Saturday, October 31, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Be-Flued
OK, well, the flu seems to have made it to the Khooler house. I have no way to say for sure whether we have regular old flu or the far more interesting and newsworthy H1N1, but Jim was very sick all last week, and now Muriel has had a fever for three days and is generally miserable (though both girls are enjoying a marked increase in TV time). The timing could not have been worse- we missed not one but TWO Halloween parties on Saturday. Blah.
I have been a bit sick, but not terribly so, and hoping this is as bad as it gets for my iron-clad immune system (ha). This flu seems to have divided our family down a line- Jim and Muriel on one side, with yucky long-term fevers and more severe symptoms, and Naomi and I on the other, with flu-ishness and respiratory symptoms, but no fever. Naomi has more stalwart German/Swedish genes, maybe? We noticed not long ago that Muriel looks a lot like Jim's mom, which makes her a lucky girl, since Jim's mom is beautiful. But it doesn't protect her from flu fever!
I have to admit that the coverage and emphasis on this epidemic have given me pause. I wanted to get the vaccine for the kids, but I couldn't- it still isn't available at our pediatrician's office. One unwelcome gift of becoming a parent is the macabre ability for my mind to head straight to the absolute worst case scenario, and thanks to the media's various offerings related to the flu, I am well-equipped with scenarios. At the same time, of course, I am certain we will all be fine, and that's highly likely the real scenario. Our health-care professional friend says that although he can't say for sure, it's seems likely that we do have H1N1, since the seasonal flu doesn't generally make the rounds this early in the season. I hope he's right- it will be good to get these fears all put away.
So, today is another in a string of girls' days in, days that have included the afore-mentioned TV time, some butterfly wing painting (though again, we already missed two costume shindigs), sponge cake making, junk food eating, soup, more soup, the reading of seven hundred books, and a long and fruitless search for Naomi's magic wand. Where is that thing?!
I have been a bit sick, but not terribly so, and hoping this is as bad as it gets for my iron-clad immune system (ha). This flu seems to have divided our family down a line- Jim and Muriel on one side, with yucky long-term fevers and more severe symptoms, and Naomi and I on the other, with flu-ishness and respiratory symptoms, but no fever. Naomi has more stalwart German/Swedish genes, maybe? We noticed not long ago that Muriel looks a lot like Jim's mom, which makes her a lucky girl, since Jim's mom is beautiful. But it doesn't protect her from flu fever!
I have to admit that the coverage and emphasis on this epidemic have given me pause. I wanted to get the vaccine for the kids, but I couldn't- it still isn't available at our pediatrician's office. One unwelcome gift of becoming a parent is the macabre ability for my mind to head straight to the absolute worst case scenario, and thanks to the media's various offerings related to the flu, I am well-equipped with scenarios. At the same time, of course, I am certain we will all be fine, and that's highly likely the real scenario. Our health-care professional friend says that although he can't say for sure, it's seems likely that we do have H1N1, since the seasonal flu doesn't generally make the rounds this early in the season. I hope he's right- it will be good to get these fears all put away.
So, today is another in a string of girls' days in, days that have included the afore-mentioned TV time, some butterfly wing painting (though again, we already missed two costume shindigs), sponge cake making, junk food eating, soup, more soup, the reading of seven hundred books, and a long and fruitless search for Naomi's magic wand. Where is that thing?!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Weekend Update
I forgot to mention in the bunk bed dispatch that poor Dad Khooler has been having nightmares (three or four) about things falling. The other day he lunged to catch the lamp on his bedside table, knocking it right over. And the other night, during one of his patented couch naps, he jumped forward with his arms out, to catch some other falling object. So although the girls are doing great in the bunk bed, clearly someone in our family has a little anxiety about it.
On the plus side, I have been getting quite a lot more sleep. Because our little roommate used to wake us up any time between 4:30 and 6:30, I haven't relied on my alarm in quite a while. But either she's sleeping longer in her giant twin bed, or we just can't hear her waking up and demanding things of us. Works for me. Though I have to start setting that alarm now, I guess.
We had a very nearly uneventful weekend (ahhh), but we wrapped it up with a visit to... Turkfest!
Lest you think I am making this up. The Seattle Center hosts a festival for just about everyone at some point during the year, and this can only mean fantastically dressed dancers who will captivate my children. This Fest had an added insider bonus- one of the dancers was the father of Naomi's classmate.
On Friday we had a conference with Naomi's preschool teacher. She had a two or three page report, with lots of Ms (mastered), a few Us (usually), and a couple of Ss (sometimes). We asked the teacher if Naomi's seeming anti-joinerism is an issue at school, but she didn't know what we were even talking about, so that's good, I guess. I never know how Naomi is going to respond when I ask her if she wants to do something. But at Turkfest, when we came across the henna artist, there was no hesitation. She sat right down, and held perfectly still. With favorable results.
