Bubby’s Big Adventure

Today being Friday, and Steph having a full day of lectures at the convention, I decided the best way to deal with a toddler ina strange town was to have an adventure. So we geared up and headed out. The general idea was we would find our way to The Children’s Museum. SO we walked in the general direction of where I imagined it to be located. Along the way, I stopped and asked for directions, alot. We would follow the directions for a good amount of time before our heroine needed to do something else. One stop was in a playground which had a couple of toddler friendly climbing walls instead of stairs to get to the slides. Another stop was just over the Platte River.

We had walked a couple miles by time we reached the Starbucks just above the river. There was a bouldering for climbing outside the building. The bouldering had several different angles to apprach it, including a greater than vertical section. Then after TheBubster made an impressive effort up the main easy path, we went inside for drinks. Attached to the Starbucks is a climbing/camping supply store and i finally found a bag that i can use to carry my stuff, that is not too big nor too nerdy. They also had a really large climbing lesson wall, with harnesses and shoes and instructors. Bubby had a fit when I would not let her go over to it.

Then she stopped, and got quiet and serious.

“Climb” she said.

Well, i took her to get a closer look, and noticed a sign which said you have to be four feet tall to climb. I told her she was too small, and showed her a mark and measured her. THen told her to sit down and watch and that is what she did.

She watched the other kids climb. She paid strict attention to what they were doing, and I imagine when she grows some more and is a little bit stronger, she is going to make a fantastic climber.

We left and headed towards the Museum, with a new surprise, Mommy was going to meet us there!

We got to the Downtown Aquarium which is supposedly next to the Children’s Museum, and waited for Mommy.

and waited.

and waited.

Apparently her cab driver was perfectly incapable of following simple directions. So we went into the gift shop of the Aquarium, and then just as I took us into the restaurant of the Aquarium Steph showed up. We had a lovely little meal ad then looked at the fishes in the aquarium.

Afterwards we all walked back together- it took less time when it was a straight hike.

Tags: adventure, Aquarium, climbing, Denver

Denver

Well it was quite an ordeal, as far as modern travel goes, but we are now all in Denver, CO. There was lots of weather delays leaving Logan airport yesterday, but that was not what our problem was, nope, our plane had electrical problems. So the techs worked on it, rebooting all the computers onboard, over and over and over. Then finally after a couple hours, we got onto a new plane, which needed to be fuelled and baggage loaded, etc. Finally we were able to begin the nearly five hour flight.

TheBubster fell asleep immediately, on me and took up at least a fifth of my seat in the process, so I really cramped up and achy by the time we arrived in the hotel (skipping commentary about the airport train, cab ride, etc)

We slept late after our late night. Steph went to work, which left us to explore downtown. Right now, we are watching telly in the hotel room and resting up. Maybe later we’ll go for a swim in the pool…

Tags: Airplane, Denver, Hotel, trip

She learned it somewhere

As soon as I finished building TheBubster’s bed/desk complex and installed her computer on it, she began to work in earnest. It’s been nearly a week, I believe, since I finished and now when she wakes upo, instead of asking for the television, she makes movement toward the computer. She will spend nearly the whole day on the computer, and most of that time is on the PBSKids.org website. Neither Steph nor myself are troubled by this behavior, in fact it is highly encouraging in some regards. She is learning.

I think its sort of funny though, because she is obvious getting this from one of her role models as acceptable behavior. I have no idea who it is that she sees sit down in front of a computer desk for most of the day. That is sort of baffling to me. Oh well, I guess I’ll do a Google Search and see if there is an answer there, or perhaps it’s in Wikipedia.

Tags: computer, Geek, learning, PBS, reading

Really, Really Big!

we keep sitting down in the living room, on the couch; which is amazing; and turning on the telly. We look at it for a few minutes and then, realize just how big it is. it fills the space for the fireplace. it’s big. today i went to Best Buy and found a computer montior replacement cable and connected the mac mini to the telly and now have a 42″ monitor, its so big that the computer can not fill the entire space! sort of like the Borgendorf Concert Grand Piano i was playing saturday morning, with the extra half octave of keys all painted black hanging off the end of the keyboard! it’s big.

Steph says that she only spend a couple hundred dollars more for the bigness, actually she saves there was very little savings getting s smaller flat panel LCD television. ok.

its really big.

Tags: BestBuy, big, television

IT’S REALLY BIG!

We got our television set on Friday, which spurred me into further action. I was able to straighten out the living room area because of needing to get that installed. Also, modular bookcases i had purchased earlier in the week arrived which allowed me to build a desk for myself and a desk/stairs to the bed for TheBubster. As soon as I installed the Edubuntu computer on TheBubster’s desk, we lost sight of her. She sits for hours playing reading skill games at PBSKids.org or playing with her kitchen set or reading her books. It’s quite funny and helpful at the same time.

now we need to get the hardware for me to finish building the drawers that go beneath our bed. There was a majority of the necessary parts that arrived with the bed on the original shipping date but not enough to complete the full job. So clothes are piled on the floor awaiting organizational structures within which they can be stored. My classes are all on hold for the time being, which is really quite relieving as it allows me the time to concentrate on getting the house in order.

