Skipping Town

Last day of August. This time next week, they'll have finished their first two days of school. There's a very this-is-it feeling in the air, and I can tell that the girls are hunkering down, making the most of every second. This morning Greta woke up earlier than usual--7am--and came into bed for some snuggles. She even went back to sleep for a bit with her leg draped over me. Lucia slept till 10am--school mornings are going to be a tough adjustment. I made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls for breakfast (so delicious, seriously, why don't we have these all the time). We listened to a bunch of Wicked songs in preparation for our Broadway adventure this Sunday (while I read the synopsis from Wikipedia between songs). Then the girls played in their rooms while I organized all the new school clothes we've bought, cleaned the unwearable-for-school stuff out of their drawers, and made a giant bag of outgrown summer clothes. Greta in particular had outgrown 3/4 of her summer clothes

Wed., 8/29 Another scorching day, but this one was made so much better because we spent the day at Lake Mohawk with friends. One of Lucia's friends' grandparents live there, and we all went out for a few hours in the afternoon. It was a lovely day. We swam in the lake and went out on a boat, journeying across the lake to an ice cream shop on the main street. The kids all had a great time. I'd never been to that part of New Jersey--it was beautiful. I'll get Andrew to start looking at real estate, the logical next step after any good excursion. We got home around 4pm, and since the house was boiling hot without our downstairs AC, L&G played with Playmobil stuff in the basement, and I brought our heated-up leftovers down there to eat. Bedtime again took two hours. I'm trying to be zen about it and just accept it as Where We Are Now, and it's really fine since they can sleep in as long as they want in the morning. But still. Whew. It's a lot of bedtim

Mon., 8/27 We played Quirkle (me and Lucia) and Blokus (me, Lucia, Greta, and the dolls) in the morning. We went to the pool when it opened and had lunch there. There was some ridiculous squabbling over who would put what on which chairs. (Sigh.) It was a zillion degrees so I swam with them in the middle pool and gave them "challenges" to do--different kinds of handstands, somersaults, etc. The AG dolls accompanied us to the pool and were, yet again, the focus of the day. I made a new recipe--"homemade hamburger helper"--which everyone ate. Tues., 8/28 Another scorching day. Too hot to play outside. I'd recently found in the attic matching girl-and-doll sundresses I'd gotten over Easter at Gabe's and promptly forgot about during the endless freezing spring; so I gave those to them, which they were thrilled with. Lucia and I played Quirkle. We had lunch. We went to the pool for our last swim of the season--we have plans tomorrow and the rest of the

Both girls slept late today--Greta till 8:30, Lucia till 9--and after showers and breakfast we headed out to do some shoe shopping. There was an immediate issue with trying to drive out to the stores: Andrew had switched the carseats from harness mode to high-back booster mode, and something had gone awry, and the belts couldn't be fastened around the kids. So I had to take out the carseats (something I've never done) and lug them to the mudroom porch (they are insanely heavy), cursing the seats the whole time. I'm so done with carseats. I'm ordering latching booster seats this week and we are officially retiring these things.  Anyway, after all that, we made it to route 10 and went to DSW and Nordstrom Rack. Both girls needed sneakers, and they wanted to get "fun" shoes as well. They both found sneakers, Greta got a pair of black booties, and Lucia got gold high-top Converse. I also got two pairs of fall shoes for myself. It was a successful trip. The girl

Andrew, Lucia, Greta, and I went to the Cloisters today to see part of the Met's Heavenly Bodies exhibition. I hadn't been to the Cloisters in years, and Andrew had never been, and it would have been incredible even without the haute couture arranged strikingly throughout the different spaces. My favorites were the Valentinos displayed around one of the courtyards, and my favorite juxtaposition was a Thom Browne wedding dress with a unicorn embroidered across the front, displayed--of course--in the middle of the Unicorn Tapestries. There was also a narwhal horn in that room, which was pretty amazing. L&G picked out teensy colored pencil sets in the gift shop (for their American Girls, of course). After wandering around the galleries and gardens, we went out to lunch at the Tyron Public House, and then drove back home. The rest of the day passed with errands, grocery shopping, and the girls playing outside. They watched Enchanted tonight, and Greta practiced piano. (Don&

