Ryan, especially, was being a ham. He doesn't cooperate taking photos these days. He would much rather hide his face, hide his whole self, close his eyes, or make a silly face. This time silly faces were the order of the day.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Bath Time
Earlier this month I had some fun taking photos of the boys, being hams in the tub.
Ryan, especially, was being a ham. He doesn't cooperate taking photos these days. He would much rather hide his face, hide his whole self, close his eyes, or make a silly face. This time silly faces were the order of the day.
Ryan, especially, was being a ham. He doesn't cooperate taking photos these days. He would much rather hide his face, hide his whole self, close his eyes, or make a silly face. This time silly faces were the order of the day.
Would This Make You Nervous?
Not me!
Not when it means a new door is on its way.
And, although it sometimes takes Brett a while to finish a project, I am still more pleased with the unfinished "after" than I was with the "before." I am so proud of the things that Brett is able to do for our home without any formal training--from making us bedroom furniture to replacing front doors.
I'll try to post a photo of the new door when it's closer to the "after" stage than the "in-between" stage. Brett is currently putting up trim around the door (which he is making with wood he had in the garage).
Three Dreams
I was really tired last night, proven by the fact that I was in bed (asleep) by 9:45pm. Often, when I go to sleep earlier than usual, I end up having a more restless sleep with lots of dreams. Last night was no exception. I often remember my dreams. Too bad that they're really not that interesting. In fact, they are so realistic that they are tedious.
Dream One: I woke up in the morning and realized that it was already Saturday and I had forgotten to call the pediatrician and get a refill for Todd's breathing medicine. [I was relieved when I really woke up and found out that it is Friday, and I can still call the pediatrician as planned.]
Dream Two: I was so tired (in my dream and in real life). It was evening and all I wanted to do was go to bed. Unfortunately, because it was Saturday night I had to stay up and prepare for the lesson that I am giving in Church Sunday morning. [I was relieved when I woke up and found out that it is Friday morning, and I still have a day and a half to prepare my lesson. However, I did commit to start planning today so I don't have to live out this dream in reality.]
Dream Three: It was about 5:00pm one evening. Brett suggested we go canoeing. I thought he was crazy, but went along with it since I want to take advantage of the times Brett suggests fun family activities (like camping in the freezing cold!). By the time we got to the canoe rental it was starting to get darker. The guy at the shop was a grump and we were having a hard time getting organized. I really needed to go to the bathroom, so I left Brett to deal with things. I ran into a mom from church and a fellow playgroup mom in the bathroom. (I still can't figure out how they knew each other.) The playgroup mom was washing out her son's stuffed animal in the sink. Evidently it fell overboard and got all muddy. Their group was obviously just returning from a canoe trip. After talking with them for a few minutes, I went back outside. It was now pitch black outside, and I basically told Brett that this was a terrible idea. I suggested we give it up and head back home. [When I heard Brett stirring beside me, about to get up, I made sure to tell him that deciding to go canoeing at 5:00 at night was a terrible idea. I love making out-of-the-blue comments like that after one of dreams involving Brett. He is a good sport. Today he responded with something like, "Well, I had to go pick up the canoe and it took some time to get everything together."]
This last dream was one of my "bizarre" dreams. Brett's "bizarre" dreams usually involve aliens or super-heroes or other unrealistic scenarios. I'm always curious about Brett's dreams. More so, because he almost never remembers them. They're gone about five seconds after he wakes up.
The problem with realistic dreams is that I often feel like I was awake all night taking care of errands (and organizing canoe trips?!). I wake up feeling almost as tired as when I went to sleep.
Here's a question for you: are your dreams of the tedious, realistic variety or the interesting, bizarre variety?
Post Script: After I wrote this post, I took a shower. As I was exfoliating my heels with my pumice stone (TMI?) I remembered another dream I had last night. My mother-in-law gave some salon gift certificates to the girls in the family. Donna had already opened hers and had received a gift certificate to have her hair done, I think. I was looking forward to what my gift certificate would be. I wasn't too happy when I opened it and saw that my certificate was for a pedicure. Because my feet are in such bad shape, the thought of someone else seeing (and touching) them up close kind of freaks me out. I got over my fear and started looking forward to having pretty feet, to the point that I was already thinking about polish colors. [When I remembered my dream in the shower, I was disappointed to realize that I would not be getting a pedicure anytime soon.]
