Monday, January 16, 2012
Winter in Texas
...is my favorite season, so far, with spring yet to come. Obviously the cooler weather is the biggest draw, but I also like the fact that the weather changes. One day you might be under a freeze warning with daytime temps that don't make it out of the windy mid 40s and then the next day is 75 and humid. Those are the extremes. We don't experience actual cold and we don't taste summer. One of the worst things about the summer is just how boring the weather is. The weather is a nice ice breaker with people you don't know very well if you actually have something to talk about, but what can you really say after the 31st straight day of 102 and sunny? Many of the trees have finally lost their leaves, but many others haven't or don't. It's still relatively lush down here, which allows for humid winter days. Dry skin is a fleeting problem.
Another nice thing is that walking from the indoor pool to your car in your swimming suit doesn't turn your midsection into a temperature extremes experiment. We started Anders swimming tonight at the Sea Star Swim School in MO City. On the whole, he loved it and is already chattering excitedly about going back. He enjoyed floating and kicking. He kicked a lot. He liked watching me blow bubbles. He did not, however, like the third act of aqua Ring Around the Rosie where we "all fall down" by going under the water. Anders was "all done water" after that, but he did rally for a trip to the big pool. He remained wary of Humpty Dumpty's "big fall," even though it did not end in submersion.
I'm hoping that swimming with Anders can facilitate Daddy's return to relevance. Anders is currently so all about Mommy that he calls me Mommydaddy, until I correct him, and even sometimes after that.
We ran into one of Anna's friends at the sea school, who said hi to Anders. You can't go anywhere in the Sugar Land area kid world without seeing one of Anna's people.
Anders returns to physical therapy tomorrow. I bet it will go better than last week since he will be used to the setting. Anders has already made many strides since last month, including climbing up the ladder to the slide at the playground all by himself. He'd still rather do numbers and letter than anything physical, but as he gains confidence on his feet I can see that changing.
Anders has gotten good at throwing bread to the ducks with his left hand. His physical therapists also raised the prospect that he's a lefty. Even if Anders is not a lefty, I believe he sees the world like a southpaw.
We went to the zoo today. It was packed. It's so weird to be able to do stuff on MLK Day. Back home MLK Day was either a makeup snow day or a real snow day. Anders' favorites are the ostrich and the albino alligator. He likes to say "osrich go dis way...osrich go dis WAY!" and "albano algador." The first saying comes from my mom's Thanksgiving visit when we visited and the Ostrich was really hamming it up for us, like a flightless bird with a new lease on life.
We were sad to see the Texans lose yesterday. They had a nice run and it was fun to see the region come together with Texans pride. I don't have a great handle on the fan base, but I'd tentatively say they are three parts "Cleveland Browns Persecution Complex," three parts "Minnesota Vikings Gut Punch," and one part "Chicago Bears Irrational Exuberance."
I've just let Trudy out and warned her to not go jump into Anders' window ledge and peer into his room from the outside. Do you think that will work? Me either. It feels like early June out there!
I'm really tired after toddler wrastling in the pool. I'm going to watch KU play #4 Baylor on the internet and then go to bed. I have a few colleagues who are Baylor grads. Fortunately KU is at home, and fortunately, if KU loses, no one down here cares about college basketball.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Anders did do dat
It's been a while. We put 4,600 miles on the Prius over Christmas break. We were thankful for great weather. Aside from a rush hour rainstorm in Dallas on the way up and high winds around Salina on the way back, we faced no elements. Minnesota and Iowa were quite mild. I started out in a coat and scarf, but by the time I left I was running around in a sweater.
Anders was a trooper on the way up and back. We had a number of toys and diversions for him. Among his favorite was our GPS or "Garmy" as we call it, short for Garmin. We also call it "Lady" when "Lady" is giving directions. That's not to be confused with "Lady Singing," which is a 40 year old Sesame Street cartoon where a Swami counts to 20 on his four hands. That is also not to be confused with "Mommy going to see the ladies," which means Anna's going out on the town. Anders enjoyed the numbers and letters that he could punch in on Garmy. He even turned Garmy to Bulgarian a time or two. In addition, Anders led us to some historic sites including Garmy directing us the the Brown v. Board of Education Museum in Topeka, Lecompton--where the 1857 Pro-Slavery Constitution of Kansas originated, and the Living History Farms in Des Moines. Anders and Garmy also eerily led Anna and Dorene to almost precisely the correct store on a shopping trip in Maple Grove.
