train up a child in the way he should...NO!

On Mondays we stay home, generally. This morning I needed to wash all of the sheets and mop the kitchen floor. Usually I let the big kids watch something while I get the cleaning done. Today, however, I had to follow through with a consequence from the night before. They had been too loud in the bathtub, after a warning, and had lost their t.v. privileges for today. So. Also, Hudson was extremely sensitive because his Very Special Blanket had to be washed with the sheets, so the least little thing sent him into hysterics. Which of course Harper picked up on immediately, being the keen judge of human frailty that she is, and began exploiting at every turn. It was a fun morning. I'm working on teaching Hudson not to scream when he is disturbed or frustrated. We practiced. And practiced. And practiced again. He spent quite a bit of the morning trying to remember while sitting quietly (and once, not so quietly) in his room with his hands folded in his lap. So around 10, with the last load of sheets in the wash, I decided we would take a little outing to the post office to mail thank you cards, then a quick stop at Target for a few essentials. Thankfully, the post office stop did not require me to go in the post office, because that is a recipe for a foul mood. I just had to drive through and drop my letters in the slot. And then at Target, the most wonderful thing happened. People were delighted to see us! It was almost bizarre the positive attention we generated. An older couple babysitting their grandchild stopped us for a friendly chat, a very frail old man who appeared to be around 108 and who was puttering around on a little motorized cart stopped and wondered on which aisle he could buy his own set of three happy children, a young dad made a pleasant comment in the toy section and told us about his 10 month old son--it was incredible, I tell you. Every single person we encountered looked at us as though they were doting grandparents. Even the lady behind us in the check-out line, who used the oft-heard and oft-critical "Boy, you've got your hands full!" seemed to mean it in exceeding good will. I wondered as we drove home if they were taking pity on us in our ragamuffin meant to stay at home clothes, or if I looked especially haggard and in need of encouragement after our rough morning. Maybe. Or maybe we just looked happy, and it made people smile as they went about their shopping. I hope it was the latter.

This time of year in Texas, rain does nothing to cool things off. In fact, I believe it actually makes it feel hotter.

I tackled Harper's room this afternoon after she decided to rearrange some of her bins and I was horrified at the state of the carpet underneath them. Harper loves cr*p, and it bothers her NOT at ALL to have her room strewn with all sorts of papers and beads and rings and deflated balloons and buttons and sequins and small rubber snakes and the middle piece of a velcro-together carrot and unfinished crafts and shoes and dirty socks and bits of string and rocks and president flash cards and puzzle pieces and doll clothes and...you get the picture: CR*P. Only instead of using such a crass word in front of her, a year or so ago, I took to labeling the debris "tid-bits." And about once a quarter, the tid-bit infestation overwhelms me and I do a Tid-Bit Sweep and Toss. Which causes Harper to stand vigil at the trash can saying things like, "Oh, Mommy! Not that box! I was using that box (which housed little books that we receive when she was around 9 months old, I think) to store my tid-bits in!" Her room looks better now. We found and velcroed together all four pieces of the carrot. I even vacuumed.

Harper asked me a couple of weeks ago why I had stopped doing my 30-Day Shred workout dvd. I told her I didn't really have a good excuse and that she should start reminding me. So she has. Every single day. At the end of the day, when of course I have not done it, she'll say, in a voice that can only be described as pitying with just a dash of accusation, "Mommy, you didn't do your Shred today!" Children are the holy spirit, I tell you.

I've been keeping up pretty well with our books we've been enjoying lately over in the sidebar, but thought I'd highlight a few that we've really liked:

1. A House for Hermit Crab and Mr. Seahorse by Eric Carle. I love Carle's collage-y illustrations, and both these books have an engaging, well-told story as well. Harper and Hudson have both been really interested in sea creatures the past few months.

2. The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins, ill. by Jane Chapman. A story about a Daddy emperor penguin, sweetly and humorously told.

3. Ivan the Terrier by Peter Catalanotto. Ivan is a mischievous dog who intrudes on fairy tales to the consternation of the characters and the narrator. The kids think it is HILARIOUS.

4. A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker, ill. by Kady MacDonald Denton. I love everything about this book--the watercolor illustrations are perfect, and the story, about a grumpy bear who thinks he doesn't like company, and the little mouse who refuses to leave, is comical and touching.

I think blogger is having some issues posting pictures today, so I won't even try.