Fiona is fibbing! It's always about the same thing - poop - which, overall is a good sign, I think. Of course, a mom of a toddler in diapers will see anything as a sign that using the potty is just around the corner. But anyway, tonight I asked Fiona if she had pooped (I knew full well that she had - everyone in the house and very likely several of our neighbors knew she had - it was a bad one) and she said, "No." She's been doing this, saying "no" when you ask if she's pooped. She also hides away to do the deed. BUT, she is unable to resist the opportunity to brag about the poop, and her ability to lie isn't all that sophisticated, because if you say, "Is it a big poop, or a little poop?" she always answers proudly, "Biiiig!" But tonight she caught herself. After she told me it was big, she said, "Not 'ere, poop." I let Ben change her...
Health Food Junky
Rachel is taking swimming lessons. Again... She has taken them in the past, usually with disastrous results. The first time, she accidentally lost her grip on the side of the pool and slipped under water. She was never in any danger, and never has been, but from that moment on she has regarded swimming lessons as a death sentence, sure that she will not live through the half hour. We have had fits, screaming, loooots of crying, and plain old refusal to do anything but sit on the edge and watch the other kids swim. Lengthy hiatuses from lessons have had no effect. Until this time. I signed her up for lessons at the YMCA in the neighborhood, and told her that it was her tough luck, she couldn't get out of it so she might as well enjoy it. That was really what I said, and you know, she bought it. She still complains, but she is really having fun (BIG smile on her face the whole class) and doing very well. She is somehow the strongest swimmer in the class and after two classes the aquatics director has suggested that we might just move her on up to the next level. Wow!
Anyway, I am not completely insensitive and have offered her treats after class for a job well done. After the first class we went to the chocolate shop in Del Ray. Mom had more fun there, and it was a bit pricey for a weekly treat. I was casting about for some alternative (and thinking about the cupcake shop in Old Town I'd heard about). But when Rachel made interested noises at the vending machine, I capitalized on it. So, did my dear daughter choose the granola bar? The animal crackers? The baked chips? Oh no, she chose (I can't even believe this) the TWINKIES...
Someday she will be a total health food nut and I will taunt her with this tale. I tried one, they really are ghastly, but she snarfed down the other three in the package. She hasn't popped out with a tumor, but I'm sure it'll happen any minute.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Pictures from Michigan and Other Times
I am such a hippy! I have been in the kitchen all morning, aside from a lovely walk to the playground. It’s very warm, 60-ish today and here’s a shot of Fiona on our way out the door.
Don’t you love the accessories? She insisted on wearing the backpack so I had to tie it up in front so it wouldn’t pull her over backwards. But she wore it all the way to the park.
So far today, since our return from the playground, I’ve made granola, hummus, and baked tofu. Is that some hippy food, or what?? Fiona is getting pretty good at helping with the hummus, but she really got in the way with the granola so I sent her out into the backyard to play with the neighbor’s cat. They were so cute together, but something got out of hand and Fiona came in with a big scratch. But she was just in time to help me marinate the tofu (which I have since baked and it is now cooling. Baked tofu is just super yummy on salads and the kids love to munch on it). Then we ran up to the school with some gloves for Rachel (more, later, on why Rachel needs gloves on a 60 degree day), then came back and Fiona went down for her nap. So now I am taking a crack at getting our pictures of the cameras and into some sort of a blog.
They are so late, but here are some pictures from our trip to Michigan and Christmas.
Reading on Christmas Eve
Christmas Morning – playing with the loot! 
Peace on Earth…
Here are a few other pictures of the girls since the holidays...
Rachel at the zoo with some friends
OK, time to go start cleaning up from my cooking spree. Then I have to make the whole wheat pizza crust. It’s pizza night at the Willis’, don’t ya know?!? That's after we pick Rachel up from the Environmental Kids' Club, of course. They are going to clean up the playground, hence the gloves for Rachel on a 60 degree day. OK, I have really stopped laughing my head off now. I sound so earthy crunchy! If Ben keeps eating this food (which he actually doesn’t, of course) he’s going to grow his beard really long and start wearing sandals!
