Brushing Cabello

That is a miniature toilet in the left-hand foreground corner, for all your miniature toileting needs.  It migrates from place to place and is often not in the dollhouse.  Hopefully, none of the dollhouse residents need it.

If our Birdie can be stubborn, it is also true that she can be very tender. Friday evening, she was brushing Julie's hair, or cabaza as she was calling it, having learned the Spanish word for hair. It is actually cabello according to the interwebs, which this reporter consulted to get the spelling of cabaza, or cabello.

After it was all done up, Julie carried Clara over to the big circle mirror by the front door and they had this exchange:

Clara: I love you, Mommy.

Julie: I love you, too, Clara.

Clara, pulling the edges of Julie's sweater around her: Mommy, you have the warmest clothes!

Julie: You have the warmest heart.

Clara: And the smartest brain!

Her Own Brain

The morning of the round-up--we think? (Dearest Readers, this uncertain timeline is what comes of tarrying in our posting.)--brought a moment that left Julie thinking, "Well if that is not Birdie to a tee. . ."


Julie is almost always the last White Houser downstairs each morning. She has been campaigning for Joe and Clara to turn off their own lights and put their pajamas in their respective hampers. So she often calls out a reminder to each to do one or both things as needed.


On this day--whichever it was--Julie called Birdie back from the stairs to say she still needed to turn off her lamp. This was met with silence and then a thump--Birdie tossing herself on the floor at the top of the stairs--where she said, "Mommy. I have my own brain!"

Julie said she knew that but that we all need reminders now and then. Class informed Julie that she did not. And the turned off her lamp.

Kindergarten Round-Up



Headed to the round-up.

Birdie Brigade, as you know, Our Birdie will head to kindergarten this fall. This past Wednesday evening was "kindergarten round-up," where the school rounds-up the incoming kindergarteners for registration. Julie couldn't find a sitter so the boys stayed home while the Birds went to the school. (Joe was actually dismayed to learn that kindergarten round-up didn't necessarily involve him, but was mollified by the promise of getting to watch an episode of This Old House with Ted.)

Kindergarten round-up is an overwhelming scene that begins in the cafeteria, so Clara stuck pretty close to Julie as they made their way from station to station. Birdie does better in new situations when she has plenty of time to get her bearings. Knowing this, the Birds arrived as the festivities began at 6pm, leaving them plenty of time to explore after running the cafeteria gauntlet and before Clara went to one of the kindergarten rooms and Julie sat through Principal Johnson's presentation in the gym.

Clara's teacher assignment will be mailed shortly before school begins in September, but at the round-up, she spent time in Mrs. Hanson's room. The Birds found it before Clara flew solo by matching the string from which Clara's name tag hung to the balloons by the door. She saw Joe's Mrs. Dvorak, too!

When the time came for her to line up in the gym and follow Mrs. Hanson, she hoped right up, lined up, and walked out with nary a backward glance. Julie cried at the PTSO video again and then kindergarten round-up was a wrap! She found Birdie in Mrs. Hanson's room where she was wondering where the candy was. That Joe had said would be there. You know, Joe. Her worldly big brother. Who knows everything. Certainly more than a parent. Puh-leeese.

Which is why the Birds ended up wandering the halls a bit when they should have been walking home. Clara flung herself down on the floor when Julie gently questioned the veracity of Joe's council regarding candy distribution at the round-up and if Julie has learned anything about Birdie it is that you can't tell her anything. Especially when she is tired. She will go her own way and figure it out as she does thank you very much.

After a loop or two, Clara was ready to admit that there was no candy to be had. She bowed her head and said, basically, "I was told there would be candy." Then she said, "Can we go home now?" and the tired Birds walked home where Birdie regaled Ted and Joe with tales of all she did and went to sleep in her class of 2028 tee-shirt (a new addition to the round-up!).

