Yin and Yang

This weekend was the perfect blend of yin and yang--productivity and lounging. Saturday, we spent almost the entire day outside being productive. All of the front bushes received their final spring trim, and we finally started tackling the elephant in the yard:

This tree is way too huge, and after years of pruning we decided it was time to just take it down. After much debate, we decided to start on the side of the house:

You can see how big it is compared to Evan. Daddy took the plunge:

By the end of the day we were left with this:

It looks like a tiny dent, but the branches filled the back of the van. Brad took out the seats and hauled a load to the town's compost pile. That's the plan for the next several weekends since  we can only take a load a weekend. Little bites. We only had one casualty:

We don't think this nest was still in use, but it came toppling out. The kids did love looking at the construction of the nest.

And...I tackled the mailbox:

Our HOA is on a tirade against unsightly mailboxes, so I scrubbed and stained ours. I don't think it looks markedly different, but we'll see. The trials of suburbia.

Yesterday, we woke up to rain and chill, so we did nothing. We lounged in pajamas, watched some movies, did some art, and snuggled up. There were high quality naps and a whole lot of nothing. It was bliss after such a busy productive day.

And now we're off into a crazy busy week. It's toddler spirit week for Evan, and I'm coordinating the spring festival at Issa's school on Friday--including making all the games...of which I have started exactly none. Thankfully, Evan had a soft start with favorite book day this morning. He headed off with a Thomas book and was one happy camper. Happy Monday, all!

A Fairy Visit!

We had a very special visitor last night--the tooth fairy!! We were eating dinner, and Issa was having trouble biting into her strawberries because her tooth was so very loose. I asked to take a look, and with barely a pull it popped right out, a very tiny front tooth leaving a very cute hole:

Issa was so excited to leave her tooth for the tooth fairy! We very carefully put it in a plastic bag and found just the right spot to leave it for the night. This morning, Issa came running in to announce a visit from a very special fairy:

The fairy left a very cute tooth box to put the next tooth in instead of a plastic bag, and she put a whole dollar inside! Needless to say, we are already wiggling the other three loose teeth!

The Star has Arrived

So often, I find myself saying yes simply because I don't have a good reason to say no. Last night, our little ballerina caught me in exactly that situation. We had a cold snap, so I asked her to grab her jacket for ballet. This is how she appeared moments later:
That is not her jacket; that is her robe. Ballerinas wear their robes in the dressing room. Why shouldn't she wear her robe to ballet? It was just as warm as her jacket. Well played, my little star, well played.

Right Where I'm Supposed to Be

This has been a rough teaching semester. I have a big class with a lot of needs. They are high anxiety, highly emotional, and generally exhausting. I love them, but holy cow. There have been moments when I wasn't sure we were going to make it.

We are two weeks from the finish line, and we are teetering on the edge of full on melt down. I've had girls burst into tears in class, and my office hours have been hopping. As I was walking down to class yesterday, I saw a group of my students sitting on the floor in a side hallway, and I sat down with them. What happened over the next ten minutes was one of the most remarkable conversations about coping, life, and teaching. It was honest, and it was so very real.

As I sat there, I heard my own words and nearly laughed. W were talking about paths, and how very rarely can you say with certainty what you are and are not going to do in life--who you are going to be. Four years ago, when I started my doc program, the one thing I said I was definitely not going to do was teach teachers. As I sat there yesterday, talking with my preservice babies, I realized I was right where I was supposed to be. The one thing I said I was never going to do is exactly what I was meant to do. I love it, and I love them, and I am so very grateful for those ten minutes sitting in the hallway.

Floating

Keeping with tradition, the kids and I went to McD's last night. We always go the last dinner before Daddy gets home, and the Playland never disappoints. Last night, we took one of Issa's little friends with us. Consequently, Evan spent most of the evening like this:

Looking up. The girls spent most of the evening floating:

Eventually, Evan gave up on trying to climb all the way up and stuck to the lower, greener pastures:

Much fun was had by all! They love the tradition, and by that point in the trip I love being somewhere that allows me to get a little break. Welcome home, Daddy!