Yesterday was an exciting day for the girls: their first sleepover. Lucia and her friend (a year younger in school, but they got to be really good friends on the bus) have been planning this since the end of the school year, and since summer is rapidly ending, I finally made it happen. They had it all planned out: first we'd all go to the pool together, then we'd come home and have dinner and watch a movie and sleep over. And that's what we did. I drove the three girls (L + friend + G) to the pool, but the water was pretty cold and we didn't stay too long. After they had a treat from the snack bar, we came home, and they played with their American Girl dolls before we went out again to pick up a pizza. We had our dinner and then the girls settled in to watch Descendants 2, with all their dolls lined up next to them. The friend had made "popcorn" for her doll from lots of bits of crumpled-up paper. They had a brief dance party to the closing-credit music, and t

Finally, after a couple days of overcast skies, we got some sun. L&G were again in play mode. We played Quirkle after breakfast, then read a ton of The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters: Jolly Regina. Then they went downstairs to play in the basement. After two full days of play immersion, the basement looked like a tornado had gone through it. Everything, and I mean everything, was out, and on the floor: piles upon piles of dress-up clothes, dress-up jewelry all over the art table, cushions everywhere, Magna-Tiles and Keva planks everywhere, drifts of paper and pens, play food. With the cleaners coming tomorrow, I anticipated an arduous cleanup, which I warned the girls would be coming at some point. But they were playing, so I went upstairs, and they then began loudly talking about BUILDING A CASTLE and yelled that I shouldn't come back down. When they came to get me to "show me the castle," they brought me downstairs to a pristine playroom. They'd

Another day at home. We did go to the library briefly this afternoon to exchange some books, but that was it. I tried to get the girls to play outside, but they weren't interested. All they wanted to do was play inside, in the basement playroom. We played Quirkle together, finished The Worst Witch, and read half of The Bland Sisters. Down sides of the day: No one liked the dinner I made (burrito bowls, which I've made several times before with no complaints). Greta refused to practice piano. The library's summer reading program is officially over, though they can still receive prizes through the end of the month. Two weeks till school starts.

Fri., 8/17 Grandma D. turned 99 today, so we went to Beechwood to have some cake and see her and Florence. Then we went to Target for a bit more school-clothes shopping--the girls are fully set now; maybe they'll want some warm things once winter comes, but last year they preferred t-shirts all year in their overheated classrooms. After they tried on clothes, Mom let them buy new PJs for their American Girl dolls. (They had only one set of PJs, and two dolls. The horror.) We left L&G with Mom and Dad at 5pm and headed into Pittsburgh to have dinner with Beth and Nate. Lots of fun as always, and as always, these visits make us want to move to Pittsburgh. After dinner at Noodlehead in Shadyside, we met up with Erin for drinks at the Ace Hotel. We drove home after that. (In our absence, the kids had watched The Greatest Showman with Mom and Dad.) Sat., 8/18 It was a gloomy day, so I wasn't able to ride on the bike trail as I'd hoped to in the morning; but I did get

This morning I met potential buyers at the Pittsburgh Street house. Always hoping someone falls in love with it like we have. After that, it was Nemacolin day--always fun to drive up into the mountains. Andrew didn't come with us last year, so it was his first time playing mini-golf on the spectacular course. After mini-golf, we went to the wildlife area, but the kids were more interested in playing in the playhouse, and Andrew and I were more interested in lying on a hammock. All good. For lunch, we went to Curt's, further up the mountain, for meals and pie. Later in the afternoon, the girls and I rode bikes to the Sycamore Street house. Lucia put Roary and Carmel Judy in her bike basket, since both of them used to live in the house, and Roary in particular was extremely distraught over the state of the house and its imminent demolition. Lucia seems to understand the heartache of seeing a former home this way--she's truly my child. I hate seeing the house like that, and

