I'll Make It Myself!

Since Simone was a littler girl, she had a dollhouse.  She didn't always play with it, but she liked it.  This Summer, we couldn't have it in the bus because of our limited space.  Trips to the store only remind her of how wonderful it is to have a space for her dolls to roam - and the bigger the better!

This Winter, Simone and Max got some tiny koala dolls from Grandma and Grandpa.  One morning, Michael and I slept so late because Simone was busy constructing her own dollhouse!

Clockwise from the top left: Fuzzy, Buzzy, Swimmy and (hidden) Little Mike

This dollhouse is actually a boathouse.  When the inhabitants want to move to a different location, one of them gets into the "Driving Area" and tugs the whole works.  Swimmy, the green monster with orange shoes, was the first to get a swimming pool to which he accesses from the bathroom.  The other guys must have been jealous because Simone expanded and gave them their own pool.  

Do we have a little architect on our hands?!?!?

Max is 5!

Max turned 5 years old today!

He and his sister woke up very early.  They found the presents and waited very patiently.  Simone gave Max a present that she specially found and presented to him.  It's atop all the presents.

Simone found Max a pretty stone.

Max is feeling goooood.

Simone is also documenting the occasion.

Michael & I  and my mom and dad pooled our resources together and got Max an electronic learning device!  Now he gets screen time like the whole family.  He's very much grown-up now.

Happy Birthday, Cub!

Sneaky Kids

I recently took the kids to Trader Joe's, a store that we loooooooved in California and never saw in Florida until the last month we were there.  After not having stepped foot in one for 2 years, I was incredibly excited to look at the products they have.  While perusing through the aisles, the kids did their usual entreaty for treats to which I responded in my own usual chant of "No ... no ... no ... no ........"

I was in a daze scrutinizing the products that I didn't notice the mischief Max was up to.  We got to the cashier and still I was not aware of what he had done.  It wasn't until we were driving home that I heard this conversation between the kids.

Simone:  I sure do love Panda Puffs!
Max:  Hey, Simone, I got some!
Simone:  You did?  Where did you get it?
Max:  I got it at Trader Joe's!
Simone:  Moooommm, did you know Max got Panda Puffs?
Me:  (ignoring my children and thinking about the million things I have left to do once we get home)  Oh, that's interesting ....


When we arrived home, I shuffled them to the bedroom to watch TV while I put the groceries away and made lunch.  As I'm putting stuff away, I notice this big yellow box that I didn't remember buying!

Max had snuck it into the cart and I absent-mindedly transferred it to the checkout and paid for it!!  But how could I be mad at them.  Inside, I was very proud of Max for being so clever.  But outside, I leniently told them I didn't like their putting items in the cart.  I calmly said, "Don't do that again."  They said ok, but they soon forgot to heed my words.  If anything, I only gave Simone the idea that she could get in on the action too.

Michael took the kids with him to Whole Foods and they pulled the same trick on him!  This time however he caught them.  And luckily all they smuggled was a healthy watermelon.   

How can you get angry at these mischievous cutie-pies?

Chia Si

Another fun gift that Michael gave me for Christmas was a Uncle Si version of Chia Pet!

Uncle Si soaking before he's slathered with chia seeds

We love the show Duck Dynasty despite the family's anti-homosexual rants said off air.  And my favorite character is Uncle Si.  He is so goofy, but sincere in his silliness.  Here are some examples of what he says,

This guy has had adventures!

He knows how to live day to day.

He humors his grand nieces and had a tea party with them!

He feels the same about sugar and flour as I do.

It seems fitting that the only plant we'd have in our bus is a Chia Si.

"All of my stories are 95% truthful."

My friend Kerry has a Chia cat and she warned me that it can get moldy.  The box says to avoid putting Uncle Si near the window because he might dry out from too much sun.  Well, I'm going to listen to real-live experience from a buddy and place Uncle Si near the sunlight so his beard will grow only the finest chia beard this side of the Mississippi.

Aren't You Embarrassed?

You may remember that Michael gave me an awesome gift this Christmas.  It was the wallet of The Walking Dead character Daryl.

Michael may have meant it as a joke, but I seriously love it and use it all the time and everywhere.  One time, Simone and I were at the Exchange checking out at the cashiers.  While in line we had this conversation:

Simone:  Aren't you embarrassed to use that?
Me:  No way!  I love this.  It lets people know how much I love the Walking Dead.  Did you know I had a conversation with the librarian to other day when she saw me hold this?
Simone:  Oh.

