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First Day
09.23.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on First DayHere it is, the big day!
What day, you ask? The first day of school. Gigi is now a first grader. A first grader who goes to school all day, five days a week. A first grader who eats lunch at school and gets three recesses every day. A first grader with homework, who can read, write, spell and work out adding and subtracting problems all on her own. When did all of this happen?Gigi is excited to be back at school, with her wiggly front tooth that has been wiggling since May. The other one fell out the night before school started, to which she said, “Now I’m ready for first grade!” She was excited to wear her new school shoes, to try out her new school wardrobe, use her new backpack and eat her lunch out of her new princess lunch box. She was really really excited to read Charlotte’s Web, a book she is determined to read by the time she leaves first grade. I am excited to have her at my school all day, to pass her in the halls, glimpse her at recess and spy on her while she’s in her classroom.
I am not excited, however, about my little girl growing up this fast. Today she is six, but in a month, seven will be here. Quickly, ever so quickly, she is adding years to her life and growing up and I am left trying to grapple the rate at which this is happening. Not to say I don’t enjoy this bigger more mature girl, but could we please slow this down a little? It is all slipping by way too fast.
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Disneyland
09.22.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on DisneylandOur life has been a wild ride these past months! I am terribly behind on posts, and have decided to just drop a few late ones in the mix. Here we are in Disneyland:
Minnie, Mickey & the LJ Family
Teacups
Bert the Horse and his biggest fans
Tired Babies
Facepaint
Darths Vader and Maul arrive on the scene!
Princess Tiana at last!
Jude and Gigi meet the ‘Hut Huts’ and Woody
Jude’s Favorites: Small World, Woody, Star Wars, Winnie the Pooh and Casey Jr. He went on his first roller coasters, to which he said, “Sawee (Scary)!”
Gigi’s Favorites: Thunder Mountain Railroad, Tower of Terror and meeting Princess Tiana! Indiana Jones was a bit too much for her, and she was brave while riding Califirnia Screamin’ (the upside down roller coaster) for the first time!
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Evening
09.05.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Evening
This was the summer of backyard fires, s’mores and hot dogs. As soon as we moved in, we gave ourselves a housewarming gift of a copper fire pit. As evening would arrive, Bradley would ask if we wanted a fire. The kids would, of course, answer yes, and Bradley would head outdoors to cut wood, seek paper while I would gather the ingredients for hot dogs and s’mores.
As vegetarians, marshmallows are tricky (a main ingredient is gelatin – manufactured from animal bones). We found the Sweet and Sara marshmallows in the dairy case at Whole foods for a hefty 7.99 per package – you get about 20 marshmallows – and Gigi went to town. There is nothing she likes better than marshmallows and would eat them by the bag if she could! She became an expert roaster, favoring the red coals that result in a toasted marshmallow over the flames that scorch.
While Gigi became a connoisseur and perfected the art of roasting a marshmallow to perfection, Jude’s marshmallows hardly made it into the fire at all. His marshmallows went in the fire for brief moments and then, just as quickly, back out for a taste test. The cycle would continue like this until there was very little marshmallow on the stick. We rescued the marshmallow and settled it between two grahams and a piece of chocolate, only for Jude to open it back up, eat the marshmallow and chocolate, then offer the graham to Martha. Martha, who is not a graham fan, would leave it on the ground.
This summer was a lot of work. We nearly finished building a whole house without the help of contractors. Day in and out we toiled away with paint, wire, pipes, screws, wood and nails while our children ran wild in the yard and house. One night, after the kids had gone to bed and Bradley and I were sitting near the fire, we commented that having the fire made our house feel like a rental vacation home, that the next morning we were going to grad our sand pails and head to the beach. It gave us a sense of vacation and the feeling that usually comes from taking a break from your home and regular life routines. In this, the summer gained the feeling that we did do something besides build build build. We had quiet campfire moments, sing alongs to Bradley’s guitar, and opportunities to ponder the stars, all from our very own backyard.
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Popsicle
08.29.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Popsicle
Jude discovered “ot-pops” this summer. Ot-pops are anything on a stick that is a dessert – actual Otter Pops, popsicles, push-ups, and lollipops all fall under this heading. While we were building the house and the kids HAD to spend their days here, I tried to make it a little more tolerable by allowing them one popsicle per day, and I stocked the freezer with a wide variety of fancy popsicle and frozen ice cream treats that we usually don’t EVER buy. We are more of the make it yourself types, or just have the little Otter Pops around.
Jude embraced the popsicle trend whole heartedly! He would remember, upon arriving at the house, that there was a wide variety of ot-pops in the freezer and as soon as he would get through the door, he would open the freezer and begin rifling through it to find the ot-pop of his choice.
Next he would run out to the porch where he would sit still for a matter of minutes, enjoying his ot-pop. The ice cream would drip down his chin , onto his shirt, and coat his little fingers. But he, he enjoyed every drip, drizzle and taste of each and every ot-pop he sampled this summer!
Then, as soon as he had flung aside the stick or wrapper, he would head back to the freezer for round two, when Mommy would have to intervene to remind him that he had his one, but who understands that concept when they’re two and a half? Our freezer still has the footprints from his little gritty feet from where he stood trying to find his ot-pop for the day, and I’m not sure we will ever be able to scrub them out. Perhaps they will be one of those things in the future that reminds me of how little and cute he was as he tried to find his ot-pop during the summer of 2010…
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Underoo Envy
08.14.10 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Underoo Envy
These may look like they are for Jude (which, in a way, they are) but they are mine and I am to the moon thrilled. I can remember pining for Underoos when they came out. I even owned a pair of Captain America Underoos which I paired up with some red and blue striped tube socks to complete the ensemble. That outfit accompanied me on many a superheroic adventure, but how often can a super guy look super fly if he only owns a single pair of super duper underwear? So when we found these beauties at the store a while back I was smitten. So much so that they are now mine as of today. Jude is already kitted out with cool unders and now, finally, I can be super cool at least four days a week (or more if I am dilligent with the laundering or just cool with being unhygienic). Oh, and if you are thinking about trying to grab my waistband for a wedgie maneuver you better think twice; I think I have super powers after the last year I’ve been through… and now I have the super duds to prove it. I may not look any different but starting tomorrow I am gonna feel super on the inside.
Oh yeah, the point was also made that it will help with the potty training if Jude and daddy are both transitioning into cool super underpants, but whatever… I am just agreeing for the sake of my wardrobe.
