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Showing posts from March, 2010
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We've added hours to our minutes .
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#46 out of 100 Red Osier Dogwood
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Norah's helping me make my shopping lists now. She's never too far away or too busy to come and write another word or two on the list when I realize we need it. I usually hand her the empty box or bag or container and she copies the appropriate word/s from it.
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Norah: "Mom, I think I know why they call it 'Ketchup.'" Me: "Why do you think?" Norah: "Because when you eat it, it gives you energy to 'catch up' to the person who went ahead of you."
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I had a recent Ziggy sighting. He was standing in the freezing rain and wind, about twenty feet from his red, white and blue truck, waving his flag. People were honking like he was the first Santa Claus on the roadside in December. This guy is so beloved here in Waterbury! He even has his own fan club on Facebook. Really! And I'm a member!
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Norah has been coming to one of the classes I teach at the gym, Saturday's "Jump and Jack" for parents and kids. I got her her own workout clothes and new tennis shoes for the occasion. (She needed them anyway. All her pants are too short and her tennis from last spring/summer don't fit anymore.) Norah was so excited to have these new clothes just for exercise, she asked me to let her work out in them at home. In the photo above, she is doing bicep curls with soup cans while stepping up on my aerobics step.
Norah singing along to her skip-counting CD and learning to count by fours with her abacus.
I thought I'd post some recent videos, a new clip everyday for the next few days. I know my parents will love this. I hope the rest of you enjoy these, too!
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Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4 My Translation: If I never cooked at home, my sink would stay empty, but my family is blessed by my home cooked meals.
Avril loves this ball. I believe she'd eat it if she could. The whole family has a great time laughing at her when she blows against it to make fart noises and such.
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My dad is a retired police officer, so he's got stories, countless stories. And he loves to tell them. And we love to hear them. (He's the best story teller alive). He's been emailing me some of them, so I thought I'd provide a place on my blog to share them. I've edited them a little. (He types in all caps, just like he writes). I wish he'd consent to having his voice taped, since I think his tone and timing make the stories ten times better. But, he won't do it, says his voice "sounds funny." His nick name was always "Snave," my maiden name "Evans" spelled backward, so I made that his new label. Below is a photo of my father standing by his patrol car sometime in the seventies. My sister and I always say, "Wacka! Wacka!" and raise our eyebrows when we see this old photo. And, to that, my dad always blushes and smirks. Isn't my father handsome? Below is the first and so far, the funniest story he's sent
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I took the pill at 7am. I was still half asleep. I'd gotten up to go to the bathroom and then snuck back to bed until the girls were awake. An hour and a half later, I was sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast with the kids, trying to figure out why I felt so different ... so... good . I hadn't gotten that much extra sleep, so I shouldn't feel so rested and alert. And, I hadn't drank any coffee... That's when it hit me. I'd taken my first Synthroid pill that morning! Was it even possible for me to feel the effects so soon? Was it all placebo? I don't know. But, I don't think I can even describe the relief I felt and after only a few hours on the medicine. The invisible elephant that I had been dragging around all day everyday was just... somehow... gone . Perhaps the effects will wear off or I'll get used to them. I remember the first few days after we put new insulation in our house, we went around just tearing the layers off, wear
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I received our census letter today and looked all over to find the disclaimer that you only have to answer the first question. To my dismay, it is not there. A few minutes of googling later, I realized that by statute, we are required to answer all questions. I don't think so. Since it's inception, the census has asked questions directly related to understanding the headcount of the country. The original census included only three questions: color, free or slave status and the sex of free white persons. These questions were used as a result of the racist 3/5ths rule that counted slaves as only 3/5ths, and the sexist rule that women could not vote so were not used to calculate representatives. As morally reprehensible as these are, the questions were directly related to the task at hand, counting the populace in order to determine the number of seats in the House of Representatives. Therefore, after the end of slavery, and with women's suffrage, these questions are no longer
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I'm currently teaching five classes on the Waterbury Y's newest group fitness schedule. Tuesday mornings, I teach Cardio Sculpt followed immediately by the Senior's Cardio Class. On Wednesday nights, I teach All About Muscle. On Friday afternoons, I teach a boot camp-style class called Happy Hour Workout. And, finally, on Saturdays, I teach a class for parents and kids called Jump and Jack. I am loving my work. It feels more like a calling than a job. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be paid for the time I put in, really nice. But, I believe I may actually mean it when I say that "I'd do it for free!"
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Overheard #4 - I call this one, "I thought 'Baby-Daddy' was just a funny expression." Two women in line behind me at Walmart, both just a few years younger than me: "If someone asked me, I don't know what I'd say. I think I'd say, 'Yes.' I mean, I love being with Steven, but..." I didn't hear what she said for a minute because Norah was talking to me. "...It's all wrong now. When we were first together, we didn't see anyone else, we didn't have babies with anyone else. But, then, he had a baby with someone else and now it's all wrong." Her friend tries to comfort her, "I think all relationships go through this." "Yeah." Her friend asks, "Are all your kids his kids?" "Yeah."
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Circles two. Circles, too .
