Here we go a rhymin'

How many rhymes can one mother say or sing in one day? Apparently quite a few and they do a body (and brain) good! I’ve realized that the days where Ephraim and I sing and rhyme through our ups and downs seem to go much more smoothly than the days where we don’t sing or rhyme.

Annie and I are just finishing up a Lullabies and LapRhymes session with Erika Webster, daughter of Toronto storyteller Sally Jaeger. I am so glad we signed up for the class (I went with Ephraim when he was a baby also). It has allowed me to not only get through the days more happily but to also give Ephraim a way to bond and play with Annie. He loves to tickle her toes and her tummy and to make up his own rhymes. On days when getting our shoes on to go out the door is a gargantuan struggle, singing our way through it calms everyone down! Furthermore rhyming and singing is so great for both Annie and Ephraim’s developing language skills.

Here are some of our current favourites:

Round and round the honey

Goes the little bear

One step, two step

Tickle under there

-       adapted by Ephraim from the famous “round and round the garden”

Across the plains 

And back again

Round and round for miles and miles

Until we come to dimples and smiles

Dimples and smiles

(As you say this rhyme, trace across your child’s back or tummy and back again, then round and round. Then give a little tickle on their cheeks!)

            -I don’t know who to credit for this…I will ask Erika!

And here’s a little song that Ephraim loves to sing either sitting on my lap or driving his little car around and then falling off of it.

I was driving down a country road

From Jarvis to Port Dover

My wheel got caught inside a rut

And I went tumbling over  woo!

Over, woo!

Over

I went tumbling over

Woo!

For the tune for this song check out Kathy Reid-Naiman’s cd “Reaching for the Stars”

The 2 W's

Today was the day of the 2Ws. Walk and Water. These two things definitely kept me sane today! My little boy, who’s nearly 3, didn’t have a nap today. When this happens, my level of frustration usually explodes from 0 to 10 very quickly because I need to have a nap! So after several attempts at getting my 12 week old down for a nap and having a preschooler running around being a complete maniac, I gave up and began to read to Ephraim. He usually will lie still and listen and even fall asleep but alas, not today. So knowing myself well and keeping in mind my quest to be a better mother I set a timer for 30 minutes and told him he could not come and get me until it beeped. I lay down with wee Annie and she drifted off. I could have slept the entire afternoon away but instead waited for that nasty timer to start beeping. And when Annie woke up a mere 40 minutes later, I decided to pack everyone up and take a big walk to check out a new toystore. I somehow managed to get the rumble seat installed on our stroller for the first time in the midst of crying baby and zippy toddler spinning circles around me and reformatting my laptop while I tried to read the online instructions. Finally outdoors and the bright sunshine had disappeared behind a huge set of grey clouds. I didn’t let that stop us and the walk did wonders – I regained some energy, the kids had a chance to rest and we found an amazing place to shop, rest, nurse, and play (oh and pee too!) – Silly Goose on the Danforth just west of Woodbine. On the way home we stopped at a playground and Ephraim and I spun out the last of our energy on an old merry-go-round that I’m surprised is still allowed being that it is solid steel. I was glad it was there as Ephraim shrieked with joy and I remembered why I love being a mother all over again. We arrived home with a new found calm. Annie was asleep (finally!) and I set Eph up at the sink with lots of water, soap bubbles, and apron, and a variety of containers. It was a little splashy but kept him happy while I made supper. Whew! It was a long day, but a great day. Let’s see what tomorrow brings!

Back in the saddle

Over a year has passed since my inaugural blog entry. I didn’t know if I would return but here I am for better or for worse as they say. And here is how my year has been – survived the miscarriage of “Wee Willy” – what an insane time. However, I can happily say that I did conceive again and became a mother for the second (or is it third?) time to wee Annie Catherine. Now on maternity leave and spending my days raising my two little miracles (cheesy I know but once you’re a parent it really does click that that is what life is – truly- miraculous.) And now I’m in search of something. I’m in search of being the best mother that I can be, the best possible version of myself. Isn’t everyone? I suppose they are. But here is my story; day by day or perhaps more realistically week by week. How can I…oh shoot dinner is burning…no, just over cooking. Sorry dear family your tofu has gone from deliciously crisp to wilted and soft. Oops. As I was saying…how can I be a better mother to Ephraim and Annie? I don’t yet know but I sure as heck am going to try.

3 Days Later

It's funny how it takes a small tragedy in order to pay attention to all of the miracles in my life. 3 days ago I had a miscarriage and lost a tiny little person who I was so hoping to get to know over the course of the next 60 years (You can see I'm very optimistic about how long I will be around on this planet). In the haze of emotion and the loss of pieces from my body that I didn't even know I had, came the deep realization that my 22 month old boy Ephraim really and truly is a miracle. The fact that any of us survive the turmultuous first trimester without being born with insane defects is truly miraculous really. But as a mother I now see it so clearly. How perfect are Ephraim's little fingers and toes, how gorgeous his smile. He can walk and talk and play and he is so wonderfully happy. So what more should I ask for really? Probably nothing. But in time, we will try again for another baby and I will truly relish in its perfection also.