Thursday, April 19, 2012

Not-Quite-Friday What We're Learning Update....

I know it's only Thursday, and Mindy at Grateful for Grace does her link-up on Fridays, but I'm popping in with mine now because, well, I'm ready and trying not to procrastinate.

So here's a little "what we're learning" update and a general update as well.

We are learning....

...that karate does, in fact, involve a little bit of (very) light contact, and that we don't appreciate that, at all.

...that plans can change, and twice a week karate lessons can be stopped before they get started if one has a good enough reason. Unexpected contact sport is, we think, a good enough reason. Even if some of us realized there might be contact, we are not willing to force the sport on the unsuspecting among us who didn't have a clue.

...that not having to leave my house those other two nights a week is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I am insanely grateful that I won't be needing quite as many "quick & easy meals" as I thought.

...piano continues at a startling rate. Since I last posted, The Artist has learned London Bridge and his instructor has introduced the bass clef, so he's now practicing with both left & right hands. He's working on Frere Jacques with both hands. He is able to read music, follow sheet music, or listen and repeat.

...that buying just the right fabric when making a gift for someone, following your own design, is a bit nerve wracking. I did a wide poll of all my friends on whether to go with the original color scheme I wanted for the baby gift I'm making, or to go with the color scheme that the new mom chose for the baby's bedding. Votes were roughly 50/50, but The Chemist cast the deciding vote and suggested I match it to the baby's room just to be on the safe side. This was tough, folks. I had already seen and picked out (but not bought) the absolutely perfect fabrics -- for my color scheme. Finding stuff that I loved as much, worked as well together, still felt feminine and soft, and that sang to me the way the originals did....it was tough. Really, really tough. In fact, I'm still doubting one of the fabrics and will be emailing photos to a select few (two) so they can tell me which one to use. Hopefully they agree with each other, because The Chemist and I disagree. I really need a no-tie vote on this. Ooh, just thought of a third person to guarantee I don't get tie results.

...how to serve well in tennis. "We" are not learning this, but The Writer is learning this and doing really well at it. The Chemist and he have played a few games together and all reports are that The Writer is doing great.

That's the bulk of what we're learning this week. I've got a few posts coming up that should be interesting; a spotlight on The Writer, a preview of the baby quilt (the recipient does not read my blog, I don't think), a photo of the memorial "quilt" (tiny) that The Artist designed for Kitty Socks, and some more catch-up on the Diary Quilt. I'll get those posts going in the next week or two....come back and check it out!

Friday, April 13, 2012

What We're Learning, 2nd Edition

I won't be doing this every week, but only those weeks I have something to share. This week is one of those weeks! Hooray!

We're learning some fun stuff this week....

The Artist, age 11, is finally riding his bike w/o the aid of training wheels! woot!!!

Now, before you get all "only now???? he's ELEVEN!!" on me, keep in mind that he was only 6 when we moved to Brazil. To an apartment where he had no place to ride a bike. And then to a house where the only streets were steep hills not conducive to a just-learning bike rider. And so now, in this house, with flat streets and no traffic he has had his first opportunity to learn to ride a bike. With that in mind, I'm very proud of how quickly he caught on. Yay, Artist!!!

The Writer, age 14, continues in his tennis lessons. At his last lesson the instructor taught him how to block the ball, by extending his arm fully and placing the racket in the path of the ball, but not swing, in order to give a soft return. As The Writer's biggest struggle in tennis is controlling his arm strength (he tends to send balls flying over the 15' or 18' fences, bouncing off tree limbs....), this is a skill he needs and also a signal that his general play is improving to a point that his coach is comfortable introducing new skills. Yay!!! So proud of him!!

The Adventurer, age 7, made the connection last night at dinner that the names of the letters (of the alphabet) almost always tell him the sound that the letter makes. This is HUGE news for him and I am so proud that he has never given up on trying to learn, even when he begs out of school since he thinks he'll just forget. He's remembering, and learning, and things are starting to click, and I'm excited to see where we go from here. Again, so very proud of my boy!

The Boys are all learning a little about poetry, and that it can be fun & funny, not just dry and boring. I read them two poems at dinner last night -- one titled "Arithmetic" by Carl Sandburg, and the other called "Block City" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Everyone enjoyed it, but the witty replies of The Writer cracked me up. He joked with me about "Arithmetic," decided that "Block City" (about building with blocks) reminded him of Minecraft, an on-line game where you....build with blocks, and then when I said, "See, isn't poetry fun sometimes??" he quoted back to me the first line of "Arithmetic":  
"Well, actually, 'they flew in and out of my head like pigeons...."
I love seeing his sense of humor and wit come to life! (and I'm sad that "building with blocks" now resonates as a computer game! Ack!)

In other news, we're signing up the two younger boys for Karate, which means we'll now be out of the house (or parts of us will be) three nights a week. This means I am re-learning fast & easy dinners to make and serve before various ones of us are out the door. I haven't had a busy evening schedule in over four years; I hope I remember how to do this!

On that note -- any tips for me? I do have my crock pot here but haven't used it much; electricity is expensive here. I also have a pressure cooker that I've used for rice. Anyone have a good site for learning how to use it for more things?? Other fast & easy meal tips??? June, how can I do this without sacrificing taste??? 

If you want to read more, pop over to Grateful for Grace and follow the links....