A Dirty Summer

We had a dirty summer. A lot. I don't mean that we played in the dirt or anything like that, though I think that did happen a time or two. I mean that the girls could have taken more baths and/or showers than I care to admit. We had plenty of nights when we were all too pooped out or were having too much fun together to want to stop and take a bath. And, we often used the excuse that we had swimming lessons or were going to the pool anyway the next day (after which we  bathed, thank you very much). I was even aided in my laziness to bathe by using a natural bug repellent that didn't require a shower every night. So much the better.

Now, I should say that my mom taught me better and probably would (will?) be skeeved out when she reads this (and be horrified that I'm admitting it). But, when all was said and done, we all lived. And, even though I got whiffs of the girls' smelly heads a time or two, they are no worse for wear. They survived being dirty.

Through all of these dirty days, not once did I regret not giving the girls a bath when they probably needed it. That is, until yesterday. Yes, after school had started and I had no swimming pool excuses to use. We came home late from visiting Nana and Grandpa on Sunday evening. And, when I normally would have given the girls a fast bath - at the very least - before bed, I didn't. I let it slide. Monday morning I told Annalee to put her hair in a little pony tail on top so that any dirtiness didn't show. Actually, she looked perfectly fine.

When she came home, though, her pony tail was out. And, frankly, her hair looked dirty. So, I asked her why she took her hair down. Drum roll please.... "The nurse did it. She was checking for head lice."

What? This came after Annalee had been home from school for at least an hour and I had already asked her about her day and what went on. Well, apparently I hadn't asked the right questions. It turns out that someone in Annalee's class was found to have head lice and so the nurse checked everyone in the class room.

I am happy to report that Annalee does NOT have head lice. Thankfully. She just had dirty hair the day the nurse needed to comb through it. That skeeves me out.

And, yes, I gave the girls their baths last night.

One Year to the Next

The end of our summer break came this week as Annalee started third grade. It wasn't just a new grade, but since we have leveled schools, she was going to a different school. She'll be there through fifth grade. Annalee was nervous the night before school and insisted we look online so she could find out what her teacher looked like. Thankfully, I found the teacher's classroom web site and we were able to read a little about her. The next morning, I was even more excited to meet Mrs. Madsen and find her very similar in personality to Annalee's first grade teacher, whom we both liked and enjoyed so much. So far, so good.

When Wednesday came, we rushed around taking pictures before driving over to school. A few years ago, I found a 'First Day' picture frame. I purchased two at the time, in complete preparation for Zelda's arrival. Annalee's been using her frame since kindergarten. On the first day of school each year, I've taken Annalee's picture and get prints made while she's in school. She comes home to find her frame updated with her first-day-of-school picture to look at throughout the year. We'll start using Zelda's in a couple weeks when she starts three-year-old preschool.

It's funny when you look at your children every day that you only notice bits and pieces of the changes they are going through. I see Annalee's changes most in her smile (teeth going and new, larger ones coming) and her hair. Zelda has grown in height and her speaking abilities are quite advanced (have I mentioned how much she talks?). But, to see last year's first-day pictures and then this year's picture was a real eye-opener. Here, I'll show you what I mean:

The above pictures were taken in August 2010.

 

Here are the girls this year.

Annalee is looking more mature than I'm ready to admit.

Zelda has lost a lot of her baby face - and is wise beyond her years. So much so that she even lets us know this. "I....am a genius," she will say jokingly. I don't doubt it.

All Things Pooh

A short while ago, we had an 'All Things Pooh' Thursday. Pooh, as in Winnie the Pooh. Mostly, I thought the girls would enjoy seeing the new Winnie the Pooh movie. Given that I like theme days (see Froot Loop Friday in the previous post), I figured we'd make a day of it.

We started with Pooh-shaped pancakes for breakfast. They didn't really look like Pooh; but, the girls used their imaginations. Rather than using syrup, we sweetened our pancakes with honey - a Pooh favorite. Later that morning, I broke out the flavored honey sticks that I had purchased from a honey vendor earlier in the week at a local farmers market. We also enjoyed the honey sticks at the movie, which was brief (65 minutes) but entertaining. We ended the day with Zelda wearing her piglet costume (thank you, Cormiers!).

