a day in the life

another day; every day

Today it's about just another day.  And every day when you're a mom or a dad.  Because once you become one, you don't sit around waiting for 'mother's day' and 'father's day' in order to enjoy your children.  And let's admit that we didn't have children in the first place just so that one day a year they could lavish presents upon us and serve us breakfast in bed.  Nope.  Motherhood and fatherhood aren't about what you get in return.  They're about giving.  Giving of yourself.  Giving life.  Giving generously without regret.  Giving your heart away.  Giving your best.  It's all about the giving.  Every day of the year.

BUT.  (A resounding but).  There is, in fact, a mothers day and a fathers day.  And on those days, we're reminded that it's a little bit about the getting too.  Getting handmade art projects.  Getting cards with barely legible signatures.  Getting hugs and kisses without asking.  Getting bacon and chocolate chip pancakes delived bed-side (and then getting to share them with hungry little children).  Even getting an entire day's agenda centered around you.  (Just as an example, if you are really lucky.) 

But more importantly, the day inspires reflection on the bigger "gets"-- like the fact that you get to love someone from the beginning of their little life.  You get the 'firsts' and you get the late night snuggles.  Getting the giggles and getting to kiss the tears away.  Getting to teach and getting to learn from someone half your size.  Getting to hold a tiny hand and getting the thrill of removing the training wheels.  Getting big, wet kisses and getting winked at with both eyes.

I do believe that if we measured out the giving and the getting and if we were really honest, we'd see that even though our jobs are to give and give, that somehow that getting cup runneth over and over and over.     

why i do what i do

My timeliness is indeed off this spring.  I mean summer.  See?  There I go again.  But there are photos and events-- or in some cases, entertaining non-events, that just need remembering.  And that's why I post/write/blog.  Mostly because I fear that I'm losing my memory at the ripe old age of never-you-mind and secondly, so the girls can look back one day and laugh.  Hearty belly-laughs i hope.  And cry, just a little when I write the sweet stuff.  And remember.  I want to jog their memories when they are as old as I am, and fill them up with a flood of warm and wonderful and funny family memories.

So, though it nearly stops my heart to go out of order and write un-sequentially, I must do it for the sake of the children.

Happy 4th!

Dancing Queen

Claire's first recital.  And she got to wear hot pink polka dots and rhinestones.  Can life BE any better? 

 

It was tap and it was about what you'd expect.  If you expected 4-year-olds to remember some of the choreography.  And if you expected them to look absolutely adorable in their little pink tutus. And if you expected moms to get a little emotional and dads to smile from ear to ear. 

Playing Catch up

I'm hoping that the summer won't be filled with playing catch-up.  That it will be filled with playing all sorts of other things instead.  That there will be much leisure and time spent being 'in the moment'.  But before we begin slathering on the sunscreen and lounging at the beach I do need to catch up.

Like maybe...February, when Claire celebrated her half-birthday at school: 

 

And mastered the monkey bars all in one week:

 

Or March, when Faith participated in her first school science fair, knockin 'em dead with buddy Kellen and their cool 'Crystals' project:

 

And performed in her first theatre production (here, she's Agustus Gloop and has fallen into the chocolate river/box):

 

Fast-forward (like we're not already doing that) to chilly May rain walks:

  

And chillier school field trips to Seattle beaches...in the wind...and the rain...and the wind...and the rain:

 

Still time for cozy tea parties at home with friends:

 

And "tea" with cookies for mother's day at school:

 

Which brings us almost up-to-date and ready to post about last days of school, camps, beaches and summer vacations.  Here's to summer and living in the moment!

Tip toe...through the tulips...

  

We made it to the tulip fields this April!  A break in the weather after a late bloom found us fitting it in on the last available weekend.  We got a very overcast day but managed to miss the rain so we were thrilled.  Happened to have two extra munchkins with us, as well.  Jack and Joey came along for the day and that made it even more fun. 

Oh, man did these kids enjoy the freedom of running.  The open fields, the mountain view, the beautiful tulips, the rotting corn cobs, the honey buckets.  Oh come on, you're not above rotting corn cobs and honey buckets, are you?  

