The competition is on....

So, Ah Katie scored some huge points today by sending the girls a DVD of "The Little Mermaid." Athena has Disney princess shoes and a recently purchased Disney princess bedtime book. But, up until now the only princess she knew was Cinderella. Suddenly a whole new world has opened up for her...the world of Ariel. After watching the movie we read two of Ariel's stories. Following the last one was a story about Belle from "Beauty and the Beast." Athena asked me who she was and what was her name. I told her and she said thoughtfully "Hmmm....maybe Uncle Stuart get that for me..."

Here's the girls rocking out to the "Under the Sea" song on the credits of "The Little Mermaid." Who was that who swore she would never let her girls fall into the slippery slope that is Disney princesses? Whoever she is, she is long gone.

For my Moth

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)

i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud

of the budand the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Even though you are far from home on today, our eighth anniversary, you are with me because you are in my heart. I love you more than words.

Buy this house!

Much of the past week has been spent primping, photographing, decluttering and perfecting this house for sale. We worked all weekend touching up paint, fixing trouble spots, organizing and just getting rid of stuff. Today a professional cleaning company came and helped to put on a shine for the agent walk through tomorrow and our Open House on Sunday. Although we have hated the smallness of our little house on a hill, this is where my babies grew and it has a few wonderful features, such as:

• an art deco light that hangs over the dining table which Zoe calls the "moon",


• glass paned French doors perfect for smooshing little faces against,


• a light and airy nursery, painted the color of butter, that has a wide expanse of carpet good for spinning,


• closets big enough for clubhouses


• a sunroom which gets warm even in winter, and has a wall of windows that looks out onto the snowy world
  
• and a wonderful circular flow of living room, kitchen, dining room, hallway that is perfect for walking fussy newborns and helping them sleep.

So, please buy this little house of special memories so that we can start a new chapter of our lives in California. Or at least pray for a quick sale, I'm not sure how long I can keep it this clean...

Momma's girl

Click on the photo to better see her sweet face. Doesn't she just melt you?

Spring...at last

Ah Spring. We are released from the confines of our small home and finally outdoors! No longer shall we spend full days trapped inside by mounds of snow. Thank god for Spring!

Zoe at the good park.

Having a picnic of jam sandwiches and fruit in our backyard. One. Two. Three. BLAST OFF.
Clapping and swinging at the same time!

And, of course her sisiter has to do the same thing.

Who is the big kid and where is my baby?
Athena jumping for joy because it is Spring!

Breathe

Breathe. Just breathe. That was the theme for today. We put aside the packing and the lawn and the cleaning and the moving and the preparing the house for sale and went on a mini vacation to the good park with the sandpit. It's wasn't the Riviera but it was lovely to just take a moment and enjoy our family. Be together and breathe.

It's been a rough week hence the lack of blog entries (this is a happy place). Chris was in Bakersfield, Mimi in LA, Athena on Spring Break (and therefore in need of constant activities) and I had a list of a million and one things I hoped to accomplish. Hardly anything was taken off that list, but it did hang over my head and press in on me so that I forgot to breathe once or twice.

Our resident Doctor Athena, who got a Fisher Price Doctor's Kit as a special present in preparation for her appointment next week, has been checking the health of all things living and stuffed in our household. She regularly presses her plastic stethoscope to your back and says "Breathe. One more time. And again. And again."

Inhale... exhale... inhale...exhale... okay, I'm breathing.

Photo story

I'll let the photos tell the story...

Flower Soup

Snow has melted, days grow long

Spring is here, sunlight strong.

Spring is finally here and activities like making Flower Soup and spastic hopscotch (see photo below) have taken over our household. After a long winter spent indoors, suddenly it is warm, it is sunny and, yes, we really need to mow the lawn.

Click to enlarge and

see the awkward beauty
that is my child trying
to hop on one foot.

Step up and blog!

Okay! I've been neglecting the blog. So much so that a couple of friends and family have actually had to call to get updates! In my defense, it's been a very busy week. Chris was out of town and my gala fundraiser was on Saturday and we're making moving plans and getting the house ready for sale. But now it's time to get back to more important stuff, like bubbles...

More tomorrow, I swear.

My Weird Children

This is how my Zoe chose to dress herself after the bath last night. Notice the footwear. Her sister, not to be outdone, also put a pull up on her head and danced around. I got pictures of that too, but since she was only wearing the pull-up they're not fit for internet posting. I'll save them to show her friends when she's 14.