dancing in the sunset

(A few nights ago, we had dinner on the beach and took a walk to admire the sun setting....but Charlie had more than walking in mind!)

Look out, Florida!

Here

we

come!

5+5+5......

We are going to visit Charlie's grandparents in Florida tomorrow. The fact that we are getting on a 3 hour flight with our very active 15 month son has been the source of some apprehension in this Mama's heart.

For the last couple weeks I've been on the look out for things I can put together for a little activity bag for the plane. Additions to the bag need to capture Charlie's attention for at least five minutes (his attention span is very short) and have to be free or very inexpensive (our budget for such things is small). I ended up spending $7.50 at the dollar store and feel pretty good about what I have so far:

From left to right:
1. Coloring book (free) and crayons (1$)--5-10 minutes
2. skinny balloons with pump (1$) --5-10 min
3. play dough (1$)--hoping for 5 min, he's never used it before
4. sunglasses (1$)--5 min
5. popsicle stick bottle (1$)--10min, I cut a slit in the cap for Charlie to slide the popsicle sticks through...he gets fascinated with that sort of thing.

5. windup car (free)--5 min
6. bag of plastic animals (1$)--5 min
7. wrench with hole in it that can be swung around finger like a helicopter blade (free)--5 min if combined with dad's helicopter sound effects and creativity
8. plastic caps which fit inside one plastic Easter egg (free)--5 min
9. bag of small cars and trucks (free)--10-15 min in combination with dad's creativity and sound effects
10. pom poms (1$)--5 min
11. 5 books (already owned and from library)--25 min
12. flash cards (no cost)--10min
13. M n M's--5 min (and our get out of jail free card for a true emergency. The Snickers are for us, just in case we need some emergency encouragement)
Total entertainment is 1 hour and 45 min on the low side, 2 hours on the high side. And, it only weighs 3 pounds and fits in my backpack! (Am I way to anal for calculating that?)

Here it is all ready to go.

Now you know in exact detail what we will be doing between 4pm and 7pm tomorrow!

Keren's silly accomplishment of the week.

Just thought I'd share my "I am woman, hear me roar" moment from this week!
This is me, successfully arriving in our apartment on the second floor (no elevator) with the entire week's worth of groceries and Charlie(30lbs).

(I love reusable bags because you can sling them over your shoulder and they fit so much more. I never could have done this if my groceries were packed into those silly plastic sacks.)

It's only fair to point out that Charlie helped too.

It felt good to prove I could do it and all, but next time I'm definitely going back to timing my grocery shopping so that Jonathan can help me carry it up!

a little time with Charlie

It has been a while since I let you "hang out" with Charlie via video.

This was taken on Monday morning, which was our 12th rainy day in a row. We were stir crazy at day 4. To get out of the grumpy groove, Charlie and I declared the living room a jungle gym and didn't change out of our pajamas until noon.

unwearable

For years and before the time of Charlie's birth, my standard baby shower gift was a unique sweater, knit especially in the colors and style of the parents. Recently, I've been loving hats and booties--something cozy and wearable.
Still, when I saw this pattern for fruit and veggie rattles I couldn't resist changing things up for little Miss Lilian Calley.

I made the banana, and I could not stop after that.

The cucumber was so compact....

the orange so bumpy....

And my favorite, the eggplant, because....

...every baby needs an eggplant to shake the livin' daylights out of, right?

These were perfect projects to knit around Charlie. I could pick them up and put them down easily and carry them around with me when we went outside too. I stuffed them all with synthetic filler and jingle bells, which makes them washable and super jingly. Also, the set can grow with the child, as they double as teething toys and rattles for young babies, and then as pretend fruit and veggies for toddlers. Such a satisfying project!

I hope Miss Lilian finds them satisfying too!

Trucks, Cars, Airplanes and Diggers!

I have concluded that Charlie had a little switch just waiting for the right stimulus. That switch turned on a passionate love for all things that go. The stimulus? The construction equipment that arrived outside our building to re-pave the median. Suddenly, he hears and comments on every airplane that goes over out house, every bus or truck that drives by. And though I have several loves in life that I plan to share with him, I certainly did not teach him this one!

Don't try to read him a book with out a vehicle in it. If the book has several pages with out cars or busses, he turns past them in a hurtty to arrive at the helicopter or truck picture. Then he settles back against my chest, and studies the picture, with appropriate sound effects.

If you could just see the spit that has been flying around this house as he makes his versions of the sounds that rocket ships and firetrucks make! My favorite is the noise he makes for the giant excavator, which sounds for all the world like he's announcing at a monster truck rally. "GIIIIANT EEEEXCAVATORRRR"

important life lessons

Jonathan felt it was important that Charlie learn the vital skill of licking cookie dough off the spoon. Charlie was VERY willing to learn!

not Mozart yet

...but he does have some pretty good "arm weight" technique going on!

Charlie has a few words to share...

"Noooooooooo!"

