Rocket ships and river picnics

Yesterday Owen and I accompanied Will’s pre-k class to the Coca Cola Space Science Center, where Will enjoyed flying in space shuttle simulators and learning about the solar system at the Omnisphere theater. (He’s still talking about “rocky midgets” and “gassy giants” today, and he and Owen have been designing rocket ships in the living room.)

After the field trip, just the three of us went down to the river for a quiet picnic. There was a light breeze, perfectly warm weather and nothing to do but follow the boys’ whims as they ran up and down grassy hills, pitched rocks in the river and pretended to fish with sticks. There’s not much better, I think, than a riverside picnic with no agenda attached.

Art lines

I stole this idea from my friend, who is an artist and potter, and who strung up her 2-year-old daughter's finger paintings with clothespins in front of their kitchen window. We made our own art line, using twine and paper clips, because we happened to have them on hand, for the boys' bedroom. Will and Owen love to look up at it and admire their work.




A couple times I've noticed Will gazing at one of the hanging pictures and then running to the kitchen for crayons and paper so he can sit down to work on another masterpiece. Kids, of course, get real satisfaction in displaying their work.


We may just have to put up another art line on the opposite wall.

A kohlrabi treat

It’s CSA season in Columbus. When I got our half of the first produce bag last weekend, I felt slightly daunted by the prospect of preparing the contents for kid consumption. Will and Owen both seem to have grown a bit pickier over the past few months, and I was wondering whether I’d be able to sell them on kohlrabi, turnips, spinach, cilantro and kale. I knew they’d go for a spinach manicotti, but the rest of the veggies seemed less promising. But I take it as a personal challenge to consume or freeze all our produce before it goes bad, so Will and I set to work together, blanching and sauteeing kale and turnip greens according to Rob’s invented recipe (applied here to collards) and following this recipe for roasted kohlrabi that our farmers shared with us in their weekly e-newsletter:

Roasted Kohlrabi with garlic and parmesan

Ingredients
4 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Cut the kohlrabi into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut each of the slices in half. Combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss kohlrabi slices in the olive oil mixture to coat. Spread kohlrabi in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally in order to brown evenly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven to allow the Parmesan cheese to brown, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Will declared the kohlrabi “very, very good” and even went so far as to call it one of his two favorite foods. (Tortellini was the other favorite -- at least in that fleeting moment).

And that is why I love belonging to a CSA. It makes us so much more adventurous when it comes to eating fresh healthy food.

Razor blades at the park

Unsettling, to say the least, to hear that razor blades were found taped to the playground equipment at Lakebottom Park. I got a phone message from the city on the subject this afternoon. If you're a Columbus parent, and haven't heard the news, check out the story here. And be vigilant.

Mother's day at the beach

I think I may have enjoyed my favorite mother's day weekend to date -- at the beach with the boys this weekend.

Normally Rob and I seek out state park beaches that are undeveloped and teeming with wildlife. But Rob had a meeting Friday relatively close to Panama City so we decided to make that our beach destination.

Turns out the Redneck Riviera is a pretty great place to take kids, and a super affordable place to get a beachfront hotel on an off weekend. And those obnoxious mini-golf courses that line the strip as you drive in were a hit with Will and Owen.

We spent most of our time on the beach digging giant holes and making "volcanoes,"

burying Will in the sand

and watching dolphins, among other things:

We made daily trips to the heated pool, where by day 2, our once water-timid Will finally learned how to swim, albeit not so gracefully,

Owen averaged about 35 hits per hole on the goofy golf course, but always managed to get his ball in the hole

and Will and Owen had the first ferris wheel ride of their lives.

I tried to tell Will repeatedly that we were not in "Hanama City" but "Panama City" but it just wouldn't sink in. Finally, he admitted, "I really like Hannah Monatana." He got in a few "Panama City" pronunciations yesterday, but today as he was making all kinds of plans for his future, he slipped again.

"I want to have a small house when I grow up but I want to build it myself so I can have it just how I like it. I want to be a palentologist and live in Hanama City."

"Me too," said Owen, who desperately wished that we didn't have to come home yesterday.

Feeding frenzy

I’m finally posting weird animal photos from what seems to be becoming an annual trip with Papa to the Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari. The boys went last year, but it was my first Georgia safari. There was something a little eerie about this collection of bold animals and their over-grazed landscape, but it was a grand old hoot for the boys to feed the animals and watch them slobber. Their favorite animals were some tiny two-week-old pigs and this llama, which Will named Wilts.

The highlight of our weekend was a Dinner on the Farm at the Jenny Jack Sun Farm. We forgot our camera. Otherwise, you'd be looking at lovely photos of children running in chest-high grasses, petting baby chicks, and digging for worms in the big worm compost bin.

How about this giraffe head with sky instead???

Talking with kids about race

Today’s Ledger-Enquirer includes a story I wrote about how to talk with kids about issues of race and ethnicity – and why it’s important to start at an early age, even if it feels like awkward territory. I was inspired to find some local experts on the subject after reading this “See Baby Discriminate” Newsweek article back in September. The article is an excerpt from the book “NurtureShock” by By Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.

In today’s story, Victoria Plaut, professor of social and cultural psychology at the University of Georgia, and Clubview Elementary fifth-grade teacher Charlene Coleman, offer many insights about the nuances of talking with children about race and the importance of having honest dialogue with children about difference rather than just hoping they’ll grow up “color-blind.”

For further information on the subject try these Web sites:

UnderstandingRace.org (Follow the “For Kids” link for activities designed to help kids ages 10-13 think more deeply about race and racism)

Multiracialsky.com (offers some links to books on race for various ages)

Civilrights.org (offers examples of how to answer difficult questions form kids)