took Eva to school
had breakfast with Madeline
cleaned both the bathrooms
scrubbed the grout around bathroom faucets with a toothbrush
made brownies for the babysitter
made a cake for Kyle and the kids to take to church
called my friend Jennifer
magic eraser-ed the walls and nightstand in Daniel's room
swept the tile floors
washed all the rugs
washed all the towels
washed all the sheets
folded a load of clothes from the dryer
dried and put away the humidifiers for the summer
returned emails
caught up on my blog feed
arranged a meal for a couple in our church
arranged another meal for a couple in our church
called our pastor about contact information for another person who might need meals
found a babysitter for Eva tomorrow
called my mom
called the doctor's office
emptied the dishwasher
refilled the dishwasher
handwashed some bowls from last night's dinner
picked Eva up from an after-school playdate
read books with Eva
cut up and packaged the brownies for the babysitter, and wrote a note to go with it
got Eva to draw a picture and write a note for the babysitter
delivered the brownies
made copies of the kids' chore charts
watched the new Rihanna video
reviewed a cover letter for a friend looking for a job
made a grocery list
went to the bank
removed all the loose papers from the backseat of our car and recycled them
I think this was the most productive day of procrastination I've ever had. Maybe what I've been needing to do all semester is assign papers in ALL my classes. I could have been getting so much more done around the house!
And the really funny thing is that after all that procrastination, I actually managed to finish all the grading I needed to do while my night class took their final. In fact, I'm writing this blog post to kill the last 15 minutes of class time before I can give up on all the last-minute people who are pushing the 9:00 paper deadline. I wonder if they all had really productive days, too?
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Frugal
For some time now, I've been considering writing a post about being tight with money. Because the thing is, we as a family do quite a few ridiculous-sounding things in the name of saving a buck. And sometimes in the middle of, say, cutting my dryer sheets in half, I step back and think about how funny I must look, considering I bought that box of dryer sheets on sale with a coupon for a quarter in the first place.
And so it goes. CFL's in all those light fixtures! Thermal drapes on those windows! I hope you brought your sweater, because we're keeping the heat under 65 this winter! We make our own super-cheap laundry detergent, rinse and reuse plastic food-storage bags, and I've been known to cut the containers of our toiletries open in order to scrape the last little bit out of the bottom of the bottle. Our poor kids may not recognize the existence of professional barbers and beauticians, because everyone in our family but me gets home haircuts. The kids' clothes are purchased a year ahead, at the end of the season, on clearance, with a coupon, and probably a promotional code for free shipping. Which means that, fashion-wise, they're both SO last-year. And the instant they outgrow those outfits I'm gonna yard-sale them for as much as I can possibly squeeze out of them.
Why do we do this? That is definitely a question Kyle asked me after hanging a load of clothes out to line-dry one 100-degree day last summer (Seriously, people, do you know how much energy that dryer uses?!).
Sometimes, it's just kind of a fun game. I like to say that if shopping were an Olympic sport I would totally bring home the gold. It feels nice to get a good deal, and pasta that cost 8 cents a box really does taste better somehow. I enjoy the challenge of seeing exactly how long I can go without paying real money for toothpaste, or trying to beat last April's electricity usage. And it's a game that allowed us to live debt-free on just one teacher's salary in the first years after the kids were born.
Sometimes it makes for an interesting experience. This past year, on the evening of Thanksgiving I took my mother-in-law to a doorbuster sale at Walmart so I could get Eva a $4 Princess Belle doll. Just seeing that circus, and the totally incredulous look on Barb's face, was a story worth way more than the 11 bucks I saved. And she got into it as well, sweet-talking all the people with loaded carts into letting the crazy lady standing in line for one doll (that's right, Lady Behind Me, I heard you whispering) go ahead of them. The year before, I introduced our international student to Black Friday shopping, and got such a kick out of watching him exclaim in disbelief over the things Americans are willing to do to get a good deal.
Sometimes, though, I do it because it kind of hurts not to. My friend Madeline and I were talking last week about our dishwasher-loading philosophies, and she tends to take the side of my husband, claiming that if it's too full or not loaded in a systematic way the water cannot get to all the dishes. But me? I must fill that washer until there's not room for even another spoon, because I cannot stand the fact that we would spend the water and the soap pod on just a small amount of dishes. In the same way, I cannot bear to pay full price for clothing, knowing that in just a few weeks it will go on sale.
I think being tight with money has just been ingrained in me my whole life. I spent much of my childhood making fun of my dad for saying things like, “Do you think I own the electric company? Turn that light off when you leave the room!” The air conditioning was kept at 80 degrees (78 if we begged). He fixed things around the house himself, even if that meant he had to "fix" it several times to get it working again, and scoffed at our requests for fancy or frivolous toys and clothes. But he made converts out of my brother and I, who are now as adults fairly conscious spenders (we'll forgive Ian's recent sports car purchase). We are definitely members of the 79-degree air conditioning club, and when I see a light left on I have to admit that I catch myself muttering under my breath about the need to buy Ameren UE stock.
