back in the saddle

Oh hello there blog land.  It's been awhile... did you miss us?  I totally missed you and all of the escape and joy that writing can bring - not to mention the fact that this is one of the only places that I consistantly shared and documented the amazing going-ons of our lovley little household.  It's been over a year, and what a year it's been - I won't go all crazy and try to recap - though there may be the occasional flash back post now and again.  I make no promises.

little love trees

I was so inspired by the success of last weeks little craft-scapade that I spent much of the next week seeking out an additional love inspired project for my budding artists.  Presenting week two of valentines crafts;  the little love tree!

dusting

It goes without saying that when parents are prepared for an event - it most likely will not happen.  Thats why we drive around with tiny potties, diapers, first aid kits, extra granola bars, and applesauce packs in our car.  It's why at the end of each season we pack up four pairs of hardly used snow boots to send to good will.  Our little part of the world is nestled between two rather cozy hills - and those hills do all they can to keep massive amounts of snowfall off of our streets - to the dismay of every school age student in the county.  

The first winter that the girls could "play" in the snow we regaled ourselves with a multitude of mittens, hats, pants, coats, and boots.  I believe we used them once.  The year after , if memory serves,  we were startling unprepared (discouraged by the lack of snow the prior year), as such we missed the biggest snow of the season.  It seems the more prepared we were for snow, the less snow we got.  So, much to the disappointment of four little kiddos on Rosebud Street, four new pairs of goulashes complete with winter welly socks have been sitting unused.  Until this Sunday!

they're crafty

Man I love me some Pinspiration!  When it comes to holiday crafts for the kiddies, it's my go-to for some quick ideas that may help me occupy my favorite artists for a few moments on a given Saturday.  I came across this adorable little penguin craft a few weeks ago and it was just the inspiration I needed to get me back in crafty mommy mode after a long hiatus.  

shadows of the past

I let it happen again - I blinked and now three months have passed - three pretty fabulous months full of amazing moments that I am now relying on my faulty memory to recall dusty details decades from now.  Please, please, please let me remember SOME of it!

2013 is here - how - I'll never know.  Minutes pass (and I find I forget to eat breakfast), Hours pass - I should definitely make a bathroom stop. Weeks - laundry again.  Months - wow, I accomplished precious little in the last 30 days, and now a whole new year.   Before I get all weepy and sad for posterity (which is inevitable for me I'm afraid - the new year brings hope, but also it fills me with remorse for the millions of things I should have done or could have done differently) I thought I would share some of the  visual memories I hope to preserve from last year - even if I don't have a written dialogue to go with it.  When I think back on 2012 these are some of the pictures that appear as faded watercolors in my mind.

then they became friends...

More than once this past week Tony and I caught each other, mouths open, staring stunned at Alex and Amabelle. Just a few weeks ago and practically every day for the previous year, 1/2 of all interactions between our A babies ended the same way - with Amabelle in a puddle of tears on the floor, and Alex either a) rolling over her, b) climbing on her, c) running gleefully away with her blanket/stuffed animal/hairbrush/shoe/special rock or d) pummeling her with the same item.  This resulted in a fantastically melodramatic reaction from Belle.  The particulars would change, but the premise went something like this:  (gasp, sob, tears!) ALEX TOOK MY BLANKET AND HE THINKS IT'S HIS!  HE'S GOING TO TAKE IT OUTSIDE AND IT WILL BLOW IN THE STREET AND THEN A TRUCK WILL COME AND RUN IT OVER AND I'LL NEVER EVER HAVE MY BLANKET AGAIN! (gasp, sob tears!)  Because of Alex, Belle and her blanket were never, ever, ever getting back together... like ever.  (Thanks Taylor Swift).

a song of summer

I have never figured out how it happens... after years of trying... I blink my eye once in June and when I open them it's the end of September.  Nearly 3 months have passed since I last wrote of life here at 1010 Rosebud.  Nearly 3 months of giggles, tears, milestones, and thrown stones.    Wasn't it only yesterday that Bella was bouncing high on Uncle Adam and Aunt Laura's trampoline?  Somehow when she landed she was back in preschool and months away from carefree summer evenings.  Time flies in the blink of an eye.  And though it was never my intention to allow such a long lapse in writing about our lives, I must say that at least part of my absence was somewhat intentional.  It occurred to me somewhere along the way that it was possible that my writing about my four little loves may actually be getting in the way of me actually being with them.  My desire to capture every nuance of their lives became another "have to" that sapped at least some of the joy of just watching.  Just listening.  Just being.  

going on four

On Sunday the girls built with blocks for the first time.  Is that shocking?  I suppose I should clarify... because they've "played" with blocks since they were less than 1.  And by playing I mean that they gnawed on, dumped, crashed, stacked, and occasionally sorted.  But they never deliberately built with blocks until this past Sunday.  It was so cool to see them work together to develop a plan.  "We're being architects, mommy!"  This structure features a small forrest that leads to a road.  The road moves into steps that take you through an archway into a "patio".  The patio was surrounded by a small wall, decorated with "pretty plant towers" and enclosed with a small gate.  There was a plan from start to end and they worked together to realize their vision.  They had the patience to see it through and the dexterity to make their vision a reality.  This - to me - is all part of the pre-four package.

the last day of the first year of preschool

May 25th was my baby girls last day of preschool.  Moving forward they will be in the four year old class - and then they graduate high school.  It's all going so fast!  To celebrate the end of the year, the girls teachers hosted a play picnic at Ozzy's Family Fun Zone - a local haunt with mini golf, go-carts, skating, rock climbing, an arcade, and a HUGE CLIMBING ZONE!  Hurray!  We met the girls teachers and classmates at the designated time - I took a 1/2 day so that I could be with them and it was awesome, in a pivotal parenting kind of way.

