I do my planning on Wednesday afternoons. I sit down, think on what we got through the prior week, and how that ought to translate to the coming week. Last week, we made it through Lesson 1 of Hooked on Phonics, and three math lessons. This week, I set us up to do another HoP lesson, and four math lessons. No worries.
Math is progressing as expected - still at double time according to the general timetable - but since I'm still trying to find his limits, as opposed to just teaching him mew ways of doing things he already knows, I'm okay with that. I knew he was good at most of the math before we started, so plowing through it is nothing too new.
Reading, on the other hand... I have no idea how to plan at this point. He finished lesson 2 yesterday, and blew through the first third of lesson 3 today. At the rate he's going, he'll finish lesson 3 this week, and lesson 4, possibly 5, next week. This means he will be done with the first half of the level in about two months. Each level is assigned a graded year. He is likely to finish a half school year of reading education this summer. I'm reeling. The next question, of course, becomes "how do I plan for next week?!?" ^_^ I think I'm just going to try to keep up, and see where he goes. He doesn't know he's doing work intended for much older children, and I haven't any intention of telling him, so he just goes ahead and does his work at his own pace... and we'll see how high he flies.
Showing posts with label my so-called life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my so-called life. Show all posts
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
On Reading and Research
So, I've spent the last several months up to my eyeballs in anything I can find related to giftedness, gifted children, and gifted education. The drive to know more, learn more, keep reading... It's intense. I mean, this is my son. He has particular needs, and it is my job as his parent to make sure his needs are met. I've now gone through three websites, two forums, and eight books on the topic. Since mid-March. So, I like to think I've learned a thing or two.
Truthfully, I'm glad I've gotten as much done as I have, and I'm glad we got the assessments run. Both the parental survey of dates that assessed how ahead LP is, and the OT assessment at preschool. They told me things I really already knew (that LP is very ahead, and that he has no business being in a full-day classroom in the fall), but it gave me the oomph to take on the research, and to start planning for his educational needs. Right now, LP is working on a grade 1 reading curriculum, and flying through a kindergarten math curriculum. Even if he slows down to working on one grade level per year (as per public schools), he will likely be a minimum of two years ahead of his age-mates. These kids won't be his peers, not truly. And since our district "doesn't do" acceleration, if I send this child to school, he will spend the entirety of his school career bored out of his skull. They don't have formal identification until grade 3, which means a minimum of four years before the district even considers meeting his educational needs. Needless to say, that's not acceptable. And, since the district won't accelerate, they won't meet his needs even when he is formally identified.
So what now, right? At this point, I'm certain that homeschool is the best option for LP. It meets him where he is, and will allow him to work at his own pace, keeping him challenged without having to languish for years to get there, if he ever gets there at all. This is also, however, one of the scarier realizations I've had. Knowing what I do about our son, I can't put him into public schools in good conscience. I can't do it. But that means that suddenly, we need to succeed at homeschooling. That "oh, if it doesn't work, he can always go to public" option isn't really an option. It'd be like sending a third grader into kindergarten. It's wildly inappropriate, and the child already knows everything - it's a recipe for "behavior problems" and failure to achieve to potential. But... that means I don't have a backup plan any more. Granted, I probably haven't all along, but now more than before, I feel the distinct lack of a safety net, and am really awed by the enormity of the undertaking.
Truthfully, I'm glad I've gotten as much done as I have, and I'm glad we got the assessments run. Both the parental survey of dates that assessed how ahead LP is, and the OT assessment at preschool. They told me things I really already knew (that LP is very ahead, and that he has no business being in a full-day classroom in the fall), but it gave me the oomph to take on the research, and to start planning for his educational needs. Right now, LP is working on a grade 1 reading curriculum, and flying through a kindergarten math curriculum. Even if he slows down to working on one grade level per year (as per public schools), he will likely be a minimum of two years ahead of his age-mates. These kids won't be his peers, not truly. And since our district "doesn't do" acceleration, if I send this child to school, he will spend the entirety of his school career bored out of his skull. They don't have formal identification until grade 3, which means a minimum of four years before the district even considers meeting his educational needs. Needless to say, that's not acceptable. And, since the district won't accelerate, they won't meet his needs even when he is formally identified.
So what now, right? At this point, I'm certain that homeschool is the best option for LP. It meets him where he is, and will allow him to work at his own pace, keeping him challenged without having to languish for years to get there, if he ever gets there at all. This is also, however, one of the scarier realizations I've had. Knowing what I do about our son, I can't put him into public schools in good conscience. I can't do it. But that means that suddenly, we need to succeed at homeschooling. That "oh, if it doesn't work, he can always go to public" option isn't really an option. It'd be like sending a third grader into kindergarten. It's wildly inappropriate, and the child already knows everything - it's a recipe for "behavior problems" and failure to achieve to potential. But... that means I don't have a backup plan any more. Granted, I probably haven't all along, but now more than before, I feel the distinct lack of a safety net, and am really awed by the enormity of the undertaking.
Monday, March 26, 2012
One Day...
One day, I will remember that I have this blog, and update it regularly.
As it stands, I tend to back-burner this place, and I really shouldn't. And so, I'm going to take a step in trying to update more frequently. I'm going to try to be here at least once a week. Wish me luck, 'cause sometimes that doesn't happen.
Anyhow!
Many things are changing in our house. First, I'm waiting for a rheumatologist referral to get a diagnosis for a near-endless litany of things that are wrong with me. I also have an appointment for an MRI, just to make sure I haven't completely screwed up my back. I wonder, and will talk to my doctor about, whether or not my screwed-up knees also factor into this.
Now, the less "hurry up and wait" thing. My Little Prince is... odd. Apparently, he is significantly odd as compared to other three year olds. I've been running to catch up with him for the last year and a half or more, and now we know why. LP is gifted. That's just the sum of it. Now, there's a whole load of BS baggage attached to the term "gifted," but I do mean it in the clinical sense. He is extremely advanced (he is reading CVC words, and is capable of grade 1 math) in some areas, and has the corresponding asynchronous development - he is very behind on his fine motor skill development. He also displays a whole lot of overexcitabilities. He may come out to be twice-exceptional, combining gifted with ADHD, but it is still far too early to tell for sure.
In practical application, this means that LP is neither emotionally nor physically ready to start a full-day junior kindergarten (that's right, 6.5h of school at 3.5-4 years old) in the fall. I'm fine with that, as I've been planning to home school him all along. But in the meantime, I also cannot sit by and neglect my son's very real need for input. Just like when he is dirty, I don't let him stay covered in schmutz, or when he was in diapers, we didn't let him stay in dirty diapers all day... I have to provide the things he needs - be it a bath, a new diaper, or intellectual stimulation. To this end... This fall will see our first official year of home school. I shall be opening Rowena's Browncoat Academy in the fall, student body of 1. LP will have daily reading, math and science - at his own speed, of course - as well as occasional stops in worksheets for handwriting to try to build some of his fine motor skills. He will also be in preschool two days a week, and we will have swimming one day a week, and home school meet-ups once (or more) per week.
I seem to get a lot of blowback on this, but really, it's not exactly like I have a choice. Our local public system is not ready to handle a reading three year old, they don't accelerate, and the only time they place gifted children in classrooms together is after they're in the fifth grade. I'm NOT going to sit idly by and let my son's educational needs go unmet until he's ten. I'm not willing to do it. I'm also not willing to send him to school to be bored, told he's a troublemaker, or worse than all of it, have him believe he's a troublemaker, and hide his abilities in order to "fit in" with the kids around him. I have some work ahead of me, but if I'd thought having kids was going to be easy, I was disabused of that notion several years ago... when I actually, you know, had a kid. I understand that a lot of people are going to think a lot of bad things about me (that I'm pushing my son, that I'm stunting his growth by not putting him in a classroom with same-age and not same-ability children, that he's not really gifted, I just make him study, I'm not genuinely interested in his best-interests, but only in how he can fit some mold I have in my head - and so on; and yes, I've heard ALL of these, even just in the last 6 months). I get it. But this is my son. I'm not going to fail him so that other people will think better of me. That is probably the worst thing a parent could ever do - deliberately neglect their child's needs in order to "fit in better" with their own peers. I go into this knowing it is what is best for him, knowing there are pitfalls, and things I have to be sure we do, and I go into this knowing full well that if it doesn't work out, public school will always be there. It is not my preferred method. Not at all. But that doesn't mean it holds no value - just that it's not my go-to for my child. People are going to think and talk all kinds of bad about me. I know they will. But you know what? Meeting LP's needs, and putting him before my own self-esteem is what I signed on for. It is what I'm going to do. And we will love it, and we will have a wonderful time... just as surely as there will be days we hate it, and just say **** it all, we're going to the park. But, LP's needs will get met, and that is all that matters.
