A (Puzzle) Piece of One’s Mind

(Desire to) fly on the wall: Beni and I got a kick out of these pieces of info, which we learned while exploring Olivia’s classroom after the first parent-teacher conference.

Runnin' Place

To the suburbs we headed, this time to participate in a charity 5K run run by our good friend Dimple (cue the music: ♫ I do not do “run run run” but do “run run” ♪). The race marks the second race for Beni in as many weeks, this one to support basic educational needs in India. I ran in support of Beni and needy Indian schoolchildren, and Olivia ran the last 100 meters in support of her fatigued parents.

(Note to self: when selecting 5Ks in which to run, give preference to ones organized by Indian Americans. The post-race food was plenty motivation for completing the race circuit quickly. I ate my weight in the chick pea and rice dish, and doubled it with copious amounts of mango juice.)

Kill, Two Birds, With One’s Tone

The kids and I went to a university volleyball match pitting the Redbirds versus the Bluejays. The sport of volleyball uses the macabre term “kill” to describe a spiked ball that is successfully put away, and apparently each kill is noted in scorebooks and the arena with the letter K, which explains why there’d be a sign called the “Kill Club,” but not why the youngsters keeping tally weren’t advised to perhaps avoid the juxtaposition of three K’s and the sign’s title.

Adrian and Olivia spent their time away from the kill zone, preferring instead the welcoming wings of the resident redbird.

Law-Abiding Citizens

Our kids prove Newton’s First Law of Motion – the law of inertia – on a daily basis, namely the part that states that a body persists its state of rest unless acted upon by an external force. Seven times out of ten, Big Sister – she of big voice and big movements – is that sleep-disruptive force.

God's Complex

"A lot of people believe in God...right, Mom?"

"Yes they do. How did you know that?"

"Daddy told me. Was God a real person?"

"Jesus was a real person. He was a nice man who did nice things."

"Like what?"

"Gave food to the poor; helped people who were sick."

"Oh, but was God real?"

"Um, no. It's hard to explain."

"Go ahead, Mommy. I understand a lot of things."

Tell a Gram(my)

Mini Mariachi Divas

The message is this: every time the girls get together, they end up meeting (and sometimes performing) with Grammy-winning or Grammy-nominated musicians. Well, okay…not every time, but twice now.

Caught up in Ralph's World

Partake Five

No rest for the weary: Beni overcame fatigue, anxiety, and sore muscles to finish her second organized run, this one a 5K to raise funds and awareness for autism. Reed couldn’t have been happier for his persevering mom.

Now and Zen

Our little Buddha meditating napping his way to stillness and serenity:

Pulling a Fast One

In an gesture of solidarity and friendship, especially toward my Muslim friends Khair (aka passionbuckets) and Hassan, I thought I’d try to fast during the month of Ramadan. Being the undisciplined and hungry person that I am, I thought it would be improbable for me to go without food or drink from sunup until sundown for an entire month, and so I modified it to something more reasonable – a one-day fast. I documented my trials and tribulations on my Twitter account (cheap plug: please feel free to follow me at oliviaspapa) – here are those tweets:

Told @passionbuckets, a friend of mine who's Muslim, that I'd try fasting for one day during Ramadan. Well, today's it. Hope it goes fast.:)
4:11 AM Sep 17

Not used to eating a big meal at 4-something in the morning. BTW, I'll be tweeting updates all day unless hunger overcomes me.
4:14 AM Sep 17

Even narcoleptics find it difficult to fall asleep when there's a buffet's worth of food sitting in the stomach waiting to be digested.
10:58 AM Sep 17

The worst part of waking up was the acid reflux. Other than that, I'm off to a flying start! Only thought about food 127 times on the drive.
11:00 AM Sep 17

Breakfast at 4:17 a.m., in order: cold oatmeal, PB&J, Clif Z bar I stole from Olivia, and some fruit juice.
11:03 AM Sep 17

Had to check whether gum and/or cough drops were allowed under the official Ramadan rulebook. Ans: yes to both.
11:04 AM Sep 17

@passionbuckets My stomach is starting to eat itself.
1:46 PM Sep 17

Under four hours to go with my daylong fast. Pseudo-philosophical reflections and enormous dinner to follow.
3:27 PM Sep 17

In the absence of dates and nuts, I broke the fast with red Gatorade. I swear to their god and yours, nothing's ever tasted so good.
7:41 PM Sep 17

Now at Potbelly to get some solid food. Already I've forgotten how to eat -- I'm choking on the hot peppers in my sandwich.
7:44 PM Sep 17

Thought it was a good sign when I got here: there was a Muslim family placing their order in front of me.
7:44 PM Sep 17

A special shout out to my Muslim brothers @passionbuckets and Hassan for their collective guidance on this project.
7:48 PM Sep 17

Already thinking about my next day (week, fortnight, month, year) w/o project/experiment. Suggestions?
7:51 PM Sep 17

High Stool Dropout

This lovely looking high chair is made by Keekaroo, but we’ve had to ground all near-future food flights because of a mechanical issue – the metal support bar that’s meant to hold the seat firmly in place was wrongly cut, and our attempts to go without it have resulted in the seat eventually sliding out the back and onto the floor (without a baby attached to it, fortunately). Further bits of fortune from this unfortunate bit in manufacturing: the company’s representatives have been extremely apologetic for and responsive to the inconvenience bestowed upon us. May all companies in the world practice such good customer service.

Putting the Topic on Ice (Cream)

Olivia has her sleep issues figured out for the most part, but there are times when she reverts back to the restless baby and toddler she was. On these occasions, she’s so out-of-her-mind tired that she’ll forget the day of the week it is, like today when she forgot the day of the week that is the homophone of the cherry-topped ice cream treat. We could barely contain our smiles as she crabbily demanded – and cried about not getting – an ice cream saturdae.

Much Ado About Nothing

(Photo from Huffington Post)

We had to sign a permission slip to allow Olivia to watch President Obama’s televised speech to schoolchildren. Clearly, we are complicit in the President’s brainwashing techniques, and as you can see, his propaganda is already taking hold in the mind of our impressionable child. The horror!

Beni: "Olivia, what did President Obama say to all the schoolchildren today?"

Olivia: "Well, I didn’t understand all the words, but I understood some of them."

Beni: "What did he say?"

Olivia: "First, there were two people talking, and then President Obama came on and he said that all kindergartners should wash their hands every day."

Beni (laughing): "What else did he say?"

Olivia: "Kindergarten through eleventh grade should always wash their hands."

–Polis Report

On the way to Minnesota

In our quest to visit the cities that end in –polis before summer’s end, we set out for Minneapolis this long weekend. (We’d checked off Indianapolis in August; Annapolis, Teutopolis, and Cosmopolis, we’re coming for you!) Julie and her daughter Adrian accompanied us, as they met up with Julie’s best friend, and we went to visit Jenna, Beni’s close friend from college. We had the best time hanging out with Jenna and her family, and our time together included forays to the park, zoo, and pool, the site of Reed’s first plunge.

Olivia with Camille

Dylan

Nurturing a love of nature

In search of bears

Mosquitoes the size of Minnesota

Pool's in session

Au revoir!

Labored Greys Weakened

(Photo by Ari T.)

You too would be prone to passing out and in need of upwards of 18 hours of sleep per day if you spent your formative years chasing a mechanical bunny around a track.

Your Welcome

Olivia chaired – in both the organizational and seating sense – our welcome-home party to commemorate Beni’s return from her first overnight stay away from both kids. We somehow survived the night without her. Reed logged six hours of slumber before his first and only time awake for the night, and Olivia stirred just once – an event the Pope will surely review for miracle status.