Bedtime Travails Continue Mostly Unabated, Our Hero Attempts Bold New Course

Fans, as we bring you this bulletin, the bambini are attempting to put themselves to bed at a reasonable hour while their respective biggest fan is in the bed less than six feet across the way.  It's been rough going of late.  Clara's latest shenanigan has been to leap out of bed the moment we've departed to turn on the light.  Luckily, Ted remembered that one can turn the light off with the ceiling fan's pull chain, rendering the light switch superfluous.  (It's a good thing, too, because Julie was ready to remove the switch plate cover and cut the wires to best her daughter.  She does tend to go extremes.  Oh, she WILL show them.  It was as she contemplated this move that she called for Ted reinforcements.)  Birdie's other go-to bedtime disruption maneuver is to antagonize Joe by getting all up in his grill.  It's all F 'n' G until Joe dissolves into tears, which is what happened rather quickly tonight.

So Julie sent Clara out of the room and sat down to have a chat with Joe about the two things he needs to be working on.  First, the resurgence in the reliance on crying to solve problems.  Julie pointed out that he was pretty creative and pretty smart, so she knew he could use his brain more to figure out a better way to solve his problems.  She reminded him that he was going to be going to kindergarten in the fall, and he had to have this figured out by then.  Second, she said he had to stand up for himself.  Joe broke in and said, "I'm going turn and face the wall."  (This would mean he wouldn't be facing Clara.)

Fans.  He said it with such conviction.  It was such a great moment.  Julie said "YES!" and held her hand for a high five.  She said, "You go!  And you stick to your guns!"

And Joe said, "You said gun."

Sigh.

Julie said that was true, but that it was part of an expression--like raining buckets, which means it's raining a lot, but not actually raining buckets.  But still, point taken, and she'd think of some other way to say what she meant and came up with "Stand your ground," right about the same time that Joe said, "It's raining baseballs!"

Sure.

And now Birdie is down there making a racket, but there's no sound from Our Hero.

Clara's Very First Play Date of Her Very Own

Clara, Silvia, and Daphne

Birdie, in a circular boat like they use in Vietnam.

The Boss.  (Move over, Bruce.)

Birdie on the climbing wall in the Dora and Diego exhibit.

This morning, the Bird flew across the river to meet Clara's friends Daphne and Silvia and their mothers at the Children's Museum.  It was Clara's first ever play date of her very, very own--i.e. where the friends were just hers and not the younger siblings of friends Joe knew first.  (Her other buddies are Connor, Emma, and Avrey, but they are the younger siblings of Graham, Eli, and Austin, respectively--all friends Joe knew first.)  Daphne and Silvia came up through the KinderCare ranks with Clara.  They were all in the same toddler room, then in the same "twos" room, and have recently been reunited in Pre-C.  Clara spent some time this morning tearing about the house hollering "Daphne and Silvia!"

So excitement was at a fever pitch, and the morning did not disappoint.  Daphne hugged Clara so hard when the Birds walked into the museum, the girls nearly toppled over.  This scene was repeated with Silvia arrived.  There is a visiting exhibit about circles and after each of the mothers had painted her respective daughter's face, that's where the girls spent a lot of time.  But they also explored the World Works and Earth World galleries, and--the Dora and Diego exhibit, also visiting.  Clara was the first to tear into it, where Julie found her clutching Boots* in an ardent and passionate hug.

By a quarter to eleven, Clara was on the verge of having an excitement-induced breakdown, and you know, Julie wouldn't have been far behind her, though for different reasons.  (Another Sunday in April that feels like an early March Sunday makes for a crowded and slightly insane Children's Museum experience.)  But they made it out without incident, and then!--Julie managed to keep Clara awake all the way back across the river until they got to Punch for lunch (Pizza!  They are circles!  Wheels!  Let's find all the circles outside!  And sing songs!  What do you want me to sing?!?!  Take Me Out To the Ball Game again?!?!  O-kay!).  The Birds had a lovely, cozy ladies lunch in the mercifully, for-once-not-very-crowded Punch while the snow flew outside.

And now the exhausted Birdie is asleep.

*"A furry monkey and Dora's best friend."  Thanks, Inter-webs!

Less Is More

Our Birdie is a clothes horse.  Though she be but two-almost-three, we can tell.  Tonight, we heard crying coming from the bambini's room.  When Julie called in to find out what was the matter, Clara said "the sweater isn't working."  Indeed.  Clara had opened up her wardrobe and gotten down her two hoodies and a cardigan--more of a shrug really--and had proceeded to put them all on on top of her long-sleeved fleece pajama top.  The cardigan wasn't built for quite that much layering, much to Birdie's consternation, and while it's true in fashion that one often has to make it work, it is also often true that less is more.

Much to Julie's consternation, she realized that Birdie had been out of bed not only to round up the transitional outerwear, but also to add still more animals to the ark-that-was-Joe's-bed as well as their capes.  As Julie was removing enough items from Joe's bed to allow the two of them enough room to sleep there tonight, she swore to God that if they didn't stop getting out of bed to gather up all manner of things to drag into it, she was going to figure out some way to take every last thing out of that room.  After a moment, Joe said, "Even us?"

So we guess he called her bluff.  Apparently, when it comes to hyperbole, less may also be more.

Just Another Day at the Park

Aunt Kate leaves tomorrow, Fans.  Sigh.  We didn't do anything particularly special for her State Visit (well, we made her a birthday cake), but she made everything more special all the same, you know? We will miss her so.  This afternoon, the sun came out so we headed out on a walk which turned into a walk to the park.  Joe started out on the scooter Santa brought for him, but since he's terribly good and pushing off, but not then gliding, he abandoned it in favor of tearing off down the sidewalk with his arms extended hollering, "To infinity!  And beyond!"  (What he lacks in scooter skills as of yet, he makes up for in Buzz Lightyear imitation skills.)  Clara walked the whole way to the park holding her Aunt Kate's hand.  Once at the park, Joe tore about like one of the big kids for whom he used to make way.  There's this blue gear-shaped part of the playground that used to intimidate him.  Today, he was climbing all over it, and swinging from one part to catch another part with his feet.  Clara bounced around like a ping pong ball, steering clear of the big kids, but trying everything, and calling to everyone, especially Joe, "Look at me!"  It felt so fabulous to be outside, and to have Aunt Kate with us for our very first 2013 park outing.

Of Marble(s)

In the wake of Julie's hollering and leaping about like a rabid jackrabbit the other night, Joe and Clara have kept their bedtime antics to a minimum.  Go figure.  Tonight, after Julie had given each of the bambini a piggyback ride to bed, Ted hung around and told them a Moe story.  Really, it's a Moe and Sara story, but they go by Moe stories, and Joe or Clara or both will attempt to secure them almost as soon as the cover on the last book is closed.  Emotional blackmail of the waterworks variety typically ensues if Ted breaks the bad news that it is not a Moe story night.  Occasionally, before resorting to the emotional blackmail, the bambini will ask Julie (Ted's understudy) to sing a song.  Lately, she's been singing Do Re Mi (or, Doe a Deer as it's called here at Raleigh House), and the bambini have begun to imitate her motions (tea with jam and bread and all) and it's all very charming.

Anyway.  Tonight was a Moe Story Night.  Upon emerging, Ted told Julie and Kate that Joe had made some remark indicating that they would act appropriately, "so Mommy won't lose her marble."

Almost five years into this gig, and Julie does only have the one left.

Clara continues to migrate to Joe's bed.  Last night, she awoke at 4:30am crying because she couldn't "curl up."  You see the number of animal friends in the bed, right, Fans?  And pillows?  And blankets?