Observations
One
Blueberries are fairy fruit. I call them that because they make the milk change color.
Two
To play "rockstar," you dress up in fancy clothes and pretend to like rocks. I like to play princess.
Three
The road is like the earth's tongue.
It doesn't have an end: it goes on and on and on forever.
But it stops at the ocean.
Blueberries are fairy fruit. I call them that because they make the milk change color.
Two
To play "rockstar," you dress up in fancy clothes and pretend to like rocks. I like to play princess.
Three
The road is like the earth's tongue.
It doesn't have an end: it goes on and on and on forever.
But it stops at the ocean.
Okay, FoFs, it's up to you!
"It seems obvious that your closest friends might influence your mood, but the study found that even the happiness of a friend's friend boosts your chance of being happy by 9.8 percent. Even more surprising, the happiness of a friend of a friend of a friend boosts your chance of being happy by 5.6 percent."
Dear FoFs, I'm feeling pretty upbeat today, so thanks! Keep up the good work.
--Your pal, once removed, Alikander
Dear FoFs, I'm feeling pretty upbeat today, so thanks! Keep up the good work.
--Your pal, once removed, Alikander
Belated Thanks
As usual, I am apologizing for being slow to respond.
Thank you to all who commented on my request for chapter books--on or off LJ. I confess I was rather overwhelmed by all the Ps: Poppletons, Putters, Poppers, Penguins, Pippys, etc. It took me awhile to force myself to sit down and sort them all out. However, I have done so, and, given the time of year, made an Amazon list for use by family members. (After the holidays, I'll turn to the library to fill in the gaps,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hhw.)
In the meantime, I turned to items on hand. I considered Charotte's Web, but I felt that the opening, with Fern being so upset by the imminent dispatch of the runt, would be too traumatic. I then grabbed Little House in the Big Woods, but in a rush, needing a book right away, without pre-screening it as I should have.
I was part way into the first chapter with Fiona, before I realized that it starts with slaughtering their hog for the winter. D'oh! However, LHitBW handles this without the emotional upheaval of CW, so it didn't upset Fiona. Instead, she was fascinated for a few days by the idea of bladders (Laura and Mary get the pig's bladder to play with). It was a great opening for talk of anatomy; they have a nice human torso model in her classroom which came in very handy.
Anyway, Fiona mostly enjoyed LHitBW, especially the Christmas and party chapters, but ran out of interest for the last chapter or two. We've gone back to shorter form books for now (last night was The Sleep Book), but it was good to get a break from the usual books for awhile.
Thank you to all who commented on my request for chapter books--on or off LJ. I confess I was rather overwhelmed by all the Ps: Poppletons, Putters, Poppers, Penguins, Pippys, etc. It took me awhile to force myself to sit down and sort them all out. However, I have done so, and, given the time of year, made an Amazon list for use by family members. (After the holidays, I'll turn to the library to fill in the gaps,
hhw.)In the meantime, I turned to items on hand. I considered Charotte's Web, but I felt that the opening, with Fern being so upset by the imminent dispatch of the runt, would be too traumatic. I then grabbed Little House in the Big Woods, but in a rush, needing a book right away, without pre-screening it as I should have.
I was part way into the first chapter with Fiona, before I realized that it starts with slaughtering their hog for the winter. D'oh! However, LHitBW handles this without the emotional upheaval of CW, so it didn't upset Fiona. Instead, she was fascinated for a few days by the idea of bladders (Laura and Mary get the pig's bladder to play with). It was a great opening for talk of anatomy; they have a nice human torso model in her classroom which came in very handy.
Anyway, Fiona mostly enjoyed LHitBW, especially the Christmas and party chapters, but ran out of interest for the last chapter or two. We've gone back to shorter form books for now (last night was The Sleep Book), but it was good to get a break from the usual books for awhile.
(no subject)
Can anyone recommend some "chapter books"? Fiona loves the "My Father's Dragon" books, but we're getting tired of reading them over and over and over.
