Here's Ruth and I the last weekend - with baby Elden still inside Mom.
Here's a couple of pictures from Clark's first school music program. He was one on of the "crows" on the left set of bleachers. His and another kindergarten glass did "The Three Billy Goats Gruff". It was pretty good.
Clark did a GREAT job singing and doing all his actions and what not properly and on cue. I have to admit, I was a little surprised as we've never been able to get him to go up and sing with the primary kids in church.
Here's me with Elden while he gets a little tan. His bilirubin levels were a little high so they had him under this light for 2 days. They took him off the light today and he tested normal all day with out it so hopefully he's done with that.
Here's me holding him. We have to hold him under our shirts so that he can stay warm. He has been breathing on his own now for a couple of days, is off the blue light for the jaundice, the hole that goes between two chambers of the heart that closes when a baby is born finally closed today,and he got his feeding tube put in. They fed him tiny amount of Ruth's milk 3 times today and he had several messy diapers too, which they tell me is great!
Let's just hope he doesn't get too used to eating through his nose.
I'll stay up here with Ruth for a couple of more days. Then I'll go back to work on Wednesday. I do get 10 days of paternity leave, which I'll probably use when the baby comes home.
Besides being really tired, having a really sore belly, and being away from family, Ruth is doing pretty well.
I'm on my way to bed. Grandma and Grandpa are taking Clark and Cal down to Mississippi to see their cousins and sisters tomorrow and all of next week. I'll be heading back up to the hospital tomorrow morning.
Yeah, so I know most of us already know that English doesn't make sense - especially when compared to other languages such as Spanish.
That's why, when we find something that doesn't make sense in Spanish we have a hard time accepting it.
As you probably didn't notice, one of the phrases in my last post was "desde luego".
Desde = since Luego = later
Somehow these two combined = "of course!"...yea, of course, exactly what I was thinking. I found a forum addressing this seemingly non-sense phrase and was enlightened by what I read.
The forum started with a question asked by a gringo much like myself asking somebody to explain how "desde luego" (since later) can mean "of course".
One of the first posts in reply to his question said something to the effect of "First, tell me why the words 'of' and 'course', when put together, equal 'certainly' or 'yes'."
There you have it...I bet you never thought about the phrase "of course" and how those two words together can mean what they do.
If fact, a very common way to say "of course" in Spanish is "Claro que si" or "clearly yes". Now that actually makes sense.
Words or phrases I have learned while reading Harry Potter in Spanish
Most of these are from Book 3, although some are from Book 2, and none are from Book 1.I learned after reading book 1 that I should write down what I didn’t know and thought would be useful.
Book 2:
1.Parpadear – to blink
2.Encoger – to shrink
3.Blandir – to wave something around
4.Atizador – poker (in fact, I believe it was the poker that one of the twins was “waving around”)
5.Cachivaches – knick/knack, old thing etc..
6.Cobertizo – shed (or shelter out in the woods)
7.Estallar – to explode, pop, burst…
8.Entornada – ajar – like the door is ajar (la puerta entornada o esta entornada la puerta)
9.Colcha – bed spread
10.Bala de cañón – Canon ball
11.Alfézar de la ventana – window sill
12.Pecera – fish tank
13.Baraja – deck of cards (can also say: cartas)
14.Apostar – to bet
15.Mirar de reojo – to look out of the corner of your eye
16.Chaleco – vest
17.Prado – meadow or field
18.Turnarse – to take turns
19.Cuenta bancaria – bank account
20.Repisa – mantelpiece (or bracket)
21.Estante – shelf
22.Echar us vistazo – take a peek
23.Huésped – guest (more commonly called: visitante or invitado)
24.Pellizco – a pinch, like to pinch somebody – dar un pellizco
25.Regatear – to spare or be stingy with
26.Umbral – threshold (of a door, or just the normal way threshold is used in statistics)
27.Pescuezo – a less common name for “neck”
28.Remedio – solution or remedy
29.Sacudir – to shake, shock, or beat (“agitar” is to shake, “sacudir” is a little more violent)
30.Agacharse – to bend over or duck down
31.Hacer ademán de.. – to make a gesture of…
32.Echar a perder – to spoil or go bad
33.Frotarse – rub (frotarse las manos – to rub ones hands together) – restregar- to rub HARD
34.Estrujar – to press, squeeze, or wring out.
35.Menos mal que – It’s a good thing that, thanks goodness that, I’m so glad that…etc… (Menos Mal! => Thank goodness, Thankfully!)
36.Puñado – a handful (literally only, not figuratively as far as I know)
37.Musitar – mumble, mutter, etc..