Last week, my father's mother passed away. In discussing her death with my brother, he said something like, “You have to admit, we probably owe our money management skills to Grandma in a way.” And as I thought about it, I realized that this was true. My grandmother lived during the Great Depression, and was one of those people who never threw anything away. As kids we would laugh at how she saved the wrappers from loaves of bread (“...that will make a good lunch bucket for somebody...”) and baby food jars (because what else would she put all the old screws and nails and washers she was saving in?). She gardened and cooked from scratch and cut around the bad spots in her fruit instead of tossing it. She didn't wear fancy clothes or drive fancy cars or probably ever say anything like “Oh, let's just splurge!”
Also last week, I happened to read something about the difference between being cheap and being frugal. The author argued that there is a difference, and that cheap people save their money not for enjoyment, but to feel superior or secure in having saved it, while frugal people save their money in order to funnel it toward better things, like having fun or being responsible and generous with others.
Growing up, I always thought of my father and grandmother as cheap, but now I must revise that and say they are frugal. Because as practical with money as they are and were, they've always been generous with their family in terms of both money and time. My grandmother sent me and every other member of her large Catholic family a birthday card with 20 dollars every year for most of her life. She set aside an inheritance for all her kids and grandkids. Growing up, my father always got me what I needed for school and for sports and extracurricular activities. He helped pay for my first car, my education, my wedding, and a thousand other things. I've never been made to feel guilty about taking money or asked to worry about where the money was going to come from.
One of my favorite childhood memories involves the end of practically every visit we had with my grandmother. She and my father would have the gas-money argument. She would offer him a few bills to offset the cost of the visit, and he'd wave her hand away. "Naw, you keep your money," Dad would say. "Ohh, now! You just take it. Buy some supper with it if you don't need it for gas." "Nope. No, thank you!" Back and forth they would go. On at least one occasion Dad saw Grandma coming out to the driveway with money in her hand and said, "Run, kids!!" As we dashed to the car she would stick the cash under the windshield wiper. Dad would roll down the window to pull the money out and throw it back at her, and she'd grab it and shove it through the window before he could get the window back up. And so it went; two people who wouldn't spend money on themselves trying to ensure that the other had what they needed.
Unfortunately, I think that many times “cheap” is the better word to describe my behavior. As I left my father's house after the funeral this weekend, I just accepted the gas money he tried to put in Eva's pocket. Maybe I've learned that my father is more stubborn then I on this issue, and am just resigned to the fact that he'll hide the money in my car if I turn it down. But part of me knows that it's difficult for me to adjust our budget to account for the unplanned trip, not because we can't afford the extra money, but because I'm too rigidly attached to our spending plan.
As recession-trendy as it is right now to use coupons and be resourceful, I find that it's not always the best for my state of mind. I sometimes catch myself plotting about how I can save money so I'll have all this security, as if money will save me from all ills. I can have a difficult time buying gifts for others, because my standard of how much is appropriate to spend on a friend or family member is influenced by my always-scrimping mindset. It's hard for me to allow myself something I want that is full-priced, even on my birthday with money I've received as a gift. Our oven actually started on fire last week, and our water heater is on its last leg, but taking the money for replacements out of our savings account (specifically designated for emergencies like these) is so stressful for me that I feel I must read every review and pour over ever price at every store in order to save even a few dollars and make the very best decision. I often pay a fortune in time and stress in order to save a little in cash.
And so I find myself, the queen of saving money, learning how to instead let it go a little.
And so it goes. CFL's in all those light fixtures! Thermal drapes on those windows! I hope you brought your sweater, because we're keeping the heat under 65 this winter! We make our own super-cheap laundry detergent, rinse and reuse plastic food-storage bags, and I've been known to cut the containers of our toiletries open in order to scrape the last little bit out of the bottom of the bottle. Our poor kids may not recognize the existence of professional barbers and beauticians, because everyone in our family but me gets home haircuts. The kids' clothes are purchased a year ahead, at the end of the season, on clearance, with a coupon, and probably a promotional code for free shipping. Which means that, fashion-wise, they're both SO last-year. And the instant they outgrow those outfits I'm gonna yard-sale them for as much as I can possibly squeeze out of them.
Why do we do this? That is definitely a question Kyle asked me after hanging a load of clothes out to line-dry one 100-degree day last summer (Seriously, people, do you know how much energy that dryer uses?!).
Sometimes, it's just kind of a fun game. I like to say that if shopping were an Olympic sport I would totally bring home the gold. It feels nice to get a good deal, and pasta that cost 8 cents a box really does taste better somehow. I enjoy the challenge of seeing exactly how long I can go without paying real money for toothpaste, or trying to beat last April's electricity usage. And it's a game that allowed us to live debt-free on just one teacher's salary in the first years after the kids were born.
