Gregory "helping" with the gardening
They said it would never happen. The chances are about one in a million. We actually had a weekend, at home, with no plans. Greg didn't have to work Saturday and spent most of the day cleaning out the front of our yard. Somehow, every fall/winter, that section seems to accumulate about five years worth of leaves/sticks/branches. This year, with the ice storm of December '08, it was exceptionally bad. He finished up today and is ready to move on to the next project (the chimney!).
Our first native strawberries of the seasonI took the kids to the Barre Farmer's Market Saturday morning and we also got our first native strawberries at a farm stand in Rutland!! We bbq'd last night and again tonight. After each dinner, we had our first real strawberry shortcake of the summer. I went back to Rutland today and bought more strawberries, since the kids inhaled every berry that was left over last night.
A Quiet Weekend
Author's Tea
Rebecca's kindergarten class held their annual Author's Tea on Friday afternoon. This is their performance (in lieu of play or concert) where they sing some songs and read some original poems. Here's Rebecca's poem:
And here's the grand finale of the show (Rebecca is the one in braids):
Dance Pictures
It's that exciting time of year again - Dance Recital time! For those of you who are new to the blog, Rebecca's dance school holds their annual recital every Father's Day. There are several recital portends every Spring. The first was this Sunday - the pictures! This year is a little different because Rebecca is in two routines, which means two costumes and two sets of pictures. In previous years, I've gone all out for her pictures - curling her hair and applying (as lightly as possible) the suggested makeup. Again, this year was a little different. Greg ended up driving to my brother-in-law's house in Maine Saturday night for men's night (translation - stay up late and drink lots of beer), and was not even awake, let alone anywhere near home, at Rebecca's first picture time of 10:30 AM. So that left me to get her ready and tend to Gregory, king of the terrible twos. Apparently my strengths do not include multi-tasking.
The morning was a blur of tap shoes and juice boxes (both of which I threw into a bag along with a bag of gold fish, the accessories to Rebecca's second costume, and a Curious George book). Trying to use the curling iron on Rebecca while Gregory was dive bombing me was a little scary, so we decided to go with the straight look (we were out of time anyway).
I packed the kids, the bag, Rebecca's 2nd costume and myself into the car and sped to the dance studio. We got there just in time for the first picture which went pretty smoothly. When that was done, I whisked her into the backroom and did a quick costume change, put her hair up, and stuck this feather and bow thing on her head. Gregory was being amazingly calm, playing with a race car he had brought along. I should of known he was just toying with me. During her second picture he decided his mission in life was to either get into the shot, or get through the studio front door into the parking lot. When I picked him up he did the whole arching body, "put me down!" routine. I dragged him into the waiting room and tried to distract him with a juice box and goldfish, both of which he threw on the floor before getting up and lunging for the picture room. By the time the girls were done, he was in full meltdown mode. Upon arriving home around noon, I called Greg to see how long I would have to endure this hell alone. Greg informed me he was still in Maine, playing a video game with my brother and brother-in-law. I suggested he stop said game and head south immediately. Of course by the time he got home, Gregory was in the middle of a three hour afternoon nap, and Greg joined him for the second half. At any rate, amid the morning chaos, I managed to snap a picture of Rebecca in her tumbling costume. Is my kid the coolest or what?
Eventful Friday Night
Rebecca and Gregory in full luau attireWe attended Dawson Elementary School's annual Spring party last night. The theme was a luau, complete with pizza, fake tattoos, and a DJ. I love elementary school kids because they are still young enough not to care what anyone thinks. If there's music on they dance - all out. Rebecca and Gregory both partook in the festivities, although they each met misfortune on the dance floor. Gregory was launched by 2 older boys running through the gym, and Rebecca just ran into her friend while spinning, scraping her ankle when she fell.
We had to leave a little early since long before I knew about the luau, I had splurged and bought tickets to the musical "Annie" for Rebecca and myself. We dropped Gregory home with Dad, and Rebecca put on her 2nd dress for the night. We headed over to the Hanover Theater in Worcester which has been beautifully restored. The show started at 8 PM and seemed really long to me. Actually, it was really long - 3 hours long. I had no idea it would go so late but when the curtain call finally came, it was 11:05 PM. Rebecca did pretty well considering our seats were way up in the balcony with a hand rail running directly through our view of the stage, and she ate/drank 2 cups of Sprite, an ice cream and a cupcake at the luau. So there was some fidgeting, but overall she did really well. There was an intermission around 9:30 PM. Desperate to keep her going, I told her she could get a snack so she picked out a piece of chocolate cake which cost an astounding $5. Not wanting to appear culturally inexperienced (this was our first event at the Hanover Theater), I forked over the $5. Of course, Rebecca took two bites and said she was full - an average of $2.50 per bite! Next time I'm sneaking in a snack pack of goldfish.