Today, TheBubster and I went to go help the Massachusetts Ubuntu Local Community team set up for an Ubuntu Linux Exploration. She had a great time learning how to secure power cables, and carrying food supplies. Her favorite part was being allowed to us the “Power Cleaner”, the spray bottle of Spic and Span, as much as she liked to clean up various surfaces. We stayed at that until everything was well underway and we were certain that Mommy had finished with her Facial that had been saved from Mother’s Day. Then TheBubster and I rode our bike home to have lunch.

Tags: Install, moving, television, Ubuntu

slowly losing my mind

there are tons of tiny little details which need to be taken care of when you get a new home, especially when everything in it is brand new, for instance, ice cube trays. now there are bigger objects as well, like bookcases and desks and since we haven’t really had one in nearly four years, a television set. we are still waiting for that to be delivered from the web service from which we ordered it, but basically we have lots of things that are being delivered and slowly almost impereceptibly the mess is being organized. the rate of organization is barely greater than the general coefficient for local entrophy so it is nearly possible to see progress.

TheBubster is becoming quite a computer geek in the last week or so, she will gladly spend half a day in front of a terminal playing educational games at PBSKids.org where one of her favorites is Super Why, which is teaching her spelling without being overt about teaching her spelling! tee hee!

I on the otherhand am on a break from school which means i am doing lots of social networking, and secondlife stuff. that is when i am not moving boxes around and receiving new goods at the front door from a UPS guy who grows more surly as the days go by.

Oh yeah, i had a birthday this week, big whoop.

Tags: birthday, learning, shipping, stuff

A question of dignity

EJ and I shuffled off to the playground on Saturday - the beginning of our weekend together. Husband had been granted leave to attend a geekfest for his birthday.

So there we were, 8.30 am in the morning, at the playground. At about 10, my bladder decided we should leave. But lo and behold, Paloma, her tiara, and her retinue appeared with food and drinks for a gaggle. Oh dear - a birthday party in the playground. Paloma’s minders tried to ignore me at first, until they ran out of room and I allowed that they could use the table I was sitting at also - it was a public park, after all.

Paloma was amused by EJ to begin with. They joyfully made a mess of bubbles together and EJ was introduced as Paloma’s new friend when the first guest arrived. I was introduced as “just a park patron”. I enjoyed some of their grapes anyway. As the playground swelled with the noise of youngsters, Paloma approached me and said “you might as well leave now.”

I had been lobbying to leave, but now, we would stay, bladder be damned. Oh yes, for pizza and cupcakes, too. I started chatting with people. I offered sunscreen to a pale Londoner, I found the lost mommy of a little French guest, I complimented the hula hoop technique of a grunge rock dad.

Five hours after we had arrived, we left, tired and triumphant.

bedtime stories

TheBubster read me a bedtime story tonight, it was a Dr Suess classic ABC’s. her reading went like this:

aslkjgaihga rlakjroigabr

raoiruiguadirjga

sdfgjargarga

E…e…..E

sdhbk serlgks  eega

rfdhtd dhasd

htethstjdv sfs

G…g….G

sdhjsfrj

hdh hsthsr ththsdg

dthdfths jtejasjt

N…n…N

Her fingers traced beneath the words as she read, it was completely charming.

Tags: bedtime, reading

….and we’re back!

i hope.

ok so, we have been in our new home for two weeks now. it feels like a millio years, must be because we suddenly got reunited with all our crap that we had been avoiding for three or four months, much of which is now being shoved out the door into the Cambridge Sanitation System for disposal. there have also been quit a few deliveries to the house, so many the the UPS guy is beginning to have a resentment against us, particularly as we had a king sized futon mattress one day and three days later a 250lb bed frame arrived; carrying that up three flights of stairs was a real hassle but not as much as the washer/dryer.

we ordered a waser/dryer stack from some company and i was expecting it to be delivered and installed. the company sent it via a small shipping company who had specific instructions to only leave it at the front door. it arived on a truck with one skinny dude who wanted my help getting it across the street; i sent it back. after some serious hassles with the purchasing agents we reschedulled delivery; i made sure the shipping agent knew that just dropping it off at the front door would need two guys. then i had to take out and ad to get it carried up the stairs and finally, we needed a guy to come and install it. i am not a washer/dryer installer and felt uncomfortable with my ablitiy to do it properly, that doesn’t make me less of a man does it?

then TheBubster received a birthday present, the UPS guy was still not entuased with us. she loves her new kitchen, which fits nicely with her new elevated bed/desk/step up. it even appears that we will get her to play in her room now! TheBubster is also taking to the local playground scene quite nicely, she has aready started making friends and we go out quite a bit in the mornings to several nearby locations, one of which i can gvet online and read the news while letting her play on “Slides” as she calls the playground in general, or “Beach” as she refers to the sandbox.

I’ve got much much more to blather about i’m certain but can’t remember wha tit is right now, so for now ta ta.

OH YES! FIgure this out.

it’s a boy.

Tags: deliveries, newplace, news, playgrounds

Nathan and EJ on the carousel

EJ wore her fancy red petticoat. Sometimes a girl just has to be fancy. She loves the way it twirls.