Day #65: Playing Board Games With James
Oh, man, was it beautiful today. Weren't outside as much as maybe we should have been but long enough to play with bubbles and pick lilacs. James and Daddy have taken on this gemstone hunting science kit thingy James got for Christmas, so while they were whacking away at that after dinner Max and I took a little toddler sized walk up the street, just to see the neighbors' rhododendrons. It's supposed to be full on hot this weekend.
I don't know what the school assignments were...I was supposed to avoid the crafts portion because it was all about Mother's Day so after whatever happened on Zoom happened we bailed on school for the day. We have been doing letter of the day to practice number and letter writing and my sister who suggested it to us said to take one day off a week and just let him write about something fun, no critiquing of his handwriting, just all about content. So he invented a game and wrote directions for it. It lacked cohesion as a playable board game, we did it a couple of times, but the rules started changing, but it was so fun for him. And then we played Battleship. It wasn't completely successful, he is not quite big enough yet, but it was fun to play with him. He's just starting to get to an age where we can play stuff like that and he really likes the attention he gets. I want to play more Battleship and Crazy 8s with him. It's nice to have big kid activities. I haven't just turned the TV on for him during Max's nap for the past couple of days because I knew he was getting too much screen time....he complains and I don't get much of a break that way but it's better for both of us. Today Max didn't really nap so after 45 minutes of trying and playing board games with James I turned on my DVDs from the library of 1980s Mr. Rogers. He complained, but I needed something soothing and in the end he enjoyed it.
I didn't start the day out by turning TV on for me either and I think it helped me get off to a better start. The kids didn't wake me at an ungodly hour...it was closer to 8 than 7...so I actually got to get up and get dressed and eat and function like a human rather than staying in bed as long as possible. I'm not planning TV tonight, either. Josh and I are going to play a game in a bit and I'm into my genealogy and my book. I always feel super guilty when I turn the TV on in nice weather. My mother would never have allowed it.
My friend who got me into genealogy said she's so glad I've gotten back into it. In truth, it all comes back to digging deeper into researching the part of my family that got rocked by the Spanish flu, so even it is all about what is going on right now. I know the basics of the story but I've been researching the family connected to my great grandmother who died on all sides and how her life and death impacted them. Currently I've been working on her mother's family, her parents ands siblings and nieces and nephews and how they connect. It's actually been interesting, but again only to me. I think there's a novel somewhere....I have to pick the interesting parts out and thread them into plot and that would take some doing.
It smells of lilacs in here tonight. I have the bunch James picked for me here on the desk. Josh brought me lilacs on the day James was born...I was in the hospital 24 hours with ruptured membranes before I went into labor and that morning after I had spent the first night there he called me and asked what he could bring me from home. I said something that smells like outside, I was stuck in this room where the windows wouldn't open and I knew spring was raging outside. He brought me a little bunch of lilacs from the bush in our backyard, we didn't even know we had them, we'd only lived in this house two months, and I had them in the pocket of my hospital gown throughout my entire labor and delivery.
James is excited about Mother's Day. He has promised me breakfast in bed. This means a bowl of Cheerios at 6:30 a.m. What mom could resist that? I really just want to be outside with my family this weekend. Dad doesn't feel up to visitors. I'm a little disappointed but probably for the best.
Today's media consumption: besides Mr. Rogers, I've been reading Little Fires Everywhere. It is just starting to get good. I just got invited to join a virtual and maybe someday in person book club...I've always balked at them because I'm possessive of my reading time but I think I'm going to try it. I'm also zooming through Anne of the Island on audio. It's just perfect for right now. I said I was going to stop Anne after I finished the first 3 and go on to other things but I just borrowed Anne of Windy Poplars because I'm not ready to leave her yet. I don't think I will do all 8...Anne's House of Dreams which is number 5 sounds gloomy right now and I do have other things I want to do.
Today I'm thankful for Anne and her musings on the season, an easy dinner, playing board games with James, a walk with Max, Mr. Rogers, sunshine, that it's Friday, health, optimism, and lilacs.
I don't know what the school assignments were...I was supposed to avoid the crafts portion because it was all about Mother's Day so after whatever happened on Zoom happened we bailed on school for the day. We have been doing letter of the day to practice number and letter writing and my sister who suggested it to us said to take one day off a week and just let him write about something fun, no critiquing of his handwriting, just all about content. So he invented a game and wrote directions for it. It lacked cohesion as a playable board game, we did it a couple of times, but the rules started changing, but it was so fun for him. And then we played Battleship. It wasn't completely successful, he is not quite big enough yet, but it was fun to play with him. He's just starting to get to an age where we can play stuff like that and he really likes the attention he gets. I want to play more Battleship and Crazy 8s with him. It's nice to have big kid activities. I haven't just turned the TV on for him during Max's nap for the past couple of days because I knew he was getting too much screen time....he complains and I don't get much of a break that way but it's better for both of us. Today Max didn't really nap so after 45 minutes of trying and playing board games with James I turned on my DVDs from the library of 1980s Mr. Rogers. He complained, but I needed something soothing and in the end he enjoyed it.
I didn't start the day out by turning TV on for me either and I think it helped me get off to a better start. The kids didn't wake me at an ungodly hour...it was closer to 8 than 7...so I actually got to get up and get dressed and eat and function like a human rather than staying in bed as long as possible. I'm not planning TV tonight, either. Josh and I are going to play a game in a bit and I'm into my genealogy and my book. I always feel super guilty when I turn the TV on in nice weather. My mother would never have allowed it.
My friend who got me into genealogy said she's so glad I've gotten back into it. In truth, it all comes back to digging deeper into researching the part of my family that got rocked by the Spanish flu, so even it is all about what is going on right now. I know the basics of the story but I've been researching the family connected to my great grandmother who died on all sides and how her life and death impacted them. Currently I've been working on her mother's family, her parents ands siblings and nieces and nephews and how they connect. It's actually been interesting, but again only to me. I think there's a novel somewhere....I have to pick the interesting parts out and thread them into plot and that would take some doing.
It smells of lilacs in here tonight. I have the bunch James picked for me here on the desk. Josh brought me lilacs on the day James was born...I was in the hospital 24 hours with ruptured membranes before I went into labor and that morning after I had spent the first night there he called me and asked what he could bring me from home. I said something that smells like outside, I was stuck in this room where the windows wouldn't open and I knew spring was raging outside. He brought me a little bunch of lilacs from the bush in our backyard, we didn't even know we had them, we'd only lived in this house two months, and I had them in the pocket of my hospital gown throughout my entire labor and delivery.
James is excited about Mother's Day. He has promised me breakfast in bed. This means a bowl of Cheerios at 6:30 a.m. What mom could resist that? I really just want to be outside with my family this weekend. Dad doesn't feel up to visitors. I'm a little disappointed but probably for the best.
Today's media consumption: besides Mr. Rogers, I've been reading Little Fires Everywhere. It is just starting to get good. I just got invited to join a virtual and maybe someday in person book club...I've always balked at them because I'm possessive of my reading time but I think I'm going to try it. I'm also zooming through Anne of the Island on audio. It's just perfect for right now. I said I was going to stop Anne after I finished the first 3 and go on to other things but I just borrowed Anne of Windy Poplars because I'm not ready to leave her yet. I don't think I will do all 8...Anne's House of Dreams which is number 5 sounds gloomy right now and I do have other things I want to do.
Today I'm thankful for Anne and her musings on the season, an easy dinner, playing board games with James, a walk with Max, Mr. Rogers, sunshine, that it's Friday, health, optimism, and lilacs.
Comments
Post a Comment