Happy Thanksgiving

To put it simply - we had a very good Thanksgiving. We even had a very good day after Thanksgiving. But to be honest, I just don't have it in me to do a nice post-holiday wrap up. But I have some good pictures! :-)

Possibly my favorite guys in the entire world

Nothing says Thanksgiving like Minecraft

Working on the wish bone - Ryan one

Ryan's creation for his dear friend

Wesley and Sylvia

Me and my awesome big brother

A Bit of History

I took the day off work today because the boys didn't have school and I didn't want to unload my kids on anyone trying to prep for the big meal tomorrow. I wanted to do something special with Wesley and Ryan, but I knew I didn't want to go to COSI because it would be way too crowded, or the zoo because the high is only in the 20s today and there's snow on the ground.

I decided to take the boys to the Ohio Historical Society museum. I hadn't been in I don't know how many years and I don't think either of the boys have been without me, so it seemed like a good plan. Turns out it was a perfect plan! There were people there, but it was far from busy and since everything was brand new to Wesley and Ryan, it held their interest for a good couple of hours.

They've changed the museum to much more family/kid friendly - lots to touch and experience instead of just looking at things.

First stop was the mastodon skeleton

Wesley working the spinning wheel

Ryan checking out the supplies in the pioneer kitchen

The toy area contained a wooden rifle...

...and a mini butter churn

There was plenty of time for a game of checkers

Wesley tested out the child sized bed

The boys busied themselves by creating a quilt block pattern while I looked at the actual quilts.

Add caption

Our favorite part of the museum might have been the 1950's exhibit, complete with a Lustron home. The boys like to learn all sorts of useful things from the previous century, like:

how to actually dial a phone instead of just pushing buttons

what a record player is and how one changes a record correctly

They also learned what baby toys looked like, that Tinker toys were once made out of wood, that TV was black and white, and the milkman used to deliver milk in glass bottles.

We had fun in the back yard of the house too - checked out the air raid shelter, jumped rope, threw horseshoes and played some croquet.

We passed the airstream trailer on the way out of the 1950s and I made a comment that it looked like a big silver Twinkie. "What's a Twinkie?" the boys asked. Either I have failed as a mom, or I've done something very right that they had to ask that!

We ended our trip with a stroll through the "preserved" animals. They freaked me out as a kid and, to be honest, they freak me out as a 40 year old!  But Wesley and Ryan were intrigued rather than disturbed (which is kind of disturbing in it's own right.)

The kids behaved so well that I let them each pick a trinket from the gift shop. Ryan chose a  bag of rocks (the pretty polished ones) and Wesley chose a wooden snake which he promptly named Timmy. I'd say it was a good trip to the museum.

Date with My Little Man

I got to spend some special one on one time with Ryan last night while Duane and Wesley were at scouts. It wasn't anything too exciting - just a little shopping - but it was so nice to have time alone with Ryan.

I know I write a lot about how ornery Ryan is, and he really is a stinker, but I don't think I often write about how sweet and loving he is. He frequently runs up and kisses me for no reason at all, and is always telling me he loves me. He's a hand holder and a snuggler and I think he sometimes relishes being small and light so I can still carry him around.

After our shopping we stopped at Starbucks for a little hot chocolate and a cookie. Ryan's best manners were on display and there was just something special about sitting a cafe table and sharing a moment with my youngest boy.

 As we were getting ready to head to the car, I caught a glimpse of the man Ryan will be one day. There he was in his hat, carrying his shopping bag in one hand and his coffee (hot chocolate) cup in the other. He looked up at me and grinned and for just a moment I saw a 20-something walking next to me. I just hope he'll still have time for a warm drink and a cookie with his Momma then.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not turn down my mom's offer to bake cookies for teacher conference night, insisting that I would have time to do it, only to call her the day before the cookies were due and ask her (sheepishly) if the offer to make the cookies on my behalf still stood.

I was not inexplicably sad when I realized my coworker was walking down the hall with a box of copy paper and not a bakery box as I had first thought.

