Here are pictures of the train track that Tyler built by himself! Very proud moment for his Daddy….

Tyler Naps

So Tyler doesn’t nap at all now.  The transition has been pretty easy thankfully.  The nice part is that the kid is out at 7:30pm - no fight, no fuss.  By the end of the day he is pretty exhausted, especially with all the outdoor time. I am a little concerned how the heat will effect him.  He is a  wierd one - we hiked Hamilton Pool which was pretty rugged.  After the ride home, he hops out of the car, gets his bike, and proceeds to right around the block a few times.  However, today after a morning with 3 other friends, I am having to keep him awake on the way home from an errand to the grocery store. 

We still need to lay low at home around nap time, because if in the car at the right time, he *could* fall asleep.  We don’t want that to happen because if it is too late, that wrecks bedtime and since he now doesn’t transition and sleeps lightly in the car, if he wakes up, he is usually a mess.  Today, it was around 2pm.  We usually have our quiet time at home from Noon to 2pm or 1 to 3pm and then he is ready for more action.  He does need about 2 hours of downtime though between adventures to really rest and relax.

Quinn Sleep

My daughter is a party animal during the day, so getting her naps are getting harder.  I keep trying to find her windows.  She wants to watch everything and doesn’t want to sleep.  Or if I miss a window, she gives up on me and wakes up.  She is still usually in a good mood up until bedtime.  That is nice, but I know that her little body needs its rest.  I feel bad because sometimes we are out and about and I know she needs to get home and nap.  Then by the time I get her there, the window is closed or Tyler might wake her up.  At some point I will get it figured out…

Her bedtime seems to be crawling a little bit later too.  She is now down around 6:45pm to 7:15pm.  Still really early.  The difference is that if it is “too early” she is quite squirmy and just not ready.  Not a big deal, just a little change.  I kind of wonder if the increased daylight is part of that.  We will see what happens when daylight savings hits next week. 

Ah, Daylight Savings Time - I hate Daylight Savings Time.  Let’s look at how fun it has been in the past shall we?  Here was the affect when Tyler was 11 months (Oct), 16 months (April), and at 23 months (Oct) and more frustration at 23 months (Oct). As you can see, we have never really benefitted from it.  In fact, usually, we get to a great routine and bedtime place and then DST comes along and mucks it all to hell.   Now with Tyler not napping, we will see {sigh}

Teeth

I always told folks, I didn’t care about two in diapers, it was two kids teething at once that I dreaded.  It seems that I may get my wish.  Quinn still hasn’t gotten any teeth and Tyler’s last molar has popper through pretty good.  I still feel awful not realizing my son was getting molars and canines at the same time.  He was experiencing even more discomfort than I was aware and is to explains his mood the last three months or so.  At any rate, he is almost done.  Given him one more month the get those canines and last molar in all the way - and we are scheduling a teething party!  Woo-hoo!

As for Quinn - it could still be a while.  I check her gums, but don’t see any swelling yet.  She is “teething” as in gumming on things and drooling a bit.  

Play

Tonight, Tyler had found my bad of little plastic bears we use in our babysitting co-op.  He had then riding on the passenger cars of his train.  He also had a chicken on the quarry crane on the table.  Additionally, he had built some houses, a building that looked like a castle, and a tower out of blocks.  He had quite the bussling little city on his train table.  He play is so amazing these days.  He likes to find “walking sticks” when we go on hikes and then use them later to go fishing.  The kids says stuff that cracks us up everyday and I have gotten so poor about capturing it here.  I really do need to get better. 

Once funny thing he said the other day was “I don’t like LMNOP” (referring to the ABC song).  He is very much into what he likes and doesn’t like.   The other day when bringing him home from a hike and some play on a nearby playground he says as he is climbing into his carseat on his own, “thanks momma for hike and playgroun”.  Thank you Tyler!   Oh, and my favorite thing to charge him with is putting recycling in the recycle bin.  He will take the item, open the garage door with one hand, toot over to the bin, dump the items, come back into the house and close the garage door.  I don’t know why this cracks me up, but I think it is uber cute and uber hilarious! 

I also love the way he runs.  One of my Waldorf books talks about how kids Tyler’s age run for the joy of it whereas older kids run with more intention.  I totally see that - his run is such a joyful run!  He just clops along loving every moment.  Toddlers can be so tiring and stubborn, but they are also wondrous, amazing little beings.

Plans

My plans are still in play.  Visited a preschool today for Quinn and got her on the waiting list.  Tyler may go there too if he gets in.  Don’t know how many others I will visit - this one is pretty unique and uses a lot of the Waldorf philosophy.  I am about to sign off as I have some backyard designing to do.   I am really looking forward to transforming the backyard - it is going to be a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it.

With that, I am out…talk to you guys later!

