Weekend!
There are people out there who want you to put peas in your guacamole.
This is one of those things that generally strikes you as something that you’d hear that they do in some foreign country and so it’s something that we can try here. Like they put tuna fish on pizza in Germany or “Black Ivory” coffee (“refined by rescued elephants”).
“Oh, they put peas in guacamole in Smorgia, do they? How quaint!”
But, nope. This is something that Americans came up with.
It’s like making a “Blood Orange Martini”. Was “bloody screwdriver” too vivid a name? It doesn’t have gin in it. It doesn’t have vermouth. It’s the juice from a blood orange and vodka. That’s a screwdriver.
Where was I? Oh, yeah. Guac.
I can understand the arguments about putting jalapenos in it. Some people don’t like the spicy guac. I can understand the argument over what spices to put in there (some people believe in garlic, some people believe in cayenne).
But peas? It’s avocado salad at that point.
I don’t even like guac and I know that.
Anyway, this weekend is (WOO HOO) a three day weekend for me and, I hope, for you. The big deal for me is that some friends (WOO HOO) are flying into town to visit family and I’m hoping to spend at least one meal with them. We’re going to be taking them to a little place that has amazing appetizers and positively divine sandwiches and a decent enough wine selection, I guess, and catch up.
The usual weekendy stuff probably applies too… laundry, errands, chores, whatnot. But that’s the background noise.
So… what’s on your docket?
(Photo is “Footrace finish line, 1925” from the Seattle Municipal Archives, used under a creative commons license)
You can put your peas in my guacamole when I’m dead and buried.
You do not put peas in guacamole.
No no no no no no no. No.
No peas! (clap clap clap) In my guac! (clap clap clap) No peas! (clap clap clap) In my guac! (clap clap clap)
I have strong feelings about this issue.Report
@burt-likko, a defense of peas in guacamole.
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2015/07/against-authenticity-pea-guacamole-editionReport
People can do whatever they want.
But they can’t want whatever they want.Report
And that right there is why no one should pay any attention to that blog.Report
I hope they enjoy their gwakamolli.Report
Why would anyone suggest peeing in guac…
What? Really? That would be even worse.Report
They should put black ivory coffee beans in it.Report
We’re pretty much running on fumes in the Himmelreich-Truman house. Clancy had a pretty rough week and is under the weather.
Lain and I have been having the Battle of the Sit. We’ve got to get her out of the habit of the W-sit position, and I’ve been cracking down on it pretty hard. Which means that I am saying “Fix your legs” about fifty times a day (That’s not an exaggeration. Fifty sounds about right.) and she’s getting frustrated.
I’m one episode away from finishing Daredevil. The sit and the TV collide in that I have a hard time watching because I have to tell Lain to fix her legs and she cries and I can’t hear the TV.
Anyhoo, I’m in a bitch-and-moaney state of mind, if you can’t tell. It’s been a really long week and there is – in addition to the aforementioned – something of a cloud hanging over the family.Report
Ooof, that sounds rather dreadful, @will-truman . Wishing you some moments of peace here and there.Report
The W-sit is something I had to google.
Dude.
In any case, the final episode of Daredevil is… well, we can discuss this when you’re done. Sunday?Report
@will-truman
We’re also working on the W-sit with Mayo. No fun.Report
What’s the issue with the W-sit? I did that for a loooong time when I was a kid. Basically until I no longer had the flexibility.Report
Bad for the hips, as I’ve been told. Stretches one send of tendons and makes them loose and retracts another set.Report
The littlest Bath used to always sit that way. I corrected it a couple times and then gave up. But I haven’t seen her do it in a couple months now. I have no explanation as to why.
Part of me wonders how bad it could actually be. I understand it is probably bad for adults, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it works differently for young kids.Report
To be a little more explicit about why I am dubious about the harm of the W-sit, I understand that a lot of therapists who know a lot about how the body should work say this is a bad position. They have explanations for the mechanism by which it weakens the trunk muscles (or something like that). What I haven’t seen, however, is someone observe that the kids who sat in a W had problems later in their development or as adults. I’m much less convinced by arguments that explain how something could be bad for you than by data that actually observe something having been bad for some people.Report
@vikram-bath
I think it is probably one of those things that is “bad” insofar as folks who do it may be the sort of folks more likely to say, “This chair is really uncomfortable!” rather than, say, the sort of folks who need hip surgery at 32.
That is how lots of things with little kids work. We can’t draw a direct line between “Behavior at Age X where X is less than 5” and “Outcome at Age Y where Y is greater than 5.” But what we can do is say “Behavior at Age X where X is less than 5” is more likely to cause “Outcome A at Age Y where Y is greater than 5” than “Outcome B at Age Y where Y is greater than 5” and Outcome B is preferable to Outcome A.
