Christmas eve

santa made it to the train table tonight, and delivered gifts to all the trains.

we last minute gift wrapped, and snacked, and baked mexican wedding cookies for old st. nick.  

we've been tracking santa all day, right now he is in Sao Paulo, Brazil and he's headed sraight for the U.S!

the kids already have the cookies and milk set out and are soundly nestled all snug in their beds.

let the chaos begin!

merry christmas to all...and to all a goodnight!

I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day.  We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year.  As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year.  And thus I drift along into the holidays - let them overtake me unexpectedly - waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself:  "Why, this is Christmas Day!"  ~David Grayson

A Grand Celebration

Oliver, engine #11 arrived today, all the way from texas to come live with us and he got here just in time.

Denver said he wanted to throw his trains a party today,

i told him thats the best idea i've heard in sixty years.

what a party it was too.

Ode to Thomas number 1 tank engine & all his friends.

i wonder what bum is gonna cook up next.

~Indulge your imagination in every possible flight.~

Jane Austen




 

M is for Molly

another addition to the train table arrived today.

me and denver cuddled up the other night and got online to choose another train for his collection.

he wanted molly so we snatched her up.

today she showed up in a cute little package addressed to a bum.

after checking her wheels and a quick lookover he introduced her to the train table

where she has been chugging along the tracks ever since.

up, down, pushing and pulling and whooshing and zipping.

train table, craigslist, $50

Molly the train, eBay, $14

that smile... priceless.

under and over the bridge and around the 'difficult bends'.

 toot! toot!

every train near and far came to greet her, it was getting crazy in there!

she's a really useful engine that molly.

~A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means ~

William Hazlitt

~ We welcome passion, for the mind is briefly let off duty. ~
Mignon McKaughlin

~The same passions in man and woman nonetheless differ in tempo; hence man and woman do not cease misunderstanding one another. ~
Fredrich Nietzsche

~ Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. ~
Anthony D'Angelo

~ A man who has not passed through the inferno of his passions has never overcome them ~
Carl Gustav Jung

~Chase down your passion like it's the last bus of the night.~
  Terri Guillemets



Chucky Cheese pretty please

we have spent our last few weeks gallivanting around town redeeming our few last days of solitude before school lets out. cashing in on the virtual emptiness of childrens play areas during what i call the 'golden hours'. (the time of day most kids are in school).

mondays mood brought us to chucky cheese. another first for denver.

we had some old tokens left over from years ago. to my surprise they still worked. 

within minutes i found myself abandoned at the table. nev and denver took off in high pursuit. pockets full of bounty.

there seems to be a  unmistakable magnetic force between denver and trains. in all the games and rides throughout the whole place, he chose to spend most of his time at the train table. but that dont surprise me.

pretty soon i heard the death cry. i spied denver coming toward me at 100mph with a look of terror i cant say that ive ever seen before.  it was chucky. on the loose. in house.

evidently he roams the area every hour on the 30.

i didnt realize my guy was so terrified of overgrown stuffed.. animals?

but i guess that explains why we dont have easter bunny pics from this year. its all adding up.

he got over it though. luckily chucky dont lurk for long and bum was right back at it again in no time flat. out of sight, out of mind. whew.

despite the small mishap it ended up being a pretty joyful visit. and we even still left with a cup of tokens to use once school starts up again. as for summer vacation, i wish i could crawl under my covers and hibernate and skip the whole thing. im still looking for that perfect place where its fall all year round. so far, no such luck. maybe someday though.

 as for now, i just live for those 'golden hours'. during those 'golden months'. with my 'golden children'.

"To parents I say, above all else, don't let your home become some terrible miniature copy of the school. No lesson plans! No quizzes! No tests! No report cards! Even leaving your kids alone would be better; at least they could figure out some things on their own. Live together, as well as you can; enjoy life together, as much as you can." ~John Holt

A Special Delivery

a long awaited day has finally arrived. a day that could not have come any sooner. 

mama wanted to get her little guy something special. something he truly wanted and longed for that would make his days a little happier around here. he had been asking for weeks for the trains Annie & Clarabelle for his Thomas table and i ordered them right up off the internet. mission accomplished. so i thought.

we eagerly awaited the mail every day. but days turned into weeks. and for a 3yr old, that seems like an eternity.

i tracked the order, and to my dismay the order originated in no other than CHINA.

 if it wasn't for bad luck, i wouldnt have any at all.

we began to get on with our life,we stopped stampeding to the mailbox every time we heard the dog bark, and even quit stalking the mailman.

 i hope bum comes out of this unscarred.

but this morning the bell rang and it was a box that needed signed for.  from China.

