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Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Moving to Tumblr....
I have decided to bifurcate my blogging. I will try out tumblr. I really find it a fantastic platform.
http://katrinachristiansen.tumblr.com/
http://katrinachristiansen.tumblr.com/
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Aquaman and a bottle of Pernod
So the big news (that surely overshadows another win by the Huskers) to share is that Henry put himself to sleep last night for the first time [with me home]. He must have found his teddy after we left his room because I found the teddy next to Henry when I started my nightly rounds. This success was preceded by a week of bedtime battles and 3 am terrors. Max was away the whole week in West Virginia, helping to save the Trichechus manatus (manatees) that have started to live around power plant cooling water discharge points. Henry would often ask, "Where is Dada?" I would explain where he was and what he was doing and Henry would respond by commenting on Max's transportation, "Big airplane, flew, air, big airplane" or that Max was going to return with, "Big present, Henry's"
The day before Max left, we attended a swim birthday party for a couple of pre-schoolers, one just a month younger than Henry. At first Henry wanted nothing to do with the pool; he wouldn't even let me change his pull-up to a swimmer. We just stood a safe distance from the pool and watched adults and kids play and swim. The birthday boy, with a coast guard approved life vest, was jumping in the water from a boulder near the edge of the pool and spinning in circles in the 8ft deep part of the pool! I started to play with Henry's toys right at the water's edge and not too long after Henry had found his inner Aquaman and let loose in the water (obviously, with me hovering/catching/chasing/splashing etc.) and ended the night not wanting to leave the pool. He truly loved it, I could see it in his face, he was laughing and smile right up to us forcing him into the car. We are going to look into swim lessons for him.
I think if you were to ask someone from Alabama, "What is the best thing about Alabama?" More that 50% would probably mention Alabama or Auburn football (you could guess their answer by checking for blue/orange or red/white preferences) and the other 45% would probably say the cultural events or places: Hot Air Balloon Festival or the Space and Rocket Center or Civil Rights monuments. And another 1% that are nerds would say the biodiversity and geography. But me, I have to say, the only thing I love, absolutely, positively love about Alabama are the kids. Everyday we drop Henry off at his school, we are always greeted by these darling, caring twins, Jyra and Kyra (who are always dressed to the nines and know it). They bring Henry his favorite toys because they know it comforts him. They and Henry's other classmates are so generous with their kindness; hugging, sharing, and showing things to us. There is this little boy named William, who always is a little bit late coming up to the three of us when we arrive, he will most assuredly have a ball in one hand and something sticky and gooey on the other which makes hugging him, well, challenging. Henry has begun to mention his classmates outside school. Henry often will explain that he played ball with William when we pick him up. At the park earlier this week in the evening, Henry found an orange barrette and ran up to me and showed it to me and said, "Jyra, Jyra." I explained it was like what Jyra wears but was likely not hers (and thought to myself, she would never wear that shade of orange).
Perhaps the most exceptional interaction I have had with a child was this week at the library. Henry and I were sitting at the Lego table building ships and planes and houses and robots, and they all end up in a really tall awkward tower that Henry is continually adding to or taking from. This little four year old girl, who we have had join us at the Lego table once before, approached the table and stood next to Henry and stared at him and just beamed with this goodness and joy; she reached up her little plump hands to gently hold Henry's cheeks and smiled. She took her hands off of Henry's cheeks and turned to me and with the most sincere voice and look of happiness said, "He is so beautiful."
I cried when I retold that story to Max that night over the phone. I my mom has often said it, but children really are so special and have such a unique view of the world and we are so lucky when they share it with us.
This week I am reading "The Once and Future king" by TH White inspired by this. I am surprised at how funny it is. I was not surprised however, to find that Wart was a bastard, which Disney left out of the movie, "The Sword and the Stone." I just kind of wish I had one of my high school English teachers handy to help me remember the legend of King Arthur a little bit better. But I love Merlin, who keeps house a bit like me.
It is still hot here, Florence and the Machine are wrong, the Dog Days are still on.
