It wasn't a dream!

The Dems actually did take back the House and Senate!

Well, it actually wasn't raining today when I woke up...at 10:00. In all fairness, Joey kept me up with his snoring for a good portion of the night. As soon as I got up, I had to rush and get ready for a Mothering playdate. This entailed rushing Tania and her friend, who were deep in play and operating according a schedule. See picture. They even factored in time to jump on the bed. Well, I actually had to wake Talula up at 11:00, because she was still sleeping!

The playdate was fun. It was in the NE area, way east (to me). It's always so nice to be around Mothering moms, because you can just whip out your boob and it's no biggie. Well, mine are never a biggie, but you get my drift. And it's so fun to see a bunch of babies crawling around and playing together. There were some big kids too that Tania got to play with, but mostly, she hovered around the snack table.

Even the bus ride back was fun! We got to catch the MAX from way out in the Parkrose area to Lloyd Center. It's reall cool to whiz past the freeways during rush hour.

Joey had a field trip today. They went to a cabinet place and then to a specialty wood store. He was home before we left for the playdate, and he brought a friend and six-pack number one with him. By the time I got back, Stumbleina was in full effect.

Tania demanded that we take her to the park since it was finally sunny. We ended up going over to her friend's house, whose parents we have befriended, and watching a movie called "A Day Without A Mexican." It was sort of a funny satire about how much USA actually depends on Mexicans. Joey thinks the acting was horrendous.

We came home and ate nachos, prepared by Joey. And we have been drinking Deschutes Brewery Jubelale, A Festive Winter Ale. It's pretty good. I like the picture on the front. It's a cabin all covered in snow.

Us girls took a warm bath. Talula loves to splash around and Tania has figured out how to make her chuckle by making loud sharp noises. It's hilarious.

Now we're all sitting in our room singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat.' Seriously. In medley format.

Hooray, Democrats!!!

I woke up this morning and it was not raining! I think it may have stopped raining for a brief moment in time because the Democrats took back the House. YESSS!!! Hooray for Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the House! (Even though it is 2006.) And I'm pretty sure they're taking back the Senate too. I can't believe it.

The Democrats also did well in Oregon. The governor was re-elected, thank God. His challengers were that bastard Saxton, who aside from being a Republican, also spouts the importance of the public schools, blah, blah, blah, but rented an apartment in the good district so his son could go to school there; and, that freak Mary Starrlett, of the "Constitutional Party," whatever that means, since she wants to take away rights, not defend them. She's one of those weirdos who believes that environmental problems are caused by the end times, and not by pollution and overconsumption. Blech!

Also, I was sooooo stoked that Hawaii Senator Akaka kept his seat and that Mazie Hirono got Ed Case's old House seat. Sucker! Ed Case gave up his seat to challenge Akaka and he lost! He's one of those pretend Democrats that curiously has mostly Republican values, and I can't stand the man! I wrote him a letter once in his capacity as House Representative, asking him to vote in favor of a bill that would protect children placed in private institutions. He wrote back saying he would vote in favor of the bill, but he didn't. I've despised him ever since. He should have at least said he'd look into it or something like that, not told me he would and them gone back on his word.

And that's what I have to say about politics today.

Oh! But in Oregon, we voted NO on a bill that would require minors to notify parents before getting abortions. I'm really happy about that. And...the good people of South Dakota voted NO to the abortion ban. And!!! The good people of Arizona voted NO on the gay marriage ban! But...several states still voted to ban gay marriage.

So. It's a good day for Democrats and women's rights, but a mostly bad day for gay Americans. But with more Democrats in the House and Senate, the chances are better that the Federal Marriage Amendment won't pass.

Now. On to other things.

MUST mail out resume and paper to bar people!
MUST clean house!
MUST take Tania to the park today!
MUST make thank you cards.
I want to eat tacos tonight.
Thank you cards. Must do that right now.

Our day:

We woke up around 8:30 this morning. Yay, us! Talula screamed at her toys for a bit. I told her that when your friends make you mad, you don't have to scream at them. Just don't play with them anymore, and find someone else to play with.

Since we went to New Seasons yesterday, we had a smorgasbord of cereals for Tania to eat, so she tried them all out. There's a peanut butter flavored one that's quite delicious.

