Beach

This morning Nora and I were looking at the back of the Raisin Bran cereal box. There are people walking in a field in one picture, and a man running along the beach. I said, "Looks like the people at Raisin Bran want us to think that cereal helps us be active."

Nora focused on the back of the box for a moment, then said, "Is that how that guy can walk on top of the water? Can people really do that?" I looked. He was running on the beach where the water lapped up over his feet.

I tried explaining how the water comes in over the beach a couple different ways. She clearly was NOT getting it. The last time Ian and I were at a beach, it was in Galveston where we were visiting with toddler Fiona. Clearly, our Nora needs to see a beach in person. Below is the last time Fiona saw the beach.

Finding our stride

It's not that we've forgotten about blogging. Really! But with Fiona in traditional school, it just feels weird. A huge chunk of our time with Fiona has been given over to the school system. We miss her, and Nora and I are still figuring out what our rhythm is. I have a couple of back-posts yet to do, but I don't want this to turn into Nora's blog, which it easily could because she says more and more things that come straight from Nora and less from her best friend Fiona's influence.

We'll figure it out. Until then, we're working on finding our stride.

Honey... honey... LION!

Just like in our beloved book Honey... Honey... Lion! Nate, Nora and I saw both honey badgers and lions when we visited the zoo this morning, but the badgers were busy making baby badgers like they are every time we visit, so we left them to it without photos.

Bill, on the other hand, was lounging very close to the viewing area. Actually, he couldn't have gotten any closer if he'd tried.

Another doozy

Nora: If you put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, you can make little spit bubbles.
Jen: That sounds a little distasteful to me.
Nora: No! It doesn't taste!

I couldn't make this stuff up

Nora: Mom, you don't have to worry about other people's air in your mouth.
Me: Why not?
Nora: Because it's just air.

Photo from an unscheduled, delightful romp with Robert on September 3.

Home sweet zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nora's home from a delightful week of special time with Grandma and Toot Toot all on her own. She had a great time, but boy is she beat. I managed to get a piece of toast into her before she fell asleep. Well, I almost did, anyway.

Thanks for the week of fun for Nora, Grandma and Toot Toot! We got a lot of work done in our basement this week, and a fair amount of mudding and sanding on the walls, too!

Happy cat, happy family

Yesterday afternoon Animal Care and Control called to say that the bat Zelda caught last week did not have rabies, and our cat was free to come out of quarantine. We're all so relieved-- especially Zelda! She purrs when we simply come near her now.

Taiko!

I brought Fiona to her first afterschool Taiko program this afternoon. It was so much fun! We learned about Taiko drumming, and also how the year-long free class will work. The instructor, Allison, made it easy to follow directions, and her engaging manner held the kids' attention for the entire hour and a half we were there. We even met up with some friends there whom we didn't know we'd get to see! Now we're itching to practice on something at home between lessons.

First festival

We went to a local festival today for the first time. It wasn't just the first time for this city's fun, but really the first time either kid had been to anything like a fair. Ian had to work, but we girls did it up big-- face painting, horse and buggy ride, rope ladder, "merry go round," and games like ring toss and duck pond. Top it all off with a little festival food and we were on cloud nine. Both kids crashed when we got home. Now we're primed for some fall festivals!

September 11

Over dinner, we took turns telling about our day. Nora went to the zoo with a friend, Fiona talked about her school day, Ian did some household chores, and I made a lot of angel food cake and tiramisu to take to a dinner tomorrow. Suddenly Fiona remembered something.

"Oh! Do you know what else happened today?!" She was suddenly bursting with information. I told her I surely didn't know, and she would have continued to say, "Yes you do!" had Ian not stopped the loop. "Two planes crashed. Actually, CJ said it was three!" Once we got past the detail that today and eight years ago today are different concepts, we were able to go on.

Ian and I told both girls what life was like for the two of us on that fateful day. There was no Fiona, no Nora. We lived in a different house in a different town. Gracie Dog was still alive and could even sort of hear and see back then. Most people didn't get late-breaking information from the net, and Ian explained that the first people to hear about it were colleagues who were watching TV news.

I have been thinking about September 11th and all the horror that surrounded it all day today. I've been thinking about how hard it is to send a child out of the home for weeks now. I've been thinking about what home, safety, and truth mean.

Fiona said her teacher read a book called September 12 We Knew Everything Would Be All Right, which was written and illustrated by first grade students in Missouri. "It was sad Mom, but not totally sad. I liked it." A little dose of hope can take us a long way.

