Logic, Pure and Simple

The other day, Fiona and Doug were shopping for Mother's Day and they got into a disagreement over something I would like. Fiona stated that she has known me her whole life and that, therefore, she knew me best. She clearly thought she had the winning arguement, and I guess she did, because they bought the item she chose. I'm not sure which item was the contentious item because there was more than one present. I will ask Doug.

All Species Day

Yesterday was All Species Day (the title links to an explanation of sorts). I've hesitated to go in the past, because it is very popular, but we braved the crowds this time. I am glad it is popular, but we don't do so well in crowds. It actually wasn't bad at all...once we found where everybody was in the park (got to see some sections of the forest I've never seen before and probably never will again). We missed most of the first show, but there was wonderful singing, dancing, and drumming! The second show was set up in three acts and was very creative. I loved the little kids in butterfly costumes hiding under a big catepillar costume (yes, they came out). There was also someone in this fabulous crow costume who danced around a bit and then laid an egg that looked like the Earth, and when it opened rainbow streamers came out along with a sign that said "Peace" on it. Then we were in the parade walking to the capitol where the BIG woman/mother/goddess stood on the capitol steps. There was a man dressed up as a Stag (King) who, I am pretty sure, just stood there and looked all stag-like. There was lots of very cool dancing. We left at this point because we were exhausted and it was about 3 PM (I know, we're party animals, but we had school the next day). So we missed the May pole dance, which I am a little sad about. Anyway, it was all very Pagan, which I'm not sure is necessarily part of All Species Day. Maybe that's just the way it is done here. The two are very compatible after all. The weather was perfect as well. A sharp contrast to April.

We had a great time and will definitely go next year--I think next time we will spend more time choosing an animal (or plant) and learning about it and making the appropriate mask.


Fiona and her friend Max. Surprisingly, the species Fiona and Sophia chose to dress up as were unicorns. I was shocked, too.


Sophia watching the catepillar act.


The catepillar.


The sun. This is during the parade, hence the odd angle.


Big mother.


Stag king. The mother and stag are on the capitol steps here.

This Past April

I didn't talk about this when it happened. I was too depressed. But in April we had two major snow storms and we ended up with a couple of feet of snow in mid-April. Remember that crocus picture a while back? Totally buried. If you go further back in my blog...you know, to winter, I posted a picture of our buried grill in the snow. It wasn't quite that deep, but it was darn close. Here are some pictures of the last snow storm. This is only about 2 1/2-3 weeks ago. Now it is in the 60s and quite gorgeous outside. The snow is really gone except for some very dark corners here and there.




The road to our house.


Looking east from our house.



Our back yard.

If Velociraptors Had Wings

Fiona taking off! Despite the fairy wings and the unicorns, she announced with snarls that she was, in fact, a Velociraptor.



Sophia the purple fairy among the daffodils.

Today was the first farmer's market of the year. Fiona dressed in her fairy garb, which got a lot of attention. One family went by, and the mother asked her, "Are you a fairy?" Fiona said, "No, I am a pixie" (I keep forgetting, too). After the oos and aas, we went our separate ways and I heard the dad joke to the mom, "I can't believe you thought that was a fairy."

Romance in the Cretaceous Period

So Fiona is now going to school 8:30 - 2:45 on Mondays and Wednesdays. Last Monday went well. She was very excited. The older kids stay behind after noon to have lunch and do more challenging work. I wasn't sure it was for us because we won't be there next year (we're trying out the public school for kindergarten and the tuition at this school goes up...way up...for kindergarten level) and Fiona seems so tired in the afternoon. She expressed an interest in it, however, and here we are. Incidentally, the public school in our town is only a half day, so we won't have to do the every-day-all-day thing for another year. Thank goodness! 2:45 is a long day! It felt very strange and I didn't know what to do with myself and Sophia. I'm sure I'll look back on this later and get a good laugh out of it.

