ClumberKim

hair-raising good time

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:06:00 +0000

Haircuts and kids are always an adventure. Oliver has gotten better about it over the years, which is a very good thing since his hair grows fast and looks best very short. Eleanor mostly gets hysterical when I even mention cutting her hair. We've done a few bang trims at home without much of a scene but otherwise it's been kind of uh, hairy. There's a place around the corner that does a passable job so that's where we go most of the time.

Once or twice a year we go to Little Snips, a really cool hair salon specializing in kid hair cuts. Most of the chairs look like vehicles such as tractors or taxis or firetrucks. Each station has a TV and toys that help kids look down, or up, as needed. Their prices are very reasonable and we'd go there for every cut if the place were closer and I had more time.

A trip to Little Snips was on our agenda for this morning. I talked to Oliver before we left and asked if he was okay going first, so he could show Eleanor not to be scared. He was cool with that. Going first is always his preference anyway. The opportunity to display a little bravery was just a bonus.

Oliver's haircut went mostly without incident. He declined sitting in the tractor, opting for one of the non-vehicular chairs. He looked very grown up. I had to say, "No, shorter. You can't get it too short. Really." a few times but he ended up looking good and didn't complain. Eleanor was next. She chose the taxi to sit in and Dora on TV. That was a rare treat for her since Oliver has mostly lost interest in Dora (praise the deity or whatever of your choice). Her cut went well too. It was just a trim to clean up her ends and bangs so it didn't take long.

I sent the kids to the play area while I paid the bill. They got so absorbed in playing with the toys that it was hard to pry them away. It was snowing harder than when we arrived and I knew the traffic back into the city would be ugly so I really needed to get them moving. One threat to leave without them was all it took. The put on their jackets and we headed towards the door but before we left Oliver stopped to hug Eleanor. He said, "I'm so proud of you," and I melted into a big puddle of goo.

14 is the new....something

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:01:00 +0000

Bubba, our rescued Clumber, is 14 today. Various sources report their lifespan to be around 12 years. I know a few who have made it as far as Bubba, but not many at all. He's not in great shape, what with bad hips and IBD and deafness, but he still eats with typical Clumber enthusiasm and barks at me if his meals are not prepared with the alacrity he deems necessary.

He was supposed to be with us just a short time. A foster, really. I was worried about bringing a dog that old with a hearing problem into a house with very young children, but my fears were unfounded. It was soon clear he wasn't going anywhere. Though we've had him less than two years, he's part of the family. We're just trying to enjoy every day he's with us.

the end, or the one where I get all linky

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:00:00 +0000

As the world continues to conspire against me and my attempts at sleep, with football as the most recent conspirator, I'm going to end NaBloPoMo with a link fest. I have been planning to put them under one of those new links in the upper left of the window but those just aren't working for me. (The switch to WordPress is imminent.)

These are the blogs I read when I should be sleeping. Some have been doing NaBloPoMo, but not all. Some have cute kids, some have no kids. There's smart, funny, inspiring, geeky, crafty, beautiful and various combinations of those qualities. I'm taking a stab at categories here but there's a lot of overlap. Most of these could go in more than one category.

Crafty

Two Sheep Greetings

How About Orange?

Ohdeedoh

Smart and Inspiring

Uncle Crappy

... back again

Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Funny. Very, very funny

That's Church

Sarah and the Goon Squad

It's Not All Mary Poppins

Beautiful

Geeky

Draft Day Suit (sports geeky, not the other kind)

When I get over to WordPress the list will be longer and permanent but for now, this will do nicely.

baby, look at you now

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:41:00 +0000

Two years ago Eleanor had just mastered sitting up on her own and was rocking the turkey bib. She may have had a tooth or two but the turkey came out of a jar. I'm pretty sure she was still preferring her mum's milk and yogurt to turkey back then.

Now, she's still not eating much turkey, but she walks, talks, and has lots more teeth. The hair is a bit longer too, though it's still not entirely sure what it wants to do.