Just batty

Animal Care and Control didn't believe Fiona's leg looked like it was bitten yesterday, but more like it was scratched. This means Zelda didn't need to go into quarantine-- until today when she caught a bat in the basement.

We haven't known about a bat in our home since the one pictured at left. The bat from 2005 surprised me by hanging on the pot I had used to boil spaghetti the night before. It was the only dish I hadn't bothered to wash before bed, and after running some soapy water in the left sink the next morning, I reached for the pot in the right sink and wondered-- even while reaching for the handle-- what the brown stuff was on the rim.

But I digress. This time I didn't want to get a handful of bat (or worse) so I didn't try to take any photos of Zelda and the bat. Instead I called Animal Care and Control immediately. The same officer appeared on my doorstep and apologized for jinxing us by asking yesterday whether Zelda had caught any bats. He caught it in a wink using a small lidded coffee can and walked me through quarantine procedures.

Over the next ten days, Zelda may be scared when we'd expect her to be affectionate, or lethargic when we'd expect her to be active. She may cough as if she has something stuck in her throat. Most alarmingly, however, she may display unprovoked aggression and bite for no reason. When I put on Ian's sneakers to go in and feed her the first night, she pounced on the loose shoelaces and made my heart stop, but she was just hungry for attention, movement, and play. She is, after all, a Mighty Huntress.

Had Zelda not been up to date on her vaccinations, she would have been removed and euthanized immediately. There are more rabid bats in our county this year already than all of last year, and the fact that they've been found in our nearby downtown is unsettling. Bats are usually only solitary when they're ill, and their bites don't hurt or fester, so we just have to wait. Hopefully ten days from now Zelda can be reintroduced to our home.

Come skate away with me

Fiona's school sponsored a skating party, and we decided to go even though Ian had to work. We didn't stay long, but managed to get around the floor in a relatively painless fashion.

Nora was convinced she wouldn't need my hand. "I learned all about balance from Mirette on the Highwire, Mama." Balance indeed.

A serious misstep

Yesterday I moved Zelda's food and water dishes out of the basement landing and back into the kitchen. We think Nathaniel is old enough to stay out of the water dish, and it's easier to monitor there.

At feeding time Fiona forgot I made this switch and changed her steps too quickly, stepping on hungry Zelda. She got a bite on the leg as a reward for her trouble. It wasn't a puncture wound-- more like a tooth scrape, but I did see a tiny bit of blood so instead of taking her to the first night of religious education, Fiona went to a rapid care facility. She didn't require antibiotics, but I did just get a call from Animal Care and Control. We'll get a visit tomorrow from an officer who can show us how to quarantine the cat to make sure she doesn't have rabies. I can see why it's important, but it does seem a little over-the-top for a cat who lives inside and has all her shots.

That's not in my vocabulary

We had a weird kind of day-- some morning time spent together, then got a family portrait, then I volunteered from 12-4. After that Ian took us all out to dinner and ice cream, and we had a walk before heading home to bed.

On our way home from dinner, we were talking about our favorite parts of the day as part of our nighttime ritual. Fiona mixed it up tonight, asking anyone in the car who cared to answer what was the funniest thing that ever happened to them, or the most boring, the farthest away from home we'd been, etc. I said I'd been to Mexico. Ian said he'd been to Scotland.

Once establishing which of those was farther away, I asserted that our whole family would visit the British Isles together someday. Ian's eyebrows arched as he drove. "Hmmm... maybe," he said.

I told him we just had to think positive. And even if we never got there, our kids would know that it was our aim. "Mom and Dad never got us to Disneyland, but knowing that they always wanted to was enough for us," I said.

Fiona hadn't missed a shred of this conversation, but she didn't exactly know what we were talking about, either. Suddenly she inserted herself in the conversation, asking, "What-eyland?"

Keep it up, Fiona. We like it like that. Keep your fairy stories unspoiled by old Walt.

Night out/night in

Fiona was invited to a movie with Tessa, Elena, and Janet this evening, leaving Nora at home for some quality time with her parents. The problem was, Nora wasn't particularly seeing it as "quality time" to stay home while her sister attended a movie. At least she wasn't until she saw the surprise that was in store for her.

Fiona can't sit in bubbles for health reasons, but while the cat was away, the mouse soaked and splashed in one of her very first bubble baths. Fiona came home happy and found a cheerful sister there as well.

Nora explains herself

Nora won a sticker at the neighborhood block party last night. She chose a big, shiny, Celtic-looking rainbow cross. She stuck in on her arm like a tattoo last night, and picked it off her bedsheets to wear it again about half an hour ago.