Don’t you love the accessories? She insisted on wearing the backpack so I had to tie it up in front so it wouldn’t pull her over backwards. But she wore it all the way to the park.
So far today, since our return from the playground, I’ve made granola, hummus, and baked tofu. Is that some hippy food, or what?? Fiona is getting pretty good at helping with the hummus, but she really got in the way with the granola so I sent her out into the backyard to play with the neighbor’s cat. They were so cute together, but something got out of hand and Fiona came in with a big scratch. But she was just in time to help me marinate the tofu (which I have since baked and it is now cooling. Baked tofu is just super yummy on salads and the kids love to munch on it). Then we ran up to the school with some gloves for Rachel (more, later, on why Rachel needs gloves on a 60 degree day), then came back and Fiona went down for her nap. So now I am taking a crack at getting our pictures of the cameras and into some sort of a blog.
They are so late, but here are some pictures from our trip to Michigan and Christmas.
Decorating our Christmas tree – Ben and Rachel found the LAST Christmas tree in the city of Manistee. It was an unclaimed tree from the Catholic Central tree sale, and they let us have it at no charge.
Reading on Christmas Eve
Christmas Morning – playing with the loot!
Peace on Earth…
Here are a few other pictures of the girls since the holidays...
Rachel at the zoo with some friends
Fiona during the big snowfall of '09 - the 1.5" that closed school!
The girls and their friends at Mt. Vernon on Presidents' Day
OK, time to go start cleaning up from my cooking spree. Then I have to make the whole wheat pizza crust. It’s pizza night at the Willis’, don’t ya know?!? That's after we pick Rachel up from the Environmental Kids' Club, of course. They are going to clean up the playground, hence the gloves for Rachel on a 60 degree day. OK, I have really stopped laughing my head off now. I sound so earthy crunchy! If Ben keeps eating this food (which he actually doesn’t, of course) he’s going to grow his beard really long and start wearing sandals!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Unthinkable! (or, maybe, Unpinkable!)
Today, I was at Costco and they had some really cute outfits at, of course, good prices. So Fiona helped me pick out one for each girl. I passed up a couple of ensembles I really liked for Rachel because they lacked a certain, well, feminine flair that we all know appeals to Rachel. We finally settled on one that was pretty frilly, but not screaming pink - a good compromise, I thought.
Well, I had the outfit hanging up, waiting for Rachel when she got home. She took one look at it and said, "I don't like it. It's too girly." Whaaaaat??????
Well, I had the outfit hanging up, waiting for Rachel when she got home. She took one look at it and said, "I don't like it. It's too girly." Whaaaaat??????
Friday, January 16, 2009
Rachel has a pet!
Yes, it's true. Last week at church (now, I'm still not sure what sort of spiritual meaning this has, but anyway...) the kids in the 5-year-old class made worm houses. So each kid came home with 2 worms of their very own. I cringed when I saw this, not sure what life would be like with a 2-year-old and a big container of dirt, but I was a good sport and went along with it. My idea of donating the worms to the garden at Rachel's school was a non-starter, so it seems were stuck with these guys for a while.
But it's been fun. Our earthy friends seem to have found a spot in the middle of our dining room table, as the kids love to observe them during meals. The container is clear plastic so we can see them periodically, and once in a while they come to the surface. They say a child needs to hear a word 500 times before they can use it, but not in this case. Fiona took one look at Rachel's new pets and said "MERM!" She's a big fan, and keeps up with them the most. Rachel enjoys renaming them every few days, first "Earth" and "Worm" and then we've moved on to things like "Squirmy" and "Wormy" and other such appropriate monikers. In general I'd say the worms are working out better than our friends' hermit crabs. Santa brought our friend Kenzie a hermit crab for Christmas, which barely survived the new year.
