked me, laughing at his own joke. And when I took a moment to open the garage door for him, he asked me, "but is dinner going to burn?" I assured him it wasn't.
Luckily it didn't- tonight it was a family favorite- shrimp pasta. Not surprisingly, Ali doesn't like it. So he had leftover "nothings." (What he first named last night's meat pastries.)

Valentine's Day

2011-02-16T20:08:00.000-06:00

On the way to work on Monday morning, running late, I realized it was too late to stop for doughnuts, and I hadn't even made heart shaped sandwiches. Instead, the kids would be buying their lunches. "Can we go out for dinner tonight?" Leila asked, eager to celebrate.
"No, we're having leftover beans and rice," I told her.
She wasn't disappointed much, however, and quickly began making plans to make dinner special. "You cook the food and I'll do everything else," she told me. I wasn't sure what she meant, but she explained she would set the table and make a menu and the like.
On the way home from piano lessons we stopped at Whole Foods and got a sweet treat to make our meal special. Leila put a candle on the table and wrote out a menu with our choices:
DinnerRice and beans
Desertchoclate cupcakes
Drink
cupwater
She decorated it with smiley face hearts and a "happy V Day!" across the bottom.
I really appreciate Leila's cheerfulness and her ability to roll with the punches. When it's something she considers fun, she really gets into helping, as well. On Saturday I told her to practice the piano and do some homework before calling a friend, and later she would have to clean up her things. She opted to do the cleaning first, and set to work energetically tidying up. Ali, who hates cleaning up usually, complained that Leila had done the clean up that he was supposed to do!
On Tuesday morning I asked Leila to make sandwiches for her and Ali's lunch. I was going to have leftover rice and beans, but when I came out of the bedroom ready to go, my lunch was waiting for me: (turkey) bologna sandwich, Sun Chips (my favorite- as Leila reminded me), and a chocolate cupcake. While the sandwich was rather dry, the liberal spreading of love Leila had given it made it the best lunch of my week.

puffy

2011-02-10T19:46:00.000-06:00

Today was cold, cold, cold when we left for school. I had the kids bundle up in layers- Ali was wearing pajama pants under his trousers and I snagged H's warm, flannel lined khakis from the closet. I put a long sleeved shirt and a thick turtleneck on, then pulled on my coat and a scarf and hat. Ali put on two jackets and stood watching me tuck everything in. "I want to be puffy," he said. "You're puffy." And he emphasized this by poking the puffy places. I felt like the Pilsbury dough boy.

Time

2011-02-09T12:46:00.001-06:00

In all her 7 and a half years, Leila has not really learned to tell time properly. I thought this was something they would be taught in school, but apparently, they are not. She said something about not being able to remember what she'd learned in first grade without reviewing it, but I don't think she ever really learned this properly then, either. Therefore, last night I decided it was time for her to learn it. We were working on her math homework anyway- (she has to do 5 minutes of math every day and I push her to do more.) I started off drawing a circle, on a pizza box (yes, we had pizza for supper) but soon realized that it would be easier to actually use a clock, so I got down the kitchen clock and brought it to the sofa where we were working.
Leila has a hard time learning from me- she doesn't really like me to tell her things and she goofs off, getting sidetracked by the idea of pumpkin pie when I start talking about dividing the clock face into pieces like a pie. Finally, however, I think she mostly got it. This morning she told me it was 12: 64, though, so I made her go back and figure it out again. After some resistance, she came back with the answer 12:07.
The thing about time, however, is that it's really complicated! First, there are 60 minutes in an hour, but 12 numbers on the clock. When the minute hand is on the 1, it's 5 minutes, not 1 minute. So you have to understand division and multiplication to tell time. Then, when we start to talk about half an hour, or a quarter to, you have to undersatnd fractions. Since Leila has now been introduced to all of these things at school, she's got the framework for understanding time telling. I reminded her of Ramona the Pest who was late to school because her mother told her to leave at a quarter after 8, and the only quarter she knew was 25c. She got that.
This morning I went online to figure out where the idea for time came from. There was lots of information about clocks, but little about basic time. (All sorts of deep scientific time information, though.) What information I did find, however, pointed out that having 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute, and 24 hours in a day, all have to do with division and multiplication and math. 12, for example, can be easily divided into half and quarters, unlike the number 10 which is only easily divided into half. 60 is handy that way, too. I guess I shouldn't be too suprised then that Leila was having so much trouble with learning time when she hadn't even learned all these complicated mathematical processes.
Speaking of time, it was after 6:00 this morning when the call came that the kids' school was closed for the day. I had already gotten out of bed and decided to steal H's warmest pants before the text came that my work was closed. And it wasn't till I had woken up for the second time that I saw on Facebook that my grad class after lunch was canceled for the second week in a row Bad weather has hit us again this week, and I'm happy not be out in 17 degree weather.
Updated: Tonight Leila told me 7:35 easily. By golly, I think she's got it!

