Cousin Chaos

On Monday afternoon, we braved holiday crowds, uncooperative kids, and a photographer who was in a hurry to get off shift, and somehow emerged with a shot of all six Cecchin cousins.

There were some casualties, including a black eye ... although Joey caused it with an accidental kick, Clara confessed to it way too readily and sincerely, and Joey let her. How can they look so sweet, and yet be so devious? Sorry, Tommy!

Winter Workout

Trying to work off all those holiday cookies and glasses of wine? Try this simple, but achingly effective, calorie-burner this winter.

You'll need one local ice skating rink, one 52-pound little boy, and another 35-pound little girl. Check? OK, wrangle them (and yourself) into ice skates and cold weather gear. Ignore all pleas for hot chocolate -- your workout has barely begun! Your destination is that slippery, lethal arena over there, where yes, upon closer inspection, you realize your child should probably be wearing a helmet. Never mind, hobble on, and hope that you leave with the same number of fingers you arrived with.

Remember, this is supposed to be fun.

Just hang on tight to your designated child, who may or may not be floundering around like baby Bambi, and half-carry, half-slide him or her around the perimeter of the rink. Are your back and abs screaming yet? Up the ante by zigzagging around a Sweet 16 gaggle of teenage girls, give some space to that couple making out on the wall, and dodge those pre-teen boys who are zipping around at mach speed throwing snowballs at each other. 

Repeat 15 times.

Pause for obligatory photo op.

For extra credit, haul bundled-up baby out of her carseat for another obligatory photo op to prove that she was there, too.

You did it! You burned off your dinner! Now, go finish your warmdown. Get those skates off, walk six blocks back to your car, buckle everybody back in, drive home, wake everybody up and get their jammies on, and finally, finally...

enjoy those holiday cookies and a glass of wine!

Marriage Training

Three years of staring at the same person across the breakfast table, and the bloom is officially off the rose.

This morning, Joey's head was hovering over his cereal as he shovelled in his third bowl-ful of Cheerios.

In other words, not the time for small talk. But Clara always tries.

"Joey, do you like my piggy tails??"

Joey emitted a long-suffering sigh, rolled his eyes, and said, "Clara, you ALWAYS ask me if I like your piggy tails, and I ALWAYS say yes!"

I think tomorrow morning he needs a newspaper to hide behind.

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Seven Months

Molly celebrated seven months with a bang: she rolled her way off a bed and onto the floor, and popped out her first tooth two days later.

In related news, she's drooling up a storm, loves to chomp down on unsuspecting fingers, and now loudly objects to being left alone on beds.

When she's not gnawing on Sophie the Giraffe, her toes, or her teething ring, she's giggling and smiling, or practicing her sitting skills. She can usually be reached in one of her two home offices -- the Jumperoo or the Exersaucer.

Finally, she loves being kissed, especially by stuffed animals. Here she is falling for Jingle the Elf's moves...

Little Theta Xis

The past four years have been busy ones for the San Francisco - Lamorinda branch of the Theta Xi family tree! I can't believe five of these babies were born this spring and summer!

Here they all are tying one on at a holiday party on Saturday night. Joey doesn't look nearly as excited as he should be about the boy : girl ratio here.

A Star is Born

After two false starts, I finally have a child who will cooperate in front of the camera!

Today I took Molly for a 6-month photo shoot while Joey and Clara were (strategically) at school, and unencumbered by the dead weight of her older brother and sister, she turned on the charm for the camera. Luckily, she's young enough to totally pull off wearing a Christmas tree on her rear end.

It's Baaaaack!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Making Believers Out of Them

On Sunday morning, a little pointy-eared visitor arrived on the scene. His name is Jingle, he hails from the North Pole, and for the month of December, he's taking notes on who's being good or bad, and reporting back to Santa Claus.

Ingenious? Maybe. The kids barely gave him a passing glance before moving on to the family room for cartoons. Joey gave us a look that can only be described as patient disbelief, like he didn't want to hurt our feelings by calling the whole premise into question.

The only thing that gave them pause? The paragraph in Santa's letter that said that they needed to keep an eye on Jingle, because he's pretty silly, and gets into a lot of trouble.

Joey took a second look at the stuffed felt doll, and appraised his mischief-making abilities.


"Are you SURE he can do silly stuff?? Is he REAL??"

I assured him that yes, Jingle was like Woody and Buzz from Toy Story -- he may look floppy and fake, but he's watching them all the time, and leaps to life when no one is around.

Jingle is a man of much fewer words, and much more emphatic gestures.

He had been here barely 24 hours when Joey woke me up at six o'clock in the morning, whispering, "MOMMY!! The little man -- Jingle Bell! -- knocked our tree over!!"

Shattered ornaments... lights askew...a noble fir on its side stretching from the living room to the dining room. The picture was hideously complete. This was Jingle's handiwork through and through, and despite a messy start to the morning, his downed tree squashed any lingering doubts about his magical abilities. Especially when we finally tracked him down, sheepishly hiding on top of the ceiling fan in the family room.

Any hint of back talk, dilly-dallying, or disobedience has been cut short today by simply calling, "Jingle!! Did you hear that??"