(Many thanks to Peter Su for taking the current photo and letting me use it here.)

satisfied customer

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:07:00 +0000

It seems there is no shortage of bloggers with gift guides this year, even in light of the FTC's new scrutiny of the blogosphere. So I'll say it up front: I've received nothing for free and no one has asked me to review or promote their products. So there. I'm a satisfied customer, nothing more.

Sarah Jane Studios: This is my favorite etsy shop and I'm utterly addicted. Prints hang in both kids' rooms and Eleanor is getting a calendar this year. (Shhh....don't tell!)

The Rocking Pony: This is my favorite etsy shop, too. (Do NOT make me choose a single favorite.) My kids LOVE the shirts and get sad when they outgrow them. Fortunately, Karen keeps making more for us. Every time Oliver wears one to school I get questioned about the source. If you have a little Eleanor who wears 2T, let me know. I have an adorable, reversible jumper with her name on it for you.

Romp: Eleanor is getting a Home On the Go for Christmas. I think I am a little too excited to play with it. But why have kids if you can't play with their toys, right?

Zingerman's and Stonewall Kitchen: My favorite sources for food gifts. 20% everything at Stonewall through Sunday, too.

If all goes well, my shopping will be about 85% done by the end of the day tomorrow.

can't quit now

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 03:15:00 +0000

NaBloPoMo day 27 is here so we're down to the last four days. Quitting is no longer an option. Ahem. And thank you to whomever didn't choose October or some other month with 31 days.

So Thanksgiving...not a total bust as I previously predicted. Kids ate a little turkey and mashed potatoes. Oliver ate more turkey, Eleanor ate more potatoes. They both ate mini pumpkin pies. At this rate they may eat stuffing before they drive. Woo hoo.

Black Friday? As much as I enjoy shopping, the thought of venturing into a store the day after Thanksgiving is not at all appealing to me. I didn't see anything in the sale flyers to change my mind. I watched my inbox fill up with emails for on-line Black Friday deals but I have mostly ignored those too. Leapfrog's $5 Tag books sucked me in briefly but I still got off their site (relatively) unscathed.

Yep, that's it. Our only trip outside today was to go to the library. New books and DVDs! For free! Happy Recessionmas! I'll probably make up for my restraint today later on this weekend. Most of the web deals run through Sunday anyway.

One goal for the weekend, holiday cards, is getting done tonight (thank you, Apple iPhoto and your printing service too). My excel spreadsheet of addresses for cards has mysteriously disappeared from my hard drive and all of our backups so I will have to reconstruct it somehow. If you usually get a card and I miss you, don't be shy. The kid pictures are especially cute this year.

jingle all the way

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:52:00 +0000

Oliver's class guinea pig, Jingles, is spending the long 6 day weekend with us. This photo, taken yesterday, may end up being the only one of her on his lap. This afternoon he discovered her claws are a little sharp on 4 year old tummy as she tried to crawl under his shirt.

She spent the first night in his room but he's kicked her out for making noise the last two nights.

This morning we discovered she likes red pepper. The noises she makes are a bit of a mystery, and the book that was sent with us isn't much help, but the red pepper disappeared very rapidly.

In honor of Thanksgiving, we're thankful the dogs have not discovered Jingles. There really isn't enough of her to spread on a cracker anyway.

thank your first commenter day

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:31:00 +0000

I'm seeing tweets about thanking one's first commenter. I had to look to see who the lucky winner might be for this blog. My money was on my sister Suzy but no, it was Matt, a former co-worker. Matt is responsible for my relocation to Pittsburgh, my husband's relocation to Pittsburgh (a month after me), and quite possibly, also responsible for us being together at all.

The post that Matt commented on first appeared on July 4, 2005, when Oliver was just 12 weeks old and the blog was a bit younger.

