Some Sun

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES: This morning, our 'brand new' (bought at a resale store for $16) XBox started acting up. I don't really blame the machine, however. It only started happening after the kids inserted a used game disk they bought into the machine. Turns out the disk had something like a taco salad on the bottom, and it munged the Xbox's optical reader all up. Thankfully, Christian has no fear when it comes to ripping computer-y things open, so he disassembled the XBox. While the box was open, we took the opportunity to show the kids its innards and point out major components. Interesting stuff - and I think it's great for the kids to know it's not just some magic box they plug in and play. It works because of all these tiny parts inside, carefully assembled. The good news is, after Christian cleaned it out and it's back to working just fine. Hooray! In sorta related news, last Friday afternoon we received a call from the Microsoft Playtest Group. They were looking for kids 4-6 to be game testers, and Annabelle fits the bill. (A couple weeks previously, I'd sent in forms offering up CJ's and Annabelle's services after happening upon their Web site.) So this Thursday afternoon we'll be heading to the Microsoft campus in Redmond to test drive some software. Should be interesting. ...

BLOWING STUFF UP: We conducted a short, simple science experiment today, torn from the pages of "Explosive Reactions," a Scholastic book. It involved white vinegar, baking soda, and a Ziploc bag. Simple. I had CJ and Annabelle read through all of the steps before we attempted any of them. That way, they were prepped when it came time to mix the 'explosive' ingredients. CJ's job was to drop the tablespoon of baking soda encased in a toilet paper pouch into the baggie. Annabelle had the slightly more dicey job of sealing the Ziploc and then getting away before the 'explosive' reaction took place. As she was sealing it, she was also screaming, "Get away! Get away!" certain that CJ was in imminent danger. Fortunately, no lives or limbs were lost. Also unfortunately, the 'explosion' was a little bit underwhelming. Really, the book overhyped the expected effect. That's stupid, because then instead of being wowed, the kids are like, "Meh."

D.E.A.R.: Just this weekend, Christian and I were talking about how we want to make sure we build time into each day for the kids to read. I told him that when Rick and Ken were in elementary school, I remembered a program called "Drop Everything and Read." It was exactly what it sounds like; At some appointed time every day, kids would stop what they were doing and read anything of their choosing.

I told Christian I wanted to replicate that. And even though I didn't tell the kids that, apparently they got the signal, for at one point today, for about a 20 minute stretch, they both wound up on the couch reading just for the fun/enrichment of it. And now that I think about it, we have probably been doing D.E.A.R. forever, but just not formally.

CALLED UP: Today was the last day of winter session of ballet classes. That means we got to sit in on the class and watch.

Before class this afternoon, the teacher told Christian and me that she wanted to talk to us after class. I told Christian, "OMG, I feel like we've just been called to the principal's office!" :0

We nervously (kidding) sat through class and afterward the ballet teacher spent some time explaining to us and one other parent that there is a 5-deep waitlist for the class that Annabelle is in, and in order to give some of those kids a chance, she was thinking about moving up two of the kids in Bee's group, one being Annabelle.

The teacher explained it would mean a little bit bigger commitment time and $ wise, and that Annabelle would have to commit to being in a recital come June. She also said that she thought Annabelle would benefit from being "challenged a bit more" by the older students. At that, we turned to Annabelle and asked her what she thought.

Her response: "Huh what?"

For, you see, while we were talking (no doubt in her ears sounding like the adults in Peanuts cartoons - wah wah wah wah wah), she had become engrossed in a book about artificial intelligence. I couldn't help but laugh. I mean seriously, that is exactly why she should move up to the next class.

Here are some pix from today's session. ...

DOWN TO THE SOUND: It just so happened that low tide today was about an hour after the ballet class' conclusion. That being the case, we decided to head down to the Sound and do a bit of exploring.

We went back to the spot the kids and I visited when we all had the flu a couple of weeks ago. What a difference a few days make!

As we approached the beach, the first thing Christian and I spotted was a huge ol' computer monitor perched on some driftwood. "WTH?" we thought. Why would someone dispose of that there? Just a couple of seconds later we both struck upon the idea that it had to be for a photo shoot. It was just too 'placed,' and too much trouble. And then just a couple seconds beyond that, we saw a photographer with his camera set up on a portable dolly.And when we headed west along the shoreline, I couldn't believe my eyes about 50 yards into our trek. There was an ENORMOUS landslide blocking the beach. HUNDREDS of cubic yards of debris had broken away from about a 150-foot sheer cliff and tumbled down onto the beach.All of the rocks and tree debris behind the kids wasn't there just a couple of weeks ago. So what was a pretty casual stroll along the beach has turned into a clambering/crawling hike. OH AND: If you haven't yet today, please vote for "Sesame Peeps." Just click on the link to the right of the daily blog entry. HUGE prizes and prestige are at stake. ;)