Dream One: I woke up in the morning and realized that it was already Saturday and I had forgotten to call the pediatrician and get a refill for Todd's breathing medicine. [I was relieved when I really woke up and found out that it is Friday, and I can still call the pediatrician as planned.]
Dream Two: I was so tired (in my dream and in real life). It was evening and all I wanted to do was go to bed. Unfortunately, because it was Saturday night I had to stay up and prepare for the lesson that I am giving in Church Sunday morning. [I was relieved when I woke up and found out that it is Friday morning, and I still have a day and a half to prepare my lesson. However, I did commit to start planning today so I don't have to live out this dream in reality.]
Dream Three: It was about 5:00pm one evening. Brett suggested we go canoeing. I thought he was crazy, but went along with it since I want to take advantage of the times Brett suggests fun family activities (like camping in the freezing cold!). By the time we got to the canoe rental it was starting to get darker. The guy at the shop was a grump and we were having a hard time getting organized. I really needed to go to the bathroom, so I left Brett to deal with things. I ran into a mom from church and a fellow playgroup mom in the bathroom. (I still can't figure out how they knew each other.) The playgroup mom was washing out her son's stuffed animal in the sink. Evidently it fell overboard and got all muddy. Their group was obviously just returning from a canoe trip. After talking with them for a few minutes, I went back outside. It was now pitch black outside, and I basically told Brett that this was a terrible idea. I suggested we give it up and head back home. [When I heard Brett stirring beside me, about to get up, I made sure to tell him that deciding to go canoeing at 5:00 at night was a terrible idea. I love making out-of-the-blue comments like that after one of dreams involving Brett. He is a good sport. Today he responded with something like, "Well, I had to go pick up the canoe and it took some time to get everything together."]
This last dream was one of my "bizarre" dreams. Brett's "bizarre" dreams usually involve aliens or super-heroes or other unrealistic scenarios. I'm always curious about Brett's dreams. More so, because he almost never remembers them. They're gone about five seconds after he wakes up.
The problem with realistic dreams is that I often feel like I was awake all night taking care of errands (and organizing canoe trips?!). I wake up feeling almost as tired as when I went to sleep.
Here's a question for you: are your dreams of the tedious, realistic variety or the interesting, bizarre variety?
Post Script: After I wrote this post, I took a shower. As I was exfoliating my heels with my pumice stone (TMI?) I remembered another dream I had last night. My mother-in-law gave some salon gift certificates to the girls in the family. Donna had already opened hers and had received a gift certificate to have her hair done, I think. I was looking forward to what my gift certificate would be. I wasn't too happy when I opened it and saw that my certificate was for a pedicure. Because my feet are in such bad shape, the thought of someone else seeing (and touching) them up close kind of freaks me out. I got over my fear and started looking forward to having pretty feet, to the point that I was already thinking about polish colors. [When I remembered my dream in the shower, I was disappointed to realize that I would not be getting a pedicure anytime soon.]
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Light Reading
Last month I checked out a (non-fiction) book from the library called, Confessions of a Slacker Wife. I noticed another book in the same section called "Mommy Wars," which I went ahead and checked out at the same time.
The "Slacker Wife" book is about the expections women put on themselves, or the expectations they feel the need to meet. The author talks about how she gives her self some slack. I found myself respecting her more for some of those decisions. For example, she "admits" to not going overboard in planning her one-year-old's birthday party complete with the perfectly clean house, fancy foods, clowns, jugglers, bounce houses, expensive party favors, etc. [I returned the book a week ago, so I'm going off memory now.] It was a good reminder to me to look at what I am doing and make sure I am doing things for the right reasons.