The day before Max left, we attended a swim birthday party for a couple of pre-schoolers, one just a month younger than Henry. At first Henry wanted nothing to do with the pool; he wouldn't even let me change his pull-up to a swimmer. We just stood a safe distance from the pool and watched adults and kids play and swim. The birthday boy, with a coast guard approved life vest, was jumping in the water from a boulder near the edge of the pool and spinning in circles in the 8ft deep part of the pool! I started to play with Henry's toys right at the water's edge and not too long after Henry had found his inner Aquaman and let loose in the water (obviously, with me hovering/catching/chasing/splashing etc.) and ended the night not wanting to leave the pool. He truly loved it, I could see it in his face, he was laughing and smile right up to us forcing him into the car. We are going to look into swim lessons for him.
I think if you were to ask someone from Alabama, "What is the best thing about Alabama?" More that 50% would probably mention Alabama or Auburn football (you could guess their answer by checking for blue/orange or red/white preferences) and the other 45% would probably say the cultural events or places: Hot Air Balloon Festival or the Space and Rocket Center or Civil Rights monuments. And another 1% that are nerds would say the biodiversity and geography. But me, I have to say, the only thing I love, absolutely, positively love about Alabama are the kids. Everyday we drop Henry off at his school, we are always greeted by these darling, caring twins, Jyra and Kyra (who are always dressed to the nines and know it). They bring Henry his favorite toys because they know it comforts him. They and Henry's other classmates are so generous with their kindness; hugging, sharing, and showing things to us. There is this little boy named William, who always is a little bit late coming up to the three of us when we arrive, he will most assuredly have a ball in one hand and something sticky and gooey on the other which makes hugging him, well, challenging. Henry has begun to mention his classmates outside school. Henry often will explain that he played ball with William when we pick him up. At the park earlier this week in the evening, Henry found an orange barrette and ran up to me and showed it to me and said, "Jyra, Jyra." I explained it was like what Jyra wears but was likely not hers (and thought to myself, she would never wear that shade of orange).
Perhaps the most exceptional interaction I have had with a child was this week at the library. Henry and I were sitting at the Lego table building ships and planes and houses and robots, and they all end up in a really tall awkward tower that Henry is continually adding to or taking from. This little four year old girl, who we have had join us at the Lego table once before, approached the table and stood next to Henry and stared at him and just beamed with this goodness and joy; she reached up her little plump hands to gently hold Henry's cheeks and smiled. She took her hands off of Henry's cheeks and turned to me and with the most sincere voice and look of happiness said, "He is so beautiful."
I cried when I retold that story to Max that night over the phone. I my mom has often said it, but children really are so special and have such a unique view of the world and we are so lucky when they share it with us.
This week I am reading "The Once and Future king" by TH White inspired by this. I am surprised at how funny it is. I was not surprised however, to find that Wart was a bastard, which Disney left out of the movie, "The Sword and the Stone." I just kind of wish I had one of my high school English teachers handy to help me remember the legend of King Arthur a little bit better. But I love Merlin, who keeps house a bit like me.
It is still hot here, Florence and the Machine are wrong, the Dog Days are still on.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Cookies and Resignation.
Henry and I made pancakes and cookies on Saturday. He absolutely loves breaking eggs. I had a really hard time not letting him eat the choc chip cookie dough because Max kept coming into the kitchen and taking pinches of the cookie dough and eating it. When the cookies cooled a bit after coming out of the oven, Max offered a whole cookie to Henry, who took it and attempted to shove the whole thing in his mouth. Max cried, "Don't put the whole thing in your mouth!" After Henry finished, Max asked, "Was that cookie delicious?" Henry replied, "Di-di-slush. More, Please." Henry has reached the height were he can now reach things on the edge of the counter. I can help think it is darling when I catch him on his tip toes trying to reach for a cookie or tear off a piece of freshly baked bread.Up until recently we have been pretty relaxed about potty training, but now we are trying to establish a routine of trying to have Henry go at home. When Henry would successfully go potty on the toilet, Max and I clap and exclaim "You did it! Henry did it! Good Job!" trying to be positive. However, now whenever we ask if Henry wants to go potty, Henry will clap his hands and say "I did it! I did it!" He has somehow jumped from being asked the question to the reward without needing to do anything. I have yet to resort to any other reward system as I am sure Henry will discover a way to manipulate it like this kiddo.
