Stormy, stormy

Who knew grocery shopping could be THIS FUN? The blue-hooded avenger cops.

Like all the rest of the eastern seaboard, we got hit with a doozy of a snowstorm this week. Though I sulked a little (what with all my talk about spring and fresh starts etc), Clark and the kids got fully into the swing of things, and braved getting blown over to go out and play.  Realizing I was missing out on the fun, I took the camera, donned whatever outdoor gear was handy, and went out to join them. Somehow, this was the only snow-day blog-worthy picture that we managed to procure:

Yes, that is me in Linden's polar bear hat.

Anyway, we braved the storm, and I have to say that the snow mostly disappeared as soon as it landed. We have spent the rest of week in ominous overcast shadowy days, raging winds, and pelting rain -  but honestly, this is par for the course with spring, and I find it relatively refreshing.  Refreshing enough that there have been a good number of outdoor adventures despite the mucky wetness.

Beebe woods in the rain - somehow even more magical than usual

Checking out some pinecones

Muddy. wet, and totally content

There was also a day that we decided, on a whim, to go to the "blue playground" - a relatively sparse play area, adjacent to a huge football field with bleachers.  The field and bleachers are often more of a draw than the playground itself - seemingly endless fun can be had running up and down and across the bleachers, and we are often visited by flocks of geese who like to make rest stops on the field.  This particular day, we were also rewarded by an unexpected treat... two abandoned baseballs!

Showing off the spoils

These balls were the source a huge fun, until one particularly strong throw beaned me squarely (and incredibly painfully) in the boob (or as my nephew Ethan would have corrected me, circa 2001, my "be-yest", not boob).  At this point no one was allowed to throw balls toward or in the general vicinity of anyone else.  Can you guess who landed this (hopefully) accidental shot?  Yes, it would be this cheeky monkey: 

a little too pleased with himself

And besides that, there is nothing much to report.  Linden has been particularly funny as of late - though the terrible twos come with new-found tantrums and obstreperousness, they also come with a fair bit of hilarity.  For instance, Linden was talking animatedly about the new lambs at Peterson farm the other day:

Linden: There were teeny tiny baby lambs! And BIG big mama lambs!
Tara: You know what Linden?  Only baby sheep are called lambs.  A mama sheep is a ewe"
Linden: (laughing uproariously) Silly, silly mama!  I not a mama sheep! I a LINDEN!

(if you didn't get that one, try saying it out loud)

See you next week!

Social butterflies (and a whole lot of lambs)

Action shot! (extra adrenaline due to mildish spring-like weather)

Phew!  What a week we just had. I would love to report that we were finally illness free, but unfortunately this is not quite true.  There was one strange, small, anomalous puking incident that involved Juniper on Tuesday night, and resulted in her missing Child Center the next day (though she was perfectly fine by that point). Otherwise, however, this past week held promise for all the spring-like, routine-y productive things that I had been so enthusiastic about a few posts ago. Linden was greatly improved at drop-off (no crying!).  I felt good about the work I was able to get done (despite missing a day). And even though we were not completely well, we were certainly not feeling the sickness-related exhaustion and desperation and depression that had shrouded the last few weeks.

On our way to meet Clark for lunch

More than just generally having a better feel and energy to it, however, this past week culminated in a WHOLE lot of socializing.  It was like the universe was trying to make up for the isolation of the last month or so, and decided to make sure we packed all the lovely people and playdates we missed out on into three solid days. We had somewhere in the vicinity of 4 different playdates, a trip to Peterson Farm to see the new lambs, a lovely brunch, and I got to go to an Indian cooking demonstration where we learned to make Chana Masala and Puri.  Delicious!  

Playing with Helen

There is something very energizing and revitalizing about finally reconnecting with other people after a long period of quarantine - everyone seems just generally happier this morning.  One of the big perks for Juniper was all of the new babies she got to hold.  She LOVES babies.  She LOVES holding them. And we managed to get in quite a fill!

Juniper and Helen hold little baby Eli

Anyway, despite the non-stop action, the only time I really paused to document it all was when we went to see the new lambs. So much cuteness! Such good lighting! So I will leave you with the rest of those pictures as we get ready to start our day. Have a great week!

Do you get much cuter than a wee little lamb?

Linden feeds a willing sheep with one of the carrots we brought

Juniper attracts a whole bunch

We missed the birth of these two little lambs by maybe a minute or two.  No exaggeration! 

Sickness and Mud and Bears, oh my!

Check out the whelk shell!

