I stay up a lot at night worrying about various things, and I'm doing my best to stop. I uncovered an old Erma Bombeck book earlier, and the page fortuitously opened to this essay:
If I Had My Life to Live Over...
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the "good" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching TV - and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love yous"...more "I'm sorrys"...
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it...live it...and never give it back.
I hope I remember this more often.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Fall at the Freels
Well, first of all, it finally snowed. Really snowed. Lots of wrecks today. But no Alaskan Halloween would be complete without snow suits, so there you go!
We carved pumpkins tonight, which really means Mom and Dad carved pumpkins. Connor has a positive aversion to stickiness and goopiness -- he will wash his hands four times in the course of a waffle and syrup breakfast -- so he provided direction and vector. Timmy limited his help to stepping in pumpking innards and shrieking gleefully as he toddled through the kitchen.
Here's daddy and Connor examining the autopsy. Connor picked a 35 lb pumpkin. Ahem. Mommy got the stink eye from dad on that choice.
Here's Timmy "helping". Daddy LOVES it. Just ask him. Wait til he stops twitching though.
And here's the finished results! TA DA!!!!!! Come on Halloween, we're ready!!!
We carved pumpkins tonight, which really means Mom and Dad carved pumpkins. Connor has a positive aversion to stickiness and goopiness -- he will wash his hands four times in the course of a waffle and syrup breakfast -- so he provided direction and vector. Timmy limited his help to stepping in pumpking innards and shrieking gleefully as he toddled through the kitchen.
Here's daddy and Connor examining the autopsy. Connor picked a 35 lb pumpkin. Ahem. Mommy got the stink eye from dad on that choice.
Here's Timmy "helping". Daddy LOVES it. Just ask him. Wait til he stops twitching though.
And here's the finished results! TA DA!!!!!! Come on Halloween, we're ready!!!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
School Halloween Carnival!
We hied ourselves off to the school Halloween carnival yesterday, and had a blast! I had dropped off decorations earlier in the week, and then ended up baking like a madwoman Friday night for the silent auction and cupcake walk. When the kids have to be gluten free, you can't assume there's anything safe for them to eat! So we made some gluten free brownies and Connor chose to frost them with green buttercream and decorate with M&Ms. We also made some chocolate cupcakes that he decorated with icing and nonpareils. He could actually have a cupcake then if he won the cake walk.
Timmy dressed as the world's most adorable pumpkin, and Connor was SIR Connor as a knight. I found this awesome knight costume at the base thrift store. I volunteer there every Tues night and always snap up great deals. I snagged it for $3 and then spent another $2.50 on materials for a beautiful sparkling cape. We were a little afraid of kid fracas though so he didn't wear that yesterday.
I had volunteered to run the Spider Ring Toss for an hour and had lots of fun watching 50 or so children get so excited about winning a prize. I think I made an excellent carnival barker, and had several return visitors looking for me to draw them another spider on their game card -- I ran the spider ring toss, what else would I do but draw a spider? Of course a few fairy princesses balked and I had to come up with variations. I'm afraid the "pink pincess farry" was disappointed in my unicorn rendition, but spiders were already taxing my limited artistic abilities.
Timmy got a little sensory overloaded and had to take a break outside with dad -- I don't think Charlie was disappointed to escape the five rooms of screaming stampeding preschoolers and their hovering parents. He came back in around 530, and watched Connor play in the castle maze til it was time to go home. We were so tired by then that we stopped at Wendy's to let the boys have plain hamburgers and oranges for dinner.
We don't know if it was excitement or being overtired (Timmy hasn't been sleeping well) or being overfull but Timmy ended up projectile vomiting all over me, Charlie and the bed last night when we put him down. So we had a fairly exciting 45 minutes getting everyone bathed and the bed cleaned up. Awesome news though...Connor finally stayed in his room a full three nights and earned a trip to the toy store! Okay, so solution is run the kid into the ground! Check!
