Picture of This Day

I awake to find Kiernan playing soccer out on the lawn with Sandi on another beautiful post-Thanksgiving day in Virginia.


Saturday, November 26, 2011
Gloucester Pt., VA

Picture of This Day

What's the perfect activity for the day after Thanksgiving? Why playing on the beach and searching for treasures with Pap-Pap, of course.


Friday, November 25, 2011
Gloucester Pt., VA

Picture of This Day

Relaxing with Uncle Mason on a beautiful Thanksgiving afternoon.


Thursday, November 24, 2011
Gloucester Pt., VA

Prehistoric Aquarium

We have a wonderful huge roll of butcher paper.  It was a gift from Sandi and Pap-Pap a good while ago. It's good and useful for when we have a couple of boys over and they all feel like drawing together. I love it.

Of late, however, Kiernan just wants to draw on his cheap sketch paper. A couple of days ago he started a project of sea creatures. These are modeled on prehistoric sea reptiles, but they are creatures of his own design. He's ending up with a large piece, yet he does not want to start with a large piece of paper. What he wants me to do is tape together pages from his sketch pad. So I started by carefully taping together six pages. He drew a bunch of creatures. Then I added pages to it and he drew more.Then he asked for three more.

I kind of like the reasoning here. Writing happens page by page. Word by word. Imagine if you were tasked with writing a novel and were given three hundred blank pages, already bound, and told to fill those pages. Thunk, right there on your desk. Intimidating, no? But say you're given a page at a time, or three pages. "Just fill these pages. Go on. You can do that." Well yeah, I can do that!

He's created a poster-sized mural and is excited about adding to it, and he's doing it bit by bit. I love that. I also love that he's making up the names himself, as he goes, but not out of thin air. He's referencing his various dinosaur books and cobbling together names of real animals for his creations. That's how we get such wonderful names as Opthalmodon, Protochelys, and Insectospondylus. These are names he made up, but he did so using research.

Furthermore, he loves to introduce each creature to us, and he knows how big each creature is, and this is consistent and relative. So Opthalmodon is as big as our house. Criptosaurus is two-times as big as our house. And Ceresioclidus is three-times as big as our house. He also allows for depth of image as a function of size portrayal, so he can have a creature that is supposed to be small appear the same size as a larger creature because it is closer on the paper. So Insectasquid might indeed be much smaller than Megaceras, but it appears similar because it is closer to the viewer. We don't know how to draw images in perspective yet, but he envisions it in his mind.

I've said it many times before and I'm sure I'll say it many times to come, I love the way this kid's brain works.

[Here he works on a different project, a page-mural of flying reptiles. I love pictures of him doing stuff like this. Intent and concentrating. Beautiful.]

And after all...

Tonight as we talked about our days and weekends, we asked Kiernan about his trip to the Science Center. He said his favorite part was the Flying Monsters movie, which surprised and delighted me. I loved that part too. For one thing, it was a 3D movie I actually liked. For another thing, we bonded during it. But there were other parts of the adventure I liked better.

Like what you see above. Here we are in the little aquarium part of the center. We started up on the top floor, out in the open where you get to see the effect of wave motion on the kelp systems of the ocean.

Here's Kiernan observing the tank from that top floor with his friends Oliver and Mason. It's hard to capture what they're seeing with a camera, but here's my best attempt:

Kind of hard to tell through the glare of the tank glass, but there's a mesmerizing school of fish there that kept swirling around in a cyclone-like pattern. Around and around and around.  Fascinating and cool, but it felt a bit like watching a fish tank from the top. So Kiernan's friend Oliver insisted we head down "into the tunnel" to better see the fish. We told him we'd get around to it. He persisted, politely. We repeated that we would get to it. He insisted, again politely. We relented.

Once down there it was clear that Oliver was right. It was a much better view.  The boys grabbed these little placards showing all the fish and other life that could be seen in the tank. I have a better picture of this on my phone, but this one will have to do.

They parked themselves there and tried to identify every creature they could. Kiernan loves to do this at aquariums. Doesn't matter the size. This one at the Science Center. Various tanks at Disney World. The huge tanks at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. The every day tanks at our favorite pet store, Kahoots. Doesn't matter how many times he's done it. He loves to look at the list of what animals should be in the tank and find every one.

I'm so happy he has found a friend who wants to do this too.

How cool is that?

A Day Off

No school today because of Veteran's Day. One of the moms plans a trip to the California Science Center to see an IMAX movie and kick around for the day. I'm reluctant at first. The Science Center is way downtown and I've got a ton of things to do. Plus, I prefer to preview movies before taking him to a theater to see them. Plus, it's a 3D movie and I hate 3D movies. Plus, I don't think he's gonna like wearing those glasses. Plus, plus, plus.

