Just now the girls are watching The Sound of Music. I think they love the movie as much as I do. We just got to the part where Maria and the children ask the Captain to sing for the first time. He demurs, but eventually reluctantly takes the guitar.
At that moment, Q7 does a mini fist-pump and says "YESSSS! My favorite song!" and the Captain proceeds to sing Eidelweiss.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Words Cut Most Deeply
"Sticks and stones may break my bones
but words will never hurt me"
Q7 is reading I Saw Esau which I bought a few years ago (or asked for) after hearing about it on NPR. It is a collection of childhood poetry, often silly, rhyming, jumprope-type songs. Q7 is up there enjoying some of it. But she called me up a minute ago and read the above poem to me and said, "Mumma. I think it is actually the other way around. Because words stay inside you," (tapping her sternum) "and a little hit?" (tapping her arm) "Remember my stitches? They hurt, but it doesn't hurt any longer."
Monday, October 21, 2013
Independence and Pre-Halloween
Q7 and C9 -- but especially Q7 -- have been doing a lot by themselves lately. Going to the dog park with the dog. Well, sort of a dog park. There is an empty school 2 blocks from here with a lovely fenced in playground. Neighbors use it as a dog park ... it is fantastic. Can let the dogs off leash and away they go. Lots of socialization and exercise. For the dog and the kids. But Q7 is willing to go by herself with the dog. I am hesitant about that, but she's done it twice now. Both C44 and I have talked to some of the other dog owners and they are fine with it. The girls are courteous and respectful (phew). But still, Q7 is only 7. But she seems to enjoy it.
So today, Q7 was riding her bike up and down the street and got bored, so she rode over to K7s house. When she got back she asked if I could photocopy a flyer she'd gotten from school so she could post it all over town. "No" was the short answer. She wanted to DO something on the bike. Like deliver papers. So I asked if she wanted to go buy me something at the store (about 1/4 mile away across 3 streets). The answer was a definite yes. Of course I instantly regretted suggesting that she do that by herself, but if she WANTS to do it then I think she is READY to do it. The streets she has to cross are not busy, and there are crosswalks.
So, Q7 then decided she wanted to buy candy in order to give it away. C9 loved that idea and got her money, too. This felt better, they could both go.
Both girls brought $3 to the store and headed out on their bikes.
I sat home and played computer games to distract myself. I gave them 20 minutes (until 4) to get home. By 4:05 I decided to walk Lucy to the store after them. As I got to the corner they were coming back. Yay!
They bought candy, and a neighbor also gave them candy. Random, I know, but he is a big Halloween person. And then they put it together....
.... labeled it up,
and headed out to deliver it.
I'm waiting for them to return now. I told them they could do three stops this evening. They should be home soon.
So today, Q7 was riding her bike up and down the street and got bored, so she rode over to K7s house. When she got back she asked if I could photocopy a flyer she'd gotten from school so she could post it all over town. "No" was the short answer. She wanted to DO something on the bike. Like deliver papers. So I asked if she wanted to go buy me something at the store (about 1/4 mile away across 3 streets). The answer was a definite yes. Of course I instantly regretted suggesting that she do that by herself, but if she WANTS to do it then I think she is READY to do it. The streets she has to cross are not busy, and there are crosswalks.
So, Q7 then decided she wanted to buy candy in order to give it away. C9 loved that idea and got her money, too. This felt better, they could both go.
Both girls brought $3 to the store and headed out on their bikes.
I sat home and played computer games to distract myself. I gave them 20 minutes (until 4) to get home. By 4:05 I decided to walk Lucy to the store after them. As I got to the corner they were coming back. Yay!
They bought candy, and a neighbor also gave them candy. Random, I know, but he is a big Halloween person. And then they put it together....
.... labeled it up,
and headed out to deliver it.
I'm waiting for them to return now. I told them they could do three stops this evening. They should be home soon.
Monday, October 7, 2013
More horseback riding
C44 took Q7 to her lesson this past weekend. Q7 came home talking about having trotted (on purpose, this time!) which was fun to hear about. C44's new camera is reeeeaaallly nice.
Monday, September 30, 2013
September Summary
School has started and we've settled in after some discomfort with new teachers, new routine. We also have a new piano teacher as well, not by choice. Ug. But we are past all that, the tears from the first weeks of school are over.
So we've tried to do a few fun things in addition to school.
Horseback riding lessons. We have found some cheap and not so far away riding lessons for Q7.
