(Not quite) Free-range Rabbits!

All the other images I posted of the rabbits show them caged, so I made an effort today to take a few photos while the were hopping around! It was pretty tough avoiding motion blur, as they're constantly moving. In this first photo, you can see a little bit of the large, white wire corral that we borrowed (permanently?) from our neighbor. Her daughter used to have a a bunny and she was happy to lend it to us. She used to set it up in the yard outside to let the rabbit get fresh air and grass under its paws, but we're not quite that adventurous — yet.

Mary Potter, in the corraled area

After I set up the corral in a doorway that had access to the bedroom where their cages are, I learned that they won't "spray" or excessively "pill" to mark their new "territory." Whew. They really made some messes when we unknowingly separated them from their "home base." I learned from an article about litter box training (h/t Kellygo), I'm apparently doing the right thing (now, not at first!) by introducing them to other rooms in stages, so they get used to their location in relation to where their home base is.

Bugs Bunny, grooming Mary Potter in the kitchen

We first let them roam around Dash's room, their home base, then moved them to the bathroom. Bad idea — much territory marking. We tried corralling them in the dining room, first in one area, then around the dining table, also bad ideas with lots of sanitizing afterward. Earlier this week, I let them roam from Dash's room (home base) through to the kitchen, which worked out great until Bugs Bunny got too curious and hopped over a solid, 24-inch barrier. Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea of using the corral as the barrier, letting them wander from the kitchen and a short way into the living room, and be able to view the surrounding areas. That worked very well! Only one little "pill" at the end of the corral, to mark their new "territory." They still have a very clear path back to home base.

Bugs Bunny, lounging in the kitchen

Maybe soon, after we introduce more new areas, we can get some bunny-proofing going and let them have more range through the house!

My new morning schedule, with rabbits

Adding two rabbits to our household requires more than a few adjustments, especially in my morning schedule. Looks like I'll need to actually get out of bed *with* my alarm, and not goof around for 10-15 minutes...
 
5:25: AJS gives me a kiss, leaves for work
5:30: Boss texts me not to pack a lunch, we're having a group lunch today (BTW, good morning!)
5:35: Alarm goes off; check texts, Facebook, play words with friends before dragging self down to shower.
5:50: Shower, dress, load laundry in the washing machine
6:15: Get kids up, pester them to wear their swim outfits for summer camp water-park day
6:30: Put up barriers, let rabbits hop around while I make breakfast
6:45: Kids shuffle out from their bedrooms; tell kids to pack their dry clothes and towels
7:00: Hand kids their breakfasts over the rabbit barriers
7:05: Prep kids' lunches, get nose-bumped in the legs by hungry rabbits
7:15: Pack kids' lunches, give rabbits carrot & apple scraps
7:20: Chase down escaped rabbit who hopped over a two-foot barrier (taller than her), toss her back over the barrier
7:25: Put rabbit food (hay and pellets) into their cages, chase rabbits into cages 
7:30: Yell at kids for not dressing in a swim suit (Dash), packing their clothes and towels, brushing their teeth, or putting their shoes on; blow-dry my hair
7:35: Using a Sharpie pen, draw flames on previously rejected OMG pink! hand-me-down water-shoes for Dash; they are deemed okay.
7:40: Get in car, drive to summer camp, drop off kids
7:50: Head to work

I haven't fully wrapped my head around letting the rabbits run free through the house. I've noticed that when we corral them outside of Dash's bedroom (where the cages are), they poop and pee all over; but when they do have access to their cages, they scamper back to the cages every few minutes and I don't see poop anywhere. Once I have a chance to secure all of our chewables (especially electrical cords) I'll consider letting them run around with express access to their cages and see if this prevents the free-pooping that happened last night in the corral. Trial and error!!

Bunny Sitting for the Summer

For the past week, our home has been occupied by four humans and three exotic pets. If you've kept up with this blog, or know me personally, you know we have Weegee the parrot, and now our temporary additions are rabbits. I was calling them bunnies, but after we had a number of guests tell me, "those things are huge! I'd call them hares or rabbits, not bunnies," I suppose I ought to stop referring to these large creatures in the diminutive. To give you an idea of their size, when they're splayed out, relaxing, they look to be around a foot and a half long.

Mary Potter, domestic rabbit

The two rabbits are brown females (no idea what breed, if any) and come from Dash's 2nd grade menagerie classroom, which also included a few guinea pigs and a couple of turtles. The rabbits are named  "Mary Potter" (has white paw-tips) and "Bugs Bunny." If I were to characterize their personalities, I'd say Mary Potter is more aggressive and Bugs Bunny is more curious. But, I really haven't had much time to get to know them.

