Thursday, September 28, 2006

just browsing


just browsing
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
A historical moment captured at the Providence Place mall: estranged husband and wife browsing spiffy computer features at the new Mac store while children are at school.

mirrormirror


mirrormirror
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Here I am posing as identical twins.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

The Fiesta Begins


DSCN1253
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
So Lyllah wears a mexican hat better than anyone. Really... who looks good in a mexican hat? Lyllah does. What that says about her, I'm not completely sure, except that I know it's a positive attribute. We (her most annoying friends) managed to keep her 30th birthday party a secret for a long time. Here she is with her beloved Ricky, sharing a mango margarita... or something like that.

My mom let me drive her brand new Mini Cooper S to the party, and since Myles wasn't feeling so well, I stayed over for the night. I laughed and danced and hoola-hooped more than ever. We played blow-pong and Flip Cup. I think I'm a Flip Cup expert actually... and I managed to see 2 butts and one naked person. We even made it to bed before midnight... considering the party started at 3pm.

Having a night that lets you forget about being a parent is SO rewarding. It's almost like giving your brain a full tank of gas and an oil change. Read on...

Jerry's Masterpiece


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Ly's dad showed up for her surprise 30th birthday all the way from California... and grilled up most of a cow and pig for the party. It was completely delicious. I felt like I was in Kitchen Stadium.

Yeah.


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
This was the kind of night we were having... Annika wears this suit almost better than Neil. Almost. Sorry I didn't capture the beer and wine stains on camera... they complete the effect in a subtle way.

Ly's Cake Delivery


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Annika the Banana presents the birthday cake.

Dancing Bananaman


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Mike in the banana suit. Dig the shirt. He's in touch with his African roots...

Breakfast-makers


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Post-party feast, sporting vintage aprons, feeling groggy.

Mill-ball and the Goat


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Here's Myles about to sneeze on a cute little goat. This farm in Brattleboro is so amazing... really it's a petting farm where you can hang with all of their baby animals and play with a bunch of farm related toys. On weekends you can feed bottles to their calves. It's called Retreat Farm I believe, and if any of you are in southern VT you should stop by there for a visit.

Kath and the Girls


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
On our little trip to Brattleboro (our first time back in VT since we moved) we feasted on plenty of tiny tomatoes from Kathleen and Jim's garden. I thought everybody's raincoats looked nice in the green grass...

Some time after this, the severity of Ruby and Eloise's colds got worse and we ended up at the hospital dosing them with albuterol again. If I could only manage to bring the fucking nebulizer on our vacations we would have saved ourselves a serious hassle. Poor Eloise though, her oxygen sats were down pretty low and we ended up putting her on the oral steroids again. Oh well. They are all feeling much much better... and guess what? I managed to escape getting sick. Myles suffered through his vacation week with a horribly clogged nose, phlegm, sneezing, etc. Better luck next time Webster family!

Ru's Work #2


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.

Ru's Work #1


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Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
I turned around one morning to see Ruby perched on a kitchen stool, drawing the most expressive orange faces. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Letting Go

Our school visit was a total success - despite Ru and El's apprehension about entering the classroom to peek around. Once we were in there, they didn't want to leave! The teachers left really adorable "goody" bags with symbolic treasures on each student's coat hook. The bag had a little list of how the things inside would help the kids learn about their new classroom. So fucking cute that I will write it out for you:

Stickers- to remind you that we all stick together and help eachother
Puzzle piece- to remind you that you are needed to make our class complete
Cotton ball- to remind you that our class is full of kind words and warm feelings
Apple- to remind you that we will learn something new each day
Eraser- to remind you that we will all make mistakes and that is okay

Ugh. And to top it off, the teachers prepared a little gift for parents to take away. On the outside of the package it read:
"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children: one of these is roots, the other is wings."

Our gift was a pack of tissues!

My eyes are swelling with tears as I'm writing this... it's ridiculous. My entire life I have fought the onset of corny crying, probably because I spent years watching my mother weep while watching television. I'll never forget the night she was sniffling and tissue-ing through a fucking USA Network re-run of "Quantum Leap". It made me ill. I connected this silly display of emotion with weakness - and I guess I still do. Over the course of these years my ability to fend off crying has become a natural instinct. I know just how and when to shut the door on my feelings so they don't come pouring out my eyeballs. You should have seen me on my wedding day... the tears were there, ready to pop out, but I blinked them back like a champ. Nothing to stain my cheeks. Not a drop. (Well, I guess I should mention that my loner moments in front of a quality episode of Gray's Anatomy have not been tear-free... but NOBODY get's to watch Gray's with me. Not even Myles.)