Perhaps it was the hunk it took out of Rachel that poisoned it, or perhaps it was an overdose of love, but it died. And so did the poor guy that succeeded it. My heart goes out to Kenzie though, cuz she is sad about her hermit crabs. Anyway, I wasn't sorry to see the first one go, after the vicious attack it laid on on my daughter. We were at the Hales' for New Year's Eve, and the girls were holding the crab. Rachel had it in her hand and all of a sudden she started SCREAMING at the top of her lungs. We rushed to her, and thank god for Aileen's level head. While I was laughing my head off (OK, this is not my proudest moment, so it's amazing I am confessing it here for all to read, but for some reason when I saw that little crab clinging to my kid's hand with all its might, it just struck me funny. Really funny.), so while I was trying to paste on a straight and sympathetic face and tend to my daughter, Aileen was doing the right thing. She rushed Rachel to the bathroom and put her hand (with crab firmly attached) under running water. This caused the crab to let go, revealing a pretty small but deep dent in Rachel's little hand. We washed and bandaged it, and Rachel milked it for all the sympathy she could for a week.
Aileen has rescued me from these situations before, times when I was busy laughing my head off over some minor injury or transgression. Like, for instance, the time when Rachel was three and she peed and pooped in the shed and then blamed it on our dog. When we discovered the mess, and Rachel very earnestly pointed the finger at Tulo, I began laughing so hard I had to go inside the house while Aileen had Rachel help "clean up" and talked to her about why we don't poop in sheds and blame it on the family dog. Thank goodness for true friends!
OK, so it's time for me to sign off and get Rachel from school. We have a 4-day weekend ahead, since both MLK Day and Inauguration day are government holidays. My sister and her friend are coming to celebrate the inauguration with us. And celebrate we will! Oh, Happy, Happy Day!
But it's been fun. Our earthy friends seem to have found a spot in the middle of our dining room table, as the kids love to observe them during meals. The container is clear plastic so we can see them periodically, and once in a while they come to the surface. They say a child needs to hear a word 500 times before they can use it, but not in this case. Fiona took one look at Rachel's new pets and said "MERM!" She's a big fan, and keeps up with them the most. Rachel enjoys renaming them every few days, first "Earth" and "Worm" and then we've moved on to things like "Squirmy" and "Wormy" and other such appropriate monikers. In general I'd say the worms are working out better than our friends' hermit crabs. Santa brought our friend Kenzie a hermit crab for Christmas, which barely survived the new year.
Perhaps it was the hunk it took out of Rachel that poisoned it, or perhaps it was an overdose of love, but it died. And so did the poor guy that succeeded it. My heart goes out to Kenzie though, cuz she is sad about her hermit crabs. Anyway, I wasn't sorry to see the first one go, after the vicious attack it laid on on my daughter. We were at the Hales' for New Year's Eve, and the girls were holding the crab. Rachel had it in her hand and all of a sudden she started SCREAMING at the top of her lungs. We rushed to her, and thank god for Aileen's level head. While I was laughing my head off (OK, this is not my proudest moment, so it's amazing I am confessing it here for all to read, but for some reason when I saw that little crab clinging to my kid's hand with all its might, it just struck me funny. Really funny.), so while I was trying to paste on a straight and sympathetic face and tend to my daughter, Aileen was doing the right thing. She rushed Rachel to the bathroom and put her hand (with crab firmly attached) under running water. This caused the crab to let go, revealing a pretty small but deep dent in Rachel's little hand. We washed and bandaged it, and Rachel milked it for all the sympathy she could for a week.
Aileen has rescued me from these situations before, times when I was busy laughing my head off over some minor injury or transgression. Like, for instance, the time when Rachel was three and she peed and pooped in the shed and then blamed it on our dog. When we discovered the mess, and Rachel very earnestly pointed the finger at Tulo, I began laughing so hard I had to go inside the house while Aileen had Rachel help "clean up" and talked to her about why we don't poop in sheds and blame it on the family dog. Thank goodness for true friends!
OK, so it's time for me to sign off and get Rachel from school. We have a 4-day weekend ahead, since both MLK Day and Inauguration day are government holidays. My sister and her friend are coming to celebrate the inauguration with us. And celebrate we will! Oh, Happy, Happy Day!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
May lightning strike me...
I found an apostrophe error in my most recent post...
Ugh, it'll haunt me forever.
Forgive me, everyone!
Ugh, it'll haunt me forever.
Forgive me, everyone!
Hello again!
