Burying the Binky with a green thumb

After Arlo was born, it became apparent that jealousy had reared its ugly head in our house in the form of a three year old boy.  Poor Amos, no matter how much we had prepared him, just didn't know how to adjust to the sleep disturbances, round-the-clock baby matters, and loss of attention from Mommy and somewhat from Daddy.  On top of that, the Binky Fairy made a visit to our home to take all of Amos' binkies (pacifiers) away to little babies of the world who need them (oh, the lies!).  His response to that?  Refusal to sleep.  It's been a rough road for all of us since August.

Our solution:  get this kid out of the house.

Our first attempt at getting Amos into some kind of entertainment/education situation was to take him to a preschool for a few hours, two days each week.  It was great for him, until he brought home disease and a pox upon our house.  Out of the five or six weeks he attended, we all were sick for almost all of it.  He still has a nasty cough that erupts each morning from whatever the last nasty virus was to be spread amongst his sticky-pawed peers.  Instead of being a few hours of peace at home for us and time for Amos to play with other kids, it became a classroom-sized Petri dish that created even more stress for us at home.  Loss of sleep because of a newborn is one thing, but to add sickness EVERY WEEK for two months on top of it?  INSANITY.

So, here we are.  Amos is at home, and we are searching for other options.  I think I have a game plan.  Most days, we will go to the playground across the street and/or at the local school.  One day each week, I will take him to Newtown, PA for a toddler/preschooler gymnastics-type class (hopefully disease-free).  Then, we will shop at the local Amish market for delights.  Maybe throw in some playground time if needed.  At least one other day of the week, I will take him along to local farms (such as this one and that one and definitely that one) to buy organic veg, fruit, eggs, meat and whatever else catches our fancy.  Top that off with playground.  This area, Bucks County, is full of farms, farmstands, history and playgrounds, and I should be doing more to enrich our lives with them. 

Good idea?  Maybe?  I thought so.

I think it's important to show children where our food comes from. I think it's doubly important to teach about sustainable farming and organic methods.  That's why I'm hoping to plan an excursion to Rodale Institute up in Kutztown for a day of farm fun.  If you've ever seen Organic Gardening Magazine, these are the folks who publish it.


We'll see how viable this plan is with the winter months ahead.  (Suggestions for other things to do in the winter?  Anyone?  Must be fairly flexible activities for a preschooler and a Mom with a baby.)  Maybe I'll throw in some story times at libraries and book stores.  Maybe a local mom meetup here and there (I belong to local groups, but I haven't been able to attend anything yet).


So, in a nutshell, that's the plan.  I will get out of the house for a few days a week with the boys for fun and edutainment while Phil has some peace at home for his workaday stuff.  I haven't driven around the area much on my own (sad, but true), mostly because 1) I am not from this area and can't find a darn thing without a GPS,  2) I've been largely pregnant or saddled with a newborn on my breast for the entire time we've lived here, and 3) I'm slow to warm up to the idea of being out for hours on my own with a running and sometimes misbehaving boy and a baby in my arms.  Tired and pregnant or tired and nursing is not a great time to be driving.  Let's hope that I can slowly but surely accomplish these goals without falling asleep at the wheel.


Or, I could just give him a stick and some scissors and let him run around the basement.  I guess you can learn something from that.