#1 - The gift of a handy dandy community - Thanks Exodus Community. It's awesome to see your work, and I have a lot of faith in you. A whole room full of groceries needs unloaded and sorted at a local food pantry? My prediction, you'll sort "literally" one ton in just under an hour. Might put some away to.
#2 - The gift of a call from creepy ole New Mexico - Because she's scared of driving through the setting of Breaking Bad alone, little sis called me on the phone today to chat. Okay, she didn't call because she was scared, maybe just because she loves me. But it was good to catch up on life, love, houses and babies. Oh, and sis, she the above video per your request!
#3 - The gift of Sunday nights - It's my favorite night of the week, thanks to mom and dad setting the tradition early - we're always at home as family on the Sabbath. Whether it's pizza or popcorn, Newsies or Psych, I love snuggling, goofing, eating, and relaxing! And if you are not watching Psych, and laughing your night away, shame on you!
Yea, so May is a busy time for busy teachers, especially those of us who decide to pick up the coaching of middle school tennis. But hey, no excuses, God still does good things when we don't write blogs. So how 'bout some catching up...
Husband's
#1 - The gift of potty training success - Our number 1 post in terms of viewer feedback was our adventure with Big Son and pottying. Guess what, he's completely in underwear now during the days and actually pooped in the toilet 3 days in a row. It was so cool-cool that we had to call all the grandparents one by one to get congratulations.
#2 -The gift of hot and sexy listening skills - Wifey, I know that we have big decisions to make. Are we going to move? Do we need to move? What about the houses we've looked at? What about you working from home? Will we get to see each other if you do? What if? What's important? I love you for discussing, disagreeing, and pretty much always being right :-)
#3 - The gift of a quick swatter - Yep, got home yesterday to an infestation of ants on the inside of our bedroom window. How was this a gift? I got to feel useful! I swatted and swatted and swatted. Then I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed. Then I caulked and caulked and caulked. Then I swept and swept and swept. Two hours later... no more bugs in our sleeping space! OK, I'm tooting my own horn, but I felt like your big protector, especially considering how you curled into fetal position on the bed at the sight of just one of the little buggies...
Wife's
Potty-training...an elephant?!
So, only read the following if you haven't reached your max of potty-training stories yet. (Sorry, when it's your kid, it's pretty much what your life revolves around at the time.)
While I was getting ready for work one morning, Biggie was reading one of his favorite books, "Colorado Adventures." This was a Christmas gift made by a pair of his relatives, that happen to be Colorado residents, and shall remain nameless:) Anywho, Biggie is reading away and chatting away, and then starts thinking out loud as he reaches a certain page in said book. At this point, he turns to me and says "When I go poopy in the potty, I get the Shaky Shaky Bridge (of Thomas the Train celebrity). So, this elephant will get the Shaky Shaky Bridge, too. He went poopy!" You know your family is truly loved when a picture of a defecating elephant is included in your son's homemade Christmas gift!
To the unnamed authors of "Colorado Adventures," please deliver a brand new Shaky Shaky Bridge to the elephant at the Denver zoo, with our congratulations. We'll pay you back...
So... Any spring critters saying hello at your houses? Any busy news for us to catch up on? Had some big poops lately you want to share with everyone? Any new music to share with us... we're reveling in The Civil Wars right now (see above video). Thanks to all of you that came back and for posting comments!
#1 - The gift of an inquisitive son - At the Passover Meal, in the Jewish tradition, four sons ask four questions. The idea is that a question is always a good thing. I've got a 3-year-old Big Boy, and he's always got a question on his 3-year-old tongue.
"Why?"
But the thing is, Big Boy is attentive as well. I know, a young child not yet given in to the terrors of an attention deficit generation, but he listens carefully to what's going on. Last night, I told him the story of Jesus' death. Wanting him to understand the significance of Easter, I left the story with Jesus death. God is dead. For our sins, not because of anything He did.
I figured that Biggie knew the story well enough that he would know there was more. In fact, last night he said, "Daddy, that's not the end. Finish the story." But I left it there. God is dead. For today. We'll finish the story tomorrow.
Of course, I'm planning on celebrating God very much alive on Sunday. I didn't know how much Big Boy would buy in. So today we're listening to Audio Adrenaline's song "Secret" which has the line:
"There is a God and he's alive and keeps me well."
Biggie stops me immediately and says, matter-of-factly, "Daddy, God is dead. Why did they say God is alive?"