As it stands, I tend to back-burner this place, and I really shouldn't. And so, I'm going to take a step in trying to update more frequently. I'm going to try to be here at least once a week. Wish me luck, 'cause sometimes that doesn't happen.
Anyhow!
Many things are changing in our house. First, I'm waiting for a rheumatologist referral to get a diagnosis for a near-endless litany of things that are wrong with me. I also have an appointment for an MRI, just to make sure I haven't completely screwed up my back. I wonder, and will talk to my doctor about, whether or not my screwed-up knees also factor into this.
Now, the less "hurry up and wait" thing. My Little Prince is... odd. Apparently, he is significantly odd as compared to other three year olds. I've been running to catch up with him for the last year and a half or more, and now we know why. LP is gifted. That's just the sum of it. Now, there's a whole load of BS baggage attached to the term "gifted," but I do mean it in the clinical sense. He is extremely advanced (he is reading CVC words, and is capable of grade 1 math) in some areas, and has the corresponding asynchronous development - he is very behind on his fine motor skill development. He also displays a whole lot of overexcitabilities. He may come out to be twice-exceptional, combining gifted with ADHD, but it is still far too early to tell for sure.
In practical application, this means that LP is neither emotionally nor physically ready to start a full-day junior kindergarten (that's right, 6.5h of school at 3.5-4 years old) in the fall. I'm fine with that, as I've been planning to home school him all along. But in the meantime, I also cannot sit by and neglect my son's very real need for input. Just like when he is dirty, I don't let him stay covered in schmutz, or when he was in diapers, we didn't let him stay in dirty diapers all day... I have to provide the things he needs - be it a bath, a new diaper, or intellectual stimulation. To this end... This fall will see our first official year of home school. I shall be opening Rowena's Browncoat Academy in the fall, student body of 1. LP will have daily reading, math and science - at his own speed, of course - as well as occasional stops in worksheets for handwriting to try to build some of his fine motor skills. He will also be in preschool two days a week, and we will have swimming one day a week, and home school meet-ups once (or more) per week.
I seem to get a lot of blowback on this, but really, it's not exactly like I have a choice. Our local public system is not ready to handle a reading three year old, they don't accelerate, and the only time they place gifted children in classrooms together is after they're in the fifth grade. I'm NOT going to sit idly by and let my son's educational needs go unmet until he's ten. I'm not willing to do it. I'm also not willing to send him to school to be bored, told he's a troublemaker, or worse than all of it, have him believe he's a troublemaker, and hide his abilities in order to "fit in" with the kids around him. I have some work ahead of me, but if I'd thought having kids was going to be easy, I was disabused of that notion several years ago... when I actually, you know, had a kid. I understand that a lot of people are going to think a lot of bad things about me (that I'm pushing my son, that I'm stunting his growth by not putting him in a classroom with same-age and not same-ability children, that he's not really gifted, I just make him study, I'm not genuinely interested in his best-interests, but only in how he can fit some mold I have in my head - and so on; and yes, I've heard ALL of these, even just in the last 6 months). I get it. But this is my son. I'm not going to fail him so that other people will think better of me. That is probably the worst thing a parent could ever do - deliberately neglect their child's needs in order to "fit in better" with their own peers. I go into this knowing it is what is best for him, knowing there are pitfalls, and things I have to be sure we do, and I go into this knowing full well that if it doesn't work out, public school will always be there. It is not my preferred method. Not at all. But that doesn't mean it holds no value - just that it's not my go-to for my child. People are going to think and talk all kinds of bad about me. I know they will. But you know what? Meeting LP's needs, and putting him before my own self-esteem is what I signed on for. It is what I'm going to do. And we will love it, and we will have a wonderful time... just as surely as there will be days we hate it, and just say **** it all, we're going to the park. But, LP's needs will get met, and that is all that matters.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Sigh.
Monday will be 150 days. I have spent the entire month bouncing around the same pound. Sometimes, it went up, sometimes down, but my weigh in today is exactly the same as it was a month ago. I'm on Day 13 of the 30 Day Shred, and I've been busting my ass trying to break out of what seems to be a huge stall in my getalong. To say I'm disappointed would be a massive understatement. I'm losing inches, that's for sure. But apparently, that's not enough to budge the scale. According to that damnable thing, I've lost 17" overall, but built muscle at exactly the same rate as I've lost fat - if not faster. As it's pretty unlikely for that to happen, I'm about six kinds of confused, and I'm hating every minute of it. I know that not everything will be perfect every time. I know that it's more important that the inches come off than that the scale say something lower. All the same, I'm unimpressed. I'm not willing to give up, but there are days that sure sounds like a good idea.
I talked to TrainerBrother Uncle Fritz last night. He took one look at what I've been up to and told me the KNOCK IT OFF. I'mtrying to do doing entirely too much. In addition to my 30DS workout, I've been doing 60+ minutes of cardio (walking with LP in the bike trailer) alternating with a lifting program. Apparently, I need to eliminate the lifting entirely (the 30DS covers that), and knock the cardio back significantly. We'll see if that helps. I also need to sort out why I'm not losing the water weight I'm carrying from cycle past. All in all, it's not a fun time in my head, but at least there's progress of some sort.
I talked to TrainerBrother Uncle Fritz last night. He took one look at what I've been up to and told me the KNOCK IT OFF. I'm
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Today is 120 Days!
Okay, so aside from the part where I think my brother is trying to kill me (especially at night while my sore body is trying to rest), I can be nothing but pleasantly surprised.
Today is my 120th day watching my intakes. It's been 120 days of struggling to eat more, keeping track of what I can, approximating what I can't, and making a point of getting good exercise in. I've been having more and more trouble with that this past week, as I've been sick, which drives my appetite to nil. However, I'm still trying all the same. This past week has also seen the introduction of weights into my grand scheme of things. Here's where I think my brother is trying to kill me. ^_~ Anyhow, I'm now doing some lifting 3 days a week, some cardio the opposing 3 days, and one day off. Once we get to June, I'll put in some 30Day Shred again - I have a wedding in July and I have a specific dress I want to wear.
Today, Skeeve will take my monthly progress photo. I'm hopeful that it will show as much of a difference as it feels like it should. Today is 120 days, and I've dropped 16 pounds. What's more is that... it's been easy.
Today is my 120th day watching my intakes. It's been 120 days of struggling to eat more, keeping track of what I can, approximating what I can't, and making a point of getting good exercise in. I've been having more and more trouble with that this past week, as I've been sick, which drives my appetite to nil. However, I'm still trying all the same. This past week has also seen the introduction of weights into my grand scheme of things. Here's where I think my brother is trying to kill me. ^_~ Anyhow, I'm now doing some lifting 3 days a week, some cardio the opposing 3 days, and one day off. Once we get to June, I'll put in some 30Day Shred again - I have a wedding in July and I have a specific dress I want to wear.
Today, Skeeve will take my monthly progress photo. I'm hopeful that it will show as much of a difference as it feels like it should. Today is 120 days, and I've dropped 16 pounds. What's more is that... it's been easy.
Monday, May 2, 2011
AUGH!
This day is full of head-spinning. Yes, we finally got a dead bolt put on the front door (and a knob on the shower diverter in the bathroom!), but I had to put a note on the door to keep the guy away because I had to take LP to his doctor's walk-in hours. Now that LP is done with his eye drops (today is the last day), we have to start up ear drops. He has a double ear not-quite-infection. @_@;;
I love this deadbolt thing. I do. I just don't like OURS. I'm not sure what to make of it. The slot on the wall-side for the bolt to slide home isn't deep enough (there's a nail in the way), and the seal for the door pushes against it so hard that it takes two hands to lock the door. If it takes two hands to lock the door, I wonder, what hand will I use to keep my toddler from running off into traffic? Sheesh. I expect I'll be pulling that seal out sometime soon. I'd rather deal with a draft than having to chase LP all over the complex.
Also, now it turns out that the Shower/Deadbolt guy is NOT the ant guy, as I had thought he would be. The Ant Guy will get in touch with us sometime soon (I HOPE!) to do something non-spray-ing about the ants that have decided my front door is home - and that they LIKE cayenne pepper. -_-;;;
Now, we're finally done with the eye drops. There's just one more set, at bedtime tonight. However, we now have to do ear drops. Four drops in each ear, and THEN we have to hold him still long enough to let the drops work - they say three minutes. Sounds like no big deal... until you factor in a 32# wiggle-britches. GAH! When we took him to the ped today, the ped told us that LP's ears are "a little pink." Both of them. LP has only been complaining about the right ear. So now, we have ear drops. The ped could prescribe them now, or wait until we were back in for a rampaging ear infection in a few days. So... we do four drops in each ear whenever he complains of a problem. Fun.
