the mouse who liked cheese, and other tales.

it's been too many days inside this house. between drizzly weather, eli's sickness, and the bit of it that i got after him, there have been few temptations to venture beyond the driveway. over the past ten days, we've watched that Babe the talking pig movie so many times that i half expect our own dog to start asking for his dinner in english.

last night after eli's bedtime, i finished a piece of artwork for my friend jenni and wrapped it up for today's mail. it incorporates the hymn, "Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness".  it took me awhile to interpret and convey all the imagery just right, and i almost gave up a few times. but as with most things, it was worth the labor and struggle to arrive at the beauty of the completed work. or at least, it looks beautiful to me, in large part because of the hymn lyrics, so we'll see what the gift's recipient thinks.

i also packed up a couple of jeremy's CDs to send to my long-lost college roommate Carol who i located via facebook recently. she is living in Germany with her husband and children, and i found curious enjoyment in writing the word Dusseldorf on the envelope with my sharpie marker. [it was probably the two little dots over the u. why don't we have cities with dots over the vowels in america?]

the slight flurry of snow that drifted down this morning as we awoke nudged me toward a real anticipation of Christmas & wintertime. our gift shopping has begun, and i plan to sneak away late this afternoon to check a few more things off the list. soon we'll bring home a tree to adorn the entry hall and pull out the two overflowing boxes of ornaments, lights, & handmade stockings. i am looking forward to seeing this house decorated for Christmas for the first time. 

but first on the agenda is to get a handle on the little would-be "mouse" who seems to have taken up residence in our home lately. after his sickness subsided and he bounced free from chicken broth and pedialyte, eli discovered a luxury known as cream cheese. and he CANNOT STOP EATING IT. of course, as his parents we are monitoring his intake (though frankly, the fat is benefitting his 20 pound frame) but he requests it (no, demands it) morning, noon, and night. it goes something like this:

wake up. bundle up. come downstairs. pour coffee and fill sippy cup. turn to eli & offer a waffle or pancake from the freezer drawer. 

"mama," he replies each time. "i-yant cheese."

 

then he turns and rushes over to the still-doorless pantry, pulls out the box of crackers (a.k.a delivery devices), reaches his tiny fist inside, produces one, and presents it to me expectantly. i spread it with cream cheese. he licks it off, rendering his nostrils and chin covered, then bites the cracker and reaches in the package for another while still chewing. this repeats throughout the duration of my second cup of coffee.

"i-yant cheese" has become the phrase most often uttered in our household for the past four days.

i am hoping for a thicker dusting of snow so that just maybe he'll put down his cracker long enough to bundle up in a new winter coat and head outside to play. i want to go too.