I do a quick Internet search about the movie, Flying Monsters, and find out it's dinosaur--sorry, flying reptile, not dinosaur--related, and David Attenborough is involved. Kiernan was a pterosaur--Pteranodon to be exact--for Halloween and David Attenborough rocks planets, which should go without saying. I dither for only a moment longer and then commit. Friday at the Science Center with a bunch of seven-year old boys. Oy. Oh well, Dad. Take one for the team.

I don't tell him about the specifics beforehand. I just let him know before bed Thursday night that I've got a surprise for him for Friday. He wakes me up bright and early and his first words are, "Dad! Time to get up! What's the secret surprise?" Through the haze of waking up I tell him we're joining a bunch of his friends at the Science Center and seeing a movie called Flying Monsters but I don't know what it's about. He bounces off the walls as we get ready.

Upon pulling into the parking lot he sees the banner on the side of the building. He exclaims...

"Dad! It's about pterosaurs! I see Dimorphodon! I see Tapejara!"

He can't be more excited and I know I've made the right choice. Yeah, there's a lot of other things I should be doing today. So much to get done. But that exclamation makes it worth it. No matter what else happens this day, no matter that the day will totally wipe me out...it's worth it just getting to hear that tone in his voice.

There is no end to the things this kid will teach me.

Goodnight Africa, Night 111213

I skipped a couple of nights, it seems. I have excuses. I shall not share them. Instead, here's a field trip picture.

The hand you see is that of one of the educators at this week's 2nd Grade field trip to a place called Tree People. The educator is calling on Kiernan to answer a bunch of questions and thus win the first of five prize rings for his class group. The educator selected him based on his singular ability to smile without teeth...

...and Kiernan had to answer a few questions about what trees need to grow. This would be repeated with other students over the course of the session, but Kiernan was the first to do it.

He aced it.

For the rest of the field trip he got to wear the Seed Ring.

Goodnight Africa! Can't wait to have you back home!

Picture for This Day

Please excuse the blurriness of this picture, I snapped it late in the afternoon and today was an overcast day.

He got annoyed with me a little before this. Tuesdays after school are Oliver days, that is to say his best friend Oliver comes home with us after school on Tuesdays and the two of them get to frolic like mad for a couple of hours. After Oliver's mom picked him up Kiernan wanted to do a variety of things I said "No" to, like playing with a neighborhood boy and watching TV. As a result of my "No" answers he decided he was bored.

I simultaneously love it and hate it when he says, "I'm bored." I hate it because I just hate that statement. I think I always have been annoyed by it; I subscribe to the lyrics of the late 90s group Harvey Danger, who said in the song "Flagpole Sitta": If you're bored then you're boring...


I was teaching Health to 9th graders around the time that song came out, and so I heard the statement "I'm bored" an awful lot, and my annoyance calcified into full-on hatred. Not for the freshmen, mind you. They were teenagers. What can you expect. No, just for the statement. So when Kiernan says he's bored my knee-jerk reaction is a flash of anger. Or used to be. Nowadays I get a kind of glee out of it, because unlike some parents who feel responsible when their kid is bored and feel guilty and start tap-dancing, I just put it on him. "Figure it out," I say.

I've come to a peace about this. In fact, I kind of like it when he says, "I'm bored." I see it as an opportunity. A little part of me wants him to be bored sometimes. This is a chance for him to figure out what it means to entertain himself. Which, incidentally, he never fails to do.

Deprived of the easy solutions of watching TV or playing with his neighborhood buddy (the latter which he gets to do nearly every day), he sat down to draw. He did so grudgingly at first, of course, but in no time he was lost in what he was doing. What you see in the picture above is part of a monster project he's doing. The specific drawing above is a monster called Sea Terror and it's sort of a mini-project within the monster project, because Sea Terror is going to be huge and is going to take up at least seven sheets of paper. In that picture he's working on the torso and, in case you cannot tell, fully engrossed in what he's doing.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 10

This week we're lucky to have Nana here for a visit.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 9

He's not often crazy about having his picture taken, but he's been a real sport posing for these Goodnight Africa pictures every night. So tonight I told him he could make whatever face he wanted to make. "Really?" Surprise filled his voice. "Sure."

Thus, demon spawn.

Oh well. Could have been worse. And it kind of fits my state of mind tonight, truth be told.

