Milk

"Juice, juice, milk" is how Bela says good morning, and throughout the day it is a constant refrain. So tonight I had heard "milk" for the umpteenth time and thought I would play a punk song from my misspent youth called, appropriately enough, "Milk" by Dahlia Seed. If you visit the blog Dead Vinyl you can listen to it. The kids had a TON of FUN dancing around the living room.

Griffin enjoyed the hockey clinic last Friday. Check out the photo that CCHA is using in the promotional email. Yep, that's my G! He looks like a toothless goalie, no? :)

I'm reading two great books right now: What Kindergarten Teachers Know and The Trouble With Boys. The premise of the second book is that school has become an inhospitable place to boys. The problems begin to be chronicled after fourth grade, when reading and writing slips below the level of girls, despite equal scores on IQ tests. The problems start much earlier, however, because of the ways in which boys learn. Another problem that the book addresses (I think, I just picked it up today so I'm not that far along) is the lack of male teachers. One of the advantages, in my opinion, of Eastminster is that both Bela and Griffin have (had) great male teachers. I know that it made a difference to Griffin, who asks almost every day when Brett (same name as his dad, what a coincidence) can come over to take care of him. I think it is really good for my kids, at least, to see men as nurturers. I think they are better off for this exposure.

I also just finished reading the eighth and latest book in the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series. Mma Ramotswe is my hero!

Anyhoo, I went to a new yoga class tonight. The teacher's name is Vickey and I had hoped that she was my first-ever yoga teacher. She was not, but it was a nice class. Not an ass kicker, which is good. No OM, no pranayama. But she did get me to stretch in some new ways, and she kept encouraging us to stop resisting, which is a good lesson to remember. Anyway, if Obama doesn't win in two weeks, I am going to have to do A LOT of yoga.

Photos to Come

So, it's been nearly a month since my last Jolly Mama post. I haven't actually been busy, just taking care of business. Last night, for example, I baked cookies for Bela's classroom (she is Star of the Week) and made green "alien" Jell-o for Griffin's last day of aftercare. I'll pick both kids up at 3:30 henceforth every day (until today, Griffin was at Eastminster on Wednesday and Thursday while I waited an appropriate amount of time to go pick them up) and Bela will be home on Fridays. It's rather sad to say goodbye to Griffin's teachers, and I know that enrollment is down, but I'm also quite pleased that my November bill is only $601. I am also now all signed up to volunteer in Griffin's kindergarten classroom. He loves kindergarten, especially art class, where the teacher said that he "lights up." Life is good. A few other quick highlights before my bathing beauties come out and expect a good night story: Griffin may have a little crush on a young actress named Miranda Cosgrove from a "tween" show called iCarly. Check out her adorable MySpace page. She was also the little sister on Drake & Josh and was the smarty pants girl in the movie School of Rock with Jack Black. Griffin is going to a hockey clinic tomorrow night. I'll take lots of pictures! He had to write an essay about why he likes hockey in order to be selected. His said that he likes the cold and he wants to be a winner like the Red Wings. :) Last Friday, Brett, Griffin, and I went on a "date" to see City of Ember, a fantastic movie! Bela's made her way out to the couch now. She has a blankie and a baby doll. She has developed so much personality and her language is taking off. And, although they can turn on me in an instant, I have been impressed recently by how nice they are to each other. Specifically, Griffin circled some books that he wants from Scholastic but he also circled books that he thought Bela would like. Then this morning Bela snuck some cookies off the counter from the batch for her class. Not just one, but one for her and one for her brother. :) I found a great website today called babble.com which was linked from an NYTimes story about "unkindergarten." It's one of those "where have you been all my life" sites. Two things about me: since I'm not going to work tomorrow I might stay up to watch what David Letterman does to John McCain tonight and my three favorite catalogs are Boden USA, VivaTerra, and Chasing Fireflies. Okay, Griffin is asking me 101 questions while he does his homework. Time to go. He's got to finish it before he can play a video game. !Egad! He loves Lego Batman.