This Simple Life
Yet another mommy blogging about how cute her kids are.
Monthly Archives: January 2007
Jan 19 2007

The Problem with Part-Time Simplicity

by Toni

I want to start by saying I love being a stay-at-home mom.  Six days out of every seven the children wake up naturally.  We piddle around the house cleaning, playing, doing projects, talking, reading … whatever strikes our fancy when it strikes our fancy – except on Fridays.  On Fridays we must be out of the house by 9:10 to make it to Little Gym Mommy & Me by 9:30 and we stay out until almost 1.  To all of you who get your brood to school by 8am I know this sounds ridiculously easy.  It sounds that way to me too.  So, for several weeks now, I have been trying to figure out why it is so hard.  Today, I got it.  We’re out of practice.  I used to consistently leave the house by 8:30 or 9; spending most mornings in my car - children in tow – running errands, going to appointments, driving to meetings and playdates.  A bagful of goodies, drinks, extra clothing and activities was always at the ready.  I even had a diaper changing station in my trunk.  But now “busy” only happens Friday.

I haven’t decided yet whether this is good or bad.

Categories: everyday us, musings | No Comments »

Jan 17 2007

Why My Right Hip is Black and Blue

by Toni

At 30 something, I am occasionally influenced by a little voice insisting I am still young and adventurous; competive and athletic (though where the last one comes from I’m not sure since I have never been athletic.)  It happened today, outside, sliding on the ice with the children.  We don’t have any great hills in our yard just gentle slopes so when Sister flopped to her belly expecting a great slide and only got half an inch of forward motion Folly showed up.

Little Voice:  “You should show her how it’s done.”

Me:  “You need a run, Sis.” 

Sister:  “A what?”

Me:  “A run.  Here let me show you.”

Walking to the top of the slope Reason mutters:  “What ARE you doing?”

“Shut up,” says Folly, “This will be fun.  Besides all the COOL moms are doing it.”

I hesitate to describe the next bit because of its complete ridiculousness.  Imagine a small whale bundled inside a plaid overcoat, lime green scarf trailing behind as she musters up a lumbering sort of run that takes her about 15 feet before she finally falls rather ungracefully in a lump on the ice.

“Hmm,” says Reason, “All the COOL moms, huh?”

I would have retorted with something witty but was too busy checking for broken bones.  Satisfied that there were only bruises, my pride and I limped inside and had a piece of very dark chocolate - actually two.  The kind that only grownups like.

Categories: everyday us, musings | 2 Comments »

Jan 15 2007

Kids on the Web

by Toni

When my parents downsized their company we had a number of extra computers around.  They all eventually got parcelled out here and there but one remains and now it belongs to my children.  I am surprised by how adept they have become at using it and  love what a great learning tool it can be; but it has internet access and I don’t want them stumbling across inappropriate content.  At the same time I don’t really want to install some sort of arbitrary filter.  Did that once on my own computer and it was nothing but a hassle. (As a doula I might really need to do a search on breasts or any number of other ‘forbidden’ topics.)  Anyway, at this point, not knowing how to read, my children don’t do a lot of searching so here is my solution.  I set it as their homepage and because I created it I control the content.  It’s not pretty but it’s straightforward enough that Brother can use it.  Hopefully, your children can too. (I will add a link on the sidebar too.)

Also, I would welcome any of your own suggestions for kid friendly websites.  I’m focusing on the 2 to 8yr range right now.

Categories: games 'n activities, learning at home, sanity savers | 4 Comments »

Jan 14 2007

Ice Slidin’ with Sis

by Will

Finally, a post from Dad ;)

We’ve had another winter storm blow in, with a few inches of dense sleet & ice covering everything in a white wonderland. It looks the same as our landscape a month ago, but this time you can walk on top of the white blanket instead of plowing thru it.

I had already given Mom a short rest by taking care of the chickens this morning (plenty of food, no eggs except the hidden ones under the black star, replaced the frozen water with fresh), and had a little trauma getting Brother back in the house, and I was cold, so when Sister said, very shortly after I had peeled off my winter layers, “Dad, you want to come see something on the hill outside?” I wasn’t particularly inclined.