For example, do the kindergartners in Todd's class really care whether I bring homemade heart-shaped cinnamon sugar cookies to the Valentine's Day party tomorrow? Or would they be just as happy with the chocolate chip cookies my husband suggested? Honestly, I'm sure they'd be fine with the chocolate chip cookies, but I've already made the dough for the sugar cookies. It's Valentine's Day--they need hearts! . . . Obviously, I could use to be more of a slacker wife in some ways.
Mommy Wars was a collection of essays written by almost thirty women who tell their story about how they ended up becoming a full-time working mom, part-time working mom, work-from-home mom, or stay-at-home mom. The woman who collected these essays explained that she was concerned about the conflict between mothers who work and those who do not. She wanted to hear from women in all working situations and learn more about why they made the choices they did. As someone who has always wanted to be able to stay home with my children, I was interested in gaining more understanding for those women who chose otherwise. Most of the women who wrote were from large cities and had high-profile careers before having children. The more I read, the more frustrated I became. I kept expecting to read an essay with a similar story to my own. It wasn't there. Perhaps I am not part of the intended audience. I am not a feminist. In addition, I feel that prayer should play a huge role in the decisions I make. But am I less intelligent, capable, and important because I generally believe in traditional gender roles?
I do not regret reading this book. It made me think, and I did come to respect the way some of the women thoughtfully made decisions about balancing and timing work and family. However, I still feel the need to write my own essay from a stay-at-home mom who aspired to be a stay-at-home mom (and who isn't going crazy and doesn't wear sweatpants everyday now that she has become one).
I was able to talk with a stay-at-home mom who was visiting from Manhattan shortly after I finished reading this book. We had quite an interesting conversation. I asked how she felt being a stay-at-home mom in New York where these "Mommy Wars" can apparently get pretty nasty. I liked her answer. She said that people will disrespect you more when you are insecure about your own decision--regardless of what your decision is. She is confident that she is doing what is right for her own family, and because people see that she is confident in her decision they respect her for it.
I was kind of worn out after reading so much feminist mommy material in a fairly short time. I needed to switch gears. I started out by watching a four-part English movie called North and South, based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially since I was unfamiliar with the story. Later that week I stayed up one night and read Austenland (again). I needed something light and fun--no thinking required. This fit the bill. I was having a great reading this light romantic fiction, so earlier this week I read The Wednesday Letters.
I could have kept going and going with the easy romantic fiction that I love. I almost wish that I had picked out one more romantic novel for this weekend, being that it is Valentine's Day and I am likely to find more mushy romance in a book or movie than in real life. However, I decided that I needed to challenge myself with a little variety. I could read my sweet romances all the time, but whenever I read a different genre I am glad that I did. Even though it may be more difficult for me to get through, it feels good to be thinking about something I normally wouldn't.
The book that I just started, To See Every Bird, was a gift from my mom. It is a biography of a man who was a "big lister" in the world of birdwatching, written by his son. The son describes the obsession that his father had. As an amateur backyard birder, I am enjoying reading some of the history of birdwatching. I can tell you now, I will never be a "big lister". The commitment that it takes to see thousands of birds is mind-boggling--but interesting to read about.
What have you been reading lately? Can you recommend a good romance? I'll probably be ready for another one after reading my non-fiction birding book. [Please keep in mind that when I refer to the romantic movies and books which I love, I hope you know I mean the sweet and tender Jane Austen type of romances--not the Harlequin type.]
The "Slacker Wife" book is about the expections women put on themselves, or the expectations they feel the need to meet. The author talks about how she gives her self some slack. I found myself respecting her more for some of those decisions. For example, she "admits" to not going overboard in planning her one-year-old's birthday party complete with the perfectly clean house, fancy foods, clowns, jugglers, bounce houses, expensive party favors, etc. [I returned the book a week ago, so I'm going off memory now.] It was a good reminder to me to look at what I am doing and make sure I am doing things for the right reasons.
For example, do the kindergartners in Todd's class really care whether I bring homemade heart-shaped cinnamon sugar cookies to the Valentine's Day party tomorrow? Or would they be just as happy with the chocolate chip cookies my husband suggested? Honestly, I'm sure they'd be fine with the chocolate chip cookies, but I've already made the dough for the sugar cookies. It's Valentine's Day--they need hearts! . . . Obviously, I could use to be more of a slacker wife in some ways.
