We built a grape arbor for the yard.

The end product

Watch it be built.

Henry came home from school today and the first thing he said was, I cut my pants at school. I was cutting and my pants got cut. I didn’t know that could happen.

The shorts (the weather is finally nice enough for shorts!) have a small cut about 8 inches from the waistband. Lucky he didn’t catch any skin, I guess.

* * *

Bella continues with the flop on the floor and kick and scream temper tantrums. She even follows you from chair to chair or room to room when you try the sensible course of ignoring it. I think they frustrate her nearly as much as they frustrate me. I hope she learns to talk soon.

She flopped face first in the sand yesterday. She came up with a mouth full of sand, indignation and confusion.

* * *

Miranda did a perfect dive in her swimming lesson tonight. She came home floating on a cloud. After spending so much time consoling her when she isn’t happy with her swimming and reminding her that swimming is going to get harder before it gets easier, it is hard for me to remember to just be happy when she’s happy. I have to work on that. And she’ll be happier to try the next dive.

Miranda swore to me at bedtime tonight that the last 10 days (her Spring Break) flew by in 5 minutes. But the thought of having me check on her in 15 minutes, that was huge! And maybe if 15 minutes took 30 days, I could see her point.

It was a busy crammed up week. We started with a family dinner in Green Bay last Saturday with so many adorable little babies. Sunday was the Easter baskets and church and visiting just long enough with my grandparents to catch up but that the children don’t exhaust them. Then Monday, the kids went to a  friend’s house and Miranda had swim team practice. Tuesday, I worked and Rob stayed home and bought Henry a new bike (Novarra from REI 20 inch, BMX style for those playing along at home) and Miranda had swim team practice. Wednesday, we did doctor appointments and Miranda had swim team practice. Thursday, I headed to work early, then I took the big kids to Skateland with friends and later Rob and I took M and H to Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakal at the local movie house. Friday, I took Miranda to work with me and then the kids had friends over and I took the 4 of them to Diary of A Wimpy Kid. Which was fair.  And we went out to dinner. Saturday, Henry went to swim class, then Rob, Henry, Arabella and I headed to Madison. Miranda had a sleepover at a friend’s on Saturday night and spent the day with my mom. It is true – once you have 3 kids, taking 2 kids is easy. I am not willing to try having 4 kids to see if the pattern holds. In Madison, I wanted to go to SWAP. And see the Bishops. And as we get into town and get gas, the battery of the van dies and cannot be jumped back to life. So tow truck and battery replacement at a dealer before we can enjoy happy fun time. The kids and I ditched Rob and went to SWAP with K who was kind enough to try to help us jump the car and ferry us around. I forgot my purse on the trip, which sucked in many ways.  We did make it home. Today, we had a lovely brunch with friends. And then I wanted to go shopping but there aren’t enough hours. Even though Crate and Barrel has adorable juice glasses again and I’ve now broken or lost all of my old ones.

It seems impossible to believe it was more tiring to live it.

——————–

In other news, I don’t usually catch much good spam on this blog, but I have to say this one amused me:

“I’m 22 and run a p3n1s enlargement company with my sister and live in sunny San Diego, California with my 2 wonderful children.”

Is that not wrong on so many levels? Is having your sister involved in genital remodeling ever a good idea?

I still have reminders, phantom pains, about my laptop going kaput. I don’t have photos under control. I have barely emptied the camera. Today I realized I had to use GIMP as I never loaded PhotoShop on the new-to-me laptop. And I have been using a newer version of PhotoShop at work and I love it. Time to save my pennies and upgrade.

Way back:

Making Miranda's Mars visual aid

And the for Henry’s birthday, we went to the Hilton. It was very nice. We got very wet.

Catch it!

Splish

Splash

Henry lost his first tooth

He is now down two teeth, and the first one that fell out is almost all grown in.

The stairs, not just for climbing.

Hugging her fuzzy puppy while wearing her fuzzy jacket.

Kiss!

She has probably just hit the dog. The surest way to get a kiss from Bella is to have her first smack you in the face. I am not sure I ever want to see what goes on inside a toddler’s brain.

