Monday, October 13, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Mean People Suck
Man, it's been one of those days...
Il Tonino and I went to the playground this morning. It was nice and sunny on the way there and the playground was empty. We had a great time together. Il Tonino has not wanted to be on the swings at all for over a year now, but has recently become interested in the tire swing. So the two of us went on it together and had a great time. It was really heartwarming to play with my boy that way.
A while later, the school next door let their kids out for recess. This is a Montessori school that is on the list for me to look at for Il Tonino. A group of boys, ages 4-5? had banded together and were running around the grass. Il Tonino loves nothing more than to run with other kids, so he went running after them. They had stopped in a corner of the field and turned on the 2 year old as he approached and were pretending they had claws and were growling at him. Il Tonino didn't quite know what to do, and just kind of froze in place. I quickly went over there and asked him if he was okay, and explained that they were playing monsters and did he want to be a monster, too? One of the boys informed me that they were, in fact, dinosaurs, and you had to run really fast if you wanted to be one of them. Then they ran off.
Il Tonino kept running after them, and laughing. A few times they turned on him again, but very briefly. Once Il Tonino tripped and fell, and the boys started laughing at him and pointing. Then I saw one of the older ones twice deliberately try to trip Il Tonino from behind. Luckily he didn't succeed, and I quickly went over to them and the boy took off running when he saw me. Sheesh! A very short time later Il Tonino somehow got in the middle of the boys as they were running off and one of them (not deliberately, but thoughtlessly) cut Il Tonino off, almost knocking him over, and then another boy pushed him from behind. At that point Il Tonino, while not physically hurt, realized how much that hurt emotionally, and sobbed on my shoulder for a minute. My heart, as a mother, just broke.
I had to explain to him that sometimes people are mean, but it is not about him, it is about them not being happy/content inside (okay, so I simplified it a bit more, but you get the gist). I asked if he wanted to go home but he wanted to keep playing. The resilience is good.
We left just 5 minutes later and on the way out the playground Il Tonino was running, tripped, and busted his upper lip. There was blood all over as soon as I picked him up. He scraped the outer part of his upper lip, and cut the inside of his upper lip with his teeth. So just a lot of surface wounds but his teeth were fine, whew. But ouch. His lip totally swelled up during the day. Thank goodness for breastmilk. It is much better now.
Oh and it started raining on the way back from the playground.
The rest of the day has not been so easy, mostly because he is hurting, I think. His lip hurts, and I think whether or not he realizes it, his heart hurts just a little, too. He's seen people being not nice to other people, but this is the first time that it has happened to him in a way that is not 'a little kid playing with you and then just bonking you on the head' type of scenario. We took some sage and smudged him, and are just trying to give him lots of love while being patient while he lashes out a little. He's been unusually destructive today, and I was glad to have some bubble wrap in the garage for him to use as a safe outlet. He LOVED popping all the bubbles. Not the greenest thing to do, but makes for a saner family?
Hoping for a more gentle day tomorrow.
Il Tonino and I went to the playground this morning. It was nice and sunny on the way there and the playground was empty. We had a great time together. Il Tonino has not wanted to be on the swings at all for over a year now, but has recently become interested in the tire swing. So the two of us went on it together and had a great time. It was really heartwarming to play with my boy that way.
A while later, the school next door let their kids out for recess. This is a Montessori school that is on the list for me to look at for Il Tonino. A group of boys, ages 4-5? had banded together and were running around the grass. Il Tonino loves nothing more than to run with other kids, so he went running after them. They had stopped in a corner of the field and turned on the 2 year old as he approached and were pretending they had claws and were growling at him. Il Tonino didn't quite know what to do, and just kind of froze in place. I quickly went over there and asked him if he was okay, and explained that they were playing monsters and did he want to be a monster, too? One of the boys informed me that they were, in fact, dinosaurs, and you had to run really fast if you wanted to be one of them. Then they ran off.
Il Tonino kept running after them, and laughing. A few times they turned on him again, but very briefly. Once Il Tonino tripped and fell, and the boys started laughing at him and pointing. Then I saw one of the older ones twice deliberately try to trip Il Tonino from behind. Luckily he didn't succeed, and I quickly went over to them and the boy took off running when he saw me. Sheesh! A very short time later Il Tonino somehow got in the middle of the boys as they were running off and one of them (not deliberately, but thoughtlessly) cut Il Tonino off, almost knocking him over, and then another boy pushed him from behind. At that point Il Tonino, while not physically hurt, realized how much that hurt emotionally, and sobbed on my shoulder for a minute. My heart, as a mother, just broke.
I had to explain to him that sometimes people are mean, but it is not about him, it is about them not being happy/content inside (okay, so I simplified it a bit more, but you get the gist). I asked if he wanted to go home but he wanted to keep playing. The resilience is good.
We left just 5 minutes later and on the way out the playground Il Tonino was running, tripped, and busted his upper lip. There was blood all over as soon as I picked him up. He scraped the outer part of his upper lip, and cut the inside of his upper lip with his teeth. So just a lot of surface wounds but his teeth were fine, whew. But ouch. His lip totally swelled up during the day. Thank goodness for breastmilk. It is much better now.
Oh and it started raining on the way back from the playground.
