I think that I will start with Anna. She turned 3 in February and has finally stopped insisting that she is still 2. Now she's "going to turn 4" on her next birthday! She has started counting on her fingers and uses them frequently to emphasize exactly what she is talking about.
Anna has more or less mastered potty training. Like her big sister, she is rather reticent about admitting that she needs to use the bathroom. Unlike her sister, she enjoys making random comments about it, such as "Maybe I should go use the bathroom now" and my personal favourite, "It's been a long time since I pooped." She is still not entirely trustworthy so she gets told to go use the bathroom every few hours. Lately she has been driving to the bathroom in her ride-on car that we let her bring up from the playroom. She yells, "Get out of my way!" and then announces that she is parking her car.
Anna has an amazingly well developed sense of humour. I know, really? What a surprise! She has an awesome maniacal laugh and has also perfected the evil cackle of glee. I can often convince her to join us in bed in the morning for some snuggles. This doesn't last long though, because she points to the window and announces that "It's day now!"
Preschool is going well. Anna has a lot of fun there and apparently does not usually show her stubborn side to the teachers. She loves show & tell and is working her way through her collection of Thomas trains. We've come a long way from the first day of show & tell where I called Ben in a panic after he had left with the girls to remind him that it was show & tell day. I suggested that he give her the garage door remote from his car and make it seem really special. It worked! She told her class that "This is from my Dad's car. He didn't need it for a minute so he let me have it!" or something to that effect.
Anna is enjoying her swimming lessons and is actually starting to participate and do what the teachers are asking her to do. Like her big sister, she is also reluctant to put her head under water. When I took her to family swim with a friend one day though, she managed to slip fully underwater THREE times by accident. I have since informed her that she has no excuse for not putting her head in, especially since she was not at all bothered by going under! We won't discuss my inner reaction to it but thankfully I was able to laugh it off to Anna while in the pool.
On to Rachel. Rachel somehow managed to defy us and turned 7 just a couple of weeks ago! She had a family party complete with giant helium balloon elephant and then a friends party at a local art studio. Elephants are still a favourite of Rachel's, along with books, crafts and the ubiquitous Polly Pocket dolls and accessories. We picked up a couple of sets of Polly Pocket dolls with clothes that pop on. These are immeasurably preferable to the little rubbery outfits that most of the sets come with. The girls can actually dress these dolls on their own so Ben and I are only called upon to assist with shoes and boots.
Rachel is enjoying school although she is apparently very quiet there. She had a playdate with her friend Rachel yesterday and our house was definitely NOT quiet! They set up a pretend seder and went through most of the service including (accurate!) blessings. When they arrived at the meal part of the service, the two Rachels showed up in my kitchen demanding a snack. Ha! They also used sidewalk paint and chalk to cover almost our entire back patio. Rachel can't wait to have her friend over again and keeps talking about the next time.
Rachel is doing quite well with piano. She will be "graduating" from Suzuki Book 1 in June, complete with a little party and cake to celebrate. She composed her own piece while I was in Windsor last month and Ben notated it for her. It should come as no surprise to anyone that it's called Elephant Lullaby. She also played in the Kiwanis festival last week and did very well. We need to get back into a good practice routine, but at the same time it's been nice to relax and enjoy our evenings now that the sun sets so much later.
Both girls are signed up to play ball this spring. Rachel will play T-ball and Anna will be playing Blastball. It should be interesting to see how that goes. We were both surprised that Rachel wanted to try it, but we're happy for her to do so since this is the last year she'll be young enough for T-ball.
Rachel had her skating show a few weeks ago and it was adorable! She was a Little Red Riding Hood - the whole show had a fairytale theme to it. We got a sitter for Anna since it was an evening show, and Ben and I quite enjoyed our little date in the Ilderton Arena!
Ben is all done at the University of Windsor for this year. His exams are marked and grades have been submitted. Now we wait to see what classes they will offer him for next year. He is definitely not on holiday though! He's still got private students, an upcoming concert in St.Louis, the occasional gig, and I've got a long list of things that need to be done around the house. He's working for the election and may end up working for the census this summer as well. That, and the umpiring will begin soon enough, I'm sure.
As for me? I've been making a career out of telling off people who come to my door. The other day I apparently told off our local MP. I saw someone come up to the door. When I opened it, the man standing there turned and beckoned to another man who came bounding eagerly up the porch steps with a grin pasted on his face. They were holding flyers for the Conservative party. "Hi, I'm..." began one of them.
"I know who you are," I informed him. "And while we're at it, I'm a musician. Your party doesn't support the arts and you will not get my vote." I closed the door on two slightly stunned faces and only later found out that the man with the fake grin was our MP when I saw his picture in the paper. Oh well, I told him how I felt and would have done so regardless of whether or not I knew who he was!
Earlier today, some people knocked on my door and tried to tell me they were from National Energy Service. I was teaching at the time, so I asked if it was important. "Oh, we're here to do some free upgrades," the man said. "I don't think so," I said with a smirk and closed the door.
And then later this evening the doorbell rang again. "Oh, sorry!" said the man when I opened the door. "I just saw your sign." As he said this, he pointed to a sign on our mailbox that states something like "no peddlers, solicitors and something else I can't remember". I laughed since we didn't put that sign up (it was there when we moved in). The man started to try to sell me something relating to my driveway. I interrupted him to ask about landscaping services since the flyers he was carrying seemed to indicate that his company provided that service. He was flustered by the change in subject and I finally told him it wasn't really a good time for me anyway.
And how can I forget the nice smiling elderly couple who came to our door with a Jesus flyer a couple of weeks ago? I answered the door and he opened with, "It's cold out there today, eh? "I like the cold," I responded cheerfully. He attempted to start his spiel and I politely interrupted him. "Do you see this?" I asked, pointing to the mezuzah on our doorpost. "I'm sure you know what this is. We are observant Jews and we are quite satisfied with our faith," I informed him.
"Oh, we're not forcing anything on anybody!" he told me with a smile still on his face. I laughed. Yes, I did. I repeated that we were Jewish and not interested. "Oh, we're not prejudiced! We share with everyone!" he replied. I laughed again, louder and probably slightly more maniacal that time. "Good luck at the next house!" I said as I closed the door.
For the record, our neighbours are Hindu. Ben couldn't decide whether he was appalled or amused. Hey, as a mostly stay-at-home mom, I have to take my fun where I find it. Or rather, where it finds me! And lately that has been at my front door. At least the front door has now been fixed and stays properly closed and locked...
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)