Caught Redhanded

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Breaking Ground

With the inside of our house painted and updated, we've now moved our focus outside to the yards, with the goal of replacing decks with grass, creating new patio spaces, installing drainage and irrigation, building new fences and gates, and constructing a new retaining wall.

It's been noisy, dirty, and not much fun to be trapped indoors in the middle of the summer. The consolation prize? Getting to ogle all kinds of construction equipment from this perch every day:



They'll miss the cement mixer, which will probably arrive while we're in Tahoe next week, but Joey did get to catch a ride on the Bobcat after hours with Joe, our contractor, who is met every morning by choruses of "Hi, Joe!! Hi, Joe! Are we getting grass today?"




After the first week of demolition was complete, I think our neighbors were convinced we were digging a pool in the back yard.

No pool, but we do hope to show off a really fun, functional backyard and front yard soon...along with a new mailbox! :)

Fun in the Moraga Sun

With our back yard out of commission, and a grandma in town eager to see all of her grandkids, Shawna and I rounded everyone up for a trip to the Moraga Commons last Friday. With everyone slathered in sunscreen (especially the Daly City contingency), we ate lunch and let the kids run around in the water feature and on the grass. Everyone had a blast!

Overheard

Joey and Gitte were seated in the "way back" of the SUV yesterday, but I had fun eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Gitte, do you know Uncle Kyle?"

"Um, no."

"You know my uncle Kyle?"

(Blank stare.)

"Well, he's a big kid. Actually, he looks like an adult, but he's a big kid. A giant kid. I think he's 10 years old."

Man-Size Portions for Our Little Man

I can always tell when Joey is going through a growth spurt. He wakes up ravenous and goes to bed ravenous. He's been known to sneak out of bed, collect food from the kitchen, and eat a late-night snack in his bedroom... the cereal bar wrappers and graham cracker crumbs are the telltale sign in the morning. It's hard to tell what's stalling tactic, and what's true hunger, but at night, he's prone to clutching his stomach, and auditioning for a piteous Oliver Twist role: "I just want a little something to eaaaaat. I'm staaaarving!! I'm really, really, really, REALLY starving!!"

If he didn't look like such a stringbean right now, I might be less sympathetic.

Despite how lean he looks, at exactly four and a half, he's still at the top of the growth charts. At 47.5 pounds, he's in the 94th percentile for weight, and at 44 inches tall, he's in the 90th percentile for height.

He might be the biggest eater in the family right now. At breakfast, he can down three waffles, three scrambled eggs, two sausage links, fresh fruit, a glass of juice, and a glass of milk, and still be eyeing Clara's plate for leftovers.

Is it too soon to say he might have a future in competitive eating?

"Red"

Miss Molly May is living up to her half-Irish pedigree with her pretty auburn hair, and it's the first thing people comment on when they see her.

"Where did she get that red hair??"

Hop and Mop were in town this weekend and told us that "Pa" (Sara's maternal grandpa) was a redhead when he was a young man, around the time he met and married "Ma." While black-and-white pictures have their own timeless appeal, it's a travesty that his hair was never captured in color!

Two-Month Checkup

Molly had her two-month checkup on Wednesday. Of course, she wasn't alone. I think the nurses at our pediatrician office cringe every time they see us straggle through the door -- usually late. After I've executed a very poor parking job in the narrow lot, and the kids have jumped out of the SUV, they love to stampede up the wooden walkway, fight each other to see who gets the privilege of opening the door for Mommy and the baby, and then pour into the waiting room to devour the toys.

Apparently we scarred our nurse, whose daughter is expecting her third baby next month. She shook her head, raised her eyebrows, and said, "Well, my daughter is slightly less crazy than you... her oldest will be six when the baby is born."

After making one mortal enemy for life, she moved on to her next victim; Molly May received four shots in short order, and with a wailing newborn and two rambunctious older siblings intent on bringing the waiting room toys home with us, we made a hasty exit.

I'm surprised I made it out of there with Molly's stats! She's measuring 21.75 inches long (25th percentile), 10 pounds, 5 ounces (50th percentile), and her head circumference is a petite 39 cm (25th percentile).

Fairyland: Not Just for Girls

Despite Joey's reservations about its name, we headed to Fairyland on Monday to meet up with cousins Tommy, Lucy and Marco, and had a fantastic time at this pint-sized take on Disneyland. We didn't spot any fairies at all, much to Joey's relief, but the kids did have fun on the miniature train, the Peter Pan pirate ship, and the Alice in Wonderland underground tunnel.

I had my hands full, and only managed to take a few pictures. The best of the bunch: Joey spotted this mommy kangaroo, and didn't have to be told twice to leap into its pocket:

A Magical Week

A visit from Uncle Kyle feels a little like having a rockstar in the house. A magical rockstar who moonlights as a manny.

Kyle spent five precious vacation days in Moraga and Daly City last week, catering to seven small children and their mothers. He's a master at putting stubborn children down for naps, changing diapers, convincing young swimmers to jump in the pool, carrying bags, purses and strollers, reading books, and, most of all, bringing a little magic to our ho-hum days. He'll be sorely missed around here.

We started going through serious withdrawals the morning after he flew home. I was rudely awakened by Joey at 7 am, when he ran into my room instead of the guest room to start his day. He was not a happy camper, either. He flung himself onto the bed and demanded, "Where did Uncle Kyle go?? The TV isn't magic anymore!! I said, 'TV, turn ON!!!' and it didn't turn on!"

