...for playing with her castle, after I broke it apart while trying to move it out of the corner and onto her rug (I did manage to put it back together):
"Rule number one: No saving the princess. Rule number two: No breaking the castle. Rule number three: Do NOT take anything out of place. And rule number four: They go on adventures and they do NOT sit around reading the newspaper like you were doing at breakfast, Mommy."
p.s. The prince and princess who come with the castle are brother and sister, not husband and wife, and the princess is 18 and the prince is 16, and she is constantly catching up in her arms when he does dumb things like try to shimmy up the roof (yes, Rachel used the word "shimmy" today) after his big sis and ends up falling into her arms.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Snow!
We've been socked by snow, sleet and freezing rain. My only comfort is that Portland is going through the exact same weather system, so we wouldn't be any better off if we were there than if we were here.
Yesterday was magical: Ruth and Steve stopped by for breakfast on the way back to Chicago. They brought the perfect Hanukkah gift for Rachel: a pink down coat!! Rarely do we get to use gifts immediately after we get them, but yesterday was the exception. As soon as they left, Drew raced out to buy groceries and other stuff we needed for the house, and I announced to Rachel that we'd be taking a walk (it had started to snow in earnest). We went outside and made footprints in the backyard, then slid down the snow-covered slide (it was really wobbly), then went for a walk and wrote our names in the snow on the sidewalk. I had wanted to walk along the bike path to the playground but poor Rachel was shivering in her boots -- they were rain boots, not the snow boots she really needs -- and even though we ran into a friend of hers from school, Marat, I told her we could walk back home if she really wanted to. She said yes.
As soon as we got home, I made us homemade hot chocolate and popcorn, and Rachel and I settled in for the entire three-hour version of "The Sound of Music." Drew, who can't stand the movie, unpacked the groceries, read the Sunday paper, and then I made baked chicken and shells for dinner. One of the things Drew picked up was a TON of wood, so perhaps we'll have a fire tonight. Or tomorrow.
This morning the snow was gone but school was cancelled (!). In fairness, the streets were still icy and there was ice on the trees, which is making me nervous because if one big branch falls on my car I am TOAST for transportation. Luckily I didn't have to work, so Drew went in while I tried to wake up. Rachel and I played with the approximately 10,987-piece plastic Playmobil castle Drew bought her for Hanukkah and finally assembled this past weekend. At one point I told her that I had to take a nap; she whined and pouted but I just went into my bedroom and crashed. After she gave up trying to get my attention (which included hiding in my closet for a while), Rachel climbed in bed next to me and we both fell asleep for about two hours, waking only because Ivy's mom called and said Ivy wanted to come over.
I broke up about three arguments between them before they finally settled down to drawing and then decided to go to Ivy's. So now I am desperately trying to get done everything I'd hoped to do with the day I'd assumed I would have all to myself. The house is filled with the smell of tomato soup, which is bubbling in the crockpot and we'll have for dinner tonight with homemade challah and latkes. Hey, the weather may be crappy but at least my family eats well....
Yesterday was magical: Ruth and Steve stopped by for breakfast on the way back to Chicago. They brought the perfect Hanukkah gift for Rachel: a pink down coat!! Rarely do we get to use gifts immediately after we get them, but yesterday was the exception. As soon as they left, Drew raced out to buy groceries and other stuff we needed for the house, and I announced to Rachel that we'd be taking a walk (it had started to snow in earnest). We went outside and made footprints in the backyard, then slid down the snow-covered slide (it was really wobbly), then went for a walk and wrote our names in the snow on the sidewalk. I had wanted to walk along the bike path to the playground but poor Rachel was shivering in her boots -- they were rain boots, not the snow boots she really needs -- and even though we ran into a friend of hers from school, Marat, I told her we could walk back home if she really wanted to. She said yes.
As soon as we got home, I made us homemade hot chocolate and popcorn, and Rachel and I settled in for the entire three-hour version of "The Sound of Music." Drew, who can't stand the movie, unpacked the groceries, read the Sunday paper, and then I made baked chicken and shells for dinner. One of the things Drew picked up was a TON of wood, so perhaps we'll have a fire tonight. Or tomorrow.
This morning the snow was gone but school was cancelled (!). In fairness, the streets were still icy and there was ice on the trees, which is making me nervous because if one big branch falls on my car I am TOAST for transportation. Luckily I didn't have to work, so Drew went in while I tried to wake up. Rachel and I played with the approximately 10,987-piece plastic Playmobil castle Drew bought her for Hanukkah and finally assembled this past weekend. At one point I told her that I had to take a nap; she whined and pouted but I just went into my bedroom and crashed. After she gave up trying to get my attention (which included hiding in my closet for a while), Rachel climbed in bed next to me and we both fell asleep for about two hours, waking only because Ivy's mom called and said Ivy wanted to come over.
