Some Journey

Ano Nuevo

WARNING: The blog entry you are about to read can be classified as childish and immature (words which are synonomous, but can't hurt to emphasize:)).

Today Joseph and I watched a PBS show about killer sharks and their diet of elephant seals on the Pacific Coast. It was an interesting show. Joseph is in a shark phase (thanks to Shark Tale), and he was thoroughly interested in every minute of it, and asked tons of questions, some of which I could answer. Anyway, the problem was that one of the primary places to find the elephant seal is in a state park in Año Nuevo, California . Año Nuevo translates "New Year" in Spanish, and the first word should be pronounced "anyo". Unfortunately, every time it appeared on the screen during the documentary, it was written without the tilde, and pronounced "anno". This changes the translation to "New Anus". So during the whole show, I kept cracking up, thinking, "Why on earth did no one correct this? Are you telling me there was no one involved in the production of that documentary that knew the correct pronounciation? How do you go on PBS with a mistake like that not being identified?" So I did a search on the internet, and most sites read "Ano Nuevo", which could just be because no one knows how to implement the tilde on their keyboard. But the fact that the narrator of the documentary kept pronoucing it that way makes me wonder how many people actually call it that. And it's California, for Pete's sake! It's crawling with Mexicans. They're probably all laughing their anos off everytime somebody says it.

Hidalgo and other stuff

We watched Hidalgo last night, and were disappointed. It wasn't that it was that bad, I guess, but it has a lot of potential for being really good, and wasn't. It is based on a true story of Frank Hopkins, a Pony Express rider at the turn of the century. The basic premise is that, Hopkins, a half breed white/Native American and his mustang have won all the long distance horse races in the U.S. and are challenged to enter a race that traverses the mid-eastern desert for many days. The Mid-Eastern folks are convinced that breeding is everything and are very proud of the great horses they have bred. They think the mustang is a disgrace and cannot compete with their great steeds. Of course Hopkins and his spotted mustang, Hidalgo, win the race and win everyone's respect along the way, and Hopkins learns to embrace the beauty of his own mixed pedigree.
It is a great story. But it was poorly directed, poorly acted, poorly filmed and poorly written. The one bonus is that it's lack of realism made it a film which would have been okay for the kids to watch (the violence could be compared to that of a spaghetti western) except that a significant portion of the movie is in Arabic and subtitled, making it difficult for young readers or non-readers (Joseph loves a good horse movie, usually) to enjoy. Alas, I'm glad I'm still using my free trail month with Walmart's online movie rentals, which I'm not overly impressed with by the way. It takes a while to get movies, they are usually dirty and/or scratched, and there is not that great of a selection. But it is cheap compared to other monthly rental passes, so I son't know what I'll do when the free trial is up.

In other news. . .yesterday I was working upstairs trying to clean/organize my sewing/hobby room. Joseph desperately wanted to watch the boys playing outside with a neighbor's dog, but wanted to do so from somewhere where he could be assured the dog could not jump on him, so he came up and perched himself in the upstairs window. When I turned and saw him standing on the window sill of our open second story window, I felt that the screen between him and the concrete below was not enough security and told him to get down. Of course, he asked why. I explained to him that I did not want him to die, and that I thought there was a possibility of that happening if he remained in the window. He said, "What does that mean? To die?" I told him it meant that he would go be with Jesus, but that Daddy and I would not get to see him anymore and we would be really sad. He immediately responded, "So would I get to see his face?" He has been struggling with the fact that he is told that "God is spirit and has no body like men", but we sing songs about seeing Jesus' face. Legitimate struggle if you ask me. Most adults have trouble grasping the concept of the Trinity, and for a 4 year old, it is the most confusing thing he deals with. But at least he got out of the window.

Spiderman

Those of you who know Joseph know he is obsessed with Spiderman. He forces Sydney to pretend to be MJ so he can rescue her repeatedly from Stephen, who plays the part of the Green Goblin. I have to convince him to go to church disguised as Peter Parker in order to get him out of his red and blue pajamas without a fight.
So the other day, I was watching a movie with the kids, and Joseph made a comment about getting his toy shark off the mantle. It didn’t sink in. At least not for the 30 seconds it took before I turned my gaze toward the mantle just in time to see Joseph finish scaling the fireplace and seat himself on the mantle where his shark was located. I mean, he literally went straight up the front of the fireplace in no time at all. Just like Spiderman. Here’s a shot of Noah trying to imitate, with no luck.