Star Wars: Battle of Unfair Advantage

Arabella loved wearing Henry's Obi-Wan robe.

That was last month’s obsession. She has moved on to taking her pants off and on. All day long. Extra fun – getting stuck taking off her shirt.

Happy Birthday to Sarah

The lovely roses from Rob, who was not glowering at Miranda or me, I don't think.

Sitting in the plastic hat box, reading the story Miranda wrote

Daylights savings is stirring us all up. It’s a silent killer. We didn’t suffer until Monday and Tuesday night.

Henry has been crawling into our bed in the night. This is not highly unusual – someone is always crawling into our bed or calling out. But the recent stealth attacks have been from Henry. Last night at bedtime, I reminded him for the 4000th time that I’d hope to see him in his bed in the morning. Not mine. And he argued. He wouldn’t commit to agreeing to stay in his bed. He wouldn’t commit to falling asleep. He wouldn’t commit to saying good night to me. And while I am as unreasonable as the next person, I didn’t lie just so he’d drop off to sleep in his normal 5-10 minutes span.  I suggested that if he woke up at 4, he could climb  into bed with us. This has been a reasonable compromise in the past.

So I did not expect that at 4:01 a.m., he’d came into our room talking a mile a minute. He wiggled and talked for an hour until Rob said, go to sleep or go to your room and play. Just let me sleep. I think we both dozed, but it was bad sleep.

He refused to leave unless I went with him. I took him back to his bed. Got him settled. Sent a silent thank you to myself for buying him a comfortable mattress.  And he kicked me out of his room. I did tell him that he could turn the light on and play if he wasn’t tired.

I crawled back to my bed. Slept hard. And at 6:30, awoke to wailing from Henry in his room in his bed with the lights on. He was seriously pissed as only a 6 year old can be. He was tired! And he didn’t sleep enough. And now it was almost wake-up time. !?!

I told him if he could sleep, go for it. We can be a few minutes late for school if we have to be.

He couldn’t sleep and by 7 he had tried to sleep in his bed and a downstairs on the couch. He decided to eat breakfast and went to school. I think he had a fine day. But Rob is putting him to bed tonight. And his clock will be turned away. (he admitted to checking to several times in the night.)

This will probably be an odds and ends post – what else can I do when I haven’t written for a few weeks?

Is it more embarrassing if your mom talks about your mental or gastrointestinal health?

If Bella is going to be a more typical kid — pickier eater, better sleeper, stranger aware, fall down on the ground tantrums, frustrated by her inability to speak intelligible words, sharing and smacking in equal measures — boy, the next year is going to suck.

I feel cheated by the lack of rain. Rain is not my favorite part of spring, but rain now would wash away the dirty icky snow (and dirty icky airmass hovering over Wisconsin). And the dirty snow needs to go. Instead of drenching rain, we have fog.

Drifting fog + stagnant green water in the far fields + ice patches + winter trees = the landscape of a ghost tale. In Scotland.

Just because you know what you’re doing is potentially and probably dumb, it doesn’t make it any easier to do the smarter thing. Self preservation may be smart, but it isn’t easy. This is probably universally true, not just in worklife.

I am struck that Scott Walker’s idea to break MPS into 10-12 districts is not nearly as interesting as if he suggested a county wide solution. You know, creating a city-county school district. Of course, the 10-12 districts could each be the suburb at the edges of Milwaukee, each taking a piece. Leaving behind maybe 2-3 smaller fully urban districts.

I can’t even tell if I hate this idea.

I really can’t even believe I don’t live in Milwaukee anymore.

And I wonder where the suburbanites who fled Milwaukee would flee if there were combined city suburban districts.

How can I be frustrated with my daughter’s pessimism when I am not exactly a ray of sunshine?

Just rain! Rain! Rain! Blow in some new weather.

Henry has more homework in kindergarten than Miranda had in first and second grade.

Miranda got her state test scores and her MAPS scores. She is doing well. She finally wants to read harder books.  I wonder if testing well is an inherited trait? They make her more nervous than I even remember feeling.

