I left the girls with Liza and Sally for a few minutes while I packed up, and guess where they ended up? Pond-wading in their overalls! Most excellent...
Any steps towards Ru and El's independent hang-outs with "strangers" makes me happy. They are really clingy for the most part (still!), with Eloise being more outgoing and tolerant, and I can't help but think that I've done something wrong in my parenting to make them that way. It seems really silly to be critical about how I'm raising them - but you have to question yourself sometimes just to make sure you're not an ignorant and insensitive ass! I was doing some blog-reading the other day and clicking around in some really child-centric attachment parenting kind of mommy sites and I started to feel really horrible about the self-prescribed kind of mommying I'm doing. Honestly, I'm just feeling everything out and going by instinct, and when I read studies, reports, commentaries, etc. it makes me feel like I can't cope with what's "right" (or at least what I ideally see myself as capable of doing). Does that make any sense? (pardon me, but I've been sucking down some white wine...)
Ugh. On to the next photo. This entry was really supposed to be about how awesome Aunt Sally and Auntie Liza are.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Uncle Kent and Aunt Patty
More silly party hats. The dudes got to wear visors with rubber meat products glued to them!
Aunt Patty won the girls over with her stellar Play Doh playing and her M&M offerings. After raising 4 kids she knows all the tricks!
Aunt Patty won the girls over with her stellar Play Doh playing and her M&M offerings. After raising 4 kids she knows all the tricks!
Beautiful Betty
What a trooper to put up with the crazy headband we made her wear. It was such the right choice to go with the white flowers I think.
This was only the beginning of Betty's delightful birthday dinner at Northbrook Lodge - we had such a goofy time running around with the Websters in the gorgeous landscape. Eloise and Ruby did SO well in the car with me for 7 hours on the way there. It was remarkable and relatively painless - dare I say kinda fun? What an adventure! I feel like a superhero having completed the trek with very few scrapes and bruises to my emotions. Ahhh... when it's good, it's SOOOO GOOD.
This was only the beginning of Betty's delightful birthday dinner at Northbrook Lodge - we had such a goofy time running around with the Websters in the gorgeous landscape. Eloise and Ruby did SO well in the car with me for 7 hours on the way there. It was remarkable and relatively painless - dare I say kinda fun? What an adventure! I feel like a superhero having completed the trek with very few scrapes and bruises to my emotions. Ahhh... when it's good, it's SOOOO GOOD.
(no title)
I don't even have words for this one. Enjoy the captivating Ms. Eloise and imagine what I might say...
tamari almond party
This was taken during the 102 degree day. We holed up inside with the new television, the AC and some snacks. 'Twas festive.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
my ass is grass
It's all about me and the hose these days. The weather has been absurd and we are just hanging out inside, watching too much television (El has an on-again-off-again fever) and eating fig newtons. Occasionally I'll go outside and sprinkle the grass seed with water and sweat up a storm. Altogether it's so hot that we can't even entertain the thought of visiting a playground - but we did venture to the market and the library today. And I went so far as to make a yummy grilled pizza dinner. The girls were delighted to roll out the dough and sprinkle cheese to help cook, but when it came down to eating it they were more interested in playing under the table and running around. I guess I should appreciate the fact that they are such great buddies for one another. They are so totally in love with playing together, shouting, twirling, shoving, laughing and the new big favorite: hide and seek. The problem now is that they gang up on me and I have a hard time asserting myself to gain control of the situation.
Well, we are trying out a new babysitter tomorrow morning. She's a 19 year old RISD student... which seems crazy young to me, but if she's fun and likes to do projects then Ru and El will most likely dig her. I told her that she had to be neat and tidy in our email correspondence - was that creepy of me? I don't pride myself on my cleanliness. But at this point I know what a good sitter/nanny is (ahem - AUDREY!) and how they should conduct themselves to make it financially worth my while. I'll report back and let you know how it all turns out, because I could really use a break. One more session of play-doh-rama and I'm going to keel over with Child Overdose...
For the Dr. Myles update: we have seen him a total of 4 hours in the last 5 days. I think. At this point it's silly to keep track, but I do want Ruby and Eloise to have SOME Dad time. Every morning Eloise gets up and says, "I'm going to go wake up Daddy." Then I have to say, "Oh, Dad left for work already. Maybe we'll get to see him tonight." She's usually pretty positive after that and replies with a "But we can make him dinner though." And she's sometimes right, but tonight we were all alone. I wonder how much they register Myles' radically different schedule, and whether they expect for him to miraculously stop working again and resume spending every second with us. I will admit to having these fantasies about Myles' schedule, where POOF! - the required hours of an intern will become 9-5 with free weekends (and then I can complain about that lifestyle like the majority of the U.S.). What do I do while waiting for that dream to come true? Keep busy trying not to kill the lawn, combatting the onslaught of fruit flies in my kitchen (they love to drown themselves in my wine glass), excavating blackheads in a dingy mirror, dabbling in mildew management, fluffing couch cushions, combing the cat, cleaning up spills, removing stains, sweeping crumbs, changing diapers, taking the trash out and fighting with all of the atrocious smells that this house seems to produce in a 24 hour period. (You know you want my life... you SO SO SO want to be me right now, I know it.)