C9 has also come to lessons, but not for the horses. For the possibility of going to Michael's (the craft store), for my tablet (the games), and for the dog (seen here in a stall ... he's big and slobbery).
Pontoon ride on the Anacostia. The Anacostia isn't the cleanest river in the world. Or Maryland. Or Hyattsville. But it does have a lot of history. We took a pontoon boat ride from Bladensburg waterfront down past Keniworth Aquatic Gardens and to the National Arboretum where we turned around. I really wasn't sure the girls would enjoy this, but they did. Even the guy behind us enjoyed it!
This was the view from our seat:
Corn maze! I love these things, but the kids were not as keen on this activity. Q just wanted to get out, I think she didn't like being "lost." C had a pout for some reason. Lucy did enjoy it. After the maze we took a hay ride, had some ice cream, and dug for gems in one of those cheezy gem-dig things (and that actually took probably 45-60 minutes of their time, they loved that most of all!)
Bugs. We walk home from school almost every day, and sometimes we see some good things. Like these two dying bugs.
One more thing. C9 eats an apple burrito every day for lunch these days. It is a flour tortilla, peanut butter, cream cheese, apples, and raisins. Yum, right? Except for when we run out of raisins. So one day I put those teeny-tiny currents (I have a giant bag from making current scones ... they use fewer than you'd think!) in. C9 got upset, because she doesn't like currents (who are these kids?). So I told her they weren't currents, they were baby raisins. Oh, OK, that works. A few days later, Q7 was upset about getting currents in something instead of raisins, and C9 patiently explained that they were baby raisins, not currents. Oh, that's OK then, and Q7 went along with it. Awesome.
So we've tried to do a few fun things in addition to school.
Horseback riding lessons. We have found some cheap and not so far away riding lessons for Q7.
C9 has also come to lessons, but not for the horses. For the possibility of going to Michael's (the craft store), for my tablet (the games), and for the dog (seen here in a stall ... he's big and slobbery).
Pontoon ride on the Anacostia. The Anacostia isn't the cleanest river in the world. Or Maryland. Or Hyattsville. But it does have a lot of history. We took a pontoon boat ride from Bladensburg waterfront down past Keniworth Aquatic Gardens and to the National Arboretum where we turned around. I really wasn't sure the girls would enjoy this, but they did. Even the guy behind us enjoyed it!
This was the view from our seat:
Corn maze! I love these things, but the kids were not as keen on this activity. Q just wanted to get out, I think she didn't like being "lost." C had a pout for some reason. Lucy did enjoy it. After the maze we took a hay ride, had some ice cream, and dug for gems in one of those cheezy gem-dig things (and that actually took probably 45-60 minutes of their time, they loved that most of all!)
Bugs. We walk home from school almost every day, and sometimes we see some good things. Like these two dying bugs.
One more thing. C9 eats an apple burrito every day for lunch these days. It is a flour tortilla, peanut butter, cream cheese, apples, and raisins. Yum, right? Except for when we run out of raisins. So one day I put those teeny-tiny currents (I have a giant bag from making current scones ... they use fewer than you'd think!) in. C9 got upset, because she doesn't like currents (who are these kids?). So I told her they weren't currents, they were baby raisins. Oh, OK, that works. A few days later, Q7 was upset about getting currents in something instead of raisins, and C9 patiently explained that they were baby raisins, not currents. Oh, that's OK then, and Q7 went along with it. Awesome.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Cousin Camp (last full day) - Wednesday
The last full day of cousin camp. Boooooooo!
They made tons and tons of melty bead things to sell (not this trip, thankfully, will we have a melty bead thing sale) in the morning and after lunch we took a bike ride. This bike ride was much to the distress of C8, who cried and whined and moaned and complained for a long long time (despite being ignored) until I just yelled the heck at her. After that she shaped up.
But K9 & Q7 were exited and happy to go. As was I. We were often waiting for C8 to catch up to us. First, because she was walking her bike (if it wasn't perfectly level she wasn't on the bike) although I demanded that she get on the bike and enjoy herself. Second, because she is just very cautious. Which doesn't lend itself to fast bike riding. It is a little strange, because last year she was all speed crazy. The video is all wobbly b/c I kept looking backwards to get C8 to get going. I love the little Ka-Chunk noise her bike is making right now (but I would hate it if it were on my bike!). Does she remind you a little bit of Miss Gulch?
We biked 3 miles round trip, not far, but to a play ground and back.
