Travelingjenny

Navigating the hilly terrain of motherhood

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  • ‘Til next year, Toots

    Graceeatingicecream

    Tesssmilesbymural

    In case you haven’t figured it out, we love to go to Toots for ice cream. So last Sunday was very bittersweet for us, as we enjoyed our last visit of the season. I suppose I can understand why they closed down – most of the people were eating their ice cream in their cars because it was bit chilly – but that doesn’t make me miss it any less. Sure, we love their ice cream, but we also love their farm animals. This year we saw Princess the pony slowly recover from an illness, and we watched Sebastian and Fred grow from cute little piglets into market hogs (don’t tell Gracie why they won’t be back next year!). We got to know Jewel and Major, the draft horses, along with two curious alpacas and six sweet bunnies (well, five bunnies – rest peacefully, Precious). At Toots, Tess learned that cows say "moo." In fact, she likes cows (and Toots) so much, that whenever we pulled into the parking lot, she would emphatically start saying, "moo!" This summer at Toots, Tess had her first taste of ice cream (she loved it – no surprises there!), and Gracie started ordering her own – in a "bucket," with sprinkles. So now we are looking forward to next year, when Tess will be able to say "cow" and "horse" and (hopefully) keep up with Gracie as she races around to say hello to all of our animal friends. In the meantime, our afternoons are going to be a lot less sweet.

    Sistershugattoots

  • Learning to hide

    Tessontable

    Tess suddenly thinks it’s funny to do things she knows she is not supposed to do. Like crawl on the table, climb the stairs, type on my computer, and grab Curly and run away. Perhaps she does this because she knows that I secretly find it hilarious and cute, although I am always sure to maintain a stern look while I gently reprimand her. This morning she grabbed the remote control, and somehow managed to turn on the television. When I walked towards her to confiscate the unapproved ‘toy,’ she ran to the corner, turned her back to me, and stood very still. I am pretty sure she thought she was hiding from me. She needs to work on her hiding skills.

    Tesshidingcabinet

  • A restaurant experience

    Tesseatingicecream

    Tess will eat almost anything. This is very convenient, especially when we eat in a restaurant – which is not very often, since she no longer likes to sit still while eating. Tess doesn’t need her own meal, she’ll just eat a little bit from everyone else’s plates – noodles, the tomato slice off of a hamburger, french fries, etc. And she’ll help herself to whatever is within her reach. Sunday evening, I was eating a salad at Gritty’s, and she helped herself to some cherry tomatoes. No problem. But then she grabbed a slice of raw onion. I figured I should let her try it – I mean, she might actually like it, right? Plus, she’s an experiential learner, so I thought this might keep her from grabbing onions off plates in the future. She took a bite, chewed for a couple of seconds, and then just looked at me with a grimace. I fished out the onion, gave her some grated carrot, and continued to eat my salad. The next thing I knew, she was making a pitiful little sound. She was holding the onion again, and had the same sad-but-cute grimace she had made only one minute earlier. Maybe experiential learning is not going so well for her, after all.

    When we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, I asked Grace to carry her lunchbox (containing special, restaurant-only toys) with her to the car. Then I lifted Tess out of her highchair and put her on the ground. She walked over to her own lunchbox, picked it up, and proceeded to walk towards the door, lunchbox in hand like a big girl. She had heard what I said to Grace, and she wanted to do the same thing! She never even looked back to see if we were coming too! She passed several tables along the way, and attracted a lot of attention. I must say, watching that tiny little girl march away with her big lunchbox was a pretty adorable sight. She walked all the way to the car, and when I picked her up to put her in her carseat, I noticed that the poor baby had onion breath. I guess next time I’ll have to move the onions out of her reach!

    Tesswalksinlight

  • Jumping in

    Graceinleafpile2

    Grace: "Mommy, I love raking leaves because you can jump in them."

    Mommy: "I love raking leaves because I can do it together with you."

    Grace: "Yeah, and then you can jump in them."

