Hump Day Nuggets: simple wonderful hard

One day late, but here we are.

The holiday weekend hub bub has left me slow and simple. Ainsley has playschool off for a week between sessions and I'm thankful for the extra time in the mornings. It's such a gift to have a break from the hurry and scurry, if only for a few days.

nuggets::

As soon as the last tea light burned down in our jack o lanterns I began scheming about turkeys, for while I love Halloween for the kiddos Thanksgiving is really more my bag. A holiday dedicated to gratitude and amazing food and home and family love? Now you're speaking my language.

So we're on to turkeys, of all shapes and sorts. Of course the most natural introduction to turkey art with toddlers is HAND TURKEYS! Louise was having non of me tracing her hand. Poor dumpling spiked a fever yesterday and has been out of sorts ever since. But she watched interested as Ainsley and I pumped out turkey after turkey. We collected the boldest leaves we could find (what serendiptiy that one of the prettiest little red leaf trees on our block is right outside our front door?). We ripped and crunched to make "glitter", glued and painted. We had such fun. I'm excited for lots of turkey in our near future.

::she was so sad :o(, don't worry I didn't keep us out long::

::oh but the joy ainsley found in leaves and bubbles::

::our perfect autumn tree::

::turkey time!

see? she enjoyed herself after all::

::Ainsley cut her orange turkey out all on her own::

nuggets::

Today has been icky. We rescheduled a trip to my grandma's in favor of better weather tomorrow, so we're inside out of the gloom, but gloomy nontheless. Ainsley and I made a big fort, stocked it with books and toys and flashlights and the girls played the morning away. Louise snuggled up by the heat vent and lounged, then joined in the raucus fun as I added our two tunnels to the entrances. They had a blast playing the morning away.

::see Louise escaping? I think they giggled continuously for at least an hour::

::playing with the new turkey roaster::

::Ainsley in a fort::

::the label said it could hold a 15 lb turkey...I think it holds at LEAST 23 :o)::

::twirly twirling::

nuggets::

This past weekend I shared breakfast with a good friend I've missed. She's the first REAL friend I made when we moved here, the teacher I worked with at my first job. She's the mother of 4, an amazingly creative gifted teacher, a kindred spirit and mentor. Between sips of coffee and nibbles of scone we talked like good friends do, easy and abundant. After regaling me with stories of her brood, college adventures, friendship and growing woes she stopped, looked me right in the eyes with a kind wise stare and said "I know how hard it feels right now...and it IS hard, I know. But really, it's such a simple wonderful kind of hard. I wish I could have that again."

Of course IT, is right now, with these two little people I'm loving and raising that so need me every moment that it seeps the strength from my every fiber every minute. But it's so good to have that perspective that I lack some days. The days when I wish Ainsley was just THAT much older so that we wouldn't have our toddler/mama misunderstandings. Those days when I'm frustrated that Louise still NEEDS me so much, when my arms are aching from hauling her around and I feel my patience and sanity swiftly departing. A reminder that all too soon they won't need me so much and how desperately I'll miss that and want it back when it's gone.

Ahh good wise friends. So glad to have them in my life.

nuggets::

Thank you thank you all for responding to my need to be heard. I feel back on track with this whole sharing thing. It really really means a lot. THANKS!

Happy belted hump day out there!