I discovered this last Saturday morning at Max's basketball game. I am 8 months pregnant and look every bit of 8 months pregnant. So, on Saturday morning, I get to the game; the gym is packed and there are no chairs left to sit in. Lots of people noticed me standing there in the doorway, including many men. Did anyone jump up and say, “Here, take this seat!”
Nope, not on your life.
They saw me standing there in the doorway, sized me up and then turned their attention back to the players warming-up on the floor. So, I stand there for a bit.
Actually, I'm stunned.
I just expected that someone or several people would help me find a place to sit. Not that I'm a princess and expect people to fulfill my every wish and want; rather I assumed it was common courtesy to help women who might not necessarily be able to help themselves (pregnant, elderly, etc...)
So, after a bit, I go over to the rack in the hallway that holds the folding chairs and get one down for myself and sit in the doorway. Not a big deal, except two grown, capable men watched me struggle to take a chair down and then lug it over to the doorway.
They WATCHED me!
Hello?!?
Did it not occur to either of them that I could use their muscles. What ever happened to the whole “Knight in shining armor” attitude. Rescue the damsel in distress! Be the hero! Jeezy peets. It was just one stinking chair. But, then I had to get another chair for Eli. And, of course, the men watched me again and did not make any motion to help or even apologize for not helping.
Maybe I'm making a bigger deal out of this than it really qualifies for. But, it seems to me a breakdown of a basic societal rule: The stronger help the weaker. I drill this into my kids’ heads. I tell them all the time: If you are in the position to help someone, DO IT!
Or maybe that is just a Christian rule. There is no way I would be allowed to get my own chair at church. There would be a dozen other people jumping up to help me. And other people would chide me for trying to get my own chair.
Makes me feel good about my church and somewhat uneasy about our society.
**********************************
On to a happier topic:
Eli has discovered Dvorak.
One of my favorite all-time pieces of music is Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (The New World Symphony) I love all of it, but I especially love the fourth movement. It has a raw power and energy that is unsurpassed in my opinion. The best version is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as conducted by Sir Georg Solti. Solti was an amazing maestro who could create sweeping emotions within any piece of music.
I wish I could find an intenet version of the fourth movement conducted by Solti for you to put here, but the best I can do is the Wiener Philharmoniker. Herbert von Karajan, conductor. (Yeah, the Wiener Philharmonic. huh huh, you said weiner. LOL)
It's an awesome piece of music and one that I was playing on a recent morning before breakfast. As soon as the music started, Eli stopped what he was doing and went into the living room. He just stood there, totally still and transfixed, staring at the CD player for the entire 11 minute and 28 second movement. When it was over he grabbed me and pointed at the CD player. (He's a man of action, not words.) So, I started it again. He climbed up into a nearby chair and continued to stare at the CD player.
Then, he begins to conduct!
It was such a neat experience for me! That he, at the age of two-and-a-half, can be so moved by a piece of music that I love. And that he just innately knew to conduct! He hasn't seen me ever conduct a musical group; I haven't done any conducting since before my kids were born. And, unfortunately, we haven't been to many concerts of any kind. But, he just knew. It's in his blood. How cool is that.
And, what is probably the best part? When Eli is doing something he shouldn't, I just turn on Dvorak and he stops to go listen and conduct! LOL
I'm going to introduce him to Gershwin next. I think he'll really like that!
Living Room Furniture and Names and New Year’s Resolutions
For those of you who actually check this blog every now and then, I apologize for my lack of posts. You will be glad to know that I have fully recovered from my burns and have developed a healthy respect for the power of our microwave.
I’ve written several blog posts in my head over the last two months, but now as I sit at my computer I cannot remember a single word of any of those wonderful (they were really great!) posts. So, you'll get my stream of consciousness instead. (Click away now while you can!)
I’m not a great photographer, but you can kind of get the idea from those pictures. We still need to put pictures over the mantle and have our tables made. (I bought these round pieces of wood and now I’m hoping to find a carpenter to create legs and make it all into tables. We’ll see what actually happens. LOL)
Pregnancy is going well. I have felt pretty awful for most of it (9 weeks left now) but this last week I’ve felt much better. It seems that sitting around all day and eating lots of sugar makes me feel worse than eating well and getting bits of exercise. Not a welcome revelation, really. But, I’ll do what I need to do if it makes me feel less crappy. (I’m eating Christmas candy as I sit here at the computer typing this. Maybe I’m not really doing what I need to do.....)
