Nissim stumbles downstairs at 7:15 on Thanksgiving morning, having "slept in" while I got up to make breakfast. He's making some motions towards making coffee. Rose comes around the corner and says in a wee voice, "Daddy? There was one player. And I was the one player. At Candy Land."
"Oh, you played by yourself?"
"Yes." Pause, with the big eyes. "Want to play with meeee?"
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Is it possible she's really a Taurus?
I was washing dishes and the kids were first having a tea party and then (judging by the sounds) flinging the plastic plates around. Then Rose was about to push some of the plates through the gaps between the steps leading to the basement. Jamie knew they'd never be found due to the unpacked boxes under the stairs that create a bottomless toy vortex. So here's the conversation that took place.
Jamie: Don't do it, you won't be able to get them.
Rose: (goes to do it anyway)
Jamie: NO! Don't do it. Don't even THINK about it.
(Pause)
Rose: I'm thinking about it.
Jamie: Don't do it, you won't be able to get them.
Rose: (goes to do it anyway)
Jamie: NO! Don't do it. Don't even THINK about it.
(Pause)
Rose: I'm thinking about it.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Adventures in Central Park
Did you know that there are 21 playgrounds in Central Park? My son J and I visited one of them yesterday. He started kindergarten this past September and I've really been missing him. He gets on the bus at 8:30 and is deposited in the same spot, exhausted, at 4. It's a big change from palling around with him all day. So I decided to use his morning doctor's appointment as an excuse to pull him out for the day. My mom just moved to town, and so she was available to watch J's three-year-old sister R for the day. How lucky are we to have her here? J and I went to his appointment and then hopped a train to the city for the day.
First stop, the American Museum of Natural History. I used to adore this place as a kid- the cavernous gilded lobby, the dark corners filled with beady-eyed stuffed critters, the big blue whale floating over your head. I'd brought J as a toddler, but he was too young then and quickly became overwhelmed and crabby. But now he's five, full of energy and a natural drive for learning. He seeks out and memorizes facts wherever he can find them- books, posters, place mats. And kids who love facts love dinosaurs. I knew he'd be amazed with the giant bones and would soak up the info from the placards, and I wondered what new thing I'd learn. Well, the main thing I learned is that J doesn't give a shit about dinosaurs.
We walked into the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs and I hung back a bit, waiting for the big wow when he saw the massive T-Rex in its menacing crouch. His eyes passed over it without expression. Then he saw a kiosk off to the side. "Ooh, buttons!" I tried getting him into it. "Imagine what it would be like if we were walking next to that guy, and he was ALIVE! He could totally eat us in one bite!!" No dice. He may have been overwhelmed (he does have some sensory issues and gets overloaded at places like this) but I think it's also just not his bag. I thought the elephants might be more appealing -- less abstract, no need to fill in the gaps between dry old bones -- but J was just bored. He trudged along, dutifully looking at whatever I pointed out and then pulling my arm towards the exit. He sensed my disappointment. (Probably not hard to sense, as a sarcastic edge was coming into my voice as I said things like, "So is there anything you'd like to look at in THIS room?") I could see this could only go further downhill, so I took a deep breath, gave up on this particular parenting fantasy, and got J out of there. Good thing I hadn't paid the full suggested admission price. My Aunt who lives in the city taught me that trick. You really can just pay what you feel you can afford, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Next stop was a burger joint for lunch, and meanwhile I searched on my phone for nearby playgrounds. We walked to one in the park called the Adventure Playground, but it was roped off due to preparations for the upcoming NYC Marathon. We had a good time anyway checking out the tents and equipment. It was a gorgeous fall day and the park is always so beautiful just to walk through. Next we hopped a bus up to 100th street. J loved the bus ride -- I remember liking that as a kid too, just moseying along in that slow bus way and looking out the big windows at the city passing by. We found the next playground, the Tarr Family Playground. It has an area for toddlers and one for bigger kids, separated by a footbridge over a "lake" of sand. There's a pyramid with walls you can climb, slides, and a spooky tunnel underneath with a ladder leading to the top. Great climbing structures, a spider web, and a funky geometric rope jungle gym. I hung out and watched him play, and he had a blast. I love the sparkle in his eye when he does something cool like making it to the top of a tricky ladder. He still looks over his shoulder to see if I'm watching when he goes down a slide. On the train ride back, J fell asleep with his head on my shoulder. He's rarely still these days, so it was a treat to be able to look down at his sweet sleeping face, to feel the weight of his little arm resting on my stomach. He looks more like a baby when he's sleeping, and you realize that five isn't so very big after all.
