Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Halloween 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
If you can’t beat ‘em (which, of course, you can’t)…
For awhile it was a family affair. Ben (who has sleep habits that resemble Fiona’s) is getting up with her. Thank goodness, because after a year and a half of this nonsense, I was losing my good humor with the program. Anyway, Ben and Fiona would get up and go downstairs and share a cup of coffee, a cup of milk, and an Atkins bar. Well, I finally had to put the kabosh on the whole “bar” thing, because it didn’t take Fiona long to figure out that when she woke up, she got to have a yummy chocolate bar. So she would wake up at four o’clock or so ("or so" being the operating concept here), and before her eyes were fully open, she was calling out, “Baarrr, baaarrr…” It was her most clearly, carefully pronounced word, believe me! And, of course, it didn’t take long for Rachel to get in on the act too. Rachel, who has slept the dead for a good 12 hours a night for a couple of years now (thank goodness we have one good sleeper! Besides me, I’m a good sleeper, honest I am, I just need a CHANCE…), a sleep that usually would not be disturbed by a 24 piece brass band, would somehow spring instantly awake at Fiona’s first “Baaarrr!” So, we would all be awake at FOUR AM eating Atkins bars (the girls) and drinking a LOT of coffee (Ben and me). Ben thought this was kinda fun, but I could NOT see how it could come to a happy conclusion, so I put an end to Atkins bars at FOUR AM. Fiona still wakes up ridiculously early, Ben still gets up with her, but Rachel again sleeps until I cajole/threaten/harrass her little behind out of bed at 6:45.
So, we have a resolution of sorts, to the whole non-sleep thing. We, the adults, have finally decided to be happy about what we have been doing all along, which is getting up with Fiona at absurd hours. She will certainly grow up to become one of those people who needs very little sleep, and therefore accomplishes a great deal. President Fiona… kind of has a ring to it, eh?
First Field Trips and Other Adventures
Last week, (again, all of you who knew me 20 years ago, pause to remember…) I chaperoned Rachel’s first field trip. Fiona and I went along with our three Kindergarten classes on their trip to the pumpkin patch. This was no ordinary pumkin patch either. They had a “playground” with about 20 giant Halloween-themed play structures on steroids: giant (really giant, like 2 stories high) slides, tunnels, trains, hay heaps; they also had hayrides (well, tractor rides, as there was no hay and no horses of course) through a spooky woods and a petting zoo. There were about 5 other schools there on fields trips, and I have to say, it was lunacy. Fun lunacy, but lunacy nevertheless. The kids got to pick out a little pumpkin on the way out the gate, just to preserve the illusion of the pumkin patch. I learned 2 important things about field trips: 1) sign your husband up also/instead of yourself and, if that fails, 2) leave the toddler at home! Fiona had fun, but she was always going in the opposite direction of the 3 kindergarteners of whom I was in charge. And of course, none of them was going in the same directions as the others, either.
So, after that exhausting adventure (pictures after halloween, I promise), I fortunately had a chance to rest up. I had… drum roll, please… a WEEKEND AWAY!! A whole 36 hours with which to do exactly and only what I wanted. Wow! I took the train to Richmond, VA and met up with my dear, dear sister. We walked (a lot!) and talked (a lot!) and had a generally awesome time. We took the walking tour of Richmond, the canal tour, went shoe shopping, went to a few museums, found a couple of yarn shops (of course!), went to the farmers’ market, spent the afternoon eating and eating and eating at a fabulous Ethiopian restaurant and so on. I can’t believe how much we did! And somehow, it was really relaxing despite all this crazy activity. And, at the end, I was ready to go home to my wonderful family, and they were happy to see me (especially my wonderful, wonderful husband!!).
And now, we are all ready for Halloween. The pumkins are carved, the costumes (fairy and mouse) all laid out, the candy bought, and the plans laid. Oh, I’m sure I’ve forgotten something, but we’ll have fun! I promise, pictures next week! Happy Halloween to all!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
I knew it couldn't last
Then, around the time I was making dinner (which turned out to be quite yummy for everyone but me - after all, it was still the perfect day), I started to feel a bit off. By bedtime, I was in the grips of a rather unpleasant flu. Still feeling very under the weather, with a fever, headache, and chills. Yuck! Next time I have a Perfect Day, I won't crow about it to the world, eh? This oughta teach me!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Ahhhh... The Perfect Day
Fiona and I then went for a 4-mile run, again no whining, only considerable complaining on my part while I pushed the stroller up, up, up that long hill on Russell Road. Then back home, whereupon I took up my Tuesday chores (inspired by my friend Phuong, who seems to be in a good mood all the time, I have put myself on a daily chores schedule). And this is where the miracle happened. For an hour, I cleaned while Fiona kept herself busy with a variety of clever diversions provided by dear old mom. An hour, a whole hour! Usually I start cleaning, or whatever, and expect the girls to find something to do to keep themselves busy. But, after almost 6 years at this gig, I am finally getting smarter. So, this time, I was ready with a few tricks up my sleeve. Fiona drew with crayons, then I got out the playdough, then the beads for her to sort through. Then, of course, she read to herself for a good 15 minutes. Done with the chores! Yeah for Mom!
