Too Good?

I really need some input on this one, so if you read, comment please. This goes double for any of my brothers, because I know you go through the same stuff.

What do you do with a high you're not sure you want to last? As the weather has turned gloomy, my mood has gone up. In the last few days I've cleaned my kitchen; found things to do with Elena so we're not watching movies all day, every day; scrubbed all the dishes; vacuumed the stairs; tried two new bread recipes; and even refrained from my usual high-energy outlet of trying to buy everything I've ever wanted--difficult on a tight budget. This sounds great, but I know the pattern. Any day now I know I'm going to spiral downward into useless snapping and irritation. As it is, I only got two or three hours of sleep last night--I usually fall asleep when reading, but last night I was up until 5:30am--and I'm not at all tired. Do I try to short-circuit the mood and shoot for a minor low? Or do I just watch myself like a hawk and try to ease into a natural letdown? How do any of you handle this sort of thing?

Splish, Splash

Ok, not a bath. Still lots of splashing going on, though. We went to go play with Regan, Bridget and Tess, since their pool is actually open. The sun was bright and beautiful, but the water was freezing cold.


The kid's splash area was really fun and shallow enough to warm up. Elena and Bridget ran through the collected water, splashing with their feet, but Elena would only go when the fountains had timed out and quit pouring water all over the place. Joseph wanted nothing to do with it, though. The water was too cold, the floor too rough, and there was a serious lack of Mommy. He was pretty tired by then, though.


Joseph fell asleep in the stroller on the 5 minute walk back to the house (only the second time he's slept in the stroller--he's usually too busy looking at everything) and he even dozed through a quick diaper change before totally conking out in Tess' crib. Elena and Bridget had popcicles on the back porch before coming in to play puzzles & dolls, have a tea party, and play Mickey Mouse Clubhouse games on the computer.


We had so much fun, I had a hard time getting Elena to say goodbye! My only two regrets are that we didn't get to stay longer, and that I hadn't gotten Regan to sunscreen my back--I've now got an irregularly shaped pink burn between my shoulder blades.

New Views

Joseph has started to join us at the table for meals. We've pulled his highchair up close and he and Elena have a lot of fun giggling at each other as they eat. They've really become good friends in the last few weeks. This morning they wrestled each other on my bed after I'd finished nursing Joseph.


Elena has also started to "read" some of her favorite books. I have never been so sad that my camera doesn't capture sound as I was yesterday.

"Moose calbes, Moose calbes, ana gibme a clue? Anu tell me a name da baby kanga-woo? Oh, no, we can know. How 'bout a ask da... Zeba foas!"

The book is a puppy that goes all over the world asking the other baby animals what the baby kangaroo's name is. Most of the pages read exactly like this one and it is sooo cute listening to her that I really wish I could share.

Anyway, we're off to go swim with Regan and Bridget. Elena and Bridget chatted on the phone, yesterday, and we all decided to get together and enjoy the water with the sunshine.

Lost

I had to run up to Four Points to drop off a check at our insurance agent's office, and since I was halfway there, we continued up to my sister-in-law Christina's house. I had the hardest time getting there, though, because I couldn't find any of the streets. Keep in mind, I lived in this area for FIFTEEN YEARS. I learned how to navigate, and then to drive, on these roads. But there's been so much new construction in the last three years that NOTHING looked the same. You don't know what a major problem that is for me, if you don't know how my mental maps work. You see, about a year and a half ago, Jonathan took a class during which he needed a few people to draw out their mental maps for him. He got one from my nephew Michael, who was 10 or 11 at the time; he got one from our 35-year-old neighbor who takes the bus most anywhere he needs to go--we give him rides to church; and he drew one himself. It made me evaluate my own, too, and I realized that just how visual I am. I'm very good with maps, but I know where I am by the "texture" of the architecture around me--the ages, sizes, styles, colors, and uses of the buildings, but not necessarily the buildings themselves--and overlay *that* with the usual street map. And now, there I was on the streets I grew up on, and I couldn't get the "texture" to line up with the map. I was totally lost on a road I had literally driven a thousand times before.

