Pittsburgh-palooza

We met my dad for lunch, then hung out at the park with him for a while.
I love this picture. It's very "Abbie."
Rachel's fiancee, Josh, tried to impress us with his domesticity by making us waffles one morning.

It totally worked.
And here is Abbie with her cousin Sara (actually, my cousin, even though I'm old as dirt.) They were inseparable this past week. Abbie tried to hide Sara in my mom's closet, so that she could stay with us. On our last day, they fixed their hair identically and wore almost identical outfits. No-one could tell them apart.

To my family - I had a great week! Thank you so much for all the meals, the entertainment, the chasing after Lucy when I was too exhausted to do it anymore, the only laughing a little bit when Lucy showed her most, ahem, intense colors, the love and attention you showered on the girls and on me. I love you all so much! Nothing is as soothing to my spirit as sitting around watching you interact, and admiring you all.

More from Pittsburgh

We really had a busy week, but it was all a ton of fun. Here are the girls at a park with their Grandma.
We went swimming in my aunt Margaret's swanky pool. Here is Lucy looking at my cousin Ryan with adoration. Ryan introduced me to his girlfriend as his "Aunt." I felt about a million years old. Thanks, Ry.
We went to the zoo even though it was raining buckets. Miraculously, the rain stopped as soon as we got there. Lucy insisted on wearing her rain poncho anyway.

Look how big these kids are. These are my "little" cousins. The babies of the bunch. How did this happen?

Uh-oh. I'm sorry, Chris. They made me do it.

I doubt the girls will ever grow enough to hit the "Ben Roethisburger" marker. (I bet I spelled that wrong, even though it is right there in the picture above. Oh well.)

More pictures from the Children's Museum

They had a giant maze built into a wall. It was pretty cool but the most amusing thing about it was....
This old man. What is he doing in there?
They also had an actual puppet from The Dark Crystal. This is one of the Mystics, my favorites. I almost died of happiness.

They also had a really cool art room, but I ended up being too busy to take pictures of most of the stations. You can see my cousin, Emma, painting here while in the distance my aunt, Colleen checks out the rest of the room.

A week in the land of my birth

The girls and I went into Pittsburgh this past week, and it was a busy, crazy, fun, exhausting weekend. The above picture is of an old-fashioned shaved ice stand that has been around since the early 30s. The old man in the picture shaved the ice for us by hand.
It was delicious!
We also went to the children's museum, which was seriously impressive. This thing was my favorite - a screen with dropping letters that could be manipulated by your image. You could "catch" letters with your body to spell out words.

The kids loved it.

More pictures in the next post!

Guess what?

My new camera just arrived in the mail. Hooray!

And now a word to our sponsors:

Dear Credit Card providers,

You are all evil. Thanks for the camera, though.

Blood of my blood

We let Katie and Beth stay up late last night, and we all watched Stardust - a fantastic movie that you need to put in your Netflix queue right now.

We've had the book for years (it's a little too mature for the girls to read yet, but the movie is more family-friendly) and I have loved it for years, but this is one of those rare, rare cases where the movie is every bit as enjoyable. We all absolutely loved it (yes, including Chris. His surprising ability to locate quality films regardless of genre is one of the first things that attracted me to him. Still does.)

After the movie, Katie and Beth helped me clean up the pie plates and glasses before going to bed. As we rinsed the dishes, Katie made me very proud. She said, "I wish more girls my age would see that this (meaning Stardust) is what is really, really good. Not something like," with extreme disdain, "Hannah Montana."

Man, I love this kid.

My heart just about burst. I was, at that moment, the proudest mother in the world. Enjoy your millions Miley Cyrus, you spoiled rotten vacuous brat, but you haven't sunk your talons into the hearts of my children. They see right through you.

Progress, I guess

As I was making lunch this afternoon, Lucy came up to the baby gate and announced, "I poopie 'gain."

I checked, and yup, she was. As I leaned down to lift her over the gate, she extended her right pointer finger up at me and proudly said, "Look, clean!"

Yes, her finger was clean. Meaning, she had restrained herself from shoving it up into her diaper and slatherng it in feces. An accomplishment of sorts, I guess, considering last week.

I debated on how to respond, but in the end I gave her what she wanted. "Good job!" I said, and kissed her on the cheek.

As much as I hate to face the fact, this is the sort of restraint we need to encourage with this kid.

The Zen of Pie

I had a Jonah day* yesterday.

I was cranky and irritable for no real reason; I snapped at the girls, I rolled my eyes at the dog, I sniped at Chris and huffed and puffed all over the house. I was unbearable.

I was driving myself crazy. Then, in the early evening, it was time to slip on my worn and flour-y apron and prepare to make pie dough.

