Indoor Water Park

It was a rough afternoon - rain all day, overtired children, Annie on a nap strike, Jemma woke up from hers disoriented and hysterical. From 3:00 - 4:00, it was all I could do to keep my cool. Somehow, I did, and around 4:00, things seemed to even out a bit. The girls began to function without my direct involvement, so I snuck off to begin cooking dinner.

Half an hour later, I was feeling a little smug in the kitchen, making french onion soup (a little wine in the soup, a little for me seemed like a good idea) when I realized that it was perhaps a bit too quiet in the play room. I poked my head around the corner and heard what sounded like someone pouring water on the wood floor. That's because someone was pouring water on the wood floor. Hunkered down in a corner where they knew I wouldn't see, Annie and Jemma were silently but gleefully making a little water park in the playroom, pouring all the water from their sippy cups into the plastic play cups and coffeemaker that go with their play kitchen. Water was: on the rug, in puddles on the wood floor, on the metal cabinet we use as a coffee table, in their hair, on their clothes, all over their toys.

I marched on over to them and . . . started laughing. Annie cracked up too, and Jemma just kept happily transferring water from cup to cup, spilling a little on herself in the process. It was a mess, but I just couldn't get mad about it. It was the first time that the two of them have ganged up against me (and Annie, at least, clearly knew that she should not have been doing such a thing) to do something naughty and fun. We all cleaned up with paper towels and had a little talk about water staying in the cups and not being poured all around the house. And I promised that they can have lots of fun with water - in buckets, cups, sprinklers, kiddie pools - as soon as it gets a little warmer outside.

Whirlwind Weekend

I'm exhausted; it's been a long, busy three days of non-stop action here. A few things that happened:

-had pictures taken of Jemma
-steamed my curtains
-ran 11 miles
-attended Annie's Spring Dance Recital
-hosted my in-laws at our house for the weekend
-had dinner at the Green Well
-attended Jason Batts' wedding on Saturday night
-went to church this morning
-went to Jason's grandpa's 80th birthday party in Kalamazoo this afternoon

It was a fun weekend, to be sure, but one of those that leaves you wishing for a little downtime (which I'm not going to get this week). Of all the things we did, my favorite moments were watching Annie's confident, exuberant performance to "Splish Splash" at her dance recital and, strangely, this afternoon's return trip from Kalamazoo. We went through the McDonald's drive-thru (insert gagging, appalled noises here if you, too, watched SuperSize Me and swore to never eat fast food again . . . .), I wedged myself in the backseat between the girls' carseats, and we all sung along to Sound of Music and Cinderella songs while sharing french fries and cheeseburgers. My girls were giggling, watching the cows out the window, and I was just happy to have my family all cozy together on a Sunday afternoon drive.

It's Not a Big Deal

At this point, my policy with the snow is to rise above it, ignore it, pretend it's not there while optimistically waiting for it to all go away. I must not be doing a very good job of hiding my dismay, though.

Last night, Annie and I were doing a puzzle in the playroom while Jason gave Jemma her bath. I was looking out the window as the rain changed to big, fat, white flakes of snow, and the look on my face must have been something other than zen-like optimism.

Annie stopped doing her puzzle, put her hand on my arm, and said, "It's OK that it's snowing, Mom. It will go away. It's not a big deal."

Thanks, Pippi.

Life with a 3-Year-Old

Annie's been unpredictable lately - especially needy, moody, clingy, sassy. Today, for example, she woke up at 6:00 a.m. sharp after getting to bed a little late last night, declined to take her nap this afternoon, and was in pretty rough shape post-4:00 p.m. We went for a walk outside to burn off some steam and enjoy the sunshine, and it seemed to regulate her mood a little bit. Afterwards, sitting at the table, eating dinner, she suddenly blurted out:

"Mom? Thanks for leaving me presents when you went to Florida." Big, happy, grateful smile. (Note: we went to Florida the first week of February. It's March 26.) Which just goes to show, life with a 3-year-old is completely unpredictable; just when you think you can't take a minute more of their nonsense, they say something like that out of the blue and completely win you over.

