Motion

The snow came. For me, the mere dusting was immaterial. For children who see snow but once or twice a year it was magical. We donned our winter gear and headed out both this morning and this afternoon. I stood; I watched; I froze. They jumped; they rolled; they ran; they laughed. They never sat still or noticed the icy wind biting at their nose, hands or feet. Probably because they were always in motion.....

PJ Magic

We learned today at school that if you wear your pajamas inside out it will snow. So here's hoping for a snow day tomorrow...


btw - Grandma and Grandpa must be wearing theirs inside out day and night to be getting the snow they are getting!!

Feminist Pirate

OK, we all know that the kids are obsessed with piracy these days so it shouldn't surprise you that last night the kids were once again on the pirate ship, listening to their pirate songs. As they were gleefully throwing their animals off the ship and yelling man overboard Quinn stopped mid-mutiny and with a very serious face informed me of the following....

Mommy, why do we always say man overboard? Some of my animals are girls and I don't think we should say man overboard for girls shouldn't we say girl overboard? I don't think it is right.

Gloria Steinam watch out - there may be a new sheriff in town.

Sometimes It Is The Simplest Things.....

That are the most fun....

Year In Pictures - 2009

Hey if Time can do it - so can I.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from 2009.....

Van Gogh Moment

I always know which one is my son's art project at school. It isn't because I know his favorite colors or that I can instantly detect his crayon stroke. I always know which one is his because it is always the one with the least amount of effort. Most of the other kids enthusiastically color within the lines with many bright, beautiful colors. My sons inevitably will take two or three passes across the piece of paper with a crayon/marker (usually a black or brown) and declares himself done. He is the same way at home with any sort of craft project we do. He figures out the minimum amount of effort it takes to please me and then is off like a shot. He has just never been that boy - while Quinn can happily sit at the table and color, paint or string beads for a necklace; Greyson's interest lie in the active arena. He has to be doing something physical- hockey, football, riding his bike or sometimes just running in circles around the house like a chicken with his head cut off. He is always in constant motion. Which is why the events of last week have left me baffled.

As you may recall from my last post the kids took time off the pirate ship to make a Jolly Roger flag - which in and of itself was surprising that Greyson would volunteer to color. I chalked it up to his current dogged devotion to piracy. But the next day when I asked them what they wanted to do Greyson said "Color another flag". OK, like before he must love pirates and so I printed off another flag. But then he finished that page and asked for another "I want to color a pirate ship" then "I want to color a pirate hat" Wow - he must really love pirates, I thought but then he started asking for other things "I want to color a train" "I want to color a castle" and so it went. And long after Quinn had lost interest in coloring and wandered away to do her own thing my son sat alone, quietly at the table and colored.......for hours.



I think he colored more that day than he has in his entire life. He attempted to stay in the lines and even used a palette that extended past the earth tones. I don't know how long this phase will last but I am enjoying the burst of creativity (and the quiet).

A Pirate's Life

For Christmas Aunt Cindy bought the kids a pirate book (with sing-a-long CD) and a CD with various pirate stories and songs.

Innocently enough this weekend as we drove in the car I said "Hey do you want to listen to the pirate CD?" Big mistake. After that it was all over. We have been listening to those CDs non-stop for the last two days. We spent all morning playing pirates. The kids climbed into their ship (formerly known as the daybed) and set sail. They happily threw their stuffed animals off and cried out "Man Overboard." Then poor Guinness and Cooper made the unfortunate choice of coming upstairs to see what we were up to. Well, they couldn't drown in the ocean (formerly known as the floor) and so up onto the ship they went to become unwilling crew.


After a little while it was unacceptable that their ship had no flag so they sailed into port for a little R&R and craft time and they each made their own Jolly Roger.


Thankfully after that it was lunch and then nap so I have gotten a little pirate break but I have a feeling we will be hitting the high seas this afternoon. Arghhhh maties.