Camping

This weekend we took the kids camping (aka an experiment to see just how long each of us could go without actually sleeping.)

It rained.

We put up the tent in the rain.  I wiped out the inside of the tent and we immediately put the kids in.  We played in the tent (which Noah thought of as a cold and drafty prison) and went to bed.  It rained all night long and then sprinkled throughout the whole next day.  We laughed and quoted the brilliant "Stuff White People Like" entry on camping;

"If you find yourself trapped in the middle of the woods without electricity, running water, or a car you would likely describe that situation as a “nightmare” or “a worse case scenario like after plane crash or something.” White people refer to it as “camping.”

There were parts of the experience that were nightmareish (like when I had to take Noah to the car at 3 in the morning and sleep with him cuddled in my arms) but there was also something so magical about being in the woods--especially with someone who is 3.

We threw rocks in the water and made wishes (Claire wished that we would have a backyard just like grandmas--she asked me if I thought it would be there when we got home), we collected leaves that were just starting to change colors (all leaves that had at least 3 colors on them were offically deemed magical) then threw them in the fire.  I'm also pretty sure that I am now a princess forever thanks to a very elaborate smoke ceremony that involved Claire poking a stick into the fire and then waving the smoking end around and around.

I wish you could actually see the salamandar she is petting in this picture.  They were everywhere

Camping with a crawler.  Bring a pack n' play and set it up by the fire with toys in it.  We also set up an extra tent just for the kids to play in so the didn't track mud into our tent.  Speaking of our tent--we have the greatest tent.  It rained all night and nothing was wet.  You should get it but buy it used because who has $300 to spend on a tent?  We got ours for $25 at the REI used gear sale.  Best. Tent. Ever.

Don't mind the fashion statement here with my hood up. Noah likes to pull the hairs on the back of your neck when he rides in the carrier.

Claire took this one

Claire was only consoled about coming home by the fact that we told her that this weekend we are staying at a hotel that has a swimming pool on the way to Niagra Falls.

The Ending of an Era

Bye bye baby locks

Hello little man

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,
Your birthday card is not going to arrive on time.  This afternoon, after naps, I had the kids clothed and in shoes (which, I assure you, is a bigger accomplishment than it seems like it is) and we were really ready to walk to the park and drop your birthday letter in mailbox on the way.  Noah was playing in the cupboards (he managed to open a bottle of maple syrup but with cat-like reflexes I grabbed it after he only got one swig) I turned around and this is what I saw (pay no attention to the laundry all over the room--it was laundry day).

She was sitting in the rocking snail, singing to herself, talking to herself and watching the drapes blow in the breeze. And just before I went to rush her out the door I stopped because I was struck with just how fleeting youth is.  Claire is 3.  She doesn't have that many more years to sit and watch the drapes blow in the breeze.  This past week my social media feeds have been over run with pictures of beaming children as they set off for their first day of school.  My heart ached a little and a personal parenting insecurity reared its ugly head.  We are not sending Claire to preschool this year.  We're doing a coop preschool with a couple of friends and next year she'll go to 1/2 day preschool at a school in town.  I just decided that I wasn't ready to give her up yet.  I am not ready to rush her out the door and make her keep a schedule.  I stay at home with my kids so I can stay at home with my kids.

And as all those thoughts were running through my head Claire, while rocking back and forth in her little snail, piped up and said, "Some day I'm going to go to college."

I agreed.

She then questioned, "Are there colleges here?"

I told her that there were but there were colleges all over the world and she could pick any of them.  She though about it for a minute and then said, "It just will be what I do when I grow up but I don't know what I want to do when I grow up." {she understands that college and what you do for a living are connected but there is still some question there}

I told her she could be anything she wanted.  She then started listing possibilities which included 1) drive a car and be a helper 2) Climb trees and bring a rope to people who don't have ropes and 3) go all over the world picking flowers.

