CheekyMonkey

QotD: It's Monday Already?

nobody@vox.com(cheekymonkey) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:24:46 -0700

What was the best thing about your weekend?

Well, for starters, I was treated to an unexpected long weekend. There was a construction mishap that knocked out the chilled water supply that is used to cool various buildings from the White River Park area to the IUPUI campus. Due to the outage, my office building decided to close on Friday. This has left me a little out of synch, but oh well.

The best thing about my weekend was undoubtedly being reunited with my family. When Maria emerged from her Grandpa's car, she threw her arms around my neck and stayed there for about an hour. On Thursday evening, she started struggling with a virus that left her with a slight fever but no other apparent symptoms, so her weekend was fairly low key. She didn't even ask to play outside until Sunday.

On Saturday morning, I slipped out of the house to get my hair chopped, and now I want to write my stylist a thank you note for restoring my sanity. And there is a lovely young lady in Canada who doesn't even know me, but thanks to her Flickr photos, I was able to adequately demonstrate just how I wanted my hair cut. This is no easy task. Just ask G, who suffers through my hair anxiety and the countless silly hair style magazines that show up on our coffee table.

Also on Saturday, I took Maria out to rent a movie to watch while convalescing. It has been years since I've stepped foot inside a movie rental store. Were they always this obnoxious? Did I just not realize it? On televisions mounted above our heads, an endless loop of movie trailers played at a ridiculous volume. I couldn't even hear myself think. Oh! And the candy! Why oh why is there so much candy? While I was signing up for my Movie Gallery account, Maria was standing eye-to-eye with a candy display that was insane in its abundance. Thankfully, she didn't notice the Mike and Ike's or else I think there would have been an intense battle right there in front of the Spiderman suckers.

Then, we went to our newest local grocery store, Fresh Market, which is unique for its roof-top parking. It was okay. No, actually, it was not okay. Everything about it seemed so contrived. I mean, of course I don't go to the grocery store looking for some sort of personal enrichment, but I do sort of take offense when I'm feeling manipulated into spending 20% more for something just because it is presented under upscale lighting fixtures while classical music blasts through the speaker system. I might someday give Fresh Market another try, but for now I'll stick to Trader Joe's.

Another great thing about Saturday? I got to tip a cold one with NRLois, who presented me with a sweet little surprise!

Sunday was sort of lazy. We were all tired. Maria's Grandpa from Richmond stopped by for a while, and then we rode bikes to the playground at Broad Ripple Park where I took advantage of the gravel running trail. Actually, I guess it is more accurately a "fitness trail," since there are little obstacle and exercise stations all along the trail. I don't think I'll ever be able to do a chin up, but I always gotta try! By the way, that inclined sit up thing? Ouch!

After we got home from the playground, Maria was hanging outside with G while I made dinner. At some point I noticed it got verrrry quiet. I went outside to check on things, and Maria was asleep, lying on a blanket with a beach towel over her! So, that was another great thing about the weekend, I guess. No bedtime battles to contend with.

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Teacher of the Year

nobody@vox.com(cheekymonkey) — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:52:11 -0700

I don't even know this guy, but I'm so glad he was named Teacher of the Year for Indianapolis Public Schools!

Llamas!

We live in that strange part of Indianapolis that is Washington Township, but is in the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) zone. IPS doesn't have the greatest reputation whereas Washington Township schools are considered to be excellent.

So, in weighing our school options for Maria, we have looked at (a) private schools (expensive!); (b) moving (not really an option); and (c) the IPS Magnet schools, the Center for Inquiry being one of them. There are two Centers for Inquiry and the one that corresponds to our address is not the same CFI where this teacher works, but this still gives me reason for optimism.

Last year, Heiter was selected for a teaching trip to Honduras and involved his students in the lessons. They created artwork related to Honduras that he then took there. He also wrote a blog so they could track his journey.

To teach students last week to conjugate the Spanish verb for "to jump," he brought a pogo stick to class. For lessons on Peru, he brought llamas -- yes, real llamas.

Heiter said he thrives at the Center for Inquiry, where students are encouraged to learn through questioning and exploring the world.