Kids are such good teachers. Next time we'll skip the museum and head straight for the park. It's beautiful, it's free, and we've got 20 playgrounds left to discover.
First stop, the American Museum of Natural History. I used to adore this place as a kid- the cavernous gilded lobby, the dark corners filled with beady-eyed stuffed critters, the big blue whale floating over your head. I'd brought J as a toddler, but he was too young then and quickly became overwhelmed and crabby. But now he's five, full of energy and a natural drive for learning. He seeks out and memorizes facts wherever he can find them- books, posters, place mats. And kids who love facts love dinosaurs. I knew he'd be amazed with the giant bones and would soak up the info from the placards, and I wondered what new thing I'd learn. Well, the main thing I learned is that J doesn't give a shit about dinosaurs.
We walked into the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs and I hung back a bit, waiting for the big wow when he saw the massive T-Rex in its menacing crouch. His eyes passed over it without expression. Then he saw a kiosk off to the side. "Ooh, buttons!" I tried getting him into it. "Imagine what it would be like if we were walking next to that guy, and he was ALIVE! He could totally eat us in one bite!!" No dice. He may have been overwhelmed (he does have some sensory issues and gets overloaded at places like this) but I think it's also just not his bag. I thought the elephants might be more appealing -- less abstract, no need to fill in the gaps between dry old bones -- but J was just bored. He trudged along, dutifully looking at whatever I pointed out and then pulling my arm towards the exit. He sensed my disappointment. (Probably not hard to sense, as a sarcastic edge was coming into my voice as I said things like, "So is there anything you'd like to look at in THIS room?") I could see this could only go further downhill, so I took a deep breath, gave up on this particular parenting fantasy, and got J out of there. Good thing I hadn't paid the full suggested admission price. My Aunt who lives in the city taught me that trick. You really can just pay what you feel you can afford, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Next stop was a burger joint for lunch, and meanwhile I searched on my phone for nearby playgrounds. We walked to one in the park called the Adventure Playground, but it was roped off due to preparations for the upcoming NYC Marathon. We had a good time anyway checking out the tents and equipment. It was a gorgeous fall day and the park is always so beautiful just to walk through. Next we hopped a bus up to 100th street. J loved the bus ride -- I remember liking that as a kid too, just moseying along in that slow bus way and looking out the big windows at the city passing by. We found the next playground, the Tarr Family Playground. It has an area for toddlers and one for bigger kids, separated by a footbridge over a "lake" of sand. There's a pyramid with walls you can climb, slides, and a spooky tunnel underneath with a ladder leading to the top. Great climbing structures, a spider web, and a funky geometric rope jungle gym. I hung out and watched him play, and he had a blast. I love the sparkle in his eye when he does something cool like making it to the top of a tricky ladder. He still looks over his shoulder to see if I'm watching when he goes down a slide. On the train ride back, J fell asleep with his head on my shoulder. He's rarely still these days, so it was a treat to be able to look down at his sweet sleeping face, to feel the weight of his little arm resting on my stomach. He looks more like a baby when he's sleeping, and you realize that five isn't so very big after all.
Kids are such good teachers. Next time we'll skip the museum and head straight for the park. It's beautiful, it's free, and we've got 20 playgrounds left to discover.
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