Busy busy bees
First things first — I made it 16 days of straight blogging before tumbling off the NaBloPoMo bandwagon. It guess it was harder than I thought it would be!
Life is busy, as it is for pretty much everyone I know these days. Gone are the days when I could tappity-tap out a couple of posts on my breaks — remember like a zillion years ago when I had a “real” job and worked OUTSIDE OF MY HOME? — and blogging once or even twice a day was no big deal.
Between preschool, D’s gymnastics, my gymnastics, his swimming (which is over now!), my work, Darling Husband’s work, social commitments, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and, like, SLEEPING, it feels like the days are flying by faster than I can count (which is slowly, actually, since I’m terrible at math).
Everyone always talks about how busy they are (me, included). I know I was busy before we had kids, too, but I was certainly NOTHING LIKE THIS.
I know this is terrible, but sometimes I feel really, really envious of retired/semi-retired people — or people whose children have grown up — who seem to have LIMITLESS leisure time. They’ll do, like, NOTHING in the run of a day except some shopping or errands, watching TV, and maybe elaborate baking or sewing (if they’re really ambitious).
I also find myself jealous of child-free adults who seem to do nothing but watch TV, eat, and craft/pursue hobbies in their leisure time. (But then they complain about lack of time or motivation and I get kind of twitchy, so it’s best not to think about it)
Basically, I think I’m jealous of anyone who has plenty of time to (A) eat at a normal pace (B) watch more than one TV show a day (C) pursue their interests/passions (D) truly have those “do nothing” days that I’m pretty sure I used to have a million years ago.
But then I feel bad about the jealousy, because — when I take a deep breath and squish out all of my jealous feelings — I know that I love my life.
Yes, it’s insanely busy and hectic most of the time.
Yes, I miss having (some? any?) time to devote to my hobbies.
Yes, I often feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of WORK it takes to keep everything together — both personally and professionally — and wish I could just shrug off my responsibilities and do nothing but binge-watch TV and eat Doritos.
But it won’t be this busy forever. As D and C grow up, they will need me less and less. I’ll have more time to devote to crafting and sewing and taking care of myself. I’ll have time to have long baths and watch bucket-loads of TV with Darling Husband. I’ll miss those shrill little demands, the wailing coming from the baby monitor, and the constant messes. I know I will.
This is exactly the life I’d hoped to have, and how many people can say that?
D-D-D-D-Dora
Just got in from the Dora the Explorer concert, and BOY ARE MY EYES TIRED (of rolling them).
No, no, I kid. It was fine. It was thrilling for D to watch Dora, Boots, Benny, Isa, Tico, Swiper, Backpack, Map, and some random stars (?) dance and sing on stage. I took him to two concerts when we was two (The Wiggles and Imagination Movers), so this was his first one as a three-year-old. He definitely got a LOT more out of it this year.
Me? Oh, I was more interested in the costumes, and wondered if there were girls inside the girl characters and boys inside the boys, or just a random mix. I also tried to peek backstage (we were really close to the front), because I love backstage-y moments. There was a bit of actual dancing (mainly with the background characters, like the numbers), so I loved those moments.
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| Photo credit |
As a show, no, it wasn’t as good as the Imagination Movers. Their show was absolutely amazing, and was a legitimately good rock show for the parents to enjoy, too. It also lacked the flash of The Wiggles’ show, which was staged and presented extremely well (even though it wasn’t a favourite, since we’re not big Wiggles-watchers in our house).
The Dora show was … exactly like the TV show.
I don’t care for the TV show.
So …
But D loved it, and that’s what counts. He was really excited during the first act, but his excitement went to cosmic level during intermission. I think the sugar from the ice cream at the restaurant beforehand (and, uh, the 7-Up, not gonna lie) kicked in, and he was going ballastic with joy as he waited “for da lights to come off again and the curtains TO OPEN AGAIN and DORA come out again!”
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| D could barely keep still, he was so excited |
I love special one-on-one dates with my boy, and it was a great event. I only wish it had ended a little better. Because, uh, you know, as soon as the show ended, he happily declared “I want to watch it AGAIN!” and then I had to explain the whole LIVE THEATRE thing.
The mom in front of me chuckled sympathetically and said “It’s not a DVR.” Oh, but wouldn’t it be great if it WAS? (I would watch Wicked eighty times in a row, and then binge-watch Phantom, The Book of Mormon, and Avenue Q).
But poor D just wanted more. He sobbed “I want Dora and da concert AGAINNNN!” prettttttty much nonstop from when I dragged him up the aisle of the theatre until I deposited him in his bed, here at home. That also involved dragging/carrying him through a massive university campus to our very-far-away parking spot, and an 80-minute drive home.
Thanks for the fun, Dora. The next time you have a concert, can you maybe play FOREVER so I can avoid dealing with a tantrum like that? Or maybe just come home with us? Thanks in advance.
xoxo
Bouncy bouncy bouncy
I took gymnastics when I was about three or four. It was the kind of basic, no-pressure kiddie class that D is in now. I stopped by the time I was five, and never gave gymnastics another thought. I couldn’t even do handstands or cartwheels as a kid/tween, even those most of the other kids could. I was totally uncoordinated, and sports/physical activity didn’t interest me in the slightest.
D (age three) is in his second year of gymnastics, and he loves it. It’s perfect for him, because (A) he’s really coordinated, and (B) he has lots of energy to burn.
Towards the end of his class last year, someone told me they had an open session for adults once a week. At first I was like WHAAAAT you couldn’t possibly mean ME. But then I thought “Trampolines???” and suddenly I was showing up. Every week.
During the 90-minute session, we did 30 minutes or so of warming up and conditioning — jumping jacks, sprinting, PANT PANT PANT — which was kind of exhausting for my totally-not-in-shape self. Then we were turned loose in the gym, and got to do whatever we wanted. I mostly just bounced like mad on the trampolines, but I also made a big effort to steer clear of whatever the “real” gymnasts were doing — because wow, a lot of these adults were former and CURRENT (!) GYMNASTS and this was SERIOUS TO THEM. They weren’t just here to bounce, y’all.
Oh, and a lot of them were 17. There’s nothing like seeing a toned, agile 17-year-old in a unitard to make your 29-year-old self wince.
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| Me, after one of the open gym sessions last year |
This year, the gym decided to offer a class for adults — specially, adults like me who were intimidated by the swarm of current/former gymnasts in the open session. So I immediately signed up, along with a few other mom-types who also wanted to get some exercise and do something new.
I’ve been loving the class, guys. It kicks my butt, but that’s a good thing. Our coach (oooh, it makes me sound so GYMNAST-Y to say “coach”) runs us through a warm-up (jogging, sprints, jumping jacks, skipping) and then we all move around to different areas of the gym.
- Parallel bars: Ow. We don’t do crazy flips and stand on them (actually, some of the better people in my class do!). I mainly just hang on them, and tuck up my legs, or have to swing them out to the slide. Ow. Ow. Ow. Hanging there, holding up my weight, KILLS my hands (which apparently are soft and not-calloused and that’s how I’d like to keep them thankyouverymuch)
- Floor: I love the bouncy feeling of a gymnastics floor. I just start bouncing up and down lightly whenever I stand on it. It’s irresistible! During our floor time, we do handstands (I try), cartwheels (I try), summersaults down or up a wedge, push-ups, sit-ups, crunches, hopping on one foot, sprints, etc. The floor at our club is pretty grotty and smelly when you get up close to it, but when you’re exhausted, you don’t care. You lay face-down on it and it’s the most comfortable place EVER.
- Balance beams: I do like beams, because I can see my balance improving every week. We walk along them and do “dips” (dipping our legs down below the beam gracefully as we walk), kicks, little jaunty steppity-step things, tiny jumps (well, mine are tiny at least), cat leaps, and walking backwards. There’s something about pointing your toes while holding out your arms for balance that makes you feel very Olympian-y, at least in my books.
- Double-mini trampoline: This is a great one! It’s very bouncy. We run up to it and do one or two jumps on it, and then do a leap-forward somersault off it, onto the mat.
- Tumble Track: This is what the “tumblers” (a.k.a. Young Agile Flippers and Twisters) use for their tricks. I enjoy running down it as fast as I can and then throwing myself onto a mat. Everyone laughs at me, but it’s really fun. Oh, and we also use it for bouncing down in a row (practicing to point our toes), doing donkey-kicks (hideously unflattering crawl-type kicks), and doing tuck jumps. My tuck is a pretty sad attempt, so far, but it’s coming along.
- Vault: I look nothing like the gymnast in this picture, of course, but we do use a vault in our own way. It’s basically running really fast, bouncing one on a little trampoline, and then jumping up onto the vault and landing on both feet, and then somersaulting onto a crash mat after it.
We move between all of the areas throughout the class, and then finish up on the floor doing our final conditioning (crunches, Russian twists, stuff on a balance ball, etc.). It’s a very busy 90 minutes!
Other than my terrible, terrible coordination, the hardest part for me is my dizziness. Every time I do a somersault or turn upside down in any way, the whole world spins and it takes me about 20 seconds to recover. After eight or so weeks in the class, it’s not getting any better. I’m one of those people who can’t do spinny rides (even a ferris wheel!) so it’s not a big shock. It’s annoying, though, because you feel absolutely awful for those 20 seconds. Every. Single. Time.
And then I come home and eat peanut butter.
Every. Single. Time.
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| Post-gymnastics peanut butter FTW! |
We only have three more classes left of this session, and I’m definitely going to sign up for the next one (which will start in January). I have no desire to do a cartwheel or handstand (nor do I think I EVER COULD), but I love bouncing, I love feeling like I’m improving my balance, and the conditioning is brutal/awesome.
What do you think? Is “adult gymnastics” something you’d try? Or should I just buy a trampoline and get my bouncing out of my system in the comfort of my own backyard?
Craftin’ with my homies
Is it just me, or are there SO MANY CHRISTMAS CRAFT options that you could do them every evening?
Like we have.
Running low on red and green sequins. Send supplies. Over and out.
(D asks every day when we will “make” the Christmas tree. December 1 is our usual day, but this is the first year I’ve had a child begging to do it. So … sooner?)
P.S. This whole NaBloMo-thing is freaking exhausting. Why do I keep only remembering to post at 10:54 p.m. when I’m about to close my eyes? Like with the Elf on the Shelf! And then I frantically tap out an entry on my phone just so that I don’t miss a day? And drop the phone on my face because I’m typing upside-down? Ugh. Good night!
xoxo
(NOTE on Nov. 16: I wrote and published this post from my phone on Thursday (Nov. 14), but just realized now that it failed to post. So I didn’t miss a day of this NaBloMo-thing — swearsies!)
Crafting from recyclables: Make a homemade wagon from a diaper box
NOTE: Over on Instagram, I promised my pal Melissa from The Bix Blog a post about my adult gymnastics class, but I didn’t get it finished today. Tomorrow for sure!
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So remember last Halloween when I made a Thomas the Tank Engine costume for D from an old disposable diaper box?
Oh yeah, it was epic! Paper mache, paint, the whole deal.
He loved it, and he still plays with it a year later! So this year, I decided to make another costume element using a diaper box.
Except, uh, less time-heavy!
So here’s how to make a farmer’s wagon in a few verrrrry easy steps …
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| Take a diaper box and cut out HALF of the bottom (as a place for the legs) |
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| Take the piece you cut out of the bottom, and tape it to form a divider — so the wagon has a “box” (which can be used to hold their trick-or-treat bag! |
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| Cover the outside of the box in plain brown kraft paper, doodle some “wood grain” with crayons and markers, and glue on some wheels made from cardstock. Oh, and then coat the entire thing in strips of clear packing tape, to make sure it holds up some rough play!
If you’re feeling really ambitious, poke a few holes in the front and use zip-ties to hold a toy horse in place. Phillipe loved “pulling” D’s wagon. (He names all horses Phillipe, after the horse in Beauty and the Beast) |
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| One very happy little farmer! |
I have to say, this project is just as cute as the Thomas, and it took SO much less time. Now I’m wondering what else I can make out of a diaper box. Maybe an airplane?
Happy crafting!
xoxo
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Heather's Handmade Life 