As I cut the cold and creamy butter into little slices, I could feel it. My tensed hands began to relax. I sprinkled the butter, along with frozen bits of shortening, into the flour and my fingers slid along the pieces. My breathing began to slow as I cut the fat into the dough, focused on finding the exact right moment when it blended, secure in knowing when that moment would come. I added just the tiniest amount of cold liquid to hold it all together and then quickly incorporated the dry into the wet before pouring it all into the little squares of plastic I had prepared for it.

I could feel the back of my neck and my shoulders relaxing. The frantic flutter in my chest slowed, and for the first time that day I was aware of the quiet house around me. All of a sudden it was clear to me: I had been a colossal jerk! Why had I been so nasty? I couldn't remember.

I gingerly wrapped the dough in the plastic and slid it into the back of the fridge to chill. Then I took off my apron and searched out my family to give them a hug and apologize for being such a pill. They hugged me back and gave me forgiving smiles, and crowded into the kitchen to chat while I finished baking. All was right with the world.

And it was because of pastry dough.

Happy Fourth of July!


*Five points to anyone to catches that reference!
*Old picture of last year's cherry pie. This dough was destined for maple-blueberry. Mmm!

Horror Show

You people have no idea how fortunate you are that Jasper ate my camera. Had he not, the picture I would have posted this morning would have haunted you forever. If you don't have children, your reproductive organs would have shriveled up and died from fear. If you do have children, your reproductive organs would have been just fine, knowing as they do that all sorts of horrors can be lived through so long as its done in the service of someone you love.

Lucy is a lucky girl to have a mother who loves her.

I woke up this morning to the gentle sound of Lucy cooing over the monitor, so I quickly ran up the steps to get her before her sisters woke up.

I opened the door, and peered into the room quietly. Lucy was sitting on a foam chair (with non-removable fabric), naked except for her diaper. I tiptoed closer, trying to lure her out of the room before Abbie and Claire woke up, when I noticed that she had strange markings all over her body. Then I realized that the same markings were covering the chair she was sitting on. And the chair beside her. And her sheets. And the walls. And the plastic baby-doll crib.... And the marks were brown. A deep, dark brown, much like what I imagine the floors of hell must be covered in.

I should have seen this coming, right? I mean, who am I to think that I could breeze through five children without having one of them smear poop all over the place. The truth is, though, I really thought we would avoid that particular horror.

What I wanted to do was collapse on the floor and cry for a few hours.

What I actually did was lift Lucy up by her armpits (and if you think her armpits were a safe place to touch, think again) and carried her down to the tub, where she promptly soaked for a good long time. Then I drained the water, and she soaked some more. Then I hauled a bucket up the stairs and washed everything, and I do mean everything. Then I took bleach and bleached the heck out of all hard surfaces. Then I cursed the makers of non-removable covered foam chairs.

Then I told my husband that if he valued having a wife in the house, he would let me take a long shower before he left for work. Actually, I didn't say that. Chris sized up the situation on his own, and made the offer himself.

And now I share the joy with you. Aren't you glad I don't have a camera?

I wish the dog hadn't eaten my camera

If he hadn't, I would be able to post a picture of the beautiful, clear-as-day double rainbow that arched over our yard this evening.

I would also be able to post a video of the girls singing "Pavement" by Adele at the top of their girlie lungs in the car.

I would also be able to post some of the amazing plays they have been putting on lately. My favorites so far are an original Anansi story (created by Beth, and so good you wouldn't know it wasn't real) and a play based on the current favorite cartoon, Phineas and Ferb. Both truly entertaining.

But I can't. Because Jasper ate my camera.

Here's a random old picture, no real substitute, but the best I can do.

Remember these days?

An American in Paris

Times like these make me grateful to have all girls: I am not feeling very well today (sore throat and headache) but the girls were more than happy to gather around and watch a little Gene Kelly action.

Awesome! I've added quite a few new musicals to our netflix cue, because I have quite the musical-friendly audience here.

Rachel and Josh

Congratulations, guys!

Nothing keeps you humble like kids

Abbie to Chris: "Daddy, you're not a very fast runner but you are a fast reader!"

My baby sister.....

Is getting married!

I am so happy for her!

I think that she and her fiance are just about perfect for each other. They both have motorcycle licenses, despite the fact that neither one owns, has owned, or plans to own an actual motorcycle.

I find this fact extremely awesome.

Plus, Josh is an incredibly sweet guy. And he is good to her.

I like people who are good to my sister.

Plus, his parents are seriously cool.

(That doesn't really have anything to do with anything, but I know from experience that it's a
great thing to have good in-laws.)