For next week the plan is to head to the Adirondaks to hang with the Webster clan... however this will involve a 6-plus hour drive in the famous Black Rocket. And that means just me and the girls. Solo Mom. (Oh, and then we have to drive back 6 hours.) Great-Grandma Betty is celebrating her 90th birthday and honestly, she's my hero. I have to let her know what a role model she is for someone like me - I mean, she raised 4 kids with a doctor husband in the days when you sewed your own cloth diapers and scrubbed them clean in a wash basin. PUH-LEEZ! Can you fellow Mammas even begin to imagine? Think of how radically our roles as women/mothers/professionals have changed in the last 90 years... it's so dumbfounding to me that I think a 6 hour drive is definitely in order to honor her totally bad-ass life. Rock on Grandma Betty... 90 is the new 40.
Well, we are trying out a new babysitter tomorrow morning. She's a 19 year old RISD student... which seems crazy young to me, but if she's fun and likes to do projects then Ru and El will most likely dig her. I told her that she had to be neat and tidy in our email correspondence - was that creepy of me? I don't pride myself on my cleanliness. But at this point I know what a good sitter/nanny is (ahem - AUDREY!) and how they should conduct themselves to make it financially worth my while. I'll report back and let you know how it all turns out, because I could really use a break. One more session of play-doh-rama and I'm going to keel over with Child Overdose...
For the Dr. Myles update: we have seen him a total of 4 hours in the last 5 days. I think. At this point it's silly to keep track, but I do want Ruby and Eloise to have SOME Dad time. Every morning Eloise gets up and says, "I'm going to go wake up Daddy." Then I have to say, "Oh, Dad left for work already. Maybe we'll get to see him tonight." She's usually pretty positive after that and replies with a "But we can make him dinner though." And she's sometimes right, but tonight we were all alone. I wonder how much they register Myles' radically different schedule, and whether they expect for him to miraculously stop working again and resume spending every second with us. I will admit to having these fantasies about Myles' schedule, where POOF! - the required hours of an intern will become 9-5 with free weekends (and then I can complain about that lifestyle like the majority of the U.S.). What do I do while waiting for that dream to come true? Keep busy trying not to kill the lawn, combatting the onslaught of fruit flies in my kitchen (they love to drown themselves in my wine glass), excavating blackheads in a dingy mirror, dabbling in mildew management, fluffing couch cushions, combing the cat, cleaning up spills, removing stains, sweeping crumbs, changing diapers, taking the trash out and fighting with all of the atrocious smells that this house seems to produce in a 24 hour period. (You know you want my life... you SO SO SO want to be me right now, I know it.)
For next week the plan is to head to the Adirondaks to hang with the Webster clan... however this will involve a 6-plus hour drive in the famous Black Rocket. And that means just me and the girls. Solo Mom. (Oh, and then we have to drive back 6 hours.) Great-Grandma Betty is celebrating her 90th birthday and honestly, she's my hero. I have to let her know what a role model she is for someone like me - I mean, she raised 4 kids with a doctor husband in the days when you sewed your own cloth diapers and scrubbed them clean in a wash basin. PUH-LEEZ! Can you fellow Mammas even begin to imagine? Think of how radically our roles as women/mothers/professionals have changed in the last 90 years... it's so dumbfounding to me that I think a 6 hour drive is definitely in order to honor her totally bad-ass life. Rock on Grandma Betty... 90 is the new 40.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
salt water taffy
How fucking hysterical is this one? They got to pick out 4 pieces each as long as we ate only one in the shop. We saved the rest for home (and I ended up eating them late at night) but I'm sure if they see this photo they are going to wonder where I hid those bags. They just loved having their own brown bags! What's new though... they like accessories... like I said, apples... tree, blah blah blah.
Rhode Island is incredible. Our house is perfect. Our yard is even better and our neighborhood couldn't be more suited to us. The coincidental run-ins and 6 degrees of separation thingy has really pushed me over the edge. It's as if everywhere I turn there's a new person who is connected to some part of my life - for example - our back yard neighbors who know some of my friends from highschool (despite the fact they are from Brooklyn and Texas). Hannah designs textiles - what an insanely cool sounding job...
