Skipping Town

I just wanted to post once more about My Little Ponies, and the serious, exhaustive way they have infused our lives. As the summer draws to a close, the ponies have become vital components of each and every activity the girls engage with. Bike riding around the driveway: bikes must first be "decorated" with blind bag ponies. Building with Magna Tiles and blocks: the structures are homes, castles, and barns for ponies. Playing with tiny Playmobil stuff: the small foods are for the ponies. Coloring: they're coloring pictures of ponies. Playing on the swingset: the ponies are always on the swings or in the playhouse with them. Going to the playground: ponies accompany us. Going to the pool: ponies accompany us (though I make the ponies stay in the car). Fruit picking: ponies accompany us. Painting clam shells on the porch: the ponies have to be forcibly distanced from the paints. Reading books: reading to ponies. The girls' love of these ponies is intense. They both kn...

We started the summer with a week in PA, and we ended it that way, too. We drove in last weekend and packed the next nine days with lots of local fun. Molly and Luca were there, and the kids all played in the garage (their favorite 'indoor' play area) with Mom and Dad, and even watched My Little Pony and Equestria Girls together. We took all the kids to the Youngwood Pool--a new thing for us--and had a great time there. We all enjoyed hanging out at a friend's lovely yard, with a magical playhouse and a 35-foot wooden swing that really makes you feel like you're flying. Andrew, Molly, and I went to Lynn's for some late-night fried food. And Andrew and I even had a double-date night in Pittsburgh with friends. We also went to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum; shopped for cement yard statues at Marcel's; had nice meals at Randall's and Eat N' Park; and went to a Finley's Fighters fun walk, where the girls got their faces painted and had pink feat...

It's mid-August. This month, our crazy summer has finally slowed down, and for the past few weeks we've been home: all four of us, no more no fewer. No one visiting, no one traveling. (Well, Andrew was away all last week, so I guess I mean that I've consistently been here. He's mostly been here.) June and July were packed with activities, and now--a break. Of course, this was the part of summer I looked to with some measure of trepidation, since there's no way to get around it now: it's just me and the girls, all day, every day, for 12+ hours of unstructured time.  That's daunting. The only comparable thing is snow days, which always seem like the most heinous affront to a SAHM: a whooollleee daaaay insiiiidddde, alooooone with the kiiiids. Minutes seem like hours. Thankfully, this summer isn't quite this bad. First of all, we're not stuck inside. Second of all, we're not stuck inside in the basement while doing dishes in the laundry sinks wit...