Mommy Wars was a collection of essays written by almost thirty women who tell their story about how they ended up becoming a full-time working mom, part-time working mom, work-from-home mom, or stay-at-home mom. The woman who collected these essays explained that she was concerned about the conflict between mothers who work and those who do not. She wanted to hear from women in all working situations and learn more about why they made the choices they did. As someone who has always wanted to be able to stay home with my children, I was interested in gaining more understanding for those women who chose otherwise. Most of the women who wrote were from large cities and had high-profile careers before having children. The more I read, the more frustrated I became. I kept expecting to read an essay with a similar story to my own. It wasn't there. Perhaps I am not part of the intended audience. I am not a feminist. In addition, I feel that prayer should play a huge role in the decisions I make. But am I less intelligent, capable, and important because I generally believe in traditional gender roles?
I do not regret reading this book. It made me think, and I did come to respect the way some of the women thoughtfully made decisions about balancing and timing work and family. However, I still feel the need to write my own essay from a stay-at-home mom who aspired to be a stay-at-home mom (and who isn't going crazy and doesn't wear sweatpants everyday now that she has become one).
I was able to talk with a stay-at-home mom who was visiting from Manhattan shortly after I finished reading this book. We had quite an interesting conversation. I asked how she felt being a stay-at-home mom in New York where these "Mommy Wars" can apparently get pretty nasty. I liked her answer. She said that people will disrespect you more when you are insecure about your own decision--regardless of what your decision is. She is confident that she is doing what is right for her own family, and because people see that she is confident in her decision they respect her for it.
I was kind of worn out after reading so much feminist mommy material in a fairly short time. I needed to switch gears. I started out by watching a four-part English movie called North and South, based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially since I was unfamiliar with the story. Later that week I stayed up one night and read Austenland (again). I needed something light and fun--no thinking required. This fit the bill. I was having a great reading this light romantic fiction, so earlier this week I read The Wednesday Letters.
I could have kept going and going with the easy romantic fiction that I love. I almost wish that I had picked out one more romantic novel for this weekend, being that it is Valentine's Day and I am likely to find more mushy romance in a book or movie than in real life. However, I decided that I needed to challenge myself with a little variety. I could read my sweet romances all the time, but whenever I read a different genre I am glad that I did. Even though it may be more difficult for me to get through, it feels good to be thinking about something I normally wouldn't.
The book that I just started, To See Every Bird, was a gift from my mom. It is a biography of a man who was a "big lister" in the world of birdwatching, written by his son. The son describes the obsession that his father had. As an amateur backyard birder, I am enjoying reading some of the history of birdwatching. I can tell you now, I will never be a "big lister". The commitment that it takes to see thousands of birds is mind-boggling--but interesting to read about.
What have you been reading lately? Can you recommend a good romance? I'll probably be ready for another one after reading my non-fiction birding book. [Please keep in mind that when I refer to the romantic movies and books which I love, I hope you know I mean the sweet and tender Jane Austen type of romances--not the Harlequin type.]
Happy Valentine's Day
Ryan's preschool class exchanged Valentine's Day cards on Monday. I had not gotten around to thinking about it until Sunday evening. Thank you, Family Fun! I checked out their web site and found this easy and very cute heart-fish valentine. If I had been more on-the-ball, I could have cut the hearts and had Ryan help me assemble them. Instead, I put them all together, wrote the messages, and had Ryan address and sign them the next morning. Todd and Ryan both really liked them, especially when I explained the significance of the message. Fish swim in schools, and children go to schools--get it? Ha ha ha! So, Ryan's classmates are little fishies! Ha ha ha. These were definitely the most colorful (and in my opinion, the cutest) valentine from Ryan's class.
