Saturday, May 14, 2011

time for tea

Sadie's preschool had a tea party last week. It was pretty cute.
The kids got dressed up, served us cookies and a beverage of our choice (tea, coffee or fruit punch, naturally) and then sang a few songs for the dads wielding video cameras and the moms clutching kleenex.

She was certainly excited and proud to have both of her parents there, which is the whole point, I'd say.

I can't believe her first year of preschool is almost over. She has had a wonderful time - she seriously never looked back. Never had an "I don't feel like going today" morning. Never lingered at the doorway, never had trouble releasing her fingers from mine. Never needed an extra hug. Most mornings, I'd look up after signing her in and find that she was already fully immersed in whatever activity she decided to start her day with. I'd have to call her name several times to get her attention, get the hug I needed, and do our "I love you"sign to each other.

I'm glad she's doing another year starting in the Fall. She will love it again, I'm sure. I am definitely beginning to sweat the elementary school decision, though. Maybe I'll share that borderline psychotic angst in another post sometime.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

eating and walking and other updates



Sadie was pretending to be an otter today and wanted fish for a snack. Since the only fish I had in the house were A) frozen and B) in the form of oil usually taken at breakfast time, she opted for my offer to make "pretend" fish.

What can I say? Inspiration struck.

The ingredients are: multi grain sandwich flatbreads cut to shape, seaweed strips cut into "scales" and attached with hummus, a pea for the eye and a green bean for the mouth. Oh, and apple slices for waves. Ha!

I don't know if I'll be doing anything even remotely similar anytime soon and it certainly doesn't meet these standards:

but I had to snap a picture for posterity.

What do you say, do I get an A for creativity?

~*~

She had her first visit to the dentist last week and passed with flying colors. No cavities, was perfectly cooperative and loves her new toothbrush and princess floss. She chose a "diamond" ring from the treasure box after her cleaning.
And now some Lilah business:

This girl is ready to GO!
She has been fascinated with my keys lately, and not just to chew on. She takes them to the door and tries to actually use them.
She never sits still. Never.
rocking out in her high chair

She is in love with Sadie's motorcycle toy and wants to ride it all of the time. (it took Sadie over a year to warm up to it and now she's basically too big for it. Score for little sis!)
Here she is a couple of weeks ago on it.



And the big news - Lilah started walking for real today (i.e. not reverting to a crawl after taking 3 steps and plopping down) and it is pretty damn cute if I do say so myself. She sort of stomps and side-steps along, expecting to fall at any second with an awesome combination of delight and exhilaration on her face. She usually has her mouth wide open in an ecstatic grin. She's definitely our little dare devil, our tough cookie. She has so much energy and determination. It's clear that she's very proud of herself and very excited to have made this development. FUN!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Osama Bin Laden is dead.

Wow. The news tonight is big.

I remember feeling pure shock and bewilderment on September 11, 2001.

Grief and insomnia took over soon after and lasted for months, but my initial feelings were all about disbelief. I was totally incredulous that such evil and hatred existed in the world, and on such a huge scale. I was horrified to learn that this man and his followers really thought their actions were just, righteous, even holy. It still baffles me.

I have virtually zero experience with the military, so it is beyond the scope of my imagination to understand what all went into tonight's events. I'm just plain awestruck. I was glad to hear President Obama say that no Americans were harmed. I thought this bit of his speech was particularly well worded:

"Tonight we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who have worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work nor know their names, but tonight they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice. We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of burden since that September day."

Tonight I hope that everyone in the world who has been affected by Bin Laden's epic terrorism over the past decade can feel something good at the news of his death. It feels twisted to say that, but it is what it is.

I'm not sure what parents, brothers, sisters, friends, husbands, wives, cousins, grandparents,etc. of anyone who perished on 9/11 or anyone hurt or killed in the line of duty since that day are supposed to feel tonight.

Relief?
Justice?
Closure?
Hope?
Peace?

Peace. Now wouldn't that be something?