And that's it.  That's the reason your birthday card won't be there on time--because we talked about college and what she wants to do when she grows up and she sat in her snail for a half an hour watching the breeze blow the curtains.  And some time later (after the final mail pick-up) when we did make our way to the park....I just...I wish you could have seen it.  She was with her friend Ohana and they were on bikes and the weather was perfect and the light had that long golden quality that you can only find in the fall {never mind that just a few moments later she flew over her handle bars trying to follow Ohana up a curb--she was fine}.  I watched her little legs pumping trying to keep up, face a mix of terror and joy as they zoomed down the hills

 and I just loved her and....it was gold*.

So I'm sorry.  But not that sorry.

Your letter should arrive on Monday.

Happy Birthday.

*Nothing Gold Can Stay

Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold. 

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour. 

Then leaf subsides to leaf. 

So Eden sank to grief, 

So dawn goes down to day. 

Nothing gold can stay.

Happy Birthday Little Man

Noah is 1.  Can you believe it?  We opted for a smaller party than we had when Claire turned 1 (partially because we don't have as many friends and partially because we don't have a courtyard to play in) but we still did our best to let Noah know that we love him.  We tried to focus on what Noah loves best--things that move.

that orange smudge above Allison's head is one of those helicopters that you roll in your hands.  Noah loves them but he clearly loves Allison too.

Painting wooden cars

We decided that we hadn't had enough painting so we moved it out to the balcony and painted a big box.

Does it get cuter than this?

Grandma sent a package that included finger flash lights.  They were a major hit.

I am not the kind of girl to have a party where you have treats that go along with a theme (for instance mini chocolate donuts could have been labeled "spare tires.")  We had cheese and crackers for kids and fancy cheese and crackers for adults, veggies and watermelon.  Add cupcakes and this awesome trifle and boom.  Birthday done.

And last but not least we may have the greatest picture of Noah ever taken.

Happy Birthday Buddy.  I can not believe it's been a whole year?

The Selfie

We spend a lot of time around here trying to perfect the selfie. It's great entertainment on long train rides or car trips.  

I have to say we're getting pretty good

Crying Game

Reasons she has cried today. 

1) she is not a mermaid

2) I dared suggest (in an attempt to calm her) that mermaids are not real

3) she peed her pants

4) after said pant incident she did not want to put on new pants

5) I told her we could not go to the park without pants

6) she took so long crying about pants that we couldn't go to the park because it was bath time

7) bath time

Is it bedtime yet?  I am currently in a self-imposed time-out while dad helps them clean up the living room 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I've been thinking a lot about perfection.  I hope it doesn't sound sac religious but I have to admit that these days it isn't my favorite religious philosophy. I think that the quest to perfection is noble and important but sometimes...sometimes I don't want to be perfect. I just want to be good enough.  I get tired of the push to always be a little better.

Today was one of those days.

Lucky for you I took pictures

Look at these adorable kids painting

Do not look at the state of my house.  {I took a broader shot to help you get the full scope} 

Pay no attention to the fact that Noah's painting mostly involves eating the dotters.

Look at me taking my kids to the Museum of Natural History.  

And now look at them spending more time climbing on this statue outside the museum than looking at anything inside.  {And look at those dirty dirty feet!  My gosh}

And now the most horrific admission of the whole day. Today I took the time to put on sneakers with my yoga pants before we went to the library in hopes that other people would think I was a sporty mom and not just a lazy mom.  

My house was still messy when I kissed my kids good night {almost an hour late but as I mentioned we're not keeping score} but I thanked Claire for

coming to the museum with me and I told her I had a great time. She smiled a drowsy smile and said, me too.

If that's as perfect as it gets I will take it--all of it; The messy houses, the sneakers and yoga pants, the tantrums and the drowsy kisses and smiles.

*******

And, in an incredible stroke of luck I found the site of my next date night with Nathan. {who am I kidding, after finding a place like this can I even begin to suggest that this day wasn't perfect?  Oh wait, full fledged tantrum on the 1 train-yikes}