My favorite daily tradition with Jordan this winter is to turn up the heater in the morning right after breakfast. So I get him up, get him changed, feed him breakfast and then he runs straight to the heater vent… and I hurry to the thermostat to turn the heater up from 64 to 66. Brian also lights the pellet stove every morning and we get up to about 70 in here by the time that has been burning for awhile. Jordan lays on his stomach with his face over the heater vent for awhile and then sits with his legs on either side of the heater vent and leans his face down to it again. He looks forward to this every morning…. I’m going to miss winter.
I picked up a used drum synthesizer thing at a resale place this summer to give Daniel for Christmas. He likes the drumming okay, but he also quickly discovered the music that it plays… so that he can practice drumming to it supposedly. But he just turns on the music, lays down and rocks and rocks. He loves it. After a few days of not seeing him except for mealtimes, we decided he needed to ration his zoning out. Now he gets his music immediately after dinnertime. Now he asks if it’s dinnertime all day long. (laughs) He’s getting the idea and we’re even trying to teach him the clock a little bit, since dinner is at 5pm for him. So the last two nights, he’s had dinner, then gone into his room with his drums/music…. shut the door… and promptly fallen asleep. Oh, sweet boy. We’ll have to do something different tonight – maybe have his drums in the hallway instead? But they’re loud and I don’t want to listen to them. We shall see. 🙂
Lately at dinner for the rest of the family, Carolyn has been asking to pray. She’s 6. I love listening to little kids pray. Last night she thanked God for food, family, “and that the clocks… that there was a blackout. Because I like blackouts. Amen” (It’s been windy here and the power went out and reset the clocks the night before last.)
I’ve been fostering a talk time with Anna in the evenings when the other girls go to bed. Most nights I just give her a hug and she heads to bed, but now and then we sit and chat for awhile. It’s the most relaxed time she and I have… no pressure and genuine hanging out. Sometimes we’re just quietly silly (quietly, because it’s after bedtime for Daniel, who sleeps in our walk-in closet across the room) and sometimes we talk about serious things. It’s just nice to hang out with my big girl.
Let’s see, what’s a current memory of Maggie. Brian almost always agrees to carry the (two yougner) girls upstairs to hug me goodnight. It means two trips, but they love it and he obliges. Last night, he walked in with Maggie upside down, criss-cross applesauce (or something that looked like spiderman hanging from his web). She doesn’t snuggle in for hugs any more, she perches on my lap and tells me about the fantastical things she’s imagining. Then she hugs me if I remind her and drifts or bounces to her bed. (Carrie wanted to be carried by her feet after watching Maggie last night. She announced, “I came upstairs upside down two nights in a row.” and seemed very pleased with herself.)
Brian turned 36 years old! Does that make us old? I can’t remember exactly when old starts. I think I like it that way. However, Brian’s back spasmed the other day because he lifted his arms above his head, so I think it means we’re within the margin of old.
Just so you know – Brian won’t be drinking, partying, gambling or carousing at all this year. Because he’s a square. You all won’t notice, since he’s hardly a party animal now, but he wants to play the part of a perfect square as well as possible.
Cuz he’s a nerd. Right?
36 is a square.
6 squared, to be precise.
I got the joke right away. Because we nerds stick together.