Stream of Consciousness

I have hundreds of random thoughts going on in my head this morning.
I think this calls for some serious bullet points.

• I put a pregnancy count down thingy over on my side bar. All the cute mommy blogs have them.
• I can't decide if I like it or if it's going to drive me crazy over the next seemingly endless 75 days.
  
• 75 days!! That's still so far away. *sigh*
• It'll probably be even more for me though, like 85 if I'm being realistic. I'm not one of those women who goes into labor even a minute before my due date.
• Why is it that as soon as the 3rd trimester hits I feel absolutely enormous? It literally happens over night.
• Are you tired of hearing about this pregnancy yet?
• But guess what? All in all I have really enjoyed being pregnant, I almost don't want it to end.
• Except that I really want to hold my baby.
• Do you think the kids will be mad if I don't share?
• Can you tell how conflicted I'm feeling?
• In other news, I have been sewing and crocheting up a storm over here. I just can't sit still.
• I crocheted the cutest little baby sweater.
• It's brown. If my baby's a girl I'll add little pink flower buttons and attach a crocheted flower to the lapel. If it's a boy it gets little tan buttons.
• I can't wait to put it on my baby.
• In yet other news, the kids have made an indoor mailbox. They write each other letters and leave them in there to be found by their siblings.
• It's the funnest thing to see their letters. I have even received a few.
• School is starting late today because Doodle's still in the shower and I'm blogging. :)
• After school we're headed to Wild Wednesday at the nature center. On the program today is Eagles in Winter.
• I'm sort of obsessed with eagles, they are so majestic and bold.
• I plan on finding out today where they nest in the winter (I know it's somewhere in our mountains) and taking a trip to see them in their natural environment next week.
• We'll bring binoculars and trail mix and have a good old time.
• Oh, and snow pants and boots and maybe even our sleds.
• Anyone want to join us?
• I have been craving roast beef and red potatoes for a week.
  
• I finally bought one, but can't make it until tomorrow. My mouth is watering at the thought.
• What's your favorite way to make roast beef?
• Winter is starting to wear on me.
• I am really missing hiking in the mountains and walking along my river pathway.
• And the sunshine, I miss the sunshine.
• And friends. I miss play dates at the park.
• Anyone want to plan an indoor play date? You can come with your children and destroy my house while us big people have some much needed grown up conversation.
  
• Anyone up for a sewing day? I still have lots I want to get done in the next 85 days.
• See? Very random today...
  

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Mr Bird and I belong to a couples book club.
We meet once a month (for over 3 years now) and have a pot luck dinner and discuss fabulous works of literature.
We've read Shakespeare and Dante and C.S.Lewis, among many, many others.
This month we decided on a light, fun read.
It was Mr Birds turn to pick and we had listened to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the kids quite some time ago.
It turns out the book is ever so much better than the movies (imagine that!).
There are little pearls of wisdom that were far before their time.
Take the Oompa-Loompas songs for instance.
In the books they have morals for each of the greedy, naughty children.
My favorite by far was their song for Mike Teavee.
Read the words.
And keep in mind Roald Dahl first published this in 1964.
As you read, think of how much more meaning it has in today's world filled with video games and texting and ipods and iphones and wiis and all the other mindless gadgets we have invented to take away from letting children be children.

"Mike Teavee..."

(from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

"The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set–
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotized by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all the shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink–
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK–HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY...USED...TO...READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic takes
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy–Winkle and–
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How The Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole–
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks–
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start–oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hears. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
P.S. Regarding Mike Teavee,
We very much regret that we
Shall simply have to wait and see
If we can get him back his height.
But if we can't–it serves him right."

If you want to read all of the Oomp-Loompa's songs (which I highly recommend) go here.

