Presenting...the Queen

A few days ago I was cleaning out Ben's closet making room for some clothes that will fit him in 1-2 years. I like to shop clearance, and he has a bigger cousin who gave us a great big bag of hand-me-downs, but I digress. I discovered, in the bottom of his closet, several articles of clothing he received for his birthday in January that I had set aside until the weather was warm enough to wear them. Happy day! New clothes for the rotation. And one was a Lightning McQueen t-shirt. Ben was thrilled as one of his very favorite friends is currently obsessed with Lightning McQueen. I told him he could not change then (5:15 PM), but could wear it tomorrow. He carried it outside to play with, and then dutifully brought it back in for dinner.

Yesterday morning I put the t-shirt on him, and called him Lightning McQueen. A few minutes later I overhear part of a conversation. I'm not sure what Claire said to him, but he replied, "I not a baby, I a QUEEN!" Then moments later when I called for him to get ready to go downstairs he told me, "I not Benjamin, I a QUEEN!!!" Well, alrighty then. This perhaps explains his obsession with shoes. Let's get your royal hiny (is there a correct way to spell that word? I've tried 4 variations, and it keeps getting flagged by spellcheck) downstairs and into the car so we can take Claire to school.

Rocking at the Park

Last night I got an email telling me that Rocknoceros was going to be doing a free concert in a public park that is not too far away from us, so Ben and I stopped at Subway on our way to pick up Claire to get lunch, and the three of us headed out for a concert/picnic. We drove 3/4 of the way around the park while the kids ogled the playground and the gathering crowd before I found some parking, and then we had quite a hike to get to the area where the concert was, but we arrived and spread our blanket about 3 minutes before they began. I handed out milk cups and sandwiches, and we sat down to eat. After a few minutes of music I told the kids they could get up to dance if they wanted to, and they never sat back down. They ran around like crazy, pausing long enough to watch caterpillars crawling across the grass and take a sip of milk. The last three or four songs found them sitting on the front edge of the gazebo just staring at the band members and their instruments in awe. At the end Claire picked a buttercup and gave it to the guitarist when he came out with the Rocknoceros stamps for their hands. We packed up the remains of our picnic, and then headed to the playground for some more fun before we made our way to the car.

While trying to keep an eye on two kids who of course went in opposite directions I overheard a mom nearby talking to her daughter. She had suggested that her daughter go and say hello to a girl who looked about her age, and the daughter said, "why do you always tell me to go say hello to someone?" The mom explained that they were new to the area, and didn't know people, and that's how you make friends. I caught Claire coming down the slide, pointed the girl out to her, and asked her to go and see if she wanted to climb with her. Without pause Claire ran over, asked her to play, and when the girl said yes Claire grabbed her by the hand and off they ran. The mom caught my eye to tell me thank you, and we struck up a conversation while the kids climbed, slid, and who knows what else.

I was really pleased to see Claire being so confident and sweet with this other girl who was a year older than her. They had a fun time together, and maybe we'll see them again if we make it to the next concert.

All in all, it was a very fun way to spend our lunchtime. Ben was exhausted, and napped for almost 3 hours after we got home. I've already checked out their summer schedule, and we should be able to make several more free shows fit into our schedule (psst - Mom and Dad - they're doing a free show at a library in Charlottesville the week you guys have the kids. Their Louisa show is a week or two later.)

Hey, what's that big pink thing?

That one. Over there. Sitting in the sidebar all lonely and unclicked. Over the past several months my younger sister, Sarah, and I have been discussing the possibility of doing either the Avon 2 day walk for breast cancer, or the Susan G. Komen 3-day. Due to timing (and perhaps foolishness) we decided to start big. And what could be bigger than signing up to raise a lot of money, and then walk 60 miles in 3 days. We conned talked our older sister, Jen, into signing up, too. Well, she still promises she will, and formed the team Three Sassy Sisters. So the first weekend of October we will be joining hundreds of others in the Washington DC area to walk 60 miles over the course of 3 days to raise money for breast cancer research.

