Plays Well With Others. Mostly.

Keira reminds me of me in this way (besides being stubborn and hating to be told what to do): she loves following her brother around and really just wants his attention and wants to do things with him. However, unlike me, her brother is almost 3 years older than she is (my brother is 20 months older than I) and, since she doesn't talk well yet, there's a bit of a communication gap. You know how it goes: an 18-month old want her brother's attention so she scratches him. Or takes his cars. Or bonks him on the head with a toy phone.

None of this goes over big with the brother. And I don't think Quinn is buying it when I say that she just wants to play with him. But really, she just wants to race cars with him. Or play chase. Or "build" something with him in his Bob the Builder workshop. (I, on the otherhand, found myself playing that crazy vibrating electric football game - yes, I'm dating myself here! - or playing with tractors in the sandbox and stuff like that; but it's really all the same, no? Life as the adoring little sister....)

But anyway, occasionally, I get to see my kids in moments like this, and it is just fabulous. Playing nicely together. All of their own accord.
Ahhh, that warm-fuzzy feeling of parenthood!

Home Schooling

This post isn't about me home schooling the kids - although a post on homeschooling in general will be coming up soon. No, this post is about me getting schooled. In staying at home.

As in, if your daughter - during the course of a single day - eats part of a lilac crayon, a bit of a dried leaf, a little tidbit of a foamy baseball, but not one single piece of fruit, do you get a failing grade in mommyhood?

Or, if during the course of that same day, you forget to put sunscreen completely on your son's body before he heads off to mini sports camp for the afternoon and he comes home with his first ever sunburn on his nose and neck, do you get a failing grade in mommyhood?

These are the things I'm thinking about tonight. As I'm gathering up my white jacket and my RPh license to head back to a little part-time work tomorrow.

Oh yeah, does going back to work mean that you totally failed stay-at-home mommyhood?

So much for my 4.0. Good thing I'm not applying for a graduate degree in this!

Lucky Number 18

Eight is a lucky number in China, as are other numbers with 8 in them. (By the way, the Beijing Olympics are set to begin on August 8, 2008.) At any rate, Miss K's b-day is December 18. We met her on December 18. So, obviously we agree that eighteen is one of those lucky numbers. Oh, and as a Colts fan, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this year's Super Bowl MVP is #18. My Mandarin teacher predicted that the Colts would win the Super Bowl, basing her prediction solely on Peyton's jersey number. (Of course, she predicted this the year before last, when the Steelers ousted them early; but hey, she was eventually right!)
Anyway, back on track.
Keira.
Number 18.
So yesterday, the 18th of June, Keira was 18 months old.
We couldn't let all this lucky day business go by, uncelebrated. So celebrate we did.
We had a Half-Birthday Party for Supergirl.
Well, the term party may be a stretch. We basically just had cake and ice cream for her here at home, just the 4 of us. But it was pretty festive nonetheless. As you can see for yourself below, she was into the cake a bit more this time around, compared to her feelings about 6 months ago.
Of course, she's a bit more into us this time around too! Yippee!

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It may only be my half-birthday, but can't you do better than trying to pass off a BK crown as a b-day hat?

Wait....I'm getting cake??!

Nice touch, mom - a candle and a half!

Oh yeah, this is great!

Ahhhhh, that was fun!

The Best Father's Day Gift Ever....Almost

You think I'm going to go on about how our 2 terrific kids are the best gift ever? Well, the thought crossed my mind. But really, here's the best thing: I lost my voice this weekend. How about that? What man doesn't want his wife to be voiceless (and therefore unable to nag, prod, complain, etc) all weekend long? And on Father's Day weekend, no less.
Nearly perfect.
Except for this: I got some virus to go along with it. So, after the plain bliss of no voice on Friday, the rest of the weekend I had some ridiculous headache, runny and stuffy nose, cough, etc. So, Super Dad got a chance to prove himself by doing nearly everything for most of the weekend.
And he came through with flying colors.

Before being virus-laden and nearly useless for a while, I did manage to take the kids out for a "secret mission" earlier in the week. We got some pix taken here for pops. Both kids did a great job, I think. It may have a little something to do with the bribe of ice cream afterward. But hey, is there a mom out there not above a bit of food bribery? I, for one, am not. I stick with what works.
So, here are some of the (somewhat entertaining) fruits of our labor.

Miss K, looking relaxed for her photo shoot:

And maybe she's a bit too relaxed....

Here they are both chillin':

Mr. (G)Q:

After the general kiddo pix, I wanted to try to get a few of Keira in this outfit we bought for her in China. I realized that if we didn't get it on her soon, she'd grow out of it! Jiaojiao hen piaoliang ma? Rough translation: She's lovely, eh?

So Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there (and all the single moms too, who really have to do it all!). We hope you had a great day!

Could I Have This Dance?

