Resting and the mysteries of the universe

 This one knows how to rest, how to take it easy.

 So does this one.

 Really, it's what they do best.  Sleeping, cuddling, taking it easy.

 Not so much this one.

And this one is the one who needs the rest.  The one who was awake half the night coughing.  The one who should be exhausted.  But I ask you, really now, does this look at all like the face of someone ready for a nap? I didn't think so either.  One of the great mysteries in life, just behind disappearing socks in the dryer, is how small children can actually convert fatigue into pure energy.  When I am tired, I slow down, I have trouble concentrating, I look for activities that involve sitting, or if possible, SLEEPING.  Not toddlers, somehow the exhaustion itself gives them a second wind and they put forth an amazing display of energetic frenzy. Which is how I know he is tired.  It took me a while to figure this out when he was a small baby, it being so opposite and all, but I learned, lots of energy plus obnoxious behavior equals nap time!  I put him in his pack and play for afternoon naps which allows me the freedom to work, tidy up and clean the upstairs without disturbing his nap.  Luckily, he still fits comfortably in it and we have an agreement about not climbing out.

 We apparently have no such agreement about leaping and jumping for joy in it during nap time.  

And so this is how I left the little tike, hopping with glee, but hoping the laziness of the cat and dog sleeping only inches away on the couch would be contagious and have a soporific effect on Austin.  It must have worked.  He did fall asleep.  Now, if I could only figure out how to deal with this cough.  Any suggestions?

Ode to an Egg Cup

The lowly egg cup.

Once there was an egg cup.  A little chip graced it's bottom rim which never seemed to diminish the smile of it's apple cheeked face.  It was not even known whether the happy child was a girl or boy.  No matter, the egg cup did it's job faithfully and efficiently and always with a smile.  Where it came from, no one seemed to know.  The mother would say, "phew, I don't know, probably from Germany.  It was always there on Oakley Street."  She was not the sentimental sort and was not a collector of family stories.  The daughter would have loved to know.  She collected stories and kept alive the memories of relatives she knew and never knew.  She did not know the past of this little egg cup, but she held stories of her own.  Memories of soft boiled eggs for breakfast and most especially after an illness, when her mother would present her with an egg and toast, her first real meal on the road to recovery.  The girl had been sick often in her childhood and the egg cup was a little friend she could count on, always smiling always offering nourishment.

Now the little egg cup lives in her house, and today for the first time, it served the daughter's little boy his first soft boiled egg.  And he liked it.  He liked the egg and he liked the cup.  A new friendship was born and a new chapter in the story written.  

 And a lucky find....
Today when I got the mail, Austin said, "Mama, a chair for Austin."  And he was right.  The neighbors had thrown away a small doll sized highchair and it lay abandoned in the wet grass.  It had been rained on all morning, but after a good rub down, it was as good as new.  Of course convincing Austin that this chair is for Teddy or JoJo may take some time.  "Chair is for Austin" he insists.  I just hope we don't have a reenactment of Goldilocks and baby bears chair.

Hope your day was a happy one.

poor thing

 This and....

 This, is the face of a "poor little thing."  I did not know it until the other day.

The other day I found myself in a children's clothing store and while I don't normally discuss my views on television with strangers, sometimes it comes up.  Usually a well meaning adult will ask Austin what his favorite tv character is or what his favorite show is.  I usually just respond, "we chose not to watch tv in our home."  We made this decision long before Austin was born, almost 15 years ago when we first got married.  It has always drawn some curious responses.  Mostly, people are amazed, think we're strange, wonder what we do with all our time, etc.  But since Austin came along, I have gotten even stranger responses.  Some people become angry with me, and demand, "Why" and then in defensiveness say, 'we watched tv, and we (or, our kids) turned out fine.'  The fact that we choose not to watch tv somehow makes them feel judged in their own choices.  This is not my intent.  Ours is a personal conviction.  It is right for our family.  It works for us.

