100% Mindblown

I was having a conversation the other day with my girl about a French word, and decided to look it up because, as I told her, I wasn't totally sure I had the right word. I was, I said, about 90 % sure, but I wanted to check.

She replied that she was about 51% sure.

"Not very sure," I said. "That's only about halfway sure."

"I know." she responded. "One more than half."

She's seven. I stopped. I had figured she was pulling a random number out of the air that sounded good. "Um, how did you know that was halfway?" I had to ask.

She explained, very logically, that 50 was half of 100, and 51 was one more, so one more than half. Whaaaa?

I'm totally gobsmacked. I'm certain she has not been introduced to the concept of percentage yet in grade 1, nor does she speak Latin to know that it means for each hundred, so... I kept puzzling about where she got that piece of knowledge and couldn't come up with anything other than leaps of logic that I would not expect in a kid who is smart and math-savvy, but not any kind of mind-blowing savant.

This morning I asked her how she knew that percent meant out of a hundred. She told me that she just knew, and then added that she read cereal boxes. Again, what? I pulled one out of the cupboard so she could show me what she was talking about. She showed me the column of percentages of recommended daily allowances for various vitamins and nutrients. She pointed out the % symbol.

I've always believed you can learn nearly anything by reading, but I had to scrape my jaw off the floor after that one.

Kids. You never know what their going to pull out of their sleeve next, do you?!

Ever Think You Chose the Wrong Name?

Naming is a big ordeal around our house. It is months of lists, vetoes, crossing off, arguing, and occasional pouting. With Pumpkinpie, we settled on something well before she was born. With The Bun, we crossed everything (and I mean everything) off each other's lists but our two last-resort safety names, the ones I liked, but thought were maybe a little too common to go with the oh-so-boring last name our children bear.

I really wanted to name him Calder, like the artist. Misterpie thought that wasn't a name. He's a traditionalist, Misterpie is, of the sort that would have been happy with one of those sturdy old standards, while I really wanted something unusual, but not out there. Misterpie quite liked Duncan, but I couldn't get past the nickname Dunkin' Donuts. What if he was a chunky kid? We would have set him up but good with that one. (And he was, for a while, one fat baby.)

We were down to Benjamin or Max, even as he was on his way into the world, but weren't entirely happy with either one. We switched gears and went back to a discarded name in the middle of the night after he was born as we sat awake with him, talking. It sat fine. I like it, I don't regret the change of heart or the name - but the kid would make such a good Max.



He's got all the mischief and perseverance of Ruby's little brother. Stubborn? Heck, yes. Exuberant, too, like this guy, and fond of his toys. He can sit and play with his own things for quite a while. This bunny makes me laugh more now than ever before for the resemblance.



And then - just the other night, we were driving along, talking about something he didn't want to do. He informed us of his resistance to the idea in these terms: "I'd be so mad, I'd eat you up!"


I don't think he has even read Where The Wild Things Are yet, but again, so very, perfectly Max that I can't help wonder if we missed the boat on the perfectly suited name, there.

But then, I think ours is better for the long years of being a grownup, when hopefully he will be over the urge to eat up those he disagrees with.

Wanted: One Copywriter

At least, I'm guessing they might want a new one, if anyone at the company has noticed what they put on their packaging:

You see it? Okay, I can't convince Blogger to insert that picture the right way round, but you see it, right?

They have a lewd come-on printed right on their box! Er, their package?

Oh dear. Apparently my mind is not in the kitchen, here. (surprise!)
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Ballet and Lego

Living room is filled today with pink tulle and dimpled hard plastic bits.


The Bun is getting into tiny Lego way earlier because really, how to keep the few thousand people small pieces entirely away from his grasp? We've done well with keeping him from beads and playmobil, small puzzles and art supplies, but here, we have simply let it go by. Such are the perks of being the younger, I suppose.

Meanwhile, the older gets to style his hair and make him do ridiculous things:

Hard to say who wins here.

Word Travels Fast

This morning, two and a half hours after groundhogs in both Wiarton and Punxsutawney predicted an early spring, robins began congregating in our backyard.

First one, then two, then three, then four.

That really is an early spring, especially given it was in the middle of our predicted massive snowstorm which, really, not so massive, but still.

Here is a pair of them:

Weird.

New Year: Back to The Blog

I haven't blogged here much since The Bun was born. Life has been hectic, and time hard to find. Some things I have wanted to say and haven't had time to think them through and put them down. Some things I haven't known how to say. Some things seemed worth saying until a week had gone by and then seemed to insignificant to bother recording after that time had passed, or receded to the back of my mind, pushed aside by other, more pressing matters.

I think, though, that I need to return here. This past month has found me so occupied with worry and nerves and to-dos and annoyances that I haven't been stopping to enjoy things, haven't found the space in my brain, and lately, I haven't been able to process things and let them go, carrying them with me for far longer than they ever warranted doing.

I remember when I first started blogging, that I found it made me look at the world differently, made me look for those things I wanted to record, either to remember and enjoy again later, or to share with you or with my kids as they grew. It made me look for the funny, the quirky, the sweet, as well as giving me a place to vent or to sift through things. I need that again, I think. I have things I want to say, things I keep replaying in my head, things I want to tell someone about, but even more importantly, I want my eyes opened to the good stuff again, and the reminder that I should be dwelling on it.

Pumpkinpie totally hit me with that last night, as I pondered over something else and urged her to move out of the hallway so I could pass - she told me I should be thankful for her, not cranky with her. I am, of course, but I think there's a kernel of truth in her outburst, too, because I've been feeling like she is getting short shrift lately, and I hate that. It seems that I, like many mothers, never have enough time or energy to go around. That's part of what stopped me blogging a couple of years back, really, but my hope is that going back to it might seem less like slicing off another bit of time, and more like finding a space to remember what' s important.

Here's hoping - and happiest of new years to those who happen by.

Hallowe'en Hello

Hey, there! Um yes, it's been ages. AGAIN.

I can't believe how life is zooming by me, one lost month at a time, but I suppose that's how it is for all of us, in this busy period of kid-raising, work-going, laundry-washing, house-cleaning, and so on, right? Right?

But rather than natter on about how I've been away from the computer, been sick, been busy and stressed and blah blah blahbitty blah, let me give you this:



As far as the Bun and Hallowe'en were concerned? Love/hate - pure Toddler Waffle, as everything seems to be these days. I love the way he argues these days, though. Like this one, days after he had told us he wanted to be a fireman and I had figured out that costume:

Pumpkinpie: I'm going to be a frog for Hallowe'en, Bun.
Bun: I be a puppy!
Misterpie: How about a fireman?
Bun: How about a puppy?

heh. He's actually starting to stump us in how to convince him sometimes, the little monkey.

And what else is going on? I have a new spot for Shelf Candy, my book review blog for parents, at Urban Moms! It's twice weekly now, so I can cover lots of great stuff - check by now and then for some new titles for storytime. In fact... why not go now? It looks awfully official and stuff, I must say.