Mi cocina

We’ve lived in our house for a little over four years now, and I finally love my kitchen. Our first house was a St. Elmo “fixer upper”. We loved it’s character, but I really never got to the point of decorating it the way I wanted, particularly the kitchen, because repairs took priority over décor. We found out we were pregnant with Ethan two weeks after closing on it, and were pregnant four times in the almost six years we lived there, so decorating took a back seat to cleaning in addition to the repairs. So when we bought this 3 year old house 7 months into my pregnancy with Joseph, I was thrilled with the newness of it. I could hardly believe that I had closets (can I get an amen, St. Elmo people??)!
Anyway, to make a short story longer (or something like that), for a long time I just really didn’t know what I wanted to do with the kitchen. The one thing that I did know is that I did not want to leave it the way it was. First problem, off white eggshell walls. Five kids eat in there. I needed semi-gloss. Second problem, fruit motif. Not me. Not at all. So last year it finally hit me: Mexican. Stephen grew up in Mexico, and we’ve always had Mexican odds and ends that I didn’t know what to do with floating around the house, and since we were going to Mexico in the summer, I decided to use my trip to get ideas and then come home and decorate accordingly, which is what I did. As Stephen and I drove from the coast into the mountains of Oaxaca, I noticed lots of burgundy, and lots of cobalt blue. And then we stayed a night in Tlaxiaco, the “big city” nearest the village where he grew up.
I fell madly in love with the color scheme which was everywhere, beiges, burgundy, and cobalt blue. I decided that the front of Hotel Portal would be my inspiration. I picked up some adorable little salt and pepper shakers and other accessories at the market in Acapulco for $.50-$1.00 each.
My biggest dilemma for almost a year now has been the light fixtures. I have searched lighting stores, the internet, etc. Couldn’t find any light fixtures that really looked like something I would see in Mexico. Most looked Southwestern, not truly Mexican. So then one of the light fixtures in the kitchen got broken, and in his quest for a “quick fix” til I made up my mind, Stephen struck upon pure genius. He used a $2.00 light kit and a $1.50 terra cotta pot. I added a little paint to match the walls.
We liked it so much, we went out and found another pot for the other ceiling fixture, and a larger azalea pot for the hanging fixture over the table.
I am finally happy with my Mexican kitchen. And the best part is, we spent about $20 on all three light fixtures. Now, I’ll admit, if they were truly authentic, there would be live wires sticking out of them, but that would be a bit much. . .

Fifth Disease

Sounds scary. Looks even scarier. It's not. It is called Fifth Disease because it was the fifth common childhood illness to be officially identified and labeled by the Amer. Academy of Pediatrics as exactly that: common childhood illnesses.
Sydney had a rash which very much resembled heat rash on her neck and upper chest and upper back on Saturday and Sunday. She had been wearing a cheap necklace that I picked up at Walmart, so I figured it was a reaction to the necklace. I told her not to wear it again for a week or so. Then this morning, she awoke looking like someone had slapped her on both cheeks, and the rash had spread to her entire torso, upper arms and thighs. No fever. No other symptoms. I called the doctor to verify. He said it sounded like classic Fifth Disease (which was the conclusion I had come to after skimming internet photos and descriptions, and from remembering having read it about it in What To Expect the Toddler Years). He said, "It's contagious, but nobody cares so we send 'em to school anyway. No harm. It's just no big deal. It doesn't hurt. Doesn't burn. Rarely even itches. Requires no treatment." Just looks weird (to quote Sam).
The Dr. did say that women in their first trimester of pregnancy shouldn't be exposed to it if they've never had it, though most have whether they know it or not.

Dream of the Blue Turtle

Noah, like many kids his age, is a Blues Clues fanatic. Emphasis on the word fanatic. He is also a creative kid with a great sense of humor. He called me in to see his "blue turtle" the other day. He had taken the turtle shell which Sam had found while hiking with Stephen and my dad, and put his little toy Blue inside. It was cute. I immediately thought of an album Sting had out in the 80s called Dream of the Blue Turtles. It was the first album my sister ever got of her own. On the way home from purchasing it, we stopped at the gas station and I went in with Dad. I got back in the car, and Lynn shrieked. She had put the album in the seat beside her, and I had just sat on it. Broke it in half. A very nasty fight ensued. I have felt really guilty about it for years, and it was only the other day, while pondering Noah's "blue turtle" that it actually occured to me: It really wasn't my fault. I mean, I sat in a seat. I didn't know the album was there. I didn't do it on purpose. But I have felt extremely guilty about it all this time, and it was a source of hostility between Lynn and I for a long time afterward. It is strange the warped perspective childhood allows. Things seem so much bigger.
Alas, sorry about your album, Lynnikins. But I'm moving on. :)

Sorry. I ordered the French maid.