Another full, fun day. I found a box of old prom jewelry and purses in my closet, which the girls loved playing with. (All of it will join their dress-up bins back in NJ.) Late in the morning, we went to the bike trail for another three-mile ride (the girls and I) while Mom and Dad walked. New bike baskets for the girls arrived yesterday, so they were able to take one of their American Girl dolls along with them. It was pretty hot out, so there was more whining than there was on Sunday, but they still did really well. I still can't believe they're actually riding bikes. It's amazing to me. After our ride, we stopped at the Dollar Tree for various things and then had frozen yogurt at Trailside Treats. Back at home, the girls played, and after a while we went to our family friend's house, where there's a trampoline, playhouse, a motorized child-size tractor, and various wonderful swings. Her two granddaughters were there, and the four kids had so much fun playing

Like yesterday (which I forgot to note), I got up early and rode 40 minutes on the bike trail. Today three deer crossed in front of me. It was cool and gloomy, portending rain, so when I got home we decided to make today our day for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Andrew left for work (he's working out of the Pittsburgh office), and a little while later the rest of us set off as well. We stopped for lunch at Eat N' Park first, and then we drove on to the museum. By that time, 1pm or so, the museum parking lot was full, so we had to park in a garage about a mile away. Finally we got into the museum, paid admission, used the bathroom...and then Lucia discovered that her American Girl doll's shoe had disappeared somewhere between the parking garage and the museum. She began to cry, so, alas, I left the museum to retrace our steps and look for the shoe. Fortunately, I only walked about five minutes before spotting it on the sidewalk. Whew. We had a great time at the

A trip to the attic led to some time playing with the Glamour Gals and Dazzle City this morning, and some Berenstain Bears book reading. After lunch, Mom and I and the girls set out for a shopping afternoon in Greensburg, to get some new clothes for the kids for school. Their sizes vary wildly, especially Lucia's, and it's impossible to buy for them unless they can try everything on. They were very patient and tried on a million things at Gymboree, H&M, Old Navy, and Target. Both of them found a lot of cute things they seem excited about. They each had an Icee at the mall, and picked out a Color Change Cutie Car at Target. Thrilling. It was a fun day.

Sat., 8/11 We left in the morning to drive to PA. The girls watched The Greatest Showman and a few episodes of a show called The Worst Witch. We stopped for lunch at Wawa. It felt like a long drive but was uneventful. As soon as we arrived, L&G dove right into their favorite activities--Greta doing paper art with Pop-Pop, Lucia playing piano with Gra. After dinner, Andrew and I went to Gabe's and then Bud's, where we drank IC Lights and ate tater tots smothered with cheese sauce and bacon. Date night. Sun., 8/12 After a breakfast of sticky cinnamon toast, we went to the bike trail for our first ride with the girls post-training wheels. Lucia, Greta, and I rode bikes, while Andrew ran and Mom and Dad walked. We rode three miles. It was great. I can't believe how well the girls are riding--they learned so fast. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. I rode my bike around the neighborhood for a while; Lucia and Greta set up a diner and banned me from shopping

Wed., 8/8 I took the girls to the zoo in the morning to stay out of the cleaners' way, and we had a lot of fun, even though it was blazing hot. We went right from there to the pool, where we ate lunch and swam for a while. Once we got home, the girls played in the basement and I made dinner, and then our babysitter arrived so I could leave and go meet Andrew, Mom, and Dad in the city. Mom and Dad were in for a few days to see shows and go to museums, and they'd waited in line to get us tickets for Shakespeare in the Park. We met at a pizza place for a quick bite, and then headed into Central Park to see a musical rendition of Twelfth Night--always so much fun to be at the Delacorte Theater, and remember all the many plays we've seen there over the past twenty (!) years. We'd actually seen Twelfth Night (a more traditional program) together in 2002, before Andrew came along. It was a fun evening. Thurs., 8/9 After all the busyness of yesterday, we had a more leisur

