Holiday Sweets

It's that time again...

Nathan is focused on holiday creations. You might remember the one from last year, seen here. This year, as a first grader, he created a scene from a fairy tale about a tree and a ginger bread baby. Of course it was beautiful, up to the last bite!

Peace

As the previous post indicated, Emma died on December 8, 2008; most likely she had some form of stomach or gall bladder disease. Her last two weeks were difficult - she stopped eating, lost a significant amount of weight and had a hard time moving around. It happened so fast. We miss her terribly.

Emma
March 1998 - December 2008

Halloween 2008

Athens is the place to be for great Halloween celebrations! In the past week we've attended a pumpkin fest, trick or treat with uptown businesses, the neighborhood treat or treat, an "after party" at the community center, and costume day at East Elementary (yes, the school lets them wear their costumes ALL day! they parade around classrooms, have parties, and eat cupcakes). Plus there's the OU event this weekend -- in the past, as many as 30,000 adults in all kinds of costumes hit the streets, bars, and beer garden.

Nathan dressed as Wolverwine this year. You'll notice his fierceness and strength in the photos. His best friends, Emma and Bozeman, went as a toothbrush and a mummy.

Athens, Ohio

We live in a unique town, surrounded by beautiful mountains and full of progressive people with commitments to community, environment, sustainability, and social change. Take a look at this short article celebrating Athens:

Fall Fest

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Facebook

Turns out this blog is mostly about Nathan. Not really surprising, I guess - I enjoy showing friends near and far his pictures and keeping everyone updated on his growth. The feedback I get suggests others like seeing his smiling face and reading of our adventures.

As for me, I've been spending time on Facebook. There's an interesting article in the NY Times today describing social scientists take on Facebook and introducing the concept of ambient awareness. If refers to a way of keeping in touch with your friends (and anyone, really) by following their updates and picking up on their moods digitally, either online, via text messages, and so on. It's also described as "microblogging" -- posting tiny updates on what you're doing. Twitter is another tool for this, but I haven't gotten into it yet (!).

So if you have a Facebook account, be sure to "friend" me so we can share some ambient intimacy!

Procrastination

I ran across this great YouTube clip that perfectly captures my work habits. Today is Sunday and classes start tomorrow. I'm teaching the undergrad theory (again), a proseminar to grad students, and a teaching seminar to grad students. I've yet to complete the 3 syllabi... And guess what I'm doing today? Laundry, of course!

First Grade

Nathan started first grade today -- and I didn't get to go! I was prepared to escort him to the classroom, help him deliver his school supplies, meet the teacher (we haven't had a "back to school night"), turn in his lunch money, arrange his bus transportation for after school care, and so on. You know -- all the things "hover moms" are supposed to do. Well, this morning he got so excited about riding the bus (you might remember this from last year) that he didn't want me to take him. So off he went, with his "one-strapper" backpack full of supplies. I waved goodbye. I'm proud to have such an independent child, but I'm sad not to be more a part of of first day activities.

Here are some photos I did manage to take before he ran off...

Jumping Waves at Kure Beach, NC

Digging a hole at the beach

Grandma and Papa at the Beach