Dash's teacher told me that she let the rabbits out for 3-4 hours a day and suggested I put them in the bathroom (easy cleanup, no cords or stuff to chew up) if we wanted to give them free time without worrying that they'd get into trouble. I learned very quickly that it's not a good idea to let them out right after they eat, unless you don't mind wiping up the area thoroughly! The bathroom hasn't really worked out as a good free-play option for us, but I've been letting them hop around in the kitchen while I'm getting everyone's breakfasts ready, then after dinner they hop around some more while I'm doing kitchen cleanup.

They get pellets and lots of hay in the morning, then in the evening after they're back in their cages, I let the kids give them small amounts of lettuce, apples, bananas, or other treats. One thing I don't quite have a handle on yet is the smell. They have very stinky pee!! I need to figure out a better way to mask the ammonia odor. Luckily, my pal Jill in Oregon sent me a really long message about rabbit care. I'll need to revisit the TL;DR note and scan for bedding tips.

I was warned by another parent who had watched the rabbits over a weekend during the school year that we may need to prepare ourselves to get asked to keep them. O_o  She told me that Mary Potter and Bugs Bunny were babies at the beginning of the year and the teacher may want to have babies for the new batch of second graders. That means that these rabbits are only 9-10 months old and may not be full size yet? They already seem too big for their cages, but I'm not really prepared to buy new enclosures for them (or be their forever home).

We may consider keeping bunnies in the future since I'm thrilled that nobody has exhibited allergic reactions to them (crossing fingers!), but I'd like ones that are either litter-box trained or young enough to train easily. These ladies just poop all over their cages, and don't seem to prefer the litter boxes. Not sure what to do about that. More research needed! They are entertaining to watch and super soft; they like being petted. The kids really love them. Weegee's keeping his opinion to himself, as is AJS (who seems to like them outside of mentioning "hantha virus" while they're in the kitchen).

Planning Dash's 8th Birthday: a Scavenger hunt?

For Dash's eighth birthday party, we're doing our usual backyard party with barbecue and moonbounce, but this year Dash asked for a scavenger hunt. I can't remember getting involved with scavenger hunts when I was younger outside of organized events at camp with kids I barely knew. I know there is a subculture of people who are passionate about it, geocaching items worldwide for others to find. 

While I can't imagine parents being okay with their 8 year olds wandering the neighborhood, looking for random stuff, would they be okay with going down to the creek to do a nature scavenger hunt? Here is a suggested list for a nature hunt, from http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com:

1.  2 different types of grass

2.  Leaves from 3 different trees

3.  Large rock

4.  Moss

5.  3 different colored smooth stones

6.  Berry

7.  Pinecone

8.  Something plastic (explain how it doesn't belong in nature)

9.  Water reed

10. Animal tracks (draw them on paper after you find them)

11. Nut or acorn

12. Flower

13. Something red

14. Feather

16. Seeds

17. Wood

18. Stick

19. Something that fell out of a tree

20. Something that begins with the first letter of the birthday child's name

We could potentially do this in our back yard, but the creek is just across the street and I would go them, if parents agreed. Of course, I'll need to check with Dash to find out what he had in mind!

Too much homework and trying to be the squeaky wheel.

My family is feeling overwhelmed by the incredible amount of work being sent home with the kids, particularly my 10-year-old, by their elementary school teachers. I'm stressed out and I know my kids are too — my family isn't the only one affected, either. Read this psychologist's article about homework and elementary-school-aged children to see what the experts think about over-assigning work. In the spirit of being the squeaky wheel and letting the administration know how I feel, I just sent this letter to my daughter's school principal and vice principal.

"Dear Principal and VP,

Rosie, a fourth grader in Mrs. M's class came home with 11 separate homework assignments last night. I spent 3 hours working with her to get them done before 9 p.m. at which point she was exhausted and crying, then worked on unfinished work for another 45 minutes this morning before SACC. She was not able to complete all the assignments (listed below) — this was easily 5 hours of work. What are the real expectations here?

After the bus drops her off from school at 4:15, she has 1 hour to work on her homework before dinner; dinner is about 45 minutes, then most days (except Tuesdays and Fridays) she has a one-hour out-of-the-home activity. She gets back around 7:15, then I go through her work with her from that point until bedtime at 8 p.m. I'm allotting approximately 1.5 hours for homework in her day, but this schedule as is doesn't allow for any playtime after school with friends or daily chores. If the homework extends beyond 1.5 hours, she misses sleep, or it may cut into her activities. Is this appropriate at 10 years old? I don't agree and neither does her pediatrician.

