Technology geek

This morning Jonathan asked to listen to music on the computer. When Gabe went over to help him turn it on, he found that Jonathan had already done nearly everything. He had turned on the computer, opened the zippered cd case and removed a cd (Glenn Gould!), and then opened the dvd tray and inserted the cd into the computer. All by himself. The only thing he hasn't mastered, evidently, is using the mouse to click on the "itunes" icon.

Technology holds a real fascination for Jonathan. Gabe thinks that it may be because it is such a direct cause/effect relationship: push this button and lights turn on, push that button and a tray comes out, push this key and the whole computer shuts down. Whatever the reason, he is becoming very good at it, mostly without being specifically taught. In fact, he taught me which button on the keyboard puts the computer to sleep! He's also very good at using the digital camera, and loves to click through the photos we've taken.

I wonder how much technology is good for him. I don't want him growing up into a preteen (or younger!) who thinks that life begins and ends at the computer screen, and so part of me thinks that two years old is far too young to begin the technology love affair! Still, I can't find anything specific that I think I ought to be doing differently right now.

What do you think, dear readers? How do you handle technology with your own little ones?

That darling second son of mine

said "mama" today. Ok, so it was more like "mamamamama" but still. Jonathan had told me, twice previously, that Thomas had said "mama", but this is the first time I heard it. Yay Thomas!

Hymns and praise songs

I've seen the first part of this before, but the second part was new to me. And the beginning makes me laugh to the point of tears every time anyway. :) Hat tip to StandFirm.


An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended a large church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the farmer, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise songs instead of hymns."

"Praise songs," said his wife, "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The farmer said, "It's like this - If I were to say to you: ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:

‘Martha Martha, Martha,
Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows,
the black cows, the white cows,
the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn,
are in the corn, the CORN, CORN, CORN,'

Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well, that would be a praise song."

Coincidentally, the same week, a young businessman from the city who normally attended a church with contemporary-style worship was in the old farmer's town on business. He visited the farmer's small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the young man, "it was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs." ?

"Hymns," said his wife, "what are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The young man said, "It's like this - If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a regular song. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:

Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry.
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.

For the way of the animals who can explain;
There in their heads is no shadow of sense,
Hearkenest they in God's sun or his rain,
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.

Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broken free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.

So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn.
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.

Then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."

Mei Tai baby carrier!

I made this myself! It cost about $20 in fabric and thread. It also took quite a lot of hours, but I think that most of that was because I'm just not very good with spatial thinking. It makes my brain hurt and I think very slowly. But I did it, and it works, and I'm ridiculously proud of myself. :)

Toddler perspective

Follow-up: "why?"

Wow, what a helpful bunch of people you guys are! Thank you very much for all the thoughtful (as well as funny!) advice.

After some thought (and conversation with Gabe) I've decided to try two things.

If the "why" question comes after a direct instruction, I'm going to respond with "you may ask that question after you obey." I fully expect this to be followed by "why?" but I can just repeat the phrase until he does it. And then answer. I think having a set phrase may help Jonathan understand - just as the words never vary, neither does the expected action.

If, however, he just has a case of the "whys" in general, once I get tired of them I'll just use "why not?"

We'll see how it goes!

WFMW - Backwards Day! (#2)

Because I have lots and lots of questions. But I'll limit myself to two. I think. :)

Does anyone have a good way to keep kitchen washcloths from souring? And, once they have soured, is there any way to get them "un-sour"? I've washed and washed and washed and hung them to dry for DAYS on the line, but they still retain that sick-sour smell.

Sadly, I'm having this trouble with my new washcloths, the ones that I bought about a month ago because I gave up on my old ones. :(

I do have a little air-dry rack where I hang them when they are wet but not in use. I thought that would help but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick.

Help!

As always, go visit Shannon! :)

WFMW - Backwards Day!

I'm recycling a post from last week because I really want more feedback on the question. Hope those of you who have read it before don't mind! :)

Jonathan, please come here.
Why?
Because we need to get you dressed.
Why?
Because we're going for a walk.
Why?
Because I thought you'd like to go for a walk.
Why?
I have no idea. Never mind.

A few minutes later:

I thought we were going for a walk?
We were, but you didn't want to put your clothes on.
Why?

