I haven't really done much around the house in terms of fixing/upkeep lately, and today again was pretty much all about the kids. And that's perfectly fine. I did get out of the house by myself this morning to go pick up some groceries, so that's my excitement for this week.
What I'm watching today
Hustlers (2019, Google Play streaming) - I'm slowly making my way though the best and worst movies of 2019. This one wasn't too high on my priority list, but my wife talked me into watching it. The first thing I'm going to say is that all the outraged people who can't stop talking about J-Lo's Oscar "snub" need to take a chill pill. She was great in this movie, but not Oscar great, especially in the stacked 2020 field for Best Supporting Actress. Now back to the movie. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. The story surrounds a group of strippers who hatch a plan to "hustle" rich Wall St. executives. It was fascinating given that I had just watched Hell or High Water for the first time last week. These are two films that use the same financial crisis as the backdrop to tell very different stories: one in rural west Texas and one in the heart of NYC. The primary commentary is that there is no love lost by either film maker for the traders, bankers, executives, and so on who let their greed and corruption bankrupt this country and destroy the lives of regular people. But their fundamental flaw, and both movies have this in common, is that they ignore the idea that two wrongs don't make a right. Both sets of heroes are criminals to be sure, but they are celebrated nonetheless. It's an awkward feeling to consciously cheer for the "good" guys when you know that they're not all that good.
What I'm doing today
Learning e-Learning - I got the 7yo all set up with his online curricula yesterday and then was surprised to find in my email that there is yet another online service he needs to be using. So I spent some time getting that set up. He's supposed to be doing reading for 20 minutes every day, science for 20 minutes twice a week, math for 20 minutes twice a week, and English/phonics/general education topics for 20 minutes twice a week. He loves the math and science so much that he would probably do them all day every day if we let him. Anyway we made a handy chart to keep track of his weekly progress and downloaded a bunch of "extra work" for him to do if/when he gets bored. We even discovered that some of the online services that he has to use for his e-Learning have mobile apps so he can do them on his own tablet, and more importantly, I can have my laptop back during the day.
Backyarding - I sent the kids out to the back yard this afternoon in hoodies and long pants thinking it was a little chilly. Then I went outside and discovered them sweating profusely and begging for drinks. Whooops! My bad. Once they shed their sweatshirts, we all had a fun time. We played catch with a football, played tag, chased the dog around, hunted for herbs and wildflowers (still in the backyard), and played in the sandbox. We eventually had to get out of the sun, because there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and I have no idea where we stashed the sunscreen.
Hiking - I've been wanting to do some hiking at the Blodgett Peak Open Space in Colorado Springs for some time. Heck, I can see it from my house, even though it's 9 miles away. It sits right at the base of Blodgett Peak, and there are several crisscrossing trails to explore in the no-man's-land between the urban-ness of Colorado Springs and the easternmost slopes of the Rocky Mountains. We put in a solid 2-mile walk, traversing narrow single-tracks, wide multi-use trails, and dry creek beds. The kids were fascinated by the abundance of prickly pear cacti that was literally everywhere. When we made it back to the car, I asked the kids if they enjoyed themselves, and they all said they had a great time. Even the 5yo who HATES going for walks and hikes said that she loved it and wants to come back tomorrow. Eventually I want to come back too, to summit Blodgett Peak.
Hardcore gaming - The 5yo threw down the gauntlet and challenged me to a game of Candyland.
For a 5yo, she sure talks a lot of trash. Oh and she also cheats like you wouldn't believe. She knows how to hustle. I'm surprised she didn't put any stakes on the game, like a bowl of trail mix or something. Anyway, we split the first two games, and then the 7yo opted to join in on the tiebreaker. The 5yo won of course. But I encountered a really interesting probability question while we were playing. I'm not going to introduce it here, because it is difficult to explain, and I'm not sure how to do the math just yet. Perhaps if I get around to investigating it further, I'll post more info about it.
Pantry organizing - Due in part to my wife's stockpiling of supplies and my kids inability to hang up a jacket, our pantry/closet was in disarray. The floor had become covered with a mishmash of coats, shoes, groceries and toys. It was getting to the point where we couldn't even access food in the back of the pantry because of all the stuff on the floor. My wife passive-aggressively pointed out what a mess that it had become, and that was all the motivation I needed to start rage-cleaning.
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