So, my alarm goes off signaling story time (yes I've set an alarm), and Juliana immediately says "I don't want to read tonight". Not because she doesn't like the stories, but because she doesn't want to go to bed yet. This is the first time in a very long time that we've had any sort of "routine" about bed. While I was still working, I had a very loose bedtime mentality. Even now, six months into stay-at-home-motherhood, I am learning what works (and doesn't) for my kids. I realized tonight that we need more of a routine than "Story-Goodnight Kiss- Bed".
I have been a mother for over nine years now, and yet there are days when I feel like a novice. Like tonight, I kept thinking that if I had started from day one with a solid bedtime ritual, both kids would now be sweetly dreaming in their own beds, instead of arguing in my bed about who sleeps where. Nine years of doing what works rather than what's best has put me in a position to re-evaluate everything we do. Luckily, I'm not naive enough to try and change everything at once. I am confident that small changes over time will eventually give me my bed, and my post 9pm sanity, back. Until then, there's wine to take the edge off.
Our book tonight was Bread and Jam for Frances, by Russell Hoban with pictures by Lillian Hoban. Now, in this book I see another one of my parental failures. Frances will only eat bread and jam (quite like my Max with food), and her mother sneakily gets her to try new foods by only giving her bread and jam. Why didn't I think of that with Max??? Because he would have been happy with one thing night after night.
It's a sweet book, but again-- so long! The description of how one of Frances' classmates eats took a whole page and a half. And I was so grateful that Juliana didn't inquire as to what "veal" actually is. More than anything, I am finding that I can learn as much from story time as Juliana does. Like how to be a better parent.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Katy No-Pocket
I have no idea why I love the holidays as much as I do. I normally dislike anything that disrupts my routine, messes up my house or takes days to recover from. As evidenced by the lack of posts over the past five days, we had a wonderful Christmas.
While I'm not totally recovered (and neither is my house), I was finally able to get back to the business of reading. Luckily, Juliana got some new books to add to our list. Some are more modern (Angelina Ballerina), but my grandparents bought her some that I recognize from my childhood. Of course, these are the ones I gravitate towards when we're picking out our bedtime reads. So, in addition to another princess Christmas story, I read Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne, illustrated by H.A. Rey.
This story was first published in 1944, and it has that sort of simplicity that is lacking in a lot of children's books today. However, it is also longer that a lot of today's books. Juliana got quite antsy about half way through, but the ending caught her attention. I do think that she will enjoy it more the more we read it. I also like the message of the story, which seems to be aimed at parents-- you have to do it your own way and not like all the other parents. Amen to that!
While I'm not totally recovered (and neither is my house), I was finally able to get back to the business of reading. Luckily, Juliana got some new books to add to our list. Some are more modern (Angelina Ballerina), but my grandparents bought her some that I recognize from my childhood. Of course, these are the ones I gravitate towards when we're picking out our bedtime reads. So, in addition to another princess Christmas story, I read Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne, illustrated by H.A. Rey.
This story was first published in 1944, and it has that sort of simplicity that is lacking in a lot of children's books today. However, it is also longer that a lot of today's books. Juliana got quite antsy about half way through, but the ending caught her attention. I do think that she will enjoy it more the more we read it. I also like the message of the story, which seems to be aimed at parents-- you have to do it your own way and not like all the other parents. Amen to that!
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Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Littlest Angel
I should know by now that you read the longest book first, especially if it's one you want to enjoy, too.
We took a trip to the bookstore this evening, in search of a Christmas present for a friend. While we didn't find what I was looking for, we didn't leave empty-handed. My kids learned long ago that I will almost never deny them a new book. As we were browsing for something that caught Juliana's eye, I came across one of my all time favorites-- The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell. This copy was illustrated by Paul Micich, which is my favorite version.
