Where they're at

So periodically I like to take a moment and record what my boys are doing -- like educational growth -- I thought today would be a pretty ideal day since I'm unbearably nauseous and need to be reminded why on Earth women go throw this ordeal called pregnancy! First off, I don't know why I even separate these two into different categories. They're basically the same person. The eat, sleep, play at the same time -- they mimic everything each other does (dinner time at the Ritters is VERY loud :)). They're pretty ideal. Seth- 3 years 5 months He likes contradiction ... He will give you an option with two possible answers and go with the one you didn't choose. "Mommy, should we play with the soccer ball or the basketball?" - "Basketball" - "I think we'll play with the soccer ball." His love of contradictions in apparent in his clothing as well .. backwards shoes, backward underwear ... jacket upside down, jacket upside down inside his overalls. Shorts in the winter time ... pants and big jacket in the summer ...Hmm... I wonder where he gets his defiant nature from? (JEFFREY!!!!!) No one would probably guess he's defiant, because he really isn't on anything thing that matters ... He's such a well behaved mild mannered little boy (he gets that from Jeffrey too) I just think he's amazing. Let's see... he's really interested in numbers, counting everything from his orange slices to the number of prongs on his fork. He still loves space, you can ask him about Apollo 11 and I wouldn't be surprised if he knew the date of the landing. He retains information to the point of astonishment. We've been teaching him concert music composers .. (like we know a lot) but he can pick out some Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven. He "reads" to his brother. Which I find really nice, he has memorized several books and can sit down with Levi and read to him. He can sound out I think any three letter word, he might need some encouragement like .. "What does the 'H' say?" at times, but he sounds it out himself. He's very compassionate. He's really good with younger children and likes making them happy. He's really into taking care of his stuffed animals, .. baby bear is rocked to sleep, fed, changed, and Seth usually makes her a pillow bed throughout the day. He can use his pedals on his bike. He can crack an egg and not make a mess (most of the time). And... he's beginning to understand/getting interested in addition and subtraction. Levi- 18 months Oh Levi, where to begin, well he really loves his flannel jacket :) ... like his insists on wearing it to bed. He's also really attached to his blanket and bus. He's such a funny kid And I'm going to brag for a moment, but this kid is incredibly smart. He's beginning to talk in sentences. I think being a second child has a lot to do with it -- and he just adores, idolizes, and mimics everything Seth does. The number of words he knows is in the hundreds. Learning words to him is a game, he loves to point and tell me all the things he knows. .. some words that I think are so cute when he says: "backhoe," "airplane," "bus," "purple," "Sethy," "up-stairs," "yikes," "booster seat," "bunny," "sandal." He knows most of his colors. He likes to pretend that he is reading, he'll point to a letter of a word and go "T-tt--tt" trying to sound out the word. Likes to dance and spin. He's a naturalist. He could look out over our hill forever I think -- waiting to see a pheasant, or a duck, any birds, bunnies. He loves rocks. Oh my boys, I do love them, and I love watching them grown and learn. Well that made me feel a bit better.. just thinking of my boys and how wonderful and fun they are :)

So much depends upon the red line.

For all my misgivings,

For all my misdoings,

And especially my misspellings!

I blame spell check.

I think people are confused when they learn that I majored in English. They think I am a person that is good at spelling, grammar, -- bah. I was more into the critical analysis, poetry dissecting part of the very vague major of English.

So I was writing something for someone tonight (mums), and there were a million red lines glaring at me, so that's where my scribble comes from.

For actual poetry:

The Red Wheelbarrow

William Robert Williams

so much depends upon

a red wheel barrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white chickens.

Knitwits and Cronies

Meet some members of the Knitwits. I just smile whenever I think of this uproarious group. We rotate houses and meet once a week to knit, chat and laugh. We have frequent calls from worried husbands making sure that we're "ok." They can't believe we stay out so late! -- If they could only learn the secret. I love this sequence: Smile ladies! Ok, good that's over, put the glasses back on, back to knitting ... wait! Jeffrey! Knitwits is such a sanity saver. As much as we all love our kids, it's nice having some adult conversation! -- Or as Jeff would say "hen pecking." Our little cronies. I want to squish them all. They're such a cute little pack. Last Saturday we watched the Holmes boys while Karen was spoiled for her birthday :) -- It's fun now that the boys are old enough to have friends. We had a cars themed night ... brought out the bin of cars and race track ... ... made popcorn ...... And topped off the evening watching CARS; what a boys night out ... Seth still talks about this evening. He had so much fun. And this is just a miracle, so I thought I'd share, that Seth took a nap! Something which hasn't happen for like a year. Poor kid, he was exhausted! Might I add that this picture depicts Seth to the tee... mismatched, shirt tucked into shorts that are positioned WAY too high, Richard Scary and baby bear. This boy is too cute.