Peter(ette) Pan

As you probably know, our girls are rather obsessed with pirates. This obsession took a bit of a blow this morning, however. In the wee hours of the morning, Addi comes into our room and leans in so she is nose to nose with me (in the process of groggily waking up).
"Ma ma, is Peter Pan a girl or a boy?"
"(Yawn) He's a boy, and it's too early to get up right now, so let's go back to bed."
A deep, mournful sigh comes from Adelaide. I thought she was getting ready to argue about going back to bed, but instead she just slumps her shoulders down and scuffles back to her room. Before closing the door, I hear her say, "I like girls better."

;)

While I generally don't like to be the bearer of bad news, this was the first time she went back to bed voluntarily, so maybe it's not too bad!

Enter the World of Superheroes!

Kindergarten has been a whole new experience on many fronts ... but all the things I thought would be a concern (not knowing what the heck they're saying any given minute of the day, for example!) are not the least bit of a concern for Hannah. The part that disorients her the most is the boys in her class! Granted, there are only five of them in her class, but they are typical boys in that they are obsessed with super heroes, sports, and spend most of their time bragging of trophies they don't actually have (which their absence wasn't at ALL noticed by Hannah on play dates!) Their behaviour and obsessions are so completely foreign to Hannah that she doesn't even know what to think. Well, until now!

Surfing Netflix tonight, we found the 1967 episodes of Spider-Man. Hannah knew who he was from the picture as a couple of boys dressed up like him for Halloween, and Addi is always game for something a little scary, so why not! We thought we'd try one episode to see what it was like, and the girls have now morphed into the very same deranged 5- and 6-year-old boys that have baffled Hannah up until this point! They couldn't get enough of it!

Some of the story was lost on them because we didn't explain beforehand how Peter Parker came to be, but Jeff filled in some details while snuggling in bed as they were way too excited to fall asleep after watching it!

Nothing like bedtime stories of Spider-Man! Even the cat is interested!

The fact that a man could acquire spider traits, hang from ceilings and have "spidey instincts" wasn't at all confusing to either one of the girls. But the moment he shot webbing from his wrists (not his bottom) Hannah started asking questions and wondering if this was for real! The writer really should have checked his facts on little arachnids before writing the comics, but I'm not sure it would have taken off had it been anatomically correct!

Anyway ... we had a battle of wills tonight at bedtime that we haven't had for a long time because both girls were so fascinated with Spider-Man they didn't want to stop! Addi wouldn't let me close the door and say goodnight until I promised her we would watch another episode tomorrow. They're hooked!

Jeff is saying a few hallelujahs as surely this means less Angelina Ballerinas and Doras for sure! And what's not to love about the 60s?!

Go Spidey!

Lost In Translation

Hannah and I tend to have several conversations that seem to loop around and around and around. Adding Spanish immersion into the mix certainly hasn't helped anything! For instance, she jumped off the bus today all excited that there was going to be a party at school. "Only 7 of us get to go! It will be after the school is closed ... Like during night time!" After searching her backpack for more information and doing several laps around this topic trying to figure out what in the world she was talking about, I finally concluded that she was referring to a play that was held at the school ... at 7 at night. The details were all there, they were just left up for a bit of interpretation!

A mere hours after this loop of a conversation, she told us that during computer lab time that afternoon, everyone watched a video on "the man who watches over us with the two pretty ladies by his side."

"The man? What man?"
"The man up high. You know, the one with the two pretty ladies," she says, clearly frustrated at having to repeat herself.

Now, what she does in Kindergarten is still a great mystery, so while I thought showing a video of God surrounded by two angels wasn't exactly something that would be shown at school ... the image below is what popped into mind. Perhaps they were starting a subject on art history!

 
Clearly frustrated with her mother's inability to understand her, Hannah starts to describe him yet again.

"You know, the man with the short hair and with the two pretty ladies by his side. He's way up high, and he watches over us and helps everyone."

I sneak a peek at Jeff, who looks every bit as bewildered as me, then I look back at Hannah with pleading eyes.

"Can you describe him a little bit more?"

Suddenly, a book we recently read popped into mind.


He has short hair, he is one of the "guardians of childhood'" so in a sense, he watches over us all, and he's up high on the moon ... it all fit! There is even a little blurb about the Tooth Fairy and Mother Goose in there, so that must be where she got the two pretty ladies!

Relieved and quite pleased with myself for figuring the daily riddle out, I blurt out the answer. But Hannah just rolled her eyes and huffed in disgust. "No, Mom!"
So, we return to this seemingly never-ending loop trying to decipher what it is she's trying to say. It's so rare that she talks about what she does at school - so I feel we ought to get it right when she does!

Soldiering on, she gives me the description yet again.

"You know, the man who watches over us, from up there, with the two pretty ladies beside him."

Dead silence from Jeff and I.

"You know him ... I just can't remember his name," Hannah says.
"Is this from a book we read?"
"No".
"A video?"
"No."

I think it's safe to say I was at a complete loss in this conversation!

Then she chimes in, "you watch him on the news sometimes. You know, the guy with the short hair and the two pretty ladies beside him. He's the one who watches over us and helps to keep us safe."

Light bulb moment!
Tee hee!! Happy President's Day (a bit late!)

Learning Democracy the Night Before Election Day

This afternoon I was telling Hannah that tomorrow would be a special day because we get to go out and vote. She instantly dropped what she was doing and jumped up and down in excitement!

"Yay! I was hoping we could do that again before winter!"

Hmmm. Winter is a bit out there, but ... it's Hannah, so some comments are just like that. I was just thrilled she seemed to be so excited. Who knew?!
 
