Hey. How’ve you been? I know. It’s been awhile. Your hair is getting really long. I like what you’ve done with it. Oh thanks, yeah – new shoes. Where have I been? Hard to say really. Nowhere in particular I guess. And yet busy. Ya know, doing not much of anything. Just following a routine, enjoying life and my family. Not much more than that to say. But I’ll try.
Yesterday I sent an email to a neighborhood parents listserv offering PT childcare in my home. Ideally I’d love to watch another toddler like 9-2 pm, twice a week. It would bring in just a little extra income to help fight our burgeoning debt, but not have a huge impact on keeping Noah active and involved on a daily basis. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
This weekend my 11 year old sister Jessica came to visit. We enjoyed a beautiful warm weather day at the Zoo on Saturday and made the best of a rainy Sunday at the Art Museum, followed by a tasty late lunch in Chinatown. Noah of course loved having his An-Jess here and is missing here dearly. Whether Jess had a good time or not, I can’t say. She seems to have started that quiet, brooding tween thing – and though I don’t think she had a BAD time, she certainly wasn’t as happily expressive as she has been in the past.
Sheesh. The holidays are coming and so the scheduling has begun. Who is going where on what day – trying to see everyone and balance all the expectations. I don’t want to disappoint anyone. I get freaked out about it every year. Almost as freaked out as I get about gifts… well, not nearly THAT freaked out. My Grammy called this morning asking what we wanted for Christmas. I have no earthly idea. Noah is up to his ears in clothes and toys from his birthday – and yet I am expected to give all my family members strict orders for what the boy should get for Christmas. It’s lovely to say this – but he doesn’t need anything. And then the BUYING! Coming up with penny-pinching thoughtful gifts for everyone that won’t just get shoved in closets is impossible. If I had the cash I’d just buy everyone gift certificates to cool stores and restaurants they might enjoy, but even those don’t always seem to get used. This year everyone is getting Quacker Factory. What could be more FESTIVE than sequined Santa shirts for all?
And the boy is still amazing me every day. His language skills are amazing. It’s hard for outsiders to see because he can be so shy, but at home he talks CONSTANTLY. And he’s a little bossy too. He loves the game where we just run around the kitchen table and he says “Be horsey! Be kitty! Stop! Dance around! Get down! Sleep! Wake up!” And he’s still obsessed with Beck and those puppets. (I know the youtube link no longer works but you can go to www.beck.com, go to video and then select the SNL performances or the robot video for “Hell Yes.”) This morning shortly after he awoke he said “Mama is puppet. Noah is robot. Daddy is Beck.” And he doesn’t miss a thing. Out of the blue he’ll start talking about how his playgroup is in Fishtown, and if we’re in the car I should “Drive Broad Street.” I say something once and he repeats it the next day, leaving me wondering where in the hell he learned that. And as smart and big as he’s becoming, he can’t be seduced by me telling him what big boys do. Nope. He says “I’m baby, Mama. Not big boy. I’m baby.”
3 comments:
Christmas - Yuck! I have started sending my Kids and Grandkids gift cards (usually to WalMart because they can use it for anything and everything from Gas, Groceries, to Stuff for the house, Clothes.) I started this because I asked what my Granddaugter needed for Christmas her first yearand was told "Nothing". Then in February my Daughter was talking about her needing clothes and that she was glad a friend had gotten R a gift card for Christmas and she was going to use it for the Clothes she now needs. So maybe that's a suggestion for Noah's want list.
As for your gift list - My favorite present has been a Calendar with pictures of the grandkids in each month. I don't think it was very expensive yet I used it everyday for a year!
Tell everybody to get Noah savings bonds. Or like, make a donation to some third world orphanage in his name or something. Or tell them all that he loves it when his mama's happy so they should buy you presents instead.
heh. "tell them all that he loves it when his mama's happy so they should buy you presents instead." I'm totally doing that.
the calendar idea is really excellent. and it would definitely get used. I might just do that myself, actually.
our gifts this year are going to be really, really small. like really small. so, you know, don't stress for bella.
that's funny that noah says he's a baby. bella's always saying that she's too little.
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