[insert favorite Batman reference here]

In that special kind of crazy that is the hallmark of a bedtime routine that should've started already, here is yet another exchange that I couldn't make up if I wanted to:

me to lad who shall remain nameless: "My patience is really waning.  Please listen and follow directions."

him: "What does 'waning' mean?  Like Bruce Wayne?"

something like that...

aloha, annie

My sister the college freshman was in our vicinity this afternoon and thus was able to stop by and liven up our after school happy hour. Her arrival on our doorstep was heralded by squeals of delight from the younger lass.

To thank my sister -- the bambini call her "annie", I fed her a home-cooked Hawaiian-style meal.  (details here at Foodie Proclivities)

It wasn't quite the genius meal my beloved's dear mother made for us this past weekend that I was hoping to replicate, but the marinade I made up miraculously came out pretty good -- even though the younger lad, who mixed the concoction for me, kept saying that "something was missing."  How he knew this without trying the potion, I know not.

At least there were no "incidents" to speak of...

moments of greatness

Twice now in the past week there have been moments best described by that scene in the 1989 movie Major League (much of which I can quote) when the team manager Lou Brown comments to Charlie Donovan the team's general manager that things are "starting to come together". 

As we prepared for a little getaway to my parents' house last week on a day off school, the bambini (with some coaching) packed up their "pack packs" and play clothes the afternoon before so that the next morning we'd have fewer things on our "to do" list.  The morning of our departure when excitement was high, they each pitched in (pardon the pun -- that was fortuitous) according to their ability to fill water cups, vacuum the kitchen floor, help siblings get shoes on, etc.  We were on our way much earlier than on previous occasions, which meant we had more time to play. 

This afternoon we made a trip to Target after school for essentials like yogurt and bananas.  I had my reservations about making this trip, as in my mind a trip to the grocery store with four young children during happy hour might just qualify as the opening for one's cause for canonization (kidding! I'm exaggerating again.).   However, it had to be done.  So we did it.  On the way into the store, I gave a little pep talk about us working as a team just like we did before we went to Mimi and Papa's house last week so that we could get through the store quickly and be on our way home.  There were a few shenanigans but nothing serious, and no one got run over by the "brother cart".

It's moments like these that invite me to say with pride like Lou Brown that this is "my kind of team."  Of course, the very next moment there might well be an outburst from one or more children following some perceived or real injury such as the presumptuous swiping of a fresh library book for one's own perusal (the nerve!), and we are right back to normal -- whatever that is -- but they're still "my kind of team".

minor victories: happy hour edition

I would love to say that I wrote my ticket to a (relatively) peaceful final few minutes of dinner preparation -- all too often the pinnacle of happy hour, but it wasn't my doing.  It wasn't like I ceremoniously set forth the box of recyclable paper that I'd been squirreling away for just this purpose so that the lads could hone their fine motor skills with scissors and scraps of paper.  I didn't have the wherewithal to do that after a few too many reminders to "use kind words and gentle hands" for one afternoon.

In fact, I had stashed all that junk mail and already-read church bulletins in a paper sack (under the sink, because it's next to the trash bin and therefore handy at the time of disposal -- key to actually separating out the recyclables and not just tossing them in with the trash), which the elder lad had discovered and decided to "sort" -- another early childhood skill that he took upon himself to refine.

The younger lad had been biding his time until his fourth birthday so he could start using scissors himself (because his mama -- following the advisory on the scissors packaging -- had said he had to wait until he was four like his brother had to undertake such an activity).  When his brother got out the signature orange-handled child-sized scissors and commenced the cutting of paper into bits that often elicits reminders to "leave no trace" (as in, "clean up after yourself"), the younger lad asked for his own green-handled ones.

And in a moment of clarity, I saw it: the win-win-win situation:

Lads happily (and safely) snipping, scraps going back into the box they came from (for the most part), Mama getting dinner on the table, lasses charming their daddy with giggles and grins even before he took off his jacket.

Bon appetit.

playlist: quiet time

Just right for rainy days like today; siesta, Happy Hour, or bedtime; or whenever anyone's emotional temperature is perilously high...

