September 29, 2006
1...2...3...GO!
Emma sprouted some wheels recently and where ever she goes she is running.
See what Emma learned from Sadie...
...and this too.
Sisters at the playground
Does anyone else wish this was the view from every Starbucks. This one is in Atlantic City of all places.
I love this smile and the smoothie makes even better.
What Grandpas do best...I found this photo tagged with a star and titled mmmmmvvvvvvvvnn...or something like that. It was Emma.
Tip toes
Sadie at ballet
September 28, 2006
Cheaper When Not Dead
-- a semi-occasional entry by Nathan --
Ahhh, life in the great Garden State of New Jersey. I must share. There is an actual radio station here (the state's most popular station, as a matter of fact) with an actual promotional announcement that actually states, with much pride and flair from the voice-over guy..."Our OWN station. Not New York. Not Philadelphia. New Jersey's 101.5!" Makes me feel warm and fuzzy every time I hear it, so proud am I to have my own radio station. Sorta reminds me, though, of the strategy employed by Avis rental car a few decades ago. They had fought long and hard to be the No. 2 rental car company behind Hertz. And after climbing that far, they figured they didn't have a real chance of being No. 1, so they may as well proclaim, "We're No. 2!" in their advertising. After a while working with the Deuce, they figured out nobody wants to buy (or rent) anything from a No. 2; it just makes them want to find out who exactly is No. 1 and what it is they have that's better. So, in their wisdom, Avis adopted something with more substance: "We try harder." Well, I don't think in New Jersey we have justification for the "try harder" claim, I think we only try AS hard as NYC and Philadelphia, so we just stick with "not New York and not Philadelphia." I guess sometimes what you are NOT says more about you than what you are.
We don't just have our own radio stations here. We also have our own deer. Many deer. Many, many deer. Deer dads and deer moms and deer babies. Pretty much everyone likes the deer. (Especially the deer hunters, who get called in to a state-organized 'deer kill' once a year or so, where they get to 'hunt' said deer on a plot of land set aside for the express purpose of 'managing' the precise amount of mammal-based ambiance we get to enjoy.) A small problem is that New Jersey is the country's most populous state per square mile. And while lots of folks take public transportation, many also drive freely around in their own personal automobiles. And deer being deer, they have a keen interest in what's happening on the other side of the roads driven so freely upon. They also appear to have an interest in the automobile itself. They continually stand by the side of the road, ears turned forward, eyes wide, tails twitching, seemingly thinking to themselves in wonder, "Now would you look at that. These people are smarter than they look!" And they inevitably decide to take a closer look, and they inevitably mis-calculate the speed-to-weight ratio of the approaching contraption, and they inevitably end up either spewed over the pavement for ravens to pick at or flat on their backs on the opposite side of the road from where they were observing, stiff as a 2x4, with all four legs pointing forever skyward.
As it turns out, the state actually owns the deer. Or has jurisdiction over the deer, or some such. When studying their budget over-runs this year, the state determined that they had spent over $1 million removing former deer and parts of former deer from the roadways. With further research they also determined that 80 percent of those deer were removed from county or municipal roadways. Seeking to save the state some money and 'share' the burden, the state subsequently declared that the counties and municipalities should pay for their own ruminant mammal remains removal. "How so?" complained the locals, "but YOU own the deer." As adeptly as a parent of a four-year-old, the state simply re-wrote the law book and further declared that the state only owns the deer when they are alive. Once not breathing or not upright or not in one piece, the counties and municipalities become the proud owners, and are responsible for all 'maintenance.'
I love this place.
Ahhh, life in the great Garden State of New Jersey. I must share. There is an actual radio station here (the state's most popular station, as a matter of fact) with an actual promotional announcement that actually states, with much pride and flair from the voice-over guy..."Our OWN station. Not New York. Not Philadelphia. New Jersey's 101.5!" Makes me feel warm and fuzzy every time I hear it, so proud am I to have my own radio station. Sorta reminds me, though, of the strategy employed by Avis rental car a few decades ago. They had fought long and hard to be the No. 2 rental car company behind Hertz. And after climbing that far, they figured they didn't have a real chance of being No. 1, so they may as well proclaim, "We're No. 2!" in their advertising. After a while working with the Deuce, they figured out nobody wants to buy (or rent) anything from a No. 2; it just makes them want to find out who exactly is No. 1 and what it is they have that's better. So, in their wisdom, Avis adopted something with more substance: "We try harder." Well, I don't think in New Jersey we have justification for the "try harder" claim, I think we only try AS hard as NYC and Philadelphia, so we just stick with "not New York and not Philadelphia." I guess sometimes what you are NOT says more about you than what you are.
