- We caught a flying critter. Me: Mm.. I think it's a sort of pretty moth. Mago: I think it's a butterfly. Indeed a Monarch one. #
Twitter Weekly Digest for 2010-06-20
// 
Author: Alex
//One Time a Princess Cried
//Sometime this past winter, Tia shot this footage in which you see me holding Nem-nem (who is 3 years old at this writing).
(The high-definition version won’t seem to play in a new window at full size for me; if that happens for you it will probably play better if you download and play it.)
Twitter Weekly Digest for 2010-06-13
//- Nem hands me a drawing with squiggly lines and spots, and says: Here, it's for you. It's a caterpillar. It's silly. And it dances. #
Twitter Weekly Digest for 2010-06-06
//- Nem: "Maybe the roly-poly will eat the chwakate chip! And then he'll take it to the queen!" #
Drawings etc. by Mago, May 2010
//Here’s some artwork Mago did using a painting program on our computer. He’s also described and named these, which you’ll see in the captions. The captions also link to full size images.
[svgallery name=”2010-05-Mago-art”]
Also, here is something he created at pbskids.org.
I know I had several other creations of his lying around in files somewhere, but can’t seem to find them at the moment. I’ll post them if I do.
A technical digression.. [spoiler]New rule: don’t upgrade unless you know you need to. I’m in a habit of automatically upgrading WordPress plugins when prompted to via the dashboard. The new upgrade to the SimpleViewer Gallery plugin (sv-gallery) stopped displaying galleries, and stripped down adjustable settings (how to designers decide it is better not only to automate everything, but to completely prevent users from manually setting anything? Are not the science fiction stories about evil robots taking over the world warning enough?). It took me a few hours of frustration before this dawned on me (both that it was an upgrade and a broken one). Fortunately I had an old copy of the plugin (this and so many other experiences with data gone bad (or missing!) – this is why I back up everything). I deactivated and deleted the plugin, uploaded the old one, put the settings back to what I want – and blammo! Everything back to normal. So: Do. Not. Upgrade. Unless you have good reason to believe that not upgrading may be the cause of problems. But keep backups – whether you upgrade or not.[/spoiler]
backbpost to 05-17
//This is a temporary post linking to this backpost for Mago’s birthday.
Twitter Weekly Digest for 2010-05-23
//Mago’s Prayer
//I’m thankful for the bugs
I’m thankful for the animals
I’m thankful for the world
And please bless my cold to die.
Uttered a hundred times on a hundred nights from his bed or bedside.
Incidentally, bug hunting is probably among his most favorite activities. I found a fat pillbug for him today. He found his own smaller one too. His comment later: “Dad, I think my pillbugs have made friends!”
Disarmed
//So, a few days ago I fairly lost my temper over something. (Surprise – I’m human! Shocked? Jealous?)
But within a few minutes Tia pointed out how I was being unfair, and I snapped out of it and apologized. I then apologized to the kids. In reply, Nem-nem again manages sweet and sour, (and plaintive, earnest, and emphatic), in her characteristic somewhat staggering speech.
Me: [Kids], I shouldn’t have spoken that way to mom. It was mean. I’m sorry.
Nem: Yeah, and I did say to you stop!
Me: Yes, and I should have listened to you.
Nem: Yeah, and you’re too heavy; I couldn’t put you in time-out!
Suddenly picturing this tiny 2-year old girl of mine hoisting me up, carrying me to a room, and informing me I was in time-out, I could only laugh. The kids realized it was funny, too.
But it’s also incredibly endearing.
(And sobering.)
Twitter Weekly Digest for 2010-04-25
//Close, but not quite
//Me, revealing to Mago details about a toy he got from his friend for his birthday:
Oh, I think this helicopter is the main bad guy’s. See it has a cobra logo on it. The main bad guy in G.I. Joe is named Cobra.
What does he do?
I don’t really remember. Probably try to take over the world, which is kind of funny.
Why is it funny?
Oh.. there’s this cartoon called Animaniacs, with two mice that scientists do experiments with; these mice live in a science lab. One of them is an evil genius, and the other is an innocent goofball.
What’s an innocent goofball?
That means he’s wacky and he doesn’t know what’s going on. But every episode, the evil genius mouse does something to try to take over the world, to control the whole world, and it never works, something always goes wrong.
Later, Mago, already a fan of a cartoon he’s never seen (whoops! – on my part), relays this to Tia (who of course already knows all this, but is indulging Mago):
.. and one of them is an evil genius! – and the other is a hideous pitball!
Nem’s Offerings
//During sacrament meeting at our local LDS church, Nem will take cheerios out of a bag one by one, pressing them to my lips, looking at me intently, earnestly, expectantly. She pleasantly but fairly firmly instructs:
Eat it!
If I shake my head and say “No, thank you”, she presses the cheerio harder into my lips, and with a consternation that is somehow pleasant, insists:
No! – Eat it!
Until she is pressing the cheerio past my closed lips and I can’t refuse without spitting it out. Okay, thank you, I’ll say, amused.
This morning before my breakfast she hands me one of her chwakate chips (the same spoken of among recent “tweets”) from a little gumball machine she has full of them. She pleasantly instructs:
Here, eat it!
Me: No, thank you, I haven’t had breakfast yet.
Again she returns a consternation that is somehow pleasant:
No! – Eat it!
Me: Okay, I’ll have it after breakfast, thank you.
She is her great-grandfather’s great-grand-daughter.
I’m tickled, and I’ll accept gifts more often.
Twitter Weekly Digest for 2010-04-11
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