Tooth Fairy

We were watching the Meerkat Manor documentary and Elliot screamed, "It's out! It's out! It came out!" We had no idea what he was talking about. We thought he was reacting to one of the meerkats who had just crawled out of the burrow, but then we saw him holding his bloody little tooth. Finally it came out. After 3 months of wiggling this loose tooth, during which time a completely grown tooth grew in behind it months ago, Elliot has lost his first tooth.

Interview with Elliot:
Do you believe in the tooth fairy?
Yes. She goes to people who lose their teeth. I'm kind of sad that I lost it, I'm going to miss wiggling it.

Description of the Tooth Fairy:

• Blond hair
• White skin
• Pearl necklace
• Silver dress
• Reading glasses
• Silver tiara
• Red shoes
• Size of a potato
  

Leonard and Lucille

My grandparents with their neighbors circa 1947. I love the feeling of community, the focus on family. Goofy kids. Tired parents. Classic Americana.

Winter Wonderland

The boys know the world stops for Christmas, so we did our best to make things special. Yesterday we went ice skating at Seattle Center. Elliot raced around the rink. I pulled Asher around until my back ached, then we nabbed an ice rink walker called a "sled" for Asher. He pushed the contraption around, his skates churning manically like a cartoon character, of course he occasionally crashed into skaters going in the opposite direction (oops!). After lunch, we bought a bag of taffy. We were going to see the "indoor snowstorm" at Pacific Place later that night, but we were completely worn out from the ice skating excursion.

This morning, Asher and I spent an hour in bed listening to country and western Christmas songs (Asher was singing "Rudog the reindeer reindeer") on the radio. His usually frenetic body was so restful, he was so engrossed in the songs, that I took the opportunity to read a few New Yorker articles, and Dan cooked omelets for breakfast. Nice X-mas present! Joe came over later to give Elliot his old Game Boy (all wrapped up in a holiday greetings tin) because he had received a Nintendo DS. (Joe's parents were not apprised of the gift and Elliot later had to give it back.)

Snow came around noon, we drove up north for a while to see if it was sticking (sadly it was not). We had a late lunch at Chiang's Gourmet Chinese Restaurant to partake in the Jewish holiday tradition. Actually, the restaurant was fairly packed with Chinese people. Elliot's Fortune: Adversity will make you stronger. Dan's Fortune: Strive for simplicity in your dress. While we ate, we watched the snow accumulate, layering the cars outside with at least an inch of snow. Whoopee! By the time we got home the snow had stopped and kids were slinging snowballs at each other.

To top the day off, we completed an ill fated Candy Cane house project (I think we'll have to buy a kit next year). We didn't have the right materials, but it held together well enough for a while -- until we layered on more icing glue and gum drops than the roof could handle. The gummy snakes in the green frosting grass were crushed by the mushy graham cracker walls of the sad little house. The kids crammed mouthfuls of gummy frosting snakes in their mouths before I plopped the whole thing in the trash.

All in all, it wasn't too crazy of a day. A little snow, a lot of candy, a game boy for a few hours, lots of family good times.

Christmastime for the Jews

Elliot has been counting down the days to Christmas, I get an update daily, "only 4 days until Christmas, Mom." I asked him, "how do you know this? Is this a school thing?" But he will not divulge his source (it's not tv, not the radio). Asher has been asking, "Is it Christmas yet?" These boys have expectations about this holiday.

Karate is not just for adults

Friday night Elliot became a yellow belt Karate person. Please feel free to ask him about it. Grandma Judy bought us a video camera and we have been enjoying trying to figure it out. Here. Check out this video. Elliot is in the back row on the left hand side. He is one of the taller individuals in the cadre. Ask him about it sometime.

Hanukkah!

The Brief, Fantastical Life of Elliot B. Thus Far (a pseudo autobiography)

I live in Seattle on North 60th street in Tangletown. I was born in 1983. I was a tailor and I sewed clothes. I won a prize for making the best clothes. Instead of money people gave us cloth for clothes, a couple of soldiers came around and took my mom's crown. We had the best dog, like Clifford but cooler. We look on the wall for photos of our dogs. In 1983 our dog died. Now we have a new dog, we don't have to feed him much, he's like a robo pet.

