Halloween Parade 2010 at Montessori!

C-man, the fireman, and his teacher...

The back o' the whale...

I wish I could've captured how he likes to kick his tail...

In case you didn't know, the ladies LOVE a sperm whale...

A jumps in the picture...and no, she didn't dress up because Brother did...she wears that cow suit most days...

His Mama is no seamstress...

The video captures L's sperm noise that he makes.  It sounds like he is choking, but he is making the "clicking" noise sperm whales do when hunting for giant squid in the deep...

Big day yesterday at L's Montessori preschool/kindergarten.  They did their annual Harvest/Halloween Parade.  I had originally planned to fashion a sperm whale out of foam board that I glued together with a hot glue gun, but then I remembered how tough it was for him to wear the cardboard excavator we made him last year.  So the day before the parade, I scrapped that plan and decided to convert a penguin pattern and some grey fleece fabric into a sperm whale costume!  Nevermind that I have no idea how to sew or read patters or that I am confused by directions that are mostly pictures, I jumped right into the project.  It was too big for him (I have to pin the sides and sew wrinkles into the body for Halloween because L, when handed the finished project, said, "Actually Mom, sperm whales have very wrinkled skin."), but he was happy enough.  It is a bit lopsided because I put the sleeves on backward (not being able to figure out how to line up the dots, etc or to make sense of the pictures on the directions)...I kept making him stop playing and stand still so I could pin various places.  He didn't like that too much.  Did I mention that I also do not own a sewing machine?  Yup,  not the best plan, I suppose.  At one point, L asked me why I kept pinning things and I said, "Because Mama isn't really good at sewing.  I actually have no idea what I am doing."  He looked at me for a few seconds and said, quite seriously, "Mama, you really don't know how to sew.  You should get a book from the library about it.  Or you could go to a school where they teach you how to do it."  Sound advice from a 5 year old, I suppose.

So, at about 11:30 pm Thursday night, I finished it all.  I am a bit bummed that I forgot to make a blowhole out of the pipe cleaners as I had planned.  You'd think it wouldn't matter to anyone, but one of L's buddies kept looking all over his back to find the blowhole.  They are 4 &5 years old and have already developed a finer attention to detail than I have.  After seeing L's costume, the twins have now decided (read: demanded) to be tigers for Halloween.  I am getting quite crafty these days because I managed to turn a pumpkin hat into a tiger hat to match the one we already own...picked up some orange T-shirts, have black paint to make stripes, and glued a furry white oval onto the front.  Also, I spent an hour yesterday carving a sperm whale silhouette into L's pumpkin and a Diego face on A's baby pumpkin.  I will be posting pics soon!  But now I have to get the kids ready for the Norfolk Zoo Boo that the kids have been dying to go to (and which A will attend in an Elmo costume thanks to our friends who gave it to her yesterday).  More to come!

Rainy Day at the Museum...

Our go-to plan for rainy days is the Living Museum, so we spent one afternoon there this week.  The kiddos had a great time, of course.  One of their favorite spots in the museum is this log where they play hide-and-seek and get out the museum's stuffed animals (and A always tries to steal the stuffed animal possum and her baby).  In these pictures, the kids are pretending the log is a humpback whale that they are riding to Maine (of course!).  They miss everyone in Maine so much, they are always pretending to go there (yesterday, A was sitting in a cardboard box which she said was a truck that was taking her to Maine to get chocolate).  We've had a really busy week, it seems...at the last second, I changed my mind about how to make a costume for L.  I'll have to post some more pictures of the parade later today!  Also, some pics I took of the kids at a pumpkin patch!

The Bovine Returneth...

She was throwing rocks at me...

M proves that you can, indeed, go off-roading on a trike.  Then we forgot his trike in the woods in Williamsburg...

The L-man gets ready for a bike ride...note the cow crouching in the background...

