Davidball

David loves baseball.

I say that sometimes and I get an, "Oh, that's nice" response.

Maybe if I write it in caps ...

David LOVES baseball.

We will play for hours in the backyard -- sometimes he'll just "work" on something specific: bunting, sliding, hitting from both sides of the plate, pitching. And sometimes we will play "real" games.

Now, he may love (LOVE) baseball, but he's also only 5.

And he understands the rules enough to manipulate them to his advantage so he doesn't lose.

He gets 100 balls and 100 strikes.

A recent game score: Me - 1, Him - 119

If he hits the ball in the shed, it counts for 5 points.

There is no such things as a foul, unless I am at bat.

I have to simultaneously touch him and the base for it to be an out.

If he slides into second, he is automatically safe.

It always reminds me of Calvinball from Calvin and Hobbes -- You never know when the rules are going to change. Or what the new rules will be.

(neat fact: David's middle name was to be Hobbes, after the tiger, until I mentioned it to people near the end of my pregnancy and everyone told me how much they hated it. Never tell hormonal, pregnant women that you hate anything.)

Which is why Kate and her magic wand (a stick she "swish-de-swooshes" to turn it magical) fits in so nicely too. And makes Davidball even more interesting.

If Kate uses her magic wand on the ball, it is an automatic home run.

If she is holding her magic wand, she can go from first to third.

If she "swish-de-swooshes" the ball with her wand while the pitcher is holding it, it is an automatic strike.

Magic Kate will occasionally "steal" bases (here meaning literally pick them up and run with them).

Davidball is actually really fun.

(and how I will be spending my summer)

Mother's Day

Some things I love about my mom, in honor of Mother's Day:

(look, sorry about this, but, I am really into numbered lists lately)

1. Her vast knowledge of show tunes. And, her ability to sing them at the oddest moments.

It is a gift I am passing on to my own children - Kate in the bath will occasionally break out into "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair ... "

2. I tease her a bit about this, but she is one of my biggest fans. Always quick with compliments and support - that I usually tell her is part of her job description as mom. (but, I'll let you in on a bit of a secret ... as a mom, I now know we compliment and support because we really do mean it)

3. Always accepting .... I became a vegetarian at 14, I think in a way to rebel a bit - my mothers response was that we should all eat a bit healthier. I don't think dyeing my hair pink got any sort of a negative response. Neither did tattoos.

4. She is confident in who she is as a person. It's refreshing. And, was a fantastic model growing up and still as an adult.

5. She's a friend. Someone I can talk to and laugh with.

And, really, who could ask for anything more?

a numbered list

Some things I have learned as a parent:

1. Peanut butter and jelly tastes much better when served with a spoon of peanut butter. As do apples, bananas, waffles, cereal and pretzels.

2. The cookie club at Wegmans may be the best thing that Wegmans has ever come up with. Ever.

3. Biggest pet peeves: having to ask my children a million times to do something AND markers missing tops.

4. There is a bedtime "window" - missing it is serious trouble.

5. shower + kids watching tv show = 5 minutes of peace and quiet

6. I can't fix everything. Although I really would like to be able to some days.

7. No matter how great of an idea I think I have for a project to do with the kids - it will probably not go as planned. Best to not have a plan.

8. Teletubbies is some weird shit.

9. As crazy as they occasionally make me, as much as I sometimes need just need 5 minutes to myself - I will always respond when they call "mom" (even at 2 am) because they need me and I am their mom.

10. Nothing (nothing) sounds as good as David & Kate laughing.

Moooo

In the car on the way home from Mike's parents last night ...

David: "okay Mom, you have to speed up to 40mph"
me: Thank you David

I take a right hand turn

David: "Oh. Mom. I think ... yeah, you have to speed down to 35. I think you are going 40."
me: Thank you David

I take a left hand turn

David: "You can speed up to 40 now."
me: Thank you David

I take a right hand turn

David: "Oh. Mom. Yup. You have to speed down to 35 now. You're still going 40."
me: Thank you David

We have a GPS that I will occasionally set to notify Mike or I when we are speeding by mooing (yes, mooing - like a cow).

It's funny. And regulatory. And a bit annoying.

Switching to a 36 hour day

So.
I am thinking about switching to a 36 hour day.
I think it's the only way to go.

There are currently 2 loads of laundry in the kitchen waiting to be folded
Clothes in the washer (that should probably be washed again because I am not sure how long they have been sitting there)
Dishwasher to be emptied
Bathroom is primed, still needs to be painted (and put back together)
Kate emptied her dresser of clothes today in anticipation of getting out summer clothes

sigh

and all other stuff ...

cleaning up dinner, getting kids baths, picking up toys, sweeping the sand off the floor (after Kate gave herself a sand-shower today),

Okay, okay. So, I am currently on the computer, wasting precious minutes out of my measly 24 hour day. Did I mention that we spent the day outside (wasting more minutes)? Kate made sun-angels and gave herself sand showers. David and I played baseball.

right ...
So. It's settled. 36 hours in a day.
Just give me 36 hours so I can get it all done
and manage 5 minutes for myself.

fences make good neighbors

Our neighbor across the street may have passed away.

I think he had been sick, but to be honest I don't really know.

There had been signs of "something" going on

We live on a fairly busy road

Which we chose primarily for the privacy

And our huge backyard

I grew up in a cookie cutter development in suburbia
We always left our garage door unlocked

Because everyone knew everyone

We could sit on our deck and see the neighborhood
(and the neighborhood could see us)

But ...

I could ride my bike anywhere I wanted in my development,
I just had to step outside to find other kids to hang out with

And there was always something sort of comforting about entering a home that looked sort of like your own

I fell once while working and fractured my wrist. My parents weren't home at the time, so I went to my neighbor - who was a nurse. She took me for X-Rays.

You always knew what was going on in the neighborhood
the good and the bad
(because everyone knew everyone)

You definitely knew when someone passed away

And, that is difference

(Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
from Mending Wall by Robert Frost)

post-apocolyptic feminism revisited

While watching the Butler - VCU game last night, Kate asked me "What sports do girls play?"

Well, they can play all the same sports that boys do, we just don't usually watch them ...

I said the statement as fact and then realized that maybe I should have thought of a way to say that a bit better. Because, of course, Kate's next question was ...

"Why?"

(There's a family guy scene where Peter is mocking women's basketball. I forget what the actual episode is about. They flash to a women's basketball game, one of the announcers is commenting about the strain on the players bodies and another wonders if it's worth the $7,000 a year she commands. "You would have to ask the fan." The one fan in the stands cheers.)

"I don't know Kate."

We watch baseball, basketball, soccer on tv - but, only mens. The simplest conclusion must be that women don't play sports.

I forget sometimes how the world must look to her and David.
I started thinking about the broader picture, of girls and boys, of choices and perceptions ...

And so - I don't know.

(My first job out of college was at a consulting firm. At the time I was hired, another female engineer was hired as well. That brought the total number of female engineers of the firm of about 50 to 2.)

I don't know that the world will change much in a generation.
The simplest conclusion, is, well that reality is a bit more complex.

I hope I can instill in Kate that there is nothing she can't do.
Whether she has one fan or many.


Update:

We watched the Western New York Flash take on the Boston Breakers on Sunday.
When the game first came on, Kate was amazed.
"It's glrls! Glrls are playing!"
She could have cared less about the game though.
She could really care less about watching most sports on tv.
David thought it was great though -- it was soccer and it didn't really matter who was playing.