A Collage of Pictures

Because I am now a delinquent blogger, I will attempt to make up for my lack of good posting by providing a collage of recent pictures of the girls. Included: dyeing Easter eggs a couple weeks ago, the girls in their matching spring dresses, our hike last weekend to the Saugatuck dunes to glimpse Lake Michigan and dream of actually going in it, Annie and Ben dancing a la Cinderella and the Prince this morning at playgroup, and a recent shot of Jemma eating goldfish fresh from her nap. Enjoy!

The World According to Jemma

1. When I bring you my boots and coat, it's time to go outside and play. Preferably within 30 seconds.

2. Dinner is at 5:00 sharp. To remind you, I'll begin crying, clinging to your legs, and climbing you in the kitchen at 4:30. Do not try to buy me off with Cheerios. I want actual food.

3. Snack times, as well, are to be strictly observed. I will let you know when those times are by pounding on the snack cabinet, yelling, "Nack nack," and nodding my head vigorously.

4. All birds are ducks. They say, "Duck, duck."

5. All dogs are hilarious, exciting, and must be touched.

6. Music is good. Please join me in clapping after every song.

7. My main job during the day is called Redistributing Things Around The House. Please don't interfere with this; if you try to put things back (underwear from the laundry hamper, high-heel shoes, toys, books), I will just get them out again right away.

8. I love to cuddle. Please be prepared to stop whatever you are doing during the day to give me a hug. Also, I need a hug from you when you get home. And before bed. And after each meal. And . . .

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.