Rosie was ordered by her pediatrician to get at least 60 minutes of "sweaty activity" in each day due to being overweight, and this is not possible for her if she is spending all of her time after school completing work or missing recess to complete assignments. For example, last week, I was emailed by Mrs. M that Rosie had not completed an assignment, and that she was being kept in at recess (which might be her only source of activity on a given day) to finish the work. I appreciate that the issue was brought to my attention, but I am not okay with Rosie missing recess time.

I'm not meaning at all to demonize any of the 4th grade teachers, just to bring awareness that the collective weight of the workload sent home with my daughter is not appropriate. I've spoken with other parents at WWES who agree that the amount of work their children is given has forced them to go on "lockdown" during the week, where children are not allowed playdates, activities (for parents either!!), or stress-relieving television/games during the week just so they can keep afloat with the homework. Where does the creative play, socialization, and alone time that is so important to children this age fit in?

I can't balance it all and I'm asking for your help.

Thank you,
Nylon"

Here is the assignments list:

1. Read for 20 minutes (daily, ongoing)
2. Study for Caesar's English quiz
3. Finish 5 illustrations in word study notebook (leftover classwork)
4. Complete practice math sheet (new assignment)
5. Study for quiz on customary lengths
6. Go over and correct answers on geometry test (requiring parental sign-off)
7. Study for physics force and motion test
8. Study for Race 2 quiz
9. Go over and correct answers on Race 1 quiz (requiring parental sign-off)
10. Continue working on VA Heroes project, writing details for accomplishments (ongoing, large project with written, visual and oral components, due 5/10)
11. Practice cello for 15-30 minutes. (daily, ongoing)

Had we attempted to complete the work for each of these assignments, it would have been over 5 hours of work. As it was last night, we didn't get to 2, 6, 8, or 11. Those will have to wait till tonight!

Beside Rosie's workload, I had to cancel two planned adult activities that required my participation last night so I could help her. Monkey did all the cooking and kitchen cleanup so I could devote my time to her. I'm sure Dash could feel the tension! 
 

Happy 10th Birthday, Rosie!

If You Were Born Today, November 13:

You are wise beyond your years, your eyes reflect this wisdom. The outward expression of your personality is strong and determined, although this hides a very emotional and sensitive nature. Success may come later in life, simply because in youth, you are inclined to more daydreaming than action. You may come across as sarcastic and even tough, but you are a thoughtful and kind person with a love of knowledge, justice, and truth. You also have a well-developed sense of humor.

This is a strong year for learning and communications. You are able to find new insight into old problems, and your thinking processes during this period are likely to be especially original. You may find more opportunities to attend meetings and other organized group activities, to communicate online, and to take part in activities involving computers, science, or metaphysics. .

Relationships with younger people in your life are rewarding. A subject or even a person can be especially inspiring, prompting you to explore new perspectives.

Dancing, swimming, photography, arts, and entertainment are favored this year. If you are an artist, this could be an especially inspired, imaginative, and productive year. Pay attention to your gut feelings, which will, more often than not, give you valuable information.

(from http://www.cafeastrology.com/birthday/november13_2012.html)

We're No. #1!! Or #7...

I'll link to DCist.com, since that's where I get my local news: According to an annual report by Allstate Insurance, the District of Columbia has the very worst drivers in the country. Alexandria, VA, where I do a good deal of my driving, is ranked 7th worst. I've been in my share of accidents in the area, probably more than the average person nationwide. I can think of three collisions that I've been in just in the past 5 years. I'll regale you with the hilarity — or pain, depending on your point of view.

Collision #1, Unreported in Alexandria. I was waiting at a red light on a single-lane road with one car in front of me when I noticed that the car behind me, with Pennsylvania plates (Philadelphia has the 6th-worst drivers in the country), had its right-turn signal on and the driver was motioning for me to give him room on the right. I was accomodating, and scooted up as close as I could to the car in front. He still didn't make the turn; the car at the light saw him and tried to scoot up too. It was a long light and right-turn-signal guy was close enough for me to see the circus going on in his car. He was talking on his cell phone while he had a gigantic fold-out highway map across his lap, accordioning into the passenger seat. In the back, there was a large dog, a preschool-aged kid in a carseat, and two more large dogs in the hatchback area.

