Toddler Time

It's been a while since posting partially because my computer got stolen from school (long story,) and since summer started, I have not gotten as many breaks as I do while teaching; considering how many breaks teachers get, this says a lot. I figured before a new post, an update would help:

The Studio: Hubby finished The Studio... sort of. It is almost ready for final inspection, it has studio equipment in it, and I am starting to see him a little more often. Now we have shifted our focus to making the house more baby proof, hence...

Daughter: She started walking at around 11 months, running at 12. She is everywhere and into everything. I seem to remember Mom telling me repeatedly, "Stop digging!" and now I understand her frustration. What used to take me an hour takes about 3 times as long because everything I do, she can undo in less time. The recycling has been our biggest battle so far. I spend an hour or so on the kitchen while she is strewing her toys across the den, and while I pick up her toys, she goes through the recycling by picking things out and tossing them over her shoulder. Wow. But it has been nice to be able to set her down, and I love the hugs and kisses. She is beginning to sleep in her own bed, and her babble is getting more and more adult-like and less baby... granted it sounds more like a foreign language than English, but she's getting there. We joke that she bypassed English and went straight for Japanese... maybe that means she will be good at the piano???

Projects: Knitting has been slow. I have not sewn anything in months. I have, however, assembled more IKEA furniture alone in the past month than I have in my entire life. Storage in The Studio was a must and I when I can help Hubby, I do.

Reading: I finally read The Little Prince; while it was enlightening, I'm not sure about it being enjoyable. I understand how perhaps reading it in French would be more understandable, but this is not a kid's book. Kids are literal thinkers until the frontal cortex has developed, hence adulthood, and granted some kids develop faster, these kids are usually more sensitive. Just watching Disney's Winny the Pooh brought tears to my eyes, and when I was little, I never made it through I Love You Forever or The Giving Tree, and I could not grasp the concept that Puff the Magic Dragon was not real, and it was okay that he was going to be lonely. Sometimes kid's books are meant for adults, (Can I reference The Giver, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or anything by Dahl, anyone?) and the adult concepts can be, ironically, to let adults detach themselves from their childhoods. I cannot see how these books can provide anything helpful to children, but I do see how they can be helpful to the adult writers.
With that said, I want to know whether the author intended the prince to be killed by the snake, if the Prince was supposed to be a metaphor, a mirage, or to be taken literally, and if the snake was supposed to be an archetypal symbol for knowledge. It's kinda bugging me. Mainly the question about if the Prince was supposed to die and the author just could not handle the truth...

I'm currently reading Astros Polyp, which I've had to set down because life has been hectic. It's good. The artistry is amazing, the story is spot on, and the philosophical edge is wonderful. The beginning put me off last year, with his apartment building burning down and all, but this year I have gotten better at distancing myself from the story enough to make it through half of the book. With that said, I see Hubby in Astros and I'm very concerned about a certain Little Prince, but that's another story.

I hope all is well with everyone, and I plan to post more regularly.

Peas in a pod

My daughter's growing like a weed.

This is especially an appropriate comment since the moment I finished the 2 year sweater, I have not felt like knitting very much, and my garden has appreciated this. I went to Home Depot just wanting to pick up some mint and Purple Hearts, and found out that they did not have either so I got Oregano, Basil, and Thyme.

I then got the idea to nix the birdbath idea (hubby is thrilled,) and put in a butterfly garden instead (hubby is not so thrilled.) I have this garden that is in an awkward space, but I think I finally figured out what it likes after seeing so many plants die in it. This garden has been the place where flowers go to die, not flourish, so I am going to take pictures soon just in case my calculations are wrong.

I finally found some mint at Whole Foods, but they did not have anything butterfly related, so I went to Shoal Creek Gardener today and I have quite a haul of plants. They are all of local variety, and I like the yards that I have seen them planted in. Especially exciting is how the dog is completely uninterested in this garden. She has been the scourge of many a plant in the past.

So, what does my daughter have to do with any of this? She has had to 'help' me plant all of it. While we were at Shoal Creek today, she surveyed everything very thoughtfully, and tasted at least one of the plants on the way home. In the yard, she has done everything she can to eat anything on the ground. I have had to drop the shovel, get the leaves out of her mouth, then hurry up and plant the next plant before she does it again. Hubby is no help since he has been working on the stairs to the studio. Who knew gardening could be so exciting?

But, as determined as that child is to eat the weeds, I am determined to plant these flowers.

(I wonder where she gets the determination from anyway...)