I did not order the most expensive cocktail I have every had in Columbus when Duane and I went out on our date night. And there is no way it was worth every penny.

I did not have to pull out some size 6 tops for Ryan because about half of his size 5 shirts are a tad too small. He can't possibly be growing that fast!

I did not suddenly realize I have absolutely no idea where my iPod is. And I certainly have not begun to freak out about it because I primarily use it for Christmas music. 

Weekend Wrap Up

I was doing so well about blogging nearly every day this month, but then this weekend hit and I kind of didn't even think about posting. So now it's Sunday night and you all are stuck with a weekend wrap up post.

Friday: Wesley got to host two of his best friends for an overnight on Friday. It's the first time he's had any friends (other than his cousins) sleepover. Overall, things went really well. Ryan insisted on weaseling his way into the overnight instead of taking me up on my offer for a special Mommy/Ryan night out, but even that worked out alright. Wesley went upstairs to his bed during the night, but no one cried, no one asked to leave in the wee hours of the morning, and everyone was smiling at breakfast, so that counts as a success in my book.

Saturday: After our guests left, Duane and I worked with Wesley on his section of the church musical. I  don't know that I've posted much about it, but Wesley is going to be Flash the Camel and he has a solo to sing. It's actually turned into a fairly complicated musical number (hence the Saturday family practice in our living room), but I think he's going to do a great job with it. The boy is a born performer.

We spent some time with the whole family on the couch watching the Ohio State game. Well, most of us were watching it.

Mommy and Ryan watching football

This is how Wesley watches football

Wesley did put his book down long enough to glance at the screen a couple of times. "So, all they have to do is run into the red part of field while holding the football and without the other guys catching them? Seems simple enough to me,"  he said. 

Ryan didn't last too long. The sleepover took too much out of him

Duane and I had a date night planned for last night too. We went out to dinner, bummed around a shopping area, and then went to see Catching Fire (AMAZING movie!) It was a wonderful evening out. One of the best nights I've had in a long time.

We spent today taking it easy too. Duane made a fire in the fireplace and we watched football again - only this time I was the one who fell asleep on the couch! Just a low key, relaxing day. And it was perfect.

Scouting Ahead

Ryan and I attended Wesley's scout Pack meeting earlier this week. Wesley even got special notice for being one of the top popcorn sellers this year! Go Wesley!

Ryan spent a lot of the time talking about what it was going to be like when he joins scouts next year.

Do you think M. will join Cub Scouts next year too?” he asked. M. is a girl and one of his very best friends.

 

“Probably  not. Cubs Scouts are almost always boys. Maybe she’ll join Girl Scouts.”

 

Ryan shook his head sadly. “Poor M. I bet those Girl Scouts don’t have any fun.”

Maybe not, but they have cookies!

Same Difference

The other night Wesley was picking a piece of his Halloween candy for his dessert. He reached into his candy bowl and pulled out a piece of candy that looked like this:

"Awesome!" he yelled. "I love Starbucks!"

Yeah, that's my problem too.

Sharp Dressed Man

We did a little clothes and shoe shopping for the boys on Sunday afternoon. Ryan wound up with a checked shirt with an Angry Birds tie (probably to wear on Christmas Eve) and a new pair of shoes.

I'll admit the shoes were a bit of a bribe. Ryan has a hand me down sweatshirt jacket from Wesley that is covered with drawings of spiderwebs. Ryan LOVES the jacket, but it's a little too small now. We made a deal that he would give it up after Halloween, but it hasn't been that easy. I though the new skull shoes would smooth the transition.

Monday morning when it was time to get shoes on for school, I asked if Ryan wanted to wear his new shoes. He said he did, so we dug them out of the box, cut the tags off and slipped them on. Ryan admired his feet for a moment before deciding to wear his old shoes.

"But I thought for sure you'd want to wear your new shoes," I said.

"Mom, my new shoes are too nice. I'm going to save them for special occasions and church."

Yeah, because nothing says "church" like glow in the dark skull shoes.

