bloogs blowing by

Guess the Flower

Guess what kind of flower this is?

Yes, I want to be treated like an individual, but...

The other day for work, I had a meeting/discussion with some people about race and Asian American identity.  I appreciate when people express sentiments along the lines of, "I treat people as individuals."  I want people to see beyond who I am based on my perceived race, gender, sexual orientation etc.

BUT.

It's not like I just want to be an individual.  I don't want my ethnicity to be erased.  I get nervous when people talk about, "Not seeing people the color of their skin," or "I don't care if they're black, white or purple."  Seriously?  In my view, there is a huge huge difference between erasing race and erasing racism.

I mean, honestly, if someone ever equated ending sexism with eliminating gender, wouldn't people flip out? 

For me, being Asian American is one way that I define my community.  I know that communities don't just have to be built along racial lines - it could be your neighborhood, you college, your profession.  I appreciate that my community enables me to connect with people that share experiences with me.

Almost 2 years ago, I met a woman who was attending the same conference that I was.  We met only briefly, but we both had our small children in tow with us.  The fact that we were both mothers, part of the same community and at the same conference connected us.  We've emailed back and forth a bit, and connected online.

This weekend, she came up to Boston for another conference.  She was having a rough week, and I could totally relate to the things that were stressing out.  She and her son came over to our house for about an hour on Friday.  And we connected.  Because we share experiences.  And to me, those are the things that make a community.  And I shudder whenever anyone says something that implies that we should ignore race and ignore the power of connecting with someone who has shared an experience with you.

Is it possible to read to much?

Every once and a while, I'll see a little public service announcement on the back of a library book, or on a cereal box:  "Read to you child for 15 minutes a day!"

HAH.

Today was a work day and a school day, and this is what *I* read with Tae;I'm nearly positive she read  more books at school too. 

before breakfast: Meet the Barkers*, Owen, Bigger Better Best
before school: Sheila Rae the Brave
after school:  Henry's First Moon Birthday
before bed: Owen, Bigger Better Best

and we read some magazines during breakfast and dinner.  And she asked me to read to her during her bath.  [I said no.]

I can't even tell you how much we read when it's not a school/work day.  Reading is consistently one of Tae's favorite things to do.  We read and read and read.  Honestly, the books in our house are the things that get the most use.  And we usually have about 20 books out from the library at any given moment.

We read and read and read, and Tae listens and remembers and remembers.  She's really starting to recognize words now.  It is super cool, and I'm so proud of her... but I also worry.  When she goes to kindergarten in 18 months, is she going to be reading entire books?  I remember reading Beverly Cleary books and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in first grade; it wouldn't surprise me if Tae in kindergarten is reading something of similar difficulty.  But I worry, that when she gets to kindergarten, she'll be a little too ahead of the game in terms of her reading and writing.  Will she be interested enough?  Challenged enough?  Or will she just read more and more and more?

I have thought about introducing a little more tv into our lives, partly for my benefit and partly for Tae's benefit.  So far, the things that she knows about Dora, princesses, WALL-E, etc., have all come from books.  I've thought about shows like Super Why or Ni Hao Kai Lan.  [This might be a little diffiucult, since we have no cable, and no attena on our tv.  I'd probably buy DVDs - less ads.]  But part of me thinks that if Tae and I are home, she's not necessarily going to choose tv over snuggling up with me and reading a book.  And part of me fears that, while it's cool to have a kid's tv show with a young Asian American girl in it, the tv show will just feed in to Kai Lan licensed gummy snacks, cheap toys, and other stuff that I don't want to buy or get sucked in to. 

There is also that part of me that doesn't want Tae to grow up and not feel connected to what other kids know and do.  I, for example, know very very little about all those 80s sitcoms and tv shows, because I didn't watch that much tv as a kid.  Tae only recently started learning more about the characters in Dora.  She's only seen the show once, I think.  I don't even know th scope of what we're not watching. 

I don't know.  But, for now, I know that we love reading; that I love reading to Tae, and that we love discovering new authors and series to enjoy together.

Right now, we're on a big kick of Kevin Henkes and all his little mouse books (Owen, Sheila Rae, the Brave, Chrysanthemum, A Weekend with Wendell).  We always love the Math Start series by Scott Murphy (I swear, Tae picks these all the time!).  *We have also found some books featuring the Barkers, by Tomie de Paola.  it turns out the the Barkers (who are dogs), have twins, and an adopted brother named Marcos.  Marcos speaks Spanish.  That is a little off to me, but oh well.

