Here's what The Cute One said today:
We are supposedly on the do-not-call list, but we still get annoying telemarketers calling during dinnertime. I used to jump up and answer the phone, but a couple of months ago I just stopped. When Rachel would tell me to answer it, I started saying, "I'm just going to let it go." She picked that up from me and now SHE says, "Just let it go." (Trying to communicate the importance of the dinner hour being sacred).
Tonight, while we were all eating Drew's spaghetti and meatballs at around 8 p.m., THE PHONE RANG.
"You should let that go, Dad," Rachel said in her most grown-up voice. "I think it's a telemarketer."
***
Rachel was telling us about a boy named Vicente that had pushed and hit her and her friend Devin at school today. We acted shocked and dismayed and told her he had behaved badly.
"I don't push and hit," she said. Then she thought about it for a second and said, "I like pushing buildings."
We told her that was perfectly okay.
***
Rachel also noticed a bow left over from the Hanukkah gifts I mailed to Mom, Dad, Darryl, Daniella and Duckie today.
"Will you buy me a bow at the store for my present?" she asked, a little plaintively.
Drew nodded yes.
"OK," Rachel said. "That's a good idea."
***
I was upstairs sorting through some documents for a story I'm writing when Rachel quietly crept up the stairs (though not so quietly that I couldn't hear her quiet little breaths) and yelled, "ROAR!"
When I drew her onto my lap and hugged and kissed her goodnight, she gave me a little kiss, got up, and said this just before she went back downstairs:
"When it's time for you to go to sleep and you get distracted of work, you gotta go straight to sleep," she ordered. I could only thank her for looking out for me.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Rachel has a rough night
I got home late from work tonight to find a solemn Rachel in the kitchen. Drew was kind of quiet, too.
"What's the matter?" I asked, immediately sensing the mood.
Drew informed me that Rachel had accidentally dropped her little red plastic chair because she wanted to help Drew make dinner, and she dropped it on her toe. She yelped. Then a little later, she accidentally dropped Drew's salad and started crying. "I'm worried you'll be mad at me," she said.
"Sweetie, I'm not mad at you," Drew said soothingly. "Everybody has accidents. But the important thing is to figure out why you had the accident and to figure out how not to have it in the future. Because anybody can have an accident, but only some people can learn from their accidents. And if you're one of those people, you'll be better off than everyone else. Do you understand?"
She nodded her little head and Drew gave her a kiss.
***
Last night Rachel and I were reading books by the firelight (she brought in two books from her bedroom and said I could read one book and she could "read" the other. I ended up reading her both, of course).
One book was "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes," a book about all the babies who are born in the world. It used to make me cry while I read it to her as a baby, because there's a part that talks about a baby that was "truly divine, because THIS little baby is mine, all mine," and it captured exactly what I felt about Rachel.
Then I read the first "Knuffle Bunny" book, which made me teary-eyed. I was also completely exhausted from lack of sleep over the past week or so. I drew Rachel in to my lap and whispered, "please don't grow up too fast, OK?"
"Okay," she said cheerfully. "I probably won't grow up because I don't eat my vegetables."
I, of course, cracked up.
***
When Drew picked Rachel up from preschool today, she was playing with a kid in her class named Andrew. He marched right up to Drew and said, "Can I come to your house and play with Rachel? It'll be a playdate!"
Drew said he'd have to arrange it with Andrew's mommy and daddy. If it happens, it will be the first boy playdate we've had (besides Noah, of course; he and Rachel are really fond of each other). Good to see that Rachel doesn't think all boys are "awful," although she does tend to take my side against Drew when he does something, um, boy-like.
"What's the matter?" I asked, immediately sensing the mood.
Drew informed me that Rachel had accidentally dropped her little red plastic chair because she wanted to help Drew make dinner, and she dropped it on her toe. She yelped. Then a little later, she accidentally dropped Drew's salad and started crying. "I'm worried you'll be mad at me," she said.
"Sweetie, I'm not mad at you," Drew said soothingly. "Everybody has accidents. But the important thing is to figure out why you had the accident and to figure out how not to have it in the future. Because anybody can have an accident, but only some people can learn from their accidents. And if you're one of those people, you'll be better off than everyone else. Do you understand?"
