adventures at the zoo

"Us girls" spent a May day at the zoo with my friend Ann and her two kids.  The highlight of my day was when Hallie rode a pony.  The last time she rode a pony was the state fair when she was two.  She has no recollection of that event. 

I wondered if she would be nervous as the pony approached.

She was as natural as can be.  She even said "Yee haw!  I'm a real cowgirl."  She must have learned that from the Backyardigans.  I wish I was creative enough to play cowgirls with her.  Reminder: play cowgirls with your daughters.

She rode around the pen twice.  She definitely didn't need me there.  But I was personally thrilled to wear my "riding boots" next to a pony.  I felt very official. 

At the end of the ride we heard Claire yelp.  A ground squirrel had climbed onto her lap while she waited in the stroller and tried to commandeer her fruit snacks.  Poor girl.  That is NOT as fun as riding a pony,

The kids searched valiantly for the tiger.  But he was taking a lazy nap behind a rock.

Claire was less interested in giraffes (she told me firmly "I don't like jraffs anymore!") and very interested in her favorite thing in the world right now -- "baby Kayla" (Mikayla).

The kids played on the slides while Ann and I took turns buying lunch.  It was a surprisingly delicious hamburger that was predictably overpriced.

To summarize, we saw giraffes, lions, a brown bear with the biggest claws imaginable, the lazy tiger, a moose, and a fat porcupine.  Then the girls ran with the chickens (and Claire told me sternly "I don't like chickens anymore!").

I loved it.

Hallie's mini-emergency

Hallie was holding her Daddy's hand and turned to run away, but failed to let go.  It was as simple as that and we had a wailing girl with a "nurse maid's elbow."  Chris and I looked at the diagram online.  We knew it was an easy fix but there is something about your child screaming in terror and pain that makes you leery of trying to manipulate her joints (at least for us).  So, I made Chris stay home with Claire as I took her to the urgent care.  Even with her arm placed on a pillow, the poor girl whimpered with every lane change.  I tried to soothe her with primary songs and pep talks on the way.  It's special when the full measure of the nurturer mother kicks in.

When we arrived, I placed her in a wheel chair and we rode the elevator to the second floor and down the hall.  The office staff called her "Haylie" (what's new- thank goodness I love that name too).  When Hallie was sobbing I told her "You need to take a deep breath, honey."  The staff reproved me and said "Let her cry.  You would cry too."  Good point.  So she cried.

Doesn't it just break your heart?

While we waited in the waiting room I was struck by how old she was.  This isn't a stroller.  This is a full-sized adult wheel chair.  They brought her apple juice in a can with a straw.  She thought that was totally cool.

She was so brave.  She finally stopped crying for a spell.  We talked and she asked me "Are you still proud of me even when I am brave and need to cry?"  I told her yes and she looked at me and said "Okay, I think I am going to cry now." And the tears poured out again.  It was so tender. Here she was -- so big and yet so small. 

Some time before the doctor came in, I readjusted her pillow and her elbow popped back in place.  The doctor showed me how to put the elbow back in place and I nodded my head knowing full well I would be too scared to do it myself if it happened again.  There are reasons why I didn't go to nursing school. 

Then they gave Hallie a coloring picture with a princess and unicorn stickers.  She was smitten.  I kept that picture for about two weeks.  Then I quietly threw it away.  Big mistake.   Hallie frequently talks with excitement about the next time she gets hurt she can go to the "special" doctor's office where she can get another unicorn princess picture.  She even came up to me this morning and said her finger hurt and it "really was an emergency."

I don't relish seeing her in pain but I can't keep from admitting that (pain aside, of course) I really cherish that night with her.

Note to self . . .

Your days are always better when started out this way.

Happy Independence Day!

I won't pretend that I avoided the Royal Wedding;  I devoured it.

I have an Eiffel Tower in my master bath that I gaze at with adoration.

I am dumbfounded by Russian authors like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

If you are what you eat, I am unabashedly Mexican.

But I am so proud to be an American! 

I am grateful for the freedoms we have.

I love our history!

I have Swiss, English, Scottish, Irish, Danish, and Welsh blood. 

But those ancestors made it their dream to become Americans.  And I'm so glad they did! 

We have varied scenery that rivals anywhere else in the world.  And if people doubt that, they haven't really explored this country.  Despite criminals and crooked politicians, their are millions of good people here that are assets to their communities and to the world.

Hallie knows the importance of our flag.  Whenever she spots it she gasps and exclaims "It's an American flag!  That means we're American!"  It does indeed.  And boy am I grateful.

peer pressure

It's a fact that my children are late-bloomers in the physical development department.  Hallie walked at 16 months and Claire finally walked at 20 months after tears and fretting by her and her family members.  Chris and I just tend to create gorgeous kids who 1.) have low muscle tone and 2.) almost freakish flexibility from lax joints.  Hallie caught on to walking quicker than Claire.  Once Claire strengthened her core muscles she rapidly got up to speed.  But, these girls aren't quite as daring as others their age on playground equipment.  There's some self-preservation in Hallie that makes her leery of all that climbing.  And until recently, Claire couldn't even do the climbing.  I was so pleased on this weekday in April when the girls had the playground to themselves.  Take a look at what transpired.