Hannah then asked if Daddy is going, too.

"Yes, Daddy gets to vote," I say. "But voting is only for adults. So I promise to vote for people I think will do the right thing for you in the future, but you and Adelaide don't actually get to vote until you're 18." 

The look on Hannah's face was as if she had just gotten smacked.

"But ... but ... why? Can we at least come with you?"

"Yes! I was hoping you would! You guys can come with me in the morning, and Daddy will probably go after work."

I was met with yet another look of disbelief.

"Umm. If we can't vote, why can you? I think only strong people should be able to go. Maybe we should ask Caleb to come with us if Daddy can't."

Now the look of disbelief jumped to my face. What?! Images of Women Suffragists rolling in their graves raced through my mind, coupled with pictures of riots from those around the world who sacrifice so much, yet are still denied the right to vote. I was speechless!

Thankfully, and as always, Hannah was not at a loss for words.

"You always say it takes two people to get it up on the van, and what if the cold wind makes you tired and we get stuck out on a lake?!" 

Oddly enough, that comment made perfect sense. Phew! It's those tricky letters "v" and "b." This whole time I had been talking about going to "vote," while Hannah had heard "boat." Few things compare to a boat ride in this house, and I'm pretty sure standing in a polling booth will fall terribly, terribly short!

So, after my heart stopped racing and the confusion was sorted out, I tried to explain what va-va-voting was. We used our rather dated daily schedule as an example of what the girls would vote for in regards to all of our activities tomorrow. From picking what's for snack to picking what we play throughout the day, they thought it was great fun putting a check mark by each of their votes.

While it's not going for a boat ride, maybe voting won't be a complete fail now! No surprise my votes of easy breakfasts and healthy dinners (not to mention taking a nap!) did not get the majority, but it looks to be a fun day anyway! Hannah then made it very clear that she did not vote to have salad for dinner tonight, and that we should consult this chart every day so the majority's voice is heard.

Whoever said democracy is always a good thing couldn't have been a mother! :)

Democracy at work

Happy voting tomorrow!

You Might Be Raising A Liberal, When ...

A friend mentioned Jeff Foxworthy's list, "You Might Be a Redneck" the other day, and this is what popped into my mind:

You Might Be Raising A Liberal, When ...

* Your kids refer to the card game, "War," as "Higher/Lower." (that's a Heuiser thing, actually!) "Killers" have recently been re-named to the "Line Running Game" now as well.

* Your 5-year-old tells the Sunday School teacher that it's better to let the winner of each game sit out, rather than the person who lost. "That way, everyone has a chance to win and it's more fair."
(Even the Sunday School teacher was taken aback by that one!)

* When asked how many days are in a week, both Addi and Hannah answer with the Beatles' song, "Eight days a week ... I loooooooove you."

* The day Hannah learned that the big vans with pictures of ladybugs and other insects on them was actually a lawn insecticide service rather than a traveling bug show, she was so horrified that she wanted to move out of the neighborhood. She continues to shun the house which receives such services. Not to mention, she often stands on the edge of the yard and beckons all the bugs to follow her to our yard where it's safe. ;)

* This is what you see waving out the school bus window every afternoon when your daughter heads to school. My heart still melts ... which is why I don't have an actual photo!

* When the kangaroo began taunting Horton in the play, Horton Hears A Who, Addi stands up in in her seat, shakes her tiny finger and shouts, "You're not bein' nice, ya Big Bad Meanie! You leava him alone!"
(Hats off to the actors for not even flinching on that one! A thousand apologies were sent the following day!)

* Adelaide instinctively knows to look at Mom and wipe a tear away while listening to Peter Yarrow sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" with a bunch of kids on stage - sweetest thing ever!

* Hannah wants to marry her best friend (who, of course, is a girl), and is blissfully ignorant of the fact that such a thing is in jeopardy right now. I hope she never has to learn of such hatred.

Oh to keep them young! I have a feeling this will be an ongoing list, so more will come later! ;)

Bedtime Vanity

What does a shiny silver platter and two clothespins have to do with one another you ask? They are Hannah's latest stalling techniques when going to bed!

I walked past her door last night 45 minutes after bedtime, and noticed light coming from under her door. All was silent, so I thought she had fallen asleep with the light on. But when I opened the door, I find Hannah bent over the silver platter, intently gazing at her reflection, while braiding and twisting her hair into numerous buns on top of her head. She then fastened them with the clothespins!

"Won't this make my hair look pretty tomorrow, Ma Ma?!"

Oy!

Miss Congeniality

With a few days of Kindergarten under our belt, I can safely say Hannah is doing great! I should also say that no one is more surprised at this fact than me! ;)

At the end of each school day, I expected Hannah to be overwhelmed, beyond crabby and wanting space from her number one fan, Adelaide. I had a list of distractions a mile long in an attempt to keep the peace each day before bedtime.

But then school started, and I don't know what on earth they did with my Hannah! Alien abduction, perhaps? She bounces off the bus, smiling ear to ear, and invites everyone at the bus stop (which consists of SEVERAL kids) to our house to play and have an after-school snack. It's as if she's morphed into this sorority girl! Here I was worrying about all these trivial things like making sure she gets on the right bus, finds her way in the wide, wide world, blah, blah, blah. But apparently, she's switched from, Most Likely to be Living with Your Mother at 40 to Miss Congeniality!

When she came home the first day, she talked of tapping fellow classmates on their heads to get their attention, then leaning over to ask if they wanted to be her friend. Ha! I find this hard to believe coming from the girl who spends more time with her face buried in my legs than actually conversing with strangers! She also said she winked at fellow t-ball players she recognized from her team this summer. Winked? WHO IS THIS GIRL?! I'm even shocked she recognized anyone from t-ball as most games were spent either sobbing uncontrollably or tightly clenching my hand as I tried in vain to drag her tiny little body into the ready position. 