When the light changed to green, the car in front of me immediately made a left and I continued straight. Then I heard a car on overdrive coming up on my right. I looked to see what it was (because there wasn't any room before I got across the intersection) and it was THAT GUY! Turn-signal guy had crept around my right side into the crosswalk so that he could attempt to turbo past me and cut me off before I cleared the intersection!

I hit him. I didn't have an option. He was cutting me off inches from my vehicle like an a$$hat and there was no room to stop, even at 10 MPH.

We both stopped on the other side of the road to assess the damage. He barrelled out of his car and started screaming at me, what was my problem? etc. and I just let him scream, didn't respond at all. He eventually petered out and told me that he didn't want to make a claim. I was super relieved, because even though he was the one driving like he had a hive of bees in his car, I hit him and probably would have been charged with fault.

Collision #2, Icy Alexandria road. The D.C. metro area has pretty unpredictable weather and typically is caught completely unawares when the temperature drops to freezing. Coming from the Chicago area and never having had a snow-related collision in my 25 years as a driver, I felt superior to all those silly people skidding out on ice and pulling off the road when a dusting of snow came along. Weather babies!

I had just dropped my kids at childcare one January morning and there had been no snow whatsoever on the drive out. As I was leaving the garage, I saw that it had started to flurry, but not a big deal to me, right? I know snow. I came up to a busy intersection, stopped, then turned right onto one of my favorite less-traveled roads to get around the typical congestion. There was a car ahead of me, pausing at a stop sign, but I had plenty of room to brake. I braked. My car kept moving. I pushed the brake to the floor; my car didn't slow. My car was sliding on ice covered with the light snow! I quickly steered my car to the right in an attempt to avoid hitting the car that was pulling away from its stop, but instead managed to completely plow over the stop sign and still hit the other guy's bumper. Sigh.

Collision #3, Rear-ended on 495. I was running an errand that required a short trip on the Beltway. I slowly crawled onto an exit ramp that was crowded with other cars until it was my time to merge onto 495. Whew, I could finally accelerate! But, wait, no. There was another collision right past the ramp with two cars and a policeman in the shoulder. I decelerated a bit to give them some clearance, as it's poor form to cruise full-Beltway-speed past a pedestrian on the highway shoulder, especially a cop.

Unfortunately, the woman driving behind me didn't see the accident because she was too busy looking behind her for a gap in oncoming traffic so she could merge into the lane beyond my car. She slammed into my left bumper at high speed and her car spiraled into the two far lanes on the Beltway. Miraculously for her, the other drivers managed to avoid her car. I was still in the merge lane, now missing my left-turn and -brake lights which had been smashed to oblivion. My car was still driveable, but the entire front end of her car had fallen off. You could still clearly see her Maryland plates (Baltimore has the 2nd-worst drivers).

So now, the poor cop had to deal with two collisions in the same spot. He called for backup.

10 things you might not know about Nylonthread

I thought I'd revisit this old meme just for fun today. I'm planning to get back online to put a new craft I'm making out there and remembered this neglected blog. Here's a little love for tied to my apron strings:

1. I love the scent of grapefruit.
2. When I was a junior in college, I lived in Arthur Miller's former house.
3. I bought deodorant for my daughter for the first time last week (she'll be two-digits old in a couple of months!).
4. My grade-school best friend was ordered to break our friendship off by her parents because it was (might have been) bringing her grades down.
5. My pinky toes are very fragile and I've broken both of them several times (one of them might be broken right now; I'm buddy-taping it, which is all that can be done).
6. I try not to tell good news to more than three people; the fourth telling takes the glow off.
7. I can play relatively simple tunes on my hands like a flute or "hand flute".
8. I know way more than the average person about IEDs, unexploded ordinance, and female fertility.
9. I'm really, really, really bad at sending thank you cards and unfortunately, I'm afraid that I'll be passing this on to my kids.
10. I love hiking near waterfalls or on paths that make you leap from rock to rock.

I've still got all your blogs on my feed reader, I'm just not commenting on them very much. Facebook has been scratching that itch, to be honest. Anyone still out there?

xo,
Nylon

Happy 7th Birthday, Dash!

Dash turned 7 over the weekend and we had an awesome summer party to celebrate. 29 of his friends showed up to run this circuit for the four-hour party: moonbounce, wading pool, Dash's room, basement (for Wii), moonbounce. See how they all look kind of tired and sweaty in this pic? This was from about 2.5 hours into the shindig.

