baby steps

I am starting a new job tomorrow. It is neither closer to my house, nor is it fewer hours than before. (things I have been looking for in a new job).

I am still on campus, and I still work full time.

The positive things about the new job are that I will be doing editorial work, which I enjoy, and I will not have the vacation restrictions I had before (July, August, September, December, January).

I also am getting a small raise.

So, while in some ways it feels like I have not followed my heart in this matter (I really would rather not work outside the home at all), I think this new position will be easier to combine with family life, and will ease our finances as well.

Noah and the WSO

I almost didn't take Noah to see the Symphony perform Peter and the Wolf today. I have been so excited about taking him ever since I bought the tickets. Noah knows the story. We have a lovely version with David Bowie narrating on CD. But, ever since I told Noah about it, he has resisted. It's very weird since he usually loves a chance to spend time alone with Mommy.

His two main objections were that it would be too loud and that it would be boring. Noah does not like to attend live performances in which he is not a participant.

So, about a week ago, I thought we had overcome his objections with a pair of earplugs (just in case). But the day of the concert, he was still refusing to get dressed when I went to put Molly down for her nap. When I came back downstairs, he was asleep. This was around 1 pm. The concert was set to start at 2. I woke him up around 1:25, and asked if he was sick. He just whined something incomprehensible. I then convinced him to get dressed, and we were out the door by 1:45.

We arrived at the concert hall breathless, just as the ticket takers were taking down their stations. We were directed to the 1st balcony. We tore up the stairs and found our seats. As soon as we had taken off our coats, the lights dimmed, and the concert began.

It was all worth it seeing the look on Noah's face as the orchestra played Peter's theme for the very first time.

Here is the funniest thing Noah whispered to me during the concert:


When the Wolf came out of he forest, he leaned over and said, "Rule number 1, never live beside a forest."

senses

Seeing a lamp shade through the window of a bus, through the window of a restaurant, reminded me vividly of the taste of a gin and tonic I had in a piano bar in Niagara on the lake.

birthdays

Noah is tired of waiting for his birthday to come. Today he told me he didn't want to invite anyone, he just wants the presents to come in the mail. What do you say to that?

ET

Noah was crazy excited to rent ET last weekend, so we did. Molly watched a little too, but it didn't seem to capture her attention.

Then on Monday, she came running towards me with her little finger outstretched saying "ET, ET, ET". I couldn't figure it out at first, then she grabbed my finger and pulled the tip of it to her own. I said, "ET phone home?", and she giggled like crazy.

Noah's version of a classic hymn

Swing low, swing cherry hat
Mama gonna carry me home!

I just figured this needed to be recorded. He sings it with a great deal of soul.

one thing I like about Noah

He gets so excited about what's inside the Kindersurprise egg, he will forget to eat the chocolate.

one thing I like about Molly

She would never leave chocolate uneaten.

one thing I like about Marc

he buys Kindersurprise.

weird fact about Noah

As a baby/toddler, Noah was a very picky eater (and still is), but we never had any trouble getting him to take even the most vile tasting medicine.

guilty little secret number 3

I secretly hope that if/when we do get pregnant, it's boy/girl twins.

Holy doodle

Molly is now bringing artwork home from daycare. She loves to draw. She has a lovely style all her own in which she draws lots and lots of circles and swirls. She's getting good at getting stickers off the sheet as well. She is such a little dynamo that her love for drawing comes as a huge relief. It means she will sit still for 5 minutes or so. Of course, you can't really leave the room while she has a drawing implement unless you want to find her circles and swirls all over the table, the floor, the bookcase, the potty . . . and the list goes on.

Noah's drawing is becoming more and more interesting. He likes to draw pirates and knights. He went through a very messy period for awhile where he would tell a story as he was drawing, so there were lots of squiggly lines showing where the characters had gone and what they had done, but the finished product was a little hard to decipher.

I love it when I can get the kids to sit down and draw. Not only is it a bit of a break from the active play-acting games they love, it shows a little bit of how their minds work. It also gives me something colourful to decorate my cubicle at work.

guilty little secret number 2

I look for lucrative job postings for my husband in the hopes of quitting my job.

guilty little secret number 1

The reason I volunteer to drive Noah to swimming lessons is that I get to sit in the stands for half an hour without anyone talking to me.

tiny dancer

So, our little Molly is crazy for music, and she loves to dance. I wish I had a video I could post. She has a style all her own. Last night, after her bath I brought her downstairs to watch a little something while I made lunches. Marc was still in the kitchen washing dishes and listening to music (Pavement, I think it was). Molly made a bee-line for the kitchen, and the dance party began. Noah got in on the act, and soon the kitchen was more like a mosh pit. No one got hurt, but no one seemed very sleepy after that.

Molly's favourite TV show is a new program on CBC Kids called Bo on the Go. It's sort of like Dora, but the kids are invited to move and boogie. It's pretty cute to watch. The dialogue is not fantastic. The main character is always saying things like "bo-tastic" and "wait a bo-beat".

noah-ism

Here is how the conversation went as I remember it:

Noah: when you grow another baby, it will be adopted.

Me: huh?

Marc: what does adopted mean Noah?

Noah: Having 2 Moms and 2 Dads. Me and Daddy would be the Dads, and Molly and Mommy would be the Moms.

lists

In the spirit of Sei Shōnagon's Pillow Book (and Ruth Ozeki's My Year of Meats), here is a list entitled:

Things that give a feeling of well-being and accomplishment:

Knowing how to get to work using public transit even if you don't have to.

Knowing for a certainty that you are not pregnant.

Knowing for a certainty that you are.

a day off part 2

So, Noah got his day off last week. Molly was sick, so I decided we would all stay home. Guess what the little dickens said mid-morning?

"I wish I was going to Shar's (daycare) today"

There's just no pleasing some people :)

maybe not

There may not be room for one more after all.

I'm not sure if I can provide for more than 2 children, and I don't just mean financially, although that is a part of it. I am finding it difficult to be patient with 2. I raise my voice more than I would like.

I would like to be able to go to Noah's soccer games and actually watch them instead of chasing a toddler. I want to really enjoy Molly and Noah's ages and stages.

I know that a parent's capacity to love grows with each child, but when I think of the reality of three, I think of dividing my attention.

So, that's how I feel today.

Of course, if I were to discover I was pregnant tomorrow, I would be overjoyed.

a day off

My heart broke again this morning. Noah begged me to please please please let him take a day off.

Take a day off? You'd think we were sending him to work in the mines, not to school and daycare.

Take a day off? The phrase does not belong in a 4-year-old's vocabulary.

I am so terribly sad for my Noah.