October 24, 2011

A Sleep Song

Midnight trip to the restroom. I caution him to avoid tripping as he makes his way to the toilet, because many times when we make this trip he is asleep on his feet.

"I'm awake, Dad." He says this as if reassuring me. Letting me know any concerns I may have are unnecessary. He's got this. He looks at me to let me know he means it, and gives me a little smile.

Then, standing and doing his business he sings...

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.

I have no idea how he knows this song.

He sways a bit at he finishes, and then washes his hands and stumbles off to bed.

Goodnight Africa, Night 8

Goodnight from the one-week mark.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 7

 An action shot for tonight's Goodnight. He's insisted upon sleeping on the floor all week, and thus must prepare his little sleeping area each night by turning the floor of his room into some kind of pillow bunker.

October 22, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 6

Friday, October 21, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 5

A goofball, but a loving and loveable goofball.

Speaking of goofballs...

While Kiernan's dad begged Kiernan to pick a book for nighttime reading, Pap-Pap helpfully stacked all of Kiernan's favorite sleeping-buddy animals on the bed. Thanks Pap-Pap!

Meanwhile, Kiernan chose a book he wanted to read for the morning, a new book his mom had left for him, and set about previewing it. He most emphatically did not want that one to be the actual pre-bed reading book. He wanted to save it for the morning. Uh-huh.

The kid loves reading and is particular. What's a parent to do?

BTW, we got to talk to Wendy tonight. Her safari is going well. She's having a blast with Claire and staying in a lovely lodge and seeing all kinds of amazing animals. Also, shock of shockers, she's eating African food!

Goodnight Mom! We miss you!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 4

Evo, of the Hero Factory, joins Kiernan for tonight's picture.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 3, video bonus

A quick video version of our new Goodnight Africa series, made shortly after talking to Mommy before she boards her plane for Kilimanjaro. Sorry for the abrupt cutoff, it was a spur-of-the-moment situation and the batteries went kaput. The final translations, of Meow-Meow and Stripey: "We love you!"

The other adult voice you hear on the video belongs to Pap-Pap, btw.

Question of the Day

"Dad, can I tell you what 'onomatopoeia' means?"

Goodnight Africa, Night 3

Pap-Pap arrived for a visit today, so they posed for tonight's Goodnight Africa picture together. The red you see is not sunburns, or anger...just poor lighting and photography.

We got to talk to Wendy tonight, incidentally. She called while Kiernan was in the bath and we all got to talk on a stunningly clear phone call from Africa. Calls from our house to her office at CSUN should be so clear. Anyway, she called to say she's doing well and was about to get on a plane for Kilimanjaro and her safari adventure.

Bonus pic:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Tigerland

Kiernan is playing soccer again, and it's going really well. A night-and-day difference from the last time he did rec league soccer a couple of years ago. This time he seems to be having fun and actually learning how to play soccer. He's into the games and practices much more, and really focusing on his skills. He also has a really good pair of coaches this time around, which is making a big difference too. It's great to see him taking to a sport like this.

I'm trying a couple new methods of making and uploading a slideshow, since the site I used to use is shutting down in the spring and in preparation of that has disabled the create-a-slideshow option.

Here's test method two.

Tiger Oct15 - slideshow dvd

Looks like number two wins for quality. Unfortunate, since I had to use a website for that whereas I created the first one using Windows Moviemaker on my computer. I'll keep messing with it. For now enjoy the action shots from last Saturday's game!

October 15, 2011

Goodnight Africa, Night 2

Mr. Clean loves and misses his mom.

October 17, 2011

Africa Update

Just got off the phone with Wendy. She just arrived in her hotel room in Dar es Salaam. She sounds great, safe and exhausted.

October 17, 2011
1:15pm (PST)

Goodnight Africa, Night 1

Today we took Wendy to the airport for her two-week trip to Africa. Tanzania, to be exact. She's going there to train some teachers and see a different world. We're very, very excited, of course. And we're also sad and full of concern, of course. We've never been away from her this long. We have no idea how much we'll get to be in contact with her during this time. It's an adventure for us all, to be sure.

So, in that spirit, I've decided to post a Goodnight Africa picture every night. Just a shot of Kiernan right before bed. One of our constants when Wendy travels is that we get on the phone at Kiernan's bedtime. This is important to all of us. Getting to say "I love you" and talk about the day even for a few moments. It's an important thing for all three of us, but it is an especially important thing for her when she's on the road. I know this first hand from the times I've been traveling. Getting to make that little bit of contact, right before he goes to bed...it's huge. I've had a couple of trips when I couldn't do this--my hiking/camping trips in Joshua Tree where there is no cell service whatsoever spring to mind--and I just went to bed feeling like a part of myself was missing.