I'm doing my best to stay patient, but this really is rather taxing. Because this is not an isolated incident - this is my life right now. All day. If he is awake, he is asking me "why?"

Some of the questions are legitimate and have real answers. Some are silly. Some are stalling tactics. Sometimes I think it is just his default word when he can't think of anything to say but must say something anyway.

Does anyone have good ideas for coping with this?


And since I'm sure all my readers are just bursting with good information regarding any number of things, please go visit Shannon and help her readers out!

Clarity

This morning Thomas took a nap and Jonathan had a quiet time at the same time. I took a shower and had a long conversation with God - showers are the best for that because it is quiet.

Anyway, one of the things we talked about was the fact that I've been feeling ill-equipped to mother more children...I feel like I'm barely hanging on with the two I have and I'm very afraid of not being a good mom if I have more kids. So I told God this and said "so if you want me to have more kids, then please, you'll need to help me be more patient and less selfish." (How I hate besetting sins. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever kill those two.)

But maybe I will, with his help.

The rest of the day I felt like I'd taken off a pair of dark glasses that I didn't know I was wearing. I saw my children with fresh eyes and was overwhelmed with how very much I love them and how glad I am that they are mine. I held Thomas and basked in the sweetness of his smile, and I held him and was grateful that his tears meant that he wanted me. I enjoyed Jonathan's energy and excitement as we played "baseball, Mommy, baseball!" (he held the bat and I tried to hit it with the ball) and snuggled him close when he asked for a "big hug an' a big kiss" at nap time.

I looked at my children today and I saw them as the precious, perfect, irreplaceable gifts that they are. I looked at them and considered another child and dreamed of another little person who could smile at me and cry for me and hold on tight.

I'm not ready for another baby yet. But with God's help I think perhaps I'll get there.

Next time,

this is how I want to have my baby. Only I think I'd stay home and show her off instead of heading to the hospital. Wouldn't that be awesome?!

Common Cause

In the midst of lots of bad, really bad, and even worse news from the Episcopal church lately, there is one really encouraging thing happening. Have you heard of the Common Cause Partnership? It hasn't been nearly as well publicized as the recent House of Bishops meeting, but in my view it is far more important. It is a partnership of nearly all of the splinter Anglican groups, joining together with the intent to create a truly orthodox, unified, Anglican option in America. This kind of large-scale reunification is (to my knowledge) unprecedented. As Jessica said, "Whoever heard of an anti-schism?"

My well-spoken husband wrote about it today, so I shall now refer you to him. And do click through his links and read the actual text of the Common Cause. You'll be blown away.

You have to have a certain sort of sense of humor to appreciate this

But I think it is hilarious.



Thanks to Amy for the link.

Another favorite phrase:

"No! I want to do it myself!!!"

He is such a toddler. :)

Why?

Jonathan, please come here.
Why?
Because we need to get you dressed.
Why?
Because we're going for a walk.
Why?
Because I thought you'd like to go for a walk.
Why?
I have no idea. Never mind.

A few minutes later:

I thought we were going for a walk?
We were, but you didn't want to put your clothes on.
Why?

I'm doing my best to stay patient, but this really is rather taxing. Because this is not an isolated incident - this is my life right now. All day. If he is awake, he is asking me "why?"

Some of the questions are legitimate and have real answers. Some are silly. Some are stalling tactics. Sometimes I think it is just his default word when he can't think of anything to say but must say something anyway.

Does anyone have good ideas for coping with this?

Easy and yummy dinner idea

This is an accidental discovery brought about by staring into the pantry and wondering "what in the world can we eat for dinner?"

What you need:
1 pkg. Lipton Noodle Sides - chicken flavor
1 can diced tomatoes with herbs
shredded mozzarella cheese (jack would probably be good, too)

Make noodles according to package directions (this takes seven minutes once your water is boiling). Drain tomatoes as well as you can, then stir into cooked noodles. Serve and sprinkle with mozzarella.

I actually don't like the Lipton Sides by themselves very much. I had one in the pantry because it was free after a sale and a coupon, and unfortunately we DO have nights when I just can't think of anything to cook. :)

In any case, the end result of this ten minute experiment was good enough to repeat. Watch for Lipton Sides coupons and sales - it isn't uncommon to be able to combine them and get these for free or nearly free.

I promise, you'll laugh.

Really, you won't be able to help yourself.

