My Muse

"Childhood is a short season."

--Helen Hayes

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."

-- Henry David Thoreau

"Then as we struggle on, the thoughts of that peaceful past time of childhood comes to us like soft music and a blissful vision through the snow."
-- Beatrix Potter

Just For Fun
Made Up Fun
Do you ever make up songs for you and your child? Or put a new spin on an old favorite to personalize it for your child? Here's one for you if your child keeps you moving and you can't seem to wear them out! Put your little one's name in and sing to "I'm A Little Teapot".
"I'm a little Moira, short and sweet.
Here are my fingers, here are my feet.
When I get all steamed up
hear me shout...
Pick me up or wear me out!"

Just For Fun
Smile Time
There are precious moments that you are just blessed enough to catch. Times that could easily be missed just because they're not "loud". My Moira is 13 months old now. She's been walking for a little over a month. Which means she's just tall enough and mobile enough to reach the DVD/CD player, currently loaded with 4 music CDs and 1 Harry Potter movie. In the past few weeks it has become her routine, almost as soon as she walks into the living room in the morning, to go here and push a button. Almost without fail, a particular CD of children's folk music comes on. The volume on the player isn't turned up very loud... sometimes I can't even hear it but I can see the results! She's standing there just wiggling her little butt dancing to the music. Sometimes her hands and arms are in the air and she's turning a little circle. And the smile on that face! :) Worth it all. It really doesn't surprise me because she's been hearing music since before she was born - I taught my kindermusik classes right up until about a month before she was born. What does surprise me is that this child is moving to the beat! Can you believe it? Pretty much in time with whatever music she's turned on. And when I sing to her at night, she'll sing back to me in an actual singing voice. No simple, lilting, talking voice here. This kids got chops! Or maybe it's just me.... NAAAAH!
Dance with your child or someone else's today. No better place to get your smiles!