I don't know...on the one hand, gorgeous fields of blooms every where you turn:

 

On the other...decaying corn fields, brittle and scratchy, complete with rotting corn cobs:

 

And... the cobs have it. 

But no worries, the good old honey bucket came in a close second.

  

See more than just cobs and wooden potties HERE.

And to see Joey in the great corn battle: Download Joey corn

Bainbridge Beauty & Brrrrr

We made a stop on Bainbridge on our way home from Rick and Denise's.  Oh--yes, sorry, I'm finally completing spring break thoughts.  This was our final stop and we were pooped from the revelry of the week.

 

That's not just a blurry photo folks--it's totally how we looked that day.

The weather was heading south (or somewhere else anyway) and though we were impressed with the Bainbridge beauty, we made a quick stop of it. 

Walk with daddy...

  

walk with daddy...

 

Pose for a photo...

 

And one more shot...

 

And...we're done.

Catch ya on a sunny day, Bainbridge!

The know-it-all

Claire: Mom, can I have the make-up that Mary gave to Jesus that we made in bible study?

Me: Make up?  Oh--you mean the perfume bottle?

Claire: Yeah, the make-up perfume.

Faith:  Why did Mary give Jesus perfume?

Claire: Oh-Faith, (insert know-it-all-voice) it's a long story. 

The thrill of the curl

Born with straight locks, they were.  It would seem to be a curse, unless of course, you were born with rambunctious, un-tamable curl.  The grass is always greener, i suppose.  My girls... they long for curly hair.  They beg me to braid their hair after the bath.  My hand cramps after the 7th braid, but I keep braiding because I love them so deeply.  They sleep un-soundly on a head of medusa-like mini braids just to wake up and unleash the curl within them.  They live on the 'other side' for a day and then they beg me not to wash it the next night so-as not to lose the "curl" (by then it's really only a slight wave).  I suppose it will be easier when they can sit still for a perm or handle a hot curling iron.  Maybe we'll have to invest in a crimper.  But for now, I braid-on.

Before:

 

After: Behold the curl. oooh ahhhh.  Living on the wild side.  Well, it works for us.

Second half

After a brief return home from Suncadia, a few loads of laundry and a phenominal job of re-packing (if I do say so myself), we headed the opposite direction.  The thrill of a ferry ride is not lost on the girls.  It still has the power to wow them.  From the chill in the wind on the bow that whips their hair into a frenzy to the bird poop splattered on the windows.  They enjoy the whole experience.

We were headed to Bremerton and Silverdale.  A visit to G'ma Vi and then a night at Rick and Denise's B & B.  Sounded good--and turned out even better.  Check out G'ma.  She's rocking 90 like it was... well, at least 70.  She rocks, that G'ma.

What a lovely afternoon, just chatting and relaxing in her sunroom.  The girls were perfect angels and they really enjoyed hanging out with g'ma.  They checked out the garden in-between sharing handfuls of chocolate.

 

Then it was on to Rick and Denise's and a fun-filled evening of talking and laughing and eating and yes, maybe a little wine here and there.  And here.  Sorry, no photos--I was really relaxing.  Claire still talks about uncle Rick's salmon--and says she likes salmon now--but only uncle Rick's.  We had so much fun--oh wait--Faith took some photos of the day.  Let's see...there's the cat...

 

Claire in the swing chair...

 

the cat again...

 

Well, maybe we'll just let it go at that.  Unless you'd like to see more of the cat.  There may have been few photos, but there was much, much fun. 

And she wonders...

She wonders how I know so much.  And they think I have eyes in the back of my head.  Mother's intuition, I tell them.  Moms just know things, I say.  They are always astonished that I can tell what's in their mouth without seeing inside.  And how I know whether they've washed their hands, brushed their teeth, or even wiped unmentionables.  And I know it from across the room.  From a look on their face.  I just know. 

Oh I am well aware that this magical mom-knowingness that they think I possess will slide into complete UN-knowingness in a few years.  I will know nothing and understand very little and they just may even roll their eyes at my attempts to stay on the same page.  But for now, well...for now, I revel in the magnitudes of the things that I know. 

i.e. On this day, I knew she'd been sniffing the Mr.Sketch markers as she colored.  And I knew that she favored the orange.  See?  It's like magic.

