Maybe you'll remember that Hudson has some drums. Now he has TWO sets of drums because the husband thought he'd outgrown the other set. I will confess, if it's not untoward to do so, that he is impressive for a four year old drummer. The husband shows him complicated rudiments and he replicates them almost perfectly on the very first try. It's nifty. But so, so noisy. Especially on days like today, when it's rainy and we've stayed at home and there is not one single clean surface in my entire house. Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
My desk is An Abomination, I tell you.
Exhibit C:
Although drumming is probably a really appropriate soundtrack to chaos, it doesn't really help me to find the joy in it all, if you know what I mean. In fact, today was definitely one of those days my friend Mrs. S told me literature-based home schooling guru Carol Joyce Seid calls "yellow school bus days"--those days as a home schooling mom when the thought of waving fondly as the yellow school bus carries your kids away sounds pretty fantastic. But let's not belabor that, because it's not that useful. Just so everyone realizes that it happens every so often around here.
We just had a pomegranate for a snack. I bought it at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago and it had been languishing in the fruit drawer because I didn't know exactly how to eat a pomegranate. These are times when I am thankful for the internet. (Would Ma Ingalls have been glad to be able to google "how to eat a pomegranate"? I like to think so. Of course, she would never have had a pomegranate to begin with, though they did get that one orange at Christmas that year.) Everyone liked the pomegranate, but I did stain my shirt. Helena stained her entire person, and spit out the crunchy bits:
Hudson and Helena have started really playing together in the past couple of weeks, which makes me so happy. Their favorite thing to do is put the couch cushions on the floor and jump on them. The zippers on the couch cushions are beginning to split, but I've decided not to care. They also enjoy chasing each other. And drawing pictures on the Magnadoodle.
Harper wrote a book today titled The Six Circle Brothers. The six circle brothers are, as you might suspect, circles. With smiling faces and appendages, and they have many adventures. My favorite is when they go to the park with their friends the square brothers and the rectangle twins. I was relieved the circle brothers were not shape-ists.
We finally decorated the Christmas tree today. We only have about 20 ornaments, so it didn't take long. Hudson calls them "Christmas Ordinance" which makes it sound very official. He also calls Hershey kisses "horseshoe kisses." I also meant to wrap all of the presents today, but I only wrapped two. Since I had helpers. I had to clench my teeth while that was happening , by the way.
8 comments:
"Shape-ists" - too funny! And your kitchen counters look just like mine, and that makes me feel a little better. I stopped in at a neighbor's house the other day, who has a 2 week old baby (her fifth!) and her house was completely immaculate. I returned home to my messy kitchen (and playroom and livingroom) and wondered, what is my big excuse?
My little folks love helping with Christmas present wrapping too... scotch tape is just so much fun. It is an exercise in patience for me, and I have to chide myself sometimes for being so picky with them - "the tape goes on the long way over the seam! the long way!" as if it really matters!
You don't know how much better this makes me feel, Zoe.
Yes, I actually changed my tone when Harper put tape on a seam and managed to completely miss the other side. She is 6. It is just a piece of tape. AND it was a gift for my mom, who, in all likelihood would cherish a gift wrapped without any of the seams properly fastened.
Okay - starting here and moving backward (sorry about that), but wanted to say: Mine do go to school and I have yellow school bus days quite frequently. The weird thing is that even when they're gone, they're here. The messes, the laundry, the old, sticky food on the placemats. The dirt tracked on the carpet and parts of things everywhere - blocks in three separate rooms, legos, and styrofoam peanuts (I lost it two days in a row with those). By the time they come home, I'm exhausted and ready for a break! This is no joke.
I've been giving this yet more thought: The NY trip was super fun, but refresh me it did not. Because what I wanted was MORE. It was the chance to be responsible for no one but myself for the first time in years that was grand, and I craved more like a starving person craves food. As you know, this does not mean I don't love my children or motherhood. But I clenched my teeth (and maybe yelled some), when about a million styrofoam peanuts (did you know these are still used in some delivered packages?) wound up on the living room floor for the third time in three days. Also, once or twice I bought mangos that remained uneaten because I wasn't sure what to do, so I understand the pomegranate hesitation. We now eat mangos regularly.
If it makes you feel any better, Patti. Any surface T3 can't reach looks like yours, but mine is full of paper and fuse beads (your fault). Anything he can reach looks minimalist. The floor reveals the path of destruction - though the girls clean this up each night before bed. It stays clean during the sleeping hours and then he attacks at first light as he is the first to awake.
I thought of your Little Drummer Boy yesterday... The kids received a package from my mom with a Veggie Tales movie called The Little Drummer Boy. It made playing the drums look like such a great way to honor God. But it also made me grateful that (as of yet) playing a musical instrument does not appear to be one of my kids God-given talents. Does reading books count as a talent? Because I all about that skill for my kids!
You ladies all make me feel so much better. Margie--no styrofoam peanuts (yet) but Hudson, just minutes ago, used his plastic knife to cut up a piece of styrofoam that came in his drum packaging. It is a disaster. Plus it seems to be repelled by instead of attracted to the Swiffer pad.
Jo--I'm sorry about the fuse beads. Hopefully T3 will never get the whole bucket and dump it on the wood floors.
Christine--I do OFTEN wish Hudson's skills lay with some quieter instrument. I actually thought about your friend the harpist and wondered if her mother dreaded practice time as much as I do. Probably. But yes, book reading will always be my preferred hobby for my kids. So quiet, so independent, so productive..
You know I'm teasing. They were the main item on my Christmas wish list for the girls. They've been a huge success!
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