Ruby has really taken to drawing faces these days. On this one I said, "how about some ears?" and she tacked on the two little lines on the side of the head. My favorite thing though is that weenie little hair up at the top...
Thursday, May 11, 2006
still sick
Eloise barfed all over me yesterday morning, so now we have two kids with runny poos... and I've been through 2 huge packs of diapers in 3 days. It's getting kind of ridiculous actually. Ruby has been ill since Sunday afternoon. What crazy timing though - with the packing and my reunion coming up, the house closing, the Montessori visit. I have barely had 2 seconds to train for my leg of the marathon (I abandoned all hope to run the whole thing... maybe some day...) and I fear that I will end up in the medical tent after running 6.5 miles. That would be amazing though - if I could run hard enough to pass out or something. HA! Then one of the UVM med students would have to give me i.v. fluids and stand near my head with one of those kidney shaped dishes in case I puked. Or wait, even better would be if I totally cramped up in my legs and collapsed on the Battery Street hill and had to be escorted (arms over random medics' shoulders) to the tent...
Aside from my lack of running, I think our self-imposed little quarantine has put a damper on our farewells to good friends. Next week should be completely crazy with all of Myles' final functions and his relatives arriving on Friday evening. We won't even be able to have guests here because the house is really just boxes and trash bags right now (not to mention CONTAMINATED with rotavirus) and smelling like a giant turd. I just want to squeeze everything in at the last second here and then be able to relax in our new home. I'll be so pissed off if I don't say some pleasant, good old fashioned goodbyes to the people I love in this town.
Aside from my lack of running, I think our self-imposed little quarantine has put a damper on our farewells to good friends. Next week should be completely crazy with all of Myles' final functions and his relatives arriving on Friday evening. We won't even be able to have guests here because the house is really just boxes and trash bags right now (not to mention CONTAMINATED with rotavirus) and smelling like a giant turd. I just want to squeeze everything in at the last second here and then be able to relax in our new home. I'll be so pissed off if I don't say some pleasant, good old fashioned goodbyes to the people I love in this town.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Karate Kid Part IV
"Ruby-san, the heart of your karate practice depends on a deep seated knowledge of the fundamentals of headband-wearing. A headband too high up will lead to poor vision and the strained facial muscles - but, a headband worn across the forehead will bring skill like Ralph Macchio."
run run run
Holy shit this was funny. Who knew a gazebo could be so exciting? They climbed inside and just ran in circles for no apparent reason...
parking lot butterfly
Sunday we took a trip to the Essex outlet mall with Myles' mom and played around in the green grass (I know, I know... it's weird when lake Champlain is out your back door but we couldn't help changing things up a bit). This wacky butterfly sculpture was sitting in the middle of nowhere and we had a nice Daddy moment in the sunshine. Notice the brand new Carhartt overalls on the girls - the pant leg is cuffed 2 times so we can get some extra wear out of them!
post-bath dress-up
I snapped this little moment the other night when the girls discovered my sun hats. I couldn't seem to get a good one of when they were walking around with the brims down... you couldn't tell they had faces and their tiny naked bodies were just carrying around giant hats. The hysterical little gnomes!
rotavirus
Ruby has been battling a nasty stomach bug since Sunday evening and I'm really really tired of soupy diapers. It's so sad to see her all droopy lidded, dehydrated and exhausted. Seeing her sick reminds me that she's a really energetic and chatty little kid. She's a total nutball though. Apparently she told Eloise, "Mommy is on a diaper run" while I was out today...
As for me, I'm just packing up all of our shit gradually and happily discarding all things that come into question. For example, I just gave away a perfectly good Patagonia jacket that I'm sick of... I've had it for 4 years and I'm kinda over it. In the past I might have held on to it though, thinking that some day I might really really love to reach into the closet and pull out that familiar fleece thing. You really can't "re-vamp" Patagonia. But my vintage chinese jacket... now that's a different story altogether.
Yesterday I was completely depressed about leaving this special town. The weather was pristine, the views of the lake were beyond perfect, I went running on the bikepath, we went to the playground, I got food at the market and we never had to get in our car to get anywhere. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to being a slave to the automobile once we get to Providence. Everybody says we will adjust really quickly... but what if I don't want to? Driving my stealth minivan sometimes makes me angry! What ever happend to the days of my zippy little Golf?
Which brings a funny topic up actually... I have been thinking a lot about how I can barely remember what my life before having children was really like. These days we (moms and dads) seem to spend a large chunk of time obsessing over our children to the extent that we are literally living only for a life outside of our bodies. I mean, Ruby and Eloise are such a part of me now that I cannot remember what or who I used to be. I know that sounds ridiculous... and I don't mean to seem insensitive towards children... but I am really annoyed about the expectations of parenthood (be they self-imposed or culturally imposed) these days. Perhaps all of this thought is stemmed from our application process to a Montessori school in Providence. Ru and El have to go in to be "observed" on Monday morning before we close on our house. It just makes me wonder what a "happy childhood" is supposed to look like these days. Is it fair to send them to "school" twice a week when they are 2 years old? I mean, what's the rush? Well, I've already looked into some pre-K programs and they all have portions of their applications that want to know about prior "playgroups, activities or schooling" that they might have previously received! Why should I care? And what happens if I make the choice not to care and send them to public school in Kindergarten? Seriously. It's enough to drive the wife of a surgical resident INSANE... and we haven't even moved yet.
