Wow. June 6, 2008

Well. Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a ginormous stupendous mega CD-giveaway courtesy of the folks at WOW.

 

Did I mention how much music we listen to around here? We tend to listen in cycles. Currently we do a whole lotta David Crowder Band (the eldest’s favorite is #3 on ‘A Collision’ – he listens raptly) and a whole lotta Sandra Boynton (Kate Winslet/Weird Al duet, anyone?). We also add in a little Mozart, Jack Johnson, Nickel Creek, some Over the Rhine and the occasional Dixie Chicks (‘Home’, a fantastic CD). My husband has been known to spin a little Red Hot Chili Peppers too. So sometimes we hear a tiny voice requesting the ‘red hot chili chicks, pwease’.

 

Lovin’ all that stuff, but would really love a whole new set of tunes to add in!

 

Maybe this will be the bloggy giveaway I win.

 

Wow!

Works-For-Me-Wednesday: Duct Tape Sculpture Bonanza June 4, 2008

Ok, I should clarify right up front that my eldest is a mere two and a half years old. He doesn’t tell me that he’s bored. But sometimes it is obvious.

 

In these cases, I get resourceful. I grab something that is not actually a toy and toss it in his direction. Something like a cereal box or an empty paper towel roll or an old oatmeal carton. Today it was an empty and cleaned plastic mayonaise container. With a rockin’ snappy lid! Well. He stayed busy with that for ages.

 

Well, he’s two. That does it for him.

 

Here’s what I’d suggest for older kids who might just present you with a raised eyebrow if you present them with an empty box of Total. Toss in a few items, not just one. Dig through that recycling bin. And then- toss them the duct tape, along with scraps of paper (magazines, junk mail, used printer paper, construction paper), crayons or markers (or, if you’re feeling gutsy, paint), and scissors. Turn them loose on the deck, porch, or kitchen floor.

 

Let the Art start!

 

For more Mom-I’m-Bored ideas on this Works For Me Wednesday, be sure to check out Rocks In My Dryer!

About Bedtime June 3, 2008

My eldest child, shortly to turn 2 1/2, has always loved bedtime. Loved it. Enthusiastically hit the stairs at the appropriate time. Cooperated cheerfully during diapering and pj’ing. Happily settled down with his trusty thumb when the lights went off.

 

It is just possible that we have hit some sort of Developmental Snag in the bliss that is bedtime. Some sort of i-want-to-stay-up!- mechanism may (just may) be kicking in.

 

It is possible.

 

Tonight’s bedtime procedures:

 

Trooping up the stairs, Mommy and two little boys (Daddy works late).

Teeth brushed.

Faces washed.

Overnight diapers in place.

Pajamas on.

Blinds and curtains closed.

Noise-making fan on high.

Baby monitor glowing red.

Lamp on, overhead lights off.

Pacifiers strategically placed in crib in case of overnight insecurities.

Two clean and pajama’d boys deposited on the eldest’s twin bed for books, prayers, songs.

 

One Mommy gazing at these beautiful creatures sitting side by side with expectant and happy faces. Settling onto the bed beside them. And then one pair of eyes gets a little wider and brighter. A lip trembles just slightly. A small voice breaks the Motherhood Nirvana moment.

 

‘We are going to SWEEP??’

 

Yes, Baby. We are going to sleep. Just like always.

 

‘We will NOT go downstairs??’

 

No, Darling. That’s why we came up to brush teeth and get in p.j.’s. That’s why the room is dark and we are going to say our prayers. We had a nice day today. We will have another nice day tomorrow.

 

Pacified, he accepted my answers. Wiggled and giggled while his baby brother nursed, then smiled at me as I laid baby down and burnt some rug tiptoed out of the room.

 

But, I am thinking, a window has been cracked open, in this oh-so-easy bedtime ritual of ours.

 

Backyard Bullying June 2, 2008

This evening as my potato fizzed in the microwave I leaned my elbows on the counter and peered out the back window sort of absently. And then I saw a flash of bright red.

 

A cardinal hopped around outside in the grass, and because I thought he was handsome, and was way in the frame of mind to observe Something Quiet And Unimportant, I kept looking.

