Sweetness

Elgin's sick with a pesky high fever that forced us to bow out of a camping party. Well, originally Cory was going to stay home with Elgin while I camped with Henry, but Cory is very good to indulge my maternal constitution when it hits, particularly when my youngest is just plain pitiful. 

Tonight, while we didn't camp, we did shoot hoops, hit the wiffle ball, watch Transformers: Rescue Bots, and snuggle a lot. 

His fever fluctuated again tonight, and he only wanted to be rocked. I told him that he was my sweet boy, and he said, "I'm not going to go anywhere." 

That's better than camping. 

Listening

It occurred to me several times over the last few weeks that I am incredibly distractable in the afternoons. It's troublesome. It's my main time with my kids, and I don't want to miss it! So, I'm trying to regrasp my active listening. It used to be so good that H would even repeat back to me what I said to him. He certainly no longer does so, and EW just kind of ignores me when I ask him questions. 

So, tonight, after reading, I also tried to focus back in on being specific when telling my kids that I love them. It went this way:

Me: Henry, I'm so proud of you. 

Henry: For what? 

Me: I think you're neat, and Iike the way you...

Henry: I hope I can drive a vehicle under water one day. 

(I was going to tell him that I like how he can tell me when he's frustrated with something. There's a back story... a long one. I was not a good mom this morning.)

He went on about a wii game that he loves. I listened. Boy, it was hard. But, he snuggled in for a bit. That part. That part is why I'm going to keep practicing until I get a little better again. 

Resolved but not a resolution

I'm thinking that I need to pick back up on the blogging. It used to be a great source of joy and therapy, but my lagging computer was frustrating me when it came to uploading pictures. Pictures, though, aren't the only thing going on here. I need to record the funny, the silly, the adventurous, the eye rolling, the ridiculous, the tough, the gross, and, with a little more ease, the pictures from my phone. Stay tuned, all you who have been waiting for months and months and months and months...