We had much Christmas fun and saw many family and friends. Anders did quite well considering all the places we lugged him. Two times he had enough, though. On Boxing Day at the house of one of Anna's high school friends, after 10 minutes Anders was late for the door--that was a short visit. Then, after we arrived home on Sunday night, Anders hurled half an hour after arriving here.
We thought that we could make Christmas Anders' favorite holiday by giving him many gifts and letting him play other peoples' pianos, but alas when we returned home and we took a stroll on the sidewalk, his first questioning statement was "Halloween all done...?"
We visited his friend the 5-4, a "5.4B" spray painted on a sidewalk half a block from our house. We went back the playground where he sat on the swing and counted my swings up to 100. I only had to spot him the 90. Anna tells me that counting to 100 is a first grade standard in the state of Ohio.
The leaves were turning colors when we left in December and most of them, at least those that fall, were on the ground by the time we returned on Sunday. We've raked most of them into piles, which Anders likes to tromp through.
We discovered the answer to the question which is better Chipotle or Qdoba--Mission Burrito. After dinner tonight, Anders and I went out for a walk through what I thought was just the Whole Foods strip mall, but we walked around the center where we found a fake lake and a running trail. Anders counted the numbers on the light poles most of the way around the lake. It was a beautiful night for a walk with temps in the high 60s and a pleasant smell in the air. Anders ran from light post to light post to count. He hasn't really run much prior to the past couple of weeks.
Anders is starting physical therapy next week. We've been stretching his legs for the past few weeks, which seems to have helped his mobility and dexterity. He has tightness in his legs and he walks on the inside of his feet. My professional opinion as a doctor (but not the kind that helps people) is that all the stuff they stuck in his feet during his hospital stay has slowed his development of feeling in his feet. For example, when we tickle his feet, he understands what the sensation should be (because he feels it under his arms when tickled), but his reaction is delayed and it seems like he is acting like he's ticklish for our benefit. He has made great improvement and hopefully with some physical therapy, he will play on the swings and slides as much as he plays with numbers and letters.
Anders even does an impersonation of Count Von Count from Sesame Street. I think the Count has some serious, undiagnosed OCD. Does no one on Sesame Street see this? Big Bird or maybe one of the adults--where is Gordon in all of this?--needs to stage an intervention.
Anders also does impersonations of Mom and Dad or as he often calls us "Anna" and "Jon." He also calls us "AnnacallmeMom!" and "JoncallmeDaddy!" In those cases, he steps on our lines if we don't say them quickly enough for him. His impression of me is a low growl and his impression of Anna is a loud fake yell. Anders pretty much has us pegged.
Trudy stayed with my uncle Fred in Marquette where he took great care of her, even buying her a deluxe model scratching post. When we showed up, she was not only happy to see us, but surprisingly happy to see Anders and Anders was pleased to see Trudy too.
When Anders does something he should not he says, "Anders did do dat." When he talks himself into doing the right thing, he tells us "Anders good boys, no bad boys."
All four of us were pretty resilient considering the length and duration of the trip. I still had "Driver's Leg" last night, but I'm healed today.
Tomorrow is Texans Spirit Day at school. I expect the depleted Texans to overcome the odds and shoot down Cincy's Red Rocket Saturday afternoon at Reliant. I hope the roof is open, it's supposed to be 72 and sunny. If they don't have the roof open on a day like that, then there's no reason for a retractable roof. It will be noisy enough even if the roof open, but I'd like to see Houston show off its great January weather.
