Friday, July 01, 2011

7 Quick Takes

One
Maybe letting the three year old repeatedly stay up till 9pm with no nap during the day is turning out to be a bad idea.
Two
On the other hand, its really hard to drag her away from her coloring which she will do all day, covering page after page with one single color or coloring each tiny detail a different one. Is this obsessive compulsive? What kind of childhood developement stage is this? The need more sleep stage? What is it and why is she weeping that there is not the exact right amount of milk in her cereal?
Three
Meanwhile, my endless work on the sun room to make it into a functional school space is turning out to be a great satisfaction. I've, as may be expected, ditched the function and gone once again for aesthetics. Yesterday I unearthed two giant rugs to cover the ghastly carpet and hung another map. Instead of actually sorting and ordering stuff, I just keep hanging maps. They're so restful, maps. Pictures forthcoming.
Four
It was pointed out to me again that there's a half price bread store that would be worth my while because of the number of kids I have and because it would save me baking so much bed. This has run me into the usual trauma of options that objectively exist (I could go buy bread) and options that actually exist in my limited imagination (I can't possibly go buy bread because I would have to leave my house and I'm way to lazy to do that). Plus, when you come down to it, I really love to bake bread. Its so restful.
Five
What is not restful is Solemn Communion which is wrapping up this weekend. Trying to talk carefully and sincerely with a lot of seven and eight year old boys about the humility of the Centurion and our humility in praying the Prayer of Humble Access and then coming forward with our hands and hearts open to Jesus.....is there a way to really end this sentence? Basically I've never heard so much laughing, not about the Centurion, but about how someone's arm itched and another person sneezed funny and then someone accidentally fell over and so the long day wore on. Nevertheless, this has been a really good class and I think the weekend retreat and celebration will be a wild success.
Six
After which, I keep thinking, I will lie on the floor and do nothing for three days. But that never happens. Really, I will probably dig out another can of paint and start painting something. Anything. I have a whole can of bright orange and my eye on the boys room. What d'ya think? Terrible idea, bright orange and little boys? Their room is so dark. Maybe orange would brighten it up and make it restful?
Seven
Jen wrote, in her quick takes this week, about the absence of a 'babymoon' due to pain and sleep deprivation and so forth. It never has occurred to me to experience such a thing, babymooning (pause to laugh hysterically). For one thing, I just don't enjoy being that happy about anything, even a baby. For another, it really takes me 6 weeks to be content with the existing baby. Also, I just can't stand beautiful mothering things like nursing (I'll do it because I have to and not because I want to). On the other hand, I really love babies and I must be getting soft in my old age because I caught myself kissing this latest baby in public in church. Talk about mortification. Stopped immediately and tried to look sour but then she grinned and so had to kiss her again. Drat.

Go check out Jen!

5 comments:

Jessica Snell said...

Go for orange! My little boy adores orange.

I've always hated it (except in sunsets and marigolds), but even I'm beginning to have a soft spot for orange now, just because I have a soft spot for my SON. How's that for sloopy, gooey, embarrassing love? I mean, orange!

Kellie said...

I've actually read in a couple of places that the color orange is good for improving concentration. But also, it must raise energy levels, because I also heard that some fast-food restaurants paint, or used to paint, their walls orange because it made people chew faster (apparently causing people either to eat more or get out of there to let other people sit down). So if those are true, either the boys will focus better in their room...or they'll be hyped up in it? Now there's a roll of the dice.

Anonymous said...

That's a firm "maybe" on the orange, though if you were to add some white and make it a very light orange, that might not be quite as intense. Though having an "engergizing" color in the boys room seems risky to me. Our three year old is also staying up later because the sun isn't down until late. But if there is no nap, he goes thermo-nuclear about 7:00. And OF COURSE there is the three-year-old required amount of milk that goes on cereal. As well as the requsite amount of butter for the bread, syrup for the pancakes...etc. and you as mom are supposed to be able to psychically intuit this. ;)

Anonymous said...

Actually, my husband and young son (about 7) went to the store and came home with orange and grey paint and cork board. I was NOT happy. He toned down the orange to make it a soft but bright orange. He did the top half of the wall in orange and the bottom in the soft grey. He made a GIANT cork board for him to put things up - like pictures of cars and planes, etc. He finished it off with a little molding to separate the orange from the grey (molding was white). Have to tell you - it looked great and it wasn't something he got tired of either. My rec - go for it.

Jackie

Tom said...

Consider Clemson or the University of Tennessee - diferent shades.