ghosts

2011-02-09T12:23:00.000-06:00

While in the drop off lane yesterday morning, Leila started telling us about what they'd done Monday on the field we were inching past. She and her friends had told scary stories and someone had said there was a ghost at the gym next to the field.
Ali said that someone had told him there was a ghost at their school, as well. He sounded worried, and the night before had woken up from a scary dream involving ghosts. Leila said there isn't any such thing as ghosts, but there are spirits.
I reminded him that God is stronger than any ghosts or spirits, and he should remember that if he got scared. But I also assured him that there wasn't a ghost at school and nothing would bother him. Then he said, "You can be friends with ghosts." I let him know I didn't want him being friends with any ghosts.
Last night he lingered on my bed after story time and prayers, too scared to go to bed even though he rooms with his sister. I prayed one more time, specifically about his fears, and he went off to bed happily.

Snow on top of the ice

2011-02-04T09:30:00.000-06:00

Last night it snowed for the first time since Tuesday.That storm was sleet and ice with a small layer of snow on top. Last night it was soft white flakes that piled up quite high. Of course, there is still ice underneath.

Last night was pizza for dinner- make your own. These are Leila and Ali's pizzas in the oven. Then for dessert for H and I, and breakfast this morning for Leila and I, rice pudding! Thanks, Smitten Kitchen.

Ali got a big bowl of popcorn yesterday to make up for his sister eating the "Pig (cow) in a Blanket" that he'd left on his plate to finish later.

More snow

2011-02-03T12:50:00.000-06:00

We're on snow day number 3. Leila wants to do something- I tell her there is nothing to do, but she says there are millions and millions of things to do.
Yesterday we ventured out to a friend's house down the street. I also got domestic with pancakes yesterday morning for breakfast. Luckily we don't need power to cook, since we had rolling black outs that shut us down a couple of times.

Ali has on two pairs of pajamas to keep warm. Here he is testing the ice. He was only outside a couple of minutes.
Today I had to get creative as we are almost out of bread. We had Pigs in a Blanket for lunch, though Leila was trying to think of another name since we don't eat pork. (These are beef hot dogs cut in half.)

I think Habib is going to venture to the store soon, and maybe he'll return my overdue library dvd, too. I'm thinking pizza for dinner- homemade, of course.

Promised pictures

2011-02-01T13:18:00.000-06:00

I'm glad this isn't the kind of horse we have to feed and water. We'd be cracking ice today.

We used to make fun of my mom's love for tomato soup- we just didn't get it. Now I love a hot bowl with grilled cheese sandwiches to dip in. The cilantro was just to be fancy, but it added a nice taste, too. Next time I'll put a lot more.

Snow day

2011-02-01T11:27:00.000-06:00

The phone woke us around 5:30 a.m., but we knew what it was- school was canceled for ice and snow. Shortly afterwards, before I'd fallen back asleep, luckily, my cell phone buzzed with a text from work to say the college was closed, too.
Luckily I hadn't stayed up late grading papers.
Leila checked things out this morning before I got up and found the snow wasn't good for snow cones or snow balls- too much ice. Therefore, we've spent the morning inside keeping warm. My fear that the power might go out hasn't happened, yet.
Later I'll post pictures. Just now I'm too comfortable to get up and take one.

