Yes, my genetic progeny -- voluntarily getting on the phone! Calling people! Must have been switched at birth.

UPDATE: Katherine actually volunteered to call up her friends from whom she'd not heard about her birthday party on Sunday. Yikes! We discussed the things she should mention (her name, that she'd given the kid an invite, when the party is, what (if an answering machine) her phone number is) -- and she handled the whole thing like a pro.

She is such the extravert. Which is so not Margie and me. Changeling, that must be it.

Filed under :: Parenting
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Grats!

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So Katherine's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and we're having her Official Party next Sunday. In a remarkable display of constancy for a 7-8-year-old, she wants to have a swim party (again) at the rec center (again), with a Hawaiian / Tropical / Luau theme (again).

It's also interesting as she works on her guest list. The fact is, she's a bit of a tom-boy, and would (with a very few exceptions) invite an entire group of boys to the party, eschewing the girls. It's an interesting insight into her socialization right now.

Went to the Party Supply Store today. We still have a fair amount of thematically appropriate decorations from last year's party (a good chunk of which were from De's murder mystery). Nonetheless, we ended up picking up invitation stock, and more decor (that will end up in her room), and more cheap leis, and the now-required party gift bags for the attendees. Hawaii/Luau is a popular theme, it appears.

More exciting news as it happens.

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One of the side joys of having a spouse who enjoys wordplay, esp. of the bawdy kind, is that we can be having quite suggestive conversations and repartee without our young'un following along.

An eventual follow-up joy is that we'll be able to embarrass her greatly once she is able to follow along.

Double entendres -- the gifts that keep giving.

Filed under :: Love and Marriage :: Parenting :: Writing and Language
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Time to clear out the various tabs ...

1. At what point do fanfic and fan websites cross the line from fair use to infringement. A new Harry Potter case may help pin that down.
2. What actually kills you in a crucifixion?
3. Not quite sure what Six Apart's new ad network is supposed to give me that simply including Google Ads doesn't do. Not that Google Ads have netted me any big bucks.
4. Recreating childhood photos.
5. Dora the Carefully-Tailored-by-Committee Explorer. Bruce mentioned this article the other evening. I thought we were past Dora, but since Kaylee loves it, Katherine's gotten back into it, too. And, worse, Go, Diego, Go.
6. Worst baby names. It's almost impossible to come with a name that some kid, somewhere, isn't going to poke fun at, but it's nice to at least make the ffort.
7. How to terminate a Terminator.

Filed under :: Blogging :: Media - Cartoons :: Media - Movies :: Media Moguls :: Parenting :: Potpourri :: Writing and Language
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Katherine has now determined, empirically, that while slapping hands with someone in bonhomie and mutual congratulations is best done vigorously and at full force, the analogous, newer  gesture of bumping fists is ... not.

Especially when it's a fist that's twice the size of yours. :-)

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Thanks for the virtual hugs.

Filed under :: Parenting :: Travel
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My phone's desktop, taken at the Botanic Garden last weekend. Keeps a smile on my face and gives me something to brag about.

Filed under :: My Mobile / PDA :: Parenting :: Travel
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I have a dear love for Dr Seuss's Horton Hears a Who!  from my childhood -- and from Katherine's as well. The upcoming movie looks gorgeous, but I fear, in an effort to pad a short kid's book out to the requisite feature film length, the insertion of endless wisecracks and pop references will cause it to ... lose something.

We'll see.

Filed under :: Media - Books :: Media - Movies :: Parenting
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I've noticed something funny recently. That is, I keep finding my hands, and arms, and body doing bits and pieces of karate moves. Nothing that makes me a menace to navigation or anything -- no inadvertent spear-thrusts at innocent passersby or alarming the office mates with roundhouse kicks and kiais -- but just finding my arms or hands flexing, feeling a desire to "stretch" in the form of a fore-arm block, things like that. It's as though my body is feeling comfortable with those movements, which is just ... odd.

I don't know that I've pursued an interest  -- outside the home (or Internet) -- this diligently for some time, certainly not one with such a physical component (maybe my old square dancing days are the best precedent). My training classes are something I make a special point to schedule around (and rue when business travel takes me away from them). It's something special I share with Katherine, too, which is nice. And even though I way too often feel like I have two left feet, I never have to drag myself to the dojo. I want to be there, getting better at it.

Weird.

In upcoming events along this line, our dojo is having its spring tourney on 8 March. Katherine's competing, as she did last year -- but as an orange belt, rather than a white, which is a huge difference (and tremendous progress). I didn't compete last year (since it was just over a month after I'd started), but I planned on doing so this year -- until it ran smack-dab into my Netherlands trip. *sigh*

Later in March, we'll both learn whether Sensei thinks we're ready to test for our green belts. I don't know if I'm ready (or if Katherine's ready), but I trust Sensei to make that call. Either way, I look forward to it.

Filed under :: Karate :: Parenting
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