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Mighty Bear
Nov. 20th, 2009
07:28 pm - Chase's "E" algorithm
Chase has been working hard on his writing. "S" is his Moby Dick, but "E" is also giving him problems. I found his thought processes interesting, so here it is for posterity. . .
First he draws the long line on the side. Then he draws the bottom line in the correct position, the middle line, and the top line, evenly spaced. Sounds good so far, right? What he hasn't figured out is how long to make the initial up/down line, so he ends up with something like this:
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He sees that there's a problem, but his solution, rather than to erase the extra top part (or not draw it so long in the first place, or draw his top and bottom line at the top and bottom, and the middle one in the middle) is to just make a bunch of sideways lines until the long line is all filled up. Then he screams angrily at it because there's something not quite right about *that* either.
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He'll learn =)
Nov. 9th, 2009
06:26 pm - Maybe it's time to buy some action figures
Or "action fingers" as Connor calls them.
They're playing some royalty-based game right now with a plastic hammer and a shoe as the king and queen. Of course, their forms do impart special abilities that royalty doesn't always have (stomp-power and hammer-power of course)
Nov. 7th, 2009
05:43 am - Tooth Fairy Drama
Connor lost a tooth Thursday, and apparently the Tooth Fairy was not working that night - or at least, that's what we thought, until Connor found out that a classmate who'd lost a tooth the night before HAD gotten a visit from the Tooth Fairy. Maybe she had to go home sick half-way through her work.
Last night there were more complications. I kept going in to make sure everything was in place for the Tooth Fairy, but Connor was anxious for his prize, and was having trouble sleeping. Apparently, the Tooth Fairy was finally able to leave a dollar, but without being able to take the tooth. Connor woke up at 3 AM to discover the dollar AND the tooth and that was apparently very sad, probably sad enough to be worth waking up the whole house over.
So the Tooth Fairy worked overtime, waiting for Connor to drift off again. In spite of my suggestion to put the tooth right under the edge of his pillow, Connor held the tooth in a vise-like grip (but still under the pillow of course). The Tooth Fairy finally had to leave a note thanking him for the tooth, but asking him to leave it on the kitchen table instead of under the pillow.
I wasn't sure how it would go over, but after he read it he did a silly dance of joy all over the living room. Apparently a note from T.F. is very exciting and makes up for any service glitches.
Oct. 31st, 2009
08:51 pm - Happy Halloween!
I have to say that as much as possible, a friend of mine from the U.K. tells me.
Anyway, a good day was had by all in spite of a crappy weather forecast. They made good time trick or treating and got a ton of loot. At one house, though, Connor blurted out "All you have is lollipops??"
Ingrate.
There are a bunch of pictures on flikr, but here are a few of my favorites:
Super Why, mounting his trusty dinosaur steed . . . 
Super Why and Mario striking a heroic pose . . .
Mario, ready for action . . . 
My cute boys! 
07:18 am - Curses; early kick-in of logic skills!
I was helping set up at Chase's class' Halloween party yesterday. The teacher was leading the kids through songs and other cute things for the parents that attended. At one point she was giving out play construction hats to kids, but she was making them recognize a letter of the alphabet first.
I was not paying attention when Chase named his letter, so she had him name two letters for my benefit (I think that's what was going on, anyway.) Later on in the car Chase asked "Mommy, why did I have to name two letters to get my hat?"
I said "Because you are SO SMART, Ms. Yohaira wanted you to name two letters!"
Chase preened and said "Yes, I am SO SMART! . . . " and I thought "good, mission accomplished, he feels proud."
Then he said "And my classmates are NOT so smart like ME, because they only had to name ONE letter! I am the only one that is so SMART!"
Great, so now when we wonder on what day he became insufferably egotistical, we'll know.
Oct. 25th, 2009
02:15 pm - Fogo de Chão rolls - success!
I love these little suckers! Sean and I tried various recipes/mixes with little success. The rolls we made didn't come out badly, but they were not the perfection that is to be found in the Fogo rolls.
