Exercise

I have to get back into an exercise routine. I really think the reason why Filip's delivery was so easy was because I was going to the gym 3x a week during most of my pregnancy.
I don't belong to a gym anymore, but there is some stuff I can do at home. I try to focus on my 'core' muscles, since I believe that's the best over-all exercise I can get.
Here's my list of exercises on my routine:

20 minute walk

Large Exercise ball:
Crunches, while leaning on top.
Lifting it with my feet to meet my hands.

8 lb medicine ball:
Crunches, while holding the ball in front of me and up.
Obliques, moving the ball from one side of me to the other while lying down

Weighted Bar:
Place on shoulders, bend over and straighten up
Hold it from side to side

Free Weights:
Bicep crunches

Perfect Pushup:
'Girly' pushups against the wall

Filip:
Upside-down squats. Lay on back, put him on my feet and lift up and down
Calf bounces. Lay him on chins and lift up and down

Myself:
Cycles
Various stretches

Zoo pics

These are in the 'Asian Trail' section of the Zoo. Pandas are so cute!

Washington DC

We took Filip to the Zoo and Natural History museum today. It poured rain this morning, so we had the idea to do the museum first. So did the rest of Washington DC. The place was packed.

We just did the dinosaur and primitive life section. The exhibits are pretty impressive, but the educational value is disappointing. All the speculations there assume that evolution is a proven fact, and not still a theory. The one variable this theory takes notable advantage of is the passage of time. Everything takes millions and millions of years to evolve into something else. It's possible that the earth is that old. However, I question how scientists date when which animals showed up on the scene. Is it all the study of fossils? Or are these dates influenced by the belief that it takes millions of years for an animal to change into another animal? The museum portrays everything there as a fact, so there is no way to know there.

So, on one hand, there was a mix of dinosaur skeletons and models, which were neat to see. But then they also had all these murals of made-up animals that just look like a bunch of hybrids, to show the supposed 'link between the species'.

The zoo was fun. We got to see a red panda, a giant panda, elephants, these little cute monkeys, a cheetah, leopards, hippos, and a bunch of things I never heard of.

We didn't pack a stroller, so Filip had to walk alot. He was so worn out, he kept saying "Sit, chair, sit chair" every time we passed a bench. So JR had to carry him for most of the walk out of the zoo to the metro. Poor little guy, he slept all the way back to Mom mom's.

Immortal Look

JR

Today, someone posted on their site an old picture of a friend who died about 15 years ago. Craig has been pretty much immortalized in the Frederick area. He was a great guy, lots of fun, and ever-stylish. He had tons of friends all over, back in the day. That's how I always remember him.

When I saw a pic of him today, I thought ''Whoa, he had a flat top. That's so 90's". I realized that in my head, I keep updating my memory of him to be in style today. In reality though, Craig died with a flat-top.

I know I digress, but I actually like flat-tops on black guys. The above pic is a flat-topped JR when he was in his 20's. I think it would be so cool if JR could grow one again. If everything else about his look was up-to-date, I think a FT would make such a cool statement. Like, "I have a flat top, because I know it looks good, not because I'm stuck in the 90's".

Dreaming

Another cute Filip story. Every morning when he wakes up, I ask him what he dreamed about. He used to say the same thing, every day, "Horsey, was mean..."

Now he's trying to say some other things when I ask him. This morning, he said "boney cows".

I have been playing the same Bible story CD for him over and over. The first story, is called 'Pharoah's Dreams'. So, he keeps hearing that Pharoah dreamed about 7 fat cows, and 7 boney cows. So now, that's what Filip dreams about.

He's so smart! I'm going to have to kiss his brain.

Scary Movie

I rented Land Before Time 12 for Filip at the library. Since it's dinosaurs, of course he loved it. Then it got better, because Cera's (the triceratops) little sister was born. So his favorite portions of the movie were the scenes with the 'baby'.

At the climax of the movie, the baby dinosaur falls into the rushing river and can't swim. As required in scenes like this, the baby is headed straight for a waterfall.

Filip was so upset by this. He cried for me, and I had to comfort him while the baby was in trouble. Then, the disc started skipping. Not just a quick skip, we had to wait 5 full minutes for the movie to resume again. All the while, Filip is crying:

"Baby! Arde, Baby! Mommy, Baby Arde! Baby Arde!"

BTW "Arde" is Filip for 'Water'.

Finally, we get to the scene where they save the baby, and all was well again. However, through the evening, he kept telling me about the baby and the arde. I had to keep reminding him that the baby was saved.

Teaching

I went to the piano store last night. I sat in on one of the group classes that my boss taught. She wants me to be teaching some of these classes. It should be a new challenge for me to teach several children at once. I'm looking forward to it.

The program is pretty straight forward. You just go by the book they provide, and you make sure there are plenty of interactive group activities. Preparation is the key.

I've learned alot just these few times I was watching Teresa teach her class. Before, I didn't think I had control over how seriously my students took their lessons. I figured it was just a toss up on if they we're 'good' students or 'bad' students. The 'good' students would learn more, and the 'bad' students would review the old stuff more. However, after watching her teach, I realize that the teacher has a huge bearing on how seriously the students treat their lessons.

There are also practical things that I can implement right away. These would be like giving students written homework every week, and requiring them to turn it in. I also need to require good rhythm right from the start. I used to let them learn a song, and then work on the rhythm. The most important thing I am going to start is to have a lesson plan prepared in advance, instead of just 'winging' it.

So I'm excited about having a whole class to teach. I can really see how it's going to improve the caliber of my teaching ability in private lessons as well.