Monday, December 30, 2013

performances


Last Sunday was a day full of performances. Ken led his little class in reciting the first part of the Sermon on the Mount at our church in the morning. It sounded beautiful. He conducted them like a choir. Their voices were powerful and confident. Sometimes they spoke individually, sometimes the boys, then the girls, and sometimes all together. No mistakes! There's something powerful about God's word spoken with gusto.


And then in the evening, Anna and Lydia had their first ballet performance! It was at another church, where their ballet teacher attends. There performance was a part of the church's Christmas program. Very, very cute.


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Stroke of genius

This doesn't happen often, so I need to document. The kids' lovely, doting cousin sent them a few items of clothing yesterday. Very cute; very classy. But one of the shirts that they both received, I decided we needed to give away despite its beautiful wine-red color. And then an idea popped into my head.

Before:



After:




Since I am not interested in having my girls rocked ever, save when they were babies, these few drops of ink have spared them a sad parting. They are now free to wear these shirts.

Genius.

Friday, December 13, 2013

extra protein

My dear Lydia.


This little chunkymunk (who is really excelling in drawing) need not worry about her riboflavin intake.  About a week ago, in a desperate attempt to be set free from re-filling cups of water because a fruit fly happened to drop in, I explained to the kids a study that I had heard about long ago. It's very vague, but I remember reading about Indians living in Great Britain suffering from some sort of ailment due to the lack of insects that would otherwise be hidden in vegetables. Food in England was clean to a fault. Insects are a wonderful source of protein and other necessary nutrients, so take advantage of one in your water, was my conclusion. Joseph took to it right away, and swallowed the next fruit fly floating in his water. Life became a little easier.
A few days ago, after Lydia saw Joseph drinking down a fruit fly, she noticed one in her water.
"A fly!", she said triumphantly. She took her two unwashed fingers, and rooted around her water for it until she had it in her grasp.
"Lydia, you don't have to eat it. It's ok."
"But Joseph did!", and she stuck her fingers into her mouth and swallowed.
Oh boy.
Well, I guess this new lifestyle really can't hurt, unless they we start exploring unknown phyla.
It's a bit scary, the power we parents have in the lives of our children. At this stage, anything we say is unquestioned truth.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Cinch it in

What do you do with a son who, inspired by his Robin Hood book (thank you, Sherilyn!), proudly steps out of the house with a belt cinching everything in tidily at his bellybutton, if not above?
"Mom...", he said with bright eyes and an expectant smile, hands in his pockets. That's when I saw it. Aaah! So at first I admired it a little, then I went right into why that look wouldn't work for him. 
"You see, it's more like something ladies would wear." (note to self: walk him through the Michelle Obama fashion blog which I unabashedly follow)
"No, Mom! Don't you remember those pictures in Robin Hood? They were all men."
Oh dear. How do you argue with an illustration? I was torn. How good to know Joseph won't bend to the whims of fashion. He is his own man. But noooo, not this! 
Well, that Saturday, he wore that belt with pride. Sunday morning (this very morning), when he came out once again with the dreaded belt, I said NO. 
"I'm drawing the line here, buddy" I pumped all the authority I could into my tone. 
"Well, I'm crossing over that line." He intuitively knew I couldn't dictate that deeply into his affairs.
"I've already built a brick wall on the line." 
By this time Anna piped up, happy to be on Joseph's side. "Joseph, say you break down the brick wall! Say that!" I think he said it. Anyway, yes, he wore it to church. He pointed it out to some of his friends. He was completely oblivious to the fact the some thought it a bit odd. In his world, he was Robin Hood in all his broad-shouldered, muscled-thigh glory...with a sturdy belt to cinch all that power in.




I tremble to think how long this might last...