We had a quiet weekend ahead of us. I hope.

Henry is 5, so soon to be 6 he can taste it. He can poke it it, through the gap in his bottom teeth. He lost his first tooth, an event which both frightened and excited him. His thin thin frame is starting to show that look of a school boy. He never had any baby fat, but that first bloom of elementary school is showing on his face. His face is wider, his arms are stronger, his games are more creative. He sees letters everywhere. He spots numbers and counts. Not just the STOP sign, but the 50 words on his school star word list. He she is was you I the…

Henry has become quite good at video games. I should not not proud of this. It shows the hours he has logged on the Wii and the DS. But I am of the opinion that this generation will spend most of their lifetimes with elctronica aroudn them, entertaining them, employing them, educating them. He is starting to master real games, not just the Diego and Mii creation that might have previously satisfied him.  His hand-eye coordination is growing. His amblyopia was more mild – it is now corrected to 20/20 with glasses.

School is OK. I think Henry enjoys it. He shares stories at random, and never when I am prepared. He was proud that he was the only one at his table to pick out that Elephant started with E. He has friends. He plays at recess. He enjoys gym class and regularly gets posture? sitting? conduct awards in music. The art teacher has her hands full with him. He has never enjoyed coloring per se. And he is coloring a lot this year. It is mostly free-form, which is probably better for his brain but less charming for the baby book.

At 5 and 11 months, I am awed at how big he is. How smart he is. How nice he is. He still is working on some assertiveness with his peers. Working on using words with his sisters instead of light sabers. He feels boo-bbos strongly and cries at the slights and sadness in his day.

+

And now on  to Miranda. Miranda is nearly 8 and half. She can’t have grown 5 inches this year already, but it feels like it. Having already been tall, I feel foolish to say she’s so tall. Yes, it is true. But she has reached that next stage of equilibrium, of grace. She is more at peace with her body. She still fights with her hair, but her long think mane is a source of pride too. There is a foreshadowing of adolescence when I look at her. I hope that the transition into puberty is kind to her.

School is harder this year for Miranda. Not too hard, but she has to think more often. She is reading well, silently, my biggest dream for this year. Math is pushing her boundaries. She understands how to do the work, but sometimes the mystery of why she has to do it that way (number lines specifically) eludes her. And she is not buying my explanation that it is good to have as many strategies as possible to approach numbers. The drama of friends is still with us. She is better at figuring out how to play with her friends. She is realizing that sometimes it is just as important to have someone to play with as it is to get to choose what to play. I am glad to see her loyatly and kindness develop more fully.

Miranda challenges me in such interesting ways. Like making me realize how mainstream a thinker I am.  She likes conspiracy theories (was the moon landing a hoax? did dinosaurs really rule the earth?) and she loves routine. I think she would like a few more routine classes, whereas I am afraid adding more into our schedule will upset her applecart. She feels things so deeply and shares that with us.

I will admit I am going to miss the kids over the next few days. And taking them away on a long weekend out of state would be both quite expensive and tiring for all of us. I will try to think of their funny as well as their sweet. They are nice kids. And I am not as easily amused as I would like to be. Maybe when I return.

Bella is 16 months old now. She seems huge – she’s so long stretched out in bed. Thank goodness she generally likes her crib and we’re not having toes and elbows in our faces all night long. She weighs 22lb now, which doesn’t seem like that much. But she’s just gotten bigger. Next to a small helpless baby, I’d think her a monster :)

My mind is a jumble with travel. I am off to SF this weekend. Not to excite any people who fit within the Venn Diagram of burglers and people who read this blog, as my parents and the kids will be home all weekend. And there is nothing like planning 3 nights away from you children to make your heart all ooey-gooey for them.

