Aug
23
Here is Lucy just a few days ago.
This is Lucy today.
And this is what she had to say about where her bangs went.
Aug
14
It was during a softball game that I fell in love, or maybe it was lust, with my husband. We’d been to dinner for our first date and he invited me to come along afterward to watch him play his game, which is the reason I hesitate to say “love.” How can you know you love someone in three hours? At the very least, I knew I liked the way he looked out there and I wanted to learn more about that body. Oh, and the guy inside it, too, of course.
He loves to reminisce about the moment after the game when I reached out to grab his hand on our walk to the car. He says I touched both his hand and his heart and he was hooked. Little did he know, I was going for a butt grab but missed.
Since that first game, I’ve tried to be there every time my husband played softball, because I like to watch him play. He has a childlike joy for the game, like he’s doing it for the first time, every time. But in hot, sweaty, super-sexy man body.
Last night, he had the opportunity to play at Firestone Stadium for a charity game. He played it off like it was no big deal, but in reality, it meant a lot to him. He’s always wanted to play there. And I know he got a thrill at being called out on the field at the start of the game. So did the girls. Their Daddy was a sports hero.
He played first base during the first half of the game and made some great plays.
He wasn’t too happy with his hitting, but it all looked good from my angle.
The kids had the chance to run the bases during the seventh inning stretch.
My husband was the only player to run them with his kids. And that makes him more attractive to me than anything.
May
20
The plan for today was to tie myself to my computer so I could get some long overdue work done, but it was gorgeous outside and I was distracted by Lucy’s pigtails.
She’s wearing pigtails now. They’re sort of magic, I think.
Lola found herself in a new kennel this afternoon. I’m no dog whisperer, but I think she liked it.
By then, it just sort of felt like a holiday, so I pretended it was.
Later, Dave and Julia had their first T-ball game.
They won.
Maybe it’ll rain tomorrow.
May
17
I’d Love To Say Things Will Slow Down Now, But I Think This Is Just The Pace Of Our Lives.
by Leslie
Julia was our star this weekend. She performed four times in three different recitals.
She did ballet and tap in her first show in this adorable little outfit…
…cheer and tumbling in the second show…
…and on Sunday, it was piano.
Our whole family was in one place and we were all bathed and dressed, so we thought we’d mark the occasion with a photograph.
Julia performed beautifully as always. Lucy was a doll through all the sitting and waiting. (You can hear her sing along to Julia’s piano performance in the video below.)
I was a bit emotional, OF COURSE. It was sort of stunning to watch hours and weeks and months of classes, practice and hard work culminate in those few moments on stage.
And after a big, deep breath, we’ll start it all again for the next year.
May
9
Props to Annie Lennox
by Leslie
Mar
10
Lucy’s vocabularly is exploding right now. She busts out new words every day. In a thick Boston accent.
She’s always asking for “wahta” to drink.
Yesterday she asked me to, “Putah in da gahhbage!”
(Translation: “Put it in the garbage.”)
Later, she told me she, “faahhhhted.” And while I abhore the word “fart,” particularly when it comes from the lips of my dainty daughters, I couldn’t help but catch it on video.
I blame Boston for making it funny.
Mar
7
Julia participated in her second Ribbon Festival on Saturday.
(And guess what?!?!?! THIS WOMAN was there! Her daughter played Lightly Row! We didn’t speak! It was awkward! For me! Because I don’t think she even saw me! Unless she did but pretended not to or something!)
Julia wore a pretty pink dress and played Cuckoo.
She earned a yellow ribbon. For some reason we spent most of the year thinking it was going to be purple but whatever. On the way home, Julia held her ribbon and said to it, “I love you and I’ll tell you why. First of all, you’re yellow…” Purple schmurple. Yellow suits her fine.
The judge had this to say about her performance:
What a beautiful performance! You played so confidently with a lovely smooth touch on the keys. I especially liked your very careful hand position - you obviously have listened to your teacher very well.
You played every note perfectly and kept a steady beat. I hope you will always love the piano and that you will continue to practice and learn. Thank you for playing today. I really enjoyed hearing you!!
Yeah. There are TWO exclamation points at the end.
The whole thing made me cry. I’d blame pregnancy hormones, but the truth is, I’m like one of those parents on American Idol who closes their eyes when their kid performs and cries over how proud they are. On the inside (because outwardly, I roll my eyes at those crazy parents). Except on this occasion where I really cried. Let’s just call it pregnancy hormones!
Lucy wore a NOT PINK dress to The Ribbon Festival.
And she was sufficiently proud of her sister.
Oh, and one more. Because I’m just a little bit proud of my girls.
Feb
10
I always tell myself that if I just had one day off to catch up on things, my house would be clean. It turns out, that’s not true. We’ve been pretty much snowed in since Friday and it’s still a wreck. I manage to find just about anything else to do but clean.
Here’s how I avoided the dishes yesterday.
Feb
2
She’s Gonna Love Godzilla
by Leslie
This is what happens every Tuesday at lunch.
Me: “Lucy, would you like to go to Story Time?”
Lucy: “NO!”
Me: “You don’t want to go to Story Time at the library?”
Lucy: “NO!”
Me: “Are you sure? We’ll read books! And do a craft! And HAVE A SNACK! Lane will be there!”
Lucy: (quietly contemplates the cheesy macaroni noodle on the end of her fork)
Me: “Let’s go to Story Time at the library after lunch.” I say this with much authority and decisiveness.
Lucy: “NO!”
Me: “Do you want to go see the iguana?”
Lucy: (goes and gets her coat and hands it to me) “Help me? See iguana? LET’S GO!”
The library’s pet iguana is Lucy’s favorite thing about the library. She LOVES the iguana.
I tried to get video of her saying “iguana” because it’s pretty much the cutest sound on the planet. But she was busy being a monster -
- which is still pretty cute if you ask me.
Dec
31
We spent the last day of the year at the local roller rink where Julia learned to skate and I pretended to be Olivia Newton-John.
Here we are.
I’m singing Xanadu to Julia. My camera battery was going dead, too, so everything’s a bit fuzzy.
See how she’s trying to get away from me? Probably because of the singing. Or because when she fell down moments ealier and reached out to me for help, I ran over her pinky.
Here she is skating with Dave. He may be her preferred roller buddy, but I’d kick his ass at roller derby.
That video is a perfect metaphor for 2009. Let’s all hope that 2010 finds us a bit steadier and a little less screwed up.
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Stuff I Dig
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You Should Do This
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Ooooooh. Aaaaah.