So, after Juliana's "princess story", I began to read The Littlest Angel. A few sentences in, it came back to me that it's not really a story that a small child can enjoy the way a bigger child can. Still, I continued to read, because it's such a favorite of mine this time of year. Juliana played around with her blanket, and looked at the pictures, but didn't participate much in tonight's selection. I read through to the end, almost crying at the very end. It's such a touching story.
I'm sure my mom started reading it to me when I was too little to sit still for it, too. Someday, hopefully, Juliana will read it to her fidgety child on a cold December night. So while the bedtime stories are for Juliana, they're not just for her.
We took a trip to the bookstore this evening, in search of a Christmas present for a friend. While we didn't find what I was looking for, we didn't leave empty-handed. My kids learned long ago that I will almost never deny them a new book. As we were browsing for something that caught Juliana's eye, I came across one of my all time favorites-- The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell. This copy was illustrated by Paul Micich, which is my favorite version.
So, after Juliana's "princess story", I began to read The Littlest Angel. A few sentences in, it came back to me that it's not really a story that a small child can enjoy the way a bigger child can. Still, I continued to read, because it's such a favorite of mine this time of year. Juliana played around with her blanket, and looked at the pictures, but didn't participate much in tonight's selection. I read through to the end, almost crying at the very end. It's such a touching story.
I'm sure my mom started reading it to me when I was too little to sit still for it, too. Someday, hopefully, Juliana will read it to her fidgety child on a cold December night. So while the bedtime stories are for Juliana, they're not just for her.
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Night Before Christmas (almost)
Well, we had to skip a night because of poor Miss JuJu's tummy virus. She crashed straight of the bath at 6:30pm with no warning. Poor thing. Thankfully, she fully recovered and we were able to have a busy day and a relaxing evening.
Today was one of the days that makes me love Oklahoma. A beautiful 70 degree day in the middle of December. A treasure day that insists on being spent outdoors, because you never know when the next one will be. We did some last-minute Christmas shopping, had lunch at Pizza Hut, and spent a few hours at our local zoo. The lorikeets were out, and we spent lots of time feeding them nectar and enjoying their antics. My hope is that recollections of days like today will frame Max and Juliana's childhood memories. They are memories I will cherish as both the children and I grow older.
However, 70 degree days do not usually make one all "Christmas-y" inside. So, I chose The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore for our bedtime story. The one I read is illustrated by Cheryl Harness, and I loved the Victorian-themed house. While the poem is familiar and timeless, Juliana is just now old enough to begin recognizing it after a year of not hearing it. Her eyes grew wide when St. Nicholas appeared, a testament to why this poem endures. It also sparked a lot of those not-so-easily-answered questions that are common this time of year. Luckily, she still believes in magic.
Today was one of the days that makes me love Oklahoma. A beautiful 70 degree day in the middle of December. A treasure day that insists on being spent outdoors, because you never know when the next one will be. We did some last-minute Christmas shopping, had lunch at Pizza Hut, and spent a few hours at our local zoo. The lorikeets were out, and we spent lots of time feeding them nectar and enjoying their antics. My hope is that recollections of days like today will frame Max and Juliana's childhood memories. They are memories I will cherish as both the children and I grow older.
However, 70 degree days do not usually make one all "Christmas-y" inside. So, I chose The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore for our bedtime story. The one I read is illustrated by Cheryl Harness, and I loved the Victorian-themed house. While the poem is familiar and timeless, Juliana is just now old enough to begin recognizing it after a year of not hearing it. Her eyes grew wide when St. Nicholas appeared, a testament to why this poem endures. It also sparked a lot of those not-so-easily-answered questions that are common this time of year. Luckily, she still believes in magic.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Winter Walk
If there was ever a night that I was going to skip story time, it was tonight. Story time has been set for 8:45 every night, which tonight was towards the end of a 5 hour power-cleaning streak. Only one room left to get perfect before I could sit down and say "Ahhhhhh...." Luckily I foresaw this sort of barrier to my goal, and took appropriate measures.
