August 2009 Archives

Tesla went to preschool yesterday. It's still the transition stage so I joined her the whole time, and we stayed just 1.5 hours. On Monday, she'll go for 3 hours joined by Gran Marie. Then she has a few half days, then she'll go full days.

It's been super special that Tesla has had so much one-on-one time with Gran Marie, and it's sad to change this, but Tesla is also very ready for a group of friends and lots of fun activities. She was actually shy yesterday, and I caught her staring at the other kids in deep observation. She also really wanted to play with all the new toys even though there were fun structured activities going on. Otherwise, I know this school is just perfect. And there is lots of Japanese speaking which makes me very happy. The teachers in fact spoke to her in Japanese only first until they realized she doesn't really talk back in Japanese even though she can understand. I totally love all the teachers, and I'm so excited to see how Tesla's Japanese will evolve!

Here are a few pics.

Although I'm more flexible than before in lettting other people, such as granny, give Tesla sweets, it's still hard for me knowing how bad sugar is, especially the refined kind. But, I also don't want to deprive her to the point where it backfires. So I do give her a bit here and there. Recently I happily discovered Heart Thrive bars. I tell Tesla they are cookies, and she loves 'em.

Ingredients are:

Oats, dried fruit, brown rice syrup, natural fruit juice, brown rice flour, soy protein concentrate, soy flour, chicory root extract, rice bran, dried plums, dried apples, dried pears, calcium citrate.

Today, after playing in the park, we shared a fruit smoothie and these "cookies." She was quite satisfied!

This is a pretty big statement for me since this year would have been my 9th consecutive year. During these years, I met Dav, met an incredible group of friends, married Dav, had Tesla (and brought her twice), and worked as a Ranger. Burning Man has brought so many incredible experiences that it has become a part of my identity.

The decision not to go this year came rather naturally. The thought of packing up & prepping, of spending a lot of energy making the most of that week, and then the immense clean-up after felt daunting. We do a lot of small camping trips and outdoor events...and with Burning Man being the biggest commitment, I realized I wanted a break. I don't want to start resenting Burning Man, and felt taking a year off would be refreshing.

However, as I explained to people who are in disbelief that I'm not going, I realized I have other reasons for not going. After 9 years, I've changed and matured. Since going to Burning Man non-stop, with more or less the same people, I haven't really considered why I go and what I get from it. I love Burning Man, so of course I go! But I don't go to Burning Man just for fun. In a documentary interview I was in a few years back, I explained that I keep coming back to the playa because it reminds me what is important in terms of being true to myself, being open, and building communities. Now that Dav and I go to other niche events, I don't need to go to Burning Man for these things. Plus, in a few weeks we're going to Symbiosis which I'm very much looking forward to.

I'm not sure what I'd want differently next year, but I want to start afresh. And to do so, not to go this year will provide a nice break. I'm looking forward to a quiet SF during that week! I will, however, miss the beauty of the playa, the sunsets, the sunrises, the incredible dust storms. That can't be experienced anywhere else, and to me Burning Man is defined perfectly by the natural environment it takes place in. I was cleaning out the RV a bit back and came across a playa dusty item. Oh, how I miss that playa smell and feel. I will truly miss the playa.

p.s. Dav will go for just a few days early in the week. He will take minimum stuff and run around exploring as he pleases. This is good for him - to get to do exactly what he wants without family and camp responsibilities. So we're both doing something very different this year, and I imagine will make us excited to be back on the playa together next year, with Tesla who will be at an age to take it all in : )

After her Birthday Tea Party, and especially since she got a cute tea set to play with, Tesla has tea parties all the time. In her room and the living room. Usually Wanwan and Horsey get to be guests, many times daddy and I are invited too. The 2nd picture she curiously put her tricycle as one seat, and put a diaper as a guest. She's still into putting diapers on WanWan. Sometimes, she'll play by herself, and I love listening to her reenactment to herself in her very cute high voice - "and then WanWan goes here and this is his tea" etc.

I'm so pleased the tea party gave her such good memories!

Click on pics to enlarge.

Tesla and I went over to our immediate neighbor's (Firefly's house) and got to pick their cherry tomatoes. Since we don't have a yard, it's very nice to let Tesla water the plants and pick the bounty. The tomatoes are amazing. So much better than store ones.

Here are Dav's videos from Camp Tipsy.

Camp Tipsy III from Dav Yaginuma on Vimeo.

Camp Tipsy III: Trailer Platform from Dav Yaginuma on Vimeo.

Camp Tipsy III: Swing Boat from Dav Yaginuma on Vimeo.

Woot! I found that if I take the back off my phone and hold it in a certain way, my phone cam will open. Not ideal but at least I can use my phone to blog again!

We spent Thursday ~ Sunday at Camp Tipsy. The first time we went was rather small, and this year, there were 100 or so folks, and lots of funky, cool, weird boats. Dav made a floating swing set that we'd talked up about to Tesla so she's been excited to 1) go camping in the RV (her 2nd favorite home), and 2) swing on the water with daddy. She got to do both.

