rees genre

It's 5 am and I wake up to something bumping me in the back. Somehow in my fog I realize it's Davin. "I'm a slither snake, Mom!" he gleefully declares. "Davin, it's too early for snakes. Time for the slither snake to go back to his own bed." By some miracle, Davin obeyed and went back to sleep in his bed, but it was just the beginning to the day. Davin's imaginary world is so vivid and it encompasses everything we do. I'll find him crawling around the floor: "I'm a Doggie-Davin!" or putting his head through a pillow: "I'm a Turtle-Davin!" (He always adds his name to whatever he imagines.) Every day objects take on new uses that are incorporated in his play, such as using napkin rings as hockey pucks and the living room rug as his swimming pool. Life seems to be a swirl of imaginary bliss interrupted by the occasional inconvenience of eating dinner or getting a hair cut. Sometimes he includes me in the play and I al...

So far our March has been a little unpredictable. We started off the month with a lion of a storm. In one day, the storm broke the record for the most rain and the most snow for that day. The next day, the boys awoke to another snow day (they are kind of like holidays here). Chris took the boys sledding in the back yard and they finished off the event with some hot chocolate. Last Sunday, the barometer hit above 80 degrees at our house. We decided to have a cook out on the deck, the first of the season. Chris did a pork loin and I added grilled green beans, grilled sweet potatoes, strawberries and melon with a fruit dip, and a spinach salad with a mandarin orange dressing. We had a great time soaking up the warm sun bug-free (bugs will come later in the season). I thought spring had arrived but this weekend has been nothing but rain and 40 degree temps. I know that it probably sounds a little whiny for all of you who live in more rustic climates but I have had daffodils blooming since...

I decided that it was time to give Rowan his first hair cut. As you can see in the picture below, his hair was constantly in his eyes. After some intense work, here are the results: Okay, so not much of a change. In my defense, it is kind of tricky to cut a wiggly boy's hair. Also, I'm having a hard time wanting to hack into these curls:

Rowan trying on his big brother's shoes. At the risk of wearying everyone with basketball posts, I also had to note that our little Rowan has also become crazy for basketball this month. Aside from the other sicknesses he's been fighting this month, he also has a case of March Madness. He's always loved balls of all kinds, and he's also very observant of his brother who loves to shoot baskets. We started holding Rowan up to let him dunk in Davin's bigger basket, and he loved it. A couple of weeks ago I bought another basket to hang on our cabinets lower down where Rowan could stand on his own to shoot the ball. I thought this might help him develop the muscles he needs to learn to walk (standing, bending down to pick up his ball, etc.). Now he spends a good portion of the day chasing balls and trying to dunk in his little basket. We just supply the equipment, it's these little guys who become obsessed with the balls. Nevertheless, I think it has been a positive...

As anyone who has been around Davin for more than a few minutes knows, he loves sports. As a dad who loves sports as well, I was excited to have a son so passionate about sports. Of course, Davin takes it to another level entirely (he'll watch anything - golf, hockey, pool, table tennis), and sometimes we've worried that maybe his obsession borders on being unhealthy. Of course, we don't discourage him, and sometimes his passion can be rewarding. Since Davin loves sports so much, he loves to come to church to watch me play church ball with our ward. He likes to watch, but he also loves it because he gets to sneak on the court and take shots during timeouts and before and after the game. He also likes to come out to midcourt and join our team circle for prayer before and after the game. Once we stayed around for a few minutes to watch the start of the next game after ours and he decided to wedge himself into the team circle of one of the other wards. We've been trying to...

I usually try to refrain from posting too many stories involving bodily fluids purging from my kids’ bodies. However, tonight you must forgive me a therapeutic moment as I recall a few choice memories. It’s not that I revel in all products of the bowels; instead, sometimes it helps to laugh at the perils of parenthood. However, be ye warned! We are swabbin’ the poop deck here! Chris and I ranked our favorite three tales: 3. Reverent Regurgitation: We were slightly late to church one morning and the only open seats in our Charlottesville ward were on the front row opposite the bishopric. Davin, nearly one at the time, was content to sit on my lap during the meeting. The high councilman was in the middle of his talk when Davin’s pancakes decided they could not stay still. Out they came, all over me, Davin, and the floor in front of us. The high councilman stumbled a moment, but continued bravely onward, though the first councilor looked a little green. Chris sprang from his seat and das...

Before I had kids, I was determined to be a progressive parent, one who would not shy away from being open and honest with my kids about all matters of life. I wanted my kids to have a healthy understanding of their bodies and feel comfortable discussing their concerns with me. However, I’m sad to admit that when the subject came up, I tucked my tail between my legs and ran. Speaking of tails, this is how the morning began: Davin: Rowan has a tail! Me: Really? Let me see! (I picked up Rowan and pulled back his diaper slightly to see his back side.) Nope, no tail here. Do you have a tail Davin? Davin: Noooo. I have a fladder. Me: A fladder? (I pause for a moment trying to deduce this one.) Oh, you mean a bladder. Davin: I have a bladder. Rowan has one too. All of the sudden I realized what Davin thought his “bladder” was and the significance that he recognized that Rowan had one too. Here was my teaching moment! A chance to set things right, to talk about “bladders” and what that al...