My favorite thing is when my friends are nice to me and when my parents give me things I like. My favorite thing is when everyone respects me. I like hot chocolate, animal crackers, cous cous and melted cheese, carrots and celery. I like exploring outside. I like exploring my brother's tomb, it has diamonds and rubies in it.

When I was a baby, my big brother kept pushing me and my mom called the police. Then he started being my favorite brother. We played games together. He gave me snacks from his lunch. When I was 13 he started doing things that were really bad. In 1983 he went to jail. We saw him breaking windows and stealing money. He was so strong as a grown up he broke the bars in jail. In 1986 he died. Now and then I wish I could go back in time to make my brother nicer. Now that I'm a grown up I don't have to think about these things because I have a nice family and caring friends.

When I was two years old, I started learning how to read and write. Now and then I think about our dog Flag.

When I was three years old, I started making friends. Although I was a little too silly. One time I came into school and my pants fell down. The lunch lady had to sew my pants back together again. My friends still liked me. We try to play together, but sometimes we're doing other works. We play games like breaking pebbles, when it's color time we color the stones into dream creatures. It has any kind of power you want it to have. Only one dream creature has all the power together. If you win the battle you get to have the dream creature.

When I was four years old the girls weren't nice, they called me names at lunch time. Now all the kids at school are friends with me. Now and then we play. We don't always agree about the same things. I really like playing with nice children. One time at lunchtime. A friend gave me his favorite cookie and I gave him my cookie. He's my only friend who likes the same things as me. Sometimes we do things that are bad like take your mothers keys and go to the park without permission. The teacher gave me a job to be a helper in the class. After the teacher died in 1987, I started teaching for her. I gave snacks to all the kids. But that opportunity is done now.

As for my personality, I am a very cool kid, I am very smart and I learn a lot. I mostly look at non-fiction library books about animals, monkey, airplanes, vikings, romans, and knights. My friend Elliot P. is the best drawer in the class. We have a club called the smart club and we learn about things. Everyday at recess, we dig a pit and put all of our library books in it. We seek information. We listen to different tunes in the sky. We learned about how fast the speed of sound goes. Sometimes people call us big brain, we've got smarter brains than other kids. I know how it feels when that happens to you. What I'm trying to say is, if you want to see me go to elliotbremson.com and you can learn about me. Just make sure you too like history. We try to encourage kids to learn.

"Snow, Snow, Glorious Snow"

The first snow of the season is always thrilling (actually in Seattle, any snow is thrilling). Joe said, "Snow, snow, glorious snow." We've had two hours of steady snow blanketing our street, so the guys are outside scraping snow off the cars and engaging in snowball warfare. Jake is wearing sandals, to each his own.

Yellow Belt - KA-RA-TE

Elliot is testing for his Yellow Belt promotion on Monday. He's been doing karate in the Little Dragon program since September and it's been challenging for him to learn that sort of discipline. But he's into it now and I think he really wants this yellow belt. The karate school sent a form home and to his teacher at school asking us to rate his general behavior, listening ability and self control. He has his moments but karate has been good for his general disposition. Good luck Elliot!

E + A's Holiday Wish List

I asked the boys for their wish list and Elliot had a non-stop stream of material wishes. Asher, bless his heart, has his priorities focused on only the essentials -- good food and transportation.

Asher:
Apple Sauce
Apples
Bananas
Popsicles
Cars

Elliot:
Star Wars video game
Legos
Remote control car
Yu Gi Oh cards
Action figures

Holiday Time in Brooklyn - Heifer International

Now that we're thinking about the holidays, I thought we'd post this Dan Zanes video promoting Heifer International's goal of ending world hunger and poverty by helping people obtain a sustainable source of food and income. For $120 the gift of a goat can help a family start a small dairy that earns extra money for health care, food and education (and a new Wii).

The Trees Are Whispering

And the people whisper
And the trees whisper
Now we wish to do something else

The cars are whispering
It's because the trees are shining
The light is shining from the moon
The stars are whispering

I was not scared in the dark

Monday is after I watched the dark
11:12 has come already

The trees aren't whispering
The wood is not whispering
The houses are not whispering


By Asher Lewis Bremson

Happy Halloween!