Bryan and I will never be able to agree on a name for this baby. We know it’s a boy. We couldn't agree on a name before Eli was born. My pick was Elijah but Bryan wouldn't agree to it until he was actually born. He decided that the loudness of his cry indicated a good old-testament prophet name (Elijah) was appropriate. (You know your baby has a loud cry when the nurses, who are used to this sort of thing, say, “My, that one is loud.” That’s my boy!) Eli had his name within an hour of being born. I hold out no such hope for this next baby. I fear he will be called “Baby” for many days before we can finally agree on a name. Or at least until I fill out the birth certificate without Bryan’s knowledge. LOL
Here are the current rejected names: Bryan likes Knute—pronounced correctly “Noot” or incorrectly “KaNoot” he doesn't care—he just likes the name because then he can use the nickname, “Noodle.” Ummmmm, yeah. No. I like Solomon or Dominic. Bryan has flat-out rejected both of those names.
For me, the meaning of the name is just as important as the name itself. I think our other boys have really grown into their names. Max is Maximillian Emmanuel which means “the greatest God is with us.” Now, if you know Max you know he is all about the biggest and the best. He has a good heart and he loves other people. But he also really likes to win and be the best at all things. My hope is that we can mold and shape that passion away from himself and towards the Kingdom of God.
Xavier’s full name is Xavier Zacchaeus (Bryan will never be able to spell Xavie’s middle name in this lifetime...) and it means “bright, pure, and innocent.” Now, Xavier is 5 years old. He’s full of everything that little boys are full of. :) But, he has this certain je ne sais quoi about him. He has an amazing imagination that carries him to places most of us will never experience in any way. At his parent-teacher conference this fall his teacher told us a story. One day, during centers, all the children were working quietly when she looked up and saw Xavier across the room. He was doing this very graceful dance around the room. She asked him what he was doing and he responded, “I’m airing the room.” What? “I’m bringing good air into the room.” When she suggested that maybe he do this outside on recess instead, he responded, “But there is already good air outside!” This is typical Xavier in every way. He just thinks differently from the rest of us. I would love to enter his world and experience it with him. So, anyway, back to his name. Xavier is the epitome of bright, pure and innocent. He displays a depth of spiritual understanding that floors me at times. (He asked me once, “Mommy, if God loves everyone, does he love the devil?” We decided that, God indeed does love everyone, including the devil, but that just like us when we sin, God doesn’t like what he does.) My prayer for Xavier is that we can keep him focused on the love of God.
Eli’s full name is Elijah Daniel, which means Jehovah is my God and my Judge. It’s a heavy name for a two-year-old boy. But, he won’t be two forever. (Thank God, because I don’t think I could handle it!) He is a rough and tumble boy and he has the strongest will of anyone I have ever me. He knows what he wants and he is persistent well beyond reason. (This is a child who can throw a tantrum that lasts an hour-and-a-half or more!) I can’t really say for sure yet, but I imagine that Eli is going to to grow into a strong, determined, go-getter sort of person. I predict that he will be a man who grabs life by the horns and doesn’t let go until he gets what he wants. And, just like the other two boys, we hope that we can steer Eli’s tenacity toward the Kingdom of God.
So, who knows what this next baby will be like. But, I want to make sure we pick a good name. (Knute means white-haired. Maybe it should be my name!)
Are you making any New Year’s Resolutions this year? I didn’t think I was until I had my quiet time this morning. (And it actually was quiet as I was the only one awake. It was nice!) My resolution comes from Philippians 4:4 (The Message) Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! I looked up celebrate and revel (Yes, I already know what they mean, I just find that a lot of times I can develop a deeper understanding of the meaning from the actual dictionary definitions. Smart Aleck!) Celebrate v. 1.) to make publicly known; proclaim 2.) to praise widely Revel v. 1.) to take great pleasure or delight in.
