2014_01_30 Thursday

To my regulars (read: Oma), you'll notice that I've changed the screen and added the 2013 family shot.

Snowmaggedon update: The state has asked all citizens not to drive (yesterday and) today so that they can continue to clear the snow (!?) and the abandoned cars, which is probably much more work. I have already heard more cars pass by the house this AM than all day yesterday. It's only 18 degrees this morning with a high of 39, so there likely won't be a lot of melt. This doesn't bode well for school tomorrow either. maybe we will be going to school into the summer with our northern friends!! I was told that it took Jonathan's principal (and her young son) 22 hours to get home, and while I don't know exactly where she lives, it's not Denver, CO (which is 21. 5 hrs away)!

School is cancelled for Friday too!! this is insanity!! The roads are totally clear now (pix to come). There many still be abandoned cars on streets, but the roads seem fine. I think this is a giant C-Y-A effort, but really it's the trifecta of bad decisions. ugh.

2014_01_29 Wednesday

Holy cow. ATL is being called a zombie town, which is funny since the big zombie TV show is actually filmed here. So many people stranded in their cars overnight, 2,400 kids locked down at schools overnight, hundreds of vehicles in ditches. There were 1,200 car accidents yesterday! Good Samaritans are taking people into their homes to avoid frostbite, etc. This is on par with Sandy and Irene. Crazy.

Jonathan spent the night at a friend's house. I haven't seen him yet today; they've been out sledding and now are warming up with Legos. We'll go over to get him soon. I miss my little man.

Elise and I went outside to test the snow. It's not snowball snow. It's extremely icy. We watched a car (well, the driver) just spin and spin his tires trying to get out of a parking spot in front of our house. It's really not so cold either. We shoveled a little; we broke down icicles; we checked out footprints; and we strolled down the street and back.

 
 

Check out Snowmageddon ATL!

And, school is cancelled for tomorrow too! unreal.

2014_01_28 Tuesday

It's snowing in ATL!!! There isn't a ton of accumulation quite yet, but the city is completely freaking out. Jonathan is getting out of school 30 mins early and with no after-school activities, which stinks for him and is very disruptive to all the parents for no good reason. Kids won't have school tomorrow. No one seems to know how to drive here, and no one has appropriate weather clothing either. whoa!

Oh, I am fuming. Jonathan's bus didn't leave the school until an hour after today's dismissal!! He's still not home. He should have been home 35 mins ago on a normal dismissal time! It's after the time I should be picking him up from after-school programming now, and he's still not home! He is over 1.5 hrs late, and there is no communication from the buses, the bus captain, the transport liaison, or the school. On a day like today!? The lack of communication is infuriating; I am so made I'm shaking! I have been freaking out b/c there was just nothing coming from the bus/school (and his teacher had left early to retrieve her own son); for all I knew the bus was crashed somewhere between home and school...or J was sitting at school waiting to be picked up...or...who knows what b/c no one communicated!!?

 

From Elise's school:

We stayed in South America today and journeyed to Colombia. The language spoken there is Spanish. X shared that she knows how to speak Spanish too! The kids learned that coffee is grown in Colombia. X didn't know that coffee started out as a bean and warned his friends that kids aren't allowed to have coffee. There are many great festivals in Colombia. Elise said that she's been to a flower festival and it was a lot of fun! The kids learned about traditional Colombian clothing. A ruana is a poncho-like garment worn by many Colombians. They are used to stay warm during the day and mat also be used as blankets at night. The kids made their own ruanas during art. X shared that she has a blue blanket at home and it's very snuggly. We also had cutting practice. The kids carefully used their scissors to cut a paper that showed a squirrel trying to get to an acorn. X carefully cut around the acorn to keep it intact for the squirrel. Keep practicing at home, remind the kids of proper hand placement on the scissors and to keep their elbows down instead of in the air. The kids were wonderful in helping me welcome Ms. X to our class. They each told her about their pets at home. X shared that sometimes her dog barks when she's asked to go into her cage. X shared that his dog is big and tired all the time. X said that his dog is shorter than he is. 

