Another Exciting Evening

Since I put E. back in her crib I haven't had too much trouble with her at bedtime. Tonight I have been hearing her off and on for a while. Then, of course, the crying began. With P. I knew every subtle nuance of his cries and what they meant. E. has a much more limited repertoire of cries, mostly they're just loud. So when I heard a hoarsely uttered wailing cry, that was not excessively loud, I figured something must be wrong. I guessed she need a diaper change. Well, As I mounted the stairs I knew for sure that she needed a diaper change. I did not expect, however, to find her bathed in blood, as I did. She tearfully told me she needed a wipe. A wipe would be about as useful as the band-aid I gave my sister when she had a tinker toy lodged in the roof of her mouth. It was just a nose-bleed. But she did a great job spreading it all over her face, hands, and knees, as well as her clothes. Fortunately, it had not yet occurred to her to use it as finger paint(since she has used other bodily emissions for that purpose, it's not a far-fetched idea).

Conversation Overheard

While folding laundry this morning I heard the following in the hallway:

"I'm going to go mess up my room. Come on E. You want to help me mess up my room?"

I enjoy the conversations between my children. Especially when P. tries to teach E. words that even he cannot pronounce. He's been teaching her numbers and colors. She may always believe that 11 is pronounced a-wen-a. Oh well. At least he is trying to help her.

The Return of Vaudeville, or Music Soothes the Savage Beast

I have a confession. I put E.'s crib back together. I just couldn't take anymore. Apparently neither could she. She very visibly relaxed when I put her back in. This is the girl who wanted to be tightly swaddled until she was about 8 months old. I guess there is a certain comfort in the confinement of a crib. But we had gotten into a bad cycle of staying up late and not napping. So last night, I put her to bed at 8:30. She was very exhausted. So she did her usually hysterics, but I wouldn't let her out. So I started singing. After a few rounds of "You are my Sunshine" she started to calm. I'm not sure what song came next, but it was enough for her to release her vice-like grip on me and stop crying. I figured I was on to something. So I went into my very limited repertoire of children's songs. If you say a first line, I actually know quite a number of these, but left to my own devices, I can remember about five. At the end of that five she was sitting down. So I launched into my favorite children's church songs. After "Jesus Loves Me" and "Jesus loves the Little Children" I got stuck. Sudden Inspiration!!. "Father Abraham!" For those of you unfamiliar with this classic, it involves ever increasing body motions. She actually laid down to watch the show. She would occasionally grin at my antics. Ok, I thought, time to slow it down(after all, isn't that what happens in a lot of worship services, you sing fast, you sing slow). So I sang "It is well with my soul." Her blinks became heavy. After a few rounds of the previous I got into the chorus of "How Great Thou Art." She took that last breath of relaxation and her eyes closed a final time.

There were two things I got out of this. 1. She was asleep before 9:00 for the first time in over a week. 2. A pretty good little worship time for myself.

It's nice to win sometimes.

Movies

Okay, here it is

Movie meme:
1. What was the last movie you watched?

Besides the Baby Einstein series, I think it was Batman Begins.

2. What was the last movie you bought?

For myself? I have no idea. I think the last movie someone gave me was Pirates of the Caribbean

3. What was the last movie you went to a theater to see?

Batman Begins-which is a great movie. I'm still divided on whether or not Christian Bale is a good Batman. On one hand, he's Christian Bale, on the gripping hand, he was a little more stiff than I had hoped, but stiff in a very Batman way. On the whole, I hope he gets cast again.

4. What is the movie you have seen the most?

Dune(the one from 1984). In high school I watched it(the 4-hr version) every school holiday and at least once a week in the summer. Once I had the books I read them nearly as frequently. I have had to cease my Dune activities because I get lost on Arrakis for at least a week and am totally useless(Ok, more useless than normal). The Atreides take over my mind and I start thinking like them. And if you've never read the books, you won't understand. If you have, you know what I'm talking about.

5. What are the 5 movies you like the most?

Dune
Rebecca
Jane Eyre
Matrix
Pride and Prejudice(the really long one they show on A&E)

6. Tag 5, yada yada.

I tag Because I Said So. I won't tag her for the books though.

Anonymous

Gentle readers (Lisa and Lindsey)

I have fixed my comments section to allow anonymous posts, just in case you ever want to leave a comment.

Blackberries

I skipped church tonight to pick blackberries. I dropped my children off in their respective classrooms, and went to the gym to see if anyone showed up for youth group(where I am a "youth coach"). It was all guys and they were playing dodgeball, the majority of the group is in NY for a mission trip. I wandered up to see if my sister needed help, but she had it under control, so I found some cups and set off on a blackberry hunt.

Blackberries are my favorite. They have a really short growing season, so that makes them that much more special. A few weeks ago we were early for church so the children and I went on a nature walk around the parking lot. To my utter delight, the back parking lot was surrounded by blackberry blossoms. I have been patiently waiting for the fruit to ripen.

