a week of "yes"

The very last week of summer. The last week of no school and no activities. The last week of lazy mornings.

How did we spend this special week? I made it my goal to say "yes" to as many things as possible.




There were little things, like a special trip to the post office so Abby could mail a special package of treasures (two rings, a crayon, one sticker and some glue covered art) to a friend.

There was a day began wrapped in all the blankets in the house watching movies while eating dry Cheerios.

There were picnics in the backyard. There were friends, pools and Popsicles. There was painting in the driveway. There were treats from the ice cream truck at diner time (twice).

There was a trip to the Zoo.



There were visits to the butterfly garden and playground. There were overpriced carnival rides.

There was a trip to the children's museum, the one you ride the train to.





It goes without saying that the train ride was the highlight of the day.

We are looking forward to one final cookout this weekend, then it is on to school, soccer, ballet and gymnastics. On to cool nights, apple picking, hayrides and Halloween.

raising martha stewart

I can't quite decide what the most girlie aspect of this scene is:

• That they requested this salad for lunch?
• That they are wearing dresses with coordinating ribbons and accessories?
• That they requested a picnic lunch?
• That they placed a small vase of flowers picked by Claire on the picnic blanket?
  
  

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

goodbye cape cod, goodbye summer

Although I have been faithfully taking pictures every day as part of my project 365, I have not posted all that many beach pictures here. Even I know that there is a limit to how many pictures of my kids at the beach anyone wants to see.

However, as the summer winds down and we leave the cape for the last time, I thought it would be a good time to share some of my summer favorites.

Abby proudly displaying one of her many treasures

small, but still calling the shots

Claire, reflected (inspired by Irene's great reflection shots)

sharing treasures

toasted marshmallows on the beach

napping, the essence of vacation

water babies

Look Mama! (inspired by Corey's great shots of exploration)

cold and overcast, but perfect for picture taking

And finally, my big shot of both girls together. It is not exactly the perfect beach shot I envisioned and their smiles are a little cheesy but I will take it!

just another all american parade

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Today we ventured out to Provincetown's carnival parade, which was the highlight of this year's Wild, Wild West themed carnival week. Let me just say that it is nothing like the fairs and carnivals that most Americans are attending in other parts of the country.

My girls love a parade no matter what the theme and the abundance of glittery, cross dressing cowboys did not phase them in the least. Especially when they started tossing out beads and candy.











Claire was so worn out that she feel asleep in her stroller right in the middle of all the festivities.

Good times.

give a girl a camera

On vacation this summer, my husband and the girls developed a wonderful little ritual.

In the morning Abby would wake up Daddy (good already, right?) so they could go get coffee and doughnuts from a little homemade doughnut shack about twenty minutes away. The coffee was mediocre but the extra hour to sleep or enjoy the quiet each morning was priceless.

As they headed out one morning, I handed Abby my little point and shoot camera and told her to take some pictures. I got back 110 pictures, the majority of which were taken in the car on the way to the doughnut shop.

Here we have Claire and lambie:



Then a self portrait of Abby:



Daddy driving:



...about 50 similar shots, plus lots of blurry shots out the car window...

...then, Ariel and a doughnut:



A shot of Daddy:



And finally, a couple of shots of the girls taken by Daddy:

the making of the perfect picture

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

About a month ago I bought the girls matching blue sweatshirts with a beach portrait in mind. Something causal, yet Christmas Card worthy. We found a night this week when both girls were in good moods and headed down to the beach just before sunset to take advantage of the beautiful golden light.

Unfortunately, dark clouds rolled in making for weird light and Claire refused sit with her sister and smile. Two year olds can be so frustrating. Just as I was about to give up, I remembered this tip, and tried having the girls look at each other instead. I did not get my perfect "Christmas Card" shot, but I did capture some sister love instead.

to abby, age 4 years, 7 months and 26 days

To Abby,

It would seem that in the past few months you reached a number of milestones that I never saw coming.

You use the bathroom completely on your own. You eat without making any more of a mess than an average adult. You are capable of crossing the street on your own. You can be out in the backyard on your own. I no longer even consider bringing a stroller for you no matter how far we will be walking. At 50 pounds, carrying you is no longer an option either. You know how to spell your name. Your coloring increasingly reflects reality rather than your own unique vision. You know your letters and are interested in the spelling of words. You are learning to tell time. You can reach the sink without a stool. You go into the dentist on your own.

Everyday, you are more of a kid and less of a toddler/preschooler.



For about a year you lingered in limbo between toddler and kid size clothes. Then suddenly you started eating. Eating like I did not know a kid could eat. And now you are a big kid. A kid that wears size 11 shoes and size 6/7 clothes. It happened gradually, but also suddenly.

I am not sure you realize that you are big yet. I think it surprises you too sometimes. You still want to crawl into our laps and be cuddled and carried to bed like a baby. To watch you do this is hilarious because you are so long and heavy and big. Sometimes it seems like your body is ahead of you, making people think you are bigger than you really are.

But at the same time, you thrive in the big kid world. You got your first taste of camp this summer and you loved it. "What other camps can I do?" you asked eagerly after your last day. At the beginning of each day you ask what we are doing and beg me to start calling your friends if our day is not already packed with activities.



Most days I agree because if left to hang around the house too long, you pick fights with your sister over long forgotten toys and repeatedly throw yourself on the floor in frustration over the everyday details of life. But give you a friend or an activity and you are happy, energetic and even fairly well mannered.



