When stars align

This morning I actually enjoyed washing the dishes.  Crazy, I know.  But there weren't too many and they weren't too gross.  The ones that don't get dried fit nicely on the drying mat.  And the boys happily entertained themselves.  Without causing massive destruction. 

They had tipped over the footstool and were using it as a sewing machine.  Using all the pillow cases from the linen closet they pushed the rocker part back and forth, sewing costumes for various imaginary people.  (I wasn't going to tell them what they had created was more like a loom than a sewing machine.  Who was I to "correct" their fun?  And besides they were happy.  And I don't think they've ever seen a loom anyway.)  They donned capes and my shoes and slow danced in the living room.  That always gets great giggles because they pull themselves down to the floor after about 2 seconds of "dancing."  They made sandwiches with the felt food for all those imaginary costumed friends. 

It was lovely.  And don't get me wrong, it was short lived.  Very short lived.  But it was wonderful while it lasted.

Linking up to {Magic of the Mundane} @ Sofia's Ideas

Mother's Day antics

I hope you enjoyed an entertaining Mother's Day :) 

Pennies and popcorn

I suffer from a fairly common ailment - mommy guilt.  Mostly I feel like a lazy mama.  I'm tired.  I look at other beautiful blogs and Pinterest and Facebook of fun things other people are doing.  But when it comes actually getting my act together and doing some cool project it just falls apart.  I keep telling myself I still have time, that really the boys are too little still to really get into or benefit much from such attempts.  They would probably just turn into chaos, frustration, and wasted materials. 

But then, from time to time, he comes up with his own thing.  The WeatherMan had sorted out the pennies and put them in their own container.  And what fun Bigger had.

When I first figured out what he was up to I was not pleased - the mess of the popcorn, the germs on the change.  But I took a step back.  He wasn't hurting anything.  So what if there was a mess?  We have a vacuum.  So what if he had made his popcorn gross?  We had more popcorn.  So I let him have at it. 

He tried to get them into the cup from behind.  He didn't have great success with that and it didn't last long. 

But pouring those pennies back and forth was a serious hit.  He pushed them around, put them in things, used them to "pay" for imaginary stuff.  The digger even got involved for a while.  Although that would have been more fun if we had found the bucket for the scoop but he still made due with just where the scoop should be, trying to pile them on the spot where it would attach.  He even let Littler get involved from time to time. 

He seriously spent close to two hours doing this.  No way would anything I had put him up to suggested or planned held his attention nearly that long. 

Doesn't that face say it all?  It's a little like magic.  What will he dream up next?  And just as I finish up this post, I saw this post at No Time for Flashcards.  Makes me think I should start saving up some building materials for him and see where they lead... 

Maybe my laziness isn't such a problem, it's giving them space to make their own discoveries and create their own fun.  So maybe it's not laziness after all.  Because, after all, who do you think cleaned up most of that mess? 

Entirely Mundane

It was a wonderful Monday - absolutely mundane.  The boys stayed in their own beds all night.  Nothing special about breakfast.  Or grocery shopping.  There was some begging for juice and grapes, both of which were indulged.  Lunch was hot dogs, grapes, and apple juice.  We only watched one DVD for rest time and no fits were pitched (often the boys each get to make a pick because fair is fair, don't ya know.) 

They spent a lot of the afternoon playing picnic.  There was some coloring done.  Most of it seemed to be on Littler's tummy and limbs.  There was a snack of fishy crackers and apple sauce requested.  Littler eat lots of crackers and smeared lots of apple sauce all over himself.  Which did very interesting things to all that marker ink.  He thoroughly enjoyed getting water dumped on him to rinse it all off in the tub though. 

While Littler made his messes I was making apple crisp.  (There are things I really love about grocery day, like yummy treats.)  I attempted peeling the apples in one long peel.  I think I pulled it off on one of them.  I washed some dishes too.  But not all of them.  And then I made the crisp so there were even more dishes again.  A day doesn't go by that I don't dream of a dishwasher. 

I've been reading and knitting.  I'm sitting at the computer now, reading and writing.  If the boys ever crash I'll make some pop corn and enjoy a Dr Pepper.  While the WeatherMan was putting the boys to bed (not that they have stayed there but that's another story) a neighbor stopped by with cookies for the boys.  She and her daughter had been baking and made a couple special for them.  How sweet is that? 

It was nothing much of a day.  There were some fights, plenty of not doing what they were told.  They're still not in bed an hour after bedtime started.  But such is life.  They also 'nuggled and played, helped and had a bath.  An ordinary, run-of-the-mill day with little ones.  And it was good. 