We don't just have our own radio stations here. We also have our own deer. Many deer. Many, many deer. Deer dads and deer moms and deer babies. Pretty much everyone likes the deer. (Especially the deer hunters, who get called in to a state-organized 'deer kill' once a year or so, where they get to 'hunt' said deer on a plot of land set aside for the express purpose of 'managing' the precise amount of mammal-based ambiance we get to enjoy.) A small problem is that New Jersey is the country's most populous state per square mile. And while lots of folks take public transportation, many also drive freely around in their own personal automobiles. And deer being deer, they have a keen interest in what's happening on the other side of the roads driven so freely upon. They also appear to have an interest in the automobile itself. They continually stand by the side of the road, ears turned forward, eyes wide, tails twitching, seemingly thinking to themselves in wonder, "Now would you look at that. These people are smarter than they look!" And they inevitably decide to take a closer look, and they inevitably mis-calculate the speed-to-weight ratio of the approaching contraption, and they inevitably end up either spewed over the pavement for ravens to pick at or flat on their backs on the opposite side of the road from where they were observing, stiff as a 2x4, with all four legs pointing forever skyward.
As it turns out, the state actually owns the deer. Or has jurisdiction over the deer, or some such. When studying their budget over-runs this year, the state determined that they had spent over $1 million removing former deer and parts of former deer from the roadways. With further research they also determined that 80 percent of those deer were removed from county or municipal roadways. Seeking to save the state some money and 'share' the burden, the state subsequently declared that the counties and municipalities should pay for their own ruminant mammal remains removal. "How so?" complained the locals, "but YOU own the deer." As adeptly as a parent of a four-year-old, the state simply re-wrote the law book and further declared that the state only owns the deer when they are alive. Once not breathing or not upright or not in one piece, the counties and municipalities become the proud owners, and are responsible for all 'maintenance.'
I love this place.
September 27, 2006
happy kids
September 20, 2006
Sadie says...
"Daddy, does God talk to you?"
"Yes."
"Does He speak Spanish or English?"
_________
Sadie:"Mama, what is that village in the sky?"
Me:"What village in the sky?"
S:"The one where Jesus lives."
M:"Heaven?"
S:"Yeah."
____________________
a song...
"Please Grandfather,
can I have some soup
without rotten chicken.
I don't like it with rotten chicken.
I would really like some good
chicken soup, with good chicken."
_________________________
There has been another influx of questions about Jesus and God these days. And a lot of songs about Jesus going to China. It seems that everyone is going to China as of late in Sadie's songs. The kitchen has been dubbed China and the dining room is the beach and so there are many travels between China and the beach around dinner time.
"Yes."
"Does He speak Spanish or English?"
_________
Sadie:"Mama, what is that village in the sky?"
Me:"What village in the sky?"
S:"The one where Jesus lives."
M:"Heaven?"
S:"Yeah."
____________________
a song...
"Please Grandfather,
can I have some soup
without rotten chicken.
I don't like it with rotten chicken.
I would really like some good
chicken soup, with good chicken."
_________________________
There has been another influx of questions about Jesus and God these days. And a lot of songs about Jesus going to China. It seems that everyone is going to China as of late in Sadie's songs. The kitchen has been dubbed China and the dining room is the beach and so there are many travels between China and the beach around dinner time.
September 15, 2006
First week of school
Sadie returned to school this week for her "number four" class. Last year was number three. She does not know that it is called preschool but I thought after the last few times that people have asked if she was in preschool or kindergarten and she just stared blankly at them that I should explain that she is in fact in preschool. She tells everyone who asks that she will be in Kindergarten when she is five but right now she is only four so she is in her number four class.
Nathan took her to the first day which consisted of spending an hour with a parent in the classroom meeting the teachers and checking out the new things in her new classroom. She came home and almost started crying saying that she missed me which of course threw me for a loop but was very cute and touching. Some days I think she thinks I am the last person she wants to be around, although I am probably the last person any one would want to be around those days. Anyway, she had lots of fun meeting new kids and checking out all that was new in the classroom. Of course the event was topped off with a trip to Starbucks where a vanilla milk and marble loaf cake was quickly consumed and immediately expended in some sort of bouncing off the walls.