Mind blown!

On her second day, I asked if she made a new friend that day (as preschool required MUCH prodding in this area). But I was met with a resounding "no," and an eye roll to go along with it. 
"Well, maybe you'll meet a new friend tomorrow. That will be fun, won't it?"
"No, Mom. I didn't make one friend today, because I just really couldn't decide. I made like three or four new friends," she coolly remarks. 
 
(I dropped the plate I was holding with this one!)

Something else that is absent (but certainly not missed!) is the attitude that seemed to infect almost every moment during the weeks preceding the start of school. Looking back on it, I think it was Hannah's attempt to become more independent and convince herself that she could be away from me, but MAN it was ugly! Argumentative, precocious ... just the tip of the ice berg! After one particularly rough day spent arguing and complaining, I overheard a discussion Hannah was having with Jeff. 
"Mom says that numbers keep going on and on - that there's never really an end. Ha! She is sooo silly!"
Standing out of sight in the hallway, my blood began to boil, but Jeff kept his cool and told her that this was true. "You can always keep counting higher and higher. Mom is right."
Well, that didn't sit well with Hannah! She stomped out of the room, found me in the hallway and huffed, "You are on the other side of the world from me!"
"What does that even mean, Hannah?"
"It means that everything on the other side of the world is the opposite from where we are. It means I am right, and you ... are wrong."

Oh boy! I thought we had a few more years before teenage hell began! Needless to say, this attitude of hers helped me get ready for Hannah to go to school! ;) Turns out, the anticipation of school was more stressful than actually going, so the dragon has retreated back into her cave. Thank goodness!

On the other end of the spectrum is our Mello Miss Adelaide, who has not really thrown a tantrum of Hannah proportions in her entire life. That is, until Hannah's first day of school. She even had an encore the second day! It would seem Little Miss really likes the spotlight and one-on-one time with mom for 3.5 hours in the day, and still has many more things left on her To-Do list when her big sister steps off the bus. So that mile-long list of distractions hasn't gone to waste - just reassigned! I think we may have found our new groove by playing with trains and basking in the spotlight of being a temporary only child. Never a dull moment!

Now that we have our emotions under control, maybe we can start to focus on something called education! The teachers don't want parents correcting their kids - for obvious reasons as Spanish is not our native language - but when Hannah skips through the house singing "Dwaynos Bartays" rather than "Buenos Tardes," I'm finding it hard to bite my tongue! 

Small steps, I suppose! ;)
* Disclaimer: I realize those of you with school-age kids are probably chuckling right about now thinking, "just you wait!" Ha! I'm sure Hannah will have meltdowns of gigantic proportions in the weeks/months/years to come, but I will be forever grateful for such a positive start to school! Any tips on dealing with delayed meltdowns would be much appreciated, however!

Kindergarten Champ!

She did it! No tears and even a few smiles - whoo hooo!!! With some school bus cupcakes to celebrate, these star children had a great day at school! Next year, we'll get Caleb to wear a coordinating outfit, too!

Our future Dolphin Trainer/Artist/Olympic Medalist/Entomologist!

She (or maybe just me!) had a little bit of nerves at first, but she pulled through!

Hannah was also quick to note that they DO speak some English there, contrary to what I told her.
"They said our names in English, so they must be able to speak English there sometimes!"  :)

 

A call to her dearest Hannah Nguyen wrapped up the end of a perfect first day, and made her seem even OLDER - ufda!

Big sigh of relief by all tonight!

Addi's Pickin' Up the Pace!

With kindergarten quickly upon us, we've been spending lots of extra time trying to get our top diva (Hannah) to take the drama down a notch or two and start prepping her for being away from Mom and Sister for longer stretches of time. There are endless stories about how that process is blundering about, but I wouldn't even know where to start! ;) Anyway ... the funny thing about all this is that Hannah has turned a deaf ear to all of it (of course!), but Adelaide is soaking it all in. I knew we were coddling her in several areas, but what I didn't know was that SHE knew that as well! Little turkey!

This last week of summer, I've started to kind of lay it on thick, and Hannah is thankfully taking baby steps. Addi on the other hand ... Well, she's our distance runner! In the past three days, Addi has:
1) Gotten rid of her nuk at bedtime (and without incident ... I think she purposefully lost it, actually!)
2) Pretty much given up on naps (not a real winner in my mind, but she's convinced it goes along with being a big girl!)
3) Finally started to pedal her trike by herself - this was where the major coddling was done on my part, simply because we needed to keep up with Hannah on her bike and Addi is the definition of a dawdler!
4) Pump on the swing. However, she often comes down with a case of sudden amnesia when anyone stands within close proximity.  :p
5) Learned how to count in Spanish (with a little help), roll her Rs when saying "Marrrrrta," and ever-so-slyly corrects her older sister and knocks her off her pedestal by leaning over and whispering in her ear, "No Hannah. That not 'verde,' that's 'rojo."

Guess who's listening! ;)
So it has been a pretty funny week around here! Jeff and I have always joked that Addi is more ready for kindergarten than Hannah, but the things she's picked up in this week alone have been pretty awesome! We better watch out for this one!

Kindergarten, Kindergarten!

We are eight days and counting until Hannah starts Kindergarten, and if you somehow haven't heard the news and have missed my exorbitant amount of screaming and jumping for joy that certainly sent ripples around the world by now ... WE GOT INTO SPANISH IMMERSION!!!!!! It's been an emotional roller coaster lately, and now that things are settling down and we know where we stand, etc., I can't for the life of me figure out why it has been this hard!

