Stories

So three stories in the past week have warmed my heart.

1. At my work kids Christmas party- H is decorating a gingerbread man as part of the party. He spreads the icing, and I give him two cola balls for eyes. He puts on one the gb man's face and one between it's legs and says "that's a penis"....I said "pardon?" thinking I heard wrong- nope I was right- "that's a penis"... Bahahahahahaha what a funny kid!

2. As I'm carrying upstairs after a long day to go to bed he says "mommy I want to go play in the Sunshine" in the saddest little voice/half cry. Sigh. Beginning of December with a good four months ahead of winter to look forward to... I hear an all inclusive calling our name. I feel like a bad mom raising him in a deep freeze place maybe? Dogsledding might cure it?

3. I come home after our work Christmas adult party at a ridiculous 3:30 am and am very tired. 7am rolls around and I hear H calling me from his room. Sigh. I drag myself out of bed and go to his room and schlump ungracefully and slightly grumpily down in his bed with him and he says "mommy you are my best friend".... Well. "yes baby- yes I am- and you are mine". And that right there- is the highlight of my whole entire wonderful life. and I am so glad I waited an hour for a cab last night so I could be home when my best little friend woke up instead of getting a hotel room.
Pure utter blissful mom moment.

Wiggling...

So I bought tickets on a whim to The Wiggles- I heard it was their retirement tour as 3 of the 4 are leaving. H and yes, even me, really enjoy the CDs- so why not I thought? It was a total blast. Starting at 6:40, which was just enough time to race home make supper and get there, it was an awesome show! 4 musically educated dudes from Australia started a band 21 years ago and weren't very successful, so they started singing children's songs, and became the world's most successful singing kids group, worth like 5billion dollars... Not too shabby eh? Maybe I should do kids songs...

The show was energetic, full of fun music, dinosaurs, cars, ballerinas, pirates, dogs, and dancing. They were amazing at even coming out in the audience and walking up and down the isles saying hi, which is more than I can say for almost every show I've ever been to.

And there isn't much more energetic and happy than an arena full of 2-6 year olds dancing and singing! H danced a lot, so much in fact that at one point he fell into the back of the chair and it folded up and caught his leg! Other than missing a few notes while mommy struggled to get him out, and that time he laid on the ground quietly till I looked and caught him just in time to prevent him eating a delicious handful of floor popcorn, floor candy, and hair, everything went great!

They released streamers from the roof and he yelled "candy!!" but we got through it just fine without digesting the gallons of pop, popcorn, and candy sold for a small refinancing of our mortgage. I did bring some of his favorite trail mix but to be honest I'm trying to not have him grow up with associating junk food with everything fun... Maybe too ambitious for our society but a girl can try.

Even though my friends think I'm nuts, I loved every second of the show- especially watching him intently staring at the stage trying to copy the dance moves and all the kids around us having so much fun! The utter joy in that building was so thick you couldn't NOT soak some of it in!! But what made it all worthwhile was H in the back of the car on the way home hugging his new Dorothy the Dinosaur stuffy-

"Mommy I dance Wiggles!! FUN!!!"

And that is my raison d'être.

Uh oh...

Just the other day Shawn and I were hanging out downstairs and Huxley was playing upstairs in his room. We could hear a pitter patter smash bang of his feet running around when all of a sudden he stopped was quiet for a moment and we heard

"Aww I'm so cute"....

We haven't laughed so hard at his antics yet. Between that and his penchant for flirting with waitresses and chasing his friend Isabella yelling "gimme kiss"? We are in for trouble with this one I think!!

Every night we get 3 stories.

Here are a few stories that are in H's room swelling up the shelves, taking up dresser surface space, sprawling on the floor beside our reading chair, and collecting themselves in a nice pile in the reading nook:

1964-The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein- about a tree and it's love for a boy. Oh my god how could you not cry? More than once I have gotten choked up reading this one. I remember an elementary teacher reading this to our class and I love it just as much now as I did then. Probably even more so now...

2006-No More Diapers for Ducky- H requests this one nightly. About a duck learning to get rid of diapers. When recepient of story is asked if he would like to be like ducky- he says with the firmness only a parent could despair "no. I diapers". Sigh.