Uh-oh. We can't have this I thought. We can't have this taking root at all. So I called Big Boy over to my side, leaned down, and broke the secret to him. Remember the story last night, about Jesus in the tomb, sealed inside by a big rock? Remember how he died for all of our sins? I have a secret for you. And I whispered into his ear...
#1 - The gift of the potty war - Oh, yes, I've been chosen as a Daddy warrior in the potty war. We've bunkered in (only undies during daytime hours) and we've now cleaned up poopies in the big boy pants. BUT... two successes today. Two! Now I know why other parents have gotten so excited about this.
#2 - The gift of the local arts community (and my wife) - Last night, Andrew Kreider hosted a poetry open mic at the Electric Brew, the local "we-grind-our-own-coffee" place. I punked out, and didn't have enough courage to read (and have stewed about it ever since). But it was still cool-cool-cool. Special thanks to you my Bride, for getting Team Two Boys to bed alone so I could get my inner artist on.
#3 - The gift of being heard - After our refreshing talk in the shower yesterday morning, my Dear, you made sure that I knew that you had heard me. Thank you, thank you, thank you. When you respond to my spoken needs, love is new again!
In honor of the poetry reading last night, I posted a funny poem from one of my favorite poets at the top today. Have fun tonight! It's Sunday!
#1 - The gift of creative sleeping strategies - Last night (as usual) Little Baby Boy couldn't sleep. But I was prepared. I DVR'd my beloved Chicago Fire playing, and held him at 2:30, 3:30 and 5:00 while I watched bits of the game. When he slept, the game paused. Got through 30 minutes last night, of the game and of snuggle time!
#2 - The gift of silent classes - Right now, my 8th grade students are engaged in devotional activities. Some are praying, some are journaling, some are drawing pictures, some are reading Greg Boyd books. And it is silent. Praise God!
#3 - The gift of the old doorknobs - When Big Son gets up, he knows how to open his door. But it takes him awhile, because of our 1914 loose doorknobs. But I can always hear him rattling at the door. The sound brings such a smile to may face, because I usually don't get to hug him before I take off for work. Today, I got a hug and his smiling face in the window as I left.
#4 - The gift of a prayer - I'm not good with all traditions, but I love praying with you, my Dear Wife, every morning before we part. This morning, you were chilling with Young Son in bed, and you didn't even know that as I put my hand on your shoulder, I was lifting your day up. Hope it's a good one!
What sound gets you excited? What books would you want all students to read? What helps get you through sleepless nights?
1. "So many times as artists we get, like, a block, right there in our minds. And it's like, move it out of the way! Sufjan Stevens recorded Michigan with 2 '57' microphones!" - Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond
2. "It's probably unrealistic, but we hope people are worshiping in, like, every moment..." - Matisyahu
3. "The glory of God is man fully alive." - St. Irenaeus, quoted by Gregory Wolfe
5. "Discernment is more than cuss words and violence, there is a lot of nuance... that's best done in community." - Brett McCracken, author of Hipster Christianity
6. "Our identity gets wrapped up in consumption, not in Christ." - Brett McCracken
7. "We did the math and this is the biggest show we've ever headlined." - The Civil Wars, see video above.
8. "That was the best show I've ever been to." - Bryan Chris referring to the The Civil Wars
9. "Lament danced and swayed beneath the watchful eyes of the crews." - Luke Powery on the origin of the Negro spirituals
10. "Not every song has a happy ending." - Just Pete of The Bored-Again Christian referring to how he would reform Christian music.
11. "Most listeners aren't interested in being discerning listeners. They want me to tell them 'Is Animal Collective going to sound good when I'm stoned at 2 AM?' - 'Yes.'" - Jessica Hopper, music critic in Chicago Tribune and Chicago Reader
12. "A live show is made better by the audience. A good audience makes a one-time experience, it makes the artist better. So let's put away our smart phones, just for the show. Then you can take them out and have a twit-gasm." - Ken Hefner, head of Calvin College Student Activities Office
13. "It's a choose your own adventure. Should I play a new Fiction Family song or marry the dragon?" - Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, Fiction Family and solo fame
14. "What I'm most proud of is that I was able to avoid any gender-specific pronouns!" - Vienna Tang
15. "What makes good art? It tells the truth and it is well-crafted. That is art." - Gregory Wolfe
Good times, good thoughts, good food, good music = fun weekend.
Heard any good quotes lately? Got any favorites stored away? Ever try to write a review of an event only using quotes?