You'll be happy to know that he did deem Wesley's Pack meeting special enough to break out the new shoes for. Of course, he also wanted to wear his checked shirt and tie so he's look "extra nice." We managed to convince him that a Pack meeting isn't a shirt and tie event, but he totally rocked the new shoes.

Serving the Public

Being a public librarian -especially at a library on the bus line - you see a little bit of everything. In my 14.5 tears at my library I have seen people I want to emulate and people who make me cringe when they walk through the door.

 And then there are the people who stick with you for one reason or another.

In my early years at the library there was a boy whom I'll call D. D. was a regular, and although he was a quiet boy, he caused a fair amount of trouble for us. D. stole materials from the library, we rarely saw his parents and we all knew he was going through something, but we didn't know what.

As timed passed we learned what D. was going through. D. was a female in boys body and struggled mightily with gender identity. D.came in less frequently as he/she aged, but never disappeared entirely. I did notice as time passed that D. was no longer dressing or identifying as male. I don't know what D.'s home life was like, but it became apparent that D. was also undergoing hormone therapy.

D. (now T.) was in the library late last week with her mom and I was so happy to see her. We had the chance to talk for awhile and I learned that she is in her second year of nursing school and working towards becoming an RN. I told her that I can totally see her as a nurse and I told her it was good to see her so happy. I never saw that kind of radiance and confidence when she was D.

Before leaving the library, T. approached me one more time. "You've known me for a long time," T. said, "so I feel like I can ask you this. When you look at me, can you see me as I was before, or do you see a girl?"

In a way her question made me sad, like she's still self conscious. "When I look at you I see a fabulous young woman," I assured her.

"You really can't tell?"

"T., if I hadn't known you for so long, I would never know."

She left the library with her smile firmly in place. But the encounter got me thinking about all the different ways we serve the public. All these years, T. felt the library was a place she could go no matter what else she was going through. Since she has known me through for library for so long, I am a safe person for her. I respect her as the woman she is now and I like to believe I treated her with kindness all those years ago as D.

We never know how our simple interactions with someone can impact their lives. How a smile or a kind word can be the world to someone. I may in the book and information business, but a public service job has all these unintended consequences, some of which we never see.  I am thankful I have been able to help T. in any small way  through the years. I hope to see her in her nurses scrubs having her chance to serve others.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not have to fake being scared or surprised at "pranks" such as plastic spiders and hidden stuffed animals after Wesley and his friend started a prank club. That would have gotten very old, very quickly.

The thought of creating three separate Christmas wish lists for each person in my household, so that each family we celebrate with gets unique ideas, does not send my head spinning and serve to shut down any little spark of holiday spirit I may have been starting to feel. And I did not try to knock said lists/suggestions out early so I wouldn't have to even think about it later.

I did not find a bottle of syrup on one of our kitchen boxes that had a use by date of 2005. And we certainly didn't use it anyway!

I did not allow my weekly chore of making out the grocery list and menus turn me into an ogre of a mom. That really would have been blowing things out of proportion.

I did not buy myself a new dress, then worry that it looked to matronly, only to be reassured when Ryan said he thought it would make me "look just like a princess."

I did not find myself very earnestly explaining to Ryan how one makes a roux. If I did that, it might be time to cut back on watching Top Chef New Orleans.

When Ryan asked me why people have lips, I know I didn't answer, "to keep bugs out of everyone's teeth."

You've Got To Have Friends

Ryan didn't really have any close friends in pre-school. I don't know if it was the age, or the fact that Ryan had a terrible time controlling his temper, or what, but there were no play dates with classmates and only one birthday party. This year he has church friends and school friends and it's great!

This morning I told Ryan I was so glad that he and A from church are friends and that they play so nicely together.

"That's because we know each other so well!" was the happy reply.

A little bit later Ryan came over to me and planted a big kiss on my cheek.

"You are just about the sweetest kid I know," I told him.

"Well, except for M," he corrected. M. is his classmate that he's in love with.

It's so good to have friends.