Connor getting a tattoo from Mrs Campbell. Oh, Grandma Freel, this one washes off! :D
Connor playing in the bouncy castle with his best friend Carrington.
Timmy running - yes, you read that right -- running in Wendy's. I'm tired, in case you were wondering.
Timmy at the fortune telling table. I was glad I wasn't manning that one, it was tough! What do you say? "Tomorrow your parents will take you to the store and buy you anything you want"...
You KNOW Connor needed his face painted. Spiders are our favorite lately.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Timmy's birthday
Timmy turned one. I turned my back and he grew up!
It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago I was pacing the neighborhood hoping for a nice short easy labor. That's what I got, and so much more. Timmy is, in a word, a joy. I know everyone thinks that of their baby, but Timmy is a virtual magnet for smiles...he melts everyone he meets. The clerks at the grocery store wave at him, grinches grudgingly smile at him and he just loves on everyone he meets. Timmy has never met a stranger. He has the sweetest smile..he scrunches up his face and gives a beaming grin. He also has the most beautiful set of unusual dimples, and has dark golden skin -- especially next to his china doll porcelain big brother. He's so beautiful sometimes, it makes me marvel that he's mine.
That's not to say he is necessarily easy going -- he definitely has an opinion about the way life should be! Nowadays he's babbling away telling me stories and giving instructions. Really, it's my fault if I don't understand him. He took off walking this past week like he's been doing it all his life, despite steadfastly refusing to try stepping after falling badly at 9 months. He loves to play with his brother, loves to climb ladders to "help" mommy in the kitchen, and is a tornado fo energy from sun up to sun down.
Here he is opening a birthday present from mom and dad...we love this ball toy.
He got an Elmo karaoke doll. Connor had one at this age and carted it literally everywhere but it was included in the huge lead recall. Timmy couldn't care less about it, but Connor still likes it.
MMMM cake. Gluten free of course!
He got "bnnnz" (balloons) and hats for his birthday.
It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago I was pacing the neighborhood hoping for a nice short easy labor. That's what I got, and so much more. Timmy is, in a word, a joy. I know everyone thinks that of their baby, but Timmy is a virtual magnet for smiles...he melts everyone he meets. The clerks at the grocery store wave at him, grinches grudgingly smile at him and he just loves on everyone he meets. Timmy has never met a stranger. He has the sweetest smile..he scrunches up his face and gives a beaming grin. He also has the most beautiful set of unusual dimples, and has dark golden skin -- especially next to his china doll porcelain big brother. He's so beautiful sometimes, it makes me marvel that he's mine.
That's not to say he is necessarily easy going -- he definitely has an opinion about the way life should be! Nowadays he's babbling away telling me stories and giving instructions. Really, it's my fault if I don't understand him. He took off walking this past week like he's been doing it all his life, despite steadfastly refusing to try stepping after falling badly at 9 months. He loves to play with his brother, loves to climb ladders to "help" mommy in the kitchen, and is a tornado fo energy from sun up to sun down.
Here he is opening a birthday present from mom and dad...we love this ball toy.
He got an Elmo karaoke doll. Connor had one at this age and carted it literally everywhere but it was included in the huge lead recall. Timmy couldn't care less about it, but Connor still likes it.
MMMM cake. Gluten free of course!
He got "bnnnz" (balloons) and hats for his birthday.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Connor at school!
Connor started preschool at the Fairbanks Montessori Preschool in August. One of the best decisions we ever made, hands down. He LOVES school. He loves his teacher, he loves the activities, he loves the kids.
