pennying

just took this picture while pennying my son to sleep. pennying? you may ask. well, it may seem like some kind of sick materialistic bribe, but it works for us. after being nursed or cuddled to sleep for years it was hard for miles to go to sleep alone. we tried many things--sticker charts, threats, guilt trips, some book and cd called the floppy sleep game, tying him to his bed. my friend suggested the pennies. you say goodnight, leave the room, then before he can get out of bed you come back and put a penny in a little cup and say i love you and leave
again. you do this until your little angel is asleep. for us it has evolved to a lovey dovey time. each penny miles and i say nice things to each other, you're the best, sweet dreams, sleep tight, love you forever etc etc. of course there are off nights, like tonight, when miles says he sees things when he has his eyes open (yikes), he sees a big wooden thing with rocks on the side and me and daddy and him falling down it. double yikes. so to relax miles is reminiscing in there about his childhood by looking at his baby book and i am typing into my exciting new blog. now he is curling up to sleep picturing a happy thing, in his case tonight a bow and arrow. yikes yikes yikes yikes. so will he learn to equate money with rest, love? he doesn't seem to care that much about the pennies, but now he can buy a 1$ item every monday. often he forgets.

anyway, the photo is the view from our back deck, try and hear this--many songbirds, someone yelling from the walgreen's parking lot, and, surprise another siren. our downstairs neighbor strongly urging her pug to pee in the grass so she can go inside and paint dungeons and dragons figurines. it's actually kind of beautiful in a way, all the yards and trees and backs of houses together. we have lots of hummingbirds, and a fully loaded peach tree. the weather is lovely.

hmm, i thought the photo with all the kids would go to the middle of the blog, assumed blogger had some kind of mind-reading layout person, but it went to the top. this photo is a bunch of zoned-out birthday caked children watching talking cars. at one point my son and his two buddies jonah were all touching, arms around necks, a little hand on a little thigh, as they watched lightning mcqueen work his magic. i posted it because of the 2 little girls closest to the window. eva and margo. we visited them and their parents dear angelica and james in fairfax today, for a goodbye brunch. in nine days they are moving to oxnard. in fairfax they live in a beautiful little house james totally restored (on rough weekends while angelica watched the girls) and added to, up on a crazy windy hill with fruit trees and big lit windows and a hot tub. a view of just trees and hills and no sirens to be heard. in oxnard they will be near grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins, and will have a big house with a pool and guest cottage and learn to be little surfers. i will miss them all a lot. angelica and i had some good nights drinking together and lots to gossip about. she said i was a good mom which flattered me. james worked with rich a little bit landscaping wealthy people's yards, gave us free gardening advice, and has great rosy cheeks. they both have good travel stories. hope we will be able to visit and they won't just disappear forever. i cried after hugging goodbye today as a german wizard/magician made hula hoops into butterflies and accordions for the kids at the fairfax festival. miles asked if i was crying because i loved my friend and she was moving far away. maybe the rocks and the bow and arrow and all the little boy fears and fierceness are related somehow to seeing mommies cry about lost love. i dunno.