If only we inspired the same awe! In the meantime, we're bracing ourselves for his (or the dogs') next nighttime antic ... but have secured the top of the tree to the ceiling beam just in case!

Case in Point

This morning, we had a long conversation about Santa Claus with Clara, who is still fuzzy on the details surrounding the man in the red suit.

I summed up our lengthy talk by saying, "But remember, Santa Claus only brings presents to good boys and good girls."

She processed this for barely a second before answering, "I don't think I like Santa Claus anymore."

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Even Moose is in the holiday spirit!

We had a busy day, picking our tree...

...following it to the trimming station...

... watching the chainsaw in action...

 ...looking cute...

...posing for a Christmas photo (fail)...

...taking the tree home...

...and decorating it!

While the "big kids" sorted out the ornaments, Molly snuggled and gave kisses.

We treated ourselves to popcorn and hot chocolate...

...and finally, enjoyed the finished product!

A Moment in Time

I think it should be a matter of policy that school picture taking companies provide a courtesy box of Kleenex when they hand you photos that make your children look this grown-up.  

For the record, I'm taking Clara to get her bangs trimmed today! I didn't realize just how crooked they were until they were immortalized here.

Yes, Teachers are Human, Too

With the number of teachers Joey has in his family, I can't believe it took him so long to come to this breathless realization.

"Mommy, did you KNOW?? My teacher doesn't sleep in our classroom at night! She ACTUALLY has a house, too!"

The Kids' Table 2010

Thanksgiving this year was all about counting our many blessings and controlling the chaos that occurs when seven little beings are residing in the same house for five days. Thanks to Hop and Mop for not only putting up with our circus, but also putting us up in a hotel a half mile away while all the kids stayed behind for sleepovers! Our demanding little creatures are early risers, voracious breakfast eaters, and have a huge fondness for messy, loud toys.

They did behave themselves for short periods of time... here they are corralled at the kids' table on Thanksgiving, and all ready for bed a couple of hours later.

I can't believe this is the same group from 2009!

Molly's looking forward to being included in the cousins shot next year! Thanks to Shawna for taking these!

Friend or Enemy?

We're loath to admit it, especially after bragging about our little angel for so long, but we have a terrorist in our midst. She may look more darling than dangerous, she may prefer dresses over full military attire, but she's becoming shockingly well-versed in tall tales, subterfuge, and defiance.

We have no way of knowing how Clara would have developed in a normal home, but with an older brother molding her during these formative years, she is afraid of absolutely nothing and no one, loves nothing more than starting fights (that she can definitely finish), loves to taunt and tease, and seems to be losing her grip on the difference between reality and her active imaginary world. Sometimes I wonder if we have a little sociopath in the making.

Of course, we still see flashes of our old Clara, especially when she's at school, where she's quickly become a teacher's pet. A trio of little girls flock to her side when she walks in the door, and she shares, cleans up, and cooperates like a model preschooler. She is probably the only girl in class who knows all of the boys' names, and she addresses them as "my Henry," "my Peter," and "my Ian."

But as soon as we're buckled into the car on the way home from school, her darker side emerges.

"MOOOOMMY, my boo-boo hurts!! You punched me in the face! Remember, last Thursday??"

Or, after fighting like a she-cat to fasten her own carseat straps, she leans back contentedly, and announces,

"Joey, I didn't go to school today."

or,

"Joey, today is not Tuesday. It's Sunday!"

Comments like these are expertly designed to enrage Joey, leading to a pitched battle of wills, until Clara finally catches my eye in the rearview mirror, and admits with a sly smile, "I know. I'm lying."

She had her first classic, ridiculously dramatic public meltdown this week after dance class, and had to be carried to the car kicking and screaming, tutu'd rear end in the car.

She has a love-hate relationship with the baby, often smothering her with kisses and proudly showing her off to strangers. But she loves to poke her head into her carseat when she's sound asleep, and roar like a lion. And she's quick to blame the only non-verbal person in the house for all sorts of transgressions, including errant crayon marks, crumby messes, and toy explosions.

Her list for Santa Claus is a disturbing snapshot into her terrorist-in-training mind. All she apparently wants for Christmas is a pogo stick and a real frog. I shudder to think what evil plot she's cooking up.

In a desperate bid to get a handle on this behavior, I'm ordering this...

Any other parents of a three-year-old want to place a bulk order for a volume discount?

HaYAH!

With the addition of one black stripe on his novice Tae Kwon Do belt, Joey's well on his way to a black belt -- obviously a requirement for any boy with two younger sisters.

Here he is after his test today, receiving his stripe that is, in fact, made of electrical tape. Is his belt no longer machine washable??

Joey and his Tae Kwon Do buddy, James, are goofy and inseparable. Joey loves James because a) he has the same name as a Thomas train, b) he loves to play Super Spy after Tae Kwon Do every week, and c) James thinks Joey is hilarious.

Joey and James performed the X-Block portion of their test together. When Joey told me the name of these moves, he called them "sex blocks." Joey's the one on the left, shouting out "HaYAH!" like a future Army Ranger.

He may look intense, and he may have the most exuberant and loudest "haYAH!" in the bunch, but he's definitely not the toughest. He limped out of the studio after his test, convinced that he'd broken his foot on the paddles he was kicking.

One small stripe, one giant wound.