…was filled with food, food, food. From Friday night when we got to be Guinea pigs for a new restaurant to the Saturday buffet to the two family meals on Sunday. We were stuffed.
We covered all the bases, making cookies and dying eggs for the Easter bunny, hitting up two Easter egg hunts, finding Easter baskets and heading to church in our Sunday finest.
From our family to yours…We hope you had a safe and beautiful Easter.
The weekends have been very kind to us lately. Although we woke up to clouds and rain this morning, it stopped about mid-morning so we toyed with the idea of a little excursion. Hubster found an article about the rare phenomenon that is sturgeon spawning, happening nearby in New London. Although fish aren’t really my *thing* I thought it would still be nice to be outside and we knew Peanut would love it.
See I think those fins make them look more like sharks, but that’s just me. *Wink*
At the assistance of a charming 3-year old, grandma and grandpa were strongly encouraged to ride along. They obliged and had just as much fun as he did.
Today was a doozy of a fitness day. I’m taking these extra pounds I recently put on and showing them where to shove it, you know, family-friendly style. Family fitness happens to be one of my favorite things. Usually, the calorie-burning just happens as a result of us doing some of the family activities we enjoy, especially with the record-breaking weather we’ve been having here in Wisconsin this week.
The day started with a long bike ride around the neighborhood.
Here’s daddy bike, mommy bike and baby bike, in case Goldilocks wanted to try them out. Peanut didn’t actually ride his little bike. He road in the child seat on the back of daddy’s bike, but he wanted to get his bike out when we got home for the pretty picture. And look, his bike matches his child seat!
A few of my favorite things:
1. Songs sung in rounds
2. First breath of air when leaving the house in the morning.
3. Being short and sitting on a seat with my legs dangling.
4. Fresh mornings when we’re more tender with one another and our inequities from the day before are washed way.
5. Air shows
6. Fresh back-to-school-like supplies
7. Family bike rides
8. Signing Peanut up for school and seeing his excitement at the thought of it.
9. Fresh ideas spinning, spinning, spinning
10. Going to bed early, waking up non-exhausted
How ironic is it that sometimes I have to look up how to play? Isn’t that just an intrinsic pleasure that we’re all supposed to know how to take part in? But once you become a parent, it’s difficult to feign interest in certain things again like dollies, fake tools and tiny racecars. I’ve always loved making forts and playing with building blocks, but thinking about new activities stumps me sometimes. Isn’t that just wrong, that we lose that sense of playfulness in our adulthood? And that we can actually lose our pleasure for it?
I took the kiddos, my son and nephew, to the library recently and found a book that lists 200 activities for children. As I perused the pages, my sense of wonder was aroused. How could I have forgotten sidewalk chalk and skipping rope (for purposes other than cardio benefits) and beachcombing and flower pressing?Remember those parachute things in gym class? Everyone holds a piece, fans it in the air, then lifts it up and sits under it? I want that excitement again!
A few nights earlier, one of our copies of Scooby Doo did the “babysitting” (you know we have to do this once in awhile) while I occupied myself with dishes and other menial tasks of adulthood. I was pondering adulthood, particularly parenthood, and how the extracurricular could become curricular again. How could it be that I needed to research this? I also had to look up the lyrics to some of those old musical favorites like Hush Little Baby. What the heck comes after that diamond ring momma was gonna buy anyway? I remember mom telling us about how dad used to sing us to sleep by Silent Night because that was the only song he could think of. And sometimes I’m at a loss too. After hearing myself sing Twinkle Twinkle for the 820th time, I need me some new material.
I started with fingerplays. I printed off a pattern for felt finger puppets and found a book with fingerplays in it. Since I vowed to train my brain to toddler level activity, I now find myself devising little children’s story plots and painting primary-colored illustrations in my head.
Here’s a little fingerplay you can enjoy with your baby or toddler. It’s a touchy-feely game that keeps them guessing, plays with rhythm and rhyme, introduces them to a few body parts and types of touch. Completely hands-on, no material required. Just wiggle your fingers in front of them and do what the lyrics say:
These 10 fingers they tap tap tap. These 10 fingers they snap snap snap. These 10 fingers they clap clap clap. These 10 fingers they fold in your lap.
These 10 fingers they squeeze squeeze squeeze. These 10 fingers they tease, tease, tease. These 10 fingers they tap your knees. These 10 fingers they freeze!
These 10 fingers they tickle your toes. These 10 fingers they open and close. These 10 fingers they touch your nose. These 10 fingers they put on your clothes.
A house without a pile of blankets is not a home.
We throw them out for living room picnics and cover our eyes with them during spooky nighttime movies. We wrap babies in drafty homes in them.
Blankets cover our beds and call to us when we’re travelling. When we’re feeling homesick, our blankets are the reason why we can’t wait to “get home and sleep in our own bed.”
A chevron print draped over a reading chair might contribute to well-curated home decor. Nothing fancy about ’em!
Comfort, security, warmth, reassurance, remedy and good sleep. We can attribute our feelings of home to the blankets that wrap us in their carefully-nitted yarns and woven threads.