Happy New Year to all! We are back in the beltway after our holiday adventures, Rachel is back in school, and Fiona has graduated to the 2-year-old playgroup. I think my last post was after Halloween (I hope there are still a few readers out there - add a comment, or send me a message so that I know you're still reading), so I'll just give a quick recap of our activities since then. November was a blur, lots of days off school and not a lot of real excitement. We had a truly lovely Thanksgiving with our friends Bill and Patti and their kids. For those who don't know, Patti and I have been friends since kindergarten. She and Bill live in Delaware, have 3 kids who are tweens and teens, and they invited us to share Thanksgiving with them. Patti could teach Martha Stewart a thing or two, and the meal, the table, her kids (and my kids too, believe it or not!!) were just perfect. It was a really beautiful day, and we are so grateful for their friendship and the invitation.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we rushed Fiona off to the ER for a suspected broken thumb (an almost tragic toilet seat accident...) where she must have picked up the virus that hit her hard, right on her birthday. Poor little thing, she was soooo sick. High, high fever was the most worrisome symptom, and it lasted for 6 days. In the meantime, we had a nice visit from my sister and her friend Amy (and their 2 dogs, Jackson and Beebles). We gave Beth the virus, and then, once Fiona was feeling better, Rachel came down with it. Unfortunately, Rachel ALSO got the stomach virus going around at school at the same time. And then, after the fifth day of a really high fever (and by high, I mean 104 - 105) and 2 trips to the Dr., I called them again and they had me take her to the ER. After a NINE HOUR visit with the fine staff of the Fairfax ER, we learned that she also had a urinary tract infection that was prolonging and elevating her fever. And indeed, within 6 hours of the mega-dose of antibiotics they gave her, she was feeling much better.
Ten consecutive days of illness (poor kids, and also, lets hear it - poor mom!) meant that Rachel didn't get to have her birthday party, or really much of a celebration at all, but she was really OK with it all. We were planning to have a "Pajama party" with everything but the sleeping. All her party guests were really looking forward to it, but we had to postpone once, and then finally cancel.
The week after they recovered, we left for Michigan. We had good driving conditions, but when we got to Manistee there was TONS of snow. It was so exciting! Of course, the good people of Manistee were much less excited about it than we were, because the white stuff had been dumping down on them since opening day of deer season (Nov. 15). In fact, by the time the holiday break rolled around, they had had FIVE snow days. FIVE! That's a record, I'm sure, and you know they don't call off school for just anything up there. We got some pictures of the kids in snow piles and things like that, which I will post on my next entry, along with a complete description of our holidays. It'll be very exciting, including an account of a vicious hermit crab attack, so stay tuned! Probably sometime later this week or early next. Ah, it's great to be back in the saddle again! Cheers!
The Sunday after Thanksgiving, we rushed Fiona off to the ER for a suspected broken thumb (an almost tragic toilet seat accident...) where she must have picked up the virus that hit her hard, right on her birthday. Poor little thing, she was soooo sick. High, high fever was the most worrisome symptom, and it lasted for 6 days. In the meantime, we had a nice visit from my sister and her friend Amy (and their 2 dogs, Jackson and Beebles). We gave Beth the virus, and then, once Fiona was feeling better, Rachel came down with it. Unfortunately, Rachel ALSO got the stomach virus going around at school at the same time. And then, after the fifth day of a really high fever (and by high, I mean 104 - 105) and 2 trips to the Dr., I called them again and they had me take her to the ER. After a NINE HOUR visit with the fine staff of the Fairfax ER, we learned that she also had a urinary tract infection that was prolonging and elevating her fever. And indeed, within 6 hours of the mega-dose of antibiotics they gave her, she was feeling much better.
Ten consecutive days of illness (poor kids, and also, lets hear it - poor mom!) meant that Rachel didn't get to have her birthday party, or really much of a celebration at all, but she was really OK with it all. We were planning to have a "Pajama party" with everything but the sleeping. All her party guests were really looking forward to it, but we had to postpone once, and then finally cancel.
