fra-gee-lay

showing Gramsie the ropes

Hello again! How's your mother? Mine is great, she just left after four nights of kid corralling at Hotel Seltz. Nori decided she was lonesome for Gramsie about an hour after she left and refused to get dressed because wearing her pajamas reminds me of sleeping with Gramsie (whenever one of her grandmas sleeps over, she sneaks in to the guest room at midnight and shares a twin bed with her). I am reminded what a sensitive kid she is, and also very cautious. Nori was the only kid in preschool to be afraid to play Pin the Nose On the Pumpkin and the only one in gymnastics who refuses to try a flip on the high bar with teachers spotting. We continue to encourage her and help her build her confidence while celebrating the fact we may never have to watch a video of her bungee jumping in New Zealand or worry about skydiving adventures. That other kid of ours though... she's wild! Quite the mama's girl right now, but when she's in the mood to dance to tunes on her kitty piano...watch out! Nothing but feet in every direction! She speaks only a few nouns, some animals noises, and lots of commands whereas Nori was speaking in 3-4 word sentences at this age. Trust me, I am not complaining. One talker is enough. The first words out of Henny's mouth every morning are Ning Ning! which is what she calls Nori. And whenever her sister is our of sight, you will hear here calling, Ning Ning. Not that they don't fight because they almost exclusively fight, in between sweet moments.  I never had a sister but I did apply makeup to Casey so I think I know how they feel about each other. But, he also tried to stab me with a butter knife but in fairness, I did stick tape on him first.

her absolute favorite part of the whole museum

she wants to drink this water

MTV for babies

We are taking advantage of our Children's Museum membership by going there often. Gramsie Holly babysat Friday night so Jake and I could have another date. A free date no less. Free babysitting courtesy of my dear old ma, free dinner thanks to a gift card win by Jake, and free movie tickets (we saw Argo) courtesy of Ellen's Fandango gift last year. In an effort not to spend a cent, we ate popcorn off the floor and re-chewed gum from under the seats. Today we had our family photos taken at the sculpture gardens and even though our kids did not listen, pose, or smile for a single shot, I think she managed to get some cute ones, especially them in poofy tutus in the greenhouse. I am sure our photographer thinks we are not only the worst parents ever, constantly bribing our kids in exchange for a smile, but also that we are on the brink of divorce as I berate Jake in the chaos of coaxing smiles and uncooperative wardrobe changes: give her a Smartie!!,  give her the whole pack of Smarties!!,   you put her shoes on the wrong feet!!!,  where's the hairbrush?!,  did you find the hairbrush, yet??!!,  you put her leotard on backwards!!. Some say berate, I say communicate. I am sure you can relate.Tonight we invited friends over for homemade chicken & dumplings with a shards of glass. Just as I was finishing the dumplings, the glass bowl fell off the counter top and shattered into a gazillion pieces, some of which may have gone into the soup. They may not have as well. We debated risking it, but I was hesitant to feed the children glass so we ordered burgers instead. Incidentally, I also dumped a mug of coffee on the couch and spilled a whole banana cream pie on the floor.

falling back does not work on babies

these are the children who did not eat my glass infused stew and are not spending tonight in the ER