Slip-On Sneakers: The After Photo

This photo is for Cathy, so we have the before-and-after of these sneakers.



DuckyBoy doesn't know how to tie shoes either, but it's not just a spectrum issue. My friend whose 9-year-old son is totally typical (well, by New York city kid standards anyway, haha) said he asked her to tie his new basketball shoes ... and until he asked her, she hadn't realized that he hadn't learned yet! It's just so easy to buy the slip-on and Velcro shoes now.

DB got into the habit of walking on the heels of these shoes, and also we had to switch from slip-ons back to Velco-closures for school, because he'd also fiddle with his shoes while siting at his desk. Darn near drove his kindergarten teacher crazy! So these were his summer '08 shoes, I think. When I saw Cathy's post about Ethan's new shoes back in November I dug these out ... and this is how long it took me to upload it!

Christmas Haiku

Breathe in scent of pine
Dots of color show the way
to fun this morning

A helicopter
hovers proudly atop it
not really that strange ...

We do pick something
that flies in the air: angel,
reindeer, star or ... this!

Stocking is open
by seven thirty a.m.
Now on to big stuff!

Fresh coffee has brewed,
the parents are awake now,
let's see Santa's loot!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, including me! (I can still celebrate Christmas on my own blog, right?)

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 3 lines, and count syllables, 5-7-5. The best haiku evoke a feeling of place or emotion. (Unlike mine which are often factual.) More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). Don't sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. if you'd like, pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week.

Arguments Still Surprise Me: Haiku Friday

Cloud of angry words
dissipates slowly with time
the storm is over...

the hist'ry to blame
still lurks on the horizon
love's winds can't blow it

far enough away
to keep squalls from popping up
out of sunny skies ...

I'm never prepared,
need a better predictor --
Accu-Argument?

I'm just not always good at knowing what I do that will make Husband upset. Or when his reaction to something DB does (or, in this case, doesn't do, as in listen to us) will escalate to full-blown yelling. (I guess that just makes me human. But Husband is a systematizer by nature, finding ways to do things better, learning from every mistake ... so he expects me to improve the process every time!!)

All the work DB's teachers do to teach him voice levels, to modulate himself when he's angry, and what does he live with: a "level 5" voice.

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 3 lines, and count syllables, 5-7-5. The best haiku evoke a feeling of place or emotion. (Unlike mine which are often factual.) More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). Don't sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. if you'd like, pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week.

Chicken and Sweet Potatoes: Delicious Recipe

I found this recipe on the back of a carton of Swanson Chicken Broth. It appealed to me primarily because I had most of the ingredients -- a couple of sweet potatoes that needed to be used, part of a carton of broth, and the spices. I never cook meat on the stovetop -- I either Foreman-Grill it or bake it -- but this sounded too good not to try. And it was soooo good!

I altered the amounts a little bit based on what I had and it was fine.

Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

• 1 TB oil
• 4-5 chicken pieces*
• 1 c broth (using more will give you a nice little broth to pour over the meat)
• 1 TB garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. rosemary
• 1/4 tsp. thyme
• 1 or 2 sweet potatoes, cut in half-inch pieces
• 1 or 2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (leave whole if you prefer)

1. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 10 mins or until it's well-browned on both sides. Remove chicken and set aside.

2. Increase heat to high. Stir broth, garlic, romsemary, thyme, potatoes, and green beans into skillet. Heat to a boil and cook 5 mins.

3. Return chicken to skillet and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 12 mins or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender.


* I used 5 bone-in thighs; the original called for 4 boneless breasts. I also used pieces with the skin on, and the skin stuck to the bottom of the pan and came away from the meat, so the top of my meat wasn't browned. But we had some awesome cracklins for an appetizer!!

September 11 Poem

I wrote this shortly after the towers fell. I just found it in my old Franklin-Covey planner and thought I'd better type it up before I lost it.


Nine Eleven

I sat in those chairs
held onto the handrail of the escalator
thumbed through the books
rode the elevator to the top.

I remember spending an afternoon
in awe at the vistas
looked out the windows from the top
waiting for sunset
so I could see the night view too.

Walked the tiles.
My DNA lingered thedre.
When the towers came down,
I felt the loss immediately.

What of the suicide pilots?
Their ashes also mingle
with the victims'...
and have become part of American soil.

Lonely Haiku Friday

Where are the 'ku-ers
to fill up Mister Linky
with five-sev'n-five verse?

Onto Mount Haiku
the lonely hostess doth climb,
out of breath at top,

taking but a glance
at the reams of prose 'round her,
she seeks the rare 'ku

that can make her laugh
or quite take her breath away
with subtle beauty

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 3 lines, and count syllables, 5-7-5. The best haiku evoke a feeling of place or emotion. (Unlike mine which are often factual.) More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). Don't sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. if you'd like, pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week.

About Me: Six Easy Questions (OK, 5)

My friend Nancy sent me this cute fill-in email chain. I liked it because it's not too long. Especially since I didn't bother to answer one of them about who would answer it if I forwarded it, since I decided not to forward it (but I did send it back to her).