A favorite Canadian crooner of my mom's, Anne Murray, sings, "Could I have this dance, for the rest of my life? Would you be my partner, in every night?..."

And so today, in honor of my parents 41st wedding anniversary, here is our tribute, in photo essay format, to my mom and dad - the greatest couple I know.


Love is........

...getting a hug when you need one:

...lifting each other up, whether you think you need it or not!

...working together to solve problems:

...taking time to make a little music:

....taking a leap of faith!

....enjoying all life has to offer - together:

So, mom and dad (aka grandma and grandpa), HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! We hope you had a day that was as wonderful as you deserve. You're a great example to us all. To paraphrase my grandpa, if only we could be half as good as you are.....

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ROCK ON, Grandma and Grandpa, WE LOVE YOU!

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My Baby's Not a Baby Anymore

I'm talking about my baby sister here.
Her birthday is today....and it's a big one!

You know what they say.....

You can run,

but you can't hide!

Happy Birthday, Sis! Hope your day is a great one!

It's a Zoo Around Here

With the help of her big brother, Keira has nearly mastered the following animal impressions: elephant, monkey, and tiger.

Here, Q is teaching the fine art of trumpeting like an elephant. K looks unimpressed, but has really made this one her favorite.

In fact, when we read her favorite book - the only one she'll sit all the way through - she keeps doing her elephant impression and grabbing the pages until she gets to the picture of the pachyderms.
Of course, as the ever-encouraging big brother, Quinn will then say something like this: "Keira, don't worry if you and mommy aren't as good as me and Daddy (at making elephant sounds)...you'll get better."

And if she doesn't, there's always her fish impression. She's got that down pat.

My Kind of Town, Chicago Is....

Well, maybe. If you are someone who likes ridiculous amounts of traffic. (I don't. And the kids really don't!) Sure, there are great sites and great eats there, but if you can't get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time, what good is it? Me, I prefer good ol' Indy. Plenty to do; nice people; and a city you can get around in. And a place where you do not have to spend the equivalent of 1 months salary just to park for an hour! But anyway, I think you all already caught on to my city preference. (If not, please see Super Bowl posts from the month of January.)

Nonetheless, we found ourselves in the Windy City last week on the mission of visiting some of hubby's family. Princess Keira wanted to make an appearance to spread goodwill. She returned to the city where she became a US citizen and topped that by finally meeting her paternal grandfather, an aunt and uncle. Hopefully we'll get to see the rest of the gang on our next visit.

Besides K getting to meet some more of her family, we experienced other firsts on the trip as well....

It was our first family road trip in the new car:

and our first family swim in a pool:

It was also our first family-of-4 stay in a hotel, complete with pillow-fight:

Don't worry about the munchkin here. She looks a little tortured, but she was really having some fun. Really. And after the pillow fight, we gathered 'round to watch a movie (Cars - Q's favorite) and eat popcorn. Two more firsts for K, and a big success as well.

On the way out of Chicago, Quinn offered the following observations: This city has lots of tall buildings. Lots of people live in them.

And some have rockets on top.

He's a quick-study, eh? That preschool education is paying off.

Ladies, Start Your Engines!

Ah yes, the month of May here in Indianapolis. Race Fever abounds. Palms sweat at the though of fast cars. And, in the case of my hubby and the hubby of my best friend/therapist/sounding board, hearts race at the thought of increased estrogen in this year's 500...especially this dose of speeding womanhood:

And especially when said friend and I gloated about spotting Ms. Patrick last Friday outside Nordtrom. You didn't get her autograph? they gasped. Uh, no...we were too busy noting her fabulous sunglasses and shoes...and too busy discussing whether or not our husbands were surviving a whole day with the kids while we got to shop, shop, shop. This type of day, by the way, the ladies-only-shopping-men-home-with-kids day is known in motherhood circles as a Little Slice of Heaven.

But anyway, back to racing, cars, and fast driving.

In keeping with the spirit of the month of May, and because it was just way overdue, we bid farewell to our 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The ol' Jeep has served us well and has transported us far and wide. I think it still might have some sand in it, leftover from trips to beaches in Michigan, North Carolina, and Florida.

So last Saturday morning, with a bit of research under our belts, we piled the kids in for the last of those 150,000 miles and headed out to get some new wheels. When we stepped out of the Jeep and into the dealer's parking lot, we could hear the roar of the Indy cars practicing at the Speedway, just a few miles down the road. If you are a car salesman, you can't ask for better mood music. And we were in the mood.

It had been 12 years, nearly to the day, since we bought the Jeep.

Here is its replacement:

A 2007 Subaru Outback, made right up the road from us, in Lafayette.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can hear you now: The woman who seemingly rolled her eyes at minivans in the previous post now drives a station wagon?!! Um, yes. She does. And she likes it. Quinn says that it is almost as cool as a van. What does he know? It's like, way cooler. Right? Right??!!