Phew. That feels better now. Sometimes I wonder why I keep a blog... but those little stream-of-consciousness moments like the above paragraph seem to brighten up my days.
Now I'm off to upload some photos for you El and Ru junkies. Shalom.
As for me, I'm just packing up all of our shit gradually and happily discarding all things that come into question. For example, I just gave away a perfectly good Patagonia jacket that I'm sick of... I've had it for 4 years and I'm kinda over it. In the past I might have held on to it though, thinking that some day I might really really love to reach into the closet and pull out that familiar fleece thing. You really can't "re-vamp" Patagonia. But my vintage chinese jacket... now that's a different story altogether.
Yesterday I was completely depressed about leaving this special town. The weather was pristine, the views of the lake were beyond perfect, I went running on the bikepath, we went to the playground, I got food at the market and we never had to get in our car to get anywhere. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to being a slave to the automobile once we get to Providence. Everybody says we will adjust really quickly... but what if I don't want to? Driving my stealth minivan sometimes makes me angry! What ever happend to the days of my zippy little Golf?
Which brings a funny topic up actually... I have been thinking a lot about how I can barely remember what my life before having children was really like. These days we (moms and dads) seem to spend a large chunk of time obsessing over our children to the extent that we are literally living only for a life outside of our bodies. I mean, Ruby and Eloise are such a part of me now that I cannot remember what or who I used to be. I know that sounds ridiculous... and I don't mean to seem insensitive towards children... but I am really annoyed about the expectations of parenthood (be they self-imposed or culturally imposed) these days. Perhaps all of this thought is stemmed from our application process to a Montessori school in Providence. Ru and El have to go in to be "observed" on Monday morning before we close on our house. It just makes me wonder what a "happy childhood" is supposed to look like these days. Is it fair to send them to "school" twice a week when they are 2 years old? I mean, what's the rush? Well, I've already looked into some pre-K programs and they all have portions of their applications that want to know about prior "playgroups, activities or schooling" that they might have previously received! Why should I care? And what happens if I make the choice not to care and send them to public school in Kindergarten? Seriously. It's enough to drive the wife of a surgical resident INSANE... and we haven't even moved yet.
Phew. That feels better now. Sometimes I wonder why I keep a blog... but those little stream-of-consciousness moments like the above paragraph seem to brighten up my days.
Now I'm off to upload some photos for you El and Ru junkies. Shalom.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
FlySplat: Version 1 Ruby
Throw all the couch cushions on the floor and jump up high... splat! They can't seem to get enough.
check in
I wonder if I'll ever regain the energy to treat this blog the way it deserves to be treated. We have just returned from a visit to Boston and Providence and we have really started packing our things up. Boxes and dust bunnies everywhere. Actually, while cleaning out our junk drawer we found a pubic hair and had a good laugh about where these kinds of things make their icky appearances. For example, I JUST discovered another pube underneath a little number puzzle. Disgusto to say the least! I wonder what other lovely charms I'm going to find when I clean under the plastic high chair covers.
My latest obsession is with figuring out how to decorate and landscape our new home. We visited the house on Thursday morning and while we were playing in the yard Eloise managed to get a huge thorn from a tree stuck in her knee. No exaggeration, pulling the thing out was like taking a thumbtack out of a cork board... it was deep (and reminiscent of an accident that only an Edward Gorey character would suffer). So we need to chop down this tree that grows 2 inch thorns and drops thorny twigs into the little yard... clearly the couple that lived in the house didn't have young kids. To emphasize my point - there are also super scary looking thorn bushes and holly bushes on the property. Ugh. How uncomfortable and spooky.
I have a great book suggestion to any of my mom buddies reading this: "Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety". It's refreshing to read something so sympathetic to the stay-at-home AND/OR working mom. Go out and buy a copy immediately!
Okay my girls are about to tear the apartment to shreds. The couch has been peed on, the excercise ball is being dribbled and puzzle pieces are getting kicked all around the dirty floor. Maybe I will just abandon all hopes for cleanliness and organization in my life. I can hardly imagine how much more time that would open up in my life. Seriously, I have been feeling a vibe from my maternal grandmother - she was a total slob (much to my mom's horror) but she was a true creative. Her life was full of debauchery, collections, crafts, excess, mess, fattening food, gay men, caftans, Chanel No. 5 and too many pets. Her house was like a wacky fairy tale. Can I let go of my expectations for a TIDY life?
My latest obsession is with figuring out how to decorate and landscape our new home. We visited the house on Thursday morning and while we were playing in the yard Eloise managed to get a huge thorn from a tree stuck in her knee. No exaggeration, pulling the thing out was like taking a thumbtack out of a cork board... it was deep (and reminiscent of an accident that only an Edward Gorey character would suffer). So we need to chop down this tree that grows 2 inch thorns and drops thorny twigs into the little yard... clearly the couple that lived in the house didn't have young kids. To emphasize my point - there are also super scary looking thorn bushes and holly bushes on the property. Ugh. How uncomfortable and spooky.
