A story in pictures--just playing with my camera

Mother's Day

May 2012
I wish I spent more time here.  Whether anyone checks, it's a great place to keep track of moments I want to remember, but I never take the time to capture them here.  But today, I want to preserve a couple of great moments that I have experienced recently.  I don't always have the patience that I should, but I am in love with Phoebe and Beckett just the same.  Watching them grow up is endlessly fascinating, yet often exasperating. 

Beckett  tells me "Mommy, I don't like it when you go.  I just love you so much.  My heart beats fast when I see you."

Beckett made a beaded lapel pin for me with his picture in the middle; Phoebe made a beaded bracelet with the word MOM spelled in beads in the middle, and they all got me the chick throw pillows that I wanted from CB2.  :)  I love them all!  (This picture is a lie!  Brett decided to take the picture while he was sitting down, so I look very tall--I wish it were true, alas my head does not normally almost touch the ceiling)

Henry refused to not be included.  After all, I do mother him quite a bit.

Something I Want to Remember

Me: Thank you for my kiss, Beckett.
Beckett: Now you can put it on your pillow.  That's where I keep all of my kisses! 

Something we are working on to make our mornings go smoothly.  It seems to be going ok--we'll see if it sticks.  My thinking with this was that having Phoebe physically move the magnets would give her a sense of accomplishment and a visual to remind her of what she had done and what she still needed to do. 

Beckett's First Day of Preschool

I should have been focused on Beckett's big day, but here is how our morning began:

"I CAN'T BREATHE!" said Phoebe as she entered the bathroom where I was taking a quick early morning shower, before 7 a.m., after having spent the last 25 minutes removing stains from children's clothing and starting a load of wash.

"I CAN'T BREATHE!" she continued.

"I WAS CALLING AND CALLING FOR YOU IN MY BED AND YOU DIDN'T COME. NOW MY MORNING IS RUINED, AND I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL! WHY DIDN'T YOU COME? I WASN'T READY TO GET UP! I came down here expecting you to be nice to me and now you are being rude." (apparently by being in the shower and not at the ready for her needs)

"Why do you always have to be in the shower in the morning? Why can't you take showers at night like the rest of us? You always take showers in the morning when you should be getting us ready. You could be making me breakfast or making my lunch. I want to stay for lunch today and my lunch is not going to be done," she said less forcefully but no less indignant.

And she continued to hold this attitude for almost an hour until I lost my mind--which was, I think, her goal. Phoebe: 1 or 100? (this isn't her first win to be sure), Mommy: 0

If she had ended her tirade after I apologized for not hearing her and acknowledging that it is frustrating when a morning begins differently from how we expect it to, I would have let it go. If she took a moment to apologize for her tone and anger after I reminded her that I was not the cause of her uncomfortable wake-up, I would have let it go. If she had acknowledged that speaking to me or anyone in such a vitriolic way is never acceptable, I would have let it go, but she was not budging. Now she is grounded from her bike, Barbie house, and friends for the rest of the week. (And she is not staying at school for lunch today)

Is it fair of me to post this story about my less than charming child--probably not. I am also not feeling fair at the moment. We all have bad days and ugly moments that we should be able to get past without having someone throw them back at us at a later date, but I think I need to preserve this for her. I will say, we have had many pleasant days as she is maturing, but we still get moments like these more often than we should.

Poor Beckett just wanted breakfast and some happy attention. I wanted to read him a special book and take pictures, but instead he ate a hasty bowl of cereal as did Phoebe while I fixed her hair. And I hurried them out to the car. Today was picture day for Phoebe. I hope she smiles. She was actually much happier when she went off to school.

After I dropped her off, I remembered about the pictures, so I stopped back home and took pictures of Beckett with his school bag in front of the house, but it wasn't quite the same.

I still have to download the pictures (of both of their first days of school) I'll post them soon.

Random events

Mother's Day program at Field Park





Prom at Argo

First Recital

Phoebe had her first piano recital on June 4, 2011. She actually was supposed to have her first one in December--she memorized jingle bells and was ready to play it, but I got the time wrong, so we missed it. This time she played "Party Cat" as a duet with Mrs. Prendergast. She played perfectly and bowed just like she was supposed to. It was great!

Superheros and other disguises

Beckett is into all things super (especially Batman and Buzz Lightyear), so he likes to dress up in capes and run around the house. He also likes to dress up like Phoebe and he loves wearing tutus for dancing! Apparently our family is into disguises these days.

Mother's Day Tea

We had a lovely tea at the Pickwick Society Tea House in Frankfurt for Mother's Day this year.

My mother and my tea sandwiches, etc.

Blizzard 2011 cont.

After we finished digging out the back yard and Brett helped plow the neighbors driveways and sidewalks, Beckett woke up from his nap. I suited him back up and we sledded down the block to the Beaty's (the snowshoers :)) for some back yard sledding. Craig had created a sled run from the top of his deck down his back yard, so we'd step over the railing, sit on the sled, and sail down. That was at least two hours of amusement. I picked Phoebe up from around the block and walked her back to the Beaty's to join the sledding merriment. She was up for it. Unfortunately, the camera battery died after I videoed Brett jumping into the snow pile from the roof in the back yard, so I don't have images of all the sledding. It was great, though. The penguin sled that Beckett got for Christmas was the best one for this particular sled run--it was smooth and fast. I think the adults had the most fun. Finally, I took the kids home and put them to bed. They were exhausted, but we knew that the temperatures were about to plunge, so we stayed out until sundown.

Blizzard 2011 cont.

After a little bit of play in the tunnel it was nap time for the little ones, so I put Beckett and Phoebe in the sled and pulled them around the block to drop Phoebe off at a friends house where she stayed and played for the next four hours. Beckett and I went back home, and while he napped, Brett and I tackled the back yard. I dug out the stairs and the patio and Brett took care of the sidewalk and the flat roof.

Blizzard 2011 cont. Play Time!

Blizzard 2011 cont. Play Time!

Fun in the snow. Phoebe was barely inside all day. Our neighbors from the next block snowshoed their way down with the kids in sleds just in time for mid-morning breakfast. Then we all headed out to see what we could make of the powder. Braydon and Beckett took turns sledding through the front yard while Nicky and I (mostly Nicky) with the help of Maddy and Phoebe dug a tunnel through the yard. Brett was still on clean-up duty.

Blizzard 2011 cont.

More snow details. My poor lilac bush is in there somewhere! The side of the house was buried.