Also getting me through these last, tedious days of winter is the secret knowledge that Annie and I will get to take a little mini-vacation to Florida in just a few short weeks!!!!! We are going to stay with my parents from a Thursday through a Sunday, and I think it's going to be a blast. (Jemma is staying here in the capable hands of my mother-in-law and Jason.) I haven't told Annie yet, mostly because I don't want to answer the question, "When are we going to go at Florida?" 7,495 times between now and then. But I can't wait to tell her, can't wait to see the look of glee on her face, can't wait for her to pack her little backpack importantly with dolls and crayons and snacks, can't wait to hold her little hand in mine as we jet off to someplace warm and unscheduled!

Happy Easter!

It's been a good Easter weekend. I'm not going to write about the obnoxious snow that fell on Friday afternoon because I am ignoring it until it goes away. Also not going to write much about how a huge chunk of the weekend flew by in a flurry of soul-sucking errands at Costco, Bed Bath and Beyond, the mall, the grocery store . . . all the drudgery of keeping the refrigerator stocked, the wedding presents purchased, and the Easter tights matching. Instead, a few of the high points:

-Playing school with the whole family for a few minutes on Friday morning. Annie (aka "Miss Annie") was obviously in charge of the rest of us. She led us in circle time, talked about the weather, read us a story, and taught us a song. We all stood up and sang it together, much to Jemma's delight.

-The 10-mile training run that I had been dreading. In spite of it being an absurd 26 degrees and me wasting a good 20 minutes trying to figure out a way to postpone the run or move it indoors, I finally went for it outside, and it was surprisingly fantastic. Lots of time to myself to think, have imaginary arguments with family members about politics, and write a lot of virtual blog posts and to-do lists in my head.

-Sarah's b-day party on Friday night. I had been needing a night out, and I got it. A few martinis with friends in a snowstorm is always a good thing.

-My new curtains for the front room. (Note that I did not say hanging the new curtains. That involved about 2 hours of confused measuring and arguments with Jason. We probably shouldn't do home projects together.) They are glorious and give the room a whole new feel. As I suspected, I'm now desperate to turn that light-filled room into something other than a messy playroom . . .

-Watching the girls find their Easter baskets and hidden eggs this morning. Annie's basket contained a much-longed-for blue Cinderella dress-up dress, which I pretty much got her just so she can stop conniving ways to book it into Lucy's basement every chance she gets to wear her Cinderella dress. She's happy; we're hoping she'll just wear it non-stop for a few weeks and we'll get a break from the constant clothes-changing.

-Spending this afternoon with my parents and grandparents: some good food, a little basketball on TV, naps, the girls showing off for my family, and leaving with a sense that we are so lucky to be close to people who love our family so much. Also, I made Annie and Jemma wear identical polka-dotted dresses. I am hoping that the pictures will be adorable.

Overheard at Playgroup

Annie to Ben: "If you get a bleeding boo-boo, just come tell me and I'll cuddle you."

Please Ignore the Giant Bags Under My Eyes

The photographic evidence of some recent events:

-I got all my hair chopped off and I love it. It's a very chic, short bob that somehow doesn't feel mom-like at all. I fervently hope that I can maintain it and make it cute without the help of my talented stylist. (Why can't she just come to my house and blow-dry my hair every morning? Why can't I blow-dry my own hair the right way?)

-Annie learned to write her name. She isn't at all proud.

-Jemma isn't really accomplishing anything here, but she looks like she's about 13 years old and is wearing my favorite dress, so I had to include it.

It's been a good start to the weekend. We all used my parent's house as a home base yesterday, so I got to accomplish the haircut plus go meet baby Tate while my mom helped with kid duty. Annie came with me to view little Tate; on the way there, she said, "I'm really into a born baby." Yeah, yeah, we know. Once we got there, she was strangely mute and just wanted to play with Rowan's toys. Oh, well. Maybe (maybe!) she's realizing that newborn babies aren't the fantastic accessory she's always thought they were.