Now, just to add to this crazy day, it is Election Day here in Canada. I've gotten three political calls already, and they started at 9:30 this morning. As there are three major parties, I'm hopeful we're done with the calls. After we pick Skeeve up from work tonight, we go to take him to vote. After that is done, we'll wander the mall for a while, because now that we have a new dead bolt, we don't have the locking door handle. This means Skeeve needs a new key before tomorrow morning so he can lock the door to go to work. @_@;;
Now, we figure that's enough, right? Oh, no. Never. XD Today is also CD 1, and I'm still sick, though getting better. Therefore I am happy that a) I'm getting better (I have most of my voice back, and my throat doesn't hurt anymore!), and b) my new 2 sizes smaller jeans STILL FIT! Even on CD1!!! WOO-HOO!
I love this deadbolt thing. I do. I just don't like OURS. I'm not sure what to make of it. The slot on the wall-side for the bolt to slide home isn't deep enough (there's a nail in the way), and the seal for the door pushes against it so hard that it takes two hands to lock the door. If it takes two hands to lock the door, I wonder, what hand will I use to keep my toddler from running off into traffic? Sheesh. I expect I'll be pulling that seal out sometime soon. I'd rather deal with a draft than having to chase LP all over the complex.
Also, now it turns out that the Shower/Deadbolt guy is NOT the ant guy, as I had thought he would be. The Ant Guy will get in touch with us sometime soon (I HOPE!) to do something non-spray-ing about the ants that have decided my front door is home - and that they LIKE cayenne pepper. -_-;;;
Now, we're finally done with the eye drops. There's just one more set, at bedtime tonight. However, we now have to do ear drops. Four drops in each ear, and THEN we have to hold him still long enough to let the drops work - they say three minutes. Sounds like no big deal... until you factor in a 32# wiggle-britches. GAH! When we took him to the ped today, the ped told us that LP's ears are "a little pink." Both of them. LP has only been complaining about the right ear. So now, we have ear drops. The ped could prescribe them now, or wait until we were back in for a rampaging ear infection in a few days. So... we do four drops in each ear whenever he complains of a problem. Fun.
Now, just to add to this crazy day, it is Election Day here in Canada. I've gotten three political calls already, and they started at 9:30 this morning. As there are three major parties, I'm hopeful we're done with the calls. After we pick Skeeve up from work tonight, we go to take him to vote. After that is done, we'll wander the mall for a while, because now that we have a new dead bolt, we don't have the locking door handle. This means Skeeve needs a new key before tomorrow morning so he can lock the door to go to work. @_@;;
Now, we figure that's enough, right? Oh, no. Never. XD Today is also CD 1, and I'm still sick, though getting better. Therefore I am happy that a) I'm getting better (I have most of my voice back, and my throat doesn't hurt anymore!), and b) my new 2 sizes smaller jeans STILL FIT! Even on CD1!!! WOO-HOO!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Major Non-Scale Victories!
For starters, we left Canada! And we were readmitted! This means that I have legal status again! Hooray! Having legal status means that I can come and go again! With any luck I'll also soon have a work permit and be able to use that in crossing (which makes things just a little easier) as well. HOORAY!
Now, we're not sure when we're heading back to Chi-land next. We might be heading in for a little while in early June. We might put it all off until July. It's hard to say, especially with gas prices and my steadfastly NOT flying and all. I'm not sure what the plan is at this point, but we WILL be heading back in July, which is a victory in and of itself.
My next victory? I am slowly kicking the ass of a head cold that has knocked me over. Maybe another day or two and I'll be feeling back to myself. As far as my voice... Who knows. Right now the cold has most of it, leaving me a croaky mess. I'm planning to get that back in my next offensive, though I might shoot for my hearing instead. XD
Next up, this afternoon I'm getting an exercise plan! Uncle Fritz is being a fabulous sport and getting me all set up around my irritable knee. I'm very excited, and I'm hopeful that soon I'll be back to 100% in the knee department, too. ^_^
Finally, the victory that the title implies: Old Navy was having a BOGO "Event." Apparently, when you use "event" instead of "sale" this means you can advertise BOGO event on your signs, but have your sale actually be Buy One, Get One 50% off. When I got in and saw the signs saying so, I was tempted to walk right out. But... My pants are huge on me. As in, the belt digs into my back because there is too much pants-fabric bunched up under it. So I figured while I was there, I'd try on a couple sizes and see where I am. The pants on my ass at the time were a lamentable size 18. I figured I'd be fine in a 16, and be heading for a 14. Imagine my surprise when I put the 14s on... buttoned them... and zipped them up. O.O;; They were just a touch too tight for my taste, but they fit my hips and legs how I wanted, so... I walked out with the two pairs. Had I been in the 16s, I'd have left empty handed, no issue. But having dropped TWO SIZES?!?! I couldn't let that pass by without some kind of celebration! So, two pairs of jeans (one half price!) left the store with me. With any amount of luck, these will last me another six months or so (though I may need to bust out the belt again!), and then I'll be able to worry about my final and goal weights.
At the rate I'm going? I may make my goal by this time next year. I'm not planning for anything radical. I'm planning for slightly over one pound per week, for ten pounds every two months. By this time next year, if I can keep it all together, I'll be within five pounds of my goal. I haven't seen my goal weight since I was about 15. I'm not sure where I'll actually end up, pounds-wise, but I do know what I want to look like, and we'll see what the numbers say when I get there. In the meantime, though, a pair of size 14 pants is INCREDIBLE! I'm so excited!
Now, we're not sure when we're heading back to Chi-land next. We might be heading in for a little while in early June. We might put it all off until July. It's hard to say, especially with gas prices and my steadfastly NOT flying and all. I'm not sure what the plan is at this point, but we WILL be heading back in July, which is a victory in and of itself.
My next victory? I am slowly kicking the ass of a head cold that has knocked me over. Maybe another day or two and I'll be feeling back to myself. As far as my voice... Who knows. Right now the cold has most of it, leaving me a croaky mess. I'm planning to get that back in my next offensive, though I might shoot for my hearing instead. XD
Next up, this afternoon I'm getting an exercise plan! Uncle Fritz is being a fabulous sport and getting me all set up around my irritable knee. I'm very excited, and I'm hopeful that soon I'll be back to 100% in the knee department, too. ^_^
Finally, the victory that the title implies: Old Navy was having a BOGO "Event." Apparently, when you use "event" instead of "sale" this means you can advertise BOGO event on your signs, but have your sale actually be Buy One, Get One 50% off. When I got in and saw the signs saying so, I was tempted to walk right out. But... My pants are huge on me. As in, the belt digs into my back because there is too much pants-fabric bunched up under it. So I figured while I was there, I'd try on a couple sizes and see where I am. The pants on my ass at the time were a lamentable size 18. I figured I'd be fine in a 16, and be heading for a 14. Imagine my surprise when I put the 14s on... buttoned them... and zipped them up. O.O;; They were just a touch too tight for my taste, but they fit my hips and legs how I wanted, so... I walked out with the two pairs. Had I been in the 16s, I'd have left empty handed, no issue. But having dropped TWO SIZES?!?! I couldn't let that pass by without some kind of celebration! So, two pairs of jeans (one half price!) left the store with me. With any amount of luck, these will last me another six months or so (though I may need to bust out the belt again!), and then I'll be able to worry about my final and goal weights.
At the rate I'm going? I may make my goal by this time next year. I'm not planning for anything radical. I'm planning for slightly over one pound per week, for ten pounds every two months. By this time next year, if I can keep it all together, I'll be within five pounds of my goal. I haven't seen my goal weight since I was about 15. I'm not sure where I'll actually end up, pounds-wise, but I do know what I want to look like, and we'll see what the numbers say when I get there. In the meantime, though, a pair of size 14 pants is INCREDIBLE! I'm so excited!
Friday, April 8, 2011
The blog in which I am boring.
Okay, so we all know I'm doing this losing weight thing.
