LL Says:

The other day, Lulu was perched precariously on Husbandguy's legs. He warned her several times to sit still or move over because she was liable to fall if she didn't. And eventually she did. Fall. HG reached out and grabbed her just in time to keep her from cracking her head on the coffee table and Lulu said, "Good catch, Daddy." Like they were playing ball or something.

Poems in Our Pockets

What poem did you pick to carry with you today? You should check out Rene over at Not The Rockefellers. She's always got a poem in her pocket!

I chose A.A. Milne's "Vespers" and Pete is carrying her "Pocket Song." When I asked Lulu what poem she wanted to carry, she said, "I love Mother Goose," and since I knew she was referring to the whole collection and not the nursery rhyme called "Mother Goose," we narrowed that down to "Humpty Dumpty" (click on the title and check out the little history lesson below the rhyme). And of course, Husbandguy is characteristically disinterested.

So? What have you got in your pocket?

Termination

In conclusion
I will simply add
Go forth
In rhyme and rhythm
Without fear of judgement
Or failure.
This is your
Commencement,
The end of my challenge
And the beginning of yours.


Even though today is the last official day of National Poetry Month, please keep writing and posting poetry. I will. Check back regularly. I'll be checking up on you too!

Tomorrow

Remember that tomorrow is Poem in Your Pocket day. I am thinking about carrying "Vespers" by A.A. Milne. What poem will you be carrying?

Closer and Closer to the End

Downhill

Maybe
Sisyphus was grateful
For the break...
While the rock rolled,
He rested.
For only a moment, I know.
Then back to the push.

Or was he tempted
To tumble down after the rock?
Always easier going downhill...

Imagery

At her piano lesson this afternoon, Pete finished playing one of her pieces and then said, "Mrs. H? You know those music sidewalks that you walk on and they make sounds? When I played that piece, I felt like my fingers were a ballerina dancing on one of those sidewalks." Beautiful and fitting.

Three Days Left

The End of

National Poetry Month

In sight:

Finish line,

Tunnel-end light,

Twenty-nine...

Then thirty...

Then it's done!

Next is ONE!

A new calendar page

Poems step off stage.

Let's make a deal, though,

For real, you know?

Let's keep posting our poems!

Don't Forget

Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day is April 30. That's Thursday. You can always carry Pete's Pocket Song from last year if you're having trouble picking a poem to carry.

Sneaking

Pepperoni?

Jostle the trash can -
The old grapes almost cover the package.
What else can I throw away today?

Pizza Night is going vegetarian.
Shh...

Slap my hand and call me a failure!

Not really. But I can't believe I missed posting a poem yesterday! Or at least posting one first thing this morning and back-dating it. Oops! Guess I'll have to post 2 today...

saturday in the sun

"Pull the stem, not the berry."
"Look for the ones that are dark red all over."
"Watch out for that puddle."


Pick-Your-Own

Muddy shoes and
Hot pink cheeks.
Fingers and chins stained
With juicy dribbles,
Scarlet and sweet.
Little girls
In the berry patch.

Why I "Spill" a Little When I Fill the Bird Feeder

This little guy isn't allowed to eat from the actual bird feeder. He (or she) just ate and ate and ate after I "spilled." Lulu also likes the little birds who eat off the ground. I need to look up what those are when Pete gets home with her bird book...

LL Says:

Lulu said, "I found a great idea. A lightbulb came on in my head." I, of course, cracked up.

Last minute poeming

Uh-oh!
One minute to go!!
My poem today
Was almost a NO SHOW!!!

What's the Term for This?

Husbandguy has no use for church. Even the UU church, which is in some ways designed to attract people who have no use for church. When I started going in January, he actually seemed kind of annoyed that I had this new thing, this new pointless and useless thing, to do and wasn't particularly helpful with getting me ready and out the door. He couldn't have cared less. Even when I took Pete with me and didn't leave him to "babysit" both of the girls on his day off (don't get me started about days off - that's another issue for a person whose job is 24/7).

