the beginnings

jack loves to paint

jam

I have been making fresh strawberry jam these last few weeks with our yummy strawberries from the farmers market. Jack loves it on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Today I got going with something else and scorched the bottom a bit so that I had to be careful scraping off the jam. Jack became interested in what I was doing and wanted to help me stir so once I had gotten most of the jam into its jar, I gave him the small pot and he chose a huge spoon to stir with. Then he began "stirring" which actually involved pressing the spoon down into the pan and then licking off whatever stuck to it -- sort of like a giant lollipop ...saying "ummm, yummy.." all the while.

He stayed there for quite some time chatting with me and enjoying his jam...

... then he decided to take the party outside... so, pot and giant spoon in hand, out he went.

Well, I went inside to do some writing and I heard the sounds of him playing happily outside. About ten minutes later I heard him coming into the house so I got up and turned the corner to see him walking, pot and giant spoon in hand, and looking like this...

Yes, he had taken his pants off outside and, yes, he had sort of taken his shirt off and, yes, he did have little bits of jam all over him and generally looked like he spent the night on the street. Through some serious, belly-shaking laughter I asked him "who in the world takes care of you?!"

I think I mentioned he likes the jam.

t is for...

toddler, tantrum, tough, terrible, tenacious, trigger-happy ....

Papa said the other day there is a reason that toddler and teenager start with the same letter. At Jack's preschool they often remind me that toddlerhood is the first adolescence. (They do this when I am asking one of my many questions that usually begins with.."help!") All other phases before the one we entered about three weeks ago were apparently just a honeymoon of sorts. Now Jack has truly arrived -- and arrived with a vengeance. A dear friend who also has an especially (much older) spirited child recounted what one book pointed out about especially tenacious (i.e. stubborn, willful) children: you do actually want them to have these qualities as an adult. Maybe not stubborn exactly -- but willing to know and fight for what he wants -- yes, yes, and yes. So I do not actually want to strangle it out of him -- okay, sometimes I do want to do that -- but I don't. Instead I take a lot of time outs. Yes me. It is his job to be the toddler -- which he is really good at these days. And it is my job to be the adult -- which oddly enough, a toddler truly tests my ability to be just that. So I cry, want to explode or implode, sometimes yell (ugh), sometimes hit pillows really hard in my room, sometimes curse -- usually under my breath -- different things work on different days to help me get through with some semblance of sanity and my wits about me. I am a very hands-on mama, which is such a blessing, but also so, so, so hard. I look at Jack and I see myself at his age so full of emotion (and tantrums) and energy I could not seem to reign in. I want to help him function in the world because I know the battle he may have ahead as such a sensitive, emotional being. I also know the joy, passion, and aliveness that type of being holds and I would not want anything less for him.

(You may need to remind me of that by the end of the day.)

just a short walk away

just a short walk away from our new home (or a short ride for Jack in his "limousine")...

... through our lovely neighborhood streets ( and one big street and busline path -- which Jack thinks is really cool)...

... we have this:

... and this:

... and we could not be happier!

strawberries!

I went a little strawberry crazy at our farmers' market last Sunday. After already purchasing 3 pints at our regular spot, I saw that one of my favorite organic farms was offering an entire flat (pictured below, with some strawberries already missing) of one-day old strawberries for $8! Who could blame me for grabbing them up, right? So now we have homemade strawberry jam, frozen strawberries for smoothies and such and...

... homemade strawberry popsicles! (Jack approves, as you can see)

(I made them with really yummy fresh strawberries and a bit of coconut milk pureed together. I also threw a banana in one batch.)

a few moments at home