My Little Thinker

About a week ago, I was standing in the kitchen cleaning up dinner dishes and Ethan came in and said to me out of nowhere, "there are just a lot of things I don't understand about the world." My first thought was, that makes two of us but then I asked him, "like what?"

He said, "how did the English language start and who made it up?" I smiled a bit at the question and at him puzzling over such a thing. I was like, "uuuuuuuhhhhhhh, no one made it up and it gradually came about."

Later that week he hit me with, "what is Asia like?" and "why do some people think money is so important?" Both good questions and honestly I was surprised about him picking up on money thing at such a young age.

He is such a thinker and has been challenging me with questions from an early age. A few years ago, he was the king of questions like, "what if the sun were the moon and the moon the sun?" or, and this one cracked me up, "if you dug a hole to China, you dig down so when you get there are you going to come up out of your hole or fall out of it?"

I love this about him; that he doesn't just take the world at face value but wonders about it all.

My Crisis Kit Essentials

I love books and am an avid reader so naturally, when I have a problem or need information, I read a book that deals with my current question or issue. That is how over the years I have wound up reading some real page turners like a book about special education law (useful knowledge and can also double as a sleep aide), a book on the history of mental retardation in America (not happy reading for a mother of a developmentally disabled child - I still have nightmares about that book), and more recently books on back issues. Riveting stuff I know.

Just recently I picked up a book about persistent pain called "The Pain Chronicles". Let's face it, I would much rather be reading something like "What to Do When You Win the Mega-zillionaire Jackpot", but unfortunately, pain chronicles is where I find myself right now.

Reading the book has made me think a lot about how I deal with the pain issues I have had the last year and the things that I tell myself about it all. Some methods I have are pretty decent and healthy and some are a bit self defeating. Among my two favorite and long time coping strategies are music and chocolate.

I love music almost as much as I love books. My kids can attest to the fact that there is often music playing in our house or even better, I am frequently found walking around the house with my ipod on, ear buds in and sometimes singing at the top of my lungs (mostly just to make my audience of two laugh). What I listen to often depends on my mood. My go-to I am sad music would be anything from REM's Automatic For the People or from The National's latest album, which is so melancholy that it would turn the happiest person somber after one chorus. If you hear me listening to Tool or Perfect Circle, know that I am probably pissed about something or at someone and it would be best to back away and not make eye contact. If I am happy, well, anything goes but right now Arcade Fire's, The Suburbs does the job. All of it evokes some emotion in me and can definitely help me cope with whatever is going on in my life.

My other trying to cope friend is chocolate. Preferably dark chocolate in some sort of baked form like a brownie, molton chocolate babycake, or my new love, the brewer's malt blondie. If I am stressed about something, you can be sure there will be a dessert in my near future. Not the healthiest strategy but I figure it beats hard drinking and street drugs.

Yes, I also have more meaningful ways to cope like talking to my husband, a man who deserves some sort of medal for patiently listening to all the complaining over the past year, or my parents but the music and the chocolate, while a bit superficial, are always available in a pinch and I think will always be a part of my coping toolbox.

Wow, 9 Years Old!!

Yesterday was Ethan's 9th birthday. I cannot believe my baby is 9 years old! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was sitting in the hospital waiting for him to come. That day was such an odd mix of emotions. The whole 9/11 thing had happened the day before and I just felt sad and upset about that but then I was excited to meet this new person coming to our family.

In honor of Ethan's birthday, here is a short list of some of the things I absolutely adore about him.

* I love that he is a total foodie and has been from birth. Literally minutes out of the womb, that kid wanted to eat. When he was a toddler if you were eating anything near him, he would come over, pudgy hand outstretched and say, "some, some" over and over until you fed him. His nickname is Munchee because he is such a food man.

* I love his zany sense of humor and how he sees humor in the world around him. I also love that if you get him laughing, his laugh turns into this cackle that is just hilarious to listen to.

* I love how even now at 9 years old when he is asleep he makes this sound with his mouth that he has made since he was a baby.

* I love his very strict sense of right and wrong. He is a rule follower and is incensed when someone else doesn't follow the rules.

* I love how compassionate he is toward other people. Every teacher or leader he has ever had has commented on how he is always concerned if anyone in the group is upset and how he tries to make it better.

* I love how he treats his brother. Having an older brother who needs you to read things for him or who asks for your help all the time has to be annoying but Ethan is always so sweet about helping Drew with things.

* I love his spirit of adventure. He loves to do and see new things. When we hike, he explores every nook, cranny and boulder that we pass. After travelling this summer, he is already asking where we are going next.

Happy 9th birthday Ethan! I love you so much and am so proud to be your mother.

World's Slobbiest Vizsla

We recently bought some new dog food that has pieces of shredded chicken mixed in with the kibble. Ella has decided that those chicken bits are the best thing ever. Her new method of eating is to take a mouthful of food from the bowl, spit the entire mouthful out onto the floor and eat out the only the chicken bits.

One of my personal favorite techniques is when she decides to eat while we are eating. Her food is in the dining room and we are eating at the kitchen table. She will transport her mouthful of dog food to the kitchen, spit it on the floor and then eat her chicken bits. I am then left with bits of dog food strewn all about the house.