Lettie, these are for you. :)

The best thing about a garden? Bringing it inside!

Standing up!

No, he didn't pull himself up (this is a little too high for him to do that) but he sure loves standing here and holding on!

He seems to be the strong, silent type.

I'd ask him, but he isn't talking. :)

I know that Jonathan has been precocious in regards to language. And even though I told myself when Thomas was born that it would be different with this very different child, I still sometimes find myself wondering "when will you talk, child?"

At 7.5 months, Thomas is quite definitely the strong, silent type. He smiles a lot, and if he's upset he'll cry and/or squawk, but he just doesn't talk. For that matter, he doesn't really do much cooing. And he definitely doesn't use any consonants. Nary a one. By this age Jonathan had been using consonants for four months, and was starting to say "dada" specifically.

(How do I know this, you ask? Because I have been blogging my children's lives from the very first smile, my friends, and Blogger has a search feature.) :) Speaking of which, do you have any idea how very glad I am that I started blogging? This is the most amazing baby book ever created. I love it.

Anyway, that's the "silent" bit. Now for the "strong": Thomas has learned how to pull himself up to his feet! He's enjoying this new trick quite a bit - at bedtime with Jonathan, while we read his bible story, Thomas will spend the entire time pulling up, sitting down, pulling up, sitting down, using Jonathan's bed rail. And smiling the whole time, of course! Seriously, I think this child will skip crawling entirely, and not for lack of tummy time. He just knows what he wants and he wants to do this his way. Please, and thank you. That is really the sense I get from him...he knows what he wants but he'll be nice about his method of getting it.

I find it so fascinating to see my two very different children develop. It is fun to look at them now, mull over their personality traits and dream about their futures. Maybe Jonathan will be a linguist or a lawyer (you know, he'd be GOOD at that, I bet, heaven help us!) Maybe he'll be a musician. Maybe Thomas will be a priest or a professor or a monk (wouldn't that make his Daddy proud!) Maybe he'll be an artist.

And now a picture of my oh-so-different boys:



Side by side you can see the differences, but the picture to the left is hanging in Gabe's mom's hallway, and if you look at it there you aren't quite sure if it is Jonathan or Thomas. I guess if they're going to be look-a-likes, it is a good thing they are so different. :)

Saints and Icons

Recently I put a lovely framed picture of Mary and the baby Jesus up in my bedroom. It is hanging over the changing table, so I see it often. I've been wanting such a picture for months. I searched the internet for art prints of Madonna and Child, looking for one that captured a sense of reality and peace. This is the one that I found. Isn't it beautiful and restful?



I wanted it to serve as a reminder, throughout my day, to try to be a good mother. Although I don't know much about her day to day life, I do know that she must have been a holy mother. And so I want to pattern my life after hers.

Such were my expectations. Visual stimulus as a reminder to pursue holiness. But it isn't working out quite the way I thought it would. Instead, this picture has become an icon for me.

I'm not generally a fan of icons, although I have a basic understanding of their purpose. And I find much of Marian theology to be somewhat disturbing. So why does it seem that I have a friend in the room? Why do I find myself talking to her (and quickly converting it into a "no no, I mean please God help me to be a good mother") sort of prayer? Why does this seem like a very true reality, although all my protestant training cries out against it?

I spent some time in college studying the idea of praying to saints. Eventually, I decided that I understood the reasons behind the concept and didn't think there was anything wrong with doing so. I didn't think there was any clear reason to think that they could hear us and/or interced for us; then again, there was no clear direction that they couldn't. I was drawn to the thought of prayer to saints being like talking to our friends, since death is no longer a barrier to those in Christ. But I never felt any real desire to talk to them - they seemed remote from my life.

Mary doesn't seem remote anymore. She seems like a friend, like Jessica or Ashley, who has worked her way through this life that is motherhood. She knows the joys and the sorrows of raising boys. I don't believe she was born without sin, so I think she probably knows the difficulty of being patient with whiny children, and the frustration of wishing for silence when it is nowhere to be found. She spent hours doing laundry, and making meals, and breastfeeding her children. And since God found her worthy to be the mother of his Son, I think she probably did it all with grace, and love, and patience.

I want my life to look like that. And if this picture can be a prayer window for me, if talking to Mary can help me become more like Jesus, then I think I'm glad my picture is an icon.