Dash has grown about 2 inches this year and has grown out of so many favorite clothes! That fabulous suit he wore on our New Orleans trip a year ago, is still in his closet, but too short to wear now. He started 1st grade in September, with only limited reading skills—his teacher was pretty worried about him—but is now reading a few books before bed every night. We took a few day trips last fall, checking out historic sights like the Antietam battlefield (where Dash got a kick watching Monkeyrotica's ghost app pop up with hundreds of ghosts).

Dash left the karate studio where he was practicing and joined a tae kwon do studio, begged to join (and joined!) chess club at his school, became an expert at Wii LEGO games and fruit ninja, and discovered how fun it can be to trade Pokemon cards with friends. He's becoming very good at quoting obscure movie lines in context, as well. Just last month, we were discussing the theory of reincarnation at the dinner table when Dash shouted out, "Renewal is a LIE!" Which, for those of you who never paid attention to 1970s sci-fi, is a line from "Logan's Run." (From imdb.com, the actual line is "Life clocks are a lie! Carousel is a lie! THERE IS NO RENEWAL!")

Most of all, he has stayed such a snuggly, smiley, loving little boy. He feels deeply for all his intricately named toys and many (also named) inanimate objects, caring about setting bugs free outside, just as always. He comes up with some of the funniest things to say, but needs to work on his jokes—one of his faves is to say, for example, "what is 'shirt'?" when I ask him to put on his shirt. Back when Dash lost another tooth, as I tucked him in and checked on his tooth fairy box, I noticed a dollar bill next to it. I asked Dash, "What's this doing here?" and he said, "It's for the Tooth Fairy. She's given me so much money, she should have some for herself." He is still very transparent and can't manage to lie (well) about anything — I'm grateful for this.

He's an adorable, sweet seven-year-old. While I miss his six-year-old self, I can't wait to watch him and eight and beyond.

First and Last Days of School, 2011-12

On their last day of school this year, I talked Rosie and Dash into wearing the same outfits that they had worn on their first day so I could take this comparison photo. They didn't protest at all, and amazingly, Rosie still fit in all the clothing, including shoes (although, I noticed afterwards that she had worn holes through the soles).

While they are standing in almost the same spot, I didn't get the exact angle from the original shot. I was pretty careful to scale the after-shot to an accurate relative size, basing the measurement on Dash's shirt from collar to shirt-tails.

They *have* grown quite a bit, haven't they? Cheers to my rising Second and Fourth-graders!

Recital Day!

Rosie's GS Bridging Ceremony

Rosie and her Girl Scout troop mates all bridged over from Brownies to Juniors today. Congratulations, girls!

Rosie's Design Won the Patch Contest!

Rosie's Girl Scout troop will be going to the annual "Encampment" this weekend and she is very excited about it — she started packing last week. As with many GS events, there's a patch associated with it. We are new to Scouting, but it doesn't seem like they enlist for patch artwork submissions that often. However, we got a contest entry form for this event. When we originally got the flyer via email back in early March, I sort of blew it off, thinking it would be like many other contests that Rosie's entered and nothing would come of it.

Mid-March, I ran into the mom who was collecting the entries; she told me that was worried about the lack of submissions this year and whether they would have a viable option to choose from. When I was home with Rosie next, I talked her into making an entry. The text that needed to be included was daunting for her: all of "Girls Rock!" and "SU 53-3 Encampment 2012" needed to fit on the patch along with the art. If you know how big kids' writing can be, you'll understand why it seemed like it would fill the small space (2.5 in sq.). I helped out, just a bit, by lightly penciling in where I thought the text would fit best. Then Rosie did the rest, in crayon (we have markers, and colored pencils, and many other media, but she insisted).



Rosie's orginal artwork is on the left, and the resulting embroidered patch on the right.





I contacted the GS mom about Rosie's submission, because we had missed the deadline. Did she still need more entries? I got a two-word response: "SEND IT." Rosie originally drew tiny little girl-figures, much too small for the embroidery machine to work with, so the patch artist made them larger. Also, her two girls were originally more diverse, one with brown, curly hair and brown skin and the other with long black hair and pale skin — the final art limited the usable colors (there are 8 in the patch), so no brown (or pink).

This encampment is for all of the scouts in our County, so approximately 200 girls will be wearing Rosie's artwork on the patch they all receive. I think her original and the final patch are both lovely! Rosie will be so excited to have this as a keepsake of the contest that she won and of her time in Girl Scouts.

Dash's self portrait

I'm not a quitter, really

Hey everyone, I've been away for a while, I know. Partly, I've been consumed with training to become a aerobics instructor (see December's post) and partly because my life has been fairly uneventful. My kids are acting like human beings (rather than the adorable-but-slightly-alien-creatures that infants and toddlers are), doing their homework, after-school activities, chores, etc. So, normal.

