Friday, December 31, 2010

Fighting

The day after Aunt Liz traumatized Victor regarding the presence of corpses in McDonald's, Victor and Zeke had a fight.

We had just passed a McDonald's.

Zeke: Old McDonald's does not kill me. It only kills Victor.

Victor: No it does not! There are no dead children in McDonald's!


They "discussed" this issue for the rest of the ride.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

A Traumatic Outing

Today, Victor and Zeke went to the mall with Grandma Munk and Aunt Liz.

Victor was hungry.

Victor: Can we go to old McDonald's?

Aunt Liz: Ew, no! That will kill you!

Victor, visibly upset: Old McDonald's does NOT kill children! There are NOT dead children in Old McDonald's!

Victor, shouting, near tears: I will show YOU! I will show you there are no dead children in Old McDonald's!

Liz, to Grandma: I should not have said that.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Big Day

Today was a big day.

First, Jeremy arrived! We've missed him.

Second, Zeke told me that he needed to go potty AND THEN WENT. Amazing.

Third, Victor built his first Lego car. I was so proud of him!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Potty Training, Week 3? 4?

Zeke has been wearing underwear for about three weeks now. I'm trying to take a zen approach. The carpet already looks horrible, which helps. (Obviously, he's not allowed near the couch.)

The thing that motivates Zeke is wearing underwear. The Batman is his favorite. He tells me that Batman is a bad guy until he takes off his mask. Then he is a good guy.

He only volunteers that he needs to go when we are out and about, trying to accomplish something. At home, he doesn't go into the bathroom on his own. Usually, I notice a tiny spot of wetness on his person and escort him to the toilet. If I don't notice in time . . . .

I check him frequently.

He wears Pull-Ups when we go out, and the most reliable hours for staying dry are while he either out or napping.

We're pretty square with #1. Number 2 is a different matter, even though Victor taught him the magic words: "Rrrrrrrrrrrr YAK!"

Zen approach.

Zen.

Approach.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Spoon Update 2

Spoon #6 has surfaced!

It was in a powdered drink container that had not been opened for approximately 14 months.

A Present for Zeke

Zeke's birthday is Christmas Eve.

I have asked him three times what he would like for his birthday.

"A present!" he replies.

"What kind of present?" I ask.

"A red present!"

Today's progress is that he thought of things that are red, such as remote-control Corvettes.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Primary Music Binder

To answer le's question, I only have a Primary Music Binder. If I had a Primary binder I think Victor would react the same way her child does, i.e. collapse in disinterest.

The music binder is where I put songs from the Friend and the "new" songs they learn in Primary each year. (I put new in "" because judging from their copyright notices, most of the songs have previously appeared somewhere.) With the exception of the builder song, I have loved the "new" songs for the past three years. Last year's song, "I Know That My Savior Loves Me" was Victor's favorite/only one he liked.

My friend Kari gave me the idea for a music binder. She has all sorts of fabulous binders.

Monday, December 6, 2010

No More Winkling!

I was just updating my Primary music binder with the song from this month's Friend.

(I am not in Primary right now. Having a Primary music binder is part my attempt to be an involved parent. I'm not sure it qualifies as fun, though.)

"Ah!" I thought. "This would be the perfect time to add the 2011 Primary Program feature/not-in-the-Children's-Songbook song." So I went to the Church website and discovered that it has undergone a makeover.

Despite the makeover, it still took several tries to find what I was looking for.

But once I located the 2011 Primary Sharing Time outline, I found it much improved. Each month has a two-page spread that tells what should be taught each week during Sharing Time and what song will be taught that month. Brilliant!

Now if I want to know what Victor learned in Sharing Time, I won't have to winkle it out of him. I can just look!

(The 2011 song, in case you are wondering, is a nice Sally deFord piece called "If I Listen with My Heart."

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Victor's Future, expanded plan

I've mentioned that Victor plans to marry "Gwendolyn," who is in our ward and who lives next door. He truly loves her.

He also plans to have three children: Gwendolyn, Evan, and a third who has sometimes been called James.

The family will live in a red brick house that has an upstairs.

Victor will drive a red pickup truck.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Alarming Incident

I was looking at pie recipes on Liz's website today when I heard Zeke say, "Bye-bye, poop!"

Then the toilet flushed.

As I thought it was unlikely that he had actually used the toilet, I sprang from my chair and rushed into the bathroom. Zeke was standing, proud as punch, next to the toilet.

"Mommy! I had an accident! I had an accident!" he cheerfully proclaimed. Then he proudly showed me how he had emptied his underwear into the toilet and washed it out in the sink. By some miracle, he had actually managed to clean up his mess.

He was very proud.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Atlanta Housing Authority

I am interested in reading about social problems and how different cities, states, and countries work to resolve them.

Today I read an interesting article in City Journal (thanks to The Weekly Standard for the link) about the Atlanta Housing Authority and its director, Renee Glover. It is called Atlanta's Public-Housing Revolution, by Howard Husock, and it is very interesting.