Just For Fun

Recently Sam has:

• become very interested in pretend play and likes to dress, undress, feed, bath and put to bed his monkey and baby doll.


• said a number of two or three word phrases...this morning it was, "What was that?"


• developed into the most colorful and expressive toddler I know in town...I am not just being a biased, love-sick mama either.


• lost interest in long sessions with our beloved babysitter, the T.V. (I am thankful and disappointed all at once).


• enjoyed playing in the sink in the kitchen, pretending to wash dishes and can move the chair from the dining room to the kitchen and climb up to the sink all by himself.


• figured out how to pull out the drawer under the oven and stand on it's edge so he has full access to the stove top...scary.


• learned how to walk down the stairs, upright, without holding on to anything...also scary.


• learned how to open and close all the car doors and loves to hang out in the parked car and play with all the buttons an knobs and wheels...very cute.

Inspiration

There are so many things/people that have been inspiring me lately. Here are a few who help:

1. Skiing. Every time I go skiing I feel so refreshed. The exercise is meditative and I become so focused on my body and my environment. I love it. I am going to morrow afternoon and can't wait.

2. Yoga. I have a new morning yoga class at the YMCA. I begin my Thursdays with so much balance and peace.

3. Scatterville. She is attachment parenting, unschooling...raising 3 phenomenal kids, gutting a house and still has time to create artsy, practical things. Check her out!

4. Undercoverhippie. This woman has two awesome kids she is so patient with, a Douala business, countless groups and organizations she is involved with and she still has time to call me up and tell my she likes my website! I love her!

5. Jane. This is the woman I talk to everyday of my life (just about). I can barely get through my day without my morning coffee and my chat with Jane. She is in the middle of buying a house, raising her sweet boy, getting ready to grow for the market, finding a job...I am humbled by her energy and positivity.

6. Yarn. Just looking at my yarn makes me feel inspired! I love yarn!

7. My Mom and Dad. They both just retired and seem so happy to just be together. They don't seem to do a whole lot...but then again they have spent the last 30 years running around crazy, so who can blame them?

8. My sweet sister. She is on the eternal search for the perfect job. She always seems to have a good outlook on her prospects.

9. The spring rain. The hillside by our house is getting so green and it makes me feel so happy for the gardening that is almost upon us.

10. Matt. My dear husband who tries so hard to keep me happy and does a fabulous job. I wonder how he manages to stay sane sometimes.

11. Sam. His outlook on life is fabulous and when I remember to let go of the "rules", I enjoy it with him too. We spent most of the afternoon outside today in the rain jumping in puddles. It was great.

12. Our community. The active people in our community are wonderful. I have recently become closer with a woman that really enjoys life and is so active with many aspects of this town. I love my friendship with her. We talk about everything and I learn so much from her, plus she never makes me feel like I am an irresponsible parent because of the way I allow Sam to explore. She is a wonderful and creative mother and artist and community activist. Cheers to you Sherri!

Fast and Busy Week

The first week with Jaadyn went very well. He and Sam play so sweetly together (except when Sam gets a surge of jealousy and steals a toy...or two) and I managed to get all my normal things done while Jaadyn was here. I also feel more compelled to get outside with both boys here and so we took some great walks around the neighborhood, including down the canal to feed the horse. The boys LOVED that. We also finger painted and read books, played outside in the yard...lots of fun!

On Friday I hired a friend to watch Sam and I took Jaadyn to the first organizational meeting for our Wenatchee Valley Farmer's Market. I went as a comminuty member hoping to give some feedback and share ideas with an alterior motive of getting the board to recognize me and hopefully become a board member for this growing season and many to come. It was an awsome meeting! I was so energized and I could tell that I energized the board. My good friend Sherri called me friday night and left the most wonderful message that said how I had lit a fire under the boards' butt and all afternoon they were so excited and inspired and she thinks I'll be on the board soon! I felt so good at the meeting, so inspired and excited about something meaningful. I haven't felt this way since I first began teaching and with teaching it only lasted 6-8 months! I think I may have found my next non-parenting avenue in life. Jaadyn did amazing too! He sat on my lap and drew with markers, played with his cars, played with some ice...but he was quiet and happy for the entire 3 hours! I could never have brought Sam to this meeting. He would have been climbing the walls and pulling down the fake trees...those of you who know Sam know what I mean( I am reading Raising Your Spirited Child and it seems to all apply to Sam).

Last night Matt and I (Sam at home with a babysitter) went to Mission Ridge to meet 28 others for a Midway dinner party! We took the lift up to the Midway restaurant at 6:00 p.m.(the ridge closes at 4 p.m.) and had a fabulous dinner and drinks with friends and then we skiied down at 9:30 p.m. by moonlight! It was so beautiful! We could see the lights from the city and everything around us had a surreal glow that was unforgettable.

During dinner I sat across from an OBGYN from Seattle. Of course, I took this opportunity to ask her a million questions about birth and pregnancy and the policies in her hospital, etc. She is an OBGYN I would love to have access to. She does not belive in: circumcision, episiotomies (nor does she perform them), unnecessary C-sections, and she will perform VBAC's!! I couldn't believe it! She was awsome and I really enjoyed my conversation with her. She did tell me that she doesn't consider a couple serious about trying to get pregnant unless the mother is not nursing...I didn't like that. Oh, well...not everyone is perfect.

This morning, as usual, I skiied while Matt stayed with Sam. The skiing was great and I met an older (70's) man that I really enjoyed. We skiied together and he bought me a cup of cocoa. He shared stories of the valley and stories about the geology of the valley, along with life stories and love stories. I really enjoyed my morning with Bill.

Now, Sam sleeps as he fell asleep at 5 p.m. watching a video with Matt and I. We all fell asleep and I woke to find Sam dead asleep with no waking him. So, we moved him to bed in hopes that he is out for the night...we'll see.

Tomorrow begins a new week in which I only have Jaadyn one day. I am actually kind of sad, as I really enjoyed having him around.