On our way out the door to pick up the kids at school, Nora stuck her sticker onto the kitchen table, saying, "I don't want the kids at school to think I'm a church person."

I asked her what she meant, and she said, "I mean, I go there, but I don't like to sing." She's an enigma wrapped in a mystery.

Emergence

Kathleen and Nate invited Nora and I next door to see the cicada emerging in their garden before it flew away. Sometimes nature is so intricate and perfect and amazing that it's hard to believe it's real at all. But this was real-- real cool.

Block party

In the end we didn't wait long enough to jump in the "jump house," but we girls had a fun time at our neighborhood block party while Ian was at work. Snowcones, fishing games, popcorn, music. . . Lots of excitement and sugar right before bed. Yes, sometimes I marvel at my own brilliance.

Enjoying the sugar, Daddy

Both kids really loved those Sugar Daddies, Grandma and Toot Toot. Next time you should give them that sort of fun at the beginning of their trip to your house! ;-)

New friend?

Today's highlight:
Fiona enjoys the company of a classmate named Treasure. Next week is a back-to-school night. I hope we get to meet her!

A new beginning

Fiona walked right into that class and got to business. I, on the other hand, am a mess. It's part anguish, part pride, part worry, part love. I guess that equals "parenthood."

They took her out to the ballgame

Addison, Korrigan, and Tinea invited Fiona to a baseball game tonight, and she just got home. There were supposed to be fireworks afterward, but it got rained out. Again. She was all smiles after her late night out, though, so she had a good time regardless and did not melt.

Carrots!

We joyously pulled carrots today. According to their seed packet, they should have been ready a week ago, but we held off because they still seemed so small. Then today we decided that we like baby carrots anyway, so we picked a flowerpot-ful of them. Cute, sweet, crunchy carrots! Our garden is full of stuff it's not supposed to have and not terribly full of things it is supposed to have, but we're enjoying it a great deal anyway-- two bite carrots included.

Just hangin' at the pool

Or the sink basin, anyhow. That Ivy.

Chess Tournament

Fiona entered the children's chess tournament put on by the library today. It's a just-for-fun tournament with certificates for everyone and trophies for many. Fiona got four draws and one loss, which was good enough for the 6th place trophy in her division!

The organizers have a pretty hands-off attitude when it comes to making sure the kids play by the rules of chess. If no one is unhappy with how things are going, then pretty much anything goes, at least at the beginner level. So it's important to note that the following conversation wasn't Fiona trying to get an unfair advantage - it's just her (and her opponent's) idea of how chess works.

Opponent: Check.

Fiona: I'll capture your bishop.

Opponent: You can't, you'd be in check from my queen.

Fiona (taking second move in a row): But I can just move out of check.

In the top picture, Mary is explaining that even though Fiona promised not to take her opponent's queen, there doesn't seem to be a legal move that would allow the queen to remain uncaptured. But the kids had the final say!

All the kids that I saw were having fun. Fiona was laughing and talking with her opponents throughout the tournament like they had always known each other. And that was the best result of the day.

One smart car

Ian's 15-year-old car is slowly expiring and we really do think we're going to have to replace it, but while this Smart car (thanks for noticing it's not a Fit, Andy) is very fun, it is many seats shy of what we're currently considering. The girls did enjoy riding around the car lots in a golf cart, though!

Flickr

Oh yeah, we have a flickr account! I just dumped months of photos in there. Click the Flickr badge in the top right to see some pictures.

Rhyme time with Nora

Fiona and I were folding clothes while Nora read to herself on the spare bed. She was reading Play Day by Bruce MacMillan, and having read the book before she remembered the concept: rhyming words were written on one side of the page and photos illustrated the words on the opposing page.

I wasn't really listening, but I knew when she cheerily chirped, "Mud, blood!" something was definitely wrong. Clearly she's using the photos and not paying a bit of attention to the first letter cues here!

Sprinkler Party

I didn't feel up to food, party games, and the whole nine yards for Fiona's birthday, but she's never had much more than a gathering with immediate family for her birthday, so we decided to have a casual gathering near her birthday-- sprinkler/outdoor fun and cupcakes. What a blast! Tons of kids came, and we could have probably invited tons more had Ian been home to help cohost. It was a total blast.

Just for Toot Toot

Grandma and Toot Toot came to visit today, and Toot wanted to see Fiona in his hat. Unfortunately I took the photo when he wasn't standing there, so this post will have to do.

So tough

Cleaning out that basement was tough today. Fortunately, so were my helpers and these tough temporary tattoos we found down there.

