Books, Buses and Balls

Books, buses, and balls - these are John's passions.  (If you don't count his siblings, that is.  I've never had a child so determined to imitate the others.) 

I appreciate his simplicity.  Especially when those around him are not always so simple.  Including myself.

Expressive Feet

Here are some recent photos of June and Clara's feet.  No need to say more.

Don't Be Fooled

This is one of my all-time favorite scenes.  It captures such beauty - little June on cross-country skis, the quiet winter, being out there, in the woods, snow on the trees, adventure, snow-shoes, closeness to cold weather nature.  For the hour we were there, I was in heaven.

But, don't be fooled.

The price of this quiet beauty was 3 hours of unimaginable drama and noise, spurred by ill-fitting winter attire, injustices in our family, missing toothbrushes, itchy hats, screaming little brothers, screaming sisters, "stupid-heads", and mysteriously invisible boo-boos.

I will always have that Waldon Pond moment.  But to be true to life, I'll have to remember it all.

Insiders

These days, you have to be an insider to understand John.  "Trash truck" and "dadda" sound remarkably similar.   "Bu" can mean "bus," "book," "boobs," or "brother."

Honestly, in our house you need insider knowledge for more than just John.  Driving in the car today, June asks "What's eleven?"  The answer was "one and one."

Other insider talk morphs into Legend.  Shortly after Will was born, we heard "Who's Batman?" echoing over and over through our house.  We were in a fog of confusion, until it was clear that a certain grandfather was working a crossword puzzle.  Eight years later, that was the last thing my husband just said to me before turning out his light.

Valentine's Revisited

Valentine's Day came and went, but our decorations are still hanging around.  In fact, we look at the outside world through hearts, hanging in the windows.  My favorite tokens from this year's creations were simple things:

• The big hearts that June and Clara spent extra time decorating with lots of color and detail.  
• The rocks that Will gave to his friends at school, the day after their celebration.  
• The big red hearts that we hung on the door, using left-over foam from the bed project.  

This year, I am taking pleasure in looking at the snowy cold through deep, warm, rich reds.

Homemade

This Christmas, the kids and I made a headboard for Jeff.  It was very simple:  a big board from Home Depot (getting it home was not so simple), puffy foam and 3 yards of linen from Joann's, a staple gun, and shazaam.  We had a headboard.  Three months later, after accepting that the decorative upholstery pins weren't working out, we put it in our room.  

Some homemade gifts are priceless.  Some are not.  I'm not yet sure where this one fits in.  But for $60, it will do for a while.

Before

After

Abandoned

Lately, I have abandoned this blog, largely due to John's sleep habits, camera difficulties, and general wintertime neglect.  On that note, I am aware of the many things that get abandoned daily around our household.  Here are just a few:

A hallway fort:

 A muffin stand;

Scooters:

 Sleds, once snow slides:

Dolphin Families living under the trampoline:

Spilled Birdseed:

In fact, abandonment seems to breed abandonment:  The more my children abandon - like four changes of clothes throughout the day, art projects, toys - the more I do, too.