not another boring and cold winter evening

Tonight, the kids each received an invitation to a Dinner Party. The rule: they had to dress fancy.

We primped with Aretha cheering us on in the background. All we were missing were some of Olivia's boas.

A. and L. took over the camera for awhile.

there was dancing...

fine wine... (i mean, juice)

and delightful conversation.

Ella Fitzgerald helped set a quieter mood for dinner, and everyone was simply charming. Or, as L. put it, "Oooh, A. you are magnificent."

st. pat's

Who knew that our st. paddy's day parade here would be so huge? We sat at the very beginning of the parade for two hours and all of the floats had still not crossed the start line. It was awesome. (But after two hours, we were kind of ready to go home.)

Here are some of the highlights:

irish dancers and irish wolfhounds (of course.)

Baby C. started to wail every time the music would start up.

I guess he and Gramom agree about bagpipes.

(Leia: notice that she wore her new special broach?)

I wished i could have been this guy in the parade. how cool is that.

a little bit of a breeze and he could have been airborne.

more irish dogs


plenty of antique firetrucks

Pretty much what you might expect at this kind of parade so far, right?

Now check out this next set. Bet your parade didn't have any of this stuff:

alpacas:

longhorn cattle:

st. bernard rescue people on a float, in green togas:

Iwo Jima memorial (with child actors):

But my all-time favorite (though completely mystifying) participants were these guys:

The kids loved every second. I couldn't blame them, it was awesome!

On the way home, I asked them their favorite part? It was unanimous: "The candy."

why doesn't it work when mom says it..?

4 yr olds apparently wield a lot of power over 2 yr olds. Case in point: we were at the playground the other day, and I listened in to their conversation.


A.: "BR, you can't climb up that ladder! It's too dangerous for little buddy boys!"
BR: "Ok, Ah-mah-ree. How about this one?"
A.: "No, not that one either. No boys allowed!"
BR: "Allright, I'll just go over here, then."

a favorite (and gruesome) game: dog hanging

overheard

[Queen] A.: "BR, you may kiss the royal hand."

A.: "Traitors to the crown must be put to death!"

rockin' it: some favorite quotes from today

(in "Guitar Hero," when you do a good job, the screen lights up and it says "YOU ROCK!" The kids love that part.)

A: "Mommy, when are you going to rock?"
Me: "Um, probably never. I'm not very good at that game."
A.: "Well Daddy is really good at Guitar Hero!"

_____

L.: "Mommy, what happens to your stomach if you accidentally eat two rocks?"

maybe the best book ever written by a 5 1/2 yr old

Clearly, I am totally biased on this issue. So I guess you'll just have to read and then judge for yourselves.

(Oh, in case you can't tell what this is: this is a blank book intended for just this very purpose--to inspire kids to author their own story. This particular book has an empty oval center on each page. L. started with that, and built up the rest of the plot.)

(front cover: I omitted the author's name)

(back cover)

a momentous occasion

L. took a fall first this morning and needed a couple of stitches. We quickly transformed our dining room into a surgical space and Daddy went to work.

It was a little scary, but she was so brave! We were so impressed.

In the end, Daddy made it to work and we made it to church only a few minutes late. Guess he's gotten pretty quick at this sort of thing!

____

I guess L. was sobered by this whole ordeal, and she spent some time reflecting on her failure to heed my warnings not to climb on furniture. She must have decided that some recognition was in order because later on this morning she presented me with this:

note: a "CIA" is what the kids at school get when they are Caught in the Act while doing a good deed. On the notecard, you check off which good deed is being rewarded. If you look closely, you will see that I got mine (and some gobstoppers) for "telling kids to be careful."

look who's new

Check out our newest and youngest cousin! Welcome to the (crazy) family, Baby Margot!
We can't wait to meet you and pinch those cheeks black and blue. (ok, ok, not the black and blue part...)

small successes

why is BR eating ice cream in the middle of the day?

because we celebrate poo around here, that's why.

a little too much Calvin & Hobbes, perhaps?

A: "BR, you insensitive clod!"