huck blog

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field trip

January 31, 2010, 5:33 pm

Last week Huck had his first school field trip, which was a delightful visit to the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park. And best yet: I got to go too! And even better still: it was snowing! This was a very organized field trip with two children per adult, and I was lucky enough to be in charge of Huck and his best pal Valentino. At school they’ve been reading and acting out fairy tales in anticipation of the show, which was a combination of “The Three Little Pigs,” “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” and “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” Huck sat on the front row and spent the first ten minutes with his hands up in front of his eyes like tiny binoculars, something he does when he’s in danger of possibly being scared. (Because, you know, marionettes can be creepy.) The only casualty of the day was leaving Huck's snow hat on the bus, which was my fault. It's not easy being completely in charge of two children, people.

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arts and crafts

January 27, 2010, 7:24 pm

Here's what comes of a morning with Daddy, construction paper, scissors and an entire thing of Elmer's glue. This work of art weighs a few pounds and is even more beautiful in real life.

Here's the result of five minutes with Mommy. A crappy ode to Trident.

(Apologies to my father the art teacher.)

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huck these days

January 26, 2010, 1:20 pm

Aside from pre-K, tap class, playing with his pals and obessesively reading all the "A to Z Mysteries" series with me, here are some other things Huck is up to these days ...

He uses the word "funky" all day long. "What's that funky smell?" "Do you want to hear something funky?" "Something really funky happened yesterday."

He continues to tell me false facts that he learned from his belly button, but now when I show my disbelief he becomes very judgmental and tells me that God told him. "And God doesn't lie," he adds.

Yesterday he said, "When I don't want to live with you guys anymore, DON'T get rid of my bed."

The other day we were pretending to work in an office together talking about our families. (Troy teaches him molecular biology while I expose him to secretarial work.) He pointed to sweet Cecily in his class photograph and said she was his wife. Then he pointed to precious Lucia and said, "That's my girlfriend."

But let's face it: nothing these days is more entertaining than watching Huck tap. And though he has always been a little bit awkward physically, he is quite the natural tap dancer and has a surprising sense of rhythm. Here are some pictures from yesterday's delightful class.

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girls' (and boys') weekend

January 21, 2010, 2:19 pm

We took this picture right before I headed to the airport last Friday morning so that I would have something to remember Huck and Troy by. Aside from catching a cold which led to an ear infection this morning, I had a wonderful four days and three nights with Shannon and Jeni, and I'm happy to say that Troy and Huck somehow survived the weekend without me. While I was drinking coffee on Shannon's terrace and eating lots of chips and salsa at various wonderful restaurants, Huck was eating cookies for breakfast and Rice Krispies for dinner. While I was driving around showing Jeni where I spent three years of my life and reminiscing with Shannon about every little thing, Huck and Troy were watching "Monsters, Inc" numerous times. And while I got to spend hours drinking and laughing and bowling with cherished old Texas friends, those two passed their time listening to the same song on repeat over and over again. It was a little vacation from the routine of normal life for all three of us, and that's good for everyone. (But seriously, no more cookies for breakfast.)

Thank you, Austin, for the warm hospitality! Shannon and Jeni? Let's do this again real soon, what do you say?

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long weekend

January 14, 2010, 7:48 pm

Every Wednesday morning Troy and Huck have an adventure. This week they hiked down to the very cold river and played in the ice for hours (and then lost track of time and were late for school). I can hardly look at these pictures without freezing to death immediately.

Tomorrow morning I'm flying all by myself to Austin where I'll join my best friend Shannon and my sister Jeni for a weekend of fun. This is my first time on an airplane without Huck since he entered the world, and it's certainly my first ever four days/three nights away from him. Frankly, I miss him already. (Though I have been daydreaming about reading on the plane, having uninterrupted conversations, eating at restaurants with grown-ups, sleeping in every morning ...)

After school today Huck played with his friends for about half an hour until I told him it was time to head home. He wanted to keep playing outside and I said, "I want to spend time with you before I leave for several days." He shouted, "Well, if you wanted to spend time with me you shouldn't be going on this trip!" He hasn't been very supportive of my exciting plans.

I'm hoping Troy and Huck have some fun while I'm away. When Daddy's in charge, things are different. You're a little late everywhere. You misplace things. Your clothes don't match. You eat a lot of food. You don't smell great. You wear green goggles. And you end up playing on an icy beach in January.

I think they'll be fine.

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love note

January 10, 2010, 8:17 pm

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happy feet

January 5, 2010, 1:14 pm

This time last year Huck began ballet class at the YMHA and was surrounded by adorable little girls in pink tutus for 45 minutes every Tuesday afternoon. He was a good little dancer and did most everything the teacher asked but was very articulate about not wanting to ever, ever take ballet again. Finally he admitted to me it was because there weren’t more boys in the class. Though Huck loves girls (and wishes he was one most of the time), he felt out of place. His wonderful teacher Katie suggested we try Bobby Clark’s tap class at the Cultural Art Center right here in our neighborhood, and yesterday was Huck’s first class. Several kids couldn't make it so it was just Huck and two other boys. For 45 minutes straight Bobby led these cuties around the room in a rigorous workout of step-ball-change and step-heel and shuffle-hops. They began the class with a warmup to “Billie Jean,” something I hope I never forget for as long as I live. Huck kept up with the three of them as if he’d been doing this for a while, later telling me his knees were a little achy. All I know is that watching Huck learn to tap is even better than watching “So You Think You Can Dance,” and what more could a mother ask for?

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a happy ending

January 5, 2010, 12:58 pm

On New Year’s Eve morning we opened the curtains and discovered a last-day-of-the-year snow storm! After some morning coffee and breakfast we got bundled up and spent several hours playing in it. We went sledding, we had some snowball fights and we built a snowlady and a snowman. I had a lot of issues with Mother Nature in 2009, thanks to a completely rained out June and October, so I think this was her way of making peace.

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