My Little Free Spirit

He follows no schedule, is confined by clothing, calls himself and artist (which he is), enjoys working (playing) in the dirt, loves EVERYTHING beautiful.... Oh how I love him so.  I feel that are days are being number, next year he will be off to kindergarten, and who will I have with me at home (I do realize how selfish this sounds)???  

He is a nature lover at heart.  No one is as excited as him to go mushroom hunting.  And even if we don't find the right kind of mushrooms, he is more than happy to gather the others.

And at our visit to the nature center... the birds, and the trails, and the birds on the trails.... Heaven!

 

I love finding him barefoot and shirtless, perched on his personal mountain top eating his lunch.  More than once we have gotten somewhere and realized he has no shoes.  And I'm always confused that he can lose the shoes that he is supposed to be wearing.

But shoes aren't the only thing he's wearing that he loses....

'Abe, why are you not wearing underwear?'  (a Mother always has her way of knowing...)

'I'm not wearing underwear?'

'No... do you know what happened to it?'

'Nope.....'

How they fall off his body and get 'lost' is one of the mysteries of the universe (Oh, but I do find them... in the hall, in my room, on the living room floor, in the yard, welcoming others on the front porch.....).

He loves celebrating Earth Day, And what a better way to celebrate than a class field trip to the lake....

We had so much fun that we went back later (it had nothing to do with the couple of cool logs I spotted the first time... well maybe a little)... just the two of us.... why do the rocks always seem waaaay prettier just out of reach, under the chilly water?

My little free spirit.... almost five.... but he'll always be my little 'Ducky'

Life's a Garden.... Dig It!

He's wanted a 'Hippie Camping Van' since he was six.  He is completely facinated with that sort of 'gypsy' lifestyle.  A derby car is the perfect opportunity for him to test his 'Hippie Van' painting skills.  While we were scrolling through Google images for paint job ideas, I decided to make it a parenting moment.

'Hey Jo.... did you know that a lot of 'Hippies' do drugs???'

'WHAT!'  (this was the first he'd heard of this.... he was completely baffled) 

'Yeah... so I know that someday you wish to have your own van, and travel the world surfing the oceans... but you won't do drugs.... right?'

'Mom.... BE DRUG FREE!  Drugs are sooooo Dumb!' (right answer)

So far so good, much better than my last 'Say No to Drugs' talk (a TRUE parent fail... I don't know what I was thinking.... Tried to use an M&M analogy... 'Sooooo M&Ms are drugs Mom?'  No, wait, not right.... even still Sol now refuses to eat M&Ms).

We made a pact in that moment....He promised to stay drug free, and I promised to graciously help him get a 'Hippie Camping Van' when he is 18..... wish us both good luck! 

I think he did a great job on his car, and we were both pretty proud that he won his first heat.... but I was even more proud of our pact.

Impressions

 

He HATES big dogs.... I mean he REALLY HATES them.  Barks, growls, chases, bites (& then runs the other way really, really fast)..... it's a typical case of little dog syndrome.  Meet Betty (a four month old Bernese Mountain Dog), Trigger's new favorite playmate.... maybe it's because at one point he was bigger than her.... or maybe it's because he's not all that smart (Sorry Trig).... but I think it's because friendship knows no bounds (at least until she reaches the 100 pound mark).

Joining Mamabyrd & others in their weekly Impressions Posts. 

Impressions

 

Our field trip to the lake was cancelled due to a spring snow storm, sooooo.... We had an impromptu Earth Day (just 1 week early).  'At the far end of town where the Grickle-Grass grows & no birds ever sing excepting the crows'.....  With our tray full of Mother Earth made snow cones, we all said our oath on the 'Unless' Stone before entrance granted into the Truffula Tree paradise, where Swanee Swans sing, Barbaloots dance, and Humming fish well.... hum?  

 'I (state your name) Do Promise..... TO SPEAK FOR THE TREES!!!'  

 

Joining Mamabyrd & others in their weekly Impressions Posts. 

I'm Not a Runner?

 I don't like running.  I don't like shoes (and good shoes are mandatory in running).... I don't like the way my body feels after running.... I don't like the rushed nature of the sport.... I especially don't like it in the freezing temperatures of winter, or in the blazing heat of the summer (unless you get out before 6:00... which is why I run in the dark, after putting all to bed).... Not in a box, not with a fox, not in the house, not with a mouse, not in the rain, not on a train, I do not like it here or there, I do not like it anywhere!!!  I run because I like to eat, and I don't need a gym membership to do it.

To make matters worse I also have a healthy fear of running.  I'm fearful of injury and tripping.  I'm afraid of getting hit by a car or getting assaulted while on one of those dark night runs (which is why I carry mace.... a large, large bottle of mace).  And mostly I fear the creatures of the night.  OH NO IT'S A PTERODACTYL!!!... oh wait... my mistake... it's just a satellite dish... and aren't pterodactyls extinct?  And when I run a little too close to the lake.... WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?!!.. I'm pretty sure it was Nelly herself, crashing through the trees, and diving into the water.... or maybe not.  I've decided that my ears and eyes become especially perceptive while running in the dark, so I don't care if it really is just an overturned garbage can, it looks like a bear, so I believe that's the universes way of telling me to take another route... I'm flexible like that.  Take someone with me you say... I do on occasion, but my husband is unable to stay awake past 9:00.... and my dog, the one with the lean muscular frame, and long legs, the one who looks like he NEEDS to run... oh he doesn't leave the yard past 8:00... a dog needs his rest.      

