Misty Morning

My kids are early risers. We know this and have scheduled our lives around it. There is something to be said about "Early to bed, early to rise..." Perhaps it was spoken by a mother of young children...



When your kids are up at six (or five-something, as Ollie has taken to doing the past few days-- TEETHING!), you've got a long day ahead of you. My new summer plan is to do what I've got to do to get out of the house and ready to walk in the jogger stroller BEFORE Ollie wants to fall asleep for his morning nap (usually around 8:45). This is how we ended up at Dorbrook Park Wednesday morning, long before our playdate was set to begin. No bother.

In my attempts to keep Trenton sufficiently distracted and quiet so that Ollie could sleep, we decided to veer off the nicely-paved path and into the woods, following a well-trodden and wide foot path. In the first picture, you can see the body of water that we found in the background. Not sure what that was or where it goes to... It was calming being in the woods, under the canopy of leaves. Didn't get much water on us there. And Trenton liked making soft sounds over the pine needles in his new Wiggles sandals (thanks Mom!)

We saw rabbits, red-winged blackbirds, purple something-or-other birds (said so on the sign), chipmunks, and squirrels. I also brought along a Ring-Pop to keep him quiet for the second two-mile loop. I think I'm in good shape for my 5K race in Colts Neck this weekend; we plan to jog/walk with the kids in the stroller anyway. Not looking to break any records.
























































I included the picture above of T with Jaden and Harrison. He absolutely loves those friends, and although three can sometimes be a crowd, that doesn't stop him from wanting to do what they are doing. He wanted so bad to hold both Jaden and Harrison's hands, although they wanted to hold each other's .... they ended up walking in an ameoba-like circle for awhile, each holding the other's hand. Sweet. Trenton did get upset when this did not work out, but was able to accept holding one friend's hand for ten steps, then switching to the other's... Later, he muscled Har out of the way, wanting to play with the digger. We talked about how this is a form of bullying, and he took it to heart. Later that night, he told Jim he was being a bully at the playground. I wonder sometimes if we focus too much on his inappropriate behavior. He's three. He's going to do impusive, crazy, inappropriate things... and it is our job as parents to point that out, help him do the right things, et cetera... Sometimes it is like beating a dead horse, though, as he will still do whatever it is he wants to do, despite whatever kinds of warnings/threats are given. I do want him to make sure he recognizes when he does make good choices. Building this part of his self-esteem is essential; I want him to know that he is a good person, a good boy, who makes bad choices sometimes, but can always do what it takes to do the right thing.


Every night during prayer-time we talk about what Good Deeds we've done that day. Sometimes I share things that I did, other times he thinks of things he's done ("I made Ollie laugh!") As teachers, we're told to follow up every negative comment with five positive comments. We see the good things in our kids every day, and probably take it for granted most of the time, without actually pointing it out to them. I want my boys to know that I think they are fantastic little people with amazing potential. And I'll try to relay that to them in my words and actions more often.