In my previous posting, I eluded that I had something serious I wanted to write about. It is not anything surprising, that is if you know me. I recently heard this story (here is the study on which it is based). I find it incredibly frustrating to have grown up being told by countless adults (teachers & parents), Public Service Announcements and feminists, that you can be anything you want, you can make your dreams come true if you just work hard enough. Today, I am not buying it. Look at the data. It saying, you can try; you can try to be mom; have a career, and guess what you are still going to make less than your average educated white male. I began questioning these lies when I heard this interview on Fresh Air with Ayelet Waldma, who is mystery writer that had been a lawyer before having children, in which she expresses,
"So I'm 44 years old, and I think I'm part of the first generation of women raised by these feminist mothers. And when I first was feeling so frustrated and depressed and angry about being stuck at home, I really kind of turned on that message, and I said, you know, this was a lie. This whole thing was a lie. We can't have it all. "(I should, note she has let go of her anger about this as she has gained perspective and a profitable writing career.)
The second thing that has caused me to question this idea was the reading of "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book, the author attempts to understand how people come to be successful. He does not document the success stories of any women...I can't say why, I can only assume (which we all know can be dangerous).
And beyond all of things I have read and heard...I feel based on my current mother/PhD student situation, trying to finish research, potty training Henry and applying for a new job, I can't have it all. And then I can't help wondering, that I do not really need it all, but is that resigning?
and right before I was to publish this post, my pal Hedda, posted this blog. Cosmic Irony. I will have to ponder these rules and how they affect my "You can't have it all" feminism funk.
Monday, August 30, 2010
3 parts Comedy -- 1 part Tragedy
When I publish a blog post I think that the posting more times than not should definitely have a high ratio of things funny/silly to things serious or abstract. Life is way too short to not laugh a whole lot. However, my mood greatly affects my ability to objectively assess the ratio, sometimes. This time I am going to track it.
1) Tuesday morning madness: Stacked on top of the usual morning obstacles was Max leaving for Raleigh, NC to attend a brain trust meeting later that afternoon and dun, dun, dun (dramatic look) a pet related incidence. Dog bed sprinkled with Mona poop? No. Did Nero puke on another one of Max's beloved Wetland Playa books? No. (But that did happen last Thursday). Did I step in a giant puddle of urine with newly donned socks? Yes, yes I did. Of course being a little annoyed, I groaned and started muttering to myself. Max upon hearing, called downstairs to ask what had happened. I exclaimed that I had stepped in a urine puddle in the downstairs bathroom. Max, immediately trying to peg it on one of the cats, asked, "when did you last clean out the catboxes?" I yell back even with greater annoyance as I am cleaning up the mess, "It is a giant puddle! There is no way it was one of the cats, it would of have to been a herd of cats to leave that much behind." But thankfully the rest of the morning was nice.
2) When Max goes away, I usually take the opportunity to watch a movie that Max would never watch. I picked "Date Night," last night with Tina Fey. I am so glad Max wasn't here. I thought is was wonderful, not the best movie, but fun. I laughed really hard when the cars were stuck together. I even cried when the Steve Carrell's character was making a plea to Mark Walberg's character, he was so sweet.
3) Henry is in love with watching Caillou, a Canadian cartoon. Max and I like Caillou because it is all about sharing and learning. However, we have only been able to find two DVDs to rent and so watching the same episodes over and over is testing my sanity. I find myself singing, "I'm growing up, I'm growing up." We may even take on Canadian accents if we keep up with this newest development.
4) The fountain of things funny and silly is still flowing...for example I just found Melissa&Joey on Hulu, it is like Clarissa Explains it All/Sabrina the teenage witch/Blossom/Who's the Boss all in one show. Love it. Ethics lessons in 1/2 hour sessions is so refreshing.
However, I do have some more serious things to mention:
1) Finished reading "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins. Phenomenal is all I can say without giving away too much. It was so well written and now I keep thinking of Katniss and this Neko Case song, I wish I was the Moon, which has this stanza:
1) Tuesday morning madness: Stacked on top of the usual morning obstacles was Max leaving for Raleigh, NC to attend a brain trust meeting later that afternoon and dun, dun, dun (dramatic look) a pet related incidence. Dog bed sprinkled with Mona poop? No. Did Nero puke on another one of Max's beloved Wetland Playa books? No. (But that did happen last Thursday). Did I step in a giant puddle of urine with newly donned socks? Yes, yes I did. Of course being a little annoyed, I groaned and started muttering to myself. Max upon hearing, called downstairs to ask what had happened. I exclaimed that I had stepped in a urine puddle in the downstairs bathroom. Max, immediately trying to peg it on one of the cats, asked, "when did you last clean out the catboxes?" I yell back even with greater annoyance as I am cleaning up the mess, "It is a giant puddle! There is no way it was one of the cats, it would of have to been a herd of cats to leave that much behind." But thankfully the rest of the morning was nice.