I have a great book suggestion to any of my mom buddies reading this: "Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety". It's refreshing to read something so sympathetic to the stay-at-home AND/OR working mom. Go out and buy a copy immediately!
Okay my girls are about to tear the apartment to shreds. The couch has been peed on, the excercise ball is being dribbled and puzzle pieces are getting kicked all around the dirty floor. Maybe I will just abandon all hopes for cleanliness and organization in my life. I can hardly imagine how much more time that would open up in my life. Seriously, I have been feeling a vibe from my maternal grandmother - she was a total slob (much to my mom's horror) but she was a true creative. Her life was full of debauchery, collections, crafts, excess, mess, fattening food, gay men, caftans, Chanel No. 5 and too many pets. Her house was like a wacky fairy tale. Can I let go of my expectations for a TIDY life?
Friday, April 21, 2006
d.j.s-to-be
Our babysitter Audrey got the girls suited up in their bunny hats for "Pollywog Arts and Crafts" - then gave them each an earphone from her portable cd player on the walk there. Rumor has it they were the talk of the town! (What's new though? Their little orange and green pumas always turn heads - and the little Crocs make all the Grandmas swoon.)
mamma-damma
Eloise called me Mamma-damma today... and then decided to call Ruby "Rooba-dooba". They are both very into playing with names and words, singing, experimenting with rhymes. Ruby will occasionally just come up to me and say, "Hey Moms..." - for no real reason. It cracks me up every time.
The girls have been doing a bunch of running around the house without pants or diapers on these days, which means I've become a slave to the papertowel roll. Today I decided to be eco-conscious and use towels and washcloths to clean up any accidents, but then I discovered that I have to do a really icky load of laundry right away. It's all very draining to say the least. Well, I should say that my clean ups have at least sparked their interest in public toilets. They successfully went pee in grown up toilets twice today (yes, that's a grand total of 4 identified pee urges!) and I was so proud. What a hysterical thing to be proud of!
I wish I had the energy or creativity to say something entertaining about my daily interactions, but I'm just so beat by the end of the week. Today was particularly exhausting because I was alone with the girls from 7 AM to 7 PM - with minimal interaction with friends - mostly we were outside on the playground, walking around everywhere, soaking up sun, playing soccer on the waterfront (that was truely FUN). We joined our pals Chelsea and Ben and Hazel for dinner at Flatbread - where I slugged a delicious beer and stuffed my face. Going out to eat is much more relaxing with Myles around... but we're getting better at it all the time. Maybe today was just a little taste of the year ahead... except I won't be in sweet Burlington... instead I'll be lonely in a strange place with a new and needed-to-be-cozied home, trying to muster up the energy to have fun without a "Home by 6" Dad around.
Ooooh. I am SO not looking forward to being a single mom again. ick.
The girls have been doing a bunch of running around the house without pants or diapers on these days, which means I've become a slave to the papertowel roll. Today I decided to be eco-conscious and use towels and washcloths to clean up any accidents, but then I discovered that I have to do a really icky load of laundry right away. It's all very draining to say the least. Well, I should say that my clean ups have at least sparked their interest in public toilets. They successfully went pee in grown up toilets twice today (yes, that's a grand total of 4 identified pee urges!) and I was so proud. What a hysterical thing to be proud of!
I wish I had the energy or creativity to say something entertaining about my daily interactions, but I'm just so beat by the end of the week. Today was particularly exhausting because I was alone with the girls from 7 AM to 7 PM - with minimal interaction with friends - mostly we were outside on the playground, walking around everywhere, soaking up sun, playing soccer on the waterfront (that was truely FUN). We joined our pals Chelsea and Ben and Hazel for dinner at Flatbread - where I slugged a delicious beer and stuffed my face. Going out to eat is much more relaxing with Myles around... but we're getting better at it all the time. Maybe today was just a little taste of the year ahead... except I won't be in sweet Burlington... instead I'll be lonely in a strange place with a new and needed-to-be-cozied home, trying to muster up the energy to have fun without a "Home by 6" Dad around.
Ooooh. I am SO not looking forward to being a single mom again. ick.
Monday, April 03, 2006
getthefuckout!
yeah. it's probably our new house as long as it isn't riddled with lead or termites...
We Are 2!
Yeah, so I forgot to mention that we celebrated Ru and El's birthday on March 14th... it was low key and sweet. We'll save the big parties for #5 maybe.
hey hey hey
Oh my. I have some guilt over not blogging - which is bizarre - but I did get some email reminders from some pals around the country so I feel like I've let some folks down! What a crazy series of events have taken place since I last posted. I feel like a completelly different person actually...
So here goes: Myles did not end up matching in the traditional sense of the word, but ultimately the best possible thing happened when he was offered a preliminary year of surgery at Brown (RI Hospital). We are moving to Providence - which is completely excellent considering the other locations I was preparing myself for. Now I can even entertain the idea of getting my masters at RISD... if they would be happy to accept me and my weak portfolio...