That’s my resolution—for my heart to take great pleasure and delight in God and my mouth and actions to publicly praise him. This isn’t something I can do through sheer force of will, but rather through surrender and death. Surrender of my will (which wants to complain about the world around me) and death of my old self (which only wants to focus on me to the exclusion of everyone and everything else.) If only we could say, “Spirit, control me.” and it would just happen. But that’s not how it works. So, God and I will walk hand-in-hand into the new year and hopefully I can keep a tight grasp on that hand. That's my New Year’s Resolution. Well, that and not letting clean laundry pile up on the dining room table. ;)
Well, thanks for stopping by. If you have time, check out the new additions to my portfolio. I have several projects that are about to wrap up, so I’m hoping to have more additions soon.
Our microwave is ancient. It is built in above the stove top and is so old that the display no longer works. The only way we’ve figured out to get it to work is push the start button several times and then keep an eye on whatever is in there. Early on I tried timing the start button to see for how long it actually set the microwave. The first time: 28 seconds. The second time: 4 seconds. The third time: 2 minutes and 14 seconds. I then gave up on the theory that the start button actually had a set time. Add to that problem, the fact that I am convinced this ancient microwave is leaking radiation so I try to never be near it when it is running. (protecting the unborn.)
So, this morning, being quite the homemaker that I am, I decided I would microwave my kitchen sponge. Supposedly this will eliminate those yucky odors and deliver a fresh, clean sponge. I put the sponge in, push the start button several times and leave the room (protecting the unborn) to go brush my teeth. After I brush my teeth I discover that Xavier is naked and playing in the living room. This is normally not a big deal, but since the school bus was due in about two minutes I went a little ballistic. Got him dressed and shoved out the door ready for the bus.
Well, apparently there is a time limit on how long you should microwave a sponge. And, as you can see by the picture below (yucky, un-microwaved sponge on left; clean and freshly microwaved sponge on right) I exceeded that time limit.
As I was hosing down the sponge and eliminating the flames from the microwave (by the way, turning on the oven exhaust fan will only add to the fire) my son Max declared that I should be banned from the kitchen. In his words, “Mom, you catch too many things on fire!” Thank you dear boy; isn’t it time for you to go to school now?
The pathetic part of this story is that I was genuinely surprised when I opened the microwave. Not just at the fact that I had burned up a sponge and almost our house. In the span of about 4 minutes, I had totally forgotten that I had put the sponge in the microwave. Maybe Max is right. Maybe I should be banned from the kitchen.
I made some Bunny Pasta last night for the boys and at the same time, Eli was desperate to have me identify all of the Mystery, Inc. Gang in the book he was holding. The pasta was safely cooking and I turned my back to the stove to read a bit of Scooby Doo when I suddenly felt very warm. For a moment it reminded me of the pleasant feeling I would get as a child, when I would sit very close to our wood-burning stove and my clothes would get really hot. But, I quickly realized that this heat was much hotter than what I remembered as a child. Then, a split second later, I realized that I was on fire! I grabbed a wet washcloth from the sink and beat my back with it. That put out the fire pretty quickly, but as you can see the shirt is beyond repair. I have small blistery burn on my back and several smaller burns on my hands. (I apparently used both hands to put out the fire. Didn't realize this until later...)
But, God is good. As my older two boys pointed out, this could have ended very tragically, because I forgot to stop, drop and roll.
But, the real kicker, besides my apparent lack of safety rule application. I ruined a really great maternity shirt! Argh!
Ahhhh, it’s good to be back in the land of the two-hour delay! Just about every school in the area is delayed 2 hours this morning. The boys will be very excited as they are only allowed screen time before school if there is a delay. Cartoon Network, here they come!
The only kicker will be that Eli has his first Kindermusik class at 10:00 this morning. I’ll have to figure out how I’m going to take Eli to his class and still get the boys to school on time at 11:00. Not sure if that’s possible....
Anyway, here are some pictures I thought you might like.
Here are the boys on a pontoon boat on Rose Lake earlier this summer. The Stallkamps graciously loaned us their lakehouse for a week and we had an absolutely fabulous time! I love this picture of the boys.
Max waiting on the bus for his first day of school. He is in third grade and is loving school this year. Kindergartners start one week later than everybody else in our school system. Here is Xavier a week later on his first day of school. He is enjoying it immensely as well. Xavier and Miss Wilson, his teacher. All three boys on Max’s first day. Bryan and his bike.
