Monday, September 14, 2015

Life in the Strauss House

Tonight I read The Seven Silly Eaters, by Mary Ann Hoberman, to Shea as he tried to fight off sleep. It paints a perfect picture of life as a mommy complete with very detailed illustrations of the chaos that is a growing family. We may only have two little munchkins but sometimes it feels like seven.  This little gem of a story inspired this peek into the Strauss house.

There is a couple, so they say
That once did live so far away
But from far to here they came
To Chattanooga to begin their game
It did not take too long to see
That she liked him and he liked she
Since the day he knew she felt the same
He knew he soon would share his name
And share he did, she became his wife
And slowly they began to build a life

And before her oven even held a bun
He proclaimed Shea as the name of their firstborn son
Shea isn't a name passed down through the fam
But instead reflects the obsession of a Met's fan
Now Shea may be just a regular son
In every way---except for some

When Shea was less than one year old
His favorite show was Jeopardy I'm told
He did not like cartoons like his peers
But instead "daily doubles" encited cheers
But Mommy and Daddy Strauss didn't mind
They found his obsession simply divine
When the show was over he'd sit on the floor
And look up at his parents and sign to them "more"
They'd take the remote from the shelf
And mumble softly to themselves 
"What a silly sort of way
Acts our goofy little Shea."

When our Shea was not yet two
We learned of baby number two
Was born---dear Patten, small and fair
With big blue eyes and nearly no hair
But before dear Patten could come home
Into the NICU he had to roam
Shea just did not understand why
He couldn't go home with this new little guy
He demanded Patten be removed from that bed
And promptly taken to "Shea's house" instead
A few days went by then they strapped Patten in
To his car seat that made him look far too thin
And it didn't take too long before
They settled in to life of a family of four

Life it got crazy but they didn't mind
Except Patten only would cry when they dined
All day long he stayed quiet or slept
And he was independent at all times expect....
For while his mommy and daddy were eating
That's when he decided that he would be needing
To cuddle, or cry, or eat, poop, or play
Or just about anything that would take them away
From whatever they had decided to cook up that day
His mommy and daddy shook their heads at each other and said
"What a silly needy sweetie,
Just as we begin our eating."

Now Patten grew, and Shea grew too
Til Patten was two months and Shea was two
And who was two months, why little Patten
With eyes dark blue and skin soft as satin
A happy baby, never cross
And his brother, Shea, became the boss

Shea he taught him all things crazy
As Patten laid there oh so lazy
And took in all the crazy things
That his silly brother liked to teach
Like wearing socks upon his hands
And where his batted wiffle ball lands
When hit with a maraca instead of a bat
Wearing a fire helmet instead of a baseball cap
And dancing correctly to the Nae-Nae and Whip
While demanding "no" and giving his parents lip
Their mom and dad looked down at Shea and said
"What are we going to do with you two,
When your brother starts doing all that you do?"

At times, a handful, were these two Strauss boys
With their mounds and mounds of Strauss toys
But all the cooking and the cleaning
Even left their parents beaming
They know it is worth all the mess and the stress
They look at their boys and know they are blessed
They hug each other and smile and say,
"Wouldn't have it any other way."




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