jump to navigation

Give a little bit June 11, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 7 comments

Today Soleil donated her hair. I am very proud of her!

BEFORE:

And AFTER:

 

Bikers June 3, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 2 comments

Now that Soleil can ride without training wheels, she requested that we go to the bike trail nearby. The Minuteman Bikeway runs close enough to us that we can ride it. So we hooked up the bike rack to the car yesterday and pumped up the tires and went for a ride. I chose a section that would be short and let us stand over Route 128/95. The girls loved being over the traffic. Luna did well, even if she is not yet 4. Soleil was amazing. She waited for us at every stop sign, listened to all of the rules and never fell off her bike

The total distance? 4ish miles round trip!

Oh yeah, I will make bikers out of them soon!

 

Unadultered Love May 31, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 5 comments

She sat on the floor near the teacher, her long legs tucked under her orange and white gingham dress. The teacher set up the 4 year old we were watching. As the girl got nervous, the teacher asked if she should do the introduction to the piece. The little girl nodded. As the teacher’s bow touched the strings, there was a sudden intake of breath from the floor. The first note rang out and Soleil forgot to breathe. She sat perfectly still as the teacher and the 4 year old played a duet.

For 30 minutes Friday, we watched a violin lesson. And when it was done, Soleil said "And next time I will play!"

Yes, baby. Next time, we will have a violin for you. It may be too big at first, but we will have one for you!

Her eyes shown for the rest of the night as she spoke to everyone she knew about her violin lesson.

This, my friends, is something to see. When your child finds something to love and you can just watch the euphoria go through them. This is love. 

I’m an astronomer, Jim, not an arborist! May 8, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Current Affairs, Kids , 1 comment so far

Since the snows have left and the flowers have first poked out of the ground, the girls have been asking Jay and I to identify EVERY fricken flower on the planet. And trees. Don’t forget the trees. Now, I can figure out the basics, the maples, the oaks, the pines, the beech. I know which tree in our yard is a dogwood (because we planted it two years ago). Yesterday, Luna found a beautiful tree covered with pink blossoms. I believe it is an apple tree and that it was an apple blossom. But I am not sure… Sigh…

I guess I need to learn alot more about trees, eh?

Luna’s teacher stopped me today as I was dropping her off. Apparently a student spilled something all over the table and made a mess. Luna shook her head and said "Oy Vey!". All of the other kids looked at her and asked about it. She said "That’s what Jewish people say when you make a mess!"

This morning I fed my kids Pop Tarts. I hang my head in shame. and then I gave them each a glass of milk. As I turn to get my cereal (the only true breakfast food) I hear a clunk of plastic and the girls yell L’chaim! as they are clinking their glasses together.

Ah….

 

Playing Favorites May 7, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Life...otherwise, Kids , 2 comments

The interstellar Medium is - a fortune teller from Alpha Centuri

My former adviser had a question on his Astronomy 101 test that asked what the Interstellar medium was. My favorite choice was "a fortune teller from Alpha Centuri".  It always made me think of my favorite book, "A Wrinkle in Time" . One chapter is devoted to a visit to a Happy Medium. I love this chapter as the characters get to explore themselves and their companions.

Recently, Soleil asked for a visit to the local library. I said yes and she excitedly selected 4 books. One of the books was "A Wind in the Door", the third book about the Murry family from "Wrinkle". I told her that the book was a llittle above her level, but if she really wanted it, we could start with the first book, "Wrinkle".

Over 4 days, we read this book together. My girls curled next to me while I tried to use proper intonations for Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. I didn’t even try to pronounce the Greek quotes of Mrs. Who. I did draw out the words for Mrs. Which. We covered the whole grounds of love, caring, math, tessering, and five dimensional space.

Soleil often interrupted to ask what words meant. At first she enjoyed the idea of all of the children bouncing balls and jumping rope in rhythm, until she realized they had no choice. Luna got scared when she discovered the true nature of IT.

But in the end, love won out and everyone returned home to land in the twins broccoli patch.

And I have now introduced the girls to my favorite book of all time.

Money! It’s a crime April 30, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Current Affairs, Kids , 3 comments

So how do you keep your children from being spoiled? That’s a tough question. It’s one that I grapple with daily. 

I have a friend (Smiley You know who you are!) Who was kind enough to share her wealth with us in February. Her family had recently bought a new jet and her husband wanted to get more flying time in. She invited all of us who were visiting her to go on her jet from Kissimee to Key West. Now to me, this was generous. They paid for the fuel and the time of the second pilot. They allowed us to visit a place that most of us in the group would never had gone to (I personally LOVED Key West and I would love to go there again! and again). On the way back to Kissimee, we had the discussion of how to keep it real for kids.

Now my friend, yes, she has money. But she hasn’t ALWAYS had money. Her husband owns at least 2 businesses. One here, one in Europe. Flying is a major part of his life, so turning the work into a hobby makes sense. But they also have two children. They travel to Europe often. The kids sometimes go with the parents, sometimes not. Sometimes the nanny comes. The kids have learned what  their normal is. Their normal is that Daddy gets the plane ready and they fly off when they need to travel long distances. My Friend is concerned about how to keep life real for them.