2014_01_27 Monday

From Elise's school:

Hola from Peru! Today we traveled to South America. The kids learned all about Peru. X was very surprised that Peru has rain forests, he thought those were in China! Peru also has several very large mountains. X shared that she's seen a large mountain while she was riding in her grandma's car. Elise said that she saw a big mountain when she went to Stone Mountain. The kids also learned about the kinds of crafts made in Peru. They saw pictures of handmade dolls, bags and necklaces. They made their own Peruvian bags in art. The kids colored their bags and then added yarn accents. Later, after learning about the animals of Peru, the kids colored a llama to place in their bags. X shared that he has read a book about llamas before called Llama Llama Mad at Mama. X commented that a llama looks like a horse with a lot of hair. We discussed other things that we should take to Peru in our bags. X suggested that we take water bottles. X suggested that we take a princess dress along. X explained that everyone should take a mama along with them too! Tomorrow we go to Colombia!

2014_01_21 Tuesday

I'm beginning to believe that demon possession really is a thing. Elise woke up this morning fine, actually, but she certainly spiraled downhill at break-neck speed. She flipped out because I had her wear an orange cord dress. Then, she freaked over breakfast (Dora yogurt, banana, and milk?!). She was just mean throughout. Dave and I both had her sitting and thinking no less than 4 times in 30 mins. What the whaaat?! We all talked about choosing to be in a good/bad mood. And, when we walked out the door, I helped her decide to leave 'the nasties' inside our house. That didn't work for very long. Nannies and moms were shocked at school to see her completely fall apart. ah, well, it can only get better, right?

One huge perk of being here is that I get all the snow days from up north! Gov't is closed, so I don't have to work today (although I did for most of the day)!!

From Elise's school:

Sawubona! Hello from the Zulu nation in South Africa! We traveled to the country of South Africa today. The plan was to paint an acacia tree for art. The kids looked at several pictures of Acacia trees to choose how they would like to paint their pictures. They chose to paint an acacia tree in the sunset. I asked why they thought the acacia tree looked black instead of green in the sunset. X correctly guessed that the tree didn't have enough sunlight on it to see the colors. X very gently dabbed his paintbrush in black paint to paint the leaves on his tree.  X agreed that's how the tress should look and all of the other kids quickly followed suit. 

We watched a short clip of Isaiah Chevrier. He is an amazing djembe player from West Africa that is only 10 years old! He has been playing since he was 3. The kids were very inspired so we had our own African drum circle. The kids took turns with the djembe. We worked on rhythms. Elise liked clapping the rhythm to keep the other kids on beat. X realized that if you gently tap the djembe, it doesn't make a sound. X showed him how to tap it hard so the sound would be loud. 

We began working with the letter P today. X identified that our lunch, Pasta, stars with the letter P! Ms. X joined us for our Spanish lessons today. X helped her teach the class the parts of a house in Spanish. 

2014_01_20 Monday

Two quick thoughts before bed:

1. why does Elise have to use her outside voice at the aquarium to tell me she can see the beluga whale's penis?!

2. We lost four of the five fish over the winter, and only today discovered them. Jonathan was pretty upset. He told me he knew at least one was dead because the fish had Xs in his eyes. ??!!

2014_01_17 Friday

I met with Jonathan's teacher and student teacher today to discuss some behavior concerns. The biggest two issues really are controlling his gabbing, and knowing when that's appropriate and not appropriate, and focusing on the task at hand when his teacher wants him to (not when he wants to).

Then I had coffee with a girlfriend and bumped into two more friends!

From Elise's school:

Guten tag from Germany! We started off the day listening to some traditional Bavarian music. I showed the kids a quick clip of German-style dancing and a wood chopping dance and then they tried it! X said that the people must get dizzy after all of the spinning around. X and X danced as partners just like the boys and girls in the video. We read the German folktale Rumpelstiltskin. The kids made their own gold during art, just like Rumpelstiltskin. X commented that she would be nice and not take a baby like in the story. They each used a pincer grasp to stack toothpicks into a pile like a haystack. Then we poured glue on the stack and sprinkled it with gold glitter. Elise LOVES glitter!!! We also discussed Martin Luther King Jr. today. The kids learned about how hard he worked so all people can be treated equally. We talked about how sometimes we have to be brave for people that can't be brave for themselves. X shared that Martin Luther King Jr. must have been brave. X agreed and added that he also had a cool mustache.  Today is Benjamin Franklin's birthday. We watched a short BrainPop video about his life. X said that the coonskin cap Ben Franklin wore is awesome!