Sometimes it makes for an interesting experience. This past year, on the evening of Thanksgiving I took my mother-in-law to a doorbuster sale at Walmart so I could get Eva a $4 Princess Belle doll. Just seeing that circus, and the totally incredulous look on Barb's face, was a story worth way more than the 11 bucks I saved. And she got into it as well, sweet-talking all the people with loaded carts into letting the crazy lady standing in line for one doll (that's right, Lady Behind Me, I heard you whispering) go ahead of them. The year before, I introduced our international student to Black Friday shopping, and got such a kick out of watching him exclaim in disbelief over the things Americans are willing to do to get a good deal.
Sometimes, though, I do it because it kind of hurts not to. My friend Madeline and I were talking last week about our dishwasher-loading philosophies, and she tends to take the side of my husband, claiming that if it's too full or not loaded in a systematic way the water cannot get to all the dishes. But me? I must fill that washer until there's not room for even another spoon, because I cannot stand the fact that we would spend the water and the soap pod on just a small amount of dishes. In the same way, I cannot bear to pay full price for clothing, knowing that in just a few weeks it will go on sale.
I think being tight with money has just been ingrained in me my whole life. I spent much of my childhood making fun of my dad for saying things like, “Do you think I own the electric company? Turn that light off when you leave the room!” The air conditioning was kept at 80 degrees (78 if we begged). He fixed things around the house himself, even if that meant he had to "fix" it several times to get it working again, and scoffed at our requests for fancy or frivolous toys and clothes. But he made converts out of my brother and I, who are now as adults fairly conscious spenders (we'll forgive Ian's recent sports car purchase). We are definitely members of the 79-degree air conditioning club, and when I see a light left on I have to admit that I catch myself muttering under my breath about the need to buy Ameren UE stock.
Last week, my father's mother passed away. In discussing her death with my brother, he said something like, “You have to admit, we probably owe our money management skills to Grandma in a way.” And as I thought about it, I realized that this was true. My grandmother lived during the Great Depression, and was one of those people who never threw anything away. As kids we would laugh at how she saved the wrappers from loaves of bread (“...that will make a good lunch bucket for somebody...”) and baby food jars (because what else would she put all the old screws and nails and washers she was saving in?). She gardened and cooked from scratch and cut around the bad spots in her fruit instead of tossing it. She didn't wear fancy clothes or drive fancy cars or probably ever say anything like “Oh, let's just splurge!”
Also last week, I happened to read something about the difference between being cheap and being frugal. The author argued that there is a difference, and that cheap people save their money not for enjoyment, but to feel superior or secure in having saved it, while frugal people save their money in order to funnel it toward better things, like having fun or being responsible and generous with others.
Growing up, I always thought of my father and grandmother as cheap, but now I must revise that and say they are frugal. Because as practical with money as they are and were, they've always been generous with their family in terms of both money and time. My grandmother sent me and every other member of her large Catholic family a birthday card with 20 dollars every year for most of her life. She set aside an inheritance for all her kids and grandkids. Growing up, my father always got me what I needed for school and for sports and extracurricular activities. He helped pay for my first car, my education, my wedding, and a thousand other things. I've never been made to feel guilty about taking money or asked to worry about where the money was going to come from.
One of my favorite childhood memories involves the end of practically every visit we had with my grandmother. She and my father would have the gas-money argument. She would offer him a few bills to offset the cost of the visit, and he'd wave her hand away. "Naw, you keep your money," Dad would say. "Ohh, now! You just take it. Buy some supper with it if you don't need it for gas." "Nope. No, thank you!" Back and forth they would go. On at least one occasion Dad saw Grandma coming out to the driveway with money in her hand and said, "Run, kids!!" As we dashed to the car she would stick the cash under the windshield wiper. Dad would roll down the window to pull the money out and throw it back at her, and she'd grab it and shove it through the window before he could get the window back up. And so it went; two people who wouldn't spend money on themselves trying to ensure that the other had what they needed.
Unfortunately, I think that many times “cheap” is the better word to describe my behavior. As I left my father's house after the funeral this weekend, I just accepted the gas money he tried to put in Eva's pocket. Maybe I've learned that my father is more stubborn then I on this issue, and am just resigned to the fact that he'll hide the money in my car if I turn it down. But part of me knows that it's difficult for me to adjust our budget to account for the unplanned trip, not because we can't afford the extra money, but because I'm too rigidly attached to our spending plan.
As recession-trendy as it is right now to use coupons and be resourceful, I find that it's not always the best for my state of mind. I sometimes catch myself plotting about how I can save money so I'll have all this security, as if money will save me from all ills. I can have a difficult time buying gifts for others, because my standard of how much is appropriate to spend on a friend or family member is influenced by my always-scrimping mindset. It's hard for me to allow myself something I want that is full-priced, even on my birthday with money I've received as a gift. Our oven actually started on fire last week, and our water heater is on its last leg, but taking the money for replacements out of our savings account (specifically designated for emergencies like these) is so stressful for me that I feel I must read every review and pour over ever price at every store in order to save even a few dollars and make the very best decision. I often pay a fortune in time and stress in order to save a little in cash.
