Thumper Goes To Its Rest

In other news, we were just outside, readying the gardens for fall and winter a bit, which is how it happened that Julie came upon a long-dead animal in "the lilac garden," to the right of the front porch.  Julie will admit that there have been a few times in recent months that she has thought it smelled rather awful upon walking into the house, and you know, it perhaps says a lot about Raleigh House that she just sort of chalked that up to all of the small, often smelly things that live here: Berenice, Joe, and Birdie.  All lovable, all sometimes rank.

Conforming to traditional gender stereotypes, Julie marched herself right off to her Darling Husband and informed him that there was a dead animal by the lilac.  Implicit in this announcement was that it was his responsibility to dispose of it.  Julie picked  up a little over a handful of dead mice not long after we moved into Raleigh House, and so far as she's concerned, that's a debt that can never be repaid.

Sometimes we think that Joe might have hearing problems, but then there are moments that set you straight.  One of those moments followed Julie's pronouncement that there was a dead animal by the lilac.  Joe didn't quite hear dead animal, but her heard lilac.  Thus began a tough and incessant line of questioning.  Julie began by telling Joe that there was something smelly by the lilac.  "Was it a skunk?" No.  "But was it a skunk?"  No, still.  "It could be a skunk. . ."  Or not. . .  !!!!!

It was around this time that Julie had a stream of thoughts that went something like, "Well, we've talked about death before, and if they lived on a farm, they would know that it's all part of the circle of life."  Never mind the fact that we don't, in fact, live on a farm (and that Julie at least finds the late Elton John hits like Circle of Life kind of schmaltzy and annoying).

So mostly to curb the skunk line of questioning, she told Joe that there was a dead animal by the lilac, and sometimes, dead animals smell.  Joe quickly moved off the skunk line of questioning and musings, and onto the fact that something "had died," uttered with great glee to his sister.  "Maybe it got fired by a gun!"  No.  It was at this point that the bambini were marched into the garage toting the hoops that support the peonies, while Ted was actively clearing away the animal that HAD DIED!!!!!

On the way, and once n the garage, Joe's new question was what kind of animal had died--a skunk?  (It's back!  Yes!)  Julie said she didn't know, and here, we pause to note that besides late-career Elton John, another thing that annoys her is when she is asked a question, she answers that she doesn't know, and a follow-up question is asked.  For example:
Person: "Hey, what's the weather today?"
Julie: "I don't know."
Person: "Is it supposed to rain?"
Julie: "Ibid."

"Maybe it was a skunk. . ."  So it wasn't long before Julie said with much emphasis that she didn't know what kind of animal it was that had died, and that was all she had to say about it, period, the end.

That's when Ted walked by her and said quietly, "It was a rabbit."  (Not a skunk!)

Apple Time in Minni-Apples

"Sweet as an apple on Christmas Day."

Joe and Clara had a play date with Eli and Emma this morning, but it was such beautiful fall day here, we decided to meet them at a apple orchard.  We met them at an orchard we've been to for several years running now, but this is probably the first time we've been there when it's been such a lovely day because it's the first time we've been there when there were so many people there!  Despite what's suggested by this picture, we did not pick apples (we bought them), but we did have fall fun.

Slinky-Slimy Pajamas

Night-night!

After bedtime stories have wrapped, on her way into "take a nap," as Birdie says at nap time and nighttime, she often makes the rounds, dispensing a good night hug to Ted, Joe, and Berenice.  She always includes the Boo.  The "hug," in all cases, is really more of a lean in, with her head.  Here she is "hugging" Berenice last night in more new fall pajamas.  These pajamas represent our first foray into the pajama sets that feature a silky bottom.  The intersection of adult female intimate wear, if you will, and toddler girl sleepwear always unnerved Julie a bit, if you want to know the truth Fans, but yesterday, when the Birds were wandering around Kohl's picking up a few more pajama sets for Clara, Julie suddenly remembered how much she adored such pajamas when she was younger.  She called them "slinky-s" or "slimy-s."  She thought they were so floaty and beautiful--ethereal, had she known that word when she was, say, six.  Clara's first slinky-slimy isn't quite ethereal, but it is slinky-slimmy.

Seriously. . .

CUTE.

A Regular Ol' Dog Party

Just now, Fans, we heard Joe's voice come hurtling upstairs: "No I say it!"  To which we heard Clara reply, "No I say it!"  They say this to each other sometimes, back and forth.  They think it's hilarious.  Not long after, we heard Joe bellow, "Go around again!" which fans of Go, Dog. Go! will recognize along with what followed, a mash up of the book's concluding lines from Joe, at top volume: "To the tree!  To the tree! Up they go to the top of that tree!  What is up there on top of that tree?  A DOG PARTY!  Now do you like my hat?  I do!  I like that party hat!"  Next up was a rendition (again, bellowed) of The Itsy Bitsy Spider.  They are still at it, though they are no longer hollering at each other so it is hard to hear what they are saying, but no doubt, they are under the bed.  We have heard their little feet pounding around, and then not, and why be on one's bed when one can be underneath it?

Friday morning before school. . .

In the "piggy cave."

Friday Night Out

Today was Friday, and Pajama Day, at least at the KinderCare.  It was also an Eat Out At Chipotle Day!  On the way there, we reviewed what this meant.  Clara said, "LISTENING EARS!"  Yes.  Well done, Birdie!  Joe expounded: "Listening ears, and we have to do restaurant behavior, and eat all our lunch--dinner!"  (This last is something that we have found is made much of at the KinderCare--i.e. one cannot have seconds unless one has eaten all of firsts, if you will.)  As he was getting out of the car, Joe said he had listening ears on to the end of the numbers.  Well then!

So there we were in line, with our listening ears on.  The bambini were making like well behaved monkeys in their pajamas and Kangaroos kicks.  An older woman got in line behind us and smiled at them as they flittered around our feet and the stools off to the side.  That was before she realized they were coughing practically every other second.  We've all been a bit under the weather at Raleigh House this week.  We're through the worst of it, but Coughs McGoo and his erstwhile companion Coughs McGee will probably sound like they belong in a TB ward for another three weeks--you know how it goes, Fans.  We can only say that Joe coughed into his elbow 100% of the time, as taught, that Clara is learning to do the same, but that all the same, it was all slightly less charming to the older woman who was no doubt reminded of the fact that with the charming flittering about in pajamas comes a necessary comfort levels with decidedly less charming bodily functions for which no one is wistful.

On the way home, we were listening to the radio.  An announcer reported that there had been some rain in St. Louis Park and Minnetonka today, but not may other places.  That's when Joe piped up from the back that St. Louis Park was where we lived--!!!!!  Look who's in the Looky Loo!  Coughs McGoo.