Things we have tried, but that haven't really grabbed her: Winnie-the-Pooh, Wind in the Willows, Secret of Ron Mor Skerry, ballet stories (by Jane Yolen), The Hobbit, The Wonder Clock, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Things that we have considered, but fear might be a little too mature: Wainscot Weasel, Alice in Wonderland (plus, I really don't like it), Wizard of Oz, The Hobbit, The Wonder Clock, Matthew Looney, Charlotte's Web, Swallow and Amazons, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe... well and probably some others, but that's all that occurs to me right now.
(Yeah, some are on both lists. What can I say. We're willing to give things a try.)
I might try Little House and Stuart Little, but I have a feeling they'll be too old, too.
We've had some success with fairy tales (Barefoot Books, Andrew Lang), and also "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble," but I'd like something a little longer than those.
There's a gazillion series of little paperbacks (Magic Treehouse, Tiara Club (::shudder::), etc.), but they all look horrid. I'd like to find something light, short, fast-paced, and relatively shallow, and that takes more than one evening to read, but not icky either.
Now, for the sake of my own remembrance, here are two Fiona-said moments:
( Clear on the Concept )
( Secret Ballot ...not )
Oh, and yesterday was "observation day" at Fiona's ballet class. If you can stand mediocre snapshots of three-year-old girls in tutus, proceed.
PPS I'm wicked tired and headachy, so I've probably made spelling and grammar errors above. Apologies. Do not judge too harshly. Why are so many of my friends editors? Do I have some weird kink I've only just noticed? The other day, it finally dawned on me that the two "official" boyfriends of my life were of Scottish extraction. That's perverse.
Things we have tried, but that haven't really grabbed her: Winnie-the-Pooh, Wind in the Willows, Secret of Ron Mor Skerry, ballet stories (by Jane Yolen), The Hobbit, The Wonder Clock, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Things that we have considered, but fear might be a little too mature: Wainscot Weasel, Alice in Wonderland (plus, I really don't like it), Wizard of Oz, The Hobbit, The Wonder Clock, Matthew Looney, Charlotte's Web, Swallow and Amazons, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe... well and probably some others, but that's all that occurs to me right now.
(Yeah, some are on both lists. What can I say. We're willing to give things a try.)
I might try Little House and Stuart Little, but I have a feeling they'll be too old, too.
We've had some success with fairy tales (Barefoot Books, Andrew Lang), and also "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble," but I'd like something a little longer than those.
There's a gazillion series of little paperbacks (Magic Treehouse, Tiara Club (::shudder::), etc.), but they all look horrid. I'd like to find something light, short, fast-paced, and relatively shallow, and that takes more than one evening to read, but not icky either.
Now, for the sake of my own remembrance, here are two Fiona-said moments:
( Clear on the Concept )
( Secret Ballot ...not )
Oh, and yesterday was "observation day" at Fiona's ballet class. If you can stand mediocre snapshots of three-year-old girls in tutus, proceed.
PPS I'm wicked tired and headachy, so I've probably made spelling and grammar errors above. Apologies. Do not judge too harshly. Why are so many of my friends editors? Do I have some weird kink I've only just noticed? The other day, it finally dawned on me that the two "official" boyfriends of my life were of Scottish extraction. That's perverse.
Last Weekend
Friday: Had crazy last minute idea to put both girls in same car. Other parents concurred; car seat transfer arranged. Spent 6 hours in the car with two three-year-olds, which turned out to be much better than 5 hours with one. (Yes, the traffic was that sucky, but we expected it.)
Saturday. A day so beautiful one could barely take it in. Sunshine, mountains full of fall colors. Spent the day at Story Land. F volunteered to go on a new (for her) ride, the Pirate Ship. Har!
Sunday: Same weather as Saturday. Hiked to Zealand Hut. This time F did the whole 5.5 miles herself! (Last time, she ended up being carried because of the rain.) A made good use of the official FoL backpack.
Monday: Cooler and not so sunny. Half a day at Story Land, on its very last day until Memorial Day. Mellow and pleasant. Since the trip up had been a success, we decided to repeat the arrangement, but this time D and I got the mini vacation. Sweet!
Will post pictures anon.
Overheard at martial arts class: An older girl loaned F her pink boxing gloves and helped her put them on. F: "I have long Cinderella gloves at home!" Yes, even martial arts is all about the princess fashions.
