Random Bits

that no, no, no, no, no finger. April 2010

I used bronzer the other day.  I was fairly certain it looked fabulous.  Then Happy walked in, looked very concerned, placed a hand on each one of my cheeks and said, “are you dirty?”  Not as natural looking as I thought, eh? 

Happy and I drove by one of those backyard playground sales places that has about 10 different playgrounds set up in their front yard the other day.  Wistfully, I heard from the back seat, “let’s go to that park.” 

I’m a little concerned that Happy has a fierce case of OCD.  He sleeps on this little blanket that our friends at Family Rooted in Love gave him (they traveled with us to Ethiopia as they were adopting two boys at the same time) and he has to get it in just the right place on the mattress, totally smooth, no corners bent.  The other day I moved a framed photo from the kitchen corner- a place that Happy’s not quite tall enough to really see what’s up there- to the living room.  He discovered it in the living room and said, “no, no, no, no, no” (I wish I could give you the sound effect of his nos and the finger wagging that’s involved with it) and promptly returned it to its spot in the kitchen.  Those are just a sample of the latest examples.  BF has a fierce case of OCD, too, so perhaps OCD is more nurture than nature. 

We did a faux-birthday party for Happy at school the other day as preschool ends this week, and he’s been very aware that everyone else in his class has had a birthday but not him (and he won’t until late August, bless his little heart).  So, we thought we’d do a faux-birthday for our summer birthday kid.  He got so excited when everybody started singing to him that he swiveled his head around (I think to make sure his dad was singing, too), lost his balance, and fell out of his chair and mildly bumped his head.  Oh, it broke my heart.  Here’s hoping  that we haven’t ruined birthdays for him forever. 

In other news, I’m excited about getting a slate of workshop offerings on the calendar soon with some cool partnerships and possibilities.  I am also excited about some summer fun.  Some friends and I are planning “field trips” for the kids.  Last year, our sample of field trips all had something go comically wrong (we arrived at a strawberry patch to discover all the strawberries were gone, we got a speeding ticket on the way to the zoo, we did a morning cruise on the lake sponsored by the library and a neighboring town that Happy LOST it on and I had to hold him in a gripping vice-like hold so he wouldn’t hurt himself or plunge into the water while he sobbed and shrieked for the hours (years) we were on the boat.  This from a kid who LOVES the water).  We’re opting for no drama this year on the field trip series.  Hopefully, our kids get the message.