Warm Fuzzies for a Mama's Heart

Last night, D and I put Kenson to bed and I went downstairs to sew. My sewing space is right under Kenson's bedroom. Our old house has the big, oversized floor grates and his room happens to have one. He was fumbling around in bed, making funny noises, and then finally he starts calling for me. It wasn't frantic, more like "I don't really want to be in bed so I'll just try to get out of it." After a bit, I sent D up. D told him to go to bed...you know the standard, just go to bed business.

But of course, Kenson continued to say my name. I ignored him for a while as I finished the sewing I was doing, hoping he would stop. But he didn't so after I finished, I went up to see what he needed. When I got in his room, he was laying in bed. He looked up at me and said, "Cuddle, Mama." So I crawled up on his toddler bed and snuggled a bit. He quickly kissed the hand that was laying against his cheek and quietly said, "Thank you." What sweetness.

And those of you with kids who came home to you later in life will know what I mean when I write that there is something special about those times when your child articulates his need for the comfort that a Mama brings. Kenson has had a fairly easy transition and has loved and responded to love very easily. And he has come to us for comfort, has longed to be held, has soaked in all the moments of nurturing. But, like most three year olds, he struggles to say what he needs. And unlike most three year olds, I suppose there is a bit more scrutiny on my part regarding his emotional needs and his ability to relate them to others. Those quiet moments of Mama-needing vulnerability are really warm fuzzies for my heart.

Just a Good Ole' Boy...

Never meanin' no harm. Beats all you ever saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was born. (You really needed to have some Waylon Jennings in your life today, didn't you?)

Anyway, Kenson is really a good ole' country boy at heart. Our babysitter, whom we adore, lives on a farm with her hubby and five kids, including her twin boys who are a week older than Kenson. Kenson, of course, loves it.

Last week, he came home and had to add "going potty on the corn" as an item on the things we want to thank God for prayer list. No big deal, farm kids do that all the time. D and I both chuckled at that. It's actually come up twice now as a thanks item. (If you're a city person who is reading this and you're mortified, really it's okay. I grew up on a farm and am not appalled. And there are way worse things in life than 3 year olds going potty outside.)

Yesterday, D was hanging up Christmas lights outside. Kenson was playing outside while D worked. Pretty soon, D hears Kenson say "potty", turns to find him, and sees him sans pants, peeing on the leaves. It's funny because whenever he has to use the regular potty, it takes him like a month to get his pants off. So it's official, we're a good ole' boy. Headed for trouble with the law, I reckon.

I am!

Kenson's newest favorite phrase is ...I am!

It's just funny to hear him use such gramatically charged words. And it's funny because he uses them even when he should use something different.

"Are you watching horses on tv?" "I am!"

"Do you have something in your cubby?" "I am!"

"Do you want to take a bath?" "I am!"

The other day I asked him something and he replied, "I am." Then he quickly said "No different one." In other words, "it's not supposed to be I am but I don't know what to say."

I'm guessing he says it no less than ten times a day. So cute to hear the little voice...I am!

Ohhh...I think I figured out where it came from. We've been reading Green Eggs and Ham a lot lately. He knows the whole story really well. "Not in a house. Not with a mouse. Not in a box. Not with a fox." He'll just start saying the nots. And today at supper he said, "You let me be!" I'm guessing that's where the I am business came from, Mr. Sam I Am.

L is for Leaf Shaped Cookies

To finish up talking about leaves, Kenson and I made some leaf shaped cookies last week. I have about a bazillion cookie cutters thanks to my brother-in-law, Daniel, but couldn't believe I didn't have a leaf. So we improvised and used a football. I added some stems to help with the leaf likeness. Kenson, of course, insisted they were footballs not leaves. A friend of ours who is in ministry with Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Colorado was back in Nebraska for a visit so she helped us decorate them. Great fun with Stacy! We're definitely not decorators extrordinares but it was still fun...and yummy. Best of all, I think I actually found a cut out cookie recipe I'm keeping. I like soft cookies, especially for cutouts and just hadn't found one that did the trick for me.

Weekend reviews

The last few weeks have been crazy around here, especially the weekends.

Going backwards...

This weekend...
Went to Lincoln and truck shopped since D's truck is out of commission (Anyone want a '96 Chevy S-10 with transmission issues? It's priced really cheap. And not only is it a bit of a beater, it does have a heater which makes it a beater with a heater!) Didn't find a truck though. Kenson is now playing "broken truck" which consists of some version of him getting the toy pick up truck out and telling me it's broken.

Last weekend...
Real estate agent calls at 6 p.m. on Friday, wants to show house on Saturday morning. Frantic cleaning. Saturday was my grandma's estate auction in Atlantic. Bought nothing I needed but did get some good primitives like two cut out brickabrac shelves, an enamel tea kettle, and a painted plant stand. Then we trucked shopped along the way as we headed to Norfolk where we watched the Nebraska football game with D's dad. Spent the night there, then lunch with D's grandma and home.

The weekend before that...
Halloween and the church festival. My folks came on late that night and stayed until Sunday. They stayed with Kenson while D and I went to Omaha to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert, per the recommendation of my brother in law.

Ham and Bean Soup, carrots and celery


Gingerbread pancakes, bacon, fruit


Roast beef sandwiches, frozen fruit cups, cooked carrots


Orange chicken, California blend vegetables, rice


Blushing Penne Pasta, California blend, Autumn Apple Salad


Swiss steak supper, jello with fruit

How Cute Are These?

I just ordered some barrettes off of etsy for stocking stuffers in Conleigh's Christmas stocking. They are seriously adorable. I shopped around for "clearance" items from different sellers and ended up paying $12 for everything, including the shipping. Might be a good place to look for some stocking stuffers of your own.