Another playdate, another quick day. A different friend of Lucia's came over this morning, and all three kids played together, and I helped them make some super-glittery slime. When her mother came to pick her up, she took both Lucia and Greta with her too, to continue the playdate at her house. So it turned into a double playdate, and they kids had a blast. In my little window of free time, I went to Target to buy school supplies--already late to the party, I realized, with most of the bins already empty. Sigh. There are many weeks until school starts, but people are really aggressive with their school shopping around here. But I got what I needed, more or less. I'm glad I didn't wait another week, though. Once L&G were back home, we went to the library and then to the pool. It was a blazingly hot day (again) and this is really a lifesaver. When we came home I made a quiche and the girls played with their slime. Then we had to clean up the entire house because the

The day went quickly. A friend came over for a playdate this morning; they built a fort in the basement. Then L, G, and I had lunch, hung around the house for a bit, and then went to the pool until 4:30. Then dinner, piano, and bedtime. A quick summer day. These are the nicest days but they're also a reminder that the end of August will be here before we know it.

We had an ambitious weekend project: revamping the girls' bedrooms with new desks and swivel chairs, furniture reorganization, and general organization. Saturday morning we went to Ikea to buy desks and chairs. For the rest of Saturday we focused on Lucia's room. The desk was a killer Ikea specimen, way too complicated for what it was, but the finished piece was really perfect for the space. And her swivel chair was just what she wanted. We moved all her furniture around, and she sat at her desk for most of the rest of the evening. Lucia was thrilled with her room transformation. Greta was less than thrilled that the focus was on Lucia's room all day. Sunday, today, I went to yoga in the morning and then we got started on Greta's room. (She was back to her happy self.) This was more involved because we'd also gotten her a new Pottery Barn twin bed to replace her Ikea bed she's had for a few years. While Andrew and Greta worked on her desk, Lucia and I went s

A somewhat rainy day, but the girls were in a good mood and the day went quickly. We played Gonuts for Donuts, read some BFG, and then L&G went down to the playroom and were engaged in who knows what for the rest of the afternoon. Part of it was making a fort out of lots of pillows, part of it was dressing up and calling each other "Miss Clavel." Who knows. At one point they appeared in swimsuits, random gloves, and American Girl sunglasses on the ends of their noses, and sat down to play the piano. After a couple of days of bickering and off-kilter-ness, they were back to their fun-loving, collaborative selves. Later in the afternoon it stopped raining, and we (and Andrew) were able to go to the pool for Float Night. We picked up calzones for dinner. Before bed was a massive clean-up of Legos--tomorrow we're going to Ikea for new desks and desk chairs for the kids' rooms, which will require a good bit of reorganization and rearranging. It has to be done. We&#

Our fevers are gone. What a weird little blip. The girls slept in till 8:30, and we had a mostly good day. We got out the polymer clay once Andrew left for work and sculpted things on the porch for a long time. We read a lot of The BFG. For the rest of the day Greta was occasionally an unpleasant child (i.e. refusing to share colored pencils, sobbing dramatically that the colors she was clutching in her fist were the colors she NEEDED) and occasionally a pleasant child. Every summer I have to threaten camp at least once; that day was today: IF YOU KEEP BICKERING I'M ENROLLING YOU BOTH IN CAMP, IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?? Good times. Lucia and I played Quirkle while Greta was in a temporary snit in her room (I forget the details). Lucia's really good at Quirkle; I won today, but she won last time. The girls had a piano lesson, the last one of the summer. Lucia is overjoyed to be starting Book Two. Greta got to check off three songs today and is working on Chant Arabe. I'

Ugh. All three of us--Lucia, Greta, and I--have low-grade fevers. I should have known. My legs started aching last night, which is always how a fever presents for me (is that the right medical terminology?). The girls were okay in the morning; they slept in till 8:30 and then played with Legos for a couple of hours, while I cleaned out my office. (Our whole house is being overtaken by clutter; I'm tempted to just get rid of everything and move back to the city.) Then we had breakfast, and then went to Target, which was fine. I bought them each a Pik-Mi Push Pop (a blind-bag thing that involves a burst of confetti and a small plush with a powerful, all-consuming scent), because summer. We read a lot of our new read-aloud, The BFG, and had lunch. Things started to go downhill for Greta at this point, and she didn't want to eat, and was increasingly low-energy for the rest of the afternoon, lying on the couch or oozing along the floor dramatically. She was playing it up, especia