the OTHER mother

Football without the Ball

Pearl, Carrie, and Ethan had a lot of fun playing this weekend. This is what happened when we told them it was time to go home.

Really Roxy

This past weekend our friend Kevin gave Pearl and a dozen other neighborhood kids their first surfing lesson. We traveled the one hour to Galveston beach in a caravan of minivans and station wagons.  Marcia and I were amazed that Pearl not only stood up on the surfboard but stayed up. We, the parents, were squealing like teeny boppers at a Jonas Brothers concert. Pearl, however, remained completely nonchalant. Just another day.

Pearl's New Bike

Float Like a Cannonball!

Here are two quick clips from Pearl and Carrie's last swim lesson of the summer. You can see what they've learned. The cannonball activity that Carrie does is actually a float test. She passed.

Winter in Summer Conundrum

Back at the Ranch

It's the last week before school starts in Houston, and Marcia took Pearl and Carrie horseback riding again today. This time the cowgirls shed no tears. They rode through the forest. The rancher let them feed and groom the horses. You may recall that this was on their list of challenges made earlier this month. Do you think Carrie is proud of herself?

Swimming Lessons

This morning Marcia taught at the hospital, and I took Pearl and Carrie to swimming lessons. It was my first time. I was impressed with how much the girls have improved, even in the past week or so. (video = 7 seconds)

Swim Lessons

 

The Girl Who Thought She'd Love Horses

For the last month of summer vacation, Marcia got an idea. She got the idea from our friend Annie's SprogBlog. Annie tells about her children's amazing hikes and feats in the wilderness. Annie believes that achieving a big challenge over the summer helps a child start the new school year with greater self-confidence. Makes sense, right?

Marcia read to the girls some of the stories about Aidan and El.  Then she asked Pearl and Carrie to come up with a challenge for themselves. Pearl said she wanted to learn some tricks in skateboarding. Carrie said she wanted to try to ride a horse. They both want to improve their swimming. Carrie wants to go camping in the living room. Pearl also wants to "climb to the top of the Grand Canyon." 

Except for the Grand Canyon one, all the suggestions seemed within reason. So as I go to work each weekday, the grrrls are blazing trails all around H-town. Watch out for them!

Bungee!

The Skaters

Pearl, Carrie, and Miles met Coach Johnny at the skate park this morning for their first day of skate camp.  Pearl and Miles were really "into" it, but Carrie spent much of her time with Coach Mommy instead.

The Need for Speed

 

Carrie is into racing. She has special shoes that help her run fast. She takes Nemo vitamins every day. She has her super powers, and when in need, her beloved blankie helps her weather the hard times. Nevertheless Pearl has been known to overtake her in these contests of speed.

Carrie is not easily thwarted, however. She knows what it takes to be a champion. That's why she begins each competition with this announcement: I will race you, Pearl, but only if you will let me win.

Carrie at the Beach

Carrie's joy in the ocean is pretty-much boundless these days!

Fun Running the 1K for Kids

This year both Pearl and Carrie wanted to run in our neighborhood 1K race. Pearl faced the event with great fear last year, but this year she seemed more at ease. 

Carrie was thrilled to get to run this year. She has admired Pearl's ribbon all year long.  She wears it like a necklace some days and believes that because of this medal, Pearl is a hero.  That's what Carrie wants to be when she grows up, a super hero! So she has had this race on her radar for quite some time.

Carrie felt confident she would win in the 14 and under age bracket.  Marcia waited for her at the halfway point turnaround. Carrie was walking by then and cried when she spotted Mama. Marcia asked her, "What's the matter, Carrie?" Carrie shook her head sadly, saying, "My super powers failed me."

Despite this setback, Carrie crossed the finish line in due time, and received a ribbon. It was exactly like Pearl's!

Babes on Boards, Houston

This morning Houston hosted its first Girls-Only Skate event, Babes on Boards, and of course grrrlville was there.