So tonight I set forth on a nature walk of my own. It was cool, the air was misty and it was nearing twilight. It was raining in a rather desultory way, reminding me of many summer church camps, walking to and from the cafeteria delighting in the cool splash of rain on a hot summer day. I caught a faint whiff of honeysuckle as I carefully picked the few ripened berries I found. A few feet further I saw that there was indeed some late blooming honeysuckle hidden in the corner. I drank deeply of the scent and allowed the nostalgia of past springtimes to wash over me briefly. I continued my search for ripe berries. I was quite taken with the beauty of the blackberry vines. The mix of red, green, and black. There was a completeness to its beauty.

I realized as I was standing in the rain that I felt utterly peaceful. I was completely alone. I had a thought that maybe I should be thinking deep thoughts about God or praying or doing something generally useful with my brain. But I felt a quiet nudge in my heart that it was okay to not think, but to enjoy standing in the rain pondering the beauty of blackberry vines.

Elmo?

I took my children to the movies for the first time today. I chose to take them to the free movie because, well, it's free(except for the $200 I paid for popcorn and drinks). Our movie choices were Elmo in Grouchland and Garfield. Being the wise mother that I am, I chose Elmo in Grouchland. After all, it's Elmo.

If you know me you may be wondering why my 4-yr old has never been to the movies. I can sum it up in 2 words. Dark. Loud. P. is an exceedingly sensitive child. The mere mention of the word fireworks can send him running and screaming, and it has been over a year since I traumatized him by going to Stone Mountain for the Laser Show. He asked every night for 6 months if there would be fireworks.

So, feeling a dire need to get out of the house, I loaded up my two and my 11 yr old niece, who was willing to sit through Elmo. All is well. We get our snacks. The previews come on. P. is a little scared, but doing ok. He happily munches his popcorn and sips his drink. E. is having a wonderful time eating popcorn. The lights dim, the movie begins. P. ceases all actions and melds his arms to the armrests and his back to the cushion behind him. His eyes widen. But he doesn't say anything. I look over at him from time to time and he hasn't moved. It occurs to me that he looks like a little old man on his first roller coaster ride. Enter the villain. Exit us.

I assumed that the pitiful wail issuing from P.'s lips would disturb the other occupants of the theatre. We made it 45 minutes. E. was loving every minute of it. P. was still crying when we got to the car. A trip to the wal mart to look at the fish hopefully redeemed me.

I've been tagged!!!!!

4boydad tagged me. So here are my answers(with a little bit of info stolen from splitcat).

1. How many books have I owned? (I stole this answer from splitcat and made it my own. I like to make him do all the work)

I don't know. I have about 14 bookcases in my home. They all hold books. Two hold SF and Fantasy, two hold general fiction, two hold mystery/suspense, one holds YA, two hold sewing/craft, one holds non-fiction theology/devotional, one holds a mish-mash of textbooks, anthologies, etc, two hold history and Star Wars Lego models, two hold children's books. And yes, I have read 90% of them multiple times. To illustrate the seriousness of my book addiction. I gave up novel reading for Lent. It was painful, but the Lord really blessed me for being obedient. You can get a lot done when your nose isn't stuck in a book.

2. What was the last book you bought?
The last NEW book I bought was Sunshine by Robin McKinley. But more recently I traded some books at a used book store. I bought a Gordon Dickson, Patricia McKillip, William Sleator, and a few others I don't remember.

3. The last book that you've read?

Four Faultless Felons by G.K. Chesterton. I had forgotten how much I enjoy Chesterton.

4. List five books that mean alot to you.

a. The Bible-self explanatory
b. At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald. This is a simply delightful, and sad book. It is filled to the brim with little pearls of wisdom.
c. Lirael by Garth Nix. I enjoyed the whole Abhorsen trilogy, but this one just really stuck with me.
d. What's Mine's Mine, by George MacDonald. It is very moralistic, but a very true description of how our lives should look as Christians.
e. The Hero and the Crown, and the Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. I just really like them.



5. Tag five people that haven't played yet
I don't know five bloggers, If I ever do, I guess I'll have to tag them.

Another day, another trip to the E.R.

The day started innocently enough....

My sister and I planned a trip to Goodwill. I was excited. Then while E. was playing with her daddy, she got hurt. She usually just shakes it off, but it was obvious she was in some discomfort. I decided to wait a couple of hours and see if she got better. Of course she didn't. So I found the nearest urgent care center to Goodwill(since we went ahead with our plans). They told me to go to the hospital since she was so little. Then I remembered an interesting tidbit of info I received when my son fractured his elbow. The hospital closest to my house will not set broken bones. You have to go to the children's hospital near downtown Atlanta. So, just in case something was broken, I gathered up my mother(because I wasn't going to drive on 400 alone) and we set off.

I must say that is was the best ER experience I have ever had. It took longer to get there than for us to be seen, diagnosed, x-rayed, fixed, and sent on our merry way. She had nursemaid's elbow. Apparently, when the dr. was examining her, the ligament that was out of whack was fixed. It was the only time she cried, and by the time we went to x-ray and back, she was perfectly normal. She started picking things up, talking(she hadn't said a word all day.) It was very weird. But I am so glad she didn't break anything. We've had enough of that for this year.