Adventures in gardening

While Fiona finishes up her last day at vacation bible school, Nora and I are tackling some gardening projects. Notice that the dog vomit slime mold continues to proliferate.

Next we'll try organizing the messy, messy basement. Maybe Fiona would like in on that, too. We find wonderful "treasures" when we go through that process.

Shoes and socks

Nora wanted to wear sneakers, and delightedly selected her own socks.

New friend

I took Fiona to the vacation Bible school at our parish. It's a scaled-down affair-- lasts three days, has stories, crafts, games-- typical stuff but shorter and less costly. Mostly I was looking forward to Fiona getting practice meeting kids she doesn't know for a couple of days and interacting a bit.

On the way home, though, she shocked me. I asked her what was fun at camp today, and she said, "I made a friend." Hooray! It's not that Fiona is unfriendly or friendless, it's just that she doesn't necessarily notice the kids around her much when she's in a class. She may sit in the same place, and chat a bit with whoever's there, but doesn't usually know anything meaningful about them later.

I asked her her friend's name. She told me. !!! Then I asked her last name. She told me that too! I asked her what they did together, and she ticked off a couple activities. "I guess she's just the right age to like me." It sounds mutual.

Happy birthday, early

It's not Fiona's birthday yet, but this weekend we've been celebrating with Uncle Eric, Aunt Carrie, James, Luke, Grandma, and Toot Toot. We went to a local park for a picnic and splashed around a little, but it wasn't a warm enough day to counteract the icy water so the kids largely romped on the playground. Tons of fun.

Surprise!

It was about 6:00 in the evening. Mom, Dad, Carrie, Eric, James and Luke were still at our house. We had had a long, tiring-but-fun day at the park. While Mom, Carrie and I were gathering up Carrie and Eric's stuff for their drive home, my Dad was reading to most of the grandkids out on the front porch, so I went to see how they were doing and perhaps snap a couple pictures.

Surprise! Fiona wasn't on the bench hearing a story at all. Here's how I found her.

Art camp celebration dinner

The whole family had fun at the art camp dinner and art exhibition this evening. It chokes me up every time to see all the heart those kids and teachers put into art.

Lovely locks

As you may have noticed or read here, the girls are growing out their bangs. I took them for haircuts on Wednesday and there is now a little shape to their growing-out mops, but not much.

Our friend Ray just donated her hair to Locks of Love, and now the girls are interested in the prospect. I can't imagine how long that might take, but I'm sure it's counted in years. Look at that stacked hair on Nora!

Nora's playdate

Fiona went to a friend's house after art camp yesterday, and Teresa had an afternoon appointment, so Nora got to entertain a friend all on her own. She and Robert had a blast, and Nora got such a kick out of being the only sister home.

She's lived a long time

Fiona told me over dinner tonight that she feels like she's lived a long time. I told her that she had, I suppose, and we decided to list some things she's done in her almost seven years on this earth:


lost teeth
moved-- more than once
ridden an airplane, bike, scooter, roller skates, and a horse
grown plants and butterflies
played piano
danced onstage
watercolor painting
read, written, and told stories
gotten soppy wet
been on a beach
played kick the can


Then we talked about things Fiona has not done yet but wants to do:

ride in a glass-bottomed boat
see the ocean
have a farm
ride in a hot air balloon
try a ferris wheel
visit China and Ireland
live in a castle
own a serval

Both of these lists could undoubtedly be more substantial, but it was a good dinner conversation, anyhow.

This is not how I meant to clean the bathroom

The good news: I didn't blow up.
The bad news: One whole bottle of soap is history, and this is becoming a pattern.

I try to give her the privacy she requests, but see where privacy gets me? I think she has finally outgrown her habit of saying, "I need some privacy, because I want to do something." That stage was particularly handy.

Three years of blogging

Wow! Has it been three years since we started this blog? Time flies!

Ivy

Thank you, Katie, for this video of Simon's Cat. It reminds us so much of our Ivy. Too bad Ivy's allergic to houseflies, along with so many other things. . .

Buddha: he's not just for bedtime

We discovered Buddha at Bedtime when it first came out, and love to check it out periodically. It contains 20 stories chosen from the Jataka Tales- stories believed to have been originally told by the Buddha himself. Besides a basic introduction to Buddhism, there are overviews for visualization, meditation, and creating outlets for encouraging imagination during the stories. Each short story has a connected moral value at the end to discuss together, like "It is only natural to want things to stay as they are, but life is a journey and change is unavoidable. A wise person accepts this and enjoys each precious moment as fully as they can."

