He's the Man

Color Me Happy

This night we did things in reverse. I showered and jammied the kids before din din, since the meal was cooking a super long time. After eating we went back upstairs to brush teeth, read books, and cuddle.


But I need a good 20 minutes to clean the dishes and scrub down the kitchen after serving these two dinner. They entertain themselves during that time in one of two ways: coloring contests at the kitchen table or death-defying belly slides off the ottoman. I prefer the coloring. But whatev.

She's So Sweet

Sweet and funny and completely e.x.h.a.u.s.t.i.n.g.

Baby Love

Bleu's affection for her Bitty is pretty incredible... and unparalleled in her own big world of make believe. The doll goes everywhere we go. In so many ways our daughter is a real tomboy, but in this way she is very much a girlie girl.


Initially we weren't sure how to celebrate Bleu's actual birthday on April 27. Family is far away--we don't want to invite some and not all--and besties at this age are far and few between. She's just now starting to have her own play dates.


So we asked ourselves, "What would Bleu like?" Well, that's easy. I think she'd like to wake up to a rainbow of balloons, to tote Bitty here and there, to wear a dress, rain boots and a backpack, to blow out 2 candles and taste test a frosted confection. So the plan: Visit American Girl store in Manhattan to let Bleu have her pick of Bitty outfits and accessories. She's never been, but something tells me she'll be in Bitty heaven.


We'll have lunch reservations right there at the cafe, perhaps run around the park for a bit, and then seek out the yummiest cupcake on the planet. And, if I have any say, grab some Thai before heading home. Truth be told, I'm excited to party just the four of us on a Tuesday afternoon. Well, four plus Bitty.

An Easter Party, Part II

The porcupine.

Sweet Ana Maria

Thank you for all the Easter goodness. The kids brawled over your package today and then raced downstairs to see who could hang the ornaments the fastest.

Holiday Decor

Scrambled Egg

Easter egg painting by Buby.

Old Photo Friday

April 1954. My mother-in-law, also known as Grandma DJ.

The Kids' Easter Tree

The Racing Museum

Both of our kiddos love horses. We're fortunate enough to have a harness racing museum nearby, and Buby asks to go all the time. He runs through the place so fast you'd wonder if he even was paying attention. But later he talks you through the entire experience in surprising detail. Bleu just likes to run. Period. Anyway, it was a fun stop after T-Ball practice on Saturday.

Three Years

image from here.




Today marks the three-year anniversary of me knowing what a blog post is. Hurray!

An Easter Party

Buby painted this on 3.17.10 during free time at school. He labeled it "Minnie Mouse's and Mickey Mouse's Easter Party."


The man in yellow, he tells me, is Mickey, the girl in pink is Minnie, the purplish blob in the lower left hand corner is a porcupine, the long orange and yellow figure up the right side is an earthworm friend, and the orange square is the car that brought them to the party. To us it is abstract, but to our four year old it is clear.

Performing Artists

Buby's small private school puts on a number of plays, recitals and concerts throughout the year. Friday night his pre-k class, dubbed the Bunny's, performed their own interpretation of Lorna Hussey's book Rabbit's Winter Walk. Buby and his friend Kathryn played the friendly foxes and did an outstanding job.


My Sweets and I are still in awe at the confidence, creativity and focus of these little ones. They sang and recited lines and performed solos on stage in front of a jam-packed audience, flashy recording devices, and {at times} distracting younger siblings. Buby was more comfortable in front of the crowd than we'd ever seen him.


After a year and a half at this school I can say he's absolutely come out of his shell. Of course he's still our cautious, sensitive, neatnik Mr. Buby, but the teacher tells us he's become the leader among his classmates and friends. No more shy. And that's pretty fab.






Buby as a fox on the far left.

The County Airport

Ours has a yummy little cafe with picnic tables in back. It's the perfect spot for watching the planes come in and then practicing our own crash landings.

Catching Up

I kept meaning to post at night but chose sleep instead. We've had a wild two weeks here. Someday {soon} I'll tell you all about it. For now I'll just catch you up with visuals.


Oh, and I'll say that Buby's entire school came down with some awful cough and fever combination. He caught it and gave it to Bleu who gave it to me. They are both golden now, but I went to the doctor Monday evening with a sinus infection, infected salivary gland, pharyngitis, and swollen everything. 'Tis the end of season, I guess.