Oh my though, Myles' work has gotten out of hand and we really don't get to see him. Yesterday was his first full Saturday off in 6 weeks, but he still had 7 hours this morning and he's due for another 30 or so consecutive hours starting tomorrow at 5AM. Disgusting. Single-momming it really isn't an exaggeration. I decided to really begin my nanny hunt for September because I'm going to loose my cool one of these days if I can't escape for an hour here and there. Maybe the Tuesday/Thursday school for 2.5 hours will do the trick, but then again... maybe not. So can you see why I never blog anymore? Why would I want to create time for this crap when I could be organizing the house for tomorrow's Mollie Ruby Eloise adventure?
In my repetitive existence as a mom, mindfulness meditation has never been more important. (Read: "I'm folding this small tee shirt. I'm folding this sleeve in, then the other, and then the whole thing in half. I'm folding these scrubs. I'm folding these scrubs. I'm folding these scrubs. They are an ugly toothpaste aqua color and I am folding them perfectly into a rectangle. I'm balling these socks and they are threadbare. Perhaps I should throw them out. I'm balling these socks. They are a pair. And now I'm going to rinse some dishes...")
Dang.
Rhode Island is incredible. Our house is perfect. Our yard is even better and our neighborhood couldn't be more suited to us. The coincidental run-ins and 6 degrees of separation thingy has really pushed me over the edge. It's as if everywhere I turn there's a new person who is connected to some part of my life - for example - our back yard neighbors who know some of my friends from highschool (despite the fact they are from Brooklyn and Texas). Hannah designs textiles - what an insanely cool sounding job...
Oh my though, Myles' work has gotten out of hand and we really don't get to see him. Yesterday was his first full Saturday off in 6 weeks, but he still had 7 hours this morning and he's due for another 30 or so consecutive hours starting tomorrow at 5AM. Disgusting. Single-momming it really isn't an exaggeration. I decided to really begin my nanny hunt for September because I'm going to loose my cool one of these days if I can't escape for an hour here and there. Maybe the Tuesday/Thursday school for 2.5 hours will do the trick, but then again... maybe not. So can you see why I never blog anymore? Why would I want to create time for this crap when I could be organizing the house for tomorrow's Mollie Ruby Eloise adventure?
In my repetitive existence as a mom, mindfulness meditation has never been more important. (Read: "I'm folding this small tee shirt. I'm folding this sleeve in, then the other, and then the whole thing in half. I'm folding these scrubs. I'm folding these scrubs. I'm folding these scrubs. They are an ugly toothpaste aqua color and I am folding them perfectly into a rectangle. I'm balling these socks and they are threadbare. Perhaps I should throw them out. I'm balling these socks. They are a pair. And now I'm going to rinse some dishes...")
Dang.
cones
Post-beach we hit the local ice cream spot, and then moved on to the candy shop. Can you tell how exhausted I was? The ice cream was a reward for cooperating and leaving the beach, and the salt water taffy was a treat for behaving while waiting for my iced latte. HA! I'm such a sucker when I'm tired and there's nobody around to critique my weak parenting...
Newport
This photo says it all. The girls just love eachother to pieces! Sometimes when they wake up in the morning they like to climb in bed with me and cuddle and say things like, "I wuv you Eloise, you're my favorite". Then, "I love you too Ruby"... followed by hugs all around. Sometimes they go off tangents and they describe what it is they like most... "I really really like your eyebrows" or "you have a nice chin and your hair is curly. Boing!" And then they just keep talking and talking and talking... and I know exactly what you are all thinking... the apples don't fall far from the tree (something along those lines).
The girls are my best buddies and we really haven't spent more than 3 hours apart in the last 4 weeks - no joke. (Well, maybe I had one night out when my pal Beth was here where Myles decided to "babysit", but aside from that we have been inseparable.) For that reason, I have tried to keep the days on the adventurous side, exploring this little state as best I can. Here we are at Second Beach in Newport, enjoying the ocean breeze and powdery sand. Newport is certainly no contest for the beauty of Nantucket, but it will do just fine when the temperature is hanging around 90.
The girls are my best buddies and we really haven't spent more than 3 hours apart in the last 4 weeks - no joke. (Well, maybe I had one night out when my pal Beth was here where Myles decided to "babysit", but aside from that we have been inseparable.) For that reason, I have tried to keep the days on the adventurous side, exploring this little state as best I can. Here we are at Second Beach in Newport, enjoying the ocean breeze and powdery sand. Newport is certainly no contest for the beauty of Nantucket, but it will do just fine when the temperature is hanging around 90.
del's
So this was the only decent photo of the two girls on our little zoo trip. They were completely beat after a few hours of running around in the heat and we decided to enjoy a Del's Lemonade. Ruby was totally hogging the whole cup while Eloise tried hard to pick out some slushie chunks.
Roger Williams Zoo
This guy is so cool for looking at me. I mean, why should he care about people gawking at him in his concrete jungle?
