Our Day at the Zoo

Today was an unexpectedly balmy 70 degrees and the Moo asked to go to the Zoo. So, we scrapped the plans we had had for tidying up the house and headed out to the National Zoo in DC. The animals were more active than we have ever seen them, and we had two Zoo firsts: we saw Happy the Hippo actually come out of his indoor pool and go outside (he is HUGE) and we saw the Orangutans swinging on their O line! It was an awesome day altogether, but I will let the Moo, Bean, and Dad tell you that in their own words, along with some footage of one impressive hippo (and yes, I promise that soon the novelty of the Flip will wear off and you won't be subjected to all our home movies, although I can't promise to spare you from the continuing adventures of Conga Monkey and Blankie Riding Hood . . . ):

Arachnid Roundtable

Another first: the inaugural episode of the Moo and Bean wild animal show (and no, they are not the wild animals). For those who have not spent too much time with the girls, this is pretty typical backseat conversation for them.

Moo and Bean: The Movie

Dad got a Flip video recorder for Christmas from his girls, and this morning the girls created their first movie. A few caveats: PLEASE ignore the house looking like a ToysRUs exploded in it. We have not yet faced the daunting task of rearranging the house to accommodate the new toys, so they are strewn throughout the house, which looks awful. Also, please forgive the Moo's meltdown at the end -- Mom apparently messed up her script and the Moo was up until almost midnight last night for some reason, so her tolerance for any mistakes was nil. Mom and Dad have not yet figured out how to edit on the Flip, or we would have edited the last part out. Nonetheless, this is the very first original Moo-Bean creation and production, so we wanted to post it in all its glorious weirdness and imperfections in the hopes that it is the first of many. Please try to literally look past the Moo's freak out in the end to see the Bean's spontaneous interpretative dance in the background -- it's awesome.

Christmas at the MooBean House

I am writing this post with my brand new laptop that Dad got me for Christmas. I had confided earlier to a friend that I hoped that Dad was not naive enough, after seven years of marriage, to think that when I said not to get me anything for Christmas that it meant not to get me anything for Christmas. :) I was thinking something small, though, and the laptop was a huge surprise! My favorite gift by far, however, is to the left -- it is the Moo's interpretation of Van Gogh's "Starry Night," painted on canvas. I love it! We made a beef tenderloin with chive and sour cream mashed potatoes and Glouchester Cheese Soup (trying to sneak the veggies past the kids) for dinner. The girls and I baked chocolate wreath cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies, fudge and popcorn balls, and made Dad fob most of them off on the neighbors.

The rest of our Christmas was filled with Leapsters, alien makers, tea parties, and decorating and playing with the Calico Critters Manor House, which is now happily inhabited by a family of kitties and a family of mice (plus a bunny that was our first Calico Critter acquisition about a yea ago and who frankly has seen better days). I have included a slide show of roughly a million pictures of the girls opening their gifts (we tried to get shots of them opening all the gifts from relatives). It requires an extremely high tolerance for pictures of the Moo and Bean and their gift in various states of unwrap, and should only be considered required viewing for Grandpas, Grandmas, aunts and uncles (although aunts and uncles might also want to take a pass -- there are over 100 pictures). Below are some of my favorite shots of sisterly love from this Christmas season. We hope that you and yours had a wonderful time celebrating whatever it is you choose to celebrate at this time!! [OH, and Santa brought Dad the Tropic Thunder DVD for Christmas -- not for the faint of heart but laugh out loud funny in parts -- two thumbs up from Dad!

30 Helens agree . ..

. . . the holidays are just not the holidays without a Kids in the Hall marathon! I have been feeling that way ever since Thanksgiving, but maybe it is only because I have been thinking about Tony . . . :)

(dedicated to Aunt T and Aunt B)

Near Brushes with Greatness

Just a quick update on the last week. On Wednesday Mom went to a holiday open house for federal employees at the White House. The decorations were beautiful, and there were several choirs from all over the country singing in the different rooms of the East Wing. We were a bit delayed getting into the function as all entry and exit were blocked but the arrival of Marine One on the lawn -- that was about as close as we got to the President, and it was pretty neat to see the helicopter land right in front of us, although it was kind of a cold day to be milling around outside.

On Thursday, Mom had another near brush with fame when Kevin Bacon and his brother came to HQ! Mom had to leave early that day to help out with the Moo's Holiday Pajama Party at school, but thought she would try to sneak down and get a picture and a handshake. I got there about 30 minutes before the time he was scheduled to arrive and found that there were already 200 people in line! Needless to say I did not get to meet him, and frankly I am bit surprised that that many people had so little going on that they could stand in line that long! Still, my understanding is that the Bacon brothers were very gracious and thanked everyone for the work that they do, which was very nice and not something that we hear a lot from people outside the building!

Tonight we are going to Lightfoot -- where we have all our major family celebrations -- to celebrate Dad's newly conferred degree and the Bean's birthday. Maybe we will see someone there!!

Happy Birthday Bean!!

The Bean is officially four years old today! Happy birthday little bug! Thanks to all who called or sent birthday greetings; the Bean loved hearing from every one of you and she now has quite an unexpected stash of loot to spend at the toy store this week. We will keep you posted on what she gets!

The Bean has this to say about being four: "Now that I am four I can have a bigger birthday and I will go to a different swimming class with a different coach when I am four. I will show my friends that I am four. I will say "I am four, I am four!" and they will say "no, way" and I will say "yes, way!" I don't know what the greatest thing about four is. I think it's when you go in a different class when I am four."

We love you Bean! Happy Birthday!!

Merry Early Christmas!

Finally, a tree!

Things have been so hectic this Christmas that we have not had an opportunity to get our tree until today! The girls have been very upset; the Bean told me the other day that the other houses in the neighborhood were all prettier than ours because they had trees and lights! So, this morning we went out and purchased a six foot noble pine because the Moo wanted a tree that was "small and fat" and the Bean wanted the noble because "it smells jolly." We have it up but will have to wait to for this evening to decorate it, as the Bean has back to back birthday parties to attend starting at one.

We got feedback on both of the girls' school progression this week, as we had a parent teacher conference with the Bean's teacher on Wed, and the Moo's report card came home on Friday. The Bean's teacher opened our conference by saying "If I had a class full of [Beans] I would be a very happy teacher," which was nice to hear. The distressing part of the conference came when she pretty much admitted that, with ten kids in her class and with the Bean being shy and not being a behavioral problem, the Bean can get overlooked at times. This just reinforced our belief that LCDS is the right place for the girls, given the low ratios and the screening process involved in admissions. The Bean has her DIAL test with the lower school director on 13 January, and her activity session with other applicants on 16 January.