Mr. Handy

Brad is flying back from California tonight. He's been out there for work, and Evan takes his job as resident repair man very seriously when Brad is gone. When Brad was in Australia, I actually had to fix the oven door after Evan "fixed" it. In case you are wondering, hammering an oven handle is not a great idea. Unfortunately, everything in Evan's world can be fixed with a hammer. Yesterday, he decided the door frame needed a repair:I'm still not sure exactly what was wrong with it, but a hammer wasn't doing the job. So...Evan got two hammers:
How can you not just melt for this boy? By the way, he dressed himself. The red shorts went with the red lettering. Sigh.

Well...This is the Best I've Got

I would love to say we had a highly adventurous weekend. I would love to say we were highly productive. But...we didn't, and we weren't. We did get hair cuts, get me a phone from this decade, and open the pond for the spring. We played with friends, and we braved the grocery on a Sunday afternoon. That's about it.

I do have a funny. I was in the kitchen, doing a little cleaning, and I hear Issa's little voice, "A little help over here." I looked up to see this:
It appears Evan was stuck:

Issa can climb behind the couch, and Evan attempted to follow. He could get down, but he could not get up. Hmmmm....

He didn't seem too bothered. It's their little club house, and when he's ready to come out we give him a lift. Who knows what these two will think of next!

This is What Two Looks Like

When you are two, you can do everything by yourself. Clearly. Consequently, this is what two looks like:
A close-up:

Yes...the sleeve is inside out and twisted through the neck hole. That's as much of that belly as the shirt would cover. If you asked Evan, it was perfect. The photographic evidence was enough to convince him that maybe we should try again. He really is getting much better at dressing himself, but when we have a glitch we have an epic fail. It's a good thing he knows how to do everything all by himself, though.

Walking the Plank

After dinner, the kids headed outside to play. When I heard Evan yelling, "Walk the plank!" I was not entirely surprised. Pirate is one of his new favorite games. I was surprised to see this:
Apparently Tumbler had started the mutiny. Evan didn't put her up there, but I thought it was hysterical that Tumbler became part of the game. If you are on the ship, you are a member of the crew. Consider yourself warned.

Happy Easter

We had a fabulous trip to Ohio to celebrate Easter. We started with Brad's side of the family. The highlight for the kiddos was playing with their cousins. Exhibit A:
This was the first trip where Evan was really big enough to play with the big kids. Naps are a thing of the past, and as he whispered to me Friday morning, "Alec is a boy!" The poor kid is so used to being surrounded by girls! The chance to play ball and Nerf guns and such was just more than this little guy could handle. And Issa, well, let's just say there was enough make-up and giggling to prove the girls were not to be out done. They are quite the crew:

Saturday morning, we headed North. After playing with Nana and Papa for a while, Aunt Shannon and Uncle Jeff rolled in and hilarity ensued:

It was an Aunt Shannon pile. Once Aunt Shannon was rescued, we moved on to egg coloring:

It was big fun! Evan decided green was the best color ever.

Issa took a more varied approach:

The finished products:

Nana used farm-fresh eggs, so they were originally shades of blue and brown. The dye took to them beautifully, and I really love the rich tones.

Egg dye necessitated a bath, and then it was time for the pre-party photo shoot:

Please notice my ring. Also notice Captain Grump. I thought this photo shoot might not happen.

Enter the big cousins:

Becca and Tyler are always good for bringing out the smiles:

(As a side note, Ty changed his facebook profile pic to this one last night. Made me cry.)

And finally, we saw a smile from Evan:

I love that these two grown-up cousins still make time to hang out with my kids. It makes my heart happy.

And I think these two kind of like it, too:

I also think they kind of like each other.

After a slow start, Evan decided it was time to be a little ham:

Cheese:

And Easter morning brought another photo shoot:

Dear goodness they are so cute.

In the middle of the picture taking, Daddy decided to be not-funny:

Now that is a look.

Our Easter Bunny is crazy, by the way. There are some very normal hiding spots:

There are also eggs impaled on any available hook or nail:

It is a good thing Nana and Papa don't mind cleaning up yoke.

