Dinner is done
Thursday, March 3, 2011
cortneyandjon in arts & crafts, cooking, reading

I love crockpot meals. Morning, after all, is when I have the energy to cook, not at five o'clock, or even four. Let's get dinner made before lunch. Even better, let's make dinner before we even get out of our pajamas.

I have a very jolly helper.

And yes, I realize that some days it looks like we never get out of our pajamas. Even on a week day. And yes, I'll admit, it doesn't just look that way, it probably is that way. Life looks pretty good from comfy pajamas, plus it cuts down on laundry. When we go places, though, we get dressed, and most days we go places even if just to the library. Today we needed art supplies, and time to drool over rows of pretty spring textiles. We have a number of projects planned.

We also stopped by the bakery to order our paczkis for next Tuesday, and, yes, the library for some new books. Calvin's piano teacher (not Jon) described music learning as happening in waves, an ebbing and flowing tide, but I think this is not restricted to music learning alone. I think it describes all learning, and maybe even life. Months ago Calvin first started to read, and his reading has been improving slowly but steadily since then, until about two weeks ago when I noticed in the car that he was reading signs like a crazy man. Then I noticed it in the stores, and then at home. It's as though he has broken through another barrier. I'll often find him now, curled up in a corner with a book that we used to read to him, and hear him whispering the words to himself. This is not something we've worked on together, it's something that happened when I wasn't really looking. Then he asked me today to check out a Franklin (the turtle) reader from the library. It was a level two reader and I was worried about frustration, so I asked him to have a look at it with me first. He promptly sat down and read the whole thing to me. We brought home three Franklin readers, all in level two.

I love this. I love his love for reading. I cannot describe how much I love this.

I love this, too, the part of our table now relegated to craft center, making it possible for him to pick up paints and get to work any time he feels like it. He has two new long term painting projects underway and I can't wait to see where he's going with them.

And he read to me while I made biscuits to go with our crockpot dinner.

Yes, I did just say while I made biscuits to go with our crockpot dinner, the dinner that we finished making while still in our pajamas so that we wouldn't have to do any cooking later. Some days there's just enough energy left for things like homemade biscuits.

Article originally appeared on Cortney and Jon Ophoff's Family Site (http://www.theophoffs.com/).
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