I sat and cheered at the computer for a while about all the Democrat wins. I swear, I had a skip in my step and a smile on my face all day long. Then I made some pretty cute cards. Aren't they adorable? They're big though. I need to get big envelopes so I can mail them. Tania's being Miss Half-Ass about writing in the ones for her friends. She basically writes, "Hi. Bye." After all my hard work.

Joey came home with some beer to celebrate the big Democrat win, and we ate tuna-cheesemelts.

Then it started raining again! Tania thought there was some sort of conspiracy to keep her away from the park.

But we called her friend to come over, and now she's spending the night here. It turns out that they don't have school tomorrow. Maybe the teachers are celebrating the FRIGGIN' DEMOCRATIC TAKEOVER!!!

Still freakin' pouring!

It was still raining when I woke up, and hard. Apparently, this is not normal for November in Oregon, and there has been a lot of flooding and landslides because of it.

So we were stuck at home...again.

We decided to make forts today. And thank you cards for some people. We still need to do that.

Yesterday, we made some napkin rings. We decorated construction paper and glued it around an inch section of a toilet paper tube and then glued a leaf to the front. They're cute, if I do say so myself.

We thought we'd have to send Joey to the store to buy groceries today because of the rain. But, behold, the rain stopped, and we were able to take a walk to New Seasons. I even saw some blue sky. I think I get depressed if I don't go to New Seasons for a while. Our walk was lovely. Tania splashed in some puddles. We stared at some leaves. Joey and I got to talk.

I said that I would write more about the job for which I am applying. It's with Legal Aid. It's part-time. It would be great experience for what I ultimately want to do, which is open a Law Center for Women and Children. The place I want to open would handle a lot of the same types of cases that Legal Aid handles, but it would be different. For one, we'd take cases for people in that bracket just above the one that would qualify them for Legal Aid. We would also take policy cases. For example, we would initiate a lawsuit by a woman against her employer for discrimination simply because we believe in equality in the workplace, and it wouldn't matter what her financial situation was. (That was a poor example, but I've only had one cup of coffee.) We'd also take juvenile law cases, which is an arena that I really want to get involved in. And we'd also take family law and domestic violence cases. Oh, and best of all, we'd help women to set up businesses. So we wouldn't just be pulling women out of bad situations, but we'd be helping them when they want to better their lives. But not in a patronizing way, like Legal Aid sometimes does. As community members, as fellow women.

So anyway, the Legal Aid job would be good experience. But when I think about leaving Talula, my heart hurts and my eyes fill with tears and I want to die.

That's another thing about the Law Center I'll open. People who work there will be able to bring their kids to work. We'll have a playroom, even. And the receptionist will be trained in childcare.

So anyway, Talula. She's four months old and loves, loves, loves me. She can't sit with Joey for four minutes without looking around for me and then frantically yelling if she can't see me. When I cook dinner, Joey has to sit in the kitchen with her so she can stare at me. So I'm having issues with leaving her...even though I haven't even mailed my resume yet, let alone been shown any interest for employment. If it all works out perfectly, I'll get the job, but not need to start until March, after the bar exam, and when Talula is nine months old. It's probably bad luck to talk about a job I'm applying for on a public blog. Maybe I hope I won't get it.

Talula's new thing is screaming at people and toys. She's very pleased with herself when we laugh at her.

Tania wrote me a note yesterday. Not a nice one. She did not like being scrunched up in bed with us. She wanted a better spot, but there wasn't a lot of room. So she went, I thought, to sleep in her own room. But actually, she left a note for me on the toilet, and lied in wait outside the bathroom door for the moment I would find it. But when I got up to use the bathroom, she was already sleeping. The note said:

To Mom
you made
me mad and
if I was
taller
then you
I wud
scwish you
like a bug
Tania

Tonight, we're having french bread and brie and wine. I hope Joey comes back home soon. He went to go buy tools.

Rain, rain, go away!

Well, at least I got to wake up to this beautiful sight today.

I may blog more, because...one, I feel like this blog should represent what we do all day and I've really only been highlighting special things we do; and two, I may have more time as the weather becomes more unbearable.

