The Nest

My girls just have an innate nesting instinct.  They are often building nests, if indoor of blankets and pillows, or if outdoors of cut grass or other soft material.  This was a lovely nest they built on a beautiful summer day.  

Armchair (or Bed) Explorers

Do You Believe in the Devil?

The Junior Minstrels are putting on Damn Yankees this spring, which I am not myself familiar with, but which, my mother informed me, is about a man selling his soul to the devil (oh my!).  At the first rehearsal the kids read through a synopsis and several of the scenes.  The role of the devil (Applegate) is a toss-up between Lee and our neighbor Liam.

On the way home I was asking the kids if they think the devil exists.

I will paraphrase Clara's response:

"Well, Mom, you know when you get tired of life and everything seems dark and you don't want to go on living anymore?  I think when that happens it's kind of like the devil is inside your mind."

Wow.  How old is she?!?

Great Expectations

I must mark down that we recently finished listening to Great Expectations in the car.  Occasionally we would pause to explain some obscure or reference or witticism, but generally the girls kept up with the plot and enjoyed the story.  It took us a few months to listen to all seventeen hours, and I feel a bit empty now, just like when we finished the Harry Potter or Chronicles of Prydain series.

I found portions of it quite tedious, but overall I enjoyed it.  The reader brought the characters to life, and after reading the biographies of Charles Dickens we could imagine him up on stage reading it himself with all the different voices and mannerisms.  I can still hear Miss Haversham's voice as she said "Do you love her, Pip?"

I think both girls will remember bits of this book for the rest of their lives, just as I had vivid images of Miss Haversham dressed in her wedding gown in her rooms (although to be honest I didn't remember anything else from the book).

I don't think it was quite as popular as the Harry Potter books with the kids, but then again it was shorter than The Half-Blood Prince.

Girls in Snow

Nice Bruise, Lee!

A Wee Sledding Incident

The Trauma of the Teeth

Losing teeth continues to be traumatic for Lee.  Clara's lost four, and while they haven't been without a few tears, they've been much easier than Lee's.  Lee has not lost a single tooth without tears and a fair amount of upset.  The other night Bridges pulled one of her incisors.  It was gray and very loose and definitely ready to come out, but it still bled.  She rinsed and rinsed but it was still a bit bloody.  She was shaking and crying and just a mess, and she managed to get out "I feel like I"m being torn apart!"  I lay down with her afterwards for a while to calm her down so she could get to sleep.

Poor thing.  I am so positive that this is not uncommon for sensitive children that I'm not even going to google it.  I just keep repeating to myself, "Ten down; ten to go."

Clara's Inventions Speech

Clara handed me a paper titled "Inventions Speech" the other day.  Here it is (with spelling, capitalization, and punctuation corrected):

"When you invent things you are always using some one else's work.  For instance, I made a window / roof using duct tape, wood, wire, and plastic bags.  So if you are ever lonely and alone you always have something with you.  For instance, clothes or something.  So always think about what you have and see what you can make out of it to help you.  So when you feel like you are alone you are NEVER ever alone.  Thank you for letting me say this.  Thank you very much.  You are not alone, so look around you and see what you have."

On Black Diamonds and Moguls

Our girls have just taken off with the skiing this year.   It's been a lot of fun.  Clara is the more adventurous, wanting to put black diamond notches in her belt, and enjoying the bumps with Daddy.

She was very excited to ski Angel Street, which is one of the steeper blacks at Loon.  We waited until a morning when there was a few fresh inches of powder.  She went right down it with no problems.

We got to the bottom of the lift, and with a big grin she said to me, "Mom, I didn't know there was a feeling better than birthday cake."

"What's that, Clara?"

"Feeling proud of myself!"

Clara Punk Rocker

Tired of nagging about hair brushing and tired of the tears over tangles, I put down my foot and told Clara we were cutting her hair.  She had had plenty of warnings while she was growing it longer (just so you don't think I'm a mean mom).  So I took her in and Maureen, my wonderful haircutter, cut it all off.  She must have spent forty-five minutes cutting it.  I guess really straight hair is really hard to cut short.

Well, I thought it looked fantastic.  When we walked out to the car, Lee said to Clara, "You look weird."  Thanks, Lee.  That's the sibling support I need.

Clara got a lot of positive comments.  She got tired of the comments but seemed to adjust to the new hair.  And honestly the tangles aren't an issue anymore.  There's just not enough hair to get tangled.

The brushing, however, is still a problem.   This is how she looks most mornings now, and yes, I still need to nag.  Secretly, I think the punk look suits her.

A Special Dinner

Clara decided to give us all a special dinner.  She gave us a certificate and all.  It turned out it wasn't all-inclusive, as I discovered when I asked her who was going to cook this special dinner.  As a matter of fact, it pretty much covered setting the table, writing up menus, and serving the food.

We decided one evening that it was the night.  I was feeling inspired to make cream puffs (I felt I must address the fact that my children had never eaten cream puffs!) so I did that.  Dinner was more complicated, as I had to cook things that were supposed to be a surprise.  It was kind of tricky, actually.

Finally the time came.  Clara met Bridges and me at the entrance to "Topega" (I'm glad our studying the state capitals has made an impression).

I saw a beautifully-set table beyond, complete with menus and candles.  

The menus were a bit of a surprise, especially the extensive kids' menu.

The dessert selection was even more extensive.

We all decided to have cream puffs, not only because they were really recommended, but because the other entries were all figments of Clara's imagination.