Now, things are going so well, that by this time it's only 10am. So we grab an apple (healthy snack! I am sooo on a roll this morning!) and head to the park. Fiona walked the whole way, about 1/4 of a mile or so, stopping only to pretend she was a crossing guard stopping traffic. Now, that was cute, and will please our real crossing guard no end to know she has inspired someone. So, to the park. We played in the sand box until Fiona threw a handful of sand down my shirt - again! This is her new trick. Whenever I am not paying careful attention, she crams a fistful of sand right down my shirt. Of course, she thinks this is hysterical, as do the other moms and nannies. And because they are laughing, I am laughing and cannot properly correct Fiona's rather funny bad behavior. So she thinks it's a great idea and keeps doing it. At this point we usually go play on the slides or something.
After the park, we came back home, where I prepared a nutritious lunch with representatives from each food group (gosh, anyone feeling queasy yet? I am so good, it's sickening!), which we ate vast quantities of, before happily toddling off to what I hope will be a 2.5 hour nap. And here we are! I am feeling so smug about this day that I am beginning to look over my shoulder. It's going too well!
One last note...
Anyone who has known me for at least the past 20 years (or has seen pictures/heard stories from that era) will probably get a big chuckle out of the news that last night was my first ever PTA meeting. Yes, I am a card carrying member of the PTA now. What next? After today, who knows!
All this perfection has worn me out completely and I must go take a little cat nap!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Dash for Dad
Kiss me, girl!
Everyone knows Rachel is the kissiest, huggiest girl on the planet, but Fiona is getting in on the act now too. She has recently discovered the power of the kiss. And boy, is she wielding it! She is all over everyone with those lips, and those arms, and she is NOT always gentle about it. She gives kisses to everything that she likes: me, Rachel, Maggie (cat), Ben, airplanes in the sky, other kids on the street, the TV, yummy food, you name it. And speaking of TV, Fiona has also discovered Thomas the Train. When the TV is off, she points to it and says "doo doo" which is "choo choo" and really gets upset when she can't watch it. She also gets a big kick out of playing with the train table at playgroup. And she even made a "choo choo" out of her big Lego blocks. It's an obsession. Now all we need are some Thomas books and we'll be all set!
Above, Fiona is watching Thomas the Train (lazy bones! I thought this was funny, because I am so used to Rachel's aerobic TV viewing habits), and at right is the "choo choo" she made yesterday. I should say that she did this with absoluetely no influence or help from me. It is a 100% original creation.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Must…blog…must…blog…
I have lots of new pictures of the girls, and maybe I’ll just put them up and let them lead the way. The first picture was taken by Rachel. She's getting pretty good at pictures, has her Aunt Beth's eye. We were hanging out, waiting for cousin Katie to come over, and Rachel was snapping pictures left and right. Here are a few more (one to prove Rachel may be a budding photog, but she's still a kid).
These pictures were taken two weeks ago, I'm afraid. Since then, we have just been trying to get our routines down. Homework has started - can you believe it? Homework in kindergarten. I've decided to be a bit of a hard case about it, insisting that we go home, change, snack and do homework before doing anything else. This is because I seem to be the mother of a procrastinator. Gee, any guesses on where she might get that? Yes, Rachel is the queen of "in a minute, Mom." So I've decided we will not even start all that business with homework. Here's a tub shot. I just love those, you know? Maybe I have such fond memories of playing in the tub with my sister, so I have about a million of these shots. I love this one especially.
The girl can accessorize!
Anyone who has spent even a small amount of time with Fiona knows that she loves hats. When we go out, she always gets a hat to put on along with her shoes. And she insists on shoes, too. Huh, how strange. Well, anyway. Here are a few shots to demonstrate that Fiona will make a hat, if there isn't one immediately available. We were cleaning up in their bedroom, and she got out her favorite pajamas and started to put on the shirt. They are Teletubbies pajamas (Teletubbies is a truly frightening show - you should check it out sometime, it'll really give you the willies, but kids LOVE it), that have been handed down through the Hale family, through our family, and goodness knows who else. Fiona is at least the fourth child to be totally obsessed with these silly pajamas. Anyway, once she got the PJs on (ready for nap!), she found the swim diapers, and put one on, just to complete the ensemble...