The stuff they dream of...

I think that one of the absolute without a doubt most fantabulous things about kiddos is how easy they are to please.  The littlest things make them happy - extra hugs, the tickle game (which basically involves an adult never really leaving the couch - just stretching your arms out and wriggling your fingers a bit while making some sort of "I'm gonna getcha" noises), painted toe nails, a plucked flower, chocolate milk, ice-cream from a store. Today PopPop took all 6 of us to dinner at Shells before going to see Mimi's wonderful Art Show.  After our tour Daddy took the boys home for tubbies and PopPop took all his girls (mommy included - HURRAY FOR COFFEE FLAVORED ICE-CREAM) to dairy swirl for a little post show treat.  The girls were SO excited - twirling, hugging PopPop to say thanks, thanking the cashier, grinning from ear to ear while choosing their flavor and sprinkle combination... The cute HighSchooler behind the counter smiled and said "I don't think I've ever seen two kids this excited about ice-cream!"  What can I say - we don't get out much... but then this sage 17 year old added "The thing is - most people forget that ice-cream is a treat".

Flower

When Bella was a baby she called flowers Mamu... I can't really say where it came from - Tony and I used to think it was a combination of Flower and Mommy because she knew that I had painted the flowers on her bathroom wall.  We still laugh about the night when we had both girls in the tub.  They were about 1 1/2 years old.  Emma pointed to one of the flowers on the shower curtain and said "flow-wuh".  Belle smiled and clapped:  "Mamu!"

Touch A Truck

I had been feeling quite neglectful with the kiddos lately - like we never DO anything or GO anywhere... never mind that it is like preparing for battle just to leave the front door - I mean, will these kids have any memories of things that are not at the home of a family member?  Now they will!  Hurray!  Enter Touch a Truck!  A fabulously priced fundraiser from the Junior League tipped off to me by the lovely Mrs. Kaufmann who has helped organize the event for the last few years.

A bow or two...

It's a lovely rite of passage when your daughters decide that they will do YOUR hair, instead of you doing theirs... and boy {bow} howdy were they excited about this!  They went through their hair box very carefully, selecting each and every clip-able bow - and then they completely adorned the top of my head with them.  I'm not going to lie - I think I look pretty radical here.

A Little Bit Prep

My OCD comes out of the closet when I get the kids dressed in the morning.  It's a real problem.  Whenever possible, I like to dress all of them (and myself, if possible) in co-ordinating hues, trends, or layers as though we're all on our way to a photo shoot.  The shit of it is, I hardly ever manage to get a picture of all the kids together, so it really is a wasted effort on my part.  I can tell myself this, but when the opportunity arises, I will pull out polo shirts for everyone (skinny jeans and a navy izod sweater for mommy), and I will feel great about the organized and picture perfect start of our day.

A Spot of Tea

Their eyes were wide with anticipation as they pleaded silently... desires yet unknown to me.  I knew something was coming as I tilted their heads back in the tub and tried to rinse the soap out of the bottom of their hair.  

"Mommy, can I tell you a question?" 

"What is it, muffins?" I asked - braced for something crazy.

"May we have tea as our snack tonight?" they exploded... "That would be SO great!"

Chocolate Syrup

Lately I've been intrigued by all of the DIY home goods that I've come across on the world wide web - namely from the One Good Thing By Jillee site.  That gal churns out ideas faster then I can keep up.  But since we stumbled on her homemade chocolate syrup a few months ago we've been hooked.

School Days

Originally posted on Monday, April 2, 2012

Today was a snow makeup day for preschool - (from that bizarre-o snow in October) - and my first day of spring break.  It was actually really super cool getting them ready for school and taking them there without having to rush back home to teach lesson.  Instead, I went to the grocery store, came hope and unloaded the groceries, then made it back in time to see their Easter Egg Hunt.    It was pretty much exactly what I thought our days would be like.

About Amabelle

Originally posted on Sunday, April 1, 2012

Our Amabelle can be such an enigma - at times we can't figure her out at all.  Some times she is so in touch with her feelings that it's like looking through a window into her soul.  She is a tough little package that hides a super sensitive interior.  Just when you think everyone in the family is under control Belle will surprise you by being the one that's the most emotionally effected by what just happened.

A Little Flash Back

Originally posted on Friday, March 23, 2012

While perusing our old blog, I happened upon these postings of the four kids from this time last year.  You don't always realize how much they change until you see it smacking you in the face.  I thought perhaps the family would enjoy this little time warp as much as I did.

Swinging

Originally posted on Thursday, March 22, 2012

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!