sanity saver: audiobooks

For his first birthday, the elder lad received a two-CD set of Dr. Suess books read by celebrities such as Kelsey Grammar, Jason Alexander, and Walter Matthau.  A second two-CD set soon followed with more stories read by more celebrities, including John Lithgow, Mercedes McCambridge (whose talent for voices is amazing), and Michael McKean. The stories made for excellent listening as we motored all over town, and they still do now five years later.  The lad will still ask for them occasionally on our drive home from school.

The latest hit in our audiobook experience is Richard Atwater's Mr. Popper's Penguins, a recommendation of one of our favorite librarians.   The hardbound edition of the book wasn't available for checkout from the library right away, so I went with the audiobook instead.  One afternoon when the lads were lobbying for some glowing screen time, I put Mr. Popper's Penguins on to listen to instead.  Initially they went about their Lego business, but slowly they started creeping toward the stereo, eventually finding positions of repose on the floor nearby.

Berenstain Bears authors Stan and Jan Berenstain narrate the popular stories they wrote on their audiobook, as does Arthur Lobel, author of the Frog and Toad series. Glynis Johns (the mother from the film version of Mary Poppins) narrates the Frances books, which rank right up there with Dr. Suess's Hop on Pop (read by David Hyde Pierce) on the after school drive request list.  Speaking of Mary Poppins, that audiobook is next in our queue.

Other favorites of ours are A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh tales (read by Jim Broadbent) and Michael Bond's Paddington stories.

In the car, during siesta time, at happy hour -- any time, really -- audiobooks can be real sanity savers.

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.

power nap

By some miracle, there were *four* sleeping bambini in this house at the same time.  As soon as the remaining holdout drifted off, my mind started prioritizing the things that need tending to (starting with that mountain of laundry to be folded, followed by having some chocolate), but instead of popping up I made myself lie down for a ten minute power nap.

That's about all I could manage, though, because then the raven-haired lass awoke -- and I had to have some chocolate.

epic failure: a success story

Blessings upon the angel of mercy in the person of my beloved's mother who came to our domicile this afternoon to wrangle three overtired bambini so that I could rest. I am beyond grateful.

Her arrival was well-timed, as Mama was reeling from a lack of sleep and a need for a successful siesta time.  That wasn't happening.  The lass awoke within minutes of falling asleep, and the younger lad fought off the sandman despite having circles under his eyes dark enough to resemble a raccoon.

The bambini all seem to be on a heightened state of alert just as I am, and this translates into a more intense need for physical closeness at times of rest.  Usually I am happy to provide this, awed by the intimacy of those moments just as they surrender to sleep (which may have been a *long* time coming -- this is one reason why I don't pray for patience) and humbled by the trust they have in me to be with them as they drift off.  This afternoon, however, Mama needed a bit of a retreat.  Without help, I wasn't going to get it, and the rest of the day would likely have been doomed to lots of ups and downs -- possibly (probably) even tears from some or all of us.

After some time alone in my room which included some much-needed shut-eye, the elder lad came in to check on me, and I was very nearly busted when he spotted the little container in which I keep bittersweet chocolate chips in for quick snatches here and there.  He eyed me coolly when I told him it was empty and left the room.  He came back a little while later complaining of something in his eye, snuggled up with me, and fell asleep.  Like his mother in his gallant sleep-fighting tendencies as well as his selective eating habits, this shed some light on the earlier less-than-charitable comments and less-than-gentle handling of those around him as we were attempting to settle down for siesta. 

"Just what we needed, right?" I asked him as we snuggled.  He concurred.  When we emerged, we found the younger lad and lass happily splashing in the bathtub (brave woman, considering what can happen).  Not only had my mother-in-law kept them awake so as not to derail bedtime (which came on the early side for them), she had also brought us dinner.

With some tender loving care, what was looking to be a failure of epic proportions (maybe I exaggerate) turned into a sweet success.