My Daughter, the Flutist

 For dinner Wednesday night, I had planned to make one of the kids favorites (which is why it's a good go-to Wednesday night meal...no time wasted on fussy eaters when we have to rush to get ready for church), "Eggy Pie", aka quiche.

Norah asked if she could help cook, as usual.  But this time, she requested to flute the crust.  I thought to myself, "Sure, why not. It's just for us.  What does it matter if it looks a little funny?"

 Little did I know, my N has been watching very closely all these times we've made eggy pie together...I didn't even have to show her what to do...and she had perfect fluting technique!

 

Her crust edges looked better than mine usually do.  No wonder she was beaming with pride when she finished!  That'll teach me to doubt my four year-old's culinary skills!  Hmmm...I wonder if she would be interested in taking on the turkey this Thanksgiving...

From the Mouthes of Babes

After teaching the story of "Jacob and Esau" in Children's Bible Hour tonight, I decided to quiz Norah to see how well she was paying attention.

A: Norah, which of the twins was Rebekah's favorite?

N: Jacob.

A: Good.  And which one was Isaac's favorite?

N: Esau.

A: That's right.  And which one was red and hairy?

N: Esau.

A: Uh-huh.  And which one was a good cook?

N: Jacob. He made some stew and he made Esau give him his birthmark.

A: (laughs hysterically and debates over whether to correct this misunderstanding, or let it ride in hopes of equally amusing future Bible story teachers)

Recently overheard while eavesdropping in the car...

N: Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a queen.

E: Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be LIGHTENING McQueen.

(Another day..it seems that Eli frequently dreams of what he'll be when he grows up while riding in the car)

E: When I grow up, I want to be a dinosaur.

N: Eli, you can't be a dinosaur when you grow up.  You have to stay a human.  You can't be an animal if you are a boy.

E: (with a little more edge to his voice) But I want to be a dinosaur when I grow up!

N: Eli, you can't be a dinosaur because dinosaurs are extinct.  So, if you are a dinosaur, you will ex-STINK!  Just pick something else.

Finally, this one made me choke up a little...it's not funny, but it's so sweet,  I definitely don't want to forget it.  Saturday was a really full day for me.  I had errands to run all over town (on a home game weekend, which meant they took far longer than if I would've gone any, other day), then came home to an empty house (my wonderful Mom R and Grandmother had N&E ALL day, God bless them!) and cleaned what looked like the wreckage of a natural disaster, in effect, restoring peace, calm, and cleanliness to our house, then finished up some overdue sewing projects.  By the time Jason got home with the kids, we were all worn out from a fun (and/or uber-productive) day.  We fed and bathed the kids, Jason was getting Eli ready for bed, and I was doing the same with Norah.  It was at this point that Eli came up to me, gave me a big, calf-high bear hug, and said the words that I know I will treasure for years to come,

E: "Thanks for all of the wonderful things you do for us, mom."  

I was completely floored.  Well, to be honest, I thought he had to have been delivering a message from Jason.  So, I asked Daddy if he had prompted the sweet boy, and he declined the opportunity to take credit, saying that he wasn't even sure what Eli had told me, but that whatever it was, was straight from Eli's own heart.  I stooped down and gave E another, big hug and told him thank you...he probably had no idea how much his simple statement meant to his haggard, old mother, but I can guarantee you I'll be holding onto it for a while!

The Big Reveal 2010

Step 1: Get a couple of cardboard boxes. Cut out some "windows" and glue on the "engine".

Step 2: cut out some "wheels" and give them a good painting.  Cut out and paint a "slow moving vehicle" sign while you're at it.

Step 3: Acquire some John Deere green paint.  Helpful hint: Lowe's can color-match your son's prized toy tractor.  (Don't disclose how ridiculously overpriced said paint was)

Step 4: Add a bright yellow pinstripe, a John Deere logo, set of straps, black-painted paper towel roll smoke stack, a couple of dollar store tap (head) lights.  Glue on the aforementioned wheels and slow-moving vehicle sign...

Step 5: Insert one very happy little boy, and you just might have the cutest little tractor driver in the state of Texas.

When Eli started (at random) telling people that he wanted to be a "tractor driver" for Halloween a couple months back, my wheels started spinning.  If you know me well, then you know I LOVE coming up with fun, creative costumes for my kids, so deep down, I'll admit, I was stoked at him for thinking outside of the box (little did he know the box would BE the costume)

Truth be told, the REAL step one of this operation was "Get husband on board with the idea".  Jason procured the boxes and did most of the work for Eli's costume.  He even cut a hole in the top of the engine, just under the smoke stack so that people could drop candy down it, and it would fill up the box below.  Eli LOVED showing that feature off at our church's Trunk or Treat! His cute smile and unique costume got him tractor loads of attention (and photo ops).