All I can say is, whoever thought it was a good idea to give parents options regarding which elementary school their child should attend should be locked up. Or better yet, he should be required to coordinate a PTO meeting with deranged parents like myself, who somehow became so obsessed with picking the right school for their 5-year-old, that they lose sight of everything else. But, it should be said, I have only been able to say this and have any sense of clarity since last Friday when we got the news our number was up! Before that, I was still on the brink of tears regarding any number of subjects, including, but not limited to: school, Hannah turning 5, saying goodbye to preschool, riding a bus, enjoying our "last summer," packing a lunch, eating a lunch in 20 minutes or less, choosing a backpack, worrying about some brat spilling the beans about Santa ... the list goes on. I was wreck on multiple levels!

Anyway, our trip through Crazy Land has finally come to an end - phew! It began with a school known for problems with bullying, and it took a detour with a school that didn't smell of paste and crayons as an elementary school should; but rather computers, Clorox and conceitedness (a nasty triad of Cs!), but we finally made it! And not a moment too soon - eeks! And now that we're in, I can stop being so crazy! Well ... in regards to which school the girls go to at least!

Hannah is THRILLED to be going to "Caleb and Marta's" school, and she and Addi have spent the last two days practicing rolling their Rs when they say, "Marrrrrrrrrrrrta" and arrrrrrriba! Rather than having Carmen Miranda in our living room, it sounds like a couple of tigers, but it's still pretty funny!

We found out her teacher's name today, and apparently she is also the drama coach for the school - how fitting! She may meet her match when Hannah walks through her doors, however!

With any luck, Hannah won't pull one of her dramatic goodbyes, and we'll be off without a hitch! She's averaging 1 clean break out of 4 in the different camps/sporting activities she's been in this summer (no laughing!), so there IS a chance she can say goodbye without bringing us all down with her!

¡Olé!

Meet Gilbert

Jeff and I could retire right now if I had a nickel for every time I said, "We can't possibly handle any more 'pets' around here." And yet, we always seem to get just one more!

Today was no exception, but it was definitely something out of the ordinary! We were all out in the backyard playing when this strange bird started swooping down at us and trying to land on the girls' heads. Penny instantly went into protective mode and thought her duty was to protect her girls by lunging and snapping at the bird, and by default the girls' heads! I think it's safe to say we all screamed loud enough for everyone in a 20-block radius to hear. When I was finally able to get Penny inside, I shooed the girls in the front yard thinking we must have stumbled onto the bird's nest and got it all worked up. But that dang bird followed us and kept trying to land on our heads! Our screaming, clapping and frantic arm waving didn't phase it one bit!

Now, it should be said ... it's times like this when I'm ever so grateful for Jeff's ability to stay cool in the midst of what would seem a disaster! Upon rounding the corner and hearing all the commotion the three of us were stirring, he calmly chuckles and holds out his hand for the bird to land on. "It's just a baby robin - no worries!"  Ha! Easy to say when you're not the one being dive bombed, I guess!

And Jeff was right, there wasn't anything to worry about! For the remainder of the day, we got a little more acquainted to this new friend of ours, dubbed Gilbert, or Gill Bird as Addi calls him. We now think he's a young Starling, rather than a robin, but verdict's still out. Do you guys have any clue?

Whatever he is, he must have been imprinted on humans, as he is tamer than most pet birds. If we put him down in the grass, he instantly flies back to our shoulders or laps. He waddles through the grass after the girls like a lost little puppy dog - which is quite possibly the most adorable thing ever! When we finally managed to convince Hannah and Adelaide to come inside for a few minutes to clean up and have lunch, Gilbert sat just outside the window squawking at us until we came back out to him.

Gilbert driving Penny nuts just outside the window while we ate lunch.

Later in the afternoon, we ever-so-briefly went into the house through the back door to get a snack, and then came out the front door to say hello to neighbors, and Gilbert flew around the corner of the house at lightening speed in order to land on my shoulder before both feet hit the first step!

Cute as this may be, I was getting a bit worried about the 20-minute feeding schedule Gilbert was demanding! But, after doing a little reading on what and how often baby birds eat, we were relieved to discover that he can catch ants, box-elder bugs and spiders on his own while playing with us in the grass, so hopefully he'll just need a little boost from us for a day or two until he can make it on his own in the wild.

But what a reminder at just how wonderful it is to live in the moment! When we woke up this morning, we had planned to stain part of the deck and maybe replace a garage window or two today. (We really know how to live the high life, I know!) Now that evening has set in, of course none of those projects even got a consideration! Instead, we have spent almost every minute catering to a very gentile Gilbert and basking in the girls' laughter! The two of them dug up countless worms for him, picked raspberries from their treasured garden patch and helped cut up cherries into little pieces to drop down into his very large mouth.

It has truly been a remarkable day!

Vet Visits - Ufda!

As you know, Hannah would rather throw out a few death glares and dish out the silent treatment than shake hands with a stranger. If confronted (and by "confronted," I mean simply being glanced at, or heaven forbid ... talked to) before she has finished sizing you up, all is lost. Lips seal, eyes narrow, and her face quickly gets buried into my legs.

However, there are a few exceptions to this rule that always catch me off guard. The vet is one of these. We see this lovely man who is extremely kind and soft spoken, so much so that he not only puts Penny and Arthur at ease, but he allows Hannah to open up as well. Now it would seem like this would be a good thing. Hannah does need to practice coming out of her shell a bit more, but the number of children working against accompanying me has already doubled on such visits, and the amount of chaos has no choice but to grow exponentially right along with it.

