T.G.I.F.

This week was tough.  I'll spare ya the details with the exception of tonight's disgrace.  With Bug napping, I corralled the girl in the kitchen and set off to begin dinner only to open the fridge and have a bottle of chai tea concentrate coming smashing to the floor, shattering the bottom of the carton, spraying all three kitchen walls, the ceiling, myself and the child who decided that said spill was delicious and crawled right through the middle of it tasting all the way.  She was covered in chai and since each meal ends in a bath anyway, I left her that way.  I commenced the chicken enchiladas that nearly overfaced me.  (When will I get it through my head that I can't do multi-step meal prep with a child under two??)  I was nearly through with the enchilada sauce when I bumped the wisk, flinging goopy sauce everywhere, including in my hair.  Awesome.  The smell of food was driving Button batty, so I put her in her chair with some goat cheese and hummus (the kitchen was already trashed, so why not bring out the messiest foods in the fridge?!) As Button was eating happily and I was finishing the enchilada dish, Bug woke up and decided to play in the bathroom sink, only to learn that beer coozies do not hold water (yep, playing with beer coozies.... I am the parent of the year.)  This lesson learned, of course, AFTER the coozies have been removed from the bathroom, leaving a wet trail in his path.  I give up...  it's a good thing they're cute.

Just Ducky

Boing!!

At the Mushroom Fest, they had lots of little amusement rides for kids. Our little adventurist chose to bounce instead. 

All harnessed up!

Higher...

Higher!

New Ride

When Bug was a babe, his dad LOVED to carry him around in the Kelty backpack carrier.  Bug loved the view and mobility, too.  His sister took a ride for the first time when we went to the Mushroom Fest in Kennett Square, PA.  She had a blast!

This is her watching her brother and blowing bubbles at him.  I could eat up this face.

Cheap Entertainment

Macro-Study: Found Treasures

What's Happening

I've been M.I.A. from the blog for a while, hence the big catch-up today and through next week.  Sometimes, (like now) I find myself overwhelmed with my online "commitments" and family-update tools (commitments being used in the sense that I feel committed to them, no one else holds me to it.)  There's my personal facebook page, this blog, my Phanfare photo account...  I'm three months behind on my Phanfare photo updates.  Sorry, fam!

My time this past week has been spent on our 2010 family album.  Ever since Bug was born, I've done a yearbook for ourselves and the grandparents.  I ended it the first couple of years with his birthday in November, but with Button's arrival due on Christmas last year, I wanted to extend the 2010 book to include her birth.  Well, then you know how it goes with two little ones... it's September and the only reason I'm really pushing to get this book done now is that I have coupons that expire on October 20th.  I've narrowed the album down to just over 600 photos.  Anyway, long story to explain my absence, but that's what I've been up to.

In the meantime, the kids have been learning and growing exponentially.  Bug's back in soccer and his dad says his skills are awesome compared to the spring session.  He's moved into a new class at preschool and because of the number of 4 year olds in the next class up, he'll be changing again at the beginning of October.  I love hearing the little songs he's learned at school and sings to himself when he thinks I'm not listening.  Button can stand for a few seconds on her own and can walk while holding our hands.  She eats like a Hoover.  She doesn't let us miss a mealtime!  She's cheeky and sassy and loves to screech. 

Last weekend, we went to Longwood Gardens for a free performance for members.  It was an aerial performance troupe out of Australia called "Strange Fruit."  It was very cool!  Here they are performing their routine "The Three Belles" on 14 foot steel poles.

 

This weekend, we're heading to the Winterthur Gardens for the first time.  I can't wait to see the Enchanted Woods!  Then it's back to working on the 2010 album...

Snooze Queen

Oh, how she loves to sleep in her daddy's arms.

Hello, Brother!

The Kindness of a Stranger

On the way to work, we pass a large cornfield.  Bug is often asking me questions about how it's farmed, starting with the "stinky poop dirt" (fertilizer) in the Spring to how and why it's being cut down this past week.  This morning, I saw the combine full of corn heading to the be loaded into the trailer.  I pulled over so Bug could watch and as I was getting him out of the car for a better view, the farmer approached us.  When I asked him if it was okay for us to watch, he directed me to a better parking spot and asked if Bug would like to sit inside the combine with him!  Call me crazy, but I didn't hesitate to let this man whom I've never met load my son into his tractor.

Once the combine was emptied, the man (whose name is still unknown to me) asked if it was okay if they cut a couple of rows and off they went. 

This may well have been the most exciting experience my little boy has had to date! This kind man has no idea that when given the choice, my son is a child who chooses his John Deere t-shirt every time, who watches DVDs about tractors and farming, who can name more John Deere farming and construction equipment than I can ever dream of.  He didn't have to take the time out of his day to entertain my kid, but he did.  He made both of our days and I'll always be grateful for his kindness. 

My Girl

i give you my heart. 

sometimes I think it's just not enough. 

and then sometimes I know it's everything.

~terri st. cloud

The Tough Questions

We avoid the media when the kids are awake, but even more so this week knowing that much about 9/11 would be shown and heard.  Bug has the rest of his life to learn about the harsh realities of the world.  We hope to preserve the childhood of the kids for as long as possible.  Nevertheless, on the radio while we were driving today, there was a short tribute to those lost in 9/11.  It was a few sentiments from the family and friends of some of the emergency personnel lost in the terrorist attacks.  Then came the question: "Why did those people talk about people that died?"  I couldn't even respond to him, I immediately choked up.  You wouldn't know ten years have passed with the amount of emotion I still carry.  He asked again, to me specifically, and I was able to eek out "go ahead" to his dad so he knew I wasn't able to quite tackle our son's questions yet.  His dad told him that those people were firemen and police officers that helped save other people when some buildings fell down.  His dad did a great job of keeping the details out, but Bug continued to ask questions: Why did the buildings fall?  Why did the planes crash?  Did someone get the bad guys?  We're as honest as is suitable with him without telling too much.  I know more questions will come.  This is a very curious time for him.  He inquires as to the how and why of absolutely everything.  I just hope I'm able to handle it the next time, especially if his dad isn't there to save me.

Backyard Visitor

Wish the quality was a little better, but I had to shoot through the window.  He was gorgeous!

Macro-Study: Shrooms

Why Didn't Darwin Write a Bedtime Story?

Bug has a dinosaur book and toward the end it talks about how when you see people fighting dinosaurs in movies, that could have never really happened because people weren't on Earth yet when the dinos roamed.  He must have really been digesting that because yesterday (about three days after we last read that book), we were laying down for his nap and he says out of the blue "where did people come from?  Dinosaurs come from eggs, but did people come from eggs, too?"  I thought this was going in the direction of "how was I born" and I went on to explain how mammal babies are born alive and so on, but he took it one step deeper... "after the dinosaurs died, when did the people come?"

How do I explain evolution to a three year old???  I couldn't possibly expect him to understand early homonids and how we came from the apes over millions of years of evolution!   Though, I tried.  It didn't go well.  I actually think we left off with him not believing anything I said anyway.  The conversation ended with him telling me that people came from dinosaur eggs after the last dinosaur died and then he was off to some other (easier) topic.

We'll have to pick up this conversation again.  In about eight years.

September 9th - UPDATE:  

He was right!  People did come from dinosaur eggs!!
I just remembered this photo-op from the animal park we visited on vacation.  Ha ha! Too funny!

Hanging with Grandpa