I was recently doing my daily read of the entire Internet when I came across a recipe that appeared to be straight from the horse's mouth, so of course I tried it this weekend. Huge success! Here's the recipe, and I'll discuss my findings below . . .
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Fogo de Chão Cheese Bread Recipe
"Pão de Queijo"
4 eggs
¾ cup corn oil
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sour tapioca flour (azedo)
1 cup sweet tapioca flour (doce)
¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well until
batter is smooth. Lightly grease a 12- or 24-cup mini-muffin pan or small dariole molds.
Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Breads should be crisp on the outside and hollow on the inside, like a popover. Serve
Warm. Makes 48-60 Puffs.
Sweet and sour tapioca flour can be found at Brazilian food stores.
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OK, now here's the lowdown.
First of all, I used these ingredients exactly (I even got $24 a pound parm cheese) except I used skim milk instead of whole. I bought my flour at Assi, the International Food Mart that's right next to my work. The bags of flour were $2 each and each had enough for 2-3 full batches.
Second, I halved the recipe, fully realizing that I would eat 48-60 puffs if that's what I made.
When I mixed the ingredients I immediately decided that the recipe was not correct - I ended up with a very very thin mixture - it was almost like pouring milk into the muffin pans.
I had nothing to lose, though, and put it in the oven anyway. I peeked in and saw to my surprise that they actually looked just right! Hooray!
TIP 1: Get a big funnel, put your finger over the tip, then pour the batter into the funnel and dispense the batter into the tins by releasing your finger from the tip of the funnel for a second. Or else mix in a measuring bowl with a sharp spout.
IMPORTANT NOTE 1: Do NOT let your rolls brown in the oven. They should be at MOST very light tan - any of what looks like a healthy brown makes them taste very very yucky. Take them out sooner rather than later. I am talking to YOU, Sean. I cooked them about 11-12 minutes instead of the 15 suggested in the recipe.
IMPORTANT NOTE 2: Use a non-stick muffin pan and do not grease the pan at all. I used some muffin tins I got at Publix, so they weren't high end or anything, but they were so non stick that the rolls were ejecting themselves from the tin without my help. If you grease the pan the rolls can get very oily. In fact, when you take them out of the oven, you'll find pools of oil at the bottom of each of the muffin cups.
SUGGESTION 1: Use less oil than is called for. If I had any complaint its that they were too oily. I cut down on the oil in my second batch and I think I could cut down still more.
And just some observations: My puffs looked great in the oven, but when I took them out they deflated very much. Still tasted good, but they were not perfection. Since this is a simple recipe for a food I adore, I'd love any suggestions about how to keep them from deflating. Could it be because I used skim milk? Julie suggested I should cool them more gradually instead of taking them from the oven to the cold counter - since they deflated mostly on cooling, that seems like a good idea, I'll try it next time. I also wonder if I peeked in to be sure they were done too often, since I didn't want them browning at all.
Also, and possibly related, the rolls weren't as substantial as the ones at fogo - less like a very light puff and more like a deflated balloon. Maybe I'll try more of the starch next time.
That unappetizing picture aside, though, they tasted at least an 8 where Fogo rolls are a 10.
02:00 pm - "Hey, that's not just for moms!"
I was on Amazon trying to check out a rumored universal wish list. I clicked on "Wish Lists" and a page popped up that had lots of different gift suggestions for different types of people (Dads, Grads, Grandmothers, etc). One of them was "Moms," of course. The featured item for that list was a Kitchen Aid mixer, and I thought "Hey, it's not just moms that would like those, I like it! I wonder what else in that list I'd like?"
And then I remembered I was a mom.
Oct. 22nd, 2009
12:26 pm - "I'm wrong. . ." "NO, *I'm* wrong!!"
Chase: Parak Obama is the mesident.
Connor: NO! It's MARAK Obama!!!
Chase: Yeah, Parak Obama is the mesident of EARTH
Connor: Marak Obama is the president of the whole entire UNIVERSE (I see Connor is headed towards conservatism) . . . oh wait, Mom, how can Marak Obama be the president of the United States of America? Does he speak all the different languages? Does he talk to people? Even Nevada people? How does he speak to people who speak Spanish or Chinese? Is China in the United States? (Not yet!)