A couple of weekends ago, we went to a hotel just outside of Boston and spent the next day at Stone Zoo and the Science Museum (SEE) in Manchester, NH. The LEGO exhibit of the town is really worth a visit. Right now (well, until mid-May) they have a very cool exhibit on dinosaurs. I didn't realize they had robotic dinosaurs that were very big (especially to the girls) and made noises. T-Rex was at the end and in a dark corner with eerie lights. They both found him utterly terrifying and utterly fascinating. Sophia kept asking Doug to take her back there again and again...but only while she was in his arms. Fiona wanted to be held, too, but that is getting harder and harder to do and she also likes to have the ability to run away (hopefully not into someone). She promptly made a friend, a boy, while there and once they started talking they were inseperable. She actually asked us if she and her friend could go off and play by themselves without us! I lingered behind, of course. She didn't like that, but I pointed out that the museum had a sign that said all children under 12 (I'm not sure about the age, actually) had to be supervised and it was the museum's rules. They didn't exchange names (he kept calling her "little girl"...I think he was about 7, though) but they did start holding hands once they decided to go see the T-Rex (again). There were dinosaur puppets, dinosaur pencil rubbings, dinosaur magnet activites, dinosaur toys, dinosaur videos, and dinosaur computer activities. They mostly played with puppets. We all left together (she was ready to go home with him) and Fiona is convinced that if we go back (it's about 2 1/2 hours away from us), then her friend will be there, waiting. Because he lives in New Hampshire. She has told me they are going to get married because A) he's a boy (yes, we've had discussions that girls can marry girls if you are wondering--I'm just keeping it simple for now) and B) they aren't related. She sort of acts happy but also proud that she has this figured out already.

Fairy Pox

Well, it's finally April. I have discovered that if you accidentally throw your husband's iPod in the washing machine--it was only in there a few minutes--and then let it sit in a warm cupboard for 5 days, it is just fine. Whew.

We haven't hung the eggs outside because Fiona does not want them to get destroyed. Understandable. So I'm hoping to bring in a branch or something from outside to hang them on. It's so wet and cold, I haven't done it yet. Now I have a sore throat and Sophia has chickenpox. That should make the next, oh, 2 weeks interesting because Fiona has no sign of it yet. I have been informed that Doug has only had a mild case, which I knew, but still means he's probably immune...except that his mild case was when he was twenty-one. So please hope with me that he is really immune.

Sophia is actually sleeping really well and seems to be in only minor discomfort, but she only has about 15 spots. I woke up at 12:30 AM, unable to return to sleep (it's 4:04 AM now). So hear I sit with chamomile tea, listening to the rain.

Fiona's current fascination is with the Rainbow Fairy books and the Weather Fairy books by the same author. She carries them everywhere, wrapped in a ribbon by Doug. She reads them all the time. I read them almost all the time. I try to read other things, too. Sometimes if you don't call her Ruby or Amber (some of the fairy names), she gets quite annoyed with you. There is not necessarily any warning when Fiona and Ruby change places. The books must be in order. MUST. She checks them at night before the lights go out. They must be near her at all times.

We went to a maple house last Friday for a school field trip. It was fun, but cold. We got to taste sap right out of the tree. It tastes like earthy water and not even that sweet. The farmer asked all the kids what their favorite animals are on the farm, and Fiona said "fairies". You could tell she knew she was being silly by the look on her face. It was this sort of shy smile, but she had mischief in her eyes.

The weekend before that, we went to Morse Farm and had "The Works". This consists of: a plate of shaved ice, a cup of maple syrup, one fluffy doughnut, two pickles, and a hot beverage. You pour the syrup (just a little) on the ice (this is the "sugar on snow") and let it cool. Pick it up with your fork and eat; it is like chewy maple candy. I guess you just dip the doughnut and pickles in the syrup. We did and it was good, but Fiona ate most of the pickles before the dipping started.

I am quite aware that my "Dish of the Week" is more like "Dish of the Month". I'll try to do better. I remember to take a picture after we've eaten the food. I just need to remember sooner.

Peaceful Children

She just got on the sofa and fell asleep. I didn't know that she could do that.



I love when I can get a non-blurry close up of Fiona. It got really hard to do after she was about 2 1/2 years old.

Spring!

We've painted empty egg shells hanging from strings, which we'll hang on the apple tree outside. The snow is finally melting and the crocus is blooming. Daffodils are coming up and the deer are coming closer to the house (as evidenced by their prints--some are big!--and their poop. Hooray.) We have new birds at our feeders, too! It's very exciting.

I think the wasps are really gone, thanks to Orkin man. I hope they suffered.