Eli and me on the carousel at Dollywood back in May. What you don’t see in the picture is the Dollywood worker coming over to tell us that you can only have one person on a horse at a time. They said it would be much safer for Eli if I stood beside him rather than rode with him. (The pole will crush him, silly woman!!!) So, I stood beside him, but not until we got this picture! :)
Since the massive rains two weeks ago, we are experiencing massive mosquitoes. As Bryan said, it's like they are trying to squeeze a whole summer of mosquitoes into two weeks. It's really bad out there and we are all covered with bites.
I am part of the Lima Moms Network. (go ahead and sign up if you like. It's mostly just useful for Moms in the Lima, Ohio area, but some of the stuff is good for everybody. You'll get in if you sign up. Kristi doesn't turn anyone away.) Today I asked the group what itchy mosquito bite remedies they have used. I've gotten lots of good answers so far. There are a few that suggest the same things, but I've kept all the answers exactly as I received them on the forum. I will keep updating this as they come in.
We are using Benadryl cream and liquid form if really bad. Seems to help with swelling and itch. I also put a thin, long sleeve shirt over them so they tend not to itch as much.
Make a paste with baking soda and water - apply and let dry. My dad's favorite home remedy for us when we were little.
My daughters got bitten up when we went to Atlanta...Benadryl was the #1 thing I found. We tried the gel Benadryl (helped somewhat) and After Bite (helped somewhat) but the regular liquid Benadryl helped them sleep at night without scratching themselves to death.
It may only be a temporary solution, but when you are outdoors and don't have much else -- Purell or other hand sanitizer stops the itch for me! My mom always used witch hazel (the Tucks hemorrhoid pads have witch hazel in them and would be convenient) or a low dose OTC cortisone cream. Good luck!
afterbite! it works great - I know you can get it at andersons or walmart.
I bought some itch ointment at Wal-Mart called After-Bite for kids. It is especially formulated ( for kids) not to burn. This is only true if you get to them befor your child scratches it open. Otherwise, it does not seem to burn or sting when I use it on Jason, but is sure stops the itch.
There is a tube of stuff liquid called after bite (the itch eraser) I found it at meijers in the pharmacy. on the bottom shelf It runs around 2.99 Hope this helps.
Last weekend - I used my "mud" (it's blue) spa by bath and body works on my husbands bites - he thought it worked.
Calamine lotion or ice packs...they're real bad this week, huh??
I don't know if it's been mentioned but deodorant works! You rub it on your bite & actually kills the itching sensation. We do it all the time, lol.
Eli loves to swing. I mean LOVES to swing! He would swing for hours on end if I would push him for hours on end. The longest I've been able to go is 90 minutes. (Which I think is pretty darn long!) A lot of times I will take a book outside with me, sit and push the swing with one hand while I hold the book with another hand. But, sometimes we end up at the swings and I don't have a book with me. Early today was one of those times.
But, I had a revelation. (Desperate times call for creative measures!) I figured out that if I turn backward and push the swing from behind I can get a really great upper arm workout! How awesome is that?!? (I've been noticing that my upper arms are starting to take on that old-lady-jiggle. No offense to any old ladies who have that jiggle, but I would like for you to keep it and for me to not get it!)
So, that's my revelation of the day. Yes, I lead a pathetic existence. I know. Sad, but true. (But, I can feel the burn, baby!)
Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything. But, if you're reading this, then you already know that! LOL I saw that last week I had 26 unique hits, which amazes me. I haven't posted since March and yet, here you are, ever hopeful, ever optimistic. So, for you, my hopeful, optimistic, never-say-die readers here is a new post. :)
Random thoughts bouncing around my head like Bludgers:
Just finished watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone with my boys. We borrowed the book on CD and Max and I really got into it. So much so, that we both read the book because it was going to take over 7 hours to listen to it on CD. Max has found that the hour-and-fifteen-minute bus ride home from school makes for good reading time. (Xavier has discovered that same bus ride makes for a nice, after-school nap.) So, anyway, we both finished the book (Max reading on the bus, me reading at night) and tonight we rented the movie. Quite an excellent story. Not sure how I feel about the wizard/witch thing, but it is an excellent story. I can see why it is so wildly popular.
