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

mondays are for hikes

today was a day of adventure. an experience of new things. a day packed chuck full with too much to do and not enough time to do it. 

we've been held hostage for too long, and finaly we have broken free. so take that old man winter! time for some long walks, and fresh air. Lots of fresh air. and according to Denver, it was a splendid idea.

so i grabbed my gang and out we went. first lunch. then Aullwood farms.

yea, i know it's monday but school can wait until my kids are done learning.

Denver with his puzzle's, in complete concentration, tounge and all. 

 and Nev examining a skull and bones.  

and just when you think it's safe to rest in a nest, you get jumped upon!
by a 32 pound flying bum.

its nice to see Nev in a good mood. absorbing all the good the day has to offer. full of appreciation and plans on how to make her spring the best of all springs yet, with an agenda of refreshing activities & goals.

i am all for goals. 

the log across the stream was a great accomplishment for bum today. it was his first time confronted with this challenge, and he was reluctent at first. little by little he would make his way a little further. but thats bum. pushing his luck a little at a time. with his sisters encouragement and his bravery combined, he did it. and back again. thats my boy.

London rode in a pack on my back, and was never happier. she never made a peep all day, I wouldn't have know she was even there except for the 57 strands of hair she managed to pull out of my head and the occasional wet willie that stopped me in my tracks a time or two. 

she just looked around, learning, and absorbing nature for the very first time. 

I wonder what she's thinking about.

but with all this fresh air we got today, i bet when we wake in the morning, she'll be just a tad bit bigger.

the kids couldn't resist sticking their heads through the head holes of this cutout, and of course i couldn't resist taking the picture.

                  

 how sweet the sound of our feet stomping through the trails and the water. just us.

 the laughter and continuous questions indicating their will to learn.

this spring and summer will hold many more days like this i hope. according to Nev,

we will make a point to do something productive each and every day, even the rain won't stop us for that is why umbrellas were made.

i think i like that way of thinking.

                                                               

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.  ~Albert Einstein



A Denver day

it's Tuesday again. Denver's day.

 its gettin him out of the house and treating him to an afternoon of tadpole tales at the library and a yummy lunch of his personal choice. a special day for a special guy.
I've even been known to brush his teeth for the occasion.

the highlight of the day is a puppet named Bernie.

so now the library is not the "library" it's called "Bernie's house".

after story and dance, they get to create a craft, denver calls it "playing with paper",

and today they made a caterpillar.

and food of choice, was pancakes....for lunch.  or should I say brunch.

but today we wanted to surprise him. take him somewhere different. somewhere new. you know, stimulate the brain a little.

so i asked him. if he could do anything in the whole world today, what would it be, and he said he wanted to go somewhere where there are dinosaurs and bears, in which made

it a perfect day for a trip to the museum.
we didn't tell him where we we're going, but he new it would be an anventure. 

where he crawled around with the bears, and dug for dinosaur bones.

and all the hard work sure built up an appetite, and nothing sounds better than a piping hot pizza on a cold day, so they put on their aprons and got to work.

its pizza time at the parlor

when they asked what i wanted on my pizza, i said i wanted everything they had.
~on the double~

i could see they were getting busy in there, so i didn't complain about the wait.

and it was well worth waiting for.  it was the loveliest pizza i have ever been served. pizza made straight from the heart, topped with tender love and care.. never better.

then onward to the zoo.

Denver got to see all kinds of animals, and even one's he's never seen before.

my personal favorite was the bat exibit, it was the most dispicible, horrifying, utterly discusting display i've ever seen and I sincerely loved it. i could barely bring myself to part with them.

just breathe erica, it will be ok.

one foot after another. then repeat.

so denver got to see bears, dig dinosaur bones, play in water, work in a pizza parlor,

animal hospital and grocery store.

he drove a "digger" truck, a pick-up truck, and a recycling mobile.

he got bossy with sis one too many times, and even got thrown in the slammer.

just a little reminder as to who's the boss around here.

that oughtta teach him.

after he made bail, we stopped for some Twinkies and to rest a bit.

it sure would have been nice to take a small nap, but we forgot our pillow pets,

so with that, we called it a day.

who knows, next tuesday we may do it all over again.

and i can't wait.

~It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.  ~Frederick Douglass

Mall rats

Denver spent the day with his grandparents, and afterwards was dropeed off to me as I was getting off of work, so they didnt have to drive him all the way home. Since we were already at the mall, I decided to take him inside and show him around. We walked, held hands and rode the glass elevator together. I don't remember the last time we had time together..just us.  He was riding one of the quarter rides as he spotted the train.

I had forgot all about the train!  

i knew I wasnt getting out of there without letting him ride, but I didn't think I had enough cash. we made our way to the train station with a plan to take the train hostage but luckly i managed to round up a few loose dollar bills and some quarters, from my purse, and we had enough for 2 tickets... whew.

the price of the tickets seem like a lot...until you see the priceless smiles it brings, and then you forget all about it.

and there he is again, a Bum in his glory. we were the only one's on the train. the train conductor couldn't stop laughing at Denver. as soon as Denver sat down he yelled "All Aboard"! and after the ride, he refused to get out. he demanded another ride, but after realizing i wasn't gving in, he reluctentaly deboarded the train. his only question to me was, "where are the tracks"? and it was a pretty good question I suppose.

~Let him hang out with you, remember he has a need to be around you, to learn what being a man is all about. ~

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

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. 

Nev's day on an Indian Summer

It's not very often that Nev gets her own day. A day to shine and just be herself.

Wednesday night her friend, that she met recently from homeschooling, came to stay with us while her mom was away at the hospital, with that came a perfect opportunity for a "Nev day", and so we claimed Thursday for our very own.

Thursday morning we up and tucked those thoughts of school lessons away as far as we could.
The only lessons to be learned today are how being a friend, and laughing together without a care in the world can be so good for the soul.  Some people call it "playing hookie" but that's just their opinion.

I called a babysitter and we set out on our trek together, just us three, destination....Justice & a Ghost hunt. But, not before filling our bellies full of good food over nice conversation in which consisted of very important things, such as Ghost hunting and the Brady Bunch. These girls know their stuff!

Once we we're in Justice, the smiles on the girls faces lit up the whole store, and even grasped the attention of the people inside by the true happiness in their hearts. What fun it is to try on the cutest of clothes with your dearest friend. They owned the store.

 After choosing each a outfit to match their personalities, they wore them right out of the store as if late for a very important date, and a very important date it was. Even the clerk asked if we were going somewhere special, and I said yes we are, we're going to a cemetery. What she thought of us after that....well, is none of our business, but the look on her face spoke a thousand words.

We ended up in a small forgotten cemetery on the way home where the girls posed for a photo shoot in their new clothes. The weather was on our side that day and was up in the 60's! What a splendid way to spend an Indian Summer.

 A Indian Summer with the two happiest girls in all the lands, fully equipped with best friend necklaces, as pretty as you please.

We didn't happen to come across any ghosts that day, but at least we were full of spirits, and that in my opinion, is all that matters.

~A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.  ~George Santayana