Well, folks - what can I say?  It has been a pretty crap-tastic week.  Literally and figuratively. Everyone was sick, at one point or another. Clark had it the worst - I will absolutely give him that.  The problem with being the second-most-sick, however, is that means you are then also responsible for normal everyday affairs, while the definitely-sickest person rests/wallows in their own version of hell. Anyway, I don't want to talk about it.  Please, please, let this be the end of some not very pleasant weeks (health-wise, anyway), and let's move on, shall we? 

Because I basically have no pictures from our super not-fun week, I will include instead a couple of videos taken during the high points.  Who doesn't love a good video now and again?

1: MUD (and some words of wisdom):

Linden often breaks into song in the middle of meals. The other night, it was his version of The Hippopotamus Song (I included a link of the original in case anyone is interested). There are a couple of note-worthy elements, such as Linden's very deliberate "L"'s (he's been practicing), and Juniper's complete overtaking of the spotlight (I know I'll get flack for some supposed parallels between Juniper and a young Tara from those who grew up with me, so I might as well just point it out up front).  Then at the end I got Juniper to give me one of her (very zealous) bits of nonsensical wisdom.

2: BEAR SCARY. A Juniper original story.  I tried to put subtitles under it, but imovie crashed mid-way through, and as I was painstakingly starting the video again from scratch, I decided that I wasn't going to risk the subtitles the second time around.  So hopefully you can make out her words!  It is set to Sigur Ros's "Untitled 3". 

Time Marches on...

Hello!

Sorry for the pun - I couldn't resist. It is, however, true - March is now really and truly upon us, and seems to finally be bringing with it a taste of warmth and sunshine.  This weekend, we got to welcome in what felt like the first true hints of spring, which was both lovely and rejuvenating.   We have had what one might call a relatively typical East Coast Canadian winter here on the Cape, which is not typical at all for these parts.  And though I like to think that I hold true to my hearty Canadian roots, (and have therefore not joined many of my fellow Cape Cod friends complaining about the winter), I am, I will admit, fully ready to leave the cold and snow behind.

testing the (slushy) waters

I am hoping that March also brings with it a bit of routine.  Routine is hard come by at this particular stage in our lives - just when you think you've settled on the flow of a week, it gets completely turned on its head by one unexpected event or another. The is the continual reinvention of "normal" that I alluded to last post - it is a fact of life right now that is both fun and frustrating. But for the next few months - until the end of May, anyway - we are staying put.  No conferences, no trips, no week-long school breaks, and both kids in child care for at least a couple of days a week.  This MIGHT mean that we can all form a bit of a rhythm... one that lets things tick along a little more smoothly, and (hope beyond hope), allows me and Clark both to find ourselves being more productive than usual. That would be so very lovely.  Fingers crossed!

Juniper, intrepid nature explorer. How cute is she with her fingerless gloves and binoculars?

We are also currently trying to wrap our heads around the time change - an event that is always so much more difficult than you think it will be to get used to (at least when you have two young kids that have their own schedule).  It feels fitting, however, that it falls just at the same time as the warm spring weather and the sunshine. Everything can start anew at once.

Doing "nature drawings" at Spohr gardens.  Juniper brought markers and a notepad specifically for this purpose!

And with that, I will leave you for now, hoping to carry this "new start" flow with me for as long as I can. Maybe in the next few weeks, Linden will become a little less sad at drop off; maybe I can get a chapter written; maybe Clark can apply for a few more jobs and get some papers off to some journals. And Juniper can just keep being Juniper. Lately, she has taken to coining her own bits of wisdom at the dinner table. She'll look knowingly at us, and say something that sounds somewhat proverbial, and usually makes no real sense, such as: "You can come, and you can go, but never say, and never do, and I'll never... say that... again".  Then she'll take a dramatic swig of her green smoothie, nod her head, and get back to her meal.  I'll really have to try and catch as an audio or video clip at some point, because it much better to hear it in person.
Anyhoo, have a lovely week! See you next time.

I hope these two stay best friends as they get older.

**** UPDATE****: I wrote that post last night before going to bed.  Since then, Linden spent most of the evening vomiting, and I might be next. So much for a rhythm. Oh, and it is snowing.  Is it just me, or does it not seem like the universe decided to specifically mock my naïve enthusiasm? Sigh.....

Back to normal...

Hawaii, obviously

Yesterday morning, after a pancake breakfast, my mother gave final hugs to everyone, and headed out the door.  She left with a version of our cold/flu, but was hopefully otherwise mostly unscathed.  Juniper and Linden and I put in a morning at home, then scooted off to the bus station with much anticipation to finally (FINALLY!) pick Clark up from his many hours of flying. "Ahhhhh", said Juniper - "I'm sad that Mary is gone, but I'm so happy to have everything back to normal".  Right - normal.  Whatever that means.

