"Mum cut hair."

Jimmy caught me trimming my fringe this morning.

"Mum cut hair."

The drawer with the nail scissors was open and Jimmy wanted use the them - not happening.

"Cut hair. Mum, cut hair."

So I picked up my little boy, stood him on the countertop, twisted the curl behind his right ear, told him to stand still, and cut his hair.

And then I did the same to the curl behind his left ear.

I had cut Jimmy's hair. No fuss, no fight, no problems - easy.

In a bewildered state, I returned Jimmy to the floor and secured the two curls with some sticky tape.

Both curls, one from behind each ear, bound together and stored safely in a little box.

Michael has wanted to cut the curls for a while now.

The curls that have been growing since before Jimmy was born.

The curls that have been protected by Jimmy's ears and not worn down.

Gone, because a little boy wanted to be like his mum.

"Cut hair."

First haircut done. And by my hand.

"Mum, cut hair."

This book!

Seriously, this book is the best "bug" themed childrens' book I've come across in the last two years. Not only are the illustrations gorgeous, but the book is actually informative, and a little humorous at times. After checking the first few entries, The Icky Bug Alphabet Board Book made the cut and came home with us from the library.

And then we started reading it. Well, first time through, Jimmy wasn't impressed, so I stopped somewhere before F. It is on the wordy side for a board book, especially as it doesn't rely on rhymes to keep the audience's attention. Michael had better luck that evening, and discovered some of the funnier entries.

A few days later I was checking the copyright information, and found this:

Although the general public considers every creature in this book a bug, in fact only the Yellow Plant Bug and the Cotton Stainer are true bugs. The Velvet Mite and the Scorpion are arachnids. The Orb Weaver, Water Spider, and Tarantula are spiders, a specific type of arachnid. The rest, including the true bugs, are insects.

This insect ecologist is incredibly happy with this book, and this book is now on the "to buy" list of things for our home, when we are done moving around and have funds. We may not get the board book edition, but The Icky Bug Alphabet Board Book is an excellent find and will always be welcome in our home.

Over the weekend we...

Went to a friend (and neighbours') birthday party. It was an adult birthday party, starting at 7pm, about 20 guests, sangria, music, food, and enough candles on cakes to know that we were celebrating an important birthday. And, because the birthday girl and her husband live just downstairs from us, we had no qualms about going, with Jimmy in tow. And it was the right thing to do. Why? Well:

• Firstly, we take Jimmy almost everywhere with us, he has never had a babysitter, so he's used to the occasional late night out with Mum and Daddy and friends.
• Secondly, the birthday girl and her husband are smitten with Jimmy, and he's a little taken with them too, so there would have been disappointment all around, had we left Jimmy at home, with a sitter or taken it in turns being at home with him.
• And thirdly, with the party being just down stairs Michael or I could take Jimmy home when he was done and ready for bed. 

When we went downstairs, to the party, we were not the first to arrive, but we were there before most of the other guests, which allowed Jimmy to warm to the environment and the other guests. He was clingy to start with, and hungry, but after devouring the grapes and tasting the cheeses and lots of time in my arms, he was ready to work the room.

And work the room he did! Everyone was completely taken with Jimmy. Some were impressed by how friendly he was, others couldn't believe that he was eating broccoli without hesitation, others were blown away by how much love he could convey in the word "Mum". I'm pretty sure this all means that Michael and I are doing a good job as parents.

I don't remember what time we went home, but it was late. A few guests had already gone, and, with a little help from Daddy, Jimmy was making a little bed for himself on the couch. So, Michael and I gathered up our tired, but happy and very full, little boy and said our goodbyes - Jimmy highfived everyone and gave the birthday girl a little kiss on the cheek (I suggested it quietly to him and helped him lean in, and if he hadn't wanted to, we would have left it at a fistpump and that would have been fine).

On Sunday we were all tired, but fairly happy. We started the day Skyping with a close friend back in Australia who is a new dad. Michael and I are so excited for him and his wife, but we are also sad that we can't be there as they adjust to their new life as parents. Fingers crossed we'll get to meet the little guy before his first birthday.

