In-tuned

During the earlier mentioned quarantine Caleb made a discovery: television.

Despite our efforts Caleb has never been prone to zone out in front of the telly. He’d rather do abhorrent things like dancing to music, flipping through books and running around outside while obscenely yelling “BEEP! BEEP!”

When our pediatrician tried to distract Caleb during the15 month appointment and asked Caleb to look at Elmo, our son stared dumbly at him. The gesture was returned by the pediatrician when we explained that Caleb doesn’t watch television ergo he is unfamiliar with the Muppet.

Am I shunning those who let their kids watch television? Absolutely not. In fact, I’m jealous. Like I said “despite our efforts” Caleb has not taken to watching television.

Until recently.

During our stomach flu epidemic, I lounged in my sick nest (a cluster of blankets, pillows and germs on the couch) while Caleb marched around with our broom and dustpan “sweeping.” Sweeping here means celebrating the extended reach a broom gives by knocking things over that otherwise would be safe from a toddler.

Soon, I gave in (I think it was when he started to charge the fireplace mantel) and tried to seduce sedate keep Caleb still by plopping him on the couch and popping in a Veggie Tales movie.

IT. WORKED.

THANK. GOODNESS.

Because I have never been so exhausted in my life! Not being able to keep anything down for an entire day does not fair well when you are pregnant.

Now here comes the downside. He only wants to watch Lyle the Kindly Viking and only that Veggie Tales DVD.

Funny enough Caleb’s desire to watch the same movie over and over again is quite the opposite of his parents’ dilemma- tiring of watching the same ol’ movies but too cheap to buy new ones.

We have tried renting from the library. And yes, I was disappointed when Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets was scratched up, surprised when The Truth About Cats and Dogs wouldn’t play (yes, B-List Romantic Comedies are totally my guilty pleasure)

BUT I WAS OUTRAGED that the Frontier House set I requested was not in decent condition (who else in the state of Massachusetts watches Frontier House? From the DVDs’ gashes I’d guess Freddy Kruger). I could only watch disc two.

DISC TWO?!

Come on!

(If you don’t know what I’m talking about, get on the wagon.)

So, the library movies and I are no longer on speaking viewing terms.

Okay. So. If other New Englanders are willing, I will totally host a movie switch where everyone brings two movies to lend-out (typically one is a “Sunday” friendly movie). You come with two movies and you leave with two movies. We borrow them for two weeks then return. No fees, no fuss. Just make sure your discs and cases are labeled with your surname and that the movies you borrow stay out of reach of little ones and “sweeping”. Send me a message via facebook or e-mail me and let me know if you are interested or know of someone else who may be interested.

Here’s the clue for this week. Clue # 6? Seriously?

Hopefully my wait will be over in two more weeks! I’m running out of clues.

I know many of you are confused but rest assured

that I’ll go back and explain each clue when everything is said and done.

Until then, keep searching.

Sunday Post

To really appreciate a planned Sunday dinner that takes more than 15 minutes to complete, you have to have a two week menu void such as our family has experienced due to the common cold and then the stomach flu.

To understand our admiration for Sunday dinner this week, you have to understand our Saturday repast… consisting of Captain Grandma’s rice dish and tortilla chips and salsa.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE my Great Grandma’s recipe (5 ingredients -awesome), but seriously, after our recent quarantine our kitchen needed to be revisited, mostly by me. A week of condensed soup, spaghetti and fast food, leaves me feeling like a blob, so Sunday I boiled a box of jumbo shells and stuffed them (and froze half of the product for later), made a salad, kool-aid and cookies. Aw. Sunday.

Yesterday was Caleb’s first full-time experience in Nursery and he flew completely SOLO. I was proud and slightly gloomy as Mike deposited Caleb into the room, and our son sat nonchalantly down to await his snack. He didn’t even acknowledge our departure.

As a past Nursery leader I know I couldn’t ask for more, and I also know there will be days of heel-digging, toddler-dragging, and tear-flooding once the novelty wears off.

Still, I was surprised (maybe disappointed?) that I didn’t hear my son’s familiar cry through the classroom wall (yes, the CTR5 classroom is right by the nursery- sheer torture) and I attentively watched the doors during the last hour, the time assigned for Caleb to come to me if needed.

IF. NEEDED.

Apparently, I wasn’t needed.

On the other hand,

just further proof that I’m doing my job well, right?

RIGHT?!

Sweeping Up

Today my post is about joy. And I want to sweep aside some egg shells that may be making me unapproachable.

Yes, what I am “enduring” is a sad (sad, here, meaning any emotion on the spectrum ranging from unfortunate to tragic, depending on the person.)

No matter the circumstance though, I believe that there is always room for joy.

For instance, this week I have been thinking about two friends. If happiness was the color blue, they have felt the deepest of oranges and the most vivid yellows that any woman can perceive in this life. In other words, they have seen a fair an unfair their share of sorrow.

Recently, however, they have had a blue season and I am sincerely overjoyed for them.

These women, not unlike Eve, can genuinely say they have experienced clementine sorrow and denim joy and, although I don’t want to put words in their mouths, I’m sure they would say the sorrow has only heightened the joy.

No offense Vincent, but mother Eve said it best:

This is my season of pumpkins, carrots and lemons, but I have room in my patch for blue, especially others’ blue... despite my distaste for them, I look forward to my own blueberry season.

Until then, please share your carton with me? : )

Here's this week's clue. It says it all, look no further.