Matt has a food blog. Go see what he's making for Thanksgiving.

because muppets can't say "just killed a man"

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:56:00 +0000

This one speaks to me. And should you feel the urge to make a Freddie Mercury joke, resist. I beg you.

turkey vu

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:29:00 +0000

Last year I predicted Thanksgiving would not be fun. Unfortunately, I was right. This year I'm afraid it will feel a bit like Groundhog Day. I'll be cooking, again, and the kids will be not eating, again. I hope saying it out loud will cause them to prove me wrong. I can hope, right?

The only difference is Jingles, Oliver's class guinea pig, is staying with us. We have squeaky toys larger than she is. May we all survive the next six days.

What's In My Bag

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:13:00 +0000

I'm not sure if this is better or worse than the bulleted list. Click the photo to go to Flickr and see a few notes.

meme time

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:48:00 +0000

NaBloPoMo day 22, meme time (and frankly it's a miracle I didn't get here sooner)

Here's a Free Association Meme from Luna Nina that I discovered thanks to my parenting oracle, Mary P. What do you need to know about this meme? "Rules are, there are no rules." There are no right or wrong answers. Don't limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head.

I can do that!

Marathon :: parenthood

Debt :: real estate

Turn :: the page

Image :: is not anything

Sofa :: I'll take two

Envelope :: bacon!

Cart :: horse

Process :: people, place

Question :: everything

Rumor :: run away!

books you've never heard of

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:45:00 +0000

As the holidays approach, all too rapidly for my tastes, I'm thinking about gifts. And since, it's November, I'm grasping for blog fodder. Put these together and you get my list of favorite, and in a few cases obscure, children's books. They all get a big thumbs up from at least one of my kids and most are favorites of both.

So here they are, in no particular order. Nearly all are under $10.

Henry & the Buccaneer Bunnies

The Knight and the Dragon

Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble

Wag a Tail

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type

and last, but certainly not least, a few from Mem Fox:

Where Is the Green Sheep?

Possum Magic

The Magic Hat

Koala Lou

the other woman

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:56:00 +0000

When we come home in the evening he goes to her immediately for a little quality time. A little caressing. Seeing what kind of day she had. It's very sweet.

No, he's not petting one of the dogs. It's the robot. And I don't mind a bit. Truth be told, I'm kind of falling in love with her too. Every morning I look to see if she made it back home the night before. (Good practice for later? I hope not.) And I think kind thoughts about her every time I notice the lack of dog hair tumbleweeds around the house.

This is our robot. She still needs a name.

Mammorama

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:05:00 +0000

Mammograms are a hot topic this week. It seems some people think that mammograms save lives, but not enough to balance out the false positives and such. Excuse me? "Enough lives" is exactly one if it saves yours, your mom's, your sister's. My son was in the car this afternoon. He heard the word "mammogram" on NPR and asked me what it is. I told him it's a test I have every year to make sure I'm not sick. He didn't ask any more questions after that.

My relationship with mammograms got off to an early start, before I was 40. I was 35 and about to have breast reduction surgery. I had pre and post surgical mammograms. While I was having kids and breastfeeding I got a little break. Then I found a lump while I was still nursing Eleanor. My doctor found it too, a week after I did, without my mentioning it. (If she had not found it I would have said something, of course.) Since I was nursing I had an ultrasound and all was well. When Eleanor weaned I had my first real "mandated" post-40 mammogram. I went again this year. Then back a few weeks later for two more rounds plus another ultrasound, due to some inconclusive results. I spent three weeks with some mild worry and 2 hours suppressing a full-blown panic attack. And I walked out with the news that all was well, again.

I can live with that. For many years, with any luck. I'll be having an annual mammogram, even if I have to pay for them myself, and even if I have more worry and panic over possible problems. Entirely worthwhile, in my opinion.

Go read more:

too young

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:32:00 +0000

Three women I know, one only virtually, have had strokes this year. This is not how it is supposed to be. Young, vibrant people do not have strokes. But they do.