And so for now, I guess I'm Kanga, toting my kids around in the new 'Ru. Toting them around for another 12 years until it's time to get this dinosaur replaced. By then, Quinn will be of driving age. And by then, I'm guessing he'll have a new definition of cool.

What's Next? A Minivan?

An alternate title for this post could be: What's With This Mom and Shoes-too-small???

Yup, you guessed it. Quinn was my victim this time. I've been saying for about a month now that we need to get him new tennies. But, time slips away. And since he dresses himself now, well, I don't necessarily look at his shoes closely on a daily basis.

So this afternoon he casually says this: "Hey look - I can see my sock through my shoe."

Huh?

And sure enough, he had blown out the toes on not one, but both shoes.

OK, ok. With a small sliver of guilt leftover from the last shoe incident, I vowed that as soon as Keira got up from her nap, we would head right over to the shoe store that so deftly fit Miss K's little tootsies just the other week.

Now, here's the part where I did something I swore I'd never do: I bought him Velcro shoes. As are my feelings for minivans, so it goes for velcro: I understand its utility and can see the benefit, but it is never something I thought I'd purchase willingly on my own.

But, as it turns out, Quinn turned up his nose at the other shoes I suggested. And the one non-velcro pair we agreed on, they didn't have in his size (which, by the way, was a whole size and a half up from what he'd been wedging his feet into [surprise, surprise!]).

And then there were these:

He claimed that he loves them and wants them.
Really?
Yes.
OK. Fine.

This is what we call, in parenting circles, "Picking Your Battles". Having already had more fights than necessary over clothing these past few weeks (hey - I might not be able to detect too-small-shoes, but I can usually spot a too-small-t-shirt a mile away!), I cringed at the thought of daily fights over shoes he hates. So I caved and bought the velcro ones.

Can a minivan be far behind????

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In other family news, here is Miss K digging the sand, literally and figuratively!

And our minature golfer. Watch out Tiger Woods!

Mocking the Goldfish? Or trying to be one with the fish?...

On a Mother's Day note, I got flowers! I was beginning to think that my hubby had the impression that their sale was banned in Indiana, but alas, my concerns were for naught.

On Tuesday, Quinn's preschool class met at a local park. Parents and siblings were invited to join them. As you can see from the photo below, it was a little windy that day!

But a good time was had by all just the same.

Happiness is.....

...a friend you can lean on....

....and share snacks with, too!

Crash Landing

Today, Quinn's preschool class hosted the mommies for a little luncheon. I've been on a high from this all day - such sweetness, cuteness, innocence. The kids met us, 2 at a time, in the hallway across from their room at noon. They escorted us to our seats (designated via lovely, kid-made butterfly placemats, at tables with little white tableclothes) and even pulled our chairs out for us! We had little gifts at our seats - a handprint plaque and a flower. And we were treated like "princesses....and princesses don't throw away their own garbage!"

Have I mentioned yet how much I love these preschool teachers? Giving the kids a fabulous sense of what this world needs: Mommies as princesses.

Anyway, we dined on little sandwiches, fruit, and butterfly cookies made by the kids. We then joined them in "circle time" and they sang a few songs, including a special Mommy song. (Several tears wiped away at this point.) The day ended with one of the teachers reading this book:

Put this on your required reading list. Any mother out there will definitely get a chuckle or two from it....although I'm not sure the kids knew why we were laughing at it this afternoon.

OK - so here's the crash. Tonight while drying off Quinn after his bath, I'm telling him what a great day it was, how I loved the party, and how I know that all the other mommies did too. He then gets a thoughtful look in his eyes and tells me, "You know, Gabrielle's mommy is different than my mommy." She is? I ask. "Yes, she's smiley." She's smiley? You don't think your mommy is smiley? "Well...I have to tell you this....well...sometimes you're smiley, but Gabrielle's mom is always smiley." Oh, OK (my voice drifts off and Quinn begins a new topic - Buzz Lightyear, I think).

Thud. That comment totally brought be back to earth. I'm not smiley. In his eyes. At least not as smiley as Gabrielle's mom. I was fully-prepared just moments earlier to hear him say that I wasn't as pretty, skinny, or as nicely dressed at G's mom. But smiley? Oh man. Nice to get your mid-year evaluation from one of your little bosses and hear this.

So, I did what any self-respecting mommy would do at this point: after putting the kids to bed, I left all dishes in the kitchen sink and ate a big, fat bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream (Edy's Slow-Churned, of course - just in case the you're-not-as-skinny-as-so&so's-mom comment is next!). And I watched TV all night long.

And now, I'm smiling. It's too bad he's sleeping through it all!

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Apparently, this is how that smiling business is done:

Quinn, open those eyes! Your mommy is smiling in the next photo!