The poet doesn't invent. He listens.
--Jean Cocteau
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Roomba--I Am In Love! (Can I Marry It?)
Sorry, Matt. There's a new love in my life--the Roomba. Admittedly not the most romantic birthday present in the world--yes, I know it's a couple of weeks early, but if you know me you know that I am not the most patient person in the world. When I came up with the notion that this was what I wanted for my birthday, I told Matt to research which model was best and find the best deal, and buy it for me. Then I snapped into reality and did it myself--which is why it arrived today and not just in time for Christmas....(Sorry, baby--but you know that you are the King of Procrastinators!!)
You may ask, what on earth is a Roomba? Well, it is an intelligent vacuum, basically. Mine comes with a handy dandy remote control, and I could for instance say, we go out every Thursday afternoon at 3:00, every Monday morning at 10:00, every Saturday evening at 7:00, etc.--and program that wonderful thing to clean the floors while we're out! Or, we can simply turn it on when we're home and let it go to work. And when it's done, it heads back to its base and recharges itself! The only thing we have to do is empty the dirt cup and make sure the floor is clear of tiny toys, socks, ribbons, etc...
If you know me and have been to my house, you know that we have a bunch of girls (and me, I guess a woman not a girl!) with long hair, plus a dog and three cats....in short, our floors are constantly dirty, even if I were to vacuum every day. Which, since I detest dirty floors, in a perfect world I would. But I don't. So the idea of having a machine come out and do all the work for me while I do better things--school work with the kids, playing outside with them, reading a book to Emma, gardening, hanging laundry--whatever--just seems like the best thing that could possibly happen to me. Ever.
It arrived this evening during dinner, just I was despairing that it was too late for our beautiful UPS man to ring the bell. From the excited squeals and the race to open the door, you would have thought we were having Eric Clapton to tea or that Ed McMahon was coming up the walk with one of those humongous checks....but no, it was Dave the UPS man with The Box. I didn't even finish my salad; I just started opening the box, pulling things out and reading directions. They are quite simple, which I was afraid they would not be. I had to spend more time telling the kids what they couldn't do to Roomba than reading instructions! We plugged in home base and set it in to charge, programmed the date and time on the remote, and scheduled it to clean tomorrow morning at 11:00 am, when we'll be out at a play. (I thought it would take all night to charge, which is why I scheduled it for tomorrow--but to our amazement, the light went from red to green in under an hour!) It even sings a little song when you tell it the cleaning schedule via the remote--unlike any of the people in this house when I give them a chore!
When I saw it was fully charged, I decided, what the hey--let's give it a test drive. It will find more pet hair and crumbs in the morning, so I didn't even take out tomorrow's orders. It promptly set out across the living room, albeit a bit drunkenly (we had to explain to the kids that it bumps into things and circles back on itself because it doesn't actually have a brain or eyes, and has to go around and around to find all the dirt) but it managed quite well. It went over area rugs and wood floors with equal aplomb, and picked up all manner of dust bunnies and crumby bits. When it got into our bedroom, it even fit itself under the dressers and bed (something I didn't do regularly enough with the vacuum attachments!) and although it took a long time, the floors are clean.
The amusing thing was the reactions of the pets. Sophie took one look and headed to our bed, knowing she'd be safe off the floor. Mimi, who routinely heads for the kitchen sink when we vacuum, hopped onto the dresser and watched it with an expression of disgust, but didn't seem terribly frightened--probably because it makes far less noise than a real vacuum. But Molly and Bo--they were a riot. They had to follow it around, much like the kids, who were pretending that it was an alien invader--and yes, we did have to point out that if they followed too closely, Roomba would confuse them for furniture and head away without doing her job....Anyway, the kittens followed it around, hopping away when it got too near, their tails in a state of alarm almost the whole time--not quite at full bottle-brush mode, but bushy at the base and ready to go full tilt if the monster came too close. It was funny.
Anyway, I fully expect to run it daily and to enjoy my newly clean floors. Even if it doesn't clean perfectly, I know it will clean more than I want to! So if you're looking for a great birthday present, get a Roomba....
