An Announcement

Metaphor
by Sylvia Plath

I'm a riddle in nine syllables,
An elephant, a ponderous house,
A melon strolling on two tendrils.
O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!
This loaf's big with its yeasty rising.
Money's new-minted in this fat purse.
I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf.
I've eaten a bag of green apples,
Boarded the train there's no getting off.

Christmastime is Here

Finally! We've had a slow start this year because we all got the stomach flu and were out of things for about a week. Yuck. Anyway, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas - aren't these the cutest pajamas ever?

Minutes from my Life

I haven't written anything new in awhile - but I have five minutes (precious minutes!) to spare, and I'll write what comes to me.

Last week, Emmy's ballet class was canceled so I took the two girls to the Palo Alto Children's Library. I really love that library. They have an outdoor courtyard with beautiful trees and benches that are little kid-sized. We checked out some books and went outside to read. Maybe it was the crisp air, the idyllic surroundings, the greying air, the sweet eagerness of my children - but I felt so content there, reading aloud. We read "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" and "Lilly's Big Day," by Kevin Henkes. He is an author I have discovered recently that I really really like! For you children's book lovers out there - check out "Chrysanthemum" and "Jessica." Anyway, I got so into those books - and as silly as this sounds, I was brought to tears as I read them! Although these were little children's books about a spunky mouse, the feelings communicated were so real - so true that they captivated me. I love children's books.

And there it is, 6 minutes have passed. But I'll leave you with one sad thought. The other day while I was driving, Emmy asked me, out of the blue, "Mommy, do you ever laugh?" I asked her, "Do you think I do?" And she said, "No." Isn't that the most depressing conversation you've ever heard? Now, I know for certain that I do laugh, and that I laugh with her. But apparently, not often enough.

The goal? Laugh more.
(And perhaps after I laugh, I need to tell Emmy to make a note of it, so she doesn't forget.)

Baby dolls, a witch, and a kitty - what a weekend

October 31 is destined to be a busy day for us because not only is it Halloween, but, more importantly, it is Sophie's birthday! So yesterday, we celebrated Sophie's birthday in the morning, and Halloween at night.



We've been prepping Sophie for her birthday for the past few weeks. We've been reading her stories about birthdays, singing the birthday song, and talking about eating birthday cake and ice cream. We should have prepared her for the candle-lighting and for the expectation that would be on her to blow out the candles. The moment that Matt began lighting her candles, she started crying, "No! Fire, burn me!" As we sang, "Happy Birthday," she could not decide whether to laugh or cry, and when we told her to blow out the candles, she decided to overcome her fear of fire by touching the flame. This, of course, resulted in a confirmation of her fears and very loud screaming. Luckily, the party guests were oblivious to this drama, and when I glanced over at them, they were already happily eating their cupcakes. Gotta love two-year-olds.

Despite this incident, Sophie's birthday party was a success. She loves baby-dolls right now, so we invited three friends over for a baby party. We sang to the babies, read stories, took the babies for a walk in their strollers, danced with the babies, fed the babies, and put the babies to sleep. Jojo (Sophie's grandma) made baby-face cupcakes with binkies sticking out of their mouths. Sophie was probably the most thrilled with these adorable cupcakes, and she took her time relishing it.

For Halloween, Emmy was a witch and Sophie was a black cat. Or, in her words, a "kitty . . . meow." They were pretty cute, and on cloud nine since I let them eat as much candy as they wanted all night.

She Can Melt Your Heart

A Nice Mommy Moment Involving an Egg

The other day I was quickly baking cupcakes, when Emmy asked me if she could crack the egg. I've never taught her to crack an egg, and in my rush, my gut reaction was to say, "No, not now." And there would have been nothing wrong with that. But for some reason, I decided to let her try. She carefully tapped the egg until there was a perfect crack, and then when she went to open it, she just crushed it in her hands, leaving an eggy mess all over the countertop and floor. This would have been an easy time for me to say, okay, that was enough. Instead, I handed her another egg, and said, "try again." She tried again. This time, she held it over the bowl, and most of the egg, with only one shell, made it in. She was proud and she happily helped me clean up the mess.

I was glad that I let her try.

Emmy Ballerina

Emmy's first ballet class - she loved it!