It's a school devoted solely to 3-5 year olds. Each class has a different mixture of ages, and Montessori philosophy fits in well with Connor's temperament. Montessori is, as my friend B puts it, a daily celebration of learning. Children are encouraged to ask questions, to find things they're interested in, and incorporate a love of learning into their daily lives. The activities are largely self-directed...Connor loves maps and puzzles, so often heads for those first thing when he gets in. He carefully takes a map puzzle from the shelf, places it on the table, pulls out his chair and concentrates on it to the exclusion of all else. When he's done he carefully replaces it on the shelf and moves on to another activity. The striking thing about Montessori schools is how quiet they are. The children are all calmly working and since the adults with them believe that work had inherent value regardless of the work itself, they are left in peace to learn. The teacher guides them gently to new activities, or incorporates crafts in it all. Pretty amazing. B's daughter is also in Montessori, and this incident of hers is illustrative: R asked if there were seeds in pumpkins. The director promptly hacked open a small pumpkin on her desk and asked R what she thought. R saw the seeds, was led into a discussion of growing plants, and the director proceeded to give her a bag of seeds to plant when the time was right. Montessori is always about satisfying curiosity and fostering children's innate love of learning.
I'm probably doing a poor job explaining, but the results are undeniable. Connor is reading very well, he's starting to write legible letters, he counts to 20 daily in Spanish and English, he has a fifty word Spanish vocabulary, he knows his continents, he can spell his full name and several other words besides...and most amazingly of all, he loves to do all of these things. He and I did an experiment in reversible change yesterday with ice cubes and water, and he couldn't have been happier. Did I mention he's three? I just burst with pride, and since it's my blog I can brag with impunity...muhahahahaha!
Montessori also believes in making it easy for children to function on a daily basis as part of the family, which means incorporating them into the business of the family and making it easy with kid sized tools to do so. Connor has a work display board in the book room at his level, with a boot shelf full of art supplies underneath. There's a hook to hold his apron (I sewed it for him from a "Montessori" pattern), a broom/dust pan, and a ladder to use at the counter. We have stools at every sink to allow him to get his own cup of water or wash his hands. He has a kid sized table for his work time at home -- that might be pattern work, stringing ABC beads, drawing, or working with gluten free playdough. Timmy has been included in all this too -- he too plays at the table, and loves to drink his evening water out of a little shot glass that is just his size to grasp and drink. They have some sponges cut in half to make it easy for them to clean up after themselves, and if they spill they're expected to help clean up. They both help me do laundry, they help wash dishes. That's not to say they don't make messes, but they're far less than they ever were and they're happy about helping.
We've had a few issues with Connor's diet -- mostly people not realizing how much casual contact with gluten containing items can still harm him -- but that's smoothed out a lot. I'm terribly sorry to do it, but Connor is going to be moving into the morning class in about a week. He was in the afternoon class and loves his friends and teacher, but it was eating my entire day. It takes about 35 minutes to drive there so we have to leave at 1215 to be there by 1250. I turn around and come home by 130, then Timmy naps and I run back at 315. If I move him to mornings I think he will be fresher, and Timmy and I can get errands and exercising done in the morning before picking him up. Then we can be home for lunch and rest/naps and he might actually get to play with his neighborhood friends in the afternoons.
The pictures of school are trapped on Charlie's phone so I'll have to rescue them later. Meanwhile here's a few cute pics!
Connor at the park.
Timmy playing with one of his birthday toys.
Connor and Timmy love this huge bead maze they got from Pop and Nani for Timmy's birthday. They play for hours!
It's a school devoted solely to 3-5 year olds. Each class has a different mixture of ages, and Montessori philosophy fits in well with Connor's temperament. Montessori is, as my friend B puts it, a daily celebration of learning. Children are encouraged to ask questions, to find things they're interested in, and incorporate a love of learning into their daily lives. The activities are largely self-directed...Connor loves maps and puzzles, so often heads for those first thing when he gets in. He carefully takes a map puzzle from the shelf, places it on the table, pulls out his chair and concentrates on it to the exclusion of all else. When he's done he carefully replaces it on the shelf and moves on to another activity. The striking thing about Montessori schools is how quiet they are. The children are all calmly working and since the adults with them believe that work had inherent value regardless of the work itself, they are left in peace to learn. The teacher guides them gently to new activities, or incorporates crafts in it all. Pretty amazing. B's daughter is also in Montessori, and this incident of hers is illustrative: R asked if there were seeds in pumpkins. The director promptly hacked open a small pumpkin on her desk and asked R what she thought. R saw the seeds, was led into a discussion of growing plants, and the director proceeded to give her a bag of seeds to plant when the time was right. Montessori is always about satisfying curiosity and fostering children's innate love of learning.
