I need to go to bed – can’t complain about being tired if I hit the hay at midnight.  And thank you to my sweet boy for sleeping through the night two nights in a row.   Stressed – because I don’t know all the tasks that I will need to complete for the myriad of stuff happening in my life over the next two weeks.   Ack!!!

And you know – a weekend is upon us which should be good, but when those aren’t planned out well, it can all run amok.   Chris last day at his current job is tomorrow.  That went by fast….

I finished making all my root children – I will have to post those soon…and some they said what stuff…and birthday stuff from a year ago.

Fine, I am signing off – when I start list making on the blog it is just time to call it a night!  :-p

Elizabeth, how do you do it??  Jennifer, that bacon thing was hilarious!  I’m out.

You know I have to admit that I do have thoughts on how I wish my kids would play, things I wish they were into, certain materials I wished they embraced  more.   But then I have to sit back and simply watch to see that they are quite imaginative and are very much their own people.  It may not always be what I want, but it amazes me what they can do with the things they find.

Tyler wanted me to set up a stool so he could get down an tool apron hanging in the garage.  I come back a while later to see that he has taken everything off the racks.  He and Quinn have some old bike tires and said they were hula hoops.  Later they were enjoying rolling the tires around the garage.  And I just stopped and smiled enjoying the way in which they make their own fun.

I know I want certain things for my kids.  I also realize that part of parenting is knowing when to back up and take my perspective on it all away so that they can apply their own.   So they can look at something and decide what they are drawn to and what meets their needs right now.   As I hear it said often – to meet them where they are at.   Sometimes a challenge, always an adventure.

You don’t, would be my answer.  Chris and I left the game out one night and Tyler found it the next day.  He was quite fascinated and probably more so when I told him he could learn to play when he was older.  Fast forward to that night me leaving for a 2 hour meeting and the kids in Daddy’s care.  I come home and Tyler says. “We played Monopoly!”  Huh?

I tend to complicate things, but leave it to Chris to whittle the game down to the simplest form such that Tyler LOVES playing.  I am sure it helps that many of the properties are places he recognizes.  I think that is really what has sealed the deal on this game.  Whole Foods, The University of Texas, The Capitol, Zilker Hike and Bike Trail, Congress Ave., Lamar Blvd., etc.

So in case you are so inclined to play Monopoly with your child, let me give the rules Chris set up:

1.  You only roll one dice not two

2.  Each player gets $10 in singles.
3.  If you land on a property, it is yours (you don’t buy properties).

4.  Rent is always $1, so if they land on a space owned  by someone else, they owe that person $1.

5.  You get $1 when you pass go

6.  Landing on luxury tax or traffic fine makes you pay the bank $1

7.  Contingency and Big Fun pay $1.  (Chris says because there were too many spaces where nothing happened and the kids liked all the receiving and paying of money).

Now supposedly the game ends for a player when they run out of money. (Edit: I just learned that it can also end when all the properties have been given out.  Count up the money and see who has the most.) Personally, I think there needs to be more subtraction of money, because I just don’t see how one could run out of money.  And of course, I don’t know if a game has been played to its ultimate end just yet.

The other morning, we spend the entire morning playing games.   Quinn tired of Monopoly, so went and drug out every other kid game we own.  At one point, she and I were playing Orchard and Tyler was playing Monopoly.  She and I would take our turns with out game, then Tyler took his with Monopoly.

I don’t know how much I will be posting these next two weeks – I have so many deadlines hanging over my head right now, I have lost count.   How do I sign up for so much and think that in the less than two hours I have a day to actually work, I can get things accomplished?    I have articles to write, a hike class to create, an office to manage, neighborhood projects to get started, and a Mother Earth doll to make.  Okay, so that last one isn’t a top priority, but it makes me happy and for that reason, is important.
Thank goodness Chris will be off for the next two weeks.  Oh, wait..what?  That is his time off??     He did say he would take the kids to give me some time…  at it couldn’t come at a better moment because I need as much time as I can get right now!
*sigh*   Off to bed I go….

Our front yard (and our neighbors’) the kids play in both yards.

On a beautiful day, hiking in nature is pure bliss.  But some days, simply sitting on the driveway while the kids play and Chase lays in the grass nearby is heaven.  The sounds of the breeze in the trees, the chimes ringing, the peace of the neighborhood, the quiet noises of the day – it is lovely.  The backyard is fun for us too – but there is a sense of containment at times.  The front yard feels open, we feel out in the world and I totally get why the kids prefer it.

Even Chase gets excited, as a new friend, Saffron, with whom he loves to play, will come by on a walk and so he gets some playtime with her out in the yard.

Not always ideal when Mama has work to do in the house, but when I can, I will knit/crochet or as in the case today, work on my grocery list and be out there with them.   It is good for me.  I am always thankful the days I get pulled outside or pulled to go on a bike ride.  I can get so caught up in my lists and work, that I forget to breathe in the day…..and breath out the stress.   It is funny, kids can often create quite a bit of stress, but they are also good at finding ways to get rid of it.

A third night of sleep deprivation and I think croup for my son.  How we go from stomach bug to croup in two days is beyond me.  Actually, Tyler slept well, it was Quinn who for the 2nd night in a rolled around for an hour for unknown reasons.

Anyway, Tyler has complained of having trouble breathing this morning – almost to a panic so we took him outside to get some fresh air.  The cough is dry and bark-y sounding.  He does have snot even though the cough for now is dry.  There is also a bit of a wheeze.   And this would totally explain the hoarseness of his voice.  No clue yet as to how is tummy is doing today.  Poor kid – a double whammy.   He seems in good spirits right now thankfully.

So it was a good thing that I didn’t have to show him a movie the last two days, because today might just be that day. Strange, strange times.   We will see what the day brings in terms of mood and illness.  I do need to go to the store and will probably still do that.

At least the weekend is upon us…….

Tyler’s stomach bug seemed to be getting better – well, there was no more vomiting.  But today on top of that he got laryngitis and this evening had a fever again.  Strange combination of symptoms…we will see what tomorrow brings.