Tiny Bubbles

We're a musical household. Stan has a beautiful deep baritone voice. Peanut is learning guitar & piano. Monkey is trying them out too but her real love is dance, and visual arts. I'm trying to add guitar to my repertoire but singing is the part that comes most naturally to me. Puddin' is turning out to be quite the singer too. (Of course, at the moment Puddin' is pretending she's playing at a piano bar so who knows where she'll end up.)

Puddin' and I have a song for just about everything. We have food songs, sleepy songs, diaper change songs and now potty songs. Some of them we make up, and some we co-opt to suit our purposes. Along with potty training comes hand washing and hand washing must have its own song. The song we've settled on is "Tiny Bubbles." We put soap on hands, start scrubbing and sing until we see the tiny bubbles appear. This is a schmaltz classic from 50 years ago but it holds great power for this particular toddler. We haven't made it past the first line yet but I'm thinking we can make this work for us. If you have any ideas - brilliant or otherwise - for child-proofing the song I'd love to hear them.

Tiny Bubbles
words & music by Leon Pober

Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
In the wine (in the wine)
Make me happy (make me happy)
Make me feel fine (make me feel fine)

Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
Make me warm all over
With a feeling that I'm gonna
Love you till the end of time

So here's to the golden moon
And here's to the silver sea
And mostly here's a toast
To you and me

So here's to the ginger lei
I give to you today
And here's a kiss
That will not fade away

The Last Throes of Spring

It's been a while since I've put up a wine post. Rest assured, we're still drinking but there haven't been many outstanding wines in the cue. It's hard to get up the energy to write up a wine that doesn't wow me, (even though I said I was going to.) Earlier this week we had a rosé syrah that I was excited about. I came up with what I thought was a good menu to match but it was merely ok. Honestly, I count my lucky stars that we get "ok" wine as often as we do when our price point is so very low. Times like these I miss working in the wine world.

The big news in our house is panties. Panties, panties, panties! We dance with panties, we sing about panties, we wash a lot of panties. We're trying to convince the toddler that panties really are the bees knees and it's worth giving up the uninterrupted play that diapers allow. It's a slow process but I think we're making progress. This morning she begged for a diaper but we're holding our ground. I imagine the toddler mood swings will work to our advantage and she'll be singing the praises of panties again within the hour.

[I'm sure some of y'all noticed the juxtaposition of pictures here. Puddin' has her potty training tools and Mama has a set of her own.]

In addition to all this we're finishing the school year - and have finally finished the "spring" planting. Summer doesn't officially start for another week so we're technically in the zone. The plants are harder to convince. Hopefully they'll get over the loss of their spring and be willing to grow anyway.

I feel somewhat similarly about Monkey & Peanut as they finish their school years. Hopefully they'll get over the losses and stresses of this year and grow stronger in spite of it all. It's been a rough school year for all of us. The loss of pets, the lack of friends, and scary new stages of growth. Summer brings familiar activities, childish fun, and time to step away from the stress, not to mention the chance to let the toddler run naked in the backyard. Who needs potty training?

Tsunami

Tsunami was a cranky old lady most of the time. She loudly MREOWED when she didn't like her food or when the weather didn't suit. She looked condescendingly at the kids antics. She was quite comfortable in her role as supreme being within our household. In other words, she was a cat.

For 13 years she was a comfort and companion for me: lonely years living far away from family, sad years facing judgment, busy years raising the family. She took it all in stride, even in later years sharing her abode with a dog. In spite of her cantankerous appearance, Tsunami was a furry little angel for me - an embodiment of God's love. Thanks for everything, dear kitty. We all miss you greatly. (Puddin' is waving and saying hello to your picture even as I type.)

A Walk in the Rain

It's been stinkin' hot around here but today there's a coolness blowing in along with some sweet-smelling summer rain. After our yummy, heavy Mexican lunch, Peanut and I went for a walk. We walked hand in hand, getting misted and drizzled by the soft rain, talking and laughing. She so rarely has a parent all to herself and she took full advantage of it. She regaled me with stories - from what would make God sad enough to cry to what colors her house will be painted when she gets older. Occasionally she recognized my silence with a comment about how much she'd been talking. I reassured her that I didn't see a problem and she gladly went back to telling me everything that was on her mind. And quite the mind it is, too. I often get so caught up in the daily doings that I lose track of the wonderfulness of each little person in our house. I'm grateful for the time and the reminder. I'm also thankful for my little Peanut.

Be there in just a minute

We have commenced potty training.

I pride myself on (mostly) being able to arrive on time, even with kids in tow. I have a feeling my track record is headed downhill. Yesterday Puddin' had already been on the potty 3 times before she'd been up 2 hours. Each stint takes 10-20 minutes and at least two books. The girl adores books so she milks each sitting for as many as she can get away with.

At this point we're going with a very low-key tactic that helps Puddin' get used to the procedures. We're still doing full-time diapering. For the time being I can get away with rushing her out the door but I think that'll only last a few more weeks.

So if you're expecting to meet me sometime soon, please pardon me if I'm a little late. We're probably in the potty.