I originally picked up this book because some aspects of Buddhism resonate with Ian, and I wanted to share some of his tradition with our girls. But as a practicing Catholic I couldn't see anything in this book that didn't jive with the way we're already trying to live. Here's an excerpt from the introduction, "What is Buddhism?" that describes The Six Perfections:

When a Buddhist's heart and mind are fully inspired by metta (universal loving-kindness) they are said to be a bodhisattva - someone who delays their own enlightenment to help others reach the same state. The bodhisattva follows the path of The Six Perfections, which are a set of positive qualities that we can all benefit from cultivating in our own lives.

1. Dana: the wish to give freely to everybody without exception for no reward

2. Sila: the development of ethical behavior

3. Ksanti: the quality of patience and the ability to remain calm, especially in troubled times

4. Virya: enthusiastic effort, which promotes the strength and diligence necessary to progress through the boddhisattva path

5. Dhyana: concentration or meditation, which involves developing the mental ability to stay focused in order to make our actions more effective

6. Prajna: wisdom, not only intellectual understanding, but also gaining a direct insight into the true nature of reality

Anyway, we really enjoy reading and discussing it together. The techniques for listening to and for telling the stories give us tools that are helpful beyond the pages of this book.

Bedtime serenade

OK Ian, we planned this to go quite differently, and I didn't have a head full of snot when we started talking about it, and our neighbors were going to be home to help with filming and execution. In the end we simply used our first and only take filmed by some helpful neighbors we met on the sidewalk when we asked them to shoot this video on our front porch. None of that changes the fact that we miss you though, Ian, and we look forward to your return.

Overnight!

Our friend Robert stayed the night last night. Bedtime wasn't overly late, but I'm glad they're still sleeping. I don't want to waken them with a shower since the bathroom's next-door, but this gives me a leg-up on breakfast, anyhow. Overnights are such fun!

Napping

Nora is back to napping-- at least for a while. Our summer schedule has been predictable, rowdy, and entertaining. Every so often we add a short road trip that changes it up just a bit, but by and large summer has been full without being overly so. The midday recharge is really working out for Nora, and sometimes even Fiona. Why doesn't everybody take siestas in our neck of the woods?!

Nora gets my goat

Last night Nora was crying in the middle of the night. Thankfully, this has become a rare occurrence. I was finally getting a good night's sleep and didn't wake up right away like Ian did. Instead, as Nora's crying slowly infiltrated my dream-self, I had a strange little dream conference with myself about her.

Life and parenting are so different now with Nora on the scene. Unlike her people-pleasing sister, Nora takes life by the horns. She's like the kitten who can swat with her words or her limbs and have no idea how much ouch she can actually deal out. So far she has gotten away with this because she's three and still learning how things work, but also because when she's not kicking up a fuss she is so darn cherubic and entertaining that it's hard to believe she ever acted up in the first place.

Clearly our 'old tricks' do not work with this beloved imp. Honestly, Nora gets my goat many times a day-- and vice versa. Somehow we find ourselves on opposite ends of an opinion much of the time. My artificial attempts at letting her think she's making decisions when she's really being offered limited choice have fallen rather flat. And her volatile reactions to what I consider reasonable can grab my attention as well as that of passersby.

Part of the solution, perhaps, is to let go of the irritation I expect to feel, and often do end up feeling as we have our interactions. How Zen, Jen! I reached this realization just as I awakened and discovered I wasn't in a parenting conference, but actually in bed listening to my daughter wail in their room next-door.

Ian was already on the scene when I arrived at Fiona and Nora's bed. He hissed when I 'erroneously' gave Fiona Nora's pillow to muffle the sound. Nora howled when I offered her a drink. She wanted a drink, of course, but she didn't want to actually drink it. Her preference was to screech loudly, hold the little cup of water while cradled in her father's arms without sipping it, slowly wind down from crying, and drift back toward sleep. Let the cups fall where they may. It was, after all, her cup.

It was an accident waiting to happen, but clearly there was no help I could offer here. The best thing I could do is crawl back into bed and go back to sleep. My dream conference with myself made at least that much clear. In the light of day, I found a related thought by Thomas Merton, "I do not have to react. It is useless. There are much better things to do. And to react is to become implicated-- to become a prisoner of the same nonsense that I am compelled to condemn. Do not be compelled." I can read this passage. Whether I can absorb it is something else altogether.

Cats "renamed"

Nora says she renamed the cats Tape and Gorgonzola. I don't know who's who yet. She also would like them to become Maine Coon Cats, since she heard such good things about those at the cat show this weekend. Good luck with that, Tape and Gorgonzola.