I'm also thinking of changing the name of this blog. Although, I haven't checked if I can do that. The reason I might change the name of the blog is because it has begun to annoy me. Actually, the whole obsession people have with learning has begun to annoy me. If learning is truly a way of life, why do I have to name my blog after it. It's like, "A Breathing Way of Life," or "Our Family Opens Our Eyes During the Daytime." I realized this when we went to the Children's Museum the other day and there were these posters up telling parents why building with clay is conducive to learning. It's like we have to convince parents that something is worthwhile only by relating it to learning. If it's "just fun" then it might be a waste of time. I saw the word "learning" on the walls of the museum so many times that I started to utter it as though it were an expletive, sort of spitting it out of my mouth. "Learning," I sputtered disgustedly. "Why are people so obsessed with learning?" I asked Joey. And since most people must bring their children here on the weekend when school is out, why can't it just be fun?

So that's my rant about that.

Today, I wanted to walk the 2.5 miles to Sellwood-Moreland library. I haven't been there yet. But it's raining hard. In fact, we have a flood watch here in the Northwest! Damnit! I should have listened to God when he told me to start building that ark two years ago!

Today:

Joey woke up at 5:00 a.m. and went to school.
I woke up at...yawn...stretch...9:00 a.m., poured coffee, and checked my email.
I wrote a cover letter for a job for which I am applying...more on that another time.
Lu woke up around 10:00 a.m. We chatted.
Tania woke up a few minutes later and immediately went in to play computer games.
I made breakfast. It was an oatmeal day...walnuts, maple syrup, milk...but Tania prefers cold cereal, so she had her pretend organic fruit loopie things. We also ate a pear.
Listened to classical music on the NPR station. Clipped my nails.
Am now listening to Talk of the Nation...elections are tomorrow.
Looked for photos online of miniature Christmas villages...Tania wants to build one.
Talula is napping.
Tania is playing something in her room that involves talking to herself.
I have to clean the house, mail my resume, mail a paper to the bar association that I forgot to include with my bar application.
I have to look up my student loan information.
I have to call this kid I'm supposed to tutor.
We need to go buy groceries.
I want to see about buying a car. I heard the USA brands are all overstocked.

Notes:

Death by hanging? How archaic! What, is it 1600?
So sick of hearing about "traditional marriage." Traditionally, women couldn't own property if they were married, and couldn't get a divorce unless they could prove infidelity. Traditionally, it was perfectly legal to beat your wife. Traditionally, parents chose husbands for their daughters. I don't know about you, but I don't want to go back in time.
So sick of hearing about immigration reform. Unless you're Native American, your recent ancestors are immigrants. Maybe if USA traded fairly with Mexico, people would be able to stay there and work.

I'm off to eat some delicious soup that I made last night. It has chicken, corn, tomatoes, quinoa, onion, bell peppers, garlic, oregano, and other spices in a thick tomato broth. Yum.

Autumn pictures and poems

Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold,
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Gathering Leaves
by Robert Frost

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.
I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.
But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.
I may load and unload
Again and again
Til I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?
Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with earth,
Next to nothing for color.
Next to nothing for use.
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

Fear of Winter
by Candice Aiston

I met you on one of your good days
When your sky was remarkably blue
And your trees were lush with green
When the roses perfumed your streets
You mesmerized me with your autumn
Your oranges, yellows, and reds
Your cool, brisk air flushing my cheeks
Even on one of your bad days
You were gray, cold, and wet
But your colors lit up my window
They say your days worsen
That you'll be so cold and gloomy
And I'll long for the days we first met

A rainy day at the children's museum

Well, it seems as though the rainy season has begun. And it's cold. It got down in the 20s for a few nights. I'm dreading the day we get our electricity bill. But it's still very pretty outside. The gray sky contrasted against the fall leaves is pretty incredible. I'll post pictures of that later.

On Friday, I attempted to hold a playdate at my house. Only two moms showed up, but it was fun. Their babies were born the same week Talula was born. It's cool to meet these little ones and their moms. I didn't know anyone else with a baby, really, when Tania was a baby.