Max the Maniac

I was in the kitchen washing dishes while the kids were changing their clothes for the evening.  Simone had changed quickly, but Max was spending a looong, quiet time in the bathroom.  I heard a giggle and then     this   appeared in the hallway.

ACK!

A midget sumo farmer?

Naw ... it's just Max.

He inverted all his old clothes and put them on the wrong part of his body.  His shirt is on his legs, his pants are on his shoulders, and his underwear is on his head.

It wasn't enough to just change up his clothes.  He started posing and making faces.

ANGRY sumo midget farmer means business

Appease him with a spaghetti that he likes to leave in the corners of his smile.

My Little Rascal

The kids dress themselves now so any ensemble that they put together is to their own credit.  I have shown them the Little Rascals episodes of my youth, but it has been a while.  One morning, Max somehow channeled his inner "Scotty" from Our Gang.

And to Michael's credit, they have his fashion sense.  I'm lucky if I'm not wearing sweatpants outside the house.

Are You Excited?

The family is planning a vacation!  The kids will stay with Grandma & Grandpa and Michael & me will head to Colombia for a month to learn Spanish and be tourists.  The kids are so excited to see their extended family and Michael & I are excited to do adult things other than take care of our kids.

Simone asked me this morning if I was excited to be away from her and Max.   Truth be told, I am excited to not have responsibility, to be the only I have to take care of.  I didn't want to say yes because she might feel hurt thinking that I don't like her and Max.  No wasn't really truthful so I gave her a long "uhhhhmmmmm....."

She broke the uhm by saying, "It's ok if you say 'no,' Mommy."

Is it ok if I say "yes"?

A Mrs for Max?

One morning, Max and I were sitting on the bed and he said, "Mommy ... when I grow up, I want to be alone."

I didn't answer right away because I wasn't sure what he meant by being alone.


Me: "Do you mean that you don't want to get married?"
Max: "Yeah, I don't want to be married."
Me: "That's cool.  You can do that."


Then Max thought for a while and then asked Michael a question.

Max: "Daddy, when you were my age did you want to be alone."
Michael: "Not really.  I think I always knew I wanted a wife."

More thinking for Max, but now the questioning returns to me

Max: "Mommy, but what if I have a freaky wife?!"
Me: "Well, if you live with her and date her for a while, you'll know that she's a freaky girlfriend so you can break up with her and never have to marry her.   You can marry if you want to or not marry if you don't want to.  It's up to you."


Max seemed relieved because he turned around and started playing with his superheroes.  I don't know if digested any of our conversation.  We shall see ... much, much later in the future because he has told me that although he likes girls, he thinks it's gross to kiss one.

Frozen River

It didn't occur to me before the snow came that the Potomac River would freeze.  I thought that sort of thing only happened in Minnesota!  Sure enough the water froze after the second snowfall.  I had noticed it when I was driving by.  My eyes registered the lack of movement, or rather the lack of ripples, in the water.  It totally felt surreal.

After a few days of mere cold temperatures, I noticed the ripples in the water again but they were farther away from shore.  Eager to investigate what frozen bodies of water look like, I took the kids to the nearest shore.

You might be able to see the delineation of frozen and liquefied water in the picture above.  The white patch above the edge of campground is the frozen part.  The more blue area is the warmed-up water.  Simone and Max are running ahead of me and are on the right side of the picture, near the car.

Even in the glaring sun, these, sheets of ice stay solid!

In the distance we saw some boys at the pier throwing branches into the water.  They were throwing them with such gusto that we realized they were trying to crack the ice from where them were.  Looking around, the kids found some rocks and decided to follow suit.

We are having a wonderful time discovering snow and ice!

Father Daughter Bond

Max and Simone fight like any pair of siblings.  Simone, however, is very sensitive and usually comes away emotionally beaten.  One time, I separated them by calling Max over to me to chill out.  Simone started to weep and Michael tried to make her feel better.  It obviously worked because after she calmed down, she wrote Michael a little note.

(Open me)

(You always make me feel better)

Casualties of Snow

I am not new to snow - I snowboarded a lot in my 20s - but I am new to living in snow.  Playing in the snow is one thing and living in it, waking up to it, having to walk in non-snow boots in it, having to defrock your kids after they've played in it, having to retrieve groceries in it, etc., is another thing.  Luckily, we haven't seen a large downpour nor have we been incessantly snowed on.