Starting in April and up until last week, my daily schedule was:

• 5:15 a.m.-6 a.m.: Get up and practice aerobics choreography
• 6-6:30: Get ready for work
• 6:30-7:30: Get kids up, feed breakfast, pack lunches, head to morning care
• 7:45-5:15 p.m.: Commuting/work
• 5:15-6:45: Dinner/homework help/chores
• 7-8: Mon & Wed aerobics / Tues & Thurs Dash's Tae kwon do
•  (Weekends:  8-9 a.m. Sat & Sun, Jazzercise)

When I went to aerobics classes throughout April, the instructors would announce each class that I was a trainee and let me come on stage with them, so I was getting a lot of experience co-leading classes all month. However, through March and April, the center owner took me aside to chat a few times to discuss what a commitment that aerobics was, and how flexible my schedule was, and, really, no red flags went up at first.

It wasn't until mid-April that I started to hear rumblings from the two new instructors that were certified in March. The center just added two new classes per week, and the new instructors had assumed that they were going to be assigned to them; however, the classes were assigned to current instructors with more seniority. The new instructors would only be able to substitute for classes that the current instructors gave up to them, or they would need to travel to classes at other centers. Also, one of the instructors (with two classes per week) who said she was moving away decided to stay. On top of all this, the center owner —who had only been teaching personal training classes—started teaching aerobics classes on the main schedule again. I began to feel concerned and squeezed out. Teaching opportunities seemed much scarcer than they had when I signed on.

The math is what helped clinch my decision to put off the certification:

• When I started, there were 6 instructors and 13 classes, which is a ratio of about >2 classes per instructor. It gets messy when you get down to some instructors have 2 or 3 classes each and others have 1-1/2 (sharing with another teacher), but that's essentially it.
• What I *thought* was happening was that the one instructor was leaving, two new instructors were coming on and the center was adding two new classes. So 7 instructors, 15 classes, with essentially the same ratio, >2.
• What actually happened was this: there are now 9 instructors and 15 classes, with a ratio of 1-1/3 classes per instructor. 2 instructors have 3 classes each, leaving 9 classes for 7 instructors. 3 of those 7 instructors have 2 classes each, leaving 3 classes for the remaining 4. Two of those instructors each have a class and share one class, leaving the 2 new instructors with substitution options only.

With those two instructors getting all the substitution jobs, what would I be left with? The hard reality is: a travelling substitute, teaching at other centers, driving through rush-hour traffic at the whim of an injury, sick kid, or vacation, continuing to prepare for classes that might appear at a moment's notice.

I'm not THAT flexible. And there's a new requirement that instructors _must_ teach 4 classes per month.

I was planning to teach or substitute at my center during the week, or teach or travel as a substitute on the weekends. I just learned that the weekend substitution jobs are prime and get snapped up immediately, so it would be very unlikely that I could rely on weekend-only work. And I just can't travel during the week or I'd be having marriage issues. So, I'm putting aerobics instructor training on hold. Maybe in a year or two the teacher-to-class ratio will change? People are always relocating for jobs or love, or Bob-forbid, get injured. I did all the work and I feel great, super-fit. I know I CAN do it, and that counts for me.

For now, I keep taking classes — which I LOVE!!! — and will keep my ears pricked to changes in the schedule.

The dishwasher saga (a hand-washer's life for me)

We knew we needed to replace the dishwasher, but when exactly does buying a new appliance become a *critical* need?

Feb 14: The dishwasher starts making a funny noise. Monkeyrotica and I discuss replacing it, because we'd decided last year that we wouldn't put any more money into repairs. In 2010, we replaced its heating element, and in 2008, it flooded the house — twice.

Feb 18: We shop at Lowe's and kick around a few dishwashers. We agree on a brand and some components that we both like, but decide that we should budget and save up for it first. Instead, we buy a new ceiling fan with overhead light (the bedroom's been mighty dark) and a kid-friendly shower head for the upstairs bath.

Feb 22: Plumber arrives to fix some leaks, install new shower head. He advises that our water pressure is much too high and installs a "pressure decreasing valve."

Feb 23: Dishwasher mysteriously stops cleaning top-rack dishes and the hand-washing starts. Not a big deal yet. I assume it's a water-pressure issue and think about calling the plumber back to increase the pressure, just a bit.

Mar 7: Dash accidentally drops his toothbrush into the upstairs toilet while flushing, completely blocking it. I *actually* call the plumber and schedule him to come back for both tasks, still hoping that increasing the water pressure will fix the dishwasher (I'm going to call it DW from here on out).

