This should be a simple distinction, right? Is something three feet long or is it six feet long? My children aren’t three feet high and my husband is close to six feet tall. I don’t get their lengths confused. And yet I’ve had three conversations about these very same two measurements today.
This has to do with cables, specifically charger cables for our devices. My husband said his was too long and while I was at the store, could I see if they had a shorter one? I got there, phoned him and we had a conversation about his current cable being eighteen inches, three feet or six feet. We eliminated the eighteen inches option because of where the plug in the wall was and where he charged his device, but beyond that we weren’t sure as neither of us had thought to measure beforehand.
I got the three foot length and this evening we looked through all our cables and were surprised how many were the same lengths and how few were longer. We had needed a shorter cable in the one type we had nothing but longer cables. But we have it sorted now. That is, unless we need four foot lengths…
The Big Boy Update: We got in the car this morning and as I was backing out of the garage my son said, “raise your hand if you had a nightmare with a bunny that turned into a monster when you tried to hug it.”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter has been paying attention to the type of trees around us. I told her we didn’t have any evergreens in our yard. She said, “yes we do, Lucy’s tree.” She is right, Lucy (our deceased dog) has a small evergreen planted in her remembrance.
Upper Body: It was unseasonably hot today and this afternoon I wore a short-sleeved shirt. It is about this time of year that I notice all my upper body muscles have wasted away so in the spirit of, “spring is around the corner” I went to the fitness room with my husband today. My legs and core don’t complain that much from running but who knows how much I’ll hurt tomorrow from today’s workout.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Monday, February 6, 2017
Blind New World
My brother-in-law sent me an email saying he’d seen an ad in the Boston subway and thought we might be interested. The link is below and I wasn’t sure what to expect from the text on the main page before I selected and watched the videos.
http://blindnewworld.org
It had never occurred to me that I might or might not be prejudiced towards blind people. Having a blind child now has changed how I see blind people, but I’m still only at the five-year-old mark and less than two years into understanding low-vision and blind implications and conversely capabilities.
I don’t know how other people feel, but it know it is a sadness to hear of a child who’s lost their sight. That doesn’t mean my daughter isn’t capable, she’s just going to achieve things in a different way.
Thanks to Uncle Bob for sharing the link.
The Big Boy Update: I was running for a very long time yesterday on my birthday. When I got home I cleaned up and shortly thereafter we went to my parent’s house to have birthday roast and cake. My husband did a lot of work from home yesterday and as such, gratefully, our children entertained themselves for the most part all day. We didn’t sound like the best parents in the world though when we got in the door of Mimi and Gramp’s house and my son announced, “I’ve played video games all day!”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: This morning my daughter came downstairs while I was making breakfast and told me as she got into her chair, “Mom, I just want to say happy birthday one more time even though it’s not your real birthday anymore.”
http://blindnewworld.org
It had never occurred to me that I might or might not be prejudiced towards blind people. Having a blind child now has changed how I see blind people, but I’m still only at the five-year-old mark and less than two years into understanding low-vision and blind implications and conversely capabilities.
I don’t know how other people feel, but it know it is a sadness to hear of a child who’s lost their sight. That doesn’t mean my daughter isn’t capable, she’s just going to achieve things in a different way.
Thanks to Uncle Bob for sharing the link.
The Big Boy Update: I was running for a very long time yesterday on my birthday. When I got home I cleaned up and shortly thereafter we went to my parent’s house to have birthday roast and cake. My husband did a lot of work from home yesterday and as such, gratefully, our children entertained themselves for the most part all day. We didn’t sound like the best parents in the world though when we got in the door of Mimi and Gramp’s house and my son announced, “I’ve played video games all day!”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: This morning my daughter came downstairs while I was making breakfast and told me as she got into her chair, “Mom, I just want to say happy birthday one more time even though it’s not your real birthday anymore.”
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Trial Run Test
My running buddy and I like to pre-run the marathon distance before we get up to any actual marathon runs we have scheduled. This is mostly for our peace of mind and comfort level than anything else, but it’s also good information to know.
We have a marathon coming up in a month. It’s in the very hilly park across from our neighborhood and includes close to seven miles of single track trails, meaning pine needles, trees, roots, rocks and water hazards. We haven’t done much running since the marathons in November, so it was time to get out, dust off the cardiovascular muscles and see what we could do.
We did a sixteen-mile run, then a twenty-mile run and then today we did a full marathon run with three of the five single track trails included. We didn’t have the hydration and food support the real race offers, but we were able to do the run and tonight I’m doing fine.
Today is my birthday and doing the run was a nice way to celebrate. Thanks to my husband for watching the children for half the day.
