The Circus is Coming to Town

One of the not-so-thrilling aspects of living in Southern California is dealing with termite infestation in our wood-framed homes.

Our townhouse development (about 250 units in all) is being fumigated this month, which means double-bagging all our food and medicines, moving all our houseplants out into the yard, packing up everything we need for work and daycare, and moving out for three days while our home is tented.

We’ll be living it up in a local budget motel — watching junk TV, eating out and swimming in the hotel pool.

With all the packing, living out of bags and then unpacking again later in the week, I think I’m going to take a little holiday from blogging. Our hotel has wireless Internet access but I think we’re going to take those three days to just hang out!

See you all next week!

Starting to Talk About Important Stuff

We live in the big world of WHY at the moment. And, frustrating as it is, it leads to some very important conversations. Like this one, as we crossed the Target parking lot Sunday afternoon. Tau stopped dead in his tracks, staring at a man passing us.

“Mommy … what that man got?”

“I dunno honey.” I’m watching for cars.

“That man gotta puffer.”

I turn to look at the man for the first time. “Oh. It’s not a puffer …” (whatever a puffer may be) “It’s called a cigarette.”

“Ciga-wet?”

“Yes, cigarette.”

“WHY?”

Sigh. “It’s a little stick and it has smoke inside it and the man sucks the smoke into his mouth and then he blows it out again.” Surely this is enough information for a two-year-old.

“WHY?”

“Because he likes to suck in the smoke and blow it out again. ” Better add a lesson in here. “But Mom and Dad don’t like cigarettes. We don’t like to have cigarettes.”

“WHY?”

“Because they taste yucky … and they make your body very, very sick. And then you need to go to the hospital.”

“Why the man gotta cig-wet?” Good question.

“Because he likes the taste of the smoke. But Mom and Dad don’t like it — it’s yukky and it tastes bad.”

“WHY it tastes yukky?”

And then, thankfully, we entered the store and the well-placed juice bar and dollar bins caught his attention, and he was all “I NEEDA juice box Mommy.”

Independence Day

This boy, he’s fearless! Last weekend, we spent the Fourth of July BBQing and swimming at friends Mark and Tonya’s place.

Tau’d had water wings for only a week or two but that didn’t stop him from taking off down the slide — at least 20 or 30 times — and wanting to do it all on his own. “Mommy! You go ‘way! You don’t catch me!”

We dragged him out the pool several times, little body shivering, teeth chattering, and mucho complaining.  “I NEED to go downa slide ‘gain!”

When it was time for fireworks (the first he’d ever seen) he was a bit more wary. It didn’t stop him though from wanting to hold his own sparkler, like all the bigger kids!

MY NEW SCHOOL

This post is mostly for
the grandparents

This week we moved Tau to a new daycare center.

Hmn. I’m not supposed to call it “daycare” according to the kid — it’s “MY NEW SCHOOL!”

MY NEW SCHOOL is a bit closer to our house (by one block) but it has a lower ratio of kids to teachers, a slightly more structured environment and, well, a number of things that we hope will be slightly better. It was very sad saying goodbye to Tau’s friends and teachers — Miss Gaby, for example, has known and been with Tau since he came into the infant room there at four months old.

I went in to pick up a beautiful art and photo album she made for him and when I opened it, I burst into tears. And when I turned around to thank Gaby, she was all teary too. It’s hard to separate from people who’ve become part of your extended family, who’ve cared for your child since he was so brand new.

The first week at MY NEW SCHOOL went very well. Tau and I had visited for an hour a couple weeks back, so he knew the early morning drill — playing on the cool new climbing structure, circle time on the colorful mat, picking your job for the day and counting out the days of the month.

One thing I find a bit strange — and I say this at the risk of offending American readers — is that circle time includes reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, hand to heart. I’m all for pride in country (within limits) but isn’t 2 1/2 a little young?

After circle time, the kids do free play … cars, trucks, dinosaurs, dolls, blocks, puzzles, shaving foam … yes, messing on trays with shaving foam … icky, gooey fun. Throughout the day they have two snacks, lunch, nap time, art time, outside play on the jungle gym, in the sand pit and at the water-play tables. The routine is very similar to what we had at the old daycare, so the adjustments have been minor. Tau’s two new teachers seem very nice and he’s taken to them well so far.

The biggest change has been that we now have to pack a lunch every day. Tau has a new lunch pack and lunch box that he’s very proud of … his one teacher says he struts around the classroom with it.

Another big change is that they say he’s definitely ready for full-on potty training — they’re trying him on the potty every half hour and he’s doing really well. So we’ll be trying that cold-turkey, underpants-only this week.

Good luck to them … and to us!

‘lellow is His Favorite Color

We’re cooking chicken cacciatore last night while Tau eats his own dinner in front of Thomas the Train.

Horrible parents that we are.

Dave to me, “I’m pouring wine. You want white or red?”

From the little boy sitting with his back to us, “I want ‘lellow!”

He got apple juice.