On Saturday, we went to the Portland Children's Museum. It's near the zoo. I think I was trying to go there when we ended up at the Forestry Center. The Museum is really cool. There's one like it in Hawaii, but this one has more activities that the kids can do, so they're not just running from room to room. Tania made this little creation in the arts and crafts room. They have all kinds of materials to make inventions. Wood, foam, thing-a-ma-jigs, they even have a drill to make holes in things. All kids need is their imaginations and they can make something cool. They also had a clay room, where Tania made a snowman and a Christmas tree. They had a something like a NICU, which is kind of creepy, but Tania loves her some babies, so she spent a good hour taking care of the babies. The special exhibit was about life in Japan. They had a Japanese classroom and home that you could walk through. It felt sort of strange infiltrating a little girl's bedroom, but it was interesting.

Anyway, Talula calls, so I'm off.

Halloween...spooky times!

Yayyy...Halloween is so much fun! My girls were both witches. Joey and I were going to be witches too, but we were both sick and didn't have the energy for it. Tania looked really cool, and Talula just needed a hat, since the rest of her is always covered with her sling. I think she looked cute.

We didn't really do anything terribly exciting. It was friggin' freezing that day, so when Tania's friend's dad offered to take the girls trick-or-treating, I quickly agreed. Talula passed out just moments after I put the hat on her. We retreated back to our warm, cozy house, where Joey and I ate some delicious stew. Later, we went to Tania's friend's house and hung out with the parents a bit.

Hopefully, next year I can plan a little bit better and do something a little bit more exciting. We never made it to the pumpkin patch this year. And there's a wicked cool one here too, with a corn maze and everything. Next year, we'll rent a car if we have to do so.

So, that was Talula's first Halloween and our first Halloween in Portland. Now, to plan for Thanksgiving...

Tania's vineyard adventures

Tania came back from my parents' vineyard on Halloween. Yay! We missed her so much. She had a great time with my parents and brother, though.

Here she is in a trailer full of grapes. They picked them on Saturday. Tania helped and said she got purple fingers. The way they decide when to pick the grapes is by testing the pH of the soil. They call the buyer of the grapes, and if the buyer likes the levels, they pick. If he doesn't like the levels, they wait. So they picked and then put the grapes in to bins, and then drove them up to Eugene on Tuesday.

Tania also got to help my parents housesit for the neighbor. They have a beautiful property with many different fruit trees. And, best of all, they have a trampoline! Here's a picture of Tania jumping. She also got to sleep on a princess bed that was several feet off the ground. She made a new friends while she was there. It got so cold while she was there that when they woke up one morning, there was a thick layer of frost everywhere. It was exciting for Tania, but the frost can completely halt the grape production.

Well, she had a great time, but we're glad she's back!

Missin' Tania, but bonding with Lu

Oh Christ, I miss Tania! Sometimes I take her for granted. I realize that she's actually not just a big help to me, but she's also my very best friend. I find myself wanting to tell her things all throughout the day, and when she calls me, I'm giddy with excitement.

I'm also getting some good bonding time with Lu. I'm trying this thing called Elimination Communication with her. Basically, you read your child for signs of having to pee or poop and try to get them to the potty in time. Yes, I realize that she's only four months old. It's not potty training. It's different. Do you realize that if you watch your child enough, you will be able to tell when they have to pee or poop? And if, every time they pee or poop, you make a noise to associate with it, they will eventually pee or poop if you make that noise? It works. It's hard to get the hang of, but it's working. As long as I'm not a slacker, I can tell when she has to go. It's insane.

Anyway, we went to a baby-wearing meeting today and it was fun. Joey's sick though, so that blows. He came, but was embarrassed about his condition, so he hid out at a coffee shop. The bad news is that I saw a million more wraps and slings I want to buy and make. The good news is that I got to see people that I really have enjoyed getting to know. Some of them are coming to my house on Friday for a playdate. Yay!

Tania gets home in either two or three days. She has the camera, so hopefully she'll have some good vineyard pictures. I'm so glad she has the opportunity to just get up and go to my parents' vineyard to take part in the harvest. It's a great experience for a kid her age...well, for a kid any age.

Tania has a blog too!