I broke up about three arguments between them before they finally settled down to drawing and then decided to go to Ivy's. So now I am desperately trying to get done everything I'd hoped to do with the day I'd assumed I would have all to myself. The house is filled with the smell of tomato soup, which is bubbling in the crockpot and we'll have for dinner tonight with homemade challah and latkes. Hey, the weather may be crappy but at least my family eats well....
Monday, December 2, 2013
Happy Hanukkah!
Since my temp job has me working nights during the week, tonight was the only real night that we could all celebrate together and open presents. By some miracle I managed to get dinner on the table -- lamb chops, pilaf, reheated latkes, salad -- just as Drew walked in. We lit the menorah, Rachel said the prayer (as she always has this past week; I'm so proud of her) and we all ate dinner, then went into the study (the repository for all the gifts and our de facto hangout place in the house) to open presents. THANK YOU Tia Daniella for the fondue set, and Aunt Kay sent wonderful books, and Drew bought Rachel a fabulous game for kids 6+ that I at first thought was too complicated but she was really getting the hang of it by the end of the night. It involves a castle, rolling dice to find treasure along the way, remembering what trees the treasure(s) are under, and being the first to tell the king. Anyway, Rachel won the first round.
Rachel is also getting very, very good at reading. She read half of a book from the library today about four female animals, all of whom have different skills -- soccer, painting, dance -- and she was a real champ at sounding out all the words. After a while she got so tired that she asked if she could just look at the pictures and I said, sure. I kept asking her if anyone had read the book to her before. She said that Daddy did "a long time ago, but I forgot the words so I'm sounding them out." Really, it won't be too long before she starts burying her head in books and we have to yell at her to stop using a flashlight under the covers and GO TO BED!!!
Rachel also announced that she had a bad day today. She said it when I picked her up from aftercare and I kept telling her to hurry up. "Can you please not yell at me because I had a really bad day!" she said, bursting into tears. Turns out that Ivy apparently zoned in on one of Rachel's classmates during recess and indicated a clear preference for playing with Addie instead of Rachel, and Rachel said that was so unfair, and that she felt left out, etc. and started crying. I tried to tell her that just because Ivy wanted to play with Addie, it didn't mean she didn't like Rachel, she just wanted to play with someone else, and that she should try to play with other kids, too. And then she said she plays tag with the boys but then gets bored and runs away, and I said that she should stick with tag because it's a great way of building up her ability to run fast.
Later, at dinner, she said she'd had a great day. Go figure.
Rachel is also getting very, very good at reading. She read half of a book from the library today about four female animals, all of whom have different skills -- soccer, painting, dance -- and she was a real champ at sounding out all the words. After a while she got so tired that she asked if she could just look at the pictures and I said, sure. I kept asking her if anyone had read the book to her before. She said that Daddy did "a long time ago, but I forgot the words so I'm sounding them out." Really, it won't be too long before she starts burying her head in books and we have to yell at her to stop using a flashlight under the covers and GO TO BED!!!
Rachel also announced that she had a bad day today. She said it when I picked her up from aftercare and I kept telling her to hurry up. "Can you please not yell at me because I had a really bad day!" she said, bursting into tears. Turns out that Ivy apparently zoned in on one of Rachel's classmates during recess and indicated a clear preference for playing with Addie instead of Rachel, and Rachel said that was so unfair, and that she felt left out, etc. and started crying. I tried to tell her that just because Ivy wanted to play with Addie, it didn't mean she didn't like Rachel, she just wanted to play with someone else, and that she should try to play with other kids, too. And then she said she plays tag with the boys but then gets bored and runs away, and I said that she should stick with tag because it's a great way of building up her ability to run fast.
Later, at dinner, she said she'd had a great day. Go figure.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
fantastic holiday weekend
I'll work backwards, since Drew isn't here right now to fill me in on what he and Rachel did while I was away at my temp job. Yesterday we managed to Skype with PopPop, Mammaw, and Aunties Amanda and Jenn! What a fantastic time we had; we talked about camping, and housing prices, and Rachel got to show off some of her lovely artwork. This was after a lazy morning of us all sleeping late since I didn't get to bed until 2 a.m. the night before. Or was it the day before? Anyway, Rachel has spent the last two nights sleeping in her most excellent present from Tia Daniella and Darryl and Valerie -- a PRINCESS TENT! Yeah, as in most things, Daniella is better than me at Hanukkah gift-giving for kids.
Speaking of Hanukkah, Drew has made it a point to light the candles and have Rachel say the blessing every night while I've been away. She has absolutely loved her presents so far -- a Hello Kitty toy microphone, the tent, a light-up pillow pet, and she doesn't even know what we're building up to, although she has already guessed correctly. She's such a happy, unspoiled kid, it's so nice to be able to make her smile with gifts!
