Navigating the hilly terrain of motherhood
Tess took my hand as we walked through the trees. "We're slow pokes," she said. "I like going slowly because we can notice interesting things… I see lots of leaves on the ground."
Sweet Tess, may you always take the time to notice the beauty around you. And also, please keep holding my hand. I love that.
Made eggs and toast for breakfast for the girls and Adam
Played blocks with Tess
Made myself a latte
Played puppies with Tess
Thought longingly about another latte
Played babies with Tess
Took a shower (while talking to Tess)
Walked down the driveway with Tess
Finally convinced Tess to get dressed (it was 3:00 pm)
Cleaned the chicken coop, while watching Tess jump on the trampoline
Walked to the neighbor's house with Penny and Tess (on her trike)
Made waffles and bacon (come on, who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?!)
Observed a suds-flinging contest in the bathtub
Read "One Duck Stuck in the Muck" to the girls before bed, then untied my tongue
Fell asleep putting Grace to bed
Chopped broccoli, grated cheese, sliced fruit, and made honey butter in preparation for bringing lunch (AND snack) for 13 preschoolers tomorrow
Did two loads of laundry
Made an applesauce cake (for us), because I'm nuts
Collapsed from exhaustion (9:30 pm)
It was a good day.
[Note: I really do treasure my Thursdays at home with Tess, and I know someday I'll look back on these days and try to remember what they were like. Several things about this day made me chuckle, and it is pretty representative of life right now. And that's a good thing.]
Grace and Tess have been doing a lot of playing at home lately. They like to make up games in which they are sisters or neighbors, or — as in this photo — mother and daughter. Of course, Grace is always the (very bossy) mother, and Tess is the (very cooperative) daughter. (Check out the contrasting looks on their faces, it's priceless!) The game is sweet, and it works for them, but someday — just once — I'd really like to witness Tess being in charge of Grace. Right now I'm thinking it's not very likely.
This afternoon, Grace put on a dance performance. It was repetitive and crazy, and impossible to describe. At one point she asked for an volunteer, and of course, Tess jumped up immediately. After some instruction from Grace, the show continued — with Tess calmly wiggling back and forth while Grace jumped wildly around her. And what did Tess get for her efforts? Surprise! The opportunity to assist with Grace's magic show — which she did, of course. Happily.
Adam and I went away for a night — all the way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire — for the first time in almost five years!! We were able to complete several adult conversations, and we got to sleep in! Hooray! The girls did great, and (according to Nana) hardly seemed to notice that we were gone. They were, however, very excited to see us when we returned home. Once they put down the books we brought back for them, they gave me a big, sweet hug. I'm thinking we need to go away more often.
How about a sweet photo of the sisters together on a rock? Yeah, good luck with that.
On Halloween morning, Grace participated in a special horse show at the barn where she takes lessons. Dressed in her parrot costume, Grace competed in four different events, including a costume parade. She won four blue ribbons (okay, all of the participants in each event won a blue ribbon, but I don't think Grace noticed). She rode her second-favorite horse, an Icelandic named Hekla. And yes, we dressed Hekla up as a pirate. She was not especially pleased about this, but she cooperated. And to top it all off, my little parrot — with her ribbons pinned to her chest — got to go trick-or-treating from stall to stall. Now that's a special Halloween.
[Note: Hekla has a huge fear of camera flashes, ostensibly as a result of growing up in stormy Iceland, so my flash-less photos are not great. Below, Grace is pictured riding Spraekur, another Icelandic, in the walk/trot event.]
Grace: "Ella was a hippie for Halloween."
Tess: "What's a hippie?"
Grace: "They were people in the olden times who liked to say: 'Peace!' They were Quakers."
Grace had been excited about Halloween for weeks. I'm not sure if it's because we don't usually let her have candy, or because she was excited to trick-or-treat as a parrot with her best friend, who went as a pirate. Or maybe she likes the attention she gets as she parades around town in costume. About halfway through trick-or-treating, she said: "Mom, everyone says they like my costume. Why?" My guess is that they were charmed by her self-made parrot hat and beak, scotch-taped to her nose. I know I was.
Last Halloween, I had to carry Tess around for trick-or-treating, because some of the bigger kids' costumes scared her. This year, she wanted to hold my hand the whole time. I didn't mind one bit. After all, walking up to complete strangers — and speaking to them — must be intimidating to a four-year old. I had given her some coaching ahead of time about saying "Trick-or-treat!" and then following that with "Thank you!" Tess took this very seriously, practicing those words before we left the house. And when it came down to it, she did a great job. As we walked away from one candy-giver, my little kitty whispered to me, "Mom, I forgot to say 'thank you.'"
Travelingjenny 