The Moo had an excellent report card that emphasized her enthusiasm toward learning and noted her advanced social skills. A bit too advanced on some occasions, apparently, as her teacher noted that Molly has been working on her "self control" to not chat with her friends in class. Her teacher is frankly a bit more of a stickler that I think is necessary with five and six year children, but it does not hurt her to learn proper classroom behavior sooner rather than later, I guess! She did a fantastic job on all the academic aspects of her report card, and we are very proud of her.

Not much else to report. I have been feeling a bit "blue" lately, but I think having a jolly smelling tree in the house will go a long ways toward cheering me up.

Pictures from Summer and Halloween

The same friends who were kind enough to lend us their camera for the birthday party gave us some pictures from this past summer at their pool and from trick or treating in our neighborhood! Hope you enjoy!

As promised, pictures from the Bean's party are here!

Parties!

This weekend has been a weekend of parties for the Moo-Be an family. Yesterday evening Mom and Dad ventured out for Dad's office party (thanks, Grandpa S., for watching the girls!). Dad neglected to mention to Mom that the office party was this Friday until Wednesday night, so Mom was actually not looking forward to it. She rushed over the Nordstrom on Thursday to get a dress (believe it or not, Dad actually did ask, "Why can't you just wear the one you wore last year?") and ended up with this one, in silver and dark grey, and shoes similar to these, but for for a much more reasonable price. Despite Mom's bad attitude, we actually had a great time, in part because Dad works with some genuinely nice people. Mostly, though, we had a great time because this year Dad's company decided to institute a new practice of giving an award for the person who most embodies the spirit of the corporation, and they gave this very first one to . . . DAD! Another co-worker was recognized from the IT side of the house, but I can't remember his name as I was too busy being ridiculously proud of Dad! The award also came with a nice check attached, which was very much appreciated.

Mom and Dad immediately regretted celebrating Dad's recognition until 1 in the morning when we had to wake up early to get to the Bean's birthday party at 10am! The Bean had 24 friends show up to party with her at Pump It Up, and had a wonderful time despite Mom and Dad dragging a bit. For anyone considering a 4 year old party, I can not recommend Pump It Up highly enough! They did EVERYTHING, including ordering and picking up the cake, and getting the drinks and pizza. The Bean wanted the Lilo and Stitch cake with chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, and m&ms mixed in the middle -- YUM! Then we hauled the ridiculous amount of gifts from her very generous friends home; the Bean barely finished opening them when it was time to head out to her friend Colin's party at the JW Tumbles Gym for more running around and cake. Tomorrow both the Moo and Bean have birthday parties to attend at the same time, so Dad and I will each be grabbing a child and heading off in different directions.

We borrowed a friend's camera to take pictures of the Bean's party as ours continues to be MIA, so we will post those pictures are soon as we get them! Stay tuned for pics and more news from the Ashburn party animals . . .

More Thanks to Give

We have spent the last two days with nothing on our agenda other than being together as a family, and for that we are extremely grateful. This has also been one of Mom's favorite Thanksgivings ever, despite the fact that as always we keenly missed being with our other family members, because the girls were such amazing helpers. Moo and Bean, here is what you did this Thanksgiving:

1. On Wednesday morning, you brined the turkey with Daddy. You also talked Mom into making it an early start for our Holiday, so the three girls stayed home.
2. Wednesday afternoon we made pumpkin pie together.
3. Wednesday night we made a Bourbon Pecan pie together.
4. Thursday morning you two were in charge of rinsing the brine off the turkey and slathering him with butter -- I think this was the Bean's very favorite task.
5. After that, we went for a walk and the Moo and Bean were in charge of Leaf Pile formations and also led the Leaf Pile Jumping squad.
6. When we got home (and after you were both bathed!) you made Great Grandma's stuffing recipe with Mom -- you both did everything except chop and saute the onions and celery.
7. You both made turkey centerpieces for the table and set the table.
8. You led the Thanksgiving prayer; the Moo gave thanks for pilgrims and the Bean gave thanks for leaves to jump in, if I remember correctly.

Other items on our Thanksgiving menu were rolls, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans with applewood smoked bacon. Today we talked Daddy into playing hooky and went to see Bolt and have lunch at the nearby Italian restaurant. We also stopped by Go Bananas and the Paint Me Mine pottery place to pick up some pieces that the Moo and Bean had painted a week or so earlier. We are very thankful to have had that time together!

We are mostly thankful, though, for the news we got when we arrived home from Daddy's University. His paperwork for graduation has been approved, so Dad, at the age of 47, is a college graduate, although the ceremony will not take place until this summer. We are so proud and thankful for Dad, both for his hard work and dedication, and also for the example he has set for his daughters to never give up on something, no matter how long it takes! Yeah Dad!

Giving Thanks

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new.

The above quote is from Emerson, but I would have to add "and family" to it, both the old and the new. We are thankful for the following things this Thanksgiving:

• The Moo is thankful for "my family and pumpkins and turkey."

• The Bean is thankful for "flowers" (actually that was Kitty who was thankful for flowers; the Bean no longer resides with us apparently and Kitty gets very annoyed when we refer to her as Bean).

A few other odds and ends from this past week:

The Moo had her last swim meet of the month on Sunday. She swam her usual freestyle and backstroke, PLUS breaststroke and butterfly! Mom and Dad were flabbergasted. She finished last in all but the freestyle, but she finished all with a huge smile on her face; the timers told me that me that they had never seen a happier swimmer. It is very difficult to convey the tremendous pride that she felt in herself, as was evident from her face, and it is impossible to convey the pride that I felt as her mom. The butterfly was the last event, she had just learned the stroke the week before, and she was tired. She struggled to cover the last few yards to the wall, and it looked like she wanted to give up. But she didn't, and she finished last, but to the loudest applause of the evening. So, Mom is thankful for a Moo who has joy and most of all has heart.

Dad has been out of town so Mom had both pick up and drop off duties this week (normally I just do pick up since I try to get to work by 630 am -- a little early for dropping of munchkins). When I took the Bean into Beantree, we were walking to her classroom when her friend Sarah came up behind her. The Bean turned around, screamed "Sarah!!!!" and the two started hugging and squealing like teenage girls. So, Mom is thankful for the little friends who make the Bean and Moo's days so much brighter while they are in school, and that the two of them have such an easy time making friends.