Gardening

Play group, today, was at The Natural Gardener. We started out all together, but as we explored we seperated and started looking at plants. I bought three varieties of cherry tomato--Juliette grape, patio, and large red--in the hopes that with smaller, more numerous fruit I'll get a better harvest than in past years. I also wanted my mom's fantastic flowerpots with the built-in wells, but of course those are nowhere to be found--so I made my own. I got two 5-gallon buckets and drilled a hole about three inches up from the bottom, dropped three empty yogurt cups into each one, drilled holes in heavy-duty plastic saucers and placed those on top of the yogurt cups, lined the new raised bottom with stretched out coco-grass (hanging-basket liner), then filled with potting soil and tomato plant. It's not as pretty, but it only cost about $11 per pot (includes the plant), and it has a handle. I know the real ones cost at least twice that much, so I'm very pleased with myself. Plus, if my seedlings work out, I will have a lot of very fine tomatoes in my kitchen, this summer.

As an aside--Mom, do you still have the huge tomato cages?

Climbing and Cruising

While talking on the phone with Jonathan's best friend Richard about his upcoming wedding, a train passed (as it often does) and Joseph and I retired to the stairs for climbing practice. The last time we had tried this he only got a step and a half up before deciding that he'd rather have his Mommy than glory and praise. This time, however, he was willing and ready to conquer the Great Mountain. We climbed eight or nine times before we had to wrap up our conversation. Joseph has also gotten more adept at cruising. Tonight, he was cruising along the edge of the couch (as long as the way was short and unobstructed) hunting for toys and shiny wrappers.

At Last

We finally got some bluebonnet pictures! We only got a few because everyone was tiring out and a bit hungry (it was windy and our snack blew away) but what we did get were pretty cute. I think this is the best one so I'll put it up here.

"Joseph Has a Tail"

Regan got the ultimate in Diffucult Parenting Questions, this week, but I got the first, today.

I was changing diapers, had finished Elena and was working on Joseph, when I heard Elena say "Joseph has a tail." There she was looking at Joseph in all his glory and she noticed--and vocalized--that there was a structural difference between the two of them. Luckily, this one is a lot easier to explain in simple terms without the need to gloss over most of the details. I just told her what it was, that he has it because he's a boy and she has something different because she's a girl, and that's where he goes pee pee. "Ok." And that was it. I'm not looking forward to Regan's question, though. That's going to take research and practice before I'll be comfortable with the answer I'll have to give. Sigh... Our children grow up so fast.

And on That Farm...

We got invited to come to an educational farm, yesterday, with the kids' cousin Christopher and his preschool. We met and had a sack lunch, then started out tour in the dairy barn.


Here we got to see Sweetpea, the lovely lady in tan fur, get milked. They don't take very much at a time, but we got to see how the machine works.


The hayride was short but fun. Elena and Joseph were totally into the ostriches. The tractor pulls right up next to the fence, so we got to see them up close. We got to see eggs, too, and they're huge. I'm pretty sure they're the size of Joseph's head.


We got to wander around and check out all the animals, too. There was a section with native Texas wildlife so we got to see owls, javelinas, and prairie dogs. This is the bobcat--it's in the cage just above Christopher's head.


In with the farm animals--pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, llamas, ducks, etc.--one of the miniature donkeys was poking its head through the fence, so Elena got it to sniff her hand.


We had a lot of fun and wore ourselves out.

Praying for Naps

I've been trying to get Elena on some sort of regular schedule, to bring order to our lives and (hopefully) make potty training easier when I get to enforcing that sort of thing (we're doing diaper changes with a potty-sit in the middle--advice?). So, for the last three days I've continued naps for both children, in the afternoons. Since Elena and Joseph like each other so much, though, I have to seperate them or neither gets any sleep. That means Elena naps in my bed. To get her settled down, we do a naptime routine similar to the one at night, complete with a fun song and a prayer. Elena loves to pray, so she's been getting lots of practice, lately. Yesterday, she said almost the entire prayer by herself: "(prompt: *Dear Heavenly Father...*)Dear Heavenly Father, so He can hear you; (*thank Thee for...*) Thank-ee Mommy, Thank-ee Joseph, Thank-ee Simon,Thank-ee Gwamma and Popa, Thank-ee Uncle Rick and Aunt Sherry, Thank-ee Mena and Mommy feel better, (*please bless...*) Pease-bess Mommy and Mena feel better, Pease-bess Daddy at work, (*in the name of Jesus Christ...*) Amen!" In to bed she went, and came out two minutes later. She wanted me to boot Simon from the room. A few minutes later, I hear my door open, but nothing else. When Joseph woke up an hour later, I saw that my door was still open, so I poked my head in and saw this.


Yes, those are my glasses.