38.Escaparate – a shop window or display window
39.Desde luego –I never heard this in Nicaragua, but it’s just another way to say: Of course!
40.Merecer – to deserve
41.Ahumar – to smoke fish or meat, or to fill a house with smoke (fumar is to smoke a cigarette)
42.Guiñar – to wink ;)
43.Dorso de la mano – back of the hand
44.Capullo – cocoon or flower bud
45.Colocar – to put or place something somewhere
46.Destapar – open or take lid off
47.Tener los [dedos] entumecidos – to have numb [fingers]
48.Abrirse camino – to open up a path or make way for…
49.Suela – sole of your shoe
50.Trozo – piece of something bigger or a piece of something broken off of..
51.Despistado – absent minded, distracted, or, to throw off the scent or confuse in verb form – reflexive verb = to get off track
52.Arrancar el carro (or auto) – to start the car
53.Despejada – deserted or empty (like a place, not a container;that would be: vacío)
54.Tablero – first saw this word in the book as a car dashboard, but later leanred that it also is like a counter top, or board for cutting on, or even a board for a board game.
55.Guantera – glove compartment
56.Comprobar – to check or test
57.Tirante – strap (as a noun) or tense (as an adjective)
Book 3
1.Pillar por sorpresa – to catch by surprise – also, to “get a joke”I don’t get it, “no lo pillo”
2.Arman mucho revuelo con – they make a big deal about it, or make it sound really cool
3.Contraseña – password
4.Hacer muecas – make faces
5.Quebradizo – brittle, fragile
6.Estar harto de… – to be fed up with…
7.Carraspear – to clear your throat
8.Estar en remojo – to leave something to soak
9.Tras de…besidesexample: besides coming late…(tras de venir tarde…)
10.Por la comisurade la boca – to say something out of the corner of your mouth
11.Arrimar(se) – to move or bring together, ex: arrimar also a algo – to move something up against something
12.Desgana – lack of appatite or enthusiasm, or, reluctance – “hacer algo a desgana”
13.Bostezar – yawn
14.Estropear – ruin (break)
15.Empuñar – to clutch, grab, hold onto with the fist…
16.En cabestrillo – in a sling (cast)
17.Pelar – to peel fruit, or skin an animal
18.Chachi – variant of “cool” or “neat”
19.Apetecer – to “feel like”, want, be “in the mood” for something – to fancy something
20.Plagada de – infested with…
21.Ojeras – “bags under the eyes”
22.Hacer trizas – break something into pieces
23.Llovizna – drizzle – lloviznar (to drizzle) Like rain of course
24.Escarcha – frost
25.Rociar- to spray or spinkle, ex:
a.rociar algo/alguien (de) -> to shower something/somebody (with)
26.pitido – the blow of a whistle
27.calado – soaked
28.la puntuación – the score (in games or competitions)
29.niebla – fog / mist
30.el cráter – crater (obviously)
31.alcantarilla – sewer ( the network of pipes under the ground: “las alcantarillas”)
32.crucigrama – crossword puzzle
33.asomar – to stick out; ex: asomar las cabeza por la ventana -> to stick ones head out the window
34.caserola, ollas, and cazos – pots and pans
35.desgastado – worn out
36.aguzar – to stimulate or sharpen, ex: aguzar las orejas (vista, or apetito) basically to perk up your ears, or eyes, or give you an apetite…
37.rendija – crack or gap in something; but not a broken crack, that’s: una grieta, or raja (if you’re talking about glass or porcelain).
38.Delatar – to betray or turn in; ex:lo delaté a lo policía (I reported him to the police)
39.Copos de nieve – snow flakes (believe it or not I never learned that in Nicaragua J)
40.Sentarse en cuclillas – to cower, or duck down close to the ground.
41.Enterarse – to find out about something
42.Encontrar (or tener) sentido- to make sense
43.Pavorosa – aweful/dreadful (not that useful, usually we’d just say horrible)
44.Incorporar(se) – to sit up from a lying-down position. (sentarse mas derecha => to sit up properly)
45.Acosar – to pursue closely, harass
46.Dar un rodeo – make a detour
47.Esquivar – to avoid, or dodge
48.Sobaco – armpit – also called: la axial
49.Contar con – to count on (somebody for something)
50.Plegado – folded or bent
51.Un absoluto desastre – Most of the time, you can translate English to directly into Spanish, but every now and then you get a phrase like this that is word for word.