Anders was a trooper on the way up and back. We had a number of toys and diversions for him. Among his favorite was our GPS or "Garmy" as we call it, short for Garmin. We also call it "Lady" when "Lady" is giving directions. That's not to be confused with "Lady Singing," which is a 40 year old Sesame Street cartoon where a Swami counts to 20 on his four hands. That is also not to be confused with "Mommy going to see the ladies," which means Anna's going out on the town. Anders enjoyed the numbers and letters that he could punch in on Garmy. He even turned Garmy to Bulgarian a time or two. In addition, Anders led us to some historic sites including Garmy directing us the the Brown v. Board of Education Museum in Topeka, Lecompton--where the 1857 Pro-Slavery Constitution of Kansas originated, and the Living History Farms in Des Moines. Anders and Garmy also eerily led Anna and Dorene to almost precisely the correct store on a shopping trip in Maple Grove.
We had much Christmas fun and saw many family and friends. Anders did quite well considering all the places we lugged him. Two times he had enough, though. On Boxing Day at the house of one of Anna's high school friends, after 10 minutes Anders was late for the door--that was a short visit. Then, after we arrived home on Sunday night, Anders hurled half an hour after arriving here.
We thought that we could make Christmas Anders' favorite holiday by giving him many gifts and letting him play other peoples' pianos, but alas when we returned home and we took a stroll on the sidewalk, his first questioning statement was "Halloween all done...?"
We visited his friend the 5-4, a "5.4B" spray painted on a sidewalk half a block from our house. We went back the playground where he sat on the swing and counted my swings up to 100. I only had to spot him the 90. Anna tells me that counting to 100 is a first grade standard in the state of Ohio.
The leaves were turning colors when we left in December and most of them, at least those that fall, were on the ground by the time we returned on Sunday. We've raked most of them into piles, which Anders likes to tromp through.
We discovered the answer to the question which is better Chipotle or Qdoba--Mission Burrito. After dinner tonight, Anders and I went out for a walk through what I thought was just the Whole Foods strip mall, but we walked around the center where we found a fake lake and a running trail. Anders counted the numbers on the light poles most of the way around the lake. It was a beautiful night for a walk with temps in the high 60s and a pleasant smell in the air. Anders ran from light post to light post to count. He hasn't really run much prior to the past couple of weeks.
Anders is starting physical therapy next week. We've been stretching his legs for the past few weeks, which seems to have helped his mobility and dexterity. He has tightness in his legs and he walks on the inside of his feet. My professional opinion as a doctor (but not the kind that helps people) is that all the stuff they stuck in his feet during his hospital stay has slowed his development of feeling in his feet. For example, when we tickle his feet, he understands what the sensation should be (because he feels it under his arms when tickled), but his reaction is delayed and it seems like he is acting like he's ticklish for our benefit. He has made great improvement and hopefully with some physical therapy, he will play on the swings and slides as much as he plays with numbers and letters.
Anders even does an impersonation of Count Von Count from Sesame Street. I think the Count has some serious, undiagnosed OCD. Does no one on Sesame Street see this? Big Bird or maybe one of the adults--where is Gordon in all of this?--needs to stage an intervention.
Anders also does impersonations of Mom and Dad or as he often calls us "Anna" and "Jon." He also calls us "AnnacallmeMom!" and "JoncallmeDaddy!" In those cases, he steps on our lines if we don't say them quickly enough for him. His impression of me is a low growl and his impression of Anna is a loud fake yell. Anders pretty much has us pegged.
Trudy stayed with my uncle Fred in Marquette where he took great care of her, even buying her a deluxe model scratching post. When we showed up, she was not only happy to see us, but surprisingly happy to see Anders and Anders was pleased to see Trudy too.
When Anders does something he should not he says, "Anders did do dat." When he talks himself into doing the right thing, he tells us "Anders good boys, no bad boys."
All four of us were pretty resilient considering the length and duration of the trip. I still had "Driver's Leg" last night, but I'm healed today.
Tomorrow is Texans Spirit Day at school. I expect the depleted Texans to overcome the odds and shoot down Cincy's Red Rocket Saturday afternoon at Reliant. I hope the roof is open, it's supposed to be 72 and sunny. If they don't have the roof open on a day like that, then there's no reason for a retractable roof. It will be noisy enough even if the roof open, but I'd like to see Houston show off its great January weather.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Merry Christmas 2011
I hope this message finds you and yours in good health and spirits!
