Field Day Made Me Cry

And it wasn't from getting whacked in the face with a wet sponge or from losing the tug-o-war or falling over an obstacle or anything like that. It was because of this boy...



The boy who lead his friends in cheering on the kid in his class who comes to school with an aide.



Who kept cheering even when the boy went in the wrong direction. Who screamed 'WAY TO GO!' when he finally made his way across the finish line.

Best field day ever. Way better than tripping over the hurdles. Not that I'd know anything about that.

This One Time At Tap Class

Yesterday was dance recital day! Sam and Lucy donned their fancy clothes and shoes and set out to wow the crowd with their tapping prowess.

 or maybe just their extreme adorableness

On Saturday they had their dress rehearsal, and things went pretty well. Lucy isn't the most enthusiastic dancer, but she got through the routine fine. Sam, on the other hand, likes to try and strike the ground with his taps as hard as he possibly can, which makes him appear rather Frankenstein-esque. But they both were great.

On Sunday morning, both Lucy and Maggie had crazy runny noses. After about an hour of wiping snot of of them and everything they came in contact with, SOB suggested administering some sort of decongestant. We keep several on hand, since snot is my mortal enemy. I knew benadryl was out of the question, so I asked SOB whether I should give them claritin or zyrtec. He said that zyrtec works better, so I got out my dosing cup and went to town.

And Lucy turned into a zombie. An adorable zombie in a pink tutu, but still, a zombie.

By recital time she was kind of losing her shit, and didn't want me to leave her side when I dropped them off with their teacher. She made it out onto the stage and kind of stumbled her way through the routine.



As soon as we got in the car she passed out. When we got home and tried to wake her, the madness began. We laid her down in our bed and she cried. She ate a bowl of ice cream and she cried. She tried to put on one of Maggie's dresses and she cried. I felt terrible, but luckily it wore off by dinnertime.

And today? It's hilarious!

When Toddlers Attack

So Maggie tackled me from behind last night. I was bending over to put some things away under the bathroom sink, and when she hit me I lost my footing and came down right on the corner of the cabinet door. 

It was incredibly painful, as you can imagine. Can you believe someone so cute and innocent looking as this could inflict this type of injury? She was pissed at me because I wouldn't let her use toothbrushes as drumsticks, and when she refused to put them away I sent her to her room for a time out. I bent over to pick them up myself, and she came at me.

(In her defense, she wasn't trying to knock me down. She wanted me to hold her because she was sad. Sad because she was being punished. So she said.)

(I'm not sure I believe it, either.)

My Littlest Besties

Those big 'uns are at school half the time, but me and this crew are thick as thieves!

My Loves

Simple Treasures

Today I took my girls to the farmer's market, and on the way home we spontaneously decided to stop at a garage sale. With nary a peep from me, they both gravitated towards the table with jewelry and cut glass dishes. The fancy stuff, as Lucy referred to it. Somewhat by chance there were these two small  trinket boxes, one silver and one gold. Well, they absolutely had to have them, and how could I resist? I mean, it was $0.75 for the both of them, plus a kitschy old cookbook that caught my eye. I gave the woman a dollar, and told her to keep the change. Watching them play all the afternoon away with their treasure boxes made it worth every penny.

Parental Guilt: How I Was Manipulated By School Photos

Back in the fall Sam and Lucy had school photos. Just like when I was a kid, each kid got a head shot in front of a backdrop (color of their choice) and that was that. Sam chose blue and he smiled nicely and the picture came out about as well as a school picture can. 

Unfortunately, picture day was scheduled for a Friday, and Lucy doesn't have school on Fridays. A few weeks later the pre-K kids had their pictures taken on the make-up day, and I totally forgot about it. She was wearing some silly t-shirt and I'm pretty sure she hadn't had a bath in days and I didn't even send in the form, so we never got any pictures of her. 

Recently we got a letter in their backpacks about school photos again. Apparently having only one school photo per year is no longer enough, we must have TWO! I remembered this time, and helped the kids pick some clothes that weren't too fussy but that also didn't have a licenced character on it. I didn't send in any order forms, though. I thought maybe I would get some of Lulu's but I wasn't totally sure. I mean, I have my own photography business, so do I really need to spend what little money I make buying picture of my kids that SOMEONE ELSE TOOK? No. 

Well, I guess these savvy school photographers are wise to people like me, because even though I didn't send in any money or forms, both kids came home with an envelope chock full of pictures. And key chains. And rulers with their photos on them. Puke.

And! AND! Much to my childrens' delight, they were not your typical school photos! They were in a jungle! With flowers! And an old door! How amazingly awesome is that! 

They both loved their photos so much I ended up sending in a check for $13 a piece for 2 5X7 photos of each kid. For the low low price of only $42 I could have had all of the photos (and key chains and rulers) in the envelope, but I was able to resist. The kids really wanted the rulers, but since neither one of them could ever remember a time when they actually used a ruler in the past I won that battle. 

So, can someone tell me how I can get the gig as the school photographer, because these folks must make a killing!