 

Game On

So we're definitely back at it.  The hamster wheel; the schedule.  But before the game was back on, with the alarm clocks and school busses, dance classes and homework deadlines, before that, there was spring break.  We had a couple little get-aways that turned out to be so much fun and filled our cups aplenty.  

We've been wanting to visit Suncadia, the growing mountain resort on the Cle Elum River.  It was the perfect distance to feel like we were getting away yet arriving before the need for a potty break.  And it looked a little like this:

 

And this:

 

And, well, I guess you'll just have to check out the Suncadia Album because I have a few more photos.

This was actually the antithesis of a lazy, relaxing vacation.  I love the idea of lounging in the sun by a pool with something tall and fruity in my hand.  Maybe reading a book or catching up on the last 10 People Magazines, sitting up only when my BLT on croissant is delivered pool-side.  I had one of those vacations once...before I had babies.  Now it's all about slathering sunscreen on sweet but fragile skin, playing shark in the pool, packing along bottled water and paying $6.25 for a PB & J that only gets half-eaten.  It's not better or worse than my imaginary BLT holiday, just different.

And I must say, now that family vacations don't require bringing along stollers, pack-n-plays, diapers or the kitchen sink, they kinda rock.  Now that the girls are getting older, we're discovering a lot of new things we're able to do together on holiday.  Which means very action-packed days.  Which means the fruity drink either has to wait or I need to get a nice big sippy cup.

From the minute we arrived, I think the only time we sat still was to eat meals.  Oh there were a few blessed minutes of stillness in the hot tub, too.  God Bless that hot tub.  Between those restful moments we hiked, biked, climbed, swam, toured, biked some more, scootered, swam again...and just had a great time together.

The girls can't wait to go back and they consider it their 'little Hawaii' of vacations.  Till next time, Suncadia!

Claire prayer

Man this little girl makes me laugh.  Tonight she had me say her prayers for her (how's that for working the system?), while she instructed me on what to pray for.  Of course I did it.  On one hand, it was a sweet and funny experiment.  On the other, well, not that I don't enjoy the little moments, but let's just say that it kept things moving along to the final tuck-in.

So after I'd said her prayers for her, she surprised me with a little post script.

"Dear God, thank you for my mommy.  I love the way you made her and i like where you put her teeth." 

Quote, unquote.

 

And Easter it was

Another day, and another late-night, last-minute check-in before bed.  I don't mean to ignore the blog.  And there's plenty going on to write about, but it's just that darn clock going tick tick, round and round, leaving me with a little less free time to write than I'd hoped. 

Still, things keep happening and nothing is waiting on me and my free time.  So Easter it was. 

There were tulips pushing up through the dirt, but they weren't blooming yet.  And there was rain, but that is no big surprise.  There was Jesus and the stone that was rolled away.  The stone (as Claire explained to us) that was just too heavy for anyone but God to move.  So true.  God and maybe daddy...cuz he's really strong, too.  And there were eggs.  With silly faces.  Cuz that just says Easter right there.

 

Except if your Martha Stewart (or somebody that works for her and comes up with all those great ideas).  If you're Martha (or underling), the silly-faced eggs probably wouldn't do. And I am guessing that the Easter Bunny wheat grass pots we made might just be walking-the-line.  But the girls loved making them and they loved putting personality on an egg or twelve.  And it's all about the love.

 

But my favorite?  I was lovin me some birds nest cupcakes.  Now that's a craft I can enjoy in more ways than one.

fire safety 101

After a firefighter visited her preschool today, Claire shared with me all the important information necessary in case of fire:

If there's a fire, you are 'posed to stay in your room, turn on the light and duck down low under the smog.

You mean smoke, honey?  Yeah, smoke.

Then cover your face and do log rolls over and over under the smog.

You mean smoke, honey?  Yeah, smoke.

So...I can't remember what else to do...but you gotta go low under the smog.  Oh yeah--and stop-drop-and-roll.

Ohhhkay honey--gooood listening.  And yes, it's a good idea to stay away from that smog.

insert long pause

Mom!  When I grow up do you know what I want to be?  I want to be a fire hydrant!  And a karate person.

cool, honey.