A few ramblings, and thank you.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

A few ramblings, and thank you. Current mood: uncomfortable Ow. I did something to my back yesterday. Something unpleasant. And sadly, whatever I did was embarrasingly mundane to have caused this much trouble- I don't even remember precisely what it was but it involved folding laundry. I wasn't even lifting anything heavy. Now, I have to hold my breath and grit my teeth to bend down, climb stairs or lift one of the boys. It hurts. I probably shouldn't be lifting the boys, but what is one to do? My Mom loaned me a back brace today, which does help. The climbing stairs is no longer a big deal, and I can kneel down and get back up again without much pain, if I am careful. I only lift the boys if I have to, and I do so very carefully indeed. I am really hoping this is a simple strain, or a pinched nerve or something and that it will fade soon. Otherwise I will have to see someone about it. Time will tell. * * * Why does a toddler's experimentation with cause and effect have to involve "What happens if I peg my brother in the head with this wooden train"? (Or block, or pirate, etc. . .) Poor Littleman has a scab on his head right now, courtesy of Sweetcheeks' well developed pitching arm. There's no malice here (yet), but it's not fun. At least they spend a lot more time playing nicely together than they spend damaging each other. It's been very nice for me for them to enjoy each others' company so much. The house is semi-clean, even! Amazing how much I can get done when they don't need me every waking second. * * * So much for this winter storm. Not that I expected a whole lot, being that the ground is as warm as it is. You can't expect snow and ice to stick around here, unless it's been good and cold for a week at least. Whereas we have had warmer-than-spring temperatures for longer than that. One of Littleman's signature questions is "What happened ___?" (Apply this to any situation, regardless of sense. . . it's just his way of asking you to explain). A couple weeks ago or so I said something about winter being so different than I remember them being when I was a kid here. Littleman pipes up, "What happened the winter?" Well, I don't have all the answers to that question, but I have a theory, shared by many, and it isn't pretty. What will this world be like when my boys are nearly grown? Will change be slow, or will they see a dramatic shift in their lifetimes? Will people wake up in time to slow things down at all? * * * I think my back has made me a little sour. Actually, I am not in a bad mood. But the boys are getting very impatient with me, and I am constantly being interrupted now. I feel like rambling on at you, my loyal readers, but I have a feeling that tending to my children would be much more productive at this point. ;) I'd like to get them in bed in time for me to have a nice long hot soak. * * * PS- this isn't much for many bloggers, but I was surprised to note my little journal here has surpassed 1,100 hits. Wow. Who are you folks, anyway? LOL, whoever you are, thank you because you keep me writing. (however infrequently, sometimes). OK. I've heard "Why" about 60 times in quick succesion. I think someone wants my attention. :)

ignoring the muffled crashes coming from upstairs

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

ignoring the muffled crashes coming from upstairs Current mood: cold I feel like I am in a state of suspended animation. Outside the world is silvery grey, all color seeped away, leaving nothing but cold and sleeping twilight. The furnace runs, but still I feel chilled and sluggish like some cold-blooded creature futilely resisting the pull of winter's sleep. I have accomplished some things today, but it's been like pushing rocks up a hill. My soul aches for a book by a fireside, long hours of idleness stretching ahead into the evening. Electra comes inside for a pat and I press my face into her cool fur, breathing the redolence of chimney smoke and dry leaves. She would be a willing participant in my little dream, getting in the way of my book as she pressed kneading paws into my thighs and belly, until I bear her pricking claws no longer and she curls up to purr. We would sit there, she and I, curled under a blanket by the fire, and I would wander other worlds through the pages of my book, guiltlessly relishing the warmth and quiet.

slacker.

Monday, January 15, 2007

slacker. Current mood: guilty Well, I'm a slacker. I write the newsletter for my neighborhood association. Not a big deal, though it can take awhile for all of us to get together and figure out what news should go in it. We are all busy, unpaid volunteers and our president can get behind sometimes. We tend to have more good ideas than the oomph and organization to complete them, but gradually over the years things have definitely improved. I try to do my small part well, in a timely manner. Our last officers' meeting was before Christmas, in which we decided that it was very important to get a newsletter out the first week of January. I needed one key piece of information from the president before the newsletter would be ready to print, but for the most part I had all the notes I needed. Then the holidays strike, things get busy, stuff gets tidied up and shuttled around, and I keep putting off writing the newsletter. Also, mr. president has yet to call me with the last piece of info. (I usually have to call him, though). Finally tonight I sit down to write the newsletter (I can get the last bit of information tomorrow) and I cannot find my notes. Dammit. So I am a slacker, and a disorganized one at that. Sigh. I console myself with the knowledge that most likely, other officers have not come through with their duties these last weeks, and therefore we couldn't have sent the newsletter yet anyway. But I hate not keeping my end of the bargain. I'll find out what's up tomorrow, and perhaps we can all start fresh. It's so hard to keep up with things like this over the holidays- it just gets pushed aside. In the meantime, I am thinking I will do some yoga now that the boys are asleep. It will be nice to do the poses without functioning as a jungle gym at the same time. :)

