I Should Have Known

Michaela and Christian went outside late this afternoon to help their dad cut the grass.  Not that we have mini-mowers; they love to be out and they love to be with him...so they determined to find something useful to do in our front yard. 

Before he began mowing, all three of them went around the yard picking up large sticks that had fallen during all of the big rains that we've had recently; they also worked to remove the large mushrooms that insist on growing in our yard.  I won't mention what else they found on the mushrooms, but I will say that it is related to a very recent and gross post.  As long as they stay outside, and off my kids' shoes (or my kids in general!), I will be okay.

They also lent themselves to pulling and digging up weeds, which they have loved to do for a long time.  This works out well, since we always have a plethora of weeds which need to be dug up. 

Now, some of those folks who read this know how crazy I am that I am overly worried when it comes to germs, particularly germs that come from outside.  (The germs in our house, and in our car...well, they're ours.  So they don't count.  Unless you're my mom, then they do, particularly the ones in our car.)  I do, however, manage to let my kids play outside; when they come in, they go straight into the detoxification module bathtub and everyone stays happy.  Today, shortly after I heard Mike through the front windows (I was standing there with Eliana while she watched everyone else outside) telling Michaela to get up out of the grass because of the things-I-will-not-mention-that-were-on-the-mushrooms, that very same Michaela burst through the front door and ran into the back of the house.  I thought maybe she had to go to the bathroom-it seemed so urgent.  I called after her, and I admit it, I was freaking out on the inside because of whatever yucky stuff she may have brought in with her grassy, fungus pants (shoes get left by the front door-ALWAYS...I'm sure you're surprised); I had to ask her what she was up to.

Her reply?  "It's a secret!" 

I pressed,"What is it?" 

She yelled,"I'm writing a note!" 

She came out of our schoolroom with a pen in her hand; I, of course, said,"You didn't even wash your hands!"  She looked exasperated, rightly so, and told me it wouldn't take long.  Then she tilted her head to one side, sucked in her cheeks a little, and raised her eyebrows, as if to say,"Are you really going to make me get in the bath already?  I'm just writing a note, you moron." 

I left her alone to do whatever secret thing she was doing. 

She ran back outside after a couple of minutes and a bit later I poked my head out the door to tell them they needed to come in to bathe and get ready for dinner.  She asked me if I had gone into the schoolroom; I said that I hadn't but told her I would.  I left them out there for a bit longer, and went to check out the secret.

First, there was this...

And below it was this...

Inside was a note...

"This is for you, Mom.  We picked it out front.  Christian and Michaela   For your thirty-fifth Birthday."

This is where my children's hearts lie.  They see beauty in everything and they want to share it.  How I long for eyes that were as seeing as theirs. 

In spite of all the ways I am different from other moms (and they notice) they love me and long to show me that they do.  It is humbling...I learn so much from them.  That is an irony of parenting; often, I find that in their innocence and inexperience lies a great deal of genuine, sweet love-of life, of others, of the world around them.  It's something that I have lost, but get to participate in through them.  And this is a moment that I must go back to on those hard days, during the times when I think that I don't get paid enough for this job (or at all); I must remind myself that I do, in fact, get paid.  I get paid in weeds, and in love.  What could be more valuable than that?

Did I Say Irresistible?

I meant it!

I write a lot about the special relationship that Eliana and Michaela have because they are home together most of the time, but she loves Christian so much too.  Often the first word out of her mouth when she wakes up is,"Chi-chin?"  As in,"Where is that crazy-fun guy?"  She loves being wherever he is. 

At the end of a day that had some pretty "Ugh!" moments, this is nice...

I will never, never, never, never, never stop loving this scene. 

No Ranting, Lots of Railing

After running errands with me this afternoon for a hundred hours (or three) (hours not hundreds) the kids discovered the train track set in the living room.  It had been relocated after a long period of "hiding" under another table in our schoolroom/playroom.  Because of its previous lodging, it had suffered neglect for ages, abandoned for other more accessible toys, and through no fault of its own. 

But today, today the railroad tracks saw the light of day again.  Today the tracks were handled with eager hands, busy hands, constructive hands.  Today the tracks emerged from a dark place of desertion, from their disregarded state, from being ignored and overlooked, and with victory and glory and dignity once again, they were laid down.