Congratulations, Rachel and Josh! The two of you just made my day with your happy news!
(A picture of the happy couple will be forthcoming if Rachel is willing to provide me with one.)

Welcome Home

So we just had our longest trip away from the kids, ever. And while we had a great, great time we certainly missed our little ones. I told a friend at the wedding that I always feel like I'm masquerading whenever I'm out without the girls. I feel like I should put a sign on my back that reads, "This carefree woman is not what she appears to be - her natural element is to be covered in sticky kisses, with wet wipes in her pockets and dried oatmeal flakes in her hair."

This morning, though, all was back to normal. That is to say, our normal. I got up early to get the dog from the kennel (he was wired, really wired) and then we had to pack up the van and drive Chris to the airport. The girls were chattering away as usual, an unrelenting wave of voices that simply grows louder and louder as they try to drown each other out. Suddenly, though, the normal chaos turned to mass panic chaos. There was screaming, there was crying, the car was swerving as I leaned back to see what the problem was and Chris tried to shout down the terrified yells.

There was a slug in the backseat.

I had grabbed Jasper's car-kennel that morning from the front yard, not bothering to check it for bugs. Big mistake.

The crazy thing is that the only kid who was scared was Claire. Sure, when she first began screaming bloody murder we were all panicky and startled, but as the issue became clear, Claire was only one actually upset about the slug. It's just that, as she cried and screamed, the other girls were also screaming - at her. Abbie yelled out, "It's not like it has teeth, Claire." And Lucy, little Lucy all of two years old, was yelling, "This is ridiculous!"

And still Claire screamed. The slug was making its way across the floor by her seat, and she couldn't calm herself down. The closest she came to saying anything coherent was, "I am really scared of this thing. I can't stand it!" Which is pretty coherent, come to think of it. But that was just brief pockets in the continuous high-piched hysteria.

Chris finally had enough and pulled off of the beltway and into a Best Buy parking lot. Of course, though, by that time the slug had snuck under Lucy's seat and we couldn't find it to save our lives. And believe me, we were looking as though our lives depended on it. Mr. Slug was never found, however. He may still be there right now. I am really hoping that he will either find his way out of the car, or will shrivel up and die in the heat. Here's hoping.

As we were drivng down the off-ramp, though, the car shuddering from the chaos, screams and cries all around us, Chris looked over at me smiled wryly. We had such a good time last weekend, we enjoyed our alone time so much. But the real world beckoned, and it was time to face our reality.

"Welcome Home," he said through the shrieks. And we laughed. This is our reality. This is home.

Something Old, Something New

Chris and I traveled up to Michigan this past weekend for a friend's wedding, and it was just the break we didn't know we desperately needed. We were able to reconnect with some old college friends, some of whom we haven't seen since graduation, and it was just an incredibly good time. It reminded me - Man! We had a great group of friends back in the day. I miss having such a like-minded, fun group of people to hang out with.

My theory continues to hold, by the way. I am convinced that the best way to throw one heck of a fun wedding is to not worry about having a fun wedding. There is no better way to give your guests a good time than to give them a reason to be genuinely, deep-down happy for you. Walter, the groom, is the guy who introduced me to Chris all those years ago, and he is a great guy who absolutely deserves a great girl. I don't know his new wife well, but judging by the look on Walt's face, she's it.

All in all, a great time! We even enjoyed the drive - hours of quiet time to talk and listen to music and revel in the wonder of road trips without sippy cups, diapers, and agonizing rest-stop trips. (If you ever feel bad for Chris because of all these girls, think of me wrangling 5 little girls through rest-stop bathrooms while he leisurely waits in the lobby.) Also - the dancing! I haven't had the chance to literally dance a night away in.... forever, and you know what? It felt great.

Like I said, it was exactly what we didn't know we needed. Time alone together, time with old friends, time to stay up late, time to sleep in, time to reflect on our own marriage, time to reflect on seasoned veterans (Mr. and Mrs. D, waltzing around the dance floor like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) all wrapped up in gladness for a friend. Can't beat that.

Morning

Katie was having a friend sleep over, so I woke up early in order to make them a coffee cake for breakfast. (I had realized, just before going to sleep, that we are almost out of cereal and only have 2 eggs. I don't mind making the girls scrounge for their breakfast from time to time, but I thought I should provide something a little nicer for our guest.)

When I came into the kitchen, Jasper was acting strangely. He usually jumps up and rushes over, tail wagging, but this morning he was laying perfectly still. He thumped his tail when he saw me, but he didn't move so much as a muscle. I knelt down beside him and then I realized why he wasn't moving. Smack up beside him, on the other side of the baby gate, Lucy was curled up asleep on the floor, a beach towel pulled up around her like a blanket.