    Sistersjumpingtogether

  • The price of motherhood

    Mommywgirlsattoots

    I love being a mother. Really, I do. It’s okay that it’s a 24/7 job – one for which I do not receive monetary compensation. Or paid vacation time. Or ANY vacation time. It’s okay that I was up at 6:30 this morning slicing five cucumbers for Gracie to share at snacktime (yes, cucumbers – her choice). It’s okay that Tess wiped her yogurt face on my brand new shirt right before we had to leave for music class. And it’s okay that she spit her chewed up cheese stick into my hand at lunchtime, after she turned her milk upside down to make a puddle on her tray. What is NOT okay is that I seem to have been reduced to a babbling, bumbling idiot most of the time. It is nearly impossible for me to put together a coherent adult sentence. And apparently it is even difficult for me to drive in a straight line – as evidenced by the fact that I destroyed my passenger-side mirror today. On our 4-month old minivan. I am going to attribute this unfortunate incident to the fact that the consistent background chatter/singing/crying in the van was nearly making my head spin. Or to the very obvious fact that I seem to be losing precious brain cells, by the millions, on a daily basis. So I guess this is the price of motherhood: one new passenger-side mirror. And my sanity. But it’s all worth it. Really, it is.

  • Best buddy Sunday

    Buddieswapples

    Buddiesrollingingrass2

    Last Sunday was very exciting for Gracie – we got to spend the morning with Elyse, "with no of her parents". Our first stop was Starbucks, where the girls charmed the barista (and everyone in line behind us) by explaining that they are best friends, and they used to go to the same school, but they don’t anymore because Gracie goes to a new school, and she goes to the Friends School, and it’s on Mackworth Island, but they still play together all the time, and on and on and on… Phew. I was already exhausted, but the girls were just getting started. So, I brought them to our house to burn up some of that excited energy – this was accomplished largely by jumping on Grace’s bed. We then all piled in the car for a trip to the local apple orchard. Grace and Elyse each picked their own apples, then refueled with a donut and cider snack (yippee! more excited energy!). This was followed by lots of rolling around together in the grass, climbing on pumpkins, and of course, some great photo opportunities! It’s so much fun having a friend!

    Buddiesamgothic

    3girlsonpumpkins

  • Crazy hair

    Oyvey

    Mommy, mommy – is that you?? I can’t see anything through my hair…

    I know you think my crazy curls are cute, but could somebody please get me a haircut?! Or at least a barrette?!

    Tesswgoats

    Much better – thank you! (Now I can see all those silly goats at the fair!)

  • The underappreciated one

    Maggieinyard

    Even though she is big (and hairy), it is easy to forget about Maggie. She likes to sleep (in an out-of-the-way corner), and she never asks for much. She just wants to be fed – only once, most days. And she wants to be let out a couple of times each day, whenever we get around to it. She only barks when she wants to be let inside, or occasionally if she sees a dog walk by on the road. She is most lively (and focused) when Tess is eating in her high chair. Tess loves to toss her food, and Maggie knows this – she may not fetch, but she’s no dummy. And she is remarkably well behaved for a big dog. She has learned that food is only fair game if it’s on the floor – and not if it’s in someone’s hand, or on a table. If she doesn’t want to be bothered by little girl hands (or faces or feet), she just calmly walks away. We give her an occasional treat, a very occasional walk, and an occasional torturous brushing, but she never complains. So, on Sunday she got her yearly reward – a doggie ice-cream sundae from Toots. And a nose-to-nose greeting from a cow. Now that’s a good dog day.

    Maggiewcow

    Maggieeatsicecream

  • Happy

    Tesstalksonphone

    Sistersonslide

    It is really hard to pick one word to describe Tess. She is so many things, especially as she enters toddlerdom and begins exhibiting the traits that come with that territory. She is sweet and easygoing, funny and curious, persistent and sometimes a little stubborn. Overwhelmingly, though, she is happy. She is the kind of happy that is contagious – the kind you want to be around all the time. The kind you wish you could bottle and give to those in need of some happiness. The kind of happy that I hope and wish stays with her forever. Since you can’t see her sweet little smile in person, here are some photos, taken today, to help share the joy.

    Tesshappywalking

    Tesslooksatmaggie

  • Hungry

    Tessfloorsnacks

    Tessclimbonhighchair

    Do you think she was trying to tell me something??