annie blog

Yummy
Hmmmm, Cinnamon-Tempura Banana Ice Cream Split — sounds like a good summer dinner to me!

Yummy
Hmmmm, Cinnamon-Tempura Banana Ice Cream Split — sounds like a good summer dinner to me!

Someday
I took the boys to the zoo yesterday. I know, I’m crazy. They were thrilled to go and I figured that it would tire them out and that they would have less energy to drive me crazy later when we had to be inside. It was like, 101 degrees, later in the day, but we went to the zoo at 8 and stayed until nearly 11. The boys had a great time in the children’s zoo. They played for a long time on the slides and we also enjoyed the indoor area that has the animals that can be touched and some manipulative toys that my youngest son liked. I think that they all enjoyed the goat area, as well. One of my most favorite memories of my oldest son was when we were at the goat pen at the zoo (he was 20 months old at the time) and we figured out that he was trying to get all the goats in a group hug. We got some precious pictures that day. Yesterday, they all enjoyed brushing the goats. And they all had their favorite goats. In fact, my oldest, the one that will probably have problems being employed someday, asked me a question for which I was totally unprepared. This child, who has never speculated after any future occupation said, “Mom, when I grow up, can I have a job as a goat brusher?” All I could manage was, “Do you like goats? Well, maybe.” He then added, “I want to clock in and out.” Okay, we shall see. You know what, if he is a goat farmer, that would be fine with me. My only wishes are that he would be happy, be a good worker at whatever he does, and preferably, that he would not have to bag groceries at the market. That is all.

Someday
I took the boys to the zoo yesterday. I know, I’m crazy. They were thrilled to go and I figured that it would tire them out and that they would have less energy to drive me crazy later when we had to be inside. It was like, 101 degrees, later in the day, but we went to the zoo at 8 and stayed until nearly 11. The boys had a great time in the children’s zoo. They played for a long time on the slides and we also enjoyed the indoor area that has the animals that can be touched and some manipulative toys that my youngest son liked. I think that they all enjoyed the goat area, as well. One of my most favorite memories of my oldest son was when we were at the goat pen at the zoo (he was 20 months old at the time) and we figured out that he was trying to get all the goats in a group hug. We got some precious pictures that day. Yesterday, they all enjoyed brushing the goats. And they all had their favorite goats. In fact, my oldest, the one that will probably have problems being employed someday, asked me a question for which I was totally unprepared. This child, who has never speculated after any future occupation said, “Mom, when I grow up, can I have a job as a goat brusher?” All I could manage was, “Do you like goats? Well, maybe.” He then added, “I want to clock in and out.” Okay, we shall see. You know what, if he is a goat farmer, that would be fine with me. My only wishes are that he would be happy, be a good worker at whatever he does, and preferably, that he would not have to bag groceries at the market. That is all.

Someday
I took the boys to the zoo yesterday. I know, I’m crazy. They were thrilled to go and I figured that it would tire them out and that they would have less energy to drive me crazy later when we had to be inside. It was like, 101 degrees, later in the day, but we went to the zoo at 8 and stayed until nearly 11. The boys had a great time in the children’s zoo. They played for a long time on the slides and we also enjoyed the indoor area that has the animals that can be touched and some manipulative toys that my youngest son liked. I think that they all enjoyed the goat area, as well. One of my most favorite memories of my oldest son was when we were at the goat pen at the zoo (he was 20 months old at the time) and we figured out that he was trying to get all the goats in a group hug. We got some precious pictures that day. Yesterday, they all enjoyed brushing the goats. And they all had their favorite goats. In fact, my oldest, the one that will probably have problems being employed someday, asked me a question for which I was totally unprepared. This child, who has never speculated after any future occupation said, “Mom, when I grow up, can I have a job as a goat brusher?” All I could manage was, “Do you like goats? Well, maybe.” He then added, “I want to clock in and out.” Okay, we shall see. You know what, if he is a goat farmer, that would be fine with me. My only wishes are that he would be happy, be a good worker at whatever he does, and preferably, that he would not have to bag groceries at the market. That is all.

This Has Been a Funny Day
And I’m not even going to talk about it. I’m not sure I could get the top back on my complaining box if I chanced to open it up to y’all. Wah me.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about the 3 year old. Occasionally, lately, I’ve been watching the Darjeeling Limited trailer. Partly because I’m really excited about the movie, partly because I really like the music on the trailer and it got stuck in my head. I guess that it got stuck in his head, too, because he came up to me yesterday and said, “Mommy, let’s watch (and then he sings) THIS TIME TOMORROW“. I can’t wait to tell him when he is older that he really had a thing for the Kinks when he was 3. I bet he’ll get a kick out of that. He’s a funny little boy.

This Has Been a Funny Day
And I’m not even going to talk about it. I’m not sure I could get the top back on my complaining box if I chanced to open it up to y’all. Wah me.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about the 3 year old. Occasionally, lately, I’ve been watching the Darjeeling Limited trailer. Partly because I’m really excited about the movie, partly because I really like the music on the trailer and it got stuck in my head. I guess that it got stuck in his head, too, because he came up to me yesterday and said, “Mommy, let’s watch (and then he sings) THIS TIME TOMORROW“. I can’t wait to tell him when he is older that he really had a thing for the Kinks when he was 3. I bet he’ll get a kick out of that. He’s a funny little boy.

