Monday, October 26, 2009

what I love: low-key outings

Saturday morning I thought it would be nice to take the boys to the park early--before the crowds and the crazy heat could make their appearances. I threw some things in a bag--no real planning--and we were off. It was very low key and fun.


And I discovered/rediscovered a love for thermoses. Faith and I bought this thermos on our Ikea trip last summer, but neither of us had used it yet. It has been a forgotten pleasure. I made a pot of tea, added milk and sugar (which is how we drink it), and bottled it up. How delightful it was to be able to sip hot tea while the boys played. Ken joined me and we were actually able to talk and sip quite a bit while the boys played together. And think of the environmental impact if everyone made their tea or coffee at home and stopped buying Starbucks as much. Of course that is what everyone did back in the 70's when I was growing up.



I think this is a turning point in our parenting. Rainer just turned 3 (more on that tomorrow) and we seem to be heading toward an easier and fun phase of parenting--when the children are just a bit more independent but still really like us and want to play with us(!). We're not quite there yet, but I can see it coming.

3 comments:

feather said...

i'm drinking my morning tea from a "thermos" right now. i got in the habit after losing my morning cup umpteen times during the busy mornings only to find a full cup of cold tea at the end! now it's still warm at noon when i finally find it!
lovely park, much more shade than ours. happy bday to your little one.

Jennifer said...

What a fun day, nice and peaceful. We recently got a 64-ounce thermos which is big enough to hold enough hot apple cider or hot chocolate for all six of us. I haven't yet, but fully intend on using it for soup on a cold day as well.

Jessica said...

I've been eying a thermos at the store and also a soup thermos for my lunches. That park is just beautiful!