My little fishies

I often affectionately refer to my crazy bunch as a zoo, but I am starting to think that "aquarium" might be more appropriate! Bug and Bean finished their swimming lessons last Thursday. Each had a few things on their report cards that "need work" before advancing to another level, but I am just amazed by how much they learned! In addition to swimming lessons, we took advantage of a free day at the local pool last Wednesday with a friend. Bug was finally big enough to go on the water slide so it was a good thing that we had a friend with us. She and Bug went on the slide several times. Beeb was being a Mama's boy and didn't want me out of his sight, so I didn't get to go.

We also spend a fair amount of time at the apartment swimming pool (one thing we will miss when we move!), where Bean has demonstrated her abilities to blow bubbles and kick. Her new favorite thing is to hold onto my hands and swim (with and without bubbles) while I pull her around the pool. She also likes coming with me to deeper water (4'6") and holding her breath and getting dunked to touch the bottom. She has also worked up the courage to jump in the shallow end where she can touch all by herself, with me just watching, but much prefers jumping into my arms! Bug likes jumping in at the shallow end (3') and then swimming underwater as far as he can get in one breath. He kicks like a champ, but hasn't quite coordinated the arms yet. Beeb loves standing on the steps and splashing with his arms. He can stand on three different steps and be ankle deep, hip deep, or armpit deep. He also loves playing "putt-putt." I help him "swim" around the pool by supporting him on his belly or back while he kicks his little froggy legs and splashes his arms. When he gets going on his belly, you'd swear that you could let go and he'd just keep swimming! (I haven't tried.)

I wish I had pictures, but after losing one very nice camera to an ill-fated canoe trip (don't wanna talk about it except to say that the guy who was laughing almost convulsively at the mishap went under with his even more expensive camera about ten minutes later. There is sometimes justice.), I am understandably nervous about having cameras around water! Maybe we can figure something out with Kitty Daddy to keep the camera far from the water.

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One last thing...please go and check out earthchick's raffle. She is raising money for a peer mentoring program for clergywomen that she participated it. While I am not involved in organized religion (nor do I even know earthchick's affiliation), I can speak firsthand of the benefits of this kind of thing for women in male-dominated professions. While women can match men performance-wise is any field (and vice-versa....KittyDaddy is a nurse, so we have seen both sides), having a great support system can really make the difference in advancement and retention of talented women in largely male fields and provide even more great role models for our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and other favorite growing girls. Plus there are some AMAZING fibery prizes (and even some non-fibery ones). Go take a look...the drawing is in early August and rumor has it that a new prize will be added for every $500 in donations over the original goal (which has already been met).

Zee ART, eet ees a process...

"Vat is dees? You dare dee-sturb zee petite artiste??? Zee nerve of zome pipples! No understandink of zee creative process and zee artistique temperment"

Though it clearly wasn't too serious of an infraction, because a nanosecond later this was the temperamental artist:

Clearly all has been forgiven! Note the purple on the face and the red on the hand. Painting of the artist is just as important as the painting of the paper. This masterpiece is by big brother Bug (who only had a little paint on his face):

It's the ocean and there are mama fishes and baby fishes. Don't hold me to this, but I believe that the fish are the different colors up at the top. I'm not an art expert though, so I may have misunderstood.

In other news, we have been having cold and snowy weather. What?? Cold and snowy?? In Wisconsin?? In January?? Yeah, we got pretty spoiled by our mild end to 2006. If you want an idea of just how low the humidity is:

It's doing that all by itself. Bean and her brother had a "rassle" on the living room floor and when they stood up, she looked like a little dandelion.

Mama's been fighting a little cabin fever and the winter blahs. I get the whole bear/hibernation thing. It sounds kind of nice to just snooze until spring. But on the bright side, I did get the paper I had been working on submitted last night. It will mostly likely be in The Journal of Green Building's winter edition.

Daddy evenings

Since the beginning of the year, we have been trying to implement semi-regular "Daddy Evenings," where Daddy stays with the kidlings and Mama does whatever the heck she wants! I try to take some time two to three times a week to get some things done that aren't conducive to little (but, oh so cute) hangers-on. So far I have been using my get-away time to drink coffee at the 'Bou and work on writing a paper for submission from my dissertation and to go over to the fitness room in the main building of our apartment complex to lift weights, do aerobic exercise (stair climber or stationary bike) and watch either "House, M.D." or "CSI" on cable instead of fuzzy antenna signal. Who knows, once I get this first paper submitted, I might even go completely wild and crazy and do something like socializing or running errands. I do have one more (maybe two) papers that need to be written after this one, so the coffee shop may remain a good option.

Bug tends to go a little ape at the idea that Mommy is leaving him forever and doesn't love him and is abandoning him to the raw elements. Have I mentioned that Bug has a flair for the dramatic?? Although I am tempted to go into over-protective mommy mode, I know that this is more sound and fury than actual concern. In fact, last time I came home, he was engaged in a to-the-death pillow fight with Daddy and told me to go away, because he didn't want me home. And tonight, when he started in complaining, I suggested that Daddy might be amenable to another pillow fight and the grousing was cut off mid-word as he chirped "Bye, mommy" and went to arrange the sofa pillows into proper fighting form. What a goofball!

It's Official!!

While my committee gave me the thumbs up back in April when I defended, at that point I only had the minor details finished. You know: 90 credits of coursework, years of research, almost 300 pages of dissertation, etc.

Now that I have taken care of the important things like library overdue fines, unpaid U-Bills, jumping through formatting hoops for the grad college, it is finally and irrevocably official!!