Shep was determined to carry around all three of his stuffed puppies at once after he saw Neko walking around with Stellaluna taped to her front. Which sounded really hard.
Our compromise? The puppy sling.
(Fabulous shirt from John and Anne. Documentation to come when we've taken a proper photo.)
Stellaluna has been massively popular in our house lately. This is Mama Stellaluna and Baby Stellaluna, mid-flight.
A while back Neko brought home some mealworms that were left over from the big kids' science project. I think they were actually food for something, but they became hers to watch as they morphed into beetles.
I'll be honest, I kind of forgot about them, as their well-sealed (yet ventilated) container made its way into the mudroom. We tossed a few old apple slices in with them and went along with our days.
Tonight, in an effort to stall bedtime just a little bit more, Neko checked on her mealworms. The screams of delight and joy that rang through the house as she discovered they had turned in to pupas (pupae?) rivaled that kid who got a Wii on Xmas morning.
I didn't take a photo because I know it would make most of you queasy, but if you'd like to know more about the lifecycle of a mealworm, look here.
I think a few of you just fainted.
Today I took Neko to a birthday party. Which is not her best thing. It is a high stakes event where she is not the center of attention and someone else gets a whole lot of gifts.
Meanwhile, at home, Ellery decided to see what would happen if she stuffed a raisin up her nose. The answer? A fretful father, a visit from your grandmother, a pair of tweezers, and a big tantrum.
At bedtime, Neko asked about guns. She reasoned that we need them because that's how we kill animals, and we eat animals. Which makes sense, except how do you explain to a five-year-old the concept of slaughterhouses? And why that's okay, but guns aren't? I felt like I showed up for my 8am Chemistry class with a hangover and got surprised with a pop quiz. I give myself a C+ for my answers, and think I need to spend some more time hitting the books on that one.
The protocol of birthday parties. Lodged raisins. The loopholes of firearms.
Totally not addressed in any of my parenting books.
We've been absent from the blog world for a bit. We've been busy merry making. And then cleaning up from merry-making.
And while we were cleaning, we moved on down to the basement, and finally cleaned up the tricycle area. Piles of junk were cluttering the area for months, and we finally gave it the heave-ho. I think we made up for my falling off the 30 baskets wagon. Loads and loads of stuff exited this house.
The kids were beside themselves, whizzing around the basement, working off all their pent up energy. We even broke in the easels.
Just don't look at the rest of the house for another week or two, because, um, we had to kind of let that go so we could focus on the basement.
A good way to start the new year. My thighs may not be smaller, but I already feel a little lighter.
We've been absent from the blog world for a bit. We've been busy merry making. And then cleaning up from merry-making.
And while we were cleaning, we moved on down to the basement, and finally cleaned up the tricycle area. Piles of junk were cluttering the area for months, and we finally gave it the heave-ho. I think we made up for my falling off the 30 baskets wagon. Loads and loads of stuff exited this house.
The kids were beside themselves, whizzing around the basement, working off all their pent up energy. We even broke in the easels.
Just don't look at the rest of the house for another week or two, because, um, we had to kind of let that go so we could focus on the basement.
A good way to start the new year. My thighs may not be smaller, but I already feel a little lighter.
That's Neko, dressed as a Chinese dragon, a costume she created. I wish I had caught the photos of the two of them in the box together, which was even more convincing.
And Shep is wearing a shirt over his new sweatshirt.
These kids are crazy. All the best kind of crazy, but crazy.
The morning went swimmingly.
Shep is the perfect age for Christmas, greeting each gift with an exclamatory, "It's just what I've always wanted!"
Neko is a bit older, and was definitely taking stock of what Shep and Ellery received, wanting to make certain all was fair. But delighted with her gifts, nonetheless.
Ellery enjoyed the opening of packages, but I'm fairly sure she has no idea what's going on.
We puttered around that morning, eating chocolate donuts in lieu of real breakfast and playing with new toys. By late morning, we were off to my mom's house to celebrate with my side of the family.
Just as we were preparing plates for brunch, Ellery took a tumble off a bench, slamming her mouth and nose against either the bench or the floor. Either way, there was loads of blood and massive swelling of her nose and lip. Tom and I scooted off to the ER to make sure she was okay, as she seemed a bit woozy after the fall and looked pretty beaten up.
She checked out fine, and we managed to get back to my mom's house for a late celebration.
Blogging of favorite presents and war wounds to come in future posts when we've recovered from the day…
I've been wrapping like a crazy woman for the past week, determined to spend Christmas Eve doing stuff that actually felt Christmas-y. I do this each year, but I often still spend the day in a frenzy, prepping for the big day.
But this year? I think I'm starting to get it figured out.
We hadn't made it to the train exhibit yet this year, so we threw the kids in the car and headed to the Big City. We weren't the only ones who had that idea, as we ran into three other families we knew (Marlo, Jodi, and Libby) and an old classmate of Tom's. We were sure we'd be battling a crowd, but it surprisingly quiet.
After quiet time, we settled in to make our first cookies of the season. I was surprised to discover that this year, Neko knew how to decorate like a champ, and Shep was the one who embraced excess (there really is a cookie under all those decorations). Ellery looked at us all like we were nuts for this whole decorating business, and just kept eating toppings.
After dinner, with the promise of a drive-thru light display, the kids eagerly threw on pajamas, and off we went. The back home to hang stockings and off to bed, with surprisingly little protest.
By the time they go to college, I'll have this down to a science.
It was only 9am, and it was already a bad day. Bad orthodontic news. I had planned to enter 2009 free of orthodontia, but it was not to be. Throw in the holiday crazy, and I found myself more than just a little weepy.
Thank goodness for Marlo and Nancy who met us for a playdate, even though we were really late and extra grouchy. And we left Nancy's house in shambles due to an incoming ice storm and already storming children.
And a big hooray for Tom, who drove the kids in circles as my appointment lasted far longer than expected, and nodded sympathetically as I ranted and threw my arms in the air.
When I arrived home from the playdate, there were flowers and Indian food. The black cloud over my head made me forget to take a picture upon arrival, so you'll have to make do with the picture of the leftovers. There was another container of rice that said "I love you."
Bad day gone good.