And an ice cream truck was at Magruder, so we stopped an had some. K9 and C8 ate their ice cream fairly quickly, but Q7 had a giant popsicle that melted all over the place, including her face, her arm, and my foot.
To continue our "New water adventure every day" theme, they begged to go to Hamilton Splash Park. I did not want to go, but it was nice. Not crowded, not loud, the water was clear, not cloudy, and it was chilly. And it had lots of stuff to do.
Here is C8 getting eaten by a hippo while Q7 and K9 cheer the hippo on:
C8 & K9 on the alligator, and Q7 on the hippo at the end of the visit:
They made tons and tons of melty bead things to sell (not this trip, thankfully, will we have a melty bead thing sale) in the morning and after lunch we took a bike ride. This bike ride was much to the distress of C8, who cried and whined and moaned and complained for a long long time (despite being ignored) until I just yelled the heck at her. After that she shaped up.
But K9 & Q7 were exited and happy to go. As was I. We were often waiting for C8 to catch up to us. First, because she was walking her bike (if it wasn't perfectly level she wasn't on the bike) although I demanded that she get on the bike and enjoy herself. Second, because she is just very cautious. Which doesn't lend itself to fast bike riding. It is a little strange, because last year she was all speed crazy. The video is all wobbly b/c I kept looking backwards to get C8 to get going. I love the little Ka-Chunk noise her bike is making right now (but I would hate it if it were on my bike!). Does she remind you a little bit of Miss Gulch?
To continue our "New water adventure every day" theme, they begged to go to Hamilton Splash Park. I did not want to go, but it was nice. Not crowded, not loud, the water was clear, not cloudy, and it was chilly. And it had lots of stuff to do.
Here is C8 getting eaten by a hippo while Q7 and K9 cheer the hippo on:
C8 & K9 on the alligator, and Q7 on the hippo at the end of the visit:
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Cousin Camp - Tuesday
Tuesday was filled with lots of different things, we didn't have a coherent plan
A visit to the library (here is the evidence; they spent the next hour sitting and reading.):
We made cake ... well, I let them decorate a layer of cake that I didn't put on my birthday cake and let them decorate it with leftover frosting and sprinkles and toppings ... K9 ate hers up, C8 almost finished hers but not quite, Q7 who had a HUGE lunch ate about half and then threw up.
We attempted go to the fountain in University Town Center, but it was OFF. Boo. So we headed toward a visit to Brentwood Park and the spray frog and the park. On the way there we passed the pool, which was virtually empty, so I suggested we go there b/c it would be warm and we'd have the pool to ourselves ... one vote yes, one vote no, and one ditherer who wanted to make both girls happy but couldn't figure out how to do that. In the end we went to the park:
Piano lessons ... turns out our piano teacher is taking a full-time music director position and won't be able to continue as our music teacher. So, we need to find a new piano teacher/teachers.
And the National Night Out celebration in Hyattsville. They did the bouncy castle (much too crowded. They let about 15 kids in at a time! Yikes. And little 2 year olds with the big 9 year olds! I was freaking out. K9 C8 and Q7 left after about a minute because it was too crowded), the bouncy slide (also quite crowded, but the went up and down it about 5 times), and the harness things. We waited about an HOUR in line for these things, but the girls said they were worth it.
A visit to the library (here is the evidence; they spent the next hour sitting and reading.):
We made cake ... well, I let them decorate a layer of cake that I didn't put on my birthday cake and let them decorate it with leftover frosting and sprinkles and toppings ... K9 ate hers up, C8 almost finished hers but not quite, Q7 who had a HUGE lunch ate about half and then threw up.
We attempted go to the fountain in University Town Center, but it was OFF. Boo. So we headed toward a visit to Brentwood Park and the spray frog and the park. On the way there we passed the pool, which was virtually empty, so I suggested we go there b/c it would be warm and we'd have the pool to ourselves ... one vote yes, one vote no, and one ditherer who wanted to make both girls happy but couldn't figure out how to do that. In the end we went to the park:
Piano lessons ... turns out our piano teacher is taking a full-time music director position and won't be able to continue as our music teacher. So, we need to find a new piano teacher/teachers.
And the National Night Out celebration in Hyattsville. They did the bouncy castle (much too crowded. They let about 15 kids in at a time! Yikes. And little 2 year olds with the big 9 year olds! I was freaking out. K9 C8 and Q7 left after about a minute because it was too crowded), the bouncy slide (also quite crowded, but the went up and down it about 5 times), and the harness things. We waited about an HOUR in line for these things, but the girls said they were worth it.
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