 

That’s when I noticed he wasn’t alone. A very small finch was right next to him, focused and pecking intently at the grass. In another moment, it became obvious that the cardinal had no interest in whatever sort of bird gourmet buffet my backyard may provide.

 

He was totally just stalking that little finch.

 

The finch hopped and pecked. The cardinal followed. Got right in his face. Chirped. The finch ignored him, hopped further away. The cardinal kept up.

 

In a nearby tree, a flock of finches fluttered around, nervously moving from branch to branch.

 

My potato dinged. I hit ‘minute plus’ and shot back to my window. Geez, I thought, by this time totally into this little drama, are they going to help him?

 

They did. Sort of nervously. But nonetheless.

 

Swooped down, chased the cardinal away. Back to their tree.

 

Coast clear, the cardinal flew back to his stalkee(?) and got back to business.

 

Curious about things nobody else is curious about (if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this post, maybe you dig a good bird story?) I am wondering:

 

Why that one particular finch?

What was aggressive Mr. Cardinal trying to accomplish?

Was that finch some sort of vigilante of the bird world?

Maybe that patch of grass is Cardinal territory?

Is there a turf war right in my backyard????

*Holy cow*. 

Eloise Wilkin, Stories May 16, 2008

In this family, we are die-hard bookworms.

 

But with limited shelf space and resources otherwise allocated, we haven’t bought many in the last few years.

 

Children’s books are the GIANT exception to this rule! We’ve got loads of them. They’re piling up in the basement. Spilling out of baskets. Taking over a trunk. Upstairs books, downstairs books, car books….As a former elementary school teacher, I acquired a great selection of children’s literature, both fiction and nonfiction, through great resources like Scholastic. Add that to the books my mom has saved from decades past, a fantastic library sale several years ago, the book club my mother-in-law has recently enrolled our toddler in — listen, I should really hang a sign out the window, start lending, and plan for the awesome things I’m going to buy with those late fees (more shelves).

 

With all of that selection, there are a few books that seem to push their way through the literary flavor of the week and can nearly always be found out somewhere.

 

One of these is Eloise Wilkin, Stories. It’s a Little Golden Book Treasury containing several stories and poems written and/or illustrated by Eloise Wilkin (mid 1900’s).  The stories are sweetly told and beautifully illustrated. The detail is gorgeous. This is a lady who had her eye on the mind of a child and  *got it*. My toddler has loved these since he was just over a year old. He’s nearly two and a half now and is a busy, busy boy….but he’ll sit in my lap and listen to all 206 pages of stories and poems…and then say “Mommy read it again?”.

 

This one is worth owning. We’ll be reading from it for years to come!

 

Tune in every Friday for more of our favorite library picks….our in-home library, and the big brick one that really should feature our name on the front, owing to our excessive generous fines donations….er…..

Sticky Baby May 15, 2008

I’ve got a clinger.

 

He’s 9 months old, and he loves me, his Mama, more. than. anything.

 

He’s always been attached, as babies are, and affectionate, as they learn to be, but more recently has moved into a new level of awareness concerning who’s around and who is not. He goes to others with no problem, for the most part. But if I re-enter the scene, it dawns on him….my Mama is not holding me. In fact, maybe she hasn’t even been here, this whole time!  Oh nooooooo!!!!

 

Anxiety. Tears. Fat little arms reaching my way.

 

And as I sigh a little and wonder if I should just cut an extra neckhole into my t-shirts for him, part of me knows what will happen in just a few months. And so I squeeze him and kiss him and close my eyes to try to capture what this holding-of-him feels like.

 

He will get bigger. He won’t have the patience to be held for quite as long. He won’t fit neatly against my upper body anymore. He will follow his Daddy around with the same curiousity, intensity, and enthusiasm that his big brother does. Mama’s place in the center of his universe will shift just a little. And over the next few months, a little more.

 

I’ll tell myself, like I did with his big brother (and I’ll be right, you know) that these shifts are positive and healthy and good.

 

And for today, I am patient with my sticky baby.