Today I'm thinking of Anissa, who had a stroke yesterday. We had a funny little twitter exchange back in September but I've been reading her a lot longer. She is one of the people who inhabit the internet and steal your heart immediately, and by the sounds of things, she'd probably cop a feel in the process. Here's what folks who know her well are saying:

MamaPop
SarcasticMom
and links to many, many more are at AimingLow

Please think of Anissa today, and help if you can.

And do this for me: Check out the American Heart Association's page on the warning signs of stroke. It's happening to far too many people and age doesn't seem to matter anymore. If it can happen to Anissa, it can happy to anyone.

100 things, part two

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:27:00 +0000

It just gets randomer and randomer.

11. I'm obsessed with golf, yet I've never swung a club. (Miniature golf doesn't count.)
12. My honeymoon was in Paris, about 5 months after the wedding.
13. The weekend after my wedding I went to a dog show.
14. Both of my kids were born on Monday mornings.
15. The bigger baby was the easy one.
16. I can't cook without improvising a recipe, unless I am baking. Baking is chemistry.
17. I was a fan of Duke basketball before it was fashionable, before Coach K.
18. I've had great first timers luck in college basketball brackets and fantasy football. Things go rapidly downhill after that.
19. Standardized tests are fun for me. I passed the foreign service exam with zero preparation.
20. I skipped out on the interview.

in which we resort to the bulleted list

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:21:00 +0000

We've reached day 16. I think we call it NaBloPoMohshit.

Major fail at cupcake equality today. Oliver made me promise (please, let him never learn the pinkie swear) to take him to Coco's for cupcakes today. They were closed. So we tried Vanilla. They were closed too. Mother of the year, once again. Bless the boy's heart, he settled for a snickerdoodle and chocolate milk at Border's. And then an explanation of how we don't always get what we want, where I used the example of wanting a second car and not having it. That one is going to bite me in ass, one way or another.
I won!!!
I am supposed to be making money at this blogging stuff. Who knew? (more about this one later, if I have time -- remember, I have a day job)
My children ate broccoli tonight, in pretty substantial quantities (for them). Wish I knew why, or how to duplicate this little miracle.
Fantasy football will be the death of me. Next year, one league. Having players on my roster that are my opponents in the other league is making my little brain explode.
Oliver's class guinea pig, Jingles, is coming home with us for Thanksgiving. That's six days I will be grateful I have a blind dog and a deaf dog. Hold me. And please come over to eat the ginormous dinner I will make, and my children will not eat.
Finally, this blog post had me laughing until it hurt, and that was before I got to the comments. Then I remembered I have a son.

Dr Oliver

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:47:00 +0000

Me: I ate too much at lunch. My tummy hurts.

Oliver: Do you have a tummy ache?

Me: Yes.

Oliver: Maybe you should not eat so much next time.

Toddler vs Cupcake

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:43:00 +0000

On Friday I saw Eleanor for about fifteen minutes. Total. She was asleep when I left for work in the morning, and Mr C and I left for the symphony right after he brought her home after work. She was also howling when we left. I felt awful.

Today wasn't much different. This morning I took Oliver to lacrosse and then to watch the Williams - Amherst football game with a bunch of alums, while Mr C took Eleanor shopping with him. I was determined to have some time with my girl when she woke from her nap. We headed out to Coco's for a cupcake and as it was post-nap, she was a very happy little girl.

All through the drive she asked if we were going to Coco's house so it's not surprising she kept asking, "Where's Coco?" while eating the cupcake.

Why does she keep turning around? Workmen were hanging holiday decorations on the street lights. Fascinating stuff, if you're two.

EDITED to change video to a MUCH shorter version.

with a view

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:18:00 +0000

I spent most of my day fighting with some technology, ultimately unable to bend it to my will. When my anger threatened to boil over, I looked outside.

I felt better.

I can't see anything from my usual location in a cube. The window is behind me and off to the side. I have to get up and climb on a table to see anything. I could get used to a view like this.