I am also thankful that the Bean has perfected writing her name, that the Moo has such creative taste in library books (we read about Da Vinci's bronze horse this week), that the Bean -- I mean Kitty -- has such an amazing imagination, and I finally I am thankful for aliens.

Aliens? Yesterday the Bean and Moo were arguing about what aliens look like. I pointed out that since no one has ever seen one, they can look like almost anything. I told them to think about what an alien would like during the day while they were in school, and that when we got home they could design one. Well, they liked it so much they drew three each. Some interesting contrasts emerged: the Moo's aliens were all nice, small, and they all had wings, whereas the Bean's aliens were all scary, big, and they all had like a million eyes. I asked them to name and tell me some things about their aliens, and here is what they said:

Bean: My alien is named Eye Eye, because he has lots of eyes. My alien can move and float and . . . eat everyone on the rocket ship. [Alien 2]: My alien is named Scary because he has a scary face (NOTE: the picture of Scary shows him with an astronaut in his mouth). He likes to eat people, grass, houses, cupcakes, Halloween candy, kitty cats, and cottage cheese. My alien can run really fast, and his legs come out of his eyeballs. [Alien 3]: My alien is named Eye Eye Ringey Ringey Eye Eye Facey Facey Eyeball . . . My alien likes to catch food and critters. He likes to drink mango juice.

Moo: My alien is named Goopey because he leaves a trail of goop when he squirms on the ground. My alien can fly higher than the earth. [Alien 2] My alien is named Goopity Goop. My alien eats little germs on planets and toy kitties. To get away from a predator, my alien squirts poison. If that does not work, my alien flies away. [Alien3] My alien is named Lee Lee la Goop. My alien likes to dance. My alien likes to do activities like experimenting stuff. My alien likes holidays, like Thanksgiving, because he can have a feast with his family.

I think Lee Lee la Goop is probably the only alien that we would invited over for our Thanksgiving feast! I hope everyone else has a wonderful, alien-free holiday!!

Busy Week

So, I have now reached the point where trying to juggle four separate schedules is driving me crazy. I can't bring a blackberry into work so I have been trying to keep all of our commitments in my head, which has basically resulted in my head exploding. I think I am going to have to go old school and start carrying around a little paper calendar to keep everything written in. In the meantime, I forgot about the teacher appreciation lunch on Wed at the Moo's school (I thought it was on Thursday) and am now afraid to accept any invitations for fear of double booking us. We have multiple birthday parties and multiple outstanding invitations that I have yet to respond to, I finally handed out the Bean's invites for her 6 December party but have yet to even start thinking about the goodie bags, my house is completely wrecked and I am giving serious consideration to going on strike (the only thing holding me back is that fact that Mom's don't have a good union -- I guess we are more like independent contractors).

On a more positive note, I have a husband who on a consistent basis does the laundry and the dishes, makes me breakfast on Saturdays, and gets the girls ready and out the door for school every morning. I have a little Bean is beyond silly and whose ballet class I get to go and observe on Tuesday, although I get recitals on a daily basis on home, and who took great joy in spending an hour in a hot and steamy rec center in order to cheer her sister on at a 30 second freestyle race . I have a little Moo who completed her second swim meet last night, WAY past her bedtime, and did an unbelievable job in freestyle and backstroke (she finished fifth in both meets, and beat her previous times despite being exhausted). And, on Friday, I finally finished my big project at work; it's not particularly well done, but it's done, and that counts for something I guess.

A few definitions I developed after getting a voice mail from Dad about Friday morning's drop offs at school:

Happiness = letting your oldest daughter help you put your new red car tax decal on your windshield and take off the old blue one, then encouraging her when she decides she wants to take a survey of the cars in her school parking lot to see how many people still have blue decals compared to red, so she can make a chart.

Joy = listening to your youngest daughter repeatedly sing "Jingle Bells" during the ride to her school after you have dropped off the Moo.

Weekend Update and Birthday Wishes

Here are some pictures of the Moo (and her friend and teammate Genevieve) at the Moo's very first swim meet ever! Mom had to miss it, as Moo had committed to attending a friend's birthday celebration in Williamsburg over the weekend, so the task of getting her there and cheering her on feel to Dad and the Bean. The Moo did GREAT! She competed in the six and under category in freestyle and backstroke, and she was the youngest one at the meet. Out of six girls, she finished fifth in freestyle and fourth in backstroke, which completely exceeded our expectations. Dad talked to her coach who told Dad that she thought the Moo was doing great. The Bean was a great girl for Dad, especially considering that she and Dad spent four hours at the pool in order to watch the Moo in two short races. Since this was the first time the Moo had done this, she did not realize that she only needed to go one length of the pool, and in her freestyle race she touched the wall, turned around, and started to head back to the other side. An older child ended up having to jump in and stop her about half way back, so that the next heat could take place. Dad said it was very cute -- way to go, Moo!!!!

Dad got the girls home and waited for Uncle J and his friends to arrive, so they could back up some things for our new nephew. Mom in the meantime was down at Williamsburg at a Spa and dinner for one of her best and longest friends, who turned 50 this past week. Mom got up early this morning and headed home to get to see J, and ended up spending about 20 minutes with him before he had to hit the road for the 12 hour drive back. Drive safe, Uncle J!!

Finally: HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT P!!!! We hope you have a wonderful day and that all of your birthday wishes come true!!! We love you!

Social Networking

We have had a very busy week, so not much time to post. Mom covered lunch for the Moo's teachers on Thursday, and helped out with the Moo's Halloween party on Friday (which I have to say was a much more enjoyable experience than when I was a room rep and responsible for the whole thing!). Unfortunately I can't find my camera so I don't have any pictures to post. Hopefully someone will send me some and I will add them to this post later.

Because of the lost camera, I also don't have any pictures of our awesome trick or treaters!! The Moo and Bean looked adorable in their costumes, as did their friends Charles (the Moo's fiancee) and Liz and Grace, who all came over to trick or treat with us. Charles was Batman, Liz was a pirate, and Grace, who is just one year old, was a lion. They all looked fantastic and collected more candy than any child could conceivably eat in a year, although the Moo and Bean seem determined to try. They enjoyed Halloween on a whole new level this year, although I think that was in part due to being able to share it with their friends. Charles' family also brought pizza and sound effects flashlights for all of the kids to use, and some wine for Mom and Dad (so we did not do too badly on the trick or treat front either!). We broke open the wine after getting back home somewhat earlier than we had expected (the kids' pumpkins were filled up within about 30 minutes, and the Moo pronounced herself done and trick-or-treating over for the night. Charles looked at her and retorted "Oh, we are so not done," causing the adults to remark on how they sounded like they have been married for 20 years). Liz and Grace departed about 800 pm and around 830 we warned the kids that Charles would be headed home soon as well -- I then overheard the Moo conspiring with Bean and Charles, "As long as we let them keep talking, we can play as long as we want." Turns out she was right and Charles and co did not leave until 10 pm. We had such a great time but I am somewhat disturbed that the Moo has figured out how to work us so quickly and I more than a little concerned about her burgeoning prowess at manipulation. Does not bode well for the Mom and Dad . . .