To continue the saga, my therapist back in Burlington asked me why I wouldn't cry. I couldn't spell it out for her exactly. I still can't. It has something to do with other people seeing me in what I perceive to be a "weak" state. But recognizing how choked up I am about Ruby and Eloise setting forth into the world of learning allows me to address my emotional masquerade. What a blessing my kids are - a breath of fresh air, that crisp chilly air, like when you leave the windows open on a too-cold night. (did I just use the word BLESSING? gross.) I can confront these very real, very sentimental sensations because the girls are in my life, and it feels good, but there is some residual pain associated with that goodness. Am I making sense?

Have you ever seen a group of kindergarteners sing holiday songs at a school recital? Those were always tough moments for me and the eyeballs! Those tiny little bodies all dressed up and organized in a line - innocently shouting out words far beyond their comprehension to a toasty room packed with devoted parents. Quality Lump-in-the-throat material. What's going to happen when those kid are El and Ru? Will I open the floodgates?

Well, let's just take it one step at a time. For now, I promise to check back after tomorrow's school "day" without mommy. And I'll be honest about me and the tissues in the car after dropping them off - if I really can loosen up and let those salty wet ones go.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Chicken Soup with Stars


Chicken Soup with Stars
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
"Back to reality...". We are home, the evenings and mornings are cool and I made some chicken soup with stars for our mommy/kid dinners. They just love to dip bread in the broth - such a novelty for them. I'm excited to be home again to cook good fall meals. I'm happy to say that tomorrow is the first day "visit" to Montessori school for Ru and El, and then they start up for real on Thursday. I'm anticipating that the 2.5 hours that they spend there will be dreamy for me. In preparation for this extra "free time" I took a moment to set up my attic studio... sort of. It felt nice to have my own secret hidey spot with all of my crap lying around me. To honor the moment, I finally hemmed a pair of my favorite jeans after about a year of cuffing them (now I only have 3 more pairs to go). May I say that they look stunning on me now? No more dragging the bottoms on the cement.

Send me your long jeans everyone - or the ones that gap at the waist and expose your butt-crack. The tailor is in.

Beach Buddies


Beach Buddies
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Honestly this day at the beach was so perfect it would make the average, 1st time Nantucket visitor puke. Thankfully I get to experience these kinds of days at least once a summer.

I do believe the days are a bit richer in emotional content than they used to be though. Observing my kids as they play and discover new things makes me ache with nostalgia; all the while they build those sparkly memories... those memories that we refer back to in March of the following year, the memories that make us return to this crazy island in the middle of the sea.

When I was 3 years old I told my dad that I liked looking at the "cracklies and goldens" in the ocean.

I still do.

Elo's Moment


Elo's Moment
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Elo has a knack for appearing like she knows way more than we give her credit for as a 2.5 year old. In this photo, I'm imagining that she is having deep intellectual thoughts.

Chloe


Chloe
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
What I wouldn't do to be carefree like this! Just to visit that beachy blissed-out kid state-of-mind... on top of the world.

Elo and Chlo


Elo and Chlo
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Chloe has a tan like you wouldn't believe. And she's only 7! Don't their bathing suits look nice against the sky?

Daisy and Ru


Daisy and Ru
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Daisy had returned from her first stay at summer camp (happy to say it was in VT) and she seemed older and wiser than ever. I do forget that she's only 10 years old... what a crazy time for her! Kinda pre-puberty, kinda still a kid... not really knowing which realm of childhood she relates to the most. I loved watching her entertain Ru and El. It was almost as if she could vividly remember what it was like to be their age and she was re-discovering those kid toys and games along side them. If Ruby and Eloise grow up to be half of the kind soul that Daisy is - I will be so proud. I almost wish you could all meet her...

cousins


cousins
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Daisy and Chloe were so amazing with my kids while we were in Nantucket. At times I had a moment where I could sit in a beach chair while they all played - and I would close my eyes! Heaven.

Ru's moment


Ru's moment
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
Pail. Shovel. Warm sand...

El and Ammie


El and Ammie
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
My mom and I took the girls out to 'Sconset for an ice cream - it is completely pristine out there and I always enjoy spying on the spot where we had our wedding reception. The tiny town is like a dream. Clearly this photo demonstrates how certain places can make people very happy.

stripes


stripes
Originally uploaded by mollieholliday.
My little towel bundles! The air was cold and the water was warm, but for some reason we couldn't convince them to keep their bodies under the water to keep out of the breeze. So we spent a lot of time at the beach wrapped in a towel and soggy bathing suits.