And so I find myself, the queen of saving money, learning how to instead let it go a little.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Tagged
One of my favorite blogs to read is Tara Being Tara, so imagine my surprise the other night when I saw her link to me here! Basically she described being sucked into an online chain letter, and then sucked me in, too. Basically I am supposed to:
1. Post the rules (these are them)
2. Answer the 11 questions the tagger posted for you and then
3. Create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged
4. Tag 11 bloggers and link them in your post
5. Let them know they've been tagged!
So, Tara, here are my answers to your questions (and if you're not already reading Tara Being Tara jump right on over there and check her out- she posts way more regularly than I do!):
1. If I were in the same city as you, the first thing we'd do together is... a tutorial on how to quilt. Seriously, you have some mad quilting skills and I have none, despite the fact that I love to snuggle under quilts a lot. I have an old quilt made by the sister of my great-grandmother that is falling apart and needs to be repaired. I've always thought it would be cool to know how to do that. While we were quilting we could discuss running or being really excited about too many things at once or other things we seem to have in common.
2. When I was 6, there was a three-way tie for what I wanted to do when I grew up. Either a farmer or a truck driver or a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.
3. My favorite summer dish is this lemon garlic chicken pasta recipe my friend Madeline's mother made up. Basically you soak a clove of garlic in some olive oil and lemon juice all day, and then toss it over some rotini pasta, grilled chicken, zucchini, broccoli, and red onion. So good it makes me hungry just thinking about it.
4. If I could be anywhere in the world right now, it would be in Paris with my husband Kyle, eating delicious food and drinking wine. He and I were discussing last week how eating good food is one of our favorite things. Eating good food in Paris would be even better.
5. Clearly the most challenging part of maintaining a blog for me is posting on it (as evidenced by my lack of recent entries). Usually I have 3 or 4 ideas for posts in my head at any give time, but it's difficult for me to find uninterrupted time at the computer to actually spit them out. And ignoring the blog has a definite snowball effect, in that the more time that goes by the less I think about how guilty I feel for ignoring it.
6. There are so many random things in my purse. There has been an orange M & M floating around in the bottom somewhere for several weeks. Every time I find it I am in the middle of the grocery store or about to start class, and since I'm not in a position to properly dispose of it, back in it goes.
7. We have no DVR, but Breaking Bad is at the top of our Netflix cue so that we can easily feed our nightly obsession with watching it.
8. To be really honest, I have not taken that many vacations. Our honeymoon was pretty great, though. We stayed at a little bed and breakfast in Keystone, Colorado during their off season, and went hiking and biking and out to a different restaurant every night.
9. Something about me that most people would never guess? I thought seriously about being a police officer. I guess all the other Justice Systems majors at my college might have guessed that... I suppose maybe that I always wish I could have learned to play a musical instrument more proficiently than an 8th-grader.
10. I love my birthday. I meet my mother halfway between her city and mine and we go out to lunch and go shopping (there are no malls or Targets where I live). I almost always end up with a frivolous but fabulous pair of shoes. I do try to stretch it out for a full week around the house in terms of getting out of chores like letting the dogs out or wiping children's bottoms.
11. We watched the new Muppet Movie this weekend, so the song stuck in my head is this.
Okay, so those are my answers to Tara's questions. Now for the bad news. And that is that there is no way I can think of 11 blogs to link to. I only read a handful, and some of them are the same ones Tara tagged (we're on a blog network together, so we read several of the same blogs). Others are large, professional blogs by people who make their living at it, and I don't think they respond to chain-blog appeals. Here are the few that I think might participate:
Janice @ Whimsy-ma-blog
Karen @ Dreamer
Brittyne @ Five Fitz's
Marbree @ matnmarb
Melynne @ Blessings
And since those are only 5 bloggers, I feel I only have the right to ask them to answer 5 questions. Here they are:
1. What is one skill you wish you have but don't?
2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
3. What is your favorite book?
4. If you could pick your name, would you pick the one you were given, or something else?
5. What is your favorite thing to do in the city where you live?
Good luck, everyone! And thanks again to Tara for getting me out of my no-blogging rut!
1. Post the rules (these are them)
2. Answer the 11 questions the tagger posted for you and then
3. Create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged
4. Tag 11 bloggers and link them in your post
5. Let them know they've been tagged!
So, Tara, here are my answers to your questions (and if you're not already reading Tara Being Tara jump right on over there and check her out- she posts way more regularly than I do!):
1. If I were in the same city as you, the first thing we'd do together is... a tutorial on how to quilt. Seriously, you have some mad quilting skills and I have none, despite the fact that I love to snuggle under quilts a lot. I have an old quilt made by the sister of my great-grandmother that is falling apart and needs to be repaired. I've always thought it would be cool to know how to do that. While we were quilting we could discuss running or being really excited about too many things at once or other things we seem to have in common.