 

We got home to Houston Friday afternoon... made record time because we boarded the pets at two (yes, 2) different places and wanted to pick them up before these places closed at 5.

Saturday morning Marcia took the girls to Babes on Boards, a girls-only skate event, while I unpacked, started the laundry, and picked up a big sack of breakfast tacos at El Rey on the way to meet them.

Carrie doesn't have a board and insisted she was "too little" anyway. She has a three-wheeled Darth Vader scooter that is challenging enough for her at the moment.

Last time we came to the skate park, Pearl focused on pushing her board along the flatter parts of the course. This time--after many falls--she mastered what I will called the bunny slope. She was totally proud of herself.  Having never skateboarded myself, I was totally proud as well.

An Afternoon at the Skate Park

We celebrated our friend's birthday at the skate park Saturday afternoon. It was our first visit there, and Pearl is very interested in skating now. Do you know of a good book or video about girls/kids and skateboarding?

Charlie Chaplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Pearl

Ever since we noticed that Obama is left-handed, we’ve been thinking about our older daughter Pearl.  She came out of the womb favoring her left hand.  In her first Montessori class at 6 months old, the instructor noticed that Pearl would start her crawl with her left leg.  We were impressed, but we’d already guessed as much.  She grabbed the cat’s ears with her left hand, made the sign to breastfeed with her left hand, and waved goodbye to us with her left hand.

Pearl and Carrie's donor is left-handed, so we guess that’s where she got it. Of course, Marcia claims that she had something to do with it because she has always dreamed of being left-handed. She associates left-handedness with creativity and originality.  I told Marcia that my brother and sister are left-handed, so maybe I should get the credit.

Regardless of who is responsible, Marcia and I both feel it’s a good thing.  After all, Pearl has some great role models: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, Jay Leno, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Carol Burnett, Paul Simon, James Baldwin, Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Dick Van Dyke, Kurt Cobain, Angelina Jolie, Diego Maradona, Mark Spitz, John McEnroe, and of course, Bart Simpson.  

Are YOU left-handed?  Any thoughts on left-handedness?

Flying Leap

Opening Ceremonies in Beijing: Carrie's Report

Just in case you missed the spectacular opening ceremonies on television last night, Carrie (age 2.5) did a report in her notebook that will give you a true you-were-there sensation. I captioned them, as instructed by the artist.

Captions: Fireworks, Flag, Drums, Fireworks, Drums for Kids (this is wishful on Carrie's part--although there were drums and kids there were no drums played by kids), and Big Fireworks!

TV Dreams Beijing into Life

Dana's questions about the Olympics on Mombian really got me thinking. Actually I’ve been thinking about the Olympics a lot this week. It’s a big water cooler topic at my office. It turns out that several of my colleagues are veritable Olympic junkies.  Who knew? 

NPR has run some great stories recently about the upcoming Olympic games.  My favorite one was about the cultural dilemma faced by the Chinese because although it is the Year of the Rat they are having to exterminate rats in order to prepare their city for the masses. So, apparently, the British have come to their assistance.

We don’t watch television at our house. We don't even have cable. When I say that, however, I don't mean to imply that we are purists.  Instead of television, Pearl and Carrie watch videos. They love their videos. I also have a list of YouTube favorites that Carrie particularly enjoys.But with the Olympics only hours away, I've starting remembering.

When I was a kid, I found the Olympics very inspiring. I grew up in a small town in the bible belt where conventions ran very deep, and so the powerful confident women athletes I watched on TV were a new kind of role model for me. I liked learning the stories of the athletes--where they started and how they became great athletes. Mark Spitz was a hero of mine, representing the equally surprising combination of Jewish and athlete. By watching the games, I got an early sense (however formulaic) of a larger world.

