mad-eye moody

Yesterday, Binbin woke up with a puffy right eye (see pic). Question: what caused it? What is... a) conjunctivitis (aka pink eye), b) a kiddy brawl over ice cream at Cote's, or c) a black fly bite.


If you guessed (a), you are in good company with the nurse who called and left a message on our answering machine after we left the house for the doctor's office, but you would be wrong. If you guessed (b), you like the same kind of tall tales that Jack does. If you guessed (c), you're right! For a gift, you may choose from a mesh protector for your face or a sample of deet or a tiny no-see'um black fly swatter! Enjoy the long weekend!

"Course opinions" vs. "Student evaluations"

Well, it's May, and close to the end of the spring semester for many colleges and universities.

Binbin found a pile of old, unused course evaluations and while we were reading bedtime stories one evening, he went to work. You'll see the results right here. He went to office hours 50 times. He received an average grade of 4 on his first two papers. And, he expects to receive a grade of 110 in this course. How is that possible?

Perhaps it's the kind of logic that comes of having attended only 10% of the classes, while meeting with the professor 50 times outside of class.

If nothing else, he put 110% effort into this exercise. ;)

kindergarten screening

It was Binbin's "audition" for kindergarten, and he was a bundle of nerves. The idea of interacting with complete strangers, possibly or quite probably apart from Mama and Baba, was terrifying. I coaxed him out of the car and into the hallway of the community K-5 school, but that was as far as I could get him for about 10 minutes. He occasionally forgot his fear as curiosity led him a few feet down one hallway, but we returned to our "nest" the bench. Fortunately, an experienced administrator gently suggested entering through a door adjacent to the kindergarten wing. I wasn't at all sure it would work...Binbin had even rejected a trip to Target as I desperately thought of ways to entice him (forcing him to go would have doomed the whole kindergarten thing). But, it did! Hurrah! An expert kindergarten teacher nudged him into the P.E. "testing room" (the tests consisted of throwing and catching a spongy ball, running and jumping), and once he had an activity (like a dog sighting a squirrel), he was as right as rain. As I spoke with teacher and nurse, Binbin was led through his paces: hearing test, eye test, small motor coordination, basic knowledge of colors, shapes, letters. Afterward, he denied all hesitation ("I was brave!"), but remembered the Target offer.

15 minutes later, we were finally on our way to preschool, with Space Police vehicle and Squidman in hand. Victory is ours.

My report

The following is the report dictated by Binbin yesterday morning, first thing in the morning:

a. wear glasses

b. wear stones

c. eat healthy

d. grow strong

e. wear clothes

f. eat fish

That's my report!

[now it's up to you to follow through!]

what we'll miss

About a year ago or so, when Binbin's Lego obsession first bloomed, he was still a little young. His little fingers could work the bigger pieces with ease, but he called on Baba for help with the smaller ones. He sometimes needed additional guidance following the instructions, too. Like any little kid with a new toy, Binbin was impatient to complete the Lego projects. He would say, come on Baba, no, not that one, that one. Or he would say, emphatically, I know! But of course Jack loved putting things together with Binbin. Jack would observe, proudly, that with every project, Binbin got better and quicker. He also observed that he would be sad the day that Binbin no longer needed his help.

The day has come. Binbin can do Lego projects for the 8, 11, even 14 year olds with little or no input! It came sooner than we expected.

Today was a fine day. Blue skies, a few clouds, lots of sunshine. We basked in the warmth. We dragged out green, blow-up, frog pool down from the above garage storage. Binbin and I scrubbed away last year's grime; Jack connected the air compressor and filled it. Binbin stripped down and unabashedly jumped in. He got out a couple of spray bottles, and proceeded to spend the next hour stalking his parents around the yard.

I'm going to be sad when the the day comes when Binbin has grown up and ceases to run around buck naked.

Holger, Claire, Julian, and Adrian

Jack's buddy from college, Holger, and his fam are visiting us for a couple of days, and Binbin has been having the time of his life. Before their arrival on Monday evening, he confided to me that he "can't wait until Holger, Claire, Julian, and Adrian come." Since then, Binbin has been following Adrian around like a puppy, and from time to time, we hear updates about how he can't find the "other brother." We've been treated to much drumming by the the boys, and Holger and Claire treated us to a sushi feast last night.

The boys all went to the indoor climbing gym yesterday afternoon. Julian climbed on and off between reading; Adrian muscled his way to the top of many a rope; and prodded on my Adrian's heights, Binbin pushed himself higher. Binbin also thrilled to be the Adrian's photographer: love the camera, baby!

We played "old buttermaid" (i.e., old maid) last night; and Binbin's not-so-poker-face kept everyone in stitches laughing.

hobbies

Binbin has been demonstrating more active engagement in his drum lessons and in practicing (at least over the past 3 days), and so he has earned a much coveted reward: a tank model of his very own. And, it's not a snap together kind, but one that must be painstakingly painted and glued together with care. He has devoted much of his weekend time to working on it, with Baba supervising at the kitchen table.

We took a short break on Sunday afternoon to hear a concert by Whiffletree over at Two Echo. A pair of farming brothers from Maine. Check these guys out. You can say that you were a fan well before their big Hollywood break.