Tag: Kids

Is there a doctor in the house?

Conversation overheard on a Sunday evening:

Me: Kyra can watch her show and I’ll stream an episode of Doctor Who. Then, we can read.

Andrew: No, no, no! Mom, don’t become one of those people!

Me: You mean a Doctor Who fan?

Andrew: Yes!

Me: Are some of your friends fans?

Andrew: Kind of.

Me: Little obsessed, are they?

Andrew (eye roll): …

Me: Well, I just started watching it. I like it.*

Andrew (head in hands, muttering into the pages of his AP World History book): No, no, no, no, no.

Kyra: Dr. Seuss? Can I watch?

* Yes, I know. As of last night, I’ve only watched two episodes of Doctor Who. I have now given up any pretense of nerd/geek cred.

Brother turning 16 prompts (minor) existential crisis

So, yesterday was Andrew’s sixteenth birthday. As we were driving to dinner, I overhear this conversation between him and his sister.

Kyra: Andrew! Promise me you’ll get married someday!

Andrew: ?????? Why?

Kyra: I don’t want you to die alone!

Andrew: ????? Uh, okay.

Kyra: And I’ll make sure you’re buried next to your wife! And I’ll visit your grave every week!

Andrew: ?????????

Kyra: And be sure to have kids!

Andrew: Mom …

Yeah. Not really sure what that was all about. Of course, it’s not every day your brother turns sixteen. But then we arrived at the pizza place and that seemed to make everything all right.

Animal Humane Society: Walk for Animals 2012

We’re walking again for the Animal Humane Society Walk for Animals. Five miles on what I hope will be a beautiful May Saturday. It’s got to be warmer than the last few years, yes?

Want to help? Click through to donate to Team Oreo (that’s us):

Animal Humane Society: Walk for Animals 2012

Why Team Oreo?

 

This is why.

A fifteen-year-old’s perspective on Perspectives in American Literature

So, Andrew is taking Perspectives in American Literature this semester–and already they’ve been reading like gangbusters. Well, if gangbusters read, that is. More accurately, they’ve been reading like high school sophomores in Perspectives in American Literature.

Here’s his take so far:

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Once I figured out it’s one of those books without a plot, I kind of liked it.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Everyone in class is complaining about this, but I’m enjoying it.

He really liked reading the play format and said he could see the whole story in his head. Then he wanted to know, since he’s enjoying Perspectives in American Lit so much, if he has a “literary mind.”

I told him he might. He just might.

100 years of Girl Scouting is keeping me busy

100 years of Girl Scouting can keep you pretty busy. So can epic Girl Scout cookie sales. And we’re doing both this month and next. As part of all this, we’re working on the Girl Scout Way badge, since we can knock out three requirements at the big anniversary celebration at the Mall of America (oh, my word, this looks to be like barely contained chaos).

The indoor amusement park will be open early–and just for the Girl Scouts. Is Kyra excited about this? Yes, yes she is.

Today at our meeting we learned about the woman who started it all Juliette Gordon Low:

You can view Part Two and Part Three as well. It’s a nicely done biography of her that runs a little more than thirty minutes total. Even though I was a Girl Scout for twelve years, I’m not really sure I knew much of Juliette’s story. It’s really quite fascinating.

Afterward we watched this, the girls made up a play about the first Girl Scout meeting. Even though I didn’t actually attend the first Girl Scout meeting, I think I’m safe in saying that the one the girls presented in no way resembled what actually happened.

And now it’s time to go sell some cookies … want a Thin Mint?

Skateboarding gals, won’t you come out tonight

So this week, Kyra completed her big project for the Junior aMUSE badge set. Previously, she created a girl, and gave her a goal and something that concerned her, and listed some of her favorite things . For you writers out there, if you think this sounds like the start of a character sketch, you’d be right.

The final requirement is completing a play, poem, story, comic, etc. about your girl. Kyra wanted to write a play, with a part for everyone in her troop (fortunately, we’re a small troop and that’s only six parts).

I could not dissuade her. It had to be a play and we’re going to do a read-through performance at the next meeting.

So, she wrote the draft by hand, and then last night, set to work on my computer typing the whole thing out.

The Skateboarding Gals  comes in at three pages and 457 words. The climax involves exploding garbage. I do not know why. I was not the creative consultant for that part of the project.