Last night, I took my fabulous new haircut out to dinner with Chris and Sarah (and Jason, of course). I had a Tom Collins, which I had never tried before, and I was pretty into the combination of gin, fresh lemon juice, and sugar. Is this going to be my summer drink? Is this just an upscale rendition of the much-rapped-about "gin and juice"? Afterwards, we went to the Hope basketball game. They won. All in all, a good grown-ups night out.

Today, Annie woke us up at 6:40, demanding pancakes. And now, Jason has whisked the girls off to his grandparents' for part of the day, where they'll play games, eat good food, and stroll on over to the neighbors to view the pigs and cows. I think it will make Jemma very happy. I'm here, ignoring my dirty house and the thought of my weekend long run in favor of having another cup of coffee and doing some writing in my pj's. Bliss.

First Spring Walk

After dinner tonight, it was still sunny and warm-ish, so we marked the beginning of the spring season with our first family walk around the block. Last summer, we did this almost every night after dinner with baby Jemma in the stroller or the Bjorn. Tonight, she was running gleefully down the sidewalk, narrowly missing all the dog-poop landmines, wanting to catch up to Annie. It was great to be outside breathing real air and talking with neighbors; it was tiring trying to keep Jemma from heading toward the street; it was hell getting Annie to come back inside after her little taste of freedom. Friends, it's going to be an interesting summer.

Not-So-Daily Doublesteins

I realize I am posting less frequently than usual. Could be because not much is going on; could be because things are going on but I just don't have the energy to write about them. Lately, I feel like I am at my wit's end by about 11:00 a.m. every single day. No real reason, just some end-of-winter lethargy and the grinding routine of being a mom when my kids are at a stage where someone is always wanting something from me. I fantasize sometimes about the balance my life will find when the girls are in school every day . . . I'll sit down in my living room with a cup of coffee, maybe have some writing to do, pay bills, run errands, figure out dinner, do laundry, talk on the phone uninterrupted, and have literally hours to achieve the things I have to do after 7:00 p.m. right now. But I know that then, I'll probably miss all the wide open time I have with them now, like this morning, when we danced to The White Stripes ("Mom, this music is crazy!") in the living room and Annie helped me make chocolate chip cookies. So I'm trying - trying! - to treasure these days, too, even when my energy is low and my patience is in short supply.

Things that helped today: talking on the phone to Heather about her crazy in-laws (always makes me feel better about my family), books, and the state of the world according to us; getting outside with the girls for a walk around the block with Annie on her beloved scooter; aforementioned cookies plus an unmentionable amount of caffeine; watching the girls play nicely together in the tub; pounding out a little frustration on the treadmill while watching The Daily Show; hitting Target post-gym by myself and finding a few bargains in record time.

A few recent family accomplishments: Jason was listed in West Michigan Family Magazine as one of the top dentists in Grandville (as voted on by peer dentists and area specialists); Annie has learned to write her name and loves to do it on every surface, including, today, the dining room chair; Jemma has added a few words to her repertoire, including "duck," "hot," and "NayNay," her way of saying Annie. This last one is sort of special and bittersweet, because it's what Ben called Annie (and Annie eventually called herself) when they were learning to talk. It's eerie to hear it again, this time from Jemma's little voice, and it makes me realize how quickly the time flies by.

Coming inside just now, it was raining. And even though it was a freezing-cold, driving sort of a rain, it was the first rain in a long time that smelled like rain instead of just being wet snow. Gives me hope that spring really might be just around the corner.

Food, Grown-Ups, and Babies in Tummies

Since the Doublestein family has officially kicked the stomach flu, we have been eating everything in sight. Even our usually-picky children have been quite adventurous, going so far as to, say, try the item in front of them on their plate and find that they might like it. This week, I made these island quesadillas and everyone loved them. Today, Jemma ate some black beans from Jason's fish tacos at The Green Well, our fave local restaurant, while Annie happily dipped her grilled cheese in a yummy tomato-basil soup. Annie found that she likes edamame. And Jason and I have been sneaking to the kitchen every spare moment we get to pop one of these treats into our mouth. Make them, and write me if it is not the easiest and best approximation of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup you have ever had.