Six names you go by:
1. Janice
2. Jan
3. janny226
4. Babe
5. Mommy
6. Mrs. H

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Blood:Water Mission bracelet
2. My "Beer Helps" t-shirt that I scissor-ripped just to try the process and my friend told me, "That's so 80s!" but I wore it out in public anyway 'cause I kinda like it even though people gave me dirty looks in Stop & Shop for wearing it while having too much fun with my kid
3. A grey t-shirt under the other one because it's cold outside!

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To eat more chocolate pretzels
2. To weigh 30 pounds less

Three things you did last night:
1. Wrote a "task card" for the school library craft project
2. Cut out penguin beaks and feet for the school library craft project
3. HAD THE WHOLE BED TO MYSELF (Husband's at a conference)

Two things you ate today:
1. Peanut butter on toast
2. Mozzarella sticks that DuckyBoy said are "just like the ones at school!" (They're his favorite school lunch.)

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Husband
2. DuckyBoy's friend's mom

Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Talk on the phone
2. Edit the workbook for this week's class on writing a business website

Your favorite beverages:
1. Coke from a glass bottle
2. Tequila

BlogHer NYC Holiday Party: Haiku Review

BlogHer holiday
NY party -- with Jory! --
was a nice event.

A mix of bloggers
and sponsors, it seemed to me,
and int'rested folks ...

Washington Square Park,
Great Neck's Motherhood Later,
Gympressions and Curves ...

Snacks rocked @ Pranna,
chutney, sliders, shrimp, and naan ...
fusion like the crowd!

Proud I went alone,
wish I'd remembered my cards,
but still glad I went.

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 3 lines, and count syllables, 5-7-5. The best haiku evoke a feeling of place or emotion. (Unlike mine which are often factual.) More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). Don't sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. if you'd like, pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week.

Participatory Democracy

Last week I attended a New York City Council committee meeting about funding for arts programs in the public schools.

It was really interesting to see how the process works. "Wheels of justice turning slowly" indeed. The meeting started at 1 pm, we moved to a larger chamber at 2:00, and the meeting was finally over at 4. Or maybe it was 5. At any rate, I was part of the last group to give our testimony.

And I think I was the only person there without some other agenda other than just wanting my kid to continue to have art classes. And guess what? My kid hates one of his art classes! (Music.)

Everyone else either worked for an arts organization or was somehow connected to some group that made money or something from dedicated arts funding.

Now, I did attend becuase a group I'm a part of, Center for Arts Education, asked me to, but even the other parents -- all 4 of them-- had some other reason. 1 guy is a musician and he wrote a cute song ("You can't spell 'smart' without 'art", thanks Tom Chapin!); another is getting her teaching degree in, yep, art, so she'd like a job in a few years, and so on.

And I was the ONLY person who told a STORY about ONE kid. Everyone else spoke in generalities or referred to statistics about the value or art in relation to academics. I told a story that illustrated it:

During writing time at school, the way they do it to draw their story, then write the words. DB tells great, detailed stories, but he would only write clipped, short ideas. I thought it was handwriting issue, but last spring the art teacher taught him to draw people beyond the stick-figure style, and now he tells better stories.

I can only think it's because he now is confident he can draw what he wants. His people are still sticks (I didn't say that in my testimony), but he CAN draw whatever he wants.

They liked my story!

I was impressed with the attitude of the committee chairs who had to stay the whole time and listen to new people say the same thing over and over. They were polite and positive and thanked us for staying till the end. One guy who had to leave at 3 (clearly no one had expected the crowd they got) even apologized.

Haiku Friday: Thanksgiving Edition

Just enough turkey
on my plate to enjoy it,
didn't overeat.

I skipped the stuffing
and we skipped the overnight:
good to be back home.

DB had nuggets,
warm crescent rolls; for dessert
peanut butter cup.

Didn't fight with him
at all about what he ate
pleasant all around.

Husband's family
of origin issues are
another story...

Whatcha gonna do,
it's only one day a year,
the rest to ourselves.

We all went around and said something we are thankful for:
* Skids and Mudflap the ice-cream twins Tranformers (new as of yesterday)
* Judy Moody books that have gotten DB to enjoy reading
* That our niece/cousing.granddaughter's recent surgery went well
* That we live in America
* That we were together and travelled safely
* Employment
* Our clients

It was nice. Plus, I have a sour-cherry pie here at home from the school fundraiser last week, and boy is it good! So that's my Thanksgiving treat.



Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

Haiku Friday, Now With Gratuitous Cute Baby Photo!

Busy busy week
s'posed to be a week off? Ha!
didn't quite happen.

I was going to use this past week to catch up on a lot of things. Somehow, it ended up being mainly more of the same, though I did make time for some rejuvenating activities. Like meeting this little guy here. Is he a sweetie or what??

Anyway, the busy work is actually leading to some income for us, so that's a yay!