Tear-Water Tea

I love Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad series. So does Fiona. I rediscovered Owl at Home at a playgroup recently, but the big hit right now is Mouse Soup from the library. Fiona loves to read this out loud to anyone who happens to be walking by. I'd forgotten how much I loved these books and I think I probably read them until my parents had memorized them.

Freedom at War with Fear

Enemy, thy name is WASP!

I am so SICK of these damned vile creatures. I have referred to these stinging spawn of Satan here and here, but I may have even more prior posts about them.

Suffice it to say, they are no longer dropping out of the ceiling in the study (where we used to keep the computer, but we fled the study and now it's a storage room). Now they are in the BEDROOM. Where we ALL sleep. Where the kids take naps! It's not as bad as the study, but one is bad enough. Sometimes I see them in the upstairs hallway. Once in the upstairs bathroom.

Last night, Doug got stung while sleeping! No one has been stung before. I am so thankful that it wasn't one of the girls. Obviously, we're going to have to sleep somewhere else now. What kind of wasp is walking around at night anyway? I thought they slept.

I called the exterminator this morning. First of all, it seems really odd they are bothering us in March. Usually we stop seeing them in December or so, I believe.

I thought I could just have the ceiling fixed in the study, but obviously something more drastic needs to be done (and more expensive, I'm sure). At least replacing the windows in the attic. Hopefully, the exterminator can fix things and tell us what we need to do to prevent these wicked creatures from ever coming in the house again.

One almost misses the fire ants. Oh, our wasps don't actually look like this. They are darker. I have no idea what kind of wasp they are.

Bacon is Good. Pork Chops are Good.

After Family Fun Day yesterday, we ventured into the tiny Coffee Corner for a spot of lunch. Lunch was pretty much Meat all around. Doug and I had blue cheese hamburgers, Fiona had a hamburger, and Sophia had chicken fingers. So we're chowing down (oh yes, there were the requisite french fries, too) and Fiona announces that she thinks killing animals is wrong. Now, we've discussed this before, "this" meaning what meat is and what it used to be. So Doug says, do you want to stop eating meat then? He asks this very sincerely. It's okay to not want to eat meat (and okay to want to eat it, in my humble opinion). She looks at her hamburger a minute. She then resumes eating it.

After grocery stopping today, I made the impulse decision to get doughnuts to have after lunch. It is Sunday, after all. I buy doughnuts maybe twice a year, if that--not counting those cute tiny fresh doughnuts we get when we pick apples and at the fair. Oh, and I make them sometimes. So apart from all that. I got 6 doughnuts because 12 was just ridiculous (right?). I reported on what flavors I got (3 chocolate glazed--for Doug and the kids, 2 jelly filled---for whomever, and 1 Boston creme--that's mine). I said I just wanted one doughnut. Fiona proclaimed, "Not me! I want all I can get!" I worry a little.

Yesterday, on a whim, we journeyed to the Vermont Flower Show. Wow! It was like walking into a magical--rather dark--forest. Lots of bulbs in bloom, moss, bushes, trees, and even lilacs! The smell was heavenly. There was lots of stuff for sale (and "homemade apple pie!" as Fiona discovered...so nice to be able to read, isn't it?) and even a children's section. The model train layout was a big favorite with the girls and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science had a beautiful owl there that Fiona loved to gaze at.

We're having a Totoro revival around here. Totoro used to be a huge favorite of Fiona's at about age 2. Fiona still loves Totoro, but he's sort of an old well-worn love now. Sophia now adores Totoro. She will burst into the main Totoro song. Now we have technology in our car and we can listen to the whole soundtrack of Totoro at a touch. Fortunately, I like it, too.

No, Fiona's main love is either Cody (from The Rescuers Down Under) or unicorns. At Family Fun Day (Okay, is that not such a cheesy name? It hurts to write it out for some reason. But what else would one call it?) we managed to make our way into the face painting line (Fiona nearly changed her mind about it after we waited a while and it was finally nearly her turn, but I helped her out by saying she didn't have to get a--whatever she originally wanted...a rainbow perhaps?--but she could get a unicorn, and that completely changed things around). Fiona did indeed get a unicorn and Sophia sat still for a rainbow (she said "COLORS!" while making the sign for it). Sophia has been quite the canvas this weekend, because at playgroup the day before they inexplicably had face painting (not the usual play date offering) and she asked for a sun and a heart. Fiona and her unicorn and Sophia and her rainbow were gawked at by kids in the street and by kids at the flower show (who I overheard pestering their parents for a face painting, which I did not see at the show, uh, sorry about that!). Face painting seems to be very popular with kids. Normally we don't get one because whenever we go to places with such offerings, the line is incredibly long.

