is it bedtime yet?

Today was the first day of practice Kindergarten for Mira. The school brings incoming Kindergartners in for a week during the summer to ride the bus and participate in a morning program at the school to help ease the transition in the fall.

Mira has been asking to ride the school bus since she started talking roughly three and a half years ago. So you can imagine how excited she was when the bus actually stopped at our house this morning. She was ready to hop right into her seat when the school principal (who was on the bus helping the bus driver) had to remind her to stop and turn around so I could snap a quick photo.

She got back home just before lunchtime and began asking if it was bedtime yet. She was asking not because she was tired (although, she was pretty tired), but because she was so eager to get back to riding the bus and attending school the next morning. Let's hope she remains this committed to her education for the next 17 years or so.

strawberry payload

Since the strawberries in our garden aren't ripe yet, yesterday we went out to the strawberry farm to do some picking. The weather was perfect and it wasn't very busy on a Wednesday afternoon. We managed to haul in about seven quarts/eight pounds, which I thought was impressive given the short attention span of this child:

She got her fill early and then started to sprint up and down the rows. At this point, Mira and I knew our window of opportunity was closing.

After paying for our bounty, we had a little picnic of pb & fluff / pb & j in the back of the car.

We will be gorging on these babies for a few days.

down to business

A few nights ago halfway through dinner, Abby left the table saying, "I need to get to work" as she walked off. We waited a few minutes to see if she would return. When she didn't come back, we found her in my office obviously quite busy. When we walked in, she immediately shushed us, said she was busy working and "be quiet!" She had some important problems to solve, so we left her to her tasks.

I'm pretty sure this is a violation of my company's corporate policy on technology asset use, so let's keep this one on the down low.

hair care

The past week or so Mira has been really concerned with her hair. Every morning, the first thing she asks is if I'll help her brush it. Today, she was brushing out her hair herself and noticed that it was sticking out a bit in the back. While she attempted to slick down her unruly locks, I was busy doing something else. A few minutes later, she says,

"Mommy, can you help me brush my back hair?"

I then burst out laughing and she stood there looking confused.

a solid plan

Abby wanted to get herself some chocolate milk ("bunny milk," she says because of the rabbit on the box). She decided that a step stool would help her reach it since it is stored on an upper shelf in the pantry. But she hit a snag when trying to open the pantry door. I had to snap a photo.

birthday week

Mira has had a marathon birthday this year. I hope we haven't set the bar too high for ourselves. Last weekend we traveled to Grandma's and Grandpa's house and had a party there. Tuesday (her actual birthday) included her favorite dinner (chicken "on the bone"), a new Hello Kitty bike and ice cream at Friendly's. Then we had ANOTHER birthday party at our house today with in-town family, friends and of course the princess castle bounce house.

Here are some pics to chronicle the week.

Mira gearing up to blow out her candles at Grandma's and Grandpa's last weekend.

Now she's a little tired from a long day.

Here are the birthday cakes that I almost trashed after an epic failure with the buttercream frosting (but I later regrouped and made another batch).

Here's the bouncy house and then Mira about to "board".

Making a wish and then getting a big ol' birthday kiss from her little sister.

A great day, but we were all exhausted at the end. Even Mickey.

heaven on a cone

We are lucky enough to have a world-class homemade ice cream shop nearby. Well, actually it's about 30 minute drive but totally worth it. The Ice Cream Man (who, by the way, defeated famed TV chef Bobby Flay in a Throwdown), makes the best ice cream. Ever. It's all excellent but the soft vanilla is divine. It's so perfectly creamy and soft and light and custardy. We've been known to make the drive late at night to satisfy an unnamed pregnant person's cravings. ;)

Abby is a huge fan of ice cream and was not dismayed by the Ice Cream Man's humongous portion size. Even the "kiddie" cones are a bit much for me. But the champion dairy-eater that she is, she was the only one of us able to actually finish what she ordered. She takes her ice cream seriously and does not waste time on napkins. No ma'am.

taco bar

We had a taco bar for dinner a few days ago. You know, where you line up all the fixings and everyone builds their own tacos. While I was preparing the fillings and toppings, I asked Mira what she wanted in her taco. She said, "I want bologna and string cheese and marshmallows in my taco." She has a very refined palate, you know.