I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that it won't be possible to extend this tradition to Wendy's Africa trip. I don't know if you people realize this, but Africa is a whole other continent. It's like on the other side of the world or something. It may even be winter there. Who can know?

In the interest of preserving the tradition, or at least a sliver of it, I'm going to post a bedtime image for each night. Hopefully his Mom will get to check these out during her travels, but even if she cannot, she'll be able to see them all when she returns, and know that each night we were wishing her sweet dreams right before our heads hit the pillow.

Keep in mind these will be quick shots, and they will be low quality and sometimes blurry since I refuse to use a flash even in low light because...well...blech. But it's the thought that counts, so no grousing!

Anyway, we put her on the plane at around 2pm, so she's probably about halfway there at this point. To say we're already missing her would be an understatement.

Good night and we love you.


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Picture For This Day

Random picture that came up in my wallpaper shuffling program. His expression here is so great and the picture just made me so happy this morning that I decided to post it here in the hopes that it would jump start me to get back to posting more updates.

Look at that face!

From 2007

First Day, Version 5.0

First day of second grade. Second Grade! What? When did that happen?

Oh. Today.

I spent the last two weeks praying for the first day of school. Now it's here and suddenly I feel lost in my house. What am I going to do without somebody to show me dinosaur pictures and quiz me about their sizes and types for the next eight hours? I miss my boy.

Thank goodness for Monkey. She's the cat we're fostering for a friend of mine and she came and snuggled up next to me as I was cooling off from my run this morning. This is particularly sweet as she only got here a couple of days ago and has spent most of her time under the bed trying to figure out what this Murawski family thing is all about. She tends to only come out when Wendy--The Cat Whisperer--is home. So, it was nice. Bittersweet as it reminds me of Cali, and how empathetic she could be. I really miss her. It's nice to have a cat in the house again. I'll post some pictures of her when doing so doesn't reveal the underside of my bed.

So. Our boy is a Second Grader. Do you capitalize that? I never know.

It's Mom's first day of school too, and we're very proud of her too. She got us up and out the door early, anticipating that dropoff would be crowded and finding a parking space would be tough. Also she wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to carry the fifteen bags of supplies to the car. Those are supplies for Kiernan's class, incidentally. The school sends home teacher wish/need lists hoping that parents will grab a couple extra things as they do their back-to-school shopping. So that the teachers don't have to pay for school supplies from their own salaries. I mean, we can't have our tax dollars supplying our classrooms. No. That would be foolish.

I'm glad Wendy wants to contribute. I really am. I believe in that. But she doesn't just get a couple of the things on the list. Oh no. She makes that list her business. I can always tell there's gonna be some damage when she gets home from such a shopping trip and refuses help carrying stuff  into the house. "Hey honey, I'll be right out to help--" "No. No. NO! I'm good. I've got it. Really." The woman really shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a dollar store.

Wendy was right to plan ahead by leaving early for the first day, today. It was a total zoo at the school. It felt like a concert, the place was so packed. Kiernan was cool until he lined up with his class and prepared to do the Pledge of Allegiance, which I like that the classes did outside. Every school day in Kindergarten started with the Pledge, outside at lineup. For some reason the First Grade classes did the Pledge inside every day, so I rarely saw it. I like it outside. I like to participate in that.

At any rate, he started to get a bit concerned before the Pledge. I think the weight of becoming a second grader was finally becoming real to him. A new classroom. A new teacher. Some new friends. His class roster looks great; it looks like a good class. Luckily his friend Oliver is with him. It was just that moment. That moment when you realize you're crossing a threshold. You could see it in his eyes. I suppose we'll be seeing that in his eyes every year. Some of it is fear of the unknown, the new. Along with the understanding that moving forward means leaving something behind.

I saw it last year. And the year before. I'm thankful for it. And it breaks my heart a little bit every time.

Grow, big boy. We love you and are so very proud of you.

Picture For This Day

Swimming at his friend Oliver's house. Mom let him steal a few extra moments of fun at the end of their Saturday playdate. Is there any question why Mom's the best?

Saturday, July 16, 2011
Calabasas, CA

Pictures of This Weekend

Wendy took Kiernan and a couple of friends to the movies this weekend. The movie they saw...

...was the Winnie the Pooh movie. They all had a blast.

Of course, the movie Wendy wishes she could have taken them to was...

...some other movie about a wizard or somesuch. I don't know. I've only read up to the Alcatraz book, so I can't say. Luckily the boys were fine with Pooh.