We don't really celebrate St. Patrick's day around here, but we seem to have both Irish Cream and Guinness in the house after our grocery trip. March is a good time of year for both. There are lots of great ways to cook with Guinness...Guinness is wonderful for sauces and baking and, of course, stew. I invarably drink it before I make it that far, though.

I Hate Daylight Savings

It's 3 weeks early this year, so Sunday morning we get to "spring ahead" one hour.

Hooray, more dark mornings! Losing an extra hour of sleep! What's not to like?

I think it's such a bother.

Restaurant Phoebe

My friend Alice and I had a lovely dinner, kvetching about the choice of schooling here, the dark cold winter, traveling with kids, the lot. We shared an appetizer of bruschetta: one eggplant with goat cheese, one oyster mushroom, and one tomato (You can probably tell I wasn't really paying attention, but they were all quite good). Alice had a pasta dish, something they were calling "panscotti"---a triangle ravioli filled with vegetables (I can't remember what, I didn't bring home a menu, and I didn't eat it). I had seared scallops with a potato leek cake and sauteed cabbage with this velvety vanilla sauce. We shared two desserts--something called "chocolate mousse creme brulee", which seemed to be a layer of vanilla custard, a layer of chocolate custard, and the really nicely done "brulee" crust. The other one was this disappointing apple crostata. The apple filling was nice, but the dough made up most of it and it was quite sandy and raw tasting. I couldn't even finish my portion of that. Oh well. I would go back, but I might go somewhere else for dessert. The service was warm and attentive...but not too attentive!

Today we're taking the kids to something in Montpelier called "Family Fun Day". Hopefully, it's not too chaotic.

There is a concern about flooding in Montpelier because of ice dams in the river (the Winooski) that runs through the city. There was a flood in 1992 that took everyone by surprise. The temperature is supposed to go up quite a bit this weekend (well, 40F) and there is a lot of snow.

One of the favorite play time activities lately is to play restaurant. Fiona asks me what I would like and she brings it out to me on a tray from the play kitchen. Sophia just starts bringing me random food items, but she will ask what I want to drink: "Juice?" (I say yes and drink it) "Water?" (repeat) "Juice?" She believes one should be well hydrated. Fiona will follow me around until I sign the check. She is the Chef and owner of the restaurant, and I am still her mother, but I don't live in the same state she does. Last time it was just that I was in Vermont and she was in New Hampshire. That's better than her being in Australia--she told me that I couldn't live there with her "because Australia is too scary".

The Sweet...Elusive...Taste of Liberty

Tonight I'm going with a friend to Restaurant Phoebe. I am so looking forward to it. Doug is graciously going to watch the girls, feed them, put them to bed (I know, he's the DAD, so of course he would, but it's a lot for one person to do. Trust me.)

I don't know if that is the actual menu on the web page, or only a sample. I suspect that isn't the exact menu. I will report back later on what we actually eat, of course.

Ellen Aim blogged about this heavenly sounding ice cream. She has eaten this, if you read her post. She lives in Texas. I live in VERMONT, home of Ben and Jerry's. So why can I not find this freaking ice cream? Every time I go to Shaw's, our regular main grocery store, which otherwise I find quite satisfactory--although it is no Whole Foods or Trader Joe's and definitely not a Central Market --I check the frozen food isle, only to be thwarted again and again! I have actually bought way more ice cream than I usually do this way. I suspect a conspiracy. After my date tonight, I am going to try a different (smaller) grocery store in my quest for the Colbert pint.

If we had broadcast TV--well, I suppose we'd have to have cable, too--I would be a dedicated viewer of the Colbert report and the Daily Show.

I Ask for So Little. Just Fear Me, Love Me, Do as I Say and I Will be Your Slave.

Doug got me this cookbook, which was sort of an impulse buy on my part. I had seen it earlier and pawed it affectionately. Later, I said, "If you ever wanted to buy book for me, buy me this". Being nice and subtle keeps our marriage strong.