a day at the High

Friday, January 12, 2007

a day at the High Current mood: tired Touching tips to paper, rich aqua flows and swirls, shimmering green, deep warm brown and fire bright orange. Picking up the paper sends rainbow drips sliding, mingling gleefully in their rush for the edge. Spritzing water, and suddenly they disperse in delicate muted explosions, liquid puffs of magic captured. He is delighted, intent on further experiments with this wonderful, messy and brilliant material. He tries drawing, squirting, dripping, dipping fingers, stirring, tasting. No aspect of the paint goes unexplored, until finally his attention span begins to wander and I shuttle his colorful self over to the sink for fun experiments with soap and water. Big brother is still intent on creation, selecting and applying his colors with care. He is having a ball, and I look forward to seeing his masterpieces. Yesterday my Mom and I took the boys to "toddler Thursday" at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. It was great! Between 11am and 3pm there is a free art activity for the kids (yesterday was painting). Young kids get into the museum exhibits for free (we checked out the current installments of Louvre Atlanta) and there is a free interactive play area for kids as well, with soft sculpture shapes to build with and climb on, a magnetic 'found object' wall to create on, marker boards and a still life to draw from, unit and architectural blocks, scarves for performance art and several other fun things. The boys really had a good time, and (since my Mom is a museum member) the only things we had to pay for were parking and lunch. (though those did not come cheap). Take Marta and pack our lunch, and we'd have an exciting, educational art outing for pocket change! (Even if you aren't a member, you could take kids to the art activity and the play area without paying admission. If you want to visit the exhibits, adults are $15 and students, seniors and older kids pay less. One admission fee covers all museum exhibits including Louvre Atlanta). We will definitely be back.

a DVD recommendation and taking down the tree

Thursday, January 11, 2007

a DVD recommendation and taking down the tree Current mood: lazy I thought I was mixing a cherry and a blueberry Jelly Belly jelly bean, but the cherry turned out to be cinnamon. Hmm. Sorry, suddenly distracted there. What was I going to write about, again? The boys received a "YogaKids!" DVD for Christmas this year. I like it a lot. It's very age-appropriate, but I still feel a difference in myself when I do it too. Mr Sweetcheeks loves it, and tries to do some of the poses. Littleman has not yet participated- he just wants to sit on the couch and watch. I'm not sure why- I encourage him to do it with me, but I'm not going to force him. Hopefully he will come around. In any case, any of you with kids who might be interested (the program is recommended for ages 3 - 6) might want to check it out- I feel very comfortable recommending it. I'm almost done taking the Christmas decorations down and putting them away. The tree still stands, but it is stripped of lights and ornaments, awaiting a trip to the local fire station, where they collect trees to recycle. It's finally starting to dry out a bit- it lasted really well, mostly because we cut it ourselves at a tree farm. (That was great! The farm was just up in Cumming. It was so much fun wandering in search of the perfect tree, and in addition there were farm animals to look at and pet, marshmallows to roast and hot cider to drink. Plus, the tree was cheaper than if we'd bought it at a roadside stand closer to home. The boys had a blast. We'll probably go back next year). The tree is still beautiful now, but it's always sad after Christmas to see that magical twinkling tannenbaum reduced to drying tinder, shedding it's needles and awaiting it's inevitable fate. Still, I am looking forward to rearranging the living room furniture and getting some space back. I think I am going to try and shower before bed tonight- I think the kids are good and sound asleep. (Knock on wood). So I'd better sign off here and get a move on! :)

That was fun! And 5 pointers.

Friday, January 05, 2007

That was fun! And 5 pointers. Current mood: good OK, no I have not disappeared, nor have I moved to Alaska (more's the pity, in some ways)- the holiday vortex sucked me up and spit me back out again, and I am just now recovering. Not to say it was not fun, because actually I had a blast this Yule season and New Year's Eve. I am really beginning to understand how parents get out of hand at Christmas. What fun! I try to stay very aware of my core values, so that I don't get too swept away and end up trying to do too much, or spend too much, or eat too much (much) or get too behind. I love the holidays. Anyhow I am still catching up on some things (like laundry!!) and I have to get moving early (relatively speaking) tomorrow so I'll make tonight brief. I had a long, enjoyable conversation with my Dad tonight on the phone, in which we hashed out theories on the american dream, the decline of society, comfort zones and the beauties of cooking with wine. (to name a few). It left me wanting to type this: 1) Know what you want. (Often the hardest step). 2) Believe you can get it. (And you must also know you are worthy and capable of having it). Be prepared for a rocky road getting there, since leaving your comfort zone (even for something much better) is always very hard. 4) Start walking in the right direction. (Be proactive, stay focused and make room in your life for success). 5) Don't give up.

Footnote to a frustrating afternoon

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Footnote to a frustrating afternoon Current mood: productive Hello- I recently purchased Foil Accent (Snowflake design) stationary and address labels. The address labels are UPC code 67919. While I had no problems at all with the stationary (it's easy to format myself), formatting these labels has been an epic battle. It's extremely frustrating. First of all I am on a Macintosh computer, and more significantly I do not have Microsoft Word. The "web" formatting option was not available for this product. I am pretty irritated that without one particular software product, well then in this case the consumer is completely up the creek. I did manage eventually to find an application that could open the Word document, and though the formatting was all screwy I (through cussed stubbornness) eventually managed to print two pages of labels. (The third page of labels was a casualty in this engagement). I could have hand-written all the envelopes three times over by now. I just wanted to write and let you kow that in this case, your "DIY Printables Made Easy" were anything but. I'll be sticking with Avery labels in the future- their formats are pre-installed in my word processing program. Too bad that, after all that work, some of my envelopes will still be handwritten. (Since one page of labels was ruined). I did at least like the stationary- I'd buy stationary from your company again. Thanks for your time, Kit