"It's what I live for," he said. "Eyes that open and minds that ask. That's what every teacher loves."

Amen, Mr. Heiter! Amen!

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Choices

nobody@vox.com(cheekymonkey) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:32:44 -0700

Dear Barack Obama:

Will you please promise me that you will have a rally in Indianapolis, so that I don't have to kick myself for not going down to Bloomington tonight for the rest of my life?

I just don't think my wee one will handle the one-hour drive and the waiting in line very well. And, we are already scheduled to help out at your Washington Township Volunteer office tonight.

So, please ... pretty please with organic cherries on top ... will you come to Indy??!! (Except not this Sunday - we have to go to a birthday party ... with ponies!). There are many accommodating spaces downtown (e.g., nobody is using Conseco Fieldhouse these days), and the high school down the street from me has a nice gym!

Signed,

Maria's Mama for Obama

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You've Come a Long Way, Baby?

nobody@vox.com(cheekymonkey) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:39:48 -0700

Well, so much for female empowerment! According to this article, the goal of some is to feed little girls' insecurities so that they'll shovel money into their local hair salons!

A snippet:

In his seminars, [Goodman] now addresses how to market to preteens and even discusses how to keep them entertained in the chair (a wireless laptop or DVD player). “I tell stylists to get more involved in school and community events to reach out to these younger girls,” he said, adding, “they may not want to think in those terms, but these girls are our future business.”

So, add another category to my constantly expanding list of parenting anxieties ... Not only do I need to worry about schools brimming with junk food, sugary beverages, Channel One and standardized tests. But now my daughter is going to come home from elementary school one day and ask for highlights?

Too Young for Highlights

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Portrait

nobody@vox.com(cheekymonkey) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:49:26 -0700

Last night Maria drew this picture of me:

Mommy

Dudes! It's like I'm looking in a MIRROR!

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Confessions of a "Hoverer"

nobody@vox.com(cheekymonkey) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:28:52 -0700

Like most kids, Maria loves to go to playgrounds. One day, she picked up this book in the back seat of my car and pretended to read it to me. "It says, 'Go to the playground!'" she said. (Pretty clever - if not omniscient - of her to invoke the Dalai Lama in her quest to go to the playground).

When Maria first started going to playgrounds, I confess, it was a terrifying experience for me. My instinct was to follow her everywhere, to hold onto her as she climbed every rung up the ladder to the slide, to be right there to catch her just in case she slipped and fell. According to MetroDad, I was a Hoverer. My husband, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He was much more relaxed about it. He would constantly urge me to let her do things on her own, that it helped her build confidence, and he was right. But it’s so hard for a mom to do that since, from the date of conception, that little being has been reliant on you for everything. You’ve nurtured this little person from a mass of cells into a curious, walking, climbing toddler and it’s hard to sit back, take inventory of each and every potential danger and not spring into action to protect your child. I mean, until then, your role in your child’s life has been all about protection. That’s why we don’t drink alcohol or eat raw fish or soft cheeses during pregnancy. That’s why we put impossible contraptions on our cabinets, plug up all of our electrical outlets and barricade the stairs to the basement! Right? It's the most natural of instincts: protecting our young.

These days, I’m not so clingy with Maria on the playgrounds, but there are times that I’ve had to restrain myself when other kids are pushing and shoving their way past others or when they just somehow seem unkind. When I notice any type of aggression from other kids, this raises a different red flag. And again, my hovering instincts burn hot.

There was a big period of my childhood during which I was apparently good fodder for the neighborhood bullies. Older neighbor girls would say horrible things to me and I would simply cower instead of responding with a sharp retort or a kick to their shins. It’s hard to say why I was so meek, but in raising my daughter I think about this a lot. I wonder about how to bully-proof her, to fill her with self confidence so that she doesn’t suffer the self-doubt, stress and self-loathing that I experienced when I was young and so ripe for bullying. And then today, I read this article on spiked-online, and - whoa! It hadn't occurred to me before, but as the hovering parent, am I actually turning my daughter into a prime bully target? So, with the Internet as my witness, let it be known that effective September 17, 2007, I hereby relinquish my title as Worrius Protectus. I shall not hover again!

climbing

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