They both got to the first slide without hesitation.  The first slide was easy.  The first slide was safe.

Claire quietly decided that the first slide wasn't enough.  She wanted the accomplishment of the topmost slide on the playground.

So she climbed.

And kept climbing.

And cautiously crawled over.

And before you know it, she looked like this.

And then this little girl did it too.

And felt like this afterward.

So they ran around and did it again.

And they did the big slide so much that the little slides were no big deal.

Which, in truth, is a very big deal.

And I am so proud of them.  And (for that day at least) I was so grateful for peer pressure.

The Power of Pancakes, part 1- Banana Pancakes

I'm not claiming I'm Cinderella but,these are the daily quotes when my darling girls awake custy-eyed with matted hair:

Hallie: "I'm hungry, Mommy!" followed by "Can I get my own breakfast?"  Hallie's breakfast if she were chef would be chips, fruit snacks, and marshmallows.

Then I enter Claire's room excited to hear:

Claire: "Change my diaper!" followed by "Make me wessus!!"

Since my kids notoriously despise "kid food" and breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I've come to rely on some tried and true breakfast recipes.  In truth, cereal is the staple most days.  And toast is a close runner-up.  However, since they eat like lumberjacks in the morning, I normally have to re-pour cereal and milk multiple times.  I really prefer those blissful mornings when I can toss a pancake like a frisby and cheer when it lands on their plates. 

I was reemeniscing pancake mornings when I counted the different pancake recipes we use.  There are five.  Five pancakes, really?  That is not even counting blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes.  For those we just toss them in the regular batter.  We actually have five unique pancake types I consistently make.  Regular (you know just flour, eggs, sugar, milk, baking powder, etc.), Banana, Gingerbread, Pumpkin, Sour Cream, and Brown Sugar Oatmeal.  Please don't confuse my musings with pancake braggery.  I'm more shocked and a tinge embarassed that I love them so much.

I want you to enjoy the pancake goodness too.

Banana Pancakes
originally found in Betty Crocker Classic Cookbook

These are so moist, you may never want to go back to regular batter (and you will scoff at Bisquick).

2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour (I do half all-purpose, half whole wheat)
2 cups buttermilk (I add lemon juice to regular milk because I never just keep buttermilk stocked)
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (4 medium)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Beat eggs until fluffy.  Add all other ingredient and mix until smooth.  Pour on hot griddle.  Flip.  Eat. 

I don't even have to put butter or syrup on them.  They are that moist and mildly sweet.  But the girls still rejoice in maple syrup so we throw it on for them.

Do enjoy.

wish granted

Whenever Claire climbs onto the couch she quickly demands "I need blanket!"

Whether Sesame Street is on the agenda or thumbing through "Rella" books, blankets are a necessity.

So, when Claire was adamant on this day, we gave her the biggest blanket in the house. 

Be careful what you wish for.

We think we're so funny.

lamentation

I will be very mournful when Hallie replaces the darling word "rawried" with the more socially-acceptable version of "worried."

It will be a sad day when they stop sitting in cardboard boxes pretending to drive to Target.

Things will get really tough for me when Play-do loses its wonder.

When making "ga-na-na bread" (Claire) stops being as exciting as Disneyland itself, I will cry into my pillow.

When they don't ditch me at the library and run straight for the Lego table, I'll know they're getting bigger.

When my family room stops being decorated like this, I will long to impale my foot on Care Bears.

When preschool graduation turns into college graduation (there WILL be college graduation), I will lean my gray-haired head on Chris's shoulder and cry quiet tears.

When we can't get them to laugh in pictures by acting like fools falling over ourselves, we won't know what to do.

And as silly as it sounds, I am so happy that I can get so sad about these things. 

I ruined band-aids

In what I thought was a brilliant piece of parenting, when Claire went in for two-year-old shots I told her Nurse Sue was going to give her band-aids.  She did.  But not before she gouged her chubby leg flesh with four needles.  For two weeks afterward, Claire would grow weepy and recall "Sue gave me band-aids, Mommy!  Sue gave me band-aids!  I don't like band-aids!"  Here we are, two months later, and Claire is deathly afraid of band-aids.  She must associate them with pinching pain.  If she skins her knees (which she does frequently) she will gladly flaunt chunky scabs and skip a band-aid.  One night, I thought that I would help her conquer her fear through immersion.  So, without warning, I plopped a pink princess band-aid over perfectly smooth baby skin.  She was terrified.  She bawled and begged for me to "hold her band-aid" so she couldn't see it.  I grew so tired of gripping her leg for two hours straight that I firmly tugged it off so I wouldn't hear her terror.  This did not help matters.  So, now we have a toddler with a gisnt-sized fear of band-aids who constantly points them out on her sister with trepidation.  And that is the story of how I ruined band-aids.