The rest of the day has not been so easy, mostly because he is hurting, I think. His lip hurts, and I think whether or not he realizes it, his heart hurts just a little, too. He's seen people being not nice to other people, but this is the first time that it has happened to him in a way that is not 'a little kid playing with you and then just bonking you on the head' type of scenario. We took some sage and smudged him, and are just trying to give him lots of love while being patient while he lashes out a little. He's been unusually destructive today, and I was glad to have some bubble wrap in the garage for him to use as a safe outlet. He LOVED popping all the bubbles. Not the greenest thing to do, but makes for a saner family?
Hoping for a more gentle day tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Toiletry Update
So I thought I'd do a no 'poo update. I'm still at it after 2 months!! I've just gotten into the habit and found that it is not a big deal. Still using the baking soda and then apple cider vinegar for the rinse but what I've found to be key is making sure that I brush my hair out before I get into the shower. If I don't do this, I don't seem to get my hair as clean as it could be. My hair is looking good and I can easily go 2 days without washing my hair, which is awesome.
So this has been great for reducing the bottles of shampoo and conditioner that I have to buy. Another recent development is that Urban Shaman has finally found a great shaving soap -- an olive soap that a store in our village sells. He seems to like this better than all the different ones he has tried at the store, and now that is one less bottled product to buy! Now we just need to have his stainless steel shaving blade professionally sharpened, and have someone teach him how to keep it sharpened, and he'll totally have a sustainable shaving system down!
And Il Tonino is easy, he just gets Dr. Bronner's soap from head to toe, and those bottles are refillable at the store :)
So this has been great for reducing the bottles of shampoo and conditioner that I have to buy. Another recent development is that Urban Shaman has finally found a great shaving soap -- an olive soap that a store in our village sells. He seems to like this better than all the different ones he has tried at the store, and now that is one less bottled product to buy! Now we just need to have his stainless steel shaving blade professionally sharpened, and have someone teach him how to keep it sharpened, and he'll totally have a sustainable shaving system down!
And Il Tonino is easy, he just gets Dr. Bronner's soap from head to toe, and those bottles are refillable at the store :)
Monday, October 6, 2008
All You Need is Bliss
Hummm...
Sometimes there is just nothing better than an after-dinner shot of amaretto and some live (raw) chocolate...
Despite everything happening in the world right now,
Life is Good.
Sometimes there is just nothing better than an after-dinner shot of amaretto and some live (raw) chocolate...
Despite everything happening in the world right now,
Life is Good.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Earring
For my birthday recently I went to Nomad and had a new earring put in. I had been thinking about this particular piece for months and had ordered it awhile ago. The new earring is on a ring and is a white moonstone.
I just love it and keep looking in the mirror to admire it.
I was with a whole bunch of family recently and nobody said anything about it. We were all raised that "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" which is really nice, but at the same time sometimes I just want to roll my eyes at their limited and boxed-in concept of beauty.
Anyway, I love it, and am thinking about a new piercing soon...
I just love it and keep looking in the mirror to admire it.
I was with a whole bunch of family recently and nobody said anything about it. We were all raised that "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" which is really nice, but at the same time sometimes I just want to roll my eyes at their limited and boxed-in concept of beauty.
Anyway, I love it, and am thinking about a new piercing soon...
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Work I can believe in
It looks like a new study has been found for me to work on. The most awesome, awesome, AWESOME thing is that they need me to monitor a site here in Portland, so I wouldn't have to be away from my family at all except during work hours!! Couldn't get any better than that.
The funny thing is that the study is for a flu vaccine. Don't you think I am the perfect person for that? Hilarious.
The funny thing is that the study is for a flu vaccine. Don't you think I am the perfect person for that? Hilarious.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I Heart New Seasons
I'm sure it's happened to most of us. You get to the grocery store, take 30 minutes to go though all the aisles, picking out your groceries for the next 1-2 weeks, your groceries are rung up, you reach for your wallet, and it is not there.
This has happened to me twice now, the first time because I had my wallet upstairs and forgot to put it back in my purse. The second time because Il Tonino took it out to play with.
Most stores you would then have to leave your groceries, jump in the car, drive all the way back home, grab your wallet, and drive back to the store. Such a waste of gas and time.
Not New Seasons. They have a system going called a "suspended order" system. You get your groceries rung up, you write your name and phone number on the receipt, and you walk away with your groceries. All $200 worth of them. Then you pay the next time you come in. So awesome. It is so nice to shop at a place that shows such a trust in customers and consideration of their time and needs. Especially when you have a child with you who would not be happy making a second round trip to the store in as many hours.
So thank you, New Seasons!
This has happened to me twice now, the first time because I had my wallet upstairs and forgot to put it back in my purse. The second time because Il Tonino took it out to play with.
Most stores you would then have to leave your groceries, jump in the car, drive all the way back home, grab your wallet, and drive back to the store. Such a waste of gas and time.
Not New Seasons. They have a system going called a "suspended order" system. You get your groceries rung up, you write your name and phone number on the receipt, and you walk away with your groceries. All $200 worth of them. Then you pay the next time you come in. So awesome. It is so nice to shop at a place that shows such a trust in customers and consideration of their time and needs. Especially when you have a child with you who would not be happy making a second round trip to the store in as many hours.
So thank you, New Seasons!
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