50-Year Floods

So I've posted the last few springs and summers about the vast quantities of rain we've been having. I think eight or nine inches in a month was about the most I remember (we average between 3 1/2 - 4 inches per month).

I don't know the exact total, but this March we've had between 15 and 17 inches of rain. We had two storms where it poured nonstop for about three days. It was the rainiest March ever, and close to the rainiest month ever. There was lots of flooding in the area, and several counties including ours have been declared federal disaster areas (one bright side is that we have until May 11th to file taxes!).

How did we fare? Better than our friends the Faulkners in Winchester, who ended up with knee-deep water in the garage, five feet in their basement, and not a bit of lawn left to see. We had put a French drain on the uphill side of our house, and that really helped because we had no water where we've had it before. But, we got water coming in on the downhill side. Bridges set up a second sump pump, but we still had about an inch of water in two rooms in the basement. We had to move some things around, and Bridges spent a fair amount of time cleaning up water.

The horrible thing about it was that because the two big storms were separated by over a week, everyone had pretty much just gotten cleaned up from the first when it started raining again.

Springtime for Bears

Clara's preschool always does this cute thing about hibernation. At the beginning of winter, the class paints a bear "cave" (cardboard box), and they put a stuffed bear inside with a sign saying "Bear Sleeping." Then as spring nears they start talking about how the bear is going to wake up because spring is coming. They then pick a particular day, and then have a party and watch the bear wake up.

There's even a song that goes to the tune of Brother John:

Bears are sleeping, bears are sleeping,

In their lairs, in their lairs,

Soon it will be springtime, soon it will be springtime,

Wake up bears, wake up bears.

We've been practicing rounds with these lyrics.

Well, yesterday was the big day. Each child is allowed to bring a favorite stuffed bear or animal in for the day. Clara, of course, chose Tiger. She was so excited.

When I picked her up, I asked her if she got to hold Tiger all day, and cuddle with him.

"What was it like, Clara?" I said.

"Mommy," she said, "it was just like Christmas!"

Spring!

It's warm enough to play outside in the sandbox!

But, later that afternoon, it's quite a bit chillier at the beach when we go visit Nicole and her kids in Manchester. Brrrr......

The beach minus about four feet of sand after the last storm

How would you like to live here?

MGC Website

I was just looking at Mass Gymnastics's website, and noticed this picture of Lee.

Mommy Beans

The kids call Edamame "Mommy Beans." I like that.

Fruitlands

Today we visited Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA. What a beautiful spot!

I love outdoor sculpture, and this exhibit of tree people ranked up there with the giant bugs we saw at Garden in the Woods last year.

How can this face possibly be so expressive?

Fire, What Fire?

Last night I put the kettle on (yes, the second kettle we've bought that only intermittently whistles), left the room, and forgot about it. Half an hour later, the smoke alarms went off. Twice.

Well, the kettle is ruined, which is probably for the best, because I can try yet another model.

Also, I've now verified that my kids will sleep right through a smoke alarm. It's actually a bit scary, and is a stark reminder of how much we serve as protector in our role as parent.