newsy bits
Aug. 27th, 2004 03:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ciroccojFunny thing; according to my lj, it looks like we've been doing not much lately, when in reality we've been a frenzied hive of activity.
Before I forget: On the drive to the campsite last Friday, Daniel asked, "How much longer?"
"We're about 6 kilometers away, so... about 6 minutes. Well, more like 4 minutes," said Chris.
"Oh wow, we're going at 1 1/2 km per minute," Daniel observed.
::parents quickly mentally double-check his math:: "Uh, yes. Yes we are."
I don't think I could do that at age 7, and I'm damn sure the answer didn't come out instantly, because it still doesn't.
***
Tuesday involved a 40-min bike ride down to Experimental Farm. Justin's first time out there on his own bike (last summer he was still in the bike seat behind me) and he held his own. I'm so proud of him :)
We looked at cows and horses and piggies and did you know that 99% of a pig's body is used after slaughtering? Bones make gelatin and toothpaste, fat helps to make soap, hairs are used for bristles bristles, etc. I don't know if they told us all of that to discourage people from becoming vegetarians, or to assauge the guilt of those of us who wish we were vegetarian but love BBQ ribs too much to make the leap.
Oh, and I had a pleasant surprise walking into the pig barn. Normally the stench is excruciating and literally makes my eyes water. This time I don't know what had happened but it didn't smell that bad.
Unpleasant surprise walking into the milking barn; cowcrap generally smells bad initially, but quickly becomes non-nauseating. This time? They must have had some sort of infection or something, because it was in-tense. We were going to watch the milking, but Justin was on the verge of tears so we scurried right out.
***
Wednesday there was chess in the morning and the Children's Museum in the afternoon. Another lovely time was had by all, despite that I locked my keys in the car and Chris had to drive all the way to Hull to rescue me. Good thing Wednesday is teaching day for him.
***
Thursday, exhausted stay-at-home-ness. I made zucchini loaf (MMMMmmMMM - and it's very very low points) and reduced a ginormous zucchini to 5 bags of 2 cups finely shredded zucchini in our freezer. The kids got to feed the food processor with the big chunks, much to their delight. I re-fed the grated stuff through, to make it 'finely shredded.' Bits of grated zucchini all over the kids and me and aaaall over the house. Yummy.
Then we went to Cafe Henry Burger (tres cher) for a medical-social event. I yearn for the days when we'll be able to do pay for that kind of food ourselves - little tiny bits of French haute cuisine. One thing that made me a little sad; the Cafe is close to Le Tartuffe, where my mom sent us twice on her dime.
***
Today we're slow cooking and making bread, then (hopefully) going to see Guy tonight. We were supposed to finish the kids' first giant bionicle and start making the second one, but we had a little bit of a meltdown instead.
I'd been doing a whole bunch of things for the kids, and they'd started to get more and more blase about it, and less and less inclined to listen or obey when I actually asked something of them. And at one point, as I scurried around sweeping and organizing bionicle bits and asked them to pick up their toys so that we could actually get started on the second bionicle, and as they blithely ignored four different requests to help me out, I finally snapped. Gave them a thorough yelling and let them know that (a) we were not going to do the second bionicle and (b) instead they were going to help me with the housework. All of it. Not just the piddly bits I sometimes ask of them (putting toys away, bringing dirty dishes to the table, etc.)
So now they're gainfully employed, gathering dirty laundry, sorting laundry, etc. They're not to pleased, but too freaked by the yelling to complain.
I need to get my activity checklist out again, with the box to tick off (or not) for "lost it with kids". This is the third or fourth time I've lost it in the last few days. Not that I think I should always be sweetness and light with them, but I don't want them to obey because they're scared of being yelled at. The aim of discipline in our house is that if you mess up, you live with the consequences. Said consequences should include time-outs, loss of priviledges, extra chores, that kind of thing. They should not include shrieking.
On that cheery note, I'm off.
Before I forget: On the drive to the campsite last Friday, Daniel asked, "How much longer?"
"We're about 6 kilometers away, so... about 6 minutes. Well, more like 4 minutes," said Chris.
"Oh wow, we're going at 1 1/2 km per minute," Daniel observed.
::parents quickly mentally double-check his math:: "Uh, yes. Yes we are."
I don't think I could do that at age 7, and I'm damn sure the answer didn't come out instantly, because it still doesn't.
Tuesday involved a 40-min bike ride down to Experimental Farm. Justin's first time out there on his own bike (last summer he was still in the bike seat behind me) and he held his own. I'm so proud of him :)
We looked at cows and horses and piggies and did you know that 99% of a pig's body is used after slaughtering? Bones make gelatin and toothpaste, fat helps to make soap, hairs are used for bristles bristles, etc. I don't know if they told us all of that to discourage people from becoming vegetarians, or to assauge the guilt of those of us who wish we were vegetarian but love BBQ ribs too much to make the leap.
Oh, and I had a pleasant surprise walking into the pig barn. Normally the stench is excruciating and literally makes my eyes water. This time I don't know what had happened but it didn't smell that bad.
Unpleasant surprise walking into the milking barn; cowcrap generally smells bad initially, but quickly becomes non-nauseating. This time? They must have had some sort of infection or something, because it was in-tense. We were going to watch the milking, but Justin was on the verge of tears so we scurried right out.
Wednesday there was chess in the morning and the Children's Museum in the afternoon. Another lovely time was had by all, despite that I locked my keys in the car and Chris had to drive all the way to Hull to rescue me. Good thing Wednesday is teaching day for him.
Thursday, exhausted stay-at-home-ness. I made zucchini loaf (MMMMmmMMM - and it's very very low points) and reduced a ginormous zucchini to 5 bags of 2 cups finely shredded zucchini in our freezer. The kids got to feed the food processor with the big chunks, much to their delight. I re-fed the grated stuff through, to make it 'finely shredded.' Bits of grated zucchini all over the kids and me and aaaall over the house. Yummy.
Then we went to Cafe Henry Burger (tres cher) for a medical-social event. I yearn for the days when we'll be able to do pay for that kind of food ourselves - little tiny bits of French haute cuisine. One thing that made me a little sad; the Cafe is close to Le Tartuffe, where my mom sent us twice on her dime.
Today we're slow cooking and making bread, then (hopefully) going to see Guy tonight. We were supposed to finish the kids' first giant bionicle and start making the second one, but we had a little bit of a meltdown instead.
I'd been doing a whole bunch of things for the kids, and they'd started to get more and more blase about it, and less and less inclined to listen or obey when I actually asked something of them. And at one point, as I scurried around sweeping and organizing bionicle bits and asked them to pick up their toys so that we could actually get started on the second bionicle, and as they blithely ignored four different requests to help me out, I finally snapped. Gave them a thorough yelling and let them know that (a) we were not going to do the second bionicle and (b) instead they were going to help me with the housework. All of it. Not just the piddly bits I sometimes ask of them (putting toys away, bringing dirty dishes to the table, etc.)
So now they're gainfully employed, gathering dirty laundry, sorting laundry, etc. They're not to pleased, but too freaked by the yelling to complain.
I need to get my activity checklist out again, with the box to tick off (or not) for "lost it with kids". This is the third or fourth time I've lost it in the last few days. Not that I think I should always be sweetness and light with them, but I don't want them to obey because they're scared of being yelled at. The aim of discipline in our house is that if you mess up, you live with the consequences. Said consequences should include time-outs, loss of priviledges, extra chores, that kind of thing. They should not include shrieking.
On that cheery note, I'm off.
