Childhood Songs

I asked Elliot what songs he remembers from the glory days of his early youth, and he said, "highway to hell." Ha. I reminded him that he hadn't heard that song until this year. I told him how he used to make me play certain Neil Diamond and Johnny Cash songs over and over again. He said he still likes Johnny Cash. Oh well. These are two songs I remember loving from my pre-5 days.

Alef Bet Song

A rap version:

Book List 2009

2009 MK List
A Gate at the Stairs - Lorrie Moore
My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok
Absurdistan - Gary Shteyngart
The Russian Debutante's Handbook - Gary Shteyngart
Don't Cry - Mary Gaitskill
And then we came to the end - Joshua Ferris
The Brief Incredible Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

2009 Read Aloud List
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
Ramona the Pest, Beverly Cleary
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate DiCamillo
From the mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Holes, Louis Sachar
Little House on the Prairie (series), Laura Ingalls Wilder
Harriet the Spy
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
The Gypsy Game
The Saturdays
Tuck Everlasting

Elliot's Reading 2009
Stinky
Runaway Ralph
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
Henry and the Clubhouse
Henry and Ribsy
Henry Huggins
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Knights of the Lunchtable
The Plant That Ate My Dirty Socks
Strider
The Swamp Monster in Third Grade

Poladroids

Ashersaurus and the Dinosaurs

Asher now has 15 dinosaur books and can identify at least 50 dinosaurs. Last year when he became obsessed with dinos, unfortunately I taught him the incorrect way to pronounce nearly all of his favorite theropod dinosaurs (actually pretty much all dinosaurs). Now that we have a textbook size Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and use the Internet to research - we are re-learning the correct way to pronounce. For him, it's no sweat, he picks up the new sound so fast. But it's taking me a while to remember to say kar-kar-o-DON-tuh-SAWR-us instead kar-char-odontosaurs....CARCHARODONTOSAURUS.

Deinonychus: Pronunciation: dye-NON-ick-us


Giganotosaurus: Pronunciation: JYE-ga-NO-toe-SORE-us

The audio file at DinoDictionary is my friend.

Inspiration

Asher's To Do List:

1. Go fishing - Get me a net
2. Relax
3. Play catch with you
4. Have a party with a gluten free cake
5. Look for creatures in the woods
6. Learn how to read
7. Help mom clean up the toys
8. Go to California because I haven't seen Grandma Judy in a little while
9. Go to a baseball park where we can play baseball
10. Run into your arms and hug you - isn't that the cutest idea? Do you like it?

Now that's enough of ideas, Mom. No more ideas. No more ideas. I don't want ideas. No more ideas.

Snapping Cobras - 2009

Asher the Biker

Asher decided last week that it was about time for him to start riding Elliot's old bike. After we finally got around to lowering the seat, all he needed was a push and off he went. Excellent balance that boy. A week later and he's an old pro, turning around in the driveway and racing down the block. Whooopeeee!

The Story of Stuff

Our kitchen trash can is now a compost bin thanks to Seattle's expanded composting guidelines which includes meat and food soiled paper such as pizza boxes. Our tall curbside trashcan has been nearly empty for the past few weeks. I'm amazed by how little trash we really generate.

Puerto Vallarta 2009

80s Indie Music

I recently heard a journalist talk about how interesting music in the 80s was nearly non-existent. My hackles went up! I could name a dozen more bands, not including some more mainstream music like the police that were interesting.

The Feelies: Crazy Rhythms 1980


B-52s: Wild Planet 1980


Siouxsie and the Banshees 1981


Black Flag: Damaged 1981


X: Wild Gift 1981


The Salvation Army: Mind Gardens 1982


REM: Murmur 1983


The Smiths 1984


The Minutemen: Double Nickles on a Dime: 1984


Sonic Youth: Evol 1985


Husker Du: Candy Apple Grey 1986


Dinosaur Jr: You're Living All Over Me 1987


The Pixies: Surfer Rosa 1988


Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation 1988

Last Snow of February

I love waking up to snow falling, the trees white. Two minutes later, we got the two-hour school delay call. The boys got to throw a few snow balls before school.

President Obama

This morning the kids and I watched the inauguration until it was time for school. Asher ignored the ceremony and read his Sea Monsters book instead, but Elliot was fully involved. He decided he didn't want to be President anymore because it looked like a really hard job. At least he's realistic.

McSweeney's and 826 Valencia asked kids to submit advice to President Obama and compiled it in this book: Thanks and Have Fun Running The Country.

Here is Elliot's advice to President Obama:

"Don't let anything get in your way. Always be nice to your guards because they're protecting you and will give their lives for you. And if you like Star Wars, 'May the force be with you.'"

One of my favorite letters to the President from the book:

Dear Barack Obama,

I have a great idea for you: you should set up a special phone, a special place just for kids to call the president if they find things that are dangerous and can affect people, like someone smoking. This would be a special place for kids to talk to Barack Obama and let him know what's going on.