One of the highlights of last week was having the downstairs painted. It's been 5 years since we closed on this sweet 1867 house, and that's the only room we haven't touched. When we moved in we went out of our way to paint every other area some awesome shade of happy. And we love it. But I wanted an all white room. Bright white. The downstairs living/kitchen area was charming for sure, but it was outdated and dark and had old-lady stenciling and chipped burgundy molding. It was time.


So when My Sweets gave the okay to hire out the job I jumped on the phone with Harry. Tom warned me that he didn't think Harry, who painted the exterior of our house last summer, was up for detail work. Tom was right. Harry missed a lot, and I've spent several days fixing his mistakes. But that aside, the room is breathtaking in white.


The kitchen was out of commission Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week, which made for some challenging lunches and dinners. On the last night the kids and I jammied up and chowed down Annie's Organic mac and cheese and steamed green beans {both prepared in the microwave} and fresh grapes. We ate on a bench in the foyer. Very strange, but the kids thought it was cool.

Rock On

Bleu insists on choosing her own outfits now. At the first suggestion of "get ready" she races up to her room and waits by the closet door. If she doesn't like what I grab she lets me know it. Loud and clear. Let's just say I've learned to pick my battles.


Her current wardrobe selection is pretty random, but Bleu will undoubtedly reach for anything pink or purple. She likes the frilly H&M skirt above but only when paired with Sid + Lily's old long-sleeved tee {which is getting super tight}, a baby scarf knit by Grandma DJ, and purple snow boots without socks.

Jenga

If you have kids and you don't own this game, you're totally missing out. It entertains our whole family for hours on end.

Because

She's awesome.

Sleepyhead

The Puppet Show

This was quite entertaining in the moment... and then my mom fell over in hysterics and took the rest of us down with her. Buby and Bleu raised their brows in disbelief as "Gama" and I giggled at our own wacky animal impressions.


I believe it was Aunt Pat and Uncle Pete who gave my itty bitties these finger puppets for Christmas. The set includes a frog, parrot, elephant, horse, duck, deer, panda, monkey, bear and lion. More proof that the simplest gifts provide the greatest joys. I realized long ago that my children's vivid imaginations are bells and whistles enough.


Richard Scarry's Biggest Word Book Ever! works as a stage, since it's large enough for two puppeteers to hide behind. Or not, in Bleu's case.

Imaginative Art

Buby brought this sticker art home from school on Monday. He labeled it "Shooters."

A Note from Grace

Over the winter holidays I handed each of my brother's kiddos a stack of blank Crayola note cards for them to color. I included self-addressed stamped envelopes and made {what I think is} a sweet deal.


Anytime a card comes back to me the sender will receive a prompt reply via the U.S. Postal Service with a secret something yummy enclosed.


I couldn't wait to start the correspondence. I wondered who would send theirs back first.... Spencer, 11, Grace, 8, or Parker, 4. Grace owns the sweet tooth in that family, so I was sort of banking on her.


Look what just arrived! Hurray for Grace. The card is sitting pretty on our fireplace mantel, but it will eventually go into my saver box of favorite niece/nephew things. Last night I replied, "I miss you soooo much! too," and packed up her special treat for the postman.

Photo Gallery: March Playground

My cuties at the park last week with Grandma. Buby insisted on a snowsuit so he didn't get even a smidgen wet. Bleu hit every muddy puddle she could find.

Best Book

We've been reading The Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor and S.D. Schindler. My Sweets brought it home from the city a couple of weeks ago, and we can't seem to get enough. I've definitely passed my love of snow globes onto the children.

Car Potty to the Rescue

All Aboard

These two love to hop on my back, as a pair, and ride around the room making raucous animal noises.

Grandma's Mile High Bed

My mom has been in town all week and we're loving her company. Plus, she's been hard at work preparing a random assortment of my favorite foods, such as tuna noodle casserole, macaroni salad, chocolate chip cookies, deviled eggs, chicken a la king, and lemon cream pie. Aren't moms just the best?


Bleu's not always a good eater. She picks and snacks and turns her nose up. But lately she's been devouring my mom's recipe book. Asking for seconds even. I know I've said this before, but my mom makes me laugh out loud, usually because we're making fun of each other. I'll be sad when she leaves on Sunday.


I snapped these pics of the wee ones on Grandma's mile high bed . We have a pull-out sofa in the playroom where she sleeps, but My Sweets decided to add a 2.5 foot high self-inflating bed on top of that. It's ridiculous. All week long the kids have been trying to scale the sides of her bed. Bleu can't reach, but Buby can propel himself up with the help of a step stool. Of course, he takes a moment to look down on his sister and rub it in.