The First R is for 'Reduce'

That's right, we were taught the first step to saving the planet was to 'Reduce' our impact on the planet.   There are the Reuse and Recycle options as well, but since this is about, "reducing" my blog post ever-expanding list, that's the R we're going with tonight.   Besides, who wants old reused or recycled topics?

The Weather Station Argument
Our old indoor/outdoor thermometer died recently.   The children looked at it from time to time, but they weren't that interested in it overall.   The new one I got is backlit LED and is more colorful.   It also has features like the current phase of the moon and the weather prediction for the day in graphic form.   Clouds with rain or sun or snow and lots of clouds.   Given that it's pictorial, my children can tell what the day will be like without having to read.   This caused an argument the other morning because one child was looking outside, saying it was sunny (it was) while the other child was looking at the icons and protesting quite loudly that it said sun AND clouds.

The Tooth Feels Different
I have two implant teeth in after a long wait.   At first I was taken aback by how different it felt to chew on the teeth.   There is no nerve in the tooth because the tooth and it's nerves are completely gone, but I've had teeth with root canals before and that didn't change the feel of the tooth.    I mentioned it to my father who had implants too and he said I'd get used to it.    It feels different because a natural tooth is connected to gums and there are tendons that connect the gums to the tooth.   That push and pull as the tooth does its work gives an additional level of sensation you don't get with implants that sit a bit below the gum line but aren't connected to them at all.   Sure as my father predicted though, I don't even notice the difference any more.

The amount I have to do is directly proportional to the amount I get done
This one I've known about for a long time, but I saw it in action again recently.   I went through a very busy time with the work I was doing with school, family plans, children activities and personal commitments I'd set for myself.   During those times, I was more motivated to get things done, even taking on bonus projects like organizing some such a thing because it looked like it needed to be done, than I would have been in a more quiet time.  I like to be busy, but it's good to have a balance.

Sixty-five Hours of Audio Book
The last audio book I listened to was complicated.   It was intricate.   It was about a system of maths on an alternate world-track than ours with different names for many, many things.   For the first five hours I felt like I was holding on for dear life, just trying to figure out what was happening.   By the time I was done I thought I understood the main plot line, but the intricacies that factored into that plot were eluding me.   The book was long at over thirty-two hours.   I haven't ever listened to an audio book twice in a row, but the book was so interesting in the author's environment of this alternate society that I went back to the first chapter and started over.   The second time around it was equally complex, but I was able to follow it all.   The set ups he did early on that I missed because I was confused as hell, now all made sense.   I'm glad I listened to it a second time.

Rebooting the Tesla
I don't think I mentioned this this very cool feature of our car before: you can reboot it.   You hold two buttons on the steering wheel and the screen goes off and less than a minute later it's back up.   You can even do this while driving without fear of the car not being drivable.  If you do the reboot while parked, it will reboot the driving computer portions as well.    Today I was having some bluetooth connection issues with my phone that didn't make sense.   I rebooted the phone but they persisted.   I rebooted the car and everything started working again.

SPRING!
Gosh, we're really enjoying spring.   Today it was over eighty degrees.   So nice.  

The Big Boy Update:
First Spelled Word: My son spelled his first word tonight.  He commonly will ask us what certain letters spell together, but today was the first time he put letters together to spell a word.   He asked us what, "B and E and E and E and R made?"   Of course he would spell a drunken version of an adult beverage for his first word.  

Pronunciation:  On the pronunciation front, one of his favorite big tools of all time, an excavator, has resurfaced as important in his imagination play.   He ran around the back yard with a shovel from the sand box yelling, "this is my X-uh-vay-tor!"

Swearing:  Something didn't go his way the other day and I could have sworn he said, "aww, pickles!"   Then, when my husband got home last night he came in and asked about bedtime and stories in the middle of a post-bath whirlwind in which both children had too much energy to contain and weren't listening.   I had had it and angrily said, "they're not getting stories because they've been dicking around and have run out of time."   My son immediately said, "dad, we haven't been dicking around."  My husband and I looked at each other and I followed up with a, "you two most certainly have been DUCKING around; you should have had your pajamas on ten minutes ago."   We'll see if it shows back up.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  
Sandy:   Last year my mother-in-law brought via plan a very large doll.   She stands probably four-feet tall, but since she's a thinly-stuffed plush, she was able to pack her in a carry-on bag.   My daughter loved the doll but grew tired of her after a while, like children do with all toys so I put her away.   My mother-in-law either named her Dolly or she came with that name, I'm not sure, but that's what she was always called.   Yesterday I brought Dolly back out and asked my daughter if she remembered her.   She cried out, "I love love love Sandy!"   My son also is calling her Sandy now.   It appears she got a new name over the winter.

Dragonfly Mickey:  My daughter was drawing in the sand under the swing earlier today.  Usually she just scribbles, but she's getting better.   She said to me after a minute, "it's dragonfly Mickey!"  I looked down and it actually did look like Mickey Mouse from the side with dragon wings.   I'm guessing that's not necessarily what she was going for from the start, however.

Fitness Update:  Pure Barre.   I did a Barre class today with my neighbor.   It's a room filled with ladies holding small red balls between their thighs using a ballet bar against the wall.   It sounds crazy weird, but it was a good workout.   My friend had tried it on her vacation and wanted to know if I wanted to try a class with her.   It was quite hard in addition to interesting, but I don't think it's my main exercise thing.