Last night was “Open House” at Alison’s school. There’s been a sign up about it for two weeks, but as soon as I leave the school, apparently, the information is gone like the wind and I have no recollection of needing to write something on the calendar. So yesterday morning I wrote it on my hand, and fortunately I DID remember to take Alison at the appointed time. Just she and I went, and we had loads of fun making butterflies and lei’s, playing in the sandbox, kicking the soccer ball around (she’s REALLY GOOD!) and your general playground silliness.
As we were playing in the cool pirate ship outside, I caught sight of superhero’s sister’s red hair and said nonchalantly, “Hey, is that superhero?”. She ran (I mean RAN) toward him and then stopped short about 10 feet away. He was showing his dad around, see, and she didn’t want to interrupt. We played parallel with them for awhile, and before too long, he said, “Alison!” (in the way she likes) “Can I play with you?” which is just what she was waiting for. So Alison, superhero, superhero’s sister, and another little boy played soccer. It was seriously the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I had them all gather ’round the goal to take a picture.
Um, do those look like preschoolers to you? ‘Cause they look a lot older to me. Especially when superhero’s got his arm around my little girl’s shoulder. Shall we take a closer look?
Yep, clearly an arm around her shoulder. I guess I lied earlier, because that is about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!
Month: March 2008
Her Superhero
Alison: I played with G. at school today.
Me: Yea? Is he your new friend?
Alison: Sort of. When I get there he used to say, ‘Alison!’ but then he stopped. So then maybe he wasn’t my friend.
Me: But you played together today?
Alison: Mm-hmm. Now he’s my best friend. I want to marry him.
Me: Really? So soon?
Alison: Yes. Maybe tomorrow he’ll say “Alison!” when I get there.
and later, talking to Daddy:
Daddy: So I hear you have a new best friend.
Alison: Yes. I’m going to marry him.
Daddy: You’ll want to be pretty picky about who you marry.
Alison: I do want to marry him. He’s my best friend, and he’s my superhero.
Alison the photographer
I don’t know how it goes in anyone else’s household, but I am the designated picture-taker around here. I don’t mind at all, except that there are never any pictures of me with my kids or husband, other than those ones where I hold my arm out and we’re all close-up. Which would be fine, really, if my nostrils weren’t already disproportionately large. Who wants their life chronicled by photos of the underside of their nose?
Luckily for me, though, Alison has taken quite an interest in the camera. When she was younger I’d let her use up the remains of disposables, but now she’s able to manage the digital camera with more skill than her dad. She’ll have photo-taking binges and I love uploading a full memory card and being surprised by the photos that pop up on the screen.
Also, it’s wonderful that I’m being included in the photo history of our family, occasionally WITHOUT my nostrils. Take a look at the most recent uploads:
Are we detecting a trend here, people?
Miss Diane
We have a new friend, Miss Diane. She gets paid to play with kids and have fun, which Alison thinks is about the coolest job on the planet. She’s going to be hanging out with Alison and Blythe on Tuesdays and Thursdays for about 5 hours while I work in the office. That way, my mom isn’t overworked and can actually enjoy her time with the kids rather than being a babysitter. And I can avoid a stay in the loony bin for just a little while longer!
Blythe is absolutely in love with Miss Diane’s feet. She likes feet and shoes anyway, but the girl couldn’t take her eyes off of Miss Diane’s.
See how she’s all poised and ready to pounce? Also, if you can see her teeny-tiny feet, you’ll notice they are bare, as usual. Did I mention she loves shoes and feet? But not together.
Snow
This is ancient history now, but way back two weeks ago, just before the sickness struck, we took the girls up to Butte Meadows, where our friends Rick & Natasha have a cabin. It was our first snow trip of the season, and Blythe’s first snow experience ever. In a lot of ways the trip was absolutely miserable for me, but since a little time has passed, now I can write about it without crying and just focus on the fun stuff. Because even in the worst situations, a little fun can be had.
While Blythe took a nap, Alison and I climbed on top of the roof and made slides with our butts. The neighbor’s dog, Dingo, and the random dog that hangs around, Bear, thought it looked fun so they joined us.
See the pure bliss on Alison’s face? Here are Dingo, Jamie (Alison’s “new friend”), Alison and Bear on the roof.
Alison and I slept together two nights in a row, and the last night Blythe even slept between us once it got so cold in the room it felt like we were sleeping outside. Ever since, Alison has been asking to “stay overnight” with me. But not Daddy, because he snores. Which is why he had to sleep on the couch at the cabin – she refused to let him into bed with us. Not that the four of us could have fit into a one bed, anyway. When Blythe fussed and woke Alison about half way through the night, Alison sat up and said, “Mom. She’s ruining my sleep.” And then passed out.
Natasha and I made bisquick pancakes for everyone on Sunday morning, using the huge gridle on the cabin stove. We put chocolate chips in ours!
Here they are, all bundled up and ready for some snowy fun.