Norah, on the other hand, went with a more cliche costume request.  And, if I'm still being honest, I cringed when (after flip-flopping between a good 15 ideas) she finally landed on "Tinkerbell".  I decided if I didn't want her to get lost in the sea of other Tinkerbells out there, I'd just have to do my best to make her stand out :)

 I couldn't find any Tinkerbell patterns that I liked, so Gramps and I found a shirt pattern that fit her, and made the rest up as we went along.  (Although I will admit, I nearly pulled out my hair figuring out how to make her shoes!)

Still, I think it turned out pretty great, and Norah made a particularly pretty pixie.  And most importantly, she LOVES her costume.  She has worn it some nearly every day since I finished it a couple of weeks ago.  (I had to wash it TWICE before she even wore it to Trunk or Treat!)

Her favorite features were her shoes (whew!  It was worth it!) and her wings (which she LOVED pointing out to everyone, were painted with glitter glue, so they would sparkle)

Thanks to a donation of left-over fabric from a friend (who was Tinkerbell last year), her costume was almost completely free.  (Briarcrest Cleaners donated the hangers for her wings...I didn't have any wire ones on-hand) and I had to buy a pair of .50 knee-highs, also for the wings, so thankfully, that helped balance our Halloween budget after Eli's green paint almost broke the bank.

One other fun surprise for Norah, was when she reached Trunk or Treat, one of her favorite friends, "Mr. Foree" (our preacher) was dressed as Captain Hook. She was so proud to take her picture with him in their "coordinating costumes".  It was a fun year.  And, believe it or not, Norah has already decided what she AND Eli will be next year--and I LOVE her idea...and Eli even says he's gung-ho!  (I'm still trying to decide if I should go ahead and get started now while the fabric is all clearanced out, after Halloween, or if it's too much of a gamble to think that they'd not change their minds 20 times by this time next year!) Time will tell!

Our Little Gymnast(s)

 Jason and I decided that since 1) this is Norah's last year at home (prior to kindergarten...we aren't literally kicking her out of the house next year), and 2)she spends 90% of her time in my hip pocket, it would be a healthy thing for her to have some instruction from some people other than us prior to taking the plunge into public school next fall.

We laid out all of the viable options on multiple occasions, in various settings and company, and her answer was "gymnastics", every time, so we signed up.

She is LOVING it so far, and her biggest goal going into her first class was "to learn how to do a cartwheel".  Much to her delight, they did work on them.  The instructor had a special mat with hand and footprints to help guide the kids through the motions.  I had to refrain from audibly laughing when I watched my "rule follower" daughter attempt to place both her hands and feet on the corresponding pictures, all at the same time her first time up.

 By her second try, however, she was starting to get the hang of it!

The trampoline, however, is another story.  Poor, sheltered child.  She looks like a wayward ping pong ball every time she jumps.  (Jason and I decided after her most recent class that she must think the object of the trampoline is to cover as much ground as possible because she is ALL over that trampoline!)












The trampoline is Eli's favorite part...or should I say, WAS Eli's favorite part, until Norah's gym moved to a new location and built a gate around the floor, to keep meandering brothers from playing on the equipment!  Don't fret, Eli...your time will come and I have no doubt that whether it's in the gym, on a court, or on a field, you sir,  will be a force to be reckoned with!

Sugar and Spice (and Reptiles are Nice)

 I walked into Norah's room one afternoon to discover all of her Disney Princesses sitting demurely in a row.  It made me giggle to see such order,  in a room, which more often than not, can be described as "lived in" at best.

I was quickly informed by the head-mistress that the princesses were attending "Manners Lessons", which would account for their orderly conduct.

 

 Lest my readers get the wrong impression that sweet Norah is all "sugar and spice", I had to post some photos that can attest to her inner-tomboy.  

Jason caught a tiny, baby frog one evening while watering the vines in the backyard (which, I'm pleased to report are still alive, and growing!) 

This was as close as she cared to get to holding it that night.  However, she caught him, and a couple of his  baby brothers, unassisted in the back yard a few nights later (Yes, I washed her hands when she came in.  No, she hasn't developed any warts)

But that was just the beginning.  About a month later, she caught THIS! And she even managed to keep from breaking it's tail.  Would I touch it?  Um....no. 

I thought the photo really captured her essence: a perfect balance of femininity and a sense of adventure.  (Please note the dainty grip her nail-polished, bracelet-adorned hand has on the ferocious reptile)

I suppose this balance was attained through the influences of a great daddy, and a sweet brother who love to embark on adventures together, and don't mind if the girls tag along.

Of course...the door swings both ways.  Eli has recently acquired some fantastic ballet partnering skills!  (I need to get this on video to post, because when they "dance ballet" together, it is hilarious.  Norah always requests "classical music", and Eli basically just follows her around with his hands lightly cupped around her waist, while Norah leads him into a series of pirouettes and leaps.)

Snug as a Cuddle Bear/Bug in a Rug

 This morning was one of the few times that my investigation of "too quiet" yielded a favorable return.  I walked into Eli's room (which, at the time was pitch dark, in spite of the fact that it was around 8am...gotta love those black out shades!) to discover N&E snuggling in the glider.

