Moving Again...

No, no, not houses - rooms.

Boyz rooms to be exact.

Last weekend DH and I moved three rooms of furniture - blessedly almost all of it was already on one level.
When we moved into this house we designated the two smallish front bedrooms as the boys rooms. The center room, closest to mommy and daddy was the office/guest room. Well, about 3-4 months ago, neither boy would sleep through the night, so we did some experimenting and Ronnie ended up moving into Evan's room - which made Evan's room quite crowded... Around the holidays we decided that when Evan was done with his crib we would move both boys into the middle room and use the front rooms as guest and office. And about 4 weeks ago, Evan gave up his crib....kicking and screaming....so last weekend we moved and moved and moved.

So...now the front three bedrooms are:

1) Boy fantasy land - Cars, Knights and Dragons

2) The Celestial Suite

3)The Library aka office aka craft room

And Mommy and Daddy's room is still in great need of cleaning and sprucing....hmm I guess some day there will be time for that....maybe when we've caught up on all of the lost sleep...

BRRRRR Enough Already!!!

OK...we're definitely NOT done with CHAOS yet.
This week has been frustrating - at least work wise - so much so that I'm starting to review my old books on Feng Shui again. Time to get some energy moving in the career direction! Without getting too much into the details of the situation - I worked in the office 8:30 - 8 yesterday, then went home and worked from 10 - 3:30 am.
Outside of work - the home stuff is chugging along without a lot of focus. The boys are stir-crazy from being inside too much due to the cold weather (It just broke 30F for the first time all week).
The light is really noticably returning - and waking the boys earlier and earlier but I'm just plain TIRED. I'm not quite sure why it's becoming so dramatic again....but I need to get some energy quick!
One highlight this week is that I spotted a FOX trotting across our patio a couple of days ago! And we actually managed to get the boys to the window before he disappeared! It was very exciting for all of us!

Music for Tykes

The boys have been in daycare for a year now. It has been a learning experience for us all.

We chose a community run daycare center for several reasons - location, cost and food. Yes food - our daycare center serves breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks a day - and usually the breakfast and lunch are hot meals. What our center lacks is extras like the "special programs", music & sports offered at the pricey daycares (which don't serve meals or charge mucho extra for that convenience).

Since then, I've been a mom with a mission! I have music experience! I have experience teaching music to young folks, I enjoy being goofy...my only obstical is WORK. Last year when I first thought up the idea of going to the daycare and offering special music days I was still working for Atilla the Hun, but I was in the midst of a transfer. And yes now I work for better folk, but it is still Corporate America and asking for a few hours off once a month (which was my original thought) is like asking for the keys to the corporate bank accounts. (Not that they have any problems asking you to work extra hours on a weekly basis). So, I haven't quite gotten up the gumption to ask....yet.
What I have done is to do it on my own time. The first one was last Halloween. I used some vacation days to have a long weekend over Halloween - with the intent of doing some extra things for the holiday with the kids and doing some extra fall housecleaning. I also offered the daycare a special music program for the kids ....
I figured I'd bring my violin and do the usual nursery rhymes etc - then the director asked me what my "Program" was going to be - which forced me to really think about it. Thank goodness! I went in with a plan.
At the time, my boys had been listening to one of my chant cd's in the car and LOVED the song Grandmother Moon. They would call to Grandma Moon during full moon nights and sing along with the chant. So...since at Halloween the dark hours are growing - I decided to do Moon and Stars - Our friends as the theme.
I had Twinkle little Star, Grandmother Moon and a couple of other songs, a book "The Moon Comes Home", and in a couple of the rooms I used Elaine Silver's "Half Moon Rising" . Beyond that I did Happy Birthday where appropriate, and kids favorites. I played in the rooms for each age group - and had a different wonderful experience in each room. One thing that did stay the same - from 12 mos up - each kid had the opportunity to help me play the fiddle.
My next opportunity came on MLK day. Miraculously my company gives this as a holiday, but daycare is open. This time I went without a theme - and it was OK. Having lived through the experience once - I knew what to expect from the age groups. I must say, that the pre-school teacher is one of my best friends when I do this. She would really LOVE it if I could do this REGULARLY and build on what I'm doing. She has repeatedly offered to do prep lessons or followup lessons with the kids.
I guess I just have to get up the gumption to ask for a few hours once a month from my boss...it really wouldn't cost him anything. I already work overtime....

Happy Imbolc! Spring is almost Here!

IMBOLC

The feeling in this still dark, unstable, muddy time
that the light at the end of the tunnel is my own soul
staring back at me on the inside
and I'm blind as a mole pushing through
some primal unseen path
with my stubby little snout and inexplicable will
If winter is a wide ocean of night
January is the hollow point, the trough
that holds visions too deep to fish up into morning
it is a cave too far down for light or even hunger
life hibernating in me suspended, waiting
and the mind floating free of the body now
like something promising but unborn
I want to lean over my own self to see if I'm breathing
I want to regress into a world of fur and blood
I am as slow as a stone's pulse
Into this no place, no thing
Imbolc comes at the end of forever
and the begining of all time
Suddenly there is one fiercely yellow crocus open
dreams pierce dense and soggy layers of sleep
right up into the thin clear air of day
just like the red torpedo shoots of peonies
pierce the ground by my back door
carrying all the courage that weeks later they will need
to unfurl those painfully delicate new leaves
I am asking for that courage, Mother
I'm ready as I'm gonna be
nothing more to wait for
just hold my hand while my eyes stumble into light

Miriam Dyak 1994