S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, Saturday! Wee hours of Saturday morning -

Identity
Amanda and I were watching Reading Rainbow today when we saw a clip about a Native American painter. Amanda turned to me with scrunched nose and said, "Mom, he looks weird." "Tell me why you think that, Amanda," I encouraged. She said, "Well, he looks Chinese." Struggling to stifle my giggle, I gently reminded her that she is half-Chinese. After wrestling with that reality for a moment, she offered, "I know that. But women and girls and my Daddy that are Chinese aren't weird. Just him."

Some people might be horrified with the conversation above, but I hope you'll see it for what it is. It's a fascinating honor to peek into Amanda's mind as she develops a more sophisticated system of organization and categorization. Anyone or anything that doesn't fit neatly into current categories most often become filed as "weird", to child and adult alike.... This opportunity afforded us the chance to talk about the similarities between the painter and Chinese people, and our hybrid Chinese-Korean family for that matter, as well as the differences. If you have preschoolers, this age is ripe with opportunities to explore "same" and "different" in an authentic, productive manner. Here's a nice article to reference for more information on this topic.

The miscellaneous that makes life LIFE
Ron was out of town on a business trip, so I had the pleasure (ha!) of playing single parent for several days. I am gripped at the heart by how great a role Ron plays in this family's well-being. It is really nice to be walking alongside a man of deep convictions. Sigh...we're so glad he's back!

During his absence, the girls and I had blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs and juice for dinner one night. Amanda thought it was the coolest thing in the world as she got to prepare the pancakes herself - the recipe is great, and very simple. Do let me know if you try it out!

Abigail is now walking... on her knees. She does that whenever possible, leaving one to wonder if she's just an unnaturally short 13-month-old with an interesting swagger. You just have to laugh at how different children are. Abby can now climb up AND slide down our stairs without blinking, and she points at everything. Pointing Girl will still need to "use your words" - we always say that to her, so now she points to her cup and says, "Abeejo joo." (translation: Abigail wants juice.) At any given time, you can find Amanda squeezing Abigail's hand really hard with clenched teeth, saying, "Oh these little sister dimple hands are so cute!" Then it usually ends with Amanda crying because Abby has socked her in the face with a cute little sister dimple hand.

Amanda has her first piano recital in the morning! We're entranced by the music she infuses into our home. I hope she enjoys the moment and not get stage fright.

I may have overworked myself during my exercise class, and woke up with a barely functioning back - inconvenient recurring injury. I will need to tone down my Type-A personality exercise regimen!

One of my layouts was featured on the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooking Magazine blog, under the link "Adorable outfit and layout" - wow! Thanks for letting me know about it, Tez and Michelle!

Did anybody say layouts?




(Click to enlarge images)

For layout credits, follow this link.