Mar 9: Plumber arrives, removes toothbrush and as a courtesy, checks out the DW. Explains that the DW has its own pump that maintains water pressure separate from the house. In his opinion, the pump has ceased to work (he doesn't adjust the household pressure). Our eight-year-old Kenmore DW needs to be replaced.

Later that day, we buy a new DW through Amazon.com marketplace and take advantage of Monkeyrotica's free shipping plan. Perfect. I get a delivery window of March 15-20.

Mar 12: Old DW stops working altogether, top *and* bottom racks now.

Mar 14: I got a message that the new DW was damaged during shipping and that would add a week to the delivery estimate. I phone back to insist that since the damage was their fault, they needed to get the delivery expedited and deliver during the same window. They could not promise, but ship another one out the same day. They didn't have a tracking number yet, but tell me to call back in a couple of days to check the shipping status. I've been handwashing dishes for three weeks now.

Mar 16: I phone the shipper in the morning and give them my order number and some of the backstory, asking for the new tracking number. The guy sputters a bit and tells me there is a note on my order that the second shipment is damaged. He tells me that he will check on my order and call me back. About an hour later, he calls back and confirms that the 2nd new DW is indeed damaged and suggests that I phone the appliance dealer. Fed up with these clowns, I phone customer service and cancel the order, confirming with a nice lady named Christina that they are NOT shipping another DW and I will get my money refunded.

Not willing to wait any longer, I find a different DW dealer online and order a new DW from the new dealer. Later that afternoon, the first dealer's sales guy calls Monkeyrotica's phone number and tries to convince him that there was no DW shipped on  Mar 14 and no 2nd washer was damaged. In fact, the 2nd DW was just leaving their warehouse today. We didn't really want to cancel the order, did we?

GAH!! At least we have enough paper plates and cups to last us a while. We should have our new DW in our home, installed by a professional, in about another week.

The cuteness was distracting last night

I am *so* thankful that Jazzercise allows kids to stay while I'm taking a class, especially my kids: I brought both of them last night. Monkeyrotica was out at a happy hour, so it was up to me to help them with homework, feed them, and entertain them until bedtime. I got it all done before 7 p.m., so off to class we three went, with the admonition that they had to take turns playing games on my iPhone. The rules are when one of them lost their game, they'd have to hand the device over to their sibling.

About a third of the way through class, I caught a glimpse of them both staring into space, with my iPhone drooping in Rosie's hand. I checked in and found out that the phone's battery had powered out. Oh well, kids! You'll have to entertain yourselves.

That's when things started getting silly. Here are some of the scenes I caught whenever I peeked over at them:

• Dash curled up in a ball, Rosie draped over him
• Rosie laying on her back, Dash sitting on her belly
• Both of them playing dead/asleep (impossible at a 50db dance aerobics class)
• Piling up and sitting on multiple foam exercise mats
• Setting up foam exercise mats into a two-walled fort
• Setting up foam exercise mats into a four-walled fort
• Setting up foam exercise mats into a double-decker, four-walled fort
• Peering over the edges of their fort and collapsing into giggles if anyone made eye contact
• Knocking over their fort walls and giggling
• Shrieking when adults snuck up on their fort to scare them

They were cracking me up! If my iPhone wasn't already dead, I totally would have taken photos. By the end of class, I had so many people come up to me and tell me how adorable my kids were, it was heartwarming. One friend in class told me that she wished she were playing with them in their fort instead of taking class, they looked like they were having such a good time.

A good memory I wish to keep. :-)

Kids' health, as good as expected

Rosie had her nine-year check-up a few weeks ago (what? didn't she turn 9 in November? and yes, true, I'm just kind of a slacker with making doc appointments. anyway...) and looks great, as usual! Even though friends are always telling us, "She's so tall!" in reality, her height remains in the 58th percentile, her weight also is steady in the 70th percentile. You could probably go back to when she turned three or four and find the same numbers for Rosie. :-)

She should be riding her bike more and swimming more (repetitive motion helps develop stamina), but we'll work harder on that as it gets warmer. I'm planning to put her and Dash in their school's track club when registration opens for spring. Speaking of Dash...