My jaunty little turtle. This year Asher was steadfast in his desire to be a "turtle" for Halloween. He likes the Franklin books, so I assume this was his inspiration....Last year he could have cared less about what he wore trick-or-treating, so I really wanted to help him realize his vision. I looked at turtle costumes online, but they were all ninja or character related. I started to think, ok, I'm the least crafty mom on the planet, but maybe I'll buy a green sweatsuit, stuff it with newspaper and somehow make it look like a convincing turtle. Thank you grandma Judy for scouring the stores and hacking apart pieces from a ninja turtle costume so that Asher could look like a sweet turtle and not a sword wielding martial arts master reptile.

Elliot decided in November 2006 that he wanted to be a "Goblin" for Halloween and he resolutely stuck to his vision. He asked me as early as July if we could buy a cape for his goblin costume. No! Finally September rolled around and we were ready to purchase a cheap polyester cloak at Goodwill. He also wanted me to buy him a grotesque mask, but I told him it would be better to paint his face since masks smell, you can't see in them and it's hard to breathe in them as well. He somehow convinced Dan to buy him a mask a few weeks later. (Dan thought, he'll take it off after 2 minutes anyway). Well, he wore the mask to two houses on our trick or treating journey however after he tripped on a sloped lawn, he tossed it aside. The only problem was that he really didn't have a costume after that. He complained, "why does everyone say they like Asher's costume and not mine?" He's still brainstorming about next year's get up. I'm sure it won't include a mask.


Look at me, now I'm a real PTA mom. The mask did come in handy after all. I scared dozens of kids in my quest to sell holiday wreaths at the Harvest Howl. One mom asked me to show her daughter my real face.

Best Food Ever List by Elliot and Asher

Cheese Pizza
Satsuma Oranges ** very popular right now
Hot Dogs
Red Mill Hamburgers
Kiwi Fruit
Chocolate Milk
Turkey Ham
Cheetos
Turkey Baloney
Chicken
Apple Chicken Sausages
String Cheese
Golden Round Crackers
Ramen Noodle Soup
Tandori Chicken
Pho
Bean and Cheese Burritos
Cappellini with Parmesean
Baby Carrots
Broccoli
Salami
Apple Sauce
Apples
Macaroni and Cheese (Amy's)
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Yogurt

Pumpkin Land

This year we decided we weren't up for an hour long ride out to the country, so we drove up to the Fairbanks Animal and Pumpkin Farm in Edmonds. Fairbanks is small, not as majestic as Craven, Remlinger or Biringer Farms. There are no hayrides or vast corn mazes and they don't push hot apple cider, kettle corn or candy apples. Fine with me. The pumpkin selection was slim, but kids really liked the animal exhibits. We saw a mama rat nursing her 20 babies, watched hatching goslings, and fed the chickens, and goats.

7 Up

The 7 Up documentary project which started tracking a group of 7 year old kids in 1964 is based on the Jesuit maxim: "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man." I just saw the 49 Up episode and I was amazed by how little difference there was between these people at age 7 and age 49. Resilience, low self esteem, confidence, ambition all seemed to be hard wired in these people. Only Neil had an extreme shift, at 7 he was bubbly and bright, but at 49 he was dour and lost. Everyone else seemed to have the same disposition regardless of their social class.

Seven year olds are sensitive about differences between themselves and others. They're competitive and hard on themselves. Social justice concerns and seeing issues from multiple perspectives are hallmarks of their development.
Child Development Tracker

Interview with Elliot about his life as an adult:

Will you have kids?
I'm going to have a big house with 7 kids.

Do you think you'll live in Seattle?
No, I'm going to live in California where it's warm. I'm going to live near Grandma Judy.

What will you do for job?
I'm going to be a race car designer. Fast electrical cars.

What will you do for fun?
I'm going to play football and play with my friends.

Veterinarian vs Veteran

Since Elliot is now reading and starting to spell, he's banging his head on the oddities of the English language. So many exceptions, so much to memorize because the rules aren't consistent. He's starting to read, he's flipping d and b in writing and in reading, but he seems to have memorized the word "and" which will help. It's so clear that he's an auditory learner. He's great at sounding out words, but the only way to tell it's short a vs long a is to memorize it.