One of my favorite things about Alias from day one was the existence of Eric Weiss. He most often serves in the role of comic relief, occasionally the tie to reality. He's the most "normal" character on the show. Now, I've already blogged on my extreme annoyance at the monkeys, I mean, writers, for having brought Weiss in to APO without a stable replacement at the CIA for the simple reason that it once again eliminated the most basic premise of the show: double agents. However, having said all that, I really enjoyed having Weiss back on the team in last night's ep. I have always enjoyed the dialogues between Weiss and Vaughn while watching Syd "do her thing". . .like commentators for a baseball game, only better. Last night one upped the previous scenes of that type, because we now had Nadia involved as well, which brought out a new side of Weiss. It was great. I also totally loved the kick-a** sisters in action. Last night's ep was what I was hoping for when I found out Mia Maestro would be a season 4 regular. I also enjoyed the interchanges between Syd and Sloane, and between Syd and Dixon regarding Sloane. Brings back old times, ya know. . .*sniff*

George Washington Carver

Do you immediately think peanut butter? Me too. But we're wrong.
I'm a late night cable tv junkie. And I don't apologize for that. I love it. I live for history channel, discovery, and pbs at midnight. Last week, I watched three back to back episodes on the history of sniping in America. The way that being a sniper has been viewed since it's earliest development against the British in the Revolutionary war, up to the latest technology used by SWAT teams. Good stuff.
So last night Stephen and I watched a show that we frequently enjoy on the History Channel called Modern Marvels. Last night's ep was about George Washington Carver, who did NOT invent peanut butter. What he did do was pave the way for peanut butter to be a viable product in his efforts to revitalize the agricultural industry of the South. Boll weevils were on the move and threatening the cotton industry. Furthermore, constant use of the land for cotton was depleting the soil of nitrogen and decreasing the production and quality. Carver's answer: Peanuts and sweet potatoes. I won't get into all the hundreds of reasons why these two crops were good for the soil and useful, suffice it to say there are endless possibilities. His studies of the peanut and it's nutritional value brought awareness of the product to the mainstream, paving the road for peanut butter to be a hit (It was actually invented by a dr. who needed a high protein food for his poor patients who did not have enough teeth to chew meat). Carver was also instrumental in introducing the world to the value of soybeans.
As a watched it, I was thinking about my blog entry yesterday,and it hit me: That's Joseph. As they described Carver's fascination with plants and birds it reminded me of lot of Joseph. Most of the time if you ask Ethan what he wants to be when he grows up, he will say some sort of engineer (like his uncle Andy). Sam is fascinated with science, though we think a career in law or the pastorate would suit him well, too. Syd wants to be a doctor, but since she wants to have kids thinks she might be a nurse so her hours will be flexible (yes, we actually had that conversation). And Noah, if he doesn't replace Al Capone as one of the greatest criminal masterminds in history, I'm sure would be well suited to a number of things. Anyway, it occured to me last night that I often forget about the agricultural branch of engineering. My cousin got his PhD in agricultural engineering, specifically in the area of aquatic farming. It's a fascinating field, really, but because it's not mainstream, and it's not an area that Stephen and I are naturally gifted in, I think we tend to forget about it. I think I'm going to start making an effort to think about it more, and to understand it. Next year I'll have just Joseph and Noah at home, and I'm starting to look forward to the opportunity to spend some time exploring areas of study that the other kids were less interested in than Joseph, such as worms and bugs and plants. Sounds messy. But fun. I'm so glad God doesn't give us cookie cutter kids.

Joseph pretended to read today

That sounds funny, or should, to most seasoned parents, because it's something kids do all the time. But not Joseph. I really don't worry about there being any serious developmental problems. You should hear him talk. He's had almost perfect enunciation since he was 18 months old (with the exception of not being able to say his 'l's). But his personality and the things that interest him are just so different from my other four kids, that sometimes I have a hard time gauging where he is on a scale of what's normal and what's not. At his four year old check up, one of the questions was, "Can he draw a stick figure with at least three parts?" With all of my other kids, I was able to say, "Sure. He draws more than three and can write his name". But not Joseph. He had just barely mastered a circle, and it had never occurred to him to use it for a head and draw a person. For the next week, however, he drew stick people all the time. Then he was done with that. It was almost as if he just wanted to make sure he could do it. Once he felt good about it, he didn't care to make the effort.
So this morning after I had read Blue Looks for Books several times in a row, I suggested that Joseph read it to Noah. To my surprise he picked it up and began to try to remember and recite the text, pretending that he was reading it. It is the first time I can remember him doing that. Sydney and Sam did it so much that when they first started to read, I couldn't be sure if they were really reading or just reciting. But for Joseph it was a big deal. He was really proud, and I made a big deal out of it.
Joseph also made another startling discovery today, the kind generally made by Joseph or his cousin, Chase. We got our first Veggietales video when Ethan was a year old. Since then, they have been a staple for our household, each kid having their particular favorite. So since today is day. . .I don't know. . .of several that are too wet to play outside, and Ethan is home sick, we plugged in our Heroes of the Bible DVD which has a collection of 4 different Veggie Classics. Two thirds of the way through the 4th episode, Joseph suddenly got a very perplexed look on his face.
"MOM!"
"What, Joseph?"
"Larry is a cucumber!"
"Um, yes."
"A talking cucumber."
"Yes."
"Mom, cucumbers don't talk."
Sigh.
The funniest part is that he has watched Veggietales since he was an infant. It never occured to him before. I wonder how long it will take before he realizes the thing that bothered Ethan from day one, the fact that none of the veggies have arms.