I like to think it's not a diet, particularly since I'm now eating more than I have in years (though my grocery bill does not care for that at all). But, the weight is coming off all the same. I have, however, found a nemesis in this weight loss game. It's not even a "real" nemesis, but a temporary irritant in my way, but I suspect that if I'm EVER going to get down to the weight I like, it will be a perpetual thorn in my side, and I'll have to deal with it. This stupid little thing makes the scale lie. There is a certain amount of it that's acceptable, of course, but any much more than that and the scale reacts like you're ballooning. It's crazymaking. And it's not like you can avoid it. It's everywhere. Oddly, this thorn? Not fat. I don't have too much trouble with fat. It's sodium. Let me illustrate for you two things. 1) how overweight I am, and 2) how much of an impact sodium has on the scale.
I weigh in daily. My "real" weight, which is to say, the weight I am if I'm within my sodium goals, will become fairly apparent in the next moment. I use the measurement of a daily weigh in to get a trend, so I know roughly whether I'm losing or gaining over time (instead of the daily/weekly fluctuations that are pretty normal).
Anyhow.
In this example, I had my sodium (versus RDA) look like this:
Sunday: over by 200
Monday: over by 1900
Tuesday: under by 130
Wednesday: over by 2100
Thursday: over by 770
Correspondingly, my weight did this:
Monday: 209.8
Tuesday: 211.0
Wednesday: 209.4
Thursday: 210.6
Friday: 208.6
Apparently, there is a set threshold for how "over" in sodium I can be before I start massively retaining water. I'm not sure how to combat that retention save for cutting sodium, but that's not a simple proposition. In theory, it is - just don't put so much salt on things, right? I haven't used my salt shaker (in cooking OR in serving myself) in very nearly a month. And I'm STILL battling sodium intake. I found out yesterday, while trying to plan a snack that would be filling, keep my calories up, AND keep me low in sodium that CELERY is chock full of it. One stalk of celery has eight calories. But it also has FIFTY mg of sodium in it. How is this POSSIBLE? How can what is effectively solid, greenish water have THAT MUCH sodium in it?!? I mean, really! This is insanity! Today, I'm through my first two (really, likely three) meals of the day, and I'm already well ahead of what my sodium intake should be. But, I didn't count on the tortilla my taco went in having more sodium than the SPICY MEAT did. And not by a small margin, either. WHAT IS UP WITH THIS?!?! I will, eventually, find a way to make the foods I like at home so that I won't have to worry about this, but even still. THE CELERY! This is craziness, and it just keeps getting more and more insane the more I look at it.
Even more, I wonder about the low income folks. People are all about cutting assistance benefits left, right and center. If there's a problem, social assistance is usually one of the first things on the table to cut. It costs a fair bit of money to make bread in the house, not to mention time. I'd imagine that other things are pretty much the same. Anything truly healthy in the store costs a pretty penny, and making it at home, while cheaper, is not so significantly cheaper as to make it worthwhile if you're on a very limited budget. However, if you go to the store, what IS cheap? Macaroni and cheese. Ramen noodles. Billions of things that are high fat, low nutrient, and chock full of sodium. The people who're living this diet gain weight. How can you not when you're eating like this? But then people look at it and think, 'obviously they're not starving, look how fat they are! They obviously have too much in benefits if they're eating that much.' And so the benefits get cut again. And the problem gets worse. And then we add in the fat shaming, and the direction that society is taking for charging the overweight for double simply because of their weight (see airline seats), and... The poor get poorer, and the less they have, the more they have to make do with the very foods making them fat, which makes society in general convinced they're getting HUGE benefits, which are summarily cut again, and... It's a horrifying proposition. I knew there was a big connection. I didn't realize that my own nemesis in all this played such a large part.
And bringing sodium down to 2500mg/day? Not as easy as it sounds. Nothing ever is, is it?
I like to think it's not a diet, particularly since I'm now eating more than I have in years (though my grocery bill does not care for that at all). But, the weight is coming off all the same. I have, however, found a nemesis in this weight loss game. It's not even a "real" nemesis, but a temporary irritant in my way, but I suspect that if I'm EVER going to get down to the weight I like, it will be a perpetual thorn in my side, and I'll have to deal with it. This stupid little thing makes the scale lie. There is a certain amount of it that's acceptable, of course, but any much more than that and the scale reacts like you're ballooning. It's crazymaking. And it's not like you can avoid it. It's everywhere. Oddly, this thorn? Not fat. I don't have too much trouble with fat. It's sodium. Let me illustrate for you two things. 1) how overweight I am, and 2) how much of an impact sodium has on the scale.
I weigh in daily. My "real" weight, which is to say, the weight I am if I'm within my sodium goals, will become fairly apparent in the next moment. I use the measurement of a daily weigh in to get a trend, so I know roughly whether I'm losing or gaining over time (instead of the daily/weekly fluctuations that are pretty normal).
Anyhow.
In this example, I had my sodium (versus RDA) look like this:
Sunday: over by 200
Monday: over by 1900
Tuesday: under by 130
Wednesday: over by 2100
Thursday: over by 770
Correspondingly, my weight did this:
Monday: 209.8
Tuesday: 211.0
Wednesday: 209.4
Thursday: 210.6
Friday: 208.6
Apparently, there is a set threshold for how "over" in sodium I can be before I start massively retaining water. I'm not sure how to combat that retention save for cutting sodium, but that's not a simple proposition. In theory, it is - just don't put so much salt on things, right? I haven't used my salt shaker (in cooking OR in serving myself) in very nearly a month. And I'm STILL battling sodium intake. I found out yesterday, while trying to plan a snack that would be filling, keep my calories up, AND keep me low in sodium that CELERY is chock full of it. One stalk of celery has eight calories. But it also has FIFTY mg of sodium in it. How is this POSSIBLE? How can what is effectively solid, greenish water have THAT MUCH sodium in it?!? I mean, really! This is insanity! Today, I'm through my first two (really, likely three) meals of the day, and I'm already well ahead of what my sodium intake should be. But, I didn't count on the tortilla my taco went in having more sodium than the SPICY MEAT did. And not by a small margin, either. WHAT IS UP WITH THIS?!?! I will, eventually, find a way to make the foods I like at home so that I won't have to worry about this, but even still. THE CELERY! This is craziness, and it just keeps getting more and more insane the more I look at it.
Even more, I wonder about the low income folks. People are all about cutting assistance benefits left, right and center. If there's a problem, social assistance is usually one of the first things on the table to cut. It costs a fair bit of money to make bread in the house, not to mention time. I'd imagine that other things are pretty much the same. Anything truly healthy in the store costs a pretty penny, and making it at home, while cheaper, is not so significantly cheaper as to make it worthwhile if you're on a very limited budget. However, if you go to the store, what IS cheap? Macaroni and cheese. Ramen noodles. Billions of things that are high fat, low nutrient, and chock full of sodium. The people who're living this diet gain weight. How can you not when you're eating like this? But then people look at it and think, 'obviously they're not starving, look how fat they are! They obviously have too much in benefits if they're eating that much.' And so the benefits get cut again. And the problem gets worse. And then we add in the fat shaming, and the direction that society is taking for charging the overweight for double simply because of their weight (see airline seats), and... The poor get poorer, and the less they have, the more they have to make do with the very foods making them fat, which makes society in general convinced they're getting HUGE benefits, which are summarily cut again, and... It's a horrifying proposition. I knew there was a big connection. I didn't realize that my own nemesis in all this played such a large part.
And bringing sodium down to 2500mg/day? Not as easy as it sounds. Nothing ever is, is it?
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Ups and Downs
The good news is, I'm now down 11 pounds - which means I made my first mini-goal of a 10 pound loss by 3/31. Since I had my period at the time (and still do, but I'm losing the water weight by the second), and was .2 pounds from goal when silly ol' AF decided to drop in with three pounds of water baggage... I'm counting it. HOORAY!! The 'reward' for my mini-goal? I'm going to dye my hair. BLUE. Because I can, and before I hit the age bracket where it's constant blue-haired-old-lady jokes. It's going to wait until I can find a decent kool-aid dyeing tutorial, though. I don't want to permanently dye it, as that would require bleaching the hell out of my hair, and I do what I can to keep my hair chemical-free. I use a henna dye, I don't bleach.. I want my hair to be strong and healthy. Of course, it's also gray and horrifyingly end-split, but hey. Only so much that can be handled at a time.
The bad news is that we're eating for crap today. Probably tomorrow too. Possibly longer than that. Why? I don't have the energy to get up and cook, or to put together healthy snacks every two hours. Obviously, the frequent eating thing is working for me, but today... I am SICK. I have a stuffed head, sore throat, the aches, the pains, the dizziness... Today is sucking hard core. Yesterday, I had the energy to vacuum under the furniture in preparation for a visit from some foreign folks. Today, I'm going to be lucky to get off the couch more often than to pee. I'm trying to hold it together, as Skeeve is... unfocused... at best, and LP does need someone to pay attention to him and play with him, but... It's not exactly pretty.