Still not very excited about being pregnant a fourth time. Bryan gets upset with me when I say things like that. He will lean over and yell at my belly, "We love you, Baby and we can't wait to see you!" Yeah.... Guess who's going to be changing the diapers at 3 AM.... It's not that I don't want a fourth child. This child will be much loved in this family by all of us. I have no doubt about that. It's just that I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Those of you with multiple children know what I'm talking about. You get to a point where your kids are somewhat independent and they don't need you 24/7. Some women love being needed 24/7. I would not be one of those women. I crave solitude and space—two things that are in precious short supply when you have children under the age of three in the house. But, God has His reasons and I should not doubt him. And, I am learning to stay in the present. (Because the future scares the beejeezus out of me!) When I start worrying about how it's all going to work after the baby is born, I remind myself that God says,
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. The Message version is good too: Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. And the NLT is a good one too: So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.
So, I just keep plugging away, staying in today and (trying) to let tomorrow worry about tomorrow.
Xavier started kindergarten this week. He loves it. Both he and Max have second-year teachers. Both teachers look so young! But, they both seem very gentle and nice. Max was relieved to find good friends in his class. Boys that he knew from before and was good friends with before. That was a wonderful blessing from God. Xavier didn't know any of the kids in his class going in. He hasn't talked much yet about the other kids. I hope and pray that he makes a few good friends this year. He's such a tender soul. He seems to bruise easily and I think that good friends would help protect those tender places.
I am actively working on three new websites right now with one more in the hopper. It's a busy, busy time. I don't have anything from those new sites that I can post yet, but I've been doing quite a bit of graphic design work for the church. I just completed the new design for the Shawnee UMC logo. Here's a sneak peek: http://www.shawneeumc.com/sumc_earth_logo.jpg (It's pretty cool, if I do say so myself.) Here's another logo I did. This one is for Harvest for the Hungry, our huge food drive for the West Ohio Food Bank. http://www.shawneeumc.com/harvest.html
OK, have to get the boys to bed. They've been running around downstairs... mostly trying to maim one another I think. But, no one has been injured to the point of running up here to tell me. So, I guess they're OK. LOL
Thanks for reading. I will try to post more regularly. And, maybe, just maybe, about things that are a little more interesting! LOL A
It's been the week from hell here in the Bucher household. Every member of the family has puked multiple times in the last 6 days. We've all been in a bit of a fog and not really sure which way is up. But, we Buchers are not ones to wallow in our pukiness. Rather, we laugh in the face of illness and mock the viruses that strive to beat us down. (Well, actually, laughing might make us start puking again, so here are others who are able to laugh.) Enjoy!
And, finally, no one is laughing in this short video, but it's a favorite of the boys. I think you'll enjoy this sneaky penguin. You'll have to watch it more than once to figure out what's really happening. :)
My Mom had a good appointment at the James Center yesterday. She goes back on Friday to meet with the head of Radiology & begin testing to see if this specialized radiation is an option for her. My Dad said the doctor was very upbeat & optimistic. So, keep praying & we'll see what happens. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are the House o' Puke right now. Eli developed the stomach flu Monday night. He started throwing up at 9:30 pm and continued through that whole night. (I quit counting at throw-up number 10, which was 3:35 am.) He was pretty lethargic all day yesterday & didn't keep anything down. He nursed briefly two times during the night last night & kept those down so I let him have a big, long nursing session this morning. He promptly vomited it all back up, and Max, who was watching, said, "Cool!" But, overall, I do think Eli is feeling better today (judging by the fact that he gets really angry when I only let him have a couple of sips of water rather than a full cup) and I think we're past the worst of it with him.
Xavier was feeling yucky last night & developed a fever. I kept him in bed next to me so I could keep an eye on him. He's not puking, but he has this horrible sounding cough. I really hope this isn't a different virus. Two viruses at the same time could wipe out our house for weeks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Beeson Pastors & Spouses had a big get-together at Bella Notte last night, courtesy of the Beeson program. Bryan went alone since I was home with sick boys. He felt bad going without me since Bella Notte is my favorite restaurant. I've been there twice & I absolutely love it! Bryan offered multiple times to stay with the boys & let me enjoy a night out with friends & good food. But, I'm the Mom, and that's the person that sick little boys want. Isn't that what we all want when we're feeling yucky? That person who will love us & comfort us & do everything possible to help our upside-down world be righted? So, I missed out on what sounds like a very enjoyable evening, but I was doing what I needed to be doing. There are so many times in my life that I'm not doing "what I need to be doing," that it's good to be able to say that about last night. And, Bryan brought home an order of Chicken Marsala for me. (I had it for breakfast!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope your days is blessed with laughter & pleasant surprises.
