Skipping Town

ME: Girls, would you like a snack? GRETA: I WANT HUMMUS AND CRACKERS. GET THEM FOR ME RIGHT NOW. ME: Greta, that's not a very polite way to ask. How should you ask? GRETA: I WANT HUMMUS. ME: What's the magic word? GRETA: HUMMUS.

Had some decent luck with yard sales today. Not my best haul, but it was a rainy weekend and I got to only a couple. My bounty: Lego mosaic set ($2) feathered headress for dress-up bin (free!) Lilly Pulitzer capri pants, like new ($1) (I actually find them quite hideous, but I couldn't pass them up) two bracelets and a necklace ($1/each) three kids' dresses ($1/each)--one's an adorable corduroy jumper in exactly the style I love for my girls

Mother's Day was a lot of fun this year. There was a lot of buildup and celebration at the girls' preschool, and I got to attend a Mother's Day party in each girl's class. On Greta's day, she served me strawberry shortcake and pink lemonade for a snack, then gave me my gifts--a marigold in a decorated cup, a card, and a hand-painted necklace made from a metal washer. Lucia's pre-K class went all out, preparing fruit-and-yogurt parfaits, a rendition of "You Are My Sunshine," a "Mom rocks" cheer, and a painted and bejeweled clay necklace, plus card. The kids were soooooo excited about their presentation. They also made little lists that answered questions about their moms--Lucia declared my favorite food to be "salad" and said I look pretty when I "go out to dinner with Daddy." Too cute. On Sunday, I went to yoga, and Andrew took the girls out to buy my Mother's Day treats, which they excitedly presented to me when I r...

Bath- and bedtime continue to be times of high-energy, high-hilarity, and high-chaos around here. We're all so tired by 7pm that it kind of falls apart for all of us. Right around then, Power Elsa usually pays us a visit. Power Elsa is Greta's alter ego. She created it herself, and when the mood strikes, it transforms her. The crucial prop is her hooded bath towel. As soon as her bath is over and her hooded towel goes on, Power Elsa appears with a grand announcement--"POWER ELSA!" Greta then sprints for the bathroom door, naked but for the towel hanging from the hood over her head, and then she stops--hand on the doorknob, one leg in running motion behind her, other arm raised high...and she looks back over her shoulder with her Power Elsa face, a mixture of a grimace and a cry of triumph, and she pauses there as though on a television show's opening credits when her character's name appears in text on the screen. Then she's off again--"POWER ELSA!...

It begins! My favorite time of year: rummage sale season. There have been some here and there the past few weekends, with last weekend bringing a huge cache of Playmobil sets, a rare find (Sphinx, Egyptian temple, vet clinic, fairyland, some random figures and pieces). But this weekend the sales were going on in force. I came away from three days of sale-ing with these treasures: --more Playmobil sets (seal feeding pool, underwater, and burning building--I need to cut myself off) --big container of Lego-compatible building bricks (the hit of the weekend) --6 pairs of princess dress-up shoes --4 sparkly dress-up outfits --2 plush panda hats for next winter --6 Corningware mugs --retro Corningware baking dish --4 mini Corningware baking dishes --10 cookie cutters, including a unicorn --box of vintage yellow Fiestaware (Andrew found it shoved underneath a table!) --a handful of wooden pegs for peg dolls/gnomes --2 Zhu Zhu Pet strollers with a total of 2 pets and 4 baby pets ...