This month is National Poetry Month. I'm giving myself a challenge. As a a lover of poetry, I figure it's right for me to celebrate the month. So each week, I'm going to try to finish and review a book of poetry. So, here's the first.
The Great Wheel, by Paul Mariani
Simply and casually, we live our lives. Moments slip by without the slightest of thought. But at some point, we cannot escape the power of our memories. And in that reflection, the simplest of our memories, the casual moments of friendship and love often glow with the brightest fondness.
Paul Mariani's The Great Wheel feels like a collection based on a season of reflection. Indeed, Mariani seems to nod to this slowed down time, this taking stock of life and relationships in the title poem:
"For all our feigned bravado, we could feel the evening over us, even as we stared down upon the blur of leaves, our wives, our distant children, on all we would return to..."
In Mariani's book, as the evening of reflection comes over him, we are introduced to a wide range of his life. From secretly admired college professors, to a sister trying to convince her brother to move from New England's winters to the beauty of California, to a faithful dog dying on a hot June afternoon. In these scenes, it is Mariani's simplicity that serves the poetry best, that brings an emotional punch.
As in any collection, there are several poems that stand out. "Quid Pro Quo," a jumbled mess of a poem, cacophonous and humming with song at the same time, takes on a God who allows a miscarriage but then gives the gift of a son. The brilliant moment at the end, "How does one bargain / with a God like this..." Simple, but full of life's mystery.
In "Falling Asleep," the narrator lays down with his son during a family get together, captures what it is like to be both father and son. A time of excitement, moments you don't want to miss, the brevity of the whole experience. "He will have to march off..." Mariani notes, "but here, here / in this room, the shadows wheeling / slowly about him, his father is still here..."
Like all good poetry, Mariani slows us down to examine life. Each son, sister, professor, friend, wife, pet is found to have a brilliance, a meaning, a value beyond words. In his simplest moments, Mariani brings us into that awe.
I connect with this poetry because it is about relationships. This Christmas I wrote a poetry book for my family, and Mariani's book reminds me of that. I have a sister out in Colorado, who would probably want to convince me to move out there. I have a son who wants to stay up "with the Big Ones" when the family is over, who I have to lay with to get him asleep. I have friends who have experienced the detrimental effects of a miscarriage, but have now been blessed with a son. These poems stand out to me because of their truth.
And in the end, the wheel of life, the great wheel that brings us relationships, sons, sisters, moms, dads, babies... the same wheel that takes these things away, is "a wheel revolving uniformly - by the Love that moves the sun and the other stars."
In the end, I trust that Love. I thank that Love for all the gifts that it brings!
#1 - The gift of making our own trails - Team Two Boys and I went for a hike today, backpacked with snacks and water, bundled in IU hats and IU gloves. With all the leaves down from last fall, and no new growth yet, the woods were open to our imagination. We crawled under trees, bonked our heads on trunks, picked up "maps" (that were actually just rotting pieces of wood), and talked.
#2 - The gift of an after-hike prayer - "Dear God, and thank You for that the deers we saw had a safe hike through the woods. Thank You for that. And for that deer that we saw, that were jumpin'. God, thank You for that. And that deers that ran across the path, thank You for that mommy and that daddy deers. And for that little deers, brother and sister deers, and for that baby deer. Thank You for that. And for that I got to eat with my daddy, thank You for that. Amen."
#3 - The gift of a forced snuggle - Big Son made beds in the living room for every one tonight. Mine was right by you, my Dear. I missed snuggling after coming in late last night from watching the championship game. I'm glad our son forced it on us this evening!
Hooray for hikes! Today I posted the song that Big Son and I kept singing to each other while we skipped over branches. What do you sing or hum on your hikes and walks?
This week began Spring Break for me. So, as the teacher that I am, I decided to use the week off to teach Biggie Son a lesson: to go to the bathroom.
That's right, Big Boy (?) is three years old and has no idea how or when he needs to use the toilet, nor does he have the desire to do it. So, that's the idea for Spring Break.
Mission: Go to the bathroom.
What follows is a log of our experiences throughout the week.
Friday Night, 20:00 hours. - As we prepare for bed, we inform Son #1 that tomorrow will be "Big Boy Day." (Tactic #1) It is officially the last day for diapers and the first day of big boy pants all the time during the day! Hooray!
Saturday Morning, 08:00 hours. - Biggie wakes up and immediately begins to cry as we switch him into big boy pants. He's comforted by the fact that Thomas the Train is on his undies. This is the one time that I am thankful for the senseless marketing of cartoon characters on kid's products.