The wonderful news? My first-stage approval has come through, so we're going to visit home for Easter! We're very excited! A little nervous about getting home, but we're going. And we're very excited about it. It's just LP and I, so it's a little nervous-making, but... We're really looking forward to it. So many plans and people we want to see... and while a week and a half is a long time, it sure doesn't seem like it while we're planning. o.o;;
So many things going on, I'm hoping we'll make the best of it. ^_^
The bad news is that we're eating for crap today. Probably tomorrow too. Possibly longer than that. Why? I don't have the energy to get up and cook, or to put together healthy snacks every two hours. Obviously, the frequent eating thing is working for me, but today... I am SICK. I have a stuffed head, sore throat, the aches, the pains, the dizziness... Today is sucking hard core. Yesterday, I had the energy to vacuum under the furniture in preparation for a visit from some foreign folks. Today, I'm going to be lucky to get off the couch more often than to pee. I'm trying to hold it together, as Skeeve is... unfocused... at best, and LP does need someone to pay attention to him and play with him, but... It's not exactly pretty.
The wonderful news? My first-stage approval has come through, so we're going to visit home for Easter! We're very excited! A little nervous about getting home, but we're going. And we're very excited about it. It's just LP and I, so it's a little nervous-making, but... We're really looking forward to it. So many plans and people we want to see... and while a week and a half is a long time, it sure doesn't seem like it while we're planning. o.o;;
So many things going on, I'm hoping we'll make the best of it. ^_^
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A very busy day.
Today was a very busy day!
We got up, and had to wake LP to get into the car (I know, sleeping babies and the lie-ing of them) so we could head out for an hour's drive to a theater that had Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I playing - with a Reel Babies program. Reel Babies is a program that is only in place at specific theaters, but it's no low lights, less volume, and plus a microwave, change table, swing, exersaucer, all that stuff. It's designed for parents who are going to be at the theater with their little kids. So we went off to the movies! The three of us went, we got popcorn, a Bucket O' Coke, a KitKat, and a bag of Nibs for LP. Our out of pocket cost on the whole thing? $2.68. Two dollars and sixty-eight cents. I love gift cards!
Anyhow, we had lunch in the car, where I found out that LP? Not a big fan of the peanut butter. Go figure. Anyhow, we drove home, got a hole punch on the way, and then I drew and cut out some construction paper stars and circles for ornaments. LP will color them tomorrow, and we'll hang them right on the tree. I'm very excited. Now, the other fun things we have are a three-car train and a Lego house-front. These will go on/around train tracks under our tree. The idea is that each year, we get a new piece of scenery or train to go in a special Christmas tree track. LP will still have his regular trains and tracks, but these will be the Christmas Special editions. I'm really rather looking forward to it. I think we have enough track to make it all work. ^_^
Now, the rest of today was eaten up in visiting downtown. We went down to the train crossing, and the Holiday Train was coming! The entire block was blocked off, and we were able to see the train coming and LP got to see the train, the lights, and then the train having some trouble. We're not sure what went on, but it took about twenty minutes from the time the train came into view for the show to start - one of the boxcars opened up and they had a band, and Santa, and lights and music and speeches... LP was not fond of the speeches, but he did like the music! We had a great time, and while we never would have gone without LP, we still enjoyed ourselves. It's an event that seems to be geared to the kids, but with enough oomph to it that the parents still enjoy it, and there were a fair number of people there without kids, so I expect it's a tradition to a lot of people. We loved it, and will, without hesitation, be going next year. The only thing I think we'd do differently is break out the Cadillac stroller and get one of those tarp or cover or whatever things for it. The wind was bitter cold once we were out of the shelter of the crowd, and wrapping LP in a fleece blanket didn't seem to do a heckuva lot for him. Poor kiddo. At least we had fun!
We got up, and had to wake LP to get into the car (I know, sleeping babies and the lie-ing of them) so we could head out for an hour's drive to a theater that had Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I playing - with a Reel Babies program. Reel Babies is a program that is only in place at specific theaters, but it's no low lights, less volume, and plus a microwave, change table, swing, exersaucer, all that stuff. It's designed for parents who are going to be at the theater with their little kids. So we went off to the movies! The three of us went, we got popcorn, a Bucket O' Coke, a KitKat, and a bag of Nibs for LP. Our out of pocket cost on the whole thing? $2.68. Two dollars and sixty-eight cents. I love gift cards!
Anyhow, we had lunch in the car, where I found out that LP? Not a big fan of the peanut butter. Go figure. Anyhow, we drove home, got a hole punch on the way, and then I drew and cut out some construction paper stars and circles for ornaments. LP will color them tomorrow, and we'll hang them right on the tree. I'm very excited. Now, the other fun things we have are a three-car train and a Lego house-front. These will go on/around train tracks under our tree. The idea is that each year, we get a new piece of scenery or train to go in a special Christmas tree track. LP will still have his regular trains and tracks, but these will be the Christmas Special editions. I'm really rather looking forward to it. I think we have enough track to make it all work. ^_^
Now, the rest of today was eaten up in visiting downtown. We went down to the train crossing, and the Holiday Train was coming! The entire block was blocked off, and we were able to see the train coming and LP got to see the train, the lights, and then the train having some trouble. We're not sure what went on, but it took about twenty minutes from the time the train came into view for the show to start - one of the boxcars opened up and they had a band, and Santa, and lights and music and speeches... LP was not fond of the speeches, but he did like the music! We had a great time, and while we never would have gone without LP, we still enjoyed ourselves. It's an event that seems to be geared to the kids, but with enough oomph to it that the parents still enjoy it, and there were a fair number of people there without kids, so I expect it's a tradition to a lot of people. We loved it, and will, without hesitation, be going next year. The only thing I think we'd do differently is break out the Cadillac stroller and get one of those tarp or cover or whatever things for it. The wind was bitter cold once we were out of the shelter of the crowd, and wrapping LP in a fleece blanket didn't seem to do a heckuva lot for him. Poor kiddo. At least we had fun!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thinking forward to Christmas.
With Thanksgiving in the behind, I find myself thinking more and more about Christmas. I've been trying to not get too excited, not get any plans set, not get my hopes up. I mean, we might be here, we might be in Chicago, we just don't know, and likely won't until so close to the date that it will be almost too late - almost too late to go, and almost certainly too late to do a proper holiday if we stay. So now it's a little like rock and hard place. Do we plan to have Christmas here, and if we go to Chicago, it's a wonderful gift? Do we plan to have Christmas in Chicago and if it doesn't happen, settle for a makeshift, slapdash holiday here?
If it were just me, I wouldn't even think about it. If it were just Skeeve and me, we might chat it out a bit, and then likely just have a slapdash holiday anyway. But we have LP to think of, now, too. Christmas isn't so magic for the big folks. It really isn't. It's mostly stress, trying to sort out what hours need to be swapped, and how much of what we want to do is affordable or feasible, or... These things are what tend to make up Christmas for us bigs. The littles... Oh, Christmas is a wonderful, joyful time of magic, where the world is made of crystal and diamonds, trees are lit up like jewels at night, the music is special, and then... There is Santa. Oh, Santa, and presents, and decorations and crafts, and... Oh, it's a very exciting and wonderful time.
I would hate to get the house all decorated for the holiday, the plans all made, and then bail. It's, if nothing else, a lot of work! But at the same time, if we just play wait-and-see, are we taking the magic of this Christmas away from LP? If we don't have a tree until within a week of Christmas, if we don't have lights, or make ornaments, or cookies, or have the decorations, or a train under the tree... Is it something that's actually fair to him, or just something that's convenient - if we get word that I can travel. If I can't travel, the holiday isn't even half what it could have been for him. If I can, we have a lot of decorations to look at before the holiday, and to take down after, but we won't even see them during. Though, really, now that it's written out... It seems to me that missing the day here isn't even such a big deal if it means preserving the magic of the holidays for my baby. He may not remember it in ten years, but it is something that he will remember for the next year or two, which is enough to build a foundation for his Happy Holiday Memories, isn't it?