I didn't make anything and had my hands full with Tesla while Dav built his swing (click on 4th pic here to see Tesla helping out daddy), but still had fun as the water was perfect, and it was just crazy to see the boats people made. Chicken John got a Ritual Roaster coffee house out on the water, complete with freshly ground and brewed coffee! My favorite one was the rat canoe in terms of creativity. It even had a tail that was a plastic tube with a hole in it, so as the water swished in and out, it made a pretty ugly sound.

Most memorable moment was when Dav finished his swing at dusk. By the time he tested it, and we got Tesla prepped in her life jacket, it was dark and calm out on the lake. We floated out, not too far as I was quite nervous at the beginning, then under the sparkling stars, swung over the water. Tesla was in heaven, and after I relaxed a bit, I enjoyed just how beautiful it was, and pretty darn fantastic to be swinging on the lake!

I really disliked the dumb motorized boats and jet-skis that kept zooming around. No creativity there. Our floating ensemble certainly attracted quite a few to slow down and check out our fun. Otherwise, it was a super kid-friendly, artsy, community event. I highly recommend it.

Last weekend, Dav bought a sleeveless shirt. I liked it but didn't see him wear it.

On the days I don't take T to Karla's and Granny comes to our house, I ride on the back of his motorcycle to work. Very practical. After work, we IM to ascertain time - as in "I'm leaving now" or "in 5 minutes", and I meet him. We work a block away from each other so it's not complicated.

Anyway, the other day, the day that was luxuriously hot in SF which is oh so rare, he rode up a bit ahead of me so I could see him waiting for me. He was wearing his new sleeveless shirt. There he was all cool on his motorcycle with his hot sleeveless shirt so I could see his big arms, with his gloves, and waiting for me. That image made my heart flutter. I seriously thought to myself, "Am I married to this awesome guy?" Why yes, I get to hop on the back and ride home together (with my laptop bag and some groceries in tow...sorta crashing the image).

I love feeling my heart flutter for my husband.

I made vege spaghetti tonight, and as I showed Tesla her bowl, she said, "I want my noodles." I replied, "you can eat with mama and daddy." She left the kitchen repeating, "that's great mama, great, great, great."

• Baby chair Tesla used to use when she was much younger. We put it away, but lately, she asks for it to put WanWan (doggy) in.
• WanWan with Mardi Gras beads around her neck
• 2 of her drinking cups
• A Hello Kitty decoration M bought in Japan as a gift
• Her wallet
• A clean diaper that she plays with and puts on WanWan
• And to the left, the giant pig from the fair.

p.s. Experimenting how to resize pictures from the high quality of the camera and somehow messed this one up. Learning...

My goodness, this weekend was wonderful, hot weather. Real summer - which is a luxury in SF, although I have to admit when days like this come by, I think about global climate change. Tesla and I hung out in the Regenbogen yard to enjoy their kiddy pool. It was so hot, even I got in.

Dav was in Napa today with his friends who are visiting from NY. With this weather, I'm glad T and I stayed put. She's napping a long much needed nap right in our bed now.

The camera on my cell phone , the one I use for pretty much all my pics, and I've enjoyed since I always have my cell phone with me to capture the special moments whenever they are, just doesn't work anymore : (

Big bummer. So for the time-being, I'm going to use Dav's super great camera. It's got amazing quality but is giant to carry around. I'm willing to try for a bit to experience how it changes the kind of pictures I take.

Thanks to M for the flower!

Spent some time gluing and painting the other day. I love encouraging creativity with T. Her dancing is getting more complex, and since she makes us watch her pretty much every day, it's rather nice to see her experiment with new steps : )

Tesla went to the dentist for the first time today. I know the books recommend starting at 2 years but I just couldn't imagine it being useful when there was little way to bargain and coax her into keeping her mouth open at that age. At 3, however, it was actually a pleasant and fun experience. We took her to a kid-specific place that had lots of stuffed animals, a movie on the ceiling to watch while lying down, and lots of goodies to get after the appointment. Dav and I were surprised at how well Tesla listened to instructions and let the dentist poke around. The staff were very patient, and let her touch each tool with her fingers before using it on her so she knew what to expect.

Her teeth are good, but we do need to start working on having Tesla stop sucking her thumb. We'll try positive reinforcement and encouragement first, and hopefully won't have to use other drastic, rather mean enforcement that would be needed if she doesn't stop by 5 and hopes not to have her front teeth pushed out.

After being such a good patient, Tesla got a balloon, stickers, a sugar-free lollipop, and a bag of goodies such as toothpaste and a toothbrush.

[click on the pics to enlarge and see her expressions : ) ]

It wasn't raining today, but Tesla wanted to wear her ladybug raincoat. We went to our local coffee shop, Farley's, then took her to the carousel which I had promised we'd do once Dav got back from his trip last week. Tesla remembered that promise! The cute thing was she had her raincoat and blue balloon from the dentist all day long!