Gourmet babies

Pictured above: Boxed mac and cheese and hot dogs.  An embarassingly simple meal.  Yet, a meal I longed for as a child.

Outcome: Claire finger painted with ketchup before exclaiming "All done, Mommy."

Pictured aove: Chicken pillows, twice-baked potatoes, cottage cheese and madarin oranges, cranberry sauce, green beans.

Outcome: Heartily eaten.

I am not complaining.  Just merely confused.

lessons learned while coloring

This coloring activity impressed two facts upon my little brain:

1.) Crayons + Pictures = an amazingly simple way to reconnect wth yourchild.  We chatted.  She asked questions.  She dictated letters to her grandparents about how much she loved spaghetti and how she can button her tricky pajamas all by herself.  There are honestly so many days that I go to bed and think "I spent all day with my children and I don't feel like I spent any time with them at all."  Sometimes I feel like I'm merely a sheep herder that is in charge of basic sheep protection: eat and don't get killed.  I didn't remember that the key to connecting was not in a grand craft, a trip for ice cream, or a baking spree.  Those are all wonderful  (and certainly ways to connect) but real connection doesn't have to be that grand.  It's accomplished with a box of crayons, or talking over soapy dishes, or climbing into the bottom bunk and singing songs with really wierd voices. 

2.) She smokes me at coloring.

Lucky

Sometimes long, gushing letters are appropriate.

Sometimes stating the facts is all that is necessary.

Facts: These are lucky, lucky kids, 

And I am, unworthily, the most spoiled wife I know.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Love, the luckiest girls in the world

The simple perfection of a picnic

Hardly any activity is as summer as a picnic is.  On this day it started off warm wih potential afternoon thunder showers.  We even had several drops fall on us.  But it stayed beautiful.  I learned to never let your children see a bag of Cheetos and expect them to eat peanut butter and jelly.  It's all over as soon as they see the orange and blue bag.  I also learned that bringing paper cups to pour water into is not acceptable.  Each child must have their own water bottle.  Period.  Hallie had a cough so I told her not to play on the playground equipment.  The gils just watched the other children play - which I thought was so noble.  They knew they were sacrificing so other kids wouldn't get sick.  The most important thing I learned was that we need to do more picnics!

Dirt

Ever since the crazy spring wind finally wained, we have been loving the dirt.  We planted a garden this year that consists of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, radishes, spinach, and green onions.  The girls have visited several nurseries with me.  And since our grass died last summer, they have a vast backyard of pure dirt to dig in.  They love it!  Who says boys are the only ones who like to get dirty?

Another thing we can't forget . . .

Claire pronounces "truck" . . . F-W-U-C-K.  Thank goodness for that "W!"

She is super animated and super loud every time she sees any "fwuck."

We crack up and cringe at the same time.

etch these in my memory

Let our permanent family record show that Hallie pronounces parmesan by saying "Carma-Johns."  I hope she says it that way forever . . . and that she never goes on dates to Italian restaurants because that would be embarassing for her.

Claire really loves to throw conjunctions into her sentences.  The most adorable part is that they are simply used to restate her orignal phrase.  Thus, awesome speeches like "I got an owie, but (hold out "but" and then pause for effect) I got an owie." And "I want a drink a milk, SO I want a drink a milk," are heard frequently throughout the day.

Nickel Pirates

One day in late May, I took my nickel pirates to the mall.  Why do I call my darling daughters nickel pirates?  Because as we stopped at a red light, they both hollered "Hey Mom!  We're pirates!"

"I pirate too!  Aargh!"

"Yo ho ho!" (Please excuse the glistening snot).

The pirates abandoned their treasures by donating to the fountain.

They made their wishes and we headed to the book store.

Hallie found exotic animals.

Clairey played toys. 

Claire had usual Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde toddler behavior on this outing.  One moment she listened so well and said "Okay mommy!"  The next second she was arching and screaming on the floor.  Gotta love toddlers.

The girls split a happy meal in the food court.  I am continually surprised that they don't like typical kid fare.  They didn't touch their french fries or chicken nuggets.  They scoff at mac and cheese.  They are pretty good about peanut butter and jelly though.  I swear they would eat spaghetti, pancakes, and yogurt everyday if we would let them.

  After we came home and had a little snack, I was so delighted by how Claire ate her apples.  Look at those little teeth marks!

Our treasure this day was findding flip-flops on a 2 for $5 sale.  Claire came home with "cute polka dot sannels" and Hallie selected purple giraffe flip-flops.