This past Sunday, I decided to take both girls with me because our UU church now offers a RE class for 2-3 year-olds and Lulu wouldn't have to be in the nursery with the babies for a hour-and-a-half. She could participate in something. That appealed to me and she was interested. But when Sunday morning actually came around, Pete and Lulu were more interested in playing than getting ready to go. I wasn't pushing it. I didn't feel like there was any reason to freak out about it. They knew that I was going and that they needed to get around if they wanted to go, and if they didn't want to go, they didn't have to because they could stay home with HG. Not a big deal. Why stress?

You should have seen HG, though. He was in SuperDad mode. He got the girls wrangled and interested in getting dressed and made them breakfast and found their shoes and sweaters. He was all for (almost) everyone going to church. To him, it was not optional for them to miss it. He even put on his own shoes and zoomed his car out from behind mine in the driveway (normally I have to move his car myself so I can get out). I am pretty sure that the last time he was so accommodating I was giving birth.

But I can't think of the word. Is it hypocrisy? That seems kind of harsh. But it's accurate. He finds value in attending church when it affords him some alone time. So much so that he bounds (yes, BOUNDS) out of his normally blase mantle, dons his jersey with the big "D" for Dad on the chest, and magically motivates two young children to put down their toy pots and pans and eat a bowl of cereal.

As much as I appreciate it when he helps me, I'm a little bit annoyed that it seems like there has to be something in it for him.

Yay! A Guest Poet!!

Thank you to the Grandpa for sending this for me to share with you. Thank you, TG!!



Mocking Birds at the Site of a Former Novitiate
By the Grandpa

With random noise and gnat-like wending,
They flit against the graying west
Recalling the Holy Ghost descending,
Only small and meaning less.

What flits against the graying west,
With songs as haunting as sirens’ at sea
Are only small and meaningless
Silvery specks above the trees.

With songs as haunting as sirens’ at sea,
Their white tails echo their spreading wings
Where silvery specks among the trees
Repeated songs they heard the others sing.

Here white veils echoed the spreading wings
And recalled the Holy Ghost descending,
Repeating songs that others sang
With random noise and gnat-like wending.

© copyright 2009 the Grandpa at The Word Mechanic Blog. All rights reserved.

For Lulu

Early June

Lilies'
Citrus colors
Decorate, celebrate.
We anxiously carry you home,
Newborn.

Pantoum

Check out septembermom's pantoum. You'll be glad you did!

I admit that I hadn't heard of pantoums before, but after reading hers, I had to try it myself. It turns out that it is the perfect form for the suggested topic from a couple of days ago.


The Girls at the Beach in December

They wade in for wet sand
Chasing the waves away.
Castles grow and are toppled,
Chased away by waves.

They chase the waves away
With the sound of girlish giggles.
Then the waves chase them away,
Shrieking, laughing. “Help me, Daddy!”

With the sound of girlish giggles
They leave dainty footprints in the sand.
“Help me, Daddy!” they shriek, laughing
As they scatter the gulls into the wind.


Just because there's only a week and a day left in National Poetry Month, that doesn't mean you can't still get in on our poem-a-day fun. I challenge you, whether you consider yourself a writer or not, to post as many poems between now and the end of this month (and then as much as you are able when the month ends).

Crazy 8's

Septembermom tagged me! I can't remember the last time I was tagged. Now I feel all special and whatever. Thank you, sm!

Here's my meme. It's lists of things in 8's:

8 Things That I'm Looking Forward To

1. Pete's piano recital
2. Lulu's 3rd birthday
3. my PhD appointment, week after next
4. strawberry picking
5. the principal's coffee this friday
6. baking for the principal's coffee this friday
7. ...45aA's birthday weekend
8. lunch (and dinner - I always look forward to my next meals)
   

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Target
2. gave Lulu a piano lesson
3. listened to Pete's piano lesson
4. searched the crayon box with Pete for recyclable crayons for a project at her school
5. talked to the Grandpa about his awesome surprise commenter
6. talked Lulu into actually napping
7. cleaned the kitchen floor
8. played Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass
   

