Memory Lane

The past two nights, after they've gotten into their pajamas but before they've gotten into bed, the bambini have watched some of the videos from the past five years that that Ted has just finished editing and putting on to DVDs.  What's interesting about observing them watching them watch themselves, is the way they talk about themselves like they are characters on TV, rather than them.  For example, Joe, watching himself mop the Raleigh House porch, or, more specifically, struggle to wring out the water from the mop to mop the Raleigh House porch, laughed at his younger self and said, "Look at him trying to mop!"  They understand it's them, but that understanding is not reflected in the language.  So it's easy to believe that they, too, can't quite believe that little boy and little girl are the same as the little boy and little girl on the couch, still little, but also, somehow, big--so big.  Such good times, then and now.

Update on Our Hero's Ear

Last night brought a ruptured ear drum for Our Hero which meant that today brought a visit to our beloved Dr. Harrington, who added to the oral antibiotic we were prescribed Sunday, some antibiotic drops. The good news is that he feels good now, after being mostly miserable for four days, and will probably sleep through the night. He had a happy afternoon at home in spite of a moment of disappointment when he discovered that the This Old House episode he'd watched yesterday with Ted had been erased. (For Fans who recall a younger Ted a watching TOH back when it was hosted by Bob Villa, well, we can only say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  That, and that TOH is a pretty great show.) Instead, he watched a bit of Rick Steve's Europe which is on the same channel as TOH. Rick was in Turkey, a country that is partially in Europe, and partially in Asia.  Joe saw some footage of their bath houses and noted that they take "funny baths" in Turkey. Think of all he'll be able to contribute during group time on the carpet tomorrow.

Spring Fevers

Down for the count.

The bambini have been battling some bug that brings with it a high fever, an achy tummy, and a generalized malaise. Birdie was sent home from school a week ago Thursday.  Then this past Thursday, it was Joe.  (The timing of the onslaught couldn't get much better: last Friday, Good Friday, Ted had planned to stay home, and this Friday, with Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles in town for Birdie's fourth birthday bash, Julie had planned to stay home. Of course it was also the day of the kindergarten music concert.  It was surely the musical event of the spring, and so in this one way, the timing was less than ideal.)

Joe was hit quite a bit harder than Birdie was--higher fevers, and harder crashes following periods of bounding around like a jackrabbit.  It was the history with Clara coupled with the periods of jackrabbit-like energy and bounding that made us suspect Joe just had a virus that just had to run its course.  By midday Saturday, he was fever-free.  But Saturday night, he was up in the middle of the night complaining of an itchy ear, and so uncomfortable he couldn't sleep.  He also had a fever again.  We suspected an ear infection, and a visit this morning to the clinic at our big Target confirmed it.  He was really in a bad way: he wadded himself up on his side in the bottom of the big part of a shopping cart and promptly fell asleep while Julie rolled it around the store waiting for his prescription to be filled--but not before he'd selected a snorkel set (Who knows?  But he made a beeline for the swim aisle.) as a pick-me-up treat, as well as grape and fruit punch Gatorade.

Birdie Turns Four

Four!

Oh Birdie Brigade, Our Bridie is four.  Four!  (And she's over 40 pounds so by state law, she can rock the booster seat, and rock one be-purple flowered booster seat she is.)  Our Birdie makes a lovely four.  And she had two lovely celebrations yesterday to mark the occasion.  The first was a party at this open art studio place called Kiddywampus with nine of her nearest and dearest, at which they made crowns and fairy gardens, and ate a cake with the sisters from Frozen on it.  The second was at the White House with all three of Clara Jane's maternal great great aunts as well as her Grandparents Trump who came into town Thursday night.  In the wake of the celebrations, we are richer by several princess and fairy dolls, as well as an additional princess gown, but we couldn't be any richer than we already were in the way of birthday girls turning four.

"Elsa and Anna!"

Hearing about what we were going to be making at this party.

Making a fairy crown. . .

And garden.

Fairies trail a lot of glitter in their wake.

A lot.

Special thanks to Sara for this and several other terrific shots.

When it's your birthday, you can lick the frosting off the number candle (but you still can't eat the candle).

And you get whatever piece you want.  (Clara wanted Elsa's face.)

Who is watching who at the zoo?

Mis-en-placed for birthday celebrating.  (Special thanks to Grandma Connie for decoration hanging assistance, and laundry folding.)

C for Clara!

What's a brother for?

All the girls, including Elsa and Anna, and excepting Berenice.

Easter Outtakes

This is the best shot we got of the bambini in their Easter finest.

Runner up. . .

Honorable mention.