The real beauty of this construction lies in the peaceful development of the track between the head engineers, who otherwise can be real head-butters when it comes to designing something of this magnitude (or choosing who gets what scissors, or who gets to stand on what chair in the kitchen-I don't have stools, just little chairs-or who gets out of the car first...).

They made a whole town, populated by people, animals, trees, and buildings.

They were thrilled with their handiwork, and I must say, so was I. 

An evening of such calm and creative interaction gives me such happiness that I cannot express it properly.  I cherish these moments as a mom, watching my kids getting along so sweetly, so contentedly, so cooperatively.  I hope that they will remember these happy times too, with joy, when they are older.

Just For a Little While

This morning I had an errand to run, so I packed all the kids up in the car with a library book to drop in the box out front, because it was on my mind and someone else had requested it.  Of course, Eliana fell asleep on the way home.  It was only 10:30 in the morning!  This tells you how much real sleep she's getting at night, but that's for another time.

When we pulled up in our driveway, Michaela asked if she and Christian could play at the far end of the driveway, closer to where it meets the garage (which is basically our backyard); she wanted to roller blade.  She got new roller blades for her birthday, and wanted to give them a go.  I tried to think of several reasons that this was not a good idea, but she was convincing.  She offered to sweep the driveway clean of all the debris that had collected so that she would have a smooth ride.  She even offered for Christian to help her,"It will be fun if we do it together!"  He chimed in,"Yeah!"

So off they went, armed with brooms, in order to make a clear space for all of the wheels. 

Pretty soon after they had finished sweeping and done a little riding in the driveway, Eliana woke up.  So, we went for a walk around the block.  They had so much fun... 

(Steps?  No problem!  We are a family of creative problem solvers!)

(Freedom...)

  (He looks tough, doesn't he?)

Here, Michaela is expounding on the dangers of the large holes in the sidewalk.  You have to watch out for them, or else...

 

...down you'll go. 

In the short time she's been roller blading, she's come a long way.  It's a good thing she hasn't only inherited my genes.

As we headed home, Christian said,"Take a picture of me!  I'm not going to smile; I'm going to pretend to be scootering." 

He might be pretending, but man, he's convincing!

Then when we got back home, he said,"Now take a picture of me racing!"

Clearly, the winner is...

At this point I was a little chilly so I went inside with Eliana, but the other two stayed out for a little bit...

A little bit turned into all day!  They came in around 4:45 and went straight into a shower.  So I figured out a very simple formula for peace and happiness in our home: 

                                    2  kids + (x)wheels + 1 great outdoors = energy output = quiet house

They really did have a fun day, digging in the back yard, climbing some, having a picnic...Christian popped his head in the door once and said,"Mom!  You are so nice for letting us stay out there for so long!"  That's me...Little Mrs. Nice Mommy.  At least for one day!                                                                                                         

Going Into the Closet

The other day I got inspired in light of our upcoming move and decided to clean a little in our schoolroom/playroom.  I needed to clear some things out, clean up in general, and try to get some order for packing and moving purposes.  I pretty much trashed the place.  I like to bank on the truth of the axiom,"It always gets worse before it gets better."  And I figure the worse it gets the better it will get.  Right? 

One area I dug into was the closet in that room.  It stored coats, boxes of pictures, frames, the kids clothes, unused rugs, wrapping paper, more kids clothes, a dishpan, a lamp, a tripod, and if you can think of some other weird stuff that might be in a closet and add it to this list, then it probably was in there.  Mike cleaned some of it out while the rest of us were still in Florida, and I got busy on what was left.  By the time I was done, there was a lot of empty space in the bottom of the closet, the hanging clothes were more organized, and I even wiped the floor up with a cleaning cloth.

Not too long after that, though, something happened.  It doesn't take much time around here for an empty space to get filled up with something.  Our mail, some clean clothes, papers from school, groceries, dishes, shoes...this list could go on.  And on.  And on. 

But this time the kids turned that closet into a fort!  And in the time it took for me to get Eliana to sleep they had transformed this little spot into a fun, animal-friendly, artsy, cozy party area. 

Everything was there, from a box of tissues to a basket full of stuffed animals.  There is an extra bag and a balloon.  Scissors, yarn, markers, a horse and a giraffe.  There is even a blanket. 

Their imaginations continue to amaze me...such a tiny nook but a limitless horizon.