• Kaizen
  • I spent a little while trying to fix the playdough by adding flour and cream of tartar. It got less sticky and more elastic, although I think I made it a little stiff.
  • W- made pizza dough from scratch. It was nice and elastic.
  • We asked for some of Tita Annet’s sourdough starter.
  • Next time I fly, I should definitely wear my sandals on the plane.
  • We used baking soda to get rid of the ring in the bathtub. W- cleaned up lots of things in the house, too.
• Us
  • It turned out that the external drive that I had brought over to Kathy for use as her offsite backup already had a copy of her files from 2017, when my dad had mistakenly grabbed the drive and given it to me. That was pretty convenient, actually, as it had some files she wanted to copy.
  • Bert Jan showed us the Point It book that they’d found tremendously useful on their trips. I wonder if something like that might be fun to share with A-.
  • We visited Dan and Bert Jan. We chatted about fandom, travel, tai chi, healthcare, practical knowledge, parenting, the environment, feminism, and pockets. A- had fun with the crayons, playdough, and toys they happened to have lying around.
  • It was nice to go from downtown Den Haag to a large, quiet park.
  • We observed G-‘s horse riding lesson.
  • We went to the children’s farm, the supermarket, and the bank.
  • We met Kathy’s neighbours, who were just as awesome as described.
  • W- cooked bibimbap and we invited Kathy’s neighbours over.
  • Dan visited us and shared more stories about her travels.
  • It was a good idea paying for Vodafone NL’s 10 euro bundle. I used 300mb and a handful of texts.
  • Going through Pearson still sucks. The line at customs was long, and we waited even longer because we declared the food we’d brought.
  • We took the subway home, although the luggage wheels didn’t survive the walk. W- is determined to get a two-wheeled suitcase next time – something with big wheels.
  • It turns out the plants that I thought weren’t chives were actually chives. Also, the spring onions are growing well.
• Gross motor
  • A- liked playing with the Stomp Rocket. The kids suggested playing outside, but two of the rockets landed too far (one in the neighbours’ back yard, one on the roof), so I redirected them to something else.
• Fine motor
  • A- was really interested in the Connect 4 game. She liked dropping the yellow markers into the grid, taking turns, and clearing the grid of all the markers. She didn’t play to win, of course.
• Sensory
  • A- liked the playground with the zip line. W- whizzed her up and down the zip line a few times.
  • So much water play inside and outside!
• Language
  • I told A- a little about how her brain is still developing a lot and why some things are hard for her to do right now. Some time later, I heard her tell AG, “My brain is still developing.” The next day, I heard AG (who’s 5 years old) say that her brain was still developing too.
  • A- was pretending to sleep. She said, “Honk shu, honk shu, letter zzzzzzzz.”
• Music
  • The precorder and Suzuki recorder arrived! They both sound nice. W- made a recorder stand.
• Self-care and independence
  • A- asked for teething medicine, so we gave her half a junior acetaminophen.
• Eating
  • W-, A-, and I all liked haring. A- had quite a few bites. We also liked kibbeling.
• Sleep
  • “I’m not tired, I’m not tired,” A- protested. A little while later, I noticed she was spacing out while playing with playdough. She accepted my offer to take her upstairs and fell asleep in my lap while I tidied up the playdough. She woke up just enough for me to brush her teeth before I put her to bed.
  • Because the plane book I made mentioned that we sleep when the lights are dimmed, A- asked us to ask the flight attendant when the lights will be dimmed. He said he’d ask the captain, since it was a daytime flight. When the lights were eventually dimmed, A- settled down for a nap.
• Emotion
  • We were all cranky, tired, and hungry by the time we got home, but our mood improved after food.
• Household
  • A- folded kitchen towels, matching the corners precisely and then folding into thirds.
• Social
  • I spent the day hanging out with the kids at home. It mostly went smoothly, although I think A- got a little jealous and tired towards the end.
• Cognition
  • W- started teaching A- how to play a memory game with cards. She got the idea of matching, but was a little fuzzy on taking turns.
• Other
  • W- and A- found a canister of spray lubricant in the plane’s bathroom. They turned it in and the flight attendant joked about A- having squeaky knees.
• Oops
  • I forgot my water bottle at the stables.

Blog posts

• 2019-04-29 Emacs news

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