Saturday Morning, 10:00 hours. - We're through breakfast and all is good. The first attempt at this is to leave control in his hands. As his "Big Boy Day" (Tactic #1) we've told him that he gets extra responsibilities too, such as picking out his clothes. He picks blue and orange sweat pants, a blue and green baseball shirt, with his Maurice Creek Indiana basketball jersey over the top. Looking good!
Saturday Morning, 11:30 hours - Sonny Boy wants to rake in the yard with Daddio. When asked if he has to go to the bathroom (as he hadn't yet this morning) he responds that, "I do not have to, but I will tell you." Shakingly reassured, Daddy and Son tromp into the damp backyard to rake leaves and pick up "spiky balls" from our blessed Sweetgum tree.
Saturday Morning, 11:50 hours - As we transition to the front yard, Daddy asks if we need to potty. "No." "Did you already potty?" "Yes." Bummer. One pair of big boy pants down, one pairs of pants down. Not even through the morning yet.
Saturday Morning, 11:55 hours - Daddy decides on a different tactic (Tactic #2). No changing of the dirty pants. Big Son continues to rake and pick up trash all around the neighborhood, secretly covered in his own pee.
Saturday Afternoon, 12:30 hours - Tactic #3, you have to wash your own dirty pants. Son gets up at bathroom sink and singingly, gleefully, washes his underwear and pants. So, that wasn't so convincing of a punishment.
Saturday Afternoon, 12:35 hours - Now, we're on to something new, wearing nothing at all. That's right, Biggie Boy is completely naked running around the house. We're closing the windows as he shoots naked baskets, holding our breath as he climbs naked onto the couch, laughing as he dances in the kitchen with nothing but a birthday suit. He thinks he's funny too, great... Perhaps he'll realize now when he starts to go (Tactic #4). Oh, and we added a new reward, Push-Up Pops! (Tactic #5)
Saturday Afternoon, 13:15 hours - Sitting at lunch, Big Son suddenly says, "Oh, no! I'm wet," and takes another bite of food. Yes, seated naked in his booster seat, the boy has peed on the seat, the chair, and oh wait yes, the carpet. Oh, and more under the carpet? Thank you, thank you, thank you. Tactic Fail.
Saturday Afternoon, 13:30 hours - With pee all over himself from two separate episodes, a shower is now in order. Except that Biggie Sons is crying hysterically about taking a shower (not a normal reaction). "Big Boy Day" is starting to break down...
Saturday Afternoon, 14:00 hours - Nap time. Diaper is on. We're safe for a bit...
Saturday Afternoon, 16:30 hours - Up from sleepy time, little sleepy head is allowed to keep the pull-up on a bit longer. It's pretty wet, but...
Saturday Afternoon, 17:00 hours - Back in undies, this time just lots of little trains. Tactic #6 is to find a Youtube video about potty training. Big guy loves him some Youtube. But this and this (?) didn't do it...
Saturday Afternoon, 17:10 hours - Grandma and Grandpa arrive, and are super-excited to hear about Big Boy Day. They promise treats, hugs, and kisses if he can go in the potty (Tactic #7).
Saturday Evening, 19:30 hours - Still no pee from after nap. Daddy's had enough of asking, it's time to try. Daddy tells Big Son to go to the bathroom (Tactic #8). Crying, kicking, falling down on the ground. Fail.
- Daddy coaxes Big Guy to the bathroom by promising the Butler Robot video (Tactic #9). Big Son sits on the potty while the video goes, and then is immediately done. No potty. Fail.
- Daddy still not giving up, sings a song (Tactic #10) to the Little Man, his favorite - "Found" by The O.C. Supertones - while convincing him to sit on his potty. The "Big Boy" sits laughing the whole time on his potty, then starts crying when the song is done because he doesn't want to potty.
Saturday Evening, 20:00 hours - Daddy gives up.
Saturday Evening, 20:20 hours - Big Boy (Baby?) pees in his underwear again, and onto the living room floor. The mess is cleaned up. Bedtime pull-ups are put on. Daddy is watching the Butler-VCU game trying to ignore everything. Try again tomorrow? We'll see...
Why is this a gift? Because someday, and that day is not today, we'll pull up this memory and laugh. Because someday, he'll go to the bathroom the right way, someday he won't wear diapers and someday he'll really have his "Big Boy Day." And that will be fun!
Any other tactics we haven't tried? Any advice for us floundering parents? We'll take whatever anybody's got (and then will post how wily Son #1 got around that too :-)