Pop art 2009

I couldn't wait till we got this picture back to share it. The kids are doing a number of interesting projects this summer at camp. Today Fiona said they made maracas. On the way home she said, "Music is just a different kind of art, Mom. And you don't have to take a class to make art. We all know how to make many kinds of art." YESSSSSSSSSSS! We talked about different forms of art the rest of the way home.

Cat show

Yesterday on our way out to Annie Rose's house to pick up Fiona after a post-art camp afternoon of of play, Nora and I passed a big sign that read "Cat Show." Somehow, despite almost forty years of being more of a dog person, I have given birth to two cat lovers. So we decided to check out the cat show today.

If you've never been to a show like this before, it is truly very interesting. We watched many types of judging and wandered between table after table of really striking, extremely expensive felines. I tried to take a picture at one of the judging rings but realized that the battery was still at home in the charger. D'oh.

Surprisingly, the three of us found a cat that we all could agree on: the Savannah. That cat looked just like the servals we see in the new zoo exhibit, and we love those. I looked up Savannahs once we got home. It figures we like them, as Savannahs cost between $1000-$25,000 depending upon how much serval is in their bloodline. No wonder they look like servals! They're often described as dog-like and make great pets if you have that much expendible income lying around. Then again, our two shelter cats are great pets, too.

A hairy situation

Both kids are growing out their bangs. Fiona just decided to do this at her last haircut, whereas Nora has been working on it for awhile now. Does anybody have tips for keeping hair out of eyes during this lengthy stage? We are looking a little unkempt here. HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE?!

Arty smarty

Last night at our celebration with our fellow artists and families from our homeschool art class, Fiona won an award of merit for being a finalist in the kindergarten division of the state students' calendar art contest. We saw a semester of amazing student work, ate snacks, applauded other merit award winners, and also walked down to the library gallery to soak in some work by older local artists. Good times!

Can you see the bunny?

We caught sight of this small, cotton-tailed garden terminator in our alley as we came home from the art event at the library. It stayed for a photo, but bolted away shortly thereafter.

Listen to me because I know what I'm talking about

Jen: OK girls, it's time to tidy up so we can go to the art festival.

Nora: (whining) But Mom! I don't want to go to a festival!

Fiona: Oh, yes you do! You want to go to a festival, Nora. . . Mama, what happens at a festival?

Wet and wild

Fiona's sweet friend Alyssa and her family invited us along with a lot of other people to a reunion of sorts at the new splash park in town. You can be sure you'll be seeing more photos of this place. We had a ton of fun, and it was so good to visit with old friends. Just add popsicles!

Art camp, baby

Fiona started art camp again this summer at a local college campus. A morning of art for four weeks, then an all-camp dinner, art show, and bursting portfolio at the end of the month. Fiona's in class with a number of buddies, and has even more in other classrooms. We all really enjoy this opportunity to explore art, enjoy a couple field trips and special speakers, and spend time with friends. Expect to see more art here soon!

Megamoth

Look at this big moth we saw up-close while we were at Grandma and Toot Toot's. After looking at it for awhile, Nora breathed, "Can I pet it?" It was big enough I thought she was going to attempt to claim it as a pet.

*blushing*

Do you know why our kids have a blog instead of thick, wonderful baby books? Because I never made one for either of them. In fact, I couldn't manage to keep track of all those wonderful smiles, rolls, steps, or teeth on a baby calendar someone gave me-- and it even came with stickers. Their ultrasounds? Somewhere. My coworker and friend Mitch pulled Nora's out of a library book where it had been used as a bookmark and carelessly left behind. (Good save, Mitch.)

I didn't blog while Granny was here, then I went to San Francisco, then I got caught up around here, then we went away for the fourth of July. Just thinking about all the back-blogging made me procrastinate even longer. But I miss blogging, and the kids keep doing ridiculous things, so I am back at it now.

If I never do the back-blog, then we missed two amazing, fun months of stories. But that is OK. We'll just make more.

Monkeying around

There is a new fun spot to play at Grandma and Toot Toot's called Monkey Joe's. It is a loud, cavernous wonderland for kids aged 3 through early teens to bounce, slide, and play on inflatable jungle gyms. The girls are in love with Grandma, Toot Toot, and Monkey Joe's, plus they get so much exercise they're drenched after a couple hours, so it's pretty much win-win.