She nodded her little head and Drew gave her a kiss.
***
Last night Rachel and I were reading books by the firelight (she brought in two books from her bedroom and said I could read one book and she could "read" the other. I ended up reading her both, of course).
One book was "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes," a book about all the babies who are born in the world. It used to make me cry while I read it to her as a baby, because there's a part that talks about a baby that was "truly divine, because THIS little baby is mine, all mine," and it captured exactly what I felt about Rachel.
Then I read the first "Knuffle Bunny" book, which made me teary-eyed. I was also completely exhausted from lack of sleep over the past week or so. I drew Rachel in to my lap and whispered, "please don't grow up too fast, OK?"
"Okay," she said cheerfully. "I probably won't grow up because I don't eat my vegetables."
I, of course, cracked up.
***
When Drew picked Rachel up from preschool today, she was playing with a kid in her class named Andrew. He marched right up to Drew and said, "Can I come to your house and play with Rachel? It'll be a playdate!"
Drew said he'd have to arrange it with Andrew's mommy and daddy. If it happens, it will be the first boy playdate we've had (besides Noah, of course; he and Rachel are really fond of each other). Good to see that Rachel doesn't think all boys are "awful," although she does tend to take my side against Drew when he does something, um, boy-like.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sweet girl
We spent today (the morning part of it, anyway) at my friend Amy's house with her husband Greg and the boys -- Tony, 8, and Jake, almost 5. We brought over some homemade gingerbread and had brunch. The kids played more or less together (Jake sulked when Tony paid attention to Rachel) and then Rachel asked Tony if she could go upstairs and play with his toys. He took her upstairs and then rejoined us downstairs.
After a while we heard a bloodcurdling scream, "DAADDYYY!" Drew went upstairs to investigate, then brought Rachel back down and sat on the living room couch with her, reading books. When I asked him later what had happened, he said that Rachel had accidentally turned on one of the toys and a song started playing. It was loud, and, as she told Drew, "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stop it and it would keep the boys awake."
I was totally speechless, and Amy was impressed. "She's so empathetic!" she said. "You can't teach that, you know."
Drew told us that he commented to Rachel about how she likes putting stickers on people. (She put three flamingos on Greg and one on me; and after we had moved into the kitchen and she was eating a piece of gingergread, she gave part of the piece to me and part of it to Drew, and then offered the rest to Amy and Greg). "I like giving people stickers because it cheers them up," she explained.
Later she sat on Amy's lap while Amy played the electric piano she and Greg recently bought. It was lovely hearing Christmas carols and then "Go Tell It On The Mountain." The house was filled with Christmas trees and decorations; it was very festive.
On the way home we talked about all the things we had to do with the rest of the day. "I can help you guys!" Rachel exclaimed.
Truly, we are lucky to have such a kind, compassionate daughter!
After a while we heard a bloodcurdling scream, "DAADDYYY!" Drew went upstairs to investigate, then brought Rachel back down and sat on the living room couch with her, reading books. When I asked him later what had happened, he said that Rachel had accidentally turned on one of the toys and a song started playing. It was loud, and, as she told Drew, "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stop it and it would keep the boys awake."
I was totally speechless, and Amy was impressed. "She's so empathetic!" she said. "You can't teach that, you know."
Drew told us that he commented to Rachel about how she likes putting stickers on people. (She put three flamingos on Greg and one on me; and after we had moved into the kitchen and she was eating a piece of gingergread, she gave part of the piece to me and part of it to Drew, and then offered the rest to Amy and Greg). "I like giving people stickers because it cheers them up," she explained.
Later she sat on Amy's lap while Amy played the electric piano she and Greg recently bought. It was lovely hearing Christmas carols and then "Go Tell It On The Mountain." The house was filled with Christmas trees and decorations; it was very festive.
On the way home we talked about all the things we had to do with the rest of the day. "I can help you guys!" Rachel exclaimed.
Truly, we are lucky to have such a kind, compassionate daughter!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Cookie party!