For instance, kids who don’t crawl or who crawl for short periods tend to have weaker core strength. Holding themselves up in the crawling position develops those muscles really well. I can sometimes look at a four-year-old who struggles to sit upright unsupported or is otherwise “extra wiggley” and know that they didn’t do much crawling. This is something that may resolve itself through any number of means or they just might always be someone who his a little weaker through their core… who finds certain sitting or standing or movement positions more difficult or less comfortable. They’ll likely never trace it back to what they did or didn’t do at 9-months-old plus there are myriad other factors that interact with it so a direct link is really hard to establish.
So, rather than say, “ZOMG, W sitting will ruin their lives!” we say, “Not W sitting is better than W sitting.” However, if addressing W sitting is causing other issues, you need to do a cost benefit analysis with the potential costs of W sitting being real but not monumental. Plus, there exist other ‘remedies’ that don’t involve addressing W sitting directly but instead address the consequences of it through other means.
(Edited to attempt to correct how using ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ signs screwed everything up.”Report
@vikram-bath @will-truman
Having spoken in more detail with Mayo’s OT about it, the “problem” with the W-sit is two-fold…
1.) It provides the kids a wider base which gives them better support. However, this means their trunk/core muscles are doing less of the work and therefore are likely going to be weaker.
2.) It can cause tightness in the hips, which can make kids “knock-kneed” or otherwise give them an awkward gait.
Are either of these the end of the world? No. I don’t think W-sitting at 2 is a huge issue. But if they are still doing it at 4 or 5, it probably is. At that point, it is probably both a symptom and a cause (symptom because if they have weak core muscles, they’re going to gravitate towards steadier positions and cause because the problem will continue to be exacerbated).
A weak core can become an issue, especially with an ever increasing emphasis on seat work for young kids. A weak core makes for a “wiggley” kid… the sort of kid who struggles to sit still during read-alouds and group meetings on the rug and who will have a hard time sitting up in his chair. Without a patient, knowledgeable teacher, this child can get labeled a behavior problem. “Johnny just won’t sit still!” And if most of the instruction is happening during these times and Little Johnny is having a hard time self-managing during them, he is missing out on the ‘learning’.
Find yourself a developmentally appropriate program and it’ll be less of a concern because the kids won’t be expected to do all that crap and will have other, natural opportunities to develop these muscle groups. BUT, those are increasingly harder to come by.
So, should you harangue a 2-year-old for w-sitting? No. But you should encourage it with the goal being eventually moving her away from it. And in the meantime, do other things that help develop those muscles. One tip I’d recommend is that if she isn’t always responsive when you cue her to “fix her legs” (or whatever cue you have), choose a particular time(s) where you really want her to do it and emphasize it then. So maybe if she is independently playing, you don’t bother; that’s *her* time. But if she is sitting with you to do a puzzle or read a book, then get her into a better position first. If she takes to it, then it might help her to internalize, “This is how I sit when I play with a grown up,” meaning she’ll be more likely/better able to do it when asked to by a teacher. And, more importantly, she’ll likely be more responsive because she’ll associate the particular activity(s) with that manner of sitting.Report
I think it’s okay when you’re little, but that it’s a bad habit to get into because you keep doing it past the point where it’s okay, and you’re not building the muscles you need to build to do otherwise.
I take solace that, so far, the person we’ve talked to that is least concerned about it is the pediatric orthopedist. Though he too says that it’s something that needs to be fixed.Report
Just weekendy type stuff here. Little dog had been sick, seems to be getting better, but has been quite nocturnal. Kinda like a newborn.Report
When the babies are sick, ain’t nobody who can sleep well.Report
Sleep? What is… sleep?Report
It’s a side effect of vasectomies.Report
+several. Before our first was born, someone gave us a copy of a multiple-choice test to determine if you were suited for becoming parents. My favorite was the question that asked how much sleep you needed each night. The choices were (a) ten, (b) eight, (c) six, and (d) sleeping makes me irritable.Report
Did I give y’all the skinny on the state of our dog? That’s been a while other deal.
Anyhow, as someone who had to set his alarm to go off at four in the morning to prevent accidents, I sympathize.Report
I’m heading up to Auckland for the weekend to see my family. I have next week off, and I’m planning to spend much of it working on my ACKS campaign – now that the campaign has actually started, I need to keep up the pace making dungeons.Report
I’m heading off to Sydney to present a paper at the Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference 2015.Report
Awesome. What’s the paper on?Report
The uniqueness thesis. I defend it against certain counterexamples by way of introducing a descriptive rather than normative account of rationality. It’s based on my paper which I have plugged once or twiceReport
I’m really looking forward to Colorado Jay, hubby and his Family are talking about going to the zoo too. I don’t know if that’s your bag but at the very least we’ll coordinate to meet up at the restaurant! I’m looking forward to it, I’m sure it’s gonna be the highlight of the trip.Report
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is awesome. It was more awesome back when you could feed cookies to the giraffes… but the giraffes got fat. They only let you feed salad to them now.Report
I want to pet a mountain lion… but then I’d get arrested trying to smuggle a mountain lion out of the zoo to take home as a pet.Report
they very cleverly have glass walls between the mountain lions and anywhere the people could get to them. including a ceiling-esque wall that the mountain lions like to prowl upon, while daydreaming about eating small children for dinner. (“OH HONEY LOOK HE’S LOOKING RIGHT AT YOU ISN’T THAT SOOOOOOOOOO CUTE.”)