Picture Post

Uncle Doug had his annual pre-Christmas party this evening. It was so nice to just relax and pig out with the family. I love my in-laws.

Hanging the garland

Our little ornament

Drawing with Grandma W.

Checking out the tree from the stairs

Hanging out with Grandma W.

Gotta love a man that makes me s'mores.

Taking after Daddy

S'mores and hot chocolate while watching Christmas movies

Professional Me Vs. Mommy Me

This is a post I have been thinking about writing and writing in my head for several weeks, but I've put off doing it. I think I've put it off because I expect to get teased by some of my mommy friends and some family members and I expect some sideways glances from some of my co-workers who read my blog, but after reading an article about "pinkwashing" a book, I knew I needed to suck it up and write.

The article in question is written by a mom who was reading the first Harry Potter book to her five-year-old. As she was reading the book, she realized she was not comfortable sharing some of the more troublesome parts of the story with her child, so she changed it to a less severe/happier/moral happenstance.  You can read the original article here.

There have been many heated reactions about the article floating around in the library world. People are throwing the "C" word (censoring) around and in many ways the woman who wrote the article has been made to look overprotective and small minded. Should she have just waited until her child was older to share Harry Potter? Maybe, but that was her call as a parent.

That's where it's all getting murky to me.  I have been fighting an ongoing battle between professional me and mommy me when it comes to Wesley's reading. Wesley is good reader. Always has been, but he's been reading books that aren't nearly challenging enough for him. Now, before you say anything, I will be the first to admit that the books on my personal bookshelf aren't necessarily on my "level." I also don't think there is anything wrong with older children enjoying picture books, but I don't want that to be all he's reading.

On the flip side, just because he is capable of reading more advanced books, that doesn't mean I always want him exposed to the issues they contain. Plus there are some books that I just think he'll enjoy more if he experiences them when he's a bit older.

It's like the parent that came into the library the other week and wanted to know if I would recommend her fourth grader read "The Hunger Games."  I told the mom that it is in our teen section, and while it is a very popular and very good book, the library considers it to be a book for middle and high school readers. I suggested she read the book first before deciding if she thought her child should read it, then handed the mother the book, along with some other suggestions. Now that sounds all well and good, but if the fourth grader had come up to me (instead of her mom) and asked me for "The Hunger Games," I would have happily handed it to her because we don't act in place of the parent. Her mom would have had to decide if she was allowed to read the book.

It's a tricky line. My own parents never told me what I could and couldn't read, and I have always thanked them for that. But I cringed when Wesley came home and asked me to get him the first in a very popular series of books that is set in a middle school. Wesley's in second grade. Do I really want him reading about middle school issues? And what would my answer say about me, both as a parent and as a librarian?

I'll be honest, I put off making any sort of decision at all for a few days, hoping Wesley would forget about the book. I brought home some other titles that I thought he'd enjoy and that would be more challenging for him and, while he did start reading them, he kept asking about the one book he wanted.

So I got it for him.

Wesley grabbed the book as soon as he got home and read it until dinner. Then he read until it was time for musical rehearsal. Then he read on the way to church. Then he read at rehearsal between scenes. He climbed into my bed and read until it was his bedtime and then he kept reading until I threatened to hide the book so he'd get some sleep. He woke up early yesterday morning and read until it was time to go to school and then he finished the book as soon as he got home.

Am I 100% happy he's reading this particular series as a second grader? No. Am I 100% happy to see him completely immersed in a book that makes him want to read under the covers and that makes him laugh out loud as he's reading? Absolutely. But I still reserve my right to save some books to share with him on my own timeline.

Still Missing Our Furry Boy

The boys and I have been missing Sanders a lot lately. He keeps coming up in our conversations and we've been looking at many pictures of him.

 
I know Wesley and Ryan aren't going to have many memories of Sanders as they get older, but I love that they remember him now. I love that Ryan asks to "pet" Sanders sometimes, meaning he wants to hold the box of his ashes. I love that sometimes I pass Sanders' box and see things like this:

Love notes to Sanders from Ryan. Could that little boy be any sweeter?