We enjoyed a most excellent trip to Captiva/Boca Grande Florida (photos to come later, sorry) where we enjoyed watching the girls swim, play in the sand, and obsess over their bathing suits. The airplane ride was interesting and exhausting, but the end result of all of our kid shuffling was a total reward. I highly recommend Captiva for a family getaway actually, but all you really need is about 3 nights 4 days stay. The weather was completely perfect aside for some wind so we were ready for a temperature change after about 5 days. Resort life is wack anyway. No wait - Florida is wack. Next time I hope we're in Fiji or at least some place where we can contract an intestinal bug or two. (That might have to wait until the girls are 4...)
Wait, I forgot to mention that Ru and El almost drowned in the kid pool the very first day we were there. We were completely horrified at how easy it is to take your eye off of them. One adult to each 2 year old at AT ALL TIMES dummies! And we hadn't even had our piña coladas... jeez.
Guess what? We basically bought a house this weekend. Is that wack? yes. definitely.
I'm not really sure what to make of the entire experience, and I'd be lying if I said we bought our Dream House, but that can wait. I know i know.... but unfortunately I did see something that resembled my sort-of dream house and we really couldn't afford it. We went for something more our speed right now and it will be easy to move into. Besides, the neighborhood is great, I can have a studio in the basement or on the 3rd floor and we have a deck and yard. The library is around the corner, along with a good bakery and a coffee shop. A better thing to consider though is that I don't know anyone in Providence. Fun.
Ruby and Eloise like to tell us that they are going to Providence all the time. Ruby even said that she was from Pwahvadence Wode Eye-wund today. The entire experience in home buying has put a bit of stress on the girls I think - mainly because I'm not giving them as much mommy play time as they are used to. Instead I'm on the phone or talking house detail crap with Myles. When Ruby woke up at ten of 4 in the morning at my mom's house (Sunday, with new daylight savings adjustments to be made upon waking) she was lying in our bed looking at me and she said, "mommy, what's pillow called in italian?" And when I told her I didn't know, she continued to talk and talk until I had to wake up with the f-ing birds. "Birdies outside mommy. Tweetin'."... "Yes Ru, I know. Birdies. That means it's super early and most people are sleeping... can Ruby go back to sleep too?" "NO. I'm awake. Eloise awake too?" (Poor Weeze. She'd sleep to 10 AM like a teenager if Ruby let her.) Anyway, to fill you in on the Italian bit, I started talking to them in my piss poor Italian while they were taking a bath one night and they took an interest for some reason - and I have this illustrated kids Italian/English dictionary with hideous creepy pictures of every stupid vocab word you could think of- so they just like to bother me about italian words that I don't know now. Then we go look them up. Their little brains are like super absorbent sponges so it's entertaining (and potentially cruel, forgive me) to see what they are capable of. It's an incredible thing to watch how they learn and process everything, and especially to see how they interact with one another! What if we all had a twin? HA!
Alright, time to figure out how to post my pics. Go to the flickr site if you want to see extras...
So here goes: Myles did not end up matching in the traditional sense of the word, but ultimately the best possible thing happened when he was offered a preliminary year of surgery at Brown (RI Hospital). We are moving to Providence - which is completely excellent considering the other locations I was preparing myself for. Now I can even entertain the idea of getting my masters at RISD... if they would be happy to accept me and my weak portfolio...
We enjoyed a most excellent trip to Captiva/Boca Grande Florida (photos to come later, sorry) where we enjoyed watching the girls swim, play in the sand, and obsess over their bathing suits. The airplane ride was interesting and exhausting, but the end result of all of our kid shuffling was a total reward. I highly recommend Captiva for a family getaway actually, but all you really need is about 3 nights 4 days stay. The weather was completely perfect aside for some wind so we were ready for a temperature change after about 5 days. Resort life is wack anyway. No wait - Florida is wack. Next time I hope we're in Fiji or at least some place where we can contract an intestinal bug or two. (That might have to wait until the girls are 4...)
Wait, I forgot to mention that Ru and El almost drowned in the kid pool the very first day we were there. We were completely horrified at how easy it is to take your eye off of them. One adult to each 2 year old at AT ALL TIMES dummies! And we hadn't even had our piña coladas... jeez.
Guess what? We basically bought a house this weekend. Is that wack? yes. definitely.
I'm not really sure what to make of the entire experience, and I'd be lying if I said we bought our Dream House, but that can wait. I know i know.... but unfortunately I did see something that resembled my sort-of dream house and we really couldn't afford it. We went for something more our speed right now and it will be easy to move into. Besides, the neighborhood is great, I can have a studio in the basement or on the 3rd floor and we have a deck and yard. The library is around the corner, along with a good bakery and a coffee shop. A better thing to consider though is that I don't know anyone in Providence. Fun.