If it were just me, I wouldn't even think about it. If it were just Skeeve and me, we might chat it out a bit, and then likely just have a slapdash holiday anyway. But we have LP to think of, now, too. Christmas isn't so magic for the big folks. It really isn't. It's mostly stress, trying to sort out what hours need to be swapped, and how much of what we want to do is affordable or feasible, or... These things are what tend to make up Christmas for us bigs. The littles... Oh, Christmas is a wonderful, joyful time of magic, where the world is made of crystal and diamonds, trees are lit up like jewels at night, the music is special, and then... There is Santa. Oh, Santa, and presents, and decorations and crafts, and... Oh, it's a very exciting and wonderful time.
I would hate to get the house all decorated for the holiday, the plans all made, and then bail. It's, if nothing else, a lot of work! But at the same time, if we just play wait-and-see, are we taking the magic of this Christmas away from LP? If we don't have a tree until within a week of Christmas, if we don't have lights, or make ornaments, or cookies, or have the decorations, or a train under the tree... Is it something that's actually fair to him, or just something that's convenient - if we get word that I can travel. If I can't travel, the holiday isn't even half what it could have been for him. If I can, we have a lot of decorations to look at before the holiday, and to take down after, but we won't even see them during. Though, really, now that it's written out... It seems to me that missing the day here isn't even such a big deal if it means preserving the magic of the holidays for my baby. He may not remember it in ten years, but it is something that he will remember for the next year or two, which is enough to build a foundation for his Happy Holiday Memories, isn't it?
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Thanksgiving
Today is Thanksgiving. I have found that no matter where you live, when you grow up with Thanksgiving being the 4th Thursday in November... well, it always will be.
Truth be told, despite all the grousing that comes with being poor and being held bureaucratically captive in a foreign country, I have a lot to be thankful for.
I mean, I have a place to live that is warm and dry on this cold, rainy night.
I am thankful to have a bed, no matter how old it may be, that keeps us from sleeping on the ground.
I am thankful to have power and heat, running water and food in our fridge.
I am thankful to have clothes to wear, a good winter coat, and shoes.
I am thankful to have my various entertainments (internet, DVDs, books)
Truth be told, despite all the grousing that comes with being poor and being held bureaucratically captive in a foreign country, I have a lot to be thankful for.
I mean, I have a place to live that is warm and dry on this cold, rainy night.
I am thankful to have a bed, no matter how old it may be, that keeps us from sleeping on the ground.
I am thankful to have power and heat, running water and food in our fridge.
I am thankful to have clothes to wear, a good winter coat, and shoes.
I am thankful to have my various entertainments (internet, DVDs, books)
I am thankful for my darling husband (who made me eggs over easy and bacon while I did bird-prep)
I am thankful for my sweet, funny, helpful son, who has brought more to my life than I ever thought possible.
I am thankful for my parents, who travel all over just to see us, and who are there for me whenever I need them (Hooray Hammie and Bubba!).
I am thankful for my brothers. While we rarely talk to each other, I know that they are there, and they know the same (More power to Unca Fiss and Unca Dzimmy!).
I am thankful for friends. While I only have a very few of them, they are good friends, and that means a lot.
I am thankful Skeeve has a job. While it's not a good job, it is a good enough job to keep us afloat.
I am thankful for the food we have today, and for the fact of the matter that we had it all in the house and didn't have to face the public looking for the last few things.
I am thankful for my family. While they are far away, and I haven't seen most of them in over a year, it never seems to matter, and they miss us as much as we miss them.
I am thankful for my sweet, funny, helpful son, who has brought more to my life than I ever thought possible.
I am thankful for my parents, who travel all over just to see us, and who are there for me whenever I need them (Hooray Hammie and Bubba!).
I am thankful for my brothers. While we rarely talk to each other, I know that they are there, and they know the same (More power to Unca Fiss and Unca Dzimmy!).
I am thankful for friends. While I only have a very few of them, they are good friends, and that means a lot.
I am thankful Skeeve has a job. While it's not a good job, it is a good enough job to keep us afloat.
I am thankful for the food we have today, and for the fact of the matter that we had it all in the house and didn't have to face the public looking for the last few things.
I am thankful for my family. While they are far away, and I haven't seen most of them in over a year, it never seems to matter, and they miss us as much as we miss them.
I may not have a heckuva lot in the grand scheme of things... but the things I do have are the important ones. The things that no matter how much money you have, you can't buy. And for that, I am unendingly thankful.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Chasing around thoughts.
So, I've finished the Roar, Dinosaur hat. I'll post a picture here and to Ravelry as soon as I can get a good photo taken. The body of the hat itself is the same color as his coat. The ribbed band and the spikes are the same color as his mittens.
So I was all set to go ahead and start on the mitten garland. The problem is that I can't find my 24" cables for my circular needles. I don't have the right size double pointeds, and I only have a 16" cable for the needles I have. I could do magic loop, and learn it, just to do this, which would be cool. But, I need to get at least 24" circulars for it. So I need to find my other cables, but I have no idea where they are. Ugh. So that's tomorrow's project.
In the meantime, LP and I had another darned decent day, full of playing and laughing and running and stuff... until tonight. After dinner, it turned into LP Destroys Everything. He's pulled down all the books, all the puzzles, all the blankets, everything off the table, everything. And once again, I'm "That Mom." The mom who yells, who gets angry, who gets frustrated, who just wants to lock herself in her room until sometime when LP is in the 7-10 range. Every day is like this. This burnout. The yelling. The frustration. It's gotten to the point that I've been thinking about maybe putting LP into a daycare/preschool program for a couple hours a couple days a week. The local rates are looking like about $50/day, plus the incidentals of changes of clothes, shoes, diapers and wipes. At the rate the days are going, I may start looking into the feasibility of sliding scale rates based on income. 'Cause there's really only so much of the burnout I can take, and LP deserves better than That Mom.
So I was all set to go ahead and start on the mitten garland. The problem is that I can't find my 24" cables for my circular needles. I don't have the right size double pointeds, and I only have a 16" cable for the needles I have. I could do magic loop, and learn it, just to do this, which would be cool. But, I need to get at least 24" circulars for it. So I need to find my other cables, but I have no idea where they are. Ugh. So that's tomorrow's project.
In the meantime, LP and I had another darned decent day, full of playing and laughing and running and stuff... until tonight. After dinner, it turned into LP Destroys Everything. He's pulled down all the books, all the puzzles, all the blankets, everything off the table, everything. And once again, I'm "That Mom." The mom who yells, who gets angry, who gets frustrated, who just wants to lock herself in her room until sometime when LP is in the 7-10 range. Every day is like this. This burnout. The yelling. The frustration. It's gotten to the point that I've been thinking about maybe putting LP into a daycare/preschool program for a couple hours a couple days a week. The local rates are looking like about $50/day, plus the incidentals of changes of clothes, shoes, diapers and wipes. At the rate the days are going, I may start looking into the feasibility of sliding scale rates based on income. 'Cause there's really only so much of the burnout I can take, and LP deserves better than That Mom.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Catching up, and Too Long.
I finally got back in touch with an old friend. As I recall, the last time we were in much contact was last winter. Far Too Long. I'm astounded with how big his kids are, how beautiful his daughters and how handsome his son. They're brilliant, and have these infectious smiles, and I can't believe it's been this long.
It's really nice to get caught up again, even if it is only for a short time. There's a certain amount of hoping happening here, too - that the immigration stuff will be finished soon, and we can travel, and actually sit down with friends and chat about life. Even if it's at a local bounce house or something.
I'm living the life of the geeky squee this week. Between the arrival of my EeePC and getting up to watching Once More, With Feeling (Buffy!), I'm just full of geekery-squeeful joy. And I'm verbing words again. Which is to say, words that are not verbs? I'm making them verbs again. And odd adjectives - see 'geekery-squeeful' for reference. ^_^
I've finished one of the points for LP's hat. The rest of them will (hopefully) be following shortly, as they're a right pain in the tuckus to knit up - they're twenty stitches in the round, so it's double pointed needles, as I'm still not doing well with the magic loop, and I don't want to botch this. I need it too soon - like in two-ish weeks - so I'm trying to not mess around too much. Once I get onto my actual Christmas Day gift knitting... Then I'll be able to do more with magic loop, as I've got the time to frog a project out and start over if I need to. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get everything together soonish.
Anyhow! Not much else happening in our little world, just the usual craziness, the dairy detox, the knitting and the upcoming toy fair. I kind of like it that way, though I wish there was an impending trip to Chicago coming as well as the other things.
It's really nice to get caught up again, even if it is only for a short time. There's a certain amount of hoping happening here, too - that the immigration stuff will be finished soon, and we can travel, and actually sit down with friends and chat about life. Even if it's at a local bounce house or something.