Her second and following day of school went equally well. She did not really remember any of the new kids names but was quick to request returning to the playground to scream and run and jump and all of that for a while before we headed home for some lunch. I had sent her to school with a stuffy nose, hoping that it was only allergies which have been bad this summer but by the time we returned to pick her up, her nose was runny and she said she had been sneezing a lot. So she missed the rest of the week because of a cold which turned to an ear infection.
So I think I am going to think of this coming week as the first week of school and dance. We got Sadie a pink leotard for her dance class and she is very excited to wear it and has asked about it several times, so I think she was disappointed that she missed her first class.
Other than the school week not too much has been happening around here other than rain, rain, rain.
Nathan took her to the first day which consisted of spending an hour with a parent in the classroom meeting the teachers and checking out the new things in her new classroom. She came home and almost started crying saying that she missed me which of course threw me for a loop but was very cute and touching. Some days I think she thinks I am the last person she wants to be around, although I am probably the last person any one would want to be around those days. Anyway, she had lots of fun meeting new kids and checking out all that was new in the classroom. Of course the event was topped off with a trip to Starbucks where a vanilla milk and marble loaf cake was quickly consumed and immediately expended in some sort of bouncing off the walls.
Her second and following day of school went equally well. She did not really remember any of the new kids names but was quick to request returning to the playground to scream and run and jump and all of that for a while before we headed home for some lunch. I had sent her to school with a stuffy nose, hoping that it was only allergies which have been bad this summer but by the time we returned to pick her up, her nose was runny and she said she had been sneezing a lot. So she missed the rest of the week because of a cold which turned to an ear infection.
So I think I am going to think of this coming week as the first week of school and dance. We got Sadie a pink leotard for her dance class and she is very excited to wear it and has asked about it several times, so I think she was disappointed that she missed her first class.
Other than the school week not too much has been happening around here other than rain, rain, rain.
September 04, 2006
Blue Skies
September 03, 2006
Last Sunday, when Nathan was out of town and the rain was moving in, we headed out to a nearby farm and picked ourselves 16 pounds of peaches and a quart of raspberries. We got totally drenched and it was really pouring by the time we headed home for some hot chocolate and lunch. After peeling and slicing all the peaches, save a few that needed to ripen, we put six quarts of peaches into the freezer for pies, jam or whatever. Nathan requested cobbler so we had some of that too.
I cooked up a batch of raspberry jam with most of the raspberries.
Today we headed off to the farm again to pick some more goodies. This time the sun was shining and the wind was blowing, the bees were buzzing and the goats were out begging for carrots. We picked a quart of blackberries and a quart of raspberries, a few tomatoes, one eggplant and one bell pepper. Sadie requested a bunch of carrots to feed the goats and calf in the "petting"corral. When Emma decided it was her turn to feed the goat, I helped her stick the tip of the carrot through the fence but once the goat gave the carrot a swift, strong tug, Emma would not let go and I thought she might go right through the chicken wire and all. She really did not want to give up the carrot but the excitement of feeding the animal was enough to convince her to let me do the feeding for her. So we found a great new activity to do any day of the week from Spring to Fall. Sadie is already excited to pick pumpkins and asks when Halloween will be here on a regular basis.
Actually, I think she knows once we have pumpkins, we will go to the town "trick or treat" and she will get lots and lots of candy, and here in lies the motivation for all of her excitement. Chocolate. ( In case you have forgotten, last year she asked if every piece of candy was chocolate and if the answer was no, she usually tossed it back.)
I cooked up a batch of raspberry jam with most of the raspberries.
Today we headed off to the farm again to pick some more goodies. This time the sun was shining and the wind was blowing, the bees were buzzing and the goats were out begging for carrots. We picked a quart of blackberries and a quart of raspberries, a few tomatoes, one eggplant and one bell pepper. Sadie requested a bunch of carrots to feed the goats and calf in the "petting"corral. When Emma decided it was her turn to feed the goat, I helped her stick the tip of the carrot through the fence but once the goat gave the carrot a swift, strong tug, Emma would not let go and I thought she might go right through the chicken wire and all. She really did not want to give up the carrot but the excitement of feeding the animal was enough to convince her to let me do the feeding for her. So we found a great new activity to do any day of the week from Spring to Fall. Sadie is already excited to pick pumpkins and asks when Halloween will be here on a regular basis.
Actually, I think she knows once we have pumpkins, we will go to the town "trick or treat" and she will get lots and lots of candy, and here in lies the motivation for all of her excitement. Chocolate. ( In case you have forgotten, last year she asked if every piece of candy was chocolate and if the answer was no, she usually tossed it back.)