2013_01_14 Tuesday

The ToothFairy did make it overnight, with $2 and an apology note that there were an unusually high number of teeth to be picked up the night before and she just couldn't make it to GA before sunrise.

From Elise's school:

Bonjour! Welcome to France! The kids were whisked away to the land of cafes and lights today! X did a great job greeting her friends by saying "bonjour" to all of them. During art the kids constructed their own Eiffel tower with glue and toothpicks. X shared that his mom went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and brought him back a key chain! We discussed some foods that are French. X told his friends that he eats croissants at his house. We also discussed crepes, cheese and baguettes. X said that he is not allowed to eat too much junk food so he hopes all of those things are healthy! The kids completed a letter N worksheet. X shared with her friends that her brother's name starts with N. X did a great job singing our French counting song. Elise kept repeating "Un, Deux, Trois" for her friends. We actually counted up to ten and the kids did a great job remembering the numbers when we were finished. X shared his new French vocabulary with Ms. X, our Spanish teacher.  Au revoir! Salut! A bientot!

2013_01_13 Monday

What an amazing weekend I had. I spent 2.5 days with my college besties, just hanging out with lots of wine and massages. It's amazing how rejuvenating that can be. I feel amazing now. My travel plans almost became a nightmare (was going to have to overnight somewhere and catch the early bird flight), but because I pulled an Opa and got to the airport 4+ hours early I was able to get on a direct flight before my original flight was supposed to take off and land nearly 3 hrs earlier than planned.

One minor glitch in the system was that Jonathan lost tooth #6 (I think) over frozen yogurt on Sunday, and the Tooth Fairy forgot to swing by to pick it up. He was devastated this morning, although seeing me at home made him a smidgen happier. I told him that because he lost it late in the day, maybe the Tooth Fairy had already left for her daily pick-ups and we'd try it again tonight. yikes.

Elise couldn't have cared less when she saw me. ooh, that girl!

Our new nanny starts today, too.

From Elise's school:

Cheerio! Today the kids traveled to The United Kingdom. Elise and X were very excited to hear that there are REAL princes and princesses there!!! During art the kids colored a color-by-number British Flag. I was assessing number recognition during this activity. X said that his favorite part was coloring blue. X said that the British flag has the same colors as the American flag! We played London Bridge during kinesthetics. X said that she has driven over a long bridge on the way to her grandma's house in Florida! During our sociocultural studies, we discussed differences between Atlanta and London. X said that in Atlanta, it gets REALLY hot and it doesn't in London. We watched a a video of the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace. X explained that a palace is not a castle, like in the Ariel movie.  We also completed an ABC tracing worksheet. I was assessing how the kids held their pencils during this activity. Mandarin lessons were very fun today. The kids love singing the songs! X especially loves the clapping song. 

2013_01_10 Friday

Today is Jonathan's 1/2 birthday!! and I'm leaving for a girls' weekend away....

From Elise's school (and new teacher!):

We started the day by greeting our friends with the traditional Thai greeting called wai. The kids learned to bow with their hands pressed together and say sawasdee ka or sawasdee khrap, depending on if they are a girl or a boy. During kinesthetics we played a game of takraw. In traditional takraw, a volleyball-like game is played with a rattan ball and the players can only use the feet, knees, chest and head to keep the ball of the ground. X  said that this game is easy for him to play because he can keep his bean bag steady and balanced so it won't hit the floor. Elise showed us how to keep the bean bag off of the ground by using her shoulder. X showed us how to catch the bean bag with his head. The kids made batik name banners during art. I wrote their names in white crayon and they used watercolors to to paint the banners. The paint showed up everywhere but where their names were written! X said that she would like like to hang her banner in her room. X showed the other kids how to use nice, long brushstrokes to coat the banner in watercolors. 

