Being a Mama of a toddler is a rough and tumble job. During this last week I’ve been clunked on the head with sippy cups, pans from the toy kitchen, sticks from the forest, and books. I’ve been scratched on the nose. It bled and I looked like Frankenstein. Yesterday Mr. Trouble on Feet started to give me one of his amazingly drippy open mouth kisses, but he misjudged his head momentum and ended up biting my entire chin, teeth grinding in on both the top and bottom sides.
Depsite all the physical trauma, is there anything better than snuggling up with a one year old when they stop moving long enough to slurp a sippy cup of milk while sitting on your lap? I think not. Mr. Trouble on Feet is NOT a snuggly little character . . . he has far to many things to explore and people to pester to bother with snuggling, so when he does stop moving to take a milk break, it is a special little time for this Mama.
Oh how I’ve missed you, cold weather! Even though Duluth doesn’t get that warm in the summer, I love hopping out of bed to be greeted with a cold, crisp floor! Hello smartwool socks! You’re wonderful! And there are bulky sweatshirts to wear! And fleece! The sauna suddenly becomes a wonderful pre-bedtime treat, and the rice bags have been extracted from the bottom of the closet. Best of all, the soft flannel sheets are back on the beds, and even better, all the down comforters are ready for snuggling! I love it!
YaYa and I attended the first symphony concert of the season last Saturday night, and it was one of my favorite symphony concerts ever. I loved every single piece of music programmed for the night, and it was brilliantly played. The symphony is searching for a new conductor this season, and the first candidate conducted this concert. Of course, I have no idea what rehearsals were like for the symphony, but I do have to say from an audience perspective, she seemed to conduct brilliantly, even though I am far from an expert in instrumental conducting. The first piece was new to me: Blue Cathedral by Jennifer Higden. It was amazing. YaYa fell in love with it too, saying immediately that she was sure it was one of her favorite pieces ever. It was the kind of music that gives you goosebumps. The middle piece was a brilliant piano concerto that was amazing. The last piece was Pictures at an Exhibition, which has always been one of my favorites. I used to blast it loudly from my room as a teenager much to my parents’ dismay. It was also right up YaYa’s ally because it’s based on a trip to an art museum, a series of pieces inspired by paintings of very different things. YaYa thought it was really neat.
Last week was the first week of school with homework for the kidlets. It was a week of transitions that did not always go smoothly. I’m glad that it’s over and I’m hoping things will start to flow a bit more smoothly around here this week.
The Banana and I made cookies yesterday afternoon and she took some over to our neighbor all by herself to give away. She was very proud of herself.
My favorite quote from last week, which somehow did not get recorded here was Mr. SP telling me before our costumed trip to the forest, “Mom, where exactly are you going to be while we’re playing in the forest?” I said I thought I’d just be hanging around in the area with Mr. Trouble on Feet. “So you are actually going to be available just in case we kill each other?” Uhm. Yes?
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