She's looking at letters.
She's practicing her writing, her letters, her own words.
She's pretending to read and to write and to do homework. Just like her big brother.
She's sitting with her "journal."
So, is it time? Is it time to teach her to read? Do we go through the same process Henry and I went through - short lessons every day for 3 months? Or something different?
I am not certain yet.
We got to spend this past weekend with some old friends in Idaho. We stayed at a rural cabin near a lake after considering many other possible scenarios: camping, forest service cabins, or condos in a mountain town. We ended up with the "best of both worlds" as my friend's son was quoted saying. This was so because we all got a bed, a bath, and electricity but also a campfire, no neighbors in sight, and special family/friend walks down the dirt lane. The boys even threw in a road bike ride to a waterfall and an all-boy canoe trip. And we all indulged in big dinners and talked and talked (and played and played.) It is hard to beat old friends.
Then there are the new friends that the old friends have brought together. It is a something special to see your best friends' kids playing with your kids.
Then there's this:
My friend and I have been with those men through thick and thin. We both fell in love with them when we were still trying to figure out who we were ourselves. We were teenage babies when these love affairs began. We have lived and shared space with these men, opened our hearts, and squeezed them in. At times, we asked them to follow us to far off places and then they turned around and asked us to follow them. We even married 1 week apart. On the eve of our 11th wedding anniversary, we reflected on our luck on finding these partners and fathers to our children. We reflected on what it means to move beyond your twenties, enjoy our thirties, and look forward to our future. Our future together.
It seems this is what old friends are for, right? All those cliche and trite sayings about reminding you of where you came from and grounding you in where you are. I have the best old friends. I love you, Sara B!
Today we did what many Americans do in the summer, we went to our local fair. That being the Gallatin County Fair and it was there that we rode the ferris wheel, the merry-go-round, and the tilt-a-whirl (twice.) We saw all the fancy chickens, the cows, the sheep, and the pigs that are in some way deemed worthy of attending this traditional summer event. We considered buying a deep fried twinkie or snickers bar but opted for an ice cream cone instead. We stood in lines, bought too many tickets, and walked around in awe of all that was around us.
It was the summer fair.
I am glad it is over.
2 eggs a day.
That is what has been happening this past week. This is amazing stuff people.
I brought those eggs in and ate them straight away. No fridge time at all and really nothing on them. They tasted great. It was just like when I grew my first tomato and ate it right there in the garden. In the hot sun. Mmm.
This is exciting.
We kicked off the weekend with Strawberry-Rhubarb pie. You can almost guarantee a good weekend after that move. I used a pie mold to create the beautiful, leaf design on top. So purty. I always use Fannie Farmer's pie crust recipe - it is what I am comfortable with and I like it because it is not sweet. And for the strawberry-rhubarb filling, I mixed a carton of strawberries, 5 rhubarb stalks chopped, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and a 1 tsp of cornstarch. It was sweet and sour and lovely.
Next up, the official dance performance. She did very well and it was long day since the school will not release any of the dancers until everyone performs. But we congratulated her with her own fresh bouquet of flowers, which she found much delight in.
We also had a special out-to-dinner in her honor and she stayed in her ballet outfit and kept her bouquet of flowers close by (or in her hands) the entire time.
And it turns out the performance reignited her dancer's flame and she can only talk ballet now. She is such a little girl.
Our lilac bushes are alive and plentiful all around our home. (Or "lilocks" as they are called in these parts.) It is fun to move in a new home and watch what was previously planted and see it all come up. It is such a surprise. We can't resist bringing some inside...
Last evening we had a nice supper with our relatives and tried to have the season's first s'mores outside by the campfire.
(Yes, that is a hand cranked marshmellow toaster. For the s'mores lover who has it all...I know you are impressed.)
And in a quick twist in the weather, a rain and hail storm took over the evening plans and drove us indoors but then a rainbow arrived and stole the whole show.
This looks like the beginning of summer in Montana.
Catching-up on this space in my life. I have been busy with all kinds of "otherness" and so unable to come around these parts lately. Here are some updates so we can get back on track:
*loving* artichoke season
*savoring* some post rain hikes
*relishing* conversations between siblings
Henry: "That is why I want to be president."
And Lila: "That is why I want to be a ladybug."
*creating* a chicken coop
*dancing* at a, first of the season, outdoor summer concert
*making* homemade ricotta cheese from this recipe
*indulging*
*sharing* with old friends
*catching up* on some things for sale in catalogs. Outdoors. In the sun.
*watching* the local creeks and rivers overflow from the rain
And *grateful* for loving and supportive family and friends, for health and recovery, and for a safe home to gather some pinecones in a bowl and admire.
There she is. Sitting outside on this rainy day, eating a granola bar. She sits there as though nothing has happened. What is on her mind?
Because on my mind is still what almost slipped away from me yesterday afternoon. We had a bad scare. In a split second Lila was outside the grocery store and crossing the street when my son nudged me at the check-out line to look outside, "Mom, Mom, Lila is outside!" I gasped and dropped everything and ran towards her. The automatic doors wouldn't open for an eternity and then I rushed out of the store, yelling her name. She stopped across the parking lot and I had that moment of feeling like she was going to run across the road again and I was going to watch her get hit. She didn't cross the street and I finally yelled, "Don't cross" and I ran across and swooped her up in my arms.
We came home. We reviewed never leaving the store without Mama and never crossing the road or parking lot without Mama. We reviewed it and reviewed it and reviewed it until I finally had a glass of wine.
Lila rode her little bike around unfazed.
I am hugging her tighter than usual these days.