Today was the first of...let's see...two cookie exchanges, one brunch, two holiday parties, two Hanukkah parties, one Hanukkah celebration at synagogue, one dinner for a friend, one New Year's Eve celebration in Seattle. I'm probably forgetting something. Most of this hasn't even happened yet and I'm already pooped.
Anyway....today was a cookie exchange at the holiday party for the NU Club of Portland (I interview prospective NU students as part of the NU Alumni Association). It was at a lavish house 11 blocks from ours; gorgeous kitchen, great kids' play area in the basement, lovely old woodwork, a comfortable porch -- just what you'd expect from 1911 construction. Rachel spent most of the time playing downstairs and watching the Christmas version of the movie "Shrek." I left a little early because I had work to do at home, and as I walked through our neighborhood I was struck by how beautiful it looks this time of year, with Christmas trees in the living room and lights outside. I was especially touched by the Jewish house I saw with a menorah in every window, a treehouse decorated in blue and white lights, and dreidel stickers on the front door. Almost went up and knocked and said how nice it was to know that my neighborhood isn't totally Christian.
Rachel got some nasty cuts on her face today; while she was with Drew at the farmer's market, they went inside Portland State University to warm up, and she ran to him and crashed into the edge of a very sharp table. We put princess Band-Aids on the cuts under and above her eye; poor little thing looks like a prizefighter. I told her that because she's so little and growing so fast, the cuts should heal fast, too. I hope I'm right; I hate to have to explain what happened to the preschool teachers.
I was a bit blue today and Rachel picked up on it. While I was upstairs sorting through papers for the story I'm working on, she came up to me and put a heart sticker on my chest. "This is to cheer you up," she said. I told her she was such a wonderful little girl to think of me.
She's also developing a taste for old-timey music. "Paper Moon" played on the CD today, part of "Big Band" series of CDs I like to play, and as soon as it came on she told me, "I like this song because it cheers me up." Love that she's developing an appreciation for the classics!
Anyway....today was a cookie exchange at the holiday party for the NU Club of Portland (I interview prospective NU students as part of the NU Alumni Association). It was at a lavish house 11 blocks from ours; gorgeous kitchen, great kids' play area in the basement, lovely old woodwork, a comfortable porch -- just what you'd expect from 1911 construction. Rachel spent most of the time playing downstairs and watching the Christmas version of the movie "Shrek." I left a little early because I had work to do at home, and as I walked through our neighborhood I was struck by how beautiful it looks this time of year, with Christmas trees in the living room and lights outside. I was especially touched by the Jewish house I saw with a menorah in every window, a treehouse decorated in blue and white lights, and dreidel stickers on the front door. Almost went up and knocked and said how nice it was to know that my neighborhood isn't totally Christian.
Rachel got some nasty cuts on her face today; while she was with Drew at the farmer's market, they went inside Portland State University to warm up, and she ran to him and crashed into the edge of a very sharp table. We put princess Band-Aids on the cuts under and above her eye; poor little thing looks like a prizefighter. I told her that because she's so little and growing so fast, the cuts should heal fast, too. I hope I'm right; I hate to have to explain what happened to the preschool teachers.
I was a bit blue today and Rachel picked up on it. While I was upstairs sorting through papers for the story I'm working on, she came up to me and put a heart sticker on my chest. "This is to cheer you up," she said. I told her she was such a wonderful little girl to think of me.
She's also developing a taste for old-timey music. "Paper Moon" played on the CD today, part of "Big Band" series of CDs I like to play, and as soon as it came on she told me, "I like this song because it cheers me up." Love that she's developing an appreciation for the classics!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Rachel invents a word
Tonight Rachel finished a lollipop for dessert (she at a plateful of pasta shells, which is about all she eats for dinner these days except when we have chicken, duck or turkey soup. It's maddening that she won't even TRY vegetables. I can only hope she still develops normally) and she needed to know which place to put it...the paper garbage? Compost? Recycling?
"Is that garbageable?" she asked.
Astonished, I asked, "Did you hear Daddy say that? Or did you make that word up all by yourself?"