Here's a shot of Mira satisfying her sophisticated taste for haute cuisine.

gilded macaroni and mother's day finery

Mira made me the most fabulous pin for Mother's Day. It's a post-modern portrait of me using macaroni gilded in gold paint. Tres chic. I'm going to pin it to my handbag. She even thought to place two pretty bows in my hair (something I rarely take the time to do in real life).

Accompanying the pin was this narrative, which I found very flattering. I was likened to a queen with a few pounds and years graciously omitted. What can I say? The girl knows where her bread is buttered.

This morning, the gang fixed some delicious pancakes and bacon. Tim also finished my new garden beds (more on that later), which turned out to be much more labor than I had initially anticipated. All in all, it's been a very nice Mother's Day.

needs

Abby has a lot of needs. For instance:

"I weewee weewee (translation: really really) need a cookie."

or

"I weewee weewee need to go outside."

or

"I neeeeed to do it my own self." (This one applies to everything from pouring a cup of milk from the gallon jug to putting her shoes on to squeezing half the tube of toothpaste onto her toothbrush).

or my favorite

"I weewee weewee need to dump my orange juice on the floor."

Well, she doesn't actually say that last one but she does it quite often and with no regard for the floor or the sticky mess that will result.

And lately, instead of her former favorite word, "NO!", now she says "Sorry!" in a sweet singsong voice. Here's a sample:

Me: "It's time for a nap, Abby."

Abby: "Sorry Mommy. I don't need to take a nap."

or

Me: "Abby, don't play in the street."

Abby: "Sorry, but I need to play in the street."

Isn't she such a doll?

first day of peepergarten

Peeps Show time! We decided to build our show around peeps going to kindergarten. Mira did all the set design and coloring. She also said the first peep getting on the bus with the pink backpack is her. Hopefully our actual first day of kindergarten will go just as smoothly.

 Unfortunately, one of the little would-be-peepergarteners got snagged at the bus stop by this hungry scary-toothed monster.

 Needless to say, this guy met his ultimate demise and did not make it to school today.

full house

This past weekend we had a full house. The girls got to see their grandparents, cousins and aunt and uncle for a couple days. Friday's weather was great so we grilled some ribs and enjoyed the sunshine on the deck. Saturday was busy. With help from my dad, we managed to get all my strawberry, blueberry, and rhubarb plants in the ground. The rest of the gang went bowling (sorry about your back, Mom) and then we enjoyed Easter dinner a day early. We even managed to color some eggs and then on Sunday morning we had an egg hunt and the search for Easter baskets.

We haven't forgotten about our Peeps Show - we're still working on the concept. A couple top contenders are "Peeps Go to Kindergarten" and "Wow, Wow, Peepsy". Good news is now that Easter has passed, our little project will put all those extra Peeps to use. There are WAY more Peeps in this house than should be consumed! Oh- here's a link to this year's Washington Post Peeps Show finalists (announced on Sunday).

Here are a couple pics of the girls with their Easter baskets.

role reversal

We had a bit of a role reversal here the last couple days. I was on the road for work and Tim was home with the girls. While packing before my flight out on Sunday morning, Mira said to me, "Mommy, you're not allowed to leave. You are always here. It's not fair." I found her comment pretty funny because I think what's not fair is that I am always here, not the rare occasion when I leave for a couple days. My trip for work was a welcome change of pace. But of course Mira didn't see it that way.

