Staying home

Me: Someday all our babies will be grown up and go to school, and then maybe I will go to school again too. Or I could work in an office like Daddy, or maybe in a hospital like Laurel. What do you think I should do when you all grow up and go to school?

Evelyn: Stay home with Daddy!

Oh dear. I love my babies, but I definitely hope they are all in full-day school before my husband retires.

Easter photo dump

Because I have nothing clever to say . . .

Easter Sunday finest

Baskets

Evelyn mid-hunt

Lucky Hyrum found the first egg.

And enjoyed its hidden bounty just as much as the rest of us.

Later, I made rolls, butternut squash, crustless quiche, and Brussels sprouts and reheated a ham. Melissa brought funeral potatoes, Reghan added a pound cake, and John proclaimed it the best Easter ever. Success!

New word

"I guess I have an accessory. That's what adds to your outfit."

Yes, that is my child, wearing a romper in cloudy, windy, 45-degree weather. I forced her to "accessorize" with leggings and a turtleneck underneath (in addition to her locket) when we went out earlier. Perhaps the weather gods will see how ridiculous she looks and remember it is supposed to be warmer by now! Thanks to Sesame Street, at least her vocabulary is up to the challenge of this long, cold winter/spring mush.

Just like Jules Léotard

Except for the "greatest of ease" part.

And the having a popular piece of gymwear named after you part.

Still . . .









Date night #5 was definitely an enormous success.

Presto Change-o

Just like that, Hyrum became a blond.

And yes, this is the shortest his hair has ever been.

Why oh why

I think I am the only female person under the age of 70 in this city who still can't bear to buy skinny (or even straight) jeans.

Why must styles that do not flatter me keep coming into fashion?

The age-old question re-presents itself: Is it better to be hopelessly out of style or look hopelessly ridiculous but stylish?

Good thing he has 15+ years left

Because I don't think Hyrum's table manners are date-ready yet.

Eligible young ladies might not appreciate his trademark food-in-the-eyelashes move quite as much as his mother does.

And so it begins

When I little, I only had sisters. Then, when I was six, my brother Charles was born. Before he could walk, I had created an alter-ego for him; "Clara" loved to dress up.

Evelyn has similar inclinations.

"Here, Hyrum. You can wear the crown and I will wear the dress, OK?"

"Evelyn, boys don't dress up in crowns and princess dresses."

"But he has to wear it! It's his crown of possibilities!"

Not sure the world of cross-dressing possibilities was first on my list of places for Hyrum to explore.

Slowly but surely

We are becoming the average American family.

Today, after three years, six months, and one week of child rearing, we bought our first high chair. High chairs have come a long way since I was a baby. This sucker adjusts to table or counter height, wipes clean easily, has a five-point harness, and offers three different recline settings, including one that is appropriate for newborns (sans tray). I anticipate my future third child will particularly enjoy this keep-the-toddler-out-of-the-baby's-face feature (and no, this is not an announcement).

I think he likes it.

Today

Right now, it is 76 degrees outside. Our windows are open.

Some of us have taken liberties with our attire.

Or lack thereof.

Unfortunately, we have to go straight from dropping Jack off to a doctor's appointment for Evelyn, so we won't be enjoying much of this lovely weather; with six predicted rain days plus no highs above 60 in our ten-day forecast, this is probably the only kind of picnic we'll be enjoying anytime soon.

Still, I feel a need to join the rest of the northeastern blogosphere in restating the obvious: Spring has arrived!

The puzzler

Evelyn got her second report card the Friday before Spring Break. In the comments section, the teacher mentioned that she had really improved on puzzles and could complete puzzles with up to 24 pieces with only a little help. "Evelyn, Miss Erin said you can do puzzles mostly by yourself; she only has to help you a little! That's great!"

"No."

"No what?"

"No, Zoey helps me. I do them mostly by myself and Zoey helps me a little."

This is the blessing and the curse of being 9 months younger than some of the other kids in your class, I guess. In any case, I pulled out her three puzzles, and Miss Erin was right. She did them mostly by herself with me sitting on my hands and trying to answer every request for help with a question. ("Hmm, what do you see on that piece?" "Yeah, where would his hand go?" Or, at the end of the third puzzle, when I was less patient, "Interesting, does the grass go in the cloud?")

But the first one she really did do completely by herself. Who knew?!?

Spring break fun

A couple weeks ago, I asked Evelyn to think of something fun to do during spring break. She told me she wanted to go to a farm. So, I packed 2 kids + 2 carseats into one of the teeny tiny zipcars in our building and drove out to the Queens County Farm Museum (30 minutes packing before leaving apartment + 20 minutes between leaving apartment and driving out). It was a little disappointing. The best part was watching Evelyn try to interest the chickens, piglets, and cows in the books and toys she insisted on bringing to show them.

Then, less than an hour after I dragged both kids + carseats + toys + stroller + $25 of groceries from Costco back to my apartment, Hyrum had a seizure. Fun, huh? We made an emergency call to his pediatrician, dropped everything to go in for an office visit (superfun since at this point he had missed both the day's naps), and came home mostly relieved. In sum, this seems to be a "wait and see" type thing. His pediatrician and the neurologist to which she referred us agree it was probably just a febrile seizure, which approximately four percent of children experience between six months and five years, which has no long-term effects, and which is not a cause for concern. So, now we hope we wait a long time and see nothing.

Luckily, these were the low points of Spring Vacation, which also included the following:

A one-week visit from Charles, during which I took absolutely no pictures of him with the kids

A visit to the New York City Police Museum, with Charles and without Hyrum (way cooler than the Queens County Farm Museum)

An "Emma through the years" celebration planned and executed by John (with all my favorite foods from the many decades of my life + dorky pictures to accompany them), at which I took one picture

A visit to Laurel in Boston, including:

$1 night at the Boston Children's Museum (coolest ever)

Delicious albeit messy fondue

And many viewings of Tangled + Beauty and the Beast

Aside: I might mention that Boston seems like a fun place to live with kids. A little less expensive, a little more space, good restaurants (Elephant Walk is a particular favorite), fun things to do, walkable but you can still have a car, and it has a well-stocked and friendly (unlike NYC) stroller store. My name is Emma, and yes, I am obsessed with strollers. Hopefully I can find a 12-step program in about 8-10 more years.

As you can see, we had an awesome spring break, despite the fact that we didn't go to Florida and no one got drunk or did anything else they will later be ashamed to have their children find floating around the internet.

Some new experiences are better than others

Dear Hyrum,

You're welcome.

Love,
Mommy

P.S. Sorry about the whole letting-them-put-electrodes-all-over-your-head thing from yesterday.