Quoting Horton

OoOoOo… what’s this? Insomnia resulting in a Monday post? La-Dee-Dah!

Caleb, although a quiet observer by nature, is beginning to speak up. Here are some of the words he has been tossing around.

Beep n. a form of transportation and entertainment.

Context: Caleb looks longingly out the window one bright Sunday afternoon and repeatedly whispers “Beep, beep, beep…” noting it has been at least 24 hours since he has played with his toy car. Any ideas what I’m going to do come winter time?

Pa-leeze inj. a word that suggests a request. variations: peas.

Context: If Caleb wants a chance to taste the mint chocolate chip ice cream Mommy is eating, then he better say “Pa-leze.”

I (insert any given phoneme here) you a phrase that when mimicked makes parents joyful.

Context: When Mommy says, “I love you,” Caleb sometimes replies, “I off you”

Also, Caleb says seemingly random things at opportune times like yesterday during Family Home Evening. We usually just teach the FHE lesson that arrives in our inbox from LDS Living. We have been having FHE on Sunday afternoons since Mike started school.

As Caleb was finishing up his lunch, Mike and I began Family Home Evening with the suggested song for the lesson… a song I didn’t know. I played the song and asked Mike, “Do you know this song?” in which Caleb replied soundly,

“I do-oo!”

We both gaped at him and then started laughing. We listened to the remainder of the song, surprised that Caleb didn’t croon along considering his proclaimed familiarity.

I’ve been meaning to post this for awhile. I have mentioned my friend Caitlin on my blog before. Words I would use to describe her are: self-reliant, compassionate, meek and joyful. I love her dearly. We attended the same singles ward, got engaged the same week, and married a week apart. We were in a creative writing class together, thank goodness (if you don’t understand this statement- lucky you). And we both longed for additions to our families.

On August 30, Caitlin and her husband Ammon received their addition, their daughter Sharon.

She was born prematurely. Prayers and thoughts are needed.

One thing I have learned from our circumstance is ...

Downloading fonts

The fonts I use for my blog are generally downloaded from dafont. Here's how to download fonts from dafont.

After you have determined a font to download, select the font. On the resultant page there will be a box that says “Download PC. Mac OS X” in the top right-hand corner. Click the box and a pop-up will ask Do you wan to open or save this file? Save the file to your desktop (or other preferred area). Right click on the newly created folder on your desktop and select “extract all.” After the file is unzipped, copy the .ttf document. Locate your computer’s font folder. Mine is under Control Panel in a folder entitled “Fonts.” Paste the .tff document in your font folder. Open up a word document and try out your new font.

Keeping Up with Alcestis

Eating in bed is frowned upon- it leaves crumbs. Reading in bed also leaves crumbs in your subconscious, but you never hear spouses complaining about that. When pregnant, I develop the habit of reading in bed. I devour a book in a night or two because I just read until my eyes become too heavy and I fall asleep with the lights on.

This past week I have been reading through my old college textbooks, mainly the classical and ancient materials. Recently I read the play Alcestis by the Greek tragedian Euripides.

To make a short play even shorter, the jest of the story is about a hospitable king who is rewarded by the god Apollo the eligibility to escape death provided that he can find a replacement for his demise. Sadly, the king can find no one- not even his feeble parents- to volunteer for the task. Finally, his devoted wife, Alcestis, assists her husband by offering to sacrifice herself in his stead.

The play has left a morsel in my mind that I have gnawed on since I read it. The time has come for Alcestis to depart and her son clings to her and says,

“Mother, now without you/ Our home is over.”

…

Throughout the play Alcestis is cited as “virtuous” and a wife above all others which is fair and good but I can’t help but wonder…. was this reputation the result of this solitary action or was it preliminary to her decision to forfeit her life?

I think every woman has a bit of Alcestis in her, I think we are willing to kill ourselves over tasks because we think it’s the “virtuous” thing to do. We try to do everything while comparing ourselves to everyone. When really we should be saying…

It is easy to lose ourselves through marriage, motherhood and everyday notions and motions. Partly this is due to the concept of becoming less selfish through being selfless, but I think we can overdo it. I, personally, need to get back in touch with who I am. I have become so consumed with being there for my family and making our home that I have forgotten WHO I AM. I don’t want to kill myself over ordinary tasks. I don’t want to sacrifice my own progression for temporal attainments.

Back to the original tidbit that started this banquet of realization, the line:

“Mother, now without you/Our home is over.”

It is not “Clean dishes/swept floors/sparkling bathrooms/made beds/painted walls/delish- nutritious-under-one-dollar-per-serving-meals/ supplementary church functions/et cetera, now without you /Our home is over.”

It’s Mother. A mother is what makes and keeps a home. Just don’t let the home make and keep you.

Now, I’m not going to tell you the ending of Alcestis. You can borrow the play from me if you want or even look up the summary on Wikipedia.

Isn’t Wikipedia great? Whenever I am clueless on a subject I can always skim Wikipedia.

Here is Clue #4, my favorite clue and possibly the hardest.

Ignore the the missing 'e' in Genealogy but don't discard the post.

Veritas

Yesterday, my moose stumbled into an ivy patch league. Lucky for him it didn’t have three leaves.

110 days until Winter Recess…
8 semesters until graduation…
then onward towards his doctorates…

What a smart moose!

Speaking of smarts. Here’s your clue for this week:

Click the stickie.

Good song, right? It’s the wrong song, but it is still good.

You'll need more info to get to the right one.

Quite lyrical.
(And no, I don't have a boyfriend)