This cause is incredibly special to me because of the death of Brian's aunt, Jacki, a little over two years ago. She fought a brave, hard, long struggle against breast cancer. She was an amazing woman, who we loved very much, and miss dearly. I think of her so often, and someday soon I will compose a more fitting tribute to tell you all what a special person she was.

In the meantime, what can you do to help? Well, you could click on that big pink link over on the right, and make a donation. Also, there is a new company that is trying to give Paypal a run for its money. It's called Revolution Money Exchange. If you click on the button below before May 15th, not only will they give you an automatic $25 (that you can then have transferred to your bank account), they will give me $10. I am going to use any money that I get from referrals as the starting point for my fundraising for the 3-day walk. So if you have about five minutes to sign up, please do. I promise your money will be going to a very worthy cause.

Best Shot Monday - cardinal

Here is the daddy cardinal that comes to our feeder. His sweetheart is usually not far behind. This was taken with my telephoto lens.

Head on over to Tracey's to see more pictures from Best Shot Monday.

snippets

Me: Claire, what did you work on at school today?
Claire: Well, I did the appaloosas. You know? Where you have a picture of the horse, and you color it, you know? The appaloosas?
Me: So you colored in a picture of an appaloosa?
Claire: No.
Me: ...

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Ben is currently at a stage where he wants to do everything right! now! His conversations are peppered with questions designed to get me to say whatever it is he wants.

Ben: We go play with J.
Me: Yes, after rest time. If you take a good rest, we'll play with J.
Ben: We go play with J. Walk or drive?
Me: What?
Ben: WALK? Or DRIVE? Play with Jake! Walk or drive!
Me: (finally catching up again with the conversation) Not now, after rest time.
Ben: No rest time! No like rest time! WALK OR DRIVE????

It's a lose/lose people. If I tell him we're walking he's out the door, if I tell him he has to rest first then I get to listen to him scream for the first half hour of his rest.

The boy has a hard life, really. This morning he got to sit in our double stroller next to one of his favorite friends, and fed banana bread and bunny grahams while I walked 4 miles, then he got to run around and play tag and hide-and-seek while I stretched. Then a trip to the library after we picked up Claire, and this afternoon a playdate at the caboose. But oh yeah, he has to rest first. I am such a terrible mother to torture him like that.

Speaking of hide-and-seek these two kids were too cute. One would hide their face on a tree and count, and the other would always hide in the exact same spot, facing a bush, but completely out in the open. The seeker would count, and then say "here I come!" Then they would turn around, and yell excitedly, "I found you!" Each time they were equally thrilled and surprised when they "found" the other, and they would both laugh, and then the hider would run to the tree to become the seeker. Rinse and repeat.

Best Shot Monday - irises

We spent part of the weekend at my parents' house on Lake Anna. They planted this beautiful bed of irises (they moved them down from MA) right along the sea wall.

These dark purple and white ones are my favorite.

These burgundy ones are very unusual.

However, I think that this is my official "best shot".
Which one do you like the best?

Check in with Tracey at Mother May I for more pictures from Best Shot Monday.

(all pictures taken with my dad's PnS camera)

Best Shot Monday - neighbors

Claire, and our neighbor and friend, J, visit over the backyard fence. One of the many reasons I love where we live -- great neighbors.

For more Best Shot Monday fun head over to visit Tracey at Mother May I.

Love Thursday

In general, Brian and I try to purchase something lasting, or make a memory together to celebrate our anniversary. Last year we decided that we wanted to get a magnolia tree, but in the middle of July magnolia trees are fairly hard to come by. So several weeks ago we headed out to the nursery in search of one. We decided on this Galaxy Magnolia. The tree is relatively small, but the man told Brian it is between 7 and 8 years old - just like our marriage - perfect.

We hope to be able to watch it grow and bloom for many many years. Right now it is starting to get it's leaves, but I am already looking forward to watching the buds form and flower next spring.