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1. commit to writing more
2. take piano lessons
3. speak Spanish fluently
4. work from home
5. garden
6. have a dog
7. join the ensemble choir but not the full choir
8. not be nervous to drive on the interstate
   

8 Shows I Watch

1. The Amazing Race
2. Chuck
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Eureka
5. All My Children
6. Better Off Ted
7. Dancing with the Stars (this season)
8. The Daily Show (when I can stay awake)
   

8 People I Tag

1. you
2. and you and
3. you and
4. you
5. you
6. you
7. and you
8. and you. (maybe I'd get tagged more if I actually tagged people... hmm...)

Pete Says:

Waiting for the bus yesterday, Pete sprung this on me:

P: I just realized you being a vegetarian means you can't eat Bob Evans chili any more.
MN: Nope. You're right.
P: But you love Bob Evans chili. You're going to miss it.
MN: Probably so.
P: Wouldn't it just be easier if you started eating what everyone else eats again?

She's trying to talk me out of being vegetarian! I'm pretty sure that this past weekend she almost said, "Remember before [you became a vegetarian] when it was more fun ?" but stopped herself and rephrased before she actually said that.

Sorry, kiddo. I think it's too late...

Pete

Walking

The sound of the door opening
Turns his head and mine
But we wait -
There's no point in meeting her -
She'll come to us.

She's 7
and sleepy
and a little sweaty,
using her chihuahua to
rake her tousled hair from her eyes.

"You okay?" we ask.
"Yeah," she says, sluggish but clear.
"How 'bout I tuck you back in?"
"Mm-hmm..."

She heads off the wrong way.

In the morning
She will wake,
Her head on his pillow,
Still sleepy and damp.
And confused.

Piano Lessons

Pete's piano teacher lent Lulu and me a lesson book for very young pianists. Today was Lulu's second "lesson" (with me), and so far she's amazing. Last week she learned about high sounds and low sounds, which she talked about all week. This morning she learned about moving up and moving down, and a brief quiz in the car on the way home from Target showed that she's got that concept down too. The only problem we're having is that she isn't content to just do one lesson a week. She wanted to move right on to loud and soft after we talked about moving up and moving down and was very 2-years-old when I told her we had to wait for that. I just want to be certain she gets one concept before moving on to the next. Baby steps. We've got lots of time.

Anyway, so far so good. Wish us luck. I wish I'd had this book when Pete was tiny.

suggested topic

Thank you, septembermom and Marty, for the topic suggestion. There is most likely also a fun and cute poem coming about our winter vacations at the beach, but for now, please enjoy this cinquain.

winter
sunny and cold
wading, rolling, playing
“Remember your jackets, you two!”
the beach

Uh-oh... I'm Stuck...

Quick, somebody! Leave me a comment with a topic for a poem. I'm blank.

It should be something other than part 3 of Kah-Kahfonee, though. I promise that's being worked on, but it's not ready yet so I need filler in the meantime.

Any ideas?

repost from last year (better than nothing, right?)

The Monster Under My Bed

There’s a monster under my bed.
It’s furry with big orange paws.
Did you see it?
The tip of a whisker?
The orange tail?
The claws?!
It is really very frightening.
I’m scared!
Oh, what should I do?
I can hear it growling
And moving around under there too!!
Wait a minute...
Hold on…
What do you think?
How about that?
The growling sounds a lot like purring…
Silly me! It’s just my CAT!

A Tribute? (not a poem, certainly)

Black Fuzz

What is that?
Didn't I just vacuum that up yesterday?
How can there be more?
Where is it coming from?
It wasn't there all day...
Until he got home...
And took off HIS SOCKS!
Ew.



April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

Breaking Through

Okay. Brace yourselves. Ready?

I just got past the 10,000 word block mark in my novel. Finally.

LL Says:

Yesterday I asked Lulu what voilà means and she said, "It means there is a present going to come out!"

part 2

The Kah-Kahfonee (cont'd)

(part 1)

It crashes around
Both kinetic and still
And when it goes quiet
You will feel a chill.
You'll think, "Something is wrong.
"There's not enough noise.
"Maybe the Monster
"Has killed all the toys."