Ruby and Eloise like to tell us that they are going to Providence all the time. Ruby even said that she was from Pwahvadence Wode Eye-wund today. The entire experience in home buying has put a bit of stress on the girls I think - mainly because I'm not giving them as much mommy play time as they are used to. Instead I'm on the phone or talking house detail crap with Myles. When Ruby woke up at ten of 4 in the morning at my mom's house (Sunday, with new daylight savings adjustments to be made upon waking) she was lying in our bed looking at me and she said, "mommy, what's pillow called in italian?" And when I told her I didn't know, she continued to talk and talk until I had to wake up with the f-ing birds. "Birdies outside mommy. Tweetin'."... "Yes Ru, I know. Birdies. That means it's super early and most people are sleeping... can Ruby go back to sleep too?" "NO. I'm awake. Eloise awake too?" (Poor Weeze. She'd sleep to 10 AM like a teenager if Ruby let her.) Anyway, to fill you in on the Italian bit, I started talking to them in my piss poor Italian while they were taking a bath one night and they took an interest for some reason - and I have this illustrated kids Italian/English dictionary with hideous creepy pictures of every stupid vocab word you could think of- so they just like to bother me about italian words that I don't know now. Then we go look them up. Their little brains are like super absorbent sponges so it's entertaining (and potentially cruel, forgive me) to see what they are capable of. It's an incredible thing to watch how they learn and process everything, and especially to see how they interact with one another! What if we all had a twin? HA!
Alright, time to figure out how to post my pics. Go to the flickr site if you want to see extras...
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
SANTINO, DANIEL OR CHLOE?
Another discussion topic: Project Runway finale tomorrow, 10 PM on Bravo. Am I the only asshole out there that truly loves Santino? He's such a superfreak and I really want to hang out with him. His imitation of Tim Gunn and his made up story about going to Red Lobster with Andre was so fucking funny I nearly fell off the couch. (So I guess I lied in my previous blog, I do get a good laugh in every now and then, but it's with t.v. personalities, not real people.)
So, who will win? Was Tim Gunn's confusion and silence about Daniel V.'s collection just a producer's ploy to get the audience to worry about what will happen? I mean, didn't we all think that he would win until we saw that? Hmmmm.... such a pressing question.
And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about - apologies. You are missing out in the worst way.
However, in order to make up for your lack of quality time spent watching obnoxious quarreling queens on reality t.v., I suggest that you tune in to UPN at 8PM tomorrow, where we shall commence yet another retarded season of America's Next Top Model.
So, who will win? Was Tim Gunn's confusion and silence about Daniel V.'s collection just a producer's ploy to get the audience to worry about what will happen? I mean, didn't we all think that he would win until we saw that? Hmmmm.... such a pressing question.
And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about - apologies. You are missing out in the worst way.
However, in order to make up for your lack of quality time spent watching obnoxious quarreling queens on reality t.v., I suggest that you tune in to UPN at 8PM tomorrow, where we shall commence yet another retarded season of America's Next Top Model.
getting real
All these fun pictures and nothing honest from me. So here goes: next week we find out where Myles matches (or doesn't match) and then we have a general idea of where we will live for the next 5 years. Funny how we're leaving for a Florida vacation on the 15th.. a day before the actual Match Day. Let us escape the madness of med students!
These days have been hard - and although some of them have been great considering that Myles isn't working too much - and I think the anticipation is killing me. Or should I say "us"? I really don't want to pick up and leave this place. If only I could choose the program and the state where Myles would do his residency... I'd relocate to a place where I could escape to the company of good old friends.
Will somebody please make me laugh? I've become such a poop. Didn't I crack up all the time a few years ago? I feel like my eyebrows have formed a permanent scowl recently. (Ew.) Ruby and Eloise do send me over the edge laughing occasionally... I shouldn't forget... but I'm missing those laughs that you have with your friends from college when you've stayed up too late and you don't make sense. Which reminds me, where are my old friends? Did I desert them to become a Doctor's wife?
(Christ I need a fruity cocktail with a generous rum floater... big fresh pineapple garnish... smelling like Coppertone... watching El and Ru splashing about... waiting for my conch fritters with spicy mayo...)
p.s. - do couples make-out anymore? Or is that just something dating people do?... like a complicated mating dance or something? Give me comments people... I need more comments!
These days have been hard - and although some of them have been great considering that Myles isn't working too much - and I think the anticipation is killing me. Or should I say "us"? I really don't want to pick up and leave this place. If only I could choose the program and the state where Myles would do his residency... I'd relocate to a place where I could escape to the company of good old friends.
Will somebody please make me laugh? I've become such a poop. Didn't I crack up all the time a few years ago? I feel like my eyebrows have formed a permanent scowl recently. (Ew.) Ruby and Eloise do send me over the edge laughing occasionally... I shouldn't forget... but I'm missing those laughs that you have with your friends from college when you've stayed up too late and you don't make sense. Which reminds me, where are my old friends? Did I desert them to become a Doctor's wife?
(Christ I need a fruity cocktail with a generous rum floater... big fresh pineapple garnish... smelling like Coppertone... watching El and Ru splashing about... waiting for my conch fritters with spicy mayo...)
p.s. - do couples make-out anymore? Or is that just something dating people do?... like a complicated mating dance or something? Give me comments people... I need more comments!
Monday, March 06, 2006
Ru and Boppy
Contrary to popular belief (considering the curls), I think my girls are destined to have my dad's hair texture. Fluffy, no?
Boppy and Weez
Oh, and I forgot to mention that my folks were up for a couple of days too. My dad had a blast because the girls totally adore him now.
