I guess it's time to start having those talks. The talks that I haven't been looking forward to. That I've been a little scared of. I thought I would have a little more time. I see I was wrong. Yes, it's time to start talking with MrMan about money. A topic I feel I have not enough of a grasp of, but feel that it is important to discuss so that he will make wise decisions.
Last night, it became apparent that he knows, at least to some extent, how money is used. For example, one can stick it in a machine with a claw hand, and for some people (though not his parents), the result is a toy. MrMan kept trying to get Sam to put more money in the machine, recognizing that the metal circles make the claw hand go. Though not recognizing that Sam didn't have any more of the right size of metal circle.
This morning, in my parents' room, MrMan found some change. He picked it up, while pointing out to MamanJan his "moneys." The boy is a big fan of the plural, and uses it appropriately. For example, when clarifying that it's not book he wants, it's books. Where he learned the word, I don't know, but if he knows the word money, I figure it's time to start talking about money.
This morning on the way to work, I keep thinking, Now what?
Harry and I have journeyed together several times since we first met in 1999. But this most recent trip, of the past five weeks, has been the longest, the most intense, the most emotional. We were together every day. (How light my bag seems today.) Every morning, every evening, my body was traveling with my husband to and from work, while my imagination traveled with Harry.
Last night, our trip came to an end. A marvelous trip it was. Darker than I anticipated, but marvelous. And so now I wonder, Now what?
CAUTION: Spoilers in the comments. Do not read them unless you've finished Book 7, or don't care.
This NYT blog entry is a combination of two of my loves: efficient systems and Harry Potter. I get chills reading about how the drivers delivering the books to this distribution center were welcomed by a sign reading “Harry Potter Flies July 20.″ And that this facility has 25 miles of conveyor belts. And that the book cartons are scanned at a rate of 160 per minute. And that the man in the picture is wearing a wizard's hat. I'm such a geek.
My book is arriving at the house tomorrow. Along with a couple of other copies. The Mojgani family members have each gotten their own copies of Harry Potter in the past. Why should this one be any different? Keeps the intrafamily squabbling down. No, it's my turn to read. No it's my turn! Though there was the summer when all were rereading in anticipation of the next book release, and my dad and my brother's girlfriend at the time were sharing a copy: my dad would read at night, the girlfriend would come over in the daytime and read.
Today is our wedding anniversary. Five years! Where has the time gone? Sam and I will be going to dinner. We had been thinking of following that with a movie. (Since we've become parents, the standard dinner and a movie has become special and exotic.) But we may instead have to head over to an independent bookseller. I'm really excited to see the neighborhood shops take on identities of shops in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Sam isn't the hugest Harry fan, (I know, it's pretty amazing my parents gave consent, huh?) but I think he's willing to go for the experience. The real question on my mind is whether I will break down and buy a copy of the book at midnight, despite knowing that one will be delivered to my door tomorrow. I still have about 100 pages of Book 6 to read. (I've really enjoyed rereading the series, since it's been so long.) Perhaps my tactic should be to drag them out until tomorrow morning.
I can't wait until Book 7 is in my hands, and then for me to be in Book 7. Sam and MrMan are probably looking forward to next week and my return to New Orleans.
My current snack of choice is Back to Nature's Organic Stoneground Wheats. Kind of like Ritz crackers, but with more flavor and no grease left behind on the fingers. Oddly, they are complemented nicely by chocolate covered raisins.
After more than two years of constantly eating and/or constantly wanting to eat more, it's hard to not eat all day. Especially now that there's no toddler trying to eat my food or trying to distract me from eating it myself. At the moment, there's a part of me that recognizes that I'm not hungry. But there's another part of me wondering what I might snack on.
A couple of people have asked about this offline, so I thought I should share: as of a week ago, MrMan is back in his old class with his regular teacher and his regular, own-age, classmates. Yay! Monday morning, he walked down the hall to his classroom with nary a care. I think it also helped that my parents bought him a new backpack ("pakpak"), shaped like a turtle. With that backpack on, he walks like he's on top of the world. You thought I was cool before? Check me out now.
I have just added a to-do list to my iGoogle. I am very excited about this. I love lists. Now when I'm at work, and think of something that I need to do, I don't need to open my drawer, take out my purse, open it, take out my to-do list.... I can just type it on my computer and easily access it when I get home.
Last night, MrMan and I had some good laughs together. I mean, LAUGHS. He kept sticking his hand down my shirt and saying, "Shir!" (milk in Persian), and then cracking up. To the point that he could hardly get "Shir!" out of his mouth before laughing. I guess that's the surest sign he's done with the whole idea of breastfeeding.
Thanks, Nas, for pointing out this interesting essay. I'm still mulling it over, but I am reminded of a conversation my mother and I had the other day regarding the digital divide, and how unfortunate it is that the network at her school currently doesn't allow access to any of the free web-based email sites, but does allow logging on to an AOL account.
I think today is the day, ten years ago, that I left China. I believe I documented it in a journal, but I'm not sure if it still exists. I need to look.
I know there were tons of tears, that day and in the weeks (and months) preceding and following. It's amazing what a Home (with a capital 'H') Shenyang was to me, considering that the decision to go there was somewhat spontaneous. It's not a place I would choose to move today, both because of the changes in me and because of the changes there. But I am gandong (with a heart so full it's as if the ocean is in it) when I think of how lucky I was to have lived there in that time in my development and that of China's.
