Let's think of a better name than 'photo dump', shall we? This week's activities in pics, because it's been a really good one.
Getting a soy mocha at Local Coffee at Pearl Farmers Market. Clem said, "Imma mommy's back!" which later turned to "NO WANT MOMMY'S BACK!"
Rashguard is from Lands End
St Josephine of the Angel Face
Three pepperonis in the fountain; pizza from Sol y Luna
There's more, right?
She watched some kids splash and turned to me matter-of-factly, peeled off her boots and socks, and dipped her feet in.
Visit to the pediatric ENT. To tube or not to tube?
I took a half day off from work and managed to have a lot of fun and see several of my favorite people. First I got my hair cut and colored by Erin my hairstylist/therapist/life coach at 8 am. She is always a pleasure to see and talk to. (Hi Erin!)
Then Luke and I took Josie for her first haircut
Because in the words of Luke, she was looking 'a little Ron Sexsmithy'.
Kim at Pigtails and Crewcuts, who is responsible for Clem's adorable bob, tamed Josie's hair. She is also hysterically funny and we three had a long joking conversation that had me in stitches (it hinged on our joking that Kim picks up men at the airport because both her ex-husband and current beau work for an airline - I was dying). She asked if we wanted to keep Josie's first clipped curl and we said, no, we don't really keep things and Kim said, oh, you're using the KonMari method... which launched into a discussion of how you can become a literary phenomenon just for telling people to clean their houses.
Afterwards I swung by Central Market for some McConnell's and tomahawk pork chops and talked to my favorite butcher Stephen who, it turns out, also loved Chef's Table. Not only does he tell jokes and know a lot about meat but he always gives great advice about how to prepare certain cuts. Stephen, I like you.
Later that day Luke was in the bathroom and Clemmie flattened herself to the floor to say HI DADDY! and that also was hilarious.
Yesterday I got a sneak peak of San Antonio's brand new children's museum The DoSeum with a group of SA mom bloggers.
SO INCREDIBLE!
The DoSeum has a focus on STEM exhibits (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) with emphasis also on arts and literacy. I cannot wait to bring the girls here, especially to the outdoor and Little Town areas appropriate for them. I took a bunch of photos (below) but they don't give any sense of the scale of the DoSeum (it's enormous) or the attention to detail or inventiveness or the child-focus without being juvenile/fawning/dumbed-down/infantilizing. If you're a parent in SA, you're very lucky and if you're visiting with kids this is a must-do. The grand opening is June 6 and memberships are discounted until May 31.
Lobby
Outdoor sand-moving, sand-building area
Little Town for kids under 5.
Wind tunnel.
Spy Academy.
Light and sound exhibit. Not sure what this is but it is beautiful.
Story area.
Engineering studio.
Geography area.
Room o' balls.
Stillness of a place before the crowds hit.
Outdoor area -- water table. (Or, why I need to pack at least one change of clothes per kid).
Climbing apparatus
It's beautiful, it's state of the art, and it's 3.6 miles from my house! And a straight shot down Broadway on the bus for 14 minutes and $1.20 -- I'm trying to see less of my car this summer.
// Chef's Table. I watched all the episodes this weekend. The cinematography is gorgeous - of landscapes and food - and the chef interviews truly moving. This documentary made me feel and made me think - about being mindful and respectful of food, life choices, passion, apathy, turning points. A LOT OF FEELS, people! Please watch so we can discuss. The preoccupation with failure and rock-bottom points, the stuff of drama, I suppose, was fascinating. It's been a long time since I felt so enriched by a cinematic experience.
So I did what I normally did when I think/feel about something, I bought something! Two PlanetBox lunch boxes for the girls for their new daycare where we are responsible for packing lunch and snacks. Chef's Table made me consider how important the simple act of packing nutritious, delicious food is -- an act of mindfulness and of love. [panda face sandwiches will not be happening, however]
Chef's Table features Evan Kleiman in one episode and out of curiosity I found her show and have devoured several episodes. Even though it focuses on the LA food scene, the show uses food as a lens to examine social, cultural, and political events. I love it.
// Whole Earth Provision Company is a nearby store and when I went in this weekend to find water shoes for C for our upcoming trips (forecast: pooltime with a side of cutcakes) I thought, I should really shop here more often! They have a huge selection of the crunchtastic clothes and shoes I like - Patagonia, Dansko - and an enormous selection of toys, kid gifts, etc. Also outdoor gear but in the words of my father, my idea of the outdoors is 'rolling down the window on the way to the mall' so I don't need to wander to that part of the store. I'll stay with the clogs.
// McConnell's ice cream IS THE BEST. Better than Ben & Jerry's and we did a side by side taste test. Fave so far: sea salt cookies and cream. It's also $7.50 a pint...but check out this ingredient list. Real stuff. Real good.
// Despite the ice cream, the cider, the binge-watching of Netflix, my weight-watchering is working! Obviously I need to sit around eating and drinking artisanal products more. And I will.
// Planning at least two dates with the man of the house in June, NOT COUNTING seeing Neil deGrasse Tyson!!!
April and May with these girls, now 10 and 27 months. So much going on with C, here's a disjointed rundown but I can't forget any of these!
