the suspense is killing us!

So, E starts Kindergarten on September 8. As in a week from today. As in oh-my-freaking-goodness -she-is-the-last-kid-on-the-face-of-the-earth-to-start-school. She's ready. We're ready. Even A's ready. Needless to say, we're all getting a little antsy for her to begin.

I think that part of the problem is that the school year will bring about tons of change. In addition to the girls spending the days at different schools, E will be doing before and after care at school. I must admit that I'm hugely disappointed that she has to do before *AND* after care, and was hoping to swing just one. But since her school schedule has a really late start and a late-but-impossible-to-guarantee-one-of-us- making-it-home-every-single-day end time, committing to before and after care it is.

It's going to be a huge juggle and I'm really not sure how I'm going to fit everything in. I'm hoping that it's not going to be as bad as I've made it out to be in my head (weeks and weeks and weeks of worry can do that to a girl, you know?). But I'm sure we'll somehow survive.

In the meantime, we'll just keep on reading those getting ready for Kindergarten books that Kiki sent (I've got them memorized at this point) and counting the "sleeps" until school begins.

life is good with an oreo cookie

The dessert offering was pretty much decided for us last night...a little Double Stuff Oreo action. You gotta love the black toothed grin of some happy girls (and marvel at the rare occasion when E emerges from a meal messier than her sister).

 

 

 

wannabe

I have friends who are real photographers. As you have seen from my pictures, I am not. However, I got bored this week during conference calls and decided to play around with some photos in Photoshop. I thought they turned out kind of cool.

 

 

 

 

Now if only I could convince John to spring for a fancy schmancy camera for my birthday, I'd be ready to go.

five

When I was a new mom I was batshit crazy a wee bit nervous about pretty much everything. I wanted to be a good mom, but then I would read books and it would make me doubt my abilities. Of particular concern was the gem found in pretty much every parenting manual around,

"Eventually, you will get to know your baby's cries."

Because, really? No matter how hard I tried to distinguish them, they all sounded the same to me.

These days, a point of stress with regard to my kids is getting gifts. On the surface you would think this is an easy task. I've been around this kid for almost 5 years...I should know what she likes, right? And to an extent I do. But the life of a 5-year-old is so finicky that you just don't know what she's going to like and what will be the end-all-be-all gift.

Case in point, E loved the books about Kindergarten that Kiki, Uncle Steve and AJ sent...but she screamed with delight "And, look! It came with CARDBOARD! I love to color on that stuff!" And the backpack and lunchbox that Nonna and Pop-pop got her paled in comparison to the birthday card they sent...that had a cut-out crown! That she wanted to wear to school today, in fact.

Cardboard and a crown...who knew?

Since it was E's 5th birthday (and a big milestone), I did want her presents to be special and a reflection on who she was. And, I think they really captured this amazing kid that we haven't ruined quite yet.

1. A new dress. I can count on my fingers how many times she wore shorts or skirts this summer. It was only fitting that we added one to her collection.
   
2. A new Princess nightgown. It was only a matter of time before she started to wear nightgowns pretty much exclusively. And we got her a new one since she so generously donated a Dora nightgown to A, when she wanted to wear a nightgown like her sissy, too.
   
3. Books. We got her two, a new Fancy Nancy book (which she had been begging for) and a Learn-to-Read book about "Princess Ballerinas" (her two favorite things in one book!). She is so close to reading...I can't wait for her to learn and have a whole new exciting world open up.
   
4. An iPod Shuffle. She loves music. Specifically she loves Taylor Swift and Hannah Montana. She knows all the words to Hannah Montana songs I have never even heard before. So I frantically tore the house up looking for found my old school iPod shuffle, downloaded a few new songs, and made an E-specific playlist. She was thrilled and it's never to early to learn the joy of regifting.

Celebrating her birthday at the beach was great. She had a blast going out to dinner with family, and then having cake and ice cream back at the house. John and I *did* get on the ball enough to order a cake...but Grandmom came through with candles and princess party hats for everyone! She also got some great gifts from the family, including a bike-riding Barbie. Who wears mesh leggings. Who knew.

 

All in all it was a wonderful celebration for a wonderful girl.

home again home again jiggety jig

We're back from a week at the beach. We frolicked in the waves. We played in the sand. We were up early (thanks in part to an unshaded skylight in the girls' room) and went to bed late. We met up with friends. We ate a lot. And one of us even turned *5*! I guess you could say the only thing that sucked were the lollipops we got the girls!

 

More to come soon, including an ode to my daughter who somehow turned 5 and went all tween on me.

art critic

I was going through the reams of paper that the girls come home with and found a drawing that E had done. I was very impressed with the drawing, so I showed it to John. The conversation went something like this:

Me: E's really getting good at drawing. Look what she did!
John: Wow! That is great. Is that a picture of you?
...stunned silence...
John: What? Is it a picture of E?
Me: You're kidding, right?
John: No...how am I supposed to know who the picture is of?!?!

FYI...here is the picture.

 

Is it just me...or does it look like a red-headed princess mermaid that a certain almost-kindergartener talks about non-stop?

I think it's safe to say that John will never identify any criminal ever based upon the composite sketch produced by police...

roadtrip memories

The Slackers are OFF on our trip to the beach! I've got a few posts scheduled for this week (I was procrastinating finishing up work and packing)...so that should be fun.

As we've been getting prepared to go, I've been reminiscing about the travels of our youth. And, just like any good parent should, I've been trying to tell E and A just how different life was way back when.