Clara said this picture was her favorite of the series.  Our photo editor said, "You look good, but don't you think Joe's looked better?"  Clara said, "Yeah.  He looks glum and gloomy.  Glum and gloomy are fancy words!"

Wondering if there will be donut hospitality after the Easter mass.  (No.)

"Clara, you're so juvenile."

"You didn't get your picture yet?  Really?"

And there's Joe's best shot of the session.

Whatever you do, don't look at the camera.

And maybe talk instead of smile.

If you're gonna smile, look pained while you're doing it.

Or drugged.

Easter

Fans, you've no doubt been all last week and this weekend wondering if the Easter Bunny came to the Minnesota White House. The wait is over: he did. Joe felt he did a poor job of hiding the eggs, but it's worth noting that for all his tough talk, there were more than a few eggs that were left in plain view for some time as the hunt progressed. The Bunny had come overnight instead of while we were at church (or while Julie or Ted filled the car up with gas before church before swinging around to pick up the supposed straggler). So, the bambini were stocked up with plenty of new books to read during the Easter service, which is how they roll while Julie and Ted get a shot of faith and hope.  They have said though that they want "to go with the other kids" (for Children's a Liturgy of the Word) so their own shot of faith and hope, with an arts and crafts chaser, might be in the offing.  In the meantime, there's plenty of candy to eat.

The Bird Hotel

FANS!  We know.  But we're back now with a report of our first ever Susan Lindgren Imagination and Inventions Fair!  It was tonight.  Our Hero showcased a Bird Hotel.  Just 18 suites, this is a sophisticated and contemporary property for your modern and discriminating bird.  Joe had been a week or two collecting milk cartons in the lunch room after hatching this idea.  Then, he and Clara painted and bedazzled them.  They only part of the execution that Joe did not do was the gluing, and only because it required Krazy Glue and as much as we love the vision, we didn't want it permanently stuck to the floor or some such.  Ted was a key part of the success of seeing the idea through from concept, through execution.  He is a trained engineer after all, and comes from science-minded stock.

The Fair itself was wall-to-wall chaos.  Julie is friends with one of the organizers on the PTSO (which is what the PTO is called nowadays, at least here) so she was roped into interviewing kids about their projects.  So as she fought her way through the throngs to hear about the projects of 10 or so kindergartners and first graders, Ted and Birdie hung out with Joe who ran between his station and those of all his buddies.  Julie learned about fairy gardens ("My sister likes to move things around."), dog houses ("It has solar panels on the outside to keep the dogs, cats, and bears warm."  Dog house a bit of a misnomer.), building things with paper ("I like to build with paper because you can build anything with paper!"), the White House (the one in Washington, DC Fans; "There's a room in it where a lot of people died!"), birds (tough to say if they were the right clientele for the Bird Hotel), potato clocks (its maker does not like to eat potatoes), and Legos (lots of Legos).  Julie also learned that interviewing while fun, is tough when the room is filled with over a hundred kids under the age of 10 and you can't hear so well out of one ear.  But she heard enough to know that whatever Joe said about the Bird Hotel must have been pretty amusing to whatever lucky interviewer got to hear about it.

Joe is already planning for next year.  He has mentioned "a road town, made of paper, but not, because it will have a water feature, too."

Say Something

Here's a funny vignette we've been meaning to recount, though it might not seem so initially so stick with us, Fans.

Joe, as you know, needs a measure of quiet. He is a big brother after all, and his little sister is constantly singing after all. So sometimes, when she, talking, he covers his ears with his hands and refuses to speak. This behavior is, obviously, rude, and drives Clara crazy. Often, she will repeat Joe's name rapidly and incessantly and at an increasingly high pitch until Julie or Ted breaks in and says a) that Clara needs to take a different tack because chanting Joe's name is obnoxious and b) that Joe also needs to take a different tack because covering his ears with his hands while another is speaking is rude.

So there came a day when Clara's new tack was to order Joe to say something. It was when that song Say Something by A Great Big World was on the radio all the time. So Clara said "Say something I'm giving up on you!" And Joe did not respond.

But Birdie has not, in fact, given up on him.

Birdie Rides A Big Girl Bike!

"Spring" "break" is over.  The best laid plans were thrown into disarray when Clara was sent home from school Tuesday afternoon with a fever in excess of 102 that did not break for good until Friday morning. Also, we had a brief, but intense snow move through Thursday into Friday which laid to waste Grandpa Charles and Grandma Connie's plans to come up for the weekend, including Friday. Much of the snow that fell has already melted (and with it the snow fort that was built Friday morning). So Birdie was able to ride the Hello Kitty bike that Santa brought for her down the street for the first time today. You can see her making her way here.