2) When Max goes away, I usually take the opportunity to watch a movie that Max would never watch. I picked "Date Night," last night with Tina Fey. I am so glad Max wasn't here. I thought is was wonderful, not the best movie, but fun. I laughed really hard when the cars were stuck together. I even cried when the Steve Carrell's character was making a plea to Mark Walberg's character, he was so sweet.
3) Henry is in love with watching Caillou, a Canadian cartoon. Max and I like Caillou because it is all about sharing and learning. However, we have only been able to find two DVDs to rent and so watching the same episodes over and over is testing my sanity. I find myself singing, "I'm growing up, I'm growing up." We may even take on Canadian accents if we keep up with this newest development.
4) The fountain of things funny and silly is still flowing...for example I just found Melissa&Joey on Hulu, it is like Clarissa Explains it All/Sabrina the teenage witch/Blossom/Who's the Boss all in one show. Love it. Ethics lessons in 1/2 hour sessions is so refreshing.
However, I do have some more serious things to mention:
1) Finished reading "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins. Phenomenal is all I can say without giving away too much. It was so well written and now I keep thinking of Katniss and this Neko Case song, I wish I was the Moon, which has this stanza:
God blessed me, I'm a free man
With no place free to go
I'm paralyzed and collared-tight
No pills for what I fear
This is crazy
I wish I was the moon tonight
With no place free to go
I'm paralyzed and collared-tight
No pills for what I fear
This is crazy
I wish I was the moon tonight
And I do have another serious thingy I want to tackle, but for now I think I will just put in my pocket until it burns a hole...
Peace.
I mean that.
Peace.
I mean that.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Monkey See, Monkey Do: Twitter.
When I started this blog, I had this idea I would share Alabama experiences which have been limited due in part to the confining heat. However, this last week was like a hot week in Iowa or Nebraska, you do not immediately start sweating once going outdoors but jeans are still not a good idea; it is tolerable in shorts and t-shirt. Additionally, school started here and so now we are suddenly living in a city with 25,000 hip, college kiddos. Since the invasion, I have noticed the college student vehicle of choice is a JEEP, the real kind with the roof that detaches. There has also been a growing number of Hummer sightings (H2's mostly). Nike shorts galore, every girl wears them in all colors of the rainbow, they are the Uggs of the south. I just want to take a moment to complain (I know, big surprise) about the drivers here. They are terrible. They drive too quickly, text, cut into lanes when making left hand turns and now with the college students here the problem has grown by nearly 25k times.
We are waiting for our first game day in town, which is the 4th of Sept. What will become of us? There are tiger signs everywhere, directing "game day" traffic this way and that. No RV parking signs. I am not sure I mentioned this before but I have seen churches with tiger mascots...I find that a little alarming. Could this be a crazier place than Lincoln, NE on a game day?
I am sure many of you are aware of the deep love I have for NPR. Well, my cup runneth over...NPR has a Pop culture blog called Monkey See. The writers and contributors on the blog are witty and intelligent. I recommend you check out their weekly podcast, Pop Culture Happy Hour. Hilarious yet informative. It is like having Jason and Tamara Hancock over to play scrabble, eat chocolate molten cakes and drink blood orange martinis. In fact, I joined Twitter so I could follow "my friends" from the PCHH on twitter which turned out to be a really serendipitous act of stalking because I found my friend Hedda on twitter. I then discovered Hedda's blog which I think has to be one of the most beautiful blogs that occasionally is tatooed with vet school photos of (insert latin word with gential or cyto or something with only a half a jaw). Could I write another sentence with twitter mentioned three times? Sure, but I will spare you.
I do however want to share this cosmic like wish that someday my brother will meet Linda Holmes, NPR's entertainment blog editor, he will dazzle her with his vast knowledge of all tv shows and movies ever made. (Remember my Adamisms?) They both love "How I met your Mother." I think they are solemates. She even likes football; Vikings football (sorry Dan).