Oct. 18th, 2009
07:31 am - First Official Report Card!
Hopefully Mark will scan it in soon, but I'll sum up - graded on many different skills, Connor got what amounts to an A+ in reading, A's in almost everything else, and a B in "rhythm" (from music class) and in identifying coins - he thought a nickel was a quarter. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, recognizing nickels and being able to tap out a beat are fine things to lag in, although they might ruin his potential for street-musician-type career paths.
In terms of behavior, he got "progressing" instead of "successful" on the following skills:
Works independently, stays on task, uses self control, expresses feelings appropriately, controls talking.
Yeah, pretty much we've noticed these issues at home. He has a serious lack of self-control, I'm really hoping this will come with age, because I don't think that beatings will help.
Oct. 14th, 2009
03:51 pm - EEEEEEEEK!
I was just thinking today that since Tilde has been shut out of the bedroom, she hasn't felt the need to throw up every day anymore, thus reinforcing my belief that she does it just to annoy me. But it seems she's upping her game in the face of adversity . . .
The upside of Fozzie's departure is that we can now use the dog door that goes out back. Mac can let himself out any time he likes (and sometimes he 'likes' 10 times an hour, so it's reduced our workload quite a bit.) The downside is that Tilde can go out whenever she likes. She's getting up there in age for a cat, but she's very spry and agile, so I don't worry too much. I'm happier with her going out back than out front, which she often did when we opened the garage door. At least no large animals can get into the backyard.
Today, though, I am regretting the dog door. Tilde somehow caught and dismembered a squirrel and left it in pieces right outside my van door. At least she didn't bring it inside the house. I can go without using the garage until a braver person can get rid of the body.
If the bodies start coming inside, I may close off the dog door again. And if she throws up squirrel guts, I may have to move. *sigh*
Oct. 13th, 2009
05:58 pm - The Great Romance is over
Connor told me today that he and Maddie will not be getting married. I asked why, of course, and he said he has no idea. This bodes well for his future relationships, doesn't it?
He seems to be taking it in stride because he went on to talk at great length about the kinds of cheese sticks he does and does not like, and then about how he is a science kid, so he knows that you can wipe chalk off of the side of a house with your hand (probably not a shock that this is a somewhat relevant factoid)
But at the end of our errands, as we pulled into the driveway he did say wistfully "Ah well, I have no wife. I guess I have to get another one tomorrow."
That's my boy!
Oct. 11th, 2009
06:37 pm - Cheating and the laundry gods
Two unrelated topics, because that's how I roll . . .
Connor's class has a student bring in a collection of things for estimation practice every week. Last week was our week - the instructions said to pick something out (we picked Legos) count them, then send them into class. Everyone in the classroom then guesses how many objects were brought in, except for the child who brought them in of course, because they already know.
Connor spontaneously shared with me that he wanted his friend Maddie to get the count right so he told her how many Legos he'd brought in. He was proud to let me know how helpful he is to his friends. I talked with him about sportsmanship and cheating. He then assured that it was OK, I didn't need to worry, because he was wrong about how many Legos he'd brought in, so he didn't tell her the correct number. Also, she'd already put in her guess by the time he told her.
So not only is Connor a cheater, but he's pretty terrible at it, I'm not sure what to think about this. This comes to mind, though:
Also, a quick note about the laundry gods. We all know they taketh away. . . after all, we've all had a collection of 13 socks without a mate at one point or another (in my case, many more because I an an eternal optimist.)
However, this week, they givith as well, because I suddenly have a twin sized dark green flat sheet I swear I've never seen before. Maybe it's somehow a manifestation of Overstock.com's need to sell me sheets after I've already purchased some.
Oct. 7th, 2009
07:04 pm - My kids love a challenge!
See how seriously they work on their target practice skills?
But that was too hard, maybe we should stand closer . . .
I guess if the military ever develops the need for the opposite of snipers, my kids will be ready!
