Just chugging along

I always tell people "nothing new, we're just chugging along" or something like that when I'm asked what I've been up to. But what does that mean? What do we do all day, ever day? When Christina 'stayed home' with her boys in Colstrip I really wondered, I was baffled, as to what they could possibly do all day long. Then Peleh came along with his agenda and it became clear.

Now a days Peleh gets up around 7:30 when the sun brightens his window. He grabs his blanket and sucker (pacifier) and comes into bed with me. Sometimes he grabs a book too and if it's light enough we read it, otherwise I toss it somewhere on the bed. Without getting out of bed, or even really sitting up I take Peleh under his arms and lift him over me and plop him on Noah's pillow. Noah is at work already. I tuck Peleh in and we sleep more or he climbs around and jumps on me, brings toys up and drives trucks on my head, or climbs onto Deseo's bed with her. Lately he's been playing a game where he gets his face so close that we almost touch noses and when I open my eyes he cracks up. He taps his chin with thumb and first two fingers and says 'eat, eat.' At that I get up.

While I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth Peleh whines 'eat, eat'. We go downstairs and let the dog out, feed the cat, put Peleh in his seat at the table or he sits on the counter while I get breakfast ready. He loves cereal, French toast, fruit, bagels/English muffins, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, waffles and pancakes, but usually asks for a sandwich.

Then Peleh plays! The dog is back inside and Peleh chases her, drives trucks up and down her back, throws her ball down the basement stairs and tells her 'get it', unloads his bin of stuffed animals, dumps out legos, builds trains, pushes the talk button on Manny the Disney fix-it [fisk-it] guy or we get dressed for a walk.

Peleh loves wearing his snow boots and can't stand it when his mittens are not tucked into his coat sleeve, all the way around. We walk to the park but when the playground is covered in ice or snow we keep going up to the train tracks. While we wait for a train we stomp around in the mud while, if nobody else is around, Deseo chases squirrels. We throw sticks and snowballs. If the terrain is even Peleh loves to run and can keep me at a really fast walk/ really slow jog for 1/4 mile. We wave to the train then say goodbye to the train, 'see you later, in a minute!' and also to the track.

We head home. If we've driven to a further away park Peleh keeps me updated on whether or not we're going 'up up up' or 'down down down'. Sometimes we drive on 'steep hills' and 'stop'. We pass lots of trucks, sometimes ones that look like 'Daddy's truck!'. Once at home we get lunch ready, eat and play for a little bit longer. Then between 1 and 2 Peleh either goes upstairs himself and digs up his blanket and sucker from the pillow we buried them under. Or he gets impatient with everything and I suggest he pick out some books. We lay in bed and read one to six books then sing songs. I love it when he falls asleep during the books but it's usually after I've sung 3 or 4 songs and am bored, or have fallen asleep myself.

One point five to two hours later Peleh is usually awoken by the dogs barking next door. If he's not ready to be awake he cries all the way down the stairs with his blanket and sucker. If he's rested he comes down alone with wide eyes looking for a truck or train.

We play, color, paint, bake, wash the dishes, throw Deseo's ball, dance, watch trains or other tv, eat, tidy, cook, read, and/or fold laundry until Noah gets home. Then we continue with Daddy until bed time and do the nap routine plus 'brush teeth'.

Begin again.

Last night Peleh was playing with puzzles right before bed. We have one of a teddy bear in three parts, heads, shirts, and bottoms, that have different outfits and emotions on the faces. Peleh decided the bear needed a drink of juice. His milk was right there so she had some milk then he cuddled her little happy head. A few minutes later when it was time to go to bed he gave the happy head a kiss, and the sad head, and the sleeping head, and the surprised head, and the other happy head. And his dump truck, and the big truck. Then Daddy.


We flavor our days with trips to the zoo or museums, or to meet Noah for a meal, music class, playdates with friends, shopping, and errands.

It's a lot easier and probably far less tedious for my listeners for me to say "we're just chugging along."