No other real big news, except that Mom has somewhat sheepishly decided to join Facebook. Aunt P has been keeping me up-to-date about all of the people she has reconnected with through this site, so I thought I would give it a go. It has raised some interesting feelings with me, though. Although I am curious, it also seems somewhat awkward and tiring to reconnect with people I have not thought about or heard from in the past 20 years, and I am not sure I really want to do it. Or maybe I just don't want to go through the embarrassment of finding out that most of these people don't even remember me :) -- I'm not as skilled at forming lasting bonds with people as Aunts P and B are. I may just end up deleting my profile but for now, I think I will stick with my puny little friends list (thanks Aunts P and B for not letting me be totally friendless!!) and to getting information on everyone secondhand from Aunt P. Aunt P, if you read this, CALL ME and tell what all these people are up to!!!!

Party Pic

This is the Moo and her friend G, taken at a costume/birthday party we attended yesterday before heading off to the pumpkin patch. Not sure why the Moo is so serious! She is wearing the medal she won in the candy toss the game -- she tossed the candy into the pumpkin from furthest away and was extremely proud of herself. Maybe she feels that frivolity is unbecoming in a medal winner . . .

On Autonomy and Economy

It was my morning to wake up with the girls today, so we were up, brushed, and down the stairs by 7 am as per usual. We made breakfast -- french toast (the Moo likes hers with extra vanilla in it) -- as per usual, but after breakfast was when things got out of the ordinary. I put on a "little-one" show, which is my tried and true method of keeping them within eye sight while I am otherwise occupied, and set to work cleaning up the kitchen. About 20 minutes into it (I am ashamed to admit that despite the fact the cleaning service came on Tuesday, the kitchen still required a LOT of work) I realized that I had been deserted by my little ones. I went looking for them, and found them both in the computer/craft room. The Moo was playing on Webkinz World and the Bean was drawing pictures of bats, ghosts, and witches.

So why is this strange? I am the type of Mom who has a hard time letting my children out of my sight. I don't feel the need to completely dictate what they are doing at all times, but I like to have a clear line of sight while they are doing it. This is rooted in a rule our pediatrician told us when Molly was about five months old -- Dad has asked the doctor about the relative merits and pitfalls about getting her a walker in addition to her exersaucer. Dr. Segura told us, "Look, nine times out of ten, nothing bad will happen to her with a walker. If you are willing to live with the consequences of whatever happens that tenth time, then go ahead and get her one." (He was a bit more diplomatic than that, but that was the general thrust of what he said). I was unwilling to except responsibility for those consequences, and the "nine out of ten" rule has kind of dominated my approach ever since then.

The girls are getting older though, as illustrated by their behavior at the dentist last week and other examples, such as the fact that my role at birthday parties lately is to let them run off while I sit back and chat with other parents. I am having a hard time accepting their new found autonomy -- or is it mine?? -- as much as I am really excited about it! This morning was kind of a test. I went back to cleaning the kitchen and kept my ears open for the sounds of screaming due to either accidental or sister inflicted injury, but they never came! My only interruptions were when the Bean came in and proudly demanded that her art be hung on the refrigerator (the bat was particularly well done -- if I can ever locate the camera I will take a picture). I'm still very nervous about the whole thing, as I flash back to the Bean's close call with her dresser every time I hear a thump or a cry, but I definitely think I can used to this! Maybe I will even be able to take up a hobby, if I could only figure out what I like doing . . .

I used some of my new found autonomy to read the Sunday paper. The Post has a supplemental series on Thursdays and Sundays on Loudoun county, filled with local news from reporters and local bloggers. I read some very sad news about the local economy here. It is very depressing to see businesses that we have patronized since we moved into the area fail - it feels like something horrible happening to a close friend of the family, even though we don't know any of the business owners personally. The little Morning Glory store sold stationary and gifts imported from Asia, and will be particularly missed by the Moo and Bean, who loved the little anime inspired characters.

On a more positive note, we are very happy to have Dad back from Hawaii, although he appears to have been stricken by jetlag because it is past 10 am and he still is not up. Time to sic the Moo and Bean on him!!

Adventures in Dentistry

Yesterday was time for the girls' six month check ups at the dentist's office. The Moo has been a model dentist patient since she was 18 months old, so she got called in first. The Bean is always great but apprehensive, and in the past it has taken her some time to relax amid all the noises and different instruments. This time, when the hygienist came out and called her name, I got up to go back with her, and the Bean turned to me and said, "No Mommy, I want to be a big girl and go in by myself." So, for the first time in my maternal life, I spent my time at the dentist's office alone in the waiting room, flipping through outdated issues of Us magazine and waiting to hear screaming from the patient area. When the girls were done, they came to get me, and the hygienist commented: "You have the sweetest and smartest little girls." Wow . . .

Unfortunately Molly was about the have a breakdown when I got to her room, as the dentist had just finished telling her that she had a small cavity that would have to be filled. This filled her little mind with thoughts of shots, but the dentist assured this would not be necessary. I took her back in today to get her filling done, and despite her apprehension she was awesome. She got a little concerned at the sheer amount of different instruments going back and forth into her mouth, and shewas not at all pleased with the cotton gauze, but she was a trooper who sat perfectly still and let the dentist do his job. We were done in 15 minutes.

So, both the girls as always rose to the occasion. We celebrated with a trip to Go Bananas and dinner at Emilio's Brick Oven Pizza. Along the way, we picked up things to "Boo" our neighbors -- we got "booed" this morning when an unknown neighbor left a bag of Halloween goodies on our doorstep with a note admonishing us to keep the Boo on the run and pass it along to three other neighbors, so we took care of that when we got home. The Bean and Moo loved being sneaky and leaving the goodies for the girls up the street, the boys across the street, and the retired couple next door. The Bean, of course, had stripped down naked the minute we got home and wanted to know if she could go out with just her coat on when it came time to deliver the bags. I persevered in my argument that she could not go out essentially naked, but she made it clear she was just humoring me and was not really buying any of it.