Saturday. A day so beautiful one could barely take it in. Sunshine, mountains full of fall colors. Spent the day at Story Land. F volunteered to go on a new (for her) ride, the Pirate Ship. Har!
Sunday: Same weather as Saturday. Hiked to Zealand Hut. This time F did the whole 5.5 miles herself! (Last time, she ended up being carried because of the rain.) A made good use of the official FoL backpack.
Monday: Cooler and not so sunny. Half a day at Story Land, on its very last day until Memorial Day. Mellow and pleasant. Since the trip up had been a success, we decided to repeat the arrangement, but this time D and I got the mini vacation. Sweet!
Will post pictures anon.
Overheard at martial arts class: An older girl loaned F her pink boxing gloves and helped her put them on. F: "I have long Cinderella gloves at home!" Yes, even martial arts is all about the princess fashions.
Stange New World
Oh, my. This is more navel gazing about my child, and it got rather long. ( I'll hide it back here. )
Extinction
Just had to record end of three major threads of our parental life in the past week.
1. The utter end of diapers. F has been diaper free for daytime since last November. But, she had a tough time going without dipes while sleeping, for naptime (on those rare occasions when she did nap) or at night. However, in her new classroom, they don't do nap diapers, so it was time to try going cold turkey again, and this time, whaddya know, she was ready. We've gone about a fortnight with no dipes and no accidents. The spares were taken to school and donated last week.
2. The utter end of nursing. F had been down to nursing just twice a day for the past, hmm... probably almost two years. I thought she would never give it, because it had become a part of her routine, and boy, does she love routine. However, over the past few months, she could be distracted from the morning session with increasing frequency. A while ago, I tried substituting a drink of water for evening nursing, but the novelty of that only lasted a couple of days. Finally, late last week, it occurred to me to substitute posset (ie warm milk with a little vanilla), which is one of her favorite "treats," and, from what I hear, rather like breast milk. So, that seems to have become her new routine. Woo hoo! My breasts are free at last! My body is my own again after 4.3 years!
3. The possible end of lullabies. Since she was about 18 mos, Fiona's bedtime routine has been: 3 (short) books, nursing, lights out, 2 lullabies, and one extemporaneous story. The posset is now consumed during the book-reading. But she has also changed this routine by skipping the lullabies to go straight to her story. Although the lullabies have varied over the past spring and summer, we spent about a year and half singing Old MacDonald (dog/cat/Mummy & Daddy) and Molly Malone every night. That's 548 renditions of each. 4,384 each of woofs, mews, and "we love you's." I'm not sure if this a permanent change to the routine, though. I wouldn't be surprised (or sad) to see lullabies return.
1. The utter end of diapers. F has been diaper free for daytime since last November. But, she had a tough time going without dipes while sleeping, for naptime (on those rare occasions when she did nap) or at night. However, in her new classroom, they don't do nap diapers, so it was time to try going cold turkey again, and this time, whaddya know, she was ready. We've gone about a fortnight with no dipes and no accidents. The spares were taken to school and donated last week.
2. The utter end of nursing. F had been down to nursing just twice a day for the past, hmm... probably almost two years. I thought she would never give it, because it had become a part of her routine, and boy, does she love routine. However, over the past few months, she could be distracted from the morning session with increasing frequency. A while ago, I tried substituting a drink of water for evening nursing, but the novelty of that only lasted a couple of days. Finally, late last week, it occurred to me to substitute posset (ie warm milk with a little vanilla), which is one of her favorite "treats," and, from what I hear, rather like breast milk. So, that seems to have become her new routine. Woo hoo! My breasts are free at last! My body is my own again after 4.3 years!
3. The possible end of lullabies. Since she was about 18 mos, Fiona's bedtime routine has been: 3 (short) books, nursing, lights out, 2 lullabies, and one extemporaneous story. The posset is now consumed during the book-reading. But she has also changed this routine by skipping the lullabies to go straight to her story. Although the lullabies have varied over the past spring and summer, we spent about a year and half singing Old MacDonald (dog/cat/Mummy & Daddy) and Molly Malone every night. That's 548 renditions of each. 4,384 each of woofs, mews, and "we love you's." I'm not sure if this a permanent change to the routine, though. I wouldn't be surprised (or sad) to see lullabies return.
