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Posts Tagged ‘Kids’

A T. Rex tale

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , on May 6, 2010| 4 Comments »

I love Thursdays because on Thursdays I get folders from my children’s teachers that have work from the past week. It is the day I read Dominic’s stories. And I laugh and laugh. I hope you will too.

“The Dinosaur Story” by Dominic

Once upon a time there was a T. Rex. Me and Gideon and my daddy and Mona were hunting for dinosaurs.* We saw a T. Rex. We ran because it was hungry to eat humans. Then we saw a Euoplocephalus. We petted it. We rode on the Euoplocephalus and its tail hit the T. Rex’s leg and it fell down. We said, “Are you going to be good, T. Rex?” He said, “Raa Raa!” We rode back home on the T. Rex and gave it meat.

Mona, the T. Rex and a tree that needs water

Yes, he used the word “Euoplocephalus,” and he knows what one looks like (although he did not draw it). It is clear he is my son, and fellow lover of words.

*Note: He informed me that this is just pretend because humans never lived with dinosaurs.

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Secrets of a Soccer Mom

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , on April 20, 2010| 4 Comments »

I’m about to take Gideon to soccer practice. I always feel like an elephant at the rhino watering hole when I go to soccer practice. I just don’t fit in.

But I do like to watch my kids having fun.

Trish the Human took this picture of Dominic in his first game. Notice the concentration.

Also notice something else. It’s on the left. What is this?

Does this woman not own a mirror? Make sure to look at the back view, people!

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Say it with songs

Posted in Random, tagged , on April 16, 2010| 7 Comments »

Warning: This post contains language that may be inappropriate for some readers.

I’ll bet that got your attention. Certain things get my attention too. Like the names of songs spelled out on my satellite radio screen.

And this one is classic too:

I think 7 a.m. may be too early for that.

It is a good think my kids can’t read yet.

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New cast members

Posted in Chickens, tagged , , , , , , , on April 12, 2010| 6 Comments »

I hadn’t planned on it when I woke up, or even thought about it during most of the day. But at 4:30 this afternoon, I decided I needed to get new chickens.

Jeanne and Shelly are Araucanas (blue eggs!) and came from Economy Feed and Seed on Carolan Street. Originally, Shelly was going to be named “Patty,” as a nod to Patricia (otherwise known as Trish the Chicken’s namesake), and Gideon wanted the other to be named “Mike.” (Why? I don’t know.) But “Patty and Mike” just didn’t sound right. And naming one “Mike” would ensure we would end up with an unexpected rooster.

I named our previous chickens after live people, and they ended up dead. So this time, I named them after dead people in the hope that the chickens will stay alive. Shelly was Trish’s mom, and Jeanne was mine.

The boys and I are excited.Eddie has registered his concern and dismay. Noted. And obviously ignored. (Sorry, Sweetie!)

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Rocky Mountain high

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , on April 10, 2010| 3 Comments »

This was SCAD’s first year at the AWP conference, and it was a success. Dr. Lough (my department chair) and I talked to dozens of people about the SCAD program — many of whom did not even know we offered writing as a major. And we tried to ignore the rampant pretentiousness inherent in writing conferences (especially one filled with academics).

We even managed to fit in some sightseeing. He took me to Boulder, which is where he grew up. Here he is in his natural habitat:

Dr. James Lough, Boulder, Colorado

And here are the Flatirons (photo taken around the corner from his old house).

Flatirons, Boulder, Colorado

In Boulder, he showed me the house they used for the exterior of “Mork & Mindy.”

"Mork & Mindy" house

And — from whimsy to the grisly — the house where little JonBenét Ramsey was murdered.

Ramsey house

Today, a tour of Denver, complete with this gem:

"Non Hippy Bus," driver's side

The sign in the window in the photo below says “Non Hippy Bus.” For real.

"Non Hippy Bus," passenger's side

All of this was lovely, but I’m ready to go home. Here is what I missed:

Gideon and Dominic

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Concept vs. reality

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , , , on April 5, 2010| Leave a Comment »

It seems so idyllic: A mother helps her young children color eggs for Easter. And this is a happy-looking scene:

The reality is that this was one of the only peaceful moments. For 95 percent of the afternoon, it was a cacophony.

“Mama! He’s got my crayon!”

“I wanted the blue!”

“Get your egg out of there!”

“Stop slinging the dye!” (OK, that was me.)

And I also had to explain what the Easter Bunny has to do with Jesus. Like Christmas, Easter is a holiday of mixed messages: “Eat candy and think about Jesus.” Kids are right: It doesn’t make any sense. But as adults, we kind of go along with it.

I wasn’t going to give them Easter baskets because my kids don’t need candy. Don’t say, “Aww, that’s mean,” unless you know them. And if you know them, you wouldn’t say it. I caved and made small ones for them. Shortly after they hunted those slimy eggs and tore into the baskets, I regretted my decision. Their shrieks nearly made my ears bleed and their playroom looked like a Toys R Us had exploded.

I may have gone a little berserk. I may have smashed one of their toy guitars like I was Pete Townshend. I may not invite the Easter Bunny over again.

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Beach bums (and fronts, ears, eyes, etc.)

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , , on March 29, 2010| 3 Comments »

Today was the first day of beach season for us. So begins a summer of sand-filled crevices.

In honor of the water-loving that is beginning everywhere, I’m sharing this sign I’ve been saving (thank you, Carrie):

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Love is in the air

Posted in Random, tagged , , , on March 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Arranged marriages are not an American thing, but Eddie and I are considering it for our boys. We have a coterie of long-time friends who all have pretty little girls: Patrick and Petra have Mia, Billy and Miwa have Niina and Mana, and Eggy and Sophia have Ava. Gideon has already chosen Mana with no nudging from us.

Gideon and Mana, his future wife

Dominic informed us that he was going to marry Niina. But now I think he is exploring his options. He seems to be smitten by Baby Ava.

Dominic and Baby Ava

Interesting. Very interesting.

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Otherwise known as armor

Posted in Random, tagged , , on March 22, 2010| 2 Comments »

I present Dominic’s latest essay. Please ignore the pronoun mangling. He’s learning.

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Can’t we all just get along?: The Batman and Robin version

Posted in Random, tagged , , , on March 20, 2010| 4 Comments »

Dominic may look like Eddie, but he is totally my son on the inside. He asks a billion questions, likes to talk, gets obsessed with an idea and can’t let it rest, etc.

He is also a budding writer.

One of his favorite lessons at school is to tell a story to his teacher, who writes it down, then he illustrates the story.

It is a Montessori school, so his stories have a very polite angle. One could even say “anticlimactic.” See for yourself:

These are very different from the soap operas I wrote in high school (Kelly, you’ll remember those), but I love that he is a storyteller too.

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