Issa is quite the hunter:

Evan held his own, too:

And then it was back home after a whirlwind trip. It was absolutely wonderful. I love having time with family, and I love watching my kids make those memories. Happy Easter, all!

Not Quite What I had in Mind...

I have been thinking about purchasing a statement ring, but this is not quite what I had in mind:
Evan chose it for me yesterday from the Easter prize box. Miss Shirley said he was very specific that it was for his mommy, and when I got there he was very proud to give it to me...so I could wear it all Easter weekend. Of course, I will be wearing it all Easter weekend. Look for it in the pictures; it will be hard to miss.

This week, I have become painfully aware that I am raising a son. I know that sounds insane since he's almost three, but I realized I am not just raising a boy...I am raising the man he will become.

He strolled into the kitchen this week, and he handed me some play money announcing, "My taking you on a date!"

"Oh really, where are we going?"

"McDonald's. You need money to pay."

I resisted the urge to laugh uncontrollably. "Let me get this straight. You're taking me on a date to McDonald's and I'm paying?"

"Yep."

"Nope. When you take a girl on the date, a gentleman pays, and you should really do a little better than McDonald's."

"How about Vinny's?"

It's a small step up, but I'll take it. The whole scene was hysterical, but it was one of those moments when I realized he won't be my baby boy forever, and I'm okay with that. After all, I got the first ring...

Little Girl Heaven

This is what the end of a five hour play date looks like:
That is one happy girl. It is also a girl who needs to learn a thing or twelve about eyeshadow.

The neighborhood girls had a blast yesterday. They started at our house, and spent the majority of the afternoon playing ponies, dolls, and school. Please do not ask me the rules for any of those games; I didn't even try to keep up. When it was time for me to go get Evan, they moved down the street until dinner time.

Aside from procuring snacks and examining minor cuts that were invisible to the adult eye, I just listened and worked around them. I love having a houseful of little friends. As much as I may get irritated by the fact that the children have taken over the house, it occurred to me yesterday the layout works so well. Different types of toy are in different zones, and they are spread out enough that there is room to be creative. (And these girls are creative...and they clean up after themselves!) In a moment that made my week, one of the neighbor girls looked at me with big, earnest eyes and said, "This must be what heaven is like; your house is perfect for little girls."

Sigh...I hope so...and she now has me wrapped around her little preschool finger.

All Kinds of Fun

We have been having all kinds of fun! In fact, we've been so busy I haven't had time to blog.

Friday afternoon, we went to see Tyler the Medium play in his high school baseball game. We chose this game because he was playing the school where I used to teach, and I thought it would be fun to see some old friends. I spent days prepping myself to yell, "Go Wolves!" instead of "Go Knights!" It was actually really an odd mix of emotions, and I realized I was still pretty attached to my old school. And then...they forgot about the game and didn't show up. Classy.

The positive is that Tyler's team scrimmaged themselves, which was really fun to watch. It was much shorter, and afterwards the kids got to go out on the field:
They might have been on a MLB field. They were so excited! Evan has his first glove and was in constant motion:

Issa and I had made pom-poms in the team colors. Please notice she also dressed for the occasion in school colors and a "cheerleader" skirt:

Saturday was a much needed day around the house with high quality naps and lots of play time. I really have no idea where the day went.

Sunday, though, was the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Of course, Issa dressed everyone for the occasion:

She really wanted Evan to wear his ears, but he has become quite attached to his hat.

A second attempt at the perfect picture:

This new cheese face on Evan is a real picture killer.

Evan was all about the hunt:

Just call him E-Diddy with that hat. It's killing me, but I'm resisting that battle.

Issa got to go on the big kid hunt:

She's that little pink dot. The big kid hunt is also known as run like crazy through the field looking for eggs.

After the hunt, we enjoyed the playground:

Evan fell in love with this slide!

Issa is trying to master monkey bars:

It was big fun!

This is Issa's spring break, so she is enjoying a little extra time playing with the neighbor girls. I suppose it's time to open the door and let the giggly, glittery chaos begin!