Halloween

I've never loved Halloween.  I love costumes, and spending time creating something fun.  I love the opportunity to meet neighbors.  I do not like candy.  I do not like being scared.  Having extra sensitive  children (sensitive to noise, scarry things and HFCS) has inhanced my hesitation for diving into Halloween, and last year was really the first year we "did" Halloween. 
Candy used to be a treat, something you really only got in masses on Halloween, but that isnt' the case anymore.  Candy is everywhere!  The Post Office, the bank, someone even tried to give my kids candy at the Farmers market!  seriously?  How about a carrot?  Festivals, parades and events dump candy on kids, and HFCS seems to be found in everything! 
This year they knew what to expect for Halloween.  They have seen and heard it about it all.  This year the discussions began.  The kids get really excited about costumes, and we had a great time creating Jakcson's skeletal system.  Claire dresses up every day, so the princess costume came easy.  she still considers a princess more along the lines of a leader of a land, which seems to go with her personality.  This time she was determined to have a "dragging dress". 
Our friend had a photo shoot at his studio, which worked out great since i didn't even get a photo of their final costumes.  They each got one lolypop after the photo shoot.  In the car we realized Jackson's tounge was blue.  He looked in the mirror and exclaimed, "What?  It isn't even REAL candy??!!"
We went to a dozen homes in our neighborhood and were excited to see so many people out enjoying the evening. 
Jackson remembered how we did Halloween last year and was really excited to trade his candy away for a new toothbrush.  He doesn't have a sweet tooth, and knows that candy can make him feel sick, so the idea of trading that away for something that lasts is great.  Claire needed a little convincing, was the one who snuck candy, and in the end choose to give dad her candy and only one piece to the Tooth Fairy.

When the doorbell rang at 8:30 i figured the teenages were out.  Instead, i opened the door to a woman who said she was trick-or-treating for her child who was asleep in the stroller. I was glad we had kids stuff like play-doh, but she responded that her child was too young for play-doh.  "he's only 10  months" she explained.  Too young for play-doh and little plastic bugs, but okay to eat candy?
My sister had a man come to her door, by himself, with no costume other than a sword.  Really?  It seems like if an adult really wants candy, they could just go buy a bag and save the hour of time going door-to-door. 
What do you do for (or against) the "holiday"?  Do you ever turn people away for lack of costume, being too old, or it being too late?

The kids woke up to a new toothbrush, a new book and a little toy.  Jackson whispered to me, "you are really the tooth fairy, aren't you?  You really give us all these toys

buttocks

During a family walk around the neighborhood, Jackson suddenly stopped and exlaimed,
"I figured it out!  I know why they call them "buttocks"!!    When your butt feels a poop, it sends a message to your brain.  Your brain then sends a message to your feet to get to a bathroom quick!  Then your brain sends another message to your butt that its good to go.  Buttocks.  Your butt talks.  Your butt is like a walkie-talkie."

cancer

I am reading the Penderwicks to Jackson before bedtime, a sweet story about four girls on a summer vacation and the adventures they have with a curious little boy.  About four chapters into the story we read that the girls' mother died of cancer when the youngest was small.  Jackson occasionally stops me to define a word or read a section over, but waited until the chapter was over to ask, "what is cancer?"

I was pretty sure he wouldn't miss that detail, but anticipated a conversation about the girls loosing their mother.  He was more concerned about the science behind cancer; what is it?  how do you get it?  how do you know you have it?  what can you do about it?  

for over an hour we talked about "little balls of sickness"(my definition of a tumor), rapidly growing cells, mammograms, radiation, chemotherapy, antioxidants and other cancer-fighting foods.  i was glad i had my google friend on hand for help with definitions, then later ended up at the library looking for more information. 

"ladies should get a mammogram like EVERY day!" he exclaimed until i questioned whether he would like to visit the doctor every day.

"we have a lot of really smart people in this world.  why haven't they figured out a cure for cancer yet?" he asked.  good question.  

the following morning we juiced a bunch of veggies for breakfast.  when our neighbor came down for a visit jackson informed him that he was having kale for breakfast so he didn't get cancer. it is a little morbid to hear a six-year-old talk so much about cancer, but he really seems interested in the science around it and wants to help figure out a solution.  it is exciting to see how his brain works, fueled by knowledge he desires to think more deeply about things.  he isn't content with just one answer, one solution.  he's the scenario man.  my mother-in-law says that hubby thought about things in the same way.  

yesterday he filled up hubby's thermos with water and headed out to the back yard.  "i'm having a meeting out back", he told me.  i asked what the meeting was about and he replied, "we are taking turns coming up with ideas for cures for cancer.   

when he came home from school he practically scolded me, "mom!  you didn't give me any cancer-fighting foods in my lunch!"  i guess our prior conversation about wanting to buy a school lunch is over.

our friends brought over a bottle of wine for dinner and jackson exclaimed, "hey!  wine is a cancer-fighting food, can i have a glass?"

so, if you know of any good books about cancer, i'd love to hear about them!  

and, eat your greens!

school days

a season of life has ended and a new one begun. i made my first school lunch today.

as i cut the veggies and portioned out its dip, i felt a little tug on my heart.

my boy made a big step in independence. today was the first day of kindergarten. full day kindergarten. i have had the honor of spending the majority of his waking moments in his company and loved almost all of them! his passion for discovery has inspired me to find so much joy in learning about life together. his creativity is amazing, his sensitivity has helped me verbalize my own thoughts more clearly, and he is seriously so very funny!