 I told them not to move, and dashed off to get my camera.  (Sibling rivalry has been one of the themes of the month, so I wanted to have photo documented proof that they aren't always at each other)

 When I asked N what they were doing, she said, "Well, Eli said he was cold.  And I said I was cold too, so we decided to snuggle.  He's my cuddle bug, and I'm his cuddle bear.  We're BEST buddies!"

Be still, my beating heart.  (And no, you may not see the photos that I didn't take of them fighting over the green car behind the chair just moments later...you'll just have to take my word for it that these were much sweeter!)

The Beach: Wrap Up Post...Finally

No,  we didn't go BACK to the beach...it's just taken me a month to get back to this post.  I finally decided to just finish it...and maybe I can finally start blogging about our daily goings on again...

  On Thursday, we hit the beach again (this time with even MORE SPF70, because Norah was still a little pink from the first trip)

 You might not be able to tell from this photo, but according to Norah, it was "Ariel, sitting on a rock, singing 'Part of Your World'"...

 I think she's reviving her sun-dried tail in a bucket of water in this one. 

 Eli loved digging in the sand.  More accurately, he loved digging in the sand and then throwing it through the air...busted him on that about 30 times that day.  (And yes, he had sand everywhere imaginable when we bathed him...especially in his hair, from all the projectile sand)

 Both kids loved the water and when they were in it, naturally stayed in close proximity to one another.

 That is, until Eli decided to call up a flock of seagulls with a wayward peanut butter cracker.

 They swarmed  him, as seagulls tend to do.  And he spent the good part of 45 minutes (literally) trying without success to catch one.  It was hilarious, and I wish I had a good photo of him stalking them.  The gulls really played with him. They wouldn't fly, just walked a little bit ahead of him, taunting him, as if he could catch them if only he were a little bit faster.

 Playing "jump the wave" was another favorite activity of the day.

 Posing with dad along the shoreline...

 I loved this photo of Eli sitting alongside of Jason.  When he first walked up and sat down, he even had his legs in the same pose as his daddy (I love it when he imitates Jason without saying anything.  You can just see the "I wanna be just like you, Dad" in his actions).

 Norah and Mommy...

 And we built a pretty stellar sandcastle, if I do say so, myself.  (Decorated with the shells and shale that we had all collected that day)

 Alas, the SPF 70 was still not quite enough to keep from baking our fair babes.  (And yes, we did re-apply) Thankfully, just under his eyes were about the only place that burned, and after a good nap, he looked much better.

 That evening, (after a LONG, quiet afternoon of puzzling and naps for the kids) we hit the beach again to fly our kites. 

 Jason and I have always loved flying kites (long before becoming parents, we skipped a college Chemistry class or two to fly them when the weather in B/CS was just too nice to sit inside concentrating on elements and balancing equations)

 Norah's butterfly kite was a Christmas gift from Gramps and Grandad a couple of years ago, and it garnered lots of attention by on-lookers on the beach.

 The delta kite was one that Jason and I purchased on our first wedding anniversary (and our first trip to S. Padre Island) Eli and I flew it together.

 I think Norah's favorite part of kite flying was helping Jason "launch" the kite.  What little girl wouldn't love the feeling of ribbons blowing behind her in the breeze?

 I was pleasantly surprised to find that our sandcastle was still in-tact.  I guess I thought that it would have a big target on it as soon as we vacated our spot on the beach.  But it was just as we'd left it.  (I started to get a big head when I saw a family walking on the beach stop and take photos with it....a small part of me wanted to run up and say, "We built that!  Isn't it pretty?!" But I restrained myself.)

 We decided to go on another crab hunt that night, too.  It's hard to tell from the photo, but Eli is jamming a glow stick down a crab hole, trying to provoke it's  inhabitant into coming out.  (Jason had great success with this technique on our last hunt, yielding our largest crab of the night...he came barreling out of that hole looking for a fight and Jason nabbed him.  Yes, I know that's kind of mean...sorry...but we always let them go at the end!)

 Group photo of the captives just before their release...

 The last day, we hit the local souvenir shops.  We do this each year, and never really buy anything. (I think wound up with a couple super-cheap shirts for the kids this year) It  just seems like the vacation-y thing to do...and it always makes for fun pictures.

 Where else are you gonna find a surfboard bench with fake tattoo-art in the background?

 or a bench shaped like an alligator?

 Jason and I finally finished our puzzle...just in time to say, "Aww that's pretty", then pack it back into the box.

There are some beautiful (I think they're plumeria) bushes outside the place where we stay, and each and every time we pass them, Norah would ask if she could pick one.  Each time, we would tell her, "On the last day".  So, on our way to the car on the morning we left, we made good on our promise.  (I guess this is officially now a tradition, because we  did this last year, too, and that photo came out fuzzy too..I always forget about the way the muggy morning effects my camera lens after it's been sitting inside a nice, cool building) She happily tucked it behind her ear and posed for her close-up, as we said goodbye to the beach for 2010.