monsters and sculptures and moose, oh my!

Some time ago, Ari woke up from a dream, insisting he needed to see "the sculpture." Perry was with him -being the one on nighttime toddler duty these days- and helped him first look out the window, where Ari thought this sculpture should be, and then, when Ari insisted they go look for the mysterious fellow, bundled them both up and went outside searching. Although they didn't find him that morning, "Sculpture" did show up regularly after that. We learned that he was green, ate bears and lived under the house with the sump pump. Despite these rather dubious characteristics, he is actually quite a friendly fellow, joining us for meals and dance parties and rides in the car. Ari will often say "Oh! Sculpture is here with us!" and we are always happy to have him along.

Then came our friend the moose. We had a near miss with a young moose one night on our way to a Christmas concert. The moose was standing in the middle of the icy road, and when Perry honked, it startled and slipped on the ice right in front of the car. Good tires and the moose's quick recovery saved us from the collision. But, needless to say, this was a rather scary event for little Ari in the back seat (not to mention his mama and papa!) After asking several questions about what had happened, he said "Oh! the moose is here with us! He's our friend. He'll ride to the concert with us." And he has also been a regular family visitor since then.

I find this all pretty spectacular. This wee little boy of mine has developed an amazing, creative way of coping with scary things, those things that go bump in the night (or that we narrowly avoid bumping.) He invites them in, makes friends with them, asks them in for supper. If only I could be so brave. I watch him do this in small ways every day. Playing trains and planes is part fun, part working out of the fear that those noisy, powerful vehicles bring up. The favorite game "monster" helps play out the fears of dark and unknown things. Bringing home the book "The Gruffalo" from the library and reading it over and over and over again, helps to do the same, thrilling at the great scary creature in the story, with his "terrible tusks and terrible claws and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws."

I am inspired, not only by the way Ari uses his wonderful imagination as a tool, but also by the resilience and bravery of this dear boy, and of children in general. Life is scary. There are things out there we don't understand, dark things and bump-in-the-night things. There are things that we like very much as they are, that go ahead and change without our consent. And yet, these wee ones in our care do not despair. They toddle forwards with joy and delight. They turn the tables on those fearful things, as likely to chase us around the kitchen as the monster as to invite that monster home for tea.

Dealing with flu bugs and a baby cutting his first teeth (one little sharpie is through!) and working on several projects for the fundraiser we are putting on for our friends and their baby girl. She is doing well, her surgery went smoothly and, from what her parents say in their quick e-mail updates, she seems to be recovering very well. We are still sending lots of healing thoughts her way (and warm, strong, coping ones to her mom and dad,) and the community is planning up a mighty fundraising bash as only a small community can. Kids performers and a family dance and a "handmade with love" auction, potluck and then bands and beer into the night. Above is a sneak peek from my contribution to the auction. And there is a ever growing pile of quilt squares here too, for folks to write their good wishes upon at the event. Then, magically it will turn into a quilt to pass along. Or,if it doesn't happen by magic, I might be knocking on doors of friends who actually know how to quilt for their wisdom and assistance!

and now, off to bed and the hopes that no one wakes up sick again tonight!

Our landmate's baby girl was flown to the closest children's hospital today for tests and surgery. We are keeping her and her family in our thoughts.

inside and out

In the kitchen and in the snowbanks, we've been keeping busy.

Ari has decided that red is the very best colour, so there is a lot of it these days. It took some convincing to get the purple mitts on even though the red ones were wet (and way too small...) Gotta get me some red yarn and knit this boy some mittens.

bags for books

I have been venturing out with the kids a little more these days, ready to get out of the house and see other humans now and then. Muffins and steamed milk at a coffee shop (one with a train table that keeps Ari busy and lets me jot a few notes in my journal while bouncing Dorian on my knee,) little thrift store missions, and regular library visits. We've been loading up on the books but I kept forgetting to bring bags to carry them in. On that one sewing day I had back a couple weeks ago I rediscovered this Japanese Mother Goose print and clearly, it needed to be Ari's very own library bag. There are no pictures of the lining since I sewed it in inside out (ahem.) and was not going to waste my precious sewing day with the seam ripper. But I used a red polka dot thrifted pillow case, and it is still cute, even inside out.

He tried out the bag this week and was pleased to be able to carry out (some of) his books on his own. There are no pictures of that because I have not yet figured out how to juggle a toddler, a babe in sling and a camera while out and about.
I figured the best way for me to have a library bag was to make myself a new purse-ish bag and use my old one for carrying books. Makes sense, right? I had this one half-sewed from the summer and finished it off that same day. It is from bluebirdbaby's very nice everything bag tutorial.

It is currently holding my wallet, moleskin, Hylands teething tablets and a bouncy ball. The bare essentials.

breathing

A much better week. These sweet kiddos just keep my heart smiling, even during the bumpy patches. I mean really- look at them- my cuties pies.


And sometimes it takes the rough patches to make you take the time for reflection. To think about who you want to be as a parent, what you want to be teaching your children through your actions and in all those little moments you share together. I need reminding, over and over and over again not to get caught up in the details. Sure, they need to be attended to, but regularly stepping back and taking a look around is ever so important. I need to remember to breathe. Remember to approach the struggling toddler with compassion and love. Stop and connect with the real emotions that lie underneath the anger or the frustration. And then, to be gentle with myself- my flawed self- trying to learn on the job. No berating. Compassion for the mama too. It's nothing short of spiritual practice. And what a wondrous practice it is.

on ice

Learning how to skate. Or rather, getting the feel for skates on feet and ice under skates and Papa gliding you along.

There is a little outdoor rink in town here that isn't too busy. We hope to get him hooked on skating on ponds and lakes and outdoor rinks and avoid the arena as much as possible. Because "hockey mom" is not on my list of desirable future pursuits. The 5 o'clock in the morning practices? The bruiser attitude? All that smelly gear? Lets just make hot chocolate and shovel off our little pond, okay?

love letter

Dear Dorian,
You are learning so much right now, it is beautiful to watch. You have just started rolling over and you think it is rather hilarious. You roll from front to back rather quickly, and then laugh at your new trick. Back to front is still a challenge, your little arm gets in the way, but you are working steadily at it.

You are also learning how to grab hold of things. You are only starting to reach, but if we place something in your range, you grab it tightly and work at getting it to your mouth. You are pretty easy going about it (about most everything, really!) happy to hold things, happy not to. You mostly love to just sit and take in the world, you love to watch us doing things, and your smiles and coos and recent happy squeals cheer us on.

You are working on your bottom teeth right now, and they are pretty uncomfortable for you. Even when you are miserable though, you will give us a grin. And still you don't really cry. You bemoan, certainly, lament in such an adorable sad way, but rarely cry. And when you do, we are there in a flash, since it is such an unfamiliar sound and we want to do whatever we can to make you feel good again. And oh your laugh! Is there any sound more joyous to a mama's ears than her baby laughing?

Oh, my sweet sweet baby, you are such a delight. Your presence is calming and lovely. You are such a joy. Thank you for choosing us, baby, we are so glad you are here.

a hat for me

I've been doing a lot of knitting these days, for my kiddos, my husband, my sister, my niece and nephew, but none for me. When I found this pattern I knew it was time. It is from Ravelry- the Felicity pattern, and I like it rather a lot. I had to make some adjustments to the pattern since I bought the wrong yarn and have a hard time hitting our little yarn shop on its limited hours. I can't remember what yarn it is now, and a certain small someone keeps making off with my labels. The fit is good though, so I must have managed the math alright.

And, since I rarely show my face in these parts: hello. this is me. Glad you stopped by. Lets go in and warm up with some tea, shall we?