Brat Fest

today, we took an important step in our education of wisconsin culture - Brat Fest. what is it? that's what i asked Phil and we both assumed it would be some stalls that sell various brats for people to sample and enjoy. we drove up to the location and couldn't believe the crowds milling towards the enormous tents, ferris wheel and loud music. and it was only 11 AM. and yes, we wore carolina blue to this all important wisconsin event.

there was a tent for the brats. there was a tent for the condiments. both tents had people bursting out. there was a truck - and this was no small dinky truck, but a truck the size of huge moving truck - where the brats were being grilled. we sat on the grass and gorged on our greasy brats and enjoyed watching other people gorge on their brats. we added more cholesterol to our bodies by eating some ice cream.

then it was time for fun. Skye and Phil rode the merry-go-round. then, Skye wanted to ride on the Gravity Storm. i thought she might be too small for it, but we decided to give her a try. you wear a harness around your waist and get strapped to really long bungee cords and you jump on these inflated mattresses. an enhanced trampoline ride. lots of kids in front of us were having a hard time and spent most of their minutes suspended in mid air. Skye actually jumped really well and ended up having a good time. i had a great time too! (see movie, and yes, that's the noise of Claire crying)

Busy week

it's now almost a week since i wrote last - how did it fly by so quickly? it was a week of adjustments. Skye has been home since school is over for the summer and that's been a huge change for the three of us girls at home. the whole week, Skye has been wanting my attention and needing me to stimulate her the way school stimulates her. not easy while trying to put Claire down for a nap! Claire still only stays awake for 2 hours. so, now i'm looking into summer school for Skye! and lucky for us, we found one. Skye is disappointed she won't start until mid june, but pools are opening up this weekend, so we'll be over at the pool a lot in the next few weeks, weather permitting. aside from a minor meltdown on my part, we managed to survive the week.

we visited the zoo this week. Claire spent the time sleeping peacefully on my back while Skye and her friends were glued to the glass in front of the alligators (why aren't the alligators in the water? why aren't they moving? what do alligators eat? do they eat people? maybe that one is big enough to eat people?). we went to a beach on one of the lakes and found lots of geese poop and dead fish...not sure we'll make a return visit to that beach. we are discovering the different parks in various neighbourhoods - i'm sure we'll come up with a top ten list by the time summer is over.

Claire's teeth are turning into sharp razors. she hasn't drawn any blood yet, thankfully, but she does chomp quite abit while nursing. and she just smiles when i cry out in pain. Skye was crying one day and Claire smiled and Skye asked, why does Claire think it's funny that i'm crying? but she's still a cute little bundle.

the saddest part of the week was that "24" ended. it's the one tv show Phil and i have managed to keep watching. we remain loyal fans, even though at times the fantasy borders on the ludicrous. the sad part is we have to wait at least 6 months before the next season begins...

Junking

today, we went "junking." junking - otherwise known as garage sales - is a big deal here in madison. once the weather warms up, signs for yard sales go up all over town. i even saw a sign today that offered brats at 11:30! we didn't make it to that one, but we found a great neighbourhood that had a yard sale at almost every other house. so, we picked up quite a load of "new" toys for the girls today. i even found that exersaucer for Claire. here's Claire sporting her new car!



it's always interesting to see what people are selling. it's like putting the history of your life out on the front yard for everyone to handle and take. one lady today was selling a wagon which i thought would come in handy once Claire gets a little bigger. the woman started getting teary eyed thinking about her children who used to ride it. i was thinking this woman shouldn't be selling it if she is still attached emotionally to it. she gave it up to me, but i felt a little odd carting away a precious part of her past.

we put all our purchases on our front yard to hose them down and clean them up before playing with them. some of the neighbourhood kids came and joined us and we ended up having a great time playing with water and going up and down the sidewalk with wagon, car, scooter. we're looking forward to all the fun we'll have over the summer with the junk we purchased!

Last Day of school and first teeth

today was Skye's last day at school. it was a little sad because one of the teachers, Nan, is retiring. both Skye's teachers were wonderful and really helped Skye to transition well. i received Skye's portfolio for the year - how she's grown! it's amazing to see her work and her pictures from the beginning of the year and to see her now. our baby is growing up!

and so is Claire. she's getting her first two teeth! she's been working on them for quite some time and now they've finally broken through the gum. Claire is busy grabbing things and putting them into her mouth. it's fun to watch her taking in the world.

Back Home

one of the best things about going away is returning home. there's nothing like that feeling you get when you walk into your house. and the kids are happy too. even little Claire knows when she is home. Skye was so excited to be back she couldn't say goodnight to her friends from the neighbourhood without some resistance. it was a great trip to NC, but it's also great to be back home.