--Jen
You may ask, what on earth is a Roomba? Well, it is an intelligent vacuum, basically. Mine comes with a handy dandy remote control, and I could for instance say, we go out every Thursday afternoon at 3:00, every Monday morning at 10:00, every Saturday evening at 7:00, etc.--and program that wonderful thing to clean the floors while we're out! Or, we can simply turn it on when we're home and let it go to work. And when it's done, it heads back to its base and recharges itself! The only thing we have to do is empty the dirt cup and make sure the floor is clear of tiny toys, socks, ribbons, etc...
If you know me and have been to my house, you know that we have a bunch of girls (and me, I guess a woman not a girl!) with long hair, plus a dog and three cats....in short, our floors are constantly dirty, even if I were to vacuum every day. Which, since I detest dirty floors, in a perfect world I would. But I don't. So the idea of having a machine come out and do all the work for me while I do better things--school work with the kids, playing outside with them, reading a book to Emma, gardening, hanging laundry--whatever--just seems like the best thing that could possibly happen to me. Ever.
It arrived this evening during dinner, just I was despairing that it was too late for our beautiful UPS man to ring the bell. From the excited squeals and the race to open the door, you would have thought we were having Eric Clapton to tea or that Ed McMahon was coming up the walk with one of those humongous checks....but no, it was Dave the UPS man with The Box. I didn't even finish my salad; I just started opening the box, pulling things out and reading directions. They are quite simple, which I was afraid they would not be. I had to spend more time telling the kids what they couldn't do to Roomba than reading instructions! We plugged in home base and set it in to charge, programmed the date and time on the remote, and scheduled it to clean tomorrow morning at 11:00 am, when we'll be out at a play. (I thought it would take all night to charge, which is why I scheduled it for tomorrow--but to our amazement, the light went from red to green in under an hour!) It even sings a little song when you tell it the cleaning schedule via the remote--unlike any of the people in this house when I give them a chore!
When I saw it was fully charged, I decided, what the hey--let's give it a test drive. It will find more pet hair and crumbs in the morning, so I didn't even take out tomorrow's orders. It promptly set out across the living room, albeit a bit drunkenly (we had to explain to the kids that it bumps into things and circles back on itself because it doesn't actually have a brain or eyes, and has to go around and around to find all the dirt) but it managed quite well. It went over area rugs and wood floors with equal aplomb, and picked up all manner of dust bunnies and crumby bits. When it got into our bedroom, it even fit itself under the dressers and bed (something I didn't do regularly enough with the vacuum attachments!) and although it took a long time, the floors are clean.
The amusing thing was the reactions of the pets. Sophie took one look and headed to our bed, knowing she'd be safe off the floor. Mimi, who routinely heads for the kitchen sink when we vacuum, hopped onto the dresser and watched it with an expression of disgust, but didn't seem terribly frightened--probably because it makes far less noise than a real vacuum. But Molly and Bo--they were a riot. They had to follow it around, much like the kids, who were pretending that it was an alien invader--and yes, we did have to point out that if they followed too closely, Roomba would confuse them for furniture and head away without doing her job....Anyway, the kittens followed it around, hopping away when it got too near, their tails in a state of alarm almost the whole time--not quite at full bottle-brush mode, but bushy at the base and ready to go full tilt if the monster came too close. It was funny.
Anyway, I fully expect to run it daily and to enjoy my newly clean floors. Even if it doesn't clean perfectly, I know it will clean more than I want to! So if you're looking for a great birthday present, get a Roomba....
--Jen
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
My Friend, a poem
Julia wrote a poem yesterday and I was blown away...she gave me permission to share it with our readers.
My Friend (to Evelyn, and all my friends!)
Past the place where dragons sleep,
Past the valleys, cool and deep,
Past the place of traffic's zoom,
Past my bed and past my room,
Past my house and past my tree,
Past the flower and buzzing bee,
Past the dogs and past their barks,
Past the swings and past the parks,
Past the skating, past the rink,
Past the sun that sets in pink,
Past the ocean, past the fish,
Past the stars' most greatest wish,
Past the sand and past the sea,
Past where wild things run free,
Past the moon and past the sun,
(now this poem is almost done!)
Us together, you and me,
Us together, running free,
Together we will always be,
Us together, you and me.
--by Julia, age 8
My Friend (to Evelyn, and all my friends!)