Our day ended almost as late as Saturday because Jimmy refused to go to sleep. We're not sure why, but he just didn't want to go down. It is possible that he knew it was Sunday, which means Monday is the next day and Daddy goes to work. It is also possibly that he was hoping to relive the previous night. Either way, it was a late night. At least Michael's lunch was already made...

Thanks to Michael for the photo of the birthday cakes, although I take full responsibility for the editing.

17/52

a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2015

Jimmy: Dig dirt.

Jimmy and I took advantage of a warm afternoon and tested out his new-to-him sandals and jeans (the tshirt is also second hand, but we received it from my Cousin K and brought it over, along with a few other tshirts that now fit Jimmy, with a little room to grow). The sandals are possibly not going to fit all summer, but that is ok because it means that Jimmy is growing.

And for a brief moment, it looked like Jimmy and I would be "growing" our pine cone collection, but no. Digging in the dirt was far more important. And then he wanted to do something else and the dirt, and the pine cones, were forgotten.

Happy Earth Day!

Or our year without a car...

So, yesterday it was Earth Day, April 22, 2015. For something that's been around for 45 years, I do feel a little silly that this is really the first time I've really taken notice of it. The earth-child in me is hanging her head in shame... but only a little, because I do try to tread lightly on the planet of ours. Michael does too, and we're teaching Jimmy to do so, as much as we can.

We do the 3 R's: reduce; reuse; recycle. We do our best to minimise waste, both food and packaging (although some days I feel like I fail at this, especially when I forget our greensacks and only notice when we get to Dillons). We keep our consumption of animal protein to a minimum, eating a little most days, unless you include dairy... we like our milk and cheese... We managed to go through the whole winter with minimal heating, running the heating at 19.4 C (or 67 F) but next winter we might aim for something closer to 18 C (or 64 F). And our limited funds, and short-term situation, keep us from consuming a lot of 'stuff', which really helps with the feeling of treading lightly on the Earth, even if we don't feel light-hearted.

But the biggest thing that we do, the biggest thing we decided to do when we arrived here?

We decided not to buy a car. That's right. It seems crazy not to own a car, especially in the USA, but we are mostly happy with our decision.

(We do own a car, but it's in Australia, and from what I can gather it is probably only used a few times a week - I could be wrong.)

But when we were taking in all the costs of moving to Manhattan, KS, and our living costs vs income, Michael and I decided that we would try to go without a car.

And for the most part, we have managed without one, even though this town (and most of the USA) is not pedestrian friendly. We get funny looks sometimes, especially from people who have never seen anyone babywearing. We've walked to and from Dillons on really hot days, and really cold days too. Jimmy and I have stayed at home because the weather was not pedestrian friendly. We've come home drenched, sweaty, sore, or very cold. We've waited for the bus when the weather was not pleasant and we've walked to our intended destination in unfavourable conditions because we missed the bus, sometimes by a minute or two. We're still here.

But we haven't avoided cars completely. We have hired cars, four all up over the course of the last year. We have traveled in friends' cars, and we would be incredibly antisocial if we didn't. And there have even been moments when I wished we had one, usually when we've just missed the bus or have no milk and it's raining/snowing/freezing outside.

From an environmental viewpoint, not buying a car here has hopefully gone some way in offsetting our flights to get here. And when we do go anywhere by car, it's usually in someone elses' car, increasing the number of people in that car.

From a personal viewpoint, not buying car has saved us a few car-ownership headaches and given me lots of time really, really close to Jimmy. I have also lost weight I had been wanting to lose for a while, since before falling pregnant with Jimmy.

Not owning a car has limited how often we have been able to travel, but we have been able to explore Manhattan, KS, on foot and have seen a good amount of the town. Not owning a car has helped us come in contact with some of the local characters and connect with locals who are happy to share their local knowledge. Not owning a car gets us outside, having little adventures, and looking at animals and plants that might otherwise be overlooked.

We are unlikely to buy a car for the coming year, because we still have limited funds and we would have to deal with the whole getting rid of the car process, which we found stressful (and costly) in Samoa. Having one less thing to get rid of when we leave is actually a good thing, and really it was probably the main motivator in not buying a car this time last year. But we were also thinking about our environmental footprint...