CalConnecting

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:20:00 +0000

Mr C will be taking one less trip next year. He's pretty active in two organizations that meet three times a year, all over the world. Add to that the obligatory trips to the mothership and yeah, you know where all the sleep deprivation comes from. So one less trip sounds nice. Really really nice.

CalConnect is coming to Pittsburgh in May, hosted by CMU. In an interesting turning of the tables, it was my husband volunteering me for something. The opportunity to organize hotels and catering is a little like Christmas to me. It's a lot better than the stuff I typically volunteer him for.

It will be a fun project (even if he's making use a blasted wiki instead of playing with Google Wave) and at the end I'll get to meet some twitter/facebook friends and with any luck, sit in on some sessions and learn something. Or maybe I'll just remember that calendaring makes yer head 'splode.

believe in me

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:32:00 +0000

Oliver has been making up some pretty fantastic stories of late. Over the weekend he concocted an entire soccer league and was able to tell me which teams played and who won, all out of his (over-active) imagination. This started because of a pair of socks sent by Aunt Suzy. He has Penguins socks, Pirates socks, Steeler socks, and soccer socks. One of these things is not like the others.... He wasn't quite sure what to do with socks that were not associated with a team. (Sorry, Riverhounds, but your logo isn't on the socks.) So he made up a league. Makes perfect sense, if you're 4.

Sports at his school have appeared to be over for more than a week, so when he told me on two days ago that there would be a field hockey game tomorrow, varsity vs faculty, I was skeptical. No, I flat-out didn't believe him. To me it seemed just as fantastic as his made-up soccer league.

Imagine my surprise this afternoon when I learned such a game really IS scheduled for tomorrow. I think you know where I'll be.

100 things, part one

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:43:00 +0000

It's about time I do the whole "100 Things About Me" thing, so here we go, 10 at a time, probably on Tuesdays.

1. I am doubting I will get to thing 100.

2. I have lived in five places: Maine, Williamstown, Swarthmore, Walla Walla, Pittsburgh

3. All of my full-time jobs have been with higher education institutions.

4. I hope my next job is not with a higher education institution.

5. I read books and blogs about parenting, hoping to learn how to do it better.

6. My husband is the calm parent. He doesn't need to read books and blogs.

7. I am the kiss of death to television shows. If I like it, its days are numbered.

8. Same goes for Trader Joe's products.

9. When I was seven or eight my goal in life was to be a statistician for the Boston Bruins.

10. In order to get my master's degree I drove a 500 mile roundtrip once a week for two years.

can't pry him away

noreply@blogger.com (ClumberKim) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Oliver likes school. That may be the understatement of the year. When I picked him up from that first day I asked him if he liked it and if he wanted to go back the next day. "I want to go back EVERY day," was his reply. And he's been unwavering in that sentiment. My problem is that he is putting his money where his mouth is. I frequently have trouble getting him to leave at the end of the day. His latest stalling tactic is to ask what's happening on the athletic field.

The field has been a busy place with practices and games for soccer and field hockey, and Oliver doesn't discriminate. If there are kids on the field, he wants to go watch. Now, suddenly, all that activity is over. The seasons ended, even the playoffs. The field is empty. Oliver doesn't care. I have to go play soccer with him, assuming someone has left a ball lying around (always), or get a little football out of his backpack and let him make me feel inferior because I can't throw a spiral to save my life. He can. Beauties. He's 4 and already running circles around me.

Today the field was empty again but Oliver didn't care. He found a soccer ball and was perfectly happy. Then all the extended day kids came outside and he was in seventh heaven. A small group of fifth graders has kind of adopted him and they started playing football. All over the field minor skirmishes were breaking out (mostly amongst siblings, I noticed), but none in Oliver's group. They played. And played. And played, for nearly an hour and all I heard was encouragement and laughing.

Some days I have to haul him away crying but today when it was time to go the older kids helped me out. There were fist bumps and high fives, and one seriously grinning kid who can't wait to go back to school tomorrow.