Varia

Spring is on its way, though it is not quite “here” yet. We have had several very nice days, mixed with some cold and windy ones. Not much new snow, which is heartening, but the old stuff lingers on, though diminishing bit by bit.

Laolao and Button finished off the 1000-piece puzzle on Monday – all but two pieces, which were lost. Button found one by searching through the baskets under the table, but the other remains lost. That evening I took a 500-piece puzzle that was sitting in Nanny’s room and dumped it out on the table. So yesterday he started in on that one, putting together a small section.

Skating and skiing lessons are done for the year. Mustang has started a new round of horse riding lessons and I’m trying to find some good art classes for her to take starting in late March. Though my philosophy is generally one art and one sport (at a time) for extracurricular activities, since last fall the sports have dominated. But it’s high time to get Mustang back into art, as she really enjoys it and I do think it can help to enhance cognitive development! Button will have a bit of a break until late April, when they’ll both start swimming lessons again, and then in late May he’ll start soccer twice a week on a team that plays through the summer.

I’ve started reading a very interesting book entitled The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge (MD). I’m not far into it, but the bit I’ve read so far is fascinating. It’s all about neuroplasticity – the capacity of the brain to change, form new circuits, repair itself, and develop new functions and capacities.

In one appendix he talks about how culture affects the brain and perception, citing (among other things) the Sea Gypsies, a tribe of people in the south Pacific who live as much on the water as on land and who have developed the extraordinary capacity to see under water with great clarity at great depths, and to hold their breath under water far longer than most people.

The first chapter tells the story of a woman affected by the loss of the sense of balance (leading to the perpetual and debilitating sensation of falling) who was cured by the use of a device that transmitted the messages that the vestibular system (responsible for balance) normally does via stimulus to the tongue. The brain was capable to taking those messages, which would normally be classified as touch (a sensation like champagne bubbles bursting on the tongue) and recognize them to be related to balance, and re-learn the sense of balance.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the book and highly recommend it for anyone interested in the brain and how it works.

Next week is March break. I’m developing a list of various activities for the kids. Only thing is, I keep thinking of it as things “we” can do – until I remember that I’ll be at work!! I’ve promised each child one evening out with Mommy all on their own, for a bit of dedicated Mommy time. I think I need to do a bit more of this, for their good and for mine.

And on Tuesday I got a bit of Mommy time all to myself – while Laolao took Mustang to horse riding and Laoye put Button to bed, I went to a movie. Saw Slumdog Millionaire, which I really enjoyed. A very interesting premise, and a fascinating method of telling the frequently disturbing story. Well worth seeing (though NOT for children under the age of at least 14 – as it is rated).