Supermarket and Picnic

Today we had a splendid morning. We went to the supermarket with our fabulous playgroup. There Nancy, the founder of our playgroup, read us stories and talked to us about developmental assets, which are factors that help your child in her early childhood to develop better and succeed in later life.  Nancy's toolbox, What Every Parent Ought to Know, is a terrific toolbox of information and inspiration for moms of small children.  I highly recommend it.  I have seen it transform relationships from struggle to connection.  She's also a Christian, for those of you want to support other Christians.

After the book and asset, she handed out a grocery list with large pictures so even the toddlers could participate in picking out groceries.  My son (almost 5) was happy to be able to pick out the groceries, then pay for them himself.  

When we had all our groceries, off we went to a nearby park where we had a lovely picnic under the shade.  The moms talked and shared, while the children played with each other.  These are the days I'm especially grateful that I am a mother who can afford to "just parent" my kids.  It takes a village, it is said.  No better village than a community of caring parents and mothers such as Nancy who truly walk the extra mile to help others. 

Outdoor Hour button
Originally uploaded by HarmonyArtMom.

We're participating in the Outdoor Hour.  Charlotte Mason stressed nature walks throughout a child's education.  In Kindergarten, we will only be taking nature walks to develop the habit of being outdoors and appreciating the wonders of nature.  Next year we'll be doing full-fledged nature studies with the excellent guide Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.  

Harmony Art Mom has a fantastic blog that details her observations and sketches using Handbook of Nature Study.  The photos are terrific, too.  We will be posting our findings as soon as they are available.

Rough Spots

I had my baby ten days after my last post. She's beautiful! I forget how newborns smell, the adorable things that they do. My son is learning all these things. He's learning how to take care of her, how to bathe her, to be very gentle (told about a five hundred and seventy-five times a day), to wait, to have someone's needs come before his own. He's four, and a big boy now, as he's fond of saying.

The first month since my baby girl was born was really hard. The adjustment as a family was as hard as I expected, but in different ways than I expected. I wasn't the nice, kind, patient Mama I used to daydream about when in my third trimester. Postpartum hormones and new stresses put a damper on my moods and I regret many things I said and a few I've done. However, we learn from these situations too, and I find myself constantly learning. My son has already moved on, but of course it takes me longer to process all the details of the first month and my mind loves to rewind and even do slow-motions. Sound familiar?

That notwithstanding, now we're doing much better. The cliched light at the end of the tunnel is illuminating our path once again. We have emerged as a new family, not only intact, but with a new link on the chain. Brandon is not only learning his ABCs, pre-math, pre-writing, writing, art, music and a myriad of other subjects as he lives and explores throughout the day, but he's learning to share his Mama, to love a sibling, to cope with feelings never before felt and most of all, to grow as a person. He knows he's unconditionally loved, but I don't count on it. My goal is to every day let him know that there's nobody like him in this world to me, and there never will be. I will also do the same with my new baby. If I have accomplished that, I know I will have had a good day.