parent lessons, puppets, penguins, parks and bbq

Zibby is such a good mommy to her dollies. She diapers them and nurses them and makes sure they are warm with blankets and rocks them to sleep. It is fascinating to watch. If I ask her if her baby is crying, she gets very concerned and runs over to her baby to check. The funniest is when she has the baby switch sides while “having mamas”. Also, she carries her babies either in a small sling or on her hip, in the classic pose. The way she mimics me, and other mothers she sees, is what is the most fascinating thing.

I feel it in myself, when I watch my friends parent their children. When I ask them for advice, or when I just observe them, and learn. This is how we learn things. We observe, then we try it out. We copy, we adapt.

Saturday Zibby I attempted to go to a local puppet exhibition/performance but alas, Zibby was not that interested. We walked back home, had lunch and naps and then went out for bbq. The restaurant was kind of small and crowded and there was another family there with a toddler who was screaming bloody murder for a long time. I felt really bad for her. And the rest of the patrons.

Today, Buzz took Zib to the park, and I got to stay home! By myself! I had a little project to work on. I took some notecards, and skimmed my copy of Alfie Kohn’s Unconditional Parenting, and put some quotes and excerpts from the book on cards. Then I taped the cards to the inside of the kitchen cabinets. I think this will help me really internalize the ideas, and I will get to see them several times a day.

Last night I stayed up late and did some fun scrapbook pages. Basically, I just save up stuff and then do a bunch of pages at once for the last couple of months. I want to do a couple of journally type pages, also. I know how much I treasure the stories my mom wrote in my babybook of my toddlerhood. As much as Zib already loves looking at pictures and movies, I am sure she will be glad to have these scrapbooks someday. And its fun for me!

We watched March of the Penguins today. Zibby wasnt that into it, mostly because she wants to watch Signing Time all the livelong day But I thought it was pretty cool. What a strange world we live in. Buzz, who can handle any type of bodily mess, including output from all human orifices, got grossed out by the baby penguins eating from their mother’s mouths. I loved that the baby penguins stayed safe huddled under their parents special flabby guts. And that the parents took turns caring for the babies. It was all good, except for the eighty below, plus windchill business.

water!

Today started out pretty lazy. I had nothing scheduled, and was feeling bored and boring. Then a friend from the homeschool co-op called and said she would stop by. I’d never spent a lot of time talking with her, but she was able to stay for a nice visit.
Zibby was hamming it up big time for her visitors. It was quite a change from her usual mild-manneredness. Zibby isnt shy, but she is usually observant and laid back in a crowd. On her own turf, she is a dervish.

After our friends left, I whipped up some teriyaki chicken and rice, which was very much delicious. My brother gave us some really good teriyaki sauce from this place in Seattle. YUM. Then Zibby and I fell asleep nursing.

Since Buzz doesnt get home until late on Fridays, I decided to go run errands after our nap, even though it was almost 4. First, we got an iced coffee at our local billiards room/cafe. Then, we did the condo deposit. We went to Lincoln Square next, hitting the toystore, bookshop, optician, and water fountain.

Zibby was going bananas at the fountain. She was enthusiastically and joyfully hollering at the water, and pointing and announcing WATER! FOUNTAIN! WATER! FOUNTAIN! Man, she was excited about the water. It was really funny. We had to say “goodbye water fountain” several times before she agreed to walk away with me.

I decided that I didnt really want to fix dinner, so we stopped at chipotle to get dinner. It is right by a college campus, so we sat outside in the patio dining area eating our chips and gommo (guacamole) and people watching. That is, until Zib fell off her chair and we decided to go home. Sadly, my burrito was much too spicy for me to enjoy when we got home. Zibby didnt like her taco either. The gommo was a big hit though.

After dinner we watched home movies. Zibby likes the parts where she gets her first bath, and one of her on the beach last spring. Again, a water theme. I also took a couple really good movies in the yard this morning. We watched those a few times. Buzz came home and Zibby got a bath, and eventually she nursed to sleep, and is now cuddling with Cinder-pancake. They make a cute pair, all spooned together.

a very good day after all.

spring having sprung, we swing and we swung

my daughter complimented my derrierre

My epithets at other drivers are “Crazy Person!” or “DUDE!”
Zibby picked these up right away. But she adds her own pizazz.

(mommy makes a sharp turn)
Zibby: Why, crazy person, why?
Mommy: Why, indeed, crazy person

(bus pulls out in front of mommy)
Mommy: DUDE!
Zibby: dude sucks.

Mommy: Pick a lane, lady!
Zibby: PERSON!! PERSON!!

I like to ask Zibby who is crazy.

Mommy: Who’s crazy, Zibby?
Zibby: Papa’s crazy
Mommy: I know! He is crazy!
Zibby: nooo, he is toot! He is a toot person!
Mommy: Papa’s cute? Who else is cute?
Zibby: Mama is a toot butt
Mommy: Cute. right? Cute butt. Has a cute butt.
Zibby: nahm. (nahm means yes in zibbyese)

****

Today was a Park/Gym day with one of the homeschool groups I participate in. But we were waiting on a UPS delivery that had already been missed once. And I am helping coordinate meals for a friend who just had a baby, and the mom who was going to bring something over today got sick. I whipped up a tortellini soup to run over to her instead, and then my friend also needed a market run. So we were plenty busy. And we got our package, and it was fun stuff from Magic Cabin. yay!

