HAT!

I took Hannah to school today to see the seniors all dressed up in their caps and gowns for the first time. It's a bittersweet moment for me every year. Hannah definitely broke the tension for me (and the others around me) by pointing out everyone's "hat" and then loudly slurping her milk during the prayer. We ended up leaving just after the milk-slurping as she started to get squirmy.

here o allí?

Getting in the wagon to head over to "Mima's house" today, Hannah had a decision to make. Two seats in the wagon, which to take?
"Here o allí?" She asked herself.
I love the Spanglish. Anyone would have asked "here or there?" but it's cool to see how her brain works. Sometimes words, both English and Spanish are all ONE unified language set that she uses. It's crazy she's got that much meaning in her brain. I would LOVE to hear her thoughts!

Ode to my rice cooker. and other things that make my life easier.

Pablo Neruda wrote a book entitled "Odes to Common Things" and it's always been one of my favorite lessons to teach, as it helps me, and my students to appreciate the simple things in life. My two favorites are "Ode to the artichoke" and "Ode to the tomato" which give so much life and personality to common vegetables, you'll never think the same way as you cook. I had one of these contemplative moments in the kitchen today, but not with my vegetables. No, it was my rice cooker.


(this is by no means a fancy shot, but it is a real familiar spot for me in the house.)

I was starting a(nother) pot of rice today (I just made one yesterday, too!) and I remembered how silly I thought rice cookers were as a new bride. "Is that really necessary? Seriously - who eats so much rice that they need a rice cooker?" Now as a mom, and (more) seasoned home chef, I stand corrected. The rice cooker is awesome, and serves more purposes than one, but mostly, spends it's time filling our hose with the sweet nutty smell of brown rice. Hannah doesn't go ONE day without some rice and beans.
Also in the corner are my other kitchen all-stars:
1)my mini blender: our old one leaked out the bottom whenever I used it, no matter how quick I was... so I had to replace it and this one was the best deal. It's the perfect size for making my Shakeology shakes I'm so hooked on, and saves washing another dish because the lid is a sip top. Yes, you can drink straight from this blender. Initially, I never thought I would do that. Realistically, I totally do it all the time: blend, drink, wash. So easy!
2)Kitchen-Aid Mixer: My favorite red appliance. I am pretty sure that its blending capabilities are the reason my cookies tasted so much better after I got married.
3)Mini-chopper: I don't have a food-processor. This cute little "salsa maker" (the reason I initially registered for it) is all I have ever needed and it's waaaay more affordable, not to mention a space saver. And yes, it's good for when I want to try another salsa recipe, too! It breaks down and goes into the dishwasher, too, yay!
4)Oh,and the electric can-opener. Again, when I first married Micah, I thought that an electric can-opener was so un-necessary (he already had one, this was surprising to me - what bachelor has that?) but I've grown really accustomed to just sticking the can on there (usually Hannah's can of black beans) and letting it whir around and then hang there until I need it. While I wouldn't mind cranking the opener around a can, the electric one somehow always reminds me of the Rosie on the Jetsons... like my little robot that helps me out with every little thing!

You know you spend a lot of time in the kitchen when you can write this much about your appliances... and these are only the red ones, don't even get me started on the toaster and the coffee maker, that will have to be for another day...

Oh, odes to my kitchen, I spend so much time there, but it is my favorite corner of the house for sure! Maybe it's because "the ordinary arts we practice everyday at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." Sir Thomas More. Wise words.

Embrace the camera: Sleep, baby, sleep!

Took this one using Photo Booth on my laptop. (We are parked in the garage, of course!)
Where is my camera you ask? In my purse. But I had to capture this moment using the computer somehow, as this is not something we've done before...

Sick mommma and still sick baby had ventured out to get some Wendy's Chili and a baked potato. When Sick Momma trys to get still sick baby out of the car seat to take her in for a nap, she says "No" and goes back to sleep. Repeat. "No." Sick Momma decides to go get laptop to finish LONG and important email for work. Strangely, gets a lot done sitting in the car. Neighbors drive up. Hmm. Wonder what they think. Oh well. She's sleeping!

Now to eat some chili, and edit the finals review for tomorrow. All in a day's work, amigos!

Like what you see? Go see the others that inspire me to write such a post. Have fun! (It's seriously my favorite part of my bloggy week. I look forward to it every Thursday!)