I'm probably doing a poor job explaining, but the results are undeniable. Connor is reading very well, he's starting to write legible letters, he counts to 20 daily in Spanish and English, he has a fifty word Spanish vocabulary, he knows his continents, he can spell his full name and several other words besides...and most amazingly of all, he loves to do all of these things. He and I did an experiment in reversible change yesterday with ice cubes and water, and he couldn't have been happier. Did I mention he's three? I just burst with pride, and since it's my blog I can brag with impunity...muhahahahaha!
Montessori also believes in making it easy for children to function on a daily basis as part of the family, which means incorporating them into the business of the family and making it easy with kid sized tools to do so. Connor has a work display board in the book room at his level, with a boot shelf full of art supplies underneath. There's a hook to hold his apron (I sewed it for him from a "Montessori" pattern), a broom/dust pan, and a ladder to use at the counter. We have stools at every sink to allow him to get his own cup of water or wash his hands. He has a kid sized table for his work time at home -- that might be pattern work, stringing ABC beads, drawing, or working with gluten free playdough. Timmy has been included in all this too -- he too plays at the table, and loves to drink his evening water out of a little shot glass that is just his size to grasp and drink. They have some sponges cut in half to make it easy for them to clean up after themselves, and if they spill they're expected to help clean up. They both help me do laundry, they help wash dishes. That's not to say they don't make messes, but they're far less than they ever were and they're happy about helping.
We've had a few issues with Connor's diet -- mostly people not realizing how much casual contact with gluten containing items can still harm him -- but that's smoothed out a lot. I'm terribly sorry to do it, but Connor is going to be moving into the morning class in about a week. He was in the afternoon class and loves his friends and teacher, but it was eating my entire day. It takes about 35 minutes to drive there so we have to leave at 1215 to be there by 1250. I turn around and come home by 130, then Timmy naps and I run back at 315. If I move him to mornings I think he will be fresher, and Timmy and I can get errands and exercising done in the morning before picking him up. Then we can be home for lunch and rest/naps and he might actually get to play with his neighborhood friends in the afternoons.
The pictures of school are trapped on Charlie's phone so I'll have to rescue them later. Meanwhile here's a few cute pics!
Connor at the park.
Timmy playing with one of his birthday toys.
Connor and Timmy love this huge bead maze they got from Pop and Nani for Timmy's birthday. They play for hours!
Ummm, so I suck?
I just realized it's been THREE months since I updated this blog.
I was trapped in the garage by a moose? I was hiking the Brooks range, gun in hand? I was cutting firewood and accidentally destroyed the DSL? What excuse will you believe?
Okay, really, it's just been insanely busy here at the Freels. Timmy turned one, Connor started preschool in Fairbanks which involves about 1.5 hours in the car a day for me and Timmy, I am the publicity editor for the spouses club, I am a La Leche League leader, not to mention the work it takes daily to clean up after and feed three strapping Alaskan men. But I promise to try to catch up on a few major events in pictures and prose, then I will resume blogging on a far more regular basis. No, really, Grandma...I promise! :D
I was trapped in the garage by a moose? I was hiking the Brooks range, gun in hand? I was cutting firewood and accidentally destroyed the DSL? What excuse will you believe?
Okay, really, it's just been insanely busy here at the Freels. Timmy turned one, Connor started preschool in Fairbanks which involves about 1.5 hours in the car a day for me and Timmy, I am the publicity editor for the spouses club, I am a La Leche League leader, not to mention the work it takes daily to clean up after and feed three strapping Alaskan men. But I promise to try to catch up on a few major events in pictures and prose, then I will resume blogging on a far more regular basis. No, really, Grandma...I promise! :D
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