2. When I was 6, there was a three-way tie for what I wanted to do when I grew up. Either a farmer or a truck driver or a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader.
3. My favorite summer dish is this lemon garlic chicken pasta recipe my friend Madeline's mother made up. Basically you soak a clove of garlic in some olive oil and lemon juice all day, and then toss it over some rotini pasta, grilled chicken, zucchini, broccoli, and red onion. So good it makes me hungry just thinking about it.
4. If I could be anywhere in the world right now, it would be in Paris with my husband Kyle, eating delicious food and drinking wine. He and I were discussing last week how eating good food is one of our favorite things. Eating good food in Paris would be even better.
5. Clearly the most challenging part of maintaining a blog for me is posting on it (as evidenced by my lack of recent entries). Usually I have 3 or 4 ideas for posts in my head at any give time, but it's difficult for me to find uninterrupted time at the computer to actually spit them out. And ignoring the blog has a definite snowball effect, in that the more time that goes by the less I think about how guilty I feel for ignoring it.
6. There are so many random things in my purse. There has been an orange M & M floating around in the bottom somewhere for several weeks. Every time I find it I am in the middle of the grocery store or about to start class, and since I'm not in a position to properly dispose of it, back in it goes.
7. We have no DVR, but Breaking Bad is at the top of our Netflix cue so that we can easily feed our nightly obsession with watching it.
8. To be really honest, I have not taken that many vacations. Our honeymoon was pretty great, though. We stayed at a little bed and breakfast in Keystone, Colorado during their off season, and went hiking and biking and out to a different restaurant every night.
9. Something about me that most people would never guess? I thought seriously about being a police officer. I guess all the other Justice Systems majors at my college might have guessed that... I suppose maybe that I always wish I could have learned to play a musical instrument more proficiently than an 8th-grader.
10. I love my birthday. I meet my mother halfway between her city and mine and we go out to lunch and go shopping (there are no malls or Targets where I live). I almost always end up with a frivolous but fabulous pair of shoes. I do try to stretch it out for a full week around the house in terms of getting out of chores like letting the dogs out or wiping children's bottoms.
11. We watched the new Muppet Movie this weekend, so the song stuck in my head is this.
Okay, so those are my answers to Tara's questions. Now for the bad news. And that is that there is no way I can think of 11 blogs to link to. I only read a handful, and some of them are the same ones Tara tagged (we're on a blog network together, so we read several of the same blogs). Others are large, professional blogs by people who make their living at it, and I don't think they respond to chain-blog appeals. Here are the few that I think might participate:
Janice @ Whimsy-ma-blog
Karen @ Dreamer
Brittyne @ Five Fitz's
Marbree @ matnmarb
Melynne @ Blessings
And since those are only 5 bloggers, I feel I only have the right to ask them to answer 5 questions. Here they are:
1. What is one skill you wish you have but don't?
2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
3. What is your favorite book?
4. If you could pick your name, would you pick the one you were given, or something else?
5. What is your favorite thing to do in the city where you live?
Good luck, everyone! And thanks again to Tara for getting me out of my no-blogging rut!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Things I Don't Need
The other day I heard a radio blurb about someone who had an idea for a store full of, basically, things nobody needs, like Ugg boots for dogs and a doodad that gets the lid off your can of tuna so you don't get tuna juice on your fingers.
Later that day I noticed that I have tampons with inspirational sayings on the wrappers. Worse, the brand advertises itself as some kind of "sport tampons" (whatever that means), and so the sayings were I guess what I'd characterize as nonspecific-athletically inspirational.
Some examples of the phrases (because honestly, once I noticed it on one wrapper I had to look through the entire box):
-Go, Fight Win!
-You can't win if you don't play.
-Just go for it!
-You go, girl!
-Let's get out there and show 'em what we've got!
And it's this last one that's the most disturbing to me. Mostly because it begs the question, "Who is we?" Me and the tampon? 'Cause that's a little weird.
I'm just sayin'... If I were running that store of things nobody needs, I'd totally put these inspirational-phrase tampons in there.
Later that day I noticed that I have tampons with inspirational sayings on the wrappers. Worse, the brand advertises itself as some kind of "sport tampons" (whatever that means), and so the sayings were I guess what I'd characterize as nonspecific-athletically inspirational.
Some examples of the phrases (because honestly, once I noticed it on one wrapper I had to look through the entire box):
-Go, Fight Win!
-You can't win if you don't play.
-Just go for it!
-You go, girl!
-Let's get out there and show 'em what we've got!