Peeking...
This series of photos is old - but considering that I'm such a blog-slacker, I think I need to post a bunch of them anyway. This was one of our many cold fun weekends up here.
post-bath
Here they are flossing while sitting beside the bathroom sink. It's a new favorite thing.
oh, p.s. - they don't really floss. They just like to taste the minty stuff.
oh, p.s. - they don't really floss. They just like to taste the minty stuff.
Sharing
Eloise makes sure black bear gets a bite and says, "mmmm! Bear really really likes dis corn!"
Wind Breaker Bibs!
Check these "rain overalls" out! They are so swishy and nylon-y in them... I love it.
Miss Mando
Eloise thinks she's most clever when she kneels in my mandolin case. Here she's having a cookie and leaving crumbs everywhere.
New Table
Myles' dad came up on Presidents Day weekend with an early birthday present for Ru and El. He built this fabulous new table in 2 days... and the little stools to go with it. We are thrilled.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Dad, Teetee and Me
Ruby is still obsessed with my tees - and because she was sick - she insisted on dragging it around in the woods with us. Here it just looks like she's a little Linus with her regular old blankie. Why do I think this is so adorable? Maybe because I imagine we will look at it years from now and say, "Remember when we lived in Vermont and it was so beautiful in the winter?"
I'm finally understanding what it's going to mean when we leave here. The reality is creeping in and I don't like it at all!
I'm finally understanding what it's going to mean when we leave here. The reality is creeping in and I don't like it at all!
Ooooooooh!
Hugs on the swings down by the lake. I captured a rare moment when Ruby really wanted to express affection - and as you can see, Eloise doesn't quite know what to make of it. The best part though, is that when either girl squeezes or hugs they say "ooooooooh!" and make ridiculous faces.
Ruby's Bus
So my new book arrived from Amazon - this super nice fatty book all about graphic design and typography - and guess who was coloring on the back page while I dozed on the couch? Yeah. Ms. Ru who wasn't napping...
So Myles took over at that point and decided to make a little bus out of the Amazon box that she could color on. She started to draw on her palm too. How cute is the bus? She think's it's just hers. Bummer though, because Sister El has to share. Boy do I love negotiating who's turn it is!
So Myles took over at that point and decided to make a little bus out of the Amazon box that she could color on. She started to draw on her palm too. How cute is the bus? She think's it's just hers. Bummer though, because Sister El has to share. Boy do I love negotiating who's turn it is!
Swirly Whirlies
Eloise demonstrates her fine ability in making what she calls "swirly whirlies" with the famous yellow marker. Their artistic skills are developing at an alarming rate and it is such a treat to be able to get out all of my art supplies with them and play around. Ruby said, "Let's do a project Mommy" yesterday and I'm such a sucker that I broke out the glitter glue to make Valentines. We started working with brushes and then quickly moved into finger painting. Glitter everywhere.
A Walk in the Woods
A couple of weeks ago we took a nice walk when there was still some snow on the ground. The girls were pretty sick, both with fevers, asthma etc., but managed to have a decent time. I wish we could all get outside more than we do- I mean really OUTSIDE in nature, not just on Church Street or the waterfront. Whatever. I shouldn't complain. Lake Champlain is virtually my back yard.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Them Grays...
With the unseasonably warm January weather I have discovered myself at odds with my hair texture. One day I look frizzed out like a pubescent 7th grader and the next I'm a borderline grease-ball with zero volume... except for the grays. They are their very own special type of hairs - wild and coarse and all different lengths (due to obsessive plucking over the past year). Well, I have given in to the little fuckers. No more plucking or hiding them. Sometimes I part my hair in order to show the best clump of frizzy whites, and bobby pin it right there - just so you know I'm getting old when you look at me in the supermarket checkout.
Eloise has had a really rough time since Saturday afternoon. Boogie Wonderland was a mob scene and my girls were pretty bummed out about the crowd because the grownups kind of dwarfed out the toddlers. It was dark and loud - and although Weeze loves to dance, she could barely manage a few steps because of the early stages of a little asthma attack. That night Myles returned from a call day and stayed here with Ruby while I drove Eloise to Richmond for a doctor's visit. Not so much fun. I had to hold her down for a nebulizer treatment - it was horrible. But I must say, our doctor is such a sweetie that he opened up his office in the middle of the night for us and put on some Bob Marley for atmosphere... he tried so hard to get Eloise to like him.
We made it through the night with about 6 hours of sleep, but then Myles was off again in the early, dark hours for another short day at the hospital. I spent Sunday basically coping with a miserable kid, plopped in front of the t.v. every 4 hours (you try getting a 22 month old to sit still for 15 minutes). She just hates it. Almost as much as I do... But the nebulizer wasn't enough to regulate her breathing so now we've started the oral steroids (which we have to force down her throat while she coughs and sputters)- which have FINALLY taken effect. We still have to nebulize too, just not as often. Ugh. So I feel slightly brain dead. Zero energy. And little Ru has been a total sport during all of this, which just breaks my heart. She just goes and reads to herself and plays pretend with her "guys".
