Lyrics

My song of the moment is by Johnny Adams, and it's called "Losing Battle."
Get it from iTunes or wherever. It's great.
I wrote down the lyrics in case you want them. Even if you don't, actually.
Doing so reminded me of one of my better moments as a creator of assignments for a college class in ethnomusicology, though I didn't work it out to its fullest back then.
The assignment is this: transcribe James Brown's vocals to "Cold Sweat," then write no less than 250 words justifying your spelling and use of punctuation.
Extra credit: Make your assignment at least 800 words, but you may not refer to ethnicity (or race) or class or gender or sexuality.

This is meant as an indirect excuse for the lack of punctuation and many line breaks. Listen to the song and you'll hear what I mean.

Losing Battle by Johnny Adams

You know it’s hard
To love another man’s girlfriend
You can’t see her when you want to
You got to see her when you can
You may be fighting
A losing battle
But you’ll have so much fun
Yes you will
Trying to win

Aaaa-
-I thought it over
About what I should do
And I found out a one way love affair
Ain’t no good for two
You’ll only be fighting
Ooooh a losing battle baby
But you’ll have so much fun
So much fun
Trying to win

I watched the sun
When it rise
Until it fades away
I have nothing
But sleepless nights
And all I have is endless days

I axed my baby
Should I go away
Do you want me to leave
Baby
Or should I stay
She said you’ll be fighting
Fighting
A losing battle
But you’ll have so much fun
Yes you will
Trying to win

I said
I watched the sun when it rise
Until until it fades away
I got nothing but sleepless nights
All I have is endless days
I axed baby I axed my baby
Should I go away
Do you want me to leave right now baby
Or do you want me
do you want me to stay
She said you’ll be fighting
Oh you’ll be fighting
You’ll be fighting
Fighting a losing battle baby
Fighting a losing battle

scheduling

Found out today that Madge is tired of Coco always having friends over. To me, little kids are little kids, no matter if they're nine or five (it just occurred to me that I have a "nine and five" job).
But to Madge, little little kids are annoying and she'd rather just have big little kids (and Coco). Apparently, the other day got too panicky for her, when there were three wee boys and one older brother (but still wee to Madge).
I always figure, the more the merrier, since I don't need to be as much of a constant cruise director and more or an occasional referee.
So now we're trying to work out a playdate schedule. They each get a separate day and one overlapping one. Then there are two days "off." We'll see how it works.

Coco Tuesday

This morning Coco reported that bossing your dreams around works.
Who knew?

When I picked him up from school he was upset with me. He pulled me aside and lifted up his shirt. And there it was: an unbuttoned fly. Zipped, but not fastened at the top. Apparently I had overlooked it in the morning and a whole day of near exposure and shame followed.
Nobody noticed, of course. And he, himself, didn't notice until later in the day - presumably during a trip to the potty. But still. It was something to be upset about.

Later that evening the kids had dinner on the balcony since we finally changed the balcony's function from storage to balcony proper by getting rid of bulky Fisher Price toys and Barbie furniture.
Now I just need to wait for more rains so I can scrub the floor without the downstairs neighbors noticing the dirty downpour.

Madge Monday

Coco had nightmares last night and today he went on a cleaning binge, trying to purge our house of every scary thing. This irritated Madge because it involved making her Harry Potter calendar face the wall.
At one point she said to him, "They're just dreams. Just boss them around and make the bad things go away. That's what I do."
And I believe she does.

And I don't think she's seen Nightmare on Elm Street.

school not quite in full swing

Coco had an appointment to go to the neurologist yesterday, the first day that was to be a full day for him. So we got to sweat our heinies off on the subway platforms while the other kids were starting to learn their routine. Oh, well.
The visit was fine, though Coco hardly talked to her. Then she told us that the office is moving, at which point I said that it's a good thing neurology patients can handle new surroundings so well.
And she guffawed. Score one for mister insensitive.

dance party

I don't know how to do it justice, but...
While Madge had a playdate with her best friend, the little sister was at our place, to play with Coco. She's half a year older, but a grade ahead, but mostly they get along and play well.
As often happens, my iPod was merrily playing away on its docking station and the kids were happily ignoring the boring old-fart music.