Mom has a consult at the James Center in Columbus today at 2:45. Prayers are most appreciated! This appointment is to determine the next step in treatment for her. The way she understands it, they will either do a specialized kind of radiation or another form of chemo. I'll let you know.
When I talked with Mom yesterday she was feeling upbeat and good. She was fixing a big dinner (spareribs, potatoes, etc...) for her friend Josh. Josh works maintenance at the apartment complex Mom manages and he is going to pet-sit for her while she & Dad are in Columbus today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I took the boys & a few of their friends to the park yesterday. That was fun. After playing for a while we followed a path that leads to a cemetery. The older kids were fascinated with reading the tombstones and figuring out how long people had lived. They got excited when they would find someone marked "army" or "minister" or when they would find someone with a familiar name. They had a great time.
It's been a long time since I've been in a cemetery. One of the things that struck me as I walked through (following Eli) was the sheer number of stories represented there. All those people—all their stories. How many of those stories are still remembered? Sometimes it's easy to tell the stories that are fresh in people's minds. Those graves are decorated to the hilt. There were grave markers that were landscaped, there were ones that had all kinds of little knick-knacks all around, fresh flowers, plastic flowers, hanging baskets, gift baskets, you name it. Those people are remembered. They are thought of and their stories are told or thought about frequently.
Other tombstones are undecorated & there is no outer clue that tells whether their stories are remembered. Now, sometimes, a bit of the story is on the tombstone: beloved teacher at ATS, missionary to India for 40 years, etc... But, it is just such a tiny part of their story. One tombstone in particular really stood out to me. There were three names: mother, father, & son. The mother & father were both born in the mid 1880'ss. Their son was born in 1921, the same year the father died. The mother lived until 1970, but the son died in 1950. I wonder if the father ever got to hold his son. I wonder how the mother dealt with her grief. Her story reminds me of a couple Bryan & I met in our Bradley class when we were pregnant with Xavier. They had been married less than a year & were expecting their first child. Within a few weeks of finding out they were pregnant, the husband was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He died about a month before the baby was due. She went into labor at the funeral, but she didn't tell anyone because she didn't want the focus to be shifted away from her husband. The baby was born the next day without any complications and was given the name that his dad picked for him. We lost touch with her after that. But, I think about her often and wonder how she is doing. I wonder how the Mom buried in the cemetery handled life. Had she learned to trust and rest in God? Or did she spend her life bitter at her circumstances? Did she every remarry? Did she close off her heart to protect it from being hurt ever again?
I wonder what my story will be when I come to the end of my life here on earth. Will I have learned to trust & rest in God? Or will I let anger and bitterness be the rule of my life? We all have the opportunity to write our life's story. Each day, in each moment, we have the choice of what our life will be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since we're on a death theme here, I have to share a postcard we received in the mail this weekend. It's addressed to Bruno, our cat and it's from our cat groomer. It reads: "There is no time more fitting to say thank you & to wish you peace, happiness & dreams come true." Very nice. The irony? Bruno was put to sleep a couple of months ago. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope all of you are having a wonderful, peace-filled day.
Wow, I'm a slacker blogger! Sorry. Life has been a swirl of business here, lately. Anyway, here is a great picture of Eli, taken by our neighbor, Aaron. Elijah is such a sweet and wonderful boy. (Most of the time! lol!) He is 15 months old, now. He is climbing and running and generally making a mess everywhere he goes. We call this the “path-of-destruction” age. But, he is so happy and smiley and cute. He will do just about anything to get you to laugh. And he loves music. He dances anytime there is music. I use this to my advantage when he's upset. I will put on some good music and a lot of the time, he forgets that he's upset and starts dancing. But, Eli is also very strong-willed and sometimes, nothing—and I mean nothing—will make him forget that he's upset! He knows his mind and is not afraid to help you know his mind, too. :) Well, thanks to Eli, I went over two years without a period. (Another perk for moms who breastfeed!) My body is now back into that cycle and I realized something with this latest period. It truly is a gift from God. Not just the ability to conceive and bear children (although, the wonderment and amazingness of that cannot be overstated,) but what I realized last week was that during my period, I give myself permission to be pampered. Most women I know go at breakneck speed all the time. We are constantly striving to be perfect spouses and mothers and friends. Those who work for money, do so with a passion. We feel guilty when we aren't productive, when the house isn't clean, when we haven't fixed a “real” dinner in several nights. I could go on and on... But, during our period—it's a whole different story! It's OK to let things go. “I'm on my period, the house can wait.” It's OK to indulge, “I'm on my period, I'm going to eat that chocolate!” and we don't feel guilty. We give ourselves permission to take naps and long, hot baths. We, in short, pamper ourselves. This, my friends, is a gift from God. He wants us to rest. He wants us to take care of ourselves and have margin & balance in our lives. So, count it as blessing, girlfriends. Consider it a gift from God. Slow down, relax. And enjoy.