I thought Elliot might appreciate this Ali G Show segment where Ali tortures this really patient and kind Vietnam veteran veterinarian named George Washington by his inability to understand the difference between veteran and veterinarian. Elliot thought it was hilarious.

The Skywalkers

Elliot's soccer team is called the Skywalkers in tribute to the most righteous Jedi warrior Luke (or is it a Native American reference?). This season we're going to be playing some fast cats (and dogs) - the Panthers (2 teams are named the Panthers), the Cheetahs, the Barncats, the Huskies. On Saturday, Wallingford Park hosted six simultaneous games for the under eight section of the Woodland Soccer League. Elliot's team consists of six first graders and only three play at a time, so it's a tight field of aggressive, sprinting boys pulsating on the field, locking together in a skirmish then dissolving onto the sidelines and clotting together again. I won't even ask him to do t-ball next year, soccer is so much more active and strategic. Elliot takes soccer very seriously. Each time he made a goal he looked at us to see if we were watching, but didn't smile or celebrate at all. When his grandpa and Dan cheered after a skirmish that ended up with the opposing team scoring (because it was a good play) Elliot took note and confronted them after the game. I was shocked by how fast and exciting the game turned out to be. Does this mean I've become a soccer mom?

Monorail Ride

Asher and Elliot are true public transportation aficionados, to them, a bus ride is like going to Disneyland (ok, almost). A few weeks ago we had a bus adventure to the U District farmer's market. On the way home we met a 3 day old baby, a man who gave Elliot a candy bar (thanks, but it went in the trash when we got home) and an old lady who thought Asher's red crocs were the bees knees, "Oh those are wonderful. Just wonderful."

Today the boys rode the monorail for the first time. Here is Asher's account of the adventure: "We waited for it to come. We had to go on the blue one. The red one was broken. We walked onto the monorail like this. We went in the tunnel like this, swish, and when it was done the train ride was over. The train ride was fun."

All of this talk about the monorail just makes me bitter. It's been nearly two years since the city smashed all dreams of having a city wide monorail. It was so close. We need high speed mass transit if we want to be a sophisticated, world class city that isn't permanently clogged up with traffic. RIP Seattle Monorail Project.

Bento Box Revolution

School is starting next week and while looking online for lunch boxes for Elliot I noticed that bento box blogs are all the rage. Bento is about reducing waste (no plastic or wax bags, certainly no Lunchables) and it's about making lunch so visually appealing that kids are tricked into eating it. Some bento lunch designs are so intricate, I can only stand back and admire. Bento is basically wacky food art that's nutritious.

Last year, Elliot barely ate at school. He'd have one bite of lunch and then run out to recess. I'll give bento a try, there are enough recipes online that something has to work. Lunch in a Box has tons of tips and recipes: Lunch in a Box: Mommy's Lunch Manifesto

Dallas Daily News: Bento-Style Boxes are Just Right For Kids' Lunches

Faux sushi: Cut the crust from a piece of bread, spread cream cheese on the bread, top with thinly sliced deli meat and roll tightly. Cut into ½ -inch slices to resemble a sushi roll. (From Shannon Carino.)

Fruit sushi: Cut the crust from a piece of bread, spread with pineapple cream cheese, add a banana, roll and slice.

Salad roll: Remove the thick rib from a romaine lettuce leaf. Top with favorite salad dressing, a thin slice of Muenster cheese, a thin slice of roast beef. Roll tightly and secure with a pick.

Sandwich on a stick: Alternate chunks of ham and cheese, separated by squares of bread. Finish with a strawberry.

Tortilla roll: Spread a tortilla with refried beans. Top with cooked chicken, shredded lettuce and grated cheese. Roll and slice. Use plastic skewers to secure.

Muffin cup: Layer the cup with shaved turkey, shredded lettuce and carrots.

Polenta pizza: Slice store-bought polenta, brown both sides in a skillet and top with tomato sauce, freshly chopped herbs and cheese; warm until cheese melts.

Alphabet pasta: Cook pasta according to package directions. Toss with freshly chopped vegetables and butter.

Mini stromboli: Slightly flatten canned biscuit dough. Spread with small amount of tomato sauce on half, top with chopped pepperoni, fold over and crimp edges with fork. Bake in a 350 F oven until golden