The vet rooms are maybe 6'x6' and they all have a rather large examination table in them. By the time you add 2-3 adults, an 80-pound dog, a 14-pound cat and two (now seemingly rambunctious) little girls chattering away, it's enough to send the vet techs to the back room to take a hit off some horse tranquilizers!

The few times the vet has a chance to jump in with a question regarding the cat or dog, Hannah and Adelaide blurt out the answer and top it off with an average of 10+ stories starring Penny and Arthur as well. The vet and the technicians chuckle and remark at how lovely the girls are and how blessed I am to have such good "helpers" when it comes to taking care of our fur balls.

"With all these stories, I feel like I've known your family for years," the vet tells Hannah with a little pat to her head. Sadly, he probably does know us better than most with the amount of information that is doled out during our visits!

But by the end of our mere 10-minute visit when Hannah and Addi are STILL talking nonstop, the vet's eyes seem oddly stuck open in an alarmed sort of state, and he and the technician begin to inch their way back to the door with a baffled look on their faces. Without fail, the vet always comes back a second later and cracks the door just enough to stick his nose in and ask if we need any help getting everyone to the car. I used to think they were just being nice. But I'm pretty sure they don't ask that to everyone who walks through their doors. Perhaps they see us walking in, which I'm sure is a sight to behold. Penny on her leash lunging anyway but forward, while I'm awkwardly carrying the cat carrier that periodically lurches from one side to the other whenever Arthur decides to change his view point, and Hannah and Addi are skipping alongside me while gripping my shorts (as I don't have any hands to hold theirs while weaving through the parking lot) all the while singing a variety of songs horribly off key. I'm surprised the vet doesn't run and hide before we even make it to the door!

Perhaps I'm putting the wrong two animals in the crate!

So this year, I tried making separate appointments thinking it would be easier to control just three of them each visit. Sadly, if there was any change, it was negligible. Plus, it just meant we got to do it all over again with the cat a few weeks later.

Oh well. At least that means a second round of margaritas after the chatterboxes go down for the night! Thank goodness check-ups are just once a year!

Being 5, but Missing 4

We have a 5-year-old in the house! Eeks!

Although, if you ask Hannah, she'll tell you she doesn't feel 5 yet. "I still feel like I'm 4. Nothing has really changed. My hair didn't even grow any since yesterday!"
I told her to go to sleep on that and see if anything changed in the morning. If nothing else ... she's asleep! ;)

She is heading into her fifth year being an energetic, compassionate and talkative little girl! Dramatic as ever, but ... that comes with the territory these days!
The birthday pair got to go to a school field trip to a farm, where little miss was able to hold baby chicks, pet goats, lambs, cows ... who knows what else. She was certain the teachers picked her birthday to go on this particular field trip because they know how much she loves animals! Oh to be 5 and have the world revolve around you! (or rather, still 4, I suppose!)

The day before her birthday, Hannah was rather glum about turning 5. "I'll never, ever be 4 again after today. And that's kinda sad." Only Hannah would think of such things! So it was a good thing we had a day full of her favorite things. She was able to "burst" through a balloon wall around her bedroom door upon waking up, and Caleb and Marta stuck yard signs throughout our yard, so Hannah was thrilled when she peered out the window and saw hot pink "Hannah" signs everywhere! Then, we ended the day with a trip in our canoe (Jeff's present ... for the next SEVERAL birthdays!), which seemed to turn her spirits around and she was thinking being 5 is a pretty cool thing after all.

Birthday pie pit stop on our boat ride!

5 fingers, and a magic wand/grape kabob cookie treat!



Birthday party at school!

Looking forward to lots of new adventures in the coming year! Never a dull moment with Miss Hannah!


Praying Mantis Babies Are Here!

The babies have hatched!
After watching, and waiting ... and waiting and watching ... they're here!!!

We took a trip to a park yesterday morning, and when we came back, countless miniature praying mantises were crawling all around. We set most of them free around our yard already, but (of course) the girls wanted to keep some as pets. So we kept three for ourselves and gave three to another little bug enthusiast down the street.

To be honest, these bugs totally freak me out, but watching the girls run through the grass in the evening to catch tiny little fruit flies for their food source is simply the best. The not so great part is realizing that the praying mantises eat when we eat. Let's just say, dining with bugs eating other bugs doesn't do a lot for one's appetite!

Now, we're just waiting for our cecropia moths to hopefully emerge and Hannah's ant farm to arrive, and our budding entomologists will be overjoyed!

Our Pirate Card Shark

For the last couple of years, Hannah has become rather obsessed with cards. When I go upstairs to put Adelaide down for a nap, I come back down only to find Hannah already dealing out a deck of cards, anxiously awaiting a new game to unfold.

This past winter, we have graduated from Go Fish, Snap and Old Maid-type games to more intricate games, and her true nature has been revealed. Our sweet, shy Hannah is actually quite a card shark!

Jeff found a version of Hearts on our iPad, and Hannah has somewhat learned how to play that game fairly well. I can't even master Hearts, but then ... some sort of wine is generally involved, and since it's something we play when the kids are down and friends are over, I'm generally much too excited to have "grown-up conversations" taking place to really focus on the game, so maybe it's not as hard as I think!

Anyway, it wasn't until we were camped out at the gymnastics gym a while back when Hannah was intently focused on playing Hearts on the computer, that it occurred to me that maybe this girl needs to be stopped! Another mother looked over at Hannah and asked what kind of kid-friendly apps I liked with the iPad, and what Hannah was currently playing, "because she seems so focused and really into it."

"Umm, well ... She's actually playing Hearts right now. But there are other really cool apps out there!"