It makes me think that maybe I should read a little more too. =)

Monday Movies

Monday Movies
Video sent by eliaday

I know this isn't a super exciting video, but seeing Tae ride such a big kid bike is so priceless to me!!

I shouldn't be surprised...

A couple of little nuggets from the day:

-  Recently, Tae has taken to sleeping on the floor.  She's sleeping on a comforter, folder in half like a sleeping bag.  She has a little toddler bed, which is perfectly comfortable if you're a toddler.

Tonight, she explained it all to me.  And suddenly it all made sense.  "Mommy, I like sleeping on the floor because it's big enough for you to snuggle with me."  I had told her in the past that I couldn't stay and snuggle with her in her toddler bed because it was too little for me.  Duh, mommy.

-  Today after school, I discovered some funny scribblings in a notebook that Tae uses during naptime (ie her playtime). 

She told me that these were instructions.  Instructions?!  Then, I found a pile of pen pieces in her bag.  She told me that her pen "fell apart." 

Here are the pen pieces.  She told me it was like a puzzle.  The engineers in my family will be proud.

A very hungry Tae

In the light of the sun, a little girl and her mom got into their car.  When they drove off, POW! there was tons and tons of traffic.  The little girl was hungry, and started to look for some food.

In the first 5 minutes of traffic, she ate half of a small box of corn pops

In the second 5 minutes of traffic, she ate the rest of her pasta from lunch.

In the third 5 minutes of traffic, she are her fruit leather from lunch.

In the fourth 5 minutes of traffic, she ate a third of an apple.

Then, her Momma ran out of food, and started scrounging through the car and through her groceries.  Tae ate a bag of pocky, half a bagel, and tried some yogurt covered raisins.

That night, she was STILL HUNGRY and ate mac and cheese for dinner.  After that, she drank one whole yogurt smoothie and felt much better.

The end.

What Tae says about me

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?

“Please wash your hands after you go potty.”  (Sniff, other people's kids said, "I love you.")

2. What makes Mommy happy?

“When I listen to the rules.”  (Note, she said LISTEN, not follow.)

3. What makes Mommy sad?

“You never feel sad; you always feel happy!” 

4. How does your Mommy make you laugh?

“You tickle me!”

5. What was your Mommy like as a child?

“You were like a little furball of playful toys.”

6. How old is your mom?

“15.”

7. How tall is your mom?

“100 feet long.”

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

“Tickle me!”

9. What does your Mommy do when you're not around?

“You just say, ‘TAE, come here!”  (in a sad voice)

10. If your Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?

“For Tae”

11. What is your Mommy really good at?

“Cartwheels”

12. What is your Mommy not very good at?

“My tricks”

13. What does your Mommy do for a job?

“You work in your office.”

14.What is your Mommy’s favorite food?

“In the whole world?  Spicy food.”

15.What makes you proud of your Mommy?

“She hugs me.”

16. If your Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?

“Just read a book yourself!” (She doesn’t know the word cartoon.)

17. What do you and your Mommy do together?

“Play!”

18. How are you and your Mommy the same?

“We are twins.”

19. How are you and your Mommy different?

“We do different things.”

20. How do you know your Mommy loves you?

“Because you always kiss me.”

21. What does your Mommy like most about your Daddy?

“His job.”

22. Where is your Mommy’s favorite place to go?

“Target.”  (Uh.)

Literal

Today, Tae started her swimming class at the YMCA down the street.  For the past couple of years, we've done gymnastics during the winter, and switched to swimming in the spring.  The YMCA is an easy walk from our house, and swimming is just a bit much for us in the winter.

Tae was excited to be back at the pool, which is really nice.  It has a gradual entrance, which is almost like a beach... ALMOST, kinda.

Today, the main theme was getting the kids comfortable in the water.

The teacher said, "Ok, let's get our heads wet now.  Can you get your hair wet?"

All the kids in the class leaned their heads back in to the water.  Except my daughter.

Tae took some water in her hands and sprinkled it on her hair.  Which got wet.

At least she follows directions.

3rd street

3rd street
Video sent by eliaday

I briefly considered putting out a hat to help finance our trip to California....

Wish you were here!