huck blog

some fave pictures of late

May 27, 2009, 10:11 pm

[ 18 comments ] ( 58 views )

school

May 23, 2009, 10:24 pm

We just found out that Huck got into our neighborhood public school for pre-K next fall. Here in New York you're not guaranteed a spot in your zoned public school, which is crazy and ridiculous, so we were pretty happy with this news. (And now we're bracing ourselves for what could be a very stressful this-time-next-year as we try to get him into kindergarten.) We got to take a tour of PS187 a few months ago and Huck loved the pre-K classroom (especially the anatomy chart on the wall). So far we know of two good friends who will be in his class, so he's very excited. (Plus they serve lunch, which is the thing he talks about the most. He and Troy have so much in common.)

In the meantime, Huck and I have just concluded our last school year together. We've met with a wonderful group of parents and kids on Monday and Thursday mornings in a preschool co-op where we parents have taken turns teaching. One Monday Huck learned all about ancient Egypt, including mummifying a hotdog and seeing his name written in hyroglyphics. One Thursday he learned the alphabet in American Sign Language and became mildly obsessed with what he calls "death" people. We’ve learned about whales, insects, Russia, the digestive tract, birds, the earth, the seasons, nutrition, emotions, modes of transportation and recycling. We had a pirate treasure hunt, we traveled into space, we celebrated the Chinese New Year, we made a volcano, and we played the hokey pokey using our muscles (you put your bicep in, you put your bicep out). We've taken field trips to Central Park, Grand Central Terminal, the Staten Island Ferry and the Natural History Museum. We've learned to make homemade salsa AND cupcakes. And we've done all this together. There's no doubt about it: I'll miss him next year for those two and a half hours every afternoon.

The other day we were playing together on a tire swing and talking about school. I began describing what it will be like when he's in kindergarten, leaving early in the morning and not getting home till mid-afternoon. I got carried away and sort of acted out myself not knowing what to do without him, looking a little lost and sad. Suddenly he began crying very hard and I had to awkwardly get us both out of the tire swing (really glad none of you witnessed this) and onto the bench where I comforted him until he finally calmed down. I asked him what made him cry and he broke down again and sadly said, "You won't have anything to do."

I'll think of something.

[ 24 comments ] ( 90 views )

coney island

May 20, 2009, 12:07 pm

Nothing makes us more ready for summer than a day trip to Coney Island for some sun, sea turtles, flying elephants and ice cream with good friends. Come on, New York, you can do it. Stay warm for several days in a row! Maybe even a week? A few months? Please???

[ 19 comments ] ( 72 views )

knock-knock

May 14, 2009, 4:59 pm

Here's what Huck just said to me:

"Mama, you never get old to me because you're always funny."

Thanks, I said, not sure what that meant. Then he explained:

"You told me that some knock-knock jokes never get old because they're always funny."

Sweetest compliment I ever got.

[ 22 comments ] ( 80 views )

a happy mama's day

May 10, 2009, 7:05 pm

My Mother's Day gift this year was a dance performed this morning by Troy, Huck, six other children, two mothers and one grandmother. I'll let you imagine how wonderful it was.

[ 2 comments ] ( 33 views )

chaos

May 9, 2009, 10:52 am

You might remember a while back Huck became very interested in his conscience, all thanks to Pinocchio. When raising a four year old alien to hopefully grow into a well adjusted human, it's helpful for that alien to have a grasp on what's right and what's wrong. Well, good old Daddy decided to introduce the concept of "ego" to Huck, so now when he gets naughty he explains, "My conscience and my ego were both talking at once and I couldn't tell which one it was."

Thanks, Paps!

[ 2 comments ] ( 39 views )

oh, boy

May 2, 2009, 7:41 pm

It’s finally really, really spring here and we couldn’t be happier to see all the green leaves and flowers everywhere we look. The river is our second home again and Huck is becoming an expert bike rider. We have one last month of our Monday and Thursday pre-school co-ops and then it’s playing outside all day long for a couple of months. Unfortunately Huck's terrible fear of bees has returned and when he sees them begins flailing like a crazy person. On the other hand, he takes pride in killing ants and announcing that they’re dead, dead, dead as he stares at me with twinkles in his eyes, daring me to translate my peace-loving lecture to ants. Which I do.

Since last we saw you here on the Huck blog, he has become a world-renowned nose picker and is now referred to as Nose Inspector. The other night while reading to him I noticed he had rolled a little booger into a ball and was holding it delicately. I got him a tissue and attempted to take the little booger from him. He got panicky and said, “No, no, I like to play with it!” as we began physically struggling with each other. Right as the tiny ball was almost in my grasp he threw it across the room, never to be seen again. I have a feeling that room is full of such nose treasure and I’m never going in there again.

Recently I told Nose Inspector he needed to say “Excuse me” when he tooted. So now even when his toots are silent and unnoticeable he shouts “Excuse me! I tooted!” to everyone in hearing distance. Which is not what I meant.

On my birthday we were on a crowded A train heading downtown and I was the only Schremmer with a seat. Huck squatted in front of me and stuck his flashlight pen under my bottom and announced, "It looks like an esophagus down there." Dream come true.

For the last few months we’ve been working on an independent film about New Yorkers getting their children into kindergarten. It’s been a process similar to “Chalk,” which is to say fully improvised and very low budget. Troy plays himself and is the musical narrator of the film, always with guitar and always surrounded by happy children singing along. I basically play myself (with a few major changes) and Huck plays my son Huck. Perhaps my "favorite" moment was when he interrupted a scene between myself and another mom here at our apartment by aiming his stick horse into my face and saying he was going to kill me. The camera has captured all different sides to his sparkling personality, good and terrible, and I’m somewhat frightened to see what ends up in the movie.

Lastly, a while back Troy and I were talking to an older couple visiting our church and found out that one of them was a born New Yorker. I pointed to Huck and said, “He is too,” and Huck replied, “But I was made in Texas.” Followed by an awkward silence.

I need to stop telling Huck everything.

[ 18 comments ] ( 92 views )

church yard clean up day

May 2, 2009, 10:45 am

[ 4 comments ] ( 29 views )