So - the big question:  how did we all fare, during this decidedly "abnormal" week? Honestly, it could have been better. But it also could have been much, much worse (this is what I kept telling myself, anyway). As anyone who read last week's post knows, I was sick. In fact, I still am sick. This, of course, already put things off to a bad start. Then, there were the excruciating two drop-offs where I left a sobbing, kicking Linden at daycare (no - he still hasn't acclimatized), some really early mornings, and - the real kicker - there was a pukefest.  JUST as I was thinking to myself "well, at least no one threw up this time around," Juniper woke up on Saturday morning, and started vomiting every 5 minutes.

Movies and a bucket

Now, most of you are probably thinking - "well, Tara - kids puke". Yes, everyone - that is true.  But anyone who knows me well knows that I have more than a bit of emetophobia. I don't deal well with vomiting in any incarnation - Clark is usually the one on vomit patrol. But on Saturday, it was all me. And it wasn't just the horror of Juniper being sick... it was all the potential for me and Linden also getting sick (I didn't worry as much about mom, as she somehow miraculously does not ever vomit, the lucky woman). I pictured all of us with some awful bug, all at the same time, and my mom leaving on Sunday... needless to say, I mostly had a sleepless night on Saturday.  But Linden and I seem to have (knock on wood), missed out on it. Anyway, that just capped it all off.  I told Clark he was never allowed to go away again for that long (at least while the kids are still so young).  I doubt I have much say in that matter, when it comes right down to it, but I'll defiantly put my foot down in theory for now.  And I'll likely take a bit of a "me" day today.

Anyway, despite it being a tougher week than I had anticipated, the kids also had a whole lot of fun with my mom (and thank the lord she was here).  And now, as Juniper says, we can get back to "normal".

And what is normal right now?

For Juniper, it is all about the Child Center (and lunch bunch, when we let her stay for lunch), and fancy dresses, and dancing, and playing make-believe games, and books, and helping with whatever makes her feel big. It is about trying to get away with trading in naps for quiet time (which will likely start happening more and more, as she is going to need to be on a nap-free schedule come fall - and Kindergarten!  eep!).

For Linden, right now clearly involves a little separation anxiety.  This is the first time he's ever done anything even close to daycare, and it is taking a lot of getting used to.  My resolve is quickly diminishing, as it is heartbreaking to leave a devastated child behind in someone else's arms as you turn your back and walk away.  It was never like this with Juniper.  But apparently, his day on Thursday was much better than Wednesday, and maybe this week will be better still.  If it's not, then I may just call this a failed experiment.  We'll see.
Right, now I am also officially weaning Linden. He has been going for days and days without even thinking to ask for "nums", and then when he does think of it, he'll nurse for only a few moments.  I decided that enough was enough - no need keeping up my supply for a VERY occasional fix.  But this may be part of his separation anxiety as well.  Last night he asked for some "breast", and I said "no, Linden - the milk is all gone."  And he replied "Well, just squeeze it out.  It works if you squeeze it a bit". Cheeky kid. This is also something I didn't have to do with Juniper - she weaned herself when I was about 7 months pregnant with Linden.
For Linden, right now is also about potty humour (he laughs uproariously whenever anything related to a "toot" happens).  "POOH-YOU!" he'll exclaim, chortling (this is his version of peee-eww!) "who tooted?  I think MAMA!" and then he'll laugh and laugh. "POOH-YOU!  That's a little STINKY!"  The hilarity never ends.

For Clark, right now is about trying to find out what our next step is - where we will be headed next, and when. That means trying to churn out papers, and applying for any jobs that come up for which he might be eligible.  It is more than a little stressful, this liminal stage, and so much depends on him.  But I'm sure the right place will find us, when it is supposed to - that is often how these things go. So the key is just figuring out how to accomplish everything that needs to be accomplished without letting the stress take over.  We're both trying to figure that one out.

And for me?  Trying to carve out the time to get. my. thesis. done (so much more difficult than it would seem! but you can't imagine how awesome it would be to just get that sucker done.) And mothering two small children. That's mostly it.  Also, this weaning Linden thing means that when Linden is really and truly weaned, this will be the first time in over 5 years that I will not be sharing my body with a wee one in some capacity (either being pregnant and/or breastfeeding)... so perhaps this is a new era for me as well. Very bitter-sweet.

And if you stuck with all these musings for this long, well done!  I'll try to ramble less next week.