As you may have noticed by the possibly crumpled “postcard” you received (or will receive) in the mail this year, we a going for an economical Christmas! Fortunately, super long family newsletters are free, so here goes:
From January through May we carried on with our 2010 daily routines. I took care of Anders, taught history courses at OU-Chillicothe, and kept up with my third part-time job of trying to sell our house. Anna continued working at Washington Elementary in Gallipolis as an intervention specialist and took care of Anders on her own during those nights when I taught.
In February, I began a job tour of the South. Over the subsequent two months, I interviewed in San Antonio, Washington DC, Memphis, Dallas, Houston, and Charlottesville.
In March, Anders landed himself in the hospital overnight with a 105-degree fever, double ear infection, and spot of pneumonia. The next day, he was much better, but the doctor was undecided about allowing Anders to leave. However, Anders had his shoes on under his hospital gown, so he decided to follow Anders’s lead and release him.
We were visited by Uncle Josh at the end of March, Grandma and Grandpa in April, and— via Cincitucky and Butterbean’s Pickup Taxi Service—Aunt Mandy in early May. Brad Albers made his valedictory visit to Athens in April, as did Luke Christian for his first, and my final, Mom’s Weekend. Grandma visited in May.
We had an eventful Easter Week as we sold our house on Tuesday and on Maundy Thursday I took a job teaching history at St. John’s School in Houston, TX.
We lived in our house for a month after closing, but that was not quite enough time to get everything organized for our move. We were supposed to be out of the Palace of West Hills on May 27, but the Prius pulled out of the driveway at #9 at 1:35 am on May 28. When we woke Anders, he shouted “Go! Go! Go!” When it became apparent that we were actually obliging his request, he said “Yeah!” and shook with excitement.
Anna left her job at Washington Elementary in May. She was sad to leave many friends behind in Gallipolis. She made numerous memories over her six years teaching there.
In June, we flew to Houston to find a place to live. After a struggle to find suitable housing in Houston, we landed comfortably in the southwestern suburb of Sugar Land, so named because it was once the home of the Imperial Sugar Company.
In July, we flew to Denver for our friend Marie Drew’s wedding in Fort Collins, CO. It was a happy weekend at a breathtaking venue. The next week we celebrated Anders’ 2nd birthday in Minnesota, then moved to Texas a few days later.
We arrived during the hottest summer in Texas history. It was over 100 degrees every day in August. This backdrop enhanced the comedy of errors that surrounded the move. Atlas Van Lines broke about half the dishes we received as wedding presents. The garage door trapped our car on my first day of work. We lacked hot water for the first ten days we lived in our new rental house. This letter would get even longer if I recounted how things went wrong, so instead I’ll list what’s new since we moved in: garage door, hot water heater, sprinkler system, dish washer, bedroom carpet, bathroom sinks, toilet, and a reinforced house foundation (we no longer walk downhill to our bedroom). Anna’s mom, Dorene, flew down to help us get situated. She’s probably still laughing about the clown car of characters that showed up on a rotating basis to fix that day’s emergency.
In October, I flew up for my friend Lucas Moellers’ wedding. I was happy for the bride and groom and happy to talk “Decorah” all weekend in Chicago. October was also the month Houston faced its second Biblical plague—Floodwater Mosquitoes. This swarm appeared two weeks after a big rain, biting through clothes and making life miserable for about a week. On the October “plus side,” Anders loves Halloween above all other holidays. He enjoyed seeing the “funny pumpkins” and “funny monsters.” He still talks a lot about Halloween.
My mom visited us for Thanksgiving and Anna’s friend Ela just wrapped up a visit. I have a feeling we will serve as a winter haven for more visitors between now and the end of April.
I teach on a movie set. My room is on the quad where Wes Anderson (St. John’s 1987) filmed one of my favorite movies Rushmore (1999). The school is amazing. Many of my students have Ivy League aspirations and a fair amount of them will make it. They serve stuffed crab and tilapia in the cafeteria! I have a second lunch outside my room known as Senior Tea where the mothers of seniors bring food based on a theme, so one day will be Indian food, one day Chinese, one day Mexican.