And it's this last one that's the most disturbing to me. Mostly because it begs the question, "Who is we?" Me and the tampon? 'Cause that's a little weird.
I'm just sayin'... If I were running that store of things nobody needs, I'd totally put these inspirational-phrase tampons in there.
Ask Jeeves
The other night at dinner Kyle and I were talking about the fact that there are two different plays called The Butler Did It running in our town right now.
Daniel asked, "What is a butler?"
We tried several different explanations, including the Tim Curry character Wadsworth's explanation from the movie Clue, which is "The butler keeps the kitchen and dining areas tidy."
"The butler takes care of things around the house, like answers the door and gets you things," Kyle offered.
"The butler is like a waiter in your house. If we had a butler, we'd just sit down to dinner, and he'd bring food to us, and then when we were done he'd clean up for us," I explained.
"So does that make sense, then? Basically, a butler takes care of cleaning up and answering the door and getting you things when you want them," we concluded.
Daniel lit up. "Oh, so like you then, Mommy!"
Yep. Just like me.
Daniel asked, "What is a butler?"
We tried several different explanations, including the Tim Curry character Wadsworth's explanation from the movie Clue, which is "The butler keeps the kitchen and dining areas tidy."
"The butler takes care of things around the house, like answers the door and gets you things," Kyle offered.
"The butler is like a waiter in your house. If we had a butler, we'd just sit down to dinner, and he'd bring food to us, and then when we were done he'd clean up for us," I explained.
"So does that make sense, then? Basically, a butler takes care of cleaning up and answering the door and getting you things when you want them," we concluded.
Daniel lit up. "Oh, so like you then, Mommy!"
Yep. Just like me.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Dan the Flying Man
Two conversation-starters from my week:
"Mom, I really need to figure out how superheroes make their suits, because when I become one, and am in charge of all the armies, they need to be able to recognize me."
and
"Okay. Here is a question I have: How do superheroes fly? I REALLY need to know so I can start practicing."
Our son Daniel is the kind of kid that really gets into things. When he gets on an idea, he really does it all-out, talking about it and drawing about it and writing about it for weeks/months/years. Clearly we are in a superhero phase right now, but the interesting thing about it is that he is able to juggle several different topics of interest simultaneously, sometimes in combination. He also has an amazing ability to create gobs and gobs of themed pictures, crafts, stories, and questions about his subjects of fascination. He is frequently able to drag our whole family, his friends, even all his classmates into it in the process, so that everyone is, say, deciding on a superpower or making a holiday decoration.
He must get this creativity from his father, because honestly there is no way he gets it from me.
So today I want to share with you some of the things we've been into lately, thanks to Daniel:
Superheroes
For a long time, Daniel has enjoyed making up stories about himself as a superhero. Sounds developmentally appropriate, right? Lots of kids imagine themselves saving the day and having amazing powers... Again, though, I'm impressed with his persistence and detail in regards to imagining what exactly he'll wear, how exactly he'll fly, and what kinds of rescue situations he expects he'll need to be prepared for exactly. His teacher has tried to use this as a springboard for some art and creative writing at school. Here is a storyboard for his soon-to-be-famous Dan the Flying Man comic/movie/novel/real-life adventure:
Wolves
We also seem to have a lot of discussions of wolves and (of course) werewolves in our house. We recently read a very informative library book all about wolves, which (of course) included pictures of what werewolves might look like. Here is Daniel's picture of a "half werewolf/half rocket:"
Kyle insists that a 50% werewolf/50% rocket is 100% awesome. It is hard to argue with that.
Dragons
The thing that Daniel has been into the longest is most certainly dragons. It seems like he's been on the dragon thing since he's been able to talk. The movie How to Train Your Dragon only fueled the fire, and the marketing machine behind it has made it convenient for us to collect a wide variety of plastic Viking and dragon action figures. But even before we saw it, Daniel was talking about dragons, reading about dragons, and drawing dragons. Here is the Thanksgiving project he made at his preschool last year:
Note that there is no mention of his family, his comfortable home, or any other stereotypical childhood object of thankfulness. Just dragons.
This year's kindergarten Thanksgiving picture was a bit more flattering:
For those of you who don't read 5-year-old handwriting well, that's "me" on the first finger, "snowmen" on the second finger, "dragons" on the third, and "my mom" on the last. I was just so honored to make the list, even if I am (understandably) behind dragons.
Holiday Decorations
Just before Thanksgiving this year, someone reminded Daniel of the classic handprint-with-legs turkey craft. Before we knew it, he was requiring everyone who visited our house to make a handprint turkey to hang on our dining room wall, which he insisted was drastically underdecorated (truth be told, his original goal was to decorate every wall of our house, but we really tried to focus him on just one room). And so we got this:
He also started a movement to cover the (already REALLY decorated) walls of his classroom at school, and got several classmates in on the action.