Yes, the magic is definitely gone. I can't commit to a life of keeping the remote tucked under my leg, pushing the power button on the sly while a 4 year-old and 2 year-old wave their arms at the screen like little sorcerers, and command, "TV, on! TV, off!"

We'll just have to wait for our next visit for the magic to return.

Snapshots

I downloaded the new Hipstamatic photo app on my phone a week ago, and barely had a chance to use it before it was commandeered by my tech-savvy children.

The photos I found in my gallery, taken with the "new camera," seem to capture this time better than any of the hundreds of photos I've taken over the last few months. It's a hazy, shadowy, saturated take on life that makes me want time to stand still.

Smiley

Is there anything sweeter?

A Day at the Lake

We traded chlorinated water for lake water on Thursday, joining Grandma Cecchin and cousin Marco at Lake Temescal in Oakland.

Weaning Joey off the SuperGoggles is obviously not going well.

Clara's life vest is a must, even in two feet of water. Being responsible for three kids around the water is a dicey proposition!

Evidence that our third was actually present; Grandma Cecchin introduces her to the lake from afar.


Joey spent much of the afternoon instructing Marco in mischief. He was an avid learner. They threw rocks, chased ducks, made sand angels, and splashed like mad men.

We're looking forward to many more trips here this summer!

Not the Baby Anymore

Yesterday was the first day that I forgot the baby. We were all loaded in the car for swimming lessons and I was reversing out of the driveway when I gasped out loud, hit the brakes, and shouted, "We forgot the baby!"

Joey and Clara exploded in giggles while I unbuckled myself and ran inside to retrieve her (asleep in her carseat in the dining room), and they were still shaking with laughter by the time Molly had joined them in the back of the SUV.

"Mommy, did you forget you had a baby??" Joey shouted from the third row. "Did you think she was still in your tummy? Did you think you just had us??"

"Mommy, did you forget baby? Did you think just us??" squealed Clara, because she parrots everything Joey says these days.

"I guess I did," I said. "That was pretty silly! I thought I just had two kids, not three! That's how it used to be, right?" And then for kicks, I added, "Did you like it better then, or do you like it better now, with Molly?"

"Now!" shouted Joey, the baby addict. He's already been asking for a fourth so someone can join him in his "lonely" row.

Meanwhile, Clara, all giggles gone, and looking out the window at her reflection, whispered, "Then."

She's definitely not the baby anymore, and is adjusting to her new role as both big girl and big sister. From the defiant way she says "be-TUS" to her happy "o-TAY," she's vacillating these days between mischief and sweetness, challenging and ridiculously cute at the same time.

With an older brother to idolize and emulate, she can often be found brandishing a pirate sword and eye patch, insisting that her swim attire is "trunks," swinging a bat, and -- most recently -- pushing and shoving her way around with the swagger of a playground bully twice her size.

But when she's around her cousins or other little girlfriends, she's quick to change her tune, even if this means a quick costume change. Channeling Cinderella, she can shed her usual tomboy attire, slip on a flowery dress, grab her magic wand, and put on her favorite "princess" track faster than you can say "bibbity bobbity boo!"

Her first and favorite partner in crime will always be Joey, and their bond seems to be deepening with the addition of a baby who needs to be soothed, fed, and changed by Mommy much of the time. Their games are becoming more elaborate, their inside jokes more hilarious, and their appetite for mischief more voracious. While I'm constantly exasperated by their conniving ways, I love that they have each other, especially now, while Clara adapts to her new middle child status.

When I asked Joey who he played with in childcare at the gym the other day, he looked at me like I had two heads.

"I have Clara. I don't need to play with anyone else. She's my best friend."

The answering look on Clara's face can only be described as smug.

Underemployed

This morning, I had to make some urgent edits for a client. Fitting in work during our morning routine is never easy, but I quickly calculated that my task would require 1 unit of Noggin time -- almost exactly 24 minutes -- and I fired up a crowd-pleaser: Max & Ruby. With Joey and Clara immobilized in front of the TV, and Molly asleep in her swing, I rushed into the office, racing against the clock.

As hard as it may be to fit in, I'm proud that I can still manage to make time for my design work. It's like keeping my brain cells on a fits-and-starts cardio regimen. Even if I can't do it every day, doing something other than the daily drudgery of childcare and housework is bound to be a good thing. And while I may not be the breadwinner around here, my intermittent paydays do make a difference.

Which is why I got so irritated when Max & Ruby ended -- and domestic chaos resumed -- all before I had completed my task. Immediately, I was fending off a toddler trying to climb in my lap for "snuggles," and a demanding 4 year-old who was insistent that he was starving, despite the fact that he had just finished breakfast a half hour ago. Desperate for a few more minutes of work time, I tried to shepherd them both out of the office and into the family room. "Mommy needs to do five more minutes of work, okay??"

Joey crossed his arms, and replied imperiously, "Work?? You don't work! Daddy works!"

Immediately my hackles went up. "Mommy works, too! I just don't go to an office like Daddy."

Clearly not processing this, he responded, "No you don't. You work for us!" And then he swivelled around and retreated to the family room, almost certainly plotting what mess he was going to make next.

One thing is for sure: He will never be a domestic serf himself.

The Comedy and the Tragedy

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone