'Shhh...daddy's sleeping!'

I've never said 'shhh...daddy's sleeping!'.  But my husband has certainly said 'shhh...mommy's sleeping!' whilst tip-toeing around.  In fact, I'd say that he's pretty much always taking care to not disturb my slumber.  If and when daddy wakes up before mommy on the weekends, he slips quietly out the bedroom door and coordinates the party from Poppy's room.  

Unfortunately for them, daddies are not granted this same courtesy.  When mommy wakes up life stampedes noisily into the bedroom in the form of Meet The Press, the dog, and, before you know it, the baby is in the matrimonial bed too.  

Meanwhile daddy has burrowed his head under the comforter to nurse his vain hope that he'll be able to continue sleeping with a dog and a baby crawling on him.  And it certainly doesn't help matters that mommy keeps requesting that daddy's bagel delivery service be expedited this morning:  

'I'll take my usual, honey lamb: cranberry with low-fat almond cream cheese, please'.  

Poor daddies.  

Well, Pam Allyn does what she said she would do – she tells us what to read and when.  She also tells us why we should read these books and gives us some suggestions about how we should read them.  It’s like she’s helping us to cultivate our own little familial book clubs*.   


So yea, here are my big takeaways from the book:

1) Why is ‘the read-aloud’ so important?  
-It’s the most effective way to inspire your kid to establish the lifelong habit of reading early and often (plus reading aloud is nurturing and shows that you care).  


2) How should we, logistically, go about all this reading?  Where should we read?
-One of my biggest takeaways is that I should keep baskets of books everywhere: in the kitchen, on the dining table, next to Poppy’s bathtub, next to my bed, etc..  You can categorize these baskets by author, by genre, by language, by interest, etc..  Pam’s main point on this front: books belong everywhere because lifelong readers read everywhere.

-Pam suggests that we not rush the read-aloud.  Let's take some time here, make ourselves comfortable, and savor the read-aloud.  Having said that, if you've had a long day and you’re tired, it’s totally okay to consolidate bath time and read-aloud time.  I’ve already ordered some of Pam's suggested bath time reads, including  Do Pirates Take Baths? (when I read her description of this book as a ‘bouncy jaunt through the daily activities of pirates’, I was like 'Sold!').
   

3) What should we read and when?
-Reading from a diverse variety of genres is good for everyone involved; Pam describes genres as ‘containers for thinking’.

-I enjoyed her discussion of the kinds of books we should read with 2-3 year olds.  This is the time to integrate ‘interest development’ books and to ‘be on the lookout this early for your child’s passions and interests.  They are there, and can be nurtured through your connections with your child through literature.’  


Last night, when Poppy's twitchiness was confined to the lobster**, Matt and I read Madeline to her (actually, I was the only one doing any reading).  Pam Allyn considers this to be a 'landmark book'.  She mentions Madeline  again later in her list of kids books that address the theme of 'Being Yourself'.

'something is not right!' -miss clavell

So basically, if we read these stories to our kids, we will arm them with ideas, values, and perspective – they will never be alone, and neither will we.





*Oh man, book clubs.  I’ve never done the book club thing, but I’ve always sort of wanted to.  Whenever I sign up for one I just end up canceling (ah...the canceling of plans; now there's a pastime that never ceases to provide instant gratification). 

**see  http://www.poppyadventures.com/2013/03/plugging-in-pop-tart.html 


https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1356759.Pam_Allyn

'It's Not Fitness, It's Life' (and can provide you with diversified, beautiful solitude)

Q: What is literally the best thing ever?  
A: gym childcare

they're getting ready to go to the gym

Equinox, in particular, has an excellent thing going on.  It's got everything: beautiful and inspiring internet billboards, healthy food, an excellent shop (called 'The Shop') in which you can purchase leisurewear and sportswear, ambient lighting, a treadmill, gossipy commercial real estate guys – you name it.  

They've even got a little childcare nook.  It has sparkly blue floors and costs $10 per day.  Now...there's probably some sort of time constraint on that, but I can't speak to it personally.  Here's what we have to work with: 

KIDS' CLUB HOURS
MON - FRI = 8:00am - 2:00pm; 4:00pm - 7:30pm
SAT & SUN = 8:00am - 1:00pm

they just got back from the gym

When you sign your kid in they give you this beeper thing and tell you that it's for contacting you 'in the event that there's some sort of emergency with your child'.  Despite the benign nature of this claim, when they first handed me that beeper I couldn't help but think that it had an undisclosed function – perhaps the ability to detect you leaving the building?  Hence the following experiment: an illicit errand...outside the gym.  

Yep, I did a non-exercise-related errand – I drove the 2 miles back down to our lovely apartment and basked in beautiful silence for 15 minutes.

So, now we know.  Now we know the answer: the gym childcare pager thingy is a one-dimensional communication device, not a tattle tale GPS.

Ladies (those of you who have some offspring on your hands), here we have yet another reason to work out.  It's not fitness, it's liberation.  

don't you love Equinox's steamy ads?

Drunken Sailor Phase

Going places with Poppy is generally a bumpy proposition.  I don't know exactly why it's a drunken sailor phase, but the label does seem to suit Poppy's current state of mobility: wobbly, unpredictable, easily distracted.  For example, we'll be walking down the hall on our way from the apartment to the elevator, and Poppy will plop down on the floor and poise herself for a nap – her body language making her intentions clear:  'Mommy, I've changed my mind about this.  Let's rest a bit.'   

Then she takes off one shoe (the right one) even though I asked her not to.