Lydia's Bubble Shooter

O my sweet bubble gun,
You are just a bundle of fun!
Everyday you bring me such joy,
Yes! You are my favorite toy!

One day we stopped off at Wal-Mart,
I hitched a ride on my mommy's cart.
Yahoo!  Now it was finally time
To spend my collection of nickels and dimes.

Rainbow Play-Doh I didn't pick.
My Little Pony just didn't click.
But in the last aisle on the bottom shelf,
Was a cardboard box I could reach myself.

And there you were.

To my childish and utter delight,
With a click of a trigger danced a twinkle of lights!
And a gazillion bubbles frolicked in the air,
Just like the packaging told me ... right here.

So I sit all day on my front porch,
Holding my gun like the Olympic torch.
Sparkling lights and a myriad of bubbles,
Help to keep me out of many a trouble.

You're soapy, slimy and slippery, for sure,
But against my addiction there is no known cure.
I'll giggle, squeal, laugh and shout,
Until all the magical juice runs out.

Then I'll fill you again.

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#4 - Write a poem about your child's favorite toy.

small things {sit-n-spin}

small things #33 ... sit-n-spin

I always wanted a Sit-n-Spin.  As a kid, I lamented the lack of a Sit-n-Spin in our home.  In fact, the story goes that as a youngster, when gifted a See-n-Say, I celebrated, sat and sproinged the spinner.  Proof that a See-n-Say does not substitute well for a Sit-n-Spin.

As an advocate for spinning, I made sure that we had a Sit-n-Spin for our kids.  And we have now been the proud owner of two.  The first was great until some little person tried to sit-n-spin with it turned upside down.  Oops.  The second is still sitting and still spinning.

Just the other day, Lydia renewed her love of sitting and spinning, bringing the Playskool spinner up to the family room from it's banishment to the basement.  At first she was insistent about helping Baby S to sit and spin, but upon realizing that Baby S didn't want to sit or spin, she let her go.  Now she happily totes the spinner from room to room and sits and spins to her heart's delight.

Most recently under the kitchen table.

She sits cross-legged with her little chubby calves pressed agains the post of the Sit-n-Spin.  She grips the disc with both hands and by some strange three-year old intuition, pulls in the opposite direction to start up her momentum.  She giggles.  She laughs.  She leans in toward the center in a tight ball.  She stops and looks up at me with a dizzy grin.

Her glazed eyes tick, tick, tick back and forth.  Attempting to stop the world from spinning.

Yep.  I always wanted a Sit-n-Spin.  But now I get dizzy just watching my baby.

Sit-n-Spin ... a childhood memory that is best left in my childhood.  My inner ear can't handle it.

small things {pocksicles}

small things #16 ... pocksicles

She's been asking all morning.

8:14 am - "Mommy, I have a pocksicle?"

8:47 am - "Mommy, I have a pocksicle?"

9:06 am - "Mommy, I have a pocksicle?"

9:35 am - "Mommy, I have a pocksicle?"

11:21 am - "Mommy, I have a pocksicle?"

And I had the same answer each time:  

Not right now.  How about after lunch? 

Not right now.  How about after lunch?  

Not right now.  How about after lunch?  

Not right now.  How about after lunch?

Not. Right. Now. How. About. After. Lunch?!?!

12:42 pm - "Mommy, I have a pocksicle?"

Yes!

Two giggly girls, each with a bright red popsicle in hand, run to the front door.

"You coming, Mama?"

"In a minute ... let me wash up the lunch dishes."

Over the running water, I hear a squeal and a belly laugh.  I peek around the corner of the kitchen and see two little cuties in pink plaid shorts and lady bug shirts sitting cheek to cheek on the front step.  I look back at the dishes.

Moments later, they turn their bright red smiles to me as I step out on the front porch, ice water in one hand and my own little treat in the other.  As I snack on pecans and dark chocolate pieces, I listen to my girls as they compare the different techniques in pocksicle eating.

"I'm sucking on mine to get it pointy on top."

"I like to bite 'em."

More slurping, more sucking and more licking.  And much more giggling.  Ashley finishes first and we read the joke printed on the smooth and red-stained stick ...

"Why did the foot laugh? ... Because he was toe happy!"

Maniacal laughter follows.

These snapshots of life are why I love my job.

Pocksicles ... happiness on a stick and why this mommy's "toe" happy, too.

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Prompt #5 ~Why I love my job.

Snapshots of the Heart ~ Joy

I've heard happiness and joy compared and contrasted in a number of ways.

Some say that happiness is dependent on the circumstances around you, while joy is dependent on your contentment in spite of your circumstances.  Others describe happiness as an outward expression when good things happen, while joy is a steady state of our spirits whether good things or not-so-good things happen.  Or we could say that happiness is having our eyes focused on ourselves while joy is having our hearts focused on Jesus.

This has been a good week for me to cling to joy in the midst of a number of happenings that had the potential to squelch my happiness.  Sick kids, interrupted nights, busy schedules, looming responsibilities ... all with the capacity to turn my days upside down.

But knowing that Jesus was present in the midst of all that stuff ... well, that made smiling possible.

Even if I had someone else's snot on my shirt.

Joy.  Smiling while swamped in Blurgland.

A nod to Ms. Liz Lemon for her linguistically packed word for all things unfortunate.

"May my children be filled with the 

joy given by the Holy Spirit."  

1 Thessalonians 1:6