"Hearts? Like the card game, Hearts?"

"Well ... yes. She just really likes playing cards, and it keeps her happy while her sister is in class!"

Needless to say, I don't think we'll be getting to know that family very well as the mother's shocked look kind of said it all.

All I can say is that it's a good thing that mother isn't hanging around us lately, because there has been a new twist on all of our card playing that I find to be rather funny! The girls have really gotten into pirates lately. (We really know how to pick nice, wholesome themes, don't we?!) Hannah particularly finds pirates quite intriguing and prides herself on being so brave while reading stories about them. Granted, these are all kid-oriented stories about pirates, so any dangerous stuff is simply implied, but for Hannah, that's all it takes. That, and it's said they have green teeth, "and it's NOT from eating spinach, Mom!!"  ;)

Anyway, Hannah has gotten to where she talks like a pirate while playing cards! When she takes my stack while playing War (or as we hippies like to call it, Higher/Lower) she cackles, "well, let's see what ye gave me, Matey! BLIMEY! That's quite a booty! Ye even gave me a few Kings! Ha ha ha!!"

Or when Trioploy (a board game consisting of three different card games rolled into one) has FINALLY reached an end, she stands up and roars, "hand over the gleaming booty! Argh!"

Since she is most often wearing some sort of girly dress, and immediately resorts back to prancing around the room on her tip toes, it's even funnier to witness her sneer and cackle like a pirate!

So consider yourself warned! Pirate Hannah takes no prisoners! ARGH!!!!! ;)

Argh! Me card holder's me toes so I can double up!

Proof that Hannah learned a few things in gymnastics in
addition to perfecting Hearts during Addi's class!

Flopped Stranger Danger Talk

We were driving back from my Mom and Dad's today, and a neighbor of theirs had their house alarm blaring, and a cop car was in the driveway surveying the scene, etc. It made quite the impression on four very big eyes peering out our back window as we drove by, which then led to a discussion with Hannah about why sirens would go off if a person who didn't live there went inside the house, and why the police would have to be called, etc. A rather long, tedious, 45-minute discussion while traveling on I-94! (I'm having a glass of wine while jotting this down now!) ;)

Even though Hannah is almost 5, we haven't really had the Stranger Danger conversation before now. Since 90% of her DNA includes the very same components as Saran Wrap, the chances of her not sticking with me are slim to none, and her death glare is a force to be reckoned with ... I don't care what kind of monsters are out there! However, with Kindergarten coming up, a little introduction of the world we've tried so hard to shield her from is a bit necessary.

So I started off with something like this: "Some people we don't know aren't always so nice. Most of them are, but every once in a while, there's a mean one, so you just need to be careful. Some people are careful by installing a house alarm, so they will know if a stranger comes into their house while they are away. Then they won't be surprised when they come home and find him or her there."

I instantly ate my words, as "surprised" almost certainly made Hannah think of someone bringing balloons and streamers into the house to surprise the homeowner. Who wouldn't open a door to that?!

After a brief clarification, we talked about what we do if someone we don't know tries to take you away from Mommy, or away from your school group, etc..
H: "I SCREAM, and I run to Mom or to my teacher."
Me: "Awesome."
H: "What if that stranger knows me, but I don't know them?"
Me: "You still need to find someone you know, and ask them just to be safe. Some strangers are tricky, and want to make you believe they're your friend but they're really not."
H: "But Mom, what if that stranger has a sword? Maybe we need to run inside super fast and get another sword to scare him away!"
Me: "If that stranger has a sword, you scream even louder so everyone around you can hear you and can come help."
H: "Umm. No, I think I'll just get my own sword."
Me: "Well, since we don't have any swords, not sure that will work. The best thing you can do is kick and scream. Always remember that."
H: "But MOM ... I can't kick him, that would hurt him, and I don't want to hurt him because even if he isn't nice, someone who knows him may love him, and that would hurt their feelings if I kicked him."

Oh for goodness sakes!

H: "Or maybe I can just tickle him and he'd let me go."

AHHH!!

Me: "NO! NO, NO, NO! If someone tries to grab you, I want you to scream the loudest you have ever screamed, kick the hardest you have ever kicked, scratch, bite ... do whatever it takes for you to get free."

Astonished at what her mother has just said, Hannah leans forward in her seat and whispers, "But Mom ... you said we should never, ever, bite. And if I screamed too loud, it could hurt my ears. Or it could hurt the stranger's ears. I don't think I want to do that."

I thought I might have to pull over on this one. Needless to say, our light-hearted introduction to Stranger Danger derailed and became a baptism by fire on what the evil world can hold as I spouted off a number of horrible, monstrous things that could happen if she didn't try her hardest to get away. And yes, that included biting and screaming so loud it hurt everyone's ears.

I was met with dead silence yet again. Hannah stared out the car window for several minutes after that one. I wasn't sure if she understood some of the horrible things that came spouting from my mouth ... and if she did understand them, I wasn't sure I wanted that either. I kept peering back at her in the rear view mirror looking for some sort of sign if I said too much ... needed to say more ... but all was quiet. Maybe she was still stuck on having her ears hurt by screaming so loud.

Finally, she leaned forward and said, "Mom, I have an idea. How about if we see any strangers crossing the road, you can just hit them with the car."

Ack! Well, I think it's safe to say she understood at least some of what I said! Now we'll be working on finding a nice gray area between now and when she turns 16 and gets behind a wheel!

Be safe out there!

Our First Super Bowl

I thought I would share some quotes from the girls in case your team didn't win and you needed a little chuckle. The girls watched their first super bowl tonight, and I'm pretty sure it was anything but a typical football party!

