After an hour in the shower, which is not unusual for Bud and me in the mornings before I go to work, he was happy to be bundled up in some Pooh clothes, eat some grapes, and sit on Daddy’s lap.
Meanwhile, The Bubster is trying so hard to have real grown-up conversations with us. Last night at dinner she asked “Are these fingersticks?” Well almost. Not fish sticks but chicken fingers. LAter she asked if she could have a Spider-Man costume to wear “at night and in the morning”. I said, “hmmm…”, she said, “But I think you might have to pay one”. Then later she popped her head around her bedroom door: “Are you getting one now?”
So she goes from being Spider-Man to Batman to a fairy princess, to Wolf Girl. I’d say that’s a pretty well-rounded young lady.
As LittleBud has taken to waking up screaming at 0430 lately and as TheWife has done a lion’s share of calming him down, seeing how she has the equipment he desires, and seeing how tired she looked, I made a decision yesterday. The decision actually came after looking at my Facebook page and seeing a friend of mine share a funny story about her child doing something similar and then after a little sharing back and forth, I looked at the Internet (you know if you squint your browser just right you can see the whole thing, right?) and found out where our old church was meeting now days, and seeing how it was right around the corner, you know ten minutes walk away, sort of like the distance from Peach Ave to the intersection of Jeffress St & North Main St. I bundled up the kids and took both of them to church and let TheWife sleep in the bed or whatever it she does during those extremely rare times she is in the house alone.
People were both surprised and happy to see me and the kids. I got an escort to drop the kids off in their respective play areas and went to have a seat in the auditorium. It was a nice place and a nice service. It was a real pleasure to be able to sit and not worry about anybody needing me or wanting to grab me or something. I escaped into a chair, if you will, and was free to sit there. When it was over and I went to collect the kids, they were fine. TheBubster’s teacher (you call those young ladies who watch the kids teachers, right?) handed me the crayon drawing that you see above and was surprised at her ability to create the composition of Jesus walking on Water from listening to the story. I was not surprised at the technical capabilities but was pleased to see that her retention of details is growing quite well. Anyways, I thought I’d share this little story and the picture with all of you, hope you enjoy!
Currently, the morning routine involves dragging a stroller and two kids down four flights of stairs, moving several blocks away and then dragging the same two kids and stroller down two more flights of stairs to the subway platform. Then when we arrive at our stop, I drag the stroller up two flights of stairs to leave the MTA system and walk a few blocks to the school where I drag the stroller up four flights of stairs to drop the eldest child off at her school. Then I turn around and go home so that the youngest one can climb the ladder all day, he usually naps during this part of the commute. Later in the day, I do the same round trip all over again.
“Well at least you don’t need a gym membership.” I hear people saying.
“You sure get your workout in, dontcha!” others will carp at me.
True, and very valid points. But I’d much rather travel around the city in Dutch Style. A nice long bakfiets to pop the kids into for jaunty trips through the city would be completely ideal. I have looked around the internet and found several importers of these fantastic bikes.
“But what about gigantic snowstorms?” you might ask. What about them? i will gleefully respond. My intention will be to ride through them. We did this in Cambridge, with our bike and trailer up until the point where the temperature fell into single digits AND I had an infant AND then the bike was stolen off the porch. Well, now that we are in NYC, and there is history of me and bicycles in this city, plus NYC is best experienced by bicycle, it would only be the best solution for our family. Then the youngest child could get his ladder climbing in during the up and downs at the school for the oldest one and I can leave humping the stroller to when TheWife wants to take one or both off on their own little adventure.
So, as I have a graduation soon, and a birthday and an anniversary and I’m a nice guy who doesn’t want much, and you are all nice people and there is a pressing need and and and and and and….
….can I have a bakfiets, please!!!?!?!?! Can I? Can I? Can I? Please, pretty please!
This week, when I have arrived at the school to get TheBubster I have found her sword fighting with a trio of ten year old boys, playing and winning at Go with a 17 year old girl, and lining up cardboard houses to play solo in the hallway with some dolls made out of wire. Tomorrow there are plans for an ice skating expedition. Yesterday, Bud was a model, literally he was a model. He went to an advertising agency, and sat in front of a photographer and had his picture taken. Afterwards the Art Director informed me that nearly every frame take of him was usable. He’s such a happy and well adjusted baby.
At home, the kids love to play together and frequently soak the floor of the bathroom during bath time. Yesterday, they were expressing displeasure at how hot the bath water was, until I dumped a whole tray of ice cubes into the water for them to play with. That totally changed everything as the toys suddenly had to avoid icebergs and glaciers. Yes, TheBubster called them that. Her vocabulary has exploded during the short amount of time at this new school. Her understanding of things is increasing rapidly as well, but her ability to focus or tune out the rest of the world remains unchallenged.
mommy reading her a chapter of The Last Unicorn and curling up with the Economist, theBubster chose the Economist.