And Husband and I spent last Saturday learning lots of interesting stuff about WordPress (am I allowed to say that name on my Blogger blog?). My favorite idea I came away with is to start a blog for the books of the month, and for photos of our related library crafts.

I also want to figure out how to scan and make Powerpoint presentations out of the books of the month so the kindergarden kids can "watch" them be read on the Smartboard instead of squinting to see the pictures.

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

Annd, Haiku Friday Sneaks Up on Me Again!

Really no excuse
for forgetting this again ...
what is my deal here?

With a little help from DayQuil to control the cough I woke up with, I had a great time in the school library today. Each month DB's school features a different book that inspires discussion and projects. We moved the "bucket drops" from the October book-of-the-month, How Full Is Your Bucket, to a different wall, then made a new display of vegetable soup inspired by the November BOTM, Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen.

We also have to add something new from now on-- the librarian said the principal told her to add a "Task sheet," describing what the kids did for each project and why, like this: "Using crayons, K and 1st-grade students decorated foods inspired by Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen, including onions, carrots, string beans, noodles, tomatoes, potatoes, cheese and bread."

It was fun to write them up and make those pages fit the theme of each display, and I also think they help make the projects look more "official," instead of purely "for-fun."

Next week we're going to decorate mittens and hats and read the book Caps, Hats, Socks and Mittens. Guess who's bringing the craft? Bring it on!!

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

INSERT MISTER LINKY LINK HERE

Health Care Debate: The Necklace Edition

This is the first and least relevant of my questions about the health-care bill that passed the House this weekend ...

Why was Nancy Pelosi wearing a lariat of Twizzlers?

Was it her emergency snack for the all-night session?
Photo by Yuri Gripas/ Reuters

After the Flea Market: Me and Mini Me

I made a whopping $8 for my $84 investment at the flea market. (Not counting the $100 to get the sewing machine repaired mid-project, since that would have happened sooner or later anyway...) But it was a good time anyway.

The best part: Finally meeting the guy I keep hearing looks just like DuckyBoy. I think they're adorable. (DB didn't see any resemblance.) You be the judge:

Haiku (Late) Friday!

Omigosh, I completely forgot it's Friday until @rmitty FF'd me on Twitter... I read her tweet and went, uh, Friday, isn't there something I do on Fridays?? ... Yikes!

I haven't even posted since last week. Ironically, what I've been doing is helping other people create websites and, yes, blogs! There's God showing that divine sense of humor!

And then there was Halloween to recover from. It was loads of fun. We went with some friends to Metropolitan Ave, DB had a blast dancing at one stop and shoved his way to the front of the candy line with the rest of 'em. My favorite part of trick-or-treating was that DB kept holding up his candy-holding pumpkin and making it say, "I'm not full enough! Is that the best you can do?"

My favorite part of the whole day was spending the rest of the evening at our friends' house and getting to play Wii tennis and bowling and letting the kids play. That, and NOT dressing up. It was nice weather so I just wore my Old Navy Halloween shirt and orange jack o' lantern hat and was happy about it. For once I didn't need to dress up to have a good time.

Plus my feet hurt so much Friday night that there was no way I could be Laura Ingalls a 2nd day in a row!

On Sunday we let DB eat as much Halloween candy as he wanted -- my friend was pretty shocked, 'cause she has A Plan for doling it out to her kids and then tossing it. Yep, as long as he ate healthy-ish food periodically throughout the day, he could pretty much go to town. I liked that he kept asking me if it was OK to have more, though.

Hey, Jan, how about a haiku? Well, let's get one going:

Sewing like crazy
to make a craft sale deadline ...
we'll know tomorrow

if I make money
with my holiday/fall wreaths
and some outgrown clothes...

DB's school is hosting a craft/flea market as a fundraiser, the idea being that the school sells you a table and then you can sell whatever you want. So I bought one to support the school and got the bright idea to make these fabric wreaths my MIL makes for her church fair every eyar.

I actually was hoping she'd have some leftovers lying around, but when I asked he she was like, "Here's the pattern!" which actually is really cool, except she didn't warn me that the first 5 of these buggers you make are the Hardest.Ever!! I have made every mistake possible when only doing straight-line sewing.

And my sewing machine broke.

And DB broke one of the styrofoam wreaths as we were walking out of the store with it. Niiice.

More cosmic sense of humor! I figure, for next year I'll be all warmed up. Meanwhile I have 4 to sell tomorrow plus some of DB's outgrown winter coats and assorted clothes.

I had big plans to make some cool holiday handbags too, but it's just a pain to even find the right stores that carry the right fabrics near me. So, next time. I'm proud that I've completed all the ones I could. It's a lot for me right now to follow through on something like this.

But meanwhile, I apologize for not getting this posted earlier!

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! Even though I have barely kept with the tradition of Haiku FRIDAY, I do promise to carry on the tradition of deleting any links without haiku...

Have a great weekend!

Haiku Friday: Boo!

Ms Frizzle will take
this year off from Halloween;
it's a new girl's turn ...

She lived with her Pa
and Ma and fam'ly out West
back in the wild days ...