And then, of course, at Christmas someone taught him about paper snowflakes and we had this:
We also had some paper Christmas trees, but I didn't get a picture of these before we took the Christmas-specific winter decorations down.
Brevity
A few months ago, Daniel informed us that he would like to start going by Dan instead of Daniel. His reason? It's just way faster to write Dan. So we've indulged him, and he's started going by Dan and Daniel interchangeably now. But this morning we found this in his backpack:
He decided that maybe an even shorter way to write his name would be to shorten our last name, too. Kyle spent a few minutes explaining how we just don't really do that with last names. I'll be spending the next several weeks calling him "the Danster" behind his back.
Back to Dragons
So what is the Danster up to now? It seems they had a lesson at school last week about the Chinese New Year.
Let me just be the first to wish you a prosperous Year of the Dragon, from the entire Ster family.
"Mom, I really need to figure out how superheroes make their suits, because when I become one, and am in charge of all the armies, they need to be able to recognize me."
and
"Okay. Here is a question I have: How do superheroes fly? I REALLY need to know so I can start practicing."
Our son Daniel is the kind of kid that really gets into things. When he gets on an idea, he really does it all-out, talking about it and drawing about it and writing about it for weeks/months/years. Clearly we are in a superhero phase right now, but the interesting thing about it is that he is able to juggle several different topics of interest simultaneously, sometimes in combination. He also has an amazing ability to create gobs and gobs of themed pictures, crafts, stories, and questions about his subjects of fascination. He is frequently able to drag our whole family, his friends, even all his classmates into it in the process, so that everyone is, say, deciding on a superpower or making a holiday decoration.
He must get this creativity from his father, because honestly there is no way he gets it from me.
So today I want to share with you some of the things we've been into lately, thanks to Daniel:
Superheroes
For a long time, Daniel has enjoyed making up stories about himself as a superhero. Sounds developmentally appropriate, right? Lots of kids imagine themselves saving the day and having amazing powers... Again, though, I'm impressed with his persistence and detail in regards to imagining what exactly he'll wear, how exactly he'll fly, and what kinds of rescue situations he expects he'll need to be prepared for exactly. His teacher has tried to use this as a springboard for some art and creative writing at school. Here is a storyboard for his soon-to-be-famous Dan the Flying Man comic/movie/novel/real-life adventure:
Wolves
We also seem to have a lot of discussions of wolves and (of course) werewolves in our house. We recently read a very informative library book all about wolves, which (of course) included pictures of what werewolves might look like. Here is Daniel's picture of a "half werewolf/half rocket:"
Kyle insists that a 50% werewolf/50% rocket is 100% awesome. It is hard to argue with that.
Dragons
The thing that Daniel has been into the longest is most certainly dragons. It seems like he's been on the dragon thing since he's been able to talk. The movie How to Train Your Dragon only fueled the fire, and the marketing machine behind it has made it convenient for us to collect a wide variety of plastic Viking and dragon action figures. But even before we saw it, Daniel was talking about dragons, reading about dragons, and drawing dragons. Here is the Thanksgiving project he made at his preschool last year:
Note that there is no mention of his family, his comfortable home, or any other stereotypical childhood object of thankfulness. Just dragons.
This year's kindergarten Thanksgiving picture was a bit more flattering:
For those of you who don't read 5-year-old handwriting well, that's "me" on the first finger, "snowmen" on the second finger, "dragons" on the third, and "my mom" on the last. I was just so honored to make the list, even if I am (understandably) behind dragons.
Holiday Decorations
Just before Thanksgiving this year, someone reminded Daniel of the classic handprint-with-legs turkey craft. Before we knew it, he was requiring everyone who visited our house to make a handprint turkey to hang on our dining room wall, which he insisted was drastically underdecorated (truth be told, his original goal was to decorate every wall of our house, but we really tried to focus him on just one room). And so we got this:
He also started a movement to cover the (already REALLY decorated) walls of his classroom at school, and got several classmates in on the action.
And then, of course, at Christmas someone taught him about paper snowflakes and we had this:
We also had some paper Christmas trees, but I didn't get a picture of these before we took the Christmas-specific winter decorations down.
Brevity
A few months ago, Daniel informed us that he would like to start going by Dan instead of Daniel. His reason? It's just way faster to write Dan. So we've indulged him, and he's started going by Dan and Daniel interchangeably now. But this morning we found this in his backpack:
He decided that maybe an even shorter way to write his name would be to shorten our last name, too. Kyle spent a few minutes explaining how we just don't really do that with last names. I'll be spending the next several weeks calling him "the Danster" behind his back.
Back to Dragons
So what is the Danster up to now? It seems they had a lesson at school last week about the Chinese New Year.
Let me just be the first to wish you a prosperous Year of the Dragon, from the entire Ster family.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Interruption
As much as I hate the blog post about how someone has not been posting on their blog, I see no other way to stop the cycle of not posting than to acknowledge it publicly so I can move on. The thing is, I have really no good excuse for avoiding writing lately. In fact, I'd say I have a confession to make:
I have been doing nothing. For days at a time.