Clearly, I have no talent with the camera, nor do I have any skill inserting them into this so-and-so blog. Ugh, you have no idea the aggravation this is causing me today!!! In fact, I've spent so much time messing around with them that I have to go get ready to pick up Rachel from school now. We are bringing her friend Grace home for a playdate and dinner. Should be fun!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
A blog about a blog
Oh, and one other thing. I’ve noticed what I fear may be the beginning of a trend. The, Oh-I’ll-read-the-blog-rather-than-call-on-the-phone trend. I hope this is not the case, because I still love to yack on the phone. So, call, call! And read, read!
A Mom's Delight!
So, yes, Fiona nods her head. I ask her, “Do you want to go on the potty?” And yes, she nods again! I scooped her out, put her sweet naked self on the toilet, and she pooped!!!! She was mighty pleased with herself, but the rest of the family, now we were overjoyed. We cheered, we whooped, we jumped up and down, we hugged. Rachel was thrilled, Papa came upstairs and we all looked at the poop. We high fived, we low fived, we… well, Fiona got the picture too. Needless to say she was quite amazed at the fuss. So, everyone, send your positive potty thoughts this way, and maybe we’ll see a little more action out of Miss Fiona. Here’s hopin’!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Betrayed by my own daughter!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Way to go Fiona!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
"This is the first day...
Just before she dropped off to sleep last night, I asked Rachel how she liked school. "I loooove it, Mom! I just looove it!" So. Here we go, a new beginning.
Off to class, with a few tears...
Day 2 of Kindergarten
"Mom! What can I give Miss Nelson? I want to take her a gift." To make a long story short, this morning Rachel wanted to take a gift to her teacher so that "Miss Nelson won't forget about me!" First, she wanted to take a gift for Miss Nelson's dog, but I suggested perhaps she could draw a picture. She decided that she would draw a picture of herself with Miss Nelson. So off she goes... Hey, wait a minute! We have to leave in 2 minutes! Once she gets something in her head, she will not be dissuaded, so with no time to draw a picture, Rachel decides that she will take an apple to her teacher! Now, where she came up with this, I have no idea, and since we didn't have time to talk about the meaning of "cliche" I gave up and got an apple. I hope Miss Nelson gets a kick out of this!
Miss Nelson is about 25, looks like she's 12 and was almost certainly a cheerleader in high school. I mean this in the best possible way. I think she and Rachel are going to adore each other and I am thrilled about the pairing. Miss Nelson is so cheerful and bubbly that Rachel will never know that Miss Nelson is the one in charge.
The Days before School Started and a Bit About Fiona (Fiona Who?)
This is Rachel in front of her new school, first day of K-Prep
be when Mom is ready to take her anywhere overnight again. That child sees a hotel room as an opportunity for an all-night party. Her father and I... OK, stop right there. NOT her father and I, just I, did not find this amusing. Her father slept through all of it, waking only at choice moments to bark something at Rachel (who was also wide awake and refusing to be herded back to bed) like, "Listen to your Mother! zzzzzzzz...." To be fair to Ben, he had the cold that I had had the week before, which caused an almost drug-like exhaustion. Anyway, someone, sometime, will enjoy Fiona's penchant for hotel-room partying, but it is NOT her family. I have vowed to avoid hotels for the foreseeable future.
We had a fun Labor Day weekend - a party at the home of some new friends, the farmers' market, church, and mini golf and dinner with Katie (Katie Willis - Ben's brother Bob's eldest daughter, here for grad school at U-Maryland, College Park) on Monday. Now, that was fun! I think Katie will probably be screening all our calls from now on (!), but the rest of us all had fun. I, personally, have come a looooong way since having children. We didn't even take a score card with us, and we only played about 14 of the 18 holes! I was so proud of myself! I got a hole-in-one and I only jumped up and down a little bit before running off after Fiona, who was having a great time climbing all over everything.
OK, I have one more story before I try to post this. It seems Rachel has taken up a cause I have long since abandoned - the Toilet Seat. We only have one bathroom, which makes things a bit interesting and doesn't leave much room for privacy. We try, but it's not easy. Anyway, Rachel caught Ben on his way out of the bathroom the other day, and noticed that he had (of course) left the toilet seat up. She said to him, "Papa! You HAVE to put the toilet seat down! You live with HUNDREDS of women and we NEED to have the seat down!!" We are still laughing about this, but poor Ben doesn't appreciate the reminder of how seriously he is outnumbered around here. I say, just wait about 10 years!
Keep an eye on us for more updates! I am sure I will figure out this picture thing at a later date, but in the meantime, I just stuck them in where and how I could.