So I'm ready for a recovery. The entire family has been sick in one way or another for about 3 weeks. I'm so afraid the worst is yet to come! And by the end of this season I should have at least 50 new gray hair follicles developing from stress and exhaustion.
(Bring it on.)
Eloise has had a really rough time since Saturday afternoon. Boogie Wonderland was a mob scene and my girls were pretty bummed out about the crowd because the grownups kind of dwarfed out the toddlers. It was dark and loud - and although Weeze loves to dance, she could barely manage a few steps because of the early stages of a little asthma attack. That night Myles returned from a call day and stayed here with Ruby while I drove Eloise to Richmond for a doctor's visit. Not so much fun. I had to hold her down for a nebulizer treatment - it was horrible. But I must say, our doctor is such a sweetie that he opened up his office in the middle of the night for us and put on some Bob Marley for atmosphere... he tried so hard to get Eloise to like him.
We made it through the night with about 6 hours of sleep, but then Myles was off again in the early, dark hours for another short day at the hospital. I spent Sunday basically coping with a miserable kid, plopped in front of the t.v. every 4 hours (you try getting a 22 month old to sit still for 15 minutes). She just hates it. Almost as much as I do... But the nebulizer wasn't enough to regulate her breathing so now we've started the oral steroids (which we have to force down her throat while she coughs and sputters)- which have FINALLY taken effect. We still have to nebulize too, just not as often. Ugh. So I feel slightly brain dead. Zero energy. And little Ru has been a total sport during all of this, which just breaks my heart. She just goes and reads to herself and plays pretend with her "guys".
So I'm ready for a recovery. The entire family has been sick in one way or another for about 3 weeks. I'm so afraid the worst is yet to come! And by the end of this season I should have at least 50 new gray hair follicles developing from stress and exhaustion.
(Bring it on.)
Friday, January 20, 2006
I'm 30!
For those of you who didn't know, I turned 30 on January 4th. For my own personal celebration I spiced up my lonely afternoon with Ru and El by making a full fancy tea party spread, complete with the Tiffany tea pot and a tablecloth. This is me using the self-timer function on the camera - which is pretty cool because the girls like to look at the flashing light before the camera goes off.
Myles is on call tomorrow so I have a pretty lame day ahead of me - but not to worry. We do have Boogie Wonderland to go to, which is a special family-centric disco party at a local club... they have advertised it as "from James Brown to Jay Z". Considering Eloise's superior dance skills we should have a very good time. All the hoodlums will be there I'm sure.
Did I forget to mention that we had Audrey the wonder nanny start this week? She comes Tuesdays and Thursdays and now I have NO excuse to not get a portfolio or a show together (I think, well, at least that's the idea). She's just the best - and although I'm struggling with extreme guilt while I'm gone - I know it's the right thing. Somehow I can't really see myself getting used to separation from the girls. What does one do when their toddler goes to school full time? Oh my oh my that seems like it should be ages away....
Anyway, I'm really going to attempt to check in on my blog more faithfully and just jot down something - even if it's just to write about gray hairs. I think I feel pressured to post photos, which makes me not update anything. Ugh. I'm such a lazy slug.
Myles is on call tomorrow so I have a pretty lame day ahead of me - but not to worry. We do have Boogie Wonderland to go to, which is a special family-centric disco party at a local club... they have advertised it as "from James Brown to Jay Z". Considering Eloise's superior dance skills we should have a very good time. All the hoodlums will be there I'm sure.
Did I forget to mention that we had Audrey the wonder nanny start this week? She comes Tuesdays and Thursdays and now I have NO excuse to not get a portfolio or a show together (I think, well, at least that's the idea). She's just the best - and although I'm struggling with extreme guilt while I'm gone - I know it's the right thing. Somehow I can't really see myself getting used to separation from the girls. What does one do when their toddler goes to school full time? Oh my oh my that seems like it should be ages away....
Anyway, I'm really going to attempt to check in on my blog more faithfully and just jot down something - even if it's just to write about gray hairs. I think I feel pressured to post photos, which makes me not update anything. Ugh. I'm such a lazy slug.
sundown in my home
We get these dreamy late day shadows when there's been a sunny day. It makes up for a lot, considering how boring some of these January days can be. Is it fair to say boring even though I have two very non-boring kids? Maybe that's the wrong word.
The bakelite napkin rings were a xmas gift from my dad to all of us. There are actually 4 - one for each family member. It's sweet because Ru and El just love to play with the doggies at the dinner table - and I get some sick pleasure out of the fact that they're already handling bakelite at such an early age. HA! And they drink Rooibos tea with me...
The bakelite napkin rings were a xmas gift from my dad to all of us. There are actually 4 - one for each family member. It's sweet because Ru and El just love to play with the doggies at the dinner table - and I get some sick pleasure out of the fact that they're already handling bakelite at such an early age. HA! And they drink Rooibos tea with me...
Monday, January 02, 2006
Almond Paste
I think my next art project should probably be made out of marzipan - I mean - if you can make a hot dog out of almond paste and sugar, just imagine the possibilities... and of course the deep meaning behind whatever you sculpt. It would really be a statement about a woman's role in la cucina, no? What if I made a marzipan dildo? Or just a marzipan penis?