I miss Dad and am very anxious for him to get back so he can handle these philosophical arguments.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR WONDERFUL DAD!! Thanks to all who sent Dad birthday wishes -- we are spending the day at the Moo's Fall Fun Fair, and then taking Dad out shopping (he wants to pick out his present) and to dinner. Mom tried brainstorming with the girls about presents for Daddy and here is the list they came up with: new clothes, a wig, pink and blue flowers, and a frog. Daddy very wisely passed on all of those, although he appreciated the thought that the girls put into it. He also loved the homemade "love cards" that the girls made for him. Tomorrow he will be off to Hawaii, for work purposes or so he claims . . . Dad will be gone for a week and we will really really really really miss him. We love you Daddy!!

We are relieved to hear that Grandma L is home from the hospital and resting comfortable. Get well soon, Grandma; we love you!!!!

AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!

Little bit of frustration here. One of the benefits of my new work schedule is that I now get home with enough time to make the girls an actual meal, as opposed to the old standby of grilled cheese and tomato soup, or "who wants BREAKFAST for dinner???!!" (well, let's face it, that's dad's standby; mine is "who wants to go to Pei Wei???"). So, now I have more time to cook, the girls are more able to help, and given that the economy is what it is, I have been determined to eat more at home, and to eat well. I have been implementing this over the past two weeks, and have been consistently rewarded by the Bean exclaiming, "Mommy, you make the best meals ever!!" Here, however, is the Moo's reaction to a sampling of some of our menu items:

• Last Monday: Sausage stuffed French loaf. Sausage+bread, with cheese thrown in JUST IN CASE it was not artery clogging enough. Moo reaction: two bites, "Mommy I don't like it," eats the bread and leaves the innards.
• Last Wednesday: Upside Down Pizza. Ground beef, CHEESE, tomato sauce, CHEESE, OK a few onions, and crescent rolls on top. Moo's reaction: see sausage stuffed french loaf.
• This Monday: Monte Cristo sandwiches. Bread, cheese, turkey, ham, mayo all covered in pancake mix and fried, then dusted with powdered sugar. Moo's reaction: "Too hammy." Picks sandwich apart and eats only the ham.
• Today: Spaghetti carbonara. Fresh pasta, BACON, CHEESE, OK a few green onions and mushrooms but BACON AND PASTA AND CHEESE. Bean's reaction: "Mama, these noodles are a delicious sensation!" Moo's reaction: "I don't like it." Mom's reaction: "Please try it again, I really think if you give it a chance you will like it." Moo's reaction: "I'll just eat the bacon. The noodles are too cheesey." Mom's reaction: "Moo I am getting very frustrated here. You are not eating anything." Moo's reaction: "Mom, I have a very sensitive appetite." Mom: "Please try it again." Moo: "Can I have an apple?" Mom: "AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Moo: "Do I get dessert?"

Birthday Party Anxiety

In my continued efforts to be crowned psycho-mom, I have been stressing over the Moo's birthday party. Yes, the party that will be held in March of next year. In my defense, things fill up REALLY quickly in this area, where there are too few venues and too many parents with too much money. Plus, I have recurring dreams of my kids on some psychiatrist's couch confessing that all of their problems started with the incredibly lame birthday party that their good for nothing mom threw them when they were five. The Bean (whose December party I booked in August -- yes, I know, pyscho) has thus far been really easy: she loves all the usual places that parties are held, so we did Tumbles gym last year for her third and will be heading to Pump it Up this year for her fourth. We don't have much family in the area, so the family parties will be quiet ones at home or in Annapolis with Mom, Dad, girls, and Grandpa S.

The Moo, however, has never liked anything ordinary. For her third birthday (we didn't do any big parties prior to age three, see note on lack of family in area above) we did a dinosaur party at our community club house which I mistakenly thought would be both easy and economical. Once you add in all the stress of planning, booze and snacks for the parents, booze and snacks for the stressed out party planner and hiring of the teenage daughter of a friend to help out, that did not end up being the case. Plus, I had to clean up afterward. No gracias! So the next year we used Curiosity Zone for an ocean explorer's party, and the year after we were off to the National Zoo, as previously chronicled in the Moo Bean Blog. So, this year for her sixth birthday she told me she wanted her party at the Baltimore Aquarium. I checked into that, which was a no go (they only do private tours, beginning at $1500 -- sorry Moo). So, next she asked for the Museum of Natural History or the Air and Space Museum, but it turns out the the Smithsonian does not do birthday parties (with the notable exception of the Zoo). So, in desperation, I turned to Google, and came up with the National Building Museum. We are doing the design a city program (for 6 to 10 year olds) and we will let you know how it goes. Wish us luck!

PS - The Spy Museum does parties but the children have be at least nine! And they are also a minimum of $1500. I am thinking by the time the girls are nine I may be so far into the abyss that this will actually look sensible to me . . .

Sunday Morning Delight

I have to go in to work today and was upstairs in my room getting ready, unaware of what was going on outside of the master bathroom. Here is the scene I encountered when I left my room to come downstairs:

The first thing I heard was the the Sugar Hill Gang's Rapper's Delight which Dad had downloaded from You Tube and was broadcasting at top volume from the downstairs. Then I heard the hysterical giggles of the girls as they ran up and down the stairs, trying to avoid the plush balls and webkinz that Dad was catapulting up the stairs by launching them from the head of a hobby horse. The girls were returning fire from the upstairs.

This is why we love Dad so much. And it is also why I am now terrified to leave these three alone in the house to go to work (I'm also terrified of the upcoming parent teacher conferences and having to explain why my kids know the words to "Rapper's delight").

Odds and Ends

The Moo lately has been having a rough go of it. I am a big fan of Brazelton, and he writes that for every age up until six, you get about six months of sunshine (good behavior) and six months of rain (not so great). The Bean is finally coming into her sunshine phase, and the Moo is moving into what will hopefully be her last hurricane season -- at least until she hits adolescence. She has been dealing with the stress of so many changes in her life, and the toll is starting to show. She is still a little joy most of the time, though! Here are some some things that I want to write down before I forget them, so that I can pass them on to the Moo and the Bean:

• Like most three year olds, the Bean loves to "read" books. We make it a practice when we read at night to read the title page, and talk about the author and the illustrator. When the Bean reads on her own, she opens the book, says the title, and then ALWAYS says, "by Eric Carle." Who knew he was that prolific?