In other big news at the Marston house, A was reunited with one of her deep, abiding loves: L's old Halloween cow costume.  If you recall from last year, it was a rare day when A didn't show up to play in either this cow suit or a pink fleece bear suit from L.L. Bean.  Might I remind you that although it is nearly the end of October, it is still at least mid 70s to low 80s on a regular basis.  We are still in short sleeves and shorts.  The warm temps and A's innate sweatiness does not deter her from wearing her beloved cow suit.  She usually screams bloody murder when we have to strip it off her protesting, writhing, 2 year old body until we can finally get her to understand that I MUST wash it and that it will be returned to her in a day or two.  (Also, we joined the "Y", which guarantees me at least an hour to an a hour and a half to work out and shower while they are in Child Watch.  I have slight guilty feelings that for now are off-set by the beauty of that hour of running/lifting weights that culminates in that blessed shower where nobody is peeking at me, slamming their own or their sibling's fingers in shower doors or garnering me dirty looks from grown women who would rather be showering/dressing without a couple of strange 2 year olds for an audience.  Hooray...but I still won't work out for longer than an hour because I can't bring myself to leave them for longer than that.  Besides, we don't get a lot of time to ourselves without L, so I don't want to squander the time I could have with them, either).  Whew, that was a long parenthetical statement.
I was going to write about the surprise spa/movie day that F sprung on me yesterday, but I have to help put the children to bed, so I'd better save that for another post.  Hope all is well with all of you who are reading this!  I only mentioned the YMCA because I have often wondered what they must think of me when I show up with a 2 year old dressed in head-to-toe cammo (he has 3 identical shirts that are cammo, so he is always wearing a clean one, but STILL they have to have noticed by now that he is always in the same shirt) and a little lady cow. L is having a hissy fit right now because he didn't want to take a bath, but A is using his favorite blue whale because she is in the tubby, so I really better go help F.

In Case You Have to Pick Him Out of A Lineup...

M's new hair cut...



The side view...

 So, big doin's in our household.  Two weekends ago it was cut M's hair time again.  F did it in the kitchen of course (you never saw a happier 5 year old when L realized he didn't have to get a haircut with his brother).  It didn't go terribly...thanks in large part to Elmo and his Potty Time DVD.  M would do anything for dear, sweet, annoying as hell Elmo.  It's nice to have an ally even if he is a red Muppet.  Just thought you should see the new look in case you have to pick him up from the slammer.

Only in Virginia...

Having a ball at the beach...

L making "concrete" at his work site...

Little ducklings all in a row...

Only in Virginia can you go swimming two days in a row in the middle of October.  We had a few days of summer (which coincided with the start of L's school year, so we went in the afternoons at the beginning last week)!  How lucky are we?!?  We met a family who was combing the beach for shells and other treasures.  They found a huge conch shell the size of A's head...it was so neat!  Then they found a bunch of hermit crabs and brought them over to show us.  They even let us set one free.  L & A thought the little hermit crab was hysterical.  They watched as he poked his little head out and his claws, flipped himself over and scrabled back out to sea.  M watched the crab, but had no interest in touching it.  Which is probably fortunate for the crab (M doesn't have the gentlest touch).
I believe I mentioned earlier how determined L is to ride his 2 wheeler bike from his cousin.  So, of course, I try to help him get the hang of it as much as possible.  This usually requires me to strap A to my back in an Ergo carrier, put M on his tricycle, and then put a backpack on L so that I have a handle to hold onto to help him balance.  (After several of these sessions, I have concluded the better way to teach him would be to take the pedals off his bike and lower his seat so he can touch the ground with his feet. This way he can catch himself and not rely totally on me to steer him.)  Anyhoo...so the other day we went to the park after school.  The same lineup: M on trike, L on 2 wheeler, A happily pretending to be a baby monkey (she instructed me to address her as such, "Baby Monkey").  It was great on the way to the park!  Worked like magic.  I was puffed up with maternal pride and joy.  I felt capable, smart, organized, brilliant!
Then we had to leave the park and A didn't agree with that decision.  M was thrilled, at the first mention of home, he hopped on the trike (where L had hung his helmet) and was off, helmet-less.  L was more reluctant (and to be quite honest, stuck, until I could get A on my back).  A threw a textbook screaming, thrashing, horrifiying, snot-slinging, shrill 2 year old tantrum.  I did finally get her securely on my back (meanwhile, I had to run ahead and drag M backward away from the road), the helmets on both boys, L upright (kind of) on 2 wheels.  I thought once I got going home, A would give up her tantrum.  Not so, my friends.  She got even angrier and attempted to throw herself out of the carrier (luckily, this just looks worse than it is...no way could she get out).  Sensing her impediment (ie: me), she began slapping my head and pulling my hair.  Meanwhile, L was telling me a story about whales playing with a turtle name Timmy.  We passed by a house where M hopped off his trike to attempt to steal a soccer ball.  Then protested loudly when I put it back where it belonged.  Finally, we got to the tunnel leading out of the fort toward the street that would lead us home.