First, I promised Juliana way earlier in the day that we would read at least two books before bed. Then there was the fact that I actually made this blog public by posting it on Facebook. While it may not impact any of you if I fail so early in my goal, it would embarrass me to have given up only one day later.
When 8:45 came around, I dutifully put down the broom and headed back to Juliana's room with her two picks. She snuggled up to me and we enjoyed an uninterrupted 15 minutes of cuddling and stories. She picked out two books-- Thomas and the Shooting Star, and Winter Walk. She chose the second one because she knows it is one of my very favorites. What a sign that she is growing up and already thinking of others in her actions!
Winter Walk was written by Ann Burg and illustrated by Kelly Asbury. I love that it doesn't assume that children can't appreciate poetry, and it uses words like "shimmery" and "quivered". It paints the feeling of a cold winter day in a way that both I and my four-year old can enjoy.
At 9, after I tucked her in, I realized something... no body's going to see if my house is perfectly clean tonight. It can wait. And, so I too am resting.
First, I promised Juliana way earlier in the day that we would read at least two books before bed. Then there was the fact that I actually made this blog public by posting it on Facebook. While it may not impact any of you if I fail so early in my goal, it would embarrass me to have given up only one day later.
When 8:45 came around, I dutifully put down the broom and headed back to Juliana's room with her two picks. She snuggled up to me and we enjoyed an uninterrupted 15 minutes of cuddling and stories. She picked out two books-- Thomas and the Shooting Star, and Winter Walk. She chose the second one because she knows it is one of my very favorites. What a sign that she is growing up and already thinking of others in her actions!
Winter Walk was written by Ann Burg and illustrated by Kelly Asbury. I love that it doesn't assume that children can't appreciate poetry, and it uses words like "shimmery" and "quivered". It paints the feeling of a cold winter day in a way that both I and my four-year old can enjoy.
At 9, after I tucked her in, I realized something... no body's going to see if my house is perfectly clean tonight. It can wait. And, so I too am resting.
Friday, December 17, 2010
I'm not a blogger....
I've attempted a blog once before, and made it through three whole posts. I love the process of designing a page, picking a name and imagining a whole year of posts about how awesome I am as a mom. But, somewhere around post three or four, it loses it's appeal and I end up forgetting I ever committed to write every single day.
Hopefully this blog will be different. It combines a few of the things I love most ~ books, my kids, and writing. I also see it as a way of making myself accountable for reading every night to Juliana who loves nothing more than my undivided attention and being read to.
My thought was to start it on New Years Day. However, we made a trip to the library tonight and found a great Christmas story to read. Juliana begged for a bedtime story, and in true motherly fashion I agreed (with the condition that she would lay down an go straight to sleep afterwards). It was a sweet time with my baby girl.
We read Santa and the Three Bears, by Dominic Catalano. It's a wonderful story about three bears who crash a surprise party for Santa. With a tale reminiscent of Goldilocks, only the bears are the intruders, it shares the thought that gifts only need to be heartfelt to be appreciated. I love the understated illustrations and the simplicity of the story. Juliana loved the bears, especially the Baby Bear.
So our adventure through books has begun, and not a day too soon.
Hopefully this blog will be different. It combines a few of the things I love most ~ books, my kids, and writing. I also see it as a way of making myself accountable for reading every night to Juliana who loves nothing more than my undivided attention and being read to.
My thought was to start it on New Years Day. However, we made a trip to the library tonight and found a great Christmas story to read. Juliana begged for a bedtime story, and in true motherly fashion I agreed (with the condition that she would lay down an go straight to sleep afterwards). It was a sweet time with my baby girl.
We read Santa and the Three Bears, by Dominic Catalano. It's a wonderful story about three bears who crash a surprise party for Santa. With a tale reminiscent of Goldilocks, only the bears are the intruders, it shares the thought that gifts only need to be heartfelt to be appreciated. I love the understated illustrations and the simplicity of the story. Juliana loved the bears, especially the Baby Bear.
So our adventure through books has begun, and not a day too soon.
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