And because I only have one brother, I am going to be extremely picky about who I pick to be my sister in law. :)
We are waiting for our first game day in town, which is the 4th of Sept. What will become of us? There are tiger signs everywhere, directing "game day" traffic this way and that. No RV parking signs. I am not sure I mentioned this before but I have seen churches with tiger mascots...I find that a little alarming. Could this be a crazier place than Lincoln, NE on a game day?
I am sure many of you are aware of the deep love I have for NPR. Well, my cup runneth over...NPR has a Pop culture blog called Monkey See. The writers and contributors on the blog are witty and intelligent. I recommend you check out their weekly podcast, Pop Culture Happy Hour. Hilarious yet informative. It is like having Jason and Tamara Hancock over to play scrabble, eat chocolate molten cakes and drink blood orange martinis. In fact, I joined Twitter so I could follow "my friends" from the PCHH on twitter which turned out to be a really serendipitous act of stalking because I found my friend Hedda on twitter. I then discovered Hedda's blog which I think has to be one of the most beautiful blogs that occasionally is tatooed with vet school photos of (insert latin word with gential or cyto or something with only a half a jaw). Could I write another sentence with twitter mentioned three times? Sure, but I will spare you.
I do however want to share this cosmic like wish that someday my brother will meet Linda Holmes, NPR's entertainment blog editor, he will dazzle her with his vast knowledge of all tv shows and movies ever made. (Remember my Adamisms?) They both love "How I met your Mother." I think they are solemates. She even likes football; Vikings football (sorry Dan).
And because I only have one brother, I am going to be extremely picky about who I pick to be my sister in law. :)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Found: Lost Harmonica and Husker Pride
I know that everyone's Mondays are manic. But today was a super, special Manic Monday for us.
This morning, I found Henry's harmonica which Henry would definitely put in his plus column, while I might put in the glad for Henry/possible migraine trigger column (just kidding, I love Henry's music). I have been looking for this harmonica for a long time, since before we moved to Auburn from Ames. When we packed up Henry's room I tried to keep an eye out for it but never had any luck finding it.
I figured it had gone the way of my old GEM and the Rocker's Doll; it was swallowed by the vortex that swallows only the best/beloved toys and are never seen again.
That is not the case for this lucky Harmonica. What follows is truthful description of Operation Harmonica Recovery:
"Dear!" Hollers Max from the upstairs to me downstairs.
"Yes" I reply, internally processing what I could have done/not done that Max would break his own rule of yelling between floors. Did I remember to flush? Did not put my floss in the bin? Did Isabelle eat the bar of soap in the tub again?
"Did you remember to clean out the cat box?" Max yells.
"Yes, I did it yesterday!" I yell back, feeling a bit more relaxed, as this morning is garbage pick-up and Max is just checking...
"Are you sure?" Max calls.
"Yes." I yell back.
"Well, Mona is taking a dump on Isabelle's bed." Max yells. I hear Max trying to find the words to communicate to Mona that pooping on Isabelle's bed is not okay.
My reply, "Well, it is probably because Isabelle will not let Mona into the kitchen to get to the cat box." I go and retrieve the clean up materials and go upstairs and clean up the mess, which required that I remove Isabelle's bed cover. It is when I removed the cover that Henry's Harmonica fell to the floor, almost at Henry's feet, who is particularly interested in all things poop. Henry of course picks up with this pure look of joy and begins to play...the blues. I am fairly certain that most Mondays you will not find a cat pooping on a dog bed that results in the recovery of a most beloved toy. In the car ride to Henry's daycare, Max shared a hypothesis that Mona may be a repeat offender and Isabelle has been taking care of cleaning up the tootsie rolls; she has come to think it is like when housekeeping leaves a mint on a pillow at a hotel. I still have not figured out how the harmonica got inside Isabelle's bed, perhaps she does not care for Henry's music...
NCAA Football and Volleyball season is here! Yeah! I received an alumni ad from UNL's bookstore with this hoodie in it on Saturday. I liked it so much I sent text pictures of it to Wendy, my sister for her opinion and Leslie. Max thinks is not attractive. The more Max espouses his distaste for all things Scarlett and Cream the more I like it. GO HUSKERS! (you can find one like it at: http://www.bkstr.com/ProductDisplay/10001-10041-10287-39814107-1?demoKey=d)
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