New Animal Names

Hey there!

I would wish you happy holidays and all that, but I am not a fan of Christmas. If you can't tell, I'm done pretending in life, so I prefer not to say things to people if I don't really mean them.

It's a process, but we've got to start somewhere!

I do like New Year's Eve, though. I'm rooting for 2022 to give us a bit more liberation. We'll see, I guess!

Completely switching gears, let me tell you about something that amazed me yesterday.

Brady P is a tiny bit obsessed with animals. 

Remember how I told you about Old MacDonald perpetually? Well, I forgot to tell you that it's played at the same volume you'd hear in a crowded bar, and accompanied by "crazy" disco lights. My neighbors can attest.

Our ceiling...

What have I created???

And neither one of those are my decision on a daily basis. HA!

Back to the amazing story.

Brady P found a bag of animal figurines that I got for him for Christmas. Yeah, I know... Christmas is over, but I was hoping to use those as bribery one at a time for prizes for listening to me when it's really important.

We didn't get that far.

He found them, and he squealed! "Mummy!!! New animals!!! Let's open it!"

"Actually, Braeds, those are for prizes when you do something -"

"Ohhh! No way! Let's open them now!!!"

Oh, man. He was so excited that I acquiesced.

He already has a whole basket of animal figurines: birds, mammals and insects from the savanna, jungle, farm and forest. 

Cool. 

He knows all about them, so they have become a bit mundane. He categorizes them and puts them back in the same order.

Every time.

60 animals going back into the basket in a categorical, yet logical  (or OCD) order. Yeah, I can safely say obsessed.

So these new animals had to be different, and I was happy to find some more exotic ones. Some of them were so exotic that I had to take a screenshot of the listing of animals with their names, so I could make sure I matched them correctly for Brady P. 

Cuz he would know.

He even knew some of the ones I had to check the names for.

When he pulled out this animal with stripes on it's butt and back, he said, "Okapi!"

And I checked the list and said, "Umm, wow, yeah! That's the okapi!"

Then he pulled out this short black and white one with a long nose and said,"a tapir!"

"Woah, yeah! That's the tapir. You are right!"

He also surprised me by correctly naming the meerkat, platypus, wildebeest and boar. But those first two... holy heavens in a flower pot. The kid is a genius.

He played with his 25 new animals with an excitement as if he had electricity running through his body. I've never seen somebody so absorbed in figurines. Like they are his friends and they're alive.

But good for him!

After he pulled them all out and read their names on my cheat sheet, we had to look a couple of them up because, well, they were not correct.

We gave them the correct names.

Trust me... we would know.

The pile of new animals surrounding the drain after their inaugural tubby

Reflecting

I apologize, but I am a bit too reflective to put something out today.

I hope all is well with you.

Take care.

Old MacDonald Perpetually

When is the last time you heard the song "Old MacDonald Had a Farm?"

Oh, that's nice.

Did you know that Old MacDonald also had a zoo? And a circus? And an aquarium, a band, a jungle and a bird park?

Did you know that Old MacDonald can be spooky for Halloween and jingly for Christmas?

Sometimes Old MacDonald has carnivorous animals on his farm. Sometimes they are silly animals... or make-believe animals.

I would be willing bet that every single kid channel on YouTube has its own rendition of Old MacDonald. At least one. 

Some are slow and twangy. Some are rock and roll. And you better believe that there is everything in between!

Wait. How would I know this? Why would I care?

Maybe it's because Brady P is quite possibly Old MacDonald reincarnated. I don't know if that's true, but one thing that's certain is that my little boy is ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED  with Old MacDonald and his farm. Or zoo. Or jungle or whatever he has during what ever holiday at whatever tempo in whichever language.

This was Braeden's first song that he really liked to watch on the computer -- probably starting when he was two years old.

Now he is seven.

He has had other obsessions during these five years: Baby Shark, The Yummy Song, alphabet series, some pop songs for dancing and others. But Old MacDonald always comes back.

Always.

Do you know how many times I have heard that song? Sometimes the same version five times in a row? Sometimes it's just Old MacDonald for two hours straight!!!

I don't know if you can even fathom that, but it's true. Ask anyone in our family.

If someone ever figured out how many times we have heard that song in any version or language, I would hope they would never tell me. We are at least in the thousands, I swear.

This little boy loves Old MacDonald. 

Biggest fan ever.

I don't know how long this obsession will last, but I would imagine we have not heard all the renditions yet. Oh, no.

We will find more before our time here is done.

I wouldn't be surprised if Brady P writes his own version someday!

Here is one of his latest favorites... from 1946! He even acts it out on his trampoline. Enjoy!

Musings from the Jouney

Hey there!

Apparently I missed you last week. 

Oopsie poopsie!

Things are just always changing, you know? Big changes and little changes. Geographical changes and weather changes. Situational changes and emotional changes.

But that's what keeps us on our toes and tests our limits and beliefs. I have found that the more grounded I am in my emotions and beliefs, and the more peace I have in my soul, the better I can deal with the things that happen.

Cuz things are happening all the time!

And we must choose how to proceed with our new circumstances -- whatever they may be.

I am just speaking generally, I know. I hope you don't mind. I want you to be able to insert your own circumstances and beliefs into whatever you might be facing right now.

I wish you the best in all your endeavors. I hope you find time to feel joy in the moment and peace in your own soul.

That's really what I wish.

Every day.

I don't wait until my birthday to make a wish. I don't wait until Thanksgiving to be grateful. I don't wait until Christmas to give to others.

I just like to do those things each day.

That brings me great joy, so I keep doing it.

Not because someone told me to, or because I read it in a book, but because it works.

It seriously just makes me feel better to do the right thing. Even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard.

I think I get a prize each time after that. At least it's been that way so far! I like prizes. Ha!

Brady P gets a lot of credit for really engraining this into my being. I didn't do all this before he came into my life. I was on a decent path, but I didn't have strong enough beliefs to stand on.

He made it clear, just by being in my world, that I better know what I believe, or I'll just stay in a state of confusion. 

I feel that to be true.

Life is such a journey, and we must respect where we are in any given moment because that is where we need to be. If we knew more or less, we would be somewhere else.

That's just how it goes!

Haha. I act like I know. I only know what I've experienced, and I'm grateful, so I like to share it.

You don't have to believe a thing I say. I'm not here to force you into anything. We are all on our own journey.

But I must say, I sure am glad this little boy is such a big part of mine!

A match made in heaven!