Another important thing that I want to talk to you about is cars and buses. There is a bus called the Galactic Wizard which runs on biofuel or vegetable oil. I think, instead of polluting the environment, scientists should work on those buses. You should make it so that everyone turns off any light whenever they are not in the room—that way we can save the environment and also pay less on our electricity. We can't just use up the environment until we have nothing, or we will starve to death. Nobody wants that, do they? I want to tell you, Barack Obama, if one day I could travel around the world and help people, I would definitely do it.

Dhamaril Nunez, age 9
Boston

Chinatown on the Metro

We took the metro from North Hollywood to Chinatown with Asher on a rainy Monday afternoon. Our public transportation aficionado gave it the thumbs up. The round trip journey took 5 hours - including time we spent waiting for a train that wasn't running and lunch at the Plum Tree. Asher called the dragon/lion his best friend.

National Day of Listening

NPR's National Day of Listening is November 28, 2008. I asked Elliot to write down three questions he'd like to ask his family.

Elliot's Questions for his mom

1. How do you find dollar coins?
I have collection of silver dollars that I received as gifts from my grandma over the years. Silver dollars are special so most people keep them and don't spend them. But you can get the coins from a bank.

2. How do you keep stuff so long?
Why? or How? You can't save everything. I moved a lot as a young adult, but saved a few boxes of things from my childhood - my coin and postcard collections, my Japanese curio collection, handkerchief collection that includes many of my great grandmother's handkerchiefs. I saved them because they're special to me, they represent memories of people I loved.

3. I don't know if you know anything about your Dad in the war, what do you know?
I know that he was wounded in the war and he was lucky to have survived. He was an officer in the Army and led a platoon of soldiers. One day he stepped on a landmine and it exploded and hurt him badly. He recovered in Hawaii and lived with the pieces of metal called shrapnel in his body for the rest of his life. He didn't talk about the war a lot, but I know he was proud of serving in the Army and it made a major impact on his life. You can ask Grandma Judy if you want to know more.

Elliot's Questions for Grandpa Victor

1. What did your mom and dad look like? What were they like?
My father was short with a light complexion. He lost his hair young. My mom was very pretty. She had dark hair. She was very smart, she read a lot and was fun to talk to. My mother and I would talk for hours. She liked to play tricks on people and had a good sense of humor. When she was growing up the librarian told her she had read every book in the whole library.

2. What was your favorite day in your life?
My favorite day was the day Elliot was born. Also the day your dad Danny read to me for the first time.

3. Do you remember the first time you lost your tooth?
I don't remember losing it but I remember putting my tooth under my pillow and waking up the next morning and finding a quarter in its place.

Elliot's Questions for Grandma Judy

1. What is your earliest memory?
One thing I remember is waiting in the car with my dad to visit my mom who had just had Uncle Leonard in the hospital. I remember looking at the crib where my brother usually slept and another baby was in the crib. It was my neighbor's baby.

2. What is your favorite memory of me?
I was very excited when I held you when you were born. You were so healthy and darling. You were a very clever little baby. You liked music a lot. We would sing to you and you would stop crying because you liked music so much.

3. How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who loves her family, was kind to her friends. Someone who loves beautiful clouds and trees and nature. Someone who loves laughing. Someone who really loves her daughter and son and grandchildren.

Little House on the Prairie Dinner

For the past few months Elliot and I have been reading the Little House series of books. I watched the TV show as a kid, but somehow missed the books. Lucky for me, Elliot really loves the stories. We both fell for Laura's crisp and direct descriptions of prairie life, her curious nature and honest voice come through loud and clear. The Ingalls's adventures with outdoor dining, random fires, locusts, screaming prairie grasses, ruthless blizzards and endless snows, encounters with friendly and unfriendly native Americans appeal to his seven year old's notion of excitement. Life can rough, disappointing and unpredictable, but if you keep your wits, persistence and hard work will pull you through.

We just finished On the Banks of Plum Creek and celebrated with a Little House Candlelight Dinner. The menu designed by Elliot included pan fried steak, corn bread, corn, milk, and carrots. I bought my first steak ever. The boys were not terribly impressed with steak and the corn bread wasn't ready until dinner was long over, but the corn was a hit.

Autumn Seattle 2008

Obama Cake + Barackoli

I was on the edge of my seat until the last minute, but Obama pulled it off. We won! Elliot masterminded our Obama victory party featuring a red, white and blue Obama cake and "browned barackoli." We invited our neighbors and Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate with us Wednesday night. Dinner was excellent, especially the broccoli. Yes We Did!

Halloween 2008

Asher wore his fantastic Fire Dragon costume that Grandma Judy made. He wore it four times before Halloween, so it saw a lot of use. Elliot wore his wizard costume twice and then decided on Halloween to be a Demon Ghoul. Good times. Take a look at the Obama mobile.