Those of you who know me (heck, even those of you who've only read my very last blog post) know that I just don't go through a day without doing something, many somethings, a long list of somethings. I like to keep busy, and can only feel relaxed when all the work is done... and as we've all learned by now, all the work is rarely done.
Now while this whole setup makes me very productive, it makes me very cranky about being interrupted. I don't like it when the kids get up during rest time, interrupting my grading. I don't like writing half a blog post and having to come back to finish it later. I am not the kind of mother who stops in the middle of making dinner for an impromptu game of Old Maid. I sigh heavily when I must stop what I'm doing to tie shoes or clean up spilled milk, so much that my oldest has learned to start requests with an apology, which makes me cringe a little every time I hear it.
My friend Janice wrote a few months ago on her blog about a conversation we had on this very topic. At the time I read it originally I remember feeling that I should probably be convicted about my own crankiness at kid interruptions, but then I got busy and forgot about it.
My husband Kyle, on the other hand, is much better at interruptions than I am. He is able to take breaks from his work, to stop what he's doing to read someone a book, or to spend a Saturday afternoon listening to music or playing video games. Sometimes I catch myself feeling resentful over his relaxing while I run around the house doing chores, even as I recognize that my list of tasks is self-imposed.
But one of the benefits of being in a family where all the parents and children work on an academic calendar is that we get long summer and winter and spring breaks together. With no work obligations, no sports practices for the kids, no sorority advising duties, an amazing thing happens: the "to-do" list actually gets to-done. And so here we've been, at the crossroads where a person who can relax at any time and a person who can only relax when work is done are fighting for a place on the couch. We've been reading books, watching movies and TV shows, and playing games with the kids. We even had a party, and lived off leftover appetizers and snack food for a dinner or two afterward. I must admit, it feels good to be "interruptible" for a while. I have colored and made paper snowflakes, played school and Memory and cards, and read stacks and stacks of picture books.
And so I've been reluctant to get back to real life, where I feel obliged to do anything regularly, like change sheets or go to work or post on my blog. It's as if relaxation has cast its spell on me and now I can't get back to the land of productivity. I'm hoping that admitting I have responsibilities will be the first step in overcoming my denial that the semester is actually starting, and that it's going to be a doozy. If nothing else, I have now interrupted the ignoring of my blog, and maybe it will be difficult to find my place with that again.
I have been doing nothing. For days at a time.
Those of you who know me (heck, even those of you who've only read my very last blog post) know that I just don't go through a day without doing something, many somethings, a long list of somethings. I like to keep busy, and can only feel relaxed when all the work is done... and as we've all learned by now, all the work is rarely done.
Now while this whole setup makes me very productive, it makes me very cranky about being interrupted. I don't like it when the kids get up during rest time, interrupting my grading. I don't like writing half a blog post and having to come back to finish it later. I am not the kind of mother who stops in the middle of making dinner for an impromptu game of Old Maid. I sigh heavily when I must stop what I'm doing to tie shoes or clean up spilled milk, so much that my oldest has learned to start requests with an apology, which makes me cringe a little every time I hear it.
My friend Janice wrote a few months ago on her blog about a conversation we had on this very topic. At the time I read it originally I remember feeling that I should probably be convicted about my own crankiness at kid interruptions, but then I got busy and forgot about it.
My husband Kyle, on the other hand, is much better at interruptions than I am. He is able to take breaks from his work, to stop what he's doing to read someone a book, or to spend a Saturday afternoon listening to music or playing video games. Sometimes I catch myself feeling resentful over his relaxing while I run around the house doing chores, even as I recognize that my list of tasks is self-imposed.
But one of the benefits of being in a family where all the parents and children work on an academic calendar is that we get long summer and winter and spring breaks together. With no work obligations, no sports practices for the kids, no sorority advising duties, an amazing thing happens: the "to-do" list actually gets to-done. And so here we've been, at the crossroads where a person who can relax at any time and a person who can only relax when work is done are fighting for a place on the couch. We've been reading books, watching movies and TV shows, and playing games with the kids. We even had a party, and lived off leftover appetizers and snack food for a dinner or two afterward. I must admit, it feels good to be "interruptible" for a while. I have colored and made paper snowflakes, played school and Memory and cards, and read stacks and stacks of picture books.
And so I've been reluctant to get back to real life, where I feel obliged to do anything regularly, like change sheets or go to work or post on my blog. It's as if relaxation has cast its spell on me and now I can't get back to the land of productivity. I'm hoping that admitting I have responsibilities will be the first step in overcoming my denial that the semester is actually starting, and that it's going to be a doozy. If nothing else, I have now interrupted the ignoring of my blog, and maybe it will be difficult to find my place with that again.
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