Past the place where dragons sleep,
Past the valleys, cool and deep,
Past the place of traffic's zoom,
Past my bed and past my room,
Past my house and past my tree,
Past the flower and buzzing bee,
Past the dogs and past their barks,
Past the swings and past the parks,
Past the skating, past the rink,
Past the sun that sets in pink,
Past the ocean, past the fish,
Past the stars' most greatest wish,
Past the sand and past the sea,
Past where wild things run free,
Past the moon and past the sun,
(now this poem is almost done!)
Us together, you and me,
Us together, running free,
Together we will always be,
Us together, you and me.
--by Julia, age 8
Daily Quote
You see, we are here, as far as I can tell, to help each other; our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our enemies. That is to help each other and not hurt each other.
--Stevie Ray Vaughan
--Stevie Ray Vaughan
Monday, March 3, 2008
Happy Days
Today is very nice outside. It's about 50 degrees, and pretty sunny, so Julia, Ben, and Emma are outside playing hopscotch and running around with the dog.
I went out and took some photos of Emma and Sophie running around, happy as can be. Emma said to me afterwards, "Are you sure that spring is coming? The weather tricks us a lot these days!"
~Rachel
(Note that, except for in the first picture, Sophie is carrying her stick around wherever she goes!)
I went out and took some photos of Emma and Sophie running around, happy as can be. Emma said to me afterwards, "Are you sure that spring is coming? The weather tricks us a lot these days!"
~Rachel
(Note that, except for in the first picture, Sophie is carrying her stick around wherever she goes!)
Strawberry Granola Crunch
Oh my gosh.
You HAVE to try this recipe!
Okay, it's not really a recipe, but it is a delicious, healthy breakfast that Mom and I love!
Strawberry Granola Crunch
Ingredients:
-Strawberry yogurt
-Granola OR Great Grains Raisins, Dates and Nuts granola cereal
-Cut strawberries
Mix them all together and enjoy!
~Rachel
You HAVE to try this recipe!
Okay, it's not really a recipe, but it is a delicious, healthy breakfast that Mom and I love!
Strawberry Granola Crunch
Ingredients:
-Strawberry yogurt
-Granola OR Great Grains Raisins, Dates and Nuts granola cereal
-Cut strawberries
Mix them all together and enjoy!
~Rachel
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Storytelling
Today we spent the afternoon with friends who live about 45 minutes away. We didn't leave till nearly 7:00, and so that left us in an awkward place. If Emma were to fall asleep in the car, it would mean that she would probably stay awake till at least 10:00 and probably more like midnight. We put the Ramones on, but as I looked back on her, I could see she was yawning and the ride was far too long for that. I began the mental preparations for her to stay up far later than I wanted--and then Ben came to my rescue!
Out of nowhere, he started telling her stories. I couldn't catch everything he was saying, because they sit together in the back row of the van, and as I said, we had the Ramones on (not exactly quiet music, if you're not familiar with them...) Also, Ben's voice is still high and somewhat lispy, so he can be hard to understand in a quiet room. But I caught words here and there, like ,dragon, fire-breathing, dwarves, knight and castle. Emma was listening in rapt attention, her yawning forgotten.
Then we hit a quiet part of a song, and I heard Ben say, " Emma, do you know what a hermit is?"
And she said she didn't, to which he clarified, "It's a guy who lives alone in the woods, and sometimes knows just a bit of magic!"
So she said excitedly, "Just like the hermit in 'St. George and the Dragon'!"
Which is a favorite book of Ben's, and, I suppose, Emma's as well.
And, by the way, she made it home completely awake. And fell asleep within seconds of brushing her teeth...
--Jen
Out of nowhere, he started telling her stories. I couldn't catch everything he was saying, because they sit together in the back row of the van, and as I said, we had the Ramones on (not exactly quiet music, if you're not familiar with them...) Also, Ben's voice is still high and somewhat lispy, so he can be hard to understand in a quiet room. But I caught words here and there, like ,dragon, fire-breathing, dwarves, knight and castle. Emma was listening in rapt attention, her yawning forgotten.
Then we hit a quiet part of a song, and I heard Ben say, " Emma, do you know what a hermit is?"
And she said she didn't, to which he clarified, "It's a guy who lives alone in the woods, and sometimes knows just a bit of magic!"
So she said excitedly, "Just like the hermit in 'St. George and the Dragon'!"
Which is a favorite book of Ben's, and, I suppose, Emma's as well.
And, by the way, she made it home completely awake. And fell asleep within seconds of brushing her teeth...
--Jen
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