I Need One of Those

Image stolen from Lara

The week before Christmas I went out to lunch with a friend of mine, Lara.
Her oldest daughter came to my house and watched my children.
Her oldest son, aka Muscles, came with us.
He did not sit and eat with us though.
(Don't worry we fed him pizza before we left)
So what did he do while we enjoyed a quiet table for 2 and over an hour of uninterrupted mommy talk?
He took his new born baby brother and walked around the gift shop and surrounding areas so his mom could enjoy her lunch.
Just as we were finishing our meal the baby woke up, so Muscles brought him to their mom.
We then left the restaurant and stopped for gas on the way home.
Muscles took his mom's credit card and hopped out of the nice warm van and into the frigid winter air.
He proceed to pump her gas while we continued to chat away all nice and cozy in the heated van.
The thing is, she did not even have to ask him to do that. We pulled up and he just did it.
Then we decided to stop at Costco for a few last minute Christmas items.
The baby was hungry so Muscles grabbed the shopping list and headed inside.
We sat in the van while the baby nursed and we had even more adult conversations.
When the baby was done eating we went in Costco to find Muscles with a full cart all ready to check out.
We grabbed a few samples and headed to the checkout stand.
We were there for less than 10 minutes.
My jaw wanted to just hit the ground.
This man child is only 12 years old.
He acted more like an adult.
I was so amazed at how helpful and competent we was.
And he did it all so willingly and happily.
I need one of those in a bad way.
It was like having a personal nanny and personal shopper all in one.
We just sat back and enjoyed the afternoon.
So I have been thinking a lot since our day out.
I need my children to be just like The Lazy Organizer's children.
And I am starting to train them NOW!
I have decided that the next time we go to Costco I will give them each a list of things to get. I'll walk up and down the main isles and let them go get the items from whichever isles they are located and bring them to the cart. This way I can watch them the whole time and they learn to be my personal shoppers.
That way, when they're teenagers they'll be ready to go in and fill my cart and all I'll have to do is go in to pay.
Plus I think Abby's old enough to learn to pump gas, don't you?
I have been thinking about all the little things I do day to day that the kids could be doing.
Sometimes I tend to be a control freak and have to do it all myself, the right way!
But then I started thinking, what is that teaching my children?
It's teaching them to sit back and have meals served to them 3 times a day 7 days a week.
I have always liked cooking, so I don't mind that one at all, but I really want to teach them to love it as well.
Even Mr Bird says he can't cook with me because I just take over and have to do everything my way.
Some how I have to figure out how to let my kids take over some of the kitchen responsibilities.
Sure they do their chores and school work on a daily basis, but there are so many more things I could be exploiting from my children:).
I need to hang out with Lazy much more often and see how she developed these habits in her children.
Maybe I should just move in with her for a few weeks!
I'm sure she would not mind training my children right along side hers, right?

A Change of Heart

Things are changing around here.
Suddenly I am not so impatient about finding out what this baby is.
I am content.
It was a slow process starting after that last ultrasound when all chance of finding out where gone with the wind.
Maybe it's because I have some really , really cute boy and girl blankets made and ready to go.
I am crocheting a blessing afghan that I will add either pink or blue ribbon to once the baby comes.
I have been scouring crochet website and finding all sorts of cute boy caps and headbands for girls.
All I can say is that I'm going to have baby gifts coming out my ears once this is all over with.
(But only for those people having the opposite gender as me! LOL)
I am having so much fun.
I am happy to sit and sew and dream as this little one tries to break through my skin.
I have come to a place of total acceptance.
I love this little baby so much, it's really hard to explain.
It really does not matter to me if it's a boy or if it's a girl.
Plus, as time goes on and my belly grows bigger and bigger it's really fun to see people's reactions when I tell them we're not going to find out what we're having.
Some people are totally mortified.
They can not think of anything worse than not knowing (OK, I admit it, I used to fall into this category:)
Then there is the older generation who feel as though they have an instant bond with me because, "In my time we had no choice, we HAD to wait."
And wait they did.
Granted, even the boys wore dresses back then. But hey, is all comes out in the end.
There are even some people who think it's cool that I'm waiting. I get things like, "That's neat, nobody does that anymore!"
I'm sure they are really thinking, "That's weird!"
But then again everyone already knows that I'm just about as weird as they come.
I have decided to embrace my inner weirdness and just go with it.
I think I'm to the point now that I'm having so much fun (and I only have 12 more weeks left) that you could not pay me to find out what this baby is.
I am beginning to think it's really fun to torture the people around me as well.
My sisters for example, want me to find out and just tell them, just so they can plan a little.
"We will just not tell Mr Bird!", they say.
Before I have to admit I was really tempted to do that, but not anymore.
I don't know why this sudden change, but I am just happy to enjoy the last part of this pregnancy and dream about this little one.