I was hanging by my proverbial fingernails to any shred of dignity or self-control.  We had to wait for the light to say "walk" (people tend to come roaring through the tunnel if they have a green light...and they can't see us until they turn the corner when it would be too late to stop...a little fact that M is totally unconcerned with) when M launched himself off the curb.  I said (tersely), "L, put your feet down" and promptly let go of L to grab M's handlebars and lug him back on the curb (because a car was zooming by).  L was so involved in his story that he wasn't listening and so wasn't prepared for me to let go of him.  He toppled over, yowling like a cat whose tail is being slammed in a door.  So, of course, me in all my motherly compassion, infinite patience, and love, yelled, "I TOLD YOU TO PUT YOUR FEET DOWN!  SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T LISTEN!"
This is about when a white car slid to a stop right in front of me.  The window rolled down to reveal the top of a black beret and young Army policeman with a compassionate (and slightly alarmed) look on his face.  "Ma'am, do you need some assistance?"  Of course I said no.  Did I mention that A was still pummeling me and screaming?  Yep, not my proudest moment.  I want to be in control or at least to look like I am in control.  I want to have that serene Mary, mother of God, smile on my face (even if inside my head I am shrieking, "This CANNOT BE MY LIFE!") as my children run amok about me.  I want to at least give the impression that I am the calm in this storm if I cannot actually BE the calm in the storm. I want to make this look easy or, at the very least, manageable.  Of course, I failed.  But it was nice to know that the MPs here are kind enough to help out a harried mother (I should have told him to take A for a ride in the back of his squad car!  But then she might have thought it was fun).  Or maybe I should have told him to lock ME up.
Anyhoo...just wanted to give you another glimpse into our life.  I knew that this story would be good for a laugh (even if it was slightly humiliating at the time).  Also, it all turned out well.  A stopped her tantrum when she got home.  I think she is sometimes shocked by the power of her own anger (as am I, to tell you the truth).  I hugged her, she melted into me and said, "Oh, Mommy monkey, I love you. I sorry I hit you. I have a bad day."  Which just proves the point that a little compassion does go a long way.  Thanks, MP guy, whoever you are, for reminding me that when someone is getting out of control, the best thing to do is to try to help them instead of judging them or recriminating them.  At the very least, it shames them into being more compassionate to their children.

It Finally Happened!

F had the day off so he got to see L off to school for his first day, too!  Hooray!  Note the prevalence of cammo print clothing.

One of his teachers, greeting him at the door (they have to shake hands and make eye contact with the teacher every morning)

Cutie pie!  These are his new slippers for school (they don't wear their shoes inside).  All ready for the first day!

Hooray!  School FINALLY started for us!  Over a month late, but it finally started!  L was pretty excited about his first day back (he'd been missing his "work" he said).  I think his teachers were thrilled that all the bureaucratic requirements were finally met so the school year could start.  His class his small, only 7 students so far.  And only 2 others that stay the whole day like he does.  I hope they get more students soon, but I am also kind of glad that he will get so much attention.  The only snafu we hit was the fire drill.  Now, if you know L, you know that he is not a fan of loud, obnoxious noises that don't involve whales or trucks.  I forgot that they were going to be doing fire drills all week and there were some tears over that.  F went to the storage unit and dug out some of those ear muff hearing protection things and L hasn't had a problem since.

