bearing witness to the fleeting moments of growing two little girls, an edible backyard, a baby-to-be, chickens, and a novel
Monday, November 23, 2009
Girls At Play
I'm not at a loss for stories to tell, but I do seem to lack the time to pull them together lately. Thankfully, these pictures are more articulate than I am today.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Photo Friday Challenge
At the moment, I have no tools capable of putting pictures up on the internet. So the blog has been quiet this week, and photo Friday will be sans photo. Hopefully, next week will be a bit livelier, even with the holiday. Instead, I'll post a random update:
1) Yes, we still have chickens. The way they looked in September, it seemed they might not make it through the winter. As it turns out, molting is an ugly process for some birds! Our two white rocks blew their feathers in a wretched, bald display worthy of a Loony Toons prank. We thought they must be dying; in our defense, one of them did have a concerning tendency to, um, hold on to her eggs. After a month of worry (and some macabre research into the final phase of a chicken's life), we woke up one morning to a pair of fluffy white birds, full of new feathers and with their egg laying techniques perfected. The flock is once again happily self-sufficient.
2) Miss Maya Ballerina is strutting around the house imitating scenes from "Singing in the Rain" and asking repeatedly if it is time for her fall recital. The big mystery is whether she will freeze at the sight of her audience, as she did last year during the Valentine's pageant, or if she will continue the dramatic performances she puts on for us each night.
3) Elliot, though assertive and fearless most of her days, now walks around the house saying "I only want you, mama," whenever I'm out of her sight. That's what I get for leaving her somewhere new... she needs more practice at that! Suddenly, her exploration radius (the distance she's willing to get from me) has shrunk again. I think I have my work cut out for me.
There are a few stray tidbits in place of the pictures I intended to post. Look for more next week!
1) Yes, we still have chickens. The way they looked in September, it seemed they might not make it through the winter. As it turns out, molting is an ugly process for some birds! Our two white rocks blew their feathers in a wretched, bald display worthy of a Loony Toons prank. We thought they must be dying; in our defense, one of them did have a concerning tendency to, um, hold on to her eggs. After a month of worry (and some macabre research into the final phase of a chicken's life), we woke up one morning to a pair of fluffy white birds, full of new feathers and with their egg laying techniques perfected. The flock is once again happily self-sufficient.
2) Miss Maya Ballerina is strutting around the house imitating scenes from "Singing in the Rain" and asking repeatedly if it is time for her fall recital. The big mystery is whether she will freeze at the sight of her audience, as she did last year during the Valentine's pageant, or if she will continue the dramatic performances she puts on for us each night.
3) Elliot, though assertive and fearless most of her days, now walks around the house saying "I only want you, mama," whenever I'm out of her sight. That's what I get for leaving her somewhere new... she needs more practice at that! Suddenly, her exploration radius (the distance she's willing to get from me) has shrunk again. I think I have my work cut out for me.
There are a few stray tidbits in place of the pictures I intended to post. Look for more next week!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Photo Friday: Life on the Open Seas
What does one does one do with the regular diaper delivery boxes Amazon sends us every month? Recycling is fine, but re-purposing is much more fun. Turn the box tops in to paddles and fishing poles, put two little people in them, and suddenly you have boats and a day's worth of adventures on the high seas. Maya let the boats truly sweep her away. She led Elliot on an ocean-wide rescue mission with her faithful, fish-catching kitty. What a day!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
I have an Idea
"I have an idea!" This phrase rings out about a hundred times a day in my house.
Sometimes it comes from Maya. She says the words thoughtfully and hopefully.
"I have an idea. Let's pretend we are dinosaurs, and we have to save a lost dinosaur in the woods." For the next few minutes, the girls stomp around the ottoman roaring and crooking their arms up like a t-rex, looking for a hidden stuffed animal... or me.
The t-rex occasionally charges me!
Often the phrase is shouted by Elliot, who punctuates word idea with gusto: I-DEE-YA!
For the next few minutes, Maya tries patiently to coax the announced idea out of Elliot. She crouches down, leans directly into Elliot's face, and says, "Is your idea that we should have a snack?" or "Is your idea that we should play vet and you are a kitty?"
Maya doctoring the sick kitty, inspired by Anakin's latest troubles.
Elliot answers "yes" to whatever Maya suggests, and after a bit, Maya picks her favorite option and leads Elliot off to play restaurant in the kitchen, or road trip with the cardboard car we made.
Clearly some people just don't take their restaurant preparations seriously enough.
They have begun playing together in a whole new, much more involved way, and it's spectacular to join them.
Sometimes it comes from Maya. She says the words thoughtfully and hopefully.
"I have an idea. Let's pretend we are dinosaurs, and we have to save a lost dinosaur in the woods." For the next few minutes, the girls stomp around the ottoman roaring and crooking their arms up like a t-rex, looking for a hidden stuffed animal... or me.
The t-rex occasionally charges me!For the next few minutes, Maya tries patiently to coax the announced idea out of Elliot. She crouches down, leans directly into Elliot's face, and says, "Is your idea that we should have a snack?" or "Is your idea that we should play vet and you are a kitty?"
Maya doctoring the sick kitty, inspired by Anakin's latest troubles.Elliot answers "yes" to whatever Maya suggests, and after a bit, Maya picks her favorite option and leads Elliot off to play restaurant in the kitchen, or road trip with the cardboard car we made.
Clearly some people just don't take their restaurant preparations seriously enough.They have begun playing together in a whole new, much more involved way, and it's spectacular to join them.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween Too
Though the popular media and national focus has already shifted to turkeys and Plymouth Rock, I thought I would post a couple of pictures from Maya's classroom Halloween celebration an our actual night of trick or treating.
Words will be sparse here for the next few weeks, as I'm channeling my energy into a second round of National Novel Writing Month.
For school, Maya selected her cowboy costume plus her unicorn costume (she keeps forgetting to hold the unicorn's head up, so it sort of looks like she, um, conquered the unicorn!).
Elle just kept asking, "where's my candy in here," as we all got dressed to walk around the neighborhood.
Halloween night, Maya went with her doctor costume.
Words will be sparse here for the next few weeks, as I'm channeling my energy into a second round of National Novel Writing Month.
For school, Maya selected her cowboy costume plus her unicorn costume (she keeps forgetting to hold the unicorn's head up, so it sort of looks like she, um, conquered the unicorn!).
Elle just kept asking, "where's my candy in here," as we all got dressed to walk around the neighborhood.
Halloween night, Maya went with her doctor costume.
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