Joseph can have an opinion about ANYTHING. And EVERYTHING!

I am trying very hard not to let Joseph become the dictator in our house. But it really is a challenge. This morning I cut into my grapefruit, my favorite morning indulgence. I set one half in my bowl and, on cue, Joseph announced, "no mom, eat THAT half first!" Seriously??? Actually, this has happened before, and since it is usually 5:30 or 6 in the morning and I therefore cannot be held accountable, and since I really don't care which half I eat first, I tend to let the prince have his way. I knew at two Joseph would have opinions about some things. I figured he wouldn't always agree with bed time. He might want to play a different game. But, he has soooooooo many opinions. Like about:

• which CD to listen to
• which song on the CD to listen to (he asks by number, "I want 23, 'Ol' Man Tucker' ")
• how loud the music should be (clearly music and CDS are a major interest right now)
• what to wear. which shirt. what matches what. which outfit need which shoes.
• of course what to do and when.
• which book to read. oh, and which part he "reads" and what I read. and how to read it-loud or with a funny voice, etc. . .
• which road I should take. really. If I go a different way home he had been known to freak.
• what goes where.

Ok, it's late and that's all I can think of offhand. There's tons more. And each opinion is usually quite strongly held. For the most part I love that he is such an individual. I do believe that this feistiness will get him places in life, if I can just learn to channel it right. I really am working on setting limits and being the one who decides when to give choices and what things are have-tos.
But, spend all day with the kid and you will give in too. I promise.

Dr. Steam

Today Joseph introduced me to "Dr. Steam" his miniature little sister. She has blue eyes and lives in a blue tree house (in our Fichus tree). She likes treats and m&ms, the letter T, playing with all her friends, the playground, and playgroup. Also, "she knows how her words do" which I think means she knows how to read and write (this came up while we were writing her letters).

I have no idea if Dr. Steam or her friends "Cherry-cherry" and "Chi-cho-cha-wa" will stick around. But, I LOVE the imagination. This was the most elaborate story I have heard him weave so far and it was a wonderful moment. (If you didn't know, my imaginary world was quite special to me as a child and I even did my senior psychology research on children with imaginary friends!)

Craft plans/ideas: Big dreaming

This whole crafting thing is ADDICTING. I actually took a couple days "off" and finally finished a book I have been reading (and had out of the library, oops) for six months. Sad. For some reason I either craft or read, I don't do both (not including all the book, magazine, newspaper perusing that I do). Anyways, as I have mentioned, I love coming up with the ideas; but focusing and getting down to business part a bit harder. If you don't know, there is a world of blogs out there with amazing, amazing ideas. How these people have the time for all they do, I cannot fathom. That's where I get most of my inspiration. Anyways, I decided to make a list (oh how I love lists), put it on here, and then stick to projects from this list!!

• cloth napkins
• sock-monkey
• Joseph pajama pants
• Joseph shirts with cool designs so he will actually wear them
• another flap hat to give away, just because it is fun and easy to make (free pattern here)
• pirate underwear for Joseph! (inspiration here)
• someday: A QUILT (yikes) I have been dreaming about the fabric . . .
• a sweater for me (all the yarn is sitting here waiting for me to get up the guts . . .)
• felt or knit play food for Joseph kitchen (maybe like these?)
• a book with Joseph!
• collage out of Joseph's art
• display area in Joseph room for him to put up his art
• pillows
• finish the stupid pinecone wreath I started this year at xmas and never finished (idea here)
• some art for our walls (like these pillows, but on a canvas or framed)
• paint (and fix the sheatrock and decorate) a room in the house! Starting with the very smallest and least important; the upstairs bathroom. Then: the rest of the house, minus the kitchen.
• Joseph towels to match the wash cloths I made him
• travel marker roll-up for J
• CD roll-up for J
• growth chart for J
• banner for J's birthday party
• banner for J's room

As you can see, I love to dream.

Joseph's kitchen!!!

Bob (Grandpa) and I made Joseph a new little play-kitchen!!! I am super proud of this (even though I clearly could not have done it without Bob). Lately I have really enjoyed dreaming up craft ideas, but I tend to be pretty good at the dreaming part of the process and not so good at the actually getting it done part. So it is very exciting that this one got this far. Of course I had even more ideas and plans for this, such as a curtain on the bottom (which would involve me learning how to sew) but Joseph loves it and it was really fun to make. The very best part is I didn't spend a dollar on it! Everything was found at either Father's house or mine. I also tend to spend a bit too much on my projects, so this was another great lesson. This started out as a side table we never really used:

I was trying to convince Brad to make a real nice one, but he has been so busy with work that clearly was not going to happen any time soon. So I was totally enamored when I saw this blog post (from Homemade by Jill) and through that post found this and this with tons more ideas. It is a really great project. Kids of all types, no matter age, gender, personality, etc. . . seem to love these. Happy cooking! And thank you sooo much Bob!

I love yous

I never really have been big on, "I love you." I didn't say it a lot growing up. Didn't really think it meant much anyways. But, now as a mom, it means more. I have recently made two conscious decisions regarding these words. 1) I try to say this often, and not just at the routine times (in parting and at night-night), but also unexpected moments. After a big tantrum. During dinner. Getting into the car. Just because. and 2) my parting words at night are always, "I love you forever." I intentionally choose this phrase. This is my attempt to teach Joseph that, though I may not always be with him, my love will.