Friday, July 07, 2006
lame-o update
Was it really June when I last wrote? I should be ashamed of myself. But in all that time we have managed to move into our new painted home, chop out all of the scary, thorny bushes and trees in our yard, unpack an assload of things, meet a couple of new people, discover some new playgrounds and even host some friends in our third floor guest room. To top it all off, Ru and El and I have escaped to Nantucket to play for a week. The first few days here couldn't have been more horrible- the girls had fevers and coughs, we took a trip to the fucking island hospital for some asthma meds and ended up having to get Ruby's temperature taken rectally (which I almost refused because not a soul back in Burlington ever took their temps that way) and the end result was .1 away from the armpit reading. Seriously unnecessary and oh-so-traumatic! Ru hates doctors anyway. What a help the ass probing will be on her psyche...
Anyway, I have never ever been so tried for patience and sanity as I was on Monday and Tuesday. Ruby was beyond... well... just BEYOND anything. She was hysterical, she was flailing, flopping, speaking in her demon voice and I wanted to just fall apart. So I yelled a lot, flailed my arms a little and spoke in MY demon voice (which I didn't know I had up until then) and we worked it out. Well, actually, we went out an bought some Benadryl and dosed the two of them so they would go to sleep. RELIEF. I felt ridiculous doing that, but now I think I know how I'm going survive through the cold and flu season of 2006.
Sitting here at this table reminds me of my first posts last June and July... we were here in kooky Nantucket and I was obsessing over the rich people. Honestly, I'm still doing it. I see these people walking around in what I perceive as COSTUMES. I mean, they CANNOT be for real. It's Lily Pullitzer with the Jack Rogers fucking sandals, cable knit cotton sweaters in lemon yellow draped over shoulders on a foggy night, the guys in their reds or better yet the whale pants (done with that "isn't it funny I'm wearing whale pants" kind of JCrew-ey perfection) with the polo shirt. Or no, the polo with the Yacht Club logo, and a pair of madras bermuda shorts.
And better yet, now that these crazy rich people have hipped-out in recent years (those folks who have abandoned all forms of preppy, yankee, WASPy sensibility, or just never knew that existed) we have stores on Main Street that sell $500 shoes and $2000 bags, and every woman over the age of 50 seems to have had some kind of "work" done to their face or body. Is this Nantucket or L.A.? (no wait, there are still too many whale pants to cancel out the L.A. effect, but I swear to God I saw a woman yesterday who looked like she was having an allergic reaction to something- her lips were THAT puffy. I couldn't stop staring. Her dermatologist had injected her one too many times.) Before I forget, did I mention that most of the women here seem to be underweight, and most of the men seem to be overweight? And everyone is most definitely drunk or hung over.
So I'm actually not complaining. I swear. It's just that I sometimes can't get my mind around who the uber rich really are and what their lives must be like. How would it feel to be able to throw down $200 so you could by your 2 year old a cashmere sweater or an Italian dress with hand smocking and some adorable little sandals to go with it? What if you loved your $300 bikini soooo much that you just had to buy it in 3 different colors - and you never once had to think about how that would damage your bank account? What does that level of financial security do to people's heads? You have to wonder...
But you know what else? I still like it here. I think. Like when there isn't a cloud in the sky and my kids are skipping around in 4 inch waves on a sandbar. Or when I eat those fucking divine doughnuts that nobody can reproduce anywhere... they are so hot and fresh out of the grease that you can't touch them, but you shove them in your mouth anyway because you waited 10 months to have these things again and you burn the roof of your mouth... and you slurp your coffee while you watch some picturesque sailboats bob about in the harbor. It smells like honeysuckle everywhere you turn. The air is so filled with moisture at all times - and the towels never seem dry. The "stay-at-home Moms" and grandmas (need I say nannies?) are working hard each day with their popourris and Febreeze to combat eau de Mildew in the linen closet - but they just can't win. The entire roll of toilet paper is damp. It rips off sheet by sheet, but you don't care, because when you finally get a decent handful and you reach back to wipe your ass, you catch a glimpse of your gentle tan lines and you feel so lucky. So embarrassingly lucky to have a family of 10 smashed into a weathered house filled with crazy memories. So lucky to be on a vacation. So lucky to have this ritual.
Anyway, I have never ever been so tried for patience and sanity as I was on Monday and Tuesday. Ruby was beyond... well... just BEYOND anything. She was hysterical, she was flailing, flopping, speaking in her demon voice and I wanted to just fall apart. So I yelled a lot, flailed my arms a little and spoke in MY demon voice (which I didn't know I had up until then) and we worked it out. Well, actually, we went out an bought some Benadryl and dosed the two of them so they would go to sleep. RELIEF. I felt ridiculous doing that, but now I think I know how I'm going survive through the cold and flu season of 2006.