L read me a long book last night called the Tin Man (well, long if you are 5).  It was full of different short vowel sounds and lots of more than 3 or 4 letter words.  After one week, this kid can do this!  I was totally impressed.  We'd been working more on his reading while we were waiting for school to start, but I hadn't done as much over the summer as I should have with him.  He seems to have caught right up.  He likes to read to me, I believe.  I wish this post was funnier and wittier, but the rascals were out last night...and this morning.  M and A decided they'd play "Baby Jag-water and Diego" until about 9 pm last night (in their room, of course) and then they woke up at about 5 or so and played for a while (shouting) until F finally went in there to quiet them down.  So I am not very funny or witty right now.

Just thought you should L on his first day of all-day kindergarten.  He is such a cutie.  He loves learning, he really does.  He came home last night talking about king snakes and what they do for the environment and how they are not poisonous.  Two cute things he said after school yesterday (I took them to the Living Museum because it was raining out):

1. We were watching the otters play and swim in their little enclosure.  He said, "They must be a brother a sister because see how well they play together?  They don't hit each other.  They must love each other very much.  We should try to be more like otters."  (Later on, when we got home and I was getting dinner together...the kids were playing and I heard L say, "M is not being like an otter, Mama!  M is hitting me!  M, do you want to be like an otter?" To which M responded, "M be an ott-tah!"  Hostilities ceased.)
2. L saw a fish in a tank all by itself and got right down to its eye level and said, "Poor little fishy!  You're all alone in there.  Are you lonely?  You need to be with your Mommy!"  What is wrong with me?  I almost cried.  It made me feel good to know that in L's mind the solution for loneliness or sadness is still Mama.

"We goin' to Maine!"

A and L, enjoying a hay ride, some apples, and Grampy-love!

There is something on the camera lens, but the kids were shouting, "Tractor!"

"I right here!"

"I got an apple, Mama!"

M doing his whale and Baby Jaguar (aka "Baby Jag-water") noises....

In case any of you didn't know already, F is totally awesome.  He has been totally awesome for a really long time, actually, well before I ever met him.  You might think I am merely gushing about the ol' husband, but I'm not, and as proof of his inherent awesome-ness, he was recently inducted into his college's Sports Hall of Honor for his distinguished diving career (National Champ in his division his junior year, thank you very much!).  Now, to fully understand what a big deal this is (because I didn't understand it until I was sitting among 350 people at a breakfast in a dining hall at the college while Mikey chucked grapes at his sister during someone else's acceptance speech), you must know that only six people were nominated out of 200 possible athletes.  F was the youngest to be inducted this year.  Also, he was the only one wearing a Speedo in his program portrait (they even blew up the Speedo picture and made it into placards for the tables dedicated to F-supporters and a poster!  I would like this picture to be made into a magnet I can put on our mini-van!).