What a difference a week makes

Just a week ago it reached 70 degrees on Sunday afternoon which prompted Joe to set up his lemonade stand with his trusty side kick Clara Jane. Fortunately his handlers had predicted this request and had secured provisions.  So the kids spent the afternoon greeting passers by with their pitch for lemonade or soda or an Oreo.  The first sale was a dollar tip with no drink or snack, so Joe learned the term "profit margin" from his father. Clara was a bigger help this year and able to make her own sales as long as someone else poured drinks and made change.  By the end they had cleared about $13, but their father declined to teach them the term "cost of goods sold."  That night Joe used his newly learned math skills to divide the pot in two and the kids were already scheming how to spend the loot.  The obvious answer was the toys in the lobby of swim class they would visit in just a few days.  So that is how Splash (killer whale) and Pinky Pie (pink My Little Pony) came home with us on Thursday night.  You will see below Joe clutching his plastic bag of money. 

From 70 degrees the weather quickly turned back to a Minnesota March with a few inches of snow this week. Our winter so far has been light on snow (it all ended up in the Northeast!) so this was the first snow that was good for snowman making, so before heading to school Ted helped the kids make a quick (small) snow person and after school made them a proper sized snow person. 

So in about a week we went from summer lemonade to winter snow storm. We hope to get back to the warm soon!

Peace I Give You

We Casa Blanca residents are not regular church goers by any means, but we like the church we joined a few years back. We especially like its presiding priest, who is being transferred to a parish in Northeast Minneapolis come July. So we've been attending mass a bit more often of late for what amounts to Father Dale's farewell tour. (Also, Joe will receive first communion next year and we figure he should know that church is more than just a place where you get a donut and a Dixie cup of lemonade after you sit for some songs and a lecture. Gone are the days when he called out "Yea!" after the opening hymn at the mass at which Clara was batisted.) It is also true that going to mass slows you down in a way that's soothing.

This past Sunday's mass was big for two reasons. First, the bambini were roped into handing out worship aids. You know, for the folks still saying "And also with you," instead of "And with your spirit," which does not flow trippingly off the tongue. Clara calls the worship aides  "music notes." Fans, you should have seen them! They were holding them out and up one at a time, negotiating a new one into their hands as each copy was taken. Birdie was chirping "Music notes? Music notes?" to all comers and Joe was "You're welcome," all over the place. Julie suggested they throw in a good morning. Joe informed her he was going to stick with his routine. And peace be with you.

Anyway, Fans! They were greeting and distributing music notes with all kinds of aplomb. The parishioner landed with recruiting for this ministry, Trish, knew a good act when she saw one and slyly roped Julie into giving up the Casa Blanca contact information. Apparently the older folks don't want to do it anymore. So they are getting in on the ground floor so to speak here. Families with wee ones are a hit. Trish is a hit maker.

But more triumphs were in the offing. Just after mass begins, the children can head down to the social hall for activity-based delivery of the day's scriptures. Last Sunday, Julie and Clara checked it all out before mass and met the teacher. Still, Clara wanted no part of this child-specific programming. Then, Ted accompanied her and Joe on their maiden voyage to the social hall and stayed the whole time. This Sunday, we gave it another go. Ted again walked down with the bambini, but he came back not long after. The bambini appeared with the rest of the children just before communion. Upon spotting Julie and Ted, Clara went as-the-crow-flies and cut down the pew immediately in front of them and climbed up on it when she reached where they were sitting, at which point Ted lifted her over its back. (Joe walked around.) Clara then turned to Julie and said, "Mommy! I handled it!" ("Can you handle it?" being a somewhat frequent rhetorical question).

Indeed she did, Fans. Can we get a hallelujah?

The Green Book

After Clara's Little Gym class on Saturdays, the Birds often visit the library and this past Saturday was no exception. They spent some time rounding up some books, including several Dr. Seuss titles, but not Ten Apples Up on Top (not actually by Dr. Seuss), which has a green cover. (Make like detectives and remember that detail, Fans.) It was facedown on the table by the children's book bins. Julie pointed to it, asked if Clara wanted that book, and Clara said no.