Muriel is still too little for henna, so we compensated with a super fly Turkish cap (which also happened to be super cheap). This girl rocks a hat, I'm just saying.
On the plus side, I have been getting quite a lot more sleep. Because our little roommate used to wake us up any time between 4:30 and 6:30, I haven't relied on my alarm in quite a while. But either she's sleeping longer in her giant twin bed, or we just can't hear her waking up and demanding things of us. Works for me. Though I have to start setting that alarm now, I guess.
We had a very nearly uneventful weekend (ahhh), but we wrapped it up with a visit to... Turkfest!
Lest you think I am making this up. The Seattle Center hosts a festival for just about everyone at some point during the year, and this can only mean fantastically dressed dancers who will captivate my children. This Fest had an added insider bonus- one of the dancers was the father of Naomi's classmate.
On Friday we had a conference with Naomi's preschool teacher. She had a two or three page report, with lots of Ms (mastered), a few Us (usually), and a couple of Ss (sometimes). We asked the teacher if Naomi's seeming anti-joinerism is an issue at school, but she didn't know what we were even talking about, so that's good, I guess. I never know how Naomi is going to respond when I ask her if she wants to do something. But at Turkfest, when we came across the henna artist, there was no hesitation. She sat right down, and held perfectly still. With favorable results.
Muriel is still too little for henna, so we compensated with a super fly Turkish cap (which also happened to be super cheap). This girl rocks a hat, I'm just saying.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Roommates
Although there is still some actual decorating to do, I am pleased to report that Naomi and Muriel are now officially roommates. They are, as I type, snoozing away their third night in the same room.
We don't have a great "before" picture, because Jim only thought of it "after" we had cleared out the room. So the best I can do is the color and unfinished wood before, featuring the giant rented floor finisher and some moral supporters:
And now, the results- a new color, new trim, and the floor newly refinished. OK, so it doesn't have any furniture or decorations or plug plates. Sheesh. At least the girls like it.
And Muriel LOVES her new bed:
Just kidding. Jim put up the new bunk bed, and they love it. I hope the thrill of bunking together cements the bond they seem to be working on every day. Muriel looks so tiny in her big twin bed. But there's room for everyone during story time, so, yeah, it's all good.
We don't have a great "before" picture, because Jim only thought of it "after" we had cleared out the room. So the best I can do is the color and unfinished wood before, featuring the giant rented floor finisher and some moral supporters:
And now, the results- a new color, new trim, and the floor newly refinished. OK, so it doesn't have any furniture or decorations or plug plates. Sheesh. At least the girls like it.
And Muriel LOVES her new bed:
Just kidding. Jim put up the new bunk bed, and they love it. I hope the thrill of bunking together cements the bond they seem to be working on every day. Muriel looks so tiny in her big twin bed. But there's room for everyone during story time, so, yeah, it's all good.
Friday, October 09, 2009
On Eating
On work and eating
So, the short one is that someone STOLE MY APPLE out of the work kitchen. Not out of the fridge, not off the table, where I left it in a pile of fruit sitting on a paper scrawled with the words "free- eat me" or any such thing. No! I left it on my plate, next to the toaster, where my toast was busily toasting, and while I was out of the kitchen for a (ahem) short personal errand, someone took my apple. Brigand! Of course, because I am a pragmatic nerd, I had three more apples back in my office. In your face, apple thief.
The next one is longer, yet even more inconsequential. Every year my gigantic company holds a charity roundup kind of thing, where they politely lean on you to consider donating money to a huge list of causes. And each year when it's charity campaign time, they provide a meal (free food!) and various local charities come in to present information about who they serve and how. Last year there was a pancake breakfast, which was not half bad. The posters are up for this year, though, and here's what we're getting: a "chili feed." Something about this choice of names is making me feel very ambivalent about participating in the lunch. I see from the poster that the Olympia site is getting a "pizza luncheon"- that's appealingly innocuous. But "chili feed?" I know we will not all be huddled around a trough eating chili with our hands, but this is the image "chili feed" leaves me with. Maybe I will bring some baby wipes.
On home life and less eating
Jim has been out of town all week and is coming back today. I was musing last evening that I felt like I had only just (the night before his return) actually achieved "flow" in the single mom thing. We had a whole night of loving calmness and stories and good listening and very well-eaten dinners. I felt like I was finally on top of my game! Then I remembered that it was the morning of the same day that Muriel cried for fifteen minutes (seemed like that long) because I wouldn't heat up her soy milk. This was one of those ridiculous instances where when it's all over, I think, really, that's what I took a stand on? Not heating up soy milk? But then, once you have made a choice, you feel locked in, like if you give in to the crying, everybody loses, or whatever. She got over it eventually and drank the cold soy milk (in the way that she had been doing for weeks).