Until this song (Xica da Silva) by Jorge Benjor came on and the BestFriendLittleSister started dancing like oh-so-many stoned girls in Golden Gate Park's panhandle. Then Avril Lavigne came on and she stopped. I couldn't believe it, so I went scientific and experimented by repeating Xica da Silva. And, sure enough. She closed her eyes again, had a beatific half-smile and waved her arms over her head while gently undulating. And, to top it off, Coco started dancing, too. Some abbreviated breakdance moves, meaning that he indicated somersaults by kneeling and putting his head down and turning.
And when Avril Lavigne came up again, they stopped.
I wanted to a) laugh and b) get the camera, but I knew both would spoil it.
Maybe next time.

Coco Tuesday

Man, going back to school can be hard work. Mostly, it's readjusting to the schedule. Not easy.
Coco has been saying that he doesn't want to go to school and that he hates school, but last night he couldn't sleep because he was excited about learning to read and write.
This morning, again, he was very eager to learn to read and write.
This afternoon, he was a little disappointed that he didn't learn to read and write today.
Soon, young grasshopper.

Madge Monday

Thanks to the news about Bristol Palin (smart move on Sarah's part: she can't match McCain's age, but at least she can still be a grandmother), the Republican Party has indirectly made us have a conversation with Madge about condoms and birth control.

Answering Reader Mail

My friend Ben, a recent (but not so recent anymore, darn, how time flies) parent, wrote me a question, to which I have several kinds of answers. First, the quick one.

Do you think having a second child has made you a better parent…

Yes.

… to the first?

Oh.

Now, the more considered answer. Um. Uh. Well. Hmmm. I guess I’d say, “Yes, but not in the ways the first might understand.”
See, in general I think that more experience is a good thing and makes you better at what you do. But it only works in a straightforward way when you have complete-able projects. As in, the second time you make an omelet you’ll be better at it than the first. But this is more like starting a second banquet after serving the appetizer in the first. And the question is, how does the first meal fare in this process?
Any analogy, though, falls short of the mark, because the question centers around being a good or better parent, and who is to be the judge of that? Child one, child two, partner, self, outsiders? No idea.
Also, there are so many odd factors that are hard to take into account, the major one being the health of family members, which now has an(other) added element of surprise.
But I think the one think I can semi-safely say, in a more or less hedgy way, is that having another child makes you more of a unit. What adjective you use is up to you: self-contained or hermit-like. What I’ve observed in ourselves and others is that a single child is far more likely to be dragged into adult activities because adults outnumber him or her by two to one (or, in the case of a single parent, the numbers are even). And those damn “What to Expect” books play a very authoritarian role.
With a second child, the parental guidebooks remain unread and are seen from a deepened perspective. And the kids now dictate more of the family’s activities.

Anyway, back to my answer. Yes, it makes you a better parent (as I see parenting) to the first because you are more likely to make the first more independent and responsible and allow him or her a bigger voice in what happens in the family. But whether the first a) sees this and b) sees this as a plus, remains doubtful.

So go ahead and have another kid (if that's where your question is headed) so you can finally use all those other great names you came up with but had to discard.

Oh, I remembered

Something I thought of during the Olympics.
Here's is a post-race interview I'd like to hear:
"Yeah. I didn't win. Going over it again, I've come to the conclusion that the other person won because of a mixture of longer and faster strides."

lucking out

I'm kind of tired, so thinking of a new post seems beyond me.

Luckily, my sister sent me a picture of Coco, taken by my brother-in-law and his fancy camera.

Enjoy.

little things

A cute thing from the kid we were watching. He was talking about his cousin who is a swimmer and is done with high school. He said that his cousin is going to "sleep-away college."

Oh, and yesterday, at the pool, I saw a useful application of a belly-button piercing: the lady used it to keep the key to her locker.