This Has Been a Funny Day
And I’m not even going to talk about it. I’m not sure I could get the top back on my complaining box if I chanced to open it up to y’all. Wah me.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about the 3 year old. Occasionally, lately, I’ve been watching the Darjeeling Limited trailer. Partly because I’m really excited about the movie, partly because I really like the music on the trailer and it got stuck in my head. I guess that it got stuck in his head, too, because he came up to me yesterday and said, “Mommy, let’s watch (and then he sings) THIS TIME TOMORROW“. I can’t wait to tell him when he is older that he really had a thing for the Kinks when he was 3. I bet he’ll get a kick out of that. He’s a funny little boy.

A Book Recommendation
I have a book recommendation for y’all. The name of the book is Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. This is a truly amazing book.

I started reading the book one night before going to bed. Now, I have to mention that I usually stick to calm reading material before going to bed. Most of the time, that means I flip through a magazine or read a book that I’ve enjoyed in the past. Reading something exciting and then trying to go to sleep afterward is hard for me. But, since this book is kind of in the “my life with a disability” genre, I thought that I would be safe beginning it at night. I was so wrong.

In the first few chapters of the book, Daniel talks about his mind and how it works. I was just blown away by how he described the workings of his
amazing brain. Numbers for Daniel have a texture, a shape, a color and he has a different emotional response to each of them. He offers
a picture of pi — you know, 3.14 yada-yada — on his website. Pi, by the way, is a number that he has memorized and recited in public to over 22,500 decimal places. He can do complex calculations and doesn’t even really know how he accomplishes it. For instance, knowing 4567 multiplied by itself 4 times is as easy as breathing for him. Later in life, he learned that he could absorb languages by studying the patterns involved. For this project, Brainman, he leaned Icelandic — reportedly one of the worlds most difficult languages — in just one week. He is just incredible.

Of course, as amazing as his brain and learning processes are, I was
more interested in his development, his family life and his perspective on his life. He is the oldest of like, nine children. His parents are an inspiration for me — even without considering the other children that they had to care for, I was inspired by how they kept trying to love and help this difficult child. And then, to read about some of Daniel’s interesting behaviors, shall we say, that he has had over the years made me feel better about my own interesting sons and their behaviors. He once collected hundreds of ladybugs. At another time, he amassed so many chestnuts that it provoked his parents to be concerned about the structural strength of the floor in the room in which they were stored. Of particular interest to me was his experience with peers in school and the dawning of his realizations about his disability and his motivation to overcome his social and emotional hurdles.

There is a National Public Radio interview with him here. You can also read the first chapter of this book on the NPR page as well.

Daniel’s experiences and accomplishments have given me hope. He is
truly amazing and his life, as he describes it in the book, has been incredible. I’m excited to see what the future brings for him and what scientists are able to learn by studying his amazing mind.

A Book Recommendation
I have a book recommendation for y’all. The name of the book is Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet. This is a truly amazing book.

I started reading the book one night before going to bed. Now, I have to mention that I usually stick to calm reading material before going to bed. Most of the time, that means I flip through a magazine or read a book that I’ve enjoyed in the past. Reading something exciting and then trying to go to sleep afterward is hard for me. But, since this book is kind of in the “my life with a disability” genre, I thought that I would be safe beginning it at night. I was so wrong.

In the first few chapters of the book, Daniel talks about his mind and how it works. I was just blown away by how he described the workings of his
amazing brain. Numbers for Daniel have a texture, a shape, a color and he has a different emotional response to each of them. He offers
a picture of pi — you know, 3.14 yada-yada — on his website. Pi, by the way, is a number that he has memorized and recited in public to over 22,500 decimal places. He can do complex calculations and doesn’t even really know how he accomplishes it. For instance, knowing 4567 multiplied by itself 4 times is as easy as breathing for him. Later in life, he learned that he could absorb languages by studying the patterns involved. For this project, Brainman, he leaned Icelandic — reportedly one of the worlds most difficult languages — in just one week. He is just incredible.

Of course, as amazing as his brain and learning processes are, I was
more interested in his development, his family life and his perspective on his life. He is the oldest of like, nine children. His parents are an inspiration for me — even without considering the other children that they had to care for, I was inspired by how they kept trying to love and help this difficult child. And then, to read about some of Daniel’s interesting behaviors, shall we say, that he has had over the years made me feel better about my own interesting sons and their behaviors. He once collected hundreds of ladybugs. At another time, he amassed so many chestnuts that it provoked his parents to be concerned about the structural strength of the floor in the room in which they were stored. Of particular interest to me was his experience with peers in school and the dawning of his realizations about his disability and his motivation to overcome his social and emotional hurdles.

There is a National Public Radio interview with him here. You can also read the first chapter of this book on the NPR page as well.

Daniel’s experiences and accomplishments have given me hope. He is
truly amazing and his life, as he describes it in the book, has been incredible. I’m excited to see what the future brings for him and what scientists are able to learn by studying his amazing mind.