One bad thing about
Laura Ingalls Wilder is
her name's not a good haiku ...

that, and I had to
make husband color my hair
to get out the grays!

Happy Haiku Friday and Happy Halloween to all!


Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

My First Giveaway: 6 Tickets to Bronx Zoo!

I love Halloween, and I've always wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo's "Boo at the Zoo" event but we haven't made it yet.

This year, I've got tickets to give away, and I'm putting it on the calendar for us on Sunday--we may even take DB's friend who's coming for a playdate.

It sounds even more fun than what I thought I knew -- there's a hay ride, hay maze, batty theater, "Haunted Safari Adventure," magic, pumpkin carving demos, and of course crafts. Kids in wildlife costume get in free. DuckyBoy's Transformers outfit doesn't counts as wildlife (how about if he was a DinoBot, I wonder?), but I do know other kids whose interests run more to the animal kingdom. (Oh, and there's a photo contest for best wildlife costume that has a whole boatload of tickets as the prize.) The Aquarium has fun stuff for the weekend too.

Anyway, the giveaway! Courtesy of the Bronx Zoo, I have 6 tickets that can be split up any way we want. Two were for me and Db but since we've got a membership I'm adding them to the giveaway!

So we can do 3 and 3 or 4 and 2 all 6 together. (I already know somebody who'd love 3!)

Here's the catch, you've got to use them Saturday.

If you want an alternative to daytime trick-or-treating on Saturday, or something seasonal to do while you wait for an evening candy roundup, just leave a comment below and tell me what your kid(s) are going to be this year for Halloween, and how many tickets you'd like. Thursday night at 10 pm ET, I'll use a random-number generator to pick a winner, and then another if they're not all gone!

I've got the tickets at my place in Queens, and will make sure you get them by Saturday or Sunday.

Good luck and BOO!

Haiku Friday: Time Slips Away

Tink, I know you like
to do your 'ku quite early,
for 2 weeks I'm late!

Sorry about that!


Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

Haiku Friday: Better Late Than Never

Many wins this week
DB dealt with the downs, too ...
they were hard on me! :)

DuckyBoy did great this week! I made him wait to get a toy until he got 2 stickers at school -- they have a reward system where you get one warning, on the 2nd thing you lose your sticker for that half of the day, and the 3rd time they ahve to speak to you (same or different offense) you have to write a consequence report.

When you get 10 stickers you get a prize. And at Back-to-School night, I noticed DB had the fewest stickers by half, literally.

So this week when we found one of the Transfomers he wants, he's out of spending money so I bought it, then had the idea to make him earn it by having a 2-sticker day.

At first he thought that was impossible! But he has had them before, at least once or twice, so I assured him he could (plus I emailed his teachers a heads-up, not so they'd go easy on him but so they'd know).

The very next day, he almost did it -- but had different teachers (who also know him well but didn't know "the plan," but it's fine) in the afternoon and acted out a bit right at the end of the day ... and was devastated that he didn't win his toy!

Whined and pleaded the whole way home, and got angry, adn tried sugegsting all kinds of things he would do at home if he could earn it that way.

It was really hard, but held firm.

And the following day? He got it.

He also lost his beloved Sigg bottle last week and found it on his own this week -- under one of the big freezers in the cafeteria, he thought to look there. A nice win!

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

I Do Care About The Earth

I decided to participate in one of my first blog "things," which is Blog Action Day on the subject of Global Warming.

It's amazing how organized the, uh, organizers are, suggesting angles and topics to write about, tips to give, links to more reading. SOme of the links I'm too scared by the thought of globals warming's effects to even click trhough to, but others -- like a Scientific American post from late 2007 on "10 Solutions for Climate Change" are more my speed.

I like the idea of the site Kids V. Global Warming also, though it'll be a tough sell right now to DuckyBoy that one of the things you can do is things like have less stuff and use less electronic media! The boy on the home page is like a teen, so maybe I should just give him a few years. But keep preaching now.

The idea behind 350.org is also intriguing, but the more I consider participating in this type of Blogger preaching, the more hypocritical I feel.

I drive almost everywhere.
I have an apartment much bigger than I need.
I leave my computer on overnight.
I fill the bathtub with hot water for DB's baths (though they're not as frequent as they once were...).
I throw food out uneaten (but only when it goes bad before I get to it or after I forget about it).
I eat at fast-food restaurants.
I buy prepackaged, processed foods.
I wash my hair with chemicals that go down the drain.
I forgot to turn my lights off for Earth hour.

Well, that's enough "true confession" for now (which by the way is something we strongly advise our clients not to do!).

I also recycle.
I return my cans and bottles (or try to toss 'em where someone else can).
I reuse lots of old stuff for fun with DuckyBoy.
My consumption of new clothes and shoes, and accessories for self and home, is way below the American average.
I buy used.
I resell or give away instead of tossing things out.
I turn out lights.
We keep our radiator knobs off so our apartment's not too hot and hopefully the people at the edgse of the building can get enough heat.
I wash my hair less often now that it's long.
I eat the carbohydrates in the fridge instead of throwing them out, because good food shouldn't be wasted.
I try to teach DuckyBoy why these things matter to me.