Anyway, it's cute nifty little book. It does use rather a lot of half and half and cream and milk chocolate bars...it is definitely not a low fat book (although there are a couple of token soy milk recipes in there...which I have less than zero interest in). There is one simple recipe in there (well, not that any of them are *difficult* recipes, but this one is nice and elegant) of just milk chocolate and darjeeling tea. That's it. Okay, you can add milk or sugar, but I can't see how you would taste anything with more milk or more sugar. If you know me at all, you know I drink tea like (more than) water. It honestly never occured to me to add my eating chocolate to it. I forsee Earl Grey with orange dark chocolate in my future. I don't really drink a lot of hot chocolate, but I do love it, especially after being outside in the snow.

Which leads me to snowshoes! We took advantage of a big sale and bought the kids snowshoes. I would have done it much earlier this year but there was... no snow. Fiona took to it quickly (she told me she had some practice at school on a friend's) and Sophia even took a few steps in them. We had a nice little walk, but for most of it Fiona whined and whined about how tired she was and how long the trail was. I think we spent maybe half an hour outside. It was on the warm side that day as well. I am not sure if this means we don't go outside enough or what.

So addition to the copious ever-present whining on the 5 year old end, we have mounting tantrums that only seem to be increasing with intensity on the Sophia (2 years old) end. If she isn't screaming, Fiona is whining. If this were summer, we'd just go outside and run and swim it off. It is a lot harder right now because it's cold and there is frankly too much snow to go in the backyard. We sometimes go on the porch or driveway, but it's not quite the same. And nobody listens! Honestly, in a moment of exasperation with Sophia, I lamented, "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" (Do you speak German?--probably misspelled). For some reason, that got a laugh. Sometimes neither of them seems to understand English. Maybe I am drinking too much wine. Or Godiva liqueur.

Housewife

Doug and I have been watching movies in the evening after the kids go to bed. Lately, we've been watching Full Metal Alchemist, a nice little bit of anime. We (I) like to watch the movie (and they are speaking English) with subtitles. I like to do this because it's pretty quiet and I want to make sure I hear all the words (it's quiet because we don't want to wake up the girls). With this show, what the characters are saying and what the subtitles say aren't always exactly the same. Usually, it's pretty much the same thing, said a different way, or close enough.

Last night, we saw one episode where this one woman character walks into this room full of tough guys. One guy says to her, "who the hell are you?" She says "I'm pissed!". The subtitle, however, says, "I'm a housewife!"

I have this friend, who is also a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM), who never refers to herself as a "housewife": she says she did not marry a house. This is true.

I never know what to write as my occupation on the tax returns. I think I have been mostly writing "Mother". I really want to come up with some sort of smart ass job title, but I am never creative enough.

Godiva liqueur

Smooth, chocolatey and very easy to drink. I'll be back...later.

In My Day,

We had ONE week-long school vacation after the Christmas holiday and it was spring break. These kids--these crazy New England kids--have a "winter break" to go along with the spring one with an additional two days off the following week to accommodate "town meeting" day. Winter break is this week. That is why we've been busy bees all morning long all week long. I, as their personal secretary, tried to assemble playdates throughout the vacation. Today's play date is a bust as we all got snowed in.

I should be outside now with them with those colored ice cubes I mentioned, but, well, um, it's cold out there! I'm cold sitting here in front of the computer! I am totally weak. I also made peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies yesterday, so mock me all you want as I sit here eating them (I did share with them and they are also watching Totoro, so not only are they not getting some healthy outdoor time, they are eating cookies filled with sugar and chocolate.). Good times.

Fiona has been reading (yes, reading out loud!) to Sophia more and more and I finally got a picture of that happening. Fiona has also been leaving several notes, letters and postcards for Sophia and I that say either: "I love you Mom. Love, Fiona" or "I love Sophia. Love, Fiona" with a picture of two people holding hands (one is big, one is small).

That Thing You Do

That white stuff is back. The birdhouse we had hanging from the apple tree fell a while back and was sitting nicely on the snow, which had a hard icy surface at the time. Now it is lost. There isn't even a mound to show where it was.

