Boys

Eamon is five. It is the first thing he will tell you about himself after his name. Then he will tell you that his brother's name is Malcolm and he is three, unless his brother interrupts him and tells it himself. He then will want to show you all his toys, tell you about his favorite books, superheros, songs, movies, etc. Malcolm will tell you where the bathroom is.

Eamon has learned how to put books back on the shelf. Malcolm can pick up the cars. Both boys can pull up the blankets on their beds, if the blankets are straight. Eamon can usually straighten the messed blankets out, but Malcolm can't quite yet. Both brush their teeth by themselves in the morning, but Thomas or I brush them in the evening. They can dress themselves, feed themselves, go to the bathroom themselves, although they both occasionally need or want help in these areas.

Eamon has become quite the artist, drawing stories whenever he can't think of anything else to do. Malcolm drawings now have recognizable heads and arms and feet. With a little description, I can usually see the picture he means to draw. Both have enjoyed the Light Bright that I got out yesterday. It is a new way to make pictures.

We stopped watching TV every day. They have been playing pretty well together most days. I don't know if these two things are correlated, but I would like to think so. I still put on the TV when I have important phone calls to make or need to sometime without interruption. We have also enjoyed listening to music and singing songs together. They are getting the concept of playing games; around 4:00 every afternoon, they want me to get a "game from the basement" for them to play. (I have stored our board games in the basement.)

We also cleaned their room and the playroom. Now they can only get out a new set of toys if they put away what they already have out. Eamon finds this terribly unfair because he dislikes picking up. Malcolm prefers to continue the game they have out instead of putting things away. End of the day clean-up time is near torture for them, and persuading myself this is worth it is a daily conversation. It is not Mary Poppins, snap the job is done; it is closer to wails of suffering and perceived cruelty, but we have had clean rooms for two days now.

The weather, which had been sunny and warm, has turned to cold and rainy. April sunshine has become May rain clouds, and the stir-crazy-ness gets pretty bad some days. But I have still yet to finish the attic forts and play area. Some days, books and drawing pads pull us through, other days, they are sent out to run and yell in the rain for several minutes.

There was a baby at the Memorial Day picnic. Someone asked if I wanted to hold her. I didn't feel the need. Baby's are fine, but I am so thankful for Little Boys now.

Projects

Project: an undertaking that requires multiple work-sessions, fuels creativity, has a practical outcome, and gives a sense of accomplishment when finished.

The problem with projects is that I start too many of them, so they take forever to finish. I was contemplating this as I was sewing the hem on a dress I bought the pattern for about 2 years ago. Here are a few of my current projects.

1. Sewing: Dress. I got the pattern for Kate's wedding, but I realized it would take multiple fittings and I only had a week to mess with it, so I never made it. This winter I cut the pieces and have only to finish the hem and the hook at the top of the zipper.

2. House/Sewing: Organizing my fabric. I might have mentioned previously that I have at least 8 boxes/bins of fabric in my attic. This does not count the 5 boxes of scraps that people have given me. I have sorted the scraps into one bin, one box of larger pieces, and the trash can. However, the boxes are sitting in an area of my attic that I would like to use as a play area for the boys.

3. House: Attic. After I finish organizing the fabric, I am hoping to move most of the boys' toys to the attic for rainy day play and such. There is a cubby room that we are turning into a fort. There will be a Lego Table, a stuffed animal hammock, and various other things to aid with TOYS EVERYWHERE!

4. House: Playroom/School Room/Creative Place: Once the toys are moved to the attic, I would like to make our current Playroom into more of a creative space, where we will keep instruments, art supplies, current sewing projects, etc.

5. Writing: Outcasts: I posted the draft, but it has ended up being a bigger story than I first envisioned.

6. Writing: Implications of the Incarnation: This is a play I wrote for the ICS Christmas Program, but am now editing it to be appropriate year round, give it a cast of 10, and get out some of the kinks in storytelling.

7. Reading: Letter for the King (part 4, started a week ago). Our Marvelous Bastard Tongue (chapter 4 completed, started the book in January). Story (first chapter finished, started two weeks ago). The Grand Canyon: Monument to an Ancient Earth (I read the introduction, I got the book for Christmas and look at the pictures regularly). I am trying to read a little of one of them every night, but some of them are more work than others, so they are taking a lot longer.

8. Writing: Blog: Yes, I am trying to update this more often. I have found it helpful to have a written record of the past 11 years. I want to record more of the daily happenings so that in the future I can remember the blessings and trials of each time of life.

Those are some of my current creative projects. There are other things, like organizing the kitchen, getting rid of rummage/junk, putting away coats from the winter, etc that are also on my list and tend to be more pressing. But when I just can't take it anymore, I go escape into my creative projects and get refreshed to work on the others.

Window Shopper

I posted another story.

It feels dangerous posting stories because they aren't done. I read them and see all the things I want to fix, but each little change changes everything else.

The verb tenses are all messed up in Window Shopper. I wanted to convey a sense of urgency and immediacy when I started writing it, but then the tense changed. I haven't figured out a way to keep the immediacy and the proper tense. So, here is another imperfect part of me for you to enjoy and offer your remarks and edits.

It's inspiration was a dream. In the dream a man was walking down a snowy street and picks up a lady's wallet, returning it to her after stealing all its contents. In the dream, he returned the money, but she gave it back to him.

When I tried writing it down, that scene fell apart. In one draft the man threw the money down feeling patronized and judged. In another, he gave it to a person who needed it more. But none of those ideas felt right. Then when I switched perspectives to the woman, things fell into place.

By the way, the flower fairy referenced is this one by Cicely Mary Barker.