it feels like a big moment to pass this baton (a seven hour chunk of his day) over to another teacher. while this might seem dramatic, my biggest fear is that i will get his leftovers. the exhausted moments, the meltdowns will be saved for me, while his best energy will be spent with other people.

at the same time, we are thrilled to have a school that we love, within walking distance (he can practically see home from his classroom window!), and have more resources for his learning and development! we are excited to join the school as a family and participate in his learning together.

it helped that he has been very excited to start school. he was up and dressed with plenty of time to play with claire before the banana split breakfast (with yogurt instead of ice cream and warm berries as the sauce). i thought it would be a fun way to begin the year with a special breakfast, but the joke was on me. i forgot my kids have never had a banana split and had no idea what i was talking about. claire asked if it would taste like her spit. maybe this weekend we'll have to have real banana splits!

claire packed a backpack, jackson wore his "X-ray vision" glasses (old sunglasses with missing lenses), and we walked to school.

he had a great day. he remembered a few kids names, thinks his teacher is nice, and had "the shortest recess EVER!".

but, he loved his lunch!! he asked if i could make him veggies and dip again tomorrow.

lent

i have never practiced lent before.

this year i decided to go for it as a spiritual practice, and see how it goes.

if that sounds a little flippant, i don't intend it to be so, but the idea of giving chocolate or ice cream for God has felt a little along the works-based-faith side of things for me.

the thoughts i have been sitting in more recently have come from a different perspective; making room for God. rather than giving up something i decided to take something on.

i am setting my alarm for the first time in over 5 years, intentionally waking up before the kids and doing 20 minutes of yoga. it is a bigger deal than it sounds, since my children just started sleeping through the night less than 3 months ago and i still don't feel like i have recovered. i've also not been taking very good care of this body God gave me. i have never had a regular exercise plan. i don't love alone time. i am not a morning person.

i am super sluggish in the morning so the idea of doing yoga to slowly wake me up while stretching and preparing for my day, while giving my mind the space to think, pray, listen, seemed like a good start for lent. something i could actually do.

i did take a day off after spending most of the night in the ER with a croupy girl which i am sure there is grace enough to cover that day.

do you practice lent?

why do you do it?

what do you choose to do/not do?

office break

the kids spent close to an hour playing office today.

they created their own "offices", including office spaces for Doggy, Baby Liz and other stuffed animals; the piano bench, a play table, the dining room table, a cardboard box.

they each had a "cup of coffee" (thermos of water and a mug) and a stack of papers.

claire was a manager and jackson was "in charge of all the managers and the entire office" (C.O.O)

they named the company, "All Around the World" because they employed people from around the globe.

what do they do?

"organize craft projects and design houses"

they tried to hire me, so took me on an office tour, introducing me to the employees. "office #2 is your office. just look above the door and see if you can spot the #2!" jackson told me.

lucky for me they gave me my real office, and not the cardboard box!

my first assignment was to design a home and show it to jackson when i finished. i received a nod and a pleasant, "that is VERY creative"

i asked about cleaning services because the office spaces seemed a little cluttered and needing of a good sweep/mop (my task for today). he told me that all the managers stay late to work together to clean up the office.

"i've owned this company for 100 years!!" he exclaimed to me.

and we just hired a chef, so i think i'm going to like working here!

i heart spring

i remember why spring is my favorite season.

we just spent 10 days in seattle. it was the last two weeks of february and spring was already there.

crocus dancing in full color, forsythia budding, rhododendrons in bloom and bud, flowering cherrys beginning to burst, new growth was everywhere.

and everything else was green.

we pruned and weeded the gardens. we dug up crunchy carrots. we took walks in the woods. while the kids rested, i read on the back porch in glorious sunshine (yes, i did have a blanket and a hot drink, but i was outside!)

and then seattle got their second snowstorm of the season. seattle doesn't get much snow. what they do get is wet and heavy and usually gone by noon.

tangent: seattle gets a lot of criticism about their reactions to snow,particularly the drivers. i was reminded how dangerous it really can be. the snow is wet, but often re-freezes overnight creating a sheet of ice on very hilly terrain. this is a bad combination even if you have four-wheel-drive. since they rarely get snow, there are only a couple plows, a few salt/sand trucks. it is very different from areas where snow is common and there is equipment to handle the road conditions. just saying, don't knock it until you try it.

we rolled the head of a snowman to uncover green grass underneath. then dug a carrot out of the garden, cleaned it off in the snow and stuck it in the snowman's face.

that's when i realized i really miss spring. this snow stuff i was playing in felt like the spring i get in Minnesota (except this kind of snow wouldn't come until the end of march and underneath is dead, brown grass and it takes another month or two AFTER the snow melts for the earth to thaw and life to grow!) essentially, we don't get spring in minnesota. last year it lasted exactly one day, then went right into summer heat. i miss spring. it was my favorite season. having this little taste of REAL spring (sans the very out of place snow storm) brought back that sweetness.

being outside in a sweater instead of a coat

working in the garden before there is anything to plant,

then starting the garden with a small crop of cold loving veggies before going gangbusters.

splashing in rain puddles

cool rain

green as the backdrop for everything

color emerging slowly

no, you can't really grow a good tomato in seattle. you look out the window on summer mornings before you put on short and flip flops. fall color often gets washed away with a good rain. seattle isn't a winter wonderland.

but spring in seattle shines!