Nutella

Julie was at a Timberwolves game Monday night. We know: eight words you never thought you'd see strung together. (Long story short: she won a contest. Young MC did the half time show! Young MC is not so young anymore. Julie, too, relative to Young MC's heyday.  He sang Bust A Move though proving that while he might not be so young anymore, he's no fool.  He knew what the crowd would want to hear.) Anyway, we digress.  Since Julie was out, Ted and the bambini had scrambled eggs and toast for dinner.  Ted put Nutella on the toast. We recently acquired a jar at Joe's request. Now that he's in elementary school, he's discovering all kinds of things. It's a version of what might occur in the morning after one has slept over a friend's house and is offered Lucky Charms or Apple Jacks--that is, the realization that others have options beyond Raisin Bran (two scoops!) and Grape Nuts.  So many processed food delights in the world beyond those your family might buy (or not buy)!

Eating with Joe and Clara is still like eating with two small woodland creatures, or maybe peasants who've not eaten for a week who are suddenly presented with a crust of bread.  They gulp and heave and plunge through meals.  Joe consistently uses a utensil as appropriate now, but Clara must still be reminded to do so.  If something seems like it will be tricky to snag with a fork (say a cherry tomato, halved, or salad--which she likes quite a bit), then she'll opt for her hands if no one's watching. Birdie is at once a ravenous eater, and one of the slowest eaters you will ever encounter.  It's quite possible that she has never not gulped whatever she is drinking, and yet she is always finished eating seemingly hours after everyone else at the table. It would be fascinating at a remove, but is exasperating while seated next to or across from it.  Joe can chew with his mouth closed now, but keeping his food over the table, let alone his plate, is hit or miss. Again: maddening, especially when he breaks out into a wail when Bernice has helped herself to what he's casually dangled off the edge of the table his hand. "She's a dog!" we practically shout.

So Monday night, Ted wasn't entirely surprised to look over and see Clara licking the Nutella off her toast.  When he told her to stop, she said, "But it's frosting."  Which you kind of have to give her.  Score one for the woodland creatures.

Of Exasperation

Fans, here is an actual exchange that Julie just had with Our Hero:
Joe, out of bed and thumping down the stairs: Mommy, where is the Fancy Nancy book where they go to The King's Crown?

Julie, in the front room, gathering up her book, water glass, and peanut butter granola bar broken into pieces in a bowl: I think probably on top of Daddy's chest of drawers. Let me gather up these things and we'll go see. What is everyone doing out of bed anyway?

Joe, huffy and full of his five-year-old self: I'm looking for Fancy Nancy and Clara's just following me around.

Julie: Oh my gosh. It's like she thinks her big brother is the coolest thing ever, like she wants to be just like--

Joe, breaking in: MOM. STOP. Like being all crazy. I want to pop my eyes out with a fork!

(This last is Joe's failed attempt to imitate one of Julie's go-to phrases for expressing exasperation: "I'm going to poke my eyes out with a fork," as in, "If this spider web made of blue tape that I have run into seven thousand times because it is conveniently located in one of the top three most trafficked junctures in this home is not removed, I'm going to poke my eyes out with a fork.")

Clearly after this exchange, we're really not so far from Our Hero saying something like, "I'd like to see that. Hold on while I finish this web."

Spring Break

This is our first year of spring break for school, but without a vacation planned it just means cobbling together daycare for Joe. Fortunatly Joe's buddy Graham is in the same situation and have the same week for break.  So on Monday the boys hung out with Mr. Derek who took them to a playground, the Muppets movie and the library.  Today the boys got Ted as designated handler. The adventure was a trip to the zoo. We started with the penguins where the boys got a good perch to watch the feeding.  Joe even volunteered to be used for a height comparison to an Emperor penguin, which we learned is the largest penguin and also about an inch taller than Joe. We also caught a bird show which was pretty neat with a Cockatoo named Coconut, and various other colorful birds who swooped back and forth across the stage. After lunch (where no words were uttered while hot dog meals were slowly but completly devoured) we checked out the fish.  Joe asked the docent lots of questions (e.g., how many teeth does a shark have? Why do fish have tails? How many fish are in the tank? I am going to pretend the pool is a fishtank when I see my grandparents this weekend) before it was time for the IMAX movie "Under the Sea" in 3D.  The kids were repeatedly standing up and grasping the air in front of them to touch the fish which appeared right before us with 3D glasses on - pretty funny.  With that it was time to say goodbye to the Bison and head home to watch Charlie Brown movies from the library. A good day two of spring break, but we could have done without the snow!