The Big Boy Update: My son looked at the large slice of cake Mimi had given him for dessert for my birthday celebration. He had eaten a good bit but he’d hit his limit. He looked up and said, “I can’t seem to eat this.”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter has a sound book from school. Each little page is a letter and she’s learning the sound that goes with each letter. The letters are written in sharpie for her so it’s easier to see them. When she reads the sound book now she reads the sound, flips the page, looks at the left page and reads the same sound saying the letter is now backwards (because she’s seeing the sharpie bleed through the front of the paper. Then she goes to the new letter on the right page.
Fitness Update: 26.8 mile run in preparation for an upcoming marathon. Nice crisp day to run in the park.
We have a marathon coming up in a month. It’s in the very hilly park across from our neighborhood and includes close to seven miles of single track trails, meaning pine needles, trees, roots, rocks and water hazards. We haven’t done much running since the marathons in November, so it was time to get out, dust off the cardiovascular muscles and see what we could do.
We did a sixteen-mile run, then a twenty-mile run and then today we did a full marathon run with three of the five single track trails included. We didn’t have the hydration and food support the real race offers, but we were able to do the run and tonight I’m doing fine.
Today is my birthday and doing the run was a nice way to celebrate. Thanks to my husband for watching the children for half the day.
The Big Boy Update: My son looked at the large slice of cake Mimi had given him for dessert for my birthday celebration. He had eaten a good bit but he’d hit his limit. He looked up and said, “I can’t seem to eat this.”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter has a sound book from school. Each little page is a letter and she’s learning the sound that goes with each letter. The letters are written in sharpie for her so it’s easier to see them. When she reads the sound book now she reads the sound, flips the page, looks at the left page and reads the same sound saying the letter is now backwards (because she’s seeing the sharpie bleed through the front of the paper. Then she goes to the new letter on the right page.
Fitness Update: 26.8 mile run in preparation for an upcoming marathon. Nice crisp day to run in the park.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
The Tooth Fairy Consideration
Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy—we know they’re not real, we know we perpetuate a fun story for our children. We’ve now gotten to the Tooth Fairy chapter of little white imaginary characters in our lives here. My son has a tooth that is close to falling out. He would like it to hurry up and do so because it’s bothering him, but it’s not that far resorbed yet so we’re in the waiting phase.
The children know about the Tooth Fairy because they have friends at school losing teeth and talking about it all the time. I don’t think we could in good conscience tell them there was no such thing without undermining the other friends families statements in the process. So we’re going with the Tooth Fairy.
But wheat’s the going rate? I’ve asked around and I think we’ll probably do a dollar. I suppose we’ll make a decision soon if the tooth comes out in the next day or two.
The Big Boy Update: There is a building that recently was completed building on our drive to school. On Friday we noticed a rainbow of LED lights rippling across the top. My son declared it, “cool”. Then he said, “it’s a good thing.” I agreed with him.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter wanted very much to see the new rainbow lights on the building on Friday, but since she can’t even tell where the building is (and it’s a big building), I told her I would try and take a picture of it to show her later. Sometimes I hate that she can see so little and there’s nothing I can do to help.
The children know about the Tooth Fairy because they have friends at school losing teeth and talking about it all the time. I don’t think we could in good conscience tell them there was no such thing without undermining the other friends families statements in the process. So we’re going with the Tooth Fairy.
But wheat’s the going rate? I’ve asked around and I think we’ll probably do a dollar. I suppose we’ll make a decision soon if the tooth comes out in the next day or two.
The Big Boy Update: There is a building that recently was completed building on our drive to school. On Friday we noticed a rainbow of LED lights rippling across the top. My son declared it, “cool”. Then he said, “it’s a good thing.” I agreed with him.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter wanted very much to see the new rainbow lights on the building on Friday, but since she can’t even tell where the building is (and it’s a big building), I told her I would try and take a picture of it to show her later. Sometimes I hate that she can see so little and there’s nothing I can do to help.
Friday, February 3, 2017
Ladies Night Overnight
I’m running late to our semi-regularly scheduled ladies night overnight and out. The four of us are staying at a local hotel and spa. I’ve just been sent the hotel room number so I’d better get off the computer and go see how my friends have been doing for the past few months.
The Big Boy Tiny Girl Breakfast Discussion: This morning my daughter came into the bathroom and complained about her brother saying, “he says he wants to have a peaceful breakfast and I can’t talk to him.” My son came in shortly afterwards, saying she kept talking and he was just wanting to have a peaceful breakfast. I told them it was nice to have wishes, but we don’t get to decide when other people talked.
The Big Boy Tiny Girl Breakfast Discussion: This morning my daughter came into the bathroom and complained about her brother saying, “he says he wants to have a peaceful breakfast and I can’t talk to him.” My son came in shortly afterwards, saying she kept talking and he was just wanting to have a peaceful breakfast. I told them it was nice to have wishes, but we don’t get to decide when other people talked.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Stuck Stickers
You know when people say, “there should be a law against…” and you know that translates to, “I really, really, really don’t like…”? In this case, I think it should go further than just laws against, I think a good solid round of government regulations should be applied to rules with stickers.