It’s a really great zoo. I don’t think we’re up for going there, especially in the heat of the day, since we can go whenever we want (like October), but I think it would be an excellent family excursion for y’all.Report
Well I’m off, on my way. Hope I see you all soon.Report
At some point a few years ago I was on a “hike” somewhere up near Keystone. I put that in quotes only because it’s more of a walk, and has large crowds on any given day in the summer, with lots of little kids. At some point I ended up off the trail sitting out at the edge of a spur that overlooked the trail farther down. During a pretty small break in the people traffic, a full grown lion came out of a ravine on one side of the trail and went up into the brush on the other side. I always wondered how many of the parents would have totally freaked if they had seen the lion do that up close.
These are not domestic animals. I don’t care how calm they seem around staff people who are familiar with the animal’s body language (and vice versa), I am not voluntarily putting any part of me in a place where they can reach it.Report
Thought I was gonna have the 6- year old, who turns 7 this month by the way, so R and I were excited to watch fireworks with someone young enough to really appreciate them, but now we’re not, so we’ll be braving the crowds of humans and mosquitos with a jaded 17-year old instead.
Then an EDM show, because booming fireworks simply won’t cause enough ringing in my ears.Report
I commend you for sticking with it, I constantly battle tightness in my legs, and the W sit is probably a part of why.
I am wondering if finding some games to play that help develop her core strength might help, @kazzy might know better, but from the reading I just did, it suggests it’s something kids do for balance because of lack of core strength.
My elder child did, but not the younger. And the elder child was more the couch potato — sit and play for hours far exceeding the expected attention span for her age group, the younger more prone to physical exploration and with trouble sitting still. I would consider if there are other things to consider here, habits to help develop, particularly of breaking still play with active, but that thought is purely anecdotal from my experience. I do very much appreciate that these things are habit, and that infant habits become adult limitations, in a way I did not before my own children became adults.
You know my disdain for yoga pants; so with that said, perhaps investigating some sort of dance, gym, or yoga class to help strengthen core muscles that you could do together would help develop many strengths. Plus, it’s fun imagining being in the room with my camera, I’d be in a place of pure joy trying to capture an image that told a compelling story about dads dancing and stretching through yoga class with their toddling daughters to help them grow into strong and competent women.Report
This was meant as a reply to @will-trumanReport
Going to wine country today and tomorrow.
Asian-Art Museum on Sunday.Report
Going to wine country today and tomorrow.
I am so jealous.Report
I drove through wine country this afternoon. Coming back form Petaluma.Report
Let’s see. Road trip Saturday right after my wife drives back from her…three week long trip to the vast emptiness of west Texas. (So in short, she’ll spend several hours driving, then I get in the car and we spend..several hours driving. Hooray for good planning! Family event).
Today I’m boxing up some old books. The wifey will get the first pass at them (for her classroom, wherein she has never minded books walking off. She feels they found their readers if they don’t come back) but the rest will be sold. Not sure if I’m going to try Ebay or Half Price books. Hoping to empty at least four shelves — maybe six. (I’ve got four or five overly full bookcases).
Mostly old hardbacks I plan to replace on kindle if I want to reread them, some author’s I’ll never read again, stuff I liked 20 or 30 years ago but not anymore, etc.
Plan to make exception for Terry Pratchett, whose works will always exist in both paper and electronic form, and signed copies of anything, That’ll still leave me several full bookcases, but for a first pass it won’t be bad. I might even be able to rearrange them an empty one entirely, and send it to my wife’s school for her classroom.Report
Its supposed to be rainy tomorrow but on Sunday, I’m going to see Wolf Hall performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company.Report
Argh……I miss New YorkReport
TIL that W sitting *isn’t* something Dick Cheney did for 8 years.Report
In California for the weekend for my 10 year high school reunion and the holiday with family. I drove through Oregon wine country on the way here and picked up a yummy bottle to share with my boyfriend when I get home. I think I’ll do the same on the way back. Traveling with two kids causes me to make frequent stops for my sanity. Wine tasting and berry picking are my favorite stretch your leg activities.Report