Sitting here at this table reminds me of my first posts last June and July... we were here in kooky Nantucket and I was obsessing over the rich people. Honestly, I'm still doing it. I see these people walking around in what I perceive as COSTUMES. I mean, they CANNOT be for real. It's Lily Pullitzer with the Jack Rogers fucking sandals, cable knit cotton sweaters in lemon yellow draped over shoulders on a foggy night, the guys in their reds or better yet the whale pants (done with that "isn't it funny I'm wearing whale pants" kind of JCrew-ey perfection) with the polo shirt. Or no, the polo with the Yacht Club logo, and a pair of madras bermuda shorts.
And better yet, now that these crazy rich people have hipped-out in recent years (those folks who have abandoned all forms of preppy, yankee, WASPy sensibility, or just never knew that existed) we have stores on Main Street that sell $500 shoes and $2000 bags, and every woman over the age of 50 seems to have had some kind of "work" done to their face or body. Is this Nantucket or L.A.? (no wait, there are still too many whale pants to cancel out the L.A. effect, but I swear to God I saw a woman yesterday who looked like she was having an allergic reaction to something- her lips were THAT puffy. I couldn't stop staring. Her dermatologist had injected her one too many times.) Before I forget, did I mention that most of the women here seem to be underweight, and most of the men seem to be overweight? And everyone is most definitely drunk or hung over.
So I'm actually not complaining. I swear. It's just that I sometimes can't get my mind around who the uber rich really are and what their lives must be like. How would it feel to be able to throw down $200 so you could by your 2 year old a cashmere sweater or an Italian dress with hand smocking and some adorable little sandals to go with it? What if you loved your $300 bikini soooo much that you just had to buy it in 3 different colors - and you never once had to think about how that would damage your bank account? What does that level of financial security do to people's heads? You have to wonder...
But you know what else? I still like it here. I think. Like when there isn't a cloud in the sky and my kids are skipping around in 4 inch waves on a sandbar. Or when I eat those fucking divine doughnuts that nobody can reproduce anywhere... they are so hot and fresh out of the grease that you can't touch them, but you shove them in your mouth anyway because you waited 10 months to have these things again and you burn the roof of your mouth... and you slurp your coffee while you watch some picturesque sailboats bob about in the harbor. It smells like honeysuckle everywhere you turn. The air is so filled with moisture at all times - and the towels never seem dry. The "stay-at-home Moms" and grandmas (need I say nannies?) are working hard each day with their popourris and Febreeze to combat eau de Mildew in the linen closet - but they just can't win. The entire roll of toilet paper is damp. It rips off sheet by sheet, but you don't care, because when you finally get a decent handful and you reach back to wipe your ass, you catch a glimpse of your gentle tan lines and you feel so lucky. So embarrassingly lucky to have a family of 10 smashed into a weathered house filled with crazy memories. So lucky to be on a vacation. So lucky to have this ritual.
Friday, June 16, 2006
pawSox and clamBox
The sunny weather this week gave everybody in the family a chance to resume normal "springtime activities". On Monday we got my mom to look after the kids and we went to a Pawtucket Red Sox game (the equivalent of the VT Expos, but much cooler) with my brother's entire family. I am now fully embracing all that is culturally Rhode Islandy - including some specific brand of frozen lemonade that doesn't taste like a frozen Wet-Nap or Lemon Pledge. I think it's called "Del's"... and I hear it tastes great with vodka poured on it. (what a bonus!) We bought our girls some Paw Sox baseball caps just because it's cooler to sport "P"'s rather than "B"'s, and because with 7 dollar box seats we actually could afford some paraphernalia to take home.
My brother just started working full time as a Brand Manager for Hasbro (also in Pawtucket) and I went to visit his office and snoop around the company cubes after hours. The place is INSANE. I never knew there were so many different types of toys! Call me an idiot, but all the time spent at cute, hippie, politically correct toy stores in VT has left me kind of clueless about mainstream kidstuff. Do you guys know what Bratz dolls are? Well, BEWARE OF THE BRATZ! They just might be the evil teenage spawns of Barbie and Ken. Blech. Oh well, I still like Mr. and Ms. PotatoHead... and the new Darth Tater. And My Little Ponies. And Sit N Spins. All Hasbro. Angus just happens to be re-vamping Lite Brite. Remember that?
Somehow we might manage to make the big permanent move to Providence on Sunday, if everything goes as planned for putting the guard rail pieces on the girls' new beds. (Are we crazy? Why do we think we want them out of cribs?) Myles has orientation all next week, so at least he will be staying in the house. I'm just not sure the painter wants to deal with the threat of little kiddie paws messing up his work - and I'm not convinced I want to police them every second we are inside. But my goodness I'd like to have my privacy back and get out of my parents hair. Is it too much information to share that I still like to make coffee naked in the morning? (Yes, it probably is... but who needs secrets when there's a blog to write?) I don't think Ruby and Eloise think twice about it... but now that it's been so long without a naked mommy walking around, they might begin to ask some questions! Ugh. I want my naked coffee. (Which reminds me, we need to order some shades.)
