Crouching Mama, Shaman Toddler

Okay, every time I read all of the other blogs that are floating around by my friends, I think, "I have to be better about mine." So, here I am again. Nothing really interesting to say, though. Let's see...

The past few weeks have been absolutely miserable weatherwise. It was 30 freakin degrees over the weekend, complete with freezing rain and sleet. Easter Sunday wasn't much better, and since our brunch company cancelled, we decided just to get things done around the house and reserve the next nice day for celebrating and lazing around. We went to Home Depot and bought a lawn mower and weed trimmer, fertilizer, a hose, and some water softener salt. It was a big day. J loved checking out all of the power tools and the boxes on the floor!

Yesterday was the first day we were able to go to the park in a long time. We did the usual playing climbing up to the steering wheels, looking at the stop signs, saying hello to the older kids, and picking up rocks. We added a few new things to our repertoire. They included, chasing another toddler down the path and imitating him on the picnic benches, hugging said toddler and knocking him down (with affection), and finding an enormous stick. This stick occupied J for at least 20 minutes. He dragged it all through the leaves and walked back and forth with it. He really looked like a shaman, or some other wise toddler, ready to proclaim, "Ahhh... Simba alive!!" at any second. I didn't have my camera, but this stick was double his size and he kept knocking himself in the head. He didn't seem to mind that because it was a challenge to hold it upright and move with it. He was not a happy camper when I had to remove it from his hands and put him in the stroller to go home.Waahhhh! Thankfully, we pass four or five stop signs on our walk back home, which made him forget all about the stick. Stop signs are his absolute favorite object. He can recognize them from front, back, side, and always exclaims, "Sop!" or "saaaahhhh" whenever he sees one. We have to touch them, spell out the word. All of this makes him extremely excited. Other traffic signs make him yelp as well, but they do not carry the same interest as the octagonal red and white commander. I joke that we have an urban naturalist on our hands because he loves stop signs, but also loves to pet trees.

Today will probably be more of the same-- park time, a long walk, maybe a trip to the outlet mall. Mama needs some new clothes!