In the car, the Birds discussed how, when they got home, it would be Quiet Time. Clara would nap, but Julie would read her a book first. Once they were through the door, Clara asked if they could read the Dr. Seuss book. Julie said sure, and it was moments later that all hell broke loose. The "Dr. Seuss book" Clara wanted was "the green book." Accusations flew thick and furious: words had been used--big girl words--and you (this would be Julie) did not listen; someone else would get the book, we had to go back right now.  Julie hollered the sort of nonsense you holler when a four-year-old is accusing you of library subterfuge, Clara wailed more, both Birds stormed off. (Here is where you might be wondering where the boys were. Surely were they about, things might not have gone off the rails? At least not so quickly? Ted was off doing something related to his St. Louis Park Historical Society work; Joe was with a friend seeing how maple syrup gets made.) So the Birds had to make amends themselves.

Little Bird made the first move by approaching Julie to reiterate her claims, but in a calm voice. Julie told Clara that what we had here was a misunderstanding and that she recalled asking specifically about the green book and that Clara had said she did not want to check it out. Regardless, she was sorry--very sorry, indeed--but nevertheless, they would not be going back to the library and Clara had two choices: go take a nap, or select another book for Julie to read, and then take a nap. Clara selected option two and went off to paw through the library book.

That's when she found "the green book." Which is orange. Or white, maybe. Maybe. But not green. You judge for yourselves, Fans.

Spring Is In The Air

After a long stretch of bitter cold, we seem to be getting an early and sudden spring.  Today Ted and Joe went for one last ski trip, this time without a lesson to start Joe off. They did all the runs together. Sometimes Joe got to lead, other times, Ted did. By lunchtime the snow was pretty slushy, but it was time to head home anyway.


Later that afternoon, Joe and Clara headed outside to play at the urging of their father trying to get work done in the house. As tends to be the case, it wasn't long before the garage was ransacked for toys and other fun things.  A little while later, after hearing various sounds of chaos from the garage, Ted caught a glimpse of a little person walking in the backyard. Upon further inspection, he saw Joe in the branches of the lilac bush, with Clara handing him the birdhouses they painted at their Grandparents Trump's house last summer. They also managed to fill the bird feeder and hang that as well.


The snow is quickly melting and we are to have a high of 60 nearly all week. So when the birds come, we have several move-in ready apartments available for them.

Warm Moment On a Cold Night

When all hands are on deck following Joe's shower and Clara's bath, one of us will read to Clara and the other, to Joe. This way, Clara can read from her beginning pre-readers without her well-meant but over-eager brother inserting himself into the mix. Here, we pause to say you read that right a few lines back, Brigade: Clara can read from her pre-readers. She can get her spunky (pajama) pants on and huff and puff that she can't do it, but she can, Brigade. She can.

Birdie always asks whoever has read to her to stay and snuggle. Tonight, Julie stayed and was told she was "the warmest mommy ever!" Birdie speculates that Julie spends her days by the fire. (Oh Brigade. Sigh! Would that it were true! With a blanket and a book!) The Birds discussed their favorite books: Fancy Nancy! All of them! The bambini do not play favorites; all of them is still their standard response to any query about a favorite anything. But Clara did allow, after Julie did, that she, too, especially enjoys Fancy Nancy and the Wedding of the Century with its continuous cover (we love a continuous cover). Exception: Knuffle Bunny! Clara especially likes the third and final installment in the trio because it has "an extra story"--an epilogue. Clara also likes her "jewelry light" (chandelier), the nutcrackers she and Joe bought themselves at Christmas time that both live in her room, right next to her "noddy dolls" (bobble head dolls of Twins players).

Oh, she's very dear, Brigade. The warmest Birdie ever!