Phil's graduation went well. here we are with the doctor! Claire slept through some of it and i was able to keep Skye interested by pointing out the person on stage that was signing. here they are post graduation, happy to be done with all the pomp and circumstance!


then it was mother's day. we went to our favourite eatery in durham - foster's. here are the girls!



we saw so many of our old friends and visited our favourite places in Durham (Locopops - where you can get the best popsicles, Forest Hills park, Duke Garden), but the best was being able to hang out together as a family. we don't get to do that too often, so it was great to be able to go out to breakfast together and linger over our scones and tea.

From Durham, NC

it's great to be back! we realize how much we missed this place. the weather is glorious (although lots of mozzies) and it's fun to run into people we know as we go about town. we drove by our old house which brought back fond memories and even stopped by the home of one of our friends living down the street. Skye remembered the tea set she used to play with at this house and went right to it, but it's amazing how time changes things - she played with it in a completely different way. last year, she broke some of tea set. today, she was ordering the cups and saucers in a neat row, handing out tea to everyone. my friend and i were pregnant at the same time and my friend's daughter is two weeks older than Claire. the two babies interacted as much as babies do - they cooed at each other and grabbed each other's hands. i discovered the joy of having an exersaucer - will have to find one at a yard sale in Madison.

last night was not so pretty. both girls had a hard time going to sleep and Claire threw up every where. but once everyone went down (late), we had a decent night.

tonight, it's dinner with the in-laws and then graduation tomorrow.

a couple of days ago, i went up to the attic to get something and Skye usually likes to accompany me as there's always something she can find from all my "junk" to bring down for her own use. i have also been keeping her school art projects up in the attic. there was one lying on the floor and Skye said, "hey, all the O's on my octopus fell off." the art project was an octopus with cheerios glued on for the suckers. i looked a little closer and saw parts of the paper chewed up. "oh my gosh!" i said before i had time to think. "i think there's a mouse up here." Skye began screaming to go downstairs and gave me no chance to really look around. when i returned later, indeed, some critter had come in and chewed up entire art projects!! there were shreds of construction paper littered all over the floor. and of course, all ones where Skye had used dried pasta or cereal. Skye didn't sleep well that night (and neither did phil and i) and she refuses to go anywhere alone in the house. i'm hoping our trip to NC will help her forget the whole thing by the time we get back.

Mother's day gift

so, i've uploaded a short movie of Skye's party. doesn't show the kids in action - they certainly ran around alot at the park and spent lots of energy.

a friend of mine recently had her second son. when i asked her how it was going, she said, "my husband asked me today what i'd like for mother's day and i told him i want a vasectomy." yep! i don't think i need to add anything more to that on what life is like with multiple kids! the other evening, phil and i just started laughing as we were getting two screaming girls ready for bed. how could it get any worse, we wondered. some days, life is so completely out of control there is absolutely nothing else to do.

Moving rain clouds

well, the rain clouds did indeed move - this afternoon turned out to be warm, although cloudy and windy. Skye's birthday party ended up being alot of fun at the park. her friends came bearing gifts and we had a great time playing games and eating deflated cupcakes. i will post some movies and photos from the party. both Skye and Claire crashed early for the night. i haven't ever had such a quiet early evening in a LONG time!

Skye is still a little confused on why her party was today and not tomorrow, her actual birthday. she says today was her "pretend" birthday. Claire was quite social at the party too. thankfully, she napped just before the party and wasn't melting down in the middle of the party, but she did give me some pointed looks towards the end, letting me know she was tired and was hanging in there for me.

i think i better crash tonight too.

Multitasking and moving rain clouds

a mother once said to me, "you know, i used to be a real multitasker before i had children. now, if i try to do more than one thing, i'm bound to forget something."

i can't claim to have been a great multitasker before i became a mum, but i often find motherhood requires it of me and yes, like this other mother, i find myself dropping the balls left and right as i try to juggle everything. for example, i am busy making a batch of chocolate cupcakes for Skye's birthday party. Claire is in her latest chair (the Bumbo), and Skye is busy pouring the ingredients into the mixing bowl. the phone rings and it's a call i have to take and while i'm chatting on the phone, i'm silently mouthing answers to Skye's neverending questions and mixing the cake batter. i turn on the mixer and Claire starts crying and i hang up the phone. the cake batter doesn't look quite right. it's really runny and a tad lumpy. but it tastes fine as Skye gets batter all over her face, hands and shirt as she happily licks the bowl and spatula.

well, the cupcakes are a little deflated looking and not like Martha Stewart's beautiful cupcakes you'd see in my recipe book, but i think they'll do the job of feeding hungry four year olds. i have no idea what i did wrong, but somewhere in the midst of the chaos, i put in too much of something or not enough of something else.

last night, i woke up for no apparent reason. Claire was sound asleep and i had been so tired during the day i thought i'd sleep like a log. but i was actually worried about rain. yes, it is supposed to rain tomorrow. i'm hoping the weather forecast is completely wrong and that we wake up to a beautiful sunny day for Skye's party. the kids couldn't care less about the weather, but i'm looking up the weather every hour today, just to make sure things haven't changed. i would move the rain clouds if i could! well...i guess i'll find out tomorrow.