There is something about seeing your husband being honored for his athletic prowess while flanked by pictures of a younger, scantily clad self that makes one's heart beat with a renewed love and pride.  It did for me, at least.  It isn't that I was impressed with the award, really...although that is a nice thing to see.  It was the idea that my husband has always worked so hard, sacrificed so much, and stuck with his training, no matter what it was, to accomplish his goals.  I don't want to sound like a stuffy old down on society matron, but I have been noticing a disturbing trend among our young people these days (my own generation included).  There is a propensity towards immediate gratification and an aversion to grueling tasks, to work that is thankless and annoying, but necessary in the pursuit of any degree of excellence.  It is a tendency toward cutting corners because hey, nobody's looking anyway.  And that is the opposite of F.  He works like a dog, no matter what it costs him, to ensure that the job is done and that it is done well.  This is what I admire in him (and this is what caused me to pull out all the dressers and beds and actually do a good vacuuming job today instead of doing my normal lazy "vacuum the part of the floor that shows and off which it is most likely that M will eat a dead bug" job).
The other thing that was illuminated during this breakfast that turned into lunch, was how easily you can lose sight of your spouse as an individual because the daily tasks of running a family and having an actual career totally take both of us over.  I didn't mean to do it, but my view of F as a person whom I admired and felt challenged by, had morphed into being some vague figure who had an overworked set of desperately-needed hands and some extra legs to which our offspring might cling so that I could finish making dinner in peace.  That's it.  I appreciated him as a child-deflector and a good provider and a guy who could occasionally make me laugh.  Enter the photo of a triumphant Speedo-wearing undergrad and a public speech that was almost entirely devoted to talking about how hard his main rival at those competitions worked at diving.  And how that dude eventually beat him at Nationals his senior year.  Which underscores why I think F is awesome:  He is the one person in America who doesn't want to talk about himself.  It made me realize why I wanted to be with him in the first place.  It reminded me that I like this man.  A lot.  And I'm lucky to have landed him!
Anyhoo...so we had a great time with the Nephews (believe me, they deserve capitalization, they are so awesome!) and everyone else.  I seem to have become really sentimental in the last six years, but there was a moment on the drive back down that I became totally overwhelmed with emotion.  To be a part of this family and to have children so loved and accepted by this family!  What a gift!  F and I agreed on the drive home that we are really looking forward to being in the same community as they are in the next 2.5 years or so.  Also, on the way home, that first night in the hotel, I had the good fortune to be able to jump into the pool to tow M out of the water.  He apparently isn't afraid of drowning.  F even let him stay down in the water for a couple seconds just to show him that he couldn't breathe.  It didn't bother him at all.  He leaped right back in the water.  Well, M is currently shrieking to be released from his room and nap time, so I'd better stop.  Thanks to all of you in Maine who made our visit so much fun!  Except for the pool episode and the time I was trying to carry a growling, grape-throwing M out of the room while wearing high heels and a dress at the breakfast, I actually felt refreshed and relaxed the whole time!  Hooray for family!
PS The kids have all started to play a game called, "We goin' to Maine!"  They pack pretend bags and get in a pretend truck (or are pretending to be whales swimming up the East Coast) to go visit their cousins.

This is why you shouldn't take M-dog camping...

Daddy shows L how to cook a hot dog over the fire...

A rare break in the activity...

"Mama!  I found the CHOCOLATE!"

A is begging for the bag o' marshmallows...

M takes a more physically direct approach to snagging it...

Why wait for Daddy to assemble smores when you can just eat them out of the bag???

It started innocently enough.  F wanted to take L camping in conjunction with his 5th birthday.  The plan was simple: L and F would camp in our generous (and tolerant) friends' backyard.  I would come over with the twins, some hot dogs, and stuff for s'mores (we are American, after all).  At dusk, I'd take the little ones back to the house while Daddy and L settled in for a (long) night in the tent.  This would enable us to see how well L does in a tent and allow F to plan a real camping trip later on.  Perfect, right?

Again, we underestimated the children and our capacity for chaos.  The first obstacle to the plan was the fact that we still didn't have a tent.  So we piled into the minivan, drove to LL Bean in Williamsburg, and miraculously, found one that was big enough for us (also big enough for us as the children get older).  The children were excited to get a tent.  I'm not sure A and M really knew at that point what a tent was, but they like getting things and they like playing in stores with tons of awesome bags, coats, canoes, kayaks, etc. 

On the way home, L started chanting, "I'm sleeping in a tent with DADDY tonight," a refrain the other two quickly picked up and repeated enthusiastically.  I looked over at F a little dubiously and said, "Are they ALL sleeping over?"  He said, "Sure!  Why not?"  I said, "Umm...I don't really want to sleep in a tent with all of them."  F assured me that I didn't have to, that I was free to return home to sleep as previously stipulated when this scheme was originally crafted.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't mind camping.  I do enjoy the outdoors and being outdoors.  I'm not prissy.  It wasn't camping itself that made me rethink my involvement.  I'm a lady who lives for 7:30...which is bedtime in our house.  It is a happy, magical time for my husband and I... a time to get everyone under four feet tall washed up, pajama-ed, read to, and nestled securely in their beds so that I may close the door on them and their infinite cute-ness and get some much-needed REST.  I truly enjoy my kids, but man, I enjoy them much, much more when they are actually sleeping and not touching me or kicking me in the face at 1 am (I get kicked in the face plenty during normal waking hours).  Also, they get a little nutso when we do things that deviate from our normal plans and necessitate us to all sleep together in one large, open space.