We didn't have the pesky confines of booster seats or car seats to hold us down! Nope. My parents would put an air mattress in the back of our Jimmy (aka, old school SUV) and Kiki and I would sleep until our first stop. We would then spend the rest of the time arguing over taking turns sitting on The Hump (aka, the armrest in the front seat). That is, unless I was feeling puke-y...and then I was sitting outright in the front seat while my mom snuggled with Kara in the back.

For music, there was no Laurie Berkner or "kids" music to keep us entertained. Our family listened to Simon and Garfunkel's Concert in Central Park, which my dad had taped from the multi-record set.

And when we got sick of music, we didn't get to watch DVDs. Instead, we listened to books on tape. We listened to The Little Women every summer at least twice. We also listened to The Little Mermaid. Not the Disney version...but the Hans Christian Andersen version upon which Disney based their version. I thought about forcing my parents to find it so the girls could listen to it, but decided against it because there is no singing, and in the original the Little Mermaid ***SPOILER ALERT*** turns to sea foam. One day I'll let them listen to it, and maybe then they'll carry on the tradition that Kiki and I started of picking up foam at the beach and screaming "Hey LOOK! It's the Little Mermaid!"

Or maybe, they'll be spared the nerdiness that clearly their mother and aunt got.

rock stars

I was actaully going to attempt French braids this morning, and put a pigtail in E's hair to keep it out of the way. She said she'd rather have two like that. Heaven forbid I do any more work than absolutely necessary, especially work that would involve certain so-close-to-5-years-old-you-can taste-it yelling me for pulling her hair, so we rolled with that style instead. Needless to say, the girls were thrilled that I did their hair like that.

 

 

 

 

The girls are on a big music kick 'round these parts, so the necklaces around their necklaces are their "guitars" (or "gibtars", if you A).

In the pictures you can also see that E rediscovered the Hannah Montana microphone that John bought her a few months ago. It had been confiscated at some point and put on the top of the refrigerator where it was all but forgotten. And then John had to be all Hey, E...let me carry you around on my shoulders so you can see what's on top of the fridge and she found it. And has resumed playing it non-stop. Except now the battery is dying so instead of it sounding like an annoying Hannah Montana song sung by Hannah Montana, it sounds like an annoying Hannah Montana song sung by Hannah Montana possessed by the devil (a la Marlena from Days of Our Lives circa 1995).

mr. mom

On Saturday, I had a baby shower to attend in Richmond, leaving John and the girls to sit around and think about how much they missed me have a fun day together. And, boy, did they ever have fun! He took them into DC where they walked around The Mall and saw many of DC's monuments.

 

The funny thing was that a topic of conversation at the shower was "what unusual place is your husband taking your kids?" Answers included a roadtrip to visit a great-grandmom and the zoon. Apparently, John's not the only dad who gets all overzealous when he's manning the fort kid-wise.

Come to think of it, when John's out of town, we always do a movie night or something special. Does your husband (or you) do that, too?

need a vacation from vacation planning

On Saturday, the Slackers are headed to the beach! The sand, the sun, the surf...a week of relaxation...it's going to be great! *If* I can survive the week preceding it! 'Cause this week is all about the packing lists, the packing, the getting all my work done so I can take the vacation.

It certainly doesn't help that a certain someone turns *5* while we are at the beach. So gifts have to be purchased before we leave. Which means we have to figure out what the heck to get her before we purchase them. I am dead serious when I considered getting her ears pierced just to avoid having to buy a gift.

So, if I'm not around much this week, it's because I'm running around like a crazed woman. And, if I'm not around much next week, it's because I'm sandy...and suntanned...and drunk.

ariel would be horrified

My kids have always had quirky preferences when it comes to food. There are many kid staples, such as grilled chees and quesadillas, that they won't eat ever. On the otherhand, there are many grown up type foods, including stinky cheese, that they devour without second thought. As a recovering picky eater, I'm always amazed at what they put in their mouth.

Last Sunday, John picked up some steamed shrimp at Wegmans. They prepare it with garlic and Old Bay and it is beyond delish. Apparently, E thought so, too. Because she ate half of the shrimp...leaving John and I to remark that we will be smuggling the shrimp into the house in the near future.

Last night, Grandmom was in town on a layover, and Nonna and Pop-pop were over, having taken E to lunch and play for her birthday. We headed out to dinner at the new Italian place near our house. And when the waiter brought out the calamari, we all watched with amusement as E asked for some...and some more...and some more. Seeing as I wouldn't even touch calamari until my late 20s...and I lied to John about what calamari was to get him to try it...we just aren't sure where she got it from.

typical saturday morning

This picture pretty much sums up my family in quite a few ways.

 

• The girls are obsessed with YouTube. Their current favorites are Taylor Swift videos (specifically "You Belong with Me" and "Love Story"), some Hannah Montana videos that involves "boom boom clap" and the awesome wedding processional to "Forever."
  
• I'm apparently obsessed with polka dots. I bought both the bathing suit A is wearing and the dress E is wearing. And I noticed that Gymboree had a polka dot line for fall and thought to myself "Why didn't anyone tell me?!?!?"
  
• A's wearing her "babing suit". We're going to hit up the pool today at some point...but A insisted on getting in her bathing suit as soon as we got back from our walk this morning. E's changing as I type this.

So far we're having a good weekend. Hope you are, too!