Happy Earth Day!

More Earth Day stuff:

Celebrate Earth Day Everyday
Why more stuff does not equal more happiness
Earth Day Top 5

(Edit: I realized the irony of putting up a link to a shop as I was going to sleep (Earth Day Top 5 links to post on Kaufmann Mercantile), but they sell beautiful, well made things that I would buy if we could afford them or if we were staying for longer or if we had some certainty about where we are going after our time in Manhattan, KS, and I knew that the investment was worth it. They do not sponsor this blog, although that would be nice and welcome, but they stand for quality, and I prefer to spend a little more on something that will last a long time, instead of buying something cheap that will need to be replaced on a regular basis.)

And now for something completely different: tree fungus!

As I mentioned, on Saturday we saw some fungi on some local red cedars. We'd never noticed it before.

We looked at them, Michael actually pulled one off and squished it and broke it open. It was hard on the inside.

Then we took a closer look at the trees and noticed blackish, porous-looking balls...

Where these fungus looking things part of the plants' reproductive cycle, triggered by the rain, or were they a parasitic fungus?

Over the weekend we...

Went out for coffee and a light breakfast at Sparrow Specialty Coffee. It was raining a little, nothing heavy, but rain coats were required. We caught the bus to the other side of town and chatted to the bus driver (it was her birthday and Jimmy, one of her favourite passengers, was suitably charming), discussing the rain and baseball - apparently baseball is one of the very few sports, in the USA, that will stop for the rain, something to do with slipping and sliding and breaking ankles.

We had upsidedown snickerdoodle muffins and really, really lovely lattes. Part of me wishes we lived closer to Sparrow Specialty Coffee, simply because their coffees are so good, but perhaps we wouldn't enjoy them as much. It's hard to say, but it is great that there are two coffee shops in Manhattan that we can go to and always, always, always get a lovely cup of coffee. It's even better when both places smell like Melbourne (Sparrow smells of raw wood and coffee, while Arrow smells of coffee and food). And just to clarify, for anyone who was wondering what a 'snickerdoodle' was, it's usually a cinnamon and raw sugar biscuit.

After coffee we headed to the Flint Hills Discovery Center. Jimmy started up the stairs to the children's area before Michael and I had finished at the front desk. Clearly, Jimmy missed the stairs. And then Jimmy found the train set...

Well, there was someone else playing with the trains, but she was happy to share - because it is a public space, everyone is very good about sharing and taking turns. Jimmy was engrossed by the trains and I think he was there for nearly an hour.

Meanwhile, Michael and I took it in turns to check out the Wild Weather exhibit, which explains spring weather - storms and tornadoes. It was a bit of fun. The thought of tornadoes still scares me...

After over an hour or so at the Discovery Center, we went home to pick up some sausages and snacks before heading to the 'baseball grill'. Between the bus stop and home we noticed a funny growth on the cedars that we walk past regularly. We'd never seen these growths before, so we investigated, and Michael found out what they are... Keep your eyes peeled for them in a future post.

The sun was out and we had a nice walk past the baseball stadium on our way to the barbeque. In fact, it was lovely weather for a grill/barbeque: not too hot and not too cold or windy. We had lots of fun exploring our friends' backyard - it was a novel concept for Jimmy; a home with grass right outside the door, no stairs in sight.

And after lunch, we went to the game! We arrived some time after the start of the 5th innings, and stayed until the end of the 9th, when the game was over. As we were arriving, K-State fans were already leaving, suggesting that the result was a forgone conclusion... We still went in, found seats, Jimmy seemed engrossed by the activity and was happy to sit on Daddy's lap for a bit, and then Jimmy was off, because little boys don't sit still for very long.

Between taking turns running around with Jimmy, Michael and I both saw some of the game, learned the rules and ins-and-outs of what was going on, and narrowly missed being hit by a foul ball (the young boys behind us scrambled to get it, once it landed). Thanks A and B for the 'baseball grill'!

Our Sunday was very quiet, as it was cold, wet, and windy. We stayed in, relaxed, and did laundry, which felt funny, but we have a dryer, so loads of washing can be done, even on the wettest of days.