Explaining Pluto's Status to a Three-Year-Old

I received a solar system kit from Nana for Christmas.



Now Pluto did come with the kit, but I didn't add him. Why? Because he's not a planet anymore, based on the new definition by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Luca asked the same question, and I had to think for a minute how I could explain this to him. There are a few main components of what makes up a planet (simplified):

1. Orbit: All planets orbit a star.
2. Shape: Each planet is nearly round.
3. Neighborhood: Each planet has cleared its orbital neighborhood of other stuff.

The last criteria excludes Pluto from planethood, since there's still a lot of junk in its orbital path.

So I told Luca, "Pluto isn't a planet because he didn't clean up his room."

By the way, here are some new, spectacular images of Earth:

The New Blue Marble West
The New Blue Marble East

Christmas 2011

Now that we've had some time to relax from our busy winter schedule, I've finally had a moment to compile some photos from Christmas.

Christmas 2011

So what kept us so busy?

I had my 30th birthday in early December, we attended Kyra's work holiday party, Nana and Lilliana visited for Luca's preschool holiday party and for the weekend. Then there was Christmas, and during the time off I helped with a political campaign doing data entry. We had Christmas at home, at Kenny's, and with my extended family and the Great-Grandparents' home.

New Year's was spent with Nick and LP, although we didn't stay up too late, and shortly after we went up to the Twin Cities for the first in-person meeting for the non-profit organization Kyra and I are volunteering for. I spent most of the time with the kids keeping them quite while the others met and discussed the organization charter and lots of other stuff.

Luca and I spent the day together on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and we had a swimming lesson and then to the capitol to celebrate the holiday with Wisconsin Public Radio, in particular, Jonathan Overby from Higher Ground, and many other people. We listened to a Scottish band, a trumpet, and a gospel choir. That weekend, Kyra and I went to the first symphony of the year, and were blown away by the violinist, Augustin Hadelich, especially his performance of Paganini's 24th Caprice.

So yeah, it's been busy. Good lord. Kyra started her class again, and just finished another meeting with the non-profit today. I hope things will calm down soon!

Our New Family Member

We have a lot of posts to catch up on. It's been a busy holiday season!

Before we get to the Thanksgiving and Christmas madness, I wanted to introduce our new family member: Oberon the cat.



He's named after the moon of Uranus, which is named after the mythical fairy king. Most of you may remember the name from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.

So how did this come about? Well, Kyra started talking about getting another cat, and then one day said, "Why don't we go to the shelter to visit the animals - you know, just for something to do?" Right. I knew then that we were going to get another cat.

Oberon is a feisty little cat, and we're still trying to get him and Mars to get along. So for most of the time the two are segregated. They get to play once in a while to get used to each other. Otherwise, he likes to snuggle, and just like any other kitten, has a lot of energy.

Welcome Oberon!

123Magic

Today, Luca tried to use 123 Magic on Kyra by putting her on 1. For those of you not familiar with 123 Magic, it's a great way to get kids to stop misbehaving. Each number is a warning, and when they get to 3 there is ALWAYS a consequence.

At any rate, here's what Luca's attempt to use 123 Magic looked like:

luca@home: ~$ 123magic mama 1
Sorry, user luca is not allowed to execute '/usr/bin/123magic' as parent on home.

For those of you who do not use Linux, I apologize. Actually, I apologize to everyone for the joke. It's just bad.

Autumn Events in 2011

We've had quite a busy autumn! First, there was Luca's 3rd birthday, then apple picking, Halloween, a celebration of my first date with Kyra, and finally Thanksgiving at Dan's with our friends.

Here's a slide show and highlights:

Autumn 2011



Dan and Carla, LP and Nick on the Hay Ride


Baba and Luca on the Hay Ride


Luca and the Birthday Cake, with a Tractor!


Apple Picking


Apple Eatin'


Ready for a Date!


A Turkey at Dan's (wait, which one?!)

We still have more Thanksgiving parties to attend this week, so there might be more photos to post.

Kyra insists that we put up the Christmas tree next weekend after Thanksgiving. I'm not sure I have the stomach for it, especially before my birthday! I'm already reeling from the Christmas music at the mall... Sheesh! If Thanksgiving hasn't passed yet, it's too early!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! May you be warm and have lots of good food!

A big thank-you to Cassie, Mike, and Zea at Primrose Community Farm, who share their wonderful farm food with us during the year. We enjoyed the potatoes, mashed, for our Thanksgiving party!