Gone Fishing

Greetings from Staycation 2013. This year we skipped the long distance plane ride vacations (for reasons that are probably abundantly clear, ahem). Good thing we can have almost as much fun close to home.

More soon. In the meantime, happy holiday weekend to you and yours!

August, So Far

These two can't get enough Popsicles. And no, in spite of how it looks in the background of these pictures, we did not open a daycare.



Still can't believe my "baby" can go on the "big kid" swing.




Here's a tip: Don't bring toddler twins to the home improvement store. You'll probably be shocked to know they don't much enjoy it. You'll likely leave with someone in tears (possibly you). But hey, think of all the money you'll save! (Erin and I still aren't sure what color paint we bought.)



I don't even know what to say about this.







It's been a month since we said goodbye to our girl and Leo is still drawing pictures and writing letters to her. Oh, my heart.



I found this beret on the "free table" at work and brought it home. Ellie immediately made her hers and dubbed it her "Art Hat."



I think it's safe to say Leo likes camp.




This week has kissed my A** (hence the more than weeklong radio silence). Hopefully next week will be better, but in the meantime I think we've all earned an $8 frozen yogurt that's bigger than our heads.

Now if you'll excuse me, that's what I'm off to get.

Happy weekend, all. xoxo

About That Rainbow Saturn Cake

About a week before Leo's birthday, I asked him what kind of a cake he wanted.

And then I immediately regretted it. What was I thinking? When was I going to have time to bake some fancy birthday cake? Who could predict what complicated masterpiece Leo was going to request? Better to do what I did last year, which was to rely on our local grocery store bakery to provide a perfectly respectable (albeit slightly disgusting and a little terrifying) cake.

"Rainbow Saturn cake!" Leo announced, as if he'd been waiting his whole life to answer that question.

Because, of course!

Sigh.

Two years ago I somehow managed to pull off these little "beauties."


(Yes, I'm still basking in the glory of the Dora cupcakes I made for Leo's seventh birthday.) Stop laughing. It was all Leo asked for that birthday. Rocked with guilt at having just burdened him with not one but two newborn (often screaming!) infant siblings, I made it my mission to fulfill his birthday request.

And I'm not going to lie. I like a challenge (which, by the looks of my life these days, probably won't surprise you). So I figured, oh why not. What was the worst that could happen?

"You can do this. Game on!" my friend Amy said, when I told her about Leo's request.

I immediately began looking online, purposely avoiding Pinterest because, well, it totally freaks me out. Some friends sent me some recipes and ideas. Good old Martha had a recipe for the rainbow part which was of course gorgeous but also...kind of complicated looking (there was a video to accompany the recipe, so...you do the math). My idea of complicated might not be the same as others'--keep in mind you are dealing with someone whose baking and assembling window is approximately as long as the nap time of twin two year olds. I sometimes look at recipes or projects longingly and think Yes, but how could I possibly complete that? Surely I would be interrupted. That's just the way life is right now. Someday I will cook or bake grand, intricate recipes, someday I will organize drawers and shelves and bins. But that day is not today. (Believe me, I am not always this gracefully philosophical about my "limitations.")

Moving on. After Googling "Easy Rainbow Cake," this is the recipe I chose. I mean, Betty Crocker! How can you go wrong?



This is what a six layer cake looks like before it becomes a six layered cake (note the extra large ice coffee that fueled the making of this cake).

I have to say, this new gel food coloring (well, new to me, but remember, I don't get out much)? AWESOME. No more of those wimpy, pastely colors when you really want to make Red! and Orange! and Yellow! I think we've all been there--put a bright blue cake in the oven only to open the oven and find...pale, too light blue.



And I'm sure it's completely all natural, right?


Assembling. Frosting.

I made a few critical mistakes that are now embarrassing to admit, but I was rushed! By this point the twins were awake and tugging at my shorts and Lucy was probably rifling in the refrigerator for string cheese. I completely forgot to trim the layers down to make them sit flat. This caused the cakes to sliiiiiide. I also used to much frosting so the cake became too high (too much frosting? How is that even possible?!). At one point things were going, um, south (literally!) very quickly.



I basically went into full scale Are You Kidding Me Mode, but thankfully, Erin has the cool head in the family and she had the quick thinking to reshuffle the layers to make them sit more steadily. She was also the brains behind the "rings" of Saturn (trimmed from pieces of paper plate and colored with marker: genius!).



But this is also why the cake is not in "rainbow" order, which is very hard for me to be at peace with, being all Type A/OCD. But you know what?



Nobody seemed to notice or complain. In fact, I think the birthday boy was pretty pleased.

Now, for my next challenge?

Art Camp, Rare Treat

Last week Ellie went to art camp. I was pretty sure she would enjoy it. And luckily, she did.

Just plain proud. As she should be.

On the last day of camp, they invited parents to attend a "show," exhibiting all the campers' work. The theme for the week was "Art Time Machine."



Inspired by Medieval coat of arms shield (guess which one is Ellie's).


Ellie's, bottom right.


Inspired by Egyptian Hippo, watercolor


Inspired by Monet


Colisseum, pastel


Kandinsky circles, oil pastel


Byzantine paper mosaic


Matisse collage, tissue paper (originally reported by Ellie, to be "toilet paper"). Ha.


After the art "opening," I took Ellie out for frozen yogurt at one of those shmancy places where "top it yourself" Swedish fish and Sour Patch Kids reside alongside chopped strawberries and plump blueberries.

It was a rare treat, a little Mommy and Ellie only, outing. And yes, I even sat next to her in one of those tiny chairs (see above). Per her request, of course.

I remember my mom seemed to always take me out for a treat after events like this. She used to joke, "It's not complete unless we go out and eat a little something afterwards!"


Ellie's topping motto: Never Enough. And the more gummy bears (or gummy anything, really) the better.

The girl knows what's good.

Camp, Leo

Last Friday I had the day off from work and so I had the pleasure of doing both camp pick-up and drop-off.

And this is what I heard as I walked from the car to the gymnasium, where campers are signed in:

"Hi Leo!"

"Leo!"

"Hey Leo!"

I felt like a minor celebrity. I must have met fifteen little boys, all eager to say hi to their friend Leo.

Then there were the girls. There were at least nineteen (OK, seven. But they were so enthusiastic it felt like nineteen). Leo was very eager to introduce me to them. Each one, I was told, was his "girlfriend." I was requisitely shocked when I met each one, of course.

This is an inclusive camp, but it is predominantly typical children (Ellie also attended). He does have a "shadow" or "one-to-one" (whom he shared with two other boys), someone who makes sure he's on task and transitioning from activity to activity. But Leo did what all the other kids did at camp: swim, play basketball, go bowling (his first time!), arts and crafts. You know, camp.

I left Leo at camp that day feeling teary (of course!) and happy and just brimming with pride. If a heart can indeed feel full? Mine did. And does. Because this is how I always wanted it to be for Leo, for him to be "one of the guys." And he is.


Fast forward to this week. Leo started another (inclusive) camp.




His first day at camp happened to also be on his birthday, which meant he got to "skip around the room" (see above) which, if you know Leo, you know that is pretty much his dream come true.

The camp has a website that posts pictures throughout the day. So I'm basically getting no work done because I'm constantly checking the site for more pictures.







I think it's fair to say that Leo is having a good summer.

I couldn't ask for more.

Six.

"But now I am six."



"And I'm clever as clever."
A.A. Milne, Now We Are Six



Three weeks ago, Ellie turned six.

Happy birthday to the girl who, when asked how she felt about being six replied, "Not good! I want to be  young."

I've heard ages five and six (and a few years beyond?) referred to as "the Golden Ages."

Well, we sailed through five mostly unscathed; a few weeks into six and so far (furiously knocking wood!)  I can't help but agree. Ellie is a full-fledged little person. In the last year I've seen her morph into a little companion too. Oh sure, she still demands snacks at a break neck pace, and has a talent for asking me to open her jar of vitamins at just the moment that I'm balancing two backpacks, a cup of coffee and usually, a toddler or two. But now she can laugh about it, whereas last year she would just look at me blankly, as if to say: What? Are you busy or something?

But she's also growing more independent.  She squealed with pride when she realized a few months ago that she no longer needed to stand on a chair to wash her hands at the kitchen sink.