Power can corrupt, but power also feels so good.  Went out for a drink/late dinner with a friend tonight and then met up with Chris at Starbucks (where he was getting some work done) afterwards for an hour.  I can’t explain it, but leaving the dinner and heading to Starbucks, walking into Starbucks seeing Chris look up and see me…I felt powerful.  Maybe because as a Mom, I don’t often get that time where I am by myself, dressed up a bit, and powered “by me”.  Where I am doing what I want to do and feeling like an adult.  Chatting with Chris about business matters, having a margarita with a friend.  It is like a part of me that is often supressed gets to come out and play for a while.  I savor those times.  I feel so in control because I am - I control every minute, every action.   Hence, I feel powerful.

It is a sensation that I think every mama needs every so often.  I need to allow the other parts of me come out and be who they are.  My house is my workplace - it calls to me night and day.  I have to get out - I have to be somewhere else.  And doing that at night, well, that just feels…naughty.  It does.  Being out in the day and being out at night are so different.  Night is like the ultimate treat.   It feels dangerous.  I love it..then again, maybe this is the margarita talking…..

I have been trying to establish better rythms for our days.  The notion of rythms is that they contract and expand - there is a breath in and a breath out.  In yoga there is great emphasis on taking complete breaths as opposed to the shallow breathing most of us do most of the time.  A complete breath is filling up my lungs completely and then emptying them completely.   I see the importance of taking complete breaths as we flow through the rythms of our day.

We are usually out of the house for our morning adventure for about 2.5 hours.  We come home and have lunch and we usually head upstairs to the playroom and hang out for about an hour.  I play with the kids, rest, iron, fold laundry.  The other day I attempted to get Tyler in the jogger for a walk right after lunch.  He didn’t want to go preferring to putz around the house.  I realized that is part of his complete breath.  After so much acitivity in the morning, he wants to hang out in our quiet house and play processing the events of the morning.

I also see that after this quiet period, he is very ready for some kind of afternoon activity.  When this doesn’t materialize, it really throws him off.  His friend Piper came over this afternoon and he was really unsettled.  He had a lot of energy and was taking that energy out on her in unfavorable ways.  Everything about his mood and body movements indicated to me - let’s go do something outside, let’s go, let’s move!   I now see that after that 12 to 2pm-ish quiet time, he needs an adventure. 

I see the power of the rythms and the effects on my toddler when I move against them instead of with them.   There is Quinn to consider also.  I realize that I have to be clear in my intentions, because Quinn will be wanting an afternoon nap.  I can usually get her from bed to sling without waking her, but my preference would be that she is already in the sling before falling asleep.  I need to take into consideration what the kiddos’ needs are in the afternoon and how quickly or slowly I need to move to accomodate them.

It seems crazy, but when I really spend the time trying to attune to my children, the answers seem so obvious.  I am enjoying the rythms too.  That after lunch period is heavenly.  Quinn sits her her mat playing and watching her brother, Tyler builds with legos and dominoes, the windows are open and breeze is blowing.  I iron and do whatever work I can accomplish upstairs and when I am done, I just sit with and enjoy my kids.

Oh, and another Waldorf principle - it is not about WHAT you accomplish, but HOW.  I say that to myself all the time when I start worrying that I won’t get something completed.  It isn’t about ironing as many shirts as possible.  It is about doing the job well with a smile on my face, a bounce in my step, and maybe even some humming while I work.  I am a model for my kids - the way I approach my “work”, whatever it may be, they will imitate.  It lends new importance to my tasks and also gives me a chance to pause and set an intention to truly enjoy what I am doing.  There are still times I am harried by impatient youngsters.  And that is okay, I either put my work away or find a way to get them involved in what I am doing - washing dishes, scrubbing potaties, stirring, etc. 

I am enjoying my Waldorf journey thus far.  I like the direction in which my family is moving.  This philosophy had provided me with a great map.  I have now received several of my books and am more excited than ever.  I am still waiting for my eBay win, outdoor spaces book.  That will be the first big project.  Of course, I continue to try and find time to declutter this house - I seem to never tired of whittling down our belongings.

Anyway, Quinn is keeping my up about 2 hours a night and I have more car research to do, so I need to be off an running.  Oh, and finally, a palmetto pic from Palmetto State Park.  More fantastic Chris pics.  I really want him to have some kind of show this summer or something.  He has years of work to show off.  But then he is going on this mentor series trip in the autumn which he hopes will take his work up a notch.  Then he starts saying he hasn’t thought about commercializing his work, yada, yada.  Stall tactics if you ask me.   I think you just put it out there.  Art is so subjective.  Everything out there will speak to someone.  There is a crowd of people that will be drawn to what he photographs.  At any rate, I know he has been enjoying so many opportunities to shoot.  I enjoy seeing what he captures.

I am tired now so going to bed soon, but had to post.  Woke up after a bad night with Quinn thinking today would suck and it didn’t!  Somehow I either went with the flow or the flow went with me, but it was great!  We had a few friends over in the morning and thanks to the gorgeous weather spent much of it either in the front or back yard!  Snuggled with Tyler while Quinn napped and we all just had a really chill day.  Tried both kids in the jogger and Quinn did great!  In the past, she would not sit in there very long, but today she was in a half hour and fine!  Yipee!  Time to get some new running shoes and start exercising!