• You Are My Sunshine :: Elizabeth Mitchell my Papa Jack sang this to me, as I have to both my now almost 18-year-old sister *and* my bambini 
• Ladybug Picnic :: Elizabeth Mitchell This is a sweet, slower version of the rootin' tootin' tune first seen on Sesame Street, now immortal on YouTube 
• The Bells of Ireland :: Dan Zanes A beautiful, humble tune 
• Hush Little Baby :: Dan Zanes fresh lyrics and color commentary make this familiar lullaby both endearing and entertaining 
• Good Night, Good Night :: Dan Zanes I always take a deep, cleansing breath as this song gets going. 
• Foster: Slumber, My Darling :: Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor, & Alison Krauss from Appalachian Journey, a gossamer song -- a mother's lullaby -- now almost achingly poignant as I sit rocking my own bambini 
• All Eyes On You :: Justin Roberts part poetic observation of childhood, part prayer for a child 
• Firefly Lullaby :: Recess Monkey I'm not one to catch the winged creatures, but a field trip of this nature is just my speed.  
• I Will :: The Beatles This song could so easily be about my beloved and me, traversing the same college campus for years but not crossing paths until much later -- or did we? 
• Better Together :: Jack Johnson One afternoon when the elder lad was much younger (and should've been napping), I put this song on, and he said "this is a nice, quiet song." 
• Fruit Jar :: Justin Roberts featuring Nora O'Connor gentle acoustic guitar and gentle encouragement to keep on keepin' on 
• A Place For Us :: Dan Zanes & Friends An extended instrumental coda at the end of this beautiful dreamer makes for peaceful, hopeful imaginings. 
• Tiny Telephone :: Recess Monkey The elder lad thinks of his aunts and uncles when he hears this song. 
• From Scratch :: Justin Roberts  a masterful child's point of view with no shortage of wisdom and wistfulness 
• Smile Smile Smile :: Dan Zanes & Friends one of my most favoritest Dan Zanes songs -- and that's saying a lot 
• I Will Be Your Friend :: Guy Davis a rugged, charming, musical expression of self-giving and charity -- lessons never too young to learn 
• Rocketship :: Justin Roberts some things to think about as one is drifting to sleep... 
• Side By Side :: Dan Zanes & Friends I sang this one to my baby sis, and then (years later) to the elder lad who could not be convinced to sleep any other way. 
• One Tiny Light :: Recess Monkey As if it isn't difficult enough to fall asleep -- and stay asleep -- as it is, who can resist investigating a twinkling star outside one's window?   
• Linger For Awhile :: Dan Zanes & Friends Wouldn't we all love to live in a neighborhood like this, where everyone is out until way past bedtime just visiting? 
• Banana Pancakes :: Jack Johnson We're big on pancake breckies around here. 
• Little Raindrop :: Justin Roberts waiting on rain to come and water the freshly-planted garden... 
• I've Just Seen A Face :: Dan Zanes covering a Beatles favorite, Dan Zanes style 
• Belle :: Jack Johnson short and sweet; par les vouz Francais?  (me neither) 
• Apple Tree :: Justin Roberts little people someday grow up, God willing into loving, giving beings 
• I Will :: Alison Krauss some more of Alison Krauss's sweet singing would be just lovely right about now... 
• In My Life :: The Beatles To sum things up, all roads have led to this moment with these precious people.

happy hour

There comes a time of day when bambini and Mama wear kinda thin.  For us, this is around 4:30 or 5pm.  It's late in the day but not yet quite time for dinner, Daddy's not home yet, and we're all running a little low on energy.  Other mamas may have more colorful names for this particular time period, but I like to refer to it as "happy hour" -- a description I can't take credit for but choose to use in order to retain a sense of hopefulness.

Navigating the day takes some strategy.  This includes siesta time after lunch -- something upon which I am insistent because of the overall impact its inclusion or omission can have on the rest of the day.  My two lads don't fall asleep very often anymore, but we do settle down and read together for a while.  This gives me a chance to put my feet up for a minute, and more importantly a chance to reconnect with the bambini if we've been either busy doing separate things (like them playing while I tend to household duties) or out and about.  I try to make siesta time last at least 45 minutes to an hour.  The lass often drifts off to sleep while I read (if she hasn't already fallen asleep).  It's a highlight of our daily routine.

Infrequent naps can make things dicey later, though, so to weather Happy Hour, here are some things I try to take note of and address...

• hunger (mine and theirs): I try to offer a snack with protein after school (or at least by 4pm on stay-home days).  My own fatigue by this point in the day can easily dissolve into irritability (which I pray to be free of) unless I can recognize that I myself need some protein too at this time (although endorphins via dark chocolate are also highly appropriate at this time, this can be tricky if I'm not willing to share -- which I'm often not right about then).
• busyness: it's during Happy Hour that I might be trying to round up things for dinner and get it going so that it's ready when my beloved gets home, though lately we've been trying to have simpler meals or those we've prepared in advance and are simply reheating.  If I'm able to get down on the floor with and play with the bambini or read a book (or four) to them instead of scurrying around the kitchen, we all tend to fare a little better.
• humor (or lack thereof): oftentimes, we need some levity to keep our spirits buoyed as we eagerly await Daddy's return home.  Mama has her ways of accomplishing this, as do the bambini (some within house rules, some outside them; Mama's challenge is to channel things in the former direction).
• energy expenditure: especially on days when the elder lad doesn't go to preschool, it really helps the lads to get outside and run around.  The past few days have been temperate enough for them to muck around in the mess of the melting snow and the mud beneath it.  This means bath time immediately afterward, but that works in our favor for an earlier bedtime.
• media consumption: sometimes after the reading part of siesta time or after school I will turn on the TV for a show or two (favorites are Curious George, Dinosaur Train, and Good Eats -- pre-screened, of course).  But I'm careful not to let the TV stay on very long.  The longer it's on, the more likely moods are to deteriorate.

Still, in spite of experience and forethought and everyone's best efforts, Happy Hour can still wreak havoc on the early evening all the way through lights out.  No one wants this, and we all resolve to start fresh in the morning and do better tomorrow.  I pray and hope for a good night's rest, a peaceful day, and a sense of humor to keep us afloat through these days of early childhood that will too soon be gone.

Cheers~