Perhaps I should just stick to making a marzipan brooches for farmer's market.
Perhaps I should just stick to making a marzipan brooches for farmer's market.
Marzipane
After Christmas my mom and I went into the North End of Boston to visit our friend Sarah - with the intention of getting new shoes for Ru and El - but we got kind of side-tracked by food. Our lunch was delicious as usual and the girls were hypnotized by the array of sculpted marzipan at the Italian bakery. We got them little chocolate sandwich butter cookies that looked like leaves - and I scored a marzipan carrot. Then we went back to Sarah's place and tore up her apartment... with lots of shrieking and stomping around in her closet... while we chatted and sipped some yummy coffee. It was a most delightful day. Simple pleasures...
Party Coats
Once we arrived at my mom's house, we got to go to the annual Xmas sing-along at the Haynes'... in our Holiday Best! Did you know that the red-eye reduction function gets disabled when you are wearing the two extremes on the color spectrum... in this case, red bows and black coats make for rodent eyes! Regardless, I think they are pretty f-ing cute. And Eloise particularly liked "We Three Kings" once we started singing. She danced her little Elo dance the entire time.
Bindi Madness
The weekend before Christmas we exchanged gifts with Ra-Ra and Pops. Ruby was quite fascinated with the bindis and ended up with a nice pattern of bindi glue on her forehead once we took them off. It stayed there collecting fuzz and Miguel fur for a couple of days.
La Casa di Gingerbread
I think we did okay for first timers... with limited supplies and limited icing. Feliz Navidad!
Jim-Jams
I realize that I don't feature myself in these photos all that often (could anyone guess why?) so I thought a little insight into our bedtime story moment might be nice for my viewers. Look at how curly their hair is after a bath! I just want to eat them up... and the clean jammies! It's just too much.
Morning Toast with Jam
Now that Weez has finally gotten over her sippy cup addiction, she has been more interested in eating and shoveling food into her mouth.
Weez
These two photos are from our holiday card collection - the ones that didn't make it to the final mailing.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
13 going on 30
These Manhattan kids know more than I do. It's really just disgusting. But Rebekah - the one in the middle - is a total gem. She still plays tennis all the time... and I was one of her very first tennis teachers! It felt good to be a part of such a beautiful family event (even if the reality of having teenagers some day made me feel ill).
By the end of this evening, I missed Ruby and Eloise so much I wanted to burst. 24 hours away from them is plenty for now. Even with an open sushi bar.
By the end of this evening, I missed Ruby and Eloise so much I wanted to burst. 24 hours away from them is plenty for now. Even with an open sushi bar.
Sick Pleasures
This is what I got to look at while I got my haircut. Heaven. Honestly - I adore my mountains and lake here an VT, and I appreciate them every day - but Manhattan just lights my fire. It's borderline absurd. And I was getting a fucking haircut! A good one at that... and then I managed to run over to Marc Jacobs where they just happened to be having a 70% off sale... and I bought 2 pairs of shoes. AAAAAAAhhhhhh.
It was just short of orgasmic. This was all after having a greasy breakfast with Ram. So I scored a cab in about 2 seconds, stressed out during the trafficky ride, and skibbled my ass onto MetroNorth - all in just enough time to get back to the hotel in Old Greenwich, slink into my icky nylons, swanky outfit, makeup and, of course, slippery new heels for the Bat Mitzvah of the century.
It was just short of orgasmic. This was all after having a greasy breakfast with Ram. So I scored a cab in about 2 seconds, stressed out during the trafficky ride, and skibbled my ass onto MetroNorth - all in just enough time to get back to the hotel in Old Greenwich, slink into my icky nylons, swanky outfit, makeup and, of course, slippery new heels for the Bat Mitzvah of the century.
SuperRamian
Ram. You never fail to get me to do the craziest fucking things. I drove 8 hours in a snowstorm to get my ass to Bedford NY - where I was greeted by an amazing dinner and good old friends - but then I returned to my hotel in the most ridiculous way and should have gotten a good night's sleep in preparation for the Bat Mitzvah ahead. But no. What did I do? I chased your International, Unavailable ass into Manhattan on Saturday morning, waaaaay too early, and was greeted by a crazy, hung-over, partied-out goofball. Your hat did look like quite the statement in combination with the skyline. And if you hadn't told me you were out until 5AM I might have thought you had taken a Benedryl for allergies or something... but I give you a huge huge gold star for pulling yourself together for me, and for scoring me a delightful sunny day haircut in the hippest of spots.
when we are cute
When we are cute, we are really really cute. When we are bad... we are almost bearable.
Family
Do we looked wiped out or what? Looking back, I'm glad this "fear of people" phase that Ru and El were in has passed. They wanted nothing to do with anyone on Thanksgiving - well, at least at the beginning. They sort of warmed up after a few hours, but by then they were exhausted and crazy. Toddlers are so amazing. One week they drive you mad, the next they impress the hell out of you. I guess this Thanksgiving I was thankful for my ability to have perspective, and I was thankful for red wine.
Tres Generaciones
Pardon the español, but the Webster men all on one couch - what a photo-op! I snapped this beautiful shot before we went to Thanksgiving dinner.
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