Up, Down, And Back Up

We had a really good spring break last week -- playdates, running dates, fun dinners... it was (mostly) a laugh a minute. I dare say that I felt smug about how well our week went when I heard moans from other parents at school drop off this morning about how loooong last week felt. Well, today, was the day that karma came calling and kicked the smugness right back to last Tuesday. Today... It. was. the. exact. opposite.

What started this morning with a fight about who was going to pretty a pair of Mary Janes with pink flowers to school, continued with Molly answering my question of "what's making you so grumpy?" with "YOU are making me grumpy, mama" (lessons re-learned: don't ask if you don't want the answer and don't ask stupid questions), and the train kept right on going this afternoon with pants and diapers being deemed offensive and getting removed, someone wanting me to sit and read to her, and her alone, and leave her brother to fend for himself for several hours, discovering that one her dolls was in her *gasp* pajamas and NEEDED TO BE DRESSED IN CLOTHES RIGHT NOW, shrieking eagle cries at dinner interspersed with repeated announcements that tummies hurt, someone really wanting to assert his independence by serving himself... oh, the list continues and listening to me whine about it doesn't really change things (but it sort of helps for me to laugh about it now).

I have this magnet of my refrigerator that says something along the lines of "when children are at their worst, they need you the most". Apparently, I was really, really, REALLY needed today. I'm not winning any mommy of the day awards, and the only good news is that the only person who ended up in a timeout was me and a little HGTV worked temporary wonders... those Property Brothers are miracle workers.

We have these days. Bedtime eventually comes. People crawl into your lap for snuggles, memories are short, little voices sing funny songs, little girls whisper sweet things to you, baby faces drift off to sleep... a cup of tea and a glass of vino finish erasing the tension and the whole shebang is eventually in the books. Because, at the end of the day, we are responsible for molding these little lives. It doesn't mean that all their behavior is excusable or that we don't get frustrated repeating the same thing over and over, but we can't quit. We can't give up and we can't throw in the towel. Some days we can hide in the kitchen but we can't move in there forever. We have to make those little cherubic sleeping faces the last thing we think about at night and not the grab-and-run with toys that Jack has perfected. We have to drift off to dreamland hearing laughter and "I love yous" and not "YOU make me grumpy". It's our job to cope as best we can in the moment and to always, ALWAYS, remember how sweet those baby faces look when they're dreaming. And then, like magic, it's all good.

It's also always helpful to have pictures of good times... sometimes we can't be in the good moments but we can look back at them. We had a good trip to Bainbridge Island and beyond this weekend. And for the record, Molly asked to wear a bathing suit, I denied her request, and the following occurred...









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Maine... The Way Life Is

Since we were already on the east coast, we made a hop, skip, and a jump up the eastern seaboard to Maine in order to see my family for a few short days. It was a super quick trip, I'm sorry I couldn't see more people, but I had to meet my newest niece (mission accomplished) and celebrate my mom's birthday (mission not so accomplished so that will need to wait until her visit out here but I've got some plans a-brewing).

Maine, like Florida, did not disappoint. We didn't see her 80 degree days that have been spotted recently, but we had beautiful early April weather that afforded us much time outside. My little city kids definitely got some New Hampshire and western Mass in their DNA and they jumped into the Maine lifestyle with both feet. Usually, those feet were bare and very dirty by the end of the day. Molly climbed more trees, flew more kites, saw more fairies, took more tractor rides, gathered more wood, and scrambled along more stone walls than she gets to do out here, that's for sure. Jack ran around like a crazy lunatic, getting into more mischief than I care to remember, had more sand in his hair than I cared to comb out, and took fewer naps that I had hoped for but he also had a Mainiac of a good time. It restores my soul to go to Maine -- the sky is a little bluer there, the water is a little nippier, the air just has some sort of magic in it -- and I think the small people feel the same way.
It was a busy, short trip but I soaked up every moment with everyone and appreciate that people came up to see us amidst the madness and Jack's very tired, very persistent swatting.

See the little sparkle on the water -- that's the magic...

The littlest wood gatherer... I'm happy to pass this torch along

Purple Popsicle Posse... watch out for this crew.

Homemade kites that actually flew? Craftastic!

My favorite picture of the little rascals.

Grampy (and Grammy, of course) was able to provide lots of entertainment...

The Easter egg hunt... notice that Jack is not interested one whit in the egg in front of him but is very focused on his half chomped apple.

Not this one... she was very into the competition... err... hunt. 

Flying Monkeys

What is one to do when Florida beckons you with grandparents, sunny, warm weather, and some comfy, homey digs to spread out at? You run, don't walk, to the nearest airport... or in my case, you fly from the nearest airport but let yourself be talked into landing somewhere not so close to your final destination in an effort to save a few pennies. That's a ticket to successful travel with kids right there...Thankfully, we did compromise on landing in the state of Florida itself and not in its peach-tastic northern neighbor.  Frugality... it's a beautiful thing. 

Nonetheless, once we made our way from Tampa (you know, on the west coast... arrived at via Minneapolis) to Palm Coast (on the east coast), encountering a Burger King employee along the way who, honest to goodness, offered to cook my veggie burger my way, we just sat back and relaxed and relegated Nana and Grandpa's house to a child hazard zone for 12 days. We celebrated Big Jack's 29th birthday, Molly ditched her floaties in the pool and learned to swim over and under water by herself, enjoyed being with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters, brothers, moms, dads, grandparents in one place for the first time ever, got super sandy, super treated, and super sunned-out. We ate delicious food, met up with some alligators (in a supervised environment), made friends with a snake (in a less-supervised environment), caught a spring training game (have no fear, the Nationals are still really bad this year), pretended at the Children's Museum, and enjoyed lots of naps (if your name isn't Jack... if it is, well, you just enjoyed squirreling your way out of most of your naps). It was a wonderful way to avoid the nasty rain in Seattle. 

Vacations are so good for the soul, so bad for the waist line, and so heartwarming when grandparents and grandkids get to enjoy each other's company. We, as always, can't thank everyone enough for all the love, the laughing, the wine, and the company. 

Jumping the gun... we haven't left Seattle yet.

Good company.

Open wide.

The littlest, fastest, sneakiest, screechiest technology thief around.

Hog wild for the bikes.

I think if I build a pretend pizza oven in my house that I will never see Molly again. Girlfriend likes the cook. 

So much sun and surf and sand. 

This dry little playtime didn't last long. But it was nice while it did last.

Bright lights, little city. 

Perfection... except that Molly insisted on bubblegum ice cream. Ew. 

This is a good thing...

So is this.

Two, four, six, eight... we appreciate the food, the cheering, and the songs... the game itself? Eh. 

Master builder at work.

As always. I failed miserably to capture Nana and Grandpa (and the kids' first golf game!) themselves, but trust me, they didn't run away (even though, I'm sure it was tempting sometimes) and we had a great visit full of fun adventures.