• The Bean and the Moo love to make up songs. The Bean lately has been singing a song whose refrain is "Daddy likes to smell stinky cats," which of course makes Daddy laugh. He asked her on Monday why she has been singing that so much lately, and the Bean said, "When Daddy is stressed out and sad I sing the stinky cat song and Daddy feels better."
  
• The Bean seems to be focused on stress lately, because today when I asked her if she played with "Reesie-Peesie" (her friends Reese) she told me, "Mommy, don't give my friends nicknames, it stresses them out."
• The Moo is a total reader now. She is amazing. She reads things on signs and in books that I am supposedly reading to her.
  
• The Moo LOVES to surprise me every week by picking out an unusual library book and making me guess what is it about. She gets the cutest look on her face when we go through our weekly ritual of me asking what she got, and she loves the fact that I can never guess.
  
• The Moo is a model of perseverance and we are so proud of her for it. She is the youngest one on swim team, and she is always the last one to finish her laps, but she keeps going and she keeps smiling and she keeps getting better and better every week.
  
• She is such a big girl -- people who have not seen her lately can not really comprehend what an old soul she is and how she is really a big girl beyond her five years of age. Last night, however, she needed all the patience and all the love that Mom could give her as she had a meltdown to end all meltdowns. And as frustrating and trying as it was to deal with her, Mom loved being able to hold her and comfort her again like when she was my little tiny girl.
  

In Memorium

Some sad news I heard this morning. Not sure if Aunt B will remember him, but Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt T will. I was a teenager when we were in Madrid, but I remember being teased by Ken all summer long after, as a dependent summer hire in the health unit, I shipped one family's health records to Panama City when they were supposed to go to Manama.

Am I crazy?

So, we get home from a playdate with one of the Moo's friends today to find yet another of what Dad would call nasty grams in our mailbox. For those who don't know, we live on the corner of a crowded neighborhood where a) people frequently park in front of our house and b) there is often no room to leave the total of 60 feet of clear space the USPS demands in front of each mailbox, given the multiple cars owned by everyone on our block. This time, we called the post office. Dad started to explain the situation and that we were tired of getting these notices over something we had no control over. The woman on the phone said "well, I'll just tell my supervisor to suspend your mail then" and hung up on him. They would not answer the phone every time we called back after that. So, Mom called the USPS customer service line. The extremely unhelpful person on the phone said, "you have to tell your neighbors not to park near your house." I explained that this is a public street and I have absolutely no recourse over anyone who parks in front of my house, nor are my immediate neighbors the problem. She said they could suspend our mail anyway. Heaven forbid the postal carrier have to get out of the little car.

So I am feeling very frustrated and oppressed by the Orwellian bureaucracy that is the USPS. Am I crazy, or have they gone just a little overboard on the rigidity front? At any rate, if they choose to punish us by not delivering the offers for new credit cards, political campaign fliers, and catalogs I never ordered to begin with, then I guess so be it . . .

Birthday Girls

Happy Birthday to Little Chicken, who turns three! You are now officially the same age as the Bean, although not for long, and hopefully your stint as a three year old will be less -- oppositionally defiant than the Bean's. We hope you enjoy all of your parties! The gymnastics party looked like the best time ever, and the cake looked incredible!!

We also had a brief update from the 60 year old birthday girl on her third birthday celebration, this one at the Inn at Little Washington, famous for their accommodations and their cuisine (see picture). The birthday girl literally just called, and reported having had a wonderful time at Monticello. They arrived at the Inn around three to find that, in honor of their birthdays, they had been chosen to be upgraded to the best suite in the house. Happy Birthday again Grandma and Grandpa!! Enjoy yourselves but hurry back - we all miss you!

Firsts

We had several firsts take place this week. First and foremost, this is the first week that Grandpa D has turned 59 and Grandma L had turned 60 (which happens to be today!). HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BOTH OF YOU! We love you very much and were glad that we were able to share your birthdays with you. And, if its Grandma's birthday, than that means it is Little Chicken's mom and dad's seventh anniversary, which is the first time that has happened as well. Happy Anniversary S&T! Hope you have/had a good one!! (I remember the year because there was some question as to whether or not I was going to be able to fly out for the wedding and there was no question that Dad and Grandpa D were not going to be able to make it -- ask me about it, later, Moo and Bean, and I will have a very sad story to tell you about 11 September 2001 in order to explain).
Our other BIG first this week (drum roll please) is that after 10 months of riding lessons the Moo is off the lunge line! She went off it for the first time on Wednesday, and did an unbelievable job. Mom thought that she would just walk around the ring a few times to get used to guiding the horse herself (without Instructor Julie doing it with the line) and was flabbergasted when the Moo started trotting! Julie later told Mom that the Moo asked if she could CANTER, but luckily Julie managed to talk her out of it. I literally would have had a heart attack. For those who don't know, one of the reasons we started the Moo riding was to build her confidence around animals (the other reason was that we were running out of options for her second activity, as she didn't like anything else we tried, and we pretty much tried them all). I used to have to carry her into the stables because she was so frightened of the dogs that roam around there, and getting her to go anywhere near a bridle or actually lead a horse by herself was completely out of the question. So, we are exceedingly proud of our little Moo and how she has really taken to her chosen sport, regardless of the fact that Mom's boss is always teasing Mom about how elitist it is. :) I know we have already inundated everyone with pictures of the Moo riding, but I could not resist doing it again to commemorate this occasion. She rode Pirate again (although frankly it seems the only days she rides him are days when we bring the camera) and above is a shot of her putting her grooming skills to work -- she has a tacking class this Friday, although she is getting to be a pro at that without formal instruction already!



In one of the pictures below the Moo is standing by the ironically named Mouse -- despite her new-found confidence, she told Grandpa that she does not want to even attempt to ride Mouse. Guess it is good that she knows her limitations!!

























Later in the week Grandma and Grandpa were kind enough to come to watch the Moo's swim team practice with us -- I say kind enough because it is a *&%^% sauna in there, and we are there for two hours as the Moo has swimming lessons after swim team (I believe I have mentioned before that I messed up the scheduling right? In case you are wondering what kind of crazy mother makes her child swim for two hours straight??) This was not the first swim team practice for the Moo, but it was the first time she swam the entire length of the pool -- and she did it about 12 times all told! Really, truly unbelievable if you know what Mom went through trying to get her to do it JUST ONCE this summer in our community pool. It was also the first time that the Bean got to swim in the water as well -- last week was so hard for her, sitting in the sweatbox for two hours trying to patiently watch her sister swim, that this time mom decided to let her go in as well. The only problem with that is that Ida Lee rec center mandates that parents accompany any child under six years old in the water. So, Mom had to don a bathing suit in front of all of the other Moms and Dads who were there; humiliation, thy name is speedo. Moo and Bean, I want you to remember this as well, years from now when you say I never do anything for you.