I'm living the life of the geeky squee this week. Between the arrival of my EeePC and getting up to watching Once More, With Feeling (Buffy!), I'm just full of geekery-squeeful joy. And I'm verbing words again. Which is to say, words that are not verbs? I'm making them verbs again. And odd adjectives - see 'geekery-squeeful' for reference. ^_^
I've finished one of the points for LP's hat. The rest of them will (hopefully) be following shortly, as they're a right pain in the tuckus to knit up - they're twenty stitches in the round, so it's double pointed needles, as I'm still not doing well with the magic loop, and I don't want to botch this. I need it too soon - like in two-ish weeks - so I'm trying to not mess around too much. Once I get onto my actual Christmas Day gift knitting... Then I'll be able to do more with magic loop, as I've got the time to frog a project out and start over if I need to. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get everything together soonish.
Anyhow! Not much else happening in our little world, just the usual craziness, the dairy detox, the knitting and the upcoming toy fair. I kind of like it that way, though I wish there was an impending trip to Chicago coming as well as the other things.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Research, and the little boy it's done for.
So, I've spent the last while looking over handheld games for LP. I was originally pulled to LeapFrog's offering - the Leapster Explorer. It's pretty cool looking, green and white and great graphics, even with the ability to hook it up to my PC and view his use trends - what he's playing, how often, how he's doing at it, and what his improvements look like. However, the downsides? It has a load of built-in advertising. It's only real built-in game is essentially a 'buy stuff for your pet' game, that once you've used up your starting 'cash'... well, you can only get more by playing more games - which Mom and Dad have to purchase. Hm. This is an issue, especially since we only really get a very limited time in which to afford more new games. Also, there's some concern with the instillation of rampant consumerism at a very early age, but I'm thinking it might be a better lesson of saving/spending than OMG, BUY IT ALL!!!! So, yeah.
So I look into a more... I suppose it's "us"... offering. VTech has a handheld they call the Mobi-Go. Now, it's not got the stylus of the Explorer, but it does have the touch screen, and the Mobi-Go also has a flip-up QWERTY keyboard. The reviews have the biggest drawback being the need to re-download the downloadable games after each shut-down of the system. Irritating, yes, but it's not directly marketing to my son, so I'm alright with that. Particularly as VTech has, in the past, been good to us. I look at the VTech toys in the house (there are two or three active at any given point), and realize the Mobi-Go has another side benefit - I've developed an inherent ability to tune them out. They all sound the same to me, and are reduced to background noise. The Mobi-Go has all the benefits of the Explorer (plus several "starter" games), and I'm seeing none of the drawbacks. I'm pretty cool with that.
The other 'outsider' contender in this game is the VTech VReader - it's essentially a preschooler Kindle. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this, as I barely use my own ereader. And for the same reason as I can see a problem here - I hate the notion that I need to buy a book twice in order to have a copy both on my shelf and in my iPod. Why the hell can I not format shift them for free? Seriously, I need to buy a $20 book for my house, and then pay another $15 to put it on the iPod (and now VReader)? Please.
It looks like we're leaning to the Mobi-Go, now that I've gotten Skeeve's input and he's looked them over, read the reviews and thought about it. It doesn't hurt that the Big Toy Sale for next week will have VTech toys, but not LeapFrog ones, and there's a potential to pick up the Mobi-Go for significantly on-sale. I'm not sure if a handheld would be a "from Mommy and Daddy" gift or a Santa one, but we'll have to see.
I have zero worries about the age setups on the toys. The Mobi-Go is 3+, the Explorer is 4+. The skills they're starting with, though, are things like letter and number identification - these are skills that LP has, and has had, for a significant period of time. I'm looking for an interesting and fun way to bring them together for him, and it seems that having something Just Like Daddy might be the way to go.
In other news, the stegosaurus hat is on its way to completion, though I have a dire need for my double pointed needles. Once that's done, I just wait on my yarn from KnitPicks to get here, and I can start the mitten garland. I'm very excited. Maybe I'll put a piece of felt sushi in the mittens as well as candies and other little trinkets... Hm. So many wonderful craft ideas, so little time and focus. ^_^
So I look into a more... I suppose it's "us"... offering. VTech has a handheld they call the Mobi-Go. Now, it's not got the stylus of the Explorer, but it does have the touch screen, and the Mobi-Go also has a flip-up QWERTY keyboard. The reviews have the biggest drawback being the need to re-download the downloadable games after each shut-down of the system. Irritating, yes, but it's not directly marketing to my son, so I'm alright with that. Particularly as VTech has, in the past, been good to us. I look at the VTech toys in the house (there are two or three active at any given point), and realize the Mobi-Go has another side benefit - I've developed an inherent ability to tune them out. They all sound the same to me, and are reduced to background noise. The Mobi-Go has all the benefits of the Explorer (plus several "starter" games), and I'm seeing none of the drawbacks. I'm pretty cool with that.
The other 'outsider' contender in this game is the VTech VReader - it's essentially a preschooler Kindle. I'm not entirely sure what I think of this, as I barely use my own ereader. And for the same reason as I can see a problem here - I hate the notion that I need to buy a book twice in order to have a copy both on my shelf and in my iPod. Why the hell can I not format shift them for free? Seriously, I need to buy a $20 book for my house, and then pay another $15 to put it on the iPod (and now VReader)? Please.
It looks like we're leaning to the Mobi-Go, now that I've gotten Skeeve's input and he's looked them over, read the reviews and thought about it. It doesn't hurt that the Big Toy Sale for next week will have VTech toys, but not LeapFrog ones, and there's a potential to pick up the Mobi-Go for significantly on-sale. I'm not sure if a handheld would be a "from Mommy and Daddy" gift or a Santa one, but we'll have to see.
I have zero worries about the age setups on the toys. The Mobi-Go is 3+, the Explorer is 4+. The skills they're starting with, though, are things like letter and number identification - these are skills that LP has, and has had, for a significant period of time. I'm looking for an interesting and fun way to bring them together for him, and it seems that having something Just Like Daddy might be the way to go.
In other news, the stegosaurus hat is on its way to completion, though I have a dire need for my double pointed needles. Once that's done, I just wait on my yarn from KnitPicks to get here, and I can start the mitten garland. I'm very excited. Maybe I'll put a piece of felt sushi in the mittens as well as candies and other little trinkets... Hm. So many wonderful craft ideas, so little time and focus. ^_^
Monday, November 15, 2010
Another day down...
Today was a little strange. No early breakfast, no running around...
I got up with LP this morning, we had some breakfast, we sat around and played a little with his cars and T-Rex, and I got a fair amount of knitting done. At the rate I'm going, I'll have his hat all knitted up in no time, and the garland too. Thank goodness. There's a lot of knitting to do, and only a little time to do it in.
Upcoming? The Samko Toy show. I'm not sure we'll actually buy things, but I'm looking at getting him a Leapster Explorer, and if they have them at a significant discount? Sweet. Very sweet. We'll have to see. I also want Skeeve to look at the thing at the store before we decide anything. There's something in the reviews about direct advertising, and I want to see what and how directly advertising it is before I decide to go ahead with the buy.
It's, apparently, very much time to be thinking about Christmas. As that seems to be the primary focus of my thoughts and activities... There we go.
I got up with LP this morning, we had some breakfast, we sat around and played a little with his cars and T-Rex, and I got a fair amount of knitting done. At the rate I'm going, I'll have his hat all knitted up in no time, and the garland too. Thank goodness. There's a lot of knitting to do, and only a little time to do it in.
Upcoming? The Samko Toy show. I'm not sure we'll actually buy things, but I'm looking at getting him a Leapster Explorer, and if they have them at a significant discount? Sweet. Very sweet. We'll have to see. I also want Skeeve to look at the thing at the store before we decide anything. There's something in the reviews about direct advertising, and I want to see what and how directly advertising it is before I decide to go ahead with the buy.
It's, apparently, very much time to be thinking about Christmas. As that seems to be the primary focus of my thoughts and activities... There we go.
Friday, November 12, 2010
It has been a forever-long day!
We were all up before 7. LP has had no nap. He is finally down for the night. Oye.
My blogging point of interest? Every time my EeePC hibernates, it disables the mouse. That's right, every single time. And every single time I have to try to remember how to re-enable it. Sadly, this means no time for blogging, as I am instead using the time to a) re-enable the mouse, and b) figure out how to make the machine stop disabling it in the first place. Sheesh. I still have software to download and install, people! XD
My blogging point of interest? Every time my EeePC hibernates, it disables the mouse. That's right, every single time. And every single time I have to try to remember how to re-enable it. Sadly, this means no time for blogging, as I am instead using the time to a) re-enable the mouse, and b) figure out how to make the machine stop disabling it in the first place. Sheesh. I still have software to download and install, people! XD
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Watching the oldies again...