My beamish boy

2011-01-31T19:37:00.001-06:00

Ali is reading a Star Wars book. Well, I'm reading it with him, but he's definitely reading some of the words. It says that Ashoke is brave and clever. He reads this. "What does clever mean?" I ask him. "Smart," he tells me. "How do you know that?" A beat. "Because I'm clever!" He laughs with me.

biology

2011-01-27T22:17:00.002-06:00

Tonight at dinner, Leila took a big swig of water and then went back to eating her soup. "I hope my bladder can hold all this," she said.

Today we sold Girl Scout cookies to our neighbors. Orders are due tomorrow. She's done pretty good with the sign up sheet I took to work and the ones she sold today. Thanks readers who ordered- we appreciate you.

Deep Thoughts

2011-01-26T20:55:00.000-06:00

Tonight Ali told me, "If brown people couldn't ride the bus, I wouldn't ride the bus."
I asked him if they had been talking about this at school. He told me that black people couldn't ride the bus before. I explained that they had to sit at the back. So he said, "If they have to sit at the back, I wouldn't ride the bus."

Talking about a Revolution

2011-01-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

We've been focusing a lot of attention the past couple of weeks on the situation in Tunisia. It began a few weeks ago when a young man, Mohammed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in protest of corruption and unemployement. After completing univeristy he was unable to find a job- there are few, and it requires paying a bribe equal to several years' wagers to get one, usually. When he set up his own business- a food cart- the police took it away from him, saying he didn't have a liscense.
So protests began in that region and then spread to other areas of the country. The government responded with riot police, who shot and killed protestors. The protests continued to grow, and people organized using Twitter and posted what was going on using Facebook.
The president came on t.v. and said he had no idea what was going on and he would change things. This was recognized as untrue by the people, and the protests continued.
The president said he would not seek reelection in 2014. (He was recently reelected with about 95% of the vote. The percentage has varied slightly in each election.) That was the first signal that he was on the way out. Then he promised elections in six months. By that evening he had left the country. He was in power for 23 years, having deposed the previous dictator, who was not as corrupt. Benali has allowed his relatives and his wife's family to rob the country.
He left the prime minister as acting president. However, that wasn't constitutional, so a day later he was gone, and the head of the senate was declared the leader. Since he is still part of the ruling party, this isn't much of a change, but it is something.
The police have had a very violent response to the people protesting. Snipers posted on buildings have shot people, and police have used tear gas and live bullets as well. The protests have not been violent- the president first tried to say that they were a small group of extremists, but this was completely untrue. Videos that show looters appear to have been directed by the police. (In one video, one of the "looters" is wearing a police helmet.)
There are many videos on Youtube- here's one.- but I warn you- it has some violence toward the end. The beginning shows the masses of people out in protest.

Cold feet

2011-01-11T12:41:00.003-06:00

The other day I went outside to photograph the kids in the snow, and they asked if I could boil some water. They wanted to put their feet in it. I often feel the same way at work especially today. The brick wall between my feet and the outside, which is in the 20s, just isn't doing its job.

COOKIES!! (Said in a Cookie Monster voice)

2011-01-10T11:57:00.000-06:00

Leila is selling Girl Scout cookies this year. If you are looking for something yummy, shoot me an email or leave a comment.
Local only- or (Grandma and Grandpa) we can hold some boxes for you. I'll even put them in the freezer.

Almost like the frozen wastelands in the North.

2011-01-09T18:32:00.000-06:00

It's Snowing!

2011-01-09T12:20:00.002-06:00

On a grading break

2011-01-08T12:38:00.000-06:00

Needing to read something well-written after several devastatingly bad student essays, I turned to my blog addictions and found an Oliver Wendell Berry poem at Pages Turned.
The essays are all about sustainability- or meant to be, anyway- and this poem dovetails nicely as you can see from these two stanzas from the middle of the poem:

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Publish or perish

2011-01-07T20:41:00.002-06:00

I watched a rather inane movie last night called Tenure. It is, not suprisingly, about a guy seeking tenure at the university where he teaches. He's a brilliant teacher but can't get published recently. Also, he has a goofy friend who leads him into trouble. Another professor comes along who is a brilliant scholar, but a poor teacher. He helps her out because he's a good guy and they are going to fall in love, of course. The upshot is that he is offered probationary tenure (is that even possible?) and told he has to take a year to really focus on scholarship. Not suprisingly, being the hero, he declines and becomes a high school teacher, having understood that teaching is his true gift and calling.