Anyway... Let's see, I guess for the main mollieReport I will conclude that I am plunging right into the cosmopolitan lifestyle with a sickening kind of happiness. I got a super glam haircut today at some swanky salon. I went to my friends CATERED and D.J.-ed 30th birthday party last week in her fab new home... loved every second of it... danced a ton in completely stupid break-your-ankle kind of platforms. And this evening we all went to the Wollaston Clam Box for some good old fried food - just to keep it nice and ChowdaHead. Long live the Massholes!!!
Now if only I could figure out where Peter Manfredo Jr. lives - I might start stalking him.
My brother just started working full time as a Brand Manager for Hasbro (also in Pawtucket) and I went to visit his office and snoop around the company cubes after hours. The place is INSANE. I never knew there were so many different types of toys! Call me an idiot, but all the time spent at cute, hippie, politically correct toy stores in VT has left me kind of clueless about mainstream kidstuff. Do you guys know what Bratz dolls are? Well, BEWARE OF THE BRATZ! They just might be the evil teenage spawns of Barbie and Ken. Blech. Oh well, I still like Mr. and Ms. PotatoHead... and the new Darth Tater. And My Little Ponies. And Sit N Spins. All Hasbro. Angus just happens to be re-vamping Lite Brite. Remember that?
Somehow we might manage to make the big permanent move to Providence on Sunday, if everything goes as planned for putting the guard rail pieces on the girls' new beds. (Are we crazy? Why do we think we want them out of cribs?) Myles has orientation all next week, so at least he will be staying in the house. I'm just not sure the painter wants to deal with the threat of little kiddie paws messing up his work - and I'm not convinced I want to police them every second we are inside. But my goodness I'd like to have my privacy back and get out of my parents hair. Is it too much information to share that I still like to make coffee naked in the morning? (Yes, it probably is... but who needs secrets when there's a blog to write?) I don't think Ruby and Eloise think twice about it... but now that it's been so long without a naked mommy walking around, they might begin to ask some questions! Ugh. I want my naked coffee. (Which reminds me, we need to order some shades.)
Anyway... Let's see, I guess for the main mollieReport I will conclude that I am plunging right into the cosmopolitan lifestyle with a sickening kind of happiness. I got a super glam haircut today at some swanky salon. I went to my friends CATERED and D.J.-ed 30th birthday party last week in her fab new home... loved every second of it... danced a ton in completely stupid break-your-ankle kind of platforms. And this evening we all went to the Wollaston Clam Box for some good old fried food - just to keep it nice and ChowdaHead. Long live the Massholes!!!
Now if only I could figure out where Peter Manfredo Jr. lives - I might start stalking him.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
our new yard
My brother and his family descended upon our yard with these monstrous plastic structures one evening. The girls are in love with this thing... and the giant turtle pool... hours of entertainment.
Now only if the fucking rain would stop. This weather has to be payback for something. It's like an endless bad day on Survivor Amazon.
Now only if the fucking rain would stop. This weather has to be payback for something. It's like an endless bad day on Survivor Amazon.
D.I.Y. heaven
TILE MANIA! This business of tiling stuff is addictive. I think I'm going to tile myself into a corner - morroccan tiles though, not cream subways... i'm tired of the one-color job.
In blogging about my home improvements I'm feeling a wee bit boring. MONDO BORO as we used to say.
So, to spice things up I'll add that I ran into a couple with a 2 year old girl at this cute gift store near our new house. We started talking and I discovered the mom was a RISD prof in graphic design - and since we just bought a house from a semi-retired graphic design prof I thought perhaps they might know him... and then they said, "Oh! you bought Krystof's house. We loved attending parties on that back deck. What a beautiful yard you guys have!" blah blah blah. (see the above post)
Now I know that doesn't seem like an out of the ordinary coincidence or anything, considering how many artists live in the Providence area, but I have to just recognize that moment. Why did I choose to walk by that store at that particular second? I mean, my mom was picking up some take-out and I decided to walk the girls down the street - but I almost went into the restaurant to wait. And why was this mom I met a graphic design prof and not a fiber arts prof or something?
These kinds of meetings are supposed to happen - they can give us direction - and if we don't take the time to learn something from them, they start to dwindle away until they don't happen at all, right?