While I was on Family Fun looking for Ryan's card, I found an idea I thought Todd would like to do for his class: a candy airplane. Since I was feeling so proud of myself for how Ryan's cards turned out, I wanted to get started right away on Todd's. Todd loved the idea so I purchased the necessary candy while the boys were at school. I printed gum wrappers that said "Happy Valentine's Day", and printed little banners that said, "To ____ From (Todd). Hope this day is miles above the rest!" When Todd came home from school we started putting them all together. I had done one example before Todd came home, and it was much easier having Todd's help. I threaded the rubber band through the Life Savers; Todd placed the Smarties between them; then (this was the biggest help) he helped stick the gum through one side of the rubber band; and I wrapped the rubber band around the other side. We finished it off by tying the (addressed and signed) banner to the back of the airplane. I sent them to school with Todd on Tuesday for him to distribute. (Todd's class is collecting the valentine's all week and opening them on Friday at his class party.) I was so proud of myself for being ahead of the ball game. That doesn't happen very often.
I didn't realize how popular this candy airplane idea was. When I was buying the candy, the cashier asked if I was making airplanes. She said there was another lady in the store that morning who was doing the same thing and had told the cashier about how she was making them. When Todd came home from the bus on Tuesday, he said that a boy on the bus had an airplane that he had made in his class. So, the idea isn't that original here, but I think the kindergartners will all love them anyway. (Let's just hope no one else in Todd's class is making them.)
The boys have seen Valentine's Day decorations around, and of course, Ryan has been interested in the funny man shooting arrows. A few days ago Ryan asked me about it, and I explained that Cupid was shooting "love arrows". These love arrows don't really hurt ("love hurts" is not a phrase I am ready to explain). They just make you love people. We (Todd, Ryan, and I) played a fun game where we pretended to shoot love arrows with our fingers. The person who was shot had to name someone that they loved.
Just a few minutes ago, Ryan and I had this conversation.
Ryan: Mom, why don't you wish that love arrows were real?
Mom: I don't know. Do you wish they were?
Ryan: Yeah. 'Cause I want to buy them.
Mom: Why? So that you can make people love you.
Ryan: Yeah.
I love you, Ryan! (And I think you just want love arrows because you like to shoot things--anything.)
While I was on Family Fun looking for Ryan's card, I found an idea I thought Todd would like to do for his class: a candy airplane. Since I was feeling so proud of myself for how Ryan's cards turned out, I wanted to get started right away on Todd's. Todd loved the idea so I purchased the necessary candy while the boys were at school. I printed gum wrappers that said "Happy Valentine's Day", and printed little banners that said, "To ____ From (Todd). Hope this day is miles above the rest!" When Todd came home from school we started putting them all together. I had done one example before Todd came home, and it was much easier having Todd's help. I threaded the rubber band through the Life Savers; Todd placed the Smarties between them; then (this was the biggest help) he helped stick the gum through one side of the rubber band; and I wrapped the rubber band around the other side. We finished it off by tying the (addressed and signed) banner to the back of the airplane. I sent them to school with Todd on Tuesday for him to distribute. (Todd's class is collecting the valentine's all week and opening them on Friday at his class party.) I was so proud of myself for being ahead of the ball game. That doesn't happen very often.
I didn't realize how popular this candy airplane idea was. When I was buying the candy, the cashier asked if I was making airplanes. She said there was another lady in the store that morning who was doing the same thing and had told the cashier about how she was making them. When Todd came home from the bus on Tuesday, he said that a boy on the bus had an airplane that he had made in his class. So, the idea isn't that original here, but I think the kindergartners will all love them anyway. (Let's just hope no one else in Todd's class is making them.)
The boys have seen Valentine's Day decorations around, and of course, Ryan has been interested in the funny man shooting arrows. A few days ago Ryan asked me about it, and I explained that Cupid was shooting "love arrows". These love arrows don't really hurt ("love hurts" is not a phrase I am ready to explain). They just make you love people. We (Todd, Ryan, and I) played a fun game where we pretended to shoot love arrows with our fingers. The person who was shot had to name someone that they loved.
Just a few minutes ago, Ryan and I had this conversation.
Ryan: Mom, why don't you wish that love arrows were real?
Mom: I don't know. Do you wish they were?
Ryan: Yeah. 'Cause I want to buy them.
Mom: Why? So that you can make people love you.
Ryan: Yeah.
I love you, Ryan! (And I think you just want love arrows because you like to shoot things--anything.)
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