Nature Table

Here is a picture of our “nature table”.  We bring in things we collect from outside on walks, hikes, bike rides and what not.  The candle I light at each meal sits in the middle.  Now I just need to get some great little blessings to say before out meals.  I love it though.  I brings me calm and makes me smile because each item represents a memory of a fun adventure.  Cool stuff!!

Blew A Gasket

Not me this time, Chris’ car.  That is right, the mustang is dead - off to car heaven.  Too expensive to fix.  So we will be buying a new car three years earlier than planned.  I don’t want to spend a lot of money, but that may be hard to pull off.  The less I want to spend, the more work involved (meaning if I buy from classifieds, doing research on the car, having my mechanic check it out, etc) versus buying a two or three year old car from a lot.  The big thing for me is that I do not want another car payment.  Don’t know.  We have the week to talk and see what we are going to do.  The weather is going to be gorgeous, so Chris may have to rent a car for this week because I cannot be homebound.  I have been waiting weeks for this weather and it is finally here!!  I love Spring!

Tyler Built a Train Track!!

Pictures soon.  Today Tyler built a loop track all by himself with twists and turnes - a full, fun loop.  I gave him a pile of pieces and he did the rest!  It was so cook to watch him create!   I have also been giving him a basket of blocks to play wit and he makes all sorts of cute things, especially these cute little house looking things with a small cylinder and triangle on top.  That is what I love about Waldorf - it really unlocks the imagination!

Here is a picture of Tyler running with some moss that is now sitting around the candle at our nature table.  I was loving Palmetto and Tyler and I pretending to visit each other’s houses on the hike.  At one point, he had some moss and a stick and was using the stick in a peeling motion on the moss like he was peeling a potato.  I was jumping up and down - he was using what was around him to make play!!  It is a really cool thing to see!  

Wanted to post this pic too.   {sigh}  Well, Chris went to start his car and it was having trouble.  We just got the battery fixed and then spent a large sum of money to replace the broken odometer.  The car was leading large amounts of radiator fluid underneath the car.  I don’t know what is wrong, but my gut tells me it will be expensive.  That is the downside to keeping cars until the die - you will spend money at the end.  I will say that up until this 11th year of the Mustang’s life - that car has been fairly trouble-free.  My Honda was actually in the shop more than his car.  At any rate, we are nowhere near ready to replace his car.  If I have my druthers, we will not be buying another new car, but something gently used.  Another commuter car.  The problem is - Chris wants to Forester and I do too. Who knows..  Anyway, the deal was the Mustang had to last another 5 years or so - it has 3 years to go.

I will be homebound tomorrow as a result of the aforementioned issues.  There are no Superfriend events tomorrow (the group is still together by the way), so we will just putter around the neighborhood.  Maybe I will try to get Quinn in the jogger with Tyler and see if we can make it down to the coffee shop or something?  I really want to run come March and need to start acclimating her to the jogger.  She hasn’t been so fond of it in the past, but it has been a long time since I have tried.  She is older now, so we will see. 

Anyway, it is 8:30, so my butt needs to go to bed.  Talk to you guys later!  All my books get here this week and I can’t wait!!

We went for a another family hike today.  I am very proud of us - since the New Year began, we have gone to Wild Basin, Bastrop twice, Perdenales Falls and checked out a new park, Palmetto State Park today.  It is a small park with a little over 3 miles of trails, but it is so cool.  It has all these palmettos which seem so foreign in the harsh hill country environment.  Chris was loving to photo ops and we both think it will be beautiful when Spring is in full force and everything is in bloom.  We plan to return to camp in 4 or 5 weeks to check it out.  There is a river that flows through the park and a little lake as well as two playgrounds for the kids. 

I have been happy.  The getting out suits Chris and I so well.  He has gotten to take pics of different environments every weekend.  The kids do pretty well.  I was shocked that neither of them slept on the 1.5 hour trip back home.  Quinn is not like Tyler as a baby - the car put him to sleep all the time - not her.  Blows me away!

On a cute note - the kids were totally cracking each other up in the car today.  Chris and I could hear them giggling at each other.  Tyler was even giving her toys.  We knew they would interact, I just never imagined at such a young age they would enjoy each other so much.  She thinks he is just hilarious and he likes to make her smile.  They are a great match!

Of course, I get to the computer first, so I don’t have any cool palmetto pictures to show you, but I am sure Chris will download tonight, so I can upload some soon.   I am pretty pooped tonight.  My plan is to just to my “getting ready for the week” chores, clean the kitchen and go to bed.  Quinn was acting wierd tonight and I an concerned that on top of that eczema, she may be getting a cold and maybe pink eye.  I don’t know, but I am worried about her.

I will close by posting some pics from a hike we took New Years’ Day at Wild Basin - it was pretty cold that day so we had Quinn in her very warm bunny suit my Mom found in Pennsylvania. 

Oh, and Chris cleaned up the backyard today.  We pulled out old lights and are starting to make plans to transform the backyard! My outdoor spaces book should get here this week and we are going to get ready to plant some flowers and maybe veggies for Spring.  I am so excited!!  I love spring!