Ivy's Particulars

Lately she's particular about:
-Moon boots- must have them on at all times, including church
-Snacks being in bags (not too difficult unless we're having something like pudding)
-Having the entire bag of goldfish in one sitting
-Wearing a certain jacket that's too small and a hat that's too warm indoors
-Bike helmets- according to her, everyone should be wearing them. Indoors.
-Not being anywhere near the grocery cart (and heaven forbid, in it) when I'm checking out. I think she's afraid I'm going to let them scan her and bag her alla Maggie Simpson
-Ketchup- she dipped cereal (from her bag) in it this morning
-Saying good night to the polka dot pattern on her crib bumper
-Minnie Mouse PJs; I almost want to hide them so I don't have to spend another morning listening to her scream after I've forced her into something decent to go out in.
-Ma-Mom. Every time Peter asks her if she wants to do anything (go for a walk, read a book, get ready for bed, etc.) she adamantly says, "NOOOOO!!! Ma-Mom." For the record, we (usually) don't give in.
-A Winnie-the-Pooh bottle. She's never taken a bottle, but recently found a newborn-sized bottle and likes to swig water from it. She took it to bed tonight (empty)
ice-cream-stache
Minnie pjs

500th Post Special: Nellie Bang Washer's Life

I discovered this story of Bryn's strewn about on the floor 10 months ago (last May). Presenting Nellie Bang Washer's Life...

A Day for Play

It was 61 degrees Fahrenheit this afternoon, and the final leavings of the nasty snow from January finally vanished from our backyard. We molted our winter jackets and unfolded our wings in the relatively warm tropical air.

Ivy sat in the sand pile for hours scooping sand into and out of a bucket, and kept looking up with a smirk like she just couldn't believe her good luck that she was getting away with something as dastardly as playing with dirt.


Bryn visited and fed all of her pet rocks (her big rocks eat a steady diet of small rocks). You'll be glad to know that Sally the hippo, the Birdhead, and Craggy Peak all survived the winter unscathed.



Calvin hopped around swinging sticks, flinging mud, and scattering rock food all about with gleeful abandon. And in the midst of one of his tree climbings, I happened to snap one of the money shots that will be hanging on my wall shortly.

Of course I just as joyfully sat in the dirt and the sun and played with my toys (my camera and my lens from Christmas).

The older kids put themselves to bed tonight. Welcome warm weather, come back anytime!

All Around the Sugar Bush

I joined Bryn and her 1st grade class on a field trip to a local farm for maple sugaring. Here are some fun facts I learned about maple sugaring:
-the grove of maple trees being tapped is called the "sugar bush"
-it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. A family of 5 can produce enough syrup for their needs with 3-4 large maples and maples need to be at least 40 years old before tapping (I've got my eye on the maples across the street)
-Native Americans made maple sugar by burning bowl-shaped hollows into logs, pouring sap in, and sticking hot rocks in the basin to evaporate the water out of the sap
-the evaporator steam is one of the most heavenly smells ever
-if you cut a shallow trough around the entire circumference of a tree, it will probably die of starvation
-Nine 7 year-olds will cover themselves with sap from a tree tap in about 10 seconds flat

I'm craving pancakes.

Job Aspirations

Bryn announced in the car on the way home from piano lessons today that she has a new job in sight for herself. Naturally, POTUS is still on the docket, and veterinarian has been in the works for a while, but she's decided to further branch out vocationally.

Essentially, she wants to be a Dr. Frankenstein for animals. She's planning to work as a veterinarian for a few years, to gain a deep understanding of the inner workings of animals, and then move on to being an "animal scientist" that builds new animals.

Her first creation will be a flying unicorn. She even detailed the plan:
1. Take a horse, make it white (if necessary)
2. Find a stick on the ground
3. Drill a small hole in the horse's head
4. Attach said stick with glue and stuff
5. Procure a dead chicken and cut it's wings off
6. Paint them white and make them bigger with a rolling pin
7. Sew the wings onto the horse

Voila! One flying unicorn.

She also mentioned creating a dragon and Sphinx (she will dig up a dead person and use their head for the Sphinx). She laughingly said of her job, "It'll be sort of like I'm an animal torturer, except they'll mostly be dead or numb."

I don't know whether to be deeply disturbed or just enjoy her creativity (of course I favor the latter).