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Norah has learned to count by ones, twos, threes, fours and fives... Building on the ability to count by fives, her math curriculum is now teaching her how to figure out the minutes past the hour. She uses twelve of her five blocks to build a clock face. Then we use a nine block as a minute hand. She counts by five as far as she can, then counts by one until she figures out the answer, just like we grown ups do when we when need to find out how many minutes have past the hour. I wish I had been taught to understand a clock's face this way! My daughter is five and she is telling time!
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I like this recipe for spiced-rubbed pork loin with acorn squash. Number one: It's not chicken and we eat enough of that. And, number two: As fancy as it looks, it is a very manageable recipe for a week-night, one of the easiest I make, actually. It's even easier to prep than some of the crock pot meals my family enjoys so much. The hardest part of the whole process is cutting the acorn squash into wedges (without cutting your fingers off). You will need a large knife. The more it resembles an ax, the better. When we are done eating and everything is cool, I peel the skin off any left over squash, tear it into bite-sized pieces and save it in an air-tight container in the fridge. I give it to Avril the next day for lunch. She loves it. It's the texture of baked sweet potato. And, I love the face that I can offer her (basically) fresh squash (any fresher and it would be like biting into a softball).
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This one's totally my own creation. Try adding 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon onion soup mix to your mayo before mixing it with a can of tuna. Serve it on lightly toasted wheat bread with dill pickles. All I can say is, "Yum."
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We are enjoying several visits a day from a large group of black eyed juncos, a black capped chickadee, two tufted titmouse (or is it tit mice ?), a Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal. I love keeping a feeder through the winter. But, it's impossible to capture all our birds in one photo.
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Norah's coming much closer to beating me at Memory . She used to get something like four matches in all. We played on the living room floor in the sunlight the other afternoon. She had me half-worrying, half-rejoicing there for a minute. I love to win this game, but I am torn because I also love to see her doing so well. I have never made this game easy on her. When she was much younger, I would simply use less cards. But, I never "gave" her matches, ever. If the turn falls to me and we both know where something is, she knows that I'll get the match. But, the funny thing is, as competitive as I am, I really can't wait till she manages to beat me by her own merit. On that day, she and I both may cry tears of joy.
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On our last snow day, Norah played under the tree in the front yard. Avril and I sat on the floor and watched her through the front window. Avril loves her big sister. And, I have to say, Norah is really good to Avril. This was Avril's first wave. I actually caught it on camera! Norah noticed and yelled, "Mom! She waved!" I love it that Norah is old enough to notice and celebrate Avril's milestones along with me.
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Norah's new favorite thing to draw.
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To pass the long winter days, sometimes we'll do a scavenger hunt. Print these tasks on slips of paper and have your kids draw them from a hat. 1. Find a big spoon and a small spoon. 2. Find a stuffed animal with blue on it. 3. Draw a picture of your house. 4. Find something made of wood, something made of plastic and something made of metal. 5. Find something that begins with the letter A. 6. Find a picture of someone smiling. 7. Find something covered in dots. 8. Find two things people wear or bring with them when it is raining. 9. Find a shirt with stripes. 10. Find a pair of shorts or pants without pockets. 11. Make a ball at least the size of a golf ball out of tin foil or tissue and tape. 12. Find a coin from the 1970s. 13. Draw a picture of your hero. 14. Find something that ends with T. 15. Find a picture of a dinosaur. 16. Find clothes in sizes small, medium and large. 17. Find something soft and something hard. 18. Find something with all numbers zero to n
It's one of only two times God has ever told me, "No." While I was in college, I applied to be a counselor at a Christian summer camp that I'd gone to every year while I was in high school. It would be impossible to describe how much it meant to me to get the job. As a teenager, I had experienced God's presence at the camp in unbelievable ways. His Spirit was so tangible in that place, it was like you could just reach out and touch Him. So, naturally, I wanted to "build a tent" there and dreamed of being on staff so I could seek God for three months straight, the way I saw it. But, I didn't get the job. For whatever reason, I didn't find enough favor with those involved in the process of choosing the counselors. I can think of ways in which I wasn't ready for the task, but still, I was more than disappointed over the rejection. I was heartbroken. I had nothing else planned to do that summer, so that's when my youth leaders approached me
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A cell phone tower "disguised" as a tree, a perfect example of why some ideas should be abandoned because they can't be executed as well as they were conceived. This thing looks ridiculous and ruins the view more than a huge metal pole would.
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"Having a friend over is good because I have someone to play Barbies with, but bad because I have to share my prettiest Barbie." -Norah
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This is where I was standing when a friend introduced me to Dwayne, in front of the mail boxes on our college campus. I took this picture when we visited last month . When I took his hand for the first time (to shake it), I thought, "Could this be the one ?" Then, I gave myself a sharp rebuke, just like the poem says below. But, it didn't take long for my heart to be at peace while being thrilled in Dwayne's presence. You held my hand and I, feeling a strange, sweet thrill, gave to my heart a sharp rebuke, and told it to be still. You held me close and I gasped, "Oh no!" until I felt my heart within me rise and tell me to be still. -Ruth Bell Graham