Josie Says

 

// Josie, completely deadpan, after sniffing a can of Sierra Mist left on the counter: 

Smells like your airport wine.

(at this point we had not been in an airport in over a year and I don't drink wine at the airport ever or at home more than once a month??)

// Peering out of the car window at the bagel place where they planned to stop for breakfast, she said with absolute world-weariness and exasperation: Oh GOD, there's a line.

// Josie's friend has the curliest, cutest hair that Josie said she straightened a while ago. When her name came up recently I asked Josie about her hair: is it still straight? -- No, she replied. She curlied it back.

// Josie to Luke: Some of your songs make me sad. They might be happy for you but they're sad for me.

// The tooth fairy brought Josie a Harry Potter fan magazine which unfortunately contained a bunch of spoilers for girls that have only finished two of the books.  Luke introduced them to the term "spoiler". Later in the day she was telling me about a library book they read at school and told me, regarding the plot, "DO NOT SPOIL THE BEANS!" and "DO NOT SPIT OUT THE BEANS."

// Josie appeared at 4:45 am at my bedside.

Josie: Mommy?

Me: yes?

Josie: when a cow has a dead calf, does it still do milk?

Me: yes.

Josie: ok

[They've learned a lot from watching Dr. Pol on NatGeo].

// Josie, opening the sliding door to better hear an owl hooting and also hearing the buzz of insects: [pausing] Can you hear the nightness? 

// Regarding her Brazilian classmate: She speaks Pork-a-jeez.

// Both girls have learned about figurative language and we went through a few week period in which no conversation wasn't punctuated with the exclamation: THAT'S AN IDIOM! when they heard, well, an idiom.

Easter weekend 2021

 

We usually spend Easter in Texas (2014 //  2015  // 2016 part 1 part 2 // 2017 // 2018 // 2019) but

2020 lockdown

2021 not ready to travel 

We had a quiet weekend at home followed by a few days of vacation for me.

Easter 2021 according to my camera roll:

While I was waiting at the racquet club, the owner brought over these warm cinnamon rolls for the girls and me.  You know what's better than warm fuzzies? Warm sugaries. It was such a wonderful unexpected gesture. Thank you, Dan! 

Every day I check the grape vine... and it is alive! 

Raspberry and blackberry bushes greening up.

On Saturday, C and I went to Nachomama's and brought our tacos to a little park (her suggestion: let's have a picnic), Michael's for art supplies, The Container Store for a container* for my burgeoning Olive & June collection, Athleta for the outfit C liked so much she wore it for the next three days, and Laurie's for the Keens I buy them every summer.  Later I ran to CVS for the very last two readymade Easter baskets (whew).

*I explained to the saleswoman, age twentysomething, several times that I was "basically looking for a Caboodle" and finally she said, "I don't know what that is." Oof.

On Sunday morning I went to spin class and then tennis in the park with Luke.  We started driving to find some lunch and settled on Burger King, because it was open. And it might have been the most terrible fast food meal we've ever had.  Again Clemmie had the great idea of going to a park. 

A horse trailer parked not far from our picnic spot.

This lovely man called to the girls: do you want to pet the horses?

(This horse was so tall in order to swing up into the saddle the rider gave a signal and it extended its legs forward and backward to bring its back a bit lower.)

Such a thrill for them. (Josie to the rider: This horse is a paint. I know it from my book.)

More playground time.

Can I explain why there are two Christmas stockings and a fly swatter hanging from the mantel? No.

This is to remember Josie's newly-arrived American Girl doll joining her in the Harry Potter flow in Cosmic Kids Yoga.

At some point in the weekend, the bathroom door opened a sliver and this was handed to me in a curious display of regard for my privacy/disregard for my privacy. 

I had given up on the asparagus that was planted in the fall - but lo!

Days off:

Visit from my garden coaches. SO VALUABLE!!!

They brought potatoes to plant:

Another grape check.

More tennis!

Lunch with mom.

Weekend Scenes

On the first day of spring, a brilliantly sunny warm day: a visit from Custom Foodscaping to install the berm for the food forest in the side yard.

Off to Grandma and Grandpa's for the first time since July...

... with this amount of luggage for two nights

Date night at Sushi Station

Found Luke at the park.

A bunny mani to match Bunny

Josie: you're really good at these bunnies. (It's nice to have a fan).

Cain's lunch date before dance class.

Watching the last few minutes of class.

We make sourdough pancakes most weekends.  The batter has a rest I've ritualized into an "ART BREAK!!!"  After the egg/milk/discard mixture is stirred into the flour mixture ("with streaks of flour remaining, Mommy! That means you can still see it a little bit!") the girls run to the dining room and re-emerge 10 minutes later with a drawing, something taped, something glued.  Clemmie likes flipping the pancakes now.  Josie once touched the hot edge of the griddle and now prefers to sit expectantly for me to slide her pancake to her plate and top "with butter AND syrup."