“What is it?”

“I’m not gonna telllll youuuu.. you have to come outside and see!”

(argh. i’m cold… i haven’t even had breakfast… she’s only five once… you’ll only get a few ice storms together…)

“Okay.” Bundle back up, head out.

The “hill” is a little two foot patch that gets you from the driveway to the house lawn in front, and is less than a 45 degree angle. But when you’re five and your dog is licking you in the face as you slip around, it’s all the space you need for a grand adventure. So we did that a couple of times. Now what.

 ”Come on, follow me!” Sis says. So we tromp up the hundred yard driveway, and that’s when I get the idea. “Grab my hands and lean back,” says I, and we’re off, all the way back to the house, with Sis sliding like she’s on skates. We’re fast, we cut left and right, we flew around in a circle, and watched the dog slip and scramble as she tried to keep up. There was a lot ogf giggling.

What follows is more sliding, an “ice ball” fight, a trip back to the frozen pond (even at an inch thick, I naturally fall thru pretty quick), and more sliding. Later Brother joins in on the fun, and we throw in a trip out to the barn.

I know sometimes as a parent, you have to keep yourself sane and say “no” to some playtime invitations. I’m glad that today at least, I said “yes”.

 

Categories: everyday us | No Comments »

Jan 14 2007

Bedtime Stories – A Pickle Adventure

by Toni

Sometimes I randomly ask the children to tell me a story.  I make them up all the time so it seems only fair.  Yesterday, after a regular safari of elephants and tigers and such,  Brother starts one with, “Once upon a time there was a pickle.” 

“A big pickle or a little pickle?,” I prompt. 

“Little.”

“And then what happened?”

“I ate it.”

(much laughter)

“Now you tell it, mom,” says Sister.

Once upon a time there was a little pickle who lived in a jar with several other midgets.  “One day I am going to have an adventure,” the little pickle would boast.  All the others just laughed, “Pickles can’t have adventures.”  “Well, I can!  Someday the sky will open and I will see my destiny.”  The other pickles laughed and laughed.  But one day, suddenly there came a bright light.  All the pickles cried, “What’s happening, what’s happening!?”  All except the little pickle.  “This is it.  This is the day.  I am going on an adventure!”  And just as the little pickle had said the sky opened.  All of his friends shrunk down in terror.  “What will become of us!?”  The little pickle stood tall (as tall as a pickle can stand).  An unknown force began to pull him toward the light and sure enough that day he met his destiny.  CRUNCH!

Categories: everyday us, family quotables, our stories, poems etc. | No Comments »

Jan 13 2007

Photo Hunters – Theme: Technology

by Toni

Sister - Feb 2003

Categories: photo hunt | 6 Comments »

Jan 12 2007

"T" is for…

by Toni

At five, Sister is showing a beginning interest in reading.  She knows her letters and their sounds (mostly) and understands that letters make words.  She memorizes books and “reads” them to Brother.  And she loves to spell.  “Mama, what does….spell?” or something similar are everyday questions.  Occasionally she pulls the letters from some source (soup cans, signs, bags of chips) but frequently the “words” are of her own making.  “Mama, what does  S-Q-P-I spell?”  Uhm - squippy?  These odd combinations have been so common you can imagine my surprise at this question.  “Mama, what does T-O-O-T-S spell?”  My answer is followed by peals of laughter – delight that her letters actually spelled something and a giddy sort of embarrassment at the result.  Now empowered she tries another.  “Mama, what does B-O-O-T… no, B-S spell.”  Wow, two for two.  Any time people meet Sister for the first time, I am sure to hear something like, “She does speak well, doesn’t she?” or “She’s so articulate.”  Ha! If they only knew.

