New Hair

So, if you have been reading these entries, you know that Drew and I have been fighting a losing battle with Charlotte over keeping her hair out of her face (and food....) We have tried many, many different ways to get her to let us pull her hair back. These are photos from the ONE occasion we were successful -- our bike ride. It is also helpful because you can see how long her hair was.

We were able to get her to pull her hair back by creating an elephant tail. Charlotte loves elephants, as a close second to horses of course (but the pony or horsey tail didn't work!) Here you can see the elephant hair holder we created:




And here is the unveiling of the sassy, new Lollipop:



Sigh.................

Bike Ride

Beautiful May morning - and we took the kids up to the park to ride bikes and enjoy the sunshine. There are several stories that emerged from this morning -- and of course, pictures to accompany the stories!!!

After obtaining the necessary safety equipment....


We were off!!!


Drew and I have both found so much pleasure from this park -- but it was fun watching the kids run around, jump on trees, and play with sticks. It reminded me of when I was a kid.




My little billy goat -- jumping off every surface she could scale!!!


-- which thoroughly exhausted her!

Baltimore

We took a family vacation to Baltimore in early April. I haven't blogged since then...so it must have been more impactful in my overall exhaustion than I realized!

Reflecting on the weekend, Drew and I were entering it exhausted from two weeks of his being in extremely intense work...in Dallas - thereby, I was extremely exhausted from two weeks of single parenting. We were a match made in heaven. Charlotte was diagnosed with an ear infection the morning we left for our trip (only symptom was light ear tugging) -- but we figured she was acting healthy and getting her antibiotics in her would only improve how she felt. We did not anticipate the virus she also picked up that would give her one of the worse fevers I have ever seen her with!!! So, it was an exhausting weekend -- but I wouldn't give it back for anything.

We had a wonderful trip down where everyone was playful in the car. We enjoyed a family dinner with Drew's parents at the Rusty Scupper (think seafood tourist trap restaurant). Enjoyed a beautiful walk with the kids up Federal Hill and shared a fascinating, rolling discussion with the kids about things that were around us. Got to go swimming in the hotel pool - which both of the children loved, and had fun touring the National Aquarium.

The kids were refusing to sleep together in the queen size bed. So, we built a pillow barrier down the middle. Upon its completion, Charlotte crashed hard. Ben was still awake, and wanting to enjoy how beautiful the city lights were. He asked that we leave the curtains on the window open. He also happened to be snacking on grapes. I fell asleep with a smile on my face thinking of him as a Grecian Royal, propped up on his pillows, snacking on grapes and viewing the city lights. No sooner had he fallen asleep that Charlotte sat bolt up in bed in a complete panic -- trying to figure out where all the lights had come from and where she was. It was interesting to see how differently they reacted to the same stimuli (granted Charlotte woke up to see the lights -- and she is 3 year younger), but I think the story captures where they both are in their development and comfort with the world.
 
 
 

  

Writer's Almanac

It is a gorgeous spring day here today, and my daily poem from the Writer's Almanac embodied the light feeling I am experiencing this morning. Enjoy.

Count your fingers by C.D. Wright
from One Big Self: An Investigation.


Count your fingers

Count your fingers

Count your toes

Count your nose holes

Count your blessings

Count your stars (lucky or not)

Count your loose change

Count the cars at the crossing

Count the miles to the state line

Count the ticks you pulled off the dog

Count your calluses

Count your shells

Count the points on the antlers

Count the newjack's keys

Count your cards; cut them again

Easter

Easter was particularly fun this year. We did not promote the holiday much -- so we were amazed when Ben strung the familiar lore of the Easter Bunny through the day. We left the kids Easter Baskets in their rooms after they went to sleep, and first thing Easter morning Ben came running in our room excited about the fact that the Easter Bunny had visited and left him great loot! He wanted to show us and wake up Charlotte to see if he had stopped in her room as well. Here are some cute pictures from the unpacking of the Easter baskets that ensued (BTW - don't buy the new colored straw that they have for Easter Baskets. It is very sharp...and if you decide to differ from me on this -- DEFINITELY don't unpack Easter Baskets in your BED....ouch.)

Ben is obsessed with a Nickelodeon television show called Avatar. So, he had been asking for the toy they make that is Aang's (the main character) flying staff. He also was wanting goggles for swimming -- and since we have plans to swim soon we thought it was good timing. Here are some of his pictures:





















This is Aang and his friend Momo, the lemur:















This is the Benster Bunny and his frog dressed up like an Easter Rabbit...maybe an Easter Ribbit...ooo, that might be unforgiveable.












Charlotte did not have anything she particularly wanted or needed -- since she has 8 elephants and about 47 horses. She is really into construction vehicles right now, so we got her a couple Bob the Builder trucks. They were by far her favorite. Since she loves hats so much, I thought MAYBE funny spring headbands might be the way to bridge the love of hats and the disgust with headbands. WRONG! She clearly knows the difference. I hope you can appreciate these photos, as all of them took major negotiations -- including ice cream for breakfast for the next year. (Not really...but she just doesn't know that tool yet!)

































































These are a sequence showing my partner in crime trying to secure the bunny ears to her head for a photo...
























In my opinion, this was one of the great photo finds of the day. Lolly in her swimming goggles...she looks like the lovechild of the creature from the blue lagoon:

Drew's Birthday

Drew was in Dallas, Texas for most of his birthday. The kids had been helping me plan his celebration all week. We were going to the airport to pick him up, have dinner, wrap presents, bake cake, etc...except Lolly and I got sick -- and Drew's flight was terribly delayed. He ended up walking in around 10:30 ...and we had all of the lights out. He came around the corner to where the kids and I were hiding with a lit birthday cake (some of us were giggling....) and we yelled surprise. This was his reaction:

From his blurry-eyed vantage point, he saw the kids in their pjs....Ben jumping up and down hysterically yelling surprise and Charlotte looking a bit shell-shocked like she didn't know what to do. They foisted their presents that they had been holding all week on him before he could take off his coat or put his bag down. It was incredibly sweet. They sang...first the straight version of Happy Birthday -- and then independently their silly versions (which change every time they do it - sometimes including different exotic animals, sometimes a falsetto tone, other times funny little dances).
We had organized a quick scavenger hunt for Drew to follow clues to get his present. Ben was hysterical trying to "help" him. He was so excited I thought he was going to pass out...and of course Drew was a major champ shedding his travel exhaustion and absorbing the kids enthusiasm, he eagerly ran around the house playing our silly game. Then we had cake. It was a short celebration -- but incredibly special because we had been apart for the week and it was a nice homecoming celebration for all of us.

Spring

Today
by Billy Collins

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.



I adore Billy Collins - and I don't think of myself as a poetry person. This is much like it feels in our home...the windows are open, the kids are wanting to linger outside and the warm sunshine makes me want to smile. Here are some photos from the last week in our spring.