Well, right before I met these people, we were hanging out in a playground and I saw a small red thing poking out of the grass. For a second I thought it was Eloise's heart-shaped button that she has a habit of carrying around, so I bent down to pick it up and discovered that it wasn't her button at all. It was a tiny glass heart. Not a charm, not part of a bracelet or necklace. Just a shiny red glass heart - no more than an inch wide and 1/2 inch thick. A 3D heart. I could pop the adorable thing in my mouth like a Valentine chocolate.
A heart of glass.
Beyond the association with the Blondie song, am I allowed to over-think (or should I overlook) this bite-sized token?
In blogging about my home improvements I'm feeling a wee bit boring. MONDO BORO as we used to say.
So, to spice things up I'll add that I ran into a couple with a 2 year old girl at this cute gift store near our new house. We started talking and I discovered the mom was a RISD prof in graphic design - and since we just bought a house from a semi-retired graphic design prof I thought perhaps they might know him... and then they said, "Oh! you bought Krystof's house. We loved attending parties on that back deck. What a beautiful yard you guys have!" blah blah blah. (see the above post)
Now I know that doesn't seem like an out of the ordinary coincidence or anything, considering how many artists live in the Providence area, but I have to just recognize that moment. Why did I choose to walk by that store at that particular second? I mean, my mom was picking up some take-out and I decided to walk the girls down the street - but I almost went into the restaurant to wait. And why was this mom I met a graphic design prof and not a fiber arts prof or something?
These kinds of meetings are supposed to happen - they can give us direction - and if we don't take the time to learn something from them, they start to dwindle away until they don't happen at all, right?
Well, right before I met these people, we were hanging out in a playground and I saw a small red thing poking out of the grass. For a second I thought it was Eloise's heart-shaped button that she has a habit of carrying around, so I bent down to pick it up and discovered that it wasn't her button at all. It was a tiny glass heart. Not a charm, not part of a bracelet or necklace. Just a shiny red glass heart - no more than an inch wide and 1/2 inch thick. A 3D heart. I could pop the adorable thing in my mouth like a Valentine chocolate.
A heart of glass.
Beyond the association with the Blondie song, am I allowed to over-think (or should I overlook) this bite-sized token?
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Thoughts from the Shower
Some of my great revelations come to me while I'm hanging out in the shower - and late last night I started thinking about cooking shellfish. You know how when you boil a pot of muscles or clams you discard the ones that don't open up because you're afraid they might make you sick? Well, I was thinking that my reaction to a "heated" situation is not unlike what happens to a clam in a hot pot. I just open right up.
Myles on the other hand cracks open just a little. Perhaps he has a good method though - like he is holding up a sign to people saying, "you might not want to consume what's inside".
(on a semi-unrelated note... does anyone remember that song "pulling muscles from a shell"? I think it was Squeeze... but not sure. Off to do an iTunes search. I'll fill you all in shortly.)
Myles on the other hand cracks open just a little. Perhaps he has a good method though - like he is holding up a sign to people saying, "you might not want to consume what's inside".
(on a semi-unrelated note... does anyone remember that song "pulling muscles from a shell"? I think it was Squeeze... but not sure. Off to do an iTunes search. I'll fill you all in shortly.)
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
wind knocked in
For those of you who care to know, we have successfully moved our belongings to Providence. Our home has been under some light construction and is currently getting painted. New appliances and new beds arrive on Friday - so we are staying with my mom while we wait things out. The funny thing is that I am completely filled up with every possible emotion. Saturated with nerves... my body is having these incredible sensations, most of which come from my chest (no, it's not a panic attack, but perhaps "generalized anxiety") and it makes me awfully aware of my diaphragm. I like to describe it as the opposite of having the wind knocked out of you. I'm so full of air, my ribs splay out, my heart just wants to burst out like a balloon - and in this moment I forget to exhale. I'm just kind of sucking in... stuff. The moment is simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting.
But this doesn't mean I'm not having fun. In fact, I'm trying really hard to focus on the practical shit when we visit the house... tiling the kitchen, organizing the basement, watching the kids play in their new play house, getting excited about tacky laminate flooring in a hallway. We have some excellent distractions, but when I get a moment to myself (like when I'm browsing the skincare aisle of CVS) I could just explode. What the hell did we just do?... oh yeah... we bought a house... and in 2 weeks I won't see my husband except for a few tired hours a week... and I flat out left a place where I have spent almost all of my post-college years.
Two days before we left Burlington the Websters participated in the Marathon relay. I did manage to complete the 6.5 (in under 60 minutes!) and it was an excellent way to say my goodbyes to the town. That run down Church Street with every person cheering, the run by the lake (my perfect Lake on a sunshiny day!), and then onto the insane taiko drummers carrying me up the hill - literally - my hair was standing on end, I had goosebumps everywhere and I felt like a machine. We should all run a race at some point in our lives - because once you get over the fact that you are probably not going to win (and hell, you could come in dead last) you can appreciate the sensation of a great community event, and you can always remember that your feet allowed you to take a trip to a place you might never have visited. (I completely revel in the fact that a race allows you to run in city streets... on the yellow line sometimes... they stop traffic for you, etc..)
