Random Musings

I keep thinking of how silly E is with his stories and tales, and how he is able to put complex ideas together weeks and weeks after conversations about disparate subjects. The time changes so quickly. Here he is, a lanky 9-year-old already.

I remember the day about three years ago when he was so tired when I picked him up from school. I asked him if he was OK. "Yeah," he replied. "I didn't have a chance to take a nap in school today."

That laugh popped into my head when I got him today. He informed me, "Mama, it was SO weird! I was sitting in class when suddenly I just got SO tired! I told (his teacher), 'I think I have the sleep bacteria in my brain.' "

Speaking of ... something new with the girl today. She's been singing a TON lately, to her babies and just in general. She does this cute sing-song of "Ma-maaaaa Ma-maaaa" and so on.

On the way to pick up her brother, I watched as she pulled her blankie up to stroke along her cheek as she sang to herself. And she sang herself right to sleep. I completely broke down at the sweetness of it.

I hope my little girl never, ever loses this gentle, loving side.

FOR SALE: Paper Bag Albums

Check out my Etsy shop.

I'm finally getting started, listing three things (so far) with more to come ...

Please pass this along. I appreciate it!

Playing all day

"The Big Red Barn," by Margaret Wise Brown, is one of my favorite childrens books ever. I like it, dare I admit, even more than "Goodnight Moon" (though not as much as "Runaway Bunny.") Brown's style lulls and soothes, enchants the children she respected enough not to speak down to. It also enchants adults.

It doesn't take much to make a child happy ... playing all day, whether it's in grass or hay or not, is certainly a key start.

A little imagination turns an overcrowded kitchen table into a marvelous hideout ...


... at least until the kitty discovers where you are.


The verdict? I think she's pretty thrilled with Mama's construction.


Of course, sunny days call for venturing outside. And when a child comes to visit Mama in her crafting shed, you never know when that Mama might decide to swab on some paint to capture growing footprints ...




... or even write a secret message in acrylics and ink right on your belly!
























Silly Mama!









Playing all day in the grass and in the hay? That calls for a story.

Little bitta

Butterfly is so amazing. I don't know that I can fully explain why. I watch her silliness, her comical side, and I love her all the more.

Elephant ... Well, he has his Butterfly who has worshipped him from Day 1, and he also has another sister. A sister who now can crawl after him down hallways.

Or so he tells me. I am only responsible for the one sister in his life, after all, the sister who came first on fragile, freshly sprung butterfly wings.

So I try to tell my tall, handsome Elephant, who I love absolutely utterly, that he is lucky to have two little girls who love him adoringly.

But, um ... Yeah.

Hell-O!

He is a 9-year-old boy. A boy who yearns to break free of adoration, just for a moment. To escape into his room, his too-crowded-with-toys-and-junk room. To close the door away from his Butterfly.

His little Butterfly, whose adoration causes her to pad quickly after him ... and then pound, furiously, on the closed door before her.