We moved him from karate to a tae kwon do studio that is closer to home and doesn't hold classes in the middle of rush hour, primarily to make things easier for me — I loved that karate dojo. Hilarious, to me anyway, is that even though the TKD blue belt level (he was just promoted to blue from white belts in karate) is _much_ more advanced in TKD, they are letting him keep it. Instant promotion for Dash! He's also sporting a super-short haircut due to a bout of head-lice that threw me for a spinning loop -buzzcut-> shampoo-> bedding strip/laundry-> nit-picking- last Monday morning. Today, he's got a low-grade fever that he's had since Tuesday morning and will probably keep him out of school another day. He's in great spirits, otherwise!

And, per Grandma S's request, there you have a couple cute photos of the kids. Cheers.

Feast of Lights: flashback

[I'm reposting one of my most popular blog articles, originally posted in December 2008, in celebration of Hanukkah. Thanks to my wonderful commenters, I have the composer's name, correct lyrics and a YouTube video now! Happy Holidays to all.] 

Back when my dad worked at the National Labs, many of his coworkers came from all over the globe. Highly educated engineers, physicists, and scientists from Germany, Poland, China, India, or Russia all found important work to do in their fields alongside Americans from across the country. No matter their religion, when December came around in the '70s, there was an office Christmas Party, complete with Santas everywhere, angels and reindeer, and songs about glorifying the savior's birth. Christianity was assumed, but if you were Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim you came to the party anyway, because you were expected to or just to celebrate the spirit of the season (and there was free food!). In the time before political correctness, expecting a nod toward any non-Christian religion at a mainstream office party was too much to hope for.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my sister M. and I featured regularly in the singing at the ANL Xmas parties. We dutifully learned our songs in elementary school chorus class to prepare for the annual Christmas choral program. We were pretty good! Our little eight- and six-year-old voices were sweet and earnest. One year at his office party, my dad asked us to sing our favorite Christmas carol. After a brief conference (in which I argued for my favorite, a beautiful song in a haunting minor key), we sang this lovely song, Feast of Lights, composed by Frederick Silver:

Video credit: The Primes Girl Choir of South Florida performs "A Feast of Lights" by Fredrick Silver live during the 2010 Winter Concert "Timbrel and Harp" on December 11, 2010, at Second Presbyterian Church of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associate Director: Gretchen Fasulo.

I remember Mama lighting the Menorah,
Then covering her head she'd start to pray.
When Papa finished reading from the Torah, 

Mama, smiling down on me, would say:

May your days and nights
Be a feast of lights
The eternal flame, may it glow in you,
And the Holy One
May He know in you only love

May the light of peace
Shine and never cease
And the glow of wisdom illumine in you
May you never hate, though it's human to;
May you know love.

May you go through life
With your head up to the sky
May you never walk in shame
In sight of the light of the One
Who has no name

This I wish for you.

May your days and nights
Be a feast of lights
Have a warmth for all of humanity
For without it, life is but vanity
May you have love.

May you have faith, and
May you have strength, and
May the Lord grant
Your life will have length
May it be sweet yet strong

May your days and nights
be a feast of lights
Your whole life long. 


Of all the many unsuspecting, long-suffering Jewish coworkers at the Christmas party? There was not a dry eye.

Happy Belated Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, or whichever holiday you celebrate this season. May you know love.

My Dance Resume

I've got a new hobby in the works. It's one that I've already fit into my schedule for five hours a week and I look forward to every day, but I'm ready to take it to the next level. It's not knitting or jewelry or doll-making; although I love all those hobbies, I'm not making time for them and they aren't working naturally into my activities right now. They're all once-in-a-while hobbies. What am I loving and doing all the time, whenever I can outside of work? Dancing.

I was just laying out my dance experience for this new hobby, to justify my credentials (a resume I've never outlined before). So far, I have trained (at least once a week and up to four times/week for each time period):

• 18 years step aerobics/group aerobic dance
• 7 years jazz dance
• 5 years modern dance
• 5 years ballet
• 5 years yoga
• 4 years body pump 
• 2 years Jazzercise
• 2 years hip-hop dance
• 2 years karate
• 1 year Pilates
• 1 year kick-boxing
• 1/2 year Zumba

 My new adventure? Jazzercise Instructor. Over the next six months I will be auditioned, trained, and hopefully certified to teach my own classes by the end of the year. So what if I'm in my 40s? Most of the other instructors are as well. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in my life. I love the classes I'm taking and think it would be the perfect part-time adventure.

If it weren't for some of my Jazzercise classmates who've been telling me that I should be an instructor a few times a month for the past year (Jessie, Tom, Anne, Jennifer), I wouldn't have considered it. I have to put a few other hobbies on hold for a while, but they'll be there for me to pick up again. Hobbies are patient. I'm just really excited about this one right now and need to act on the thrill!