*All of the blankets above were thrifted from various thrift stores around town. I find it exceedingly difficult to walk past the blanket shelves without stopping. I love the meaning, history, and familial connection that thrift store blankets bring with them. The top hand-knit blanket, for example, does not form a perfect rectangle. We have to fold it very carefully. This is how I know it’s handmade, probably by someone’s grandma for a baby shower or housewarming gift. And I actually do have the chevron blanket draped over a chair next to the bookcase where hubster’s (unused) weight bench used to be. I happen to think it looks much more inviting and will get much more use:)
Those tiny people in your life pick up on everything…
That’s why I make a conscious choice to:
1. Take him with me to our polling place when we vote, to get into the habit.
2. Work out in front of him several times a week, so it’s part of his daily routine.
3. Make sure he knows there are so many things to do away from the TV, so he stays productive.
4. Introduced animals from the beginning, so they’re “no big deal.”
5. Let him “clean” and “cook” things, with supervision, so he’s well-rounded in domestic duties.
6. Read in front of and to him constantly, so he becomes a reader.
7. Stifle the swearing, so he doesn’t sound like a thug.
8. Talk about “love” so he knows what to value.
9. Celebrate the holidays in meaningful ways, so he has beautiful memories.
10. Take him outside as much as possible, so he values the Earth.
11. Make teeth brushing and dentist visits fun, so his choppers and heart stay healthy.
12. Have him pay for his own new toys from monies earned, so he achieves a sense of accomplishment.
13. Hug and squeeze him many times daily, so he understands love in tangible ways.
14. Have him say “sorry,” so he knows when to apologize.
15. Dance around in his underwear, so he doesn’t take everything too seriously.
This past Sunday, I had a surge of motivation that led me on a crafting frenzy. I sewed four spit-up rags for my brand-new baby nephew, whipped up one pair of super-adorable infant pants (that were supposed to be toddler pants, but oops), put together a sewn yo-yo garland, finished up a “happy birthday” banner for a work friend, ironed some wrinkly things that had been laying around, and put the finishing touches on a few other projects. I hooked up the embroidery hoop and am now dreaming of designs for a way-too-cute little onesie. Boats keep coming to mind, because his daddy’s in the Navy. Maybe an anchor. We shall see.
This has got to be the best kind of therapy around. Nothing can beat me when I’m a-workin’. And there’s nothing like that feeling afterwards when you look in awe at all you did and wonder how you did it. I’m going to try and remember this feeling so that next time I’m feeling down, I can replay this little trick. I’m also going to remember a few little projects that I can slip in during those 10 minute increments I keep talking about. I just love spending my time productively.
My Peanut, meanwhile, was completely engrossed in pretend play behind me. When I was done at the sewing table, he climbed his little legs up there and pretended to sew, cut, fold and perfect his little sewing craft. He brought in his two “babies” and taught them too! Those four little spit-up rags we put together are sure wrapped in a lot of love.
I wish the whole world could be a big version of running events. Have you ever seen how awesome people are at 5ks and other events? Even the winners come back and cheer on those that are bringing up the tail end. Everyone’s automatically amiable those days. And at the end, everyone gets to revel in the feeling of having accomplished something.
I never really was a runner until my later college years. One day, I just decided to enter a Half Marathon. I mean, usually people start a little smaller. But not me! And boy am I glad I did. My second run was a measly cross-country 3-mile run in hot, humid temperatures. I always say, if that had been my first run, I would’ve given up road racing right then and there. But the Half was one of the best experiences of my life. People were cheering at every corner the whole 13.1 miles. It felt like I was partying inside a huge celebration.
If you’re thinking about entering an upcoming race, I encourage you to go for it! To help you decide, I’ve listed my most favorite parts about running road races:
1. You get a nice solid run in on a Saturday before most people have even rolled out of bed.
2. The quiet sound of thousands of feet on the pavement! I wish I had a recording of this so I could use it for meditation. Yes, it’s truly that amazing!
3. You get some fun swag and usually a free T-shirt.
4. The amazing people who come out that early just to wave flags, direct traffic, ring cowbells and encourage runners. I need some of these people in my life every day. Imagine how much we could all get done with that level of enthusiasm and encouragement!
5. Vendors selling last year’s shoe models for less than a cheap meal!
6. The feeling of community. No one cares how fast you are or what you’re wearing, you just automatically belong. You’re all there to run and encourage each other and that feeling of connection is amazing.
7. Water stations. I love them. People volunteer to just stand with their arms out to hand you a cup of water or Gatorade. Such a gracious act. And you totally have permission to litter afterward!
I’m sending in a 5k application today for my husband and I. It’s become one of my dearly favorite yearly tradition with us. We plan on making running dates from now until April. How sweet is that?
He calls out “momma!” at least 16 times per minute. Look at this. Try this. I’m thirsty. Follow me. Let’s be ghosts. Hide! I want one.
Yesterday it bothered me, to the point that I started to mimic him. Oh heavens, please forgive me. But today, I decided to be a little bit more contemplative and deliberate about embracing it. After all, I know that before I know it, there will come a time when he’ll be more inclined to talk to a garbage can than his own mother. That little tiny high-pitched voice will turn into a manly grumble. And I know I’ll miss these days and all that “momma”-ing.
So today, I’m going to embrace it. I’m going to wrap my arms around him and listen to everything he has to say, complete with eye contact and legitimate interest in his words. I’m not too jaded to hear what’s all been said before, because it hasn’t been said by this particular little human. Because there’s something truly thrilling about watching my boy learn all these new things for the first time himself.
There’s this magical glue that we mommas have that keeps our little ones at our sides and fuses our souls. There will be times when our children will be so far away, even if in the next room, but that momma bond is one tough cookie. It can survive the utmost tragedies and coldness (a la Gone With the Wind). And if anything is truly worth celebrating, it is this mother/child connection.
I know firsthand how much mommas mean, because I know what mine means to me. It’s enough to make a grown person cry. That sublime connection alone makes it such a pleasure to be this little man’s momma.
P.S. Speaking of little Peanuts: my husband told me today that our son knows the words to the Walker Texas Ranger theme song. Oh brother! Not sure I can embrace that one. Haha!