We discussed the difference between African elephants and Asian elephants by looking at pictures of both. X quickly pointed out that Asian elephants have 2 big bumps on the top of their heads and African ones do not. X counted the toes on each. The Asian elephants have one more toenail on their feet! 

German was canceled today so we got to squeeze in some outside time for about 15 minutes before lunch! During our computer lesson, the kids got to find the first letter of their names on the keyboard. X was so excited when he found the R!

2014_01_07 Tuesday

What the whaaat?! ATL schools are cancelled today because of the 'dire' cold. It's 22 degrees here (low of 14) and no snow. That's really not THAT cold...especially when considering my northern friends and family. I think it was actually colder when we left PA than it is now. So, we are home together while I work and they annoy each other.
I made French toast for breakfast as a surprise. Then I got the slow cooker going with a chicken (for chicken noodle soup later) and the breadmaker going with some dough. Call me Martha!

Elise to Jonathan: "My name is Doctor Elise, but you can call me Doctor Cinderella Elise."

Mom: "Elise, I love you to the moon and back."
Elise: "But, not to Aunt Shannon's house because it's dangerously cold there!"

Elise: "What are you doing?"
Mom: "I'm typing."
Elise: "Where do the words come out?"
Mom: "Oh, they don't, honey, they just stay on the screen."
Elise: "hmmm, I can make them come out. I really can."
oh boy.

2014_01_05 Sunday

We have had such a nice visit to the Barony!

January 2
We spent some time lounging around but actually managed to do some things today. The big errand was to get Jonathan some clothes that fit. Somehow that boy has sprung right out of his pants, especially. And, with nearly 3 inches of snow on the ground, he needed some snowpants to sled down the hill. It was a bummer to have a lot of nastiness between siblings today, although a trip to Fridays seemed to help a little...a little. So much bickering and snarkiness and general rudeness.
Elise was shocked to have a tiny plate and an itty spoon and an escargo fork for dinner. She ate soooo much on her own; it was terrific.

January 1
Wow, it's a new year!! Elise slept until about 10am (wahoo!). We lounged around in jammies for much of the morning. I helped Oma arrange her office. Then we took a walk outside to climb the trees and get any wiggles out.

December 31
Dave flew home today, albeit circuitously. We went to First Night in town. Boy, was it COLD. The kids did the ice luge, we banged on the gongs, stopped by the fire pit that wasn't very warm at the time, checked out the ice sculptures/molds (some were really impressive), and sat on the ice horse chair (it's the year of the horse). Jonathan stuck a penny on an ice wishing well (that was pretty neat). After that, it was just too cold to be out, so we headed back home.
After finding the sparklers that I specifically packed, Opa set them up outside. The kids liked watching them.
Both Opa and Jonathan wore red unterhosen, so they'll have good luck in 2014. I made it to about 11:50pm before falling asleep. alas.

December 28
We all took Oma out for her birthday. Of course, they knew the owners of the restaurant. The kids split a grown-up pasta dish that ended up pretty spicy (not sure why Elise didn't like that?!). But, we had a very nice time out.

December 26
It's Boxing Day, and we woke up to about an inch of snow. Jonathan was quick to get moving so he could investigate the snow, clear off my car, and try to sled. Jury is still out on sledding. He took his magnifying glass/microscope with him to check out the flakes. After working for a little while, I went outside to sled with the babes and Dave. He figured out how to tandem and steer. what fun. And, it wasn't as cold as I thought. Opa built us the first fire of our visit. How nice to play Uno by!

December 25
Christmas morning! The kids were thrilled by Santa's visit. For the first time, Jonathan was able to read the letter that Santa left. What fun it was to watch them open presents. The only thing that would have made it better would have been for Shannon, et al to be here too.

December 20-21
We left for parts north. The drive was just a bit too long (although the drive itself was very pleasant), so we stayed the night with PopPop. We went over a ferry, which was very cool. And, the visit was great.