I just became a soccer mommy

I recently commenced a first foray into soccer mom-hood. So far, so good. So far, he loves it. Especially the scoring 2 goals in his first game ever part. So far, I like it. Especially the watching him play with wild abandon and a grin glued to his face part.

valentine craftiness: take 2

with the proper tools, we found success with our little valentine project. together we broke the crayons and chopped the crayons (piglet felt very important helping with that part) then sorted them. Piglet mixed the bits up into our heart shaped pan and happily watched the magic happen through the oven window. I hope he'll be happy to deliver these to his little classmates.

all aboard!

Today's advent activity: Polar Express play date.  Not an elaborate party, just a few special activities with a couple of little playmates from the neighborhood. A nod to Piglet's undying devotion to all things Polar and Express.

Wooden trains to play with, a perfect story to read, a special art project, and hot cocoa as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars. Even candies with nougat centers. Happy little boys indeed! 

a first letter

this letter is the first of its kind in our little family, and thus, a treasure. why he insisted on wearing his shades while writing is a mystery to me, but he refused any assistance, save some spelling. he was positively giddy to sign his name and put it in the envelope, ready for the mailbox. (wink wink). I can't bear to part with it.  I love that his requests are so few and so simple: a nitro ade truck and a bouncy ball. I love the crooked and imperfect letters. I love that he believes.

not blogworthy

my boy turned 4 this week. and we celebrated simply. no designer invitations, no swarm of excited children, no elaborate games or hanging pom poms or gourmet cakes or beautifully appointed tables of treats, not even adorable party favors. not a single one. and I'm a total sucker for the party favor. No gaggle of trendy mothers swooning over my efforts and cleverness. Somebody call the blog police.

He wanted only one thing for his birthday: "cake. chocolate with frosting." So that's what I delivered.

Of course we aimed to make his day special in ways that mattered to him. Maybe I had a brief pang of regret when I realized my fun ideas (which included a live superhero. in spandex) wouldn't come to fruition and there would be nothing super cool or, dare I say, blog-worthy about his special day. But he was pleased. Nothing else matters. And it's rather great his expectations are low.

I know, I know. I should probably just give up blogging altogether. Shameful.

four

four years of my fantastic boy

four hundred emotions you inspire daily

four thousand blessings you bring to my life

four million wishes for happiness from my heart to yours

you run, jump, tumble, sing, read (you really can!) and hug.  you rescue and exasperate and charm and defy and love and joke and test every boundary and every nerve. we play memory and knight & princess (I love that I get to be the princess) and slay dragons, you confess your crush on briar rose, we race cars, hike footballs and memorize articles of faith. you love frog and toad and jack and the beanstalk.  the ladies swoon over your handsomeness and manners, the guys think you are pretty rough and tough. daddy and I think you are just swell. nanuk thinks you are the coolest. we all love you to outer space and back.


happy birthday.

my boy

you started preschool today. and my chest was tight, and I deposited you in your class with a lump in my throat, but you were happy and ready. more big kid than little kid, it seems.

I love to tell you that you are a good boy, a wonderful kid, a kid I'm proud of. Almost four and full of life a hundred times over. Full of spirit and will, also. Which leads to far more naughtiness and defiance than I care to note, except that it can't be ignored. Because, let's face it, you will not be ignored.  And you won't back down. Ever. I teeter, out of balance, between teaching you obedience and crushing your effervescent spirit. Mostly the going for mommy is rocky, but I seek a ray of hope in how you express yourself according to how you think things ought to be instead of how they really are.  And that once you fix your mind on an idea, you simply will not let go until you have seen it through. Not for a pack of wild horses or fire-breathing dragons. Certainly not for me. And it's hard, and I cry, and do the walk of shame past stunned mommies and their [apparently perfect] gawking children. (Really, wasn't it bad enough without triggering the car alarm?) And sometimes other moms, who are surely experts, express unkind things in judgment of you or of me.  As if I didn't do all the right things like time outs and choices and all that until I turn purple with the futility. Oh their comments are thinly veiled as useful advice of course, still it hurts.

But I love you. I love you with all the fury of your five alarm meltdowns, I love you with all the bubbling of your laughter, I love you with all the tenderness of your heart, with all the crackling energy of your boy-ness.  It stings to think that so many only see your intensity and not your gifts. But I see them. And I hope one day it will matter to you, at least a little bit, that I see your shining light and love you and understand you. We don't need elaborate parties or fancy outings, we have each other. And lots of happy times just doing our thing. Because you are a spectacular child. And you are mine.

in a pickle

extra happy to discover the latest issue in my mailbox upon my return. I have a little pickle fan in my family  so today we made our own batch of "quick pickles" per the magazine. just the right activity for this afternoon, and easy for Piglet to participate. Tomorrow we'll know if they are tasty or just pretty to look at.