Anna has enjoyed staying with Anders. She spends time during the day and sometimes at night with her fellow SLAMs (Sugar Land Area Moms). Anna has also become quite handy in the kitchen churning out the Tex-Mex cuisine.
Trudy has started a new life for herself as squirrel chaser in our fenced-in backyard, with the success rate of Wile E. Coyote.
Anders enjoys playing with the SLAM kids, especially his putative girlfriend Chloe! He has made friends at the swimming pool and the dry cleaners. Among his favorite activities are walking to the pond to feed ducks, trips to the zoo, and splashing around in the Gulf of Mexico.
We enjoy our new life in Sugar Land. It is not like the Texas stereotypes we had in our minds. It feels much more like Southern California than our fictional version of Texas. So, visit us, but don’t come in August!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Jon, Anna, Anders, and Trudy
Monday, November 28, 2011
200 Swings, Potty Chair, Pleasant Nursery Visit
Yesterday, Anders urinated for the first time in his toddler commode. He read his potty book as he did so.
Anders also successfully stayed in the church nursery. Anna stayed with him for five minutes, then left for five minutes, then returned, until he eventually took to the nursery.
These were HUGE advances for Anders.
Today, he swung 200 times in the big boy swing (no harness). 100 times in a black swing, then 100 times in a blue swing. Anders was concentrating so hard on that first big boy swing that he had a grim, adult look on his face.
We've noticed in the last week that Anders has become more assertive and articulate.
Anders had a successful visit with his grandma Ingrid for Thanksgiving.
We have had some nice weather recently with lows in the mid 30s and highs around 60. Naturally, many people here are freaking out about the cold weather. We turned on the heater last night, which is tough to believe since we were sweating it out just a week ago.
Two quick sports predictions, Favre to the Texans and Iowa to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.
Anders also successfully stayed in the church nursery. Anna stayed with him for five minutes, then left for five minutes, then returned, until he eventually took to the nursery.
These were HUGE advances for Anders.
Today, he swung 200 times in the big boy swing (no harness). 100 times in a black swing, then 100 times in a blue swing. Anders was concentrating so hard on that first big boy swing that he had a grim, adult look on his face.
We've noticed in the last week that Anders has become more assertive and articulate.
Anders had a successful visit with his grandma Ingrid for Thanksgiving.
We have had some nice weather recently with lows in the mid 30s and highs around 60. Naturally, many people here are freaking out about the cold weather. We turned on the heater last night, which is tough to believe since we were sweating it out just a week ago.
Two quick sports predictions, Favre to the Texans and Iowa to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Miss Trudy
I took Anders to library story time followed by a Kroger trip this morning. I felt like we were back in Athens again!
A woman called Miss Trudy runs library story time. She has an assistant in the back of the room. I saw many interesting looking people. There were a lot of mom and dad combos with kids along with grandparents, and grandparent-parent combos.
It was a bit big and rigid for my tastes. I know that I usually rag on Athens in this location, but I prefer Amy's intimate setup at the Athens library to this massive Sugar Land production.
I had never been to the Kroger I chose today. It was pretty sweet.
Anders and I made a Thanksgiving turkey hat. We were missing the beak in our packet, but I didn't want to bother Miss Trudy, who also sneaked a vegetarian message into her puppet show.
Well, Anders and I are off within the hour to pickup Grandma Ingrid at Hobby Airport within the hour.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
It's 72 and sunny in Sugar Land!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Good Medicine
While I was away at a school retreat in the Piney Woods, Anders remembered me by saying "Daddy, good medicine." I can't believe he remembers our ritual for giving him allergy medication in Athens. I took the song Bad Medicine, made it "Good Medicine," and sang it to Anders during medicine time time. Today, I was singing the Song from Sesame Street and Anders said, "No Daddy Singing." This comment is long overdue.
We had our donuts today. We brought Mommy along, and she was complaining the whole way about the weather. It was 85 and humid today.