The trip was great it was nice seeing my colleagues in spite of the miserably cold and windy weather. I also enjoyed being completely selfish for a couple days since I did not have to plan around or take care of anyone but myself. Now I'm home and happy to be back. Despite being completely exhausted from a long day of work and travel (not to mention having to sit next to a strangely disheveled and socially inept man who smelled like he dipped himself in a vat of garlic before he boarded the plane), I can't help think about our agenda for tomorrow and the next few days. The strawberry plants, rhubarb, and blueberry bushes arrived today so we've got a lot of work to do to prepare the garden. I see a trip to Agway in our immediate future. We've also got Easter eggs to color and a Peep Show to build! No rest for the weary, but I did enjoy my brief respite in Indianapolis.

love me some peeps

I just love Peeps. You know, those squishy seasonal marshmallow treats that deliver a monster sugar rush? The girls are quickly developing a taste for them too. Last year, Mira wouldn't touch 'em but now she's a solid aficionado. She prefers them fresh and soft. I like mine stale, but usually end up eating them before they are properly 'aged'. This time of year I have to wrestle with myself during every grocery store trip so that I don't bring home more and more Peeps.

I stumbled on the Washington Post's "Peeps Show" contest where competitors create funny little scenes using peeps. You really should check it out. Who knew there was so much Peep sculpting talent out there? The slide show inspired me to initiate our own amateur Peeps Show here. We missed the deadline for the Post contest, but we are not in that league anyway. Stay tuned for pics of our Peeps Show masterpiece!

speak your mind

A favorite recreational activity here is running in a big loop through the house. All three of them--Mira, Abby and Mickey (the dog)--run around and around. It never seems to get old. (Yes, I know. "No running in the house!" My mom did teach me that one but we don't consistently enforce the rule here.)

This afternoon, everyone was doing laps with a choice kitchen tool in hand. Abby had a big serving spoon and Mira had some plastic tongs. Oh and Mickey, well he didn't have anything. Suddenly I hear Mira yelp from the other room and this is the exchange that followed:

Mira: "Mommy, Abby whapped me with the spoon!"

Me: "Abby, that's not nice. We don't hit people. What do you say to Mira?" (expecting her to say the obligatory "I'm sorry, Mira" in response)

Abby (turns to Mira): "I wanna whap you!"

Well, I guess you should expect a 2 year old to speak her mind. Tim and I could hardly stop ourselves from exploding in hysterical laughter.

I don't have a photo of this incident, but here's a picture of Abby being a kook.

hangin' with our man Stanley

Cousin Emaleigh mailed us a guy named Flat Stanley a few weeks ago. So I'm told, he likes to travel around in an envelope and visit different places. Flat Stanley had a nice time visiting us, but now he's on his way back to Emaleigh's school. Our friendly postal carrier picked him up around 11:23 am today! But before he left, we were able to snap a photo of him with the girls:

 

I'm also trying my hand at recording sound bites and posting them here. So here's my first attempt. When Abby is going about her business stacking blocks or stealthily unloading a whole box of tissues, she often hums this little ditty to herself over and over:

leprechauns go swimming

The leprechauns came to Mira's preschool and got into all sorts of shenanigans. Apparently, they left footprints all over, hung out in the dollhouse and trashed the place, went swimming in the john (leaving the water green) and ran outside, disrobed, and left their wee-little clothing strewn all around the yard. 

So when Mira got home yesterday, she promptly broke out these bad boys which apparently enable the wearer to spot a leprechaun.   

After an hour or so of searching every nook and cranny for the little buggers, she finally relented. Well, it appears that last night the wee-men decided to take a dip in our toilet because this morning the water was bright green. Mira's discovery of this crazy green swimming pool prompted another desperate search with her special goggles. Too funny.

Today we'll also be gettin' our Irish on by cooking up a pot of corned beef and cabbage finished with these yummy looking 'thin mint' cupcakes. Let's hope the leprechauns don't pull any more mischief.

 

Abby's Irish eyes are smilin' too.

taking the plunge

Ok, so I've decided to start a blog. And I know that banana is spelled with an "a", but couldn't help use one of Abby's latest vocal treasures. With her it's always bonana no matter how many times we try to gently correct her. Other recent favorites in the phrase category include "Hey! Gimme back!" (for example, used when someone tries to get a sip from her vanilla milkshake) and "No, I no wannit."

And now that Mira just polished off half a box of Thin Mints, proclaiming them "one hundred and thousand times better than candy" (I'd have to agree), I suppose it's time for our next plunge into the bathtub.