I much prefer having my co-parent around, of course, and not just for the co-parenting. Mr. Khooler was sorely missed by all of us. But the interesting part from the eating point of view is how low-pressure dinner is when it is only the tots and I that are eating. The planning, the shopping, the cooking- all came down about eight notches. I haven't drawn any conclusions from this, or made any plans. But it was convenient to have that area lowered a bit to accommodate the slight increase in parenting responsibility (kidding, Honey!). Welcome home, dear itinerant trainee. And Happy Friday to you all!
So, the short one is that someone STOLE MY APPLE out of the work kitchen. Not out of the fridge, not off the table, where I left it in a pile of fruit sitting on a paper scrawled with the words "free- eat me" or any such thing. No! I left it on my plate, next to the toaster, where my toast was busily toasting, and while I was out of the kitchen for a (ahem) short personal errand, someone took my apple. Brigand! Of course, because I am a pragmatic nerd, I had three more apples back in my office. In your face, apple thief.
The next one is longer, yet even more inconsequential. Every year my gigantic company holds a charity roundup kind of thing, where they politely lean on you to consider donating money to a huge list of causes. And each year when it's charity campaign time, they provide a meal (free food!) and various local charities come in to present information about who they serve and how. Last year there was a pancake breakfast, which was not half bad. The posters are up for this year, though, and here's what we're getting: a "chili feed." Something about this choice of names is making me feel very ambivalent about participating in the lunch. I see from the poster that the Olympia site is getting a "pizza luncheon"- that's appealingly innocuous. But "chili feed?" I know we will not all be huddled around a trough eating chili with our hands, but this is the image "chili feed" leaves me with. Maybe I will bring some baby wipes.
On home life and less eating
Jim has been out of town all week and is coming back today. I was musing last evening that I felt like I had only just (the night before his return) actually achieved "flow" in the single mom thing. We had a whole night of loving calmness and stories and good listening and very well-eaten dinners. I felt like I was finally on top of my game! Then I remembered that it was the morning of the same day that Muriel cried for fifteen minutes (seemed like that long) because I wouldn't heat up her soy milk. This was one of those ridiculous instances where when it's all over, I think, really, that's what I took a stand on? Not heating up soy milk? But then, once you have made a choice, you feel locked in, like if you give in to the crying, everybody loses, or whatever. She got over it eventually and drank the cold soy milk (in the way that she had been doing for weeks).
I much prefer having my co-parent around, of course, and not just for the co-parenting. Mr. Khooler was sorely missed by all of us. But the interesting part from the eating point of view is how low-pressure dinner is when it is only the tots and I that are eating. The planning, the shopping, the cooking- all came down about eight notches. I haven't drawn any conclusions from this, or made any plans. But it was convenient to have that area lowered a bit to accommodate the slight increase in parenting responsibility (kidding, Honey!). Welcome home, dear itinerant trainee. And Happy Friday to you all!
Monday, October 05, 2009
6
The other day during "Candy Hour," which is apparently a real thing at Jim's work (though I hope for the sake of our retirement fund that the hour part is slightly exaggerated), he mentioned that his anniversary was this weekend. The other candy fanciers present at the time were an older set, with kids in college or beyond. They asked him which anniversary it was, and he told them- six years since we got married. "Oh," they said, "You don't even really know each other yet!"
It's kind of exciting to think about how there is ever more getting-to-know left to do. And of course there is, because we are not the same people even from day to day. What will happen in your own life and my own life, and in the intersections of our lives, and how will those things change you, and change me? It remains to be seen. Wonder whether those even older marrieds feel like they've made it, whether they think now that they really know their husbands or wives. Hmm. I like what I know so far, Baby.
Sunday was our anniversary, and it was the same kind of gorgeous, crisp, sunny October day here and now that we had for the actual wedding six years ago, back in St. Paul. On that original sunny October day, though, we did not have two little hitchhikers along, soaking up the sun and our love and mental energy and just generally changing everything for everyone. We hit the park and the dim sum place, two activities that for me boost the festiveness of any day. No pictures of dim sum, but here's the park pair:
And here are the now no longer even remotely newlyweds, on the way out the door to Cafe Campagne for some French cuisine and the Showbox Theater for some English Beat. Woo hoo!
It's kind of exciting to think about how there is ever more getting-to-know left to do. And of course there is, because we are not the same people even from day to day. What will happen in your own life and my own life, and in the intersections of our lives, and how will those things change you, and change me? It remains to be seen. Wonder whether those even older marrieds feel like they've made it, whether they think now that they really know their husbands or wives. Hmm. I like what I know so far, Baby.
Sunday was our anniversary, and it was the same kind of gorgeous, crisp, sunny October day here and now that we had for the actual wedding six years ago, back in St. Paul. On that original sunny October day, though, we did not have two little hitchhikers along, soaking up the sun and our love and mental energy and just generally changing everything for everyone. We hit the park and the dim sum place, two activities that for me boost the festiveness of any day. No pictures of dim sum, but here's the park pair:
And here are the now no longer even remotely newlyweds, on the way out the door to Cafe Campagne for some French cuisine and the Showbox Theater for some English Beat. Woo hoo!
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