Oct. 2nd, 2009
05:19 am - Why do this?
I bought bedsheets on overstock.com a while ago. Since then, they've sent me daily mail about the great deals they have on sheets. Overstock.com sells everything, and the one thing I'm most UNlikely to need just after buying sheets is sheets, right? Why not spam me with mail about pillows or towels or sewing patterns for ghost costumes? I finally clicked through to get myself off their mailing list, I hope they're happy.
Also, it just occurred to me how inconvenient it is that Christmas and Halloween happen at the same time of year, because it's clear that Target is having trouble packing items associated with both holidays into their aisles. It was still 85 degrees when they started putting up Christmas stuff. Augh! It felt early for Halloween stuff to me!
Oct. 1st, 2009
04:32 pm - Connor's words
Two funny words from Connor lately:
"Handmatizer" is hand sanitizer. The word makes it sound a lot more exciting sounding than it actually is.
"Manyard" is a graveyard. It took me a long time to figure out what he was talking about. We drive by one on his way home from school and so he starts talking about it (like "I saw the manyard. There are a lot of trees around the manyard." Finally he asked why people are buried there.
Sep. 30th, 2009
06:04 pm - This week's sickness . . .
Swine flu! We thought Chase was catching Connor's cold of last week, but when he started maintaining a fever of 102 or so unmedicated (and much more than that as the day went on) we became suspicious. Nurse advice said to take him on in and he's on Tamiflu now so hopefully he'll be in the clear by Monday. He violently objects to the taste of the medicine, which is a first. Connor's the one more sensitive to medicine taste.
So far it looks like he has the nice mild version instead of the death version, but because he's in a medium-high risk category, we will rush him to the ER at the slightest provocation. Well, maybe I won't be quite that hysterical, but with me you never know. I am the one, after all, who ripped Connor's diaper off and flung him onto the baby scale when he was an infant, alarming him enough that he peed all over everything. The doctor, who had told me it was unnecessary and to follow him was amused more than annoyed, I hope. Yeah, that was a shining parenting moment for me.
Sep. 27th, 2009
08:20 am - Advice about cars/frugality - am I insane for thinking this way?
I drive about 240-300 miles per week. Not a great situation, but I can't complain, job-wise, and I want to keep that job for now.
Here's the source of my angst, though - I drive a mini-van. I am not willing to give up the mini-van because if we did, we would never be able to have anyone else ride anywhere with our family, which happens fairly regularly. If I need to go pick up a friends' kid in an emergency, I don't want to have to leave a kid at home to fend for himself or anything like that. If I want to take the kids and a friend to the park or the zoo, I want to have that option. When mom visits, I want to be able to go out to eat with her without taking two cars. Also, it's nice to be able to go pick up large things from IKEA or wherever. (OK, if we're honest, it's just IKEA. I doubt I'll ever have good taste in furniture because I have found that good taste = really expensive here.)
We bought the van used for around 21k. It now has close to 90k miles on it.
I've been thinking of buying a car with around 100-125k miles on it, an old Honda Civic or something like that. The car will run between 5-9k, and I will not feel nearly as bad running it into the ground as I do the van, because the van is so much more expensive. Some models get above 30 mpg, a huge improvement. I have never cared about driving a nice or fancy car. I just want air conditioning. I'm a simple girl with simple needs. Also, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have a spare car around in times of repair.
Another option is to get a used hybrid, but that adds another 10k onto the deal and I'm trying to being frugal mainly, and environmentally considerate as an added bonus. I think if my choice were "keep the van or get a used hybrid," I would definitely stay with the van.
We're a few months from paying off the van, maybe I'll think harder about this then. I just feel like I am neglecting to think of a major factor. (Ah, like the fact that if we do just run the van into the ground - it should last me another 3 years at the very minimum, right? - then perhaps by then there will be hybrid mini-vans in all the car lots?)
07:39 am - "Smile!" . . . "I AM smiling!"
I guess the definition of a smile might be subjective . . . 