Despite the light dusting we've received, snowplows come out and sprinkle the roads with sand and salt to clear the roads of snow so cars can more safely pass.  This doesn't sound ridiculous to me because I grew up in California.  Michael, however, mocks at how sensitive the locals here are to any inch bestowed upon them.  It's similar to the chaos L.A. goes through when it merely drizzles in Southern California.  

Michael has always been hyper-vigilant about washing our cars since we always live near the water.  I didn't question his aversion to the salty air because I occasionally saw cars with deteriorated paint, evidence that they had let salt sit on their car too long.  Now that I've driven my car through salted snow roads, I can now feel in my bones the same aversion to salt.  It's no longer just a theoretically sound idea to wash my car to protect it's look - I now experience a physical reaction when I see salt/sand/dirt splash on my car.

Ugh!

Conquering Cooking

When Michael and I were designing our bus, we decided that the need for an oven was low.  Of course, our visions of staying in the bus did not include living in it 24-7 for months at a time.

Luckily we have our grill that acts like an oven. It took some getting-used-to.  Because of the smaller volume, following directions from a package usually meant overcooking your food.  I had to lower the temperature because the heat source is so much closer to the food than regular ovens that package instructions have in mind.  My first quiche was certainly edible - in the middle.  The crust was crispy, on the verge of being burnt.  With a lower temp, and longer cook time, I'm able to slow down the crisping of the crust while the eggs have time to de-raw themselves.

Cooking with a wok on the grill has actually been a dream!  The intense temperature gets the stir fried ingredients just right!  I did have a mishap recently though when the ambient temperature dropped to a frosty 30s.  When I dispensed the stir fry sauce into the wok to coat the vegetables, I banged the glass container onto the hot wok a little too hard.  The cold of the air must have made the glass so brittle because it broke!  Onto the food!  Glass shards mixed in with the delicious food!  The sun was setting and I was ready to cry at the waste!  Luckily I had not put the noodles and chicken in the wok and was able to make a new, albeit strange, concoction of Chinese food that was seasoned this time with Spanish spices (because it was the only sauce I had left in the pantry)!  

The blandest, but edible, stir fry

In other culinary pursuits, I've gotten the hang of Mac-n-Cheese, rice and vegetables!  I used to rely solely on a rice cooker to make the rice we would eat, but now I've gotten so adept at making it old-school style - in a pot!  Adding an extra dab of water seems to help, but it has to be watched closely lest the water boil too fast and spill over into the burner.  

I used to try to recycle our propane bottles by trying to refill them with the propane from the 20-gallon tanks, but this proved to be more trouble than it was worth.  No matter what I tried, the little bottles would only refill 1/4 their capacity so I found myself refilling so much.  The little cans are only $2 and last so long that I just buy a new one now.

Another dish I like to make is stew!  In a cast iron pot and simmering slowing in our oven/grill, it always turns out delicious!  I only seem to want to make it when the weather turns colder than usual.  Nowadays it's pretty darn cold everyday so there is no change in weather to spark an inspiration to do stew.  But you know what?  NOW is the time for more stew on more days!    I'll have to revisit it.

Only for the Grandparents

The kids love their grandparents and are soooo obedient when they're near them.  Simone does not whine and will dress in layers without a fuss.  Max eats new foods without a fight!

But when they came back to the bus, their agreeable behavior vanished.  If I tell Simone to wear her jacket and vest, she will jump up and down and protest - as if she had never done such an injustice before!  Max no longer eats teriyaki chicken with enthusiasm as he had done with Grandma.  It's a mystery!

Mom and Dad, come baaaack!

Homeschooling Cheat

One of the cool things about homeschooling more than one kid is that the younger ones absorb what the older ones are learning.  Max has an advanced vocabulary for a 5-year-old.  They were watching Shrek and some humans were reacting (badly) to the sight of the title ogre.  Max exclaimed, "Man, those guys are horrified!"

Another cool thing is that the older kid can teach the  younger for you!  Part of Simone's spelling is to put the spelling tiles in alphabetic order.  She already knows how to do that quickly so she took it on herself to "teach" Max his letters!  She pretended she was the teacher and worked with him to put the letters in order.  When he got stuck as to what was next, she would prompt him to sing the ABC song with her to retrieve the answer.

She was so excited about teaching Max that she wrote a lesson plan book right after.  It consisted of only two pages, but that was enough because Max was done with being the student.  

Old People, according to Max

When we were in the car this morning, Max said to me, 

"Mommy, did you know that all old people - except Grandma, Grandpa - oh and you....   When I look at old people, they gross me out."

Simone asked if Grammy grosses Max out and he assured us that she does not.