OK, I feel a little better now! I think it's time to turn off the computer, and get in bed.

Hamster Comments, Please!

DuckyBoy would love for people to comment on the cute online hamsters we added to his blog. You can play with them and they don't smell or nip!! Enjoy!

PS, I visited Supergirl today for a minute, she was busy rutzing around in her bedding but I still said hello so she'll remember my voice.

Of course I wanted her to run up to the top level of her cage and squeak, "Take me home!" but she didn't.

Which bodes well for her as an adaptable little animal. (I'll get over it.)

I also felt really good about myself today, the school librarian had several crafty projects lined up for me, and me especially! I've basically decorated the entire library for the present time. (I do the frameworks that the kids' artwork gets displayed with.)

If I'da had my camera I'd have taken a picture of my paper-collage Border collie; next week, if I remember!

Haiku Friday: Who Am I Again?

Women on the web,
words on a screen to connect
the flow of our thoughts.

A big issue is
the time when the kids are gone...
what to do with it?

Not quite empty nest,
it's more like empty hours.
Who will I become?

Brain filled with "to-do's,"
I've forgotten who I was
before motherhood.

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku.

Supergirl's Tale

Supergirl was last year's class pet in DuckyBoy's first grade class. She is a Chinese drawf hamster, light brown with a darker stripe running down the center of her back. At fast glance, she looks like a mouse. Only up closer do you notice the stripe and her short, nonmouselike tail.



Her first week in the classroom, before she had been named, she bent the bars of her wire cage (which was supposed to be safe for small animals of course) and, on a Friday morning, escaped.

When the teachers and children arrived, they had to be very still and look for her in their second-floor (this matters later on) room. But she did not appear!

So the day went on.

Later in the morning, one of the kindergarten teachers on the first floor called maintenance: She had seen a mouse!

Fortunately, the science teacher who was in charge of the search for the missing hamster got wind of this, and arrived in the classroom to find the kindergarten teacher ready to throw a book at, not a mouse, but the hamster!

With the help of a pile of sunflower seeds and a small cage, the science teacher capture the hamster and returned her to her classroom -- first in a large aquarium tank, and then by Monday she'd returned the wire cage in favor of a safer plastic cage.

Interestingly enough, the male hamster in the cage did not escape, and presumably slept through it all.

On Monday it was time to pick names. The boy was named "Brian," and the name "Supergirl" won hands-down for the girl.

And that is how Supergirl got her name!

In the spring, she had babies. They were tiny and bald and blind and slept in a muddle in the corner of the cage. The mommy and babies were removed from the main cage for a while, until the babies were bigger.

When the little family was reunited with Brian the daddy hamster, he apparently went after the babies, whereupon Supergirl went after him.

He was promptly removed and never seen again. (The story is he was returned to the pet store. I don't even wanna know if that's a euphemism or not, but I'm sure the science teacher wouldn't hurt him.)

When summer came the science teacher asked for volunteers to take al the class pets home over the summer. Supergirl came home with us and, as is my wont, we promptly spoiled her with fluff, felt, and tubes to run through and sleep in. Oh, and watermelon seeds and a big play area for when we cleaned her cage. And an exercise ball to run around the house in (supervised, of course).

Guess what! I took her back today, and DuckyBoy will soon start to earn a hamster of his very own. I thought it would be one of Supergirl's babies from last spring, but he's already in a classroom -- so once DuckyBoy earns her with enough good-behavior stickers, we will get Supergirl back for good! [Edited from earlier when I said we might get her or her baby -- guess the science teacher decided this would be best all around!]

I'm so excited.

Haiku Friday: Supergirl Goes Back to School

I'll miss Supergirl,
she gets a class tomorrow --
Take good care of her!

Trying not to show
how sad I am about it
for DuckyBoy's sake.

So far, he's OK,
one class he hopes she's not in:
a kid from the bus.

She's mouselike and caged;
my affection surprised me
for one such as this.

Supergirl is the Chinese Dwarf Hamster we've had for the summer from DuckyBoy's class last year.

We're planning to get one of her babies from last spring as our very own hamster to keep; but his school team and I have cooked up a plan for him to EARN the hammie with good behavior. I hope he earns it soon!


Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

How Do YOU Know It's Fall?

For me it's not a date on the calendar, or back-to-school, or colored leaves.

All those things are duly noted, of course, but what really tells ME fall has arrived is my skin.

I can go weeks during the summer months without putting on my Oil of Olay face cream, and all summer long I only truly need to moisturize the rest of me when I shave my legs or have been in a pool or ocean.

But then comes a day in mid- to late-September when, suddenly, I feel a slight tightening on my face after my shower. Time to moisturize.

Time for fall.

What's your harbinger of fall?

The Clean Hands Song

You know how the schools all tell the kids,
"You should wash your hands for as long as it takes to sing the alphabet or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, through twice?

Well, why don't we teach them a song to sing about what they are doing instead?