My goal today is to try to keep the kitchen table clean. Ok, the kitchen table right now is this round catering-type table we got a while ago when Doug was making Chinese food feasts for the Chinese New Year. Now it's our dining room table, except it's in the kitchen because our dining room is now a play room. I have totally lost count how many times I have cleaned this thing today and it's only 12:20 PM. First there was the initial cleaning, because I didn't make the kitchen spic and span the night before. Bite me. Then there was the post-breakfast clean-up (cereal and yogurt-and-granola). Then the post-second breakfast clean-up. Then the cookie clean up (we made snickerdoodles!). Then the birdhouse painting clean-up. Then the lunch clean-up (first lunch, yogurt-and-granola...the second will be pizza). Right now, the table is covered in playdough. Itty bitty tiny pieces of bright pink playdough are everywhere. Sophia keeps trying it, but actually spits it out. It's quite salty, you know?

Right, so the snow is back and the snow cave is long gone and buried. I guess it's time to make a new one. I made lots of colored ice thingys in different plastic containers so they can play with them outside (I did this a few weeks ago, actually, ahem). Maybe we'll do that this afternoon, b/c I can't do arts and crafts all day. I can happily read for an hour this afternoon and then...

And now I must inform you all that Henry, our 1994 blue Honda Civic...is gone. All 200 million miles and rust. He had a cracked windshield and a back-out light out and...just a lot of freaking miles. I think we could have gotten a year or two more out of him, actually, but. We bought that car soon after we got engaged. Now Doug is the proud owner and driver of Harold, a blue 2007 Honda Civic...in other words, the same car I have, but in blue. Henry has been through so much with us. It's sort of odd that he's just gone now. I know, it's a car, but what a great car he was. He drove from Texas to Florida, from Florida to North Carolina, from NC to Vermont...and then from Vermont to Texas and back again! Plus all those working communter miles (we only had one car between us until we moved into the current purple house). I used to think nothing of driving an hour to work (nor Doug for that matter). He even got bumped off a Texas highway by a moving company truck (Mayflower)---minimal damage to him and none to us. Thank you, Henry!

Hen of the Wood, Again

We made it to Hen of the Wood last night, which I've referred to here and here before. We were not disappointed. The entrance way, the pathway of which was, of course, brimming with the piles of snow that we now have everywhere, had candles set into the snow. Candles make snow look even more cool, by the way. Nice touch.

We ordered some bottle of wine that was a complete unknown to us and I didn't write it down. I think Morton was the vineyard and it was a blend. I hate it when I don't write stuff down. I'm out of the habit since we go out so rarely like this now. Doug started with the crispy oysters and they were delightful. Thin crispy batter and tender oyster with a nice lemony sauce. I had the hen of the wood mushroom. I figured I had to. See, they had the pork belly again (which I talked about earlier). It was really hard to resist the pork belly. I am glad I did, though. The flavor and texture of the hen of the wood mushroom was incredible. Now, I am only very recently a consumer of the mushroom. Moving to Vermont has really helped me to appreciate the mushroom. For one thing, there is just so much more out there in mushroom-land beyond the white button. Here is such a case. Perhaps next time I would get the pork belly and the hen of the wood mushroom. The flavor and texture were both extremely satisfying. Rich, complex, herbal, and balanced. I love mushrooms now, but this may be the one time I wanted to lick my bowl. The mushroom is cultivated locally.

Doug and I both had the venison with chestnut spaetzle and red wine braised cabbage. Perfectly cooked, gratifying to eat, and so nice in the middle of February. I am a softie for spaetzle, though, I have to admit, and that is what made me decide. I was torn between this and the roasted pumpkin risotto.

For dessert we had coffee (With caffeine! How luxurious!) and Meyer lemon creme brulee with blood orange granita and a biscotti (Cherry and almond? Damn, I need to write things down!). We inhaled this, but I have to come out of the Meyer lemon closet here. I don't get it. I have bought Meyer lemons and have tried them in other restaurants but I don't really see the appeal. I understand they are supposed to be more floral and subtle than the "regular" lemon. I find them just slightly bitter and faintly lemony. I don't see the excitement. I proposed to Doug that maybe you have to be in California to really appreciate them. Perhaps they just don't travel well. Aside from the un-lemony, slightly bitter custard (which, again, not a hardship here in terms of eating it), the consistency of the custard, the thin bitter crackle of the brulee crust, the flavor and consistency of the bitter orange granita, the length of the biscotti (How I love a long biscotti! Sure, it's not all about length---it's really flavor that counts, but a long biscotti is a beautiful sight) were all spot on.

The girls enjoyed Sobo's company and the evening was a success. Hooray!