This morning we thought Ivy and her brother Liam were going to be coming over for breakfast, but they never showed. So, Drew used the eggs he'd bought to make us chocolate chip pancakes. Then we arranged a spur of the moment playdate with Rachel's friend Simone from school, and Drew went grocery shopping while I make some gingerbread and popped it into the oven. My friend from college, Charon, and her husband Wes and son Cameron are coming over for dinner tonight, so I'll be cleaning and cooking until they arrive at 6:30. Tomorrow Drew and Rachel go back to work and school, and I promised to make lamb for dinner and a pot roast for later in the week, since it's my day off. And after THAT, I'll probably take a rest from cooking for a while!
Speaking of Hanukkah, Drew has made it a point to light the candles and have Rachel say the blessing every night while I've been away. She has absolutely loved her presents so far -- a Hello Kitty toy microphone, the tent, a light-up pillow pet, and she doesn't even know what we're building up to, although she has already guessed correctly. She's such a happy, unspoiled kid, it's so nice to be able to make her smile with gifts!
This morning we thought Ivy and her brother Liam were going to be coming over for breakfast, but they never showed. So, Drew used the eggs he'd bought to make us chocolate chip pancakes. Then we arranged a spur of the moment playdate with Rachel's friend Simone from school, and Drew went grocery shopping while I make some gingerbread and popped it into the oven. My friend from college, Charon, and her husband Wes and son Cameron are coming over for dinner tonight, so I'll be cleaning and cooking until they arrive at 6:30. Tomorrow Drew and Rachel go back to work and school, and I promised to make lamb for dinner and a pot roast for later in the week, since it's my day off. And after THAT, I'll probably take a rest from cooking for a while!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Proud mama moment
So, we got the results of a reading readiness test that the school district gives kindergarteners at the beginning and end of kindergarten. The test assesses things like whether the kids can recognize certain letter sounds, read certain words, recognize rhymes, sounds, know the alphabet, simple spelling, etc.
The benchmark score -- i.e., the expectation for kindergarten -- is a score of 28. The highest possible score is 102.
Rachel scored a 95.
This explains an exchange that happened at recess last week. Rachel noticed, in her words, that one of the 2nd grade girls was "excluding" another little girl. "You're being disrespectful," she scolded the 2nd grader.
"What's 'disrespectful' mean?" the girl asked.
See my point?
The benchmark score -- i.e., the expectation for kindergarten -- is a score of 28. The highest possible score is 102.
Rachel scored a 95.
This explains an exchange that happened at recess last week. Rachel noticed, in her words, that one of the 2nd grade girls was "excluding" another little girl. "You're being disrespectful," she scolded the 2nd grader.
"What's 'disrespectful' mean?" the girl asked.
See my point?
A troubling trend
Rachel is not the perfect child; she can get whiny and mopey when she doesn't get her way. Sometimes she even has a mild temper tantrum when one of her friends isn't home to play, or we won't let her do something she'd like to do.
Drew and I rarely yell at her and never spank her; we just speak sternly to her and tell her to knock it off. Or, we'll let her know that we're disappointed in her behavior. Her reaction is very interesting (and heartbreaking): usually she'll hug me fiercely and say, "I want MOMMY," and start to cry, and then she'll offer to do something dramatic, the worst thing she can think of to punish herself. Usually that involves throwing her favorite stuffed animals or her bathrobe in the garbage. Once in Portland she said she tried to hit and pinch herself as punishment (this was when Drew was in D.C. and I was trying to close out our life in Oregon and I flew off the handle at some tiny thing she did. I was so upset that she was trying to hurt herself that I took her into my lap, sobbed, and told her to promise me that she'd never, ever hurt herself again. She hasn't done that since).
Anyway, tonight she did something similar. She was upset at the end of "Angelina Ballerina" that there wasn't enough music on the movie for her and Drew to dance to (they usually dance at the end of all the episodes before she goes up to bed) and so she got whiny and said, "it's not FAIR!" Drew had to remind her that she'd had a very nice day and gotten her way on a lot of things, and that it didn't make sense for her to focus on the one thing she didn't get.
When it was time for her to say goodnight to me after her bath, she got all weepy, and said "I want MOMMY."
"What's the matter?" I asked her.
"I want MOMMY!" she insisted.
I hoisted her onto the counter and said gently, "are you upset at yourself that you made such a fuss after the movie?"
"YES!" she said, bursting into tears. "I told Daddy that we should stop celebrating my BIRTHDAY!"
I told her gently that I understood that she was upset she had acted that way and that she wanted to punish herself, but told her that instead of doing that, she should focus on how not to exhibit that behavior in the first place. "Can you try to remember that next time?" I asked her.
