Alice, that's a great perspective - as a lens for understanding identity. My daughter is just emerging from the stage where she thought she was English, Korean, and Chinese (mainly because she can trilingually say "fart," but that's it). I'm kind of in Nina's boat, where I don't really have the skills to help support my daughter learning Chinese. I do regret that I didn't learn Chinese when I was younger.

Tae told me at breakfast today that the pink girl is her (she was wearing a pink dress with poofy sleeves yesterday). And that the other girl is her friend S from school. S's favorite shoes are red sparkly ones. I don't doubt that S was also wearing a headband with a flower yesterday.

No. In Massachusetts, the cut off date is September 1. She'll be one of those really old kindergartners in September 2010. Which is totally ok by me. =)

Wow.... the girls are growing up so fast!! I love seeing their hair grow and change.

@seadragon Not quite done. We're waiting for the arrival of Jen's sofa and desk - so my "office" is still a pile of boxes. But so much closer. =) @Jeanny Craigslist!! We're in an owner occupied building, which I'm much happier with. I also forgot to mention that Tae decorated the wall herself with those wall stickers. Except for by the bed, the stickers are all about 3 feet from the ground. =)

You totally deserve this! Congrats!!

Looks like a success to me!! And it even looks like there's a hint of curl left in the back. Nice work!!

Actually, that's a really good point. I'm not sure that I would look older in make-up. Sometimes I think that I don't look older in suits and stuff. I think I just look like a young person in a suit. I know that make-up isn't necessarily evil. I'm just personally opposed to it, and I get more stubborn when people try to tell me what to do. It's almost as if being told to wear make-up makes me want to wear it even less. It's also about just the way I present myself in general. I'm just kind of naturally more casual and low maintenance. (Well, that, and a single mom who gets dressed and ready to go in about 5 minutes.) I'm flattered that you thought I knew what I was talking about in grad school! I think it's taken me a long time to become someone who is confident with speaking up (oh, I could right a whole nother post on that!). And I've found that now that I am in a field that I care about, it's much easier to speak out.

Huh. It's also interesting to learn that Pocahontas and Mulan are not "officially" princesses. I think it's such an interesting juxtaposition, given Pixar's Up, featuring an Asian American boy... Up's Asian American lead character"

Hmmm. One of my recent favorites is the ICA in Boston. Not necessarily because I love all the exhibits, but I love the architecture of the building. From the upper floors, it feels like you are hanging over Boston Harbor. They also have some fun children's programs too. One of my favorite children's museums is Kidspace in Pasadena, CA. They have some really great climbing spaces, inscluding one that is from an ant's perspective climbing down into the ground.

I'm still trying to process... Ethnic studies professor Ronald Takaki passed away earlier this week. Read a bit more here: Remembering Ron Takaki

Yes, she has been known to make things up after she draws things.... who knows!!

Hmm, it's almost hard to remember!! We have a pretty cool version of The Owl and the Pussycat that has great illustrations. Others that we've enjoyed are: Where the Wild Things Are In the Night Kitchen Make Way for Ducklings Kitten's First Full Moon Knuffle Bunny Another illustrator you might want to look in to is Chris Raschka. We LOVE his book Yo! Yes! and he has also illustrated books by Norton Juster (The Hello Goodbye Window) and bell hooks (Skin Again).

Oh... it's not any huge trick or anything, just these: bath tub drops though, one time Tae did trick me, and she pretended to put a tablet in the tub.... and the water stayed clear. huh.

Oof. This topic is near and dear to my heart. I hear you on firmly believing that this isn't just a woman's issue. I also believe, that while I wish I could commiserate with any parent around these kinds of issues, there is something more powerful for me about sharing and reflecting and learning from other mothers. I wish it were different and that the expectations of men and women as parents were the same. But it isn't. I wish that there were more male allies out there; I think that would make me more comfortable - if I knew for a fact that people I work with felt the same way I do about the division of labor between men and women, mothers and father.

I went for the bigger bed; and I think overall, it was a good strategy. And nice for the grown-ups too!!

happy valentine's day! here's my post for the day: http://eliaday.typepad.com/baby/2009/02/and-a-six-pence-in-her-shoe.html

better late than never, right? http://eliaday.typepad.com/baby/2009/02/something-borrowed.html

Thanks for sharing... and inspiring, as usual! http://eliaday.typepad.com/baby/2009/02/something-blue.html

here's mine! =) http://eliaday.typepad.com/baby/2009/02/something-new.html

Here's something old from me: some/thing old

Yay!! This is great inspiration for posting!! Thanks for hosting!!

Sigh.... I'm not sure that that feeling ever goes away. Tae is four, and *I* still want to spend the night snuggling with her!!

This is an even better answer! Why do grown-ups ask such silly questions? =)