Working Mama

One of the really suprising things with this new transition back into the world of work is how much fun I am having.  I really love my job.  I truly enjoy figuring out each family and child.  It's a little like a puzzle.  What works best, what does everyone really need, how will this child learn best, how can we help them, and how can we clarify what we are doing?  It's refreshing to focus on one child and one family in an objective and constructive way for an hour.  And then shift gears to the next family for an hour.  I get the chance to solve problems and bring up issues, and reflect with people all day.  And of course, I get to play with babies!  And, I'll pat myself on the back and say that I'm good at what I do. I feel competent at work, so on days when I feel like I am clueless at home, I can be good at something in the world and feel better about it all.

The bonus of all of this problem solving, reflecting, planning, and creativitiy is that I can relax at home and just have fun.  Of course, I also drive around the county all day, so I have a chance to just listen to the radio or stop and log into the free wifi at the coffee shop too.  So all my needs get met during the day and I recharge my engine.  Filling my cup makes it possible for me to be a better parent.  By the time I pick up ther kids in the afternoon, I am just ready to hear all about their day and do whatever they want to do since I've had all day "to myself".  It's so funny how that works - that having fufilling work makes the rest of the week better and easier.  So often, we assume work will be awful and boring, and for some people it really is.  I wish everyone was able to do what they love all day long.  I am so lucky really. 

 

What to do with bottle caps...

Why do we even get sucked into buying toys?  Toy manufacturers jobs are to make us parents feel as though our kids need to have this or that so they will be smarter, do more, get ahead...etc.  It's mind boggling.  This time of year, I start to get questions from clients about the best toys for their child for the holidays.  There is inevitably some relative who thinks that the child must have the latest talking robot alphabet learning signing fine motor classical music development toy. 

Day after day, we find that less is more in our house.  Magda Gerber espoused the idea that an active toy makes a passive learner and a passive toy makes an active learner.  So true.  We are a home of non-battery operated things, we have few toys out at once, all the art supplies are accessible to small hands at anytime, and the kids find ways to make complicated games out of the darnedest things.  This morning and last night the big hits were a bunch of bottle caps and sweepers.  Kept them occupied for a looooooong time.  And they were cleaning up!  Of course, dumping the caps back out again to clean them up, but still...

Those Crazy Kids

I love my kids.  Of course I am biased, but I think they have the funniest personalities, and I love to see them let it all out. 

Inspiration

At the kids new school, we have community work days where some of the teachers and parents get together to work on whatever needs doing.  It seems that these days are inspiring us to finish projects at home as well!  Yesterday we worked all morning at both school sites, and got back here with energy to spare.  I cleaned up the tomato beds and finished a little planting that had been abandoned.  The garden is now somewhat ready for the onions, kale, lettuce, and whatever else I can get in before it is REALLY too late to plant.  Honey came back from the workday and completly cleaned up the utility and tool room.  Then, he put Peanut's name on her bed in wooden letters that I painted like two years ago with the intention of putting them on her door.  We felt like we had a super accomplished weekend and it was only Saturday! 

Honey went to the first work day last month, and build a bird feeder garden there that I just loved.  Of course, I wanted to build one here, and so a couple of weeks ago, we all set out to gather the supplies and build our own.  The kids worked along with us, and got so black with dirt and mulch that we had to dip them in the tub and then drain and refill it before actually giving them baths.  The garden turned out great, and we have lots of birds coming to visit.  I think we have mostly thwarted the squirrels as well since we used only seeds they don't like or feeders that shut down wne they pounce!  It's hard to see, but there is a tiny Japanese maple in the garden as well as a few herbs that needed dividing from our herb garden. 

I wonder what next months work day will inspire us to do?

Blue

For a while, I've had the idea of blue hair.  In high school, I did the whole sun-in thing.  I sat outside with beer, or lemon, or tea, or whatever was the "thing" that would make my hair super shiny and blonder.  I used color foam with red sparkles.  I did some random highlights and even later some actual hair dyes just for something different.  I never went too far beyond my actual hair color though, which has changed naturally from strawberry blond, to blond, to red, to brown.  So I had been thinking about doing something new, and blue streaks in my hair seemed just the thing.  Months and months have gone by, and my hair dresser said no way, Honey just raises his eyebrows.  I've done nothing really to satisfy this little rebellion in my head.  Well, I did paint my nails blue and green but really.

So this week, when Pumpkin met me at the driveway of school with this fabulous blue head of hair, I was once again thrown into a spin.   He seemed pleased with it, and checked himself out in the mirror when we got home with a big smile on his face. 

I think it was the exuberance that went with the hair that I most envy.  Maybe it is not the color at all, but the excitement and boldness of just running blue paint all over his head that I need to imitate.  I was even a little reluctant to wash it out.  He told me he "painted a lot with blue!"  Yeah buddy, you sure did. 

Anything

From the back seat of the car, in a very sure voice I hear: "I'm going to be a mommy, doctor, mermaid, princess, dinosaur project, climber, team."  Wow.  Do you remember thinking things like that?  I want to and can be anything at all.  And even all of those things at one time.  Why couldn't you be a rock climbing paleontologist mermaid?  Or a doctor princess?  I love it.    

Fun!

Well, after last week of being a sad boy at preschool, Pumpkin made a concious decision to enjoy himself this week.  He told me he was going to have fun and he wasn't going to be sad.  Not in the kind of conversation where I feed him lines and he agrees, but the kind of conversation that he starts completely on his own and I just listen and interject some "oh's, uh huh's, and mmm's". 

On Monday, Honey drove Peanut to school, and Pumpkin was incensed that he was not going.  He stood outside in his Bike helmet and underpants and cried and yelled that he wanted to go too.  I wish I had thought to take a photo, but alas, you will have to image it.  It was as amusing as it sounds. 

So by Wednesday, he was pumped up.  He had a great day playing, and today, he barely looked back to say goodbye.  I had to ask for a hug and he reluctantly turned back for one.  I need to plan on all my hugs and kisses as we get out of the car it seems as I am certainly not going to get them once we are inside!  He told me all about his day and the other kids, and is excited for next week already.  Whew. 


Here's my boy as we killed time between Peanut's drop off and his - he can get really dirty in about a nanosecond...