To be honest, Jay and I wonder about that too. Not for her children, but ours. So far, the girls have gone to Florida, Maryland, Ohio, New York, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania (and Tennessee for Luna). Except for the New England states, this is a LOT of travel. Luna’s not even 4 yet. And Hawaii? They’ve been there TWICE in their lives. Most of this is work or family travel. Our family is all over the place. Work takes us several places. But still I got asked last week "Mommy, why are we driving to Maryland? Can’t we just take a plane?" I explained the cost of things, the cost of airfare, etc. It did make me realize how my girls are accustomed to a certain life style.

To offset what they see in terms of travel, I noticed that we started to make other changes. When they put some of their allowance in the Tzdakah bank, Jay and I match the amount they put in. When I see someone at a traffic light asking for money, I will sometimes give it to them. I try to make sure we give to the food bank, in front  of the girls. We talk about each of these events and why we do it.

We also talk to them about corporate greed. When we discuss something about smoking or the mortgage collapse in the country, the girls will often ask why? Why are people mean to other people? Unfortunately, the answer is almost always money. The smoking industry wants to money. The sub prime loans were an attempt to procure higher monthly payments. Money. Money. Money.  The girls come to their own conclusion that this is not right. And we agree. We try over and over to explain how money is not the end all be all of life. It’s what you do that matters, not what you own.

I just hope that we can show by example and not have to make our children go through the stress of day to day money woes to not be spoiled and to appreciate what they have.

They’re dead, Jim!* April 24, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 7 comments

So, Luna and I went to the dentist this morning. He looked and checked out her gums. Then he drew some pretty pictures.

The teeth are turning grey because the trauma to them ruptured the blood vessels in the tooth. There is no way to know if the tooth is REALLY dead, or just Mostly Dead( "to blathe"). So we need to check on her gums. Her gums? oh yes, my friends in the ether, if her gums start to show white spots, like a pimple, then the tooth HAS died and the pulp is infected. The infection will damage the incoming adult tooth. So then we would have to remove them.

 

Lovely. Just fricken lovely….

 

*Sorry Star Trek Fans

** Extra points to the person who finds the Princess Bride reference 

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, my kids are from Alpha Centuri April 9, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Kids, Mom Phrases , 5 comments

There are days, you know those days, when you are ready to grab your passport, withdraw all of your cash and buy a one-way ticket to an isle where a Cabana boy named Juan can oil you down. Oh, and leave the kids behind while doing this. And what never fails on days like this, is that someone will make a comment about Soleil or Luna. Something along the lines of 

She’s so cute and she is so caring and considerate. She must just be pure pleasure to be with! 

The first thing I normally do when this happens is snap my head around, looking for the person that this crazed individual is talking to, because it can’t be me! Then I realize, oh, they ARE talking to me. How odd. I usually respond with something like "Oh she’s good in small doses" or something to that affect.

The second thing I do is analyze this conversation. I over think sometimes and this topic often makes me think. How do others view my kids? The truth is, they are extremely caring and considerate when we are not around. I have heard nothing but compliments from parents, teachers, daycare personnel on our daughters’ behavior. Somehow, this always surprises me. Perhaps it is because I am the one who has to deal with the kicking and screaming 3 year old. Or who has the 5 year old claim "I don’t like you, Mom!" as she turns her back on me. The screaming when things are working out between them. The crying and hitting. I am always amazed because I do see the harder parts of their personalities. I see the good sides too, but the bad sides I really see!

I guess those little gems hidden in parenting books "They will act worse with the parents because they trust them" are true. My girls can be perfect angels with other adults, but when I have them, forget about it. On those days that Juan is calling for me, I need to remember this:

    They really are well behaved kids. They really are caring. I just don’t get to see that part of them much because they are so comfortable with me.
 

 

Girl with wheels April 1, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 4 comments

It’s no April Fool, the girl can ride without the training wheels! (starting and stopping still needs help)

Checkered Village February 25, 2008

Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 1 comment so far

(This is what we get from Soleil. This is her most recent story, written on checkered paper…She dictates the story to the staff at her after school place and they write it down. Does anyone else wonder what must be going on in her head?)

 

The Checked Village   By Soleil Space

 This is what Checkered Village looks like from a far view away.Checkered Village is the best village in the world and it is special to some people. This is what the houses were painted like in and out. Some of the checkered people liked it and were very happy. As you know, Checked Village is very scary.

Everybody was happy in Checked Village. Unfortunately, one day a monster woke up from his long winter sleep for six years. A mother and her daughter seen the monster. They both ran home and told their family. One day in Checkered Village when a lady was gardening…(the picture shows a monster eating a person and a large scream) And that was the roof of the house.

(Written against a peachy red checkered page) This was the skin of the people. And the monster ate most of the families until there were only 2 left. They made lots of children to fill the land. The monster went asleep for 6 years. When the monster arrived home for its sleep it needed some food and it ate all the children it captured. This is the color  of grass in Checkered Village.

The End.