C started saying own name in late March -- 'Temmentine'! Her language is really taking off - first with phrases like "Gigi eat Daddy" when Josie was gumming his shoulder. This weekend we went grocery shopping and C exclaimed CUTCAKES! while we were by the bakery and so I purchased two cupcakes [file under 'bad precedent']. At home, I gave her a slice of one and she looked at the frosting tentatively - 'macky cheese?' and we replied, no, it's frosting. She nodded and said thoughtfully, 'I'mma eat it.' Then wiggled and laughed and wrinkled her nose due to the sweetness.
Her favorite foods are 'macky cheese'* and cottage cheese, raspberries and strawberries, yogurt, and 'dillas - I want a dilla!' [quesadilla]. Also, cutcakes. Yesterday she wolfed down hummus for the first time, a very promising non-dairy development. I cannot get her to eat meat of any kind. Ditto for most green things. We have to pack a lunch for her at her new daycare and I am stressing out about it (Weelicious requested from library, stat).
C has always shown an aptitude for locks and latches. When she was a crawling infant in her daycare's baby room, she was the first to figure out the sliding latch on a low door and it had to be moved to the other side to prevent her escape. When is too soon to call Mensa?
Currently she insists on fastening the buckle of the booster seat -- I DO IT.
And sometimes gets 'duck'.
Diaper concierge/bottle service: In a similar vein she insists on unfolding a fresh diaper, unsticking the tabs, then handing it to me. She does the same for Josie's diaper -- I HELP DIAPER. She likes to shake Josie's bottle to disperse the formula-- I SHAKE IT.
Big news this month! We are getting closer to toilet training! BYE-BYE POO-POO! I FLUSH IT.
Funny things: In Charleston she referred to the elevator as the 'uppy down'*. Phones are still the 'el-oh' [hello].
*I like to believe this is Spanglish - mac y cheese, up y down
At least 20 times a day she says cuckold! [careful] Examples include:
CUCKOLD THE WALL! Banging her head on the headboard while jumping on the bed.
CUCKOLD THE FEET! After tripping.
CUCKOLD THE COTTAGE CHEESE! Supervising my scooping cottage cheese from the container to bowl.
CUCKOLD THE FINGERS! Closing the toilet lid with exaggerated caution.
She wants to read every book every night. Favorites now are Llama Lllama Time to Share and Mad at Mama, San Francisco ABCs, Babies, Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?, and the Hello Highlights magazines. Mostly, however, she wants to 'naco C's' [look for C's] and doesn't pay attention to reading now -- all she wants to do is point out the letters that she knows. Current tally: a,b,c,d,e,h,n,p,o,s,w,y,z - and for most the upper and lowercase. She also loves to be quizzed about 'LETTERS!' - we draw them on a erasable gel tablet. (Music to tiger mothers' ears).
Sometimes she mimics me nagging Luke, saying with increasing urgency/exasperation:
Nuke. Nuke.Nuke.
♥♥♥♥♥♥
Josie is waving and clapping. Her bedtime has finally come into the 7 pm range. She barely sleeps at school but naps at home on the weekend; she arrives home from daycare a wreck Monday-Friday, bleary-eyed and exhausted. We are so hopeful their new daycare will have a more placid environment in which she can nap.
No more pouches. After giving the ok for table food at lunch, I guess her first day went well:
For dinner she eats what C eats, often dillas cut up very small, macky cheese, gnocchi, fruit.
She is finally crawling, right at 10 months! Now she is everywhere. She pulls up to her knees but not feet yet. Josie babbles, has four teeth (two top and two bottom), and wears 18 month clothes that C outgrew just scant months ago. She is the sweetest, sunshiniest baby (unless you travel with her).
Lately I've been spending a lot of time with them solo due to Luke's travel schedule. We went to the mall last weekend, C in the Ergo on my back happily eating GUMMIES! - a word I didn't even know she knew - and Josie in the stroller. I bought a few several items at Hanna Andersson, including a couple of chambray dresses for an upcoming family photo session. I might put a few of these on the Internet, so you might see them. Then we went to the Nordstrom Bistro where C sat mostly quietly with me and she ate 2.5 bites of pizza. It was a successful outing until the car seat meltdown - my fault for pushing naptime too late.
I want to get very comfortable being out and about with them because 1) being at home is the worst and 2) I anticipate the three of us being sans Daddy frequently. First order of business is to purchase a double stroller than isn't a land whale. Recommendations welcome!
// Wolf Hall. Berrie Hardymon recommended this Masterpiece Theatre production on Pop Culture Happy Hour (small batch episode here) and because I love all of her recommendations, or think that I would if I actually got around to reading a book, I bought the series for $14.99 to watch on my tablet in my adjustable bed, as all Masterpiece Theatre should be consumed. Six episodes, loved it, can't wait for the next installment. Thomas Cromwell is such an interesting, opaque, inscrutable protagonist. I hope you watch and enjoy it! (Also makes me very, very, very glad to be living in the present day). In the meantime, I'd like to read or listen to Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize-winning books, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.
// Hautelook. I've had this app on my phone for a while and didn't realize its terrible power until recently. Deeply discounted goods that change almost daily. For an impulsive-compulsive shopper like moi, it is irresistible. GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUNDS. So far I've found bought (I've found many, many things) a few things for the girls and a black lace maxi dress to wear to an upcoming wedding (I'm going with your boho theme, Amy!). This dress is maybe a little bit Morticia Adams and I texted a pic of it to my sister, adding I was going to find coordinating Wednesday Adams outfits for the girls and she replied:
// Skillet spinach pie from One Pot, best right out of the oven with the shatteringly crisp phyllo but perfectly good reheated. I ate it for breakfast all last week.