So I’m planning to let the girls check out the Olympics if they’re interested. Since they’re taking swim lessons this summer, maybe we'll start with that. But not on TV, only on YouTube. My ever-so-slight purist condition.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Kid Cubed

Grrrlville - Kid Squared playdate reunion

Setting the Bar

Marcia, Pearl, and Carrie set some summer goals for themselves. You might be wondering how Carrie at age 2.5 could come up with goals for herself.  She didn't.  Pearl wrote them for her.  Carrie has already accomplished her #5, and Pearl, her #4. 

 

H (2) O

Pearl and Carrie are taking swimming lessons this summer with two of their friends.  Their teacher's name is Cricket, but Carrie calls her "kick it." 

Running for the Roses

Pearl ran in a 1K race for kids this weekend.  We asked her if she was interested about 12 hours before the event. Even so, she was very anxious about it. And very serious.

We're not used to thinking in kilometers, but the race official--who made everyone laugh except Pearl--explained that the kids were to run 3 blocks, make a U turn, and return 3 blocks on the opposite side of the median. If they were confused they were to follow the big gray Tahoe.

A loud honk of a horn signaled the beginning of the race.  We decided ahead of time that Marcia would run behind Pearl, and I would take Carrie to the finish line and wait.

Apparently we miscalculated Pearl's speed.  Marcia couldn't keep up with her, and Carrie and I almost missed her crossing the red carpets because I didn't expect her back so soon. 

Her age bracket was 14 and under, a tough spread for a 4 year old, but everyone got a bright green ribbon, and Pearl won a door prize, a gift certificate to Onion Creek. Needless to say, we're very proud of our girl.

Water Park

Carrie and Pearl both like the new water park.  We've been several times already.  Using my best judgment, I took pictures only on the day that Carrie agreed to wear her swimsuit.  Call it: decorum.  Or lack thereof.

Pump It Up

Some/thing New

As children, we are often placed in the position of trying something brand new.  As adults we are often fortunate enough to exert control over the agenda.  Put another way, it's possible to spend a lot of your time doing things that you already know how to do.

That's why I'm still surprised that I've started doing Nia. The Nia Technique was created by Carlos and Debbie Rosas in the 70s.  Nia combines dance, martial arts, and yoga.  It stresses self-acceptance.  You can read more about it here.

Although it is antithetical to the spirit of Nia, I must tell you this: I am terrible at it! But I do want to continue going to the classes. I want to build a practice of it and incorporate it into my life.  We have a studio right in our neighborhood. It's a soulful place where everyone exudes the generosity of spirit that one hopes to find in this world but discovers eventually that it is exquisite and very rare.

Caption: The local Nia group did a demo at Lights in the Heights in December.  The public was invited to join in.  Pearl took them up on their offer.

Note: Some/thing is the theme of a blog party celebrating Freedom to Marry week.  Click here for a list of the participants.  Feel free to join in yourself.

 

It's a Strike

Bowling for toddlers, a Chanukah tradition since yesterday. Or perhaps it was the day before.

Pearl Loves to Move It Move It

This past weekend we went to the annual Lights in the Heights celebration in our neighborhood. They close off three streets so that only pedestrians, red wagons, roller bladers, and baby strollers have the right of way.  The neighborhood is festooned with the light of candles and electric facsimiles all along the route.  Singers, string quartets, bell choirs, and balalaika societies play from the front porches of the houses.  Houstonians bake 10,000 cookies that are distributed freely.  Lights in the Heights has an old-fashioned spin on fun that I always enjoy.

This year the NIA Moves group had a dance space and welcomed participants to join them. Pearl knows the co-founder Christie from playgroup and yoga, and she had a wonderful time dancing.  At first she ran back and forth in front of the group, but eventually she started to pick a a few of those moves.  Her happiness was luminous.

Like This, Coach?

Pearl "graduated" from her beginner swim class yesterday.  She started the "semester" (9 days ago!) filled with trepidation. There were tears and tremors, but by the last class, she did every single lesson.  She even went down the "big big" slide by herself.  In case you're wondering, Pearl says she's very "powed" of herself.