Friday, February 6, 2009

Kindred Spirits


As Juris Mater and I chatted on the phone yesterday on the relative merits (or lack thereof) of February, (me speaking in a husky man voice interrupted by sporadic coughing fits, which is indicative of my February so far), she had no way of knowing that my children were wearing these hand-me-down shirts, just as I had no idea she was going to post on her dear Thing 1 and Thing 2. The shirts were passed on to us by a friend who thought they would be perfect for our three boys. Should I take that as a compliment??? I think I may have to send the shirts to Bella and Bean...

6 comments:

Mary Alice said...

That is hysterical. Good to know that we are all in the same boat.

When I lived in New York City, my mother gave me this wintertime advice for late afternoons:

Pretend you are the nanny.

Sometimes a little detachment and taking a professional attitude really helps.

We try to spend at least an hour outside regardless of the weather.

My mother in law comes on Friday afternoons to babysit and this afternoon she brought a craft project, it was amazing how the kids really sat and focused when they had something new to do. If you introduce a new craft or simple game(in this case it was stencil painting) it will hold their interest for several days, so head to Michaels and pick up what you need for three or four projects to get through the month.
If you are totally broke or uninspired, card games like Go Fish really do it for my kids, too.

B-Mama said...

TM, they are adorable! Maybe pass those shirts on over here?

And might I add the additional February observation that in colder months my children want to nap less, which gives us MORE time together, which only exacerbates our cabin fever! No doubt they have too much energy and haven't been run enough to collapse and give me a break!!!

Juris Mater said...

Tex, oh my gosh HOW hilarious, and their blond hair could be dyed blue so easily (per AWOL's suggestion in the post below)...

Juris Mater said...

I meant to add, MaryAlice, the craft thing is such a good suggestion, but I'm so deterred by:
(1) the inevitable nightmarish cleanup (remember, we're dealing with Thing 1 and Thing 2, who are seriously deficient in the outside playtime category--we don't have a yard and getting to the park isn't easy in the snow) and
(2) the baby destroying and/or eating our project. This is a topic for another day, but I can't imagine homeschooling with a baby around. She's into everything, all the time, and it seems like as soon as Bella and Bean get into a groove doing something good with my supervision, she needs me, and it goes down the tubes. And she's an EASY baby.

B-Mama said...

OH JM, I am awaiting those days of baby into/eating everything. I know they are a heartbeat away, but for now I am gratefully loving the baby's happy hours spend in the Exersaucer at our feet. What would I do without it? Maybe I can freeze time and prevent him from ever learning to crawl? Lord, help us all! :)

texas mommy said...

We instituted "Mommy Boot Camp" when it's cold outside, which is very funny and quite effective. The big boys follow mommy doing jumping jacks, laps around the house, push-ups, sit-ups, arm circles, popcorn and anything else that pops into my head. Mr. I came home the other day and we were all on the floor doing a pilates video. He was on the phone with his best friend from college (Bob) when he walked in the door and I heard him say, "My boys are doing pilates, I've gotta go!"