So, for all you relatives out there, Elena remembers you in her prayers, at one point or another.

Superstitions

Today was pretty good, all things considered (Elena and I both have a cough), because I absolutely insisted on naps for both children today. At bedtime, after a long relaxing bath, we sat on the stairs singing, since Joseph was already asleep. When I tucked her into bed I kissed her head and slipped out the door. Then, just before I closed the door, I whispered "I'll see you tomorrow." I say the same thing every night. Somewhere inside, I'm afraid that if I don't say it I *won't* see them tomorrow.

So here is my question: does anyone else have superstitions? Is there something you just have to do or else you just don't feel right?

Easter

My parents have a great Easter party, each year, with eggs, a ton of food, a big Family Home Evening, and lots of chatting and catching up while the kids run each other ragged. It was shockingly cold and wet, this year, but we had fun anyway. Most of my pictures are from the egg hunt (it's Joseph's first Easter, so you've got to take lots of pictures) and these are a few of the better shots.

All the kids waited in the computer room with me and Gwamma while the rest of the adults hid eggs all over the house.


Joseph and I looked around for eggs together. I would find one that was his height then set him down and point to it. Joseph would then crawl over and grab the egg.


After the first round of "Hunt, Then Count" I helped Elena find a few of the more cleverly hidden eggs. She only found 8 or 9, total, because she would stop after each find, open the egg, and unwrap the chocolate inside.


I took this one because she reminded me of Little Red Riding Hood, at Grandma's house with a couple baskets of goodies.


Back at our house, this beautiful (though still chilly and damp) Easter Morning, Elena (who was still wearing the dress from yesterday because I was not about to try sneaking jammies onto a sleeping child the night before) and Joseph found their baskets had been filled with toys. We only hid a few eggs, but they had fun hunting them down.


Joseph was facinated by Elena's Potato Head doll (Thank you, Jeri). If you look closely, you'll see he's standing all by himself, here.


We also watched The Prince of Egypt. I know, that's Passover, not Easter, but it's nice to remember the many ways the Lord has delivered all of His people. May God bless you all, and I hope you had a Happy and Blessed Easter Sabbath.

Joseph on the Move

Joseph has been cruising around the last few days. In the pool at therapy, he'll cruise along the wall to get to his favorite toy, a bendy posable lion. At Gwamma's house, Friday, he stood up at the little table and started pushing it around the kitchen.


Ok, so this one's not cruising, but it cute the way he crawled into the toy box slot looking for a block.

Elena And The Firetrucks--2 For 2

The husband of one of the moms at play group is a fireman (captain, no less!) so we got to tour the firehouse, learn about smoke detectors and firefighter gear, climb in one of the trucks, and shoot water from one of the hoses. I forgot to bring my camera (shocking!) so I'll see if I can get pictures from one of the other moms. It took Elena a little bit to warm up to everything since it's all so *big* but she had a good time.

So good a time that when she saw a firetruck at our house, this morning (they were doing inspections and installing a smoke detector and fire extinguisher in the laundry room), she wanted to go see it. We found the firemen that went with it and chatted, telling them about our field trip the day before. On the way back to the house, we passed the truck again, and I heard a little "want to ride" squeak out of Elena's mouth.

"It's not my truck, sweetheart. We'll have to ask the firemen."

So we went back to the firemen, she stood nervously next to one's leg, then said "pleeeaaase."

"Do you want to ride the firetruck?"

"Uh-huh!"

We climbed in, tapped on one of the hats, looked at the heavy coats, and checked out the big boots. The firemen found Elena a tiny stuffed bunny and some fireman-badge stickers. Then they had to leave for their next stop and we had to hop off. It was really fun, though.

A Beautiful Spring Day

The sun is shining. There's music in the air and fresh, still-warm chocolate-chip cookies on the stove, both courtesy of my Chief Assistant, Elena. There's enough of a breeze on my east-facing patio that I don't feel bad letting her play outside with her Bucket Fulla Chalk (the actual name of the product) while Joseph feeds himself some Kix. Life is good. That isn't to say that there haven't been some aggravating moments today, but overall it's good.

Chalk Time

I got Elena some chalk so we could have some art time while Joseph takes his afternoon naps.

We were amazed to see that she's picked up a few things from watching me draw. Sorry it's sideways, but yes, that's a head, neck, hair, body and fins on her purple mermaid (the yellow one is mine).

Today, she added a body to my happy face.