Friday, October 27, 2006

Lone Star Facts on Friday: We're Big

The Dallas/Ft. Worth airport is larger than Manhattan Island in New York City.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Open Beaches

Although Texas has laws that are supposed to prevent our beaches from being made private and preserve them for public use, the City of Corpus Christi is trying to sneak around the spirit of those laws by amending the City's Charter to create a 7200 ft. "pedestrian" beach that would be closed to vehicular traffic, in the convenient locale of a "world-class resort" that is being planned for that stretch of beach by a private company in negotiations with the City. They argue that the beach would still be public - it would just be safer since no cars could come. In fact, though, it would be all but inaccessible to anyone not staying at the resort, as it would be mighty hard to get there on foot. They also argue that it is "just 7200 ft.", but, really, once they are allowed to do it for one stretch of beach in the name of economic development, it can obviously be done to other beaches when developers show an interest.

Fortunately, large numbers of Corpus Christi citizens who were concerned about keeping our beaches open to the public managed to get the issue onto the ballot as a Charter Amendment item instead of it just being done as a back-door deal. The issue will be decided in the November elections. If you are a citizen of Corpus Christi and you want our beaches to keep being for everyone, please vote AGAINST #1 which would create the "pedestrian" beach and FOR # 2 which would amend the charter to require public elections before the City can close the beach to cars. Thank you!


We're So Abnormal

I was having one of those giving up - not in such a bad way - times earlier today about the state of my house. Between Lone Star Pa's insistence on the prominent placement of television stuff, speakers and wires in what could have been a lovely little living room and the fact that the Lone Star Girl smears paint and clay from one end of the house to the other, including all over the clothes she got new for school this year, there just isn't any real hope, even if I did something about the stacks of books and papers that are mostly my fault. We just cannot apparently have a house that looks like any grown-ups live in it.

It worries me when the Montessori teachers go on about how visual clutter (which we have probably raised to a new level of pathology) hinders the development of concentration, etc., but I am tired of fighting it. Next week, I will probably be totally stressed again by my dirty house, but I have to take a little peace of mind where I can find it.


Too Verbal

When the Lone Star Baby was in the young one-year-old room at her old daycare, she was the only baby who really talked. The teacher used to sort of complain that she only wanted to do books, songs and the flashcards they (blech) used to teach words with pictures. She didn't really play with the toys very much. I knew what she meant, but figured we kind of had to follow the Lone Star Baby's lead - she's an unusual child.

Now, the Lone Star Baby has been at her Spanish-speaking Montessori school since last January, minus the summer. Her teacher tells me that it is amazing how much Spanish she actually already uses -they know that most of the children come to understand it quickly as they respond to it, but most don't actually use it themselves much at such a young age if it is not their first language. The Lone Star Baby uses it all the time. The teacher expressed her concern, though, that the Lone Star Baby is not that interested in the practical life activities and that she is trying to get her more interested. Too verbally oriented, again. I am sure it doesn't help that reading and going through papers and such are what the Lone Star Baby always sees her dad and I doing at home, but, really, she is who she is and she's two. There is only so much one can do.

I am trying to help by upping the volume of food prep. activities and crafts and such that we do at home, but she sort of already liked to do those things. I am trying to also increase housekeeping activities done together, but we don't really do that much housekeeping to be honest - in a crazy-scheduled life, something has to give and for us, it has been a clean house. I try, though. Her teacher says she sees improvement.


Friday, October 13, 2006

Lone Star Facts on Friday

William B. Travis left his young son and pregnant wife because he didn't believe the daughter she was carrying was his.
Lone Star Ma commentary: Butthead.


Monday, October 09, 2006

Rite

I took the Lone Star Girl to get her ears pierced at the mall yesterday, something she has yearned to be allowed to do for years...

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Space Sleepover

Last weekend, the Lone Star Girl travelled to Houston with her Girl Scout Troop and had a sleep-over in the Space Center at NASA. Along with a whole bunch of other Junior Girl Scout troops, they got to camp out there over-night and do all sorts of exciting space-related activities until late into the night and they were given the grand tour. She was way beyond excited about it and had a great time.

What a Find...

Not this past Monday, but the Monday before, Lone Star Pa and I both had to work but the girls' schools were both closed. My school had a staff development and conference day, so I could take the Lone Star Girl along and park her in the teachers' lounge with a book, but that wasn't something that would work with the Lone Star Baby. I had made arrangements with one of the newer La Leche League Leaders, who has a little boy about the LSB's age, to watch her at their apartment on those days as a babysitter.

There were, of course, some tears at drop off, but they dried up really fast and this wonderful woman sent home a note about the LSB's activities and dated pictures and everything at the end of the day. The Lone Star Baby was very enthusiastic about the experience and I was impressed. Very impressed.

I realized that night that I had left the LSB's blanket at this wonderful person's home. I packed a different blanket for school and figured I would catch up with that blanket later. Then, a few days later, I noticed that the original blanket was in the LSB's school bag and decided I must have left it at school and not at the babysitter's house. This past Tuesday night, I got to see, much to the LSB's excitement and delight, the great babysitter at a LLL meeting. She told me she had realized that she had the LSB's blanket and taken it to her school the next day, worried that the LSB would need it at naptime. Wow....