First of all, he should have gone to a community college because there is great respect for teaching there. But secondly, I don't think that universities can really disdain teaching talent that much. All in all, it was a little heavy handed.

The lead actor was Luke Wilson, and Gretchen Mol played his rival/love interest. They both did a good job- understated and real. Some of the supporting players went way overboard in caricaturizing academic types. It didn't help that the script was rather uneven.
The star? Bigfoot, who made a couple of cameo appearances.

Not a waste of time

2011-01-07T18:54:00.002-06:00

There's value in reading a lot- just look what a ravenous reader says about it.

No bang, just lots of whimpering

2011-01-06T16:45:00.002-06:00

2011 has not been kind to us. Actually, it's not really 2011's fault. These things that keep annoying us certainly didn't happen in the last week.
Yesterday it was the gas company turning off our gas after finding a leak. They had come out to change our meter (apparently $8 is not what we should have been paying for gas for the last few months) and discovered that we had a problem. I spent the morning calling plumbers to find the best price. We finally settled on someone cheap and crossed our fingers that he would do a good job.
He actually showed up yesterday afternoon to assess things, and then this morning was here about 9 with a crew of two guys to start digging. Luckily they were hard working and the trench- 47 feet long and about 2 feet deep- was done early this afternoon. Meanwhile, the plumber and his partner were scouring the house for leaks. There were two big ones under the house (thus, luckily no boom) and probably a couple of small ones. We took the opportunity to clean behind the pulled out fridge and clean the sides of the pulled out stove. I had to move the unwashed dishes around the small kitchen to give them room to work. The city inspector came out really fast and checked everything, and we're just waiting for the gas company to come by and turn everything back on and light our fires. After a chilly evening and microwave nuked tea, I'm looking forward to a heated house, a home cooked meal, and hot water.
We got by with lots of blankets and a heater our neighbor lent us. Luckily it didn't get too cold. I thought it was going to take a couple of days, so we're happy.

Eating in the New Year

2011-01-01T21:12:00.000-06:00

Gene Kellyish

2010-12-25T01:59:00.000-06:00

Leila was talking about dancing her butt off, and Ali added, "I can cut a carpet."
It took me a moment to figure it out - cut a rug. I wonder where he heard that.

dogs and cats

2010-12-20T16:45:00.000-06:00

Today I was reading Ali How to Train Your Dragon. Toothless had just caught a dogfish. "That's not right. It should be a catfish," Ali said. I told him there were such things as dogfish, too. "Do dogfish chase catfish?" he asked. "They should."

Early Christmas gifts

2010-12-18T00:21:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa brought some gift bags in for the kids to open. Inside they each found a pair of red socks, and a handwritten note. Gma asked Leila to wait so Ali could read his himself- and he did, with much help.

Leila was dancing around the room, while he slowly sounded out the words. Even then he didn't quite get it.

They both said a big thank you for the surprise, and Ali didn't forget to thank Grandma for the socks, either.

I laughed so hard I cried

2010-12-14T23:03:00.000-06:00

A friend sent me this hilarious link. If you are pregnant, have been pregnant, or know anyone who has ever been pregnant, you've gotta look. I'm still laughing.

Don't miss the giveaway.

Danger signs

2010-12-14T18:59:00.001-06:00

Don't miss my giveaway post below.

Leila started to tell Ali something before he got out of bed the other day. "I know that already," he told her. "Well, I'm going to tell you anyway," she said.
Think she might be a wee bit bossy?
She says things to him that a mother might say, even when I'm sitting right there, not saying it.

Groupon for Good

2010-12-13T20:52:00.001-06:00

Apparently I'm becoming the coupon queen on Facebook. This one is so good I have to share it with you all, too. Groupon is offering $25 worth of Kiva funding for only $15. Kiva is an organization that works with people in developing areas of the world, connecting them to funders. As an investor, you get to choose the person that your money is going to help.
Here's the link to Groupon. This deal is only for 3 days, so don't delay.
There is also a Groupon for Donorschoose.org to help fund projects for public schools.
Don't miss my giveaway post below.