Goodbye, goodbye, little germs,
How I want to make you squirm!
Send you down the drain so quick
So you will not make me sick,
Goodbye, goodbye, little germs,
How I want to make you squirm!

Goodbye, goodbye, little germs,
How I want to make you squirm!
Though you are too small to see,
Soap and water make you flee,
Goodbye, goodbye, little germs,
How I want to make you squirm!

Haiku Friday: Love Note to Poets

I enjoy haiku,
but I like all of you more --
you inspire my week!

Love getting to know
little bits about each one
from shared words and pix

Should we spread the word
and get more poets to join?
Meanwhile, carry on!

Would you like to haiku today?
To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

Thrifty Birthday Party Budget

We had a great party for DuckyBoy's 7th birthday. As some of you know, we are living fairly comfortably this year off last year's excess income (the Lord DOES provide), but are trying not to be extravagant since simply living in NYC is an extravagance itself.

So, we set a budget of $200 for this year's birthday party.

It helped that DB got into his head to "only invite 8 kids," I think because he saw that the birthday paper products come in 8-packs. So, despite my usual inclination to invite more, more more, I invited 8, and didn't even invite more when I got a couple of no's.

So, we ended up with 7 kids, including DB. It was plenty.

We always invite parents, too, 'cause no way am I crazy enough to have a drop-off party, and most of my friends are Nest parents anyway and they aren't ready to drop their kids off anyway. So we feed the adults too, which some people might not do. So there were 8 adults who ate dinner.

And, in true Poverty Party fashion, here are the actual expenses:

Cake: $23
This included a Transformers cake-topper toy DB had been eagerly awaiting. It's a bit of a dud because It.Will.Not.Stand when properly transformed, but there's a priceless lesson right there.

Beverage total: $36
Beer (plus bottle deposits): $18
Soda (plus bottle deposits): $13
Ice for the cooler: $5

I splurged on beer we like, Stella Artois and Blue Moon, and on the little 100-calorie cans of soda 'cause they're cute and Husband likes them.

Food total: $73
5 lbs beef brisket: $25
Other food: around $48

I got buns from a local bakery outlet, BOGO potato chips, and a few veggies from our weekly CSA box, which all helped. And we have a bunch of stuff left over -- buns, bbq brisket, veggies, and a whole $7 package of nuggets -- so some of this can roll over to the grocery budget, right?

Paper goods: $25
I got both sizes of plates and both sizes of napkin, plus extra 99-cent plates in case we needed more. I could have returned one pack of big plates abnd a pack of big napkins, if I hadn't opened them already. Could still return $1.98 of plain plates, but is it worth the gas? Anyway I'll use the napkins for his mini-party at school.

I didn't buy a Transformers tablecloth; I had one with the right colors (red and blue) so I used that. Also, I decorated with a couple of printouts of the page I scanned to make his t-shirt, and also with drawings of Optimus Prime cut from gummy boxes (I've been saving them for this). Oh, we did buy one poster for $2 (half the price we'd seen weeks earlier at the same place!)

I made a $4 impulse splurge on little popcorn boxes so the kids could have popcorn while they watched the cartoon on the big TV. Those were SO worth it. Could have skipped the $14 worth of nuggets, in fact, since we let them snack first...

Games and prizes: $25
Um, we didn't play any of the games I planned. DB has a lot of toys, and after they watched a Soundwave episode of Transformers Animated, they colored these paper guitars I have left over from a splurge order of misc. nonsense years ago from Oriental Trading, and they played with those.

Soooo, we didn't hand out any of the prizes. Well, we had one $3 ring we dubbed the Allspark ring (it's a blue square), which we gave DB's girlfriend 'cause she was the last one there. (Her mom said, "Is this an engagement ring?!")

But DuckyBoy already knows about the prizes, so I don't think I can return them (except $3 worth and again, worth returning? hardly). I'm hoping to save them for rewards for the school year -- a week of completed homework or of no reports of yelling, stuff like that.

Favors: $27 + $10 = $37

I made favors for 10, and here's why. Two of DB's friends each have 2 younger sisters. I didn't know if one set was coming, and knew only one of the other set was coming, but didn't want the sister-who-couldn't-come to feel left out. 'Cause I like her. Now, they're younger, and they're girls, so I thought they might prefer something other than Transformers stuff, so for those 4 girls I got some different stuff. About $10 worth of stuff. Would do it the same next time.

My friend on LI had her son's favors in brown paper bags, which made me want to save those few bucks too. So we gave DB the choice -- Transformer goody bags, OR he could have the $ they would have cost (which was like $8 since I'd have needed 2 sets!). He chose the money, so all I spent was $1 on ribbon to tie the bags shut. (I folded the top over and punch2 holes, then tied each bag shut and put the name on. I think they looked nice.

6 favor boxes had: Transformers coloring book with mini markers, bubbles, package of gummies, and an Allspark cube.
4 had: Tiny purple notebook, Pez dispenser (shh! don't tell DB!), gummies, bubbles, and 2 got a coloring book and 2 got an Allspark.