And when you go check
It will start up again
The Kah-Kahfonee will grow
Loud and louder and then
What you will learn is
That nothing can keep
The Kah-Kahfonee calm.
Well, nothing but sleep…

part 1

The Kah-Kahfonee

About this creature
You have probably heard.
You most likely thought
It was just a word.
No such luck, though.
The monster is real
It's big and it's loud and
Sometimes surreal.

The monster, it has
Four little arms
And four big eyes
And girlish charms
And two giant mouths,
The loudest you've heard.
It never whispers,
SHOUTS every word.

Blah

I'm too tired
And uninspired
To write tonight.

LL Says:

This morning Lulu (remember, she's 2) had something to show to her sister, and as she drew whatever-it-was from behind her back she said, "Voilà!"

I admit that I am one of those obnoxious braggy moms. My kids' (both of them) language skills are amazing and I like love to talk about it. But even while I recognize this, I am still constantly (and always have been) surprised by the way Lulu communicates. I often find myself asking, "Where'd she learn that?" I asked that this morning, in fact (Pete said, "From her Dora game."). It's not just that she knows a ton of words for someone who isn't even 3. It's that she has this gigantic vocabulary and understands how to use it to make the point she wants to make. She just knew that "Voilà!" was something a person would say when revealing something. And it's not only her vocabulary. There is a very mature complexity in a lot of her sentences. I have an example, but it's not a great one, but I'll tell you anyway and then try to think of a better one to post later. In the car a couple of weeks ago, we were playing the "guess what-what?-that's what!" game, and after Husbandguy and I each did it to Lulu once she said, "You get me every time! You both get me every time!!" Her own words, "You both." She heard, "You get me every time," from HG first, I think, but her giant little brain took the thought and made it bigger and her own, and I was stunned - in a good way.

At the same time, though, she is very 2-years-old. I recently had to research how to deal with temper tantrums because HG and I had forgotten that you just have to ignore them (duh!) and were getting all stressed out by the frequency of them. When those happen, Lulu's language is very pre-preschool, very age-appropriate, very exhausting. So we tell her then that we can't understand her, and eventually she gets back to talking like the rest of us again.

The other day, HG was reading to her and she stopped him and said, "Now teach me the letters, Daddy. I will read this part. You just teach me the letters." Really? She wants to read now? She's ready? Okay. So I'm teaching her "the letters."

I can't wait to hear what she comes up with next!

Terrible 2's-days

I think someone
Turned off your ears
Or at least the part
Of your brain
That hears.

I just said,
"Don't close the door.
"Don't tear that paper.
"Please sit down.
"Get up off the floor."

You're there though
On the other side of the door,
Tearing your sister's notebook,
Jumping on the wobbly chair,
And smearing yourself all over the floor.

I think
I need
You to
Nap now.



April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

Pete Says:

Mom Will Know...

MOM?!

I can't find my

Shoes

/Brush

/Book

/Jacket!

Where's the

One place

I haven't

Looked

Yet?

April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

#5 (a week late)

Just like the last
It came out in the car
And then she dropped it
Before we'd gone far.
Oh no!
So we stopped at a truck stop,
Carefully opened the door,
And there was the tooth
Right there on the floor.
Whew!


Click on the tooth fairy label to read the first 4 lost-tooth poems. Pete's first one came out last April, providing me with needed poetry inspiration and now I'm stuck writing an original poem for each lost tooth. Maybe I'll bind them into a little book when we get to the end of the baby teeth...

April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

Lulu's Diaper Change Rhyme

Another on-the-spot rhyme for a littler Lulu...

Banana Foster came from Gloucester
On a sunny day.
She met a cat.
How about that?
What else can I say?


April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

Lulu's Breakfast Rhyme

I made up this little rhyme for a much younger Lulu a long time ago...