She smiled and said she made it up. I said something about her being very imaginative. Really, it's a great word. (And by the way, the lollipop stick went into the paper garbage. Apparently the first episode of "Portlandia," which airs Jan. 6, has a wonderful take on this city's obsession with recycling).
***
The stakes are getting higher for Hanukkah Mom: Rachel (and presumably her entire class) now knows the dreidel song: "Oh, dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it's dry and ready, my dreidel I shall play." And today, Teacher Erin informed me that the pastor of St. James wants to sit it on my talk. Great, now I'll actually have to be thorough and accurate. Perhaps I should just drop of the sufganyot and let them figure things out for themselves....
"Is that garbageable?" she asked.
Astonished, I asked, "Did you hear Daddy say that? Or did you make that word up all by yourself?"
She smiled and said she made it up. I said something about her being very imaginative. Really, it's a great word. (And by the way, the lollipop stick went into the paper garbage. Apparently the first episode of "Portlandia," which airs Jan. 6, has a wonderful take on this city's obsession with recycling).
***
The stakes are getting higher for Hanukkah Mom: Rachel (and presumably her entire class) now knows the dreidel song: "Oh, dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it's dry and ready, my dreidel I shall play." And today, Teacher Erin informed me that the pastor of St. James wants to sit it on my talk. Great, now I'll actually have to be thorough and accurate. Perhaps I should just drop of the sufganyot and let them figure things out for themselves....
Monday, December 5, 2011
Hanukkah Mom
And so my life as a cultural ambassador begins: I was asked (actually, Drew was asked) to invite me to give a talk about HANUKKAH to the kids at St. James. Yes, it's a Lutheran church but a lot of non-observant Christians go there and I was very surprised to hear that Rachel is the only Jewish kid in her whole preschool. So guess who gets to try to convince all the children that Hanukkah is really a better deal than Christmas because you get EIGHT presents instead of one, and you don't have to listen to Daddy curse as he trips over the Christmas lights, and eating ham is a lot more boring than sufganyot and latkes??
I plan to head to a craft store and make a big menorah out of construction paper, complete with candles that the kids can "light" just before they head home for the night. And you bet I'm going to play up the Maccabees' victory (which all the warrior kids will love) and ply everyone with jelly donuts (homemade, if I can manage it) and teach them the dreidel song, plus the song in Yiddish than Mom and Dad taught us when we were kids...Rachel can almost sing it by herself! A 3 1/2 year old learning Yiddish! In America! Oy vey!
***
Tonight Rachel said that she and Andrew, a kid in her class, were playing "werewolves" in school today, and that they tried to scare all the other kids.
"We were running around and getting lots of exercise," she said. "He was a boy one and I was a girl one."
***
One of the reasons I'm glad to be teaching the kids Hanukkah songs is that Rachel has already started memorizing Christmas songs. Nothing with Little Lord Jesus, thank God, but enough mentioning Christmas that I can't help wincing (in fairness, she asks me to sing her the Yiddish Hanukkah song almost every night).
It's also my fault that I play albums like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and some other Christmas-themed albums because, let's face it, there aren't any decent Hanukkah albums out there (I'm hoping Paul McCartney's recent marriage to a Jewish socialite will change that; he supposedly is converting to Judaism next year). Anyway, Rachel listened to a verison of "Do you hear what I hear?" and instead of "a child, a child/shivers in the cold/we will bring him silver and gold," she substituted, "the bumblebees, the bumblebees/we will bring them pollen/we will bring them pollen," which I thought was completely adorable.
***
She was so sweet tonight; as we cuddled in her bed together, she reached over to me, just like I do to her, and swiped my nose gently with her index finger, then kissed me softly on my cheek and lips. And just before she fell asleep, she kept patting my cheeks with her little hand.
Yes, it's true: I'm in love.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
We have reading!!
Drew, who is by far the better parent than I (me?), always is searching for teachable moments with Rachel. For instance, she knows the basics of very simple subtraction because while she was working away at her Halloween gummy bears, he'd say, "OK, you have 6 bears on your plate. What's six takeaway one?"
It took her a couple of tries, but now she knows to say, "Five!"
