a rugs life

I’m not sure what to write about. There are so many big changes going on.

I could talk about this freshly minted six year old, just 6 days ago, and how much she is enjoying her seniority, being the oldest (though not tallest) in her daycare, and the one who knows the answers.  

I could talk about her first big party, her 6th birthday celebration, which was a huge success with her contemporaries.

I could talk about how she is taking charge of her medication, and how she manages all details and procedures.

I could talk about her new fascination with underwater experimentation, both in ponds and beaches as well as her own bathtub.

I could talk about her taking complete responsibility for Niri Pinky Ming and how she handles table clearing at all meals. She dresses herself and puts her dirty clothes in the appropriate place, and can fasten most snaps and zippers on her own.

But I should probably talk about the imminent start of kindergarten and of her new school, with uniforms, lunch programs, parent/teacher organizations and new friendly faces. 

She looks like she’s ready for the big K. I’m not sure I am, but she is. The big day is Sept 5th. Please wish her and us luck. 

These photos, just in, were taken by Jane’s dad. They’re from Casey’s birthday party in July.

Rada and Jane loved going on the water slide at the party.

They went over and over again, probably twenty times. They took a break and had a snack, and then went back and did it some more.

Many people went on the slide, including grown-up party guests like moms and dads. It was one of those hot July days, and the slide was a cool drink of water for your whole body, refreshing, silly, and fun.

or The Battle of the Plurals 

I have to hand it to my daughter. She may be fighting a losing battle with grammar, but she’s giving it her best shot.

According to her, there is a gaggle of gooses in our house and one of them is a geese by the name of Goose.  I tried to suggest otherwise, but she would have none of it. And anyway, what do I know? I’m simply a grown-up who’s been speaking English longer than I care to remember.

But my daughter, well, she is on her way to kindergarten and will soon know practically everything there is to know, if she doesnt already know it now.

I’m taking a philosophical view of the situation. Last week we read a book about an octipus and his family of octipi. This elicited no comment from my daughter. Maybe she has been mulling it over, or maybe she’s in denial. Either way, kindergarten is looming on the horizon, with reading, writing, and plenty of grammar police. I will no longer be a voice crying out in the wilderness.

My daughter must take medicine without fail for 9 months. It is a half a pill in the morning and a tablespoon of syrup at night. The nurse-practitioner stressed how important it was to not miss a single dose.

The pill procedure is going well. My daughter splits the pill with her pill-splitter and I crush it and mix it into orange juice.

The syrup, however, is another matter. I tasted it; it is sweet in a cloying chemical sort of way, and my daughter has been having a hard time with it.

The first night, she took little sips of the syrup which she chased with water. It took a long time to get it all down and she really hated each sip.

The second night I encouraged her to gulp the whole tablespoon at once, but she took little sips again, which she chased with her favorite yogurt drink. This was a little better than water.

Last night, the third night, I put the syrup in her little cup, got her drinkable yogurt ready, and prepared myself for another night of ’sipping’.

I turned to the sink for the moment and when I turned back she had downed all the syrup in one gulp. I was so proud of her! What a brave girl.  It was a very grownup thing she did: to decide to get through the unpleasant thing quickly.

Although my camera got waterlogged, its memory card was ok and the photos from our recent trip to Storyland were salvaged, thanks to Tom’s intrepid efforts (and if anyone has any ideas on how to go about purchasing a servicable, reasonably priced digital camera, please feel free to share your thoughts).

Anyway, here is Rada on the carousel and the train:

Rada, Emilie and Zachary in the ball crawl:

Rock climbing at Gene and Kay’s house:

and relaxing in the hammock.

What I most remember about the weekend was wanting it to last longer. I also liked watching the kids play together. There is something extremely relaxing and satisfying about watching your child playing with other children.

This is the homepage for my daughter’s daycare:

And there’s Rada making a block castle.

If you go the the center’s main page here, and keep pressing the refresh button, it will cycle around to her picture.

After months of anticipation Rada and I finally visited Storyland, the ‘Disney World of the Northeast’. (though comparing Storyland to Disney World is like comparing ballet to disco.) 

The 3 hour drive was grueling, but Storyland was a delight. There was Humpty Dumpty, Mother Goose, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Little Red Riding Hood, and more. I kept saying to myself, ‘this is a literary experience’. Visitors could actually talk to the little old woman who lived in a shoe. She was sitting in the shoe, happy to chat about all her children. There were fun things to climb on, and animals to look at. The only casuality of the weekend was my camera which sustained water damage (in an embarrasing incident which will not be related here) so there are no photos to post. Instead, I will steal liberally from other websites.

The highlights of the day were the carousel:

The whiriling teacups:

Riding on the ferris wheel:

and finally…. meeting Cinderella in her castle. The ‘castle’ had turrets and moats on the outside and a ballroom inside. A young woman dressed as Cinderalla greeted visitors and invited children to sit on the throne at the head of the hall (while parents took pictures). The walls of the ballroom were lined with mirrors and fake gold trim and there was dancing music in the background. Permeating this elegance was the faint aroma of diapers and baby poop. It was charming.

For me, one of the nicest things about Storyland was the lack of lines. It was possible to spend a entire day in the park without waiting in line for more than 5-10 minutes. And this was a Saturday in July. To be sure the popular rides had long lines, but there were so many other things to do, it was easy to pass them by.

After Storyland, we rounded out the weekend with a dunk in Echo Lake:

and a trip to the Hartmann model Train Museum:

where Rada, Emilie and Zachary ran Thomas and Percy on their tracks and then took a train ride around the museum.

It was a fine pilgrimage.