The Snow Cave

The missing grill after a night of more snow and wind.



The Snow Cave, one view.



Snow Cave with inhabitant, second view. It's not done yet, actually. The side isn't finished and I need more food coloring and spray bottles. They love the homemade snow spray. It's sort of toddler/preschool graffiti, I admit, but oh so fun.

The doctor's office was closed because they had no heat (!), however, the practice has other pediatricians at the hospital. The nurse on the phone said we could come in any time, but after hearing her symptoms, just called in a prescription to the pharmacy down the street, who filled it as soon as they opened and got the message (at 9 AM). The nurse said she could go to school tomorrow (barring new symptoms) and even tonight she looks and feels much better. Hooray!

Oh For Frack's Sake

Now Fiona has pink eye. She'll probably miss not only Valentine's Day at school tomorrow, but the school's art show, which is also tomorrow (and the parents can even come into the school---gasp!). I am so bummed about this. Hopefully, she won't be. Those things are tomorrow, though, so if we can see the doctor this morning and score antibiotic drops right away...just maybe it will work out. I will play it safe, though. Pink eye is so contagious (and I hope we don't all get it now). Today's school was cancelled...I think just to keep people off the streets so they can finish plowing. It's also supposed to be hella cold today.

It's Still Snowing

The compost bin is on the left (the lump of snow) and our trash bin is on the right. I can see them from my kitchen window and that served as a gauge for how much snow we got today...at least on that side of the house. Below that is Sweety Tweety and Pippi! At long last!



Our side porch. Darn flash and snow. It was sort of dark, so I didn't turn off the flash. I was also getting really wet from the snow. Brrr.



Fiona's birdhouse.



Doug shoveling the snow off of our front porch. This is not going to sound very feminist of me, but hooray for husbands! We got more snow on that side of the house. It was amazingly deep--he said over two feet.



The view down our driveway from the garage.



The grill in the backyard.

When it Snows,

We're the really dark purple part. The 12 inches or more area.

The schools closed yesterday in anticipation of today.

If you go to weather.com, it seems that our heavy snow warning has turned into a blizzard warning. Snow accumulation of a foot or more. I guess you know it's bad when the grocery store actually has lines. This would be more exciting in a fun way if Doug didn't have to go to work today.

I guess we won't be going out for dinner tonight! Hopefully on Saturday. Sobo leaves next Tuesday and I have no idea what we're going to do without her. Hopefully, we won't be sending her back with a cold or flu!

Yesterday, Doug and I visited the public school, and you know what? It was really cute. It was very safe. It seems like a really creative, fun environment. We liked the principal. I don't know what I was expecting, but we were really happy with what we saw.

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So The Lord of the Dance song comes on via the ol' iPod (hooked up through an old boombox) and Fiona asks to dance with me (I'm cooking at the moment). I say sure. She starts flitting around the room very gracefully and I say, "you dance so well". To which she replies, "Yes, especially with long hair".

Tonight is pinto bean soup and lemon bars. The bars are from The Village Baker's Wife and I used to make them all the time at a previous job. They are divine.

Tomorrow we're playing hooky from school to go meet a friend at the Monshire Museum of Science. It will probably be necessary to go to King Arthur Flour as well. Ah, well. I do what I must.

Sigh

No date tonight. Doug is sick as well as Fiona. So far Sobo and I are well. I hate winter.

If You're Going to Spew, Spew Into This.

I have a deep sense of foreboading.

Sophia barfed Tuesday night and Wednesday night. She is fine now. She was sick last week with some cold---very congested, total hell for a 2 year old and her parents.

Fiona just spewed all over the bed. Poor thing is sleeping now. Incidentally, most of it went in the Barf Bowl--a yellow bowl which I and both my sisters spent our childhoods spewing into. Quaint, no?

I have a date tomorrow night with Doug at Hen of the Wood (which I've reviewed in an earlier post). I guess we will see. I am washing the hands like a crazed woman.

Unicorn Mother

It is common for me to be buckling Sophia in her carseat and then she will exclaim "Baby Unicorn!" She wants to take Baby Unicorn with her everywhere. Baby Unicorn has been wrapped up in a too-big purple fleece blanket until now. Sobo suggested the toy sling and Sophia has found it much easier to tote Baby Unicorn around. The previous blanket always had to be folded just right or Sophia would wail "Help! Help!" every 3.23 minutes. Hooray once again for the fabulous life-saving sling!