Where was I during all of this? I was helping a buddy of mine move a bunch of stuff across the Valley for a yard sale this weekend. So I missed the trip to the Pooh movie. Drat. Don't feel too sorry for me though. I did get to see the hugest sunflowers of all time, as they lived at the home of the folks that were keeping the yard sale stuff.

Also, don't be too concerned for Wendy. I sent her off to see that wizard movie late this afternoon. So all is well.

Night of the Author

I've taken too much time off, so it's time to get TCK moving again. I'll start with a quick post about Author's Night.

One of the end-of-the-year activities at First Grade was Author's Night, where the families were invited to see  samples of writing from over the course of the year. We came in and found our First Grader there at his desk with a shoebox full of his writing. This was especially exciting as writing is not his favorite thing in the world to do, to put it mildly, so to have a chance to sit with him at his desk while he paged through the stories and letters he wrote over the course of the year was pure pleasure.

Later he would take us over to the Writer's Corner to show us more of his writing that had been posted in the classroom.

After that all the parents went to the auditorium to wait for the kids to come in and sing a couple of songs to us, including "So Long, Farewell" from Sound of Music complete with hand signs. Great.

Finally we all went out to the lunch area and had a huge potluck. I didn't even have to cook, as Wendy decided to make some of her amazing cupcakes.

One more shot of the author with his beautiful mom.

May the Slides Be with You

A couple Sundays ago, after he attended a showing of the children's show Ferdinand the Bull by Creative PlayGround at the Theatricum Botanicum, Kiernan stopped off with his mom at our local bowling alley for a fundraiser run by a friend of mine for a group called Yes iCan (International Child Abuse Network). We attended the event last year, and had a great time supporting a great cause. Unfortunately I couldn't make it this year, but luckily for me Wendy and Kiernan went to represent our family.

They didn't have time to bowl, but Kiernan got to meet some folks he recognized from a long time ago, and a galaxy far, far away...

Stay Cool

Today Kiernan received his yearbook, on this his last Wednesday of First Grade. He came running out of the classroom to greet me and his friend Oliver poked his head out the door and yelled, "Kiernan! Miss White wants to see you!"

Kiernan went running back in and emerged a few moments later with his yearbook. I promptly put it in his backpack and he asked if we could go play at the play structure, which is something we let him do almost every day for a short period of time. It's good to blow off a little steam after school.

We headed over to the play area and he pulled out his yearbook and started reading it. In no time at all he was joined by friends, the kids he plays with after school most days.

I pulled out the book I'm currently reading, and tried to get a few pages turned. I found that I couldn't. What he was doing was too interesting. So I got a couple pictures and listened as surreptitiously as I could.

Little things like this are so great to me. Won't make much sense to most people, but they just tickle me. He was going through the yearbook, page by page, methodically. One of his friends wanted him to jump to the pages for their four classes of first graders. Kiernan didn't. Instead he went page by page. "These are the eighth graders he said," studying the page. He noticed a familiar face. "She's been in our class before!"

How to explain why this tickles me so? I have this thing about delayed gratification. I understand getting your yearbook and jumping to the index, finding your name and looking up the page numbers. I get that. But I prefer the anticipation of going through the book page by page. Wondering if you'll see yourself, or someone you know. He was taking his time. Finding the older siblings of his friends on the playground and calling them over. "Jennifer! I found your brother! Come look!" "Jaden! Here's your brother!" Remarking about various teachers he knew and kids he'd seen here and there.

Eventually he got to his class, and was excited about a candid picture of himself with a couple of his friends from another classroom. I just loved watching the process. The way he took his time.

Picture of This Day

On the last Tuesday of First Grade, Kiernan arrived at school to find a bunch of his friends inside the classroom helping the teacher by decorating signs for the fair/festival to take place on the last day of school, Friday. Note the cardboard boxes in the back of the room. Teachers packing up for the end of the year.

I love how he walked in before school, saw his classmates working on something, and just jumped right in. Usually this precious time before school is for running around outside.


June 21, 2011

Picture of This Day

Today is the last Monday of First Grade. My goodness, where did this year go?


June 20, 2011

Picture of This Day

Today we started swim class, our yearly pre-summer ritual. He's back in the class with his friend Sam, who you can see in the background. It was really cool to see Kiernan jump right back in the pool and pick up just about where he left off. Also cool to hear him telling his swim teachers what he already knew, and what he remembered doing in the last swim class. The kid knows how to self-advocate. I love that.

We need to do more swimming this summer. Also need to buckle down and learn to ride that bike at last.


May 23, 2011