Watching the kids at this place is like a reminder that it's more fun to give a good gift than to receive one. The girls are on fire at that place-- climbing bouncing and sliding by themselves or together-- and just watching them is a riot. Thanks, Grandma and Toot Toot, for the crazy good time!

The birds, the bees, the girls, and me

We were on our way to an appointment, and Fiona was talking about being in the hospital. "Nora, you didn't stay in the hospital when you were born like I did." This was a little bit true. I explained that EMTs had to take Nora to get checked out, and she ended up staying the night just for observation, but she really wasn't born in the hospital like Nora. Those ambulance drivers just scooped up me in my pajamas and Nora in her blanket and we took off.

This started a long conversation about clothes that veered off into how babies are made. Hmmmm... I knew this conversation would come, and as a rule of thumb I tell Fiona just as much as she needs to know to answer her question. I said, "Well, do you remember that book we have at home called Mommy Laid an Egg? We saw in that book that. . . "

Fiona interrupted me with hoots of laughter. "Yeah, Mom. That book says babies come out of a TOOTHPASTE TUBE!" And it does. The parents in the book make up a number of ways that babies are not actually born. But in the end the kids explain to their parents how babies are made. I thought Fiona absorbed this information a long time ago-- along with the DK What's Inside? Baby book we have which explains how humans, ponies, dogs, porcupines, birds, crocodiles, wallabies, and sea horses grow and are born. But those just seemed like funny little stories to Fiona. The inferences made in these books just seemed too preposterous to her.

I thought about that for awhile. Then I remembered standing next to the giraffes at the zoo when we first moved to town and thinking those animals seem preposterous, too. Narnian, almost. So I didn't press the issue. One day, though, we're going to have more explaining to do.

Breakfast with a side of piano

Ian has just been reveling in piano classes. This is a picture of our neighbor Dever who popped over to discuss a couple ideas he had about a song he learned in class.

Our whole family has learned a lot from Simply Music this past school year since adopting the curriculum for our home schooling, but the group dynamic has added extra layers we didn't get with the learn-at-home program. So even though Fiona is a number of songs ahead of the rest of her class, she learns new information every week.

Days of summer

The kids have been playing in the back yard, the sprinkler, and the sandbox nonstop! Both kids sleep like logs every night to get ready for another day of zooming around. Nora takes the occasion cat nap in the daytime-- and THAT is weird. I can see them growing right before my very eyes.

Our side yard garden is growing too, weeds and all. It's fun to see everything that happens there-- from growing veggies and fruits to nibbled leaves and produce to the totally weird 'dog vomit slime mold' that is proliferating out there. Summer sun is lots of fun.

Choc-o-lot

I like baking more than cooking. Sometimes we get a lovely dessert all worked up but Ian comes home to find no dinner at all. This Cake Day was like that. We made a rich chocolate cake that was supposed to go into a 12" pan; but since we didn't have one we made layer cakes and created a mocha mousse for the filling. We couldn't cover it with the thick ganache because it was just too topply of a cake, so we just iced the very top. As if that cake needed more chocolate!

I worked on this cake mostly with our neighbor Sydney and with Fiona. When Nora got her slice of cake, her eyes got very large and she breathed reverently, "I am inspired." I laughed till I cried.

Movement and music

Fiona and Nora started dance at a new place this week. I LOVE THIS PLACE! Besides the deep respect I have for the teachers and their philosophy, I also love the fact that our kids are taking movement and modern dance now, along with some of the rudimentary ballet techniques. As kids moved to the teacher's drumbeat, they played games to learn each others names-- even for this short summer course.

As I watched Fiona settle into her body's own fluidity during her class, I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace and rightness. Then I watched her gracefully leap over some dots on the floor. Her lithe, willowy body seemed to be in its element. I don't recognize that body at all from my own childhood; but what's really important, I guess, is that Fiona is comfortable in it.

Our Experimental Child Fiona is, among other things, a dancer. There is a world of possibility open to her. And THAT is very beautiful.

A little bit of Africa right in our town!

We visited the new African section of our zoo with Helena, Ada, Carlo, and Paul today. It is a top-notch exhibit. I really wanted elephants at our zoo, but this exhibit made it up to me. It was a great day for zoo-ing-- not too hot, not too many people. Paul and I sat and chatted while Carlo slept and the other kids zoomed between play tents for almost an hour! Gotta love that zoo.

Chinatown surprises

I came back from a week in San Francisco spent looking at best practices in youth work with a number of surprises for the girls. From satiny mary janes to crazy hotel shower caps and BART tickets with .05 still on them so the girls could "play the BART," there was a little bit of joy for everyone. You just have to trust me on the joy part, though, because Nora was not at all interested in being photographed in her Chinatown clothing.