52.Reñir – to tell off, or get mad at
53.Felpudo – doormat
54.Los manteles – table cloth (singular can mean place mat), can also use the word in “to clear the table” => “levanter los manteles”
55.Desmontar – to take apart, or dismantle (it’s second definition is to dismount something like a horse)
56.Te tendré informado – I’ll keep you informed
57.Hojarasca – dead leaves on the ground
58.Puño – fist
59.Nanay! – this interesting little word means: No Way!, or Not Likely!
60.Cera – wax (candle, ear, bee’s etc…)
61.Carecer de- to lack, like: he lacks talent (él carece de talento)
62.Paralelo – parallel (obviously)
63.Empate – tie (in sports) to tie = empatar
64.Hincha – fan (as far as I can tell this little word doesn’t change gender even though it’s genuine article does: el hincha, or la hincha)
65.El guardameta – The goalie!!
66.Aputes – notes (tomar aputnes = to take notes)
67.Siempre que = con tal de que (although I’ll probably still keep using the latter more often
68.El tiempo que haga flata – as long as it takes
69.Sorber – soak up or absorb
70.Lesión – lesion (again, pretty obvious)
71.Halgar – flatter
72.Hacerse añicos – to shatter or smash something to pieces.
73.Tenue – fine (when talking about thread or wire) or faint (when talking about sound or light).
74.Abertura – opening
75.Apodo – nickname
76.Cojear – to limp
77.Maciza(o) – massive or solid – ex: de roble macizo => of solid oak.
Yesterday Clark and I drove some Boy Scouts to a small university in Rolla where they would be taking merit badge classes. Clark was invited to stay and play with the Skinner's but he decided he wanted to hang out with me instead.
The boys I was driving were taking the same merit badge so we just hung out down the hall from their classroom where we had found a TV. Clark watched TV and I talked to Ruth on the phone.
At the end of the day as we were walking down the hall to go outside I passed a big lever surrounded by a stainless steel panel on the wall. At first I thought "Wow, that is a serious lever. Is it for a power shut-off or something?" But as I got closer I saw that it said something to the effect of "Emergency Rinse and Eye Wash Station".
I walked about 10 more steps and turned around to see if Clark was following me. Just as I turned around I saw his hand pulling the lever! There wasn't enough time for me to do anything except watch him get drenched with a cascade of "chemical-burn-saving" water from the wall and ceiling! Luckily, Clark likes to wear his coat with the hood on if we're going outside so he didn't really even get wet.
The whole thing combined with the shock on his face was just too much. I tried to look serious, but the huge smile on my face was a result of my best efforts to keep from laughing out loud.
Anyway, you probably had to be there; it was pretty funny. We went to the bathroom and grabbed about 100 paper towels and cleaned up the bulk of it. He was very apologetic, but luckily he wasn't too sad he had gotten wet.
As many of you know, Ruth is in the Columbia Regional Hospital on bed rest until the baby is born (11-13 weeks from now).
Cal is with Darrell in OK. Clark really missed him when he realized Cal was gone. Clark and the girls and I went to the park and then we came home and ate dinner.
Before all the craziness broke out, Ruth and I were going to go on a date Thursday night and a family in our ward was going to watch the kids. They have a son Clark's age named Christopher and last week Clark asked what day he was going to Christopher's. When I picked him up from School on Thursday he said, "Hey, I get to go to Christopher's tonight!" Well, we had obviously canceled with them but hadn't sent Clark the memo (I honestly didn't think he'd remember). Clark was pretty sad already with Cal and Mom being gone so I called them up and asked if we could still come over and just let the kids play for a little while. So, we did that.
Last night after work Clark, Shanna, Haley and I drove up to Columbia to see Ruth while Mike was on his way up here with Jon to pick up the girls.
The girls were happy to see Ruth and even sat on the bed with her this time. Last time I think the whole hospital thing was a little weird for them and they didn't really want anything to do with that crazy hospital bed.
Mike got here about the same time we did. We basically just went to bed. The kids slept well and ate breakfast really well too. I got the girls' things together and they were on the road by 10:45 or so.
I vacuumed out the van, we went to the library, Clark played outside with his friend up the street (Bella), we ate lunch, and went to a park with the VanFosson's (Kelly and Chris) and Claudia and one of her kids. Kelly took Clark to the park while I went grocery shopping and then I met up with them when I was done. We probably stayed a the park for like 2 hours! Clark had a good time.
Here's a few pictures for you're viewing pleasure:
The Park on Thursday:
A little something I checked out from the library:
The park today:
Notice my lens? It even happens to eye doctors.
The girls saying good-bye this morning: (I used the cell phone to take the pics, so they're not the greatest)
