Give & Take

Today Linus and I made our first superhero.  He picked Batman.  He's a little disappointed it isn't made out of plastic, but I told him I do not want to have a factory in order to make a plastic one; we will use what we have.  He said it's "mostly great."  I will take that.

If You Build It...

Every once in a while it's time to gather up all the pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, glue sticks and what-nots from all corners of the house.  I scoop them up, drop them in jars, set them where little hands can reach, and voila!  It's like they have magnetic pull on small hands.  It's a force of nature.  Love this.

It got me thinking about this idea -- strategically placing "things" around "places."  I've been doing this for so long, I don't remember where or when or why or how it started for me.  I remember doing it when I worked at a University Lab School with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers as "curriculum."

  

And I remember coming across a Feng Shui principle that says we should keep the things we want to get around to doing in our environment (insert photo of dusty guitar case leaning on armoire here.  And stacks of fabric and sewing books. Wait.  I might not totally get Feng Shui -- isn't there also something about "clutter" in there, too?  But, this is not my point.)

And I've always done it with my children.  With all sorts of things.  Books, games, art supplies, and other items of potential interest.  A friend recently pointed out that this has been given a name: "strewing." 

It makes me wonder how else I could apply this idea to my life, to my children's, that would support other important experiences.  Support in a meaningful way, that isn't contrived or manipulated.  Or, how perhaps, I already do, but haven't thought about it.  

I'd love to hear your thoughts about it, too.  Leave a comment and share!

Car Shirt

I have just one word for this: Awesome.

Linus: "I wish I had a shirt with cars."

Mama: "I think we might have one..."

He loves it. Every time he sees it now -- he giggles delightedly.

A Mama Moment

Washing, folding, (fingering, smelling, dreaming, lingering on), boxing & mailing tiny clothes to a tiny new love.

The ONLY thing cuter than these, are the tiny little people who fit into them.

Linus then, Linus now. 

(Keep in mind, he's not that big now.)

 

Remember this guy?

(And he was waaaay too big for those tiny pants at this time.)

This Boy

Driving on the freeway today --
Linus: "Mama!  I smell somefing Good."
Me: "Oh, you do?"

Linus: "Smells like a truck."

Today

Sela tried something new today.  Her heart and her smile inspire me.

First Tomato - Finally!

Last Night's Sweet Moment

She's a rock star singing her solo

Sweet Moments

Driving in the car after swim lessons and lunch out with Daddy, Linus said sleepily from the back seat, "Mama, my eyes are tiiiiired."  "They are?"  "Yes.  My eyes are tiiiired, and they need to go hooome."  "Okay, we're on our way home."  "My eyes are tired of vrooming." 

It's a challenging job sometimes, but these are the sweet moments that linger and carry me through.  What was yours today?