ah-bol

I was eating some broccoli coleslaw at dinner the other night when Hannah bursts out: "¡ah-bol!!!" She had just noticed how similar my broccoli looked to trees (árboles)! I know it sounds weird that she just noticed that, but she really doesn't like broccoli in it's natural form, and so it is usually pureed for her in her spaghetti sauce, so this was exciting to see it in it's purer form!)
We've backed off a bit with the Spanish while we get Hannah started in speech therapy. Surprisingly, though, the Spanish is in there. And I'm always surprised when she says a new word, but my cup just runneth over when it's a Spanish word. It's an interesting journey we're on... using Spanish in our home. Turns out that it requires a patience entirely different than using/teaching Spanish in the classroom. Because I don't receive as much feedback from Hannah as I do a high school student, I am constantly wondering how much Spanish she really knows, and how it will all come together, and it seems to peek out in small flashes of brilliance more and more lately, and I couldn't be prouder.
I've been reading that great book I mentioned a while back, Bilingual, and it is thought-provoking in every way, and I'm so inspired to keep track of Hannah's speech journey, day by day, as much as I can! I ran across the most interesting statement in the chapter about children acquiring two languages (Chapter 15):
"Where do we stand, then, on this issue? The two languages in the young bilingual are definitely in some form of contact but not in a state of "fusion," which could explain some of the observations made by earlier proponents of the unitary language position. Jürgen Meisel points out that the two languages do not develop at the same pace and this leads to such cross-linguistic influence as interference (transfer) and acceleration or delay in the acquisition of specific constructions. Researchers Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews, who studied young Cantonese-English bilinguals, observed the pervasive influence of the dominant language on the weaker language, as well as some structures developing more quickly in one language due to their simplicity or transparency. They conclude that the bilingual children they had studied - and this probably true of most of these types of children - have a distinct and unique linguistic profile that cannot be characterized as a composite of two monolinguals housed in the same mind."
I love that. She is not two monolinguals housed in the same mind. I can't compare how her Spanish develops with how mine did, or with how my students learn, she is learning two together and simultaneously. Crazy. I need to capture this.
The mystery of child development is mind-boggling and utterly humbling to me. Because speech is an area where Hannah actually has a delay, I almost hesitate to write about this, knowing how much more other children her age are capable of saying. I know it's not healthy to compare, but sometimes when they play together it is so obvious. But when I pray about this, wondering what is the right thing to do, I am always reminded of a wonderful story I once heard about an African boy who found a bundle of grain stashed in a corner of the barn during a famine. Starving, the boy ran to find his father, thrilled that there would be grain to eat that night. The father then explains that they must throw the seed out in the field, to start the crop for the next season's grain, because he believes it will grow. I love the moral of the story: Believe in the harvest. Even when it is so hard to sow the seeds. Though I have loved this story over the years for how it has applied to faith, and to teaching, now I love it even more as I battle to share something I believe is so important with my daughter. Do I wonder sometimes if her speech delay could have been caused by hearing two languages? Sure. Do I stop teaching her? NO. She continues to use her Spanish, as it is part of her life, part of our life together, as mother and daughter. I'll keep teaching her because I believe one day it will be important that she knows it. I have visions of her, grand and small - making friends across the world, or seamlessly moving between Spanish and English on the playground with whoever she's playing with - and everywhere in between. I'll keep on teaching her because I believe that one day she will speak both. And it will be so worth it. I believe it.

scissah!

"scissah!"
Hannah says proudly as I find the whole she cut in my favorite pair of her "jeggings". Somehow she found a pair of children's safety scissors in my car.
Thankfully nothing worse happened, but secretly, I'm sort of bummed about the hole, too. Boo.

Aaaah, Friday.

We are two weeks away from finals at school, and I needed this Friday.
Hannah is kind of sick, just a fever so far, but it really wipes her out... so I came home a bit early from work and she took a bath and we watched Mary Poppins (currently, her very favorite movie... she actually asked for it by name "Maymee Popo" complete with umbrella gesture - took me a moment to figure out, but I was so proud of her when I figured it out!)
Micah and I are really enjoying the words she's using lately. I love to hear her trying to put thoughts together!
We made the spiciest crab cakes for dinner (I'll go easier on the Cajun seasoning next time) with asparagus and wild rice, and then watched three episodes of House Hunters International: Argentina, Italy and Fiji.
What an awesome night.

Add another one to the reading list.

I spotted this on SpanglishBaby's Mother's Day Reading List.
The Product Description is what caught my eye:
"Why is the word madre, "mother," so complicated in Spanish—especially in Mexico? Leaping off the page with energy, insight, and attitude, Liza Bakewell's exploration of language is anything but "just semantics." Why does me vale madre mean worthless, while ¡qué padre! means fabulous, she asks? And why do one hundred madres disappear when one padre enters the room, converting the group from madres to padres? Thus begins a journey through Mexican culture in all its color: weddings, dinner parties, an artist's studio, heart-stopping taxi rides, angry journalists, corrupt politicians, Blessed Virgins, and mothers both sacred and profane.

Along the way, a reader discovers not only an invaluable lexicon of Mexican slang (to be used with caution or not at all) but also thought-provoking reflections on the evolution of language; its winding path through culture, religion, and politics; and, not least, what it means—and what it threatens—to be a creative female, a madre."

Exactly! I'd asked of the same questions myself... Seeing this brought back lots of memories of studying in Cuernavaca, where my favorite class was my Idioms class, where I took notes for two hours on various phrases that didn't directly translate, but would make my Spanish sound more fluent and definitely more local. It made my day if I were able to turn around and use one correctly later on in the day, and it amused my new Mexican amigos immensely. I did find myself really hesitant to use my new knowledge, as I didn't understand much of the background behind what was being said, so I was never quite sure if what I was saying was appropriate. Now, as a teacher, I am super-careful about what I say, but at the same time, I want to teach my students Spanish that is as close to "everyday" or "street-Spanish" as possible, without passing on anything "grosero". I'd imagine this book will give some valuable insight!
I think it'd be a non-traditional, yet totally perfect Mother's Day gift for me!

Po fa vo :)

At Baja Fish Tacos tonight, Hannah was watching the Barcelona-Real Madrid game and appeared to be rooting for Real Madrid "Get the ball, yah!" (That was a lot of words for her!) I'm thinking she might have a thing for Cristiano Ronaldo, as she would point "oooh!" every time he came up on the screen. Is that really possible? Either way, I loved every minute as she was completely enthralled with the game, we all ate every bite of dinner, and Hannah discovered the magical taste of my root beer and spent the last part of dinner for "Mo, po fa vo" (more, please - she only says "po fa vo" to me, even if I ask her in English.)

Haircut.

First haircut: Fancy fun salon in the mall. Horrific cries.
Second haircut: She quietly fusses while our friend cuts her hair in her garage.
Tonight: I cut her hair after dinner while she was brushing her teeth.

We saved ourselves money, and drama! Win win!!!