Christmas Giveaway

2010-12-12T23:00:00.003-06:00

The winner is Jen! (#72 as chosen by a random number generator) Thanks for participating everyone. I hope to see you at the next giveaway. Happy Holidays.

You've worked hard all year and now you are hard at work preparing for the holidays. You deserve to get a little something special in your stocking- right? I think so. As part of the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day,
I'm giving away a pair of earrings-

And a 4x6 calendar-

Please visit my Etsy shop to see the rest of the calendar and my other available prints.
Leave a comment telling me which pair of earrings you want if you win and tell me the one thing (other than this giveaway, of course) that you want to find in your stocking or under your tree. (Or just next to your breakfast plate- you don't have to celebrate Christmas to win.) Make sure you include your email address. If I can't contact you, I'll have to select another winner. One comment per person, please.
I'll draw on December 17 after noon, Pacific time, email the winner for an address, and ship your package out by Monday. If the winner does not reply to the email by Monday, I will have to choose another winner.
I'll ship to both Canada and the US ~~(sorry other nations!)~~ Now that I've seen all the fabulous giveaways from other countries, I'm feeling bad that I said only US or Canada. If you are in another country, go ahead and enter. Instead of a calendar, I'll send you both pairs of earrings if you win. (Shipping isn't as expensive.)
For those of you who don't win but still want some earrings or a calendar, I'm offering 20% off everything in my shop using coupon code CHRISTMAS2010.
Happy Holidays!!

Giveaway coming up

2010-12-10T07:41:00.000-06:00

Starting Monday, I'll have a giveaway up for Sew Mama Sew.

I'm giving away the earrings in the previous post and a small calendar, so check back. You'll also want to check out the other giveaways at Sew Mama Sew.

Earrings in shop

2010-12-07T06:11:00.000-06:00

I've added some earrings to my Etsy shop. These are sparkly and fun.

Bad marketing for me

2010-12-01T20:45:00.000-06:00

I guess it's bad marketing to show you another calendar I think is so cool by "My Aunt June." I love that she has spaces for you to write down what books you've checked out of the library and when they are due. I need this because I'm always checking out books from the college where I work and then getting overdue notices galore. Luckily they don't actually do anything to me as long as I get them back sometime. It's funny though- at the place I work, I can only check out a book for 3 weeks. But at my grad school, I can have the books for a whole semester.

Art Calendar

2010-11-29T23:53:00.000-06:00

A downloadable version of my "Perfect 10" 2011 calendar is now available in my Etsy shop. I hope to have a printed one there soon.

tea lunch party

2010-11-28T14:28:00.000-06:00

When I walked into the house at about 12:30 today, I found a tea party happening in our living room, and a note in the kitchen:
Dear, mommy,
you don't have to make lunch today,
remember the tea party?
Sincerly,
Leila
She and her brother had quite a spread with turkey sandwiches, celery sticks (cut with a table knife), and orange juice tea.
Later she assured me that she would have rather had the tea party with me.
If only I hadn't gone to the store for lettuce for my turkey sandwich.

The not-so-early-bird

2010-11-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

I told L she won a prize today for sleeping in until almost 9! Usually she's the first or second one up, but we are all out of bed and drinking coffee before she appears. (I confess, I had to check that she was still breathing- just like when she was a baby.) She wanted to know what her prize was- I gave her a hug. Now she's discovered the new box of chocolate Cheerios for breakfast. "My prize is golden," she says, then adds with a smile, "or should I say, brown?" "My friends are all going to be jealous of the chocolate Cheerios."

More books

2010-11-26T17:22:00.001-06:00

I've discovered the joys of ebooks. I don't have an e-reader, so I have to use my computer, but I ferreted out a semi-local library that would issue me a card, and which has e-books. I've just finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. It's about learning what is really important in life, at any age. I don't want to give anything away, but there is love, books, and a climax high on the white cliffs of southern England. I highly recommend it.