Tics

When we visited Minnesota in 2012, Aunt Kathy or Uncle Terry (I forget whom) pointed out that Simone did something periodically on her face. I think it was a blink or or squeak.  I paid no mind to it but then she started doing more tics when we got to Florida.  A quick search on the internet calmed my fears that maybe she had a problem.  Many kids apparently have simple tics that eventually go away.  The time to worry is when the tics become complex and require a lot of different movements to complete.  So far the tics have just been little jumps, or a squeak, or an eye roll.

Max has tics too but at first I just took it for his admiration for his sister.  If she does something, he  wants to do it or something similar too.  But he kept up his tic of checking his eyebrows with his fingers (for fear that they had disappeared) for so long that I think he truly did have a tic.  Max actually developed a multiple tic in which he yawn and touched his heart right after he checked his eyebrows.

Michael realized one night that the tics come from ... ME!  I was watching Game of Thrones with my headphones on and he heard me making a snorting sound.  I also make this sound when I watch Walking Dead or anything else that causes me anxiety!  This made me wonder if my family has tics and I realized that yes, indeed they do!  Well at least my dad does.  I remember him making a quiet sound that Grace described as "tuhnt."

One time we were riding in the car somewhere Max informed us that he had a new tic.  Michael asked him to describe it. "I close my eyes and then I open my eyes and then I close my eyes and then I open my eyes."  Michael and I were in the front and only heard the description but did not see his physical demonstration.   We didn't have to have seen it because Simone soon commented, "Max ... that's called 'blinking.'"

So far Simone has stopped eye-rolling and Max no longer checks his eyebrows.  I've stopped snorting but that's because my favorite dramas are on their mid-season hiatus.

Sand in a Bus

We left Florida and the kids thought that was the last they would see of sand.  Actually, that was my thought.  In DC, the kids saw this sand material at Michael's and repeatedly asked if I could buy it for them.  No way, I would respond at the thought of having another thing to clean up in our little space of a home.  But Christmas softens a grouchy mother's heart and I researched which "sand" and molds were the best to get them.  After watching a comparison of the more ubiquitous "kinetic sand" and "moon sand," I chose the latter because it can hold a desired shape much better.

"Moon Sand" is now called "Shape-It! Dough."

It doesn't look very sandy.

Despite providing the kids with a tub, they still spilled some sand outside.  It was worth it because they played with it and cooperatively for 1+ hours!   I was able to return some big pieces back into the tub, which fits neatly on the driver's seat.  This afternoon, they asked to play with it instead of watching TV!  I just heard Simone declare that they're scientists.

THIS is Winter

Complain and ye shall receive!

We actually got snow!  And it stayed on the ground instead of melting before it hit anything horizontal.

Here is how the kids reacted to it.

This is how the people of DC reacted to it.

Aspirations

Tonight, Michael asked the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Simone said, "I want to be a mommy."

Max said, "When I grow up, I want to be manly."

Survival Skills

Michael recently told the kids the true story about a 7-year-old who survived a plane crash and walked treacherous terrain to find help.  Simone was flabbergasted and said that if it were her, she would probably cry.  Michael informed them that the girl did just that.  Max was quiet but finally revealed what he would do in the situation.

"I would say the 'F' word."

This is Winter?

Since we are farther north than we have ever lived, I thought that we would for sure see snow on the ground before the end of 2014.   It's a bit of a relief, but I feel that the kids are missing out on the fun of snow.  We saw snow falling the day before Thanksgiving, but that has been it. 

The trees look wintery but that's about it. 

I look at the forecast every morning and night wondering if snow will appear.  Usually a few hours will change the forecast and the pretty snowflake I see will disappear due to higher temperatures or no chance of rain.   But for the past couple of days, snow might come tomorrow!

We'll keep you updated!

Simone Squarepants

Simone and Max love Spongebob Squarepants and I once found Simone drawing her favorite characters from the show!

When Brats Graffiti

We recently watched "Into the Woods" at a military base movie theater.  I realized I had never used their restrooms before and saw them for the first time when I accompanied Simone.  She was scared and wanted me to be inside the stall with her.  This is when a whole new world was revealed to me.

When Military Brats Graffiti!

Writing on bathroom walls is nothing new to me.  I had seen it in the bathrooms at Berkeley.  What is new is the topic about which the authors chose to write. In Berkeley, I saw long-winded diatribes dealing with gender and race issues.  In the military, it seems to be much more about "shout-outs" to favorite movies.

FFF : Frozen Fan Forever!