I just wanted to tell people that read here that Tania has a blog now, too. You can find it here. She'll be posting when she can about what she's doing and what kinds of things she's into lately. I think she put up a post about the book that she's reading right now.

Today, my parents are driving up from Winston to pick up Tania and have her stay at the vineyard for a few days. She should have a wonderful time. They're going to spend the night here tonight, and I think we're going to go to a pumpkin patch! I'm so excited! I've never been to one before. The one I want to go to has a corn maze (corn maize...ha ha ha...).

Well, ta-ta for now!

Long walks and skipping stones

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We decided to go for a walk and ended up finding the Oaks Park Wildlife Reserve. I hadn't realized that it was so near our house. I guess there is also a 40-mile bike trail in and around the park too.

We walked on the trail for a while. The trail went under the train track and then along the Willamette River. We found a little trail down to the river, so we scaled it down. All along the river are smooth stones, so we started skipping them. I am no good at skipping stones, but Joey is some kind of pro at it. The most I could skip a stone was twice, but some of Joey's stones skipped seven or eight times! Tania tried it several times, but had a hard time getting the right throw. That's okay. It's not an essential life skill.

The river was so calm and peaceful. There was not another soul in sight, except for one kayaker who paddled by. We stayed down there for quite a while.

When we were headed back, we spotted an apple tree with ripe apples. The tree was over a fence and on the other side of the train track. So Joey lifted Tania over the fence and she ran across the traintrack to pick as many apples as she could! Don't worry; we were watching for trains. We also found some ripe blackberries. We picked them and ate them very quickly.

It was a very nice and relaxing day. The weather was beautiful. It was cold when we started out on our walk, but by the time we made it home, we had all taken off our jackets. The sky was blue, and of course, the leaves were all kinds of colors. Tania collected leaves, pinecones, and rocks.

We have this Northwest nature book, so when we got home, Tania pulled it out and found all the plants and trees that we had seen that day. We didn't see any animals, but the plants and trees are all new to us, so they were exciting enough.

Fall is incredible in Portland!

Fall is so much fun here! As you can see, we got a pumpkin that's bigger than Lu. And of course, she only cares about whether or not she can eat it. Tania also got a little tiny pumpkin from a lady who lives across the street. People here have pumkins ang other squash of all shapes and sizes growing in their front yards.

The leaves are changing colors, and it's just so beautiful. I've never been in a place during fall that has seasons. So I'm just awed by all of the extraordinary colors. I must look like a crazy person picking leaves off of the trees all of the time.

It is getting a bit colder, but we have still had some warm days, like today. We went to the playground and hung out with some friends. While Tania played, we watched a Little League game and enjoyed some gourmet icy-cold Pabst Blue Ribbon. I had to take some photos because the sky was so blue, but the trees were all kinds of colors. I know we only have a few days left like today.

We are getting ready for Halloween. We're going to be witches. Joey might not be a witch. I think men have a need to be pains in the ass at Halloween time and end up just wearing regular clothes. Meh. Tonight, I think we'll do some Halloween crafts, but we won't carve the pumpkin until it's closer to Halloween.

Oh! Talula is four months old today! I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. Then again, Tania is almost eight, so I guess I can believe it.

Raise Children With A Wild Streak

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Raise children with a wild streak
Many `ideal' students lack inventive, restless and self-reliant spirit

MARK PRUETT
Special to the Observer

A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses the importance of childhood playtime. It reinforces my own belief that many young adults have been cheated by years of excessive schoolwork and teamwork, too many extracurricular activities, and a straitjacketed "just say no to anything risky" upbringing. I am convinced that modern childhood generally does not build enough independence and thirst for knowledge.

For the past few years I helped interview high school seniors seeking scholarships to come to Appalachian State University. These applicants come from all over the state. They play instruments and sports, participate in church and charity, and work in diverse jobs.

They also display remarkably similar accomplishments. They are at the top of their high school classes and possess generically good manners. They lead teams, groups and clubs. They are smart, solid and hardworking.

They might be surprised to learn that I, like many college professors, yearn for rarer traits -- curiosity, passion, a wild streak. Yes, teamwork and leadership skills will help your child to implement someone else's ideas, and extensive extracurricular activities will foster responsibility. What your child really needs, though, is an inventive, self-reliant, restless spirit.