Her car keys were tacked to her tongue.
(Okay, maybe not. But it sounds like a good song title or refrain, no?)

Kid we're watching

Remember how I said he's jock-ish?
Well, I had a bit of an "understanding other people" insight recently, and thought I'd share. Though I'm not sure how thrilled I am to give up yet another prejudice.
Anyway.
He's nine, like Madge, but a foot taller. So anyone who sees him automatically and justifiably thinks he's eleven or twelve. And he's plenty smart and with it for a nine-year-old. But if you think he's twelve and then get nine-year-old responses, well, you'll start to think he's not so bright.
I have a feeling it's like that for many of the more athletic kids. Physically, they get grouped with older kids, so they have a stimulating challenge. But socially and intellectually, they might be grappling with where they fit in. And then they adjust according to people's expectations.
Anyway, if anyone messes with this kid, they'll have to go through me.

Incidentally, Coco really likes him and also fell for the size thing. He happily jumped on the kid's back (as the kid was sitting) and started to climb on his shoulders and was incredibly surprised when the kid didn't hold him. Luckily, I was nearby and caught the tumbling mess and only had to deal with Coco's furious embarrassment, but no injuries.

Coco Tuesday

We went to the Double D pool today, the first time in more than three weeks (thanks to the trip to Berlin). Fun stuff, but the weather is definitely turning autumnal. (Fine adjective, that. I even think I know the matching one for spring: vernal. But for summer? Summerish?) It's not really colder out, but the humidity is gone and you can sense that the weather is heading in a different direction. And yet swimming was fun. And Coco is quite a swimmer. He's taken Opa's example to heart and is taking his time, which is helping the smoothness of his stroke.
But his lip still quivers after a half hour or so. Luckily, he's mature enough to get out of the water and just lay on his towel in the sun, which is quite a cute sight to behold.

Germany pictures

I'm working on putting the pictures in my Flickr account (the Look C. link in the right-hand sidebar), but I'll comment on some of my favorites here.

This was the Legoland Discovery Centre (at least I think it was spelled with the British -re). A replica of the Brandenburg gate in Lego is one picture. The other is my favorite aspect. For those parents and guardians who have had enough of watching kids, there are some newspapers hanging up by tables and chairs. I think playgrounds here should have a reading rack, too.

Madge Monday

Home stretch of summer vacation. We got our school supplies and are now waiting out the last week. We have help, since we're also taking care of a "friend" of hers. I say "friend" because he's a forced-upon friend. She wouldn't have much to do with him ordinarily, since he was in her class two years ago, not last year, and he's a boy, a nice kid, but jock-ish and therefore with little in common. But the thing they do have in common is a father who is German and who bugs them by speaking German to them which they can doubly ignore: once by simply being kids and not wanting to listen, and once by claiming not to understand the language.
You'd think the common enemy would unite them...
But they're getting along fine as long as I stay out of it.

truth in branding

Julie and Madge were doing some E-Z Bake and Coco asked, "Why is it called e-z bake?" and Julie answered, "Because if they were truthful and called it pain-in-the-butt bake, nobody would buy it."
See why I missed her so much?

Coco in rare form

It's almost like someone is coaching him.
Today he was playing with some of his toys, one in each hand, making them talk to each other, when Julie said, "You really missed your toys, didn't you."
And he looked up and said,
"No, I missded you, Mommy."

We're back

And what could be a nicer gift to Julie than what Coco said to her this afternoon.
"You're much more prettier than my mind!"

I wholeheartedly concur.

und tschüß

See, I had to make use of the special keyboard one last time.
Tomorrow morning we fly back home, back to JULIIIEEEE!!!!!!
Whooooooo!
Oh, yeah, and the cat.
The kids are very excited about going back home, as am I. We had a last farewell barbecue in the grandparental yard and now the kids are asleep and I need to go, too, since I don´t know how early I have to get up to say, "Not yet."
I still need to deliver the little weenies/angels safely, and then I can take a brief snooze.
And then I get to cuddle with my wifey-poo.

After the kids, of course.