I want to be that mom.

I want to be that mom someday.

I want to be the mom whose house and yard always need a little more attention than they seem to get because of the wear and tear of holding so many young people all the time. I want to be that mom whose kids' friends are always around. I want to be the mom whose kid hits those teenage years having spent so many days with his friends building things in the back yard, conducting experiments in the laundry room, and getting the band together that they don't even realize how habitually they gravitate to my house.

I want to create an environment where after so many puppet shows, play-dough castles, and back-yard ball games, it seems natural to my kid and his friends to have a poetry reading in my basement on a Friday night instead of going out looking for trouble.

So I let him jump on the couch. I think it's okay for him to have a sandbox in the sun porch so he and his friends can dig and pour to their hearts' content even on the rainiest of days. I have a container of play dough on hand at all times and I spend my precious free time scheduling playdates and outings and story times. I read up on the practicality of Montessori, the whimsy of Waldorf, and the inspiration of Reggio Emilia. Because I hope to build my son's foundations so solidly and firmly that he knows he can fly.

I want to be that mom who doesn't try to live through her child but is successfully there for him.

My little engineer

"What's This?"

Daddy: (spells out "iAN" on the magnet board.)Hey, what's this?
Ian: That's Ian. (emphatically.)
Daddy: Very Good!
Mommy: Holy crap, did he just read his name? Or did you tell him what it was?
Daddy: No, I didn't tell him, he recognized it on his own.
Mommy: (Calls Raba, updates Facebook, wigs out a bit about how grown up her baby is.)

I haven't been trying to get him to recognize his name, although a couple of weeks ago he did see it in print and ask me, "What's that?" I'm just constantly surprised by how much he absorbs and retains, especially when the intake is so separated from the playback. This age is so amazing!

Out with the old, in with the new...

So, what exactly has been going on around here in the new year...

Well, since Ian and his friends decided to look upon the superyard XT we were using to keep them out of Daddy's desk area as a personal challenge akin to a practice climb for Everest, we were really jumping. Every time our backs were turned at a playdate large or small, there would be two or three naughty little monkeys sitting on Michael's desk throwing things over the side and chortling, super impressed with themselves.

This led to my decision to play "while you were out" this past weekend and swap Michael's office with mine. *My* "office" (we actually call this room the "study") looks fantastic. Michael's... still needs a little work.



The funny thing? My desk is not secured in any way and they couldn't be less interested in it. Apparently the challenge was what made it fun in the first place.

Ian is enjoying books that are considered far too old for him. The Frog and Toad series is a huge favorite- good thing Santa had the foresight to drop off the complete set. Along with his taste in reading, Ian's conversational skills have also advanced. Today at our weekly playdate one of the other children had gotten hold of his printout of a picture I took of my brother's dog, which prompted a proprietary hissy fit on Ian's part. ("NO! MY PAPER! NO! MY PAPER!") So during his nap, I laminated it. When he woke up I said, "Here, sweetie, I laminated your Nico."

His reply? "Oh, thanks Mommy. Now Gracie not break it."

Personally, I am enjoying the challenge of planning his preschool "classroom," and find that planning and implementing preschool lessons is only slightly less time consuming than finding a preschool in this area. If you can imagine, most of them require you pay a non-refundable registration fee to get into their lottery. That's right, I said you have to pay them money (usually $50 or more) to draw straws and see if you can pay them to school your child. The whole process is about as complicated as applying to college, and no less intimidating. It makes me feel better about my decision to homeschool until kindergarten.

Breaking interruption: Michael made a recent reference to monsters living under the bed. He just stopped into the room to report that Ian went into our room and asked to have the light turned off. Then he said, "The monsters are not comin' out!" He fell in love with "Monsters vs. Aliens" on our recent road trip and he was hoping that being in the dark would make the monsters come...

In short, every day is an absolute, perfect, beautiful adventure. (And Ian keeps telling me he wants to go on the "adventure train.") Life should always be viewed through the lens of a 2 1/2 year old's perspective... because it looks pretty good.

"Hugses"

The little dude has recently decided that the plural of "hug" is "hugses." I think we should declare it standard English so he never has to stop saying it.

Staying ahead of the curve...

This week Ian is trying to integrate the pronouns him/her and he/she into his vocabulary. This excites mommy for some reason... but Ian is mostly excited about the TRAINS in Raba's basement...

What have I been knitting, you ask? How kind of you to wonder. Why, one of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Moebius cowls in some yummy alpaca! Perfect for mommy because there are no hard edges to get in the way at snuggle time, it's warm and soft and best of all, no loose ends to tug it off with.

Love that imagination

Overheard from my 2 1/2 year old today:

(Gravelly voice) Daddy's home now!
(Squeaky voice) Hi daddy! You goin to work?
(Gravelly voice) No!  Daddy NOT go to work! Daddy play with Ian now!
(Squeaky voice) Ian WANNA play with Daddy!

Wish fulfillment and dramatic play, anyone? Love, love, love it!

He's also started calling me "Mom" instead of "Mommy" which I don't love, but I guess it's better than "Meghan," which I get sometimes...

Puzzling...

Montessori "Talents" Quiz

If you know my kid, you will find none of this surprising:

What is your Child's Learning Talent?

by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource