Greens harvest

I picked a bunch of large collards leaves for Monkeyrotica to do his
magic with; also, I brought in a teeny carrot, and a sprig of dill.

I'm a little disappointed in the strawberries, as some of the fruits
are barely past green and are going brown. Any suggestions?

Kids bowl free at AMF lanes!

FTW!

Dash had his four-year checkup today. He did great, as usual! He's 35% for height, and 75% for weight, but somehow, that doesn't appear disproportionate on him. He told his doctor that his name was "Mr. Laser-Eyes" for some reason. He was in really good spirits for the entire appointment, even after I mentioned shots. He needed five total.

I asked him, "How many shots do you want, Dash? Ten?" He thought a minute & replied, "How about just five?" The doctor's eyes widened and she muttered, "I need to remember that one..." WIN!




























Anyway, here is how he looked after the five shots. About what I expected. I'm betting that ploy is played out.

Rosie learned that my phone has a camera

I think she took about 50 photos before I got my phone back from her. We're at Spill the Beans coffee shop in south Alexandria, Va.

This boy woke up HAPPY!

I was still considering getting out of bed around 6:00 this morning and I heard a little "Whump!" of a boy getting out of bed and "whump-whump-whump-whump" of feet heading my way. He made his entrance into my bedroom with the sweetest, "Hi Mommy!" and huge grin on his face. After leaping up onto the bed, he said, "watch this trick, Mommy!" and showed me how very expert he is at flopping down heavily into a piled-up down comforter.

Such a cutie! What a nice way to wake up.

However, all this show of sweetness and light dissolved when I didn't back down on my "no-TV-before-school" rule. Ah well, if he were a bright sunbeam all the time, I wouldn't appreciate it as much when the clouds part, right?

End-of-school picnic

Rosie and her friend Margaret just finished their kindergarten year together. I am hoping over Summer break that we stay in touch with some of the close pals that she made in her class. Who knows how they will all be dispersed in First Grade. And that's right! I have a First Grader now. Despite a rocky start and some behavior relapses along the way, Rosie did fabulously in her final scores! Kudos to Rosie.

Huge thanks go out to my mom, who will be caring for Rosie all Summer. Yesterday was the beginning of week one of Rosie's first Summer break ever; she's been in full-day childcare since infancy, as has Dash. For those of us who work full-time or who have been out of school for a long time, it can be hard to wrap our heads around the reality that the school break is eleven (11) full weeks. That's practically three months of no school! I have Rosie in camps for three weeks and we'll be on vacation for one week. That still leaves seven entire weeks with just Grandma. Dash is already horribly jealous.

I'll be finding ways to break up the weeks for my mom, by either putting Rosie in backup care, bringing Rosie in to work with me, or arranging playdates. Anyone have helpful tips on how to creatively pass the summertime with a 6-year-old? My mom is averse to spending time in full sun, so that's a limitation. Tips please!

Happy 4th Birthday, Dash!

"If June 22 is your birthday, 2009 is a year of sociability. It is a friendly time, when it's easy to enjoy life and other people. The focus is on personal freedom, reaching out to others, making new friends, and exploration. You're more enthusiastic and ready for adventure. It is likely to be a rather lighthearted year, when opportunities for "playtime" are greater than usual. It's also a good year for expressing your creativity. Advice - reach out, but avoid scattering your energies."

Wow, did they have my enthusiastic, friendly four-year-old in mind when they wrote this horoscope?

Dash has become the most lovable and charming little preschooler. It's so hard to sum up how far he's come this year with his vocabulary, potty training (done!), sleep habits, helpfulness, and general ability to charmingly manipulate the socks off of everyone around him. All this past week, as we've been planning his birthday party, both Monkeyrotica and I have heard, "I love you so much Mommy (or Daddy)!" Lots of big kisses and hugs for his parents, for isn't he getting lots of birthday party fun and gifts? Why yes! He happily and transparently announces everything that he is doing—good or bad—with disregard for consequences. If he doesn't get what he's asking for, he'll ask again and again, with the same inflection or a slight change in tonality, because he is the minister of persistence.

Much of the latter half of last year focused on changes in Rosie's life, primarily starting public school. Dash has been a rock, just keeping on with his schedule, only getting upset about the missed details (You forgot my bag of teddy grahams, Mommy!). He wants to go to his "New" school someday, just like Rosie, or get a new "big" bed like Rosie, and play with all Rosie's toys. He denies that he's copying her, but she complains often that Dash is following her around. He loves Rosie so much! They are the best playmates together, as Dash willingly plays whatever game Rosie sets up (especially the doll-play).

I am looking forward to learning more about him, hearing his stories, listening to his songs, whatever he has to offer, and gently parenting him every day. Happy birthday, my cutiepie, little Dash.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! We spent our dad-time with Monkeyrotica at the National Arboretum. Lovely day for it! Rosie and Dash such had a fun time on our walk, looking for fallen leaves to put in a leaf journal, visiting the bonsai pavilion, and especially feeding the koi at the visitor center's pond. Man, the kids (and the koi) would have been happy feeding those fish (and being fed) all day long.

Kindergarten Dinosaur shoebox diorama

Rosie & I colored this shoebox diorama together. She put me in charge of the background, while she was responsible for the dinosaurs. She used a dinosaur book of Dash's to help pick colors and patterns (her idea).

Wait, what? A UFO? That's not supposed to be there! Heh. We'll see what her teacher thinks about my addition!

Ballet Rehearsal 2009

Ballet Rehearsal 2009
Originally uploaded by nylonthread

Christopher, Ava, and Rosie were very patient while waiting for the dress rehearsal for their beginning ballet class to start. They're sitting in the auditorium at a local middle school, where the recital is taking place. Aren't their costumes adorable? They were very excited about it and performed well! I can hardly wait for the recital next week. And out of 175+ students in the school, Christopher is the only boy. Keep it up, little man! Ballet needs the male dancers. (Note: It's hard to tell in this photo, but Rosie lost her second baby tooth earlier that day. My girl's getting so big.)

My pal Kristine (Christopher's mom) videotaped Rosie, Ava, and Christopher's dance; however, I didn't point out to her specifically that Rosie was three dancers to the right of Christopher, so we only see her arm or foot in the frame once in a while.


She also taped my modern dance from Act 2. I didn't ask her to, but I'm glad she did. Even though it was just the rehearsal, I think we looked pretty good! The music is "Come Home to the Sea" by Mannheim Steamroller. We've been learning this dance in pieces, over a few months. This will give me an idea of what I need to work on before this coming Saturday. Of the six dancers in my class, two are teenagers, one who is the same age as me, and two who are in their 50-60's. See if you can tell which dancer is me.