Not all stickers, just the ones on products you purchase in a store. They need to remain on the product, but they should come off when you’ve purchased the item, especially when they’re large and in a conspicuous location.
There are many kinds of label and price stickers in the market, maybe it’s just a case of using the wrong type of sticker for a particular surface on which it is to be stuck. I have that Goo Gone adhesive remover spray, but that doesn’t help when the product is a porous material like a book cover.
Today I spent far too much time getting four stickers off birthday presents. But I got them off. Maybe next year there will be a revolution in removable stickers.
The Big Boy Update: My son’s tooth is more “wiggly” now and he’s looking forward to it falling out because it’s hard to bite things with his front teeth without discomfort. I told him not to lose it when it falls out.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter hears everything. She was with me on the couch when she said, “daddy, are you getting those stars again?” At very low volume my husband had been playing Mario Run on his phone—a game in which you get stars for doing well.
Not all stickers, just the ones on products you purchase in a store. They need to remain on the product, but they should come off when you’ve purchased the item, especially when they’re large and in a conspicuous location.
There are many kinds of label and price stickers in the market, maybe it’s just a case of using the wrong type of sticker for a particular surface on which it is to be stuck. I have that Goo Gone adhesive remover spray, but that doesn’t help when the product is a porous material like a book cover.
Today I spent far too much time getting four stickers off birthday presents. But I got them off. Maybe next year there will be a revolution in removable stickers.
The Big Boy Update: My son’s tooth is more “wiggly” now and he’s looking forward to it falling out because it’s hard to bite things with his front teeth without discomfort. I told him not to lose it when it falls out.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter hears everything. She was with me on the couch when she said, “daddy, are you getting those stars again?” At very low volume my husband had been playing Mario Run on his phone—a game in which you get stars for doing well.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Fire Trucks and SWAT Teams
Across from the children’s school are two lots with houses and a few out buildings. The properties were purchased by the city to relocate a fire station that has outgrown the land on which it currently resides. Many of us are pleased about this—who wouldn’t want emergency responders right across the street from your child’s school?
The lots have been cleared of trees, but the old houses have remained in place until the construction starts. One day just before Thanksgiving, a series of police cars appeared in front of the lots. They put up signs that an exercise was in progress and officers in SWAT vests showed up and did training for part of the day.
It was exciting. We though it was a good thing to have a place to practice so our police would be trained when or if there was ever a need. A few parents were a bit worried with all the guns around, but school wasn’t interrupted (we are across the street but well-set back from the road).
They did more maneuvers and we watched when we had the chance. Now, the fire department is getting in on the action. Today there were multiple fire trucks and firemen all over the place in front of the school. A very nice fireman I think didn’t even get a chance to be involved in the exercise because he got ambushed by children wanting a fireman’s badge sticker and to ask questions.
The Big Boy Update: My son and I had a discussion about rocket ships. He wanted to know how they went into space. I told him they needed lots of fuel to lift the heavy ship up into the sky. I asked him if he had enough energy to jump into the sky? He did a lot of jumps and came to the conclusion that rocket engines had to be very powerful indeed in order to get off the ground and up into space.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: A friend of ours was having a conversation with my daughter who had told her when she becomes a mom and the baby comes out, it’s gonna hurt at least a little bit. But that wasn’t going to be until she was older, so that was okay.
The lots have been cleared of trees, but the old houses have remained in place until the construction starts. One day just before Thanksgiving, a series of police cars appeared in front of the lots. They put up signs that an exercise was in progress and officers in SWAT vests showed up and did training for part of the day.
It was exciting. We though it was a good thing to have a place to practice so our police would be trained when or if there was ever a need. A few parents were a bit worried with all the guns around, but school wasn’t interrupted (we are across the street but well-set back from the road).
They did more maneuvers and we watched when we had the chance. Now, the fire department is getting in on the action. Today there were multiple fire trucks and firemen all over the place in front of the school. A very nice fireman I think didn’t even get a chance to be involved in the exercise because he got ambushed by children wanting a fireman’s badge sticker and to ask questions.
The Big Boy Update: My son and I had a discussion about rocket ships. He wanted to know how they went into space. I told him they needed lots of fuel to lift the heavy ship up into the sky. I asked him if he had enough energy to jump into the sky? He did a lot of jumps and came to the conclusion that rocket engines had to be very powerful indeed in order to get off the ground and up into space.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: A friend of ours was having a conversation with my daughter who had told her when she becomes a mom and the baby comes out, it’s gonna hurt at least a little bit. But that wasn’t going to be until she was older, so that was okay.
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