Back to School

Sean and the Big Book
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

Erin has been back to school all week. While we are glad to see her so happy, the fact that she takes a nap a school has made for some LONG nights this week. Combined with me trying to stay up to watch the convention (wasn't Obama's speech beyond words) and last night my Deacons were on TV and I have been sleep deprived much of the week.

But before I turn in - a couple of funny things from the last couple of weeks.

GrandJo and PopPop bought Erin a set of Tinker Toys and they brought them out last week. Erin made many abstract works and she and Grand Jo played art museum with them. But one day Erin struck a pose on the floor and told Grand Jo that she was a sculpture for sale. "Oh, how much?" inquired GrandJo "Four dollars. Buy one get one free." To which I would have replied (but GrandJo didn't) "No thanks, one of you is PLENTY!!" And people say the media doesn't influence children....

Tonight after dinner we spent a long time around mom and dad's table with Sean rolling busses, cars, trucks across the table. It's so strange that we had these same cars and trucks for Erin but she never took any interest in them and now Sean can play with them for hours. Boys and girls. Wired differently. Oh, and if you want to see something really cute....watch Sean wash his face.

My Daughter the Critic

NY Times magazine
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

So Erin, Bobbie, Patrick and I went to the Little Theatre's production of "Seussical the Musical" today at Reynolds Auditorium. Upon seeing the classical facade of the building she announced 'I hope this isn't one of buildings Hercules knocked down!' I assured her it wasn't but congratulated her on her attention to archetectural detail. At intermission she and I went back out to the front and were looking at the columns and she noticed the leaves at the top. I immediately explained to her that those were Corinthian columns and then it hit me....I've become my father. I have such vivid memories of our trip to Rome in 1979 and being quizzed endlessly on the three types of columns (Ionic, Doric and Corinthian thankyouverymuch). So dad.....it stuck and I hope I have years of quizzing my own kids on that on as many trips to Italy as we can muster.

The show was so-so. Not great, not the worst thing I've ever seen. We thought Erin would be ready to go at intermission but she wanted to stay. On the way home, however, when asked her opinion of the show she said 'It was too long and it made me sweat!" Short and to the point....hope our friend Matt Wolf, a London theatre critic appreciates the simplicity.

One week left of the summer. WFU freshmen arrive Thursday and then all hell breaks loose. Erin will be back at The Downtown School this Fall and she is rarin to get back in the swing of things, as are we! Plus, now we have WFU Football to look forward to...no really....we're a football school now, or haven't you heard???

Happy Siblings

Happy Siblings
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

So I've been fighting to get my iPhone working for two days and my dear husband spent 2 and a half hours on the phone with support today - and their answer was "go to an Apple store." Which, of course, is a 2-hour trip (and a million dollars in gas) for us, so we'll just see what happens.

But on the positive side the kids are cuter than ever. Really, I have the two cutest children on the planet. Let's see what's new with them.

Sean is obsessed with Elmo, ceiling fans and fire trucks (pronounced figuh-truck) and is doing his best to keep up with his big sister. He's always saying 'hi' to people -- all the time. One of his favorite games in the evenings is to get up in our bed with Patrick and get under the covers. They call it 'Light and Dark" or as Sean says "Liguh-dark-uh" He manages to add extra syllables to everything he can. He's talking up a storm and is putting more and more words together. Not surprisingly, he's an opinionated soul who is not afraid to tell other people what to do. "Sit Mommy" is my favorite.

Erin is having a great summer bouncing between camps at the Children's Museum, Grand-Jos house and The Little Gym, but I think she and all of us will be glad when school starts again. She' sbeen spending some nights over at Grand Jo's house which makes her happy (and it's nice to know she can sleep elsewhere when the need arises). She's totally into Webkinz (if you have to ask, you don't want to know) on the computer and is becoming quite the computer goddess. The other night Patrick brought out a laptop and taught her how to use the touch pad in about 3 minutes. Mind you I have never learned how to use a touch pad, so I felt pretty stupid.

