Thoughts
Posts tagged books
Wishful Thinking
Nov 14th
P spent a good 10 minutes flipping through this huge Target flier. There was more than one “WOW!” gasped as he slowly turned the bright glossy pages. Someday, probably not long from now I will hide or burn these fliers before my kids are able to add a 90 dollar life like robot dinosaur to their Christmas list, for now though, I will let them have their fun. Because really, ads like this are just a picture book of wonder. How could I take that magic away from them?!
Still Wistful 5 Days Later…
Sep 3rd
I am not a morning person. Not a morning person in any way. I prefer to ease into the day. I have never been one to wake up “ready for the day.”
On Saturday night we drove up my parents winding gravel road. We arrived late afternoon. Just enough time to let the boys run and play a bit before supper. After supper my parents surprised T and I with the most magical wonderfully thoughtful gift a Mom could give to her daughter, a peaceful night alone with her husband, sans the kiddos!
My parents eagerly loaded up the kids (they couldn’t wait to get them alone so they could spoil them rotten with out me and T knowing) in our van and drove away.
T and I got the whole cabin to ourselves. The cabin is great. A humble little log cottage nestled into a coulee (that is what North Dakotans call a small valley). But it isn’t just the comfortable cabin. It is the acres of empty land surrounding it. If relaxing had a picture in the dictionary, it would be of this cabin in that coulee. Granted there can be some wild animal issues… Mostly it is just tame deer who feed off my mom’s flower beds, a couple of raccoons, some beavers that are trying to damn the creek, an occasional moose and a few coyote… plenty of other midwest coulee dwelling creatures come out to play too depending on the time of day. I choose not to think about the mice, hawks, badgers, snakes and other critters of that nature!
So besides the noises from the random animal and the creek, it is quiet. So quiet.
I fell asleep around 8:30pm that night (so sexy, I know. T is one lucky man. Sometimes, sleep is just more important!) and woke up with out the alarm clock of two chatting kids 12 hours later. I never go to bed that early and I never never wake up on my own before 9.
I was rested. Content. Didn’t have to rush to change diapers and scrounge up a breakfast. It was incredible.
I woke up, grabbed my book (a fantastic read, check it out some time. Picoult’s Perfect Match. Not my favorite of hers, but still a very good read), wrapped a huge tied fleece blanket around me and curled up on an adirondack chair on the porch and read.
It was just chilly enough to need a blanket but the sun was up and peeking over the hills and warmed me through.
It was a perfect morning.
The boys came out around 10 with their new toys and sheepish Grandparents in tow. I didn’t have to dress them, feed them, entertain them or anything else I struggle to do in the early a.m. hours. Grandparents were happy. The boys were bubbling with joy. And T and I were rested.
A perfect morning.
Indulgence
Jul 31st
Last night T and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in style. We dinned at a delicious restaurant in the Twin Cities, Forepaughs. I had the duck which was so spicy that I just had to have a glass of wine to wash it down with. My wine was worth every penny of its over priced 11 dollar price tag.
We got all dolled up, for T that meant normal work wear and for me it meant showering, actually brushing my wavy locks and digging in the back of the closet for a dress that never has a reason to be worn. I wasn’t looking forward to the whole going out prep process, but once I got going, I went all out. It felt so good to look good. I never take the time to get all gussied up and it was well worth it. I felt like I turned heads for all the right reasons, unlike the norm of a toddler throwing a tantrum in the Target isles or my neighbors judging me for wearing the same pair of sweats 3 days in a row.
After stuffing ourselves with tasty yet pricey food we headed to Borders. T informed me that the 4th anniversary is the paper anniversary (which I later wikied and found out he was wrong) so we vowed not to get gifts and instead go to a bookstore sans the kidos and pick up a few books for ourselves. It was fantastic to browse the isles of books without have to push a stroller or chastise the boys for pulling books off shelves.
We lucked out and Borders was have a big sale and offered coupons as well. The night couldn’t have gotten any better, but it did.
We headed to the grocery store to get desert. We both agreed at the restaurant that we would get desert elsewhere and cheesecake was what we needed. We found a Sara Lee New York Style Cheesecake (on sale!) and bought a jar of Hershey’s Dark Hot Fudge. When we got home I paid the babysitter and headed straight upstairs to put on sweats. We paired the cheesecake with a red desert wine and watched the season 3 finale of 24 and the unaired episode of Doll House.
A perfect evening. T even let me sleep in this morning. 4 years. 2 kids. 1 dog. I love that man. I love him for letting me sleep in, for thinking a trip to the bookstore is a great anniversary, for serving the cheesecake whole with 2 forks, for loving me if I am in sweats or a dress and for giving me the greatest years of my life.
Too Many Toys!
Jul 20th
David Shannon is my favorite children’s author of the moment. Anything he writes my boys just eat up. M’s favorite is Smash Crash. Pictured above is my favorite, Too Many Toys. They are fun to read and no matter how tired I am, I always find my self getting wrapped up in his books. It is impossible to read them with out sound effects and silly voices. The illustrations are bright and catch the boys’ eye with out dumbing down the art. Target has a huge selection, but you can get them for about $4 cheaper on Amazon.