Make sure that you stop by Shutter Sisters to see what else is inspiring the love today on Love Thursday.

Tales from the kids...

I have been remiss lately in posting stuff about the children. Well, in posting much at all, really. Hopefully I can catch up on all of the things that have been floating around in my head.

The other morning Ben brought me the old favorite, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to read to him. Claire then asked me to read Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? The next morning Ben picked up Brown Bear, Brown Bear and began to read it aloud to himself. This is about how his story went:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?
I hear a duck in my ear.
Duck, duck what do you see?
I hear a cat in my ear (ed: he skipped a few pages)
Cat, cat what do you --
Kitty cat, Kitty cat, what do you see?
I hear a doggy in my ear.
Doggy, doggy, what --
Lucky dog, Lucky dog, what do you see?
...

It was so cute to listen to him - mixing the words of the two stories, but remembering the gist of it. I loved how he corrected himself with the cat and the dog pages. I hope his love of books continues to grow.

Claire continues to pick up things without anyone realizing she has learned. In some discussions with her teacher we've discovered that she has learned things at school that neither of her teachers has taught her. She is quite observant, and likes to pay attention to what others are doing around her.

Monday she took Ben into her room with a bag full of foam letters. She had Ben sit on her bed with her other "friends" (stuffed animals), and she taught them their letters. From my room I could hear her telling Ben, "You're in school, you can't behave like that. You need to listen. No yelling! You won't be able to go out and play if you don't behave!"

I have vivid memories of setting up school in the basement with my sisters and brother, and our dolls and stuffed animals. It is fun to relive those memories through Claire. She is quite the strict teacher - particularly where her brother is concerned. I couldn't help but giggle as I stood quietly in the hallway listening to them play together.

Best Shot Monday - Donald Duck

Yes, another picture of our bulbs. This is a Donald Duck tulip - they were our first tulips to flower, and they're really very nice. When the sun is warm they would open up wide to soak it in. The kids loved looking at them, and the colors are so cheerful.

Check out some other sunshiny posts at Best Shot Monday. On this rainy Monday, we could use all the sunshine we can find!

Best Shot Monday - spring flowers

Last week I went out to try to capture some of the lovely things growing in our gardens now. I could go out everyday and find new images, but I chose these for Best Shot Monday. This looks exactly the way I envisioned when we picked these bulb collections out of the catalog last year, and then when we planted in the fall. Just an hour ago I sat with the new catalog in my hands, dreaming of where I can put new bulbs to enjoy next spring.

I couldn't decide which shot was my favorite - the perfect detail of the grape hyacinth with the white tulips in the background, or the creaminess of the tulip with the grape hyacinths leading your eye back to the trunk of the maple. Below you can see the complete scene - we built the bed around our maple in the front yard specifically for these bulbs. We've gotten many compliments from the neighbors, so it was obviously time well spent.



Check in with Tracey to see what other heavenly shots await at Best Shot Monday.

Tag - you're it!

My friend, Colleen, tagged me to write my six-word memoir. I've put this off for a while, trying to figure out what six words really speak about me. Are they the words that I think I am, or that others see me as? Are those the same words? I don't think that they always are.

Observant.
Mothering.
Thoughtful.
Loving.
Reader.
Friend.

(I'll edit this if I can find the picture that I really want to put here - it's either on a different computer, or belongs to someone else in the family.)

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Tag!
Stephanie
Leah
Sarah
Julie
Christine

Best Shot Monday - cherry blossoms

Saturday we had a picnic at a local park and I took some pictures of one of the cherry trees. We were unwilling to brave the traffic and crowds in DC this weekend, so we did this instead. This is my favorite of the photos I took.

Check in with Tracey over at Mother May I to see what else is blooming for Best Shot Monday.

Snippets

Easter pictures are coming. Soon. Ish. In the meantime, last week was Claire's school vacation (today was her first day back), and having both kids around the house lead to many interesting conversations.