But that's life as a parent -- you just feel stupid most of the time and hope your kids don't figure out that you have no clue what you are doing. They can figure that out in therapy years from now when I'm going senile in a home......

So important in the summer....

So Erin (and Sean to a lesser extent) are very warm natured. They take after their father and Grandma Bobbie in that respect (not me -- I sleep under blankets throughout the summer). So we've tried to instill in Erin the need to drink lots of water in the summer. So this past weekend we were at Moe's (our FAVORITE Mexican place) and she got her usual cheese Quesedilla but then she wanted water instead of milk, chocolate milk or lemonade. This is unusual for her, but not unheard of, so I got her a glass of water. Halfway through the meal she announced that she was hibernating. When I looked at her quizzically -- she said "You know, drinking lots of water -- hibernating...." I told her that the correct word was 'hydrating' but that I liked her version better.

She's having a sleepover at GrandJo's tonight -- what fun. Her last day of school is tomorrow. She's had a great year and will have an even better Summer -- Graylyn Pool -- Watch out!!!

Everything in Relative

So bedtime meltdowns are never a good thing. Erin has them when she's really tired, and usually spends the time yelling about how she's not tired at all. Last night she had one about watching American Idol - and who can blame her - the talent is just not that great this year. But tonight she nearly had one over the fact that this great little book we have with cartoon strips telling 7 Shakespeare Stories (Hamlet, McBeth, Romeo & Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, Winter's Tale and Julius Caeser -- just the 7 I would pick for children, how about you???) did not actually include As You Like It -- so in the grand scheme of things, I'd rather her have a meltdown about poor editorial choices on the part of Shakespeare books for children then say, about wanting to sleep on the sofa, wanting to sleep naked, or just not wanting to sleep at all. But really, all I want is 8 solid hours of sleep with no interruptions - how early can kids go to college these days????

Oh, and Sean has learned how to fake sneeze -- it's about the cutest thing I've ever seen - I'll get a video up soon.

We Are The Ones Song by will.i.am - Obama

To deviate from family posts for a moment -- I'd like to share this new Obama video. His speech on race yesterday sent chills down my spine -- and this video is great! Enjoy!

Dueling Shakespeares

Daddy Daughter Date Night 1
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

So last night as I was putting Erin to bed

Erin: Mommy, I can't sleep. I have A Midsummer Nights Dream on one side and As You Like it on the other.

Me: Side of what, sweetie? Your Brain?

Erin: Yep - they're duking it out.

Me: I wonder which one will win.

2 minutes later she's sound asleep. I guess we know which one won!! Where do these things come from??

The picture is from the Daddy Daughter Date Night and the Winston-Salem Children's Museum back in Feb. Check out their home page slide show and you'll catch another one of them together.

From the mouths of babes...

hats2_march08
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

So tonight we had our good friends Betsy and Jeremy Chapman over for dinner with their son, Ian. We played, had dinner and then were all watching Weird Al (see previous post). Erin turns around to them and says "Why are you still here??"" and then goes on about her business. Luckily Bets and Jer are not the types to get offended, or we would not have been friends for over 15 years.

The picture is further evidence of my son's infatuation with hats. He and Pat played in his re-enacting closet for a long time this morning. Sean just kept pointing up and saying 'haaaaaaat' and Pat would pull out another one --- and another -- and another. But it made for some great pictures!!

Milestones

I guess we all measure time in different ways and we all have expectations for things we can't wait to do with our kids. For me, having Erin learn all the words of the WFU Fight song has been a highlight of the last year....add to that the fact that one of her favorite insults is to call people 'Blue Devils' and my job on this planet is just about complete. For Patrick, one of his great dreams has now come true....in addition to being able to name all the superheroes she sees, Erin is a Weird Al Yankovic fan. We have spent the last 4 nights watching our DVD and Erin now knows most of the words to 'Dare to be Stupid' AND 'Jedi' -- it is a wonder to behold. 'Smells Like Nirvana', one of my favorites has yet to catch on with her, but she's warming up to "Amish Paradise." So really, what more can we ask? I guess she could grow up to save the world, but if not, we'll love her all the same!!

