“A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.” —Walt Whitman
kara
A Handmade Puppet Theater
In April we had another, small birthday celebration for Sophie at my parents’ house, as they were unable to join us on her actual birthday because they were in North Carolina, where my sister and her husband were welcoming their new baby into this world.
My mom and dad had cooked Sophie’s favorite foods, and my mom had set the table with all her Beatrix Potter china—including chocolate milk in a little china teapot.
After dinner—and cookies from BonBonerie—Sophie opened her gift from Nini and Pop Pop …
a handmade puppet theater!
My mom designed it so that it fits a doorway perfectly, with the help of tension rod. For now we use binder clips to fold the bottom up so that the opening is Sophie’s height—but as she grows, the theater will grow with her.
We most often use it in the doorway between our entry way and the writing nook.
When not in use, you simply roll the theater up and put it in its matching bag (which my mom also made). My parents bought Sophie a sewing box and filled it with handmade alphabet puppets leftover from my mom’s kindergarten teaching days. (I think my favorite is “T,” the turkey, who is wearing a tutu.)
Lately, every night in the half hour or so before baths and bedtime, Sophie gives us a show. (Or, more specifically, 26 shows.) Sometimes they’re dress-up shows, sometimes puppet shows. Regardless, the boys love it. Owen, especially. He claps at every “ta-da.”
“The theater is so endlessly fascinating because it’s so accidental. It’s so much like life.” —Arthur Miller
Snuggling With Grandma
Even at 3, Sophie still loves to snuggle up with Grandma and, invariably, fall asleep.
“Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.” —Welsh proverb
We Call Her the Manipulator
Saturday night my parents stopped by the house to take all three children out to dinner, giving us some quiet time to get things done (this week’s to-do list is two pages long and single-spaced, because of things due, appointments made months ago, out-of-town guests and birthday party preparations).
So Nini and Pop Pop loaded all the kids into the stroller, and walked to Frisch’s. And dinner with Nini and Pop Pop at Frisch’s always ends with a hot fudge sundae, much to Sophie’s delight.
But on this night, Sophie apparently wanted to eat her sundae with her purple, plastic, swirly straw, instead of her fork. My mom told her that she needed to use a fork, that forks are used for eating and straws are used for drinking.
Sophie sat for a moment, considering this and then said, “Nini, close your eyes for a really long time.”
“Genius is the ability to see things invisible, to manipulate things intangible, to paint things that have no features.” —Joseph Joubert
Playing Guitar
“Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words.” —Robert G. Ingersoll
Library Book Bags
Speaking of libraries, my mom made these fantastic library book bags for the kids for Easter this year. Sophie’s has Olivia (one of her favorite book characters) on it, while the boys’ bags have Dr. Seuss‘s Thing 1 and Thing 2. James’s bag is the middle one—to reflect his content-to-sit-quietly-and-think personality. Owen’s is the one on the right—to reflect his love of climbing.
The kids love them and the Olivia bag already has made a trip to the library (and probably is due back for another one—I’m pretty sure Sophie believes you have to pay to use the library, the way I am with getting our books back on time).
The library, though, is one of Sophie’s favorite places to visit—and hopefully, it will be the same for Owen and James, too. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” —Cicero
Help Build a Library in Belize
Last fall my cousin Ben taught at Our Lady of Guadalupe Primary School in Belmopan, Belize. (Here he is with his class, all decked out for Cultural Day.)
While there, Ben realized that the school, which educates 700 children, pre-kindergarten through the 8th grade, doesn’t have a library. So, he formed the OLOG Library Group, dedicated to building and supplying a small library at the school.
There are many fundraisers planned for this project this summer and one of the first is this weekend—a Scholastic Book Fair at the Preble County YMCA in Eaton, Ohio. Open to the public, 100 precent of the proceeds will be used to build and supply the library. The book fair is open on May 13 from noon to 7 p.m. and on May 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (I’ll be there early Saturday morning to help out—and buy books!)
Hope some of you can make it!
“What is more important in a library than anything else—than everything else—is the fact that it exists.” —Archibald MacLeish
Mother’s Day
2010
2011
It’s quite different, mothering two boys inside versus out.
We had a lovely Mother’s Day in that we were able to celebrate with Andy’s mom, in person (a rarity as she lives in Baltimore), as well as her sister, Fran (who lives in Dallas). (We’re celebrating with my mom in a couple weeks, when my siblings are in town.)
Andy made delicious coffee cake and fruit salad for breakfast. The children gave me a beautiful ceramic bowl with butterflies on it from Anthropologie and a small, heart-shaped soap (both of which Sophie picked out on a shopping trip to the mall with Andy which, apparently, required four separate trips to the bathroom—sorry, Drew).
We spent the weekend cooking, playing at the park and installing Sophie’s new window treatments, a gift from Jill, which Aunt Fran made (pictures to come!).
Sophie and I have struggled lately. In part, I think, because it’s been raining for days and we’ve all been cooped up inside. Also (a much larger part, I’m sure), she’s 3. So after a particularly bad tantrum I noticed the sun was out and so I suggested we share a snack outside, using the new bistro set (a Mother’s Day gift from Andy). I don’t know if it’s the sun or fresh air or change of scenery but being outside works with her, every time. Whatever it was, I think that happy snack together was the best Mother’s Day gift of all.
“We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves.” —Henry Ward Beecher
Where’s Grandma?
Sophie loves playing with Grandma.
Also, Grandma is a good sport.
“Grandchildren don’t stay young forever, which is good because Pop-pops have only so many horsey rides in them.” —Gene Perret
Things I Heard …
while frantically trying to clean the house for Grandma and Great Aunt Fran’s visit:
• “Mommy, there is cheese all over the couch.”
• James’s head hitting the toilet after trying (and failing) to cling to the edge of the clawfoot tub while wearing fuzzy footed pjs and standing on tile floor (he’s OK).
• “Mommy, I need milk!”
• The boys, crying for milk.
• “Mommy, I need juice!”
• The boys, crying for milk.
• “Mommy! I went potty! And there’s pee on the floor! A lot of pee.“
• Tucker barking (I forgot he was outside).
• “Mommy, look!” I look and Sophie is licking her hand and then wiping it on the fridge, two minutes after I had sprayed the fridge doors with Windex, ridding it of fingerprints.
• The boys waking up from their morning nap much too soon.
“We labor to make a house a home, then every time we’re expecting visitors, we rush to turn it back into a house.” —Robert Brault