Tomorrow is playgroup and I vow to get outside and take some photos.
And I need to deposit the condo association checks, call the vet, start organizing the chore coop w/ the condo owners, vacuum, make plans for my sister’s graduation weekend, schedule my next cloth diaper workshop, call my sil about a playdate, thaw chicken for dinner, and do some laundry.

and tonight I need to get some sleep….
zzzz

in which buzz and I discuss homeschooling

Today I finished reading Sandra Dodd’s “Moving a Puddle, and other essays”. There were quite a lot of inspiring messages, and I felt really excited about all the possibilities ahead of us.

On our way to our friend’s house for dinner, we passed the library where our homeschool group has their monthly support group mtg. I told Buzz that in June the meeting was specifically for spouses of the primary unschooling parent.

His first response was “Pass”. But I know that his first reaction to anything is NO. He then actually said “you never know. stranger things have happened” So, I feel slightly encouraged that he might go. It is only April, but the sooner I prepare him, the more time he has to get used to the idea.

Actually, that is what I said to him two years ago when I was pregnant with our baby. I said that I was going to homeschool. He said “no chance, no way, never ever.”
I said, “honey, I am telling you now, so five years from now, you will be used to the idea”. He agreed that was my best approach. lol.

Tonight I asked him where he was with the whole unschooling idea. He told me he thinks its crazy hippy stuff. But when I hear him talk to other people about it, or he tells me stories of him telling his friends, he always states it as fact: “Nancy is homeschooling” (and she is a crazy hippy) . I find this encouraging. Mostly.

Of course, our child is two. So there is plenty of time for him to see how learning happens, and plenty of time for me and him to talk about everything. And to figure out how to strew stuff for *him*. Could ESPN the Magazine publish some stuff about unschooling so I could be sure he would read it?

zibby tells a joke, and I describe today, a typical day

This actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but I think it is too cute to not share.

Zibby and I had been playing a little game where I would ask her if her name was some silly word, and she would say no, until I finally asked her what it was, and then she would say, Zibby!

This time:

Mama: Is your name Special Baby?
Zibby: noooo
Mama: Is your name Kitten Lumps?
Zibby: nooooo
Mama: Is your name Muffin Cakes?
Zibby: noooo
Mama: Is your name Zibby?
Zibby: noooo
Mama: Whats your name?
Zibby: PANCAKE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Today she called our cat Cinder, Cinder-Pancake. I really enjoy watching her with the kitty. Zibby really gets into bossing the cat around and wagging her finger at the cat, but they also chase each other around and Zibby wants to give the cat “big hug” and “big kiss”.

What is really amazing is witnessing Zibby’s ability to put together words and sentences and ideas (and commands! Mama do it! ) The little verbal mannerisms that come from me and buzz, her desire to make us laugh, the made up words she uses… Yesterday she said, “Awesome, Mom”.

I totally dig it. The whole Motherhood gig.

Today we went to play with some friends we get together regularly with on Thursdays. There are usually two boys and two girls, but the other little girl couldnt make it. Us Mamas spent the morning chatting and occasionally distracting the toddlers. I was planning to run errands when we left, but Zibby yawned in the car, so I just went home. We had lunch, then Zibby took a nap, while I made a blog!

After nap we watched Signing Time and I finished a special photo album project. A friend of mine had given me an album to do for the first two years of Zibbys life. Every month I would take a photo and fix a new page. She had created all the backgrounds and mattes and month labels. Zibby turned two in February, so I finally did the last page, and now its done. Zibby wanted to look it at for a long time.

Eventually we got it together to make hamburgers and roasted potatoes for dinner, and then Papa came home. The two of them did puzzles and looked at other photo albums and read books and played with baby dolls and bibs and diapers the rest of the evening. They probably also watched digital home movies on the computer, as that is one of Zib’s current favorite things to do. Her current fave is the one I took last week of her on the swing at the park. In the video she is laughing like crazy. When she is watching the movies she tells of her memories of that particular day-a dog licked her cheek, papa did an underdog, she sat her bottom in the swing, “sunny eyes” or sometimes it works the other way. She will be re-telling the story of the day, and remember that we have a video of it. Then she says “baby movies, computer” and heads over to the desk, assuming you will follow and put the movies on.

Actually, the only un-typical part of today was that Zibby went to bed around 9:30 and fell asleep enough for me to get back up at 10. That is kind of early for her. So, I get some time on the puter to do blogging and some work and some email stuff.

Thanks for all the nice comments so far! I am really loving wordpress and the fun and easy features on this service. Thanks homeschooljournal.net!

brunching

Hello world!

Welcome to A Happy Childhood Lasts Forever.

I came across this saying in a book the other day. I was reading The Natural Child, by Jan Hunt, “A happy childhood lasts forever” and I thought it was great. That is our goal for Zibby. To give her a happy childhood, yes, but more importantly, the foundation to have a happy life. This is at the heart of why we do what we do.

So, now onto the good stuff! Posts on our daily life! Life is good.