All the praise we've been heaping on Annie for breaking out of her food bubble and trying new things has had a few interesting results. For one, she's much more eager to help in the kitchen. Even though it takes longer to let her "help," she tends to eat more chicken lasagna if she got her little hands dirty taking the roast chicken off the bone. So we let her.

Additionally, she's very proud of herself and is doing a lot of talking about how big, strong, and healthy she is becoming. Because what Annie really, really, really wants to be is a grown-up. And the reason she wants to be a grown-up is . . . so she can have a baby in her tummy.

Here's the conversation we had a couple nights ago as she got out of the tub:

Annie: "Mom, I ate so much chicken that I'm a GROWN-UP now!" (huge eyes)
Me: "Well, yes, you're getting much bigger and growing a lot."
Annie: "Mom, no. I AM a grown-up."
Me: "Mmm hmm."
Annie: "And Mom, guess what?" Pauses for effect. "I have a baby in my tummy!"

We have been having some version of this conversation nearly every day for the past month or two. I don't know if it's because several of the grown-ups she knows have recently had babies (or are newly pregnant with subsequent children) or what, but it's her main form of fantasy play. (Side note: If the movie Cinderella ended with Cinderella having a baby, we would really never get Annie to stop watching it. She'd wear a blue dress with Dinah shoved up underneath and live in a happy fantasy world all the time.) I've tried and tried to tell Annie that she has to be much, much older (I have mentioned 30 as just a nice, round number to aim for) to really have a baby in her tummy, but to no avail. Here's the conversation we had as she was leaving preschool a few weeks ago, right in front of both her teachers:

Annie: "Mom, did you know, I have a baby in my tummy!"
Me: "A pretend baby, right?"
Annie: "No, a real baby. I do!"
Me: "Annie, you're too little to have a real baby in your tummy."
Annie: "Well, when I'm six years old . . ."
I cut her off: "Nope, that's still not old enough to have a baby."
Annie pauses, thinking, then tries again: "When I'm eleven . . ."

I know this is her silly fantasy and it's perfectly normal, but I'm spending part of almost every day delivering little mini-lectures about how there are so very many things she'll want to do when she's a grown-up. Go to college! Travel! Get married! Travel some more! Have a job she loves! Make new friends! Learn interesting hobbies! Alas, nothing I say has yet deterred her from simply wanting to grow up and birth children.

Now, having children (and raising them) has been the most challenging, rewarding, magical thing I've ever done. I hope she has the chance to do it, too. But sometimes I think back to my "old" life - the freedom, the spontaneity, the weekend laziness - and I want to grab youngish-looking single women or couples with no children by the arm as they walk past and yell, "You! You don't even know what a gift this is! You're just walking down the sidewalk with nobody needing a single thing from you! Treasure it!"

So Annie, for goodness sakes, don't keep wanting a baby in your tummy quite this much. Not yet, and especially not during your teenage years. I look forward to you telling me there's a baby in your tummy in, oh, about 27 years. Sound good? Good.

Reasons It Needs to Be Spring Now

1. I heard birds chirping this morning when I woke up. Also, there was actual daylight and sunshine at our breakfast table.

2. On Lake Drive, there is a sign that forbids parking on the street between November 15 and March 15 because of snowplowing. Thus, March 15 is the obvious last date on which a snowplow should be needed and therefore the last day of the winter it should possibly snow. So, 11 days to go.

3. I very much need to do the following things immediately: run outside (no more of this 8 miles on a treadmill b.s.); buy asparagus, tulips and other spring produce at the Farmer's Market; drive with my windows down; crack my window open to sleep in fresh air at night; spring clean.

Awwwwww . . .

While watching Cinderella on the couch with Annie last night, the part where the fairy godmother turns Cinderella's dress into a beautiful ball gown:

Annie: "Mom, is Cinderella happy?"

Me: "Does she look happy?"

Annie: "Yes."

Me: "Are you happy?"

Annie: "Yes."

Me: "Why?"

Annie: "Because you're here."

So I let her stay up a little bit late, skip her bath, and have an extra book just for that bit of sweetness. Also, we went to Jersey Junction two days in a row, which just might have contributed to her happiness. And mine.