The key questions

For me, the heart-wrenching interview moment is when we ask these teenagers what they would choose to do on a day spent alone. Many say they never have the chance. Worse still, some have no answer at all. This should disturb and sadden any parent.In the end, my scholarship votes ride on two questions: Is this someone that I'd be excited to have in my class? And is he or she open to being changed by my class? Class rank and extracurricular activities are less important than genuine individuality or enthusiasm. It matters not whether someone is bold or shy, worldly or naïve. Is there a flash of determination, a streak of independence, a creative passion, an excited curiosity?

We need more students like the ones who leave after graduation to work as missionaries or in the Peace Corps. More like the ones who start successful businesses while in school. More like the ones who find the courage to go overseas for a summer or a semester because they know their own worlds are far too small.

Some students are team players and high achievers, but I'd trade them for stubbornly creative iconoclasts. Some students as children were taught to color inside the lines, watch Barney the purple dinosaur, and always ask permission. We need students who found out what Crayons tasted like, loved reading "The Cat in the Hat" and paid little attention to rules -- students whose parents encouraged their children's curiosity.

Something's missing

The irony is that many students begin to perceive late in college that they've missed something along the way. They regret not taking risks with difficult professors, unusual courses or semesters abroad. They berate themselves by equating self-worth with grades, and they are saddened by the realization that they have only glimpsed the breadth of the university. They begin to grasp that their uncomfortable sense of passivity has its roots in the highly controlled existence foisted on them.

Parents: love, guide and support your children, but don't insulate them, control them or let them be too busy. Independence, confidence and creativity come from freedom, risk and a good measure of unstructured solitude.

Encourage studying but make them play hooky, too -- partly to learn what it feels like to be unprepared and partly to foster spontaneity, irreverence and joy. Study chemistry together, then blow up a television in the backyard.

Foster camaraderie and connectedness through group activities (especially family ones), but be unyielding in your commitment to teaching them to love doing things entirely on their own. Make each child plan and cook the family's dinner on his or her own once a week.

Surround them with books, not video games. Raise a garden or build a deck together. Send them on solo trips.

However you choose to do it, give your children, their teachers and society one of the greatest gifts of all: Help your kids become creative, independent, curious, interesting people.

---

Mark Pruett is an assistant professor in the Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University. Write him at pruettmw@appstate.edu.

Hmmm...that's interesting.

Here is Talula, pondering the meaning of life. I hope that she can figure it out for the rest of us. Actually, I think I have it figured out in my head, but I'm not sure I can articulate it. Something like, "Free yourself, free others." It's vague, but it has special meaning to me.

Well, it has been getting colder here in Portland, and we had our first cold rain day today. Maybe people that live hear would knowingly throw their heads back in laughter and say, "You think you know cold? Ha! Wait 'til it gets really cold!" But we slept with the heater on last night. It's cozy.

People here paint their homes really weird colors, and I think I figured out that it's to give the town a bit of color after all the leaves fall off the trees and the sun goes away...which is happening right now. The leaves are kinds of pretty shades of red, orange, yellow, green, purple and brown. Tania and I have been collecting them and pressing them to mail to our friends and family in Hawaii. Speaking of which, we heard that there was a 6.6 earthquake today! I can't believe it happened right after we left! Even though no one was killed or injured, it makes me feel like I am where I should be.

We've been getting our for a walk every day, and to play at the park, but we've been getting more and more comfortable indoors, reading or using the computer. Tania is really into a couple of games that she plays with Joey. She is reading "The Littles" right now, by John Peterson, and we are on Volume 2 of the Story of the World books, the Middle Ages. Tania has really taken to the history books. She asks me to read them all the time. And she has excellent comprehension and memory, not like her mother. She remembers things that we read months ago. We aren't doing any math right now. We got through simple multiplication and division, and she grasps the concepts well. She hates sitting and using a workbook though, so I will try to help her build her skills through games and practical life situations. She's really interested in fashion right now, and spends a lot of time sketching designs. I'm going to learn how to knit soon, and she says she wants to learn too. I also plan to get a sewing machine soon and she wants to learn how to sew. So we're following those interests right now and we'll see where they take us!

