The Tooth Fairy

This tooth had been wiggling for weeks. It was dangling and had worked itself in a 180 degree rotation. It needed to come out.



She looked in every mirror, then got very busy with the matter of preparing a lovely display of fairy bites (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches), the silver container which held the prized tooth, and nice sign. (You can double-click the image to see it full-size.)



We sat there for a moment and pondered what the tooth fairy does with all these teeth from kids around the world. Ella thought about it: "Well, that's easy. No matter where a kid comes from, their teeth look the same. She uses them to build her white sparkly castle." So it was only fitting that she added a contribution of her two favorite (and corresponding) silly bands, along with peace, love & happiness.



The next morning, I woke her up and she dug under her pillow.

"I'M RICH!!!" she squealed as she pulled two singles out and held them up in the air.

The sandwiches were nibbled. The bracelets and the tooth were gone.
Then Ella went pale as she noticed the thin layer of pink glitter sprinkled across her nightstand.

My Lady and her Moo

Everyone said, "Oh my, what a beautiful costume!" then turned to me and asked if I made it. Clearly these are people who don't know me well. This one was compliments of Grandma and Grandpa.


Then there was Carson, who quickly caught on to the whole "ring a doorbell, get a sucker" gig. After the 6th house he went into a sugar tornado, and we cut him off.

He spent the next 10 minutes standing very still with this look on his face, as if he were:
1. filling his diaper
2. plotting to see how much candy he could stuff inside that tiny cow costume
3. pleading for one more tootsie roll before the night was over.

After frisking him and ruling out the first two, I folded on #3.
Who's the sucker now?

The Great Pumpkin

NOTES TO SELF from a day at the pumpkin patch:
colorful mums make great backdrops, and...

it's never a good idea to dress your tiny toddler in orange and green,
then let him loose in this situation.

A Week of Whatever

What's this thing in public school called "fall break?"
An entire week off in October?

I finished penciling this fact in at the end of my long list of reasons for becoming a teacher, then went about looking at my work calendar to see what I could move around.

And so I took the whole week off. With no plans. Shocking for me, really. And quite lovely!
I won't lie...I did draw a small chart (gasp!) that helped me plan for a block of time each day for nothing but silly fun and complete nonsense, one block for naps and tackling a few of my otherwise insurmountable household projects, and one block of time for artsy/learning activities.

Every day was a dream.
I vow, right here in writing, that I will do this every year.

I met my babes all over again, and got to spend a week completely void of drive-thrus, cubicles, laptops, DVD's, flatscreen TV's, iPods, leapsters, iPhones, and any other device that might clog my head with electromagnetic waves, messages about penis enlargements, or voicemails squawking out pre-election political pleas.

We spent time breathing the crisp autumn air, letting the sun bathe our faces in warmth. Ella read me books and Carson sang to us from the car seat on our daily adventures. We met up with friends old and new, but most of all we met each other for a special date every day.

NYC to celebrate a PhD

Ella, I know how desperately you'd like to go to New York, but kiddo - we'll do that when you're just a bit older. For now, it was time to celebrate Cindy's graduation.

Her wish? To hit the Big Apple. And boy, did we. Our long weekend was filled with great restaurants and broadway shows, subways and taxis and the hustle of Times Square. We got makeovers, bought purses in Chinatown, found some ethnic cuisine, and watched people dance and play The Beatles' music in Central Park in celebration of John Lennon's birthday. It was spectacular. I was SO happy to help Cindy celebrate such an incredible accomplishment!



But the thing I want my two babes to realize is this: we are some of the most fortunate people in the world! We spent a whole morning at the Ellis Island museum, hearing about the thousands of poverty-stricken immigrants who made the journey from Italy, Ireland and Germany in hope of a better future. Women and children rode in the hulls of giant ships for weeks to get here. They arrived sick and scared, not knowing a word of English. The whole display was touching and fascinating.


The steps below were those which the immigrants took once they were fully checked and given entry into the country. They called these the "kissing steps" because it's where so many men, who had made the journey ahead of time, waited to see their families after months apart. Can you imagine?


The next time you complain about dinner or ask, "are we there yet?" just think: this life we have...it's what millions of people struggled to find.

This was the goal. Let's cherish every minute.

Ice, Ice Baby

Summer fun: five & one

It's hard to do a post for every event I want you two to remember, so here are the highlights. You had an AMAZING summer full of...

camping with Poppa and the Kline family


learning how to play into both hands (or bowls of ice cream) at once

learning to walk at 11 months

us learning that there is no stopping you, Carson. You approached the duck pond and walked right into it.

riding with Leif, who had just gotten his golf cart license



simple fun in the back yard

Celebrating Aunt Cindy's PhD

and Ella - going from a pre-schooler to a TEENAGER! Look at this beautiful face :)