As we were reaffirming our previous arrangement (which included a night-time break from the children for me), I heard a little voice pipe up from the backseat, "Anna, do you want to sleep in the tent with me tonight?" This from L-boogie to his sister...he'd leaned over and grasped her little hand in his own and asked her with such sweet sincerity that I knew what would follow.  A declaration of independence: "Anna not go home, Anna go sleep in tent with DADDY and WUKE!"  And where A & L go, so goeth M-dog.  Daddy with three children in a tent.  I looked over at F.  He seemed strangely serene.  I laughed a little in my head.  Daddy and 3 kids in a tent.  And me to go home!  Hooray!  The plans were laid, I was happy.
Until, L, upon learning that Mama would not be partaking in this family adventure stated very clearly, "Mama!  We ALL have to go camping.  We ALL have to sleep together."  What was I to do?  I didn't want to be the Grinch who stole family camping fun.  So I agreed, grudgingly, knowing what was in store for us.  (As a side note: to those of you who don't yet have children, don't believe those ads from outdoor gear companies showing families well-dressed for their rustic adventures, laughing together around a camp fire.  That is NOT how it goes with young children.  If their ads showed a parent frantically trying to keep the little one from drowning in a creek or falling into the fire or poking their siblings' eyes out with that sharp marshmallow roasting stick, there would actually be some truth in advertising)...
I digress.  We went to our friends' house an hour behind schedule and in a light misting rain.  No matter, F says, "We're doing this!  It's going to be FUN!"  And it was, for an hour.  The tent went up easily and beautifully.  The twin mattresses fit with ample room (hey, we never said we'd rough it).  The kids were having a delightful time watching herons, geese, ospreys, and egrets swoop over the marshes that are our friends' backyard.  M attempted to fall into the fire once or twice, A tried to eat the hot dogs raw, and L was working on stealing all the chocolate from everyone else's s'mores.  Then it began to rain in earnest.  Still, we had fun cuddling and reading in the tent, listening to the sound of the raindrops on the roof tent.

Then we attempted to sleep.   Cue a long and tiresome game of musical beds.  L wanted to sleep with Daddy, then with Mommy, then insisted on the sheets with this truck or Lightning McQueen.  A wanted only Daddy, but didn't want any part of her body, sheets, or precious blue blankie to be in any way encroached upon by either brother.  M wanted to smash people in their faces with a book, his elbows, his rather large and hard head, and both heels (I think he was really trying to cuddle, but his love tends to cause physical injuries).  Then the bickering started.  L said he was a whale.  Which set off arguments about which child was which whale and then led to A and M shrieking because they both wanted to be Diego and Baby Jaguar.  Which prompted some firm and terse assertions from both parents that they needed to be QUIET and that they both could be both characters simultaneously if they would just not say a word. 

I'll spare any more details except to say that at around 9 pm, Mikey got expelled from the tent for a refusal to settle down.  I had the honor of escorting his kicking, screaming little self to the house (he shrieked at me to turn around and go back to the tent for the entire 25 minute drive home).  I am sure our neighbors were happy we were home.  Then he frantically searched the rooms for his sister and brother and staunchly refused to sleep in his room without his twin.  So, he slept in my bed.  He finally settled down at 11.  (F told me the other two fell asleep 5 minutes after M left) He fell out of my bed at midnight, woke up crying for sister at 1, then 3, and then 5, but slept until 8 am.  I was kicked in the face a few times throughout the night.  It was not a restful experience (while they may have fallen asleep earlier than M, the other two woke up at 5:30 and were bouncing about F like chihuahuas on speed...it was pouring, so they couldn't get out of the tent and I had the car with the car seats in it, so he couldn't take them anywhere).

So, I guess I could have just said, "We are not ready for camping, no matter how cute these pictures are" instead of writing this huge, long entry.  I just didn't want to forget any of it because F tends to look back on these experiences and remember them with too much optimism.  Now we know, M will not be camping for at least another year.  Or else I'm not going.