Special Delivery indeed.

 the sparkles in his eyes and smile a mile wide lit up the whole room.

he couldnt wait to get his happy little hands on them.

Nev did the honors of opening the box after a long fight with the tape and scissors. 

 yay for team work. 

Love ya Sis:)

                                                                          

and so Denver wasted no time. Annie & Clarabelle were escorted straight to the Island of Sodor in a moments time and Bum has been busy ever since. I will never forget the sound of the train table in full action heard from other rooms of the house. clinks and clanks and a random crash to the floor because someone derailed. the rolling of the wheels on the tracks, his choo choo sounds and endless conversations with the trains. i believe those sounds will forever echo in my heart till the end of  time. perhaps they are being recorded in the environment as well. and who knows, maybe the next occupents of this home might just hear them too.   

and even though it is offically spring, as Bum finished opening his package, he looked out the window and discovered ...snow. it was snowing. big fluffly flakes. i think it is old man winter's final fairwell.

a goodbye kiss. 

 Bum runs to the window and says: its Christmas mom! and me and Nev laughed. 

 but this is Chistmas. a package of pure happiness delivered straight to our door, (from CHINA), the kids happy, healthy, together, and to top it off, chinese for lunch. Merry Christmas my sweet little man. Merry chinese christmas.  

and as for Annie & Clarabell, i think they are gonna like it here. 

A boy's story is the best story ever told. ~Charles Dickens

A Passion for Trains & kitchen floors

Denver's very busy these days, spending most of his time on the kitchen hardwood floor, pulling his trains around... and around.... and around.

it seems he is living in his own little world, caring not much about anything else. who knew a few little magnetic trains would keep a boy so occupied for hours on end.

seeing him happy melts our hearts, but we didn't know how much until an innocent trip to Books & Company, where he discovered this..

a real Thomas the Train, train table, and he was all about business from that moment on.  We didn't really intend on spending our afternoon at a book store, but neither Brian or I had the heart to drag him away, so we took our seats on a bench in the front row. Eventually, a little girl straggled in and thought she would partake in some of the fun, but Denver had other plans.

Being the sweet, kind-hearted gentelman that he is, and instead of hurting the girls feelings, he walked straight up to her dad and asked him if they could leave. 

Nothing like a real man to man, because it worked, I never seen them again.

A few minutes later, another girl came along, and her mom must have had the same idea and also took a seat in the front row to dwell in her daughters joy. I had a feeling this might not go as well as the last episode.

when the girl reached over the track, Denver looked at her mother and said "well, I think she's ready to leave now".  If looks could kill I'd be dead.

It was time to go.

  Craigslist, $50 bucks, and 24 hours later he had one of his very own to enjoy in the privacy of his own home, no one to get in his way, or cramp his style.

and not a moment too soon.  No more rolling across the kitchen floor in the middle of the night, or kitchen lookin like the island of Sodor, or lost trains...or, so I thought.  A few trains found their way back to the kitchen floor, so I ripped up his carpet and shined his floor, that ought to do it.

and when he first seen it, he told everyone to come see his kitchen.

and so, this is Bum's domaine. his habitat. his heavenly grounds. his very own Island of Sodor. his kitchen. and with that, the time has come. he has lost all interest in anything outdoors, the joy of Netflix, or even going potty on his own without having to be escorted....by force.

he has even lost the will to eat, afraid of putting his trains down and walking away from his

table in fear it may dissappear. in mid air. poof. gone.

once in a while he'll straggle in to bum a cup of milk, or bowl of pineapples, for survival purposes only.

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but what I do know, is that today, 

my boy is happy. just him. a bum in his glory. his trains. his table, and his kitchen.

  ~An unhappy boy is often one who is hungry, or tired, or both.~

(Life Lessons on Raising a Boy), Harry Harrison.