I have always been generally opposed to video games and am very uneasy with the presence of an X-Box in our house. Our boys love video and computer games. I have always been convinced video games were bad for my kids and have tried to limit their exposure. Video games are lumped into the same category as junk food in my mind.
In our house we read books. We play chess. We eat whole grains.
Well, earlier this week I purchased a magazine titled “Ode: For Intelligent Optimists.” I was intrigued by a featured article titled, “The future of homework: Why our children absorb more in an arcade than in a classroom—and what schools can learn from that.”
Fascinating read! Here's the link to the article online. It is an impressive argument for gaming in general and the use of games in the classroom, at home, and even in hospitals. This entire article is very challenging to my current mindset. Here’s one of the sidebars that blew me away:
If video games had come before books
.... this is what critics would say.
“Reading books chronically understimulates the senses. Unlike the long-standing tradition of game playing—which engages the child in a vivid, three-dimensional world filled with moving images and musical soundscapes, navigated and controlled with complex muscular movements—books are simply a barren string of words on a page.
Books are also tragically isolating. While games have for many years engaged the young in complex social relationships with their peers, building and exploring worlds together, books force the child to sequester him-or herself in a quiet space, shut off from interaction with other children. These new ‘libraries’ that have arisen in recent years are a frightening sight: dozens of young children, normally so vivacious and socially interactive, sitting alone in cubicles, reading silently, oblivious to their peers.
But perhaps the most dangerous of these books is the fact that they follow a fixed linear path. You can’t control their narratives in any fashion—you simply sit back & have the story dictated to you. This risks instilling a general passivity in our children, making them feel as though they're powerless to change their circumstances. Reading is not an active, partcipatory process; it’s a submissive one. The book readers of the younger generation are learning to ‘follow the plot’ instead of learning to lead.”
I don’t necessarily agree with all of the quote, but it sure makes me stop and think. Maybe the X-Box isn’t entirely evil. Maybe there are benefits that I have never even imagined. Maybe, just maybe, I don’t know all the sides of the issue. I’m going to let this article percolate in my brain a bit and then revisit it. Maybe I’ll learn more. Then, maybe I’ll go shopping for some new X-Box games.
OK, this isn't what I planned for my first blog post to be about, but Blogger will only let you write 150 characters in response to their crazy question. (See my complete profile if you're confused.) Anyway, 150 characters is not nearly enough to explain the complexity of the whole experience of bringing a dead bird to school in the third grade. So, here's the rest of the story... I found a dead, frozen bird when I was walking to school one time in third grade. I kept it on my desk all day (even made it stand up to say the Pledge of Allegiance) because I was certain that it wasn't dead - it was just too cold to move. But, alas, my classroom wasn't warm enough to thaw the bird. I wrapped my poor bird in my scarf to bring home at the end of the school day. I don't remember what happened to the bird (most likely my Dad pitched it in the trash) but to this day I am amazed and thankful that my third grade teacher was sensitive to my heart. She asked me why I had the bird that day, and after I explained I was thawing the bird so she could fly again, my teacher, Mrs. Brown, never said one more word about that crazy dead bird on my desk. I know there are issues with germs and all that, but Mrs. Brown understood that childhood innocence, faith, hope and curiosity were much more important than adult concerns that day. I hope & pray that I can be that kind of adult.
Name: Aimee Home: Lima, Ohio, United States About Me: I own and run 123 Design Studio, a custom web and graphic design studio. I am mother to four wonderful boys: Max, age 10, Xavier, age 7, Eli, age 3, and Toby, age 1. Bryan & I have been married for 18 (mostly wonderful LOL) years. I eat excessive amounts of sugar and laugh inappropriately. See my complete profile
