Wildlife

We rarely get out as a family to do fun kid-things, but a few weeks ago we took the girls to a little "wildlife encounter" at the local community center.  I expected the presenter to have things like birds and turtles to show, and I settled Emily into the 2nd row of kids sitting on the floor.  Imagine my surprise when the man reached into a box and pulled out an alligator!  It was actually a pretty good little display, he had an artic fox, a hedgehog, a python, some exotic bird, a coati mundi, and a kangaroo!   The animals came from the W.I.L.D Center.  Once they open their new public zoo, we'll have to go visit.

Meeting the hedgehog.

Fitting Visit

I really lucked out in the mother & mother in law department. :)  Friday morning the girls & I called my mom to chat and I mentioned we were staying home from our activities for the day because the girls were still sick.  Fifteen minutes later she called me back to ask if she could come visit & watch the girls for the afternoon.  Yes!  She drove three hours round trip to be with the girls for 4 hours, so I could run a million errands (about two weeks worth, in kid-time).  Amazing.  She baked with Emily and played an hour of play-dough with both girls.  

Late that night, Alasdair's mom arrived for a weekend visit.  She is making Emily & Adara's flower girl dresses for Auntie Eowyn's wedding, and over the course of two days managed to almost completely make two beautiful dresses while simultaneously entertaining two adoring granddaughters, and doing all the dishes. I was especially struck by how attached to her Adara was, given that she's spent a lot less time with Granny than Emily has at this point.  But she consistently reached out of my arms for "Dat!"  [her name for Granny:)] 

There's a video of the girls "modelling" their dresses here.  I warned Eowyn tonight that getting the girls to walk down the aisle is going to be nothing compared to getting them to pose for pictures!  Good thing she is a laid-back bride.:)

Shower

I got to go away 'all by myself' last weekend!  I took a bus to Boston and drove with Becky down to Philly for Eowyn's wedding shower.  It was SO wonderful to get some quality family time without the distraction of kids.  We sat in traffic with no crying from the backseat, slept in, had uninterrupted conversations, and went out to dinner at 9pm.  Amazing.  And of course, the point of the weekend, I was so glad to be there to celebrate Eowyn & Ben's upcoming wedding!  I like them a lot. :)

We did an "informal tea" with an eclectic collection of tea cups & mugs, an amazing cake made by a family friend., and some mustache decorations. 

(Emily playing with the word cards my mom made me when I was her age!)

I'm very grateful for a wonderful husband who flew solo with the kids (including a sick baby).  [Well, mostly solo - he did fit in some skiing while my mom watched the girls, and taught Sunday school while my good friend Jill kept our sick kids home with hers.] He got no sleep all weekend, but didn't make me feel guilty for getting away.  I do think I'll wait a little while before I tell him I'm planning to do this again in a couple months.

Spring, Wheee!

The girls and I spent some time today, the first day of spring, on the playground.  This is what it looked like:

I'm not sure I can think of a time when they've both been that happy for that long, doing the same thing.  I pushed them on the swings for half an hour, enjoying the extra daylight at 5pm even if otherwise it sure still looks like winter.  They both wanted to go higher and higher, and delighted in watching each other swing.  

When Adara was ready for another push, she'd say "whee!" - which is also her word for the slide or the hanging rope Emily swings on at gymnastics, both things she loves.  My little thrill seeker. :)

Puddles

It was a balmy almost 40 degrees today, so the girls and I went for a tromp around the neighborhood.  We met some neighbors and saw lots of dogs being walked.  On our second trip out, Emily swapped her snow boots for rain boots, the better for stomping in puddles.