So for starters, I'm updating from a new EeePC. I am thrilled. I don't think I can explain exactly how full of geeky squee I am right now. It's a beautiful new compy that will fit in my diaper bag even with everything else in there already.
In addition to bringing my new compy, Hammie and Bubba came with a myriad of gifts for the Little Prince. Not least among them were a new Lightning McQueen hoodie from Uncle Fritz and a T-Rex from Uncle Jimmy. And a soccer ball, too. Now, in addition to these wonderful things for LP, there are a few things that are supposed to be for LP, but really... they're for us parents, too. First of all, there's the second box of Sesame Street Old School. Just in time, 'cause we were really starting to get a little down on the first five episodes. It's kind of sad, as it's also only one episode per season, and I was really hoping to find boxed sets of seasons. Ah, well. However... also? Also, the other DVD that came in was... Toy Story. The first one. The start of the era. Now LP is only moderately interested in the movie, but I am loving every second of it. What's better than the near continual references to the general Pixar properties? I mean, obviously the Lightyear thing, but also the Dinoco, and all the old things I barely remember from when I last saw the movie. It's amazing. It's like seeing it for the first time all over again, and it's just amazing.
I never really realized just how much went into the design of these movies, or how much carries over from one to the next. It's just incredible, and I'm once again reminded exactly why it is I need to work at Pixar someday. ^_^
All in all, this has been a wonderful gift - just Toy Story, not including any of the other things that have come into the house, though everything has been a blessing. I can't even express how wonderful it is to have people around us that really care. It makes all the difference. All the difference in the world.
This disjointed entry brought to you by Toy Story on the TV, which is far more distracting than it seems like it should be. ^_^
In addition to bringing my new compy, Hammie and Bubba came with a myriad of gifts for the Little Prince. Not least among them were a new Lightning McQueen hoodie from Uncle Fritz and a T-Rex from Uncle Jimmy. And a soccer ball, too. Now, in addition to these wonderful things for LP, there are a few things that are supposed to be for LP, but really... they're for us parents, too. First of all, there's the second box of Sesame Street Old School. Just in time, 'cause we were really starting to get a little down on the first five episodes. It's kind of sad, as it's also only one episode per season, and I was really hoping to find boxed sets of seasons. Ah, well. However... also? Also, the other DVD that came in was... Toy Story. The first one. The start of the era. Now LP is only moderately interested in the movie, but I am loving every second of it. What's better than the near continual references to the general Pixar properties? I mean, obviously the Lightyear thing, but also the Dinoco, and all the old things I barely remember from when I last saw the movie. It's amazing. It's like seeing it for the first time all over again, and it's just amazing.
I never really realized just how much went into the design of these movies, or how much carries over from one to the next. It's just incredible, and I'm once again reminded exactly why it is I need to work at Pixar someday. ^_^
All in all, this has been a wonderful gift - just Toy Story, not including any of the other things that have come into the house, though everything has been a blessing. I can't even express how wonderful it is to have people around us that really care. It makes all the difference. All the difference in the world.
This disjointed entry brought to you by Toy Story on the TV, which is far more distracting than it seems like it should be. ^_^
T-1h and counting...
Hammie and Bubba are almost here. They called around noon and said they were in Port Huron. I figure 10-15 minutes to get to the border, and it could be anywhere between 5 and 35 minutes for the crossing (they just got their Nexxus cards!), and then it's an hour and a half to two hours to here. They could be here in as little as half an hour. YIKES!
We've been busy all morning. Like, seriously busy. I refilled the flour (we keep about 20# in the kitchen at all times), and refilled the baking flour (this is straight up white flour, our usual bin is 50/50 white and wheat), filled up the sugar, started a loaf of bread, cleaned the counters, the stovetop, and then swept the floors - again. ^_^ We had breakfast, then I scrubbed a toilet, vacuumed the stairs, and settled LP in with some Sesame Street so we could get the nitty gritty done. No, it's not to Mom's standard. But, I'm not her, so my idea of clean is distinctly different than hers. ^_^ So nyah!
Now... I'm about to change and dress a baby, Skeeve is feeding cats and changing litter, then taking out the garbage, and then... we're done. Done, and ready, just waiting for Hammie and Bubba.
I'm thinking I'm going to make a list of things I want to blog about, 'cause it seems every time I sit down, I forget everything and am left posting a terribly bland update about cleaning. o.o;;
We've been busy all morning. Like, seriously busy. I refilled the flour (we keep about 20# in the kitchen at all times), and refilled the baking flour (this is straight up white flour, our usual bin is 50/50 white and wheat), filled up the sugar, started a loaf of bread, cleaned the counters, the stovetop, and then swept the floors - again. ^_^ We had breakfast, then I scrubbed a toilet, vacuumed the stairs, and settled LP in with some Sesame Street so we could get the nitty gritty done. No, it's not to Mom's standard. But, I'm not her, so my idea of clean is distinctly different than hers. ^_^ So nyah!
Now... I'm about to change and dress a baby, Skeeve is feeding cats and changing litter, then taking out the garbage, and then... we're done. Done, and ready, just waiting for Hammie and Bubba.
I'm thinking I'm going to make a list of things I want to blog about, 'cause it seems every time I sit down, I forget everything and am left posting a terribly bland update about cleaning. o.o;;
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
One Day.
It is amazing the change one day will make.
Granted, for me this is small scale. I see what happens in my own life, but I'm sure there are bigger implications.
Hell, one day was the difference between kicks and stretches and peeing all the time and awkwardness... and suddenly carrying a child in my arms. o.o;;
I suppose that's how I really ought to look at it... In terms of the positive. It seems that for now, though, I'm stuck in a bit of a negative. I'm not caring for it much, but I'm not sure how to reframe it.
I've spent quite a while trying to get the house into shape for my folks to visit. I've been scrubbing, reorganizing, cleaning, tidying... generally trying to bring the house up to a standard I know full well I can never meet. I just don't have the space or the time.
What makes it worse, I think, is that no matter what I've done in the course of a day, by 10:00 every night, it has almost all been undone. Every floor I've washed has something ground back into it. Every time I vacuum, someone gives LP a big chunk of bread... in the living room. Every time I clean a surface, within 20 minutes it's cluttered again. And then the toys. Oh, the toys. I clean them twice daily, and LP helps me clean them an additional time. And yet, there is a mountain of puzzles, books, and train tracks heaped on the living room floor. And cars and Legos and balls in the dining room. And toy pots and pans in the kitchen. And I still need to vacuum. Oye.
I'm thinking that as a part of NaBloPoMo, I really ought to look into how to frame these things more positively. How to turn it all around and have a positive message at the end of the day. So I'm not coming out of it going "well, my kid is a natural disaster, and he runs like a muppet, but at least he's cute." I'm thinking that's going to be my big project. With any luck, it'll help stave off the negative posts. ^_^
Granted, for me this is small scale. I see what happens in my own life, but I'm sure there are bigger implications.
Hell, one day was the difference between kicks and stretches and peeing all the time and awkwardness... and suddenly carrying a child in my arms. o.o;;
I suppose that's how I really ought to look at it... In terms of the positive. It seems that for now, though, I'm stuck in a bit of a negative. I'm not caring for it much, but I'm not sure how to reframe it.
I've spent quite a while trying to get the house into shape for my folks to visit. I've been scrubbing, reorganizing, cleaning, tidying... generally trying to bring the house up to a standard I know full well I can never meet. I just don't have the space or the time.
What makes it worse, I think, is that no matter what I've done in the course of a day, by 10:00 every night, it has almost all been undone. Every floor I've washed has something ground back into it. Every time I vacuum, someone gives LP a big chunk of bread... in the living room. Every time I clean a surface, within 20 minutes it's cluttered again. And then the toys. Oh, the toys. I clean them twice daily, and LP helps me clean them an additional time. And yet, there is a mountain of puzzles, books, and train tracks heaped on the living room floor. And cars and Legos and balls in the dining room. And toy pots and pans in the kitchen. And I still need to vacuum. Oye.
I'm thinking that as a part of NaBloPoMo, I really ought to look into how to frame these things more positively. How to turn it all around and have a positive message at the end of the day. So I'm not coming out of it going "well, my kid is a natural disaster, and he runs like a muppet, but at least he's cute." I'm thinking that's going to be my big project. With any luck, it'll help stave off the negative posts. ^_^
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