***update: very tasty. and pretty to look at.

newly shorn

and one person in this house is not happy about it and might have cried just a little bit and felt a little bit queasy watching it happen and might feel a pang of heartache every time she looks at his nearly hairless (albeit nicely shaped) noggin. those darned clippers in Mr. J's hands erased some of the little and cute from my boy. But I was outnumbered and that boy seems to like his fuzzy head. and the resulting attention from friends and neighbors.

now when he is naughty, he looks the part.

bracket time

the little guy made a bracket-full of picks on his own. thus far he's beating Mr. J and me, with the most correct picks. Old Dominion! Who knew? He also picked Baylor to advance several rounds to take Duke, and UC-Santa Barbara to go on the the Elite 8. That might be the only long shot on his bracket!

letter of the day: M

today's treasure hunt resulted in the following:

mickey mouse

moose

map

monkey

mack

marbles

money

measure tape

milk

M

motorcycle

mirror

markers

fine art

title: dinosaur, deconstructed
in case you couldn't tell: face, eyes, teeth and arms on the right, tail on the left

considering my little guy doesn't love to color, I was impressed with this deliberate creation 

letter of the day: F

for today's session of "school" we went on a scavenger hunt:

frog

fish crackers

flashlight

flo
the letter F

four

firetruck

fork

piglet found these on his own. after our scavenger hunt, I found fudge brownies and then we at them.

thankful for little fingers

our rendition of this. not quite the same, but this was done by a three-year-old rather than one of Martha's staffers...which makes it precious and perfectly imperfect to me.

on standby

Piglet seems to have croop. It's our first bout, and the past 24 hours have been textbook but not severe. At midnight, he awoke sobbing and coughing and wheezing, lips turning blue. Into the bathroom we went, and turned on a hot shower. There I sat with my toddler on my lap as he snuggled my shoulder, letting the warm steam work it's magic--soothing his breath, frizzing my  hair--until he declared in a voice squeaky from the coughing, "I feel better mommy!" A mug of orange herbal tea with lots of honey followed, which he actually liked. A quick treatment for his high fever and he was back to sleep, waking periodically over the next few hours with shivers and cheerful hallucinations about mickey mouse and rainbows. The miracle of it all: he was 100% agreeable and delightful all day, no worse for the wear. And come bedtime, he was fast asleep inside of 3 bedtime stories.

Now, we are armed for another round of fevers and coughing through the night. Herbal tea and honey on standby. Strange how tending to my babies in the wee hours doesn't require any second thoughts or longing for more sleep. Instincts kick in, TLC takes over, any thoughts of self-preservation flee. I almost welcome the opportunity to be so needed by my wee ones, and to see them sound asleep by 7:05pm. Crossing my fingers that this scary croop passes by little Nanuk.

Welcome to November

I feel I can now openly discuss holiday plans without too much scorn from the non-list-making, non-plan-ahead crows. November is here, the lists are made, the photos are in the works, travel plans are the topic of discussion, festivities are scheduled, and even some of the shopping is D O N E done. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, too. Piglet is riding his bike and greeting the neighbors with daddy standing by. Nanuk is in his crib but undecided on his nap, and mommy is readying a whole pile of sweet delectables for a ladies-only soiree on Wednesday. I feel like a little squirrel, hustling and hopping about preparing for the months to come.

Before November arrived, however, we bade farewell to October with all the glee of a toddler in a dragon costume with a musical bag filled with candy.

happy halloween

the dragon and the bat

A trick and a treat all dressed up in fluffy costume cuteness. In truth, though, that little trick is a great big treat, and that little treat is sure to be plenty tricky before long. I'm crazy for these two little tricky treats.

The rest of the week is bursting with all hallows festivities: a costume parade "at school with the big kids," Boo at the Zoo, and come Saturday evening, some good old fashioned trick-or-treating. Let's hear it for getting some mileage out of the costumes.

why are all of my photos appearing blurry on blogger when they look normal anywhere else?

brought to you by the Letter of the Day

every last sprinkle in the joint was sprinkled, enthusiastically, by Piglet.

thanks, Brit for the recipe. worked beautifully.

soccer mom

my first foray into soccer mom-hood. looks like he's taking things very seriously. it may be a permanent situation for me, foreign territory.

truly, he loves it. mostly because it's outdoors and involved lots of running and a ball. I adore his flushed cheeks as he sprints over to at the end of class, arms flailing, effervescent with happiness. blessing counted today: a healthy, energetic little boy.

sunshine, where are you?

My beloved autumn had scarcely begun when mother nature threw an icy curveball my way: snow. rain. snow. We are all bundled up in fleece, all too soon, and I'm reminiscing the end of our summer. Here's hoping autumn will muscle through the cold spell and ease back into crisp and mild.

The past few months have been filled with excitement for our Piglet. most notably: swim lessons in August.

Excited, but with trepidation. The first day had him making a bee-line straight for the water slide, (making it halfway up the ladder before a teacher rescued him) and struggling with instructions to "sit on the second step." The second day had him clinging a bit nervously to his teacher, but cooperating. Mostly. The last day found him happy as could be to participate in the splash games and testing. The littlest one in his class. At the end, the teachers led the little ones to the diving board and "helped" them jump. When they were finally permitted to go down the slide, he sat at the top saying "wait a minute guys!" until his teacher promised him 2 suckers. Wheeeee!