Stop! Granny time. . .

We had so many days and nights of fun with Granny that I didn't even blog about any of it while she was here-- too much going on, even if what was going on was just relaxing in the backyard with the family, some iced tea, and a hula hoop or two. Here is a photo essay of her visit, though. Come back soon, Gran. We love you so much!

Reading bug

The kids are happy about summer coming, but sometimes it's hard to get them out of their books and out the door.

Piano man

Mr. Hollis guided our lovely old Hamilton out of the house today. Now we have a long-term loan of a baby grand for Ian's piano studio, Keys to Happiness. And as much as I love the new piano, I'll miss the old one too. We got it for free from a homeschooling discussion list, and it has been very good to us. Now it's being loved by a friend and neighbor who's taking lessons here weekly though, which is as good as having it here at the house. Soon there should be some pictures of the new one. Woo hoo for the Simply Music method!

She's back in the salad again

This is what Nora looks like when she comes to the kitchen table at 4:00 to 'help me make dinner.'

Reading Rainbow festivities

Big girl Fiona sat in the front row at the art museum with fellow winners while her family and a small auditorium of well-wishers cheered the efforts of kids from our corner of the state and also part of the neighboring one. She loved seeing her story on the wall, and we truly enjoyed reading the work of others as well. It was impressive to be in a place where so many agencies work together to inspire kids to write stories.

Following the celebration, we headed over to the Birth to Baby Fair happening at the library to cheer the hard work of doulas, midwives, CSA providers, breastfeeding advocates, the arts community, the new local diaper service, and a host of other people and services which help our city enjoy healthy babies and healthy families. We saw lots of good friends, including Sara, David, and B above. To top it off, we stepped inside one of our favorite storefronts to thank them for such stunning window displays.

With thanks to Teresa

I tried to give this to a little man with a smaller head, but Nora simply adores it. She wears it on her forehead, smushing down her little eyebrows. When that gets too tight she pushes it up a bit and the crochet stitches are still pressed into her head in little pink channels. She leaves it up, she folds it down. She is beginning to make it unravel. But that hat gives her joy, and I'm letting her keep it. Thank you, Teresa.

Winding down after a home school year

Today was Fiona's last day of physical education classes at a local university. She liked it, and I'm a little sad about it. Not because it was the best thing she's ever done or anything (though it was fabulous,) but because it's concrete proof that our school year is winding down. As usual, I'm trying to stay a step or two ahead by lining up some organized fun that she'd enjoy this summer-- art camp, possibly Wildcat ball, and/or other group forms of excitement-- but the reality of ending home schooling fills me with sadness. How can something that is so clearly good for Fiona be so unreachable for me? *sigh*

Well, as things settle down little it is possible there will be more focus on feeling better and doing better. That will benefit all of us. And ending homeschooling as such is not the end of home learning, obviously. When's the last day you didn't learn anything at all?

People often think homeschooling is just postponing 'real' school. I'm here to tell you that homeschooling is nothing to sneeze at; it's real and it's positive and can be very, very dense with activity, fun, and learning. I'll miss this with every fiber of my being. All of us will. But we can look back with happiness on this year we've had together, and use it as a stepping stone to something new.

Farm fun

Today we spent a couple happy hours at the farm where we got our lamb last year. Anita and her family showed us two kinds of sheep, many types of chickens, some bunnies, two calves, a number of turkeys and a couple of cats. Not only did we learn a lot about animals, the girls learned about what it would be like to care for a number of animals and plants as part of their everyday duties. She also showed us a really old, really cool cabin that got settled into the back of their property a couple of years ago. I think the 'clown car' drive to the back of the property with everyone stuffed into the vehicle was equally as fun as the rest to Fiona and Nora.

We look forward to more lamb as well as a deeper relationship with this wonderful family.

Wildflower party!

We were invited to a Wildflower Party at Robert, Dennis, and Teresa's house this Sunday. It fun on a number of levels. It's fun to get together with others, fun to see the kids play merrily together, to enjoy a lovely day, and to soak up some nature. We saw a lot more varieties than we expected to see in such a soon-to-be-shady area. So cool!

A zootiful day

I thought I was due for a haircut at 1:00, but it was actually at 5:00. That gave us a block of time and put us right next to the zoo. Voila!

We had a wonderful time, and saw good friends there to boot. The bunch of us truly enjoyed watching around a dozen tiny brown mice scurrying in the Indonesian Rainforest. Hooray for sunny surprises and fun friends!