I get a big kick out of planning events, if you could call this that. Some theme days are more involved or interesting than others. But, what I like most is the way it stays with the kids. It wasn't just a day that we saw a movie or ate honey sticks. It was a day that had significance. I know this because Zelda was talking about something this morning and said, " ...remember when we had the 'All Things Pooh' day..." That's when I knew I had succeeded. I had created a memory for my daughters.

ADDENDUM: Since Becky asked for it, I have located a picture of 'Piglet' from a few months ago. Zelda actually fills out the costume a little better now, but I didn't whip out the camera during All Things Pooh day. Actually, I'm not sure the costume will be big enough for her to wear for Halloween. (Hallelujah to growing!)

The First Part of Summer 2011

I've been remiss. Well, actually, I've been traveling. A lot. And, now we're home for the better part of summer vacation. I had intended to post our list of things we want to do this summer. But, since I never followed up last summer's list with a recap of all we did, I thought I'd change things up this year and just focus on the fun we've been having.

To start off the summer with a bang - and celebrate my birthday - Ron and I along with three very special friends saw Glee Live! I felt like I was 12 again. It was such a rush to watch these talented actors/dancers/singers. I bought a very cool zip-up hoodie to commemorate the event.

Just after school got out, the girls and I flew off to North Carolina to spend time with Ron's family. We enjoyed an extended stay with Ron's dad and got to spend many days visiting Ron's mom. Most evenings looked like this - Ron's dad lives on the Pasquatank River.

We saw two lighthouses - Bodie and Hatteras, lots of white egrets and a fox. We swam often. We went to an aquarium in Manteo and the naval museum in Virginia Beach. We also saw cousins and aunts and uncles - most of whom we saw Zelda was meeting for the first time ever.

While the extended visit was relaxing, the most memorable time for me was when I took the girls to the beach in Kill Devil Hills on June 21, the longest day of the year. All the elements came together to make for an absolutely perfect evening. And though it was hard to get one outstanding picture of the girls together, I did get some wonderful individual pictures - and even some of the pelicans flying over the Atlantic.

We returned home for a few short days and managed to get in a game of miniature golf - on our list of priorities this summer. We had dinner with friends who are moving out of state (so sad but we have a new place to visit). And, the parents of Zelda's future husband had us to their country club for a chi-chi afternoon of swimming and dining. It kind of reminded me of Caddyshack. I was looking for the Baby Ruth bar at the pool. (Thanks Joyce and Bob!)


Then, we were off to Lakeside, Mich., for an Independence Day party combined with a mini family vacation with friends on the beach. This was our second vacation with these two families. The first was two years ago, when we had a 'Dinosaur Day at the Beach' - complete with a dinosaur dig. This year, we held a Kite Day. Pancakes kites set the tone followed by a craft making kite bookmarks. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate for kite-flying. That was made up for the next evening, when the wind came in perfectly off the lake. We held the kites up and off they went into the sky only to come down when we wound them in.

 

One morning - after finding the Swedish bakery closed, Ron and Alan journeyed two towns north to forage for bakery items. When they came back with a box of goods that reminded me of childhood vacations with the Julians in Minnesota, I knew we had created a tradition that will be repeated for years to come.

A week after returning from Michigan, I was back there with the girls and our friend Charlotte to pick lots of cherries. While it might seem crazy to drive 1-3/4 hours to go cherry picking, it's so worthwhile to go to Stover's, where they run your tart cherries through a pitter. All I had to do was bag 'em up when I returned home. I have three bags in the freezer ready to turn into chopped cherry jam or - the ultimate - cherry pie! If it weren't for this excruciating heat, we would have been back this week for some more.

We have also gone to Brookfield Zoo, along with Papa, Gigi, Auntie Pat and the twins. We picked a lovely, warm and breezy day - the nicest of the week.

We ended that week with Froot Loop Friday. When I wrote that notation on the chalk board, my sole intention was to let the girls know that they could have Froot Loops for breakfast on that particular day - after some form of protein. But, when we started the day, I realized we needed to incorporate those bright colored o's into something more. So, we ended up making Froot Loop cookies in the afternoon. I followed a chocolate chip recipe and split the batter in half before adding chips to one portion and loops to the other. The girls really got into the decorating.

One was even made to look like a fried egg.

Very clever, eh? Needless to say, I stuck with the chocolate chips. Delish!

Pentecost, Sunday, June 12, 2011

May the boldness of God's Spirit transform you, may the gentleness of God's Spirit lead you, may the gifts of God's Spirit be your goal and your strength now and always.

Amen