Since Wren is such a fun and enjoyable kid, it can be easy to take her good nature for granted, and give into my lazy lazy homebody inclinations. When 5:00 rolls around and I realize it's getting dark outside and Wren is sort of slowly skittering into the kind of mood that's not an unequivical pleasure to be around... when she dumps all the silverware out of the drawer in the kitchen, throws the phone across the room and weeps SOOOO dramatically when I don't let her lock herself in the bathroom with all her favorite toys...
Those are the days when I wish I'd put a little more effort into getting out of the house and giving my big kid something fun to do. I mean more fun than watching Mom clean diapers or do homework or whatever.
So in the spirit of toddler stimulation, I've sort of planned a loose schedule of activities. One out-of-the-house-with-other-kids activity per day. I don't think that's too much to shoot for. I'm also thinking about joining some sort of Introverts raising Extroverts support group, but of course that won't exist, because it would have to have been started by introverts, and we don't start things, we're all at home making fun on things on the internet and making a list of what we're going to check out the next time we feel up to going to the library.
In case you can't tell from the self-flagellatory tone of this post, today was one of those days when I didn't leave the house. Except for lunch, when Lazlo kindly shuttled me to Wendy's for a botched mayo-less chiken sandwhich. That interaction was enough for the day for me. But not for poor Wren. I remember frequently to try to talk to her throughout the day, but look at this sentence- "I remember to try..." Come on. Who tries to remember to talk to their child? Yeah. She just found a pair of needle nose pliers and those probably are not the best choice for playtime. Good thing Lazlo the Extrovert is coming home soon.
Anybody who reads this blog knows I don't post much. (This is not mosesface-style self abasement. I feel no guilt about my lack of blogging. Any sensible person these days uses a feed reader like Google Reader or Bloglines so that they don't have to check the page every day to see if we have posted.) When the blog started, I had interesting hobbies and -- amazingly enough -- more of a social life (in Durham!) than I do now. I've always had an unofficial policy that I don't write about religion (theology) or politics. That wasn't a big deal until my life became mostly consumed with theology,* and my social life became almost negligible among the time I spend being a husband/dad, going to school, and working.
So, following Mosesface's (and godsfreedavid's) lead, here's a postcard of what's been keeping me from blogging lately:
(not pictured: beer)
In other words, everything that makes my life "interesting" and busy has also prevented me from writing about my busy and "interesting" life. BUT NO LONGER. Here are my updates:
- "You're So Vain" is no longer stuck in my head. Except that just now it is again.
- I got a great new job. It's at Fuller (like my old job), but it's better in that I make more money and do more work I really enjoy.
- Assuming that I can get into all the classes I need, I will still be graduating at the end of the Summer Quarter**.
- Various committments (including the new job), will prevent us from moving back to Austin until December or January.
And here's what I'm looking forward to lately:
- GRADUATING. I love school, but I'm ready to spend a lot less time doing homework, and a lot more time with the activities and people pictured above.
- Visiting Austin during SXSW! Our friends Bodies of Water may be playing there, and we're going regardless of whether they do or not.
AND FINALLY, here's where I resolve to post more. I've decided to loosen my self-imposed injunction against theological topics on the blog, and I'm going to start posting interesting*** tidbits I've learned in my classes recently. So, here's today's:
Many scholars believe that the description in Revelation 19:11 of the rider on the white horse is meant to evoke the image of the Parthian cavalry, who the Romans were unable to defeat in battle. Thus the interpretation that the Revelation is referring to the Church's "defeat" of Rome -- the armies of heaven (also on white horses; 19:14) being the church, and the beast's army being the Roman Empire.
*For instance -- the blog I most look forward to reading lately is this one.
**For the grammarians out there, I know that seasons are usually not capitalized, but Fuller does capitalize the names of our quarters, so cram it.
***Warning: may not be interesting.
I haven't mentioned it before, but Lazlo and I got a family pass to the LA Zoo from my Aunt Franny this year, and we've been going probably every other weekend at least. I thought the zoo might make me sad, but most of the animals have pretty nice habitats. This one poor jaguar though... just pacing back and forth in this tiny rectangle. That was pretty disheartening.
But like I was saying, the orangatans have an awesome space, and the chimps in this picture, if you get there at the right time, will be right up against the glass, interacting with visitors (interacting in this sense means mostly spraying urine and feces, with a side of vicious hooting, but still...).
There's also a petting zoo, that maybe should advertise itself a little more clearly as a GOAT petting zoo, since that's the only animal available for actual petting. And there are lions and bears, and tons of seals and sea lions. It's a really cool place, which is unfortunately also full of really terrible smells.
That's all I have today- the zoo = awesome.
Also, we're still doing the cloth diapers with Wrennel, and now that she's getting bigger, and seems sort of interested in diaper changes, and their relationship with the big girl potty... does anyone know of cloth pull-ups? Or if there's some sort of next step for cloth diapers? Or do I just need to switch finally to regular diapers? Thanks for the help.
I just got this message in my inbox:
You do. And of course you are Jim of the Rats. Welcome, welcome
sheot shearing. May all your fleeces be giant ones. But an indulgence
cheek, then waved Floyd to her. Help me carry him. Jim will have
And waving weapons, Steengo said grimly. Here we go again.
draped in gold cloth. Iron John, I presume?
that youre good, Jim. I knew you could at least hold him. Im sorry
donations to charity in the entire galaxy had been sent here-and they
stairs and on to the ground floor.
Steengo will verify his reports. There is a lot more to be cleaned up
A bit hungover are we? Steengo asked cheerfully. I suppose there
I just hope Steengo, Jim and Iron John can work this out.
And I can get in line with hoping all the fleeces will be giant ones. I spun about 3 inches of my roving into yarn before moving it to its new home in the bottom of a crafting bin, but someday I'd like to try again, and fleeces can be pricey. I think a herd of cats might be less disruptive to the drop spindle process than Wren.
Speaking of Wren-
She is screaming from several rooms away. If she wins this battle or wills, it will be the third consecutive day with no nap. I was really looking forward to some Wren-less crafting time. And I was also hoping to put some new pictures up, but from the sound of it, that's not going to happen. She's moved quickly today through the screams of rage and indignation and is now into the hiccups of stinging betrayal and hopelessness. I thought a wild morning at the Fuller Wives group followed by half and hour on the playground would wear her out. I even thought (foolish Baby) that she'd fall asleep in the car on the way home. No such luck. I've done the whole sitting-in-the-room-until-she-falls-asleep thing. but she never actually falls asleep, so....
If God is just, my mother tells me, then Wren will never take a nap again. Because she prayed over me so many times as a napless toddler that I would be cursed with such a child. And this is the woman who's asking for Christmas pictures. Yeah right. You're lucky we don't sign up to be teachers at the Friends School in the West Bank.
I should probably go check in on Wrennel and make sure she doesn't hyperventilate. I'm pretty sure I've lost nap battle (and perhaps the Nap War) today as well. Maybe we could just work on a "sit in the crib by yourself even if you're not actually sleeping" time. Good for everyone, especially me. In fact, I remember my mom using this on me as well. She called it "time to rest your bones".
