Faced With the Horrible Prospect of Having to Take Leftover Ravioli to School

"I'll just have peanut butter and jelly, because cheese is not allowed at school."

Gallery

S: I'm going to make a new place to display all the artwork you guys are always making.
H: Are you going to buy another fridge?

HomeMade

Doug made Griffin a beautiful wooden play stove for his birthday. I painted it. We're a good team! 

Griffin and Cousin Lili are having a tea party, above.

Happy Birthday Griffin!

Starter Quilt

I can check off one of my winter goals: make a quilt. I finished this one yesterday. The pattern is Amy Karol's Basic Lap Quilt, from Bend the Rules Sewing, a perfect fit for Griffin's crib!

Best Buds

Kaiva, Inga, and Karlina visited last weekend. What fun!

And Harrison's writing up a storm (this one's for you, Aunt Val)

Sentences You Never Thought You'd Have to Utter: Installment #1

[during bath last night]

"Harrison! COME ON! You don't PEE on other people!"

Keeping Them Busy

Ankylosaurus wreaks havoc on a platoon of army guys (these belonged to my dad):

"Turkey" (hahhhahhahahhahahhahah!):

Psychedelic fort/love den:

Action figure tea party:

Puppet Show

This was the first of several puppet shows that have been put on since we got the big box of play scarves from Aunts Val and Tara. What fun!

Dichotomy

This is sad:

D: I'm thinking about getting an electric caulking gun.

H: Why? Are there Bad Guys around here?

Oedipus

Case study for Freud.

Harrison, at dinner: "I wish Daddy wasn't here so that I can be the Daddy."

Christmas Break Part 2

I made Christmas Dinner this year, for the first time, and with much help from Val and Doug.


Best of Christmas Dinner:


Harrison and his beloved Aunties
Chatterbox.
The comfort and joy of using Gram's china.

Chocolate, almond, and pear tart from Martha. Yum.

[Here's the recipe. So easy and tasty!]

After-dinner drinks.

Dessert part 6,378.

Christmas Break Part I

What a restful and relaxing holiday! 

In summary:

We made a lot of cookies.  I'm not kidding: black forest, gingerbread, peanut butter blossoms, wedding cakes, sugar cutouts, and lemon bars. Between us and all our company, we even managed to eat most of them. 

Here are the boys, baking with Aunt Val and me on Christmas Eve morning.

Harrison and the Tongue of Concentration: 

Griffin licks frosting beaters:
This was our first Christmas spent at home, and it was lovely. Aunts Val and Tara stayed with us and were there for the Christmas morning insanity. 

Harrison has moved up to 100 piece puzzles and between Santa, his Aunts, and Grandparents added 4 new ones to his already impressive puzzle collection. It won't be long until he's memorized this bunch. It's rather frightening to watch him put his 48 piece puzzles together. He has several and can do them in under 10 minutes because he knows where every piece goes. These new ones should challenge him for a while. 

Val and Tara completed our handknit stocking set this year with a red stocking with a big blue star. Completed two days before Christmas with handcramps and much Auntly love. Thank you guys! Here Griffin digs deep for stocking treasure:
More treasures from the Aunts: play silks galore!

Snuggles after Christmas breakfast: Grandma, Aunt Val, and Griff.

More to come....

Pre-Christmas Happenings

Gratitude

This is what we overheard Harrison saying at the table during the pre-dinner craziness tonight:

May we have grateful hearts for all we receive and be ever mindful of the needs of others.

We will try to guide our words, control our tempers, and speak the truth.

Bon appetit! You may eat!

I love Montessori.

Rochesterian

Griffin became a true Rochesterian today---he shook hands with Danny Wegman.

Outtake

My Thanksgiving List

This year, I am most thankful for:

1. My mother, for watching my children every single day that I work. What an amazing and generous gift.
2. Memories of my grandmother, and for the opportunity to eulogize her, with my sister Val at my side.
3. The opportunity to observe the family of robins we had in our climbing rose this year--from egg to flight.
4. Maria Montessori and our Montessori school. I am inspired by Griffin and Harrison's teachers and classrooms every day.
5. Barack Obama, being able to take part in a historic election, and the American people for making the right choice.
6. Children's books which are not painful to read over and over and over again.
7. Letchworth camping with Harrison and Doug, snuggling them in the sleeping bags on a 30 degree night, and sharing hot cocoa with marshmallows in enamelware mugs.
8. The Twilight series and the guilty pleasure of being singularly absorbed into reading 2,000+ pages of such earnestly awful (yet titillating!) prose in a few short weeks.
9. New dahlia bulbs and blooms, which were spectacular this year.
10. Being able to go to the Rochester Public Market or Greece Farm Market every free Saturday, which is the bright side of being woken up at 6:30 AM by the hellions
11. Girl talk over the Thanksgiving Tasting supper at Hurd Orchards
12. Harrison's growing appreciation for The Beatles (even though I may go mad if I have to hear 'Revolution' on the ride to school again tomorrow)
13. Picking and eating so many sweet cherries that our bellies hurt and our fingers turned red.
14. Having a progressive/feminist husband who is a true co-parent and partner.
15. My new sewing machine and the fun (fantasy?) of planning winter projects
16. The best of this year's thrift store treasures: a cherry-red metal roller skate case repurposed to store train-set tracks; teacups for Val which match Gram's dessert plates; and vintage juice glasses perfect for small hands.
17. The few days when the kids and cats all sleep in and it's actually light out when I wake--like today!
18. Love, love, love, love. Crazy love.

(And kudos, as always, to Danika, for the inspiration to write this list. Thank you, dear friend!)

Angst

H: Brenden doesn't care about me.
D: What?
H: Brenden. He doesn't care about me.
S: What do you mean? Why do you think that? He invited you to his birthday party, so I'm sure he likes you.
H: Because I told a joke to him today and he didn't laugh.
S&D [quietly snickering]: What was the joke?
H: Knock knock.
S&D: Who's there?
H: Chicken.
S&D: Chicken who?
H: Why did the chicken cross the road?
S&D: Why?
H: Because he wanted to get to the other side!!!
S&D: HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!
S&D: Brenden didn't think that was funny?
H: No.

Science and Religion

Scene: Dinnertime in an atheist household.
Griffin squishes mashed potatoes between fingers, then lifts hands together above head.

D: It looks like he's praying!
H (a few seconds later): What does 'pray' mean?
S (to Doug): All yours. You can take this one.
D: ....'Pray'....well...um...some people believe in a God, or multiple gods, and 'pray' is when someone asks for something that they wish... um...or....
H (only somewhat listening): Is it 'pray' like when T Rex 'preys' on other dinosaurs?