Other: $54

• About $20 for a plain T-shirt and iron-on transfer paper, which I had to buy twice (long story).
• $4 for a special birthday-boy ribbon to put on his shirt. Which we forgot to put on him, but he'd worn it the day we got it and got the use out of it. Maybe we'll reuse it for the class party.
• $30 for babysitter. I expected more siblings who'd have needed wrangling. Even though the group of kids was smaller, she was still a big help. Plus I just liked having her around.
  

Grand total: $286.

• About $15 of the prizes, I will use for rewards.
• At least $25 worth of food and beverages was left over.
• He'll wear his custom $20 t-shirt all year long.
  
• $5 of paper goods will go toward his school party, for which I'd have to buy something anyway (and still need to come up with other favors for).

So that's $65 worth that, with some creative accounting, can get lopped off, meaning I can think of my party expense as: $221.

Since we spent cash we'd been saving from our weekly budget, Husband says it seems like it was free.

But he also said that for what we did, a low-key home party, it seemed like it should have only cost $50. Next year he can do more of the shopping!

Relationship Poem: Asking for What I Want

It Used To Be Enough...

The thought that he
found me sexy
used to be enough

His passion fueled my passion,
any touch was welcome

Now the touch is the same
but the skin is thin

the differences hang
in the air
over me

I regret never asking,
not ever really thinking about,
what would feel best to me

for now so much time has gone by

not a lie, really,
more a miscalculation
of what it means
to be with someone


* * * * * * * * * *
I wrote this awhile ago (like, within the past year)
and just found the slip of paper.
Don't feel like this so much right now,
but I didn't want to lose it.

It's true that I do have trouble asking for what I want
and sharing what I like and what makes me feel good
both in and out of bed.

I'm getting better at it.

Political Quote

I'm not turning into a political blogger, and these days my politics are somewhat in question anyhow, but I heard someone say this on NY1 this morning. I thought I'd be able to find out more about who said it and what show, but I can't seem to -- looks like it was maybe someone from the NY Times so they don't let NY1 have the online rights to that show or something. Anyway, here's the quote:

"There is no God-given right for any organization to receive a grant from the United States government."

I think it says a lot about our country that a statement like that even needs to be made.

Haiku Friday: The Pain of Being 7

Frustration rises,
spills over into tears, a
scream from the backseat.

"I've been there," I say.
"What do you mean?" he says, shocked
I could get his pain.

"It was a long day,"
I say in a soothing voice.
"Sometimes school is rough."

"Let it out," I say.
One more strangled scream bursts forth,
then there is silence.

This has been the first full week of school, and the first week of DuckyBoy's long-awaited (on his end!) experience of going to After-School. For the most part he's happy to be there, to have free time time to talk to and play with and just be with the kids he likes.

But it makes for a long day; he gets on the bus at 7 am and I picked him up between 5 and 5:30.

And, a couple days ago he got teased at school, then yesterday he retaliated and he's the one that got into trouble (rightly so -- but a tough lesson for him to learn, literally; he does not understand the ramifications of his actions on the other student).

And so, there we were in the car, and out came a scream. And I didn't yell at him. He was so surprised. It was one of those moments where you think, "I hope that helps him in the long run, because it seemed like the right thing to do and say..."

And now, I'd like to apologize for haiku'ing about parenthood so much! This is not Haiku Parenting Friday! It's for everyone!

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

Cool Music on Tour: Elvis Plays Sitar

If you're in Texas, Chicago, or in between this fall, consider attending an Aradhna concert (check their website for the tour dates).

Aradhna plays music I'd never, from the description I got, have thought I'd like: Indian sitar music.

Now, I've heard Indian music. To my ear it can be whiny sometimes.

But this is a white guy with American influences in his head playing it -- and to me it comes out like, Elvis plays sitar.

We were blessed to have Chris and Pete stay with us during a NY stay a couple years ago, and after we heard their sound we were so sorry we'd skipped the concert!!

Pete, DuckyBoy, and Chris in NYC 2007

Do these look like the nicest guys in the whole world or what? They are. (Well, except maybe for that one in the middle. We're working on that.)

They are committed to playing Christian music in a style that can reach a largely non-Christian population, which is also way cool. Looks like Pete will not be on the tour but I'm sure Chris, who is the sitarist, will be surrounded by with other wonderful musicians.

Princesses on the Brain

After we filled in as much of our Transformers alphabet as we could last weekend, DuckyBoy told me I had to write my own "Alphabet of Princesses" since I am the girl.

At first I thought, There aren't that many Disney princesses yet... but then I thought, It's not such a bad idea. The Disney helpless lasses could be mixed in a book with real-life strong women, like Queen Elizabeth (both of 'em) and Princess Di, who had a fairy-tale life to some extent but found strength to follow her own pursuits.

My approach to learning is to meet the kids where they're at -- DB and I have been translating Bible stories into Transformer stories lately, and boy did the Good Samaritan rock his world!) -- so it might give the K and 1st grade girls something a little more substantial to read, a little non-fiction princess action!