Little Miss Monkey
Sat on her bumkey
Smelling like a rose.
Along came her sister
Who sat down and kissed her
And booped her on the nose.



April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

LL Says:

Lulu has started calling everyone "Little Buddy." We haven't ever watched Gilligan's Island so I'm not sure where it is coming from, but it's really quite cute. You've got to hear it!

Animal Song

(text removed by author - sorry)


April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

Heads Up

Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day is April 30 this year... You can always carry Pete's Pocket Song from last year if you're having trouble picking one.

Piano Lesson

Waiting room.
I chose the couch
With the view of the bench
And your back when you play.
I brought a book
Apparently just to hold in my lap.

I know all of these pieces
But at home
You fly through them
In a race with the timer,
In a hurry to do
Anything else.

Your body blocks your hands.
I see the music in your shoulders
And your back.
I want to sit next to you,
Watching your fingers or
Playing Secondo.

When it stops,
When you stop playing,
My 7 year-old reappears -
Self-conscious, uncertain, awkward.
"Um... I don't know."

If only you could be
Always confident, proud, graceful,
Always playing the piano.

I like this place.



April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

(post removed by author)


April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

Guest Poet Perfection: Pete

The water feels cold

water runs down a river

Home to many things


April is National Poetry Month so, in honor of that, several other writers and I are posting a poem-a-day for the whole month. If you decide to post a poem too, let me know and I'll post a link so we can all read it.

Check This Out

45 and Aspiring has posted a poem too. Yay! You can check it out here.

Boy

Hard to
Understand what I
See in your
Blasé attitude about
Amost everything and
Nothing.
Don't
Get
Up.
Ya-ta-ta.

Girls ii

Loud
Unique
Lovely
Untiring

Girls i

Preoccupied
Emotional
Talented
Eager to grow up

Sun

It's been very gray and rainy here recently. So much so that we've had to turn some lights on during the day from time to time. This morning, Lulu was playing with a flashlight, wandering around, shining it on the ceiling and in people's eyes and stuff. At one point she came to me and said, "Mommy? Could you turn off the light in the play room, please, so I can shine my flashlight?" The playroom was very bright and not good for flashlight shining, but here's the thing. It's not rainy today. To turn off the light in the playroom would involve some kind of science I'm not familiar with and would probably make everyone else in the whole world mad so I had to tell her that, no, Mommy cannot turn off the sun.

More from Moomie

April second
Precipitation
Water falls

(poem removed by author)

One More

Rae has agreed to join us! The more the merrier!!

Moomie: Guest Poet Extraordinaire

My friend considers April First
As his own special holiday;
In times gone by you wouldn't know
What kind of tricks he just might play;
But now the structured working world
So frequently gets in the way.

No more clocks turned up-side down,
No more squirrels a-dangling,
No more phone lines switched around,
No more chair wheels jangling!

Still its fun to think about
The cheerful days back then -
When my friend worked til 2 AM
To get done 'fore openin'
And then for all to laugh and sigh
While tangles we were sortin'.

Happy April Fools Day!!

Thank you, Moomie, for starting off the guest poet-ing. I look forward to more!!

A List of Go-Getters

The Grandpa (who did not accept my challenge) reminded me that it would be a good idea to post links to the bloggers who did so that you don't have to go searching through my comments to find them yourself. So far I have 3 takers-of-my-challenge and 1 more who is posting his writing in honor of National Poetry Month but I don't think it's because I challenged him. They are:

• Mommy T
• septembermom
• Princess Sparklepants and
• Marty.

I haven't had a chance this morning to visit their sites but plan to as soon as I get finished here. You go check them out too. And if you decide to post poems for Poetry Month, even just one, let me know. Oh, also, last year I did a sort of guest poet program where I would post your poem for you if you sent it to me. I'm all for that this year too so send them along!

Commencement

As you set out from today,
The beginning,
The first,
Keep this at the fore of your thoughts
-Thirty is the Magic Minimum.

We're at the start
of something...

So with appropriate
Pomp and Circumstance
Toss your cap
In the air (in the ring)
And let us embark.