She continues to be incredible with her younger brother and sister. She's still quick to suggest a solution to spat between babies or a remedy for tears: "I think Harry wants his water, Mommy." Or "Lucy's saying her car seat is too tight!" A few weeks ago I found myself home with just the babies. First of all, Harry and Lucy were downright bored with me. Where was their little playmate? Their ringleader? They both shuffled around the backyard looking forlorn. Lucy kept asking me, "Where's Ellie? Ellie?" And I found myself missing her too.



Ellie continues to love art, especially drawing ("What should I draw?" is her nightly, post-dinner question). I make suggestions: Mermaids? Gymnastic girls? (hey, it's what I used to draw). And every night she comes up with a better idea. "I know Mommy! A circus! With girls on a wire and clowns!" While I clean the kitchen and prep lunches for the next day, Ellie draws.


"A panda, a panda in a tree, a queen and a fairy."


Aaaaand of course, this. I melt.

This year, Ellie learned to read. It seemed to just click one day as I suppose it often does. For months and months she was sounding out words, fumbling and struggling. Then one day she was calling out signs from the back of the mini van and reading cereal boxes to me at the grocery store. The sight of a child's world opening up as words come alive in front of them, well that will just never, ever get old.

She's becoming increasingly sensitive (in a good way) showing a growing capacity for empathy. She holds doors. She apologizes for stepping on your toe or rushing in front of you to get down the stairs. The awareness of others' emotions is startling and I've found myself having to become more aware of my tone and even facial expressions: "Mommy? Are you getting frustrated? Mommy, are you having a hard time?" Ay yi yi. Out of the mouths of babes...

One night during bedtime a few months ago, I sighed, probably a little too loudly. "What's wrong?" Ellie asked. 'I'm just tired,' I replied (I think we did something nervy, like leave the house with all four kids). 'Today was a lot of work. A lot of fun,' I quickly added, 'but a lot of work.' 

Ellie was quite for a minute. And then she said, "I don't have that feeling, that feeling of work," Ellie said. "I just have fun. In the sun!"


Look at that foot. That little foot.

Bed times are no longer a battle (not that they were ever too bad, they were just loooong and involved a lot of water and blanket adjusting and stuffed animal placement). Full disclosure: Most nights, she's still in our bed by 2 a.m. Aside from the fact that it sometimes feels like I'm sleeping with a pony (those elbows! those knees!), I'm not in a huge hurry to put an end to it. I know from experience. She won't want to climb into our bed forever.



Oh to have her self-confidence. May she never lose it.


This is SO Ellie. As she says, "A girl's gotta dance!"


This drawing is almost a year old and her handwriting has vastly improved (it's from the first month of kindergarten) but I just loved the sentiment.



I almost pinch myself sometimes--I feel so blessed to be able to witness Ellie growing into her role as big sister, and to watch her relationship with her younger siblings grow and bloom. Especially these two. They are quite the pair.

She still wants to play with Leo all the time and can't understand why he doesn't feel the same way. It's clear that he needs more alone time these days. But when they do play together? And it clicks? And she's the fairy and he's some sort of fantastic mash-up of Iron Man and Spiderman and probably also wearing a dress? Well, it's a sight to see.





They also like to dance.

Ellie's daily observations continue to slay me. Sometimes she says them faster than I can write them down (thank goodness for the little yellow memo pad on my phone).



During a particularly explosive Lucy meltdown: "That Lucy! She's just a big piece of work!" 

She wasn't really mad at Lucy though, because minutes later, she was trying to cheer her little sister up: "Lucy? Do you want to go be ladies in the pool?"


After a visit to and (purchase at) a candy store: "Nothing can stop me from eating fudge!" (She has quite the sweet tooth and thinks breakfast really should come with desert (naturally, it should be fudge).





Ellie, watching Lucy be sassy to me (I believe she screamed no and stomped her little feet about seventeen times): "Look Mommy! Lucy's being like a queen!"



Ellie: "Oh Mommy, you know everything."
Me: 'Well no one knows everything.'
Ellie: "I know. I'm just trying to make you feel good."



"Can I sit in your lap even when I'm thirteen?"





And perhaps, my all-time favorite, about two months ago, after a simple lunch at home of cheese ravioli and sliced strawberries, Ellie looked up at me and said:

"You know what? You can't beat love. You know what that means Mommy? Love always wins."

Amen, Ellie. Amen.

Happy birthday, Sweetheart. We love you so very much and can't wait to see what six brings you.