After a couple of bouts of my c-section scar being extremely itchy in the past 24 hours, I start to ponder the significance. Harry's scar hurts when its creator is near or powerful. Does my itchy scar mean MrMan's power is increasing, or that he's sneaking downtown without my knowledge? Or that I need to better moisturize my belly?
Just another thing I love about my MrMan: his imagination.
Last night, we had, sadly, limp asparagus. MrMan didn't seem to mind. He ate a few spears and then placed one on the table and moved it along while making a hissing sound. His own pet snake.
Lately, he also enjoys making sure his toys get enough to eat and drink. While snacking, he'll put his food to the mouth of any toy animal nearby and make eating sounds. At night, he'll put his sippy cup of water to the mouths of his stuffed animals - moving down the line until he's sure they won't get thirsty in the night.
Speaking of bedtime, the past few nights have been a bit of a battle getting him to go to sleep. Three books aren't enough. Five books aren't enough. Reading the same book four times in a row isn't enough. He just wants to keep reading. I had to laugh when this week's babycenter bulletin was about how to "jump start your toddler's love of reading."
But on the positive side, in the past couple of weeks we've hit a new milestone: MrMan sleeping on his own, most nights, for most of the night. There's still been the occasional joining us at one in the morning. But, for the most part, he sleeps in his own bed and joins us for a little snuggle time before we all get ready for the day, or wakes us up to feed him breakfast. His technique for the latter is to tug on our arms while commanding, "Shoe! Shoe!" since both Sam and I wear slippers around the house. Sometimes he throws in an, "Eat! Eat!" but he usually focuses on the means of getting us to the kitchen, rather than the reason.
With a previous animal obsession of MrMan's, I quacked in my sleep. It seems his interest in the rhino has taken on such proportions.
Last night, I dreamed that a family of four rhinos was running loose in a complex down the street. They were very nimble and determined, able to follow us down stairs and past swinging glass doors. The ducks are less stressful, I think.
The bad news:
I am quite sleepy. The result of having had difficulty falling asleep last night, for all the worrying I was doing regarding MrMan's daycare situation. I discovered yesterday that he's one of only two his age that were shifted to the "baby" class, while for the last two weeks I thought more of his age peers had been shifted. I believe it's the result of having accepted some older children for the summer and not thinking very creatively about how to equalize the class sizes. Instead, I think they sorted their spreadsheet by birthdate and then split them into classes. Not taking into account that MrMan and this other little boy, a month or two younger, were being grouped with kids who are significantly developmentally younger. This despite the fact that MrMan is one day younger than his best friend (yes, he has a best friend), who got to stay with his age peers with the same teacher. I was so upset when I found out. This was supposed to be a short explanation. Well, now you understand the degree of my worrying. How can I convince them that they need to change MrMan back to his peers?
The good news:
I was able to distract myself from worries last night by reading. I've been re-reading Harry Potter in anticipation of Book 7, and have been falling behind in my pace. Last night's reading allowed me to get a little closer to finishing the first six books by July 21. Three books down, three more to go. Though that means only like a third done, in terms of pages, I'm feeling more on track.
I spoke to a couple of people at MrMan's daycare. I think they see what I'm saying. Now, hopefully, they'll do something about it.
As the weekend comes to a close (there is always something a little sad about Sunday evenings for me), I look forward to the two two-day work weeks ahead of me. I'm choosing to view it this way, rather than focusing on the inconvenience of the 4th falling on a Wednesday. We had a very nice and mellow Sunday with Meisa, involving lounging about and eating BBQ tofu (everyone in our house loves this recipe... today I made it with some cashew butter and it still turned out nice), cornbread, and sauteed spinach.
Friday evening, after we picked up Meisa, we went and picked out our appliances. (White.) Yesterday, we went and picked our cabinets. (Also white.) We're pretty excited about the anticipated layout and look of the kitchen. After the French lunch, we went and picked out floors for several rooms. I'm not overly thrilled with what we picked out. What's up with everything trying to look like granite and other natural substances? I say, embrace your artificiality! Whatever happened to solid colored vinyl tiles with geometric patterns? Luckily, we're not locked into these choices, as I think I can find what I want through another vendor.
Outstanding? An appointment on Thursday to pick out fixtures - plumbing and electrical. I'm feeling much more on top of things than I was 48 hours ago, and that's a good way to end the weekend.
My brother? The 2005 National Poetry Slam Individual Champion?
My brother? The 2006 National Poetry Slam Individual Champion?
My brother? The Def Poet?
My brother? Is now the 2007 World Cup Poetry Slam Champion!
I am so happy that his life is coming together in such amazingness. That he gets to do something he loves, that makes him go. And that he's getting the recognition he deserves for it.
Icing on the cake? That my parents got to be there, in Paris, to see him win. (Against people from Canada, Poland, and Zimbabwe. How cool is that?) It wasn't part of some long-standing plan for them to be there - this trip of theirs came together pretty recently.
We got the call on Friday afternoon. In Anis' honor, on Saturday morning, we ate French feta, brought by Meisa. And for Saturday lunch, we ate at la Madeleine. Not only did we eat French food, we ate desserts. Free ones. The server who was bringing my food to the table dropped it. (Which was no big deal to me, since I was still working on my soup.) To make up for the delay, they ended our meal with three free and yummy desserts. If there's one thing my brother loves more than dessert, it's free dessert.
(If you feel like voting for a winner, visit Famecast and vote for Anis performing Shake the Dust. It's kind of a pain to register, but you'll be helping a great guy win $10,000.)