Sep. 25th, 2009
04:31 pm - Connor at Work
Two days this week I've taken Connor in with me for (Jody-style) full days of work. I've done it with Chase before but Chase is a calm and obsessed child, so I wasn't surprised that he was easy. Connor doesn't quite have Chase's attention span (fixation level) so I wasn't at all sure how it would go.
To my surprise, it could hardly have gone better.*
Connor was quiet, polite, friendly when people spoke to him, not at all whiny, and all-around pleased to be there. On the rare times he ventured from his cube, it was to come quietly tell me that he loves me and thanks for being a great mom. He even asked people's names and remembered them. His two favorite co-workers are Niki, my work-buddy (completely understandable) and Lou, a New Yorker in every sense of the word who works on my row and who doesn't talk to anyone, but he comes in even earlier than I do, and apparently Connor respects that.
The highlight of his day is our daily scrum, which is like circle time for programmers. Connor ventured out of his cube and peeked around the wall at us mischievously. Scrum can be dull at times so I think it was welcome comic relief for the few people who saw him.
After the first day that he was so good, I told him that I was lucky to have such a well behaved boy. Apparently that stuck with him, because at work today, he out of the blue announced to my boss that I was very lucky to have him, which was pretty funny. Adam said "And don't you let her forget it!" Connor assured him "Oh, don't worry, I won't!"
Just about everyone remarked on how amazingly quiet and well behaved he was. He just played DS, he did some work sheets, he built some k'nex models, and he played some traditional Legos. He had the option to watch movies, but that's not interactive enough for him, so he didn't do much of that.
I agreed that he was being good, and I told them how surprised I was. It made me feel silly for having such trouble working from home with him - clearly he's an angel, why on earth couldn't I be as productive at home as in the office? But at home he's a different child. At work, you didn't know he was there unless you saw him. At home, if you ever call me, you'll think I live in an overcrowded chimpanzee habitat where we study the effects of various torture methods and/or the effects of hallucinogenic drugs combined with speed.
As long as the kids aren't both home sick, looks like I can safely bring them into the office, which should relieve some of my anxiety over screwing my work with my sick kid problems over and over again.
* Bringing him in was no problem if we ignore the time he pooped in his pants then filled the toilet in the men's room with TP, necessitating a very careful controlled flushing of said toilet paper, which in turn necessitated me being in the men's room for like 20 minutes (in the stall) with everyone coming and going as they pleased, unaware of my presence. I think it happened because he was coming down with a stomach bug. But ASIDE from that . . .
Sep. 24th, 2009
06:43 am - AAAAaaaaarrrRRRRGgggGGGGHHHHHH!!!
We got ONE WEEK OFF from the kids being sick (for about two weeks). Then the heavens open up and two days of school missed. Now Connor is sick AGAIN!! This time with fever :(
I don't understand how families with two working parents can do it. I think I take, at a minimum, 4 weeks a year off for unexpected illness. This on top of 8 weeks off for school vacation (and another week for family vacation)
I'm very lucky - when we decided to have kids, I knew life would be like this. I couldn't imagine working and caring for small children, I knew that I would feel terrible leaving my work in a lurch when things like this happened. I live in awe of single parents - how do they DO it?? Fortunately, we do fine on one income. Without question, my kids are my priority, and I will be a giant part of their lives, work or no work. When MATRA asked me to come back, I told them all of this.
They assured me that flaky-me is better than no-me, and that I should feel no guilt. I get the logic (after all, I do practically walk on water ;) ) but it's not in me to just let it go when I know how critical things are at work. My main job is not so critical path, and I can do it all at home, no less, but we're having staffing issues so I'm filling in for critical path people.
So here I am, feeling bad because Connor is sick and feeling bad because I'm being useless at work. The extra income is nice - it's allowed us to do a lot of work on the house and to shore up our savings - but I feel like my company would be better off without me, because they'd be forced to hire someone and that person would likely show up more than I do.
I've resolved, though, to take the time off that I need and let the company make the decision. I just feel like I'm a part of an abusive relationship with them and I'm the abuser!
Ah well. Off to medicate the poor kid.
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