Baby Unicorn is a duplicate of one Fiona has. I bought it for her one Christmas--I think for her second one, actually. She was not impressed. It has lain in Toy Storage until her interest in unicorns came out with a view of The Last Unicorn (until very recently, sans the harpy scene and the Red Bull scenes). I brought it out when I found it again during a toy organizing binge and it is now a beloved toy. Since Sophia covets all of Fiona's "special things", Fiona bought a small one (they didn't have the bigger ones) for Sophia for Christmas. They are both purple--Fiona's favorite color at two was most definitely purple. We have many, many 2T size pieces of clothing in purple. Even Fiona's snow boots were purple. So not only do they have matching unicorn costumes (Fiona can barely put hers on now because she had a huge growth spurt---all of the sudden most of her pants are too short!), they also have matching unicorns.

Dandelion Hair

The trampoline (from Auntie Alex on Christmas)was a big hit. I love how it makes their hair round like mature dandelions. Note the unicorn. Sophia is very much a "mini-me" Fiona right now, down to the "HMPH!" while pouting and bending her arms while putting her hands on her hips. She is also quite clear in announcing, when she doesn't get her way, that, "It's not fair!". Having a 5 year old say this repeatedly is quite tiresome. Add a 2 year old saying it and one has to laugh (or scream into a pillow). Sophia is definitely a fast learner.

Fiona's Unicorn Birthday Party

This was the first present Fiona opened at the party. As soon as she opened it, she exclaimed, "I'm putting this on right now". She did. She tore off her clothes and put the costume on and resumed with the opening of the presents.

Where Do Unicorns Go?

Ideas for posts usually come to me in really inappropriate places: the bathroom, soothing a child at 2 a.m., driving to school. I say inappropriate because in these cases I can't exactly dash to the computer or even write something down (well, maybe in the bathroom case...).

Here is the unicorn cake. It was made from a cake mold I got at a party store (where I got unicorn plates, cups, balloons, party favors, etc). It was in a plastic pan, which I have never seen before. Apparently, as long as you don't go above 375F, it is fine. A friend reassured me that she had used one for her son's birthday. It worked. The pan was about 5 bucks. It says it isn't meant to last forever, but ours may as I doubt I will use it more than one more time, if that. It was fun to make, though! I usually make less colorful cakes. It held exactly one recipe for a two layer cake. There were two pieces left after the party, which Sophia and Fiona made quick work of, washed down with the punch I made (pineapple, limeade, pureed frozen raspberries, and seltzer water).

The mold actually had the unicorn wearing a harness. As you can see, I left that out. What unicorn would wear a harness? I gave her a star around her horn. I have to remember to always say "she" when refering to unicorns because Fiona will remind me--loudly--that all unicorns are girls. Apparently, there are no boy unicorns. I have asked why, but apparently, that is just the way things are. Baby unicorns just have two mommies.

Happy Birthday to the Cutest Groundhog

I apologize for the lack of posting around here, but hopefully, that is going to change. Let us blunder away through the rest of the winter! I have my eyes set on spring, months away (May). Well, maybe April. Spring is a real tease.

Fiona turned 5 on the second and we had a fabulous party on the Sunday after that. I have party pictures to load and hopefully receive from friends at the party. Fiona invited four friends and they all came. She had a wonderful time. I made a unicorn cake, made with copious amounts of colored buttercream and edible glitter. We had the trampoline up and balloons. Doug made a nice spread of food (cut up cheese, sandwich fixins, fruit) to which I added homemade foccacia and fruit punch (how I love punch).

Oh, I had a birthday the weekend before and now I am the grand age of 34. Hooray!

Mom (aka "Sobo") is here which is wonderful and such a big help--especially since Sophia has been sick for most of her visit so far (oh well). We found Sobo some snow boots and proper gloves even though it is late in the year for such things. It is so maddening and amusing to see summer shoes for sale when the high outside is 18 F. Fiona and I are trying to learn knitting from Sobo (or rather, "re-learn" in my case).

We've decided to not re-enroll Fiona into the Montessori school for next year. That's a post for another time. Hopefully, Doug and I will get to tour the public school tomorrow. If that is dismal, I am not sure what the next step is. I have heard good things about the Kindergarten teachers, though.