Rebecca and her $5 piece of chocolate cakeI figured she'd conk out on the way home, but she wanted to listen to "Marley & Me" (I got the cd's at the library and she's really into it). We listened for a few minutes and then she asked questions about the story for the rest of the way home. Greg was in the garage when we arrived home, and was very amused that she was still going at 11:30 PM. He brought her right up to bed where she immediately fell asleep. I did the same until 5:30 AM this morning when I awoke to Gregory - "Mama - it's morning time! Get up!!" Doesn't he know the girls had a late night???
Mother's Day - 2 Days Late
Sorry this post is 2 days late, but things have been crazy around here between work and the kids. I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. Mine was actually pretty fun. Rebecca was so excited for Mother's Day, it reminded me of Easter or Halloween morning (not quite Christmas). Between kindergarten and after school program she had made 6 beautiful cards for me. Gregory gave me a geranium in a nicely decorated pot (a paper cup which he decorated thoroughly), and a card, both of which he was quite proud of. We did the usual waffles and scrambled eggs at my Mom and Dad's house, after which we returned home and watched the Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox all win. But really, what could make your day more than this?
Spring Is Finally Here
Our Green Guest
Here in New England, it can be hard to tell when Winter is gone for good. Yesterday, we had one of our sure signs that Old Man Winter has packed up and left - our summer resident made her first appearance. She (or he - we're really not sure) is a large frog which my daughter has inexplicably named Amy. For the past two summers, Amy has settled in our little "pond" (it actually resembles a puddle more than a pond) by our front door. Amy is rather big, for a frog, and seems to get a little bigger each year. My daughter spent hours last summer talking to her, so she was delighted to see the amiable amphibian sitting on her rock when we went out to wait for the kindergarten bus. Gregory was also quite taken with her and spent about 10 minutes talking to her today. 
Rebecca and Amy: The ReunionThe conversation consisted mostly of statements like "Froggy, don't bite my finger" and "Froggy, no jump on my head?". He must have been giving her future instructions since she never moved a muscle, or gave any sign she even noticed Gregory during the exchange. I just hope we don't get any new residents in the pond, such as Mr. Garter Snake.
It's good to be home
I've been home from Ireland 48 hours now. Some of you on Facebook may have noticed it's been a rather rough 2 days. As usual, nothing is going as planned. For instance, Wednesday afternoon I had planned to head straight home after my plane landed to unpack, start some laundry, and possibly grab a nap. For Thursday, I had planned (admittedly reluctantly) to send Gregory to daycare in the morning so I would only have to worry about getting Rebecca on the kindergarten bus and then I would actually have a few hours home alone when I wasn't working (it's seriously been over a year since I've had that experience). What a relaxing way to ease back into motherhood.
Well, it wasn't meant to be. On the way home from Logan Airport to my Mom and Dad's house (where my car had been parked for a week), Greg called to say he had to work late, and could I please pick up the kids at daycare on the way home from my parents. OK, no problem. I couldn't wait to see them!! I had been up since 12:00 AM EST, but I hadn't seen my babies in a week, and a couple of hours early was all the better. When I arrived at daycare, they came running up and we had a glorious reunion with lots of hugs. Boy were they a sight for sore eyes, and speaking of sore eyes, Gregory's were crusted with nasty, puss-like goo.
I told myself it was just because Gregory had just woken up (when you've been up since 12:00 AM it's easy to rationalize pretty much anything). I changed my mind at 3:30 AM when Gregory woke up screaming "I can't see!!" Seems his eyelashes had fused together thanks to more dried goo. At that point I gave in and told Greg to leave him home with me in the morning.
It turned out to be conjunctivitis, along with 2 ear infections although he again ran no fever or showed any signs of pain. After an early morning trip to the pediatrician, the pharmacy for the antibiotic, and McDonald's since I now did not have time to make lunch and get Rebecca on her bus, I decided Ireland had all been a hallucination, and I had actually never left Holden.
It was a struggle to get Gregory to take his nap, but once he was asleep, I had to run and grab my camera. After all, how could you be anything but happy to come home to this?
