Skipping Town

Thursday, 6/29 We spent most of today at home. In the morning I packed for NH--a big job, since we're going for ten days--and the girls played with various things around the house. We had lunch, and then I had to do a little work so I let them have some iPad time. Then we went to the pool. The water was pretty cold, but they had a lot of fun playing with stuff in the little pool. A pre-K friend of Greta's was there, and they played together the whole time; Lucia was immersed in her own game of turning into a mermaid and back to a human again as she swam through a waterfall portal. We went home, got Andrew, and went to an early dinner at Ariyoshi, the girls' first time having sushi. It was a success. Both girls ate several kinds of roll, and of course some gyoza. Nice to be able to add this to our dining-out repertoire. Thursday night was one of my favorite nights of the summer--opening night of the Morrow Church Turnover Sale. I've gone every year we've lived ...

Another fun day. We spent the morning at the zoo. Zoo train, saw a peacock, fed the birds, rode the carousel, saw some hyenas, lions, and giraffes. Greta was particularly enamored with the prairie dogs. Lucia worried for a while about what would happen if Roary happened to find himself in the hyenas' enclosure. (Roary was safe at home.) And about what would happen if the hyenas and lions got out. I said that was impossible, choosing not to share the many terrifying news stories of toddlers falling into various zoo enclosures, or the horrifying Disney World alligator tragedy. Next up: a quick run to Target. I let L&G each buy a cool glitter ball from the dollar bins. Lunch at home, some reading. L&G got caught up in playing and we didn't leave for the pool till almost 4pm. It wasn't a particularly hot day, but they swam happily for a while. Strawberry Push Pops were their choice today. They're obsessed. They both hated the dinner I made (teriyaki chicken ov...

Another full day. We devoted much of the morning to making dream catchers, which L&G loved. I showed them how to loop on the yarn and they did the whole thing themselves. A super successful craft project. The rest of the morning was spent reading together and coloring. Then we had lunch. Then we played Hoot Owl Hoot. In the afternoon, both girls had a friend over to play for a couple of hours. At five, we went to the pool to have dinner, and then L&G swam for a while in nearly empty pools. We didn't leave till 6:30pm. That's a really nice time to be there--not crowded, not too sunny. Of course they each got a Push Pop. On the way to the car, Greta found a penny on the ground. "A travel penny!!" she said excitedly. I'd never heard her use this term before, and when I looked at what she'd found, I saw that it was a five-cent Euro coin. How great is that phrase--a travel penny. It's the perfect description.

Got in an hour of writing time this morning before Greta woke up at 7:30. Lucia didn't wake up till 8:45. We had a leisurely time reading books on the porch, the girls still in their nightgowns. I'm reading A Little Princess to them. They seem like they're enjoying it. Today was fairy garden day, and all three of us made super cute gardens in big pots. I dug up a bunch of moss so the gardens would have mossy surfaces. We added a ton of glass stones and other embellishments--rocks, acorn caps, figurines. I want to add some flowers to mine if I can get to Home Depot. L&G played outside until a late lunch at 1:30, and then we went to the pool from 2:30 to 5. A fun time all around. I read by the side of the pool while L&G swam--the promised land of community pool visits. I'm so glad I'm not one of the moms hovering over barely-walking toddlers anymore!! I let the girls buy Push Pops at the pool today. They were overwhelmed. They'd never had anything so...

Saturday 6/24 Busy fun day. Started off with an annual book sale I always look forward to--got a nice pile of books for the kids and two games. Nothing for myself--my TBR stack is robust enough as is. Next--Andrew and I got the house/yard ready for summer. We cleaned the porch (no small feat, with all the pollen around here), hung the porch curtains, and washed the porch furniture. It's so beautiful now. Then we tidied up the rest of the yard in preparation for having some neighbors over. The kids played outside and in the basement. Mid-afternoon, we went to the pool. Andrew only gets to go with us a couple of times each summer, and the girls are always excited to swim with Daddy. We had a big group of neighbors over tonight to have drinks around the firepit. A lovely evening all around. Sunday 6/25 L&G slept till 8:45 this morning. They were up late last night, watching our party from the upstairs windows. Though I didn't feel like it, I dragged myself to yog...

The weather today--heavy, sticky, hot, promising rain--set everyone off. It was too wet and terrible to go outside or to the pool, so we had to turn our sights elsewhere. L&G played in the basement for much of the morning. We played Find It Fast and Uno. Then we went to the library so they could sign up for the summer reading program. They made their mobiles (all participants make a mobile to hang in the children's room, which they decorate throughout the summer), and we picked out lots of books. I owed $6 in library fees, which is absurd. I hadn't managed to return our books before leaving for my conference two weeks ago, Andrew didn't return them, and they were all overdue when I got back. The heat and humidity had us all fraying a bit after walking back to the car, so we went home to rest and have lunch. Then I dragged everyone to Target, which was preceded by Greta chanting, "Mommy. Mommy. Mommy," for the entire car ride, in a seemingly irreversible spir...

Both girls slept in this morning, which I hope will continue, because then I can get up early and actually get something accomplished each day. The first thing they wanted to do this morning was play with their new toy hamsters in the basement, which Greta calls the "family fun room." They built houses for them out of large shoeboxes and lots of tiny things. They were extra excited when I let them bring down bowls of popcorn kernals. I cut holes in the boxes and ran Hot Wheels track through them, which the little hamsters run along perfectly. So the hamsters could run from one house to the other, and at the end was a Playmobil park. They were fully immersed in this activity for four hours . I did dishes, cleaned up the house, and read a book. The low point of the morning was when Greta's hamster was MIA. I couldn't find it anywhere. She was so upset as Lucia was assiduously world-building for her own hamster. Finally we found it, on the floor of her room, underneath...

It's summer. Both girls have finished school. We've finished all the end-of-year activities, and all the extra stuff--swimming, CCD, gymnastics--is over too. Tomorrow we have a blank calendar day. No obligations. No schedules. Although of course this means I get no writing done, it feels good to take a breath and just...do summer. Last summer I posted daily about how Lucia, Greta, and I filled our days, and I'm going to do that this year too. Bits of things or full anecdotes. Conversations. Books read, crafts attempted. A record of this time I give them without camp, without activities, without anything but the ability to be at home, playing. A GIFT THEY BETTER WELL APPRECIATE. Today was Lucia's last day of first grade, a half day. We went out for ice cream after school. I gave the girls end-of-year presents: tiny toy hamsters that scurry around the floor. Then they played outside for the rest of the day. They set up a "camp" in the middle of the yard with...

We’re back! We opened the NH house for Memorial Day weekend, and made our first visit of the season. We arrived Friday afternoon, and, to our surprise, the house was not full of dead mice and mouse droppings as it has been in the past. Andrew gave it a good cleaning while the girls and I went to the grocery store, and then we settled in. Friday wasn’t the nicest weather, and we spent the rest of the day inside. We played a new game—Hedbanz—which was a huge hit. Saturday was beautiful. We went for a long hike in the woods in the morning, and then L&G picked wildflowers in the yard (which had become a meadow). Andrew got out the riding mower and started mowing the lawn, which sent the kids into a panicked, screaming frenzy of wildflower-picking. Andrew relented and mowed only a path, leaving the meadow intact. Later in the afternoon, we hiked to the top of Mount Uscutney—about a mile and a half round-trip. The kids are surprisingly good hikers, never complaining or tiring. Lucia...