Sunday, April 26, 2009

The remote remote


We have an absurd quantity of remotes that litter our family room. There is the DVD player remote, the home theater remote, the Wii-mote, two remotes for the DVR, the HikariTV remote, and finally, the actual TV remote. Invariably, one will go MIA under the cushions and toys, but it usually shows up before Ampanman. Not so, this week.

The actual TV remote (from hereafter referred to as ATVR) has been missing since maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. We're not sure because the other remotes can turn the tv on, so if we aren't watching regular tv, there is no need for the ATVR. I have turned the house upside down looking for it. It is in none of the usual hiding places; between the stacks of teaching material on my desk, wedged between toys placed on the counter, in a basket on my fridge because the boys have lost tv privileges.

I have to believe that it went out in the raw garbage on Friday. DS1 was threatening to throw it away when I refused to let him watch tv at one point this past week. Usually, those threats are empty, but who knows? Of course, questioning a 5 year old is a lot like reading a Zen koan. It leaves you with more questions than answers.

The upside to all of this is that I've sorted and thrown away more stuff in the last 4 days than in the previous 3 months. It's amazing how many milk carton creations one small boy can bring home from hoikuen. And yet, none of them had a remote in them...

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

And April arrived

DS1 started the new school year last week. He's in the Wisteria class and gets to wear a green hat to school this year, instead of a purple one. He's officially a Nen-chou, which means getting him ready for 1st grade next year. The hiragana practice (Japanese syllabary, instead of alphabet) has commenced. We are slacker parents and have never encouraged him to learn how to write in any language. Though occasionally, I dig out the alphabet books and hope he will want to practice.

DS2 is a holy terror. He is too big and too strong for his 4'11" grandma to handle when he has a tantrum. I spend most of my days planning outings so that he doesn't watch more than the recommended daily allowance of TV. Having said that, I'm filling out the paperwork to enroll him in the 2 yo class at big brother's daycare/preschool. I wasn't going to do it, but a temper tantrum at our local Jusco involving Grandma and resulting in a hurried trip by me to the supercenter, convinced me to enroll him at least two days a week.

Anywho, the cherry blossoms are out. Our house in Seattle is sold pending inspection. And I'm still contemplating who I am, what I'm doing (or not doing) and how much chocolate a person can eat before she explodes.