Do you want to know what bothers me the most about this torturous sport????   It's that I know every possible five mile running route in my tiny town..... That any run under 8 miles is considered a 'short' run.... I know what songs on my I Pod naturally match my stride, and which ones encourage me to pick up my pace (Oh be quiet, and thank you Mumford and Sons).... I know what a runner's tie is, I know that running with water bottles in both hands actually helps my carpal tunnel.... and I know how long, within minutes, I'll be gone on a 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 mile run.  I guess I'm getting to know my enemy.  So although I don't like running, is it possible that I've become a runner????

I guess I can find some good.... like these cool spring mornings when I can actually enjoy the scenery of our beautiful little valley....

I love this fence, and it's a good thing too because I follow it for more than two miles at least once a week.

 

  

I don't have too much more time when I get to run in the light, 6:00 am runs aren't really my thing (you have to truly love the sport to have those early morning start times).   So I'll enjoy these daylight runs while I can, and when the heat comes, I'll find some enchantment in watching the night sky for shooting stars, because.... Man I really don't like running.

Impressions

It was one of those parenting moments... you know, when your child has a book report due the next day and they still have 60 pages left to read in their book.  Reading doesn't call to him like.... skateboarding, and bike riding, and exploring, and jumping on the tramp.... so what do I do?  I already know the answer to that question.... It took less than an hour for me to read those remaining pages.... was it right????  Probably not, but I'm not willing to let him fail.  Besides it's been far too long since I've spent time in bed, with good company, reading a good book.

Joining Mamabyrd and others in their weekly Impressions posts.

Spring has Sprung

Is it O.K. to celebrate spring yet?  Without much of a winter I'm feeling guilty every time I enjoy the warmth spring brings.  Warm temperatures or not, a week without any homework is definitely worth celebrating.

Spring Break Beach Time:
Sure... we were sporting idy bidy tiny winy bikinis..... they were just under our sweaters, and fleeces, and sweat pants..... you should have seen our tans... A-MA-ZING!!!  The cool temperature didn't stop Jo and his buddy from venturing out in the kayak.... and Trigger and his buddy too????

 

Spring Break Egg Hunting:
Our Easter Bunny got an early start, 4:00 am, it's hard to go back to sleep when you've stripped a bed of it's bedding, re-dressed that same bed, started a load of laundry, bathed a small bladdered four year old, and tucked in that same four year old with comforting promises that Easter Bunny did not hear him up and would still come and hide his eggs.  And on a side note, Jo and Sol should never attempt to make a living at finding things (Jo's ambition to some day be a archeologist may be in danger), especially eggs.

 

 

Spring Break Easter Pictures:
Growing up we weren't exactly church going folk, but I still got an Easter dress with a matching hat each year... until I was in high school.... my mother started this tradition.  Pink shirts with fedora hats, I can't resist, it probably has something to do with my guilty crush on Jason Mraz, but I'm blaming my mother (and so can the boys when they get older).  I've come to hate posed pictures, and so do my boys.  The line 'Just one more', is now associated with threatening promises, and curse words.... I stopped myself before things got too ugly, nothing was really cooperating anyhow (Mom I'm not wearing this hat, Why do I have to sit up straight, The sun is my eyes.....), so I decided to be satisfied with what I got (which wasn't much... if only I understood photo shop). 

with Aunt Heidi (the only adult out of pj's)

  

 

The Winner!

Jo went back to school with a bit of a tan and  plenty of practice on his new longboard.  Sol went back to school another year older and fully equipped with Power Ranger Dino Zords.  Abe now back to a schedule with a new egg hunting passion, and hopefully without any newly acquired cavities from the mass amount of candy he's consumed over the week.  I'm sad to see the week end, and a little excited at the glimpse of summer I witnessed.  Wish us luck while we patiently (or not so) count the last days until summer arrives!

Sol's Roarin' & Rockin' Prehistoric 7th Birthday

  

This party almost didn't happen.  After celebrating Dad's birthday on a camping trip this past October, the rest of my boys have decided this might be the way the to go.  Both Jo and Sol told me they wanted to go camping instead of a party for their birthdays (and Abe wants a camping birthday party), and although I don't know if I'm ready for them to give up birthday bashes (what will I do with my somewhat embarrassing party planning addiction?), I'll admit no party planning will simplify my spring quite a bit.  In the end Sol wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to his party ways, and made his decision to have a prehistoric birthday party.
 
I'm sure his decision had something to do with his jealousy of my preschool class curriculum the past month (we'd been studying dinosaurs.... can we really call it studying???).  However this assured that several of his party activities had already been kid tested and approved.  We did cave painting (sidewalk chalk & a cement walkway), freed our cavemen from a block of ice, popped our dinosaur eggs, found and excavated fossils, went on a dino egg hunt, used clubs to defeat a real(ish) dinosaur, and participated in a caveman food challenge.  Our group of cavemen had no problems eating dirt, mud, sticks, seeds, even worms.  What a fun afternoon, full of prehistoric merriment.   

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

Sol's one pleading request was something to battle at his celebration..... enter my super fun older brother (and his awesome wife who surprised us with amazing cake dino eggs).  He was more than happy to strap on his dino tail and take his roll as a human/dino pinata.  Lucky Sol not only found the 'Golden Egg' in the dinosaur egg hunt, but also was the one to snatch the giant goodie filled dino egg from the ferocious dinosaur.

I decided to make a cave for Sol's party, it'll be a nice addition to our western mining town (I even sunk some golden nuggets into the dinosaur fossil).  I believe that crafting on all scales is my creative outlet, so an old bed I've been trying to give away for months became my cave canvas.

 

Everyone seems happy with the end result.... and maybe it's because Monte got some room back in the garage (now that the bed is gone), but I think he wasn't annoyed with me and my cave project, I even got him to carry a bucket of sand, and was that a smile at the t-rex fossil (VICTORY... I'll take it were I can)? 

Happy Birthday Sol.... Your Awesomeness spans all the ages!!!!