Monday Musings

Right now... it is actually quiet.  The boys are out playing the what is left of the snow.  Bapa is out running an errand.  Fava is still in bed (the lucky duck.)  And I am sitting at the table with a cup of tea and the computer.  But I'm really thinking about my need for a shower, a nice hot steamy shower. 

This weekend... was nice.  Saw lots of friends who I rarely see (thanks to being home visiting rather than home where we live.)  Got to eat lots of good food (mmm, hot open veggie from the Autumn Cafe, seriously the only way veggies should be served.)  Got to church for the first time since Christmas (between work schedules and sickness it's been EWTN for us every week.)  And have been trying to recover from a cold that hit me once we got here. 

Some plans for the week... get over this cold.  Finally get some knitting and reading done - I can't believe I've been too sick for either :(  Try to get our apartment back into shape once we get home.  Do a little shopping today, Bigger needs some longer pants and I could use another pair of "out-going" pants.  And I need a new rice bag.  Or corn bag depending on what I find. 

If I can find some time for myself, I would like to... sleep.  It is very hard to sleep when we travel.  Added to that the hardcore hip pain I get sleeping on my side on the futon mattress and the fact that I can't breath through my nose.  Oh, and being woken several times a night by Bigger hacking in my face.  I'm tired.  And maybe I should add a new, sturdier body pillow to my shopping list...

I am grateful for... family and friends.  My body pillow, even if it is pretty far past it's prime.  Hot tea.  Moments of peace and quiet.  Vicks. 

Some prayer intentions... for this blasted cold to be gone!  For a safe drive back home. 

Something that makes me smile...

"Look, we be kitties!"  - My parents cats like to sit on the stairs and keep an eye on things.  So in pretending to be cats of course the boys had to take their spots on the stairs and peek through the rails like the kitties.  I can't wait till Littler stops substituting "t"s for k sounds.  Such as "toca tola."  You can figure out what "kitties" sounds like in our house. 

Linking up to join Nadja and Sofia on this sunshiny Monday morning :) 

Magic of the Mundane

I feel like I've been complaining a lot here because well, I have.  I blame it on a lot of things - circumstance, time of year, laziness...  So here's an attempt at working on my attitude.  Trying to find the extraordinary in the every day.  Or at least just not being ticked about not getting my way ;-) 

My day started a little better than yesterday but I still had to fight the WeatherMan out of bed to get up with the boys - I had been up with them for nearly 2 hours during the night including the changing of an incredibly nasty diaper.  So I got to stay in bed until 8:30 and was hardly disturbed by those 2am partyers my darling sons. 

I thought I would take the opportunity of the WeatherMan being home for the morning to take a solo trip to the mall for some quick errands and a sub for lunch.  I didn't bother to check the holiday hours because who would pass up a days profits of family bonding through shopping.  (Here in Ontario it's "Family Day" how better to spend a day off school than at the mall?)  But there's my American showing because the mall was closed.  I'll admit I was ticked.  But it was a sunny day, not too cold, I was alone.  So I enjoyed a pleasant walk around the block.  And tomorrow I will get my sub for lunch, gosh darn it! 

After yesterday's digestive pyrotechnics there was serious laundry to be done.  And it could not wait.  I hate hauling the basket down to the basement in hopes of there being enough washers free to get it all done.  And I really don't care for doing it with tag-alongs.  The boys claim they'll be helpers but really they just want to crawl around on the basement floor and try to climb the folding table.  Thankfully only Littler wanted to come down today.  And lucky for me someone had cast off a nice purse.  You see, there's a small table where other residents leave their "cast offs" - clothes, books, knick knacks.  And you see, my mom has been on me about the bag I carry.  It is not a purse, I'm told that technically it would fall into the category of tote bag.  But I love it, it's the perfect size, it has a beautiful print of dancers that I love, I don't want to part with it.  But my new bag is more "grown up" looking (it's boring old brown) and I do believe it will hold more junk really important stuff than my other.  And Littler wanted nothing more than to carry my new purse upstairs for me and show it off to Daddy and Bigger.  And correct Daddy when he called it a bag - "no Daddy, it Mommy purse!" 

And now the boys are in bed and quiet (I don't dare say "asleep" out loud yet.)  "Antiques Roadshow" will be on soon.  I have a 7Up and some cheese and crackers.  And my knitting to work on.  A good evening.  It's magically mundane :) 

Linking up at Sofia's Ideas.