C: OK, Ben! We must! go! to! the! jungle!
B: OK, Cware!
C: But first! We need our hats!
(ed: yes, it is quite important to always wear appropriate headgear when in the jungle. Claire's is a new pink and green sunhat, and Ben's is his tan Polo baseball cap.)

C: Mama? What do you want to be when you grow up?
Me: A mommy.
C: But you're already a mommy!
Me: Oh good!
C: Don't you want to be a doctor, or a dancer, or a train?
Me: A train?
C: Then I would always have a toy train to play with.
B: I want to be a train! Tracks!
C: You want to be train tracks?
B: Yep!

Yesterday I managed to find some new, cute, wide-width shoes that didn't cost a fortune for Ben (thank you, Marshalls). He is very excited by his new shoes. So much of today has revolved around his new shoes. We had this conversation in the car.
B: I lub my new shoes.
Me: That's good, buddy.
B: And Nonni lubs them. And Daddy lubs them. And Cware lubs them. And I lub them.
Me: Good, I'm glad.
B: I want to go Ryan's house in my new shoes.
Me: Not today.
B: I want to watch Little Einsteins in my new shoes.
Me: OK.
B: I lub my new shoes.
Perhaps he will become the next Jimmy Choo.

Car Conversation

Claire: I'm just furtending!
Daddy: No, it's purtend.
Me: Actually, it's pre-tend.
Daddy: At least mine is closer.
Claire: No daddy - it's FURtend. Can you say furrr? Say furrr, Daddy!

Like Sunshine on a Rainy Day

When you have a new raincoat and boots it doesn't get more exciting than a rainy day!





This little guy in the hand-me-down frog coat and boots would rather eat fruit snacks in the garage.

Welcome Back!

Today (well, due to the latest delay, very very early tomorrow morning) Uncle Adam comes home from spending 15 months in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne. Claire, Ben, and I couldn't be there in person, but we're there in spirit. We can't wait to see you again!

Love Thursday

Today Claire was standing on her stool ("I think I'll use the panda one today.") making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ben came running through the kitchen laughing, and hiccuping, with a ball in his hand.

Claire: Ben has the hiccups. MOM! *laughing* Ben has the hiccups!
Ben: *holding out the ball for me to see with a puzzled look* This a hiccup?

One of the things I love most about my kids is how much they make me laugh.

Check out Love Thursday over at Shutter Sisters.

*My family thinks I need to add a disclaimer here - I do not make my son sleep in a dog crate. We had returned from a weekend trip to my parents' home, and Ben thought it would be great fun to climb inside and pull the door shut. Generally he sleeps in a cage of the more standard crib variety.

Best Shot Monday - ice

A few weeks ago we woke to a coating of ice on everything. Here is a shot of the dogwood tree that overhangs our deck.

Skate on over to visit Tracey at Mother May I for more Best Shot Monday fun!

It almost made me forget all the whining

So today Claire was talking to me on the way from her school to the grocery store.

Claire: When you and daddy get married?
Me: Almost 8 years ago
Claire: Wow. That's a looooooooong time.
Me: Yep, it sure is.
Claire: Mommy? When I get married?
Me: When you're an adult, and you fall in love, and you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, then you can get married.
Claire: But. But. But Mommy? I love you the mostest.

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In other news, this morning when I was showering Ben found my glasses. He looked so cute when he came up to me as I got out of the shower. "Look me, Mommy!" So I sent him to Daddy so he could see him, too. Then about 90 seconds later I see him holding two completely separate pieces of my glasses. Umm yeah. I definitely should have known better.

So I dug out my old frames that Claire had damaged about a week before Ben was born. Putting them at just over 2 years old. Do you know what that means? That means that they won't just make me new eyeglasses, I have to go in tomorrow for an eye exam. And then pick out the frames. And then wait for them to get made. Because Hour Eyes? Doesn't really make many glasses in an hour. In the meantime I have a brutal headache from these old glasses. I'm sure that by the time my body adjusts to them my new glasses will be ready.