We had great weather for the retreat up in the woods with cool evenings and pleasant, sunny afternoons. The weather is generally solid now, but those odd high humidity days in the 80s remain strange. I'll take this weather though as November was one of my least favorite months back home with all of winter ahead of you.
Anders said something approximating "San Antonio" today. He knows it's a city as he said "Dallas" right after saying "San Antonio." Now if we can just get him to volunteer "Houston" once in a while. This development will not help the Bayou City's inferiority complex, especially if "Austin" is the next noun out of his mouth.
We had our donuts today. We brought Mommy along, and she was complaining the whole way about the weather. It was 85 and humid today.
We had great weather for the retreat up in the woods with cool evenings and pleasant, sunny afternoons. The weather is generally solid now, but those odd high humidity days in the 80s remain strange. I'll take this weather though as November was one of my least favorite months back home with all of winter ahead of you.
Anders said something approximating "San Antonio" today. He knows it's a city as he said "Dallas" right after saying "San Antonio." Now if we can just get him to volunteer "Houston" once in a while. This development will not help the Bayou City's inferiority complex, especially if "Austin" is the next noun out of his mouth.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Anders P. Keaton
I think Anders would enjoy seeing Condi tomorrow night at Rice. Along with Dallas, Anders is a big fan of 9-9-9. He loves saying "Nine, nine, nine," which to his mom's consternation. Oh, Bama... I told my students that they needed to pay attention when we talked about Mormonism because our next president will be a Mormon.
Anders has also taken to saying "Taco Cabana," our favorite fast food Mexican restaurant. Next thing we know, Anders will be saying Gulp of Mexico--Mommy's favorite drink at Taco Cabana.
"No more dentists!" is what Anders says randomly because of an outing last week he and Anna took. They were searching for a doctor's office, but only found dentistry. There are a remarkable amount of dentists in this town and they aggressively advertise.
Anders has revived his "Ando Shake" with a modified "Ando Shuffle" He shuffles over to our bookcase to look at photos of "Baby Anders" as he calls himself. When he sees the pictures just after he came out Anders says, "Uh, oh." He looses interest once Anders starts to look better in the pictures.
And one last thing, a happy birthday to friend of the blog, Dan Seeley. No gift is forthcoming as the season Rodgers and the Packers are having is gift enough for all celebrating this fall in America's Dairyland.
Iowa beat Michigan on my 11th birthday, when beating Michigan used to mean something. After last weekend, Iowa has its first-ever three game winning streak against Michigan. Anders was napping during the last half of the game so I had a chance to watch it. I saw this coming. Had you asked me two weeks ago, I would have said the Hawks would lose to Minnesota and beat Michigan. That's why the breakup of the Big 12 is so sad because quirky conference rivalries are destroyed. Ah, well, no one asked me.
Anders has also taken to saying "Taco Cabana," our favorite fast food Mexican restaurant. Next thing we know, Anders will be saying Gulp of Mexico--Mommy's favorite drink at Taco Cabana.
"No more dentists!" is what Anders says randomly because of an outing last week he and Anna took. They were searching for a doctor's office, but only found dentistry. There are a remarkable amount of dentists in this town and they aggressively advertise.
Anders has revived his "Ando Shake" with a modified "Ando Shuffle" He shuffles over to our bookcase to look at photos of "Baby Anders" as he calls himself. When he sees the pictures just after he came out Anders says, "Uh, oh." He looses interest once Anders starts to look better in the pictures.
And one last thing, a happy birthday to friend of the blog, Dan Seeley. No gift is forthcoming as the season Rodgers and the Packers are having is gift enough for all celebrating this fall in America's Dairyland.
Iowa beat Michigan on my 11th birthday, when beating Michigan used to mean something. After last weekend, Iowa has its first-ever three game winning streak against Michigan. Anders was napping during the last half of the game so I had a chance to watch it. I saw this coming. Had you asked me two weeks ago, I would have said the Hawks would lose to Minnesota and beat Michigan. That's why the breakup of the Big 12 is so sad because quirky conference rivalries are destroyed. Ah, well, no one asked me.
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