Back to the store, where when I mention our no tv policy, the sales clerk gets the most pityful expression, gazes at my son and says, "you poor little thing" and asks him if he wants a sticker, apparently to somehow make up for the pathetic childhood he suffers through.  I had to stiffle a laugh, for my "poor little thing" who was at the moment being bought an expensive wardrobe, who has always had plenty to eat, more than enough toys, several pets and is completely surrounded by love.  I hadn't realized that the definition of poor had been changed to include a lack of access to Dora the Explorer and "Bob the Builder.  Perhaps Unicef should be alerted to cease humanitarian efforts and focus on getting a television into every home.  It seems that for my husband and I to deny ourselves the benefits of cable is just plain weird, but to deprive an innocent child is nothing short of malicious negligence.  Interesting.  Well, to each his own.

We do keep a small television in storage for when my mom comes to visit, which we set up in her room.  She won't stay with us without it.  And Brian and I do watch some videos on the laptop.  But by and large we are happy not having the constant background noise and distraction that television bring.  And yes, I grew up with television and I think I'm alright.  My friends kids watch and even got their young toddler her own Wii games.  I fully anticipate this child to grow up as functional member of our society.
So what do we do with "all that time?"

To which I would say," I don't know, when I have all that extra time, I'll let you know!

Raising a Reader

 I have always been inordinately fond of books.  I will sit and read a cookbook for fun.  I have more picture books than most school libraries.  You don't want to know how many knitting books I have.  No, honestly, you really don't want to know.  Fortunately, (or unfortunately, considering the lack of space we have) I married the one person who loves books as much as I do.  And then came Austin.

 It started out like this...

 My mother would laugh at me when she saw me reading to a babe only a few days old.  She wasn't sure what to think when Brian would read the entire volumes of Jane Austin to him.  Not in one sitting, I promise.  Things were looking promising.  And then one day, out of the blue, Austin developed a severe case of Bibliophobia.  I am not sure this is a documented diagnosis anywhere but in our home, but I assure you, any time Austin was so much as SHOWN a book, he would begin screaming.  At first it was funny.  You could always elicit a laugh from a friend, by saying, "hey, wanna see something funny?" and then pull out a book and watch the spontaneous crying erupt.   But after the novelty and cruelty wore off, I started to become concerned.  How could such a wee person have such strong feelings about pieces of paper held together with glue?  I honestly could not read one page of any book to him without him crying.  I got funny looks at the library.   Book stores were out. Oh no, I thought, how did this happen?  How could this child who hated books end up with us, in a home stacked wall to wall with books?  Would he be doomed to be illiterate, would I never read "the Very Hungry Caterpillar" again?  This strange phase lasted a few months, and then, like the hungry caterpillar...

 Austin began consuming any reading material we gave him.  First, literally...

 and then actually enjoying the pictures and turning pages

 and lifting the flaps....

 pushing the buttons....

 and dumping out the whole book basket.

 He was hooked.  Now he would sit for long, really long periods of time and study
the pages.  He would grab a stack of books and climb up onto whatever piece of
furniture he could reach and read.

Turns out God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed Austin with us.  Now the question remains, Where will we put all the books now that we have three book lovers?

There is of course one thing Austin has always loved as much as books.....

but that's a blog for another day!

Soaking up the sun

 I feel as if we have been fighting every germ, virus and bacteria out there lately.  Between stomach bugs, sore throats, runny noses and plenty of fatigue, we've had our share of blahs.  So we headed outside for a little of nature's free vitamin D, and look who we found.

 The crocus too, have given up on winter this year and have decided to make an early show of it.  I hadn't even thought to look for them until I almost stepped on a patch of them in the yard.  Austin had fun searching the yard for other small clumps of them, a bit of practice for the upcoming Easter egg hunts.

 We had some trees pruned this past week and there are still a few woody treasures to be found.

 The chickens too, were making the most of the sunshine.

 There were important things to do, like bubble mowers to push...

feathers to collect.... 

 and sun to soak up!

 Afterwards, we headed inside for a little book time

 and a little cuddle time with "baby Jesus". You know baby Jesus must be pretty special to get wrapped in the all important blankie.




It was a busy morning and I'm looking forward to a good nap.....




for both of us!

Wishing you 
a restful
weekend!