Lucy has been night-prowling for a few weeks now, but this is the first time that she didn't knock the gate down and come into our room. I complain quite a bit about this kid, I know (and she does cause a good deal of trouble) but the truth is that Lucy is the light of my eyes; she is a wonder to me with her spunk and her humor and her crazy sparkle. As I stood there looking down on my sleeping baby in the hallway, my heart just about broke.

I don't know what to do about this night wandering. I've considered getting those toddler doorknob locks. I'll probably even get some today. I'm not sure it is going to work, though, because I doubt that Abbie will have the fine-motor strength to turn them herself, and she needs to be able to get out occasionally to use the bathroom. I've looked into crib-tents, but they are pretty pricey. Something's got to happen, though, because I can't possibly sleep soundly knowing that Lucy might, at any time, be doing who knows what alone in the house.

In the meantime, a prayer goes up to her guardian angel. And Jasper gets a special treat for guarding her so well. Every time that dog gets on our last nerve, he does something like this to make me love him.

Lucy, meanwhile, gets a lot of hugs and a lot of random kisses from Mommy. And every few minutes or so she gets to hear a toddler-sized lecture: Lucy goes night-night in her bed. Stay in your bed, Lucy. Please, please. My heart can't take it.

I'd be willing to loan her out, for just a small fee

Lucy has developed an incredible little habit that (almost) makes up for all the sleepless nights she causes.

The past three or so times that I've taken Lucy and Abbie with me into a dressing room, Lucy has piped up, very loudly and clearly, "Mommy! You beauty!"

I can hear the other women in the changing area giggle whenever she says it. She says it for every single thing I try on, without fail. It's quite a confidence booster, even when the reflection in the mirror is showing me what looks like an overdressed garden gnome.

If she is complimented on her own attire, Lucy will often respond casually, "Yes. I beauty." I couldn't possibly begrudge her that confidence, though; of course, because it is true, but also because she makes such a great cheering section. She's more than happy to spread the praise around. And I can tell from the smothered laughter whenever we're in Target that she's spreading a little sunshine around, too.

Misunderstood

Chris and I dropped the girls off at the in-laws Saturday morning, and then we went on to check out the farmer's market in Lancaster.

It was pretty impressive and we came away with some good stuff. They had amazing goat cheese, and the baklava the little old Greek lady was selling was absolutely legit. The herb stand had us the most excited, though, and as we drove back home I dug out the bag of herbs to look at it some more.

I bought a couple of vanilla beans, and opening the little plastic bag that contained them unleashed a heavenly smell into the car. I've wanted to get my hands on some vanilla beans for a while. I'd like to attempt homemade vanilla extract, which I understand to be very simple. I've also been messing around with making eclairs, and I found a vanilla cream recipe that I think might be just what I need to get it right, but again I needed to find those beans first.

Chris also found something he's been searching for: smoked paprika. That stuff is hard to find, but opening the bag in the car was confirmation that it was worth the wait. It has a very rich, deep, smoky aroma that makes regular paprika (especially the grocery store junk we usually use) seem like a joke.

I also opened up a bag of something Chris got called herbs de Provence, and I was surprised to find such a strong, gorgeous scent. It has some dried lavender and a bunch of green things I can't identify, but it smells like the spice of the gods.

Chris asked me to hand the bag of herbs de Provence over to him, and he immediately loved it as well. We were kind of tired and punchy, and Chris started to mess around, inhaling deeply from the bag and then shivering as though he was having an out of body experience. It's always hard to explain moments of silliness to anybody, because these things are never really funny except in that specific moment, but in any case Chris was messing around with bag of spices and I was laughing my head off when Chris realized that we had attracted the attention of the car beside us.

An older lady was leaning across the seat and gesturing very pointedly towards us, and Chris saw the driver say to her, "Mind your own business." He looked down at the little bag of dried herbs in his hands, and he realized what the woman thought was going on.

It wasn't the mature thing to do, but Chris looked directly over at the nosy lady and took a big whiff of herbs de Provence. I was laughing so hard, I'm sure I did nothing but reinforce the lady's mistaken belief.

The thing that really made me laugh, later, is what this woman must have thought when she realized that these big old stoners were driving a minivan literally filled to capacity with car seats. I hope she didn't lose any sleep over it. Although - what does it say about her that she saw a bag of dried green things and immediately thought drugs? Maybe she doesn't cook.

I don't like to think of it that way

The girls were talking about age as I cleaned up the kitchen tonight, and Claire asked me how old I am.

"Thirty-two," I said.

Her eyes sparkled and grew big as she gave me an excited hug and said, "Wow! You're almost 40, Mom!"