Categories: family quotables | No Comments »

Jan 11 2007

"B" is for Blankie

by Toni

Brother has a blue blanket his Oma knit when he was born.  She made one for Sister’s birth too – pink.  Each was one of a dozen my children received.  Nothing special about a blanket, right?  Well… I am convinced Oma did something to those blankets for as time went by they changed.  They began to have special powers.    First, I noticed that a babe wrapped cozy inside would almost immediately fall asleep.  This continued even as the children grew.  Then these same blankets started participating in play time.  Capes, magic carpets, tents – they could turn into more things than Diego’s Rescue Pack.  And somewhere between, they gained the power to dry tears.  No, not just remove the wetness – any old piece of cloth can do that.  They dried the tears at the source.  Whatever the problem was, a quick snuggle would cure it.  At the height of the blankies’ power we never dared go on a trip without them.  Panic set in if nighttime fell and they were lost.  And wash day was most dreaded.

Fast forward to today.  I am taking a load of laundry upstairs and pause to tell Brother where I’m going.  “Oh, oh, “ he says, “Mine Bankie waundry too.”   You could have knocked me over with a feather.  Are we thinking of the same blanket here?   Did my Linus just say what I think he did?  A little clarification just to be sure then to the washer we went.  Brother helped with all the clothes then unceremoniously tossed Bankie in too.

Part of me knows not to read too much into this.  That blue blanket has a long life yet.  Sister still sleeps with hers.  But another part of me sees an ending.   The end of a time when such simple magic can solve anything.

Categories: everyday us, family quotables, rememberings | No Comments »

Jan 9 2007

Children’s Fair

by Toni

We went to International Children’s Fair on a whim one Saturday in October but it turned out to be a lot of fun.  They had at least 50 (if not more) booths set up to represent various countries.  Each visit to a “country” scored the children a stamp in their “passport” as well as peak into another culture.  Great Idea!  While we were there Will unexpectedly met Edgar Cruz and was a complete fanboy. ;)

 

Will & Edgar Cruz

 

If you wondering why I’m just getting around to posting this, well Will got an autographed Edgar Cruz CD for his dad for Christmas so it was all very hush, hush.  So hush that I forgot about it until now.

Categories: everyday us, travel near & far | No Comments »

Jan 8 2007

A Long Story with a Little Something Useful

by Toni

Brother is currently in that delightful transition period known as “the end of naptime.”  Because of this there have been more nap-less days of late and interestingly enough, more restless nights.  As if not having a bit of unwind time midday allows him to acquire more stimulation than one night of dreaming can dissipate.  I have tried putting him to bed earlier but it is difficult to explain to one with such limited vocabulary why Sister is allowed to “play” and he is not.  Conversely, it is not a little unfair to make her bedtime earlier because of a grumpy Brother.  So it is that everyone under 6 goes to bed at once.  Except tonight when Sister and I returned from washing her hair (trauma story for another day) to find Brother already sound asleep on the couch.  Snuggly wrapped within his bathtime towel and blankie I might have been content to “let sleeping dogs lie” except for the fact that he was buck naked underneath.  Oh, bother.  Let me skip the suspense and tell you we did get a diaper on him… before anything unpleasant happpened.  But that’s not the part I wanted to share.  The story is how we moved him and how it reminded me of the countless times we’d done the same in his infancy.  Like many infants Brother liked to fall asleep in motion.  Like many parents we grew exhausted providing said ‘motion.’  So we bought a swing and there was many a night that baby Brother slept nestled in that tireless cradle… until the night he fell out.  I know, I know… poor form; bad, bad parenting … What can I say, you let a lot of things slide when you’re tired – particularly things that work.  Anyway, after that we developed the hammock method of transport.  Here’s how it works.

  1. Lay a blanket in the swing so it looks like a diamond from the front.
  2. Settle baby in the swing
  3. Wait for baby to completely doze off.
  4. Holding the four corners of the blanket and carefully move baby anywhere you want him.
  5. We didn’t worry about this step because we all share a bed but if you use a crib, consider tucking the edges of the blanket under the mattress to keep baby from getting rolled up in it.
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Categories: everyday us, milestones & life lessons, rememberings, sanity savers | No Comments »

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