The week after they recovered, we left for Michigan. We had good driving conditions, but when we got to Manistee there was TONS of snow. It was so exciting! Of course, the good people of Manistee were much less excited about it than we were, because the white stuff had been dumping down on them since opening day of deer season (Nov. 15). In fact, by the time the holiday break rolled around, they had had FIVE snow days. FIVE! That's a record, I'm sure, and you know they don't call off school for just anything up there. We got some pictures of the kids in snow piles and things like that, which I will post on my next entry, along with a complete description of our holidays. It'll be very exciting, including an account of a vicious hermit crab attack, so stay tuned! Probably sometime later this week or early next. Ah, it's great to be back in the saddle again! Cheers!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Halloween 2008
Halloween is supposed to be a holiday of surprises, but more of the "BOO!" variety. In our family, though, it seems to be of the Surprise Family Visit variety. Last year (2007), Ben showed up in Manistee unannounced (at least as far as the girls were concerned) to spend Halloween with us, and this year it was the Grandmas who showed up on our doorstep! Seriously! Grandma Gail and Grandma Linda decided they missed us soooooo much that they just had to jump in the van (with the dog, of course) and come our way. Mercifully, Ben shared the news with me beforehand (though they had sworn him to secrecy) but we did not tell the girls. Fiona was confused, but since all of life is pretty confusing these days, she just took it all in stride. Also, it was the dog that she was really excited about - the Grandmas were just transportation for Barkley, and therefore appreciated. Rachel, however, had the biggest surprise of all...
Mystery Reader
A few weeks ago I had signed Ben up to be the Mystery Reader for Rachel's class on Friday afternoon. This is a weekly event, on Friday afternoons, in which a parent comes in to read to the class. Only the room mother, who organizes this event, knows who will be reading. The kids love it, and Rachel had asked me several times when one of us was going to be reading. So Ben took Grandma Gail along with him, and they shared the reading fun. Rachel was beside herself with joy, and the whole class caught her excitement. They were all apparently thrilled that Grandma was here, and you can tell from the many pictures Rachel took during the reading, that there was much bouncing up and down and general merriment.
Trick or Treat
After reading, Rachel, Grandma Linda and Barkley walked home together, took a little nap, then we had a simple dinner, and got ready for trick or treating. Rachel was a fairy, and Fiona was a mouse. We headed out at about 6:30, and it didn't take long for the street to fill up with kids. It
also didn't take long for Fiona to figure out what this Halloween gig was all about. She watched Rachel, the old pro, go up to a door, knock, holler "TRICK OR TREAT!", hold out the candy bag, and get the goods. Well, after two houses Fiona took over. She proudly carried her bag up to the door, knocked, did not say the words, but held out her bag. Then, following Rachel's polite example, "Thank you (which sounds more like Di Doo)" and "Buh-bye."
For some reason, I gave them each really large bags. Rachel didn't have too much trouble, but Fiona's was much too big for her. Nevertheless, she insisted on carrying hers, All By Herself, thank you very much. As it got heavier (we ended up going 3 blocks up our street, then all the way back on the other side - a good stretch for a toddler, I'd say), she had to hold it up and out, away from her body. This caused some strain on her muscles, and she began to complain of pain in her chest, near her arms. I offered many times to carry it, but Fiona flat-out refused, saying quite firmly, "Mine, MINE, MINE!"
Rachel was off and away immediately. Ben accompanied her, as she quickly outpaced Fiona and me. Especially when we happened along some of her friends from school. They took off together, leaving parents to just try to keep up. We all ended up back at home, happy and tired. Our neighborhood is perfect for Halloween, and we all had fun, but I was expecting a lot more visitors, so we had a lot of leftover candy.
The Rest of the Weekend
...passed much too quickly, of course. On Saturday I did my last long run before next week's half marathon on the Outer Banks. Then we went to IKEA in the afternoon, and Five Guys for dinner. Everyone should have a Five Guys burger before they die, so you can call to arrange your visit when you're done reading! On Sunday, we went to church, and Mom and I spent the afternoon just hanging out together, goign to various local shops including the Crate and Barrel Outlet. The girls and Barkley had a great time, playing and walking and generally being kids together. They left Monday morning, and the house was very empty after they were gone. I kept Rachel and Fiona home Monday, then Rachel didn't have school on Tuesday for election day. So, today was our first day back to our normal schedule. And oh, what a happy, happy day it is...
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