Verbal Clutter

Our students evaluated each others' group projects and one person kept saying the presentations were full of verbal clutter. Does that mean there were too many verbs?

We're having some verbal issues of our own at home - mostly involving Jacob. He has developed two (annoying) habits. The first is to ask a question and then tell you what you are supposed to say in response.

J: Do you like it? Allison, say, 'Yes, I like it.'
J: Can I have a snack? Mom, say, "you can have a snack Jacob."
J: Here's your toy. Allison, say, "Thank you."

I think it bothers Brian and I more than Allison. Allison simply says whatever Jacob suggests. I think this leads simply to more suggestions. It's a positive feedback cycle.

The second issue is that Jacob has adopted the "northern" accent and language tendencies much more than Allison. Asking for the "bubbler" was kindof cute, but now he says many phrases followed by "don't cha know?" On a similar note - Allison briefly picked up the Sarah Palin "You betcha," but we finally traced that back to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (thank goodness!).

Happy Birthday Allison

Allison turned 7 this week! She had a great day. She loved her gifts - dress, toys, purse, and nail polish. She really liked the Raven costume (see below). Jacob gave Allison a barbie and a hotwheel car. Brian had to talk to him a little about giving a gift for the recipient, though Jacob had a solid argument that if Allison had a hotwheel then they could play together.

Blizzard

Where do we start?


Pictures from our snow earlier this week.

The limit of my altruism

Yesterday, we shoveled ourselves out of the blizzard snows. It took us until about 2pm. We borrowed a snowblower from our neighbor to handle the 12 inches of snowfall. I still took 3 hours of work. Too bad it's too fricking cold to enjoy it today.

By afternoon, things were looking better and Allison and I headed to Walmart at 4pm for our shift at Salvation Army bell-ringing. The booth was supposed to be heated, but the heater wasn't working. Also, the booth was facing directly into the wind. At first, Allison was very excited. She rang and rang and sang Jingle Bells. That lasted approximately 10 minutes of the two hours.

We passed the time, and let me say that Walmart blizzard shoppers are not the most generous shoppers ever. Although one woman was so nice, she went to her car and returned with stickers for Allison to have after her shift.

About 40 minutes in and the sun went down, the wind picked up, and it started to snow. The manager of Walmart got our heater working, but it was too little, too late. We slugged it out until we got to an hour - and then had to call it quits. I feel a little badly for not making it the whole time, but we did bell ring for an hour in a blizzard. Apparently, I found the limit of our altruism.

Holiday Magic

Allison had her holiday concert tonight. It was very cute. They held it at the high school. It was sandwiched between the light snow of the afternoon and the blizzard that's expected tonight.

There were four groups - grades 1, 2, 3 and the older choir. Allison will happily sing you three of the four songs that the 1st grade performed. She did a great job at the concert too!

Classic Conversation

Me: Allison, don't wipe your nose on my pillow!

Allison: But Mom, it's not in the middle, just over here on the side.

Counting Down the Days

I am counting down the days until the end of the semester.

The kids are counting down the days until Christmas.

Brian is not counting down the days until the Alcan / Bemis sale closes - primarily because he has no idea when (if?) it will be.

The kids have two ways to celebrate the advent (a.k.a. counting down) season. First, they have the advent Santa made by Grandma Sue, which they get to hang felt ornaments on every day. So far, they have been remarkably good at taking turns - probably because they are too young to do the math to figure out which one gets to hang the LAST ornament - which is of course the 'best' one.

Secondly, we got them these little Playmobile advent calendars. We did this last year and the kids had a lot of fun with it. Each day they pull a little box off the poster and it contains a small piece of a playmobile set. Allison's is Santa woods and Jacob's is knights. Some boxes have really neat things in them - like a deer, or a treasure chest. Some days are less exciting (yesterday, Allison got two small leaves in hers - presumably to "feed" the as-yet-undiscovered deer). But the kids open each with enthusiasm. "Wow - look at this... this... what is this Mom?" "A tree stump." "A tree stump!! WOW!"

I hope, hope, hope that the kids hold on to that exuberance for a long time. To soon, we find ourselves with a smile on our face saying "oh thanks for that American flag shaped candle holder lamp, I know just where I can put it." But not yet, and maybe (hopefully) not ever.