Which reminds me, I should keep running. That's the only time that I can count on my breath going in and out just the right way and it doesn't get caught. Often I talk myself out of a run - for fear of the boredom of being on the road alone.
Time to find a running partner I guess.
p.s. - no photos to post because i'm on my dad's computer... just wait 'til you see my mad phat Bob Villa skills on the kitchen backsplash.
But this doesn't mean I'm not having fun. In fact, I'm trying really hard to focus on the practical shit when we visit the house... tiling the kitchen, organizing the basement, watching the kids play in their new play house, getting excited about tacky laminate flooring in a hallway. We have some excellent distractions, but when I get a moment to myself (like when I'm browsing the skincare aisle of CVS) I could just explode. What the hell did we just do?... oh yeah... we bought a house... and in 2 weeks I won't see my husband except for a few tired hours a week... and I flat out left a place where I have spent almost all of my post-college years.
Two days before we left Burlington the Websters participated in the Marathon relay. I did manage to complete the 6.5 (in under 60 minutes!) and it was an excellent way to say my goodbyes to the town. That run down Church Street with every person cheering, the run by the lake (my perfect Lake on a sunshiny day!), and then onto the insane taiko drummers carrying me up the hill - literally - my hair was standing on end, I had goosebumps everywhere and I felt like a machine. We should all run a race at some point in our lives - because once you get over the fact that you are probably not going to win (and hell, you could come in dead last) you can appreciate the sensation of a great community event, and you can always remember that your feet allowed you to take a trip to a place you might never have visited. (I completely revel in the fact that a race allows you to run in city streets... on the yellow line sometimes... they stop traffic for you, etc..)
Which reminds me, I should keep running. That's the only time that I can count on my breath going in and out just the right way and it doesn't get caught. Often I talk myself out of a run - for fear of the boredom of being on the road alone.
Time to find a running partner I guess.
p.s. - no photos to post because i'm on my dad's computer... just wait 'til you see my mad phat Bob Villa skills on the kitchen backsplash.
Monday, May 22, 2006
mo'faya!
The only person who might understand the true meaning of the title of this entry is Uncle Ram. REGARDLESS... how's about them doctors? They are so fucking cool and I'm proud of each and every one of them. I feel like some of Myles' classmates are my children too! (BTW, Myles' fist is the highest one, up in the left of the photo.)
Dr. Webster
Does Myles look happy or what? His mom was gloating - all smiles for everyone. (How's about my gi-normous forehead?)
Saturday, May 20, 2006
self-timer
I didn't really notice the table showing up in this image when I set it up - but this is the best I could do for our Park School 15th reunion shot. Last weekend at home was such a treat for me. I managed to get overly introspective about "coming home"... you know, HOME... where I spent 18 solid years growing into a decent human... and all of these old pals are such amazing people. What a huge treat it was to see everyone. I was seriously shocked though by the contrast between cosmopolitans and Vermonters. Just the pace and volume of conversation is wilder - unrestrained... perhaps more ego-centric... and people seem to have better preppy manners than I previously remember. The preppy manners in Vermont seem to have disappeared. Either that or folks up here have ditched all attempts to have "manners" (in the old school sense of the word) because they don't seem necessary, or because they are affiliated with an ancient conservative mindset. (To my dear Vermonters, I do love you for being rebels.)
Whatever. I'm annoying. I guess what I'm getting at is that I feel more comfortable with the people who live 3.5 hours south of here. (I sincerely hope that whoever is reading this is having a good laugh at me. This whole moving thing has stirred up something crazy. Yikes.)
Whatever. I'm annoying. I guess what I'm getting at is that I feel more comfortable with the people who live 3.5 hours south of here. (I sincerely hope that whoever is reading this is having a good laugh at me. This whole moving thing has stirred up something crazy. Yikes.)
sweet El
Chimpanzee lips can be easily replaced with a stunning smile.
Note the boxes in the background. The status of my "home" right now is enough to make most people very very anxious and sad.
Note the boxes in the background. The status of my "home" right now is enough to make most people very very anxious and sad.
ooooh and eeee
Eloise still makes chimpanzee lips like a pro. It's a wonder that I even got them to sit for 2 minutes for a photo session.
big t.v. box
Check out the hair in this photo... this is what happens now when we don't put in ponytails.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
and a friend too
fuck it. I've been trying to get these photos to display chronologically as they were drawn... but I'm too tired and have had too much wine to try to edit their order. This drawing should be the last in the set of 3. (Figure out the progression on your own SmartyPantses.)
face with ears
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...
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.
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