Sean's Vocabulary

So Sean is talking much later than Erin did, which is to be expected since he spends most of his time trying to kill himself by climbing up on things and falling off, or knocking things over on himself. But anyway, here's his latest list of vocabulary in order of daily frequency(note the lack of any reference to his female parent).....

PopPop (his grandfather)
UhOh!!
BiBi (for his passifier)
Ree Ree (read)
Eee Eee (Eat)
Da Da
Ehwin (for erin)
Deek Deek (Deac Deac)
Bah (for ball)
Beh (for Beth)
Ba (bath)
Duice (for juice or shoes)
kaka (for cat)

And a few other random sounds that he makes while pointing at things and yelling. So we're still waiting for MaMa -- I'm sure a year from now I'll be wondering why I ever wanted him to say it at all....

Happy New Year!

Kid Pics Take 1
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

It's been too long, but one of my resolutions is to stop feeling guilty for NOT writing in the blog, and just be happy when I do. So lots to remember from a great Christmas (although a bit tainted by round 2 of the stomach bug that wouldn't go away). I won't get to it all, so I'll start with this picture....6 adults four cameras, dozens of shots and not a one got a decent picture of Erin and Sean in front of the tree on Christmas Eve. Such is life, but I bet we remember it longer than if they both sat sweetly and smiled.

But part of my joy at being a parent is teaching language to my children and to become ever more infatuated with and frustrated by this thing called English. Erin is so astute that the minute something comes out of someones mouth that is a cliche, or a saying she doesn't get, she's all over it. Case in point. Last night - hot dogs at GrandJos and PopPop's house. GrandJo was getting ready to put ketchup on Erin's hot dog and GrandJo said 'OK -- tell me when....' and Erin looked at her and said 'right now.' Which cracked me up -- so we had to explain that 'tell me when' was a saying for tell me when to stop.....

Today, watching this insipid Barbie movie "Mermaidia" -- (I have nothing against Barbie movies, many I like very much, but this one stinks) and a character said something like flying fleetly through the flowers and Erin turned to me and said "Mommy - he used alliteration!!!" That's my girl......

Princess and Pumpkin

Princess and Pumpkin
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

So despite Erin's illness, we had a grand time trick-or-treating. Sean did not make it but he will next year. We went with our neighbors and their 3 kids who we love and we had a blast. So we had a princess, two characters from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and one two-year-old boy who decided he wanted to be a princess. So what did they do?? The put him in a clown costume and told him he was a princess and he was pleased as punch!! There were lots of kids out and about the neighborhood and it was really great to see folks and meet some new people. I know lots of folks lament the downturn in neighborhoods, but ours is doing pretty well and we love it!! But we'll have to secretly hide the candy from Erin or we'll have to peel her off the ceiling and from me, or I'll be back in my pregnancy clothes!! More pics, if you want them on my flickr page.

Our Little Punkin

Our Little Punkin
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

Can you believe Sean is 1 year old today?? He's a pumpkin for school (see video here) and if he makes it trick-or-treating he'll be Tigger. He goes to bed about 6:30pm these days, so that doesn't give us much time. Erin has been sick, but I think the prospect of candy will make her well enough to go as either a princess or Super Girl. Hard to believe that one year ago I was in the hospital, but as they say 'time flies when you're the mother of two' or is that 'mother's of two fly around like crazy people' -- well, you know what I mean. Happy Halloween to all and to all a good night!!!

Undiagnosed

So this is a pretty silly blog, when you get down to it. Some pics, some news, some random thoughts on motherhood, life, politics and the like. But if you want to read a great blog -- tune in to the one my old friend Jonathan Milner keeps on his son Errol. Jonathan and his wife Cary Clifford (who also have a son, Owen, at Erin's school) have been through hell and back again with their beautiful second son, Errol. And the blog is some of the best writing about parenting, human nature and life that I have ever read. Enjoy!!

