Time in a Bottle

Sometimes being a pack rat pays off. Tootle's homework this week is to celebrate the 100th day of school by collecting 100 of an item and practicing counting the item by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s. Doodle had the same assignment four years ago, and I knew exactly where I had placed the bottle of 100 beads that she took to school. Within two minutes after dinner tonight, I located the bottle and Tootle was at work counting the beads. The beads look so pretty in the bottle that they likely will go back to the same spot on the girls' shelf when Tootle is done with them.

FFFF: Reading Is Fun

Tootle's kindergarten class recently read the story of the Three Little Pigs and then had a homework assignment to make a wood, straw, or brick house out of a brown paper bag. Tootle chose to make her house out of candy: three kinds of licorice, gum, a Skittle, and a marshmallow. Much candy ended up in Tootle's tummy (she opened up a fun size pack of Skittles for the doorknob; she used one for the house and the rest were quickly eaten, etc.) so she is more convinced than ever that reading is fun.

When Tootle first came home two-plus years ago, her favorite books were The Runaway Bunny and The Very Quiet Cricket. As I read, she would also tell her version of the story in Chinese. As weeks went by, she began to listen to the English version and stopped telling her own story. Sometimes I still miss hearing her tell the story in Chinese, even if I only understood a few words. Thankfully she still loves to look at books and make up her own stories; often her stories are funnier than the original ones.

To see more pictures of cute kids reading (or participating in reading related activities like Tootle), click here.

Painted Lady

If Tootle ever decides to get a tattoo, watch out. She won't stop at one. At her school's International Night, she decided that 10 Japanese characters on your face and hands and even neck is far better than just one or two. The artist seemed to be amused by her. Tootle also got an ornamental flower on her forehead from the India booth. Body decoration and salsa dancing were the highlight of the night for Tootle; for me it was the yummy food from many different countries and the chance to catch up with friends. Notice the watch on each wrist: Tootle told me that she wants to make sure that she isn't late for anything.

Ruminations

Tomorrow night for the first time Doodle will go to a birthday party at the home of a friend whose parents I haven't met. I know that this will happen more frequently in the coming years as she earns more independence, but it concerns the inner control freak in me. At least in this case I do know the girl (she's a new girl in the school this year), and the party is only 2.5 hours long. It's hard for me to believe that Doodle will be in the double digits in just three months. Only yesterday she was a 10 months old baby with curly ringlets; soon she will be a 10 year old tween. I need to get started on the photo book that I plan to make of the first 10 years of her life. It's likely to be her second favorite present; top ranking will go to the iPod that she is begging for.

Chinese Cuisine

I've spent way too much time in the last week trying out new Chinese recipes as I settle on a dish to take to an international potluck at Tootle's school. We love to make jiaozi but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep the dumplings warm, so I crossed that favorite off my list. Next I whipped up some wonton soup that I thought I could take in a crockpot: tasty but some of the wrappers exploded, resulting in floating balls of pork filling. Unacceptable. Finally tonight we made spring rolls. I baked the spring rolls, and I'm really happy with the result. The girls each ate two, even though I didn't bake them until after dinner. I think I've finally found the winning recipe. Now I just have to convince Tootle to wear her Chinese clothes for the parade of nations that is one of the highlights of the evening.

Snowy Days and Hot Chocolate

Avatar

I now have an avatar, thanks to the marketing folks in my office. They created this caricature for a brochure. I think they removed about 10 years and one chin, so I'm not complaining.