With a card table, fort and a makeshift bench of blocks, the girls didn't know what was in store when we came down to our basement, but thought it had to be fun! However, 10 minutes into the pregame show, and it was apparent that we need to expose the girls to some contact sports ... Or maybe not! ;)

While interviewing a linebacker, Hannah looks up and says, "Whoa. He's really big. I bet he drinks a lot of milk." We hope so at least! ;) While showing a video of a previous game, Hannah gasps at seeing a rather brutal tackle. "Why did he get a hug from those guys after pushing that other guy down? He should get a timeout!" (I obviously didn't quite explain the point of this game very well beforehand! Every tackle was a bit traumatic for Hannah!)

Thanks to PBS, our girls haven't seen a commercial before, so that in and of itself was an experience! Although, we ended up switching channels half the time because ... whoa! But maybe we just need to get out more!

Addi's take on the whole matter was, of course, quite different! Not having to sit at a table to eat was her dream come true, and after watching a completed pass, she jumps up and exclaims, "I can do that! Watch!"

Addi's big finish was interrupted with one of the commentators announcing that a team called a time out, and Hannah thought justice had finally been served. "A 15-second time-out?! FINALLY!"

After watching Madonna's half-time show (how much harm could Madonna do after watching grown men tackle each other and get rewarded?!), we headed off to bed, and Hannah's final comment of the night was, "Mom, can we eat like this every night?"

Here's to this time next year!

Two Peas In A Pod

As Forest Gump would say, Hannah and Adelaide are like peas and carrots. Their quirky personalities (about as opposite as can be) combat each other to make everything they do a remarkable adventure - and each of their adventures are, of course, made together! Their closeness has even come to the point where one won't take a treat or put on a sticker without making sure the other has one first. While this is all well and good as it keeps our chaotic house mostly peaceful, I was beginning to think a little distance from each other to help them grow into their own little beings may be in order. After all, the only times they are really apart is in the wee hours of the morning when Adelaide wakes up before Hannah, and during the afternoons when Addi is taking a nap. These times are filled with each girl's favorite activities to help them cope through their distress (eating for Addi and reading books for Hannah) because they're merely counting the minutes until their other half wakes up.

So a while back I sat down with Hannah after putting Adelaide down for a nap and asked her what she thought about starting up a Mommy Date every once in a while.

"We could do whatever you wanted ... it would be just you and me on a special adventure together!" I explained.

Instead of "Ooh, fun ... let's do THIS!" or some other suitable response, Hannah immediately questioned what Adelaide would be doing while we were gone.

"Well, she would stay with Daddy while we went out and did whatever it is you want!"
Hannah looked skeptical. "But she would miss us!" she finally blurted out.
(sigh)

 "Maybe we can start off slow and just go during Addi's nap and be back before she wakes up."

"But, actually, umm ... I think Adelaide would ... well ... just like to come with us, too," said Hannah.

At this point we hadn't even decided where we were going, much less what we were doing, but apparently nothing mattered other than the fact that in Hannah's mind we were leaving her helpless baby sister behind.

When promises of long hikes where little legs and even smaller bladders wouldn't be able to make it didn't tempt her, I dangled some art options out there. But with every suggestion I threw out, Hannah became more and more appalled that I was even THINKING of ...  well, "just leaving Adelaide!" I didn't dare bring up the fact that this would later be reversed when it was Addi's turn!

As luck would have it, there came a night where two fun events were happening at the same time, and since they were rather late in the evening, the chance of a finale of tears would be high. So as any crazy parental team would do, we divided and conquered! Hannah and I went to a fun back-to-school storytime held by my sister, and Jeff took Addi to a Geiser Race to sponsor Caleb's cross country team. To prove just how often we go in different directions ... we came to the realization the night before that we have but one car the girls can ride in. ;)

It all worked out and by the time we met back at home late that night, both girls had fun stories to tell of their own. Jeff agreed that Adelaide, like Hannah, was a little less spunky than usual, and Hannah's constant chatter that can exhaust a pro athelete was noticeably down when she was sitting in the backseat by herself. But a few smiles slipped out from both of them, and fun was surely had by all.


The picture to the left pretty much sums up their symbiotic relationship. When Hannah first got her bike, she took off like a rocket. However, being that grace is not necessarily her forte, it was only a matter of time until she fell, and when she did ... it wasn't pretty. Seeing that we couldn't let one scraped knee end her entire future on anything with wheels, we got her back on the bike shortly after, but it had been a long, drama-soaked month of me essentially pulling Hannah along the bike trail, as she steered through tears and supplied a constant supply of whimpers and screams if I let go of her arm. On this particular bike ride, I was trying in vain to convince Hannah that my hand on her arm really wasn't doing much, and she could do this all on her own. I was getting nowhere. Addi, undoubtedly heard our arguments from her little trike behind us, and got down, walked over to Hannah and placed her tiny little hand on Hannah's arm. She was my little replacement! I tried to intervene as this didn't look at all safe, but Hannah instantly snapped out of her daze at Addi's touch. "Oh! You want to help too, Addi? OK. Let's go!"

And just like that, Jeff and I were left in their dust ... again! In less than 5 minutes, Addi helped Hannah relearn how to ride her bike when I thought all was certainly lost. A slight set back happened when Addi's little legs just couldn't keep up her full sprint and she stumbled and scraped her knee, but even then she put on a good front and tried her best to keep a comforting hand (albeit one that pulled Hannah's bike at a severe tilt!) on her big sister. By the time we got home, fear of bike riding was replaced with endless chatter about how they BOTH had a scraped knee now. Imagine that! :)

So tomorrow starts another school year for Hannah. She's excited and we're in a much more comfortable place than we were last year at this time. This year, Hannah fully understands that school isn't for mommies, but part of me is worried that she'll have to learn another hard lesson tomorrow: school isn't for baby sisters, either!

