London Calling

Focused for hours

London spends hours building a plane out of a box

London always amazes me.  About two weeks ago, I went into a basement organizing frenzy, clearing out garbage, storing items we'll never use in the crawl space, building five sets of shelves and organizing everything.  The kids now have a nice play space that they can leave a mess if they'd like, but more importantly it's a space where they can be as creative as they want.  We've stocked loads of paint, brushes, crayons, glitter, paper, legos, toys and on and on.

I think that all kids love boxes.  And we parents love them too.  We've made all kinds of things from boxes:  houses, boats, restaurants, cars ....  London called all of the boxes  from the shelving units.  He wanted to create something with them on his own.  Since I was focused/hell bent on finishing my basement organizing project that I'd been planning for over a year, I was very happy to let him build.  (Note Violet was helping me build an entertainment center -- also for the basement -- which was a big project in itself.)

London was so quiet and focused that I completely forgot about him.  At one point, I saw him working with a very large pair of sissors and I cringed.  Could one really cut off a finger?  I could see loosing an eye for sure.  But before I stepped in to stop him from impaling himself, I saw how incredibly focused he was on his project.  In fact, he hadn't made a sound in over an hour.  He had cut out the body of the plane and one wing perfectly.  I just couldn't take him away from that.  So I sat nervously while he finished cutting and let out a big sigh of relief when he was safely done.

He was so proud when he gave me a tour of his creation.  He'd made wings from the styrofoam in the entertainment center packaging.  The wings were so long that at one point he had to walk away from his project because he was terribly upset about them touching the floor.  After a little break, he decided to add a small piece of styrofoam to support his wings.  It was a great lesson learned in patience. 

Now the plane sits undisturbed next to his train -- which he actually plays with every once in a while.   He loves to create and what I love most about his creations is that he can build based upon only his imagination.  He doesn't need a guide or directions or even a parent to help him.  I don't think I know many adults who have that kind of imagination.  I love watching him grow into a big boy.  (Yeah, I totally started crying when I wrote "big boy."  Who wouldn't?)

 

Cup stacking

London cup stacking

London has always played with toys a little differently than most kids.  As a toddler, he'd line up his match box cars or Thomas trains and only rarely would he play with them.  He'll spend hours building with legos or Lincoln Logs and when his project is complete, he moves on. 

About a week ago, London came home and asked if we had any plastic cups.  He'd recently been introduced to Cup Stacking in gym and wanted to give us a demonstration.  We didn't really have the kind of cups he needed so I texted Blu and asked him to stop at the store on the way home from kicking A at TKD to get a pack. 

The next morning, London could barely make it through breakfast because he was so excited about cup stacking.  We literally had to tear him away with a few tears shed in the process to get him to the bus stop. 

That night he was right back at it.  He spent some time patiently showing Violet how to play the game.  At first, this seemed like a great tool for London to use to calm himself.  But, I was so, so wrong.  When we would make noise -- even in another room -- and London would make a stacking mistake, he would freak.  Like a super scary angry freak.  We had to walk away a few times.

But he would not be stopped.  On Saturday, the babysitter spent the afternoon with the kids while we worked at the store for a special promotion.  She took them to her house for a little while where she had an official Cup Stacking set and he played for hours.  He's like a little cup stacking maniac.

I did just a bit of research regarding cup stacking.  From what I've read, the stacking helps with sensory integration.  It also allows kids who aren't interested in or very good at traditional sports to "win" at something else.  I kind of like that idea.  One day, we may even have an Olympian Cup Stacker in the family. 

Girls day

Violet's tea party

Last Tuesday, when I picked Violet up from school, I realized -- because of a really big sign on the wall -- that school was closed with no childcare on Friday.  Usually, when the school is closed, the all year kids (aka daycare) have childcare.  It's a really fun day for them:  they bring their own lunch, play games and do all kinds of crafts.  But this Friday was one of a few days throughout the year where childcare was also closed. 

At first I thought of a number of scenarios that included Violet going to work with her dad or me watching her in the morning and then going to work around 11.  Somehow Taylor would have to watch her or the store in the afternoon.  It was a stretch. 

On Thursday I had a tiny epiphany.  First, I hadn't had a girls day with Violet in a long time.  Second, I'm totally burned out at work right now.  Third, I was traveling all of the following week.  We were long over due for a play day and it was great. 

 

Violet's manicure

We started by having a nice breakfast and sending London off to school.  Then we went to work out -- OK I worked out and Violet watched -- followed by a trip to the grocery store where Miss Violet pushed her child sized cart and helped pick out our groceries.  Then we had our friend Brooke and her mom over for a tea party.  (Super cute.)  After a little rest/cuddle time, we went for manicures. 

Girl time rules.  I felt refreshed and grounded after our day.  Violet was treated like a princess.  She's only four, but I hope that she'll have memories of the fun -- and sometimes crazy -- stuff we do together.  I know that I will.

Inspired by bloggers

I have so many kid updates to share ... but I never seem to make the time.  Today, I'm at an event with a bunch of really creative bloggers -- people who blog full time and come up with creative and cool DIY ideas every week.  They are inspiring me to take the time -- just a few minutes a week to talk about the kids. 

It's a little late for a New Year's resolution, but here it is:  my goal is to write once a week.  I think it helps me to "talk" through challenges and also allows me to record stories that I will likely forget.