When she gets down to one, and Drew says, "What's one takeaway one?"
"Zero!" she shouts.
Drew apparently doesn't intend to introduce her to negative numbers. Yet.
***
OK, so tonight I was mixing up some chocolate quick bread as part of a fundraiser for our synagogue (the auction winner gets one quick bread per month from me, for six months; we're starting with chocolate peppermint bread and moving on to gingerbread, pumpkin bread, cinnamon streusel bread, banana chocolate chip bread and finishing up with orange tea bread) when Drew came in and announced flatly, "Rachel can read."
"What?!?" I gasped. "You really need to let me turn off the mixer before you drop a bombshell like that."
Turns out there was a reason she didn't get to bed tonight until after 10 -- they were reading "Snow White" for the millionth time, and Rachel asked, as usual, what certain words meant, and then Rachel started sounding them out, like Drew told her to, and after a couple of tries she can now read "the" wherever it appears in the story. And "snow." and "white."
She may, in fact, be reading even before she's 4! War and Peace, anyone??
***
Cute Rachel sayings today:
At breakfast this morning, she asked me, "Is today a school day?"
"No, sweetie!" I answered cheerfully.
"Yay!" she said. Then added in a singsongy voice, "I can fool around!!"
***
Drew and I were up quite late last night -- me watching an escapist movie because I really needed to; Drew finishing up the latest book he's reviewing for the Seattle Times. Result: We slept quite late this morning -- until 9ish -- and Rachel, bless her little heart, was so quiet! She never even knocked on our door.
Finally I heard her breathing outside, got up, pulled on some clothes and took her into the kitchen.
"I was windering, 'when are they ever gonna wake up?' she said. "I was worried!"
***
Drew made cinnamon French toast for breakfast out of the challah he bought yesterday. It was delicious. Rachel noticed our 90-year-old neighbor, Fay, through the kitchen window.
"I'm having cinnamon French toast, neighbor Fay!" she said (Rachel apparently believes "Neighbor Fay" is her name). "Do you want one? Is it yummy?"
It took her a couple of tries, but now she knows to say, "Five!"
When she gets down to one, and Drew says, "What's one takeaway one?"
"Zero!" she shouts.
Drew apparently doesn't intend to introduce her to negative numbers. Yet.
***
OK, so tonight I was mixing up some chocolate quick bread as part of a fundraiser for our synagogue (the auction winner gets one quick bread per month from me, for six months; we're starting with chocolate peppermint bread and moving on to gingerbread, pumpkin bread, cinnamon streusel bread, banana chocolate chip bread and finishing up with orange tea bread) when Drew came in and announced flatly, "Rachel can read."
"What?!?" I gasped. "You really need to let me turn off the mixer before you drop a bombshell like that."
Turns out there was a reason she didn't get to bed tonight until after 10 -- they were reading "Snow White" for the millionth time, and Rachel asked, as usual, what certain words meant, and then Rachel started sounding them out, like Drew told her to, and after a couple of tries she can now read "the" wherever it appears in the story. And "snow." and "white."
She may, in fact, be reading even before she's 4! War and Peace, anyone??
***
Cute Rachel sayings today:
At breakfast this morning, she asked me, "Is today a school day?"
"No, sweetie!" I answered cheerfully.
"Yay!" she said. Then added in a singsongy voice, "I can fool around!!"
***
Drew and I were up quite late last night -- me watching an escapist movie because I really needed to; Drew finishing up the latest book he's reviewing for the Seattle Times. Result: We slept quite late this morning -- until 9ish -- and Rachel, bless her little heart, was so quiet! She never even knocked on our door.
Finally I heard her breathing outside, got up, pulled on some clothes and took her into the kitchen.
"I was windering, 'when are they ever gonna wake up?' she said. "I was worried!"
***
Drew made cinnamon French toast for breakfast out of the challah he bought yesterday. It was delicious. Rachel noticed our 90-year-old neighbor, Fay, through the kitchen window.
"I'm having cinnamon French toast, neighbor Fay!" she said (Rachel apparently believes "Neighbor Fay" is her name). "Do you want one? Is it yummy?"
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