Category: Uncategorized

Teachers are now Miss Wendy, and other things about school

Art’s new school is a big hit.  This weekend he asked several times if it was a school day.  “Is I’m going to go to school today?”  or “When I wake up from my nap will it be school time?”  Our friend Becca was over and asked Art about school last week and whether he liked it.  He said, “Pretty much.”  On Sunday night Art knew he had school the next morning.  We had both kissed him goodnight and we were downstairs watching a show or something when we heard, “Mama!”  I went upstairs and Ben followed me.  Art said, “When I wake up from my nap will it be school time?”  

     “Yep.  Tomorrow is a school day.”  
     “I’m too tired to go to sleep.”  
     Ben knew what was going on.

     “Art, are you excited about school tomorrow?”
     “Kind of.”
     “I know what it’s like to be really excited about something and not want to go to sleep, but if you go to sleep it will feel like morning faster and then it will be time to go to school!”
     Art plopped back into bed and that was that. 
     Now, he is still putting up a tiny protest everytime I drop him off, but it is short and he is easily calmed by Miss Wendy holding him while he watches me walk back to the car.  I’m so happy for him.  This really has opening up a new world for him.
     This makes me think about how in the fall I was worried because his other friends were all going to preschool and doing fine and I wondered if I should keep him at it, but everytime I step back and remember that he has to do things when he is ready I am rewarded eventually for giving him space.  Take for instance his clothes.  His friends have been trying to put on their own shoes and shirts and pants for months.  Evva is a total prefessional at changing outfits and she’s been able to put her own shoes on for at least a year.  Well, I have wondered if I should be teaching Art, pushing him to try and dress himself, but then I try to remind myself that when he is truly ready he will take the task on and do it!  
     Last night for some reason he decided he wanted to try and take off his own shirt.  He said he was hot.  He struggled and wiggled until an arm was out its sleeve.   Great!  He was very happy about that.  Then he tried to get the shirt over his head.  “Put your arm through the big, hole,” I said.  He stuck his arm through the first hole it found – the neck hole.  So now he had a one-shoulder shirt.  He thought that was pretty funny. He popped the arm back into the shirt and got it through the bottom.   “Now pull it over your head!” I coached.   He pulled the neck hole over his head and he was FREE!  Man, was he proud!  So proud that he tried to get the shirt back on and stuck his arm through the neck again just for old time’s sake.  Good job, Art.  There’s more of those great discoveries to come. 

Jessica’s Chicken Enchiladas

Hey!  I made up a recipe tonight to up some stuff in the house and to employ some ideas from two different recipes, neither of which I had more than a few of the required ingredients.  It turned out AWESOME!  Here it is!

Preheat oven to 425.  Stir together:
Half a roast chicken, shredded
1 1/2 c or so shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 zucchini, shredded
(This will be the filling for the tortillas.)
Blend in a chopper or processor:
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 c diced tomatoes
1 7oz can enchilada sauce
1 cup butternut squash, roasted and peeled
1 tsp chili powder
 Pour an even layer of the sauce mixture over the bottom of a small oven pan.  I didn't have the smaller enchilada-size tortillas, so I ended up filling and rolling three burrito-size tortillas. Lay in the filled tortillas and pour remaining sauce over them to cover.  Sprinkle a little cheddar on there and bake for about 25, 30 minutes.  Let sit for 5 and EAT!  Was totally good.  A little sweet from the squash, but spicy from the enchilada sauce.  I'm very impressed with myself.  Art ate all of his, too.

notes from DC

Family and friends,

For those interested, I thought I'd write a bit about my experience yesterday at the inauguration.

My friend from high school Shad (he works for the NSA, shhhhh) lives just across the river from the Lincoln Memorial (here's the route I walked from his place to my spot on the mall). I'm drinking coffee from his National Security Agency mug right now, which I'm hoping isn't bugged.

Jim Ragsdale, the writer I'm working with, was given an incredible ticket less than 50 feet from Obama. Here's a link to the great column he wrote about his experience.

I had a standing area ticket that was fairly close to the stage, but I actually didn't try to use it and stayed further back near the Washington Monument. There was more space to work and move around and I didn't want to be locked in to a location.

