Travelingjenny

Navigating the hilly terrain of motherhood

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  • The wild kingdom, Tess-style

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    I think it’s safe to say that while Grace is an experiential, hands-on learner, Tess is more of an observer. She was definitely interested in the animals at the zoo, but she preferred to view them from the safety of her stroller. However, her big sister did teach her how to feed the goats, and I know that observing Grace get up-close and personal with the animals gave Tess the confidence she needed to approach them herself. Having Grace as a big sister is going to be very good for our cautious little girl.

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  • Grace’s wild kingdom

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    It is a well-established fact that Gracie wants to be an animal rescuer when she grows up (which will be next week, if she has anything to do with it). I knew she would love going to the zoo (York’s Wild Kingdom), and it really was fun to watch her squeal with excitement as she spotted the different animals and ran from one exhibit to the next. She especially loved the animal show, where we got in-depth information on a few various zoo residents, and Grace confidently raised her hand and asked questions about each animal. It’s no surprise that she loved the interactive parts the best – feeding ducks, feeding goats, feeding deer, riding a pony, and, of course, petting a boa constrictor (with both hands!). She had no idea what the snake wrangler was talking about when she told Gracie she was very brave, because animal rescuers have no fear. Obviously.

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  • Laughing all by myself

    This morning, Adam embarked on his special “celebrating fortieth birthdays with his childhood buddies and reliving their glory days” weekend in Hilton Head. I suppose I would have fared better today if I had not been rudely awakened at 4am by his alarm clock, but at any rate, I am entirely spent. Totally wiped out. My goose is cooked. Things went well today for the most part, and all of my charges are fed and seemingly happy (this includes the chicks, who survived their first night in the coop!). And even though my mom helped out with dinner, bath, and bedtime, there were still moments this evening that nearly put me over the edge. Like when I finally sat down at the dinner table to eat, whereupon Tess immediately declared she was “all done,” and demanded to be removed from her torturous chair. Already. Before I had even had a single bite. And then when I finally had them both in bed, and a load of laundry in the washer, and I sat down at the computer for a few quiet moments of email, and Gracie promptly started yelling, “MOMMYYYYYYYYYY! I HAVE TO GO POOPY!” Because every night at 8pm, the same thing happens, and we really must retrain her bowels. So actually, today was really no different from any other day – I just don’t have my partner here to laugh with about the ins and outs of life with these two little beings we created. Because I have come to learn that at the end of the day, the key to preserving my sanity is the ability to find the humor – and joy – in all of the craziness. Thankfully, that’s usually not very hard.

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  • When the mama cat is away…

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    …the mice (and the daddy cat) will play. And their hair will be VERY tangled, but they won't mind a bit, because bathtime with daddy is awesome.


  • Brownie sundae!

    Updated to add Sheryl's sweet photos, which I meant to include originally:

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    Everyone who knows me knows that I love chocolate. And dessert in general. I am proud to say that this irrepressible love has been passed down to my children, and particularly to Tess. While the grandparents were visiting, we had brownie sundaes one night (okay, two nights) and Tess was so thrilled by this, and so concerned that someone might try to steal a bite of hers, that she sat by herself at the kitchen counter while the rest of us sat around the table and enjoyed our dessert. Even more hilarious was the fact that she made silly faces and clowned around while she ate – and she took about three times as long to finish as the rest of us. I think she was just savoring every bite – the chocoholic genes are strong in this one!

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  • Don’t let the door hit you…

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    Now what have I been up to?? Working on the darn coop, of course, along with my darling husband. Because the chickens simply must move out to their new quarters soon. After all, they've been living in our house for almost eight weeks now. Don't get me wrong, I love our chicks – they're very… funny. And I love being able to look in on them several times a day and watch their silly antics. But they poop – a lot – and they're living in our living room (in a giant box, silly, we don't live in West Virginia). And they peep – a lot – mostly while Adam is trying to watch baseball, and this forces him to turn the TV up very loud. And while I think it is hilarious that whenever I walk by their box, they scurry about, pleading with their eyes for me to give them some treats, I think I will find it even more hilarious to watch them scratch and peck in the grass outside, finding their own treats like chickens are meant to do. Because chickens are not meant to live in people's houses.

    So, as of today, the metal roofing is on the coop! And we have one or two more minor things to do before the chicken palace is ready for occupancy. The chicks have been spending a couple of hours at a time in their new home, getting used to it slowly before they move in there for good. They seem to like it – even though they don't get to watch baseball.

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  • Special times

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    Where have I been, you wonder? Enjoying a visit from the girls' grandma and grandpa, which involves a lot of family time, laughter and eating special treats (more on that soon). Even though the weather only allowed us one afternoon of playing in the wading pool, we found other activities to keep us occupied – things that are normally unheard of at our house – like face painting and hair styling (with a blow dryer!). Grandparents are awesome.

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  • First ice cream cone

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    The other day, Tess ate her very first ice cream cone (at Toots, of course!). She was quite excited about this. Until now, she had been eating ice cream – which she loves – in a bowl with a spoon. But of course, as soon as she saw her big sister with a cone, she wanted one, too. And she ate the entire thing without getting a single drop on her dress. That's my girl.

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  • Backyard swimming

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    One of the first things I did on Monday – the first day of the first full week of summer break – was buy a little pool for our yard. We had one last year (it suffered an untimely death at some point during its winter hibernation), and while Grace loved it, Tess was less than thrilled. This year is an entirely different story. Although it took a while for Tess to feel comfortable sitting in the pool, she very happily stomped and played in it as soon as she saw her sister splashing around. She even let Grace pour water over her head – eventually. And Grace was so excited about the prospect of swimming in her own yard that she insisted on wearing her goggles. I think that's half the fun of the backyard pool – it's like a big bathtub, but none of the normal bathtub rules apply. The girls can stomp, splash, donkey kick, and pour water on each other as much as they want without their uptight mother reminding them to keep all of the water inside the tub. Hooray for summer!

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  • Tea party

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    Grace wanted to have a tea party the other day, and for the very first time, she invited Tess to participate (usually we only have tea parties when Grace has a friend over to play, and baby sisters are not welcome). Tess was beyond thrilled to partake in what she clearly sees as a big girl event – and she didn't even spill her tea! She's becoming more and more of a big girl every day…

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