1907-The Cremation of Sam MaGee- classic northern Canadian kid's lit. Dark but a wonderful ending. Shawn asked me the other day if I didn't think maybe this wasn't for kids? Guffaw I say. And this book has pretty cool pictures and colours - and is real Canadian folklore- much better for his imagination than more Disney stuff (seriously I can't read that stuff to him- it makes my brain hurt it dumbs things down so much).

1941-Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey- about a pair of ducks finding the perfect spot in New York to have their babies and then getting them across the city to Central Park! Shawn does this for his job sometimes. For reals! So I like to talk about that when we are reading this.

1939-Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton- this is a story about a love of a man and his machine. H can relate for sure. He loves anything with motors or wheels like it is his J-O-B. It's a wonderful book and the sentiment of how just because something isn't the newest technology isn't garbage, in fact, someone could love it, makes my inner granola muncher all choked up.

1949-Blueberries for Sal  by Robert McCloskey as well, a friend of mine emailed me this title awhile ago telling me that it reminded them of H and so I have a very high fondness for this book! Bears, blueberries, hiking, onomatopeia! A wonderful story.

1979-The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier- with the initials HAB, and a family of Richard, Chelios, Carbonneau, Roy, Koivu, and the rest of Les Habitants fans going back generations-how could he not know this story? Next time you have a Canadian fiver in your hand waiting in line for timbits and a mocha yogourt and a tea at Timmy Ho's have a peek at it and check for the references from this wonderful book http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_five-dollar_bill

2008-The Potty Train- by David Hochman- despite H's enthusiam for this particular book and the "chugga chugga poo poo" noises momma has to read out - he still responds with a strongly worded "NO" when asked about his own potty training situation.

1987-Owl Moon- by Jane Yolen- this is the story of a young girl who finally for the first time gets to go out owling with her dad at night like her older brothers do. It is just her and her dad looking for owls and is so magical and lovely. Teaches about thewonders of nature, making sacrifices and putting in some effort out of the ordinary to see something magical that not everyone would get to. Reminds me of my family's night time walks when I was a kid. H loves it too because ever since I took him saw-whet owl mist netting and he got to pet one- he has been over the moon about owls and does a perfect saw whet call I must say. Sigh. I love this book.

1968 Corduroy. Written and illustrated by Don Freeman. A small stuffed bear in a department store is waiting to be rescued. This book could NOT get cuter. Seriously it is adorable. But I will warn you- this book and books of it's ilk is the VERY REASON I still have my stuffed animals from childhood. Ugh. I have so much trouble even giving them to Le Village de'Value for charity for fear they will end up being unloved or a dog chew toy or *gasp* thrown out. So I hoard them. In a plastic bag. Hidden from the mocking eyes of my domestic partner with some other non-essential-to-daily-living-but-still-need-to-keep-it crap. I'm sure that's no life for them either. And don't think I am not anguishing about that right now. Damn you Corduroy. Damn you.

Anyway- I am using this website, as well as our local library for other stories. With such rich children's literature I hope to keep him interested as long as I can. But don't worry Thomas still makes an appearance every once in awhile!
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal

Current Huckleberrisms

Gee-ba-ba = a girl in his day home named Geneva
Sun- Eyes = the sun is in my eyes. Please fix this mama.
Grandpa = grandma
Mama = Mama
Mama = Daddy
chugga chugga poo poo = noise of a train
I kill' you = Carry me
I hab it = I want to hold it
Humps = almonds
Pagoose= train caboose

Man in black

So today we were driving in the car and some mindless song was on the radio when Huxley said "music off mama" so I turned it off and he said "music on mama Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash please turn on"

Well. The boy has taste.

Current Huckleberrisms

Gee-ba-ba = a girl in his day home named Geneva
Sun- Eyes = the sun is in my eyes. Please fix this mama.
Grandpa = grandma
Mama = Mama
Mama = Daddy
chugga chugga poo poo = noise of a train
I kill' you = Carry me
I hab it = I want to hold it