Little Milestones
Baby
On Saturday, Fiona read the word "baby" on a sign at Story Land! She has recognized other words before--no, cat, dog, Fiona, dad, mummy--but they usually involved prompting. This was the first time she did it all on her own.
Solo
On Sunday, Fiona swam on her own, using a floatie, but not holding (desperately clinging) onto someone else. This is big news for someone who has a deeply rooted fear of water. She moved herself back and forth across the pool at her Grandma's again and again and again.
Big
Today, Fiona moves to the Pre-K class at her daycare. This is the last class, and is usually for 4-5-year-olds. But this year, due to some weirdness from the administration, they have a bunch of three-year-olds moving over. (Fiona's the youngest one making the jump.) It means that either she'll be in this room for two years, or we'll have to find another daycare/school for her last year before kindergarten. I'm hoping for the former, but am open to the latter in case that turns out to be the best course for Fiona. Anyway, I'm excited for her to be in the big kid classroom. She's gonna have a blast.
On Saturday, Fiona read the word "baby" on a sign at Story Land! She has recognized other words before--no, cat, dog, Fiona, dad, mummy--but they usually involved prompting. This was the first time she did it all on her own.
Solo
On Sunday, Fiona swam on her own, using a floatie, but not holding (desperately clinging) onto someone else. This is big news for someone who has a deeply rooted fear of water. She moved herself back and forth across the pool at her Grandma's again and again and again.
Big
Today, Fiona moves to the Pre-K class at her daycare. This is the last class, and is usually for 4-5-year-olds. But this year, due to some weirdness from the administration, they have a bunch of three-year-olds moving over. (Fiona's the youngest one making the jump.) It means that either she'll be in this room for two years, or we'll have to find another daycare/school for her last year before kindergarten. I'm hoping for the former, but am open to the latter in case that turns out to be the best course for Fiona. Anyway, I'm excited for her to be in the big kid classroom. She's gonna have a blast.
Too many bugs
We had a wonderful, blitzkrieg trip to StoryLand this weekend: up on Friday night, home on Saturday night. More on that later, perhaps with photos.
However... after we got home Saturday night (luckily *after* we got home), I developed some kind of tummy bug. Ugh.
That caused me to cancel plans to meetglvalentine at Readercon on Sunday. Sadness!
But the very worst affliction was that our internet connection failed. Oh, agony! I pray that the FIOS gods smile upon us today with the benediction of a new router.
[Losing the internet also meant that I lost phone. It's a quirk of our neighborhood that the cell phone reception is lousy, and therefore I rely on Skype, unless I'm out and about. But, I was too ill to leave home, so I was completely cut off. I did wander out into the backyard in my PJs, and was just able to yell my apologies to G, but it was pretty pathetic.]
I am physically recovered and at work today. The final insult was that just when I thought I would be reunited with my beloved interwebs, my work computer decided to join in the fun, and refused to log me in, so I had to wait an extra couple of hours while our IS support staff negotiated a truce with the network.
Oh, sweet cybertubes, never leave me again!
However... after we got home Saturday night (luckily *after* we got home), I developed some kind of tummy bug. Ugh.
That caused me to cancel plans to meet
glvalentine at Readercon on Sunday. Sadness!But the very worst affliction was that our internet connection failed. Oh, agony! I pray that the FIOS gods smile upon us today with the benediction of a new router.
[Losing the internet also meant that I lost phone. It's a quirk of our neighborhood that the cell phone reception is lousy, and therefore I rely on Skype, unless I'm out and about. But, I was too ill to leave home, so I was completely cut off. I did wander out into the backyard in my PJs, and was just able to yell my apologies to G, but it was pretty pathetic.]
I am physically recovered and at work today. The final insult was that just when I thought I would be reunited with my beloved interwebs, my work computer decided to join in the fun, and refused to log me in, so I had to wait an extra couple of hours while our IS support staff negotiated a truce with the network.
Oh, sweet cybertubes, never leave me again!