I have been trying to be specific with the words that I use to reprimand Charlie. I didn't want him to learn the word "no" for as long as possible. So I said things like, "Don't touch that, Charlie," and "That's not for your mouth, Charlie"....etc. Until yesterday, when he reached inside his poopy diaper with both hands and I let out a long, despairing "NOOOOOOOOO!"
It only took once.
Charlie has been repeating "NOOOOOOO!!!" all morning in a tone of intense despair. This moment turned out to be much funnier than I expected it to be.

I'm wondering

...as I spritz my orchid for the third time today...
...if I have time and space enough in my life to mother my orchids the way I used to do before Charlie was born, do I have time and space enough for another baby?

I think probably...
What do you think?


(p.s. no announcements, just musings going on this evening!)

brought to you by: fun times at the zoo in less than an hour!

The zoo is free in St. Louis. Which means you can go to see just one animal if you want. Which we did want. We wanted to see monkeys, so monkeys we saw.

And a backhoe loader, because it was there and exciting. Much more fascinating than the turtles, or the seals or even the otter, who was playing with his ball behind Charlie in this picture.

We also ate grahm crackers.

And pushed the stroller.

And walked around in the beautiful sunshine.

We walked a lot.

Then we went home and took well-earned naps!

baby boom

Not less than 7 babies that I know of have or are going to be born this month...it is keeping my needles and creative juices flying! I am loving having such cuddly and cute reasons to knit!

Reason #1: Mr. Chase Carmody

He has yet to make his appearance, much to his mother's dismay, but these were part of her shower gift and should fit in about 6 months when Chicago gets cold.


This bib is reversible and the first that I've ever made. Even though it is a little lumpy, I LOVED how it turned out. My friend Betsy suggested this project. We did it together at her weekly Monday night craft night and it was SUCH fun to make!

Reason #2: Miss Gillian Gay

Welcome to the world you sweet little girl!

This was my first attempt at embroidery on knitting. I really enjoyed making the hearts.
May your toes always feel loved, Gillian Joy!

Logistics-or-How to Shower With a 15 Month Old

This week I took my first shower while Charlie was awake since he was born. It got me thinking.
I just had some friends post about the complications involved in making it to church with children for Sunday morning. I think the complications are much more widespread than church. In fact, I would go as far as saying that a major part of this mothering job is figuring out how to do life with a child. And it gets complicated. (There is a Charlie involved, people!) When they are first born, you throw out everything but the basics --like how do you shower, or make dinner or go to the grocery store. And then, as they get older, you have to learn how to add back in the important things that shape your life--like time with your husband, knitting or a daily quiet time.

A certain amount of logistical planning is necessary. I tend to be a spontaneous person, so this aspect of things has been quite challenging to me. I can't wing it the way I used to. I'm finding it takes forethought and discipline (to let go of always being able to do things how I want, when I want) to make it all happen. It's important to take snacks and a diaper on outings. They prevent meltdowns. It really helps to remember to put the beans to soak the night before I want to make chili. It is worth it to claw my way out of bed at 6:00 because that's the only time I'm going to get for a quiet time before he wakes up at 6:30 (OK, so far my actions say it is only worth it some days...I'm working on this one still!). The more creative my solutions are, the better life gets.

For me, the logisticating (that is now a word, alright?) started right from the beginning. Charlie-the-newborn would be most alert at 4 am and I was hungry. I figured out that I could make eggs for myself one-handed and he would nestle into the crook of my other arm and drift back to sleep while watching my spatula. (And then I would work hard not to drip egg yolk on his head while I ate.) It worked out great. I loved our early breakfasts together.

But what works out best changes as Charlie changes. I certainly don't make breakfast for myself at 4 am anymore. Today, for instance, I cut up the veggies for dinner while Charlie-the-toddler napped so we could play at the park when he woke up.

There is a definite learning curve to it. I'm discovering new things all the time. And I love it when other moms drop hints about how they've made things work for them.

I may be a little behind the ball here, but until a few days ago, I hadn't figured out how to take a shower while Charlie was awake. I took all my showers when Jonathan could watch him or while he was asleep. (Not really convenient, and I showed up several places in greasy glory just because he didn't take a long enough nap...etc.) But a solution has evolved! And might I add, it is FUN!

Here's our new system: Charlie sits in the bottom of the tub while I shower and plays with his toys.

Then I let the tub fill while I dry off and get dressed. He plays in the tub while I finish getting ready.

Then I wash and dry him.

It does take 45 minutes, but at the end we are both clean and happy!

See? Not impossible to shower with an awake Charlie after all!

Mothers, logistics are your friend!

Joylights: this week

Here are moments I really enjoyed this week:

For as big as he is getting, it is nice to be reminded how much growing he still has ahead of him!


Early mornings are my only snuggle time with Charlie. It doesn't take long before his busy body is moving, so I always treasure this minute or two of calm before our day starts in earnest.


The companionable studying of Hebrew and construction trucks before breakfast.


And, I ask you, is it ever possible to enjoy blueberries too much?