We had several other firsts this weekend that are reported on by Grandma and Grandpa in the wRight blog, so I won't belabor them here. They include, among other things, our first trip to the national book festival, our first metro ride, and our first enounter with an albino hedgehog. We also had our first trip to the Franklin Performing Arts Center in Purcellville to the Loudoun Ballet Company's performance of Peter and the Wolf; more info on that trip will soon be available on Grandma's blog! We had a wonderful time and the girls were mesmorized for the whole performance. Maybe the Bean will be up there one day!!

Wright Girls, Visits, and Anniversaries!

I wanted to call your attention to the new blog listed on the left and also linked here. This one belongs to my older sister, and with her joining the blogging community all three of the Wright girls are now officially online (younger sister's blog is also to left and also linked here). Of course, not one of us is legally/formally a Wright girl anymore, but it's more of a state of mind! We are a little bit older (OK a lot bit), a little less crazy (not much, but a little) and all of us are now mothers to little Wright boys and girls of our own, regardless of the actual last name. Looking back, pre-marriages, pre-kids, if you had told me that all three of us would end up more or less suburban moms blogging about and to our children, I would have said you were crazy, although it definitely feels (w)right! (as long as I am entertaining counterfactuals, though, I have to confess that 15 years ago I probably would have put money on Aunt T being the actress and Aunt B being the teacher, Of course, I also thought that I would be living a single life of jet setting intrigue, so what did I know??).

We here at the Moo Bean blog are also anxiously awaiting the arrival of the ultimate Wright girl, Grandma L, who gets in today. Grandma and Grandpa D are coming back to attend a team of the year ceremony. There are two other teams in the running, but we are hoping that the third time nominated is a charm for Grandpa, and that all of the tremendous hard work and long hours they both logged in Pakistan will be recognized. Plus, the ceremony is on Grandpa D's birthday, so hopefully he will get a nice trophy as a present.

We are also fondly remembering the visit we had last year from a whole host of CA-based family, including Great Grandma and Great Grandpa (thanks again to Great Aunt M for the wonderful photo book she sent us last year after the trip!!). The girls still speak warmly of everyone who came to visit us last year, and of our trip to North Carolina for the Pope family reunion. They conveniently forget the fact that the Bean had a complete meltdown the minute we got to the reunion, causing us to beat a hasty retreat. Mom's fondest memory is visiting the WWII memorial with Great Grandpa, a WWII vet who was repeatedly thanked for his service by young and old alike while we were there. We plan to mark the anniversary by hiding snakes in the bed in the spare room, but will have to remember to get them out before Grandma and Grandpa go to sleep!

Retail Therapy

Nothing can ever really take Hani's place, but hopefully these shoes will make the Moo feel a bit better! I saw them on miniboden and had to order them for her. Plus, Dad took her out and the two came back with a small blue beta named Snowflake, who is now happy swimming about in Hani's old home. The Moo told Snowflake all about Hani while the new fish was acclimating to his new home, and was finally able to say Hani's name without crying. So, I think we are on the road to recovery.

In Memorium

Hani Sprinkle Sweetcakes Kennedy, the purple beta fish, passed away today after two years of being the Moo's constant companion. We don't know when Hani was born, but we remember the day that he came to live with us. The Moo picked him out right away; she knew as soon as she saw him that Hani was the fish for her. Hani was buried in a short ceremony in the backyard, and the Moo said a beautiful prayer thanking Hani for being such a good fish. The Moo remembered Hani this way: "He was an awesome fish when he was alive, and I hope he still is when he is in heaven. He was a magical and miracle fish when I bought him. Once I thought he died quickly but he didn't; he was asleep. Today I bless for Hani and I will meet you again Hani, and you will be in my memory forever. I will never forget you. Bye Hani, I love you."

The Moo is devastated by her loss, and left flowers at Hani's grave site. The Bean wrote Hani a letter and left it by his grave site as well. We will miss you, Hani! Thank you for being our first fish!!!

Getting Into the Swing of Things

We are now three weeks into the new school year and therefore three weeks into our new schedule. Things are starting to more or less fall into place, and all four of us are starting to adjust to the new way of doing things. The Bean, I think, has had it hardest of all, as she has never been to school five days a week before. To add to her stress, she is in not only a new class, but a new room (after months of her not going anywhere, she has been moved up three times over the past five months). She has started telling Dad, who does the drop offs, that she does not want to go to school anymore. We have talked to her teacher, Ms. Hadley, who notes that there is no sign of her being unhappy when she is at school, and she is always in the thick of things when Mom comes to pick her up at 2 pm. Poor Dad is very stressed out by the situation, however.
On a more humorous note, Dad went to pick her up the other day, and could not find her in her classroom. He noticed a group of boys dressed up in the dress up clothes over in the corner -- there were doctors and firemen and police officers. When he drew closer, he noticed that they were gathered around the Bean, who was lying on the floor. She jumped up when she saw him, and said, "I'm the patient, Daddy!!!" Dad immediately called Mom on the cell phone, and told her he was definitely not ready for his daughters to start playing doctor!
The Moo is slowly but surely starting to get more into Kindergarten and all of the fun things that they are doing. She loved making a Jackson Pollack painting last week, and had the paint in her hair and all over her clothes to prove it! This Friday was both her first day of swim team practice, her first day of school sponsored swimming lessons, and her first theory class for her riding certificate (on proper grooming). She did an amazing job on all three. She was required to get on a bus from school to be taken to the swimming pool for swim team -- the school asks that Moms meet the children at the pool. So, she had to get on the bus, get to the pool, get to the locker room, change into her suit, fold and pack her clothes in her pool bag, and get out to the pool all by herself. A big challenge for a five year old, and one that she executed beautifully (the clothes folding needs a little work, but no one's perfect!). She did a great job at swim team, even attempting dives, which she has never been asked to do before. Mom was very concerned that asking her to go to swimming lessons after practice would be asking too much, given how tired she seemed afterward, but she insisted she wanted to go and did a great job (swim team is from 245 until 330, and lessons are from 4 until 430, due to an error in scheduling on Mom's part). She is a wonderful little swimmer! After that, we only had time for a quick bite to eat and handing off the poor Bean to Dad, and then we were off to the stables to learn the proper way to groom a horse! The Moo did great but Mom got reprimanded for answering a phone call from Dad on her cell during the class -- the instructor decided to make an example of Mom to drive in the fact the no one should have their cell phones in the stall area. Mom understands the need too make a point, but wishes that the instructor had not referred back to Mom quite so many times in doing so! Oh well.
The picture above is of the Moo's Fall Fun Fair poster for the poster contest at her school. The fair is coming up and this is the second year she has entered. Her Pre-K poster was covered in lizards, so this year's entry is a little more on topic!! She decided she wanted to use leaves, and she wanted to draw some of the jars from the popular jar game: each family donates two jars filled with whatever treats they want to put in them, and the kids win them in a roulette type game. I think she did an awesome job!
The other wonderful news of the week was finding out that Aunt B and Uncle J are expecting a healthy and perfect little BOY, although Mom is a bit chagrined to see the family shifting from a female dominated to a male dominated unit with the new generation. The Moo and the Bean are tough enough to handle it, though!! Congrats Millers!!!! Although Mom guessed wrong, the Moo knew all along as she insisted that Mom buy a lizard-themed Blue Banana outfit for the baby months ago (we figured we could send it to Cousin S if the baby had ended up being a girl). We can't wait to meet the little guy!
Not much to else to report on the Mom and Dad front, and the natives are getting a but restless, so I guess I will close this out. We can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa again on Tuesday, and are keeping our fingers crossed that the third time nominated for team of the year is a charm!