The sun just came out, so I think we'll be off to take a walk!

SelfDesign

SelfDesign: Nurturing Genius Through Natural Learning
by Brent Cameron

I just checked out this book from the library and it was extremely refreshing for to read. I think it was just published this year. There aren't even any reviews up at Amazon yet. The author runs a school in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was pretty much started because his daughter didn't want to go to "regular" school.

The author's theories are along the lines of unschooling, but he does think that collaboration is extremely important for a productive society and for an individual to be fully educated. I actually learned more about myself than I did about Tania through reading this book. It has inspired me to focus on what I want for myself and let Tania worry about what she wants for herself. So many times, I have thought, "I want X,Y,or Z for Tania." The author believes that what parents want for their children often gets in the way of their true destiny. If you just let the child be, she has natural curiosities and instincts that will lead her toward happiness and survival. This is different from neglect. The parent is there offering opportunity and building on the child's interests gently. But the choice is the child's about what she wants to learn, when she wants to learn it, and how she wants to learn it.

The author has a mantra of children's rights that he and some of the students formulated. The basis of these rights is that children have to right to live and learn in freedom. I have come to believe this truly is a right.

We live in the City of Roses

We visited the Rose Gardens in Washington Park last Saturday. I don't think I ever really had a proper appreciation for roses until then. The park has hundreds, if not thousands of varieties of roses. I always though roses were sort of cheesy and over-exploited. People in Hawaii don't really grow roses, so the ones I have seen are the typical obligatory Valentine's Day long-stem dozen. Red. Boring. But the roses you see in Portland are, first of all, everywhere. And second, they come in hundreds of colors, sizes, shapes, and scents. The other day, I saw what would have been a great picture to showcase Portland. Alas, I forgot my camera. There was a bicycle chained to a stop sign, and around the stop sign grew a bush. One single beautiful pink fully bloomed rose came out over the bicycle. Roses and bicycles...so Portland. Anyway, the Rose Gardens were so beautiful. I remember telling my mom when I left Hawaii that I would miss walking down the street and smelling the fragrant Hawaii flowers. Well, walking into the garden, you could smell the roses right away. There were three weddings going on at the gardens, so I suppose roses still are a bit cheesy, but it was a little piece of magic for us Hawaii people. Afterward, we went to the world's biggest playground structure (not officially). It is near the Rose Garden in Washington Park. Tania was so impressed that she wants to have her birthday party there. It's the equivalent of about four or five playground structures all put together. None of my pictures do it justice, so I won't bother. It was a very pleasant day.

Internet, fiiiiinally!!!

Yayyy...we finally have internet! We moved to Portland about three weeks ago, and it has been really hectic. We've been having a lot of fun too.

The day after we got here, there was a "Not Back to School Day" at the Oaks Amusement Park. The park is about 100 years old. We didn't make any friends, but Tania had fun on the rides. There were all types of homeschoolers there: big families, small families, religious families, secular families...I even saw a gothic family. It was a really cool way to spend our first day.

We've mostly been spending time setting up our new house. The garage sales here are amazing. We've gotten so many cool things. One of the things we got was an old-school typewriter. Tania has been using it to write little stories.

Portland has this huge park called Washington Park. It was designed by the same brothers who designed Central Park in New York City. Inside the park is the Oregon Zoo. We took Tania there a couple of weeks ago. The zoo is huge. Hawaii's zoo has more animals, but Oregon's zoo is larger and prettier. It's a very pleasant place to visit. There's a large lawn with a stage where there are sometimes concerts.

There's another place in Washington Park called the World Forestry Discovery Museum. We went there a few days ago. The exhibits teach about the different forests of the world: how they exist as ecosystems, how they are threatened, and what the public can do to help. I really enjoyed it there. I learned a lot of new things about forests in Russia, China, Africa and South America, to name a few areas. Tania got to ride in a tree lift that took her to the top of a tall tree.

I think my favorite attraction that we have been to has been OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. It's the coolest place. They have a chemistry lab and a physics lab in which you can do actual experiments. Just about every exhibit is interactive. It's not far from where we live, so we walked. It just happened to be the one day it rained since we got here though, so we got soaked.