More tennis, different park.

 

What's Making Me Happy This Week

 

// We are now getting three eggs a day from the chickens and the occasional double yolk egg!

// In our tenth year of marriage, we began playing tennis together.  Luke is playing several HOURS a day and I am trying to play 2-3 times a week.  CK, our tennis coach, was talking about love languages recently; mine is "allow me to go to sleep at 7 pm on a weeknight a couple of times a month week" and Luke's is "hit 300 balls with me at the park." 

// ThredUp x Athleta. The Athleta store has ThredUp labels at the checkout. Register the code, pack up the box of stuff to consign, pop in the mail (or, in my case, heave onto counter at the post office), and the earnings are issued as an Athleta gift card. I packed up a box of stuff, waited a few weeks, and was shocked to earn over $400 in Athleta bucks! what the what! I thought I would earn about $37 if I was lucky. Which leads me to...

// These salutation joggers. I had my eye on them for a long time but they just seemed like too much money for sweatpants. Which they are - too much money and sweatpants. But when you have a windfall gift card in your pocket ... I have worn them almost every day since I bought them. So soft.

// Olive & June polishes.  All of a sudden I like painting my nails? It's also a great nighttime activity with the girls because it involves stillness and concentration.  I put my hand to my ear and call Nail Snail, Clementine's salon, and she answers on her hand-phone and I make an appointment and am shown promptly to the nail station in the middle of the living room. 

What's Making Me Happy This Week

 

// Clementine: "I want to play tennis more.  At class we hit the ball softly.  I want to hit it FAST."  

// I saw these HappyMe journals in an ad and bought two immediately. We've been carving out a quick journaling time around dinner time. The girls have completed seven days so they will get the reward they chose for themselves: Clemmie will pick out dinner (update: had Tai Ke on Saturday) and Josie will get a new book. [The reward page is part of the journal itself]. 

// COCA dance season preview - so amazing! We watched it on Saturday night. Such an incredible level of talent in such young people!

// Luke named this lovey Rhino Neal and I think that's hilarious.

// Found this chicken wreath on Etsy!  With swappable holiday accoutrements.

// Happy to have found Find Your Farmer, a farmer's market delivery service.  The polenta, eggplant, and carrots were from last week's order. (This eggplant braising sauce is delicious, but any marinara would do). The polenta is from Braggadocio, MO - such a great name.

Clemmie's 8th Birthday

 

We began birthday weekend on Friday morning: banana cinnamon rolls that I made and froze last weekend.  Friday night was movie night - Clemmie chose Matilda and a few episodes of Bluey.  On Saturday we went to Strange Donuts and the Many Lessons: tennis, dance.  We split up the girls so I could have an afternoon with Clemmie: we had takeout from NachoMama's (C likes the chicken soft tacos) and bought her some new sneakers.  It rained all day and we dashed from place to place, waiting for a break in the downpour.

These are some apples (one rotten, one eaten) from the tennis club snack table I had to put in my purse and bring home because Josie insisted we compost them. I was so proud. I also hope I remembered to get them out of my purse.

Clemmie and I went to the mall for some tennis clothes for her.  She's never gone in the dressing room by herself and it was bittersweet for me! The salesperson asked, "which color do you like?" and she answered, "I like black." [like Luke always wears].

Fashion show at home.

Saturday night is Josie's choice of movie: she chose Scales and Bluey episodes. (Scales might be the worst movie of all time).

Sunday: my parents dropped off treats and bath bombs.  We invited a few of C's friends to a ninja class at a gymnastics center as an ersatz party.  I made her birthday dinner request a day early due to logistics: cowboy stew slab pie from this cookbook.  I prepped the dough before ninja class and made the stew (from pantry and freezer ingredients, I couldn't believe it!) during the afternoon. After dinner the girls spent much of their evening dancing to their Trolls and Greatest Showman records.

"I made real ballet shoes."

Actual birthday day! I went to CrossFit early, 5:15 am early, so we could have a little time together in the morning.  When I arrived home C was up (a birthday phenomenon only) and we made brownies with two of our backyard eggs and cleaned out the coop while the brownies baked.  I even prepped a loaf of sourdough.  Then I went to work!

After school and swimming lessons, C opened her presents: a vanity, a skateboard, swimsuits, a Harry Potter-themed box of chocolate and candy.  After post-swimming baths (in which the other was called in to witness the big reveal of each bath bomb), brownies and the happy birthday song -->

As a birthday treat, she was allowed to watch one short thing on tv and she chose the short film Bao.  The first time I saw Bao was in the theater when we saw Incredibles 2 for Josie's fourth birthday (blindsided by Pixar - again!)  They wrote in their Happy Me journals.  While Josie did her nightly nebulizer treatment, Clementine read Dory Fantasmagory: the real true friend to her, with great feeling and all the voices.

Birthdays: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - (we were in Mexico....!) - 7    (how is it that so much time has passed and yet none at all?)