It was cold, below 30 all day, and many people, including small children, were not dressed for it. It was sad actually. Waiting five hours in the cold can be brutal and it was for many, including Jim who sat shaking for hours in his awesome seat.

Arriving was wonderful, and everyone was totally happy and smiley and in great moods. Random chants of 'Obama' broke loose, random hugs, high fives, and elated folks. Throughout the day I must have seen 50,000 African American women wearing fur coats and huge hats. it was really quite funny. As they played Stevie Wonder's performance from Monday's night's concert on the jumbotrons, people began dancing everywhere, including one of those big line dances things in unison (it made for great video, see below).

After I made it to the mall around 8 or 9, I later noticed others being blocked in side streets and prevented from getting on the mall. Thousands of people stuffed up against gates just standing there, not quite being able to hear or see the huge screens. Many of whom traveled thousands of miles and even had official tickets. I felt real bad for them. Later during a reception in the congressional office building Minnesotan's were giving congressman Keith Ellison and earful about the horrible planning. Even worse was trying to get off the mall. There was no exit strategy–I can't count the number of times I was being squished from all sides slowly shuffling forward like a sardine. Metro stops were closed, buses were backed up idling everywhere, people walking on interstate exits and in the middle of streets. One metro stop that was open I saw had thousands of people waiting (above ground) to get on. And I'm sure most of the trains that came through were already full.

Most of the chaos had to be sort of expected I suppose with that many people trying to get one place at one time.

Around 10am or so the official program started. The jumbo screens really were great, with a clear picture and great sound (although it wasn't synced well). Aretha Franklin (with her huge crazy hat) made lots cry (including me) with her singing My Country Tis Of Thee.

As they introduced different politicians, nearly everytime the word Republican was mentioned, "BOOOOO". When Bill Clinton showed up the crowd cheered lots. If I had to guess on a ratio, I'd think 60+ percent of the crowd was African American. That in itself was amazing to see, so many folks, especially older folks who grew up under segregation and more discrimination, feeling like they had to see it for themselves, almost as if they wanted to make sure it was really going to happen.

When they first showed Bush the crowed erupted with boos. It was sad and wonderful in it's own way. Michelle Obama showed up and everyone screamed, then Barack. It went crazy.  I have a shot in my little video (linked below) of a young woman just screaming with delight as he showed up. Triumphant hugs and tears. I'm a sucker for crowds and stuff, and randomly teared up just being amongs so many people all feeling something so wonderful and so strongly.

Obama spoke (which was a little anticlimactic in my view), and most folks immediately packed up and headed out, but were then quickly stuck in massive lines and human congestion. I eventaully just laid down under a tree and gave my weary legs a rest. I had hoped to connect with a school group from Minnesota, but eventually gave up after realizing it just wasn't possible to get to where they were.

I produced a short video from moments on the mall:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1870915446/bctid8638449001

And here's the video I did a day earlier of a local civil rights leader Matt Little from Minnesota who returned to the spot he saw MLK's speech on the mall:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1870915446/bctid8556273001

Today were meeting Al Franken for a little interview, then maybe some sight seeing before out flight back early tomorrow.

Take care,
ben

A sweet thing that Art said.

     There are a few questions I ask Art every once in a while to keep track of whether he's developed certain opinions.  Like what's your favorite color?  Is it just what he's looking at that moment?  No.  It's always blue.  I have a new one that I started asking about a week ago.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  Fireman.  Every time.  

     Last night I asked him again and he said he wanted to put 'on' the fires and drive the truck.  Then he said, "And I want you to come with me.  Won't that be fun!?"

From the Inauguration.

I’m in D.C. and spent the day today, the 19th, roaming the city with my colleague Jim Ragsdale, a really good writer. The city is stuffed with very happy people waiting in long lines for everything. “Something big will change tomorrow,” said the an Ethiopian cab driver I was chatting with who was also quite smiley.

Here’s are two videos I did today. One on Sen. Amy Klobuchar and her daughter demonstrating various ‘fistbumps’ her daughter made up in honor of Obama and Michelle’s famous gesture. The other, created in part from an interview I did last week in St. Paul, is on Matt Little, the former head of the MN NAACP who led a group of folks to the famous march on Washington and MLK’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

Ilm not sure if the embedded videos are working below. You can see the work at this website, too:

www.twincities.com/video