a weekend in a nutshell

This weekend looked a little like the moments captured above.  Often times weekends are less than what we hope for... what we dream of all week.  Short nights of sleep, small people demanding love and attention, tears, shouts, quick words and eye rolls (yes that would be me...queen eye roll).  This weekend was nothing short of just that.  Even so- there were smiles, laughter and rest - even as inadequately dispersed as they now feel.  Those are the moments I'm clinging to today.  All the times Owen made it to the potty, the delicious homemade v-day pasta, the knitting accomplished, the bread baked, the yogurt made, the imaginative play, the puzzles, the fresh cream in my coffee and the warmth of a fireplace.

isabelle is sulking here and refusing a photo
....it is about 6:30 a.m. when I snapped this photo
...i was sulking too.

And it just so happens that we get another shot at a "weekend day" today.  The first real snow fall we have had down here closed the Park Service and we have another day to enjoy the sweeter moments together.  Aaron is off to find some skiing and/or snow shoeing, muffins have been made, there are plans to venture to the library, the kids cloths are drying for their next trip out and I will be letting go of expectations and embracing imperfections.  

oh for the love of poop

There always has to be a poop story I guess...right?  I remember Owen's moment of poo almost three years ago...but yesterday...this was far worse.  Let's just say that if you were to take a glance at my google searches for the day you would find the following: My baby ingested cat feces.

Yup. That happened.

So that cute little fuzz ball Maple somehow managed to have a large clump of shit (yeah...I have no patience for poop...it was shit...cat shit) on her butt and decided to rub her butt all over the floor.  With cloudy 7 a.m. vision Aaron thought he had wiped up all the dried smudges of cat shit art on the floor.  However, while on his morning commute through the house and while the rest of us were eating oatmeal and slowly sipping life back to our bodies, Arlo hit the jackpot...apparently.  He creeped his way back into the kitchen and whined at my leg - I suspected he had his morning poo and was ready for a diaper change (which he normally does during his morning commute) and picked him up...only to find my sweet sweet baby with a ring of slimy brown around his mouth.  Oh no...oh no no no no...it can't be...a swift smell confirmed...cat shit.  I, now on adrenalin, ran to clean him up and then subsequently grabbed the cat to dunk her ass in water and wipe off any of the remaining....followed by me frantically washing all the floors.  Owen marched through the house declaring "oh shits" and it was the first time I have ever wished to have bleach in the house...but alas, vinegar and soap did the job.  As for Owen's potty talk...I let that go...because he was clearly repeating what he had just heard.  With the house cleaned what was there to do...but make a few calls...test the waters so to speak - was this so bad that I should never mention it again...or can I laugh about this?  First to my dear friend who confirmed that this was funny and that yes...indeed shit happens.  The second to my mom...who confirmed...yes caitlyn get off the phone and call the doctor...now.  So yes...I went on to explain to several different goggly eyed women about how it came to be that my 7 month old sweet baby ate cat shit.  Oh this day...I can't wait to tell Arlo's future parter all about the slimy ring of cat shit around his mouth and how we went on to get blood work done to (hopefully) confirm that he hasn't contracted toxoplasmosis.  Goodness...how do these things happen?

And well, the shit story doesn't really end there...but on a much sweeter note.  Owen, for the first time ever, pooped on the potty last night.  A parenting win - a literal jump for joy and high fives all around - Yes...I truly needed that.

a third child

You are 7 months old today and you are most certainly a third child.  You take naps anywhere you can get them, you steal pizza crust while no one is looking and you smile almost every time we meet eyes.  You can keep yourself busy chasing toys, siblings or kittens for an unreal amount of time.  You giggle relentlessly at your sister and brother, you are rocking back and forth on hand and knees and you are too fast at creeping from one end of the house to the other.  You have good nights and bad nights...good nights might mean you sleep for 2 or 3 hours bad nights might be you nurse every twenty minutes (or so it feels).  Last night was a bad night, you went to bed rosy cheeked and nursed constantly...a tooth may be the source of your discomfort.  