Sated

2010-11-25T23:03:00.000-06:00

I took no pictures, but it was a feast. Two turkeys roasted all day. Pumpkin pies and cranberry sauce made with orange zest and a bit of juice waited around, having been made the night before. I invented a recipe using the 8 sweet potatoes I roasted and left to cool in the oven overnight. I combined them in the mixer, with the dregs of the whipped cream just mixed, 4 eggs, some orange juice, a bit of milk and a splash of cream, plus a dash of nutmeg. I didn't even forget the salt. I whipped them in the mixer for several minutes, till all the lumps were gone, then put them into a 370 degree oven for about half an hour. They were quite a hit with my skeptical guests and even H, who doesn't really like sweet potatoes. I couldn't win the kids over, though.
We also had mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, and green beans.
One Morrocan guest brought meat pastries because I loved them when she served them at her house, and little pecan tartlets. Our Tunisian friends brought pudding and red tea. (Tunisians boil red tea for a long time, and add a lot of sugar. It's surprisingly good, even without the geranium leaf we add when we're there.) We ate and ate. Then some more Moroccan friends showed up with a cake.
We had coffee with our pumpkin pie, and then green mint tea and red tea. Fruit was there for those who were still hungry, and whole nuts to crack.
The oud was brought out, and the Darbuka- (drum) and the house rang with music. No one over the age of ten was eligible to be president in the U.S., unlike two years before when one guy- from Libya- had actually been born here. The kids played hide and seek and other fun things- and got along super well.
Now we're all snug in our beds, the temperature continuing to drop outside after yesterday being park weather. I'm thankful for it all- as one friend put it today- it's not about the food, it's about being with friends. So, I hope you have much to be thankful for this year, too. Blessings.

Thankful

2010-11-25T09:27:00.000-06:00

Ali is thankful for reading. When Grandma was here over the weekend she got him started with the Dr. Suess classic, Hop on Pop. At the library yesterday, I picked up a couple of early readers. Ali has never been that into the library- he hasn't cared about bringing books home- at school, when the teacher told him he could check out a book, he said, "no, thank you." I think it has something to do with the books being borrowed, rather than owned. He wouldn't wear a borrowed Halloween costume, either.

So I brought these books home and presented him with them. He was super excited, and began reading See Otto, right away. This is the first book in a marvelous series of early readers by David Milgrim.

These books remind me of the Dick and Jane and Spot books we read in first grade, but they are much more interesting. The story is of a little robot that falls to earth when his spaceship runs out of gas. He lands in a forest, is chased by a rhino, and makes friends with two monkeys, Flip and Flop. The colourful, detailed pictures help to tell the story, and the words are simple and repetitive. There are a few words that Ali needed help with, but in general, by sounding the letters out, he could get the words. Some words have two vowels together, which is a more difficult reading level, and the first book includes the word "laugh." However, because most of the words were at his level, Ali did not get frustrated and was able to ask for help when he needed it.
Ali has already read another book in the series, and for sure we'll be checking out more when we hit the library.

They really live

2010-11-23T17:30:00.001-06:00

But for the full story, you'll have to go to Etsy.

Etsy

2010-11-21T20:48:00.000-06:00

I've finally officially opened my Etsy shop. You can check out my latest posting (and the only thing there so far) at this link. Let me know what you think. I hope to have some other pictures for sale in the next week, and I'm working on a calendar.

Counting Sheep

2010-11-16T21:07:00.000-06:00

Leila announces tonight that she needs sleeping pills. Apparently, she has a hard time falling asleep. Grandma and I both dispute this, but she claims she lies awake quietly. As if she could.
The other day we were exiting the freeway on our way to soccer and another driver crossed the double white line. I complained about it. "That's called the bloody line," Leila told us. I asked who had told her that, and apparently I had. I then realized that during another "I'm surrounded by idiots" rant I had called it "the bloody line."
Because we were with one of her friends, I didn't want to explain that she had caught me in a British swear, so tried to just brush it off.
Then at the soccer game, one of the dad's referred to something as "bloody" and I started laughing about it all.

Breakfast

2010-11-13T23:08:00.000-06:00

Blueberry muffins with struesel topping and hard boiled eggs.

AARP

2010-11-13T21:14:00.001-06:00

I'm a little concerned- I just got sent membership cards to AARP- well, the fake kind that they send to get you to sign up. But, I only just turned 40- I'm not anywhere near retirement. What are they thinking?

The pickle monster strikes-

2010-11-13T10:58:00.000-06:00

Found this in the fridge-