But is is Art???

So most of you know of my father's crazy collection of corruptions of great works of art. Funny Mona Lisas, poor reproductions of the Venus de Milo (does that make his a collection of Veni de Milo??) and all of the Last Suppers, from the sacred to the profane. So he and Erin are up in his 'artist studio' the other day where they often go to paint, glue, collage (is that a verb??) and Erin stated that instead of painting the Last Supper, she wanted to paint 'The First Supper.' Which got me to wondering, what other revisions could you do -- Monet's Pond Scum, Winged Defeat, Van Gogh's Mostly Cloudy Night -- the mind boggles at the possibilities!

At least I didn't do this

Sean and Pop Pop at sunset
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

All parents (well most parents, read on) have fears that they are inadequate, unfair or at the very least doing permanent damage to their children that will take years of therapy, booze or meditation (or perhaps all three) to get over. But occasionally God drops us a little sign that we aren't, after all, the worst parents in the world. Sometimes it's your child snuggling up to you on the couch to read a book and saying 'I love you mom.' Sometimes it's a compliment someone gives you after they have come in contact with your child, but other times, it's a news story like this one.....or this one...and I guess in the grand scheme of things, when your child goes on to reproduce and your grandchildren light up whenever they see you (see picture -- Sean is PopPop's biggest fan in the world) -- then perhaps you can sit back and say 'ok - I did an ok job on that whole parenting thing'....At least that's what I hope my parents are saying, 'cause they are the best there is!!! And not once did they hide drugs in my clothes! Go figure.

Is It Any Wonder....

that Americans are obese???? Hardee's new breakfast has 60 grams of fat -- suddenly my diet looks good in comparison. And keep reading about the Chicken Salad sandwich. And they aren't alone. Arby's Chicken Salad Sandwich (yummy as it is) has more fat (a whopping 39g) than a medium roast beef sandwich (at a still ungodly 20g). Somehow I think these guys are in league with heart disease, diabetes and cholesterol drug manufacturers. The more we eat of the first, the more we need the second. If only it would kill you on the spot, then we'd finally have some chlorine in the gene pool. But no, lots of the people who think this looks good have already reproduced.

Oxymorons in Advertising

There are lots of them and they drive me crazy (English major that I am) -- but here's a new one: Pillsbury Crescent Rounds -- you're either a CRESCENT or you're a ROUND, you can't be both. Now if we can stop advertisers from verbing language ("fragrances whole rooms" is on a can of air freshener at my parent's house -- fragrance IS NOT A VERB!!!!!!!!) then we'll only have to tackle false and predatory advertising and we'll have the whole industry cleaned up in no time......SIGH. Can we all just watch PBS and Noggin all the time, please.

Harsh Reality

erin and Pat on the Pier
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

So today I'm sitting in The Pit (our campus cafeteria) and I'm watching two students, both male, both clearly freshmen (they look 12). And here's what they have on their plates -- 2 cookies, 1 PB&J sandwich on white bread and chocolate milk. Here's how they eat: first the cookies, then the milk, then the sandwich. And it hit me -- my kids may never grow up. Despite my constant reminders to myself that 'they won't go to college still in pull-ups" or "they won't go to college" still doing whatever annoying thing they are doing in their current phase -- I realize they just might. As I was leaving, I saw another one - he had a bowl of Trix. FOR LUNCH. I rest my case......

"You just never know when.....

Erin on Deck
Originally uploaded by Rosalind Tedford.

a boy's gonna kiss you. That's a true story. Well, that's not really a story, it's just a saying." That's what came out of Erin's mouth tonight as she was coloring. She was talking about this boy in her class who didn't want her to kiss him. And then she spouted that out. And you know, she's right.