Out of the mouth of babes

yesterday i found three three year olds under the play structure in our school playground. This in its' self is not unusual as they like to play "Ice Cream Store" and "Doctor's Office" under there, what was unusual and a little shocking for me was that one of the girls had her shirt up and one of the other children was nursing from her. When I came over the girl who was clearly acting as a mommy lowered her shirt and the one who was nursing said "I'm drinking milk from M".

How do you explain that this is not ok to do? is it ok to do? My head teacher seemed to think it was a fine activity that showed connections to real life being made- I found it to be unsettling. I wouldn't have been weirded out if the girls shirt was down or there was a less realistic portrayal of nursing happening, but the other child had his mouth around her nipple.

My head teacher dismissed my urging to talk a little about how we can't touch other peoples bodies in harmful ways (there is also a lot of pushing and shoving going on in our playtimes)

I am at a loss for words.

My cup Runneth

life is settling into a nice routine of days...we get up and play a little (currently Joe likes to play tag with the dog) and make some breakfast. Joe is becoming a little helper- cracking eggs, telling me the pan is "ha" (or hot in Joe-speak) and throwing cans and packaging into the recyling. Its hard to remember what he was like when he was tiny. We are getting so fogetful of the tiny stage that we are very much thinking of the next baby.
But we have a deadline- a friend is getting married in may and I am slated to be the matron of honor; and I would like to stay at my current job next fall. SOOO if there is no baby in the belly by the end of october we are abandoning the thoughts of a next child for the time being.
I'm ok with this, like I said life is taking on a routine that I like, sure it tires me out and I feel like I've been beaten with a stick some days but I like the way things are now. And they can only get better. There are so many exciting things to be done this year- new babies are on the way from a few cousins, my sister is knee deep in the adoption process, new words are being learned everyday, and I get to watch 15 3 year olds experience and navigate their way through their first year of school. Today a child (who wasn't mine) told me he loved me.
For now that is enough.

7 years on

(words written by R. Popovic)

"So Bless NY's Finest, our Angels in Blue.
Giving us hope and helping us through.
And Bless NY's Bravest, the FDNY.
Giving their sweat and their tears and their lives.
And Bless all the medics and our troops overseas.
Bless the guys in the hardhats removing debris.
Bless the everyday people who answered the call.
Bless those who gave some and those who gave ALL.
Bless all the souls who left us this year.
You may be gone but you'll always be here.
Singing and dancing with family and friends........"

We Remember

updates

so many things have happened this summer that i want to write about and give pictures for but i am still unsure about my computer usage at work so i will keep it brief for a few more days-

first- i FINISHED my masters- i am now a masters of early childhood education with a concentration in museum studies. A mouthful yes but i am so happy to be done that it hurts

second- i got a job- i am working in a pretty well known (in brooklyn at least) preschool as an assistant teacher in a 3/4 year old classroom. the hours are wonderful as it is only a half day class and the kids are a hoot an a half; but dang am i tired!

These are the major updates, the summer was otherwise full of the beach and traveling to and from Long Island. I have so much more to say and I am forgetting all of it!

Long time coming

so we have survived a few months sans computer ad we are choosing to keep it that way for the the time being (we are getting a car instead i think) so i may not update as often as i like but now that i have a JOB (more on that later) i can post from work....

its nice to have a JOB!

more soon i promise