"Yess," she said. "I hope I don't cry on the way to school. I don't like crying in public. Everyone looks at you and it's embarrassing."
I told her a week or so ago, when she insisted on throwing her stuffed animals into the garbage to punish herself, that she shouldn't do that. I took her into my lap, looked into her eyes, and said, "Rachel, the world will punish you enough. Don't punish yourself, OK?" Evidently that didn't take.
Hopefully, our discussion tonight will.
Drew and I rarely yell at her and never spank her; we just speak sternly to her and tell her to knock it off. Or, we'll let her know that we're disappointed in her behavior. Her reaction is very interesting (and heartbreaking): usually she'll hug me fiercely and say, "I want MOMMY," and start to cry, and then she'll offer to do something dramatic, the worst thing she can think of to punish herself. Usually that involves throwing her favorite stuffed animals or her bathrobe in the garbage. Once in Portland she said she tried to hit and pinch herself as punishment (this was when Drew was in D.C. and I was trying to close out our life in Oregon and I flew off the handle at some tiny thing she did. I was so upset that she was trying to hurt herself that I took her into my lap, sobbed, and told her to promise me that she'd never, ever hurt herself again. She hasn't done that since).
Anyway, tonight she did something similar. She was upset at the end of "Angelina Ballerina" that there wasn't enough music on the movie for her and Drew to dance to (they usually dance at the end of all the episodes before she goes up to bed) and so she got whiny and said, "it's not FAIR!" Drew had to remind her that she'd had a very nice day and gotten her way on a lot of things, and that it didn't make sense for her to focus on the one thing she didn't get.
When it was time for her to say goodnight to me after her bath, she got all weepy, and said "I want MOMMY."
"What's the matter?" I asked her.
"I want MOMMY!" she insisted.
I hoisted her onto the counter and said gently, "are you upset at yourself that you made such a fuss after the movie?"
"YES!" she said, bursting into tears. "I told Daddy that we should stop celebrating my BIRTHDAY!"
I told her gently that I understood that she was upset she had acted that way and that she wanted to punish herself, but told her that instead of doing that, she should focus on how not to exhibit that behavior in the first place. "Can you try to remember that next time?" I asked her.
"Yess," she said. "I hope I don't cry on the way to school. I don't like crying in public. Everyone looks at you and it's embarrassing."
I told her a week or so ago, when she insisted on throwing her stuffed animals into the garbage to punish herself, that she shouldn't do that. I took her into my lap, looked into her eyes, and said, "Rachel, the world will punish you enough. Don't punish yourself, OK?" Evidently that didn't take.
Hopefully, our discussion tonight will.
Rachel the chef
Looks like I'm not the only chef in the family. Rachel, who has taken a cooking class this past semester after school, insisted on making us colored waffles this morning. Drew helped her with the dye, and so she and I had pink waffles and he had blue. (The actual waffles she had learned to make in cooking class were filled with whipped cream, but we started small this morning).
Oh, and last weekend she made us cinnamon tortillas, a dish she had watched the cook at her preschool make. They were excellent.
Of course, Drew helps her put together the dishes, but she is also a big help to me when I make things for dinner parties and special events. Yesterday she cracked the eggs for the chocolate silk pie without making a mess, and she knows how to punch down the dough (and knead it, too) for challah. We are just at the point when I can give her a couple of tasks and then do other parts of the meal, confident that she'll follow my directions.
One of my goals is for her to cook us one meal a week by the time she's 9. We figure that meal will be pretty simple: tacos, maybe, or spaghetti with meat sauce, but at least she'll be confident enough in the kitchen to have picked up the basic life skill of cooking for herself (and others). We'll also round out her education by taking her to the grocery store and having her comparison shop for ingredients and work within a budget. Maybe we're pushing her to be grown-up too soon, but I love the idea of her learning how to be on her own years before she has to do so.
Oh, and last weekend she made us cinnamon tortillas, a dish she had watched the cook at her preschool make. They were excellent.
Of course, Drew helps her put together the dishes, but she is also a big help to me when I make things for dinner parties and special events. Yesterday she cracked the eggs for the chocolate silk pie without making a mess, and she knows how to punch down the dough (and knead it, too) for challah. We are just at the point when I can give her a couple of tasks and then do other parts of the meal, confident that she'll follow my directions.
One of my goals is for her to cook us one meal a week by the time she's 9. We figure that meal will be pretty simple: tacos, maybe, or spaghetti with meat sauce, but at least she'll be confident enough in the kitchen to have picked up the basic life skill of cooking for herself (and others). We'll also round out her education by taking her to the grocery store and having her comparison shop for ingredients and work within a budget. Maybe we're pushing her to be grown-up too soon, but I love the idea of her learning how to be on her own years before she has to do so.
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