Being "the leader" is also important to you these days. I do not remember exactly how it started, but you love the idea of being the leader. You want to be the leader down the stairs. Or out the door. You want the first turn and the first sandwich. Everything is a competition and second place is not an option.

It is a delicate balance, meeting your needs at this age. You are mostly kid but still a little bit baby. You mostly want to run free and play, but sometimes you still crave a cuddle. By day you play like a big kid, but at night you still like to cuddle up with your giraffe and suck your thumb.



As your mother, I am trying my best to keep up. I am trying my best to give you both the freedom and attention you crave.

Please bear with me when I get it mixed up and I will try to do he same with you.

All my love,
Mama

the making of a better parent

Since the end of my first pregnancy, I have subscribed to various parenting magazines. They came free with purchase or as gifts or seemed like a great deal at three years for the price of one. I am sure you know the ones. I am sure you subscribe to them too.

As a new mom, I earnestly read or at least skimmed the pages each month. I remember in those early days I got together with another new mom and baby pair each week. This mom was always asking me things like "Do you have a baby Bjorn? Did you see there was a recall??" Invariably, I had not.

I always left feeling vaguely negligent and vowed to study harder. To be a better parent.

As the years went by, I built a network of supportive friends and family. I discovered blogging. And Wondertime (I puffy heart Wondertime). I found my confidence and my parenting style. I came to trust myself as the expert on what is best for my children and my family.

But somehow the magazines, with their warnings, solutions and expert advice, still arrive each month.

Let's look at a sampling of this months offerings:

• The monthly It Happened to Me feature tells the story of a woman who was carelessly rushing out of the supermarket and partially severed her toddler son's finger on the door. Yikes. Moms, you can never be to careful. Never. Ever.

• Next we have some shots of pregnant celebrities wearing high heels, with a warning that high heels during pregnancy are dangerous. The piece goes on to say that flats and flip flops are also bad. No advice on what one should wear, just another item to add to your list of worries.

• Then on to some Q &A. First we have a woman concerned that she saw her neighbor's kid riding a bike without a helmet. Then a woman who prefers to be addressed as Mrs. So and So, and wonders if it is okay to correct her children's friends.
  
  Seriously? Who are these women? And where exactly do they find all this time to stew over other people's parenting and write in to magazines about it?

• And finally we have some tips on styling your hair when you don't have time to wash it. Um, okay, but if I had the time to buy all these styling products and follow a series of styling instructions I would just, I don't know, wash my hair.

Do we really need more reasons to judge? To worry? To feel bad about our parenting or ourselves? Or inferior to some "expert", no matter how helpful and friendly their tone?

I don't. I am officially done reading this stuff and I am done feeling bad about it.

commando

Things my four year old daughter did this morning:

1. Ate breakfast.
2. Dressed herself.
3. Watched Super Why.
4. Went to the dentist and went in by herself for her cleaning.
5. Selected a pair of back-to-school shoes.
6. Ate at Panera.
7. Used the potty at Panera.

Things my four year old daughter did not do this morning:

1. Put on underwear.

And yes, of course, she was wearing a dress.

Did she flash the dentist as she climbed in the chair? Or maybe the woman measuring her feet at the shoe store?

I will always wonder.

From now on, there will be underwear checks before leaving the house.

daddy's princesses

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

My husband is a fan of boy things. Growing up with a brother, he played boy stuff. He is a huge sports fan. He enjoys video games. He plays the drums. He can build things. He can fix stuff. He owns power tools. He knows about cars.

His preferred activity on a Sunday afternoon is relaxing on the couch watching sports.

Our girls, however, have slightly different interests.

So on a recent rainy Sunday with Mommy out of the house, what did Daddy and the girls do? They had a dress up party. A party that included makeup, manicures and pedicures for each girl.

No question about it, these are Daddy's princesses.

party time

Yesterday, my husband and I did the best thing two parents could do for their children. We went out for the day and got Oma and Opa to babysit.

They arrived around 11am armed with flashing Ariel Mermaid tee shirts, rings and stick on earrings for each girl, a supply of junk food that mommy never buys, a new movie and a new pair of crocs for Claire. Oma's only request was that we set up our largest inflatable pool in the backyard.

I am not even sure the kids noticed that we left.

When we returned nine hours later, having thoroughly enjoyed a Red Sox game and dinner out, both girls were still over flowing with excitement.

"Mommy! Daddy! See me new pink crocs!" Claire said, twirling and dancing in her Ariel shirt, diaper and crocs. She was sweaty and covered with bits of the day's treats. She could not have been happier.

"Mommy! Daddy! We went in the pool and danced and colored and watched a movie and ate pizza for lunch and pizza for dinner and I had three pops! And LOOK, I got a tattoo!!" Abby said, her body shaking with excitement. She could not have been happier.

We have come a long, long way from the first night we left our newborn daughter in my mother's care for a couple of hours after she insisted that it would be good for us to get out. Together. Without the baby. She even provided a restaurant gift certificate.

That night, still wearing my maternity pants and filled with new mother anxiety, I worried that the baby could not possibly sleep or take a bottle without me. That she would desperately scream and scream for her Mommy. I checked my cell phone repeatedly, fearing that my daughter could not possibly survive without my actual presence.

Clearly, now they do just fine without me.

how evil are you?

After seeing this over at Kelli's place, I just had to find out...

You Are 36% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?

Yup, that is me. Dangerous. Be very afraid next time you see me at Walmart with my two kids.

Okay, so in reality, most of my "evilness" took place well before I became a wife and mother. Now about the only thing I am guilty of is "You've said something so mean it made someone cry" and seriously what mother can honestly say no to this one??