Then a few days ago I got a Tweet from @AmandaSteinberg with a USA Today blog post called "The Princess Problem," talking about how too much Princess might, and this is just one blogger's opinion now, and I'm paraphrasing, make young women more passive about our lives instead of expecting to take charge of our own destiny.

Interesting. I think a non-fiction, easy-reader book could help with that! (Am I writing a blog post here or a query?)

Plus all the little-girl modern princesses could be mentioned too, 'cause it's kinda neat that there still are princesses in the world.

Anybody have a favorite historical princess they'd like featured?

The Truth About Elvis!

I apologize for all the edging marks -- I'm not so great with Illustrator yet...

Recently DuckyBoy and I stumbled across a whole galaxy's worth of YouTube videos reviewing various Transformer Toys.

One of our favorite reviewers is SeanxLong. His humorous asides have sparked several interesting conversations between DB and me:

DB: "Why does he have the Autobots talk about looking for girls a lot?"

Me: "Because he's a young man, and that's what young guys do and think about."

But! When we watched Sean's 100th-video special, we found out a secret! Learn what really happened to Elvis at about 2 mins: 30 secs into the video ...



The story of how Grimlock and the DinoBots come to be was just on this morning. I don't get to see much while DB watches it before school, so I actually watched it myself while I had my coffee after DB got on the bus!

Fortunately I haven't had to tell DB what "beyatches" means yet. Can you watch the language, Jazz? Thanks!

Haiku Friday: 8 Years Ago Today

I'll never forget.
When the first tower was hit
I was on the street,

My street in Brooklyn,
Watching workmen gaze skyward
(But just one or two)

Got on the subway
oblivious to the drama
just two stops away

A woman got on
sat down and started to cry,
"People were jumping..."

Knew something was wrong
When a suit and a workman
Were talking as peers ...

At Grand Central Sta.
I got off with the woman
to find her her train --

Me, concerned for her;
She, close to hysterical;
then I go to work

We look out windows
And try to call our loved ones
a few blocks away

Finally reach Husband,
then I walk to his office
just across midtown

As I cross Fifth Ave.
All stand still and look downtown --
And a tower falls.

Fireman Vinnie Kane,
a friend of a friend of mine,
may you rest in peace.

I wasn't sure 9/11 would lend itself to haiku, nor did I know what I was going to haiku about until I realized Friday's date. It was a sad day to live in New York City. And freaky to realize that I was on one of the subway lines that went right under the Twin Towers, about an hour before the towers fell.

I was so afraid my friend Nancy was in the towers. She lived downtown and I couldn't reach her until the next day. She has a story of her own of that day, and of the aftermath, but I am grateful she was OK.

There's some controversy this year about whether or not every network needs to carry the reading of every name. I think an effort should be made to make sure at least one major network carries the reading of the names each year, but otherwise it is up to those of us who know the names and remember the day and the people to make sure their sacrifice is not forgotten.

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

Organic Beats Technology (Again)

How funny is this story about the pigeon who beat the Internet? Anyone who's waited for a download or a heavy-laden site to come up will appreciate it.

You know what it reminds me of, the story of hammer-swinger John Henry beating the steam driver. We listen to the Johnny Cash version of that story all the time.

DuckyBoy loves to say he'd root for the steam driver. And he'd much rather be a Transformer than a human. This'll really break his heart! LOL

The Great Tomato Soup Saga of 2009

Yesterday for lunch DuckyBoy acquiesced to eating tomato soup with Goldfish crackers and some cheesy munchie mix.

We began with the tomato soup mug about half-full, because I know he never eats too much of the soup itself.

He ate most of the crackers and a tiny bit of soup and then announced he was full.

I let him take a break, then told him he had to finish the soup.

Oh, the wailing and gnashing of teeth that ensued!

I put it in the subway-map mug. It was full but it's much smaller, so it looked like less.

Relieved that it was less than he thought, he agreed to eat/drink more while I read to him.

The book finished, he'd had the rest of the crackers and about a third of what was in the subway cup.

"Fuulllllllllll!" he complained.

As much for me as for him, I proceeded to pour the remaining soup into a measuring cup. It was a measly quarter-cup of soup. I was not going to feel guilty about making my kid have a quarter-cup of soup That I Know He Likes.

I put my foot down: We were not going to go outside, or play (both of which he wanted to do) until that soup was gone.

Now, I never do this. Many other people do, I know, it's not a new concept to make your children clean their plates, but I tend to be more laissez faire -- when he's hungry he cleans his plate, when he's not he doesn't.

But this is ridiculous -- he agrees to soup and drinks a tablespoonful?!

So it was a real OK Corrall-style standoff. After a few moments of his fussing I finally said, "You can eat this soup or go to your room!"

Oh, that was NOT what he wanted to hear! He went in and out of his room a couple of times, then --surprise, surprise! -- managed to drink the rest of the soup.

I think the novelty of having it from the measuring cup helped.

But good grief! It takes a cabinetful of cups to feed a child ...