Luna's Baublebilities

"Maxx, what are you doing in there?"

"What does it look like to you?" (shouted through the open bathroom door)

"I don't know, Maxx, I don't like to watch people when they are in the bathroom."

silence. . . .  more silence.

"Maxx, I'm thinking you had better wipe your butt."

"How do you know I need to wipe my butt?"  (closes door, begins making sounds of frustration and annoyance)

Boy continues to make strange and incoherent noises for 5 minutes, refusing to answer questions seeking to diagnose the problem from behind the door.  Mom enters, discovers that a bum definitely needs to be wiped, that no attempts to self-wipe have been made and that at this point she must resort to using wet TP to clean the problem area.

This is not unusual.  Maxx was very slow to potty train.  He still does not stay dry at night and often needs to be reminded to pee during the day.  Research shows that FAS kids, especially boys, have problems with toileting issues well into late adolescence because the neural pathway that the bladder and bowel use to tell the frontal cortex that a potty stop is urgent is fried before birth.  We see that all the time - the boy will dance around holding his parts but insist that he DOES NOT need to pee until you physically place him in front of the toilet.  Lo and behold - it WAS urgent!  He occasionally has very unfortunate accidents because his bowel can only give him a few brief moments of warning before he needs to get to the toilet.

Now we are struggling with wiping the bum.  He was doing fairly well for a little while after I pronounced that I was Done wiping his bum this summer.  His bum is now (supposed to be) his responsibility.  Sometimes he is successful.  Lately, he actually seems to be using the butt wipe problem to raise my irritation level.  He will get to the bathroom on time but then sit there for a long time - until wiping is um. . .  more difficult than it needs to be. This might be a good sign.  He may be processing a cause and effect and be experimenting with the outcomes of different actions.  He may be consciously resisting one more inevitable step toward independence.  He may be seeking to prolong his dependence on me for the sake of attachment.

He may just be trying to make me furious.

My sister-in-law suggests a funky green frog shaped container of wet wipes. 

It's on the shopping list.

Speaking of potty talk - I started reading Gaiman's American Gods a few days ago. 

He's playing with some very interesting concepts in the book but . . .  I'm finding that I frequently need to skip several pages at a time.  I'm not sure I will be able to justify finishing the book. Call me a prude, but I don't read R and X rated stuff.  It frustrates me that so much of that seems to be here.  I love Gaiman's writing.  His imagination is brilliant and his voice and characterization are rich and satisfying.  There are some aspects of  imagination that I think should be kept private.  I don't like to read about explicit sex or violence.  It's getting harder and harder to find fiction that avoids graphic descriptions, especially in fantasy. 

Sigh.  I've included links throughout this post for some other Gaiman books that I've read that I feel confident about keeping in my house.  (Someday Maxx will be interested in reading the sort of stuff Gaiman writes - he doesn't need to have that sort of graphic stuff inserted into his imagination, either.)

I didn't post much anywhere about anything last week because I was afraid I would spill the beans too soon.  

Bryan was released as the Branch president of our congregation yesterday.  We've been grinning for well over a week about this event.  We've been so overwhelmed the past year with both the houses and Bry's career frustrations and he has been so concerned that he do a good job of ministering to the people we love so much in our Branch - it truly has been a heavy burden for him.  His posture and his face have changed remarkably since last Friday when we learned that he was to be released and given a new assignment.  I won't say anything about that yet except that it probably won't be as demanding and might even be a bit more fun.  (For all you jokesters in the branch - No.  He is NOT replacing President Jones in the Mission Presidency.)  The transition in the Branch will be smooth since one of Bry's counselors, Ben Pykles,  has been called as the new Branch president and he is keeping Rich Tenace, Bry's other counselor on board.  Jeff Francom, the new second counselor, is a fairly recent transplant to Potsdam, but he and his family are awesome - we've got a great team to lead us. 

Everything seems to be happening very quickly this spring - everything except progress at the Beorningstead, though that will probably go more quickly now.   The lilacs are getting ready to bloom and the fiddleheads are getting ready to open in my yard.  

This is NOT good. 

Elsewhere spring is coming a few days early and speeding up each year but this year, we're about 3 weeks ahead. 




The high temperature spikes we had in March and early April pushed things forward too quickly which may have unhappy consequences this fall and next year - trees, shrubs and perennials are blooming too early for their natural pollinators to show up, which could result in lower crop yields, higher prices and less food for wildlife.  Plants - especially trees, are sucking too much moisture out of the ground too early, resulting in drought and stressing the plants which can reduce Maple Syrup production again next year.  The season was cut short this year by those 80 degree days that convinced the trees to start leafing out early.   The greening is happening rapidly in the forests - those soft, lacy reds and green of early May are already done and here at the end of April, we look to be entering June any day now.  What will these stressed forests look like in August?

I worry a lot about weather and rainfall here in my Native North Country lately. 



In the midst of all this ecological and spiritual activity, I've been making my own blossoms. 

I have some tiny apple blossoms in pink and green. 

I've perfected the large Daisy.
















And made a few spacer beads that can be placed between the flowers so that they hang better on a choker or other chain. 














More gorgeous colors coming soon - as soon as that Tax return gets here!  I may also put a few kits up in my Etsy and ArtFire shops later  this spring if I ever get around to writing instructions up.  Give me a shout if you would like me to e-mail you when I get instructions and/or kits ready!