8.08.2005


Iz's Day

Got to spend a bit of time with Iz this afternoon (Mali tagging along too, of course). A treat for me.

Our girl has declared herself a tomboy. As in "Mommy, I'm only wearing this dress because you asked me to. I don't usually wear dresses, because I'm a tomboy."

I don't think she's entirely clear on the concept, but her new persona is cool with me on many levels--especially as it allows me to buy clothes that she and now same-sized Leelo can share.

She also got a Dar#h Vad3r lunchbox. I'll be fucked if she's going to be limited to Leia crap like I was. And she will get to take the middle school woodshop that I was barred from, too, if that is her choice!

It was amusing to watch her go nutty in the library today. Every time we go she is on some different kind of rampage (right now it's Capt. Underpants, thanks to Badger and Moomin) and is always shocked to discover that the library once again has ALL THE BOOKS SHE IS LOOKING FOR AND SHE CAN TAKE THEM ALL HOME. She was also excited to find a Hardee Boyz comic illustrated by her very favorite Manga artist.

Another mom friend seems perturbed that her daughter (Iz's classmate), is also currently in thrall to the good Captain. Which amuses yet worries me. As though because the girl has read books like The Chr0nicles of Nurnia, she can never go back and read anything less challenging--it might cause brain rot! I wish this girl's mom would cut her some slack and let her read whatever makes her happy. As long as it's not utter crap like Joonie B. Jonz.

Today was day three of second grade for Iz. Seymour asked her how it was. She told us that it was fine, but that it would be mostly "inexplicable" to us. Um, okay. Tomorrow is back-to-school night; perhaps some explication will take place then.

Reading some cautionary material about gifted kids, which asserts that they lose a potential year of academic progress for every year they're stuck in a non-enriched (e.g., standard) classroom. Sigh. As I am currently mostly useless to Iz as a source of extracurricular enrichment (though today we had great success with the yeast/balloon experiment she'd been wanting to try for two weeks), I am thinking about finding a "science buddy" to come hang with her once a week. Someone who will be there specifically to answer all her questions as they arise, rather than "Plasma? Well, uh...No Leelo! Aaah, Leelo, come back!" *60 seconds pass* "Well, I'm pretty sure it's halfway between a gas and a liquid, but...Okay Mali, please stop wailing, you can chew on Leelo's rice bread if you really want to...plasma is cool stuff and do you want to look it up at the library? Iz? Where did you go?"



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Leelo is still a late-night nutter, and his behavior is still odd during the day, but his language is good. Lots of "come here!" and "Sit on the ___, Mommy."

I am so unused to children younger than Iz having typical reactions to toys that it took me a beat to realize that Mali was getting a kick out of the polar bear puppet I was demonstrating for Seymour this evening. I turned the puppet's focus entirely on Mali and had her squealing and giggling for several minutes. Poor thirdling.

Thought I was going to have to replace our cheap CD boombox, but Seymour figured out that it still works if you put something heavy on top of it. He scoffed at my praise for his creative solution, saying, "I am the IT director at a technological not for profit. I know from workarounds!"

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Godmother Stacy's shower went so smoothly that I was able to fade into the woodwork once initial greetings and announcements were taken care of--perfection. Badger was adorable in her lacy cocktail dress, matching shoes, and jaunty beret. Lipstick, even! So glad she and Ep and Jo and JP were all there. No more party hosting for me any time soon--I am wonked. And I will not miss another karaoke session like the one that rocked Jo's surprise party after I left to go prep for the shower.

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