Sticks!

This mirror is from the Sticks store referenced in the previous post. Really wonderful and inspiration things!

Back from the Midwest

Back from a very productive if somewhat waterlogged trip to Michigan. This was my first time in Ann Arbor, and I have to say that I highly recommend it to anyone who has not been. It has a great small town feel to it, with lots of restaurants and little boutiques (the picture is from one of my new favorite stores, Sticks, on South Main Street). The university was also very impressive. Grandma D is from Michigan, so Dad has some roots there and had been hoping to bring the girls up to join me for the weekend, but it did not end up working out. Probably for the best, given how rainy it ended up being. I did manage to snag him a "Harvard: the Michigan of the East" T-shirt and found some shark tooth necklaces for the girls at a local farmers market. No Big Blue paraphernalia for Mom though, as her Wisconsin roots just would not allow it!
So, the Moo is now officially on the LCDS swim team! Our schedule appears to be shaping up thus: Mondays, Bean swims, Wednesday Moo rides, Fridays, Moo swim team followed by Moo swimming lessons (only for the rest of the semester, and then swim team will be enough, I think). Add into that the fact that this week we have back to school night tomorrow, a playdate with the new LCDS family we are sponsoring on Thursday, and the Moo has her theory class on proper grooming of horses on Friday night, and I think the following conclusion is inevitable: I have become the psycho mom I have sought to avoid morphing into. Add on to this the fact that my car is once again in the shop (the AC was broken when they fixed the water pump) and you are looking at one stressed out psycho mom.
SO the constant mantra now is the reminder that things could really be much worse and that other people have real problems and would give almost anything to be beset by the issues we are dealing with. Most of our major annoyances are self-inflicted or are really minor little issues when placed in context, and for that I am trying to remember to always be thankful and count the little blessings . . . like husbands who understand when you have reached your breaking point and act like it is TOTALLY normal to break down crying because the rental car the dealer got you is bright yellow and slightly less elegantly styled than a Toyota Yaris. (I defy anyone to not burst into tears at the prospect of driving such a car, stress or no stress -- it's YELLOW).

Odds and Ends

The Bean started her 6 pm swimming lessons tonight, which is a little late for all of our tastes but has the wonderful benefit of allowing Dad to come and see her swim now. We had to move her because Mom had shifted her hours starting this week to be in the office five days a week, for six hours each day. This way I pick the Bean up right after nap time at Beantree, and the two of us go and help out in the LCDS library until the Moo gets out at 330. Then we three girls have the whole afternoon together. It will be a nice routine once it gets established and will ease the Bean into school five days a week, something she has never before experienced but will if she gets into LCDS for next year (she applies in November and will undergo testing in January/February -- we will find out in March). Right now, it is just making me sad to lose those days the Bean and I had together, but she is happy with her new room at school and her friends.

The Moo will start new swimming lessons through her school on the 19th and will try out for swim team sometime within the next two weeks. She is also starts taking theory classes in horse care that evening at AAES, as part of their Rider Certificate program; they have one or two classes a month and they are geared at her level.

So our new routine is still taking shape, and it will be awhile before it feels natural to us. We are excited about the changes though! Mom managed to sit on her hand when they were asking for room rep volunteers this year, but did decide to tackle the Book Fair. Mom has it on good authority that the librarians will work closely with her on this, as Mom has volunteered at but has never chaired the Book Fair before, and has no clue how to do it. Hopefully it will not be a huge disaster.

On the work front, Mom got her performance evaluation on her new account, and was ranked "exceeds expectations," which was a pleasant surprise and probably the only area in her life where she would get such a ranking. I am off to Michigan this week for consulting and recruiting, which has the wonderful benefit of making Dad take the Moo to riding lessons so he can see how she has progressed while I am in Ann Arbor. And having brought this post neatly full circle, I will sign off until next week, when I am back from the not so frozen north!

Hurricane Hanna(h)

Our house got slammed by Hurricane Hanna this morning, leading us to the ponder the following question: how is the Bean like a tropical depression?? Well, they both make the household lose power, one through inducing sheer exhaustion and the other by knocking out the electricity. Both can really turn on the waterworks as well, although the Bean on her best day can not produce wind gusts of over 40 miles an hour (in her defense, she may not be stronger but she is arguably louder). The Bean is a lot more cuddly and easier to love, however, especially when one is contemplating how one is going to get ready for and drive through the deluge to the birthday party of a close family friend's son when one has no power.

All is well that ends well though. Mom had the wrong day for the party (phew -- it's tomorrow) and just as Dad was spending $300 on a battery powered backup sump pump the electricity came back on (we're going to install the backup system anyway though). The girls went with Dad to Home Depot and came home with Kids Korner aprons and little wooden goal posts that they had hammered together (next week they are making firetrucks so it looks like we will be back). Mom and the girls then made Grandma's famous no bake cookies (YUM!) and painted the goal posts. All in all, not a bad way to weather the storm!