We've been to some cool parks, like Laurelhurst Park, Mt. Tabor Park and Crystal Springs Rododendron Garden. We go to our local park, Brooklyn Park, just about every day. Tania has made a little friend who lives right across the street from the park. I love our area. We're in the Southeast part of Portland, but we're slightly removed from the trendy neighborhoods. Not that I don't enjoy visiting those neighborhoods, I just like the quiet of our neighborhood. All the homes here are old and full of character.

So, we're liking Portland. We miss Hawaii, but we're getting used to it here.

Goodbye, Hawaii!!!

Well, today is moving day. We leave in a couple of hours to go to Portland, Oregon. We've just spent the last week or so having all the Hawaii fun we can manage. We stayed out at the Turtle Bay Hilton in Kahuku last weekend. It's so friggin' expensive now. But they have a pool with a slide, so for Tania it was worth it. We 've been attending various barbecues, one at a friend's house in Hauula, one at Waimanalo beach. We had a barbecue here at my parents house. We've been swimming at the Kaneohe Yacht Club quite a bit. We just wanted to do all we could do with water, sun, and friends.

Seeing Tania say goodbye to her best friend was heartbreaking. It sort of made me feel more gung-ho about getting our plane tickets to come visit. I hope to come back in April.

Well, if anyone is reading this, wish us luck!

Look who her favorite student is...

I usually let Tania watch Talula while I make us breakfast. This is the scene that I saw when I went to check on them. Tania is teaching a class. She told me that Talula is her best student. She said that she's way ahead of the rest of the class. Well, I would hope that she's ahead of a pink dog, a bear, and a plastic baby!

Anyway, my parents are back in town now. My mom got to meet Talula for the first time. Moms can be very...interesting...when it comes to their grandchildren. They think they know everything. That's all I'll say.

We walked to the beach yesterday and Tania got a ton of much-needed attention. She has learned to share her mom, but she has not even considered that she might have to share her grandma.

Today, Tania is out with my mom shopping and having lunch. Talula and I are just hangin' out. She's smiling a lot more lately and is just getting to be a really happy little girl. When Tania gets back, we're going to get me a haircut. It will be my first since December. It's so ratty and gross. I can't wait to get something cute.

She wants to be a Cheetah Girl

Tania had me put her hair up all pretty like this because one of the Cheetah Girls had her hair like this. We watched Cheetah Girls II last night on the Disney Channel. I swear, Tania is obsessed. I'm trying ever so hard to let her make her own T.V. decisions right now, but man oh man am I sick of it. In Oregon we won't buy a T.V., I keep telling myself.

And so it was sort of strange last night when I found myself watching a That's So Raven marathon and then the Cheetah Girls II movie. I could actually see what the fascination is. It's all about friendship and singing and dancing and being funny and silly. I just worry about Tania sitting and watching hours and hours and not living in real life.

Anyway...we also went to the park yesterday (Aikahi again), where I watched Tania get her heart broken by her best friend. We went to the park so that she could play with her friend, but the friend had one of her new friends there from her new school. Every time Tania would go over to play with them, they would run away somewhere else. She followed them around the playground like a little lost puppy. I wanted to cry. The friend's mom wanted to make her daughter play with Tania, but I'm not about that, so I decided that we would leave. Tania was in tears when we left. I can't tell you what it's like to watch your baby get hurt like that. We saw the friend at Safeway later and she said she was sorry. Tania had sworn that she would never talk to her again, but she easily forgave her. Kids are so great like that. Later, when we were watching the Cheetah Girls, there was a scene where one of the best friends found a new friend and the other girl was hurt over it. Tania said, "Mom, that's how I felt today." It was really sad, but I'm really glad that she can talk to me. I kept a lot to myself when I was a kid.

I think Tania may be getting into photography. She has been taking my camera and taking pictures of Talula or her dolls or whatever. She has actually been successful getting Talula to smile for the camera. I'm not as successful. I haven't really showed her how to use the camera. She just sort of figured it out. I think she might be really good at photography because she's creative and focused. Anyway, she took this picture of Talula. Minus the flash effect, I think it's pretty good. I like the positioning. It's unique. Not that I'm a professional or anything.