You are a third child, that is for sure, but I love you no less.  And I promise we, just me and you, have time together.  I do hold you...so much, if not in my arms you are snug on my back.  While your dad reads to your brother and sister almost every night, we sit and we giggle.  I sing to you and tickle your belly at each diaper change.  At least once a day I make tea for myself and we sit, rock and nurse - this is a gift to me and to us.  We have precious fleeting moments together, but they are moments that I hope are etched into your heart.  

a good backyard

A backyard is almost as important as the number of bedrooms when choosing a house to rent. This one is pretty good.  Enough room for the kids to run like mad men, a fort, space for a garden, and a nook for chickens.  While I have a few other items on my backyard wish list for my someday home, this will do just fine.  Something we have lacked in the past was a proper swing.  One strung so high it undoubtably touches the clouds and that sways back and forth as if in slow motion.  This swing...not in our backyard...but in our sweet neighbors (and open for daily use) is now a must in my dream backyard.

**

I removed yesterdays post... if you happened to see it and wonder where it went, 

it didn't end up feeling right...maybe another day.

connecting creatively

This post started with a long rant regarding Isabelle and Owen's ability to plow through art supplies.  It felt good to write my frustrations and then after they were written I let them go.  We are moving in a really good direction.  We are slowing down, working and creating together.  Art is a big part of our life at the moment and we learn so much through it.  Art is not another subject we visit once a week, it is what we do each and every day.  Allowing time and space for Isabelle and Owen to have unlimited time to create is what they want and need.  Their days are woven together with imaginative play and creating.  

We are trying to slow down our creative process.   Taking advantage and encouraging multi-day crafts like wooden toy making -where each step is equally important and can take considerable time and patience.  Isabelle has started her first knitting project (my face hurts from smiling so much about this) and each day a few rows have been added as she quietly rehearses "in through the front door, once around back, peak through the window and off jumps jack!".  And lastly - possibly most importantly there is me - reminding myself gently to model the behavior I ask of my children and getting the nerve to leave a sink full of dishes and sit down and draw or paint with them.

ew...that keyboard is gross!

guilt free sick days

 

Well this past week was swallowed up whole by a passing stomach bug and Aaron being out of town for a few days.  In retrospect it wasn't too bad...the bug only lasted about 15 hours, the kids managed to get the contents of their stomachs into the empty yogurt containers each time and Arlo and I somehow came out unscathed.  I am so grateful to not have to worry about where we need to be - missing work or school - we can just be sick...guilt free.  We can move through our days at our pace, take time to love and nurture each other and to notice all the good that always is.  There is no where to be but here, and here is a damn fine place to be.

cleaning fairies

Saturday morning I awoke to quiet chatter coming from the kids room.  As I slipped out the door, babe on hip, and into the sound Isabelle asked me for a sponge..."make that two sponges mama".  I frowned, but said sure (no further questions regarding why she needed said sponges...) and pulled out an old sponge from under the sink and cut it in half (genius move...for 5:20 in the morning...).  You see, Isabelle goes on to explain, there are new fairies in our home and they inspect how tidy our home is - and apparently our home is very dirty (her words not mine).  Oh my, I love these fairies already...however judgmental they may be on my very dirty home.  Anyways, the kids...now loaded with sponges and old yogurt containers filled with sudsy water...were on their way to clean up the place so the fairies could judge their cleaning skills.  They scrubbed the floors and walls to the soft tunes of a wind up carousel horse.

I made a cup of coffee and Arlo and I snuggled on the couch watching Isabelle and Owen detail the

living room.  Mornings are usually so ugly and I accepted this gift and went right along with it.  I even made up a song to sing to the fairies to let them know they could come judge the cleaning...

Cleaning fairies tidy and small,

come and check the floor, table and walls.

Have we cleaned enough now?

When you approve we'll take a bow!

The fairies approved and milk was warmed for oatmeal

....all 

before 6 a.m.