Bella is 16 months old. She is walking, running, climbing, singing, babbling, yelling, pointing, tattling, crying, stepping, and moving all the time. She is trying to open the kitchen cabinets, the living rooms cabinets, the drawer with the DS stuff, the keyboard tray, the computer printer all the time. She loves the remote controls, telephones, cell phones, toy phones, calculators, the DS, her doll, her doll’s stroller, and pulling blankets from the bedroom to the living room. She copies her big sister and lays on her tummy on the floor in front of the TV. She rarely angles her head correctly to see the TV while she does this.  She bangs on the refrigerator door for her milk. She thinks the pantry is her playground. She will pick up a toy or a remote control and run around the house. If you chase her, she runs faster. If you get close, she throws the item to the floor. She has dimples and a smile on her face most of the time.  When she gets into everything, without joy, but with a picking, angry purpose, then she is very tired. She will resist sleep. But she needs it.

Pigtails

Her hair is longer. Her bangs are in her eyes, but they are still baby bangs. We have been putting them into a pony tail nearly every day. One day I tried pigtails. She seems to like having her hair up. When it isn’t up, she pokes at it. She likes to rub her hair with mashed potatoes or other soft foods. She likes baths and hair washing, to a point. She hopped in the shower with me and did not like the spray.

She talks, a little. She says Mama. Grandma and Gr’pa, and M’Randa, and Enry and Papa. And baba and dada as all purpose words. She says cook-cook in a very breathy way for cookie. She loves cookies. One in each hand is best. She likes to tickle with sharp little finger nails. She laughs a lot. She wants to go bu-bye and gets her coat when anyone else gets to go away. She likes wearing shoes and boots. She like to try on bigger people’s shoes. She can take off her shirt. She can take off her diaper if she has no pants. Taking off her pants is hard.

She might get red skin after eating tomatoes or chocolate. It isn’t really clear. Her cheeks will get red or sometimes her bottom. We have tried to separate and/ or cut back on chocolate and tomatoes until we can figure it out.  She loves to eat. She will eat with as many people as have meals separately – so if I eat lunch, then Grandma and then Grandpa, Bella would prefer having 3 meals.

She takes 1 nap, usually in the afternoon. 1-2 hours long. She sleeps from 7:30 to 7, waking up once if at all. Or stirring at 5 and then cuddling in a warm bed until she warms up and goes back to sleep. The most exciting time of day is when the bus brings her big kids home. All is better in the world when the big kids and Mama and Grandma are home.

Tomorrow, Miranda and Henry, maybe in 2 posts?

Hello 2010. Good-bye 2009.

I am not sure I can even remember all the way back to January. I started a frugality plan, along with the rest of the Western world. I can’t say I did all that well at it. I think I was good for about 6 months and then we went to a cabin with my mom, and Miranda’s birthday party grew larger, and then Halloween. I usually assume I need stop shopping. I wonder if perhaps I should not entertain at home.

But boo on that idea.

Let’s see if I review my digital photos:

January: We started rocking out on the Wii to Guitar Hero. Bella started eating real food with a rapacious appetite. She learned to roll over, at least accidentally. We went snowshoeing and for some walks into the ice and snow.

January 2009

February: We visited Chicago. We celebrated Henry’s fifth birthday with his preschool pals at Dairy Queen. We visited my grandparents in Green Bay. Bella kept growing and growing. I enroll Henry in kindergarten for next year and shed a few tears.

February 2009

March: We start some early spring walking around the block. We celebrated my mom’s birthday and my birthday. Miranda takes St. Patrick’s Day very seriously. We visit Green Bay again.

March 2009

April: I work on the preschool yearbook. We see the Easter Bunny and hunt for eggs at the grocery store. Bella puts her feet on the grass. We visit Green Bay. Miranda makes her First Communion and her godparents come from California to see us. We take an amazing band of people to the Dells. Bella is sitting up on her own.

April 2009

May: Baseball with racing sausage madness. A family wedding and some happy time in Green Bay. Faraway friends come for a visit, if only we could pop over to Idaho to return the favor. Rob builds a crazy bike barge. I get 6 yards of dirt for the garden and Henry gets great king-of-the-hill joy. Henry graduates from preschool. We celebrate Rob’s birthday. We connect with Rob’s aunt and brother. Good friends visit from Madison. Bella starts crawling around this time.