My favorite part is this:

Halley: I wish I could skateboard

Lilly Suzy and Sally: I’ll teach you

All exchange glances.

Lilly Suzy and Sally: We’ll teach you

Lilly: after the exploding garbage

Then they all ride off (on skateboards) into the sunset. After the exploding garbage, of course. What? You were doubting the happy ending?

I, for one, am looking forward to The Skateboarding Gals limited run in the library’s meeting room. It’s sure to be standing room only.

That’s how we (chocolate) roll

So, yesterday, Andrew and I made a trial run of the chocolate roll he needed to bake for the food unit in German class. Why does he need to bring in a chocolate roll for German class? I. Don’t. Know. It’s right up there with edible Australia. I’ve stopped questioning these things.

Of course, I’ve never made a chocolate roll. This does not shock my foodie friends. However, I do own a jelly roll pan*. Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am about this fact.

Plus! I showed Andrew how to separate eggs. Yes! I know how to do this! Don’t worry. This is the extent of my mad cooking skillz because I clearly have never baked anything in said jelly roll pan. We discovered it didn’t fit in the oven. And yes, we’d already poured the batter into the pan when we made this discovery.

I made a mad dash to Target and returned with a pan that would fit into our oven. We went for it and simply re-poured the batter.

It seemed to work. The whipped cream was easy. The rolling part? Not so much. I did discover that Smitten Kitchen has an excellent post on the whole rolling thing (which I found by searching on “broken chocolate roll”). Her recipe almost matches the one we used that came from the German cookbook in Andrew’s class.

Amazingly, our roll is almost roll-like.

I think we’re set for tonight.

*suspect that edible Australia is the reason behind the jelly roll pan purchase.

A young scientist’s work is never done

A few days ago, Kyra commandeered my desk to write her application for the Young Scientists Club at school. We do have other writing surfaces and she routinely does her spelling and math on them. Apparently, my desk is the spot reserved for serious writing.

The Young Scientists Club is very serious.

That being the case, I had her write a draft before writing her final answer on the application form. Then, I edited that draft for her, which needed some punctuation.

Kyra on punctuation:

Sometimes when I’m writing, I just get going and going with the words and I forget to stop to put in the periods.

And yes, her essay was one long compound sentence (and … and … and).

In the end, she decided that she wants to be part of the club because she wants to be a scientist and invent helpful gadgets for the world. Also, robots.

Kyra on robots:

Mama, wouldn’t it be cool if I invented a robot and it followed me home from the club?

I–for one–plan on welcoming our new Kyra-designed robot overlords.

I suggest you do the same.

Conversations with my son

FADE IN:

[INT. SUV, weekday morning, on way to school]

Son: Mom, is this the real life?

Mom: Or is this just fantasy?

Son: I’m caught in a landslide.

Mom: You know what? There’s really no escape from reality.

Son: Open your eyes.

Mom (pointing): Look up to the skies and see.

Son: I’m just a poor boy

Mom: You need no sympathy

Son: Because I’m easy come, easy go

Mom: Little high, little low.

Son: Any way the wind blows

Mom: Doesn’t really matter to me

Son (dramatic): To me!

PAUSE

Daughter: What are you guys talking about?

FADE OUT.

No one eats until the frog eats

Frog on bough
Image via Wikipedia

So yesterday, Andrew and I went to see To Kill a Mockingbird at the Park Square Theatre with my mom. It was excellent. We enjoyed it very much, and Andrew and I had a good talk about the themes in the play on the way home. Plus! Bought new shoes.

The second we walk into the house, Kyra calls out, “Mommy! Andrew! Come look! We have a frog!”

(Why am I continuously surprised that things find their way into our house when Bob and Kyra are unsupervised? I shouldn’t be. And yet, I am.)

They went to the pet store and added some new tetras to the tank. Well, the tank needed some new tetras (all our other ones have slowly died off, and the danios are kind of lonely). But they also bought a frog, which can live in there as well.

However, since it eats bloodworms, we have to take it out of the tank to feed it. Fortunately, we only need to do this once a week. So, now, my Outlook has the recurring task of “Feed the frog” for every Friday.

The frog is named Matilda.

I think the new rule for Friday will have to be: No one eats until the frog eats.