My-New-Life

Some of you may have seen this, but I thought I'd share. My life sure is blessed!

My-New-Life

W vs the Grass

Some Pictures

W's first time on real grass. He wasn't a big fan. He kept his foot up the whole time. Then he started pulling the grass out and yelling at it.

We also went to the park.

In His Own Words

Every Thursday, Joe's teacher sends home work and projects that Joe has completed. Usually it's just homework that I've worked on with him or the school's version of junk mail. Last Thursday, though, I got some writing assignments that Joe had completed. I thought I'd share.

"4-27-10, 4-28-10 0+6= 15 Joe 9+7= 16 4-26-10

"My Dad's birthday is in May. My dads present is his kids me Emily Mary and Will. My moms birthday is December nineth her present is me. My sister Emilys birthday is in September. her present is a horse. My sister Marys birthday is the last of July shes funny and crazy. My mom thinks its a gift. My birthday is december the 8th. I love my family."

"4-19-10 8+14=12

"My favrite animal is a tiger. Because it has sharp claws. And it can kill bad guys. And can sneak very good. And can jump very far. Because its stripes are awsome. And they can eat meat fast. And it can run fast. And it can break a branch by biting it. And its claws can kill a snake."

Little Readers

One of my favorite things as a mom is catching the kids enjoying books. I took this picture of Will yesterday, and it reminded me of the other pictures I've taken in the past.

Mary

Joe and Emily

The Law of the Harvest

A week or so ago, we decided to clean out some of our books. We took them to a second hand store that could only offer us in store credit. How ridiculous is it that I was thrilled to get more books when the whole purpose of this exercise was to de-clutter?

One of our purchases was a set of the first 5 Hardy Boys. Matt loved them growing up and we thought it would be good to introduce Joe to them. How irritating was it when Matt and Joe started reading them and realized that it was a reincarnated version of the series set in an era of pirated DVDs and cell phones. He said they were well written, but they weren't the originals.

That has to be one of my biggest pet peeves. I don't want someone who is just profiting off of someone else's genius. If the originals "aren't accessible" then come up with something unique for this generation. It's just Disney/Don Bluth-esque; can you say "Land Before Time XX"? Have faith in the new and leave the classics alone. (I am in no way suggesting that The Land Before Time is a classic.)

It expands beyond sequels or series continuations though. "Children's adaptations" of classics drive me bonkers. If they aren't ready for the original, give them something to work toward. Are you afraid that your children will some how be less literate? Are you afraid the classic will die? First, there are so many great works of literature on absolutely every level, in absolutely every genre. It really is ludicrous to short change those groups. Second, a true classic should be able to stand on it's own as it was intended by its creator.

That goes for music too. There's just something obnoxious about someone playing a simplified version of a piece like say Joplin, and then claiming they can play Joplin. No. No you can't. You haven't earned that privilege. And I think experiencing any work of art - literature, music, artistic expression - is a privilege that, though beginners can immediately reap some benefits, can only fully be enjoyed through effort and at the appropriate stages of development.

So, there is your rant of the day.

10 Things

10 random things I love about Matt:

1. He doesn't mind that I always kick his trash at Boggle.

2. He loves learning new things.

3. His eclectic taste in music.

4. When he finds something funny, he laughs right out loud.

5. His willingness to stay up with kids in the middle of the night.

6. He always compliments my baking.

7. His height. I love feeling short.

8. Watching him give the kids pony rides.

9. He listens patiently to my constant yammering.

10. His cooking.

I could fill a hundred lists with things that I love about Matt and still wouldn't be able to adequately show why I love him. Thank you, Matt, for being married to me, and

Happy Birthday!!

My Job

My job today is to hold a sick baby and wipe a toddlers yucky nose all day. I'm letting go of that todo list right now. I get paper cuts when it's ripped out of my hands by circumstance, so it's more pleasant this way, doing it willingly. Actually, could you think of a better job than holding a baby all day? I here by give myself permission to wholly and completely enjoy my babies today and to not feel even a smidgen guilty about not accomplishing anything "productive".

"History is defined by the stuff we don't see coming." Neil Cavuto

Ride 'Em Cowboy!

My friend's son got a radio flyer rocking horse and for some reason was terrified of the thing. He refused to sleep in the same room with it, and after my friend moved it to the garage he would still freak out every time he saw it. So, she gave it to me. It has been a HUGE hit! In fact, I've had to put time limits and patrol turns. sigh. Well, today, I saw Will trying to get on the horse. I decided to help him get on, figuring he would just want to get right back off. This is what happened.

Eww Nature! Get it off!

Nature and I are not on speaking terms right now. Sad to say it, but say it I must.

Spittlebugs are infesting the garden. Birds keep digging at my spinach and cantelope. And, to top it all off, I found a tick securely fastened to the top of Will's head this afternoon. Eww, eww, eww!!!

Yesterday we went to check out a small cemetery from the 1700's that possibly had a link in my family history that I'm working on. The graves were in a small clearing in the middle of a stand of trees. Before we got back in the car we checked everyone for ticks. Twice. The gross little sucker must have been on someone's clothing just waiting for the perfect time to pounce. I tried hydrogen peroxide. No good. I tried touching it with a hot needle. No good. My friend tried the tweezers for a second before we gave up, because at this point Will was completely beside himself and refused to hold still. The tick was so far in that it was in great danger of having its head dislodged. (Did I already say "Ew"?) Finally, I just took him to the pediatrician where they successfully and easily removed tick with head attached (both Will's and the tick's). The ticks in our area very rarely carry diseases so they weren't really worried about that, but told us the signs to look for. He was fine, though tired - he missed his afternoon nap completely.

What happened, Nature? We were getting along so well.

PS Emily was singing this in the car the other day. "Old Macdonald had a farm. Ee-I-ee-i-oh. And on that farm he had a lover horse. Ee-i-ee-i-oh. With a quack, quack here, and a quack quack there..." Things that make you go "Hm?"