JustJessie

Roasting Marshmallows

What a weekend!

This weekend was the kind that boyhood dreams are made of.  Dreams of firing guns, shooting arrows, campfire songs, and hayrides; Grayson got to live them all.  To quote him on Saturday, just before he fell asleep, "This day was fun non-stop all day long." 

My whole family (ten total) was invited to spend the weekend at Lightnin's house and attend his family's annual hayride and bonfire.  Miss Judi put us all up for the weekend and fed us so well she's lucky we didn't decide to move in permanently.  It's a brave soul that invites ten people into her home to begin with, but considering that nine of those are married to or came from a Compton, I think she deserves some kind of a medal!

I couldn't have had a better weekend.  I love to watch my boys experience new things.  I love spending time with my family.  I love getting to know these people who have known and loved my dad since he was a kid.  I love that I got to spend time with my brother's new girlfriend, and she is just as great as he made her out to be.  I love road trips when the kids are asleep, and Jeff and I get to talk quietly with no interruptions.  I'm a happy Momma right now, as long as I don't think of all that laundry waiting in our suitcase...

Back in a few!!

Hey everyone!  We're going to be spending a lot of family time this weekend, so have a good one!  I'll be back to the blog on Monday!

In our continued study of all things Native American, Grayson and I have read a lot about the white man's invasion of Indian territory and the hardships it caused them.  It's hard to read him those things and deal with the feelings they cause ("I wish I wasn't a white man, and all my blood was Indian!").  I can't justify it or explain it away.  All I can do is tell him the reasons they had at the time, and we talk about what we would have done differently if it were us.

We also set up this scene in our playroom.  In our world, the cowboys and Indians live in peace with each other.  The railroad still cuts through Indian territory, but the cowboys asked nicely for it and struck a compromise with their neighbors. They are very friendly with each other, and share the hunting grounds and water supply fairly. 

While I can't protect him from the ugly things in history, I hope that through play-acting he will learn valuable lessons from them.

Pumpkin Painting

The Anne-Girl

I know I've drilled the whole "I love fall" theme into the ground, but allow me one more post.  I swear I'll try to make it my last (emphasis on try). 

Every fall since I was preggers with Grayson, I have read the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery.  It's not that those books have anything in particular to do with fall, I think it's more the feeling they evoke when I read them.  They sort of calm me down after the summer, and help me settle into the rhythm of cool quiet evenings and indoor pursuits.  Truth be told, they make me wish with all my heart to have lived on Prince Edward Island in Victorian times.  I'm an old-fashioned kind of girl anyway, and I can just see myself strolling along the "white way of delight" or sewing alongside Marilla in the cozy kitchen at Green Gables.  (Yes, I'm flying my dork flag high today, but this is me. Like it or lump it).

Jeff knows what Anne means to me, as well.  I'll never forget our first "Anne-fest."  It was in the days of small apartments and no children.  Jeff surprised me one evening by pulling our mattress and piles of pillows and blankets in front of the tv, where we watched all four videos of the Anne movies together.  That's no small feat, either, considering the whole event lasts about six hours, and I cry like a baby every thirty minutes. 

I've only skimmed the surface here, but you can see there are reasons upon reasons why I love Anne.  If you are a reader, I encourage you to pick up a copy at the library and visit Avonlea with me these next couple of weeks (I have to read the whole series, you know).  At the least, go rent the movies.  I promise you won't be sorry!

*Photo lifted from the PEI tourism society.

One Little Indian

There are lots of things that come and go around here, but one thing tends to remain the same.  Grayson is always ready to play Indians.  His fascination started when he was three years old, and his Nana told him stories about her ancestors.  That Halloween he wanted an Indian costume, which his GaGa made for him (I wasn't sewing yet).  She wisely made it a size too big, so that even though it's almost too small now, he's gotten two good years of playtime out of it. 

The costume came with a pouch for holding arrows and such, but which Grayson promptly declared to be his "loon cloth" (he says it the right way now, but to us it'll always be a loon-cloth).  I have mountains of memories of him playing "naked Indian" in nothing but his beloved loon-cloth and a head-dress.  He's outgrown that, embarassment clouding his enjoyment when people giggle at his "nakedness."

Just like any good Indian, his name has evolved with him over the years as well.  His first Indian name was Hiawatha, chosen after a drum and poetry session in which I read him the famous poem.  Over the summer he bacame Hoho-Ashki (meaning fishboy in Navajo) because he lived in the swimming pool.  Now he is young Chief Red Cloud, chosen after a war chief we read about here. 

We've just begun studying the local tribes and customs in preparation for an upcoming trip to the Indian mounds here in Alabama.  So, if you see us out and about this week, I'm afraid you won't be seeing Grayson with me.  You will see the fearless Red Cloud, in full costumed glory.  For your sake, do not giggle nor make the grave mistake of calling him "Grayson." 

Perfect Punkin'

Ten things that made me smile today

1.  My wake up call.  A warm little body sneaking into my room then snuggling on top of my back.

2.  Wild blond hair, squinty blue eyes, and a slightly buck-toothed grin accompanied by Grant's first words of the day, "My hawm-wee (hungry)."

3.  Chilly morning air as a perfect compliment to my morning coffee.

4.  Jeff's smile as we rounded the corner to visit him at lunch.

5.  Hearing Grayson tell his cousin, "Kayla, you are just CUTE!"

6.  Riding down the road with the music up, windows down, sunroof open.

7.  Watching Kayla tie Grayson to a tree stump in a game of cops and robbers.

8.  Grant dancing. (lips pooched, arms swinging, booty shaking)

9.  Kids singing karaoke.

10.  Grant's warning to Grayson at his last diaper change of the day, "No, no, Bubba!  No touchy mah hiney!"  (For the record, Grayson was nowhere near his hiney.  I guess he was laying down the ground rules.)