First Day photos (surprise, surprise ... silly faces!)

Six Blind Mice

Jeff had a surprise last night when he opened the grill to start dinner. Two little eyes were peering back at him, and little squeaks quickly began to sound the alarm. It turned out a little house mouse had decided to make her nest (for the second time now) in our grill. So Jeff, being the wonderful Dad he is, very carefully scooped up the pink, hairless, blind babies and transferred their nest into an aquarium we've been using for various insects we find in the yard, then began to coax the mom to follow. Dinner wound up being about 45 minutes late, but the girls didn't even seem to mind in all the excitement!

Hannah's mothering insticts kicked into overdrive, and she busily set to work making the Ma Ma mouse and her babies feel safe (even if that meant peering into the cage and singing to them through the screened top!) She is now certain she is an Animal Rescuer just like Diego, and proceeded to sing "Calma" to help calm them down and know that we are here to help them.

So, we now have six babies and one very brave Ma Ma Mouse living on our deck. We figure we'll let the babies get a bit older, then let them go ... somewhere far away from our house so they won't cause any more damage than they already have!

Yes, we have become "THAT" crazy family now! ;)

Sweeping Up

Whoever it was who first switched the phrase to "One step forward, two steps back," had to have been referring to trying to get something done while in the presence of a child. When there are two children present, naturally the phrase morphs again into "One step forward, 10 steps back."

Our house is proof of this 10-step backwards theory. These past couple of months, our house has become rather neglected, really missing that hour and a half a couple of times a week when Hannah was at preschool and Addi was napping. At the time, I never felt like I got that much done, but of course NONE of that is getting done now, and the mess has taken on a life of its own! Add a few construction projects into the mix, and our house resembles a war zone most days.

So, on this fine morning ... I thought a quick sweeping of the outside patio could stop the vast amount of leaves and mud being tracked in through our downstairs, and one small battle could be won.

And so the task began.

The girls were happily digging in the sandbox, so I slipped away and picked up the broom. By the time I had turned around, both of them were already staring back at me.

"Where are you going? Are you getting a snack, Mom?" Hannah asks hopefully.
"No, I was just going to sweep the patio real quick. You keep playing in the sandbox, I'm right here."

Even as the last few words were spilling out of my mouth, Addi was already making her way toward me.

"Oh, good idea, Addi! We can help, too!" exclaims Hannah.
"No, no. As lovely as that sounds, I only have one broom. Why don't you go on the teeter totter? I'll be done in just a minute."

It seemed so simple. They were happily playing. I just needed 5 minutes, a mere 10 feet away!

After having to place them on the teeter totter myself, I make my way back to the patio. Broom in hand, I take my second swipe.

"Can we swing?"
"No. I can't sweep under you while you guys are swinging."

Another five minutes later and after retrieving a snack as a peace offering, I begin again.

"Ma Ma, I just want you to play catch with me. Pllleeeeaaaasssseeeee."

(sigh) Another 10 minutes and 15 arguments later, I set to work ... yet again, only to hear:

"Mom, Addi says she needs to go potty."

#$$#^$%&!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After all of that is taken care of and even more toys are dragged out onto the grass, I find myself back again on the patio, trying in vain to get the last few feet swept before the girls' pleading turns to screaming. So, broom in one hand, T-ball bat in the other, I find I can make progress while the girls chase the ball around the yard. It seems to be going well, I'm even half way done in just 4 hits! Then, as luck would have it, the girls got sidetracked by a bug in the yard, and were crouched down watching it in awe. HA! Peace!

Sweeping like a mad woman while I had the chance, I had a big pile of dirt scooped up in the dust pan, ready to dump when Hannah comes bounding toward me. "MOM! LOOK!" she says as she opens her hand. I had figured it was some sort of beetle, caterpillar or those tiny moths they generally find in the yard. Hannah thrusts her tiny fist in my face and I find myself eye to bazillion-eyes with a spider. A quite large spider at that. I couldn't help myself, I screamed and the dust pan went flying over my head.

After I caught my balance, I could see Hannah and Adelaide's faces through the dust cloud that was settling. Mouths open and eyes wide, they looked as shocked as I did a few seconds earlier.

"Ma Ma?? Why did you scream? Did the spider bite you? What's wrong?"

(groan). I knew I'd been made. And with this fateful step, my 10 negative steps were now complete:

10) Thanks to the sticky sunscreen the girls had on and the dirt I threw 10 feet in the air, the girls are now dirtier than I've seen them in a while (which says a LOT!)
9) The infamous spider has still not been found. While the search may provide a few days of entertainment for the girls, my nights will be heavy with nightmares.
8) I must have swept that patio 3 or 4 times, yet I have nothing to show for it.
7) In my effort to distract the girls for a mere 10 minutes, I spent 20 minutes cleaning up the toys I put out to help.
6) The girls now know the truth I've been hiding for 4 years now - I am deathly afraid of spiders!
5) I have little to no hope that my chances of sweeping the patio tomorrow will be any better.
4) My other battle plan for the day (trying to convince everyone that we can have one big pile of clean laundry that we can dive into each morning and wear whatever sticks to us) is failing, so it doesn't look like there is a light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon.
3) I was actually serious about #4.
2) Another construction project starts tomorrow - it can only get better, right?
1) Hannah has already begun her lessons to help me rid my fear of spiders. "There's nothing scary about them, Mom. Look ... see, even Adelaide likes to hold them!" AAAHHH!