Busy Day Cake

Capacity Building

I read a blog posting recently that talked about making up a "badge" system for learning how to do a variety of things.  Their family had developed badges for learning how to make your own sandwhich, pumping up bike tires, cleaning a toilet, etc.  It wasn't that the children had to do these things all the time once they learned but that they could do them occassionally, not so dependent on an adult for every little thing. I love this idea of capacity building over time, breaking down life into some individual skills. 

A few months ago I started having MB dry dishes after supper.  It wasn't every single night, maybe 3 times a week, depending on what was going on. 

Through the process she is learning where things go, what things are for and, of course, how to dry a wide variety of kitchen things.  I love the extra time to talk with her and having someone else help eases some of my own stress.  Having all the dishes dried and put away right after the meal is a cool bonus.

So, this morning I asked MB if she'd like to learn how to clean the sink.  She put on rubber gloves and I showed her how magical it was that the cleanser erased all the gray marks in the sink.  When I cleaned out the dish drain side of the sink she exclaimed "do I get to clean out that sink too?!" 

Lovely. 

Day in the City

Today MB and I spent most of the day in Cincinnati.  We started out with our fav lunch of crispy paad thai at Bangkok Bistro, then headed for O'Bryonville for a little browsing at Ten Thousand Villages.  With a quick stop at a yarn shop, we arrived at the Cincinnati Art Museum. 

I had so many museum experiences growing up that they kind of all melt together.  It was just a way of life in NYC to spend a half day at a museum.  I forget that I need to go out of my way to give MB those experiences.  When I mentioned the idea of going to the art museum (a bit timidly) she responded with a gasp and exclamation that she had been wanting to go there.  (Truth in advertising, it might have helped a wee bit that she saw they were having a wedding dress exhibit.)

It's a lovely museum with loads of artistic history and, thanks to generous endowments, admission is always free.  From there we headed to some errands, multi-course dinner at Whole Foods and a late stop at Joseph-Beth Booksellers around the corner.  Since I'm rarely near shopping these days, MB agreed to a  stop at Target even though it was already almost 8.  We were able to pick up a youth sized basketball for her to practice and found rollerblade pads at long last.  On the way home we played 20 questions. No whining, no yelling.

All in all it was a fabulous day with lots of laughing and idea-generating conversations.  And we still have two more days off to play.

Turning 8

Happy Birthday MB!

Mary Beth's birthday always falls during the first week of school and, man, it makes for a complicated week.  Not only are we starting new routines and nailing down the last of her school supplies, I'm starting school myself, and then I'm still wrapping up (or, ahem, letting go of) my ambitious goals for her birthday presents. 

Then add in making cupcakes to take to school and a special dinner at home.  I even do school supply and birthday shopping months early but there always seem to be loose ends... and it still ends up being a crazy week.

This year the calendar god smiled on me and moved our back-to-school picnic to the week before school started, rather than its traditional day during this already hectic week.

I really put a lot of thought into MB's gifts on her birthday.  I'd much rather make a big deal at her birthday than at Christmas and it's fun to take note of things in the months before her birthday.  I didn't get to all my crafting ideas but between American Girl doll clothes and a matching outfit from Target for MB, special books, desk supplies and stationary for her new desk, it all worked out.

And it was over!

Second Grade

So, I'll try to avoid whining about how the years pass so quickly.  I took these photos of MB and was later a bit taken aback at how much older she looks.  I suppose turning 8, which she does in a few days, is a significant milestone.

Last night I suddenly wished we had worked a bit more on morning routines and talked about what needs to get done before school.  But MB surprised me and took the initiative to lay her clothes out (including her many bracelets), find her hairbrush, and get herself mentally organized for the first morning. 

Nice to be reminded that she will seek out what she feels she needs without being pushed. 

Let the Games Begin

I confess a particular happiness that Mary Beth is aging into more difficult games.  This week I taught her to play Skipbo and was pleasantly surprised to see how easily she developed her own strategies.  Skipbo is a great game to play with kids because you can "differentiate" the level of difficulty for each player by giving different quantity of cards in their stack to get rid of (the object of the game).  For example, I can give MB 15 cards and myself 30.  I get to play at my own level of strategy and fun while still giving her a chance to win using her own strategy level.

Chickens

Our friends Wendy and Tom have made the plunge into having chickens.  They started with five chicks which have so far all survived their three children, two dogs and many many guest children.  Love this photo of MB which I took with Wendy's camera.  Got to get one of those nifty portrait lenses.

Food & Fabric Store

I came home one day to find Miriam and MB in the midst of developing their own food and fabric store.  They had the cash register out, several bundles of fat quarters, recently purchased at Purl Patchwork, knitting books, dolls, and all the wooden food they could find.  They even used the deck door as their "display window" so I got a photo from the outside.  It seemed eerily like Purl Patchwork's front window set up.  At one point, while shopping in their store, I asked about something and they both raced off to check the store room.

Returning

While trips are always neat, I love returning home.  With Mary Beth, coming home from a trip is especially interesting because she has always made huge developmental gains when we get back.  When she was much younger, we noticed big leaps in her vocabulary and thinking processes.  Now I notice her gains more in the creative realm.

Inspired by the expensive hammocks for the American Girl dolls that we saw at the store, MB made this hammock for Kirsten.

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Tinkerbelle and the Zombies

 

We did the "uptown" trick or treating on Thursday night... it seemed MUCH more crowded than I remember it has been in years' past.  Tinkerbelle and the Zombies had great time and met up with Cleopatra and another fairy friend for the parade.

For the official Halloween night, MB decided to be a Chinese Fairy instead of Tinkerbelle.  After all the work I put into Tink's costume, my feelings were a bit hurt about the switch.  It was a good exercise in remembering that her childhood isn't about me.

We tried something different this year with the Halloween candy.  Instead of the candy dominating for several weeks of meal negotiations, MB was allowed to eat what she wanted that night and then we tossed the rest.  I expected more resistance to the tossing aspect.  The tummy ache went as planned.