As I was in the kitchen tending to the repair man who came this morning to fix our oven, Miss Lila Rae was upstairs enjoying a grand ole time with the Photo Booth on my MacBook. Unbeknownst to me.
Today I was going to use this space to talk about my garden, some new plantings, and the way my dog rolled in some yucka-ducka 4 days after she had a professional bath (still really irked by that!) But when I finally got a moment to collect my thoughts and download some photos, I saw the Photo Booth photo shoot. 96 photos. 96 different poses. And although she is not supposed to use the computer without one of her parents' help - the sweet, sly, secretive pictures only made me smile. Or laugh out loud.
Here's the condensed version:
She's a spitfire.
We have been up to a lot.
Mostly everyday kind of stuff and much of this seems to revolve around the weather. I almost feel like the weather is another member of our family. One that we talk a lot about. One that seems to draw a lot of attention. One that is just a wee bit moody right now. For instance, today we had some cloudiness, then a few sprinkles of snow, and now some awesome sunshine. Although this kind of weather is the norm for some, this is a drastic change from our recent life in New Mexico - where you could go months without any kind of weather change. It was sunshine all the time (or at least most of the time.)
This weather is maybe like a cousin, or maybe a misunderstood second cousin. Definitely a mysterious cousin. I have some of those. So anyway, what have we been up to?
We woke to an amazing spring snowfall last week.
We wrapped up our ski season at Bridger Bowl (we may still go to Moonlight Basin for Easter weekend) on Saturday with some fresh powder, new terrain,
and a girl on a leash. She took to it. But she really just likes to go straight - she is not one for turning. Or stopping.
We invited some friends over for a "Serengeti Soda" courtesy of a Nickolodeon cookbook that my daughter scored at the Library Buck Book Sale a few weeks back. If you would like to make one:
3 cups Soda Water
1 -2 tsp sugar
4-5 limes squeezed for their juice
scoop of rainbow or lime sherbet
split into 2 drinks and add a maraschino cherry to each one
This drink was devoured! It was my son's idea to make it and invite everyone over to try it. He is a big fan of "floats" so this was right up his alley. This drink might be best for a warmer day but out of the other cookbook selections, this was probably the best choice. Think Sponge Bob nuggets...hmmm.
Speaking of cookbooks, I have gotten 2 new ones recently. I am a bit cookbook obsessed. In a bit, I will start the white bean soup with kale for dinner. I guess I am still in winter mode, soup mode. But I have been reading about summer soups and salads, too. This is getting me excited for the 2 new composters coming in the mail. We are still plotting, where oh where, the vegetable garden should go. We will have to follow the sun across our yard to help decide. I guess that means more weather to talk about at the dinner table.
Next, we were considering getting a bunny for an old bunny hutch that sits on our property. We are still in the thinking phases of this idea.
We have practiced jumping along the rock wall. Hard to believe that a few days ago this lawn was covered in one of the biggest snow storms of the year. That weather again.
We have been finding secret spots for reading. Reading in shark slippers. I don't think he was reading about sharks in shark slippers. No, I am pretty certain he was reading about Star Wars. Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars. I had no idea how much there was to know and love about Star Wars.
We made pumpkin bread and dressed like it was summer. Naturally.
We created a Learning Board. This was inspired from a book called Steady Days by Jamie Martin. She has a website that is worth a visit (click on visit to visit.) I read her book and it is a nice book, full of parenting ideas. I liked this idea about the Learning Board the best. On ours we are highlighting a letter, a number, a poem, a season, a holiday, and a list of things we are working on. The things we are working on right now is a list of chores for the kids. I am still debating about incorporating an allowance, primarily for my older one. I have read and thought about both sides of the issue of allowances and I am not sure where I stand.
Finally, a smile out in our sunny backyard today. Our friend, the weather, gave us a nice afternoon to enjoy. The morning was full of cloudy snow speckles while we were at the dentist. Seems fitting, right? And that concludes what we have been up to.
3.
Should I just end the post now? I think perhaps. Because if you are confused, you will have some understanding of my confusion.
My baby is 3. Nearly 3 1/2. How can this be? She is toddling toddlerhood. She is just like what I have been reading a lot about lately - so called "shoulder season." The season in between seasons. I have been reading about how this shoulder season is the best time to take a vacation but it also seems to apply to 3 year olds. My 3-year-old has some days of babyness and some of a big girl, it is like she is in between seasons. Today she told me that her friend's name starts with a M. Just out of the blue this information was shared to me like a special prize. It is was a special prize. This girl is joyous, taking surprising leaps of language and understandings every day. She is delighted when she masters new language skills and just as easily she trips on words she tries to say for the first time. Just before naptime today she told me she had dropped her "newmond." So frustrated at my not understanding her, she stomped her foot and yelled her "newmond nut was missing." I gathered this meant her almond nut. Then I realized that my husband and I still call dental floss "sloth" since my son mispronounced it when he was 3 and it struck us as so funny. These errors are endlessly wonderful and memorable. Although I am not sure the 3- year-olds would agree.
I realize that this 3-year-old is just beginning to step out into the world. She is having more nightmares. She is experiencing worry and longing when we go to work . She feels frustration when she cannot always keep up with her brother or when she cannot put on her own clothing or really when she unable to do anything by herself. This girl is peeking out into the world and seeing what is there. And everything there is new and, so far, delightful. But the peeks are somewhat shy, nonetheless.
Although I cannot take a shoulder season vacation for the next 20 years (since this is the time my kids will be in school), I do think that it is something to look forward to. If it is anything like being 3, it sounds like will be a special time where everything is fresh and full of magic.
