Because everyone needs a song about the periodic table!

This is Pablo and Beebz's favorite new video. Wanna place bets on how long it takes us to learn it?

Summer Dress

I just finished Beebz's first summer dress. It was super easy, once I got over the weirdness of sewing knitting with a sewing machine. This pattern bears repeating.

I am also working on a knitted polo style dress. I am at the point where I believe it will never be finished, so I guess I must be getting close!

Me? Radical?!

There was a show on discovery called "Radical Parenting" a few weeks ago. Now, I was really excited, because I thought I would see something new and innovative. But then I watched the show and I was SHOCKED. Because it was basically me, represented by 3 families. Not totally, but way more than I thought it would be.

I mean really. Attachment parenting is RADICAL? I thought that was just good, attentive parenting. Pretty standard for any full time parents. I mean, I know full time parenting is pretty rare these days, but has it really gotten THAT unusual? Yes, these folks were a bit unusual because they used Elimination Communication, but that isn't a tenant of attachment parenting. It is just for parents who want to up their difficulty level and try for bonus points.

And the segment on gender neutrality?! That one kind of pissed me off, because I thought that was going be some mindbender about androgenous kids named Jamie whose parents won't tell people whether Jamie is a boy or a girl. It was just some parents who let their boys PLAY WITH DOLLS. Really?! THAT is radical? All boys don't play with dolls? They didn't even have nailpolish on the boys' toes. Give me a break.

The only ones that were even approaching radical were the unschooling parents. Now, just as EC was mixed into the attachment parenting segment, there were multiple things going on under the "unschooling" heading. These parents believe in no structure at all, for anything, down to hygiene. That's all well and fine for them, but that is not what unschooling is. Unschooling is about letting the child choose their learning path, and about learning via experience. It is not just a total free for all for the kids. So I guess these folks were kind of radical. I mean, the schooling part was pretty reasonable (tho a wee mite further than I would go with having no academics at all, but whatever). Having no structure at all whatsoever? Yeah, OK. That is kind of radical. But not called unschooling.

All in all, I was left wondering just how far out I am on the bell curve. Exactly how many standard deviations am I from "normal" in my parenting? Wherever it is, I am happy here.

Stomach viruses suck.

Man, oh man do I hate it when the family gets sick.

I really can't complain, though. In all of his 6 years, Pablo has now vomited a grand total of 3 times. Ever.

But 3 out of 4 of us got the nasty little bug, each 2 days apart.

I am "recovered," meaning no longer actually sick. I am not, however, back up to full speed. That will take a few more days. The kids ARE back up to speed, so keeping up with them will be a challenge.

My sainted partner stayed home and took care of all the healthy people while I moaned in the bed. Look closely next time you see her. You will totally see a halo.