May 2009

June: We get 6 yards of sand and don’t spread it out. King of the hill returns. We torment the children with a 5K -we cheat and it still too long. But they run in the kids race and finish! We go to Green Bay and visit our favorite amusement park. 25 cent rides can’t be beat. Rob plays drums in a barn. Henry plays t-ball. We dip our toes in Lake Michigan. Yep, still cold. Henry and Miranda go to Safety Town. We have breakfast on a farm.

June 2009

July: We celebrate America’s Independence with water slides and go-karts. Two trips to the Dells in 1 year should be too much but it is mostly awesome. We head to Green Bay and check out the wildlife sanctuary and Bay Beach. We visit the Milwaukee Zoo. Twice. With my grandparents, we head to Door County to pick cherries. We check out the Town’s heavy machinery at the Happy Days-esque outdoor restaurant. The children enjoy summer bounty from Texas. We head to the free Ozaukee county fair.

July 2009

August: We visit the fair again. We head to Madison and enjoy the company of good friends while being happy neither of us has 6 kids alone. We head to a cottage in Waupaca. We nearly drown the two big kids by flipping a pedal boat, but by grace and luck we don’t. We enjoy the lake life. I relearn that making 4 right turns makes you drive in a circle. Rob and the big kids participate in the triathlon. Our garden exploded while we were gone – the zucchini were too huge. Miranda has a spa birthday party for several of her closest friends. We signed a contract to have an extra area added to our garage.

August 2009

September: School starts. It is an odd thing to have both big kids gone all day. Bella turns 1. We have a nice party. We attend a baseball game. We sit too high up, but Bernie slides a few time, so it is OK. We get Miranda and Henry new desks from IKEA. We visit Chicago and hang out with B&B. The garage slab is poured.

September 2009

October: Halloween madness descends. Miranda is a snow princess. Henry is a monkey. Bella is a frog. Bella learns to walk. Rob is Levon Helms (And if you know who he is, god bless you :) The band was rocking out to Woodstock so I was a hippie. My desire for a car load of pumpkins outweighed my common sense and even my desire to carve 60 of them. We went to the Milwaukee Zoo to delight in their decor. We had a fabulous Halloween party, first the kids in the afternoon and then the kids mostly adults at night.The garage has walls, but no roof.

October 2009

November: While I adored the Halloween festivities, by November 1, I was done. We un-decorated and I appreciated minimalism. I started a part-time leave-the-house job in early November. Even at 10 hours, I have had challenges getting everything done. The garage comes together with walls and a roof. I decorate the outside of the house to take Christmas photos of the kids. My seemingly early planning paid off. The cards were finished. They had clothes to wear for the holiday concert at school. We decide to buy a new TV in the family room. This results in removing the gas fireplace that we didn’t like, removing the floor, putting in new laminate flooring, painting the walls, buying a new entertainment stand and desk for the computer. Perhaps Frugality 2009 should have had no parties and no home improvement? We visit Green Bay. We stay home for Thanksgiving and my brother and his wife visits. Did more happen in November, or is it just more fresh?

November 2009

December: We see Santa in the Park, enjoying Rob’s work holiday event and seeing the Enchantment in the Park lights show. I realize how awesome it would be to live somewhere warmer – whose Christmas events include fireworks? Walking through light shows. Ah, the possibilities. We start parking the cars in the new garage, before the snows start coming. The big kids each sing in the holiday program. We head to Green Bay and to Madison. Santa brings much job with presents. We find out just how early you need to go to Xmas eve mass to get seats in the old church. (earlier than 35 minutes before) We have a seafood extravaganza for New Year’s Eve. We stay in. It is quiet.

December 2009

It was a grand year watching Bella turn from a 3 month old cuddly bug into walking, nearly-talking, dynamo at 15 months. She has maintained her dimples. And her joy in being around her siblings. I hope I can say that in 10 years.

Whether celebrating near or far or not at all…I wish you tidings of great joy and happiness in 2010.

Merry Christmas!